About the author

Asokamitran (1931), a Tamil writer, recounts his years at Gemini Studios in his book My Years with Boss which talks of the influence of movies on every aspect of life in India. The Gemini Studios, located in Chennai, was set up in 1940. It was one of the most influential filmproducing organisations of India in the early days of Indian film-making. Its founder was S.S. Vasan. The duty of Asokamitran in Gemini Studios was to cut out newspaper clippings on a wide variety of subjects and store them in files. Many of these had to be written out by hand. Although he performed an insignificant function he was the most well-informed of all the members of the Gemini family. Poets and Pancakes is an excerpt from his book My Years with Boss.

Poets and Pancakes

Pancake was the brand name of the make-up material that Gemini Studios bought in truck-loads. Greta Garbo must have used it, Miss Gohar must have used it, Vyjayantimala must also have used it but Rati Agnihotri may not have even heard of it. The make-up department of the Gemini Studios was in the upstairs of a building that was believed to have been Robert Clive’s stables. A dozen other buildings in the city are said to have been his residence. For his brief life and an even briefer stay in Madras, Robert Clive seems to have done a lot of moving, besides fighting some impossible battles in remote corners of India and marrying a maiden in St. Mary’s Church in Fort St. George in Madras. 

Poets and Pancakes (With Difficult Words)

The make-up room had the look of a hair-cutting salon with lights at all angles around half a dozen large mirrors. They were all incandescent lights, so you can imagine the fiery misery of those subjected to make-up. The make-up department was first headed by a Bengali who became too big for a studio and left. He was succeeded by a Maharashtrian who was assisted by a Dharwar Kannadiga, an Andhra, a Madras Indian Christian, an Anglo-Burmese and the usual local Tamils. All this shows that there was a great deal of national integration long before A.I.R. and Doordarshan began broadcasting programmes on national integration. This gang of nationally integrated make-up men could turn any decent-looking person into a hideous crimson hued monster with the help of truck-loads of pancake and a number of other locally made potions and lotions. Those were the days of mainly indoor shooting, and only five per cent of the film was shot outdoors. I suppose the sets and studio lights needed the girls and boys to be made to look ugly in order to look presentable in the movie. A strict hierarchy was maintained in the make-up department. The chief make-up man made the chief actors and actresses ugly, his senior assistant the ‘second’ hero and heroine, the junior assistant the main comedian, and so forth. The players who played the crowd were the responsibility of the office boy. (Even the make-up department of the Gemini Studio had an ‘office boy’!) On the days when there was a crowd shooting, you could see him mixing his paint in a giant vessel and slapping it on the crowd players. The idea was to close every pore on the surface of the face in the process of applying make-up. He wasn’t exactly a ‘boy’; he was in his early forties, having entered the studios years ago in the hope of becoming a star actor or a top screen writer, director or lyrics writer. He was a bit of a poet.

In those days I worked in a cubicle, two whole sides of which were French windows. (I didn’t know at that time they were called French windows.) Seeing me sitting at my desk tearing up newspapers day in and day out, most people thought I was doing next to nothing. It is likely that the Boss thought likewise too. So anyone who felt I should be given some occupation would barge into my cubicle and deliver an extended lecture. The ‘boy’ in the make-up department had decided I should be enlightened on how great literary talent was being allowed to go waste in a department fit only for barbers and perverts. Soon I was praying for crowd-shooting all the time. Nothing short of it could save me from his epics.

In all instances of frustration, you will always find the anger directed towards a single person openly or covertly and this man of the make-up department was convinced that all his woes, ignominy and neglect were due to Kothamangalam Subbu. Subbu was the No. 2 at Gemini Studios. He couldn’t have had a more encouraging opening in films than our grown-up make-up boy had. On the contrary he must have had to face more uncertain and difficult times, for when he began his career, there were no firmly established film producing companies or studios. Even in the matter of education, specially formal education, Subbu couldn’t have had an appreciable lead over our boy. But by virtue of being born a Brahmin — a virtue, indeed! — he must have had exposure to more affluent situations and people. He had the ability to look cheerful at all times even after having had a hand in a flop film. He always had work for somebody — he could never do things on his own — but his sense of loyalty made him identify himself with his principal completely and turn his entire creativity to his principal’s advantage. He was tailor-made for films. Here was a man who could be inspired when commanded. “The rat fights the tigress underwater and kills her but takes pity on the cubs and tends them lovingly — I don’t know how to do the scene,” the producer would say and Subbu would come out with four ways of the rat pouring affection on its victim’s offspring. “Good, but I am not sure it is effective enough,” the producer would say and in a minute Subbu would come out with fourteen more alternatives. Film-making must have been and was so easy with a man like Subbu around and if ever there was a man who gave direction and definition to Gemini Studios during its golden years, it was Subbu. Subbu had a separate identity as a poet and though he was certainly capable of more complex and higher forms, he deliberately chose to address his poetry to the masses. His success in films overshadowed and dwarfed his literary achievements — or so his critics felt. He composed several truly original ‘story poems’ in folk refrain and diction and also wrote a sprawling novel Thillana Mohanambal with dozens of very deftly etched characters. He quite successfully recreated the mood and manner of the Devadasis of the early 20th century. He was an amazing actor — he never aspired to the lead roles — but whatever subsidiary role he played in any of the films, he performed better than the supposed main players. He had a genuine love for anyone he came across and his house was a permanent residence for dozens of near and far relations and acquaintances. It seemed against Subbu’s nature to be even conscious that he was feeding and supporting so many of them. Such a charitable and improvident man, and yet he had enemies! Was it because he seemed so close and intimate with The Boss? Or was it his general demeanour that resembled a sycophant’s? Or his readiness to say nice things about everything? In anycase, there was this man in the make-up department who would wish the direst things for Subbu.

