HS English Strong Roots Questions answer| Class 12 english Strong Roots Questions answer

STRONG ROOTS

Strong Roots Summary

Abdul Kalam came of a middle-class Tamil family in Rameswaram. His father Jainulabdeen z

was not wealthy but wise. He was large- fhearted. Ashiamma, Kalam's mother, was his

ideal wife. She maintained the household carefully. She fed many outsiders everyday in

the house. The family lived in an old house. Kalam's father led a simple life. But he did not ignore his children's basic needs. Obviously Kalam enjoyed a secure childhood. Kalam took a

lunch with his mother. It was very simple food, purely native and wholesome. Kalam's locality

was chiefly Muslim. But many Hindus lived there in perfect peace. Kalam would accompany

his father to an old mosque for evening prayer. He recalled that people of all sects met his father there. They wanted his blessings. Kalam's father would touch their bowls of water and chant a prayer. They brought the water home to cure the invalids. Another thing Kalam could recollect clearly. He saw his father discussing spirituality with his close friend Pakshi Lakshmana Sastry, the high priest of Rameswaram. Anyway, Kalam asked his father about the relevance of prayer. He told him that prayer connected people spiritually. It makesman feel one with the cosmos. It levels all disparities and differences. Kalam also learnt from his father the relevance of adversity. He inspired Kalam to take a fearless approach to adversity. Kalam wanted to know why his father did not tell people the value of adversity. He answered that he just helped people as a mediator. They were lonely and hopeless. They Sought his advice. But he believed that it was not the correct attitude. Man should not be afraid of his destiny. He should recognize himself for his fulfilment. Kalam's father maintained a routine life all along. Anyway, Kalam was an ardent follower of his father all through his life. Hlis spirituality was his father's gift. Eventually Kalam is led to believe that freedom, happiness and peace can be attained if a man frees himself from his corporal and emotional entity.

                        Strong Roots Title pdf

A title adds charm to a piece of writing. It gives us an idea of the theme it deals with Obviously, we have a sense of preparedness before we start reading a composition. For the present case the writer gives an account of his childhood, his growing up. We come to know of the great values he has inherited and cultivated in the process of his growth. He expresses his indebtedness to his parents. It is his mother who shows him the art of living together. She is a lady of great character. Again, he has his father beside him. He is wise and sane. He is spiritual. Kalam has learnt a lot from his father. He has imbibed the spirit of tolerance and generosity of his father. In fact in the entire background Kalam had been backed up by him. Naturally he regards it as strong roots. Kalam's successful life is like a full fledged tree. The strength of a tree lies in its roots. A well-rooted tree enjoys a good meaningful life of its own. Similarly an effective grooming of a man helps him much for his meaningful life. Kalam's roots were very strong. That was why he was able to build his life so successfully. From this point of view the title is a wise choice.

VSA TYPE QUESTION-ANSWERS

Answer the following questions in complete sentences

1.Who wrote 'Strong Roots'? ('Strong Roots' কার লেখা ?)

► APJ Abdul Kalam wrote 'Strong Roots'.

2. Where was Kalam born?

Kalam was born in the island town of Rameswaram in the erstwhile Madras State.

3. What is the name of Kalam's father?

» Kalam's father is Jainulabdeen.

Who was the ideal helpmate of Kalam's father?

▶Kalam's mother Ashiamma was the ideal helpmate of Kalam's father.

How were Kalam's parents?

» Kalam's parents were an ideal couple.

6. How did Kalam look like in his childhood?

Kalam was a short boy with no impressive looks in his childhood.

Kalam lived in their ancestral house.

8. When was Kalam's ancestral house built?

Kalam's ancestral house was built in the middle of the 19th century.

9. Describe the ancestral house of Kalam.

The ancestral house was a fairly large pucca house made of limestone and brick, on the Mosque street in Rameswaram.

10. Where was Kalam's house?

» Kalam's house was on the Mosque Street in Rameswaram.

11 Who was bestowed the title of 'Bahadur in 'Strong Roots'?

» In 'Strong Roots' one of the forebears of Kalam's mother was bestowed the title of 'Bahadur' by the British.

12. How did Kalam enjoy his childhood?

Kalam enjoyed a secure childhood bothmaterially and emotionally.

13. Where did Kalam eat?

▶ Kalam used to eat in the family kitchen.

14. What did Kalam usually have in lunch?

▶ Kalam would usually have rice, aromatic sambar, fresh home made pickle and coconut

chutney.

15. Which made Rameswaram famous ?

The Shiva temple made Rameswaram famous.

16. How far was Rameswaram temple from

Kalam's house?

