Beehive -NCERT Class 9 -My Childhood – Question and Answers —

My Childhood

Abdul Kalam, one of India’s most illustrious sons, reminisces about his humble upbringing …

Para 1 .. A. P. J Abdul Kalam is a household name in India, particularly among students and teachers. He was born in Rameswaram in a Tamil family. His father, Jainulabdeen, was a man of modest education and modest means. But, he had a generous mind and did everything within his means to do good to others. Kalam’s mother, Ashiamma, was a perfect wife, who actively cooperated with her husband in his benevolent activities. She cooked food to feed the needy and hungry every day. Kalam, then a child, recollects that the number of people fed by her mother was well above the number of her family members.

Para 2 .. Kalam lived with his parents in a fairly large pucca house that was inherited by his father from his grandfather. The house was built some time in the middle of nineteenth century. The house stood in the Mosque Street of Rameswaram. Jainulabdeen had inherited the large building from his father. Kalam had a few more siblings. His father avoided unwarranted expenses, but gave enough money for the family’s bare necessities. Thanks to his father’s wisdom, Kalam and others never suffered due to lack of food, medicines, and clothing. Unlike his well-built father and mother, Kalam had a short, unimpressive frame. His childhood passed off in the coziness of his family.

Part 3 … The World War 2 broke out in 1939 when Kalam was eight years in age.  Due to some unknown reasons, the demand for tamarind seeds skyrocketed. Kalam went on errands to collect the seeds from near the trees and elsewhere. He handed over the day’s collection of tamarind seeds to a grocery store in his lane and got one anna in return! Jalaluddin, his brother-in-law, helped Kalam to make sense of the War that was unfolding. Dinmani, a local newspaper, published war stories in its headlines. In later years, Kalam could think and corelate the happenings in the war front with Dinmani’s headlines.

As the War dragged on, India was pulled into the side of the Allied powers to augment supply of manpower and materials. For the people of Rameswaram, it brought a very different result. The train stop at Rameswaram Road was done away with. As a result, trains ran from Rameswaram to Danuskodi non-stop. For newspaper vendors, it was a challenge. Someone on board the train carrying the newspaper bundles had to throw the newspaper sacks onto the Rameswaram Road railway platform. Holding on to the sack flying off a running train was quite a task. Samsuddin, Kalam’s brother, was one such vendor who had to catch the newspaper bundle being flung from the train. Kalam lent his shoulders to his brother Samsuddin in this operation, and got some wages from his brother as reward. It was Kalam’s first earning of his life. He fondly remembers this success.

Part 4 .. Kalam had three brothers and a sister. The parents instilled the goodness of their natures in the children. His father taught him to be honest and disciplined, where as his mother molded his mind to be virtuous and compassionate. Thus, the noble nature of his father and mother shaped his mind and character.

Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindan and Sivaprakasan were Kalam’s closest friends. Their orthodox Brahminic family background didn’t ever hinder their friendship. The divergence of their faith didn’t separate them in any way. Ramanadha Sastry was the son of Pakshi Lakshmana Sastry, who worked in the the Rameswaram temple as a high priest. In later years, Ramanandha Sastry occupied the same position that his ageing father left. Aravindan became a transport entrepreneur to cater to the needs of the pilgrims, and went into the business of arranging transport for visiting pilgrims. Sivaprakasan became a catering contractor for the Southern Railways.

Part 5 … In Rameswaram, a famous annual event called Shri Sita Rama Kalyanam was conducted with a lot of fanfare. Kalam’s family played a big role in this profoundly Hindu ritual. His father was in charge of arranging boats to carry the idols of Lord Rama from the temple to the marriage site. Lord Rama’s idol was seated on a well-decorated throne on board the boat. The marriage site was at the middle of a pond called Rama Tirtha. Such was the way Kalam’s family contributed to a Hindu religious function. Kalam recollects how his parents used to narrate bedtime stories based on Hindu scriptures and the life of the Prophet. Such was the seamless and tolerant orientation of Kalam and his siblings to Hinduism and Islam.

Part 6 .. Kalam recollects an incident in his school where he became a victim of religious discrimination. He was in Class 5 in Rameswaram Elementary School then. He wearing his signature Muslim cap sat close to his dear friend, Ramanandha Sastry. Sastry was a typical Brahmin boy who wore the sacred thread. The new teacher looked at the duo and couldn’t countenance a Muslim boy sitting next to a Brahmin boy in the front row. The teacher asked Kalam to go to the last bench of the classroom, which is generally reserved for non-serious and undeserving students. Kalam obeyed the teacher’s orders, but the separation from his dear friend Ramanandha broke his heart. It was an insult that he scarred his soul. Ramanandha. too, couldn’t fathom the insolence of his teacher in directing his dear friend to the back bench. Tears rolled down from Sastry’s eyes as the grief gripped his mind very hard. Kalam still remembers this irrational conduct of his teacher who perceived Muslims to be lower than Brahmins in social hierarchy.

