Famous indian personalities

Hello friends,

In India, we have seen many famous personality but I would like to share about some personalities here. I hope you will enjoy and will get inspired.

A) SOCIAL PERFORMER - SWAMI VIVEKANAND

Born: January 12, 1863

Died: July 4, 1902

Achievements: Played a major role in spiritual enlightenment of Indian masses; Spread Vedanta philosophy in the West; established Ramakrishna Mission for the service of the poor.

Swami Vivekananda was one of the most influential spiritual leaders of Vedanta philosophy. He was the chief disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahansa and was the founder of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission. Swami Vivekananda was the living embodiment of sacrifice and dedicated his life to the country and yearned for the progress of the poor, the helpless and the downtrodden. He showed a beacon of light to a nation that had lost faith in its ability under British rule and inspired self-confidence among Indians that they are second to none. His ringing words and masterful oratory galvanized the slumbering nation.

Swami Vivekananda real name was Narendranath Dutta. He was born on January12, 1863 in Calcutta. His father's name was Vishwanath Dutta and his mother's name Bhuvaneswari Devi. Narendranath acquired the name of Swami Vivekananda when he became a monk.

As a child Narendra was very lively and naughty. He was good in studies as well as in games. He studied instrumental and vocal music and also practiced meditation from a very early age. Even when Narendra was young he questioned the validity of superstitious customs and discrimination based on caste and religion. As a child Narendra had great respect for sanyasis (ascetics). He would give away anything to anybody if asked for. Whenever a beggar asked for alms, he would give him anything he had. Thus from childhood Narendra had the spirit of sacrifice and renunciation.

In 1879, Narendra passed matriculation and entered Presidency College, Calcutta. After one year, he joined the Scottish Church College, Calcutta and studied philosophy. He studied western logic, western philosophy and history of European nations. As he advanced in his studies, his thinking faculty developed. Doubts regarding existence of God started to arise in Narendra's mind. This made him associate with the Brahmo Samaj, an important religious movement of the time, led by Keshab Chandra Sen. But the Samaj's congregational prayers and devotional songs could not satisfy Narendra's zeal to realise God.

During this time Narendra came to know of Sri Ramakrishna Pramahans of Dakshineswar. Sri Ramakrishna was a priest in the temple of Goddess Kali. He was not a scholar. But he was a great devotee. It was being said of him that he had realized God. Once, Narendra went to Dakshineswar to with his friends see him. He asked Ramakrishna, whether he had seen God. The instantaneous answer from Ramakrishna was, "Yes, I have seen God, just as I see you here, only in a more clear sense." Narendra was astounded and puzzled. He could feel the man's words were honest and uttered from depths of experience. He started visiting Ramakrishna frequently.

It was in Narendra's nature to test something thoroughly before he could accept it. He would not accept Ramakrishna as his guru without a test. Ramakrishna used to say that, in order to realize God, one should give up the desire for money and women. One day Narendra hid a rupee under his pillow. Sri Ramakrishna, who had gone out, came into the room and stretched himself on the cot. At once he jumped up as if bitten by a scorpion. When he shook the mattress, the rupee coin fell down. Later he came to know that it was the doing of Narendra. Narendra accepted Sri Ramakrishna as his guru and took training under him for five years in the Advaita Vedanta, the philosophy of non-dualism. Sri Ramakrishna passed away in 1886 and nominated Narendra as his successor. After his death Narendra and a core group of Ramakrishna's disciples took vows to become monks and renounce everything, and started living in a supposedly haunted house in Baranagore. 

In 1890, Narendra set out on a long journey. He covered the length and breadth of the country. He visited Varanasi, Ayodhya, Agra, Vrindavan, Alwar etc. Narendra acquired the name of Swami Vivekananda during the journey. It is said that he was given the name Vivekananda by Maharaja of Khetri for his discrimination of things, good and bad. During his journey, Vivekananda stayed at king's palaces, as well as at the huts of the poor. He came in close contact with the cultures of different regions of India and various classes of people in India. Vivekananda observed the imbalance in society and tyranny in the name of caste. He realised the need for a national rejuvenation if India was to survive at all.

