Monthly Archives: September 2016

Suhana Zafar

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, , , ,

Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA :

Zafar Karachiwalla talks of his career on stage, television and film with MINI ANTHIKAD-CHHIBBER

Sitting pretty Zafar Karachiwalla believes theatre is the purest form of performance / Photo: D. Gopalakrishnan
Sitting pretty Zafar Karachiwalla believes theatre is the purest form of performance
/ Photo: D. Gopalakrishnan

From the idealistic bureaucrat (Chai Pani etc) to a paan chewing nawab (Womanly Voices), from the slightly stuffy manager (Manasarovar) to the besotted lover (Romeo and Juliet), Zafar Karachiwalla has done them all and is looking for fresh peaks to conquer.

A born and bred Mumbaiite, Zafar went to a Jesuit school and studied commerce in college. “I was a regular college guy you know totally lukha, bunking classes and all. The first play I did was in French that was because I was studying in Alliance Francaise. And that is when I realised that theatre is a fun thing. I started off with Shakespeare and contemporary Indian writing and kind of worked my into professional theatre.”

Theatre for Zafar is not a stepping-stone to films. “No way! I know it is difficult to make a living out of theatre but last year I did 150 shows in 365 days. I earned enough but it is difficult to sustain that kind of momentum.”

Theatre for Zafar is the “purest form of performance. You have to hone your craft to the nth degree, as there can be no goof ups. Theatre gives an instant feedback. You know it is like a drug. Once you do it you keep coming back for more and more. I believe film is a director and cinematographer’s medium, television is a writer’s medium and theatre is an actor’s medium.”

Zafar feels “theatre in India is changing. We are finding our own voice. College kids come in droves to watch a play. The culture is changing and that is heartening.”

Zafar has done a fair amount of television including the hugely popular Hip Hip Hurray and Neena Gupta’s Pal Chhin apart from the mega budget Sansar. Zafar is not taking up any telly assignments now, as he cannot “give that kind of time commitment.”

His filmi foray started with Mahesh Bhatt’s Zakhm. “Working with Bhatt saab was a wonderful experience.” Now there is “Anup Kurien’s Manasarovar, Anand Sivakumaran’s Detour and Karan Kandari’s Bye Bye Miss Goodnight. I am also doing a bilingual for a Los Angeles based director.

“I need to be doing something all the time. I make sure the whole day is choc-a-bloc with things to do. It is good to get home with a nice fatigue.” And work apart from theatre and film includes running the family business of material handling equipment.

With such a packed schedule, chilling out earlier meant, “hitting the discs and clubbing. Now it is more about getting together at a friend’s place and just chilling or catching a movie or something.” A self-confessed Star Wars freak, Zafar watched the latest, Revenge of the Sith. “I know nothing can match the original three but here you have Yoda fighting which is mind-blowing.”

Zafar is all set to direct his own play. “It is an adaptation of this anonymous work called Timely Manoeuvre and I am not going to act in it because unless you are bloody good or Clint Eastwood, it would be better to stick to one thing.”

Zafar’s formula for acting is “first think stupid. I cannot think of anyone more stupid than Romeo and Juliet,” he says categorically of the bard’s star-crossed lovers. So has he been crossed in love? “I was in a relationship for a long time now I am enjoying being single and when the right girl comes along, it will happen I guess.”

So all ye girls looking for a hyperactive, super talented Virgo, your search ends here.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Metro Plus Hyderabad / Home> Features / Wednesday – June 01st, 2005

Indian men and women 4x400m relay teams on verge of making Rio cut

Sports, , , , , ,

INDIA :

indianrelaympos27sept2016

Bengaluru :

Indian men’s and women’s 4x400m relay race teams virtually qualified for Rio Olympics  after clocking impressive timings at the 3rd  Indian Grand Prix athletics event  on Sunday.

The men’s 4x400m relay quartet of Kunhu Muhammed , Muhammed Anas ,  Ayyasamy Dharun and Arokia Rajiv (running as India A) smashed the national record by finishing the race with a timing of 3:00.91secs at Sree Kanteerava Stadium here.

