No one can write better than him...

Rabindranath Tagore became the first Asian to became Nobel laureate when he won Nobel Prize for his collection of poems, Gitanjali, in 1913; awarded knighthood by the British King George V; established Viswabharati University; two songs from his Rabindrasangit canon are now the national anthems of India and BangladeshRabindranath Tagore was an icon of Indian culture. He was a poet, philosopher, musician, writer, and educationist. Rabindranath Tagore became the first Asian to became Nobel laureate when he won Nobel Prize for his collection of poems, Gitanjali, in 1913. He was popularly called as Gurudev and his songs were popularly known as Rabindrasangeet. Two songs from his Rabindrasangit canon are now the national anthems of India and Bangladesh: the Jana Gana Mana and the Amar Shonar Bangla.Rabindranath Tagore was born on May 7, 1861 in a wealthy Brahmin family in Calcutta. He was the ninth son of Debendranath and Sarada Devi. His grandfather Dwarkanath Tagore was a rich landlord and social reformer. Rabindra Nath Tagore had his initial education in Oriental Seminary School. But he did not like the conventional education and started studying at home under several teachers. After undergoing his upanayan (coming-of-age) rite at the age of eleven, Tagore and his father left Calcutta in 1873 to tour India for several months, visiting his father's Santiniketan estate and Amritsar before reaching the Himalayan hill station of Dalhousie. There, Tagore read biographies, studied history, astronomy, modern science, and Sanskrit, and examined the classical poetry of Kalidasa.In 1874, Tagore's poem Abhilaash (Desire) was published anonymously in a magazine called Tattobodhini. Tagore's mother Sarada Devi expired in 1875. Rabindranath's first book of poems, Kabi Kahini ( tale of a poet ) was published in 1878. In the same year Tagore sailed to England with his elder brother Satyandranath to study law. But he returned to India in 1880 and started his career as poet and writer. In 1883, Rabindranath Tagore married Mrinalini Devi Raichaudhuri, with whom he had two sons and three daughters.In 1884, Tagore wrote a collection of poems Kori-o-Kamal (Sharp and Flats). He also wrote dramas - Raja-o-Rani ( King and Queen) and Visarjan (Sacrifice). In 1890, Rabindranath Tagore moved to Shilaidaha (now in Bangladesh) to look after the family estate. Between 1893 and 1900 Tagore wrote seven volumes of poetry, which included Sonar Tari (The Golden Boat) and Khanika. In 1901, Rabindranath Tagore became the editor of the magazine Bangadarshan. He Established Bolpur Bramhacharyaashram at Shantiniketan, a school based on the pattern of old Indian Ashrama. In 1902, his wife Mrinalini died. Tagore composed Smaran ( In Memoriam ), a collection of poems, dedicated to his wife.In 1905, Lord Curzon decided to divide Bengal into two parts. Rabindranath Tagore strongly protested against this decision. Tagore wrote a number of national songs and attended protest meetings. He introduced the Rakhibandhan ceremony , symbolizing the underlying unity of undivided Bengal.In 1909, Rabindranath Tagore started writing Gitanjali. In 1912, Tagore went to Europe for the second time. On the journey to London he translated some of his poems/songs from Gitanjali to English. He met William Rothenstein, a noted British painter, in London. Rothenstien was impressed by the poems, made copies and gave to Yeats and other English poets. Yeats was enthralled. He later wrote the introduction to Gitanjali when it was published in September 1912 in a limited edition by the India Society in London. Rabindranath Tagore was awarded Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913 for Gitanjali. In 1915 he was knighted by the British King George V. In 1919, following the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Tagore renounced his knighthood. He was a supporter of Gandhiji but he stayed out of politics. He was opposed to nationalism and militarism as a matter of principle, and instead promoted spiritual values and the creation of a new world culture founded in multi-culturalism, diversity and tolerance. Unable to gain ideological support to his views, he retired into relative solitude. Between the years 1916 and 1934 he traveled widely.1n 1921, Rabindranath Tagore established Viswabharati University. He gave all his money from Nobel Prize and royalty money from his books to this University. Tagore was not only a creative genius, he was quite knowledgeable of Western culture, especially Western poetry and science too. Tagore had a good grasp of modern - post-Newtonian - physics, and was well able to hold his own in a debate with Einstein in 1930 on the newly emerging principles of quantum mechanics and chaos. His meetings and tape recorded conversations with his contemporaries such Albert Einstein and H.G. Wells, epitomize his brilliance.In 1940 Oxford University arranged a special ceremony in Santiniketan and awarded Rabindranath Tagore with Doctorate Of Literature. Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore passed away on August 7, 1941 in his ancestral home in Calcutta.

