Monthly Archives: May 2014

Jung assess functioning of various departments

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders

Lieutenant governor of Delhi  Najeeb Jung took a meeting of top officials of various departments to assess their functioning.

The meeting was held at Delhi Secretariat, and along with Chief Secretary S K Srivastava, principal secretaries, secretaries and HODs of various departments like Public Works Department, Health, Revenue, Social Welfare Child Development and DTC were present.

The Lt governor was briefed about the improvement of work in various department since his field inspection, Delhi government officials said.

He was also told that  Delhi Jal Board  has been informed about the water and sewerage leakage points discovered during inspections. The governor was also told about the shortcomings related to electronic token system, non-operational CCTVs, incidence of touts, poor infrastructure, shortage of staff.

As for the industrial areas, Jung stressed on the need for immediate repair of roads, drains and signage, regular de-silting of drains including outfall connecting drains where discharge from industrial areas is falling.

Jung directed that closure orders issued to the polluting units by Delhi Pollution Control Committee should be enforced by concerned agencies.

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> PTI Stories> National> News / Press Trust of India / New Delhi – May 09th, 2014

Prof Talat Ahmad is new V-C of Jamia

Education
Talat Ahmad is currently the V-C of university of Kashmir.
Talat Ahmad is currently the V-C of university of Kashmir.

SUMMARY

Ahmad was awarded the National Mineral Award, 1994, by the Government of India and is a life member of the Mineralogical Society of India.

The Vice-Chancellor of University of Kashmir Professor Talat Ahmad has been appointed V-C of Jamia Millia Islamia on Tuesday.

Ahmad’s appointment comes nine months after former Jamia vice-chancellor Najeeb Jung was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi. Although the decision is yet to be announced, sources at Jamia have confirmed the appointment. Ahmad, who hails from Giridih in Jharkhand, is an alumnus of Aligarh Muslim University, University of Leicester and Cambridge University. He was serving as vice-chancellor of University of Kashmir for the last three years.

Prior to that, he had served as a geologist at the Geological Survey of India and as a professor at the Department of Geology, University of Delhi, from 2003 to 2011.  He is an expert member on the board of several environmental and geological organisations, including the Science & Engineering Research Council, and has won several accolades for his research.

Ahmad was awarded the National Mineral Award, 1994, by the Government of India and is a life member of the Mineralogical Society of India. He is also a fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences and a J C Bose fellow, 2011. Prof Ahmad could not be reached for comments.  In November, the union HRD ministry advertised the position of Jamia V-C on the recommendation of the search committee.

Many names were doing the rounds for the position including those of former Hyderabad University vice-chancellor Seyed Ehtesham Hasnain and former member of the National Commission for Minorities Zoya Hassan. In September last year, more than 300 Jamia teachers wrote to President Pranab Mukherjee, also the Visitor of the country’s only central minority university, requesting his intervention in the process of appointment of the next vice-chancellor. In the letter, the teachers emphasised the need to appoint “an academician of high repute and integrity” as vice-chancellor.

The search committee comprised three members — Justice Aftab Alam and Jamia Hamdard V-C Professor G N Qazi, named by Jamia’s Executive Council along with Visitor’s nominee UGC chairperson Ved Prakash. Professor Hasnain had declined to take up the position after he heard that his name was in the fray without receiving any official word from the search committee.

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Delhi / by Naveed Iqbal / New Delhi – April 30th, 2014

Whiff of an Arabian spread

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Travel & Tourism

 

‘Instant’ kabsah kits are in much demand in Kozhikode. / The Hindu
‘Instant’ kabsah kits are in much demand in Kozhikode. / The Hindu

Shawarma, Shawaya, and Khubuz came to Kerala crossing the Arabian seas several years ago. They were served in wayside eateries and fast-food outlets, initially started by the Gulf-returned cafeteria employees.

These dishes, however, did not make their way to the Malayali kitchen even in the Malabar region, where most of the households have at least one member employed in the Middle East.

