Bengaluru: India’s most powerful long-range missile, Agni, which was among the favourite projects of late President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, will form part of the national memorial scheduled for inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his second death anniversary, July 27, in Rameswaram.
The missile, a museum with personal collections of Dr Kalam and a library enclosed within a green canopy of 1,000 plants constitute phase-I of the Rs 50-crore Abdul Kalam memorial in the temple town where the late President spent his formative years. “I thank DRDO for providing a full scale model of Agni missile, an organisation which has been very dear to all of us,” says A.P.J.M.S. Nagoor Roja, the late President’s grand niece, adding that Dr Kalam always admired the attributes of fire (Agni).
“Fire can burn down impurities of any type (evil forces) so Vappappa (grandfather in Tamil) liked Agni and often called me Agni Kunju (firebrand girl),” she added.
Interestingly, both her parents are related to Dr Kalam. While her late father A.P.J.M. Shahul Hamid is the son of Dr Kalam’s brother A.P.J. Mohamed Muthu Meera Maraikayer, her mother Mahboob Begum is the daughter of the late President’s sister, late A.P.J. Azeem Zohara Ammal. Dr Kalam held late Azeem Zohara Ammal in high esteem for she pledged her gold bangles to fund his education at the Madras Institute of Technology (MIT).
Ms Nagoor Roja, who has been practicing law in Bengaluru for a decade, treasures various books on law which were gifted to her by Dr Kalam along with a foot-long, gold plated Veena instrument, and a Shruthi box used while learning Carnatic music, and anklets. “He used to call me many times but always advised me not to take calls while driving. He was so fond of me that he mentioned me while addressing various gatherings, either as a student, a girl and a young advocate. He told me once that I was very lucky as I was living in the world’s best city (Bengaluru),” she reminisced during an interview with The Asian Age.
One of the Trustees of APJ Abdul Kalam International Foundation, she said 112 programmes have been launched since July 21 to encourage and motive students particularly those who are under-privileged. “We are launching a mobile Science lab, organizing blood donation camps, competitions of different types for school children, and two marathons-from Madurai to Rameswaram and another from Karikkal engineering college to Rameswaram, to mark his second death anniversary,” she added.
