Category Archives: Arts, Culture & Entertainment

She chose the less-travelled path

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Community Involvement / Social Issues, Freedom Fighters (under research project), Leaders, , , , , , , , ,

Adoor, KERALA :

HaleemaBiwiMPOs28feb2019

Haleema Beevi, first Muslim woman journalist of Kerala, to be remembered

Her life was a crusade against oppression of women in the Muslim community. Amidst strong protests and threats, she dedicated her life for the empowerment of women in her community.

The Kerala  Sahitya Akademi is remembering Haleema Beevi, the first Muslim woman journalist of the State, on her 100th birth anniversary.

Unsung heroine

The celebration, to be held in connection with the inauguration of the national book exhibition on Saturday, will also pave the way for more explorations on the unsung heroine of Kerala Journalism and her writings, noted Kerala Sahitya Akademi president Vaishakhan.

A recent Facebook post by writer Shihabuddin Poythumkadavu on Haleema Beevi had many responses.

Available records indicate that Haleema Beevi started her career as a journalist at the age of 18. Born in an orthodox Muslim family at Adoor in 1918, as the daughter of Peer Mohammed and Maideen Beevi, she was an ardent reader from childhood. Though she was good at studies, she could not go to school after Class 7. But she continued to read.

Muslim Vanitha

At a time when Muslim women did not even dare to come to the mainstream, Haleema Beevi started a women’s magazine, Muslim Vanitha, at Thiruvalla. Later, its functioning was shifted to Kodungalloor. She later started a daily in 1946 called Bharatha Chandrika. Later, she even started a weekly in the same name. Haleema Beevi functioned as its editor, printer, and publisher.

Prominent writers

Eminent writers Vaikom Mohammed Basheer, Sukumar Azhikode, K. Gomathi, and P. Valsala had written in her publications. Haleema Beevi used to write articles related to education.

Haleema Beevi was a municipal councillor at Thiruvalla for five years. Her husband K.M. Mohammed Moulavi, a prominent presence in the struggles against Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer, was imprisoned for taking part in agitations against the Divan. Haleema Beevi too had gone to jail during the Independence struggles.

She relentlessly worked for the empowerment of women. Her goal was to bring Muslim women, who were socially and educationally backward, to the mainstream.

Women’s education

At that time, the community was even against its members learning Malayalam. But Haleema Beevi argued that education was the basic right of every man and woman. She recalled that even the Prophet had called for women’s education.

She died at the age of 82 in 2000. Though her birth centenary was in 2018, nobody noticed it that time. The akademi and Mr. Poythumkadavu are on efforts to find her writings.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Mini Muringatheri / Thrissur – February 01st, 2019

World War II spy first Indian-origin woman to get Blue Plaque in UK

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Karnataka (under research project), Leaders, NRI's / PIO's, Travel & Tourism, World Opinion, , , , , , , , , ,

London, UNITED KINGDOM :

The Blue Plaque scheme run by English Heritage honours notable people who lived or worked in particular buildings across London.

A Blue Plaque about Walworth-born comedian and actor Charlie Chaplin is seen near East Street Market in south London on September 1, 2017. (Photo | PTI)
A Blue Plaque about Walworth-born comedian and actor Charlie Chaplin is seen near East Street Market in south London on September 1, 2017. (Photo | PTI)

London :

Britain’s World War II spy Noor Inayat Khan was on Monday confirmed as the first Indian-origin woman to be honoured with a Blue Plaque at her former London home.

The Blue Plaque scheme run by English Heritage honours notable people who lived or worked in particular buildings across London.

Khan’s plaque is set to go up at 4 Taviton Street in Bloomsbury, where she lived as a secret agent during the war. Khan, the daughter of Indian Sufi saint Hazrat Inayat Khan, was an agent for Britain’s Special Operations Executive (SOE) during World War II and was captured and killed by the Nazis in 1944 at just 30 years of age.

“It is from this house that she left on her final and fatal mission. Noor gave her life in the fight against fascism and her message of peace and tolerance of all religions is even more relevant today,” said Shrabani Basu, Chair of the Noor Inayat Khan Memorial Trust (NIKMT).

