Shillong, July 27: A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the former President whose popularity hit stratospheric levels and outlived his stay at Rashtrapati Bhavan, died this evening doing what he loved best: igniting young minds. He was 83.

Kalam, credited with inspiring countless children and their parents through his talks and motivational books, collapsed minutes after taking the stage at 6.35pm to deliver a lecture at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Shillong.

The topic was "Liveable Planet Earth" and the targeted audience was made up of 130 second-year students.

He was rushed to Bethany Hospital, where he breathed his last at 7.45pm.

According to IIM faculty member Rohit Dwivedi, who accompanied Kalam to the hospital, the students were "seated by 4pm, eagerly awaiting his arrival. Dr Kalam was familiar with our campus and entered the venue on his own."

IIM director Amitabha De said Kalam, who was President from 2002 to 2007, had barely begun his lecture when he fell. The medical officer on campus tried his best to revive him but failed, De said.

Kalam was then taken to the hospital 2km away, a few metres from Assam Rifles House, a property once owned by the family of another President, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed.

Skipping an air trip that would have taken him from Guwahati to Umroi near Shillong in 30 mintues, Kalam had driven up two hours through pine-laden hills this afternoon.

On getting there, the former President had got off his car and "summoned" a Meghalaya police constable who was keeping vigil in the pilot vehicle. "Constable S.A. Lapang was initially scared but the former President thanked him for staying so alert throughout. He had had the time to acknowledge that," a senior police officer said.

Hundreds, most of them youngsters, thronged the hospital in Nongrim Hills. As Kalam's body was shifted to a vehicle, in a place where Hindi is not the most popular of languages, those who had gathered found a common tongue to bid him farewell. "Abdul Kalam amar rahe (long live)," the crowd chanted.

Kalam's body will be flown to New Delhi tomorrow morning. The date, time and venue of the state funeral will be intimated later, said an official statement issued in New Delhi.

A statement from Bethany Hospital said Kalam was brought to the hospital at 7pm. "He was received in the emergency room and on arrival, Kalam showed no spontaneous respiration, no pulse, blood pressure was not recordable, pupils fixed and dilated. Intubation was done immediately and CPR started," hospital medical consultant A.M. Kharbamon said in the statement.

She said Kalam was shifted to the ICU immediately but could not be revived.

A seven-day state mourning has been declared across the country from July 27 to August 2. A few states have declared a holiday tomorrow although Kalam had said that "when I die, work an extra day".