World Table Tennis Day

 

World Table Tennis Day (WTTD) has been celebrated annually in April since 2015. It is the day we celebrate table tennis, as well as the universality and social inclusiveness the sport represents. World Table Tennis Day is celebrated on 23 April, honouring Ivor Montagu, organiser of the first World Table Tennis Championships in 1926 and the founder and first president of the ITTF. WTTD celebrates the joy of playing table tennis for fun, bringing people together, focusing less on competition and more on participation and enjoyment.

World Table Tennis Day: History

The history of table tennis dates back to the British military, when officers in India learned to play the game during their time in the country. The game was originally played with a golf ball, and books were used as racquets.

In 1901, James W. Gibb, a British table tennis enthusiast, discovered that the better-suited celluloid balls were more suitable for the game. The modern racquet was invented by E.C. Goode in the same year.

Despite the fact that there are two different bodies associated with table tennis, the Table Tennis Association was established in 1926, separate from the Ping-Pong Association.

The International Table Tennis Federation (I.T.T.F.) was also founded in the same year, and it is now the game's highest governing body. The first World Championship was held in London in 1926, with the United States Table Tennis Association (now known as USA Table Tennis) founded in the same year.

Health Benefits of playing Table Tennis

Beyond its competitive aspect, table tennis offers a multitude of health benefits that contribute to overall well-being. Scientific studies have shown that playing table tennis improves hand-eye coordination, develops mental acuity, enhances cognitive function, improves reflexes, improve your leg, arm and core strength without overtaxing joints, burns calories, helps to lose weight, keeps your brain sharp, improves coordination with others and boosts mental acuity.

Satyajit Ray's Death Anniversary

 

Satyajit Ray, who passed away on 23 April 1992, aged 70, in Calcutta [now Kolkata], was a Bengali motion-picture director, writer, and illustrator who brought the Indian cinema to world recognition with Pather Panchali (1955; The Song of the Road) and its two sequels, known as the Apu Trilogy. As a director, Ray was noted for his humanism, his versatility, and his detailed control over his films and their music. He was one of the greatest filmmakers of the 20th century.

William Wordsworth's Death Anniversary

William Wordsworth, who passed away on 23 April 1850, aged 80, was  an important Romantic English poet, who in later life became the British Poet Laureate.

Wordsworth met fellow poet Samuel Coleridge in 1795 and together they became the leading figures of the English Romantic movement, publishing their "Lyrical Ballads" in 1798.

Wordsworth's most well-known poems include "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" and "She Dwelt among the Untrodden Ways", though his masterpiece is considered the autobiographical "The Prelude", addressed to Coleridge and published posthumously.

Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan's Death Anniversary

 

Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, who passed away on 23 April 1968, aged 66, was an Indian vocalist, from the Kasur-Patialia Gharana and hailed from a family of musicians. Following partition of India in 1947, Kasur Tehsil was allocated to Pakistan.

He received his early training in vocals from his uncle Kale Khan
— who had been a court singer in the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. He also familiarised himself with the sarangi. Subsequently, he was trained by his father Ali Baksh Khan.

His musical might first became evident when he found an audience for his “all-night riyaaz” in Kasur. His brothers Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan, Ustad Bharat Ali Khan and Ustad Amanat Ali Khan were also well-known contributors to the Kasur-Patiala gharana.

The most common epithet used to describe Ustad Ghulam Ali Khan is ‘Tansen of the 20th century’. Often referred to as Bade (older) Ghulam Ali Khan to differentiate him from other maestros of the same name, the genius musician was one of the most legendary thumri vocalists of all time, who took the Patiala Gharana, one of the schools of Hindustani classical music, to new heights.

Born in undivided Punjab, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan found his home in India many years after Partition — he lived in Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad, where he eventually passed away.

Shamshad Begum's Death Anniversary

Shamshad Begum, who passed away on 23 April 2013, aged 94, was an Indian singer who was one of the first playback singers in the Hindi film industry. Notable for her distinctive voice and range, she sang over 6,000 songs in Hindustani, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil and Punjabi languages, among which 1287 were Hindi film songs. She worked with renowned composers of the time, such as Naushad Ali and O.P. Nayyar, for whom she was one of their favourites. Her songs from the 1940s to the early 1970s remain popular and continue to be remixed.

Pandita Ramabai Sarasvati's Birth Anniversary

Pandita Ramabai Sarasvati, an Indian social reformer, was born on 23 April 1858, as Ramabai Dongre into a Chitpavan Brahmin family who spoke Marathi. Her father’s name was Anant Shastri Dongre. She was taught Sanskrit by her father. She was one of the ten women representatives at the 1889 Congress. She became a Christian during her time in England in the early 1880s. In order to raise money for helpless Indian women, she undertook a lengthy tour of the United States. Sharada Sadan, a charity for child widows, was founded by her using the cash received.

Ramabai provided testimony before the Hunter Commission, which the colonial government of India established in 1882 to investigate education. Ramabai connected with Christian groups working in Maharashtra, particularly a group of Anglican nuns, who were also engaged in women's education and medical missionary work.

Although she had embraced the religion of the colonizer, she remained a staunch nationalist and maintained a consistent, anti-colonial stand. In recognition of her works and dedication, the Government of India issued a commemorative stamp on 26 October 1989. A road in Mumbai, known as Pandita Ramabai Marg, is also named in her honour. Throughout her tragic life, she stood for the cause of women’s emancipation through education, and self-improvement.

 

 

 

William Shakespeare's Birth Anniversary and Death Anniversary

 

William Shakespeare, born on 23 April 1564, and who passed away on 23 April 1616, aged 52, is often named the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest dramatist. His extant works consist of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets and additional poems.

His plays have been translated into every major living language and have been performed more often than any other playwright.

Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in England in 1564, the third of eight children to a prominent businessman and official. At 18 he married Anne Hathaway, probably in some hurry, their first child a daughter Susanna was born 6 months later.

It wasn't until 1592 that Shakespeare is recorded established in London as a founder member of the theatre company The Lord Chamberlain's Men. From the 1603 the company came under the patronage of King James I as The King's Men with the Globe as their theatre, which they had constructed in 1599.

It is during this time that Shakespeare wrote his most famous plays, tragedies such as “Macbeth” and "King Lear" and comedies and romances including "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Romeo and Juliet".

After Shakespeare's death in 1616 two of his fellow players published a collection of 36 of his plays in 1623 in the "First Folio" preserving Shakespeare's works and ensuring his legacy.

Note, Shakespeare was baptized on April 26 and this is traditionally regarded as his birthdate, although the exact date is uncertain.

World Book and Copyright Day

World Book and Copyright Day is a celebration to promote the enjoyment of books and reading. Each year, on 23 April, celebrations take place all over the world to recognize the scope of books - a link between the past and the future, a bridge between generations and across cultures. On this occasion, UNESCO and the international organizations representing the three major sectors of the book industry - publishers, booksellers and libraries, select the World Book Capital for a year to maintain, through its own initiatives, the impetus of the Day’s celebrations. 

23 April is a symbolic date in world literature. It is the date on which several prominent authors, William Shakespeare, Miguel de Cervantes and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died. This date was a natural choice for UNESCO's General Conference, held in Paris in 1995, to pay a world-wide tribute to books and authors on this date, encouraging everyone to access books.