ISRO Chairman pens autobiography; wants to inspire people chase their dreams
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): He may have helped the country conquer the moon, is making a similar attempt for the Sun and is busy preparing sending Indians to the space--all multi-crore rupee ventures, but ISRO chairman S Somanath's humble beginnings included an old bicycle and a modest lodging to cut transport and hostel expenses while in college.
These little details, among many others, find a mention in his upcoming Malayalam autobiography, which he calls an attempt to inspire the talented, yet not so confident.
The autobiography in Malayalam titled "Nilavu Kudicha Simhangal," - loosely translated as - Lions that drank the moonlight - promises to be a tale of motivation. The book focuses on the power of hard work and perseverance in the face of difficulties. It was inspired by the massive success of Chandrayaan-3, ISRO's moon mission headed by Somanath, that catapulted India to an elite league of nations.
After the successful lunar mission and amidst back-to-back launches of Aditya-L1 solar mission and the Gaganyaan test vehicle, 59-year old Somanath has managed to find time to chronicle his life story.
Being published by Kerala-based Lipi Publications, the book is slated to hit the shelves in November.
Though it is the story of his eventful saga from an impoverished village youth, growth through the ISRO, elevation to the current coveted post and his journey till the Chandrayaan-3 launch, Somanath said he would like to call it as an inspirational story rather than an autobiography.
"It is actually the story of an ordinary village youth who doesn't even know whether to join engineering or BSc...about his dilemmas, right decisions he made in life, and the opportunities he received in a country like India," he told PTI.
"The book is not intended to teach my life story. Its only intention is to inspire people to chase their dreams while battling adversities in life," the ISRO Chairman added.
The veteran recalled his humble rural background, but said the country opened immense opportunities before him, and the autobiography is an attempt to highlight this.
It was the historic success of the Chandrayaan-3 that persuaded him to come out with a book soon.
"The lunar mission has made such a great impact in the society. When we looked around, we could see how many people, especially children, were inspired by its success. They understood that India and Indians could do such great things," he explained.
Lack of confidence is one of the major issues faced by many talented people, and the aim of his book is to showcase them that, he said.
Pointing out his life as an example, Somanath said that despite conflicts and dilemmas, it is very important to make use of the right opportunities in life and choose the best career options.
In the book, he describes in detail how he was forced to stay in a tiny lodge room in Kollam district as there was no money to pay hostel fees while studying at TKM Engineering College there decades ago.
He commuted to the college by riding an old bicycle as he could not afford the bus fare and was forced to skip the study tour due to poverty in the family.
Somanath said there was no one to guide him in the initial years of his studies, and if a person had not bought him admission form of the engineering college unexpectedly, he would have joined BSc or some other course.
If you ask him what worked more in his life-luck or hard work, he would turn philosophical and recite some Sanskrit slokas from the epic Mahabharata.
"We should have some luck initially, but we should also be mentally prepared to accept and make use of opportunities that come our way. Similarly, several people will also come our way with a purpose, and we should be able to realise their role in our lives," Somanath said.
That would help in our career growth, he added.
In his life, there were several such people who came with a purpose, including his father, the person who bought him admission form for the engineering course, his first boss, Ramakrishnan, former ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan, and so on.
The autobiography would evolve through such phases of his personal life and develop through his journey in ISRO till the launch of Chandrayaan-3.
The stories of rocket manufacturing, PSLV, GSLV Mark III and Chandrayaan-3 are also mentioned in the book in parallel.
When asked why he chose to write the book in Malayalam, Somanath had a quick reply.
"Because I am a Malayali and I am more comfortable writing in my mother tongue," he said with a smile.
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Bill Gates apologises to Foundation staff over Epstein ties: report
New York (PTI): American tech entrepreneur Bill Gates has apologised to the staff at the Gates Foundation over his ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein but maintained that he did “nothing illicit,” according to a media report.
The Microsoft co-founder also admitted that he had two affairs with Russian women and that he made mistakes that had cast a cloud over the philanthropic group while insisting he didn’t participate in Epstein’s crimes, The Wall Street Journal said in an exclusive report on Tuesday.
Gates was among the scores of celebrities, politicians, leaders and tech entrepreneurs shown having connections with the sex offender as was evident in the tens of thousands of documents, including emails, interview transcripts, photos, call logs etc with some names redacted, released online – collectively termed Epstein files - last month by the US Justice Department.
In a town hall on Tuesday, Gates acknowledged that he had two affairs with Russian women that Epstein later discovered, but that they didn’t involve Epstein’s victims. “I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit,” Gates said, according to a recording reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
Gates said images in the recently released Epstein files showing him with women whose faces are redacted were pictures that Epstein asked him to take with Epstein’s assistants after their meetings. “To be clear, I never spent any time with victims, the women around him,” Gates said.
“It was a huge mistake to spend time with Epstein” and bring Gates Foundation executives into meetings with the sex offender, Gates said.
“I apologise to other people who are drawn into this because of the mistake that I made,” The Wall Street Journal quoted Gates as saying.
The philanthropist said he had met Epstein in 2011, three years after the sex offender had pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution.
Gates said he didn't “properly check” Epstein's background even when he was aware of some “18-month thing” that had limited Epstein’s travel and added that he continued meeting with Epstein even after his then-wife Melinda French Gates expressed concerns in 2013.
Speaking of his ex-wife, he added: “To give her credit, she was always kind of skeptical about the Epstein thing.”
The Wall Street Journal further said that Gates told staff on Tuesday that he continued meeting with Epstein through 2014, flew on a private jet with Epstein and spent time with him in Germany, France, New York and Washington. “I never stayed overnight,” he said, or visited Epstein’s island.
Gates admitted that his ties to Epstein and newly disclosed emails from the Justice Department files had cast a cloud over the Gates Foundation and its reputation, the newspaper said.
“It definitely is the opposite of the values of the Foundation and the goals of the Foundation,” he said. “And our work is very reputational sensitive. I mean, people can choose to work with us or not work with us.”
A Gates Foundation spokesperson said Gates holds town halls twice a year and he “spoke candidly, addressing several questions in detail, and took responsibility for his actions.”
The Microsoft co-founder said Epstein “talked about the kind of intimate relationship he had with a lot of billionaires, particularly Wall Street billionaires,” and that he could help raise money for causes like global health.
Gates said because Epstein had other prestigious people at these meetings, that “made it easier for me to feel like this was a normalized situation.” He said he realizes that his association with Epstein also helped the sex offender to burnish his reputation.
In the town hall, Gates also said: “I did have affairs, one with a Russian bridge player who met me at bridge events, and one with a Russian nuclear physicist who I met through business activities.”
Gates said that 2014 was the last year he met with Epstein.
Epstein, as per the US media reports, killed himself in a New York jail cell in August 2019, a month after he was indicted on federal sex trafficking charges.
