Monthly Archives: March 2014

Mysore’s own master of ceremony, Aftab Ahmed

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, , , ,

For a person to be recognised in any field it is important for him / her to possess special qualities and Syed Aftab Ahmed of our city is one such. He has a unique skill to hold forth attention of an audience for he is a master when it comes to being the Master of Ceremony (MC). Be it ‘Geeth Gaatha Chal’ organised by city doctors or high profile birthday parties, fashion shows, quiz programmes, and corporate parties. He is there on the stage conducting the event, grabbing the eyeballs of the audience. Aftab has been conducting programmes as the MC from the past 23 years in the city of Mysore.

MAKING SURE THEY ARE THERE: Aftab interacting with an audience member during one of the events.
MAKING SURE THEY ARE THERE: Aftab interacting with an audience member during one of the events.

by  S.N. Venkatnag Sobers

It all started in 1999 when Aftab got an opportunity as a professional anchor for a programme organised by Help Age India. Since then there has been no looking back for him.

Till date, Aftab has anchored more than 2,000 shows throughout the State, one among them being the popular Geeth Gaatha Chal organised by doctors in the city every year.

Having worked for a private company for about 13 years, Aftab decided to come back to Mysore, quitting his job in Chennai as the Regional Business Manager at a private firm. After his return, Aftab started his career a freelance soft skills trainer and also started anchoring programmes in city.

Speaking to Star of Mysore, Aftab said that his earlier job involved a lot of travelling and he never got time to spend with his family. “It was at that time I decided to come back to Mysore and pursue the things l loved. I started off as freelance soft skills trainer at a time when people had no idea about what soft skills was all about. Later, I started anchoring small programmes, simultaneously working as a soft skills trainer and as an anchor and eventually went on to become Master of Ceremony.”

Aftab shared with us the passion which made him choose this career of becoming a MC. Though Aftab always had the desire to be on the stage hosting shows, talking to people, he never got an opportunity during his college days. “I always wanted to experience the joy and thrill of hosting a show or at least address a huge audience. There were times when I would offer bribe to people whom I knew just go to go on to the stage for a couple of minutes and address the audience,” says Aftab.

His long-wait was finally fulfilled when he joined Rotaract, which recognised his talent and gave him an opportunity to host a show. From then on began Aftab’s journey as a MC. What started initially as a hobby turned out to be his great strength which even he acknowledges.

Aftab, today, is one of the most sought after Master of Ceremonies in Mysore city and also the State. In fact, it is an alternative career for him. Apart from pursuing his career as a soft skill trainer, he is also seen anchoring many shows.

According to him, it can be an alternative career only if a person has passion and flair for talking.

One specialty of Aftab is that he prepares no script for any of the programme he hosts and everything he does is extempore. The first thing he does is to read the pulse of the audience and then start the show. He arrives at the venue at least 45 minutes or an hour before the event and takes control of every department involved in the show. Be it lighting, sound or others, Aftab checks for perfection before starting event and once it starts, he takes the audience on a journey which they will remember for a long time.

His greatest strength is that he connects with the audience well and makes sure people leave the venue with a happy face, relieved from their stress and tension.

“People who come to a show want to get involved. I make sure that everyone of them enjoy the event and go back home with a happy face. For me it is important to connect with the audience as I cannot stay away from them for a long time. A master of ceremony is one of the important persons of any event. If there is a technical snag during the event, it is the MC who has to manage the crowd until the problem is rectified,” says Aftab.

Sharing his experience, Aftab said, that so far it had been a wonderful experience as a Master of Ceremony. “It has given me a kind of celebrity status in the society which I cannot deny. But, at times, people who do know the importance of Master of Ceremony have treated me as an announcer which has hurt me but I tend to ignore it for my own good,” said Aftab.

For a person to be the Master of Ceremony, it is important to keep the doors of learning always open as each show is different. A person who aims at pursuing his career as a MC should have a sound knowledge of things around him. According to Aftab, it is a crime for any MC to give wrong statistics to the audience. He says, apart from having sound knowledge of things going around it is also important to use simple language as much as possible and keep the audience engaged in some way or the other.

Syed Hussain, Aftab’s father, is a retired veterinarian and Saleha, his mother, is a home-maker. Aftab is married to Rukhsana, who is a Senior Faculty at District Institute of Educational and Training (DIET) in city. His two daughters Alia and Sadia, are currently studying in 11th std and 9th std. respectively. While Alia aims to become a Dietician, his younger daughter Sadia wants to continue her father’s legacy.

