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Secretary
Nair Service Society, Kuwait Nair Service Society, Kuwait
Born on October 31, 1943 at Neyyattinkara near Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Graduated in Engineering from
College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram, (Kerala University) in 1966 and underwent training at Bhabha
Atomic Research Center (BARC), Bombay.
Dr. Nair joined Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) in 1967. Since then, he has held various
positions posting illustrious milestones on his way to the position of Chairman, ISRO. During his tenure as Chairman,
25 successful missions were accomplished including Mission Chandrayan.
In his tenure as the Director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre from 1995-99, Indi’s efforts towards indigenous
development of cryogenic technology took concrete shape and vital infrastructures were built and critical technologies
were developed.
In his role as the Director of VSSC from 1999 till he took over as Chairman, Dr. Nair led VSSC, the largest Centre of
ISRO with about six thousand employees working in various engineering and scientific disciplines towards the
development of India’s Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle – GSLV. He was also responsible for charting the
road map for future development of ISRO’s activities, especially in the launch vehicle area targeting low cost access to
space.
He has taken initiatives towards development of futuristic technologies to enhance the space systems capabilities as well
as to reduce the cost of access to space. He has given major thrust for evolving application programmes such as
tele-education and telemedicine for meeting the needs of society at large. As on today, more than 31,000 classrooms
have been connected under the EDUSAT network and telemedicine is extended to 315 hospitals. He has initiated
schemes for Village Resource Centres through satellite connectivity which aims at improving the quality of life of the
poor people in the villages.
In the international arena, Dr. Nair has led the Indian delegations for bilateral cooperation and negotiations with many
Space Agencies and Countries, especially with France, Russia, Brazil, Israel, etc.
Dr. Nair’s focus has always been to achieve self-reliance in the high technology areas and to bring the benefits of space
technology to the national development, specially targeting the needs of the rural and poor sections of the society.
Many honorary awards, doctorates and fellowships were conferred on Dr. Nair from different Universities and Scientific
Academies of India. National recognitions received include Padma Bhushan in 1998 and the Country’s second highest
civilian award Padma Vibhushan in the year 2009.
Thiruvizha Jayashankar
Belongs to a traditional family of musicians. His father Raghava
Panicker and grandfather Sankara Panicker were professional
nagaswaram vidwans. He was initiated into music by his
grandfather. He performed his debut nagaswaram concert at
the age of 14. He won first prize in the All India Radio (AIR)
National Contest. He joined RLV Academy for Ganabhushan-
am, Chittoor College, Palakkad for BA degree in music and Swati Tirunal Academy of music for Gana
Praveena. He served AIR as a program announcer for three decades and he says with gratitude that
opportunities to meet great musicians, to listen to their performances, chances for hearing old gems etc
influenced him and nurtured his taste. After retirement, he restarted painting which was his second
love. His portrayal of ragas in acrylic are different and are well received. Jayashankar was conferred
the title of Kalaimamani Isai Perarinjar, Kala Sangeetha Nataka Academy Award and Fellowship and
Karunamoorthy
the Guruvayoor Puraskaram.
Kalamandalam Mohanakrishnan
Kalamandalam Mohanakrishnan was born on June 1, 1969 in Chathannoor village,
Palakkad District. Being a member of a family of artists, he had the added advantage
of obtaining basic lessons of dance form at the very tender age. After his primary
education, he joined Kerala Kalamandalam for learning Ottamthullal. He had
the opportunity to undergo training and practice under various veteran artists
in the field in Kalamandalam. After his studies, in April 2002, he joined as Ottamthullal
teacher in Kerala Kalamandalam. He is a post diploma holder in Ottamthullal
and has been performing Ottamthullal in India and abroad for the past 22 years.
During his long stint in Ottamthullal, he had also visited and performed in
various countries like UK, Scotland, Ireland, UAE etc. He has opened an
Institute in 1997 for performing and other arts and teaching jointly with his
wife Kalamandalm Bindu. They are also conducting classes to students
for Ottamthullal, Bharatha Natyam, Mohini Attam, Kutchipudi, musical
Instruments etc.