My Childhood

(i) His father: Abdul Kalam's father, Jainulabdeen, was not a wealthy or educated person. However, he was an honest and generous man with strong innate wisdom. He was self-disciplined and used to avoid all inessential luxuries but provided all the necessities needed for living.

(ii) His mother: Abdul Kalam’s mother, Ashiamma, was an embodiment of goodness and kindness who was an ideal helpmate to her husband. She also possessed immense hospitality skills and fed many people every day.

(iii) Himself: The author describes himself as a short boy with undistinguished looks, who had a secure childhood. He is a self-disciplined and honest person with a considerate attitude.

Tamil is the language spoken in Dhanuskodi and Rameswaram. The author, his family, his friends and his teachers also spoke the Tamil language.

Abdul Kalam's house was situated on the Mosque Street in Rameswaram in the state of Madras.

(i) He mentions two social groups of Rameswaram i.e. Orthodox Brahmins and Muslims. Yes, these groups were easily identifiable from the way they dressed; Kalam wore a cap which marked him a Muslim whereas his friend, Ramanadha Sastry wore a sacred thread which marked him a Hindu.

(ii) Though they were aware of their caste differences, yet shared the natural bound of friendships and experiences.

Kalam’s mother and grandmother often told the children of the family about the events from the Ramayana and from the life of the Prophet as bedtime stories. In addition, 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 people who were aware of the differences among them, were the young teacher who joined the Rameswaram Elementary School and came to teach Kalam’s class (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 the social barriers that the society proposed and Lakshmana Sastry who summoned the teacher and conveyed the strong sense of conviction to the young teacher to bring about reform.

(iv)The incident that shows how differences can be treated is when the new young teacher came to teach Kalam’s class. On finding a Muslim student sitting beside a Hindu student, he immediately asked Kalam to leave the front row and sit back in the last row. However, Lakshmana Sastry resolved the differences by persuading the teacher about not spreading the poison of social inequality and communal intolerance in innocent minds. The second incident where differences could be seen was when Kalam’s science teacher Sivasubramania Iyer’s wife showcased a hostile reaction towards Kalam when it came to serving him from her ritually pure kitchen. Likewise, the situation was resolved when Kalam’s science teacher invited him again to his house.

Both these incidents throw light on the ideas of equality and tolerance which eventually helped in reforming the attitude of people who staunchly believed in segregation of different social groups in society. This shows that a change can be brought in society when one is prepared to face the consequences with utmost courage.

(i) Abdul Kalam was very much interested in pursuing higher studies. Therefore, he requested his father and asked for his permission to leave Rameswaram and study at the district headquarters in Ramanathapuram.

(ii) 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 further quoted Khalil Gibran to his mother saying that their 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.

(iii) Abdul Kalam’s father’s words bear a deep significance. He inspired his son to go ahead and pursue his higher education independently. Further, he explained Kalam’s mother to give his son the space to utilize his opportunities and move forward progressively.

He spoke those words to encourage his son to achieve his goals as well as to control the emotional attachment of his wife for her son.

The author says that he inherited honesty and self discipline from his father and the attributes of faith in goodness and deep kindness from his mother.

Dinamani is the name of a local newspaper. It can be said so because Abdul Kalam often made attempts at tracing stories related to the war in the headlines of Dinamani.

Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindan and Sivaprakasan were Abdul Kalam’s three school friends. Ramanadha Sastry became the highest priest of the Rameswaram Temple, Aravindan went into the business of arranging transport for visiting pilgrims and Sivaprakasan became a catering contractor for the Southern Railways.

During the Second World War, the newspapers were bundled and thrown out of a moving train. Abdul Kalam helped his cousin Samsuddin in catching these bundles and in this way he was successful in earning his “first wage”.

Yes, Abdul Kalam had earned some money before he started helping his cousin. He used to collect tamarind seeds and sell them at a provision shop on the Mosque Street when their demand soared high during the Second World War. He usually earned one anna in a day.

1. A few things that can erupt include – volcano, tooth, anger, riots, unrest, rashes or pimples on the surface of the skin etc. The meanings of erupt with examples are given as follows:

(i) Something that began unexpectedly – Example: Riots erupted in the city.

(ii) Something bursting into flames – Example: The tiny spark within no time erupted into flames.

