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CBSE Class 9 English Question 24 of 38

My Childhood — Question 27

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27
Question
His wife watched us from behind the kitchen door. I wondered whether she had observed any difference in the way I ate rice, drank water or cleaned the floor after the meal. When I was leaving his house, Sivasubramaniam invited me to join him for dinner the next weekend. Observing my habitation, he told me not to get upset, saying “Once you decide to change the system, such problems have to be confronted.” When I visited his house next week, Sivasubramaniam Iyer’s wife took me inside her kitchen
Answer

The teacher’s wife believed in the segregation of different people. She did not want APJ Kalam to enter her kitchen and serve food. She as a result hid behind kitchen door and saw everything.
The narrator felt hesitant to eat food with a Hindu family because he felt he was not welcomed in the family.
Confronted One day, he invited me to his home for a meal. His wife was horrified at the idea of a Muslim boy being invited to dine in her ritually pure kitchen. She refused to serve me in her kitchen.

Overview: My Childhood

APJ Abdul Kalam describes growing up in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, in a Muslim family. His father Jainulabdeen was an honest, self-disciplined boat owner; his mother Ashiamma was generous. Kalam's closest friends were Hindu — Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindan, and Sivaprakasan. When a new teacher tried to separate Kalam from a Hindu friend, the issue was resolved through dialogue. Kalam was shaped by his parents' values, his teachers' guidance, and Rameswaram's organic communal harmony.

Key Points

  • Born in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu — island town
  • Father Jainulabdeen: honest, self-disciplined, austere
  • Mother Ashiamma: kind, generous — fed many people daily
  • Close friends: Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindan, Sivaprakasan (all Hindu)
  • New teacher separated Kalam from Hindu friend due to religion
  • Kalam's father and school headmaster resolved the issue
  • Rameswaram was a model of communal harmony
  • Hindu and Muslim traditions coexisted naturally
  • Kalam credits parents and teachers for shaping his values
  • Theme: communal harmony, influence of family, overcoming prejudice

Frequently Asked Questions

How did Rameswaram demonstrate communal harmony?
In Rameswaram, Hindus and Muslims lived together peacefully. Kalam's Muslim family had close Hindu friends. His father had deep knowledge of both Hindu and Muslim traditions. The town's famous temple and Kalam's mosque coexisted. This organic harmony shaped Kalam's secular values.
What was the incident with the new teacher?
A new teacher, seeing a Muslim boy (Kalam) sitting next to a Hindu Brahmin boy (Ramanadha Sastry), made Kalam sit at the back of the class. When Kalam's father and the school headmaster spoke to the teacher, he apologised and the discrimination ended.

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