Steve Jobs: An icon whose legacy has just begun

If one has to look back upon 2011, it serves as a stark reminder that even icons come with a shelf life.
 
Steve Jobs’ death last night serves yet another blow to a year that has seen legends succumb to the inevitable, many of whom well before their time.

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But can a legend ever really die? A profound thought that was at the forefront of millions after the initial shock over Jobs’ untimely death started to wear off earlier today.
 
Jobs wore many caps during his lifetime: that of an innovator, a revolutionary, a family man, a humanitarian and a cancer victim.
 
But truth be told, the Apple founder was not really a victim to the dreaded disease that is battled everyday by millions around the world, including some famous faces who lost their fight to cancer earlier this year.
 
Jobs’ strength, and his ultimate victory, lay in the dignity with which he lived his eight-year long struggle against pancreatic cancer in the public eye, while still managing to emanate strength to those who relied on his genius for their daily bread and butter.
 
In reality, he actually won. Just like the icons that left before him, who passed on their flames in the form of legacies that continue to live on.
 
So today, while many of you reach for your iPhones, iPads, iPods or iMacs, take a moment to remember that even though icons, they are human just like the next person, and a legend never really dies.
 
For Jobs, the legacy has only just begun.   
 
Emirates 24|7 pays tribute to other icons that have passed away this year, some of whom lesser known, but equally important in changing the way many of us live our lives today.
 
Ralph Steinman
 
On September 30, the winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine, Ralph Steinman, lost his battle to pancreatic cancer, never learning that he would be awarded science world’s biggest honour.
 
Ironically, the Montreal-born immunologist was won his award for discovering the dendritic cell, what scientists said provided a valuable insight intothe body’s immune system that has paved the way for treatments for cancer and other diseases.
 
Wangari Maathai
 
Another winner, this time the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, Kenyan-born environmentalist Wangari Maathai passed away in hospital on September 25, whilst undergoing treatment for ovarian cancer.
 
The civil and women rights activist has changed the lives of thousands in Africa, and also served as the founder of Green Belt Movement and a Member of Parliament. Her legend still lives on in her work.
 
Mansur Ali Khan ‘Tiger’ Pataudi
 
Last month’s sudden death of former Indian cricket captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi shook up the sporting and entertainment worlds, alike.
 
The 70-year-old cricketer, who lost his battle to lung infection on September 22, was revered for his courage and strength.
 
After losing vision in his right eye in 1961 after a car accident, Pataudi went on to set the world record for becoming the youngest to captain a Test cricket team.
 
He is survived by wife and former actress, Sharmila Tagore, actor-son Saif Ali Khan and daughters Saba Ali Khan and Soha Ali Khan.
 
Shamsher Raj “Shammi ” Kapoor
 
It was the morning of August 14 that the Indian film industry was served a big blow with the demise of actor par excellence, Shammi Kapoor.
 
As veteran actor and close friend Amitabh Bachchan said on that fateful morning: “The flamboyance and joi de verve of an industry is lost.”

“Junglee” Kapoor, as many called him after his iconic film of the same, inspired generations of film stars who struggled to revive that innocent charm and that vibrant person on the silver screen.
 
But it was not just film career that he was most remembered for, but also his ability to live with the times by founding and chairing the Internet Users Community of India. He had also played a major role in setting up internet organisations like the Ethical Hackers Association.

A member of the famed Kapoor family, the actor passed away in Mumbai from renal failure.

He was the second of three sons born to the iconic Prithviraj Kapoor. 
 
Betty Ford 
 
The former First Lady of the United States won many a heart when her political life saw her fight for the Women’s Movement, demanding equal pay and supporting abortion as a personal choice.
 
But Betty Ford really earned the respect when she came out in the open about her long-running battle against alcoholism in the 1970s, which prompted her to open the Betty Ford Center for the treatment of chemical dependencies in 1982.
 
Since then, it has treated more than 75,000 people, including many A-list celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor, Robert Downey Jr, musician Jerry Lee Lewis, amongs others.
 
Ford died on July 8 of natural causes.
 
Maqbool Fida Husain 
 
A legend that was never really understood until it was too late, India’s eminent painter died of a heart attack in London on June 10 at age 95.
 
Widely regarded as the “Picasso of India”, Husain exemplary work also proved his downfall when he was forced to move from India in 2006 after eight legal cases were filed against him, followed by death threats over his depiction of Hindu deities in the nude.
 
The artist then shuttled between Dubai and London, before his self-imposed exile saw him accepting a Qatari citizenship in 2010.
 
He has received several major national awards like including the Padma Vibhushan. 
 
The legendary artist has also directed films, with “Ghaja Gamini” featured Bollywood actor Madhuri Dixit, who he often described as his muse, followed by “Meenaxi – A Tale of Three Cities”, starring Tabu.
 
Elizabeth Taylor
 
A legend in Hollywood, the three-time Academy Award-winning actress Elizabeth Taylor succumbed to congestive heart failure on March 23. She was 79.
 
Taylor, also called violet-eyes, was not just a celebrated film star, but also a humanitarian who touched the lives of many by offering them an escape from their daily struggles, both on and off screen. 
 
Her most noteworthy films include “National Velvet”, “Father of the Bride”, “Cleopatra”, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”, “Butterfield 8” and many more.
 
Taylor married eight times, to seven husbands, with a two marriages to actor Richard Burton. 
 
Theyab Awana
 
The UAE’s very own homegrown icon, football star Theyab Awana, died following a fatal car accident last month.
 
The 21-year-old, famed for his back-heeled penalty strike against Lebanon in July, was said to be speeding when he lost control of the car.
 
Awana’s rise to fame in the world of football gave hope to many young hopefuls like him from the country, who wanted to pursue their dream of one day taking the country into the FIFA World Cup championships.

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