Bangalore's famed plane-maker finally clears engineering in 10 years

Muzakkir along with his wife Salma pose for a photograph in front of the dilapidated plane which he built in 2003. Below, the microlight that was built in 2013 as part of his engineering project. Photo: Vinod Kumar T

By Anantha Krishnan M

Express News Service

Bangalore: Ten years after he enrolled for his dream engineering course, Mohd Muzakkir Sharief, the wiz kid who hit international headlines for his plane-making skills, has finally cleared all his papers. A student of Bangalore's H K B K College of Engineering, Muzakkir, now 33-years-old, married, and on his family way, cleared two of his backlog sixth semester subjects -- Heat and Mass Transfer and Mechanical Vibration -- during the exams conducted by Visvesvaraya Technological University recently. After 10 years of marathon struggle, Muzakkir has an aggregate of 57 per cent in Mechanical Engineering.

Speaking to Express on Thursday, an elated Muzakkir said that his entire teaching staff and friends were finally relieved to hear the good news. "I took sweets to college and everyone kept telling me that I would become someone in life. I always wanted to be a winner, but couldn't crack the engineering code in four years. I had to fight serious health issues, including TB," he said. He made close to 15 attempts to clear his mathematics papers.

His immediate plan is to hunt for a job to support his family with most of the finances already being spent on his plane passion. "I will carry on with my research and development in aviation. I am going to be blessed with a child soon. There are many people who have promised me help. I will start knocking at their doors," says Muzakkir.

Terming him as a 'born inventor', V Ponraj, advisor to former President A P J Abdul Kalam said that Muzakkir is sure to go places in future. "There is a delay and it is understandable. I am happy that with all his problems over the years, he finally managed to clear his exams. Great brains world over have never excelled well in their exams and Muzakkir is yet another case," he said. As the President, Dr Kalam had deputed Ponraj to undertake a recee mission in 2003 to his house in J C Nagar for a first-hand report on the 100-kg plane he built using junk material.

T C Manjunath, HKBK College of Engineering principal said that Muzakkir's was a very rare case. "We kept telling him not to give up. The boy really struggled hard and he used to fail in many subjects. His aviation skills have already inspired his junior batches who have already working on a new project. They are seeking an interaction with the Yelahnaka air base officials, subject to Indian Air Force approval," says Manjuth. 

Muzakkir's wife Salma Ahmed Haigi, a B Com graduate, recalled that her husband always feared exams. "He used to get really tense ahead of exams. He even took additional oxygen supplies once after struggling for breath," says Salma. His mother Sayeeda Banu, 69 years, a retired Urdu teacher, now wants her son to find a job soon and also join an M Tech course.
Copyright@The New Indian Express