A VISIT TO CAMBRIDGE
A Visit to Cambridge
This is the story of a meeting between Firdaus Kanga, a writer and journalist, and Stephen Hawking, the famous astrophysicist. Both are described in the textbook as “differently abled”.
The meeting makes the writer think deeply about disability, courage, possibility, strength and the importance of concentrating on what one is good at.
पाठ का सरल परिचय
यह पाठ लेखक फ़िरदौस कांगा और वैज्ञानिक स्टीफ़न हॉकिंग की मुलाकात के बारे में है। दोनों को पाठ में “differently abled” बताया गया है।
यह मुलाकात लेखक को दिव्यांगता, साहस, संभावनाओं, आत्मविश्वास और अपनी क्षमताओं पर ध्यान देने के बारे में सोचने के लिए प्रेरित करती है।
Read the original passage carefully. Every paragraph is followed by a complete, simple Hindi meaning. Maximum practical useful words are coloured and interactive.
This is the story of a meeting between two extraordinary people, both of them ‘differently abled’. Stephen Hawking, an astrophysicist who suffers from a form of paralysis that confines him to a wheelchair, and allows him to ‘speak’ only by punching buttons on a computer. Firdaus Kanga a writer and journalist who lives and works in Mumbai. Kanga was born with ‘brittle bones’ and like Hawking, moves around in wheelchair.
Cambridge was my metaphor for England, and it was strange that when I left it, I had become altogether something else, because I had met Stephen Hawking there.
It was on a walking tour through Cambridge that the guide mentioned Stephen Hawking, “poor man, who is quite disabled now, though he is a worthy successor to Issac Newton, whose Chair he has at the university.”
And I started, because I had quite forgotten that this most brilliant and completely paralysed astrophysicist, the author of A Brief History of Time, one of the best sellers ever, lived here.
When the walking tour was done, I rushed to a phone booth and, almost tearing the cord so it could reach me outside, phoned Stephen Hawking’s house. There was his assistant on the line and I told him I had come in a wheelchair from India (perhaps he thought I had propelled myself all the way) to write about my travels in Britain. I had to see Professor Hawking- even ten minutes would do, “Half an hour,” he said. “From three-thirty to four.”
And suddenly I felt weak all over. Growing up disabled, you get fed up with people asking you to be brave, as if you have a courage account on which you are too lazy to draw a cheque. The only thing that makes you stronger is seeing somebody like you, achieving something huge. Then you know how much is possible and you reach out further than you ever thought you could.
“I haven’t been brave,” said his disembodied computer-voice, the next afternoon. “I’ve had no choice.”
Surely, I wanted to say, living creatively with the reality of his disintegrating body was a choice? But I kept quite, because I felt guilty everytime I spoke to him, forcing him to respond. There he was, tapping at the little switch in his hand, trying to find the words on his computer with the only bit of movement left to him, his long, pale fingers. Every so often, his eyes would shut in frustrated exhaustion. And sitting opposite him I could feel his anguish, the mind buoyant with thoughts that came out in frozen phrases and sentences stiff as corpses.
“A lot of people seem to think that disabled people are chronically unhappy,” I said. “I know that’s not true myself. Are you often laughing inside?”
About three minutes later, he responded, “I find it amusing when people patronise me.”
“And do you find it annoying when someone like me comes and disturbs you in your work?”
The answer flashed. “Yes.” Then he smiled his one-way smile and I knew, without being sentimental or silly, that I was looking at one of the most beautiful men in the world.
A first glimpse of him is shocking, because he is like a still photograph- as if all those pictures of him in magazines and newspapers have turned three dimensional.
Then you see the head twisted sideways into a slump, the torso shrunk inside the pale blue shirt, the wasted legs; you look at his eyes which can speak, still, and they are saying something huge and urgent- it is hard to tell what. But you are shaken because you have seen something you never thought could be seen.
“What do you think is the best thing about being disabled?” I had asked him earlier.
“I don’t think there is anything good about being disabled.”
