Our body is mortal. With the
passage of time, it disappears. It’s a natural phenomenon and no one, rich or
poor, powerful or weak can deter it to happen. Whether one wants or not, death
is the final destination of all the passengers living on this earth. But what remain
are their memories, their work, and their contribution in the progress of
society. APJ Abdul Kalaam truly is that personality who even after his death
will continue to survive in millions’ heart. He was the eleventh and first non
political individual to hold the highest position in the world’s largest
democracy: India.
As his arrival to Rashtrapati
Bhawan was a sheer example of coincidence, his way of working at President’s
post was a even a sweet shock for the entire nation as no one thought that
despite the lack of political background, Mr. Kalaam will give a new definition
to this post. In India, President is seen merely as a rubber stamp having only
one work: to sign the bills passed by the parliament, who lives in a
confinement known as Rashtrapati Bhawan, earlier residence of Viceroy of India,
and time to time uses Air India to visit some nations and to create a cordial
relationship between India and these nations. On the contrary, Kalaam opened
the gates of this elite place to common man of the country, used this post to
reach out to maximum number of students possible, to force the government to
rethink on various bills, quashed several death sentences and did that no other
president, and no Prime Minister if I dare to say this,: presenting in a
logical and coherent way the road map of India’s development by 2020.
He even came to JNU in 2014 to
present his pet scheme: development of rural India. One could easily observe
the keenness and the efforts that he had put, even in this age, in this entire
project. He could have taken retirement from active life, as have been done by
his predecessors and will be done in future by his heirs, he keep on working
till the very last moment of his life. If one has to understand the real
meaning of Karma, Kalaam is the best example. He always believed in work than
words. Though he used books, seminars and conferences to pass his ideas to
young generation, the base was still his relentless work.
At his death, the entire nation
morns. He was the people’s President and will be forever. I consider myself to
be lucky to be of the same era. We will always have that flame in our heart in
our mind and Kalaam will be there through his ideas, his work and his books. Salaaam... Kalaam.
