June 2000
I was in the 7th grade and we had two months summer break. Our English teacher Ms.Mary Kutty had given us an assignment. We had to read two books and write a review on both of them and turn in the assignment. I wasn't an avid reader and from what I remember now I had read The Secret Seven, a few books on Hardy Boys, The adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn apart from some of the other books prescribed in our syllabus. That was the when I had a chance to read "Wings of Fire" by APJ Abdul Kalam and I got associated with him. This was his autobiography and it narrated his journey from humble beginnings in Rameshwaram to becoming the missile-man of India. Reading the book was motivating and inspiring. It taught me to dream and to dare. I also loved the early description of his town and how life would be in the India of 40's and 50's.
This was also the same time some of my classmates and me were participating in a challenge - NASA's Red Rover Goes to Mars. Ms. Shivani Parikh, our Science teacher had brought this to our knowledge and we had to solve specific questions around the spacecraft to Mars. The selected participants would get a chance to visit the NASA Facility in Maryland. ( The same facility in which Dr.Kalam went as an aspiring scientist and he recollects that in the Wings of Fire book). We had to send in our answers to the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad. This was the pre-google, internet era. It was the era of books publishing scientific experiments, installing CD's such as Encarta and Britannica.Reading Wings of Fire and learning about satellites and space helped me connect my ideas.
Thus my fascination with Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam began.
December 2000
I was a quizzer in school. I would participate in every GK Quiz.
Our school was participating in the Jayaben Thakkar Inter School Quiz Competition in Vadodara.
Two of us from 7th grade would get selected in the quiz. The quiz was on famous Indian personalities. In the pre qualifier round in school I vividly remember of the 10 questions asked One question was "Who acted as the scientific advisor to the Government of India and is the missile man of India". No prizes for guessing I did get that answer right. Eventually, I went on to represent my school at Tejas Vidyalaya along with Sahil Chabbda. Ms.Ekbote, our Social Science teacher inspired us to prepare well and eventually we went on to win that quiz. ( Surprisingly we were last till the 3rd round and put on the gas in the rapid fire round to come out as winners).
February 2001
Dr. Kalam visited Kutcch to see the relief efforts that were being carried out.
He visited the BAPS relief site and was impressed how BAPS Charities had taken care of the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the affected. I read this news and saw the pictures when they were published in the "Swaminarayan Prakash" , in the following month's edition and loved the fact that my hero - Dr.Kalam got associated with my favorite charity organization.
September 2002
I was participating in the Hindi Nibandh Lekhan Pratyogita. It went in this way: All the participants would gather in the AV room beside the Computer Lab. We would be given topics on the spot and 2 hours to finish the Essay. One of the topics was 'Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam'. He had recently been entrusted as the 'President of India'. I do recollect on seeing the topic I had absolutely no doubt on what was I going to write. My pen started flowing and I wrote everything that I remembered. From his humble beginnings to the story on satellites on bullock carts and cycles.Such was his inspiration that I had memorised his date of birth and his full name( APJ). To how Dr.Vikram Sarabhai and Dr.Satish Dhawan inspired him. Leading the missile development programme that has gited us the Prithvi, Trishul, Akash, Nag, and Agniand established India's self-reliance in defense. To Operation Smiling Buddha( 1998 nuclear tests). To him becoming the President. A little unkown work of Dr.Kalam is light-weight calipers that help those affected by Polio. One of the lines I wrote in the essay " If kids remember 14th November as Children's Day because of the birthday of Chacha Nehru, Dr.Kalam will be fondly recalled as the best president India ever had". I guess, the love I had for him did translate well into words and made me win the 1st prize in the competition( Never ever had I won a prize in an Essay writing competition be it English or Hindi).
February 2004
His Excellency Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam was the chief guest at the 50th anniversary of BAPS Bal Mandal which was celebrated at Swaminarayan Akshardham, Gandhinagar. It is here that he inspired 20,000 kids to dream, work and live for the country. He shared his vision for India in 2020 and the areas one has to focus on in order to achieve it. This was highly motivating because it was coming from Dr.Kalam and not any other political leader.
