Film Director, Producer and Writer, Anubhav Sinha, who has won numerous awards, has made some interesting remarks about the diversity he saw at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and how riots are used to paint Indian Muslims in a particular colour.
Aligarh Muslim University, Anubhav Sinha (Inset)
Film Director, Producer and Writer, Anubhav Sinha, who has won numerous awards, has made some interesting remarks about the diversity he saw at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and how riots are used to paint Indian Muslims in a particular colour.
AMU’s Diverse Culture
Speaking to journalist Saurabh Dwivedi for his YouTube show “The Lallantop”, Anubhav Sinha, who hails from Banaras, now Prayagraj, said he was introduced to the rich Indian diversity for the first time at the Aligarh Muslim University.
“I started believing in the Indian diversity only after I went to Aligarh Muslim University. Before that I was not even aware what diversity actually is”, the maker of Shah Rukh Khan starrer “Ra One”, said.
“Not Muslims alone. At AMU, there were friends from different places of the country. Some were from Hyderabad. Some others were Bengalis from Kolkata. Their Hindi accent was different. They had varying food habits and lifestyle.
“All these things were very interesting and helped me in understanding the diversity of our country… Something that I was unfamiliar with while in Banaras where we had encounters only with local people”, Sinha, who graduated from the AMU in 1987, said.
“This is why I am so powerful an advocate of Indian diversity… India is great because of its diversity”, Sinha, known for award winning films Article 15, Thappad, Mulk, Bheed and Tum Bin, said.
Communal Riots
During the conversation with Saurabh Dwivedi, Anubhav Sinha also highlighted how the communal riots were used to demonize the Indian Muslims.
Recalling the atmosphere in his house after he cleared AMU Entrance Test and got admission Anubhav Sinha said everyone was in shock.
“There used to be frequent communal riots in Uttar Pradesh, including in Aligarh. So my family was worried”, Sinha said.
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“We have always been made to believe that Hindus would never do any mischief… Muslims would always be the real culprits and perpetrators… This is why everyone was worried of my safety”, he said.
“But at Aligarh Muslim University, I reinvented India and got introduced to its powerful diversity”, he said about the university founded by great reformer Sir Syed Ahmed Khan.
source: http://www.ummid.com / Ummid.com / Home> India / by Web Desk / February 19th, 2025
Thanks to social media, former car driver Rasool Kareem has discovered a completely new calling in Qatar
Rasool Kareem (left) with Qatari cast members of Kareem Time channel. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
When 35-year-old Rasool Kareem set out to support his family by taking up a driver’s job in Doha, Qatar in 2007, little did he realise that his career as a social media star in the Gulf country would literally turn his life around in the most unexpected way.
With a YouTube channel called ‘Kareem Time Official’ that has 1.9 million subscribers and 537,894 followers on Facebook, besides 70,6000 more on his Instagram account, the native of Woraiyur, Tiruchi is a recognised public figure in the Arabian Gulf’s social media space.
Kareem’s work stands out because he makes videos on the life of South Asian (majorly Tamil) expatriate workers in the Gulf, with a cast that is made up of both Qatari and Indian amateur actors.
His content is available in Arabic and Tamil, and uses observational comedy to lampoon people’s foibles, while conveying an underlying serious message.
“It is not right to vilify people or countries blindly. There are good and bad persons in every community, and sometimes comedy becomes the best vehicle to spread tolerance, especially in places that rely on expatriate workers,” says Kareem over a WhatsApp interview call. “Most of my Arabic videos are uploaded on YouTube and Instagram, while the Tamil ones, which I produce with the help of a creative team in Tiruchi, are on Facebook. The comedy skits have slapstick and physical humour to appeal also to viewers who may not know either language,” says Kareem.
A star is born
Like the millions of blue-collar workers who head out to the Arabian Gulf countries in search of work every year, Kareem had a family to support back in Tiruchi. “I haven’t studied much, and spent much of my youth working at odd jobs. Since I was the eldest in my family and needed to support my parents and siblings, my father made me learn driving and got me a visa to work as a chauffeur for a Qatari family. When I had enough in my kitty, I decided to return to Tiruchi for good in 2010,” he recalls.
Kareem’s interest in acting led him to spending a year in Chennai, struggling to get roles in Tamil cinema. “By the end of 2011, I realised that my acting career was a non-starter, so I decided to return to Qatar and become a driver again,” he says.
Migrant workers in Qatar function under the ‘kafala’ (sponsorship) system, where a resident Qatari national is made in charge of the foreign worker’s visa and legal status.
Kareem’s Qatari sponsor (and employer) Naif al-Malki got interested in the driver’s Kollywood audition clips and asked him create something for him. “I sang an Arabic song in my Tamil style, which he uploaded on his Instagram page. We did not expect it to become a viral hit all over the Gulf countries. My first real fans were Arab children, who loved my stuff,” says Kareem.
The song started off his career as a social media star in 2013, as he began to upload videos that were largely mono-acts filmed on his mobile phone, with the active encouragement of al-Malki, who is now his business manager.
Content is king
“I realised that to be taken seriously, one had to pay attention to the content, so I started looking for actors who could join me in my videos,” he says. He found them in Qatar’s amateur theatre circuit and assembled a typical Gulf ‘family’ with his actors. “Today, Khaled al-Rubya, Huda al-Malki, Zahara al- Ansari, Tamim al-Malki and Abu Vinish are all part of Kareem Time videos, along with me. Sometimes we get mistaken for a real family,” he laughs.
Kareem tends to play the driver in most of the skits, but in real life has stopped working as a chauffeur after his social media career took off. “During one vacation, I actually wanted to quit my driver’s job and stay on in India because it was getting difficult to manage content creation with my regular work. But Mr. Naif persuaded me to return to Qatar and develop my social media work, because he felt it had great potential,” says Kareem.
