I used to collect the seeds and sell them to a provision shop on the Mosque Street. A day’s
collection would fetch me the princely sum of an anna.
(a) Who is ‘I’ in this extract? Which seeds did he collect?
(b) Why were these seeds collected?
(c) What light does this throw on the speaker?
Answers
Answer:
Questions and Answers Class 9 English Beehive
My Childhood Extra Questions and Answers Short Answer Type
Question 1.
What were the qualities that Abdul Kalam admired in his parents?
Answer:
Kalam’s parents were noble and generous people. Though his father was an austere man, he provided his family with all necessities, in terms of food, medicine or clothes. He admired his father’s honesty and self-discipline and his mother’s faith in goodness and kindness. He admired his parents for respecting all religions.
Question 2.
Kalam’s childhood was a secure one both materially and emotionally. Illustrate.
Answer:
APJ Abdul Kalam called his childhood a secure one because he had loving and caring parents who gave love and guidance to their children and took care of their emotional and physical needs. They provided their children with all necessities, in terms of food, medicine or clothes.
Question 3.
How does Kalam show his father was a simple man?
Answer:
Kalam’s father was a simple self-disciplined man. He neither had formal education nor much wealth and he avoided all inessential comforts and luxuries.
Question 4.
What kind of a person was Kalam’s father?
Answer:
Abdul Kalam’s father, Jainulabdeen, was a tall and handsome man. Although he did not have much of a formal education, he was progressive and valued education. He was an austere man and didn’t have much wealth, however, he was a generous man and provided both material and emotional security to his family. He was a very practical man with a vast store of wisdom and never obstructed the progressive ways of his children.
Question 5.
How does Abdul Kalam describe his mother?
Answer:
Kalam’s mother, Ashiamma, was tall, good looking and very attached to her children. She was an ideal helpmate to her husband. She was a gentle and kind lady with faith in goodness and deep kindness. Like her husband, she was very generous and fed a number of outsiders daily. Kalam inherited the values of kindness and generosity from her. Kalam inherited the values of kindness and generosity from her.
Question 6.
How was Kalam’s appearance different from that of his parents?
Answer:
Kalam did not take after his tall and handsome parents. He was a rather short boy with average looks. Unlike his parents who had quite striking features, his appearance was undistinguished.
Question 7.
Briefly describe Abdul Kalam’s ancestral house.
Answer:
Abdul Kalam’s ancestral house was situated on the Mosque Street in Rameswaram. It had been built in the middle of nineteenth century and was a fairly large, pucca house made of limestone and brick.
Question 8.
How did the Second World War give Abdul Kalam the opportunity to earn his first wages?
Answer:
When stoppage of trains was cancelled at Rameshwaram because of World War II, Kalam’s cousin, Samsuddin, who distributed newspapers in Rameswaram, asked him for help in collecting newspaper bundles which were thrown from the moving train. This helped Abdul Kalam earn his first wages.
Question 9.
What are Kalam’s views about his first jobs?
Answer:
As a young boy, Kalam earned his first wage by helping his cousin, Samsuddin, collect papers thrown from a moving train for distribution. Half a century later, Kalam would still feel the surge of pride in earning his own money for the first time.
Question 10.
Had Kalam earned any money before that? In what way?
Answer:
When the Second World War broke out in 1939, there was a sudden demand for tamarind seeds in the market. Kalam collected these seeds and sold them to earn an anna a day which was a big amount for a small boy like him in those days.