Nadia Aslam, a young cake artist, has set up an inspiring example of entrepreneurship by starting her own business from home and becoming a known cake artist in Goa capital city, Panjim, within the span of a few years.
Nadia graduated in home science. One of her hobbies was stitching. Despite being a mother of three kids, she preferred to follow her passion and prepare bakery stuff on the special occasions of her close ones. She then realised that she can turn her passion into a business, with her mother’s support. She began to accept customized orders from people and is now one of the best cake artists in the city.
Nadia also takes cake making classes regularly under the banner of “Nadia’s Sweetooth”. she has trained dozens of girls to become “Atmnirbhar’ [self-sufficient].
Speaking to Muslim Mirror Nadia said, “Muslim women in Hijab can take up a business and support the family, as an entrepreneur. I realised that all we need are opportunities, and support from our family to exhibit our ideas and creativity in business.
”We can support our families financially while practising Islam and following its guidelines,” she added.
The reason why Nadia’s mother was her biggest supporter was that her mother was also a beautician long back and as it is said “An artist can only understand the definition of art”. Maybe Nadia has also inherited the art of creativity and beautification from her mother as can be clearly seen in her work. The startup wasn’t a child’s play.
Coping up with the timings of household chores, care of three kids and baking ruined her sleep several times. She hardly has time to rest as one whole cake took 17 hours of preparation to get completely ready. Also, it became tougher when she began to receive orders from the corporate sectors and grand parties. Keeping taste, decoration and creativity on a track called “perfect” is her art, and she handles it in a perfect way. And people give a lot of love to it.
In five-year span, Nadia has made approximately 2000 cakes and other bakery products including cupcakes. She says that customers command more concentration on the decoration and overall presentation of the cake, which requires a lot of time and efforts.
Orders from wedding parties, corporate sectors, birthday parties, festival celebrations and many more huge functions requires a perfect decoration with eloquent creativity. To provide a perfect taste while handling the measures of sugar syrup and fondant is also a task.
Nadia has bagged the Achievers award 2018, Proud award 2019. Gowomania Goa has also felicitated her with “star of the month 2017” and 2018 consecutively.
Speaking with Muslim Mirror, Nadia’s husband Rehan Shaikh expressed happiness over her success. He further said that there is nothing if a woman pursues her career while following Islamic guidelines. Men should support their wives to prove their abilities.
Dr Afreen Karol, who is one of Nadia’s ”satisfied” customers, said, ”Nadia is the one who makes my dream cakes into a reality, whatever the occasion, and however weird my request for the cake might be, she nails it every time and it tastes heavenly, good looking cakes can also be tasty, only if Nadia bakes them.”
source: http://www.muslimmirror.com / Muslim Mirror / Home> Featured / by Imran Inamdar and Sobiya Inamdar / March 08th, 2021
Social activist Rehana Adeeb, who is fighting for the rights of women in areas such as Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Baghpat and Saharanpur in western Uttar Pradesh, is a symbol of courage. On the occasion of International Women’s Day, TwoCircles.net tells her story.
Saharanpur:
“I will not be able to live keeping my mouth shut, just tell everyone.” In the area dominated by Khap panchayats, a dozen women sing this folk song. The resonating voice reverberates in the area. Even the noise of the hookah is not able to suppress it.
The creator of this voice Rehana Adeeb is a name for female upliftment. Men of the area call her a ‘rebel woman’, but for her daughters, she is a messiah.
Social activist Rehana Adeeb, who is fighting for the rights of women in areas such as Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Baghpat and Saharanpur in western Uttar Pradesh, is a symbol of courage.
When 52-year-old Rehana of Chilkana of Saharanpur was two years old, her mother left the world. And when she turned 14, her feet were shackled by marriage.
In a family of five siblings, Rihanna blew up the bugle against the male-dominated society. She started going from village to village to awaken the women. She began to talk about women’s rights and raised her voice against the prevalent silence.
Gradually, Rihanna’s bold voice and her work became the talk of the town and she became sore in the eyes of the male-dominated society. “But I was not afraid, I persevered,” she said.
In a conversation with TwoCircles.net, Rihanna tells the story of her struggle. She says that when she lost her mother at the age of 2, her father re-married. “The new mother could never replace the old mother. I was then married at the age of 14. My husband Mukhtar Ahmed used to work in a factory. I was the only educated one in my in-laws’ house. The confrontation increased there. I could not understand them. They could not understand me. As a result, we split up. My husband came to Chilkana with me,” she says.
