WINGS OF

FIRE
By –APJ. Abdul
kalam
 Amber Valley residential school
Chikmagalur
WINGS OF FIRE

To: Mrs. Ruchira.chawla

By: Prothsa. K. Reddy
 Aacknowledgment
I WOULD LIKE TO EXPRESS MY SPECIAL THANKS OF
GRATITUDE TO MY TEACHER (Mrs. Ruchira.chawla) AS WELL AS OUR
PRINCIPAL (Mr. RAJPUT SURENDER. SINGH)WHO GAVE ME
THE OPERTUNITY TO DO THIS WONDERFUL PROJECT ON
THE TOPIC(wings of fire)IT ALSO HELPED ME IN DOING A LOT OF
RESEARCH AND IN THIS PROCCES I CAME TO KNOW
ABOUT SO MANY NEW THINGS WHICH ARE VERY HELPFUL
TO ME .
SECONDLY I WHOULD LIKE TO THANK MY BELOVED
PARENTS WHO HELPED ME A LOT IN FINALIZING THIS
PROJECT
A.P.J. ABDUL KALAM
Who was APJ. Abdul kalam?
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was an aerospace scientist who joined India's defense
department after graduating from the Madras Institute of Technology. He
was a central figure in the development of the country's nuclear
capabilities and was hailed as a national hero after a series of successful
tests in 1998. Kalam served as India's president for one term from 2002
to 2007, and died of a heart attack on July 27, 2015.
His Early years?
Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was born into a Muslim family on
October 15, 1931, on the island of Dhanushkodi off the southeastern coast
of India. He developed an early fascination with flight by watching birds,
which developed into an interest in aeronautics after he saw a newspaper
article about a British fighter plane. 
Despite his modest beginnings – his dad built and rented boats – Kalam
was a bright student who showed promise in science and mathematics. He
attended St. Joseph's College and went on to earn a degree in
aeronautical engineering from the Madras Institute of Technology. 
TIME FOR
REVIEW
 MY VIEW
Wings of Fire is an autography of APJ Abdul Kalam covering his
early life and his work in Indian space research and missile
programs. It is the story of a boy from a humble background who
went on to become a key player in Indian space research/Indian
missile programs and later became the president of India.
It was very engaging initially, but tended to drag a bit towards the end with lot of
technical details and procedural information of his space research and missile projects.
I loved the initial chapters of "Wings of Fire" since it gives a vivid picture of our country
during 1930-1950s. Kalam was born in Rameswaram, a southern religious town in
Tamilnadu. The initial chapters provides an interesting glimpse of religious harmony which
existed before India€™s partition, the famous Shiva temple, which made Rameswaram so
sacred to pilgrims, was about a ten minute walk from their house. Their locality was
predominantly Muslim, but there were quite a few Hindu families too, living amicably with
their Muslim neighbors.
There are instances in the where a teacher spreading social inequality is punished and force
to leave the institution (school).
Kalam in younger years wanted to be an officer in air force, however he couldn't clear the
interview. He met Swami Sivananda after this failure and I found his words to Kalam
interesting and in a way prophetic,
Word from swami Sivananda are: "Accept your destiny and go ahead with your life. You are not
destined to become an Air Force pilot. What you are destined to become is not revealed now but it is
predetermined. Forget this failure, as it was essential to lead you to your destined path. Search, instead, for
the true purpose of your existence. Become one with yourself, my son! Surrender yourself to the wish of
God.“
We also get to know how kalam started his career. He started his career in
Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) and was involved in the
design of a hovercraft. Later he moved to Indian Space Research which was
the brain child of Vikram Sarabhai. In 1963, Kalam went to NASA facility
in Maryland(USA) as part of a training program on sounding rocket
launching techniques. There he came across a painting which depicted Tipu
Sultan's rocket warfare against the British.
The book covers a lot of "behind the scene" information and technical
details about India's satellite and missile program (SLV-3, Prithvi, Agni,
Trisula, Akash and Nag). This might interest technically inclined readers but
is sure to put off readers who bought the book to get to know Kalam or
to know his principles/ideas. Space and missile programs are huge complex
projects and managing them is extremely challenging. The book does give a
glimpse of the participatory management technique adopted by Kalam,
Wings of fire covers Kalam's personal life. Kalam is a poet and is a huge fan
of poems. The book contains many of his own poems and his favorite
poems. Here is an example,
For all your days prepare
And meet them ever alike
When you are the anvil, bear –
When you are the hammer, strike.
◦ Through Wings of Fire, we come across some
brilliant people who worked behind Indian space
research such as Vikram Sarabhai and Dr.
Brahma Prakash. The book also contains about
24 photos and I found the ones from the
early days of Indian space program very
interesting. This alone is worth the price of
the book!
One of the things that stands out throughout
the book is Kalam’s positive thinking. He held
many high ranking positions in various
organizations. Yet in the book he rarely
mentions anything about lethargy/corruption
of bureaucracy or politicians. The secret to his
success seems to be his ability to ignore
negative things around him. The book also
gives a clue to his popularity in India. Kalam
is a simple, secular, inspiring humanitarian.
QUOTES WRITTEN BY APJ ABDUL
KALAM THAT INSPIRED
ME
◦ 1.“All Birds find shelter during rain. But Eagle avoids rain by flying above clouds.”
◦ 2.“Don’t take rest after your first victory because if you fail in second, more lips are waiting to say that your
first victory was just luck.”
◦ 3."All of us do not have equal talent. But, all of us have an equal opportunity to develop our talents.”
◦ 4.“You have to dream before your dreams can come true.”
◦ 5.“Failure will never overtake me if my definition to succeed is strong enough.”
◦ 6.“I'm not a handsome guy, but I can give my hand to someone who needs help. Beauty is in the heart, not in
the face.”
◦ 7.“The best brains of the nations may be found on the last benches of the classrooms.”
◦ 8.“You cannot change your future, but, you can change your habits, and surely your habits will change your
future.”
◦ 9.“If you fail, never give up because F.A.I.L. means “First Attempt In Learning”. End is not the end, if fact
E.N.D. means “Effort Never Dies.” If you get No as an answer, remember N.O. means “Next Opportunity”, So
let’s be positive.”
MY FAVORITE
QUOTE
“All Birds find shelter during rain. But Eagle avoids rain
by flying above clouds.”

