My Childhood | Question Solutions
My Childhood Question Solutions
(NCERT/CBSE)
-A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
My Childhood | Question Solutions
TEXTUAL QUESTION SOLUTIONS
Thinking about the text.
Activity:
- What language(s) do you think are spoken in Rameswaram and Dhanuskodi? What languages do you think the author, his family, his friends and his teachers spoke with one another?
Ans: Rameswaram and Dhanuskodi are situated in Tamilnadu. Most of the inhabitants of Tamilnadu speak in Tamil. So Tamil is spoken in Rameswaram and Dhanuskodi.
As the author of the essay was born in Tamilnadu so he, the members of his family, his friends and teachers probably spoke in Tamil.
- Answer these questions in one or two sentences each:
Q.1. Where was Abdul Kalam‘s House?
Ans: Abdul Kalam’s house was on the Mosque Street in Rameswaram, Tamilnadu.
Q.2. What do you think Dinamoni is the name of? Give reason for your answer.
Ans: Dinamoni is the name of a newspaper in Madras. That Dinamoni is a newspaper is known from the fact that Abdul Kalam read its headlines to find the stories about the war.
Q.3. Who were Abdul Kalam’s school friends? What did they later become?
Ans. Abdul Kalam’s school friends were Ramanadha Sastry, Arabindan and Sivprakasan. Later Ramanadha Sastry became a priest in Rameswaram temple, Arbindan went into the transport business and Sivprakasan became a catering contractor for Southern Railways.
Q.4. How did Abdul Kalam earn his first wages?
Ans. Abdul Kalam became a helper to his cousin named Samsuddin who distributed newspapers in Rameswaram. Abdul Kalam helped him in catching the bundles of newspapers thrown out from moving trains and thus he earned his first wages.
Q.5. Had he earned any money before that? In what, why?
Ans. Yes, before that he had earned money. When the second world war broke out in 1939 there was a sudden demand for tamarind seeds. Abdul Kalam used to collect tamarind seeds and sell them to a provision store for one anna which was a good amount for a day’s income during that time.
- Answer each of these questions in a short paragraph (about 30 words )
Q.1. How does the author describe (i) his father (ii) his mother (iii) himself
Ans. (i) His father: The author A. P. J. Abdul Kalam describes his father Jainulabdeen as a man with neither much formal education nor much wealth. But he possessed great innate wisdom and true generosity of spirit. He was an austre man who did not spend money on unessential comfort and luxury.
(ii) His mother: A. P. J. Kalam describes his mother, Ashiamma, as an ideal woman. She used to feed a large number of outsiders every day. The number of such outsiders fed by her was far more than the members of the family. Kalam’s father found an ideal helpmate in her.
(iii) Himself: Telling about himself A. P. J. Kalam says that he was one of many children in the family. He was a boy of undistinguished looks born to handsome parents. Because of his parental care, he had a very secure childhood both materially and emotionally.
Q.2. What characteristics does he say he inherited from his parents?
Ans. He says that from his father he inherited honesty and self-discipline. From his mother, he inherited faith in goodness and deep kindness.
III. Discuss the questions in class with your teacher and write down your answer in two or three paragraphs each.
Q.1. “On the whole, the small society of Rameswaram was very rigid in terms of the segregation of different social groups.” says the author.
(i) Which social groups does he mention? Were these groups easily identifiable (for example by the way they dressed)?
Ans. The author mentions the Hindus, especially the Brahmins among them and the Muslims as two main social groups living in Rameswaram.
The groups were easily identifiable by the way they dressed. The Muslims could be identified by the cap they wore on their head. They also wore shirts and vests. The Brahmins could be identified by the sacred thread they wore on bare bodies. They wore dhotis and sandalwood paste on their foreheads.
(ii) Were they aware of their differences or did they also naturally share friendships and experiences? ( Think of the bedtime stories in Kalam’s house; of who his friends were; and what used to take place in the pond near his house.)
Ans. The small society in Rameswaram was aware of their differences. But their sense of co-operation and mutual respect for each other was much greater than their differences. For example in the Muslim family of Abdul Kalam, mother and grandmother told them stories from the Ramayana. Abdul Kalam’s close friends, Ramanadha Shastry, Arbindan and Sivprakshan were boys from orthodox Brahmin families. Pakshi Lakshman Shastry even called and warned the teacher not to spread the poison of communalism among the children.