“The blue plaque will be a wonderful addition to the area that has a special association with Noor. It will be the first Blue Plaque for a woman of Indian-origin in Britain and is a real honour,” said Basu, who has been campaigning for the plaque since 2006 as the author of ‘Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan’.

Taviton Street is close to Gordon Square, which the NIKMT chose for the installation of a memorial bust in 2012 of the spy, a descendant of the 18th century Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan.

The Blue Plaque at her home is expected to be installed following building approval within the next few years.

“The Blue Plaques Panel have agreed that Noor Inayat Khan should be commemorated with a plaque. Once a nomination has been approved, it can take a further two or three years for a plaque to be unveiled,” an English Heritage spokesperson said.

“Noor Inayat Khan has deserved recognition for years. A hero who joined Britain’s effort to fight tyranny,” said Tom Tugendhat, Chair of the UK Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee. Born in September 1914 in Moscow to an Indian father and American mother, Khan was raised in both Paris and Britain.

As a Sufi, she believed in non-violence and also supported the Indian Independence movement but she felt compelled to join the British war effort against fascism. She went on to become the first female radio operator to be infiltrated into occupied France, where she was tortured and killed at Dachau concentration camp.

The SOE was an underground force established in Britain in 1940 by war-time Prime Minister Winston Churchill to “set Europe ablaze”.

It recruited men and women to launch guerilla war against Adolf Hitler’s forces.

Historial records show that despite being repeatedly tortured and interrogated, Khan revealed nothing and was executed by a German SS officer and her last word was recorded as “Liberte” or freedom.

She was later awarded the George Cross, the highest civilian decoration in the UK, in recognition of her bravery.

In recent months, Khan was also a frontrunner of a campaign for an ethnic minority personality to be honoured as the face of a redesigned GBP 50 note until the Bank of England announced that the note would feature a scientific figure.

Major Indian figures to be honoured with Blue Plaques in London include Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and B R Ambedkar, who spent time in the city during the Indian national movement against Britain’s colonial rule.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> World / by PTI / February 25th, 2019

Fatima and Fatima

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Business & Economy, Leaders, Travel & Tourism, World Opinion, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Kolkata, WEST BENGAL :

Two remarkable women from the family of Wajid Ali Shah, the last king of Awadh, are reviving his culinary tradition in Calcutta, the city where he famously introduced potatoes into the biryani!

Last king of Awadh,Wajed Ali Shah,Manzilat Fatima

Manzilat Fatima is a descendent of Wajid Ali Shah, the last Nawab of Awadh who spent 29 years in exile in Metiayaburj, a Calcutta suburb. She launched a pop-up restaurant of Awadhi cuisine in 2014 and a home dining service, Manzilat’s, in 2018 in Calcutta. (Arijit Sen/HT Photo)

What do you do you do if a goose is plump beyond reason, won’t lay eggs and needs too much feed? Cook it, I guess. And that’s what the British Crown did to Wajid Ali Shah, the last king of Awadh, who ascended the throne as a 25-year-old in 1847 and was dethroned nine years later in 1856, a year before the first war of Indian Independence broke out.

The British said this was done because he lived and ate like a king and did little else, thus overlooking his military reforms, his attempts at administration which the East India Company did its best to thwart, and his immense popularity with his subjects.

Packed off to Metiyaburj, about four miles south of Calcutta, the ousted king was joined by his prime minister, some of his wives, musicians and officials. His chefs attended to this displaced court as best as they could. They prepared their master’s banquets with the lavishness of his days as monarch, so that when he sat for his meals, he would remember Lucknow as his great romance and not the painful reality of its passing.

If five kilogrammes of lamb mince was used to make a single kofta when he had been the king, they were not going to scale down, when he was no longer one.