This period of life had left a deep impact on Rihanna’s mind and she says she would experience frequent anger. “I used to feel bad about why I was married so early in life. It would not have happened if my mother was alive,” she says.
Rihanna says that she was sent to her in-laws directly from the school. “It was too much. Such excesses were happening against most of the girls. I cannot stitch my mouth. The flame inside me started to blaze and I went door-to-door to motivate women to raise their voice against the atrocities happening with them,” she says.
The effect of her activism started showing. The women in her started becoming aware of their rights and they expressed opposition to their daughter’s early marriage. “They started demanding to send their daughters to school. Things changed. The women refused to keep their tongues tied,” she says.
Rihanna started her activism in the villages of Sandholi block in her town Chilkana, which were backward.
“Opposition to my work also became strong. Men banned me from coming to my own house and their women were banned from talking to me. I was abused,” she says.
At this point, Rihanna says that she felt people had bad feelings towards her and she felt the need for support. “For this, I met the officers and expressed the intention to spread awareness about the rights of women. They understood my feelings and made me a partner in a government scheme, Mahila Samakhya, in which I had to do the same work in ten villages. Now that this work was official, the male society could not stop me from meeting women. I advised women to get organized and gathered them and started meeting. Now a group of men started raising questions about my character. Hearing this gossip about me, my brother would ask me to leave this work,” she said.
Rihanna says that a turning point in her life was her joining a social organization called Disha. “I got a big platform by joining this organization internationally. I was called to Beijing to discuss women’s rights. Gradually, our work started spreading. Now some men came in support of me,” she says.
“2005 was an important year of my life. During this time, I established my social organization ‘Astitva’ and the first battle was fought for Imrana. The Imrana scandal was discussed widely. Her father-in-law misbehaved with her, whereas a fatwa was issued against Imrana. But later Imrana’s father-in-law was sentenced to 10 years for his crime. In the Muzaffarnagar riots in 2013, we kept fighting in favour of women and till now we are fighting,” she says.
Rihanna expresses disappointment when a section of society calls them rebels. “This is a much bigger problem, especially among Muslims. Take the history of Islam and see that this religion has given women the most entitlements and rights. But it is not known who gives ‘fatwas’ against women, but would not issue ‘fatwa’ against the evildoings of men like betting, gambling and other evils,” she says.
Rihanna has four daughters and all have completed B.Ed. “I want my daughters to inspire women to break the silence,” she says.
Thirty-five-year-old Aamna, a resident of Budha Khera village, has only praise for Rihanna.
“Rihanna Baji has opened many avenues here. Even if she has become a sore in the eyes of some people, she has our respect. Recently, her ‘Yuvati Mela’ got a lot of praise. During this mela, the girls unite and do awareness-based programs,” she says.
Rihanna is today known by her nickname ‘Netani’ in Chilkana. “Rihanna Ji has brought a great change in our life. Now there is no such girl here who is not going to school,” Sabia, a 16-year-old girl from the area says.
source: http://www.twocirlces.net / TwoCirlcles.net / Home> India News> India Politics> Indian Muslim> Lead Story> Women / by Aas Mohammad Kaif, TwoCircles.net / March 08th, 2021
Granddaughter of India’s greatest Urdu poet pens a poignant tribute to her late grandfather
“And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light.”— Matthews 17:2-9
My family keeps trying to talk me into mourning the loss of my grandfather, who I lovingly call ‘Bhai’, as did everybody else who knew him. I can’t exactly put this into words and I can’t make people understand that mourning his death is an insult to the madness, the magic, the man, the movement, the miracle, the marvel, the Master. Why don’t you understand that this loss isn’t the kind for me to cry about? This is the kind of loss for me to die about.
When I was a kid, I used to love watching The Lion King. I like to believe that literature and media that you absorb during childhood, shapes your personality as an adult. I always made sure I skipped the scene of Mufasa’s death, with a bewildered and heart-broken Simba trying to wake his father up. It was because I always feared that this day would come, and I would see myself trying to awaken Bhai from eternal, unending sleep. And it did, it happened. And now I am here, and he is there — out there, up there. He is missing from me.