November 2005
His Excellency Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Leader of Opposition LK Advani were the chief guests for the opening ceremony of Swaminarayan Akshardham in New Delhi. In his speech Dr.Kalam said(video in the link) " How can you mix spirituality and social service ? How can you separate the two ? Those who wish to sincerely serve the society must be spiritually pure and only those who are spiritually pure can serve the society and serve the nation".
These words had a great impact on me. They made me realize that one must think about Nation First. About Society and be spiritually pure. Because charity begins at home !
July 2011.
This was the instant when I had the opportunity to observe Dr.Kalam from close quarters. He was visiting Swaminarayan Akshardham for the opening of the book "Hinduism: An Introduction". One of the tasks involved removing his shoes and putting them in a bag. There was a volunteer who would take care of that. But Kalam, insisted that he himself put his shoes inside the bag. If there is one thing that reflected his humility than it was this task. If you are the ex-president and a man of this stature you would have servants and people who do things for you.But even in this small task his respect for others was visible. It is here he said " Where there is righteousness in the heart there is beauty in character. Where there is beauty in character there is harmony in the home. Where there is harmony in the home there is order in the nation. Where there is order in the nation there is peace in the world"
June 2015 - Transcendence
Most recently he has collected his experiences in a book "Transcendence: My Spiritual Experiences with Pramukh Swamiji" which I had the fortune of reading last week. It brilliantly portrays his thoughts and personal experiences on the fusion of spirituality and science, on how can we be spiritual in everyday life and how compassion and cooperation are so crucial.
During the dedication ceremony Dr. Kalam presented an autographed copy to Pramukh Swami Maharaj and said, “You are a great teacher. From you I’ve learnt to eradicate I-ness and My-ness in life.” Dr. Kalam then read some passages from his book before Swamishri and asked him to bless all those who have helped him in making the book possible.
And today we are certainly heartbroken that Dr.Kalam isn't amongst us. But we should keep him alive in ourselves by achieving what he dreamt for. Let us pledge to make India:2020 a Reality.
Let us make our country "Kalam's India" , the country he envisioned.
I was in the 7th grade and we had two months summer break. Our English teacher Ms.Mary Kutty had given us an assignment. We had to read two books and write a review on both of them and turn in the assignment. I wasn't an avid reader and from what I remember now I had read The Secret Seven, a few books on Hardy Boys, The adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn apart from some of the other books prescribed in our syllabus. That was the when I had a chance to read "Wings of Fire" by APJ Abdul Kalam and I got associated with him. This was his autobiography and it narrated his journey from humble beginnings in Rameshwaram to becoming the missile-man of India. Reading the book was motivating and inspiring. It taught me to dream and to dare. I also loved the early description of his town and how life would be in the India of 40's and 50's.
This was also the same time some of my classmates and me were participating in a challenge - NASA's Red Rover Goes to Mars. Ms. Shivani Parikh, our Science teacher had brought this to our knowledge and we had to solve specific questions around the spacecraft to Mars. The selected participants would get a chance to visit the NASA Facility in Maryland. ( The same facility in which Dr.Kalam went as an aspiring scientist and he recollects that in the Wings of Fire book). We had to send in our answers to the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad. This was the pre-google, internet era. It was the era of books publishing scientific experiments, installing CD's such as Encarta and Britannica.Reading Wings of Fire and learning about satellites and space helped me connect my ideas.
Thus my fascination with Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam began.
December 2000
I was a quizzer in school. I would participate in every GK Quiz.
Our school was participating in the Jayaben Thakkar Inter School Quiz Competition in Vadodara.
Two of us from 7th grade would get selected in the quiz. The quiz was on famous Indian personalities. In the pre qualifier round in school I vividly remember of the 10 questions asked One question was "Who acted as the scientific advisor to the Government of India and is the missile man of India". No prizes for guessing I did get that answer right. Eventually, I went on to represent my school at Tejas Vidyalaya along with Sahil Chabbda. Ms.Ekbote, our Social Science teacher inspired us to prepare well and eventually we went on to win that quiz. ( Surprisingly we were last till the 3rd round and put on the gas in the rapid fire round to come out as winners).
February 2001
Dr. Kalam visited Kutcch to see the relief efforts that were being carried out.
