A reception was accorded to Dr Sarabhai at Sullurpeta and a procession of more than 30 jeeps drove over rough terrain to the entrance of the present range, where the forest rest house was located. The procession then drove straight over the sand to the sea front. On the way, quite a few vehicles broke down.
Undeterred, Dr. Sarabhai proceeded on foot and walked along the beach for atleast 10 kilometers, surveying the area. When the party returned to the Guest House, a grand feast was awaiting them, courtesy the Andhra government. After the feast, Sarabhai addressed the local Yanadi tribals in English, the local collector providing the translation. The tribals, who had not ventured much outside their island, believed Sarabhai was the Raja who was going to change their lives.
Towards the end of the decade, the organization of SSTC increased in tempo, the buildings at Veli were ready and the R&D groups were in place. The Rocket Fabrication Facility and the Rocket Propellant Plant were established and the SHAR facilities started taking shape.
After one of his routine visits to Thumba on December 31, 1971, Sarabhai asked some of us to meet him at the Kovalam palace where he usually stayed (the hotel had not come up at that time) for discussing various proposals. Our discussions went on till well past midnight and I left for home terribly exhausted. By 6.30 am the next day, we were informed that Sarabhai had passed away. It was a great shock and we were all caught off guard. Suddenly the central pillar, which supported the edifice, had collapsed. There was utter despair all round. I clearly recall the day after his demise, when all the senior persons were at Ahmedabad attending the funeral. I was at Thumba, the senior most person on hand. The CISF was just then being inducted into TERLS.
The open sea front of Thumba was causing serious security problems and it was decided to try and locate concrete tetrapods across the beach and as an experiment one tetrapod was moved to the beach. This was strongly opposed by the local fisher folk. There was some clash and the police had to resort to firing to quell the rather excited mob. There was a terrible uproar in the local area and it took a long while to pacify the people, although the plan for locating tetrapods was itself given up. Occurring, as it did, hardly a day after the tragic death of Sarabhai, this caused tremendous distress in our minds.
The Organisation had, however, quickly recovered from this shock and after a brief spell of leadership by Prof M G K Menon, was firmly taken charge of by Prof Satish Dhawan ably aided by stalwarts like Dr Brahmprakash, Prof Yash Pal and others. Decades followed and the Organization steadily evolved into the giant multidisciplinary entity that ISRO is today.
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| Mr Madhavan Nair (right) and Dr B N Suresh, Director VSSC (second from left)enjoying the Reminiscences of an exciting era |
Much of the dreams of the Pioneers have been realised and exceeded. ISRO today is a byword for Excellence and is an example of how a dedicated group of men can achieve tremendous results in adverse circumstances, given the motivation and the leadership.
For me, personally, it has been a most satisfying and rewarding experience. I have been an active participant in every facet of this adventure. What is more exciting is the opportunity given to me to continue to be actively involved in the programmes of ISRO, much after my normal tenure.
I thank the organisers for inviting me to these celebrations and allowing me to share some of the thrill of the early days.