India one of the scientific powerhouses :

APJ Abdul Kalam ia an eminent scientist and engineer has also served as the 12th President of India from the period 2002 to 2007.He is a man of vision, who is always full of ideas aimed at the development of the country. He firmly believes that India needs to play a more assertive role in international relations. Apart from being a notable scientist and engineer, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam served as the 12th President of India from the period 2002 to 2007. He is a man of vision, who is always full of ideas aimed at the development of the country and is also often also referred to as the Missile Man of India. People loved and respected Dr APJ Abdul Kalam so much during his tenure as President that was popularly called the People's President. Read more about the biography of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam here. APJ Abdul Kalam was born on 15 October 1931 at the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu and received honorary doctorates from about 30 universities globally. In the year 1981, the Government of India presented him the nation's highest civilian honor, the Padma Bhushan and then again, the Padma Vibhushan in 1990 and the Bharat Ratna in 1997. Before Kalam, there have been only two presidents - Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Zakir Hussain - to have received the Bharat Ratna before bring appointed to the highest office in India. Read on about the life history of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, who's also the first scientist and bachelor to occupy the seat of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. His perspectives on important topics have been enunciated by him in the book 'India 2020'. It highlights the action plans that will help develop the country into a knowledge superpower by the time 2020. One thing for which he received ample kudos is his unambiguous statement that India needs to play a more assertive role in international relations. And Dr APJ Abdul Kalam regards his work on India's nuclear weapons program as a way to assert India's place as a future superpower. Even during his tenure as President, APJ Kalam took avid interest in the spheres of India's science and technology. He has even put forward a project plan for establishing bio-implants. He is also an ardent advocate of open source software over proprietary solutions to churn out more profits in the field of information technology in India.

Cant get better than a "Noble."

C.V. Raman is one of the most renowned scientists produced by India. His full name was Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman. For his pioneering work on scattering of light, C.V. Raman won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930. Chandrashekhara Venkata Raman was born on November 7, 1888 in Tiruchinapalli, Tamil Nadu. He was the second child of Chandrasekhar Iyer and Parvathi Amma. His father was a lecturer in mathematics and physics, so he had an academic atmosphere at home. He entered Presidency College, Madras, in 1902, and in 1904 passed his B.A. examination, winning the first place and the gold medal in physics. In 1907, C.V. Raman passed his M.A. obtaining the highest distinctions.During those times there were not many opportunities for scientists in India. Therefore, Raman joined the Indian Finance Department in 1907. After his office hours, he carried out his experimental research in the laboratory of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science at Calcutta. He carried out research in acoustics and optics.In 1917, Raman was offered the position of Sir Taraknath Palit Professorship of Physics at Calcutta University. He stayed there for the next fifteen years. During his tenure there, he received world wide recognition for his work in optics and scattering of light. He was elected to the Royal Society of London in 1924 and the British made him a knight of the British Empire in 1929. In 1930, Sir C.V. Raman was awarded with Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on scattering of light. The discovery was later christened as "Raman Effect".In 1934, C.V. Raman became the director of the newly established Indian Institute of Sciences in Bangalore, where two years later he continued as a professor of physics. Other investigations carried out by Raman were: his experimental and theoretical studies on the diffraction of light by acoustic waves of ultrasonic and hypersonic frequencies (published 1934-1942), and those on the effects produced by X-rays on infrared vibrations in crystals exposed to ordinary light. In 1947, he was appointed as the first National Professor by the new government of Independent India. He retired from the Indian Institute in 1948 and a year later he established the Raman Research Institute in Bangalore, where he worked till his death.Sir C.V. Raman died on November 21, 1970.

