Greeting the people, Kalam said that Itanagar is a beautiful city which has been named after the famous Ita Fort which is about 6th centuries old. Itanagar is known to legendary Ganga Lake or the “Gyakar Sinyi” and the Buddha Vihar Temple. It has a rich diversity of natural resources and being situated at the foothills of the Himalayas which is considered as the one of most beautiful city of the nation. I am very happy to be in this atmosphere and be interacting with you. It is the Knowledge that makes you great, he said to the students.
The former President dwelt in length to discuss on the topics with the students of various school on “Empowering the young mind, Criteria for achievement, giving an aim at right age, Birth of Creativity in a difficult situation, Let not thy winged days, be spent in vain, Home library, Birth of a Global Mission: Ten billion trees and what I will be remembered for?”.
To the utter enthusiasm and delight of the students and people present were spell bound and taken aback on the topics raised and discussed by former President.
Kalam while interacting with the students even presented few lines from the famous verses of 13th century Persian Sufi poet Jalaluddin Rumi’s -Wings to Fly:
Wings to Fly
“You were born with potential.
You were born with goodness and trust.
You were born with ideas and dreams.
You were born with greatness.
You were born with wings.
You are not meant for crawling,
so don’t, you have wings.
Learn to use them to fly.”
-Jalaluddin Rumi
-13th Century Persian Sufi Poet
Kalam translating the famous verses to the students said, ‘My message to you, young friends, is that education gives you wings to fly. Achievement comes out of fire in our sub-conscious mind that “I will win”. So, each one of you assembled here and elsewhere, will have “Wings of Fire”. The Wing of Fire will indeed lead to knowledge which will make you to fly as a doctor, or an engineer, or a scientist, or a teacher, or a political leader, or a bureaucrat or a diplomat or anything you want to be. You all from Itanagar can do it. My special greetings and best wishes to all the students of Itanagar schools assembled here for success in their educational mission, he added.
The Bharat Ratna and the former President Kalam who landed in ITANAGAR from Delhi even composed a small poem for all his little friends of Arunachal Pradesh, the poem captures the beauty of the state and is called “Message of the Land”
Message of the Land
I stood before the mighty Himalayan Mountain and asked,
O ! Mystic mountains! What message for the children of the state you have?
The mountain thought and then slowly replied,
“O Kalam! Look at me - I stood here for millions and millions of years,
I stood the gushing rivers meandering through my core,
I stood through the clouds blinding me in white.
But I had an unflinching aim to reach the skies,
and thus despite all the odds I stood by.
My message to young is thus – Have an aim in life and persevere,
That aim will be a light house to guide all your voyages through the turbulent times.”
I then turned to dense forest which reside in the heart of the hill,
Seeking for a message from them for the young full of courage.
The forest replied “O Kalam! Every season I see a new flavor,
Sometimes I absorb snow, I absorb mist, I absorb sunshine, wind and rain.
Everytime, I learn from the season - I grow stronger,
My message for the youth is to constantly acquire and absorb knowledge,
For knowledge will make you greater than you ever imagined yourself to be,
The ignited mind of the youth is most powerful resource on the earth, above the earth and under it” The forest did see.
Next, I turned to the lovely an Anthurium flower beside me,
It smiled and chuckled and radiated vibrant colors into the life.
It softly said “O Kalam! I too have a message for the young,
The message is, spread joy and smiles to everyone you see,
Giving is my spirit and my mission for life,
And my giving I get happiness of my soul.”
O my friends, let us celebrate the message of the monuments of nature in this land of Arunachal”
-Dr. APJ Abdulkalam
The Missile man of India has truly left behind his magic among the students of Arunachal Pradesh that even today students recite his wonderful poems in memory of his land marked visit to this landlocked beautiful hilly state that talk of wonders of India and empowering the young mind.
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