It was 13 tragic years ago, that NASA's Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas wth it's 7 member crew while re-entering the earth's atmosphere. Among those who died was India's pride Kalpana Chawla who is still considered a shining beacon of hope for all Indian girls. If destiny would not have snatched away her from us with such cruel hands, today Kalpana would have been celebrating her 54th birth anniversary. space.com As we remember her and her contributions to the world in large, here are some facts about the amazing Kalpana:

She was originally named Monto

Though we are sure that she would have done great even if she had used her given name of Monto, it's only right that she chose 'Kalpana' as a name for herself; which meant imagination. She kept using Monto as her nickname.

She proved that extra-curricular activities make us awesome

Though Kalpana was not a perennial topper, she was always among the top five students in her class in academics. But she liked poetry, dancing, cycling and running and was invariably first in all the races.