EXPRESSING THE ^SELF^: A.PJ.

ABDUL KALAM^S WINGS OF FIRE

DISSERTATION
SUBMITTED TO
MAHARAJA GANGA SINGH UNIVERSITY, BIKANER
IN THE PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY
IN
ENGLSH

2011
Under the Supervision of: Submitted by :
Dr. Sonu Shiva Anshu Rajpurohit
Lecturer in English
Govt. Dungar College, Bikaner.

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
MAHARAJA GANGA SINGH UNIVERSITY,
BIKANER (RAJASTHAN) INDIA
 OFFICE OF THE COORDINATOR M.Phil. (SFs)
MAHARAJA GANGA SINGH UNIVERSITY,
BIKANER

Enrolment No. Roll No : 7 i 7 / - r 2

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the work presented in this

dissertation entitled "EXPRESSING THE 'SELF' : A.P.J. ABDUL
KALAM'S WINGS OF FIRE" is submitted for the award of Degree
of M.Phil, is a bonafide research work carried out by ANSHU
RAJPUROHIT under the supervision of DR. SONU SHIVA,
Department of English, Govt. Dungar College, Bikaner.

This dissertation is being forwarded for evaluation to the

controller of Examination, Maharaja Ganga Singh University,
Bikaner.

Date : '2"l \ ^^ I \)
Coordinator
M.Phil. [S.F.S.)
Maharaja Ganga Singh University
Bikaner
^^'fcr.lor-S.F.S.
Bfki.Tr -• •
 GOVT. DUNGAR COLLEGE, BIKANER

Department of English Date

Dr. Sonu Shiva
Lecturer

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that MRS. ANSHU RAJPUROHIT has

written her dissertation on EXPRESSING THE 'SELF' : A.P.J.
ABDUL KALAM'S WINGS OF FIRE under my supervision. It is
the result of her original research work and has not been
submitted to any University for any diploma or degree. I deem
the work fit to be considered for the award of the degree of
Master of Philosophy in English of this University.

Bikaner "^^^
j^ . g . Dr. Sonu Shiva
Lecturer in English
Govt. Dungar College, Bikaner
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I express my deep gratitude and thankfulness to my
supervisor Dr. Sonu Shiva, Lecturer, Department of English,
Govt. Dungar College, Bikaner for her supervision, guidance
and encouragement. I have no hesitation to say without her
supervision this work could not have been what it is now. Her
personal assistance has been most generous. She has helped
me by her valuable time for probing deliberations.

I am particularly indebted to God, My Parents, My

Friends. I put on my record my sincere thanks to the faculty
members of the Department of English, Govt. Dungar College,
Bikaner. I must not forget to convey heart felt thanks to my
husband Dr. Rajkumar Purohit and my sons Divyajeet Singh
and Somyajeet Singh for their invisible but constant support. 1
also cordially thank to my brother Avinash, all my teachers and
friends who deserve my special gratitude for holding
intellectual discussion and guiding me into action whenever 1
need. I would also like to add my vote of thanks to Dr. R. K.
Sharma, Coordinator, M.Phil. (SFS), Majaraja Ganga Singh
University, Bikaner & Sh. Bhanwar Singh Chouhan for their
inspiration & cooperation to complete this work. Special thanks
to Sunil Taldar, Taldar Commercial College, Bikaner.
aner. ^ ,\^

Date: ^ ^
Anshu Rajpurohit
M. Phil. (English Literature)
M.G.S. University, Bikaner
 PREFACE
. .:»W. •'.' .••J..J.l'.Ml.>l!l|i!J)^.WI)fl mwaL|^i.ll[|IWm!^.W|II.^JIl..i i —'. . . . ' . . - U ^ ' - -.--: '. , i . . . . _li UJlJ|.wi.Jl..il,.ii.l!|i.i.M!iJ.U.UiJi.'mi.lJi.i- tfMnU.I.VI. -nj \ .H iiLi.UJ.'iil,i.-.--t.Ml.iL.i.ii!..'.. 11 . I iii ..-^1.1 .. !.IJ.^^—

/ write fiction and I'm told it's autobiographyj

I write autobiography and I'm told it's fiction, so

since I'm so dim and they're so smart, let them

decide what it is or it isn 't

- Philip Roth, Deception : A Novel (1990)

The proposed research work is aimed at making a

detailed study of the A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's autobiography Wings

of Fire.

The present study efforts to explore the 'self of A.P.J.

Abdul Kalam as expressed in the Autobiography Wings of Fire.

This research delineates how Kalam a boy from rural

background without any influence with his positive attitude

and hard work and perseverance is able to attain highest

civilian award in India.

I would like to add few points here that as the bricks,

though too small, form the base of a huge structure, the small
 -2-

towns are also the backbone of the economy, politics and

population of a country.

In this study I have formed an introduction along with

three chapters.

Introduction, deals with the origin and development of

autobiography, presents a brief introduction of A.P.J. Abdul

Kalam's life and his works along with brief summary of the

work Wings of Fire.

First Chapter, focuses on the journey of life of A.P.J.

Abdul Kalam.

Second Chapter, throws light on the contemplative

stages of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

Third Chapter, Sums up the whole work with conclusion.

Place: Bikaner
Qg^g. Anshu Rajpurohit
M. Phil. (English Literature)
M.G.S. University, Bikaner
 CONTENT

Sr. No. Topic Page No.

1. Introduction 1-20

2. Journey of Life 21-42

3. Contemplative Stages 43-62

4. Conclusion 63-70

Bibliography 71-79
INTRODUCTION
 INTRODUCTION

An auto biography is a book about the life of a person,

written by that person Autobiographical works are by nature

subjective.

All fiction may be autobiography, but all

autobiography is of course fiction.^

Auto + bio + graph = self + life + writing (from the Greek]

: A genre is a literary form. There are many genres that are

autobiographical in nature. In other words, the writer writes

about his or her own life. Here are some of the various genres

that are considered to be autobiographical.

Autobiography, confessional, credo, diary, journal, letter,

log, memoir, personal essay : All of these would generally be

considered to be notification. However, there is sometimes a

fine line between autobiography and fiction. For example, a

' Shirley Abbott, quoted in Mickey Pear Iman, Listen to Their

Voices (1993), ch. 12
 -2-

book called The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman is actually a

fascinating work of historical fiction that follows the life of a

slave through her freedom and eventually to the end of her life.

It depicts actual historical events, but it is written as fiction,

despite the title. Sandra Cisneros' book. The House on Mango

Street, presents a similar situation. The story of Cisneros'

personal story of her own life, but it is told through a fictional

character.

The world autobiography was first used deprecatingly by

William Taylor in 1797 in the English periodical the Monthly

Review, when he suggested the world as a hybrid but

condemned it as 'Pedantic'; but its next record use was in its

present sense by Robert Southey in 1809. The form of

autobiography however goes back to antiquity.

Autobiography have been used in various forms from the

classical period to the present age. In antiquity such works

were typically entitled apologia, implying as an example of

much self justification as self-documentation.

 Johan Henry Newman's autobiography (first published in

1864] is entitled Apologia Pro Vita Sua in reference to this

tradition.

John Henry Newman's autobiography is published in

1894 entitled. Apologia Pro Vita Sua in reference to this

tradition.

Augustine applied the title confessions to his

autobiographical work.

The same title initiating the chain of confessional is used

by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in the 18* Century. It is highly self-

critical autobiographies of Romantic era.

If we talk about the early autobiographies then a Spanish

noble woman Leonor Lopez de Cordoba, who wrote her

memories, which are considered to be the first autobiography

in Castilian.

Zahir-ud-din Mohammad Babur, who founded the

Mughal dynasty of South Asia kept a journal Baburnama

 -4-

(Chagatai/Persian : Literally : 'Book of Babur' or 'Letters of

Babur'} which was written between 1493 and 1529.

One of the first great autobiographies of the Renressance

is that of the Sculptor and Goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini [1500-

1571) written between 1556 and 1558, and entitled by him

Vita [Italia-Life).

He declares at the start : "No matter what sort he is,

everyone who has to his credit what are or really seem great

achievements, if he cares for truth and goodness, ought to write

the story of his own life in his own hand; but no one should

venture on such a splendid undertaking before he is over

forty". These criteria for autobiography generally persisted

until recent times, and most serious autobiographies of the

next three hundred years conformed to them.

Another autobiography of the period is De vita propria,

by the Italian physician and astrologer Gerolamo Cardano

[1574).

The earliest known autobiography in English is the early

15* Century Booke of Margery Kempe, describing among other

 .-5-

things her pilgrimage to the Holy Land and visit to Rome. The

book remained in manuscript and was not published until

1936.

Notable English autobiographies of the seventeenth

century include those of Lord Herbert of Cherbury [1643,

published 1764] and John bunyan [Grace Abounding to the

Chief of Sinners, 1666]

Another version the of autobiography is Memories that

means Main article.

