Monthly Archives: September 2014

Courage personified

September 3, 2014Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issuesmpositiveone@gmail.com

Recently seen on Kaun Banega Maha Crorepati, Fatima Khatoon provides a shining example of an individual’s strength to herald a change

“Arrest the customers who visit brothels; the men who sell the girls and those who procure them and force them into the trade, as they are the real culprits,” says Fatima Khatoon, an activist who took a stand against these social maladies at a tender age. She adds: “The hapless girls should not be punished. They require help and compassion to start life afresh.”

The comment is profound and more so as it comes from a person who is illiterate and was married into a household indulging in the sex trade. Born in a nomadic family in Nepal, Fatima entered matrimony at the age of nine.

“Being constantly on the move, childhood marriages of girls were prevalent in my community to ensure security and safety for them,” she explains, though she faults her parents “who should have checked the antecedents of my in-laws before marrying me off.”

Settling with her husband in Araria in Bihar, it took her more than one-and-a-half-years to realise that the womenfolk in the house, including her four sisters-in-law, were part of the trade. Her mother-in-law ran the business with the help of her four sons. This kept the kitchen pot boiling.

“Being young and lonely I used to speak to the girl inmates though my sisters-in-law never conversed with me. It is only through them I became aware of the facts,” says Fatima. The other three girls in the house were purchased. “They were duped by persons on the pretext of marriage, love or jobs and sold at the brothel,” she explains.

“My heart went out to them as I perceived they were experiencing a slow death every day,” says Fatima. Despite being young, she talked to them and decided to help them escape.

“I gave them clothes and helped them find the way. I also told them to raise an alarm in case anybody tried to stop them.” Severe reprisal followed, with Fatima locked up for three days without food and water till a family member warned that she may die. “After this, I was not allowed to step outside and was never left alone.”

Her kindled spirit received a jolt when she learned that her playmate, Afsana, daughter of an aged sex worker, was compelled to join, when she was visiting her mother. “I was close to Afsana and therefore, deeply hurt. I vowed that I will fight this trade and put an end to it,” she comments. Initially it was difficult but she managed to convince her sisters-in-law who have since left this trade.

Associated since 2004 with Apne Aap Women Worldwide (AAWW), a grassroots organisation working in India to end sex trafficking, Fatima is pleased to talk about the work of the AAWW team in her village. She claims, “A vast majority of the families there indulged in this trade and so far almost all have given it up, barring seven.”

Fatima intends to use the Rs.25 lakh won by her last week in Kaun Banega Maha Crorepati to raise her six children and build a home for them. Apart from this is, she plans to build a shelter for distressed women.

BLAZING SPIRITFatima Khatoon; seen with Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukerji on “Kaun Banega Maha Crorepati”

Applauded by Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukerji, the crusader hopes her participation in the quiz show will inspire girls to keep up their spirit and courage to achieve their dreams and ambitions.

Arrest the customers who visit brothels; the men who sell the girls and those who procure them and force them into the trade, as they are the real culprits

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by S. Ravi / August 26th, 2014

Racing ahead

September 3, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Sports, World Opinionmpositiveone@gmail.com

Alisha Abdullah is one of India's very few women bike racers. / by Special Arrangement / The Hindu — Alisha Abdullah is one of India’s very few women bike racers. / by Special Arrangement / The Hindu

Champion racer Alisha Abdullah is in top gear as she dons new roles

“The guys, after every race, used to put me down. I would be one among the last. They would tell me that I am a girl and that I couldn’t do it, say things like girls should get married. I took it up as a challenge. And with every race I worked hard and I improved my position,” says Alisha Abdullah. She went on to prove the ‘guys’ wrong.

One of India’s very few professional women bike racers Alisha inched her way up, competing with men, to be one among the best in the circuit. “Today guys come up to me asking me for tips for the track.” She is also a car racer. She recently won the Toyota Vios Cup, a street car race held in Thailand, where she competed with the best women racers in Asia. “These women are much stronger and tougher racers and I won competing against them.” She says over phone from Chennai where she is based. She said she is scheduled to visit the city for the inauguration of Lap 47, a performance studio for vehicles.

