my childhood

. Answer these questions in one or two sentences each.

Question 1.
Where was Abdul Kalam’s house?
Answer:
Abdul Kalam’s house was on the Mosque Street in Rameswaram.

Question 2.
What do you think Dinamani is the name of? Give a reason for your answer.
Answer:
Dinamani is the name of a newspaper. Abdul Kalam attempts to trace the Second World War’s news
in the headlines of this newspaper

Question 3.
Who were Abdul Kalam’s school friends? What did they later become?
Answer:
Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindan and Sivaprakasan were his school friends. Ramanadha Sastry became
a priest of the Rameswaram temple. Aravindan went into the business of arranging transport for
visiting pilgrims. Sivaprakasan became a catering contractor for the Southern Railways.

Question 4.
How did Abdul Kalam earn his first wages?
Answer:
Abdul Kalam earned his first wages by distributing newspapers.

Question 5.
Had he earned any money before that? In what way?
Answer:
Yes, he earned money before also. He used to collect the tamarind seeds and sell them to a provision
shop on the Mosque Street. A day’s collection would fetch him the princely sum of one anna.

II. Answer each of these questions in a short paragraph (about 30 words).

Question 1.
How does the author describe:

1. his father

2. his mother

3. himself?

Answer:

1. The author describes his father as a wise and generous person. He felt happy when he helped
others. He did not have much formal education and riches. He was a man of confidence and
great wisdom. He avoided inessential comforts and luxuries.

2. His mother was a noble and kind- hearted woman. She used to feed a large number of
people. She had all the attributes of a typical Indian mother.
 3. I was born into a middle-class Tamil family. I was a short boy with rather undistinguished
looks, born to tall and handsome parents. I studied physics and aerospace engineering and
became a scientist.

Question 2.
What characteristics does he say he inherited from his parents?
Answer:
The author inherited humility and benevolence from his parents. He learnt lessons in honesty and
integrity from his parents. He was self-disciplined because of his parents’ exemplary life

1. Why did Abdul Kalam want to leave Rameswaram?

2. What did his father say to this?

3. What do you think his words mean? Why do you think he spoke those words?

Answer:

1. Abdul Kalam wanted to leave Rameswaram to study at the district headquarters in

Ramanathapuram.

2. His father said that he knew he had to go away to grow. He gave the example of a seagull
and said that a seagull flies across the sun alone and without a nest.

3. He spoke these words because he intended to hone his skills. He knew the harsh reality of life
that children may have to live far from their parents to make their career and earn their
livelihood. So he showed his wisdom and intelligence in uttering these words

NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Poem Chapter 6 No Men Are Foreign

NCERT Textbook Questions

Thinking about the poem

(Page 81)

Question 1.

1. “Beneath all uniforms…” What uniforms do you think the poet is speaking about?

2. How does the poet suggest that all people on earth are the same?

Answer:

1. The poet speaks about the various dresses that people of various countries wear but beneath
them, the human body is same.

2. The poet says that nobody is different and peculiar. No country is foreign. A single body
breathes beneath all uniforms. Moreover, the land is the same everywhere.

Question 2.
In stanza 1, find five ways in which we all are alike. Pick out the words.
Answer:
In the first stanza the poet says that there is no difference between the body of a citizen of one
country and the citizen of another country. We have same kind of body; we wear same kind of
clothes. We walk on the same planet, and the end of each individual is the same

Question 3.
How many common features can you find in stanza 2? Pick out the words.
Answer:
The following common features are given in the stanzas:

1. sun

2. air

3. water,

4. Peaceful harvests required for human survival

5. same hands

Question 4.
“… whenever we are told to hate our brothers….” When do you think this happens? Why? Who ‘tells’
us? Should we do as we are told at such times What does the poet say?
Answer:
Sometimes some selfish people instigate the innocent to harm others. They do it for their own
benefit. The common or ordinary man does not understand their tricks and starts hating his fellow
human beings. They tell them to cause riots. The poet says that one should not follow anybody’s
advice without brooding over it. The poet repeatedly says that there is no difference in them and the
foreigners. The people of the entire world are the same.

NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Poem Chapter 5 A Legend Of The Northland

NCERT Textbook Questions

Thinking About the Poem

(Page 67)

I.
Question 1.
Which country or countries do you think “the Northland” refers to?
Answer:
It is a country in the north where days are short and nights are long.