You saw Subbu always with The Boss but in the attendance rolls, he was grouped under a department called the Story Department comprising a lawyer and an assembly of writers and poets. The lawyer was also officially known as the legal adviser, but everybody referred to him as the opposite. An extremely talented actress, who was also extremely temperamental, once blew over on the sets. While everyone stood stunned, the lawyer quietly switched on the recording equipment. When the actress paused for breath, the lawyer said to her, “One minute, please,” and played back the recording. There was nothing incriminating or unmentionably foul about the actress’s tirade against the producer. But when she heard her voice again through the sound equipment, she was struck dumb. A girl from the countryside, she hadn’t gone through all the stages of worldly experience that generally precede a position of importance and sophistication that she had found herself catapulted into. She never quite recovered from the terror she felt that day. That was the end of a brief and brilliant acting career — the legal adviser, who was also a member of the Story Department, had unwittingly brought about that sad end. While every other member of the Department wore a kind of uniform — khadi dhoti
with a slightly oversized and clumsily tailored white khadi shirt — the legal adviser wore pants and a tie and sometimes a coat that looked like a coat of mail. Often he looked alone and helpless — a man of cold logic in a crowd of dreamers — a neutral man in an assembly of Gandhiites and khadiites. Like so many of those who were close to The Boss, he was allowed to produce a film and though alot of raw stock and pancake were used on it, not much came of the film. Then one day The Boss closed down the Story Department and this was perhaps the only instance in all human history where a lawyer lost his job because the poets were asked to go home. 

Poets and Pancakes Solution

Gemini Studios was the favourite haunt of poets like S.D.S. Yogiar, Sangu Subramanyam, Krishna Sastry and Harindranath Chattopadhyaya4. It had an excellent mess which supplied good coffee at all times of the day and for most part of the night. Those were the days when Congress rule meant Prohibition and meeting over a cup of coffee was rather satisfying entertainment. Barring the office boys and a couple of clerks, everybody else at the Studios radiated leisure, a pre-requisite for poetry. Most of them wore khadi and worshipped Gandhiji but beyond that they had not the faintest appreciation for political thought of any kind. Naturally, they were all averse to the term ‘Communism’. A Communist was a godless man — he had no filial or conjugal love; he had no compunction about killing his own parents or his children; he was always out to cause and spread unrest and violence among innocent and ignorant people. Such notions which prevailed everywhere else in South India at that time also, naturally, floated about vaguely among the khadi-clad poets of Gemini Studios. Evidence of it was soon forthcoming.

When Frank Buchman’s Moral Re-Armament army, some two hundred strong, visited Madras sometime in 1952, they could not have found a warmer host in India than the Gemini Studios. Someone called the group an international circus. They weren’t very good on the trapeze and their acquaintance with animals was only at the dinner table, but they presented two plays in a most professional manner. Their ‘Jotham Valley’ and ‘The Forgotten Factor’ ran several shows in Madras and along with the other citizens of the city, the Gemini family of six hundred saw the plays over and over again. The message of the plays were usually plain and simple homilies, but the sets and costumes were first-rate. Madras and the Tamil drama community were terribly impressed and for some years almost all Tamil plays had a scene of sunrise and sunset in the manner of ‘Jotham Valley’ with a bare stage, a white background curtain and a tune played on the flute. It was some years later that I learnt that the MRA was a kind of counter movement to international Communism and the big bosses of Madras like Mr. Vasan simply played into their hands. I am not sure however, that this was indeed the case, for the unchangeable aspects of these big bosses and their enterprises remained the same, MRA or no MRA, international Communism or no international Communism. The staff of Gemini Studios had a nice time hosting two hundred people of all hues and sizes of at least twenty nationalities. It was such a change from the usual collection of crowd players waiting to be slapped with thick layers of make-up by the office-boy in the make-up department.