Sudha Chandran dancing on....

Despite amputation of one leg, Sudha Chandran has established herself in the film line and got a reputation as an ace dancer and actor. She was born into a Tamil family in 1964. Her father K.D. Chandran was an employee of the American Centre in Mumbai. Mrs. Thangam and Sudha's father were lovers of art hence since childhood; Sudha was exposed to a rich cultural heritage. At the age of three, she started dancing on her own and it was then that her family decided to provide her formal education in dance.
Seeing the dedication of the child, Sudha's father took her to a famous dance school in Mumbai ‘ Kala Sadan ' at the age of five. The teachers of ‘ Kala Sadan' refused to admit such a young girl but Chandran kept on persuading. He discussed the matter with the principal of that school, K.S. Ramaswamy Bhagavatar. He requested him to at least see the child dance once. The principal was surprised to see Sudha's perform so beautifully and finally admitted her in the prestigious institution.
Sudha practiced with much zeal and dedication. The dance classes started delivering the results and she gave her first dance performance on stage at the age of eight. She continued her general education along with dance. She used to go St. Josephs Convent School where she was awarded the first prize for her first dance appearance. Her enthusiasm was increasing continuously. By the age of 17 she had presented 75 stage programmes which had all been widely appreciated.
On May 2, 1981 , Sudha was traveling in a bus to Tiruchi temple along with her parents. Suddenly at midnight a serious accident took place. Her bus collided with a truck killing the driver on the spot. Sudha was sitting two seats behind the driver. When the accident occurred, she had stretched her legs out straight. The collision was such that Sudha's legs were stuck. Almost all the passengers were injured. Some college students who were less injured saw the noted dancer and tried to help her out. After a long struggle, they were able to pull her out but her right leg had been injured critically.
She was immediately taken to the nearest hospital. Here the doctor made a mistake. He plastered the leg. If it had been left open, the gangrene could have been prevented. After few days, Sudha noticed that the color of her skin on the leg was changing. After examination doctors concluded that, her leg had developed gangrene. In order to save her life the leg had to be amputated.
However, gradually her confidence started returning. She began walking with the help of a wooden leg and crutches. In the meanwhile, she continued her studies in Mumbai. Her father at that point of her life was a major source of motivation for her. Nevertheless, she drew strength from the pain and pledged that she would become even stronger. On the advice of people, her father bought her a wheelchair but she did nor use it. Despite facing severe pain, she continuously practiced walking and one day she even went out for a movie with her friends. Now everybody was convinced that this girl would regain normalcy very shortly.
After six months since the amputation, Sudha read in a magazine that Dr. Sethi of Jaipur has started manufacturing artificial legs. The qualities of these legs were such that a man wearing the leg can work on an agricultural farm and even climb a tree. Sudha wrote to him. Meanwhile her family visited a company in the Opera House in Mumbai where they saw this artificial leg (Jaipur foot) in a showcase. Her confidence and desire for dance was again revived.
Her father took her to Jaipur where they met Dr. Sethi a specialist in artificial limbs and recipient of the Raman Magasassay Award. Dr. Sethi examined Sudha's amputated leg and assured her that she could walk again normally. Sudha's face brightened on hearing this. Her father informed the doctor that Sudha was a good dancer before the accident, sending him in deep thought. When Sudha inquired whether she would be able to dance with the Jaipur foot, the doctor promptly replied, “Yes, why not? When using this, a farmer can work in wet soil and climb a tree, then why can't you dance?”
Dr. Sethi took this job as a challenge. He got a foot manufactured which was of aluminum and was very light. An arrangement was made so that the leg could rotate easily. Sudha thus returned to Mumbai with renewed vigor.
With this a new round of struggle began. First, she began to practice walking with her artificial leg. On meeting with success at this first stage, she tried to dance as well. This was however not easy. Although Dr. Sethi deputed an assistant to study Sudha's dance and make the changes as per the requirements of dance, the changes made by the assistant could not reduce the problems. Her leg would often bleed and as the movements of the leg become faster, the pain became more severe. At the end of every dance session, when she used to see the blood, she would start losing hope. If there had been a used to see her blood and start losing hope. However, her determination did not falter and she was able to control her disappointment. She again went to meet Dr. Sethi along with her dance teacher.