A memoir is a piece of autobiographical writing, usually

shorter in nature than a comprehensive autobiography. The

memoir, especially as it is being used in publishing today. Often

tries to capture certain highlights or meaningful moments in

one's past, often including a contemplation of the meaning of

that event at the time of the writing of the memoir. The memoir

may be more emotional and concerned with capturing

particular scenes, or a series of events, rather than

documentating every fact of a person's life [Zuwiyya, N. 2000].

For example. Homer Hickam, Jr. has written several memoirs

 -6-

about his life including October Sky (Formerly Rocket Boys] and

The Coalwood Way. Both cover his high school days in

Coalwood West Virginia. They are full length books, but the

scope of time is brief compared to Hickam's entire life and all

the events of his life.

A memoir is slightly different in character from an

autobiography.

Do memoirs tell the truth ? : According to J.A.Cuddon, "An

autobiography may be largely fictional. Few can recall clear

details of their early life and are therefore dependent on other

people's impressions of necessity equally unreliable. Moreover,

everyone tends to remember what he wants to remember.

Disagreeable facts are sometimes glossed over or repressed ...."

Cuddon, J.A. The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and

Literary Theory. 1991. The English novelist Anthony Powell

said, "Memoirs can never be wholly true, since they cannot

include every conceivable circumstances of what happened.

An autobiography focuses on the 'life and times' of the

writer, on the other hand a memoir has a narrower, more

 -7-

intimate focus on his or her own memories, feeling and

emotions.

To write a memoir, begin by brainstorming on paper all

the events one can remember from one's life that were either

very important to one in a positive way or very important to

one in a negative way. One can talk to other members of one's

family to get ideas, help one remember events from when one

was small, and to help fill in the details that might have been

forgotten one select the event, or series of related events, that

seems most interesting to one right now. Brainstorm again but

in more detail, trying to recall names, places, descriptions,

voices, conversations, things, and all the other details that will

make this turn into an interesting memoir. Work at this note

taking stage for a few days, until one feel one has got it all down

on paper. Then begin to write. One will be surprised to see that

even more details begin to appear once one starts to write. For

the first draft. Write quickly to get all the ideas down from

beginning to end.
 -8-

As far as editing is concerned one should not worry.

Before one revises, One should share the first draft with

someone in the family. Consider their response, but go with

what feels right. Rewrite, and then start editing as needed.

Good memoirs are about everyday things, but they are

interesting, sometimes just as interesting to read as a good

novel. But remember a memoir is supposed to be true, so be

careful not to exaggerate or embellish the truth.

Memoirs have often been written by politicians or

military leaders as a way to record and publish an account of

their public exploits. Here we can quote one early example of

Leornor Lopez de Cordoba (1362-1420) who wrote what-what

is supposed to be the first autobiography in Spanish. The

English Civil war (1642-1651) provoked a number of examples

of this genera, including works by Sir Edmund Ludlow and Sir

John Reresby. French examples from the same period include

the memoirs of cardinal de Retz (1614-1679) and Due de Saint

Simon 2001/2010. Notable 18* Century autobiographies in

English include Edward Gibbon and Benjamin Franklin.

 -9-

An English example of autobiography is William Hazlitts

Liber Amoris [1823], a painful examination of the writers love-

life.

In 18* and 19* century it became the expectation of

public that those who are in the public eye should write should

write about themselves. Some writers such as Charles Diskens

and Anthony TroUope who incorporated autobiographical

elements in his novels along with that politicians, such as

Henrey Brooks Adams, philosophers like John Slurat Mill,

Churchmen such as Cardinal Newman and even entertainers

such as P. T. Barnum etc. all were expected to write about

themselves.

There are different versions of the autobiography form

autobiographies as critiques of totalitarians present striking

critiques of those regimes through autobiographical account of

their oppression. Among the more renowned of such works are

the writings of Primo Levi, one of many personal accounts of

the Shoah. Similarly, there are many works detailing atrocities

 -10-

and malevolence of Communist regimes [e.g., Nadezhda

Mandelstam's Hope against Hope].

Sensationalist and celebrity "auto-biographies" such as

modern professional athletes, media celebrities and politicians

are generally written by ghost-writers.

Autobiographies of non-famous person are a different

genera in which people without genuine claim to fame wrote or

published autobiographies for the general public. With the

critical and commercial success in the United States of such

memoirs as Angela's Ashes and The Color of Water, however,

more and more people have been encouraged to try their hand

at this genre. Even fake autobiographies were also written they

were particularly associated with 'misery lit', where the writer

has allegedly suffered from being a part of a dysfunctional

family, social problem or politicos repression.

Another term "fictional autobiography" has been coined

to define novels about a fictional character who were writing

their own biography, of which Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders, is

an early example. After that Charles Disken's David Copperfield

 -11 -

is a classic R.J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, is a well

known modern example of fictional autobiography. Charlotte

Bronte's Jane Eyre is another example of fictional

autobiography as we have seen various autobiographies have

been used with the passage of time.

A man's memory is bound to be a distortion of his past in

accordance with his present interests, and the most faithful

autobiography is likely to mirror less what a man was than

what he has become.^

Wings of Fire : An Autobiography of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

(1999] is an autobiography of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, former

President of India. It is a combined effort by President Kalam

and Arun Tiwari.

Arun Tiwari worked under Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam for

over a decade in the Defence Research and Development

Laboratory, Hayderabad.

Abdul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam born on October

15,1931.

Fawn, M. Brodie, No Man Knows My History (1945), ch.l9..

 -12-

Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam being a notable scientist and

engineer has also served as the eleventh president of India

from the period 2002 to 2007.

He is the most popular president of India. Popularly

known as the people's president prior to that he distinguished

himself as aeronautical engineer with DRDO and ISRO. He is

popularly known as the Missile Man of India for his work on

development of ballistic missile and space rocket technology.

Abdul Kalam graduated in physics from St. Joseph's

College Tiruchirapalli. In the mid 1950's he did graduation with

a diploma in Aeronautical Engineering from the Madras

Institute of Technology. He was also deeply involved in the

development of India's first indigenous satellite launch vehicle

[SLV-II) Kalam played chief [pivotal] organizational technical

and political role in India's Pokhran-II nuclear test in 1998.

Kalam is currently the chancellor of Indian Institute of

space science and technology along with that a professor at

Anna University (Chennai], a visiting professor at Indian

Institute of Management Ahmedabad, JSS University in Mysore

 -13-

and visiting faculty at many other academic and research

institutions across India offered as missile man of India.

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is a man of vision, who is always

charged of ideas aimed at the development of the country. He

received doctorate from about 30 universities globally in the

year 1981. The government of India presented him the nations

highest civilian honour, the Padma Bhusan and after that the

Padma vibhushan in 1990 and the Bharat Ratna in 1997. Before

Kalam there have been two presidents - Sarvepalli

Radhakrishnan and Zakir Hussain have received the Bharat

Ratna before becoming president.

Dr. Abdul Kalam was the first scientist and bachelor to

occupy the seat of the Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Kalam is often considered amongst India's greatest

presidents, going on to win a poll conducted by news channel

CNN-IBN for India's Best President. In October 2007, Kalam

received a Honorary Doctorate of Science from the University

of Wolver Hampton.
 - 14-

Abdul Kalam during his tenure as president took avoids

interest in the spheres of India's science and technology. He has

even put forward a project plan for establishing bio-implants.

His perspectives on various important topics have been

enunciated by him in the book 'India 2020'. Where he strongly

advocates an action plan to develop India into a knowledge

superpower and into a developed nation by the year 2020.

Kalam is credited with the view that India ought to take a more

assertive stance in international relations; he regards his work

on India's nuclear weapons program as a way to assert India's

place as a future superpower. Kalam continues to take an active

interest in other developments in the field of science and

technology as well. He has proposed a research programme for

developing bio-implants. He is a supporter of Open source

software over proprietary solution and believes that the use of

open source software on a large scale will bring more people

the benefits of information technology. Kalam's belief in the

power of science to resolve society's problem and his view of

these problems as a result of inefficient distribution of

resources is modernistic. He also sees science and technology

 - 15-

as ideology-free areas and emphasizes the cultivation of

scientific temper and entrepreneurial derive. In this, he finds a

lot of support among India's new business leaders like the

founders of Infosys and Wipro. [leading Indian I.T corporation]

who began their careers as technology professionals much in

the same way Kalam did.

This research paper intends to delt deep upon A.P.J.

Abdul Kalam's autobiography 'Wings of Fire'. It is an excellent

inspiring book. It gives a positive message to the frustrated

people of India. Kalam's Wings of Fire describes how an

innocent boy from a remote corner of Tamil Nadu achieved

greatness in rocketry.

The autobiography first published in English has so far

been translated and published in 13 languages including Hindi,

Gujarati, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Oriya and

Marathi. A Chinese edition of 'Wings of Fire' titled 'Huo Yi' and

translated by Ji Peng is also present. 'Wings of Fire' unfolds the

story of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam from his childhood.

