January 29:

Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra along with Paralympic medalists Devendra Jhajharia and Deepa Malik inaugurated the country’s first multi-sports museum, Fanattic Sports Museum, at Ecospace Business Park in New Town. Gloves that Tendulkar wore when he scored his 100th international hundred and Bindra wore when shooting his way to the gold at the  Beijing Olympics are among the memorabilia on display here.

March 14 & September 19:

Former Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke visited Fanattic Sports Museum twice. The first time was to launch his autobiography My Story with Sourav Ganguly. He also gifted to the museum the jersey he wore on March 29, 2015 when his team beat New Zealand to lift the World Cup.

He was back on September 19 with teammate Brad Hogg to hand over Sir Donald Bradman’s bat from India’s first Australia tour in 1947-48 on behalf of a Melbourne-based sports collector. He also presented a signed hand-painted poster capturing a moment from his innings in January 2012 in Sydney when he scored 329 not out against India. 

November 4:

India chief coach Ravi Shastri also visited the museum.

April 23:

Kailash Satyarthy. Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi visited AB Block where he met the students of Little Laureates, a chain of pre-schools. “These children are lucky as they are receiving an education but there are millions who are deprived of basic rights. Please come forward and be their voice,” said Satyarthi, posing with some tots and cutting a cake that had been arranged for him.

July 15:

Indian football team captain Sunil Chetri was at The Newtown School as chief guest for the school’s investiture ceremony. He asked students to take an interest in academics for studies to be interesting and gave tips to parents about how to handle their kids in difficult situations. “When I was a kid my parents played football with me. Once there was just a week left for my Class X Board exams. But I badly wanted to play. My dad agreed. It was a hot afternoon and my parents and I were the only ones on the field. Finally, after completing the game I sat down to study. That one hour of football helped me put in three to four hours of focused study,” he recalled.

June 29:

President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated Bose Institute’s unified academic campus in EN Block, Sector V.

Speaking on the occasion, the President said that almost a century ago, J.C. Bose dedicated the institute, the first of its kind in the country to be fully devoted towards scientific research, to the service of the nation. “With the inauguration of the new campus, Bose Institute is embarking upon a fresh phase in its journey, more so befitting as the Institute celebrates its centenary this year,” he said.

August 27:

Govinda, Bollywood’s Hero no. 1, appeared at mayor Sabyasachi Dutta’s Ganesh puja soiree. He was the surprise addition to the evening’s artiste list comprising Jeet Gaanguli and Akriti Kakar. The dancing star showed his signature moves to the hit song O lal dupattewali from his film Aankhen and delivered popular dialogues including one as a village bumpkin in the same film.

December 10-13:

Diego Maradona’s visit was delayed multiple times from the original mid-September schedule  but his legions of fans were not denied. The World Cup-winning Argentine soccer legend landed in the city on December 10 and put up at Novotel in New Town through the course of his three-day stay. He visited Sreebhumi Sporting Club and conducted a football workshop with kids in Barasat.

October 18:

Suniel Shetty. Actor Suniel Shetty was spotted at Salt Lake Maitri Sangha’s Kali puja inauguration. “The innocent smiles and welcoming faces never change in Calcutta. That’s why I’m always excited about coming here and always return with a smile on my face,” said the Hera Pheri actor.

October 22:

Over 5,000 people thronged BF Park to hear melody queen Asha Bhosle sing her greatest hits  Piya tu, Aaja aja, Yeh mera dil… “When I went to seek my didi’s (Lata Mangeshkar) blessings before coming to Calcutta, she saw I was still recovering from an accident and wasn’t sure whether I should come,” said Asha, before performing her sister’s Lag ja gale in her honour. “I’m 84 now and so the lyrics of this song — phir iss janam mein mulaqat ho na ho —  may hold a deeper meaning for me,” she said. With her, came Dimple Kapadia and Zeenat Aman. The badshah of bhangra Daler Mehndi wrapped up the evening in style.

December 17:

Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, the founder of Isha Foundation, a non-profit organisation, conducted a yoga cum meditation programme at Biswa Bangla Convention Centre and also visited The Westin Rajarhat. 

December 24:

On Christmas eve, Arijit Singh mesmerised 16,000-plus fans at a live concert as part of The MTV India Tour, at Eco Park in New Town. Over the course of three hours, Bollywood’s golden voice belted out some of his biggest hits — Safar to Ae dil hai mushkil, Raabta to Kabira — even as fans cheered loudly, sang along, went click-click on their cell phone cameras and screamed for an encore. Murshidabad man Arijit not only won over the crowd by speaking in Bengali in between songs, but also lent his voice to some local classics — Mohiner Ghoraguli’s Prithibi to Hemanta Mukherjee’s Ei raat tomar amar.