Kalam ignites minds at Litfest

Former president APJ Abdul Kalam ignited the minds of young enthusiasts at the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) on Saturday by putting forth a four-point principle to success in life.

“Dream big, because aiming small is a crime. Continue to acquire knowledge. Cultivate hard work and perseverance. And don't be afraid of failure; rather, absorb failure,” he said while interacting with audience, especially youth.

“The challenge is to never stop fighting,” he quoted from his book “Ignited Minds”.

During the session, Kalam asked the youth of the country to face challenges to succeed and defeat the fear of failure.

“How many of you want to be unique?” he asked. Almost everyone raised their hands, to which Kalam said, “I have met 9.5 crore youths of the nation in the last two decades, and they all want to become unique.” To do so, one needs to face challenge without fearing failure, he said.

Replying to a query, he said the happiest moment of his life was when the country conducted nuclear tests in western Rajasthan's Pokhran range.

He told the youngsters: “You are all born with wings to fly, and you are going to fly. Always say to yourself, 'I am born with potential, ideas, dreams and confidence, and I will not fall because I have wings'.”

Recalling his teaching experience at Beijing University, Kalam reminisced when he asked his Twitter followers to talk about how the relationship between India and South Asian countries could improve. He received a lot of tweets, but one by a South Korean youth really caught his eye. It said: “The moment man lands on Mars, our address will be the world.”

The former president was the star attraction at the JLF, where the venue remained closed for almost three hours in the morning after his entry. As it was weekend, over a lakh people thronged the venue.
DH News Service