Daily Archives: January 10, 2020

With Muslim chief, TN village sends ‘inclusive’ message

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, ,

Seriyalur Inam village (Alangadi Taluk – Pudukottai District) TAMIL NADU :

Though the village in Alangudi taluk in the Cauvery delta region has only 60 Muslim voters, only around 40 cast their votes, people’s choice transcended religion, caste and creed as they reposed their trust in 45-year-old Mohammed Jiyavudeen.
Though the village in Alangudi taluk in the Cauvery delta region has only 60 Muslim voters, only around 40 cast their votes, people’s choice transcended religion, caste and creed as they reposed their trust in 45-year-old Mohammed Jiyavudeen.

Seriyalur Inam is a Hindu-dominated village in Pudukkottai district of Tamil Nadu, but the nondescript hamlet has sent out a clear and loud message in the just concluded elections to rural bodies by electing a Muslim candidate as its panchayat president.

The election of a Muslim candidate in a Hindu dominated village comes at a time the country is facing massive protests against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) which Opposition parties term as “anti-Muslim measures.”

Though the village in Alangudi taluk in the Cauvery delta region has only 60 Muslim voters, only around 40 cast their votes, people’s choice transcended religion, caste and creed as they reposed their trust in 45-year-old Mohammed Jiyavudeen.

Jiyavudeen, who has coordinated relief and rehabilitation efforts in the village and near-by areas after Cyclone Gaja left a trail of destruction in 2018, romped home despite elders of the village “auctioning” the panchayat president post in favour of another villager, Shankar, who lost by 17 votes.

The 45-year-old received maximum support from youngsters and women, who refused to toe the line of the village elders and voted in Jiyavudeen. He had returned to the village in 2018 after being in the UAE for over a decade.

“I see it as a recognition for the work that we as a group did in the aftermath of Cyclone Gaja. People reposed faith in me and two others from our group who contested as councillors. Through election people here have not just sent out a message on secularism but have also made it clear that they want people who work for their betterment,” Jiyavudeen told DH.

Jiyavudeen and fellow villagers, especially youth, had pooled in resources from various sources to rehabilitate people who were affected by Cyclone Gaja. “We built 10 new houses to people who lost their houses, distributed sewing machines to widowed women and wet grinders for elderly. We also disbursed interest-free loan for people in the village which have made them happy,” he added.

The new panchayat president said he takes pride in the fact that he neither spent money on distributing liquor or money for his voters.

Nimal Raghavan, a techie who had quit his job in UAE and is now involved in desilting lakes and ponds in near-by Thanjavur district, told DH that the country should follow the example set by people of Seriyalur Inam village.

“In our area, we live in complete peace and harmony. People will even print names of their friends belonging to other faith in wedding invitations. Election of Jiyavudeen is a classic example that humanity is above religion, caste and creed. His  election sends out a strong message as the country witnesses protests on CAA,” Raghavan said.

Kannan, a resident of Sethangudi village, said people should realise that humanity trumps everything including religion. “People like Jiyavudeen should come to power as they inspire the common man. He had worked with us to ensure that his villagers get proper relief during Cyclone Gaja. By electing him, people have spoken loud and clear against attempts to divide society on the basis of religion,” Kannan added.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> National> South / by ETB  Sivapriyan / DHNS Chennai / January 10th, 2020

Office-Bearers Of Mysore Muslims Football Club

Sports

Mysuru, KARNATAKA :

The new team of office-bearers of Mysore Muslim Football Club were elected recently.

MysoreMuslimfootballMPOs10jan2020

Seen are (from left) Mohammed Irshad Ahmed (Club Representative), Mohammed Owayaz Khan (MD – EK Constructions), Farhan Baig (New Secretary), Mohammed Javeed Khan (New President), Mohammed Jamel Khan (former President, Lucky XI FC), Mohammed Shakeel Ahmed (President, Lucky XI FC).

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports / January 05th, 2020

The richness of Islamic theatre

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Taoos Chaman ki Myna

Taoos Chaman ki Myna

A classroom debate moderated by this writer last week, with students of drama, brought to the fore misapprehensions regarding what one might term ‘Islamic theatre’ in India. The phrasing itself was called out as parochial in its scope, or too strongly affiliated with religious identity, and some even questioned the need for such a classification since we don’t usually talk about ‘a Hindu theatre’ (but of course we do, by glorious default). This was all compounded by the fact that there were no Muslims in the room, but arguably, one might say there were many among us whose world-views might have been influenced or even shaped by Islamic mores and values, given that we live in a country with one of the largest populations of Muslims in the world and even if insularity runs really deep, parallel cultures do meet at some point. Or, at least, we hope they do.

