Journal
The writings of Swiss psychiatrist and philosopher Carl Gustav Jung (1875 –1961) have been my personal guidepost. Inspired by his autobiographical ‘Memories, Dreams, Reflections’ published in 1957, when he was eighty-one years old, I am presenting here a record of my significant experiences in public life and sharing feelings, emotions, and reflections that sprung up from these events. They offered me help in
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’…
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…
December 04, 2005
Bhadant Nagarjun Arya Surai Sasai (b. 1935), a Japanese-born Indian Buddhist monk who came to India in 1966 and made it his home, released my book, ‘Peerless Benefactor of Humanity: The Life and Thought of Gautam Buddha’ at…
April 18, 2005
Sampooran Singh Kalra, popularly known as Gulzar (b. 1934), met President Kalam to present the audio version of our book, ‘Wings of Fire’, that he had translated and narrated in Hindustani, with the title, ‘Parwaz’. When asked…
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…
February 20, 2004
Sachin Tendulkar visited the Care Hospital with his wife, Dr. Anjali. He came to see me; a great gesture on his part. I have been a cricket fan since childhood and had earlier met Sachin in 2003, when President…
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…
November 01, 2002
I was at the Rashtrapati Bhawan with two great doctors – Dr. Kakarla Subbarao (b. 1925) and Dr. B. Soma Raju (b. 1948). I first met them when I was admitted to the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences in an…
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…