By Shweta Madaan:
Ah! The time has come to bid adieu to the year 2012. This year was an exciting journey- an amalgamation of good and bad instances and everyone had their bundle of happy, great, sad and bittersweet memories. After all, these little moments are the ones that make up our lives. Here is a list of the happiest moments of 2012:
1) India finished on a high note in Sports:
This year was a wonderful one in the history of Indian sports. As far as Cricket goes, Sachin Tendulkar scored his 100th international century. Then in the London Olympics, the Indian athletes emerged as dark horses and fetched six medals and it was indeed a proud moment for all us Indians. Also, Saina Nehwal proved herself to be the ‘Golden Girl’ of India as she won the Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold Trophy and Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold Title.
2) Second Grand Prix in India:
Greater Noida became the proud host of Grand prix, the motor race in the calendar of the Formula One World Championship, for the second time. The Buddh International Circuit was the venue which is also known as the best racing track in India. Sebastian Vettel stamped his second successive victory while our very own Narain Karthikeyan finished 24th.
3) YouTube sensation: Gangnam Style:
Oppa Gangnam Style!
The song by the South Korean Musician, PSY became the world’s highest grossing number with more than billion views on YouTube- the first in the history of music. The catchy beats and PSY’s amusing dance moves (especially the horse dance) did the magic. And people were certainly able to connect themselves with it. It had a strong impact everywhere and most of the celebrities were seen doing the Gangnam Style.
4) God Particle discovered:
The ‘God Particle’ which had been chased by the scientists for more than four decades was detected in July at the European nuclear research facility at Cern in Geneva and the Large Hadron Collider was introduced to the world. A wave of happiness was palpable in scientists across the globe as they found God.
5) Barack Obama’s four more years:
President Barack Obama was re-elected as the U.S. President in the year 2012. He also became the unofficial most notable tweeter of the year. The tweet ‘Four more years’ along with a photograph of Mr. Obama with his better half was re-tweeted more than 817,000 times.
6) Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 60th anniversary:
It was the matter of great happiness as the United Kingdom celebrated the Diamond Jubilee of its Queen. The celebration lasted for four days and included events like horse races, concerts and carriage processions. It marked her 60-year reign and her dedication to serve her country.
7) Apple Inc. — The largest company by market capitalization:
Apple, the brain-child of Sir Steve Jobs, the company with a wide range of offerings like the Mac computing systems, the iPod, the iPad and the iPhone has been recognized as the biggest U.S. company ever. It surpassed Microsoft Corporation and grabbed the title of the company with the biggest market value. It is to be taken into account that its products are a benchmark for other companies.
8) Yuvraj Singh — The Survivor:
Indian cricketer, Yuvraj Singh who underwent chemotherapy in U.S. for a rare germ cell cancer, returned home this year. During the treatment, the cycling legend and cancer survivor, Lance Armstrong gave him an inspirational message ‘Live Strong’ and cheered him to be optimistic. Yuvraj turned out to be a huge inspiration for the people of India.
9) Lionel Messi breaks the European goal record:
The Argentine footballer and the captain of FC club Barcelona scored his 86th goal this year, thus earning the Ballon d’Or winner title and broke a 40-year-old record of Gerd Muller who scored 85 goals in one year. The Barcelona star earned praise from all over the world for himself and his country.
10) And the happiest moment of the year 2012 was:
As the whole world was looking forward, some with fear and some with no seriousness at all, to the big word doing the rounds — The impending apocalypse on the 21st December, 2012. It is believed that Mayans had made the predictions and the last date on their calendar was 21st December 2012. According to them, the world would end on this day but then this proved out to be another rumour. So, it was the happiest moment for people that world would not be ending after all and we still have many years to live our lives.
Goodbye 2012!