summary of the lesson my childhood
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Answer:
Summary
My Childhood” is an extract taken from the biography of APJ Abdul Kalam - ‘Wings of Fire’. He was a great scientist and also the 14th President of India. He was born in a middle - class Muslim family in 1931 in the island town of Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu. In his childhood he was greatly influenced by his parents, his teachers and his friends. His father, Jainulabdeen, was not highly educated but he was a generous and kind person. He was not rich but provided a secure childhood to Abdul and his siblings. Abdul inherited honesty and self-discipline from his father and faith in goodness and deep kindness from his mother.
Kalam earned his first wages by working as a helping hand to his cousin, Samsuddin, who distributed newspapers in Rameswaram.
In his childhood he had three close friends- Ramanadha Sastry,Aravindam and Sivaprakashan. Once when he was in fifth standard, a new teacher asked him not to sit in the front row along with the high caste Brahmin boys. Abdul found Ramanadha Sastry weeping as he went to the last row. This made a lasting impression on Abdul.
Abdul was also greatly influenced by his science teacher, Sivasubramania Iyer. He learnt the lesson of breaking social barriers from him. Iyer invited him to his home for a meal. His wife refused to serve food to a Muslim boy in her pure kitchen. Iyer served him with his own hands and sat down beside him to eat his meal. He convinced his wife to serve meal with her own hands and thus was successful in changing her conservative attitude.
For higher education, Abdul Kalam sought permission from his father to leave Rameswaram and study at the district headquarters in Ramanathapuram. His father said that Abdul had to go a long way in life just like a seagull bird which flies long distances. He calmed down APJ’s reluctant mother by quoting Kahlil Gibran’s poem ‘Your children’. He said that her children could not be dominated by her because they had their own thoughts. They did not belong to her but were a result of life’s desire for itself. He asked her to give them freedom to fulfil their thoughts.
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Question and Answers
Answer these questions in one or two sentences each.
1. Where was Abdul Kalam’s house?
A. Abdul Kalam’s house was located on the Mosque Street in the town of Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu state.
2. What do you think Dinamani is the name of? Give a reason for your answer.
2. Dinamani is the name of a newspaper. It is a vernacular daily, printed in Tamil language. I think so because Kalam says that he traced the stories of the war in the headlines of the Dinamani.
3. Who were Abdul Kalam’s school friends? What did they later become?
A. During his childhood, Abdul Kalam had three friends. Their names are Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindan and Sivaprakasan. When they grew up, Ramanadha Sastry became the priest of the Rameswaram temple, Aravindan started a business of transporting pilgrims to and from the Rameswaram temple and Sivaprakasan became a caterer for the railways.
4. How did Abdul Kalam earn his first wages?
A. Abdul Kalam earned his first wages by catching the bundle of newspapers thrown out of the moving train at the Rameswaram station. He helped his cousin in distributing newspapers in Rameswaram.
5. Had he earned any money before that? In what way?
A. When the second World War started, there was a great demand for tamarind seeds. Kalam would collect them and sell them to a grocery store located on Mosque street. He would earn an anna which was a meagre sum but for him, it was a handsome sum of money.
Explanation:
my childhood summary
My Childhood Summary in English
APJ Abdul Kalam was born into a Muslim family that was middle class. Furthermore, he had three brothers. Moreover, Kalam also had one sister. Furthermore, his father and mother were both of good nature. Moreover, Kalam’s childhood house was ancestral.
The father of APJ Abdul Kalam lived a life that one can say was very simple. Nevertheless, his father made all the necessities available to his children. Furthermore, his parents didn’t have any education and they were also not rich. Moreover, many outsiders ate with the family every day. Also, Kalam had the qualities of self-discipline and honesty due to his parents.
Kalam’s family was secular in nature. His family gave an equal amount of respect to all the religions. Furthermore, there was participation from his family in Hindu festivals. Moreover, Kalam heard stories of the Prophet and Ramayana from his grandmother and mother. All of this clearly shows the secularism present in his family.
Friendship was influential in Kalam’s childhood. Furthermore, he had three friends. Furthermore, their religious backgrounds were different. Moreover, there was not a trace of feelings of discrimination among those friends. All these friends including kalam went into different professions.
In 5th standard, a new teacher came to the class of Kalam. In class, Kalam was wearing a cap. This cap certainly gave Kalam a distinct Muslim identity. Moreover, Kalam always sat near Ramanandha, a Hindu priest son. This was something that the new teacher was not able to tolerate. Consequently, Kalam was required to sit on the backbench. After this incident, both the friends felt very sad and told this to their parents.
Furthermore, Ramanandha’s father met with the teacher to inform him not to spread the social inequality and communal hatred. He made a demand that the apology must come. Furthermore, in case of refusal, the teacher must quit. Consequently, there was reformation the nature of the teacher and an apology came from him