NCERT Solutions for Class 9th English Chapter 6 Twin Melodies (play by Mitra Phukan)

Q1.

I. Stress and intonation exercises can be a great way to understand the emotional and rhythmic feelings associated with dialogues in a play. 1. Let us pick a few lines from the play and speak them aloud. Focus on how stress and intonation can change their meaning or emotional impact. [The book’s table gives four lines with the stress and intonation for each: “I don’t want papa to feel that I don’t care about his opinions, because I do.” / “Tonight, at dinner, I promise to bring this up.” / “Why are you lost in thought my dear child?” / “Each bay, its own wind”]

Answer

Work through the book’s four lines exactly as its table sets them out. Stress is which word you push; intonation is the melody of the whole line — where your voice rises and where it falls.

Line	Stress on	Intonation	What it does to the meaning
“I don’t want papa to feel that I don’t care about his opinions, because I do.”	‘don’t’ in the first part, ‘do’ in the second	Begin slightly low, conveying concern; rise towards the end to stress her sincerity	The two stressed words are opposites, so the sentence turns on itself. Stressing them makes the contrast audible — this is Shruti’s inner conflict in one line.
“Tonight, at dinner, I promise to bring this up.”	‘promise’ and ‘bring this up’	Start decisive on ‘promise’; lift the pitch and volume a little on ‘bring this up’	Turns a plan into a commitment. Say it flatly and it sounds like an excuse; stress those words and it sounds like a decision already taken.
“Why are you lost in thought my dear child?”	‘lost’ and ‘thought’	Gentle throughout; raise the tone on ‘lost’	The gentleness is what makes it a mother’s question and not an interrogation. The rise on ‘lost’ carries curiosity and care, not suspicion.
“Each bay, its own wind”	‘each’ and ‘own’	Thoughtful, slightly philosophical; a steady pitch that gently rises on ‘own’	Stressing ‘each’ and ‘own’ makes the line mean that one rule cannot fit everybody — which is the whole reversal of the play, spoken as a proverb rather than an apology.

Prove to yourself that stress carries meaning. Take the second line and move the stress about:

“Tonight, at dinner…” — as against tomorrow; the emphasis is on when.
“Tonight, at dinner…” — as against catching him at the school; the emphasis is on where.
“I promise…” — as against merely hoping; the emphasis is on how binding it is.

Same nine words, three different meanings, and nothing has changed except which syllable you push.

Q2.

I. 2. Practice speaking aloud a few other sentences from the play on your own. Understanding what is being said and why, will help you stress the suitable portions and use the appropriate tone.

Answer

Choose lines where a stage direction already tells you the manner — the playwright has done half the work. Read the bracket first, then decide the stress.

Line (and its stage direction)	Stress on	Tone to use
Nabin: (calmly but firmly) “No is the answer.”	‘No’ — then let the rest fall away	Level and quiet, with a falling tone at the end. Do not shout; the direction says calmly. The force comes from the flatness.
Avinash: (very loudly) “SHRUTI!”	the whole word	Loud and abrupt, on a single high note. The book prints it in capitals — that is the volume, marked on the page.
Shruti: “There is need to worry Iqbal!”	‘is’	Slightly rising, urgent. She is contradicting Iqbal’s “There is no need to worry”, so the stress must land on the word that reverses him.
Nabin: (with a slight mocking tone) “Sure, there’ll be a practice, for ‘phoo’ music…”	‘Sure’ and ‘phoo’	Drawl ‘Sure’ on a falling tone — a false agreement — then put a curl of distaste on ‘phoo’. This is sarcasm: the words say yes and the voice says no.
Nabin: “Wah, how soulful!”	‘Wah’ and ‘soulful’	Warm, open, a wide rise-and-fall. The same speaker as the sarcastic line above — hearing the difference is the point of the exercise.

Method for practice: read the line silently and ask two questions — who is he answering? and what is he trying to do to that person? The stress falls on the word that does the work. Then record yourself once, listen, and adjust; hearing your own recording teaches more in two minutes than reading the line ten times.

NCERT Solutions for Class 9th English Chapter 6 Twin Melodies (play by Mitra Phukan) — Speaking Activity