UNIT – 7 (NATION AND DIVERSITY) Reading – A (My Childhood)

 UNIT – 7 (NATION AND DIVERSITY)

Reading – A (My Childhood)

1. What were the two disadvantages that the speaker had in his childhood?

   - His family was not rich. His father was not formally educated. These were the two disadvantages that the speaker had in his childhood.

 

2. Describe the qualities of Jainulabdeen?

   - Jainulabdeen had no much wealth. He had no formal education. Yet he possessed great innate wisdom and a true generosity of spirit.

 

3. Write any three sentences describing the speaker's house?

   - Speaker lived in their ancestral house. It was built in the middle of the nineteenth century. It was a large pucca house, made of limestone and brick on the mosque street in Rameswaram.

 

4. How was the speaker's childhood secure both materially and emotionally?

   - All necessities were provided for Kalam in his childhood, in terms of food, medicine, or clothes. His parents were simple and avoided all inessential comforts and luxuries. They had given plenty of love and affection to their children. So the childhood of Kalam was secure both materially and emotionally.

 

5. Who invited Kalam for the dinner? What was the reaction of his wife when the speaker was invited for a meal?

   - Sivasubramania Iyer, the science teacher of Kalam invited Kalam for the diner. His wife was horrified at the idea of a Muslim boy being invited to dine in her ritually pure kitchen. She refused to serve him in her kitchen.

 

6. Why was Sivasubramania Iyer not perturbed at his wife's reaction?

   - Sivasubramania Iyer was not perturbed at his wife's reaction. He knew that his wife was conservative. He knew well in advance that his wife would refuse to serve. So he was ready to face the consequences.

 

7. What was the intention of Iyer in inviting speaker for dinner again the next weekend?

   - Sivasubramania Iyer wanted to change his wife's way of thinking towards other religions. He wanted to tell her that all people are equal. So he invited Kalam again.

 

8. Do you support the attitude of Iyer’s wife? Why or why not?

   - I don’t support the attitude of Iyer’s wife. She was too conservative. In my opinion, everyone is equal despite their social status. We should not show discrimination based on caste, creed, and religion.

 

9. What were the characteristics inherited by the speaker from his parents?

   - Kalam inherited some qualities from his parents. He inherited honesty and self-discipline from his father. He inherited faith in goodness and deep kindness from his mother.

 

10. How can you say that the speaker enjoyed religious harmony in his childhood?

    - I can say that the speaker (Kalam) enjoyed religious harmony in his childhood. He had friends from other religions. They all used to sit together and play together. The speaker spent his childhood along with them without any religious differences.

 

11. What was the role of the speaker's family in Shri Sita Rama Kalyanam ceremony?

    - The annual Shri Sita Rama Kalyanam ceremony used to be conducted in the middle of the pond called Rama Tirtha. Kalam’s family owned boats. They used to arrange boats with a special platform for carrying idols of the Lord from the temple to the marriage site.

 

12. Were there any differences among Kalam and his friends because of different communities?

    - Kalam had three close friends from the Brahmin community. He and his friends never felt any difference amongst themselves because of their religious differences and upbringing. They all showed communal tolerance.

 

13. ‘For reasons I have never been able to understand…..’ What did Kalam not understand? Why did Kalam collect tamarind seeds?

    - Kalam did not understand the reasons for the sudden demand for tamarind seeds. He used to collect tamarind seeds. He used to sell them in a provision shop and get money.

 

14. What would Kalam attempt to trace in the newspaper ‘Dinamani’? What do you like to read in a newspaper?

    - Kalam’s brother-in-law Jalaluddin used to tell him the stories of the world war. Kalam would attempt to trace them in the headlines of ‘Dinamani’. I like to read the sports news and articles on the movies in a newspaper.

 

15. Why did Samsuddin employ Kalam?

    - The train halt at Rameshwaram was suspended. So the newspaper bundles were thrown on the Rameshwaram to Dhanuskodi road from the running train. Samsuddin employed Kalam to collect those paper bundles.

 

16. How do you feel when you get your first salary? What do you do with it?

    - I feel very excited and happy when I get my first salary. I also feel proud like Kalam. I will donate my first salary to the children of an orphanage.