A few months later, the telephone lines of the big bosses of Madras buzzed and once again we at Gemini Studios cleared a whole shooting stage to welcome another visitor. All they said was that he was a poet from England. The only poets from England the simple Gemini staff knew or heard of were Wordsworth and Tennyson; the more literate ones knew of Keats, Shelley and Byron; and one or two might have faintly come to know of someone by the name Eliot. Who was the poet visiting the Gemini Studios now?

“He is not a poet. He is an editor. That’s why The Boss is giving him a big reception.” Vasan was also the editor of the popular Tamil weekly Ananda Vikatan.

He wasn’t the editor of any of the known names of British publications in Madras, that is, those known at the Gemini Studios. Since the top men of The Hindu were taking the initiative, the surmise was that the poet was the editor of a daily — but not from The Manchester Guardian or the London Times. That was all that even the most well informed among us knew.

At last, around four in the afternoon, the poet (or the editor) arrived. He was a tall man, very English, very serious and of course very unknown to all of us. Battling with half a dozen pedestal fans on the shooting stage, The Boss readout a long speech. It was obvious that he too knew precious little about the poet (or the editor). The speech was all in the most general terms but here and there it was peppered with words like ‘freedom’ and ‘democracy’. Then the poet spoke. He couldn’t have addressed a more dazed and silent audience — no one knew what he was talking about and his accent defeated any attempt to understand what he was saying. The whole thing lasted about an hour; then the poet left and we all dispersed in utter bafflement — what are we doing? What is an English poet doing in a film studio which makes Tamil films for the simplest sort of people? People whose lives least afforded them the possibility of cultivating a taste for English poetry? The poet looked pretty baffled too, for he too must have felt the sheer incongruity of his talk about the thrills and travails of an English poet. His visit remained an unexplained mystery.

The great prose-writers of the world may not admit it, but my conviction grows stronger day after day that prose writing is not and cannot be the true pursuit of a genius. It is for the patient, persistent, persevering drudge with a heart so shrunken that nothing can break it; rejection slips don’t mean a thing to him; he at once sets about making a fresh copy of the long prose piece and sends it on to another editor enclosing postage for the return of the manuscript. It was for such people that The Hindu had published a tiny announcement in an insignificant corner of an unimportant page — a short story contest organised by a British periodical by the name The Encounter. Of course, The Encounter wasn’t a known commodity among the Gemini literati. I wanted to get an idea of the periodical before I spent a considerable sum in postage sending a manuscriptto England. In those days, the British Council Library had an entrance with no long winded signboards and notices to make you feel you were sneaking into a forbidden area. And there were copies of The Encounter lying about in various degrees of freshness, almost untouched by readers. When I read the editor’s name, I heard a bell ringing in my shrunken heart. It was the poet who had visited the Gemini Studios — I felt like I had found a long lost brother and I sang as I sealed the envelope and wrote out his address. I felt that he too would be singing the same song at the same time — long lost brothers of Indian films discover each other by singing the same song in the first reel and in the final reel of the film. Stephen Spender5. Stephen — that was his name.

And years later, when I was out of Gemini Studios and I had much time but not much money, anything at a reduced price attracted my attention. On the footpath in front of the Madras Mount Road Post Office, there was a pile of brand new books for fifty paise each. Actually they were copies of the same book, an elegant paperback of American origin. ‘Special low-priced student edition, in connection with the 50th Anniversary of the Russian Revolution’, I paid fifty paise and picked up a copy of the book, The God That Failed. Six eminent men of letters in six separate essays described ‘their journeys into Communism and their disillusioned return’; Andre Gide6, Richard Wright7, Ignazio Silone8, Arthur Koestler9, Louis Fischer10 and Stephen Spender. Stephen Spender! Suddenly the book assumed tremendous significance. Stephen Spender, the poet who had visited Gemini Studios! In a moment I felt a dark chamber of my mind lit up by a hazy illumination. The reaction to Stephen Spender at Gemini Studios was no longer a mystery. The Boss of the Gemini Studios may not have much to do with Spender’s poetry. But not with his god that failed. 