 -16-

Wings of Fire has a preface by Arun Tiwari, who worked

under A.P.J. Abdul Kalam for over a decade in the Defence

Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) Hyderabad.

The book consists of four parts, namely, orientation, creation,

propitiation and contemplation and ends with and epilogue by

Abdul Kalam.

The orientation section opens with a quote from the

Atharva Veda.

This Earth is his to him belong those vast and

boundless skies; Both seas within Him rest, and yet

in that small pool He lies.^

It is really a matter of contemplation that the great

scientist's autobiography starts with a kind of prayer.

The second half portion of book deals with 'creation'

phase. The section of Wings of Fire, spread into first three

chapters, covers 32 years of Kalam's life, from his birth in a

middle class Tamil people. Tamil family in the island town of

Rameshwaram, his early schooling at Schwartz High School,

' Atharva Veda, Book 4, Hymn 16.

 -17-

Ramanathpuram, his undergraduate education at St. Joseph

College, Trichy, completion of a degree course in aeronautic

engineering from Madras Institute of Technology, and ends

with him moving to the United States for a six month training

program at NASA.

Creation : It traverses seven chapters, from chapters four

to chapter ten; and covers Kalam's life and work for 17 years,

from the year 1963 until 1980. It begins with his recollection of

works at the Langley Research Centre, NASA, in Houston,

Virginia, U.S., and at other facilities in the USA, including the

Wallops Flight Facility at Wallops Island in East Coats of the

United States, Virginia. At a NASA facility, he remembers to

have seen a painting, prominently displayed in the lobby. The

painting depicted a battle scene with rocket flying in the

background. On closer examination, he found that the painting

depicted Tipu Sultan's army fighting the British. Kalam felt

happy to see an Indian glorified in NASA as a hero of rocketry

warfare.
 -18-

In this section we can perceive see Kalam managing and

inspiring large scale developmental projects on rocket

technology. This was an adventure, not without struggle and

frequent failure, but culminating in the pioneering success of

the satellite launch vehicle [SLV-3}, the fifth country to achieve

satellite launching capability, and thus propelling India into the

space age. He is seen as engineer and innovator, inspirer and

mentor of courageous colleagues, and builder of teams and

institutions. This also brought Kalam his first brush with fame,

adulation and inevitably, professional rivalries due to jealousy.

In later half (propitiation] of the book we can see Kalam

going into the defence stage of his career, breathing fresh life

into struggling research institutions under the Defence Rand D

organization, and later on taking charge of all the DRDO

establishments, helping India to acquire modern weaponry and

delivery systems. Propitiation section covers the scientist's

journey towards becoming the "Missile Man of India". In this

phase of the life Kalam was responsible for the development of

the five missiles - Prithvi, Trishul, Akash, Nag and the most

awaited one Agni. The launch of Agni clearly showed that a

 -19-

developing country could also achieve a stage where she had

the option of preventing the wars involving her.

Section Contemplation recounts the life story of Kalam

from 1991 until around 1999 in two chapters, namely, chapter

15 and 16. This section opens with words from the Quran -

We create and destroy.

And again recreate.

In forms of which no one knows^

The last section is narrating this gist of the leadership

experiences gathered by the Kalam during his work at ISRO

and DLDR. This section is more emphasizing on inspiring the

youth to recognize their own goals and put this life in to it to

achieve the same.

In this book as Kalam moved into the contemplative

phase of his life, a grateful and worshipful nation heaped its

highest awards to him. He also looks more wide ranging

responsibilities connected with science, technology and

defence of the realm. He gives credit to the many great

AL-Waquiah Qu'ran 56:61

 -20-

visionaries who prepared him for life, especially professors

Sarabhi, Dhawan and Brahm Praksh. He ends the book with the

fervent prayer that eventually the country will become strong,

prosperous and "developed" through this book Kalam inspires

that we should give Wings to the divine fire.

CHAPTER - 1

JOURNEY
OF LIFE
 JOURNEY OF LIFE

Kalam's autobiography is a must read for all Indians. It

inspires educates, and encourages us to do things which we

could but never tried.

Avul (great grand father], Pakir (grandfather],

Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam is born in the island town of

Rameshwaran is Tamilnadu to a little educated boat owner. His

father Jainulabdeen is a spiritual man always wiling to help

others. As Kalam himself says he tried throughout his life to

emulate his father in his world of science and technology. As he

says about his father.

When my father came out of mosque after

the prayers, people of different religion would be

sitting outside, waiting for him. Many of them

offered bowls of water to my father who would dip

his finger tips in them and say a prayer. This water

was then carried home for invalids. I also

remember people visiting our home to offer thanks

 -22-

after being cruel. My father always smiled and

asked them to thank Allah, the benevolent and

merciful, i

His father was a pious Muslim and one of his best friends

is the high priest of the nearby. They used to have discussions

on religion and other topics, as a result of which young Kalam

develops a catholic and cosmopolitan outlook. His self is

inspired by his father who he tries to emulate even in his own

world of science & technology.

Abdul Kalam's personal life is full of struggles and hard

work. Kalam's father is a devout Muslim, who owns boats

which is rented out to local fishermen and is a good friend of

Hindu religious leaders. Kalam is deeply impressed by the life

style of his father. He says he remembers his father starting his

day at 4 am, by reading the namaz & after the namaz, he used

to walk down to a small coconut grove they owned about 4

miles from their home. He would return with about a dozen

coconuts tied together thrown over his shoulder, and only then

Wings of Fire, Pg. 4

 -23-

would he have his breakfast. This remained his routine when

he was in his late sixties.

Kalam admits this fact that throughout his Hfe he tried to

emulate his father in his own world of science and technology

he endeavoured to understand the fundamental truths

revealed to him by his father, and feel commenced that there

exits a divine power that can lift one up from confusion, misery,

melancholy and failure, and guide one to one's true place. And

once an individual serves his emotional and physical bondage,

one is on the road to freedom, happiness and peace of mind.

As far as inherited characteristics are concerned Kalam

admits that honesty and self discipline are inherited by him

from his father. Kalam's mother 'Ashimma' is an ideal helpmate

to his father she used to feed quite a few outsiders everyday.

His mother influenced him regarding faith in goodness and

deep kindness.

Two other persons influences Kalam's boyhood his

sister's husband Ahmed Jallaluddin and cousin Samsuddin.

 -24-

Kalam seeks encouragement from jallaluddin to excel his

studies. Kalam says about Jallaluddin.

"Incidentally at the time 1 speak of, he was

the only person on the entire island who could

write English. He wrote letters for almost anybody

in need Jallaluddin always spoke to me about

educated people, of scientific discoveries, of

contemporary literature, and of the achievements

of medical science. It was he who made me aware

of a "brave new world beyond our narrow

confines."1

The real step in the direction where Kalam stands today

is taken when he applies for admission into the Madras

Institute of Technology. He got selected but the fee of 1000

rupees was too much for his father. His sister Zohara, had to

mortgage her gold bangles and chain to see him through. When

he is in Madras Institute of Technology, he is very fascinated

about flying, there is an old aircraft at the campus just to

inspire students. So, when he completes his aeronautical

Wings of Fire, Pg. 7

 -25-

engineering course he gets two offers - one from the air force

and the other from DRDO. The first interview is at Dehradun

for the lAF. Out of 25 students 24 are selected and he is

rejected. He feels very sad.

On his way back, he goes to Swami Shivanand Ashram at

Rishikesh. The Swami Ji said, "Why are you so sad?" So he is

astonished. He said, "I am very sad because 1 could not get

entry to the air force. The swami ji said,

Accept your destiny and go ahead with your

life. You are not destined to become an Air Force

Pilot. What you are destined to become is not

revealed now but it is predtermined. forget this

failure, as it was essential to lead you to your

destined path. Search, instead, for the true purpose

of your existence. Become one with yourself, my

son! Surrender yourself to the wish of God.i

Later on in his career, he meets Air marshal Dilbagh

Singh, who was selected in the air force batch that Kalam

Wings of Fire, pg. 25

 -26-

missed. But you can see here the role of destiny where Kalam

has reached now ? The behef in divinity and destiny is not

superstition. Superstition is dogma and ritual. Superstition is,

one goes to a temple and one dances and evokes something for

nothing. Dr. Kalam says he is divine in the sense that there is

divinity in everybody. So there is no religion involved here. It is

in every body you have to give Wings to your divinity that

means you have to do hard work and you need to have

determination.

The word determination comes into his life by various

incidents from his childhood. When he is taking education at

Ramanathpuram. His teacher lyadurai Solomon said that To

succeed in life and achieve results, one must understand and

master three might forces - desire, belief and expectation.

By the words of lyaduraj Solomon he is inspired to have

intense desire and motivation in order to achieve a particular

thing. Kalam says that his words still strikes to his ears with

faith, you can change your destiny.

 -27-

His teacher lyaduraj Solomon inspires Kalam by instilling

in him a sense of self-esteem and self worth from this school he

emerges as a self confident and determined boy ready to

achieve success.

