Monthly Archives: June 2022

Meet the college dropout who runs a news portal in J&K

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

JAMMU & KASHMIR :

Anzer Ayoob (22) is a college drop out from Doda who started a news portal in 2017. | Photo by arrangement

The portal is getting recognised for reporting on issues in Chenab valley which are overlooked by the mainstream media.

Jammu :

When 22-year-old Anzer Ayoob, a journalist based in Doda district in Jammu and Kashmir’s Chenab valley heard that a literary group had announced an award for his news portal, he was editing a story on frequent power outages–a recurring issue in the region. 

Ayoob is the founding editor of Chenab Times , a local multimedia news web portal that covers social, cultural, political, and current events primarily in the Chenab region. 

“Apart from highlighting the lack of electricity in the region, the other objective was to bring Chenab Valley on the tourist map of Jammu and Kashmir,” Ayoob told TwoCircles.net. 

Founded in 2017, the news portal has gained decent viewership in the region and has been appreciated by locals. 

Inspired by the positive response, the portal launched its daily news bulletin in Urdu, Sarazi and Bhaderwahi languages (spoken by the region’s population) in January 2021. 

A year on, the programmes in local languages have earned the portal a distinct fame. 

On January 23, the Pahari Core Committee, which is a representative organisation of fifteen literary groups from Doda, praised The Chenab Times for the promotion of local languages, and culture and decided to confer it with this year’s ‘Best News Portal’ award.

“Chenab Times is the sole channel that has always touched the hearts of thousands of Pahari speakers who speak Sarazi, Bhaderwahi, and Kashmiri,” said Sadaket Malik, president of the Pahari Core Committee, in a statement. 

The Chenab Times staff in Doda. | Photo by arrangement

From college dropout to editor
Ayoob is a college dropout. He was pursuing B.Sc. from Govt. Degree College Bhaderwah. “I discontinued my education in 2019 when my mother’s health deteriorated. My father passed away in 2015 and being the only male member of the family, I had to earn a livelihood,” he said. 

Ayoob believes that practicing journalism does not require a degree. “Starting a news portal began with a single idea and journalism is all about ideas,” he said.

Promoting Chenab valley as tourist destination
The Chenab Times started with a Facebook page of the same name promoting Chenab valley as a tourist destination on social media. “After 4-5 months, when our Facebook page gained 16K followers, we launched the website,” Ayoob said. 

The portal has regularly covered stories of the downtrodden. 

Slowly, the news portal began to carry news from the outside world. At present, the portal provides current news from around the world, with a special focus on video stories from Jammu & Kashmir.

The Chenab Times has around 140K followers on Facebook, 1K on Twitter, 8K on Instagram and 45K on YouTube.

Some of the stories published by The Chenab Times have been impactful. 

“There are various far-flung villages in Doda district that weren’t receiving adequate water supply and it was a crisis for the villagers. When we highlighted the issues on our portal, the villages got water supply,” Ayoob said. 

Farasat Rasool is a graduate in arts and a regular reader of the website. “Chenab Times is doing a good job by providing local news and civic concerns. The portal has given voice to the voiceless,” he said. 

Power outages deter journalism
What bothers Ayoob are the frequent power outages and blackouts in the region. The outages, he said, are impacting the portal’s multilingual programme, for which it has been recognised. 

Ironically, the Chenab valley is known as the hub of hydroelectric power projects in the region.

Due to a massive power outage in the Halla village of Doda district in late January, one of Chenab Times correspondent Fareed Ahmad Naik was unable to deliver the Sarazi language news programme. The village was without electricity for 12 days. 

“In winters, the first importance is not the story but to charge our cell phones,” Ayoob said.

Involving youth in community journalism
Ayoob believes in involving more youth from his region in doing community journalism. 

The portal has a staff of eight reporters, six of whom are from the Doda district, one each from Kishtwar and Ramban districts and a six-person editorial board, and three legal consultants. 

While press freedom in Jammu and Kashmir has been severely restricted in the last few years, Ayoob said, “poor media environment won’t deter us from doing our job.” 

Ayoob is of the view that journalism is the kind of profession “where the government frequently becomes an adversary.”

Besides power outages, another challenge faced by his portal is political targeting. “We have done stories after which we faced pressure from certain political quarters. We were summoned by police on a sarpanch’s complaint and received legal notices after we reported on the absence of doctors,” he said. 

