APJ Abdul Kalam’s lesser known side unveiled
E.K Kutty, the retired scientist from ISRO Bangalore said that Kalam was simplicity personified
KOZHIKODE: For the students who gathered at the Regional science centre and planetarium here on Saturday, it was the lesser known private side of A.P.J Abdul Kalam that unraveled through the words of Kalam’s former colleague, C. Ramachandran.
At the Kalam commemorative function, the retired scientist from VSSC, recalled the four year period from 1969 when he worked with Kalam at the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) in Thiruvananthapuram, before the establishment of the VSSC.
“The flowing hair of Kalam is his trademark. But we knew a Kalam with cropped hair. According to the changing fashion, we engineers switched from cropped hair to gypsy style and then to the next trend. But Kalam stuck to the gypsy hair which he carried throughout,” reminisced Ramachandran.
India’s ‘missile man’ was a maverick, coming to office in bathroom chappals and clothes which were barely ironed.
“When former ISRO chairman Prof Satish Dhawan asked Kalam to meet Prime Minister Indira Gandhi after the successful launch of SLV-3, his reply was that he did not have good clothes to appear before the PM. Prof Dhawan replied that it was not the dress that the PM recognised but it was work that counted,” said Ramachandran.
The former colleague recalled that Kalam used to sleep on the floor of his crammed room at ‘Indrabhavan’ lodge where he stayed in Thiruvananthapuram.
“His bed was filled with books. There was not even an attached bathroom,” Ramachandran said. Kalam was a student throughout his life He never hesitated to learn from anyone regardless of status.
E.K Kutty, the retired scientist from ISRO Bangalore said that Kalam was simplicity personified. “APJ was emotionally attached to his work. There was no timeframe when it came to work. Work was his passion,” Kutty said. Planetarium director V.S Ramachandran, Technical officer Jayanth Ganguly among others spoke.
