Looking back, 2011 was surely a year full of wax and wane, creating history that will be studied by our future generation. As we come to an end to the first month of 2012, lets ponder over a few events and muse over personalities that/whom we will and will not be missing in this Year of the Dragon
First let’s cover the events that left a deep impact on us and will always be remembered with a scar.
People who we wish never reappear:
Apart from Voldemort, we will certainly not be missing the departure of Col.Muammar Gaddafi and the terrorist that shook the US of A, Osama Bin Laden.
History was made when protests led to the resignations of the Tunisian and Egyptian presidents, and when UN-sanctioned Nato air strikes helped Libyan rebels overthrow Muammar Gaddafi’s brutal dictatorship. Gaddafi’s capture and death on Oct 20th at his hometown Sirte, Libya, at the hands of the rebels closed a long and dark chapter in the country’s history.
Another black chapter came to an end in the early morning hours of May 2, 2011. A nearly decade-long search for the world's most wanted terrorist came to an end - Al-Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden was killed in a US operation in Pakistan in May in a mansion outside the capital of Islamabad.
Events we wish never happened:
2011 was also known as the year of disasters. With historic floods, droughts, and tornadoes, this year has broken the record for the number of billion-dollar calamities. 8.9 magnitude earthquake struck Japan on March 11, 2011 triggering tsunami alert along Japan’s Pacific Coast and to at least 20 countries. This largest tsunami catastrophe was the worst history of earthquake in Japan but what’s creating more global concern is the possibility of the leaking radiation to the air following the explosion of two nuclear plants in Fukushima, Japan. From January 1-31, earthquakes hit Argentina, Chile, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Tonga. By the following month that was from February 4-21, earthquakes struck Burma, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Sulawesi, Fiji and New Zealand.
As if nature’s fury wasn’t enough to wound us all, Anders Behring Breivik, shot 69 people, in a summer camp in Oslo, Norway. He said his actions were ‘atrocious but necessary’. In Nov, the court-appointed experts ruled him criminally insane.
Now let’s talk about those events & people that we will be missing for years to come.
People who we wish were immortal:
As some say, 2011 was a year when music died. Shammi ji and Dev Anand were the charmers of 60’s and 70’s. Bollywood can boast of songs that were composed, sung and picturized on these two heroes even today. We also lost the Ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh to the after-world. The singer struggled with a brain haemorrhage for 17 days before he breathed his last on October 10. He mesmerised music lovers for over four decades with his soul stirring numbers.
The music world lost a few more of its gems with Amy Winehouse, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi (one of the greatest legends of Indian classical music and the oldest living exponent of the Kirana Gharana), the soulful voice of Ustad Sultan Khan and the legendary singer-composer and the most iconic figures from Assam, Bhupen Hazarika.
On the other side of the world, millions mourned the death of Apple’s visionary Steve Jobs. One of the greatest CEOs of his generation, Steve Jobs died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 56. His death gave us a chance to reflect upon what a great corporate leader can do to the world of technology.
Events we wish could be frozen in time:
Without doubt almost every Indian will never forget this year as Dhoni and his team bought back the World cup to India after 28 years. Co-hosted by India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the World Cup eclipsed every other event between the 19th of February and the 2nd of April this year. The fact that India won the Cup on home soil was the perfect icing on the cake. The whole nation was euphoric and Indians from all over the globe were on the streets celebrating joyously.
One massive event happened on April 29th - the British Royal Wedding between Prince William and Catherine Middleton. After months of top-secret planning, the invitations were mailed, the details finalized, and the big day arrived. For estimated 2.4 billion people watching the royal wedding, it was definitely the wedding of the year, probably even the decade!
Apart from these a few more events on a positive note include Anna Hazare’s rise to bring corruption to an end with his Lokpal campaign, F1 Indian Grand Prix Race coming to India, Sachin breaking another record to score 15000 runs in Test cricket, the world’s cheapest tablet PC Akash launched in India and a medical breakthrough with All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) creating a new drug called Naringin, for treating Alzheimer`s disease.
