Abdul Kalam: Open book for youngsters

Abdul Kalam became the 11th President of India in 2002 at the age of 70. Before that he was a scientist working at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thumba. He played a key role in the Space and nuclear science advancements. This scientist-President had many Firsts to his credit, things like his Submarine adventure and a flight in the supersonic SU-30 aircraft. After coming out of the aircraft in Pune Kalam said that as a child he dreamt of becoming a pilot and the flight made his dream fulfilled. To the youngsters Kalam famously said that” You have to dream before your dreams can come true”.

Kalam was in the habit of meticulously reading all the papers, petitions, and books that were sent to him. When requests from people in the street come for help, Kalam would act compassionately. He would personally mark them for a discussion in the ”Morning Meeting” every day. He was also very particular that his staff would send replies to all of them. Generosity was his middle name and empathy, his second nature. According to Nair, Kalam had a photographic memory and he would quote lines effortlessly from the books sent for his reading. He was a voracious reader and he left behind thousands of books in his personal library.

Kalam had a knack to recognize talent and creativity in others and he often stepped out to encourage young and promising artists in this regard. As a result many up-coming artists even from remote places were given opportunities in cultural programs held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Kalam was a man of principles and above board in everything he did. When about 52 relatives of Kalam came calling on him in Rashtrapati Bhavan,Kalam asked his staff to make all arrangements for them. They stayed in Delhi for eight days and visited many places in and around the Capital. No Government vehicle was used for them and Kalam footed a bill of about 3.5 Lakhs from his pocket for their stay at Rashtrapati Bhavan! Again on his maiden Ramzan festival in Rashtrapati Bhavan in 2002,Kalam cancelled the traditional official iftar dinner usually attended by the rich and the powerful. Instead he asked his staff to spend that amount (about 2.5 lakhs) on orphanages of all regions and denominations. Besides that he spent one lakh from his pocket on this occasion!

During his official visit to the University of Mauritius, a student there asked Kalam about his childhood days. Kalam told him that like Einstein, he too had a troubled childhood, every morning he went on a bicycle to distribute newspapers and studied under a kerosene lamp.

Kalam encouraged everyone around him to express their thoughts, ideas, and views without any fear. Even his Secretary and other staff members were allowed to say what they thought about him, his actions, and his views. He was against Death Sentence and during his tenure he didn’t take any decisions on the numerous mercy petitions.

From Kalam and his spartan ways of living and conducting himself, there is a lot for all of us to learn and in particular for our youngsters.