General Awareness

PERSONS IN NEWS - December 2018

Dec 2018

Dec 15, 2020

John Le Carre, Best-selling Author of Cold War Thrillers, Passes Away

John le Carré, whose exquisitely nuanced, intricately plotted Cold War thrillers elevated the spy novel to high art by presenting both Western and Soviet spies as morally compromised cogs in a rotten system full of treachery, betrayal and personal tragedy, passed away at the age of 89.
Before le Carré published his best-selling 1963 novel "The Spy Who Came in From the Cold," which Graham Greene called "the best spy story I have ever read," the fictional model for the modern British spy was Ian Fleming's James Bond — suave, urbane, devoted to queen and country. With his impeccable talent for getting out of trouble while getting women into bed, Bond fed the myth of spying as a glamorous, exciting romp.
Le Carré upended that notion with books that portrayed British intelligence operations as cesspools of ambiguity in which right and wrong are too close to call and in which it is rarely obvious whether the ends, even if the ends are clear, justify the means.

HDFC Bank Names Sanmoy Chakrabarti as Chief Risk Officer

HDFC Bank has appointed Sanmoy Chakrabarti as the Chief Risk Officer in place of Jimmy Tata, who will take on the role of Chief Credit Officer.
The board of directors of the bank has approved the appointment of Sanmoy Chakrabarti, Head, Risk Management, as the Chief Risk Officer of the bank, for three years.

Dec 14, 2020

Eminent Sanskrit Scholar Bannanje Govindacharya Passes Away

R Sanskrit scholar Vidyavachaspati Bannanje Govindacharya, who was a propagator of 'Madhwa' ideology and a great orator, passed away. He was 84 years old.
Bannanje Govindacharya was awarded the Padma Shri, which is the fourth highest civilian honour, by the Government of India in 2009.
Govindacharya has translated several literary pieces and texts from Sanskrit to Kannada. Some of them are Bana Bhatta's novel 'Bana Bhattana Kadambari', Kalidasa's 'Shakuntala' and Shudraka's 'Mrichakatika.' Govindacharya had also translated several historical novels to Kannada.
Govindacharya was the brand ambassador of India at the World Conference on Religion and Peace held in Princeton, USA in 1979.

Ambrose Dlamini Eswatini's Prime Minister Passes Away

Eswatini's Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini has died, four weeks after he tested positive for coronavirus.
Dlamini had been Prime Minister of Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, since October 2018.
The tiny landlocked country in Southern Africa is one of the last absolute monarchies in the world.
He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Eswatini from October 2018 until his death in December 2020.
Prior to his appointment, he worked in the banking and telecommunications sectors, including as managing director of Nedbank and as CEO of MTN Eswatini.
He was the youngest head of government in Eswatini's history.

Dec 12, 2020

South Korean Director Kim Ki-duk Passes Away

South Korean director Kim Ki-duk, who won the top award at the Venice Film Festival in 2012 but later faced allegations at home of hitting an actress and trying to force her into shooting off-script sexual scenes while making another movie, died in Latvia. He was 59.
Kim Ki-duk's death was indirectly confirmed by the Foreign Ministry in Seoul.

Dec 11, 2020

Dance Pioneer Astad Deboo Passes Away

Contemporary Indian dancer Astad Deboo, known for amalgamating Indian and western dance techniques, died. He was 73.
Deboo employed his training in Indian classical dance forms of kathak as well as kathakali to create a unique fusion dance form.
He left behind a formidable legacy of unforgettable performances combined with an unswerving dedication to his art, matched only by his huge, loving heart that gained him thousands of friends and a vast number of admirers.
Known for his charitable endeavours, Deboo worked with deaf children, both in India and abroad for two decades.
In 2002, he founded the Astad Deboo Dance Foundation which provided creative training to marginalised sections, including the differently-abled.

Dec 10, 2020

Eminent Hindi Poet and Journalist Manglesh Dabral Passes Away

Eminent Hindi poet and journalist Manglesh Dabral passed away at the age of 72.
Manglesh Dabral was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2000 for his poetry collection 'Ham Jo Dekhte Hain'.
Dabral was a prolific writer and has several collections in poetry as well as prose. His poetry collections include Pahar Par Lalten, Ghar Ka Rasta, Ham Jo Dekhte Hain, Awaz Bhi Ek Jagah Hai and Naye Yug Men Shatru.
His prose collections include Lekhak Ki Roti and Kavi Ka Akelapan, besides a travel diary Ek Bar Iowa.

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