National War Memorial | CBSE Class 6 English Notes

This note covers the poem "National War Memorial": what the short introduction says about the memorial, a couplet-by-couplet summary, the parts of the memorial and what each one means, the two pictures on the page, the people and values it honours, the themes and message, the poetic devices, the tone and style, key lines, difficult words, and answers to the textbook activities.

What is the poem "National War Memorial", and where does it come from?

"National War Memorial" is the last piece in Unit 5, Culture and Tradition, of Poorvi, the Class 6 English textbook. It comes after "Hamara Bharat: Incredible India!", "The Kites" and "Ila Sachani: Embroidering Dreams with her Feet", and takes up two pages, 160 and 161.

No poet is named for it. The "About the Book" section at the front of the textbook gives its purpose in one line: the poem is there "to recite and appreciate the spirit behind it".

The piece has four parts. A two-sentence introduction gives the basic facts about the memorial. Under the heading "Let us read" comes the poem itself, twelve lines arranged in six pairs. Two captioned pictures follow.

The second page holds three short activities, on reading, reciting and remembering the poem, and two "Let us explore" tasks about the memorial itself.

Because the poem is short and simple, its value lies less in a story and more in its feeling: calm respect, quiet pride and a promise to remember.

What does the introduction tell the student about the memorial?

The table below lists, one by one, the facts in the two sentences before the poem.

The phrase national monument tells the student that the memorial belongs to the whole country, not to one town or one family.

The purpose is stated plainly: the memorial stands in honour of "our brave soldiers". To do something in someone's honour is to show them great respect. Every couplet that follows builds on this one purpose.

The poem never names the city. Instead, it uses the word heartland, placing the memorial at the centre of Bharat.

What happens in the poem, couplet by couplet?

Each of the poem's six couplets, or pairs of lines, adds one new idea about the memorial and the soldiers it honours.

Couplet 1: A grand sight in the heartland

The speaker introduces the memorial as a magnificent place to look at, standing at the heart of Bharat. Its purpose is named at once: it honours brave stories that are told again and again, so the soldiers' deeds live on.

Couplet 2: Names, stones and stories

The memorial is described as standing with respect, grace and pride. The speaker then looks closer. Every name cut into it, every stone and every story seems to have something to share, as if the memorial quietly passes the soldiers' stories on to its visitors.

Couplet 3: Land, sky and sea

The poem turns from the memorial to the soldiers. They served on battle fields, in the skies and across wide oceans, and they stand side by side for Bharat.

Couplet 4: The eternal flame

Next comes the eternal flame, a fire that never goes out. It glows without a sound, and in doing so it honours the courage the soldiers showed. Its silence suits a place of respect.

Couplet 5: Sacrifice kept in mind

The speaker says the soldiers' sacrifice stays always in "our" minds. They are held in blessed memory, and that memory keeps reminding people, for ever, of what was given for the country.

Couplet 6: A call to remember

The final couplet turns to the reader. It invites everyone to remember the soldiers' sacrifice at the National War Memorial, with pride and respect, for ever. The poem closes with a promise rather than a description.

Read in order, the couplets move from the place, to the soldiers, to the flame, to memory, and finally to the reader's own promise.

What are the parts of the memorial, and what does each one mean?

The poem picks out a few parts of the memorial. Each one is a real thing a visitor can see, and each one also carries a meaning.

The etched names make the memory personal. The soldiers are honoured as individuals, not only as a crowd, because a name belongs to one person.

The stones suggest permanence, and the stories show that the memorial is more than a building.

The eternal flame is the poem's central symbol, matching its promise that the soldiers' sacrifice will be remembered for ever.

Finally, the memorial as a whole stands upright with dignity. In this way it shows visitors how to feel there: respectful, calm and proud of the people it honours.

What do the pictures on the chapter page show?

Below the poem are two small colour photographs. Each carries a short caption.

Figure: National War Memorial (NCERT Poorvi, Class 6, page 160). A photograph of a tall, slim, reddish-brown pillar with an emblem on its top. It rises from a round base in a wide, open space. Broad steps lit with warm lights curve around it, and the sky behind is blue with white clouds.

Figure: Amar Jawan Jyoti (NCERT Poorvi, Class 6, page 160). A close photograph of a block of red stone. A flame burns in a metal bowl set into the top of the stone. Below it, the words "अमर जवान" (Amar Jawan) are written in gold letters, and two more lines of Hindi verse in gold appear lower down.

