The excitement had saturated the air. People all around were counting the minutes to his arrival.

They couldn’t wait to be mesmerised by his inspirational words. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam’s arrival had set
the grounds of VNIT on fire. It was the talk of the entire college. Axis ’14 left each of its previous
editions light years behind when the word got out that the missile man himself was going to
inaugurate it. Every VNITian couldn’t wait to see him, hear him, and be spellbound by him. Each
VNITian made it a point to tell everyone they knew that Dr. Kalam was going to grace Axis with his
presence. On his arrival, even a glimpse at his hair was enough to make us giddy with pride and
happiness that we had seen one of the greatest presidents of India live . The auditorium was
buzzing with excitement, and the pride of being a VNITian surged through us, for it was our beloved
college which had given us the chance to be one of the very fortunate people to be inspired by Dr.
Kalam.

When Dr. Kalam took the stage, the anticipation level surged to unbelievable heights. The moment
we were waiting for had arrived. He began by highlighting the event that had taken the world by
storm- India’s Mars mission. He encouraged us to do greater things to bring India to the No. 1
position. VNIT’s green cover left him spellbound, and he made it a point to tell this to us. A 13th
century poem, I will fly , made us realise the unseen potential in us; it made us want to spread out
our wings of fire. As the entire auditorium recited the words, we could feel the passion building
inside us. It was a rare moment, something which each one of us will cherish. Dr. Kalam sent out a
beautiful and empowering message to us- we must always be the master of a problem, only then
will we be able to achieve success. He told us how he got his first taste of hardwork and success
when he designed India’s first overcraft successfully, and how his mentor educated him to design a
contra-rotating propeller required for the task. A mentor is one the greatest and eternal supports we
can have. Dr. Kalam shared with us how true this statement proved to be, when in 1973, he was
asked to design a satellite using India’s own rocket system, and he was given seven years of time for
this task. His mentors provided him all the funds, and his entire team put their heart and soul into
designing the satellite. But tragedy struck, and seven years of relentless and dedicated hardwork of a
thousand workers went down the drain when the satellite failed to launch. In this trying times, Dr.
Kalam’s mentor and head of ISRO himself, took the entire blame publicly. A year down the line, the
hardwork paid off and the satellite was launched successfully. In a display of selflessness that would
make Mother Teresa smile with pride, Dr. Kalam’s mentor asked him to address the press
conference for launch himself, and asked him to take all the credit. Truly, mentors will always have a
special and eternal place in our hearts.

Dr. Kalam stressed the fact research, and research alone, is one of the most important propagators
to a society’s progress. He bade us to let our scientific curiosity nurture, and asked us to pursue it.
Millions of scientists around the world are working in harmony to make their country prosper. He
explained the fact that integrated sciences are the talk of the scientific community, and will be the
core factors in the development of the world in the future years. They are investing their time into
looking for answers to questions that may not have any answers. Why can’t we do the same for our
beloved India, he asked? He made us aware of the fat that as students of a technological institute of
National Importance, it is our responsibility to use our knowledge and expertise to take our
countries to great heights.

What do you want to be remembered for? Will you remembered for creating a company that found
a place in the top 500 Fortune companies? Will you be remembered for creating smart water
technologies? Will you remembered for small scale industries that create breakthroughs? Will you
remembered for creating an action oriented clean environment, and clean nation? I would suggest,
that all of you decide what you want to be remembered for. These words will always be etched into
our memories. They will continue to motivate and stimulate us to make our nation a better place
every day. Dr. Kalam’s rousing speech will echo for a long time. Axis ’14 will always be remembered
for giving us a once in a lifetime opportunity to be stirred by the missile man himself.