02 April - Death anniversary of Ranjitsinhji

 

 

Colonel H. H. Shri Sir Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji II, Jam Saheb of Nawanagar, (10 September 1872 – 2 April 1933),often known as Ranji or K. S. Ranjitsinhji, was the ruler of the Indian princely state of Nawanagar from 1907 to 1933, as Maharaja Jam Saheb, and a noted Test cricketer who played for the English cricket team.He also played first-class cricket for Cambridge University, and county cricket for Sussex.

Ranji has widely been regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of his era.Neville Cardus described him as "the Midsummer night's dream of cricket". Unorthodox in technique and with fast reactions, he brought a new style to batting and revolutionised the game.Previously, batsmen had generally pushed forward; Ranji took advantage of the improving quality of pitches in his era and played more on the back foot, both in defence and attack. He is particularly associated with one shot, the leg glance, which he invented or popularised. The first-class cricket tournament in India, the Ranji Trophy, was named in his honour and inaugurated in 1935 by the Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala. His nephew Duleepsinhji followed Ranji's path as a batsman playing first-class cricket in England and for the England cricket team.

Away from cricket, Ranji became Maharaja Jam Saheb of Nawanagar in 1907. He was later Chancellor of the Indian Chamber of Princes, and represented India at the League of Nations.

Ranjitsinhji died of heart failure on 2 April 1933 after a short illness.

02 April - International Children’s Book Day

 

International Children’s Book Day is celebrated on April 2 annually. For centuries the importance of reading has been taught in schools. Still, International Children’s Book Day brings awareness to reading and how essential it is in molding the young minds of the future. Books provide kids with a sense of escapism from their mundane realities or their difficult circumstances and allow them to discover stories on their own terms in a language they understand. Next time you don’t know what to get your little niece or nephew, buy them a book that meant something to you when you were growing up, and share the adventure.

One of the greatest joys in life is gifting a child a book and watching them discover the magical world of reading. This is something that has been celebrated through International Children’s Book Day since April 2, 1967, which is also known as the birthday of Hans Christian Andersen, a Danish author famous for his fairy tales that include “The Ugly Duckling,” “The Little Mermaid,” and “Thumbelina.”

The sponsor country for International Children’s Book Day 2023 is Latvia, and the well-known Latvian author and poet Inese Zandere has been chosen to write the message to the children.

The theme of this year’s event is ‘the small is big in a book’.

02 April - World Autism Awareness Day

 

World Autism Awareness Day is an internationally recognized day annually on April 2, encouraging Member States of the United Nations to take measures to raise awareness about autistic individuals throughout the world. It was designated by the United Nations General Assembly resolution (A/RES/62/139). passed in council on November 1, 2007, and adopted on December 18, 2007. It was proposed by Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned, the United Nations Representative from Qatar and consort to Emir Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, and supported by all member states.

This resolution was passed and adopted without a vote in the UN General Assembly, mainly as a supplement to previous UN initiatives to improve human rights.

World Autism Day is one of only seven official health-specific UN Days.

The terms "Autism Awareness Day" and "Autism Awareness Month" are often contested by autism rights advocates, who claim that they feed into perceived ableism against autistic people. Such groups, including the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, advocate using the term "Autism Acceptance day" as an alternative for both events under the belief that it promotes overcoming anti-autism prejudice rather than simply increasing awareness of autism 

The observance of World Autism Awareness Day helps to promote greater understanding and acceptance of autism, reduce stigma, and advocate for the rights and well-being of individuals with autism spectrum disorder.

02 April - Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan born in 1902

 

Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (2 April 1902 – 25 April 1968) was an Indian Hindustani classical vocalist, from the Patiala Gharana. At the age of five, Bade Ghulam began training in vocal music from his paternal uncle Kale Khan, and later from his father. He had three younger brothers namely Barkat Ali Khan, Mubarak Ali Khan and Amanat Ali Khan. He was born on 2 April 1902 in Punjab, British India.

01 April - April Fool's Day

 

April Fool's Day is celebrated on 1 April in many countries around the world. On this day, people traditionally play practical jokes on each other and have fun trying to make other people believe things that are not true.

Some interesting things on the stamp 

One of the key traits used to describe Britons around the world is our sense of the ridiculous, with the British sense of humour recognised as being particularly distinctive.

In this special issue dedicated to comedy greats, Royal Mail takes a trip into Britain’s comedy past with a look at the story behind ten of the country’s best loved humorous acts.

