Salute to women pioneers

On Women's day its the time to salute women who have made India proud. Let's have a sneak peak.

Power of pen: One of the renowned novelist of India. Shobaa De is often called India's Jackie Collins. She has left the mark with her writing skills among the readers. The socialite has account of works like 'Speedpost', 'Starry Nights', 'Spouse' and many more to her credit.

Time to celebrate: Sushmita Sen former Miss Universe 1994 and Aishwarya Rai former Miss World 1994 made the country proud after wining their respective titles.

Winning moment: Sushmita Sen left the whole universe spellbound when she clinched the Ms. Universe crown in 1994. A well-known Bollywood actress, and a single mother of an adopted girl child Renee. Sushmita likes to pen down poetry in her spare time.

World at her feet: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is an internationally renowned Indian actress. Before starting her acting career, she gained fame and won acccolades for the country after winning the Miss World contest in 1994. Last year got married to Abhishek Bachchan of the famous Bachchan clan of Bollywood, Aish has another feather in her cap being a "Bachchan Bahu".

Glorious glory: Priyanka Chopra made the nation proud when she was crowned Miss World in 2000. She became the fifth Indian woman to win the title, and the fourth Indian woman to win in a span of seven years. Priyanka later went on to deliver commercial success with films like 'Mujhse Shaadi Karogi', 'Krrish' and 'Don', establishing herself as a popular actress.

Big achiever: Shilpa Shetty started her filmi career with Baazigar. Her big success came after taking part in the British Celebrity 'Big Brother' TV show in 2007, Shetty was crowned the winner with 63% of the final vote. She has been recognized as a global figure since then. On her agenda next, is a cookery book titled 'Soul Curry' and role of Sita in Uru Patel's international venture 'Hanuman.

Smile of victory: Lara Dutta was crowned Femina Miss India Universe. She brought laurels to the country by winning Miss Universe in 2000. Lara is a renowned bollywood actress and also UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador.

Musical maestro: Asha Bhosle is a best known as a Bollywood playback singer, although she has a much wider repertoire. Her career started in 1943 and has spanned over six decades. She has done playback singing for over 950 Bollywood movies. She is believed to have sung over 12,000 songs. (Photo/Kirti Surve)'

On cloud 9: Kalpana Chawla was an Indian-American astronaut and space shuttle mission specialist. She was one of seven crew members killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. She was the first Indian-born woman and the second person of Indian origin to fly in space, following cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma.

Bold lady: Kiran Bedi is a social activist and a retired IPS. She became the first woman to join the Indian Police Service in 1972, and was last posted as Director General , Bureau of Police Research and Development, Ministry of Home Affairs. During her service, she also remained the Inspector General Prisons of Tihar Jail, - one of world's largest prison and her prison reforms policies lead to her winning, the 1994 Ramon Magsaysay Award.