The team shoots three videos per week, and uploads them periodically. “None of us gets paid for the in-house productions. But we allow the actors to state their preferred salary for commercial promotions, which we have started getting from local companies. I use my savings to fund the video production costs,” says Kareem.
For the more sober Tamil content, Kareem tends to highlight the socio-economic dynamics of migrant labourers within their families and society.
The father of two has learned to take the brickbats in his stride. “Thanks to social media, strangers walk up to me and request me for a selfie with their children because they have seen my work online. It’s the best endorsement one could get,” he says.
Kareem and co-star in a scene from his YouTube channel’s skits. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Metro Plus / by Nahla Nainar / September 22nd, 2022
Artistes from the coastal town are reinventing their music with a more contemporary interpretation of Islamic and Sufi music
Nagore Dargah | Photo Credit: SRINATH M
M. Haja Maideen lives in Thethi village in Nagapattinam district. This third generation faqir (ascetic) of the Rifai tariqa (order) of Sufism has been singing Islamic devotional songs from the age of nine. He performs in and around his coastal village along with brother-in-law, Abdul Ghani. Together they present compositions set to the beat of the ‘dayra’. Haja’s elder brother Saburmaideen Babha Sabeer was the third member of the troupe until his demise in 2012.
The life and music of singers like Haja have been shaped by the Nagore dargah, dedicated to saint Abdul Qadir, just a few kilometres away from Thethi, and considered to be one of the biggest pilgrim centres in southern India.
During a recent visit to the dargah, the presence of music — instrumental and vocal — was as tangible as the five imposing minarets that frame the shrine. Whether as nagaswaram and thavil concerts at the nagara medai in the upper storey of the shrine, or as concerts by independent artistes and faqirs below, devotional tunes are seamlessly woven into the worship rituals.
Spotlight on talent
Haja, Abdul and Saburmaideen would have remained in the shadows but for EarthSync’s (an audio-visual production house) award-winning 2007 documentary, ‘The Laya Project’, that turned the spotlight on them.
For over two years, journeying through countries affected by the 2004 tsunami and documenting their folk music traditions, the Laya Project explored communities in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Maldives and Myanmar.
The trio became popular as ‘Nagore Boys’ with their simple rendition of ‘Ya Allah’, showcasing their ability to spin a mesmeric sonic web with their voices and tambourine-like instruments.
Later they were invited by the project’s Chennai-based Israeli music producer, Yotam Agam, to record ‘Nagore Sessions’, with a line-up of guest artistes including Zohar Fresco on Middle Eastern percussions, horns by Monks from the Tashi Lhunpo monastery, sarangi by maestro Murad Ali Khan, rhodes and programming by Patrick Sebag, harmonium by Palakkad Sreeram and bass by David Saban.
“The Laya Project made a huge difference to our lives,” says the 52-year-old Haja Maideen. “It brought us recognition from the Tamil Nadu government and social organisations, and we were invited to tour Australia, Middle Eastern countries and Israel with our songs. Up until then, going to even Chennai was a big effort.”
Most faqirs have no written song books. “We have memorised over 100 songs, taught by our forefathers, that we sing according to the occasion,” says Haja.
Nagore Boys | Photo Credit: RAVINDRAN R
Impact on popular culture
With Sufism going back to over 400 years in Tamil Nadu, Islamic devotional music in the State has become a part of popular culture. It has two distinct strains: Islamic songs that focus on the core tenets of the faith, and the Sufi genre that consists mostly of ‘Pugazh maalai’ or paeans, in praise of saints and holy men whose shrines are still revered.
Islamic music worked its way into ‘gaana’ songs, that were originally meant to commemorate the dead and was integrated into Tamil movies especially in the 1950s. Songs such as ‘Mera naam Abdul Rehman’, ‘Ondre Solvaan’ and ‘Ellorum Kondaduvom’ were picturised on leading stars M.G. Ramachandran and Sivaji Ganesan playing Muslim characters.
One of the most recognisable voices of this genre is singer Nagore E.M. Hanifa, whose baritone and style continue to influence many even seven years after his demise. “My father started singing at the age of 13 in Tiruvaluntur, Thanjavur district, on a bullock cart, which was both stage and band transport. He learned early on to throw his voice without the aid of a microphone, which shaped his distinctive vocal style,” says his son Naushad Ali, who also moonlights as a singer.
While Hanifa was not too keen to be involved in films (he did sing in a few), he became the ‘voice’ of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) with his rousing political anthems that were played before party meetings.
The Laya Project’s impact can be seen in the evolution of Islamic music in Tamil films in recent times. Composers like A.R. Rahman and Ghibran have brought a more nuanced exposure to this genre.
“Sufi themes involve both self-awareness and acquired knowledge. It could be a word or an epiphany that is expressed in poetic form. When you present a song with soul-stirring lyrics, people respond to it at a deeper level,” says Mashook Rahman, the Chennai-based lyricist who wrote ‘Khwaaja enthan Khwaaja’ for the Tamil version of the 2007 magnum opus Jodhaa-Akbar. Sung by Rahman (who also composed the film’s music), the hymnal tune continues to stand out for its mellow exploration of spirituality.
Nagore Hanifa | Photo Credit: MOORTHY M
Online breakthrough
Sound recording technology, and alongside it, the market for devotional songs has progressed in many pilgrim centres like Nagore to create a thriving music scene online. Some of the more successful singers in Nagore have installed recording studios at home.
