- Text type: Autobiographical excerpt from Wings of Fire (1999) by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, as told to Arun Tiwari.
- Author: Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (1931–2015) — scientist, Missile Man of India, and the 11th President of India (2002–2007).
- Setting: Rameswaram, a small temple town on the southern tip of Tamil Nadu, during the Second World War years (1930s–early 1940s).
- Central theme: Communal harmony, friendship across religions, the dignity of hard work, and the power of education and self-belief to rise above circumstances of birth.
- Key quote: Swami Sivananda’s words — “Circumstances of birth are irrelevant to the attainment of spiritual eminence.”
- Board weightage: ~5 marks per paper — usually one short-answer (2–3 marks) or one long-answer / value-based question (5 marks), plus extract-based MCQs.
1. About the author — APJ Abdul Kalam
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (full name Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam) was born on 15 October 1931 in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, into a modest Muslim family. His father, Jainulabdeen, was a boat-owner and a deeply religious man of little formal education but great wisdom. His mother, Ashiamma, was known for her extraordinary generosity and kindness.
Kalam studied aerospace engineering and joined the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and later the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). He played a decisive role in India’s Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme, earning him the title ‘Missile Man of India’. He received the Bharat Ratna (1997) — India’s highest civilian honour. He served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007, and was affectionately called the ‘People’s President’. He passed away on 27 July 2015 while delivering a lecture at IIM Shillong.
Wings of Fire (1999), co-authored with Arun Tiwari, is Kalam’s autobiography. It traces his journey from a small-town boy in Rameswaram to one of India’s greatest scientists. The Class 9 Beehive excerpt covers his early childhood — his family, his friends of different faiths, the impact of a new teacher’s prejudice, the kindness of his science teacher Sivasubramania Iyer, and a memorable meeting with Swami Sivananda.
2. Summary — Part I: Family, home and early childhood
Kalam was born into a middle-class Tamil Muslim family in the island town of Rameswaram. He describes himself honestly as a short boy with rather ordinary looks, born to tall and handsome parents — a characteristic display of his trademark humility. The family lived in a fairly large pucca house on Mosque Street in Rameswaram.
His father Jainulabdeen had neither much formal education nor great wealth, but possessed great wisdom and a genuine generosity of spirit. He avoided unnecessary comforts but ensured the family never lacked necessities. His mother Ashiamma was an ideal helpmate, and Kalam remembers that she fed many outsiders every day — far more people than just the family members. From his father Kalam inherited honesty and self-discipline; from his mother, faith in goodness and deep kindness.
He generally ate with his mother, sitting on the kitchen floor on a banana leaf with rice, aromatic sambhar, sharp home-made pickle and fresh coconut chutney. Though simple, the home was full of warmth and contentment. This sense of security and simplicity shaped the grounded, grateful human being Kalam would become.
During the Second World War, there was a sudden demand for tamarind seeds. Young Kalam collected the seeds and sold them at a provision shop on Mosque Street, earning one anna a day — his very first earnings. Later, when the train halt at Rameswaram station was suspended during the war and bundles of newspapers were thrown from the moving train, his cousin Samsuddin — a newspaper distributor — needed a helper to catch the bundles. Kalam became that helper and earned his first wages in this way. He recalls feeling a great surge of pride at earning his own money. These early experiences instilled in him the discipline and value of honest work.
3. Summary — Part II: Rameswaram’s communal harmony and childhood friendships
Rameswaram was a deeply religious Hindu pilgrimage town, yet Muslims and Hindus lived side by side in remarkable harmony. Kalam’s father — a Muslim boat-owner — maintained close bonds with the Hindu priest community, particularly with Pakshi Lakshmana Sastry, the head priest of the Rameswaram temple, who was one of his closest friends. The two men regularly exchanged visits and discussed matters of common concern. This inter-faith friendship at the adult level was the soil in which Kalam’s secular outlook grew.
During the annual Shri Sita Rama Kalyanam ceremony (the holy wedding of Ram and Sita), Kalam’s family arranged boats with a special platform to carry the idols of the deities from the temple to the marriage site in the middle of the pond. In the evenings, stories from the Ramayana and stories from the life of the Prophet were narrated to the children together. Both Hindu and Muslim traditions were honoured in his home, showing how naturally the two religions coexisted.
