DUBAI 17 August 2018: Two luminaries were extinguished from our world yesterday leaving more than a billion people in grief, shock and dismay.
Atal Behari Vajpayee, a widely loved and respected former Prime Minister of India, passed away in Delhi after a prolonged illness.
Born on December 25, 1924 at Gwalior in India, Vajpayee was a three time Prime Minister – first for a term of 13 days in 1996, for a period of eleven months from 1998 to 1999, and then for a full term from 1999 to 2004.
He was admitted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in June and was stable. But then his condition deteriorated and he was pronounced dead on August 16.
World has lost Aretha Franklin
The undisputed ‘Queen Of Soul’ has passed away.
Her many countless classics include “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” “Chain Of Fools,” “I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)”; her own compositions “Think,” “Daydreaming” and “Call Me”; her definitive versions of “Respect” and “I Say A Little Prayer”; and global hits like “Freeway Of Love,” “Jump To It,” “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me),” her worldwide chart-topping duet with George Michael, and “A Rose Is Still A Rose.”
She is recipient of the USA’s highest civilian honor, The Presidential Medal Of Freedom, and 18 Grammy Awards.