Mar 11, 2005 03:34 PM
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(Updated Mar 11, 2005 03:34 PM)
When I first came to know that Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam is going to be the President of India, I was surprised. All my life I had seen people with distinguished political background become the president of the country but here was a man who had a strong academic and scientific background and was rising to the position of the President.
Dr. Kalam has achieved a lot more than any one can even aspire for in his life. But the greatness of this man is that he is forever humble and lays his faith in god for all the he has attained in life. Wings of Fire is the autobiography of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam which he has co-authored with Arun Tiwari, who worked with him for more than a decade at the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad.
AVUL PAKIR JAINULABDEEN ABDUL KALAAM (how many of us know his complete name?) was born in 1931 in the remote pilgrimage town of Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu. He has been one of India?s foremost space and defence scientists.
He has always endeavored to see the country as one of the best in the world. In his own words from this book, A few nations who have grown very strong technologically, over the past few centuries, have wrested control, for their own purposes. What does a country of one billion people, like India, do in such a situation? We have no other option but to be technologically strong. But, can India be a leader in the field of technologically? My answer is an emphatic ?Yes?.
The book recounts his journey from Rameswaram to ISRO to DRDO. Dr. Kalam reminisces his early days in college, the St. Joseph?s College, Trichi and the profound impact his teachers had on him. He went on to join the Madras Institute of Technology.
It was here that his love for aircrafts started. Not too many people know that while Dr. Kalam wanted to join the Indian Air Force, his parents wanted him to be a collector. He went to Dehra Dun for his interview at the Air Force but luck didn?t favor him as he finished ninth, while the Air Force were recruiting only eight. A slightly dejected Kalam came to Delhi and started working as a Senior Scientific Assistant. He realized that if he was not flying aero planes, at least he was helping them make airworthy
Dr. Kalam is almost in reverence of Prof. Vikram Sarabhai, who is regarded as the father of Indian space program. His untimely demise in 1971 had a deep impact on Dr. Kalam and was a setback to the Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) program. The first experimental flight of the SLV-3 turned out to be a failure and it brought back memories of the failed Nandi hovercraft project that Dr. Kalam had worked on years earlier. However, it was successfully launched in 1980 and the whole country rejoiced at the completely indigenous effort.
Soon drafted into the DRDO, Dr. Kalam set out to work on what turned out to be his most successful projects. In the days when world-class communication systems were unheard of in India, Dr. Kalam managed to work with more than 30 laboratories from all over the country. What he shaped up are the missiles whose names have become common among the people, like Prithvi, Agni and Akash.
The style of narrative is simple and easy to understand. Dr. Kalam has described lots of small incidents that became a part of his career as a space and defence scientist. At various points, he has compared the style of working of scientists in ISRO and DRDO and elucidated the benefits of their methods.
In a way, the book can be an eye opener as Dr. Kalam has given various instances of how he had to select his team of scientists. He always tried to keep in touch with all scientists working on various projects under him so that he could get first hand information on the projects and the problems being faced by his teams. It goes to show his skills as an efficient administrator.
Another aspect of this book is that Dr. Kalam has given a graphic account of how ISRO functioned during his time. He has described his various high-level meetings with the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and many other higher authorities of the government. After the successful launch of the SLV-3, he was conferred the Padma Bhushan in 1981, Padma Vibhushan in 1990 and the Bharat Ratna in 1997.
This book is written for the ordinary people of India. It has lots of scientific terminologies and Dr. Kalam goes on to discuss them in great detail and you will have a far greater understanding of the book if you are scientifically inclined.
Use this book as a reminder that even the most simple of all people, coming from the most backward of all regions of this country can make a successful life for themselves if they have the hard work and dedication to go together.
Dr. Kalam himself is an epitome of what he sees in the youth of India. He understands the potential we all have in us and constantly encourages us to maximize it for the benefit of our country and the society. What this book doesn?t cover is the fact that after his retirement, Dr. Kalam went on a whirlwind tour of India and met children from the remotest of all places. The youthful exuberance he saw in them forced him to write another book - Ignited Minds, specially for the youth.
Wings of Fire is for you if you want to know about the life and times of our great President Kalam. This book is for you if you want to be inspired by the achievements of a common man from Rameswaram. And this book is for you if you are looking for a role model.
After reading, I was left in awe of Dr. Kalam and wondered how he was able to achieve all he did in his life. But we need to take inspiration from people like him. Dr. Kalam is one of those few people who have a clear vision for a fully developed India, and he has done his bit for the country.
We all need to take a leaf out of his life and do our own bit and make our country proud.
