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Notes - My Childhood

The document provides biographical details about A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's childhood in Rameswaram, India. It describes how he earned his first wages helping his cousin collect newspapers during World War II. It also discusses his enterprising nature as a child and his friendship with three schoolmates who all went on to stable careers. The document notes some social tensions between castes and religions that existed, but that most people lived together in harmony. It provides examples of a teacher who tried to segregate students and a science teacher's wife who initially refused to serve Kalam due to his religion.

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33 views

Notes - My Childhood

The document provides biographical details about A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's childhood in Rameswaram, India. It describes how he earned his first wages helping his cousin collect newspapers during World War II. It also discusses his enterprising nature as a child and his friendship with three schoolmates who all went on to stable careers. The document notes some social tensions between castes and religions that existed, but that most people lived together in harmony. It provides examples of a teacher who tried to segregate students and a science teacher's wife who initially refused to serve Kalam due to his religion.

Uploaded by

farticalapa2
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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My Childhood

Bio sketch of APJ Abdul Kalam


Question and answer (Notebook 1-5)

1.What were the qualities that Abdul Kalam admired in his parents?
Answer:
Kalam’s parents were noble and generous people. Though his father was an austere man, he
provided his family with all necessities, in terms of food, medicine and clothes. He admired
his father’s honesty and self-discipline and his mother’s faith in goodness and kindness. He
admired his parents for respecting all religions.

2. Briefly describe Abdul Kalam’s ancestral house.


Answer:
Abdul Kalam’s ancestral house was situated on Mosque Street in Rameswaram. It had been
built in the middle of the nineteenth century and was a fairly large, pucca house made of
limestone and brick.

3.How did the Second World War give Abdul Kalam the opportunity to earn his first wages?
Answer:
When the stoppage of trains was cancelled at Rameshwaram because of World War II,
Kalam’s cousin, Samsuddin, who distributed newspapers in Rameswaram, asked him for
help in collecting newspaper bundles which were thrown from the moving train. This helped
Abdul Kalam earn his first wages.

4. Right from his childhood Kalam was very enterprising. Comment.


Answer:
Kalam was an enterprising child who used to make full use of the opportunities that came
his way. During the war, when there occurred a great demand for tamarind seeds in the
market, he used to collect these seeds and sell them off to a provision store near his home
and earn an anna a day. Thus, he was able to earn some money for himself. Later, he
collected newspapers for his cousin, Samsuddin, and earned his first wages. These
incidents show that he was very enterprising.

5.What did Kalam’s family do during the annual Shri Sita Rama Kalyanam ceremony?
Answer:
During the annual Shri Sita Rama Kalyanam ceremony, Kalam’s 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 Kalam’s house.

6. Who were Kalam’s school friends? What did they become later?
Answer:
Kalam’s three close childhood friends were Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindan and Sivaprakasan.
All three of them settled well in life. Ramanadha inherited the priesthood of Rameswaram
temple from his father, Aravindan took up the business of arranging transport for visiting
pilgrims and Sivaprakasan became a catering contractor for the Southern Railways.

7. There were sharp differences that existed in the minds of some people belonging to these
social groups. Illustrate.
Answer:
Although most people lived together in harmony with each other, there were some people
who were very aware of the differences among them and rigidly enforced them. These
included the young teacher who joined the Rameshwaram Elementary School and taught
Kalam’s class, the fifth standard. He tried to separate the Hindu Brahman boy, Ramanadha
Sastry and Abdul Kalam, who was a Muslim. Kalam’s science teacher’s conservative wife
also refused to serve Kalam in her kitchen. However, others in society, made them see the
error of their ways and harmony was maintained.

8.Who asked Kalam to sit on the back bench of his class? Why?
Answer:
A new teacher at the Rameswaram Elementary School could not tolerate that Kalam, a
Muslim, sat with Ramanadha Sastry, a Hindu wearing the sacred thread. This was contrary
to the teacher’s notion of social ranking. So, he ordered Kalam to sit on the back bench.

9.What was the difference in the attitudes of the science teacher and his wife towards A.P.J.
Abdul Kalam?
Answer:
Though the Science teacher was a Brahmin, he broke the social barriers and mixed with
people belonging to different religions and communities. He invited Abdul home and served
him his meal and even sat and ate with him. On the contrary, his wife, at first, was
conservative and refused to serve Abdul in her kitchen. However, by the next time, she was
also transformed and served Abdul Kalam herself.

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