Dr. Abdul Kalam, a great human being, established a unique place in the hearts of Indians with his admirable virtues and combined a simple lifestyle with strong willpower to envision an empowered nation. Without any ego, he could adapt himself to the situation to win over the person in front of him or would instantly become a captivating communicator to the audience. Every one, irrespective of age, position or religion, who met him at different occasions, celebrates him as a friend. As the eleventh President of India, he had totally changed the perception of India in the global arena. The author had the opportunity of working with this great soul closely for more than four decades and shared difficulties, failures and successes.  This book discusses many of the interesting events, mostly the untold ones, during this journey, including those at ISRO, DRDO and BrahMos, and interactions with the corridors of power. Manufacturing is the key to economic prosperity and the chapter on Strategic Industries gives a complete insight on how India has steadily progressed in modern India. It was a long and unique journey for the author with the most appreciated true Indian, KALAM— the Brahmarishi.     

Dr. A. Sivathanu Pillai, a systems engineer by profession, has 50 years of experience in ISRO & DRDO. He was Honorary Distinguished Professor at ISRO and Distinguished Scientist and Chief Controller (R&D), DRDO. He was also Founder CEO & MD of BrahMos Aerospace—an Indo-Russian joint venture for the development of supersonic cruise missiles. Dr. Pillai started his career in 1969 in systems engineering and systems management of launch vehicles at ISRO. He assisted Dr. Vikram Sarabhai in the evolution of the ten-year space profile. He also worked with Dr. Kalam in SLV-3 and PSLV configuration design, and with Prof. Satish Dhawan in the study of future ISRO launch vehicles and missions.

At DRDO, he worked with Dr. Kalam in the Missile Programme and later was Programme Director, IGMDP and Associate Director, DRDL, Hyderabad.  He contributed towards the development of critical technologies by networking  academic institutions, R&D laboratories and industries. As the architect of BrahMos, he led India to be the world leader in supersonic Cruise Missile Technology. He is honorary professor of many institutions and member of many professional bodies. Among his many awards, he is the recipient of Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan from the Government of India and the Order of Friendship, the highest award for foreign citizens, from the Government of the Russian Federation.