Page 9 - MODULE- MY CHILDHOOD

APJ says that they listened to stories from the Ramayana and the life of
the Prophet from their mother and grandmother as bedtime stories. So,
they listened to stories of both Hindu Gods and Muslim Gods. There was
no differentiation on grounds of religion.

One day when I was in the fifth standard at the Rameswaram
Elementary School, a new teacher came to our class. I used to wear a
cap which marked me as a Muslim, and I always sat in the front row next
to RamanadhaSastry, who wore the sacred thread.

As APJ Abdul Kalam belonged to a Muslim family, he used to wear a
cap on his head, which identified him as a Muslim. His friend
RamanadhaSastry who was the son of the priest of the Rameswaram
temple belonged to a Hindu Brahmin family and used to wear the sacred
thread worn by Brahmins. When these children were in class five, a new
teacher came to their class. APJ Abdul Kalam recalls an incident which
happened then -

The new teacher could not stomach a Hindu priest‘s son sitting with a
Muslim boy. In accordance with our social ranking as the new teacher
saw it, I was asked to go and sit on the back bench. I felt very sad, and
so did RamanadhaSastry. He looked utterly downcast as I shifted to my