Udaya Kumar Dharmalingam was one happy man on July 15, 2010 because from over 3,331 responses which were further shortlisted to five, it was the rupee symbol that he designed which the Government of India decided to officiate. Yes, it is this academic and designer who hails from Kallakkurichi, Tamil Nadu who gave us the rupee symbol we use today.
The Devanagari letter for 'ra' is used with parallel lines at the top and the centre, which is supposed to depict the tricolour and 'equality', a hope to reduce economic disparity — this is what our rupee symbol stands for.
Father of this IIT-Bombay alumnus N Dharmalingam told TNIE back then, "When the news that he won came, we were all so overjoyed. We could not wait to tell all the people in our village about our son's achievement."
Not another day
Yippee-ki-yay! Wondering what we are referring to? Well, if you know, you know.
But in the spirit of the special day that is today, we will let you in on what's going on. So, an action-packed film, which is now actually a series, Die Hard released today, July 15, 1988. Bruce Wills essayed the role of John McClane, a smart-mouthed NYPD officer who saves the city again and again. All five films revolve around the same character, the last of which, A Good Day To Die Hard, was released in the year 2013. This is a pop culture treasure, people!
If you aren't impressed, just wait.
The United States Library of Congress (de facto national library of the USA) called it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Go watch it! And then, we will proudly say, just as McClane would, "Welcome to the party, pal.”
