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Today, I will dive in deep to discuss all the important points of “My Childhood written by APJ Abdul Kalam”. I ensure you will get a complete idea to write the summary and explanation orderly. You will be able to write a good answer.
After reading this page you will find the secret to score outstanding marks in your examination. Content is organized in this way-
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- Summary Of the Chapter
- The important point from the chapter
- Videos just like a live class
- Relevant Quotations and statements
- Difficult words
- Question Answer
About The Chapter: My Childhood
This chapter named Childhood is extracted from the biography of Missile Man of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, named Wings of Fire. Like its name, the chapter talks about the childhood memories of A.P.J
One best book is equal to hundred good friends but one good friend is equal to a library ~Kalam
Summary: My Childhood
This extract is about the childhood of a great scientist and the 14th President of India, popularly called ‘Missile Man of India’, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
He was born in a middle – class Muslim family in 1931 in the island town of Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu. In his childhood, he was greatly influenced by his parents, his teachers and his friends. His father, Jainulabdeen, was not highly educated, but he was a generous and kind person. Though his father was not rich, but he did his best in providing him and his siblings a secured childhood.
Abdul inherited honesty and self-discipline from his father and faith in goodness and deep kindness from his mother.
A.P.J. earned his first wage by working as a helping hand to his cousin, Samsuddin, in distributing newspapers in Rameswaram.
In his childhood, he had three close friends, namely, Ramanadha Sastry,Aravindam and Sivaprakashan; and coincidentally all were from orthodox Brahmin family.
Once when he was in the fifth standard, a new teacher sent him back to sit in the last row to prevent him from sitting with those high caste Brahmin boys, who actually were his friends. When Abdul went to the last row, he found Ramanadha Sastry weeping. It made a never lasting impression on young Abdul.
A.P.J. was also greatly influenced by his science teacher, Sivasubramania Iyer, who taught him the lesson of breaking social barriers. Once when Iyer invited him to his home for a meal, his wife refused to serve food to a Muslim boy in her pure kitchen. So, Iyer himself served him the food, and sat down beside him to eat his meal.
Next time, when young Kalam. revisited his house, Iyer’s wife herself served the meal with her own hands. This change in Iyer’s wife, cast a very deep impact on the brain of the young boy. When A.P.J. asked permission to leave Rameswaram from his father for higher education at the district headquarters in Ramanathapuram, his father said that A.P.J. had to go a long way in life just like a seagull bird which flies long distances.
He also calmed down A.P.J.’s reluctant mother by quoting Kahlil Gibran’s poem ‘Your children’, in which the poet says that children could not be dominated by their parents because they have their own thoughts; they don’t belong to parents but are actually a result of life’s desire for themselves, and they should be given the freedom to fulfil their thoughts.
Summary in Hindi: My Childhood
यह उद्धरण एक महान वैज्ञानिक और भारत के 14 वें राष्ट्रपति के बारे में है, जिसे लोकप्रिय रूप से ‘मिसाइल मैन ऑफ इंडिया’ कहा जाता है, डॉ। ए.पी.जे. अब्दुल कलाम। उनका जन्म 1931 में तमिलनाडु के द्वीप शहर रामेश्वरम में एक मध्यम वर्गीय मुस्लिम परिवार में हुआ था।
बचपन में, वह अपने माता-पिता, अपने शिक्षकों और अपने दोस्तों से बहुत प्रभावित थे। उनके पिता, जैनुलदेबेन उच्च शिक्षित नहीं थे, लेकिन वे एक उदार और दयालु व्यक्ति थे। हालाँकि उनके पिता अमीर नहीं थे, लेकिन उन्होंने उन्हें और उनके भाई-बहनों को एक सुरक्षित बचपन प्रदान करने में अपना सर्वश्रेष्ठ प्रदर्शन किया। अब्दुल को अपने पिता से ईमानदारी और आत्म-अनुशासन विरासत में मिला और अपनी माँ से अच्छाई और गहरी दया में विश्वास था।
ए.पी.जे. रामेश्वरम में समाचार पत्रों के वितरण में अपने चचेरे भाई, शमशुद्दीन की मदद करने के रूप में काम करके अपना पहला वेतन अर्जित किया।
बचपन में, उनके तीन करीबी दोस्त थे, जिनका नाम था, रमानाद शास्त्री, अरविंदम और शिवप्रकाश; और संयोग से सभी रूढ़िवादी ब्राह्मण परिवार से थे। एक बार जब वह पाँचवीं कक्षा में थे, तो एक नए शिक्षक ने उन्हें उन उच्च जाति के ब्राह्मण लड़कों के साथ बैठने से रोकने के लिए अंतिम पंक्ति में बैठने के लिए भेजा, जो वास्तव में उनके दोस्त थे। जब अब्दुल आखिरी पंक्ति में गया, तो उसने रमानाथ शास्त्री को रोते पाया। इसने युवा अब्दुल पर कभी स्थायी प्रभाव नहीं डाला।
ए.पी.जे. उनके विज्ञान शिक्षक शिवसुब्रमण्य अय्यर से भी बहुत प्रभावित थे, जिन्होंने उन्हें सामाजिक बाधाओं को तोड़ने का पाठ पढ़ाया था। एक बार जब अय्यर ने उन्हें अपने घर भोजन के लिए आमंत्रित किया, तो उनकी पत्नी ने अपनी शुद्ध रसोई में एक मुस्लिम लड़के को खाना परोसने से मना कर दिया। इसलिए, अय्यर ने खुद उसे खाना परोसा और खाना खाने के लिए उसके पास बैठ गए।
अगली बार, जब युवा ए, पी.जे. अपने घर में घूमते हुए, अय्यर की पत्नी ने स्वयं अपने हाथों से भोजन परोसा। अय्यर की पत्नी में इस बदलाव ने युवा लड़के के मस्तिष्क पर बहुत गहरा प्रभाव डाला।
जब ए.पी.जे. रामनाथपुरम में जिला मुख्यालय में उच्च शिक्षा के लिए अपने पिता से रामेश्वरम छोड़ने की अनुमति मांगी, उनके पिता ने कहा कि ए.पी.जे. जीवन में एक लंबा रास्ता तय करना था जैसे एक सीगल पक्षी जो लंबी दूरी तक उड़ता है। उन्होंने कल्हिल जिब्रान की कविता l
योर चिल्ड्रन ’के हवाले से ए.पी.जे. की अनिच्छुक माँ को भी शांत किया, जिसमें कवि कहता है कि बच्चे अपने माता-पिता पर हावी नहीं हो सकते क्योंकि उनके अपने विचार हैं; वे माता-पिता से संबंधित नहीं हैं, लेकिन वास्तव में खुद के लिए जीवन की इच्छा का परिणाम हैं; और उन्हें अपने विचारों को पूरा करने की स्वतंत्रता दी जानी चाहिए।
Difficult words and Their Meaning
- Erstwhile: former
- Innate: inborn; (a quality or feeling) in one’s nature
- The generosity of spirit: a habit of helping needy ones
- Undistinguished: ordinary or common
- Pucca House: means a house made of bricks, cement and limestone.
