The Bridge Desk
Published: 15 Oct 2020 5:41 AM GMTAvul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, the 11th President of India was born today in 1931. Popularly known as India’s Missile Man, Kalam's birth anniversary is also commemorated as World Students Day.
Kalam worked with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) as a scientist and an administrator before becoming President of the country.
Kalam’s birth anniversary is celebrated as World Students Day, with this year’s theme being, “Learning for People, Planet and Prosperity”.
Tributes have been pouring in from various political leaders, celebrities and public figures on Kalam’s 89th birth anniversary.
Those who had the good fortune to come into contact with him during his lifetime, hold the experience close to their hearts, drawing from the lessons they learnt from him and talking about the impact he had on their lives. At heart, he was always a scientist and encouraged development, innovation, and challenges wherever he went. He was also a lover of sports and the youth.
One of those whose lives were impacted by Kalam’s learnings and memories is Gautam Sinha, the CEO of Times Internet Limited (TIL), the digital arm of the Times Group. SInha, in an interview with Inc42 had said, even though many people look up to him as a scientist, he was very interested in soccer. “So, he always said that scientists should play bridge and everyone else should play soccer,” said Sinha.
