My Early Days
A.P.J Abdul Kalam
Introduction:
Dr. Avul Pakir Jainlabdeen Abdul Kalam wa born in the small pilgrim town of Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, as a son of a boatman. Kalam was hard working and ambitious. He aspired to be a pilot, but went on to design rockets under the inspiration of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai. He became the Director of the Defence Research and was the force behind the development of ‘Agni’ and ‘Trishul’ rockets under the missile programme. He also got Bharat Ratna award and published an autobiographical work called Wings of Fire, which is an inspiring story of how India can achieve.
His Childhood:
He was born in Rameswaram and his father Jainulabdeen was a middle class Muslim. His father had neither much of formal education nor much wealth but though he had generosity of spirit and wisdom. His mother Ashiamma, who is quite generous in providing food for outsiders and and Kalam recollects his vision how he sat with the outsiders and ate every day. His parents were widely regarded as an ideal couple. He was one among many children in his family with distinguished looks born to tall and handsome parents.
Location of his house:
He lived in his ancestral house which was build in the middle of 19th century and it was a fairly large pucca house built up of limestone and brick on the Mosque Street in Rameswaram. His parents took care of his needs. He ate with his mother on the floor of kitchen, on which she ladle rice with aromatic sambhar and with a variety of sharp pickle and small amount of coconut chutney.
Jainulabdeen, a pious Muslim:
He describes about an old mosque in his locality where his father use to take him every evening. He never has any idea of the Arabic prayers chanted (sung) but he was convinced that they reached God. When his father came out of the mosque after the prayers, people of different religions would be sitting outside waiting for him. He used to dip his finger inside the bowl of water and say prayers to cure diseases and other disables. Many came home to thank his father after they get cured. He always smiled and asked them to thank Allah.
His father’s close friend named Pakshi Lakshmana Sastry would always discuss about spiritual matters with him. Kalam, asked his father about the relevance of prayers and he replied that there is nothing so mysterious about prayers. It is a communion of the spirit and people. He is capable of explaining difficult religious concepts in a simple manner.
Kalam’s inspiration:
Abdul Kalam tried to follow his father as an example in his life. When he was six years old when his father was working on a project to build a wooden sailboat he sat beside him and admired his work. Ahmed Jallaluddin who married Kalam’s sister Zohara, helped his father. Later he narrates about a disastrous wind which collapsed a train full of passengers in Pamban Bridge. Ahmed turned to be his friend though there is a difference in their age. They walked along the sea shore discussing on spiritual matters. Their first halt would be near Lord Shiva temple, and they talked about God and relationship with him.
Though Ahmed’s education was limited, he was the only person in the island who can speak and write English. He always speaks about scientific discoveries, contemporary literature and achievements of medical sciences and widened his knowledge. He encouraged Kalam to read and borrow books from the library of S.T.R Manickam, a former militant nationalist.
His Second Inspiration:
Samsuddin, cousin of Kalam was the next person to inspire him greatly. He was the sole distributor for newspapers in Rameswaram. The newspapers would arrive from Pamban. These newspapers were mainly bought by the reading demands of 1000 strong literate people who lived in Rameswaram and few readers would discuss Hilter, Mahatma Gandhi and Jinnah. Kalam collected the bundles of newspapers thrown from train and he earned his first wage. Second World War was broke out in 1939 when he was eight years old. He used to collect tamarind seeds and sell it to a provision shop. Jallaludin would tell him stories about war and he talks about the solitariness of his locality after war.
Kalam’s Close friends:
He had three close friends in his childhood. Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindan and Sivaprakasan. All these children were from orthodox Hindu Brahmin families. Ramanadha Sastry was the son of Pakshi Lakshaman Sastry, and later he took priesthood of Rameswaram temple; Aravindan went into business of arranging transport for visiting pilgrims; Sivaprakasan became a catering contractor for Southern Railways.
Science Teacher:
One day when he was in his fifth standard at Elementary School a new teacher came to his class. He never could digest a Hindu and a Muslim student sitting together. He asked Kalam to sit in the last row and later he went home and told his parents about the incident. Lakshmana Sastry summoned the teacher and asked not to poison the minds of children with social inequality. Later his science teacher Siva Subramania Iyer an orthodox Brahmin who tried to break the social barriers helped Kalam in studies and later he joined in high-school for his higher education. Kalam was invited to his home for a meal but his wife refused to serve him. Later his teacher served him the dinner.
Higher education:
After the Second World War, India’s freedom was eminent. He asked his father’s permission to leave Rameswaram and study at the district headquarters in Ramanathapuram. Later his father took him along with his three brothers to the mosque and recited prayers from the Holy Quran, and wished ‘May God Bless You, my child’. Samsuddin and Ahmed Jallaluddin travelled with him till high-school.
Conclusion:
Due to his homesickness, he found hard to fit with the new environment. He used to recollect the words of Jallaluddin who always spoke about the power of positive thinking whenever he felt homesick or dejected. He strived hard to control his thoughts and his mind was filled up with the memory of his home town. He used positive thinking and overcame his home-sickness.
