Dear
Readers,
The
news of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s death came as a shock to all of us. Within a
few minutes we heard the news, we could see all social media such as Facebook
and Whatsapp, flooding with condolences messages and memoirs of the great
leader.
It is
normal for such messages to be flowing when a great leader of this stature,
passes away, but what impressed me most was that, many of the sharings were of
personal in nature. Many had posted the
photos they had taken with him; some had posted images of appreciation letters
he has send to them and few had posted the autograph they had received from
him. It was a true revelation to see that this 83 year old man, has personally
touched the lives of so many people in a positive way, right from young
students to seasoned academicians.
Something
notable about, Dr. Kalam is that he was a multifaceted person. He was a highly
intelligent scientist, an honest president, a guest lecturer giving intellectual
and inspiring talks to college students, a motivator to school students, a poet
who penned a few master pieces and a writer who has written a number of books
and most importantly a dreamer who had a dream for India. Through all the above
roles he played, he just seemed to have had a single minded focus of making
India, a super power. All the efforts he has made, has been in this direction.
His
book “Vision 2020”, is a road map for India. He has laid the manifesto for a
future India. This book can be looked up
as a ready reckoner for the legislators, when making policy decisions and for
the future citizens of this country to work on those lines to realise his dream
of a strong India.
Through
his many speeches to school children he has sown the seeds of thoughts that has
aspired then to become contributing citizen of strong nation.
His
contribution to the field of aeronautical science, space research, nuclear tests,
has put India in the map of the world, as a strong country. This has really
made other countries look up at India, as a fast emerging super power.
Dr.
Kalam’s life is spectacular. From being
born in a poor family in a rural hamlet in the southern corner of India to
reach the status of president, is not a normal fete. When we come to know of
the different incidents that has happened in his life, through his interviews
or reading his books, our respect and admiration for him grows, many fold It is
a classic example of how hard work, determination and aspiration, can take someone
to great heights in life.
Dr. Kalam
was a man of values and principles. He is someone who has “walked his
talk”. He is a portrayal of simplicity,
integrity and selfless service. He was a true visionary, who consciously stood
clear out of all political parties and remained neutral throughout his entire
career.
There
are so many things we could learn from Dr. Kalam. The most significant of
which, I think is his humility. In spite of all the greatness he has achieved,
he was a very simple, down to earth person who connected so well with the
common man, that he was always looked up as the “People’s President”
In one
of his speeches to school students, he says that, though he has invented so
many missiles, what he considers as his best invention, is the invention of the
light weight callipers, which he created using the composite material used in
building missiles. By doing so he was able to reduce the weight of the callipers
from 3 kgs to 300gms. This helped the disabled children, to walk with ease. This
he says is what brought him the most joy in his life.
In
addition to the many doctorates conferred upon him by many leading
universities, he has won many of the prestigious Indian awards including the
highest civilian award, “Bharath Ratna”. It sounded so apt when our honourable
prime minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, tweeted that “Bharath has lost a Ratna”, on
hearing the news of his demise.
Dr.
Kalam has written many quotes. The one that impressed me most was “Great
dreams of great dreamers are always transcended”. I only pray and wish
that, the great dream of making India a
super power, by the great dreamer Dr. Kalam be transcended to the future
generation. It is only by accepting responsibility to make his dream come true,
can we pay a true tribute to this great leader.
Happy Reading
D. Senthil
Kannan
Article Dated Sep 2015
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