Rooted in culture

To explain further, when it comes to semantics, many use the words ‘Islamic’ or ‘Muslim’ as adjectives rather interchangebly, often in incorrect contexts. While the word ‘Muslim’ refers to those people who are followers of Islam and not to events or ideas or things, the word ‘Islamic’, according to scholar Ahmed E Souaiaia of the University of Iowa, “can be used to describe things that are present in Islamic societies and cultures, even if their origins are not rooted in Islam or produced by Muslim people.” It is an adjective that connotes a civilizational ethos and encompasses almost everything from architecture and art to philosophy and history and, yes, theatre. It is, without a doubt, an inclusive term, even if speaking it out loud might seem odd to our tongues, laced as they are with a multitude of conditioned prejudices. A corollary might be drawn with the word ‘queer’. For some it is an all-embracing cultural umbrella that covers an entire spectrum (the veritable rainbow), for others it remains a social label that is pejorative and reductive and can never be reclaimed. Even words like ‘feminist’ are double-edged these days, given the rise of ‘male anxiety’ culture post the advent of the #metoo movement. It is unfortunate that there are many who seek to interpret politically charged labels by being selective, or even cavalier, about the meanings that they want to extract, and that is a problematic privilege of gaze that most might be hard pressed to discard.

The notion of an Islamic theatre does not encourage the politics of exclusion or discrimination. Instead it is a canopy of cultural richness, even if the categorisation might make some uncomfortable if only due to its lustre. From aesthetic forms like the Dastangoi (or traditional Urdu storytelling) to mainstream fare like the stage adaptation of K Asif’s Mughal-e-Azam to sub-cultural gems like Bhagi Hui Ladkiyan, performed by young women from Delhi’s Nizammudin Basti, it cuts a large swathe across the cultural landscape and perhaps, acknowledging its cultural roots shouldn’t threaten those who live insecurely in majoritarian systems.

Tip of the iceberg

Plays such as Taoos Chaman Ki Myna, directed by Atul Tiwari and based on Naiyer Masud’s story, are set in a milieu where Islamic culture prevails — old-world Lucknow during the ill-fated reign of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah. However, the vein of progressiveness that pervades the piece makes a strong case for its liberal credentials. This is different from a play like, say, Imran Rasheed’s Bade Miyan Deewane, based on Shaukat Thanvi’s Budbhas, where religion might be absent, but a patriarchal structure is very much in evidence, even if it lends itself to far-fetched but hilarious comic situations in the mien of the Urdu farces of yore, which wore their ‘Muslimness’ both lightly and without reproach. Then there is Deepan Sivaraman’s masterful theatrical adaptation of O V Vijayan’s Khasakkinte Ithihasam, in which Islamic religious fervour is ingrained in the soil of the small hamlet of Khasak, rather than being ‘othered’.

Where purportedly non-Muslim theatremakers come into the picture, there is usually an outsider’s gaze that might codify everything from hijabs to prayer mats to skullcaps, while often, Muslim theatremakers operate from within the status quo without commenting on ages-old practices and customs, but focusing instead on humanising the people who abide by them — Rasheed’s Phir Se Shaadi, where a divorced Muslim couple seek to remarry, but not before negotiating a minefield of Quranic regulations. As Anamika Haksar’s Ghode Ko Jalebi Khilane Le Jaa Riya Hoon showed us, these works are just the tip of an iceberg.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment> Theatre / by Vikram Phukan / November 08th, 2019

Concern in Nawab landscape, too

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, , , , , , , , ,

WEST BENGAL :

Families associated with erstwhile rulers of Bengal decry citizenship regimen

Syed Reza Ali Meerza / (Picture sourced by The Telegraph)
Syed Reza Ali Meerza /
(Picture sourced by The Telegraph)

Descendants and associates of the Nawabs of Bengal who decided for centuries who their subjects would be are worried about their ability to prove Indian citizenship.

Since 1717, when Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar combined the nizamat (civil administration) and diwani (revenue administration) of the Bengal subah (subdivision) to elevate Murshid Quli Khan to the post of Nawab Nazim, the Murshidabad Nawabs of the Nasiri, Afshar and the Najafi dynasties ruled — de facto or de jure — for nearly two centuries the territories of undivided Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, besides parts of Northeast and Chhattisgarh.

