The Power of Music ICSE Class 10: Explanation, Humour and Questions
Updated 14 October 2026 · Fact-checked
The Power of Music by Sukumar Ray, translated from Bengali, is a comic poem about a singer, Bhisma Lochan Sharma, whose voice is so loud and dreadful that people flee and even birds and beasts are thrown into chaos, until a goat butts him and silences him. Through hyperbole and an ironic title, it mocks self-important performers.
What The Power of Music is about
The Power of Music is a translation of a humorous poem by the Bengali writer Sukumar Ray, famous for his nonsense verse (as in *Abol Tabol*). It appears in Treasure Chest as one of the five Class X poems. The poem describes a singer, Bhisma Lochan Sharma, whose singing is overpowering in the worst way: it is so loud and terrible that people run away and the whole natural world, from animals to birds in flight, is thrown into confusion.
The title is ironic: music is usually praised for its power to soothe and charm, but here its 'power' is to terrify and disrupt. The humour comes from exaggeration (hyperbole), comic images and lively, rhyming lines full of alliteration. The 2025 paper and the 2027 specimen asked students to identify the figure of speech in 'And in the sky the feathered fly turn turtle while / They're winging' and match it with another line using the same device (alliteration); the 2025 examiners noted that many could not identify it.
Weightage: CISCE publishes no weightage by text. Section A has 16 one-mark MCQs (about 5 on the poems), and Section D offers two 16-mark poetry extract questions.Source: CISCE ICSE 2027 Specimen Question Paper, Literature in English (T27 012)
The Power of Music: explanation
In our own words, in the order of the text. Read the NCERT text itself too: the board quotes from it.
The original. Sukumar Ray wrote the poem in Bengali as 'Gaaner Gunto' in his nonsense collection *Abol Tabol* (1923); Treasure Chest prints it in English translation as 'The Power of Music'. The episodes below have been checked against Ray's Bengali original, which is in the public domain; check the exact English wording in your Treasure Chest.
The singer. One summer, Bhisma Lochan Sharma (the name is spelt in several ways in English) bursts into song. His voice carries all the way from Delhi to Burma, and he sings with all his might, without a thought for anyone's life or comfort.
People suffer. Those who hear him are not charmed but tormented. People run in every direction with their heads spinning; many fall down hurt and writhing, and cry out to him to stop the song at once. The poem exaggerates their suffering to comic extremes.
Nature in chaos. The effect spreads to the whole of nature. Buffaloes and horses break their ropes and lie flat by the roadside; animals faint with their legs in the air; the creatures of the water keep still in the depths; trees crash down; and in the sky the birds ('the feathered fly') turn upside down ('turn turtle') even while they are flying. Everyone begs him to stop, the sky shakes and buildings crack.
The singer goes on. Bhisma Lochan pays no attention to any of this. He goes on singing at full volume, in the best of moods.
The ending. At last a crazy goat, keeping time with the song, lowers its horns and butts the singer from behind. That one blow ends the song: with a cry of fright, Bhisma Lochan falls completely silent. The 'power of music' has met a greater power, and the singer who knocked everyone else off balance is knocked over himself. (The Bengali title, literally 'the butt of the song', points to this ending.)
The point. Under the fun lies gentle satire: the poem laughs at performers who are so pleased with themselves that they force their 'art' on others, and it overturns the familiar idea that music always has a sweet, soothing power.
Themes and message
Humour and nonsense
Sukumar Ray delights in absurd, exaggerated situations. The poem's purpose is first of all to make readers laugh through impossible images.
From the text: Birds turning turtle in flight; the whole world disturbed by one man's song.
Irony of the title
Music is supposed to soothe and charm, but Bhisma Lochan's music has the power to terrify and disrupt. The title says the opposite of what the poem shows.
From the text: People flee and nature falls into chaos at his singing.
Satire on self-importance
The singer is so pleased with himself that he does not notice or care about the suffering he causes. The poem mocks performers, and people generally, who impose themselves on others.
From the text: He sings on regardless of the havoc.
The speaker and the people in the poem
Bhisma Lochan Sharma
The singer with the overpowering voice.
