Open Designs salutes the spirit
”Excellence is a continuous process and not an accident”
– Dr A.P.J Abdul Kalam
With these words you live in our hearts forever.
While the world mourns the loss of a great visionary leader, we’d like to grieve the loss of Dr A.P.J Abdul Kalam a little differently. We’d like to think of him as a gift to humanity, given to serve a purpose, which he did, serve a higher ideal, which he did.
How then can we mourn his loss without being mindful that he was an extraordinary man, from an ordinary home, who made the most of what life gave him. Too many words, too little time it may seem.
Our ode to the missile man of India
Born Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen, the world recognised him best as Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Yes, he was also referred to as the ‘First Citizen’, ‘Eminent Scientist’ or the ‘Missile Man’ we find the term ‘People’s President’ as a more endearing and more apt way of describing someone who was of a huge stature but with a humble and affable nature.
His journey from a scientist to a President was marked by many glittering scientific achievements and initiatives that gave hope and wings to many an ordinary Indian’s dream. Dr. Kalam’s visionary thinking, keen intellect and scientific bent of mind saw much development in indigenous development of India’s missile technology and steered the nation towards becoming a force to reckon with.
In 1969, while at ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization), Dr Kalam was the project director of India’s first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III) which successfully deployed the Rohini satellite in near earth orbit in July 1980.
However, as Dr Kalam’s inventions and achievements touched the sky, his humble and humanitarian personality also saw him develop a low cost Coronary stent named as “Kalam-Raju Stent”. It was in this way, in the year 1998, that Dr Kalam along with cardiologist Dr. Soma Raju etched their names in history. The second such instance came in 2012, when Dr Kalam and Dr Raju collaborated again to design a rugged tablet PC- the “Kalam-Raju Tablet” for health care in the hinterlands of India.
As time passed Dr Kalam’s speeches and his inspirational quotes ignited the minds of children, the youth, entrepreneurs and even ordinary citizens to achieve big by dreaming big. His popularity among school children is well known. He once famously said, “My message, especially to young people is to have courage to think differently, courage to invent, to travel the unexplored path, courage to discover the impossible and to conquer the problems and succeed. These are great qualities that they must work towards. This is my message to the young people.”
When he said “If you want to shine like a sun. First burn like a sun”, Dr Kalam epitomised the spirit of entrepreneurship and the courage to take on challenges against all odds.
While the world may remember him for his achievements, his words and his thoughts, we believe his India Vision 2020 will serve as an aspiration for millions of people, youth and children today and forever more.
Open Designs salutes Dr APJ Abdul Kalam’s undying spirit of innovation, education, creativity and dedication.
