ARUN TIWARI

author • scientist

ARUN TIWARI

author • scientist

ARUN TIWARI

author • scientist

ARUN TIWARI

author • scientist

ARUN TIWARI

author • scientist

INTRODUCTION

Starting my life from an old city mohalla in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, where I was born in 1955, I would have remained inconsequential and unknown to others, as well as blind to my potential, had I not met Dr APJ Abdul Kalam in 1982. I joined the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) as a scientist, a euphemism for an engineer in the Indian missile laboratory.

My first break came when Dr Kalam asked me if we could replace missile air bottles, made of 15 CDV6 steel, with Titanium alloy and assigned me this work. This took me to France in 1985, boarding an aircraft for the first time in my life, and making me realize that extraordinary people, as they are known to the world, are indeed those ordinary people who do extra work. Moreover, this extra work must come to you, not be chased by you. Life is all about give and take, in that order. There are no entitlements; only privileges, blessings and grace. We are changing every moment – quantum self – now a particle, now a wave living in a conscious universe; picking and discarding people with a purpose – to make this planet a better place to live in!

This website is all about the first person experiences of this ‘nobody’, who briefly became a ‘somebody’, but is back to being a ‘nobody’ again, as is the cycle of life. It is meant for all those who are willing to let their identities, masks and makeovers drop for a while and touch the ‘nobody’ inside them – waiting for attention, frustrated, and almost passive. I invite all ‘nobodies’ to connect to and whistle at this grand show of Divine Comedy which we call the world, with ‘minds without fear and heads held high’, as envisioned by Gurudev Tagore about India, but which nobody heard.

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The purpose of this effort is to heighten the perception of the way our lives move forward, to become conscious of those chance events occurring at just the right moment, bringing forth the right individuals, sending our lives into new trajectories and important directions. This would help us become more conscious of that Presence in our lives, the force that steers us towards the purpose of our lives.

Because we are not mere bodies, but souls; eternal, immortal and embodied with a purpose – very specific, very precise, part of an orchestra most melodious and extremely fine-tuned. This purpose can be linked to our own evolution as a human being, as well as being an instrument to help others on their path; but may be beyond our comprehension. To quote a stanza from The Great Invocation;

From the centre where the Will of God is known
Let purpose guide the little wills of men–
The purpose which the Masters know and serve
Let us then enjoy together a spiritual unfolding that is both, personally as well as universally enriching…

– Arun Tiwari

My Books

 

SELECT TITLES

Latest

Uddhava Gita

by Arun Tiwari
Published by Sakal Publications

Latest

Anugita

by Arun Tiwari
Published by Sakal Publications

Latest

How To Grow The Moral Way

By Arun Tiwari & Suresh N Patel

Published by Universities Press

Wings of Fire

By APJ Abdul Kalam & Arun Tiwari

Published by Universities Press

My Blog

Tea, Coffee, or Me?

Though I have been a tea person all my life, coffee has always intrigued me. During my travels in the United States, it seemed to be everywhere: at breakfast tables, in offices, beside hotel reception desks and in paper cups carried through the streets. In Ethiopia, I encountered something more...

The Agony and the Ecstasy of Life

Since I met Dr Chinnababu Sunkavalli, the robotic surgical oncologist, in 2022 through an introduction by the Tangirala brothers, Venkat and Ravi, he has become part of my life. His enthusiasm, his commitment to connecting with people, and his extraordinary zeal to serve others have continually...

The Resilient Doctor

Dr. Prithvi Raj Jampana is a distinguished radiation oncologist with extensive experience in radiotherapy and systemic treatments for a wide range of cancers. He trained in clinical oncology at Oxford University Hospitals and worked in the UK for over two decades before returning to India. He is...

AI, Stories and the Mind

I have been reading an English translation of the Kathasaritsagara—The Ocean of the Streams of Stories—composed in Sanskrit by Somadeva, a Kashmiri writer of the eleventh century. Organised into eighteen books, it is less a conventional book than an immense reservoir of narratives. Stories...