- Self-satisfied
- Loud and overbearing
- Unaware of or indifferent to others' suffering
- Comic
His singing sends people and creatures into chaos while he carries on, until a goat butts him from behind and he falls silent.
The listeners
People, animals and birds who hear him.
- Terrified
- Helpless
- Comic victims of exaggeration
They flee, collapse or turn upside down.
The goat
The unexpected listener who ends the song.
- Crazy
- Bold
- Comic agent of justice
Keeping time with the song, it lowers its horns and butts the singer from behind, and the singing stops.
Poetic devices
| Device | Example | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Hyperbole | The singing affects people and creatures over vast distances; birds turn upside down in mid-flight. | Creates comic, absurd pictures. |
| Alliteration | 'feathered fly'; 'turn turtle' | Adds bounce and fun to the rhythm; this is the device tested in the 2025/2027 MCQ. |
| Idiom used comically | 'turn turtle' (to capsize or flip over), applied to flying birds. | The idiom, used for boats, becomes funny when birds do it in the air. |
| Irony | The title 'The Power of Music'. | Points to a power that is destructive, not soothing. |
| Rhyme and rhythm | Lively rhyming lines. | Gives the poem the energy of comic verse for recitation. |
Key quotations
Short lines worth knowing by heart: who says them, when, and why they matter.
And in the sky the feathered fly turn turtle while / They're winging,
The poet: Describing the effect of the singing on birds (as printed in the 2025 paper and 2027 specimen).
A comic, hyperbolic image full of alliteration: even birds in flight are overturned by the song.
গান জুড়েছেন গ্রীষ্মকালে ভীষ্মলোচন শর্মা
The poet (Bengali original): The opening line of Sukumar Ray's original, 'Gaaner Gunto' (1923): Bhishmalochan Sharma has struck up a song in the summer.
Introduces the singer by his grand full name at the very start; the translation keeps him at the centre of every stanza.
‘বাপ রে’ বলে ভীষ্মলোচন এক্কেবারে ঠাণ্ডা
The poet (Bengali original): The last line of the original, after the goat's butt: crying 'Baap re!' (a cry of fright), Bhishmalochan goes completely quiet.
The comic reversal: the man whose song overpowered the world is silenced by a single goat.
The Power of Music in real life
Each concept, met in an everyday situation. Read the situation, answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.
Imposing on others
Suppose a neighbour practises the drums at full volume late every night, convinced that everyone enjoys it.
How is the neighbour like Bhisma Lochan Sharma?
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Both are self-satisfied performers.
- Both ignore the suffering of listeners.
Answer: Like Bhisma Lochan, the neighbour forces his music on others and is unaware of the discomfort it causes. The poem laughs at this lack of consideration.
Memory hook: Loud and proud, but nobody's listening happily.
Hyperbole in everyday speech
Imagine a friend says, 'The teacher's voice was so loud, the whole city heard it!'
Which device is this, and how does the poem use it?
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Device: hyperbole.
- The poem uses it to make the singer's effect absurd and comic.
Answer: It is hyperbole, exaggeration for effect. The poem uses it throughout, especially when even birds in flight turn upside down.
Memory hook: Exaggerate to amuse.
Irony in titles
Suppose a classmate's essay titled 'My Perfect Holiday' describes lost luggage, rain and food poisoning.
How is the title like 'The Power of Music'?
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- The title promises one thing; the content shows the opposite.
- This contrast is irony.
Answer: Both titles are ironic: they lead us to expect something pleasant, and the content delivers the opposite, which creates humour.
Memory hook: An ironic title promises the opposite of what you get.
Topics in this chapter
How the board asks The Power of Music
The question patterns to expect, and the method that works for each.
| Question type | How it is asked | Method |
|---|---|---|
| Section A MCQ on figures of speech (1 mark) | 'Which option contains the figure of speech that appears in the following line…?' The options are lines from other poems showing alliteration, imagery, simile or consonance. | First name the device in the given line (feathered fly, turn turtle: alliteration), then find the option with repeated initial consonant sounds ('one month on in the middle of May'). |
| Extract question (16 marks) | Parts on the singer, the effect on people and nature, figures of speech, the irony of the title, and a personal response. | Quote short phrases for devices; explain the humour and the irony; give reasons for opinions. |
| Tone and purpose | 'What is the tone of the poem?'; 'What is the poet making fun of?' | Tone: humorous, mock-serious; target: self-important performers and the cliché that music always soothes. |
Tricks to remember The Power of Music
Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.