The quartet clipped more than one second from their four-week old earlier national record of 3:02.17secs which they clocked at Erzurum, Turkey.

The men’s  4X400m relay team today leaped to 13th spot in the current world rankings from last night’s 18th. The top 16 countries in the world at the deadline of July 11 will qualify for Rio Olympics.

The women’s 4x400m relay quartet of Nirmala Sheoran, Tintu Luka, M R Poovamma and Anilda Thomas (running as India A) also made tremendous improvement in their timing, clocking 3:27.88secs – the fourth best time ever – to also virtually qualify for Rio Olympics.

The women’s 4x400m relay team, which yesterday slipped to 14th spot due to the ongoing European championships in Amsterdam, today bounced back to its original 12th place after this performance.

Athletics Federation of India Secretary C K Valson said that both the men’s and women’s 4x400m relay teams are certain to qualify for Rio Olympics.

“The women’s and men’s 4x400m relay team have virtually qualified for Rio Olympics. The women’s and men’s relay teams, are now placed 12th and 13th position,” Valson said.

To make the event eligible for Olympic qualification, athletes from Sri Lanka and Maldives have been invited to take part in the relay races. At least, two international teams are required to make the event counted for Olympic qualification.

With the addition of the men’s and women’s 4x400m relay teams, the Indian track and field contingent is likely to swell to 33 as 24 have already qualified for the Rio Games.

Muhammad Anas (men’s 400m) and Nirmala Sheoran (women’s 400m) and Tintu Luka (women’s 800m) have already qualified for the Olympics in their individual events and since they are expected to be in the relay teams, another nine will be part of the two relay squads of six each.

This will take the total number of Indian sportspersons for Rio Olympics to 114 as 105 have already qualified.

Today’s results meant that Athletics Federation of India’s idea to provide another chance to its athletes with Olympic ambitions paid off well. The 3rd and 4th (to be held tomorrow) Indian Grand Prix events were hurriedly decided to be held here with this idea.

Mohammad Kunhi, the men’s 4x400m relay team coach, said his boys did really good to virtually qualify for Rio.

“I had the target of 3:01.31s, but the boys did extremely well to clock 3:00.91s. I am very happy that the boys will make it to Rio Olympics because right now we are placed 13th, which makes us a strong contender for qualifying. Only a miracle performance by other countries’ athletes trying to qualify can better our timing and position,” Kunhi said.

Asked what preparation went into the sterling performance put up by the boys, Kunhi said their participation in international meets in Poland, Turkey and France had given them good exposure, which helped them to achieve this feat.

On whether the team stands a good chance of winning a medal in Rio, Kunhi said, “If my boys are able to clock 2.58.57s, we stand good chance to win a medal. I will work on the aspects of speed endurance.”

Asked about other competitions in the run up to the Rio Olympics, Kunhi said he would take his boys to Columbia for training as the climate there is similar to Rio.

In other events of the day, Railways’ V Neena, who has been dominating the long jump scene in the current season, was once again on the spotlight as she produced a wind-aided 6.57m (+2.3 m/s) to win the gold.

Neena, the National Inter-state Championships winner with 6.45m, had also clinched the gold in Thailand Open with another personal best 6.46m less than a week ago.

The men’s long jump event witnessed keen contest between Inter-state victor Yugant Shekhar Singh and Muhammed Anees.

Anees opened with 7.78m and Shekhar responded by improving his personal best to 7.76m in the fourth round. Both the jumpers had an identical 7.80m in the fifth round.

However, Anees was adjudged the winner with his better series of jumps at the end and hence avenged his defeat at the National Inter-state Championships.

Fresh from his Inter-State victory, Amit Kumar (Services) once again toppled Rajinder Singh (75.40m) and Vipin Kasana (73.85m) in men’s javelin throw with 76.25m.

