"Question 3 Discuss these questions in class with your teacher and then write down your answers in two or three paragraphs each. 1. “On the whole, the small society of Rameswaram was very rigid in terms of the segregation of different social groups,” says the author. (i) Which social groups does he mention? Were these groups easily identifiable (for example, by the way they dressed)? (ii) 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.) (iii) 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? (iv) Narrate two incidents that show how differences can be created, and also how they can be resolved. How can people change their attitudes? 2. (i) Why did Abdul Kalam want to leave Rameswaram? (ii) What did his father say to this? (iii) What do you think his words mean? Why do you think he spoke those words?
Class 9 - English - My Childhood Page -75"
Answers
i)
The author mentions the Hindus and Muslim living in Rameshwaram . These groups could be identified easily. The Muslims could be identified by their cap ; the Hindus by their sacred thread.
ii) The Hindus and Muslims were aware of the differences between them. But they lived together in a friendly manner. For example Kalam had three good friends who were all Brahmins . His mother used to tell him bedtime stories from the Ramayana. During the annual wedding ceremony of Rama and Sita, their family used to arrange boats for carrying the idols of Rama. All this shows that the two communities live together in love and peace.
iii) The author mentions two of his teachers. One of them was a new teacher. He knew from Kalam’s cap that he was a Muslim. He saw him sitting in the front row with a Brahmin boy. He at once ask Kalam to go and sit on the back bench.
The Other teacher was Kalam's science teacher . He was a Brahmin. He was against all social barriers. He wanted to break these barriers. One day he invited Kalam to his house for a meal. The teacher's wife was a conservative lady. She refused to serve Kalam in her kitchen. The teachers served Kalam with his own hands. But the next time the Teacher's wife took Kalam inside her kitchen . She served him there with her own hands.
Thus the author shows that there were both kinds of people. There were those who were aware of the differences. There were also those who tried to bridge those differences.
iv) The author narrates two incidents from his school days. A new teacher has joined Kalam's School. He knew from Kalam's cap that he was a Muslim. He saw him sitting in the front row with a Brahmin boy. He at once asked Kalam to go and sit on the back bench.
But Kalam science teacher was quite the opposite. He was against all social barriers. He wanted to break them. His wife was a conservative lady. One day the teacher invited Kalam for a meal at his house. His wife refused to serve Kalam in her kitchen. The teacher did not get angry. He served Kalam with his own hands. The next time Kalam noticed a great change in the Teacher's wife. She took alarm inside her kitchen. She served him there with her own hands.
These two incidents show how differences can be created and how they can be resolved. By following the way of Kalam's science teacher, people can change the attitude. We are all the children of the same God. We all eat and drink in the same manner.
2.
i) After the second world war , it seemed certain that India would have her freedom.Gandhiji had said ,”Indians will build their own India.” Everybody was feeling inspired. Kalam decided to go to Ramanathapuram for further studies. That was why he wanted to leave Rameswaram. And he asked for his father's permission.
ii) Kalam's father was very happy at this
He at once gave his consent. He knew that it would help Kalam to grow. Kalam's mother was a little hesitant. But the father said to her,” Your children are not your children. They come Through you but not from you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts.” The father believed that a child must have his own independent thoughts. He should not copy others blindly.
iii) The father's words are full of deep wisdom. The young one of a bird can never learn to fly until and unless it leaves its nest.The father wanted his son not to be confined to his own home. He wanted him to belong to the entire humanity.
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Answer:
1. (i) The social groups mentioned by Kalam were the Hindu Brahmins and the Muslims. Yes, these groups were easily identifiable by the way they dressed. As Kalam was a Muslim, he wore a cap which distinguished him from his Hindu Brahmin friends who wore the sacred thread.
(ii) Yes, they were aware of the differences, but did not care about the differences and treated each other equally. Kalam and the other children listened to bedtime stories from their mother and grandmother. These were from both the Ramayana and from the life of Prophet. The family participated in the Hindu festival of Shree Seetha Rama Kalyanam by arranging boats for transporting the idols from the temple to the pond located near their house.
(iii) The people who were aware of these differences were the young teacher who came to teach Kalam’s class in fifth standard. He ordered Kalam to sit on the last bench as he belonged to a lower caste. His science teacher Sivasubramania Iyer’s wife was an orthodox Hindi Brahmin. She refused to serve him food as she felt hat his presence would render the kitchen impure.
The people who bridged these differences were Ramanadha Sastry’s father Lakshmana Sastry and Sivasubramania Iyer. Lakshmana Sastry was the priest of the Rameswaram temple. He scolded the young teacher and asked him to apologise for sowing the seeds of religious discrimination into the innocent minds of the children. Upon his wife’s refusal to serve, Sivasubramania Iyer served food to Kalam and sat beside him to eat which reformed his wife.
2. (i) Abdul Kalam wanted to leave Rameswaram and go to Ramanathapuram for higher studies.
(ii) A. His father said that he knew Kalam had to leave home as he had to fulfil his dreams. He gave the example of the Seagull bird which flies endlessly over long distances and does not have a nest too. He pacified Kalam’s mother by quoting a few lines from the poem ‘Your children’ by Khalil Gibran. He said that her children were not her possession but were life’s desire for itself. She should not impose her thoughts on them but should allow them to fulfil their thoughts.
(iii) A. Abdul Kalam’s father’s words had a deep meaning. He inspired Kalam to follow his dreams, to fly high like the seagull. He wanted him to pursue higher studies and so, allowed him to go to Ramanathapuram. He explained to Kalam’s mother to allow him to go and pursue higher education. He spoke these words to encourage Abdul Kalam and to control the emotional attachment of his mother.
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