The day they met him!

Etched in memory

Former President APJ Abdul Kalam’s passing away has left behind unparalleled achievements and even more admirers. Although sobriquets such as ‘Missile Man’ and ‘People’s President’ adorned him, his smiling face and approachable stature spoke volumes about him. His departure has left behind a huge void for youngsters, who recollect some of their fond memories in his company.


‘He came up to me, shook my hand’

Pavitra Viswanath, a final-year biotechnology student of BMS College of Engineering, had a quick but memorable interaction with the former President in 2009. “It was on June 21 in my school, Sophia High School. Though it was a Sunday, the entire school had turned up! Our school had been requesting him to come for two years and when he finally accepted the request, we were prepared for a week before the actual programme. We were told to not talk to him at all and even the questions that were to be asked by the students were reviewed first and then shortlisted.

As part of the Student Council, I was all excited and much to my pleasant surprise, he suddenly came up to me, shook my hand and said, ‘Hi. How are you?’ That’s when this photograph was taken.  He spoke to us on ‘Ignite India’, which was basically to ignite the mind of the young towards ‘Vision 2020’. He narrated a poem by Bharathiar in such pure Tamil and made us understand it so well that we were all spellbound. While we all thought he would turn up in a fancy vehicle with many guards holding AK-47s, he came in an Ambassador and had taken the help of a few City cops for security. Such a simple man he was!

It’s my dream to become a scientist and one scientist who has always inspired is Abdul Kalam. I am so honoured to have met him.”

‘I regret not remembering the answer’

Ullasitha Bhavana, a post-graduate student of Psychology, has the pride of meeting the then President APJ Abdul Kalam. It was in 2002 that APJ Abdul Kalam visited Suttur for an inauguration function of a school project for underprivileged kids. Ullasitha, along with many other school students from Mysuru, set out with excitement to meet their dear President. “I was given a chance to ask a question and my question to him was about his childhood dreams.

I regret not remembering the answer. But I can never forget his charm and kindness. It was more like interacting with our class teacher than with the President of our country. He was welcoming and the most friendly person that we as kids could interact with. A soft spoken man, I can never forget his kind attitude,” says Ullasitha. Thirteen years down the memory lane, she says her meet with her dearest President is still fresh in her mind.


‘Do what you love’

Auditya Venkatesh, a photographer says,“I had the good fortune of meeting the great man at a cousin’s wedding once and the words he said will continue to shape the decisions I will make in my life. I was dazed and overwhelmed, he asked me to sit next to him and I did. He asked me about what I was studying and I told him. He then asked me about what I wanted to become. I said that I would like to be an airforce pilot one day. he asked me if I liked it. I said I thought it was exciting and it would be great to do something for the country.

He said with that signature pointed finger and soft voice, ‘If you want to do something for your country, do what you love and be happy doing it. Don’t do something because it’s exciting. Excitement will go away and you will get bored. You know what won’t get boring? Happiness and contentment with the life you lead’. Such profound words. Words to live life by.”


All for women power

Anita Jobin, a lecturer at Jain College says,“Dr Abdul Kalam came to my college once when I was studying there and it was a privilege to listen to him. Studying in a girl’s college, he was thrilled to share his views on women empowerment. He encouraged us to study further, take over the world with young minds and make India a great country.”

An icon and his icon

Henderson, a BDS student says, “I had the opportunity to meet the former President. Few students from each class were selected and our teachers had asked us to frame questions we’d like to ask. I remember asked him who his childhood icon was. He looked up to me and politely answered that it was MS Subramanian. I had also asked him about his books and what his thoughts were. It was wonderful to hear him say that it’s his vision to see the younger generation achieve the goal of making a better India, a superpower.”


As told to Prajna GR, Anila Kurian, Deepa Natarajan Lobo