Rocket man

National hero time again! A year ago Enoch dressed up as Dr. Ambedkar. Who to dress him up this year? Sadly to say, the list of inspiring leaders we have is a very small one.

After some thought we finally came up with one - though he is not in office these days - the unbeatable Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

Installed by the BJP government - my first impressions of Abdul Kalam were definitely coloured by the feelings about the party in power at the time.

But during his tenure as our President - the man changed the way we saw what a head of state can do. A bachelor with an amazing string of interests Kalam had a pedigree in science of being in charge of the rocket development programme for both the civilian and military sides of rocketry.

What really shook people up was his cheerful way of making the Presidency a place for reaching out to young people, for encouraging science and arts, for inviting school children to visit him. Most of our Presidents have been of the starched and distant mode - somewhat dignified but clearly at home at being a figure head of state. APJ decided to be different - and was booted out by the politicians who couldn't stand a person who thinks.

Though the provenance is dodgy - click here for a speech of his that has done the email rounds.

So there we have it - a man who was a leader - but who after confounding the folks who put him in the Presidency - was clearly too independent and real for the lot who followed - and so "the People's President" was not given the chance for a second term.