Current Affairs January 2020 - Deaths

1 - Natyasurya Awardee dramatist Ratna Ojha passed away

Eminent Assamese dramatist, litterateur and social activist Ratna Ojha passed away. Recipient of the prestigious Natyasurya Award in 2005 for his contributions to theatre, Ojha had introduced street plays in Assam in 1971 with his skit Kokaideo to revive the theatre movement in the state that was fading with the death of his mentor Phani Sarma. Ojha had also introduced cartoon theatre in the Northeast.

Ojha worked as a teacher for a brief period and news editor at the Guwahati centre of Doordarshan before joining Bongaigaon Refinery as a public relations officer.

2 - Former Karnataka Governor T N Chaturvedi passed away

Former Governor of Karnataka Triloki Nath Chaturvedi passed away at the age of 90 years. He served as of Comptroller and Auditor General of India from 1984 to 1989. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1991.

Chaturvedi went on to become Rajya Sabha MP in the 1990s and served in several parliamentary committees before holding the office of Karnataka Governor in 2001. He also briefly took charge of Kerala governor's duties.

3 - Veteran Odissi Danseuse Minati Mishra passed away

Famous Odissi Danseuse Minati Mishra passed away at the age of 91 years. She was honored with Padma Shri in 2012. She received Sangeet Prabhakar title for Hindustani vocal music and Kalinga Shastriya Sangeet Parishad Award, while being A-Grade artist at All India Radio (AIR). Minati acted in various movies such as Suryamukhi, Jeevan Sathi, Sadhana, Bhai Bhauja and Arundhati.

Minati worked with first-generation gurus of Odissi such as Guru Pankaj Charan Das, Guru Deba Prasad Das and Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra during her tenure at Utkal Sangeet Mohavidyalaya, Bhubaneswar.

4 - Veteran filmmaker Manmohan Mohapatra passed away

Renowned Odia filmmaker Manmohan Mohapatra passed away. He was winner of eight consecutive national awards and was known as the ‘Father of New Wave Odia Cinema’. Some of his best known films were Nishita Swapna, Majhi Pahacha, Tired Afternoon, Neeraba Jhada, Seeta Raati, and Bhinna Samaya, among others.

Mohapatra directed documentaries like Anti-Memoirs, Voices of Silence and Konrak: The Sun Temple and hindi movies like “Forbidden Love” and “Bits and Pieces”.

5 - Former Indian cricketer Man Mohan Sood passed away

Former cricketer Man Mohan Sood passed away. He played one Test for India and 39 first-class matches with 1 century. He served as an administrator at the DDCA. He scored 1,214 runs during his career that lasted till 1965-66.

Sood later took up administrative roles in DDCA, and served as a National Selector. He made his first class debut against Services in 1957 and played his final Ranji Trophy match against Jammu and Kashmir in 1964.

6 - Former India all-rounder Bapu Nadkarni passed away

Former India all-rounder Bapu Nadkarni passed away. He was popularly known for his accuracy and for bowling a record 21 successive maiden overs in a Test match against England. He played 41 Tests in which he scored 1414 runs and took 88 wickets with 6/43 as his best bowling figures. He played 191 first-class matches in which he took 500 wickets and scored 8880 runs.

In first-class cricket, Nadkarni was placed at third position after Tayfield and Manish Majithia of Madhya Pradesh, with record of playing 131 dot balls or 21 maiden overs.

7 - World’s shortest man Khagendra Thapa Magar passed away

World’s shortest man Khagendra Thapa Magar passed away. Thapa, who could walk, as verified by Guinness World Records, was 67.08 cm (2 ft 2.41 in) tall. He made his first appearance in the GWR 2011 book, alongside Jyoti Amge, the shortest teenager (female) living. Thapa was born in the Baglung district of Nepal.

Khagendra Thapa was appointed as a Nepalese Goodwill Ambassador for Tourism in 2011. In 2018, Guinness World Records made a documentary on his life and about his family’s shop, leisure activities.

8 - NBA legend Kobe Bryant killed in helicopter crash

National Basketball Association (NBA) legend Kobe Bryant died at the age of 41 years in a helicopter crash in the city of Calabasas, California. Nine people on board along with his 13-year-old daughter also died in the tragic incident.

Bryant played his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers. He retired in April 2016. He was twice the NBA scoring champion and a two-time Olympic champion.

9 - Veteran artist and sculptor Sher Singh Kukkal passed away

Famous artist and sculptor Sher Singh Kukkal passed away at the age of 86 years. He was known for his drawing, painting, sculpture, printing and photography. He worked as art teacher at the Sainik School Satara and as a freelance artist.

Sher Singh was honored with senior fellowship in visual art photography by Union Ministry of Culture in 2008-09, gold medal in painting from Queens College, Lucknow and the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation Award. He won various national and international awards.

10 - Assamese linguist Golok Chandra Goswami passed away

Prominent linguist and renowned litterateur of Assam Prof. Golok Chandra Goswami, passed away. Some of his popular works were 'Structure of Assamese', 'Assamese: Its Formation and Development', 'Dhvani Bigyanor Bhumika', 'Asomiya Bornoprakash' and 'Asomiya Akhor Jotoni'.

Prof. Golok Chandra Goswami received awards like Asam Sahitya Sabha's 'Sahityacharya' title, 'Bhashacharya' title by Asom Bhasha Bikash Samiti and 'Anundoram Borooah Award' by the Anundoram Barooah Institute of Language, Art and Culture.