Monthly Archives: January 2021

Mir of the Metaphor

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Murshidabad, WEST BENGAL :

When Suvendu Adhikari crossed over to the BJP, it was said there’s no reason to fuss over the desertion of Mir Jafars. Now actor Rudranil Ghosh has earned the sobriquet of Mir Jafar 2.0. But what is it to be the progeny of a man-turned-pejorative?

The setting of this story is Lalbagh, a locality in Murshidabad, erstwhile capital of Subah Bengal or present-day Bangladesh, Bengal, Bihar and Odisha. According to the book The Musnud of Murshidabad (1704-1904), “Being more conveniently situated than Dacca for the collection of revenue and the supervision of trade… Murshed Kuli Khan, the Great Dewan of Bengal, selected it as his headquarters and embellished it, giving it its present name after his own.” This was in the early 1700s.

Thirty kilometres away from Lalbagh is Plassey, and Calcutta is 200 kilometres away. The nawab’s estate here has an enormous entrance; it was designed such that stately elephants could saunter through. To its left there is a two-storey stretch limo of a building punctured with countless square windows. “It is the house of the Bade Nawab and the Chhote Nawab,” says local guide Swapan Chowdhury. Yes, the Government of India abolished the princely order in 1971, which means titles are not recognised; but the usage endures in various orbits of society to suggest legacy, status or power, oftentimes as veneer on a less grand present.  

The two “nawabs” are among the living descendants — eighth generation to be specific — of Syed Mir Jafar Ali Khan Bahadur, commander of the Bengal army under Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah. He whom we today know as Mir Jafar, shorn of all gallantry, accomplishments and grandeur he might have been associated with once. The same who is synonymous with the betrayal he perpetrated on the young Siraj in Plassey in 1757.  

And so you have — mir jafar (n) once man, now pejorative; most commonly used Indianism for traitor or turncoat.

***

Syed Mohammad Reza Ali Meerza or Chhote Nawab greets me as he hurriedly picks a white kurta from the clothesline and slips it over his head. “This is the building that housed the sentries during Mir Jafar’s time,” says the 79-year-old.

Reza Ali has worked as a state government employee all his life. “My tenure as a permanent employee fell short by a few days and that’s why I do not get any pension, etc.,” he lets slip a crib and thereafter quickly arranges some plastic chairs, and with a wave of his hand and a “tashreef rakhiye” continues his narration.

Pointing to the recently installed statue of Siraj ud-Daulah bang opposite his house he says, “Siraj ke aami khoob bhalobashi… I love Siraj very much. People say Mir Jafar betrayed him. Bhul bole… that’s wrong.”

And yet from what he says, it is clear this is one “wrong” he and his kin have trouble living down even today. Tourists, visitors, researchers, all continue to raise eyebrows when they learn about the family tree. What about locals? He replies, “Oh! People here love me. They say: ‘We do not care about Mir Jafar. We know you are a good human being’.”

He offers a quick tour of the andarmahal. There are pictures and memorabilia aplenty littered all over. Is any of this Mir Jafar’s?

No. Most of the belongings of the nawabs are kept in the museum inside Hazarduari Palace. That collection includes Mir Jafar’s sword, shield and dagger, his footwear, the cutlery he used.

The Hazarduari Palace, Wasif Manzil, and Begum Manzil are all part of the nawab’s estate. Reza Ali offers to take us around. On our way out, we meet Syed Mohammed Abbas Ali Meerza, or Bade Nawab.

Abbas Ali has a persona quite distinct from his younger brother’s. He is of reserved bearing and stands on ceremony. He is quick to inform that, in 2013, he won “the case” in the Supreme Court and since then he and his brother have been recognised as genuine claimants to the title of the Nawab of Murshidabad.

Without the prodding, Abbas Ali starts talking about his ancestor. “Who says Mir Jafar was a traitor? Mir Jafar hails from the Najafi dynasty. We are the direct descendants of Prophet Hazrat Mohammad.”

The Najafi dynasty was born when the Prophet’s grandchildren Hasan and Husyain’s children married. Abbas Ali explains, “Hasan’s son Hassan e Mussanah and Husyain’s daughter Hazrat Fatimah Sughra married. And then the Najafi dynasty was born. We are the descendants of Husyain Najafi. His son Ahmad Najafi was married to Zinnat-un-Nissa, daughter of Shah Jahan’s son Dara Shikoh. Mir Jafar was their son.” He adds, “Mir Jafar was much higher in status to Siraj ud-Daulah, both by bloodline and given that he was the son-in-law of Alivardi Khan, the nawab of Bengal and grandfather of Siraj.”

Says Abbas Ali, “Had he wan-ted to kill Siraj, he wouldn’t have had to go through all the drama of Plassey. He could have got the musnud (throne) from the Mughal emperor himself.”

Dr S.M. Reza Ali Khan is another descendant of Mir Jafar. The Telegraph had interviewed him in January 2020; months later he died. Khan was a professor of history and had done a lot of research on the Battle of Plassey and Mir Jafar. He had said over phone from Hyderabad, “The ignominy attached to this name does not give us a good feeling.”