Of late, a few Arabian dishes such as Mandi, Kabsah, and Majboos, which figure on the main course menu of Arabian countries have become popular in Malabar. These rice-meat combination dishes are not only cooked in the kitchens of the region, but are also served as “prestige” dishes on occasions such as weddings.

Some places like Koduvally, with a huge expatriate population, also have exclusive Mandi and Kabsah eateries. “I know many who come from the city just to eat these dishes,” says P. Abid, a native of Koduvally.

Author and sociologist Hafiz Mohammed says this is only a continuation of the culinary influence Arabia has cast on Kerala for the past 30 years. “The close socio-cultural association between the two countries has paved the way for these dishes’ smooth entry into our society,” says Dr. Mohammed. Ready-to-cook kits of these dishes, including Majboos, the regional variant of Kabsah, are available in shops and supermarkets here now. Dealers of these kits also provide cooking instructions in regional languages on their cover. “I prepare them at home quite often,” says A.K. Ali, who returned from Saudi Arabia a few years ago and is settled at Kalanthode in Kozhikode.

The dishes are much in demand for weddings and parties in the region. Local chefs, with some experience in eateries in the Gulf, have started advertising their skills here, says Mr. Ali.

Dr. Mohammed sees ‘status symbol’ in play here. “Many affluent families in Malabar serve these Arabian dishes during wedding parties for this reason,” he says.

The trend is here to stay for some time at least. “My father, who was in the Gulf for several years, prepared Kabsah at home a couple of years ago during his vacation. All of us liked it. Now I too can prepare the dish,” says Sayed Junaid, from Ayencheri near Vadakara in Kozhikode.

source: http://www.thehindu.com /  The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kozhikode / by Jabir Mushthari / Kozhikode – May 10th, 2014

An NDA govt may skip seniority, name UP’s Javed Usmani as Cabinet secretary

Leaders
Javed Usmani is the current chief secretary of Uttar Pradesh. (TOI file photo by Pawan Kumar)
Javed Usmani is the current chief secretary of Uttar Pradesh. (TOI file photo by Pawan Kumar)

New Delhi :

The new government may give seniority a miss in selecting the next Cabinet secretary and opt for a “relatively junior” officer as the country’s top bureaucrat, a senior BJP leader indicated on a day when exit polls predicted an NDA government at the Centre.

Ajit Seth, the current Cabinet secretary, is due to retire on June 13 and a successor is usually named a fortnight in advance. As a result, the new government will have to decide on a new Cabinet secretary within days of taking charge.

Going strictly by seniority, Sutanu Behuria, a 1976-batch Himachal cadre IAS officer is the next in line, followed by Alok Rawat from Sikkim. Although there are another eight officers from Rawat’s 1977 batch who are currently working at the Centre, the new government may ignore the entire batch and could opt for Javed Usmani, a 1978 batch official, who is currently Uttar Pradesh chief secretary.

What seems to be going in Usmani’s favour is his familiarity with working in the Prime Minister’s Office, having spent close to seven years — first during the United Front government and then as joint secretary during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s term. He returned for a second stint from 2004 to 2007 when Manmohan Singh took charge.

If the Modi government goes ahead and appoints Usmani, it will break from recent trend when the government has played it safe and gone by seniority, both in case of Seth as well as his predecessor KM Chandrasekhar.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Lok Sabha Elections 2014> News / TNN / May 13th, 2014

World’s largest diamond, Mughal necklace in Geneva auction

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, Travel & Tourism, World Opinion
A staff member poses with 'The Blue' diamond during an auction preview for Christie's in Geneva. (Reuters photo)
A staff member poses with ‘The Blue’ diamond during an auction preview for Christie’s in Geneva. (Reuters photo)

New Delhi :

A rare necklace, engraved with names of Mughal emperors Akbar and Jahangir goes under the hammer in Geneva tomorrow by Christie’s, which is also auctioning the world’s largest flawless blue diamond, in a sale expected to total $80 million.