F-F-T-T
Feathered Fly, Turn Turtle: two pairs of alliteration in one line.
Use it when: The figure-of-speech MCQ.
Power = Panic
In this poem, the power of music is the power to cause panic.
Use it when: Explaining the ironic title.
The Power of Music: board-level solved questions
Ordered from board level to HOTS. Cover the solution, write your own, then compare step by step.
Example 1: Figure of speech MCQ (2027 specimen; the same line was set in 2025) · 1 mark · MCQHarder board level
Which option contains the figure of speech in: 'And in the sky the feathered fly turn turtle while / They're winging,'?
(a) 'You're one month on in the middle of May'
(b) 'Rainbow-tinted circles of light'
(c) 'I wander'd lonely as a cloud'
(d) 'I babble on the pebbles.'
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Given line: 'feathered fly', 'turn turtle': repeated initial consonant sounds = alliteration.
- (a) 'month … middle … May': alliteration.
- (b) imagery; (c) simile; (d) mainly consonance/assonance within words.
Answer: (a) 'You're one month on in the middle of May'
Example 2: Turn turtle · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
What does 'turn turtle' mean? Why is it funny when used of birds?
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Meaning: to flip over or capsize, like a turtle on its back or an overturned boat.
- Funny: birds are flying in the air, where turning over is absurd; it shows the song's absurd power.
Answer: 'Turn turtle' means to turn upside down, as a capsized boat does. Applied to birds in flight, the image is absurd and comic: the singing is so dreadful that even flying birds flip over, an extreme hyperbole.
Example 3: The ironic title · 3 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency
Why is the title 'The Power of Music' ironic?
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Usual idea: music soothes, charms, heals.
- In the poem: it terrifies and causes chaos.
- So the 'power' is destructive.
Answer: We expect music's power to soothe and delight, but Bhisma Lochan's singing has the power to frighten people away and throw nature into confusion. The title praises a power that the poem shows to be disastrous.
Example 4: Satire · 3 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency
What human weakness does the poem make fun of? Give an example from life.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Weakness: self-importance, forcing one's talents on others without caring how they feel.
- Example: someone playing loud music in a public place.
Answer: It mocks self-satisfied people who impose their 'art' on others, unaware of the discomfort they cause. A modern example is someone playing loud music on a speaker in a train or park, sure that everyone enjoys it.
Example 5: Tone · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level
Describe the tone of the poem in two words, with a reason for each.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Humorous: absurd images.
- Mock-heroic or mock-serious: the singer's 'power' is described grandly though it is ridiculous.
Answer: Humorous: images such as birds turning turtle in flight are absurd and meant to amuse. Mock-serious: the poem describes the singer's 'power' as if it were tremendous and grand, which makes his awful singing even funnier.
Where the marks are
How a typical answer is marked: the value points the examiner looks for and the marks each earns.
4 marks: Describe the tone in two words with a reason for each. (4 marks)
| Step | Marks |
|---|---|
| Word 1 (e.g. humorous) | 1 |
| Reason with evidence (absurd images, hyperbole) | 1 |
| Word 2 (e.g. mock-serious / satirical) | 1 |
| Reason with evidence | 1 |
Where students lose marks in The Power of Music
The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.
Mistake: Misidentifying the figure of speech
The 2025 examiners noted that 'Many candidates struggled to identify figures of speech accurately'.
Do this: Check sounds: repeated first consonants = alliteration; 'like/as' = simile; sense pictures = imagery.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Taking the title at face value
Students write that the poem praises music.
Do this: Explain the irony: the 'power' is destructive.
Usually costs: Interpretation marks.
Mistake: Explaining 'turn turtle' literally as becoming a turtle
Students do not know the idiom.
Do this: It means to flip over or capsize.
Usually costs: Explanation marks.
Mistake: Missing the humour
Students treat the poem as a serious account.
