10 celebrities whose deaths the world mourned for 2022

An era indeed came to a close when several renowned names across the fields of politics, sports, entertainment and business, whom the world looked up to and worshipped, made their curtain call. India lost its nightingale Lata Mangeshkar, while Britain bid teary adieu to its longest-reigning monarch Queen Elizabeth II. Many in the older generation left behind students and successors to carry forward their legacy, while others who held promises for the future were called before their time.

Here are 10 great personalities that the world mourned for in 2022:

 Lata Mangeshkar

One of the most influential and beloved voices of Indian film music, Lata Mangeshkar, sang more than 25,000 songs in as many as 36 Indian languages and several foreign tongues in her career spanning eight decades.

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Fondly known as the ‘queen of melody’ and the ‘nightingale of India, she was honoured with India’s highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, by the government and is the recipient of the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award.

Also read: Lata Mangeshkar leaves behind eternal legacy

Such was the pathos in her voice that her rendition of the patriotic song Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon on the occasion of Republic Day in 1963 even left the then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru misty eyed.

Bollywood’s ‘Lata Didi’ left a void in the hearts of her millions of fans, when she passed away on February 6, 2022 due to multiple organ dysfunction at the age of 92.

Queen Elizabeth II

The longest reigning monarch of the British Empire, Elizabeth Windsor, passed away at the Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, 2022 at the ripe age of 96.

Daughter of King George VI, Elizabeth acceded the throne in 1952 and was the Queen Regnant of 32 sovereign states and head of state of 15 realms till her death. Her reign that lasted 70 years and 214 days was the longest for any monarch in the history of Britain. She appointed 15 prime ministers in her lifetime including Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher and recently Boris Johnson.

An accomplished equestrian, who continued to ride horses well into her nineties, the Queen was a lover of dogs and owned 30 corgis in her lifetime.

Also read: No leader around the world will be mourned the way Queen Elizabeth was

Her death set in motion a grand funeral, which was attended by world leaders. In the run up to the funeral, thousands of people waited in the cold, lining up on the streets of central London to witness the last glimpses of their Queen who lay in the Westminster Hall for four days before being laid to rest alongside her husband Prince Philip at Windsor Castle on September 19.

Shane Warne

The death of the former Australian cricketer at the age of 52, came as a shock to millions of his fans worldwide when he succumbed to a heart attack while holidaying in a Thai island on March 4, 2022. He was found unconscious at his villa in a Thailand resort and couldn’t be revived by paramedics.

Considered one of the greatest bowlers of all time, Warne who has played in 145 Test matches, has 708 wickets to his credit, the highest in the history of Test cricket until it was broken by Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan in 2007.

Also read: Disarmingly, Warne drew batsmen and us into his web of guile

Warne often made headlines for his controversies, be it his sexual escapades, ban for consuming banned substances, dealing with bookies or unabatedly slinging mud at his own teammates.

Warne reportedly was on an extreme ‘liquid diet’ to lose weight, which was suspected to be the reason behind his death. A post-mortem, however, cited ‘natural causes’ as the cause of the death.

Mulayam Singh Yadav

Founder of the Samajwadi Party, Mulayam Singh Yadav, who was trained by stalwarts of the socialist movement like Ram Manohar Lohia and Raj Narain, was one of the influential politicians in India.

Also read: Mulayam: Stalwart who stalled Hindutva’s rise in UP for 2 decades

Fondly known as ‘Netaji’ among followers, the teacher turned politician was a seven-time MP and ten-time MLA. He served as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh for three terms besides being the minister of defence in Deve Gowda’s cabinet.

Also read: Mulayam’s ability to connect with marginalised people set him apart

He passed away at the age of 82 at a Gurgaon hospital on October 10, 2022 a month after he was admitted with health complications. He was cremated with full state honours at his home town Saifai.

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala

“Nobody can predict the weather, death, market and women,” is among the famous quotes by ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala that continues to guide investors till date.

Known as the ‘Big Bull of Dalal Street,’ Jhunjhunwala was an icon for investors and entrepreneurs for his accurate stock market predictions and investment skills.

He had begun in 1985 with a capital of ₹5,000, and by the dint of his prediction and investment skills raked up a fortune of $5.8 billion (until his death) with Titan being its most-valuable listing.

Also read: Investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, known as India’s own Warren Buffett, dies at 62

Jhunjhunwala, whose recent big investment was in the ambitious, low-cost Akasa Airline, passed away on August 15, 2022 due to kidney-related problems and multiple organ failure at Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital.

Cyrus Mistry

Cyrus Mistry, the former chairman of the Tata Group, was killed in a road accident on September 4, 2022 when the Mercedes-Benz he was sitting in crashed into a road divider on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai national highway in Palghar district. He was 54.