Poets and Pancakes Solution

Difficult Words Poets and Pancakes

ability (अबिलिटि) = skill, क्षमता

accent (एक्सन्ट) = way of speaking, लहजा

achievement (अचीवमन्ट) = works, उपलब्धियाँ

acquaintance (एक्वन्टन्स)= familiarity, परिचय

acquaintances (अक्वेन्टन्सिज्) = known persons, परिचित लोग

address (अड्रेस)= to say something directly to somebody, सुनाना

admit (अड्मिट) = accept, स्वीकार करना

advantage (अड्वान्टिज) = benefit, फायदा, लाभ

adviser (अडवाइज़र) = सलाहकार

affection (अफेक्श न) = love, प्यार

affluent (एफ्लुअन्ट)= rich, समृद्ध

afforded (अफा:डिड) = gave, देता था

alternatives (आलट नेटिव्ज़) = options, विकल्प

amazing (अमेज़िंग)= surprising, आश्चर्यजनक

angle (एंगल) = direction, कोण, दिशा

appreciable (अप्रीशिअब्ल) = significant, महत्त्वपूर्ण

appreciation (एप्रीसिएशन) = understanding, समझ

aspect (एस्पेक्ट)= पक्ष

aspire (अस्पाइों) = hope, आशा करना

assembly (असेम्ब्लि ) = group, समूह

assisted (असिस्टिड) = helped, सहयोग किया

assumed (अज़्यूमड्) = took, ले लिया

attempt (अटेम्ट) = प्रयास

attendance rolls (अटेन्डन्स रॉल्ज़) = sheets on which presence is marked, उपस्थिति पत्रक

attention (अटेन्शन) = mind, ध्यान

attracted (अट्रैक्टिड) = pulled, आकर्षित किया

audience (आ:डयन्स) = श्रोता

averse (एवर्स)= opposite, प्रतिकूल, विरोधी

background (बैक्ग्राउण्ड) = backside of the stage, स्टेज का पीछे का भाग

bafflement (बफलमन्ट) = confusion, किंकर्तव्यविमूढ़ता

barber (बॉबः) = one who cuts hair, नाई

bare (बेअर) = empty, खाली

barge (बा:ज) = enter, प्रवेश करना

barring (बारिंग) = leaving, छोड़कर, सिवाय

battle (बैट्ल)= war, युद्ध, लड़ाई

battling (बैटलिंग) = fighting, लड़ते हुए (यहाँ) पर अनेक पंखों की तेज हवा को झेलते हुए

believed (बिलीव्ड)= had faith in, विश्वास करते थे

besides (बिसाइड्ज़) = apart from, के अलावा

bit (बिट) = a very small part, थोड़ा, टुकड़ा

blew over (ब्ल्यु ओवर) = भड़क उठी

bought (बॉट) = purchased, खरीदा

brand (बैंड) = a particular type of something, विशिष्ट

breath (ब्रेथ) = air taken in, साँस

brief (ब्रीफ) = small, संक्षिप्त

brought about (ब्रॉट अबाउट) = made something happen, (घटित) किया

buzz (बज़) = make sound, बजना

by virtue of = because of, कारण से

came across =  संयोग से उससे मिलते थे

capable (केपेब्ल) = able, समर्थ

catapulted into (कैटपुल्टिड इन्टु) = thrown into, फेंकी गई

cause (कॉज़) = create, पैदा करना

certainly (स:टन्लि) = surely, निश्चय ही

character (कैरक्टें) = persons described in a story, पात्र

circus (स:कस)= सर्कस

clumsily tailored (क्लाम्जिलि टेलर्ड) = बेढंगे तरीके से सिला हुआ

coat of mail (कोट ऑव् मेल) = कवच

cold logic (कोल्ड लॉजिक) = uninteresting reasoning, उबाऊ तर्क

comedian (कमेडियन) = jester, जोकर

commanded (कमान्डिड) = आदेश दिया जाना

commodity (कमॉडिटि) = material, वस्तु, माल

communism (कॉम्युनिज्म) = a political movement, साम्यवाद

complex (कॉम्प्लेक्स) = complicated, जटिल

composed (कम्पोज्ड) = wrote, लिखा

comprising (कम्प्राइजिंग) = consisting of, से बना होना, शामिल होना

compunction (कम्पंक्शन) = a guilty feeling about doing something, ग्लानि

conjugal (कॉन्जगल) = related to marriage, वैवाहिक

connection (कनेक्शन) = relation, सम्बन्ध

conscious (कॉन्शस) = aware, जांगरूक

considerable (कॅन्सिडरब्ल) = enough, पर्याप्त

contest (कॉन्टेस्ट) = competition, स्पर्धा

contrary (कन्ट्ररि) = opposite, विपरीत

conviction (कन्विक्शन) = idea, विचार

convinced (कन्विंस्ड) = agreed, आश्वस्त

corner (कॉन) = कोना

costume (कॉस्ट्यू म) = dress, वस्त्र-सज्जा

counter-movement (काउन्टॅ-मूवमन्ट) = विरोधी-आन्दोलन

countryside (कन्ट्रीसाइड) = village, देहात

covertly (कवट्लि) = hidden, गुप्तरूप से

creativity (क्रिएटिविटी) = skill, रचनाशीलता

crimson (क्रिमज़न) = deep red, गहरा लाल

critics (क्रिटिक्स) = analysers, समालोचक

cub (कब) = baby tiger, चीते का बच्चा

cubicle (Pract) = a small room that is made by separating off part of a larger room, बड़े कमरे में विभाजन कर बनाया छोटा कमरा, कोठरी

