When Kalam came calling…

PATNA: While addressing National Institute of Technology-Patna (NITP)’s third convocation on September 29, 2013, former President A P J Abdul Kalam had told students that every leader must have a vision and passion to transform that vision into actions with integrity. “The biggest technological challenge for Bihar is finding a solution to frequent occurrences of flood,” Kalam had said in his talk on ‘Technology and national development’ at the S K Memorial Hall that day, his last public visit to the state.
Kalam, who breathed his last on Monday evening, had a profound association with Bihar. So worried was he about the state’s problems, especially flood, that he made a study and presented it twice in the state legislature. In Kalam’s words, “I thought of sharing the technological challenges for Bihar flood control and creation of smart waterways. This challenge needs multiple technology research and tremendous team work.”
CM Nitish Kumar termed the demise of ‘People’s President’ as “a personal loss”. “He had come to Bihar on several occasions at my behest. Besides laying the stone of important development projects and guiding the state to progress in the agriculture sector, he was also instrumental in the revival of Nalanda University,” the CM said.
The Jal Mandir at Pawapuri was Kalam’s first destination in Bihar as President, recalled philatelist Pradip Jain, who accompanied him to the Jain shrine on May 30, 2003. On March 28, 2006, Kalam became the first President to address a joint session of the bicameral state legislature, which is otherwise addressed by the governor. “I heard him several times even after that. As an orator, he would charge his audience,” former deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi said.
It was at this session that Kalam mooted the idea of revival of Nalanda University (NU). “I met him first in 2011 following some nasty reports regarding the varsity. He had asked our then Chancellor Prof Amartya Sen to tell me not to worry about these reports and meet him,” recalled NU vice- chancellor Gopa Sabharwal. When she met the President, he told her to follow the principle he has followed in life: focus on work and let it speak for itself instead of worrying about what people say.
Even though NU was Kalam’s idea and he visited its site at Rajgir in 2008, he was missing from the function at which it was formally inaugurated by Union external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on September 19, 2014. Kalam had even promised he would come to teach at NU when it was up and running. That had not to be though!
Kalam’s second session with Bihar legislators was in November 2011 when the Missile Man sought to know what changes the lawmakers wanted to bring about in their constituencies in the coming years. It was also during Kalam’s tenure from 2002 to 2007 as the First Citizen of India that the controversial President’s Rule was imposed in Bihar in 2005.
Kalam, known for his special love for students, visited St Michael’s High School (SMHS) in Patna on July 16, 2009 and talked about righteousness, creativity and spirit to succeed. “Let not thy winged days be spent in vain,” he told the 1,200-odd students of the school and added, “When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are.”
SMHS principal Fr Peter Arockiasamy fondly recalls his association with Kalam. They not only hailed from the same district in Tamil Nadu but were also the alumni of St Joseph’s College, Tiruchi. “We were students of the same department (physics), albeit 20 years apart, and were taught by at least two common professors,” Fr Peter said.
That the event at St Michael’s was almost cancelled, is known only to few. “A section of the media reported that we were collecting money in the name of Kalam. I asked him if we should cancel the event. He replied, ‘Don’t get affected by these things’, and we went ahead with the function,” Fr Peter recalled.
In December 2012, Kalam delivered the first convocation address of Indian Institute of Technology-Patna where he exhorted students to be a growth partner in the development of the state. A distinct phenomenon of all his interactions with students was an eight or nine-point oath which he would administer to the students, making them pledge to become responsible citizens of the nation.