The Power of Music by Sukumar Ray

Explanation | Summary | Poetic Devices | Main Themes | Class 10 ICSE Syllabus | Treasure Chest

Short Summary of the poem

The poem tells the comical yet disastrous story of Bhisma Lochan Sharma, a man whose singing is so bad that it causes chaos everywhere.

At the beginning, the poet sets the mood by comparing the arrival of summer with Bhisma Lochan’s singing. In India, summer brings discomfort—and in the same way, Bhisma’s singing brings uneasiness. His voice travels far and wide, from Delhi to Burma. He sings with such determination, as if his very life depends on it, completely unaware of the suffering he is causing. People are dazed, shocked, and confused. However, they know that his intentions are not evil—he simply loves to sing, even though the result is catastrophic and disastrous.

As his awful singing continues, the effects spread everywhere. People run in panic, trampling one another, looking pale and sick from the unbearable noise. They plead desperately with him to stop, saying they cannot survive another note. Even strong animals are disturbed—bullock carts overturn, and horses stand still in shock. Yet, Bhisma Lochan is unconcerned and keeps booming out his song, louder and louder.

The destruction does not stop with people and animals. Nature also reacts violently. Wild animals whine in distress. Fish dive deep underwater, trying to escape the noise. Trees shake and collapse and their crashing sound carries for miles. Birds in the sky lose balance and turn upside down mid-flight. People cry again, begging for mercy, but Bhisma ignores their pleas. Even the sky (“welkin”) weep at his screech, and mighty buildings tumble down under the sheer impact of his voice.

Finally, a savior arrives in the form of a billy goat, described as a “sagacious fellow,” meaning wise and sensible. Unlike the people who could only complain, the goat takes direct action. He lowers his horns and charges at Bhisma Lochan, his bellow answering Bhisma’s bellow. With this act, the awful strains of music are smashed and scattered. At last, Bhisma Lochan is silenced, and the world receives what the poet calls the “golden gift of silence”—a silence more precious than anything after the havoc caused by the singer.

For a detailed explanation of the poem The Power of Music and other poems of class 9 and 10 ICSE Syllabus, go to my channel, Beauty of Language.

Main Themes of the Poem

1. The Power and Performativity of Music: The poem highlights the ability of music to capture attention and evoke strong reactions. Now, this doesn’t only apply to melodious music, but even when the music is highly unpleasant. Bhishma Lochan’s singing, though described as disruptive, it is powerful enough to be heard from Delhi to Burma. This shows the music’s ability to travel and impact a wide audience.
2. Irony: There is irony between the expectation of the positive effects of music and the chaos and destruction caused by Bhishma’s singing. The title of the poem suggests a celebration of music’s beneficial effects, but the poem presents a different, more chaotic reality.
3. Art and Society: The poem explores the relationship between art and society in a very subtle way. Even though Bhishm’s singing is disruptive, it brings people together, and obviously in a state of confusion and panic.
4. Resilience and Beauty: Even though Bhishma’s singing had disruptive effects on the people and society on the whole, but it highlights his passion and determination for singing. The poem implies that even in the chaos, there is value in pursuing beauty and expressing oneself. Along with it, the poem also suggests that even when music causes disruption, the pursuit of artistic expression, like Bhishma’s singing, can be a source of resilience and inspiration.
5. Universal Reach: The poem highlights that even when the music is performed locally, it can have a widespread impact. This particular quality suggests the universal nature of the influence of music.
6. Restoration of Order: The intervention by the billy goat represents the restoration of order and the silencing of disruptive forces. It suggests that there is a natural corrective mechanism that gradually cuts down chaos.

Poetic Devices used in the Poem

1. Personification: The poet has given human-like attributes to animals and his singing in the poem, for example-

• The wretched brutes resent the blare line. It refers to the horse that behaves like a human, they line up in shock after listening to his unbearable music.
• Comes a billy goat, a most sagacious fellow. In this line, the goat is being compared to the qualities of a human being, sagacious meaning wise.
• The welkin weeps to hear his screech line. In this line welkin means sky, which weeps like a human unable to bear his singing.

