Category: VIP

His Holiness Dalai Lama on Dr Kalam’s 89th Birthday

venkatarangan

I am blessed to have participated in a virtual program where His Holiness Dalai Lama addressed the students from around the world and the members of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam International Foundation on the event of the 89th Birthday celebrations of the former President of India. His Holiness spoke from his holy abode in Dharamshala, on the topic of “Liveable Planet Earth, Working Together for a Peaceful World”. The event was live broadcasted on YouTube in over fourteen languages. Below are from the notes I took from His Holiness speech. You…

Meeting Hon’ble President of India

venkatarangan

I am pinching myself to check all that happened today were real. I got a rare invitation to visit Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi, towards the celebration of (Late) Former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam’s birthday in the presence of Hon’ble President of India Sri Ram Nath Kovind. Like every Indian who has watched Rashtrapati Bhavan, the symbol of India, getting to go inside was an ecstatic experience. Every year, the President’s house celebrates Dr Kalam’s birthday on the 15th October by a floral tribute by Hon’ble President of India to a…

Unforgettable evening with Dr Kalam

venkatarangan

The first time I had the privilege to meet Former President of India Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam was in May 2010 at his official residence in New Delhi. At that time I never thought I will get the opportunity to invite him to our office function or share the dais with him, both of which happened to me yesterday. So much for the saying, you can’t get lucky twice! The venue was Le Royal Méridien, Chennai, time was 3:30 PM, the date was 8th December 2014 (yesterday) is when Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam graced…

With Dr.A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

venkatarangan

I am a great admirer of Former President Dr.A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and inspired a lot by his book “Wings of Fire” (Wiki). He is one of the few leaders in modern India who is a true role model to young Indians. Previously I had attended one of his talks on the topic of “Bridging the two Indias” in 2006 when he was President of India, so obviously high security and you couldn’t go near him then, still it was a privilege for me to listen to him in person. So…