The first picture shows the size and open space of the memorial, so the student can see why the poem calls it grand. The second shows a burning flame, which helps the student imagine the eternal flame of the fourth couplet.

The words Amar Jawan can be read as "immortal soldier", and Jyoti means a flame or light. Roughly translated, the two Hindi lines at the bottom say that people will gather every year to remember those who gave their lives for their homeland.

Whom does the memorial honour, and which values does it celebrate?

The memorial honours the country's brave soldiers. The poem adds detail about who they are and where they served.

The third couplet widens the view, so the poem honours all who served and treats them as one group.

No single soldier is named in the poem. This keeps the honour shared: every soldier counts equally, and every name etched on the memorial belongs to the same story.

The poem praises four values in these soldiers:

• Courage: the flame honours the courage the soldiers showed.
• Sacrifice: the last two couplets dwell on how much the soldiers gave for the country.
• Unity: the soldiers stand for Bharat together, next to one another.
• Service: wherever they served, on land, at sea or in the skies, they stood for Bharat.

These values are presented calmly. The poem names battle fields only as a place of service; it does not describe fighting or name any enemy. Its attention stays on honouring people, not on war itself.

What themes and message does the poem carry?

Remembrance that lasts

The strongest theme is remembrance. Words linked to time without end keep returning: eternal, always and forever. The whole aim of the poem is that the soldiers should never be forgotten.

Respect shown with dignity

The memorial stands with respect, grace and pride, and the reader is asked to remember with pride and respect. The pride here is quiet. It is joined to respect each time, so it means honouring others, not boasting.

Places and objects that hold memory

The poem suggests that memory can live in things. The etched names, the stones and the flame keep the soldiers' stories alive for each new visitor.

A shared duty to remember

The poem speaks for everyone. The soldiers' sacrifice is kept in "our" minds, and the last couplet invites all readers to remember together. Remembering is shown as something a whole people does, not one person alone.

The message

The message is simple: the courage and sacrifice of the soldiers deserve to be remembered for ever, and every citizen can help keep that memory alive by remembering them with pride and respect. A visit to the memorial, or a calm recitation of the poem, is one way of doing this.

What poetic devices does the poem use?

Rhyme scheme

The twelve lines form six rhyming couplets, so the rhyme scheme is usually written aa bb cc dd ee ff. The rhyming pairs are behold and retold, pride and confide, wide and side, glows and shows, mind and remind, and remember and forever. The second and third pairs share the same "-ide" sound, so strictly the scheme is aa bb bb cc dd ee.

The last pair sounds alike only in part ("-ember" and "-ever"), so it is a near rhyme rather than a full rhyme.

Personification

Personification gives human actions or feelings to things. Here the memorial honours stories and stands with pride, the names and stones have stories to confide, and the flame pays homage. These choices make the memorial feel alive and respectful.

Repetition

One line uses the word "each" three times: "Each name etched, each stone, each story". This repetition slows the reader down and gives every name and stone equal weight.

The words pride and respect return in the last couplet, and sacrifice appears in both of the last two couplets, tying the ending to what came before. The memorial's full name appears in the second line and again in the last, so the poem begins and ends at the same place.

Imagery

Imagery helps the reader see and hear. The memorial is "a grand sight to behold", a picture for the eye. The sweep from battle fields to skies to oceans creates a sense of wide spaces. The flame joins light with silence, so sight and sound work together.

Alliteration and inversion

Alliteration repeats an opening sound: "side by side" and "stone" with "story" both use the s sound. Inversion, or unusual word order, appears in "in silence it glows", where everyday speech would say "it glows in silence". Inversion lets the line end on its rhyme word.

What is the tone and style of the poem?

Tone

The tone is solemn, respectful and quietly proud. Words such as honour, respect, grace, homage and blessed set a serious, gentle mood. Nothing in the poem is loud or angry; even the flame glows without a sound.

Voice

The speaker's "our" and "let's" make a collective voice that invites the reader to join in, which suits a poem the class is asked to recite together.

Style

The style is simple and clear. The lines are short and most words are everyday words. Commas break the lines into small parts that are easy to say aloud.

The rhyme at the end of each pair makes the poem easy to learn by heart.

In a few places the poem chooses formal words over plain ones: behold instead of see, confide instead of tell, homage instead of respect. These formal words add dignity, much as people speak more carefully in a special place.

