NCERT Solutions For Class 9 English Chapter 2 The Lost Child

Abdul Kalam says that he inherited honesty and self-discipline from his father; from his mother, he inherited faith in goodness and deep kindness.

Dinamani is the name of a daily newspaper. Abdul Kalam's brother-in-law used to narrate to him stories of the War and he attempted to trace the headlines (of the war) in this newspaper.

Abdul Kalam lived in his ancestral house on the Mosque Street in Rameswaram. It was a fairly large pucca house.

Abdul Kalam mentions two predominant religious groups in his home town, Rameswaram - The Hindus and Muslims - who were easily identifiable by their outward appearance.

The Muslims wore a cap and the Hindus a sacred thread. The segregation of these two groups was somewhat rigid in a small town like Rameswaram.

Abdul Kalam was able to earn some money even before he started helping his cousin. There was a sudden demand for tamarind seeds when Kalam was eight years old. He used to collect the seeds and sell them in a provision shop on Mosque Street and earn 'one anna' per day.

Due to the Second World War the trains stopped halting at Rameswaram station and the newspapers had to be bundled and thrown out from the moving train on the Rameswaram Road between Rameswaram and Dhanuskodi. Abdul Kalam started helping his cousin Samsuddin to catch the bundles thrown out of the moving train. Thus, he started earning his first wages.

Abdul Kalam had three close friends in his childhood. They were Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindan and Sivaprakasan. Ramanadha Sastry later took over the priesthood of the Rameswaram temple from his father. Aravindan went into the business of arranging transport for the visiting pilgrims and Sivaprakasan became a catering contractor for the Southern Railways.

The spoken language and official language in Tamil Nadu is Tamil. English is additional official language for communication purpose. I suppose the author, his family and friends spoke Tamil with one another. Teachers in the schools and colleges must have spoken English and Tamil with their students.

1. In yesterday’s competition the prizes were given away by the Principal.

2. In spite of financial difficulties, the labourers were paid on time.

3. On Republic Day, vehicles are not allowed beyond this point.

4. Second-hand books are bought and sold on the pavement every Saturday.

5. Elections to the Lok Sabha are held every five years.

6. Our National Anthem was composed by Rabindranath Tagore.

We can find the word 'undistinguished' in oxford living dictionaries. It is an adjective meaning 'Lacking distinction; unexceptional'.

Example: Her style is undistinguished and she is known as the undistinguished daughter of a distinguished father.’

The following are the meanings of the word trace:

(i) to find someone or something that was lost

(ii) to find the origin of something

(iii) to discover the causes or origins of something by examining the way in which it has developed

(iv) to describe the way in which something has developed

(v) to find or discover by investigation

(vi) to copy by drawing over its lines on a superimposed piece of transparent paper

The closest meaning of the word 'trace' in the text is 'to find or discover something through investigation'.

Erupt

A few things that can erupt are anger, volcano, riots, violence, demonstrations, legal fight, diplomatic row, skin rash, etc. Erupt has several meanings which are given below.

(i) to start suddenly and violently

Example: Violence erupted in different parts of the country.

(ii) to start to burn or burst into flames
Example: I saw some smoke in the building, but suddenly flames erupted from nowhere.

(iii) to become active and spew forth lava and rocks
Example: I think the volcano could erupt within few days or even hours.

(iv) to suddenly express your feelings in a noisy way
Example: The crowd erupted in loud cheering and laughter.

(v) Sudden appearance of rashes or spots on the skin
Example: A painful rash erupted on his skin after taking bath in the polluted river.

Surge

Things that can surge are pride, anxiety, waves, boats, army, etc. The several meanings it has are explained with the following examples:

(i) a sudden and great movement forward
Example: A tidal surge caused flooding and severe damage to the buildings in the coastal areas.

(ii) a sudden increase of an emotion
Example: She couldn’t speak anything for some time due to the surge of remorse.

(iii) a sudden increase in value
Example: Share prices surged following the Finance Minister’s speech in the Parliament.

(iv) a sudden and great increase:
Example: A surge in the electric power damaged my laptop yesterday.

(i) Abdul Kalam wanted to leave Rameswaram in order to do his higher studies at the district headquarters in Ramanathapuram.
(ii) His father whole heartedly agreed and told Kalam that he had to go away in order to grow. He said that the seagull flew across the sun alone and without a nest. He also quoted Khalil Gibran to his wife saying that her daughters are not hers ultimately and she should give them her love but not her thoughts as they had their own thoughts
(iii) He meant to say that parents should not bind their children to themselves out of selfishness but allow them to develop their potential and fulfill their dreams. I strongly believe that Kalam's father spoke these words to console his wife who must have been sad to see Kalam leaving his parents and going away.

Abdul Kalam narrates a touching incident when he was asked to go and sit on the back bench because one of his new teachers could not stomach a Muslim boy wearing a cap sitting on the front bench near a Brahmin boy, Ramanadha Sastry, a priest's son who wore a sacred thread. The children informed the incident to their respective parents.

Lakshmana Sastry summoned the teacher and reprimanded him for spreading the poison of communal intolerance and asked him to either apologise or quit the school. The young teacher regretted his behaviour and got reformed.

