PROSE 6

MY CHILDHOOD
I. Prologue/ Previous Knowledge: (Just in one sentence)
II. Learning Objectives:
 To read and comprehend the text.

 To develop creative writing skills through different activities.

III. Research and write a short paragraph about the author.

IV. Create a mind map of the lesson.
V. Vocabulary (Copy from the text):

Question 1.
Where was Abdul Kalam’s house?
Answer:
Abdul Kalam’s house was on the Mosque Street in Rameswaram.

Question 2.
What do you think Dinamani is the name of? Give a reason for your answer.
Answer:
Dinamani is the name of a newspaper. Abdul Kalam attempts to trace the Second World War’s news
in the headlines of this newspaper.

Question 3.
Who were Abdul Kalam’s school friends? What did they later become?
Answer:
Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindan and Sivaprakasan were his school friends. Ramanadha Sastry became
a priest of the Rameswaram temple. Aravindan went into the business of arranging transport for
visiting pilgrims. Sivaprakasan became a catering contractor for the Southern Railways.

Question 4.
How did Abdul Kalam earn his first wages?
Answer:
Abdul Kalam earned his first wages by distributing newspapers.

Question 5.
Had he earned any money before that? In what way?
Answer:
Yes, he earned money before also. He used to collect the tamarind seeds and sell them to a
provision shop on the Mosque Street. A day’s collection would fetch him the princely sum of one
anna.
IV. Answer each of these questions in a short paragraph (about 30 words).

Question 1.
How does the author describe:

1. his father
2. his mother
3. himself?

Answer:

1. The author describes his father as a wise and generous person. He felt happy when he
helped others. He did not have much formal education and riches. He was a man of
confidence and great wisdom. He avoided inessential comforts and luxuries.
2. His mother was a noble and kind- hearted woman. She used to feed a large number of
people. She had all the attributes of a typical Indian mother.
3. I was born into a middle-class Tamil family. I was a short boy with rather
undistinguished looks, born to tall and handsome parents. I studied physics and
aerospace engineering and became a scientist.

Question 2.
What characteristics does he say he inherited from his parents?
Answer:
The author inherited humility and benevolence from his parents. He learnt lessons in honesty and
integrity from his parents. He was self-disciplined because of his parents’ exemplary life.

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

Question 1.
“ On the whole, the small society of Rameswaram was very rigid in terms of the segregation of
different social groups,” says the author.

1. Which social groups does he mention? Were these groups easily identifiable (for
example, by the way they dressed)?
2. 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.)
3. 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?
4. Narrate two incidents that show how differences can be created, and also how they
can be resolved. How can people change their attitudes?

Answer:
 1. The author talks about the people who belong to various castes and follow various
religious preaching. Yes, these groups were easily identifiable. Their dressing,
traditions, culture and rituals were different.
2. They did share their personal experiences and friendships. Lakshmana Sastry
summoned the teacher who separated the author and his friend in the class and told
him that he should not spread the poison of social inequality and communal
intolerance in the minds of innocent children.
3. The school teacher encouraged communal differences and Lakshmana Sastry and
Sivasubramania Iyer discouraged this malpractice.
4. The influential people can do both the things. A teacher has the ability to bridge
communal differences and can play with sentiments of the innocent and ignorant
people. This is what the new teacher did. But the Science teacher Sivasubramania Iyer
changed his wife’s attitude and showed her the right path.

Question 2.

1. Why did Abdul Kalam want to leave Rameswaram?

2. What did his father say to this?
3. What do you think his words mean? Why do you think he spoke those words?

Answer:

1. Abdul Kalam wanted to leave Rameswaram to study at the district headquarters in

Ramanathapuram.
2. His father said that he knew he had to go away to grow. He gave the example of a
seagull and said that a seagull flies across the sun alone and without a nest.
3. He spoke these words because he intended to hone his skills. He knew the harsh
reality of life that children may have to live far from their parents to make their career
and earn their livelihood. So, he showed his wisdom and intelligence in uttering these
words.

Question 3:
During the annual Shri Sita Rama Kalyanam Ceremony, our 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 our house.

1. What was the annual event held in Rameshwaram?

2. Where did the boats carry the idols of the Lord?
3. Find a word from the passage that means “images of God”.

Answer:

1. The annual event held in Rameshwaram was Shri Sita Rama Kalyanam Ceremony.
2. The boats carried the idols of the Lord in the middle of the pond on the site of the
marriage (or ceremony or function).
3. Idols.

Question 4:
During the annual Shri Sita Rama Kalyanam Ceremony, our 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 our house. Events from the Ramayana and
from the life of the Prophet were the bedtime stories my mother and grandmother would tell the
children in our family.

1. How did the speaker’s family help in Shri Sita Rama Kalyanam Ceremony?
2. What light does the passage throw on speaker’s family?
3. Find the word in the passage which means the same “the place where some event
takes place”.

Answer:

1. The speaker’s family used to help in Shri Sita Rama Kalyanam Ceremony by arranging
boats with a special platform for carrying idols.
2. The passage shows that the speaker’s family is a truly secular family which respected
other religions also.
3. Site.

Question 5:
After school, we went home and told our respective parents about the incident. Lakshmana Sastry
summoned the teacher, and in our presence, told the teacher that he should not spread the poison
of social inequality and communal intolerance in the minds of innocent children. He bluntly asked
the teacher to either apologize or quit the school and the island. Not only did the teacher regret his
behaviour, but the strong sense of conviction. Lakshmana Sastry conveyed ultimately reformed this
young teacher.

1. What brought about a change in the teacher?

2. What kind of society did the speaker live in?
3. Find the word/phrase in the passage which means “strong opinion or belief”.

Answer:

1. The strong sense of conviction that Lakshmana Sastry conveyed brought about a
change in the teacher.
2. The speaker lived in a society which was truly secular.
3. Conviction.

Question 6:
His wife watched us from behind the kitchen door. I wondered whether she had observed any
difference in the way I ate rice, drank water or cleaned the floor after the meal. When I was leaving
his house, Sivasubramaniam invited me to join him for dinner the next weekend. Observing my
habitation, he told me not to get upset, saying “Once you decide to change the system, such
problems have to be confronted.” When I visited his house next week, Sivasubramaniam Iyer’s wife
took me inside her kitchen and served me food with her own hands.

1. Why did the teacher’s wife watch them from behind the kitchen door?
2. Why was the narrator hesitant to eat food, with a Hindu family?
3. Find the word from the passage that means “to deal with”
Answer:

1. The teacher’s wife believed in the segregation of different people. She did not want
APJ Kalam to enter her kitchen and serve food. She as a result hid behind kitchen door
and saw everything.
2. The narrator felt hesitant to eat food with a Hindu family because he felt he was not
welcomed in the family.
3. Confronted One day, he invited me to his home for a meal. His wife was horrified at
the idea of a Muslim boy being invited to dine in her ritually pure kitchen. She refused
to serve me in her kitchen.

Question 7:
Sivasubramaniam Iyer was not perturbed, nor did he get angry with his wife, but instead, served me’
with his own hands and sat down beside me to eat his meal.

1. Who is “he” and “me” in the first sentence?

2. Why was his wife horrified?
3. Find the word from the passage that means “agitated/upset”.

Answer:

1. “He” is Sivasubramania Iyer, and “me” is Abdul Kalam.

2. His wife was horrified at the idea of serving food to a Muslim boy in her kitchen.
3. Perturbed.

My Reflections on the Lesson:

# Connecting to Contemporary Works -

# Connecting Author to Author -

# Connecting to Real Life -