APJ Abdul Kalam

“Wings of Fire” (My Childhood) Atishi aRORA’s Edition



NARRATIVE Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam also known as the Missile Man of India was born into a middle class family in the town of Rameswaram in the former Madras State. His father, Jainulabdeen Marakayar did not have much formal education nor did he have much wealth. Kalam had three brothers and one sister with whom he spent and enjoyed his childhood. His parents were kind-hearted and simple people with notable moral values. Kalam spent his entire childhood and grew up living in his ancestral house. His father was a very hard working and simple person. His priorities were to fulfill the necessities of his family and provide them with a decent life. Kalam’s parents were not educated and therefore not rich, but they had hearts of gold and high values of self-discipline and honesty. They always encouraged their children to follow their dreams and never forced them to do anything they didn’t want to.

Despite being a part of a Muslim Family, Kalam’s family strongly believed in and practised secularism. They believed in the equality of all religions and never belittled anyone in any regard as they were strictly against social inequality. The family enjoyed celebrating and performing Hindu festivities and rituals. As a child Kalam heard a lot of stories of the Prophet as well as The Ramayana from his grandmother and mother which shows that his family was open-minded. Childhood is incomplete without friends. This held in the case of Kalam too. Kalam had three close friends while growing up who had great influence and a positive impact on his life. They always supported and motivated each other to be better every day. All these friends were from different cultural backgrounds but mingled well with each other. There was no sign of racism or discrimination, just love and brotherhood among them. While growing up, many responsibilities pile up. This story remarkably highlights an instance from Kalam’s childhood when he was in his 5th grade. Kalam had a habit of wearing a cap which gave him a distinct

Muslim look. He also liked to sit on the same bench with one of his classmates named Ramanandha, whose father was a Hindu Priest. As children, they both always felt happy sitting next to each other. However, there was a new teacher who showed signs of narrow-mindedness and therefore couldn’t tolerate this beautiful bond. He made a calculated attempt to shift Kalam to the backbench so that the two friends could no longer sit together. This instance broke the hearts of Kalam and Ramanandha. Both the children informed their parents about the sad incident to which Ramanandha’s father came to meet their teacher and asked them to stop spreading communal hatred and social inequality. He even demanded an apology and warned that, in case the teacher refuses, then he would be forced to quit. In response to this, the teacher quickly made an apology and improved his behavior. There was another such occurrence from Kalam’s childhood which never fails to touch the hearts of the people. There was an occasion where Abdul was invited by his science teacher to come to his home for dinner.

The teacher’s wife was skeptical about her beliefs in religious segregation and therefore, was reluctant to serve him food. The science teacher loved Kalam immensely and had no such beliefs regarding the difference in religions. Therefore, he decided to serve him dinner and sat beside him to eat his meal. His wife observed all this from standing behind the door. This melted her heart a little and gradually changed her. Hence, when Kalam was invited the second time, the wife served him the meal but from the kitchen. The science teacher was happy that his wife’s thought process changed at least bit by bit. By the time the Second World War ended, Kalam had grown up, and thus his upbringing came to an end. He went out for his further studies at Ramanathapuram upon receiving permission from his parents. He was one of the most loved children of the family, and at some point in life, his parents had to be brave to let him go and live his dreams. Kalam's life was shaped by friendship as he was growing up in Rameswaram. Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindan, and Sivaprakasan, all from traditional Hindu Brahmin households, were his closest friends,

and they never discriminated against each other because of their religion or caste. He and his friends pursued different career paths as they grew older. Ramanathan Sastry became a priest at the Rameswaram temple; Aravindan started a company arranging transportation for pilgrims, and Sivaprakasan started a catering business for the Southern Railways. ….