DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL HYDERABAD

GRADE IX
ENGLISH
MY CHILDHOOD

I. Thinking about the text: (Page No 75)

To be done orally in class

II. Long answer questions

1. How does the author describe: (i) his father, (ii) his mother, (iii) himself?

Ans: (i) Kalam’s father, Jainulabdeen was not a wealthy or educated person. However, he was an
honest and generous man, who possessed great innate wisdom. He was self-disciplined and avoided
all inessential luxuries.

(ii) Kalam’s mother, Ashiamma was an ideal helpmate to her husband. She believed in goodness and
profound kindness, and fed many people every day. She was a noble and kind-hearted woman.

(iii) The author describes himself as a short boy with undistinguished looks, who had a secured
childhood who was born in a Tamil family in Rameswaram. He is an honest and self-disciplined
person, who believes in goodness and deep kindness which he believed to have acquired from his
parents.

2. What characteristics does he say he inherited from his parents?

Ans: The characteristics which he said that he has inherited are honesty and self-discipline from his
father, faith in goodness and deep kindness from his mother.

3. “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: Abdul Kalam mentions about two social groups of Rameshwaram – orthodox Brahmins and
Muslims. Yes, these groups were easily identifiable. For example, Kalam wore a cap which marked
him as a Muslim while Ramanadha Sastry wore a sacred thread which marked him a Hindu. Hence
their traditions, dressing, culture and rituals were different.
(ii) Were they aware only 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 of what
used to take place in the pond near his house.)

Ans: No, they were not only aware of their differences but also they naturally shared friendships and
experiences.

Kalam’s mother and grandmother would tell the children of their family bedtime stories about the
events from the Ramayana and also from the life of the prophet. During the Shri Sita Rama Kalyanam
ceremony, his family used to arrange boats with a special platform for carrying idols of the Lord from
the temple to the marriage site, situated in the middle of the pond called Rama Tirtha which was near
his house.

(iii) The author speaks both of people who were very aware of the differences among them and
those who tried to bridge these differences. Can you identify such people in the text?

Ans: The people, who were very aware of the differences among them, were the young teacher who
joined the Rameshwaram elementary school and came to teach Kalam’s class when he was in the fifth
standard; and his science teacher’s conservative wife who refused to serve Kalam in her ritually pure
kitchen. Those who tried to bridge these differences were Kalam’s science teacher Sivasubramania Iyer
who invited, served and dined with him to break social barriers so that people could mingle easily; and
Lakshmana Sastry who conveyed the strong sense of conviction to the new young teacher to reform
him.

(iv) Narrate two incidents that show how differences can be created, and also how they can be
resolved. How can people change their attitudes?

Ans: The first incident to show that how differences can be created is that when the new young teacher
found a Muslim student sitting beside a Hindu student, he asked Kalam to sit in the last raw. His friend
Ramanadha Sastry was heartbroken. They informed their respective parents. Lakshmana Sastry
summoned the teacher and conveyed the strong sense of conviction which ultimately reformed him.

The other incident shows that how differences can be resolved. The author’s Science teacher,
Sivasubramania Iyer, though an orthodox Brahmin from a very conservative background tried to
bridge these differences.

People can change their attitudes by observing no difference in the way of Hindu’s and a Muslim’s
eating of meals, drinking of water and cleaning of the floor.
4. Why did Abdul Kalam want to leave Rameswaram?

Ans: (i) Kalam wanted to leave Rameswaram for further studies. He wanted to study at the district
headquarters in Ramanathapuram.

5. What did his father say to this?

Ans: Kalam’s father said that he knew that one day Kalam had to go away to grow. He gave him the
analogy of a seagull that flies across the sun alone and without a nest. He then quoted Khalil Gibran to
Kalam’s mother saying that her children were not their own children. They were the sons and
daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They come through their parents, but not from them. They may
give them their love, but not their thoughts as the children have their own thoughts.

6. What do you think his words mean? Why do you think he spoke those words?

Ans: Abdul Kalam’s father’s words bear great meanings. First, he inspired his son to go ahead above
giving the example of the seagull. Secondly, he explained Kalam’s mother to give his son opportunities
to get higher education and to make progress. I think he spoke those words to encourage Abdul Kalam
and to control the emotional attachment of his wife for Kalam.

Reference to Context:

1. ‘Every child is born, with some inherited characteristics, into a specific socio-economic and emotional
environment, and trained in certain ways by figures of authority. I inherited honesty and self-discipline from my
father; from my mother, I inherited faith in goodness and deep kindness and so did my three brothers and sister.
I had three close friends in my childhood – Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindan and Sivaprakasan. All boys were from
orthodox Hindu Brahmin families. As children, none of us ever felt any difference amongst ourselves because of
our religious differences and upbringing. In fact, Ramanadha Sastry was the son of Pakshi Lakshmana Sastry,
the high priest of the Rameswaran Temple.’

1. Which of the facts is evident in the upbringing of Kalam from the above extract?

(i) He showed kindness to even strangers

(ii) He was always honest and never lied

(iii) He knew how to respect his parents and teachers

(iv) He never felt any difference between him and his Hindu friends

2. In the given extract, Kalam mentions a few things that moulds and shape the personality of a
child. They are:
(a) Genetic characteristics (b) training (c) life- experiences (d) friends (e) socio-economic
environment
(i) Option (a), (b) and (c)

(ii) Option (c), (d) and (e)

(iii) Option (a), (b) and (e)

(iv) All of the above

3. Why was it important for Kalam to note that Ramanadha Sastry was the son of a high Priest?

(i) Because he wanted to show that he and his friends had an unbiased upbringing.

(ii) Because all Hindus and Muslims lived harmoniously in Rameswaram.

(iii) Because Kalam’s parents insisted on him making friends only from orthodox Hindu families.

(iv) Because it was a rare privilege to be friends with the high priest’s son.

4. How many siblings were there in Kalam’s family?

(i) 4 including him

(ii) 5 including him

(iii) 5 excluding him

(iv) 3 brothers and 3 sisters

5. The phrase ‘figures of authority’ here denotes _____

(i) Elders in the family and school

(ii) Bosses in the organization

(iii) Leaders of the country

(iv) All of the above

Extrapolation

Q1. The two teachers in Kalam’s life had different attitudes towards social and communal intolerance.
Which attitude do you think is right and why?

Key Points to follow:

➢ Mention about the teacher in his elementary school.
➢ Sivasubramania Iyer, the science teacher and what he told Kalam in his house.
➢ Your opinion and reasons to justify the same.
(Divide into two paragraphs)