He visited the BAPS relief site and was impressed how BAPS Charities had taken care of the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the affected. I read this news and saw the pictures when they were published in the "Swaminarayan Prakash" , in the following month's edition and loved the fact that my hero - Dr.Kalam got associated with my favorite charity organization.
September 2002
I was participating in the Hindi Nibandh Lekhan Pratyogita. It went in this way: All the participants would gather in the AV room beside the Computer Lab. We would be given topics on the spot and 2 hours to finish the Essay. One of the topics was 'Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam'. He had recently been entrusted as the 'President of India'. I do recollect on seeing the topic I had absolutely no doubt on what was I going to write. My pen started flowing and I wrote everything that I remembered. From his humble beginnings to the story on satellites on bullock carts and cycles.Such was his inspiration that I had memorised his date of birth and his full name( APJ). To how Dr.Vikram Sarabhai and Dr.Satish Dhawan inspired him. Leading the missile development programme that has gited us the Prithvi, Trishul, Akash, Nag, and Agniand established India's self-reliance in defense. To Operation Smiling Buddha( 1998 nuclear tests). To him becoming the President. A little unkown work of Dr.Kalam is light-weight calipers that help those affected by Polio. One of the lines I wrote in the essay " If kids remember 14th November as Children's Day because of the birthday of Chacha Nehru, Dr.Kalam will be fondly recalled as the best president India ever had". I guess, the love I had for him did translate well into words and made me win the 1st prize in the competition( Never ever had I won a prize in an Essay writing competition be it English or Hindi).
February 2004
His Excellency Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam was the chief guest at the 50th anniversary of BAPS Bal Mandal which was celebrated at Swaminarayan Akshardham, Gandhinagar. It is here that he inspired 20,000 kids to dream, work and live for the country. He shared his vision for India in 2020 and the areas one has to focus on in order to achieve it. This was highly motivating because it was coming from Dr.Kalam and not any other political leader.
November 2005
His Excellency Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Leader of Opposition LK Advani were the chief guests for the opening ceremony of Swaminarayan Akshardham in New Delhi. In his speech Dr.Kalam said(video in the link) " How can you mix spirituality and social service ? How can you separate the two ? Those who wish to sincerely serve the society must be spiritually pure and only those who are spiritually pure can serve the society and serve the nation".
These words had a great impact on me. They made me realize that one must think about Nation First. About Society and be spiritually pure. Because charity begins at home !
July 2011.
This was the instant when I had the opportunity to observe Dr.Kalam from close quarters. He was visiting Swaminarayan Akshardham for the opening of the book "Hinduism: An Introduction". One of the tasks involved removing his shoes and putting them in a bag. There was a volunteer who would take care of that. But Kalam, insisted that he himself put his shoes inside the bag. If there is one thing that reflected his humility than it was this task. If you are the ex-president and a man of this stature you would have servants and people who do things for you.But even in this small task his respect for others was visible. It is here he said " Where there is righteousness in the heart there is beauty in character. Where there is beauty in character there is harmony in the home. Where there is harmony in the home there is order in the nation. Where there is order in the nation there is peace in the world"
June 2015 - Transcendence
Most recently he has collected his experiences in a book "Transcendence: My Spiritual Experiences with Pramukh Swamiji" which I had the fortune of reading last week. It brilliantly portrays his thoughts and personal experiences on the fusion of spirituality and science, on how can we be spiritual in everyday life and how compassion and cooperation are so crucial.
During the dedication ceremony Dr. Kalam presented an autographed copy to Pramukh Swami Maharaj and said, “You are a great teacher. From you I’ve learnt to eradicate I-ness and My-ness in life.” Dr. Kalam then read some passages from his book before Swamishri and asked him to bless all those who have helped him in making the book possible.
And today we are certainly heartbroken that Dr.Kalam isn't amongst us. But we should keep him alive in ourselves by achieving what he dreamt for. Let us pledge to make India:2020 a Reality.
Let us make our country "Kalam's India" , the country he envisioned.
2 comments:
How do you remember dates?
Internal mapping of each year with class in school. We can give it a shot next time we meet.
Post a Comment