Wajid Ali shah during his days in exile in Metiyaburj, a Calcutta suburb, wearing his trademark kurta with part of his chest exposed. His descendants say it was an expression of his heart being open to his subjects. ( Arijit Sen/HT Photo )

But how do you claim, centuries later, that one of India’s most famous ex-royal is your old man and that you are the sole inheritor of the royal cuisine he helped found? Wajid Ali Shah’s descendants Manzilat Fatima, 51, and Fatima Mirza, 45, of Calcutta are doing that, courtesy the documents of political pensions of their families on the one hand, and by cooking his food, on the other. Team Manzilat and Team Fatima, both say they are the real thing.

***

Family recipes are a cook’s real estate. Wajid Ali Shah’s descendants face the problem of plenty. At the time of his death, the king had 250 wives and 42 children so no ‘family recipe’ matches the other. The British also made sure that after the king’s death in 1887, his days in exile would go undocumented.

On Fatima Mirza’s table: Kachhe Tikia ke Kebab, Mutton biryani, Nargisi Kofta. Mirza is a great-great grandchild of the last king of Awadh. ( Arijit Sen/HT Photo )

“His successors and his subjects were left with nothing,” says Wasif Hussain, the manager of the king’s mausoleum in Metiyaburj. “I’ve heard that in Chartwell House [the country home of a former British premier, Winston Churchill], his kitchen with its tea-kettle, his flour bin, the utensil rack and the weighing machine have been left intact…. It’s a museum….”

A law graduate, Manzilat Fatima, is from the ‘ruling line’. Her father, Kaukub Meerza, a former Reader of the Aligarh Muslim University, is the grandson of Birjis Qadr, the son of Begum Hazrat Mahal and Wajid Ali Shah. Birjis was crowned king by Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar during 1857 as Wajid Ali Shah was by then in Calcutta. Birjis met his death in 1893 after dinner at a relative’s home in Metiyaburj.

This was not the first time that poisoning had killed an Awadhi royal, Sudipta Mitra, author of Pearl by the River, a book on Wajid Ali Shah’s exile, points out. Royal biographies mention a consort sending the king paan as a token of her love during their better days and the king not putting it past her to lace its leaves with poison when those days were over.

The murder of Birjis and its memory have stayed with the family for over 120 years. It has seeped into Manzilat’s remembrances of her childhood home (“My paternal grandmother would always check the food before it was served to family members”), and explains her impatience with ‘proof’-seekers. Ever since she launched a pop-up restaurant of Awadhi cuisine in 2014 and a home dining service, Manzilat’s, in 2018 in Calcutta, there are some set questions she has had to answer.

“ ‘Do I have monogrammed table-mats from Wajid Ali’s time?’ ‘Did I inherit a recipe book?’ No, I didn’t! Birjis’ murder snapped our links with the other branches of the family. His wife escaped from Metiyaburj to Calcutta…. And besides, my great-great-grandmother, Hazrat Mahal, was a queen who was fighting the British, not writing cookbooks. For a while, I made this my FB status,” says Manzilat cheekily while adding finishing touches to an order of Ghutwaan Kebab (made of mashed meat marinated with papaya) that a delivery man from Swiggy is waiting for her to complete, besides the mandatory biryani.

Manzilat makes a good mutton biryani, but with mustard oil to keep it non-greasy and light; Fatima Mirza, a school principal (she is of the line of Wajid Ali Shah’s principal consort, Khas Mahal) and her husband Shahanshah Mirza (his father Wasif Mirza is another great grandson of Wajid Ali Shah) consider the leaving out of ghee an overturning of the “basic biryani rule-book”. Both families, however, have more in common than they think.

While Manzilat’s cooking displays her control in colour, sense of proportion and spicing so integral to Awadhi cooking, Fatima, too, has considerable domain knowledge. Since 2018, she has been working on a cookbook penning family recipes such as the Kachhe Tikia ke Kebab.

“This is the only Awadhi kebab in which sattu is added and it was a Wajid Ali Shah favourite,” she says. “To neutralise the heat of meat and to make it easily digestible, hakeems advised chefs to add sattu (ground Bengal gram) as the king aged. The trend seems to have been to keep things light and fragrant.”

