Kamal Nisha (centre) is Kalam's sister-in-law, wife of his elder brother. "I have known Kalam since I was a young girl. We were relatives before I married his elder brother," she says.
When she married into the Kalam household he was already a scientist at ISRO. "He was always very serious, even then," she recalls with a smile.
Sabhita Meerasa (right) is another one of the President's nieces. "When he came here my son gave him a poem on him; he liked it very much. He signed it for my son and took a photocopy of it to Delhi."
"Our uncle has never celebrated his birthday in Rashtrapati Bhavan," she says. "This will be his third birthday after he became President; again he won't be there on October 15. He will be in Gujarat. I pray for him every day and will pray more on his birthday."