Image Courtesy: Campfire Graphic Novels
15th July 2015. I was working as the editor of a book titled Gifts of Teaching—10 Inspiring Stories that Celebrate the Joy of Being a Teacher. As the name suggests, the book was meant for teachers. The publisher and I were having informal discussions about whom we should contact to do a quick read of our book and write out a mini-review, which we could use on the back cover of the book.
My
sister, to whom I had very smartly passed on this responsibility of coming up
with appropriate names, turned out smarter. “Why is it so difficult? Dr APJ
Abdul Kalam! Who better a teacher than him?!” she said with a frown that
clearly suggested an air of superiority.
I
tried arguing: “It’s a very big name, no? And there’s very little time.”
Ignoring
my cynical smile, she said, “I just gave you the best name. If you are not even
going to try, you’re a fool.”
I
agreed with her on that and suggested his name to the publisher, who also
shared the same concern—very little time.
27th
July 2015. I was at the publisher’s office, sitting with the team, rushing
through final checks and readying Gifts
of Teaching for print. That is when a team member said, “Abdul Kalam passed
away.”
Strangely,
I did not react.
Or
maybe, it isn’t strange, for the brain blanks out after hearing something
unexpected.
The
team member repeated, “What? I am giving you news…Abdul Kalam passed away.” I
managed to mumble, “I heard,” and continued with the work at hand.
After
closing the book, on my way back home, I couldn’t stop myself from thinking, ‘If
only we had been able to get Kalam to write a short review for this book…it
would have meant so much to everyone who put the book together, everyone who
was a teacher and would read the book. If only…’ Of course, these may seem like
selfish thoughts, but a note from Kalam was exactly that—a note from Kalam!
I
anticipated a gloomy atmosphere at home; my sister truly admires Kalam for his
various inspiring qualities. But when I saw her and realised she hadn’t heard
of it yet, I knew I would have to be the bearer of this heart-breaking news.
And when I did what I had to, the expected gloom took over. The television set
came on and the next half hour was spent on consoling ourselves that the news
was, unfortunately, indeed true.
We
decided not to watch any more news or read through the pages of newspapers next
morning that spoke about the man’s greatness. Sometimes, you don’t need to know
someone personally to feel a sense of personal loss. My sister didn’t speak
much to anyone the next two days.
First
week of August. I received an email from another publishing house, asking me if
I would take up an urgent project—a graphic novel biography of Dr APJ Abdul
Kalam.
I
stared at the email for a few moments as a million thoughts circled my mind: ‘Is
this for real? Have I been picked, from amongst all the writers in this country,
to write this iconic personality’s life story? Am I not too small? Is he not
too big? Isn’t this one of those weird moments when I wouldn’t know whether I
should express happiness or sorrow?’ My family, especially my sister, was
thrilled. I, of course, was super-nervous. But we all knew one thing for
sure—Dr Kalam’s was a story that needed to be told.
Soon
enough, my days and nights revolved around Kalam’s life story. Death always
reintroduces you to the person who was. I too re-familiarised myself with facts
about Kalam that I already knew and got acquainted with new facets of his
persona that I had been unaware of—in both these cases, emotions overflowed. I
can’t recall how often I sat teary-eyed while scripting a touching scene from
his life, marvelling at the genuineness of some of his attributes, and seeking
courage and solace in his famous words. Simply seeing how the artworks were
breathing life into the characters and my words as the graphic novel now took
shape became a moving, memorable journey.
5th
December 2015. APJ
Abdul Kalam: One Man, Many Missions, a graphic novel biography written
by me, was launched. While unveiling the book, I could sense the mystique that
enveloped this entire episode of my life. Following Kalam’s words unknowingly,
I had dreamt. And my dream had come true in a much larger way than I had
expected.
All
I had wanted was for this much-loved gentleman to write down his thoughts about
a book on teachers that I had edited; but, here I was on the stage, as the author
who had penned his memoir. As I watched the book’s video trailer play out on
the big screen behind me, I knew that, despite all this, I would have one
regret. Only one…
…That
Kalam is not around to see and read my version of the story of his life!