Praising Kamal Amrohi’s iconic film Pakeezah, KBC host Amitabh Bachchan revealed that the filmmaker used rose water for the fountains in a scene that had Meena Kumari’s dance sequence.
Meena Kumari dances in a sequence from Pakeezah.(YouTube)
Bollywood actor Amitabh Bacchan has revealed that legendary filmmaker Kamal Amrohi used real rose water in all the fountains installed on the sets of his iconic movie, Pakeezah. Amitabh was speaking on his popular game show, Kaun Banega Crorepati.
Contestant Afseen Naaz, an assistant professor at a Bilaspur university faced a question about the meaning of the Urdu word, Pakeezah. Host Amitabh fondly remembered the iconic film and praised the stars, as well as the filmmaker of the Meena Kumari-Raaj Kumar-starrer.
Talking about a scene that featured Meena’s dance in front of a fountain, similar to the fountain at the Taj Mahal, Amitabh revealed that Kamal wanted the scene in a certain way. And, to ensure it, he used rose water for the fountains.
According to Meghnad Desai’s book Pakeezah, Meena Kumari charged just a token amount of Re 1 for her role in the Kamal Amrohi-classic. It turned out to be her last film. She died battling liver cirrhosis just a few weeks after the film released.
Written, directed and produced by Kamal, Pakeezah released in 1972 and also featured Ashok Kumar and Nadira in lead roles. It took 16 years for the film to complete and remains a cult rromance to date.
Recently, Amitabh hit 45 million followers on Twitter and shared a throwback picture with his father Harivansh Rai Bachchan, thanking his fans. He wrote, “The caption informs of 45 million on Twitter .. thank you Jasmine, but the picture says a lot more… Its the moment I came home surviving death after the ‘Coolie’ accident ..Its the first time ever I saw my Father breaking down! A concerned little Abhishek looks on!”.
source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Entertainment> TV / by HT Entertainment Desk / January 12th, 2021
This new card game created by two Bengaluru-based women, who hail from Kerala, celebrates Malayali culture, Mollywood and more.
The game needs at least four players and can be played by anyone aged 18 and above
Bengaluru :
You may take a Malayali out of Kerala but you can’t take the love for Malayalam pop culture out of a Malayali. Or so it seems from this new game developed by two Bengaluru- based women who hail from God’s own country. Called Malayali Aano, the new game by Sona Zainab Harris and Rose Mary Jacob is a cardbased game that draws heavily from Malayali pop culture, popular phrases, movie characters, food, stereotypes and other such trivia.
Those who have played the popular party game Cards Against Humanity need no introduction to the rules of Malayali Aano, whose tagline is: ‘A party game for devil’s own people’. It consists of 500 cards, of which 100 have questions on them while 400 have statements, movie dialogues, or phrases that could work as an answer. One player picks a question card, others throw the quirkiest answers from the 10 they possess into a pile. The player that poses the question reads out each question- answer pair, laughter ensues and the most creative or whackiest answer wins.
A minimum of four players is mandatory, with more being merrily encouraged. “Each statement in the answer card is iconic in its own way but when set to the context of another question, it can incite a laughter riot. Since we’ve picked out trivia from the 1980s to now, the nostalgia factor is high as well.
Any player aged between 18 and 45 will find something to remind them of their childhood, adolescence, first romance, parental relations or their connection to Kerala,” says Harris, the founder and creative director of Backflip Design Studio. But it is not just fun and games.
It also helps bring up important conversations. “When you hear certain dialogues – for example, ‘You are just a woman’ from the film The King – you don’t think much in the context of the plot. But isolating such things and using it in the game makes people see that it could be problematic too. Humour can help break barriers with topics like sexism, classism, misogyny, etc,” says Jacob, who is also the founder and curator of the popup My Cup of Tea.
