APJ Abdul Kalam.

Shell Shocked.

The greatest President India has ever seen, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, passed away this evening after a heart attack. I feel sorry for the nation who lost such an eminent and a respected scholar.

I was very small when he was the President of this country. Yet I have vague memories of that time, each better than the last. One of my earliest memories of him was the time when he had come to our school for a function. I don’t remember much of his speech but I remember how he had the audience spellbound with his words. The entire auditorium was bathed in his words of wisdom. I remember how at ease he was when he talked to the children, how cordial with the adults, and how the each word that came from his mouth resonated with everyone present at some subconscious level.

Also an accomplished physicist working at ISRO, he was a respected person, a philanthropist, an educationist, a courageous soul, who despite many adversities, carved a niche for himself. He was a visionary who lived to a glorious and a ripe age of 84.

I’m honored to have met him and have learnt something from his respected life. I feel it that I owe it to him to read his book, “Wings Of Wire” that had been laying in my bookshelf for the past 2-3 years. It’ll be my way of showing how much I looked upto him as a human being.

Rest in peace, Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam. You are truly an inspiration.

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam at our school.

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