Read the following poem. Answer the question :

A River

In Madurai,
city of temples and poets,
who sang of cities and temples,
every summer
a river dries to a trickle
in the sand,
baring the sand ribs,
straw and women's hair
clogging the watergates
at the rusty bars
under the bridges with patches
of repair all over them
the wet stones glistening like sleepy
crocodiles, the dry ones
shaven water-buffaloes lounging in the sun
The poet only sang of the floods
He was there for a day
when they had the floods.
People everywhere talked
of the inches rising,
of the precise number of cobbled steps
run over by the water, rising
on the bathing places,
and the way it carries of three village houses,
one pregnant woman
and a couple of cows
named Gopi and Brinda as usual.

What is the setting of the poem?

Madurai

The correct answer is Option (4) - Madurai

The poem begins with the mention of Madurai, described as a "city of temples and poets." The entire narrative revolves around the drying and flooding of a river in Madurai, making it the setting of the poem.

Options:

1. A temple:

   • Incorrect: While temples are mentioned as part of Madurai, the setting is not limited to a temple.

2. A flooded river:

   • Incorrect: The poem discusses both the drying and flooding of the river but does not confine the setting to just a flooded river.

3. Three village houses:

   • Incorrect: These are mentioned as being carried away during a flood, but they are not the primary setting.

4. Madurai:

   • Correct: The poem explicitly states that it is set in Madurai and explores the impact of the river's drying and flooding on the city.