Dhoni emulates Kapil
During the past five decades of following cricket, I have come across many interesting Tests, ODIs and T20 matches— from the first Test I watched, at Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi in 1969 where India defeated Australia by seven wickets and the 1983 World Cup final where Kapil Dev led India to a stunning victory against the West Indies to MS Dhoni leading India to victory against Sri Lanka in the 2011 World Cup final.
N Mahadevan, Chennai
Finally, polio-free
I think the official certification of India as a polio-free country by the World Health Organisation in 2014 is one of the country’s greatest achievements in the last decade. However, the risk of polio resumption exists. Hence, utmost measures should be taken to sustain this victory. The government should collaborate with non-government entities as well as international partners in improving medical standards.
Keerthi Mukund Ramayanam, Hyderabad
Standing in serpentine queues
It was 8 pm, Tuesday, November 8, 2016. After returning home from work, I, as usual, switched on the television. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement of demonetisation caught my attention. Serpentine queues before cash counters of bank branches became common with people jostling with one another to exchange the notes.
MS Vaidyanathan, Chennai
Swift speech
Being an avid listener of pop music, one moment this decade will stand out for me: Taylor Swift's speech at the 2016 Grammys after accepting the Album of The Year award for 1989. Being the first woman to win Album of The Year twice, she made some important points in her acceptance speech. It targeted the male dominance in the music industry.
Meghna Kishore, Bengaluru
The tale of two finals
July 14, 2019. This day will be an unforgettable one for me as a sports fan. The finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup and Wimbledon, which were held on the same day, turned out to be absolute cliff hangers. Happiness, tension, surprise and disappointment… those who witnessed it from the venues and the millions watching on their screens were taken on an emotional roller-coaster. Both New Zealand and Roger Federer (who lost their respective finals) were unwilling to buckle down without a fight and instead unleashed their full prowess and emerged as formidable competitors to England and Novak Djokovic.
K Saravanapperumal, Bengaluru
Wonder women
The 2010s will be remembered for many remarkable women who changed the world. The image of Reshma Qureshi, a victim of acid attack at 17, walking the ramp for Archana Kochhar’s spring/summer 2017 collection at New York Fashion Week 2016 is as much a symbol of strength, bravery and defiance as the story of the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize, Malala Yousafzai.
This was a decade where women from many parts of the globe spoke out. Examples include the #MeToo campaign, which shook the established hierarchies across the world, Greta Thunberg’s ‘School Strike for the Climate’, the fight for the ‘Right to decriminalize abortion’ in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, and Saudi women’s fight for equality and freedom.
Vaibhav Shah, Ahmedabad
At world’s end
Many people, across the world, believed that December 21, 2012 would be the end of the world, according to the Mayan Calendar. Initially, I was ecstatic. The thought of not having to write my board exams was a relief. But I was also panicking about dying. The world didn’t end but there was 2012, a film based on this theory, which I watched.
Nivedita Basu, Bengaluru
(Decade definers is a series of five articles looking back at the 2010s)