The two women took a month to develop the content of the game. It makes use of, what Jacob and Harris refer to as, a “Manglish” script. There is also a leaflet with a QR code that can be scanned to understand the translation and reference of the answer cards. The game is meant for those aged 18 and above, with some players even finding it to be an effective ice breaker with their parents.
“One player told us he never thought he would talk to his father about the topics included in the game. But they had a good laugh about it, so it can help different generations bond better too,” says Harris.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Simran Ahuja / December 29th, 2020
Sondarapally Village (Thalassery),KERALA / Sharjah , UAE :
C P Rizwan won the man-of-the-match award his 109 against Ireland in the first ODI on Friday
Kannur:
The story of C P Rizwan, who on Friday became the first Keralite to score a One-Day International (ODI) century representing any country, bears testimony to the fact that if you strive hard and stay focussed, you will ultimately realise your dreams.
The 32-year-old hailing from Thalassery, the cradle of cricket in Kerala, never gave up and never lost hope, even when his career hit a roadblock.
Growing up at Saidar Pally, a small village near Thalassery, Rizwan’s childhood mostly revolved around playing cricket with his friends in the locality. The youngster was gifted with the qualities that make a batsman successful at the top level and had the potential to become a future star.
He went on to represent Kerala in the junior levels and captained the U-25 state team. Although his performance in age-group categories was rewarded with a place in the senior side which included the likes of Sanju Samson and Sachin Baby, he was never given a chance in the playing eleven.
As it was frustrating sitting on the bench, he moved to the UAE in 2014 and landed a job in Sharjah. He continued to play cricket there and was able to catch the attention of the local cricket fraternity with consistent performances in domestic tournaments. In 2018, Rizwan completed the four years required for him to be eligible to play for the UAE and was duly included in the national team.
Rizwan celebrates his hundred against Ireland
An electrical engineering graduate from the Cochin University of Science and Technology, Rizwan made his debut for the UAE on January 26, 2019, in an ODI against Nepal. The Emirates Cricket Board offered him a one-year central contract last month in recognition of his excellent batting against against the USA and Zimbabwe. Apart from him, two other Keralites – Basil Hameed and Alishan Sharafu – also made it to the squad.
On Friday, Rizwan made history when he guided the UAE to a six-wicket win over Ireland in the first ODI of the four-match series in Abu Dhabi by scoring 109 off 136 balls. The splendid knock, which earned him the man-of-the-match award, was laced with nine boundaries and a six. He shared a fourth-wicket partnership of 184 with Lahore-born Muhammed Usman, who made an unbeaten 102, and made short work of the 269-run target set by Ireland.
Centurions Rizwan and Muhammed Usman after the first one-dayer against Ireland
Born on April 19, 1988, to M P Abdul Rouf and C P Nasreen of Poovathankandy, Rizwan studied at the St Joseph’s Higher Secondary School in Thalassery and played for the local Students Cricket Club and the Kochi-based Cordiant Sports Foundation in his formative years.
The right-hander, who bats at No. 3, has so far scored 288 runs from 10 ODIs at an average of 32.
He is currently employed with the Eastern International LLC in Sharjah.
source: http://www.onmanorama.com / OnManorama / Home> Sports / by G. Dinesh Kumar / January 09th, 2021
Hamid Faisal Siddiqui, 49, has taken over as qazi of the mosque after his father’s demise and says they have started to put the dark days behind them.
Hamid recieves his father Muhammad Husain Siddiqui at Hyderabad airport in March, 2020.
Hamid Faisal Siddiqui, 49, still breaks down talking about the death of his father on March 10, becoming India’s first casualty linked to Covid-19, especially because of what followed. “I wish and pray every day that none in this world, not even my enemies, is put through the situation my family had to face. Amidst the grief, we battled blame.”
