Chapter 11. My Childhood
Extra and Important Questions with Solutions:
Short Answer Type Questions (Additional)
Q1. What kind of poison was the young teacher spreading in the class?
Answer: He did not like that a Muslim boy would sit with a Hindu Brahmin boy in the class. Thus the young teacher was spreading the poison of social inequality and communalism. He was poisoning the minds of children.
Q2. How did Lakshmana Sastry reform the young teacher?
Answer: Lakshmana Sastry was Ramanadha Sastry’s father. When he came to know that the young teacher had shifted Kalam to the last row he got very angry. He summoned the teacher. He told the teacher that he should not spread the poison of social inequality and communal intolerance in the minds of innocent children. He asked him either to apologize or quit the school. Thus the teacher regreted and he was reformed.
Q3. What kind of a person was Kalam’s father?
Answer: Tall and handsome, Kalam’s father – Jainulabdeen, did not have much of formal education. He didn’t even have much wealth. However, he was a very practical man with a vast store of wisdom. He was generous and never obstructed the progressive ways of his children. As a responsible head of the family, he provided both material and emotional security.
Q4. How was Kalam’s mother an ideal support to her husband?
Answer: Kalam’s mother, Ashiamma, was an ideal support to her husband. She was a picture of goodness and deep kindness. She was tall, good looking and very attached to her children. Like her husband, she was very generous and
fed a number of outsiders daily. Kalam inherited the values of kindness and generosity from her.
Q5. What characteristics does Kalam say he inherited from his parents?
Answer: Kalam inherited honesty and self-discipline from his father and faith in goodness and deep kindness from his mother. His socio-economic and emotional environment trained him as well as his three brothers and sister to acquire these characteristics.
Q6. Who were Kalam’s school friends? What did they become later?
Answer: Kalam’s three close childhood friends were Ramanad Sastry, Aravindan and Sivaprakasan. All three of them settled well in life. Ramanadha inherited 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.
Q7. What did Ramanadha Sastry’s father do when his son told him that the new teacher had sent Kalam to the last seat?
Answer: Ratnanadha’s father, Lakshmana Sastry was deeply distressed to learn that the new school teacher had shifted Kalam to the last bench. He did not approve of this disparity. So he summoned the teacher and told him not to spread the poison of social inequality and communal intolerance in young minds. He bluntly told him to either apologise or leave the school. The teacher not only regretted his action but also reformed himself.
Q8. Who was Sivasubramania Iyer? / In what sense was Sivasubramania Iyer ‘something of a rebel’?
Answer: Sivasubramania Iyer was Kalam’s science teacher. Though an orthodox brahmin, he was something of a rebel. A man of liberal views, he wanted to change the society that was rigid in terms of segregation of different social groups. He knew that if one wished to change the system, one was bound to confront many problems.
Q9. Why did Sivasubramania’s wife refuse to serve food to Kalam in her kitchen?
Answer: Sivasubramania Iyer’s wife was an orthodox and conservative Brahmin. She had peculiar notions about the sanctity of her kitchen which she feared would be defiled if she served meals there to someone who belonged to a
different faith. So, she refused to serve food to a muslim boy in her kitchen.
Q10. How did Sivasubramania react to his wife’s behaviour when she refused to serve Kalam (a muslim boy) in her kitchen?
Answer: Sivasubramania was mentally prepared for such behaviour from his conservative wife. So, without getting angry or perturbed, he served Kalam with his own hands and sat beside him to eat his meal.
Q11. Why did Sivasubramania invite Kalam for dinner again the next weekend?
Answer: Kala m was visibly upset by Sivasubramania Iyer’s wife’s refusal to serve him food in her kitchen. This must have pained Iyer. So, in order to make amends and to ensure that Kalam overcame his disappointment and hurt, Sivasubramania Iyer invited Kalam to another dinner the following weekend. During the intervening time Iyer must have wanted to speak with his wife on the issue. lyer wanted Kalam to brace up for such obstacles, if he wanted to
change the system.
Q12. What did the Indians feel when the nation’s Independence was in full sight?
Answer: Indians were filled with unprecedented optimism when India’s independence was in full sight at the end of Second World War. Gandhiji’s declaration that Indians would build their own India made everyone hopeful.
Q13. Why did Kalam’s father allow Kalam to leave Rameswaram and go to Ramanathapuram?
Answer: Though not educated himself, Kalam’s father understood the significance of education. He did not want to hinder the growth of his children in any way. Since Rameswaram had nothing more than an elementary school, his father
willingly allowed Kalam to go to Ramanathapuram to pursue higher studies.
Q14. What did Kalam’s father mean to say when he quoted Khalil Gibran? Why do you think he spoke these words?
Answer: Kalam’s father meant that every human being must be given the opportunity to build his life as per his wishes and parents should not hinder this effort. He spoke these words to convince Kalam’s mother that her son’s decision to leave home was right. She should allow him happily to shape his life according to his own ideas.
Long Answer Type Questions
Q1. Write a character sketch of Abdul Kalam.
