A Story of My Childhood || Summary & Exercise

A Story of My Childhood Exercise

A Story of My Childhood

This is the extract of the text A story of my childhood. You can continue reading this in the textbook if you wish to go into detail. Here we have highlighted the major points of the text as a brief summary of the childhood story of Abdul Kalam. .......‘Vanakkam, Aiya! I have some good news for you!’It was my Mathematics teacher from class four and he was standing just outside the house and calling out to my father. He looked quite excited, so we all rushed out to greet him and invite him inside. My father offered him a seat and then looked on expectantly. ‘Abdul, come up here, to me,’ my teacher beckoned to me. I was standing with all the other children, peeping from behind my elder brother. I came up shyly to him. He pulled me close affectionately, then turned to my father and said, ‘Abdul has scored full marks in Mathematics in the exam! And not only in Mathematics but in Science as well, and he has done very well in English and Tamil too! We, teachers, are very proud of him.’ I was so pleased to hear this result. But I was even more pleased because my teacher had taken the trouble to come all the way to my house to tell us about this.

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Summary of A Story of My Childhood

The Story of My Childhood summary deals with the famous biography “Wings of Fire” of the celebrated Indian APJ Abdul Kalam. My Childhood refers to a section in this book. This section or chapter talks about the early days’ of Kalam. Furthermore, the chapter gives us an idea of how childhood of Abdul Kalam prepared him to become a successful scientist and president in the future. Much has to do with his upbringing which Kalam discusses in this section from “Wings of Fire”. Moreover, Kalam tells us about his parents and siblings here. He also mentions the important role of his friends in his life. In short, one can say, that in My Childhood, Kalam mentions everything that had an impact on his life. These things shaped him into the successful man he became in the future.

Main Summary A Story of My Childhood

APJ Abdul Kalam was born into a Muslim family that was middle class. Furthermore, he had three brothers. Moreover, Kalam also had one sister. Furthermore, his father and mother were both of good nature. Moreover, Kalam’s childhood house was ancestral. The father of APJ Abdul Kalam lived a life that one can say was very simple. Nevertheless, his father made all the necessities available to his children.  Furthermore, his parents didn’t have any education and they were also not rich. Moreover, many outsiders ate with the family every day. Also, Kalam had the qualities of self-discipline and honesty due to his parents.

Kalam’s family was secular in nature. His family gave an equal amount of respect to all religions. Furthermore, there was participation from his family in Hindu festivals. Moreover, Kalam heard stories of the Prophet and Ramayana from his grandmother and mother. All of this clearly shows the secularism present in his family. Friendship was influential in Kalam’s childhood. Furthermore, he had three friends. Furthermore, their religious backgrounds were different. Moreover, there was not a trace of feelings of discrimination among those friends.  All these friends including kalam went into different professions.

In 5th standard, a new teacher came to class of Kalam. In class, Kalam was wearing a cap. This cap certainly gave Kalam a distinct Muslim identity. Moreover, Kalam always sat near Ramanandha, a Hindu priest's son. This was something that the new teacher was not able to tolerate. Consequently, Kalam was required to sit on the backbench. After this incident, both friends felt very sad and told this their parents.

Furthermore, Ramanandha’s father met with the teacher to inform him not to spread social inequality and communal hatred.  He made a demand that the apology must come. Furthermore, in case of refusal, the teacher must quit. Consequently, there was a reformation of the nature of the teacher, and an apology came from him.

On one occasion, their science teacher of Abdul asked him to come to his home for dinner. However, the wife of this science teacher didn’t agree to serve Kalam due to her belief in religious segregation. Consequently, the science teacher made a decision to serve food to Kalam.  Furthermore, the teacher himself sat beside Kalam to eat a meal. The wife of the science teacher was observing all this behind the door. The science teacher gave the second invitation to Kalam for a meal next weekend. This time, the wife served with her own hands, but from inside the kitchen.

Kalam’s upbringing came to an end when he received permission to go to Ramanathapuram for further studies after the end of the Second World War. His father and mother certainly loved him. However, this love didn’t mean they forced their decisions on Kalam.

