My Childhood Class 9 Question Answer

Textbook Questions:

I. Answer these questions in one or two sentences each.
प्रत्येक प्रश्न के उत्तर एक या दो वाक्यों में दो।

Question 1.
Where was Abdul Kalam’s house?
अब्दुल कलाम का घर कहाँ था?
Answer:
Abdul Kalam’s house was on the Mosque Street in Rameshwaram.

Question 2.
What do you think Dinamani is the name of? Give a reason for your answer.
आपके विचार में दिनमनी किसका नाम था ? अपने उत्तर का कारण बताओ।
Answer:
Abdul Kalam looked for the stories about the war in the headlines of Dinamani. Obviously, Dinamani was the name of a newspaper.

Question 3.
Who were Abdul Kalam’s school friends? What did they later become?
अब्दुल कलाम के स्कूल के मित्र कौन-कौन थे? वे बाद में क्या?
Answer:
Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindan and Sivaprakasan were Abdul Kalam’s school friends. Ramanadha became the high priest of Rameshwaram temple, Aravindan took to transport business, and Sivaprakasan became a catering contractor.

Question 4.
How did Abdul Kalam earn his ‘first wages’?
अब्दुल कलाम ने अपना पहला वेतन कैसे कमाया ?
Answer:
Abdul Kalam helped his cousin Samsuddin to catch bundles of newspapers from the running train. Thus he earned his first wages.

Question 5.
Had he earned any money before that? In what way?
अब्दुल कलाम के स्कूल के मित्र कौन-कौन थे ? वे बाद में क्या ?
Answer:
Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindan and Sivaprakasan were Abdul Kalam’s school friends. Ramanadha became the high priest of Rameshwaram temple, Aravindan took to transport business, and Sivaprakasan became a catering contractor.

Question 4.
How did Abdul Kalam earn his ‘first wages’?
अब्दुल कलाम ने अपना पहला वेतन कैसे कमाया?
Answer:
Abdul Kalam helped his cousin Samsuddin to catch bundles of newspapers from the running train. Thus he earned his first wages.

Question 5.
Had he earned any money before that? In what way?
क्या उसने इससे पहले भी कुछ पैसा कमाया था? कैसे?
Answer:
Yes, he had earned some money before also. He collected tamarind seeds and sold them to a provision shop and thus earned one anna for his day’s collection of tamarind seeds.

Short Answer type Questions

II. Answer each of these questions in a short paragraph (about 30 words).
प्रत्येक प्रश्न का उत्तर लगभग 30 शब्दों में दें।

Question 1.
How does the author describe (a) his father (b) his mother (c) himself?
लेखक ने अपने (a) पिता (b) माता और (c) स्वयं का कैसे वर्णन किया ?
Answer:
Abdul Kalam was a short boy with ordinary looks. His father, Jainulabdeen, was an austere man. He did not have formal education but he had innate wisdom. His mother was kind and generous.

Question 2.
What characteristics does he say he inherited from his parents?
उसके अनुसार उसने अपने माता-पिता से क्या गुण ग्रहण किए ?
Answer:
According to Abdul Kalam he inherited honesty and self-discipline from his father. From his mother he inherited faith in goodness and deep kindness.

Long Answer type Questions

III. Discuss these questions in class with your teacher and then write down your answer in two or three paragraphs each.
इन प्रश्नों को कक्षा में अपने अध्यापक के साथ चर्चा करने के पश्चात् इनके उत्तर दो या तीन अनुच्छेदों में लिखें।

Question 1.
Answer:
(i) Abdul Kalam speaks of two social groups of Rameshwaram. There were orthodox Brahmins and Muslims. The two social groups had some marked differences regarding their faith and way of dressing themselves. The Muslims wore caps and the Hindus wore the sacred thread on the upper part of their bodies – from neck to stomach.

(ii) But they did share their friendship and experiences. For example, Abdul Kalam is a Muslim but his school friends were orthodox Brahmins. Abdul Kalam’s family arranged boats for carrying the idols of Shri Sita Rama from temple to the marriage sites. His mother and grandmother told him stories from the Ramayana and from the life of the Prophet.

(iii) But there were people who were aware of their differences. Two, such persons mentioned in the lesson are Sivasubramania Iyer’s wife and the new teacher. Iyer’s wife refused to serve food to a Muslim boy in her ritually pure kitchen. The new teacher found Abdul Kalam sitting with his friend Ramanadha in the front row. Abdul wore a cap. The teacher could see that he was a Muslim. He asked Abdul to go to the last row. Both Abdul and Ramanadha were heartbroken.

(iv) Ramanadha’s father, the high priest of Rameshwaram temple, rebuked the teacher. He told him not to create segregation between children. The young teacher changed his attitude.

Kalam’s science teacher Sivasubramania Iyer tried to bridge the gap between the two groups. He invited Kalam to dinner. His wife refused to serve a Muslim boy in her kitchen. But Iyer did not mind. He served Kalam with his own hands. He sat down by Kalam and ate his meal. His wife noticed that there was no difference between Kalam and a Brahmin boy. She changed her attitude. Next time she served Kalam with her own hands.

The above incidences show that racial differences can be bridged through change of attitude.

Question 2.
Answer:
(i) Abdul Kalam wanted to go to Ramanathapuram for higher studies. He asked his father’s permission. Kalam’s mother was hesitant. She did not want to part from her son.

(ii) Abdul Kalam’s father was an intelligent man. Though he was not much educated, he knew that children had to leave home for a better career. So, he gave his permission gladly. He spoke philosophically that a seagull flies far off in search of food.

(iii) He told Kalam’s mother that parents only give birth to their children. They can only give their love to them. Rut they should not force their thoughts on them. They should give them freedom of thought and choice of career. He spoke those words to ehnance Kalam’s self-confidence, and for freedom of his thoughts.

Thinking about Language

Question 1.
Find the sentences in the text where these words occur :
Answer:
(i) erupt :

When something erupts, it happens suddenly. example – A lively discussion erupted about the tour.
When the people in a place become angry or violent we can say they erupt. example – People of our colony erupted in protest.
When riots or war erupt it suddenly begins. example – Riots in the town erupted after a trivial incident.
When a volcano erupts it throws out lava, ash etc. example – The volcano is still erupting.

Surge :

Surge is a sudden great increase in something.
If people or vehicles surge forward they move forward.
If water surges, it moves forward suddenly and powerfully.
If an emotion surges in you, you feel it suddenly.

(ii) trace :

to traverse; to track; to follow step by step; to detect; to mark the outline of something; to find out.
The word the text means to ‘find out’. Undistinguished : not eminent; ordinary.

Question 2.
Match the phrases in Column A with their meanings in Column B.
Answer:

broke out: began suddenly in a violent way
in accordance with : according to a particular rule, principle or system
a helping hand : assistance
could not stomach: was not able to tolerate
generosity of spirit : an attitude of kindness, a readiness to give freely
figures of authority : persons with power to make decisions

Question 3.
Study the words in italics in the sentences below. They are formed by prefixing un- or in^ to their antonyms (words opposite in meaning).
Answer:
inadequate – unacceptable – irregular
intolerant – undemanding – inactive
untrue – impermanent – unpatriotic
undisputed – inaccessible – incoherent
illogical – illegal – irresponsible
impossible.