Kalam’s closest friends were three Hindu boys: Ramanadha Sastry (son of Lakshmana Sastry, the head priest), Aravindan, and Sivaprakasan. All three came from orthodox Hindu Brahmin families, yet none of them ever felt any difference with Kalam because of religion. They were inseparable friends. In later years, Ramanadha Sastry inherited the position of head priest of the Rameswaram temple; Aravindan ran a business arranging transport for visiting pilgrims; and Sivaprakasan became a catering contractor for the Southern Railways. Kalam fondly recalls that the spirit of their early friendship endured through all these different paths.
4. Summary — Part III: The painful classroom incident
This is the most powerful incident in the chapter. When Kalam was in the fifth class, a new teacher arrived at the school. Kalam wore a cap that identified him as a Muslim; he used to sit in the front row beside his best friend Ramanadha Sastry, who wore the sacred thread. The new teacher could not tolerate a Muslim boy sitting next to a Hindu priest’s son and ordered Kalam to go and sit at the back of the class.
Both boys were deeply upset. Ramanadha Sastry looked so miserable — his eyes filling with tears — as Kalam walked to the last row that the memory stayed with Kalam all his life. It was his first painful encounter with social inequality and communal intolerance.
When Lakshmana Sastry (the head priest, Ramanadha’s father) heard about the incident, he was deeply disturbed. He summoned the new teacher and, in front of young Kalam, told him sternly not to spread the poison of social inequality and communal intolerance in the minds of innocent children. He warned the teacher clearly: either apologise and change his ways, or leave the school and the island. The teacher, chastened, not only regretted his behaviour but was eventually reformed. The incident teaches: (a) prejudice does exist even in harmonious communities; (b) good elders must act immediately against injustice; (c) communities have the power to correct themselves from within.
5. Summary — Part IV: Sivasubramania Iyer — the inspiring science teacher
At the high-school level, Kalam came under the influence of his science teacher Sivasubramania Iyer, one of the finest teachers he ever had. Iyer was a deeply committed, reformist educator who wanted to break the barriers of caste. He was a high-caste Brahmin, yet he believed that the prejudices of caste were unjust and needed to be challenged through personal action.
One evening Sivasubramania Iyer invited Kalam home for a meal. His wife, however, was a very orthodox Brahmin woman and refused to serve food to a Muslim boy in her ritually pure kitchen. Iyer was not discouraged. He served food to Kalam with his own hands and sat beside him to eat. Later he invited Kalam again; this time his wife, who had perhaps seen that nothing “polluting” had happened, took Kalam inside her kitchen and served him herself. Through this quiet, dignified act — without confrontation or preaching — the teacher changed his wife’s outlook through example. This story of the teacher is also a story of how deeply-held prejudices can be dissolved by patient, principled action.
Before Kalam left Rameswaram for higher studies in Ramanathapuram, Sivasubramania Iyer called him and encouraged him: “Kalam, I want you to go to the city and make a name for yourself. I want you to reach greater heights.” He urged Kalam to step beyond the boundaries of the small island and dream big. Kalam credits this teacher’s encouragement as a turning point in his life.
6. Summary — Part V: Meeting Swami Sivananda
When Kalam was preparing to leave Rameswaram for higher studies, he visited the renowned saint Swami Sivananda, who had come to the island. Kalam expected a religious or spiritual discussion. Swami Sivananda was a small man, clean-shaven, with shining eyes, wearing a white dhoti and wooden sandals. He first noticed Kalam’s western-style suit and tie and commented on it gently.
Sivananda then gave Kalam advice that he never forgot. He told Kalam to seek the truth within himself and not worry about external forms such as dress or religious identity. Most significantly, he said: “Circumstances of birth are irrelevant to the attainment of spiritual eminence.” What matters is not which family, religion or community one is born into, but the purity of one’s mind, sincerity of one’s efforts and commitment to one’s inner growth.
These words had a profound and lasting effect on Kalam. They confirmed what his father had already been teaching him through his own life: that an ordinary background is no barrier to extraordinary achievement. The saint’s wisdom gave Kalam a firm foundation from which to pursue his ambitions without self-doubt about his origins.
7. Key incidents — at a glance
- Tamarind seeds and newspaper distribution: Kalam’s first earning experiences; taught him self-reliance, the dignity of labour and the joy of honest work. Coin: one anna per day from tamarind seeds; helper to cousin Samsuddin for newspaper bundles thrown from moving train.
