Generally, I keep away from autobiographies because they are, if anything, history painted with one’s own brush and colours. But, once in a while, we come across little meteorites that flit across the horizon lighting up the sky as though they had ‘wings of fire’, and catch our eye.
What makes an autobiography a good read, and a gem to own and cherish? Well, when the author sticks to the basics, employs a lucid style of descriptive writing, is sincere and honest in his assessment, and doesn’t give himself the benefit of doubt when he is writing about himself. That’s my idea of a good autobiography.
Dr. Avur Pakir Jainallubdin Abdul Kalam who is presently the Honourable President of India is first and foremost a humanitarian. The fact that he is an eminent scientist as well is known to most people, at least, in Asia if not the world.
This book holds less than 200 pages and is not a strain on the purse and, definitely, not a strain on the eyes. Arun Tiwari, a scientist and long time associate of Dr. Kalam is the co-author of this book. The ‘Wings of Fire’ first appeared on the book shelves across the country in 1999, but its sales did not pickup until Dr. Kalam became the ‘First Man’ of India. Perhaps, his autobiography came a little too early.
“Wings of Fire” is the story of a young greenhorn achieving his dreams despite, what many felt, were insurmountable odds. The failures, the near misses, the falling of pieces in place, the successes, and the unexpected and unprecedented glory, all make us believe that hard work makes its own destiny. Dr. Kalam’s proclivity in highlighting the role of his family, relatives, and his mentors in the shaping of his career and future mirrors his gratitude for their guidance notwithstanding his own single minded approach in achieving his goals. A man who is a role model for every patriotic Indian, in his modesty, overlooks this very fact.
Dr. Kalam devotes a great deal of ‘space’ in his book to India’s yearning to conquer space and achieve excellence in technology. Expectedly, he dwells at length on his tenure at DRDO and the scientists overwhelming desire and determination in making India a ‘super power’ in every sense of that term. Despite the fact that this book is written by a foremost scientist and deals with a number of scientific aspects, it is commendable that scientific jargon is limited to the minimum possible extent and, therefore, can be easily assimilated by laymen.
Dr. Kalam never married and, on a lighter note, admits that he found maintaining human relationship was in a way more difficult than rocket science. To Dr Kalam, rocket science is a straight forward ‘cause and effect’ subject that can be safely predictive. But maintaining human relations and bonds is that much more difficult as the same ‘cause’ will not lead to the same ‘effect’. Emotions can chain a person in shackles.
Wings of Fire can serve as a reference book for high profile managers as it contains useful advice on leadership qualities, human resource management, project management and, more importantly, how to surmount difficult obstacles and unexpected problems. One fault, if I may add, is that the book is not a chronology of events as one would expect in an autobiographical assay. But this in no way robs the sheen from an otherwise honest and laudable effort.
A closer reading and understanding Dr Kalam’s book will reveal that he is more a humanist than a scientist. Though I wouldn’t like to generalize, I must mention that I have observed the lives of many great scientists and found that for some reason they spin a cocoon around them insulating themselves from the immediate world. They seem engrossed in their own chosen sphere seldom mixing with people unless it is inevitable. When that happens, their usefulness to humanity begins to diminish. As the mysteries of science begin to unravel before them and as they slowly but surely grasp the enormity of it all, there is a tendency on their part to move towards atheism or agnosticism.
Religion, no matter which, and belief in the existence of an unseen Super Force is like an anchor to which a believer is moored. Once this tether snaps the person is bound to drift away directionless, like in empty space, without ever knowing it because the cocoon blurs his vision. I must add that not all geniuses become like this and one such genius is Dr Abdul Kalam who’s belief in destiny and God and infinite love for mankind and peace makes him not only a peerless scientist but a human being of the highest order.
If our countrymen need inspiration for making possible the ‘impossible’, then this is the book they should read, and re-read a thousand times, because every time they read they will find in it something they have missed before, and also for the reason that the ‘pursuit of excellence’ is always a journey, never a destination.
mbfarookh