My Childhood Class 9 Worksheet English Chapter 1

Multiple Choice Questions

Q1: Who influenced Prof. Kalam?
(a) His father
(b) His friends
(c) His society people
(d) None of these
Ans: (a) 

Q2: When did Kalam become India’s 11th President? (My Childhood)
(a) 2003
(b) 2000
(c) 2001
(d) 2002
Ans: (d) 

Q3: By whom and when did Kalam second time face discrimination and humiliation on the basis of religion?
(a) By a teacher when he was in elementary school
(b) By Sivasubramania's wife, when he was invited to their home for a meal
(c) By the priest, during the Sita Rama Kalyanam ceremony
(d) By students, when he went to higher studies
Ans: (b)
Sol: When Sivasubramania Iyer invited Kalam for a meal at his home, his wife denied serving a Muslim in a brahmin's kitchen.

Q4: What did Kalam think and say about his parents?
(a) Wise
(b) They were tall
(c) Handsome
(b) All of these
Ans: (d) 

Q5: Where was A.P.J. Abdul Kalam born?
(a) Madurai
(b) Bangalore
(c) Chennai
(d) Rameswaram
Ans: (d)
Sol: Kalam was born in 1931 in Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu.

Q6: Who was Kalam’s close friend?
(a) None of these
(b)His father
(c)Samsuddin
(d) Ramanadha Sastri
Ans: (d) 

Q7: Which word in the lesson means unnecessary?
(a) Inessential
(b) Inconvenience
(c) None of these
(d) Essential
Ans: (a) 

Q8: In which standard was Abdul when the new teacher with a conservative mind came to his class?
(a) 5th standard
(b) 6th standard
(c) 7th standard
(d) 4th standard
Ans:(a) 

Q9: Which seeds did Kalam collect during the Second World War?
(a) Guava seeds
(b) Flax seeds
(c) Mango seeds
(d) Tamarind seeds
Ans: (d) 

Q10: Who said this statement, "Kalam, I want you to develop so that you are on par with the highly educated people of the big cities"?
(a) Sivasubramania Iyer
(b) Pakshi Lakshman Sastry
(c) Jainulabdeen
(d) Samsuddin
Ans:(a)
Sol: Sivasubramania Iyer, the science teacher of Kalam, told Kalam.

Short Answer Questions

Q1: Kalam’s childhood was a secure one, both materially and emotionally. Illustrate.
Ans: APJ Abdul Kalam called his childhood a secure one because he had loving and caring parents who gave love and guidance to their children and took care of their emotional and physical needs. They provided their children with all necessities, in terms of food, medicine or clothing.

Q2: What kind of person was Kalam’s father?
Ans: Abdul Kalam’s father, Jainulabdeen, was a tall and handsome man. Although he did not have much of a formal education, he was progressive and valued education. He was an austere man and didn’t have much wealth; however, he was a generous man and provided both material and emotional security to his family. He was a very practical man with a vast store of wisdom and never obstructed the progressive ways of his children.

Q3: How was Kalam’s appearance different from that of his parents?
Ans: Kalam did not take after his tall and handsome parents. He was a rather short boy with average looks. Unlike his parents, who had quite striking features, his appearance was undistinguished.

Q4: How did the Second World War give Abdul Kalam the opportunity to earn his first wages?
Ans: When the stoppage of trains at Rameswaram was cancelled because of World War II, Kalam’s cousin, Samsuddin, who distributed newspapers in Rameswaram, asked him for help in collecting newspaper bundles which were thrown from the moving train. This helped Abdul Kalam earn his first wages.

Q5: Had Kalam earned any money before that? In what way?
Ans: When the Second World War broke out in 1939, there was a sudden demand for tamarind seeds in the market. Kalam collected these seeds and sold them to earn an anna a day, which was a big amount for a small boy like him in those days.

Long Answer Questions

Both boys felt very sad. Ramanadha Sastry looked utterly downcast, and as Kalam shifted to his seat in the last row, he saw tears in his eyes. Both the kids narrated the incident to their parents. Lakshmana Sastry summoned the teacher and reprimanded him for spreading the poison of social inequality and communal intolerance in the minds of innocent children. The teacher was asked to either apologise 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 him.