- Father Jainulabdeen’s friendship with Lakshmana Sastry: A Muslim man and a Hindu temple priest as close friends — living proof of Rameswaram’s secular culture.
- Shri Sita Rama Kalyanam festival: Kalam’s family helps carry temple idols on a boat; both Ramayana stories and Prophet stories narrated in the same evening — showing genuine inter-faith harmony at home.
- Friendship with Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindan and Sivaprakasan: Three Hindu friends, one Muslim boy — inseparable in childhood, living proof that children do not see religious difference unless taught to.
- The new teacher’s prejudice in Class Five: Kalam forced to the back bench; Ramanadha Sastry weeps; Lakshmana Sastry delivers a stern warning; teacher reforms. Shows both the reality of prejudice and the community’s ability to correct it.
- Sivasubramania Iyer’s dinner invitation: Wife refuses; teacher serves Kalam himself; wife changes attitude on next visit. A quiet revolution against social prejudice, won through dignity not confrontation.
- Meeting Swami Sivananda: The saint’s words — ‘circumstances of birth are irrelevant’ — give Kalam a lasting spiritual and personal philosophy.
- Kalam leaves Rameswaram: With family support and his teacher’s encouragement, Kalam steps out into a larger world — the beginning of his great journey.
8. Character sketches
APJ Abdul Kalam (as a child): Kalam is portrayed as sensitive, hardworking, curious, humble and broad-minded. He is not resentful of poverty; instead he works honestly to overcome it. He values his friendships deeply and is wounded by the teacher’s discrimination, yet he does not respond with bitterness or hatred. He absorbs the wisdom of everyone around him — his father, his teacher, the saint — and carries those lessons throughout life. He is proud of his identity yet genuinely secular in his outlook and feelings.
Jainulabdeen (Kalam’s father): A man of limited formal education but extraordinary wisdom, humility and secular values. Though a devout Muslim, he maintained deep bonds of respect and friendship with the Hindu priests and community of Rameswaram. He avoided luxury, provided the necessities of life, and believed in the dignity of labour. His practical philosophy — that difficulties in life shape our character, and that greatness comes from within — is the most important single influence on Kalam’s life.
Ashiamma (Kalam’s mother): A generous, kind-hearted woman who fed many people every day, far beyond the members of her own household. She was a constant source of warmth and love. Kalam credits her with giving him his faith in goodness and his deep kindness of spirit.
Ramanadha Sastry: Kalam’s closest school friend, son of the head priest of the Rameswaram temple. His friendship with Kalam symbolises the natural friendship of childhood that knows no religious boundaries. He is sensitive enough to weep when the new teacher separates him from Kalam, showing the depth of his bond. He later becomes the head priest, yet their friendship endures.
Lakshmana Sastry (Pakshi Lakshmana Sastry): Head priest of the Rameswaram temple, father of Ramanadha Sastry, and close friend of Kalam’s father. He represents the best of traditional community leadership — he is devout, yet he confronts prejudice directly and decisively when it appears among the young. His action against the new teacher shows that religious authority can be a force for social justice.
Sivasubramania Iyer: Kalam’s science teacher, a brilliant and courageous man who challenges prejudice by personal example. He serves a Muslim boy food with his own hands, changing his orthodox wife’s outlook through patience and dignity rather than confrontation. He also encourages Kalam to dream bigger than Rameswaram. He is the ideal teacher: inspiring, just, secular and genuinely caring about his students’ futures.
Swami Sivananda: A revered saint whose words about the irrelevance of birth circumstances give Kalam a lasting philosophical anchor. He is described as simple in appearance — clean-shaven, white dhoti, wooden sandals — yet his wisdom is profound. He represents the best of India’s spiritual tradition: inclusive, egalitarian and focused on inner truth rather than external identity.
9. Themes
- Communal harmony and secularism: The chapter is above all a celebration of Hindu-Muslim coexistence in Rameswaram. Kalam’s father and the temple priest are friends. His best friends are all Hindus. Both religious traditions are honoured in his home. When prejudice briefly appears, the community corrects it. The chapter argues that unity across religions is natural and possible.
- Friendship and loyalty beyond religion: Kalam’s bond with Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindan and Sivaprakasan is genuine and deep. True friendship does not ask about caste or religion; children understand this naturally until adults teach them otherwise.
- The power of great teachers: Both Sivasubramania Iyer and the example of Kalam’s father show that great teachers change lives not only through knowledge but through character and courage.