 

Shahanshah Mirza, another descendant of Wajid Ali Shah, with a family heirloom – a ceramic bowl. Such bowls were common in royal households. Their contents were checked by food inspectors before they were placed before the nawab. They had a special coating which would ‘crack’ if the food had poison, says Mirza. ( Arijit Sen/HT Photo )

Shahanshah Mirza, a government official and heritage enthusiast, elaborates on the difference between Awadhi and Mughlai cuisine. “Unlike Mughlai, ours has no overdose of mace or cardamom or dry fruits. We say about Urdu, Urdu aap ke zubaan pe hamla nahin karta hai, speaking it, does no assault to your tongue… Likewise, Awadhi food plays on understatement. It is big on presentation though.” Any aspiration to cheffy-ness of the standard of the former royal house of Awadh has to get the food styling right.

Wajid Ali’s descendants also make great allowances for a master chef’s ego. It was not uncommon in the heyday of the king to have his chefs refuse to cook for any other branch of the family. Some of the chefs even announced during the time of seeking employment that they were not going to expand their expertise! That is, the maker of dal would remain a dal specialist throughout his life. A biryani cook would touch nothing else.

***

The Sibtainabad Imambara, the mausoleum of Wajid Ali Shah and his son Birjis Qadr at Metiayaburj. Birjid was declared king in the absence of his father by the sepoys during 1857 and his kingship was acknowledged by the Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar. ( Arijit Sen/HT Photo )

In Metiyaburj, Guddu, a grandson of Puttan, a descendant of one of Wajid Ali Shah’s great chefs, drops by at the Shahi Imambara, for a chat. He talks of a dish that has the sound of one made in Awadh’s hoary past. There are few “with the stomach and liver of Wajid Ali Shah” to digest dishes like a meat mutanjan (a rice dish) now, Guddu says. But Nawabi biryani, and yes, with the potato, is everywhere.

Do kings thus prepare the future food of the people? The rich trying out the pleasures that the masses will eventually grasp is something historian Fernand Braudel has elaborated upon in his works. Rows of biryani shops of various prices line the road on either side of the king’s mausoleum. “Jameson Inn, a branch of Shiraz [an old Calcutta eatery], began to make a Murgh Hazrat Mahal in 2011,” informs Hussain, the Imambara manager. But there is a piece of information doing the rounds he would like to correct.

“The potato was added to the biryani because of its exotic value. It was a new vegetable in the market introduced by the Portuguese,” says Hussain. Both Fatimas back this view. According to Abdul Halim Sharar’s Guzishta Lucknow, considered to be the go-to book for any information on Wajid Ali Shah’s exile, the king spent Rs 24,000 on a pair of silk-winged pigeons, Rs 11,000 on a pair of white peacocks and approximately Rs 9,000 a month on food for some animals in his zoo in Metiyaburj.

“If a man could afford so much, he could certainly add more meat to his biryani and not bulk it up with potatoes,” suggests Fatima Mirza. The king would presumably also not risk his social prestige. At the evening concerts in the then resplendent Sultan Khana that had all the splendour of his palaces in Lucknow, when the Calcutta elite would visit, with thumri, there was biryani and it had potatoes. Surely Wajid Ali Shah would not have a dish served that had hard times written all over it.

(L-R) Mohammad Sulaiman Qadr Meerza with his grandfather, Kaukab Meerza, the great grandson of Wajid Ali Shah and Begum Hazrat Mahal, and his father, Kamran Meerza. ( Arijit Sen/HT Photo )

******

Mohammad Sulaiman Qadr Meerza, 9, in a yellow tee and jeans is following the discussion on food and music, and the Awadh royal family closely. When he was six, his father Kamran (Manzilat’s brother), a businessman, disclosed his antecedents. He told his friends in between classes at school that he belonged to a royal family.

His friends asked: “Which one?” Sulaiman said he was the fifth generation of Wajid Ali Shah and Begum Hazrat Mahal. They did not believe him.

Next year, when he is 10, Sulaiman has plans to grow bigger. And then he will try to convince them. He says he must give it one last try.