Are they still memories if they’re engraved in my heart, etched on my mind and tattooed on my skin? I like to believe they’re a part of me, my body, an extension to my entity, and as long as I shall live so shall they. So many people argue that he wasn’t my father. They’re right. Because to me, he is God. He is the giver, the provider, creator, the all-encompassing, the all-knowing, the omnipresent.
Provider, because he gave me everything I have and survive on, from my passion and love for animals to my affinity towards literature, music, art. We would stand inside his aviary, enough to accommodate two human beings, where he kept his birds. He would clean and wash their water bowls with his beautiful, wrinkly, holy hands and then he would pick up a bird in the palm of his hands — sometimes a cockatiel, sometimes a budgie, sometimes a quail — and show me, directing my gaze with his finger, the feather patterns, and beak shapes, explaining how a certain type of bird crushes the seed with which exact part of its beak. All-knowing, because he knew everything, quite literally. Anything and everything.
Driving home from a homeopathic clinic, we would have long conversations about The Battle of Karbala, and pretty much every historic event that ever occurred on the face of this planet. We talked about the possibilities of the existence of mermaids — how perhaps, in the course of evolution, a third of the primate population went towards the water and even into it, and developed webbed limbs and tails. We talked about the Fer-De-Lance, we sat and browsed through pictures of wildlife. We discussed dog breeds and how they evolved. He always told me (before the world went ‘vocal for local’) that nothing can beat the hounds of India — the Rajapalayam, The Chippiparai, The Rampur, and the Mudhol. He always had an eye out for the Saluki (a superior type of sighthound that originated in the Fertile Crescent), and would say to me, “Abey Saluki hai kya kahin pe? Saluki mile kahin toh batana, hum le lenge.”
On his birthday in 2019, I had gifted him a deep grey, white-speckled Cockatiel who he named Sooty. He stayed in Bhai’s room, and the two whistled to each other all day. Bhai would talk to him lovingly, and Sooty would chirp back in adoration. When Bhai got sick, Sooty mysteriously died. I had begun to believe that like Bhai’s previous dogs and other pets, Sooty too had died of loyalty in an attempt to take the impending death upon himself. Bhai always believed that wafadaar jaanwar aane wali museebat ko apne sar le lete hain. While it is unlike me — and everyone else in my family — to respond to the death of an animal, that too a beloved pet, with gladness and optimism, Sooty’s sudden passing had given us some hope. We were counting on life to make Bhai get better and to help us get through this untimely qayamat.
Grandfather — this word always gave me the same serotonin release you get from a warm blanket, a cup of hot chocolate, biting through the layers of a Ferrero Rocher, the morning of the day of Id, seeing my birthday cake for the first time.
And now it’s all gone, all taken away away from me. It is so ironic and at the same time baffling how our worst fears manifest right before our eyes. I didn’t allow myself to watch enough of The Lion King growing up because I was afraid if I looked at it then it would somehow happen. And now I see how everything unfolded just like it did in the movie. Covid attacked us like Uncle Scar. And while all of us got Covid, he somehow took it upon himself and while we lived, he left.
My animals in Delhi found me, picked me up, and saved my life, just like Timon and Pumba did with orphaned Simba in The Lion King. I think I have managed to figure out where this affinity comes from and why it has always been this way — the need to be around animals in order to survive. It was just another gift, another tool, another strength my Grandfather was equipping me with and conditioning me for, so that I may be able to carry on someday in his absence, and so that I have a purpose, a reason to live till the time he and I can finally reunite.
Only mourning him isn’t enough, isn’t fair, isn’t needed. His existence was a celebration of life, a creation of art, and his death was transfiguration. He didn’t just lay there still. He sublimated, became one with what he loved most, nature. He united with a power that was of the same immense magnitude that only he alone in this world was made of. If one should live, one should live like this. Not in the lap of luxury but in the embrace of nature. Not in bursts of passion, but in the steadiness of an unwavering purpose. Not for moments of moping, but for the unfazed ambition of the human spirit.
