Monthly Archives: June 2021

Bhaag Beanie Bhaag Producer Seher Aly Latif Passes Away

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Leaders, Women/Girls(since May26-2021), World Opinion

Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA :

Seher Latif also worked in multiple international projects including Sense 8.

Seher Aly Latif, producer of Swara Bhasker starrer Bhaag Beanie Bhaag, passed away on 7 June of a cardiac arrest. She was reportedly admitted to Mumbai’s Lilavati hospital for renal failure. Seher also worked as the casting director for Maska, Shakuntala Devi, and Durgamati: The Myth among others.

Director Neeraj Udhwani, who worked on Maska with Seher, confirmed the news to Indian Express. “It’s unbelievable. It’s so hard to process. Last week only I donated blood for her and I was told she was recovering. And this morning, I got to know about it. She had an infection due to which she suffered renal failure. She was admitted to the hospital last weekend. Doctors had put on her antibiotics, and we thought she was recovering,” he said.

Seher is remembered fondly by many people who’ve worked with her. About his experience of working with Seher, Neeraj said, “Her default expression was a smile. You would always find her smiling. She was one of the nicest, kindest people I ever met.”

Nimrat Kaur, who played the lead in Lunchbox, tweeted a picture of Seher with her cat and wrote, “One of the kindest, most loving people Mumbai gifted my life with. Still trying to process this unreal news…. Travel on into the light my dearest, sweetest Seher. The unpredictable, ghastly shortness of life remains baffling…Await to meet you on the other side.”

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

British singer Sophie Choudry tweeted, “A force to be reckoned with in the world of casting , started producing and more than anything just a wonderful woman. Heaven is lucky to have you, Seher.”

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

Made In Heaven actor Shashank Arora wrote a heartfelt tribute to the producer. “She was what Indian Cinema needed, above all she was one of the best people I had met in Bombay till date. Rest in peace friend,” he tweeted.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

Seher Latif. A kind, brilliant, empathetic artist, casting director, producer, human being. A rare friend. First person to give me a job during difficult first years in Bombay. An inspiring leader. Unable to process this. World cinema lost a great one. See you on the other side,” he also wrote.

Seher’s repertoire also contains international projects including Eat Pray Love, Viceroy’s House, McMafia and Sense 8. She also founded Mutant Films with producer Shivani Saran in 2016. She is survived by her husband and parents.

source: http://www.thequint.com / The Quint / Home> Quint Entertainment> Celbrities / by The Quint / June 08th, 2021

A Muslim vet in service of cows

Agriculture (since June 07th, 2021), Community Involvement / Social Issues, , , , , , , , , ,

Kharekhari Village (Jodhpur), RAJASTHAN :

Aftab’s love for cows also made him relinquish his lucrative job in the gulf and brought him back to the country.

Dr Aftab Ahmed Khan with a calf.(HT Photo)

Aftab must be one those few people who gave up MBBS to study veterinary sciences. The decision was prompted by the death of his beloved calf that died due to want of treatment.

Aftab’s love for cows also made him relinquish his lucrative job in the gulf and brought him back to the country.

“I lost my calf, Ballu, in 1998. He suffered from anthrax and could not be treated in time as there was no vet in the area at that time,” recollects Dr Aftab Ahmed Khan.

Khan says that the incident affected him so much that he chose to become a veterinary doctor despite selected for a MBBS course in 1999.

Furthermore, Khan says that he inherited the love for cows and other animals from his mother. “My mother loved cows and other animals at our home and cared for them like her own children,” he says.

“It was her daily routine, after offering the fajr namaz (offered before dawn) she would feed cows and other animals. Even before having tea, she would give the animals water and fodder,” says the vet.

Khan too developed the habit of feeding Ballu gur (jaggery) and chapati before leaving for school.

A native of Jodhpur, Khan says that he gave up his jobs in Oman and UAE as he was asked to do ante-mortem duties there. “The duty was very distressing for me and filled me with remorse as I was certifying beef meat for human consumption,” says Khan.

