ISRO chairman S. Somanath pens autobiography, wants to inspire people chase their dreams

ISRO chairman S. Somanath's upcoming autobiography, "Nilavu Kudicha Simhangal", is an inspirational story of his journey from an impoverished village youth to the successful launch of Chandrayaan-3. It highlights the power of hard work and perseverance in the face of difficulties, and the immense opportunities India offers. It is an attempt to motivate the talented, yet not so confident. Slated to hit shelves in Nov 2023, the book will detail his humble beginnings, the right decisions he made in life, and the people who came his way with a purpose.

He may have helped the country conquer the moon, is making a similar attempt for the Sun and is busy preparing sending Indians to the space – all multi-crore rupee ventures – but ISRO chairman S. Somanath's humble beginnings included an old bicycle and a modest lodging to cut transport and hostel expenses while in college.

These little details, among many others, find a mention in his upcoming Malayalam autobiography, which he calls is an attempt to inspire the talented, yet not so confident.

The autobiography in Malayalam titled Nilavu Kudicha Simhangal – loosely translated as ‘Lions that drank the moonlight’ – promises to be a tale of motivation. The book focusses on the power of hard work and perseverance in the face of difficulties. It was inspired by the massive success of Chandrayaan-3, ISRO’s moon mission headed by Mr. Somanath, that catapulted India to an elite league of nations.

After the lunar mission’s success and amidst the back-to-back launches of Aditya-L1 solar mission and the Gaganyaan test vehicle, Mr. Somanath has managed to find time to chronicle his life story.

Being published by Kerala-based Lipi Publications, the book is slated to hit the shelves in November, 2023.

Though it is the story of his eventful saga from an impoverished village youth, growth through the ISRO, elevation to the current coveted post and his journey till the Chandrayaan-3 launch, Mr. Somanath said he would like to call it as an inspirational story rather than an autobiography.

"It is actually the story of an ordinary village youth who doesn't even know whether to join engineering or BSc... about his dilemmas, right decisions he made in life, and the opportunities he received in a country like India," he told PTI.