Canada India Foundation (CIF).

After attending the festival, Kalam will speak on 'The University as an Agent of Social Change' at the invitation of the Shastri Indo-Canada Institute.

'True education is the acquisition of enlightened feelings and enlightened powers to understand daily events and to understand the permanent truth linking man, to his environment, human and planetary,' Kalam is quoted as saying in the invitation that the SICI has sent to special invitees.

Lakshmanan said his colleague Ajit Someswar, convener, CIF, has sent invitations to Canadian political leaders at the federal and provincial levels. Conservative Member of Parliament Deepak Obhrai told India Abroad that he will be present at the April 18 dinner.

"The CIF has put in a lot of efforts to get Dr Kalam here - his first-ever visit to Canada - and we are looking for a great impact on the Canada-India relationship," said Lakshmanan.

The CIF was established only last year by two dozen successful businessmen and professionals to promote Canada-India relations through their 'active intervention in public policy' which would cover domestic policies 'and bi-lateral issues affecting the Indo-Canadian community'.

The leaders are registered as charter members and they have paid $5,000 each as an annual fee. And they will pay $5,000 for a table for 10 at the gala dinner.

Vasdev Chanchalani, co-founder of Sigma Group of companies, after whom the CIF award has been named, has pledged $1 million so that the endowment can pay for the award in perpetuity.

Former Indian president A P J Abdul Kalam, who will be in Canada on a four-day visit (India Abroad, March 28) starting April 16, will arrive "in Toronto from Finland where he has been invited by the Finish government," said Dr V I Lakshmanan, spokesman for the Canada-India Foundation.

Lakshmanan said he has been pursuing this invitation to Kalam for over a year. "I met him in January in New Delhi when Dr Kalam had all kinds of questions. Finally he was very pleased to accept our invitation by sending a formal confirmation last month and in that acceptance letter he also expressed his desire to visit some Canadian universities," Lakshmanan added.

Primarily, Kalam is coming to Toronto "to attend the gala dinner that the Canada-India Foundation is organizing April 18 at the Liberty Grand where [Chairman of India's Knowledge Commission] Sam Pitroda will be  presented with the Canada-India Foundation Chanchlani Award which carries $50,000 that will be sent to the charity of recipient's choice.

Dr Kalam will be the guest of honor at that event," Lakshmanan said.

Lakshmanan, who is in charge of Kalam's visit, said the scientist-turned-president will return to India April 19. In between, Kalam will visit the University of Waterloo April 17, where the university has suggested that he deliver a lecture on 'Canada-India in Global Development.' "He [Kalam] hasn't as yet confirmed this topic," said Lakshmanan.

The former president has been invited to the University of Toronto April 18, where he will speak on 'Science and Technological Development and Civil Society' and answer questions from students and academics. After that, Kalam will visit laboratories at the MaRS-Ontario Innovation Institute.

The next day, he will attend the annual Tyagaraja Festival at York University, an annual event that the Toronto-based Bharatiya Kala Manram organizes. "Dr Kalam is very interested in classical music," Lakshmanan said.