Not aware of any will left by Kalam: Nephew
1 Aug 2015 4:25 AM IST
One by one, several of our properties were sold. What remains is the ancestral house and a small site near the house which Kalam’s father Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen had left for him,” the late former president’s nephew Jainulabdeen said. Kalam had asked his elder brother Muthu Meeran Labbai Marakier to take care of his properties.
“We have been taking care of that,” Kalam’s elder brother’s son added. Kalam’s ancestors once had commercial interests and vast property. They also operated ferry services to transport pilgrims coming to Pamban by boats centuries ago, when there was no bridge between the mainland and this island, he said. This was what got them the family title 'Mara Kalam' (wooden boat) iyakkivers - which over the years came to be called Marakier. Their commercial interests involved transporting groceries from the mainland for sale to people here, as well as Sri Lanka. But their fortunes took a nosedive when the ridge was laid across the sea connecting the mainland to the island.
Though they initially had enormous property in the island, they all had to be sold to maintain the family as well the Mohaindeen Andavar mosque, housed in the street where Kalam's ancestral property is located, Jainulabdeen said. Kalam's ancestral house too is unique. The first floor houses a museum, while the family runs a small business on the second floor where Jainulabdeen sells articles like conchs as souvenirs for a small income.
A member of Jamath said Kalam used to send Rs 1.10 lakh every year for the “Porridge” (porridge given in the Mosque during Ramzan). This year prior to Ramzan, Kalam had sent money to all his family members from his pension, a family member said.
Abdul Kalam’s parting gift to children: A sequel to ever-popular ‘Ignited Minds’
A number of new books by late A P J Abdul Kalam, including a sequel to his ever-popular “Ignited Minds”, are lined up for publication in the next few months.
Puffin Books will publish “My India: Ideas for the Future”, billed as a sequel to “Ignited Minds”. It will be a collection of insightful and thought-provoking speeches from Kalam's post presidency years.
Organised into seven sections, the speeches in this collection are a roadmap for children, and adults alike, to follow their dreams and contribute to a better India, the publishers said.
Drawn from Kalam's addresses to parliaments, schools and universities across the world, these speeches include his thoughts on nation building, poverty, failure, science and self-confidence in the 21st century.
Scheduled to be published later this year, "My India: Ideas for the Future" is a book that will inspire, invigorate and empower many generations to come, the publishers said. Brought out in 2003 by Penguin, "Ignited Minds: Unleashing the Power within India" went on to become a bestseller.
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