Category Archives: Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Meet Mohammed Shamim, The Delhi Gravedigger Dealing With The Dead During COVID-19

NEW DELHI :

As the number of COVID victims rose in Delhi, more and more bodies needed a final resting place.

And that’s probably why Cemetery Supervisor Mohammed Shamim at ITO cemetery had no choice but to turn families away and risk his life to bury those who died of COVID-19. “I am fighting corona daily. I have not taken a single day off since the lockdown and come to the cemetery every day. I don’t even go to my home and sleep here only as no other person is ready to come here,” Shamim said.

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Gravedigger Mohammed Shamim brings a rope to use for burial of a coronavirus victim at a graveyard in Delhi. The death toll from coronavirus in Delhi has reached a reported 176.

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Shamim instructs relatives of a coronavirus victim before burial at a graveyard. As of May 20, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in India stand at 1,07,819. 

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“I’ve been burying the dead for the last two decades. But until now, I’ve never been scared for my own life,” he said to AFP.

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Shamim sanitises his gloves before the burial of a COVID-19 victim. He always keeps a santiser bottle with him.

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He uses his mobile phone after a burial.

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Shamim rests in his room after the burial of a COVID-19 victim. He has moved his four daughters to his parents’ house to prevent the risk of them catching the disease.

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Mohammed Shamim prepares a rope to use it to lower a body into a grave.

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Here, he’s seen directing an ambulance carrying the victims of COVID-19.

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He talks to the relatives and asks them to put on protective suits, gloves, and masks for the burial ceremony.

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“People just refuse to come help with the burial. What can you do? I have to step in,” he said, describing “heartbreaking” scenes, like when only a wife and a small child came to the funeral of one man.

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Shamim receives a rope to use for the burial of a coronavirus victim at a graveyard. “I always felt safest around the dead and most vulnerable in the outside world. Now I find it difficult to sleep at night,” he said.

Inputs From AFP

source: http://www.indiatimes.com / India Times / Home> Trending> Social
Relevance / by Bhupinder Singh / Inputs fr9om AFP / July 21st, 2020

Shafakath Hussain is the new President of HIF Qatar unit

Mangaluru, KARNATAKA / Doha, QATAR :

Shafakath Hussain

Shafakath Hussain from Mangaluru was unanimously elected as the president of the HIF Qatar unit here on Friday. The election was held at the annual general body meeting of the forum at Doha.

Shahim Mohammed  was elected as general secretary and Suhaib Ahmed as treasurer of the forum.

HIF outgoing president Rizwan Ahmed  presided over the meeting and welcomed the gathering. 

General Secretary Shahim Mohammed gave power point presentation of work done by forum in past 2 years and gave details about work done during the pandemic period.

Leaders of various organisations attended the meeting that was compered by Suhaib Ahmed.

source: http://www.english.varthabharati.in / Vartha Bharati / Home> Gulf / February 11th, 2022

Abdul Razak Puttur is new President of South Kanara Muslim Welfare Association Doha

Dakshina Kannada (South Canara), KARNATAKA / Doha, QATAR :

Doha:

South Kanara Muslim Welfare Association a charitable organization, hailing from southern Part of Karnataka State, elected Mr. Abdul Razak Puttur, as its new President for 2022 -2024 at their recently held 29th Annual General Body Meeting.

The Annual Meeting started with the recitation of Holy Quran by Master. Shazil Jameel.

Outgoing President Mr Abdul Majeed presided over the function and briefed the members about the committee’s activities during the year 2020 and 2021. Kasim Udupi Welcomed the Gathering., Nasir Ullal and Sathar Montepadav Submitted Annual Report and Financial Report. Vote of thanks was given by Abdul Razzak Puttur.

The committee unanimously elected Mr Abdul Razak Puttur as President for the term 2022-2024. Other officer bearers for the proposed term are: Mr Abdul Kasim Udupi and Mr. Mohammed Shareef (Vice Presidents), Mr Mohammed Imran Bantwal (General Secretary), Ismail MN(joint Secretary) Mr Abdul Nasir Ullal, (Treasurer), Afzal Jameel (Joint Treasurer), Mr.Shameer Mahin, Mr. Mansoor, Mr.Sathar, Mr.Imthiaz and Mr.Imran (Event Secretaries) The new committee also selected Abdul Majeed Moodbidre, Firoz Kundapura, Ibrahim Beary, Abdul Majeed Haleyangadi, Abdulla Monu, and Ismail Jokatte as the advisor committee members. Nasir Manjeshwar, Suhaib Ahmed, Rizwan Ahmed, Abdul Hameed Haleyangadi, Abdul Khader Hanan, Rasheed Kakkinje, Ameer Hamza, Adam, saleem Ullal, Ilyas Beary, Abbu Jokatte, Abdul Rasheed, Abdul Khader Jeelani were elected as event coordinators.

