Great memories: Olympian hockey player Inam ur Rehman | Mujeeb Faruqui
We came from a modest background and my father (Abdur Rahim Siddiqui) was a religious, honest, disciplined and upright man. I got the virtues of devoutness, honesty and truthfulness from him and they have stood me in good stead. I would like to narrate an incident from my early playing days as an example. I was playing for East Bengal in 1963. A night before we were scheduled to play a crucial match against arch rivals Mohun Bagan, which was the top club then, I was called to the home of the Mohun Bagan president Dhiren Dey, the owner of Dey’s Medicals.
I was offered a Rolex to not score the next day. I said: ‘Dada, you keep the watch and if a goal is to be scored tomorrow, I will score it.’ As it turned out, I scored and East Bengal went on to become champions that season. This incident later became public and brought all the Bhopal players a lot of respect in Bengal. I played 10 years in Bengal, though I joined Mohun Bagan the next year at higher wages.
I was instrumental in Mohun Bagan winning all four major national tournaments in 1964. As a result, I was called up to the 1964 Olympic trial camp. During the camp in Jalandhar, Ashwini Kumar, the president of the Indian Hockey Federation, offered me a job with the Punjab Police (Kumar was a senior cop) though I was still only a student. But, keeping in mind the focus on education in my family—my siblings studied till doctorate level—I refused as I was not yet a graduate.
Kumar was unhappy and this resulted in me not being selected in the Olympic side despite being highly rated and performing outstandingly against Olympics host Japan the previous year. There was also the historic reason of Bhopali players migrating to, and doing well for, Pakistan. The resultant negative sentiment further hampered my chance of making it to the 1964 team.
In retrospect, I feel that my decision to refuse Kumar’s offer turned out to be a historic blunder not only for me, but for all Bhopal hockey players. He had made me an irresistible offer that would have allowed me to continue my studies. I was also offered an attendant to take care of all my needs, but naive as I was, I simply decided to say no. Had I said yes, the negative sentiment against Bhopal players may have reduced and many more talented Bhopal players would have found places in international and Olympic tournaments.
I was included in the Mexico 1968 camp and this time, luckily, our coach was dada Dhyan Chand. I was dropped again, but Dhyan Chand refused to sign the team list unless I was selected. Thus, a Bhopali made it to the Olympic squad after 20 years. But, I was not fielded in any of the initial matches. Then there came a crucial match against Japan, which we had to win to get into the semi-final and I was included in the team given my record against them.
The Japanese team walked off to protest a penalty stroke awarded to us after I was pushed down, and were disqualified. The movements by me that could have led to goals were then calculated and we were awarded five goals. I was not fielded in the semifinal and the Indian team lost to Australia. Then for the bronze medal, I played again and we easily beat Germany (2-0). Pakistan won gold; we were far better than Pakistan and would have easily beaten them had we reached the finals. I later joined Indian Airlines and formed its first team by drafting in seven boys from Bhopal. I captained the team for many years and it became one of the top teams in India.
As told to Sravani Sarkar
source: http://www.theweek.in / The Week / Home> The Week / by Inam Ur Rehman – as told to Sravani Sarkar / July 18th, 2021
The coaching and guidance center run at the Haj Bhawan under the Minority Welfare Department of the Bihar government provides residential preparation for government jobs and academic examinations. The Haj Bhawan started offering guidance first in Bihar civil services and is helping students in police inspector’s job test. Lately, the center has been in news for the success it has achieved.
Bihar :
Unlike other Haj Bhawan’s in the country, the Haj Bhawan of the northern Indian state of Bihar is not sending Muslim pilgrims to Mecca for Hajj. The Bhawan is doing a different and sometimes a more urgent and laudable one. It is in news for sending minority students on a job journey to secure top level state jobs.
The coaching and guidance center run at the Haj Bhawan under the Minority Welfare Department of the Bihar government provides residential preparation for government jobs and academic examinations. The Haj Bhawan started offering guidance first in Bihar civil services and is helping students in police inspector’s job test.
Fifty-three of Haj Bhawan’s coaching and guidance center’s candidates were declared successful in the recently announced result of Bihar Public Service Commission’s examination for the top civil state job. Out of nearly 1400 successful candidates, 101 were Muslim candidates.
Similarly, fifty-three Haj Bhawan’s candidates were selected for the post of Sub Inspector in Bihar Police. Importantly, 19 successful candidates in the BPSC exam and 11 in the police exam are female.
Of late, the Bihar government’s initiative to provide ‘coaching’ to the students for government job examinations has been quite a success. Bihar has also seen the success of privately run Rahmani 30 for Muslim students for engineering and medical entrance tests.
Maulana Mazharul Haque Arabic and Persian University is the nodal agency for the government’s state coaching scheme. While the facilities are free here, only Rs. 3500 are charged as mess fee. For those whose candidates whose families cannot even afford that and are economically weak, the mess fee is waived off.
This coaching and guidance center was established in the financial year 2006-07. Initially, it struggled but since the year 2010, it has been bringing success to the state. Till 2019, 1517 candidates have been selected for jobs from here out of 4777 selected candidates for coaching. In 2019-20 the centre gave coaching to 860 and in 2020-2021, the number of students who received coaching was 568.
