DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL ELECTRONIC CITY

TOPIC: MY CHILDHOOD

Grade: IX
______________________________________________________________________________________________________

https://youtu.be/kZzH1MncK14
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BgWg2EAmww
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-belHnGgk9E

My Childhood By A.P.J. Abdul Kalam [an extract from Wings of Fire]

Abdul Kalam’s biography is titled “Wings of Fire” and the chapter ‘My Childhood’ talks about the
childhood of A.P.J Abdul Kalam. He was the President of India and a great scientist too. APJ talks about
his upbringing, his parents, and siblings. He tells us about his friends and all those things that influenced
his childhood.
My Childhood Summary – My Childhood” is an extract taken from the biography of APJ Abdul Kalam
– ‘Wings of Fire’. He was a great scientist and also the 14th President of India. He was born in a middle-
class Muslim family in 1931 in the island town of Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu.
In his childhood, he was greatly influenced by his parents, his teachers, and his friends. His father,
Jainulabdeen, was not highly educated but he was a generous and kind person. He was not rich but provided
a secure childhood to Abdul and his siblings. Abdul inherited honesty and self-discipline from his father
and faith in goodness and deep kindness from his mother.
Kalam earned his first wages by working as a helping hand to his cousin, Samsuddin, who distributed
newspapers. .
In his childhood, he had three close friends- Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindam, and Sivaprakash. Once when
he was in the fifth standard, a new teacher asked him not to sit in the front row along with the high caste
Brahminboys.
Abdul found Ramanadha Sastry weeping as he went to the last row. This made a lasting impression on
Abdul.
Abdul was also greatly influenced by his science teacher, Sivasubramania Iyer. He learned the lesson of
breaking social barriers from him. Iyer invited him to his home for a meal. His wife refused to serve food
to a Muslim boy in her pure kitchen.

Abdul was also greatly influenced by his science teacher, Sivasubramania Iyer. He learned the lesson of
breaking social barriers from him. Iyer invited him to his home for a meal. His wife refused to serve food
to a Muslim boy in her pure kitchen.
Iyer served him with his own hands and sat down beside him to eat his meal. He convinced his wife to
serve the meal with her own hands and thus was successful in changing her conservative attitude.
For higher education, Abdul Kalam sought permission from his father to leave Rameswaram and study at
the district headquarters in Ramanathapuram. His father said that Abdul had to go a long way in life just
like a seagull bird that flies long distances.
He calmed down APJ’s reluctant mother by quoting Kahlil Gibran’s poem ‘Your children. He said that her
children could not be dominated by her because they had their own thoughts. They did not belong to her
but were a result of life’s desire for itself. He asked her to give them the freedom to fulfill their thoughts.

1
 I. Reference to the Context ( Do the work in English Notebook)

Read the given extract and choose the correct options to answer the following questions:

The first casualty came in the form of the suspension of the train halt at Rameswaram station. The
newspapers now had to be bundled and thrown out from the moving train on the Rameswaram
Road between Rameswaram and Dhanuskodi.
(a)Which service was halted at Rameswaram?
(i) ferry service (ii) air service (iii) train service (iv) (bus service)
(b) What had to be thrown out from the moving train?
(i) food (ii) ammunition (iii) clothes (iv) newspapers
(c) Who employed Kalam for the job?
(i) Jalauudin (ii) Samsuddin (iii) Jainulabdeen (iv) Ahmeduddin
(d) Why did Kalam take pride in this work?
(i) first wages (ii) first visit outside Rameswaram (iii) got knowledge (iv) support family

II.Answer the following questions in 30-40 words: (Do the work in English notebook)
(a) What happened when Kalam was in fifth standard?
(b) Why did Lakshmana Sastry summon the new teacher?
(c) What happened when Abdul Kalam visited his science Teacher’s house for the second time?
(d) How did Kalam’s family contribute during the annual Shri Sita Rama Kalyanam ceremony?

(ONLY FOR REFERENCE)

(e) What is ‘Communal hatred’?
Ans. Communal violence is a form of violence that is perpetrated across ethnic or communal lines, the violent
parties feel solidarity for their respective groups, and victims are chosen based upon group
membership.
(f) How was Kalam’s mother an 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.
(g) Why does Kalam say he had a secure childhood, both materially and emotionally?
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.
(h) Right from his childhood Kalam was very enterprising. Discuss.

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 shop. Thus, he was able to earn some money
for himself. The incident shows that he was very enterprising.

2
 (i) Why did Sivasubramania invite Kalam for dinner again the next weekend?

Answer: Kalam 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.

