On this Day in History

Balraj Sahni, one of the finest actors to have graced the Hindi film screen, was born Yudhisthir Sahni on 1 May 1913 in Rawalpindi (now part of Pakistan) to a Punjabi family. He died on 13 April 1973. As a youngster he studied Hindi and English literature in university, and worked as a teacher at Shantiniketan (Bengal) and for the... Read More →

Singanalluru Puttaswamayya Muthuraju, better known as Rajkumar, a legend of Kannada cinema, was born on 24 April 1929 to a Kannada-speaking family. He died on 12 April 2006. ‘Annavaru’—or ‘respected elder brother’, as he was called fondly by millions of fans—acted in some 200 films in a career spanning five decades. His birthplace was Gajanur in Tamil Nadu, then a part... Read More →

Rohini Hattangadi, an Indian theatre, film and television actress, was born Rohini Oak on 11 April 1951 in Pune. She studied at the city’s Renuka Swaroop Memorial Girls’ High School. In 1971 she joined Delhi’s National School of Drama (NSD). She married, who Jayadev Hattangadi was her batchmate at the NSD.  She initially played supporting roles in films like Arvind... Read More →

Morarji Desai, the fourth Prime Minister of India, was born on 29 February 1896. The first Prime Minister to lead a non-Congress government, he died on 10 April 1995.  Born to a schoolteacher’s family in Valsad (now part of Gujarat), he was the oldest of eight siblings. He did his schooling in Saurashtra and Valsad, and secured his graduation from... Read More →

Jaya Bhaduri Bachchan, an accomplished Indian actress who is equally comfortable doing mainstream and more serious roles, was born on 9 April 1948 in Calcutta to Indira Bhaduri and Taroon Bhaduri. She did her schooling from Loreto Convent (Shillong), Loreto House (Calcutta) and St. Joseph’s Convent school (Bhopal). She acted in a few Bengali films as a child, including Satyajit... Read More →

Sujalaam, suphalaam, malayaja shiitalaam, Shasya-shyamalaam, maataram Shubhra-jyotsnaa-pulakita-yaminiim, Phulla-kusumita drumadala-shobhiniim, Suhasiniim sumadhura-bhashiniim, Sukhadaam varadaam, maataram (I bow to thee, Mother, richly-watered, richly-fruited, cool with the winds of the south, dark with the crops of the harvests, the Mother!) (first stanza of Vande Mataram; based on original translation by Aurobindo Ghose) Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, an influential figure of the Bengali renaissance and... Read More →

Popularly known as Shivaputra Siddharamayya Komkalimath, Kumar Gandharva was a Hindustani classical singer and globally recognised for his unique vocal style. Born on 8 April 1924, he refused to be bound by the tradition of any gharana and hence was bestowed upon the title Kumar Gandharva when he was a child prodigy. The term “Gandharva” refers to a musical spirit... Read More →

Pandit Ravi Shankar, one of the greatest sitar players of post-Independence India and the country’s best-known classical musician in the West, was born on 7 April 1920. He did more than any other person to popularise Indian classical music in the West.  Born Ravindra Shankar Chowdhury in Benares (Varanasi) to a family of Bengali Brahmins originally from East Bengal (now... Read More →

Shankar Abaji Bhise, an Indian scientist has developed about 200 inventions, for about 40 of which he took patents. He died on 7 April 1935. Some of his popular inventions include Bhise type caster, Rotary multiple type-caster, Automatic weighing and packing machine for railways, Shella or Rola soap, An automatic machine capable of composing 3000 characters per minute, Automatic bicycle... Read More →

Suchitra Sen, a superstar of Bengali cinema who became a recluse for over three decades after she quit acting, was born Rama Dasgupta on 6 April 1931 in East Bengal (now Bangladesh). Her father, Karunamoy Dasgupta, was the headmaster of a school in what is now the Pabna district of Bangladesh. She was the fifth child of Karunamoy and his... Read More →