Swami Vivekananda reached Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of the Indian subcontinent on December24, 1892. He swam across the sea and started meditating on a lone rock. He meditated for three days and said later that he meditated about the past, present and future of India. The rock is presently popular as Vivekananda memorial and is a major tourist destination.

In 1893, Swami Vivekananda went to America to attend the Conference of World Religions in Chicago. He earned wild applause for beginning his address with the famous words, "Sisters and brothers of America." Swamiji mesmerized everyone in America with his masterful oratory. Wherever he went, he dwelt at length on the greatness of Indian Culture. He spoke with spontaneous ease on every topic, be it History, Sociology, Philosophy or Literature. He deplored the malicious propaganda that had been unleashed by the Christian missionaries in India. Swami Vivekananda also went to England. Many people became his disciples. Most famous among them was Margaret Nivedita'. She came to India and settled here.

Swami Vivekananda returned to India in 1897 after four years of touring in the West. He started disseminating the message of spiritual development among Indians. He realized that social service was possible only through the concerted efforts on an organized mission. To achieve this objective, Swami Vivekananda started Sri Ramakrishna Mission in 1897 and formulated its ideology and goal. During the next two years he bought a site at Belur on the banks of the Ganga, constructed the buildings and established the Ramakrishna Math. He once again toured the West from January 1899 to December 1900.

Swami Vivekananda died on July4, 1902 at Belur Math near Calcutta.

 B) ENTREPRENUER - JRD TATA

Born: July 29, 1904
Died: on November 29, 1993

Achievements: He had the honor of being India's first pilot; was Chairman of Tata & Sons for 50 years; launched Air India International as India's first international airline; received Bharat Ratna in 1992.

JRD Tata was one of the most enterprising Indian entrepreneurs. He was a pioneer aviator and built one of the largest industrial houses of India.

JRD Tata was born on July 29, 1904 in Paris. His mother was a French, while his father was Parsi. JRD's full name was Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata and he was popularly known as Jeh to his friends. JRD's father Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata and Sri Jamsetji Tata shared their greatness from the same great-great-grandfather, Ervad Jamsheed Tata, a priest of Navsari.

JRD Tata was the second of four children. He was educated in France, Japan and England before being drafted into the French army for a mandatory one-year period. JRD wanted to extend his service in the forces but destiny had something else in store for him. By leaving the French army JRD's life was saved because shortly thereafter, the regiment in which he served was totally wiped out during an expedition in Morocco.

JRD Tata joined Tata & Sons as an unpaid apprentice in 1925. He has great interest in flying. On February 10, 1929, JRD became the first Indian to pass the pilot's examination. With this distinctive honor of being India's first pilot, he was instrumental in giving wings to India by building Tata Airlines, which ultimately became Air India. His passion for flying was fulfilled with the formation of the Tata Aviation Service in 1932.

In 1938, at the age of 34, JRD was elected Chairman of Tata & Sons making him the head of the largest industrial group in India. He started with 14 enterprises under his leadership and half a century later on July 26, 1988, when he left , Tata & Sons was a conglomerate of 95 enterprises which they either started or in which they had controlling interest.

JRD was the trustee of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust from its inception in 1932, which remained under his wings for over half a century. Under his guidance, this Trust established Asia's first cancer hospital, the Tata Memorial Center for Cancer, Research and Treatment, Bombay, 1941. It also founded the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, 1936 (TISS), the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, 1945 (TIFR), and the National Center for Performing Arts.

In 1948, JRD Tata launched Air India International as India's first international airline. In 1953, the Indian Government appointed JRD as Chairman of Air-India and a director on the Board of Indian Airlines-a position JRD retained for 25-years. For his crowning achievements in Aviation, JRD was bestowed with the title of Honorary Air Commodore of India.

In 1956, JRD Tata initiated a program of closer "employee association with management" to give workers a stronger voice in the affairs of the company. He firmly believed in employee welfare and espoused the principles of an eight-hour working day, free medical aid, workers' provident scheme, and workmen's accident compensation schemes, which were later, adopted as statutory requirements in India.

