Dr Kalam, the scientist with the poet's heart, started the journey of his life from a small town in Tamil Nadu.
Let these thought-provoking quotes by famous teachers from across the world inspire you.
Ardhendu Bose, nephew of Subhas Chandra Bose, emphasizes why the Centre should declassify files on the legendary freedom fighter
'The innate fascism of the RSS is overshadowing Modi's development programme,' says Amulya Ganguli.
Why not agree that, yes, India is a Hindu country though not all Indians are Hindus? And that for those who are not, our Constitution is sturdily secular and always will be, says Karti Sandilya.
No conversation about Indian art is complete without mention of Madhvi Parekh
'After it was finished, Shah Jahan visited the Taj only twice.' 'There is a letter from Aurangzeb to him after a visit, reporting that the dome was leaking and needed to be fixed.' 'Shah Jahan wasn't bothered: He had moved on to designing his next project, Shahjahanabad,' reveals Aakar Patel.
Budget speeches have been replete with incomprehensible and even hilarious statements, says Rathin Roy.
It is a difficult question to answer. This problem will remain with us for a very long time because we are the only major nation whose elite speaks a language that is a foreign tongue, says Aakar Patel.
She said there were attempts to communalise the guru's teachings and this amounts to 'betraying' him.
The three accused brothers, Rajan alias Natta, 25, Vinod, 35, and Sunil, 28, have had previous involvements in burglary and robbery cases.
Pulling no punches in her attack against the Bharatiya Janata Party for allegedly pursuing 'political vendetta' against the Trinamool Congress, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday charged that the Central Bureau of Investigation was being used as a 'political tool' by the National Democratic Alliance government and was functioning as 'a department of the Prime Minister's Office'.
'Biplab Deb said it was unfortunate.' 'If he continues to respond this way, then further damage will not happen.' 'But if under pressure from his party members he does not take action, then the future is dangerous.'
Ahead of the G20 Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe in Osaka, Japan and discussed a range of issues of mutual interest.
'On as many as two occasions, Sita is called upon to take a test to establish her integrity and loyalty to Rama and on both the occasions she opts for a course of action on her own terms,' points out A K Bhattacharya, reviewing Bibek Debroy's translation of the Ramayana.
Only 15 people of Indian origin have won the coveted prize. Hoping to correct this situation soon, India has embarked on the most intense dialogue with Nobel Foundation till date.
As Soumitra Chatterjee turns 80 on January 19, we look back at his best movies.
'We have to find a way out of this confrontational politics.'
The global stigma of discrimination will go only when Asians and Africans have the self-confidence to be themselves, says Sunanda K Datta-Ray
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Rituparno Ghosh's swansong Satyanweshi is a bit of a letdown, according to Indrani Roy.
Shashi Tharoor says the British Museum should change its name to Chor Bazaar because whatever it has within its portals is the result of 200 years of theft. The museum is once again in the eye of a storm for the possession of a statue of a god Hindus, across the world, worship as the Supreme Being.
Rajat Gupta, 70, the first Indian managing director of McKinsey and who of 17 months in US prison for insider trading, gets ready to tell his side of the story. And he is less than complimentary about Preet Bharara, then the famous crusading US attorney for the Southern District of New York. "The jury, the press and the public saw only... a 'cropped picture', he says. For someone whose life story was a model of the Great American Dream - an Indian of modest means who rose to the highest circles of politics and business, mingling with the White House and Davos crowd - his indictment in 2012 marked a stunning fall from grace. Many ascribed it to the hubris of the rich and powerful, says Kanika Datta.
Modi also said the people of India felt proud that President Xi has twice received him out of the capital.
'My age? It keeps changing every year. I can't remember it. I don't like ageing at all,' dancer Mrinalini Sarabhai, who passed into the ages on Thursday, told Jasmine Shah Verma in October 2004. Reproduced with kind permission from Harmony - Celebrate Age magazine.
'Patriotism is like love: When it has to be enforced, it isn't real.' 'And the enforcement of a homogeneous view of love for the country is a particularly divisive feature that has ripped apart societies throughout history.'
There are rumours that Ajay Singh who previously headed SpiceJet may get an investor to bail out the airline of dire consequences.
Bharati Dutt witnessed life-changing events that shaped India on the threshold of freedom. Her memories are an account of how ordinary Indians saw India change.
A group of women traveled 5000 kilometers in India over eight cities in 28 days to spread the message of women's empowerment and safety while on the road.
'I used to be humiliated.' 'If I would approach an actor, he would just say hello and then turn away.' 'That's when I understood the whole game of the industry.'
How much do you know about Shah Jahan, Mumtaz Mahal and the Taj Mahal?
Here's the full text of President Ram Nath Kovind's customary address to the joining sitting of Parliament on the first day of the budget session.
'Look East' policy was first coined by the Narasimha Rao government in the 1990s and has been followed by the successive governments.
During a media interaction, Mamata Banerjee voiced her discontent over the Centre's 'stepfatherly' attitude towards Bengal. Banerjee's detractors feel that the agenda that she conveyed to the media is nothing but an eyewash. According to them, 'Mamata and Modi are heading towards an alliance of convenience'. Indrani Roy reports from Kolkata on the agenda and politics of prime minister two-day visit to the state.
'The BJP portrays a make believe world.' 'The Tripura victory is being seen by some as a result of bahubal and money power -- but that would be a very simplistic explanation.' 'Money and muscle power can play a role up to a point, but the BJP's victory is remarkable because it replaced a party that was in power for 25 years.'
The Kabuliwalas of Kolkata, traditional moneylenders, have seen their numbers shrink.
Tasher Desh is staggeringly-original film, writes Raja Sen.
There's no steam in the intolerance debate anymore but the opposing sides still refuse to let it go, says Sampath.
'This has absolutely nothing to do with Kalburgi or anybody else, it only has to do with two words: Bihar elections. It's electioneering by other means, let's save the fig leaf of morality,' says Rajeev Srinivasan.
In our special series revisiting great Hindi film classics, we look back at Prithviraj Kapoor, Raj Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor and Babita's 1971 film, Kal Aaj Aur Kal.
'No right thinking student of politics can name one state where the BJP gains in double digits.'
