A year gone by...
NIMI KURIAN
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It is time for the old year to give way to the new. While it is not possible to write about all that happened, here is a recap of some facts and incidents.
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SNAPSHOTS: Glimpses of 2006
The year began on a rather sombre note with news that the decommissioned aircraft carrier, Clemenceau, had begun the final leg of its journey, with Alang in Gujarat as its destination. Environmentalists were up in arms protesting against the French attempt to dump the old warship laden with toxics on India instead of dealing with their own toxic waste. But the Supreme Court of India woke up to this and denied access to Alang because of the asbestos content and because it did not adhere to the Basel Convention. By mid February, French President Jacques Chirac had ordered Clemenceau to return to French waters.
Delhi woke up to a cold day in January, as chilly winds from the Northwest swept through the city forcing the government to declare a holiday for educational institutions. The temperature recorded was 0.2<108,SYM,176> C. Only on January 10, 1935, was there such a cold day and the temperature recorded was (-) 0.6<108,SYM,176> C!
March saw the visit of the President of the U.S. While his visit was extensively covered in the media, what went almost unnoticed were some rather special guests. They were the K9 dog squad always referred to as officers. Arriving a day before the President they checked out all the areas he was supposed to visit. Interestingly, the K9 squad are not known for their friendliness or affection. They are trained for special purposes like detecting bombs and drugs.
World cup and more
When the Forbes billionaires list was published there were 10 Indians featured. Lakshmi Mittal ranked the fifth richest followed by Azim Premji, the Ambani brothers and others.
In another first for India, Ajeet Bajaj became the first Indian to ski to the North Pole. He said: "It was a proud moment when I unfurled the tiranga."
June was a historic month and all eyes were glued to the television set when Germany as the host nation took on Costa Rica at the FIFA World Cup. Bavarian goatherds marching to the crack of long whips, cowbell ringers and 170 former champions from around the world, opened the World Cup — the world's biggest sporting tournament.
India and China formally inaugurated trade through the Nathu La Pass, linking Sikkim and Tiber Autonomous Region (TAR) early in July. This 4,310 metre high pass has remained closed since the 1962 conflict.
There were anxious moments as the World Cup 2006 drew to a close. But finally it was time for Italy to rejoice. Ecstatic Italians partied into the early hours of the morning and the victorious team returned to a rousing welcome at the airport.
Terror stalked the streets of Mumbai in July when seven serial blasts ripped through the suburban railway network during the peak hour in the evening.
In September, there was excitement for ornithologists when a new bird species, Bugun liocichla, had been identified in Arunachal Pradesh. Strikingly coloured, its overall plumage has various shades of olive. It has a black cap, a bright yellow patch in front of the eyes, and golden yellow, crimson, black and white patches on the wings. The red-tipped tail feathers are flame coloured on the underside.
In October, the Prime Minister began his three-day journey of rediscovery of the Mahatma by taking the same train ride from the Pentrich railway station to Pietermaritzburg. It was on this Pentrich-Pietermaritzburg route, on June 7, 1893, that Gandhiji, then a young lawyer, was thrown out for travelling in a First Class compartment. Adding another feather in India's cap, Kiran Desai walked away with the Man Booker Prize for her book The Inheritance of Loss. She is the third Indian to have won the prize, the first two being Salman Rushdie and Arundhati Roy.
Hope for India
In his Independence Day address to the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort, the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh invited all citizens to build a new India — "An India that is united in thought, not divided by religion and language; an India that is united in our Indianness, not divided by caste and religions; an India that is united in seeking new opportunities for growth, not divided by disparities; an India that is caring and inclusive.
