Read the following poem. Answer the question that follow:
At the Museum
But in 2500 B.C. Harappa,
who cast in bronze a servant girl?
No one keeps records
of soldiers and slaves,
The sculptor knew this,
polishing the ache
off her fingers stiff
from washing the walls
and scrubbing the floors,
from stirring the meat
and the crushed asafoetida
in the bitter gourd.
But I'm grateful she smiled
at the sculptor,
as she smiles at me
in bronze,
a child who had to play women
to her lord
when the warm June rains
came to Harappa.
What does the poet suggest when they say that the records of soldiers and slaves are not kept?
A. They do not play a significant role in history
B. Their sculptures are destroyed
C. Common people were not considered worthy of being part of history
D. History is about Kings and Queens
Choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → C and D only
(A) They do not play a significant role in history — Incorrect.
- Misread: the poet does not deny their role.
- The poem points out that no one records it.
- The whole poem honours a servant girl whom history ignored.
(B) Their sculptures are destroyed — Incorrect.
- Contradicted: the poem speaks of missing records, not of destroyed statues.
- In fact a bronze figure of a servant girl has survived.
(C) Common people were not considered worthy of being part of history — Correct.
- Soldiers and slaves, the ordinary people who fought and laboured, were not thought important enough to be written about.
(D) History is about Kings and Queens — Correct.
- If soldiers, slaves and servants are left out, what remains is the story of rulers.
- The girl herself served "her lord".