Read the poem and answer the questions given below it.
The Kite on the Wire
Munna’s kite was the best on our roof that day,
green paper, with a tail of yellow thread,
till a sharper string came cutting through the sky,
and it fell, and caught on the wires overhead.
Now it hangs above the lane by the tea stall,
between two poles, too high for any hand.
Munna threw stones at it all evening long.
The shopkeeper laughed. The kite would not land.
Each morning the wind stops by to coax it,
tugs at its tail and whispers, “Fly.”
The kite shivers, lifts one paper corner,
and stays where it is, against the sky.
The rains have washed its green to grey.
Its tail is now a knot of string.
Munna has two new kites this year,
but he still looks up when the wires sing.
Someday a storm will take it, or the rain,
and the lane will forget it was ever there.
But for now it holds on, a scrap of green,
still flying, in its fashion, in the air.
What is the central idea of the poem?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → a small lost joy that slowly fades but still holds a place in the heart
The poem follows the lost kite over time and shows that it is not fully gone.
- Munna loses his best kite, and it slowly fades: the rains wash “its green to grey”, and its tail becomes “a knot of string”.
- Yet Munna “still looks up”, and the kite “holds on”, “still flying” in its own way. The lost joy keeps a place in his heart.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: the danger of flying kites close to electric wires — Incorrect. Wrong focus: The wires only hold the kite. The poem gives no warning and shows no one in danger.
Option 2: the fun and rivalry of kite flying on the rooftops — Incorrect. Too narrow: Only the first stanza shows the kite flight and the “sharper string” that cuts it. The rest of the poem is about the lost kite.
Option 3: a child who soon forgets an old toy once he gets new ones — Incorrect. Contradicted: Munna has “two new kites”, “but he still looks up” at the old one.