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
