21 March - World Puppetry Day

 

World Puppetry Day is March 21. The idea came from the puppet theater artist Javad Zolfaghari from Iran. In 2000 at the XVIII Congress of the Union Internationale de la Marionnette, (UNIMA) in Magdeburg, he made the proposal for discussion. Two years later, at a meeting of the International Council of UNIMA in June 2002 in Atlanta, the date of the celebration was identified. The first celebration was in 2003.

Each year the day comes with a theme. In 2024, the theme was "The Climate!" encouraging puppeteers to celebrate the day using some form of that theme.

World Puppetry Day is celebrated by puppet festivals,donating to puppet organizations, making puppets, or watching a puppet show. Some communities will put on puppet shows in honor of the day reminding people of this versatile and dying art form.

Puppets have been around for almost 4000 years in almost every civilization. Today puppets come in all shapes and sizes and are used to tell different stories.

21 March - World Poetry Day

 

World Poetry Day is celebrated on 21 March, and was declared by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) in 1999, "with the aim of supporting linguistic diversity through poetic expression and increasing the opportunity for endangered languages to be heard".Its purpose is to promote the reading, writing, publishing, and teaching of poetry throughout the world and, as the original UNESCO declaration says, to "give fresh recognition and impetus to national, regional, and international poetry movements".

21 March - International Day of Forests

 

The International Day of Forests was established on the 21st day of March, by resolution of the United Nations General Assembly on November 28, 2013.Each year, various events celebrate and raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests, and trees outside forests, for the benefit of current and future generations. Countries are encouraged to undertake efforts to organize local, national, and international activities involving forests and trees, such as tree planting campaigns, on International Day of Forests. The Secretariat of the United Nations Forum on Forests, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization, facilitates the implementation of such events in collaboration with governments, the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, and international, regional and subregional organizations.International Day of Forests was observed for the first time on March 21, 2013.

 

SPECIAL CANCELLATION ON SPECIAL COVER INTERNATIONAL DAY OF FORESTS ISSUED ON 21/03/2023 in India , in Pune city

21 March - Ustad "Bismillah" Khan born in 1916

 

Ustad Qamruddin "Bismillah" Khan (21 March 1916 – 21 August 2006) (born as Qamaruddin Khan) was dedicated shehnai maestro from India. The much-celebrated musician was born into the family of musicians on March 21, 1916. Ustad Bismillah won prestigious awards, such as the Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri, Bharat Ratna and Padma Vibhushan and was a popular name all over the world. He mastered the art of playing the shehnai and also had the honour of playing on the eve of Indian's independence in 1947. Even today, the annual Republic Day celebrations broadcast to the opening notes of Ustad Bismillah's music.In August 2006, Khan's health deteriorated and he was admitted to the Hospital in Varanasi. He bid adieu to the world on August 21, 2006, due to a cardiac arrest.

21 March - International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

 

The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed annually on 21 March. On that day, in 1960, police opened fire at a peaceful demonstration in Sharpeville, South Africa, against the apartheid pass laws; 69 people were killed, and 180 were injured. Proclaiming the day in 1966, the United Nations General Assembly called on the international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination.

20 March - Karpoor Chandra Kulish born in 1926

 

Karpoor Chandra Kulish (20 March 1926 – 17 January 2006) was the founder of Rajasthan Patrika, a Hindi language newspaper of Rajasthan, India.

Born in Jain family, State Rajasthan Soda village in Malpura tehsil in Tonk district in 1926 he started his career in journalism as an employee in a newspaper. On 7 March 1956, Kulish started his own newspaper, which became no. 1 in Rajasthan. He is best remembered for his fearless journalism.[citation needed] His family consists of his wife, two sons and one daughter.Kulish retired from Rajasthan Patrika on 20 March 1986

20 March - International Day of Happiness

 

The International Day of Happiness is celebrated throughout the world on 20 March.It was established by the United Nations General Assembly on 28 June 2012.

The International Day of Happiness aims to make people around the world realize the importance of happiness within their lives.

In 2015, the United Nations launched 17 Sustainable Development Goals to make people's lives happier. Its main development goals are eradicate poverty, reduce inequality and protect our planet.

The United Nations invites people of all ages to join in celebrating the International Day of Happiness.

20 March - International Francophonie Day

 

 

International Francophonie Day is observed within the International Organization of La Francophonie's 77 member states every March 20 to celebrate the French language and Francophone culture.There are over 369 million French speakers on Earth.

Created in 1988, the date celebrates the signing of the Niamey Convention in Niger on 20 March 1970. The convention established the Agence de Coopération Culturelle et Technique, the precursor to the International Organization of La Francophonie.

Just like the British colonies, the French established French colonies. This led to the cultural and lingual spread in the regions which they established the colonies.

According to the Canadian then-minister for La Francophonie Steven Blaney's speech in 2013, the International Francophonie Day is to "celebrate our commitment to not only the French language and the rich and diverse francophone culture but also the values of peace, democracy and respect for human rights that unite all members of the International Organization of La Francophonie

20 March - World Sparrow Day

World Sparrow Day is a day designated to raise awareness of the house sparrow and then other common birds to urban environments, and of threats to their populations, observed on 20 March.It is an international initiative by the Nature Forever Society of India in collaboration with the Eco-Sys Action Foundation (France) and numerous other national and international organisations across the world.

World Sparrow Day also has a broader vision to provide a platform where people who are working on the conservation of the house sparrow and other common birds can network, collaborate and exchange conservation ideas which will lead to better science and improved results. It aims to provide a meeting ground for people from different parts of the world to come together and form a force that can play an important role in advocacy and in spreading the awareness on the need of conserving common biodiversity or species of lower conservation status.

19 March - Lord Parashurama commerative postage stamp issued in 2023

This design is derived from Raja Ravi Varma's oleograph. India post released a commerative stamp of Lord Parashurama on 19 March 2023

Parashurama also referred to as Rama Jamadagnya, Rama Bhargava and Veerarama, is the sixth avatar among the Dashavatara of the preserver god Vishnu in Hinduism. He is believed to be one of the Chiranjeevis (Immortals), who will appear at the end of the Kali Yuga to be the guru of Vishnu's tenth and last incarnation, Kalki.

Born to Jamadagni and Renuka, the Brahmin Parashurama was foretold to appear at a time when overwhelming evil prevailed on the earth. The Kshatriya class, with weapons and power, had begun to abuse their power, take what belonged to others by force and tyrannise people. He corrected the cosmic equilibrium by destroying the Kshatriya warriors twenty-one times. He is married to Dharani, an incarnation of Lakshmi, the wife of Vishnu.He is present in the Ramayana due to the conflict with Rama (the protagonist of the Ramayana) over Shiva's broken bow. He is mentioned in the Mahabharata as the guru of Bhisma, Drona, Rukmi, and Karna.

 

 #StampRelease

The Department of Posts today released a commemorative postage stamp on “Parshuram” the great warrior sage of Ancient India in Jaipur, Rajasthan. His teachings of righteousness, fairness and objectivity is an inspiration for all . The stamp was released by Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Railways, Communications, Electronics and Information & technology in presence of other dignitaries.

Ashwini Vaishnaw Devusinh Chauhan Amrit Mahotsav Ministry of Culture, Government of India MyGovIndia DDNewsLive All India Radio News