Question

How did Abdul Kalam earn his “first wages”? How did he feel at that time?

Answer 1

Hint: The journals were packed and thrown out of a moving train during the Second World War. Abdul Kalam's cousin was a newspaper dealer in Rameswaram.

Complete answer:
i) When World War II broke out in 1939, Kalam was just 8 years old. There was a major market for tamarind seeds then.
ii) Abdul used to gather and sell those seeds on the market. Newspapers were circulated by his nephew, Shamsuddin. The train did not halt at Rameshwaram, and newspaper bundles were thrown off the running train. Abdul was hired to obtain them by his cousin.
iii) He received his first paycheck that way. He was really proud that he was receiving his first paycheck.
iv) He felt very proud, for the first time, of earning his own income. When he recalled earning for the first time, Abdul Kalam felt very proud and satisfied. He remembers, too, how hard they would work to make a living. Abdul Kalam was employed by Shahbuddin, his cousin.
v) Abdul Kalam views first job in such a way that he would be on time all the time that he would say that it is on time to be 5 minutes early and that it is late to arrive at the time of the meeting. This is the marvellous outlook the former president had.

Note:
i) Kalam obtained a degree from the Madras Institute of Technology in aeronautical engineering and joined the Defence Research and Development Organisation in 1958. (DRDO).
ii) He moved to the Indian Space Research Organization in 1969, where he was project manager of the first satellite launch vehicle developed and manufactured in India, SLV-III.
iii) Kalam wrote many books, including Wings of Fire, an autobiography (1999). Two of the country's highest honors were among his various distinctions, the Padma Vibhushan (1990) and the Bharat Ratna (1997).