“Sufi musicians of yore used to write their own lyrics and compose the tunes, besides playing the instruments. But as they lost out on education, they started using poems written by others. For more than a decade, there seemed to be nobody to follow Nagore Hanifa. We are trying to change this with a more contemporary interpretation of Islamic and Sufi music,” says Umar Farooq, singer and proprietor of the recording studio Sufi Musix in Chennai. For his 2019 video song ‘Ya Meera-Qadar Wali’, Umar collaborated with Iranian percussionists to get a more authentic soundscape for the drums.
Interestingly, most of these productions are self-financed because the music is seen as a religious offering. “It costs around Rs. 1 lakh to produce a high quality song with video, but nobody talks about money; we all just pitch in with whatever we have,” says Umar.
“At present, Sufi music isn’t organised in Tamil Nadu. Faqirs are doing their own thing. Film composers are trying it in movies. And independent producers like us are exploring a new sound in our recording studios,” says Umar.
Rooted to Nagore
Many Sufi singers have stayed rooted to Nagore and its heritage (the saint Abdul Qadir is said to have learned music along with Hindustani prodigy Tansen from the Sufi mystic Muhammad Ghauth). “We sing at the dargah for our own happiness, and don’t expect any payment ,” says Nagore Hafil Sahib Qadiri, who has been singing for 20 years as part of the Qadiriya Qaseeda group in Nagore.
The 40-year-old has worked with companies like Sufi Musix as well, producing lyrical videos in Urdu and Tamil. With 150 songs in his repertoire, Hafil Sahib says he has curtailed singing at social occasions (for a fee) and is now concentrating on Sufi music at the dargah.
It is important to preserve the folk music traditions of the Tamil Sufi minstrels as the younger generation of faqirs prefer a more mainstream life. Haja Maideen’s son, for example, has taken up car driving for a living.
Yotam Agam | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Recalling the serendipitous discovery of the Nagore Boys by an Indonesian colleague, who was passing by the dargah during the Laya Project, music producer Yotam (who returned to Israel in 2020 after nearly 15 years in Chennai) says that he remains fascinated by Tamil Sufi music.
“Unlike North Indian and Pakistani Sufi groups that use big ensembles of South Asian musical instruments, Tamil Sufi singers have only the frame drum, common in Arab countries. People can go into a trance by just listening to the chant-like refrains of their songs,” says Yotam.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment> Music / by Nahla Nainar / October 18th, 2022
Somewhere in 1951 Ghulam Nabi Pandit, a student of class 5 at a government school in Anantnag, had a daily chore of buying bread, filling…
pix: facebook.com/ Mumkin hai Yeh
Somewhere in 1951 Ghulam Nabi Pandit, a student of class 5 at a government school in Anantnag, had a daily chore of buying bread, filling water in Hookah, lighting stove for tea, and other such work assigned by the teachers.
For the last five years he had never understood a word from any of the books taught in the school. Branding him as good for nothing, many a time his teachers suggested his father to put the boy in some carpet weaving shop. However that summer something stuck to a pandit teacher at his school. He asked him ‘what are you supposed to do with your life, class 5 examination is round the corner, do you have any preparation?’ The boy answered in negative. The teacher told him to come to him during recess. The boy duly followed.
The teacher started teaching him right from the begening – class Ist books. It was primarily Urdu, little bit of Maths and English. The practice remained for next four to five months till the annual examination time. During this time he was taught all the books from Class 1-5 and surprisingly the boy was actually a genius and picked up fast every word that was taught to him.
Pandit cleared the class 5th examination much to the shock and surprise of other teachers, and even villagers.
After that there was no looking back and he cleared all examinations with flying colours. In class 10th he was one of the toppers in his district and he went on to have a distinguished career as an educationist and writer spanning around five decades and still going.
The transformation of Ghulam Nabi Pandit to renowned writer Ghulam Nabi Aatash is an inspirational story which shows how a teacher can turn an ordinary student into a legend.
“Sometimes I wonder how all this happened,” said Ghulam Nabi Aatash who was recently honoured at a function at Jammu Kashmir Academy of Art Culture and Languages. “In class 6, as if it was command of Allah to others, I was made Secretary of Bazme Adab, a literary forum. You can imagine just one year ago I was lighting stove and filling water in hookah in school and now I was writing proceedings of the elite gatherings.”
Though Aatash was lucky at many times, but it was his hard work and dedication that helped to capitalise on that luck. At the Bazme Adab, Aatash leaned towards writing, art and culture. He even became part of dramatic club. Much like other poets and writers, Kashmir and its social history attracted Aatash. Seeing his writing his Pandit teacher gave him pen name Aatash, who told him that it symbolise sour taste which has emerged after a lot of bitterness of life.
His family situation was not good either but he picked the best out of those difficult times.
“My mother was bedridden for seven years but she had amazing memory. She knew tonnes of folklores, phrases and traditional songs. I could connect my literary leaning and information from my mother. In addition to it my posting as a teacher in far off places and learning from their culture increased my knowledge,” said Aatash.
Known as the biggest name in Kashmiri Folklore, Aatash’s work in this genre has helped preserve a trove of knowledge for posterity. His books like Koshur Louke Shairi Vakhnay ti vetchnay (Kashmiri Folk poetry, research, analysis and its study in social perspective, Koshur Look Voture, Tahqeeq ti Tajheez (Kashmiri folklore research and analysis in historical and sociological perspective), Koshur Folklore, (Kashmiri folklore Research and analysis) and various volumes of Kashmiri folksongs, Kashmiri sayings and Kashmiri folktales indicate the amount of work Aatash has put in its endeavour.
“Folklore helps to understand the history of a nation. Its customs and working of society,” said Aatash. “Every word and phrase has sea of knowledge in it.”
In addition to the books, Aaatsh has published more than 100 entries in Kashur Encylclopedia Folklore, giving him a special name among the literary giants.
