Mumbai, Jul 18 (PTI): Former President APJ Abdul Kalam today advised the youth to keep high aims, regularly update their knowledge and succeed by defeating problems in life.

"A person should have great aim; should continuously engage himself in acquiring knowledge-� by reading great books, hard work and perseverance," Kalam said while explaining the four tools to fight the problems in life.

"Defeat the problem and succeed...nobody succeeded without problems. Become the captain of the problem and succeed," Kalam said.

"Youth have to fight the hardest battle... which any human being can ever imagine to fight. Never stop fighting until you arrive at your destiny," Kalam said at the diamond jubilee celebrations of Sri Shanmukhananda Fine Arts and Sangeetha Sabha award function here.

"Youth should be ready to contribute to the national development and there should be a transparent and corruption-free society," he added.

On this occasion, Sangeetha Sabha honoured people who had made exceptional contribution to the society.

The Dignity of Human Body Award was given to T Mahadeva from Bangalore for helping bury over one lakh unclaimed bodies.

While M C Suresh from Kerala was awarded for Honesty and Probity of unseen order, 108-year-old Nemi Bhagat Bhabha from Rajasthan was given the Folk Art award for singing and playing traditional wind instrument ''algoza'' at the ripe age.

Jadav Payeng from Assam was given an award for his contribution to the conservation of the environment.
Christened as a "one man army," he is responsible for creating 1,360 acres of thick forest that was earlier washed away in floods.

100-year-old Manohar Aich from Kolkata got the award for his "healthy mind and longevity" and Pune-based NGO Horizon got an award for helping in demining operations in Sri Lanka.