Q2: When Sivasubramania told Kalam, “Once you decide to change the system, such problems have to be confronted”. What system was he referring to? What are “such problems”? What values did he want to teach Kalam?
Ans: Abdul Kalam’s science teacher, Sivasubramania Iyer, was a rebel by nature. He was against the prevalent system of segregation of social groups. He wanted to break these social barriers so that people from varying backgrounds could mingle easily. When he invited Abdul Kalam to his home, his wife, in keeping with the prevailing system, refused to serve Kalam, a Muslim, food in her kitchen.

But, Iyer not only served him food himself but also invited him next week again. He told Abdul Kalam that when one decides to go against the age-old social barriers, one has to face many problems. He proved that if one is determined to face problems and change the system, one succeeds. He also tried to teach him that sometimes it is good to rebel. We should fight for the right reasons and to achieve higher goals.

Q3: How did Abdul Kalam earn his first wages? How did he feel at that time? Explain.
Ans: Abdul Kalam’s cousin, Samsuddin, helped him earn his first wages. He used to collect newspapers from the station and distribute them in Rameswaram. It was the time of the Second World War. Initially, his area, being isolated, was completely unaffected by the War. But, soon, the Indian forces also joined the Allied forces. A state of emergency was declared. The first casualty of the emergency was the suspension of the train halt at Rameswaram.
It affected Samsuddin’s business adversely. Now, the bundles of newspapers had to be thrown from the moving train on the Rameswaram Road between Rameswaram and Dhanuskodi. Samsuddin wanted a helping hand who could catch the bundles thrown from the moving train. Abdul Kalam was engaged for this job by him. Thus, he earned his wages for the first time. Abdul Kalam felt a great sense of pride when he earned his first wages.

Q4: What do you learn about APJ? Abdul Kalam’s family from the lesson “My Childhood”?
Ans: Abdul Kalam tells us that his family was a middle-class Tamil Muslim family from Rameshwaram. His parents were good, kind and wise people who gave their children a childhood that was emotionally and materially secure. His father, Jainulabdeen, was not well-educated, wasn’t rich, but was a generous, wise, simple man. He was austere and used to avoid all inessential comforts and luxuries. However, all necessities were provided for, in terms of food, medicine or clothes.

His mother Ashiamma was a generous lady, and used to feed unlimited numbers of people. The family respected all religions and took part in Hindu festivals. 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, situated in the middle of the pond called Rama Tirtha, which was near their house. Events from the Ramayana and from the life of the Prophet were the bedtime stories Kalam’s mother and grandmother would tell the children in the family. The parents always showered their love on their children and never forced their views on them.

Q5: Narrate the incident of the new teacher’s behaviour in the classroom. Was his action appropriate? What values did the new teacher learn after that incident?
Ans: When Abdul Kalam was in the fifth standard, a new teacher, who had a conservative and narrow outlook, came to teach them. He saw Abdul Kalam sitting in the front row with Ramanadha Sastry. He identified Kalam as a Muslim as he used to wear a cap, which marked him as one and Ramanadha Sastry, who wore the sacred thread as a Brahmin. The teacher could not digest a Muslim boy sitting with a Brahmin boy, that too the son of a priest. By their social ranking, as he saw it, he asked Kalam to go and sit on the back bench.

Abdul Kalam and Ramanadha Sastry both felt very sad. His action was not at all appropriate, as all human beings are equal. After this incident, Ramanadha Sastry’s father, Lakshmana Sastry, called the teacher and taught him the lesson that one must have respect for all religions and work for communal harmony. He 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. His strong sense of conviction ultimately reformed this young teacher.

Reference to Context

Q1: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
I was born into a middle-class Tamil family in the island town of Rameswaram 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. He had an ideal helpmate in my mother, Ashiamma.
(a) Where was Abdul Kalam born?
Ans: Abdul Kalam was born in the island town of Rameswaram, which fell in the erstwhile Madras State.