The new President Abdul Razak Puttur congratulated the outgoing team for successfully completing their tenure. He expressed his gratitude to the committee members and promised that with the new team he is confident of taking the eminent legacy of SKMWA to newer heights. The event concluded with the vote of thanks by Vice President Abdul Kassim Udupi.

source: http://www.english.varthabharati.in / Vartha Bharati / Home> Gulf / May 15th, 2022

Preserving the beauty of tradition is a way of life for the Razas

Lucknow, UTTAR PRADESH :

In a believe-it-or-not type of story, a ‘heritage’ house in Lucknow owned by a descendant of the erstwhile Nawabs, who once ruled the region, preserves an ambience that may have prevailed in many royal households centuries ago.

A visit to Syed Masoom Raza’s family house, Saltanat Manzil, near City Station, located in a sprawling one acre campus, is like stepping into a time machine and getting transported to a bygone era.

This house boasts of a 55-feet tall clock tower, and a drawing room full of antiques such as a violin, radio, chandeliers, and sofa sets that are all more than 100 years old. Other antiques one could see include coins, pen nibs and even fire extinguishers. The walls are adorned with handwritten letters and awards that the family had received at different periods in the past.

Royal grandeur: The Raza family members love to follow their customs though it could be cumbersome at times (right) Syed Masoom Raza with his wife Naseema 

As you enter the house, Masoom Raza greets you with the customary adab and a domestic aide offers you a glass of water in a silver glass. Directions are issued for tea.

It is another matter that when one can get instant tea, it takes more than one hour to prepare tea in Raza’s house with all the etiquettes.

“We have been living like this for ages. Our daily chores are also done in the same manner. It takes time but we feel inner satisfaction and pride that we are living the blue lineage,” says Raza.

The stone plaques reflect that the house was opened by the then state governor C W Guwyne of British era. “We belong to the family of nawabs and are descendents of the Law Minister during the regime of the first king of Awadh,” reveals Raza.

The female members of the family also take pride in following the customs, even though at times it proves cumbersome for them. “There is nothing like fast food in our house. The cooking takes several hours and our domestic aides take care of it. The food is laid on a common dining area which is itself a reflection of a variety of Awadhi cuisine,” says Naseema, Raza’s wife.

Their daughter Haya Fatima presently pursuing engineering too is at ease living in this style where everything moves at a lethargic pace. “We use modern gadgets, but even our computer table is an antique,” she adds.

source: http://www.theweekendleader.com / The Weekend Leader / Home / by Mohd Faisal Fareed / Volume 3, Issue 3 / June 26th, 2011

In Kolkata, history builds bridges between communities

Kolkata, WEST BENGAL :

Sabir Ahamed leading a KYN walk. Photo: Special Arrangement

Neighbourhood walks resume after pandemic to promote communal harmony

While history has turned out to be a source of confrontation in some parts of the country, with the Taj Mahal and the Gyanvapi mosque once again in the news for the wrong reasons, history is building bonds between communities in Kolkata.

A social experiment called ‘Know Your Neighbourhood’ or KYN, which began in 2016, has returned after a pandemic-forced gap of two years, and is once again using history — through neighbourhood walks — to dispel apprehensions and promote communal harmony in West Bengal.

The next walk is in June, and the one held most recently — on April 23, during Ramzan — had led to the 1784-built Niyamatullah Ghat Masjid in north Kolkata. The mosque visit was held under what KYN organisers call Dosti-ki-Iftar, which has Muslims and non-Muslims breaking bread together, and saw about 150 participants, several of them non-Muslim women who were allowed into its premises for the first time.

“The idea came to me in 2015, when communal violence was taking place in parts of West Bengal — in Barasat, in Naihati. Rumours were being spread and there were cases of lynching. That’s when we realised that there was inadequate information and adequate misinformation about Muslims. KYN is an attempt to bridge the gap between communities using dialogue as a tool,” Sabir Ahamed, national research coordinator with the Pratichi Trust, and the convenor of KYN, told The Hindu.

