Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, who has been every Indian’s most favourite President, passed away on July 27, 2015. The beloved scientist, who was the 11th president of our nation died following a cardiac arrest while delivering a lecture at Indian Institute of Management, Shillong.
Looking at the glorious chronicles of the life of Dr.Kalam, it is not surprising that he was bestowed the luck of passing away while doing what he loved to do- Teaching. “If people will remember me as a good teacher, that will be the biggest honour for me,” he had said in an interview to a national daily on Teacher’s Day the year before his death.
Born as Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, Dr. Kalam has many extraordinary achievements to his credit. After India found its Missile Man in his scientific genius, the poet, writer, and Bharat Ratna awardee went on to head the nation as the 11th President of India from 2005-2007. However, his journey as a teacher went on unabated, as he continued to touch the lives and ignite the minds of everyone he came to meet. He was lovingly called ‘The People’s President’.
A man who rose to hold the highest office in the nation by the sheer virtue of hard work, he always encouraged the students to give better than the best to their goals. His love and admiration for the generation of tomorrow were reciprocated with the same passion and he was indeed the apple of children’s eyes. Not only did he open the gates and lawns of Rashtrapati Bhavan to hordes of school students and children, but also took out time to listen to their ideas, give feedbacks and even followed up on occasions on the status of implementation. Memorabilia from such visits were shared by many at the time of his death, when the whole nation came together to pour in expressions of grief and pride at the same time.
He continued to share his vision with the medium of writing, something he loved to do and fervently pursued, till the end of his life, penning many books including his remarkable autobiography Wings of Fire.
