The atmosphere was imbued with emotion at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota on Tuesday as scientists assembled in the Dr. Brahma Prakash Hall to pay tribute to Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who died in harness, so to speak, in Shillong on Monday.
Among the speakers at the condolence meeting were many who had worked closely with or were mentored by Dr Kalam during his stint as the chief of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
Recalling his long-association, former Isro chairman Dr. K. Kasturirangan said Dr Kalam was a simple but an astonishingly multi-faceted personality whose interests were myriad.
Dwelling on a host of personal and professional experiences, Dr. Kasturirangan recalled how Dr. Kalam made sterling contribution to India’s space programme. “Dr. Kalam played a key role behind the successful launch of SLV-3 in 1980. With this, Isro joined the list of space exploring nations. The credit solely goes to Dr. Kalam who was the project director at that time,” said Dr. Kasturirangan. He further said Dr. Kalam was a visionary who helped Isro in drawing up a road map that eventually led to heavier space transportation systems like the PSLV, GSLV etc. Dr. Kasturirangan said that as Isro chairman at that time he used to interact closely with Dr Kalam every month and have long discussions with the DRDO chief over simple South Indian vegetarian meals.
Dr. Kasturirangan spoke about Dr. Kalam’s simplicity of living and narrated how his room used to have a small cot with a bed and a lungi with a veena in one corner. “Apart from technical discussions, we used to discuss many subjects like sociology, philosophy, culture, etc,” he said.
The former Isro chief said that long before Dr. Kalam became president, he used to attract students who flocked to him for autographs. “It was astonishing that Dr. Kalam had such stamina and strength to travel the length and breadth of the country to ignite young minds,” Dr Kasturirangan said. SHAR director P. Kunhikrishnan, and associate director S.V. Subba Rao and others spoke in a similar vein.
Kasturirangan recalls former President’s sterling contribution to space programme