Dating 17th century, the seven Mughal engraved spinel bead necklace is estimated to fetch between $1,500,00 to $2,000,000 at ‘Magnificent Jewels’ sale, auctioneers said.

Mughal emperors were known for their love of precious stones. The tradition of engraving titles and names on stones began with the Timurids, who were the ancestors of Mughals. They did their engraving on diamonds, emeralds and other outstanding quality stones with large spinel beads considered to be their favourites.

As much as these gems were a symbol of the opulence and dignity of the empire, they were also treasured as protective talismans.

The Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar exhibits an important necklace with eleven Mughal spinel beads with a total weight of 877.23 carats. Three of them engraved with names of Emperor Jahangir and one with that of Emperor Shah Jahan.

Leading the ‘Magnificent Jewels’ sale is world’s largest flawless vivid blue diamond ‘The Blue’ estimated to fetch between $21,000,000- $25,000,000.

The diamond leads the 250 lot strong sale, estimated to mop up a total in the region of $80 million, Christie’s said.

Six months earlier, Christie’s Geneva sold ‘The Orange’ the largest fancy vivid orange diamond in the world for $35.5 million, a global record for an orange diamond and a world auction record price per carat for any diamond at $2.4 million.

The sale will also feature many important coloured and colourless diamonds such as the 5.50 carat ‘The Ocean Dream’, the largest fancy vivid blue-green diamond in the world to come to auction, with an estimate of $7,500,00- $9,500,000.

‘The Rajah Diamond’ a 26.14 carat old-mine brilliant-cut diamond of is among 14 jewels that are being auctioned under ‘A Passion for Jewels: Collection of an European Gentleman’. The diamond is estimated to go for $3,000,00-5,000,000.

Another section of the sale ‘Noble Jewels’ features a natural pearl and diamond necklace estimated at $550,000-700,000 and was orginally in the personal jewellery casket of Queen Elizabeth of Prussia.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> India / PTI / May 13th, 2014

Of passion and pure thrill of flying high

Leaders, Science & Technology, Transport, Travel & Tourism

Hyderabad : 

The Air Force Station at Begumpet was one of six heritages of the city to be acknowledged with an award by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach) on the occasion of World Heritage Day 2014. The event brought into focus little known facts about Hyderabad’s history, including the city’s pioneering efforts in the field of aviation which commenced in 1911 when a Belgian aviator, Baron de Caters, along with his assistant Jules Tyck, arrived with a fleet of planes to give demonstration at the Secunderabad Parade Ground.

The three-day affair received wide publicity and drew large crowds of onlookers including quite a few women. A newspaper report preceding the event announced that “a popular society lady will be taken up by the Baron on the first day”. Unfortunately the identity of this enigmatic passenger remains unknown and it is believed that it must have been a member of the European community then living in the cantonment.

The first direct association of Hyderabad with aviation was established a few years later when during World War I, a British pilot challenged the enemy while flying an aircraft bearing the name of ‘Hyderabad’ over the skies of Germany in 1917. In recognition of contributions to the Imperial war effort, the names of native states had been inscribed on the aircraft of ‘Gift Squadrons’ raised and maintained with funds donated by the Indian rulers. Subsequently, the British formed two more Hyderabad Squadrons during World War II with public contributions raised at Hyderabad, and the Spitfires and Hurricanes of these units had the legend “Presented by His Exalted Highness, the Nizam of Hyderabad” emblazoned on their fuselage. Among the three Hyderabad Squadrons of the Royal Air Force, the 152nd had the Nizam’s crown, the distinctive ‘dastar’, displayed prominently on its insignia.