What are the key lines to remember?

These short phrases carry the poem's main ideas. Each is useful to quote in an answer.

"a grand sight to behold"

Couplet 1, the first view of the memorial.

"Each name etched, each stone, each story"

Couplet 2, the parts that keep memory alive.

"side by side"

Couplet 3, the soldiers standing together for Bharat.

"The eternal flame, in silence it glows"

Couplet 4, the poem's central symbol.

"let's always remember"

Couplet 6, the call to every reader.

The third phrase suits answers on unity, the fourth on symbols and inversion, and the fifth on the poem's collective voice.

When quoting, the student should copy the words exactly, put them in quotation marks, and say which couplet they come from before explaining them.

What are the answers to the textbook activities?

Most of these five tasks ask the student to do something rather than write an answer, so the guidance below shows one good way to carry out each.

1. Read the poem aloud

The student should read slowly and clearly, in a calm voice that matches the poem's respectful tone. A short pause at each comma and a longer one at the end of each couplet help the listener follow the ideas.

The rhyming words at the ends of lines should be heard clearly. A softer voice suits the fourth couplet about the silent flame, and a firm, steady voice suits the final call to remember.

2. Recite the poem with classmates and the teacher

One possible way is to divide the six couplets among small groups, with the whole class joining in for the last couplet. Everyone should keep the same speed and begin each couplet together. Standing straight and speaking without hurry adds to the respectful feeling.

3. Remember the poem

The poem is easiest to learn one couplet at a time. The rhyme pairs act as memory hooks, and the order of ideas forms a chain. The table below is one possible memory aid.

Let us explore 1: Visit the website

The first task suggests visiting the website of the National War Memorial; the page gives the link https://www.mygov.in. One possible way to record the visit is a short set of notes: the memorial's name and place, when it was established, whom it honours, and any part of it that the poem also mentions, such as the names, the stones or the flame.

Comparing these notes with the poem shows the student how a few facts can be turned into a poem full of feeling.

Let us explore 2: Plan a visit

The second task asks the student to plan a visit with the teacher or parents. This is an open task, so the plan below is one possible answer.

1. Talk to the teacher or a parent and agree on a day for the visit.
2. Read the poem again before going, and list the parts to look for: the names, the stones and the eternal flame.
3. At the memorial, move quietly and speak softly, in the same spirit of respect that the poem shows.
4. Note down what is seen, and compare it with the two pictures on the chapter page.
5. Afterwards, recite the poem or write a few lines about the visit to share in class.

How does the poem fit the unit on Culture and Tradition?

The "About the Book" section explains that Unit 5 aims to reawaken the spirit of Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat among students, and to celebrate the creative spirit of the country. The earlier pieces in the unit do this through crafts, kites and embroidery.

"National War Memorial" closes the unit with a different kind of tradition: the tradition of remembering together. Instead of a craft made by hand, it presents a national monument that the whole country shares.

It also changes the kind of work the student does. The other pieces carry discussion questions and language exercises, while this one is meant to be read aloud, recited as a class and learnt by heart. Saying the same words together is itself a shared practice, which links the poem to the unit's idea of one nation.

Glossary

• Memorial: a structure built to help people remember a person, a group or an event; the National War Memorial honours the country's brave soldiers.
• National monument: a monument that belongs to the whole country; the National War Memorial was built as one by the Government of India.
• Heartland: the central and most important part of a country; the poem places the memorial in the heartland of Bharat.
• Behold: to look at or see, usually something impressive; the poem calls the memorial a grand sight to behold.
• Retold: told again; the memorial honours brave stories that are told again and again.
• Grace: a calm, dignified and pleasing manner; the poem says the memorial stands with respect and grace.
• Etched: cut or carved into a hard surface such as stone or metal; the poem speaks of names etched on the memorial.
• Confide: to share something private or important with someone trusted; the names, stones and stories seem to share the soldiers' stories with visitors.
• Eternal: lasting for ever, without an end; the memorial's flame is called eternal because it never goes out.
• Homage: a show of deep respect and honour for someone; in the poem, the eternal flame pays homage to the soldiers' courage.
• Sacrifice: giving up something very precious for the sake of others or the country; the poem asks readers to remember the soldiers' sacrifice.
• Blessed memory: a memory held with love, respect and gratitude; the poem says the soldiers are kept in blessed memory.
• Couplet: a pair of lines in a poem, usually rhyming with each other; this poem is made of six couplets.
• Personification: giving human actions or feelings to an object or idea, as when the poem's flame pays homage to the soldiers.
• Recite: to say a poem aloud, often from memory and in front of others; the activities ask students to recite this poem.