Syed Reza Ali Meerza, a 70-year-old grandson of Sayyid Sir Wasif Ali Meerza Khan Bahadur — the last Nawab Bahadur of Murshidabad recognised by the government of Independent India — said on Friday that the direct descendants of someone who had contributed to the very presence of Murshidabad in India should not be “degraded” by having to prove their citizenship.

Meerza Khan Bahadur had played a crucial role in the return of Murshidabad to India from East Pakistan after three days from August 15, 1947. He studied at Sherborne, Rugby and the Trinity College and was a resident of 85 Park Street in Calcutta towards the end of his life.

“Even if we were to forget the entire history and legacy of the Murshidabad Nawabs till 1947, at least the role played by my grandfather to ensure the return of Murshidabad to India after Partition should be remembered,” said the septuagenarian.

The former state government employee narrated the tales of how his grandfather Meerza Khan Bahadur spearheaded the initiative to ensure the return of the key district, despite being Muslim-majority, to India after the newly adopted Parcham-e Sitarah o-Hilal, the flag of Pakistan, flew atop the Hazarduari Palace for three days. The initial Radcliffe Award had placed Murshidabad in Pakistan and Khulna in India. On August 18, the two districts were exchanged.

“Now, his descendants have to stand in line on the same land to prove they are Indian,” said Meerza.

“There was a time when we — our forefathers — used to decide who were subjects and who were not. Before the British took everything from us, our family used to rule the wealthiest and industrially the most developed place in the world,” he said.

Meerza was referring to the economy of early 18th Century proto-industrialised Bengal, with its inhabitants purportedly having among the highest living standards and real wages in the world with over 10 per cent contribution to the global GDP. “Now, we have to prove that we are Indian?”

Meerza said many members of his extended family of Najafis did not have several requisite documents owing to legal reasons and were “living in fear”. “I condemn the NRC (National Register of Citizens), the CAA (Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the NPR (National Population Register) in the strongest terms,” he said.

Meerza said he had the requisite documents from the East India Company, the British Raj and the government of India, and he would not be “part of any queue” to prove he is Indian.

Other members of the extended family — who reside in the Qillah Nizamat area near Hazarduari Palace in Murshidabad — said although they had no official recognition as royals in the eyes of the state anymore, they felt demeaned even more by the prospect of being rendered stateless by the NRC.

“Our generation has not even received pension from the government, although they seized almost everything after Independence,” said Syed Mohammed Mazer Jha, who works as a nursing home employee in Murshidabad.

“Even my father did not get pension from the state. He died suddenly last year, and I am having trouble locating his papers,” he added.

Residents of the Hazarduari area said they respected members of the royal family for choosing to stay back in India. “The governments in India do not show as much respect to the descendants as groups of people in Pakistan or Bangladesh do. Still, they have stayed back,” said a resident of the area.

“The members of the royal family are by no means outsiders to this country. Rather, they have chosen not to immigrate to Pakistan or Bangladesh in spite of having lost so much property to the government of India,” said 50-year-old Mohammed Ali, a teacher at Singhi High School in Murshidabad.

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, online edition / Home> West Bengal / by Alamgir Hossain in Behrampore / January 03rd, 2020

Ronak Reyaz Bags Gold At 5th International Thang-Ta Championships

Sports, World Opinion, , , ,

Magraypora,( Baramulla District), JAMMU & KASHMIR :

Photo: The Tribune
Photo: The Tribune

Some overcome all odds to achieve their goals and dreams, and Ronak Reyaz is the perfect embodiment of this. Even though the situation in Kashmir is still uncertain, Reyaz has not allowed it to deter her from achieving laurels. Reyaz bagged a gold medal at the 5th International Thang-Ta championship held in South Korea recently. With this, she has created a mark in a sport which has been traditionally dominated by men and is serving as an inspiration to many women.

Every Sunday Reyaz and her mother would travel from Baramulla to Srinagar for practice at the Gojwara Club, a portal covering women’s issues stated. And despite not having a practice hub nearby, nothing could break the young sportswoman’s resolve and routine of two years. Reyaz is a 16-year-old from SRM Welkin School in Sopore and belongs to Magraypora, a small village in the Baramulla district.

