The First Citizen continues to ignite young minds across the country. And it’s not just rocket science that gets children hooked to his persona. In Bangalore, some children who have had an opportunity to rub shoulders with President A P J Kalam, remember him for his disarming wit and warmth, always ready to answer questions on anything from eclipses to his hairdo.
“I never thought such an important person like the President will have time to meet me or answer my questions, but Uncle Kalam did,” said Krishna, now a Class VI student of St Joseph’s Boys High School.
Krishna had a dream one night, that the President came to meet him after which he wrote to the Rashrapathi Bhavan. During Kalam’s visit to Bangalore, in April 2006, the President’s office arranged for the boy to meet up with the President at the HAL Airport. “I was shocked and happy,” says Krishna.
For the 55-member team from Bishop Cottons Boys School who had visited Rashtrapathi Bhavan in 2004 to invite President Kalam for the inauguration of their new auditorium, the meeting was an inspiring one, sprinkled with surprises.
Anesh Shetty, now in Class XII, says he was bowled over by the President’s simplicity and humility. “He was so friendly that I never got the impression that he was the President,” he quips.
Devesh Ballal, a Class X student, says he was awed that the President of India would care enough to ask students about their ambitions and respond the way he did.
What they didn’t see coming was the lighter side of Kalam. “He was very funny, I didn’t expect the President to crack a joke between quoting a Chinese Proverb on peace,” exclaims Elsler Rasquinha, Class XII. Manuela Solomon, now in Class XII, Bishop Cottons Girls School, was one of the 100 girls selected for a Q & A session with the President when he visited the school five years ago.
He even picked up seemingly silly questions like why he has so many rooms in his house or about his hair, and answered them with humour, she recollects.
The students of Government High School, Agara, say they never imagined in their wildest dreams that they would get to rub shoulders with the President.
At the Jnanajyothi Sabhangana organised by the Agastya Foundation in August 2006, the students were thrilled to showcase an array of science experiments to none other than India’s renowned scientist.
Chaitra, Class IX, recollects the President appreciating her “air occupies space” experiment. “I felt really lucky to have met him... he asked us about our ambitions. I felt we should all aspire to be like him,” says Nagalaxmi, Class X.
Devaraj wished Kalam, who has bowled over so many children, could stay on as President.