A-star Wacky-Pedia

     The Maruti Suzuki A-Star was unveiled to Indian markets in December 2008; the heart of the new A-star is the KB 10 engine which works on Maruti’s patented K-series technology which makes for superior efficiency and durability. The A-star was created to cater to the younger audience in the market as it represents everything fun and passionate and even fits the budget of a younger person starting at Rs 3.45 lakhs.

     India has the largest population of young people in the world, who are creating waves in various fields ranging from science to music and business to entertainment. The A-star was created keeping in mind the psyche of the younger generation. It oozes passion and youthful exuberance in every aspect. Whether it’s the ‘bug’ shaped exterior, the sleek and stylish interior or the zippy yet controlled handling the A-star truly fits its tagline stop@nothing. It truly represents a generation who firmly believe in the concept of working hard and partying even harder however without being reckless or irresponsible. There should always be a balance between work and play. The A-star is built around the concept of new definitions for a new generation. Today’s generation which has now come to be known as the A-star generation think very differently as compared to older people, their definitions and concepts are poles apart when compared to the ideology of older people. You will see exactly what new definitions for a new generation means in the TVC’s.

Automatic

Stepney

Censored

 Test Drive

Muchhad Panwala: No Dream Is small

Muchhad Panwala ,alias Jaishankar Tiwari, as the name suggests is person with long moustaches which soon became his brand identity and today he holds a flourishing pan business in Mumbai. He came to Mumbai with his father to earn big money for his family by selling fruits. But Jaishankar Tiwari was not satisfied with just being a mere fruit seller and wanted to develop a full fledge business. He thought of starting his own pan business and used his intelligence to make it a success. With strong determination he started the pan business with a mere investment of Rs 500.

Though he was not a B-School graduate yet he knew, in order to retain his customers and to establish a brand, he needs to have brand identity. Not much to surprise, his brand identity was his long Moustaches. People soon begin to recognize him as Muchhad Panwala and his popularity grew like a wild fire.

Not only this, he did a well research on how other pan business work. He visited cities like Delhi and Kolkata to taste and study the kind of material which was being used as the ingredient. He learned all the tactics of business such as how to serve the customer, what ingredients to put, the right quantity and the right quality. He started serving his customers the best of quality & quantity and the customers just could not help but come back.

He latter increased his investment to Rs 50,000 and today he even has a web presence. He has a long list of clients ranging from Gujratis and Mawaris. He even gets orders from places like Mombasa- the second largest city in Kenya. His business evolved as he continued using his wit and intelligence with having any professional degree. The Story of Muchhad Panwala clearly demonstrates spirit of Stop@Nothing and proves that no dream is small.

Captain Gopinath: From A Farmer To An Airlines Owner

Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar Gopinath or famously known as Captain Gopinath is one such man who revolutionized the airlines Industry in India. He was a man with a vision and was the first one to launch the low cost airline in India. Capitan Gopinath made it possible for the common man to fly using airplanes. Though he was born in a remote village of Gorur, Karnataka yet he had immense self belief and he simply refused to think small. Captain Gopinath did his earlier education in the village only however he later joined National Defence Academy and graduated from the Indian military academy as a commissioned officer. After serving the Indian army for eight long years, he quit his job and went on to become a farmer. He converted the barren land into proper plantation and even won recognition for it.

Captain Gopinath has been inspiration for many since he fought against all the odds and made his dreams come true with his own efforts and strength. After working as a farmer, he indentified the entrepreneur in himself. During that time, somewhere in 1995, the government of India was encouraging the entrepreneurship and Captain Gopinath got wings to his dreams. With the help of his friend he started his own Helicopter service. He launched his own airline company by the name of Air Deccan. Its main motive was to make flying possible for the common man. Captain Gopinath achieved this by eliminating services like food, drinks and also by increasing the number of seats. This concept was mimicked by a number of other airlines companies and later on Air Deccan was sold to Vijya Malya’s Kingfisher airlines.