Ayoob, however, added that he has received support from Doda police after his portal did a story on illicit liquor and drugs. “They cooperated with us,” he said.  

His goal is to recruit female reporters at his portal. “We want to give a platform to emerging women reporters in the region,” he said. 

Naseer Khora, a senior journalist and commentator from Doda, believes that “local civic concerns of the people haven’t been highlighted much in the media as politics dominates the coverage in Jammu and Kashmir.”

“Chenab Times, in particular, is making a difference by encouraging new people to enter the sector while also restoring rural journalism and reviving endangered languages,” he said. 

Shadab Farooq is TCN SEED-Fellow. He tweets at @shadabfarooq_ 

source: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCircles.net / Home> Lead Story / by Shadab Faarooq, TwoCircles.net / February 04th, 2022

35 years later, Centre resumes hunt for Nizam’s gold coin

Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, Royal Families, PreIndependence -Descendants (wef. Jan 02nd,2022), World Opinion

Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

Hyderabad: 

The Centre has resumed the hunt for a 12 kg gold coin which has been missing for almost four decades.Touted as the world’s biggest gold coin, it was last seen in hands of titular Nizam VIII of Hyderabad, Mukarram Jah.

Reportedly, he had auctioned the coin at the Swiss Bank. However, India’s CBI couldn’t get hold of the gold coin that was passed to Jah through his grandfather and last Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan.

The last Nizam had taken over the coin which was devised by emperor Jahangir. Renowned historian Prof Salma Ahmed Farooqui of HK sherwani Centre for Deccan Studies, Maulana Azad National Urdu University, conducted research on the history and legacy of the world’s biggest gold coin and said it was invaluable to Hyderabad’s pride.  At present, the coin hunt has begun after 35 years.

In 1987, when Indian officials in Europe alerted the central government about auctioneer Habsburg Feldman SA auctioning the 11,935.8 gm gold coin in Geneva at Hotel Moga on November 9 through Paris-based Indosuez Bank’s Geneva branch, CBI came into the picture. Investigations started and much information was unearthed,” Prof Salma was quoted by TOI.

She further stated that the CBI played the role of historians while searching for the huge coin but later the search was left hanging as the officials’ didn’t return to the office.

In a book written by former joint director of CBI, Shantonu Sen said that officials discovered that Jahangir has printed two similar coins. One was given to the ambassador of the Shah of Iran, Yadgir Ali and the other was in control of the Nizams.

An FIR was registered under the Antique and Art Treasures Act 1972 by a superintendent rank officer In 1987, said Prof Salma.  She said, “Further investigations revealed Mukarram Jah was trying to auction two gold mohurs in 1987 at the Swiss auction, one of which was supposedly the 1,000 tola coin. It was valued at $16million in 1987.”

Since many years have gone by and nobody has information related to the big gold coin minted by Jahangir, Salma hopes that new efforts by the Centre may bring positive results this time.

source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> News> Hyderabad / posted by Umm E Maria / June 27th, 2022

News warrior of a different kind

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

NEW DELHI :

At a modest house in South Delhi’s leafy Sarita Vihar colony, a tall, handsome man woke up early in the morning to read a bunch of newspapers religiously. He didn’t only read whatever “readable” news and views a dozen newspapers in Hindi, Urdu and English carried, but also shared them with the wider world. For five years–ceaselessly, tirelessly.

His huge circle of friends, from Birmingham to Barabanki, Miami to Mumbai, Seattle to Singapore devoured the selected news and views this selfless, soft spoken news warrior shared with such dedication and devotion. I don’t know any other person on the planet doing this with such consistency for five long years. Yes, some of us news premi pick up news randomly and share them with a few friends.

Shafique Ul Hasan, a senior journalist-turned-advertising professional, completed five years of sharing the news clippings on June 24 this year. Among hundreds of friends who value his work and have congratulated Shafique Bhai—that is how most of us address him—on reaching this milestone include filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, writer-politician Shashi Tharoor, former bureaucrat and ex-VC of Jamia Millia Islamia Najeeb Jung. They all underlined the importance of Shafique Bhai’s work—making available some of the important news and opinion pieces at one place. In our crazily busy schedule, many of us have forgotten what and how to read news. In the age of social media explosion, it has become very important to decide what news and views one should consume. At a time when fake news and viral videos are shared with an ulterior motive, Shafique Ul Hasan’s work assumes significance.

