Sheikh Dr. Abu Muhammad Ayman al-Zawahiri –He was appointed as the Amir (supreme leader) of the Al-Qaeda. He was Osama bin-Laden`s long-standing lieutenant to lead al-Qaeda. The general command of al-Qaeda announced the appointment and this announcement was made public on 16 June 2011. Ayman al-Zawahiri is a 1959-born former Egyptian surgeon. Saif al-Adel (an Egyptian), the head of the al Qaeda Shura council, was acting as the interim leader of the al-Qaeda; after the death of Osama Bin Laden on 2 May 2011, till the appointment of Ayman al-Zawahiri.
M F Husain-Celebrated Indian artist (painter), died in London on 9 June 2011. He was popularly known as MF and was regarded as ‘Picasso of India’. He was 95 years old.M F Husain was born on September 17, 1915 in Pandharpur of Solapur District of Maharashtra. In 1952, MF Husain`s first solo exhibition was held at Zurich and soon he became popular in Europe and USA. Husain went on to become one of the highest paid painters in India. His paintings have fetched millions of dollars at the auction. In 1966, MF Husain was honored with Padma Shree by the Government of India. MF Husain’s first film was ‘Through the Eyes of a Painter’ in 1967. The film won a Golden Bear when it was shown at the Berlin Film Festival. He has also made two Hindi movies, (1) ‘Gaja Gamini’ and (2) ‘Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities.’
Nataraja Ramakrishna-Popular kuchipudi classical dancer, known for reviving and introducing Andhra Natyam and Perini Shivatandavam, died on 7 June 2011.Ramakrishna was born in Bali, Indonesia, where his parents had migrated from East Godavari. The family later returned to India and Ramakrishna started showing interest in classical dance forms. At the age of 18, he was given the title of Nataraja in Nagpur, which got added to his name Ramakrishna.He is well known for introducing the dance form of Perini Shivatandavam which highlighted the role of warriors under King Ganapathi Devudu of the Kakatiya dynasty. He was also credited with the revival of the Andhra Natyam dance form, a devotional temple dance tradition performed in Andhra Pradesh for over 400 years until it went virtually extinct.He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1992. He also received a doctorate from the Andhra University and a Bharata Kala Prapoorna apart from the NTR State Award.
Suzanne Al Houby-Palestinian-born and UAE-based mother of two, Suzanne Al Houby, on 21 May 2011 became the first Arab woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak. Originally from Jaffa, Palestine, 40-year-old Al Houby reached the 8,848-metre peak at after spending 51 days scaling Mount Everest as part of a four-person team, three of whom successfully reached the summit. Since Mount Everest was first scaled by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953, approximately 100 women have accomplished the feat.
Devi Prasad-A prominent artist, died in South Delhi on 1 June 2011. He was also a pioneering studio potter, painter, designer, photographer, art educator and peace activist all rolled into one. After completing graduation from Shantiniketan he joined Mahatma Gandhi`s Sevagram. He stayed at Sevagram until 1962 where he developed an art school and edited a journal. He was awarded the Lalit Kala Ratna award by Lalit Kala Akademi 2007.