Dr Khan believed it is not quite right to judge Mir Jafar by cutting him away from the age he belonged to, the environment and those circumstances. He had said, “It was the 18th century and there was no concept of nationalism. And even if there was, let me tell you Siraj was not a great nationalist either. Besides, he had killed his own brother, his uncle and even the husband of Alivardi Khan’s eldest daughter, Ghaseti Begum, to get the musnud.”

Through the lockdown Dr Khan would call many a time with this reference and that reference from history texts. He spoke about the Sheths of Murshidabad, a very powerful community in the 18th century. They did business with French and British traders. Jagat Sheth Mehtab Chand, one of the most prominent businessmen of Murshidabad, used to lend money to the British at a steep interest. Dr Khan had said, “When Siraj declared the British as his enemy, Mehtab Chand could not have been very pleased. His business would have been hampered.” It seems a fair number of Sheths had stood up against Siraj.

Abbas Ali too spoke about Siraj’s unpopularity. Siraj had planned to kidnap the daughter of Rani Bhabani, the queen of Nator. “This was not well received by the Hindu nobility… Siraj had insulted Mir Jafar once in the durbar by having his beard shaved off.”

Octogenarian Baquir Ali Meerza is yet another descendant; he too is based in Lalbagh, but in Kella Nizamat. He says, “It is true we have to suffer the ire of people because the history books say Mir Jafar did not fight in the Battle of Plassey. But these books do not say why he did not fight.”

In The Black Hole of Empire, Partha Chatterjee cites from the Fort William Select Committee Proceedings of May 1, 1757. It reads, “The Committee then took into consideration, whether they could (consistently with the Peace made with the Nabob) concur in the measures proposed by Meer Jaffir of taking the Government from Souragud Dowla, and setting himself up…” Sometime end-June, the British won Plassey. In the same book, Chatterjee writes, “The battle was over by the fall of dusk. The next day, Clive wrote to Mir Jafar: ‘I congratulate you on the victory, which is yours not mine…’”

Baquir Ali’s version differs. He says, “Mir Jafar’s tent was closest to the British forces. The British had come to fight the French, not Siraj ud-Daulah. Armed with only 2,000 soldiers, they came to Plassey and found that Siraj was waiting there with an army of 20,000. The French army stood in front of Siraj’s camp. Mir Jafar’s camp was far away.”

According to him, the British approached Mir Jafar and asked him to mediate with the nawab. Mir Jafar sent a messenger to Siraj but it would have taken a day to cover the distance. In the meantime, the French army opened fire. The British mistook it as Siraj’s rejection of their proposal and retaliated. “Mir Jafar was confused and did not know what to do… What happened at the battlefield of Plassey is a case of misunderstanding and not betrayal,” says Baquir Ali.

The Telegraph asked Abu Taher Khan, the Trinamul MP from Murshidabad, his views on Mir Jafar. A guarded Khan replied, “In this atmosphere it is best I don’t comment on Mir Jafar… But it was because of Mir Jafar that our country lost its independence. Many people say, ‘These people come from the land of Mir Jafar’. Anyone can understand in what context it is being said.”  

Grave Truths : Mir Jafar’s tomb in Murshidabad / Picture by Moumita Chaudhuri

On my way back from Murshidabad, I make two more stops — Mir Jafar’s palace and his tomb. As it turns out, there is no trace of the palace, only remains of what used to be its gates. The place is still referred to as nimakharam deuri or traitor’s gate. The Jafarganj cemetery that houses the tomb is also closed that day. The auto-rickshaw driver who has driven me around says, “Earlier it was always open, but then tourists would come and spit on it, kick it. That is when the local administration had it walled; a gate was installed.”

Locked too behind that gate are the graves of Heera and Panna, actors of the era’s dubious games of estate and empire. Falcons both, Heera and Panna flew spying sorties for the house of Mir Jafar — to the Siraj camp or, some say, to the British battlements, who knows? They were both killed in the line of duty, shot out of the skies — some say by Siraj’s marksmen, others that it was actually the British, who knows? Both were dear enough to be accorded resting places at the back of where Mir Jafar lies — to that there is sacrophagal evidence. The rest is contrary apocrypha, pick your version. That’s often the case with history too, narratives compete, interpretations duel.

I remembered what Abbas Ali had told me, “The British wrote our history. What I don’t understand is why the nawabs after Mir Jafar did not take it upon themselves to put out their version. If only…,” his voice had trailed off.Bloodline

Mir Jafar had three wives

Shahkhanum Begum

Offspring:

Fatima Begum and Mir Miran

Mir’s son is Murtaza Khan

Murtaza’s son is Mustafa Khan

Mustafa’s son is Asadullah Khan

Asadullah’s son is Azam Ali Khan

Azam’s son is Faiyaz Ali Khan

Faiyaz’s son is Jafar Ali Khan

Jafar’s son is *Dr S.M. Reza Ali Khan

Munni Begum

Offspring:

Nazam ud-Daulah

Saif ud-Daulah

Both died young

Babbo Begum

Offspring:

