A Tough Lady In All Male Station

"I'm here to do my best for the day" - Kiran BediInspirational true life stories are tagged as favorite celebrities for decades. One such well known celebrity around the globe who is recognized for her courage, welfare strategies and tag line 'I Dare' is Kiran Bedi. She dreamt and worked for a better world and she achieved it. Read all about the inspirational icon who has always worn a smile in the battle of life.Early LifeKiran Bedi born on 9th June 1949 in Amritsar, as the second of the four daughters to her parents, Prakash Lal Peshawaria and Prem Lata Peshawaria. She completed her schooling and graduation in Arts from her native place itself. She earned a master's degree the following year in Political science from Punjab University. The ardent learner with active service in the Indian Police also acquired a law degree (LLB) from Delhi University. She was also awarded a Ph.D. in 1993 in Social Sciences by the Department of Social Sciences, the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi.

As a child born in a well to do family, Kiran was aware of how special her life was compared to the majority of Indian children. Her parents sacrificed a great deal, so that their daughters could go to the best schools, learn sports, and be exceptional in the male dominated country.As a teenager Kiran Bedi won Asian women's lawn tennis champion. Recollecting her childhood she sates in one of her interviews, "I came from a sports background where I was the only girl traveling with a batch of 20 boys." After few years she was recognized as the first woman to join the Indian Police service in 1972.Her Marital LifeKiran Bedi was determined to choose her own life partner at an early age, as the bitter shades of marital relationship of her elder sister always bid a nightmare to the term called marriage. Shashi her elder sister was a girl next door who dreamt of leading a normal life like any other girl. Sashi got engaged to a Canada-based Indian heart specialist while she was pursuing her Master's degree. The marriage was a disaster as the doctor was already engaged to someone else in Canada. But Shashi could not fight for her marriage but had to succumb to the doctors interest (like bribe) and stay with him for life in an unknown land. This bitter experience increased Kiran's determination to make her own way in her own country.Kiran Bedi's first serious relationship did not work for long. The basic reasons was that she was strongly career oriented, while he wanted her career to be secondary to his. The second issue was that he wanted a traditional marriage that included a dowry. The brave heart lady was not willing to be domesticated, so she decided to end the relationship. She then met Brij Bedi at the Amritsar tennis courts who shared same interests, beliefs and goals. He was nine years elder to her. They married in 1972 in the most unique marriage ceremony of the yesteryears. Neither of them believed in religious ceremonies, or an expensive marriage ritual. Therefore they went to the Shiva temple and prayed, going around the temple seven times. Then they organized a joint reception paid from their combined earnings.