He finally took a call and gave up the job and returned to India despite the fact that he was getting a monthly salary equivalent to over one lakh Indian rupees in the gulf.

Now, Khan is working with Tree of Life For Animals (TOLFA), an organisation in Kharekhari village in Ajmer, extending medical treatment and care to stray animals.

“Every day over 20 to 30 cows are brought here for various ailments,” said Khan. Last month, two cows were operated upon to extract polythene from their stomach, he added.

From a job involving certification of animals for slaughter, Khan now spends his day treating the animals, mostly cows, brought to TOLFA clinic every day.

urce: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Cities> Jaipur News / by Zakir Hussain, Ajmer, Hindustan Times / April 13th, 2017

MP: ‘Noorjahan’ mangoes fetching rate up to Rs 1,000 apiece

Agriculture (since June 07th, 2021), Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Green Products, , ,

Indore, MADHYA PRADESH :

Locals claim ‘Noorjahan’ mangoes are of Afghan origin and cultivated only in the Katthiwada region of Alirajpur district adjacent to the Gujarat border, approximately 250 km from Indore.

Kids holding Noorjahan mangoes. (File Photo | Express Photo Service)

Indore :

The ‘Noorjahan’ mango, cultivated in Madhya Pradesh’s Alirajpur district, is fetching a higher price this year thanks to the good yield and sheer size of the fruit compared with the last year.

The ‘Noorjahan’ mango is priced at Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 apiece this season, a farmer said on Sunday, adding unlike the last year, the yield of this variety of mangoes has been good this time due to favourable weather conditions.

Locals claim ‘Noorjahan’ mangoes are of Afghan origin and cultivated only in the Katthiwada region of Alirajpur district adjacent to the Gujarat border, approximately 250 km from Indore.

“The three Noojahan mango trees in my orchard have produced 250 mangoes. The fruit has been priced between Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 per piece. Bookings have already been done for these mangoes,” Shivraj Singh Jadhav, a mango cultivator from Katthiwada, told PTI.

He said people who have booked ‘Noorjahan’ mangoes in advance include fruit lovers from Madhya Pradesh as well as neighbouring Gujarat.

“This time the weight of a Noorjahan mango is going to be between 2 kg to 3.5 kg,” Jadhav added.

Ishaq Mansoori, an expert in cultivating ‘Noorjahan’ mangoes in Katthiwada, said, “This time the crop of this variety has been good but the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the business”.

He said ‘Noorjahan’ trees could not flower properly due to unfavourable climatic conditions in 2020.

“In 2019, one mango of this variety weighed around 2.75 kg at an average and buyers paid as high as Rs 1,200 apiece for it,” he added.

The ‘Noorjahan’ variety produces fruits towards the beginning of June.

These trees start flowering in January- February.

A ‘Noorjahan’ mango can grow up to a foot long and its kernels weigh between 150 to 200 grams, local cultivators claimed.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Nation / by PTI / Indore – June 06th, 2021

This four-year-old girl just broke a world record in Qatar

Amazing Feats, Education, Leaders, NRI's / PIO's, Videos, Women/Girls(since May26-2021), World Opinion, , ,

Doha, QATAR :

Young Eshal’s great achievement was recorded in the International Book of Records of 2021.

At just four years old, little genius Eshal Marwa Firos Khan set the world record for reciting all the elements in the Periodic Table in just 2 minutes and 28 seconds.

The kindergartener at Doha Modern Indian School didn’t only learn all the elements of the periodic table by heart, but also recited them in record-breaking time, earning her a spot in the International Book of Records on March 26, 2021.

“The World Record of “FASTEST RECITATION OF PERIODIC TABLE BY A KID” is achieved by ESHAL MARWA FIROS KHAN on 26th March 2021 from Doha, Qatar,” the organisation said.

