Dr Kalam was always in a hurry. He would rush into the hotel in the mornings to eat appam with milk and would not even sit, says Mr Nair.
Parmeshwaran Nair, 85, turned numb when he heard about the death of APJ Abdul Kalam. On the wall in front of him, were the pictures of both of them together.
Parmeshwaran Nair owns the hotel 'Guruvayoorappa' where the former President had his meals everyday while working at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram as a scientist.
Their relationship did not end there. On his first visit to Kerala after becoming the President of India, Dr Kalam's secretary called Parmeshwaran Nair. He was told that the President had requested a meeting with him.
It was the beginning of a lasting friendship. Parmeshwaran Nair never let go of an opportunity to meet Dr Kalam whenever he came to Kerala.
"Most of the time, I would not be allowed to go near him by the security personnel. But I would ensure that I would somehow stand in his line of vision. Every time, he just had to see me, and the next thing I know I would be escorted to him. I must have met him nearly 20 times like this," said a visibly upset Parmeshwaran Nair.
"Kalam was always in a hurry. He would rush into the hotel in the mornings to eat appam with milk and would not even sit. He would literally swallow the food and rush out. I don't think he even had the time to enjoy the flavours and hardly spoke," the hotel owner says.
For dinner, Mr Nair always offered to deliver the meal to his room but Dr Kalam always declined, saying it was no trouble for him to come and eat. "He was always in a hurry, as if he was on some important mission. I used to tell people that I don't know what he does, but he is a great man," he said.
For now it's the pictures and the memories that remain for 'Guruvayoorappa' - the name Dr Kalam fondly gave to Parmeshwaran Nair.