Mubarak ud-Daulah

Mubarak’s son is Babar Jung

Babar Jung had two sons, Ali Jaj and Wala Jah

Wala Jah’s son is Humayun Jah

Humayun’s son is Firadun Jah

Firadun’s son is Hassan Ali Meerza

Hassan Ali’s son is Wasif Ali Meerza

Wasif Ali’s daughter, Sahibzadi Hasmat-un-Nissa, married Sadiq  Ali Meerza

Sahibzadi’s sons are

*Syed Mohammed Abbas Ali Meerza and

*Syed Reza Ali Meerza

*Descendants quoted in the story

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph Online / Home> Big Story / by Moumita Chaudhuri / January 17th, 2021

Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan (1931-2020): Open to all music forms, teacher to the greats

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Badaun, UTTAR PRADESH / Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA :

He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1991, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2003, Padma Bhushan in 2006 and Padma Vibhushan in 2018.

Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan

In Umrao Jaan (1980), filmmaker Muzaffar Ali’s seminal film, a five-minute melody manages to put life’s ebb and flow in perspective. The raagmala Pratham dhar dhyaan dinesh illustrates the induction of the protagonist, Ameeran, into classical music and dance and showcases her metamorphosis into Lucknow’s fanciful courtesan, Umrao Jaan.

Composer Khayyam’s composition is ambitious and arduous—based on seven ragas each of which defines time, mood and colour of varied moments in life. To sing this, Ali chose Ut Ghulam Mustafa Khan—the Hindustani classical giant whose deep and dazzling voice was representative of not just an iconic lineage but also a rigorous riyaaz and years spent teaching some of the greatest musicians of our time.

Opening with an alaap that chimes with the word Allah, the melody merges into Brahma, giving a glimpse into the Awadh of the 19th century, when the syncretic fusion of cultures in music was a norm. But a more remembered piece is perhaps Jhoola kinne daala re amaraiyan in raag Desh, the story of a bedecked swing on which two lovers sway together.

Ut Ghulam Mustafa, one of the finest Hindustani classical vocalists and torchbearer of the Rampur Sahaswan gharana, died at his home in Mumbai on Sunday. He was 89.

Expressing his condolences, PM Narendra Modi tweeted, “The passing away of Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan Sahab leaves our cultural world poorer. He was a doyen of music, a stalwart of creativity whose works endeared him to people across generations. I have fond memories of interacting with him. Condolences…”

President Ram Nath Kovind tweeted, “…In his passing, music world has lost not only a doyen but also a mentor for young generation…”.

Ut Ghulam Mustafa was born and raised in Badaun, Uttar Pradesh. His mother was the daughter of the legendary vocalist Ut Inayat Hussain Khan, the court musician in Nawab Wajid Ali Khan’s court. He learned from his father Warish Hussain Khan, followed by tutelage under other family members, including Ut Fida Hussain Khan, court singer of Baroda’s royal durbar and then his cousin, Ut Nissar Hussain Khan.

His first performance was at a Janmashtami concert at the age of eight, where he was hailed as a child prodigy. What was also interesting about Ut Ghulam Mustafa was his openness to all forms of music, a rarity in classical maestros of his time. So when most classical singers were banishing Hindi film music, he found it easier to adapt.

According to Pune-based dhrupad maestro Uday Bhawalkar, Ut Ghulam Mustafa changed the colour and tone of how music in Rampur Sahaswan gharana sounded. “Someone like the great Ut Nissar Hussain had an aggression in the tone. Ut Ghulam Mustafa toned it down and made it softer,” says Bhawalkar.

The musician also sang in Mrinal Sen’s Bhuvan Shome (1969), and Badnam Basti (1969) among others. Another significant performance was a part of Coke Studio @MTV where composer and Ut Ghulam Mustafa’s student AR Rahman presented his guru on stage. The musician sang a composition in raag Yaman alongside guitars and drums.

Ut Ghulam Mustafa, till he died, remained an eminent guru to many leading musicians including Asha Bhosle, Manna Dey, Ut Rashid Khan (also his nephew), Waheeda Rehman, Geeta Dutt, Hariharan, Sonu Nigam, Alisha Chinoy and Shilpa Rao.

He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1991, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2003, Padma Bhushan in 2006 and Padma Vibhushan in 2018.

Once at a concert in Mumbai, Ut Ghulam Mustafa sang a thumri in Pilu, and got Ut Bade Ghulam Ali Khan on his feet. “Iitne dooble patle ho, kahan se gaate ho?” asked the musician. Ut Ghulam Mustafa Khan’s music, his bracing voice, its irrepressible vigour, probably came from his strict training. But also, from the joy he got from the seven notes that represented life for him.

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Lifestyle> Art and Culture / by Suanshu Khurana, New Delhi / January 18th, 2021

A 1947 vintage car returns to Salih’s home after 60 years

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Valappad (Thrissur District) KERALA :

Thrissur:

Expatriate businessman C P Salih had a happy reunion recently after 60 years — with a gleaming Studebaker car that had left his home in 1960.