In other events, Rio qualifier Inderjeet Singh (Oil India) was an easy winner in men’s shot put as he tossed the iron ball to 19.85m. That effort was more than a metre ahead of second placed Tejinder Pal Toor (Punjab, 18.66m) and national record-holder Om Prakash Singh Karhana (ONGC, 18.64m).

National record-holder Siddhant Thingalaya failed in his bid to qualify for Rio in 110m hurdles as he hit the third hurdle very hard that cost him dearly in his timing (13.75 secs) in a thin field.

Kerala’s Shilpa Chacko (13.41m) outclassed her Kerala team-mate N V Sheena (13.29m) in women’s triple jump. Sheena, having a season best of 13.58m registered during the Kosanov international meet at Almaty, Kazakhstan last month could not find her rhythm today.

Maldives’ Hassan Saaid was the fastest man of the meet as he ran the 100m dash in 10.37secs ahead of Krishna Kumar Rane (Customs, 10.46secs) and national record-holder Amiya Kumar Mallick (Odisha, 10.49secs).

Some of the biggest names in Indian athletics, who also have qualified for Rio, took part in the Grand Prix. Among them were Dutee Chand (women’s 100 metres), Ankit Sharma (men’s long jump), Tintu Luka (women’s 800m), Mohammad Anas (men’s 400m) and Srabani Nanda (women’s 200m).

Other prominent athletes who took part in the event include two-time Olympian Renjith Maheshwari (men’s triple jump), Amiya Kumar Malik (men’s 100m), Jyoti HM, Merlin Joseph (both women’s 100m), M R Poovamma, Priyanka Panwar, Ashwini Akkunji, Juana Murmu (all women’s 400m) and Sahana Kumari (women’s high jump).

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home / PTI / July 10th, 2016

Amjad Khan, the Gabbar of Sholay, died 23 years ago on this day: Some facts you should not miss about the Sholay actor

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, , , , , , , , ,

On Amjad Khan a.k.a Gabbar’s 23rd death anniversary, read on to know more about him.

Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA :

Amjad Khan in Sholay
Amjad Khan in Sholay

Amjad Khan portrayed the character of Gabbar in the movie Sholay and immortalised him as the scariest villain in the Indian cinema. He played the role so perfectly that the laughter of the scariest robber, Gabbar, can still give you chills on the back of your neck. He was only 11 years-old when he was offered his first role for the movie Nazneen.

He died on July 27, 1992. On his 23rd death anniversary, read on to know some facts about him:

  • Amjad Khan was born as Amjad Zakaria Khan. He was born to the actor Jayant in a small village of Peshawar, British India
  • Khan was educated at St. Andrew’s High School in Bandra. Later, he attended R. D. National College
  • In college, he was the general secretary which is considered to be the highest student body representative
  • Before entering films, Khan used to be a theatre actor
  • Khan was only 11 years old when he got his first role in the film Nazneen. He got his next role at the age of 17
  • Amjad Khan was not the first choice for the character of Gabbar. It is believed that Javed Akhtar initially thought that his voice was too weak for the role
  • He was a post-graduate in Philosophy
  • Amjad Khan had command over English, Persian and Urdu
  • To prepare for the role of Gabbar, he read Abhishapta Chambal which is a book on Chambal dacoits. The book is written by Jaya Bachchan’s father, Taroon Kumar Bhaduri
  • It is said that Amjad Khan took 40 retakes to perfect his dialogue “Kitne Aadmi The?”
  • Khan continued to play negative roles in many Hindi films from 1970s to early 1990s, after the success of Sholay
  • He also ventured into directing in 1983 . He directed and also starred in the movie Chor Police
  • Amjad was the president of the Actors Guild Association
  • In 1986, Khan met with an accident. The drugs caused him a serious weight problem for the rest of his life. As a result, he died in 1992 from a heart failure.

source: http://www.indiatoday.intoday.in / IndiaToday.in / Home> GK & Current Affairs> Listicles> Microfacts> Story / New Delhi – July 27th, 2015

Royal Musician

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, , ,

KASHMIR :

Ghulam Qadir Langoo has been singing since he was a court singer of Maharaja Hari Singh
Ghulam Qadir Langoo has been singing since he was a court singer of Maharaja Hari Singh

For 60 years Ghulam Qadir Langoo sang for rulers and the people of Kashmir, and his passion for music gave Kashmir, singers like Raj Begum. Shaziya Yousuf reports.

