Begum Hazrat Mahal, also known as the Begum of Awadh, was the second wife of Nawab of Awadh Wajid Ali Shah, and the regent of Awadh in 1857–1858, who passed away on 7 April 1879, in Kathmandu, Kingdom of Nepal, aged 59. She is known for the leading role she had in the rebellion against the British East India Company during the Indian Rebellion of 1857.
After her husband had been exiled to Calcutta and the Indian Rebellion
broke out, she made her son, Prince Birjis Qadr, the Wali (ruler)
of Awadh, with herself as regent during his minority. However, she was forced
to abandon this role after a short reign. By way of Hallaur, she finally
found asylum in Nepal, where she died in 1879. Her role in the rebellion
has given her a hero status in the post-colonial history of India.
Kelucharan Mohapatra, who passed away on 7 April 2004, in Bhubaneshwar, aged 78, was an Indian dancer who led a 20th-century revival of Odissi, a centuries-old style of dance associated with temples of Orissa and one of the principal forms of Indian classical dance.
Mohapatra was born to a family of artists who painted patachitras (religious folk paintings on thinly woven cloth). He trained and performed as a traditional dancer and drummer, studying in his youth with masters of odissi. In 1953 he began teaching odissi at a conservatory in Cuttack. Excelling in both technique and pantomimic expression, Mohapatra sought to expand the style’s traditional repertoire, making innovative use of forms from ancient texts and sculptures in his choreography. Mohapatra soon came to be regarded as a master of Indian classical dance, and his performances popularized odissi both in India and around the world.
Mohapatra received a number of awards from the Indian government for his
cultural and artistic achievements, including the prestigious Padma Vibhushan
in 2000.
The 6th of April is Fresh Tomato Day, a day to celebrate the beauty of fresh tomatoes. Tomatoes are a significant source of umami flavour and are cultivated in both temperate and tropical regions of the world. Typically, they are consumed raw or cooked. Numerous varieties of the tomato plant are typically grown in temperate climates throughout the world, with purpose-built greenhouses assisting in the production of tomatoes throughout the year. Tomato plants are typically three to ten feet tall, with vines and a weak, sprawling stem.
History of Fresh Tomato Day
The tomato is believed to have descended or evolved from the native to western South America Solanum pimpinellifolium, also known as the currant tomato or wild tomato. These wild tomatoes were typically about the size of peas and were smaller than the tomatoes we have today. The so-called domestication of tomatoes can be traced back to the Aztecs and other Mesoamericans, who consumed the fruit both raw and cooked. The Spanish brought tomatoes to Europe, where they quickly became a staple in Spanish cooking. In northern European countries such as France, Italy, and others, the tomato was initially grown as an ornamental plant, similar to flowers.
Botanists viewed the tomato with skepticism as a food item because they believed it to be a nightshade. This skepticism and suspicion were exacerbated by the tomato juice’s acidity. Tomatoes were referred to as “poison apples” because it was believed that eating them caused aristocrats to become ill and die. The wealthy Europeans of the time may have used lead-rich pewter plates, and because tomatoes are so acidic, the fruit leached lead from the plate when it came into contact with the fruit, causing lead poisoning and death.
At the time, ignorance
prevented anyone from connecting the dots between the plate and the poison, so
the simplest solution was to blame the tomato. Tomato leaves and immature fruit
contain tomatin, which could be toxic in large quantities. However, ripe tomato
fruit is devoid of tomatin.
Pandita Ramabai Sarasvati, who passed away
on 5 April 1922, at Kedgaon, Bombay Presidency, British India, aged 63, was an
Indian social reformer and Christian missionary. She was the first woman to be
awarded the titles of Pandita as a Sanskrit scholar and Sarasvati
after being examined by the faculty of the University of Calcutta. She
was one of the ten women delegates of the Congress session of 1889.
During her stay in England in early 1880s she converted to Christianity. After
that she toured extensively in the United States to collect funds for destitute
Indian women. With the funds raised she started Sharada Sadan for child widows.
In the late 1890s, she founded Mukti Mission, a Christian charity at Kedgaon village,
forty miles east of the city of Pune. The mission was later named Pandita
Ramabai Mukti Mission.
Pandit Makhanlal Chaturvedi, born on 4 April 1889, also called Pandit
ji, was an Indian poet, writer, essayist, playwright and journalist who is
particularly remembered for his participation in India's national struggle for
independence and his contribution to Chhavavaad, the Neo-romanticism movement
of Hindi literature. He was awarded the first Sahitya Akademi Award in
Hindi for his work Him Tarangini in 1955. The Government of
India awarded him the civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan in1963. For
his works reinforcing Indian nationalism during the British Raj, he is referred
to as the Yug Charan.
Sagarmal Gopa, who passed away on 4 April 1946, aged 45, was a freedom fighter and patriot from Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India. His father Akhairaj gopa was a courtier in Maharawal Jawahar Singh's court. Sagarmal Gopa had recorded the atrocities of Jawahar Singh, the contemporary ruler of Jaisalmer, in his book "Jaisalmer ka Gundaraj", after which the enmity between Jawahar Singh and Sagarmal Gopa increased. He took active part in the Non-cooperation movement in 1921. He opposed anti-people policies of then rulers of Jaisalmer. He was expelled from Jaisalmer and Hyderabad. Even in exile he continued to work for freedom movement. After his father's death in 1941, on his return to Jaisalmer he was arrested on 25 May 1941. Sagermal gopa was tortured in prison for years. He was burnt to death in the prison on 4 April 1946. "Gopal Swaroop Pathak commission" was formed to investigate the murder of Sagarmal Gopa, which under the influence of Jawahar Singh, declared this murder as suicide. 3 books were written by gopa 1) aajadi ke diwane 2) jaisalmer ka gundaraj 3) raghunath singh ka mukadma.
The Government of India issued a postage stamp in 1986 in
honour of Sagarmal Gopa. A branch of Indira Gandhi Canal is named after
him.
Ramona Victoria Epifanía Rufina Ocampo, born on 7 April 1890, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was an Argentine writer and intellectual. Best kn...