However, Capitan Gopinath emerged again with his new company Deccan 360 that works exclusively freight carrier aircrafts. Today Capitan Gopinath is the proud founder and chairmen of Deccan 360.

Prakash Padukone: An Ace Who Stops@Nothing

A former badminton player who hails from Karnataka, Prakash Padukone is a name everyone is familiar with, especially as he is one of the most famous badminton players in India. He has an exemplary record and has won several championships for the country, the most honored being the All England Championship where Prakash Padukone became the first Indian to achieve such a feat.

Prakash Padukone and Geet Sethi have founded the Olympic Gold Quest – a foundation which has been built for promotion of sports in India. Prakash started playing the game at a young age when he was introduced to the game by his father who had served as the Secretary of Mysore Badminton Association. Prakash played his first official tournament at the Karnataka State Junior Championship in 1962 and inspite of losing the very first round he did not give up and two years later he won the state junior title.

His playing style graduated to a much more aggressive style in 1971 and he went on to win the national junior title the very next year. Not only that. He also managed to capture the senior title the same year, which is a mean feat by any standards. It’s amazing to note that Prakash went on to win the Indian national titles back-to-back for the next seven years until 1979. Prakash managed to win his first international title in 1978 when he won men’s singles gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Edmonton. The very next year, he won the Evening of Champions at the Royal Albert Hall in London. He went on to win many other national and international titles as well.

Prakash Padukone retired in 1991 and after that he served as the chairman of the Badminton Association of India for some time. He also coached the Indian national badminton team in the years 1993 and 1996. Among other coveted honors, Prakash was the esteemed recipient of the Arjuna Award in 1972 and later on the Padma Shri in 1982.

Ratan Tata:A Jewel So Rare

Think Ratan Tata and one gets the image of a humble man who, despite hailing from a super rich family, continues to remain a symbol of strength, simplicity and humility. Born in 1937, it’s been a long battle of making a unique place for himself apart from his family’s heritage. Ratan Tata is the present chairman of Tata Sons and thus, Tata Group which is India’s largest corporation founded by Jamsedji Tata. He is also the present Chairperson of major companies under the stable of Tata such as Tata Steel, Tata Motors, to name a few.

The famous Tata family belongs to the Parsi family and undoubtedly Ratan Tata was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. However, such is his greatness that he never let this family tag come in the way of working hard and carving a niche for himself in the world. Jamsedji Tata’s grandson, Ratan’s life was not one without its own set of struggles. He had a difficult childhood and his parents separated when he was a mere child of seven years. He had to see his mother leaving the family and both Ratan and his younger brother were raised by their grandmother.

Ratan Tata is a dynamic and vibrant businessman and is considered to be one of the best managers and is well-known among business circles to never compromise on ethics and customer care. A businessman par excellence, Ratan joined the Tata Group in December 1962, soon after turning down a job with IBM on JRD Tata’s advice. He went on to work at Tata Steel in Jamshedpur where he worked along with other blue-collar workers on the factory floor, shoveling limestone and handling the blast furnaces. He is regarded as a shy man who is renowned for his simplicity and generosity despite the vast wealth that he has amassed over the years, adding to the family’s fortunes, most of which goes into philanthropy.

He was the recipient of the 2010 Business Leader of the Year Award at the Asian Awards in 2010 apart from featuring in TIME magazine’s 2008 edition of the World’s 100 most influential people.

JAVED AKHTAR

One of the most renowned Hindi/Urdu poet, lyricist and scriptwriter from India, Javed Akhtar is best remembered for doing the screenplay of famous Bollywood films such as Sholay, Anday and Don. The script-writing duo of Salim-Javed has probably been the most revered in Bollywood.

Born in 1945, Javed Akhtar lost his mother at a very young age and his father used to juggle between Bombay and Lucknow frequently. This is a huge reason why the young Javed and his brother had to stay with relatives most of the time. Not many know that Javed’s original name was Jadoo, which was taken from a line in a poem by his father. His lineage can be traced back to seven generations of writers. Some of his most prominent work was completed in the late 1970s and 1980s with Salim Khan as the other half of the award-winning Jodi.

