Indrani Rehman

Yesterday was   the death anniversary of Indrani Rehman, an Indian Classical dancer who performed Bharat Natyam, Odisi, Kuchipudi and Kathakali and popularised all these dance forms in the West.
Born Indrani Bajpai, to an Indian father and an American mother in 1930, she won the Miss India title in 1952. Her mother shunned her American identity,adopted Hinduism, and came to be known as Ragini Devi.She showed keen interest in Indian classical dance, learnt dancing, became a celebrity dancer and opened a dancing Company.Indrani, when she grew up joined her mother's dancing company and soon became well versed in all forms of dancing.
She popularised dancing by holding concerts abroad.She was married to Habib Rehman, the Chief Architect in Government of India . A recipient of Padma Shri in 1969, she also received Sangeet Natak Academy Award.
She migrated to New York in 1979 and settled there.
She died on February 6,  1999 , aged 69 in U.S.
Our humble tributes !

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan

Today is the birth anniversary of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, a Pashtun freedom activist who fought for independence .A pacifist, who subscribed to and believed in nonviolent ways of struggle, he founded and spear headed the Khudai Khidmatgar Movement in 1929.He was also associated with the Indian National Congress.Being a follower of nonviolence, he is also known as the Frontier Gandhi and is revered as such.He was against the partition of India and was shocked when the partition proposal was accepted by the Congress without consulting the Khudai Khidmatgar leadership.Post independence he continued his struggle for various issues and even at the time of his death, he was under house arrest at Peshawar.
He was named Amnesty Prisoner of Conscience in 1962, was awarded Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding in 1967.
He was also awarded Bharat Ratna in 1987.
He died in 1988, aged 98.
Our humble tributes !

Dr.M.S.Randhawa ICS

Today is the birth anniversary of Dr.M.S.Randhawa ICS , the versatile genius and a multi faceted personality who made his mark in whatever assignment he was given or took up. As a bureaucrat he oversaw the resettlement of people uprooted from Pakistan in the wake of Partition, and establishment of Chandigarh. He played stellar role in bringing about Green Revolution .He was also a connoisseur of Art and wrote books about Indian Painting as also Kangra & Chamba Painting besides others.He also wrote books on plant life.The well known Rock Garden came up due to his patronage.

Our humble tributes !

Khushwant Singh

Today is the birth anniversary of Khushwant Singh, an eminent author and a writer in English. Born in a well to do family in undivided Punjab, he was educated in Delhi, Lahore and London. After practicing law in the Lahore High Court for eight years since 1938, in the wake of Independence, he shifted to Delhi. He held different assignments in Indian High Commission at London and Ottawa and also worked for UNESCO at Paris.He is credited with founding and editing Yojana, a publication of Planning Commission.He had successful stints as the Editor of The Illustrated Weekly of India and the Hindustan Times.
As a writer his fame rests mainly on the novel 'A Train to Pakistan ', a poignant saga of Partition, and 'A History of the Sikhs'.
A self professed agnostic, he did not believe that in a formal religion or concept of God.He returned the Padma Bhushan Award in the wake of 1984 events.Subsequently,he was awarded Padma Vibhushan in 2007.
Blessed with a long life, he died a few months before completing the century.

Our humble tributes !

ए के हन्गल

 ये सन्नाटा क्यों है भाई ? ' चरित्र अभिनेता के रूप में अपने सशक्त अभिनय से अपनी विशिष्ट पहचान बनाने वाले स्व. ए के हन्गल की अ।ज जयन्ति है ।

विनम्र श्रद्धांजलि !

Kalpana Chawla

Today is the death anniversary of Kalpana Chawla ,the Indian-American astronaut .Fourteen years ago all the seven astronauts aboard Space Shuttle Columbia lost their lives when the Space Shuttle met with a disaster during return journey to the earth.

Our humble tributes !

सूर्यकांत त्रिपाठी 'निराला'

आज वसंत पंचमी है और हिन्दी साहित्य के पुरोधा एवं छायावाद के प्रमुख स्तंभ सूर्यकांत त्रिपाठी 'निराला' का स्वघोषित जन्मदिन भी।
'परिमल', 'अनामिका', 'सरोज-स्मृति' जैसी अन्य कई महान काव्य रचनाओं से हिन्दी साहित्य जगत को समृद्ध करने वाले 'महाप्राण' निराला की जयंती पर उन्हें हमारी विनम्र श्रद्धांजलि !