Muhammad Husain Siddiqui, 76, an Islamic scholar who was the qazi of the biggest mosque in Kalaburagi, had gone for a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, followed by a month-long stay with his younger son, a dentist, in Jeddah. On his return on March 6, Hamid recalls, his father was fine. However, by the next night, he had begun feeling unwell. With his fever and cough worsening, the family took him to a hospital in the town on March 9. After 12 hours of observation, he was referred to a private super-specialty hospital in Hyderabad. He was being taken by road in an ambulance to be tested for the coronavirus when he died.
Muhammad Husain Siddiqui at Saudi Arabia pilgrimage.
Still, the joint family never suspected Covid, as the pandemic was till then no more than a curiosity, happening in faraway China. It was after Siddiqui passed away that the doctors told the family he had died of the coronavirus. Later, Siddiqui’s 45-year-old daughter and the family doctor also tested positive, but recovered.
“People were scared to meet us, some turned away on seeing us. Such was the stigma attached to the pandemic. Very few visited us to even offer solace,” Hamid, who has eight siblings, sobs.
While the dark days that followed seemed endless, Hamid says they have started to put them behind. As elder son, he has taken over as qazi of the mosque. What helped was the family’s decision to take on their Covid status head-on. “We encouraged others to wear a mask and follow all social distancing norms, saying this was the best way to survive this turbulent period.”
A few days from now, the Siddiquis hope to finally and firmly put the shadow of 2020 behind. “Inshallah, we will be blessed with a new life by the early half of the new year,” Hamid says, adding, “Our solemn request to the Almighty continues to be that the entire world moves out of this phase to become a happy place for all. People should soon get a chance to be with their loved ones whenever and wherever they wish to be.”
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bangalore / by Ralph Alex Arakal / Bengaluru – January 01st, 2021
Khurja (Bulandshahr District) UTTAR PRADESH / NEW DELHI :
New Delhi:
Islamic scholar, prolific writer and senior ideologue of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH), Dr Muhammad Rafat, who recently retired as a professor from Jamia Millia Islamia has passed away on Friday evening at the Al-Shifa Hospital, New Delhi.
He was 65 years of old and is survived by three sons, two daughters and his widow. His widow-Nusrat-is the daughter of former President of the JIH and a well-known Islamic scholar, Maulana Syed Jalaluddin Umari.
In the presence of hundreds of mourners, he was laid to rest today at the graveyard in Shaheen Bagh area. His funeral prayer was be held on Saturday evening here at the JIH Markaz mosque (Masjid Ishat-e-Islam).
Expressing condolences over his death, JIH President Syed Sadatullah Husaini said: “The demise of Dr Rafat is a great loss for the Muslim Ummah, the Islamic Movement and the entire country. He was a leading intellectual, tremendous leader, firm ideologue and a benevolent mentor. He was an erudite scholar of Islam and a prolific writer. He was blessed among many qualities with a razor sharp memory and an unmatched ability to give speeches on a myriad of topics without any notes in such a coherent manner that it would appear as if he is reading a written essay. He led an extremely simple life and had a very pleasant disposition. He was a teacher of theoretical physics. This subject of science has a deep connection with philosophy, so he made a direct study of philosophy and important ideas of science from its original sources. As one of the foremost ideologues of Jamaat, he always upheld and acted on the basic and core principles of Islam. May Allah forgive his sins and grant him the highest Paradise.”
A native of Khurja in Bulandshahr district of the Western UP, Dr. Rafat did his MSc in Physics from the Aligarh Muslim University in 1976 and PhD from IIT-Kanpur. He joined Jamia Millia Islamia in 1985, one year after receiving his PhD degree. He retired as Professor- Department of Applied Sciences and Humanities from the Jamia Millia on July 31, 2020.
Dr. Rafat, who was associated with the Islamic movement ever since his student days, was a member of the Central Advisory Council, the highest decision-making body of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind from 1999 till his death. He wrote more than 15 books on various subjects in Urdu and English languages.
