A recently launched Roti Bank that feeds the hungry has become a huge success in Aurangabad.
An unusual food bank in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, which feeds the poor and the hungry with fresh food supplied by its ‘depositors’ has seen its membership double in less than two months of being operational.
This initiative has been launched by 38-year-old Yusuf Mukati, who opened the doors of the bank on 5 December with 250 members. Depositors had to fill out a form with their details and were given a specific code, which is akin to a bank account. The details of the depositor are stored under this number. As the founder of the Haroon Mukati Islamic Centre in Aurangabad, Mukati already had a long list of contacts. So when he bounced the idea of a Roti Bank off them, he found that people were quite keen to contribute. As a rule, this bank only deals in freshly cooked food items.
The Bank is open from 11 am to 11 pm. Each of its members has to deposit two chappatis and either a vegetarian or a non-vegetarian preparation. There is no bar on the number of times this can be done. Once the food comes in, helpers segregate the vegetarian and non-vegetarian food and repack it in plastic bags and containers.
This free food is handed out to all those who come to the Bank’s counters. Leftover food is frozen for reuse the next day. In case there is excess food, Mukati distributes it amongst his staffers.
Mukati grew up in a family of modest means where food was a dear commodity. He says, “Seeing poor and hungry people is a common sight. People feed them, but it is never fresh food. I wanted to create a place where people can get fresh food at no cost. It is not just beggars who go hungry. There are so many among the middle-class who have to forgo meals due to rising costs.”
source: http://www.openthemagazine.com / Open / Home> Open> Shorts / by Haima Deshpande / January 28th, 2016
Vibrant:The flower garden at F.M. Khan’s home at Boikeri in Kodagu. The annual flower show will be open for public on Saturday and Sunday.
Madkeri :
The annual flower show being organised at former MP F.M. Khan’s home at the Balayatrie Estate at Boikeri, on the Madikeri-Sunticoppa-Mysore Road, near Madikeri, is sure to become a hit when it opens for the public on Saturday and Sunday.
Mr. Khan played host to the presspersons at his home on Friday as they were taken around the flower arrangements made in front of his home in Boikeri. More than 80 varieties of flowers, all swaying to the gentle breeze and glowing in different hues, are bewitching to watch. Flower-lovers will be surely in for this annual treat, an arrangement being steadfastly followed by Mr. Khan and his family members for many years now.
Name them, the varieties are there. Dahlia, daisy, zerbera, anthurium, lady lock, cactus, marigold, chrysanthemum, bougainvillaea, bonsai, geranium, love in mist, orchids, exora, spider flower, rose, zenia, pinks, and keep counting them, there are more than 80 varieties providing a magnificent sight. It is not an easy task unless one gives personal attention, says Mr. Khan, who was once a firebrand politician and a close confidante of the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. However, Mr. Khan says transition from political arena to the kingdom of flowers was not difficult at all.
Mr. Khan had organised flower shows in New Delhi when he was the MP and came under lavish praise from the parliamentarians and flower lovers in the past. Dew drops settled on the flowers on a dewy morning had given a special lustre to the environment. Mr. Khan admits that rearing flowers was a tough task. He rues over the fact that many plants were lost due to unseasonable rains. He has plans to open seed bank in future for the benefit of flower lovers in the district.
Mr. Khan told presspersons that no person in the private sector had opened the flower show for public and he would set his eye on entering the Limca Book of Records in sometime.
A.M. Khan, brother of Mr. Khan, recalled how their father, Yousuf Ali Khan, loved flowers . The show would be open for public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Karnataka / by Staff Correspondent / Mysore – January 21st, 2012
F. M. Khan is taking a walk in his home garden. Picture right shows Dahlia in full bloom.
Madikeri :
Former Rajya Sabha member F. M. Khan is holding the annual flower show at his home garden for the public in Boikeri, near Madikeri, on Jan. 30 and 31.
The garden at Khan’s Balyatrie Estate, with more than 100 varieties of flowers — most of them rare — is spread over more than half-an-acre in front of his house.
Multi-hued roses, dahlia, chrysanthemum, jasmine are in full bloom to welcome the visitors.
Addressing media persons here yesterday, he said floriculture helps in the economic progress of the country and urged the government to support floriculture.
Stating that there is a huge demand for flowers at the international market, he said floriculturists should grow flowers in a natural atmosphere.
With the vagaries of nature, one needs to give special emphasis on protection of plants, he added.
Flowers like Jasmine, anthurium, marigold, salvia, Gerbera, Zenia, Dahlia, Cosmos, croton, colin, Plectranthus, Impatiens, Daisy, Gardenia, sun flower, Hollyhocks, Clarkia, Cockscomb, Lupine, Verbena, Fuchsia, pinks, spider flower, oster flower, calendula flowers, cupia, Gazania, Sweet pea, Cineraria, stock flower, love in a mist flower, devil in the bush and others are on display.
The flower show will be open to visitors from 10 am to 5 pm today and tomorrow.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / January 28th, 2016
Salman Yusuff Khan, who was in the city as a judge for the MTV Campus Diaries auditions, opens up about his love for dance and Bengaluru
Salman Yusuff Khan who won the dance reality show Dance India Dance Season 1. made his debut as an actor with the movie, ABCD, directed by Remo D’Souza. In an interview with MetroPlus, he talks about what keeps his passion for dance ticking. Excerpts.
You are regarded as one of the best dancers in the country today. How has the journey been?
