Thread by @thebetterindia

#APJAbdulKalam
#DeathAnniversary #Thread 👇
1/ Among the menagerie of animals who call Rashtrapati Bhavan home is a deer called Tipu who was born with a defect in his foot.

Few know that, during his time as President, Dr Kalam oversaw the surgery that set Tipu's foot right.

2/ When Tipu's mother refused to accept him, Kalam also adopted him and for nine months, fed him milk from a bottle.

And Tipu was not the only case. A horse, belonging to Indian Army's only cavalry division (the 61st Cavalry), was operated for cataract inside Rashtrapati Bhavan.

3/ Hearing of this, a travelling circus camping outside New Delhi sought help from President Kalam for their star attraction, a hippopotamus, who also had cataract. He was also operated upon in Rashtrapati Bhavan.

4/ In fact, Dr Kalam's routine at Rashtrapati Bhawan was incomplete without feeding the peacocks who live in the famous Mughal Garden. When one of the peacocks broke his leg, a splint was arranged and a uniquely delicate operation, called intra-medulary pinning, performed.

5/ “Once he summoned me at 5:30 in the morning,” recalls Rashtrapati Bhavan chief photographer Samar Mondal.

“I arrived at the apartment to see him looking at a peacock from his window. ‘This guy is very nice,’ he said.

6/ ‘Go take a picture. He always dances for me while I sip my morning tea. Whenever you feel like you are in pain, you should take pictures of birds in nature. You will find that the pain is gone.'”

7/ "His love for nature was amazing. He made it a point to feed the birds in the garden whenever he was here. He also replaced the wooden windows of his room that open to the garden with glass ones to get a clear view," said another staff member at the presidential residence.

8/ "But, most importantly, he was a nice human being. He always treated us like his own people. We certainly miss him," said the staffer.

So do we. On his death anniversary, we pay a heartfelt tribute to the People's President. #Kalam #tribute