The credit of introducing Hyderabad to flying as a hobby goes to two adventurous youngsters, Babar Mirza and Pingle Madhusudhan Reddy, who developed a keen interest in flying while pursuing their studies in England. While Reddy managed to keep his passion for flying in check long enough to obtain a degree in mechanical engineering from Leeds, Mirza concentrated more on developing an expertise in handling aircraft. Reckless by nature, he purchased a Simmonds Spartan and set out from Croydon in late 1932 with the sole obsession of reaching Hyderabad within the shortest possible time despite his father having explicitly banned him from undertaking such a “perilous and foolish adventure”. Without giving a second thought to the logistics involved in undertaking such an arduous journey and despite refusal of permission to transit Turkey, Mirza successfully bluffed his way out of tricky situations including some perilous moments at Konya where he inadvertently landed on a military parade ground and was promptly marched off at gunpoint! Unable to take the punishment of the “Air Mad” Hyderabadi anymore, the plane’s engine gave way over the Iraqi desert. Rescued by Bedouins, he was packed off to India along with the wreckage of his aircraft.

Within a year of the mishap, Babar Mirza had somehow convinced his father Manzoor Jung to support his plans of establishing an Aero Club at Hyderabad. Laying out a landing strip on the polo ground of the family estate at Habsiguda, he flew in the now restored Spartan from Karachi and applied to the Nizam’s government for permission to start a private Flying Club and ordered another aircraft from London. Meanwhile Reddy, having purchased an Avro Avian in England in 1933, flew it to Hyderabad and touched down at Habsiguda to join the Deccan Aero Club. Official permission still pending, Babar Mirza took it upon himself to garner support and went about it in a unique way. Inviting the then Prime Minister of Hyderabad Maharaja Kishen Pershad and other elite to Habsiguda for an evening of flight demonstrations, he put on a show that they would never forget. After his colleagues had shown their skills in performing ‘loops’ and ‘rolls’, Mirza swooped down low over the heads of the visiting dignitaries creating ‘quite a sensation’! The dare seems to have had little effect on the administration as it was another three years before the Hyderabad State Aero Club was formally inaugurated in 1936. Mirza’s antics though, seem to have set a precedent for disgruntled aviators. Old-timers of the city narrate the exploits of another pioneer, a scion of the Bilgrami family who, jilted by his beloved because of a stubborn refusal to give up his ‘dangerous’ passion for flying, made repeated low passes over her wedding venue; blowing away the shamiana, scattering the guests and turning a lavish spread inedible with a coating of dust!

(This is the first of a two-part series on Hyderabad’s aviation. The writer is a heritage activist)

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad / by Sajjad Shahid, TNN / April 27th, 2014

_________________________________________________________________________

PM Reddy: An aviator and engineer par excellence

The founding of the Hyderabad State Aero Club ushered in an era of relative decorum and the unchecked exploits of buccaneering aviation pioneers of the city were finally tamed to a large extent. Over succeeding years Babar Mirza and P M Reddy, matured into serious aviators who took on the task of ensuring that aviation in the Deccan kept pace with international trends. Their enthusiasm for flying inspired others to take up the hobby and also hastened the plans of the Nizam’s government to establish an airline. Aban Pestonji Chenoy, the teenaged daughter of the Nizam’s Mint Master, became the first woman member of the Hyderabad State Aero Club to qualify for an aviator’s license in 1938, a year in which 55 of the club’s 70 members were Indians.

The club’s operations were suspended during World War II and its pilots, aircraft and facilities were commandeered for use by a training squadron. The association of Begumpet with the Air Force has continued ever since. The acute need for pilots during the war resulted in the establishment of a center of the Indian Air Training Corps on the Osmania University campus in 1945. Trained by Hyderabad’s own pilots along with British officers, cadets of the very first batch passing out from the Osmania University made such a strong impression on the recruiting board that a majority of them were recommended for a commission in the Air Force.

Princess Durru Shehwar laid the foundation stone for the passenger terminal at Begumpet in 1936 as part of the Nizam’s Silver Jubilee celebrations and Deccan Airways Limited was incorporated in 1945, becoming the first airline to be promoted by a native State. A joint venture of Hyderabad State and Tata Airlines, Deccan Airways had a fleet of a dozen Douglas DC-3 ‘Dakota’ aircraft when Hyderabad was absorbed into the Indian Union in 1948.

