Heroes Minus The Cutouts!

There was Rahul Gandhi and then there was Varun Gandhi.There was "Pasanga" and there was "Villu".White and Black.Yin and Yang.Like every other 365 days,we had people to celebrate and ideas to detest.

My Heroes of the year:

1.Rahul Gandhi:From reviving the fortunes of Congress in UP to the austerity drive,he is the man who dominated the political mindspace throughout 2009.His act of refusing a ministerial portfolio was as tactical a masterstroke as Sonia's heeding to her inner voice in 2004.With a composed demeanour reminiscent of his father,Rahul makes you feel that dynasty politics is not bad after all.

2.A.R.Rahman:2 Oscars.Rahman is quite easily the biggest ambassador of India to the world.To be at the peak with all humility is something which even Ilayaraja could not pull off.If "Jai Ho" was the international catcall,then "Masakali" was our national anthem.Ask Congress how effective "Jai Ho" was.

3.Venkatraman Ramakrishnan:Yet another Indian-born Nobel Laureate.When will it be an Indian-grown one?We ought to thank him for bringing to surface the debate on the disturbing state of scientific research in India.

4.Pranav Mistry:If his "Sixth Sense" technology clicks,he might well be the story of the century.Check this out to unravel the mystery behind Mistry:http://the-ebullient.blogspot.com/2009/11/blog-post.html

I can recall an umpteen other people who had a positive impact on the state of things but stop here afraid of being labelled as "rambling without a point".