A quirky recap of the way the year went by
- 8 billion : The world population has surpassed 8 billion, with India accounting for 17.2% of the total.
- Russia-Ukraine war : Russia targeted Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, hoping that winter would do what the Russian military couldn’t, break Ukraine’s will. Meanwhile, the rest of the world struggled to adapt to the price shocks, supply disruptions, and food shortages triggered by Russia’s brazen aggression. 15 million Ukrainians have been displaced!
- British Politics : The country whose empire once spanned the globe had three prime ministers in just two months. Boris, Liz, and Rishi—the latter’s nationality, religion, and in-laws—add a desi twist to British politics.
- Inflation Surge : Inflation had been unusually high in countries around the world in 2022. This resulted in a cost-of-living crisis, with many families, even in some of the world’s wealthiest nations, being forced to choose between eating and heating this winter.
- Mother Nature : Natural disasters such as heat waves, melting runways, devastating wildfires, European droughts, flooding in Pakistan, Brazil, South Africa, and Bangalore, storms in the Philippines, earthquakes in Afghanistan and Indonesia, and others have claimed countless lives and separated millions from their loved ones.
- FIFA : Qatar; Saudi Arabia beating Argentina; Iranian players not singing the national anthem; German players covering their mouths; Ronaldo being benched; Morocco’s dream run; Mbappe’s brilliance; a penalty shootout in the finale; MESSI! Argentina won the FIFA 2022 World Cup!
- Monarchy: Queen Elizabeth II died at 96 years of age after spending 70 years on the throne, making her the world’s second-longest-reigning monarch. ‘God save the King’ was played for the first time since 1952!
- IPL : addition of two new teams, Tata as the new sponsor, all the group matches played in Maharashtra, CSK and MI finishing at the bottom, and Kungfu Pandya lifting the trophy for Gujarat Titans in the very first year! #AavaDe
- Eknath Shinde: The man who toppled the MVA government in Maharashtra via the Surat-Guwahati-Mumbai-Goa-Mantralaya route! Maharashtra’s 20th Chief Minister is Thane’s first.
- Sri Lanka crises: The world saw Sri Lankans queuing before grocery shops and petrol pumps because of economic crises arising out of “several years of mismanagement, corruption, shortsighted policymaking, and an overall lack of good governance.”
- Politics: The BJP won Goa, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat; the Congress won Himachal; and the AAP secured Punjab. Mallikarjun Kharge is the Congress President, and Ra-Ga is on a pad-yatra. Shivsena is split into two, whereas an era ended with the demise of Mulayam Singh Yadav.
- Cricket: India did not qualify for the Asia Cup finals. India did not qualify for the T20 World Cup finals. Bumrah was unfit, Rohit was out of form, and KL was still in the side! By the way, Virat Kohli did score an international century in 2022!
- Bollywood: Nope! The mass appeal of the southern masala enveloped the Hindi film industry in 2022.
- Twitter: “The bird is free,” Elon Musk tweeted on October 28. After months of waffling, lawsuits, verbal mudslinging, and the near-miss of a full-blown trial, Elon Musk now owns Twitter!
- Farewell: Rest in peace, Lata Mangeshkar, Bappi Lahiri, Siddhu Moosewala, KK, Rahul Bajaj, Cyrus Mistry, Rakesh Jhunjunwala, Shane Warne, and Symonds.
- COVID (19): Just as things seemed to be getting back to normal, China decided to derail everything again! The re-emergence of COVID-19 and its newer variants has dampened the excitement of entering 2023!
2022 was a year to hold our heads high. Despite resistance and pushback, we persisted. This is a world of resilience, a world propelled by the belief that overcoming the impossible is, in fact, possible!!
