Wings of fire - Sir APJ ABDUL KALAM Wings of fire | Page 44

woven into a matrix that encloses it and gives the
component its bulk form. In February 1969, Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi visited Thumba to dedicate TERLS to the
International Space Science Community. On this occasion,
she commissioned the country’s first filament winding
machine in our laboratory. This event brought my team,
which included CR Satya, PN Subramanian and MN
Satyanara-yana, great satisfaction. We made highstrength
glass cloth laminates to build non-magnetic payload
housings and flew them in two-stage sounding rockets. We
also wound and test flew rocket motor casings of up to 360
mm diameter.
Slowly, but surely, two Indian rockets were born at
Thumba. They were christened Rohini and Menaka, after
the two mythological dancers in the court of Indra, the king
of the sky. The Indian payloads no longer needed to be
launched by French rockets. Could this have been done but
for the atmosphere of trust and commitment which Prof.
Sarabhai had created at INCOSPAR? He brought into use
each person’s knowledge and skills. He made every man
feel directly involved in problem solving. By the very fact of
the team members’ participation, the solutions became
genuine and earned the trust of the entire team resulting in
total commitment towards implementation.
Prof. Sarabhai was matter-of-fact and never tried to
hide his disappointment. He used to talk with us in an
honest and objective manner. Sometimes I found him
making things look more positive than they actually were,
and then charming us by his almost magical powers of
persuasion. When we were at the drawing board, he would
bring someone from the developed world for a technical
collaboration. That was his subtle way of challenging each
one of us to stretch our capabilities.
At the same time, even if we failed to meet certain
objectives, he would praise whatever we had
accomplished. Whenever he found any one of us going
over his head and attempting a task for which he did not
have the capability or skill, Prof. Sarabhai would reassign
activity in such a way so as to lower pressure and permit
better quality work to be performed. By the time the first
Rohini-75 rocket was launched from TERLS on 20
November 1967, almost each one of us was in his own
groove.
Early next year, Prof. Sarabhai wanted to see me
urgently in Delhi. By now I was accustomed to Prof.
Sarabhai’s working methods. He was always full of
enthusiasm and optimism. In such a state of mind, sudden
flashes of inspiration were almost natural. On reaching
Delhi, I contacted Prof. Sarabhai’s secretary for an
appointment and was asked to meet him at 3.30 a.m. at
Hotel Ashoka. Delhi being a slightly unfamiliar place, with
an unfriendly climate for someone like me, conditioned to
the warm and humid climate of South India, I decided to
wait in the hotel lounge after finishing my dinner.
I have always been a religious person in the sense that I
maintain a working partnership with God. I was aware that
the best work required more ability than I possessed and
therefore I needed help that only God could give me. I made
a true estimate of my own ability, then raised it by 50 per
cent and put myself in God’s hands. In this partnership, I
have always received all the power I needed, and in fact
have actually felt it flowing through me. Today, I can affirm
that the kingdom of God is within you in the form of this
power, to help achieve your goals and realise your dreams.
There are many different types and levels of experience