At a time when little girls dreamt of becoming princesses or at least a Miss Universe, Alisha was on the race track wanting to be a biker like her father, R.A. Abdullah, a seven-time national biking champion. Go-karting, bikes and car racing…the petite Alisha has done it all – won prizes and broken records. At 13 she won the national go-karting championship and the best Novice Award in the open class of Formula car racing. She was all of 15 when she got to bike racing.

It is not easy being a professional car or bike racer ‘irrespective of gender’, she says. “As a racer you have to extremely alert. There are many things you need to monitor – check if the RPM is going down or if there is some other suspicious blip and this at speeds exceeding 160 kmph.” A profession which demands physical and mental strength, it keeps her on her toes constantly. She works out intensely, “focussing on strength training than cardio. I never do any cardio. The physical demands of car and bike racing are different. For the former, neck and lower back are the areas of focus. And I train only with men because, I mean no offense, but their workouts are much more intense when compared to how women workout. I can do between 50 to 60 push-ups in a minute.”

With all talk of RPM, bikes, cars and racing tracks one would think this is all the 25 year-old does. She is consumed by it but there is more to her. She is a model and an actor too. She debuted in the recently released Tamil film Irumbu Kuthirai. She plays the villain’s (a biker) girlfriend. “The story was based on bike-racing and, like everything else in my life; I wanted to do a role different from the usual run-of-the-mill characters.” This was a guest role, soon she is to start shooting for a yet-to-be named project she is the lead actor, “I play a psycho.”

Any offers from the Malayalam film industry? “None yet!”

Films and racing, isn’t the plate loaded? “No. My role model is Danica Patrick, she is an actor and a car racer. She is married, has a family and multi-tasks. It’s not that I am doing a 100 things. Just two things and that’s fine.”

She is a car racer, model and actor, too. / by Special Arrangement / The Hindu

Films and modelling are an aside, her focus is racing. She plans to start an academy for racing for women at Chennai. Her dream is fuelled by a desire to see more women competing in motor sport. “There are so many talented sportswomen, but almost none in motorsport. I want to change that trend. And if a man wants to come he can come wearing a wig!” she signs off.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Society / by Shilpa Nair Anand / August 31st, 2014

Firag Gorakhpuri remembered

September 2, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainmentmpositiveone@gmail.com

Gorakhpur:

Birth anniversary celebrations of Urdu poet Firaq Gorakhpuri were held at several places in the city on Thursday.

Members of Chitragupt Sabha garlanded the statue of Firaq Gorakhpuri in Daudpur and also organized a seminar in the evening in the conference hall of Chitragupt Mandir.

Social worker Ashok Srivastava garlanded the statue of Firaq. A seminar and a mushaira were also held.

Raghupati Sahai, known by his pen name, Firaq Gorakhpuri, was born on August 28, 1896 in Miyan Bazaar area in Gorakhpur. Azim Farooqi, a research scholar of Urdu, said: “People remember Firaq as a great Urdu poet but very few know that he was a freedom fighter too. He left his position of deputy collector and became member of Congress and went jail in 1920 along with Jawaharlal Nehru. He also contested in election with Shibbon Lal Saxena Party in 1952 against Mahant Digvijay Nath, the then head priest of Gorakhnath temple.”

Chitragupt Sabha president Atul Srivastava said: “Bahut pehle se un qadmon ki ahat jaan lete hain, Tujhe ai zindagi hum door se pehchan lete hain. Firaq Gorakhpur was a genius and great poet. Firaq Sahab is known for Urdu poetry but he was also English lecturer in Allahabad University. He passed ICS examination but resigned and joined freedom struggle. He was awarded Gyanpeeth Award, Sahitya Academy Award and Padam Bhushan Award in 1969 for his creation ‘Gule Nagma’.”

Pravir Arya of Madan Mohan Malviya Technical University said: “He was a prolific writer of Urdu and English. He added Gorakhpur in his name. We can proudly say that we belong to the place where Firaq used to live. He gave an international recognition to Gorakhpur.”

Speaking on the style of Firaq’s writing, poet Mohammad Husain Qayal said: “Firaq was an institution in himself. He has command over Urdu, Persian, Hindi and English. He was a great poet but a loner as his personal grief is reflected in his poetries. He had a troubled married life and his children also died.”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Varanasi / by Arjumand Bano, TNN / August 28th, 2014

Former attorney general GE Vahanvati passes away

September 2, 2014Leadersmpositiveone@gmail.com

Former attorney general Goolamhussein Essaji Vahanvati, who got embroiled in many controversies, today passed away at the age of 65 after suffering a heart attack. Vahanvati served as the attorney general from June 2009 for three years and it was extended by another two years in 2012.