Salih’s father Chandanaparambil C P Mohammad had bought this American car from Delhi. It is estimated that the car, manufactured in 1947, arrived in India in 1949.

It was in this car that the wedding party of the mother-in-law of prominent businessman Galfar Mohamed Ali had travelled to the wedding.

C P Mohammad sold the car in the 1960s. After changing several hands, it finally reached Delhi again. What’s more, it had the same old number — DBG 8213. Mohammad had written in his diary that he had bought the car for Rs 2,400. The car was tracked in Delhi with the help of the old number.

Salih purchased the car and brought it to his Valappad home to give it to his son Anhar Salih as a wedding gift. The car was originally red in colour. It has now turned blue. The top was lost due to age. But the engine is still the old one.

C P Salih with his family.

On seeing its return, many elders shared their memories of having seen the car in the past. All this was recorded and kept by Salih’s family. Many were not even allowed to touch the car. But C P Mohammad took everyone in the area in the car.

While the old car has been found, one puzzle related to it remains. CP Mohammad had written in his diary that an Ezhuthachan in Thrissur had helped him buy the car. Salih has not yet been able to find out who that was.

source: http://www.onmanorama.com / OnManorama / Home> News> Business / by OnManorama Correspondent / January 17th, 2021

Prem Nazir is unstoppable in digital age too

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

KERALA :

Old documentary an instant online hit

A short documentary on Malayalam cinema’s evergreen star Prem Nazir, which surfaced online a couple of days ago, has garnered thousands of views, in testimony to the actor’s enduring popularity, thirty-two years after his passing away. On his death anniversary on Saturday, the video, which was made for Doordarshan back then, was shared across social media platforms, providing a glimpse of the actor to many from the younger generation too.

The documentary titled Nithyavasantham Nithyavismayam, converted from an old VHS tape, was uploaded on Facebook by Orbit Videovision. It was directed by Baiju Chandran, presently head of programmes, Doordarshan, Thiruvananthapuram. The film has interviews with actors, filmmakers, and producers who have worked with him, recollecting their memories.

Actor Mammootty speaks of how he, as a youngster unaware of the technicalities of filmmaking, assumed that Nazir was the same larger-than-life persona in real life as he was shown on screen.

Poignant memories

One of the poignant recollections is made by veteran script-writer Sarangapani about the special relationship the actor shared with Udaya studio, having starred in many a film produced under the banner. “He was not just a cinematic hero for the employees here. He used to enquire after each of the employees here, including the sweepers and the light boys and financially helped them out during difficulties,” he says. Actor Jose Prakash echoes these sentiments and says that Nazir was particular that whatever he is doing to help others should not be known to anyone else.

The documentary looks at how he became the romantic hero of the masses, how he was sometimes limited in his experimentation owing to that image, and of the instances when he successfully broke out of that mould and stunned everyone.

Rare camaradarie

His camaradarie with actor Sathyan, with whom he acted in several films, also becomes a point of discussion. Actors Saradha and Kaviyoor Ponnamma speak of how he was gracious enough to make everyone around comfortable, and treated everyone equally. There are rare interviews with his family members too.

The documentary ends with some rare visuals of his last journey, and of the multitudes waiting on both sides of the road, to catch a last glimpse of the star.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Staff Reporter / Thiruvananthapuram – January 17th, 2021

‘Azim Premji: The Man Beyond the Billions’ review: The making of an entrepreneur and a philanthropist

Amazing Feats, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Green Products, Karnataka (under research project), Leaders, Science & Technology, World Opinion, , , , , , ,

Bengaluru, KARNATAKA / Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA :

How Azim Premji expanded his business from vegetable oils to info-tech and put his money where his heart is

The story of a person can be inspiring. The authors have chosen their subject well, for, everyone knows of Azim Premji, but few truly know what makes the man.

A book about such a person, if well-written, may possibly inspire the reader into action. In this case, soon after you read the book, it’s difficult not to look up the Azim Premji Foundation website, to see if it had any volunteering opportunities, even if you have done nothing like it before!

In chronicling any life, it is easy to get mired down with mind-numbing detail that comes your way if you are sifting through 50-odd years’ worth of the protagonist’s hits and misses. The authors have done well to stick to the most interesting parts of Premji’s life. Two things stand out across events and across time: his integrity and a penchant for frugality.

Zest for austerity

His insistence on paying for personal calls made on his office phone is legendary. His friends know of his love for cars but also about his unwillingness to spend fanciful amounts on one.

He once wanted to buy a Fiat that was registered in Wipro’s name. He got the finance department involved in the discussion as he wanted to play by the rules and pay for the purchase. But with depreciation, the car’s value was zero to the company. The transaction did not go through.

At one point, his friends were agog with excitement at his purchase of a Mercedes, but it was… hold your breath… a second-hand one!

At another time, when his team was preparing to welcome clients on a visit to headquarters, and took Premji over the arrangements that included meals from a five-star hotel, he quipped, “If our cafeteria is good enough for our employees, it should be good enough for clients too!”