Para 7 .. Both Kalam and Sastry spoke to their parents on returning home. Action followed. Laxmana Sastry summoned the errant teacher and the two aggrieved students to his presence. In stern and unequivocal manner, he told the teacher that promoting religious disharmony among the young students was immoral and unacceptable. He asked the teacher to either apologize to the two students or leave the job. Laxmana Sastry’s reprimand had the desired effect. The teacher realized his fault and expressed his regrets. From then on, the teacher banished his religious intolerance from his mind for good.

Part 8 .. Kalam remembers that the small Rameswaram town had a rigid social framework that segregated different social groups. However, there were exceptions too. His science teacher, Sivasubramania Iyer, was one such rebel who trod a different path. His wife was an uncompromising practitioner of social separation norms, but her husband was so very different. He used to spend a lot of time with Kalam prodding him to study very hard, so that he could rise to the level of scholars in urban areas who had access to the best educational facilities.

Part 9 .. Kalam vividly remembers how he ate dinner in his teacher Sivasubramania Iyer’s home on one occasion. Kalam was invited by the latter for a meal in his house, but the ultra-orthodox wife stubbornly refused to serve meal for a ‘Muslim’ boy inside her ‘sacred’ kitchen. She didn’t budge even after being coaxed by her husband to serve food for both the host and the guest. Her bunt refusal didn’t miff her large-hearted husband, who proceeded to serve the meals himself for him and his Muslim student, Kalam. Peeved by her husband’s conduct, she watched the duo eating their meals and cleaning the floor after eating. She was keen to discover if the Muslim boy ate differently from her orthodox Brahmin husband. She found nothing different.

The liberal-minded teacher invited Kalam again for meals the next weekend. The boy was a bit reluctant, since he had observed the discernible displeasure of the hostess. The teacher prevailed upon Kalam to come again. In the next occasion, the teacher’s wife was a totally transformed hostess who served meals to both lovingly. Clearly, the large-hearted Sivasubramania Iyer had successfully reasoned with his wife to pull down her mental barriers against Muslims and treat all human beings equally.

Part 10 .. The World War drew to a close, and India gaining freedom from colonial rule became visible in the horizon. Indians were upbeat. Gandhiji declared that Indians would re-build their country. Kalam asked the permission of his father to go to the school in the district headquarter, leaving behind his school in Rameswaram.

Part 11.. Kalam’s father was far-sighted and very forward-looking. His wife was hesitant to let Kalam leave the household. Citing many wise sayings, Kalam’s father explained to his mother that the children must be allowed to shape their destiny. As parents, they had brought Kalam to the world, but the boy must be allowed to follow the career path that he thought best.

———————————————————————————————————————-.———————-

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ..

I. Answer these questions in one or two sentences each.

1. Where was Abdul Kalam’s house?

Ans … Abdul Kalam’s ancestral home stood in the Mosque Street in Rameswaram.

2. What do you think Dinamani is the name of? Give a reason for your answer.

Ans … Dinamani is the name of a prominent newspaper that was widely read during Kalam’s childhood days. He often read it to make sense of the happenings in the world during the World War 2 days.

3. Who were Abdul Kalam’s school friends? What did they later become?

Ans .. Abdul Kalam’s three close friends were Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindan and Sivaprakasan – all from orthodox Brahmin families. Ramananda Sastry became the chief priest of the Rameswaram, inheriting the job from his father. Aravindan became a pilgrimage facilitator, and Sivaprakasan became a catering contractor of the railways..

4. How did Abdul Kalam earn his first wages?

Ans .. Abdul Kalam assisted his cousin brother, Samsuddin, in retrieving the newspaper bundles that were flung from a running train on to the platform. Samsuddingave him a little amount to loving compensate for the labour he did. This earning was Abdul Kalam’s first wage of his eventful life

5. Had he earned any money before that? In what way?

Ans .. Abdul Kalam went around in the area looking for tamarind trees, so that he could collect the seeds from under the trees. Later, he handed over the day’s collection to a grocery store owner who gave him an anna in exchange.

II. Answer each of these questions in a short paragraph (about 30 words)

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

Ans.. Kalam held his father and mother in high regard. His father, Jainulabdeen was a modest person whose nature was disciplined and principled. He refrained from unwanted expenses but willingly met all genuine needs of the family. His mother, Ashiamma, was compassionate and benign. Kalam, unlike his well-built parents, was short-statured and unimpressive in his bodily looks.