The Wellness Dividend

One teaching of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam that I have always tried to follow is to ‘stay in circulation’, as he put it. By this, he did not merely mean travelling, attending meetings or remaining publicly visible. He meant keeping the mind in motion—meeting people, visiting institutions, listening to...

A Teacher’s Legacy

Every year on September 5, India celebrates Teachers’ Day in memory of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888–1975), one of modern India’s most distinguished philosophers, teachers and statesmen. His life demonstrated that scholarship need not remain confined to the classroom; at its best, it can...

Nataraja: Metallurgy in Motion

Among the great images created by Indian civilisation, few possess the visual authority of the Chola Nataraja. Shiva dances within a circle of flame, one foot planted upon ignorance and the other lifted in liberating grace. His hair flies outward, his arms extend in several directions, yet his...

Beyond the Molecule

I recently visited PI Health Sciences Ltd. at Genome Valley, Hyderabad, at the invitation of my long-standing friend, Dr. S. Chandrasekhar, who joined the organisation as Chief Scientific Advisor after his superannuation as Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India....

Salt, Spice and Time

Recently, I had the pleasure of attending a family dinner hosted by Vishal Arora, a young CEO and a friend of my son Amol. His wife’s parents were also present. Although they all come from New Delhi, they seemed to carry with them something of the city’s older culture—refinement in living, warmth...

Aggregating Compassion

A recent knowledge-sharing session titled CSR Meets the Social Stock Exchange: A Journey Ahead, organised by Equippp Social Impact Technologies Limited (EQUIPPP) and held at Yashoda Hospitals, Hyderabad, recently introduced me to Dr. Bhaskar Chatterjee, a veteran IAS officer, who played a...

On Social

My Journal

January 24, 2016

My connection with Africa started with President APJ Abdul Kalam’s visit to Tanzania in September 2004. I did not go with him on this trip. Still, I got involved after he was told about the plight of Tanzanian children suffering from…

December 03, 2004

President Kalam hosted a ceremonial banquet for the Russian President, Vladimir Putin. I was given a seat on the 44-member dining table, with 22 guests on each side; the Presidents facing each other in the middle…

January 29, 2013

Dr. Kalam took me to the Young Indian Leaders’ Conclave in Gandhinagar. Chief Minister Narendra Modi received him and surprisingly, I was included in what was supposed to be a tête-à-tête. Modi ji affectionately made me sit…

February 01, 2006

I met Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (b. 1952; I share my birthday with him), the third and current Prime Minister of Singapore since 2004, in Singapore. Lee is the eldest son of Singapore’s founding father and the first Prime Minister…

June 20, 2016

Dr. Kalam and I went to Sarangpur, Gujarat, to present to Pramukh Swamiji Maharaj, the spiritual Guru of Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Sanstha (BAPS), the first copy of the book, ‘Transcendence…

October 14, 2002

I accompanied President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to Arunanchal Pradesh. We flew in from Delhi to Guwahati and shifted to Mi-8 helicopters, which majestically rise to 15,000 ft to cross over the Sela Pass…

November 23, 2017

Life unfolds itself through you. There is no rationale behind how I met diamond baron Govindbhai Dholakia, Chairman, Shree Ramkrishna Export (SRK), of Surat. It was 2012, and my friend Mani Iyer, who was trying to start a technology incubation fund…

February 04, 2006

The President of the Philippines hosted a banquet in honour of President Kalam, in the Rizal Hall of the Malacañan Palace. The word ‘Malacanang’ in Tagalog, a Filipino language, means , ‘there is a noble man there’…

January 26, 2004

Meeting President Lula De Silva of Brazil was a great personal experience. He was invited as
the Chief Guest of India on the occasion of the Republic Day 2004 and President APJ Abdul
Kalam had hosted a dinner for him at the Rashtrapati Bhavan…

June 19, 2023

There was no television when I was growing up. The Radio ruled the roost, and life revolved around its bulletins and slots when film songs were played. The newsreaders were celebrities for their voices…