IV. Rewrite the sentences below, changing the verbs in brackets into the passive form.
नीचे दिए वाक्यों को ब्रेकैट में दिए गए verb की passive voice बना कर पुन: लिखें :
Answer:

In yesterday’s competition the prizes were given away by the Principal.
In spite of financial difficulties the labourers were paid on time.
On Republic Day, vehicles were not allowed beyond this point.
Second-hand books are bought and sold on the pavement every Saturday.
Elections to the Lok Sabha are held every five years.
Our National Anthem was composed by Rabindranath Tagore.

V. Rewrite the paragraphs below, using the correct form of the verb.
Answer:
1. Nari Contractor was the Captain and an opening batsman for India in the 1960s. The Indian Cricket team went on a tour to the West Indies in 1962. In a match against Barbados in Bridgetown Nari Contractor was seriously injured and collapsed. In those days helmets were not worn. Contractor was hit on the head by a bouncer from Charlie Griffith. Contractor’s skull was fractured. The entire team was deeply concerned. The West Indies players were worried. Contractor was rushed to hospital. He was accompanied by Frank Worrell, the Captain of the West Indies Team. Blood was donated by the West Indies players. Thanks to the timely help, Contractor was saved. Nowadays helmets are routinely used against fast bowlers.

2. Vegetable oils are made from seeds and fruits of many plants growing all over the world, from tiny sesame seeds to big juicy coconuts. Oil is produced from cotton seeds, groundnuts, soya beans and sunflower seeds. Olive oil is used for cooking, salad dressing etc. Olives are shaken from the trees and are gathered up usually by hand. The olives are ground to a thick paste which is spread onto special mats. Then the mats are layered up on the pressing machine which will gently squeeze them to produce olive oil.

IV. Very Important Examination Questions:

I. Extract-based Objective Type Questions

Read the extracts given below carefully and answer the questions with the help of the given options :

Question 1.
Every child is born, with some inherited characteristics, into a specific socio-economic and emotional environment, and trained in certain ways by figures of authority. I inherited honesty and self discipline from my father; from my mother, I inherited faith in goodness and deep kindness and so did my three brothers and sister.
(i) ‘figures of authority’ stand for here :
(a) the responsible elders of the society/family.
(b) the government officials.
(c) the political leaders.
(d) the moral leaders – gurus and priests.
Answer:
(a) the responsible elders of the society/family.

(ii) The two qualities that Kalam inherited from his father were :
(a) honesty and goodness.
(b) honesty and self-discipline.
(c) self-discipline and goodness.
(d) kindness and honesty.
Answer:
(b) honesty and self-discipline.

(iii) The two qualities that Kalam inherited from his mother were :
(a) kindness and helping the needy.
(b) faith in goodness and deep kindness.
(c) faith in God and deep kindness.
(d) generosity and faith in goodness.
Answer:
(b) faith in goodness and deep kindness.

(iv) The noun form of ‘inherited’ is :
(a) inherit
(b) inheritance
(c) inheriting
(d) inherits
Answer:
(b) inheritance

(v) Who is speaking the above lines?
Answer:
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam spoke the above lines.

(vi) What are the things which affect a child?
Answer:
A child is affected by his inherited characteristics-socio-economic and emotional environment. They are brought up under the influence of the authority figures

(vii) What did he inherit from his father?
Answer:
He inherited honesty and self-discipline from his father.

(viii) What did he inherit from his mother?
Answer:
He inherited faith in goodness and deep kindness from his mother.

Question 2.
One day, he invited me to his home for a meal. His wife horrified at the idea of a Muslim boy being invited to dine in her ritually pure kitchen. She refused to serve me in her kitchen. Sivasubramania Iyer was not perturbed nor did he get angry with his wife, but instead, served me with his own hands and sat down beside me to eat his meal. His wife watched us from behind the kitchen door. I wondered whether she had observed any difference in the way I ate rice, drank water or cleaned the floor after the meal. When I was leaving his house, Sivasubramania Iyer invited me to join him for dinner again the next weekend.
(i) Who invited Abdul Kalam for a meal?
(ii) Why was his wife horrified?
(iii) Why did she refuse to serve him?
(iv) Which word in the passage means the same as ‘disturbed’?
Answer:
(i) Abdul Kalam’s friend Sivasubramania lyer invited him for a meal.
(ii) She was horrified because her husband had invited a Muslim boy to dine in her ritually pure kitchen.
(iii) She refused to serve him in her kitchen because he was a Muslim boy.
(iv) ‘Distributed’ means ‘perturbed.

Question 3.
The image of him weeping when I shifted to the last row left a lasting impression on me. After school, we went home and told our respective parents about the incident.
(i) Who is ‘him’ in the first line?
(ii) What incident is the narrator talking about?
(iii) What according to Lakshamana Sastry, was the teacher doing?
(iv) How did the incident affect the children?
Answer:
(i) ‘Him’ here refers to Ramanadha Sastry, a friend of Abdul Kalam.
(ii) The narrator talks about the incident of social inequality or communal intolerance when he was in fifth standard. A new teacher made him sit on the back bench as he was a muslim. His friend’s father Lakshmana Sastry asked the teacher to either apologize or resign. It reformed the new teacher.
(iii) According to Lakshamana Sastry, the new teacher was spreading the poison of social inequality and communal intolerance in the minds of innocent children.
(iv) Both of them told the incident to their respective parents.

Question 4.
The first casualty came in the form of the suspension of the train halt at Rameshwaram station. The newspapers now had to be bundled and thrown out from the moving train on the Rameshwaram Road between Rameshwaram and Dhanushkodi.
(i) What was the casualty?
(ii) What was the effect of the casualty?
(iii) What was the solution of the problem created by the casualty?
(iv) Give the verb form of ‘suspension’.
Answer:
(i) The casualty was the suspension of train halt at Rameshwaram.
(ii) The effect of the casualty was that the bundles of newspapers could not be handed over to its distributers.
(iii) The solution created was that the newspapers had to be bundled and thrown out from the moving train on the Rameshwaram Road.
(iv) The verb form of ‘suspension’ is ‘suspend’.

Question 5.
I felt very sad, and so did Ramanadha Sastry.
He looked utterly downcast as I shifted to my seat in the last row. The image of him weeping when I shifted to the last row left a lasting impression on me.
(i) Who is ‘I’ here?
(a) Abdul Kalam
(b) Ramanatha Sastry
(c) Sivaprakasan
(d) Aravindan
Answer:
(a) Abdul Kalam

(ii) When Abdul’s new teacher asked him to sit in the last row his friend Ramanadha felt:
(a) sad and began to weep.
(b) got angry and shouted ‘No’.
(c) sad, got up to go and sit beside Abdul.
(d) happy and smiled.
Answer:
(a) sad and began to weep.

(iii) ‘lasting impression’ means :
(а) the last impression.
(b) permanent impression.
(c) the impression of someone going.
(d) lost impression.
Answer:
(b) permanent impression.

(iv) The noun form of ‘shifted’ is :
(a) shift
(b) shifting/shifter
(c) shiftily
(d) shiftless
Answer:
(b) shifting/shifter

(v) Whom does ‘he’ refer to in the above lines?
Answer:
‘He’ here refers to Ramanadha Sastry, one of the closest friends of Dr. Kalam.

(vi) Why was he sad and depressed?
Answer:
Ramanadha Sastry was sad and depressed because Abdul Kalam, due to being a muslim, was asked by the teacher to sit on the back bench. This new teacher was narrow minded and considered muslims as inferior in social ranking as compared to a Hindu boy.

(vii) Which ‘incident’ is referred to in the above line?
Answer:
The incident was the new teacher made Abdul sit on the last bench due to being a Muslim. He was separated from his Hindu friend – Ramanadha Sastry.