Common errors and misconceptions

• Misconception: The National War Memorial honours one famous soldier. Correct: It was built in honour of the country's brave soldiers, and the poem speaks of all of them together, with each name etched on the memorial.
• Misconception: The poem tells the story of a battle. Correct: It describes no fighting; it is about honouring and remembering the soldiers' courage and sacrifice.
• Misconception: The memorial honours only soldiers who served on land. Correct: The third couplet mentions battle fields, skies and wide oceans, so it covers service on land, in the air and at sea.
• Misconception: The eternal flame is a fire lit for a celebration. Correct: It glows in silence and pays homage to the soldiers' courage, so it is a sign of respect and lasting memory.
• Misconception: The rhyme scheme of the poem is abab. Correct: The lines rhyme in pairs, one couplet after another, so the rhyme scheme is aa bb cc dd ee ff.
• Misconception: The pride in the poem means boasting about the country. Correct: Pride always appears together with respect, so it means quiet, dignified honour for the soldiers.
• Misconception: The National War Memorial is a monument from long ago. Correct: The introduction says it was established in February 2019, in New Delhi.
• Misconception: The poem is meant only for silent reading. Correct: The activities ask students to read it aloud, recite it with classmates and the teacher, and remember it.

Exam-style questions with model answers

Q1. The introduction to the poem says that the National War Memorial, New Delhi, was established in February 2019 and is a national monument built by the Government of India in honour of the country's brave soldiers. When was it established, and in whose honour was it built? [2 marks]

1. The National War Memorial in New Delhi was established in February 2019.
2. It was built by the Government of India in honour of the country's brave soldiers.

Q2. The poem has twelve lines in six pairs, and the two lines of each pair rhyme. The first three pairs end with behold and retold, pride and confide, and wide and side. What is a pair of rhyming lines called, and what is the rhyme scheme of the poem? [2 marks]

1. A pair of lines that rhyme is called a couplet, and this poem is made of six rhyming couplets.
2. The lines rhyme in pairs, so the rhyme scheme is usually written aa bb cc dd ee ff; because the second and third couplets share the same "-ide" sound, it can strictly be written aa bb bb cc dd ee.

Q3. In the fourth couplet, the eternal flame glows in silence and pays homage to the soldiers' courage. Name the figure of speech used here and explain its effect. [2 marks]

1. The figure of speech is personification, because paying homage is a human action given to a flame.
2. It makes the flame seem like a respectful person honouring the soldiers, and its silence adds a calm, solemn feeling to the place.

Q4. In the second couplet, the memorial stands with respect, grace and pride, and each name etched, each stone and each story has something to confide. Explain three things this couplet shows about the memorial. [3 marks]

1. The memorial has a dignified presence, standing with respect, grace and pride, which sets a serious and respectful mood for visitors.
2. Names are etched, or carved, into the memorial, so the soldiers are remembered one by one, as individuals and not only as a group.
3. The stones and stories seem to share, or confide, the soldiers' deeds with every visitor, so the memorial keeps their brave stories alive.

Q5. The third couplet says the soldiers served on battle fields, in the skies and across wide oceans, and that they stand for Bharat side by side. What does this couplet tell the reader about the soldiers? Give three points. [3 marks]

1. The soldiers served in many places: on battle fields on land, in the skies and on the wide oceans.
2. All of them served the same country; whatever their place of service, they stood for Bharat.
3. They stood side by side, which shows unity, so the poem honours them together as one group, with equal respect for each.

Q6. Below the poem are two photographs. One, labelled National War Memorial, shows a tall, slim reddish-brown pillar rising from a round base, with broad lit steps around it. The other, labelled Amar Jawan Jyoti, shows a flame burning in a bowl above a block of red stone marked "Amar Jawan". The poem describes a grand sight, etched names, stones and stories, and an eternal flame, and the textbook asks students to plan a visit to the memorial. Explain how the pictures connect with the poem, in four points. [4 marks]

1. The first picture shows how large and open the memorial is, which matches the poem's description of it as a grand sight.
2. The red stone block in the second picture connects with the poem's mention of stones, which, with the etched names, have the soldiers' stories to share.
3. The burning flame in the second picture helps the reader imagine the eternal flame of the fourth couplet, which glows in silence.
4. Together, the pictures turn the poem's words into a real place that the student can recognise on a visit, as the "Let us explore" task suggests.