- The dignity of honest work and self-reliance: From selling tamarind seeds to catching newspaper bundles, Kalam learns that no honest work is too small and that self-earned money brings pride and dignity.
- Rising above circumstances of birth: Swami Sivananda’s words crystallise the chapter’s central message: greatness is earned by effort and character, not inherited through birth, caste or religion.
- Family support and love: Kalam’s mother, father, sister and brother-in-law all sacrifice so that he can study. The family’s quiet generosity and love are the foundation of everything he achieves.
10. Father Jainulabdeen’s influence and philosophy
Jainulabdeen is one of the most quietly powerful figures in the chapter. Kalam presents him as a man whose wisdom far exceeded his formal education. Though he owned just a boat and lived modestly, he embodied values that shaped Kalam for life:
- He believed that difficulty is not a reason for self-pity but an opportunity to build character. His calm response to the loss of his boat (destroyed in a cyclone) showed young Kalam how to face setbacks with dignity.
- He maintained deep inter-faith friendships in a small, closely-knit town, modelling secular values not as a policy but as a natural expression of his humanity.
- He made sure his children were educated even when money was scarce, supporting Kalam’s move to Ramanathapuram for higher study — a significant sacrifice for a modest family.
- Kalam describes his father’s wisdom using a beautiful image: though not learned, Jainulabdeen understood the relationship between the heart, the mind and the soul, and he nurtured all three in his family. This holistic understanding — that intelligence alone is not enough, that moral and spiritual development matter equally — became the bedrock of Kalam’s outlook.
Kalam explicitly says that his father was his greatest early teacher. The values he saw Jainulabdeen live by — hard work, humility, secularism and generosity — became the foundation of Kalam’s own life and the great career that followed.
11. Word meanings
- Austere — simple and without unnecessary comforts; plain in lifestyle.
- Secular — not connected to religion; treating all religions equally and with respect.
- Orthodoxy — strict adherence to traditional religious beliefs and customs.
- Peninsular — relating to a piece of land that is almost surrounded by water on three sides.
- Communal — relating to a community; often used for inter-religious matters (as in communal harmony or communal tension).
- Intolerance — refusal to accept opinions, beliefs or behaviour different from one’s own.
- Sacred thread — the thread worn by upper-caste Hindu boys after a religious ceremony (the Upanayana); a mark of Brahmin identity.
- Orthodox — following traditional religious beliefs and practices very strictly, without deviation.
- Spiritual eminence — a very high level of achievement, excellence or standing in matters of the spirit and soul.
- Reformist — a person who wants to change old customs and systems for the better.
- Sustenance — food and support needed to stay alive; also the means of providing a livelihood.
- Congenial — pleasant, agreeable and suited to one’s nature or tastes.
- Eminence — a position of great distinction or superiority; being famous and respected.
- Segregate — to separate a person or group from others, often based on religion, caste or race.
- Innate — inborn; a quality that a person is born with naturally.
- Devout — sincerely and deeply religious in one’s beliefs and practices.
- Conviction — a firmly held belief or opinion; also the quality of being completely certain about something.
Abdul Kalam grew up in Rameswaram, a small island town in Tamil Nadu. His family was a middle-class Tamil Muslim family. His father Jainulabdeen was a pious and wise man who owned a boat used to ferry Hindu pilgrims. His mother Ashiamma was known for her extraordinary generosity — she fed many people daily. The family was not wealthy but lived in a secure, warm home on Mosque Street. After a cyclone destroyed his father’s boat, the family income fell and young Kalam began working by selling tamarind seeds and distributing newspapers.
Kalam first earned money by collecting tamarind seeds and selling them at a provision shop, earning one anna per day. Later, during the Second World War, when newspaper bundles were thrown from moving trains at Rameswaram station, he helped his cousin Samsuddin catch and distribute them, earning his first proper wages in this way. These experiences taught Kalam the immense value of honest work and self-reliance at an early age. He felt a surge of pride at earning his own money, and this became a foundation for his lifelong work ethic.
Kalam’s closest friends were Ramanadha Sastry (son of the head priest of Rameswaram temple), Aravindan, and Sivaprakasan — all three were Hindus from orthodox Brahmin families. They treated each other with complete equality and warmth, with no sense of religious difference. Their friendship was natural and unselfconscious. Kalam — a Muslim — sitting beside a Brahmin’s son in the front row of class was perfectly normal in their world. Their friendship across religious lines is one of the chapter’s most important examples of communal harmony.
