Thinking about the Text
I. Answer these questions in one or two sentences each
1. Where was Abdul Kalam’s house?
Answer: Abdul Kalam’s house was on Mosque Street in Rameswaram.
2. What do you think Dinamani is the name of? Give a reason for your answer.
Answer: I think Dinamani is the name of a newspaper because Kalam says that when his brother-in-law would tell his stories of the War, he would later try to trace it in the ‘headlines’ of Dinamani. This implies that Dinamani would have been a newspaper.
3. Who were Abdul Kalam’s school friends? What did they later become?
Answer:Abdul Kalam had three close friends during his school days — Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindan, and Sivaprakasan. As they grew up, their lives took different paths. Ramanadha Sastry followed his family tradition and became the chief priest of the Rameswaram temple. Aravindan started a transport business to help visiting pilgrims. Sivaprakasan took up a job as a catering contractor with the Southern Railways.
4. How did Abdul Kalam earn his first wages?
Answer:Abdul Kalam’s childhood companions were Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindan, and Sivaprakasan. Each of them chose a different path in life. Ramanadha Sastry succeeded his father as the head priest of the Rameswaram temple. Aravindan became involved in managing transport services for pilgrims who visited the town. Sivaprakasan found his profession as a catering contractor in the Southern Railways
5. Had he earned any money before that? In what way?
Answer: Yes, he had earned money before that too. He used to collect tamarind seeds and sell them to a provision shop on Mosque Street. A day’s collection would let him earn one anna.
II. 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?
Answer: i) The author describes his father as honest and self-disciplined. His father used to avoid inessential comforts and luxuries. The author tells that his father never had a formal education or much wealth, but he possessed great wisdom and was very generous.
ii) The author describes his mother as an ideal helpmate to his father. She used to feed a lot of outsiders along with her family members.
iii) The author describes himself as a short boy with undistinguished looks born to tall and handsome parents.
2. What characteristics does he say he inherited from his parents?
Answer:Abdul Kalam mentions that from his father he learnt the values of honesty and strong self-control. From his mother, he inherited a firm belief in goodness and a generous, caring nature towards others. These qualities shaped his character from an early age.
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)?
Answer:The social groups that he mentions are Hindus and Muslims. Yes, these groups were easily identifiable by their dressing, tradition, culture, etc. For instance, Kalam used to wear a cap on his head which identified him as a Muslim. Ramanadha Sastry wore a sacred thread.
(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.)
Answer:They were not aware only of their differences. They also naturally share friendships and experiences. Kalam’s mother and grandmother would tell events from the Ramayana and from the life of the Prophet as bedtime stories. All his friends belonged to orthodox Hindu families. During the annual Sita Rama Kalyanam Ceremony, his family would arrange boats with a special platform for carrying idols of the Lord from the temple to the marriage site situated in the middle of the pond called Rama Tirtha, which was near his house.
(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?
Answer:The author speaks both of people who were very aware of the differences among them and those who tried to bridge these differences. Yes, we can identify such people in the text.
The new school teacher and Sivasubramania Iyer’s wife were very aware of the differences among the social groups, but Sivasubramania Iyer and Lakshamana Sastry tried to bridge these differences.
(iv) Narrate two incidents that show how differences can be created, and also how they can be resolved. How can people change their attitudes?
Answer: Two incidents that show how differences can be created, and also how they can be resolved are explained below:
When Lakshamana Sastry got to know about the way the new school teacher had made Kalam sit on the back bench because he was a Muslim, he asked the teacher to apologize or quit the school. The new teacher not only regretted his behaviour but also was reformed by Lakshamana Sastry’s strong sense of conviction.
Kalam’s science teacher, Sivasubramania Iyer, asked Kalam to his home for a meal. His wife was horrified at the idea of a Muslim boy being invited to her pure kitchen. Sivasubramania Iyer served Kalam food with his own hands and sat down beside him to eat his meal.
The next time he invited Kalam to his home, Sivasubramania Iyer’s wife served him food with her own hands inside the kitchen.
2: (i) Why did Abdul Kalam want to leave Rameswaram?
Answer: Abdul Kalam wanted to leave Rameswaram because he wanted to study at the district headquarters in Ramanathapuram.
(ii) What did his father say to this?
