Following is the list of significant events (in my opinion)
that happened in the year 2013. These events have made me happy, sad, angry,
surprised, pleased and amused throughout the year. So I have decided to build
up this list. Already I am a bit late in
winding up the last year. However, the order is not the order of significance;
it is the order in which I remember the events.
1. I would like to keep the Mars Orbiter Mission
(MOM) or Mangalyaan, as popularly known, at the top. Although I have no idea
about spaceships and rocket science, but I was really feeling happy and proud
during the launch of the spacecraft last November. We have made a mark in the
world arena through this mission. I would like to thank all the individuals
involved in this mission.
2.
The retirement of Sachin Tendulkar has been sad
for me. After serving the country for 24
long years, the God of Cricket rested his equipments. Although 40 years old and
not in his best form, but I thought that Sachin would quit after the South
Africa tour in December. However, this was his decision and I would like to
wish him all the very best for his future endeavors.
3.
The natural calamity at Uttarakhand has been the
worst of its kind in 2013. Many people died- most of them were devotees, many
people got homeless and lots of properties were destroyed. Although we cannot
fight against the whims of Mother Nature, but the loss could have been reduced,
if the Uttarakhand state government would have listened to the forecasts of the
Meteorological department and postpone the religious visits to Kedarnath. I was
very sad and angry at the same time.
4.
The deaths of Manna De, Pran, Farooque Shaikh
and Rituparno Ghosh have rendered a great vacuum in the cultural domain of
India. Especially the untimely demise of Rituparno Ghosh is irreperable for
Indian cinema in general and Bengali cinema in particular.
5.
Eleanor Catton received the Man Booker prize in
2013 for her second novel The Luminaries. This is significant for two reasons:
One, she is the youngest recipient (28 years) of the prestigious award and
second, the book is the longest so far (832 pages) to win the Man Booker. I am
waiting to get hold of the book soon.
6.
The meteoric rise of the Aam Admi Party (AAP)
has surprised me, maybe all of us. The emergence of Mr. Arvind Kejriwal as the
Chief Minister of Delhi is the most unexpected of all the events of 2013. The
national political scenario of our country has suddenly got very interesting
and it would be a treat to watch what happens next.
7.
In spite
of many efforts, crime and violence against women have not reduced. In 2013,
numerous cases of violence, rape and molestation have been reported throughout
the country, the accused ranging from Self-proclaimed Godman to renowned
journalists. This is a major concern for all of us. The image of our country is
getting tarnished worldwide and something must be done to stop crime against
women.
8.
The Bengali film industry has produced some excellent
films in 2013. Among them, Meghe Dhaka Tara, Shobdo, Chander Pahar and Apur
Panchali deserve special mention. Overall, this has been a very pleasing year
for film lovers like me.
9.
The
fights between Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi have been amusing throughout the
year. Almost every day, they have occupied the front page of the newspapers.
The speeches they make against each other is thoroughly entertaining. However, it
is unfortunate that one of them will probably be the PM of our country in 2014.
10.
The IPL-6 corruption is a shame for all of us.
We should be ashamed that in spite of everything, N. Srinivasan is still the
president of BCCI. In India, the more corrupt you are, the more invincible you
become. The list of corrupted leaders gets longer each year, but nothing is
done against them. This is one disease which will be in my list each year, no
matter how hard I try not to write about it.
