A.P.J. Abdul Kalam: A Life

by Arun Tiwari

Overview

The definitive biography of India's most loved leader and scientist

Aeronautical engineer, rocket scientist, missile man, visionary, teacher and the most inspiring head of state in living memory - Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was all these and more. Unquestionably the most revered Indian leader since Mahatma Gandhi, he transcended all the boundaries and obstacles that came his way in the course of a remarkable life; and he did so with grace and humility.Arun Tiwari tells Dr Kalam's life story with a deep understanding of his formative experiences and character and reveals him as a man personifying all the glory and paradoxes of his nation: secular and religious; exalted and humble; schooled and unaffected; dynamic and calm; scientific and spiritual - an Indian above all.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789351776925
Publisher:	HarperCollins India
Publication date:	12/10/2015
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	576
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Arun Tiwari was born in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, in 1955. He did his master's in mechanical engineering from G.B. Pant University and joined Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL) at Hyderabad as a missile scientist in 1982. At DRDL, Prof. Tiwari developed India's first titanium air bottle, used in Tirshul and Akash missiles. In 1992, Prof. Tiwari was appointed by Dr Kalam as the programme director at the DRDO, to develop civilian spin-offs of defence technology to benefit common people. In 1996, Prof. Tiwari developed India's first coronary stent with cardiologist Dr B. Soma Raju known as Kalam--Raju Stent. As a member of President Kalam's team, Arun Tiwari set up the first link of Pan-Africa e-Network of Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd (TCIL). The network now connects universities and hospitals across the African continent with their Indian counterparts. In 1999 Arun Tiwari wrote Wings of Fire, the autobiography of Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, a modern classic now.Arun Tiwari currently teaches at School of Management Sciences, University of Hyderabad, as an adjunct professor.

Table of Contents

Foreword: Swami Brahmaviharidas xiii

Introduction xix

Part I Simulation

1.1 The Paradise of Hope 3

1.2 The Beginning 12

1.3 Disillusioned Learner 21

1.4 Bootstrapping 30

1.5 Cog in the Wheel 39

1.6 Noah's Ark 47

1.7 No Free Lunch 55

1.8 Unreasonable Men 65

Part II Creation

2.1 Indra's Net 77

2.2 Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam 87

2.3 Smiling Buddha 97

2.4 Strength Respects Strength 107

2.5 Crystal Cathedral 117

2.6 Chariot of Fire 126

2.7 Prophet of Self-Reliance 134

2.8 The Razors Edge 145

Part III Realization

3.1 Major General Prithviraj 157

3.2 Aarif 168

3.3 Who Is Our Enemy? 180

3.4 Kingdom of God 191

3.5 Angel and Marshal 202

3.6 Thinking Is Growth 213

3.7 Birth of a Humanist 224

3.8 Gem in the Lotus 234

Part IV Expansion

4.1 Tamaso Ma Jyotirgamaya 247

4.2 Anjuman 260

4.3 Samagam 270

4.4 The World Machine 284

4.5 The Deserted Village 296

4.6 Nation Builders 308

4.7 We the People 319

4.8 Creative Leaders 330

Part V Dispersion

5.1 Determination Is Power 343

5.2 Lend Me Your Ears 351

5.3 Instruments of God 362

5.4 A Man's Compass 373

5.5 I Will Fly 385

5.6 What Can I Give? 397

5.7 Awakening 411

5.8 One Mans Bible 420

Part VI Emancipation

6.1 Where Eagles Soar 433

6.2 Into the Uncharted 445

6.3 Transformers 457

6.4 Prove All Things 469

6.5 Liveable Planet Earth 481

6.6 Set the Ball Rolling 492

6.7 Made for Life 500

6.8 Aalam-e-Barsakh 511

Notes 521

Acknowledgements 537

Index 541