Question 2.
What did Saint Peter ask the old lady for? What was the lady’s reaction?
Answer:
Saint Peter asked the old lady for a piece of cake. The lady behaved miserly and kept decreasing the
size of the cake. At last she did not give him anything to eat.

question 3.
How did he punish her?
Answer:
He cursed her and made her a woodpecker.

Question 4.
How does the woodpecker get her food?
Answer:
The woodpecker bores the hard and dry wood to get its food

Question 5.
Do you think that the old lady would have been so ungenerous if she had known who Saint Peter
really was? What would she have done then?
Answer:
No, she would not have done this. On the contrary, she would have given him a large piece of cake to
make him happy with the greed to get a handsome return.

Question 6.
Is this a true story? Which part of this poem do you feel is the most important?
Answer:
No, it is an imaginative story. It is a legend. The third stanza of the poem is very important.

Question 7.
What is a legend? Why is this poem called a legend?
Answer:
A legend is a story from ancient times about people and events. The title of the poem tells that it is a
legend. The poet himself says that ‘I don’t believe it is true’

Question 8.
Write the story of ‘A Legend of the Northland’ in about ten sentences.
Answer:
The poem is a story of an old woman. She is asked by Saint Peter for alms who has become weak
because of fasting and travelling. But her greed forces her not to give him anything. He becomes
angry and makes her a woodpecker who bores hard, dry wood to get food. Her clothes are burnt to
ashes and she is left with a cap on her head. She continues boring into hard wood for her little food.

II.
Question 1.
Let’s look at words at the end of the second and fourth lines, viz., ‘snows’ and ‘clothes’, ‘true’ and
‘you’, ‘below’ and ‘know’. We find that ‘snows’ rhymes with ‘clothes’, ‘true’ rhymes with ‘you’ and
‘below’ rhymes with ‘know’.
Find more such rhyming words.
Answer:
Earth-hearth, done-one, lay-away, another-over, flat-that, faint-saint, form- worm, food-wood,
same-flame

NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Poem Chapter 3 Rain On The Roof

NCERT Textbook Questions

Thinking about the poem

(Page 42)

I.
Question 1.
What do the following phrases mean to you? Discuss in class.

1. humid shadows

2. starry spheres
 3. what a bliss

4. a thousand dreamy fancies into busy being start

5. a thousand recollections weave their air-threads into woof

Answer:

1. Humid shadows: These are the shadows of different things which become wet during the
rainy season.

2. Starry spheres: The area where stars appear in a group in the sky.

3. What a bliss: The poet feels happy when he listens to the rain drops.

4. A thousand dreamy fancies into busy being start: The poet starts recollecting the past and
finds himself lost in reveries and dreams in the rainy weather.

5. A thousand recollections weave their air-threads into woof: The poet recollects hundreds of
memories in the rainy season. They weave a weft with the help of air-threads.

Question 2.
What does the poet like to do when it rains?
Answer:
When it rains the poet wants to lie on bed in a cottage and listen to pitter-patter sound of the rain.

Question 3.
What is the single major memory that comes to the poet’s mind? Who are the “darling dreamers” he
refers to?
Answer:
The poet’s mother is the single major memory that comes to his mind. ‘Darling dreamers’ are those
‘kids’ who remember their mothers like the poet.

Question 4.
Is the poet now a child? Is his mother still alive?
Answer:
No, the poet is not a child. His mother is no more. But her memories still haunt him.

II.

Question 1.
When you were a young child, did your mother tuck you in, as the poet’s mother did?
Answer:
Yes, my mother used to tuck me in when I was a child. Whenever I said that I could not do some
work, she embraced me and took me in her lap to get that work done. She used to feel sad and
dejected if I was involved in any mishap.

Question 2.
Do you like rain? What do you do when it rains steadily or heavily as described in the poem?
Answer:
Yes, I like rain and prefer to take a bath in the rain for some time. But when it rains heavily, I stay
inside and enjoy the beauty of nature.
Question 3.
Does everybody have a cosy bed to lie in when it rains? Look around you and describe how different
kinds of people or animals spend time, seek shelter, etc. during rain.
Answer:
No, everybody is not so fortunate to have a cosy bed to lie in when it rains. There are some people
who live at the railway platforms and bus terminal. They don’t have even bed sheet, what to talk of
comfortable beds.