Son of Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry, the major shareholder of Tata Group, Cyrus, was the second non-Tata to helm the conglomerate in 2012 before he was ousted in 2016.

Also read: Cyrus Mistry will be remembered for fighting the Tatas tooth and nail

With a net worth of around $29 billion, Mistry was among the richest men in India at the time of his death. He owned an 18.4 per cent stake in Tata Sons via his company, Cyrus Investments Pvt. Ltd.

Shinzo Abe

The former Japanese premier was assassinated from a close range while he was making a campaign speech for Liberal Democratic Party candidate in Japan’s Nara City on July 8, 2022.

Abe inherited the political legacy from his grandfather and former Japanese prime minister Nobusuke Kishi and followed in his footsteps to become the longest-serving prime ministers in Japanese history.

A founding member of the Quad, Abe is remembered for his ‘Abenomics’ strategy which he implemented during his regime to cope with deflation and revive Japan’s economy. Under the strategy, Abe set off a slew of aggressive reforms – from slashing lending rates to zero and printing money to encourage people to spend more to investing heavily in childcare, and incentivising people to have children.

Also read: Article 9, military posturing: Shinzo Abe leaves behind unfinished business

He is credited for bringing the Olympics to Japan and even appeared as the video game character Mario during the handover ceremony at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

His regime suffered a setback due to the weak handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and scandals in 2020. Abe in August that year resigned as prime minister, citing health problems.

Pandit Shivkumar Sharma

Synonymous with the santoor, Shivkumar Sharma is credited with wedding the sound of the Kashmiri-origin instrument with the ragas of Hindustani classical music.

Sharma’s father Uma Dutt Sharma, who was fascinated by the santoor, taught his son the instrument from an early age, teaching him styles that blended Sufi notes with Kashmiri folk tunes.

Sharma was just 13 when he started giving Santoor lessons and gave his first stage performance at the age of 17.

Also read: Santoor virtuoso Shiv Kumar Sharma dies at 84; ‘cultural world poorer,’ says Modi

He introduced Hindustani notes to the Santoor and often collaborated with renowned flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia and tablist Zakir Hussain on the stage.

A recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and the Padma awards, Sharma along with Chaurasia – together known as Shiv-Hari – has composed several albums and directed music for films such as Anil Kapoor and Sridevi-starrer Lamhe, Chandni and Faasle.

Sharma was suffering from kidney failure and passed away on May 10, 2022 due to a cardiac arrest at the age of 84.

Bappi Lahiri

The creator of superhit songs such as Jimmy Jimmy, Tamma Tamma, I am a Disco Dancer, and Jawani Jan e Man, Bappi Lahiri or Bappi Da as Bollywood called him, made synthesised disco music a rage in India in the 1980s and 1990s when the Hindi film industry was just recovering from a musical drought.

Also read: Appreciation: Bappi Lahiri – who enchanted a generation of Indians

Identified by his blingy personality and love for gold jewellery, velvet jackets and quirky sunglasses, Lahiri confided once that he borrowed the idea for his signature look from his idol Elvis Presley.

Fondly known as the disco ‘king,’ he holds a Guinness book record (1986) for recording over 180 songs in a year. His song Jimmy Jimmy from Disco Dance featured in the Hollywood film You Don’t Mess With the Zohan (2008) while parts of his song Thoda Resham Lagta Hai were borrowed by American R&B singer Truth Hurts in the 2002 song Addictive.

Lahiri’s album World Peace, Love & Harmony was also among the top five albums shortlisted for a Grammy nomination in 2012.

Also read: Why Bappi Lahiri’s ‘Jimmy Jimmy’ is anthem to protest COVID lockdown in China

Besides his disco numbers, he is also credited for melodious songs from films including Chalte Chalte, Zakhmee, Aangan Ki Kali, Laalchi and Aitbaar.

Lahiri died of obstructive sleep apnea in Mumbai on February 15, 2022. He was 69.

Sidhu Moose Wala

The 28-year-old Punjab-born rapper, singer, lyricist and actor was shot dead by unidentified assailants in his car on May 29, 2022 in Jawaharke village in Mansa district in what was called a ‘revenge killing’.

Considered one of the greatest Punjabi artistes of his generation, Sidhu is credited with blazing the trail for traditional Punjabi artistes on the global music platform.

Born Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, but known by his stage name Sidhu Moose Wala, the singer shot to fame with his track So High.

His debut album PBX 1, was number 66 on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart after its release in 2018 while his single 47 also ranked on the US Singles Chart.

Also read: Sidhu Moosewala’s ‘295’ song is a global sensation now

He was named among 50 up and coming artists by The Guardian in 2020.

His single SYL was posthumously released on June 23, 2022.