Kalam lived for students till the end, says his friend Sambit

Expressing condolence over Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's demise, his friend Sambit on Wednesday said that the former president loved his students and lived for them till the end.

"I was a classmate and roommate during 1950 and 54. I was praying that he must recover immediately. He didn't want to disappoint his students and so he was travelling a lot lately," Sambit told ANI.

"Till the end, he lived for his students. He ended his life for the sake of students, he loved the students," he added.

The body of the former president was flown out from Delhi to Madurai in Tamil Nadu this morning, from where it will be taken by helicopter to Rameswaram. Union Ministers Venkaiah Naidu and Manohar Parrikar are accompanying the mortal remains to Rameswaram, where Dr. Kalam's body will be kept today for the people to pay their last respects.

His last rites will be performed at 11 a.m. tomorrow with full military honours.

Dr. Kalam passed away in Shillong on Monday evening. He collapsed after suffering a massive cardiac arrest while delivering a lecture at the Indian Institute of Management in Shillong.

His mortal remains were brought to New Delhi yesterday where a large number of people, including President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the three Service Chiefs paid their homage to the departed leader.

Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned for two days yesterday as a mark of respect to Dr. Kalam.

The government has declared a seven-day national mourning as a mark of respect for Dr. Kalam, who played a stellar role in advancing India's nuclear programme.

Considered one of the most popular presidents of India, Dr. Kalam became the 11th head of the state and occupied the post between 2002 and 2007 during the NDA government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.