The centre promises to provide free residential coaching for the jobs offered by Bihar Public Service Commission, general police jobs like sub-inspectors and constables, jobs offered by Railways and staff selection commission. The centre also provides coaching for the preparation of the University Grants Commission’s exams like the National Eligibility Test (NET) and Junior Research Fellow (JRF). It also gives coaching for Teachers Eligibility Tes (TET).
However, the success in Bihar Public Service Commission’s exam is getting all the accolades to this center at Haj Bhawan. The center conducts entrance tests for its different coaching programmes. For the BPSC jobs, each year 150 candidates are selected out of nearly 1000 candidates who sit for its entrance test. The entrance test is advertised in the local newspapers and on social media too.
Features of the Center Mohammad Rashid Hussain is the coordinator of this coaching and guidance centre. He has studied at Jawahar Lal Nehru University (JNU) and Hamdard Study Circle. He did his masters in Persian and Central Asian Studies from JNU, and qualified for JRF and SRF. Hussain later moved to Hamdard Study Circle. In 2007, he cleared the BPSC examination and joined Bihar Administrative Service.
Talking to TwoCircles.net, Hussain said that he has adopted the model from Hamdard Study Circle. “The 24 hours open library, test series, lectures by the top experts and online-offline study materials are the salient features of this center,” he said.
He said that the environment of group study is quite helpful. “Discipline is quite strict here. No one needs to go outside to get anything related to their studies,” Hussain said, who also works as CEO of Bihar Haj Committee.
According to Hussain, the mock interview preparation at the Centre is quite successful. “So much so, that even non-minority students approach us for the interview and this service is provided to them,” he added.
Hussain said that the girl candidates get maximum safety measures at the Centre, and “this keeps them focused in their preparations.” The girl candidates are provided separate rooms, mess and prayer hall. There are two female wardens for them.
What inspires candidates at the Centre Mohammad Adil Bilal got 22nd rank in BPSC’s examination and would be a Deputy Superintendent of Police (Dy SP) after training. Adil’s father teaches English at a college in Darbhanga.
Talking about his success, Adil said that the coordination between seniors and juniors at the Centre “worked wonders for him.” He said that seniors were very helpful in pointing out the shortcomings and suggesting ways for improvement.
Razia Sultan, an engineer by profession, was also selected for the post of Dy SP. In fact, it is claimed that she is the first Muslim lady in Bihar to get this post directly. She joined the center after clearing the mains examination.
Talking to TwoCircles.net, she said that “she got a lot of motivation here.” She appreciates the guidance for the interview.
Noorjahan, another successful candidate, told TwoCircles.net that she got the best training here in personality development. She quotes an oft-repeated saying by the center’s coordinator Mohammad Rashid Hussain that “a ship is safe at the harbour but it is not made for the harbour,” as very motivating.
“This inspired me to work hard,” she said.
Another successful candidate, Sima Khatoon has done her Computer Engineering from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. She has been selected for Panchayati Raj Officer.
Talking to TwoCircles.net, she said that that “any Muslim girl can achieve success.”
She is all praise for the facilities and guidance that was provided to her at the Centre. “Allah has listened to my prayers for a platform to work for social welfare,” she said.
More works needed Afzal Hussain of Bihar Rabita Committee, which works for the minority community, told TwoCirlces.net that the success at Haj Bhawan is “commendable and its success needs to be emulated.” He said that the six centres supposed to impart coaching to minority students for job examinations at Patna, Darbhanga, Motihari, Kishanganj and Bhagalpur should also be developed along the lines of Haj Bhawan.
Social activist Nashoor Ajmal said that while the success at Haj Bhawan is welcome, “we should seriously think about the abysmal representation of Muslim community in government jobs while their population constitutes almost 17 per cent in Bihar.”
Experts and successful candidates are of the opinion that more efforts are needed and such initiatives should start at the Masjid committee level in the state.
Ajmal added the government of Bihar should work for the educational upliftment of the Muslim community by conducting special drives.
Sami Ahmad is a journalist based in Patna, Bihar.
source: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCircles.net / Home> Lead Story / by Sami Ahmad, TwoCircles.net / July 02nd, 2021
The Padamsee extended family with Ebrahim Alkazi and Alyque Padamsee standing second and fourth from left, respectively | Photo Credit: From ‘Enter Stage Right – The Alkazi/Padamsee Family Memoir’ . courtesy the Alkazi Theatre Archives
The Alkazi and Padamsee clans have played, and continue to play, an extraordinary role in the history of modern Indian theatre
“Oh god, it’s a page turner!” That was the cry from various family members on reading the first draft of Feisal Alkazi’s family memoirs published earlier this year. Titled Enter Stage Right — The Alkazi/Padamsee Family Memoir (Speaking Tiger, 2021), it is an irresistible, exciting read. The narrative details are gripping, the pace exciting, and viewing the times described in the book of the two families in pre- and post-Independence India through the lens of Feisal allows us to enter a world that we can relate to from stories that our parents and grandparents told us of the times they lived through.
