Today’s Motto: ‘Fortune favours the daring one’
Greetings to our Viewers on Makar Sankranti, Lohdi, Bihu, Pongal and onset of Uttarayan Paksha!
As Every Day makes a new beginning in life, it brings new opportunities, opens new avenues to perform and make a mark, to write a Page in History Book!
This is Your Day: TODAY: Take a Determined Step Forward and Make History!
On this day, 14 January……….. Mahakumbh begins at Prayaraj!
1641 – United East Indian Company conquers city of Malakka, 7,000 people of local Malay tribes were killed.
1690 – Clarinet invented, in Nurnberg, Germany.
1760 – Eyree Coote, British Army Captain, captured Pondicherry. French General Lally, burdened by a lack of naval support and funds, unsuccessfully attempted to regain the fort at Vandavasi, now in Tamil Nadu. Wandiwash is the Anglicised pronunciation of Vandavasi.
1761 – Third Battle of Panipat between the Marathas and Afghans is fought. between a northern expeditionary force of the Maratha Empire and invading forces of the King of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Abdali, supported by two Indian allies—the Rohilla Afghans of the Doab, and Shuja-ud-Daula.
1794 – Elizabeth Hog Bennett became the first woman in the U.S. to successfully give birth to a child by a Cesarean bi-section.
1914 – The Gandhi-Smuts Agreement is reached between Gen. J.C. Smuts and Mahatma Gandhi, regarding voluntary registration, poll tax, recognition of Indian marriages and other matters (pic credit-Mint).
1914 – Henry Ford announced the newest advance in assembly line production of “modern” cars he had introduced six weeks earlier, on 1 Dec 1913. Th
e new continuous motion method reduced assembly time of a car from over 12 hours to 93 minutes (pic credit-Pinterest).
1938 – Belur Math, the new temple devoted to Ramakrishna Paramhand, was consecrated in Calcutta (pic credit-Flickr).
1969 – Madras State renamed as Tamil Nadu.
1980 – Shakuntala Devi, mentally multiplies two 13-digit numbers in 28 sec. She was a mathematical genius capable of doing big and many calculation in mind within seconds. She also practised astrology, numerology etc. and wrote several books of such subjects. Known as Human Computer, she was awarded Distinuished Woman of the Year in
1969, Ramanujan Mathematical Genius Award in Washington DC in 1988, Guinness Book of World Record in 1982,
1990 – India and Maldives scrap visas.
1994 – Marathwada University renamed as Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University.
1995 – Ban on VHP re-imposed.
2011 – Stampede near Sabarimala in Kerala kills 104 devotees and injures 100 more.
Born….
1882 – Maharshi Raghunath Dhondo Karve, father of Family Planning and Sex
Education. He was a social reformer, advocated widows’ education, remarriage and their rights in society. He was honoured with D. Lit by Benaras Univ. in 19+42, Pune Univ. in 1951 and SNDT Univ. Also Padam Vibhushan and Bharat Ratna in 1958.
1905 – Durga Khote, veteran Marathi stage artist and Bollywood actress, did very famous roles in about 200 films over 50 years. Her prominent films were Ayodhyecha Raja, Amar Jyoti, Prithvi Vallabh, Shikast, Mughle Azam, Bidai, Ham Ek Hain, Parivar etc. She was awarded BFJA, Filmfare, Masharashtra Stat
e and Dadasaheb Phalke award (1983).
1965 – Seema Biswas, Bollywood actor who played Bandit Queen and other films and won a National and Filmfare awards.
RIP…. 
1851 – Peshwa Bajirao Raghunath, last Peshwa of Marathas.
1991 – Chitragupta, legendary film music director who gave several memorable songs to 
Indian cine industry, like Bhabhi, Main Chup Rahoongi, Barkha, Oonche Log, Ganga Ki Lehren, Patang, Opera House etc. He won several awards and accolades.
You may have known….
Mahakumbh at Prayagraj: is the congregation of Hindu devotees on the beginning of Uttrayan Paksha 
in Triveni Sangam (merging point of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati rivers) when Sun enters Makar Rashi, and believed to start its journey northwords, and new Hindu month Magh also starts today leading to Maghi Snan and Maghin Mela in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal , J&K and Delhi. Kumbh is held every year on Makar Sankranti day in most parts of North India. In other parts of India also, this pious day is called Bihu (Assam, North-East), Pongal (Kerala and Southern states) and Makar Sankranti (Maharashtra, Karnataka Andhra etc.) but Mahakumbh is celebrated every 12 years). Lakhs of of Shiva Divotees , Saints, Hermits, Ascetics and Sadhus of 12 different Naga Akharas (Clans) reach Prayagraj to take a pious dip in the Triveni Sangam.
This year over 40 crores devotees are expected to take dip at Prayagraj Sangam in about 45 days beginning today. Union and State Govts. have made arrangments by road-rail-air transportation, health, security and other logistics including . 
It is estimated that about Rs. 3 lakh crores of revenue business will be done during this period. (Feature image credit-PTI) .
{Compiled by Lt. Gen. (R) Raj Kadyan}