Vahanvati had a controversial tenure in office as in April 2013, his junior Harin P Raval raised allegations of impropriety against him and resigned. It was alleged that he colluded with senior government officials and misrepresented facts in the ongoing coal blocks allocation case. He also faced a CBI investigation regarding his role on the 2G scam but was given a clean chit by the agency in its status report filed to the Supreme Court.

On 6 May, former telecom secretary Siddhartha Behura had accused Vahanvati of giving false statement against him, saying he did so to “disassociate” his role in formulation of the revised first-come-first-served (FCFS) policy for distribution of the 2G spectrum licences. Deposing before the special 2G court, Behura had claimed that Vahanvati, who was the then Solicitor General (SG) in January 2008, had also given false statement regarding the draft press release about issuance of letters of intent (LoIs) to eligible telecom firms.

The former attorney general had resigned from the post following the rout of the Congress-led UPA in the 2014 general election.

Although a highly decorated legal luminary, Vahanvati also faces charges of undeclared assets in a UBS bank account as which was brought to the fore by former MP Gurudas Dasgupta. Both filed legal notices against each other in the case.

Vahanvati will be remembered for his contribution in the nine judges Bench hearing on the Ninth Schedule, Kuldip Nayar’s challenge to the amendment to the Representation of the People’s Act with regard to the Rajya Sabha, the tainted ministers case, in all matters pertaining to the sealing and the challenge to the Delhi Laws Special Provisions Act, 2007 and challenges to the Master Plan 2021.

He also left his stamp in the world of cricket as he along with Zimbabwe High Court Judge Steven Majied held an inquiry into the allegations of racism in Zimbabwe in September 2004 on the request of the International Cricket Council. Vahanvati was also the sole member of the Single Member Commission to inquire into allegations of racial abuse on South African cricketers during the South African tour of Australia in December 2005.

With PTI input

source: http://www.firstpost.com / FirstPost.com / Home> F.India> Latest News> India News / by FP Staff / September 02nd, 2014

LINK TO THE PAST – Ancient map of Bidar unearthed in London

September 1, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders, Travel & Tourism, World Opinionmpositiveone@gmail.com

Historian and painter Rehman Patel says illustrations on the political and social history of India are included on either side of the map. / The Hindu

The map is included in an atlas produced by Colonel Jean Baptiste Gentil, Military Adviser to the Nawab of Awadh Shuja-ud-Daula

In exciting news for historians, an ancient atlas, which includes a map of Bidar, prepared by French officer Colonel Jean Baptiste Gentil, Military Adviser to the Nawab of Awadh Shuja-ud-Daula (1763 to 75), was found tucked away in the India Office Library at London. The map shows Bidar, which was once a capital city of the Bahamani Kingdom and an educational centre with historical importance.

Historian and painter Rehman Patel, who reproduced the map, said that in the interests of preserving the historic post and throwing more light about the history of the Bidar and its cultural heritage, the State government should put pressure on the Union government to bring it back to India and place it in Bidar.

Illustrations

He added that Col. Gentil had utilised the services of local artists to produce a series of illustrations on the political and social history of India.

Dr. Patel pointed out that illustrations were included on either side of the map. They reveal the representatives of different Sufi orders and thick forests with drawings of wild animals. These drawings also include Bidri craftsman and the different wares that were produced in Bidar. The bespectacled artisan at the bottom left of the page is portrayed as engraving a floral pattern on the side of a globular huqqa, with his wife and pet parrot looking on.

The illustration is reinforced by having a caption: ‘Fabrique de Beder ou on incruste en or et argent’ (Beder workshop for inlaying in gold and silver).

At the bottom right corner, there is a drawing of the types of wares produced: ‘vases incrustes’, or ‘inlaid vessels’. These include a globular huqqua on a stand, a bell-shaped huqqua, spittoons, boxes, a ewer and wash basin.

