Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam usually known Dr.
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, was the 11th President of India, serving from
2002 to 2007, he is one of the few presidents who have touched the
hearts thats why during his term as President, he was popularly known as
the People's President. In India he is highly respected as a scientist
and as an engineer. He is popularly known as the Missile Man of India
for his work on development of ballistic missile and space rocket
technology.
Stories of extreme hardship, braving impossible odds and innumerable
sacrifices, abound in the lives of nearly 90 percent of the students in
the country. But among them, some perform exceptionally well. Their
academic laurels are so brilliant, that at times their CV looks
intimidating. And each one acknowledges that it's the right education
that made them what they are today.
Several months back, after finishing
an interview with Dr APJ Kalam, and just before leaving his Rajaji Marg
residence he made me repeat these three words in a schoolteacher's tone:
perseverance, hard work and patience.
This, he said, was alone the path to progress. Later, much later, I
realised, that those were the very words he's lived by all through his
life. They are both philosophical and practical, quite like the world he
grew up in as a boy in the island town of Rameswaran, in south India.
His father, a humble boat owner, Jainulabdeen, was a devout Muslim and a
close friend of the Rameswaran temple priest. Kalam was brought up in a
multi-religious, tolerant society; one with a progressive outlook. His
father often quoted from the Quran to make the young Kalam see the world
without fear. He had seven siblings, and a doting mother who, at times,
made chappatis for Kalam, while the others were given rice as Kalam's
day would start at four in the morning and end at 11 pm.
His father wasn't educated, but he wanted Kalam to study. Kalam would
get up at 4 am, bathe, and then go for his mathematics class, which was
taught by a teacher who took only five students in the whole session;
and bathing before class was a condition he had laid to all his
students. After his morning class, Kalam along with his cousin Samsuddin
went around town distributing the newspaper. As the town had no
electricity, kerosene lamps were lit at his home between 7 pm and 9 pm.
But because Kalam studied until 11, his mother would save some for him
for later use.
Being a bright student, Kalam always had the support of his
schoolteachers. Schwarzt High School's Iyadurai Solomon often told Kalam
that if he truly, intensely desired something, he would get it. "This
made me fearless," said Dr Kalam. And outside school, Ahmed Jallaluddin,
who later became his brother-in-law, and Samsuddin, encouraged Kalam to
appreciate nature's wonders. So at once, while growing up, he was
exposed to a religious and a practical way of looking at the world.
The flight of birds had fascinated him since he was a boy, but it was
years later he realised that he wanted to fly aircrafts. After finishing
school, he took up Physics at St Joseph's College, Trichi, but towards
the end he was dissatisfied. When he discovered aeronautical
engineering, he regretted having lost three precious years. But he was
glad to have discovered Leo Tolstoy, Thomas Hardy and F Scott Fitzgerald
and other English poets in his college years.
At Madras Institute of Technology (MIT), Chennai, where Kalam studied
aeronautics, he learnt an important lesson: the value of time. He was
leading a project on system design, when one day the principal walked
into the class to see his work. He appeared dissatisfied and told Kalam
that he wanted the project finished in the next two days; else his
scholarship aid would be withdrawn. That unsettled Kalam; years of his
father's hardships would come to naught. Kalam worked without food and
sleep. On the last day, his professor came to check on his progress. He
was impressed and said: "I was putting you under stress and asking you
to meet a difficult deadline," recounted Dr Kalam.
Although Kalam has led several projects in his professional life, he's
treated each like his last. Such was his passion. No wonder, he's always
led projects. His advisor, Major General R Swaminathan explained
Kalam's success as a leader. "He has this unique capability of being a
boss as well as a worker. He can take on any role with ease."
When Dr Kalam's first major project SLV 3-failed the first time he was
almost shattered. Also, around this time, Kalam's childhood mentor,
Jallaluddin, died. "A part of me too passed away..." said Dr Kalam. But
he never thought of quitting after SLV-3. "I knew that for success, we
have to work hard and persevere." And so, SLV-3 was launched again, this
time with success. He drew strength from philosophy, religion and
literature to tide by his professional setbacks; also a life with few
companions. In time, he also learnt to deal with professional jealousy
and uncooperative team members.
Kalam played a pivotal organisational, technical and political role in
India's Pokhran-II nuclear test in 1998, the first since the original
nuclear test by India in 1974. He is chancellor of Indian Institute of
Space Science and Technology (Thiruvanthapuram), a professor at Anna
University (Chennai) and adjunct/visiting faculty at many other academic
and research institutions across India.
Success followed Dr Kalam. Prithvi, Agni, Akash, Trishul and Nag
missiles were huge successes. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan and
Bharat Ratna, and then he became the President of India; one of the few
presidents who have touched the hearts of so many poor children in the
country. Because he also came from a poor background, he knew the power
of education in changing one's future.
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