Sudha restarted the dance practice. The problems were not yet fully over. The bleeding started again. There used to be severe pain due to friction of the skin of the amputated leg and the artificial leg. She used to bear the pain and did not allow her face to reflect her agony. Once she had mastered all the dance positions, she started to wait for an opportunity to perform on stage once again.
Finally she got the opportunity. On January 28, 1984 , she was supposed to present a dance programme along with another dancer Preeti in a hall of the “South India Welfare Society” of Mumbai. This period was quite challenging for her. This was also important because she had already been acknowledged as a proficient dancer before the accident. In addition, she had received two important awards- Nritya Mayuri from the Dance Academy and Bharatnatyam and Nav Jyoti from the Telugu Academy . Both these awards were considered outstanding in the field of dance. Now she had to maintain her reputation. She had come to the stage for the first time after the accident and the painful practice. She had self-confidence was accompanied by some apprehensions.
However, when Sudha reached the stage, she just forgot that her leg was artificial and stared dancing swiftly. People kept on staring at her without a blink. At the end of the show, the hall echoed with the sound of claps.
The programme was considered very successful. Dance reviewers appreciated the performance. Newspapers and magazine were full of descriptions, appreciation and pictures. Sudha had become a star over night. The famous Telugu film producer and publisher of ‘ Newstime ' and ‘ Eanader ', Ramoji Rao, not only praised her but also decided to produce a film based on her life story. The film was titled Mayuri and was directed by A Srinivasan. The director and producer both decided to cast Sudha, herself as the protagonist.
When Sudha was offered the role, she hesitated initially and said that she was fully devoted to her dance only and that she did not have sufficient knowledge of acting, and hence she would not be able to play her role. However, they persuaded and finally Sudha began shooting for the film with much dedication. Since the story of the film was based on her life story, she did not face much difficulty in performing.
The film was a hit. Sudha's acting won as much appreciation as her dance. Whatever people had read in the newspaper about her talent, they now saw on the silver screen. They saw her dance then the serious accident, the struggle and finally her victory. The entire film was heart rending and people were so moved that they could hardly stop their tears. The film also conveyed a message that even a disaster and can be fought and overcome.
Sudha won a special award-Silver Lotus and Rs.5,000 for her acting in this film. This award was presented by the then President of India , Gyani Zail Singh at the 33 rd National Film Festival on the recommendation of members of the jury.
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On seeing the outstanding success of the film, its producer made the film in Hindi as well. This Hindi film was titled Nache Mayuri and it spread the news of her talent in the entire nation. This film easily crossed the borders of India and was watched in several countries including America and was also appreciated. With this Sudha was established as a pro actor.
At the same time, Sudha also continued her studies and got a post-graduation degree. Meanwhile her case for compensation for the accident was also going on in Madras High Court. The judgment came after 15 years and she was granted Rs. 5 lakhs as compensation in 1996. By that time, the value of the amount claimed as compensation had depreciated considerably. Nonetheless, Sudha was content that though justice had been delayed it had at least not been denied.
Sudha married the man of her dreams in 1995. Her husband, Ravi , is in the film line.
With time her contribution to dance declined but her acting performance rose. She got more work than she could handle. After acting in the films, she found that working in TV Soap Operas was more attractive and she could reach common people more quickly and frequently through this. She started accepting more TV serials and less number of films. Her performances in Kabhi Idhar Kabhi Udhar, Chashme Badhur, Aparajita, and Young were widely appreciated.
Sudha worked in all kinds of serials: detective serials such as Commander, Marshal , etc and in children programmes like Shaktiman . Language could not become a bar for her. Her journey of acting started with Talugu films but she worked in Hindi and Tamil film as well.
With time Sudha diversified her roles, she appeared in popular count down film songs such as Avval Number , etc. She also acted in a programme called Nagme from Patna Doordarshan. Despite being Tamilian, she is able to speak Hindi clearly and fluently. Despite spending a long time in Mumbai, the local language of Mumbai could not affect her accent. She has a deep interest in Sher-O-Shayari and uses it in her TV programmes.
Sudha is progressing well and her disability has now been left far behind. She has proved to the world that despite a disability one can touch the peak of success.

