DIANA HAYDEN Model, Miss World, Actress Diana Hayden, the 1997 Miss World was born in 1973 in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. She was the only Miss World to have won a hat-trick at the pageant - Miss Photogenic, Miss Beachwear and Miss World 1997. A tomboy as a teenager, Diana grew up to be a ravishing beauty. Diana's parents split up at her very young age, but her family including her mother and brother were still very close- knit. After completing her schooling at St Ann's High School, Secunderabad, she graduated from Osmania University in English through correspondence. Diana shifted to Mumbai to pursue her career goals. She then moved to Bangalore working for the event management company Encore and then again to Bombay. Diana had a brief stint in modelling and did a couple of fashion shows in Bangalore and Mumbai. Then she started work in the public relations division of BMG Crescendo, the music company where she helped handle the careers of artistes like Anaida and Mehnaz. ItIt was Anaida who forced her to send her pictures for the Miss India Contest and the rest is history. R.K. NARAYAN Writer One of the most famous Indian writers in English Language, R.K Narayan was born in 1906 in Madras. He was educated in Mysore and settled there for over half a century. Narayan created the enchanting fictional world of Malgudi through his several novels and short stories which captivated his readers throughout the world and more recently millions of Indian Television viewers, who saw TV adaptations of many Malgudi stories. His famous works are ' Malgudi days' and ' Swamy and his Friends'. Narayan has a humorous way of presenting life around him. First Novel ' Swamy and Friends' (1935), and its successor, ' Bachelor of Art's (1937) are both set in the enchanting fictional territory of Malgudi. His books are regularly published in USA, UK and India and have also been widely translated into several European and Indian languages. His novel, ' the Guide' (1958) won him the National Prize of the Indian Literary Academy, the country’s highest Literary honour. He was awarded the A.C.Benson Medal in 1980 by the Royal Society of Literature and in 1981 he was made an Honoray Member of the American Academy and Institutes of Arts and letters. In addition to 4 collection of short stories-A horse and 2 goats, An Astrologer’s Day and other stories, Lawley Road and Malgudi Days- he has published 2 travel books , 4 collection of essays and several other books. His biography 'R.K. Narayan, The Early Years' provides a splendid insight into the first four decades of his life. The famous cartoonist R.K.Laxman is his brother. SALMAN RUSHDIE Writer Salman Rushdie is a famous writer. He was born in a Kashmiri Muslim Family of Bombay and later migrated to Great Britain. Some of his well known books are 'Rome', ' Midnight's Children', ' Haroun and the sea of Stories' and the 'Moor's Last Sigh'. He commented against India in ' Midnight's Children' and made some critical references about Islam in ' Satanic Verses'. He created a world-wide furore and commotion with the publication of his book ' Satanic Verses'. Most of the books of Salman Rushdie have been subject to controversies and discussions. The publication of ' Satanic Verses' has raised a storm in the entire Muslim World. This made Iran's spiritual leader Ayatollah Khomeini sentence him to death. So presently he lives in hiding in England. The matter even led to Britain severing diplomatic ties with Iran. Rushdie's work Midnight's Children was awarded the 'Booker of Bookers' prize in 1993, which distinguishes as the best novel to have won the Booker prize over its 25-year history. In 1996 he received the European Union Literary Award in Denmark. SABEER BHATIA Computer Wizard Sabeer Bhatia, the pioneer in the field of first web based e-mail - The Hotmail, was born in Chandigarh in the year 1969. He grew up in Bangalore and had his early education at Bishops Cotton's School in Pune, then St. Joseph's College in Bangalore. For a short-time he was a student at the Birla Institute of Technology (BITS), Pilani and in 1988 he went to US on a Cal Tech Transfer scholarship to get a bachelor's degree at the California Institute of Technology. He earned a master's degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University. After graduation, Sabeer briefly worked for Apple Computers as a hardware engineer and Firepower Systems Inc. While working there he was amazed at the fact that he could access any software on the internet via a web browser. His success graph took off exponentially when he, along with his colleague Jack Smith, set up Hotmail on 4th July 1996. Today, Hotmail remains the world's largest e-mail provider with over 50 million