Answer: His father said, ““Abul ! I know you have to go away to grow. Does the seagull not fly across the sun, alone and without a nest?”
(iii) What do you think his words mean? Why do you think he spoke those words?
Answer: His words meant he understood that Kalam had to leave his house and get a good higher education to grow. He spoke these words because he knew the harsh reality of life that the children needed to move away from their home and parents to make a career and earn.
Thinking about Language
I. Find the sentences in the text where these words occur:
Erupt, surge, trace, undistinguished, casualty
Look these words up in a dictionary which gives examples of how they are used.
Now answer the following questions.
Answer: Sentences in the text where these words occur are:
Erupt: “For reasons I have never been able to understand, a sudden demand for tamarind seeds erupted in the market.”
Surge: “Half a century later, I can still feel the surge of pride in earning my own money for the first time.”
Trace: “My brother-in-law Jallaluddin would tell me stories about the War which I would later attempt to trace in the headlines in Dinamani.”
Undistinguished: “I was one of many children — a short boy with rather undistinguished looks, born to tall and handsome parents.”
Casualty: “The first casualty came in the form of the suspension of the train halt at Rameswaram station.”
1: What are the things that can erupt? Use examples to explain the various meanings of erupt. Now do the same for the word surge. What things can surge?
Answer: Things that can erupt are: volcanoes, emotions, anger.
– A volcano erupted in the Mauna Kea last night.
– Ranjan’s anger erupted as a result of Ashima’s continuous nagging.
Things that can surge are: prices, wave, crowd, storm, etc.
2: What are the meanings of the word trace and which of the meanings is closest to the word in the text?
Answer: The word trace can mean several things, such as drawing a shape, copying something, or discovering or locating something. In the context of the lesson, the word refers to trying to find out or looking for information. So, the meaning that best fits here is "to discover or find out."
3: Can you find the word undistinguished in your dictionary? (If not, look up the word distinguished and say what undistinguished must mean.)
Answer:The word distinguished means someone who is respected or recognized for excellence, or someone who stands out. So, the opposite of that—undistinguished—would mean someone who is ordinary, not well-known, or does not stand out in any special way. Therefore, undistinguished means common, unremarkable, or not outstanding in any way.
II.
1. Match the phrases in Column A with their meanings in Column B.
Answer:
Thinking about the Poem
1. (i) “Beneath all uniforms…” What uniforms do you think the poet is speaking about?
Answer: The poet is speaking about the various kinds of dresses and outfits people wear.
(ii) How does the poet suggest that all people on earth are the same?
Answer: The poet says that the uniforms (outfits) must be different but there is a human body beneath those uniforms and all of us will lie in the same earth when we die.
2. In stanza 1, find five ways in which we all are alike. Pick out the words.
Answer:
In the first stanza, the poet highlights our shared humanity by using several expressions. Here are five such phrases that show we are all alike:
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"No men are strange" – meaning all human beings are the same.
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"No countries foreign" – indicating that geographical boundaries shouldn't divide us.
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"A single body breathes" – we all share the same basic life force.
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"The land our brothers walk upon" – we live and walk on the same Earth.
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"In which we all shall lie" – we all return to the same earth after death.
3. How many common features can you find in stanza 2? Pick out the words.
Answer:
In stanza 2, the poet describes several similarities among all human beings. The common features and their expressions are:
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"aware of sun and air and water" – all people experience and rely on nature in the same way.
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"fed by peaceful harvests" – we all depend on food grown during times of peace.
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"Their hands are ours" – they have the same kind of hands as we do.
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"in their lines we read a labour not different from our own" – their hands show signs of hard work, just like ours.
4. “…whenever we are told to hate our brothers…” When do you think this happens? Why? Who ‘tells’ us? Should we do as we are told at such times? What does the poet say?
Answer:We are often told to hate others during times of war, conflict, or political tension—especially when people belong to a different nation, religion, or community. Such hatred is usually spread by leaders or individuals with selfish motives who aim to divide people for power, revenge, or control.
We should not blindly follow such messages of hate. Instead, we should think for ourselves and choose peace, understanding that all human beings are fundamentally the same.
The poet reminds us that those whom we are asked to see as enemies are, in truth, our brothers. They, too, breathe the same air, live on the same earth, and share the same human experiences.
Answer by Mrinmoee