From his early childhood he is attracted by the mysteries

of the sky. On seeing Ganes and seagulls soar into fight into

Rameshwaram, he tongues to fly in the sky.

In 1950 Kalam arrives at St. Joseph College, Trichy to

study B.Sc. Physics Kalam is much interested by Fatehr TN

Sequeria who teaches English to him and he is also the hostel

warden. Kalam develops an interest in reading the great

classics of Tolstoy, Scott and Hardy. Kalam's ability to correlate

the powerful and energetic planet with Mitlon's description of

the World in Paradise Lost Book VIII shown his proficiency in

poetry.

"what if the sun

Be centre to the world, and other stars ....

The planet earth, so steadfast through the seem.

Insensibly three different motions move?"

 -28-

After completion of his B.Sc. Kalam realizes that his real

field of interest is engineering and then he ultimately decides

to join Madras Institute of Technology (MIT) which is a real jam

in the field of technical education in South India.

Getting admission in this college is an expensive affair.

He is not at all in the condition to pay the money but helped by

his sister Zohara, who was determined to see him educated.

Kalam recalls three teachers who shapes his professional

career. Prof. Sponder, Prof. KAV Pandalai and Prof. Narasingha

Rao. Prof. Sponder teach him technical aerodynamics. He used

to observe Indians failure to discriminate between disciplines

and to rationalize their choices. During the farewell function,

Prof. Sponder summons Kalam to sit with him in the front for a

photograph since Prof. Sponder is sure that Kalam's hard work

would bring laurels to the teachers in future. Yes, his prophecy

come true. Prof. K. V. Pandalai opens up the secretes of

structural engineering to him. He is a man of great intellectual

integrity and scholarship and he is ready to accept the points

where his students disagree with him.

 -29-

Prof. Narasinha Rao teaches him theoretical

aerodynamics. He had such a magnetic influence on him that he

preferres mathematical physics to other subjects. His unique

methods of teaching fluid dynamics creates fascination in him

regarding the subject. His teachers make him aware of some

truths of Aeronautics. They unfolds the secretes of science that

there is huge difference between freedom and escape, between

motion and movement between slide and flow. This type of

new excitement is created in him by these three teachers. They

help him in moulding his knowledge. As a result he starts

giving new meanings to the structural features of aeroplanes,

the new meanings given by him are biplanes, monoplanes,

tailless planes, canard configured planes, delta-wing planes etc.

By the end of MIT course another memorable incident happens

in his life when he is not at all in the condition to accomplish

assigned project to design a low-level attack aircraft till the

given time period. Prof Srinivasan warns him and said.

Look, young man, today is Friday afternoon. I

give you three days time. If by Monday morning I

 -30-

don't get the configuration drawing, your

scholarsiiip will be stopped^.

Listening these words Kalam put all his efforts in

completion of the configuration drawing. Prof. Srinivasan

hugged him and said that he knew he is putting him under

stress and asking him to meet an impossible deadline. He never

expected him to perform so well.

Kalam wins first prize in an essay competition. His article

"Let us make our own Aircraft" becomes the centre of

attraction for all along the editor of the popular Tamil Weekly,

Ananda Vikatan.

Another memorable event Kalam shares in the book

Wings of Fire is about Prof. Sponder, who calls Kalam from the

third row when they are posing for a group photograph. For

their farewell ceremony. Prof. Sponder said

Come and sit with me in the front. You are

my best student and hard work will help you bring

a great name for your teachers in future"^.

Wings of Fire, pg. 21

 -31-

The aerospace scientist, Dr. Abdul Kalam, too has a

meteoric professional career. Born in October 1931 in a family

of modest means in the ancestral house on Mosque Street,

Rameswaram, in South India, he is one of several children of

parents who had no formal education to speak of

However, he has by hard work, determination and total

commitment to his field, risen to the very high position of

Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister of the Government of

India and Secretary to the Department of Defence Research and

Development Organization [DRDO]. It is very unusual that a

scientist is allowed by the government to continue in this post

even though he has crossed the age of 66.

The organization (DRDO) he heads has about fifty

laboratories working in various areas of science and

technology that have direct application to defence. They exceed

in number the laboratories that come under the Court of

Scientific and Industrial Research [CSIR]. As the head

[Secretary) Dr. Kalam is entrusted with an annual budget of

about 15,000 million - a huge sum, by any standards. •

 -32-

His father is a pious Muslim, and one of his best friends is

the high priest of the Siva temple nearby, They used to have

discussions on religion and other topics, as a result of which,

the young Kalam developed a catholic and cosmopolitan

outlook. In fact, his best friend in the local elementary school

was the son of the high priest of the Siva temple.

Kalam is lucky that both at the local school and high

school at Ramanathapuram, he get very dedicated teachers

who influence him and mould his personality a great deal. His

teachers at school inculcate in him self-esteem and confidence

and teach him the powerful roles played in life by three factors:

desire, belief and expectation.

Kalam developes a keen desire to go for higher studies in

college - something that no member of his family had the

benefit of. Thus it is how he enteres St. Joseph's College at

Tiruchi in 1950 at the age of 18. Teachers like Rev. Fr. Sequeira

of St. Joseph's College exert considerable influence on him.

Kalam is greatly impressed by them, there students of

different faiths lived together in peace, harmony and

 -33-

happiness. Physics is a subject that fascinates him and he

slowly begin to realise that through science, spiritual

enrichment and self-realization is possible. He also develops

interest in subject like cosmology science in general.

After four years at St. Joseph's, he joins the Madras

Institute of Technology (MIT). This private institution was the

only one in the country then, which offers post-B.Sc. and

diploma courses in the aeronautical engineering, automobile

engineering, electronic and instrument technology.

Monetary difficulties to join the MIT are solved when his

sister readily agreed to mortgage her gold bangles and chain to

raise the necessary amount of about Rs. 1000. He was however

determined to repay this amount to his sister as early as

possible.

Even as a young boy he admires the flight of birds and

develops a fascination for subject of flight. He therefore opts for

the course in aeronautical engineering at the MIT. During these

years (1954-57], his goal in hfe becomes clear, and that is to fly

aircraft.
 -34-

He also realizes that because of his background, he lackes

assertiveness. However, he slowly starts to open up and

communicate with others. He is in a small class of about eight

or nine students which make for close interaction only amongst

his classmates, but also with members of the faculty. As the

number of faculty members is more than half the number of

students, there has very close contact between them.

The three years at MIT make Kalam a different person.

He becomes quite confident of his objectives in life and realizes

that he could perform well under stress and delivers the goods.

At the age of about 26, Kalam is graduated from MIT. He is then

selected as a graduate aeronautical engineer at the Hindustan

Aeronautics Limited at Bangalore, and placed in the engine

division, dealing with the overhauling of both piston and

turbine engines.

He applies for a career in the Indian Air Force [lAF] and

also for a job at New Delhi at the Directorate of Technical

Development and Production [Air] (DTD&P] of the Ministry of

 -35-

Defence. He is quite disappointed not to be selected for the job

and goes to Rishikesh.

After a batli in the holy Ganga, Kalam walks in the

Sivananda Ashram and meels Swami Sivananda. The Swami Ji

seemes to have read his mind and asks him the reason for his

sadness.

The question surprises Kalam then he narrates what

have happened. Swami Ji advises him to accept destiny. He

added, "Become one with yourself and surrender yourself to

the will of God".

He recalls the words of Kabir, "You must be content with

the lot assigned to you by God. Have faith and patience". The

Swami Ji's words of comfort serves to heal Kalam's feelings of

dejection.

Kalam then returns to New Delhi and is told at the

DTD&P (Air) that he has been selected for the post he has

applied for. In fact, the letter of appointment is given to him

then and there. Kalam joins DTD&P [Air) in 1958 and works on

a project dealing with supersonic target aircraft.

 -36-

A little later, he is sent to the Aircraft and Armament

Testing Unit at Kanpur, where he gains some shop floor

experience. On returning to Delhi, he is posted at the newly set-

up Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE] at

Bangalore.

At ADE, he initiated by himself gets a project to design

and develop an indigenous hovercraft heading a small group of

four persons, none of whom know anything about the design

and development of a hovercraft.

What they lack in knowledge, however is amply made up

by determination, enthusiasm and commitment. So the work

starts from scratch.

After a year or so, the Defence Minister, V. K. Krishna

Memon, on a visit to ADE, is told about the hovercraft project.

The minister, an ardent believer in self-reliance and one who

has played a key role in the setting up and development of the

Defence Research and Development Organization, somewhat as

a parallel to the CSIR, expresses interest in this project and

monitors its progress regularly.

 -37-

During another visit to the ADE, the Defence Minister is

delighted to see that the hovercraft, named Nandi, is ready for

test flight and wants to ride in it.

Brushing aside objection by the accompanying Group

Captain, who is worried about the minister's safety, the

minister has a ride in the machine which is piloted by non

other that Kalam. The machine works quite well and the

minister is happy at this accomplishment. He suggests that a

more powerful vehicle be designed and developed by Kalam's

group.

