Who doesn’t need inspiration ? Sometimes
we need inspiration right before we set up a new project or a new business,
sometimes ideas to innovate are our biggest inspiration, sometimes we get
inspired by the simplest of things, some other times by the greatest of men. I
have, in my career, been blessed to have experienced both.
Today, I sit here trying to get through
this post without getting too emotional or nostalgic. It’s been exactly a year
since Dr. Kalam’s tragic demise, a man who has been a mentor, a colleague, and
a dear friend. This isn’t the first time I’ve chosen to write about him in my
blog space, and this isn’t going to be the last either. Today, however, is a
day on which I’d like to pay him a special tribute - for all that has been to
the world, for all that he has been to the country, for all that he has been to
science, for all that he has been to me.
Dr. Kalam lived as an example to inspire
and motivate his generation, to live up to the best of their potential. He was
one of the greatest men of our times.
During a convocation address at BHU, he narrated a short anecdote that
stayed with me long after . It was , in fact, something I wanted to share with
my readers since quite a while.
A young girl in the convocation parade
asked Dr. Kalam a pertinent question that arguably was on many young Indian
minds then.
“When can I sing a song of India ? “, she
asked. “My brother who works in the US
always tells me how amazing the opportunities available in that country are,
compared to India. When can I sing praises of our country too ?”
To this Dr. Kalam’s response was
confident and assuring. He extrapolated his vision of 2020 India. He also told
the girl to believe , be confident and work towards her dream.
This incident occurred in the late 90s.
The spirit of Vision 2020 resonated with
the youth then and a collective voice was beginning to grow in the hearts of
the youth.
A few years later, the voice began to take on a different
trajectory completely. During his tenure as President, youth now began to ask
him , “What can we give to the
nation?”.
The doubts that were earlier on young
minds had made way for assurance, that slowly gave way to confidence. The same
minds who doubted the opportunities available were now creating opportunities, jobs and investments.
Later in 2013, Dr. Kalam saw further
change. During an address in Shillong,
the youth echoed “I can do it, we can do
it and the Nation will do it.”
It was then that Dr. Kalam realized that the
symphony of Song of India is in the collective strength of 600 million youth of
this country who are ready to transform India into a developed country. The dynamism of youth is the script, their
collective strength is the orchestra and their approach to work in mission mode
with passion and devotion is the tune of the Song of India.
The Song of India and its stories are in
the heart of its people. Dr. Kalam always believed that the youth of the
country will lead it to where it’s meant to be. Their stories, their collective
stories, will be the song that will echo through the land.
The song of India and it’s spirit will
never fade, the same goes for Dr. Kalam. The spirit of oneness and perseverance
that he’s encouraged and imbibed in our youth, will never be forgotten.
May we never look to be any less than
what we were destined to be; as one nation, one voice, one song.
To Dr.Kalam , the hero our generation
needed, and got.
15 October 1931 – 27 July 2015
I
always look beyond the missile man that the world knows to the humble human
that I knew, the man who never thought it beneath him to make his team a cup of
tea when they stayed up working on an important project, the man who gave a pat
on the back to a young scientist who needed motivation from his hero, the man
who worked on some of India’s most ambitious projects and yet led the most
austere of lifestyles, the man who stood up standing on his feet doing what he
loved, right down to his last breath.
May he rest in peace. Jai Hind!
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