It was with Pingle Madhusudhan Reddy’s encouragement that the last Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, first boarded an aircraft for a sortie over the city intended to check out his reactions to flying. Initially thrilled at being able to view from the skies, the Nizam is said to have later issued orders prohibiting any aircraft from flying over his palace. On one of his later flights in a twin engine aircraft, he enquired from PM as to what would happen if an engine conked off during flight. “Not a problem Your Exalted Highness”, PM replied, “We can safely carry on with the remaining engine”.

Years later when boarding a flight for Delhi, he pointed to the four engines of the Super Constellation and exclaimed; “Now that is what I call a safe aero-plane!”

By 1947 Deccan Airways had a fleet of sturdy Douglas DC-3 ‘Dakota’ aircraft which connected Hyderabad with key cities through regular services. Apart from scheduled flights, the airline also took on charters and diplomatic sorties on behalf of the Nizam and his government. The airline continued to serve the ruler of Hyderabad in his capacity as the Rajparmukh subsequent to merger and one of the tasks personally supervised by PM was to ensure a daily supply of fresh water for the Nizam during his sojourns away from Hyderabad. Drawn from a protected source which had supplied his ancestors, the waters of the Bam Rukn-ud Dowlah, a spring near the Mir Alam Tank, were shipped under guard in special sealed containers for the Nizam and his family.

Pingle Madhusudhan Reddy saw the airline through its most difficult phases of existence including a ban imposed by the Indian government just prior to the Police Action and later when Deccan Airways along with all other private airlines of the country, was nationalized in 1953 becoming part of the Indian Airlines Corporation. Having been appointed the first Operations Manager of Deccan Airways in 1945, he rose to become its General Manager and later Managing Director. Under his dynamic leadership Deccan Airways gained the reputation of being one of the best and the most efficient airlines in the country. Despite being named Regional Director of Indian Airlines, PM resigned and opted to revert to Hyderabad State service in 1954 and was put in charge of the Industrial Trust Fund and its operations; Praga Tools and Hyderabad Asbestos which was eventually handed over to the Birlas. At the request of the defense ministry, PM was released from state service and took charge of HAL Bangalore in 1957 to set up the jet engine factory from where he retired in 1967. After a long and eventful life PM passed away in Hyderabad in 1986.

(This is the second and concluding part of the column on pioneers of aviation in Hyderabad. The writer is a well known heritage activist)

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad / by Sajjad Shahid, TNN /  May 04th,  2014

Salman Khan’s protege Zarine Khan makes her debut in Punjabi cinema with ‘Jatt James Bond’

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

ZarineKhanMPOs14may2014

Salman Khan’s discovery Zarine Khan is all set to make her debut in the Punjabi film industry with Jatt James Bond.

The second poster of the film is out and actress plays the role of a Punjabi girl in the film.

The actress, who made her Bollywood debut opposite Salman in Veer, will be paired with Gippy Grewal in the film.

Despite Zarine’s dream debut and a mentor like Salman, the actress did not have a very successful run in Bollywood. After Veer bombed at the box office, Salman gave Zarine another shot at fame with the item song Character Dheela in Ready. While the film did a good business, Zarine did not get enough adulation for her sexy act in the song.

The actress’ next film Housefull 2 did a decent business, but her co-stars Asin and Jacqueline Fernandez stole the limelight.

And given Salman’s penchant for spotting new talent and mentoring them, Zarine had no other option than looking for help somewhere else to keep her filmi dreams afloat.

Directed by Rohit Jugraj, the film also stars Vindu Dara Singh, Mukesh Rishi, Avtar Gill and stand-up comedian Gurpreet Guggi.

