Abdul Kalam secretly wished to study in a good school, but he knew that his parents could not afford it. To his great surprise, his father had arranged for some funds and decided to send him to The Schwartz School at Ramanathapuram.

One day at school, by mistake Kalam ran into the wrong class, where he found his Math teacher who insulted him and caned him in front of the class. Kalam felt crushed, but this renewed his zeal to study hard and make his people proud. That term, he scored full marks in Math. The same teacher then appreciated him in public and this praise quite made up for the earlier humiliation.

Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam is a recipient of the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, and a former President from 2002 to 2007. He is one of independent India’s most inspirational action and thought leaders. Popularly known as the ‘missile man’, he is admired for his contributions as an engineer and a scientist. As a ‘people’s President’, Dr Kalam developed a special rapport with children, whom he always encouraged to dream big.

Professor Arun K. Tiwari is the co-author of Wings of Fire, the autobiography of former President and Bharat Ratna A P J Abdul Kalam. As a former missile scientist who worked with Kalam, Tiwari is currently the managing director and CEO of Indo-US Healthcare.

Adopted for BookBox by Ananya Parthibhan.