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

Ans… Kalam imbibed his father’s humble and disciplined nature. He also learned the value of modest living habits and religious tolerance from him. His mother taught him to be compassionate and benign.

III. Discuss these questions in class with your teacher and then write down your answers in two or three paragraphs each.

1. “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 .. Apparently, Kalam had in mind the way social barriers stood tall between Hindus and Muslims. It’s reasonable to assume that caste-based separation was the norm of the society then. Muslims wore caps, and Brahmins had their sacred threads.

(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 .. The people of Rameswaram mingled seamlessly ignoring their religious differences. Muslims did some ritualistic duties during Hindu festivals. Religious acrimony was certainly not the order of the day during his childhood days.

(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 .. A newly inducted teacher was a chauvinistic in matters of religion. He couldn’t countenance a cap-wearing Kalam sitting next to a Brahmin boy. Kalam was asked to shift to the back bench from the first row. On the contrary, a person in the school’s administration by the name of Laxmananda was utterly secular in his outlook. He sharply berated the offending teacher and made him reform his narrow mind set.

(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 way the wife of Kalam’s teacher showed her extreme reluctance to serve food for him and her husband was a case of deeply ingrained hatred in the minds of some so-called pious Hindus. Unperturbed by his wife’s insane conduct, the teacher served food himself for him and Kalam and ate together in complete harmony. Her husband’s patience and demonstration of universal love for fellow human beings changed her heart, and she became a kindly mother-like woman. In another instance, a teacher separated Kalam from his Brahmin friend in the classroom asking him to go to the last row from the first row. Kalam’s Muslim symbol cap triggered the bigot teacher’s anger. However, the matter ended in a happy note after a person named, Laxmianananda, in the school’s administration reprimanded the teacher for his narrow-minded and hateful attitude. The teacher realized his mistake and reformed himself.

2. (i) Why did Abdul Kalam want to leave Rameswaram?

Ans .. Kalam aspired to explore new horizons of knowledge. He felt the school in the district headquarter in Rameswaram would offer him a better environment than his school where he was studying. This was his desire.

(ii) What did his father say to this?

Ans .. His father readily complied to his request citing the belief that a child must be allowed to purse the goal of their choosing. He mentioned some lyrical examples to support his conviction.

(iii) What do you think his words mean? Why do you think he spoke those words?

Ans .. Kalam’s father was a wise man who had a very broad and farsighted outlook towards life on earth. He mentioned a few lines from some well-known texts to emphasize his liberal attitude.

—————————————————–.

Thinking about Language

I

1. Find the sentences in the text where these words occur: erupt surge trace undistinguished casualty Look these words up in a dictionary which gives examples of how they are used. Now answer the following questions.
2. What are the things that can erupt? Use examples to explain the various meanings of erupt. Now do the same for the word surge. What things can surge?

Answer ..Sentences with ‘erupt’. … a.  Violence erupted in the town after a Dalit girl student was kidnapped from her school.

b. The volcano erupted and filled the sky with dust in less than an hour.

c . The young wife erupted with angry words in seeing her husband talking endlessly with a woman in romantic language.

Sentences with ‘surge’ …   Surge as noun ..

a. After India defeated Pakistan in the 1971 war leading to the birth of Bangladesh, there was a huge surge in the popularity of Indira Gandhi.

b. The surge in the price of sugar has led to the increase of prices of sweetmeats in the market.

c. Trump’s crackdown on H-B visas has ended the surge of Indian IT professionals’ desire to go to the U.S. for work.

Surge as verb ..

a. After the recent earthquake in Afghanistan, the inflow of injured patients to hospitals surged sharply putting the authorities in distress.

b. Ukraine fears that Russian drone attacks on its railway infrastructure wikk surge in the coming weeks.

II

1. What are the meanings of the word trace and which of the meanings is closest to the word in the text?

Trace as noun ..

Meaning 1 ..The burglar was very notorious. Before leaving the victim’s home, he made sure that there was no trace of his crime there.

Meaning 2 .. Kalam’s teacher’s wife firmly refused to serve meal for the two because he was a Muslim and deserved no courtesy. The teacher served the meals for both of them with his own hand. There was no trace of anger or irritation in his tone.

Meaning 3 .. Even minute traces of heavy metals in our food makes us prone to cancer.

Trace as verb .. Meaning 1 .. Even today, there are many intelligeny young people in India and abroad who want to trace Gandhiji’s philosophy of non-violence and simplicity.