The film, produced by Fortune House Productions, will hit the screens on  April 14.

source: http://www.dnaindia.com / DNA / Home> Entertainment> Place:Mumbai, Agency: DNA Web Team / Thursday – January 02nd, 2014

These mango trees date back to Tipu’s era

Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Green Products, Leaders, Travel & Tourism, , ,
LUSCIOUS: Syed Ghani Khan in his orchard at Kirugavalu village in Malavalli taluk of Mandya district. / The Hindu
LUSCIOUS: Syed Ghani Khan in his orchard at Kirugavalu village in Malavalli taluk of Mandya district. / The Hindu

Kirugavalu farmer has 116 mango trees which are 200-year-old

This farmer from Kirugavalu village in Malavalli taluk of Mandya district has preserved 116 mango trees dating back to the times of the then Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan.

Carbon dating and other scientific assessment by the Genetics and Plant Breeding Department of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, have shown that these trees are more than 200 years old.

This 20-acre orchard, popularly known as ‘Bada Bagh’, is said to have been raised by those in the palace of Tipu, who was a great lover of fruits, especially mangoes. The orchard was later gifted to a farmer by Tipu. Syed Ghani Khan (39), who has inherited this from his forefathers, is preserving it with care.

According to Mr. Khan, the trees yield exotic varieties of fruits. “While some trees yield fruits that taste like sweet lime, others produce fruits with cumin flavour. There are some trees that yield fruits resembling the shape of fish,” he said.

In great demand

Till recently, his family used to sell the fruits locally. But from the last two years, he has been selling the fruits at organic outlets in Mysore apart from exporting them to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, where they are in great demand and also fetch a premium price.

In fact, Mr. Khan, who was passionate about becoming a curator at an archaeological museum, he did his graduation in archaeology and museology. But he had to return to his native village from Mysore to take care of his farm and support his family after his father became bedridden due to an ailment. “I then decided to turn my exotic farm itself into a live museum and started working on it,” he said.

Paddy varieties too
Mr. Khan also pursues another avocation passionately. He collects native varieties of paddy and grows them mainly to preserve those rare varieties. “Presently, I have a collection of about 600 native varieties of paddy, including ‘rakta dham’, ‘naadikeli’ and ‘jugal’,” he said.

His efforts paid off as his farm caught the attention of Delhi-based Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority, which has started registration of the exotic varieties of mangoes in the garden. He will get legal right over the plant species after the registration.

Mr. Khan was also honoured with the ‘Plant Genome Saviour Farmer Recognition’ award by the authority in 2012.

Mr. Khan now wants other farmers to grow these rare varieties of mangoes. He, however, is unable to take up propagation of these rare varieties systematically by constructing a poly-house as it requires big investment. As none of the government agencies offered him any help, Mr. Khan himself started an organisation to train farmers and students about local varieties of crops.

He is looking forward to getting government assistance to take his mission forward and ensure that these exotic varieties of mangoes are grown in the orchards of many more farmers.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Karnataka / by B. S. Satish Kumar / Bangalore – May 12th, 2014

The last of Delhi’s calligraphy brigade?

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Travel & Tourism
With the arrival of technology, calligraphic fonts are on computer keyboards now, pushing more and more the likes of Yakub to scurry harder for work. / Photo: Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty / The Hindu
With the arrival of technology, calligraphic fonts are on computer keyboards now, pushing more and more the likes of Yakub to scurry harder for work. / Photo: Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty / The Hindu

With calligraphic writing now computerised, the katibs of Old Delhi’s Urdu Bazaar, once a vibrant community, have shrunk to a mere three

More he waits for work, more he fears it shall stop coming to him. Altogether.

When 62-year-old Mohammad Yakub, a katib or traditional calligrapher in Old Delhi’s Urdu Bazaar, breaks into a near monologue on a hot May day after some prodding, the fear of losing a job that he knows best — that too at an age when he “just can’t think of doing anything else” — is pretty blatant. “I have been without work for the last two days. Who knows, you might bring me good luck,” he says with a half-smile. Two teacups with the hot brew arrive from a nearby teashop, indication enough that he is in a mood to talk now.

