Find Dhanuskodi and Rameswaram on the map. What language (s) do you think are spoken there? What language do you think the author, his family, his friends and his teachers spoke with one another?

Where was Abdul Kalam's house?

What do you think Dinamani is the name of? Give areason for your answer.

Who were Abdul Kalam's school friends? What did they later become?

How did Abdul Kalam earn his 'first wages'?

Had he earned money before that? In what way?

How does the author describe:

(i) his father

(ii) his mother

(iii) himself

What characteristics does he say, he inherited from his parents?

Discuss these questions in class with your teacher and then write down your answer in two or three paragraphs each.

"On the whole, the small society of Rameswaram was very rigid in terms of the segregation of different social groups," says the author.

(i) Which social groups does he mention? Were these groups easily identifiable (for example, by the way they dressed)?

(ii) Were they aware only of their differences or did they also naturally share friendships and experiences? (Think of the bedtime stories in Kalam's house; of who his friends were; and of what used to take place in the pond 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. Can you identify such people in the text?

(iv) Narrate two incidents that show how differences can be created, and also how they can be resolved. How can people change their attitudes?

Discuss these questions in class with your teacher and then write down your answer in two or three paragraphs each.

(i) Why did Abdul Kalam want to leave Rameswaram ?

(ii) What did his father say to this?

(iii) What do you think his words mean? Why do you think he spoke those words?