Game Changers
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, byname Vir or Veer, (born May 28, 1883, Bhagur, India—died Feb. 26, 1966, Bombay [now Mumbai]), Hindu and Indian nationalist and leading figure in the Hindu Mahasabha (“Great Society of Hindus”), a Hindu nationalist organization and political party. Swami Vivekananda, known in his pre-monastic life as Narendra Nath Datta, was born in an affluent family in Kolkata on 12 January 1863. A precocious boy, Narendra excelled in music, gymnastics and studies. By the time he graduated from Calcutta University, he had acquired a vast knowledge of different subjects, especially Western philosophy and history. Born with a yogic temperament, he used to practise meditation even from his boyhood, and was associated with Brahmo Movement for some time. Sree Narayana Guru was born on August 22, 1856 (1032 Chingam in Malayalam calendar) in a humble cottage in the pretty hamlet of Chempazhanthi near Thiruvananthapuram.Narayana Guru was a philosopher, spiritual leader and social