Do this: Always mention hyperbole and comic effect when asked about tone or purpose.
Usually costs: Analysis marks.
Practice questions on The Power of Music
Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.
Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
Who is the singer in 'The Power of Music'?
(a) Bhisma Lochan Sharma
(b) Bonku Babu
(c) Count de Lorge
(d) Leonard MeadHint
Name from the poem.
Answer
(a) Bhisma Lochan Sharma
Q2 · 2 marks · Short answerBoard level
Pick out two examples of alliteration from the line about the birds.
Hint
Repeated first sounds.
Answer
'feathered fly' and 'turn turtle'.
Q3 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
How do people react to Bhisma Lochan's singing? Why is their reaction funny?
Hint
Exaggeration.
Answer
They are terrified, cover their ears, plead with him and run away. It is funny because the reaction is wildly exaggerated: a song is treated like a natural disaster.
Q4 · 4 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
Why do you think Sukumar Ray wrote such a poem? Give two purposes.
Hint
Entertainment and satire.
Answer
To entertain readers, especially children, with absurd, rhythmic nonsense verse; and to make a gentle satirical point about self-important people who force their talents on others.
Q5 · 3 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency
Write a short comic stanza (four lines) of your own about someone with a very loud ringtone, using one example of hyperbole.
Hint
Exaggerate the effect.
Answer
Example: 'When Uncle's phone begins to ring, / The pigeons drop from every wing; / The neighbours flee, the windows shake, / And half the town is wide awake.' (Any original stanza with clear hyperbole.)
Q6 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
What is the poem originally written in?
(a) Hindi
(b) Bengali
(c) Tamil
(d) EnglishHint
Sukumar Ray.
Answer
(b) Bengali
Q7 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Is the singer aware of the trouble he causes? How does this add to the humour?
Hint
His self-satisfaction.
Answer
He seems unaware of, or indifferent to, the chaos, happily singing on. The contrast between his pleasure and everyone else's misery makes the situation funnier.
Q8 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
How does the poem end? Why is the ending a fitting comic climax?
Hint
An unexpected listener.
Answer
A crazy goat, keeping time with the song, butts Bhisma Lochan from behind, and he stops singing at once. It is fitting because the singer who knocked everyone else off balance is himself knocked over, and the 'power' of his music is defeated by a goat.
Test your recall
Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.
1.Who wrote 'The Power of Music'?Show answer
Sukumar Ray (translated from Bengali).
2.Who is the singer?Show answer
Bhisma Lochan Sharma.
3.What does 'turn turtle' mean?Show answer
To flip over or capsize.
4.Which figure of speech is in 'feathered fly'?Show answer
Alliteration.
5.Why is the title ironic?Show answer
The music's 'power' is to terrify and disrupt, not to soothe.
6.How does the poem end?Show answer
A goat butts the singer from behind and he falls silent.
Quick revision checklist
The night before the exam: can you do each of these without looking?
- Can you describe the effect of the singing on people and nature?
- Can you identify alliteration and hyperbole with examples?
- Can you explain the irony of the title?
- Can you say what the poem satirises?
- Can you describe the tone in two words?
The Power of Music: frequently asked questions
What is The Power of Music about?
A comic poem about a singer, Bhisma Lochan Sharma, whose dreadful, overpowering singing sends people fleeing and throws nature into chaos, until a goat butts him and the song stops.
What figure of speech is in 'the feathered fly turn turtle'?
Alliteration ('feathered fly', 'turn turtle'), together with hyperbole.
Why is the title The Power of Music ironic?
Because the music's power is not to soothe but to terrify and disrupt everything around it.
How does The Power of Music end?
A crazy goat, keeping time with the song, butts Bhisma Lochan Sharma from behind, and with that one blow the singing stops. The singer who overpowered everyone is overpowered himself.
Based on: CISCE ICSE 2027 English syllabus (Paper 2: Literature in English); CISCE ICSE 2027 Appendix I: List of Prescribed Books; CISCE ICSE 2027 Specimen Question Paper and Draft Marking Scheme: Literature in English (English Paper 2); CISCE Analysis of Pupil Performance 2025: Literature in English (examiners' comments)