In Rameswaram, virtually every building and wall has a banner dedicated to him. A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com reports from ground zero.
Throughout our six-hour journey from Kerala's capital Thiruvananthapuram to Rameswaram -- the coastal Tamil Nadu hometown of Dr A P J Abdul Kalam who passed into the ages on Monday, July 27, the roadside was dotted by banners and posters paying homage to the 'Missile Man.'
In Rameswaram, virtually every building and wall has a banner dedicated to him. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam is everywhere.
A crowd had already started growing outside 'House of Kalam', the late former President's ancestral home where his 99-year-old elder brother Mohammad Muthu Meera Lebbai Maraicker lives.
Some lit candles at the entrance of the house, others garlanded President Kalam's photograph.
Dr Kalam's 'green brigade' was there too -- some 50 young boys from across Tamil Nadu -- controlling the massive influx of people wanting to pay their last respects.
"We have arranged 10 free buses to bring people," said one of the volunteers.
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Dr Kalam's mortal remains will be placed in a huge pandal erected a short distance past the Pamban bridge, which connects Rameswaram to mainland India.
Around 30 young men from neighbouring Parmakudi town have been toiling away since 4 pm on Tuesday, July 28, to erect the tent.
Contractor R Kumarasen says he has, in the past, put up tents for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi when they came here to address rallies.
Even though President Kalam's mortal remains had yet to arrive, a long serpentine queue -- unmindful of the sun beating down hard upon them -- formed outside the venue. Policemen, posted in large numbers, promised to let them through the bamboo barricade one at a time.
Media vans parked themselves behind the tent. Other vehicles were being directed to park some distance away.
Some people were sweeping the road at the entrance of the venue.
The occasion is sad, the mood sombre.
Rameswaram waits with tears and flowers to bid farewell to its most famous son.
Photographs: A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com
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