▶ Rameswaram temple was about a ten-

-minute walk from Kalam's house.

17. What was the ethnic character of Kalam's locality?

Kalam's locality was chiefly Muslim one but many Hindu families lived there peacefully.

18. Where would Kalam go to pray to God?

▸ Kalam would go to an old mosque in their locality to pray to God.

23. Why did the people carry bowls of water to their house?

▶ People would carry the purified water to their houses to cure the invalids.

24. Who was Pakshi Lakshmana Sastry?

» Pakshi Lakshmana Sastry was the high priest of Rameswaram temple.

25. What was one of the most vivid memories of Kalam's early childhood?

Kalam's one of the most vivid memories was of his father and the high priest of

Rameswaram temple discussing spiritual matters in their house.

26. Who was Kalam's father's close friend?

Pakshi Lakshmana Sastri was the close friend of Kalam's father.

27. What does Kalam's father say about the relevance of prayer?

» When Kalam grew up he asked his father about the relevance of prayer.

28. How did prayer help man according to Kalam's father?

» According to Kalam's father, prayer made possible a communion of the spirit between people.

29. How did Kalam's father look upon human beings?

» Kalam's father looked upon every human being as a specific element within the whole of the manifest divine being.

30. What did Kalam's father think about adversity?

» Kalam's father thought that adversity always presents opportunities for introspection.

Strong Roots Questions answer Pdf download 

   DESCRIPTIVE TYPE QUESTION-ANSWERS

Our locality was predominantly Muslim"- Who is the speaker? How does the speaker

describe the locality? What picture of communal harmony do you find in this description?

▶ Here the speaker is APJ Abdul Kalam the narrator of the story.

The speaker described the locality as predominantly Muslim. However there were

also Hindu families in the locality. He also mentions about an old mosque where his father

took him for evening prayers. The story gives a picture of communal harmony where the Hindus and Muslims lived amicably with one another. People from different religious faiths were respectful towards the narrator's father.

6. "I normally ate with my mother." -Who ate with his mother? Name his mother. Where did he eat with his mother? What did he eat with his mother?

In his autobiographical writing 'Strong Roots' the narrator, APJ Abdul Kalam, tells us that he ate with his mother in his childhood. The speaker's mother was Ashiamma, who would feed many outsiders daily in her house. The speaker normally ate with his mother, sitting on the floor of the kitchen in their ancestral

house on the Mosque Street in Rameswaram. Kalam ate very simple food, purely native and wholesome, with his mother. He used to have rice and aromatic sambar, a variety of sharp, home-made pickle and a dollop of fresh coconut chutney.

14. What do you mean by communal harmony? Describe Rameswaram as ideal place for all communities.

Rameswaram, Kalam's place of birth was an island town in the erstwhile Madras State.

Predominantly a Muslim area, there was a very old mosque in the locality. But there was

also the famous Shiva temple as many Hindu families lived in the locality. They lived together in peace. There was no communal disharmony in Rameswaram. Kalam's father was a devoted

Muslim. But his close friend Pakshi Lakshmana Sastry was the high priest of the Shiva temple.

These two friends exchanged their spiritual outlooks. Inspite of outward differences, cultural oneness prevailed among people there making Rameswaram an ideal town for all communities.

15. "Why don't you say this, to the people who come to you...?"-Who says this and to whom? What is referred to by the word 'this'? Why do the people come to the person spoken to? ("Why don't you say this, to the people who come to you...?"

► APJ Abdul Kalam, the narrator of the prose, 'Strong Roots' says this to his father,Jainulabdeen. By the word 'this' Kalam means the spiritual concept-every human being is a specific element within the whole of the mainfest divine Being. So human being should not be afraid of difficulties, sufferings and problems. They should always try to understand the relevance of their sufferings. The people come to the person spoken to in order to be cured of their diseases by the mysterious spiritual touch they believe he possesses.

16. What had remained the routine for Abdul Kalam's father even when he was in his late sixties? What does Abdul Kalam say about his emulation of his father?

Even in his late sixties, Kalam's father followed the same everyday routine that he used to do in his youth. As usual, he started his day at 4 a.m. by reading the namaz. Then he walked about four miles to their small coconut grove from where he would return with a bundle of coconuts thrown over his shoulder. And then, he had his breakfast Kalam said that he had tried to emulate his father in his world of science and technology. He had endeavoured to make out the fundamentaltruths revealed to him by his father. He always felt that there exists a divine power to lift us up from our melancholy, misery and failure to our true place. So, he tried to sever his emotional and physical bond in order to get happiness and peace of mind.