AVUL PAKIR JAINULABDEEN ABDUL KALAM

AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Submitted By:
Neha Bhandari
Rakhi Sharma
Madhuri Singh
Megha Mittal
Jasleen
Preeti
Section B
MBA-HR
 Mr. Kalam's life portrays, what zest for
life is all about.

His Humble beginnings, hard work,

persistence , and above all a passion for
life and all things that are possible in it,
are all well described in the book.
 MISSILE MAN OF INDIA
 Born on 15TH October, 1931
,Rameswaram ,India.
 He was the eleventh President of
India ,serving from 2002 to 2007.
 Before his term as India's president,
he worked as an aeronautical
engineer with DRDO and ISRO.
 popularly known as the Missile Man
of India
 Kalam chooses to organize the
autobiographical material into four
sections:
1)Orientation
2)Creation
3) Propitiation
4)Contemplation
ORIENTATION
 This section covers the early life of APJ
Abdul Kalam. His memories of the early
days are very reminiscent of good old
malgudi set up. The way he remembers
his relatives, teachers who influenced
him makes one wonder. Adding color to
the section are the black and white pics
of that time. This section covers all his
education and early travels.
INFLUENCES[ Early
childhood ]
 Father – Who makes him believe that
there exist a divine power that can lift
one up from confusion ,misery ,etc. and
guide one to one’s true place.
 Ahmed Jallaluddin – Who made him
aware of a “brave new world” beyond
our narrow confines.
 Samsuddin – Sole Distributor of
newspapers in Rameswaram .
 Lakshmana Sastry – Who is against
social inequality and communal
intolerance.
INFLUENCES[ High
School ]
 Sivasubramania lyer –Who did his best
to break social barriers so that people
from different backgrounds can mingle.
 Iyadurai Soloman – “To suceed in life
and achieve results you have to master
three mighty forces – desire , belief and
expectation”
-With faith you can change your destiny.
 1950,He joined St. Joseph’s College ,
where the interest in physics developed
in him.
 During his MIT course , he chooses
aeronautical engineering.
CAREER SHAPERS
 Prof. Sponder – Technical Aerodynamics
Calm , energetic and abreast of latest
technologies
 Prof. KAV pandalai – aero dynamic
structure and analysis ,cheerful , friendly
and enthusiastic , man of great intellectual
integrity and scholarship.
 Prof. Narasingha Rao – theoretical
aerodynamics
 It is there meticulous teaching which
created excitement in Kalam about
aerodynamics.
Employment Opportunities
 Air Force Career - Dehradun
 DTD&P(Air) Delhi
“Accept your destiny and go ahead with
your life . you are not destined to become a
airforce pilot . Forget this failure as this
was essential to lead you to your destined
path”
 After three years Joined INCOSPAR as a
rocket engineer
 Proceed to NASA for six – month training
programme on sounding rocket technique.
CREATION [1963-1980]
 This section deals with Kalam’s further
trainings and his association with defense
and space projects, mainly the SLV3. This
section has too much scientific details and
give Introduction to a list of defense and
space research establishments that you
may have not even heard of. Just as he
thanks his family and mentors in the first
section here he thanks the stalwarts of
Indian science like Prof Vikram sarabhai,
Dr Brahm prakash, Prof Satish Dhawan.
 He is a true Indian by heart and by work.
 He started his work at NASA at the LRC, in Hampton.
 He initially worked in DRDO in 1958 and then joined
ISRO in 1963.
 Dr. Kalam has made significant contribution to Indian
satellite and launch vehicles of ISRO and also in the
missile programme of DRDO.
 As project Director, SLV-III, he contributed for the
design, development and management of India’s first
indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III) to inject
Rohini satellite in the near earth orbit.
 He was responsible for the evolution of ISRO’s
launch vehicles programme and configurations.
INFLUENCES
 Prof. Sarabhai – His vision was very
clear
“IF INDIANS WERE TO PLAY A
MEANINGFUL ROLE IN THE
COMMUNITY OF NATIONS,THEY
MUST BE SECOND TO NONE IN THE
APPLICATIONS OF ADVANCED
TECHNOLOGIES TO THEIR REAL
LIFE PROBLEMS”
MAHATMA GANDHI OF
INDIAN SCIENCE
 Prof. Sarabhai is a true Leader
He always believed in the free exchange of
ideas.
Even if people failed to meet certain
objectives, he would praise whatever they
had accomplished.
Use errors as opportunities(failure of timer
circuit lead to rocket engineering laboratory)
Always inspired his team through ideas and
examples.
 Khalil Gibran – “Those who cannot work
with their hearts achieves but a hollow
,half hearted success that breads
bitterness all around”
 Goerge Bernard Shaw – “ The
reasonable men adapt themselves to
the world .Only a few unreasonable men
adapt the world to themselves and
progress in the world depends upon
them “
 Prof. Dawan – Head of ISRO
man with the mission.
He effortlessly pull together all the loose
ends to move smoothly.
Dream before your dream can come true.
 Prof. Brahm Prakash – always motivates
and take care as a child.
KEY STRATEGIES AS A
LEADER
 Team should meet at least once in a week.
 Teamwork.
 Leaders exist everywhere.
 Best way to prevent error is to anticipate them.
 Each member worked to enrich the others in
the team.
 The more up-to-date the knowledge you
possess , the freer you are.
 Be Active, Take on responsibility.
 Total commitment is not just hard work , it is
total involvement.
 People born with different energy
reserves and the one who tries first
burns out easily will do reorganize his or
her life at the earliest.
Self-authorized Leadership
There are 7 pillars which form the foundation of self-
authorized leadership.
 Caring- the ability to care for others through kindness,
generosity and compassion.
 Courage- the attitude of dealing with anything recognized
as difficult, instead of withdrawing from it.
 Honesty- being truthful and sincere.
 Integrity- the ability to stand up for your own beliefs about
right and wrong.
 Responsibility- ability to consider possible consequences,
as well as exercising self-control and self-discipline.
 Loyalty- willingness to stand by and support other team
members without spreading rumors.
 Fairness- the ability to treat all team members alike.
PROPITIATION [1981 –
1991]
 This section covers the years 80-91
when Kalam moves from ISRO to
defense Labs. It covers the story behind
the names we have all heard, the SLV3,
PSLV, Akash, Naga, Agni, Trishul and
what not.
 He rejoined DRDO in 1982 and conceived
the Integrated Guided Missile Development
Programme (IGMDP) for indigenous
missiles.
 DRDL had been known for its pioneering
work in the field of anti tank missiles.
 Proposed projects
 Prithvi
 Trishul
 Akash
 Nag
 Agni
 Prithvi was launched at 11:23 on 25
February 1988.It was an epoch making
event in the history of rocketry in the
country.
 The emergence of India as a self – reliant
country in the field of guided missiles upset
all the developed nations of the world.
 Agni was launched on May 22 1989 – a
major achievement to safeguard
independence and security by self reliant
means.
 LEARNINGS
 The great thing in this world is not knowing where
we stand but as in what direction we are moving.
Clarity of vision and awareness of your own self are
the key determinants of success.

