📚 RBSE Class 12 English - Flamingo Prose Series

Part 1 (Ch 1-4) | Part 2 (Ch 5-8) - This Article

📊 Flamingo Prose - Exam Pattern (13 Marks)

📑 Table of Contents - Part 2

1. Chapter 5: Indigo
2. Chapter 6: Poets and Pancakes
3. Chapter 7: The Interview
4. Chapter 8: Going Places
5. Master Revision Table
6. PDF Download

✍️ About the Author

Louis Fischer (1896-1970) was an American journalist. This chapter is from his book "The Life of Mahatma Gandhi" (1950). It describes Gandhi's first civil disobedience movement in India.

📖 Summary

The chapter describes the Champaran Movement (1917) - India's first civil disobedience. Rajkumar Shukla, a poor sharecropper, convinced Gandhi to visit Champaran where British landlords forced peasants to grow indigo on 15% of their land (tinkathia system). When ordered to leave, Gandhi refused and was summoned to court. Thousands of peasants gathered in support, and the British were forced to negotiate. An inquiry commission was set up, and landlords agreed to refund 25% of the money. Gandhi also worked on education, health, and sanitation in the villages.

🎯 Key Points

• Year: 1917 | Place: Champaran, Bihar
• Issue: Exploitation of indigo sharecroppers
• Catalyst: Rajkumar Shukla's persistence
• Outcome: First successful civil disobedience in modern India

💎 Key Quote

"Civil disobedience had triumphed, the first time in modern India."

✍️ About the Author

Asokamitran (1931-2017) was a renowned Tamil writer who worked at Gemini Studios, Chennai, from 1952-1966. This autobiographical piece humorously describes life in the film studio.

📖 Summary

The chapter provides a humorous account of Gemini Studios (owned by S.S. Vasan). "Pancake" was a make-up brand from Max Factor. Subbu was the Boss's right-hand man - a "many-sided genius" who was a poet, actor, and problem-solver. The "office boy" was frustrated with his job and blamed Subbu for his troubles. The poet Stephen Spender visited the studio, but nobody knew who he was.

🎯 Key Points

• Setting: Gemini Studios, Madras (1940s-50s)
• Owner: S.S. Vasan
• Pancake: Make-up brand from Max Factor
• Key Character: Subbu - "many-sided genius"
• Theme: Glamour vs. reality of film industry

✍️ About the Author

Christopher Silvester is a British journalist who edited "The Penguin Book of Interviews." Part 2 features an interview with Umberto Eco, the famous Italian author of "The Name of the Rose."

📖 Summary

Part 1 discusses contrasting views on interviews - some see them as invasive (V.S. Naipaul called them "a terrible culture"), others as valuable. Part 2 is an interview with Umberto Eco, who explains his prolific output by saying he uses "interstices" - the empty moments in time (waiting for elevator, between appointments). He sees himself as "a professor who writes novels on Sundays."

💎 Key Quote

"I use the interstices." - Umberto Eco (on how he writes so much)

✍️ About the Author

A.R. Barton is a British author. The story explores adolescent fantasies and the gap between dreams and reality.

📖 Summary

Sophie is a teenage dreamer from a working-class family. She fantasizes about owning a boutique, becoming an actress, and meeting the football star Danny Casey. Her practical friend Jansie knows they're destined for the biscuit factory. Sophie claims she met Danny Casey and goes to wait for him by the canal - but he never comes, because the meeting probably never happened. Her brother Geoff is quiet and reserved. The story captures the pain of adolescent escapism.

🎯 Key Points

• Protagonist: Sophie (teenage dreamer)
• Her Dreams: Boutique, actress, meeting Danny Casey
• Reality: Destined for biscuit factory
• Practical Friend: Jansie
• Theme: Fantasy vs. reality; adolescent dreams

1. In which year did Gandhi go to Champaran?

(A) 1915   (B) 1916   (C) 1917   (D) 1918

✓ Answer: (C) 1917

2. Who was described as a 'many-sided genius'?

(A) The office boy   (B) S.S. Vasan   (C) Subbu   (D) Stephen Spender

✓ Answer: (C) Subbu (Kothamangalam Subbu)

3. Who wrote "The Name of the Rose"?

(A) V.S. Naipaul   (B) Christopher Silvester   (C) Umberto Eco   (D) Lewis Carroll

✓ Answer: (C) Umberto Eco

4. What does Sophie want to do after leaving school?

(A) Become a teacher   (B) Open a boutique   (C) Join a factory   (D) Become a doctor

✓ Answer: (B) Open a boutique

5. What percentage of refund did landlords agree to give in Champaran?

(A) 15%   (B) 20%   (C) 25%   (D) 50%

✓ Answer: (C) 25%

🎯 Exam Tips

1. Memorize Authors: Fischer (American), Asokamitran (Indian), Silvester (British), Barton (British)
2. Key Concepts: Interstices (Eco), Tinkathia (Indigo), Pancake (makeup brand)
3. Short Answers: Stick to 20-30 words, be direct
4. Long Answers: About 60 words, include examples

📚 RBSE Class 12 English

Flamingo Prose - Part 2

Chapters 5-8 | Indigo, Poets & Pancakes, The Interview, Going Places

✅ Summaries ✅ Character Analysis ✅ Themes ✅ Important Quotes
✅ Vocabulary ✅ MCQs ✅ Short & Long Answers

Format: PDF | Size: ~557 KB | Pages: 32

📚 Flamingo Prose Complete Series

🚀 Coming Soon

📝 Flamingo Poetry (6 Poems) | 📚 Vistas (8 Chapters) | ✍️ Grammar | 📄 Writing Skills

MARWARI MISSION 100

www.ncertclasses.com

© 2025-26 All Rights Reserved | For Educational Use Only