Date:20/09/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/09/20/stories/2006092016730200.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

That top-of-the-world feeling

G.J. Siddharth with President Abdul Kalam.

G.J. Siddharth is flattered. And, who wouldn't be, if the first citizen of the country called him or her a `friend'!

Siddharth, who works in ABM-Amro Bank, first met President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in 2005. He was pleasantly surprised when the President recognised him during his recent visit to the capital. He called him "the ABM-Amro banker" and told the others gathered there that Siddharth was his friend.

"I felt on top of the world," says Siddharth, who has cerebral palsy and a mild speech impairment. Siddharth was in Delhi for the launch of a book on a trans-disciplinary approach to the management of cerebral palsy, a joint initiative of Vidya Sagar and Skillshare International. The President also congratulated him on completing the Certified Documentary Credit Specialist (CDCS) examination, held in April. The postgraduate in economics became the country's first CDCS with cerebral palsy.