“Neighbourhood walks in an important tool of dialogue because even though we share the same geography and live in the same city, we do not go to each other’s neighbourhoods or bother to find out about each other’s customs. Hatred breeds in this atmosphere of ignorance. Today, KYN has become a popular campaign, aiming to tackle religious prejudices and dismantle stereotypes,” Mr. Ahamed said.

The initiative, according to him, has succeeded in breaking new ground. During one of the walks, non-Muslim women climbed to the top of a minaret of the famous Nakhoda mosque for a majestic view of old Kolkata. Participants also discovered that water from the Hooghly river is used for ablutions before the offering of prayers at the mosque.

“Many young people admitted — after our events — that they harboured hatred because of misinformation and that they had changed their minds. A young lady told us that she never got into a cab if she found the driver to be a Muslim. Many students often refuse field surveys in Kidderpore (a locality with a large population of Muslims) because they fear something might happen to them, many believe that all you see in Muslim neighbourhoods is green flags — we need these ideas to change,” Mr. Ahamed said.

“That’s why we would like to work with colleges and univarsities to bring about a lasting change in the way we know each other. We are working with Presidency University and other colleges,” he said.

Samata Biswas, who teaches English at the Sanskrit College and University, said of her experience at recent walks in Kidderpore and in Taltala: “They reminded us of the confluence of faiths, cultures and people that has created modern Calcutta. From the Tamil church at Kidderpore to the historic Calcutta Madrassa which is older than both Presidency and my own institution — this aspect of Bengal’s history is often forgotten, the one that has Anglo-Indians, Jews, Parsis, Muslims, Tamils and Afghans living and working together in Calcutta.”

She added: “The trip to Baker Hostel, where Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was a resident, reminded me of the shared history of the two Bengals and Calcutta’s contribution to Bangladesh’s Liberation War. These are stories we seldom hear — stories that remind us that Calcutta is not merely for and by the Bengali bhadralok (elite), and that it has accommodated multiple cultures, institutions, cuisines and religious beliefs.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kolkata / by Bishwanath Ghosh / Kolkata – May 14th, 2022

Just like old times

Bengaluru, KARNATAKA :

Musical duo Lucky Ali and Mikey McCleary, who first worked together on O Sanam, is collaborating again after almost 11 years for an album, Intezaar, the first song of which is out and trending.

Singer Lucky Ali. (File | PTI)

Bengaluru :

Lucky Ali turns to music to express himself. He might never be in a hurry to create tunes, but Ali makes sure the wait is worth it. The singer is now out with his latest album Intezaar, which has touched over 2 million views.      

Ali’s loungey music has always been popular among music lovers and Intezaar has something to it that makes it a crowd-puller too. The music of the album is by composer and long-time associate Mikey McCleary. The first time McCleary and Ali worked together was for the singer’s first album Sunoh in 1996, which created magic with the song O Sanam. The duo subsequently went on to work on many projects but is back together after a long break.

Ali says this is the first of many songs that is going to be out. “It’s an album, but we’ll be releasing one song at a time,” says Ali, adding that the composition was done a while ago but they were waiting for the right time to release it. The lyrics are by IP Singh which was a ‘new experience’ for Ali. “IP brings in more depth and has worked around the tunes,” he adds. 

When the seasoned musical duo took a break from working together, 63-year-old Ali says it gave him time to explore live shows. “Music took me to live experiences where I overcame stage fright. Performing live was a new experience all together,” says Ali. 

Meanwhile, McCleary has been a shining star in the Bollywood music scene, whose last project was in Priyanka Chopra and Farhan Akhtar-starrer The Sky is Pink. This song, for McCleary, has been about revisiting some of his older ideas. “Intezaar was actually an idea that we had worked on around 10 years ago. I was going through some of the older works and found a rough outline.

After developing the work, I showed it to Lucky who really liked it,” says McCleary, speaking to CE from New York. “I loved working on it because even if it is not a fast track, there is an uplifting feel to it. It’s a nice track that feels appropriate for the times we live in,” he adds. 