Legendary names
Both names are legendary; the Alkazi and Padamsee clans contributed hugely to the formation and recognition of modernism in both Indian theatre and art. It all started when Bobby, or Sultan, Padamsee, the eldest Padamsee brother — the two families had 17 siblings between them, several of whom would distinguish themselves in theatre and the arts — had to return to Bombay after just six months as a student at Oxford due to the outbreak of World War II. What followed was a period of creative efflorescence as
E. Alkazi weds Roshen, October 1946 | Photo Credit: Photo Credit: From ‘Enter Stage Right – The Alkazi/Padamsee Family Memoir’ . courtesy the Alkazi Theatre Archives
Bobby penned more than 100 poems, drew, painted watercolours and, one day in 1943, gathered a group of keen college students around his mother, the Padamsee matriarch Kulsumbai’s, horseshoe-shaped dinner table weighed down with mouth-watering Khoja cuisine. Bobby announced a plan to launch their own theatre group, the aptly named Theatre Group, as an alternative to commercial theatre, inspired by the group theatre movement of 1930s’ New York. One of those in attendance at that dinner was the young Ebrahim Alkazi.
Human angle
The group would flourish over the next few years, and court controversy with productions like an adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s Salomé, in which Bobby’s 19-year-old sister, Roshen, performed the risqué dance of the seven veils. Bobby would die by suicide aged just 24 in 1946, but the group went on, reaching its zenith in the coming decades, and three of his disciples married his sisters to found a cosmopolitan clan — including Ebrahim, who married Roshen. These were heady times of enormous intermingling, set in the dying days of the Raj and the dawn of Nehruvian India. The search for a new way of living creatively through a rich cultural life that was looking for a unique national identity drew in a very intense and close-knit community and family theatre with a galaxy of close friendships between authors, poets, painters, musicians and actors. As Feisal comments in the memoir, “Going to London together in 1947, there was a Roman Catholic like [F.N.] Souza, a Muslim like my dad, a Jew like Nissim Ezekiel, great friends like Krishna Paigankar and Akbar Padamsee, the idea that they were from different communities was not in anybody’s mind at all… we were always in and out of each other’s houses as well, in my family it was all the artists as well as the theatre people. We grew up with that — it gives a human angle to all these great giants that art historians write about.”
The cover of ‘Enter Stage Right — The Alkazi/Padamsee Family Memoir’
After training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London in 1947, Ebrahim returned home and rejoined Theatre Group. However, following a rift with others in the group, he left and founded his own Theatre Unit company at the Bhulabhai Desai Memorial Institute in the 1950s. The Institute played an important role in nurturing modern Indian art and drama, and Ebrahim
found a space for uninhibited creativity there, before he moved to Delhi in 1962 to head the National School of Drama for 15 years. Over the years, his contribution to widening the scope, subject matter and audience for Indian theatre would be extraordinary, as would those of his brother-in-law Alyque Padamsee, Mahesh Elkunchwar, and Safdar Hashmi. Alyque, known for directing productions ranging from the English version of Girish Karnad’s Tughlaq to Jesus Christ Superstar, has also been called the father of Indian advertising, and played Jinnah in Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi. His first wife was Pearl Padamsee, a stage and film actor, director — her oeuvre included Godspell, the first big musical produced in Mumbai — and producer. Their daughter, Raell Padamsee, runs her own production house, ACE, in Mumbai.
Home to stage
The rich family legacy also continues through Ebrahim’s son Feisal, who started devising plays with friends in Barry John’s Music Theatre Workshop in the early 80s. Although theatre is his first love, Feisal wears many hats — theatre and television director, author, educationist, counsellor, filmmaker and founder of Ruchika Theatre. His works include Noor, a sympathetic, gendered lens on Noor Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal; A Quiet Desire, the story of Rabindranath Tagore and of his brother and sister-in-law Kadambari; the adaptation of Kipling’s The Jungle Book into a coming-of-age story, retitled Yeh Bhi Jungle, Woh Bhi Jungle, in which the character Mowgli epitomises every important transition of adolescence in his search for identity.
E. Alkazi as Macbeth in a production directed by him | Photo Credit: From ‘Enter Stage Right – The Alkazi/Padamsee Family Memoir’ . courtesy the Alkazi Theatre Archives
Along with his sister, Amal Allana, and her husband, Nissar Allana, Feisal has strongly believed in the mixing of generations in creative work. “I make it a point that the infusion of the next generation in all the years of Ruchika is so crucial. All our kids are there and the people who started it… to keep the generations going and learning from each other.” Radhika, Feisal’s wife, an accomplished actress and arts educator, says, “It was so new to me, this world — in the family, in the home, in the drawing room — your furniture would be on stage, your clothes would be on the stage.” When Zohra Sehgal worked with Feisal in the Ruskin Bond serial Rusty, she found herself wearing a costume that was from Radhika’s trousseau. Feisal recalls her saying, “Hamare gharon mein aise hi chalta hai” (This is how it is in our homes).
The story of these two families, who played such a vital role in the history of theatre and art, is an imperative chapter in the country’s socio-cultural history.
The writer is a Delhi-based artist, arts educator, curator and researcher.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society> Spotlight / by Kristine Michael / July 10th, 2021
A relative hugs Bashir Ahmad Baba who is acquitted of all charges in Rainwari area Srinagar, Wednesday, June 30, 2021. | Photo Credit: Nissar Ahmad
He was acquitted recently by court, which said there was not enough evidence to prove charges levelled against him
Back home after 11 years of detention on unproven charges, Bashir Ahmad Baba , 44, from Srinagar’s Jogi Lankar area, wants to just remember his post-graduate degrees and diploma certificates he earned in his 8×10 jail cell and the letters of his now dead father.
Mr. Baba, booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in 2010, was acquitted of all charges this week by a Gujarat court.