It is said that whenever JKAACL, Radio Kashmir or Doordarshan get stuck on some topic in Kashmiri and there seems to be no way out, they approach Aatish who within no time produced a quality paper based one research for them.
Parallel to his literary career, Aatash also progressed on his academic career which started first as a private school teacher and then as a government school teacher, which ultimately ended in his retirement as a lecturer in Kashmiri language. Most of his higher studies were done after his appointment as a teacher. He did his MA in Kashmiri and B.Ed from University of Kashmir.
Not only a folklorist, Aatash is a poet, critic, researcher, compiler and an expert on children’s literature too. His Khencha Mencha series for children has been well received in academic circles.
In 2013 he wrote a Kashir Shur Adbich Sombran, (An anthology of Children’s literature in Kashmiri). He was awarded Bal Sahitya Puriskar for children literature in 2011.
His expertise was utilised by Board of School Education (BOSE) roping him in as a member of expert committee for preparation of syllabus and text books of Kashmiri language from class 1st to 12. What could have taken half a decade or even a decade to complete, Aatash managed to complete the work, along with other members, in just 18 months.
“If you ask me about my pen, I would attribute a great deal of its refinement to Prof Amin Kamili and his legendary magazine Naeb. This quality magazine gave me a platform and its strict editing gave me a direction,” said Aatash. “Once Kamili saheb sent me back my draft seven times, before finding it worthy to publish. In todays time such a thing is unheard of.”
In 1978 when Aatash wrote a poetic collection Zool Amaran Huend (Illumination of longings), he thought nobody will like it. But the book ended up winning best book award for the year 1979. “At that time I was a simpleton. I didn’t even knew that books get award too. Somebody told me that JKAACL is accepting books for award but when I went to their office they said that date is already over and we had advertised it in radio and newspapers too. I replied that I neither have newspaper of radio access and somehow they accepted my entry,” said Aatash. “And then out of sudden I got the award.”
In 1981 together with S L Pardesi he translated Russian poet Alexander Pushkin’s poems into Kashmiri. The book received Soviet Land Nehru Award for the in the same year.
In Research and Criticism, one of the best books of Aatash is his Kasheer Hazrat Sheikh Noor-u-Din Reshi sends kalamas manz, (Kashmiri compilation about Kashmir as reflected in the poetry of Hazrat Sheikh Noor-u-Din Reshi RA) published in 1994. He has also been instrumental in bringing to fore some forgotten brilliant writers of Kashmir like Shamus Din Ahmad, Iqbal Nath Vanpoh, Abdul Ghani Thokar and others.
He has written two books in Urdu language too, Kashmiri Lok Adab (Kashmiri folk literature) and Kashmir Angrazi Sayahaon kay Safar Namoo me (Kashmir as reflected in the travelogues of British visitors). Two more books in urdu are unpublished and seven more in Kashmiri languages in different genres await publication.
A cancer survivor, Aatash is workaholic making the most of his time. He has to his credit more than 40 books and hundreds of research articles. From 1978 on an average he has published one book every year, an astonishing achievement for anybody. Attesting to his worth, a biography titled Ghulam Nabi Aatish Shakhsiyat Te Adbi Khidmaat has been written by Gulzar Ahmad Rather.
“I have done my work for Kashmiri language and culture now it is time for us to follow what we say” said Aatash who is pained to see the present condition of his beloved language. “People say that Kashmiri language is not under threat but look at houses only elders speak Kashmiri and not youngsters. What will happen in next 20-30 years nobody will speak Kashmiri. We demand government to preserve it but it is for us to preserve it. It pains me when I see youngsters speaking in atrocious urdu instead of natural Kashmiri.”
source: http://www.greaterkashmir.com / Greater Kashmir / Home> Opinion and Editorial / pix: edited …source: facebook.com/Mumkin Hai Yeh / May 12th, 2018
Chennai-based businessman pays homage to his deceased mother with Mughal-style funerary complex in Tiruvarur village.
A view of the marble mausoleum resembling Agra’s Taj Mahal built at Ammaiyappan in Tiruvarur. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
A near-replica of Agra’s Taj Mahal has been making news this week, as reports about the marble mausoleum built in Ammaiyappan village, Tiruvarur, by a son for his mother who passed away in 2020, have been going viral online.
“My four sisters and I were very young when we lost our father, a hardware merchant in Chennai. Our mother Jailani Biwi, who was just 36 then, brought us up single-handedly, and stayed by our side through thick and thin. After her demise at the age of 68 years in December 2020, we felt her presence should be an enduring one. So with my family’s consent, I decided to build this mausoleum for her on a one-acre plot in Ammaiyappan,” Amruddin Sheikh Dawood, told The Hindu .
Constructed over two years, the complex houses a mosque and madrassa (school for religious instruction), besides the grave of the deceased on 8,000 sq ft, and was built at a budget of nearly ₹5 crore.
Intricately carved trellis panels and water tanks are part of the edifice, bringing an exotic look to the structure in this rural setting.
Mr. Dawood, who is a rice merchant based out of Chennai, said that the resemblance to Taj Mahal was almost incidental. “We simply wanted a building that used elements of Mughal architecture, but the designer we consulted in Tiruchi suggested that our idea was very similar to that used in the famed monument, so we just went ahead,” he said.
“Since Taj Mahal was the inspiration, we felt that white Indian marble rather than granite, would be ideal. We sourced 80 tonnes of marble from Rajasthani quarries,” Mr. Dawood said.
North Indian artisans worked alongside local labourers to complete the building, which was formally inaugurated last week to visitors of all faiths.