Even as a child, Kalam showed several outstanding qualities:
- Industriousness and self-reliance: He started earning money at a very young age (tamarind seeds, newspaper distribution) on his own initiative, showing a sense of responsibility to his family.
- Sensitivity and empathy: He noticed and remembered his friend Ramanadha Sastry’s tears when they were separated by the new teacher — showing emotional intelligence.
- Humility: He describes himself honestly as a short boy with ordinary looks — no vanity or pride of appearance, though he would go on to be a great man.
- Receptiveness to wisdom: He absorbed the lessons of his father, his teacher Sivasubramania Iyer, and Swami Sivananda deeply and permanently, showing a mind open to growth.
- Secular and inclusive outlook: Growing up in Rameswaram’s harmonious environment, Kalam naturally formed deep bonds across religions, and his whole life reflected the lesson that people must be judged by character, not community.
Kalam’s father Jainulabdeen was supportive and encouraging of Kalam’s move to Ramanathapuram for higher studies. Despite limited finances, he arranged for Kalam to go, with financial help from Kalam’s sister and her husband. He did not hold his son back out of sentiment or conservatism. His willingness to sacrifice and invest in Kalam’s future, even when it meant sending his son away from the security of home, reflects his long-sighted wisdom and deep, selfless love. His father’s support was one of the key reasons Kalam was able to pursue his dreams beyond Rameswaram.
When Kalam was in Class Five, a new teacher arrived at his school. He was disturbed to see Kalam — a Muslim boy wearing a cap — sitting in the front row next to Ramanadha Sastry, a high-caste Hindu (Brahmin) boy. The teacher ordered Kalam to move to the back of the class, separating the two friends. Ramanadha Sastry was visibly upset and had tears in his eyes. When Lakshmana Sastry (Ramanadha’s father, the head priest) heard about this, he summoned the teacher and firmly told him not to spread the poison of social inequality and communal intolerance among innocent children. The teacher was asked to apologise or leave the school. He apologised and eventually reformed his attitude.
Sivasubramania Iyer was Kalam’s science teacher in Rameswaram. He was one of the most inspiring, just and principled teachers Kalam ever had. Though a high-caste Brahmin himself, he held reformist ideas and wanted to break the barriers of caste. When his orthodox wife refused to serve food to Kalam in her kitchen, Iyer quietly served the boy himself and ate alongside him, without any confrontation. Through this dignified act, he gradually changed his wife’s attitude — she herself served Kalam on the next visit. Before Kalam left for higher studies, Iyer urged him to seek greater heights and make a name for himself. He is a model of the ideal teacher: knowledgeable, just, secular, courageous and genuinely invested in his student’s future.
Swami Sivananda was a revered saint whom Kalam met in Rameswaram before leaving for higher studies. He was a simple, clean-shaven man in a white dhoti with wooden sandals. He first commented on Kalam’s western dress (suit and tie) and then gave him profound guidance: “Circumstances of birth are irrelevant to the attainment of spiritual eminence.” He told Kalam to seek truth within himself and not be defined by external identity, dress or religion.
These words had a deep and lasting effect on Kalam. They directly addressed the social reality Kalam faced as a Muslim boy in a predominantly Hindu town, and confirmed what his father had already shown through his life — that an ordinary background is no barrier to extraordinary achievement. The saint’s words gave Kalam a firm philosophical and spiritual foundation from which to pursue his ambitions without self-doubt about his origins or community.
The title ‘My Childhood’ highlights the formative experiences that made Kalam who he would become — his family’s values, his secular friendships, the classroom discrimination, the teachers who inspired him, and the saint’s wisdom. Together, these early experiences built the character, work ethic and secular outlook that shaped one of India’s greatest citizens.
Rameswaram was deeply harmonious: Kalam’s Muslim father was close friends with the Hindu temple priest; a Muslim boy sat beside a Brahmin’s son in school; the family helped carry temple idols on their boat during the annual Sita Rama Kalyanam ceremony; and when a teacher showed prejudice, the entire community swiftly corrected him. Rameswaram practised genuine inter-faith coexistence, not merely tolerance.