It all started with the news of Hafiz Junaid’s lynching. The young, kurta-pajama clad maulvi was returning home after shopping for Eid when a group of boys accosted him in train, beat him up so badly that he succumbed to injuries. The news shocked us. Most of us silently mourned the loss of an innocent’s life due to demonization of Muslims. Had fellow passengers intervened, young Junaid’s life could have been saved. But the hate-mongering has made us so insensitive and numb that we don’t react till the trouble reaches our own doorsteps. “This is not our problem,” we dismiss and move on. We forget the episode till a fresh case of mob violence hits the headlines.

Shafique Bhai reacted to the lynching of young Junaid in a different way. It affected him so deeply and intensely that he decided to do something beyond mourning his death silently. He made clippings of the horrific news and shared them with some of his friends on WhatsApp. And then he thought more. “What can I do to stop this madness? What power do I possess to make an intervention?”, he asked himself.

Most of us don’t realise the hidden power we possess. The strength lies in communicating the pain too. If we share some genuine, truthful news, this too is a service. Taking out morchas and petitioning authorities are not the only forms of protest. A protest is registered if news about an unkind, unjust thing or event is shared with a purpose to create awareness and help form an informed opinion. Shafique Ul Hasan decided to share the news clips from newspapers in the morning daily.


He made it part of his daily routine. So, he didn’t miss sharing the clippings even if he was travelling, in India or abroad, attending wedding celebrations or birth parties, vacationing in Europe or in the Middle East. “Once during our holiday in Europe I ensured that I woke up in the morning according to Indian time and made clippings from digital editions of the newspapers while my wife was fast asleep. Not many of my friends realized that they had shared those clippings sitting in Paris or London,” he told me recently.

Significantly, Shafique Bhai’s services have been acknowledged and appreciated widely. Many individuals and organizations have feted him for this yeomen service. Among those who have awarded him for this service include Sirajuddin Qureishi of New Delhi-based India Islamic Cultural Centre (IICC), several NGOs and organisers of a programme celebrating 200 years of Urdu Journalism recently in New Delhi.

Meanwhile, sticking to a fixed schedule for long and sitting for a few hours without a break daily began to take a toll. Shafiqul Hassan’s health got affected. His BP shot up and had to be hospitalized before his condition could have worsened. He didn’t stop from doing what he loved to do even while he recuperated in a hospital. Despite protests from his lovely family, he didn’t take a break. He resolved to complete at least five years of sharing the news and views clippings. He fulfilled the promise he had made to himself.

Meanwhile, a few well-meaning friends advised him to monetize it. Since many websites and other news outlets charge money for their products, it would have been quite fair had Shafiqul Hassan too put a price to his services. “No. I don’t want to make any money out of it. It will be free of cost till whatever time I do it,” he told me.

But he had to take a break. Many of us told Shafique Bhai to take a long break after completing five years of this selfless service. He deserves to pay attention to his health, his business and spend more quality time with family. He has announced that much-deserved break. I suggest he finds a mechanism through which he resumes this service in a more organized way. He needs to get a team of computer savvy individuals who can work with him. Rather than doing everything himself, he should delegate work to subordinates. He should now work more as a supervisor. But to create such a team, some funds will be needed. Shafique Bhai is a self-respecting man. He will never seek charity or any other funds to set up a professional team for news/views gathering and dissemination. It is the duty of all concerned citizens to ensure that such a corpus is created and this work resumes.

Mohammed Wajihuddin is a senior journalist, now associated with the Times of India, Mumbai. His write-ups are popular with wide range of readers.

source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> Opinion / by Mohammed Wajihuddin / June 27th, 2022

Hyderabad: Students of Fullstack Academy gain cutting edge technology for bright careers in software industry

Business & Economy, Education, SCHOLARSHIPS, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

Students of Fullstack Academy during a class.

Employment opportunities have dipped down drastically but students of Fullstack Academy have been placed in esteemed companies with jobs fetching as high as RS.7 lac per annum.

Fullstack Academy is an institute that imparts the right courses in software technology that are always in demand in the software industry.

In the words of the founder of Fullstack Academy Md Aijaz, “There is a huge gap between the IT industry and the academia. There are a lot of opportunities to build successful careers but the newly graduated youth lacked the necessary skills. We wanted to fill that gap, hence we started our academy.”

