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AAFTAB SHAIKH (2) ADNAN SHAIKH (6)

AMIT BOSE (10) IMRAN ALI (38)

KHURSHID KHAN (47)EBRAHIM PACHORAWALA (18)

Wings of Fire is an autobiography of A P J Abdul Kalam, ex - President of India.

It is written by A P J Abdul Kalam and Arun Tiwari who is a junior colleague of Dr. Kalam and himself a scientist of substance.

It has been translated into 13 languages and is available all over the world.

Apart from that the book is also translated into Braille and there is also a audio book which is available.

In the beginning of the book, like all great leaders Dr. Kalam thanks and acknowledges all the people who have inspired and influenced him in his life.

He then starts the book with this message: “We are all born with a divine fire in us. Our

efforts should be to give wings to this fire and fill the world with glow of its goodness.”

The book is divided into 4 major parts which are:

Orientation

Creation

Propitiation

Contemplation

ORIENTATION

The section Orientation opens with a quote from the Atharva Veda

“This Earth is His, to Him belong those vast and boundless skies: Both seas within Him rest, and yet in that small pool He lies.”

It is spread into 3 chapters, and covers the first 32 years of Dr Kalam’s life, his days as a child, going through adolescence and getting into rocketry.

It tells us how inspite of his ordinary beginnings he managed to complete his early schooling.

ORIENTATION

It also tells us how he completed his graduation and then moved to the US for a 6 month training program at NASA against all odds.

It also describes how his loving family members and friends sacrificed readily for him, as also about the devoted and inspirational teachers at his schools & college.

The section brings out the great optimism of Dr Kalam, who took up projects from scratch to successful culmination.

CREATION

It is spread into 7 chapters and covers Dr Kalam's life and work for 17 years, from the year 1963 until 1980.

It covers his struggle at Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) going from one engineer amongst many to the successful project director of Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) bringing pride to the nation.

It describes how Dr. Kalam managed and inspired large scale developmental projects on rocket technology, culminating in the pioneering success of the SLV, the fifth country to achieve satellite launching capability, and thus propelling India into the Space Age.

CREATION

It shows Kalam’s faith in Indian Rocketry through a painting he saw at the NASA Maryland Flight Centre, which depicted Tipu Sultan’s army using rockets.

This period brought Kalam national recognition. A pleasant surprise came in the form of conferment of Padma Bhushan on the Republic Day, 26th January, 1981.

The chapter ends in the description of his transition from ISRO to Defense Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) as the next director of Defense Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL).

PROPITIATION

It is spread into 5 chapters and covers Dr Kalam’s life from 1981 to 1991.

It tells us about his outstanding accomplishments at DRDL and the way he transformed their laboratory from one which had a weak heart with little confidence to one which could feel proud, this really is a remarkable saga.

It was during this phase that the crucial Agni missile programme was established.

CONTEMPLATION

It is spread over 2 chapters and covers Dr Kalam’s life from 1991 to around 1999.

The section opens with words from the Quran “We create and destroy

And again recreateIn forms of which no one knows”

In this part he shares a lot of his ideas and thoughts arising out of his colourful life.

It also tells us about the many awards he has won over the years.

WINGS OF FIRE

Its an story of a boy from a small town of Rameshwaram and how he went on to become one of the greatest technologist of our country.

It also tells us how under the leadership of Dr. Kalam the space research program and the nuclear weapon program of our country was completely revolutionized.

WINGS OF FIRE

But the most remarkable feature of this book is the inspiration it provides to people, especially young people.

It tells us how with motivation and focus all of us can emerge as leaders in our respective fields.

This book is a must for every student, because it

has the power to motivate a person to excel in all spheres of life.