cultivating (कॅल्टिवेटिंग) = developing, विकसित करना

curtain (क:टन) = पर्दा 

day in and day out(Idiom)=every day for a long period of timeबहुत देर तक प्रत्येक दिन,दिनभर

dazed (डेज्ड) = surprised, चकित, स्तब्ध

decent (डीसेन्ट) = nice, उत्तम, बढ़िया

defeated (डिफीटिड)= पराजित किया

definition (डेफिनिशन) = explanation, परिभाषा

deftly (डेट्ल ) = skilfully, चतुराई के साथ

degrees (डिग्रीज़) = levels, स्तर

deliberately(डिलिबरेट्लि)=knowingly,जानबूझकर

deliver (डिलीवर) = make, देना

demeanour (डिमीन्ों) = the way that somebody looks or behaves, रूप और आचरण

democracy (डेमोक्रसि) = people’s rule, प्रजातन्त्र

diction (डिक्शन) = the choice and use of words in literature, शब्द चयन

directed (डाइरेक्टिड) = aimed at, निशाने पर, की तरफ

direst(डाइरिस्ट)=most horrible,सर्वाधिक भयानक

discover (डिस्कवर) = find out, ढूँढना

disillusioned (डिसलूश्जन्ड) = निराशाग्रस्त

dispersed (डिस्प:सड्) = scattered, तितर-बितर हो गए

dozen (डॅज़न) = twelve in number, दर्जन

dreamer (ड्रीमॅ) = visionary, स्वप्नद्रष्टा

dwarfed (ड्वॉ:फूट) = belittled, कम कर दिया

editor (एडिटॅ) = one who edits, सम्पादक

effective (इफेक्टिव) = impressive, प्रभावशाली

elegant (एलिगन्ट) = very nice, शानदार

eminent (ऍमिनेन्ट) = chief, प्रमुख, प्रसिद्ध

enclosing (इन्क्लोजिंग्) = attaching, साथ जोड़ना

encouraging (एन्कॅरिजिंग)= giving courage, उत्साहवर्धक

enemies (एनमीज़) = foes, दुश्मन, विरोधी

enlighten (इन्लाइटन) = give knowledge, ज्ञान प्रदान करना

enough (इनॅफ)= sufficient, पर्याप्त

enterprise (इन्ट:प्राइज़) = organisation, संगठन

entrance (इन्ट्रन्स) = a test, परीक्षा

envelope (एन्वलप) = लिफाफा

epics (एपिक्स) = great books, महाकाव्य, यहाँ पर लड़के द्वारा कहा गया काव्य या कविता

equipment (इक्विप्मन्ट) = device, यन्त्र

etched (एच्ट) = उकेरा गया

evidence (इविडन्स) = proof, प्रमाण, साक्ष्य

exactly (इग्ज़ै ट्ल ) = fully, पूरी तरह

excellent (एक्सीलन्ट)= very nice, बहुत अच्छा

exposure (इक्स्पोजें) = state of being open to something, सामने होना

extended (एक्स्टे न्डिड) = lengthy, लम्बा

failed(फ़ेल्ड) = did not succeed, असफल हो गया

faintest (फ़ेन्टस्ट) = remotest, थोड़ा-सा भी

feed (फीड) = give food, भोजन कराना

felt (फेल्ट) = realised, महसूस किया

fiery (फाइअरि) = looking like fire, आग जैसी

filial (फ़िलिअल) = connected with the way children behave towards their parents, बच्चों सम्बन्धी

