Unit 1 Chapter 2

I Will Fly (Speech)

Textual Questions and Answers

Question 1.
Why does Dr Kalam say that ‘No youth needs to fear about the future’?
Answer:
Dr Kalam says that ‘No youth needs to fear about the future’ because the ignited mind of the youth is
the most powerful resource on the earth, under the earth and above the earth.

Question 2.
What was the mission of Sashtrayaan?
Answer:
The mission of Sashtrayaan was the preparation of about 2000 students from different schools to be
engineers, doctors, scientists, qualified managers and civil servants. This would, in turn, empower
2000 families of the village.

Question 3.
Dr. Kalam’s talk was on the topic ‘Science Empowers the Nation’. How does science empower the
nation?
Answer:
Science empowers the nation by making continuous progress in the fields of agriculture, medicine,
nutrition, mining, industries of various kinds, architecture, space exploration, defense, transportation,
communication and all such related matters that bring progress to the nation.

Question 4.
Why couldn’t the boy gather confîdence?
Answer:
The boy couldn’t gather confidence because he did not get it through his education all those years.
One of the primary things education should do is to instil confidence in the students. The failure of the
boy to gain confidence can be seen as the failure of the educational system and the teachers.

Question 5.
If yo u were there, would you dare to ask Dr. Kalam a question?
Answer:
Yes, I would. I would ask him to tell me ways to eradicate poverty from our country.

Question 6.
What was the boy’s concern?
Answer:
The boy wanted to be a marine engineer. He wanted to travel in a ship. He wanted to be the captain
of the ship. He wanted to build the engine of the ship. He wanted to know if he would be able to do all
this and how to achieve his mission and what he should do to achieve it.

Question 7.
Why did the audience look at Dr Kalam when the boy completed the question?
Answer:
The audience looked at Dr Kalam when the boy completed the question because it was a very tough
question to answer. The boy was from a remote village and he himself admitted that he was nervous.
He wanted to be a marine engineer, the captain of the ship and he wanted to build the engine of the
ship. The audience was curious to know what reply Kalam was going to give to this young boy.

Question 8.
Why did Kalam value the boy’s question?
Answer:
Kalam valued the boy’s question because it was the most difficult question among the many
questions he had received from millions and millions of students he had met. The boy was echoing
the fear of many.

Question 9.
How can you unique?
Answer:
You can be unique by being yourself. The world around you wants you to be like others. At home, you
parents will tell you to be like the children of the neighbours. At school, the teacher will tell you to be
like the first 5 rankers of the class. All the people tell you to be somebody else. But Kalam tells you to
be ‘YOU’. You should not try to be somebody else. You should not be a copycat. Be you and thus you
can be unique.

Activity – I (Think and respond)

Question 1.
Are you confident enough to ask questions or express your views in public?
Answer:
Yes, I am confident enough to ask questions and express my views in public.

Question 2.
Have you ever felt inferior to others in any way?
Answer:
Yes, I have sometimes felt inferior to others in some ways.

Question 3.
How can you overcome your fear or inhibition?
Answer:
I will try to build self-confidence, telling me I learned to walk after falling many times. If you are afraid,
you will not be able to do anything good and people will despise you.

Question 4.
What is your ambition in your life?
Answer:
My ambition in life is to become a good teacher and help the students to become competent persons
and lovers of humanity.

Question 5.
Are you confident that you can fulfil your dream?
Answer:
Yes, I am confident that I can fulfil my dream.

Question 6.
How do you think you can attain your goal?
Answer:
I can attain my goal through hard work, self-confidence and perseverance. I will also need the support
of my family and well-wishers.

Activity – II (Speech)

Question 7.
Imagine that you get the opportunity to address Class X students before their public examination. On
the basis of Dr Kalam’s message, prepare a speech to motivate and prepare them for the
examination.
Answer:
My dear students,
You are soon going to appear for the SSLC Examination which is considered to be a big turning point
in your life. Some students get panicky before the examination and spoil their chances to do well.
There is no need to fear. The examinations are simply to test your understanding of the things that
you have been taught in the class. Millions of students before you have taken this kind of
examination. So this is nothing new or terrifying.

Be confident. Don’t be nervous. Be optimistic. Be cool, calm and composed. Fear will not help you. It
will only make you forget what you already know. You have been reading your lessons regularly and
doing the assignments. The teachers have been testing your knowledge every now and then. You
already know what types of questions are coming in the examination and the time you have to answer
them. So read the instructions and questions carefully and make a plan to answer them in the most
appropriate manner.

You have read the story ‘His First Flight’ by Liam O’Flaherty. The seagull was reluctant to take his
first flight. But goaded by his mother, he takes his flight and then he finds it is smooth and he
experiences no problem. In a similar fashion, you go courageously and confidently to take your
examination and everything is going to be fine. Keep your mind happy with encouraging thoughts. Be
optimistic. You are not the first or the only one going to write this examination.