(b) What qualities did Abdul Kalam’s father possess?
Ans: His father was a wise and generous man.

(c) In what ways was Ashiamma an ideal helpmate for her husband?
Ans: Ashiamma was a generous person who fed a large number of people every day.

(d) What characteristics does he say he inherited from his parents?
Ans: He inherited honesty and self-discipline from his father. From his mother, he inherited a sense of kindness and faith.

Q2: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
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, made of limestone and bricks, on the Mosque Street in Rameshwaram. 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.
(a) How was Kalam different from his parents in looks?
Ans: While Kalam’s parents were tall, handsome people, he was a short boy with rather ordinary looks.

(b) What does Kalam tell us about his home?
Ans: Kalam’s family lived in their ancestral house, made of limestone and bricks, on the Mosque Street in Rameshwaram.

(c) How do we know that Kalam’s father was austere?
Ans: Kalam’s father shunned all inessential comforts and luxuries.

(d) What kind of childhood did Kalam have?
Ans: Kalam had a comfortable and secure childhood.

Q3: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
In fact, I would say mine was a very secure childhood, both materially and emotionally.
(a) In what way was Kalam’s childhood ‘secure’?
Ans: Kalam was provided with all the necessities in terms of food, medicine and clothes. Apart from it, his parents loved him a lot. and took good care of him.

(b) What does Kalam mean by ‘material security’?
Ans: By material security, Kalam means all the necessities of life that one needs while growing up that can be provided with money.

(c) What is meant by ‘emotional security’?
Ans: ‘Emotional security’ is the love and care that one needs to flourish and thrive.

(d) How did his parents provide Kalam with material and emotional security?
Ans: Kalam’s parents provided him with material security by ensuring that all necessities in terms of food, medicine or clothes were provided for and emotional security by giving him a loving and secure childhood.

Q4: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
I used to collect the seeds and sell them to a provision shop on Mosque Street.
(a) Which seeds did the narrator collect?
Ans: Kalam collected tamarind seeds.

(b) Why did he collect these seeds?
Ans: These seeds were collected by Kalam as they were in great demand in the market during the Second World War and could be sold easily for a good sum of money.

(c) What did he do with the collected seeds?
Ans: Kalam would sell off the collected seeds to a provision shop on Mosque Street.

(d) What light does the extract throw on the narrator?
Ans: The extract shows that the narrator, Kalam, was very enterprising and hard-working. His faith in the dignity of labour prompted him to collect the seeds and sell them off.

Q5: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
The first casualty came in the form of the suspension of the train halt at Rameswaram station. The newspaper had now to be bundled and thrown out from the moving train on the Rameswaram road between Rameswaram and Dhanuskodi. That forced my cousin Samsuddin, who distributed the newspapers in Rameswaram, to look for a helping hand and catch the bundles and as if naturally, I filled the slot.
(a) What does he mean by first casualty?
Ans: The first blow that fell on Rameswaram, which had been unaffected by the war so far, was the suspension of the train stop there.

(b) Who was Samsuddin? What did he do?
Ans: Samsuddin was Abdul Kalam’s cousin. He used to distribute newspapers in Rameswaram.

(c) Why did the cousin need a helping hand? How did he help Kalam earn a salary?
Ans: As the train did not halt at Rameswaram, bundles were thrown off a moving train on the Rameswaram Road between Rameswaram and Dhanuskodi and had to be caught. Samsuddin needed a helping hand to catch the bundles, and he employed Kalam for the job.

(d) How did Kalam feel later about his job?
Ans: Kalam felt a sense of pride for earning his own money for the first time.

Q6: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
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.
(a) What was the annual event held in Rameswaram?
Ans: The annual event held in Rameswaram was the Shri Sita Rama Kalyanam ceremony, or the wedding ceremony of Sita and Rama.

(b) Where did the boats carry the idols of the Lord?
Ans: The idols were carried from the temple to the marriage site, which was in the middle of the Rama Tirtha pond.

(c) Who provided the boats for ferrying the idols of Rama and Sita to the marriage site?
Ans: Abdul Kalam’s family arranged for the boats required to ferry the idols.

