A Shaken Shillong Bids Adieu To Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam!
It
was just unprecedented and a supreme moment of stupefied indecision for a quiet
hilly city of Shillong in the state of Meghalaya of north eastern India. News
of global proportions rarely happens in this city. The easy-going people here
are not much bothered about breaking news or that kind of stuff and are happy
with their daily chores—going to work, going to markets, going for their
favourite dishes and worrying about rains or the lack of it and electricity or
water supply or cleanliness. So nobody was ready for such kind of a huge news
break that could go livewire globally. To confound matters, the media did not
have a clue about this visit of an eminent personality, even in a small city
like Shillong. Finally then, when the news broke around 8pm on that momentous
day of 27th July, 2015 it was incredulity, sheer disbelief,
indecisiveness and numbing inaction. The men here in power were mostly looking
for protocol and for ways how to handle it. The Governor, the ministers, the
bureaucrats, the police and army officers, the doctors—all found themselves
rushing to the hospital without giving any thought to making an official
declaration. The media acted on their sources and camped at the hospital
waiting hours for the doctors or any authority to come down and make it
official. The easy-going folks were shaken out of their reverie and took to the
streets crowding the hospital campus and the surroundings.
Dr
APJ Abdul Kalam was no stranger to Shillong or Meghalaya. He had been coming
here since 2002 mostly for his lecture-interaction with students and some other
official inaugurations in the role of the Indian President. This time he was
scheduled to give a lecture here in the Indian Institute of Management (IIM),
Shillong on the topic ‘Creating a Liveable Planet Earth’. He had been in the
faculty of the IIM and came for lectures quite often in the last two years. Accordingly
on 27th July he arrived in Guwahati by a flight from Delhi and
undertook a road journey to Shillong. Upon his arrival in Shillong after 5pm he
was taken to a guest house for a little rest with tea and light refreshments. After
6pm he was there in the auditorium of the IIM for giving the lecture to senior
students. He was his usual self—jovial, eager to interact and in full energy.
![]() |
His Last Lecture |
Barely
ten minutes into his lecture the Missile Man fell silent suddenly and
collapsed. The IIM doctor examined him and declared a medical emergency. He was
shifted immediately to the nearest Bethany hospital and admitted into the ICU. Apart
from the hospital doctors the Army doctors and the state government doctors
were called in to treat the former President. Desperate efforts continued to
revive the beloved teacher and the scientist. The mouth to mouth news went
viral.
The
Governor of Meghalaya, V Shanmuganthan rushed to the Bethany hospital and
stayed there for hours. The state ministers, the top bureaucrats, the army
commands and top cops started landing at the hospital. Meanwhile the reception
lounge of the hospital got filled with hyperactive media personnel and the outer
courtyard and the surrounding streets were filled beyond capacity with his
ardent and anxious admirers—mostly young people and students.
Finally
at around 10.30pm the body of the immensely versatile personality of utter
simplicity, draped in the tricolor, was brought down to the courtyard to be
taken in an ambulance to the military hospital. The large crowd looked on in
utter disbelief and with a sense of profound loss, and then erupted into an
endless chain of spontaneous reaction. The slogans of ‘Long Live Abdul Kalam
Sahab’ rent the air around. Most of them were out with their mobiles and
cameras trying frantically to record a last glimpse of their beloved and ever
inspiring leader-teacher. Many of them were in tears.
The
last journey of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam began. His mortal remains were taken on a
helicopter to Guwahati in the wee hours of 28th July and from there
to New Delhi by a special aircraft. Next day he was taken to Rameshwaram, his
native place in Tamil Nadu. And today, the 30th July, 2015, the
People’s President was finally laid to rest with full state and military
honors. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and ministers and top leaders of the whole
country attended the funeral paying their soulful homage for the last time.
Popularity
of Dr. Abdul Kalam has to be seen to be believed. Even in this farthest north
eastern region of the country tributes were paid to him in almost every corner
and the striking highlight is that everywhere it is the common people or the
students who showed their pain at this great loss so emphatically. Yes, he has
been a role model and source of inspiration for the youth to succeed in life,
and his down to earth nature and incredible simplicity won millions of hearts
all over. Long Live the People’s President. We pray for the eternal bliss of his
noble soul.
Shillong
in the meantime has been coming to terms with the reality. The state government
had declared a holiday on 28th July, maybe to recover from the shock
and prepare for the next course of action. There were mixed reactions all around
here and in the social media. Some objected to the holiday declaration saying
this was contrary to what Dr. Kalam stood for. Some found even a glory in this
profoundly sad happening—a glorified death for Shillong. They posted or tweeted
that the great scientist did a favour to Shillong by choosing to breathe his
last here. Now, Shillong will figure prominently in Google searches and people
all over the globe will come to know what Shillong is and where it is. The reason
for this is simple. People here have always to contend with the nation’s colossal
ignorance about the north east India and a sense of being neglected over the
decades. People here struggle to come into the national mainstream not for the
wrong reasons that usually include natural disasters or terrorism. Now at
least, they have the best possible reason to be considered seriously—Dr. APJ
Abdul Kalam.
About
the media not having a clue to this visit the IIM sources said that Dr. Kalam
came for strictly class-room lectures where no distractions could be allowed. Besides,
in 2014 when he came for his usual lecture media came to know about it and the
eager teacher was very upset at being disturbed in his mission. They have good
reasons to block the media this time. But the loss is immense. Millions of his
followers were deprived of the audio-visuals of his last lecture.
Comments