Life is full of examinations. The people who face them with confidence and courage will succeed in
life. You don’t have to compare yourself with others. Kalam has told you to be unique, to be you. You
know you have done your best during the preparation time. Now you simply have to do your best as
you write the examination without being unduly worried about the result. Do your best and leave the
rest to God.

I wish you all the resounding success in the forthcoming examinations!

Activity – III (E-mail)

Question 8.
You get inspired by Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam’s message and decide to communicate your thoughts
and ideas to your friend who is studying abroad. Draft an e-mail to your friend.
Answer:
Dearest Raj, I was greatly inspired by a speech of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam in one of the English text
books. In that speech, Kalam tells students to be unique. He says that the world around you wants
you to be like others. At home, you parents will tell you to be like the children of the neighbours. At
school the teacher will tell you to be like the first 5 rankers of the class. All the people tell you to be
somebody else. But Kalam tells you to be ‘YOU’. You should not try to be somebody else. You should
not be a copycat. He says “Be you and thus you can be unique”. I think this is a wonderful idea. This
will release everybody from his inferiority complex. It is when you compare yourself with others you
feel inferior. Kalam wants people to be confident, self-reliant and hardworking. He wants everyone to
believe he was born with some potential, ideas and dreams. Everybody is born with wings and so
nobody needs to crawl because he can fly. And as he has confidence he will fly. I really enjoyed this
speech and it has given me a new insight.

Read And Reflect

Question 1.
Dr. Kalam exhorts everybody to be unique in his/her own way There are any people who have proved
their uniqueness even while fighting adversities and limitations. Stephen Hawking’s profile shows how
he overcame his disabilities to become a shining star in physics.

I Will Fly (Speech) About the Author:

– DR. APJ Abdul Kalam

DR. APJ Abdul Kalam was a former President of India. He is a distinguished scientist. He is famous
for his contribution to the field of space research. His vision is to make India a developed nation by
2020.

He was born on 15 October 1931 at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu. He specialized in Aeronautical

Engineering from the Madras Institute of Technology. He became a Professor of Technology and
Societal Transformation at Anna University. He is actively involved in teaching and research.

I Will Fly (Speech) Summary in English

Dear friends,
The youth of the past have continuously contributed to the world of today in many fields. Today the
youth does not have to fear about the future. The flamed mind of the youth is the most powerful
resource on earth. The topic I will talk to you today is “I am born with wings’.

Last year I went to a village to inaugurate a programme called ‘Sashtrayaan’ which means the
propagation of Science’. It was to ensure the preparation of about 2000 students from different
schools to be engineers, doctors, scientists, qualified managers and civil servants. This would, in turn,
empower 2000 families of the village. My inaugural address to the audience of about 5000 people
was on ‘Science Empowers the Nation’.

After my talk, hundreds of hands were raised for asking questions. Because of the lack of time, I
chose 12 students at random from the last row to the first to ask questions. One question impressed
me greatly and I want to share it with you.

The question was from a teenager who came from a remote village. He was nervous and a typical
representative of the youth of India. He began like this, “Sir, I don’t know what I should ask. I am
nervous. I have not asked any question in class. I need to have confidence, but I have not gained any
confidence through my education all these years. I am afraid to talk to my teachers, and even to my
friends. Whenever I talk I compare myself with other students and their elegant dress. I want to
become a marine engineer. I want to travel in a ship. I want to be the captain of the ship. I want to
build the engine of the ship. Shall I be able to do all this, Sir? How can I achieve this mission? What
should I do?” The entire audience and the dignitaries on the dais, including the Chief Minister, looked
at me wondering how I would answer this sincere question from a village boy.

I replied, “You have put the most difficult question I have received from millions and millions of
students I have met. I know you are echoing the fear of many. Let me recite a beautiful ancient poem
named ‘I will fly’.

I am born with potential.

I am born with goodness and trust
l am born with ideas and dreams.
I am born with greatness.
I am born with confidence.
I am born with wings.
So, I am not meant for crawling,
I have wings, I will fly
I will fly and fly.

Let me tell you how you can be unique. I have met some 15 million youth in a decade’s time. Every
youth wants to be unique, that is YOU! But the world all around you is doing its best to make you just
‘everybody else’. In your home, you are asked by your parents to be like the neighbors’ children for
scoring good marks. At school, your teacher asks you to be like the first 5 rankers in the class.
Wherever you go people tell you to be somebody else or everybody else. But you should be unique –
yourself.

The challenge is that you have to fight the hardest battle which any human being can ever imagine,
and never stop fighting until you arrive at your destined place, that is a UNIQUE YOU.
I Will Fly (Speech) Glossary