Countering critics about the scope and budget of his dream project, Mr. Dawood said that the building was a symbol of the family’s love for their matriarch. “A mother’s affection is priceless, and in our family, she was the one who held us together all her life. This mausoleum is a humble gesture to show our respect for her, and also to inspire others to cherish their parents,” he said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> India> Tamil Nadu / by Nahla Nainar / June 13th, 2023
Indian calligrapher Ghulam Mohiuddin transcribed this manuscript.
pix: SPA
Jeddah:
A two-century-old Quran manuscript, transcribed in India, is now on display at the Islamic Arts Biennale at the Western Hajj Terminal of King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Indian calligrapher Ghulam Mohiuddin transcribed this monumental Quran manuscript on the 6th of Muharram, 1240 AH (August 31, 1824 AD) in northern India. It was designated as a waqf (endowment) for the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, reflecting India’s deep historical ties to Islamic art and heritage.
Measuring an extraordinary 139.7 × 77.5 cm, the manuscript is embellished with gold, deep-colored pigments, and a cover originally encrusted with rubies, emeralds, turquoise, and peridot, making it one of the rarest Quran copies on display, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
The text is written in black Naskh script, with a Persian translation in red Nastaliq, showcasing the Indo-Persian calligraphic style of the era.
Historical records indicate that the manuscript arrived in Madinah in the mid-13th century AH and was initially placed near Bab As-Salam before being moved to the mosque’s treasury during restoration in 1273 AH (1857 AD).
In 1302 AH (1884 AD), it was rebound by Hajj Yusuf bin Hajj Masoom Nemankani, a scholar and manuscript expert from Uzbekistan who later settled in Madinah.
Now preserved at the King Abdulaziz Complex for Endowment Libraries in Madinah, this rare Indian-transcribed Quran is a key attraction at the Biennale, celebrating India’s historical ties with the Islamic world and its legacy of artistic excellence.
source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> News> Middle East / by Sakina Fatima, X / March 12th, 2025
On the concluding day of the World Book Fair 2025, held in at Bharat Mandapam / Pragati Maidan New Delhi from February 1 to February 9, the book “Ishq Sufiyana: untold stories of divine love” by young writer and intellectual Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi was officially launched.
Ishq Sufiyana: Untold Stories of Divine Love / by Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi / image: blueroseone.com
The book launch ceremony took place at Stall No. 12 in Hall No. 6, with several distinguished personalities in attendance.
Notable figures present at the event included Kamlesh Sharma, former Secretary General of the Commonwealth and former Indian Ambassador to the United Nations (New York and Geneva), Padma Shri Professor Iqbal Hasnain, former Vice-Chancellor of Calicut University, Professor Madhu Khanna, former Director of the Department of Comparative Religions and Spirituality, Jamia Millia Islamia, Dr. Shahid Rasool, Dean of Academics at the Central University of Kashmir, Dr. Anita Benjamin, Founding Director of the Rashtriya Christian Mahasangh, Farooq Wani, Chief Editor of the daily Brighter Kashmir, Syed Abid Gowhar, renowned broadcaster and journalist from Jammu & Kashmir, Tasleema Akhtar, human rights activist, Tahmeena Rizvi, researcher, Dr. Rachika Arora, Syed Affan Yasawi, among others.
During this vibrant event, all the distinguished guests shared their thoughts about the book and its author. Ishq Sufiyana is a unique blend of reality and imagination. It creatively presents the real-life stories of thirty renowned Sufi saints of India.
The book among other Sufi intellects also highlights four revered saints and spiritual figures from the Kashmir Valley, Mir Syed Ali Hamdani (RA), Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Noorani (Nund Rishi) (RA), Sheikh Hamza Makhdum (RA) and Lal Ded (Lalla Arifa)
Additionally, Ishq Sufiyana includes a collection of narratives based on Sufism, ethics, and spirituality, many of which have been previously published in various newspapers and journals. The book aims to inspire seekers of all religions and spiritual traditions to dive into the ocean of divine love. The values and teachings of the personalities featured in the book remain relevant today, helping individuals grasp the depths of divine love that transcend worldly boundaries.
Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi is a well-known Sufi scholar, researcher, critic, speaker, and author based in Delhi. He is fluent in Urdu, Arabic, and Persian and is a trained scholar in Indo-Islamic traditions. He has received in-depth education and training in various spiritual orders, particularly the Naqshbandi, Qadiri, and Chishti Sufi traditions.
He has also undergone spiritual training and initiation under Turkish-origin Naqshbandi Sufi Sheikh Ashraf Effendi (Founder of Sufi Land, Germany). Pir Zia Inayat Khan (Global Head of the Inayati Chishti Sufi Order), American Sufi guide Pir Shabda Khan (Director, Sufism International, USA). He has studied under several esteemed Sufi scholars and spiritual elders in India. Recently, he was invited as a scholar-in-residence at the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship (Philadelphia) and the Awliya Council of North America (New York, USA).
He has also served as an advisor on Islamic affairs for the National Security Council Secretariat, New Delhi.
Moreover, he has participated as a permanent representative of UN-affiliated NGOs at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.
The author is also an independent writer, poet, translator, and commentator.
source: http://www.brighterkashmir.com / Brighter Kashmir / Home> Breaking News / by Abid Gowhar / image of publication edited by blueroseone.com / February 12th, 2025
An online database, it is a collection of qawwalis in cinema, from talkie days to the present.
The popular qawwali, ‘Teri mehfil mein kismat azamakar’, from Mughal-e-Azam | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The qawwali, a musical genre closely associated with Islamic Sufi tradition, has evolved over the generations to include not just devotion, but romance, comedy and even social commentary in its fold.
Its journey from the courtly environs of erstwhile princely salons, to the dargahs, and then into the Hindi film industry, has largely gone undocumented, though the transition is still in progress. However in recent weeks, the Cinema Qawwali Archive, an online database curated by Delhi-based independent filmmaker and researcher Yousuf Saeed, has been reviving interest in this pop culture import.