In times where remixes are trending, McCleary’s music, especially his remix of Khoya Khoya Chand for the movie Shaitan in 2011, has revamped the notion of remixing old classics. “My interest in classics, like Hindi film songs from the ’50s and ’60s, came from my wife (Diksha Basu, an author), who used to play Geeta Dutt’s classics. She encouraged me to experiment with that and I started doing that as a passion project,” says McCleary.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Monika Monalisa, Express News Service / May 02nd, 2022

Relevant and potent, Naseem is our regional recco this week

INDIA :

The film takes a subtler and restrained turn on the wake of a communal violence surrounding the demolition of the Babri Masjid

A still from the film Naseem
Sourced by the correspondent

Consider these film titles. Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun Aata HaiSalim Langde Pe Mat RoMohan Joshi Hazir Ho! Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan. Each of them catchy and original. All these titles share a common thread. They are directed by Saaed Akhtar Mirza, one of the most important chroniclers of Indian parallel cinema. Perhaps, it is this fascination with titles that leads to his final film Naseem that released in 1995, which opens with the eponymous protagonist (debutante Mayuri Kango) asking what her name means, in a way addressing the audience’s curiosity as well. It means the morning breeze, her grandfather (played by the late poet Kaifi Azmi) says. The same scene reveals itself again, towards the final act. What blends so beautifully here is how a director meets the needs of character and the audience with disarming ease, through his most succinctly titled directorial, given most of his feature film titles are so iconic.

Naseem, which earned Mirza National Awards for Direction and Screenplay, takes a subtler and restrained turn on the wake of a communal violence surrounding the demolition of the Babri Masjid. Unfolding in 1992, it tells the story of teenager Naseem as she faces the contrast between two different Indias — one that she imagines from the stories recounted by her bedridden grandfather and the other surrounding her in the present with constant threats. As Naseem makes her way through the increasingly intolerant nation that surrounds her, she becomes a thread that connects both the past and present worlds.

Surekha Sikri and Kulbhushan Kharbanda play her anxious parents, slowly processing the changes, fearing for their daughter’s future more than theirs. Mirza paints Naseem with a stubborn paletteof bright colours, collectively letting the audience see the world through his protagonist. For Naseem, whose life revolves in getting good grades in school and helping her mother with household work, nothing else really matters. When a normal working day at school is cut short due to the growing curfew, Naseem goes to catch a Shah Rukh Khan movie with her classmates. At the local shop she befriends the wife of the Hindu shopkeeper, but her friendship is tested as time goes by. She notices it too but does not let it affect her.

This unaffected sense of teenage naivete is what drives the narrative forward. Mirza provides his happy-go-lucky protagonist with a constant sense of wonder and awe. Naseem teaches her classmates how to whistle. Her bargaining power with the local vegetable seller is a winner. Yet, in all these innocent moments, there are echoes of chaos and commotion. Naseem reads the newspaper for her grandfather, “There is tension in Faizabad. Muslim families are leaving….” She is told to stop. Truth is at a distance, yet threatening to break through the morning breeze in all its delirium.

In a brilliantly scripted scene, her grandfather recounts an incident from the time Indians were fighting for independence from the British. Naseem’s mother complains that she never heard this version. So he revisits the same story but with a different perspective. This is Mirza’s plea of recognising stories as part of history, not to be defined only as an amalgamation of facts and important figures. Real people lived too, and howsoever small, their accounts of defiance are part of the same shared history. “Hum bhi toh thhe,” insists her grandfather. Kaifi Azmi’s presence in the film is particularly important. He composed Doosra vanvaas right after the Babri masjid massacre took place.

Mirza had described Naseem as, “the epitaph of my dream of India that I wanted to see”. There is a silently overpowering dichotomy in Naseem, between innocence and ignorance, between restlessness and resilience. Naseem captures Mirza nurturing a seed of hope in a ground that breeds hate and violence. The dream that Mirza builds in Naseem is constantly charged with the fear of waking up to the frightening reality. At the end, it is a requirement. It is an inevitability.

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph Online / Home> Entertainment / by Santanu Das (t2 Intern) / April 19th, 2022

Meet Mohammed Azmat, Powerlifter With 295 KG Record, Gives Dignified Burial To COVID-19 Victims

Bengaluru, KARNATAKA :

Highlights

  • He said he has rostered himself for this work on Saturdays and Sundays.
  • The deaths due to COVID are rising but that has not scared the powerlifter.
  • Azmat has transported more than 15 bodies and performed the last rites.

There is so much confusion and fear around the COVID-19 pandemic and it has reached a point where even family members are afraid and reluctant to accept the bodies of those dying of the infection and give them a proper burial.

In the past few months, we have heard any number of stories where bodies of COVID-19 victims were disrespected by families and civic authorities due to the stigma around it.