Unfortunately, not long after this, Krishna Menon is

replaced as defence minister and due to this change, the

hovercraft project, for some reason, discontinues. Kalam is

quite dejected at this turn of event.

But the call of destiny is nearing. Another visitor to the

Director of ADE wants to see hovercraft. He is shown the

machine and Kalam, at the request of visitor, gives him a ride of

that machine. Later on, Kalam comes to know that the visitor is
 -38-

none other than Prof. M. G. K. Menon, the then Director of the

Tata Institute of Fundamental Research [TFFR] at Bombay.

Shortly after this, Kalam is asked to appear for an

interview at TIFR, Bombay, for the post of Rocket Engineer at

the newly set-up Indian Committee for Space Research

[INCOSPAR], who has plans to institute space research in India.

For the first time he meets Dr. Vikram Sarabhai who is a

member of the selection committee. Kalam is selected for the

post of rocket engineer this marked a watershed in his

professional career.

Because of the advantage of Thumba [near Trivandrum

in Kerala) being very close to the earth's magnetic equator -

which is quite different from the geographical equator of the

earth INCOSPAR set up in 1962 the Thumba Equatorial Roket

Lunching Station (TERES). Its office initially is in a church

which is acquired for the rocket-launching programme, with

the full cooperation of the Church authorities. (The church

today houses the space museum of the Indian Space Research

Organization)
 -39-

The authorities of TERLS selectes Kalam to go to the U.S.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration [NASA] for a

six month training programme on sounding rocl<ets, and the

launching techniques. This is the only training programme

Kalam ever receives in America or anywhere else abroad. Thus

begins a long and close association of Kalam with rockets and

roetry which continues even to this day, 36 years later.

The six months in America opens the eyes of Kalam in

many ways. He realizes how scientific research and

technologies development have to be well integrated like the

two horses in a chariot moving smoothly. At the Langley

Research Centre of NASA, he gets the chance to see R&D work

for advanced aerospace technology being carried out. Later on,

he is sent to the Goddard Space Flight Centre in Maryland to

see the work being done on NASA's earth-orbiting satellite

applications.

The third and last leg of Kalam's training is at the Flight

Test Facility of NASA at Wallops Islands, where sounding

rocket programmes are implemented. He learnes how, in

 -40-

America, even item of work done have a definite purpose or

objective, and how hard-working the Americans are. He also

realizes how by determination and commitment, they

overcome the various difficulties, obstacles and hurdles that

every project and everybody's life are full of.

He is amazed to see in the reception lobby at NASA's

Flight Test Facility, a big a painting, depicting Tipu Sultan's

rockets be firing against the British, way back in 1794. The

painting seemes to glorify Tipu as a hero of rocketry.

But nowhere in India, not even in Tipu's Palace museum,

a painting like this Kalam understands why America has

prospered in science and technology whereas the land where

rocketry as a weapon is born, languished.

Indians, he feels, do not have a sense of national pride. It

is almost always denigration belittling, criticizing and

complaining. The desire and determination to accomplish

something creditable and teamwork are lacking. The six

months of his stay in U.S. makes Kalam a different man.

 -41-

On his return to TERLS in November, 1963, Kalam plays a

key role in launching the first sounding rocket [Nike Apache}

made at NASA. TERLS is a collaborative project involving

France, U.S.A. and U.S.S.R.

Both Dr. Homi Bhabha and Dr. Vikram Sarabhai have

clear vision about India's national space programme. They

include development of rocket fuels, propulsion systems

aerospace materials, advanced fabrication techniques, rocket

motor instrumentations, control and guidance systems,

telemetry, tracking systems and scientific instrument packages

to be set up in space. Thus the Space Science and Technology

Centre [SSTC] comes into being at Thumba in 1965. the first

indigenous effort culminated in the development of the Rohini

Sounding Rocket (RSR).

In the last 30 years and more, several hundred RSRs have

been launched. The first one consists of a single solid

propulsion motor with a weight of 32 kg. and lift a payload of

7Kg. an altitude of about 10 KM.

 -42-

Soon, one more solid propellant stage is added so that

tlie payload had a weight of near 100 l<;g. and it could reach an

altitude of 350KM. The indigenous effort relating to sounding

rockets helps in developing very high performance solid

propellants like the ones based on polyurethane and this led to

the setting up of the Propellant Fuel Complex and the Rocket

Propellant Plant.

Kalam has constantly in mind that what is being done is a

revival of the technology rockets that Tipu Sultan had initiated.

It has been forgotten for about 160 years after Tipu betrayed

by his own men and killed by the British in 1799.

A new beginning in the space field has been made in

India in the early sixties, thanks to vision of Pandit Nehru,

Homi Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai. For his work on the Nike-

Apache sounding rocket, Kalam is rewarded and put in charge

of rocket integration and safety.

 CHAPTER - 2
r - -.. . -,.. -n.-i I.I. I.IJ .<«i>fis,i„< I'lnjy^M-. ..-. . . ..^.r—

CONTEMPLATIVE
STAGES
 CONTEMPLATIVE STAGES

Kalam admits that the value system in which he had been

nurtured was profoundly religious. He had been taught that

true reality lay beyond the material world in the spiritual realm

and that knowledge could be obtained only through inner

experience. Various incidents through out his life profoundly

affected Kalam.

Kalam inherited various qualities from his parent like

faith in goodness and deep kindness. His religious beliefs are

deeply affected by his father who told him that as every human

being is the element of good or bad. So one should not afraid of

difficulties, sufferings and problems.

His father told him that adversity always presents

opportunities for introspection.

Here it would be worth quoting Adlerian psychology that

assumes a central personality dynamic reflecting the growth

and forward movement of life. As he says it is a future oriented

striving toward an ideal goal of significance, mastery, success

 -44-

or completion. As children start their lines smaller, weaker and

less socially and intellectually competent than the adults

around them here this psychology seems to fit in the case of

Kalam where he himself admits that he tried to emulate his

father. He has the desire to grow up, to become a capable adult

like his father. He gradually acquires the skills and knowledge

in the filed of science and technology.

At one place Kalam himself admits that he tried to

emulate his father in his own world of science and technology.

Even the fundamental truths are revealed to him by his father.

For Kalam science has always been the path to spiritual

enrichment and self-realization. He looks at science as

something which takes man towards God, for him the home of

rational thought matrices of science is fairy tales. He feels

himself convinced regarding the existence of divine power.

Kalam has the view that divine power can lift one up from

confusion, misery, melancholy and failure and guide one to

one's true place. According to him if ever an individual serves

 - 45 -

his emotional &physical bondage he is on the road to freedom,

happiness and peace of mind.

The influence of Kalam's sister's husband Ahmed

Jallalubdin and cousin Samsuddin, on his boyhood can't be

denied. Kalam's talks with Jallaluddin mostly revolved around

spiritual matters. Although Jallaluddin had limited schooling

because of family reasons, he always encourages Kalam to excel

in his studies.

Kalam himself says that he is the only person on the

entire island who could write English. He is the first person in

Kalam's life who introduces scientific discoveries,

contemporary literature latest achievement of medical science.

In his words.

It was he who made me aware of a brave new

world beyond our narrow confines.^

As far as his personal traits are concerned he inherites

honesty and self-discipline from his father. He inherites faith in

goodness and deep kindness from his mother. Along with this

Wings of Fire, pg. 7

 -46-

various other incidents that affectes Kalam are also mentioned

in the book which deeply affectes mental making of Kalam.

What Kalam is today is not the result of any particular incident

but rather series of incidents that come in his life one by one.

One such incident that really affects Kalam's life is worth

quoting when Kalam applies for admission into the Madras

Institute of Technology, he is selected but the fee of 1000

rupees is too much for his father but his sister comes like one

angel in his life. His sister Zohara had to mortgage her gold

bangles and chain to see him through, this determination on

the part of her sister heartily affects him. He is also determined

to fulfill her dreams.

The second time when Kalam is terribly disappointed

when he applies for the Air Force and the Directorate of

Technical Development and production DTD&P [Air} of the

Ministry of Defence. The interview calls from both the places

arrives almost simultaneously. There he is excited but nervous,

determined but anxious, confident but tense; he could finish

 -47-

ninth in the batch of 25 examined to select eight officers for

commissioning in the Air Force.

Another aspect of Adlerian psychology seems apt in the

case of Kalam where he says that A person has the desire to

acquire skills and demonstrate their competence, they gain in

confidence and self esteem and this natural striving for

perfection may however be held back if their self image is

degraded by failures in physical, intellectual and social

development. Kalam also has to undergo the same situation

when in his first interview at Dehradun for lAF he is rejected

out of 25 students there he feels degraded by the failure than

an inspiring incident takes place in his life when he goes to

Rishikesh and after taking bath in Ganga he goes to the

Sivananda Ashram and tells Swami Ji about his unsuccessful

attempt of joining the Indian Air Force, The Swami Ji replies in

a feeble, but very deep voice.