It has been amazing. I feel blessed to be an artiste. The love for my work and affection showered by the people is what has kept me going. Dance as a profession didn’t have the respect or importance six years ago as it gets today.
There was a period when I was working continuously for three months, without a day’s break. It was hectic, yet I enjoyed it. When you do something you love, it doesn’t feel like work.
How has the transition from dance to cinema been?
Mumbai has treated me well. I started my career here and the support and encouragement that I’ve received has been enormous and has helped me move forward. I had no uncertainty. I knew this is what I had to do. My only struggle was in Bengaluru when I had to complete my engineering. After that, I started exploring different fields, be it dance, movies or television. It hasn’t been effortless, but it hasn’t been difficult either.
What has the response been for the MTV Campus Diaries auditions in Bengaluru?
I loved the crowd. The energy and enthusiasm shown by the youth here is amazing. Though Mumbai has made me the person I am today, Bengaluru will always be special to me. Back in my time, there was quite a lot of stage fear and we weren’t too professional. I’m astounded by the professionalism shown by the youth here. The confidence shown and the effort they put in their work is inspiring.
I want to thank Amazon and MTV Campus Diaries for giving me the opportunity to experience the beautiful variations in all the four cities in which the auditions took place.
It has been difficult to select the best among the participants. I know I’ve broken many hearts but I want them to know this is not the end, but just another phase and it will help them better themselves.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Mythili S. Bhat / Bengaluru – January 30th, 2016
Hajra Mohammed opens her eyes every morning to her one-year-old great-grandson’s videos on her newly acquired iPad. Mohammed, who turned 88 this year, started picking up computer skills recently with her daughter Nighat’s help. She now has a Facebook account in her name where she responds to all recipe requests from friends and relatives all over the world. For a woman of her age who is recovering from an injured back and spending a lot of her time in bed, it is no easy feat.
The Bangalore-based grandma hasn’t allowed age to become a hurdle. She published her first book at 85 and became one of the oldest first-time Indian writers.
“It was my determination and my granddaughter’s persistence that helped me publish the recipes I learnt and practised to perfection over the years,” Mohammed says. Her Dubai-based daughters Tasneem and Nighat Mohammed consider themselves lucky to have grown up on “the world’s best food”. “Mum is a remarkable woman with an amazing zest for learning. She has the courage to motivate herself with her aches and pains and do what she loves,” they say.
Mohammed’s first book, Hajra’s Recipes of Life for Life: Delectable Muslim Cooking, is for those who want a taste of Kutchi Memon cuisine, closely guarded by this Muslim community. A joke that goes about the Kutchi Memons is that even if they are generous enough to share their recipes, they purposely leave out one or two ingredients. Is that why it took Mohammed so long to decide that she could write a book on a cuisine she has mastered?
“I had the idea of a book 15 years before it got published,” she says. It didn’t happen until 2010 because a publisher was hard to find. Some feathers were definitely ruffled on the book’s release. “Several people from my community were shocked that I revealed so many of our secret cooking rituals and masalas,” laughs Mohammed.
But surprisingly, a lot of Kutchi Memons bought her book. Some use it themselves because it is methodically written; others sent it to their children studying abroad because the recipes are easy to follow.
“Our food is not only scrumptious but also healthy. Our biryani, for example, is cooked in minimal oil and spices as opposed to a lot of other Indian biryanis,” says Mohammed.
As a teenager, cooking was not on Mohammed’s mind. When most Indian girls were expected to hone their culinary skills, she enjoyed reading and music. “LPG [liquefied petroleum gas] wasn’t available then and my father didn’t let me cook with firewood.”
Unfortunately for Mohammed, both her parents died when she was still in her teens and she had to move in with her brothers. Her sister-in-law was instrumental in helping her become the expert cook she is today. She got married at 22; when her husband died 10 years later, she was left to bring up three young children all by herself. To eke out a living, she held cooking and baking classes at home and sold handmade dolls to a handicrafts emporium.
Today, she says it is her passion for cooking and learning that has given her the edge.
“The first thing I do is hit a bookshop when I visit a new place, to look at recipe books. An exciting recipe on a TV show finds a way into my diary and is soon tried out in the kitchen,” she says. “Love your cooking – put your heart and soul into it to get the best results.”
She’s excited about publishing her next recipe book, which she plans to call Hajra’s Favourite Recipes.
“This time, I’ll type all the recipes myself,” she says with a smile.
Sukha jhinga (Dry spiced prawns)
Serves 4
Ingredients
500g prawns, sliced and deveined
½ cup oil
Marinade
2 tsp garlic paste
2 tsp cumin powder
3 tsp red chilli powder
8 green chillies, finely chopped
4 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
Juice of one lemon
Salt to taste
Seasoning
4 tbsp oil
¼ tsp cumin seeds
10 curry leaves
Method
1 Wash the prawns and dry them with a clean kitchen towel.
2 Combine the marinade ingredients and rub them into the prawns. Refrigerate for two hours.
3 Heat ½ cup of oil in a pan and fry the marinated prawns for about 3-5 minutes, until they lose their translucency, but remain crunchy.
4 Heat the oil for seasoning in another pan. Add the cumin seeds and curry leaves. Once the cumin seeds crackle, remove from heat and pour the seasoning onto the fried prawns. Serve hot.
source: http://www.thenational.ae / The National / Home> UAE> Arts & Life / by Priti Salian / artslife@thenational.ae / December 08th, 2013