Having come from a modest background, Aftab wants to pass on his skills to others who are interested in carrying forward the baton. His dream is to see talented people emerging as Masters of Ceremony under his guidance. Aftab can be contacted on Mob: 99009-04101.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / by S.N. Venkatanag Sobers / March 07th, 2014

Nizam’s Erstwhile Relic, Telangana’s Pride ?

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Travel & Tourism, World Opinion, , , , ,

Nizam’s Lost Glory ?

Railway Board Chairman Arunendra Kumar is on the test drive of John MorrisFire Engine, one of the priceless possessions of Indian Railways maintained at the National Rail Museum, before its participation in the 38th Statesman Vintage and Classic Car Rally to be held in New Delhi on 2nd March, 2014.

NizamsVintageHF13mar2014

This vintage FireEngine which was built by the famous Fire engineers M/S John Morris and Sons Ltd., Salfor, Manchester in 1914, completed 100 years of its existence this year (2014), coinciding the formation of Telangana, erstwhile Nizam’s state.

Will  Telangana also fight for its vintage and priceless proud possession, now that the new state is born?

(PIB)

source: http://www.microfinancemonitor.com / MF Monitor / Home / Thursday – March 13th, 2014

Bangalore to biennale

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, World Opinion, , , ,

ShibuArakkalMPos13mar2014

Photography took Shibu Arakkal to Florence. He returned with the Lorenzo il Magnifico gold for digital art, finds NIRMALA GOVINDARAJAN

AwardLorenzioBF13mar2014

The time when Shibu Arakkal first looked at the world through his camera was also the time when he got hooked to it. “I never dreamed of being a photographer,” he confesses. Still, Shibu continued to fool around with his father Yusuf Arakkal’s very serious German single lens reflex camera. “He had paid quite a bit for it those days and it was always loaded with film. I would sneak into his studio, take one or two photographs and quietly put it back. When my dad got the role processed, he would always wonder how there were a couple of pictures he didn’t remember having taken.”

The first time Shibu put his camera to use – constructing a friend’s fashion portfolio, it went on to fetch her several modelling assignments.

After this recognition, Shibu’s momentous tryst with the camera began. “That first shoot got me deeply curious about photography and helped me decide what to do with my life.”

So Shibu’s world came alive through people and stories until recently in end 2013, when he went on to bag the prestigious Lorenzo il Magnifico gold prize for digital art at the Florence Biennale. “Dad always worried about what I would end up doing with my life given my long list of ambitions. When I got hooked to photography, I knew that this wasn’t just a fling. Two decades since, my camera and I have looked at the world, analysed and interpreted life around us, as my method of learning about this world and the things in it. Also to grow as a person and gain that bit of wisdom, which is somehow more important than just intelligence. What I photographed over the years has become my life’s journal and I have been conscious that it is by what I will be known, long after I am gone.”

Going for goldWith lifetime achievement awardee Anish Kapoor, the award and the work that got it
Going for goldWith lifetime achievement awardee Anish Kapoor, the award and the work that got it

“Selection into the Florence Biennale 2013 came with certain confidence that I had the work worthshowing on such a stage. I had been working on the series Constructing Life for nearly four years when I had decided to can it half way through, realising that I needed to come back to it when I was a bit more mature. This body of work seemed to have a destiny of its own. The emotion, which the works from this series carried, was hence extremely powerful.”

ShibuItalyMPos13mar2014

Then came the moment in Florence when Shibu’s heart was heavy and light at once.

“Although the Lorenzo il Magnifico Gold Prize was being talked about in regard to my work from day one at the Biennale and knowing how strong my work was, I was also very aware of how these things are decided by people who also have subjective views and opinions. So when the award was announced without prior notice, it was entirely surreal, a moment, which I wasn’t fully conscious of, being thrown by the fact that I got awarded in a category above what I had entered. It however made the extremely trying times in my career and the very difficult actual process of executing the work, truly worthwhile.”

Back from the Biennale to life in Bangalore, Shibu explores India, reaching out to the world through what he does best – photography in an era of click on the go.

“It is a very real and satisfying life. Besides, Bangalore is home. It is where I was born and raised. I have resisted settling down abroad purely because of my love for it. It is ground zero and Bangalore has been extremely good to me in terms of recognition, patronage and support for my work in general. It is a place where I can be fearless in any sort of experimental work that I put out and be quite assured that it will be received for what it is,” he says as he readies for a day in his life – between his work, riding and the joy of being a dutiful father to his four-and-half-year old daughter.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Nirmala Govindarajan / March 13th, 2014

Mayor Majid Hussain to quit today

Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, Uncategorized, , ,

Hyderabad :

Mayor Mohd Majid Hussain will resign on Friday ending his over two-year term at the helm of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).