Besides being director of the Centre for Study and Research (CSR) of JIH, for the last two years, he had also previously worked as chairman of the JIH’s Tasneefi Academy (Authors Academy) and all India secretary of the Jamaat’s Tarbiyah Department (Training Dept.). He also served as the JIH President of Delhi and Haryana from 1995 to 2011. He had also worked as honorary editor of Urdu monthly, Zindagi-e-Nau, an Islamic research magazine, from 2009 to 2019. Besides, he headed several important committees of the JIH for policy-formulation and the creation of new institutions and allied organizations.
source: http://www.muslimmirror.com / Muslim Mirror / Home> Indian Muslim / by Special Correspondent / January 09th, 2021
Orial Imara, a Kerala-based soap manufacturer and exporter, has launched Elaria, nano soaps packed in tablet strips to help fight Covid conveniently on the go.
Jabir K C, Managing Director, Orial Imara, who developed the nano soap, said each tablet soap, weighing around 2 gm, is enough for one good hand wash. The company has now launched packets of 20 tablet soaps in two strips priced at Rs.30.
Elaria handwash nano soaps are made available in supermarkets and drug stores across Kerala and Karnataka now and will be taken to other south Indian markets in phases while exports to Qatar have already been started.
Jabir said according to many experts, a bit of soap and water is still the best way to get rid of germs, including the virus that causes Covid-19. Using alcohol-based sanitizer should be your second choice, according to the United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
He also said Elaria could be first of its kind nano soap in the world which is ideal for people who are always on the move and those who do not want to touch soap dispensers in public places like restaurants. “It’s also a grade 1 soap with 76-80% total fatty matter (TFM),” he said.
Kozhikode-based Orial Imara is into the manufacture and export of grade 1 soaps with its R&D centre in Kozhikode and manufacturing units in Mumbai and Solan in Himachal Pradesh.
source: http://www.onmanorama.com / OnManaroma / Home> Lifestyle / by OnManorama Staff / January 08th, 2020
Nalgonda District Collector Prashant Patil meets Bashira.
KTR also asks authorities to provide better education to her siblings
A Class IX student of Government Girls High School in the town, Sk. Bashira, is not only winning appreciation for her prototype at the Telangana School Innovation Challenge (TSIC-2020) in Hyderabad, but IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao, understanding her family situation, also directed the authorities here to allot a 2BHK house.
Mr. Rama Rao who inspected her prototype – hydraulic lifting wheelchair – had interacted with Bashira and learnt about the family – a father attacked by paralysis, working mother and two other siblings in school.
Officials here said the Minister had phoned District Collector Prashant J Patil and instructed him to initiate the procedure to confirm one unit for the poor Muslim family. On Tuesday, Bashira brought her science model to the Collectorate along with her teacher Poornima, head mistress Pushpalatha and mother Imtiaz, and explained the model to Mr. Patil.
Bashira said her bedridden father Qayyum Basha, who had been a construction worker, was the source of inspiration for her hydraulic lifting wheelchair. Mr. Patil assured the family of a 2BHK unit at Gollaguda, and also said her younger sister Sk. Sameera who is in Class V at the Police Lines School now will be admitted to the Kendriya Vidyalaya in the next academic year. And brother Nagulmeera’s education will also be guided.
Appreciation
Impressed, Mr. Patil also said the young girl will be presented a certificate of appreciation on the Republic Day. Hydraulic lifting wheelchair – developed by Bashira-Jainab-Shameem team of students is currently among the TSIC-2020 top-25 teams. They will be participating in the State-level grand finale soon.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> State> Telangana / by Staff Reporter / Nalgonda – January 05th, 2021
Singarayapalem Village, Konjerala Mandal, Khammam District) , TELANGANA :
An injured street being helped to move with a two-wheeled frame in Konjerla mandal of Khammam district. | Photo Credit: G.N Rao
Makes a two-wheeled mobility aid for the dog enabling it to walk
Moved by the plight of an injured street dog, an animal lover of Singarayapalem village in Konijerla mandal designed a makeshift mobility aid using wheels of a kid’s stroller and pieces of plastic pipes helping the injured canine to move around.