JRD Tata cared greatly for his workers. In 1979, Tata Steel instituted a new practice; a worker is deemed to be "at work" from the moment he leaves home for work till he returns home from work. The company is financially liable to the worker if any mishap takes place on the way to and from work. Tata Steel Township was also selected as a UN Global Compact City because of the quality of life, conditions of sanitation, roads and welfare that were offered by Tata Steel.

JRD Tata received a number of awards. He received the Padma Vibhushan in 1957 on the eve of silver jubilee of Air India. He also received the Guggenheim Medal for aviation in 1988. In 1992, because of his selfless humanitarian endeavors, JRD Tata was awarded India's highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna-one of the rarest instances in which this award was granted during a person's lifetime. In the same year, JRD Tata was also bestowed with the United Nations Population Award for his crusading endeavors towards initiating and successfully implementing the family planning movement in India, much before it became an official government policy.

JRD Tata died in Geneva, Switzerland on November 29, 1993 at the age of 89. On his death, the Indian Parliament was adjourned in his memory-an honor not usually given to persons who are not Members of Parliament.

C) LEADER - BHAGAT SINGH

Born: July 23,1906
Martyrdom: February 27, 1931

Achievements: Involved in Kakori Train Robbery (1926), the attempt to blow up the Viceroy's train (1926), and the shooting of Saunders at Lahore (1928) to avenge the killing of Lala Lajpatrai; formed Hindustan Socialist Republican Association with fellow compatriots Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, and Rajguru.

Chandrashekhar Azad was a great Indian freedom fighter. His fierce patriotism and courage inspired others of his generation to enter freedom struggle. Chandrasekhar Azad was the mentor Bhagat Singh, another great freedom fighter, and along with Bhagat Singh he is considered as one of the greatest revolutionaries that India has produced.

Chandra Shekhar Azad was born on July 23,1906 in Badarka village of Unnao district in Uttar Pradesh. His parents were Pandit Sitaram Tiwari and Jagarani Devi.Pandit Sitaram Tiwari was serving in erstwhile estate of Alirajpur (situated in present day Madhya Pradesh) and Chandra Shekhar Azad's childhood was spent in the village Bhabra . On the insistence of her mother Jagrani Devi, Chandra Shekhar Azad went to Kashi Vidyapeeth, Benaras for studying Sanskrit.

Chandrashekhar Azad was deeply troubled by the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre in Amritsar in 1919. In 1921, when Mahatma Gandhi launched Non-Cooperation movement, Chandrasekhar Azad actively participated in revolutionary activities. He received his first punishment at the age of fifteen. Chandra Shekhar was caught while indulging in revolutionary activities. When the magistrate asked him his name, he said "Azad" (meaning free). Chandrashekhar Azad was sentenced to fifteen lashes. With each stroke of the whip the young Chandrasekhar shouted "Bart Mata Kid Jai". From then on Chandrashekhar assumed the title of Azad and came to known as Chandrashekhar Azad. Chandrashekhar Azad vowed that he would never be arrested by the British police and would die as free man. 

After the suspension of non-cooperation movement Chandrashekhar Azad was attracted towards more aggressive and revolutionary ideals. He committed himself to complete independence by any means. Chandrashekhar Azad and his compatriots would target British officials known for their oppressive actions against ordinary people and freedom fighters. Chandrashekhar Azad was involved in Kakori Train Robbery (1926), the attempt to blow up the Viceroy's train (1926), and the shooting of Saunders at Lahore (1928) to avenge the killing of Lala Lajpatrai. 

Along with Bhagat Singh and other compatriots like Sukhdev and Rajguru, Chandrashekhar Azad formed the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HRSA). HRSA was committed to complete Indian independence and socialist principles for India's future progress. 

Chandrashekhar Azad was a terror for British police. He was on their hit list and the British police badly wanted to capture him dead or alive. On February 27, 1931 Chandrashekhar Azad met two of his comrades at the Alfred Park Allah bad. He was betrayed by an informer who had informed the British police. The police surrounded the park and ordered Chandrashekhar Azad to surrender. Chandrashekhar Azad fought alone valiantly and killed three policemen. But finding himself surrounded and seeing no route for escape, Chandrashekhar Azad shot himself. Thus he kept his pledge of not being caught alive.

