New Delhi, June 10 :    New Delhi, June 10:  That the 'indigenous man' from House No. 2 on Mosque Street in Rameswaram is all set to move to Rashtrapati Bhavan is another living example of the vibrancy of Indian democracy. As a young boy, Aavul Pakkiri Jainulabiddin Abdul Kalam used to deliver newspapers on behalf of his brother, who was a news agent. Little did he know that one day he would make news for becoming the ruling coalition's presidential candidate. As soon as Kalam got the news of his likely elevation, he called up home to organise some biryani and special prayers. It was an identical gesture to the one he made in 1998, when he was awarded the Bharat Ratna. Kalam himself is a strict vegetarian and a confirmed bachelor. He once told a friend jokingly that if he had married, he would never have achieved even half of what he has managed to. Kalam is used to making history. He was the first graduate in his family - three of his brothers never finished school. Kalam began at Samiyar School in Rameswaram and then moved to Schwartz School in Ramnathapuram. He graduated from St Joseph's College in Tiruchi. Kalam went to the Madras Institute of Technology to do aeronautical engineering. He says he developed an interest in aeronautical engineering from watching the flight of birds. 'That got me interested in aeronautics. I love the sea. I write poetry, started learning the veena, a beautiful instrument,' he told Time magazine. However, his journey of making India a nuclear nation was not easy. At the Indian Space Research Organisation and the Defence Research and Development Organisation where he spent most of his time experimenting, Kalam had to overcome constant pressures, checks and even interference from the political class. He would often suffer a bout of 'Kalamitous', a term used by his colleagues to describe his frustration whenever the tests were delayed. But the fighter in him refused to give up. Kalam survived another test in 1986-87 when Rajiv Gandhi entrusted him with the missile programme. Some senior ministers and bureaucrats approached Rajiv Gandhi wondering if it was proper to give him such a sensitive project. They were referring to his minority background. An infuriated Rajiv asked the doubters to leave immediately. He then called Kalam and assured him full support. Kalam's big day came on May 11 and 13, 1998, when he played a key role in the nuclear tests at Pokhran. 'I remember the earth shaking under our feet,' he recalled of that fateful experience. Kalam's father, Jainulabiddin Marakayar, was a panchayat board president in Rameswaram who owned a few boats that would ferry pilgrims between Rameswaram and Dhanushkody. Friends say Kalam prays twice a day, in the morning and at night, and can read the Quran and the Gita at the same pace. During leisure hours, he loves to play the Rudra Veena or listen to songs written by Subramaniam Bharti.