"We have to prioritise our thoughts on national development and make all other issues 'non-issues'. This will ensure focus and thrust on the nation's development. These are the lines from a speech by President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, made on August 14, 2003.
Write down your opinion on the above lines.
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To Sir, With Love
From Rameswaram to the Rashtrapati Bhavan, it’s been a long journey. Talking to Nona Walia on the eve of Teacher’s Day, President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam talks about life’s toughest lessons learnt, and his mission—being a teacher to the Indian Youth. “A proper education would help nurture a sense of dignity and self-respect among our youth”, says President Kalam. There’s still a child in him though, he’s still curious about learning new things. Life’s a mission for President Kalam.
Nonetheless, he remembers his first lesson in life and how it changed his destiny. “I was studying in standard V, and must have been all of 10. My teacher, Sri Sivasubramania Iyer was telling us how birds fly. He drew a diagram of a bird on the blackboard, depicting the wings, tail and the body with the head and then explained how birds soar to the sky. At the end of the class, I said I did not understand. Then he asked the other students if they had understood, but nobody had understood how birds fly”, he recalls. “That evening, the entire class was taken to Rameswaram shore”, the President continues. “My teacher showed us sea birds. We saw marvellous formations of them flying and how their wings flapped. Then my teacher asked us, “Where is the bird’s engine and how is it powered?” I knew then that birds are powered by their own life and motivation. I understood all about birds’ dynamics. This was real teaching—a theoretical lesson coupled with a live practical example. Sri Sivasubramania Iyer was a great teacher. That day, my future was decided. My destiny was changed. I knew my future had to be about flight and flight systems.