(viii) Name the lesson.
Answer:
My Childhood.

Question 6.
I was bom into a middle-class Tamil family in the island town of Rameshwaram in the erstwhile Madras state. My father, Jainulabdeen, had neither much formal education nor much wealth; despite these disadvantages, he possessed great innate wisdom and a true generosity of spirit.
(i) Where was Abdul Kalam born?
(ii) What two qualities his father had?
(iii) What two disadvantages his father had?
(iv) Which word in the passage means ‘inborn’?
Answer:
(i) APJ Abdul Kalam was born in a family which was middle-class.
(ii) The two qualities which Kalam’s father had were innate wisdom and generosity of heart.
(iii) The two disadvantages that his father had were neither rich nor formally educated.
(iv) ‘Inborn’ means ‘innate’.

Question 7.
That forced my cousin Samsuddin who distributed newspapers in Rameswaram, to look for a helping hand to catch the bundles and, as if naturally, I filled the slot. Samsuddin helped me earn my first wages. Half a century later, I can still feel the surge of pride in earning my own money for the first time.
(i) ‘That’ in the first sentence refers to :
(а) catching bundles of newspapers thrown from a moving train.
(b) suspension of train halt at Rameshwaram.
(c) first wages earned by Kalam.
(d) helping his cousin Samsuddin.
Answer:
(а) catching bundles of newspapers thrown from a moving train.

(ii) The help Samsuddin needed was to :
(a) catch the bundles of newspaper from a running train.
(b) distribute the newspaper among the customers.
(c) collect money from the customers.
(d) make bundles of different newspapers.
Answer:
(a) catch the bundles of newspaper from a running train.

(iii) The phrase ‘filled the slot’ implies :
(a) fill in the gap.
(b) fitting into the situation.
(c) be useful.
(d) be suitable.
Answer:
(b) fitting into the situation.

(iv) The noun form of ‘helping’ is :
(a) helped
(b) helpful
(c) helper
(d) helpless
Answer:
(c) helper

(v) Who does ‘I’ in the passage refer to?
Answer:
‘I’ in the passage refers to Abdul Kalam.

(vi) What would the writer’s cousin do?
Answer:
The writer’s cousin distributed newspapers in Rameswaram.

(vii) What forced Samsuddin to look for a helping hand?
Answer:
Samsuddin needed a helping hand to catch the newspaper bundles thrown from a running train.

(viii) How did ‘I’ earn his first wages?
Answer:
He helped his cousin, Samsuddin to catch the bundles of newspapers and also in distributing them.

Question 8.
Then the Second World War was over and India’s freedom was imminent. “Indians will build their own India”, declared Gandhiji. The whole country was filled with an unprecedented optimism. I asked my father for permission to leave Rameswaram and study at the district headquarters in Ramananthapuram.
(i) Why did Kalam want to go to Ramananthapuram?
(ii) Why were Indians filled with hope?
(iii) What did Gandhiji declare?
(iv) Find the word in the passage which means, ‘not happened or done before’.
Answer:
(i) Kalam wanted to go to Ramanantha-puram for higher studies.
(ii) Indians were filled with hope because India was to become free.
(iii) Gandhiji declared that “Indians will build their own India”.
(iv) ‘Not happened or done before’ means ‘unprecedented’.

Question 9.
After school, we went home and told our respective parents about the incident. Lakshmana Sastry summoned the teacher, and in our presence, told the teacher that he should not spread the poison of social inequality and communal intolerance in the minds of innocent children. He bluntly asked the teacher to either apologise or quit the school and the island.
(i) ‘The incident’ here was the :
(a) arrival of the new teacher.
(b) new teacher asking Abdul to sit in the last row as he was a Muslim.
(c) weeping of Ramanadha.
(d) rude behaviour of the students.
Answer:
(b) new teacher asking Abdul to sit in the last row as he was a Muslim.

(ii) What was the new teacher doing?
(a) He was beating the students mercilessly.
(b) He was teaching new things.
(c) He was spreading the poison of social inequality and communal intolerance among the students.
(d) He was teaching in a different way.
Answer:
(c) He was spreading the poison of social inequality and communal intolerance among the students.

(iii) Why did Lakshmana Shastry called the new teacher?
(а) To reprimend/scold him.
(b) To punish him.
(c) To tell him that he was doing a wrong thing.
(d) To warn him against creating discrimination among students on the basis of religion.
Answer:
(d) To warn him against creating discrimination among students on the basis of religion.

(iv) The adjective form of ‘incident’ is :
(a) incidence
(b) incidental
(c) incidentally
(d) incidents
Answer:
(b) incidental

(v) ‘He’ here stands for :
(a) Abdul’s father.
(b) The Headmaster of the school.
(c) The Sarpanch of the Rameshwaram.
(d) Lakshmana Shastry.
Answer:
(d) Lakshmana Shastry.

(vi) Lakshmana Shastry asked the new teacher to :
(a) either to beg pardon or to leave the school and the Island.
(b) be loving to the children.
(c) teach in a better way.
(d) stop punishing the children.
Answer:
(a) either to beg pardon or to leave the school and the Island.

(vii) What incident is mentioned in the extract?
Answer:
When Kalam was in fifth standard, a new teacher made him sit on the back bench as he was a muslim. The teacher was narrow-minded and considered a muslim as inferior in social-ranking in comparison to a Hindu boy.

(viii) What was the warning given to the teacher?
Answer:
Lakshmana Sastry called the teacher and asked him to either apologise or quit the school. He told the teacher not to imbibe the poison of social inequality in the minds of innocent children.

(ix) Who does ‘we’ in the passage refer to?
Answer:
‘We’ refers to Abdul Kalam and Ramanadha Sastry.

(x) What did Lakshmana Sastry ask the teacher?
Answer:
Lakshmana Sastry asked the teacher to either pologise or quit the school and the island.

Question 10.
I felt very sad, and so did Ramanadha Sastry. He looked utterly downcast as I shifted to my seat in the last row. The image of him weeping when I shifted to the last row left a lasting impression on me.
(i) Who is ‘I’ here?
(a) Abdul Kalam
(b) Ramanatha Sastry
(c) Sivaprakasan
(d) Aravindan
Answer:
(a) Abdul Kalam

(ii) When Abdul’s new teacher asked him to sit in the last row his friend Ramanadha felt :
(a) sad and began to weep.
(b) got angry and shouted ‘No’.
(c) sad, got up to go and sit beside Abdul.
(d) happy and smiled.
Answer:
(a) sad and began to weep.

(iii) lasting impression’ means :
(a) the last impression.
(b) permanent impression.
(c) the impression of someone going.
(d) lost impression.
Answer:
(b) permanent impression.

(iv) The noun form of ‘shifted’ is :
(a) shift
(b) shifting/shifter
(c) shiftily
(d) shiftless
Answer:
(b) shifting/shifter

(v) Whom does ‘he’ refer to in the above lines?
Answer:
‘He’ here refers to Ramanadha Sastry, one of the closest friends of Dr. Kalam.

(viii) Name the lesson.
Answer:
My Childhood.

Short Answer type Questions

II. Answer the following questions in about 30-40 words :

Question 1.
What does the author Abdul Kalam tell about himself and his family?
लेखक अब्दुल कलाम अपने और अपने परिवार के बारे में क्या बताते हैं?
Answer:
A.RJ. Abdul Kalam was born in a middle class Tamil family. His father, Jainulabdeen had neither much formal education nor much wealth but, he was tall, handsome, wise, generous and austere person. His mother was kind, generous and affectionate lady. Abdul Kalam inherited all this traits of his parents’character.

