2. Who all were Kalam's friends in his childhood? Write briefly about how they fared in life. [80 – 100 words]
Answers
Explanation:
He had three close friends since his childhood. They are Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindan, and Sivaprakasan. All these boys were from orthodox Hindu Brahmin families. Ramanadha Sastry was the son of Pakshi Lakshmana Sastry, the high priest of the Rameswaram temple. Later, he took over the priesthood of the Rameswaram temple from his father; Aravindan went into the business of arranging transport for visiting pilgrims; and Sivaprakasan became a catering contractor for the Southern Railways.
An Incident during Kalam's childhood...
When Kalam was in his 5th class at Rameswaram elementary school, Kalam, who wears cap to mark his Islam, sat with Ramanada sastry, who wears sacred thread in first row of the class. The teacher however saw that a Muslim boy is sitting with a Hindu could not tolerate and asked Kalam to sit in last bench of the class. Later, the boys complained this to Ramanada sastry's father and the father yelled at the teacher and said 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 apologise or quit the school and the island.
Friends from ISRO
YS Rajan, Bhagiratharao, friends of Kalam, who had worked with him in DRDO and ISRO. Rajan had co-authored few Kalam's books. They have known each other for 50 years.