Asaf Ali's Birth Anniversary

 

Asaf Ali, born on 11 May 1888, in Bijnor, was an Indian independence activist and noted lawyer. He was the first Indian Ambassador to the United States.  He was appointed governor of Odisha for two terms and later, Indian Ambassador to Switzerland.

World Migratory Bird Day (second Saturday in May)

 

World Migratory Bird Day is observed twice a year during the second Saturday in May and again on the second Saturday in October. The goal is to raise awareness of issues affecting migratory birds and to inspire action around the world to take measures for their conservation.

Migrating birds may fly from 15 to 600 miles or more per day during migration, depending on when they are migrating, how far they have to go, and the conditions they face along the route. While most migrating birds fly at heights lower than 2,000 feet, birds have been recorded migrating at up to 30,000 feet high, a record held by the bar-headed goose. Hawks, swifts, swallows, and waterfowl migrate primarily during the day, while many songbirds migrate at night, in part to avoid the attention of migrating predators.

Mother Ocean Day

Mother Ocean Day sets sail on the waves of our calendar each 10th of May, honouring the vast and wondrous expanse of our planet’s oceans. 

This special day serves as a reminder of the vital role oceans play in sustaining life on our planet. From regulating the climate to providing food and livelihoods for millions of people, our oceans are truly the lifeblood of Earth. Mother Ocean Day encourages us to appreciate and protect these precious ecosystems for generations to come.

In 1874, Horse Drawn Carriage at (Bombay) Mumbai started

 

Horse Drawn Carriage at (Bombay) Mumbai was started on 09.05.1874. The Bombay Tramway Company was set up in 1873. After a contract was signed between the Bombay Tramway Company, the municipality and the Stearns and Kitteredge company, the Bombay Presidency enacted the Bombay Tramways Act, 1874 licensing the company to run a horsecar tram service in the city. On 9 May 1874, the first horse-drawn carriage made its début in the city, plying the Colaba–Pydhone via Crawford Market, and Bori Bunder to Pydhonie via Kalbadevi routes. The initial fare was three annas (12 paise pre-decimalisation), and no tickets were issued. As the service became increasingly popular, the fare was reduced to two annas (8 pre-decimalisation paise). Later that year, tickets were issued to curb increasing ticket-less travel. Stearns and Kitteredge reportedly had a stable of 1,360 horses over the lifetime of the service. A mass public-transport system for Mumbai (then Bombay) was proposed in 1865 by an American company, which applied for a licence to operate a horse-drawn tram system. Although a licence was granted, the project was never realised due to the city's economic depression.

Talat Mahmood's Death Anniversary

Talat Mahmood, who passed away on 9 May 1998, aged 74, in Mumbai, Maharashtra, was an Indian playback singer who is considered as one of the greatest and most popular Indian male film song and ghazal singers. Although he tried his luck as a film actor, he did not succeed a great deal in acting.

Talat Mahmood received the Padma Bhushan award in 1992, in recognition of his artistic contributions in the spheres of cinematic and ghazal music.

He was particularly famous for singing soft and sombre ghazals in his quivering and silky voice. Romantic and tragic were the moods he liked most and it was he who helped a great deal in shaping the style and method of modern ghazal singing in India during the 1950s and 1960s.

Henry Dunant's Birth Anniversary

 

Henri Dunant, born on 8 May 1828, in Geneva, Switzerland, was a Swiss humanitarian, founder of the Red Cross (now Red Cross and Red Crescent) and the World Alliance of Young Men’s Christian Associations. He was cowinner (with Frédéric Passy) of the first Nobel Prize for Peace in 1901.

An eyewitness of the Battle of Solferino (24 June 1859), which resulted in nearly 40,000 casualties, Dunant organized emergency aid services for the Austrian and French wounded. In Un Souvenir de Solférino (1862; A Memory of Solferino), he proposed the formation in all countries of voluntary relief societies for the prevention and alleviation of suffering in war and peacetime, without distinction of race or creed; he also proposed an international agreement covering the war wounded. In 1863 he founded the International Committee for the Relief of the Wounded (now International Committee of the Red Cross), and the following year the first national societies and the first Geneva Convention came into being.

Having gone bankrupt because he neglected his business affairs, Dunant left Geneva in 1867 and spent most of the rest of his life in poverty and obscurity. He continued to promote interest in the treatment of prisoners of war, the abolition of slavery, international arbitration, disarmament, and the establishment of a Jewish homeland. After he was “rediscovered” by a journalist in Heiden, Switzerland, in 1895, Dunant received many honours and annuities.

 

 

World Thalassaemia Day

 

World Thalassaemia Day is observed on May 8 to spread awareness about thalassaemia being a blood disorder, myths related to the disease, and to help the patients lead a normal life. The day also deals with the social stigma attached to the lives of individuals who are suffering from or living with this disease. The efforts of doctors and medical professionals are also honoured on this day for helping patients and bringing advancements.

The day is observed to encourage those who struggle to live with the disease. This day is a commemoration day in honour of all patients suffering from thalassemia and their parents who have never lost hope for life, despite the burden of their disease and also to all scientists who are doing hard work with dedication and trying to provide improved quality of life to people with thalassemia across the globe.

What is Thalassemia Disease?

It is an inherited blood disorder that passes from parents to children. There are several types of thalassaemia disease and its treatment depends on its types and severity. In this disease, the ability of the body to produce haemoglobin and red blood cells gets affected. Or we can say that a person suffering from thalassemia disease will have a few red blood cells and very little haemoglobin. Its impact may range from mild to severe and even life-threatening. This disease is most common in people of Mediterranean, South Asian and African ancestry.

So, this day is dedicated to the patients suffering from thalassemia disease and provides them with a special chance to live like a normal person, as well as to prevent the spread of the disease in society, state, community, country, etc.