Question 2.
How did Lakshmana Sastry penalise the teacher of his son, when he differentiated Abdul Kalam on the basis of religion?
अपने पुत्र के शिक्षक को लक्ष्मण शास्त्री ने किस प्रकार सजा दी जब उसने धर्म के आधार पर अब्दुल कलाम का विभेद किया?
Answer:
Lakshmana Sastry summoned the teacher and asked him not to spread the poison of social inequality and communal intolerance in the minds of innocent children. He further asked him to either apologise or quit the school and the island.

Question 3.
How does the author’s father relate Seagull’s journey across the sun with Abdul Kalam’s journey to study at the Ramanatha- puram.
लेखक का पिता सीगल की सूरज के पार की यात्रा को अब्दुल कलाम के रामानाथपुरम में अध्ययन की यात्रा जोड़कर कैसे सुनाता है?
Answer:
Abdul Kalam’s father was an intelligent man. He knew that the children have to go away from home for better career. He compared Kalam’s journey to Seagull’s journey that the seagull also flies across the sun, alone and without a nest in search of food. He hold tat child should be given freedom of thought and choice of career.

Question 4.
How did Abdul Kalam’s science teacher react when his wife refused to serve food to Abdul in her kitchen?
अब्दुल कलाम के विज्ञान के शिक्षक ने क्या प्रतिक्रिया दी जब उनकी पत्नी ने अब्दुल को अपनी रसोई में खाना खिलाने से मना कर दिया?
Answer:
Abdul Kalam’s science teacher, Sivasubramania Iyer was not purturbed, nor did he get angry with his wife. Instead, he served Kalam with his own hands and sat down beside him to eat his meal.

Question 5.
How did Abdul Kalam’s family participate in Shri Sita Rama Kalyanam ceremony?
अब्दुल कलाम के परिवार ने श्री सीता राम कल्याणम् समारोह में किस प्रकार भाग लिया?
Answer:
During the annual Shri Sita Rama Kalyanam ceremony, Kalam’s family used to arrange boats with a special platform for carrying idols of the Lord from the temple to the marriage site. This site was situated in the middle of the pond called Rama Tirtha.

Question 6.
Why did Abdul collect tamarind seeds in 1939?
अब्दुल ने सन् 1939 में इमली के बीज इकट्ठे क्यों किए?
Answer:
The Second World War broke out in 1939. There was a sudden demand for tamarind seeds in the market. So he collected tamarind seeds to sell them to a provision shop and got one anna for the daily collection of the seeds.

Question 7.
Why did the new teacher ask Kalam to go and sit on the back-bench?
नए अध्यापक ने अब्दुल को पीछे बैठने के लिए क्यों कहा?
Answer:
Kalam sat beside the son of a Hindu priest. In the opinion of the new teacher, Kalam, who wore a cap and was a Muslim, was inferior in social ranking in comparison to a Hindu boy. The teacher was narrow-minded.

Question 8.
What did Abdul Kalam learn from his parents?
अब्दुल कलाम ने अपने माता-पिता से क्या सीखा?
Answer:
Kalam imbibed honesty and self-discipline from his father and from his mother he learnt to have faith in goodness and deep kindness and to be generous.

Question 9.
How did Sivasubramania Iyer teach Abdul Kalam to change the system?
शिवसुब्रामणिया अय्यर ने अब्दुल कलाम को समाज को परिवर्तित करना कैसे सिखाया?
Answer:
Sivasubramania Iyer was Abdul Kamal’s science teacher. He, though an orthodox Brahmin, was something of a rebel. He taught Abdul Kalam to be bold and cool. He said that once you decide to change the system, all problems can be confronted.

Long Answer type Questions

III. Answer the following questions in about 100-150 words :

Question 1.
Abdul Kalam’s family enjoyed freedom from any kind of bias or prejudice. They had inter-cultural harmony and healthy relationships with all. How can you say so? Give reasons to support your answer in about 100-150 words.
अब्दुल कलाम का परिवार किसी भी प्रकार के पक्षपात एवं पूर्वाग्रह से पूरी तरह रहित था। उन लोगों का अंतर सांस्कृतिक मैत्री एवं स्वस्थ संबंध सभी से था। आप ऐसा कैसे कह सकते हैं? अपने उत्तर के समर्थन में तर्क दीजिए।
Or
APJ Abdul Kalam is a man of values which he learnt from his family. Express your views on the role of family in one’s life.
ए.पी.जे. अब्दुल कलाम नीतिवान पुरुष हैं जो उन्होंने परिवार में सीखा। परिवार का किरदार किसी के भी जीवन में महत्त्वपूर्ण होता है; इस पर अपने विचार व्यक्त करें।
Or
Describe the benign and liberal influence of parents, friends and teachers in shaping Kalam’s personality.
माता-पिता एवं शिक्षकों के दया एवं समभाव के प्रभाव ने कलाम के व्यक्तित्व को किस प्रकार एक नया आयाम दिया, वर्णन करें।
Answer:
Family shapes one’s personality. It provides the foundation for person’s character, attitude, growth, progress and success throughout life. Abdul Kalam inherited simplicity, austerity, honesty, deligence, devotion, self-discipline, independence of thought, generosity and harmony from his father. Similarly, he inherited love, affection, kindness and charity from his mother.

Undoubtely, Abdul Kalam’s family enjoyed freedom from any kind of bias or prejudice. They had inter-cultural harmony and healthy realtionships with all. Abdul Kalam had three close friends in his childhood. All these three boys were orthodox Hindu Brahmin families. None of them ever felt any difference amongst themselves because of their religious differences and upbringing. Moreover, during the annual Shri Sita Rama Kalyanam ceremony, Kalam’s family used to arrange boats for carrying idols of the Lord from the temple to the marriage site. Events from the Ramayana and from the life of Prophet were the bedtime stories in the family. His mother and grandmother would tell these stories to the children in his family.

Question 2.
Abdul Kalam, a Muslim, shared a very healthy relationship with his childhood friends from a different religious background. What noble emotions urged them to have such a strong bond ? Write in about 100-150 words.
अब्दुल कलाम जो कि एक मुसलमान थे, अपने बचपन के सभी मित्रों से जो कि भिन्न-भिन्न धार्मिक पृष्ठभूमि से आते थे, स्वस्थ रिश्ता साझा किया। कौन सी वे उत्तम भावनाएँ थीं जिसके कारण उनका संबंध प्रगाढ़ था? 100-150 शब्दों में विवेचना करें।
Answer:
A.P. J. Abdul Kalam had three close friends in his childhood. They were : Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindan and Sivaprakasan. All these boys were from orthodox Hindu Brahmin families. But none of them ever felt any difference amongst themselves because of their religious differences and upbringing. Particularly, Ramanadha Sastry was the son of Pakshi Lakshmana Sastry, the high priest of the Rameshwaram temple.

All these freinds were very close to each other. They respected each other’s caste, community and religion. The noble emotions of love, humanity, kindness, friendship, brotherhood, empathy, religions tolerance urged them to have such a strong bond. But they inherited all these noble emotions from their respective parents. Ramanadha Sastry even cried when Kalam was asked by the new teacher to sit at back bench for being a Muslim boy. After this incident, Ramanadha’s father Lakshmana Sastry summoned the teacher and asked him not to spread the poison of social inequality. Similarly, Kalam’s family, during the annual Shri Sita Rama Kalyanam ceremony, used to arrange boats for carrying idols of the Lord from the temple of the marriage site.

