He, the Bharat Ratna

After passing out of the Delhi based college, I started working in an NGO, Society to Uplift Rural Economy (SURE) in Barmer (Rajasthan).  I was living in a village (Bijidiyar), dotting the Indo-Pak border.  Being a backward and remote area, housed in the wild sand dunes of the Thar desert, Bijidiyar and neighbouring  villages were never prioritised for any developmental work by the government schemes. There were no pucca roads, phone lines and electricity, to name just a few non negotiables for a decent way of living. 

In December 2002, Dr. Kalam, the newly nominated President of India, visited Barmer along with Jaipur, Udaipur and Jaisalmer.  Today, when the nation grieves his death, I can't but remember and share his brief visit to our NGO in Bijidiyar village. 

First, he interacted with the rural women artisans.  He praised the work done by the old women who were embroidering the traditional "pako" work. He wanted to know how much time they take to finish a cushion cover and how much do they earn by doing that. He was standing in the multipurpose hall, in which the income generation programme team had set up a mini exhibition for the president. Jayant, who later on became my husband was leading the Income Generation Programme (IGP) team, while I was looking after the Health sector in SURE.

Next, the President directly went to the hutment, where a bunch of rustic but extremely mannerly kids were waiting to meet him.  

He asked, "What do you want to become in life?".  

One girl child said, "Police".  

Dr. Kalam:  "What do you do now?" 

Child: Goat herding. I also attend Marushala. {SURE organized Non Formal education (NFE) schools under the exemplary Lok Jumbish Programme of Govt. of Rajasthan}.

Dr. Kalam: "God Bless you, my child! You will surely become a police one day, as you are very brave and hard working. But, once you become a police officer, do not forget your goats, as they taught you how to survive in adversity".

After this, he was keen to know, what was being done by our NGO to revive the Tharparkar breed of cattle, an endangered species of disease resistant milch cow of India.

It was indeed a learning experience to see his range of interest; he was enchanted by the colourful embroidery patterns, engrossed in his discussions with the rural semi clad kids and genuinely concerned about the endangered species of cows of the border area. All and much more.....