What I will be remembered for.. my memory of the last day with the
great Kalam sir...
It has been eight hours since we last talked - sleep eludes me and
memories keep flushing down, sometimes as tears. Our day, 27th July,
began at 12 noon, when we took our seats in the flight to Guhawati.
APJ Abdul Kalam
Dr. Kalam was 1A and I was IC. He was wearing a dark colored "Kalam
suit", and I started off complimenting, "Nice color!" Little did I know
this was going to be the last color I will see on him.
Long, 2.5 hours of flying in the monsoon weather. I hate turbulence, and
he had mastered over them. Whenever he would see me go cold in shaking
plane, he would just pull down the window pane and saw, "Now you don't
see any fear!".
That was followed by another 2.5 hours of car drive to IIM Shillong. For
these two legged trip of five hours we talked, discussed and debated.
These were amongsthundreds of the long flights and longer drives we have
been together over the last six years.
As each of them, this was as special too. Three incidents/discussions in
particular will be "lasting memories of our last trip".
First, Dr. Kalam was absolutely worried about the attacks in Punjab. The
loss of innocent lives left him filledwith sorrow.
The topic of lecture at IIM Shillong was Creating a Livable Planet
Earth. He related the incident to the topic and said, "it seems the man
made forces are as big a threat to the livability of earth as
pollution".
We discussed on how, if this trend of violence, pollution and reckless
human action continues we will forced to leave earth.
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"Thirty years, at this rate, maybe", he said. "You guys must do
something about it... it is going to be your future world"
Our second discussion was more national. For the past two days, Dr.
Kalam was worried that time and again Parliament, the supreme
institution of democracy, was dysfunctional.
He said, "I have seen two different governments in my tenure. I have
seen more after that. This disruption just keeps happening. It is not
right. I really need to find out a way to ensure that the parliament
works on developmental politics."
He then asked me to prepare a surprise assignment question for the
students at IIM Shillong, which he would give them only at the end of
the lecture.
He wanted to them to suggest three innovative ways to make the
Parliament more productive and vibrant. Then, after a while he returned
on it.
"But how can ask them to give solutions if I don't have any myself". For
the next one hour, we thwarted options after options, who come up with
his recommendation over the issue. We wanted to include this discussion
in our upcoming book, Advantage India.
Third, was an experience from the beauty of his humility. We were in a
convoy of 6-7 cars. Dr. Kalam and I were in the second car.
Ahead us was an open gypsy with three soldiers in it. Two of them were
sitting on either side and one lean guy was standing atop, holding his
gun.
One hour into the road journey, Dr. Kalam said, "Why is he standing? He
will get tired. This is like punishment. Can you ask a wireless message
to given that he may sit?"
I had to convince him, he has been probably instructed to keep standing
for better security. He did not relent. We tried radio messaging, that
did not work.
For the next 1.5 hours of the journey, he reminded me thrice to see if I
can hand signal him to sit down. Finally, realizing there is little we
can do - he told me, "I want to meet him and thank him".
Later, when we landed in IIM Shillong, I went inquiring through security
people and got hold of the standing guy. I took him inside and Dr.
Kalam greeted him. He shook his hand, said thank you buddy.
"Are you tired? Would you like something to eat? I am sorry you had to
stand so long because of me". The young lean guard, draped in black
cloth, was surprised at the treatment. He lost words, just said, "Sir,
aapkeliye to 6 ghantebhikhaderahenge".
After this, we went to the lecture hall. He did not want to be late for
the lecture.
"Students should never be made to wait", he always said. I quickly set
up his mike, briefed on final lecture and took position on the
computers. As I pinned his mike, he smiled and said, "Funny guy! Are you
doing well?"
‘Funny guy', when said by Kalam could mean a variety of things,
depending on the tone and your own assessment. It could mean, you have
done well, you have messed up something, you should listen to him or
just that you have been plain naïve or he was just being jovial.
Over six years I had learnt to interpret Funny Guy like the back of my
palm. This time it was the last case.
"Funny guy! Are you doing well?" he said. I smiled back, "Yes". Those
were the last words he said. Two minutes into the speech, sitting behind
him, I heard a long pause after completing one sentence. I looked at
him, he fell down.
We picked him up. As the doctor rushed, we tried whatever we could. I
will never forget the look in his three-quarter closed eyes and I held
his head with one hand and tried reviving with whatever I could.
His hands clenched, curled onto my finger. There was stillness on his
face and those wise eyes were motionlessly radiating wisdom. He never
said a word. He did not show pain, only purpose was visible.
In five minutes we were in the nearest hospital. In another few minutes
the they indicated the missile man had flown away, forever. I touched
his feet, one last time. Adieu old friend! Grand mentor! See you in my
thoughts and meet in the next birth.
As turned back, a closet of thoughts opened.
Often he would ask me, "You are young, decide what will like to be
remembered for?" I kept thinking of new impressive answers, till one day
I gave up and resorted to tit-for-tat.
I asked him back, "First you tell me, what will you like to be
remembered for? President, Scientist, Writer, Missile man, India 2020,
Target 3 billion.... What?" I thought I had made the question easier by
giving options, but he sprang on me a surprise. "Teacher", he said.
Then something he said two weeks back when we were discussing about his
missile time friends. He said, "Children need to take care of their
parents. It is sad that sometimes this is not happening". He paused and
said, "Two things. Elders must also do. Never leave wealth at your
deathbed - that leaves a fighting family. Second, one is blessed is one
can die working, standing tall without any long drawn ailing. Goodbyes
should be short, really short".
Today, I look back - he took the final journey, teaching, what he always
wanted to be remembered doing. And, till his final moment he was
standing, working and lecturing. He left us, as a great teacher,
standing tall.
He leaves the world with nothing accumulated in his account but loads of
wishes and love of people. He was a successful, even in his end.
Will miss all the lunches and dinners we had together, will miss all the
times you surprised me with your humility and startled me with your
curiosity, will miss the lessons of life you taught in action and words,
will miss our struggles to race to make into flights, our trips, our
long debates.
You gave me dreams, you showed me dreams need to be impossible, for
anything else is a compromise to my own ability. The man is gone, the
mission lives on. Long live Kalam.
Your indebted student,
Srijan Pal Singh
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