- Austere: simple, strict, and severe
- Secure: safe
- Materially: in terms of things like clothes food, medicine
- Emotionally: in terms of love and affection.
- Princely sum: generous amount( in reference to A.P.J.’s childhood time)
- Dinamani: a Tamil daily newspaper.
- Isolated: Lonely, cut-off
- Allied Forces: the armies of the U.K., U.S.A., and Russia during the Second World War
- Casualty: loss
- Suspension: end
- Halt: stop
- Filled the slot – fill a vacancy
- Pride: sudden increase in the feeling of satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements.
- Figures of authority: A person who had authority over another person; a person who has the power to give orders or make decisions.
- Inherited: a characteristic, or a quality which you have got from your parents or ancestors.
- Socio-economic: in terms of money
- Rama Kalyanam ceremony: South Indian festival celebrating the marriage of Ram and Seeta
- Could not stomach: could not tolerate
- Downcast: sad or depressed
- Summoned: called authoritically
- Bluntly: speaking in a direct and honest way, even if this offends or upsets people.
- Apologise: seek pardon
- Quit: to leave
- Conviction: a strong opinion or belief
- Convey: communicated
- Rigid: strict
- Segregation: separation
- Orthodox: one who follows the religion strictly
- Conservative: traditional
- Rebel: in opposition
- Mingle: interact with each other.
- On par: at the same level
- Ritually pure: kept protected from all outside influences for the observances of religion
- Perturbed: upset
- Confronted: faced, tackle
- Imminent: about to happen
- Unprecedented: never done or know before.
- Optimism: hope
- Longing: desire
Quiz: Check Yourself
ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS: My Childhood
1) Where was Abdul Kalam’s house?
Answer : Abdul Kalam’s house was located on the Mosque Street in the town of Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu state.
2) What do you think Dinamani is the name of? Give a reason for your answer.
Answer : Dinamani is the name of a daily newspaper of Tamil language. I think so because in this chapter, Abdul Kalam himself says that he traced the stories of the war in the headlines of the Dinamani.
3) Who were Abdul Kalam’s school friends? What did they later become?
Answer : Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindan and Sivaprakasan were Abdul Kalam’s school friends.
When they grew up, Ramanadha Sastry became the priest of the Rameswaram temple, Aravindan started a business of transporting pilgrims to and from the Rameswaram temple and Sivaprakasan became a caterer for the railways.
4) How did Abdul Kalam earn his first wages?
Answer : Abdul Kalam earned his first wages by helping his cousin in catching the bundle of newspapers thrown out of the moving train at the Rameswaram station.
5) Had he earned any money before that? In what way?
Answer : When the second World War started, the demand for tamarind seeds grew suddenly. Kalam would collect them and sell them to a grocery store located on Mosque street. He would earn an aana, which was quite a good ammount at that time.
6) How does the author describe: (i) his father, (ii) his mother, (iii) himself?
Answer : (i). Kalam’s father’s name was Jainulabdeen. He describes that his father was neither educated nor a wealthy man, but despite this, his father was a wise, honest and a generous man, who didn’t liked wasting money on luxuries, but provided his all children with all the necessities of life like food, clothing and medicine.
(ii) Kalam’s mother’s name was Ashiamma. She supported her husband in his decisions. She was a kind – hearted woman. Kalam says that his mother would feed meals to numerous people. He inherited faith in goodness and deep kindness from her.
(iii) Kalam was short and had ordinary looks while his parents were tall and looked handsome. He was brought up in a secure atmosphere, where he grew up to become an honest and self – disciplined man. He believed in goodness and deep kindness.
7) What characteristics does he say he inherited from his parents?
Answer: Kalam’s inherited honesty and self – discipline from his father. His mother imbibed in him faith in goodness and deep kindness.
YOU CAN NOT CHANGE YOUR FUTURE, BUT YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR HABITS, AND SURELY YOUR HABITS WILL CHANGE YOUR FUTURE
APJ Abdul Kalam
Content writer: Vaishnavi Tripathi….. Edited By Shadab Akhter