Canvas of Soil is an inspiring poem included in the Class 9 English textbook Kaveri. The poem presents nature as an artist and the soil as a canvas on which life is painted. Through rich imagery, the poet shows how seeds, plants, and flowers work together to create a colourful and ever-changing masterpiece.
Canvas of Soil Class 9 NCERT Solutions
Reflect and Respond
I Work in pairs. Discuss what all you see in a garden. Think of the colours you see and where you see them. Share your responses with your teacher.
Answer: In a garden, I see trees, flowers, plants, grass, birds, butterflies and bees.
Colours in a garden:
- Green – leaves and grass
- Red – roses
- Yellow – marigolds and sunflowers
- Pink – flowers
- Brown – soil and tree trunks
II Look at the picture of a garden and a painting given below. Speak about any similarities between the garden and the painting.
Speak using the following:
- Just as a garden __, similarly, a painting __
- A garden and a painting, both ____.
- ____ is common to both a garden and a painting.
- Like a garden, a painting too __.
Answer:
- Just as a garden has many colours, similarly, a painting has many colours.
- A garden and a painting, both look beautiful.
- Colours are common to both a garden and a painting.
- Like a garden, a painting too gives happiness to people.
III Let us acquaint ourselves with the meanings of palette, hue, and canvas.
- Palette: a thin oval or rectangular board or tablet that a painter holds and mixes colours on.
- Hue: shade of a colour
- Canvas: (here) painting Now, look at the painting given above and identify palette, canvas, and select a hue.
Answer:
- Palette – The painter’s is a board where the painter mixes the colour.
- Canvas – The painting shown in the picture.
- Hue – Green (any colour seen in the painting can be chosen).
Check Your Understanding
I. Read the poem again and complete the summary of each stanza by filling in the blanks.
1. The __ is portrayed as a rich palette where gardeners’ _ _ _ a _ s flourish in the form of __ , awaiting spring.
Answer: The earth is portrayed as a rich palette where gardeners’ dreams flourish in the form of seeds, awaiting spring.
2. The garden flowers __ into a beautiful display of different b _ _ _ _ _ m s, resembling a ___ by Mother Nature, in the light of morning.
Answer: The garden flowers bloom into a beautiful display of different blossoms, resembling a painting by Mother Nature, in the light of morning.
3. Each garden is likened to a wide _ _ n _ _ s, integrating art and _. Through the efforts of gardeners, gardens transform into still-life _____.
Answer: Each garden is likened to a wide canvas, integrating art and life. Through the efforts of gardeners, gardens transform into still-life paintings.
II. Select the appropriate title for each stanza from those given below. There are two extra titles.
- Nature’s Work of Art
- Sweet-smelling Blossoms
- Gardens as Living Canvases
- Earth and Possibilities
- The Painter’s Canvas
Answer: The appropriate titles for each stanza are –
- Earth and Possibilities
- Nature’s Work of Art
- Gardens as Living Canvases
Extra Titles are –
- Sweet-smelling Blossoms
- The Painter’s Canvas
III. Match the poetic devices in Column 1 to the examples in Column 2. Discuss your responses in pairs. Then share the responses with your classmates and teacher.
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| 1. Imagery [mind pictures] | (i) appreciative |
| 2. Metaphor [comparison without use of ‘like’ or ‘as’] | (ii) AABB |
| 3. Rhyme Scheme | (iii) ‘Blossoms bloom’ |
| 4. Tone [what the poet feels] | (iv) colours, brushstrokes, blossoms, shades of green |
| 5. Mood [what the reader feels] | (v) a gardener |
| 6. Speaker | (vi) garden as a painting, plot as canvas, seeds as brushstrokes |
| 7. Alliteration [same consonant sound] | (vii) joyful |
Answer:
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| Imagery | (iv) colours, brushstrokes, blossoms, shades of green |
| Metaphor | (vi) garden as a painting, plot as canvas, seeds as brushstrokes |
| Rhyme Scheme | (ii) AABB |
| Tone | (i) appreciative |
| Mood | (vii) joyful |
| Speaker | (v) a gardener |
| Alliteration | (iii) “Blossoms bloom” |
Critical Reflection
I. Read the given extracts from the poem and answer the questions that follow.
1. Brushstrokes of seeds, planted true, Awaiting spring’s vibrant hue.
(i) The poet has used a metaphor in ‘Brushstrokes of seeds’. Which option from those given below uses a metaphor?
A. Her mother’s heart heard her heartfelt request with kindness.
B. She has a heart of gold.
C. Her heart did a dance of joy on seeing the new doll.
D. She has a very kind heart.
Answer: B. She has a heart of gold.