Ghulam Qadir Langoo, 95, spends his days reminiscent of his contribution to Kashmiri Sufiana music. Very few people know Langoo was a court singer for Maharaja Hari Singh.

Langoo’s family had a long association with the royal courts.  His grandfather Shabaan Langoo was a Nakaal (entertainer) in Maharaja Pratap Singh’s court. As a child Qadir would accompany his father Mohi-ud-din Langoo to the court of Maharaja Hari Singh where he would watch him play santoor.  “Maharaja would get happy and flung a gold coin, that meant much those days,” Langoo says.

Langoo learned music from his father to carry the legacy forward. Langoo’s father would also teach Hafiz Nagma to female dancers at his home.

And like his ancestors, Langoo’s stints in the court hardly brought him any riches. He lived a poor life and spent 60 years singing for the rulers, though he was a little better off than his relatives, who mostly were cobblers.  “I sang for the kings, the kings kept changing. I was like an instrument that played for anyone who stroked its cords,” says Langoo.

Apart from Hari Singh, Langoo sang for Sheikh Abdullah, Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad and has also entertained Jawaharlal Nehru and other guests.
He has shared stage with Indian musical greats like Lata Mangeshkar, Aasha Bhonsle and Mahinder Kapoor, mostly playing Tanpura. His mastery over Tanpura (musical instrument) put him into a different class.

The Maharaja’s court, he tells, was different from the royal courts seen on television, with some resemblance though.

A lady dancer, called tawafan would do Hafiz Nagma by dancing and singing to the tunes of Sufi music that Langoo, with his choir, would play. “Guests would relish royal feasts, and sweets would be distributed among musicians. We would take sweets home. I still remember there was a cardamom plant in the royal lawns,” Langoo recalls.

Many decades later, when Radio Kashmir was inaugurated, Langoo sang for whole night in Polo Ground.

“Bhakshi Ghulam Mohammad once told that we can have our own radio station if I get many more singers for it. I worked day and night to gather the artists,” he says.

He was appointed in the station, as a singer and artist but says he would even compose music at times. Once, he says, the station required female singers for some contract. The station had none then. But Langoo was eager to secure the contract and the contract form required photograph of a female singer.
He did something, he now calls his madness. “I used my wife’s photograph (who was not a singer) despite her objections. I left her crying. It was my madness, all I could see was Radio Kashmir.”

Meanwhile they started searching for female singers, in which Langoo had a major role.

“Those days singing and performing arts was an affair of lower class people like my family. So I searched there,” he says. Thus he found and trained singers like Raj Begum, Zoon Begum and Naseem Akhtar.

Slowly music industry grew in Kashmir, and with it grew his passion for it. When Langoo’s only daughter was born, he named her after Raj Begum, who by then was a household name.

“I would sing in her ears…Later I took her to famous musician Shambo Nath Sopori for professional training, but did not let her join Radio Kashmir. It wasn’t a good place for girls,” he says.

In 1964 When Sheikh Abdullah was released from jail after 11 years, Langoo was taken to Pune by Shiekh’s fellow leaders where he sang his favourite song, Walo haa baagwaano and keam sana badlow soan takdeer, qaid-e-azam sheri Kashmir

Langoo and his group were also invited by Jawahar Lal Nehru to his mansion.
At the prime minister’s house where they sang for his Russian guests, Langoo remembers how their group was terrified by the sight of two pet bear cubs, and how a tea that the guests were praising tasted like “poison”.

Among his hosts, Langoo enjoyed singing most for Bakhshi Ghulam Mohammad.

