This Day In History- November 13

1780 – Founder of the Sikh Empire, ‘Sher-E-Punjab’  Maharaja Ranjit Singh was born.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh

1917 – Regarded as the ‘First Mass Leader in Maharashtra’s Politics’, former Chief Minister of Maharashtra and former Governor of Rajasthan, Vasantdada Patil was born. Vasantadada was actively involved in India’s struggle for Independence and was jailed by the British for the same. Post Independence he devoted himself to the development of Maharshtra. He was honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 1965.

1935 – Noted playback singer Pulapaka Susheela was born. In a career spread across four decades, Susheela sung over thousand songs in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Bengali, Kannada, Oriya, Malayalam, Sanskrit etc. At quite a young age she received training in classical music. She entered musical contests and also sang for the All India Radio (AIR). She sang her first film song for Tamil film ‘Petra Thai’ (1952). She associated for duets with prominent singers like A.M. Raja, Ghantasala, T.M. Soundarajan, P.B. Srinivas, Yesudas etc. and recorded for composers like Pendyala Nageswara Rao, G.Devarajan, M.K. Arjunan, Illayraja, Naushad and A.R. Rahman. She won the National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer on five occasions. In 2006, she received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award while in 2008 the Government of India conferred the Padma Bhushan on her.

1961 – The first Indian Institute of Management or IIM was set up in Kolkata.

Juhi Chawla

1967 – Popular actress, producer and former beauty queen Juhi Chawla was born. Chawla who won the Miss India 1984 title represented India in the Miss Universe 1984 pageant where she won the Best Costume Award. She made her debut with Mukul Anand’s ‘Sultanat'(1986) which also featured Dharmendra, Sunny Deol and Sridevi. However, it was ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’ (1988) that brought her commercial and critical success. The film won her the Filmfare Lux New Face Award. The film also featured Aamir Khan. She subsequently gave a number of hits like ‘Pratibandh'(1990), ‘Bol Radha Bol'(1992), ‘Hum Hain Rahi Pyaar Ke’ (1993) which won her the Filmfare Best Actress Award and ‘Darr'(1993). She later shifted her focus to independent and art films like ‘3 Deewarein'(2003), ‘7 1/2 Phere'(2005), ‘My Brother Nikhil'(2005) and her most recent being ‘I Am'(2011). She has also acted in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and Malayalam films. Chawla is one of the co-owners of the Kolkata Knight Riders team in the Indian Premier League.

2002 – Eminent poet, freedom fighter and activist ‘Praja Kavi’ Kaloji Narayan Rao fondly referred to as ‘Kaloji’ or ‘Kalanna’ passed away. While in school, Kalanna actively participated in numerous social and political activities. He was influenced by movements like the Arya Samaj movement, the Andhra Maha Sabha movement and associated with them. He also went to prison for his involvement in the freedom movement for Hyderabad State during the Nizam’s reign. Kalanna composed poems right from his days in school. His works include a compilation of poems, short stories and translations under the title ‘Na Godava’, ‘Kaloji Kathalu’, ‘Parthiva Vyavam’, ‘Telangana Udyama Kavithalu’ and ‘Thudi Vijayam Manadi Jayam’. In 1992, the Government of India awarded him the Padma Vibhushan.

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