As 2011, four days shy of lapsing into the past, makes way for 2012, we recall the people and events that had us breaking into a smile. A smile, like the Mona Lisa painting has famously taught us, spreads forth from the wellspring of happiness as it does from the depths of despair. Smiles that emanate from the cockles of our heart were aplenty this year, and smiles that say 'serves him well' abounded too. And, best of all, smiles that assured us that all's truly well with the world. Here's our pick...
Anna Hazare: His war cry against corruption and the corrupt galvanised a countrywide movement and mobilised the young and old like never before in post-Independent India. That he refused to be cowed by powerful politicians or critics, who identified with his cause but questioned his means, made him the unyielding crusader whom neither prison nor Parliament could tame.
Virender Sehwag: He gave us a two-ton reason to smile. Kolaveri became Kola-Viru as he, in 219 masterful strokes, erased the ignominy of our England tour. With the World Cup win and Viru's veer double knock against the West Indies, we pretty much owned the game .
Vidya Balan: The actor taught us how to embrace sexuality without being apologetic. With her role in Dirty Picture, she conveyed a message to women that fat and flab were no reasons to feel insecure about or ashamed of their bodies.
Veena Malik: It takes guts to pose the way Veena did on the cover of a magazine. And if you're from the other side of the border, it takes much more than that. Heck, we even sniggered at the ISI stamp inked on her arm.
Kapil Sibal: No one quite knows how and when this once enlightened and suave political figure went senile in his 60s, but advocating for Internet censorship in today's age and time was evidence enough that Sibal is a man far removed from ground realities. He had the country's Netizens laughing away at the absurdity of the state playing net nanny.
Dhanush: The actor gave Tamil and Kollywood a leg-up in a country where Bollywood and item songs rule the entertainment roost. His Kolaveri-di video became such a 'murderous rage' online that many think this could well be the beginning of the end of the north-south divide. Despite some venerable critics slamming the song, its popularity continues unabated. The rip-offs too!
Beti B: Hers was easily the most anticipated delivery of the year. While bookies placed huge bets on Aishwarya and Abhishek's baby, its sex, the due date, and whether it would be a normal or Caesarean birth, Beti B slid forth into this world on a sweet 16 November morning, proving most speculations just that, and also proving that from day one she's very much her own person. She's also become the nation's new blue-eyed (or is it green?) girl.
Sunny Leone: When she made the transition from Karen Malhotra to Sunny Leone, little did we know that one day she'd have us furiously scouring the net to get to know her better. She added luscious variety to a reality show that was becoming jaded and boringly scripted. She raised the show's TRPs and enlarged many an err.. eyeball! The men made sure they had an academic reason to justify their playful pursuits by insisting they were simply 'checking out' the Bigg Boss inmate!
Harvinder Singh: Though some questioned his literally strong-arm tactic, for young India, disillusioned and let down by the political class, the fact that he'd taken on the high, mighty and heavyweight politico Sharad Pawar was reason enough to smile and feel empowered.
Siddhartha Mukherjee: This biographer of cancer put the dreaded C-word centrestage and brought it to the realm of everyday conversation. The Emperor of All Maladies, which won him the Pulitzer Prize, is neither ominous nor reverential or steeped in sentimentality peculiar to diseases that, generally, have a terminal consequence. It is anchored in reality, and narrated in tellingly impactful prose.
William and Kate Middleton: They made us believe in fairy tales and happily-ever-after endings. If Diana had become the people's princess, Kate Middleton arrived as one.
Pippa Middleton: Boy, did she lead from behind! Her pert, firm butt became this year's most photographed and Facebooked posterior. A bottom(less) reservoir of happy smiles!
The World Cup victory: After 28 years, we were holding aloft the Worl Cup. It was full-on celebration unleashed in the entire country. And when teammates lifted Sachin Tendulkar on their shoulders and did the victory lap around the stadium, the smile on our lips had the tear in our eye for company.
Formula One: With the fiasco of the Commonwealth Games behind us, we'd lost belief in our ability to pull off an event of this magnitude and sophistication. But we raced to victory with this one!
The world's not coming to an end next year, or indeed in a zillion years, so have yourselves a Happy New Year, and spread the cheer!
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