It’s probably the same zest for austerity that had him pleased while on a U.S. visit, when two of his senior-most executives bought lunch for the three of them at a Burger King outlet for less than $7.50! And, this was a man who didn’t bat an eyelid when an employee of the vegetable oils business lost ₹25 lakh in a year in a trading position.

A long journey

The book chronicles the journey of Wipro from the time the Premjis put down roots in Mumbai. It throws light on the man’s spirit of entrepreneurship, as the company cautiously experimented with opportunities — expanding from vegetable oils to engineering products, computer hardware, tech services and consumer care and lighting. It also does not shy away from some of Wipro’s missteps such as the investment in financial services, a business which withered away despite the group’s entry into the space after much thought and preparation.

His management style

While doing justice to the man’s talent for perseverance, the authors have touched upon his management style that many say cramped some CEOs under his chairmanship. His taking over as CEO in 2005 after the abrupt exit of Vivek Paul, said to have been primed for the post, or his decision to have a joint CEO structure soon after, at a time when competitors were blazing ahead, had raised eyebrows in the world of IT services at the time.

The reader may get the sense that the authors occasionally sound deferential when talking about the man or his family. But, it’s difficult not to be overawed by someone who has never sold a single share in his company but who chose to give away $21 billion worth of wealth to his foundation, leaving his two sons with shares valued at about ₹65 crore. How can one give away so much wealth and still, on the morning the news about the latest transfer to the foundation breaks, irritably ask an employee — who speaks of congratulatory messages overwhelming social media — “What’s all the fuss about?” ?

This book is a must-read for anyone who can read English.

Azim Premji: The Man Beyond the Billions; Sundeep Khanna, Varun Sood, HarperCollins, ₹699.

bharatkumar.k@thehindu.co.in

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Books> Reviews> Profile / by K Bharat Kumar / January 16th, 2021

The learned emperor: ‘Baburnama’

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INDIA :

Resplendent: ‘Babur receives a courtier’ (1589) by Farrukh Baig.   | Photo Credit: Wiki Commons

Babur was a sensitive memoirist with the rare ability to distance himself from his writing

Babur’s memoir did not have a name but is referred to as Baburnama or Tuzuk-e-Baburi. It is the first autobiography from the subcontinent and one of the first in the world. Babur came from two different cultures, of which one was literate and aspired to high culture. This was his father’s ancestral family, which was Timurid. His mother came from the nomadic Mongols, who weren’t literate. Babur describes his maternal uncles in his memoir.

The Timurids had a tradition of poetry, hawking, music, and, of course, war. Babur was from a family of minor nobles who had inherited the governorship of Ferghana. His autobiography begins with a description of the geography and tells us that his father, Umar Shaikh Mirza, died in an accident when he was 39 and Babur 12. The young Babur struggled to hold on to his inheritance, losing several battles, including one in Ferghana, which he had to give up to the victor.

Babur describes these decades of his life in an unemotional and direct way: he hardly valorises his own achievements. Like the great Caesar, whose books on his wars in Gaul and against Pompey may as well have been written by a non-partisan observer, Babur has the ability to distance himself from his life.

Keen naturalist

Babur’s life turns when he is found to be the only living heir to the throne of Kabul. He takes it and turns his eyes to India. For 20 years, he campaigns against India, being held back at the borders each time.

Then, as we know, he defeated the Lodi dynasty (introducing firearms to the subcontinent for the first time) and captured north India in 1526 after a decisive battle at Panipat. Babur died four years later, spending much of this time travelling across India and writing his memoir in the afternoons.

These paragraphs show how much of a keen naturalist he was. “The elephant, which the Hindustanis call hathi, is one of the wild animals peculiar to Hindustan. It inhabits the western borders of the Kalpi country… the elephant is an immense animal and very sagacious. If people speak to it, it understands. If they command anything from it, it does it. Its value is according to its size — the larger it is, the higher the price. On some islands an elephant is rumoured to be as tall as 20 or 30 feet, but here it is not more than 10 feet. It eats and drinks entirely with its trunk. If it loses the trunk, it cannot live. It has two great teeth (tusks) in its upper jaw, one on each side of the trunk. By setting these against trees and walls, it is able to bring them down; with these it fights and does whatever hard tasks fall to it. These teeth are called ivory and are highly valued by Hindustanis.’

‘Like a goat, the elephant has no skin hair. It is relied on to accompany every troop of their armies. It crosses rivers with great ease, carrying a mass of baggage, and three or four can drag without trouble a special piece of artillery that takes four or five hundred men to haul. But its stomach is large. One elephant eats as much as a dozen camels.

Elegant and clean

Babur’s book was not freely available till a British amateur linguist named Annette Susannah Beveridge translated it. She taught herself the particular version of Turkish that Babur wrote in (later Mughals wrote in Farsi) and published it in four volumes from 1912 to 1922.

At the time of the first British census a century and a quarter ago, India was 4% literate. Most Indians even today don’t have four generations of literacy: in fact, the proportion of those of us who can claim to have had great-grandparents who could write is tiny. Babur came from a tradition that already had centuries of literacy.

