My Childhood: BSEM/BoSEM Class 10 English (Course Book) solutions
Get summary, textbook solutions, questions, answers, notes, pdf, and extras to the chapter “My Childhood” which is a part of Class 10 English (Course Book) syllabus for students studying under BSEM/BoSEM. The notes should, however, only be seen as references only and changes should be made according to needs.
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Textbook solutions
Answer the following questions in a sentence each
(i) Where was Abdul Kalam’s house situated?
Answer: In the middle of the nineteenth century, on Mosque Street in Rameswaram.
(ii) How does Abdul Kalam describe himself as a child?
Answer: As a short boy with rather undistinguished looks, born to tall and handsome parents.
(iii) As a child, why did Abdul Kalam read Dinamani, the newspaper?
Answer: To trace stories about the War that his brother-in-law, Jallaluddin, would tell him.
(iv) What qualities did Abdul Kalam inherit from his father?
Answer: Honesty and self-discipline.
(v) Apart from the events from the life of the Prophet, what other stories did Abdul Kalam, as a child, hear from his mother and grandmother?
Answer: Events from the Ramayana.
(vi) Where was Abdul Kalam asked to sit by the new teacher?
Answer: On the back bench.
(vii) Why did Sivasubramania Iyer serve Abdul Kalam himself?
Answer: Because his wife refused to serve a Muslim boy in her ritually pure kitchen.
(viii) When Abdul Kalam visited Sivasubramania’s house again, who served food to Abdul Kalam?
Answer: Sivasubramania Iyer’s wife served him food with her own hands.
Answer the following questions briefly
1. Who were Abdul Kalam’s close school friends? What did they later become?
Answer: Abdul Kalam’s close school friends were Ramanandha Sastry, Aravindan, and Sivaprakasan. Ramanandha Sastry later took over the priesthood of the Rameswaram temple from his father, Aravindan went into the business of arranging transport for visiting pilgrims, and Sivaprakasan became a catering contractor for the Southern Railways.
2. How does Abdul Kalam describe his parents and what are the characteristics he inherited from them?
Answer: Abdul Kalam describes his father as having great innate wisdom and a true generosity of spirit despite not having much formal education or wealth. He describes his mother Ashiamma as an ideal helpmate to his father. He says he inherited honesty and self-discipline from his father, and faith in goodness and deep kindness from his mother.
3. How did Abdul Kalam earn his first wages as a child?
Answer: During the Second World War, there was a sudden demand for tamarind seeds in the market. Abdul Kalam used to collect the seeds and sell them to a provision shop on Mosque Street, earning the princely sum of one anna as his first wages.
4. What did Abdul Kalam’s family do during the annual Shri Sita Rama Kalyanam ceremony?
Answer: During the annual Shri Sita Rama Kalyanam ceremony, Abdul Kalam’s family used to 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 near their house.
5. ‘I felt very sad, and so did Ramanandha Sastry.’ Why did the boys feel very sad?
Answer: The boys felt very sad because the new teacher at school could not tolerate a Hindu priest’s son (Ramanadha Sastry) sitting with a Muslim boy (Abdul Kalam) and asked Abdul Kalam to go and sit on the back bench.
6. Who was Lakshmana Sastry? How could he reform the young new teacher?
Answer: Lakshmana Sastry was the father of Abdul Kalam’s friend Ramanandha Sastry, and the high priest of the Rameswaram temple. When the new teacher segregated the students, Lakshmana Sastry summoned the teacher and in the presence of the boys, told him bluntly not to spread the poison of social inequality and communal intolerance, asking him to either apologise or quit. The strong conviction conveyed by Lakshmana Sastry ultimately reformed the young teacher.
7. Why does Abdul Kalam describe his science teacher as a rebel?
Answer: Abdul Kalam describes his science teacher Sivasubramania Iyer as a rebel because though an orthodox Brahmin with a conservative wife, he did his best to break social barriers so that people from varying backgrounds could mingle easily. He invited Abdul Kalam, a Muslim boy, home for a meal against his wife’s wishes in order to overcome orthodox mindsets.
Form words having opposite meanings
Form words having opposite meanings of the words below by prefixing un– or in–. The prefix, in – can have the forms il– , ir– , or im – ,
For example,
illiterate – il + literate
inessential – in + essential
– precedented – tolerance – equality
– respective – possible – distinguished
– affected – legal – active
Answer: Unprecedented – un + precedented
Intolerance – in + tolerance
Inequality – in + equality
Irrespective – ir + respective
Impossible – im + possible
Undistinguished – un + distinguished
Unaffected – un + affected
Illegal – il + legal
Inactive – in + active
Punctuate the following passage
i am now eighty two of age like him my dog even today begins with a walk every morning i savour the sight of the new sun the benign light in the sky before the sun appears the call breeze and sweet call of the birds i understand how his short time of the day binds as to nature.
Answer: I am now eighty-two years of age. Like him, my dog, even today, begins with a walk every morning. I savour the sight of the new sun, the benign light in the sky before the sun appears, the cool breeze, and sweet call of the birds. I understand how this short time of the day binds us to nature.
Diary entry
Suppose you have been separated from your close friend by your teacher. You feel very bad about it. Now, make a diary entry of your feelings.
Answer: Date: March 14
Today, our teacher decided to separate me from my close friend in class. It really hit me harder than I expected. For as long as I can remember, we’ve been inseparable, sharing jokes, helping each other out with difficult topics, and just making school a lot more bearable. Sitting next to them felt like a small bubble of joy amidst the endless lectures and assignments.
But now, with this sudden change, I feel a bit lost. The classroom seems more daunting, and the silence on the side where my friend used to sit echoes in a way that’s hard to ignore. I understand the reason behind our teacher’s decision; maybe we were getting a bit too chatty, or perhaps it’s just an attempt to make us interact with others. Nonetheless, it’s tough.
I can’t help but feel a mixture of sadness and frustration. There’s this heavy feeling in my chest when I glance over to where my friend now sits, surrounded by new faces. It’s strange how such a small change can feel so significant, how the distance of a few desks can seem like miles.
Despite this, I know we’ll adjust. We’ll find new ways to communicate and support each other, even if it’s not as convenient as before. After school, we shared a conversation about it, trying to find the humour in our situation, making plans on how we can still work on projects together and have our usual chats. It’s going to be a challenge, but one we’re ready to face together.
This experience, though unwelcome, might just be a lesson in disguise. It’s pushing us out of our comfort zone, forcing us to interact with others and maybe, just maybe, we’ll end up thanking our teacher for this decision in the future. For now, though, it feels like a hurdle we need to overcome, one day at a time.
Ron’e Dutta is a journalist, teacher, aspiring novelist, and blogger. He manages Online Free Notes and reads Victorian literature. His favourite book is Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte and he hopes to travel the world. Get in touch with him by sending him a friend request.
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