Women who stole the limelight in 2006

The year 2006 was an eventful year and has brought huge accolades to Indian women like Indra Nooyi, Kiran Desai, Koneru Humpy, Saina Nehwal, Sunitha Williams among others. These women have succeeded in the international arena by making a mark in their own spheres. Let's now recollect and associate some of the names to the reasons for which the media paid attention to them.

Indra Nooyi
Do you think an Indian woman could ever become the CEO of a US company, and that too a Fortune 500 company? Sounds impossible, right? If you think so, then Indra Nooyi will prove you wrong. Yes, Indra Nooyi is the first Indian woman to become the CEO of PepsiCo. Nooyi also is the 11th woman in the world to lead a Fortune 500 company. She is just 50 years old and is chosen by Forbes as the 'Most Powerful Woman in Business' in the year 2006. She undoubtedly is our first choice for the Women of 2006.

Kiran Desai
Every Indian who has some interest in the literary world or follows some sort of news would be aware of Kiran Desai's achievements. Her book 'The Inheritance of Loss' has won her the 2006 Man Booker Prize. You may wonder what's so special about this achievement. This achievement is special because Desai is the youngest Booker Prize awardee and has achieved what her mother Anitha couldn't achieve despite being shortlisted for the prestigious award three times. Desai also has succeeded in capturing the essence of the new global village in her fiction. No wonder, Sulman Rushdie has described her as the 'First Dynasty of Modern Indian Fiction.'

Koneru Humpy
Anyone aware who is India's newest chess champion? If not, then we'd like to tell you about Koneru Humpy, the youngest woman ever to achieve a men's Grandmaster title. She has won two gold medals at the Doha Asian Games in 2006. One of the admirable features of Humpy's achievement is that she is the youngest woman player who is successful in the men's game. Humpy has a long and bright career ahead and she is going to challenge all the sharpest minds in the field of chess, be it men or women. Definitely, a trend-setter in the mind game that is currently being dominated by men.

Saina Nehwal
A 16-year old girl winning the Four Star Grand Prix Philippines open is not a small fete. The girl that we are talking about is Saina Nehwal, who is tipped to become India's best women's player ever. Badminton runs in her veins, as both her parents Usha and Harvir Singh Nehwal were badminton players. Saina's coach is none other than the former all England champion P Gopichand, who took her under his wing when she was just 13. He says, "I think her achievement is phenomenal because no Indian woman has done it so far. Also to do so when she is just 16 is great. She has got many tournaments to play in future. It is remarkable not only for her but also for Indian badminton."

Sunita Williams
When the Discovery set off from NASA's Kennedy space centre on the December 10th 2006, Sunita Williams became the second woman of Indian origin to go into space. Sunita, a graduate of the US Naval Academy, is a brave lady with great achievements. Selected by NASA in June 1998, she reported for training in August 1998. Astronaut Candidate Training included orientation briefings and tours, numerous scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in Shuttle and International Space Station systems, physiological training and ground school to prepare for T-38 flight training, as well as learning water and wilderness survival techniques. Sunita will remain aboard the International Space Station till mid-2007 and will serve as a flight engineer during her six-month tour of duty aboard the ISS.

Medha Padkar
Thinking of Indian women who were in news in the domestic circuit, Medha Patkar's name comes to mind instantaneously. She struck several news headlines when she went on a 20-day hunger strike protesting against raising the height of Narmada dam by another 122 meters thereby giving a new lease of life to the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA). However, the Supreme Court had reasons to reject NBA's petition to stop the construction.

Mamta Banerjee
After Trinamool Congress's poor show in the April 2006 elections in West Bengal, Mamta Banerjee regained her lost popularity when she supported the farmers at Singur, who were protesting against the government's land acquisition plans for Tata Motor's small car project. Mamta went on a 25-day hunger strike and was suddenly in the news with all VIPs requesting her to withdraw from the self-inflicted torment. Gaining back the lost fame is definitely painful!

Rakhi Sawant
It's, however, not difficult to become popular for wrong reasons. It looks like Rakhi Sawant, the bollywood's red hot sensation, believes in this proposition. She made news when she involved herself in a long and hot lip locking session with Bhangra singer Mika. If you are not aware of this incident, then there are chances that you might end up losing a quiz competition in the future. The concept of general knowledge is in a transition stage these days. Better keep yourself updated of such 'miss-historic' events as well.

Kaavya Vishwanathan
These days there is no dearth of short-lived success stories. We probably need not introduce you to Kaavya Vishwanathan, the 19-year old Harvard student. Her debut novel 'How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life' had earned her a lucrative movie deal along with an advance of $500,000 for a two-book contract. Unfortunately, she lost all these when it was found that she had plagiarised Megan Mccafferty's 'Sloppy Firsts'. Short cut to success brings only short-lived success.

Hope to have more women achievers in 2007