Desire, when it stems from the heart and

spirit, when it is pure and intense, possesses

awesome electromagnetic energy. This energy is

 -48-

released into the ether each night, as the mind falls

into the sleep state. Each morning it returns to the

conscious state reinforced with the cosmic

currents that which has been imaged will surely

and certainly be manifested. So Swami Ji told

Kalam to rely open this ageless promise as surely

as he can rely upon the eternally unbroken

promise of sunrise... and of spring.^

Swami Ji guides him to accept his destiny and goes ahead

with his life. He tells him that what he is destined to become is

not revealed now but it is predetermined so he should not

worry and accept his destiny and go ahead in his life. He also

encourages to Kalam by saying that this failure is essential in

his life to lead him to his destined path. Swami Ji encouraged

him with his divine words and forced him to search the true

purpose of his life.

This purposeful meeting with Swami Ji influences

Kalam's mind to a great extent when he returns to Delhi he is

' Wings of Fire, pg. 25

 -49-

selected as a Senior Scientific Assistant at DTD&P (Air). His

monthly salary was Rs.250/- per month in 1958.

Kalam's unique working quality on a indigenous

hovercraft named Nandi got him noticed. As a result he is taken

by the Indian Committee for Space Research [INCOSPAR) as a

Rocket Engineer. In 1962 he is asked to proceed to New York,

US for a six month training programme on sounding rocket

launching techniques, at the National Aeronautics and Space

Administration (NASA) work centers.

After that an incident of NASA makes him feel very

proud, as he started working at Langley Research Centre (LRC)

and Goddard Flight Centre (GSFC). Towards the end of his trip

he goes to Wallops Flight Facility at Wallops Island in East

Coast, Virginia. This place is the base for NASA's sounding

rocket programme. Here Kalam is inspired by a painting and

says about it -

I saw a painting prominently displayed in the

reception lobby. It depicted a battle scene with a

few rockets flying in the background. A painting

 -50-

with this theme should be the most commonplace

things at a Flight Facility, but the painting caught

my eye because the soldiers on the side launching

the rockets were not white, but dark-skinned, with

the racial features of people found in South Asia.

One day, my curiosity got the better of me, drawing

me towards the painting. It turned out be Tipu

Sultan's army fighting the British. The painting

depicted a fact forgotten in Tipu's own country but

commemorated here on the other side of the

planet. I was happy to see an Indian glorified by

NASA as a hero of warfare rocketry^.

Nevertheless Tipu manages to inspire a few talented

Indians out of them one is Abdul Kalam.

The development of Indian rocket in the

Twentieth century can be seer as a revival of the

Eightieth century dream of Tipu Sultan. When Tipu

Sultan was killed, the British captured more Than

700 rockets and subsystems of 900 rockets in the

' Wings of Fire, pg. 38

 -51-

battle of Turukhanahally in 1799 These Rockets

had been taken to England by William Congreve

and were subjected by the British to what we call

'reverse engineering' today.^

Thanks mainly to the efforts of people like Dr. Vikram

Sarabhai and Jawaharlal Nehru, rocketry is reborn in India.

Prof. Sarabhai is the one who inspired Kalam to stretch himself

beyond boundaries. For Kalam, he is the Mahatma Gandhi of

Indian Science, who has been in reality Kalam's mentor &

influences him most and moulded his professional career.

Generating leadership qualities in his team and inspiring them

through both ideas and examples.

On his return to Truvandrum after attending the meeting

of the Missile Panel, he is informed at the airport of the sad

news of Dr. Sarabhai's sudden death in the early hours of

December 31 1971 due to cardiac arrest. Kalam is shocked and

feels orphaned. It is a great personal blow to Kalam and a huge

loss to Indian science. After the initial shock, Kalam decides to

work as hard as possible to fulfill the dreams of Dr Sarabhai,

' Wings of Fire, pg. 43

 -52-

which he thought is best tribute he could pay to the departed

soul.

As a tribute to Dr. Sarabhai the entire complex at

Thumba consisting of TERLS, SSTC the Rocket Propellant Plant.

The Rocket Fabrication facility and the Propellant Fuel

Complex are now merged and named the Vikram Sarabhai

Space Centre (VSSC).

After that Prof. Satish Dhawan takes over as the head of

ISRO. This is how Kalam sees him that he could hold the

listener enthralled because of the logical, intellectual acumen

he could bring to bear on his analysis of any Subject. All found

him full of optimism and compassion. Although he often judged

himself harshly, with no allowances of excuses, he is Generous

to a fault when it comes to others.

An other person who influences Kalam both personally

and professionally is Dr. Brahm Prakash. Kalam expresses his

feeling for both of them he says that If Prof. Sarabhai is the

creator of VSSC; Dr. Brahm Prakash is the executor. He had

nurtured the institution when it most needed nourishment. In

 -53-

Kalam's view Dr. Braham Prakash plays a very important role

in shaping his leadership skills. In fact Kalam's association with

him is a turning point in his life. His humility mellows him and

helps him discard his aggressive approach. He is an intellectual

giant with a frail constitution; he had a childlike innocence and

Kalam always considers him a Saint among scientists. This is

how Kalam admits the effect of these great personalities on

him.

He gets the help of Dr. Brahm Prakash who delegats

financial powers to the Project Team under the influence of

these great leaders Kalam gives the maximum freedom with

responsibility and accountability to all his team mates he

produces good results. As the project leader he had somehow

to keep abreast of all that is happening around in real time and

had to update his knowledge which is called for proper time

management. Perhaps his being a bachelor also helps as he

could devote all seven days in the week to the management of

the project.
 -54-

In 1975, as ISRO becomes a department of the

Government of India with the setting up of the Department of

Space (Dos]. In Prof. Dhawn, the Chairman of ISRO and

Secretary of Dos, Kalam finds a very knowledgeable person.

Both of them believe in employing proven technologies rather

than taking the risk of going for technologies under

development and hence not yet proven.

In the year 1976 when Kalam's father passes away he

looses his desire to Hne and expresses his grief in these words,

This time he had gone beyond the

capabilities of ay doctor, care or money. My father

Jainulabdeen, who had lived on Rameshwaram

island for 102 years, had passed away leaving

behind fifteen grandchildren and one great-

grandson. He had lead an exemplary life.^

If we talk bout he psychological aspect than it would be

worth quoting Adler who has the idea that people are

motivated more by their expectations of the future than they

Wings of Fire, pg. 85

 -55-

are by the past. If a person believes that there is heaven for

those who are good and hell for those who are bad. here

psychologist gives his point that whatever the subconscious

mind accepts as true, it acts as if it is true. Kalam also seems to

be motivated by his own expectations of the future as his

personal beliefs are strong and due to that only whatever his

subconscious mind accepts as true it become true in near

future. It seems his strong determination and will power to

create something always works on this psychology of Fictional

Finalism where after about eight years of serious effort

involving many institutions, the first experimental launch of

SLV-3 takes place in August 10, 1979. It proves to be

unsuccessful. A great deal of gloom descends on all the

scientists, engineers and others who had toiled hard on the

SLV-3 project.

Nobody was more dejected and unhappy than Kalam. In

fact, he is broken-hearted, luckily, both Dr. Brahm Prakash and

Prof. Dhawan are supportive and consoles and encourages him

to try and try again till he succeeded. All these incidents had

deeper psychological effect on Kalam.

 -56-

After critically examining all possible reason for the

failure, a second attempt is made on July 18,1980.

After previous failures and issues, SLV-3 lifts off from

SHAR. It is India's first Satellite Launch Vehicle, and Kalam

utteres the most important words of his life, "Mission Director

calling all stations. Stand by for an important announcement.

All stages performed to mission requirements. The fourth stage

apogee motor has given the required velocity to put Rohini

Satellite into orbit. Minutes later he was lifted into the

shoulders of his jubilant colleagues as India became the fifth

country to achieve satellite launch capability.

Failures had deeper impact on the mental making of

Kalam after failures he creates something new, .after the

successful launch of SLV-3 those who have been down in the

dumps a year earlier are now on top of the world. Those who

have laughed at the failure in august 1979, are now lying with

one another to heartily congratulate all concerned, particularly

Kalam who is honored by not only the entire scientific

community of India but also by the Government of India.

 -57-

Perhaps all this creates envy, and Kalam is sensitive to all

this. Luckily for him, his talents and capabilities are needed

elsewhere - at the DRDL, Hyderabad. Thus after about 20 years

of dedicated work on the Indian space programme at

Trivandrum, he leaves for Hyderabad early in the eighties.

Kalam by nature is ready to experiment anything new

when Kalam is asked to give a presentation at New Delhi. At a

meeting presided over by the Defence Minster and attended by

the three Service Chiefs, Dr. Arunachalam and other senior

officials, proposals are made on the design of the heat shields

for building long-range missile future. This is a project that

interestes Kalam very much.

