India knows Dr APJ Abdul Kalam as ‘'The Missile Man'’ or ‘'The People’s President'’, but not many know about his exemplary journey. A journey that initially started with a failure but gradually led to success through hard work and persistence. A sneak-peak into his life is a great source of motivation, especially for the youth.
Early life and Aspirations
Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was the youngest one among his siblings, born in Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu on October 15, 1931. His father was a boat owner and an Imam in the local mosque and his mother was a home-maker. As a child, Kalam sold newspapers after school hours to help his family financially. He was an inquisitive and hard working student in school with a keen interest in Maths and Physics. Young Kalam had a dream of becoming a fighter pilot in Indian Airforce(IFA).
During his graduation, he worked extremely hard on a project. But the college Dean was dissatisfied with it and threatened to revoke his scholarship. He gave a short deadline to submit the project. It was nearly impossible to meet the deadline. But Kalam worked ceaselessly, and finally finished the project on time. At a young age itself, he understood the value of hardwork.
After years of persistent hard work as a student, he was all set to achieve his dream job. But alas, he could not make it and lost by just one rank. There were only eight seats in IAF and he scored the ninth position. He was extremely disheartened that his dream of becoming a fighter pilot was shattered. But destiny had some other plans for him.
Journey with Science
He made his way to the Aeronautical Development Establishment in Bangalore. His hard work brought him bigger opportunities and was transferred to Indian Space Research Organization(ISRO). There he became the project head of various important missions. Satellite Launch Vehicle-3 (SLV-3) was launched which deployed the ‘Rohini’ satellite near Earth’s orbit successfully. Other famous missiles launched under his supervision included ‘Agni’ and ‘Prithvi’. But not every project headed by him was successful. Some failed, but they became a stepping stone to future projects.
Defence research is usually associated with war. But Kalam gave a unique angle to it by using it for the benefit of civilians. After diligent research, in collaboration with cardiologist B Soma Raju, he developed a ‘Kalam-Raju-Stent’. Started in the 1990s, it made life-saving stents for heart diseases affordable to the people which was earlier available at exorbitant rates.
In 1998, he played a key role in the ‘Pokhran-2’ project which gained him nationwide popularity. He was the chief scientific advisor of the then Prime Minister. Nuclear tests done under his supervision made India a nuclear armed state. Several technical recommendations were made by him to develop India by 2020. He was honoured with Bharat Ratna, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan and Ramanujan Award for his contributions.
From Scientist to President
In 2002, he stepped into a completely different field and was sworn in as 11th President of India. He thought that this could help in developing India for his goal to be completed by 2020. He donated most of his salary as a President. Because of his humble nature and active interaction with people, he was popularly known as the “People’s President”. The international media brought to limelight his ‘rockstar’ like image among the youth. He was one among MTV’s youth icon nominations at the age of seventy-three.
Living The Dream
In 2006, he finally got a chance to live his childhood dream that had failed initially. He had a ride in the co-pilot’s seat of Sukhoi-30, a warplane. IAF’s pilot flew the President in the fighter plane. The pilot was surprised to see the President’s child-like enthusiasm while entering the cockpit and was keen to learn about the plane with curiosity in his eyes.
His term of presidency ended in 2007, but he decided not to stop here. He had a firm belief that teachers had a major role in the process of developing a nation. His hunger for knowledge led him to become a guest professor in many of the colleges. He loved teaching so much that he did not confine himself to one college but travelled to different states and different colleges for his lectures. From IIMs to Indian Institute of Science, BHU, he went on imparting knowledge to the students. Youngsters loved to interact with him. He did not accept any fees for lectures, the only gifts he accepted were books.
The old duo of Kalam and Soma Raju came up with a new initiative by this time. They made an affordable “Kalam-Raju Tablet” that stored basic medical information and patient’s medical history for the convenience of primary healthcare workers of rural areas. Not only in the field of science, he also helped the youth to fight corruption with his programme ‘What can I give movement.’ He wrote books like Ignited Minds, Wings of Fire, India 2020 and many others.
On July 27, 2015, He went to IIM Shillong for a lecture on the topic 'creating a liveable planet earth' He collapsed while giving the lecture and died due to a cardiac arrest at the age of 83. People of the country were mourning on hearing this news. His body was brought to Delhi where many renowned people paid their respects. His last rites were attended by more than 350,000 people. No property was owned by him or any other commodity like car, TV, AC etc. He just had 6 shirts, 4 pants, and 3 suits. What he owned mainly was a collection of 2500 books.
People loved him not just because of his achievements but also because of his simplicity. He left for his heavenly abode doing what he loved the most, imparting knowledge among the youngsters. He always wanted to be remembered as a teacher. Indeed, he is a teacher who taught everyone to dream big. As he had rightly said “ Dreams transform into thoughts and thoughts transform into action.”