Exercise of Education [Story of My Childhood]

Ways With Words 

A. Match the words in column ‘A’ with their meanings in column ‘B’.

Answer

a. expectantly⇨ vi. in a way that shows you are hoping for something, especially something good or exciting 

b. beckon ⇨viii. to give a signal to somebody to move nearer or to follow you 

c. grapple ⇨v. to try hard to find a solution to a problem 

d. texture ⇨ ii. the way food or drink tastes or feels in your mouth 

e. cobbled ⇨ vii. having a surface that is made of small round stones 

f. flimsy ⇨ iv. thin and easily torn 

g. attire ⇨ i. clothes, especially fine or formal ones 

h. marvellous ⇨ ix. extremely good; wonderful 

i. dynamics ⇨ iii. the science of the forces involved in the movement

B. An autobiography is a story of a person’s life, written by himself/herself. Use a dictionary and find the meanings of the following words related to people’s life stories.

hagiography: a biography that lavishly praises the person 

psychobiography: a comprehensive examination of a person's whole life span utilizing historical, behavioural, and anthropological techniques in a sociocultural context 

pathography: such biography where sadness, sickness, failure, and the like are highlighted 

chronicle: a chronological account of events in writing 

obituary: the publication of an article about the life and accomplishments of someone in a newspaper shortly after their death. 

character sketch: a written summary of a person's traits, characteristics, and so on. 

profile: descriptive writing that informs the reader about someone or something 

memoir: a documented narrative of someone's life, a location, or an event

Comprehension

A. Put the following events in the life of Abdul Kalam in chronological order.

Answers:

a. Abdul Kalam attended an elementary school at Rameswaram. 

b. One day Abdul Kalam’s teacher visited them to share his pride and pleasure in his performance. 

c. They celebrated happiness with poli. 

d. A new teacher in the school forbade Abdul Kalam to sit together with his Brahmin friend. 

e. Many students did not understand well of Sivasubramania Iyer’s lecture. 

f. He then took the students to the seashore for a practical class. 

g. Abdul Kalam was determined that he would make a future study about flight and flight systems.

B. Answer the following questions.

a. What were the causes of Abdul Kalam’s happiness?

b. Which two places did Abdul Kalam visit before going to school?

c. What did he like about mathematics?

d. Why was the new teacher unhappy?

e. Why did Abdul Kalam have to split with his intimate friend?

f. What was the topic of Sivasubramania Iyer’s class?

g. How was the teacher’s reaction when the students told him that they did not understand his lecture?

h. Why did Sivasubramania Iyer take his students to the seashore?

Critical Thinking

a. APJ Abdul Kalam became a renowned aerospace scientist in his later life. Do you find any association of his childhood days in shaping his career? Explain with specific instances from the text.

Answer: As we know, children are the future of any nation. Today's children are the future's manpower of different sectors in any nation. Here in this story, we have learnt about the famous aerospace scientist APJ Abdul Kalam. Yes, I find direct association of his childhood days in shaping his career. Here in his lifetime story, we have got the idea that he was interested in Math and Science subjects from his childhood level, which made him a great and successful scientist in his future. 

He was quite fascinated by those subjects because he preferred them a lot. Besides these, Abdul Kalam was even so talented from an early age. He was good at Math, Science, English and Tamil subjects. He scored quite good marks in those subjects in his school. Although he was born in a middle-class family, his ability and hard work always supported him. He never failed in his school days. He only achieved success in every level. Due to his dedication as well as liking towards his study, he became the brightest student whom everyone liked. He was appreciated most of the time by his teachers. In this way, 

Abdul Kalam became a renowned aerospace scientist in his later life. He was quite serious in his study. He got the concept of being an aerospace engineer from his teacher in his school. The main source of his inspiration was his teacher. He was quite fascinated to see the flight of birds in the sky. His teacher took all the students near the beach for their practical class. His teacher taught him the wonder behind the fly of a bird. That particular lesson made him so curious and fascinated about flying. 

b. Kalam mentions an instance of discrimination against him in his school life.  What picture of society does he want to depict by mentioning the incident? Discuss.