◦It means Our future can be defined by how we

solve our problems. Life isn’t perfect, we all
have our problems, either you can live with a
problem or live with solutions.
"All of us do not have equal talent. But, all of us have an
equal opportunity to develop our talents.”

◦ It means Everyone has the 24 hours in a day, 365 days in the year. Time is the
most precious currency, and future is decided by how we use that.
◦ Most of the people fail in their life or they become unsuccessful because they
keep trying to get the things which they don’t want. We all are different, all
have the dreams and goals. We get 24 hours in a day and we should spend it to
develop our talent and skills, we have 365 days to follow our passion.
◦ Chase the dreams and follow your passion. Try to figure out what makes you
happy and choose that as a career because it’s the way to truly enjoy the life.
Don’t let someone else’s decide your future. Believe in yourself and never give
up.
“You have to dream before your
dreams can come true.”
◦ You have to dream before your dreams can come true, You must have some vision
before the vision become reality. If you can dream, You can win. If you really want to
win you must have a clear vision and goals. You should have some expectations for
your life. There is nothing wrong with a dream. however, you’re dreaming about
something dream bigger and better.
◦ If you’re dreaming about something then it doesn’t mean you’re going to win. If you
want to win then you must have plans and goals. You can’t win if you’re not ready to
sacrifice. If you really want to win then you must have the courage to fail. There is
nothing wrong with failure But, It will wrong if you give up after failure. The winner
is the one who failed a couple of times, but never give-up.
 AWARDS AND
HONORARY DEGREE
◦ Awards
• 1981: Padma Bhushan – Government of India
• 1990: Padma Vibhushan – Government of India
• 1997: Bharat Ratna – Government of India
• 1997: 
Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration –
Government of India
• 1998: Veer Savarkar Award – Government of
India
• 2000: SASTRA Ramanujan Prize – 
Shanmugha Arts, Science, Technology & Resear
ch Academy
, India
• 2013: Von Braun Award – 
Honorary Degrees
•Distinguished Fellow – Institute of Directors, India, 1994
•Honorary Fellow – National Academy of Medical Sciences, 1995
•Honorary Doctorate of Science – University of Wolverhampton, UK,
2007
•King Charles II Medal – UK, 2007
•Honorary Doctor of Engineering – Nanyang Technological University,
Singapore, 2008
•International von Kármán Wings Award – 
California Institute of Technology, USA, 2009
•Hoover Medal – American Society of Mechanical Engineers, USA, 2009
•Doctor of Engineering – University of Waterloo, Canada, 2010
•IEEE Honorary Membership – 
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, USA, 2011
•Honorary Doctor of Laws – Simon Fraser University, Canada, 2012
•Honorary Doctor of Science – University of Edinburgh, Scotland, 2014
 Summary
A.P.J. ABDUL KALAM, IN FULL AVUL PAKIR JAINULABDEEN ABDUL
KALAM, (BORN OCTOBER 15, 1931, RAMESWARAM, INDIA—DIED JULY 27,
2015, SHILLONG), INDIAN SCIENTIST AND POLITICIAN WHO PLAYED A
LEADING ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDIA’S MISSILE AND 
NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAMS. HE WAS PRESIDENT OF INDIA FROM
2002 TO 2007.

KALAM EARNED A DEGREE IN AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING FROM THE

MADRAS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND IN 1958 JOINED THE DEFENSE
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION (DRDO). HE SOON
MOVED TO THE INDIAN SPACE RESEARCH ORGANIZATION, WHERE HE
WAS PROJECT DIRECTOR OF THE SLV-III, INDIA’S FIRST INDIGENOUSLY
DESIGNED AND PRODUCED SATELLITE LAUNCH VEHICLE. REJOINING
DRDO IN 1982, KALAM PLANNED THE PROGRAM THAT PRODUCED A
NUMBER OF SUCCESSFUL MISSILES, WHICH HELPED EARNED HIM THE
later served as principal scientific adviser (1999–2001) to the government with
the rank of cabinet minister. His prominent role in the country’s 1998 nuclear
weapons tests established Kalam as a national hero, although the tests caused
great concern in the international community. In 1998 Kalam put forward a
countrywide plan called Technology Vision 2020, which he described as a road
map for transforming India from a less-developed to a developed society in 20
years. The plan called for, among other measures, increasing agricultural
productivity, emphasizing technology as a vehicle for economic growth, and
widening access to health care and education.

In 2002 India’s ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) put forward Kalam to

succeed outgoing President Kocheril Raman Narayanan. Kalam was nominated by
the Hindu nationalist (Hindutva) NDA even though he was Muslim, and his
stature and popular appeal were such that even the main opposition party, the 
Indian National Congress, also proposed his candidacy. Kalam easily won the
election and was sworn in as India’s 11th president, a largely ceremonial post, in
July 2002. He remained committed to using science and technology to transform
India into a developed country
Thank you