D) SINGER - LATA MANGESHKAR

Lata Mangeshkar is the pride of Indian music industry. Blessed with beautiful voice, she is the most well known Indian vocalist. Highly versatile, she has sung in more than 20 languages. To honor and give recognition to her works, Lata Mangeshkar is also known as the Nightingale of India. Well, in this article, we will present you with the biography of Lata Mangeshkar.

Early Life
Lata was born on September 28, 1929 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh as the daughter of Dinanath Mangeshkar, who was a classical singer as well as a theater artist. She was the first child of the Mangeshkar family. She was born in Indore, but brought up in Maharashtra. When she was five years old, she began working as a theater artist in sangeet nataks. She also started taking singing lessons from her father. 

Lata sang her maiden cinematic song for the Marathi film Kiti Hasaal (1942). Her father did not like the idea of her daughter singing for the films. So, her song was deleted from the movie. In the year 1942, she lost her father. Due to sudden demise of her father and unsound financial condition of the house, she decided to play small roles in various Hindi and Marathi films. She had to take up the acting assignments, despite the fact that, she was not at all fond of acting. To know the complete life history of Lata Mangeshkar, read on.

Career
In the year 1945, she happened to meet the film producer S. Mukherji through Ghulam Haider. Haider personally wanted her to be given an opportunity to show her singing talent. However, S. Mukherji did not like her voice and said no for giving her a chance to sing for his film. At that point of time, Haider promised himself to establish her singing career in Bollywood. He even said to the producer that, one day will come when all the producers and directors will fall on her feet and beg her to sing in their films. 

Lata got her biggest break, when she was given the chance to sing the song "Aayega Aanewaala" for the movie Mahal. The song was a super duper hit. The period of 1950s witnessed tremendous growth in her career. She rose to the top in the list of Bollywood singers. She worked with all the famous composers of that era like Shankar Jaikishan, S D Burman, Naushad, Hemant Kumar, and Salil Chowdhury. Shankar Jaikishan was absolutely stunned by her voice and used her voice for playback singing in almost all the movies that he got. 

The period of 1960s made her the queen of Bollywood playback singing. She sang for almost all the prominent composers of the industry and set her foothold in Bollywood. Her songs got an overwhelming response from people all over the country. During the 1970s, Lata recorded songs for Bollywood actress Meena Kumari in the film Pakeezah, which brought her recognition and popularity. She performed tracks for S.D. Burman's films like Prem Pujari, Sharmilee, and Abhimaan.

In late 1970s and early 1980s, Lata Mangeshkar worked with the children of the music composers, with whom she had worked in the past. In the year 1990, Lata established her own production house. Their first and last film "Lekin" was a total flop. Mangeshkar has also sung some non film songs including ghazals with Jagjit Singh. Lata Mangeshkar has also sung for Yash Chopra`s films including Lamhe, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Darr, Yeh Dillagi, and Dil To Pagal Hai. She sang quite a number of Bengali songs with renowned music directors like Salil Chowdhury and Hemant Kumar. 

Trivia
Lata Mangeshkar has composed music and also produced movies under the name of 'Anand Ghan'.
She is very fond of cooking nice dishes.
She always sings barefoot.
 

E) MUSICIAN - AR REHMAN

Born: - 6 January 1967

Achievements - AR Rahman holds the credit for totally overhauling the style in which music was being made in India. Though with a career spanning just over a decade, Rahman has already sold over one hundred million records world-wide and more than two hundred million cassettes. This has brought AR Rahman into the category of the world's top 25 all-time top selling recording artists.

Allah Rakha Rahman, who is better known as AR Rahman, is a world-class musician of India. Born as A. S. Dileep Kumar on 6 January 1967 at Chennai in Tamil Nadu, AR Rahman holds the credit for totally overhauling the style in which music was being made in India. Soundtracks and scores composed by him for Indian films have a strong impression of classical, folk, jazz, reggae, soft rock and other genres. Due to his creative brilliance, AR Rahman is often referred to as the Mozart of Madras by his fans in India and abroad. 