In Indian history, caste and religion have always played a very vital role among Indians. In the history of India, the dispute of caste and religion always remained at a high peak. Among Hindus and Muslims, the issue of caste and religion still has a deep shadow. In India, people are still seen fighting for their castes and religions. People are still discriminated against in the name of castes and religions. Here in this story, Kalam mentions an instance of discrimination against him in his school life. During his school time, he was discriminated against by his teacher in the classroom. His new teacher didn't like him sitting with a Hindu boy named Ramanathan. He felt heartbroken when his new teacher made him get up from his seat and sit elsewhere. 

By mentioning the incident, Kalam wants to depict the picture of the religious issue that was prevalent among Indians during that time. This shows the picture of hatred among Indians in society in the matter of their religions. The new teacher himself was seen as against humanity. Although the teacher represents an educated and intellectual human race, he was even guided by deeply rooted religious doctrines. He had experienced bad treatment by his school teacher just being a Muslim boy. This shows the hardships of the people in society in the name of religion. People had to face religious hatred during that time. Due to the concept of religion, people suffered a lot in societies.

Writing

Write a short autobiography featuring your childhood life using the following guidelines.

Grammar

A. Study the following sentences and underline the connectives. 

a. Although she spoke very fast, I understood what she meant to say. 
b. In spite of her hard labour, she failed her exam. 
c. Though he had all the required qualifications, he did not get the job. 
d. Despite having all the qualifications, he did not get the job. 

B. Join the following pairs of sentences twice, using a/though/though/even though and despite/in spite of as in the example. 

Example:

Nepali people have limited income. They are very happy. 
i. Although Nepali people have limited income, they are happy. 
ii. Nepali people are happy in spite of their limited income. 
a. He is a millionaire. He lives in a simple house. 
i) Although he is a millionaire, he lives in a simple house. 
ii) In spite of his richness, he lives in a simple house. 
b. The weather was extremely bad. The pilot landed the plane safely. 
i) Even Though the weather was extremely bad, the pilot landed the plane safely. 
ii) Despite the bad weather, the pilot landed the plane safely. 
c. We study in the same college. We hardly see each other. 
i) Although we study in the same college, we hardly see each other. 
ii) Despite studying in the same college, we hardly see each other. 
d. It rained heavily. We enjoyed our holiday. 
i) Although it rained heavily, we enjoyed our holiday.
ii) In spite of heavy rain, we enjoyed our holiday. 
e. I had an umbrella. I got wet in the rain.
i) Although I had an umbrella, I got wet in the rain.
ii) In spite of having an umbrella, I got wet in the rain. 
f. I was really tired. I could not sleep for a moment. 
i) Even though I was really tired, I could not sleep for a moment. 
ii. Despite the tiredness, I could not sleep for a moment. 
g. She has a very good accent in English. She failed the interview with the newsreader. 
i) Although she has a very good accent in English, she failed the interview of a newsreader.
ii) In spite of a very good accent in English, she failed the interview of a newsreader. 
h. Lhasa has extremely cold weather in winter. Millions of tourists go there in January. 
i) Although Lhasa has extremely cold weather in winter, millions of tourists go there in January.

ii) In spite of extremely cold weather, millions of tourists go to Lhasa in January. 
i. He was badly injured in the first round of the boxing match. He was victorious in the third round. 
i) Although he was badly injured in the first round of the boxing match, he was victorious in the third round. 
ii) In spite of his injury in the first round of the boxing match, he was victorious in the third round. 

C. Complete each sentence in an appropriate way. 

a. He passed the exam although he did not study well. 
b. She climbed the mountain in spite of her tiredness. 
c. He didn't give any alms to the beggars even though he was very rich. 
d. In spite of his poor eyesight, he could read the newspaper, 
e. She never helps others though she is very sociable 
f. He didn't get success in that job in spite of his ten attempts. 
g. He refused to eat anything despite his hunger. 
h. He could not score good grades in the SEE exams in spite of his hard efforts. 
i. She accepted the job although she didn't like it. 
j. Even though we had planned everything carefully, we didn't succeed.