Mother Tongue Padma Sachdev | Class 11 English Notes
By ConceptScroll Team · Published on 17 July 2026 · 3 min read
Mother Tongue Padma Sachdev – this guide gives you a concise, exam-ready overview of Mother Tongue Padma Sachdev from Class 11 English, written by ConceptScroll editors and reviewed against the latest NCERT textbook.
Understanding the Poem
This section guides readers through a detailed analysis of 'Mother Tongue' by Padma Sachdev, focusing on key literary elements and themes. The poem uses the quill as a central symbol representing the power of writing and expression in the mother tongue. The poet's urgent request for a quill reflects her deep emotional need to communicate and preserve her language.
The poem personifies the mother tongue as a Shahni, a queen, emphasizing its importance and dignity. This personification also extends to the stem, which initially resists but ultimately offers its hand as a quill, symbolizing the collective effort to sustain the language. The emotional attachment is evident in the poet's declaration of working for the Shahni and not a Shah, highlighting loyalty and devotion to her mother tongue.
Personification is used effectively throughout the poem to give life to abstract ideas and inanimate objects, making the language and its tools relatable and vivid. The stem's dialogue with the poet brings out the tension between neglect and the desire for preservation. The poem also subtly comments on the historical deprivation of Dogri's native script and the challenges faced by regional languages in maintaining their identity.
Through these literary devices, the poet communicates the urgency of preserving one's mother tongue as a vital part of cultural identity and personal expression.
📊 Diagram: No diagrams are included in this section.
🔗 Connection: This section's literary analysis prepares students for the subsequent activities that encourage exploration of language use and attitudes towards mother tongues.
Frequently asked questions
1. The quill is the central element in the poem—what does it symbolise? 2. You notice a sense of urgency in the poet’s request—what is the reason for this? 3. How has the poet brought out her emotional attachment to her mother tongue? 4. Personification is a figure of speech that attributes human qualities to inanimate things and abstract ideas. How has it been used in this poem?
1. The quill in the poem symbolizes the poet's tool for expression and creativity, representing the power of language and writing. It also stands for the poet's connection to her mother tongue, Dogri, as the quill is requested from a stem (reed), symbolizing the natural source of language and writing.
2. The sense of urgency in the poet’s request for a quill arises because she feels an immediate need to express herself in her mother tongue. She says, "She must be looking for me," indicating tha
1. Talk to five people from different spheres of society around you and ask them the number of languages they know and use for various purposes. Try to gather information about their attitude to the different languages they know and use. 2. Dogri is a language spoken in parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. Its earliest mention is in Amir Khusro’s list of Indian languages. It does not have a script of its own. It is written in either the Devnagari or the Persian script. Find out about other Indian languages that are spoken but do not have a script of their own.
1. This is a field activity requiring interaction with people. The student should interview five individuals from different backgrounds (e.g., students, shopkeepers, teachers, etc.) and note the number of languages they know and use, such as mother tongue, regional languages, English, Hindi, etc. The student should also record their attitudes—whether they feel proud, indifferent, or reluctant about any language.
2. The student should research and list Indian languages that are primarily oral an
In the poem 'Mother Tongue' by Padma Sachdev, what does the quill symbolize?
A tool for writing and expression in the mother tongue
Why does the poet show urgency in requesting a new quill in the poem 'Mother Tongue'?
Because she wants to write quickly in her mother tongue
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