registered users. As President and CEO, he guided Hotmail's rapid rise to industry leadership and its eventual acquisition by Microsoft in 1998. Bhatia worked at Microsoft for a little over a year after the Hotmail acquisition and in April 1999, he left Microsoft to start another venture, Arzoo Inc. It's an e-commerce firm with a revolutionary new way to shop on line and may just turn out to be Bhatia's next multi-million dollar winner. Bhatia's success has earned him widespread acclaim; The venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson named him 'Entrepreneur of the Year 1997', MIT chose him as one of 100 young innovators who are expected to have the greatest impact on technology and awarded 'TR100', San Jose Mercury News and POV magazine selected him as one of the ten most successful entrepreneurs of 1998 and Upside magazine's list of top trendsetters in the New Economy named him 'Elite 100'. SWRAJ PAUL Business Magnate Lord Swraj Paul, the great business magnate was born in 1931 in Jalandhar, Punjab. Having learned business lessons from his father at a young age, he later founded the successful multinational company Caparo, an UK-based steel and engineering group. Swraj was educated at Punjab University and obtained a master's degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US. In 1953 he returned to India to join the Apeejay Surrendra Group, founded by his father, which he helped build up to a diversified industrial group. Swraj went to England in 1966 hoping to find a cure for his leukemia-stricken two-year-old daughter, Ambika. Shattered by her death, he buried himself in work and there began his spectacular business career in Britain. In 1968, he started buying and selling steel in a one-man business and acquired a small tube unit, Natural Gas Tubes (NGT), which developed into one of the leading UK producers of welded steel tube and spiral welded pipe. Gradually he bought more units, mainly in the steel products manufacturing industry and founded Caparo Group in 1978. Her Majesty the Queen knighted Swraj Paul in the same year, thereby making him The Lord Paul of Marylebone and a member of the House of Lords. Lord Paul has been honoured by various international organisations over the years. He has written the biography of Indira Gandhi and was awarded the Padma Bhushan by her in 1983. Among the honours bestowed on him are the Pro-Chancellorship of the Thames University (1998) and its Governorship (1992-97), Chancellorship of Wolverhampton University and the Bharat Gaurav award by the Indian Merchant's Chamber. He is a member of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Foreign Policy Centre Advisory Council and MIT's Mechanical Engineering Visiting Committee. Swraj stepped down from the management of Caparo in 1996, handing over his empire to his three sons. Though he is one of the richest persons in the U.K., in his personal life Lord Paul practices relative simplicity. But he believes in making money so that he can occasionally use it to help the needy or even bail out the London Zoo. GHANSHYAM DAS BIRLA Founder of Birla Group of Industries G.D. Birla was a great architect of India's industrial growth. He started his career in Calcutta at the beginning of this century. He entered the field of business during the days of the First World War and established himself after the war years. He established a cotton mill in Sabzi Mandi, Delhi followed by Keshoram Cotton Mills and Birla Jute Mills around 1920. In 1919, with an investment of 50 lacs, the Birla Brothers Limited was formed and thereafter a mill was set up in Gwalior. In the decade of the 30's he set up Sugar and Paper mills. From 1943 to 1946, Birla Brothers ventured into the area of cars. He had also established Ruby, Asiatic Insurance Co and Inland Air Service. After independence, the Birlas expanded their business and started production in many fields. Near Mirzapur, he, in collaboration with Caesar, an American friend, set up an Aluminum Plant 'Hindalco'. He also started many educational Institutions. To his credit go many temples, planetariums and hospitals. During the decades of 70's and 80's, Birla brothers were among the topmost Industrial Houses of India. G.D. Birla award for scientific Research has been established to encourage scientists for their contribution in the various fields of scientific Research. AZIM HASHAM PREMJI Founder of Wipro Limited Azim Hasham Premji, founder of Wipro Limited, India's biggest and most competitive IT company based in Bangalore, was born on July 24th 1945 in Bombay. Premji was forced to leave his studies in computer science from Stanford University, California, USA at the age of 21 to take over the family business of vegetable oils when his father M.H.