Indian

Birthdays

MAY

The purple berries of the thorny bilberry bushes, ripening in May and June. Wild strawberries, growing in shady places like spots of blood on the deep green monsoon grass.

RUSKIN BOND

1 May
Kamlesh Mehta

Eight-time national champ for TT

1 May
Diana Hayden

Actress; Miss World 1997

1 May
Manna Dey

Playback singer; music director

2 May
Satyajit Ray

Filmmaker par excellence

2 May
Mario Miranda

Cartoonist

2 May
Wilson Jones

Cueist; First Indian world champion in any sport

3 May
Ritu Beri

Fashion designer

3 May
V K Krishna Menon

Former defence minister of India; Gave the longest speech in the UN Security Council

3 May
Aruna Irani

Record for most nominations for Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress

4 May
Sam Pitroda

Telecom entrepreneur and inventor

4 May
Jyoti Randhawa

Professional golfer

4 May
N Ram

Publisher of The Hindu

5 May
Abid Surti

Cartoonist and environmentalist

5 May
Zail Singh

Seventh President of India

5 May
Col Hoshiar Singh Dahiya

PVC awardee, for his role in Indo-Pakistan War of 1971

6 May
Gagan Narang

Sports shooter; 2012 Olympics bronze medalist

6 May
Leela Samson

Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer

6 May
Alobo Naga

Singer, songwriter, talk show host

6 May
Motilal Nehru

Lawyer, activist, and politician

7 May
Rabindranath Tagore

Penned the national anthem; Nobel Prize for literature in 1913

7 May
Pandurang Vaman Kane

Indologist, Bharat Ratna recipient

7 May
T J S George

Writer, biographer

8 May
Rohit Bal

Fashion designer

8 May
Remo Fernandes

A pioneer of Indian pop music

8 May
Girija Devi

Singer; 'Queen of thumri'

8 May
Sapan Verma

Stand up comic

8 May
Shiny Wilson

Athlete; national champion in 800 metres for 14 years

9 May
Gopal Krishna Gokhale

Mentor of M.K. Gandhi and Jinnah

9 May
Sandhya Agarwal

Former Indian cricket team captain

9 May
Sai Pallavi

Actress and dancer

10 May
SM Yogendra Singh Yadav

Youngest recipient of PVC at 19 years of age

10 May
Rahul Subramanian

Standup comic; known for crowd participation

10 May
Nayantara Sahgal

Indian writer of English literature

11 May
Mrinalini Sarabhai

Classical dancer

11 May
Jiddu Krishnamurti

Philosopher, author, and public speaker

11 May
Cyrus Poonawalla

MD of Cyrus Poonawalla group; founded the Serum Institute of India

12 May
Nandu Natekar

Badminton national champion

12 May
Neithalath Mohan Kumar

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology

12 May
Thangam Philip

Nutritionist; pioneer in hospitality education in India

13 May
Balasaraswati

Bharatanatyam dancer

13 May
Benny Dayal

Playback singer, songwriter

13 May
Sachidananda Routray

Jnanpith Award winner; Odia poet and novelist

13 May
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed

Former President of India

14 May
Mrinal Sen

Film director and screenwriter

14 May
Manushi Chhillar

Actress, model, Miss World 2017

14 May
H Boniface Prabhu

Quadriplegic wheelchair tennis player

15 May
Madhuri Dixit

Six-time Filmfare award winner

15 May
Amit Chaudhuri

Novelist, poet

15 May
Yeshi Dhonden

Doctor of traditional Tibetan medicine

16 May
Vijaya Mulay

Film historian, documentary filmmaker, co-creator of Ek Anek aur Ekta

16 May
Ramakrishna Hosur

Biophysical scientist

16 May
Soma Biswas

Silver medallist at the Asian Games (2002 & 2006)

17 May
Pankaj Udhas

Ghazal singer

17 May
Froilano de Mello

Microbiologist, professor, MP

17 May
Anupama Gokhale

Woman International Master in chess

18 May
Kalamandalam Kesavan

Kathakali percussionist and actor

18 May
H D Deve Gowda

11th prime minister of India

18 May
Usha Rani Hooja

Noted sculptor

19 May
Ruskin Bond

Poet and author

19 May
Girish Karnad

Playwright, actor, director, Kannada writer

19 May
Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

6th President of India

19 May
Balu Mahendra

Maker of films such as Moondram Pirai

20 May
Company Havildar Major Piru Singh

PVC recipient

20 May
Anjum Chopra

Player turned commentator

20 May
Sumitranandan Pant

First Hindi poet to receive Jnanpith award

21 May
Mohanlal

Malayalam film superstar

21 May
Anita Ratnam

Dancer, choreographer

21 May
Sanjay Subrahmanyam

Carnatic vocalist

22 May
Sumaira Abdulali

Environmental activist; founder of Awaaz Foundation

22 May
Ajay Ahuja

Vir Chakra awardee for his role in the Kargil War

22 May
Reema Nanavaty

Developmental worker; Director of SEWA

23 May
Princess Gayatri Devi

Politician

23 May
Romulus Whitaker

Herpetologist; Founder of Madras Snake Park + Madras Crocodile Bank

23 May
Vinod Rai

11th Comptroller and Auditor General of India

23 May
Samir Kochhar

Actor and television presenter

24 May
Bachendri Pal

First Indian woman to climb the summit of Mount Everest

24 May
Madhav Gadgil

Ecologist, author; Founder of Centre for Ecological Sciences

24 May
Rajdeep Sardesai

Former Editor-in-Chief of CNN-IBN

25 May
Karan Johar

"KJo"; owner of Dharma Productions

25 May
Rash Behari Bose

Founder of Indian Independence League

25 May
Uttam Singh

Music director, violinist

26 May
Aruna Roy

Spearheaded enactment of RTI

26 May
Sushil Kumar

Double Olympic medallist

26 May
Manorama

Guinness Record for acting in over 1,000 films

27 May
Ravi Shastri

Firebrand cricketer, coach; "tracer bullet"

27 May
Muneer Sait

Olympic bronze medal winning hockey goalie

27 May
Sarbjit Singh Bahga

Architect, urbanist, author and photo-artist.

28 May
N T Rama Rao

Actor, filmmaker and politician who served as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh for seven years

28 May
Wendell Rodricks

Fashion designer; gay rights activist

28 May
S L Kirloskar

Credited with developing indigenous production of diesel after Independence

29 May
Gukesh D

Third-youngest person to achieve the title of grandmaster

29 May
Ramananda Chatterjee

Journalist, editor; Founder of The Modern Review (1907-1995)

29 May
Pankaj Kapur

Actor

30 May
Resul Pookutty

Sound editor; won Academy Award for Slumdog Millionaire

30 May
Jennifer Winget

One of the highest-paid TV actresses; TV show anchor

30 May
Vidyadhar Oke

Musicologist, harmonium player

31 May
Vir Das

Actor, stand-up comic: scored a Netflix special

31 May
Vinod Mehta

Journalist; founder of Outlook

31 May
Vanraj Bhatia

Music composer for Indian new wave cinema

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