7,686,369,774,870 x 2,465,099,745,779 answer it in @28 secs if u can....

Shakuntala Devi is an outstanding calculating prodigy of India. On June 18 in 1980, she again solved the multiplication of two 13-digit numbers 7,686,369,774,870 x 2,465,099,745,779 randomly picked up by the computer department of Imperial College in London. And this, she did in 28 seconds flat.Born on 4 November in 1939 at the city of Bangalore in Karnataka state, Shakuntala Devi is an outstanding calculating prodigy of India. Belonging from a very humble family, Shakuntala Devi's father was employed as a trapeze and tightrope performer and later on, as a human cannonball in a circus. It was once while she was playing cards with her father at the age of three that it was discovered that she is a calculating genius. It turn out that she beat him not by slight of the hand, but by memorizing the cards. Read on this biography to know more about the life history of Shakuntala Devi. When Shakuntala Devi was six years old, she demonstrated her calculation skills at the University of Mysore. And by the time, she was 8 years old, she had again proved herself successful at Annamalai University by doing the same. However despite apprehensions from some quarters, Shakuntala Devi did not lose her calculating ability with the setting in of adulthood like other prodigies such as Truman Henry Safford. On the other hand, in the year 1977, Shakuntala Devi obtained the 23rd root of the digit number '201' mentally. On 18 June in 1980, she again solved the multiplication of two 13-digit numbers 7,686,369,774,870 x 2,465,099,745,779 that were randomly picked by the computer department of Imperial College in London. And this, she did in 28 seconds flat. Her correct answer to this multiplication sum was 18,947,668,177,995,426,462,773,730. This incident has been included on the 26th page of the famous 1995 Guinness Book of Records.

Sky is not the limit!!!!!

Tenzing Norgay was a Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer. Tenzing Norgay created history on May 29, 1953, when he and Sir Edmund Hillary became the first men to conquer Mount Everest.Tenzing Norgay was born in Tshechu, presently in Tibet Autonomous Region, China. He grew up in peasant family in Khumbu in Nepal. His exact date of birth is not known but it is believed that was born in late May and later on he decided to celebrate May 29 as his birthday, as this was the date he climbed Everest. Tenzing Norgay's original name was Namgyal Wangdi, but as a child his name was changed on the advice of a lama. Norgay means fortunate. Tenzing Norgay ran away to Kathmandu twice as a boy, and eventually settled in the Sherpa community in Too Song Bhusti in Darjeeling, West Bengal, India.Tenzing Norgay took part as a high-altitude porter in three official British attempts to climb Everest from the northern Tibetan side in the 1930s. He also took part in other climbs in various parts of the Indian subcontinent. He scaled Nanda Devi, which he described as the most difficult climb he ever took. In 1947, he took part in an unsuccessful Everest attempt. The attempt ended when a strong storm at 22,000 feet pounded them.In 1952, Tenzing Norgay took part in two Swiss expeditions led by Raymond Lambert, the first serious attempt to climb Everest from the southern Nepalese side, during which he and Lambert reached the then record height of 8,599 m (28,215 ft).In 1953, Tenzing Norgay took part in Sir John Hunt's expedition. This was his seventh expedition to Everest. During this expedition he and Sir Edmund Hillary became the first men to reach the summit.Conquering of Everest brought great adulation to Tenzing Norgay in India and Nepal. He was even worshipped by some people who believed him to be an incarnation of Buddha or Lord Shiva. Tenzing Norgay later became director of field training for the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling. In 1978, he founded a company, Tenzing Norgay Adventures that offers trekking in the Himalayas.Tenzing Norgay married thrice. His first wife, Dawa Phuti, died young in 1944. He had two daughter from his first marriage. His second wife was Ang Lahmu, a cousin of his first wife. They had no children. Tenzing Norgay had his third marriage while his second wife was still alive, as allowed by Sherpa custom. He had a son named Jamling from this marriage. Jamling Norgay presently looks after the adventure company founded by his father.Tenzing Norgay died on May 9, 1986 in Darjeeling, West Bengal.

