The Taj Mahal has made it to the top five of a prestigious new list of the world’s best tourist attractions.
Lonely Planet’s “Ultimate Travelist” ranks the historic mausoleum built in Agra by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as the fifth most attractive travel hotspot in the world and describes it as a “magnificent Mughal masterpiece”.
According to the list, the architectural perfection is reached beginning with “acres of shimmering white marble. Add a few thousand semi-precious stones, carved and inlaid in intricate Islamic patterns. Take a sublime setting by a sacred river, in jewel-like formal gardens. Apply a little perfect symmetry, and tie up the whole package in an outlandish story of timeless love. And there you have the Taj Mahal”.
It notes that there’s no other building in India that so perfectly encapsulates the attitudes and atmosphere of its era.
The Temples of Angkor, a UNESCO World Heritage site in northern Cambodia, tops the list as a complex of more than 1,000 temples, shrines and tombs which attracts more than 2 million visitors annually.
The Great Barrier Reef in Australia comes in at number two, the Inca city of Machu Picchu in Peru at number three, and the Great Wall of China at four.
Travel writers and Lonely Planet staff were invited to submit ideas before voting on their favourites.
Voters were asked to consider which sights enthused, inspired, and excited them the most.
The one UK entry was the British Museum, which came in 15th on the wish list.
To celebrate the release of the new book, some of the world’s finest sand sculptors will recreate five sights from around the world on Peter’s Hill near St. Paul’s Cathedral in central London later this week.
source: http://www.focusnews.com / FocusNews.com / Home> LifeStyle> Food And Travel / Press Trust of India, New Delhi / August 21st, 2015
It is a proud moment for Perminder and Sadiq, the two youngsters. Following the scooping of the award by them they are getting praises from their school and others.
Principal of D.A.V. Jasola Vihar Dr. V.K. Barthawal congratulated the winners and wished them luck.
Earlier, the school announced: “Students of D.A.V. Jasola Vihar bagged third position at the Kailash Confluence that was organised by D.A.V. Kailash Hills on August 18.
The young scientist of D.A.V. Jasola Vihar competed with the students from 18 schools. With their excellent performance, the dynamic duo cleared all the three rounds enthusiastically.”
source: http://www.okhlatimes.com / Okhla Times / Home> Local> Okhla Times Reporter, Okhla / OT Aug 20th, 2015
In the backdrop of security-related suspicions associated with the cab service Parveen’s large green eyes peeping out from her trendy hijab, hold promise.
“Today in the morning I dropped two young boys to Anand Vihar,” says Zamarrud Parveen, a pleasant surprise in her black-and-white hijab and bright yellow salwar kameez behind the wheel during my last Uber ride. “They started talking to me and asked where I was from. I told them I grew up in Bijnor, UP (Uttar Pradesh).” She changes gears and breaks into a proud chuckle. “They said, ‘Seriously?! We’re also from there, but we didn’t think any girl from there would ever choose this profession.’ I just laughed and asked them why. I said I loved driving! They had no idea what to say after that.”
The spirited 21-year-old says she is presently the only woman driver at Uber in Delhi and has been with the company for two months now. In the backdrop of the infamy and security-related suspicion associated with the cab service – given an incident of rape, sexual harassment and the general misbehaviour of male drivers with female passengers – Parveen’s mugshot with large green eyes peeping out from behind her trendy hijab, pops up on the app, with promise.
“I love the niqab. I’ve always worn it,” she says. “I usually wear a full burqa and niqab to college and everywhere, but while driving I only wear the niqab with ordinary clothes because it becomes difficult to drive,” adds Parveen, who is simultaneously pursuing a BA pass course from Jamia Millia Islamia and hopes to one day complete her MA and teach Islamic Studies, her favourite subject. “When I told my college friends about my job as a taxi driver, they didn’t believe me. Because of the way I am in college – always in a full burqa and niqab and all,” she says. “They only believed me when I showed them my visiting card. But they were really happy.”