Lead my longing heart
To the high ground, to the clear view
And in awe I’ll be there
Beholding You…
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph Online / Home> Culture / by Tazmeen Amna Siddiqui / March 04th, 2021
The Calcutta boy plays one of the primary characters— opposite Aditi Rao Hydari’s Nusrat — in Ribhu Dasgupta’s directed movie, now streaming on Netflix
Shamaun Ahmed : Styled by : Nazmee Niten / Picture : Brandon Chung
City boy Shamaun Ahmed plays one of the primary characters — opposite Aditi Rao Hydari’s Nusrat — in The Girl on the Train, now streaming on Netflix and also directed by another Calcutta boy, Ribhu Dasgupta. t2 caught up with Shamaun on his big break and the road ahead.
Given that it’s your big Bollywood break, was there an initial sense of disappointment when you found out that The Girl on the Train was headed for a streaming release?
I wouldn’t say I was disappointed… that’s a very big word. Yes, this was going to be my first Hindi theatrical release. But I believe in destiny, and I am sitting here and thinking, ‘How will this benefit me’ and I know eventually, God will show me how.
I am happy that with a streaming release it will reach so many countries at one go. I am grateful to OTT because actors like me who don’t want to do television and wouldn’t get films in a hurry, now have the opportunity to do similar, or even bigger stuff, on OTT.
I am fairly new, the other cast members are established and are doing a lot of work. But after the trailer came out, I became very nervous because the buzz was quite insane. Because of the trailer, my Instagram followers bumped up by a couple of thousands, an effect which I hadn’t seen since Bard of Blood (Shamaun starred as a key character in the 2019 Netflix web series). I haven’t had a release since then anyway. The Girl on the Train is a niche film, so we didn’t really expect this kind of a buzz. It’s now translated into a lot more responsibility. It’s not going to be a few thousand cinema halls, it will be the whole world.
Bard of Blood was, of course, also directed by Ribhu Dasgupta. How did you bag this film?
I was in Calcutta, and I knew that the cast and crew of The Girl on the Train were then in London shooting the film. At that time, I was in talks about doing a three ad film deal. I got a call and Ribhuda asked, ‘London aayega?’ He said that he was taking an English actor for the part, but eventually decided to talk to me. Ribhuda asked me if I could leave the ad deal, and I spoke to the agency and they graciously let me go. Within 10 days, I was in London shooting for the film.
For an artiste, it’s very significant when your director repeats you in his very next project. That made me a lot more confident about my craft. I am grateful to Ribhuda for the opportunity.Had you watched the original Hollywood film, starring Emily Blunt, either before or after starring in the Hindi version?
I actually had watched it a couple of years ago when it released. I like to get my script in my hand, but with this film, Ribhuda’s approach was very different. He said, ‘With this one, you have to trust me’. He sent me a rough idea of the script and then I watched the Holly film again to see what my character was meant to be doing. But I knew that our film would be quite different… Ribhuda has put in a lot of his own, whether it’s the detailing of the characters and everything else too. Ribhuda has told me that this film will surprise even the biggest The Girl on the Train and Paula Hawkins (the author of the book on which the film is based) fans. Even when we were shooting this film, we knew it would be quite a ride.What was it like shooting in London with the ensemble cast?
I have been in the industry for a while and have interacted with a lot of good performers. But when you know that you will share the frame with them and will be watched by the whole world, then a sense of nervousness obviously creeps in. When I reached the set on the first day, I walked into Totada’s (Roy Choudhury) room by mistake, instead of mine. We were shooting in Surrey and that was a very calm room on a set that was going fully mental. I was about to introduce myself to him, but he knew who I was, and he said, ‘Aamra toh ek desher chhele!’ For an actor to be recognised by a senior artiste is always very special.
Then I met Parineeti (Chopra) who was also damn cool. Aditi (Rao Hydari) was doing a scene with me in which I had to be rough with her. There were people on set who told me I had to be very careful, but I was like, ‘This is a scene that can’t be cheated. The camera is really close to us’. We did two takes and then Ribhuda told me, ‘Shamaun, ki korchhish? Do what you always do’. And that gave me confidence and a sense of belonging that my director is aware of what I am capable of as an artiste, and the scene worked out. Aditi later asked me, ‘You’ve done this before, right? This is not your first film’. I told her I had been acting for a while and she was like, ‘Good, man’. That, in itself, set the pace for me. There were such warm, loving people working on this film. If they would head out after work, they would always invite me. Avinash (Tiwary) and I would chill out a lot together. Jim (Sarbh) and Harshvardhan (Rane) were also staying in the same hotel and were shooting Taish at the time. Jim had told Avinash about a certain bar in the village which was near a river. After that, Avinash and I had quite a few romantic evenings together, staring at each others’ faces and having gin and tonic! (Laughs)
After we came back from London, we had the Bombay premiere of Bard of Blood. Parineeti had come for the premiere. I was in a corner stuck with a crowd. She saw me from a distance, worked her way through the crowd and gave me a tight hug and said, ‘Congratulations buddy, this is your big release’. My eyes actually welled up, it was such a nice gesture. There were some amazing bunch of actors on this one. Kirti (Kulhari) and I, of course, had also worked on Bard of Blood together.How are you planning to use this film to further your career in Bollywood?