His party Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (MIM) has asked him totender his resignation from the post on Thursday. MIM is likely to field him in one of the Assembly constituencies in the city.

“My party has directed me to resign from the post on Thursday. Abiding by the decision of the party, I am resigning on Friday. My party will take a decision on utilizing my services,” Majid Hussain told TOI on Thursday.

Majid Hussain took over the reins of the GHMC on January 3, 2012 as part of the power-sharing agreement between MIM and Congress in 2009 soon after the civic body elections.

As part of the agreement, of the five-year term, the mayor post goes to a Congress candidate for the first two years followed by that of MIM for the next two years. The last year should go to a Congress candidate. Likewise, the deputy mayor post would go to the other party during that period. Congress mayor Banda Karthika Reddy had served as the mayor for the first two years and subsequently MIM corporator from Ahmed Nagar, Mohd Majid Hussain, took over the reins in January, 2012 and has completed his two-year term on January 3.

Though in the last one year the mayor post should have gone to the Congress, the party has not been claiming it for various reasons mainly keeping in view the likely tie-up with the MIM in the general elections. Since Congress was not coming forward, Majid Hussain continued in the post.

By pulling out from the mayor post, MIM is likely to snap its ties with the Congress in the upcoming Lok Sabha, Assembly and GHMC elections to be held this year.

With the resignation of Majid Hussain, Congress has to announce its mayor candidate. Several corporators, including deputy mayor G Raj Kumar, floor leader Diddi Rambabu, Bowenpally corporator Narasimha Yadav and others are eyeing the post.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad / by TNN / March 07th, 2014

Mahrukh Inayet quits Times Now, starts school for anchors

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, , , ,

Mahrukh-Inayet012MPos12mar2014

If you thought anchoring was just about sitting in front of the camera and talking, Studio Talk, a finishing school for those looking to make their career before the cameras, will prove differently to you. “A lot of youngsters believe that anchoring is not serious journalism and I want to break that myth. It’s time one understands that anchoring is impossible without knowledge,” said Mahrukh Inayet Rizvi, Course Director, Studio Talk, who recently resigned as senior editor (news) at Times Now.

Ms Inayet was part of the core team at Headlines Today, that helped set up the channel. From the TV Today group, she joined Times Now, again as part of the core team that set up the channel. Her 72-hrs non-stop reportage from outside the Taj Hotel during 26/11 earned her much acclaim and was appreciated as an example of unbiased coverage of the Mumbai terror strike. She has reported extensively on national politics with special focus on the Kashmir imbroglio.

From the breathlessness of breaking news to understanding the nuances of business and sports anchoring to the intricacies of entertainment and live events anchoring – Studio Talk aims to prepare the young journalists in all genres. ‘This programme is a must for anyone and everyone looking to work before the cameras in the television,” said Ms Inayet.

Ms Inayet believes that journalism schools teach you how to be a good journalist. But few teach what to do before the cameras and fewer prepare you for what to expect once the cameras start rolling. That’s exactly what Studio Talk aims to do- prepare and polish newbies with an intensive 14-day program on how to be a television anchor/presenter.

StudioTalkMPos12mar2014

The course is aimed at teaching youngsters how to anchor news, business, sports and entertainment stories. The course will have studio simulated environment and the students will be taught how to work in front of the cameras and connect to the audience, ‘either as an on-field reporter who has 60 seconds to connect to the viewer with his/her story or as an anchor who has to present the final product to the audience. The students will also be taught basic make up skills so that they don’t look washed out in front of the camera.’

“The camera is ruthless and does not allow you to rewind and press record the second time. Being on television is hard work. Anchors and presenters have to face all kinds of situations. From just one-line information on breaking news to anchoring in live situations,” Ms Inayet added.

And, Ms Inayet definitely knows what she is talking about, given her rise from a reporter to being among the senior most anchors at Times Now. It is this extensive experience that has allowed the former Times Now Senior Editor to develop perhaps the only such training program in the country.

While Ms Inayet, as the course director, will personally oversee the 14-day hands-on-training program, Studio Talk will also have some of the best names from the television industry such as Mandira Sawhney Lalwani, former presenter, Times Now, ESPN, Ten Sports & Star News; Prerana Thakur Desai, Producer, Aamir Khan Productions; Ragini Kumar, former sports anchor, Times Now; Mikhail K Vaswani Presenter, Neo Cricketer and Ameet Sawant, Producer & Director, 96 Karatz Productions as guest lecturers to share their experiences on topics like Inside A Television Newsroom, Teleprompter Training, Fundamentals Of News Anchoring, Handling ‘Breaking News’, On Field Reportage and other such relevant topics.