Arriving in Mumbai in late 1964, in his early years of living in Mumbai, Akhtar managed to pen down dialogues for a minor film for a meager amount of Rs 100. Infact, he often used to work as an assistant as well while trying to gain a foothold in the industry. He also managed to get a job as a scriptwriter for Yakeen. However, the movie bombed at the box office! His successful association with Salim Khan ended in 1980 after which he also wrote some scripts of his own. However, he was most effective in writing lyrics for Bollywood movies.

Javed Akhtar Stopped at Nothing and has infact been honored with the Padma Shri by the Government of India in the year 1999 and has also received the Padma Bhushan later on in 2007. A successful lyricist and script-writer of Akhtar’s stature is yet to be seen. It’s amazing to know that Akhtar has won the Filmfare Award fourteen times, seven times for the Best Script and seven times for penning the lyrics for the movie 1942-A Love Story. Akhtar has won the National Award five times for Saaz, Border, Godmother, Refugee and Lagaan.

Jawaharlal Nehru:Leader Extraordinaire!

Jawaharlal Nehru is probably one of the most well-known freedom fighters that India has seen and known. An Indian statesman who was the first Prime Minister of India, he was one of the leading figures of the Indian independence movement.

As one of the members of the Non-aligned movement, he was also a very important figure in the international arena in post-war international politics. Famously known as Pandit Nehru and Panditji, Jawaharlal Nehru was a great scholar who was also very famous because of his love for children.

Nehru joined politics at a very young age, becoming a leader of the left wing of the Congress party. The son of a wealthy barrister Motilal Nehru, Jawahar went on to become the Congress president under the gentle mentorship of Mahatma Gandhi. A charismatic and radical leader, Nehru advocated complete independence from the British Empire in the long-lasting struggle for India’s independence. He was a key player in the independence movement; Nehru was also understood to be Mahatma Gandhi’s political heir. An advocate for Fabian socialism and the public sector as a means to overcome long-lasting challenges of economic development, he firmly believed these could play a role in overcoming the challenges addressed by poorer nations.

Nehru completed his education from India and abroad, studying at the Harrow and Trinity College at Cambridge. He hoisted the flag of independent India in New Delhi on August 15, 2010 when India gained independence from the British rule. He was a firm follower of the principles of parliamentary democracy, secularism and liberalism. These coupled with his concerns for the poor and underprivileged are said to have guided him in formulating socialist policies that influence independent India even today. In fact, these also reflect the socialist origins of his worldview. Jawaharlal Nehru was also later followed by his daughter Indira Gandhi and his grandson Rajiv Gandhi, becoming the Prime ministers of India.

Suhas Gopinath:World's Youngest CEO!

Starting his own company at the young age of 14 years, Suhas Gopinath himself would not have imagined the heights of success that his company would kiss. Suhas Gopinath started Globals Incten ten years back from a small cyber café in Bengaluru. With that venture, Suhas became the youngest CEO in the world. The day he turned 18, he registered his company as Globals, opened his office and recruited four people as part of the team. In fact, he opened his office next to that very internet café from where he had started his career.

Today, his company Globals is a multi-million dollar company. The offices of Globals are spread all over the world in places like USA, India, Canada, Germany, Italy, UK, Spain, Australia, Singapore and the Middle East and employs close to 100 people in India and around 56 abroad.

Several prestigious honours have been bestowed on this young man, with the most prestigious being an invitation to become a member of the Board of the ICT Advisory Council of the World Bank. Suhas has also been invited to address the European Parliament and many other important business dignitaries at the EU Parliament. The European Parliament and International Association for Human Values conferred the “Young Achiever Award” on him back in 2007.

Suhas is the youngest member ever in the World Economic History’s Forum, whose other members include Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio, the famous Indian musician AR Rehman, among others.

