Page 17 - MODULE- MY CHILDHOOD

store located on Mosque Street. A day‘s collection would fetch him a
princely sum of one anna.

Answer each of these questions in a short paragraph (about 30
words):-
1. How does the author describe: (i) his father, (ii) his mother, (iii)
himself?
A. (i) Kalam‘s father‘s Jainulabdeen neither had much formal education
nor much wealth. Kalam says that despite this, his father possessed
innate wisdom, honesty and was a generous man. He was an austere
man who did not believe in wasting money on luxuries but provided them
with all the necessities of life like food, clothing and medicine.

(ii) Kalam‘s mother‘s name was Ashiamma. She supported her husband
in his decisions and was an ideal helpmate. She was a kind – hearted
and generous woman. Kalam recollects that his mother would feed
meals to numerous people. He inherited faith in goodness and deep
kindness from her.

(iii) Born into a middle class Tamil family, Abdul Kalam was a short boy
with rather undistinguished looks (ordinary looks) while his parents were
tall and looked handsome. He was brought up in a secure atmosphere
and his material and emotional needs were always fulfilled. He grew up
to become an honest and self – disciplined man. He believed in
goodness and deep kindness.

2. What characteristics does he say he inherited from his parents?
A. Kalam‘s inherited honesty and self – discipline from his father. His
mother imbibed in him faith in goodness and deep kindness.

III) 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)?
A. The social groups mentioned by Kalam were the Hindus 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.