At the end of the 14-day course, the student will be awarded a certificate and a demo CD on completion of the workshop. “Earlier we could learn from our mistakes on the job. But now there is no time to make mistakes. The demo CD ensures that the recruiters realise that the person knows what in required to be in front of the TV,” concluded Ms Inayet.

source: http://www.mxmindia.com / Media Marketing More / Home / by Archita Wagle

Express reporter bags award for TB reporting

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, ,
Deputy Director General (TB) L S Chauhan hands over the REACH-Lily Media Award to Zubeda Hamid, a journalist of The New Indian Express, Chennai.
Deputy Director General (TB) L S Chauhan hands over the REACH-Lily Media Award to Zubeda Hamid, a journalist of The New Indian Express, Chennai.

Chennai :

Express reporter Zubeda Hamid on Friday received the REACH-Lily Media Award for best TB reporting 2009-10 for an article on DOTS providers. The award carries a citation and a cash component of Rs 30,000.

The award was presented as part of the 10th anniversary celebrations of REACH (Resource Groupfor Education and Advocacy for Community Health), an NGO. REACH works on spreading awareness on TB control. In the last 10 years, the NGO has sensitized and roped in 5,000 patients, 5,000 doctors, 500 local pharmacists and 1 lakh students into its programmes.

Zubeda’s article, which appeared in The New Indian Express on March 28, 2009, World Tuberculosis Day, focussed on the contribution of community volunteers to the TB control programmes as the DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment, short course) providers are the real backbone of the programme but are hardly in the limelight.

The other best entry award went to Kounteya Sinha of The Times of India, New Delhi, for his article on the stigma faced by female TB patients. A special citation was given to Ramya Kannan of The Hindu, in recognition of her focussed efforts to highlight issues related to MDR-TB.

Recognising the efforts of journalism students, five media students from Mount Carmel College in Bangalore and one from the Asian College of Journalism were given cash prizes.

The jury comprised Dr LS Chauhan, deputy director general (TB), GOI, Dr PR Narayanan, former director, TB Research Centre, Dr Arjun Rajagopal, president, REACH, Dr Nevin Wilson, director, The Union, South East Asia and Dr Jaya Shreedhar, technical health advisor, Internews Network.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / February 20th, 2010

UP govt appoints Rizwan Ahmed as new DGP

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, , , , ,
Rizwan Ahmad takes charge as the new DGP of Uttar Pradesh, replacing Devraj Nagar (left) who retired on Wednesday. / PTI / The Hindu
Rizwan Ahmad takes charge as the new DGP of Uttar Pradesh, replacing Devraj Nagar (left) who retired on Wednesday. / PTI / The Hindu

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has appointed Rizwan Ahmed as the new Director General of Police. An 1978 batch IPS officer, Mr. Ahmed, who assumed office on Tuesday, will hold the top police post in the State for 59 days as he is due to retire on February 28, 2014.

Mr. Ahmed becomes only the second Muslim, after Islam Ahmed served as the IG Police in 1971 ( the State police chief then was known as IG Police), to have become the UP police chief. Significantly, the Chief Secretary of the State is also a Muslim (Javed Usmani ), which meant that for the first time in Uttar Pradesh the top two administrative and police officials are from the minority community.

Mr. Ahmed, who, prior to assuming the new charge, was the DG, Government Railway Police (GRP), was made to supersede four police officers of the 1977 batch — Vinod Kumar Singh, Arun KumarGupta, Brij Lal and Suvrat Tripathi.  Mr. Ahmed’s name was being mentioned in the police circles as the next DGP after Devraj Nagar’s retirement on December 31, 2013. Since, the Chief Secretary was also a Muslim it was said that the Government may avoid making a Muslim the UP police chief.

Among the other contenders for the top office were the DG, Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) Ranjan Dwivedi, an IPS officer of the 1979 batch, another officer of the 1979 batch, A.L. Banerjee, presently the Director (Vigilance) and the DG (Police Housing Corporation) Arun Kumar Gupta.