I have had only one release every year for the last three years. There are some friends who I started with and they have become big stars and they tell me, ‘Why are you not here with us?’ And I am like, ‘Because you deserved to be where you are’. I did get opportunities, but I probably didn’t take them because I wanted to be ready for them. Somehow I felt I wasn’t, and that’s why I stayed away. Even now, I do a project only if I think I can do justice to it. I never say I am talented, I always say that I put in a lot of hard work. I am always going to be the guy working the hardest on that set, or in that frame. That I am sure about.
Adil bhai (Hussain, actor) has been aware of my journey, of me not being confident enough about my craft, or even my looks. That is also something that keeps me on my toes all the time. So Adil Hussain told me, ‘Ei nyakamo ta chharo and start working’.
Honestly, I am what I am because of what Calcutta’s advertising fraternity gave me. All the love and support from senior photographers as well as directors like Tonyda (Aniruddha Roychowdhury) and Anikda (Dutta) who gave me my first ad films. That gave me confidence and that’s when The Big Bong Connection happened and then came Bard of Blood and The Girl on the Train.
All these years, in Bombay, I have been offered ‘hero’ type roles of beating up 10 goons at a time by smaller studios, and there are some bigger studios that offered me roles that I didn’t like. In Calcutta, I haven’t worked in some time because I don’t get offered roles of consequence, probably because of the way I look (laughs). Since I play one of the primary characters in The Girl on the Train, I am hoping that in Bombay, substantial roles will now come my way. The fear of regret has brought me back to acting and now I plan to pursue it seriously.
Shamaun in Bard of Blood
I do a project only if I think I can do justice to it. I never say I am talented, I always say that I put in a lot of hard work. I am always going to be the guy working the hardest on that set, or in that frame. That I am sure about.
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph Online / Home> Entertainment / by Priyanka Roy / February 26th, 2021
“The working committee of AIMPLB passed a resolution to start a Sharia awareness webseries. It also decided to start a legal journal in the Urdu and English languages,” read a tweet from AIMPLB’s handle.
AIMPLB general secretary Syed Mohammad Wali Rahmani. (File)
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Monday announced that it would soon launch a legal journal in Urdu and English, and a webseries to spread awareness about Sharia and Indian laws, and explain court judgments to Muslims.
The decision was taken during a board meeting led by its president Mohd Rabey Hasani Nadvi.
“The working committee of AIMPLB passed a resolution to start a Sharia awareness webseries. It also decided to start a legal journal in the Urdu and English languages,” read a tweet from AIMPLB’s handle.
Speaking to The Indian Express , AIMPLB general secretary Syed Mohammad Wali Rahmani said the idea behind the web series was to spread awareness on legal issues for Muslims. “The series will be done in an interview-discussion format… The series will analyse high court and supreme court judgments so that common people can understand them. Not just Sharia, we will also focus on the country’s laws and judgments,” said Rahmani.
According to a statement issued by the Board, board member Asma Zehra has been tasked with preparing a blueprint for the webseries. Lawyer members like Yusuf Hatim Muchhala, Zafaryab Jilani and M R Shamshad “endorsed this suggestion, and said they will give it their time”.
Advocate M R Shamshad has been asked to prepare a plan for the legal journal in English and Urdu and “present it to the general secretary”.
In the meeting, the issue of safeguarding Waqf properties was also discussed and a campaign in this regard will be launched across the country.
“…The Waqf Act was prepared and approved after a lot of hard work. It has provisions to safeguard Waqf properties from being sold. But efforts are being made from several quarters to make changes to these provisions, which can threaten the safeguarding of Waqf properties. So, it was decided that for the safety of Waqf properties, a campaign should be launched across the country,” read the statement issued in Urdu.
