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in Rameswaram to the President’s house has not been a soomth ride. He worked hard and faced
all the challenges of life. This great scientist and the missile man of India was born in a middle
class muslim family in 1931 in the island town of Rameswaram, Tamilnadu. In his childhood he
was greatly influenced by his parents, his teachers and his friends. His father, Jainulabdeen, was
not much educated but he was very generous and kind person. He was not rich but provided a
secure childhood to Abdul and his brothers and sisters. 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- RamanadhaSastry,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 RamanadhaSastry weeping as he went to the
last row. This made a lasting impression on Abdul.
Abdul was also greatly influenced by his science teacher, SivasubramaniaIyer. He learnt the
lesson of breaking social barriers from him. Iyer invited him to his home for a meal. His wife was
an orthodox Brahmin who refused to serve food to a muslim boy in her so called ritually pure
kitchen. Iyer served him with his own hand 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 the
conservative attitude of his wife.
For higher education he sought permission from his father to leave Rameswaram and study at
the district headquartes in Ramanathapuram. He said, “Abdul! I know you have to go away to
grow. Does the seagull not fly across the sun, alone and without a nest?” To his hesitant mother,
quoting Khalil Gibran, he said, “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.”

Questions and Answers

1. Where was Abdul Kalam’s house?
Ans1. 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.
Ans2. Dinamani was the name of a newspaper. It is a vernacular daily, printed in Tamil
language. I think so because Kalam tried to trace the stories of the Second World War in the
headlines of the Dinamani.

3. Who were Abdul Kalam’s school friends? What did they later become?
Ans3. During his childhood, Abdul Kalam had three friends. Their names are RamanadhaSastry,
Aravindan and Sivaprakasan. When they grew up, RamanadhaSastry 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.