Chris Fernandes
I remember an interview on a local news channel where the interviewee was chewing out the powers-that-be for crippling the mining industry, ending with a resigned,” Apart from Gandhiji and Nehru, there are no other leaders whose pictures I can mount on my office wall”. His dejection was profound, there really aren’t many visionaries in politics who could inspire the masses like the Mahatma did. On the birth anniversary of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam on October 15, we remembered another God-sent man whose memory still brings a smile to our faces. This ingenious, lionhearted yet down to earth ex-president with his trademark rockstar do and child-like grin endeared himself to millions across our country and beyond. With humble beginnings as a canoe operator rowing countless Hindu devotees to and from Rameshwaram TN, his genius was discovered by a teacher who pushed him to submit an assignment within an impossible timeframe.
Superhuman diligence and focus propelled him and he went on to study physics and aerospace engineering, later working with the famed DRDO and ISRO, becoming instrumental in ground breaking projects like the satellite delivery and nuclear missile technology. The reason Dr Kalam is best known for today was his love for mentoring and teaching students worldwide, with the UN dedicating his birthday, the 15th of October in his honour as World Student Day, while he was still alive! I present you a few quotes from his immense contribution that will change anyone for the better.
“Difficulties don’t come into your life to destroy you; rather they reveal hidden talents and strengths you had never known. Let difficulty know that you too are difficult! ”
“I’m not afraid of problems, I relish them; I pride myself on being a problem solver.”
“God our creator, has locked away immense potential in our hearts and minds; prayer helps us tap and develop it.”