For Reyaz, her mother Hafeeza, has been a pillar of strength and support. But she worries about arranging funds for her daughter’s trips to various championships. “Her South Korea trip cost us Rs 2,00,000. We had to arrange Rs 75,000 entry fee for South Korea meet in August when everything was shut,” Hafeeza told The Tribune.

Reyaz has still not been approached by any authority for help, despite her consistent performances and bringing accolades to the country. Hence, she feels that sports in rural areas are still a neglected sphere by the government.

source: http://www.femina.in / Femina / Home> Trending> In the News / by Femina / January 02nd, 2020

Song of resistance and renaissance

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

KERALA :

Tuning in(clockwise from top left) Renji Panicker and Paris Laxmi in a still from Kalamandalam Hyderali , a biopic on the late Kathakali musician; Kiran G Nath; Nikhil Renji Panicker / Special arrangement
Tuning in(clockwise from top left) Renji Panicker and Paris Laxmi in a still from Kalamandalam Hyderali , a biopic on the late Kathakali musician; Kiran G Nath; Nikhil Renji Panicker / Special arrangement

Kiran G Nath’s biopic Kalamandalam Hyderali pays an euphonious tribute to the trailblazing Kathakali musician

There is an incident in the late seventies that, in a way, summarises Kalamandalam Hyderali’s journey in Kathakali. Festival committee members of Thalathotta temple in Haripad had invited the Kathakali musician par excellence for a recital. However, tradition decreed that only Hindus be allowed inside the temple premises. To ensure that Hyderali sang, the compound wall was demolished and the stage extended. As a result, technically, although Hyderali remained outside the temple precincts, his fans ensured that the late maestro did sing for the recital inside the temple. It was just another hurdle in the eventful career of Hyderali, a star among Kathakali musicians.

Moved by the life and times of Hyderali, cinematographer and adfilm maker Kiran G Nath decided to make his debut as a director with a biopic on the Kathakali musician. Speaking on phone from Kochi, he says that he had always been drawn towards Hyderali’s career as a musician in a tradition-bound art like Kathakali with strong feudalistic and ritualistic mooring. “Here was someone whose only calling card was his immense talent. No one could push him aside because of his gifted voice. Although he suffered a lot of discrimination, it is also true that there were greats like Kalamandalam Gopi who supported him and helped him mark his space among the greats of Kathakali vocalists,” says the director.

Son of mappilapattu singer Moidutty, Hyderali’s flair for music and economic necessity took him to Kalamandalam, the bastion of traditional art forms of Kerala. Although hounded by the orthodoxy and the casteism that were still prevalent in Kalamandalam in those days, Hyderali prevailed and completed the course.

“Nevertheless, he had to go through several trials and tribulations to practise what he had learnt because Kathakali was still a ritualistic temple art form in many places in Kerala. Since many of the temples were out of bounds for non-Hindus, Hyderali had to struggle to gain a foothold. Nevertheless, there were many who came to his rescue and thanks to MKK Nair, a patron of arts, he was able to get a job in the Kathakali school run by FACT,” narrates Kiran.

His travails and eventual success as a celebrity singer had enthused many filmmakers to plan a biopic on the singer but none of them were able to get it rolling. “In my case, when I decided to make a biopic on the musician, I was able to strike a rapport with his biographer, Vijayan sir, and Hyderali sir’s family. They told me of many incidents and struggles in his life that were not in the public domain. When I heard all that, I felt that his was a life that needed to be documented and shared with a large audience. It is relevant to the times we live in and will force each of us to introspect,” explains Kiran.

Scripted by Aju K Narayanan, the film with Renji Panicker in the lead role of Kalamandalm Hyderali reaches cinemas today. With its accent on music, the movie traces the musician’s journey to the limelight. “It is a musical biography of a youngster from a lower middle class Muslim family who captivated discerning Kathakali viewers with his evocative rendering and became a star in his own right,” says Kiran.

Finding a producer for such a subject was not easy. Kiran managed to get his film rolling thanks to Vinesh Mohan who has produced the film under the banner of Vedhas Creations. “I was lucky to get a team that put their heart and soul into the film. Renji’s dedication was inspiring and his son Nikhil Renji Panicker plays the young Kalamandalam Hyderali while Reihan Hyderali, the maestro’s grandson himself, appears in the part depicting Hyderali’s childhood. Paris Laxmi, Meera Nair, Ashokan and TG Ravi are some of the actors in the film. Moreover, this was perhaps ace cinematographer MJ Radhakrishnan’s last work for a feature film. To ensure that the music was authentic, I turned to leading Kathakali vocalist Kottakkal Madhu and Anil Gopalan for the music. Kottakkal Madhu has also rendered the padams. Sreevalsan J Menon has composed and sung the famous padam ‘Enthiha manmanase’ from Karnashapatham ,” adds Kiran.

