NCERT Solutions for NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Chapter 6 My Childhood

Abdul Kalam’s house was on Mosque Street in Rameswaram.

I think Dinamani is the name of a newspaper because Kalam says that when his brother-in-law would tell his stories of the War, he would later try to trace it in the ‘headlines’ of Dinamani. This implies that Dinamani would have been a newspaper.

Abdul Kalam earned his first wages by catching bundles of newspapers thrown out from the moving train on the Rameswaram Road between Rameswaram and Dhanuskodi and distributing them.

Yes, he had earned money before that too. He used to collect tamarind seeds and sell them to a provision shop on Mosque Street. A day’s collection would let him earn one anna.

He says that he inherited honesty and self-discipline from his father; and faith in goodness and deep kindness from his mother.

(i) Abdul Kalam wanted to leave Rameswaram because he wanted to study at the district headquarters in Ramanathapuram.

(ii) His father said, ““Abul ! I know you have to go away to grow. Does the seagull not fly across the sun, alone and without a nest?”

(iii) His words meant he understood that Kalam had to leave his house and get a good higher education to grow. He spoke these words because he knew the harsh reality of life that the children needed to move away from their home and parents to make a career and earn.

Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindan and Sivaprakasan were Abdul Kalam’s school friends.

Ramanadha Sastry took over the priesthood of the Rameswaram temple from his father. Aravindan went into the business of arranging transport for visiting pilgrims. Sivaprakasan became a catering contractor for Southern Railways.

i) The author describes his father as honest and self-disciplined. His father used to avoid inessential comforts and luxuries. The author tells that his father never had a formal education or much wealth, but he possessed great wisdom and was very generous.

ii) The author describes his mother as an ideal helpmate to his father. She used to feed a lot of outsiders along with her family members.

iii) The author describes himself as a short boy with undistinguished looks born to tall and handsome parents.

Answer:

(i) The social groups that he mentions are Hindus and Muslims. Yes, these groups were easily identifiable by their dressing, tradition, culture, etc. For instance, Kalam used to wear a cap on his head which identified him as a Muslim. Ramanadha Sastry wore a sacred thread.

(ii) They were not aware only of their differences. They also naturally share friendships and experiences. Kalam’s mother and grandmother would tell events from the Ramayana and from the life of the Prophet as bedtime stories. All his friends belonged to orthodox Hindu families. During the annual Sita Rama Kalyanam Ceremony, his family would arrange boats with a special platform for carrying idols of the Lord from the temple to the marriage site situated in the middle of the pond called Rama Tirtha, which was near his house.

(iii) The author speaks both of people who were very aware of the differences among them and those who tried to bridge these differences. Yes, we can identify such people in the text.

The new school teacher and Sivasubramania Iyer’s wife were very aware of the differences among the social groups, but Sivasubramania Iyer and Lakshamana Sastry tried to bridge these differences.

(iv) Two incidents that show how differences can be created, and also how they can be resolved are explained below:

When Lakshamana Sastry got to know about the way the new school teacher had made Kalam sit on the back bench because he was a Muslim, he asked the teacher to apologize or quit the school. The new teacher not only regretted his behaviour but also was reformed by Lakshamana Sastry’s strong sense of conviction.

Kalam’s science teacher, Sivasubramania Iyer, asked Kalam to his home for a meal. His wife was horrified at the idea of a Muslim boy being invited to her pure kitchen. Sivasubramania Iyer served Kalam food with his own hands and sat down beside him to eat his meal.

The next time he invited Kalam to his home, Sivasubramania Iyer’s wife served him food with her own hands inside the kitchen.

The meanings of the word ‘trace’ are:

– to draw an outline

– to copy

– to find out

The meaning that is closest to the word in the text is ‘finding out’.

Sentences in the text where these words occur are:

Erupt: “For reasons I have never been able to understand, a sudden demand for tamarind seeds erupted in the market.”

Surge: “Half a century later, I can still feel the surge of pride in earning my own money for the first time.”

