Anbarasan ethirajan biography books

Janaki was born in Tellichery now Thalassery in Kerala in She grew up in privilege, in a large family that lived in a house called Edam, which Ms Doctor says was "the centre of Janaki's life". The two-storey house had a grand piano, a sprawling library and spacious halls, its large windows overlooking a carefully-tended garden. Janaki belonged to Kerala's Thiyya community, which is regarded as socially backward under the Hindu caste system.

But at Edam house, Janaki's life was far removed from any prejudices, Ms Doctor says. That didn't mean she did not face caste discrimination in her life, she adds - but she never allowed it to stop her. After she finished school, Janaki moved to Madras now Chennai for higher education. In , she was teaching at a women's college when she received a prestigious scholarship from the University of Michigan in the US.

Eight years later, she became the first Indian woman to be awarded a doctorate in botanical science. She returned to India shortly after, and taught botany in her home state before joining the Sugarcane Breeding Station at Coimbatore. It was here that Janaki worked on cross-breeding sugarcane and with other plants to create a high-yielding variety of the crop that could flourish in India.

She was the first person to successfully cross sugarcane and maize, which helped in understanding the origin and evolution of sugarcane, Dr Nair says. A particular hybrid she created, the historian adds, went on to produce many commercial crosses for the institute but she didn't receive credit for it. The next few years were the most formative ones of her career.

Five years later, she became the first woman scientist to be employed at the Royal Horticultural Society Garden at Wisley. It was also a time of hardships and hard work - Britain was facing the brunt of the war and food supplies were heavily rationed. This attitude extended to her personal life, she says. Ms Doctor recalls that her grand-aunt gave them amazing books and took them on delightful picnics.

And she was always brimming with stories - about Kapok, the small black-striped palm squirrel that she had smuggled in her sari to keep her company in London; and her doll Timothy, who fascinated everyone at Edam. Ms Doctor does not put dates to these memories - the past is simply the past - but she vividly remembers Janaki's strident personality and commanding presence; her vibrant yellow saris; and her "energetic yet subtle" ways.

Dr Nair says that this was also evident in her work, which was not about one seminal revelation, but a series of small-scale discoveries which contributed "to the grand history of human evolution". Janaki, who was greatly inspired by the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, went immediately. This caused her great pain and she could never entirely recover from it.

Anbarasan ethirajan biography books

So she took refuge in exploring the country in search of new plants. In , Janaki became the first woman to go on a plant-hunting expedition to Nepal which, according to her, was the most unique part of Asia botanically, says Dr Nair. When she was 80, the Indian government awarded her a Padma Shri, one of the country's highest civilian honours.

She died seven years later, in Ms Doctor says that even though Janaki did not receive the recognition she deserved, she never lost her passion for studying life. Since the beginning of her career her field of interest has been social and human interest stories with a political angle. Rupa is also a professional Indian classical dancer and wishes she could do this full time, but, she says, art doesn?

Irena Luto Irena has worked as a journalist since But this wasn't her first love. Originally, she wanted to be an actress. What interests Boris most are stories that expand upon the human condition. He says, 'People's 'veneer' may by exotic, but we are all in it together, and we share much, much more than we usually suspect. Before that she worked for KBC, the state owned media organisation in Kenya.

She did everything - from producing live programmes to reporting the traffic from a helicopter. She has lived in the UK since From a personal perspective, Ilana has long been interested in how women relate to their body image. She has lived in Greece, France and UK. The BBC's Hindi service has been her first experience with radio. She says: 'As a child I remember listening to stories about the Vietnam War from my grandfather who was posted in Hanoi.

It was those anecdotes which helped me realise my passion for journalism. He has worked with print and electronic media in Kathmandu and has reported from and travelled extensively across Nepal, especially in the trans Himalayan region.