Abdul Kalam had the curiosity of a child
Abdul Ghani takes the first selfie with former President Abdul Kalam (Photo: DC)
I always call him thatha. I am a regular in all his household functions. And I assist and help those who come to the city from his hometown of Rameswaram.
A few years back, I attended Kalam sir thattha’s birthday. I and my friends did an anthem Me and Abdul Kalam as a tribute to Kalam sir. He called me and said, ‘Why do you make an anthem in my name? Instead, do something for society’. He was that kind of a person. I have never seen such a selfless leader in my life.
Abdul Kalam had the curiosity of a child. He never lost his sense of wonder even at the old age of 83. Recently, I wanted to take a selfie picture with him. When switched on the mobile camera, he was surprised to see his picture on the screen and exclaimed ‘hey I am seeing my picture’. That’s the first time he was taking selfie picture. I felt I was blessed.
Whenever I met him he presented me one book and after one or two days he will ask questions from the book. His knowledge and wisdom was unmatched and incomparable. If Gandhiji is called Father of Nation, Abdul Kalam can be called ‘Teacher of the Nation’.
He wanted to see India as a ‘developed country’ in 2020. He was working towards this mission and vision. He strongly believed in ‘Youth Power.’ He motivated youth by his speeches. He was the only President who met 18 crore youth and students across the globe. And he was a great inspiration for several thousand youth across the world. Despite his high status, he broke protocol and visited the nook and corner of villages, went to a roadside tea shop. He lived a simple life.
(Ghani is an environmentalist and social activist)
(As told to Anupama Subramanian)
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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