Page 18 - MODULE- MY CHILDHOOD

(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.)
A. No, they were not aware of any differences. They naturally shared
friendships and experiences. Abdul Kalam was a Muslim and his friends
were from orthodox Hindu Brahmin families. During the annual Shri Sita
Rama Kalyanam ceremony, Abdul Kalam‘s family participated in the
Hindu festival by arranging boats for transporting the idols from the
temple to the pond located near their house. Events from the Ramayana
and from the life of the Prophet were the bedtime stories, Kalam and the
other children listened from their mother and grandmother. All these
incidents show that different social groups naturally co-inhabited in
Rameswaran.

(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?
Ans iii) There were two people who were aware of the differences
among them. One was the new teacher who came to the class when
Kalam was in the fifth standard and did not let him sit with
RamanadhaSastry, who was a Brahmin. Also, the wife of
SivasubramaniaIyer (his Science teacher) was very conservative and did
not allow Kalam to eat in her pure Hindu kitchen as she felt hat his
presence would render the kitchen impure. The people who tried to
bridge these differences were LakshmanaSastry and
SivasubramaniaIyer. LakshmanaSastry 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,
SivasubramaniaIyer served food to Kalam and sat beside him to eat
which reformed his wife.

(iv) Narrate two incidents that show how differences can be
created, and also how they can be resolved. How can people
change their attitudes?
Ansiv) Influential people have the power to leave both a negative or
positive impact on people. A teacher has the ability to bridge communal
differences or can play with the sentiments of innocent and ignorant
people. The new teacher tried to spread the idea of social inequality and
communal intolerance in the minds. LakshmanaSastry summoned the
teacher and asked him to rectify his behaviour. But his Science teacher