Class 12 English Unit 5 Education

(The correct chronological sequence is as follows:)

1. c. Abdul Kalam attended an elementary school at Rameswaram.
2. g. A new teacher in the school forbade Abdul Kalam to sit together with his Brahmin friend.
3. e. Many students did not understand well of Sivasubramania Iyer’s lecture.
4. d. He then took the students to the seashore for a practical class.
5. b. Abdul Kalam was determined that he would make a future study about flight and flight systems.
6. f. One day Abdul Kalam’s teacher visited them to share his pride and pleasure about his performance.
7. a. They celebrated happiness with poli.

Yes, APJ (Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen) Abdul Kalam became a highly renowned aerospace scientist and eventually the President of India. We can clearly find a profound association between his childhood days and the shaping of his extraordinary career. He became a famous aerospace scientist largely because he was intensely inspired and motivated by the practical explanation of the flight dynamics of birds given by his teacher, Sivasubramania Iyer, during his school days.

Since childhood, he was a keen, exceptionally dedicated student of mathematics and science, always scoring full marks in them. Beyond regular school hours, he would ambitiously take extra early morning classes of mathematics at his teacher’s home. He kept himself constantly busy in solving complex number problems. However, the most life-changing and impressing thing to him was the practical lecture of his teacher Sivasubramania Iyer. He, along with his classmates, was taken to the seashore of Rameswaram to have a physical, practical demonstration on the flight dynamics of the local seabirds. The real, interactive teaching of his teacher left highly influential remarks on his young mind.

He practically learnt how birds could fly using their wings and tails in a proper aerodynamic balance. When he visually understood the natural flight systems of the birds, a spark ignited within him, and he was firmly determined to study flight dynamics in the future. By diligently following every step suggested by his visionary teacher, he eventually fulfilled his dream and became a legendary aerospace scientist.

In his powerful memoir, Kalam intentionally mentions a sad, eye-opening event of religious discrimination that occurred in his primary school. His new teacher brazenly showed his discriminating behaviour when he saw a Muslim boy (Abdul Kalam) and a high-caste Hindu boy (Ramanadhan Sastry) sitting together happily on the same front bench in the classroom. Ramanadhan Sastry was an intimate, innocent friend of his belonging to the Brahmin community. As innocent children, Abdul and Ramanadhan were completely ignorant about the socially constructed religious discrimination between Hindus and Muslims.

During that time in India, there was extreme, deeply rooted religious and caste-based discrimination. The bigoted behaviour of the new teacher was a true, unfortunate picture of the prevalent society. The teacher could not digest the pure friendship between a Hindu boy and a Muslim boy, so he strictly forbade Abdul to sit close to his Brahmin friend, forcing him to the back bench. Abdul was totally upset and heartbroken by this exclusionary behaviour.

By mentioning this poignant incident, Abdul wants to vividly depict the picture of a society that was tragically parted and fractured between two major sects – Hindu and Muslim. He shows that while innocent children possess no natural hate or division, it is the rigid, prejudiced society and misguided adults who violently force these partitions upon them. Fortunately, he also depicts that there are good people (like Sastry’s father) who actively challenge and deny such toxic divisions, though many in that era still believed in strict segregation.

(Here is an autobiographical essay, written by Sarmila:)

My Childhood Journey

I was born in a small, serene village in the north-eastern part of the Nepalgunj District. I’m from a hardworking, middle-class family. There are exactly five members in my family including me. First of all, there is my respected father who works diligently as a tailor, then my lovely, caring mother who is an incredibly dedicated housewife. The other members of my family are my eldest brother and my younger sister, and both of them are currently studying hard for their futures just like me.

Since I’m a dedicated student, my daily routine naturally focuses heavily on studying and attending classes. I usually wake up quite early at 6:00 am and do my daily morning routines like brushing my teeth, taking a refreshing shower, and getting properly ready for class. After which, I carefully check my academic notes and revise for the day ahead. My classes usually start exactly by 8:00 am and conclude by 1:00 pm. I make it a point to attend my classes regularly without fail. After classes are over, I love to hang out with my close friends for a while and then head back home. Once I reach home, I usually take a quick, relaxing nap till 4:30 pm. After taking my nap, I feel energized to go out and play. I usually come back by 6:00 pm and have a warm bath. After which, I get my books ready to study intensely, and by 9:00 pm, I peacefully go to bed to rest.

I used to play a lot with my siblings when we were smaller. I remember very fondly the various imaginative games we used to play. Especially in the cool evenings, we used to go out into the local park with our sports equipment. Each day we enthusiastically played different games; for example, we played football on one day and cricket on the other. These vibrant memories of playing freely in the park are incredibly dear to me.

Most importantly, I remember one specific instance very clearly when we went out for an annual picnic with my whole family. We paid an exciting visit to the central zoo and had an absolutely incredible day exploring the animal enclosures. My mother had packed highly delectable, home-cooked dishes which we happily ate together in the zoo’s picnic spot. My father clicked so many beautiful pictures of us that day. Even now, when I look back at these nostalgic pictures, the memory is so crystal clear, it seems like it happened just yesterday. Thus, my precious childhood memories are very dear to my heart and instantly make me smile warmly whenever I feel low or stressed by modern academic life.

Note: “Although/Though/Even though” are followed by a full clause (subject + verb), whereas “Despite/In spite of” are followed by a noun phrase or gerund (V-ing).