Based on facts

Shot in Kalamandalam, Thrikkadeeri in Palakkad and Haripad, the film, which was two years in the making, depicts real incidents. Nothing has been fictionalised or added to enhance the narrative or make it melodramatic, emphasises the director. According to him, the maestro had to undergo so many trials and tribulations that there was no need to spice it up for any dramatic effect. “From childhood, he had experienced a lot of discrimination. He had mentioned in his biography how during the lunch break in Kalamandalam and in class, there would be sufficient space on either side of him to accommodate another student. That was the kind of difficulties he had to endure and surmount,” he narrates.

Despite the many hurdles that were created to prevent him from singing during his lifetime, the film does not make him out to be a tragic hero. It is a tribute to his determination and how his musicality saw him conquer the hearts of all people who enjoyed Kathakali. Says Kiran: “Hyderalimaash was a celebrity whose voice and talent immortalised him. His life and career are an intrinsic part of the spirit of renaissance of Kerala and now it is important to remember greats like him who refused to let his talent or life be hemmed in by walls of religion and caste.”

It is a musical biography of a youngster from a lower middle class Muslim family who captivated discerning Kathakali viewers with his evocative rendering and became a star in his own right

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Saraswathy Nagarajan / January 10th, 2020

Co-Opted As Professional Directors Of Muslim Co-Operative Bank

Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues

Mysuru, KARNATAKA :MuslimCoopBankMPOs10jan2020

Mysuru:

Mir Mutthaqi Ali, retired Manager of State Bank of India (SBI) and Mukhtar Mahmood, retired Senior Manager of Corporation Bank, were co-opted as Professional Directors of the Muslim Co-operative Bank Ltd., New Sayyaji Rao Road, at the recently held Board of Directors meeting in the Meeting Hall of the Co-op. Bank.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / March 24th, 2019

Meet Salma Mahfooz: World’s first Muslim woman to do her PhD in Sanskrit

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Education, Videos, , , , , , ,

Dibai, (Bulandshahar District) , UTTAR PRADESH :

Born as Salma Begum in a Muslim family of a small town Dibai, District Bulandshahar in the northern state of India, Uttar Pradesh, she went on to become the first Muslim woman in the world to do her PhD in Sanskrit (1969), India’s ancient language. After marriage she changed her name to Salma Mahfooz.

“My father, Ishtiaque Ahmed and mother, Ehsaan Fatima encouraged me to pursue my higher studies in Sanskrit as I was deeply interested in the language.

After completing high school from the UP board, I came to Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) for higher studies in 1961 and opted for Sanskrit,” says Dr. Salma Mahfooz.

Salma Mahfooz completed her BA and MA in Sanskrit and finally went on to write her PhD thesis in Sanskrit on the ‘Types of Heroines in Sanskrit Dramas’ under the supervision of India’s acclaimed Sanskrit scholar Dr. Ram Suresh Tripathi. She also did an MA in Hindi literature.

“In my PhD thesis, I have analysed several roles that a woman portrays in multiple Sanskrit literary forms,” says Dr. Salma Mahfooz.

She taught Sanskrit at Rani Bhagyawati College in Bijnor and later joined AMU as a Lecturer.

Under the fellowship of India’s regulatory body for higher education, University Grants Commission, she authored a book ‘A Critical Study of ‘Sirre Akbar visa-vis-The Upanishads’ by Dara Shikoh (1615 – 1659), the eldest son of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan

“I have taught Upanishads, Hindu religious texts, and various other Sanskrit literature components,” adds Dr. Salma Mahfooz.

A practicing Muslim, Salma Mahfooz has studied Hindu scriptures and texts, including The Bhagavad Gita, a 700-verse Sanskrit scripture that is part of the Hindu epic Mahabharata, and Kama Sutra, an ancient Indian Sanskrit text on sexuality and eroticism.

She was a Senior Research Fellow and Research Associate at the University Grants Commission and also headed the Sanskrit Department of the Aligarh Muslim University.

source: http://www.youtube.com / www.cineink.com / Cine Ink / January 10th, 2019