Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar

From Subramanyan Chandrasekhar – Autobiography... "I was born in Lahore (then a part of British India) on the 19th of October 1910, as the first son and the third child of a family of four sons and six daughters. My father, Chandrasekhara Subrahmanya Ayyar, an officer in Government Service in the Indian Audits and Accounts Department, was then in Lahore as the Deputy Auditor General...

Read More

Ramana Maharhshi was a guru of international renown from southern India who taught during the first half of the twentieth century. He was born in 1879 near Madurai, Tamilnadu. His father was a farmer. He was the second of three sons. The family was religious, giving ritual offerings to the family deity and visiting temples. One unusual aspect of his family history was a curse that was put on the family by a wandering monk who was refused...

Read More

D.K.Pattammal

An extraordinary woman is D.K.Pattammal, with her appearance and achievements contributing to a seeming paradox. She is quite traditional in appearance. She will be 75 on March 28 and not surprisingly, she looks like an elderly matron. But, even in her twenties, when she had a radiantly beautiful face, she wrapped herself in a sari so well that, projecting a picture of modesty, she could have aroused the envy of Draupadi. On stage, then as now,...

Read More

Paddukoddai Kalyanasundaram

Aram paaduthal [Pricking with a curse by verse, in response to an insult] was an age-old tradition in Tamil literary theater. Even the powerful kings, chieftains and patrons trembled at the thought of being a recipient of a curse from a learned poet. It is believed that the Goddess of Learning (Kalai Magal/Saraswathi) resided at the tongues of learned and sincere poets. Can this be true, in reality? One could never...

Read More

Maraimalai Adigal

Maraimalai Adikal was born on 15 July 1876 at Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu. He studied Tamil under Ve. Narayanasamy Pillai. He had his schooling in the Wesleyan Christian High School. He enjoyed the friendship of Sundaram Pillai, author of Manonmaniyam. He settled in Madras thanks to the efforts of Sandamarutam Somasundara Nayakar. He joined the Madras Christian College as a Tamil teacher. He founded the Saiva Siddhanta Maha Samajam....

Read More

Samuel Jeyanayagam Gunasegaram

Samuel Jeyanayagam Gunasegaram was born on the 21st March 1901 at Chundikuli in the Jaffna Peninsula. He was the eldest son of Joseph Muttiah Gunasegaram, whose family originally hailed from Maviddapuram, and Susan Arulpragasam of Moolai. He had the advantage of receiving a sound primary education under his father – a school-master, Christian catechist and Tamil scholar. Gunasegaram was a devoted and loyal alumnus of St. John’s College,...

Read More

Annie Besant

14.00 800x600 Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 ...

Read More

Raja of Panagal-Panaganti Ramarayaningar

Sir Panaganti Ramarayaningar KCIE, (July 9, 1866 – December 16, 1928), also known as the Raja of Panagal, was a zamindar of Kalahasti, a Justice Party leader and the Chief Minister or Premier of Madras Presidency from July 11, 1921 to December 3, 1926. Ramarayaningar was born in Kalahasti on July 9, 1866. He did his schooling in Madras and obtained degrees in Sanskrit, law, philosophy and Dravidian languages before plunging into politics. He...

Read More

Avvaiyyar

About Avvaiyyar Avvaiyyar was a female poet of the ninth century, who lived in the southern parts of India. She is known, not only for her extraordinary poetry, but also, as a noble and revered saint. The term 'Avvaiyyar' means ' respected old woman' or 'Grandmother'. Even though her real name is not known, it doesn't make her or her literary works any less popular. The children learning Tamil...

Read More

Navanethem (Navi) Pillay

Navanethem (Navi) Pillay, the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights was born on 23 September 1941 in Clairwood, Durban. She went to the University of Natal where she graduated with BA in 1963 and with an LLB in 1965. It was at the University that she joined the Unity Movement.  After completing her degree she commenced her legal career by doing her articles in Durban under the guidance of Narainsamy Thumbi Naicker, ...

Read More

Nammalwar

About Nammalwar Nammalwar was a Tamil Poet, regarded as one of the twelve Alwars in India. He is quite renowned for his beautiful hymns dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The main aim of Nammalwar's life was to serve the Lord, love Him, praise him and surrender to Him. Even though he was originally from southernmost part of India, he won the hearts of people throughout the country with his beautiful poems. ...

Read More