Kitchen confidential- Nawabi recipes passed down the family
MANZILAT FATIMA’S PINEAPPLE MUTANJAN
INGREDIENTS
  • 1 cup Gobindo Bhog rice soaked for an hour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 cups chopped pineapples
  • 2 1/4 cups boiling hot water (boiled with saffron strands and a pinch of kesariya colour)
  • 1 tbspoon pure ghee
  • 1 cup grated mawa
  • 1 clove; 1 cardamom; almond slivers
METHOD:

Take a heavy-bottom handi, add ghee. When hot, add cloves and the cardamom, then add the whole of the drained rice and saute quickly on medium flame.

Pour the hot water in the handi. Keep the flame high for 2-3 minutes, lower the flame and keep on sim till the rice is 3/4 cooked.

In another handi, scoop out the cooked rice and make a layer; sprinkle 1/2 of the sugar and 1/2 of the chopped pineapples and 1/2 the grated mawa.

Similarly, repeat a second layer, cover the lid and keep the handi on a tawa on sim. Leave for 5-10 minutes till the sugar melts and all ingredients blend well. Switch off the gas.

Before serving lightly mix the layers, serve hot after garnishing with silver leaf and almond slivers.

FATIMA MIRZA’S KACHHE TIKIA KE KEBAB
INGREDIENTS
  • Mince meat 500 gms; salt to taste
  • Bengal gram flour (roasted, powdered) 2 tsp
  • Garam Masala powder -1 teaspoon
  • Paste of nutmeg and mace -1 tsp
  • Onions -2 big ones; ginger-garlic paste -3 tsp; raw papaya paste -2 tsp
  • Green chillies -2; coriander leaves
  • Ghee for frying
METHOD:

Wash the minced meat. Fry the onions till they are golden brown. Mix garam masala, a paste of nutmeg, mace, fried onion and ginger-garlic paste. Sprinkle salt as desired. Add the raw papaya paste. Keep it aside for 10 minutes.

When the mutton turns tender, then mix the chopped coriander leaves and green chillies.

Using the mince mixture make flat round patties (tikia) of even size. Pour ghee into a pan. Heat it on a low flame. When the ghee crackles, start frying the patties till golden brown.

Drain out the excess ghee and serve it hot.

source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> India / by Paramita Ghosh / Hindustan Times / February 24th, 2019

 

Ammi’s sass in a bottle

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Business & Economy, , , , , ,

Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

SassyBegumMPOs24feb2019

The heat of the masala, the tart of the mango, and the bite of garlic — a surprise delivery worth writing home about

It all started with a post on Facebook. My friend Amita wrote about a harrowing experience she’d had with an online order of pickles. She was lured by some “mouth-watering pictures of plump veggies glistening with oil, sitting on golden paranthas,” but ended up feeling “foolish and short-changed”. The pickles cost a bomb, but leaked oil when they arrived. The vegetables were still raw, and she was informed that she had to keep the jar out in the sun for several days. No, that was not nice.

Pleasant pickles

I, on the other hand, had a smooth experience with a recent pickle delivery. For one, I had not asked for them, so they came as a pleasant surprise. Two, they were well-packed and leaked no oil. Three, though I could only try out a tiny bit from the two kinds of pickles that had arrived, they were rather good.

The pickles are from Ammi ke Achar, and are being marketed by a young man called Sahil Hassan, who runs a food-delivery system known as Sassy Begum. The Hassan family prepares and sells hot and delicious Hyderabadi pickles prepared with garlic, mango, gongura, tamarind, and lime.

The spicy mango achar in avvakai masala, and the garlic pickle are for ₹375 (for 300g). The raw tamarind thokku chutney (with tamarind, green chillies, fenugreek seeds), nimmakaya (lime), and gongura pickles are for ₹300 (for 300g).

I liked the masala and the tartness of their mango pickle, and the raw, edgy bite of the garlic pickle. The pickle recipes, Sahil tells me, have been in the family for generations. Some of them can be found in Saffron and Pearls, a book written by his mother, Doreen Hassan.