The board said it was fighting cases related to Waqf properties “in its full capacity”.
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> India / by Express News Service, Lucknow / February 23rd, 2021
Hamid Barkzi was part of Nikhil Chinapa’s team. (Photo: PR)
23-year-old Delhi boy Hamid Barkzi is the winner of adventure reality show MTV Roadies Revolution.
Hamid Barkzi was declared the winner of adventure reality show MTV Roadies Revolution on Saturday. Part of Nikhil Chinapa’s team, Barkzi beat Michael Ajay and Jayant Yadav to take home the winner’s title.
Having started his journey as an underdog, the 23-year-old Delhi boy, who was part of Nikhil’s Team ‘Loyalty’, impressed everyone with his performance in tasks and fair play throughout the season. He eventually emerged victorious in the finale task on Saturday.
On winning Roadies Revolution, Hamid Barkzi in a statement said, “This is one of the most special moments of my life. Roadies Revolution has been instrumental in changing my outlook towards some of the important things in life. I have had my own share of ups and downs, but that has only made me stronger to move up the ladder and emerge victorious. I can’t thank Nikhil Sir enough for this win. He has fought for his team, stood by each one of us at every step of the way. This journey wouldn’t have been possible without the support of Rannvijay Sir and other leaders, Neha Ma’am, Prince and Varun Sir, who have been wonderful mentors. This is just the beginning. Looking forward to many more challenges and victories.”
Gang leader Nikhil Chinapa also expressed his excitement. He said, “Reaching the finale for the first time amongst competitors like Prince, Neha and Varun, it’s an important win for me, Hamid and for Team ‘Loyalty’ that I’ve been so lucky to have. Roadies Revolution has been challenging but fulfilling, and I couldn’t be more grateful to have the squad by my side throughout this journey. The game was pretty intense, and everyone performed to the best of his or her ability. Hamid has been an exceptional player, emerging as one of the strongest contenders in the show.”
Launched last year in February, MTV Roadies Revolution was shot in Rishikesh, Rupnagar and Garli village before the coronavirus-induced lockdown in March. Once shoot resumed, the team shot the remaining episodes in the outskirts of Mumbai. This season, the celebrity leaders included Neha Dhupia, Nikhil Chinapa, Varun Sood and Prince Narula, while Rannvijay Singha was back as the host.
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Entertainment> Television / by Sana Farzeen, Mumbai / January 17th, 2021
Muqtar Ahmed at work. Photo: Special Arrangement/THE HINDU
A 24-year-old with a global presence and her teacher are among a few keeping the art of Arabic calligraphy alive in India
Bee Bee Laisa, a final year Engineering student in Bengaluru, has a dream. The 24-year-old wants to transcribe a copy of the Koran in Arabic. “I have always been interested in art and drawing, but it was only when I started learning English calligraphy that I was introduced to the art form in Arabic, which would help me transcribe the holy book,” says Laisa.
And so began her journey in 2016, as a student of the Institute of Indo-Islamic Art and Culture (IIAC) at Richmond Street, Bengaluru, to learn Arabic calligraphy. Also known as khat, this centuries-old art form is held in high regard by Muslims because of its association with the dissemination of the Koran before the era of printing presses.
In the past five years, Laisa has mastered the decorative script thuluth considered one of the most difficult fonts, and naskh (used to write the Koran). Her talent has been recognised on several international and local platforms: her calligraphic artworks of Koranic verses and Islamic phrases have been exhibited in Japan, UAE, and Jaipur since 2017.
Calligraphy alphabet sampler by Bee Bee Laisa. Photo: Special Arrangement/THE HINDU
It is a huge leap forward for Laisa, whose father works as a banana delivery vehicle driver in Bengaluru. Laisa says calligraphy has helped improve her concentration and also use her drawing skills in her Civil Engineering classes.
“Calligraphers can’t have any dot or line out of place; this has helped me present spotless drawings for my coursework as well,” she says.
The school uses traditional materials to teach the art, including wooden or reed pens (qalam) and inks from plant-based resins. As per tradition, strands of raw silk are placed inside the inkpot (likka), to help regulate the amount of ink on the qalam tip, and also to prevent spills onto the paper.
“We use a paper called muqahar for the final version. Though it is commercially available, calligraphers also learn how to prepare their own muqahar sheets,” says Muqtar Ahmed, the principal and tutor at of the IIAC.