“Just a song of mine and he would forget who he was. He would join the choir and play some instrument mostly Noutt. I still remember how happy he would get,” Langoo recalls.

He sang on the foundation stone laying ceremony of new secretariat building where he says, “My photograph hung in corridors later, I don’t know if it is still there.”

Langoo: A portriat
Langoo: A portriat

While Langoo survived on royal patronage, the performing artists of the time were in a bad state. “It was pathetic. They would be always given leftover food. Most famous among the local populace was bacha nagmawhere a small boy dressed in women outfit would dance before men, he had to entertain each person individually, if he forgot to address someone, the poor boy would be beaten to pulp.”

Since his retirement from Radio Kashmir, some 30 years back, Langoo has been living a private life. For his contribution he has been honoured with Fazil Memorial Award, Bhakshi Ghulam Mohammad Award but the “metallic toys” as he describes them, hardly sum up his contribution to the Kashmiri sufi music.”

source: http://www.kashmirlife.net / Kashmir Life / Home> Music / June 08th, 2010

Teen Muslim girl gets bravery award for saving Hindu classmate from kidnappers

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, , , ,

Agra, UTTAR PRADESH :

naziampos27sept2016

Nazia  said her actions were spontaneous and she didn’t hesitate even for a second to think about her won safety.

Agra :

Amidst the communally surcharged atmosphere in Agra  following, the killing of VHP leader Arun Mahor, this is a story that both communities need to take lessons from and then celebrate it.

15-year-old Nazia was on Tuesday awarded the Rani Laxmibai bravery award by chief minister, Akhilesh Yadav, for saving a 6-year-old Hindu girl from kidnappers in August last.

It was the afternoon on August 7, when Nazia, a student of Saghir Fatima Mohammadia Girls Inter College, was returning home when she heard cries for help from a young girl, who was being forcibly pulled on a motorcycle by two youths.

Unmindful of her own safety, Nazia rushed to the girl’s help and held her hand and managed to pull her away from the kidnappers, who then fled the spot.

It was only after she had rescued the girl, Dimpy, Nazia learnt that she was her junior from school. Today, when tension prevails between the two communities, Dimpy’s parents treat Nazia as their own daughter and are indebted to her for saving their child from the clutches of the kidnappers.

Talking to TOI on phone after receiving her award, Nazia said her actions were spontaneous and she didn’t hesitate even for a second to think about her won safety. “It was about 12.30 PM when I heard Dimpy’s cries for help. I just rushed to her and caught hold of her hand”, she said.

Recalling the moment, Nazia said, “It was like a tug of war for 2 minutes. While they tried pulling her on the motorcycle, I kept pulling her back”, she said adding that the suspects finally gave up and fled.

Nazia said since the incident had happened near Sadarbhatti area, which is just 100 meters away from their school, she immediately rushed there with Dimpy and informed the Principal. “Dimpy was crying. After the school authorities informed the police, I took her home to her parents”, she said adding that she is now treated as a daughter in Dimpy’s home.

When contacted, Dimpy said she was very happy that “didi” had been awarded for her bravery. “Agar didi uss din na hoti to woh log mujhe le jaate (they would have taken me away that day if ‘didi’ hadn’t been there)”, she said.

Describing the award ceremony as a moment of “pride” of her, Nazia said she would do the same if something like this ever happens again. The award also carries a cheque of Rs one lakh.

Haji Jamiluddin Qureshi, Manager of Saghir Fatima Mohammadia Girls Inter College, said, “there is no religious discrimination in our school. Even the students do not discriminate between themselves because of their religious beliefs”.