In my house, people have diverse views about pickles. My favourite is gobhi-gajar-shalgam – a sweet and sour pickle of cauliflower, carrots, and turnips. My friend Raj got me some of this recently, and I have been quietly licking my fingers. My wife likes the Bengali sweet pickle prepared with a berry called kul. Our home-manager loves anything that is hot and spicy, so she embraced a prawn pickle that another friend had brought for us last week. And she has been lapping up Ammi ke Achar.

Banarasi chillies

In the last few months, I have ordered pickles online from Delight Foods, and another site called Place of Origin. You get everything here — from the stuffed red chillies of Banaras to sweet lemon pickle, topa kuler achar, and jackfruit pickle.

Products from the best pickle place in Delhi — Harnarain Gokulchand in Khari Baoli — can also be bought online. From an Assamese food site, I ordered some pork pickle which was, however, not very exciting.

But if you want to make your own pickle, you could try this baingan ka achar (eggplant pickle) from Doreen Hassan’s book: Wash, dry, and cube 750g of eggplants. Soak them in salted water for 3-4 hours. Take 1 litre of vinegar. Take 30g red chillies and grind them in some of the vinegar. Grind this to a fine paste, along with 30g green chillies, 2tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp black pepper, 1/2tsp fenugreek, 1tsp mustard seeds and ½ tbsp cumin seed, using more of the vinegar as needed.

Heat ½ litre of refined groundnut oil; bring to a boil. Add the masala and fry until fragrant. Add 2 sprigs of curry leaves, 3tsp chopped ginger, and 2tsp of chopped garlic. Fry well. Add salt. Add the eggplants and 150g of sugar. Add the remaining vinegar. Cook on slow heat till the eggplants are done and the gravy has thickened. Cool and bottle.

Try it out. You will — pardon the pun — relish it.

For more information, call 9999122999 or log on to sassybegum.com.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Life & Style> Food / by Rahul Verma / February 23rd, 2019

Rs 70-lakh US grant for conservation of tombs in Hyderabad

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

TELANGANA :

It is the second time that the US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) grant, a US Department of State initiative, is being awarded to the Qutb Shahi tombs.

Kenneth I Juster, US Ambassador to India and Consul General Katherine Hadda visit the Qutb Shahi tombs complex in Hyderabad on Thursday | Express
Kenneth I Juster, US Ambassador to India and Consul General Katherine Hadda visit the Qutb Shahi tombs complex in Hyderabad on Thursday | Express

Hyderabad :

The US Ambassador to India Kenneth I Juster, who was in the city on Thursday, announced a grant of over Rs 70 lakh towards conservation of the 17th-century tombs of Taramati and Premamati, located within the Qutb Shahi tombs complex.

It is the second time that the US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) grant, a US Department of State initiative, is being awarded to the Qutb Shahi tombs.

The grant is awarded to the Aga Khan foundation, which is in the process of restoring the tomb complex. The previous grant, awarded in 2014, supported the documentation of archaeological finds at the Qutb Shahi tombs complex. Earlier in 2009, the program supported restoration at the garden tomb of Mah Laqa Bai at Moula Ali.

Stating he was pleased to announce, Juster said the present grant was only “just one in a long line of projects that we have proudly supported across India. “Through these efforts, we seek to demonstrate the enduring respect of the United States for other cultures and our commitment to conserving the architectural wonders of humanity,” he said.

The restoration’s primary aims will be to conserve the final resting places of famed dancers Taramati and Premamati, and restore the tombs to their original grandeur.  CEO of Aga Khan Trust for Culture Ratish Nanda said the conservation works have commenced with structural repairs, and will require careful removal of 20th century cement, with use of lime plaster applied by master-craftsmen to restore the authenticity of the structures.”

