Read the poem and answer the questions given below it.
The Banyan at the Bus Stand
Where our village road ends at the bus stand,
the old banyan lets its grey roots fall.
I sit on the cement ring round its trunk
with a tin of laddoos and my woollen shawl.
The air smells of diesel and roasted gram,
of jasmine strings on a flower-seller’s tray,
of figs gone ripe and sweet among the roots,
of the wet road, sprinkled at the close of day.
Brides have climbed on buses here and cried,
boys with tin trunks have left for the town,
and soldiers home on leave have jumped down
to mothers waiting at the banyan’s side.
Old tree, you saw my son leave in June
with his father’s watch and a new black bag.
Now the six o’clock bus is late again,
I pull my shawl close and the minutes drag.
Then lights swing in through your hanging roots,
a horn, a cloud of dust, and a tall
young man steps down, looking round for me,
while your old leaves hold still above us all.
Identify the figure of speech used in the lines:
“Old tree, you saw my son leave in June
with his father’s watch and a new black bag.”
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Apostrophe
Apostrophe:
- Apostrophe is speaking directly to a thing or an absent person.
- The speaker calls out “Old tree” and talks to it as “you”: “you saw my son leave”. The tree cannot hear her, but she shares her waiting with it. Example: O moon, why do you hide behind the clouds tonight?
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Metaphor — Incorrect. A metaphor calls one thing another, without “like” or “as”. Example: Our coach is a rock for the whole team.
Option 2: Oxymoron — Incorrect. An oxymoron puts two words of opposite meaning side by side. Example: The hall fell into a loud silence.
Option 4: Hyperbole — Incorrect. Hyperbole is a big exaggeration that is not meant to be taken as true. Example: After the trek, I could sleep for a hundred years.