Today’s Motto: ‘Your biggest opportunity lies under your own feet’

This is Your Day-TODAY: Take a Determined Step Forward and Make History!

On this day, 17 May….

1498 – Admiral Dom Vasco-da-Gama, Portuguese navigator, arrived in India. He sailed around the Cape of Good Hope  to Calicut, Kerala with three vessels and was the first Westerner to sail to India from Europe. (17 or 20 May?). Cape of Good Hope is a popular tourist destination of South Africa, at the bottom  tip of  African continent.. (Vatsain family visited the place in 2018).

1536 – Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII, was executed for alleged treason, an event that had profound implications for English politics and the Reformation (pic credit-pixels.com).

1540 – The Battle of Kannauj (UP) was fought between Sher Shah Suri and Humayun. It is also known as the Battle of Bilgram. Sher Shah Suri defeated Humayun, leading to Humayun’s temporary loss of the Mughal throne. He ran away to Kabul.

1839 – A water wheel was patented by Lorenzo Adkins.

1769 – The East India Company imposed several restrictions on the weavers to ruin Bengal’s textile industry.

1949 – India decided with only one dissent vote to remain within the Commonwealth of Nations, headed by the Queen of Britain.

1980 – V. S. Kumar Anandan.  Jaffna, Sri Lanka  born  athlete/swimmer,  sets record of balancing on one foot for continuous 33 hrs. It was Guinness World Recod for many years..  He established many more  records  viz.,  Walking non-stop for 159 hours, a distance of 296 miles  in August 1981. Water-Treading for 80 hours, performed at the Anna Swimming Pool in Madras, in August 1981.

1993 – Visiting Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres signs an MOU with his Indian counterpart to end nearly 4 decades of inactivity in bilateral relations.

2007 – Trains from North and South Korea cross the 38th Parallel in a test run agreed upon by both governments, the first trains to cross the Demilitarized Zone since 1953.

2019 – Taiwan’s parliament votes to legalize same-sex marriage, the first Asian country.

2021 – Long working hours killed 745,000 people a year, found  in the first study of its kind by the World Health Organization in 2016.

2023 – Nepali Sherpa Kami Rita Sherpa (53) climbs of Mt. Everest for a record 27th time. Now she has done it 30 times (pic credit-perehenetreks.com). 

Born…. 1945 – B. S. Chandrasekhar  (Bhagwat Subramanya  Chandrasekhar),  Indian leg spinner, is considered as one of the best spin  bowlers in the world.  He had a lethal bowling action, despite his polio-affected right arm.  His 6 for 38 at The Oval in 1971 gave India theirfirst Series Victory  in England and he was instrumental in India’s first win in Australia in 1978, taking 12 for 104. He took 242 wickets in 58 Test matches.  Was conferred Padamshri, listed in Wisdon Cricker of the Year and CK Nayudu award (pic credit-

1951 – Pankaj Udhas, a ghazal singer. He started his career with a release of a ghazal album titled Aahat in 1980 and subsequently recorded many hits like Mukarar in 1981, Tarrannum in 1982, Mehfil in 1983, Nayaab in 1985, and Aafreen in 1986. Udhas has also did playback singing for many Hindi films and got instant fame by singing the song “Chitthi Aayee  Hai” in the film Naam (1986). He was born in Gujarat.

1952 – Shyam Ramsay, a Bollywood film director. He is famous for producing horror movies such as Darwaza, Purana Mandir, and Veerana. He was one of the seven Ramsay Brothers who were active in Indian cinema throughout the 1970s and the 1980s. Ramsay also implemented his creative ideas on television programming which was in demand because of the multiple private channels such as Zee TV, Star Plus, etc. at that time. He started India’s first horror TV series for Zee TV – Zee Horror Show which is a huge hit in television shows.

RIP…. 2009 – Prakash Mehra, a legendary Indian film director and producer known for his blockbuster and masala Hindi films. He was considered among the ‘Golden Directors’ of his time. Mehra was known for films like  Hera Pheri, Khoon Pasina, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Lawaaris, Namak Halaal and Sharaabi.  Mehra was considered among the ‘Golden Directors’ of his time. Won several  Filmfare awards and nominationsthe India Motion Picture Directors Association (IMPDA) in 2006 and   Lifetime Achievement as Producer from IMPPA (Indian Motion Picture Producers Association) on 19 September 2008.   (pic credit-Wikipedia).

2014 – C. P. Krishnan Nair, businessman, founded The Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts. He was awarded Padma Bhushan in 2010 (pic credit-gettyimages.com).

You may have known…. 1. Two major religions, Buddhism and Jainism, were established in India.                                                              

2.  An estimated one million dogs in the US have been named the primary beneficiary of their Owners’ Will (pic credit-animalia-life-club).

                                                              {Compiled by  Lt. Gen. (R)  Raj Kadyan}