Question 3.
Childhood experiences and lessons learnt in the school and at home turned Abdul Kalam into a great achiever. Give a reasoned answer.
बचपन के अनुभव और स्कूल और घर में सीखे गए पाठों ने अब्दुल कलाम को महान व्यक्तित्व बना दिया। तर्क सहित उत्तर दीजिए।
Or
Give the character sketch of Abdul Kalam.
अब्दुल कलाम का चरित्र चित्रण करो।
Answer:
The parents, family, society and the environment groom a child. That is why, childhood experiences and lessons learnt in the school and at home turned Abdul Kalam into a great achiever.

Abdul Kalam was born into a middle-class Tamil family in the island town of Rameshwaram. His father, Jainulabdeen was wise, generous, honest, and austere. He did not give his children luxurious but provided them all the necessities of life. This did not make Kalam ease-loving and lethargic but, hard working and self-disciplined. Similarly, her mother was affectionate, generous and kind. Abdul inherited all the traits of his parents’ character. Even his cousin helped him become confident and self-dependent by providing him job of collecting the bundles of newspapers.

He inherited moral values from his parents and grandmother. Events from the Ramayana and from the life of the Prophet were the bedtime stories hier mother and grandmother would tell the children in their family. His friends and their parents, though belongede to different religions were affectionate and had no feeling of social inequality and religious differences. His science teacher motivated him to grow-up and be at par with the highly educated people of the big cities.

In this way, we see that Abdul’s parents, family, friends and teachers all influenced him and groomed his childhood and made him a great achiever.

Question 4.
Describe the narrow-minded behaviour of the new teacher in Abdul’s class. How was he reformed?
अब्दुल की कक्षा के नए शिक्षक की संकीर्ण मानसिकता वाले व्यवहार का वर्णन करें। उनमें कैसे सुधार आया?
Answer:
When Abdul Kalam was in the Elementary School, a new teacher came to his class. He was a narrowminded person. He did not tolerate a Muslim by sitting with the son of a Hindu priest. He asked Abdul to sit in the last row. He was a communal and was trying to spread poison of social inequality. Both friends got upset on his inequality. When Ramanadha told this to his father, he rebuked him and hence the teacher reformed.

Question 5.
Write the character-sketch of Abdul Kalam’s father, Jainulabdeen.
अब्दुल कलाम के पिता, जैन-उलाब-दीन का चरित्रांकन करो।
Why did Abdul Kalam wan to leave Rameswaram? What did his father say to his mother at that occasion?
Answer:
Abdul Kalam’s father, Jainulabdeen, belonged to a middle-class Tamil family. He had neither much wealth nor much formal education but had many innate qualities of character. He was wise, generous, honest and austere. He loved all his children.

He was open-minded, intelligent and had a philosophical approach towards life. When his son Abdul asked permission to go to Ramanathapuram for higher studies, he not only himself gave him the permission to go but also made his hesitant wife ready for the same. He gave his wife the example of the seagull who leaves its home to fly to the far sea in search of food. He told her that she should give her love to the children but not thrust her thoughts upon them. Let them be free in having their own thoughts.

I. Summary In English:

Birth and family: Abdul Kalam was born in the island town of Rameshwaram in the erstwhile Madras state. His parents were neither very rich nor well educated. Yet they were kind and generous. They lived in a large pucca house on the Mosque Street. They could not afford luxuries but had all the necessities of life. Abdul was one of their many children. He was a short boy with ordinary looks.

Second World War and Abdul’s first earning: When the Second World War broke out in 1939, Abdul was only eight years old. At that time there was a sudden rise in the demand for tamarind seeds. A day’s collection of seeds gave him one anna. His brother-in-law, Jallaluddin told him war stories. The war also gave him a chance to earn his first wages when his cousin Samsuddin engaged him to collect the bundles of newspapers thrown out of the running train. He was very proud of earning his own money.

Inherited qualities: Abdul inherited the qualities of honesty and self-discipline from his parents. He also inherited faith in goodness and deep-kindness from them.

Abdul’s friends: He had three boyhood friends – Ramanadha Sastry, the son of the high priest of the Rameshwaram temple, Aravindan and Sivaprakasan. They had different religious backgrounds and upbringing. Still, they never felt any difference among themselves. They adopted different professions when they grew up.

New teacher in fifth class: His mother and grandmother told the children stories from the lives of Lord Rama as well as of the Prophet. Abdul was in the fifth standard when his new teacher spotted him sitting beside a Hindu boy. He asked Abdul to go and sit on the last bench. At this his friend Ramanadha Sastry felt very sad. His weeping left a lasting impression on him. After school, when the parents of the boys came to know about this incident, they summoned the teacher and asked him to apologize or quit his job and the island. The teacher regretted his behaviour and was thus, reformed.

Invitation for dinner by the science teacher: One day the science teacher of Abdul invited him to dinner at his home. His wife refused to serve Abdul dinner in her kitchen as she believed in religious segregation. The science teacher himself served him food and sat down beside him to eat his own meal. His wife watched it from behind the kitchen door. She observed no difference in Abdul’s manner. When Abdul was leaving, the teacher again invited him to dinner with him the next weekend. This time his wife served him food inside her kitchen with her own hands.

Sought father’s permission to go to Ramanathapuram to study: The Second World War ended. Everybody was optimistic abopt India becoming free very soon. Abdul sought his father’s permission to go to Ramanathapuram to study further. Although his mother did not like the idea, yet his father gave him permission knowing that the children had their own thoughts about life.

II. Complete Text With Hindi Translation:

Text (Page 68) : I was h om into a middle-class Tamil family in the island town of Rameshwaram in the erstwhile Madras state My father, Jainulabdeen, had neither much formal education nor much wealth; despite these disadvantes, he possessed great innate wisdom and a true generosity of spirit.

Vocabulary : ers iwhile (अर्स्टवाइल) till then तब-तक; despite (डैस्पाइट) inspite of के बावजूद; innate (इन्नेट) inborn सहज, स्वाभाविक; generosity (जैनॉरोसटी) large-heartedness उदारता; spirit ( स्पिरिट) soul आत्मा।

अनुवाद : मेरा जन्म पुराने मद्रास राज्य में रामेश्वरम् नामक द्वीपीय शहर के एक मध्यम्-वर्गीय तमिल परिवार में हुआ था। मेरे पिता, जैन उलाब-दीन को न तो औपचारिक शिक्षा मिली थी, तथा न ही उनके पार. अधिक धन था। इन असुविधाओं के बावजूद भी उनके पास काफी सहज बुद्धिमत्ता तथा सच्ची आध्यात्मिक उदारता थी।

Text (Page 68): He had an ideal helpmate in my mother, Ashiamma. I do not recall the exact number of people she fed every day, but I am quite certain that far more outsiders ate with us than all the members of our own family put together.

Vocabulary : helpmate (हैल्पमेट) a helpful companion सहायक, साथी; recall (रीकॉल) remember याद होना।

अनुवाद : मेरी माताजी, आशिम्मा उनकी एक आदर्श सहायक थी। मुझे उन लोगों की पूरी संख्या तो याद नहीं जिन्हें वह प्रतिदिन भोजन खिलाती धौं, पर मुझे पूर्ण विश्वास है कि हमारे पूरे परिवार के कुल सदस्यों से भी कहीं अधिक बाहर के लोग भोजन करते थे।

Text (Page 68): I was one of many children – a short boy with rather undistinguished looks, born to tall and handsome parents. We lived in our ancestral house, which was built in the middle of the 19th century. It was a fairly large pucca house, made of limestone and brick, on the Mosque Street in Rameshwaram.