Md Aijaz , the founder of Fullstack Academy.

“Hardly 1% of the youth were employed in the top companies like cognizant, Microsoft, Mindtree, Infosys, HCL, Accenture, Skuad, TATA consultancy services and so on, explained Aijaz Ahmed, while talking to Muslim Mirror “More so in Hyderabad despite the fact that there are so many top multi nationals here. Some even have their Head Office in Hyderabad. But still we could see that there were no takers in our own city”, he added.

Abu Bakar , co-founder of Fullstack Academy, also owns a software company.

So, in order to ensure that the youth from the Muslim community are not left out, Mohammad Aijaz and Abu Bakar  Aijaz started the Fullstack Academy.

The academy has been founded in the year 2019 by industry veterans who have more than 25 years of experience in Microsoft and Tech Mahindra. They wanted to ensure that the youth of the community are not lagging behind in terms of skills required in communication, spoken English, software skills. Students coming out of college lack the qualification or skills needed to crack the type of jobs that are in demand and land up in mediocre jobs.

But unfortunately within months of initiating this dream venture, the lockdown was announced. But instead of being disheartened by this, the duo went ahead with their plan and announced online courses. Interested youth began enrolling for the online classes and the academy functioned smoothly.

Today they have gone offline and admissions are on filling every batch. So far they have trained 800 Youth and placed 55% in top companies. Some have gone abroad to pursue higher studies armed with the courses from FSA with which they get good paying jobs while they continue their studies.

Most of the courses students going abroad do courses in programming and development area. These courses are in demand globally.

“Web application is the latest technology and in high demand with every company wanting to develop web applications. Fullstack Academy specializes in mobile app technology the resource of which is not commonly available” explained Mohammed Aijaz.

Another salient feature of this academy is that the trainers are working professionals who come and demonstrate the real time scenarios. This helps the students while applying for jobs. Every course offered by the academy has different professionals already employed in top positions in world class companies.

The courses offered by the Full Stack Academy that are the need of the present times for software industries can be broadly categorized are programming, MERN, cloud computing, Data science – predictive business analytics, Android App development, Amazon web services, UI/UX designing courses, Selenium Automation testing and many more.

Khaja Wasiq Mohiuddin, a student who passed out in December 2021 shared that he has been employed in Skuad with a salary of 7 lacs per annum, the highest so far among the students placed in jobs. “I took the training in MERN from Full Stack Academy and I had not even completed the course when I was interviewed and was selected by Skuad. After completion I joined them as developer. I received full support from the trainers and today I have made my parents happy with my achievement” said Khaja.

The students are not taught just the professional courses, Aijaz and Abu Bakar ensure that they are groomed for interviews and also learn to communicate in English which is another weak area of most of the students from the community.

Another student Ayesha Moiz who has been employed as Assistant system engineer at Infosys said, “ I received support from Fullstack academy not only when I was doing the course but even now when I am employed. I am in a probation period here and whenever I am stuck with some programming, I call up my Aijaz sir and seek his support to trouble shoot the problem. I am very happy with the training and assistance in job placement and I highly recommend Fullstack Academy, she told Muslim Mirror.

The students from economically poor backgrounds are provided with an opportunity to apply for scholarship from IMRC (Indian Muslim Relief and charities). The Full Stack Academy (FSA) facilitates a written exam for the applicants to qualify for scholarship from IMRC. After the written tests there is an interview after which qualifying students are assisted with scholarship wherein they pay just 25% of the fees while the IMRC pays 75% of the fees.

Students enroll here not just from Hyderabad but also from different states of India.

“Every time one of our students gets a placement in a coveted company, it is like we have climbed one notch of the high ladder of success. The success of our students is like our own success, it is as if we have bagged the job. Each success story fills our hearts with happiness and makes us want to better ourselves” shared Md Aijaz.

source: http://www.muslimmirror.com / Muslim Mirror / Home> Education> Positive Story / by Nikhat Fatima, Muslim Mirror / June 24th, 2022

SC Collegium approves names of 10 judges of Allahabad HC as permanent judges

Leaders, , , , , , , , , ,

INDIA:

The CJI, Justices U U Lalit and A M Khanwilkar are part of the three-member Collegium which takes decisions with regard to the high court judges.

The Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana has approved the proposal for the appointment of 10 Additional Judges as Permanent Judges of the Allahabad High Court.

