Thiruvananthapuram: It is still difficult for commando V. G. Ajith Kumar, 40, to think that Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is no more. For, he has seen Kalam from close quarters and experienced his care and warmth for the security staff since 2003. Ajith, SI, attached to the security wing of Kerala police, remembers that Kalam always enquired about the wellbeing of his security team and drivers and ensured that they all ate food in time and got adequate rest. He also took a personal interest in Ajith, a bachelor, saying that a girl was waiting for Ajith somewhere.
Ajith, who reached Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu to pay his last respects to Kalam, told DC over phone that he considered Kalam as a great teacher and a ‘guru.’ Once Kalam was told that Ajith’s sister, Dr. V. G. Sreedevi, was a child psychologist based in Dubai. Kalam then talked to her over phone and clarified some of her doubts.
“Such consideration shown by a President was unthinkable for us. Kalam Sir never asked me to give him a helping hand while entering and leaving the podium. He never sat on a special chair and never drank water or juice with a straw,” said Ajith, a Peroorkada native.
Kalam used to take two slices of papaya and half a glass of warm milk before going to bed every night. Last February, when Kalam came here to attend the convocation of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, he realised that the driver of the official car was retiring that month. When the car came to a halt, Kalam gave him a shawl and a memento which he had received from the IISST, making the driver beam with pride.