Kalam’s father arranged boats with platforms to carry the idols of Lord Rama from the temple to a pond named Rama Tirtha on the occasion of the annual Shri Sita Ram Kalyanam.
(iii) The author speaks both of people who were very much aware of the differences among them and those who tried to bridge the difference. Can you identify such people in the text?
Ans. Yes, there are people mentioned in the article who are very much aware of the differences among various social groups living in Rameswaram. For example, the new teacher who had come to Rameswaram Elementary School compelled Abdul Kalam to shift from the first row to the backbench. This was because he could not tolerate seeing Kalam sit next to Ramanadha Sastry, the son of the high priest of Rameswaram temple. The wife of Sivsubramania is another example. On the first occasion, she refused to serve a meal to Kalam in her ritually pure kitchen.
Kalam’s father, though a Muslim, arranged a boat on the occasion of the Sri Sita Rama Kalyanam ceremony to carry the idols of the lord from the temple to the marriage of Sita.
(iv) Narrate two incidents that show how differences can be created and how they can be resolved. How can people change their attitude?
Ans. The first incident relates to the activities of the new teacher who had come to the Elementary School when Kalam was in the fifth standard. Kalam and his close friend Ramanadha Sastry used to sit in the first row one next to the other. The new teacher could not tolerate seeing the son of a priest near a Muslim boy wearing a cap. He compelled Kalam to shift from the first row to the backbench. When the matter was reported then the father of Ramanandha called in the teacher. He asked the teacher either to apologise or leave the school and the island. He regretted and Sastry’s words ultimately reformed him.
The second incident relates to the activities of the wife of Sivsubramania Iyer. One day Kalam was invited by Iyer for a meal at his house. Iyer’s wife was horrified with the idea of a Muslim boy being invited to dine in her ritually pure kitchen. Sivsubramania Iyer himself served a meal to Kalam and also ate his meal sitting beside him. When Kalam was leaving the house, Sivsubramania invited him to dine with him again the next weekend.
Thus with a broad outlook, people can change their attitudes towards others.
- (i) Why did Abdul Kalam want to leave Rameswaram?
(ii) What did his father say to him?
(iii) What do you think his words mean? Why do you think he spoke these words?
Ans. (i) Abdul Kalam wanted to leave Rameswaram to study at the district headquarter in Ramanathapuram.
(ii) His father said that he knew that his son had to go away for higher study. He cited the example of the seagull. He gave the example that a seagull flew across the sun alone and without rest.
(iii) He spoke these words because he knew his son must leave home in order to get higher education. He must face the hard realities of life. By saying so he inspired his son.
Thinking about the language
Q.1. Find the sentences in the text where these words occur.
erupt surge trace undistinguished casualty
Ans: Read the lesson thoroughly and find out the words yourself.
II.Q.1. Match the phrases in column A with their meanings in column B.
Ans: (i) …… (c),
(ii)……….. (f)
(iii)…….(d)
(iv) ………. (b)
(v) ……. (a)
(vi) ………. (e)
ADDITIONAL QUE SOLUTIONS
Q.1. What is the name of APJ Abdul Kalam’s autobiography?
Ans. The name of A. P. J. Abdul Kalam’s autography is “Wings of Fire”.
Q.2. What is the name of Abdul Kalam’s father?
Ans. The father’s name of Abdul Kalam was Jainulabdeen.
Q.3.Where is Rameswaram? What type of town it is?
Ans: Rameswaram is in Tamilnadu. It is an island town.
Q.4. When did Abdul Kalam become the President of India?
Ans: Abdul Kalam became the President of India in 2002 A. D.
Q.5. What type of boy was Abdul Kalam?
Ans. Kalam was a short boy with an undistinguished look.
Q.6. When did the Second World War break out?
Ans. The second World War broke out in 1939.
Q.7. What happened when Abdul kalam visited his science teacher’s house the second time?
Ans. On his second visit, the wife of his science teacher took him inside her house and served him food. 0 0 0. My Childhood | Question Solutions
My Childhood Question Solutions
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