He said, “in our school we have Muslim girls learning Sanskrit and Hindus girls taking lessons in Urdu”.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/agra/Teen-Muslim-girl-gets-bravery-award-for-saving-Hindu-classmate-from-kidnappers/articleshow/51314889.cms

source: http://www.kractivist.org / Kractivism / Home / by Anuja Jaiswal , TNN / posted by Kamyani / March 10th, 2016

Gulf NRIs join hands to revive Kerala’s football glory

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, NRI's / PIO's, Sports, , , , ,

KERALA :

Dr Azad Moopen ( left) and Dr. Siddeek Ahmed (right)
Dr Azad Moopen ( left) and Dr. Siddeek Ahmed (right)

Two prominent non-resident Indian (NRI) businessmen from the Gulf, one from the UAE and the other from Saudi Arabia, have joined hands to revive the legendary Sait Nagjee Football Tournament in Kozhikode in Kerala after over two decades with the aim to “restore the old glory” of the sport in the state.

Two prominent non-resident Indian (NRI) businessmen from the Gulf, one from the UAE and the other from Saudi Arabia, have joined hands to revive the legendary Sait Nagjee Football Tournament in Kozhikode in Kerala after over two decades with the aim to “restore the old glory” of the sport in the state.

Dr Azad Moopen of the Aster DM Healthcare group in Dubai and Dr. Siddeek Ahmed, who heads the Eram Group in Saudi Arabia, have also roped in Brazilian football star Ronaldinho as its goodwill ambassador and are getting top European and Latin American teams to play in India.  The announcement was made recently in Dubai in the presence of Ronaldinho who arrived in Kozhikode Sunday to a rousing welcome from fans, including hundreds of escort bikers from Kochi airport to Kozhikode.

The Aster MIMS Nagjee International Club Football promoted by Mondial Sports LLP will start on February 5 at the Kozhikode Corporation Stadium.

For the first time in India, seven international club football teams from South America and Europe will play in the tournament whose final is on February 21.The UK-based charitable trust, Football for Peace Global (FfP), is the charity partner, undertaking a legacy programme for school children in Kozhikode, supported by the United Nations and the Duke of Cambridge.

The participating teams include Argentina (U-23), Watford F C (U-23), England, Levante UD (U-23) Spain, Club Atletico Paranaense (U-23) Brazil, TSV 1860 München (U-23) Germany, Rapid Bucharest, Romania, Shamrock Rovers F C, Ireland and I-League (U-23), India.

“Football has the power to unite people. It has given me an opportunity and taught me universal values of friendship and unity,” Ronaldinho said in a statement.

“I am supporting the work carried by Football for Peace Global and proud today to be the guest of honour of Nagjee International Club Football Tournament 2016 and becoming a Footballer for Peace.”

Acclaimed footballer Kashif Siddiqi, a co-founder of FfP, will also support the event actively.

“It is a great privilege for me to partner with my football friend Ronaldinho to achieve our visions for peace and undertake an FfP legacy programme in Kerala,” Siddiqui said.

The organisers say their primary goal is to “restore the old glory, revive the sport in its pure form (unlike the franchise model) and last, but not the least, continue its legacy of promoting peace” in a new form “which will be seen for the first time ever in the nation.”

Dr Moopen is the chairman and managing director of Aster DM Healthcare, a healthcare conglomerate in the Middle East and India. Headquartered in Dubai, the Aster DM network now encompasses more than 13,000 employees, 1500+ doctors with clinics and diagnostic centres.  In 2010 and 2011, Dr Moopen was awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman and Padma Shri by the Indian government respectively.

Dr. Siddeek Ahmed is the chairman and managing director of Eram Group, one of the region’s most diverse conglomerates, with over 40 plus entities spread across 12 countries, which is a powerh0use in industrial contracting, project management solutions, automotive, healthcare, travel, IT, manufacturing, power electronics, trading, floor covering and other commercial ventures.

The news naturally got prominent attention in the Gulf media with newspapers like the Gulf Times carrying a big report on it.  An estimated seven million Indians live in the Gulf region and send back over $ 35bn in annual remittances.

The Indian Diaspora ( feedback: info@theindiandiaspora.com)

source: http://www.theindiandiaspora.com / The Indian Diaspora / Home> In the News> Primary News / January 25th, 2016