“4 years 8 months Eshal recited all the elements of periodic table in 2 minutes 28 seconds and has set a new world record for International Book of Records,” it added.

Now, Eshal holds the record for “Fastest Recitation of Periodic Table By a Kid,” making her family and wider community in Qatar proud.

But that’s not the little girl’s only achievement.

Eshal is also documented in the India Book of Records and Champions Book of Records for identifying 55 critical human body parts, eight planets of the solar system, and 14 prime ministers of India in the shortest possible time.

Highlighting the girl’s achievement, the school extended their gratitude and pride towards her teachers for their support and guidance.

“On behalf of our esteemed Principal, Senior Leadership Team, Management, Staff and Students of DMIS we wish her further success and greater glory in the years to come,” said DMIS.

source: http://www.dohanews.co / Doha News / Home> Family Life / by Menatella Ibrahim / May 02nd, 2021

8 to be elected unopposed as Sunni Waqf Board members

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

Lucknow, UTTAR PRADESH :

A total of eight members are elected to the Sunni Waqf based on a system of quota from different sections.

TWO CANDIDATES who had filed nomination for election to the membership of the Sunni Waqf Board withdrew their papers on Friday, paving the way for eight members to be elected unopposed and without an election. Only Sunni Muslims are allowed to contest polls for the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board and the election was scheduled to be held on March 7, Sunday.

A total of eight members are elected to the Sunni Waqf based on a system of quota from different sections. Of the eight members, two are selected from mutawalli (caretaker) quota, two from MP quota, two from MLA/MLC quota and two from bar council quota.

A total of 10 candidates had filed their nomination on Thursday. Two of them withdrew their papers on Friday: Samajwadi Party MLC from Amroha Parwez Ali and SP MLA from Sambhal Iqbal Mehmood. They had filed their papers under the MLA/MLC quota.

“The two withdrew their nomination on Friday. Now, no election will be needed as there are eight candidates and the same number of seats,” said Election Officer and special secretary of UP Minority Welfare and Waqf Department, Shiwa Kant Dwivedi.

About the election of chairman of the board, he said, “Once the notification for election of these members is done, a date will be decided when the eight members can elect a chairman.”

The members who will be elected as board members are former chairman Zufar Ahmad Farooqui, Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation (IICF) Trust member Adnan Farrukh. The two had filed their nomination under the mutawalli quota which permits caretakers of Waqf properties with an annual income of Rs 1 lakh or more to file for getting elected as a member of the Board.

The two candidates who filed under the MP quota are Samajwadi Party MP from Moradabad S T Hasan, and BSP MP from Amroha Kunwar Danish Ali. Under the MLA/MLC quota, SP MLA from Isauli (Sultanpur) Abrar Ahmad and SP MLA from Gopalpur (Azamgarh) Nafees Ahmad.

Under the Bar Council quota, lawyers Imran Mabood and Abdul Razzaq had filed their nominations and will be elected as members.

On January 25, the Allahabad High Court had set aside the state government’s order extending the term of the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board. The court appointed the Principal Secretary of Minority Welfare and Waqf the board’s administrator and the official was told to ensure that polls are held, and hand over charge to an elected board by February 28.

The last Board was appointed as per the Waqf Act of 1995 on April 1, 2015, for a five-year term. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic , the state government extended its term by six months, and on September 30 last year, extended it by six more months.

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Cities> Lucknow / by Express News Service, Lucknow / March 06th, 2021

All about Rezoy, one of India’s first food delivery apps by a restaurant association

Business & Economy, Travel & Tourism, , , ,

KERALA :

Starting with Kochi, Rezoy — launched by Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association — is set to start full operations in other parts of the State. We explore how the app works and why it benefits the industry:

When Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association (KHRA) launched Rezoy, the Kerala-based food delivery app, the intention was as much to support restaurateurs as much as customers, says Azees Moosa, Ernakulam district president of KHRA.

