Hi Everyone!! This article will share Our Beloved President Questions & Answers.
In my previous posts, I have shared the questions and answers of Father, A Different Kind of School and The Legend of Ka Panshandi so, you can check these posts as well.
Our Beloved President Questions & Answers
Question 1: What were the names of Abdul Kalam’s parents?
Answer: Abdul Kalam’s parents were Jainulabdeen (father) and Ashiamma (mother).
Question 2: What does he say about the background of his parents?
Answer: Abdul Kalam describes his father as coming from a middle-class Tamil family with little formal education or wealth but possessing innate wisdom and generosity. His mother’s lineage was more distinguished.
Question 3: What does Dr Kalam recall as ‘one of the most vivid memories of early childhood’?
Answer: One of the most vivid memories of early childhood for Abdul Kalam was the discussions between his father and the high priest of the Rameswaram temple, Pakshi Lakshmana Sastry, on spiritual matters.
Question 4: What did young Abdul’s father tell him about the relevance of prayer?
Answer: Abdul Kalam’s father explained that prayer facilitates a communion of the spirit, transcending physical differences, and connecting individuals with the cosmos.
Question 5: What was the early morning routine followed by Abdul’s father?
Answer: Abdul Kalam’s father started his day at 4 a.m., walking to a coconut grove they owned, about four miles from home, returning with coconuts for breakfast.
Question 6: What was father’s purpose in building a sail boat? How was it destroyed?
Answer: Abdul Kalam’s father built a wooden sailboat to transport pilgrims from Rameswaram to Dhanuskodi. It was destroyed by a cyclone, along with part of the landmass of Sethukkarai.
Question 7: What impact did the conversations with Ahmed Jallaluddin have on Abdul?
Answer: Conversations with Ahmed Jallaluddin broadened Abdul Kalam’s worldview and introduced him to spiritual and intellectual discussions.
Question 8: What work did Samsuddin do?
Answer: Samsuddin was Abdul Kalam’s first cousin and the sole distributor for newspapers in Rameswaram.
Question 9: Which circumstances led to the young Abdul helping Samsuddin in his work?
Answer: The suspension of the train halt at Rameswaram station during World War II led Abdul Kalam to help Samsuddin catch newspaper bundles thrown from the moving train.
Our Beloved President Questions & Answers
Question 10: Answer in one sentence:
(a) What was the name of the town where Abdul Kalam was born?
Answer: Abdul Kalam was born in the town of Rameswaram.
(b) In what kind of a house did Kalam live?
Answer: Kalam lived in a fairly large pucca house on Mosque Street in Rameswaram.
(c) Which temple was close to Kalam’s house?
Answer: The Shiva temple was close to Kalam’s house.
(d) What was the name of the high priest of the temple?
Answer: The high priest of the temple was Pakshi Lakshmana Sastry.
(e) What time did Kalam’s father start his day?
Answer: Abdul Kalam’s father started his day at 4 a.m.
(f) What purpose did the wooden sailboat serve?
Answer: The wooden sailboat was for transporting pilgrims from Rameswaram to Dhanuskodi.
(g) What did Jallaluddin’s influence make the young boy realise?
Answer: Jallaluddin’s influence made young Kalam realize a ‘brave, new world’ beyond his narrow confines.
(h) How did young Kalam procure the books he wished to read?
Answer: Abdul Kalam procured books from the personal library of STR Manickam.
(i) What did Kalam collect and sell when World War II broke out?
Answer: When World War II broke out young Kalam collected and sold tamarind seeds.
Question 11: Read the lines and answer the questions:
1. My parents were widely regarded as an ideal couple. My mother’s lineage was the more distinguished, one of her forebears having been bestowed the title of ‘Bahadur’ by the British. I was one of many children-a short boy with rather undistinguished looks, born to tall and handsome parents.
(a) Pick instances which show that young Kalam’s upbringing was a combination of austerity and large heartedness.
Answer: Instances of austerity include his father’s avoidance of inessential comforts, while large-heartedness is seen in his mother feeding more outsiders than family members.
(b) Would you say that Kalam’s father had a secular outlook?
Answer: Yes, Kalam’s father had a secular outlook, as evidenced by his close friendship with the high priest of the Hindu Shiva temple.
(c) How did Kalam’s father explain the importance of prayer?
Answer: Kalam’s father explained that prayer facilitates a communion of the spirit, transcending physical differences.
(d) What, according to Kalam’s father, is the importance of adversity in our lives?
Answer: According to Kalam’s father, adversity presents opportunities for introspection.
2. But it was the time I spent with Jallaluddin and Samsuddin that perhaps contributed most to the uniqueness of my childhood and made all the difference in my later life.
(a) How did Jallaluddin become a good friend of young Kalam?
Answer: Jallaluddin became a good friend of young Kalam through their walks and spiritual discussions.
(b) What was the chief subject of their conversations?
Answer: The chief subject of their conversations was spiritual matters.
(c) How much education did Jallaluddin have? How did he utilise his knowledge of English?
Answer: Jallaluddin had limited education, but he could write English and used this skill to help others by writing letters, applications etc.
(d) Who was Samsuddin? How did he help Kalam earn his own money?
Answer: Samsuddin was Abdul Kalam’s first cousin, the newspaper distributor. Young Kalam earned his first wages by helping Samsuddin catch the newspaper bundles from train and distribute them.
Question 12: Draw a character sketch of Abdul Kalam’s father.
Answer: Abdul Kalam’s father, Jainulabdeen, was a middle-class man with little formal education but possessed innate wisdom and generosity. He lived an austere life, avoiding inessential comforts. Despite disadvantages, he provided necessities and was an ideal helpmate to his wife. He maintained a routine of discipline, starting his day at 4 a.m. and emphasizing the importance of prayer and introspection.
Question 13: Dr Kalam’s father had told him. ‘Adversity always presents opportunities for introspection.’ Do you agree? Can you think of any other people who have seen adversity and risen to great heights?
Answer: Yes, adversity often presents opportunities for introspection and growth. Other examples include Nelson Mandela, who rose to great heights after facing adversity during apartheid, and Helen Keller, who overcame physical challenges to achieve remarkable success.
Question 14: In your opinion, which influences of his childhood helped to make Dr Kalam the greatest president of India?
Answer: The influences of Abdul Kalam’s childhood, particularly conversations with Jallaluddin and Samsuddin, contributed to his unique perspective and later manifested creativity. The blend of spiritual discussions, exposure to a broader world, and the influence of honest and disciplined values from his parents likely shaped him into the exceptional individual who became the President of India.
So, these were Our Beloved President Questions & Answers.