IGNITING MINDS AND HEARTS
By Walter Menezes Quepem Goa. ( Indias former President, Dr A P J Abdul Kalam has touched the lives of many people with his intelligence, wisdom and his capacity to reach out and touch hearts. Walter Menezes too, has been one of those fortunate to believe in a dream and was rewarded by a personal touch only Kalam could have given. Menezes recounts those moments on the Presidents birthday, October 15. Gomantak Times dt 15.10.2007 ) THE ARTICLE Since 1999, our family has been organizing a public function in Kepem to felicitate the top-ranking SSC students from Quepem taluka with Late Camilo de Menezes Achievement Awards. Instituted at the hands of Dr. Eurico Santana da Silva, every year the awards are given on 19th July to coincide with the birth anniversary of my eldest brother who worked in various capacities in the District and the Civil & Criminal Courts of Goa. Over the years, eminent personalities like Prabhakar Timble, Bhaskar Nayak, Narayan Dessai, Sanjith Rodrigues, Dr. Olivinho Gomes and Sandesh Prabhudessai have graced the function and delivered the Late Camilo de Menezes Memorial Lecture on topics concerning the students and the state. We even had the privilege of listening to Swamiji Chidananda, spiritual teacher from Varanasi, who spoke on The True Meaning of Excellence in Life during the presentation ceremony of Achievement Awards 2005. This year, Nitin Kunkolienkar, President of Goa Chamber of Commerce & Industry was the Chief Guest and delved at length on an issue concerning Goa: Education Today and the Challenges of Tomorrow. Along with the top-rankers, Master Shivanna Madari, a student of Dada Vaidya High School, Ponda, whose award-winning painting of Karna, a character from Mahabharata, was subsequently released as a postal stamp by the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh on Childrens Day, was also felicitated. Somewhere in the first week of June, when we began preparations for the AA-2007, a thought came to my mind and I shared the same with my children, Cindy and Dale. Why not present the top-rankers with a copy of Ignited Minds, autographed by His Excellency, the President of India himself? All of us had read Dr. A P J Abdul Kalams Ignited Minds. There is something in this book that makes you admire the Missile Man for his revolutionary as well as practical ideas to turn India into a developed nation by 2020. The mantra is mission mode. From a small island in Dhanushkodi to the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi, APJs life has been a fascinating journey. Attracted to the character of Vidura, who showed grit against the wrongdoings of authority and who had the courage to differ when everyone else chose to surrender before the tyranny of adharma, Dr. Kalam believes that there is no greater power in heaven or on earth than the commitment to a dream. My wife was in the kitchen that evening and overhead me saying something like writing to the President of India. Piso zala ?, she asked. Organizing a function in a small village is one thing and requesting the President to autograph copies of his book was a different matter altogether. My wife just could not digest the thought. Nonetheless, I went into google-search, located the site of the President of India and wrote to His Excellency, briefly explaining the purpose behind Achievement Awards, along with a list of all the personalities who spoke on various issues and topics. Ten days later and true to his name, the Peoples President replied. His PPS, Shri Prasad, requested me to send the copies across quickly. As I said later in my welcome address during the presentation ceremony of AA-2007, that day was one of the happiest day of my life. I was greatly touched and humbled by the gesture of the President who had responded to an e-mail sent to him by an ordinary citizen of India and a villager from Goa. Next day in Panjim, I had to visit Paulines, Broadway and The Reading Habit before I could get the required number of copies of Ignited Minds. That evening, filled with a sense of satisfaction, I couriered the parcel to Rashtrapati Bhavan. With 19th July approaching fast, I called Shri Prasad a number of times only to be told that the copies were yet to be signed. Maybe I should have started the process a little earlier, I admitted to my friends, Sanjay-sir and Girish, who, like the rest of my family, were eagerly looking forward to see the autographed copies. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam could autograph the books only on Sunday, 15th July and they arrived in Kepem a day after the Achievement Awards ceremony was held. I, however, made the announcement during the function and the joy of the top-rankers knew no bounds. There was a steady stream of friends and neighbors who came to my place to have a look at the autographed copies of Ignited Minds. Colleagues in my office could not believe their eyes until I showed them the forwarding letter. The Achievement Awards which the top-rankers received were not complete. They still had to get the autographed copy of APJs Ignited Minds. Shri U. V. Ballikar, principal of Shree Damodar Higher Secondary School of Science, Margao, called two of the top-rankers, Sarang Naik and Keval Prabhudessai, in his chamber and presented the books but not before briefly talking about the virtues of a great person like Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam. The other toppers, Sailee Kakodkar and Joel Coutinho received Ignited Minds in the presence of their classmates at Chandrabhaga Tukoba Naik Higher Secondary School, Curchorem while Cindy Nogueira had the privilege of receiving her copy at Rosarys, Navelim, during assembly time. I personally visited Mitasha Bhagats house at Paroda to handover the book while Sanjay-sir had the honor of presenting Ignited Minds to Sanket Kunkolienkar at the toppers residence in Kepem. One copy, however, remained. On a number of occasions, I tried to make myself available in Ponda so that I could present the book personally to Shivanna Madari at Dada Vaidya School. But one thing or the other came in my way. Finally, on 15th August, when I went to the school, the Headmistress, Prajita Pandurang Devari gave me a pleasant surprise. The school was celebrating Independence Day and the book was presented to Shivanna by the President of Lions Club of Ponda City. Ignited Minds, in the meantime, had ignited the minds and hearts of the young toppers. Cindy said she was privileged to receive the book from the principal in front of all. One in a million, thats how Keval described Dr APJ Kalam while Sailee pledged to dedicate herself for making the dream of India 2020 come true. Sarang was encouraged and inspired by Ignited Minds and wrote to me that the book is like a diamond in my small personal library. Happy birthday, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam! A diamond, that is what you are! END OF ARTICLE Posted By: Sanny de Quepem <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com
