BTS ACADEMY - CLASS 8

A VISIT TO
CAMBRIDGE
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SUMMARY
This chapter is about the experience of the author Firdaus Kanga, a disabled journalist from Mumbai, of
meeting one of the greatest scientists of modern times Stephen Hawking in Cambridge, England.
Stephen Hawking was a disabled astrophysicist whose body was completely paralysed and could only
talk through machine voice. Despite his disability, he was considered a worthy successor to Isaac
Newton and his book ‘A Brief History of Time’ was one of the biggest best-sellers of his times.

The author booked a meeting with Professor Hawking after telling his assistant that he has come from
India on a wheelchair. During their meeting they shared thoughts on courage, how normal people
think about disabled, and at the end author asked for Hawking’s advice to disabled people. To this,
Hawking replied that handicapped people should focus on what they are good at and not try to do
what others are doing. After a while Hawking also showed him his garden. To one his questions
whether he gets annoyed when someone like him comes and disturbs his work, Hawking replied ‘Yes’
with a smile. At this point the author felt that he was in the company of the most beautiful man in the
world.
Overall, it was a great experience for the author. He felt that courage actually comes when a disabled
person sees another disabled person who has achieved so much in life. He could feel Hawking’s
anguish, who had so much to express but couldn’t due to his extremely limited mobility which also
made him grateful and guilty at the same time. Author felt that physical handicap can not stop anyone
from achieving great things and ability of mind is more important than the capacity of physical body.
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“Cambridge was my metaphor for England.” To the writer,
Cambridge was the real England.
The writer phoned Stephen Hawking’s house
from outside a phone booth.
Every time he spoke to the scientist, the writer felt guilty because
he forced the scientist to use his voice synthesiser.
“I felt a huge relief… in the possibilities of my body.” In the given context,
the highlighted words refer to
shifting in the wheelchair, turning the wrist.
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Did the prospect of meeting Stephen Hawking make the writer nervous? If
so, why? Did he at the same time feel very excited? If so, why?
Yes, the writer was nervous at the prospect of meeting Stephen Hawking
because Hawking was a very renowned and brilliant astrophysicist
despite being paralysed. He had authored one of the biggest best-sellers
ever – A Brief History of Time. Besides, he was a worthy successor to Sir
Isaac Newton whose chair he had at the University.
Yes, he was very excited to meet Stephen Hawking because he wasn’t
expecting that he would be getting an opportunity to have a face-to-face
conversation with such a great personality. He wondered that although
Hawking was paralysed and differently abled, he had achieved great
heights.
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Guess the first question put to the scientist by the writer.
The first question that the writer might have asked the scientist was if
he felt relieved and brave for accomplishing such great achievements
in life despite being disabled.
Stephen Hawking said, “I’ve had no choice.” Does the writer think there
was a choice? What was it?
Although Stephen Hawking stated that he had no choice, but to remain
confined to the wheelchair. The writer felt that living creatively with
the reality of his disintegrating body was a choice for him. Firdaus
strongly felt that Hawking could have easily sulked and surrendered to
life, rather he chose to accomplish new heights despite being disabled.
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“I could feel his anguish.” What could be the anguish?
Stephen Hawking was such a brilliant scientist who brought to light various laws of
science. His mind was always receptive to new ideas and he always wanted to
express the different thoughts in his mind. He was dependent on a voice synthesizer
for expressing his thoughts, without any emotions. The writer could understand
Hawking’s anguish for his helplessness and felt that there were numerous things
which he wanted to express, but was unable to do so. His entire existence was
dependent on a computer for expressing his thoughts and emotions. He was full of
anguish for this reason.
What endeared the scientist to the writer so that he said he was looking at one of the
most beautiful men in the world?
The writer asked Stephen Hawking if he found it annoying for causing disturbance
in his work. Without a second thought, Hawking quickly responded with a yes. But
he suddenly gave a one-way smile and this endeared the scientist to the writer. The
writer instantly felt that he was indeed looking at one of the most beautiful men in
the world, who although is disabled physically, but has a beautiful soul, not a body,
which is nothing but just an accessory.
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Read aloud the description of ‘the beautiful’ man. Which is the most beautiful
sentence in the description?
The most beautiful sentence in the description of ‘the beautiful’ man is –
“Before you, like a lantern whose walls are worn so thin you glimpse only the
light inside, is the incandescence of a man.” The above sentence describes
Hawking’s personality as his inner beauty or glow that’s so beautiful and
vibrant which renders his physical inability nothing but just an accessory.
If ‘the lantern’ is the man, what would its ‘walls’ be? What is housed within the
thin walls? What general conclusion does the writer draw from this comparison?
If ‘the lantern’ is the man, its ‘walls’ would refer to the structure of the human
body. The light of life is housed within the thin walls of the external structure.
The author implies that inside the human body there is an eternal soul which
is incandescence of a man, the outer physical structure is nothing more than
just an accessory.
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What is the scientist’s message for the disabled?
Stephen Hawking emphasized on the fact that every person irrespective of his
capacity or disability should try to focus on enhancing or working towards
what they are good at. He further added that disabled should not make
unnecessary foolish efforts to imitate so called normal people. They should
make the best utilization of the available resources and be thankful to God for
granting them the ability to achieve or accomplish any impossible task.
Why does the writer refer to the guitar incident? Which idea does it support?