The timing of Comedy Greats (with its release on April Fool’s Day) is particularly apt, as this year marks the centenary of the birth of Norman Wisdom and the fiftieth anniversary of the first broadcast of Not Only… But Also starring Peter Cook and Dudley Moore.

Each of the stamps features the comedian, or comedy pair, in a close up photograph, with an extra photo of the featured person taken during one of their performances.

The performance photos show the comedic greats in trademark poses, from Morecambe and Wise performing one of their humorous ‘Bring Me Sunshine’ dance, to Victoria Wood seated at a piano during a comedy song routine.

Stamp Issue date: 1 April, 2015.

01 April - Postage stamp issued on Potato Research in India

 

A commemorative postage stamp issued on 01 April 1985 on the 50th. Anniversary of the Potato Research in India : Association for Potato Research is a quarterly peer - reviewed scientific journal covering all aspects of the production and use of potato.It was established in 1958.The potato is a root vegetable native to the Americas , a starchy tuber of the plant solanum tuberosum, and the itself is perennial in the nightshade family ,Solanaceae .wild potato species, originating in modern - day Peru , can be found throughout the Americas, from Canada to southern Chile

01 April - Keshav Baliram Hedgewar born in 1889

 

Keshav Baliram Hedgewar (1 April 1889 – 21 June 1940), also known by his moniker Doctorji, was an Indian physician and the founding Sarsanghachalak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).Hedgewar founded the RSS in Nagpur in 1925, based on the ideology of Hindutva with the intention of creating a Hindu Rashtra.

01 April - 15 years of joining Asian Pacific Postal Union in 1977

 

Asian Pacific Postal Union (APPU) is an intergovernmental organization of 32-member countries of the Asian-Pacific region. APPU is the only Restricted Union of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in the region, which is a specialized agency of the United Nations. The goal of APPU is to extend, facilitate and improve postal relations between member countries and to promote cooperation in the field of postal services. As the regional center for various UPU projects, APPU also takes the lead in ensuring that all technical and operational projects of the UPU are fulfilled in the region so that the region is integrated into the global postal network in the best possible way. Secretary General leads the activities of the Union and is also the Director of the Asian Pacific Postal College (APPC) which is the largest intergovernmental postal training institute in the region.

India joined the Asian Oceanic Postal Union in 1973 and has been actively participating in the affairs of the Union. It has now completed 15 years of its service to the countries of the region. To mark the occasion a commemorative postage stamp was issued on 1st April 1977 by department of post


India will take over the leadership of the Asian Pacific Postal Union (APPU) having its Headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand from this month. Following the successful elections held during the 13th APPU Congress held in Bangkok during August- September 2022, Dr. Vinaya Prakash Singh, erstwhile Member (Personnel), Postal Services Board will take over the charge of Secretary General of the Union for a tenure of 4 years.

01 April - Odisha Day

 

Odisha Day, also Utkala Dibasa, is celebrated on 1 April in the Indian state of Odisha in memory of the formation of the state as a separate state out of Bihar and Orissa Province with addition of Koraput District and Ganjam District from the Madras Presidency on 1 April 1936.After losing its political identity completely in 1568 following the defeat and demise of the last king Mukunda Dev, efforts resulted in the formation of a politically separate state under British rule on a linguistic basis on 1 April 1936

Source: https://www.odiaportal.in/2016/01/Rare-Odisha-Postal-Stamps-Free-Download.7z.html

31 March - Sir Isaac Newton death anniversary

 

 

Sir Isaac Newton ( 04 January 1642 – 31 March 1727) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author who was described in his time as a "natural philosopher". He was a key figure in the philosophical revolution known as the Enlightenment. His book Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), first published in 1687, established classical mechanics. Newton also made seminal contributions to optics, and shares credit with German mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz for developing infinitesimal calculus.

Beyond his work on the mathematical sciences, Newton dedicated much of his time to the study of alchemy and biblical chronology, but most of his work in those areas remained unpublished until long after his death. Politically and personally tied to the Whig party, Newton served two brief terms as Member of Parliament for the University of Cambridge, in 1689–1690 and 1701–1702. He was knighted by Queen Anne in 1705 and spent the last three decades of his life in London, serving as Warden (1696–1699) and Master (1699–1727) of the Royal Mint, as well as president of the Royal Society (1703–1727).

Newton died in his sleep in London on 31 March 1727 .After his death, Newton's hair was examined and found to contain mercury, probably resulting from his alchemical pursuits. Mercury poisoning could explain Newton's eccentricity in late life