(iii) Become active and eject lava – Example: The molten lava erupted out of the active volcano.

(iv) Violent release of something pent up – Example: The discussions soon erupted into a heated argument.

(v) Break out – Example: The eruption of the wisdom tooth is very painful

(vi) Sudden appearance on the skin – Example: A pimple erupted on her face just after removing the oil and dirt.

A few things that can surge include pride, anxiety, army, boat, waves etc. The meanings of surge with examples are given as follows:

(i) A sudden forceful flow – Example: The boy drowned in the constantly surging waves.

(ii) Move upwards under the influence of a natural force – Example: The boat kept surging in the high and low tide.

(iii) Rise and move forward – Example: The army steadily surged towards their enemy.

(iv) An improvement or achievement through one’s performance – Example: I can still feel the surge of pride in earning my own money for the first time.

2. The following are the meanings of the word trace –

(i) Follow or discover something via the course of development or through the medium of investigation

(ii) To go back over again

(iii) Make a mark or lines on a plain surface

(iv) Reading with difficulty

(v) Pursue or chase something

The closest meaning of the word ‘trace’ in the text is ‘to find or discover through investigation.’

3. The meaning of the word ‘undistinguished’ can be derived from the meaning of ‘distinguished’ which refers to special or eminent appearance or behaviour of a person. Therefore, undistinguished would symbolize ‘ordinary appearance or behaviour of a person.’ For example - I was one of many children-a short boy with rather undistinguished looks.

(i) In yesterday’s competition, the prizes were given away by the Principal.

(ii) In spite of financial difficulties, the labourers were paid on time.

(iii) On Republic Day, vehicles are not allowed beyond this point.

(iv) Second-hand books are bought and sold on the pavement every Saturday.

(v) Elections to the Lok Sabha are held every five years.

(vi) Our National Anthem was composed by Rabindranath Tagore.

1. Nari Contractor was the Captain and an opening batsman for India in the 1960s. The Indian Cricket Team went on a tour to the West Indies in 1962. In a match against Barbados in Bridgetown, Nari Contractor got seriously injured and collapsed. In those days helmets were not worn. Contractor was hit on the head by a bouncer from Charlie Griffith. Contractor’s skull had fractured. The entire team was deeply concerned. The West Indies players were worried. Contractor was rushed to hospital. He was accompanied by Frank Worrell, the Captain of the West Indies Team. Blood was donated by the West Indies players. Thanks to the timely help, Contractor was saved. Nowadays helmets are routinely used against bowlers.

2. Vegetable oils are made from seeds and fruits of many plants growing all over the world, from tiny sesame seeds to big, juicy coconuts. Oil is produced from cotton seeds, groundnuts, soya beans and sunflower seeds. Olive oil is used for cooking, salad dressing etc. Olives are shaken from the trees and gathered up, usually by hand. The olives are ground to a thick paste which is spread onto special mats. Then the mats are layered up on the pressing machine which will gently squeeze them to produce olive oil.

The poet has used the word ‘uniforms’ to signify the armies of several countries who are constantly at war with one another. In addition, the word ‘uniform’ could also refer to the wide variety of dresses worn by people across the globe.

The poem reminds people that all kinds of divisions based on nation, religion, caste or creed are groundless since all human beings are similar in their basic need of the common resources such as air, water and the sun required for the existence of humanity. It suggests that since all people on earth have a common source of origin, all kinds of violence must be given up which would eventually unite everyone for the betterment and well being of the human race.

The following are the five ways in which we all are alike:

(1) Each of us has a similar body.

(2) All of us breathe.

(3) All of us walk.

(4) All of us lie.

(5) We live and die on the same earth.

The common features in stanza 2 are as follows:

1. The sun

2. The air

3. The water

4. The peaceful harvest.

5. The hands and the labour.

Whenever there is a situation of war; leaders provoke the feeling of enmity amongst people and compel them to hate the other country. They tell people to do so for their personal gains from the situation.

However, we should not become a puppet in their hands and act upon their advice. According to the poet, human beings need to understand that hatred against others will only deprive them of themselves and it is the earth which would eventually be polluted of such impurities. Therefore, the poet persuades people to contribute towards peace and prosperity and always remember that no men are foreign and no countries strange.