(ii) Complete the sentence appropriately.
The phrase ‘planted true’ is significant because it implies _.
Answer: The phrase ‘planted true’ is significant because it implies that the seeds are planted carefully and correctly with hope for good growth.
(iii) Why has the poet used the word ‘hue’ instead of ‘colours’ in the extract?
Answer: The poet uses ‘hue’ to describe the beautiful shades of colours that appear in spring and make the garden look attractive.
(iv) Complete the following analogy correctly with a word from the extract. Summer: hot :: Spring :
Answer: Summer : hot :: Spring : vibrant
(v) Read the Assertion (A) and the Reason (R) and select the option that is correctly suited.
(A): Gardeners wait for Spring.
(R): Gardens are worth painting in Spring.
A. Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
B. Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
C. (A) is true but (R) is false.
D. (A) is false but (R) is true.
Answer: B. Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
2. Each plot, a canvas wide, Where art and life coincide.
(i) What does ‘Each plot’ refer to in this extract?
Answer: “Each plot” refers to each piece or area of land is a garden where plants and flowers are grown.
(ii) Select which option imitates the rhyme scheme of the extract.
A. beautiful and clear laughter and cheer
B. beautiful and clear laughter and tears
Answer: A. beautiful and clear, laughter and cheer
(iii) Select the line from the extract that conveys that gardening blends aesthetic beauty with natural growth.
Answer: “Where art and life coincide.”
(iv) Complete the following sentence appropriately. The plot is likened to a canvas suggesting that _.
Answer: The plot is likened to a canvas suggesting that a garden is like a painting where gardeners create beauty through plants and flowers.
(v) Why has the poet most likely used the word ‘wide’ instead of ‘long’ in ‘canvas wide’?
Answer: The poet uses ‘wide’ to show that the garden has a large space with many possibilities for creativity and growth.
II Give reasons for the comparisons made by the poet in the poem.
1. A painter is compared to a gardener because __.
Answer: A painter is compared to a gardener because both create beauty through their work.
2. A palette is like earth as ______.
Answer: A palette is like earth as both are the base where something beautiful is created.
3. The brushstrokes are like seeds because _____.
Answer: The brushstrokes are like seeds because both help create a beautiful final result.
4. A canvas is similar to a garden plot as ______.
Answer: A canvas is similar to a garden plot as both are spaces where art and beauty are created.
III Answer the following questions.
1. How does the metaphor ‘Brushstrokes of seeds’, enhance the understanding of gardening as an art form?
Answer: The metaphor compares seeds to brushstrokes in a painting. It shows that the gardeners create beauty with seeds, just like a painter creates beauty with colours.
2. What can you infer about the poet’s perspective on the relationship between nature and creativity from the following lines?
‘Each plot, a canvas wide,/Where art and life coincide.’
Answer: The poet believes that nature and creativity work together. A garden is like a canvas where the gardeners use their creativity to create beautiful nature.
3. Do you think the imagery in the poem successfully paints a vivid picture in the reader’s mind? If yes, why? If no, why not?
Answer: Yes, the imagery is very effective. The poet uses words like ‘colours’, ‘flowers’, ‘seeds’, ‘brushstrokes’ and ‘canvas’ to help the readers imagine a beautiful garden.
4. Support the view that the poet’s mention of the colour yellow, besides red, blue and green, would have lent effectively to the imagery.
Answer: Yes, adding the colour yellow helps to make the garden look more colourful and lively. It would help readers to imagine bright flowers such as sunflowers and marigolds.
5. Considering the line ‘Gardens become paintings still’, what can you interpret about the poet’s view on the timelessness of nature’s beauty?
Answer: The poet feels the beauty of nature is lasting and never goes out of style. A garden remains beautiful, like a painting that people can respect for a long time.
6. Justify the title of the poem, ‘Canvas of Soil’.
Answer: The tile is suitable because the poet compares the soil to a canvas. Just as a painter creates art on a canvas, gardeners create beautiful gardens using seeds, soil and plants. Hence, the garden becomes a work of art.
Vocabulary in Context
I. The poet refers to the shades of green, red, and blue in the poem. Let us read some of the names of different shades of these colours.
Now, Discuss in pairs, any two things that you can associate with these colours.
Answer:
Shades of Red
- Scarlet – Rose
- Crimson – Apple
Shades of Green
- Apple Green – Fresh leaves
- Olive – Olive fruit
Shades of Blue
- Sky Blue – Clear sky
- Navy Blue – School uniform
Sample Answer:
- Scarlet red – Rose
- Apple green – Fresh leaves
- Sky blue – Clear sky
- Navy blue – School uniform
II. You have studied painting-related words like palette, brushstrokes, shades, hue, colours, and canvas. Now, read the following paragraph and discuss in pairs what the underlined painting-related words might mean. Discuss this way:
I think _ means _ because the passage talks about __.
