2011: Those who bid adieu

The year witnessed the demise of many legends, who left indelible marks in their fields of expertise. A photo tribute compiled by Sharika C.

MANSOOR ALI KHAN PATAUDI (September 22): One of India’s finest cricket captains, the legendary ‘Tiger’ was an outstanding individual both on and off the field.

WANGARI MAATHAI (September 26): Kenya’s “tree lady”, she became the first African woman and first environmentalist to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Through the Green Belt Movement she founded, Maathai also addressed issues of peace, democracy, women's empowerment and human rights, besides environmental conservation.

JEHANGIR SABAVALA (September 2): Renowned artist influenced by the styles of cubism and impressionism, he created beautiful landscapes and seascapes in a career spanning over six decades

SHAMMI KAPOOR (August 14): India’s very own Elvis Presley, the legendary Shammi Kapoor was not just Hindi cinema’s romantic and style icon, but also the embodiment of the spirit of the swinging 60s

AMY WINEHOUSE (July 23): The celebrated British singer, whose blend of jazz, soul, rock and classic pop made her a huge hit, was found dead in her London home. The 27-year-old star led a troubled life plagued by several drug and alcohol problems

KARTHIGESU SIVATHAMBY (July 8): Eminent Tamil scholar, he specialised in the social and literary history of Tamils, Tamil drama and literary criticism, and authored about 70 books and 200 research papers in Tamil and English. He also played a key role in the World Classical Tamil Conference held in Coimbatore in 2010

MANI KAUL (July 6): An eminent filmmaker, his films were a clear break from Indian cinematic conventions. His first film ‘Uski Roti’ heralded the New Wave in Indian cinema

SURESH TENDULKAR (June 21): An eminent economist, he did extensive research on poverty and played a key role in deriving what has come to be known as the Tendulkar poverty line

MAQBOOL FIDA HUSAIN (June 9): The iconic painter who carved a niche for Indian art on the international arena, was forced to leave India in 2006 and had accepted Qatari nationality last year. An artist non pareil, his prolific output, free soaring spirit and flamboyant life made him larger than life.

BADAL SIRCAR (May 13): Doyen of Indian theatre, he is known for his anti-establishment and Marxist plays which he staged mostly in public spaces and street corners

T.K. GOVINDA RAO (September 28): Respected musician, he made lasting contributions to the field of music as a performing artist, teacher, musicologist and author.

STEVE JOBS (October 6): Co-founder of Apple, this digital visionary gave the world the personal computer Macintosh, the iPod, and iPad, revolutionising the way we communicate today. A true iCon of our times, he was also the man behind animation company Pixar that produced the popular movies 'Finding Nemo' and 'Toy Story'

JAGJIT SINGH (October 10): Ghazal maestro, his soulful voice captivated an entire generation of music lovers, also endearing him to the middle class Indian.

DENNIS RITCHIE (October 12): A pioneer in the field of computer programming, he invented the C programming language and co-created the Unix operating system, playing a pivotal role in developing the infrastructure for technologies we use even today.

MARCO SIMONCELLI (October 23) & DAN WHELDON (October 16): Two tragic crashes during racing events within a span of a week claimed the lives of Italian rider Marco Simoncelli at the Malaysian MotoGP in Sepang and Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.