WEEKEND LIGHTER: ARE YOU A GOOD FELLOW?

THE WEEKEND LIGHTER: ARE U A GOOD FELLOW?

ARE YOU A GOOD FELLOW?

The question, “Are you a good fellow?” was posed to a young man by A P J Abdul Kalam when he visited IIMA for a lecture. Srijan Pal Singh had accompanied Prof Anil Gupta to receive the former President at Ahmedbad Airport. Srijan was introduced to Kalam as a “good student and council leader”. Kalam studied Srijan’s face and asked him, “Are you a good fellow?”

Srijan, then in final year PGDP at IIMA, says, he took time to phrase his answer to this simple question and the relationship the answer established resulted in his working with Kalam from 2009 to July 27, 2015, the day Kalam suffered a fatal cardiac arrest while delivering a lecture at IIM, Shillong.

Srijan concludes “Gurushiksha”, his personal tribute to Dr A P J Abdul Kalam (Published in IIMA Alumnus, October 2015) with the following observations:

“When I met him in Delhi in 2009, just before I began working with him he told me in a conversation, ‘If you are blessed with intelligence, and empowered with education-it is your responsibility to change the world.’ That statement changed my life. He often said ‘my dream is to see a billion smiles on a billion faces’. Let us give our eternally optimistic, grand old friend, inspiration, mentor and beloved People’s President of the nation a reason to smile, wherever he is now. I salute you, Kalam Sir!”

M G Warrier

IIMA Alumni Code: 1989370033

(I was fortunate to attend a fortnight’s programme-Management of Agricultural Development Projects at IIMA in 1993. IIMA regularly sends IIMA Alumnus a Tri-annual. Srijan’s article appeared in October 2015 issue)

Bonus Reading

Steve Job’s Last Words*

I reached the pinnacle of success in the business world. In others’ eyes, my life is an epitome of success.

However, aside from work, I have little joy. In the end, wealth is only a fact of life that I am accustomed to.

At this moment, lying on the sick bed and recalling my whole life, I realize that all the recognition and wealth that I took so much pride in, have paled and become meaningless in the face of impending death. In the darkness, I look at the green lights from the life supporting machines and hear the humming mechanical sounds, I can feel the breath of god of death drawing closer…

Now I know, when we have accumulated sufficient wealth to last our lifetime, we should pursue other matters that are unrelated to wealth…

my life I cannot bring with me. What I can bring is only the memories precipitated by love.

That’s the true riches which will follow you, accompany you, giving you strength and light to go on.

Love can travel a thousand miles.  Life has no limit. Go where you want to go. Reach the height you want to reach. It is all in your heart and in your hands.

What is the most expensive bed in the world?  Sick bed…

You can employ someone to drive the car for you, make money for you but you cannot have someone to bear the sickness for you.

Material things lost can be found. But there is one thing that can never be found when it is lost – Life.

When a person goes into the operating room, he will realize that there is one book that he has yet to finish reading – Book of Healthy Life.

Whichever stage in life we are at right now, with time, we will face the day when the curtain comes down.

Treasure Love for your family, love for your spouse, love for your friends.

Treat yourself well. Cherish others...

*I got this as a forwarded email. Have not checked for authenticity. Because I liked the content, just reproducing.

M G Warrier