Vocabulary : undistinguished (अनडिस्टिंगविशड) ordinary साधारण; ancestral (एनसैस्ट्रल) belonging to forefathers पैतृका

अनुवाद : मैं लम्बे व सुन्दर माता-पिता के यहाँ पैदा होने वाले कई बच्चों में से एक था जिसकी शक्ल-सूरत अपेक्षाकृत साधारण थी। हम अपने पैतृक मकान में रहते थे जिसे 19वीं शताब्दी के मध्यकाल में बनाया गया था। यह रामेश्वरम् के मस्जिद मुहल्ले में चूने तथा ईंटों से बना हुआ काफी बड़ा पक्का मकान था।

Text (Page 68): My austere father used to avoid all inessential comforts and luxuries. However, all necessities were provided for, in terms of food, medicine or clothes. In fact, I would say mine was a very secure childhood, both materially and emotionally.

Vocabulary: austere (ऑस्टियर) extremely plain सीधा-सादा; avoid (एवॉएड) to shun/escape टालना/बचना; inessential (इनअसैन्शियल) not necessary अनावश्यक luxuries (लाजरीज) things of pleasure विलासिता की वस्तुएँ: provided (प्रोवाइडिड) given दी जाती थीं; secure (सिक्योर) safe सुरक्षित; materially (मैटिरियली) worldly भौतिक emotionally (इमोशनली) involving emotions भावनात्मक रूप से।

अनुवाद : मेरे सीधे-सादे पिता सभी प्रकार के अनावश्यक ऐशोआराम से बचा करते थे। फिर भी भोजन, दवाएँ या कपड़ों जैसी सभी आवश्यकताएँ हमें प्रदान की जाती थीं। वास्तव में मैं तो यह कहूँगा कि मेरा बचपन भौतिक तथा भावनात्मक, दोनों प्रकार से सुरक्षित
था।

Text (Page 69) : The Second World War broke out in 1939, when I was eight years old. For reasons I have never been able to understand a sudden demand for tamarind seeds erupted in the market. I used to collect the seeds and sell them to a provision shop on Mosque Street. A day’s collection would fetch me the princely sum of one anna.

Vocabulary : broke out (ब्रोक आउट) started शुरू हो गई: tamarind (टैमारिन्ड) इमली; erupted (इरप्टिड) suddenly increased प्रस्फुटित/बढ़ गई: princely sum (प्रिंसली सम) good amount अच्छा-खासा पैसा।

अनुवाद : जब सन् 1939 में द्वितीय विश्व महायुद्ध छिड़ा, उस समय मेरी आयु आठ वर्ष की थी। उस समय बाजार में इमली के बीजों की मांग अत्याधिक बढ़ गई जिसके कारणों को मैं कभी भी समझ नहीं पाया। मैं इमली के बीज इकट्ठे कर मस्जिद मुहल्ले के करियाने की दुकान पर जाकर बेचा करता था। एक दिन के बीज इकट्ठा करने से मुझे एक आना मिल जाता था जो मेरे लिए काफी अधिक राशि थी।

Text (Page 69) : My brother-in-law Jallaluddin would tell me stories about the War which I would later attempt to trace in the headlines in Dinamani. Our area, being isolated, was completely unaffected by the war. But soon India was forced to join the Allied Forces and something like a state of emergency was declared. The first casualty came in the form of the suspension of the train halt at Rameshwaram station.

Vocabulary trace (ट्रेस) find out खोजना; isolated (आइसोलेटिड) having no company, alone एकाकी; Allied Forees (ऐलाइड फोर्सिस) the armies of the Allies मित्र देशों की सेनाएँ (In the Second World War Germany was on one side and U.K., Russia and U.S.A. on the other); casualty (कैज्युलिटी) mishap आपत्ति; suspension (सस्पेन्शन) to stop for some period निलम्बित करना; halt (हॉल्ट) short stop थोड़ी देर के लिए रुकना।

अनुवाद : मेरे बहनोई मुझे युद्ध की कहानियाँ सुनाया करते थे, जिन्हें मैं बाद में ‘दिनमनी’ नामक समाचार पत्र में मुख्य समाचारों में ढूंढने का प्रयत्न करता। हमारा क्षेत्र एकान्त होने के कारण पूर्णतया युद्ध से अप्रभावित था। परन्तु शीघ्र ही भारत को भी मित्र-देशों की सेनाओं के साथ मिलना पड़ा तथा एक प्रकार के आपातकाल की घोषणा कर दी गई। इसका सबसे बड़ा दुष्प्रभाव रामेश्वरम् स्टेशन पर रेलगाड़ी का ठहराव निलम्बित किए जाने के रूप में पड़ा।

Text (Page 69) : The newspapers now had to be bundled and thrown out from the moving train on the Rameshwaram Road between Rameshwaram and Dhanushkodi. That forced my cousin Samsuddin, who distributed newspapers in Rameshwaram, to look for a helping hand to catch the bundles and, as if naturally, I filled the slot. Samsuddin helped me earn my first wages. Half a century later, I can still feel the surge of pride in earning my own money for the first time.

Vocabulary : filled theslot (फिल्ड द स्लॉट) filled in पूर्णतया स्थान भर दिया; surge (सर्ज) rise, a large wave बड़ी लहर, प्रवाह।

अनुवाद : अब समाचारपत्रों को बाँध कर चलती रेलगाड़ी से रामेश्वरम् व धनुषकोटि के बीच रामेश्वरम् सड़क पर फेंकना पड़ा। इससे मेरे चचेरे भाई समसुद्दीन को बण्डल पकड़ने के लिए एक सहायक की आवश्यकता पड़ी तथा स्वाभाविक रूप से मैंने वह स्थान ले लिया। समसुद्दीन ने मुझे मेरा प्रथम मेहनताना कमाने में सहायता की। आधी शताब्दी के पश्चात् आज भी पहली बार अपना धन कमाने का गर्व अनुभव कर सकता हूँ।

Text (Page 69) : Every child is born, with some inherited characteristics, into a specific socio-economic and emotional environment and trained in certain ways by figures of authority. I inherited honesty and self-discipline from my father; from my mother, I inherited faith in goodness and deep kindness and so did my three brothers and sister.

Vocabulary: inherited (इनहेरिटिड) to receive from ancestors पूर्वजों से प्राप्त होता; characteristics (कैरैक्टरिस्टिकस) typical qualities विशिष्ट गुण; specific (स्पैसिफिक) particular विशेष, socio-economic (सोशियो-इकनोमिक) economic status in society समाज में आर्थिक स्तर।

अनुवाद : प्रत्येक बच्चा एक विशेष सामाजिक, आर्थिक तथा भावनात्मक वातावरण में कुछ उत्तराधिकार में प्राप्त गुणों के साथ जन्म लेता है तथा उसे एक निश्चित ढंग से अधिकार-प्राप्त लोगों से प्रशिक्षण मिलता है। मुझे ईमानदारी तथा आत्म-अनुशासन पिताजी से विरासत में प्राप्त हुआ था तथा माताजी से अच्छाई में विश्वास तथा गहन दयालुता मिली थी तथा यही कुछ मेरे तीन भाइयों तथा बहन को भी मिला था।

Text (Page 69): I had three close friends in my childhood-Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindan and Sivaprakasan. All these boys were from orthodox Hindu Brahmin families. As children, none of us ever felt any difference amongst ourselves because of our religious differences and upbringing. In fact, Ramanadha Sastry was the son of Pakshi Lakshmana Sastry, the high priest of the Rameshwaram temple.

