Incredibly sad day. I had the privilege of seeing Dr. Kalam speak to a packed auditorium at the IAC [1][2] in 2007 in Hyderabad, India. Not only were a large number of conference participants present but there were about 300 school children there too. There must have been almost 1000 people in that room and there was absolute pin-drop silence. The way Dr. Kalam was able to capture the attention of young and old is something that I feel truly privileged to have witnessed.

During the Q&A, a girl stood up and took the mic, she can't have been over 10 years old, and she asked him in plain English why he wasn't going to stand for President again when he was loved by every single person in the country. She asked the question that was on the minds of every Indian in the room. His response was measured, balanced and most of all inspirational. He commented that he wanted to return to his passion. That he was a scientist at heart, and that the country was in good hands.

My family WhatsApp group is flooded with messages over the last few hours of the various encounters they've had with Dr. Kalam. Even his last breathe was taken at IIM Shillong doing what he does best; inspiring a nation. A friend of mine in Bangalore had the honor of meeting him recently. He has been working on a space startup in India for the last three years and commented how special it was to have the occasion to speak to Dr. Kalam about the future of the Indian space sector.

He was an incredible scientist, a visionary, a leader and in someways that is outdone by the single fact that he united a single country: with all the religious tension between Hindus and Muslims, no one I have ever met back in India has considered him to be anything else than ours.

The 27th of July should be a national day of recognition for his genius.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Astronautical_Co...

[2] http://specials.rediff.com/news/2007/sep/27slide1.htm

EDIT: Minor corrections