2. Alliteration: It is the repetition of consonant sounds at the start of two or more consecutive words. For example,

• He’s hell-bent, h sound here
• Booming out his broadside, b sound here
• Feathered fly, f sound here
• Turn turtle, t sound here and there are many others like this.

3. Hyperbole– It is the exaggeration of situations which is commonly used in nonsense poetry. For example,

• They’re trampled in panic rout
• The bullock-carts are overturned
• Horses line the roadside
• They whine and stare with feet in air
• The welkin weeps
• Mighty mansions tumble

4. Imagery– The poet has used vivid imagery in the poem to create a picture of the intense impact of Bhishma’s singing. For example, “the feathered fly turn turtle while they’re winging”, “blast of brutal violence”, “golden gift of silence”.

About the Poet

Sukumar Ray was a very famous Bengali writer, poet, and illustrator, who is particularly known for his humorous and nonsensical verse for children. He was a pioneer of “nonsense literature” in the Bengali language and is honored for his witty, satirical, and absurd works. So, The Power of Music is one of his absurd works.

“The Power of Music” which was originally “Ganer Gunto” in Bengali, is a poem from his collection of nonsense verse, children’s poems, and rhymes in Bengali “Abol Tabol” (“The Weird and the Absurd”). It was published in 1923. This collection was translated into English by Prof. Sukanta Chaudhury.

When it was published, the poems didn’t get much recognition. But many poems in “Abol Tabol” contain skillfully hidden criticism and satire of the societal and administrative conditions of early 20th-century colonial India, particularly in Bengal.

Sukumar Ray cleverly embedded implicit meanings of a provocative nature in his nonsense rhymes for children. And through this he tried to escape the strict censorship of the press imposed by the British administration in India during that era.

“The Power of Music” humorously narrates the determined efforts of the unstoppable Bhisma Lochan Sharma to entertain those around him with his tuneless singing, despite their frantic pleas and protests.

About The Poem

The poem has a lyrical and imaginative nature and explores the life-changing, transformative, enchanting, captivating, and fascinating qualities of music. Sukumar Ray uses vivid imagery and metaphor to convey the different effects of music on the listeners.

This poem, The Power of Music is satirical in nature. It has a playful tone and uses exaggeration to mock the bad singer, Bhishm Lochan Sharma. The qualities for which he was famous. It also highlights the disruptive, the disturbing nature of his bad singing and the poor quality of his singing. The poem basically acknowledges the positive effects of music, and also the funny consequences of bad singing.

Historical Context of the Poem

It will be interesting to know that during World War I, the British colonial government in India imposed strict press censorship under the Defence of India Act, 1915. Any publication criticising the British Raj or sympathizing with Germany and its allies could be seized, banned, and the publishers would be prosecuted.

Now, Sukumar Ray, being a satirist and a social commentator, had to work within these limits. As I said, Abol Tabol used nonsense rhymes and puns to camouflage political commentary. With the help of it he discussed real events—sometimes even politically sensitive ones—without attracting the censor’s attention.

The title of the poem, Gaaner Gunto (গানের গুঁতো) literally means The Impact of the Song in Bengali. But Gaan here is a pun which resembles the English word Gun. So the “impact” here is not just musical—it’s the impact of gunfire. THIS “gun” hints at the German light cruiser SMS Emden, which bombarded Madras Harbour on 22 September 1914.

The SMS Emden was part of the German East Asia Squadron. During the Madras raid, it fired nearly 125 shells. It targeted the oil tanks and installations. This particular attack, it caused fires that could be seen for miles. Now, this sudden attack shocked British India. It was one of the few times during WWI that the war reached Indian shores. The event became legendary, and “Emden” entered Indian vocabulary as a byword for something deadly, cunning, and precise.

In the poem there is symbolism in names and characters.

The name Bhisma Lochan in the poem:

• Bhisma refers to deadly, formidable, challenging, tough. I hope you know this name from the epic Mahabharata; Bhishma was a great warrior.
• Lochan refers to eye.
• Together, “Deadly Eye” implies the open muzzle of a cannon.
• The Emden had 10 10.5 cm guns (not 22 heavy cannons, but with secondary guns, the number was higher) capable of devastating bombardment.

