IAWW played host to Honorable Dr. Abdul Kalam
Images from Dr. Kalam's visit: Album1; Album2; Album3
Where there is righteousness in the heart,
there is beauty in the character.
When there is beauty in the character,
there is harmony in the home.
When there is harmony in the home,
there is order in the nation.
When there is order in the nation,
there is peace in the world.
IAWW hosts Honorable Dr. Abdul Kalam
This event concluded on April 25th at MOHAI. We could not secure a bigger venue than MOHAI and we sincerely regret that people who came to hear Dr. Abdul Kalam speak had to be turned away due to the limited capacity of the auditorium. We will strive our utmost to do better in the future.
Many were responsible to make Dr. Kalam’s visit a huge success. In particular, we wish to acknowledge the following:
- Priti Ramamurthy - UW (South Asia Center)
- Keith Snodgrass - UW (South Asia Center)
- Dinesh Keskar- Boeing
- Akhtar Badshah - Microsoft
- Shirish Nadkarni - TiE
- Lakshmi Gaur - IAWW (UW & Puget Sound Blood Center)
- Geeta and V. G. Veeraraghavan - Kripya LLC
Here is how the event unfolded, as seen through the eyes of one IAWW board member.
Dr APJ Abdul Kalam asks – ‘Will you do this?’
I feel privileged to be writing this article. Very few people in their lifetime have the opportunity to be touched and blessed by a great soul.
On 25th April, 2009, I was touched and blessed by one of the greatest soul of modern times – Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.
My joy knew know no bounds when I learnt that he was visiting Seattle and IAWW was hosting a lunch (with WATs)and an event following that, ‘Images of India’.
I met with him and listened to every word he said.
A visionary, an engineer, a scientist, a philosopher, an ex-president of the world’s largest democracy – had an innocence of a child, humility of greatness, wisdom of a seer and a divine presence.
I was elated as this extraordinary soul is from my Alma Mater (IIT Madras), had studied the same branch of engineering (Aeronautical) and worked in Hindustan Aeronautics Limited where I started my career 24 years ago.
This is what I knew before I met him.
This is what I know after meeting him.
He encourages you to dream big and go after those dreams.
He knows that the future of any nation lies in its youth. He understands the needs of the future and takes the youth along.
His endearing and affectionate manner seemed like he was speaking to each one of us personally.
His humility and simplicity made him so approachable as if he was a family member giving us advice. We almost forgot that he was such a huge dignitary.
When he asked the youth to repeat what he said, I forgot that I was on the wrong side of forties and repeated wholeheartedly every single word.
Hundreds others repeated after him:
‘Learning uses creativity,
Creativity leads to thinking,
Thinking provides knowledge,
And knowledge makes your great’
He talked about the need of great leaders today and the qualities they should have. He talked about the creative leadership he learnt from the Prof Vikram Sarabhai and Dr Satish Dhawan. He urged us to recognize the changing times and change with it.
He conveyed that exemplary leader is one who is a visionary, a coach, a mentor, a delegator and the one who knows how to manage failures. Of the various leadership qualities he talked about the few which stuck with me were – that a leader must travel the unexplored path willing to take risks, a leader should have nobility in management and a leader should work with integrity and succeed with integrity.
With his deep knowledge of history and philosophy, he quoted couplets from ‘Thirukural’- 1330 rhyming kurals authored centuries of years ago by Thrivalluvar in Tamil relating to metaphysics, philosophy and cosmology of human existence.
In the end he said – ‘Every human should in their lifetime improve the life of ten other human beings who are not related or connected to you.’
Then he simply and lovingly asks – ‘Will you do this?’
Yes, he is the man you want to follow.
P.S. Books he mentioned during his talk:
1. Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth – by Mahatma Gandhi
2. Light from Many Lamps: A Treasury of Inspiration - by Lillian Eichler Watson
3. Everyday Greatness: Inspiration for a Meaningful Life – by Stephen R. Covey
4. Empires of the Mind: Lessons To Lead And Succeed In A Knowledge-Based World - Denis Waitley
Anu Arora
May 13, 2009