Parveen grew up in a conservative mohalla in Bijnor and lived there until she graduated from the eighth grade, from Muslim Kudrat Girls Intercollege. She moved to Delhi, along with her mother and three younger sisters (Zoya, 19 and married, Shafaq, 12 and Ufaq, 10) and presently lives on rent in a one-room home where her father, a construction labourer had lived for 20 years. After graduating from school, Parveen was encouraged by her mother to learn how to drive and enrolled herself at Sakha Consulting Pvt Ltd. “My family is very supportive. My mother always wanted to learn how to drive, but couldn’t because she grew up in a conservative background… and culture. But she told me, ‘So what if I couldn’t drive? You must.'”
Parveen chose to take the job at Uber because they were offering to pay her a higher salary than her employers at Sakha. “I had a commercial licence so they were happy to take me,” she says. The country can expect more women like Parveen since Uber is working on recruiting close to 50,000 women drivers, who are presently being trained by the organisation, iCare Life. “They will be footing the bill to get them training and licences – learners’, permanent and commercial,” says Parveen, who enjoys her weekdays on the road. “This job is very convenient, if I have some personal work I can just go offline, finish my work and go back online.” She usually logs in at 7am, goes off between noon and 4pm and officially logs out for the day by around 7 or 8pm. This routine, she says, allows her to do namaz five times a day and spend time with her family.
The once shy, young girl, instructed as a child, as most girls in her neighbourhood were, never to speak to people or leave the house, felt liberated in Delhi and claims the course at Sakha helped her become exponentially more confident. “When I was young I couldn’t speak to or even stand in front of people. In Delhi, I spoke to more people, Sakha gave me training in self grooming, English classes, self defence and that really helped me open up.” The course at Sakha also had a week of law classes, in which Parveen learned different acts and “my rights out in the world and at home”.
But though Parveen has the support of her family, breaking out of an orthodox Muslim community was something her mother bravely battled. Ghazala Parveen defied all odds (and a disapproving mother-in-law) to educate herself and her three daughters. She graduated from class 10 after marrying her husband Habib-ur-Rahman and conceiving her eldest daughter Parveen. “You know what people think of women – by 18 or 19, get her married and that’s her whole life. Just chulha, chaaka, bachche, that’s it,” says Parveen. “But my mother was just completely different. The amount of turmoil she’s been through in her sasural, I don’t think anyone else would be able to. Her mother-in-law didn’t like girls at all. But my ‘abbu’ always wanted to have daughters.” Parveen’s three younger sisters all study in an English medium school near their home in Madanpur Khadar in Kalindi Kunj.
Being a lady taxi driver in a veil is not the only power statement Parveen is making. She’s also breaking the sexist stereotype associated with women behind the wheel. “During training, my sir used to say ‘jab tak gaadi thukegi nahi, seekhoge nahi (you won’t learn how to drive until you bang the car)’,” she says. “I used to say ‘aisa kisne bola hai‘. In the three years I have been driving I haven’t even touched another car with my car; no scratch, nothing.” She smirks, “Bhagaai bhi bohot hai. (I’ve driven very fast too).”
Parveen is happy with the response she’s got from passengers so far. “Most male passengers remain calm and silent. I don’t think they have anything to say,” she says. “Others are friendly and speak to me nicely. They definitely say this is the first time they’ve seen a lady driver. I love hearing that.”
The ambitious and dynamic Parveen is a powerhouse of resistance and part of a new generation of formidable women. Riding the wave of defiance her mother set in motion, Parveen is chatty and respectful, polite and witty. She is firm in her beliefs (“I have been allowed to even have a love marriage, but I’d prefer to be in an arranged marriage so my family can intervene if I have any marital trouble) and determined to achieve her goals (“I want to learn and when I become a teacher, I one day want to give other people the opportunity to learn”). At 21, her salary of Rs 15,000 per month, smacks full in the face every “how can you even educate the girl child” taunt from ladies in Bijnor. And her resilience is truly inspiring.