When Kalam was in Class Five, a new teacher arrived and was disturbed to see a Muslim boy (Kalam) sitting in the front row beside Ramanadha Sastry, a Brahmin priest’s son. He ordered Kalam to the back bench. Ramanadha was so distressed that his eyes filled with tears. When Lakshmana Sastry, the head priest and Ramanadha’s father, learnt of this, he summoned the teacher and told him sternly not to spread the poison of social inequality and communal intolerance among innocent children. The teacher was asked to apologise or leave. He apologised and was eventually reformed. The incident is significant because it shows that prejudice can exist even in harmonious communities, but that the community itself has both the wisdom and the moral authority to correct it immediately. It also reveals the depth of Kalam’s friendship with Ramanadha Sastry and the lasting hurt that discrimination leaves, even when it is corrected.
Sivasubramania Iyer was Kalam’s science teacher, but his greatest lessons had nothing to do with a textbook. When Iyer invited Kalam to his home for a meal, his orthodox wife refused to serve a Muslim boy in her ritually pure kitchen. Rather than arguing or confronting his wife publicly, Iyer quietly served food to Kalam with his own hands and sat beside him as an equal. This single dignified act was more powerful than any speech on equality. Over time it changed his wife’s attitude, and she began serving Kalam herself. Iyer also encouraged Kalam directly before he left Rameswaram, urging him to reach greater heights and make a name for himself. These two actions — breaking social prejudice through example and inspiring a student’s ambition — made Iyer a teacher in the fullest sense: one who shaped character and life, not merely examinations.
The chapter teaches several enduring values. First, communal harmony: the natural friendship between Kalam and his Hindu friends, and the inter-faith bonds in Rameswaram, show that people of different religions can and should live together in peace. Second, the dignity of hard work and self-reliance: from selling tamarind seeds to catching newspaper bundles, Kalam shows that no honest work is beneath a person of good character. Third, the power of great teachers and role models: Sivasubramania Iyer and Kalam’s father both show that change comes from personal example, not preaching. Fourth, equality and dignity for all: the swift correction of the new teacher’s prejudice, and Swami Sivananda’s words about the irrelevance of birth circumstances, teach that every person deserves equal respect. Finally, the importance of family support: Kalam’s parents and sister sacrifice silently so that he can study and grow. These values together explain how a simple island boy became one of India’s greatest citizens.
“I normally ate with my mother while my father had his meal separately. On one occasion I remember asking my father why he always ate separately. He told me that he always fed many outsiders first, before eating himself, and that he was the one who had to think about the needs of many people…”
(i) What does this tell us about Kalam’s father? — It shows he was a man of deep responsibility, selflessness and humility, who always placed the needs of others before his own, and who was conscious of his duty to the wider community.
(ii) What relationship did Kalam have with his parents? — He was close and observant with both parents; he ate with his mother and asked his father sincere questions, absorbing wisdom through daily life rather than formal instruction.
(iii) What value does the father’s behaviour illustrate? — Service, selflessness and community responsibility — putting others’ welfare before one’s own.
(iv) Find a word from the extract meaning ‘not the same place as others’. — “separately”.
- Ignited Minds
- Wings of Fire
- India 2020
- My Journey
- Chennai
- Ramanathapuram
- Rameswaram
- Thanjavur
- Samsuddin
- Jainulabdeen
- Ramanadha Sastry
- Lakshmana Sastry
- By selling flowers at the temple
- By collecting and selling tamarind seeds for one anna a day
- By working on his father’s boat
- By distributing milk in the neighbourhood
- Ramanadha Sastry
- Aravindan
- Sivaprakasan
- Samsuddin
- He punished them for being late
- He asked Kalam to sit at the back of the class, separating him from Ramanadha Sastry
- He refused to teach Kalam science
- He asked Kalam to leave the school
- Kalam’s father Jainulabdeen
- Sivasubramania Iyer
- Lakshmana Sastry, the head priest
- Swami Sivananda
- His wife was unwell and resting
- His orthodox wife refused to serve a Muslim boy in her kitchen
- Kalam was an honoured guest of the school
- It was the custom of that household to serve guests personally
- “Hard work is the only key to success.”
- “Circumstances of birth are irrelevant to the attainment of spiritual eminence.”
- “God helps those who help themselves.”
- “Education is the greatest equaliser.”