 Always do your work with complete dedication,

explore your abilities and hold a high self-esteem.
 A leader should always introduce new blood in the
organization. This brings new ideas and lets other
people rediscover themselves.
 Motivate Others. Give everybody in your team a
chance to grow and obtain self-accomplishment.
CONTEMPLATION [1991 -]
“We create and destroy and again recreate in forms
of what no one knows”

This section deals with later years where Kalam is

conferred with a list of awards, his contemplations,
his visions for the country. There is a very touchy
narration of how he visited a old teacher of his & the
reunion of a pupil who went beyond teachers
expectations. Its difficult not to be inspired by this
life. The section along with epilogue also mentions of
Kalam’s vision 2020 – of self reliance vision &
technology vision.
 On Republic day 1990, He was
conferred with Padma Vibhushan along
with other colleagues.
 After this ,many of his colleagues leave
India to get more money abroad.
 But Kalam beliefs that anything in the
world could not compensate for love and
respect from one’s own countrymen.
 Towards the end of 1990, He was
honored by the title of Dr. of Science
conferred by Jadavpur University.
 He thinks that problems are a part of life
and suffering is the essence of success
and there should be a latent fire in the
heart of every indian acquire wings, and
the glory of this great country light up
the sky.
LEARNINGS
 As a project leader , you need to develop a
complex view of success criteria.
 Relationship between the project teams
and the work centers should be
encouraged and developed by the project
leader. Leader must work as an integrating
force.
 Identify your areas of strength and
weakness, i.e. self-awareness is important
to rise in life.
 We should have a clear vision and clear
determination.
 We should try to solve the problem by
becoming a part of it.
 We should be aware of our inner signals
and trust them .
 Your imagination will bring you success.