What makes Rezoy unique is that it is one of the country’s first food delivery apps by a restaurant association. The app, available to both iOS and Android users, has been developed by Ludhiana-based developer Jungleworks for KHRA.

Although the beta version was available in December 2020, it was finally formally launched in May, in Kochi. For now, the app’s reach is limited to parts of Kochi; the plan, however, is for it to be available across Kerala.

Going online was inevitable since doorstep delivery became a reality, a lesson learnt during the lockdown. “We are increasing our geo-fencing to cover a wider area. Although the app is available in Thiruvananthapuram, Malappuram and Thrissur, Rezoy does not have delivery executives there yet. We are working out the logistics and payment gateway. For now, the restaurants in these cities use their own delivery staff,” Azees says.

Working through the lockdown

Lockdown restrictions and containment zones in Kochi have thrown a spanner in KHRA’s expansion plans. “It will take time, but we are committed to this app and making it work. So far we have 300 listings [of hotels and restaurants] in Kochi . We don’t have the financial resources of the large food aggregators; our growth is bound to be slow in comparison,” he adds. Business owners have invested in developing the app and get it running, he says, adding that contributions vary based on how much a business owner can afford.

Rezoy charges a 10% commission from restaurant owners, towards salary for delivery staff and expenses incurred on delivery.

Since it is one of the first in the country, all eyes are on it. “We are the first food delivery app launched by an association such as ours, hence we have been getting enquiries from peers in neighbouring states about how it works,” says Azees.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Life & Style> Food / by Shilpa Nair Anand / Kochi – May31st, 2021

Chennai dessert boutique Sweet Spot teams home-baked treats with music recommendations

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Women/Girls(since May26-2021), , , , , , , ,

Chennai, TAMIL NADU :

Sweet Spot’s best-sellers include milk chocolate salted caramel cake, baklava tart and dark chocolate cheesecake. The latest entrant on the menu is sheer shahi kurma

There is a lot one can discover over dessert. As I plunge my spoon into a gooey chocolate cake, my palate is surprised by what lies beneath: shreds of coconut, coated in luscious Belgian chocolate.

Keeping me company is a soulful Nepali track — a recommendation by the Sweet Spot team. It came written on a neon sticky note, attached to the neat box laden with brownies, tarts and cookies. Sweet Spot, started in April by Zeeshan Anees, Ahad Anaikar, Mohamed Faraaz, Pooja Reddy and Mohamed Samee aims to give home bakers a platform to promote their products.

The desserts are sold under the label of the person who created them, explains Samee. The idea is not to monopolise the dessert market, but to even out the playing field. And along with the goodies come song recommendations from the team. These include: ‘Hataarindai, Bataasindai’, ‘Parchaiyon Main’, ‘Heat Waves’, ‘100 words’…

“The idea came to us during the last lockdown, when we noticed an increase in home bakers. We were ordering a lot of desserts from them,” says Samee. Soon, they transformed a small space, in the same compound as the old Nolita (in Nungambakkam), into a dessert parlour.

The team put all interested home bakers through a series of quality checks, filtering out what did not work for them. “Earlier, the concern most clients had with home bakers was, they had to order two days in advance or buy a full kilogram of cake, even if all they wanted is one slice,” says Samee. Now, these wrinkles have been ironed out.

Empowering the homebaker

On an average, the boutique features items by 15 home bakers, the number goes up to 20 during the weekends. Each bakers typically stocks two to three of her creations. “Sixty to 70% are products by our anchor brands such as Meltz by Aishwarya, Whisk by Safra, Serendipia, Chef Srishti, Coucou, Baked by Faz, Zoya’s bakes, and the rest are from upcoming bakers,” says Samee.

The best-sellers include milk chocolate salted caramel cake, baklava tart and dark chocolate cheesecake. The latest entrant on the menu is sheer shahi kurma. They are trying to bring in variety with Indian desserts as well as savoury snacks like quiches and cream cheese-filled Korean buns.