__________
Built to be timeless
The process of making muqahar was perfected in the 17th Century by Turkish calligraphers, and Arabic calligraphy students still learn it today.
Paper is stained with natural dyes (like tea or floral decoctions) and then coated with a tempering mixture of alum crystals dissolved in egg whites. It is then burnished to get a glossy finish.
“Muqahar paper, if made correctly, can last up to 700 years,” says Ahmed.
__________
Devoted to the art
Ahmed is the man guiding Laisa in her mission. He has the distinction of being the only Indian to have earned his Ijazah (Masters diploma) in Arabic calligraphy from the Turkey-based Research Center for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA), under the auspices of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). He has trained over 500 students through the school’s weekly courses, and has started online classes during lockdown.
“Calligraphy takes a long time to learn, and one only gets better with continuous practice,” says Ahmed.
His own encounter with the art form is a tribute to his tenacity. As an Intermediate school graduate in a small village in Telengana, he started learning Urdu and Arabic calligraphy and decided to make his career as a scribe for an Urdu publication in Bengaluru, in 1990.
Arabic calligraphy by Muqtar Ahmed. Photo: Special Arrangement/THE HINDU
“I used to write entire pages of articles in the column style, before the computers came in,” he says.
Most of the commercial calligraphy that was done for Urdu and Arabic journals before automated printing lacked the aesthetic values of the original art form, he says.
“I’d like to revive Arabic calligraphy among young people and show them how this can not only be an art but also a way to remember the divine in our life,” Ahmed says.
When he lost his job in 1994, Ahmed decided to research how other calligraphers, especially those outside India, were sustaining their craft. He set up a small commercial press to keep his home fires burning, and kept looking out for masters in calligraphy.
“I realised that it is not a language transforming tool, but an art that has a different respect globally,” he adds.
Among the people who helped him were Washington-based Syrian font designer and calligrapher Maamoun Sakkal, and Mohamed Zakariya, the first Westerner to earn calligraphy diplomas from IRCICA in Turkey.
In what sounds like an incredible process today, Zakariya, who is based in Virginia and does not use electronic communication, tutored Ahmed over postal correspondence for three-and-a-half years.
“I used to send my completed exercises from Bengaluru, and he would reply with his comments and corrections by post. Mr Zakariya didn’t charge me any fees for the tuition, and I feel very fortunate to have been his student,” says Ahmed.
Zakariya also introduced Ahmed to his own master Hasan Chalabi from IRCICA, who invited him to Turkey in 2008. After several visits to Istanbul to learn the art, Ahmed earned his Masters degree in 2013.
Paying it forward
“My professors advised me to start teaching calligraphy in India after I graduated, so that I could rekindle the old majesty of the art. When Mr Syed Mohamed Beary [a local real estate developer] heard of this, he sponsored the establishment of the institute in Bengaluru, and put me in charge of it. I’m glad to see that though it is a very difficult field to excel in, at least 15 of our students are being recognised for their calligraphy,” says Ahmed.
Ameerul Islam and Abdul Sattar, two of his students, have set up a branch of the institute in Hyderabad. IIAC’s curriculum covers the Arabic scripts riqa (for newcomers), naskh and thuluth and nastaliq in Urdu. Learning any two scripts thoroughly is ideal for a calligrapher, says Ahmed.
Bee Bee Laisa. Photo: Special Arrangement/THE HINDU
Bee Bee Laisa’s aim of transcribing the Koran is shared by her teacher. “In fact it is the ultimate goal of every Arabic calligrapher,” says Ahmed. “But it is a huge project, because there are at least 600 pages to be transcribed. If we do something with our hands, it is priceless,” he says.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society> History & Culture / by Nahla Nainar / February 19th, 2021
Starting out so early is not surprising given that he belongs to a family that runs a chain of restaurants in Chennai. His father Hashnas Abdulla is from Payyoli and mother is from Feroke.
Hayan Abdulla with certificates and medals of Asia Book of Records and India Book of Records
Kozhikode :
9-year-old Hayan Abdulla of Feroke has entered the Asia Book of Records and the India Book of Records by cooking 172 dishes, including biryanis, juices, pancakes, dosas, salads, milk shakes and chocolates, in one hour.Cooking became his hobby when he was just four. “He showed interest in cooking and began helping me in kitchen,” said Rasha Abdulla, Hayan’s mother.