Vocabulary : orthodox (ऑरधोडोक्स) having traditions रूदिवादी; upbringing (अपब्रिगिंग) the care and training of the young ones बच्चों का लालन-पालन।

अनुवाद : बचपन में मेरे तीन घनिष्ठ मित्र थे। रामनाथ शास्त्री, अरविन्दन् तथा शिवप्रकाशन्। ये सभी लड़के रूढ़िवादी ब्राहमण परिवारों से थे। भिन्न-भिन्न धर्मों व पालन-पोषण के बावजूद बचपन में हममें से कोई भी स्वयं को दूसरों से भिन्न नहीं समझता था। वास्तव में रामनाथ शास्त्री रामेश्वरम् मंदिर के बड़े पुजारी पाक्षी लक्ष्मण शास्त्री का पुत्र था।

Text (Pages 69-70) : Later, he took over the priesthood of the Rameshwaram temple from his father; Aravindan went into the business of arranging transport for visiting pilgrims; and Sivaprakasan became a catering contractor for the Southern Railways.

Vocabulary : catering ( fit) to provide cooked food items खाने का प्रबन्ध करना।

अनुवाद : बाद में उसने रामेश्वरम् मन्दिर के पुजारी का कार्यभार अपने पिता से प्राप्त किया। अरविन्दन् आने वाले तीर्थयात्रियों के लिए यातायात के प्रबन्ध के व्यवसाय में लग गया तथा शिवप्रकाशन् दक्षिण रेल विभाग में भोजन अथवा खानपान का ठेकेदार बन गया।

Text (Page 70) : During the annual Shri Sita Rama Kalyanam ceremony, our family used to 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 our house. Events from the Ramayana and from the life of the Prophet were the bedtime stories my mother and grandmother would tell the children in our family.

Vocabulary : situated (सिचुएटिड) located स्थित events (इवेन्ट्स) incidents घटनाएँ: idols (आइडल्स) images of gods देवी-देवताओं की मूर्तियाँ।

अनुवाद : वार्षिक श्री सीताराम उत्सव के दौरान हमारा परिवार मन्दिर से विवाह स्थल तक, जो कि हमारे घर के समीप रामतीर्थ नामक तालाब के बीच में स्थित था, भगवान राम की मूर्तियों को ले जाने के लिए विशेष प्रकार की किश्तियों का प्रबन्ध करता था, जिसमें मूर्तियाँ ले जाने के लिए विशेष रूप से मंच बना होता था। रात में सोने के समय मेरी माँ तथा दादी माँ रामायण तथा पैगम्बर के जीवन की घटनाएं परिवार के बच्चों को सुनाया करती थीं।

Text (Pages 70-71) : One day when I was in the fifth standard at the Rameshwaram 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 Ramanadha Sastry, who wore a sacred thread. The new teacher could not stomach a Hindu priest’s son sitting with a Muslim boy.

Vocabulary : marked (माक्र्ड) indicated संकेत किया; sacred thread (सेकरैड ब्रैड) a raw cotton thread worm by Hindus यज्ञोपवीत/जनेका।

अनुवाद : जब मैं रामेश्वरम् प्राथमिक विद्यालय की पांचवी कक्षा में था, तब एक दिन हमारी कक्षा में एक नया अध्यापक आया। मैं एक टोपी पहना करता था जो मेरे मुसलमान होने की निशानी थी तथा मैं सदैव रामनाथ शास्त्री के साथ अगली पंक्ति में बैठता था जो जनेऊ पहनता था। नया अध्यापक एक हिन्दू पुजारी के पुत्र का एक मुसलमान लड़के के साथ बैठना सहन नहीं कर सका।

Text (Page 71) : 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 Ramanadha Sastry. He looked utterly downcast as I shifted to my seat in the last row. The image of him weeping when I shifted to the last row left a lasting impression on me.

Vocabulary:could not stomach (कुड नॉट स्टमक) could not tolerate सहन न कर सकना; abcordance (अकॉर्डन्स) in agreement अनुरूप; social ranking (सोशियल रेकिंग) status in society सामाजिक स्तर; downcast (डॉउनकास्ट) sad उदास; lasting impression (लास्टिंग इम्प्रेशन) memorable influence अमिट छाप।

अनुवाद : नई सामाजिक व्यवस्था के अनुसार, जोकि नए अध्यापक ने देखी थी, मुझे जाकर पीछे वाले बैंच पर बैठने के लिए कहा गया। मुझे तथा रामनाथ शास्त्री को दु:ख का अनुभव हुआ। जैसे ही मैंने अन्तिम पक्ति में जाकर अपना स्थान बदला, तो वह बहुत उदास नजर आया। जब मैं अन्तिम पंक्ति में गया, उसके रोते हुए चेहरे ने मुझ पर चिरस्थायी प्रभाव छोड़ दिया।

Text (Page 71) : After school, we went home and told our respective parents about the incident. Lakshmana Sastry summoned the teacher, and in our presence, told the teacher that he should not spread the poison of social inequality and communal intolerance in the minds of innocent children.

Vocabulary : respective (रैसपैक्टिव) अपने-अपने summoned (सम्मन्ड) called बुला भेजा; communal (कम्यूनल) ofasociety/community साम्प्रदायिक; intolerance (इनटॉलरेन्स) not to bear सहन न करना/असहनशीलता; inequality (इनइक्वैलिटी) not being equal असमानता।

अनुवाद : स्कूल की छुट्टी के पश्चात् हम घर गए तथा इस घटना के बारे में अपने-अपने माता-पिता को बताया। लक्ष्मण शास्त्री ने अध्यापक को बुलाया तथा हमारी उपस्थिति में उसे कहा कि उसे भोले-भाले बच्चों के दिमाग में सामाजिक असमानता तथा साम्प्रदायिक असहनशीलता का विष नहीं फैलाना चाहिए।

Text (Page 71): He bluntly asked the teacher to either apologize or quit the school and the island. Not only did the teacher regret his behaviour, but the strong sense of conviction Lakshmana Sastry conveyed ultimately reformed this young teacher.

Vocabulary : bluntly (ब्लन्टली) point blank रूक्षता से; apologize (अपोलोजाईज) to ask for pardon क्षमायाचना करना; quit (क्विट) leave छोड़ जाना; regret (रिगरैट) feel sorry खेद, पश्चाताप करना; conviction (कन्विक्शन) firm faith दृढ़ विश्वास; conveyed (कन्वड) communicated, said संदेश देना कहना; reformed (रिफॉम्ह) changed in good sense सुधार लिया।

अनुवाद : उसने स्पष्ट शब्दों में अध्यापक से कहा कि या तो वह क्षमा माँगे अन्यथा स्कूल तथा द्वीप छोड़ कर चला जाए। अध्यापक ने न केवल अपने व्यवहार पर अफसोस व्यक्त किया, अपितु लक्ष्मण शास्त्री द्वारा दर्शाए गए दृढ विश्वास ने इस युवा अध्यापक को सुधार दिया।

Text (Page 72) : On the whole, the small society of Rameshwaram was very rigid in terms of the segregation of different social groups. However, my science teacher Sivasubramania Iyer, though an orthodox Brahmin with a very conservative wife, was something of a rebel.

