World-famous chef Floyd Cardoz, who had tested positive for COVID-19, died of the infection in a hospital in New York City on March 25, 2020. Cardoz was the co-owner of two restaurants in Mumbai - the Bombay Canteen and O Pedro. He had returned to the US after the launch of his third venture, the Bombay Sweet Shop. He is survived by his mother Beryl, wife Barkha, and sons Justin and Peter.

Artist Akbar Padamsee passed away on January 6, 2020, at the age of 91. Padamsee completed his early education from Sir JJ School of Art and along with MF Husain, FN Souza, and SH Raza, he formed part of the Progressive Artists' Group of Bombay. Padamsee, who is one of the first post-colonial artists to have explored the Parisian milieu with his paintbrush is also the recipient of the Padma Bhushan and the Lalit Kala Akademi Puraskar.

Ace fashion designer Wendell Rodricks died on February 12, 2020, following a prolonged illness. Fashion designer and gay rights activist, Rodricks, who was one of the most popular fashion designers from Goa was also awarded a Padma Shri in 2014. He was also accorded the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts Et Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture in 2015. He was credited for reviving the Kunbi saree, worn by the indigenous Kunbi tribal women in Goa.

Ex-Matka king Ratan Khatri died on May 9, 2020, at the age of 88. According to sources, Khatri was ailing for a long time. In the 1960s, he had joined Kalyan Bhagat to set up Matka in Mumbai. Matka, a lottery or gambling with number, was popular in all classes of Mumbai in the 1960s. After working with Bhagat as a manager, Khatri parted his way and formed his own 'Ratan Matka' in 1964.

Former Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh passed away on August 1, 2020, after battling an illness. He was 64. Well known for his contacts in the business and film industry, Singh was a key leader in Samajwadi Party when it was part of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in 2008. In March 2020, he was hospitalised in Singapore for surgery in a kidney-related illness.

Neela Satyanarayana, Maharashtra's first woman election commissioner, died on July 16, 2020, due to COVID-19. She was 71. A bureaucrat with nerves of steel, Satyanarayana played multiple roles - from poetess and novelist to film music composer.

Former President and veteran Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee passed away in New Delhi on August 31, 2020. He was 84. Doctors had stated that Mukherjee was in septic shock due to a lung infection. Mukherjee, who had tested positive for COVID-19, was admitted to Army Research and Referral Hospital in New Delhi. He was the 13th President of India and he also served as the Finance Minister. In 2019, he was conferred with the highest civilian honour of Bharat Ratna by President Ram Nath Kovind.

Veteran Congress leader and Member of Parliament Ahmed Patel passed away on November 25, 2020, due to multi-organ failure. He was under treatment for post-COVID-19 complications. He worked with Rajiv Gandhi's team as the parliamentary secretary and became the closest confidante of Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Patel also played a critical role in setting up the Narmada Management Authority to monitor the Sardar Sarovar Project.

Union Minister and founder of Lok Janshakti Party Ram Vilas Paswan passed away on October 8, 2020. Paswan, who was not keeping well for some time, passed away at the age of 74. Paswan was a minister in the Narendra Modi government, the UPA government as well as the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government. He was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1977 on a Janata Party ticket from Hajipur in Bihar.

Former Gujarat chief minister and veteran BJP leader Keshubhai Patel passed away on October 29, 2020. Patel, who had tested positive for COVID-19 in September was 92-year-old. He served as the chief minister of Gujarat for two terms - in 1995 and from 1998 to 2001. Besides being a member of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly for six times, Patel also served as the chairman of the Shree Somnath Trust, which manages the famous Somnath temple in Saurashtra region.

Former TERI chief and environmentalist R K Pachauri passed away on February 13, 2020, after a prolonged cardiac ailment. He was 79. Under his chairmanship, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. Pachauri has also won the Padma Bhushan in 2001 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2008.

Ajit Jogi - the first chief minister of Chhattisgarh - breathed his last on May 29, 2020. 74-year-old Jogi suffered a cardiac arrest. A bureaucrat-turned politician, Jogi served as the first chief minister of Chhattisgarh from November 2000 to November 2003. He is survived by his wife Renu Jogi, the MLA from the Kota constituency, and son Amit Jogi, a former MLA.

Thane's iconic and popular food joint 'Mamledar Misal's owner Laxman Murdeshwar passed away on December 1, 2020, after a prolonged illness. He was 84. Started in 1952, the 'Mamledar Misal' was run by the Murdeshwar family. It was Murdeshwar's father Narsimha, who introduced misal along with other Maharashtrian dishes which later became popular. Interestingly, the place got its name from the 'mamledar kacheri' - the location of their first outlet in Thane.

K S Narayanswamy, also known as Chandran, the owner of Mani's Lunch Home, passed away at KJ Somaiya Hospital on October 20, 2020.  He was 67. Mani's Lunch Home, which was originally in Matunga, had been shifted to Chembur some time back. Narayanswamy was known to be softspoken and lovable. Mani's Lunch Home was the winner in the Best Comeback category at the inaugural edition of The Guide Restaurant Awards in 2018. He is survived by his wife, son, and daughter.

Fr Alban D'Souza, acting parish priest of the Immaculate Conception Church in Borivli, died of cardiac arrest on January 5, 2020. He was 54. Fr Alban D'Souza, who studied at Our Lady of Salvation High School in Dadar, was known to unite people through music. He was the founder of the Band of Priests, which played at different churches across the city.

Jaffer Bhai's Delhi Darbar owner Jaffer Gulam Mansuri passed away due to COVID-19 on September 10, 2020. He was 84. Well known as the 'Biryani King of Mumbai', Mansuri was the owner of Jaffer Bhai's Delhi Darbar' - a chain of restaurants famous for its biryani. Originally from Ahmedabad, Mansuri set up Delhi Darbar restaurant in 1973 and in 2006, he branched out of the family business to open 'Jaffer Bhai's Delhi Darbar'.

Zindzi Mandela, the daughter of South African anti-apartheid leaders Nelson Mandela and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, passed away on July 13, 2020. She was 59. Since 2015, she had been South Africa's ambassador to Denmark. Zindzi came to international prominence in 1985, when the white minority government offered to release Nelson Mandela from prison if he denounced violence perpetrated by his movement, the Africa National Congress, against apartheid, the brutal system of racial discrimination enforced in South Africa at that time. She is survived by her husband and four children.