The Goat in the poem:

• Refers to Goat Island in Sydney Harbour, Australia.
• It was associated with the Australian battlecruiser HMAS Sydney.
• On 9 November 1914, HMAS Sydney intercepted, it blocked and destroyed SMS Emden near the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.

This actually had a very lingering impact

• The Emden raid caused panic from Delhi to Rangoon (Burma) because it showed the British could not guarantee security even in the Indian Ocean.
• In Tamil, Emden came to mean someone sharp and dangerous.
• In Malayalam, yamandan, it carried a similar meaning.
• Even decades later, in South India, calling someone “an Emden” meant they were formidable and ruthless.

Now Why Sukumar Ray Chose This Event?

• He did so because it was fresh in public memory in 1915.
• The imagery of music (mild) and guns (deadly) created an absurd contrast perfect for his nonsense verse.
• The layered pun allowed him to entertain children on the other hand, delivering a knowing wink to adults who understood the wartime reference.

Line-by-line explanation of the Poem

Poem

When summer comes, we hear the hums

Bhisma Lochan Sharma.

You catch his strain on hill and plain from Delhi

down to Burma

He sings as though he’s staked his life, he sings

as though he’s hell-bent;

The people, dazed,retire amazed although they

know it’s well-meant.

Explanation:

The poem starts with the introduction of the main character of the poem, and that is Bhishm Lochan Sharma. The poet says that when summer comes, now generally, especially in the western countries, summer is welcomed wholeheartedly. There is a summer break in the colleges. People go on vacations. But here in India, especially in North India, summer is not very pleasant. It rather causes discomfort and a sense of uneasiness. So, when summer comes, we hear the hums, hums here is the humming of the bee, which is definitely not soothing. So when summer comes, we hear Bhishm Lochan Sharma singing.

You catch his strain on hill and plain from Delhi down to Burma, poet says that his singing is so bad that it can be heard from Delhi to Burma, today what we know as Myanmar. Strain here means musical notes. Here there is Hyperbole.

He sings as though he’s staked his life, he sings as though he’s hell-bent; The poet says that he sings as if he has staked his life, as if his life depends on it. He is singing in a very determined way, he is hell-bent means he is determined. This line shows the inetnsity of his singing. He doesn’t care about the impact his singing would have on others. He is not bothered about it. He is just going on singing.

The people, dazed, retire amazed although they know it’s well-meant. The people are dazed by his singing. They are shocked, they are taken aback, stunned, bedazzled, startled. They are confused about what is happening. Their emotions are stirred by the awful singing of Bhishm Lochan Sharma. There is a sense of disbelief. So in this line, the poet has expressed the impact of the singing of Bhishm Lochan Sharma. And at the same time, the people know that it is well-meant, which means that he is not doing wrong intentionally; he is just doing his singing. But then it is so sooo bad, that it has created chaos among the listeners. Here is what the contrast has been stated by the poet. His good intentions and the disastrous impact that his singing had.

Poem

They’re trampled in the panic rout or languish

pale and sickly,

And plead,’My friend, we’re near our end,oh

stop your singing quickly! ‘

The bullock-carts are overturned, and horses

line the roadside;

But Bhisma Lochan, unconcerned, goes

booming out his broadside.

Explanation:

Now this line shows the impact of Bhishm Lochan Sharma’s singing all around. So, listening to his awful singing, people trample, that is, they step on each other in panic rout. Panic rout refers to a situation where a group of people or a crowd is overwhelmed by fear and begins to run in a chaotic manner. Their eardrums are not able to take any more of his singing, so they are defeated, rout also means defeated completely. They languish pale and sickly, means the song has caused them so much suffering that they have become weak. And this exhaustion has made them look pale and sick. Here in this line, the poet has used strong imagery to portray the effect of bad singing on the people. Again it is also an exaggerated version.

And plead,’My friend, we’re near our end,oh stop your singing quickly! ‘- People then pleaded with him, begged him, they made an earnest request to stop his singing because they are nearing their end. They are about to die after listening to the strains of his awful voice. Here also, you see that the poet has used the word “pleaded” and then “quickly” to show the urgency of the situation and humour too. How important their pleas were. Here also, there is exaggeration.