Yakub’s story turns out to be one of standing against the tide and not calling it quits. Not yet. Every day, at 9 in the morning, he steps out of his house in Okhla to board Bus No. 403 to bring him to Jama Masjid. A short walk from near the Mughal era masjid to Urdu Bazaar brings him to his designated seat in a shop that sells Urdu books. A shop he has been employed with for the last 28 years, a shop with blue paint peeling off at places, its lone copying machine standing at a cobwebbed corner, unused, discoloured with age. The books kept in glass showcases make you wonder which of them is older, their yellowing pages or the showcases with stains on the glasses.

“The last time I sold a book here was a month ago,” he plaits it in to the conversation to help you understand that his state of near joblessness is linked to a drastic drop in the sale of books published in Urdu these days, which in turn, is increasingly leading shopkeepers at the Bazaar to replace their bookshops with those of readymade garments and eateries.

It is also linked to where the art of calligraphy is heading. With the arrival of technology, calligraphic fonts are on computer keyboards now, pushing more and more the likes of Yakub to scurry harder for work. No wonder then, besides Yakub, Urdu Bazaar — once a vibrant hub of katibs — is now left with just three of this ilk.

Katibs Mohammad Yaqub at work in Urdu Bazaar / Photo: Sangeeta Barooah / Pisharoty / The Hindu
Katibs Mohammad Yaqub at work in Urdu Bazaar / Photo: Sangeeta Barooah / Pisharoty / The Hindu

Yakub can do calligraphy in Urdu, Arabic and Persian. “But what I usually end up doing now is to write in Urdu the names of various offices and departments required to make stamps since Urdu is also an official language of the Delhi Government,” states Yakub. Out of the Rs.100 that he gets per stamp, Rs. 40 goes to the shop owner. “Most times, it doesn’t pay for my day’s trip from home and back,” he points out before startling you by suddenly breaking into a Mughal-e-Azam song. Even as you recover from the shock, he asks you, “Do you think I can end up as a singer at this age?” In his ensuing laughter, the fear of the foreseeable doesn’t quite get lost. No wonder his daughter, a trained calligrapher, is joining as a teacher in a school

Taking leave of Yakub, you walk along the Bazaar. A few shops away from him sits Mohammad Ghalib, one of the last of the brigade. In his early 50s, Ghalib seems the only one among the three to be getting regular work. “I can’t say that what I am earning is sufficient but I have been able to run my kitchen with it so far. I think it is God’s grace,” he says raising his head from writing a graduation ceremony poster in Urdu for a madrasa in the Okhla area. The colourful poster will thereafter go for printing a dozen copies of it. “Look at these fonts, the unevenness of them, the colour play I do here. No computer can do this because everything in it is of certain size and shape. You can’t play with those fonts, like you can do with a handwritten calligraphic work,” he stops his work to explain the finer point to you.

Like Yakub, Ghalib too picked his skills from Darul Uloom in Deoband years ago. “They still teach it but I ask, what for? Things can change only when the Government does something concrete to keep going the skill of people like us,” he minces no words here.

You enquire about the third katib of Urdu Bazar. Ghalib says he sits just opposite the road. “He has not been coming to work for some days now. He is unwell. Also, there is a wedding in the family,” he says. What Ghalib doesn’t say is said by a bookseller who gives the katib space to operate from, “He doesn’t get much work anyway.”

Riding on a rickshaw to the Chawri Bazasr Metro Station to return home, you only hope that you have turned lucky for Yakub. Because he just can’t sing!

