THE MISSILE MAN OF INDIA IS NO MORE

The person who inspired us the most- The Missile Man of India ,The Missile Man Of Youth, The Former President A P J Abdul Kalam, a popular head of state between 2002 and 2007, an erudite scientist embellished with Bharat Ratna, died today. His demise is an irrevocable loss to the nation
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"We are all born with a divine fire in us.Our efforts should be to give wings to this fire and fill the world with the glow of its goodness.''

- APJ Abdul Kalam

We heard a voice that told us we are essential.How all our fears are limiting our potential.Said it's time to step into light and use every bit of power we have inside''. 

If the flight of seagulls intrigues him, so do flights of fancy while writing verse. The top-secret indigenous 'K' missiles, named after him, make India only the sixth country to have developed strategic undersea missiles. He lovingly tends to his head full of curls trimmed and styled once every four months; in his 70s, he was nominated for the MTV Youth Icon of the Year award in 2003 and in 2006. 

Sir Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, India's 'People's President' and 'Missile Man' who started life as a humble paperboy to supplement family income.  Born in Rameswaram on 15 October 1931, he was brought up by his boatman father Jainulabdeen in a multi-religious environment. He had seven siblings, his mother Ashimma at times, made chappatis for him, while the others were given rice, since his day would start at 4 am and end at 11 pm. Because he was a bright student and would often burn midnight oil, his mother would save up some kerosene oil for him.

He spent his growing years dreaming of conquering the space frontiers on the Arabian Sea. He introduced our country to the field of Space Research and helped India to secure the position of one of the top countries in this field. His dreams of the next two decades were mostly conjured up on the shores of the Bay of Bengal, where he test-fired a variety of short-, medium- and long-range conventional and nuclear-capable missiles for India. His interest in flying led to a degree in aeronautical engineering, and eventually to his supervising the development of India's guided missile program. He went abroad to study only once, in 1963-'64, to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States. 

He had the great opportunity and honour to work in the field of -Space Research,Defence Research and Atomic Energy.He completed his sixty years of age at 15 October 1991 and decided to devote the rest of his life in social service. He is popularly known as the Missile Man of India for his work on the development of ballistic missile and launch vehicle technology.

Kalam demonstrated the great potential for dynamism and innovations .Agni,Pritvi,Akash,Trishul and Nag- missiles that have become household names in India and have raised the nation to the level of a missile power of international reckoning.After graduating from Madras Institute of Technology (MIT – Chennai) in 1960, he joined Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as a scientist. Kalam started his career by designing a small helicopter for the Indian Army, but remained unconvinced with the choice of his job at DRDO. Later Kalam was transferred to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) where he was the project director of India's first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III) which successfully deployed the Rohini satellite near earth's orbit in July 1980. Joining ISRO was one of his biggest achievements in Kalam's life.

A P J Abdul Kalam's 79th birthday was recognized as World Student's Day by United Nations. He has also received honorary doctorates from 40 universities. The Government of India has honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 1981 and the Padma Vibhushan in 1990 for his work with ISRO and DRDO and his role as a scientific advisor to the Government. In 1997, Kalam received India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, for his immense and valuable contribution to the scientific research and modernization of defence technology in India. In 2005, Switzerland declared 26 May as science day to commemorate Kalam's visit in the country.In 2013, he was the recipient of the Von Braun Award from the National Space Society "to recognize excellence in management of and leadership for a space-related project."

At the same time he helped to create India's awesome weaponry and maintained the rigour of his personal life,working 18 hours a day and practicing veena and loving literature. With the characteristics of modesty ,Kalam ascribes the greatness of his achievements to the influence of his teachers and parents.He was a simple and ordinary person who have experience a lot of struggle in his youth and boy hood.He came from a poor background and started working at an early age to supplement his family's income.His dream was to become a pilot and fly high ,but narrowly missed achieving his dream of becoming a fighter pilot, as he placed ninth in qualifiers, and only eight positions were available in the Indian Air Force (IAF).On July 25,2002 he was sworn in as the eleventh president of India and governed India succeeding K.R Narayanan.

  Dr Kalam set a target of interacting with 100,000 students during the two years after his resignation from the post of scientific adviser in 1999. He loved to interact with students by saying- "I feel comfortable in the company of young people, particularly high school students. Henceforth, I intend to share with them experiences, helping them to ignite their imagination and preparing them to work for a developed India for which the road map is already available.''He continued to interact with students during his term as a President and also during his post-presidency period as a visiting professor at Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad and Indian Institute of Management Indore, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology Thiruvananthapuram, and a visiting faculty at many other academic and research institutions across India. He is strong supporter of Space based solar power. He continues to take an active interest in other developments in the field of science and technology.

  Dr Kalam felt that the biggest problem faced within the youths of our country was the lack of clarity of vision ,the lack of direction.the poor children living in obscure place,in an unprivileged social setting may find a little solace in the way his destiny has been shaped and helped them to liberate themselves from the bondage of their illusory backwardness and hopelessness.He is a great man who changed our country ,a great inspiration for the youth like me and a great model for all.

Lets put our hands together who endeavoured to make a better India and I conclude my words by giving out a great salute to the MISSILE MAN OF INDIA,THE MISSILE MAN OF THE YOUTH ---Dr. APJ ABDUL KALAM .

Lets dream for a better society and a better nation.When all of us dream and work for it we get a better world.  

''Dream is not what you see in sleep.It is the thing which does not let you sleep''

-Dr APJ Abdul Kalam