“Qaul means a saying or spoken phrase [in Arabic and Urdu]. Those who sang a qaul were called qawwals. All qawwali lyrics may not necessarily send you into a trance, some can also be subtle. But the singing style is surely bold. Off-hand, most people can recall only around 10-20 qawwalis in Hindi cinema, but the actual number is much bigger,” says Saeed in a phone interview.
‘Parda hain parda’ from Amar Akbar Anthony
Working on the database for a decade, Saeed has compiled 800 qawwalis so far, with the earliest going back to the 1930s, and latest, until 2022. “The ‘talkie’ pictures came to India in 1931; though the original movies from the early 1930s are lost forever, I did manage to find some from 1936, with unusual names like Miss Frontier Mail (starring ‘Fearless’ Nadia), and the 1939 film Brandy Ki Botal,” says Saeed.
Poetry of the past
Saeed began noticing the qawwali’s ubiquity in Hindi films while working on a series of documentaries on Sufi poet and musician Abul Hasan Yamin-ud-din Khusrau, also known as Amir Khusro (1253–1325 AD). “I realised that quite a few of his qawwalis had been lifted and modified for Hindi films, so I started noting them down, and soon, the list grew to 400 songs. I wanted to make them available on a common database in chronological order,” he says. Among these is the qawwali ‘Zihale Miskin’ sung by Lata Mangeshkar in Ghulami (1985). A simplified version of Khusro’s original, the lilting composition retains the poet’s penchant for multi-lingual lyric arrangements.
The inimitable Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan | Photo Credit: Getty Images
“’Zihale Miskin’ is very popular, and unusual, because it has one line in Persian and one in Brij Bhasha. Then there are many of Khusro’s Dohas (couplets) that are used in qawwali songs quite often,” says Saeed.
Qawwali, says the filmmaker, is a free-floating art that allows singers and lyricists to combine several genres and poetic forms in a seamless composition. Besides YouTube, Saeed has picked out his selections from DVDs and VCDs (remember those?). “I haven’t had a problem with copyright so far, since quite a few of the songs are already in the public domain. But it’s amazing how I keep discovering new qawwalis everyday. My latest is ‘Shikayat’ from last year’s Gangubai Kathiawadi,” he laughs.
Qawwali down the ages
Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle have sung some popular qawwalis | Photo Credit: The Hindu Archives
Saeed categorises the film qawwali of the 20th century into three periods. The first starts with the black-and-white films of the 1940s until the 1950s, when the lyrics showcased a literary flair for Urdu, by adding ‘ghazals’ into qawwalis. The second stage starts with the coming of colour films, when the qawwali too literally added some hues to its own repertoire. “A lot of things were happening in the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s, when qawwalis became more of a device to move the plot ahead. In some films, for example, a qawwali would be staged to highlight comedy, in the backdrop of a fight sequence, or to convey romance between characters,” he says.
The mass entertainer Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), for instance, uses the qawwali both for fun (‘Parda hai parda’) and spirituality (‘Shirdi wale Sai Baba’), to good effect.
The third phase started in the 1990s, when Pakistani singer/songwriter Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and India’s A.R. Rahman brought in sea-change by modernising the qawwali with electronica and smooth singing.
Teri Mehfil Mein | Lata Mangeshkar, Shamshad Begum | Classic Duet | Mughal-E-Azam | Bollywood Song
Comment on society
Yousuf Saeed | Photo Credit: Sandeep Sharma
The qawwali has become a social marker of sorts in films, says Saeed, creating a Muslim stereotype where the singers wear slanted fur caps, a kerchief around their neck and clap in a certain style. The Bollywood ‘Muslim social’ film that featured stories with veiled damsels courted by sherwani-clad gentlemen (Mere Mehboob, 1963) was born out of this need to appeal to family audiences from this community.
Nutan in the famous qawwali, ‘Nigahen milane ko ji chahta hai’ from the film Dil hi to hai | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Female singers have also had strong showing in this genre, from ‘Aahen na bharin shikve na kiye’ (Zeenat, 1945), and ‘Aaj teri mehfil mein’ (Mughal-e-Azam, 1960) to Shikayat’ (Gangubhai Kathiawadi, 2022), all showcasing the skills of chanteuses Sudha Malhotra, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle, Shamshad Begum, and Archana Gore.
Linguistic gymnastics
The Cinema Qawwali Archive also helps visitors to understand the literary changes over the years. “It’s inevitable that the linguistic purity of the early qawwalis is no longer there. But new words like ‘Maula’ and ‘Allahu’ and Arabicised Urdu have become more common in film qawwalis, especially as a choral element. Off the screen, in private qawwali mehfils, singers are often known to sing certain words or phrases again and again on the patron’s farmaish (request) for him or her to attain ecstasy,” he says.
Music director A.R. Rahman gave qawwali a distinct twist with Turkish, Moroccan and Syrian Sufi rhythms. | Photo Credit: RAVINDRAN R
Rahman’s infusion of Turkish, Moroccan and Syrian Sufi rhythms into his songs has helped the qawwali reach out to both the South Asian diaspora and Westerners, says Saeed. “The film Rockstar (2011) made qawwali singers at Nizamuddin Dargah famous, with tourism developing around the shrine. But interestingly, cinema has also used qawwali for its own purpose, by taking it into a secular space,” says Saeed.
Hoping to publish a companion volume on the Cinema Qawwali Archive soon, Saeed says, “People think that the qawwali is dying out, but this isn’t true. They will continue to be written and performed because film directors find it a very fascinating and unique form. Qawwali weaves the story together and keeps it going.”