As she drives aggressively through the barriers of patriarchy, Parveen – who once successfully juggled her job, fasting for ramzan, an ailing mother and exams in college – says, “I love driving on the highway. It’s liberating when the car runs at 100-120km/h. I’m responsible for my own safety. And I absolutely love it.”
source: http://www.dailyo.in / Daily O / Home Page> Politics> Out of Order / by Asmita Bakshi @asmitabee / August 20th, 2015
The only woman driver at Uber in Delhi is a student from Jamia Millia Islamia, according to a report from dailyo.in. The reported pointed out that Zamarrud Parveen who grew up in Uttar Pradesh’ Bijnor has joined the company for two months now.
The hijab wearing Parveen, is also doing a BA pass course from Jamia. When asked about her future, she told the daily that one day she plans to complete her MA and teach Islamic studies, her favourite subject. “When I told my college friends about my job as a taxi driver, they didn’t believe me. Because of the way I am in college – always in a full burqa and niqab and all. They only believed me when I showed them my visiting card. But they were really happy,” she told the daily.
It was a few months ago when she moved to Delhi, along with her mother and three younger sisters (Zoya, 19 and married, Shafaq, 12 and Ufaq, 10). The family live lives on rent in a one-room home where her father, a construction labourer has lived for 20 years, according to the report.
CAPTION:Photo of Parveen via dailyo.in
source: http://www.okhlatimes.com / Okhla Times / Home> JMI /OT Campus Reporter-JMI / OT – August 20th, 2015
Kozhikode, known for its love for art and artistes, seems to have forgotten the legendry singer, who carried the city’s name with him.
The concluding ceremony of the birth centenary celebrations of singer Kozhikode Abdul Khader struck a sore note among the music lovers who cared to attend with the glaring emptiness both on and off the dais. “There are many artistes who lived the fag end of their lives in misery. But what is truly miserable is when society forgets their contributions,” said writer M.T. Vasudevan Nair who inaugurated the programme.
The writer presented the Abdul Khader birth centenary award to playback singer G. Venugopal.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kozhikode / by Staff Reporter / Kozhikode – August 19th, 2015
Nissar Ahmed ‘Kaleem’, Urdu poet and Gandhian thinker, died in Bidar early on Wednesday. He was 83. He was the recipient of the Karnataka Urdu Academy award this year.
The retired teacher wrote under the pen name of ‘Kaleem’ and produced thousands of couplets and hundreds of songs. They were compiled in around two dozen books in Urdu and Hindi. He also served as the head of the examination committee for the Hindi Rashtra Bhasha courses for decades.
He wrote poetry on a variety of subjects, but romance remained close to his heart. “That is the one thing that keeps me young,” he would say with a smile.
“There is no way ahead for this country other than Gandhiism,” he would announce during his numerous speeches. He would speak of Gandhian ideas and practices like communal harmony and tolerance, home industries and handicrafts and simple living with a global outlook. He would always quote paragraphs from the Hindi books and letters of Gandhiji.
He was fascinated with the deeply religious outlook of Gandhiji that remained tolerant of other religions. “Gandhiji led by example and showed us that religion and secularism are not contradictory,” he said in a meeting of heads of various religions in Bidar during Ramzan this year. However, the biggest contribution of this Kannada-speaking Urdu writer was that he acted as the bridge between writers and poets of various languages.
He would attend programmes organised by the Kannada Sahitya Parishat and invite Kannada writers to the multi-lingual poetry recitals that he and his friends organised regularly in Bidar. His last rites were conducted in the old city on Wednesday.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Bidar – August 20th, 2015
Late last night I had the good fortune of holding in my hands, albeit momentarily, a gold-leaved copy of the Holy Quran from a bygone era that had been seized recently by the Mysuru district Police when attempts were being made by some persons to sell it for a sum of rupees five crores. It all started with a late night phone call from my close friend A.G. Murali, who wanted to know if I had on hand someone who could read Arabic.
When I said that I could do it myself although I could not claim to have a scholarly knowledge of the language, he asked me if I could come down to the office of the DySP of Mysuru rural district. Sensing that I was puzzled by such an unusual request at such an odd time, he explained to me that the Police officers there were examining the recently seized Quran and were keen to know a little more about the book.
Excited by the request, I hurried to the place with my cousin Adil Pasha and my camera, sensing a rare opportunity to see and photograph the rare find. Most often I go looking far and wide for a subject to write about in my column and only once in blue moon a subject comes looking for me and here was one such Godsend!
