Meera Nanda

Meera Nanda (born 1954) is an Indian writer, historian and philosopher of science based in the United States.

Life and career

Nanda was educated in science and philosophy with a PhD in biotechnology from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and a PhD in science studies from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

She was a John Templeton Foundation Fellow in Religion and Science (2005–2007). In January 2009, she was a Fellow at the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute for Advanced Study, in the Jawaharlal Nehru University for research in Science, Post-Modernism and Culture. Currently, she is a visiting faculty of history and philosophy of science at Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali.

She has authored several works on religion, most notably Prophets Facing Backward: Postmodern Critiques of Science and Hindu Nationalism in India (2004), and her 2009 book The God Market which examines how India is experiencing a rising tide of popular Hinduism, including Government of India financing of Hinduism despite the nation's secular characteristic. The book was also reviewed by William Dalrymple in Outlook Magazine.

Meera

Meera, also known as Mira Bai, was a 16th century Hindu mystic poet and devotee of Krishna. She is celebrated as a poet and has been claimed by the North Indian Hindu tradition of Bhakti saints.

Meera was born into a royal family of Kurki district of Pali, Rajasthan, India. She is mentioned in Bhaktamal, confirming that she was widely known and a cherished figure in the Indian bhakti movement culture by about 1600 CE. Most legends about Meera mention her fearless disregard for social and family conventions, her devotion to god Krishna, her treating Krishna as her lover and husband, and she being persecuted by her in-laws for her religious devotion. She has been the subject of numerous folk tales and hagiographic legends, which are inconsistent or widely different in details.

Thousands of devotional poems in passionate praise of Lord Krishna are attributed to Meera in the Indian tradition, but just a few hundred are believed to be authentic by scholars, and the earliest written records suggest that except for two poems, most were written down only in the 18th century. Many poems attributed to Meera were likely composed later by others who admired Meera. These poems are commonly known as bhajans, and are popular across India. Hindu temples, such as in Chittorgarh fort, are dedicated to Mira Bai's memory. Legends about Meera's life, of contested authenticity, have been the subject of movies, comic strips and other popular literature in modern times.

Meera (actress)

Irtiza Rubab (born 12 May 1977), better known by her stage name Meera, is a Pakistani film actress, television presenter, model and leading philanthropist. She made her movie debut in 1995, but earned nationwide critical acclaim in 1999 for her lead performance in Khilona (1996–97). For her acting in Khilona she won her first Nigar Award and received significant praise for her work. With the release of Inteha, another critical and commercial success, Meera won the second consecutive Nigar Award for Best Actress of the year for her break-out performance. In 2004, she played a prominent role in Salakhain which lifted her image internationally. In 2005, she acted in a joint Indo-Pakistani film, Nazar with which she debuted in Bollywood.

In 2013 election she announced to launch herself in Pakistani Politics but later she stepped back nominating her mother as candidate for national assembly reserved seat(which her mother lost by taking 100 votes only). after this she announced to build a health trust for which she is still unsuccessful.

Meera (Tamil series)

Meera or Meera - Oru Kanni Thai (Tamil: மீரா) is an Tamil soap opera that aired on Vijay TV. The show premiered on 6 September 2010. It airs Monday through Friday at 8:00PM IST. The show starring by Madhurai and Saravanan Meenatchi serial Fame Sreeja acting Female lead role. The serial is directed and produced by Kavita Bharathi, Cinematography is by Martin and Hari Krishna scores the music for the same. The show last aired on 3 December 2010 and ended with 64 episodes. The story talks about Meera who's a kind hearted, soft spoken woman hailing from a Brahmin family.

Cast

International broadcast

In United Kingdom Tamil Channel on Global Tamil Vision.

References

External links

Nanda (Buddhist nun)

Princess Sundari Nanda was the half-sister of Siddhartha Gautama, who later became Gautama Buddha. She became a nun after the enlightenment of her half-brother and became the foremost bhikkhuni in the practise of jhana (total meditative absorption). She lived during the 6th century BCE in what is now Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in India.

Early years

When she was born, Nanda was lovingly welcomed by her parents: Her father was King Suddhodarna, also the father of the Buddha; her mother was Mahaprajapati. Mahaprajapati was the second wife of Suddhodarna and the younger sister of his first wife, the late Queen Maya. Nanda's name means joy, contentment, pleasure, and was named as her parents were especially joyous about the arrival of a newborn baby. Nanda was known in her childhood for being extremely well-bred, graceful and beautiful. To disambiguate her from Sakyans by the same name, she was also known as "Rupa-Nanda," "one of delightful form," or sometimes "Sundari-Nanda," "beautiful Nanda." Over time, many members of her family, the family of the Sakyans of Kapilavastu, left the worldy life for the ascetic life, inspired by the enlightenment of their Crown Prince Siddhartha. Amongst them was her brother Nanda, and her cousins Anuruddha and Ananda, who were two of the Buddha’s five leading disciples. Her mother, was the first Buddhist nun, having asked the Buddha to allow women into the sangha. As a result of this, many other royal Sakyan ladies, including Princess Yasodharā, the wife of Siddhartha became Buddhist monastics. Thereupon, Nanda also renounced the world, but it was recorded that she did not do it out of confidence in the Buddha and the dharma, but out of blood love for her relatives and a feeling of belonging.

Nanda (disambiguation)

Nanda is an Indian surname.

Nanda may also refer to:

Nanda (actress)

Nanda (8 January 1939 – 25 March 2014) was an Indian film actress who appeared in Hindi and Marathi films. She was best known for her performances in films like Ittefaq, Joru Ka Ghulam, Neend Hamare Khwab Tumhare, Kanoon, Pati Patni, Gumnaam, Akashdeep, Bedaag and Raja Saab.

Early life

Nanda was born in a Maharashtrian show-business family to Vinayak Damodar Karnataki (Master Vinayak), a successful Marathi actor-producer-director. Her father died in 1947, aged 41, four days after India became an independent nation, when Nanda was eight years old. The family faced hard times. She became a child actress, helping her family working in films in the early 1950s. She made her debut with Mandir in 1948.

On the silver screen she was first recognized as "Baby Nanda". In films like Mandir, Jaggu, Angaarey, and Jagriti, she was a child actor between 1948-56.As a result of her involvement in movies, her studies suffered, and she was coached at home by renowned school teacher and Bombay Scouts commissioner, Gokuldas V. Makhi. By taking up a career in films, she supported and educated her six other siblings. One of her brothers is Marathi film director Jaiprakash Karnataki. Actress Jayashree Talpade is her sister-in-law.