“I decided to keep myself busy in a constructive way in the jail. I chose studies to stay sane. I completed a post-graduation course in Urdu and other diploma courses,” Mr. Baba said, who is busy meeting his friends, neighbours and relatives, whom he was seeing for the first time in 11 years.
“The look of most people have changed,” he added.
The jail authorities, Mr. Baba said, helped him with study material and met his requirements to complete the courses.
Mr. Baba, who had a computer degree then, was just 33 when he decided to attend a camp management course for post-cancer cases in Ahmedabad in February 2010.
“Within six days of my arrival in the city, I was picked up by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) team. Later, in March, I was produced before the media. I did not even know what the charges were as the charge sheet was in Gujarati,” Mr. Baba recalled.
The Gujarat ATS booked Mr. Baba on charges of recruiting boys into militancy and affiliation with Hizbul Mujahideen handlers across the border on email and phone. He was charged under the IPC and UAPA.
“It was a long struggle to prove my innocence. I have to nurse the wound all my life for not being able to participate in the final rites of my father in 2017,” Mr. Baba. His father died of colon cancer and bail was denied to him on the occasion.
Mr. Baba has a metaphoric way to explain his prolonged tenure in the jail and the visible changes he observed in Kashmir now. “There are smartphones everywhere. I remember the phones would run by pressing buttons and not screens then,” he said.
His mother, who met him once in the jail in 11 years “only after selling gold ornaments for tickets and stay”, said, “I had given up on everyone. I had faith in Allah. When Baba left home in 2010, I had bid him saying ‘Ghas Khodayas hawali’ [Go and Allah be your protector]. And Allah has returned him to me,” she said.
Mr. Baba wants to start afresh. “I am hopeful of a good beginning now,” he said.
The Anand district court released him this week, saying there was not enough evidence to prove the charges levelled against him.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National / by Peerzada Ashiq / Srinagar – July 03rd, 2021
She was not allowed to go on school trips. There was a reason behind it though. She had a habit of wetting her bed at night. Since then she wanted to travel, savour in the free-spiritedness of exploring the world alone. And Amish Mushabir has come back after embarking on a solo trip to Kashmir.
This entrepreneur and mother of two kids took to Kashmir without any prior planning on a stringent budget. She savoured the snow-capped mountains, luminous lakes, and the gorgeous gardens before heading back.
Love for travelling is hereditary
Amis is Tirur Kainakkara Mohammed Ibrahim’s second daughter. Till the age of 40, Ibrahim travelled travelled the world. He came back and married at the age of 40. Her mother hails from Kozhikode. Five years ago he passed away. Amis has inherited his love for travelling.
Amis after finishing her MBA got married at the age of 21 and settled in Saudi Arabia. She worked in an American Company in Saudi for 10 years. Her husband Mubashir, who works as an HR Manager in a Saudi company is aware of her wanderlust.
From Saudi to home
There was a restriction for women to drive alone in Saudi. But Amis would take time off to travel despite the restrictions at GCC.
Two years ago, she came back to India. She had two things planned- a place to pursue her psychology and another to take up her love for travelling. Through a vlog called Travel Badaais, she hoped to chronicle her solo travels. But lockdown put a lid on her plans. Earlier she would book the best of resorts, chart route maps to ensure safety before getting ready to travel. But this time she decided to dodge such safety measures and travel like a common man.
Heaven on earth
So Amis decides to travel to Kashmir without any prior plans. From Kerala, she reached Delhi by train. The plan was to reach Srinagar from Delhi by road. But they weren’t allowing tourists to take the road to Srinagar. That’s why she decided to take a flight to Srinagar. From Srinagar, she hired a scooter and scouted the length and breadth of Kashmir. While travelling to Gulmarg and Pahalgam, she would meet villagers on the way and uploaded them in her vlog. In 8 days she covered 800 km. She would make do with the offered food and lodging and explore Kashmir. No wonder it turned out to be one of the most memorable days of her life.
A few unusual places to see in Kashmir
Kokernag: Which translates as “Hen shaped springs” is 80 km from Srinagar and 25 km from Anantnag and is situated 7,000 feet above the sea level. You can see a collection of freshwater springs, which is also the largest freshwater spring of Kashmir. Trout fishing is hugely popular in this part of the world, and they are even sold to tourists. It’s also famous for Namdah, handicrafts, Gabbah carpet and shawl weaving. You can also catch several places of worship like Hazrat Baba Reshi, Shilagram Temple, Goswami Gund Ashram, Hanuman Temple, Sita Temple, Nila Nag, Ganesh Temple, and Shiva Temple.
Daksum valley: This valley is located in Bhringi River which is ahead of the Mughal Gardens of Achabal. It offers something for everyone—stunning scenery, mountains, picnic spots, plenty of romantic getaways, cone-bearing forests; hidden grassy meadows and snowy mountains. You can see the beauty of natural springs and embrace the lifestyle of traditional villages. It is also a perfect place for camping and trekking. The path that leads to the Simthan Pass is exquisite so are the wooden slopes on either side of Daksum which are covered with grass coating. It’s also a great place for trout fishing.
