A great legend in Indian history has passed away due to an acute illness. heart attack while delivering a lecture on Livable Planet Earth at the Indian Institute of Management Shillong .
Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam 15.10.1931-27.07.2015.
You may not know who he is. He was an outstanding scientist with an infinite amount of knowledge and experience, from 2002-2007 he was the President of India.
The chief architect of India's aerospace program. He also enjoyed 30 honorary doctorates from various universities and institutions, and published several books. His contributions to India and humanity are one of the reasons why India became a nuclear superpower, here are some of the awards he received:
1997 – BHARAT RATNA
1981 – PADMA BHUSHAN
1990 – PADMA VIBHUSHAN
1997 – INDIRA GANDHI
1998 – VEER SAVARKAR AWARD
2000 – RAMANUJAN AWARD
2007 KING CHARLES II AWARD
2009- HOOVER MEDAL
2009 – INTERNATIONAL VON KARMAN WINGS AWARD
2011 – IEE HONARAY MEMBERSHIP
The United Nations Organization (UNO) has declared his birthday, 15 October, to be World Student Day!
Here are some excerpts and summaries from his biography, I recently read it in Hindi:
My parents were illiterate and I was one of their many children. I grew up in a solid 19th century house in Rameshwaram (Tamil Nadu in southern India) on Masjid Street. We lived in a Muslim neighborhood, but with several Hindus as our closest neighbors and 10 minutes from the popular Shiva temple. Every afternoon I went with my father to the mosque for prayers. All in all, I had a secure Tamil middle-class childhood both materially and emotionally. I have always tried to follow what my father taught me, to have faith in a higher power. My father used to say when problems come in life, try to understand the reason. Problems give you an opportunity to test yourself and your strength.
One of my strongest memories from my childhood is how my father and my best friend, who was the chief priest in the Hindu temple, dressed in their various traditional costumes, would spend hours discussing big spiritual topics. My father could explain big topics in such a simple way.
A child has some innate qualities, the rest are influenced and learned by society and during upbringing, from my father I got self-discipline and have faith in myself. From my mother I inherited the belief in being good and merciful.
Not only was my childhood different, but the rest of my life was also positively influenced by several people, including my cousin, brother-in-law, several professors and colleagues. Not least my sister Zohra who sold her gold bracelets and gold necklace to raise 1000 rupees for my further education.
I was always fascinated by birds flying over the sea and I must admit that I was the first bird to “fly” from Rameshwaram. I was sure that one day I would fly over great heights.
After graduating, I started my career in the defence as a senior scientific assistant with a salary of 250 rupees per month, I stayed there for three years! After several promotions, I got a call from ICSR; Indian Committee for Space Research.
In Inco spar I was hired as a rocket engineer and was sent to NASA in the USA for further training for 6 months in connection with responsibility for launching India's own rocket.
"Before the trip to the USA, I spent a few days in my hometown and my father was very proud and happy. Together we went to the mosque to pay our respects with a thank you namaz (Muslim prayer)."
I missed the peace and quiet of Rameshwaram”.
The dream of an Indian rocket in the 20th century was a continuation of that in the 18th century, in 1799 after the fall of Tipu Sultan (an Indian ruler who resisted the East India Company's conquest of southern India) (that will have to be a separate post!), the English found 700 rockets and 900 rocket systems which were all sent to England for exploration and understanding.
Thanks to Jawaharlal Nehru, the dream came back to life after about 150 years and many had trouble understanding the priority of it when there were still so many people who did not get 2 meals a day.
The goal was not power, but to occupy an important arena if India was to have a position and respect in the world in technology and knowledge.
He talks in detail about the rocket projects (names in italics).
“July 18, 1980 India's first launch of Rohini into the Universe. India was included in the count of countries with a successful rocket. There was a congratulatory message from Mrs. Indira Gandhi. I was sad that my closest supporters were no longer with me for the experience, but at the same time I felt pride, joy and gratitude for the accomplishment.”
“On Constitution Day, 26 January 1981, I received the good news of being awarded the Padma Bhushan. I filled the room with the shehnai music of Bismillah Khan, which took me to Rameshwaraman. Mother hugged me, Father stroked my hair, my brother-in-law announced the good news in the streets and Sister Zohra distributed sweets among friends and neighbours. Father’s friend the temple priest blessed me with tika, the priest from my college days blessed me and several professors were proud of me.”
February 2, 1988 was the first testing of Pritvi , which was an important model for the future. This created great unrest in our neighboring countries, Western countries reacted by banning the sale of parts that were necessary for our production.
Agni (fire): more than 500 scientists were involved. April 30, 1989 was the big day and nearby villages were evacuated. Pressure increased from the media, just seconds before the launch, it was stopped due to a malfunction in a part.
There was a lot of joking and joking in the media about the obstacles in the implementation. I especially remember the words "Everything was fine, only the starter didn't work".
10 days of diligent work were spent finding the error.
The same fatal thing happened again 10 seconds before start, we received a signal of an error from the computer.
I was filled with anger and disappointment both mentally and physically. The defeat filled me with unrest, I was not satisfied with the explanations and took the failure on my mantle as project manager.
FINALLY!
For me, it was a wonderful morning after a long night of nightmares.
5 years of hard work and the efforts of many thousands of hours of work were rewarded in those 600 seconds that gave me a sense of perfection. My ideal was not to perceive Agni as a symbol of success, it is a shining tilak on the forehead of Mother India and the burning energy of all Indians' hopes to succeed.”
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My summary:
This was a strong and different book, I perceive him as a warm and down-to-earth person. Strongly committed and almost in love with his subject. "For me it was like a romantic affair between the clouds and me". He writes about his disappointments and joys in his career, closeness and ties to family and supervisors without mentioning anything about why he never married. His childhood and special experiences are reproduced in detail without him letting you into his private life or other activities as an adult.
Born into a Muslim Tamil family but with great respect for Hinduism and Christianity (went to a Christian college), it was particularly moving to read about his achievements and when he lost his loved ones. He describes secular India well, where he bathes in the Ganges and tells of his meeting with Swami Shivananda in Rishikesh. "He reminded me of Buddha with his chalk-white garments and impressed me with his simplicity and childlike smile. He said if your wish is "pure", real, deep and heartfelt, it has a strange electromagnetic energy/attraction. A force that comes out into the universe when you sleep and through a speed like stars and planets, back to the brain with the sunrise. Believe my statement that your wish will come true and spring will come again as surely as the sun rises every morning".
This episode explains his theory of achieving something was first and foremost; having a burning desire for something. In order to enjoy a good life and achieve success, it was important to have three qualities: desire, faith, and hope.
When asked what he wanted to celebrate the success of the Agni project, he replied:
To honor Mother Earth by planting 100,000 trees!
In scientific circles it is common to be offered unimaginable sums of money and a promising future abroad, but this great man never chose to sell his knowledge but only to serve his country with his service. A great tribute to such a soul.
ABOUT SHANTI.
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Asul and pamandi, pabandi and sakhti,