THE MISSILE MAN
If I am to explain what I mean when I say the word – the artist – and show by example what all this term encompasses, I am not sure if I can find someone as appropriate as The Missile Man.
Our former President APJ Kalam’s treasured possessions were a copy of Quran, a copy of Bhagavad Gita, A Veena, a CD player, a laptop, some clothing and books. A simple man who dedicated his life to grounding values like integrity, honesty and hard work; was as artistic in grasping and implementing technical knowledge as while creating art in the form of teaching, writing and playing musical instrument.
Kalam’s art was rooted in his inner truth and existence. His personality is one of the best creative expressions of The Artist – The Ultimate Creator. Through him, The Artist has demonstrated that intellect is the active creative force of the existence that works in stillness – answer to even the most complicated questions can be received by the mind if it is still and in tune with the eternal moment. To draw knowledge, process it to convert into information, then structure the ideas to communicate it using the available tools; is a work of art.
All of his life, Kalam encouraged youth to believe in their ideas and stay persistent by giving example of his own life. He would say that – If a boy from a background as simple as mine can achieve his dreams, then it only shows that anyone who makes his mind and supports it with hard work and dedication, can do it too; nothing is impossible!