Gurez: This high-altitude Himalayan village is perched at a height of around 2400m and is 86km from Bandipore and 123km from Srinagar. The valley is encircled by snow-coated mountains and presents a spectacular view of the Kishanganga River flowing through the valley. It’s considered as one of the most amazing places to visit in Kashmir as this valley gives shelter to a small number of exotic wildlife including snow leopard and brown bear. Due to heavy snowfall, Gurez is cut away from the world from November to May. By this time Razdan Pass will be completely snowed out. The tourism department of Kashmir provides Gurez Helicopter services for tourists to promote tourism. Trekking can be dangerous due to its close proximity to the border. However, the scenic landscapes, the beautiful green turf on the woodlands, fishing in Kishen Ganga River, Potato and maize fields posses distinctive charms of their own. Endless forests cling from the bottom of the valley to the peaks; mesmerizing beauty of the Habba Khatoon Peak offers a blissful experience to the tourists. It is difficult to describe the colours of Gurez valley without visiting it once in life.
Tulail Valley: Adding Tulail Valley to your Kashmir Tour list is a great idea. In fact, it can be covered on the same day trip from Gurez as it is a Himalayan sub–valley of Gurez. The road to Tulail from Gurez passes through the scenic landscapes of the Kishanganga River. En route, you will cross the villages of Barnai, Chakwali, Kashpat, Zargai and finally, you can get to see the Purani Tulail Village. The scenic landscapes are a visual treat to your senses. The virgin valley which keeps flourishing in summer is ideal for Instagramming. Again, you can find a lot of freshwater trout here. The green mountains and the flower meadows add a special beauty to this valley. You need a permit to enter the Tulail region from Dawar Police Station. As the village is on the LOC, it is compulsory to seek a series of permissions from Army Camps and SP of this area.
Bangus Valley: This hidden gem is located in the north of Kashmir in the Kupwara district and lies within the Handwara sub-district. The valley is positioned close to the line of control between India and Pakistan and has some really interesting ecological areas surrounded by green grasslands,, meadows, and springs. It is even proposed to be a biological reserve as it produces a fine quality of grass for cattle which also has a medicinal value. Try the spring and summer seasons (April to June) as the weather is pleasant and even monsoon months (July to September) are favourable.
Poonch: Undoubtedly one of the most beautiful places in Kashmir, you can see lush green meadows, snow-capped mountains and the eighteenth century Poonch Fort which is spectacular to say the least. The seven lakes of Girgan Dhok have to be in your itinerary, alongside many religious shrines like Baksh Sahib and Gurudwara Nangali Sahib.
Jama Masjid: This mosque, situated in Nowhatta is considered a pivotal one in Srinagar. This was constructed by Sultan Sikandar during the 1400 AD and was expanded by Sikandar’s son, Zain-ul-Abidin. You’ll find 370 wooden pillars in this mosque and a mesmerizing courtyard – both of them are considered to be the major highlights of this mosque.
Aru Valley: Aru Valley, put together against the snow-clad peaks of the Himalayas is only 12 km from Pahalgam. The valley serves as a base camp for several treks and lakes including Tarsar Lake and Kolhoi glacier. It is also home to the Aru River which is a tributary of the Lidder River. Apart its scenery, you can also try horse riding and hiking. During the winter months, the view of the whole valley covered with snow is a comfort to the eyes.
Amis will be the guide
That’s her dream! A travel institution along with her training academy. She wants to organize travel vacations for single and group tourists. Thankfully, both her children (Faila and Faas) enjoy travelling. Her next plan is a trip with her daughter.
source: http://www.onmanorama.com / OnManorama / Home> Travel / by V Mithran / July 08th, 2021
Mohammed Shameer Katipalla has been appointed the president of Surathkal Block Congress minority wing.
He is the son of P Basheer Ahmed, a former corporator of 3rd ward, Katipalla.
He is the owner of Saheb Contractors and Builders as well.
Mohammed Shameer Katipalla is also the secretary of Mohammad Salih Juma Masjid, Baikampady, president of Guys X1 Youth Council, Katipalla, and vice president of Katipalla Sangha Samstegala Okkuta.
source: http://www.daijiworld.com / Daijiworld.com / Home> Karnataka / by Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru (ANK) – July 11th, 2021
Film stunt director Fayaz Khan wants to set up institute in Kodagu
HIGHLIGHTS
Fayaz Khan who has directed stunts and acted in 1,560 films in various languages wants to set up an institute to train youths in the art in his native Kodagu district.
Madikeri:
Fayaz Khan who has directed stunts and acted in 1,560 films in various languages wants to set up an institute to train youths in the art in his native Kodagu district. As small boy in 1980s, he sold peanuts in cinema halls to support his family in Gonicoppa, a small town in Kodagu district. Sounds like a film story? But it’s true. Fayaz Khan who directed stunts for 1,560 films till now once sold peanuts in cinema halls and never studied beyond class III.
Born in a poor family and fond of films, Fayaz Khan left home in 1985 and landed in Bengaluru in search of his dream. He came to Gandhinagara and begged film directors for a chance and got a small role in Tamil film Idiyadagam. After seeing his performance, many directors gave him a chance. However, his passion lay in stunts. Later he became a stunt artiste and worked for 1,560 films in various languages including Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam.
Fayaz started his own stunt artists association and trained more than 1100 artists since the outbreak of Covid-19.