Then further, The bullock-carts are overturned- Bullock-carts, as you know, it, used to be the mode of transportation before the independence era; even today it is used in many rural areas. and horses line the roadside- it means they are standing still on the roadside, they have lined up on the roadside because they are in a state of shock and confusion. Here, bullock-carts and horses have been used specifically because they suggest strength and stamina. And such strong animals are also affected by his song.

But still Bhisma Lochan, unconcerned, goes booming out his broadside. So even after all the pleas, all the requests, all the pleading made by the people, even after the stampede, even after the bullock carts overturning and horses lining up, Bhishma Lochan Sharma went on “BOOMING” out his song, completely unconcerned, completely unbothered, absolutely unflinched about the effects of his song. Here, the word booming, suggests the loud sound. It has been used to portray the intensity of his voice.

Poem

The wretched brutes resent the blare the hour

they hear it sounded,

They whine and stare with feet in air or wonder

quite confounded.

Explanation

The wretched brutes resent the blare the hour they hear it sounded- wretched brutes mean violent animals, they resent, meaning they hate, they are annoyed, the moment they hear him singing. Blare means loud and unpleasant sound. Here, the word the animals have been personified using the word “resent”. Because resentment is a human-like attribute. They whine and stare with feet in air or wonder quite confounded- Now these animals they start whining and staring with their feet in the air in shock and terror. Whine means to complain about something in an annoying, crying voice. So these wretched brutes are completely disoriented after hearing his song. And they are perplexed, confused, baffled, bewildered with it.

Poem

The fishes dived below the lake in frantic search

for silence,

The very trees collapse and shake – you hear the

crash a mile hence –

And in the sky the feathered fly turn turtle while

they’re winging,

Again we cry,’We’re goingto die, oh won’t you

stop your singing? ‘

But Bhisma’s soared beyond our reach, howe’er

we plead and grumble;

The welkin weeps to hear his screech, and mighty

mansions tumble.

Explanation

The fishes dived below the lake in frantic search for silence. So Bhishm Lochan Sharma’s singing not only affected the people on land, but also the fish in the lake. They are so overwhelmed by the song that they dived below frantically in search of silence. Frantic means extremely nervous, hurried, desperate, or panic-stricken. The very trees collapse and shake – you hear the crash a mile hence- also the trees shook and collapsed, and their crash was heard over a mile. Hyperbole again has been used here.

Next what happened- And in the sky the feathered fly turn turtle while they’re winging. The birds that were flying in the sky, they turned turtle, means they turned upside down while they were winging, means flying. So turn turtle is an idiom that means to turn upside down.

After all this, people again cried, ‘We’re going to die, oh won’t you stop your singing?’ Earlier, they pleaded, now they cried that we are going to die, please stop singing! But Bhishm Lochan Sharma, was again unbothered and went on singing, despite their pleading and grumbling.

The welkin weeps to hear his screech, and mighty mansions tumble- Welkin means the sky or heaven. So even the heavens wept, they cried after hearing his screeching voice, his loud, harsh, and high-pitched voice. Here the sky is personified when it is described as weeping. And due to his voice, the big and mighty mansions also started tumbling; they started collapsing.

Poem

But now there comes a billy goat, a most

sagacious fellow,

He downs his horns and charges straight, with

bellow answ’ring bellow.

The strains of song are tossed and whirled by

blast of brutal violence,

And Bhisma Lochan grants the world the golden

gift of silence.

Explanation

So after all the destruction and chaos caused by his singing what happened now. There came a “sagacious fellow”, sagacious means having or showing good judgement and understanding, someone who is wise. Here that sagacious fellow is a billy goat, a male goat. He downs his horns, means he puts his horns down and charges straight. Bellow answ’ring bellow. Here bellow has been used twice. One bellow denotes the sound of the goat and the other bellow denotes the loud sound of Bhishm Lochan Sharma. So the goat charged straight at Bhishm Lochan Sharma.

And as a result, The strains of song are tossed and whirled by blast of brutal violence. Here, the song has been personified, it is said to be tossed, means it is thrown as if it were a person. Finally, the song was tossed and whirled by this brutal violence by the goat. And Bhisma Lochan grants the world the golden gift of silence. His voice is silenced forever. It is mentioned as a “Golden gift of silence”, means the gift that is very precious.