Suhas hails from a middle class family and his father used to work as a scientist for the Indian army. A student of Air Force School in Bengaluru, Suhas became interested in computers listening to his friends. As his family couldn’t afford a computer at home, he located a local internet café near his home and started working there part time, taking care of the customers during lunch hours and using the internet for free in return. That was his first successful business bargain, with many more to come!!

Mark Zuckerberg

He took the world by storm by launching the biggest and the most successful social networking site that brought families, friends and old acquaintances nearer. Mark Zuckerberg is just 26 years old and he is already a billionaire!! Zuckerberg has proved to the world that age doesn’t matter when it comes to being original and having faith in yourself.

Zuckerberg co-founded the social networking site Facebook with his fellow classmates from Harvard. As of the year 2010, he was a 24% shareholder of Facebook. Born in White Plains, New York to a psychiatrist mother and a dentist father, he along with his three sisters, was brought up in Dobbs Ferry, New York. Raised a Jewish, Mark also became a Bar Maitzvah as a child, even though he considers himself an out and out atheist.

Zuckerberg was never short of talent and he launched Facebook from his Harvard dormitory room on February 4, 2010. A graduate from the Phillips Exeter Academy, a private high school, Zuckerberg might have got inspired from their student directory, “The Photo Address Book” which was often called ‘The Facebook” by fellow students. It listed their class years, proximities to friends and their telephone numbers and formed an important part of the student life in many schools.

Zuckerberg started Facebook as just a “Harvard” thing while it college. However, he decided to spread it to other schools as well, enlisting the help of his roommate Dustin Moskovitz. Initially starting it at Stanford, Dartmouth, Columbia, New York University, Cornell, Brown and Yale, Zuckerberg soon spread it across to other schools as well who had social contacts at Harvard. It has been well reported that Facebook reached the 500 million-user mark on July 21, 2010. Undoubtedly, this young man brought about a success on the social platform which is unparalled and seems to stop@nothing to become bigger ever passing day.

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey, the name says it all! Winfrey was originally named Orpah after the famous Biblical character in the Book of Ruth. Winfrey was born to unmarried teenage parents. She had confessed later on that her conception was due to a single sexual encounter and the couple broke up not long after!

After Winfrey was born, her mother traveled north and Winfrey spent her first six years living in rural poverty with her grandmother who was so poor that Winfrey often wore dresses made of potato sacks. Local children made fun of her because of this very reason. Her grandmother taught her to read before the age of three. When Winfrey was a child, her grandmother used to take a switch and hit her with it whenever she didn't do her chores or if she misbehaved in any manner whatsoever. At the age of 6, Oprah went to stay with her mother who was less supportive and encouraging than her grandmother had been due in large part to the long hours of working as a maid.

Winfrey had a traumatic childhood besides being brought up in dire poverty. Winfrey has stated that she was molested by her cousin, her uncle, and a family friend, starting when she was nine years old. At 13, after suffering years of abuse, Winfrey ran away from home and gave birth to a baby boy when she was just 14 years old. Her son died shortly thereafter and Winfrey was sent away to Nashville where she became an Honors student, besides being voted the Most Popular Girl.

Winfrey went on to become an American television host, actress, producer, and philanthropist. She is best known for her self-titled award-winning talk show, which became the highest-rated program of its kind in history. Oprah Winfrey has been ranked the richest African American of the 20th century, the greatest black philanthropist in American history,and was once the world's only black billionaire. A woman who faced so many struggles in life yet didn’t give up, Oprah has often been called the most influential woman in the world.

Sunita Ramnathkar

Four months after the birth of her second daughter, Sunita Ramnathkar launched ‘Fem’ fairness bleach, which went on to become a major brand in itself! Over the next 27 years, the skin fairness company held its head high over and above all the large multinationals, selling out to Dabur only recently.

