It happened on the day he came to attend the wedding reception of Munnu / Simar at New Delhi residence of Munnu, 25th Dec 2013. Most of us in the family crowd were very keen to get a sight of the Missile Man of India who is known for his simplicity. With most of my family members (who have worked with the higher rings of Government) appraising us of how to interact (rather behave) with a state dignitary we were keeping our fingers crossed for his arrival.
Though the reception proceedings started by around 11.00 AM, he did not turn out till around 3.30 PM. We were thoroughly disappointed that his work has kept him away from his personal commitments. But not to disappoint my Uncle (who reported to him in Dr Kalam's previous responsibility as the Scientific Advisor to PM of India) he did make an attempt to come visiting us at around 4.30 PM !! We were all excited ignoring the advice that we had received earlier during the day. Since the crowd was depleting fast after a heavy lunch we were hoping to get a suitable moment for photo ops and autographs .... when he walks in.
When his car entered the Bungalow complex, the remaining crowd (which was astonishingly huge for that time of the day after a heavy lunch) surrounded him, as he walked through into the hall. I was very keen to get some candid moments of the visit. He interacted keenly with the senior members of the family as my uncle introduced them and finally as he shifted to younger generation in the crowd, it was the time that we all waited. My daughter was the first to be introduced as she was walking with my uncle all along. For her it was a dream come true.
He had brought books as the wedding gift for the newly married couple. For almost 30 minutes of his visit to the event, the stars of the day was completely ignored as he stole the show. He was very keen to interact with the kids of the family.
That 30 minutes. . .did not feel like it was 30 minutes until I checked the time stamp on my photos. He was gone like w whirlwind. I was still standing reviewing the moments that I had captured.
The child in me was reborn that day to see his energy levels at his age of 80. I don't think I can forget that day as long as I live. Neither will my daughter with her prized possession of his autograph
Though the reception proceedings started by around 11.00 AM, he did not turn out till around 3.30 PM. We were thoroughly disappointed that his work has kept him away from his personal commitments. But not to disappoint my Uncle (who reported to him in Dr Kalam's previous responsibility as the Scientific Advisor to PM of India) he did make an attempt to come visiting us at around 4.30 PM !! We were all excited ignoring the advice that we had received earlier during the day. Since the crowd was depleting fast after a heavy lunch we were hoping to get a suitable moment for photo ops and autographs .... when he walks in.
When his car entered the Bungalow complex, the remaining crowd (which was astonishingly huge for that time of the day after a heavy lunch) surrounded him, as he walked through into the hall. I was very keen to get some candid moments of the visit. He interacted keenly with the senior members of the family as my uncle introduced them and finally as he shifted to younger generation in the crowd, it was the time that we all waited. My daughter was the first to be introduced as she was walking with my uncle all along. For her it was a dream come true.
He had brought books as the wedding gift for the newly married couple. For almost 30 minutes of his visit to the event, the stars of the day was completely ignored as he stole the show. He was very keen to interact with the kids of the family.
That 30 minutes. . .did not feel like it was 30 minutes until I checked the time stamp on my photos. He was gone like w whirlwind. I was still standing reviewing the moments that I had captured.
The child in me was reborn that day to see his energy levels at his age of 80. I don't think I can forget that day as long as I live. Neither will my daughter with her prized possession of his autograph