Q7. The poem describes the grand memorial, its etched names and stones, soldiers who served on battle fields, in the skies and on the oceans and stand together for Bharat, the eternal flame that honours their courage, and the soldiers' sacrifice kept in blessed memory. It ends by asking readers to remember that sacrifice with pride and respect for ever. Using these details, explain the central message of the poem in five points. [5 marks]

1. The memorial exists to honour the brave soldiers, and its grand appearance shows how much the nation values them.
2. Names etched on the memorial show that each soldier is remembered as a person, and that their brave stories are kept and shared.
3. The soldiers who served on land, in the skies and at sea stood together for Bharat, so the poem honours them all as one.
4. The eternal flame shows that respect for their courage never ends, just as the flame never goes out.
5. The final couplet gives everyone a duty: to keep the soldiers' sacrifice in mind and remember it for ever, with pride and respect.

Q8. The poem has twelve lines in six rhyming couplets. In it, the memorial is said to stand with pride and the flame pays homage; the word "each" is used three times in one line; and the speaker uses "our" and "let's". The textbook asks students to read it aloud, recite it and remember it. Using these details, write an appreciation of the poem covering its form, two devices, its voice and tone, and its purpose, in five points. [5 marks]

1. Form: the poem has twelve lines in six rhyming couplets, with the rhyme scheme aa bb cc dd ee ff, which gives it a clear, repeating sound pattern.
2. Personification: the memorial stands with pride and the flame pays homage, so the place seems alive and respectful.
3. Repetition: "each" is used three times in one line, giving every name, stone and story equal importance.
4. Voice and tone: the words "our" and "let's" make the speaker one of many citizens, and the tone is solemn, respectful and quietly proud.
5. Purpose: the simple words, short lines and rhyme make the poem easy to read aloud, recite in a group and remember, which is what the activities ask students to do.

Q9. In the poem, names are etched on the memorial, and the eternal flame pays homage to the soldiers' courage. Give the meanings of etched and homage as used here. [2 marks]

1. Etched means cut or carved into a hard surface such as stone; the names are carved into the memorial.
2. Homage means a show of deep respect and honour; the flame honours the courage of the soldiers.

Key takeaways

• "National War Memorial" is the last piece in Unit 5, Culture and Tradition, of Poorvi; no poet is named, and it is meant to be recited and appreciated.
• The memorial in New Delhi was established in February 2019 as a national monument built by the Government of India in honour of brave soldiers.
• The poem has twelve lines in six rhyming couplets, with the rhyme scheme aa bb cc dd ee ff and a near rhyme in the last pair.
• Its parts carry meaning: etched names honour each soldier, stones and stories keep memory alive, and the eternal flame shows respect that never ends.
• The memorial honours soldiers who served on battle fields, in the skies and on the oceans, standing together for Bharat.
• The poem praises courage, sacrifice, unity and service, and presents them calmly, without describing any fighting.
• Personification, repetition, imagery, alliteration and inversion give the short poem its effect and make it easy to recite.
• The tone is solemn, respectful and quietly proud, and the message is to remember the soldiers' sacrifice for ever with pride and respect.

Test yourself

Where is the National War Memorial, and when was it established?

It is in New Delhi, and it was established in February 2019.

Who built the memorial, and why?

The Government of India built it as a national monument in honour of the country's brave soldiers.

How many couplets does the poem have?

It has six couplets, making twelve lines in all, and the two lines of each couplet rhyme with each other.

Which three places of service does the third couplet mention?

Battle fields, the skies and the wide oceans, showing soldiers who served on land, in the air and at sea.

What does the eternal flame do in the poem?

It glows in silence and pays homage to the courage the soldiers showed.

What does the second picture on the page show?

A flame burning in a bowl above a red stone block marked "Amar Jawan" in Hindi, with the caption Amar Jawan Jyoti.

Which pair of rhyme words is a near rhyme?

Remember and forever, in the last couplet, because they sound alike only in part.

What three activities does the textbook give for the poem?

Read the poem aloud, recite it with classmates and the teacher, and remember it.