She had everything. A beautiful house, car, servants, every comfort one desires in life. However, what she did not have was some work to devote her time to. And being the independent woman she was, she was not content to just play the housewife. So along with her brother, Sunita started her business of providing fairness products to the beauty conscious Indian women. 25 years later, the super cool Sunita and her brother had converted the business into a 100 crore empire which had gone on to become a world famous brand.

Fem is easily the “made in India and for India” cosmetics company which strived for success and got it, without buckling down in front of multinational brands. Sunita is one of those women who wanted to do something in her own right and carved a niche for herself in the world. Her understanding of the female psyche- what women want and what sells- is razor sharp! Along with the technical genius and intelligence of her aeronautical engineer brother, Fem has given the biggest brands in the market a run for their money and how!

Fem is not just a cosmetic brand but the story of a woman who built a career for herself on her own, especially at a time when women did not even think of having careers for themselves, not at all those who had all the luxuries of life at their disposal. What’s even more striking about her success is that she gave brought into the world a child and a company, in a span of 6 months. Sunita Ramnathkar is surely someone who gives weight to the belief that you can dream and make your dreams come true.

Swami Vivekananda

“The world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong.” ~Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda has always been looks upon as one of the most respected spiritual leaders in India. He was the chief disciple of the 19th century mystic Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and the founder of the Ramakrishna Mission. Swami Vivekananda is considered to have played a key role in the introduction of Hindu philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga in Europe and America. He is also credited with bringing forth and raising interfaith awareness, bringing Hinduism to the status of a world religion during the end of the 19th century.

Vivekananda was considered to be a major force, who played an important role in the revival of Hinduism in modern India. His famous speech beginning with “Sisters and brothers of America” is considered by many as one of the most inspiring speeches ever, through which he introduced Hinduism at the ‘Parliament of the World Religions’ in Chicago in 1893.

Born in an aristocratic Bengali family in Kolkata in 1863, Vivekananda’s parents played a huge role in influencing his thinking. He got a rational bent of mind from his father whereas a religious temperament from his mother. His father was an attorney of Kolkata High court and was considered a generous gentleman who had a liberal and progressive outlook towards social and religious matters.

Vivekananda was reportedly adept in meditation. During his childhood, he had a great fascination for wanderings monks and ascetics. He had varied interests and received scholarships in a variety of subjects like philosophy, history, social sciences, art, literature, to name a few. He also showed great interest in spiritual texts. Even as a young boy, he questioned the validity of superstitious rituals and discrimination based on caste. He refused to accept anything without proof and rational logic.

Vivekananda spent nearly two whole years lecturing in various parts of eastern and central United States, appearing chiefly in Chicago, Detroit, Boston, and New York. He left quite an impression in America, Europe and other countries and had quite a few renowned followers.

Sanjay Khan

Bollywood is a land of dreams. Some dreams come true, some don’t. However, often we come across on-screen heroes who turn out to be real-life heroes as well. Among those, one name which stands out is surely that of filmmaker Sanjay Khan. Forty-five years, a young boy from Bengaluru, dazzled the audiences on the silver screen with Rajshri Productions’ social drama-Dosti. That young actor is a successful filmmaker today who has come a long way, overcoming struggles that have been peppered throughout his life. Sanjay Khan’s is a story that is bound to inspire one all, with the courage and attitude Sanjay Khan has shown in his life.

Sanjay Khan received the Lifetime Achievement Award this year and is considered to be quite a meticulous man, stylish yet unpretentious! He lost his mother while he was still young and his mother had to bring up her large brood of 5 sons and two daughters all on her own.
Although Sanjay and his siblings studies in Convent schools, they had a very conservative upbringing.

Sanjay was barely 12 when the cinema bug caught him and after finishing his school, he came to Mumbai along with his brother Feroz Khan, with dreams of making it big in the film industry. Feroz soon shot to fame whereas it took a lot of struggle for Sanjay to gain a foothold in the industry. With Feroz’s help, he landed the job of 13th assistant to the famous director John Guillermin (of The Towering Inferno fame).