Apart from being a stunt master, he acted with such stalwarts like Dr Raj kumar, Vishnuvardhan, Rajanikanth, Salman Khan, Akshaya Kumar, Mammootti, Mohan Lal, Chiranjeevi, Punit Raj Kumar. Speaking to this reporter, Fayaz said that there is a good environment for films in Kodagu. “There is a lot of employment potential in film industry for youths from the tourism district if we train them properly,” he said and expressed his wish to open a film training institute in Kodagu to tap hidden talent.
source: http://www.thehansindia.com / The Hans India / Home> News> State> Karnataka / by Coovercolly Indresh / Hans News Service / July 09th, 2021
Forgotten amidst waves of bad news, including geopolitical conflicts, environmental disasters and the global pandemic, is the humanitarian crisis caused by a civil war that began in 2014 in the fabled country of Yemen. For several centuries, the southern Arab country was a bridge between Kerala and lands to the west such as West Asia, Africa and Europe.
It was enterprising merchants from modern-day Yemen who began to make use of the monsoon winds to come to Muziris. The word monsoon comes from the Arabic mawsim, which means season. These businessmen lived a pretty globalised lifestyle by splitting their time between the Malabar Coast and southern Arabia at a time when there were no identity cards, passports, visas or even a concept of a nation-state. Some of these Arabs chose to settle down in the Malabar Coast and marry local women.
In a paper for the Indian History Congress in 1976, noted historian S M Mohamed Koya was able to trace the origins of the Malabar Muslim community.
“Some of these Arabs may have come from Hijaz, Oman and Bahrain. However, they were chiefly businessmen from Yemen and Hadramaut and many .Mappila families, particularly those known as ‘tangal’ families trace their origin to this area,” Mohamed wrote.
Interestingly enough, at the time of their migration to India, these merchants probably spoke Hadramautic, a language that belongs to the Old South Arabian subgroup of Semitic. “A large number of Mappila families find their origin in the interior Hadramaut town of Tarim, a wealthy town dominated by Sayyids which was once the intellectual and religious centre of Hadramaut,” Mohamed, who was a professor at the University of Calicut for decades, added.
In the paper, Mohamed stressed the fact that the traders started coming to India well before the advent of Islam, but their presence and established relations with the people of Malabar helped spread the religion in Kerala. “As pre-Islamic traders, the Arabs provided a friendly situation that facilitated the introduction of Islam and as Muslims, they introduced the faith,” he wrote.
Ponnani’s Makhdum family
Ponnani, a historic town that was once a major trading port, is also linked to Yemen. The town, at the peak of its glory, was home to the revered Makhdum family of Islamic theologians. Under Zain-ud-Din Makhdum and his grandson Zain ud-Din Makhdum II, Ponnani became a major centre of Islamic studies and is believed to have attracted students from Java, Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula and Ceylon.
It was also in this coastal town that the Arabi Malayalam or Ponnani script was invented. Since only 28 letters of Arabic orthography were available for 53 phonemes of Malayalam, additional letters established for Persian were used for this script.
Several old Mappila folk songs and works of literature were written in the Ponnani script, which stayed popular among Kerala’s Muslim community until the middle of the 20th century.
It has been on the wane since Indian independence and is taught mainly in a few madrassas in northern Kerala and the Lakshadweep Islands. There is no clear evidence though that this script has a Yemeni connection, but it was the script of choice for the Makdhum theologians.
This brilliant article by Kozhikode-based journalist Nijeesh Narayanan provides insights into the script, which is now in serious peril.
Zain ud-Din Makhdum II’s Tuhfat Ul Mujahideen chronicles the struggles between the people of the Malabar Coast and the colonial Portuguese. The book, originally written in the Ponnani script, describes the fierce resistance put up by the Kunjali Marakkar’s navy along with the Zamorin of Calicut against the Portuguese.
Culinary and cultural impact
There is little doubt that Yemeni elements have given an extra layer of depth to Kerala cuisine. Meen Pathiri and Irachi Pathiri are the results of Malayali and southern Arabic cuisine coming together.
Another dish that found its way from Hadraumat in Yemen to Kerala is Mandi or the famous Malabar Biriyani. Interestingly enough, the Yemeni version of the dish is usually made with chicken or lamb, and not with beef. If the Yemenis did bring Saltah, their delectable stew and the national dish, to Kerala, it did not manage to survive in its original form in the state, although many Malabari families have their own variations with different names.
Professor Mohamed in his paper wrote about how the mingling of the Yemeni immigrants with Malayalis has enriched the society of Kerala. He wrote, “Culturally the Malayalis were as far removed from the Arabs as the high topical scenery of Kerala is removed from the austere landscape of Arabia. But once wedded, the offspring of that union, the Mappilas have remained loyal to both parents.”
Before Yemen slipped into its latest civil war, there was a small and vibrant Malayali community in the country. One can only hope that the geopolitical puppet masters that have brought so much misery to the country allow it to once again live in peace. It is only when peace returns to the country that its millennia-old links to Kerala can be traced and re-established.
(The writer is the author of ‘Globetrotting for Love and Other Stories from Sakhalin Island’ and ‘A Week in the Life of Svitlana’).
source: http://www.onmanorama.com / OnManorama / Home> Lifestyle> Column / by Ajay Kamalakaran / June 28th, 2021
(However) The strength these women brought to the cause has sadly never been recorded or acknowledged, Dr Syeda Hameed said.
Dr Zakir Hussain’s wife Shah Jahan Begum [Shah Jahan Begum, wife of Dr Zakir Hussain – former President of India and one of the founders of Jamia Millia Islamia in a file photo shared by Dr Syeda Hameed.]
