Victoria Ocampo's Birth Anniversary

Ramona Victoria Epifanía Rufina Ocampo, born on 7 April 1890, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was an Argentine writer and intellectual. Best known as an advocate for others and as publisher of the literary magazine Sur, she was also a writer and critic in her own right and one of the most prominent South American women of her time. Her sister was Silvina Ocampo, also a writer. She was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970 and 1974.

Begum Hazrat Mahal's death Anniversary

 

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's Death Anniversary

 

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.