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Society / by Sangeetha Barooah Pisharoty / New Delhi – May 11th, 2014

DOWN MEMORY LANE : Quaint reminders of 1857

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Travel & Tourism

Revisiting the half-forgotten episodes of 1857 when we almost embraced freedom

Today is May 12, the day in 1867 when the British fugitives from Delhi were hurrying on their way to Karnal or some other nearby town. “The four children of Captain William Wallace were spirited away by a faithful khansama and found their way to Meerut. The merchant James Morley, whose family had been killed in his house in the Kashmiri Bazaar, put on a petticoat and veil belonging to the wife of his old dhobi, and following the dhobi, as he drove a bullock laden with old clothes through one of the city gates, managed to reach Kurnaul road,” says Christopher Hibbert in his book “The Great Mutiny of 1857”. A lady, said a fellow-survivor, put on a pagri and, dressed as a villager, with a small hookah in hand, made her way out of town but was recognised by her ex-cook who wanted to make the amply-built memsahib his second wife. But she gave him the slip at night and somehow reached Flagstaff Tower on the Ridge. A girl, who had been disguised as a rustic boy was kidnapped on her way to Sonepat by a group of eunuchs who planned to sell the youngster to a gay zamindar. When the man discovered that the “boy” was actually a girl, he told his sister to take care of her until such time as he could secure ransom for her release. All this happened 157 years ago but still comes to mind as one wanders over Delhi to piece together quaint events of which the nikaah of a sepoy with the wife of a “sahib” he had killed is an amazing one, indeed. The cannonading marks on the walls of the Kashmere Gate and the fierce attack on Mori Gate, where the Maulvi of Faizabad, Ahmedullah Shah stayed before the outbreak on his arrival from Agra, are vivid memories. It is said that the tall, gaunt long-bearded Maulvi “with coarse hair falling on his naked shoulders” and the same hypnotic gaze as that of the latter-day Mehdi of Sudan, however, did not stay here for long and moved to the denser locality of Bara Hindu Rao and finally the Jama Masjid where, according to old-timers, he was seen in the evenings; vehemently trying to convince namazis to throw off the British yoke.

In Ballimaran the haveli of Hakim Ahsanullah Khan can still be seen with its old ambience preserved. The hakim was not only the personal doctor of Bahadur Shah Zafar but also his closest adviser. Some distance away at Lal Kuan is the Zeenat Mahal, ancestral home of the emperor’s youngest wife now turned into a school, and not far from it Mubarak Masjid built by the Bibi of Gen Ochterlony. An ex-dancing girl she later married a Mughal soldier, Wilayat Khan and took active part in the First War of Independence.

In Karol Bagh, Rao Tula Ram School is a reminder of the brave ruler of Rewari whose ancestor, Rao Tej Singh sided with Scindia at the Battle of Patparganj in 1803, which Lord Lake won for the British. After Tula Ram’s defeat at the battle of Narnaul in November 1857, the gallant ruler joined Tantya Tope and in 1862 escaped to Russia. Another hero of the Revolt was Raja Nahar Singh of Ballabgarh who blocked the road to Delhi. This “Barrier of Delhi”, admitted Sir John Lawrance to the Governor-General Lord Canning, was very difficult to break unless “we receive reinforcements from China or England”.

According to Purushottam Salvi’s book, “A Long Drawn War of Freedom”, Nahar Singh tried to persuade Bahadur Shah to take refuge in Ballabhgarh but the emperor refused and was captured at Humayun’s tomb. However, Nahar Singh avenged the death of Zafar’s sons and grandson at the hands of Hodson by killing a large number of firangi soldiers. Eventually Nahar Singh was captured and hanged on his 35th birthday, September 21, 1858.

One prince who escaped the vengeful British was Feroz Shah, who had been away on Haj when the Revolt broke out. On his way to Delhi on August 26, 1857, the troops in Gwalior pleaded with him to lead them. The prince agreed and captured Dhar but was later defeated and, after joining Tope, managed to escape to Nepal. His not so fortunate younger brother was Mirza Nasir-ul-Mulk who became a cripple and was reduced to begging. Besides the more famous events of 1857, these remain half-forgotten episodes of those tumultuous times when Independence was almost achieved by the rebel sepoys.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Society / by R. V. Smith / New Delhi – May 11th, 2014