KOCHI: On the 89th birth anniversary of A P J Abdul Kalam, Dr Indira Rajan, award-winning teacher, and CEO of Vikram Sarabhai Science Foundation, remembers her association with the former Indian president and scientist
I feel blessed and fortunate to have had the opportunity to be part of educational initiatives and programmes in India and abroad alongside Dr Kalam, whom I consider my great guru and mentor.
He taught me a lot through personal examples. The most important lesson among them was “when we embark on a project, there will be a lot of challenges, but the challenges should not be the masters of the problem, we need to overcome that with willpower”. He has been a real source of inspiration and motivation.
Vikram Sarabhai Science Foundation was his brainchild, made to instil scientific fervour in the youth. During a visit to NASA in 2008, we happened to interact with a few junior science enthusiasts between 12 and 16 years of age, which inspired Dr Kalam to develop an institute to promote science. Vikram Sarabhai Science Park in Kochi headed by Dr G Madhavan Nair, former ISRO chief, is initiating science promotions nationally now.
Once, while visiting Singapore for a seminar, Dr Kalam and I happened to go to an old age home together. After the visit and interactions with the inmates, he asked me how much a Singapore dollar is worth. Later, during his speech, he offered $5,000 from his personal savings to the orphanage. That was one of the many instances when I personally witnessed a genuine humanitarian effort from him.
His love and compassion for his mother reflected in all the activities Dr Kalam engaged in. He would urge us to connect with family and nurture finer bondings with the self and the people around. Dr Kalam, all though his lectures, stressed on the role of reading in shaping a person. He used to say that an hour of reading daily would transform you into an encyclopedia of knowledge. ‘Thirukkural’ by Thiruvulluvar, the celebrated Tamil poet and philosopher, ‘Light from Many Lamps’, edited by Lillian Eichler and ‘Man the Unknown’, written by Nobel laureate and doctor-turned-philosopher Alexis Carrel are the three books that always led Dr Kalam through the right path during challenging times.
Dr Kalam showcased all eight forms of multiple intelligence in its true sense— logical/mathematical, linguistic, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, naturalist, interpersonal, and intra-personal. He loved interacting with teachers and believed that teachers have a tremendous responsibility in grooming generations. A right teacher, with constant interaction, can transform a devil into an angel. Dr Kalam used to urge students to learn the latest technology for aiding academics.
He wanted to encourage children to think for themselves and believed that unless they have dreams, they will not be motivated. Slowly, with proper effort, dreams will transform into thoughts, which in turn becomes action. Success is possible only when we have a commitment to action. He wanted to inculcate this dream-thought-action philosophy in students to make India a prosperous nation. Once, during a meeting at Wharton, being a vegetarian, he wanted to have something simple to eat.
So we mixed all the boiled vegetables and made a simple pulav, which he recollected and shared during speeches while we were together. I could see how he looked into every detail, incidents, situations and people. One innate quality Dr Kalam had, was the power to adjust to situations, no matter how hard and challenging they were. He would find a resolve and proceed. I continue to reflect on all that he has taught me, and am carrying forward the legacy he set.