Meaning 2 .. The bank lost a huge sum of Rs.70 lakh in a robbery incident. After pursuing the case energetically for a week, the police could trace the sum to a local money-lender’s house.

Meaning 3 .. After some effort, the student was able to trace the map of India in her notebook.

Meaning 4 .. Somnath’s computer had slowed down considerably. He could trace the problem to a hacking attack.

3. Can you find the word undistinguished in your dictionary? (If not, look up the word distinguished and say what undistinguished must mean.)

Sentence .. Meaning 1…The undistinguished mathematics researcher suddenly shot tp fame after his equation relating to String Theory received global acclaim.

Meaning 2 .. Lord Jagannath treats the most famous person and the most undistinguished person with equal love.

————————————-.

II. 1. Match the phrases in Column A with their meanings in Column B. A B

• broke out .. Ans .. Happened suddenly with violence.
• In accordance with .. Ans .. according to a particular rule or system or practice
• a helping hand .. Ans .. assistance
• could not stomach ..Ans .. could not tolerate
• generosity of spirit .. Ans .. an attitude of kindness, a readiness to give
• Figure of authority .. Ans .. A person with power and authority

2. Adequate .. Ans.. Inadequate

Demanding .. Ans ..Undemanding

Patriotic .. Ans .. Unpatriotic

Logical .. Ans.. Illogical

Acceptable .. Ans ..Unacceptable

Active … ……Ans .. Inactive

Disputed .. Ans ..Undisputed

Legal .. Ans .. Illegal

Regular .. Ans .. Irregular

True … Ans .. Untrue

Accessible … Inaccessible

Responsible .. Irresponsible

Tolerant … Ans .. Intolerant

Permanent .. Ans.. Non-permanent

Coherent .. Ans   . Incoherent

Possible .. Ans .. Impossiblle

    III. Passive Voice

Study these sentences:

• My parents were regarded as an ideal couple.
• I was asked to go and sit on the back bench.
• Such problems have to be confronted.

The italicised verbs in these sentences are made up of a form of the verb ‘be’ and a past participle. (For example: were + regarded, was + asked, be + confronted) These sentences focus on what happens, rather than who does what. Notice that the doer of the action is not included in the sentences. If necessary, we can mention the doer of the action in a by-phrase.

For example:

• The tree was struck by lightning.The flag was unfurled by the Chief Guest.

V. Rewrite the dentences belowchanging the verbs in brackets into the passive form.

1. In yesterday’s competition the prizes (give away) by the Principal.

Ans .. In yesterday’s competition, the prizes were given away by the Principal.

2. In spite of financial difficulties, the labourers (pay) on time.

Ans .. In spite of financial difficulties, the labourers were paid on time.

3. On Republic Day, vehicles (not allow) beyond this point.

Ans … On Republic Day, vehicles were not allowed beyond this point.

4. Second-hand books (buy and sell) on the pavement every Saturday.

Ans … Second-hand books are bought and sold on the pavement every Sunday.

5. Elections to the Lok Sabha (hold) every five years.

Ans … Elections to the Lok Sabha are held every five years.

6. Our National Anthem (compose) Rabindranath Tagore.

Ans .. Our national anthem was composed by Rabindranath Tagore.

——————————————————To be continued———————————-

V. Rewrite the paragraphs below, using the correct form of the verb given in brackets.

1. How Helmets Came To Be Used in Cricket

Question … 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 (seriously injure and collapse). In those days helmets (not wear). Contractor (hit) on the head by a bouncer from Charlie Griffith. Contractor’s skull (fracture). The entire team (deeply concern). The West Indies players (worry). Contractor (rush ) to hospital. He (accompany) by Frank Worrell, the Captain of the West Indies Team. Blood (donate) by the West Indies players. Thanks to the timely help, Contractor (save). Nowadays helmets (routinely use) against bowlers.

Answer .. 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 collapsed after being seriously injured. In those days helmets were not worn. Contractor was hit on the head by a bouncer from Charlie Griffith. Contractor’s skull 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 against bowlers.

———————————————

2. Oil from Seeds

Question .. Vegetable oils (make) from seeds and fruits of many plants growing all over the world, from tiny sesame seeds to big, juicy coconuts. Oil (produce) from cotton seeds, groundnuts, soya beans and sunflower seeds. Olive oil (use) for cooking, salad dressing etc. Olives (shake) from the trees and (gather) up, usually by hand. The olives (ground) to a thick paste which is spread onto special mats. Then the mats (layer) up on the pressing machine which will gently squeeze them to produce olive oil. Dictation Let the class divide itself into three groups. Let each group take down one passage that the teacher dictates. Then put the passages together in the right order.

Answer ..   Vegetable oils are 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.