Mohammed Aasha, a Registered Medical Practitioner (RMP), turned saviour for a dog struggling to move with both its rear legs badly injured with suspected multiple fractures near his residence two days ago.
He immediately shifted the dog to his home where he cleaned the injured legs and offered food to the canine.
The idea of making an improvised mobility aid struck him after he noticed the dog desperately trying to crawl by dragging its injured hind legs.
The Registered Medical Practitioner translated his idea into action by making a two-wheeled mobility aid resembling a wheel-chair by using the components of a defunct children’s stroller and toys besides some unused household items.
He then delicately attached the two-wheeled mobility aid to the dog enabling it to walk around providing the much-needed relief to the canine, albeit temporarily.
“The plight of the injured female dog aged above six years prompted me to design the makeshift mobility aid to alleviate its suffering,” Mr. Aasha told The Hindu.
“I rescued the street dog after finding it wreathing in pain on the roadside with its back legs injured,” the Registered Medical Practitioner said, adding that he would take the canine to the veterinary hospital in Khammam to ensure proper treatment for its injured legs and make it walk independently.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Telangana / by P. Sridhar / Khammam – January 08th, 2021
As students, brothers Khalid and Akram, bubbling with enthusiasm would dream of building a business of their own. They would experiment with entrepreneurship and were raring to do something.
After several small ventures such as zamber, a social networking site, hostelneeds.com – an online e-store for dorm supplies and others – they finally succeeded in establishing www.yourlibaas.com
In 2014, Khalid – then 24 years-old, was in Pune Institute of Computer Technology (PICT) while his younger brother Akram, 19-years old then, had just joined Engineering in Aligarh Muslim Univsersity, the duo established yourlibaas.com, which is an online store for designer ethnic apparel bringing the best of Pakistani fashion to India. Their site has now gone global with top Pakistani and UAE Designers, including Sana Safinaz, Maria.B, Gul Ahmed, Sapphire, Zara Shahjahan, Élan, Faraz Manan, Charizma, Baroque, and Motifz, among others.
“When we began in 2014, ecommerce was in a nascent stage with the market being fragmented and multiple small players existing. Amazon and Flipkart were yet to emerge as market leaders. We now have an office in Noida but after the lockdown we have shifted to Jasola Vihar, New Delhi” said Akram while talking about their early days.
YourLibaas is an Urdu word that means your “garment or attire”. Today, the brothers claim that their online store is the market leader within the lawn suit market in India (by total revenue and market share).
“What began as a small start-up in New Delhi quickly transformed into a strong brand with an international presence. If you search for all related terms for apparel, we rank on the top position at Google. Today we have 23 employees on our payroll,” said Khalid Raza Khan, the founder and CEO of YourLibaas.
But it was not so easy to achieve success. Managing a business with college was difficult. There were several obstacles when they began.
They started off with inadequate capital pooling in their savings from the pocket-money they received from parents. Initially, they contacted small retailers and listed the suits on their site. When an order came in, they bought it from them and shipped it.
Khalid used to ship packages daily and often missed college because the courier offices and post-office closed by evening and packages would be delayed. In order to not miss college, he began sending the parcels from a post office that was 25 kmts from where he lived. This particular post office was open for 24 hours which was a good thing for the boys. During the nights, he would go on his scooty and send the parcels. And to save on costs, the duo delivered local orders themselves searching out the addresses while roaming on their two wheelers.
But missing classes had an adverse effect. Khalid could not cope with the lessons and failed in his exams due to which he had to repeat a year. The university in which he studied had different rules known as ATKT system wherein you have to repeat a year upon failing in a subject (unlike other colleges where you are promoted).
Akram who was pursuing engineering at AMU, handled digital marketing and technical development. And his studies also went downslide and he had a backlog of 14 papers.
