30 March - Alaska Purchase

 

As Russia completed its eastward expansion through Siberia, the country inevitably crossed the Bering Strait and established a presence in the northern Americas. This territory, first settled in the early 17th century, was known as Alaska, but very few Russians ever moved there.

Russia was damaged militarily by its defeat in the Crimean War, in which Britain and its ally France defeated the Empire. Russian Tsar Alexander II began looking for ways to sell Alaska to America, especially as the territory would be impossible to defend if Britain decided to attack it. (Britain held Canada as a colony at the time of the sale.)

After the American Civil War concluded, negotiations began on selling Alaska to America, though opinion in both countries was against the deal. Many Russians did not want to give away a territory where gold had been discovered, and Americans did not want an 'ice-box' where very few people lived.

On 30 March 1867, the two countries agreed on a purely symbolic sum of $7.2 million ($109 million in 2018), about 2 cents an acre. America had purchased 586,412 square miles (1,518,800 km2) of territory. Alaska would not be admitted as a state to the Union until 1959, and it remained sparsely populated until a gold rush in the late 19th century.

30 March - USA celebrates National Pencil Day

 

National Pencil Day is on March 30 and it is the perfect moment to explore these old writing tools. This simple instrument has meant so much to mankind. It allows people to express themselves, helps them find their creativity, and supports all kinds of scribbles and doodles.  Did you know that one pencil can write up to 45,000 words? Pencils have been used for ages, and have gone through many changes in terms of their design, but have you ever wondered who came up with the brilliant idea of attaching an eraser to a pencil? Well, Hymen Lipman was the man behind this great discovery and was responsible for making our lives easier. We celebrate this day to honor this superb creation.

30 March - Test Cricket debut of Garry Sobers in 1954

 

Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers, AO, OCC, NH (born 28 July 1936), also known as Sir Gary or Sir Garry Sobers, is a former cricketer who played for the West Indies between 1954 and 1974. A highly skilled bowler, an aggressive batsman and an excellent fielder, he is widely considered to be cricket's greatest ever all-rounder and one of the greatest cricketers of all time.

On 30 March 1954, Test Cricket debut of Garry Sobers v England at Kingston.

30 March - World Bipolar Day

 

World Bipolar Day is observed on 30th March every year, on the birthday of Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh — one of the most influential artists in the history of Western art.

His creativity was paralleled with his mental illness and he was posthumously diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder dramatically affects the mood and may result in episodes of depression and elation, which can affect one’s health, productivity, and relationships.

In 1999, the International Bipolar Foundation (IBPF) was founded, and has since been researching bipolar disorders and helping people who are suffering from it. 

30 March - Akshaya Mohanty Postal stamp released 2023

 

Postal stamps released in names of 4 legends of Odisha on 30 March 2023

Postal stamps released in names of 4 Odisha legends. They are late music director Akshaya Mohanty, Odissi exponent Guru Kelu Charan Mohapatra, noted writer Laxmikanta Mahpatra and first woman Odia film director Parvati Ghosh.


Akshaya Mohanty, also known as Khoka Bhai, was an Indian singer, lyricist, composer, musician and writer in Odia. He has contributed Odia bhajans, Odissi songs, folk songs, film and non-film modern light songs in Odisha on contemporary themes and ballads based on popular legends in Odisha.

Mohanty was born to Bichitrananda Mohanty and Subarna Manjari Mohanty at Cuttack on 12 October 1936. Mohanty had no formal training in music. At the age of 22 in 1956, he joined Government services in his home city Cuttack, but quit after seven years in 1963. He became an approved lyricist in All India Radio, Cuttack in 1956. By 1959 he became an approved composer in All India Radio.

30 March - Parbati Ghose Postal stamps released 2023

 

Postal stamps released in names of 4 legends of Odisha on 30 March 2023

Postal stamps released in names of 4 Odisha legends. They are late music director Akshaya Mohanty, Odissi exponent Guru Kelu Charan Mohapatra, noted writer Laxmikanta Mahpatra and first woman Odia film director Parbati Ghose.


Parbati Ghose (born Chapala Nayak; 28 March 1942 – 12 February 2018)was an Indian actress, film director and film producer.Ghose was the first female filmmaker from the state of Odisha.

Ghose died on 12 February 2018, at the age of 84 in Bhubaneswar. The state government of Odisha held a state funeral in her honor. In early days of Odia cinema, she single-handedly uplifted it to a new level. She is considered as a symbol of women's empowerment when an idea like empowerment was unheard of. Her departure is a great loss to our industry and the world of silver screen. She will always be remembered for her contribution to Odia cinema.
 

30 March - KeluCharan Mohapatra Postal stamp released 2023

 

 

30 March - KeluCharan Mohapatra Postal stamps released 2023

Postal stamps released in names of 4 legends of Odisha on 30 March 2023

Postal stamps released in names of 4 Odisha legends. They are late music director Akshaya Mohanty, Odissi exponent Guru Kelu Charan Mohapatra, noted writer Laxmikanta Mahpatra and first woman Odia film director Parbati Ghose.