There are so many animals which don’t have any shelter and tremble under the dark sky in the rainy
season

1 He used to kiss Kezia casually before going to his office.

2 He would ask for the newspaper and tea after coming back from his office.

3 On Sundays, he would take rest. He would enjoy sound sleep on the sofa.

NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Poem Chapter 2 Wind

NCERT Textbook Questions

Thinking about the poem

(Page 31)

I.
Question 1.
What are the things the wind does in the first stanza?
Answer:
The wind breaks the doors of the window, scatters the papers and throws down the books on the
shelf. It also tears the pages of the books and brings rain.

Question 2.
Have you seen anybody winnow grain at home or in a paddy field? What is the word in your
language for winnowing? What do people use for winnowing? (Give the words in your language, if
you know them.)

Answer:
Yes, I have seen ladies winnow grain in my village. People winnow grains to remove straws, chaff and
dust found in grains there. It is called ‘Barsana’
Question 3.
What does the poet say the wind god winnows?
Answer:
The wind god winnows all the things available at home.

Question 4.
How does we make wind our friend?
Answer:
The poet suggests that we should build strong houses and fix the doors firmly to make friends with
the wind. Moreover, we should be strong enough to face the difficulties in life.

Question 5.
What do the last four lines of the poem mean to you?
Answer:
The last four lines convey the message that those who are not determined and lack confidence face
defeat. And those who set their targets and make sincere efforts are not disturbed by any obstacle.

Question 6.
How does the poet speak to the wind—in anger or with humour? You must also have seen or heard
of the wind “crumbling lives”. What is your response to this? Is it same as the poet’s?
Answer:
The poet speaks to the wind with humour. I opine that the poet’s behaviour is pertinent and I have
also seen the wind devastating the property mercilessly. The poet invites the wind to attack him and
intends to prepare himself for the attack.

NCERT Solutions For Class 9 English Moments Chapter 4 In the Kingdom of Fools

NCERT Textbook Questions

Think about it
(Page 27)

Question 1.
What are the two strange things the guru and his disciple find in the Kingdom of Fools?
Answer:
The Guru and the disciple found that in the Kingdom of Fools people used to work during nights and
sleep during days. Everything was cheap and cost the same.

Question 2.
Why does the disciple decide to stay in the Kingdom of Fools? Is it a good idea?
Answer:
Everything was cheap in the Kingdom of Fools. The disciple had peculiarity of diet. He was tempted
by the cheap food. So, he decided to stay in that kingdom. It was not a good idea to stay there for a
long time as one could be in danger any time because of the unpredictable behaviour of fools.

Question 3.
Name all the people who are tried in the king’s court, and give the reasons for their trial.
Answer:
The owner of the house i.e. the merchant, the bricklayer, the dancing girl and the goldsmith were
tried in the king’s court. They all were tried because the thief died when the wall of merchant’s house
had collapsed. The merchant was tried for building a weak wall. The bricklayer was tried for doing his
work carelessly. The dancing girl was tried for disturbing the concentration of the bricklayer. The
goldsmith was blamed for making the dancing girl walk up and down to his house a dozen times.

Question 4.
Who is the real culprit according to the king? Why does he escape punishment?
Answer:
The merchant’s dead father was held responsible for making the wall weak. But according to the
king the rich merchant was the real culprit because he had inherited both sins and riches of his
father. He escaped the punishment because he was too thin to fit the stake.

Question 5.
What are the Guru’s words of wisdom? When does the disciple remember them?
Answer:
The Guru was full of wisdom and knew well that the unpredictable behaviour of the fools could
create danger anytime. The Guru’s words were, “They are all fools. This won’t last very long, and you
can’t tell what they’ll do to you next”. The disciple remembered them when he was arrested by the
men of the king to execute merely because he fitted the stake. It was because of the Guru’s words of
wisdom that the execution was postponed.

Question 6.
How does the Guru manage to save his disciple’s life?
Answer:
The Guru arrived on time to save his disciple and created a drama. He told the king that it was not an
ordinary stake and whoever went to the stake first would become the king in next life. The second to
die would become his minister. The king wanted to avail himself of the opportunity. The Guru and his
disciple were released. Thus the Guru managed to save his disciple’s life

NCERT Solutions For Class 9 English Moments Chapter 5 The Happy Prince

NCERT Textbook Questions

Think about it
(Page 36)

Question 1.
Why do the courtiers call the prince ‘the Happy Prince’? Is he really happy? What does he see all
around him?
Answer:
He was a prince when he was alive. Being a prince he never knew sorrow and suffering. So, the
courtiers called him ‘the happy prince’. But he was not happy in real sense as his heart could feel the
misery of needy people. He saw the miserable conditions of people around him.

