class 9 summary on my childhood
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My childhood days were filled with fun and laughter, like those of most children. We lived in a big house with my paternal grandparents and my uncle’s family. Though I had an elder brother, I was closer to my cousins. My elder brother was a serious type who didn’t want to hang out with girls.
He had a face like a magistrate too which could really intimidate me. My cousins were a couple of years younger than me and we got along like a house on fire. I was also very close to my aunt. As my mother was a doctor, she was hardly around most of the time.
My aunt was a housewife and she looked after me as well. In fact, only if she accompanied me, I would go to the nursery. She could sing well and was a great storyteller. I used to envy my cousins so much for having a mother like her.
My grandfather was a forbidding figure and we children as well as our parents were afraid of him. He was a powerful man who moved among rich and influential people. When he was at home we had to keep quiet and see that we did not disturb him. But he was fond of us in his own way.
There was a room on the third storey of our use which was our play room. Here my cousins and I used to spend many a lazy afternoon playing games and plucking mangoes and jamba from tree branches close to the windows. Or we would slide down the banisters, one after the other.
Every year the entire family went on a vacation to some place. It was even more fun then. One thing I remember vividly about my childhood is my reluctance to go to school. Every day I would make some new excuse to stay away until my father had to come and spank me. I also remember the succession of tuition teachers who came to teach me Math.
I was very fond of one, an Anglo-Indian called Eva. She was very pretty and kind. But the happiness ended when my uncle left for another city to take up a new job. My aunt and cousins also left and it became quite lonely after they went away.
Abdul Kalam was born in Rameswaram in the former Madras (Chennai) state. He belonged to a middle dlass Tamil family. His father, Jainulabdeen was an austere and religious man. His mother Ashiamma was a hospitable lady. They lived in their ancestral house on the Mosque Street in Rameswaram. He had three brothers and one sister. The Second World War broke out in 1939. Abdul Kalam was then eight years old. During that time there was a sudden demand of tamarind seeds in the market. Abdul Kalam collected the seeds and sold them to a provision shop for one anna, He also helped his cousin Samsuddin in catching the bundles of the newspapers dropped from the moving train. This helped him to earn his first wages. Abdul Kalam had three close friends in his childhood, namely Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindan and Sivaprakasan. All these boys were from orthodox Hindu Brahmin families and moreover Ramanadha was the son of high priest of the Rameswaram temple. As children, they never felt any difference amongst themselves because of their religious differences and upbringing. One day a new.teacher came to Kalam's class. Kalam always sat in the front row next to his friend Ramanadha Sastry. The new teacher could not tolerate a Hindu priest's son sitting with a Muslim boy. Abdul Kalam was asked to go and sit on the back bench. He felt very sad and so did Ramanadha Sastry. The image of Ramanadna weeping when he shifted to the last row left a lasting impression on Kalam. Later, on the intervention on Ramanadha's father, the teacher regretted his behaviour and apologised.There was another teacher named Sivasubramania lyer in the school. He was a rebel who did his best to break social barriers. One day, he invited Abdul Kalam to his home for a meal. His orthodox wife, refused to serve Kalam her kitchen. lyer served Abdul with his own hands and sat down beside him to eat his meal. His wife watched them from behind the kitchen door. When Abdul Kalam was leaving the house, Mr lyer invited him to join him for dinner again. When he visited his house the next week, Mrs lyer took Abdul Kalam inside her kitchen and served him food with her own hands. When the Second World War was over, Abdul Kalam asked his father's permission to leave Rameswaram and study at the district headquarters in Ramanathapuram. His father's agreed, knowing that it was important to go for one's growth and development but his mother was hesitant. His father convinced her by quoting Khalil Gibran's following words, 'your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts. For they have their own thoughts.'
Message
This story conveys the message of communal harmony. It also acquaints us with the childhood of one of the greatest scientists of our time. It also brings forth the fact that greatness is achieved through hardwork and dedication.