The Collegium in a meeting held on May 21 took the decision and the resolution was uploaded on the apex court website on Tuesday.

The names recommended for elevation are :

Justices Sanjay Kumar Pachori, Subhash Chandra Sharma, Subhash Chand (Presently working in Jharkhand High Court on Transfer), Saroj Yadav, Mohd. Aslam, Anil Kumar Ojha, Sadhna Rani (Thakur), Syed Aftab Husain Rizvi, Ajai Tyagi, and Ajai Kumar Srivastava-I.

Besides the CJI, Justices U U Lalit and A M Khanwilkar are part of the three-member Collegium which takes decisions with regard to the high court judges.

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> India / by PTI, New Delhi / May 24th, 2022

Syed Waiz Mian has been appointed as an extra judge of the Allahabad High Court by the central government

Business & Economy, Leaders, , ,

Sisrauli (Bareilly), UTTAR PRADESH:

The Central Government has announced the appointment of judicial officer Syed Waiz Mian, who is now serving as District and Sessions Judge in Amroha, Uttar Pradesh, as an additional judge of the Allahabad High Court for a period of seven months until January 4, 2023.

The notification was issued by the Union Law Ministry on Wednesday.

On February 4, 2021, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended Mian as one of eleven candidates for a judgeship.

Only seven of them had been certified by the central government, while the names of four others had been returned.

The Allahabad High Court has a working strength of 94 as of June 1, 2022, compared to a sanctioned strength of 160.

source: http://www.justicebench.com / Justice Bench / Home> News / by S Sreedhar / June 09th, 2022

Qatar Indian Social Forum celebrates Eid-ul-Fitr

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Events, Exhibitions, Conferences (wef. Nov 18th, 2021), Karnataka (under research project), Leaders, NRI's / PIO's, Travel & Tourism, World Opinion, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Madikeri (Kodagu) / General INDIA / Doha, QATAR :

Doha :

Qatar Indian Social Forum, prominent Indian expatriate community celebrated Eid-ul-Fitr with array of Cultural Programmes representing Rich cultural Heritage of Indian Subcontinent with Skits, Folk songs, Martial arts, traditional Cultural events from different Indian states in different Languages under theme ‘Celebrating Unity in Diversity’.

Welcoming the gathering, Usman general secretary of Social forum, said that the forum would like to uphold a sense of unity among Indians despite the difference in their caste, creed, and religion, and cherish different cultural backgrounds, a land that shows unity in diversity truly reflecting the theme of the evening.


Social forum president Ayyub Ullal launched ‘IndianSocialForum.com’ website, and delivered EID message, hosting these types of gatherings will promote respect for each other’s Cultural Heritage and improve collective commitment towards society at large.

‘Abdul Latheef Madikkeri Memorial Humanitarian Activist Award’ of the year

Chief guest of the Evening Subramanya Hebbagelu, vice president Indian Cultural Center, handed over the ‘Abdul Latheef Madikkeri Memorial Humanitarian Activist Award’ of the year to Basheer Ahamed, leader from Social Forum Tamilnadu, and paid tribute the veteran leader Abdul Latheef Madikeri, who passed away in April last year, in his speech stressed the importance of Serving Humanity.

Vinod Nair, president, Indian Community Benevolent Forum (ICBF) congratulated the gathering and handed over medal to Cultural teams including ‘Thullal-Parai’ and ‘Nagam-16’ from Tamilnadu, Kolkali and ‘Daughters of Kerala’ from Kerala, Tippu Sultan Drama from Karnataka, Nasheed from Northern States for their spectacular display.

Fastest Kid

Ayyub Ullal, handed over the ‘Award of Appreciation’ to Muhammed Ameen Bin Thaisser, honoring his achievement to become ‘Fastest Kid to recite’ all Elements of Periodic table.

The meet brought together more than 20 Community Leaders representing various Indian states Organization, attracting more than 500 community members. The programme ended up with a feast for all participants.

Saeed Kommachi, general secretary, proposed the vote of thanks.

www.indiasocialforum.com

source: http://www.daijiworld.com / DaijiWorld.com / Home>Middle East / by Daijiworld Media Network – Doha (EP) / May 06th, 2022

Doha: Well-known social worker Abdul Latif Madikeri passes away

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Karnataka (under research project), Leaders, NRI's / PIO's, World Opinion, , , , , , , , , ,

Madikeri (Kodagu) / Doha, QATAR :

Doha : 

Well-known social worker Abdul Lathif Madikeri, secretary of Qatar Indian Social Forum (QISF), an association for NRIs, passed away on Sunday April 11.

