PAGE 209
Question B.1(1):
Why does the poet say, 'Where the mind is without fear'?
Answer :
The poet dreams of an egalitarian society. He dreams of a land where people have freedom to think. He contemplates for a world where the minds are free from any fear leading to a complete development of one’s individuality. Thus, the world becomes progressive and abounded with knowledge.
Question B.1(2):
What are the narrow domestic walls being referred to?
Answer :
The “domestic walls” in the poem refer to the petty social divisions prevailing in the society such as caste, creed, religion region, etc.
Question B.1(3):
Why are they 'narrow'?
Answer :
The poet calls the “domestic walls” narrow as they are making the society stagnant and incapable for progress and revolutionary idea are unable to proliferate through these walls. Thus, it is capturing the society in old and obsolete customs, stopping it from evolving.
Question B.1(4):
How / when does the 'clear stream of reason' lose its way?
Answer :
The clear stream of reason loses its way when old customs and traditions shackle the society and people’s thoughts from reaching “the depth of truth”.
Question B.1(5):
What is the poet's appeal?
Answer :
The poet appeals to God to bestow humans with reason and that all the boundaries constraining the progress of mankind to be dissolved. He wishes for an ideal society which would lead people’s minds into ever-widening thoughts and action. He prays to God to lead humans into a heaven where they may experience the purest form of freedom, unconstrained growth of this race and, just as said before, where people have freedom to think and their actions may be reasonable.
PAGE 214
Question B.4(1):
'Despite these disadvantages, he possessed great innate wisdom and a true generosity of spirit'. The expression 'these disadvantages' here refers to
(a) lack of formal education and riches
(b) middle class social status and a small town
(c) lack of comforts and luxuries
Answer :
(a) lack of formal education and riches
Question B.4(2):
Kalam's childhood was
(a) secure
(b) insecure
(c) austere
Answer :
(a) secure
Question B.4(3):
'That forced my cousin Samsuddin'… 'That' here refers to
(a) world War II
(b) increase in the demand of tamarind seeds
(c) withdrawal of train halt at Rameshwaram station
Answer :
(c) withdrawal of train halt at Rameshwaram stati
Question B.4(4):
Samsuddin was forced to seek a helping hand because
(a) the Second World War had begun
(b) the train now halted at Rameshwaram station
(c) newspapers thrown from the moving train had to be collected
Answer :
(c) newspapers thrown from the moving train had to be collected
Question B.4(5):
Kalam continues to be proud of the money he had earned during the time of World
War-II because
(a) his cousin Samsuddin had helped him earn it
(b) it was the first wages he had earned
(c) he was able to supplement his father's income
Answer :
(b) it was the first wages he had earned
Question B.4(6):
Kalam owes his honesty and self-discipline to his
(a) brothers
(b) father
(c) mother
Answer :
(b) father
Question B.4(7):
As children Kalam and his friends did not have any
(a) religious differences
(b) right upbringing
(c) realization that they were different in any way
Answer :
(a) religious differences
Question B.4(8):
Paragraph 5 shows that Kalam's mother and grandmother had
(a) great scholarship and wisdom
(b) excellent ability to tell stories of historic importance
(c) all embracing outlook on religion and communities
Answer :
(c) all embracing outlook on religion and communities
Question B.4(9):
'As the new teacher saw it' (Paragraph 6). Which of the following best explains the meaning of this expression?
(a) as our new teacher understood it
(b) as our new teacher wanted it
(c) as our new teacher was asked to ensure
Answer :
(b) as our new teacher wanted it
Question B.4(10):
Lakshmana Sastry made the newly appointed teacher realize that
(a) it was wrong on his part to discriminate on the basis of religion
(b) it was wrong to separate two great friends
(c) it was wrong to impose one's own ideas on others
Answer :
(a) it was wrong on his part to discriminate on the basis of religion
Question B.4(11):
Kalam's science teacher Sivasubramania was something of a rebel in the sense that
(a) he used to spend hours with his students
(b) he used to defy his wife
(c) he encouraged people of different communities and castes to mix up freely
Answer :
(c) he encouraged people of different communities and castes to mix up freely
Question B.4(12):
The science teacher's wife's behaviour during Kalam's second visit to their home showed that
(a) she had understood and adopted her husband's outlook on the oneness of mankind
(b) she wanted to repent for her earlier mistake
(c) she had purified her kitchen ritually
Answer :
(a) she had understood and adopted her husband's outlook on the oneness of mankind
Question B.1(1):
Why does the poet say, 'Where the mind is without fear'?
