Address And Interaction With The School Children Uri (Jammu & Kashmir)
URI : 27-11-2005
I am indeed delighted to interact with the students of Uri. My Greetings to the Head Masters, teachers, parents and students.
Dear Children, will you repeat with me, a message of importance of education.
Knowledge Card
Learning gives creativity
Creativity leads to thinking
Thinking provides knowledge
Knowledge makes you great
My teacher: Shri Siva Subramania Iyer
When I think of my teacher, I am reminded of my childhood days when I was studying in 5h class at the age of 10. I had a teacher, Shri Siva Subramania Iyer. He was one of the very good teachers in our school. All of us loved to attend his class and hear him. One day he was teaching about bird's flight. He drew a diagram of a bird on the blackboard depicting the wings, tail and the body structure with the head. He explained how the birds create the lift and fly. He also explained to us how they change direction while flying. Nearly for 25 minutes he gave the lecture with various information such as lift, drag, how the birds fly in a formation of 10, 20 or 30. At the end of the class, he wanted to know whether we understood how the birds fly. I said, I did not understand how the birds fly. When I said this, the teacher asked the other students whether they understood or not. Many students said that they also did not understand. He did not get upset by our response since he was a committed teacher.
Our teacher said that he would take all of us to the sea shore. That evening the whole class was at the sea shore of Rameswaram. We enjoyed the roaring sea waves knocking at the sandy hills in the pleasant evening. Birds were flying with sweet chirping voice. He showed the sea birds in formations of 10 to 20 numbers. We saw the marvelous formations of birds with a purpose and we were all amazed. He showed us the birds and asked us to see that when the birds fly, what they looked like. We saw the wings flapping. He asked us to look at the tail portion with the combination of flapping wings and twisting tail. We noticed closely and found that the birds in that condition flew in the direction they desired. Then he asked us a question, where the engine is and how it is powered. Bird is powered by its own life and the motivation of what it wants. All these things were explained to us within Fifteen minutes. We all understood the whole bird dynamics from this practical example. How nice it was? Our teacher was a great teacher; he could give us a theoretical lesson coupled with a live practical example available in nature. This is real teaching. I am sure many of the teachers in schools and colleges will follow this example.
For me, it was not merely an understanding of how a bird flies. The bird's flight entered into me and created a special feeling. From that evening, I thought that my future study has to be with reference to flight and flight systems. I am saying this because my teacher's teaching and the event that I witnessed decided my future career. Then one evening after the classes, I asked the teacher, "Sir, please tell me, how to progress further in learning all about flight." He patiently explained to me that I should complete 8th class, and then go to high school, and then I should go to engineering college that may lead to education on flight. If I complete all my education with excellence, I might do something connected with flight sciences. This advice and the bird flying exercise given by my teacher, really gave me a goal and a mission for my life. When I went to college, I took Physics. When I went to engineering in Madras Institute of Technology, I took Aeronautical Engineering.
Thus my life was transformed as a rocket engineer, aerospace engineer and technologist. That one incident of my teacher teaching the lesson, showing the visual live example proved to be a turning point in my life which eventually shaped my profession.
Dear students, I would like to "Courage to overcome the sufferings and to succeed, courage to innovate, courage to invent are indeed the traits that led to the growth of human civilization. I, as a citizen of India, will work with courage and knowledge to transform my state Jammu and Kashmir into a prosperous, happy and safe state."
Nothing is impossible?
Human flight is nothing but creativity of human mind and it undergoes several struggles to achieve excellence. In 1895, a great well-known scientist Lord Kelvin, who was the President of Royal Society of London said, "any thing heavier than air cannot fly, and cannot be flown." Within a decade, Wright Brothers proved man could fly of course at heavy risk and cost.
On the successful completion of Moon Mission in 1969, Von Braun, a very famous rocket designer, who built Saturn-V, to launch the capsule with astronauts and made moon walk a reality, in 1975 said "If I am authorized, I will remove the word impossible".
