Azim Hashim Premji is an Indian businessman and philanthropist, who was the chairman of Wipro Limited. Premji remains a non-executive member of the board and founder chairman. He is informally known as the Czar of the Indian IT Industry. He was responsible for guiding Wipro through four decades of diversification and growth, to finally emerge as one of the global leaders in the software industry. In 2010, he was voted among the 20 most powerful men in the world by Asiaweek. He has twice been listed among the 100 most influential people by Time magazine, once in 2004 and more recently in 2011. For years, he has been regularly listed one among The 500 Most Influential Muslims. He also serves as the Chancellor of Azim Premji University, Bangalore. Premji was awarded Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award, by the Government of India.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is an Indian billionaire entrepreneur. She is the executive chairperson and founder of Biocon Limited and Biocon Biologics Limited, a biotechnology company based in Bangalore, India and the former chairperson of Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. In 2014, she was awarded the Othmer Gold Medal for outstanding contributions to the progress of science and chemistry. She was on the Financial Times 2011 top 50 women in business list. In 2019, she was listed as the 68th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes. She was named EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year 2020. She was married to John Shaw.
India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) is an independent, nationwide, non-profit organization that grants and implements projects in practice, research, and education in the arts and culture in India. Established as a public trust in 1993 and headquartered in Bangalore, IFA has been involved in over 850 projects. Its founding director, Anmol Vellani, previously worked with the Ford Foundation.
Shiv Nadar is an Indian billionaire businessman and philanthropist. He was the founder and chairman of HCL Technologies, and is chairman of the Shiv Nadar Foundation. Nadar founded HCL in the year 1976 and transformed the IT hardware company into an IT enterprise over the next three decades. In 2008, Nadar was awarded Padma Bhushan for his efforts in the IT industry. Nadar, nicknamed by friends as Magus, since the mid-1990s he has focused his efforts on developing the educational system of India through the Shiv Nadar Foundation. According to Forbes, he has an estimated net worth of US$42 billion as of October 2024 making him one of the richest people in the world.
Princess Sita Devi, Princess Karamjit Singh of Kapurthala, also known as Princess Karam and the Pearl of India, was the wife of Prince Karamjit Singh, a younger son of King Jagatjit Singh I of Kapurthala in Punjab, British India. In 1944, she was awarded the Empire of India Medal for her work in raising funds for Indian soldiers in the Second World War.
Naveen Kumar Gowda, known by his screen name Yash, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Kannada films. He is a recipient of three Filmfare Awards South and two SIIMA awards.
Maharani Chimnabai II was a queen and the second wife Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad of the princely state of Baroda, Gujarat, British India. She is the author of the treatise The position of Women in Indian Life (1911), and was the first president of the All India Women's Conference (AIWC) in 1927-1928, as well as the president of the National Council of Women in India in 1928-1937.
Kiran Shiv Nadar is an Indian art collector and philanthropist. Kiran is the wife of Shiv Nadar, the founder of HCL Technologies, and is a trustee of the Shiv Nadar Foundation and the founder of the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art. She won a bronze medal representing India in the 2018 Asian Games in the Bridge Mixed team event. She was awarded the Padma Shri in 2024.
Bengaluru, formerly called Bangalore in English, is the capital and largest city of the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than 8 million and a metropolitan population of around 15 million, making it India's third most populous city and fourth most populous urban agglomeration. It is the most populous city and largest urban agglomeration in South India, and is the 27th largest city in the world. Located on the Deccan Plateau, at a height of over 900 m (3,000 ft) above sea level, Bengaluru has a pleasant climate throughout the year, with its parks and green spaces earning it the reputation of India's "Garden City". Its elevation is the highest of India's major cities.
Adrian Cheng Chi-kong is a Hong Kong entrepreneur and business executive son of property developer Henry Cheng and grandson of Cheng Yu-tung. He is the former CEO and executive vice-chairman of the family company, the Hong Kong-listed New World Development, the heir and executive director of jewelry company Chow Tai Fook, and the owner of Rosewood Hong Kong Hotel. He is also the founder of K11, which has a portfolio of commercial, cultural and residential projects.
Ashish Parmar was an Indian photographer who is best known for his iPhone photograph that was plastered on billboards across the world. He shot subjects of varied nature – weddings, high end events, music festivals and wildlife. He was the Official Photographer for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2010. He was also one among the top 12 Electronic Dance Music photographers in India. In 2016, an image he took of his wife and posted on Instagram was chosen as a part of Apple’s "Shot on iPhone 6S" ad campaign. He was also the only Indian photographer to be invited to the Future Music Festival Asia held in Kuala Lumpur in 2014.
Venkatappa Art Gallery (VAG) is situated in Bangalore, India, in the vicinity of Cubbon Park and next to the Bangalore Museum as well as the Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum. It attracts artists and art lovers from all over Karnataka.
The Museum of Art and Photography (MAP) is a private art museum based in Bangalore, India that is a custodian to a collection of Indian art, textiles, photography, craft, and design objects spanning from the twelfth century to the present.
Begum Jahanara of Palanpur (1915-2003) was an Australian heiress who became the Begum of Palanpur, India, during the mid 20th-century. Her life story was later recorded in a biography written by a distant cousin, Australian author Suzanne Falkiner.
Rohini Nilekani is an Indian writer, author and philanthropist. She is the founder of Arghyam Foundation, a non-profit that focuses on water and sanitation issues, founded in 2001. She also chairs the Akshara Foundation, which focuses on elementary education. Nilekani serves as the co-founder and director of non-profit education platform, EkStep. She is chairperson of Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies.
The Devi Art Foundation is a contemporary art museum located in Gurgaon, Delhi, India.
Sanyogitabai Devi of Indore, was an Indian socialite and queen, the wife of Maharaja Yashwant Rao Holkar II of the princely state of Indore, British India.
Sudhira Sundari Devi Narayan of Cooch Bihar, also known as Princess Mander, was an Indian princess of the princely state of Cooch Behar, British India. She was born in Calcutta on 7 March 1894, the youngest daughter of H.H. Sri Sri Maharaja Sir Nripendra Narayan Bhup Bahadur, Maharaja of Cooch Behar, by his wife H.H. Maharani Sunity Devee Sahiba, sometime Regent of Cooch-Behar and President of the State Council.
Prativa Sundari Devi Narayan of Cooch Bihar, also known as Princess Mander, was an Indian princess of the princely state of Cooch Behar, British India. She was born at Lily Cottage, Calcutta, on 22 November 1891, the second daughter of H.H. Sri Sri Maharaja Sir Nripendra Narayan Bhup Bahadur, Maharaja of Cooch Behar, by his wife H.H. Maharani Sunity Devee Sahiba, sometime Regent of Cooch-Behar and President of the State Council.