BCCL

But, in Bengaluru, a man doing his bit by ensuring that COVID-19 victims are given a proper burial.

42-year-old Mohammed Azmat doesn’t look like an average man for five feet and eight inches – he looks like a mountain of a man!

That is because he is a champion powerlifter, who set a record with a deadlift of 295 kg in an international powerlifting championship two years ago

PTI

But these days, the programme manager in DXC Technology, an IT firm is spending much of his time carrying bodies of COVID-19 victims and giving them proper last rites.

He said he has rostered himself for this work on Saturdays and Sundays.

PTI

“I was part of the drive for relief work during the lockdown and when I saw people dying in huge numbers in July, I decided to associate myself with the Mercy Mission,” Azmat told PTI.

The challenge those at Mercy Mission face is that the last rites is a time-consuming process, right from the procedures involved at the hospital and at burial grounds.

Besides, volunteers also have to confront protests, which further delays the procedure.

PTI

The deaths due to COVID are rising but that has not scared the powerlifter.

“Death is certain, so there is no need to be bothered much about it. But I do take the utmost precautions, which is multi-layered because I too have a family,” Azmat said.

Speaking about his experience, the champion powerlifter said “The pain I experience while carrying the body of someone who has died due to coronavirus can’t be explained.”

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Since he joined two co-workers to carry the senior man to the Christian burial ground, Azmat has transported more than 15 bodies and performed the last rites.

source: http://www.indiatimes.com / India Times / Home> News> India / by Bobins Abraham / July 29th, 2020

Jamia Markaz student grabs International Quran Award

Kozhikode, KERALA :

Hafiz Zainul Abid

Kozhikode:

Hafiz Zainul Abid, a student of Jamia Markaz, Kozhikode has won the 6th rank in Dubai international Holy Qur’an Award.

The silver jubilee contest was presided over by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, where Hafiz Zainul Abid represented India from Kerala. He is the disciple of Sheikh Aboobakar Ahmed in Kozhikode Jamia Markaz studying Shariah and BA English.

Contestants from 65 countries worldwide have participated in the event, which started on 3rd April 2022. The contest is the largest Qur’an award in its kind in the world providing the biggest cash prize to the winners; 2.5 lakh dirhams to the first prize winner. Zainul Abid, only one contestant represented India won 6th Rank bagged 55,000 dirhams as cash prize along with certificates. .

Mr. Abid also participated in various international contests including the Tanzania international Holy Qur’an Award last year.

source: http://www.muslimmirror.com / Muslim Mirror / Home> Education> Postitive Story / by Muslim Mirror Network / April 29th, 2022

Mangaluru: Gulbarga University to confer honorary doctorate on Yenepoya Abdulla Kunhi

Mangaluru, KARNATAKA :

Gulbarga University has selected Yenepoya Abdulla Kunhi, chancellor of Yenepoya University, managing director of Yenepoya Group of Institutes and social and religious leader for an honorary doctorate.

The 39th and 40th convocation of the university will be held together and three people each have been selected for honorary doctorate. The honorary doctorate on Yenepoya Abdulla Kunhi will be conferred on the 40th convocation considering his immense achievements in the educational sector.

He has served as the trustee of Islamic Academy of Education, promoter of the Centre for Development Studies, president of Yenepoya Moidin Kunhi Memorial Educational and Charitable Trust, president of Malja-Ul-Islam English medium school, vice president of Badria Educational Institute, president of Takwa Open university, trustee of P A Education trust, president of Yenepoya Institute of Medical Sciences, partner in Moidin Kunhi and Company, managing director of Canara Wood and Plywood Industries, trustee of Yenepoya Saw Mills, convener of Yenepoya Vineers, partner in Yenepoya Transport company, partner in Yenepoya hotels, partner in Yenepoya Builders and Developers, president of Yenepoya Energy Private Limited and SLV Power Private Limited, chief promoter of Yenepoya Football Club, vice president of Islamic Trust, president of Malja-Ul-Islam Orphanage, president of Masjid Zeenath Baksh and Idga Juma Masjid, president of Islamic Cultural Centre, president of Karnataka Muslim Jamat, Dakshina Kannada district unit etc.

Yenepoya Abdulla Kunhi stays at Vas Lane in city his wife P K Nasreen. His two sons and two daughters are also serving in the Yenepoya group of organizations.

source: http://www.daijiworld.com / Daijiworld.com / Home> National-World / by Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru (EP) / April 25th, 2022