As a journalist, one of my biggest moments was a rainy day in Chandankyari, when a fully drenched A.P.J. Abdul Kalam told us and a bunch of village schoolkids what his biggest moment in life was.
"On August 15, 1947, I ensured the presence of every student at my school since I was the head boy. It was the biggest moment in my lifetime," Kalam said on October 8, 2001.
Nearly 14 years on, the moment gives me goosebumps.
In October 2001, when I was posted in Dhanbad, I received a fax from Delhi saying A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, then defence advisor to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, would be coming to Ranchi to elaborate on Vision 2020.
A little later, we reporters heard Kalam would come to Bokaro to inspect medicinal plants in Chandankyari.
We knew Kalam was the missile man, the man under whom Pokhran-II tests were executed. 'Jai Sri Ram, Jai Abdul Kalam' used to be a popular BJP slogan after Kargil war and during the 1999 Lok Sabha elections.
Just what missile man would do with medicinal plants was intriguing.
On October 7, 2001, Kalam's chopper crash-landed in Bokaro, we heard. We also heard it did not deter him from visiting a school that evening.
He went to Chandankyari next morning amid heavy downpour, which is where I had the chance to meet him.
A fearless man, he impatiently cast aside intelligence reports warning it was a rebel hotbed. He held an umbrella while he walked muddy fields, enthusiastically taking a closer looks at the plantations.
Drenched to the bone yet smile intact, Kalam spoke to children of a village school. "Think big," he said. Then, he recounted what he did on India's first Independence Day.
He also went to Jharia to see the underground fire.
In that trip, I remember him telling me that a journalist's job demanded lot of patience. He even advised me not to be disheartened if my news report did not get published!
I met him again in 2004, when as India's President, he presided over Ranchi University's convocation. I met him at Raj Bhavan. Though there was no Q&A, the smile on his face showed he recognised me. He visited Ranchi on May 20, this year, for the BAU convocation. I will always regret not meeting him then.