III. Answer the following questions in 100-120 words: (For reference only)
Q1. “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?
A: Kalam has mentioned Hindus and Muslims as two distinct social groups living in
Rameshwaram. They had their different dress codes and rituals. For example, Kalam used to wear
a cap while his friend Ramanadham used to wear the sacred thread.

(ii) Were they aware only of their differences or did they also naturally share friendships and
experiences?
A: Kalam has mentioned three childhood friends and all of them have Hindu names, so their
friendship is evident. Kalam has also mentioned about bedtime stories from Ramayana being told
by his mother. Moreover, Kalam’s family used to arrange for carrying idols of Hindu Gods. This
explains the natural Hindu Muslim cooperation in most parts of India. They were aware of their
different identities but they were living harmoniously as people do in any normal society.

Q2. Why did Abdul Kalam want to leave Rameswaram? What did his father say to this? What do
you think his words mean? Why do you think he spoke those words?
A: Kalam wanted to get a better ambience to study which was available in the city. So, he wanted
to leave Rameswaram. His father encouraged him to leave Rameswaram. He took example of
young seagulls who leave their parents’ nest to learn to fly.
His words have very deep meanings. Unlike human beings most of the animals grow on their own
after a certain age. This makes them more independent and courageous. Even in the plant kingdom
most of the seeds cannot germinate if they are left lying under the mother tree. They get spread by
various means and then only they are able to sprout to become a new plant and ultimately a tree.
For humans also after a certain age, a certain degree of responsibility and independence is always
helpful in making a perfect adult.

Value based questions: (ONLY FOR REFERENCE)

Q3.

“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?

3
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.

Q4. Kalam says, On the whole, the small society of Rameswaram was very rigid in terms of
segregations of different social groups”. Were they aware of their differences only or did they also
naturally share friendships and experiences?

Answer: Although the small society of Rameswaram was very rigid in terms of segregations of different
social groups still Kalam and his family were very broadminded as far as religious tolerance was concerned.
His mother and grandmother used to tell him bedtime stories both from the life of the Prophet and Ramayana.
Kalam had three close friends and all of them were Hindu orthodox Brahmins. Besides, his family used to
arrange boats with a special platform during the annual Shri Sita Rama Kalyanam ceremony. The platform
was used to carry idols of the Lord from the temple to the marriage site, Ram Tirth, which was in the middle
of a pond close to Kalam’s house. Hence, Kalam and his family did not let the difference in religious faith
affect their behaviour. They were as much at ease with no- Muslims as with those from their own religion.

Q5. Who was Sivasubramania Iyer? What sort of relationship did Kalam share with him?

Answer: Sivasubramania Iyer was Kalam’s science teacher. He wanted to break social barriers so that people
of different backgrounds could live in harmony with each other. While trying to change the system, he was
mentally prepared to confront many problems. He was very fond of Kalam and used to guide and encourage
him to be at par with the highly educated people of big cities.
Once he invited Kalam to his place to share food with him. When his conservative wife refused to serve food
to Kalam, a Muslim boy in her ritually pure kitchen. Iyer not only served Kalam himself but also sat with
him to have his meal. He again invited Kalam for dinner the following weekend. However, this time his wife
served Kalam as she had been reformed by her husband’s example. Thus, Sivasubramania Iyer and Kalam
shared a strong bond of love which was nurtured by the teacher’s progressive vision and his concern for his
student.

Q6. Teachers can either ‘make’ or ‘break’ their students’ lives. Cite two incidents from “My
Childhood” to prove the truth of this statement.

Answer: Abdul Kalam’s life was influenced in a major way by some experiences that he had during his
school days. They were instrumental in shaping his character and later on his career.
Once, when he was in the fifth standard, a new teacher came to his class. He did not like Kalam, a Muslim
boy, sitting next to Ramanadha Sastry, a Brahmin. So, he shifted Kalam to the back seat simply because it
was in accordance with the social ranking of that time. This was a heart-breaking experience for Kalam. This
poison of social inequality and communal intolerance could have demoralized the young Kalam if his friend’s
father, Lakshmana Sastry, had not intervened. He ensured that the teacher not only regretted his action but

4
also reformed himself.
Another experience that made Kalam a stronger and wiser person was when his science teacher
Sivasubramania lyer invited him to his house for a meal. During the meal Iyer noticed that Kalam was upset
at his wife’s attitude, so he invited Kalam to another dinner the following weekend saying, “Once you decide
to change the system, such problems have to be confronted”.
These two experiences could have had disastrous consequences for Kalam in particular and Rameswaram
society in general, had they not been dealt with farsighted and wisdom by Kalam’s teachers. Thus, from these
incidents, it is clear that teachers can ‘make’ or ‘break’ their students’ lives.