India's most loved President to teach at my alma mater

APJ Abdul Kalam is one of my favorite people. One of a few people I feel live by example rather than by talk (cue: Atanu's piece on existence proof). Proving that politics is no rocket science (no pun intended!) he lent a new credibility to the role of President of India and was often called the People's President.

I was thrilled to see that as part of his plans for the future, he will teach undergraduates at my alma-mater PSG College of Tech. in Coimbatore, India. An excerpt:

“I will take three to four classes this year, for about 60 students each.

The subjects that I will concentrate on are mostly nano-science, nano-technology and also the influence of society in knowledge areas,’’ he announced here on Saturday.

60 students? Are you kidding me? I wouldn't be surprised if the hall starts overflowing left, right and center, based on how inspiring his writings and speeches can be. His autobiography Wings of Fire is a must-read and very sincerely written.

I have yet to read anything as convincingly written about the notion that every country has within itself the ability and the talents to be great - and does not have to look outside (literally and metaphorically) for solutions.

As I read along, this caught my eye in the same article:

He wanted the undergraduate, post-graduate and the Ph.D students of PSG to take up the study of the implementation of Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA) as a business proposition in the different areas around Coimbatore.

Took me back to eons ago, when I collaborated with Rajesh, Atanu and Reuben on Deeshaa, which had a similar vision as PURA.

PS: Thanks Arvi for the Orkut scrap!

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