Question 2.
Why does the Happy Prince send a ruby for the seamstress? What does the swallow do in the
seamstress’ house?
Answer:
The seamstress was tired due to overwork. She was so poor that she could not buy oranges for her
little sick son. Her son was thirsty. The Happy Prince saw the poor lady and her son. He felt pity for
them. So, he sent a ruby for her. The swallow came to the poor woman’s house and laid the ruby on
the table beside her. The bird fanned the boy’s forehead with wings and flew back to the Happy
Prince.

Question 3.
For whom does the prince send the sapphires and why?
Answer:
The playwright was very poor. He was incapable of buying food and firewood. The prince sent the
sapphires for the playwright so that he could finish a play for the director of the theatre in time. The
princes sent his second sapphire to a poor match girl. Her matches had fallen into the gutter. She was
afraid that her father would beat her for this loss. So, she was helped by the prince by sending her
the second sapphire.

Question 4.
What does the swallow see when it was flying over the city?
Answer:
The swallow saw all categories of people. He found the rich making merry in their beautiful houses
and beggars begging sitting at the gates. He also saw a group of wandering children who were
poverty- stricken.

Question 5.
Why did the swallow not leave the prince and go to Egypt?
Answer:
At first, the swallow was willing to go to Egypt just after discharging his duty properly. But when he
saw Prince’s activities of charity and kindness he got impressed. On the other hand now the Happy
Prince had become totally blind due to the deeds of charity. In this condition, he could not leave the
Prince helpless. He left the idea of going to Egypt and decided to serve the Prince.

Question 6.
What are the precious things mentioned in the story? Why are they precious?
Answer:
The leaden heart of the Happy Prince and the dead swallow are the two precious things mentioned in
the story. They are precious as they did various deeds for the welfare of people and sacrificed their
lives for the sake of others

NCERT Solutions For Class 9 English Moments Chapter 6 Weathering the Storm in Ersama

NCERT Textbook Questions

Think about it
(Page 42)

Question 1.
What havoc has the super cyclone wrecked in the life of the people of Orissa?
Answer:
It was a devastating storm which washed the houses away and destroyed hundreds of villages. It
killed thousands of people and uprooted a large number of trees. There were dead bodies all around.
People became homeless and many children who had lost their parents became orphans. This crazed
destruction continued for the next thirty-six hours. The condition seemed grim after the super
cyclone.

Question 2.
How has Prashant, a teenager, been able to help the people of his village?
Answer:
On reaching his village, Prashant found deplorable conditions all around him. He had leadership
qualities so he took the initiative to rehabilitate people. He made a team of young volunteers and
cleaned urine, filth, vomit and floating carcasses. His team was fully dedicated to serve others. He
persuaded grief-stricken women to look after children. In this way he became a ray of hope for all.

Question 3.
How have the people of the community helped one another? What role do the women of Kalikuda
play during these days?
Answer:
Prashant took the initiative and mobilised everyone to help one another. In this time of distress the
people of the community joined hands together and started relief work. Women started working in
the food for work programme and looked after the orphans.

Question 4.
Why do Prashant and other volunteers resist the plan to set up institutions for orphans and widows?
What alternatives do they consider?
Answer:
Prashant and other volunteers resisted the plan as they felt that it would not be proper to set up
separate institutions for orphans and widows. The group of volunteers was of the opinion that in
these institutions children would not be able to get love and widow would suffer from stigma and
loneliness and isolation. The group decided to rehabilitate them in their own community. New
families were made and the childless widows took care of the orphan.

Question 5.
Do you think Prashant is a good leader? Do you think young people can get together to help people
during natural calamities?
Answer:
Undoubtedly, Prashant is a good leader. He has all the qualities of a leader. He has a special quality
of taking initiatives. His vision is quite clear. He faces adverse circumstances courageously. He is a
source of energy for others and has great motivational power. I think that youth is power. This power
can be used to assist society during natural disasters. Whatever job is assigned to the youth in such
circumstances they perform their duty with full spirit.