In the book we learn how Kalam started his career in Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) and was involved in the design of a hovercraft. Become one with yourself, my son! Surrender yourself to the wish of God, Search, instead, for the true purpose of your existence. Forget this failure, as it was essential to lead you to your destined path. What you are destined to become is not revealed now but it is predetermined. You are not destined to become an Air Force pilot. He met Swami Sivananda after this failure and I found his words to Kalam interesting and in a way prophetic,Īccept your destiny and go ahead with your life. Kalam in younger years wanted to be an officer in air force, however he couldn’t clear the interview. Not only did the teacher regret his behaviour, but the strong sense of conviction Lakshmana Sastry conveyed ultimately reformed this young teacher. He bluntly asked the teacher to either apologize or quit the school and the island. Lakshmana Sastry summoned the teacher, and in our presence, told the teacher that he should not spread the poison of social inequality and communal intolerance in the minds of innocent children. After school, we went home and told our respective parents about the incident.
The image of him weeping when I shifted to the last row left a lasting impression on me.
He looked utterly downcast as I shifted to my seat in the last row. I felt very sad, and so did Ramanadha Sastry. In accordance with our social ranking as the new teacher saw it, I was asked to go and sit on the back bench. The new teacher could not stomach a Hindu priest’s son sitting with a Muslim boy. I used to wear a cap which marked me as a Muslim, and I always sat in the front row next to Ramanadha Sastry, who wore a sacred thread. One day when I was in the fifth standard at the Rameswaram Elementary School, a new teacher came to our class. One of the most vivid memories of my early childhood is of the two men, each in his traditional attire, discussing spiritual matters. The high priest of Rameswaram temple, Pakshi Lakshmana Sastry, was a very close friend of my father’s. Our locality was predominantly Muslim, but there were quite a few Hindu families too, living amicably with their Muslim neighbours. The famous Shiva temple, which made Rameswaram so sacred to pilgrims, was about a ten-minute walk from our house. The initial chapters provides an interesting glimpse of religious harmony which existed before India’s partition, Kalam was born in Rameswaram, a southern religious town in Tamilnadu. I loved the initial chapters of Wings of Fire since it gives a vivid picture of our country during 1930 – 1950s. It was very engaging initially, but tended to drag a bit towards the end with lot of technical details and procedural information of his space research and missile projects. I recently picked up a copy and read it in a couple of days. The book has been very popular in India and has been translated into multiple languages. It is the story of a boy from a humble background who went on to become a key player in Indian space research/Indian missile programs and later became the president of India. Wings of Fire is an autography of APJ Abdul Kalam covering his early life and his work in Indian space research and missile programs. It covers Kalam’s life before he became president of India and in 2013 another autobiography titled “My Journey: Transforming Dreams into Actions” was released.Ĭritical analysis: Wings of Fire by APJ Abdul Kalam
Wings of Fire is an autobiography of APJ Abdul Kalam written jointly by Arun Tiwari and Abdul Kalam. He is very well known across India and is a recipient of India’s three highest civilian awards – Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan and Bharat Ratna. APJ Abdul Kalam is a renowned Indian scientist who went on to become 11th President of India (2002-2007).
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