Answer :
The poet dreams of an egalitarian society. He dreams of a land where people have freedom to think. He contemplates for a world where the minds are free from any fear leading to a complete development of one’s individuality. Thus, the world becomes progressive and abounded with knowledge.
Question B.1(2):
What are the narrow domestic walls being referred to?
Answer :
The “domestic walls” in the poem refer to the petty social divisions prevailing in the society such as caste, creed, religion region, etc.
Question B.1(3):
Why are they 'narrow'?
Answer :
The poet calls the “domestic walls” narrow as they are making the society stagnant and incapable for progress and revolutionary idea are unable to proliferate through these walls. Thus, it is capturing the society in old and obsolete customs, stopping it from evolving.
Question B.1(4):
How / when does the 'clear stream of reason' lose its way?
Answer :
The clear stream of reason loses its way when old customs and traditions shackle the society and people’s thoughts from reaching “the depth of truth”.
Question B.1(5):
What is the poet's appeal?
Answer :
The poet appeals to God to bestow humans with reason and that all the boundaries constraining the progress of mankind to be dissolved. He wishes for an ideal society which would lead people’s minds into ever-widening thoughts and action. He prays to God to lead humans into a heaven where they may experience the purest form of freedom, unconstrained growth of this race and, just as said before, where people have freedom to think and their actions may be reasonable.
PAGE 214
Question B.4(1):
'Despite these disadvantages, he possessed great innate wisdom and a true generosity of spirit'. The expression 'these disadvantages' here refers to
(a) lack of formal education and riches
(b) middle class social status and a small town
(c) lack of comforts and luxuries
Answer :
(a) lack of formal education and riches
Question B.4(2):
Kalam's childhood was
(a) secure
(b) insecure
(c) austere
Answer :
(a) secure
Question B.4(3):
'That forced my cousin Samsuddin'… 'That' here refers to
(a) world War II
(b) increase in the demand of tamarind seeds
(c) withdrawal of train halt at Rameshwaram station
Answer :
(c) withdrawal of train halt at Rameshwaram stati
Question B.4(4):
Samsuddin was forced to seek a helping hand because
(a) the Second World War had begun
(b) the train now halted at Rameshwaram station
(c) newspapers thrown from the moving train had to be collected
Answer :
(c) newspapers thrown from the moving train had to be collected
Question B.4(5):
Kalam continues to be proud of the money he had earned during the time of World
War-II because
(a) his cousin Samsuddin had helped him earn it
(b) it was the first wages he had earned
(c) he was able to supplement his father's income
Answer :
(b) it was the first wages he had earned
Question B.4(6):
Kalam owes his honesty and self-discipline to his
(a) brothers
(b) father
(c) mother
Answer :
(b) father
Question B.4(7):
As children Kalam and his friends did not have any
(a) religious differences
(b) right upbringing
(c) realization that they were different in any way
Answer :
(a) religious differences
Question B.4(8):
Paragraph 5 shows that Kalam's mother and grandmother had
(a) great scholarship and wisdom
(b) excellent ability to tell stories of historic importance
(c) all embracing outlook on religion and communities
Answer :
(c) all embracing outlook on religion and communities
Question B.4(9):
'As the new teacher saw it' (Paragraph 6). Which of the following best explains the meaning of this expression?
(a) as our new teacher understood it
(b) as our new teacher wanted it
(c) as our new teacher was asked to ensure
Answer :
(b) as our new teacher wanted it
Question B.4(10):
Lakshmana Sastry made the newly appointed teacher realize that
(a) it was wrong on his part to discriminate on the basis of religion
(b) it was wrong to separate two great friends
(c) it was wrong to impose one's own ideas on others
Answer :
(a) it was wrong on his part to discriminate on the basis of religion
Question B.4(11):
Kalam's science teacher Sivasubramania was something of a rebel in the sense that
(a) he used to spend hours with his students
(b) he used to defy his wife
(c) he encouraged people of different communities and castes to mix up freely
Answer :
(c) he encouraged people of different communities and castes to mix up freely
Question B.4(12):
The science teacher's wife's behaviour during Kalam's second visit to their home showed that
(a) she had understood and adopted her husband's outlook on the oneness of mankind
(b) she wanted to repent for her earlier mistake
(c) she had purified her kitchen ritually
Answer :
(a) she had understood and adopted her husband's outlook on the oneness of mankind