Did you know four craters of Venus are named after Indian women?

By Ruma Mazumdar | First Published Feb 18, 2017, 3:53 AM IST

Four craters of Venus are named after Indian women. 
Another one crater is named Dheepa after Indian first name.

The planet Venus is known for having many craters, and all of these craters are named after women who have contributed to their respective fields of work. For example, Cleopatra named after Egyptian queen, Kahlo after Frida Kahlo, Frank after Anne Frank, Rand after Ayn Rand, and Woolf after Virginia Woolf and so on and so forth.

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Interestingly, five craters of Venus have names associated with India out of which four names are of Indian female achievers, and one is Dheepa after Indian first name. Wondering who are the rest of the women whose achievements landed them on Venus?

Also Check: Introducing Pinkalaru – The City for Women

Here are the four iconic women who achievements made them reach new heights.

Mumtaz-Mahal: The Mughal empress and wife of Emperor Shah Jahan who constructed the famous Taj Mahal in the memory of the former. This noble lady has an amusing life story and is a subject of much speculations and curiosity.

Jerusha Jhirad: The Venus crater Jhirad is named after this physician’s name who was awarded Padma Shri in 1966. Jhirad happens to be the first Indian lady who received a scholarship by the then Indian government to study abroad which shows her brilliance.

Anandi Gopal Joshi: The Venus crater names as Joshee as a tribute to Anandi Gopal Joshi, the physician and first woman of Indian origin to study and earn a degree in medicine from the USA. Joshi is supposedly the first Hindu female to ever set foot on United States soil.

Joshi had a short yet inspiring life which makes her an idol for all women or all ages. Joshi belonged to an orthodox Hindu family of Thane District who was married off at the tender age of 9 years. At the age of 14, she gave birth to her son who died after 10 days due to lack of medical care. This incident motivated her to study medicine.

At the age of 19, she started studying medicine in the USA, but cold weather and dietary difference took a toll on her health. She completed her studies came back to India in late 1886 and became the physician-in-charge of the female ward of the Albert Edward Hospital. But a year later before turning 22, she passed away. Though a short yet she lived an accomplished and cherished life.

Pandita Ramabai Medhavi: The crater named after her is Medhavi. She was a scholar of Sanskrit, social reformer, and pioneer in the field of education. Pandita is a reputed title conferred to her for achieving excellence in the Sanskrit language. She opposed child marriage, promoted women education, founded the Arya Mahila Samaj, travelled extensively, wrote poetry and did things way ahead of her time.

These women are remarkable who broke the convention and set their own paths. Their struggle to achieve what other cannot imagine is commendable and deserves applause. They may have been forgotten by us, but the world community still values their importance and contribution to set a forward thinking in India.
You can gain what you want with determination, hard work and perseverance are what these women proved almost a century ago.

We at, Asianet Newsable are also trying to achieve something with determination, hard work, and perseverance and that is reclaiming Bengaluru city as a safe city for women irrespective of what happened on the New Year’s Eve. The recent shameful incidents in this city are making it one of the most unsafe cities in India, and this can be changed. Namma Bengaluru is making an effort to prove to everyone and most importantly to women in the city that we are a #CityForWomen. Asianet Newsable’s #Pinkaluru campaign is inviting you all to come together to bring back the city its lost glory.

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