His is elegant and clean writing of the sort that one would expect from a very literate and sensitive person. Babur’s daughter, Gulbadan Begum, sister of Humayun and aunt of Akbar, also wrote a lovely memoir in which she describes her father’s attention to detail which he passed on to his family.

These two works, along with Jahangir’s autobiography, are some of the best material available on the Mughals. It’s a shame that these books are not taught in India’s schools today.

Aakar Patel is a columnist and translator of Urdu and Gujarati non-fiction works.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Books – Leather Bound / by Aakar Patel / January 16th, 2020

500K trout ova dispatched from Kashmir to 3 other states for rearing

Business & Economy, Green Products,

Kokernag (KASHMIR), JAMMU & KASHMIR :

From Asia’s largest trout farm in south Kashmir’s Kokernag, 500,000 trout ova were dispatched to Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Uttarakhand for rearing

Representational image. (REUTERS)
Representational image. (REUTERS)

Brown and rainbow trouts are cold water fish introduced in Kashmir over 100 years ago.

The chief trout farming project officer at Kokernag, Mohammad Muzaffar Bazaz, said that 500,000 trout ova were dispatched from the farm to Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Bhimtal in Uttarakhand where the directorate of cold water research centre has been established by Indian Council of the Agriculture Research.

Bazaz said that the 500,00 trout ova were airlifted so the progeny reach the respective destinations safe and unharmed.

“Our staff at the farm worked overnight so these trout ova reach the respective destinations undamaged. The facilities were provided by the principal secretary of the animal husbandry department through the PMMSY scheme.”

Spread over 20 hectares, the farm was set up 36 years ago with support from the European Economic Committee. It started with a single hatchery which has now been upgraded to three hatcheries that supply millions of eyed ova and seeds to beneficiaries, including private fish farmers.

Bazaz said that Kashmir has two types of fisheries, warm and cold water. “For trout culture, the temperature shouldn’t exceed 20 degrees Celsius. Brown trouts are in abundance in the upper reaches,” he says.

Kashmir is also known as an anglers’ paradise—tourists, particularly foreigners, head for high-altitude water bodies as brown trout is found in high-altitude lakes and streams.

source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> India News / by Mir Ehsan / January 18th, 2021

A role model for Muslim girls already, this DSP now prepares for UPSC Exams

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

Ballia, UTTAR PRADESH / Indore, MADHYA PRADESH :

Shabera Ansari, a resident of Indore, is posted as DSP (Women’s Cell) at Dewas in Madhya Pradesh.

New Delhi: 

Parents in middle-class Muslim families generally believe that their children would hardly get a government job. Hence, they find it better to engage them in some work rather than letting them pursuing studies. But a young woman from a middle-class family has busted such myths by becoming the Deputy Superintendent of Police.

Shabera Ansari, a resident of Indore, is posted as DSP (Women’s Cell) at Dewas in Madhya Pradesh and her father is posted as a Sub-Inspector at a police station in Indore.

Shabera said she had a normal childhood and there were never big dreams to pursue. When she went to college, at the age of 19, marriage proposals started coming in but fire in the belly to do something egged her on. Finally, she joined the police forces and became a DSP. Currently, she said, she is preparing for civil services exams.

The young woman said that soon after passing her out of a government school in Indore, she enrolled in a college and started preparing for Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examinations along with her regular studies.

From SI to becoming DSP

She was selected as Sub-Inspector in 2013, and in 2018 posted as Trainee DSP in Sidhi.

Shabera’s family originally hails from Ballia in Uttar Pradesh, but settled down in Indore about 30 years ago due to his father’s job in state police.

“I was an average student in school and also failed in Mathematics once,” she told IANS with a chuckle.

“A marriage proposal came when I was just 19. I was scared and decided to do something. I started my journey and never looked back. I started preparation for the state government services during college and tasted success in the first attempt… I have continued studying ever since,” she said with confidence.

Shabera further added:

“My mother always supported me. Initially, it was not clear if I will opt to join the police, though there was always an interest since my father is in police service.”

A Successful Journey

Surprisingly, Shabera is the first woman in her family to crack state civil service exam and has now become an inspiration for her community.

Many times, she was honoured as chief guest in various functions, including school programmes where she interact with children who are always curious to know about her journey.

“I always try to encourage children and motivate them to do something in life,” Shabera said.

“Little children seem very fond of taking selfies with me,” she smiled.

She said:

“I often do counselling of children of Muslim families, especially boys. I tell everyone to trust themselves and study seriously; hardwork will definitely change things.”

Shabera said she also got to learn a lot from her father. It could be a coincidence that Shabera was incharge of a police station during lockdown where her father was posted.

In fact, her father had gone for some work to Uttar Pradesh when the lockdown was imposed and he got stuck. Shabera tried to somehow bring her father back but to no avail. Eventually, the police authorities issued direction that he could do duty from wherever he was stuck.

She said that she had many times gone out on patrol duty at night with her father. However, once back home, she used to cook for him.

