"I remember his address to the 14th convocation ceremony. We had taken him for lunch at KU Medical Science Village at Chaukot. The beauty of the place just took his breath away," said Prof Suresh Raj Sharma, former vice-chancellor of KU, reminiscing Kalam's visit."At that time, the sky was clear and the mountain was fully covered in snow," Sharma remembered. "I have visited many universities around the world. I now realize that none of them offered such breathing-taking location such as this," he quoted Kalam as saying during his visit on November 18, 2009.
Kalam was invited as the chief-guest by Durgesh Man Singh, then Nepali ambassador to India.
"Although we had planned to take him on a three-day tour to Pokhara and Jomsom, Kalam couldn't manage time due to his tight schedule. He could only manage to spend a day in Nepal," recalled Singh.
At that time, BP Academy had organized a function at Hotel Yak and Yeti. Singh could still recite every single question asked to Kalam by the curious participants and his answers.
During the convocation, Kalam had said, "Nepal is a peaceful country and rich in resources. People here are not poor because they have everything they need. However, Nepalis should try to understand why the country is not progressing despite having everything at their disposal."
"Although he was from a Muslim family, he had compassion and deep respect toward every religion. This is one of the things I respect the most about him," said Sharma.
Kalam is not just remembered by KU officials, all the students, social workers and other participants at the convocation also consider the moments of their meeting with Kalam very memorable.
"I consider myself lucky to attend the convocation. During the event, I had a chance to exchange handshake and have a brief conversation with him. He wished me best for my studies. My happiness knew no bound," said Deepak Tolangey. Tolangey is currently undergoing MA in Anthropology in a German university.
The late president was also known as "missile-man" due to his contribution to successful missile projects in India.
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