The biography of AR Rahman's career spans somewhere over a decade, but he has already sold over one hundred million records world-wide and more than two hundred million cassettes. This has brought Rahman into the category of the world's top 25 all-time top selling recording artists. Though AR Rahman is the undisputed leader in Indian contemporary music in the present times, he has seen his share of struggle in the professional life.

His father, R K Shekhar, who was a composer, arranger and conductor for Malayalam films died when Rahman was just 9 years-old and his family rented out musical equipment as a source of income. Later there was a turning point when Dileep Kumar decided to rechristen himself as A R Rahman. This incident happened when Rahman's sister was very ill once. A Muslim friend suggested if he prayed in a particular mosque, his sister would recover and so did happen. This caused the entire family to convert to Islam. 

The life history of AR Rahman's music career started scaling upwards 1991 onwards when began his own studio and started making music for advertisements, television channels and so on. Rahman got his very first break into the Indian film industry when film director, Mani Ratnam offered him a chance to compose music for his Tamil film, Roja at mere Rs 25,000. This movie turned out to be blockbuster hit and then there was no looking back for A.R. Rahman. 

Roja debut made AR Rahman bag the Rajat Kamal award for best music director at the National Film Awards. This was a historic moment as for the first time ever in Indian film industry, this award was being handed to a first-time film composer. There was no looking back for AR Rahman after this as film offers just started pouring in. There are now an impressive number of music tracks created by Rahman and all of them have sold like hot cakes across India and even abroad. He has made songs for super hit films like Rangeela, Dil Se Taal, Rang De Basanti, Bombay et al.

F) FILM PERSONALITY - RAJNIKANTH

Born: - 12 December 1949

Achievements - Rajinikanth is an immensely popular actor of the South Indian film industry. Recipient of the coveted Padma Shri Award in the year 2002, he has worked in a string of hit films like Murattukaalai, Pokkiri Raja, Thanikattu Raja, Naan Mahaan Alla and Moondru Mugam. 

Rajinikanth is a celebrated actor of the South Indian film industry i.e. Tollywood. Born on 12 December 1949, Rajnikanth's was originally named Shivaji Rao Gaekwad. The most unique feature about Rajnikanth's acting is that he can enact comedies, drama, suspense and thrillers with absolute ease. In recognition of marvelous contribution to Indian cinema, he was recently awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in the year 2002. To know more, read on this biography of Rajnikanth. 

Rajinikanth hails from a Marathi family of Bangalore in the Karnataka state and was the fourth child of his parents, Jijabai and Ramoji Rao. Although his mother tongue is Marathi, yet Rajnikanth never acted in any Marathi movies till date. His childhood was spent in poverty and he worked as a bus conductor prior his film career. However, it was during this period that Rajnikanth sharpened his acting skill by participating in various theatre plays. In the year, 1973, he joined the Madras Film institute to acquire a basic course in acting. 

Initially while working in Tamil cinema, Rajnikanth was given supporting roles like that of a cancer patient in the 1975 film, Apoorva Raagangal directed by K. Balachander. Balachander gave Rajnikanth the name, by which the world now acknowledges him. But it was director, SP Muthuraman who actually revamped Rajnikanth's image by casting him in varied roles. For instance, Rajnikanth was given a positive role in film, Bhuvana Oru Kelvikkuri (1977). By this time, film Mullum Malarum had Rajnikanth a firm foothold in the Tamil film arena. 

The period from 1980 to1989 was the real turning point in the career of Rajnikanth as it took him to soaring really high. However, Rajinikanth abruptly decided to leave acting, but ultimately was coaxed back into it after sometime. He starred in Billa that was a remake of Amitabh Bachchan's Don and it turned out to be a blockbuster hit silencing all his critiques. This was followed by more successful films like Murattukaalai, Pokkiri Raja, Thanikattu Raja, Naan Mahaan Alla and Moondru Mugam. 

That popularity of Rajnikanth can simply be gauged by the fact that even two decades after the release of his old hits, they continue to make profits at the box office. K. Balachander's first home production, Netrikan proved to be yet another milestone in Rajini's career. And in his 100th movie, Sri Raghavendra, he played the Hindu saint Raghavendra Swami. Another of Rajnikanth's recent hits was Shivaji released in the first half of 2007.