The Hindu : Kerala News : Housewife gets surprise call from President

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 15, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Housewife gets surprise call from President

By Biju Govind

KOZHIKODE, DEC. 14. When Sara Gul Mohammed, the wife of a Gulf-returnee at Padanna village in Kasaragod district, heard her phone ringing on Monday noon, she had not imagined even in her wildest dream that the call is from the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

A nonplussed Sara at first thought that somebody was playing a prank. But it did not take long for her to realise that it was indeed the President, Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, himself on the line.

The President had come across a report on the business page of the Sunday edition of The Hindu about the Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) offering support to the initiatives of mussel cultivators led by marine farmer G. S. Gul Mohammed at Padanna village and the call was to congratulate him personally.

Mr. Gul Mohammed told The Hindu today that his wife received the call at 12 noon and the voice in English said the call was from the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Soon Dr. Kalam himself came on the line.

``This is A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. I would like to speak to Mr. Gul Mohammed.'' Sara replied that Gul had gone out and would return only at 2 p.m. The President said it would not be possible for him to make a call again in the afternoon.

In chaste Malayalam

Dr. Kalam soon changed to chaste Malayalam when Sara offered to give him the mobile number of Gul Mohammed. This confused Sara. ``Is it possible for the President to speak in Malayalam,'' she asked laughing.

``Mole (daughter)... I have lived in Kerala. I can speak fluently in Malayalam. I hail from the neighbouring State of Tamil Nadu. Are you Gul's daughter?'' came the voice like that of a schoolteacher from the other end.

When Sara replied that she was Mr. Gul Mohammed's wife, the President said: ``I wanted to congratulate your husband. Give my regards to him,'' and he hung up.

She narrated the whole incident when Gul Mohammed returned at 2 p.m. He immediately called TIFAC at Trombay and the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute in Kochi. Officials at the centre said the President was known for his ways of `breaking the protocol' and making direct calls to trendsetters and achievers. He then checked up with the Rashtrapati Bhavan to confirm the President's call.

Before he became the President, Dr. Kalam was chairman of TIFAC. Himself a great scientist and Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister, he then led the country with the help of 500 experts to formulate the `Technology Vision 2020' detailing a road map for transforming India from the present developing status to a developed nation.

Pioneer

Mr. Gul Mohammed, a recipient of the Krishak Shiromani National Award instituted by the Union Government in 2002, has pioneered green mussel cultivation at Padanna since 1996. His efforts saw as many as 2,000 people, including 1,200 women, directly and 3,000 others indirectly getting employment. They have formed 60 cooperative societies for this purpose.

Recently, TIFAC offered to extend financial and technical help to cultivators to carry out mussel culture in open sea, besides continuing activities confined to estuarine eco-systems. If 1,500 tonnes of mussel was harvested last year, this year it will be a whopping 4,000 tonnes this year, Mr. Gul Mohammed said.

Even after a day, both husband and wife are still confused. Was it really the President who called?

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Kerala