Photo exhibition of US Consulate at RGIA 
As the US Consulate in city celebrates its 10th anniversary, the US Mission has partnered with RGIA to launch a photo exhibition chronicling the Consulate’s activities over the past decade.  On hand to launch the exhibition were US Ambassador to India Kenneth I. Juster; CEO of GMR Hyderabad International Airport SGK Kishore and US Consul General in Hyderabad Katherine Hadda. The Consulate in Hyderabad has curated this selection of 30 photographs after evaluating thousands of photos for inclusion.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service / February 22nd, 2019

When Nizam came to rescue of Rabindranath Tagore

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Leaders, World Opinion,

HYDERABAD :

The correspondences between Tagore and Nizam date back 1927 when Tagore first wrote to the Nizam saying that he was sending his representative Kalimohan Ghose, to interview.

Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. (File photo|EPS)
Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. (File photo|EPS)

Hyderabad :

Nizam VII Osman Ali Khan Bahadur, who became the Rajpramukh on January 26, 68 years ago, was known not just for his riches but also for his philanthropy in the fields of education, science and development. What is less known is his contribution to the establishment of Rabindranath Tagore’s Shantinektan in West Bengal. Khan’s administration for  several years funded the construction of hostels, library and the setting up of Urdu department in Shantiniketan.

The correspondences between Tagore and Nizam date back 1927 when Tagore first wrote to the Nizam saying that he was sending his representative Kalimohan Ghose, to interview.

A few months later in July, Tagore wrote another letter to the him, asking for a donation to collection of books and manuscripts at Visva Bharati University, which is a public central university located in Shantiniketan.

In the letter, Tagore, said that the ‘wonderful collection of books and manuscripts that belong to Visva Bharati awaits a suitable and permanent home”. He referred to the Nizam as a ‘patron of learning’ and requested him to come to Tagore’s ‘rescue’ by donating Rs 75,000 for the library building.

Fast forward to 1933. A more desperate and worn-out Tagore wrote to the Nizam again. He described how he was facing ‘large deficits’ and how his resources were completely exhausted. He proceeded to ask for a `1 lakh-donation for establishing a hostel in Shantiniketan. Both the requests of donations were accepted.
It was six years after Tagore’s death in 1941 that Visva Bharati officials again wrote to the Nizam asking for a donation. Anil Kumar Chanda, the then principal requested Rs 85,000 for  setting up a Urdu Department. Sarojini Naidu was the Chancellor of the university at that time. It is unclear whether the donation was granted or not.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express  / Home> States> Telangana / by Aihik Sur / Express New Service / February 18th, 2019

A cop croons for patients

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, , , , ,

Kochi, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM :

Healing through songs: Sali Basheer, an assistant sub inspector with the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (Central Range), Ernakulam, singing at the General Hospital on Wednesday, as part of a Kochi Biennale Foundation programme . | Photo Credit: s anandan
Healing through songs: Sali Basheer, an assistant sub inspector with the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (Central Range), Ernakulam, singing at the General Hospital on Wednesday, as part of a Kochi Biennale Foundation programme . | Photo Credit: s anandan

‘Arts and medicine’ event held at General Hospital

An aged patient, with a tube attached to his nose, was among the several patients in rapt attention as the weekly ‘arts and medicine’ programme of the Kochi Biennale Foundation and the Mehboob Memorial Orchestra was under way at the Government General Hospital here on Wednesday. The singer on stage was Sali Basheer, an assistant sub inspector with the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (Central Range) in Ernakulam. Mr. Basheer is an active participant in events related to palliative care.

He opened the musical session with Kuri varachalum kurishu varachalum…, a secular devotional piece, and went on to sing several evergreen Malayalam and Hindi songs solo and together with philanthropist-engineer Mony T.K., who sings in the street to mobilise funds for charity; law student Sahala Shamsu, and her father Shamsudheen Sahib, a social worker.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by Special Correspondent / Kochi – February 14th, 2019

Good old radios

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Videos, , ,

Coimbatore, TAMIL NADU :

Abuthahir M A with his collection of vintage radios | Photo Credit: M.Periasamy
Abuthahir M A with his collection of vintage radios | Photo Credit: M.Periasamy

Abuthahir MA wants to share his love for vintage radios with the public and dreams of having them displayed in a museum

“Vintage products are all about the history that they have. I am glad that I can preserve some of it through my collection,” says Abuthahir M.A. He has recently exhibited his radios in the city as a part of the World Radio Day. The event was in association with The Rotary Club of  Coimbatore,  Cotton City. There were 100 or so familiar radio brands such as Murphy, Radiolla, Regentone, Zenith, Tata and Philips that he had collected in the last 28 years.