Mumbai:
Highlighting their contribution in the movement the result of which we see today as “Jamia Millia Islamia”, Dr Syeda Hameed said women were a presence and a power in the Jamia from its very inception though it was never acknowledged.
“From its very inception in 1920, women were a presence and a power in Jamia Millia Islamia. But they never emerged as individuals, always overshadowed by men, who were undoubtedly committed, dedicated, and passionate, but so were the women”, Dr Hameed, scholar, author, writer and former member of the Planning Commission of India said while delivering 17th Dr Asghar Ali Engineer Memorial Lecture.
“(However) The strength these women brought to the cause has sadly never been recorded or acknowledged. It’s time to speak of these women, the architects of Jamia”, she said.
During her lecture, Dr Syeda Hameed especially praised and acknowledged the contributions of Nawab Sultan Jahan Begum – the Ruler of the Princely State of Bhopal, Shah Jahan Begum – wife of Dr Zakir Hussain , Asifa Mujeeb – wife of Mohammad Mujeeb, and Saliha Abid Hussain – wife of Syed Abid Hussain.
Calling them “The Khwateen-E-Awwal of Jamia” – the first women of Jamia, Dr. Syeda Hameed also detailed the last Begum’s contributions in the fields of education, sanitation, public health and her efforts in establishing Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), of which she was the founding Chancellor, and the first and only woman to have served in the position.
“(But) their roles have been diminished and their work remains unacknowledged in the mainstream”, she said in her key-note address titled “Contribution of Muslim Women to Educational Institutions: The Case of Khwateen-e-Awwal of Jamia Millia Islamia.”
Dr Hameed quoted from Saliha Abid Hussain’s speech on Jamia’s Foundation Day in the mid-eighties to prove her point.
“I want to speak of (the) women of Jamia who were like Mughal era Raj majdoors behind Emperor Shah Jahan and the Royal Architects who built the Taj Mahal and never, ever thought of etching their names anywhere on the marble”.
Dr. Hameed also detailed the accounts of Saliha Abid Hussain and Gerda Philipsborn – a German national who later became known as “German Appa-Jaan” of the Jamia.
Dr. Syeda Hameed talked of the jalsas they organised, and their journey from attending events behind the pardah to firmly holding their ground and being in “high demand” at traditionally-male dominated intellectual and literary gatherings and their outspokenness about the rights of women in Islam.
Dr. Hameed talked of the unfinished works of Saliha and the final resting place of Gerda and of Professor Sughra Mehdi, who wrote extensively on the two women and on Jamia, and on the need for their works to be made accessible to more people and in more languages.
Dr. Hameed also recalled Turkish Poet and Activist, Halide Edib Adivar’s series of lectures at Jamia Millia in 1935, and of the early days of the Jamia in Okhla, the basic environment, the lack of electricity, of running water, of roads, and of sidewalks.
“By the banks of river Jamuna, houses were built, modest houses. Very limited income, but plenty of enthusiasm and lots of spirit, and a desire to live together as a human family in which women were the binding force.”
[Begum Saliha Abid Hussain (R) and Asifa Mujeeb.]
While introducing, Begum Asifa, Dr Syeda Hameed detailed how despite coming from a well-to-do family, she chose to live within the means afforded by the newly moved Jamia.
Dr. Hameed’s also remembered the contributions of Begum Syeda Khursheed, who according to her, “was brought up by parents who literally birthed the Jamia” and Shafiqa Kidwai, wife of Shafiqur Rahman Kidwai, former Minister of Education Govt of India. Sahfiqa Kidwai established Balak Mathia Mahal in Delhi for education of girls, and was the member of various apex committees of the Jamia.
“The spirit of the Jamia comes from all these strong and resilient women who collectively built the Jamia and the Muslim women’s movement over decades”, she said.
“That it transcends the test of time and will continue to surface whenever there is a threat to the core values, imbibed in the idea of India, the idea of the university and the idea of Jamia Millia Islamia”, she said.
Professor Zoya Hasan, while throwing more light on the contribution of women in the founding movement of Jamia Millia Islamia talked about Turkish activist, Halide Edib Adivar, who came to Jamia to deliver a series of eight lectures titled ‘Inside India’.
Professor Zoya Hasan said in her lecture series Adivar admired the Jamia movement for its harmonizing intermingling of anti-imperialism and tradition.
“What she found very interesting and impressive was the combination of Indian nationhood with Islamic identity”, Professor Zoya said.
source: http://www.ummid.com / Ummid.com / Home> India / by ummid.com News Network / June 19th, 2021
The right blend of star and actor, he was part of the discovery of cinema in India as a means of mass communication seen today
When Marlon Brando was struggling to find a footing in Hollywood, a shy Pathan boy from Peshawar was practising method acting in what was then the Bombay film industry, helping it come out of the Parsi theatre’s influence. As Dilip Kumar transcends to a new stage , the pole star of the golden age of Hindi cinema would be remembered for setting a template of acting for generations to come.
A veritable cultural icon who inspired economist Meghnad Desai to draw parallels between his films and the newly independent India’s tryst with socialism and capitalism in his seminal work, Nehru’s Hero: Dilip Kumar in the Life of India, there is a bit of Dilip Kumar in everyone’s life.
Discovered and later rechristened by Devika Rani of the famed Bombay Talkies, Dilip Kumar, along with Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand, were part of the discovery of cinema in India as a means of mass communication as we see it today. They had had few examples to follow and perhaps it worked to their advantage as each one carved out his own niche.
