By Somali K Chakrabarti
On 27th July, 2015, India’s former president Dr Kalam passed away after he collapsed on the stage during a lecture at IIM , Shillong, Meghalaya.
Born in a humble background on 15th of October, in the year 1931, in Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, APJ Abdul Kalam joined Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) as a scientist after studying Aerospace engineering at Madras Institute of Technology. He came to be known as the ‘Missile Man of India‘, for his involvement in the development of ballistic missiles and served as the project director of India’s first Satellite Launch Vehicle at Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), and was appointed as the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of the DRDO.
Dr Kalam was elected 11th President of India in 2002 and served as the President till 2007. He received the Bharat Ratna for his contribution to the scientific research and modernization of defence technology in India
The man who ignited our minds, gave India the wings of fire and dared us to dream is no more with us. A role model for millions of Indians, he inspired us with his disarming simplicity, knowledge, and scientific and philosophical outlook.
Here are some quotes by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.
On the need to dream
“Dream is not that which you see while sleeping it is something that does not let you sleep.”
‘Dream, Dream, Dream. Dreams transform into thoughts And thoughts result in action.’
On determination in the face of adversity
“All Birds find shelter during a rain, but Eagle avoids rain by flying above the Clouds.
Problems are common, but attitude makes the difference!!!”
“Adversity always presents opportunities for introspection.”
“Failure will never overtake me if my definition to succeed is strong enough.”
On knowledge, thoughts and creativity
“Learning gives creativity; Creativity leads to thinking
Thinking provides knowledge; Knowledge makes you great.”
“Once your mind stretches to a new level it never goes back to its original dimension”
“He who knows others is learned, but the wise one is the one who knows himself. Learning without wisdom is of no use.”
On life and death
If you want to leave your footprints On the sands of time Do not drag your feet.”
See the flower, how generously it distributes perfume and honey. When it’s work is done, it falls away quietly. Try to be like the flower, unassuming despite all it’s qualities.”
Like the unassuming flower, he inspired people till his last breath. RIP Dr Kalam.
Including here a Hindi poem in memory of the People’s President, shared in the post comments.
Shared by Mr Pranab Chakraborti
Great man….. R.I.P
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Respected by one and all.
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RIP. 😦
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The news made me really sad…RIP… 😦
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Isn’t it amazing that in-spite of being in his eighties he exerted an incredible amount of influence on today’s youth?
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Yes..he was amazing…in every way..he was such a busy person yet he maintained a perfect PR….
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We were blessed to have him in our midst as our leader Sad to see him go 😦
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May we have some more who follow his path.
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Certainly it is a great loss for all of us…:) He has always inspired me and will keep doing that.
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That’s the spirit Pankaj, Dr Kalam has inspired us so far and will keep inspiring all of us in future too.
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he and his contributions will remain immortal forever… a huge loss to our country… a source of inspiration for millions…
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The kind of vision, energy, modern and scientific outlook, and selfless devotion to the country that Dr Kalam exhibited is hard to find, No wonder he was and will remain an inspiration for millions.
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Great man.Sad to know that he is know more.
His contributions will never die.
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His immense contribution to India coupled with his humble personality made him the inspiring leader that he was.
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He was and will always be a great role model to all of us.. RIP 😦 A huge loss to our country!
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His life will always be a source of inspiration for all of us.
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I salute this man. He shall always remain an inspiration to us.
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We all salute Dr Kalam, who till his final moment continued to teach and inspire the youth and old alike,
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Thank you for a fitting tribute to a great human being! “The man is gone, the mission lives on”..Long live Kalam!
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His vision combined with his humility made him such a great human being and an inspiring figure for all of us.
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Such a wise man, that was our President Kalam, eternal and immortal, like his thoughts giving us wings of fire:)
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A President we all are proud of.
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What an inspiring journey of this great human being! I just wish other politicians (i don’t call him one though) where a fraction like him!
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Right Alok, He was a leader in the truest sense; someone who all were proud of irrespective of caste, class, or religion.
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Thankyou so much… these two days I am mentioning Dr Abdul Kalam a lot… I did admire him years back, as he was a cheerful, beatiful person inspiring the youth with his silver hair, talks not to mention such a nice role model, perfect even if not married, done so much work for the Nation, indirectly for us… he was fun too, I read his Wings Of Fire, I have seen him at the college convocation, he made us take a oath, the same oath Parliament people take… he is grand… you know he gave us his email id and told us if we have any question we can email him and he will reply… I always will adore this man, I wish I am inspired by him then I would have done lot of things useful, but still oddly enough he was my inspiration…he is also born on my month of October… God Bless him, dear Dr Abdul Kalamji… I hope as long as I arrive I do something to do you justice, as a person who had seen you and has you as inspirationg. Thanks so much for this little writeup… God Bless you too…
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Thank you Maria. The amount of positive influence he has yielded is apparent from the fact that all are paying respect to him on his demise. He was also a blessed person who till his last day inspired people by his teachings. The best homage we can ever pay him is by following the path shown by him. God bless you.