She said that her father respects her as an officer but Shabera has to many times remind him that she is an officer at office not at home.

source: http://www.ummid.com / Ummid.com / Home> Life & Style / by Mohammad Suaib / IANS / January 17th, 2021

Behind Punjab government’s nod to restore Malerkotla palace, ‘last wish’ of 97-yr-old Begum

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Travel & Tourism, World Opinion

PUNJAB :

The Punjab Cabinet had given its nod for the acquisition, conservation and use of the palace for tourism on Monday.

Begum Munawwar-ul-Nisa. (Express Photo)

After decades of neglect, 150-year-old Mubarak Manzil Palace of Malerkotla will soon be a protected monument and restored and renovated by the Punjab government, thanks to Begum Munawwar-ul-Nisa, the wife of last Nawab of Malerkotla, who has handed over the private property to the government.

The Punjab Cabinet had given its nod for the acquisition, conservation and use of the palace for tourism on Monday.

Begum Nisa, a princess, is the successor of Nawab Sher Mohammad Khan of Malerkotla, who holds a special place in Punjab’s history. He had vehemently raised his voice against the execution of the younger Sahibzadas of Guru Gobind Singh, Baba Zorawar Singh and Baba Fateh Singh, in the court of the Subedar of Sirhind, Wazir Khan, in 1705.

The 97-year-old Begum Nisa, speaking to The Indian Express  on a conference phone call through former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arshad Dali, said, I have handed over the palace to the government. Meri akhiri ichchha, aap keh sakte ho, yahi hai ke main iss mahal ko pehle ki tarah jagmagata chorr kar jayun. (My last wish, you can say, is to see the palace return to its pristine glory before I die).” Begum Nisa has no child or legal heir.

Dali has become a bridge between the government and the Begum, who wanted the government to acquire the palace. “She was worried that after her the palace would be usurped by private parties. Now it will become a government’s possession. After all, there is the important history of this place. Guru Gobind Singh had presented a sword to Nawab Sher Mohammad Sahib as a mark of honour for his support for his sons.”

Sanjay Kumar, Administrative Secretary, Tourism Government of Punjab, told The Indian Express that the government would soon initiate the process of declaring the palace a protected monument of the state. “We will declare it a protected monument after inviting objections. It will be a protected monument under the state’s Act. After that, we will start conserving and renovating the palace. We have accepted the Begum’s precondition that we should allow her to stay in the palace during her lifetime. After that, none of her successors will be allowed to stake claim on the property. It will be Punjab government’s property.”

He said that the government had offered Rs 3 crore to the Begum, “She had been apprehensive that the palace of such historical importance would be lost if there is no taker.”

About the condition of the palace, Sanjay Kumar said, “I can say it is not good. Roof of several rooms has collapsed and the entrance is also in bad shape.”

Begum Nisa had been living in penury for many years. The valuables in the palace were sold off over the years. Former Cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu had once visited her and presented her with some pieces of furniture.

Begum Nisa had written to the state government that she is the sole owner, and has absolute rights to alienate the property to any person, including state or Tourism & Cultural Affairs Department.

The palace is spread over an area of 32,400 sq ft. There are several cases involving it going on in several courts.

The expected financial liability involved in purchase of this proposed protected monument and likely financial implications arising out of existing court cases is around Rs 5 crore. The government has got the land price evaluated.

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Experss / Home> India / by Kanchan Vasdev, Chandigarh / January 13th, 2021

Sweet scent of tradition: Attars bring the past forward in India

Business & Economy

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Natural fragrances are a big hit in India. Photo: Special Arrangement/THE HINDU  

These natural fragrances have a cult following that seems to defy their low-profile marketing

For several years now, Hassan Siddiqui has never had a day that did not include perfumes in it. “I have around 600-700 bottles of attars and around 300 Western scents. The costliest one in my collection is a 10-ml bottle of pure Oudh attar that costs ₹46,000. Yes, it’s like an addiction, but of the good kind,” he laughs, over a phone interview.

The 26-year-old Siddiqui is one of many aroma enthusiasts trying to highlight India’s thriving indigenous fragrance industry through social media. Though he is based in Bahraich, a small town near Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, Siddiqui reaches a global audience through his YouTube channel Perfume Review India. It offers a mix of product trials, interviews with perfumiers and explainers on fragrance usage and terminology in Hindi/Urdu, to its 17,800-plus subscribers.

Hassan Siddiqui educates customers about the latest attars through his YouTube channel Perfume Review India. Photo: Special Arrangement/THE HINDU  

Siddiqui wants to increase awareness about the role natural fragrances play in Indian culture. His focus is on attar or ittar, a broad term that refers to scents using essential oils derived from botanical sources via steam or hydro-distillation, a method credited to the Persian physician Ibn Sina (also known as Avicenna in Europe).

Many of India’s traditional attar manufacturers rely on Ibn Sina’s extraction techniques, and are masters at creating not just floral scents, but also edible flavouring from natural sources.

Over a thousand enterprises are reportedly involved in the Indian perfume industry, estimated to be worth 500 million USD in a global market of $24 billion. Besides natural plant extracts, perfume manufacturers use chemicals and synthetic additives.

Even though imported alcohol-based perfumes have a more visible presence in the Indian market, attars too are holding their own. As India grows 31 of the 300 naturally fragrant raw materials required for perfume manufacture, it is an important supplier of essential oils like mint, jasmine, sandalwood, tuberose and spices in the global market.