After meeting the DySP Dr. Vikram Amte, when I eagerly asked him where the book was he smiled and pointed to an almost cubical object placed on the table right before him. Because of its unusual dimensions, I could not immediately recognise it as a book which I expected would be flat and broad as most books are. It was almost as thick as it was broad because its 302 sheets were unusually thick, being gold plated and inter-leaved with butter paper to preserve them. The rich black ink stood out against the golden background, the shine of which seemed to be without the slightest loss over the centuries. Printed on both sides of each sheet, the book has 604 hand-written pages, the text of which is very readable with the naked eye. The title page has the name ‘Al Quran Al Kareem’ like most other Qurans but on the last page is an unusual inscription; ‘Buzargaane Rava’ which the noted historian, Dr. B. Sheik Ali, after examining the book, has interpreted as a dedication of the labour of love by its calligraphers to contemporary saints. He has also said that going by the date AH 1050 on it which translates to 1605AD of the Gregorian calendar the book seems to have been crafted at the time when Emperor Jahangir ascended the throne. This was a time when hand-written calligraphy was at its pinnacle in the Moghul court.
Incidentally, the Islamic lunar year is eleven days shorter than the solar year which we follow and, therefore, an Islamic century is equal to 97 solar years. The present year of the Islamic calendar is 1436 Hijri. A book on calligraphy which I have says that the word which means ‘beautiful writing’ is derived from the Arabic and Persian word ‘Qalam’ which means pen.
Although calligraphy exists in almost every other language too, it is in the Arabic script that it has almost become an art form. The present artifact which has now passed perhaps from the Moghul court to the custody of the law court will perhaps pass on to the desk of the archaeologists who will verify its authenticity. And, if it confirmed to be a genuine antique really from an era of which it bears the date, it will perhaps go down in history as the biggest catch of our district Police led by our young and dynamic SP Abhinav Khare. The team deployed by him to tactfully nab the persons trying to sell it consisted of Dr. Vikram Amte, Dy.SP, Mysuru Rural Sub-Division; Inspectors D. Ashok, Mysuru South, Siddaiah, K.R. Nagar, Gopala Krishna, DCIB, Sub-Inspectors Gangadhar, Saligrama, Poonacha, DCIB and Police constables Bhaskar, Anand, Ravi, Zahoor and Pachche Gowda.
It appears the BBC channel has been trying to contact our district Police for details of their find. While it is now only the small fry that are in the Police net the actual owner has not yet been traced although evidence points to a source somewhere in the Hyderabad region which is again a prominent seat of royalty and, therefore, a well-known source of royal antiques. If this relic had found its way to the international market, it would perhaps have gone under the hammer for a price that would perhaps have made the whopping sum of five crores it was being peddled here for seem like a mere pittance!
e-mail: kjnmysore@rediffmail.com
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / Friday – August 14th, 2015
Two South Africans of Indian origin have been pitted against current Miss World Roelene Strauss among seven candidates nominated by public vote for the title ‘South African of the Year.’
The two contenders are Imtiaz Sooliman, Chairman of Gift of the Givers Foundation and Salim Abdool Karim, Director of CAPRISA.
Imtiaz Sooliman is the founder and chairman of Gift of the Givers Foundation, a relief organisation which has received international accolades for its immediate relief assistance in 41 countries across the globe hit by war or natural disasters for the past two decades.
Professor Salim Abdool Karim is a South African clinical epidemiologist and the director of the Centre for the AIDS Program of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA).
He also serves as pro-vice-chancellor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The two men will come up against Roelene Strauss, Miss SA 2014 and reigning Miss World 2014.
She is the third South African woman to have won the Miss World pageant in its history and is a medical student at the University of the Free State.
The prestigious honour will be finalised early next month.
A second strong woman candidate is the current head of the African Union (AU), Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who is regarded as a trailblazer in her political career in South Africa before becoming the first woman to become chairperson of the AU.
The highly successful Protea Fire campaign to build public confidence in the national cricket side by declaring that that no matter how hot the fire burns, the national flower, Protea, will always survive, through has won Cricket South Africa a nomination in the ‘Campaigns’ category.