Everybody present at the meeting is quite excited about

these proposals. At the end of the meeting the Defence Minister

askes Kalam and Dr. Arunachalam to meet him later in the

evening. At this meeting the Minister asks for an Integrated

Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), and that

too, by the next morning! It is indeed a tall order. But Kalam

and Arunachalam works the whole night and produces an

 -58-

action plan. The minister quickly cleares the proposal. This is

the strength of Kalam well reflected in each and every project

that he undertakes.

As the Defence Minister secures expeditious Cabinet

approval for the IGMDP with a sanctions Rs. 3880 million. The

news electrify the DRDL scientists. Five missiles are to be built:

the surface-to-surface missile Prithvi; the tactical core missile

called Trishul; the surface-to-air medium-range missile Akash;

the anti-tank missile Nag; and the IRBM named Agni which

involves the design and development of a re-entry vehicle.

The IGMDP is finally launched by Arunachalam at DRDL

on July 27,1983. Not only of all the staff of DRDL participate in

this meeting but so too is done by a large number of scientists

and experts from several laboratories and academic

institutions in the country and officers from the armed forces.

The atmosphere at DRDL influences the working style of

Kalam who plays a leading role in the design and development

of SLV-3, which successfully launched the Rohini satellite on

July 18, 1980, is now taking on a much more complex and

 -59-

difficult project, namely, the IGMDP, and that too just about a

year after he joins the DRDL. Perhaps Kalam's finest: hour is

the period he spends [about ten years] at DRDL executing the

IGMDP.

The atmosphere in the eighties at the DRDL is very

similar to that at Thumba during the sixties and seventies.

Kalam could capitalize on the tremendous enthusiasm,

exuberance and strong desire on the part of all concerned to

make a grand success of the IGMDP. He takes his time in

selecting competent leaders for the five missile projects, from

among the many talented scientists that DRDL had.

Using the consortium approach, he involves several

institutions and organizations scattered all over the country to

carry out various tasks directly related to the IGMDP. Through

concurred engineering, the period require to execute the

project is reduced to the minimum possible. All the lessons that

he learns at Thumba stood him in good stead in the execution

of the most complex and challenging project ever undertaken

in the country. Whatever Kalam learns at Thumba had great

 -60-

impact on him and later on the effect of the atmosphere that

Kalam experiences thatThumba is reflected in his experiments.

The first test of the indigenously developed inertial

guidance system is carried out successfully on June 26, 1984.

This system is based on a project named DEVIL that is initiated

at DRDL in the late seventies, after suitable medications and

improvements. The successful test is universally hailed.

Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, on hearing this good news,

decides to visit DRDL. A strong dynamic lady, her visit the

following month, and her speech to the stall of DRDL, helps

considerably to boost their morale. When she asks Kalam for

the schedule for the first test fly of the missile that they are

working on, he said: "June 1987". She promises all help to meet

schedule, and wants results fast, without sacrificing excellence.

The management techniques evolved by Kalam are

"home-grown", but effective. The unique quality of close

monitoring of the project from New Delhi makes all concerned

at DRDL work with speed and enthusiasm. It is here that the

 -61-

missile man we know is born, and so did his babies Prithvi,

Trishul, Akash, Nag, and Agni.

All the, now famous, missiles are test fired during

Kalam's stay at DRDL. A Padma Vibhushan in 1990 follows

along with all the accolades.

But for an Indian, a Bharat Ratna is the peak of excellence

and the greatest appreciation that he can get for his efforts.

And so when the nation honors one of its beloved scientists in

1997, Kalam's name is forever enshrined in the annals of

Indian science.

Throughout his life he learns through all the above

mentioned incidents because of them only the missile man we

know today is born. In Kalam's views all are divine in the sense

that there is divinity in everybody so there is no religion

involved. It is in everybody one has to give Wings to one's

divinity that means one has to do hard work and one needs to

have determination.
 -62-

Kalam's autobiography is a must read for all Indians. It

inspires educates, and encourages us to do things which we

could but never tried.

CHAPTER - 3

CONCLUSION
 CONCLUSION

Arul Pakir Jain Ulabdeen Abdul Kalam's autobography

Wings of Fire is an excellent inspiring book. It gives a positive

message to the frustrated people of India. Kalam's Wings of Fire

describes how an innocent boy from a remote corner of Tamil

Nadu achieves greatness in rocketry and missiles technology

and thereby raises his country's position in this applied science

and technology to the international standard. This book

delineates how Kalam, a boy from rural background, without

any influence with his positive attitude and hard work and

perseverance is able to attain the highest civilian award in

India, the Bharath Ratna Kalam's humble ways of observing

and admiring stalwarts like Dr. Vikram Sarabhai and Dr. Brahm

Prakash and learning skills like leadership quality and time

management is really remarkable. No doubt Kalam is a

charismatic person, a combination of scientific endurance and

human diligence who can inspire people in the world

irrespective of age, caste, creed, religion and country.

 -64-

The moment you think of missile, and if you are an

Indian, chances are that almost always the figure of Abdul

Kalam conjures up in the mind. Such is the impact of Dr. Kalam

on the development of missile technology in India.

Perhaps the same impact led me to read his

autobiography. Kalam's autobiography is as inspiring as his life

to the miUions of Indian around the globe.

Aptly titled Wings of Fire, written by one of Kalam's own

pupils, Arun Tiwari. Arun worked under Kalam for over a

decade in the Defence Research and Development Laboratory

(DRDL). Hyderabad. How difficult the task must have been for

Arun is expressed in his own words,

His (Dr. Kalam] conversation was not always

easy to follow, but was always fresh and

stimulating. There were complexities, subtleties,

and intriguing metaphors and subplots in his

narrative, but gradually the unfolding of his

brilliant mind took the from of a continuous

discourse, but it was all worth it in the end. For

 -65-

myself [Arun], writing this book has been like a

pilgrimage what more can one says for such a

person.

This autobiographical account has been one of the most

inspiring I've read in recent years. His life has been most

selflessly devoted to his country, and rewarded most

deservingly, with the highest civilian award of the country, the

Bharat Ratna. The book also goes beyond biography, and

serves as an excellent practical guide to R&D meanagement, on

how to design and build institutions, mentor and inspire men,

to success and fulfillment. The account often goes deep into his

own personal philosophy, austere beyond the reach of most

average householders, and fortunately for posterity, records

his philosophical and spiritual insights in a most accessible

way, in spite of his own modest disclaimer, "1 am not a

philosopher". This man, who spent all his life 'learning

rocketry', also learnt many valuable lessons on how to manage

men, matters and materials, while building up the country's

defence R&D Programmes, as also its technological capabilities

in space and atomic energy.

 -66-

Kalam chooses to organize the autobiographical material

into four sections : Orientation, Creation, Propitiation and

Contemplation, devoted roughly to the first 32 years [1931-

1963}, the next 17 years [1963-1980], another 10 years [1981-

1991], and beyond.

Born to an obscure middle-class family in a remote but

spiritually supercharged island town at the southern tip of the

Indian peninsula, Kalam progresses in sure and steady steps

through childhood, among loving family members who

sacrifice readily for him, through scholarship with devoted and

inspirational teachers [Rameshwaram Elementary School;

Schwartz High School, Ramanathapuram; St. Joseph's College,

Trichy; Madras Institute of Technology, Madras], into his first

foray into professional life. This first phase of his life covers 32

eventful years most felicitously in the space of 31 pages.

The best part of the books is the most meaningful lesson

given by Kalam for a young person preparing for a professional

life.
 -67-

The trouble with Indians [was] not that they

lacked educational opportunities or industrial

infrastructure - the trouble was in their failure to

discriminate between disciplines and to rationalize

their choices^

A lesson that young Kalam learnes from Professor

Sponder, an Austrian aeronautical engineer who teaches him at

the Madras Institute of Technology. It is Sponder who, as it

were, dedicates Kalam to a life in Aeronautical Engineering.

Kalam's own well meaning advice to all novitiate engineering

students is when they choose their specialization, the essential

point to consider is whether the choice articulates their inner

feelings and aspirations. All those young men and women who

rush headlong into software careers should pause and reflect.

Nearly half of the book goes to the "Creation" phase.

Here, one sees Kalam managing and inspiring large scale

developmental projects on rocket technology. This is an

adventure, not without struggle and frequent failure, but

culminating in the pioneering success of the Satellite Launch

' A.K.A. Wings of Fire, Pg. 18

 -68-

Vehicle (SLV-3), the fifth country to achieve satelhte launching

capability, and thus propelling India into the Space Age. He is

seen as engineer and innovator, inspirer and mentor of

courageous colleagues, and builder of teams and institutions.

This also brings Kalam his first brush with fame, adulation and

inevitably, professional rivalries due to jealousy.

The "Propitiation" phase we can see Kalam going into the

defence stage of his career, breathing fresh life into struggling

research institutions under the Defence R&D Organisation, and

later taking charge of all the DRDO establishments, helping

India to acquire modern weaponry and delivery systems. If the

"creation" phase is marked by the SLV-3 sage, this phase had

the Agni and related missile programmes as the defining

theme.