“Radios always fascinated me. As a child, I listened to movie songs on my neighbour’s radio.  My first job was in a radio servicing centre in Coimbatore. It was there that I learnt about its different parts and how it works.” He bought his first radio for ₹35 from a scrap dealer in 1990 . “It is a Jennith Ham Radio from the 1924-1936 period. It has a wooden body and vacuum tubes inside. The parts are made in America and England and it is the oldest in my collection.”

Scenes from the exhibition | Photo Credit: S.SIVA SARAVANAN
Scenes from the exhibition | Photo Credit: S.SIVA SARAVANAN

The 42-year- old has collected the radios from Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal. “Earlier I used to ask the older people about the history of these radios. Now the information is easily available from the internet.” His most expensive acquisition is a Gerard’s Philips Radio (1956 model). “It weighs 70 kg and was for sale at a house in Namakkal in 1999. Just as I reached there, I found another man carrying it away in an auto! I was sad but my search for a similar radio continued and, nearly a year later, I found one at Thoothukudi. I bought it for ₹16000,” recalls Abuthahir.

His collection has radios from the 1930s to the 1990s. “I own 160 radios of which 50 work. I have rented a house to keep them. The radios are treated with pesticides once in a month and I make sure they are kept away from moisture.”

He also has a collection of coins, stamps and clocks, watches and wooden dolls. He has conducted 53 exhibitions of his collections in Tamil Nadu and in Puducherry. “I hope to conduct more such shows and spread awareness. My biggest dream is to build a public museum with my collection on display in Coimbatore.”

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source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Life & Style / by Susan Joe Philip / February 14th, 2019

News museum draws crowds

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, , , , , ,

KERALA :

Students taking a look at the radios, phones and other mass communication tools on display at Government Higher Secondary School, Peruvalloor, on Wednesday
Students taking a look at the radios, phones and other mass communication tools on display at Government Higher Secondary School, Peruvalloor, on Wednesday

Malappuram  :

Like many organisations across the globe, a village school in the district too celebrated World Radio Day on Wednesday, but with a difference.

An exhibition titled Newseum made the celebration unique by having a solid array of mass media related objectives, particularly radios, on display at Government Higher Secondary School, Peruvalloor.

Personal collection

What made the exhibition special was that it was a personal collection of a newspaper journalist: A.P. Noushad from Kannamangalam near Vengara. People who visited the Newseum stood in awe in front of the 50-odd radios, 300-odd cameras, 400-odd mobile phones, 1,000-odd newspapers, 10,000-odd magazines, and a wide variety of television sets, tape recorders, stamps, coins, books and antiques.

When the United Nations encouraged the World Radio Day of 2019 by recognising the power of the radio to promote dialogue, tolerance and peace, Mr. Noushad came forward to do his first mega exhibition of the radios and other articles he has passionately collected over the last two decades.

Curious students

For the curious students, there was a lot to learn from the large valve radios of yesteryear that required a licence to play. “A licence?” asked a curious student.

“Yes, a licence was needed to possess a radio transistor in the initial days,” explained a teacher to the students. Mr. Noushad had a penchant for mass communication and its tools even when he was at school.

“First I started collecting pictures of sports personalities, then stamps and coins, then newspapers, magazines, cameras, radios, mobile phones, typewriters, and so on. It was all for curiosity sake,” said Mr. Noushad. Mr. Noushad’s collection has treasures from imaging history.

So are the mobiles phones from the initial years of mobile telephony.

A journalist with the Madhyamam newspaper at Perinthalmanna, Mr. Noushad was overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response at the exhibition. Many were surprised by the portmanteau word Newseum.

“I chose the word on realising that I had procured enough for a school level news museum,” said Mr. Noushad.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Kerala / by Staff Reporter & Abdul Latheef Naha / Malappuram – February 13th, 2019