On weekends they sell out. Their clients order from as far as ECR, Chrompet, Madipakkam and Velachery. The number of orders range from anywhere between 70-100 a day.

Order via their Instagram page, @sweetspot_chennai.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Life & Style> Food / by Priyadarshini Paitandy / Chennai – June 02nd, 2021

Four, including Zaibul Nisha, of Odisha are AITT 2020 toppers

Amazing Feats, Education, Women/Girls(since May26-2021), , , ,

ODISHA :

Close to 24 lakh candidates had appeared in the national level test conducted under the Craftsmen Training Scheme.

Bhubaneswar:

Zaibul Nisha, a Muslim girl from Odisha, is among the four toppers of All India Trade Test (AITT) 2020.

Close to 24 lakh candidates had appeared in the national level test conducted under the Craftsmen Training Scheme.

In an impressive performance, all top four positions of AITT 2020 have been secured by Odisha professionals.

“All four AITT toppers from Odisha”

Besides Zaibul Nisha, other AITT toppers are Pooja Mahar, Sai Charan Das and Birendra Seth.

A beaming Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik, has congratulated the four on their historic success.

“CM @Naveen_Odisha congratulated @skilled_odisha professionals – Zaibul Nisha, Pooja Mahar, Sai Charan Das & Birendra Seth for making it to top 10 in the Craftsmen Training Scheme. CM expressed happiness that concerted effort to build a robust skill ecosystem is being recognized”, a message posted on CMO Odisha official Twitter handle said.

Odisha Skill Development Authority too is on cloud nine after the success of Odisha professionals.

“#SkilledInOdisha professionals ace it again at the national level! Glad to share that 4 of our professionals – Zaibul Nisha, Pooja Mahar, Sai Charan Das & Birendra Seth are national toppers Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS) – All India TradeTest 2020”, it wrote on its Twitter handle.

“About All India Trade Test”

All India Trade Test (AITT) is conducted by the Directorate General of Training under the aegis of National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT) for its various schemes. The exam is held twice a year.

The Craftsmen Training Scheme is implemented through about 15,000 Industrial Training Institutes (it is) in 137 trades.

The AITT is held at the end of the training year. Candidates who qualify in the AITT are awarded National Trade Certificates (NTC).

source: http://www.ummid.com / Ummid.com / Home> Education & Career / by ummid.com News Network / June 04th, 2021

Laughter challenger: Munawar Faruqui finds humour in life against all odds

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

Junagadh, GUJARAT / Dongri (Mumbai), MAHARASHTRA :

Munawar Faruqui has been entertaining audiences with his satire routines for over a year. Photo: Special Arrangement/THE HINDU  

Out on bail, the stand-up comedian is dusting himself off and moving on, strengthened by poetry and rap music

The year began on a serious note for stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui, when he was arrested for allegedly offending religious sensibilities, along with five others, just before he was about to begin his act at a café in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Munawar spent 37 days in jail until the Supreme Court granted him interim bail on February 5.

While the comedian in him does see the absurdity in the situation — “they caught me even before I said anything,” — the 27-year-old YouTube sensation is astute enough to not discuss the matter further as it is sub judice.

“I don’t want to revisit this experience ever again in my life, and I wouldn’t want to send my worst enemies to jail. But I don’t really want to talk about it, especially on social media,” he says over a video conference call from his home in Mumbai.

Munawar got back to work barely a fortnight after his ordeal, releasing a music video titled Aazmaish featuring rapper Nazz, which earned over a million views online.

“Quitting comedy was never an option, mainly because I didn’t want to prove my detractors right,” says Munawar. “I was hurt by this whole false narrative that they had started about my ‘guilt’ that would have got confirmed, if I gave in to the pressure.”

In April, he started a new YouTube channel called Munawar Faruqui 2.0 that already has over 50,000 subscribers. (His first official channel has over 10,80,000 subscribers with 57,594,259 views for his monthly video releases).

