New Delhi: It was January 2001 when British physicist Stephen Hawking came to India for the first time, later describing the 16-day long tour as "magnificent".

In the first leg of the tour in Mumbai, Hawking addressed an international physics seminar at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR).

He was felicitated with the first "Sarojini Damodaran Fellowship" during the "Strings 2001" conference.

Hawking delivered several lectures during the five-day seminar, including one titled "The Universe in a Nutshell," Quartz reported on Wednesday.

Later, Hawking took a city tour in a specially designed vehicle from Mahindra & Mahindra that accommodated his wheelchair.

The physicist also celebrated his 59th birthday at the Oberoi Towers hotel where he stayed.

In New Delhi, Hawking met then President K.R. Narayanan at Rashtrapati Bhavan who later described the 45-minute meeting with the British physicist as "an unforgettable experience".

"Indians are so good at mathematics and physics", the British theoretical physicist had told the President.

According to Narayanan, Hawking was the "symbol of human hope and inspiration for all those who are handicapped in one way or the other".

Hawking also visited Jantar Mantar and Qutab Minar.

He delivered the Albert Einstein Memorial Lecture in New Delhi on January 15.

Hawking, who shaped modern cosmology and inspired millions despite suffering from a life-threatening condition, died on Wednesday. He was 76.

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Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.

Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.

Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.

Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.

MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.

MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.

Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.

Brief Scores:

Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).

Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).