Trace: “My brother-in-law Jallaluddin would tell me stories about the War which I would later attempt to trace in the headlines in Dinamani.”

Undistinguished: “I was one of many children — a short boy with rather undistinguished looks, born to tall and handsome parents.”

Casualty: “The first casualty came in the form of the suspension of the train halt at Rameswaram station.”

 Things that can erupt are: volcanoes, emotions, anger.

– A volcano erupted in the Mauna Kea last night.

– Ranjan’s anger erupted as a result of Ashima’s continuous nagging.

Things that can surge are: prices, wave, crowd, storm, etc.

No, I cannot find the word undistinguished in my dictionary.

The meaning of the word distinguished as given in the dictionary is specific, distinct.

Thus, undistinguished must mean ‘not specific’, ‘not distinct’.

1. In yesterday’s competition the prizes were given away by the Principal.

2. In spite of financial difficulties, the labourers were paid on time.

3. On Republic Day, vehicles were not allowed beyond this point.

4. Second-hand books were bought and sold on the pavement every Saturday.

5. Elections to the Lok Sabha are held every five years.

6. Our National Anthem was composed by Rabindranath Tagore.

How Helmets Came To Be Used in Cricket

Nari Contractor was the Captain and an opening batsman for India in the 1960s. The Indian cricket team went on a tour to the West Indies in 1962. In a match against Barbados in Bridgetown, Nari Contractor was seriously injured and collapsed. In those days helmets were not worn. Contractor was hit on the head by a bouncer from Charlie Griffith. Contractor’s skull was fractured. The entire team was deeply concerned. The West Indies players were worried. Contractor was rushed to hospital. He was accompanied by Frank Worrell, the Captain of the West Indies Team. Blood was donated by the West Indies players. Thanks to the timely help, Contractor was saved. Nowadays helmets are routinely used against bowlers.

Oil from Seeds

Vegetable oils are made from seeds and fruits of many plants growing all over the world, from tiny sesame seeds to big, juicy coconuts. Oil is produced from cotton seeds, groundnuts, soya beans and sunflower seeds. Olive oil is used for cooking, salad dressing etc. Olives are shaken from the trees and gathered up, usually by hand. The olives are ground to a thick paste which is spread onto special mats. Then the mats are layered up on the pressing machine which will gently squeeze them to produce olive oil.

To Sir, with Love

From Rameswaram to the Rashtrapati Bhavan, it’s been a long journey. Talking to Nona Walia on the eve of Teacher’s Day, President Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam talks about life’s toughest lessons learnt and his mission — being a teacher to the Indian youth. “A proper education would help nurture a sense of dignity and self-respect among our youth,” says President Kalam.

There’s still a child in him though, and he’s still curious about learning new things. Life’s a mission for President Kalam.

Nonetheless, he remembers his first lesson in life and how it changed his destiny. “I was studying in Standard V, and must have been all of 10. My teacher, Sri Sivasubramania Iyer was telling us how birds fly. He drew a diagram of a bird on the blackboard, depicting the wings, tail and the body with the head and then explained how birds soar to the sky. At the end of the class, I said I didn’t understand. Then he asked the other students if they had understood, but nobody had understood how birds fly,” he recalls.

“That evening, the entire class was taken to Rameswaram shore,” the President continues. “My teacher showed us sea birds. We saw marvellous formations of them flying and how their wings flapped. Then my teacher asked us, ‘Where is the birds’ engine and how is it powered?’ I knew then that birds are powered by their own life and motivation. I understood all about birds’ dynamics. This was real teaching — a theoretical lesson coupled with a live practical example. Sri Siva Subramania Iyer was a great teacher.”

That day, my future was decided. My destiny was changed. I knew my future had to be about flight and flight systems.

 Do it yourself.

 I think that life in Rameswaram in the 1940s must have been very different from how it must be today. People were orthodox and did not accept changes in their way of living. They would have been hard working and poor. Some people at Rameswaram used to differentiate among various social groups. They were more religious.