By Parveen Chopra, IANS
New York : The Limca Book of Records will release a special edition coffee table book to pay tribute to 60 Indians who, according to the publishers, have made a difference and have contributed in getting India recognised the world over.
‘India Extraordinaire – Sixty Years. Sixty Luminaries’ will be released at the launch of the 2007 edition of the Limca Book of Records in New York Sept 25.
India’s Minister of Commerce & Industry Kamal Nath will be the chief guest at the event presented by Coca-Cola India’s President Atul Singh in association with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
The event has been planned in the middle of the four-day long Incredible India @ 60 festival in New York celebrating 60 years of India’s independence.
The 60 people profiled in India Extraordinaire include some obvious picks and some surprises – not really since the chooser is Limca Book.
Sunil Mittal, CMD of Bharti, filmmaker Mira Nair, fashion designer Ritu Kumar, Naina Lal Kidwai, CEO of HSBC in India, and Rohini Nilekani, associated with education NGOs like Pratham and Akshara Foundation, are on the list.
So are Sudarshan Patnaik, the sand artist, Dr Ruby Dhalla, youngest woman MP in Canada, Prof. Pawan Sinha and his wife Prof. Pamela Lipson of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who have inscribed the entire text of Bhagavad Gita in 24 K gold on a pure crystal tablet measuring 1 cm square and 0.03 cm thick, and the husband-wife duo Padma Subbaraya and Kiran Karadi, software professionals in California who have set many records running marathons in mountains.
All these people are expected to be present at the book release function, according to a press release.
India Extraordinaire is billed as a collector’s item. The pictures are by photographers such as Raghu Rai and Atul Kasbekar. The Foreword has been written by the writer-poet Gulzar.
The Limca Book, ready with its 18th edition, records achievements by Indians. It also features some ‘People of the Year’ in each edition.
Limca is a soft drink brand from Coca-Cola.