Proteas ODI cricket team captain AB de Villiers has been nominated in the ‘Sportsperson of The Year’ category, while former Proteas ‘keeper’ Mark Boucher is nominated in the ‘Conservation’ section for his non-profit company that aims to fight Rhino poaching in South Africa.
Boucher’s career was cut short by a serious eye injury a few years ago. The only other South African Indian in the awards is Shamiel Joosub, CEO and Executive Director of the Vodacom Group in South Africa.
An accountant by profession, Joosub has previously headed up the Spanish operations of mother company Vodafone.
He is nominated in the ‘Business Person of the Year’ category.
(With agency inputs)
source: http://www.english.manoramaonline.com / OnManorama / Home> News> World / by OnManorama Staff / Thursday – August 20th, 2015
Asif Sheikh and Saumya Tandon make for a somewhat unlikely couple in Bhabhiji Ghar Par Hain. While Asif plays the lethargic Vibhuti, Saumya plays his wife Anita, a former beauty queen who is quite the go-getter. In an interview with us, Asif and Saumya discuss their on-screen comic timing and more.
Saumya, Asif, what were your first impressions of each other?
Saumya: Well, Asifji is a seasoned actor — and he’s going to kill me for saying this, but I’ve seen his work since the time I was little! [laughs]. He has done comedy for years and he is good at it. Also, some of my friends who’d worked with him earlier told me he’s a really good person. So when I met him for the first time, I was at ease. I did wonder if, like many established actors, he would be rigid about certain things. But I was happy to find that he is very easy to work with.
Asif: Initially, I had no idea who would play the role of Anita as there were various actors auditioning every day. But finally the day we had our photoshoot, Saumya came up to me and said that she had heard a lot about me from her friends.
She came across as very talkative and we got along really well. Since then, we share a great comfort level with each other.
So, who broke the ice?
Saumya: It happened gradually, there wasn’t this one moment of “breaking the ice”. The comfort level developed gradually.
Asif: I’d say Saumya was the one who ‘broke the ice’…
What do you think works for both of you as an on-screen couple?
Saumya: I think Anita and Vibhuti’s relationship is like a breath of fresh air on Indian TV. It’s not a clichéd relationship that you see in all the soaps, where the wife is the ‘sati Savitri’ and the husband is the typical chauvinist. The chemistry that we depict hasn’t been explored before, and that’s why people find it amusing and refreshing.
Asif: Also, the fact that we appreciate and complement each other’s work builds a very positive environment. We also give suggestions to each other if there is room for improvement and work together on it.
Which scene would you say has been your favourite?
Saumya: I loved the first time Anita makes Vibhuti dress up as ‘Deepu Mastana’, the domestic help, and romances him. I love the scenes where she very sweetly, politely and lovingly entraps Vibhuti in his own game, gets him to do all the work.
Asif: I loved the scenes where Vibhuti becomes Raja Ram!
What do you like most about each other?
Saumya: Asifji is a spontaneous and an intelligent actor. I relate to him.
Asif: She is really calm and composed and always talks to the point.
Okay, any quirk/trait about your co-star that annoys you?
Saumya: Nothing really. Just that he keeps teasing me about me being the bold, brazen bhabhi I portray in the show!
Asif: There is no quirk or trait as such. We are always on the same page and hence there are never any problems between us. We enjoy working together.
Tell us something fans don’t know about your co-star.
Saumya: He gets really jittery doing naughty scenes and keeps joking that his wife and children watch the show, what will they think about him!
Asif: She is a poor eater. Even if she gets sprouts, she counts and gets 20 grains! Also she carries her food in really tiny boxes. The entire cast refers to her tiffin boxes as “matchboxes”.
How do you spend time on sets in between breaks?
Saumya: Oh my room is like a music room, I have a lovely music collection and I listen to music, and I also read. I also finish all my studio work.
Asif: With shooting and rehearsing every day, I like to catch up on my sleep. I also watch some movies on my laptop and read sometimes.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Entertainment> TV-Music / Deccan Chronicle / by Natasha Coutinho / June 20th, 2015