As Kalam moves into the contemplative phase of his life,

a grateful and worshipful nation heaps its highest awards on

him, and ironically, also makes him take more wide ranging

responsibilities connected with science, technology and the

Defence of the realm. He gives credit to the many great

 -69-

visionaries who prepared him for Hfe, especially Professors

Sarabhai, Dhawan and Brahm Prakash. He ends the book with

the fervent prayer that eventfully the country will become

strong, prosperous and "developed".

1 would like to sum up with Kalam's own words,

I will not be presumptuous enough to say

That my life can be a role model for anybody; but

Some poor child living in an obscure place, in an

underprivileged social setting may find little solace

in the way my destiny has been shaped. It could

perhaps help such children liberate themselves

from the bondage of their illusory backwardness

and hopelessness. Irrespective of where they are

right now, they should be aware that God is with

them and when He is with them, who can be

against them? .... Let the latent Fire in the heart of

every Indian acquire wings, and the Glory of this

great country light up the sky.i

Wings of Fire, pg.

 -70-

If for Arun Tiwari "writing this book has been hke a

pilgrimage", then for me, reading it has been an equally

stimulating and uplifting journey through a mind riding high on

the Wings of science and soulful spiritualism. Kalam's

exhortation to all of us is that we should give Wings to the

divine Fire we are all born with and have within us and this will

"fill the world with the glow of its goodness".

BIBLIOGRAPHY
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

A. PRIMARY SOURCES

Kalam A.PJ. Abdul, Indomitable Spirit, ISBN, 2006

Kalam A.P.J. Abdul, Tiwari Arun K., Guiding Souls: Dialogues

on the Purpose of Life, Ocean Books, 2005.

Kalam A.P.J. Abdul, India-my-dream, Excel Books, 2004.

Kalam A.P.J. Abdul, Envisioning an Empowered Nation:

Technology for Societal Transformation, TATA

McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Ltd, 2004.

Kalam A.P.J. Abdul, Scientist to President, Gyan Publishing

House, 2003.

Kalam A.P.J. Abdul, Ignited Minds: Unleashing the Power

Within India, Penguin Books, 2003.

Kalam A.P.J. Abdul, Rajan Y. S., India 2020: A Vision for the

New Millennium, Penguin Books India, 2003.

 72- F^H
Kalam A.P.J. Abdul, Tiwari Arun, Bhushan K., Katyal G., Wmjg^^^^fO^l

of Fire: An Autobiography of Kalam A.P.J. Abdul, AN^ JN ^<: s-/.

Pub. Corp, 2002.

Kalam A.PJ. Abdul, Children Ask Kalam, Pearson Education,

ISBN 81-7758-245-3

Kalam A.P.J. Abdul and Raj an Y.S., The Scientific Indian: A

Twenty-first Century Guide to the World around Us

 -73-

B. SECONDARY SOURCE

Sen Amartya, "Making Sense of Identity", Identity & Violence,

Penguin, 2006.

Kapoor Kapil, "The Question of Idendity", Australia & India

Interconnections : Identity, Representation, Belonging. Ed.

Sareen Santosh K., New Delhi, Mantra Books, 2006.

Kumar Vipin, "Identity and Totality : A Synthetic Definition".

Identity Local & Global ed. Baral Kailash C. & Kar Prafulla

C. Delhi, Pencraft International, 2003.

Dallmayr Fred. "Social Identity and Creative Praxis". Identity

Local & Global ed. Baral Kailash C. & Kar Prafulla C. Delhi,

Pencraft International, 2003.

Ferrara Alesandra, "The Fulfillment of Collective Identities",

Reflective Authenticity, London : Routledge, 1998.

Mohanty Satya P., "The Epistemic Status of Cultural Identity".

Identities : Race, Class, Gener & Nationality. Ed. Alcoff

Linda Martin & Mendieta Edwardo, Oxford : Blackwell,

2003.
 -74-

Laclau Ernesto, "Universalism, Particularism and the Question

of Identity", Identities : Race, Class, Gener & Nationality.

Ed. Alcoff Linda Martin & Mendieta Edwardo, Oxford :

Blackwell, 2003.

Hall Stuart Ethnicity : Identity and Difference, Beyond Borders:

A Cultural Reader ed. Bass Randall & Young Joy. New

York: Houghton Hifflin Co., 2003.

Gedalof Irene, "Power, Identity and Impure Spaces". Against

Purity : Rethonking Identity with Indian and Western

Feminisms. New York: Routhledge, 1999.

Sareen Santosh K., "Self, Identity and Belonging : The

Aboriginal Case". Australia & India Interconnections :

Identity, Representation, Belonging. New Delhi, Mantra

Books, 2006.
 -75-

C. Internet Sources / Interview / Articles

changeminds.wordpress.com/.../inspiring-interview-of-dr-

abdul-kalam

en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Abdul_Kalam

http://blog.seattlepi.com/monsoonmasala/2009/06/22/my-

interview-with-dr-abdul-kalam/

http://changerminds.wordpress.eom/2009/06/28/inspiring.i

nterview-of-dr-abdul-kalam/

http://en.wikipedia.0rg/wiki/A._P._l._Abdul_Kalam

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/autobiography

http://www.here-be-dreams.com/psychology/adler.html [3]

http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/jun/21inter.htm

knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/india/article.cfm?articleid...

webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/genpsyhumanists.html - [1]

www.abdulkalam.com/kalam/.../display_content.jsp?...
 -76-

www.financialexpress.com/news/I...Abdul-Kalam/205701/-

www.hindu.com/fline/fll519/15190880.htm

www.indiavision2020.org/articles.htm

www.rediff.com/news/1998/oct/13kalam.htm

www.trans4mind.com/mind-development/adler.html (2)

www.zimbio.com/President+Abdul+Kalam/articles

zephyrfriends.blogspot.com/.../india-today-interview-apj-

abdul-kalam.html

Internet Links

"Former presidents". Government of India.

http://presidentoFmdia.nic.in/formerpresidents.html.

"Kalam was real people's President: President's bodyguards".

Hindustan Times. 2007-07-24.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/FullcoverageStor

vPage.aspx?id=dldfada8-d9b3-4783-ad6a-

44f56165dd9fWho%20will%20be%20India%27s%20next%

20President Special. Retrieved 2009-03-27.

 -77-

Perappadan, Bindu Shajan (2007-04-14). "The people's President

does it again". Chennai, India: The Hindu.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/04/14/stories/20070414111301

OO.htm. Retrieved 2009-03-27.

Pruthi, R. K. (2005). "Ch. 4. Missile Man of India". President

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Anmol Publication, pp. 61-76.

ISBN 978-8126113446.

http://books.google.com/books?id=Ee3PR5HFBCAC&.

Sen, Amartya (2003). "India and the Bomb". In M. V. Ramana and

C. Rammanohar Reddy. Prisoners of the Nuclear Dream.

Sangam Book. pp. 167-188. ISBN 978-8125024774.

http://books.google.com/books?id=IiZA-

bQdelwC&pg=I^l-PA169&.

"www.whatcanigive.info"

India's A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Monday 30 Nov, 1998 TIME.com

Missile History

^ Pandit, Rajat (9 January 2008). "Missile plan: Some hits,

misses". The Times Of India.

 -78-

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Missile_plan Some hits

misses/articleshow/2684641 .cms.

^ "Kalam, the author catching on in South Korea".

http://www.outlookindia.com/pti news.asp?id=354077.

^ "India leader advocates open source".

http://news.cnet.com/India-leader-advocates-open-

source/2100-1016 3-1011255.html.

^ "IEEE Honorary Membership Recipients". IEEE.

http://www.ieee.org/documents/hon mem rl.pdf. Retrieved

28 August 2011.

A It
Former President Kalam chosen for Hoover Medal". Indiatimes

(New York). 27 March 2009.

http://timesofmdia.indiatimes.com/India/Kalam-chosen-for-

Hoover-Medal/articleshow/4321760.cms. Retrieved 30

October 2010.

^ Caltech GALCIT International von Karman Wings Award

^ "Dr Abdul Kalam, former President of India, receives NTU

Honorary Degree of Doctor of Engineering". Nanyang

 -79-

Technological University. 26 August 2008.

http://news.ntu.edu.sg/pages/newsdetail.aspx?URL=http://ne

ws.ntu.edu.sg/news/Pages/NR2008 Aug26.aspx&Guid=3 72

8913b-4ced-4d53-b9c3-

f17ed2bdaa78&Categorv=&MonthGroup-808. Retrieved 28

August 2011.

^ "Documentary on Kalam released". Chennai, India: The Hindu.

2008-01-12.

http://www.hindu.com/2008/01/25/stories/20080125505202

OO.htm. Retrieved 2009-03-27.

^ My Days With Mahatma Abdul Kalam, ISBN 978-8190452953

Retrieved 2010-07-01

External Links

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam - A Site for Inspiration and Nation Building

Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam: Former President of India

Profile of Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam