Kalam to attend poets’ meeting in Taiwan
By DPA, IANSTuesday, November 30, 2010
TAIPEI - Former Indian president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is to arrive Wednesday in Taiwan to attend the 30th World Congress of Poets, the event’s organiser said Tuesday.
“The main purpose of his visit is cultural exchange,” said Yu Hsi, Taiwan poet and president of the congress. “He will attend the World Congress of Poets and launch the Chinese translation of ‘Thirukkural’, the masterpiece of Tamil literature, written in the form of couplets.”
Kalam, an aeronautical engineer as well as a poet, was India’s 11th president, serving from 2002 to 2007. He is known as the “Missile Man of India” for his work on the development of ballistic missile and rocket technology.
“Busy as he is, he tries to write one poem every month,” Yu Hsi said.
About 300 poets from 31 countries are to attend the congress Thursday through Dec 7 in Taipei.
The congress was founded in 1969 to promote world peace through poetry.
