Bangalore: He cut the cake two hours before he turned 74.

But the icing on the cake for President A P J Abdul Kalam was the huge pineapple birthday cake by students and faculty of his "alma mater", the prestigious Indian Institute of Science (IISc) that took him by surprise.

"Tomorrow is an important day. Today midnight, I am entering the 73rd orbit around the sun. I will be entering into the 74th orbit, that means, my age is 73," Kalam said this evening to the delight of a packed auditorium of student researchers and faculty of the IISc.

"Human life is a nanosecond in the life of universe. When I am talking about 73 years of age, I am still talking at a nano second age," he said.

The cake, which the President relished, was later distributed among the hundreds of students, who joined in celebrating Kalam's entry into his 74th orbit.