WINGS OF FIRE

Book Review
Wings of fire is an autobiography of our former president Dr. A. P.J. Abdul Kalam. This book tells us the story of a boy, who had big dreams about his future and what inspired him to become a distinguished scientist. The book shows how a boy with humble background from a remote corner of India could dream of aeronautics, rocket science and missiles. In this book he touches so many things like his family and the affectionate relationship between Hindus and Muslims. The book starts with his personal information regarding his family, tradition, childhood and his schooldays and college days and how he reached those places, then he also shares his experiences of those days which he spent in India s premier R&D organizations like DRDO, ISRO. Throughout this book he shares those moments, which inspired him to maintain his focus towards realizing his dreams of becoming an atomic scientist. Dr. A.P.J. Kalam always emulated his father, he always thought that his father s fundamental truth will lead him to be a successful person in his life. He was very much influenced by his cousin and his sister s husband who always had belief in him and motivated him to study further, and he went to MIT to study engineering and there he was noticed by his professors , and from there he went to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) as a trainee. He worked on engine overhauling as part of a team. Out of HAL, as a graduate aeronautical engineer, Kalam applied for both the Air Force and the Directorate of Technical Development and Production DTD&P(Air) of the Ministry of Defence. He got interview calls from both the places. He could only finish ninth in the batch of 25 examined to select eight officers for commissioning in the Air Force. Needless to say he was terribly disappointed. On the positive side he got selected as a Senior Scientific Assistant at the DTD&P (Air). His monthly salary was Rs 250 per month in 1958. It was his work on an indigenous hovercraft named Nandi that got him noticed. He was taken by the Indian Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) as a Rocket Engineer. Sometime in 1962 he was asked to proceed to New York, US, for a six-month training programme on sounding rocket launching techniques, at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) work centres. He worked at Langley Research Centre (LRC) and Goddard Flight Centre (GSFC). Towards the end of his trip he went to Wallops Flight Facility at Wallops Island in East Coast, Virginia. This place was the base for NASA s sounding rocket programme. Something there made him feel very proud and reading it made me too. Neverthless Tipu did manage to inspire a few talented Indians

Thanks mainly to efforts of people like Dr Vikram Sarabhai and Jawaharlal Nehru, rocketry was reborn in India. Prof. Sarabhai was the one who inspired Kalam to stretch himself beyond boundaries. For Kalam, he was the Mahatma Gandhi of Indian science. When Prof. Sarabhi passed away on 31st Dec 1971 it was a great personal blow to Kalam and a huge loss to Indian science. Prof. Satish Dhawan took over as the head of ISRO. On other person who influenced Kalam both personally and professionally was Dr Brahm Prakash. On 18th July 1980, after previous failures and issues, SLV-3 lifted off form SHAR. It was India s first Satellite Launch Vehicle, and Kalam uttered the most important words of his life, Mission Director calling all stations. Stand by for an important announcement. All stages performed to mission requirements. The fourth stage apogee motor has given the required velocity to put Rohini Satellite into orbit. Minutes later he was lifted onto the shoulders of his jubilant colleagues as India became the fifth country to achieve satellite launch capability. The very next year Kalam received the Padma Bhushan and an year later he was appointed the Director of DRDL. It was here that the missile man we know was born, and so did his babies Prithvi, Trishul, Akash, Nag and Agni. The once abandoned Devil missile project was revisited to the delight of those once a part of it. The then PM, Mrs Indira Gandhi, too, took notice of this new development. She visited DRDL on 19th July, 1984, the same year she was assassinated. All the, now famous, missiles were test fired during Kalam s stay at DRDL. A Padma Vibhushan in 1990 followed along with all the accolades. But for an Indian, a Bharat Ratna is the peak of excellence and the greatest appreciation that he can get for his efforts. And so when the nation honoured one of its beloved scientists in 1997, Kalams name was forever enshrined in the annals of Indian science.