As if that was not enough, they also suffered another set-back when they were duped by a wholesaler who didn’t send the products even after receiving full advanced payment of around Rs. 1.2 Lakh from them. This was a major setback and it took some time for them to bounce back.
They did the sourcing and packing themselves travelling in an auto rickshaw to the wholesaler bringing in heavy ‘katta bags’. As they slowly grew and as profits increased, they hired their first full-time staff named Sarfaraz for packing and logistics and 3 interns from Aligarh Muslim University for customer support and content writing.
However, they still were not in a position to pay handsome salaries due to which the staff left and they were back to looking after the packing and logistics till they could find replacements. In this way – slowly and bit by bit and through sheer perseverance, the brothers kept going.
With time as the business grew, so did their team.
“I remember how we generated enough profit to buy our own catalogue for around Rs. 60000. And we slowly moved to an inventory-model. Now, we completely own all the inventory displayed at the portal. It is imported from UAE as the majority of the dress designers are headquartered there” said Akram Tariq Khan, co-founder of YourLibaas.
Apart from these glitches they also had market regulations and compliance to overcome.
In 2015 they set up a basement office-cum-warehouse in Sector 50, Noida. The products arrived in Delhi and inter-state logistics was proving to be difficult. The brothers shifted to Jasola Vihar, Delhi.
Another major problem was dead stock or unsold items lying in their warehouse. This blocked their capital. To deal with the unsold stock, they started attending trade fairs and managed to sell the stocked clothes.
But after 2018, they stopped attending the fairs when Akram moved to Jamshedpur to pursue MBA.
Why specific focus on Lawn apparels and Pakistani suits?
Lawn fabric is purest form of cotton and is lightweight. It is produced in bulk in Pakistan as 90% of the lawn producing centres were located in Pakistan at the time of partition. Lawn suits have gained huge popularity due to it being lightweight, wrinkle free and soft. Mostly due its suitability to the hot Indian climate.
“Awareness regarding lawn suits primarily developed through Pakistani TV serials that were aired on Zee Zindagi in 2017,” feels Khalid.
“Pakistani suits were a rare commodity in India back then. The demand was high and supply limited. It wasn’t sold on marketplaces (and still isn’t) like Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, and so on,” he added.
“Pakistani brands had tried entering the market through official partnerships that failed to materialize (like Sana Safinaz partnering with OCM Fabrics), and they chose Indian actresses to model for the latest collections (like Kareena Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandes, Madhuri Dixit, and so on). We realized how a niche store specializing in Pakistani suits could be set up and that is what inspired YourLibaas” explained Akram.
Despite logistical hurdles and a rather negative connotation attached with Pakistani suits, the market size in India of Pakistani apparel is estimated at over INR 400 Crore.
Even though they set up YourLibaas and sell genuine Pakistani brands, they have competition from imitators. Many fashion houses and sites have replicas of the Pakistani designs selling at a lesser price.
But YourLibaas stuck to the originals even though they were expensive. Customers who preferred authentic designs from the original designers continued to buy from YourLibaas.
We have at least 40% repeat buyers, disclosed Akram.
“Designers and their team put in a lot of efforts and months of planning to launch a collection which the replica makers imitate thereby stealing the credit. Fortunately seasoned customers can easily make out an original from a replica. Moreover, selling replicas alongside originals hurts the brand equity. Replicas are a nuisance in India as these are manufactured by registered Indian companies and sold openly. A first time online buyer who is unaware of this would buy a replica since both display the same picture, but a replica is priced at 20-25% of the original cost. This leaves a bad impression of “Pakistani Suits” and the consumer never returns back to buying lawn suits. Further it creates trust issues especially if you’re selling online. We have maintained our reputation and people largely buy from us since local shops and sellers usually sell replicas and fool buyers especially new customers, ” elaborated Akram Khan.