However, once he settled in he enjoyed quite a few good roles and movies like Dhund, Ek Phool Do Maali,etc. Soon he turned to filmmaking and got burned, literally! His famous pet tele-serial caught fire on the sets and Sanjay received 95% burn injuries. However, he kept his faith and went on to become a successful filmmaker.

Homi Jehangir Bhabha

Homi Jehangir Bhabha was an Indian Nuclear physicist who has probably been one of the most well-respected and revered scientist in our country. He has played a very important role in shaping and development of the Indian atomic energy program. He is often referred to as the ‘Father of India’s nuclear program’.

Born into a prominent Parsi family, he received his early education at different schools in Bombay and at the Royal Institute of Science. He pursued his degree in mechanical engineering from the Caius College of Cambridge University. Later on, he also pursued his doctorate in theoretical physics. In the meanwhile, he also embarked on a ground-breaking research into the absorption of cosmic rays and electron shower production. He also published a string of widely-accepted papers on his theories regarding cosmic ray showers.

Homi Bhabha as in India during the second-world war and he was offered an esteemed position at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, under Nobel laureate C.V.Raman. While working there, he established the Cosmic Ray Research and worked on many important theories and research papers. In 1945, he established the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Bombay, and the famous Atomic Energy Commission of India three years later.

Homi Bhabha is widely held as a scientist of excellence and he is renowned throughout the world for his vision and contribution to the field of atomic research. In the 1950’s Bhabha represented India in International Atomic Energy Forums. He has also served as the President of the United Nations Conference. His brilliance has also been recognized by the Indian government. In 1954, Homi Bhabha was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India. Apart from all of these appreciations, he also set up the Indian National Commission of Space Research with Vikram Sarabhai. Seldom has any scientist contributed to Indian aspirations such effectively.

Rahul Bajaj

Rahul Bajaj is a well-known entrepreneur and the chairman of the Bajaj Group, which ranks among the top 10 business houses in India. Rahul Bajaj is one of India’s most distinguished business leaders who is respected globally for his business acumen and entrepreneurial spirit.

An alumnus of Harvard, Rahul Bajaj has taken his family business leaps and bounds since he took over the helm in 1965. Under his able leadership, Bajaj Group has seen massive success. In fact, the flagship company Bajaj Auto saw a meteorical rise from a turnover of Rs. 72 million to Rs. 46.16 billion. He created one of the top companies of India in the face of very different times in the business industry and steered it towards success inspite of the license raj. He created factories at the Akurdi and Waluj. It is a tremendous high point in Bajaj Group’s business history that Bajaj Group was the number one scooter producer in the country in 1980’s. What’s even more significant is that its one single auto brand ‘Chetak’ had a 10-year waiting period.

Even though liberalization was a turning factor in Indian industry, it posed a big threat to Bajaj Auto. This was mainly because it brought home the threat of cheap imports and FDI from global top companies like Honda. In fact, Bajaj Auto incurred quite a loss because of this very factor. Hero was able to cash in on the demand for motorcycles and rival Hero Honda was an instant success with the masses. As a result of this, the sales of scooters plummeted and Bajaj Auto had to incur heavy losses.

The recession and stock market collapse was seen as the final nail in the coffin for the country. However, the company, with the dynamic Rahul Bajaj at the helm did not give up and re-invented the brand, specially as a world-class factory in Chakan, invested large amounts in R&D and came up with the path-breaking Bajaj Pulsar motorcycles. It’s heartening when one realizes that Bajaj Pulsar is currently the leader in its segment. People like Rahul Bajaj never give up inspite of odds and can be trusted to change the tide in their favor!

Dhanraj Pillay : Weaving magic on the field

Dhanraj Pillay is a huge name to reckon with in Indian sports. He was the highest goal scorer in the Bangkok Asian Games. He is a sportsperson who made it big in the world solely on the basis of his talent and hard work. Dhanraj came from a very modest background and sheer talent and charismatic skills rose to become pushed him to become one of the most prominent Hockey players of the nation.

