Google Doodle Celebrates Anna Mani: Facts About Indian Physicist And Meteorologist

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The Google Doodle commemorates the 104th birth anniversary of Anna Mani, one of the first female scientists in India. She is known as the "Weather Woman of India." The scientist Anna Mani laid the foundation for harnessing renewable energy in the country and conducted several studies that have contributed to the development of current weather forecasting agencies in the nation.

Facts About Anna Mani

Anna Modayil Mani was born in Peermade, Kerala, in 1918.

Since Gandhi's nationalist movement inspired her during the Vaikom Satyagraha at a young age, she began wearing only khadi garments.

By the age of eight, she had read most of the Malayalam public library's books, and by the age of twelve, all of the English library's books.

Despite her family's custom of providing diamond earrings for her eighth birthday, she requested a set of Encyclopaedia Britannica instead.

After winning a scholarship for research at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, she went to Imperial College, London, to pursue graduate studies in physics, but ultimately specialising in meteorological instruments.

Upon graduating from Pachai College, Mani worked under Prof. C V Raman, researching the optical properties of diamonds and rubies.

Mani wished to make India independent in the field of weather instruments. So she standardised the drawings of close to one hundred weather instruments.

She was a consultant for the World Meteorological Organization in Egypt in 1975. In 1976, she retired from the Indian Meteorological Department as deputy director general.

Mani suffered from a stroke in 1994. Sadly, she passed away on 16 August 2001, a week before her 83rd birthday, in Thiruvananthapuram.

In honour of her 100th birthday, the World Meteorological Organization published a biography and interview with her.

Mani also held important positions within the World Meteorological Organization of the United Nations. In 1987, she was awarded the INSA K R Ramanathan Medal for her outstanding scientific contributions.