Answer: Abdul Kalam was a boy of ordinary looks. He had many sterling qualities right from his childhood. He had immense affection and respect for his parents. He inherited the values of honesty and self-discipline from his father and faith in goodness and deep kindness from his mother. Kalam was an enterprising and a hard-working child. He collected tamarind seeds, when they were in demand, and sold them to earn small yet significant amounts. Very confident of himself, he did every piece of work assigned to him with full dedication. He helped his cousin to catch bundles from the running trains when the train-halt at Rameswaram was suspended during the Second World War.
He was also a sensitive child and learnt valuable lessons from his experiences. He learnt early in life that caste based segregation is a poison that must not be allowed to thrive. Kalam was also progressive and took decision at the right time to leave his hometown to study further and grow in life.
Q2. How did Abdul Kalam earn his ‘first wages’? How did he feel at that time?
Answer: Abdul Kalam’s cousin, Samsuddin, used to distribute newspapers in Rameswaram. The Second World War broke out in 1939. Now the train’s halt at Rameswaram was suspended. The bundles of newspapers were thrown out
from the moving train on the Rameswaram road between Rameswaram anu Dhanuskodi. Now Samsuddin needed a helping hand to catch the bundles which were thrown out of the moving train. He employed Abdul Kalam to do this job. Thus Abdul Kalam earned his first wages. This was a great moment for him. He felt a great wave of joy and pride in earning his own money for the first time. Even atter tiny years Abdul Kalam clearly remembers that day.
Q3. What does Abdul Kalam say about his parents in the lesson ‘My Childhood’?
Answer: Abdul Kalam is full of praise for his parents. He was born into a middle class family of Rameswaram. His father was Jainulabdeen. He was neither educated nor rich. Yet he had plenty of natural wisdom. He was also very generous. Abdul Kalam’s mother was Ashiarnma. She was a kind and helpful lady. Kalam’s parents were generous.
A number of outsiders daily ate with the family. Their number was more than all the members of Kalam’s family put together. Abdul Kalam was greatly influenced by his parents. His father taught him the value of self-discipline and honesty. From his mother he inherited faith in goodness and deep kindness. His parents were not rich but they provided their children all the bask necessities of life like food, clothes and medicines. Thus, Abdul Kalam’s parents greatly influenced him.
Q4. “Once you decide to change the system, such problems have to be confronted.” What ‘system’ is this sentence referring to? What are `such problems’? Does the text suggest that the problems have been tackled?
Answer: The above sentence refers to religious differences between people. A.P.J.Abdul Kalam belonged to Rameswaram. At that time, the small society of that town was rigid in terms of the segregation of different social groups. This system was prevalent in the whole of the country. The high caste people did not like to eat or drink with the people of low castes.
The new teacher in Abdul Kalam’s class could not tolerate that a Muslim boy should sit with the son of a Hindu priest. He sent Abdul Kalam to the back bench. But some people have tried to fight these problems. Abdul Kalam’s teacher, Sivasubramania lyer served Abdul Kalam with his own hands. He sat down beside him to eat. Later, his wife realised her mistake. The next week, she served Abdul Kalam in her kitchen. Yet these problems are deep rooted in India. These have not been tackled even now.
Q5. How does Abdul Kalam describe his three close friends?
Answer: Abdul Kalam says that in his childhood, he had three close friends. Their names were Ramanadha Sastry,Aravindan and Sivaprakasan. All these boys were from orthodox Hindu Brahmin families. Ramanadha Sastri was the son of Pakshi Lakshmana Sastry. He was the high priest of the Rameswaram temple. When Ramanadha grew up, he took over the priesthood of the temple from his father.
Aravindan went into the business of arranging transport for the pilgrims who visited Rameswaram.The third friend, Sivaprakasan became a catering contractor for the Southern Railways. Abdul Kalam says that althbugh they were from different refigOts, none of them ever felt any difference among themselves because of different religious backgrounds. Their parents were also liberal and generous. Ramanadha’s father rebuked the new teacher for spreading the poison of social inequality in the minds of innocent children.
Q6. In this chapter, A.P.J.Abdul Kalam describes two of his teachers. What is the difference in the outlooks of these two teachers?
Answer: Abdul Kalam describes two teachers of his school days. When he was in the fifth standard, a new teacher came to the class. Abdul Kalam was sitting in the front row, next to his close friend Ramanadha Sastry. The teacher could not tolerate that a Muslim boy should sit with a Brahmin boy. He sent Abdul Kalam to the back bench. It made both Abdul Kalam and Ramanadha very sad. Later, however, the teacher realised his mistake.
The attitude of Abdul Kalam’s science teacher was quite different. His name was Sivasubramania lyer. He did not believe in social barriers and tried his best to break them. One day he invited Abdul Kalam home for a meal. His wife was a traditional lady. She refused to serve a Muslim boy into her kitchen. But Iyer served Abdul Kalam with his own hands. Then he sat down beside him to eat his meal. Thus we find that there is a lot of difference in the outlooks of the two teachers.
