Though most of the scientists do not believe in the existence of God, there is a sound with transcendental vibration reverberating throughout this vast universe—‘Aham Brahmasmi’. And there are some (scientists) who do believe in the existence of the Almighty God. They see and take notice of the miraculous creations of God, they see the vast oceans on earth and Nature around them, they have their own experiences with Nature, and are inspired to have faith in God.
Rameswaram is a sacred place which accommodates Hindus, Christians and Muslims, all alike, and is a place where Abdul Kalam was born. It is a place which is symbolic of communal harmony and has known nothing of communal frenzy; it is a place which has never separated itself from the feelings of fraternity and sweet relationship. In fact, this only is a place which represents entire India with equal faith in the Ramayana, the Holy Bible and the Qur’an.
The people living here (Rameswaram) may not be rich, they may be middle class, they may be poor, but they are lucky that they are endowed with the heavenly pleasure that comes from self-sufficiency and self-respect with the first rays of the sun. The lotus-hearts of the people living here, bloom with happiness when they see pilgrims thronging this place for Darshan from all directions. The pilgrims come here in great numbers from far off places, displaying unflinching faith in the Ramayana and in the history of Lanka.
After Darshan the hearts of the pilgrims are filled with pious and sacred feelings and with devotion. This is a place where Lord Rama had offered worships to Lord Shiva, and it is for this reason that even today Rameswaram is considered a sacred place; a place in which everyone has faith. And Abdul Kalam has added to its sacredness by having been born here.
Abdul Kalam has great faith in Lord Shiva; he, while repeating the hymns of the Atharvaveda, remembers that God who is Creator of the earth, the heavens, the water; that God who is the great knower of the mantra of Creation and who assimilates all the three regions of the universe within himself.
Lapsing into the silence of reminiscences
Abdul Kalam still remembers his good old childhood days when buried in the arms of his loving mother he used to experience heavenly pleasure. He remembers the second world war days, he remembers the beautiful temples of Rameswaram, he remembers the teachings of the Swamy and the Arabic lessons that he had taken from the Maulavi (one who is specially versed in Arabic and Persian literature). Every time he visits Rameswaram, the station reminds him of those days when he used to sell newspapers. He remembers those days when he had to walk miles and miles to take lessons from the saintly teacher near the temple. He attributes all his success to his great mother who transformed herself into pious strength with kneeling and bowing five times a day in the observance of Namaz. He realizes that it was his mother’s strong piety that became his strength.
He has the sweet memory of the day when as a ten-year-old child he was sleeping on his mother’s lap on a full moon night and his mother was showering eternal love on him. His heart aches to realize that his mother is no more in the physical world. He offers his Pranams to his mother and promises to meet her on the ‘great judgement day’.
He remembers his great-grandfather Avul, his grandfather Pakir, his father Jainulabdeen; he is filled with feelings of gratitude when he remembers his elder sister Zohara who stood strongly behind him and mortgaged her gold bangles and chain in order to arrange one thousand rupees for his higher education. This was the ‘precious’ money which helped him get admission into the Madras Institute of Technology (MIT).
Abdul Kalam has not forgotten a single event of his life. He never forgot what he owed to his brothers and sister. There has never been slightest slackness in his dutifulness towards them. He still remembers that whenever he returned from Shwartz to Rameswaram, he would go to Mustafa Kamal’s (his elder brother) provision store, which was on the railway station road and help him run his shop. And after being spared by his elder brother he would go to Kasim Mohammed’s (his younger brother) shop and sell novelties made of seashells.
Ahmed Jallaluddin, his brother-in-law, was his guide and mentor in true sense. He had limited schooling, but was full of wisdom. He would discuss spiritual matters with Abdul Kalam and speak to him about educated people, of scientific discoveries, of contemporary literature, and of the achievements of medical science. And thus, he paved the way for the scientist and spiritualist in the making.
Another person is Samsuddin, his first cousin, who was the sole distributor for newspapers in Rameswaram. These newspapers would make the literate population of Rameswaram town aware of current developments in the National Independence Movements, Second World War and along with these they would learn about the Periyar E.V. Ramaswamy’s movement against high caste Hindus. ‘Dinamani’ was the most popular newspaper during those days; and it was during those very days that Abdul Kalam was inspired to earn some money by engaging himself in some work.