(d) What light does this throw on the Rameswaram society?
Ans: This highlights the secular nature of society and the natural Hindu Muslim cooperation in most parts of India. They were aware of their different identities, but they were living harmoniously as people do in any normal society.

Q7: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
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 had three close friends in my childhood – Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindan and Sivaprakashan. 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.
(a) How does the author describe his father?
Ans: The author describes his father as an austere man who looked after all the needs of his family.

(b) In what way did Kalam’s father show his self-discipline?
Ans: Abdul Kalam’s father was an austere man who kept away from all inessential comforts and luxuries.

(c) What was the difference between the writer and his friends?
Ans: The other three boys were from orthodox Brahmin families, whereas the writer was a Muslim.

(d) How did the difference affect the friendship between the boys?
Ans: The boys did not feel any difference between themselves, and it did not affect their friendship in any way.

Q8: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
One day, when I was in the fifth standard at Rameswaram Elementary School, a new teacher came to our class. I used to wear a cap which marked me as 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. In accordance with our social ranking, as the new teacher saw it, I was asked to go and sit on the back bench.
(a) Name the school where Kalam studied.
Ans: Kalam studied at Rameswaram Elementary School in Rameswaram.

(b) Which social groups existed in Rameswaram?
Ans: Kalam has mentioned Hindus and Muslims as two distinct social groups living in Rameshwaram.

(c) How were these groups easily identified?
Ans: These groups had their different dress codes and rituals. For example, Kalam used to wear a cap while his friend Ramanadham used to wear the sacred thread.

(d) What did the teacher ask Kalam to do?
Ans: He did not want Kalam, a Muslim, sitting with a Hindu priest’s son, and so he told him to go and sit on the back bench.

Q9: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
I felt very sad, and so did Ramanadha Sastry. He looked utterly downcast as I shifted to my seat in the last row.
(a) How did the teacher know that Kalam was a Muslim?
Ans: The teacher realised Kalam was a Muslim because he wore the cap worn by Muslims.

(b) Why did the narrator feel sad?
Ans: The narrator felt sad because his new teacher did not let him sit with his Hindu friend in the front row of the class, but sent him to sit at the back of the class.

(c) Who looked “utterly downcast”? Why?
Ans: It was Ramanadha Sastry, Kalam’s close friend, who looked utterly downcast at being separated from his friend.

(d) Why was Kalam’s seat shifted?
Ans: The new teacher believed in certain notions of social ranking. He could not bear to see a Muslim boy sitting along with the son of a Hindu priest. So, he shifted Kalam’s seat to the last row.

Q10: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
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. Not only did the teacher regret his behaviour, but the strong sense of conviction Lakshmana Sastry conveyed ultimately reformed this young teacher.
(a) What incident is the narrator talking about?
Ans: The narrator is talking about the time when he was in the fifth standard, a new teacher asked him not to sit in the front row along with the high caste Brahmin boys.

(b) Who was Lakshmana Sastry? What did he accuse the teacher of?
Ans: Lakshmana Sastry was the father of Kalam’s friend Ramanadha Sastry and the high priest of the Rameswaram temple. He accused the teacher of spreading the poison of social inequality and communal intolerance in the minds of innocent children.

(c) What brought about a change in the teacher?
Ans: The strong disapproval of the teacher’s behaviour and his sense of conviction that Lakshmana Sastry conveyed to the teacher brought about a change in the teacher.

(d) What kind of society did the speaker live in?
Ans: The speaker lived in a society that was orthodox, but at the same time was truly secular.

Q11: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
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.
(a) Who was Sivasubramania Iyer?
Ans: Sivasubramania Iyer was Kalam’s science teacher.

(b) What was it that could have perturbed Sivasubramania Iyer?
Ans: Sivasubramania Iyer’s conservative wife had refused to serve Kalam, a Muslim. Since Sivasubramania Iyer had invited Kalam to eat with him, this could have perturbed him.

(c) Why did Sivasubramania Iyer not get angry with his wife?
Ans: Sivasubramania Iyer wanted to change an existing system. He was prepared for the problems he was sure to encounter. He did not get angry with his wife because he knew she believed in the existing system.