Abdul Latif was an active social worker who used to respond to all issues faced by non-resident Indians and help to find solutions for them. He always led from the front when it came to social and humanitarian works and was well-known to all NRIs in Qatar.

He was employed in Qatar Police Force for the past thirty years and has left behind his wife, three sons, a daughter, a large number of friends and relatives.

Qatar Indian Social Forum has condoled his demise, describing that his departure has left a void that cannot be filled. QISF also prayed that the almighty bestows strength to his family to bear the loss.     

source: http://www.daijiworld.com / DaijiWorld.com / Home /by Daijiworld Media Network – Doha (EP) / April 11th, 2021

Review of Parthiban’s Dream & Meeran’s Stories: The prince and the paupers

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Community Involvement / Social Issues, , , ,

TAMIL NADU :

These superb translations make two Tamil classics accessible to a wider readership

Kalki’s  Parthiban Kanavu, published in the 1940s and considered to be one of the earliest historical novels in Tamil, is an acknowledged classic.

Thoppil Mohamed Meeran’s short stories are contemporary classics.

The translation of these works from Tamil into English by two experienced writers, Nandini Vijayaraghavan and Prabha Sridevan respectively, achieves a major aim: to make cultures and histories of India accessible to a wider readership.

They are also of interest to prospective translators as a study in contrast, indicating the wide range of skills and knowledge that make translation a creative art.

Impeccable choice

Parthiban Kanavu is a swashbuckling story of a young prince keeping alive his father’s dream of establishing a glorious kingdom. The storyline is marked by palace intrigues, betrayals, and love at first sight. Vijayaraghavan faithfully follows the plot, omitting no digressions or descriptions. Nor does she editorialise to explain plot complications. Her choice of words is impeccable, the polysyllabic and slightly archaic language reflecting Kalki’s Sanskritised Tamil, which is not easily accessible to contemporary readers.

Kalki at work | Photo Credit: The Hindu

Parthiban’s Dream features exquisite artwork by Gopulu which was part of the Tamil original when it was serialised. The volume will be a treasured addition to any bookshelf.

Cover of ‘Meeran’s Stories’

Deceptively easy

The 18 short stories in  Meeran’s Stories have been selected from across three anthologies. Taken together, they showcase the Sahitya Akademi award winner’s range and sensitivity. Belonging to a Muslim community in Kerala, Meeran’s characters lead insecure lives where violence is both tacit and direct.

Noorunisa waits in vain for the Arab trader who will sweep her off her feet and cover her with gold. A tsunami changes the entire landscape, bringing about a sea change in the lives of the fishing community. A poor man thrown out by his son goes on a  safar to holy Muslim sites, only to be treated as a terrorist by the authorities.

The young boy who bullies and finally strangles his mother, learns that the woman who petted, cosseted and indulged him owed him nothing, not even his birth. An unsympathetic official refuses to grant a girl’s simple request to thank the bus conductor who rescued her till it is too late. The economic and environmental disaster created by Coca-Cola at its Plachimada plant is recorded with clinical precision through descriptions of dry wells, poisonous fertilisers and a devious investor.

Meeran’s stories make for deceptively easy reading, mirroring the apparently uneventful lives of his characters. The narrative style, without editorial comments, is powerful in its starkness. Through what he leaves unsaid, Meeran allows readers to reconstruct the cultural context.

The twist in the tale, the hallmark of a good short story, is sharp and blink-and-you-miss-it short.

The closed Coca-Cola company at Plachimada in Palakkad. | Photo Credit: Mustafah K.K.

Like idioms, Meeran’s syntax and structures do not cross languages easily.

Translating Meeran’s work is thus a delicate undertaking, balancing the said and the unsaid, needing simplistic, not simple, English to create a feeling of rarity.

Sridevan pays attention to both word and spirit. But her work goes a step further: it spurs the reader on to go back to the original, looking for hidden depths. This is a singular accomplishment for a translation.

These two books are must-reads for the Tamil diaspora, in India and abroad.