“I think,” I said, “you do discover how much kindness there is in the world.”
“Yes,” he said; it was a disadvantage of his voice synthesiser that it could convey no inflection, no shades or tone. And I could not tell how enthusiastically he agreed with me.
Every time I shifted in my chair or turned my wrist to watch the time- I wanted to make every one of our thirty minutes count—I felt a huge relief and exhilaration in the possibilities of my body. How little it mattered then that I would never walk, or even stand.
I told him how he had been an inspiration beyond cliche for me, and, surely, for others—did that thought help him?
“No”, he said; and I thought how foolish I was to ask. When your body is a claustrophobic room and the walls are growing narrower day by day, it doesn't do much good to know that there are people outside smiling with admiration to see you breathing still.
“Is there any advice you can give disabled people, something that might help make life better?”
“They should concentrate on what they are good at.”
The half hour was up: “I think I’ve annoyed you enough,” I said, grinning.
“Thank you for ........”
I touched his shoulder and wheeled out into the summer evening.
Firdaus Kanga
from Heaven on Wheels
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| metaphor | /ˈmetəfə(r)/ — मेटाफ़र | रूपक |
| astrophysicist | /ˌæstrəʊˈfɪzɪkɪst/ — ऐस्ट्रोफिज़िसिस्ट | ताराभौतिकविद् |
| exhaustion | /ɪgˈzɔːstʃən/ — इग्ज़ॉस्चन | बहुत थकाने वाला |
| exhilaration | /ɪgˌzɪləˈreɪʃn/ — इग्ज़िलरेशन | रोमांच |
| inflection | /ɪnˈflekʃn/ — इन्फ्लेक्शन | बोलते समय सुर में उतार चढ़ाव |
| propelled | /prəˈpeld/ — प्रोपेल्ड | आगे की ओर व्यक्ति या वस्तु को धकेलना |
| claustrophobic | /ˌklɔːstrəˈfəʊbɪk/ — क्लॉस्ट्रोफोबिक | छोटे बंद स्थानों से अत्यधिक भयभीत |
1. Choose the words from the box which can be substituted for the given sentences:
2. Look at the following words-
Can you create a meaningful phrase using both these words?
(It is simple. Add -ing to the verb and use it before the noun. Put an article at the beginning.)
..a walking stick
Now make six such phrases using the words given in the box-
read/session smile/face revolve/chair walk/tour dance/doll win/chanceExample: I don’t eat candy. I don’t eat cake.
Neither do I eat candy nor cake.
2. Use all or both in the blanks. Tell your partner why you chose one or the other.
3. Use of lets and let's :
Example- She lets the dog out every morning.
Let's- with an apostrophe is a short form (contraction) of 'let us', which is used for suggestion or request. It is similar to the meaning of 'we should'.
Example- Let us learn more.
Write some important discoveries made by Stephen Hawking in your notebook.
Stephen Hawking was a renowned theoretical physicist and cosmologist. The lesson presents his determination, his use of a computer voice, and his advice to concentrate on one's strengths.
Firdaus Kanga is presented in the lesson as a writer and journalist from Mumbai who was born with brittle bones and uses a wheelchair.
My Strength: What am I good at?
My Next Step: What can I do to improve that ability?
Speak for One Minute: “A Person Who Inspires Me”
Use these points:
- Who is the person?
- What difficulty or challenge did the person face?
- What achievement inspires you?
- What have you learned?
Write 8–10 sentences
Write about one ability or skill that you are good at and explain how you can develop it.
Write your strength in the centre and add three actions you will take to develop it.
Choose the best answer. Complete all questions to receive your score.
Firdaus Kanga meets Stephen Hawking at Cambridge.
A Brief History of Time is mentioned in the lesson.
Seeing someone like you achieve something huge can make you stronger.
Hawking says he finds it amusing when people patronise him.
The writer reflects on the kindness in the world.
“They should concentrate on what they are good at.”
Practise neither...nor, all/both, and lets/let's.
Focus on abilities and possibilities rather than limitations.