Reference to Bidriware

Dr. Patel said so far, the earliest unambiguous reference to Bidriware was in the Chahar Gulshan, written in Persian in 1759 AD. This includes a statistical account taken, on internal evidence, from an earlier compilation of about 1720 AD.

Book II of the Chahar Gulshan is ‘an account of five Subhas (administrative divisions) of Deccan’, one of the five being Bidar, referred to by its Bahmani and Mughal names. A manuscript in the British Library has the following passage: ‘The subah of Mohammadabad called Zafarabad (Bidar).

Bidar was also known from an illustration in an atlas produced in Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh in (1770 AD) under the Nawab of Awadh (Oudh) Shuja-ud-Daula, who ruled from 1754-75 AD. During this period, Bidar was under the control of Muhammad Ghauth Saif-ud-Daula, but he died shortly after his appointment, and his brother Saif Jang Najm-ud-Daula Bahadur became the governor in his place.

Dr. Patel said that enquiries at the office of the Deputy Commissioner in Bidar revealed that the district administration did not have a copy of the manuscript and the atlas produced by Col. Gentil.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Karnataka / by T. V. Sivanandan / Gulbarga – September 01st, 2014

INDIA ON WAX – Record discs that helped defeat the British empire: Tagore sings ‘Bande Mataram’

September 1, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, World Opinionmpositiveone@gmail.com

During the freedom struggle, recordings of patriotic speeches and songs helped rally support.

Between 1877 and 1878, Thomas Alva Edison submitted patent applications for the phonograph in many countries, including British India. It is not known when these patents were granted, but it is known that in December 1878, the first phonograph recording was demonstrated in Kolkata.

For the next 30 years, recordings on the phonograph cylinder became quite popular, remaining so even in the early years of disc records.

Many members of royal families and wealthy people bought cylinder phonograph machines and recorded musicians and religious personalities. The Maharajah of Khetri recorded Swami Vivekananad’s speeches and discourses much before he went to America and gave his famous talks on religion. The internet is full of versions of his celebrated speeches.

During agitations against the partition of Bengal in 1905, H Bose recorded many political speeches and songs, such as Bande Mataram, both on phonographs and disc records, and they became very popular. But his factory and shops were sealed, machines and discs destroyed ruthlessly by police. As a result, nothing has survived today except a very short piece from Bande Mataram, sung by Tagore.

Hemendra Mohan Bose (1864-1916) opened the Talking Machine Hall in Kolkata, a shop where one could get one’s voice recorded. Bose was a sound recording expert and also had an agency to sell Edison and Pathe brand phonograph machines. Many great writers, poets and political leaders would visit him and he would record their recitations and speeches.

A 1906 catalogue lists several cylinder recordings of Rabindranath Tagore. Unlike disc records, cylinders could not be reproduced for sale. Most of these cylinders have been lost. Some museums have broken or damaged copies of cylinders as artefacts but no audible sound can be extracted from them.

Recording experts from Beka, a German company, were in Kolkata in November 1907. The British government went about destroying all nationalistic material, whereas the German company was the first to record a political speech right under the nose of the British.

The National Grand Record label had a saffron disc with a rising sun as the logo. On it was recorded a speech by Babu Surendranath Banerjee, on the partition of Bengal. The flipside of this unusual 78-rpm disc has a speech on Bande Mataram.

The man responsible for producing this disc was Sir Abdul Halim Guznavi, a political leader and agent for the Beka record company in Kolkata. Only few copies have survived. We have the image of the label only but no access to the audio file of this historically important recording.

We welcome your comments at letters@scroll.in.

source: http://www.scroll.in / Scroll.in / Home> All News / by Suresh Chandvankar / August 15th, 2014

Conservation work on at Mughal-era jharna

September 1, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainmentmpositiveone@gmail.com

Restoration work by INTACH and the Delhi Government on in full swing at the jharna site at the Mehrauli Archaeological Park in the Capital. / by Special Arrangement / The Hindu

In six months from now, Delhiites will be able to see a jharna at the Mehrauli Archaeological Park.

Historically, the jharna, located behind Qutub Minar at Jahaz Mahal, earned its name from the waterfall created by a drainage of surplus water called Hauz-e-Shamsi during the Mughal period.

It is now under conservation and restoration by INTACH, in consonance with the Delhi Government.

