The Path of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam

                         Wings Of Fire

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, or Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, was an Indian Aerospace Scientist and statesman who served as the 11'th president of India. He was born and raised in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, and studied physics and aerospace engineering. He also spent 40 years as a scientist and science administrator, mainly at the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and Indian Space Research Organization(ISRO), and was intimately involved in India's space programme and Military Missile Development efforts. Therefore, he was known as the Missile Man of India for his work in the development of the ballistic missile and Launch Vehicle tech. He also played a vital role in India's Pokhran-II nuclear tests.

The Missile Man of India has written many books, among them his autobiography, Wings Of Fire. In it, he describes everything that happened in his life, his achievements, his thoughts and theories, and most of all, his success. 

One day when he was in the fifth standard at the Rameswaram Elementary School, a new teacher came to his class. He used to wear a cap which marked him as a Muslim, and I always sat in the front row next to Ramanadha Sastry, who wore a sacred thread. The new teacher could not stomach a Hindu priest’s son sitting with a Muslim boy. In accordance with their social ranking as the new teacher saw it, he was asked to go and sit on the back bench. He felt very sad, and so did Ramanadha Sastry. 

Ramanadha looked utterly downcast as Dr Kalam shifted to his seat in the last row. The image of Ramanadha weeping when Dr Kalam shifted to the last row left a lasting impression on him. 

After school, they went home and told their respective parents about the incident. Lakshmana Sastry summoned the teacher, and in their presence, told the teacher that he should not spread the poison of social inequality and communal intolerance in the minds of innocent children. He bluntly asked the teacher to either apologize or quit the school and the island. Not only did the teacher regret his behavior, but the strong sense of conviction Lakshmana Sastry conveyed ultimately reformed this young teacher.

Another memorable incident in Dr Kalam's life that teaches us a lot of values, was in his high school days. Once, he accidentally wandered into a class where a Mathematics professor was teaching. The teacher saw, Dr Kalam, called him, and gave him a few lashings with his cane. At the end of the school year, when Dr Kalam scored 100 % in math, the professor called him to the front of the school assembly, and said to the hold school that whoever he beat with his cane, would become great sometime. 

Dr Kalam's life is full of memorable incidents like these, and it really gives us the motivation and fuel to work harder.

On 27 July 2015, Kalam travelled to Shillong to deliver a lecture on "Creating a Livable Planet Earth" at the Indian Institute of management Shillong. While climbing a flight of stairs, he experienced some discomfort, but was able to enter the auditorium after a brief rest. At around 6:35 p.m., only five minutes into his lecture, he collapsed. He was rushed to the nearby Bethany Hospital in a critical condition; upon arrival, he lacked a pulse or any other signs of life. Despite being placed in the Intensive Care Unit, Kalam was confirmed dead of a sudden cardiac arrest at 7:45 p.m. His last words, to his aide Srijjan Pal Singh, were reportedly: "Funny guy! Are you doing well?".

The Great Missile Man of India died at the age of 83, on 27 July 2015.

                                                              - Vasudev Manoj 8E