ROCKSTAR: Kun Faya Kun (Full Video Song) | Ranbir Kapoor | A.R. Rahman, Javed Ali, Mohit Chauhan
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment> Music / by Nahla Nainar / July 10th, 2023
On his birth centenary, Nagore Hanifa continues to be celebrated and his timeless devotional and political numbers continue to draw in listeners.
The Hanifa fan base continues to grow, as seen by the number of cover versions of his ‘Iraivanidam Kaiyenthungal’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Of the many singers in South India with a universal appeal, ‘Isai Murasu’ Esmail Mohamed Hanifa stands tall on the pantheon of greats with origins in Tamil Nadu’s Cauvery delta region.
Hanifa, an iconic minstrel of Islamic devotional songs in Tamil had strong links with Nagore, the town in Nagapattinam that hosts the 16th century shrine to Sufi saint Syed Abdul Qadir. It eventually became the prefix to his name too.
Recently, the Tamil Nadu government kickstarted the celebration of Hanifa’s centenary year by naming a street and public children’s park in Nagore after him.
It is a fitting tribute to a man who captured the hearts of fans with his distinctive baritone from the early 1930s.
Even posthumously, the Hanifa fan base continues to grow, as seen by the number of cover versions of his ‘Iraivanidam Kaiyenthungal’ and his other songs that are available online.
Hanifa’s devotional and wedding songs continue to hold sway in Tamil Muslim social functions | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The youngest of three children of Mohamed Ismail, a railway worker in Malaysia, and Mariam Biwi of Ramanathapuram, Hanifa began singing mainly to support his family.
The singer spent his early childhood in Ramanathapuram, and later went to work for his paternal uncle Abu Bakr Rowther in Tiruvarur. It was here that Hanifa’s musical talent was noticed. His first professional concert at the age of 13 set him off on a trajectory no one imagined.
“My father’s rousing voice owes much to the Ghousia Bait-us-Sabha at Nagore, for whom he used to sing,” says his son Naushad Ali, based out of Chennai.
“At the time, there was a practice of taking out a pre-wedding procession to introduce the bridegroom to the families in the neighbourhood. A team of young drummers beating ‘thabs’ would head the procession, followed by the groom in a car or on horseback.
My father and his accompanists would be in the middle, with the hosts and guests making up the back of the crowd. He learned early on to beat the competition from the ‘thabs’ boys by singing loudly and in tune, without the help of a microphone. It was a skill that he developed out of necessity,” he adds.
Hanifa was a mainstay at most of the ‘Urs’ festivals held by the Sufi dargahs in the State | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Naushad, now in his sixties, was his father’s caregiver in his later years, and also renders vocal concerts in the Nagore Hanifa style.
Hanifa’s devotional and wedding songs continue to hold sway in Tamil Muslim social functions. His devotional songs were often based on ‘nasheed’ (Islamic chants sung a cappella or with instruments) and ‘naat’ (poetry in praise of Prophet Muhammad), referencing the Muslim faith, history, and current events. Quite a few of them were modified to suit Tamil listeners.
‘Hasbi rabbi jallalah’, for instance, has just the first stanza in Arabic; the rest of the song in Tamil adds elements from Ramanathapuram’s history. “It was first recorded in the 1970s for a school function, and I was among the children who sang the chorus,” recalls Naushad.
‘Maalai soodum manamakkale’, ‘Vazhga, vazhga, vaazhgave’ and ‘Deen kula kanne’, were among the songs that he presented at marriage concerts, usually held a day before the nuptials or after the wedding reception.
He was a mainstay at most of the ‘Urs’ festivals held by the Sufi dargahs in the State.
Nagore Hanifa married past the age of 30, and his wife A.R. Roshan Begum looked after the couple’s six children in Nagore while Hanifa built his career.
“We did not get to see our father much while growing up, because he would always be on tour. At the peak of his career, he would have at least 45 engagements in a month. He rarely declined any offer. Those were different times, with no marketing, public relations or copyright. Many songs were set to popular film tunes re-arranged by his small orchestra. I wonder how he managed his career all alone,” wonders Naushad.
Hanifa’s songs were known for their profound lyrics. He was helped in this by poets Abidin and Nagore Saleem, among others.
The self-taught maestro picked up tips on Carnatic music from S.M.A. Qadir at the Nagore dargah.
Naushad was tasked with the job of copying out the lyrics and taking care of his father’s correspondence. “Much of what I know about Tamil literary expression and pronunciation is due to my father. He would rap me on my head if I got the spelling or grammar wrong,” he laughs.
Though he had a prodigious memory for lyrics, Hanifa would always take his notebooks with him on stage. “If he noticed mistakes in the rendition, he would skillfully re-sing the portion in a way that the audience would not notice,” shares Naushad.
Nagore Hanifa performed in all kinds of venues — from five star hotels and modest homes — with the same flair, and never let his celebrity status get in the way. He would also do any number of encores — he had no ego, says his son.
Hanifa occasionally lent his voice to Tamil films — in movies such as Gulebakavali (1955), Paava mannippu (1965) and Chembaruthi (1992) — but consciously kept away from cinema because he was not open to adopting a ubiquitous name such as ‘Kumar’, which was what some composers demanded.
“My father used to say that it is more satisfying to sing four songs as Hanifa than a crore songs as Kumar. Having held the stage in live concerts that ran into hours, he did not appreciate his craft being adapted for light music,” says Naushad.
When Hanifa passed away on April 8, 2015, at the age of 96, a veil fell forever on an era of homespun superstars produced in Tamil Nadu.
Political anthem
In his heyday, Hanifa used to be known as the ‘voice’ of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), because of his political anthems for the party. His warm friendship with DMK leader and former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi began in their adolescence and stayed strong through their lifetime. Some of the songs he sang for the party are still used by the DMK to raise the morale of party cadres.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment> Music / by Nahla Nainar / February 06th, 2025
Makkah Masjid is among the oldest Islamic shrines in Tamil Nadu. An inscribed tablet dates the mosque back to the year 116 of the Al-Hijri calendar, corresponding to 734 A.D.