Out of the three, Dilip Kumar’s naturalistic style never became stale or dated. The right blend of star and actor who could keep both the public and the purist engaged with his craft, he kept his performances subtle, understated but always believable.
Not just his younger contemporaries like Rajendra Kumar, Manoj Kumar and Dharmendra, generations of dependable actors, from Amitabh Bachchan to Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan to Irrfan, built edifices of their performances on the foundation laid by Dilip Kumar. Mr. Bachchan, who played Dilip Kumar’s son in Shakti, once said there was such finality to Dilip sahib’s performances that once he enacted a scene, there was no alternative to it. Irrfan once told this journalist that he often wondered when trained actors like him found it difficult to deal with scars left by tragic roles, how Dilip Kumar, who learnt the craft on his own, came to terms with it. Well, he did approach doctors in London, who advised him to consider lighter roles.
Film historians often label the thespian as the tragedy king for his moving portrayal of a loner who loses everything in love in a series of films such as Jugnu, Deedar and Devdas, but the eight-time Filmfare Award winner was equally compelling as a winsome romantic in Shabnam, Azaad and Kohinoor. Not to forget his intense performances as a revolutionary in Shaheed and a trade union leader in Paigham.
Be it the lawyer who rapes a village girl in Mehboob Khan’s Amar, the journalist who becomes black-marketeer in Zia Sarhady’s Footpath, the atheist in love with a mendicant in Kidar Sharma’s Jogan or the wheel-chair bound Raja Sahib in Aadmi, a role earlier essayed by Sivaji Ganesan, the Padma Vibhushan constantly lunged for complex characters where he was expected to evoke multiple emotions in a single frame.
He experimented not just with characters but also directorial styles. Both Amar and Footpath deal with moral guilt but while Mehboob Khan visualised a mass entertainer, Zia’s treatment was neo-realist. With Tapan Sinha’s Sagina Mahto, he ventured into parallel cinema and earned praise from his contemporaries.
At the time of Mughal-e-Azam, he was the top draw, but the narrative demanded Kumar to play second fiddle to Prithviraj Kapoor, a senior and a friend of his father. He delivered a restrained performance, a subtle counterpoint to the bombastic Kapoor that is etched in the minds of cinegoers. The way he caresses the luminous face of Madhubala with a feather is perhaps the most elegant romantic sequence filmed without a dialogue.
The one that stands out and inspired many adaptations is the dacoit in Gunga Jumna, his ambitious home production where the sophisticated Kumar transformed into an Awadhi speaking rustic who’s forced to pick up the gun.
He played serious roles with such dignity that he didn’t need to be loud to make people laugh. He brought his craft to comic roles as well. In Ram Aur Shyam, the scene that still leaves everyone in splits is the one where Shyam starts playing a poor copy of Ram.
It is this constant urge for variety and chiselling of the craft that the megastar, despite the world at his feet, chose to do only around 60 films spanning over almost five decades. He refused Guru Dutt’s Pyaasa for he found the character similar to Devdas. He said no to David Lean for Lawrence of Arabia as he was not keen to commit the amount of time that the director was asking from him.
In a BBC interview, he once said that when the director came to him with a 30-year-old character, he tried to find and build the first 29 years of his life from the script so that, “I start identifying with the character. Often directors leave it to me to interpret the character.”
Known to help out his colleagues in finding a rhythm that suited the narrative, the actor is said to have ghost directed many films such as Gunga Jumna, Ram Aur Shyam and Aadmi.
He took the preparation for a character to a different level. For “Madhuban Mein Radhika Nache Re” from Kohinoor, where he played sitar on screen, he trained with sitarist Ustad Halim Jaffar Khan for six months.
It is said while filming for Dil Diya Dard Liya, he ran four rounds of the studio because in the next sequence he was supposed to snatch a rifle from Pran, playing the villain, in a state of breathlessness.
Even in his second innings, when his mannerisms became marked, he impressed with power-packed performances in Shakti, Mashaal and Karma.
Off-screen, as a philanthropist, he always maintained that “industrialisation has made us narrow-minded”. He would always say “being developed and being civilised are two different things”.
In the late 1960s, when an argument was made about films promoting alcoholism and that they could be used to promote population control, Dilip Kumar said he was for promoting good values through films but that didn’t mean films become “instructional” or a “vehicle for propaganda”.
A connoisseur of the finer things of life, he had an abiding love for poetry and literature. Often, when he had to sidestep a controversial topic, he would come up with an Urdu couplet that would capture his emotion on the subject. Once when he was asked about his relationship with Madhubala, Kumar invoked Sahir Ludhianvi: “Mohabbattark ki maine, garebaan see liya maine, zamane ab toh khush ho, zehar ye bhi pi liya maine” (Love I have renounced and sewn the collar [of the soul/ conscience] that was ripped; O world, now you be happy, for this poison as well I have sipped).
Deeply entrenched in Indian ethos, he never got over his childhood connection with his home town Peshawar where the young Yusuf Khan would be found dribbling a football or listening to stories at Qissa Khawani Bazaar. He remained a symbol of the undivided India as the Pakistan government bestowed upon him its highest civilian honour, the Nishan-e-Imtiaz. He wrote to the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee that if he considered it prudent, he would surrender the award. However, many feel it made his wait for the coveted Bharat Ratna longer.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment / by Anuj Kumar / New Delhi – July 07th, 2021
