GROUP MEMBERS

AAFTAB SHAIKH (2) ADNAN SHAIKH (6)

AMIT BOSE (10) IMRAN ALI (38)

EBRAHIM PACHORAWALA (18) KHURSHID KHAN (47)

 Wings of Fire is an autobiography of A P J
Abdul Kalam, ex - President of India.

 It is written by A P J Abdul Kalam and Arun

Tiwari who is a junior colleague of Dr. Kalam
and himself a scientist of substance.

 It has been translated into 13 languages and

is available all over the world.
 Apart from that the book is also translated into
Braille and there is also a audio book which is
available.

 In the beginning of the book, like all great

leaders Dr. Kalam thanks and acknowledges all
the people who have inspired and influenced
him in his life.

 He then starts the book with this message:

“We are all born with a divine fire in us. Our
efforts should be to give wings to this fire and
fill the world with glow of its goodness.”
 The book is divided into 4 major
parts which are:
 Orientation

 Creation

 Propitiation

 Contemplation
ORIENTATION
 The section Orientation opens with a quote from the
Atharva Veda
“This Earth is His, to Him belong those vast and
boundless skies: Both seas within Him rest, and yet in
that small pool He lies.”

 It is spread into 3 chapters, and covers the first 32

years of Dr Kalam’s life, his days as a child, going
through adolescence and getting into rocketry.

 It tells us how inspite of his ordinary beginnings he

managed to complete his early schooling.
ORIENTATION
 It also tells us how he completed his graduation and
then moved to the US for a 6 month training program
at NASA against all odds.

 It also describes how his loving family members and

friends sacrificed readily for him, as also about the
devoted and inspirational teachers at his schools &
college.

 The section brings out the great optimism of Dr Kalam,

who took up projects from scratch to successful
culmination.
CREATION
 It is spread into 7 chapters and covers Dr Kalam's life and
work for 17 years, from the year 1963 until 1980.

 It covers his struggle at Indian Space Research

Organisation (ISRO) going from one engineer amongst
many to the successful project director of Satellite Launch
Vehicle (SLV) bringing pride to the nation.

 It describes how Dr. Kalam managed and inspired large

scale developmental projects on rocket technology,
culminating in the pioneering success of the SLV, the fifth
country to achieve satellite launching capability, and thus
propelling India into the Space Age.
CREATION
 It shows Kalam’s faith in Indian Rocketry through a
painting he saw at the NASA Maryland Flight Centre,
which depicted Tipu Sultan’s army using rockets.

 This period brought Kalam national recognition. A

pleasant surprise came in the form of conferment of
Padma Bhushan on the Republic Day, 26th January,
1981.

 The chapter ends in the description of his transition

from ISRO to Defense Research & Development
Organisation (DRDO) as the next director of Defense
Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL).
PROPITIATION

 It is spread into 5 chapters and covers Dr Kalam’s

life from 1981 to 1991.

 It tells us about his outstanding accomplishments at

DRDL and the way he transformed their laboratory
from one which had a weak heart with little
confidence to one which could feel proud, this really
is a remarkable saga.

 It was during this phase that the crucial Agni missile

programme was established.
CONTEMPLATION
 It is spread over 2 chapters and covers Dr Kalam’s
life from 1991 to around 1999.

 The section opens with words from the Quran

“We create and destroy
And again recreate
In forms of which no one knows”

 In this part he shares a lot of his ideas and thoughts

arising out of his colourful life.

 It also tells us about the many awards he has won

over the years.
WINGS OF FIRE

 Its an story of a boy from a small town of

Rameshwaram and how he went on to
become one of the greatest technologist of
our country.

 It also tells us how under the leadership of

Dr. Kalam the space research program and
the nuclear weapon program of our country
was completely revolutionized.
WINGS OF FIRE
 But the most remarkable feature of this book is
the inspiration it provides to people, especially
young people.

 It tells us how with motivation and focus all of

us can emerge as leaders in our respective
fields.

 This book is a must for every student, because it

has the power to motivate a person to excel in
all spheres of life.