Deities deified

"Who are your idols?" is a question I am asked very frequently. Many times, I have brushed it aside saying "Oh, well- there are too many to list for so many different reasons and causes" I would quip. But when its been asked one too many times, I decided I would organize my thoughts and say it out loud what's been on my mind for some years now. Its a painstaking task, since there are so many people out there to be idolized. If you scroll down the list, you will notice that its an all woman star cast. This was totally unintentional and I am surprised by the fact, myself. I can only reason, that being a woman, somewhere at the back of my mind, I'd just steer towards those wonderful women with outstanding achievements. What I do admire in these women and similar ones is that they not only excel in their chosen field of profession, but they also devote ample time for social causes, be it for their hometown, for their motherland or for the people around them, where they leave an indelible mark for themselves for many years to come.

So here goes, enjoy the roll-call.

Disclaimer : This listing is in no particular order of prominence, preference or prejudice or priority and hence to not be treated as one.

1. Kiran Bedi is an Indian police officer and is the first woman to join the Indian Police Service (IPS). She has served in different sectors of the IPS like narcotics, in charge of Tihar jail, VIP security and traffic management. Such diverse divisions, such challenging postings and most important of all, what an achievement to have survived in such male dominated positions. A landmark for Indian women, the kind of mark that is set in stone in the annals of women's emancipation and empowerment. Hence she features large in my list of admirable women.

2. Kiran Mazumdar is an Indian entrepeneur and as of 2004, the richest Indian woman. She is the founder and chairman and Managing Director of Biocon, a leading biotechnology venture started in 1978(a first at the time for India). Biocon has since become the first for many reasons ranging from the first biotech company to receive ISO9001 certification in India to producing the a cholestrol reducing molecule approved by the FDA. Kiran is a true blue Bangalorean, born and brought up in the city. She has received many awards from the Padma Bhushan to the M. Vishweshwaraiah award. Despite the many hardships she has faced, she has continuously striven to make a mark in a field that not many ventured and wow, what a mark she has made! Another noteworthy facet of this legend is her keen interest and participation in improving her home town. She has actively campaigned and raised her voice for things that the city needs and has been a long-standing committed member for such civic causes.

3. Kalpana Chawla is an Indian born American astronaut who lost her life aboard the space shuttle Columbia in 2003. Born and brought up in Punjab, her idol was JRD Tata. She did her bachelors in Aerospace Engineering and moved to the US where she went all the way to obtain a PhD and landed at NASA. She joined the NASA astronaut corps in 1995 and was selected for her first flight, the first Indian born woman to receive this honor. With the Columbia space shuttle disaster, India has lost a great role-model, a committed astronaut and a great personality. She serves as a role model for many women, in India and abroad.

4. Amelia Earhart was an American aviator and first woman to have flown across the Atlantic in 1928 and the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic in 1932 among the many firsts against her name in aviation. Her career and her mysterious disappearance while flying around the world in 1937 catapulted the most intensive American search across air and water. Her life, personality and career has inspired many for many years now and will continue to do so. Her passion for flying and calm and collected persona coupled with her will to break all barriers with courage and persistence sure sets a lofty ideal for American women and across the world.

5. Madame Curie was a two-time Nobel laureate and pioneer in the field of radiology and radioactive chemistry. She, alongwith her husband Pierre, has worked diligenty for some brilliant discoveries in radioactive technology, which is prevalent to this day and age. Her star-studded research resulted in the discovery of two important radioactive elements polonium and radium. She became the first woman to receive a Nobel prize, she went on to receive TWO- one in Physics and one in Chemistry. She remains the only woman to have won two Nobel prizes in two different fields. What an amazing woman at such an age in history filled with strife and struggle. She donated her and her husband's gold Nobel Prize medals for the war effort during WW1. Her death in 1934 was due to over-exposure to radioactive elements, much of which was stored in the shed of her house with no proper safety measures. She was known to carry test tubes full of radioactive isotopes in her pocket, and stored them in her desk drawer!!!

6. Steffi Graf is undoubtedly one of the greatest tennis players to grace the courts. 1988 was the golden year for this German wonder where she won the Grand Slam and went on to win the Olympic Gold all in the same year. She is the only player to have been the No 1 player to have won the Grand Slam four times. Fraulein Forehand as she was called, due to her brilliant display of forehand, she went on to work on her backhand skills to reign supreme in women's tennis for many years till her retirement in 1999. After her retirement she dated and married another tennis great- Andre Agassi. What a pair!!! I am awaiting eagerly for their offsprings to display the same charm, style and grace that both their parents individually showed in abundance while on court. Prodigal geniuses no less.

So thus I have listed some of the greatest of the greatest women from a wide range of time periods that have emerged successful amidst hardships with perseverance, effort and single-minded dedication to their respective causes. I am also proud to note that some of them are Indians, my own kind. Kudos to these great women and may their tribe increase!