My Science School

Dr. Kalam had his early Schooling at the Rameshwaram Elementary School. His then teacher, Sivasubramania Iyer hailed from an orthodox Brahmin family, but he was very broadminded. He was a rebel who wanted the society to change, and was ready to face the challenges on the way. In one of the incidents, his wife refused to serve food to young Kalam, whom he had invited to his home. As a response, he himself served the boy and went on to invite the boy the next weekend as well.

Although Kalam was reluctant to visit Iyer’s home, this time he was welcomed by Iyer’s wife and she took him to the kitchen and served him food with her own hands. This was a great instance where Iyer reformed his wife not by force but by setting an example. Sivasubramania Iyer refused to believe that caste and religion segregate people and advised Kalam to be prepared to face such situations if he wished to change the system.

Iyer was also a dedicated teacher and established a good rapport with his students. He encouraged them to aim higher. He encouraged young Kalam to study further and to develop so that he could be “on par with the highly educated people of the big cities.”

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“Every child is born, with some inherited characteristics, into a specific socio-economic and emotional environment, and trained in certain ways by figures of authority,” wrote Dr. Kalam in his autobiography, Wings of Fire.

Dr. Kalam always understood that the acceptance of religions was a way of life and that we live in a society where religions confluence. Young Kalam had three close friends, all three of them from orthodox Brahmin families. Though from different backgrounds and up-bringing, his friendship with Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindan, and Sivaprakasan never had any problems.

All of them chose different ways of life in their adulthood as well. Ramanadha Sastry, who was the son of Pakshi Lakshmana Sastry, the high priest of the Rameswaram temple, took over the priesthood of the Rameswaram temple from his father. Aravindan went into the business of arranging transport for visiting pilgrims, Sivaprakasan became a catering contractor for the Southern Railways, and Kalam went on to become a scientist.

Another interesting story in Dr. Kalam’s upbringing is that his family used to arrange boats with a special platform during the annual Shri Sita Rama Kalyanam ceremony. This platform was used for carrying the idols of Lord Rama from the temple to the ceremonial wedding site ‘Ram Tirtha’, which was a pond near Kalam’s house. Young Kalam grew up listening to the stories both from the Ramayana and the life of the Prophet Muhammed, laying the foundation of secularism very early in his life.

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A person knows the value of work when he has been through difficult times and has survived on simple jobs. Dr. Kalam used to collect tamarind seeds and sell them during the Second World War. He also worked as a newspaper boy.

Kalam was only eight years old when the Second World War broke out. It was the year 1939 and there was a huge demand for tamarind seeds in the market. He collected them and sold them for an anna, a very small coin, but substantial for a young boy like him.

His brother-in-law Jallaluddin used to tell him stories about the war and young Kalam would try to follow these stories through the pages of Dinamani, a Tamil newspaper. Although Rameswaram was not directly impacted by the war as it was an isolated island, trains stopped halting at the station. This meant bundles of newspapers were now thrown off running trains. Kalam’s cousin Samsuddin, who used to distribute the newspapers in Rameswaram, asked Kalam’s help to catch the bundles, and he thus started working as a newspaper boy.

Kalam earned his first wages in this work and it gave him a great sense of self-confidence and pride.

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Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was born to a Tamil family from Rameswaram on 15 October, 1931. Rameswaram was then part of the Madras Presidency in British India but it is now in Tamil Nadu. His father’s name was Jainulabdeen, who was a boat owner and imam of a local mosque. His mother was Ashiamma, a housewife.

Abdul Kalam was the youngest of five siblings. His eldest sibling was his sister Asim Zohra. He had three elder brothers, namely Mohammed Muthu Meera Lebbai Maraikayar, Mustafa Kalam and Kasim Mohammed. He was close to his family and always helped them while remaining a bachelor his whole life.

His ancestors were wealthy traders and landowners, who owned numerous properties and large areas of land. They traded groceries between the mainland and the Pamban Island and between the island and Sri Lanka. They also ferried the pilgrims from the mainland to the Pamban Island. This tradition earned their family the title “Mara Kalam lyakkivar” (wooden boat steerers), to be later known as “Maraikayar.”

Unfortunately, in the 1920s, his family lost most of its fortune, and by the time Kalam was born, the family was poverty-stricken.

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History has shown us that great men are not born every day. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was one such legend who left his mark on the world and people’s hearts.

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, also known as APJ Abdul Kalam was a scientist who had great dreams for the country. He worked as a science administrator and scientist at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) for over forty years before becoming the president of the country. His contributions to the military missile development efforts and civilian space programme of India earned him the title ‘The Missile Man of India.’ His contributions to developing the launch vehicle technology of ballistic missiles are particularly noteworthy. In 1998, he played a critical role in the Pokhran-II Nuclear Tests.

Later in 2002, he was elected the 11th president of India and was widely known as the ‘People’s President.’ He was the first scientist to occupy the Rashtrapati Bhavan. After serving his tenure as the president, he went on to pursue teaching, writing and reading-his most passionate vocations. He was honoured with the ‘Bharat Ratna Award’, India’s highest civilian honour, for his contributions.

He died on 27 July 2015 while delivering a talk at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Shillong. He was laid to rest with full state honours with thousands of people attending the funeral.

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