Due to international demand, the duo made inroads into the global market by establishing a Dubai, UAE subsidiary and setting up a Freezone company. They have plans to also establish a physical office in Dubai.
Leveraging technology to their advantage
Being from a technical background proved to be an advantage and the duo used their technological skills to thwart competition wherever possible and establish a strong market presence.
For instance – they introduced cash on delivery as many of their customers where women who were non-working. They took this risk despite knowing that there could be cancellations and also non acceptance of goods when they arrived at their door step. They also offered no-questions asked returns. All this bolstered confidence amongst the customers.
Next was introducing ‘Order on WhatsApp’ & ‘Order on Phone’ options which made it easier for the women to order instead of logging on to websites. The YourLibaas WhatsApp commerce at YourLibaas employs AI-based NLP chatbots with human agents who answer the queries of the customers guiding them to successful shopping
Why do people prefer buying from YourLibaas rather than the brand itself?
“We provide multiple brands with easy accessibility, free shipping and easy returns on a single platform. Most of the consumers aren’t comfortable with buying online, so we have WhatsApp chatbots alongside human agents that assist them making the ordering process seamless. Secondly, buying from brands directly isn’t a feasible option – the shipment might get stuck at customs, or it could end up being delayed otherwise. Even in a normal scenario, the delivery timelines will be longer than what a domestic player can offer,” concluded Khalid Raza Khan.
Today, Khalid is totally dedicated to YourLibaas while Akram has his fingers in several pies. He writes for Entrepreneur.com a business magazine and has developed an online browser game called ‘Bhag Corona’ and is also part of entrepreneur’s leadership network in which he delivers lectures based on his experiences.
His game ‘Bhag Corona’ has received millions of hits and this game was hosted on ShareChat, a social network site.
Akram continues to explore new venues while his brother, now married, is steadily managing YourLibaas which they had begun as students.
source: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCircle.net / Home> India News / by Nikhat Fatima, TwoCircles.net / January 01st, 2021
“Barakhmba And The Journey Ahead, Autobiography” authored by senior lawyer Nazrul Islam was released at an austere but dignified function in Guwahati on Tuesday. The release coincided with the centenary celebration of Modern School, Barakhmba, New Delhi, the alma mater of the author.
The autobiography chronicles the author’s memories of childhood in Assam, schooling in Delhi, two decades of community service mainly through the Rotary International, and three decades and more as a lawyer. Many incidents, many adventures, interactions with clients and interesting cases dealt by Islam form an exhilarating part of the book.
Following a minute of silent invocation at the beginning of the function, the welcome address was delivered by Nazia Islam, executive at Invest India, New Delhi. Delivering his address as the chief guest on the occasion, BP Todi, former Advocate General of Meghalaya, said, “I’m an admirer of Nazrul Islam since the time I got to know him as a lawyer. There is something to learn from everybody, but when it comes too Nazrul Islam, there’s always a lot to learn from him.” He expressed the hope that the book will quest the thirst for knowledge to a great extent. Among others who spoke on the occasion were PK Kedia, former District Governor of Rotary International; BM Choudhury, former Principal, JB Law College Guwahati; and Gitanjali Kalita, advocate, Gauhati High Court.
Following the release of the book, Nazrul Islam, shared his experiences about writing the book. He completed the entire book within a very short time, making the best use of the pandemic situation. He said, “Today there are many lawyers who practise on the TV channels, so I decided let me do it by writing a book!”
The book has been brought out by the North Eastern Justice Baharul Islam Foundation for Law, Justice & Social Welfare (NEJBIF), founded in memory of the author’s late father who was a Member of the Parliament and a Justice at the Supreme Court of India.
The function ended with a vote of thanks offered by Rosida Begum.
source: http://www.muslimmirror.com /Muslim Mirror / Home> Indian Muslim / by Nurul Islam Laskar / Guwahati – October 22nd, 2020