Kalam's science teacher Sivasubramania Iyer, an orthodox Brahmin had a very conservative wife.

One day he invited Kalam for a meal but his wife refused to serve Kalam in her ritually pure kitchen. The teacher was very angry and served Kalam with his own hands, sat down with him to eat his meal.

He invited Kalam for dinner again a week later. Kalam was hesitant but when he visited the teacher's house Iyer’s wife took him inside her kitchen and served him the food with her own hands.

People change their attitudes when someone takes initiative to change the system and boldly confront the problems that arise.

Even though Kalam and his Hindu friends shared a very natural bond of friendship, there were people who stressed the religious differences. People nurtured this mentality included a young teacher who joined the Rameswaram elementary school. He asked Kalam to sit on the last bench because he could not stomach a Muslim boy sitting with a Hindu priest’s son. Another such person is Kalam’s science teacher’s conservative wife. She refused to serve Kalam in her ritually pure kitchen.

Those who tried to bridge these differences were Kalam’s science teacher Sivasubramania Iyer who invited, served and dined with him and Lakshmana Sastry who conveyed a strong sense of conviction to the new young teacher to reform him.

Abdul Kalam was from an orthodox Muslim family and his closest friends were orthodox Hindus. The children must have been aware of their differences due to the outward appearances but they shared a very strong natural friendship with each other.
Kalam’s mother and grandmother used to narrate bedtime stories from the Ramayana and the life of the Prophet. During the annual Shri Sita Rama Kalyanam ceremony, his family used to arrange boats with a special platform for carrying idols of the Lord from the temple to the marriage site, situated in the middle of a pond called Rama Tirtha which was near his house.

(i) Abdul Kalam's father Jainulabdeen had neither much formal education nor much wealth, but he had an innate wisdom and was generous in nature. He was austere and avoided all inessential comforts and luxuries.

(ii) Abdul Kalam's mother Ashiamma was an ideal helpmate to his father. She too was very generous and kind and fed many outsiders every day.

(iii) Kalam describes himself as a short boy with rather undistinguished looks. He had a secure childhood both materially and emotionally. He was an honest and self-disciplined person, who believed in goodness and kindness.

Hints are provided below for reference. These can be used for preparing the answer.

* Life seems to be very simple

* People not very wealthy

* Social segregation based on religion existed

* Majority of people lived in harmony

* There were people who envisaged and worked for social reformation

* People hopeful of change in the society

* Some people - resistant to change

* Difficulties due to Second World War

* People hardworking

From Rameswaram to the Rashtrapati Bhavan, it’s been a long journey. Talking to Nona Walia on the eve of Teacher’s Day, President Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam talks about life’s toughest lessons learnt and his mission — being a teacher to the Indian youth. “A proper education would help nurture a sense of dignity and self-respect among our youth,” says President Kalam. There’s still a child in him though, and he’s still curious about learning new things. Life’s a mission for President Kalam.

Nonetheless, he remembers his first lesson in life and how it changed his destiny. “I was studying in Standard V, and must have been all of 10. My teacher, Sri Sivasubramania Iyer was telling us how birds fly. He drew a diagram of a bird on the blackboard, depicting the wings, tail and the body with the head and then explained how birds soar to the sky. At the end of the class, I said I didn’t understand. Then he asked the other students if they had understood, but nobody had understood how birds fly,” he recalls. “That evening, the entire class was taken to Rameswarm shore,” the President continues. “My teacher showed us sea birds. We saw marvelous formations of them flying and how their wings flapped. Then my teacher asked us, ‘Where is the birds’ engine and how is it powered?’ I knew then that birds are powered by their own life and motivation. I understood all about birds’ dynamics. This was real teaching — a theoretical lesson coupled with a live practical example. Sri Siva Subramania Iyer was a great teacher.” That day, my future was decided. My destiny was changed. I knew my future had to be about flight and flight systems.

1. How Helmets Came To Be Used in Cricket

Nari Contractor was the Captain and an opening batsman for India in the 1960s. The Indian cricket team went on a tour to the West Indies in 1962. In a match against Barbados in Bridgetown, Nari Contractor got seriously injured and collapsed. In those days helmets were not worn. Contractor was hit on the head by a bouncer from Charlie Griffith. Contractor’s skull was fractured.

The entire team was deeply concerned. The West Indies players were worried. Contractor was rushed to hospital. He was accompanied by Frank Worrell, the Captain of the West Indies Team. Blood was donated by the West Indies players. Thanks to the timely help, Contractor was saved. Nowadays helmets are routinely used against bowlers.

2. Oil from Seeds

Vegetable oils are made from seeds and fruits of many plants growing all over the world, from tiny sesame seeds to big, juicy coconuts. Oil is produced from cotton seeds, groundnuts, soya beans and sunflower seeds. Olive oil is used for cooking, salad dressing, etc.

Olives are shaken from the trees and gathered up, usually by hand. The olives are ground to a thick paste which is spread onto special mats. Then the mats are layered up on the pressing machine which will gently squeeze them to produce olive oil.