“On the whole, the small society of Rameswaram was very rigid in terms of the segregation of different social groups,” says the author.
Were they aware only of their differences or did they also naturally share friendships and experiences? (Think of the bedtime stories in Kalam’s house, of who his friends were, and of what used to take place in the pond near his house.)

Explanation

No, they were not only aware of their differences but also they naturally shared friendships and experiences.
Kalam’s mother and grandmother would tell the children of his family bedtime stories about the events from the Ramayana and from the life of the prophet. During the 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 the pond called Rama Tirtha which was near his house.