Vocabulary : rigid (रिजिड) not flexible कठो आसानी से न बदलने वाली; segregation (सैनीगेशन) separation अलगाव; conservative (कन्जरवेटिव) one who likes to keep the existing system लकीर का फकी/परिवर्तन का विरोधी; rebe. (रिबेल) one who goes against the established norms विद्रोही।

अनुवादकुल मिलाकर रामेश्वरम् का छोटा सा समाज भिन्न-भिन्न सामाजिक समूहों के आलगाव के बारे में बहुत दृढ़ था। परन्तु फिर भी मेरे विज्ञान के अध्यापक, शिवसुबामणिया अय्यर, जो एक रूढ़िवादी ब्राह्मण थे तथा जिनकी पत्नी बहुत रूढ़िवादी थी, वे एक प्रकार के विद्रोही व्यक्ति थे।

Text (Page 72): He did his best to break social barriers so that people from varying backgrounds could mingle easily. He used to spend hours with me and would say, “Kalam, I want you to develop so that you are on par with highly educated people of the big cities.”

Vocabulary : barriers (बैरियर्स) limits सीमायें; varying (वैरींग) different भिन्न; mingle (मिंगल) mix up घुलना-मिलना; on par with (ऑन पार विद) on equal level समान स्तर पर।

अनुवाद : उन्होंने सामाजिक अवरोधों को तोड़ने का भरसक प्रयत्न किया ताकि विभिन्न पृष्ठभूमियों के लोग आपस में आसानी से मिल सकें। वे मेरे साथ घण्टों व्यतीत करते थे तथा कहा करते थे, “कलाम, मैं चाहता
हूँ कि तुम उन्नति करो, ताकि तुम बड़े शहरों के उच्च शिक्षा प्राप्त लोगों __के समान बन जाओ।”

Text (Page 72): One day, he invited me to his home for a meal. His wife was horrified at the idea of a Muslim boy being invited to dine in her ritually pure kitchen. She refused to serve me in her kitchen. Sivasubramania Iyer was not perturbed, nor did he get angry with his wife, but instead, served me with his own hands and sat down beside me to eat his meal.

Vocabulary: horrified (हॉरीफाइड) causing dread भयभीत हो गई: ritually (रिचुयली) according to religious custom विधिवत् धर्म के अनुसार; perturbed (परटर्ड) disturbed परेशान।

अनुवाद : एक दिन उन्होंने मुझे भोजन पर अपने घर आमन्त्रित किया। उनकी पत्नी इस विचार से भयभीत हो गई कि एक मुसलमान लड़के को धार्मिक रूप से पवित्र रसोईघर में भोजन करने के लिए आमन्त्रित किया जा रहा है। उसने रसोईघर में मुझे खाना परोसने से इन्कार कर दिया। शिवसुबामणिया अय्यर परेशान नहीं हुए, न ही वे अपनी पत्नी पर क्रोधित हुए, पर इसकी बजाए उन्होंने अपने हाथों से मेरे लिए भोजन परोसा तथा मेरे समीप अपना खाना खाने के लिए बैठ गए।

Text (Pages 72-73): His wife watched us from behind the kitchen door. I wondered whether she had observed any difference in the way I ate rice, drank water or cleaned the floor after the meal. When I was leaving his house, Sivasubramania Iyer invited me to join him for dinner again the next weekend. Observing my hesitation, he told me not to get upset, saying, “Once you decide to change the system, such problems have to be confronted.” When I visited his house the next week, Sivasubramania Iyer’s wife took me inside her kitchen and served me food with her own hands.

Vocabulary :observing (ऑबजर्वग) watching देखते हुए: hesitation (हेजीटेशन) doubt/not sure हिचकिचाहट; upset (अपसेट) to distress परेशान होना; confronted (कन्फ्रन्टिड) come face to face आमना-सामना हुआ।

अनुवाद : उनकी पत्नी ने रसोई के दरवाजे के पीछे से हमें देखा। मुझे आश्चर्य था कि कहीं उसने मेरे चावल खाने के तरीके में भिन्नता तो नहीं देखी या फिर मेरे पानी पीने तथा भोजन के पश्चात् फर्श साफ करने में अन्तर तो नहीं पाया। जब मैं उनके घर से जा रहा था, तब शिवसुबामणिया अय्यर ने अगले सप्ताहान्त फिर मुझे भोजन पर आने के लिए आमन्त्रित किया। मेरी हिचकिचाहट देखकर उन्होंने मुझे परेशान न होने के लिए यह कहते हुए कहा, “एक बार जब तुमने समाज को बदलने का निश्चय किया है तो इस प्रकार की समस्याओं का सामना तो करना ही पड़ेगा।” जब अगले सप्ताह मैं उनके घर गया, तो शिवसुबामणिया अय्यर की पत्नी मुझे अपने रसोईघर में ले गई तथा उन्होंने अपने हाथ से मुझे भोजन परोसा।

Text (Page 73) : Then the Second World War was over and India’s freedom was imminent. “Indians will build their own India,” declared Gandhiji. The whole country was filled with an unprecedented optimism. I asked my father’s permission to leave Rameshwaram and study at the district headquarters in Ramanathapuram.

Vocabulary : imminent ( 2) about to happen in the future निकट भविष्य में होने वाली; unprecedented (अनप्रेसीडेन्टिड) not seen before अभूतपूर्व; optimism (ऑपटिमिश्म) being hopeful आशावादिता।

अनुवाद : फिर द्वितीय विश्व महायुद्ध समाप्त हो गया तथा भारत को शीघ्र स्वतन्त्रता मिलने वाली थी। गांधी जी ने घोषणा की, “भारतीय लोग अपने भारत का स्वयं निर्माण करेंगे।” पूरा देश अभूतपूर्व आशावाद से भर गया। मैंने अपने पिता जी से रामेश्वरम् छोड़ कर रामनाथपुरम् के जिला मुख्यालय में अध्ययन करने की अनुमति मांगी।

Text (Page 74): He told me as if thinking aloud, “Abul! I know you have to go away to grow. Does the seagull not fly across the Sun, alone and without a nest?” He quoted Khalil Gibran to my hesitant mother, “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.”

Vocabulary: seagull (सीगल) समुद्री चिड़िया; quoted (कोटेड) referred to somebody’s statement उद्धृत किया; hesitant (हेजीटेन्ट) reluctant हिचकिचाती हुई: life’s longing for itself (लाइपस् लॉगिंग फॉर इटसेल्फ) for life to continue जीवन चलते रहने के लिए; thoughts (थॉट्स) opinion/views विचार।

अनुवाद : जैसे वह ऊँचा सोच रहे हों, उन्होंने मुझे कहा, “अबुल ! मैं जानता हूँ कि विकास के लिए तुम्हें जाना ही होगा। क्या समुद्री चिड़िया पूप में अकेली बिना घोंसले के नहीं उड़ती?” मेरी सहमी हुई माताजी से उन्होंने खलील जीवरान् का उल्लेख करते हुए कहा, “तुम्हारे बच्चे केवल तुम्हारे बच्चे नहीं हैं। वे जीवन के अपने तरीके से जीने की इच्छा के पुत्र व पुत्रियाँ हैं। वे तुममें से नहीं बल्कि तुम्हारे माध्यम से आते हैं। तुम उन्हें अपना स्नेह-प्यार दे सकती हो, अपने विचार नहीं, क्योंकि उनके पास उनके अपने विचार हैं।”

My Childhood Class 9 Question Answer

Class 9 English Question Answer