first-rate (फस्ट-रेट) = first class, अति उत्तम

float about (फ्लोट अबाउट) = be talked about, चर्चा में होना

flop (फ़्लॉप) = unsuccessful, असफल

flute (फ़्ल्यू ट) = a musical instrument, बाँसुरी

folk (फ़ोक) = belonging to common people, लोक

forbidden (फॅबिडिन) = prohibited, मना किया हुआ, निषिद्ध

formal (फ़ॉ:मल) = as per rule, औपचारिक

forthcoming (फोथ्कमिंग) = available, उपलब्ध

foul (फाउल) = wrong, गलत

front (फ्रन्ट) = सामने

frustration (फ्रस्ट्रेशन) = disappointment, निराशा, कुण्ठा, चिड़चिड़ाहट

gang (गैन्ग) = दल

genius(जीनिअस)=highly intelligent, प्रतिभावान

genuine (जेन्यूइन) = true, वास्तविक, सच्चा

giant (जाइन्ट) = huge, विशाल

godless (गॉड्लस) = without god, ईश्वरविहीन

group (ग्रुप) = to place in a group, समूह में शामिल करना

grow (ग्रा) = increase, बढ़ना

grown up (ग्रोन अप) = aged, बड़ा

haunt (हॉन्ट) = often visited place, अक्सर भ्रमण का स्थान, अड्डा

have a hand = being involved, भाग लेना

hazy (हेज़ि) = not clear, अस्पष्ट, धुंधला

headed (हेडिड) = presided, ‘मुखिया थे

hideous (हिडिअस) = ugly, unpleasant, भद्दा

hierarchy (हाइअराकि) = order, पदानुक्रम

homilies (होमिलीज़) = moralizing discourse, नैतिक शिक्षा

hope (होप) = आशा

host (होस्ट) = receiver, मेहमाननवाज मेज़बान

hued (ह्यूड) = coloured, रंग लिये हुए

ignominy (इग्नमिनि) = disgrace, अपयश

ignorant(इग्नरन्ट)=without knowledge, अज्ञानी

illumination (इल्यूमिनेशन) = light, प्रकाश

impressed (इम्प्रेस्ट) = influenced, प्रभावित

improvident (इम्प्रॉविडन्ट) = फिजूलखर्ची

incandescent light (इन्केन्डसन्ट लाइट) = very bright light, बहुत तेज प्रकाश, तापदीप्त प्रकाश