Parthiban’s Dream; Kalki Krishnamurthy, translated by Nandini Vijayaraghavan; Ratna Books; ₹599

Meeran’s Stories; Thoppil Mohamed Meeran, translated by Prabha Sridevan; Ratna Books; ₹499

The reviewer is an educator, author and avid reader.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Translation – Society / by Hema Ramanathan / June 17th, 2022

World-famous cardiologist Dr Riyaz Bashir delivers lecture on medical innovations at NIT Srinagar

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Education, Events, Exhibitions, Conferences (wef. Nov 18th, 2021), Inventions, Innovations (wef. Nov 30th, 2021), Leaders, NRI's / PIO's, Science & Technology, World Opinion,

Srinagar, JAMMU & KASHMIR / Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), USA :

pix: youtube.com

‘Such lectures are aimed to provide a vibrant platform for students: Director

Srinagar:

World famous cardiologist Dr Riyaz Bashir MD, FACC, who is Professor of Medicine, Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, USA, Wednesday delivered an expert lecture on medical innovations at National Institute of Technology (NIT) Srinagar.


The event was organized jointly by MSME, Development Institute Srinagar in collaboration with MSME- Business Incubation Centre and IIED Centre.


The event was presided over by Director NIT Srinagar, Prof. Rakesh Sehgal, and world-renowned cardiologist Dr Riyaz Bashir who is also Director, Vascular and Endovascular Medicine and co-inventor of the Bashir™ Endovascular Catheter was the chief guest on the occasion.


In his presiding speech, Director NIT, Prof. Sehgal said new innovations are important and vital for any engineering institution. From medical sciences to agriculture, India is progressing in every field of science and technology. No technology will be successful until we make it sustainable, he said.


Prof. Sehgal also expressed his gratitude to Dr Riyaz Bashir for delivering a memorable lecture on medical innovations. Hosting such renowned personalities is the need of the hour, he said.


Institute’s Registrar, Prof. Syed Kaiser Bukhari said research and innovation are essential to increase the abilities of young minds. “We need to develop and test solutions; predict outcomes and mitigate harm and make informed policy decisions,” he said.


Prof. Bukhari said research and innovation are critical for generating new knowledge, building new infrastructure, and educating innovators and entrepreneurs.


In his key address, Dr Riyaz Bashir delivered his lecture on medical innovations and shared his aspiring journey from Kashmir to the USA with the young innovators.


“Our team is working on removing the blockage of lung arteries by a blood clot results in pulmonary embolism – a condition requiring emergency care that affects thousands of patients across the globe,” he said.


Dr. Bashir further said existing treatments, however, may not fully remove the clot, necessitating the development of new therapeutic strategies for pulmonary embolism.


His team has developed a device known as the Bashir™ Endovascular Catheter (Thrombolex, Inc.), which effectively dissolves the clots in the lungs, with no major bleeding risk.


Dr Bashir also urged young innovators to focus on a problem and then try to find the best solutions possible. “Universe will conspire to make it successful if your intention is to help people and impact lives,” he said.
Assistant Director, MSME Development Institute Srinagar, Saheel Yaqoob Alaqband said the program was aimed to motivate young innovators, and how they will take their innovation to commercial stage.


“Ministry of MSME funds those innovations which have commercial potential and later can change the lives of the people. Dr Riyaz is an example for young innovators,” he said.


On the occasion Head IIED Centre, Prof. Saad Parvez talked about the growing startup culture and how their centre is helping to grow that culture at NIT Srinagar as well as in Kashmir.


He said IIED Centre of NIT Srinagar is the host institute for implementing MSME design and innovation schemes.


The event was attended by Prof. Babar Ahmad, Dr Sheikh Shahid Saleem, G A Harmain, Dr Noor Zaman, Dr Parvez Ahmad Reshi, Dr Dinesh Kumar, Dr Danish Ahmad, Dr Sandeep Rathee, Abdul Hamid (Rahim Greens), Dr Talib Khan (SKIMS), Dr Shiekh GM (Ex. AP, MED) and innovators from NIT Srinagar and MSME.


A formal vote of thanks was presented by Dr Sheikh Shahid Saleem. He expressed gratitude to Dr. Bashir for encouraging the young innovators and boosting their morale. He later thanked all participants for attending the special lecture.

source: http://www.kashmirreader.com / Kashmir Reader / Home / by KR Desk / May 20th, 2022