An inscription on the stone structure’s wall (background), dates the building to the Islamic (Hijri) year of 116, corresponding to 734 A.D. | Photo Credit: M. MOORTHY
The family of a cloth merchant has been taking care of the mosque for generations.
Tucked away next to a carpentry workshop on Tiruchi’s Fort Station Road is what is considered to be one of the oldest Islamic places of worship in Tamil Nadu: the Makkah Masjid that dates back to the year 116 of the Al-Hijri calendar, corresponding to 734 A.D.
A view of the prayer hall of Makkah Masjid in Fort Station Road, Tiruchi. It is considered to be among the oldest Islamic shrines in the country. | Photo Credit: M. MOORTHY
The family of M.G.A.R. Abdul Rahman, a cloth merchant in Tiruchi, has been taking care of the property for several generations.
The mosque’s age is validated by an inscribed stone tablet in Arabic above the ‘mihrab’ (the niche that indicates the ‘qibla’ or direction of prayer). The graves of Mohamed Ibrahim, Hazrat Haji Abdullah, Hazrat Haji Mohamed Anwar, Ahmed Kabir, and Tahira Biwi, thought to be pious Muslims of yore, are also to be found here. Two recently added minarets indicate the mosque’s presence in this quiet part of town.
Surrounded by thorny bushes
“Until the 1980s, the mosque was very different from what you see today,” A.R. Mohamed Ghouse, hereditary trustee, and one of Mr. Rahman’s 12 children, told The Hindu. “When my father was bequeathed this shrine, it was surrounded by thorny bushes and palm trees. There was no road access; people would walk single-file on a narrow pathway to reach the premises. Since this is a low-lying area, the building would be flooded during the rainy season. Before we got electricity connection in the 1980s, the place used to be lit up with oil lamps and hurricane lanterns. We have been maintaining the buildings with the help of generous donors from all faiths,” he said.
The Muslim community has had a long and harmonious presence in Tiruchi since ancient times. The Makkah Masjid is a stone’s throw away from Hazrat Thable Alam Badhusa Nathervali Dargah, the mausoleum dedicated to a nobleman of Turkish-Syrian lineage born as Sultan Mutahirruddin in 927 A.D., in Suharwardy, near Samarkand, who gave up his privileged life to spread the message of Islam in southern Asia. It is said the saint stayed on the Makkah Masjid premises before he settled in the present site.
Mosques endowed by the erstwhile Nawabs of Arcot are also an indelible part of Tiruchi’s landscape. Woraiyur, the capital of the Chola dynasty from the 2nd Century (now a suburb of Tiruchi), was already known to Arab traders. After the birth of Islam, Arab-Muslim missionaries began travelling to the region. Biographies of Muslim saints and the local traditions of the period reveal that Islam spread in the southern part of India in a largely peaceful and voluntary manner.
According to J. Raja Mohamad, historian and former curator of Pudukottai Government Museum, the Makkah Masjid could have been built for the Muslim settlement that emerged in the Tamil hinterland during the Pallava rule. “When I visited the mosque in the 1970s, it was hard to spot because of the overgrown bushes. It resembled a small ‘mandapam’ (hall), built in granite, with six Dravidian style pillars that are square at the base, octagonal in the middle, and square again. The ceiling was also made of granite slabs. Though it has become more modernised now, the trustees have retained most of the old building,” he said.
While Dravidian-style granite mosques are present elsewhere in Tamil Nadu, the Makkah Masjid may be the only shrine with a contemporary dated inscription in the State as well as in southern peninsular India, he added.
Caliphs named in inscription
In his 2004 book, Islamic Architecture in Tamil Nadu, supported by the Nehru Trust for Indian Collections at Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Mr. Mohamad writes, “According to the Arabic inscription in the rectangular granite slab above the ‘mihrab’, this mosque was built by one Mohamed Ibn Hameed Ibn Abdullah in Hijri 116 corresponding to 734 AD. The names of the four Caliphs (successors to Prophet Muhammad) — Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali — are also mentioned in the inscription, which has been accepted by scholars as belonging to the 8th Century AD.”
Maintaining the mosque has been a labour of love for the family trustees. “The prayers have never stopped in the Makkah Masjid even though we do not have a ‘mohalla’ (a neighbourhood congregation).
Approximately, 200 people attend the Friday prayers,” said A.R. Abdul Razak, 74, the eldest son of Rahman and the imam (who leads prayers) for the past 39 years.
The annual ‘Urs’ (festival) commemorating Mohamed Ibrahim and Tahira Bibi on the 28th day of the Islamic month of Rajab (now in its 1,329th year) at the dargah on the mosque’s campus is supported by people of many faiths, who donate generously towards the public feast.
Mr. Razak gave up his job as a ship cook in Switzerland in deference to his ailing father’s wish to officiate as the chief cleric of the mosque. “I underwent training in Quranic recitation and Islamic theology from scholars in Tiruchi before taking up this position,” he said.
An antique copy of The Holy Quran is among the oldest artefacts in the mosque.
To prevent flooding, the ground level was raised with truckloads of mud after road access was granted by Southern Railway in the 1980s. As a result, five of the eight steps of the prayer hall are now permanently below the ground. Several coats of whitewash were scrubbed away to reveal the original granite walls and inscriptions. Some of the stonework also contains fragments of Tamil writing from the 10th Century. “We have tried to maintain the premises to the best of our ability. We hope succeeding generations of our family will continue to take care of the Makkah Masjid,” said Mr. Ghouse.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> India> Tamil Nadu / by Nahla Nainar / June 28th, 2024