Among his teachers one was his science teacher, Sivasubramania Iyer, who was an orthdox Brahmin, but had great love for him. His doors were always open for him. He would shower his blessings on him and say—“Kalam, I want you to develop so that you are on par with the highly educated people of the big cities.”
His three very close friends in his childhood were Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindan, and Sivaprakasan. They came from orthodox Hindu Brahmin families, but caste or community was no bar; Abdul Kalam and his three Brahmin friends had great love for each other.
Marriage ceremony of Mother Sita and Lord Rama
Abdul Kalam and his friends used to enjoy viewing the Shri Sita Rama Kalyanam (marriage) ceremony which used to be celebrated every year. And Abdul Kalam’s faimly used to arrange boats with special platforms for carrying the idols of Mother Sita and Lord Rama from the temple to the marriage site called Rama Tirtha. This place was near the house of Abdul Kalam. The communal harmony among all the communities during those days was such that Abdul Kalam and other children in the family would enjoy being narrated the events from the Ramayana and from the life of the Prophet alike as bedtime stories by his mother and grandmother. These were stories which filled Abdul Kalam with enthusiasm and new kind of energy and became a great support for his future life.
Enrolment in Schwartz high school, ramanathapuram (Tiruchchirapalli)—1950-1954
A time came, after his primary education, when he had to depart from Rameswaram for his further education. He had to bear the pain of separation from his town, his parents, his brothers and sister and also his friends. Mahatma Gandhi’s sentence—“Indians will build their own India”—became a great source of inspiration for him. He asked his father’s permission to leave Rameswaram and study at the district headquarters in Ramanathapuram. His father, exhibiting and showering all his love and affections, said—“Abul, I know you have to go away to grow…You must forego your longing for the land of your memories to move into the dwelling place of your greater desires; our love will not bind you nor will our needs hold you.”
Seeing Abdul Kalam’s mother saddened to see her son parting, his father quoted Khalil Gibran (Lebanese nov., poet, and artist) and said—“Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They came through you but not from you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts. For they have their own thoughts.”
Adapting to the new kind of setting in Ramanathapuram was something that child Abdul Kalam was finding difficult as the coherence and harmony of Rameswaram, which he had grown up with, was missing there. He missed his home, he missed his land; and what he missed most was poli, a South Indian food his mother was expert in making. But then he would be reminded of the great hopes his father had invested in his success; he would recollect the words of his brother-in-law, Jallaluddin, which meant to teach him the power of positive thinking, and he would be filled with double energy and with determination.
Realization of his responsibilities towards fulfilling the dreams of his parents and teachers had filled him with firm determination. He was determined to make a constructive use of each and every moment of his life without allowing his mind to wander about.
The fifteen-year-old boy would remain engrossed in his books day and night. After all he had to fulfil the dreams of all his near and dear ones. He had an ideal teacher in the form of Iyadurai Solomon who guided him at each and every step—a teacher who was known among students for his open-mided attitude. The relationship between Abdul Kalam and Iyadurai Solomon had gown beyond that of mentor and protege. As an able Guru he would say—“To succeed in life and achieve results, you must understand and master three mighty forces—desire, belief, and expectation.” And these were the three mighty forces, the mastery of which enabled him to fulfil his dreams of flying high in the sky—the dreams that took shape in his early childhood days by watching cranes and seagulls soaring into flight.
He still remembers his mathematics teacher, Ramakrishna Iyer, who had caned him ones and claimed that whomsoever was caned by him was destined to become great one day. Abdul Kalam scored full makrs in mathematics. Now we realize how true and prophetic his remark was.
Study for the intermediate examination and joining the b.sc. degree course
His success in High School examination filled him with new kind of confidence. By then he had become a self-confident boy with firm determination for success.
The nearest college—St. Joseph’s college—was at Trichi where he took admission in the year 1950 to study for the intermediate examination. There he met new friends and was fortunate enough to meet a most capable teacher—Rev. Father T.N. Sequeira. He taught the students English. He was also the hostel warden of that college. He was so considerate and sincere that he would take care of each and every requirement of his students. It was in his daily routine that he would visit each student every night with a Bible in his hand and try to know if he was required to do anything for anyone. It was on his instructions that on Deepavali the Brother in charge of the hostel and the mess volunteers would visit each room in the hostel and distribute among students good gingelly oil for the ritual bath.