Traditional production

The domestic natural fragrance market is dominated by Kannauj, a town in Uttar Pradesh known as the perfume capital of India. “We have been using the same hydro-distillation technique since 1896, when my great grandfather Sheikh Mohamed Ayub established the perfumery,” says Saad Akhir, of Kannauj’s family-run business Syed Mohamed Ayub Mohamed Yaqub Perfumers.

The ancient technique starts with the plucking of flowers early in the day. The petals alone are mixed with water and poured into copper stills known as deg and sealed with a mixture of clay and cotton. A bamboo pipe doubling as a condenser (chonga) connects the deg to the copper receiver (whose mouth has been covered with cloth or bhapka) placed in a cooling chamber filled with water.

An earthen oven (bhatti) fuelled by wood and dung cakes ‘cooks’ the petals until the distillate is obtained from the vapour in two separate rounds. Both the bhatti and the water in the cooling tank are constantly monitored to maintain an even temperature.

Kannauj is known for attar shamama, a dense, woody scent said to be invented by Sheikh Mohamed Ayub, that is used in the base of most perfume blends by designer houses in France and UK. “Ironically,” says Siddiqui, “they are sold back to India, at a considerably high price, and our people are unaware of this.”

Patronised by the Mughals and the other princely states with Turkish links, attar makers and sellers were once an integral part of the Indian cityscape, as can be seen from the remnants of street names like ‘Attar Mohalla’ and ‘Gandhakaarar Theru’ in southern India.

Vishwas Vijayvergiya of Sugandh Co, Lucknow. The manufacturing unit which uses the ‘deg-bhapka’ system of hydro-distillation can be seen in the background. Photo: Special Arrangement/THE HINDU  

“The credit for patronising perfumes in Lucknow goes to the Nawabs of Oudh, particularly to Nawab Wajid Ali Shah,” says Vishwas Vijayvergiya, whose family runs Sugandh Co in Lucknow. Apart from distillate extracts of agarwood, sandalwood and flowers, India also pioneered the art and science of making incense, an elixir that perfumes spaces through the combustion of fragrant materials with aromas permeating through smoke, he adds.

Keeping it natural

The lockdown briefly affected production of base oils until restrictions were eased in September. “Even though our exports have stopped due to the pandemic regulations, we are still manufacturing for our domestic customers,” says Mohamed Sadathullah of Hameed and Co Perfumers in Hyderabad.

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Plan B for lockdown

  • The pandemic-induced slowdown has made many perfume companies diversify their product base. While Lucknow’s Sugandh Co still has artisanal winter fragrances this year like Azeemah, Utsav, Hayaa and Kausar, it has also looked into chemical sanitisers. “Like all other sectors, the perfumes sector came to a standstill during the lockdown. However because fragrance is such an integrated part of all everyday life, we continued manufacturing industrial perfumery compounds for the hand-sanitiser and soap industries as soon as the lockdown was eased,” says company executive Vishwas Vijayvergiya.
  • Adds Rahul George, of ARI Fragrances, Bengaluru, that creates signature aromas for corporate spaces, “Before the lockdown, nearly 80% of our clients were IT companies, who have all started working for home since March. So we are focusing now on manufacturing for pharma and hospitals. We are hoping to launch products related to women’s personal hygiene and a fragrance for pets.”

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“We make perfumes with a sandalwood base, and also blends from attars bought from Kannauj, like henna, rose, and amber. We make oudh from the wood (agarwood, aloe wood) that grows in Assam. The wood chips are cooked to extract the oil from it. All our sandal-based perfumes are made without chemical additives and alcohol,” he says.

Cities like Delhi, Hyderabad and Lucknow are also popular for attar shopping tours, which give visitors a whiff of history with an ittar-saaz or perfumier creating a customised attar using different compounds.

Rose petals being prepared for the ‘deg’ in Sugandh Co, Lucknow. Photo: Special Arrangement/THE HINDU  

“We can recreate most of the French, Italian and American scents with the help of the ingredients here, because the base note is more or less the same,” claims Saadathullah.

Measured in tolas (12 ml = 1 tola), the attar is sold in quaint craft glass bottles that add to the Oriental mystique of the perfume.

YouTuber Siddiqui, who launched his own perfume brand recently, says that he has come across some expert aroma replicators on his tours. In one of his videos on unusual attars, Siddiqui reviews products that smell like ‘Johnson’s Baby’, mud, and Lucknowi biryani. “I feel we should do more to showcase our attars effectively. The manufacturers have not even entered into influencer marketing, though this industry is thriving,” he says.

He points out the image problem attars seem to have, in general. “Expensive attars, which typically sell for ₹1,000 per 10ml, are packaged in ₹3 glass bottles with cheaper applicator sticks. Besides this, customers need to be educated on the right time of the year, and day, to use these natural scents. A winter-time perfume like musk can turn out to be very smelly in summer.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Life & Style / by Nahla Nainar / Chennai – December 29th, 2020