In ancient days, Ptolemaic astronomy is a widely used system in calculating the dynamics of various stars and planets. Assumption by then was that the earth is flat. What a scientific struggle had to take place to prove that the earth is spherical in shape orbiting around the sun. The three great astronomers Copernicus, Galileo and Kepler had to give a new dimension to the world of astronomy. Today we take it for granted that earth is a globe, orbiting around the sun, and the sun orbits in the Milky Way. All the technological advancements we have today are the outcome of scientific exploration of scientists of earlier centuries. At no time, man was beaten by problems. He strives continuously to subjugate impossibility and then succeeds.
According to the laws of aerodynamics the bumblebee should never be able to fly. Because of the size, weight, and shape of its body in relationship to the total wing span, flying is scientifically impossible. The bumblebee, being ignorant of scientific theory, goes ahead and flies anyway. I would like the youth assembled here to take a lesson from these examples and work to make everything possible.
Conclusion: Magnanimity in Victory
I met a great personality who was responsible for the freedom of South Africa. Particularly for the young people, you can learn two lessons. They are: indomitable spirit and virtue of forgiveness. He is none other than Dr. Nelson Mandela.
Cape Town is famous for its Table Mountain; it has got three peaks called Table Peak, Devil Peak, and Fake Peak. Between the peaks it was a beautiful sight throughout the day, sometimes dark clouds and sometimes white clouds embracing the peaks. Table Mountain is very close to the sea coast of the Atlantic Ocean. We traveled by helicopter to Robben Island from Cape Town in 10 minutes flight. By fast powered boat it will take 30 minutes to reach the Robben Island. When we reached the Island, except sea roaring, the whole island, was a silent island symbolizing the thought: this is the place the freedom of individual was chained. We were received at the Island by Mr. Ahmed Kathrada a South African, who was a co-prisoner. What surprised me was this: can you imagine a tiny room, where sleeping and all human needs have to be fulfilled. It has to be remembered that Dr. Nelson Mandela, who was 6 feet tall was imprisoned in that room for 26 years - fighting against the apartheid. The major part of his life was spent in this silent Island. He used to be taken for quarrying in the nearby mountain for a few hours in bright sun. This is the time his sight got damaged. In spite of his body being tortured, he revealed to the world the indomitable spirit in him. This is the time he evolved a manuscript of freedom in tiny letters every day, when the jail wardens went to sleep. This small tiny lettered manuscript finally became the famous book of Mandela "A long walk to freedom".
It was a great event for me to meet him in his house in Johannesburg. Dear friends, I would like to share with you, when I entered Dr. Nelson Mandela?s house, I saw his three dimensional form with cheerfulness: the mighty man who got the freedom for South Africa from the tyranny of apartheid. And also a person when he became the President of South Africa he gave the people freedom to move, freedom to live in South Africa to those people who specialized in apartheid and ill-treated and put him in jail for 26 years. Nelson Mandela accepted them as equals citizens who ill treated them practicing apartheid. I felt that, I am touching the hand of a Mighty Soul. When he started walking he used to have a walking stick, he discarded the walking stick; I became his support - walking stick. Dear friends, a big lesson that we learnt from this personality Dr. Nelson Mandela which is explained in one of the Thirukkurals written 2200 years before.
which means, for those who do ill to you, the best punishment is returning good to them.
Now I would like to administer the Seven point Oath for enlightened citizenship. Are you ready?
Seven Point Oath
1. I will pursue my education with dedication and I will excel in it.
2. I will plant at least 5 saplings and shall ensure their growth through constant care.
3. I will constantly endeavor to remove the pain of my suffering brethren.
4. I will work for becoming an enlightened citizen and make my family righteous.
5. I will always be a friend of the mentally and physically challenged and will work hard to make them feel normal, like the rest of us.
6. Courage to overcome the sufferings and to succeed, courage to innovate, courage to invent are indeed the traits that led to the growth of human civilization. I, as a citizen of India, will work with courage and knowledge to transform my state Jammu and Kashmir into a prosperous, happy and safe state.
7. We the children of Jammu and Kashmir promise that we will work hard with honesty to transform our State into a developed, happy and prosperous State. Happy and prosperous Jammu and Kashmir will make happy and prosperous India.
My best wishes to you all for success in your educational career. May God bless you.