Wings of fire - Sir APJ ABDUL KALAM Wings of fire | Page 6

provides only a thumbnail sketch of Dr Kalam’s life. It is
quite possible that certain important incidents have been
inadvertently dropped and that the contribution of some
individuals to the projects co-ordinated by Dr Kalam has
gone unrecorded. Since a quarter-century of professional
life separates me from Dr Kalam, some important issues
might also have remained unrecorded or have been
distorted. I am solely responsible for such shortcomings,
which are, of course, completely unintentional.
Arun Tiwari
Acknowledgements Introduction
I
wish to express my gratitude to all the people involved
in the writing of this book, especially Mr YS Rajan, Mr A
Sivathanu Pillai, Mr RN Agarwal, Mr Prahlada, Mr KVSS
Prasada Rao
and Dr SK Salwan, who were very generous in sharing their
time and knowledge with me.
I am thankful to Prof. KAV Pandalai and Mr R
Swaminathan, for critical reviews of the text. I thank Dr B
Soma Raju for his tangible, but always unspoken support,
for this project. My sincere thanks go to my wife and
unsparing critic, Dr Anjana Tiwari, for her tough comments,
accompanied with her gentle support.
It has been a pleasure to work with Universities Press, and
the cooperation of the editorial and production staff is much
appreciated.
There are many fine people, such as the photographer
Mr. Prabhu, who have selflessly enriched me and this book
in ways beyond measure. I thank them all.
And finally, my deepest gratitude to my sons, Aseem
and Amol— for their unfailing emotional support during the
writing, and because I seek in them that attitude towards
life which Dr Kalam admired, and wanted this work to
reflect.
Arun Tiwari
This book is being released at a time when India’s
technological endeavours, to assert its sovereignty and
strengthen its security, are questioned by many in the world.
Historically, people have always fought among themselves
on one issue or another. Prehistorically, battles were fought
over food and shelter. With the passage of time, wars were
waged over religious and ideological beliefs; and now the
dominant struggle of sophisticated warfare is for economic
and technological supremacy. Consequently, economic
and technological supremacy is equated with political
power and world control.
Afew nations who have grown very strong
technologically, over the past few centuries, have wrested
control, for their own purposes. These major powers have
become the self-proclaimed leaders of the new world
order. What does a country of one billion people, like India,
do in such a situation? We have no other option but to be
technologically strong. But, can India be a leader in the field
of technology? My answer is an emphatic ‘Yes’. And let me
validate my answer by narrating some incidents from my
life.
When I first began the reminiscences that have gone
into this book, I was uncertain about which of my memories
were worth narrating or were of any relevance at all. My
childhood is precious to me, but would it be of interest to
anyone else? Was it worth the reader’s while, I wondered,
to know about the tribulations and triumphs of a smalltown
boy? Of the straitened circumstances of my schooldays, the
odd jobs I did to pay my school fees, and how my decision
to become a vegetarian was partly due to my financial