On this Day in History

Nandalal Bose, an influential Indian painter belonging to the Bengal School of Art, was born on 3 December 1882 in the Munger district of present-day Bihar to a Bengali family. He died on 16 April 1966. His father, Purnachandra, worked at the Darbhanga Estate. Nandalal got interested in images from an early age as his mother, Kshetramonidevi, would make toy... Read More →

One of the great saints of medieval India and the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, the first Sikh Guru, was born on 15 April 1469 at a time when large swathes of north and central India were ruled by the Lodhi dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. When he died 70 years later, the Mughals had seized power in India. His... Read More →

Today is Ambedkar Jayanti, the day when the principal architect of the Constitution of India was born. Ambedkar stands tall among the influential figures of Indian history, and spent his life opposing caste and social discrimination in India. In recognition of his efforts, he was appointed the first Law Minister of independent India. Read more about this pioneer of the... Read More →

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 →