Kelucharan Mohapatra (8 January 1926 – 7 April 2004) was a legendary Indian classical dancer, guru, and exponent of Odissi dance, who is credited with the revival and popularizing of this classical dance form in the 20th century.He is the first person to receive the Padma Vibhushan from Odisha.

A noted Sanskrit poet of India writes on this Guru: Saango-paanga-subhangi-laasya-madhuram samteerna-nrutyaarnavam, which translates as - "Each fraction of his dancing body leads to paramount sweetness, through miraculous poses and postures. In fact, Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra crossed the ocean of styles

30 March - Laxmikanta Mohapatra Postal stamp released 2023

 

30 March - Laxmikanta Mohapatra Postal stamps released 2023

Postal stamps released in names of 4 legends of Odisha on 30 March 2023

Postal stamps released in names of 4 Odisha legends. They are late music director Akshaya Mohanty, Odissi exponent Guru Kelu Charan Mohapatra, noted writer Laxmikanta Mohapatra and first woman Odia film director Parbati Ghose.


Laxmikanta Mohapatra (18 December 1888 - 24 February 1953) was an Indian Odia poet, writer, performance artist and freedom fighter. More than ten of his books have been published. He was a leading campaigner of the Odisha State unification movement and an eminent member of Utkala Sammilani.

30 March - Island of Sicily When The Bells Rang Out For Freedom

 

 

When The Bells Rang Out For Freedom

Throughout history various groups of people have been downtrodden, victimised and abused. On 30 March 1282 one such group decided that they had enough and in a brutal uprising known as the War of the Vespers turned on their oppressors.

The result was a conflict lasting 20 years and a balance of power shift that went on for 400 years.

French King Charles I invaded the Italian island of Sicily in 1266 and through conquest became the King of Sicily. The French imposed a rule of iron with high taxes and the Sicilian population were constantly insulted and treated harshly by French soldiers.

On Easter Monday in 1282, citizens of the capital city, Palermo, were flocking to vespers in the church of Santo Spirito (Church of the Holy Spirit), when, the story goes, a Sicilian woman was dragged from the crowd by a French soldier allegedly to be searched for weapons.

According to Italian scholar, historian and statesman Leonardo Bruni (1370 – 1444) the French used the pretext of searching for weapons to fondle the breasts of Sicilian women. This, Bruni reported, began a riot.

The French were attacked, first with rocks, then weapons, and all were killed. The news spread to other towns leading to revolt throughout Sicily.

Bruni added: ”By the time the furious anger at their insolence had drunk its fill of blood, the French had given up to the Sicilians not only their ill-gotten riches but their lives as well."

A more detailed and slightly different account came from the respected 20th Century historian and author Steven Runciman.

He wrote that the Sicilians at the church were engaged in holiday festivities and a group of French officials came by to join in and began to drink. A sergeant named Drouet dragged a young married woman from the crowd, pestering her with his advances. Her husband then attacked Drouet with a knife, killing him.

When the other Frenchmen tried to avenge their comrade, the Sicilian crowd fell upon them, killing them all. At that moment all the church bells in Palermo began to ring for vespers. Runciman described the mood of the night:

“To the sound of the bells messengers ran through the city calling on the men of Palermo to rise against the oppressor. At once the streets were filled with angry armed men, crying 'Death to the French.'

"Every Frenchman they met was struck down. They poured into the inns frequented by the French and the houses where they dwelt, sparing neither man, woman nor child. Sicilian girls who had married Frenchmen perished with their husbands.

“The rioters broke into convents and all the foreign friars were dragged out and told to pronounce the word "ciciri", whose sound the French tongue could never accurately reproduce. Anyone who failed the test was slain.

“By the next morning some two thousand French men and women lay dead and the rebels were in complete control of the city.”

King Charles was furious. War was declared and the Sicilians, not having an army of their own, eventually turned for help to the Spanish king known as Peter the Great, or more formally as Peter III, King of Aragon.

He agreed to take Sicily into his kingdom and launched a war against the French that lasted 20 years. And so started 400 years of Spanish domination in Sicily.

30 March - Satyajit Ray was awarded the Honorary Oscar Award

 

 

Very few Indians have been honoured by what is commonly considered the highest honour in cinema around the globe – the Oscar awards. One of the most proclaimed Indian filmmakers Satyajit Ray was honoured by the Academy at the 64th Academy Awards in 1992 with the Honorary Award but Ray could not be there in person to collect his award in person owing to his ill health.

At the time, Ray was hospitalised in Kolkata and could not fly to Los Angeles but a video message from the auteur was shown at the ceremony in Dolby Theatre. Ray’s award was announced by actor Audrey Hepburn who described his work as a “rare mastery of the art of motion pictures and his profound humanism which has had an indelible influence on filmmakers and audiences throughout the world.”

The ceremony in 1992 was held on March 30 and less than a month later, on April 23, Ray passed away at the age of 70 in Kolkata.

Satyajit Ray (2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. Considered one of the greatest auteurs of film-making, Ray is celebrated for works including The Apu Trilogy (1955–1959), The Music Room (1958), The Big City (1963) and Charulata (1964) and the Goopy–Bagha trilogy.