There are a number of reasons that make April 29 in Bangladesh a very special day, bringing both joy but also some sadness. And this year, with life becoming more “normal” after the Covid-19 restrictions of the past two years, it is hoped that people can think of dancing again.
For today is International Dance Day, a day to relax, let your hair down, and enjoy yourself. Country dances around the world are celebrated with both the old and the young having a happy time. Initiated in 1982 by the International Dance Committee of the UNESCO International Theatre Institute, International Dance Day falls on April 29 of every year, commemorating the birthday of Jean-Georges Noverre, a distinguished choreographer who brought about significant reforms in ballet production.
This year, for the 40th annual celebration, the distinguished Kang Sue-jin, a South Korean dancer who is Artistic Director of the Korean National Ballet, has sent the following message for 2022:
“The Covid-19 catastrophe has stopped life as we so freely knew it and being amidst this tragedy makes us rethink the meaning of “dance” and “dancers.” In the distant past, dance was a primal means of expression and communication through gestures; becoming performance art that moved the soul and inspired the audience.
“It is a momentary art that is difficult to restore to its original form once completed because it’s created with the entire body and soul. Yet, Covid-19 has restricted and even blocked the art of dance in its original form.
“Even though the situation is improving, dance performances are still subject to many restrictions. This makes us cherish the precious memories of times when dance and dancers sparkled like jewels, conveying human anguish and anxiety, will and hope for life, and illuminated the world.”
“The lonely and weary audience is thirsty for the sympathy and comfort of the dancers. As dancers, we believe that the flapping of our wings gives hope to the hearts of those who love the art of dance and gives them the courage to overcome this pandemic.
No longer fully locked down at home, dance can surely take place on April 29 and will be a sort of a medicine to overcome the sadness, monotony, and boredom that has been experienced over the course of this pandemic.
1991 cyclone
In Bangladesh, we remember the devastating cyclone of April 29 1991, Cyclone 2B, which devastated the coastline and off-shore islands of Chittagong, Chakoria, and Cox’s Bazar.
Although the official death toll was 138,000, it is estimated that very many more perished on that fateful night. It took several weeks to recover the bodies of the victims. As many as 10 million people, by some accounts, were left homeless by Cyclone 2B. Additionally, a million head of cattle were lost.
Because of this, and the heavy loss of crops, shortage of food supplies posed a critical danger to the survivors. We pray that in 2022, in spite of the effects of climate change, we avoid another such cyclone.
Over the 30 years since this cyclone, disaster preparedness and specifically cyclone preparedness has been greatly improved and now with much better mobile phone and radio communication, loss of life at times like this is kept to a minimum.
World No-golf Day
April 29 is also observed in some countries as “World No-Golf Day” because on this day in 1993, the global anti-golf movement (GAG’M) was launched at a meeting in Penang, Malaysia by some Asian environmental organizations.
At that time, the cost of playing golf in places like Japan had sky-rocketed and golf tourism started, whereby Japanese businessmen would travel to countries like Thailand and Indonesia where new golf courses were being built. Small farmers were being pushed off their agricultural land.
Exotic soil and grass, chemical fertilizers, fungicides and weedicides, as well as machinery were all imported to substitute for natural ecosystems. The environmental impacts included water depletion and toxic contamination of the soil, underground water, surface water, and the air.
This in turn led to health problems for local communities, populations downstream, and even golfers, caddies, and chemical sprayers in golf courses.
Adolf Hitler and April 29, 1945
This was the day on which Adolf Hitler realized that he would soon be killed by the approaching Soviet Army. He had learned that day how the Italian wartime leader Mussolini had been brutally killed and his dead body put on public display, hanging from a lamp post. Hitler was determined to avoid that sort of end. He and his longtime companion, Eva Braun, married that night and a few hours later, took their own lives.
Julian Francis has been associated with relief and development activities of Bangladesh since the War of Liberation. In 2012, the Government of Bangladesh awarded him the ‘Friends of Liberation War Honour’ in recognition of his work among the refugees in India in 1971 and in 2018 honoured him with full Bangladesh citizenship. Born on April 29, 1945, he believes that Hitler, in fact, committed suicide on hearing of his birth!
