The boys narrated the same to their respective fathers. They sat together in the first row in school when a new teacher asked the Muslim boy to sit on the last bench. Kalam as a child befriended the priest’s child. Kalam’s ancestors and temple’s associates were good friends and Dr. He was treated like a hero by the Hindus. Kalam’s father narrated him the story how his great-great-grandfather saved the idol of Ramanathaswamy temple after it had fallen into a tank. Kalam was a spiritual man with great respect for religious texts.ĭr. Kalam to always remember the needs of people around. Due to her child-love, she never refused when her little ‘Abdul’ asked for more food. Later his elder brother told him that Dr. His family taught him kindness, faithfulness, honesty, self-discipline and that uniqueness resides in every individual.ĭuring World War II there was a shortage of food. He learned that one must be in action every-day and keep commitments. Kalam enjoyed the ‘catching’ job and was happy to contribute to the family’s income. In the evening they calculated the accounts for the same. Plan was that the business associate on the train would throw newspapers-bundles on the platform and the job of the two cousins was to catch it and deliver to the subscribers before sunrise. Kalam committed to help his cousin in the newspaper business. State of emergency prevailed and the train stopped stopping at the railway station. Kalam’s cousin got the newspapers, then delivered to the subscribers and hence, aided to household income. Father said that one must be there when people are in need of moral support.Ī train stopped at the railway station in Rameswaram and Dr. Kalam’s father and the son enquired him, one day, “Why?”. Kalam learnt crisis management from his father.

Kalam while designing the Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV), Prithvi, and Agni missiles, during unmet schedules, during rains at the rocket launch sites. The expression on his father’s face at that moment was recalled by Dr. His father remained calm and continued to work hard to rebuild the business. Kalam witnessed their business boat being washed away after a cyclone struck The Bay of Bengal. This motivated him to take up the interesting field of airspace-and-rockets professionally and work as an Indian Aerospace scientist. He also loved watching birds fly as a child. This gave exposure to metal and wood to Dr. Kalam’s father had some informal education and a good social circle. I have compiled a few happenings from the life of The Missile Man of India and our 11th president (1931- 2015) who lived in Rameswaram (Tamil Nadu).

Abdul kalam story book