A P J Kalam
Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, also known as Missile Man of India, has an interesting life history with intricate lanes of hardships and ambition.
As a child, the former President was fond of reading stories about aircrafts and planes. With passing days, his love and passion towards science rocket engineering and space flight developed.
"My science teacher's name was Sivasubramania Iyer. One day, the topic of discussion in our class of 65 was 'how birds fly'. Look how the birds are flapping their wings, now see how they change direction using their wings and tail. The teacher told the students that the same principles make an aircraft fly and within an hour of the lesson," explained in the book Reignited: Scientific Pathways to a Brighter Future.
The book, co-authored by Dr Kalam and his former scientific advisor Srijan Pal Singh, mentions that that single lecture transformed his life when he was in class V. After schooling, he joined the Madras Institute of Technology for studying Aerospace Engineering.
At the age of 10, Dr Kalam took up his first job as a newspaper boy. Before distributing the newspapers, he used to read the Dinamani's first page with photographs of fighter aircraft and stories of Second World War.
"I used to sit on the bench there and open the bundle and carefully pluck out a copy of the daily newspaper Dinamani," narrates Dr Kalam in his book.
The mentor who changed Dr. Kalam’s life was Rishikesh Swami Sivananda, according to his book Wings of Fire. He became a national hero after helping oversee the nuclear tests in 1998.
While Dr Kalam always faced the press following failed tests at ISRO, he also accepted responsibility for his mistakes. Howver, he never claimed the credit for any of the massive successes achieved at the organisation.
About Kalam:
Date of birth: October 15, 1931
Died on: July 27, 2015
Education Life:
Completed Schooling from Schwartz Higher Secondary School, Ramanathapuram.
Graduated in Physics in 1954 from Saint Joseph’s College, Tiruchirappalli.
Aerospace Engineering in 1955 from Madras Institute of Technology.
Achievement
Dr Kalam was the third President of India to have been honored with a Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honor, before becoming the President.
He is known as Missile Man of India. The tag was given to him because of his contribution to the ballistic missile. He served as the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of the Defence Research and Development Organisation from July 1992 to December 1999.