Example: I think portrait means a picture of someone’s face because the passage talks about capturing a friend’s features.
In the art studio, young painters eagerly approached their easels, each framing a canvas that they had to work on. The teacher encouraged them to experiment with a diverse tonal range, playing with shades and hues to bring their paintings to life. One student focused on a detailed portrait, capturing his friend’s features, first with careful underpainting and then filling the final colours. Another student worked on a mural, depicting a Spring Day on the right wall of the classroom. The room continued to buzz with artistic energy.
Answer:
- Easels: I think easels means stands for holding a canvas because the painters are working on their paintings.
- Tonal Range: I think tonal range means different shades of colours because the teacher asks the students to use many colours.
- Portrait: I think portrait means a painting of a person because the student is painting his friend’s face.
- Underpainting: I think underpainting means the first layer of paint because the student adds the final colours after it.
- Mural: I think mural means a large painting on a wall because the student is painting on the classroom wall.
Listen and Respond
I. You will listen to a young girl describe her school garden. As you listen identify which of the following 1–3, she does not talk about. (Transcript for teacher on page 264)
Answer: From the transcript, the girl talks about:
- A bench (Picture 1)
- Butterflies (Picture 3)
She does not talk about a water pipe/hose (Picture 2).
II. You will once again listen to the young girl. As you listen, circle the correct answer from the options given below.
| Statements | Options 1 | Options 2 | Options 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| The colour of flowers in the first row | white | red | pink |
| The type of flowers in the second row | marigold | jasmine | rose |
| Position of the type of the useful plants | left corners | right corners | left and right corners |
| The number of potted evergreen plants | 15 | 20 | 25 |
| The paint colour on the bricks bordering the garden | black and white | red and black | white and red |
| Type of tree in the centre of the garden | neem | peepal | banyan |
| Things created with waste material | dustbins | plant name boards | bird houses |
Answer:
| Statements | Answer |
|---|---|
| The colour of flowers in the first row | Pink |
| The type of flowers in the second row | Rose |
| Position of the type of the useful plants | left corners |
| The number of potted evergreen plants | 20 |
| The paint colour on the bricks bordering the garden | White and Red |
| Type of tree in the centre of the garden | Banyan |
| Things created with waste material | Dustbins |
Speaking Activity
I People wish to have a garden at home. Some like a flower garden and some a vegetable garden. Think and note some advantages of both these types, as gardens for homes.
Answer:
Flower Garden
- Makes the home look beautiful.
- Creates a fresh and peaceful environment.
- Gives a pleasant fragrance.
- Attracts butterflies and bees.
Vegetable Garden
- Provides fresh vegetables.
- Encourages healthy eating habits.
- Vegetables are healthy and chemical-free.
- Saves money.
II. Would you like to have a flower garden or a vegetable garden at home? Why?
Take turns with your partner and speak your points aloud, one by one, by using the given sentence prompts to express your preference, with reasons.
- I prefer _ to _ because …
- For me , it is a _ instead of a _ due to …
- If I had a choice I’d rather have a __than a ____ as …
- I would prefer _ rather than _ since …
Answer:
- I prefer a vegetable garden to a flower garden because it gives us fresh and healthy vegetables.
- For me, it is a vegetable garden instead of a flower garden due to the useful vegetables it provides.
- If I had a choice, I’d rather have a vegetable garden than a flower garden as it helps save money and keeps us healthy.
- I would prefer a vegetable garden rather than a flower garden since we can grow and eat our own fresh vegetables.
Writing Task
I. Write a descriptive piece of two to three paragraphs describing the details and colours in the garden you have visited.
- Focus on how different shades of blue, red, and green interact, create contrast, and bring the garden to life.
- Pay attention to details like the texture of petals, the varying greens of leaves, and the way light affects the colours.
Answer:
Last Sunday, I went to my beautiful garden near my home. The garden was full of flowers and green plants. Bright red roses bloomed in one corner, while in another area small blue flowers grew along the pathways. The soft petals of the flowers looked fresh and smooth. The sunlight made the colours brighter and more beautiful.
The garden has many shades; some leaves have a light green, and others have a dark green. The green grass covered it like a soft carpet. The red flower stood out against the green leaves, which create a lovely contrast. The blue flowers give a peaceful touch to the garden.
When the sunlight fell on the flowers and leaves, then the whole garden looked colourful. Butterflies flew from one flower to another, which makes the scene attractive. The garden was a wonderful place filled with beauty, colours and freshness.
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