By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Visitors of the Don Bosco Centre for Indigenous Cultures (DBCIC) or better known as Don Bosco Museum on Tuesday never thought they had a pleasant surprise in store. They received the pleasant surprise when they got a chance to interact with the former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, who paid a sudden visit to the museum.
Dr Kalam is currently in Shillong as a visiting faculty of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Shillong on the subject of Societal Transformation with Technology and its Application.
The sudden visit of Dr Kalam to the museum situated in Mawlai came as a surprise to the visitors mostly students when they were provided with an opportunity to interact with the former President.
“It was a great joy for me to shake hands with Dr. Kalam,” a student of Jorhat Engineering College (Assam) said adding that Dr Kalam always reminds him of the vision he needs to have in the future.
The former president was accompanied during the short visit to the Museum by the Director of the Museum, Rev Fr. Joseph Puthenpurackal SDB, Rev Fr, V. M Thomas SDB, the Provincial of the Salesian Province of Guwahati and Rev Fr. Jose Vettathe SDb, the Rector of Sacred Heart Theological College, Mawlai.
Dr Kalam, known as the ‘Missile man of India’ visited the Neigbourhood Gallery, the Pre-historic Gallery, the Art Gallery, the Agricultural Gallery and had a glance of the city of Shillong from the Sky-Walk. Occasionally Dr. Kalam also stood and interacted with visitors to the Museum which comprises mostly of students.
Admiring the museum, Dr Kalam wrote in visitor books that “it was a beautiful experience to visit Don Bosco Museum Shillong. It is well kept and North East cultures are well presented.”
He also congratulated the Museum team under the guidance of the Director Rev Fr, Joseph Puthenpurackal, SDB for the rich legacy and the preservation of the North East Cultures.