The word "fear" is not there in her dictionary!!!!!

Kiran Bedi is truly an icon of heroism. She was the first Indian woman to join the Indian Police Services. She was born on June 9, 1949 at Amritsar in Punjab. She is one of the most renowned police officers, who have put in their whole hearted effort in serving the society. Well, in this article, we will present you with the biography of Kiran Bedi, who is the pride of our Indian police force.In the recent times, she has been appointed as the Director General of India's Bureau of Police Research and Development. Earlier, she served as the Police Advisor in the United Nations peacekeeping department. For her noteworthy performance, she was awarded with the UN medal. In the year 2005, she received the honorary degree of Doctor of Law. To know the complete life history of Kiran Bedi, read on…EducationShe did her schooling from the Sacred Heart Convent School in Amritsar. She completed her graduation in the English language from the Government College for Women in Amritsar. She received her Masters degree in Political Science from Punjab University, Chandigarh. She continued her studies, even when she joined the Indian Police force. In the year 1988, she obtained a degree in Law (LLB) from Delhi University. In the year 1993, the Department of Social Sciences, the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi awarded her with a Ph.D. degree. Her topic of research was Drug Abuse and Domestic Violence. Kiran Bedi has won the championship of all-India and all-Asian tennis competition. When she was 22 years old, she won the Asian Ladies Title.CareerHer career started in the year 1970, when she took the job of a lecturer at Khalsa College for Women in Amritsar. Two years later, she joined the Indian Police Services. All the way through her career, she has taken up a number of challenging assignments. She has served as the Traffic Commissioner of New Delhi, Deputy Inspector General of Police in the insurgency prone area of Mizoram.She has also been the Lieutenant Governor of Chandigarh and Director General of Narcotics Control Bureau. An interesting thing about Kiran Bedi is that, sometimes, she is referred to as Crane Bedi. The reason behind calling her by this name is that, she dragged the car of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi due to violation of parking rules. Kiran Bedi made the Indian Police Service change its decision in matters related to traffic management, control over narcotics and VIP security. During her tenure as the Inspector General of Tihar Jail, she brought about several reforms in the way the prisons are managed. She brought forth a number of measures like yoga, meditation, redressal of complaints made by the prisoners etc.Kiran Bedi laid the foundation for the establishment of two voluntary organizations, namely, Navajyoti (1988) & India Vision Foundation (1994). These organizations were primarily set up with the aim of improving the living conditions of the drug addicts and the underprivileged people. The effort of Kiran Bedi has paid and brought her worldwide recognition. Her works have always earned appreciation. For drug abuse prevention, her organization was presented with the Serge Soitiroff Memorial Award by the United Nations. AwardsFor her outstanding work, Kiran Bedi has received a number of accolades like:
President's Gallantry Award (1979)
Women of the Year Award (1980)
Asia Region Award for Drug Prevention and Control (1991)
Magsaysay Award for Government Service (1994)
Mahila Shiromani Award (1995)
Father Machismo Humanitarian Award (1995)
Lion of the Year (1995)
Joseph Beuys Award (1997)
Pride of India (1999)
Mother Teresa Memorial National Award for Social Justice (2005)