\ 8) * o ¢ ° ° erstwhile (adj) = former, arty, Smsrsd innate (adj) = inborn, siratyeos generosity (n) = _ the quality of being kind and generous. o> Usage : | was overwhelmed by the generosity of friends and neighbours. undistinguished (adj) = ordinary, as8d0, Sqrsaps ancestral (adj) = _ of, belongingto, or inherited from an ancestor or ancestors wbyoe austere (adj) = simple, strict and severe, Nosoadgs inessential (adj) = not absolutely necessary. S958 52, OSSSOVS Usage : It is inessential information. luxury (n) = aninessential, desirable item which is expensive or difficult to obtain. DrAsosHS materially (adj) = interms of material/worldly possessions. PBSHS = break out suddenly and dramatically, 285650 Sot erupt (v) S princely sum (n) = generous amount (here ironic) 2&5 Seo “orfor) sanatn) = anold Indian coin, worth about six paise oor isolated (adi) = far away from other places, buildings, or people; remote. Adore, eob6rr unaffected (adi) = _ feeling or showing no effects or changes. SerD80 SO Usage : The walks are suitable only for people who are unaffected by vertigo. Allied Forces (n) = thearmies of UK, USAand Russia during the Second World ies BEEHIVE (CSE 2C8))iV Answer these questions in one or two sentences each. 1. Where was Abdul Kalam’s house? Ans. Abdul Kalam’s house is on the Mosque street in Rameswaram.a reason for Your answer ident from the statemen, in the newspapg, e off Give This is evi to find war stories What do you think Dinamani is the nam "Dinamani” is the name of a newsPape oned attempting > 2 made by Kalam, who ment Dinamani. Ve Who were Abdul Kalam’s school friends? what did they later become? ans. Abdul Kalam had three school friends named pamanadha Sastry, Aravindan and sivaprakasan. Ramanadha Sastry became a priest and took over the priesthood al a business of arranBiNg anspor art tering contractor for the cof the Rameswaram temple. Aravindan st became a cal for visiting pilgrims, while Sivaprakasan Southern Railways. ‘4. How did Abdul Kalam earn his first wages? atching. m Road betws bundles of newspapers thrown, ‘Ans. Abdul Kalam earned his first wages by ¢ een Rameswaram and out from the moving train on Rameswara Dhanushkodi. Had he earned any money before that? | Kalam had earned money before that too. Once there was a sudden tamarind seeds in the market. He used to collect tamarind seeds and sell themto | a provision shop on Mosque Street. Aday’s collection would fetch him an anna. 1. Answer each of these questions ina short paragraph (about 30 words) ~ How does the author describe: (iy his father, (i) his mother, i) himself? (i) The author describes his father as possessing great innate wisdom an pirit, He was honest and self-isciplined. He avoided all rnd luxuries but provided all necessities. | | helpmate to his father, in what way? demand for bce dane generosity of 5] inessential comforts ar The author describes his mother as an idea of outsiders along with her family members: °~~ (i) equally generous who fed a lot had faith in goodness and deep kindness. Gi) The author describes himself as a short boy with undistinguished 10 born to tall and handsome parents, 2, What characteristics does he say he inherited from his parents? Ans. The author says he inherited honesty and self-discipline from his father 2% in goodness and deep kindness from his mother. faitsegregation of different social gi 1. @ Which social groups does he mention? Were these groups easily identifiable (for example, by the way they dressed)? Ans. The social groups that the author mentions are Hindus and Muslims. Certainly, these groups are easily identifiable by the way they dressed up. For example, Kalam, as. a Muslim, used to Wear a cap on his head and his friend Ramanadha Sastry wore a sacred thread which identifies him as a Hindu-Brahmin. (i) Were they aware only of their differences or did they also naturally share friendships and experiences? (Think of the bedtime stories in Kalam’s house; of | who his friends were; and of what used to take place in the pond near his Hi house.) 5 Ans. As children, they never felt any difference among themselves because of their religious differences and upbringing. They naturally shared friendships and experiences. This is evident from the fact that Kalam’s friends came from Hindu Brahmin families. Kalam’s family used to arrange boats for carrying idols of Lord Rama from the temple to the marriage site which was situated in the middle of the pond called Rama Tirtha, Kalam’s mother and grandmother used to tell the children events from Ramayana and the life of Prophet. Thus, the children were immune to communal differences. Gii) The author speaks both of people who were very aware of the differences among them and those who tried to bridge these differences. Can you identify such people in the text? ‘Ans. There are people in the text who were very aware of the differences and those who tried to bridge those differences, The new teacher at Kalam’s school and Sivasubramania lyer’s wife tried to demarcate the differences among social groups. Sivasubramania lyer and Lakshmana Sastry were the people who tried to bridge those differences. Narrate two incidents that show how differences can be created, and also how they can be resolved. How can people change their attitudes? _ Ans. Two incidents in the text that can show how differences can be created and can also be destroyed are explained as follows: 7. The new teacher was unable to tolerate a Hindu priest’s son sitting with a Muslim boy. In accordance with the social rankings, he asked Kalam to siton the imi Kalam was invited for a meal at his home by his back bench, Similarly, when Ka ife was horrified at the id teacher Sivasubramania lyer, his orthodox wife was e Idea of a Gv)Muslim boy being invited to dine in her ritually pure kitchen: These incidents are proof enough to show how differences can be created. However, the efforts of broad-minded people like Lakshmana Sastry and Siva Subramania lyer proved that those differences can be resolved. Following the incident that had happened at school, Pakshi Lakshmana Sastry summoned the teacher and asked him to either apologise or quit the school and the island as he tried to spread the poison of social inequality and communal intolerance in the minds of innocent children. The teacher regretted his behaviour and realised his mistake. In the same way, Sivasubramania lyer was not perturbed or did not get angry with his wife but instead served Kalam food with:his own hands and sat down beside him to eat his meal. His strong conviction brought about a change in his wife’s attitude towards Kalam. She herself took him inside her kitchen and served food.with her own hands. Why did Abdul Kalam want to leave Rameswaram? Abdul Kalam wanted to leave Rameswaram because he wanted to study at the district headquarters in Ramanathapuram. What did his father say to this? Kalam’s father told him that he knew that he had to go away to grow. He compares his son’s moving to another place to grow to the flight of a seagull across the sun to explore. i) What do you think his words mean? Why do you think he spoke those words? Kalam’s father quotes from Khalil Gibran to Kalam’s hesitant mother saying that children are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself but not of theit own. The parents are the medium through which children come. He implies that children share the love of the parents but not their thoughts; they have their ow" thoughts. s