I was in class 9 back then. One summer afternoon, a very inspiring teacher brought a book into the class. It read "Wings of Fire". I was curious. It was supposed to be a lecture for biology. She described, how important it was for all of us to read that book, not for the academics, but for a much greater chapter of our lives. And she read out a few pages. Some people dozed off. Some were irritated. But I sat there, listening with all my senses, with reduced breathing to concentrate better. At d end of d class, she called me up and handed me the book, and asked me to read it and take notes of all d things I feel, are inspiring. It was no less than a reward. And so it found its way into my daily dose of inspiration. A few hundred pages later, I was a wiser man.
I had always heard of Abdul Kalam being a great scientist, the missile man. But I never knew about his writings. This was a story of small boy from a tiny fisherman village of Rameshwaram, who paved his way to being the most important reason behind the success of India’s biggest satellite launch program. It could have been a simple narrative of his struggles. But no, he had laced it up with wise thoughts, quotations and words of wisdom. The book made me realize the importance of our dreams and what we should do to fulfill them. It preached the idea of how our failures define our achievements. There were of course a few heavy words- PSLV’s, Payloads etc etc. But then they all appeared to be mere objects in explanation of a much superior meaning.
And I penned down all those important quotes and thoughts into my personal diary. By the time I finished reading, I had started idolizing this man. Over the years, every now and then, I kept coming across bits of news about how this man was busy preaching, motivating the youth and setting examples. I always wanted to meet him in person. I do not believe in religion. But I know, this was a man closest to God. I wanted to see him, not to get an autograph, not to get a selfie, but to actually worship him as a follower of his belief. This was a person I always wanted to impersonate.
Sadly, with his demise, the dream to worship my god has shattered. But more importantly, the youth of our nation has lost a personality to motivate, to fill them with optimism, to make them believe that all dreams can be brought to life. This is the end of an era. Perhaps, the biggest loss to nation since Mahatma Gandhi. Years later, when I would be old and surrounded by children, I shall recall his example, time and again and feel proud that I was born and had lived in an era that was nourished by the thoughts of Abdul Kalam.
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