“Will Indians be able to take trips to the moon and Mars in the future? I will meet you in Mars and on the moon in 2030 for a few days. I will be exactly 100 years old then.”
This was what the former President A.P.J. Kalam had visualised for India’s space mission, while interacting with young students at three separate functions in Belagavi during his visit to North Karnataka on February 7, 2011. During the day, he interacted with over 6,500 students at these events and repeatedly stressed on the importance of perseverance and righteousness in life.
Heartfelt condolences and tributes continued to pour in from cross sections of society. Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belagavi, offered condolences to the veteran scientist. Officials at Visvesvaraya Technological University offered garlands to the portrait of Dr. Kalam and recalled his visit to the university campus here to deliver convocation address on February 25, 2007. He was conferred with Honorary Degree of D. Sc. (Honoris Causa) in his absentia on 20th April, 2002, during the 1st annual0 convocation of VTU. Rani Channamma University conducted a special lecture on the topic ‘Complementarity in Teaching, Research and Work: A tribute to Bharat Ratna Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’. R.S. Deshpande, National Fellow, ICSSR, New Delhi and Former Director, ISEC, Bengaluru, who spoke on the topic, said a good teacher is remembered. RCU Vice-Chancellor Shivanand B. Hosamani, Registrar T.C. Taranath also paid their tributes.
Meetings held
People from different walks of life held meetings to condole the death of the former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in Hubballi on Tuesday. The district administration, educational institutes and others paid tributes to Kalam. People here recollected Kalam’s visit to the twin cities and how he had captured the young minds through his awe-inspiring interactions with the students.
Hubballi-Dharwad shares an emotional rapport with Kalam, who visited several times and left behind some fond memories to cherish for long. His first visit was on January 17, 1998, when he came to participate in the 48{+t}{+h}annual convocation ceremony of Karnatak University Dharwad. He was the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister at that time.
He visited Hubballi on March 28, 2003 to inaugurate the centenary celebrations of the Anjuman-E-Islam. Later, he visited the city in 2009 and 2010 to participate in different programmes. His last visit was in 2012 when he had spent almost a day here participating in several programmes which included the inauguration of the centenary celebrations of eminent persons. P.T. Parmeshwar Naik, Minister of State for Labour, has condoled the death of former President of India A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Speaking to presspersons here on Tuesday, Mr. Naik said that Mr. Kalam was a great scientist and a scholar. Hailing from an ordinary family, he had held the top post. Condolence meetings were held at various educational institutions, organisations including Vijayanagar Sri Krishnadevaraya University, Ballari and Kannada University, Hampi.
Madam Curie Science Academy held a condolence meeting at Kittur Rani Chennamma High School, where the students offered floral tribute to the portrait of Kalam.