incongruity (इनकॉन्ग्रूइटि) = irrelevance, असंगति, बेतुकापन

incriminating (इन्क्रिमिनेटिंग) = making someone seem guilty, दोष दिखाने वाला

indoor (इन्डोर) = inside, भीतर

initiative (इनिशटिव) = starting something, पहल

innocent (इनसन्ट) = not guilty, निरपराध

insignificant (इन्सिग्निफ़कन्ट) = unimportant, महत्त्वहीन

inspired (इन्स्पायर्ड) = encouraged, प्रेरित किया

instance (इन्स्टन्स) = example, उदाहरण

integration (इन्टिग्रेशन) = union, एकता

intimate (इन्टिमेट) = close, घनिष्ठ

khadi-clad (खादी-क्लेड) = wearing khadi, खादी पहने हुए

lead (लीड) = main, प्रमुख

least (लीस्ट), कम से कम

legal (लीगल)= related to law, वैधानिक

leisure (लेश्ज़र) = free time, खाली समय

likewise(लाइक्वाइज़) = the same way, इसी तरह

lit (लिट) = lighted, जलाया

literary (लिटररि) = related to literature, साहित्यिक

literati (लिटराटि) = people who enjoy literature, साहित्य प्रेमी

lotions (लोशन्ज़) = liquids used for skin, hair etc, लोशन

lovingly(लविन्गग्लि)=affectionately,प्यार के साथ

loyalty (लॉयलटि) = faith, वफादारी

lyrics (लिरिक्स) = songs, गीत

maiden (मेडन) = girl, लड़की

maintained (मेन्टइन्ड) = kept, पालन किया जाता था, बनाये रखी जाती थी

make-up (मेक-अप) = cosmetics, अंगराग

manner (मैनॅ) = the manners, हाव-भाव

manuscript (मन्यूस्क्रिप्ट) = a handwritten copy, पाण्डुलिपि

masses(मैसिज़) = common people, आम आदमी

material (मटिरियल)= substance, पदार्थ, सामान

meant (मेन्ट) = had something as purpose, के लिए था, मतलब था

men of letters (मेन ऑव लैट:ज) = scholars, विद्वान

mess (मेस) = a place where meals are served, भोजनालय

misery (मिज़रि) = difficulty, कठिनाई, परेशानी

monster (मॉन्स्टॅ) = ghost, demon, प्रेत, दैत्य

mood (मूड) = state of mind, मन:स्थिति

mystery (मिस्ट्रि) = secret, रहस्य

nationally integrated make-up men = राष्ट्रीय एकता में बंधे मेकअप करने वाले लोग

neglect (निग्लेक्ट) = the fact of not giving enough attention, उपेक्षा

neutral (न्यूट्रल) = impartial, तटस्थ 

next to nothing (Idiom) = लगभग शून्य, कुछ भी नहीं

notion (नोशन) = idea, विचार

novel (नॉवेल) = a long story, उपन्यास

obvious (ऑब्विअस) = clear, स्पष्ट

occupation (ऑक्यपेशन) = trade, व्यवसाय, काम

officially (ऑफ़िशलि) = in an authorised way, आधिकारिक तौर पर

offspring (ऑस्प्रिन्ग) = children, बच्चे

origin(ओरिजिन)= the starting point, मूल बिन्दु

original (अरिजनल) = written by the artist, मौलिक

outdoor (आउटडोर)= outside, बाहर

over and over again = बार-बार, अनेक बार

overshadowed (ओवॅशैडोड) = outdid, दबा दिया

oversized (ओक्साइज्ड) = big, बड़ा, ढीला

pancake (पैन्केक) = make-up for face, चेहरे का सौन्दर्य प्रसाधन

paper back (पेपर बैक्)= a book with thick paper cover, जिल्दयुक्त पुस्तक

patient (पेशन्ट) = having endurance, धैर्यवान

pause (पॉज़) = to stop, ठहरना

peppered (पेपअड) = sprinkled with pepper, मिर्च मसाले लगे हुए

performed (पफॉ:म्ड)= did, किया

periodical (पिरिऑडिकल) = magazine, पत्रिका

persevering drudge (पॅसिविअरिंग ड्रज) = a person persisting in any purpose, उबाऊ काम करने वाला व्यक्ति

persistent (पसिस्टन्ट) = firm, दृढ़

pervert (पव:ट) = wicked person, कुमार्गी, धूर्त

picked (पिक्ट) = took, लिया

pile (पाइल) = stack, ढेर

plain (प्लेन) = honest and direct, सीधा

played back the recording = रिकॉर्ड को पुनः चालू कर दिया या बजा दिया

played into their hands = उनके हाथों में खेल गए थे अर्थात् उनके प्रभाव में आ गए थे

poetry (पोइट्री) = a collection of poems, काव्य

pore (पोर) = small holes in the skin, रोमछिद्र

possibility (पॉसिबिलिटि) = likelihood, सम्भावना

postage (पोस्टेज) = tickets etc. टिकट इत्यादि

potions (पोशन्ज़) = क्रीम, जादू से भरा तरल पदार्थ

pouring (पॉ:रिंग) = over spilling, उड़ेलते हुए

precede (प्रिसीड) = to be before something, पूर्व में होना

precious (प्रेशस) = (किसी विचार पर जोर देने के लिए इस शब्द का प्रयोग होता है) यहाँ इसका अर्थ है- पूर्णरूपेण

pre-requisite (प्रि-रिक्विज़िट) = pre-condition, शर्त, पहली जरूरत

presentable (प्रजेन्टेबल) = looking clean and attractive and suitable to be seen in public, दर्शनीय

pretty (प्रिटि) = much, काफी

prevail (प्रिवेल) = exist, होना

professional (प्रफेशनल) = trained, प्रशिक्षित

prohibition (प्रॉहिबिशन) = ban, पाबन्दी

prose writer (प्रोज़ राइटर) = गद्य लेखक

publication (पब्लिकेशन) = the act of printing, प्रकाशन

published (पब्लिश्ट) = प्रकाशित किया

pursuit (पस्यूट) = job, काम-धंधा

quietly (क्वाइट्लि) = calmly, चुपचाप, शान्तिपूर्वक

quite (क्वाइट) = बिल्कुल

radiate (रेडिएट) = reflect, प्रदर्शित करना

raw (रॉ) = unripe, कच्चा

readiness (रेडिनिस) = a willingness, तत्परता

reception (रिसेप्शन) = welcome, स्वागत

recover (रिकवर) = heal, उबरना

recreate (रिक्रिएट) = to remake, पुनः रचना करना

reduced (रिड्यूस्ट) = decreased, कम किया

reel (रील) = film, फिल्म की रील

referred to (रेफ़र्ड टु) = gave reference, संदर्भित किया, के बारे में बताता

refrain (रिफ्रेन) = the part of a song that is repeated after each verse, गीत में टेक जो प्रायः प्रत्येक छंद के अंत में दोहराई जाती है

