Sometime in 1893, a ship called Empress of India sailed from Yokahoma in Japan to Vancouver in Canada. On board were two extraordinary Indians – Jamshetji Tata and Swami Vivekananda. Both were headed for Chicago which was to host the World’s Columbian Exposition, a celebration of technology and Industrial progress. The exposition opened on 1 May 1893.
Tata was heading Chicago for getting new business ideas. Vivekananda, on the other hand was heading for a smaller show that was meant to compliment the industrial exhibition; The World Congress of Religions. There he shook his audience with that exceptional opening “My dear brothers and sisters...” speech on Vedanta.
It was a meeting of two visionaries; Tata, a keen supporter of social reform in India and the monk, very passionate about science and development. On board, the two discussed to start a steel mill in India. It is said that Swami told Tata that there were two parts to the challenge – manufacturing technology and the science of steel. The former could be bought from abroad, but the science has to be researched at Home.
This seeded the idea in Tata’s mind to start the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore.
Tata wrote to Vivekananda in 1898 asking for his support for the venture: “I know not who would make a more fitting general of such a campaign than Vivekananda”
That year was to mark the end of a period of modest but a volatile economy.
Tata was heading Chicago for getting new business ideas. Vivekananda, on the other hand was heading for a smaller show that was meant to compliment the industrial exhibition; The World Congress of Religions. There he shook his audience with that exceptional opening “My dear brothers and sisters...” speech on Vedanta.
It was a meeting of two visionaries; Tata, a keen supporter of social reform in India and the monk, very passionate about science and development. On board, the two discussed to start a steel mill in India. It is said that Swami told Tata that there were two parts to the challenge – manufacturing technology and the science of steel. The former could be bought from abroad, but the science has to be researched at Home.
This seeded the idea in Tata’s mind to start the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore.
Tata wrote to Vivekananda in 1898 asking for his support for the venture: “I know not who would make a more fitting general of such a campaign than Vivekananda”
That year was to mark the end of a period of modest but a volatile economy.
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