When Stephen Hawking mentioned to the author that Olympics for the
disabled was a complete waste of time, this reminded the author about the
years that he spent trying to play the Spanish guitar which was considerably
larger than him. One night, he loosened the guitar strings without any regrets.
The author could understand Hawking’s message for the disabled which
mentions that one should try to concentrate on what they are good at, rather
than trying to compare themselves or imitate the so called normal people.
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The writer expresses his great gratitude to Stephen Hawking. What
is the gratitude for?
Stephen Hawking inspired the author to an extent that he was
grateful to the scientist. He saw how Hawking was brave enough to
achieve such big things in life despite his disability. The scientist
was indeed an embodiment of his courageous self. This optimistic
aspect of Hawking inspired the author so much that he felt a deep
sense of gratitude for the scientist and showed him a new way of
leading life without complaining of the disability all the time.
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EXTRA QUESTIONS
Write about Stephen Hawking and Firdaus Kanga.
Stephen Hawking was one of the greatest scientists of our time.
He suffered from paralysis that confined him to a wheelchair, and
allowed him to ‘speak’ only by punching buttons on a computer,
which spoke for him in a machine-like voice. He was a worthy
successor to Isaac Newton whose chair he had at the University.
He also authored the book ‘A Brief History of Time’, one of the
biggest best-sellers ever.
Firdaus Kanga is a writer and journalist who lives and works in
Mumbai. Kanga was born with ‘brittle bones’ that tended to break
easily when he was a child. He also moved around in a
wheelchair.
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EXTRA QUESTIONS
Who received the phone at Stephen Hawking’s house and what were the conversations?
Stephen Hawking’s assistance received the phone and the author told him that he wants
to meet Mr. Hawking and even ten minutes would do. “Half an hour” the assistant
replied “from three-thirty to four”.
What was the thing that makes author feel stronger?
The only thing that makes author stronger is somebody like him who achieved
something huge.
What did Mr. Hawking reply when he asked “lot of people seem to think that disabled
people are chronically unhappy”?
Three minutes later, he responded to the questions saying that “I find it amusing when
people patronize me”.
“A first glimpse of Hawking is shocking”. Why?
A first glimpse of Hawking is shocking, because he was like a still photograph, as if all
those pictures of him in magazines and newspapers have turned 3–dimensional.
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EXTRA QUESTIONS
Why was author watching his wrist?
He turned his wrist to watch the time. He wanted to make every one of thirty minutes
count.
The author asked Hawking that he had been an inspiration beyond clinched for me, what
Hawking replied to it?
Hawking said “no”, according to him if his body is like claustrophobic room & the walls
are growing narrower day by day. It doesn’t do much good to know that there are people
outside smiling with admiration to see him breathing still.
Describe the environment of Stephen’s Garden.
The garden was as big as a park, but Stephen Hawking covered every inch, rumbling
along his motorized wheelchair. The environment of garden was entirely different.
Why was there silence in the garden?
They could not talk very much in the garden, because in the sun, the letters on Hawking’s
screen disappeared because of the sunlight. So there were silence in the garden.
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EXTRA QUESTIONS
How did the author say good bye to Mr. Hawking?
The author didn’t know what to do at the time of leaving him. He couldn’t kiss him or cry.
So he touched his shoulder and wheeled out in the summer evening.
Describe the emotions of the author at the end of the chapter.
He was in the feeling of embodiment of his bravest self. He thought Stephen Hawking might
be waving at him though he wasn’t. At the end, he said his journey is over and he had a
great interview of Stephen Hawking.
Stephen Hawking said, “I’ve had no choice.” Does the writer think was a choice? What was it?
The writer thought that there was a choice. Stephen Hawking could have chosen to leave
everything, be sad and depressed. He could have sulked. However, he chose to live
creatively, knowing the reality of his disintegrating body.
“I could feel his anguish”. What could be the anguish?
The anguish was that he found it very difficult to express himself with the right words on his
computer. He felt frustrated. He could not express himself freely although ideas were
floating in his mind.
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EXTRA QUESTIONS
Why does the writer refer to the guitar incident? Which idea does it support?
Stephen Hawking said that Olympics for the disabled people are waste of time. The writer agreed with him.
He remembered the years when he tried to play a big guitar. He felt defeated. So he unstringed it one night.
He supported Stephen Hawking’s idea that the disabled should only concentrate on what they are good at.
The writer expresses his great gratitude to Stephen Hawking. What is the gratitude for?
The writer expressed his gratitude to Stephen Hawking because he had been an inspiration for him. He saw
Stephen as the embodiment of his bravest self. He felt stronger and motivated by seeing another disabled
person who has achieved so much. That is why he expressed his great gratitude to him as he had made him
realised what great heights he could reach.
What is Stephen’s idea behind saying- ‘They should concentrate on what they are good at’?
Stephen Hawking was a differently abled person who overcame him disability. He was one of the greatest
scientists of the present era. Rather than justifying or proving to others, he wanted challenged person to
accept the way they are and focus to achieve much more than any other normal person. He did not appreciate
the Olympics for disabled as they were a wastage of time to him.
The narrator called him ‘a beautiful man’. How does he define beauty?
The narrator was inspired by the achievements of Stephen Hawking whose creativity is beyond measures.
His never ‘giving up’ attitude attracted him the most. He could associate with the difficulties faced by
Stephen as he was also confined to a wheel chair. So it is rightly said that beautiful is the one, who do things
beautifully and Stephen Hawkings contributed so much that people will also be inspired and awestruck by
him.