He was born in Khadki, a small town near Pune, Maharashtra to very poor parents. He father used to work at the Ordinance factory and a young Pillay began playing hockey along with his friends with a broken stick and ragged balls. It was just a small game for the other young boys then. Who was to know one day a little boy among them would enthrall the world weaving magic with his hockey stick. Even at that time, Dhanraj loved the game a lot and tried his best to excel in the games even though he didn’t come from a very sound financial background. However, encouraged by his mother, he started taking the game seriously.

He has represented the national team in a number of International tournaments such as Beijing Asian Games 1990, Barcelona Olympic Games 1992, World Cup Hockey tournament 1994, etc. till the year 2004.He is the only Hockey player who has participated in 4 Olympic Games (held in the years 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004), 4 World Cup Tournaments (held in 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002, 4 Champions Trophy Tournaments (held in 1995, 1996, 2002 and 2003), and 4 Asian Games (held in 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002). He also served as the Captain of the Indian Hockey team for some time, and led the team to victory in Asian Games 1998 and Asia Cup Hockey 2003.

This amazing hockey player has also won the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and the Padmna Shree, among many other prestigious awards.

Vijendar Singh

Born on 29 October 1985 in a Hindu Jat family Vijendar Singh Beniwal has won the Olympic medal for his country in Boxing. The world famous boxer belongs to a simple middle class family. His father is a bus driver with the Haryana Roadways and his mother is a home maker. Inspired by his elder brother, the younger son of the Jat family started taking Boxing very seriously.

In 1997 Vijendar Singh won the Silver medal in the first sub-junior Nationals. This was the first recognition for the young Boxing Talent of India. Since then there has been no looking back for Vijendar. The major achievements for Vijendar were Bronze in Olympic 2008, Bronze in World Amateur Boxing Championships 2009, silver in Common Wealth games 2006, Bronze in Asian Games 2006. This boxing talent from India has been awarded with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 2009. He was also been awarded with the Padma Shri Award in January 2010. Vijendar Singh has given Boxing a new dignity and revived pride from its earlier glorious days. This well known sport was more popular in the rural parts of the country. However, Vijendar Singh, especially after winning in the Olympics, made this sport a national phenomenon in India. People started taking more avid interest in the sport.

Vijendar Singh had a struggling childhood. As a teenager Vijender have even modelled to earn for his family. It was possibly this spirit combined with extreme determination and honesty that had Vijendar turn the impossible into the possible. Vijendar has a knack for modeling too, after his win in the Olympics he has walked the ramp for a few shows. He also actively participated in Salman Khan’s game show called Dus ka Dum and the dance reality show called Nach Baliye with Bipasha Basu. Apparently, some of Vijender’s films are also slated for a release soon.

Pullela Gopichand

Pullela Gopichand was born on November 16th 1973, in Nagandla in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh, India. His parents Pullela Subhash Chandra Bose and Subbaravamma were both interested in sports and hence supported him to pursue a career in sports and make his country proud. Gopichand is indeed a story of sheer hard work, dedication and pure determination for the game of Badminton.
Gopichand was a cricket enthusiast and thus wanted to pursue a career in the same but his elder brother made him switchover to Badminton. Gopi's skill at Badminton was the talk at St. Pauls where he had his schooling, when he was hardly around 10 years old.

In 1986, he suffered a multiple ligament rupture which was threatening to his career. But this young fighter from Andhra Pradesh came back to the field with sheer determination and reached the finals of State Junior Badmintonship in 1987. By the time he passed out of school in 1988, he had already made a mark in the Badminton field. He did his graduation in Economics from AV College, Hyderabad.

In 1989 he won his first single title at the National Championship at Goa and then went on to win the doubles championship also. He received the SAARC gold medal the in 1999.