- 1997 to 2002
- 2002 to 2007
- 2000 to 2005
- 2005 to 2010
- Principal of Kalam’s school
- Head priest of the Rameswaram temple
- District collector of Rameswaram
- Owner of the boat next to Kalam’s father’s boat
- Father of the Indian Nation
- Iron Man of India
- Missile Man of India
- Father of Indian Space Science
How did the people of Rameswaram display communal harmony? Describe any two incidents from the chapter that show this.
Suggested answer outline:
- Kalam’s Muslim father and Lakshmana Sastry, the Hindu temple priest, were close friends — showing that senior citizens of both religions lived and worked together in trust.
- Kalam’s three closest school friends were all Hindus from orthodox Brahmin families; they sat together, played together and felt no religious difference — showing that children in Rameswaram were raised in an atmosphere of genuine equality.
- During the Shri Sita Rama Kalyanam festival, Kalam’s family helped carry temple idols on their boat; both the Ramayana and the Prophet’s life were narrated to children in the same evenings at home.
- When the new teacher showed prejudice, the community corrected it immediately — showing that Rameswaram actively defended its harmony against intolerance.
- Conclude: Rameswaram’s communal harmony was not accidental; it was built and maintained through the values and daily actions of every family and elder in the community.
What kind of man was Kalam’s father Jainulabdeen? How did he influence Kalam’s life?
Suggested answer outline:
- Jainulabdeen was a devout, humble, wise man who owned a boat and lived modestly with no formal education, yet possessed great understanding of life and people.
- He maintained warm friendships across religious lines — a Muslim man and a Hindu temple priest as close friends — modelling secular values for Kalam through everyday life.
- He believed in the dignity of honest work and allowed young Kalam to earn his own money, showing that no honest labour is beneath a person of good character.
- He sacrificed to fund Kalam’s education even when finances were difficult, supporting his move to Ramanathapuram for higher studies.
- His philosophy — that difficulty is an opportunity to build character, and that the heart, mind and soul must all be nourished — became the bedrock of Kalam’s outlook throughout his legendary career.
Who was Sivasubramania Iyer? Describe the meal incident and what it taught Kalam.
Sivasubramania Iyer was Kalam’s science teacher in Rameswaram — a high-caste Brahmin with reformist ideals. He once invited Kalam home for dinner, but his orthodox wife refused to serve a Muslim boy in her kitchen. Without arguing, Iyer served Kalam himself and ate beside him. On the next visit, his wife changed her attitude and served Kalam warmly in her own kitchen. The incident taught Kalam that prejudice can be dissolved by patient personal example and quiet dignity, without confrontation or preaching. It also showed him what true courage and principle look like in daily life — lessons that stayed with him forever.
What did Swami Sivananda say to Kalam, and why are his words important?
Swami Sivananda told Kalam: “Circumstances of birth are irrelevant to the attainment of spiritual eminence.” He urged Kalam to seek truth within himself rather than being defined by his religion, dress or social background. These words are deeply important because they directly addressed the reality Kalam faced — a Muslim boy in a predominantly Hindu town, who might be told his origins would limit him. The saint’s wisdom confirmed what Kalam’s father had already shown through his life: that greatness depends on effort, character and inner truth, not the accident of birth. These words gave Kalam the confidence to pursue his extraordinary ambitions without self-doubt.
“Kalam’s childhood in Rameswaram taught him lessons no textbook could.” Discuss with reference to the chapter.
Suggested answer outline:
- Working from a young age: selling tamarind seeds and catching newspaper bundles taught self-reliance, the dignity of honest labour and the pride of earning one’s own money — no textbook lesson can match the impact of lived experience.
- Friendship with Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindan and Sivaprakasan: Kalam learned naturally that religion is no barrier to true friendship, by actually living it — not just reading about it.
- The new teacher’s prejudice and Lakshmana Sastry’s response: Kalam learned that injustice must be confronted directly, and that communities have both the duty and the power to protect the vulnerable among them.
- Sivasubramania Iyer’s example: Kalam learned that the deepest prejudices dissolve not through words but through patient, courageous personal action, and that a great teacher shapes character and life, not just examination results.
- Swami Sivananda’s words: gave him the philosophy that circumstances of birth are irrelevant to greatness — a truth no examination paper can teach but that becomes the foundation of a great life.
- Conclusion: Rameswaram was Kalam’s true first university. Its people, incidents and values — communal harmony, work ethic, courage, kindness and equality — shaped the man who would become India’s Missile Man and its beloved 11th President.
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