Leaders of political parties, students and people from all walks of life made a beeline to the burial site of former president APJ Abdul Kalam at Pei Karumbu near here on Wednesday on the occasion of his first death anniversary.
After the foundation stone laying ceremony for “Dr APJ Abdul Kalam National Memorial” was over, the people, who turned up in large numbers, visited a photo exhibition arranged by Defence Research and Development Organisation, depicting the life history of Kalam.
Tamil Maanila Congress leader G K Vasan, accompanied by senior leaders Rama Subbu, NSV Chithan, Hasan Ali, Ram Prabu and A Ravichandra Ramavanni, paid homage to the leader.
Joseph Rajan, the family physician of Kalam, recalled his association with the leader and the hospitality enjoyed by him during his visit to Rashtrapathi Bhavan in Delhi.
After paying homage at the burial site by placing wreaths and lighting candles, students and youths took pictures in the backdrop of sand sculptures of Kalam in 100 different expressions done by Puducherry-based artist K. Gubendhiran.
Fifty-six year old ‘Udumalai’ Sheik Mohideen, a lookalike of Kalam, was sought after for taking ‘selfies.’
He became instantly popular after Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu called him to the dais and introduced him to the crowd.
The other star attractions at the burial site were K. Prithveesh, a final-year engineering student, and his Class-XI brother K. Pradheesh, who produced portraits of Kalam using cubes and threads and brush. Mr Prithveesh, an Assist World Record holder, has created a portrait of Kalam using 540 cubes.
