Portal:India/Did you know 5

This page is currently inactive and is retained for historical reference.
Either the page is no longer relevant or consensus on its purpose has become unclear. To revive discussion, seek broader input via a forum such as the village pump.

This is a selection of articles on Wikipedia that appeared on the India Portal's Did you know section. (Archives are in sets of approximately 50 items each)

Current Archive: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12

Did you know...

...that Ganendranath Tagore established the Jorasanko Natyasala, a private theatre in his own household, in Kolkata in 1865?
...that though the Origin of the Western Ganga Dynasty of Talakad (in modern Karnataka, India) is debated, they made rich contributions to the polity, culture and literature of the region?
...that in 1843 the German missionary Hermann Mögling published the first ever newspaper in the Kannada language?
...that the creation of Kannada Sahitya Parishat, an Indian non-profit organization to promote the Kannada language, was first initiated by Bharat Ratna Sir M. Vishweshwaraiah, the Diwan of the Mysore Kingdom?
...that Jyotirindranath Tagore played a major role in the flowering of the talents in his younger brother, the first Asian Nobel Prize winner Rabindranath Tagore?
...that in the 1989 kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed, the daughter of the Minister of Home Affairs of India at the time, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, was kidnapped within 5 days of his assuming that office?
...that a special kind of soil from Bidar fort is an essential ingredient in making Bidriware, a metal handicraft of Karnataka, India?
Company style painting
...that Company style paintings (example pictured) were made by Indian artists for patrons from the British East India Company in the 18th and 19th centuries?
...that Chitrakala Parishat, an art institution and a cultural organization in Bangalore, was the brainchild of famous Russian painter Svetoslav Roerich who used to reside in that city?
...that nearly 3 million rupees worth of property was stolen from the house of Kannada cinema actor Srinath on the day of his daughter's marriage in 2001?
...that the women courtiers in the erstwhile Mysore Kingdom were expected to be adept in 64 arts, with Kasuti embroidery being one of them?
...that the town of Channapatna in India is known as the "toy-town of Karnataka" due to the popularity of the wooden toys manufactured there?
...that Tejashwini Sreeramesh, an Indian Member of Parliament from the Kanakapura constituency of Karnataka, was previously an anchor of a talk show on Udaya TV?
...that Banga Mahila Vidyalaya (Bengali Women's College) was the first women’s liberal arts college in India?
...that the 1934 film Sati Sulochana was the first ever talkie produced in the Kannada language?
...that Annette Akroyd an orientalist, is remembered primarily for her early efforts at women’s education in India?
...that on May 3, 2002 a military MiG-21bis aircraft crashed into the Bank of Rajasthan in India, killing eight?
...that Kannada poet and Indian political activist Kayyar Kinhanna Rai published his first journal, Susheela, at the age of 12?
...that Pankaj Gupta was one of the earliest Indian sports administrators involved in football, hockey and cricket?
...that Dr. H. Sudarshan was honored with the Right Livelihood Award, also known as alternative Nobel Prize, for showing how tribal culture can help secure the basic rights and needs of indigenous people?
...that the Achelous-class repair ship USS Krishna and her sister ship USS Indra are the only U.S. Naval vessels to have borne the name of a Hindu deity?
...that Churumuri.com, one of the most popular blogs on WordPress.com, is named after a snack made of puffed rice that is a speciality of Mysore, Karnataka in India?
...that a version of the traditional Bengali panjika, the Hindu astrological almanac, comes with an interactive CD-ROM?
...that none of the storms of the 1970 North Indian Ocean cyclone season in the Arabian Sea made landfall?
...that the All India Sikh Students Federation was a major part of the movement for a Sikh-majority state of Punjab in India?
...that Mother Theresa University, in Vilpatti Panchayat, South India, is the nation's only university exclusively devoted to women's issues?
...that Ninasam, a cultural organization in Karnataka, India, had a project sponsored by the Ford Foundation of the United States?
...that self-made American millionaire James Jesse Lynn became Rajarsi Janakananda, the leading disciple of the Hindu guru Paramahansa Yogananda?
...that Beighton Cup is the oldest field hockey tournament in the world?
...that Bengali nationalism motivated the proposal for a united, independent Bengal as an alternative to the 1947 partition of Bengal?
...that Bhadda Kapilani, the foremost bhikkhuni of Gautama Buddha in understanding past reincarnations, was the former wife of Mahākāśyapa, who led the sangha following the Buddha's paranibbana?
...that Kannada cinema star Dr. Rajkumar was buried at Kanteerava Studios in Bangalore?
...that Bollywood actress Shenaz Treasurywala was discovered while stuck in India when Kuwait Airways lost her luggage, including travel documents she needed to return to school in New York?
...that Yasa, the sixth arahant of Gautama Buddha, was also the son and former husband of the first two female lay disciples?
...that Grey herons began nesting in the Kaggaladu heronry in only a single tree?
...that Leela Majumdar, author of children's books, translated Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels and Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea into Bengali?
...that the city of Mysore, in the Indian state of Karnataka, has been called the "cultural capital of Karnataka"?
...that Anuruddha, one of the leading five disciples of Gautama Buddha, was his cousin?
...that the Australian cricket team's world record of 16 consecutive wins ended during its 2001 India tour, when India recorded only the third win in Test cricket history by a side forced to follow-on?
...that Assaji, the last of the first five bhikkhus of Gautama Buddha to become an arahant, converted Sariputta and Mahamoggallana, the Buddha's two chief disciples?
...that the mother of Jamila Massey, an Indian actress and writer, refused to allow her to attend drama school, after the death of her father?
...that during his tenure as India's cricket coach, Kapil Dev, broke down in a BBC interview about alleged match-fixing?
...that Ajit Wadekar was the first Indian to represent the country as Test cricket player, captain, coach/manager and Chairman of Selectors?
...that Patacara, who became a Buddhist while disconsolately wandering naked through the Indian city of Savatthi, rose to become the foremost bhikkhuni of Gautama Buddha in her mastery of the Vinaya?
...that the graphic novel The Barn Owl's Wondrous Capers combines Kolkata's Babu culture and the legend of the Wandering Jew?
...that when Indrajit Gupta, a Communist, became India's Union Minister of Home Affairs in 1996, he became head of a ministry 'which once policed the Commies'?
...that Monisha, a South Indian cinema actress, was only 15 years old when she won the National Film Award for Best Actress for her debut performance in Nakhashathangal?
...that the relics of Sariputra and Mahamoggallana, Gautama Buddha's two chief disciples, were the subject of more than two million Sri Lankan pilgrimage visits after their discovery by Sir Alexander Cunningham?
...that Kosambi, a city in ancient India which was a frequent site of sermons by the Buddha was one of the places considered suitable for his Parinibbāna?
...that Anandabhadram, a film by Indian director Santosh Sivan, was inspired by classical Kathakali dancing and paintings of Raja Ravi Varma?