INTACH Delhi chapter director (projects) Ajay Kumar says: “We are actually strengthening the ‘building’ of the jharna by using traditional materials like choona, gur, sheera and surkhi, and trying to peel off, very carefully in a scientific manner, the whitewash this building got every year during Phool Walon Ki Sair [which begins from here]. There has been no renovation, conservation or restoration of this building for nearly 500 years.”

Mr. Kumar is also trying to consolidate the area around the jharna, as there is an open ground and a water tank close by. Earlier, the water tank had five steps, but now only two steps remain and it the tank filled with garbage. There are also some semi-collapsing pavilions around and ‘missing links’ in the old pillars.

Historical ‘links’

The architectural, constructional and historical ‘links’ to the jharna have interesting ‘routes’ through which water used to originate. From Hauz-e-Shamsi, the water used to flow till the Qutub. It used to cover an alley of 30 metres to 40 metres. This alley is not visible anymore as various constructions have covered it.

Close to the drainage point at Lado Sarai there existed a flower hub. Presently, the hub has evolved into a flower market. Close to a location called Jamali Kamali, there was a depression with water in it.

“It was like a lake and it was used by the bird,” says Mr. Kumar.

In 1638, Thomas Madcaff, the Resident General of India and a lover of Indian architecture and farms, bought a 1,000 acre plot there and converted the depression into a boat house. He modified the space with landscaping and named it Dil Kusha.

The jharna restoration will take six months to complete, but water recharge in the jharna might see the light of the day anytime soon. “My job is to strengthen the building. To recharge water in it, I require more helping hands and interest from government departments like the DDA, MCD and the Urban Development Department,” he added.

As for the source of water, there is a pipe that comes to the jharna. The other way, Mr. Kumar added, is to pump water artificially.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Delhi / by Rana Siddiqui Zaman / New Delhi – September 01st, 2014

Shah Rukh Khan roped in as Interpol Turn Back Crime ambassador

September 1, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, World Opinionmpositiveone@gmail.com

Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan has been roped in as an ambassador for Interpol’s Turn Back Crime campaign to promote awareness on how everyone can play a role in preventing crime.

SRK, said to be the first Indian to be made an ambassador for the global campaign, is lending his voice to help spread the message that all of society benefits when citizens respect law and fight crime. “It’s a very special honour to be a part of Interpol’s Turn Back Crime campaign as an ambassador,” said Shah Rukh.

“As Mahatma Gandhi once said, ‘I shall not fear anyone on Earth. I shall fear only god. I shall not bear ill will toward anyone. I shall not submit to injustice from anyone. I shall conquer untruth by truth. And in resisting untruth, I shall put up with all suffering, if I have to. We all should believe in this maxim and in whatever way possible resolve not to let unjust people who might threaten us with criminal activity make us fear them. Because I believe we can, we should, and we must stand together against the few who commit crimes against any human being, in whatever form or guise these crimes might take,” Shah Rukh said in a statement.

Shah Rukh Khan joins actor Jackie Chan as an ambassador for the campaign, which has already garnered support from public figures including footballer Lionel Messi, Formula 1 racing drivers Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen in addition to law enforcement agencies around the world.

Interpol’s Turn Back Crime campaign is aimed at raising public awareness that organised crime is often involved in seemingly unrelated crimes. Drug trafficking, human trafficking, counterfeiting, cyber crime, kidnapping, crimes against children and corruption in sport are in fact often interconnected, with profits from one crime area used to fund another.

The Turn Back Crime campaign is aimed at helping the public better understand these issues and empowering them not to be duped by criminals when buying products or using the internet.

“Shah Rukh Khan has dedicated his life to making films which reflect the highest level of professionalism and commitment to bringing joy into the lives of hundreds of millions of filmgoers in India and around the world,” said Interpol secretary general Ronald K. Noble. “We are honoured to have him as an ambassador for Interpol’s global Turn Back Crime campaign and we look forward to seeing how he puts his artistic talents behind this campaign,” the Interpol chief said.

The Turn Back Crime campaign is also reaching out to companies and policy-makers in a bid to form a united front against contemporary crime challenges, and to support the ongoing activities of the global law enforcement community.

source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Entertainment / IANS, Lyons (France) / August 28th, 2014