Abdul Kalam, despite being a Muslim, chose to become a vegetarian. But why? He says—“Of the straitened circumstances of my schooldays, the odd jobs I did to pay my school fees, and how my decision to become a vegetarian was partly due to my financial constraints as a college student—…” But this particular decision, under whatever constraints, gave him a special identity and he was made secretary of the vegetarian mess during his third year in the hostel. Abdul Kalam remembers to this day how Rev. Father Kalathil enjoyed the lunch with his students on one Sunday and how he showered his unending love on his students.
He remembers that his teachers at St. Joseph were true followers of Kanchi Parmacharya who believed in enjoying the action of giving. This was a philosophy which paved his way to ultimate heights. He also remembers his mathematics teachers, Prof. Thothathri Iyenger and Prof. Suryanarayana Sastry, who were and still are a great source of inspiration to him.
Apart from his regular studies, if there was something that attracted his attention, it was English literature. He, during that period, stole some time from his routine studies to study the great classics of Tolstoy, Scott and Hardy. And as if this was not enough, he spared himself some time to immerse himself in the study of philosophy also. Later he developed a great interest in Physics.
It was for the first time that his physics teachers, Prof. Chinna Durai and Prof. Krishnamurthy at St. Joseph’s during the lessons on subatomic physics, introduced him to the concept of the half-life period and matters related to the radioactive decay of substances. His science teacher at Rameswaram, Sivasubramania Iyer, had never taught him that most subatomic particles are unstable and that they disintegrate after a certain time into other particles. Dr. Abdul Kalam says—
“All this I was learning for the first time. But when he taught me to strive with diligence because decay is inherent in all compounded things, was he not talking of the same thing? I wonder why some people tend to see science as something which takes man away from God. As I look at it, the path of science can always wind through the heart. For me, science has always been the path to spiritual enrichment and self-realisation.”
Dr. Abdul Kalam enjoys reading about celestial bodies and reads books on cosmology with great interest. But at the same time he rejects the idea of accepting astrology as science. According to him the highly subjective conclusions derived from complicated calculations of movement of planets, star constellations and satellites exercising their enormous power on human beings bear no logic. Instead, he believes that the Earth is the most powerful and energetic planet, because it has movement and life. He says that things which are apparently inanimate, e.g. rocks, metal, timber and clay etc, are also full of intrinsic movement with electrons dancing around each nucleus. He gives his philosophical view about science and spirituality in the following lines—
“Everything solid, thus, contains much empty space within and everything stationary contains great movement within. It is as though the great dance of Shiva is being performed on earth during every moment of our existence.”
After the B.sc. degree course
Obtaining a B.Sc. degree at St. Joseph’s opened a whole new vista of avenues for young Abdul Kalam. It is only then that he realized that physics was not his subject; instead, in order to realize his dreams, he had to go into engineering. He applied for admission into the Madras Institute of Technology (MIT). This institute, at that time, was regarded as the crown jewel of technical education.
His hard work and sharp brain helped him to get selected, but admission to this prestigious institution was so expensive an affair that it was not possible for his father to meet such a huge expenditure. A total of one thousand rupees was required for admission. He was greately disappointed. He did not know what to do. And at such hour of need, seeing Abdul Kalam’s keen interest in going in for higher studies, his sister, Zohara, came forward and, without wasting a single moment and without giving a second thought, mortgaged her gold bangles and chain. This shows how determined she was to see her brother educated. Thus, the required amount of money was arranged, but Abdul Kalam was deeply touched to see his sister’s sacrifice. He vowed to himself to release the mortgaged bangles and chain of his sister with his own earnings; and this could be made possible only by studying hard and getting scholarship.
When there is firm determination, there has to be fulfilment of wishes. Firm determination brings victory over obstacles. Abdul Kalam became successful and even to this day he has not forgotten the great sacrifice made by his sister, Zohara.
