Trajectory of an ‘Unreasonable’ Man

In this section on the Way Forward, Mr. SriKrishnan, the author of this chapter takes inspiration from the trajectory of a great leader who was passionate about inspiring young minds. The author of this tribute narrates how this leader is an inspiration to all.

Mr. SriKrishnan (1986, ECE)

Prologue

The sky was a riot of myriad hues of red and gold. There was a cool breeze, carrying the whiff of the ocean. The sleepy town on the east coast of southern India was just coming alive. The boy had no time to enjoy nature’s drama, he was waiting, eyes and ears keenly open for signs of the oncoming train. He had to collect the newspaper, run around the town and deliver.

The year was 1940. Daily life continued fairly as usual in spite of the World war that had been declared.  But it brought enormous pressure to the family of this little boy of age eight. His father found it extremely difficult to manage the family with five children, his brother’s family and the elders since they all lived as a joint family. Being a boat-man, who ferried pilgrims his entire income depended on the pilgrims to the temple town. Due to the war, people were not travelling much. With the rationing system, everything was scarce- food, clothes and all essentials. His grandmother and mother had to squeeze every resource to keep the family running.

The children were given food first and the elders were partially starving to manage the situation. The boy could hear his parents talking, after the lights were off, about the acute food shortage and need for more money. Strangely enough, the war gave him an opportunity to support the family soon. As an austerity measure, the government had removed the train stopping at the town. The newspapers used to arrive by the early morning train and it became a challenge. His cousin, who was running the newspaper business found a way out. His affiliate would come in the train and throw the bundles on to the platform as the train chugged on. But some one was needed to be there at the platform, collect the newspapers and then distribute. The boy accepted to do the job happily – he was overjoyed that he could make a difference.

Delivering newspapers

From his biography we learn that this was really tough for an eight year-old boy, with all other commitments that he had already. He had to be at his Maths teacher’s home for tuition at 4 am in the morning. He should have taken bath by the time, as per his master’s wish – which means getting up even earlier. After the Math class, his father would take him to religious lessons and morning prayers. Then he had to run to the station to collect newspapers and then around the town delivering. He knew people by the newspapers that they read. Soon his customers started a few friendly words with the charming boy. He had to reply with a smile and keep running. He had to be at the school by 8 AM, after the sparse morning meal that his mother made sure he had every day. It did not end there. In the evening he had to go around collecting money and settling the accounts.  He had to oversee the boatmen and repair works on the boats. After that he would sit by the kerosene lamp and start his studies for the next day.

The whole experience made him learn a few vital things. He learned to estimate time to run with the newspaper bundle, to each locality, so that the papers were delivered reliably at the same time every day.  He learned to mentally remember the money due from each customer and maintain accounts. These were simple but profound lessons for a great project manager as he would turn out to be. He learned that to keep a commitment, even as simple as delivering a newspaper, one had to be up and ready to face the day, whatever else may happen. Homework, tuition, prayers, all carried on, but the train would not wait. He had to be at the station at the right time and at the right place to catch the bundles as they came flying in.  He never complained about the ordeal he had to undergo. He loved every moment of it, as he was inspired by the bigger cause of supporting his family. That became his nature. The unreasonably passionate boy learnt his life lessons and became a great leader.

When the country paused

India witnessed a singular phenomenon recently. TV Channels forgot the usual political topics and switched the prime hour debates.  There were posters in every small town and village, with condolence messages. The fourth estate allocated front page real estate that is normally reserved for more interesting profiles than a scientist. The entire country was mourning, paying homage to Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.   His was a life worth lived, worth emulating. Dr. Kalam , son of a boat Man, the newspaper boy who studied under kerosene lamp, turned in to a rocket scientist, led the Indian missile program and  finally became the President of India. There lies the story that captured our imagination. 

Indian Space Research Organization - ISRO

I was at ISRO myself, early in my career and had a great time at ISRO. I worked on the project to send first Microprocessor to Space from India.  It was a thrilling moment when the Software that I had written was working in Space and sent data back to earth.  I had the great fortune of working under eminent leaders like Prof. U.R. Rao and Dr. Kasturi Rangan.

Dr. Kalam was one of the few scientists who started with ISRO in its early days. Today ISRO stands as a symbol of what India could achieve – with its recent Moon and Mars Missions.  India joined the elite space club having sent a spacecraft to our neighbours in space. India became the first country to launch a successful Mars mission on maiden launch. The magnitude of the achievement is unparalleled – it was done at a fraction of cost compared to others.

The entire mission was planned to be at a specific time window to have minimum energy spent.  If the November 2013 window was missed, the wait would be another two years.  It was launched as planned within the window. The spacecraft travelled 780,000,000 kilometres to reach Mars.  It took about 10 months. In between precise navigation and many manoeuvres had to be done. The communication system was an achievement by itself. The signals take several minutes to reach the ground station – which was specially constructed with a 32 metre Antenna. But such frugal innovation and self-reliance became the DNA of ISRO from the start, thanks to people like Dr. Kalam.

Interestingly, ISRO had a humble beginning in 1962. The early attempts of Rocket launches started in a tiny fishing village called ‘Thumba,’ on the west coast of India, almost near the tip of the Peninsula.  Thumba was chosen for the sounding Rockets program as it was nearest to the magnetic equator. The facilities were appalling by today’s standards. The scientists did not even have a building. They had to use a Church and the priest’s home to store the rockets and conduct meetings. Rocket parts were carried on hand and on bicycles.

ISRO into the future

Why does space have such a hold on us?  There are many answers such as how it advances science and engineering.  But it is best to share a quote. When asked by The New York Times why he wanted to climb Everest, British mountaineer George Mallory, who died on the mountain during his third expedition there in 1924, famously answered, “Because it’s there.”

As we know from recent news, ISRO is going great guns.  It has been a trailblazer. ISRO has achieved unparalleled success with Moon and Mars missions, soon there will be manned missions and reusable space vehicles.  Space has always captured human imagination and the exploration will continue.

A Dream Fulfilled

As the project manager of SLV, India’s ambitious Satellite launch vehicle program, Dr. Kalam asked for a team of 150 people and got a team of 50 people.  But he managed in his usual spirit. India had many other priorities than Space Research, but he could convince the Prime minister and continue pursuing his dream.

President Kalam can be aptly described as an unreasonable man.  He was a man of unreasonable dreams, he was able to inspire his team to share his vision.  He was not grounded by harsh realities. He could have become a boat fleet owner following his father.  He could have become a newspaper agent. 

But what made him struggle to study?  He could have joined a Government department in a clerical job after graduation, but he continued to study Aero Space Engineering. He took up Space Research. He took up the challenge of making India’s first Rockets to launch Satellites.

When I think of President Kalam, I am reminded of a quote by the playwright George Bernard Shaw:  “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” 

Summary

In this anthology, each classmate of mine has shared his or her trajectory – and these stories are from all over the world and are indeed full of useful lessons and insights.  Throughout this anthology, other classmates have answered the question on who has inspired them.  In this chapter, I have combined those two approaches and traced the trajectory of legendary figures who inspires us all. I hope as you construct your respective career trajectories, you take inspiration from this story as well.

About the author:

SriKrishnan graduated with a degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering from PSG College of Technology. He is Vice President Engineering, leading the Business Unit in Car Multimedia, Vehicle safety systems and Engineering Tools in a MNC. He started his career at ISRO, working on Satellite Telemetry and Data Handling Systems. He lives with his family in Bangalore.