Always a fighter, he refused to be crushed by his defeat in the 2000 Sydney Olympics and true to his recognition out played the Olympics champions to reach the finals of the All England Badminton ship, finally arriving at the forefront of international badminton. He defeated Olympic Gold medalist Anders Boeson in the Quarterfinals of this tournament. In the Semifinals he defeated world No.1 ceded player Peter Gade of Denmark, and in the finals he defeated Chen Hong of China. He achieved his career best world ranking of 5 in April 2001. Gopichand was awarded the 'Arjuna Award' India's highest recognition for sportspersons, in 2000 for his excellent performance in the sport.

Mallika Srinivasan

Mallika Srinivasan is one of the most successful CEOs of India. She has been spearheading the activities of Tafe (Tractors and Farm Equipment) an organization which is involved in the business of tractor manufacturing. She has been able to rise and stand out above all others and make a name for herself in the competitive business world of today. She has always strived hard to reach for skies, but has deeply rooted her foot into the ground. She is a strong headed woman who was voted as the Businesswoman of the year 2006 by Economic Times.

Mallika Srinivasan was born on November 19, 1959 as the eldest daughter of industrialist A Sivasailam. She did her in MA (econometrics) from Madras University. To pursue further education, she went abroad. She did her MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Married to Venu Srinivasan, the CMD of TVS Motor, in the year 1986, she planned to join the family business.

She was made the General Manager of Tafe (Tractors and Farm Equipment) Company. When she took over the responsibility of furthering the economic wealth and business, the turnover of the Company was Rs 85 cr. There was a period, when the Company had to face a tough time, however; even then, the Company invested a huge amount of over Rs 70 crore in the designing and development of product. At present, the Company is earning a business over Rs 1,200 cr. Mallika spearheaded the positive change that was brought about in the organization.

It has been a long journey for the Company, which has witnessed many ups and downs. But, it was the strong determination of this courageous woman that slowly and steadily made the firm climb the ladders of success. Today, the Company has not only found a niche for itself as the leading tractor manufacturer, but also expanded its area of operations. It has also entered into others businesses like engineering plastics, panel instruments, automotive batteries gears, hydraulic pumps, and farm implements.

Mallika Srinivasan is serving as the president of premier industrial bodies like Tractor Manufacturers Association and the Madras Management Association. She is the first lady to have assumed the role of a president of the Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Vijender Singh: Doing India Proud In Boxing

vijender Singh was born on 29 October 1985 at Kalwas (Bhiwani District) in Haryana. Bhiwani Boxing Club, now known to every boxer in India, was where he practiced boxing under Jagdish Singh. He started early at the age of 12 years, participating in various state level competitions. He was later selected to play at the national level. Many saw the potential in him to do India proud on the International platform. Virender Singh had the zeal in him to excel at the international arena.

He was selected to participate in the Athens Olympics in 2004 and Commonwealth Games in 2006. 2006 Asian Games in Doha saw him win a bronze medal. However, the best moment for him as well as India came in the Beijing Olympics 2008 where he won a first medal (bronze) ever for India in boxing.

He comes from a small village in Haryana. Vijender joined as a Senior Railways Ticket Examiner at Jaipur. Vijender’s family owns no land. His father, a driver with Haryana Roadways, owns a small house in the village along the Meham-Bhiwani road. Vijender’s cash rewards for his medals in various international meets have helped the family build a house with all the trappings of a comfortable urban dwelling.

Vijender studied in Vaish College in Bhiwani and is a graduate. Vijender’s mother Krishna always ensured that he got all the proper diet that he needed to make him strong. Though, being just able to make both the ends meet, the family was supportive of his sport. His elder brother Manoj succeeded to enter into the Indian Army in 1998 with his boxing credentials and decided to support Vijender financially so he could continue his boxing training.

Vijender Singh was ranked at number 1 in the world, in the middleweight category in 2009. He also has been honored with the highest sporting honor of India, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award. Padma Shree too was added to his list of honors in 2010.

Vijender Singh is one of India’s hopes of a medal in the ongoing Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010.