New Delhi Dec 30 (IANS) It is the inevitable and unavoidable outcome of human existence but still death seems tough to countenance. Even when it beckons those whom we never knew personally or had seen face-to-face but cheered in films sang along when playing their songs or appreciated or benefited from their contributions across a wide spectrum of activity. This year was no different.
The year saw a wide spectrum of people -- actors astronauts authors bankers filmmakers monarchs singers statesmen scientists sportspersons thinkers et al -- shuffle off the mortal coil and achieve immortality.
While our attention as usual went more to the celebrities a prime loss this year was English physicist Sir Peter Mansfield (b.1933 died February 8) whose studies in nuclear magnetic resonance made magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the human body possible and won him the 2003 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (shared with American chemist Paul Lauterbur who also did key research in the field).
The statesmen who died this year included former Iranian President Akbar Hasemi Rafsanjani (b. 1934 died Jan 8) a conservative but pragmatic cleric-leader known as the "Shark" for his lack of facial hair; Irish politician and Sinn Fein leader Martin McGuinness (b. 1950 March 21) a key figure in the US-brokered Good Friday Agreement that brought hope of peace to Northern Ireland; and former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl (b. 1930 died June 16) under whose charge Germany was reunited and Europe became more integrated.
Also departing was Polish-born American diplomat Zbigniew Brzezinski (b. 1928 died May 26) President Jimmy Carter s National Security Adviser in whose time the US began arming the Afghan Mujahideen -- with results we know too well. He was not convinced he had done any wrong with this maintaining: "What was more important to the history of the world? The Taliban or the collapse of the Soviet empire? Some stirred-up Muslims or the liberation of central Europe and the end of the Cold War?"
Among other notable leaders were US-deposed Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega (b. 1934 died May 29) former Bangladesh President Abdur Rahman Biswas (b. 1926 died November 3) the first President of united Yemen Ali Abdullah Saleh (b. 1947 died December 4) and Communist-deposed last Romanian monarch Michael I (b. 1921 died December 5).
Also to be mentioned here is English model and showgirl Christine Keeler (b. 1942 December 4) the key person in the Profumo scandal which rocked the Harold Macmillan government in the 1960s.
Two redoubtable soldiers who marched off this year happened to be both Air Force officers -- with one of them having possibly saved the world. Soviet Air Force Colonel Stanislav Petrov (b. 1939 died May 19) kept his cool when his systems indicated that US nuclear missiles were on the way and his gut reaction it was a technical glitch turned out to be correct. Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh (b. 1919 died September 16) who joined the fledgling outfit at its inception and saw its transition into a world-class service.
Police officer K.P.S. Gill (b. 1934) who is largely credit with crushing the Punjab militancy died on May 26.
Then we also bid adieu to well-known screen faces like Sir Roger Moore (b. 1927 died May 23); John Hurt (b. 1940 died January 25); Adam West the first to play Batman (b. 1928 died June 9 ); Jerry Lewis (b. 1926 August 20); French icon Danielle Darrieux (b. 1917 died October 17); Gorden Kaye the lead in TV sitcom "Allo Allo" (b. 1941 died January 23); and Clifton James who played a redneck US sheriff in two James Bond films (b. 1920 died April 15).
In India we mourned the versatile Om Puri (b. 1950 died January 6) Vinod Khanna (b. 1946 died April 27) and Shashi Kapoor who reinvented himself from a lover-boy to a more nuanced actor and filmmaker (b. 1938 died December 4)
Also dying were American author William Peter Blatty (b.1928 died Jan 12) who adapted his cult book "The Exorcist" to an Oscar-winning film and director Jonathan Demme (b. 1944 died April ) known among others for "The Silence of the Lambs".
A large number of singers also saw their voices stilled -- Al Jarreau (b. 1940 died February 12) Chuck Berry (b. 1926 died March 18) Gregg Allman (b. 1947 died May 27) Glen Campbell (b. 1936 August 8) Don Williams (b. 1939 died September 8) Tom Petty (b. 1950 died Oct 2) Antoine Dominique "Fats" Domino (b. 1928 died October 24) and Johnny Hallyday who introduced rock n roll to France (b. 1943 December 5).
Also to be mourned were Indian vocalists Kishori Ammonkar (b. 1931 died April 3) and Girja Devi (19 died October 24) and sitar exponent Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan (b. 1927 died January 4).
We will also miss Playboy founder Hugh Hefner (b. 1926. died September 27) American Nobel economist Kenneth Arrow (b. 1921 died February 21) Russian theoretical physicist and mathematician Ludvig Faddeev who moved us ahead towards quantum computing (b. 1934 died February 26) American boxer-turned-standup comic Jake LaMotta (b. 1922 died September 19) Turkish Olympc weightlifter "Pocket Hercules" Naim Suleymanoglu (b. 1967 died November 18) and Czech tennis player Jana Novotna (b. 1968 died November 19.)
Those who won t be missed are Italian mafia gangster Salvatore Toto Riina (b.1930 died Nov 17) and American cult leader and murderer Charles Manson (b. 1934 died November 19).
(Vikas Datta can be contacted at vikas.d@ians.in)
--IANS
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