At the Madras Institute of Technology (MIT)
Abdul Kalam began his studies with new enthusiasm. He was specially impressed to see the two decommissioned aircraft which were kept there for the demonstration of the various subsystems of flying machines. He had a great fascination for flying since his very early childhood. And this was the reason why after completing his first year he elected to go in for aeronautical engineering at the first available opportunity. He was no more in a state of dilemma. He had a very clear vision of his goal. He knew exactly what he should go in for, but at the same time he was conscious of his lack of assertiveness also which was mainly because of his humble background. During such hours of disappointments and distractions he would take inspiration from his father’s words—“He who knows others is learned, but the wise one is the one who knows himself. Learning without wisdom is of no use.”
Abdul Kalam considers himself fortunate to have had three ideal teachers, Prof. Sponder, Prof. K.A.V. Pandalai and Prof. Narasingha Rao, during the course of this education at MIT. They were the teachers who gave new dimensions to his thoughts; they shaped his thinking and opened new horizons for him. Their teachings laid foundation for him for his future career as a professional. Dr. Kurt Tank who was also a professor at MIT, later joined the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in Bangalore and designed HF-24 Marut, India’s first jet fighter.
The mention of the names of the above three distinguished professors in his book, ‘Wings of Fire’, shows his deep sense of gratitude towards his teachers who shaped his thinking and future. Great were those teachers who shaped their disciple into a great scientist who is now internationally recognized. It was due to their able guidance in every field of education that Abdul Kalam had his full concentration throughout on the intricacies of aeronautical science. He continued enhancing his knowledge on a regular basis.
His third and last year at MIT was a year of transition and of challenges as well. It was after finishing his course work that he was assigned a project to design a low-level attack aircraft—a project work which was shared by his four other colleagues. Abdul Kalam, in this project work, was mainly responsible for preparing and drawing the aerodynamic design. One day his design teacher, Prof. Srinivasan, then the Director of the MIT, reviewed his progress in the project work and declared that the work done by him was not up to the mark. It was Friday afternoon when Prof. Srinivasan gave him three days’ time to complete the project work and said that if the configuration drawing was not ready by Monday morning his scholarship would be stopped. This was quite a challenge for young Abdul Kalam, but being a boy of firm determination he accepted the challenge. He skipped his dinner that night and remained at the drawing board throughout that night. No sleep and hardly any food and of course his determination to work hard to complete the task brought positive results. He was almost twenty-four hours ahead of the given time. It was Sunday morning by which he had almost completed his project work. He still remembers how Prof. Srinivasan hugged him affectionately and patted his back in appreciation. This was a reward for his hard work and sincerity which he will not be able to forget all his life.
The mother-tongue of Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam is Tamil and he is proud of it. He says that the origin of Tamil language has been traced back to the period of Sage Agastya in the pre-Ramayana period and its literature dates back to the fifth century B.C. He participated in an essay competition which was organized by the MIT Tamil Sangam. He wrote his essay—“Let us make our own Aircraft”—in Tamil language. His essay was much applauded and appreciated from every corner and, ‘Devan’, the editor of the Tamil Weekly, Ananda Vikatan, selected him for first prize in the essay competition. This was encouraging, inspiring and the year in which he got the first prize became unforgettable. The sweet memories of his teachers during his college days is a treasure trove of the golden period of his academic life. He remembers his teacher, Prof. Sponder, with great love and affection. Prof. Sponder, who was an Austrian, had said while bidding him adieu—“Let God be your hope, your stay, your guide and provide the lantern for your feet in your journey into the future.”
This shows how much he loved and respected his teachers and also how much love and affection was showered on him by his teachers.
It adds to Abdul Kalam’s greatness that he still remembers his respected teachers with deep sense of gratitude towards them and with great reverence.
After having finished his education at MIT he proceeded to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited at Bangalore. He joined there as a trainee as part of a team and had to work on engine overhauling. He found his job very educative and enjoying, as, here, he was able to experience practically what he had learnt during his academic life. He worked on the overhauling of piston and turbine engines and his concepts of gas dynamics and diffusion processes in the working principle of ‘after burning’ became more clear in his mind. Apart from the job of overhauling of engines he was also trained in radial engine-cum-drum operations.
Abdul Kalam has a sweet memory of his team-mates who had no proper education in the line of engineering, but years of working on the same line had made them experts in their job. They had developed sort of an intuitive feel for the work.
