The Hindu : Dream, dream and dream, students told

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 08, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

Dream, dream and dream, students told

By Our Staff Reporter

KUPPAM June 7. In course of his rendezvous with students here on Saturday, the President, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, left no stone unturned to, as he always puts it, "ignite the young minds''.

Dr. Kalam, who was here on a two-hour whirlwind tour to inaugurate a couple of colleges, got himself closer to students by shifting to their wavelength.

The medical students were awe-struck at the introduction itself, when the chief guest of the day, Dr. Kalam, who was to the brim with youthful vigour, notwithstanding the grey locks, ran to the dais and cheerfully waved to the elated crowd. His enthusiasm and eagerness to drive home his message gave a convenient push to protocol to the back seat.

Striking a right chord with the audience comprising medical students, he said the medical field always fascinated him, unlike his physics, "which was full of equations and algorithms'', medicine was a diverse and interesting subject, that drew instant applause from the crowd.

Dr. Kalam's customary "Dare to dream'' advice did come this time too. As is his wont, he encouraged students to dream by saying these words, ''Dream, dream, dream.... Dreams provide thoughts... and thoughts result in action''. The students were even made to repeat his words. He also asked engineering and medical students to evolve a "Kuppam vision'', and start working in sync to achieve a synergic result.

Earlier, addressing a gathering after declaring open the engineering college, he reminisced his boyhood days in the coastal town of Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu and explained how he developed a taste for science.

According to his brief tale, he could not understand his teacher, Sivasubramanyam Iyer, who was teaching on the flight of birds when he was in the fifth standard. The teacher himself took the students later to the seashore and showed the birds to explain the kinetics behind the flight. "It was then I started dreaming of a career in aerodynamics,'' he recalled.

An engineering girl student rose to express unhappiness over the decreasing opportunities in the public sector. Even before she could complete, Dr. Kalam cut her short, asking her not to get disheartened as it would hamper the country's development. He advised her to focus on entrepreneurial careers.

Not missing his usual tailpiece (of advice), the President asked the engineering students to desilt at least a hundred dried-up tanks in Kuppam to fulfil their obligation to society, to which the thoroughly-inspired students readily agreed.

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