rejection (रिजेक्शन)=not being accepted, मंजूर न होना

remained (रिमेन्ड) = kept, रही

remote (रिमोट) = far away, सुदूर, दूरवर्ती

resemble (रिज़ेम्ब्ल ) = to look like someone or something, सदृश होना

revolution (रेवलूशन) = upheaval, क्रान्ति

salon (सलॉन) = a hair dressing shop, बाल काटने की दुकान

satisfying (सेटिस्फाइंग) = giving pleasure, आनन्ददायक, सन्तोषजनक

screen (स्क्रीन) = पर्दा

screen writer = पटकथा लेखक

sealed (सील्ड) = closed, बन्द किया

seemed (सीम्ड) = appeared, दिखाई दिया

sense (सेन्स) = understanding, समझ

separate (सेपरेट) = different, अलग

several (सेवरल) = a number of, कई

sheer (शीअर ) = utter, पूर्ण

shrunken(श्रन्कन)=reduced in size, सिकुड़ा हुआ

signboards (साइन्बॉ:ड्ज़) = boards to inform people, साइनबोर्ड

significance (सिग्निफ़िकन्स) = importance, महत्त्व

simplest (सिम्प्ले स्ट) = सर्वाधिक सरल

slap (स्लैप) = to spread something on a surface in a quick, careless way, पातना पर, थपथपाना

slightly (स्लाइट्लि) = a little, जरा-सा

slips (स्लिप्स्) = chits of paper, पर्चियाँ

sneaking (स्नीकिंग) = to slip, खिसकना

sophistication (सोफ़िस्टिकेशन) = fine behaviour, नजाकत, परिष्कृत व्यवहार

spoke (स्पोक) = said, बोला

sprawling (स्पॉ:लिंग) = spread in an untidy way, अव्यवस्थित

spread (स्प्रेड) = to cover a large area, फैलाना

stable (स्टेबल) = a place where horses are kept, अस्तबल

star actor = उत्कृष्ट अभिनेता

stock (स्टॉक) = material, माल

strict (स्ट्रिक्ट) = tough, कठोर

stronger (स्ट्रॉन्गर) = more powerful, अपेक्षाकृत ताकतवर

struck dumb (स्ट्रक डम) = unable to speak, अवाक

stunned (स्टन्ड) = in awe, सन्न

subjected (सब्जेक्टिड) = exposed to, affected by, प्रभावित

subsidiary (सब्सिड्यरि) = assisting, सहायक

succeeded (सक्सीडिड) = followed (by), उत्तराधिकार प्राप्त किया

supply (सप्लाई) = give, देना , उपलब्ध होना

support (सपॉ:ट) = help, समर्थन करना

surmise (स:माइज़) = guess, अन्दाजा

sycophant (सिकफन्ट) = a person who falsely praises someone, चापलूस

tailor-made (टेलों मेड) = extremely fit, पूरी तरह उपयुक्त

talent (टेलन्ट) = skill, प्रतिभा

tear (टेअर) = फाड़ना

temperamental (टेम्परमेन्टल) = whimsical, तुनकमिजाज

tend (टेन्ड) = to take care of, देखभाल करना

term (ट:म) = word, शब्द

terribly (टेरब्लि) = extremely, बहुत अधिक

terror (टेरर) = fear, भय, डर

thrill (थ्रिल) = excitement, उत्तेजना

tiny (टाइनि) = small, छोटा

tirade (टाइरेड) = long angry speech, क्रोधपूर्ण भाषण

trapeze (ट्रपीज) = a wooden or metal bar hanging above, झूला (सर्कस में)

travails (ट्रेवेल्स) = pains, कष्ट

tremendous (ट्रिमेन्डस) = great, जबर्दस्त

truck loads (ट्रक लोड्ज़) = large quantity, भारी मात्रा

truly (ट्रलि) = सचमुच

tune (ट्यून) = लय

uncertain (अन्स:टन) = not certain, अनिश्चित

unexplained (अॅनिक्स्प्ले न्ड) = that which is not explained, अबूझ, अवर्णनीय

unmentionably (अनमेंशनब्लि) = unworthy of mentioning, अकथनीय रूप से

unrest (अनेस्ट) = dissatisfaction, असन्तोष, अशान्ति

untouched (अन्टॅच्ट) = that have not been touched, अनछुए

unwittingly (अन्विटिंग्लि ) = foolishly, मूर्खतापूर्ण तरीके से

upstairs (अप्स्टे अज़) = on the upper floor, ऊपर की मंजिल

usual (यूशुअल) = general, सामान्य, आम

utter (अटॅ) = complete, पूरा

vaguely (वेग्लि) = dimly, अस्पष्ट रूप से

very English = सच्चा अंग्रेज कवि

vessel (वेसल) = pot, बर्तन

victim (विक्टिम) = prey, शिकार

violence (वाइलन्स) = hurting someone, हिंसा

virtue (वचू)= trait, गुण

warmer (वा:मर) = more caring, बेहतर गर्मजोशी वाला

well-informed (वेल इन्फॉम्ड) = knowledgeable, पढ़ा-लिखा

woe (वो) = sorrow, दु:ख