That Mr. Ahmed will indeed be the next DGP was known at a tea party hosted by the outgoing police chief, Devraj Nagar on Tuesday. Mr. Nagar, was earlier in the day given the ceremonial send off. Present in the tea party were the Chief Secretary and the Principal Secretary (Home) Anil Kumar Gupta. The new DGP assumed charge at around 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Other States / by Atiq Khan / Lucknow – January 01st, 2014

J&K woman IAS wants to serve state

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Leaders, , , , , , , ,
Ovessa Iqbal With her maternal uncle Syed Sibtul Ain at her residence in Srinagar. PHOTOGRAPH: JAVAID BHATT
Ovessa Iqbal With her maternal uncle Syed Sibtul Ain at her residence in Srinagar. PHOTOGRAPH: JAVAID BHATT

Ovessa Iqbal, the first Muslim girl from Jammu and Kashmir to clear the Indian Administrative Services examination has come a long way from the sleepy village of Chachoot in Leh. 25-year-old Ovessa started her journey with the help and encouragement of her elder sister Sameena Iqbal, a history lecturer at Women’s College, Srinagar. Ovessa completed her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Chandigarh.

Sameena believes Ovessa’s determination helped her clear the IAS in her third attempt. Ovessa recently cleared the Kashmir Administrative Service (KAS) examination too. Brimming with confidence she says that the government should set up some mechanism in all the three regions of J&K for students to receive the required education to clear such examinations. Six students from the state have cleared the examinations this year.

Last year Shah Faisal of Kashmir topped the IAS resulted. Faisal has been allotted the J&K cadre.

Talking to this newspaper Ovessa said that her parents wanted her to pursue MBA, but “I wanted to try my luck for IAS.” Ovessa said that she did not join any coaching institute. But Ovessa is broken by the sudden death of her mother Khalida, who died in an accident in Hyderabad recently. “I would have really enjoyed my success with my mother,” she said. “I want to serve the needy and help the exploited lot in J&K which was what my mother dreamt I would do,” Ovessa added.

Ovessa Iqbal’s great grand parents had migrated from Kadikadal area of Srinagar to Leh, Ladakh. Her great grandfather was the first Mirwaiz of Leh. Her maternal side is also from the Kashmir valley as her late mother Khalida Iqbal Bari was the daughter of Syed Abdul Bari of Buchpora, Srinagar.

Ovessa Iqbal would love to be in Kashmir as she considers the valley to be her second home.

Ovessa is firm that she will serve the people of J&K especially women. “I would love to see the end of women’s exploitation. I pray to God to allow me to make some difference,” Ovessa said.

Ovessa lamented that despite having huge potential J&K students were not getting proper coaching and guidance required to appear for such competitive examinations.

The J&K government has not been able to provide proper coaching centres to the students competing for various examinations. For the last few years a small voluntary group known as the Initiative for Competition Promotion in JK (ICPJK) has trained some students for such exams. This voluntary organisation is run by IPS officer Abdul Gani Mir who is the DIG (central) in J&K.

source: http://www.sunday-guardian.com / The Sunday Guardian / Home> News / by Noor-Ul-Qamrain / May 15th, 2011

Tariffs unlikely to rise, asserts Farooqui

Science & Technology,
M. F. Farooqui
M. F. Farooqui

Competition, new tech to keep rates down

Telecom Secretary M. F. Farooqui has pointed out that tariffs may not rise as a result of the recently concluded spectrum auction as operators will be kept in check by increasing competition.

Mr. Farooqui’s comments, however, come less than a few weeks after Vodafone India boss Marten Pieters had said the point had come where the company would have to increase its tariff levels every year depending on cost levels.

“I am not the operator… I’m the regulator. But there are two elements or factors that will help keep themobile tariffs from rising,” Mr. Farooqui said, on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress trade fair here.

MobileCongressMPos12mar2014

The first, he said, was that increasing competition would help keep tariffs down. “This will make sure that operators will not do anything that will reduce their market share.” The second, he said, was that new types of technology would allow operators to lower costs and also offer a wide range of different services.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Business / by Anuj Srinivas / Barcelona – February 27th, 2014

Vice-President Hamid Ansari releases Darda’s book

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders, , ,

New Delhi :

Vice-President Hamid Ansari on Wednesday released senior Congress MP Vijay Darda’s book ‘Public Issues Before Parliament’.

The book catalogues public issues that Darda has raised through his two-decade-long parliamentary career, making skilful use of parliamentary devices: interventions which often drew effective responses from the government.

Those present at the book launch included noted constitutional expert Fali S Nariman, minister for heavy industries Praful Patel , minister for new and renewable energy Farooq Abdullah and Lok Janshakti Party leader Ramvilas Paswan.

Herro K Mustafa, minister counselor for public affairs in the US embassy in New Delhi, and Silvia Costantini, first counselor, political affairs in the delegation of European Union, were also present.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> India / TNN / February 20th, 2014