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Thank you for your profile of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam 11th President of India and the renowned Scientist and sharing his inspiring quotes .Dr Kalam popular with the young generation loved teaching them most .He talked to the young and old and used Internet as a medium to reach out to the people .Long Live Dr APJ Abdul Kalam .
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His modern, scientific outlook balanced with the lessons of life made him so popular among the youth and till his last moment he shared his knowledge and experience with the students.No wonder he is known as the People’s President.
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बोलते-बोलते अचानक धड़ाम से
जमीन पर गिरा एक फिर वटवृक्ष
फिर कभी नहीं उठने के लिए
वृक्ष जो रत्न था
वृक्ष जो शक्तिपुंज था
वृक्ष जो न बोले तो भी
खिलखिलाहट बिखेरता था
चीर देता था हर सन्नाटे का सीना
सियासत से कोसों दूर
अन्वेषण के अनंत नशे में चूर
वृक्ष अब नहीं उठेगा कभी
अंकुरित होंगे उसके सपने
फिर इसी जमीन से
उगलेंगे मिसाइलें
शान्ति के दुश्मनों को
सबक सीखने के लिए
वृक्ष कभी मरते नहीं
अंकुरित होते हैं.
नए-नए पल्ल्वों के साथ
वे किसी के अब्दुल होते हैं
किसी के कलाम
अलविदा .अलविदा ,अलविदा
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Thanks for sharing this beautiful poem in memory of the great man. I am including it in the post.
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I loved all the quotes . This is my favourite and most inspiring :
“All Birds find shelter during a rain, but Eagle avoids rain by flying above the Clouds.
Problems are common, but attitude makes the difference!!!”
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Thank you Himali. Maybe it was his attitude that made all the difference.
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Yeah, I am much inspired by him 🙂
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Befitting homage and very nice collections of his quotes!
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Thank you Uppal ji. Imbibing even a fraction of the qualities, will set us on a path of self development.
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Very meaningful. Lovely quotes.
Such was the People’s President- simple, unassuming, so down-to-earth….
May his tribe increase.
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True Anita. May we have more like him.
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This is such a beautiful post, dear. A wonderful tribute you have given to him 🙂
All the quotes are extremely inspiring. His death is a huge loss for the country. RIP Abdul Kalam Sir ;'(
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Thank you Purba. Lets hope his Dr Kalam’s life inspires many others to be like him.
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That’s a great tribute in the form of a poem. Very nicely worded by Mr Chakraborti. Mr Kalam was a very driven person whose idealism and patriotism is an impeccable example of modern free India. A life worth emulating and inspiring!
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Thank you Bushra, I am not sure if the poem is worded by Mr Chakraborti or he received it and shared it, but I thought it was a respectful tribute, so I included it, Certainly a life worth emulating.
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A huge loss to the nation that can never be repaired. 😦
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Lets say Maitreni, Dr Kalam, being a blessing to the country, hopefully he would have inspired more to be like him.
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He will be missed. If only there were more people like him! RIP, Sir.
Very inspirational quotes.
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Yes if only more people and our leaders were like him…
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Very inspiring quotes!
I see it as my luck that I was in his era!
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Thanks Indrani. Blessed was the person who inspired people all throughout his life till his last day and blessed we are to have lived in his era.
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Very Nice.. very inspiring…
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Thanks Vishal. The sayings of a person who has lived such a remarkable life have to be inspiring.
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great post on a great man Somali … and you have truly shared some of his best quotes.. In fact I have observed that words of people who are inherently good , creative, compassionate and genuine, mostly end up as quotes ! the ring of truth can’t be faked …
RIP .
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Very true Kokila. The qualities of genuine people show without them making an effort to show off. One can not put up a facade of goodness for long. All through his life Dr Kalam lived in utmost simplicity and that’s remarkable.
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Lovely collection of Dr. Kalam’s quotes. He will live forever through his work, and words.
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True Kiran and we should strive to emulate at least some of the qualities even if a fraction.
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Brilliant quotes.
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Thanks Rajesh.
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Great quotes by the great man…
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Thank you Anjana.
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He is one flower that spreads fragrance even after it fades. 🙂 Lovely compilation 🙂 I have heard that ‘do not drag your feet’ one. Didn’t know it was Kalam Sir’s quote. Thanks for the info.
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Thanks Ranjini..some flowers spread their fragrance far and wide even after they fade.
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I love his quotes Somali, all of them so full of reality, no romanticism anywhere. Words of experience and words with a lot of weight.
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Thank you Vinay. Yes the quotes become more credible coming from a person with such rich experience in life.
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AK was an inspiring men. He was rare human that know no selfish. My quote for him is: Life is a poem some wants to listen, some want to see, some want to feel, some want to taste, some want to sing it. Who knows the poem they just live it.
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This is such a wonderful way of putting it. Those who know the poem -they just live it. May we have more leaders like him who can inspire us with their lives. Thanks for stopping by.
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Like there can never be another Picasso, he is a rare human being. He was not a person to lead but there should be people like him to lead humanity. Humanity can flower in wisdom. My quote for this question of your:
“There have been great and greater person lived on this Planet but what is their greatness if that do not exist on Earth.”
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