The Puffin Book of 100 Extraordinary Indians

The Puffin Book of 100 Extraordinary Indians is a celebration of achievements and personal stories of those who forged new paths for themselves and others in a way that it continues to affect modern lives.Written as short anecdotal biographical sketches the book presents lives of scientists doctors activists painters sportspeople dancers political leaders and many more from different walks of life. Among 100 extraordinary Indians are names like Irom Sharmila Dutee Chand Bhagat Singh Gauri Sawant Virat Kohli Satya Nadella Chatrapati Shivaji.Whether they climbed the heights swam the depths mastered science or track and field picked the baton of education or activism--each of their stories is replete with big and small victories that continue to inspire. About the Author Venkatesh Vedam hails from Agra the city of the Taj Mahal and cherishes fond memories of often jogging to the Taj on summer mornings. He was a normal kid till the age of five when during a train journey a loose shutter banged on his head while he was enjoying the scenery glued to the window bars. He holds the incident responsible for the imbalance between his left and right brain which eventually turned him into a writer. However it was two decades after the big bang that he first wrote a story. In the interim post his schooling he graduated in chemical engineering from NITW worked in a petrochemical company and jumped on to the software bandwagon by joining an Indian IT giant where he continues till the present day. Venkatesh has authored a fantasy thriller for preteens A Leap in a Blue Moon which has been well received by readers of all age groups. His short stories have appeared in print as well as online platforms including Juggernaut. Venkatesh resides in the silicon-garden city of Bengaluru with his wife and daughter. He loves curling up with a good book or watching television programmes on astronomy and wildlife when not writing or daydreaming. He also likes peering at the heavens through his 90 mm refractor telescope on cloudless and moonless nights. Venkatesh can be contacted at write2venkyvedam@gmail.com.