My Childhood NCERT Solutions, Summary & Word Meanings Class 9 PDF
Subject: English (Beehive) | Chapter: 6 | Author: A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
📥 Download Notes PDF 📢 Join Telegram📖 Chapter Summary: My Childhood
This chapter is an extract from the autobiography of India's 11th President and greatest scientist, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, titled 'Wings of Fire'. He was born into a middle-class Tamil Muslim family in the island town of Rameswaram. His father, Jainulabdeen, was not highly educated or wealthy but possessed great innate wisdom. His mother, Ashiamma, was a generous lady. Kalam describes his childhood as a very secure one, both materially and emotionally.
During the Second World War in 1939, Kalam earned his first money by collecting tamarind seeds and selling them. Later, he earned his first wages by helping his cousin, Samsuddin, catch bundles of the newspaper Dinamani thrown from a moving train.
Kalam had three close friends: Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindan, and Sivaprakasan, all from orthodox Hindu Brahmin families. They never felt any religious differences. However, when Kalam was in the fifth standard, a new teacher saw a Muslim boy sitting with the Hindu priest's son (Ramanadha) and forced Kalam to sit on the back bench. Both boys wept. Later, Ramanadha's father summoned the teacher and strictly told him not to spread the poison of social inequality and communal intolerance in the minds of innocent children.
Another profound incident occurred with his science teacher, Sivasubramania Iyer, an orthodox Brahmin who did his best to break social barriers. He invited Kalam to his home for a meal. His conservative wife was horrified and refused to serve a Muslim boy in her ritually pure kitchen. The teacher served Kalam with his own hands and sat beside him to eat. When Kalam was invited again the next weekend, the wife’s mindset had changed, and she served him herself.
When Kalam asked for his father's permission to leave Rameswaram and study in Ramanathapuram, his father gladly agreed. Quoting Khalil Gibran, he comforted Kalam's hesitant mother by saying, "Your children are not your children... They come through you but not from you."
📚 Part 1: NCERT Solutions (Textbook Questions)
Q1: Where was Abdul Kalam’s house?
Ans: Abdul Kalam’s house was located on Mosque Street in the island town of Rameswaram in the erstwhile Madras State.
Q2: What do you think Dinamani is the name of? Give a reason for your answer.
Ans: Dinamani is the name of a local Tamil newspaper. The reason for this is that Kalam mentions trying to trace the stories of the Second World War (told to him by his brother-in-law) in the headlines of Dinamani.
Q3: Who were Abdul Kalam’s school friends? What did they later become?
Ans: Abdul Kalam had three close friends:
1. Ramanadha Sastry: He took over the priesthood of the Rameswaram temple from his father.
2. Aravindan: He went into the business of arranging transport for visiting pilgrims.
3. Sivaprakasan: He became a catering contractor for the Southern Railways.
Q4: How did Abdul Kalam earn his first wages?
Ans: During the Second World War, the train halt at Rameswaram station was suspended. Bundles of newspapers had to be thrown out of the moving train. Kalam’s cousin, Samsuddin, who distributed newspapers, needed a helping hand to catch the bundles. Kalam took the job, and this is how he earned his first wages.
Q5: Had he earned any money before that? In what way?
Ans: Yes, he had earned some money before that. When the Second World War broke out in 1939, there was a sudden demand for tamarind seeds in the market. Kalam used to collect these seeds and sell them to a provision shop on Mosque Street. A day's collection would earn him one anna.
⚡ Part 2: Extra Practice Questions
Q6: How did Lakshmana Sastry react when he heard about the new teacher's behaviour?
Ans: Lakshmana Sastry was Ramanadha's father and the high priest of the Rameswaram temple. He summoned the new teacher and bluntly told him that he should not spread the poison of social inequality and communal intolerance in the minds of innocent children. He asked the teacher to either apologize or quit the school and the island.
Q7: "Once you decide to change the system, such problems have to be confronted." Who said these words and in what context?
Ans: These words were spoken by Kalam's science teacher, Sivasubramania Iyer. He invited Kalam to his home for a meal, but his orthodox Brahmin wife refused to serve a Muslim boy in her pure kitchen. Instead of getting angry, the teacher served Kalam himself and sat beside him to eat. When he invited Kalam again for the next weekend, he noticed Kalam's hesitation. He comforted Kalam with these words, meaning that if one wants to break age-old social and religious barriers, one must be ready to face resistance and difficulties.
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Q: What was the name of Abdul Kalam's science teacher who tried to break social barriers?
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🔤 Important Word Meanings
- 1. Orthodox (adj): Strictly following traditional or accepted rules and beliefs, especially in religion (Kattar / Paramparik).
- 2. Segregation (n): The policy of keeping people of different races, religions, or sexes apart from each other (Algaav).
- 3. Conservative (adj): Opposed to great or sudden social change; showing traditional values.
- 4. Summoned (v): Ordered someone to come to a place (Bulaava bhejna).
- 5. Unprecedented (adj): Never done or known before (Adbhut / Jo pehle kabhi na hua ho).
- 6. Inherent (adj): Existing in something as a permanent, essential, or characteristic attribute (Janmjaat).
- 7. Ritually pure (adj): Kept protected from outside influences to maintain religious purity.