If we are proud of ISRO's world-renowned exploits to the Moon and Mars and beyond, and India's recognized around the world as an indigenous space power, it's all down to the pioneering effort of stalwarts of the past.
Stalwarts like Dr Vikram Sarabhai, a visionary par excellence, without whom ISRO and India's adventures in space wouldn't have been possible.
Born a hundred years ago in British-ruled India, it was Dr Vikram Sarabhai who convinced the post-Independence Indian government to focus on space research. Especially after the Russian Sputnik launch in 1957.
A scientist and an innovator, under Dr Vikram Sarabhai's leadership a lot of great initiatives began, including the Physical Research Laboratory of 1947 -- a precursor to ISRO. India's first satellite Aryabhata was put into space via Russian cosmodrome in 1975, when Dr Sarabhai was at the helm of India's space affairs.
I spoke to ex-ISRO scientist Dr Satyendra Bhandari, now a retired 72-year-old, who fondly remembers Dr Vikram Sarabhai on his 100th birth anniversary -- giving us a glimpse into the man behind the legend.
"Dr Sarabhai was usually clad in simple attire, a cotton kurta and pyjama along with a pair of Kolhapuri chappals," says Dr Bhandari, who was selected as a PhD Scholar at Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad by Prof Vikram Sarabhai himself.
As a Mission Planning Specialist, Dr Bhandari was instrumental in the successful activation of the TV-Camera onboard India's first remote sensing satellite Bhaskara-1 and obtaining the first-ever space based images of the Earth from it in 1980. He remembers Dr Sarabhai as, "ISRO's pioneer and Father of India's Space Program was always cool, clear and composed, and always smiling."
"Dr Vikram Sarabhai would?often visit PRL in the evening and staying till late night, discussing and interacting with students about their research topics," says Dr Bhandari.
"In terms of work, Dr Sarabhai had a remarkable management style which took everyone along with him," recollects Dr Bhandari, before sharing a personal memory about Dr Sarabhai. "Once when our scholarship normalization was getting complicated by the Dean, a single cordial meeting with Dr Vikram Sarabhai sorted out the matter in 20 minutes," says Dr Bhandari.
Do you remember APJ Abdul Kalam's words on Vikram Sarabhai? He famously said, "I was spotted as a young scientist by Dr Vikram Sarabhai." And Dr Sarabhai had that quality to recognize talent and nurture it to its full extent, according to Dr Bhandari as well.
Not long before ISRO honours its founder's memory in the greatest way possible -- by safely depositing the Vikram lander (named in Dr Sarabhai's remembrance) on a never before explored part of the moon. It would be a fitting tribute, indeed, and perhaps the greatest till date.