Today marks the sixth year since we lost Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the man who selflessly served our Nation for decades by being a scientist, a mentor, a leader, a President, and more importantly an inspiration for many in the process of becoming all of the above. He died on this day in the year 2015 of cardiac arrest while delivering a lecture at IIM (Indian Institute of Management) in Shillong however the Nation still remembers him.
Born and raised in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, Dr. Kalam has been keenly interested in physics since an early age. His scientific journey from inventing Nandhi, a double engine powered hovercraft that managed to fly above 1 foot from the ground to launching India’s first successful SLV (Satellite Launch Vehicle), his contribution towards aerospace engineering is remarkable.
After his invention of the Nandhi hovercraft, he was invited for an interview to be a rocket engineer at INCOSPAR where he met Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, one of Kalam’s biggest idols for the first time. In 1962, when NASA Program was organised and INCSR wanted to send 10 young scientists for training, Kalam was one among those ten trainees sent by Vikram Sarabhai, that’s when Kalam got his first project. Even during his Presidency tenure, he made a visit to Ahmedabad when it had gone through bloody riots(Godhra Kand) which took thousands of lives. He visited the riot-prone areas to talk to the people by which PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee was discomfited.
The Nation still remembers him for his virtues. Social media is flooded with posts giving tribute to Dr. Kalam. The Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu, DRDO, and many other admirers took to Twitter giving tribute to “Bharat Ratna” A.P.J. Kalam on his death anniversary.