(d) Why did Sivasubramania sit down with Kalam to eat his meal?
Ans: Sivasubramania wished to make his wife realise that, irrespective of their religions, all human beings are equal and they all deserve to be treated as we would like to be treated by them.

Q12: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
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.
(a) Whose wife is being referred to in Line 1?
Ans: The narrator refers to the wife of his Science teacher, Sivasubramania Iyer.

(b) Why did she watch them from behind the kitchen door?
Ans: The teacher’s wife believed in the segregation of different sections of society. She did not want Kalam, a Muslim, to enter her kitchen and to eat food there. As a result, she hid behind the kitchen door and observed everything.

(c) Why did Sivasubramania invite Kalam again the next weekend?
Ans: He invited Kalam again the next weekend because he wanted to bring about a change in the conservative attitude of his wife

(d) What was the narrator’s reaction to the teacher’s invitation?
Ans: The narrator was reluctant to accept the teacher’s invitation because he realised the teacher’s wife did not wish to serve him food in her kitchen.

Q13: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
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.
(a) Why was the writer reluctant to join his teacher for dinner?
Ans: The teacher’s wife was opposed to the idea of a Muslim eating in her kitchen. She had refused to serve him the previous time. That made Kalam reluctant to dine with his teacher.

(b) What “system” was he talking about?
Ans: He is talking of breaking social barriers of religious and caste divide between the people.

(c) What was the effect of this on Sivasubramania’s wife?
Ans: This time, she let Kalam into the kitchen and served him herself.

(d) What do you learn about Sivasubramania’s character from this episode?
Ans: The extract shows that Sivasubramania was a very progressive and broad-minded person who treated everybody as equal and who seriously wanted to bring about a change in society.

Q14: Then the Second World War was over and India’s freedom was imminent “Indians build their own India ”, declared Gandhiji. The whole country was filled with unprecedented optimism. I asked my father’s permission to leave Rameshwaram and study at the district headquarters in Ramanathapuram
(a) What did the Indians expect after the Second World War was over?
Ans: Indians expected India would soon get independence after the war.

(b) What did Gandhiji declare, and what did he mean?
Ans: Gandhiji declared Indians would have to build their own India. He meant each citizen would have to contribute in her/his way in the task of nation-building.

(c) Why was the whole country optimistic?
Ans: The country was optimistic about getting independence from British Rule. Everyone dreamt of a free India.

(d) Where did Kalam decide to go and why?
Ans: Kalam decided to go to the district headquarters in Ramanathapuram to study further.

Q15: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
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? ”
(a) Who is ‘he’ in the above lines?
Ans: He in the above lines is Kalam’s father, Jainulabdeen.

(b) Why did ‘he’ say so to the listener?
Ans: He says these words to Abdul as he wants to encourage his son to go to the district headquarters in Ramanathapuram to study further.

(c) What do you learn about Kalam’s feelings from the speaker’s words?
Ans: The speaker’s words show that Abdul Kalam was a little apprehensive of going away to study alone.

(d) What do you learn about the speaker from the above lines?
Ans: The speaker was very keen that his son get a good education and was very encouraging. He was very wise and didn’t believe in obstructing his children’s progress. He was of the view that children ought to be allowed to live life according to their own wishes.

Q16: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
“Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. ”
(a) Name the writer who wrote these lines.
Ans: These lines are originally written by Khalil Gibran.

(b) Who quotes these words and to whom?
Ans: These words are quoted by Abdul Kalam’s father, Jainulabdeen, to Ashiamma, Kalam’s mother.

(c) Why does he speak these words?
Ans: After finishing his elementary education, when Kalam sought his father’s permission to leave Rameswaram and study at the district headquarters in Ramanathapuram, his father said these words to Kalam’s mother, who was a bit reluctant to send her young son away.

(d) What does he mean by ‘Sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself?
Ans: Kahlil Gibran says one’s children are not one’s own. It is Life that expresses through them. Parents are merely the soil from which they take birth.