It is hard to believe that Munawar has been on the comedy scene only since January 2020. His first ticketed show opened in Mumbai in February last year, to rave reviews. His sidelong look at society and politics is sharp and funny, with unexpected depth. “Comedy is essentially saying what you feel, especially about things that you see daily,” he says. “Sometimes a joke can highlight a major truth.”

When he is not penning his biting satirical comedy routines, Munawar indulges in his other passions: Urdu poetry and rap music. “Music is the world’s best art form. A song can convey in minutes, what a story can take four hours to narrate,” he says.

A resident of Dongri in Mumbai, the comedian is originally from Junagadh in Gujarat. After a tumultuous time in their hometown, his father, a driver, shifted the family (Munawar and his three sisters) to Mumbai in 2007, to make a fresh start.

“My father fell sick and was bed-ridden from 2008, so I had to take charge from the age of 17. I worked at a utensil store from 2007, while attending school. I taught myself English and Hindi from the newspapers that my boss used to buy, and by watching films,” he says.

Becoming a stand-up comedian wasn’t easy, though. Struggling with rejections, Munawar released his first video on YouTube on January 24, 2020 titled Politics in India, that marked his breakthrough moment.

“Last year has been testing. I lost my father in February, but also got my first shows in Mumbai, the same month,” he says.”There have been days I’d be crying in the green room just before being called up to the stage.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment> Theatre / by Nahla Nainar / June 02nd, 2021

Mohammed Ziauddin Ahmed Shakeb

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Education, Leaders, NRI's / PIO's, , , , , , , , , , ,

Kokori, UTTAR PRADESH /Hyderabad, TELANGANA / London, U.K :

Mohammed Ziauddin Ahmed Shakeb

Born on 21 October 1933, Shakeb grew up in Hyderabad and Aurangabad . He received a BA in Political Science from the Osmania University , and an MA from the Aligarh Muslim University in 1956. He completed his doctorate on Relations of Golkonda with Iran from Deccan College in 1976.

Shakeb together with Vasanth Kumar Bawa, setup the first-ever Hyderabad Urban Development Authority which is now referred to as Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority. 

In 1962, he was appointed as an archivist at the State Archives of Andhra Pradesh in Hyderabad. Whilst here he created the Mughal Record Room. His publications include Mughal Archives Vol I: A Descriptive Catalogue of the Documents Pertaining to the Reign of Shah Jahan, in 1977 which remains critical reading for those seeking to learn how to read administrative documents in Indo-Persian. He went on to write many publications for The British Library , State Archives Andhra Pradesh and other repositories, universities, and auction houses.

From 1980 to 1987, Shakeb taught Indian history and the history of Indo-Islamic art and culture in the Department of Indology at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

He later on worked as a consultant for Christie’s  in their department of Islamic and Indian Art as their leading expert on Persian and Arabic manuscripts for 30 years.

He also continued to work on Indo-Persian manuscripts and Mughal documents and catalogued such manuscripts in the British Library, such as the Batala Collection of Mughal Documents 1527-1757 in 1990. Throughout this time he supervised many doctoral researchers in the fields of Mughal history, Deccan studies and Urdu and Persian literature.

Shakeb was also the Director of Urdu teachers training at Middlesex University up until 1998.

He also played a key role in setting up the Haroon Khan Sherwani Center for Deccan Studies at Maulana Azad National Urdu University and had been a member of the center’s first advisory board. He was considered a pioneer, having helped lay the foundations of Deccan Studies

Shakeb was an authority on various poets from the Indian subcontinent and Persia, writing books and organising and speaking at conferences on Bedil, Amir Khusrau, Iqbal, Ghalib and Rumi .

Shakeb died in London on 20 January 2021, aged 87. He is survived by his wife, Farhat Ahmed, two daughters, a son and nine grandchildren.

source: http://www.indianmuslim.org.uk / Indian Muslim UK / Home> Obituary / by Mohmed / April 03rd, 2021