Gloom Descends

A.P.J.Abdul Kalam

A pall of gloom descended on the Garden this morning as members mourned the passing away of former president A.P.J.Abdul Kalam yesterday. He was addressing students of the Indian Institute of Management at Shillong last evening when he succumbed to a cardiac arrest. He was 83.
“He was active till his last breath,” noted Jagmohan Papneja while breaking the news during the exercises. “What a truly outstanding personality!”

Members mourn President Kalam's demise, observing a two-minute silence

Many like Gupta and Shekhawat were out of the loop as they were engrossed with their daily TV soap in the evening when the end came. As realization dawned, some suggested suspending the laughter round today, but soon decided against it. The former president was said to left ‘instructions’ that there should be no national holiday declared and that work should go on as usual upon his death.
“He was such a great man,” remarked Khatoon Baig, a retired school teacher. “He did not distinguish between rich and poor, high and low, small and big. All were equal in his eyes.”
Santosh Tyagi narrated how her son, Manoj was so crestfallen last evening that he sat holding on to the national award (for films) he had received from the hands of the president a few years back. “It was as though he had lost someone of his own,” she said.
The group dispersed after observing a two-minute silence as a mark of respect for the departed soul.
Bihari Milwani:
When a child enters the world, it cries and the world laughs. Now that APJ is happy to be in God's lap, the world cries!