MY CHILDHOOD

undistinguished: ordinary or common

austere: simple, strict and severe
secure: safe
Materially means in terms of things like clothes food, medicine
emotionally means in terms of love and affection.
tamarind seeds: kind of fruit
princely sum: generous amount (here, ironic)
anna: an old Indian coin, worth about six paise
Dinamani: a tamil daily newspaper.
casualty: loss
suspension: end, stop

Question Answer
1. What was the reaction of Abdul Kalam’s father when he wanted to leave home? What was his
mother’s reaction?
Answer: Abdul Katam’s father gave him his permission gladly. But his mother was a little worried. At this, his
father told her that a child is like a seagull. One day, he has to learn to fly alone like the seagull. This cleared
the doubts of his mother.
2. What was Sivasuhramania lyer’s wife reaction when she came to know that a Muslim boy wasinvited
to have a meal with them by her husband?
Answer: Sivasubramania lyer’s still life was horrified to know this. She refused to serve food to a Muslim boy in
her ritually pure kitchen. But the teacher was not perturbed at this. He served Kalam with his.
3. What made Sivasubramania tier’s wife change his mind?
Answer: Sivasubramania lyer’s wife watched Kalam having his man from behind the kitchen door. She did not
find any difference in the way he took his meal ‘fins made her change her mind. On his next visit to the
teacher’s house, she took Kalin inside the kitchen. She served him food with her own hands.
4. 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 Kahan 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 school. Thus the teacher regretted and he was reformed.
5. 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.
6. How was Kalam’s mother ideal support to her husband?
Answer: Kalam’s mother, Ashiamma, was 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.
7. What did Kalam look like as a young child?
Answer: Kalam did not take after his tall and handsome parents. He was a rather short boy with average looks.
With ordinary looks unlike that of his parents who had quite striking features, his appearance was
undistinguished.
8. Where was Abdul Kalam’s house situated?
Answer: Abdul Kalam’s house was situated on Mosque Street in Rameswaram. This was his ancestral house
and had been built in the middle of the nineteenth century. It was a fairly large, pucca house made of
limestone and brick.
9. Why does Kalam say he had a secure childhood, both materially and emotionally?
Answer: Though not very well off, Kalam’s father made sure that he provided his family with all the necessities
in terms of food, medicine and clothes. Apart from this, Kalam got all the love and parental guidance from
them during his childhood. That is why he says that he had a very secure childhood both materially and
emotionally.
10. How did Abdul Kalam earn his first wages?
Answer: Abdul Kalam earned his first wages by catching bundles of newspapers from moving trains for his
cousin Shamsuddin who used to distribute newspapers in Rameswaram. During the Second World War, the
train halt at Rameswaram station was suspended, so bundles of newspapers were thrown off moving trains
and had to be collected.
Long Answer Type Questions
1. 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 and 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 after tiny years
Abdul Kalam clearly remembers that day
2. “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 Kalarn to the back bench. But some people have
tried to fight these problems. Abdul Kalam’s teacher, Sivasubramania lyer’s 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.
3. 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.
4. 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 although 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. Ramanathan’s father rebuked the new teacher for
spreading the poison of social inequality in the minds of innocent children.
5. In this chapter, [Link] 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.