Introduction:-
A 200% Indian. The people's President. The father of India's missile programme. Abul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, or A.P.J. Kalam, as he is more popularly called, is known by all these epithets. Kalam's journey from sleepy Rameshwaram to the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi is an inspiring and eventful one. In the course of this journey he has been associated with almost all‘ Indian technological milestones, from the first rocket launch vehicle, the first Indian satellite, the first strategic missile, and to the Indian nuclear programme.
Background:-
Rameshwaram is an island in the Gulf of Mannar at the tip of the Indian peninsula. A very important pilgrim centre, Rameshwaram is believed to be the place from where Lord Rama built a bridge
across the sea to rescue his wife Sita, from herabductor, Ravana. This is also where Rama worshipped Lord Shiva to atone for the sin of killing Ravana. Rameshwaram is also known as the ‘Benaras of the south’, In order to attain Moksha it is believed that the visit to Rameshwaram is essential. Spread over an area of 61.8 square kilometres the island has the shape of a conch.
Dhanushkodi, named after Rama's bow, is 8 kms from Rameshwaram. The boulders around the sea between Srilanka and this place, known as Adam's bridge, are believed to have been used by Hanuman to reach Srilanka. Dhanushkodi was completely ravaged by the cyclones of 1964. It was here, at a place called Tikundi, that Abdul Kalam was born in a middle-Class Tamil family on OctOber 15,1931. Kalam‘s father was a boat owner. The family was financially secure though not very well off. Kalam even sold newspapers as a little boy. He was enrolled in Schwartz High School, Ramanathapuram, where he was fortunate enough to come across some inspiring teachers who glimpsed the spark in him and fanned it into a flame. In later years, when fame came calling on him, Kalam would remember them with gratitude.
Beginnings
His parents too left a lasting influence on Kalam. It is from them that he seems to have inherited his legendary humility and simplicity. His father, Jainulabdeen, he once observed, had an innate wisdom and tme generosity of spirit while his mother, Ashiamma, kept open house fading many others apart from her own family. There was no hankering after unnecessary
luxuries and comforts at home but all that was essential, like food, clothes and medicines were provided by his father.
In his bestselling autobiography, Wings of Fire, Kalam observes, “Every child is born with some inherited characteristics. Child's growth and moulding depends upon the environment and the socioeconomic conditions. More so, it also depends on the emotional environment of the parents, as how they shape, train and educate the child. I was fortunate and blessed to have had all these. I had very loving parents, very good friends and very good friends and verya Amicable social atmosphere around me in my childhood.”