APJ Abdul Kalam: Reminiscing the 'missile man' of India

27 July 2015 will remain one of the saddest days for the country, as, on this very day, the country's powerhouse of inspiration left his mortal body for heavenly abode. He was delivering his last lecture at IIM, Shillong when he suffered a cardiac arrest.

From the very beginning, Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was a hardworking boy. Apart from focussing on his studies, he also had delivered newspapers to further support his family. No wonder this humble boy turned out to be so successful as we all know, with hard work cometh great success.

Once, during an interview, Kalam was asked how he would love to be remembered by the nation, to which he replied that he wants to be remembered as a teacher first. While taking his last breath, he died while doing what he loved.

Asking about his secret of success, Kalam replied: "Have an aim in life, acquire knowledge through all possible sources, work hard and never accept defeat by the problem, always defeat the problem and succeed". The 'Missile Man' of India gained immense success with his satellite launch vehicle technology and warhead carrying capable ballistic missiles.

Kalam earned love and respect from everywhere. Not just in India, but also the whole world was mesmerized by his determination and personality.

As a token of respect and honour, NASA named a new organism after the much-loved A.P.J Abdul Kalam. The bacteria is called Solibacillus kalamii, which has been only traced at International Space Station(ISS) and not on earth.

On an important note, Kalam's visit to Switzerland is commemorated as Science Day in the country. The Swiss government declared this in his honour after the demise of this magnificent personality.

In an effort to pay respect to India's most favourite president and scientist, the country renamed the Wheeler Island, situated off the coast of Odisha, to Dr Abdul Kalam Island on 4 September 2015. This island hosts the Integrated Test Range missile testing facility, marking it as the missile test facility for most missiles of India.

Speaking about corruption in India, Kalam beautifully stated that the 'reform' has to start from our home itself. Therefore, if a home is corruption free, our village and city will be corruption free, gradually our state will be corruption free and the nation as well.

Kalam for long believed in charity; his entire presidential salary was donated to a trust named PURA (Providing Urban Amenities to Rural Areas), which was also formed by himself. The list of his good deeds is innumerable and invaluable.

APJ Kalam has always been an important asset to the country, trying to help the nation in as many ways he can. Even before his death, Kalam had given a piece of advice to the DRDO chief Satheesh Reddy, which is to work on reusable missiles system that can deliver a payload and launch it, come back and take another payload.