Starting out so early is not surprising given that he belongs to a family that runs a chain of restaurants in Chennai. His father Hashnas Abdulla is from Payyoli and mother is from Feroke. “My family noticed that I cook fast. Then I thought why not work on it and be different. For the past one week, I have been recording the time of my cooking. There were no special preparations for the competition,” said Hayan, who is a Class III student of Sherwood Hall Senior Secondary School in Chennai.
Because of Covid-19 regulations, the competition took place online. He owns a YouTube channel called Hayan Delicacies which explains the making of various dishes in detail in three languages — English, Malayalam and Tamil. While he is passionate about cooking, Hayan aspires to become a pilot. His dream culinary venture is to set up a pasta bar.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by Express News Service / February 19th, 2021
Five full minutes is what it takes for me to tear myself away from the allure of this painting I find myself staring at. Decked up in traditional jewellery and dress, it’s a portrait of a girl, looking back as if beckoning you to follow her, and yet there is nothing beyond her. Complete unto itself, the portrait doesn’t need a backdrop for contextualization. Your eyes must not travel elsewhere and the intrigue in her eyes ensures that it does not. The bold strokes defining dropped shoulders, tousled hair, lips that might break into a smile any minute, and eyes gazing intently at some unknown familiarity- Hana Bawa, a Mumbai based artist, paints the stuff of dreams. It’s not just the technical perfection of her paintings but the sheer magic of their intrigue that pulls you in.
Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu : By Hana Bawa
A 27 year old single mother, Bawa is a self- taught painter. Almost like that of a child prodigy, the story of her artistic journey begins with her perfectly complex childhood drawings. She was already drawing animal figures at the age of seven years. Born into a family of largely sportspersons, Bawa stands out for her artistic talent that finds some resonance only with her grandmother’s interest in crafting. Thanks to an unconventional family background, she never had to face the typical Indian parents’ pressures and diktats to pursue only a certain kind of career, and she remembers not to forget it, as she adds “I am immensely thankful to my family for being extremely supportive of my decisions and career choices throughout.” A graduate in sociology, she also pursued a fashion designing course but an intense passion for art propelled her towards the career path she eventually ended up paving for herself. It is her philosophy of “grow(ing) in whatever you choose to do” that makes her exclaim “I’m still learning” even after having sold numerous pieces of her stunning art.
A mother and her baby
Hana Bawa has not just made commissioned artwork, but her paintings have also been exhibited in Minnesota (USA) apart from various art galleries in India, and Afghanistan – no mean feat for an artist who climbed this high sans a formal art training. When asked about her participation in the said exhibition on the theme of ‘Afghan Culture’, she tells me that it came about largely because of the fame she found in Afghanistan. Well- known in the foreign territory for her detailed paintings depicting Afghan culture, Bawa was asked by the curators of the exhibition to send her artwork that celebrated it. Following naturally from this impressive success story, my questions turn back, once again to her journey and how she made it this far without ever receiving a formal training. Probed further, she reveals that she learnt to colour, quite late in her life (at the age of seventeen) and that too, from the internet. Colours opened up for her, a richer and brighter world that was otherwise largely inaccessible. Colours also lent an emotive dimension to her art, because now she could use different kinds of strokes as well to create different effects, as is evident from her paintings.
A mosque by Hana Bawa
Hana Bawa’s bold and confident strokes sweeping the surface of the canvas neatly are characteristically hers, and hence find a place in almost all the portraits. Asked about the painters who inspire her, Bawa counts three off the top of her head, out of which it (rather unsurprisingly) is Vincent Van Gogh who receives the first mention. Julie Dumbarton, a Scottish landscape painter and another Turkish painter Remzi Taskiren are the other two artists she mentions. Though widely separated from each other in terms of their style, cultural background and subjects they choose for their paintings, all of these artists excel in their skilful use of bold strokes. Van Gogh – in creation of post- impressionistic art that laid the foundation for modern art; Dumbarton in her effective employment of the technique in order to create a riot of colours on a harmonious landscape and Taskiran in his deployment of bold strokes in his portrait paintings to create an effect not very different from what Bawa’s achieves. Apart from these artists, Bawa also adds ‘cultures from around the world’ and ‘women’ to her list of influences and inspirations. With so much for a thought, I expect to hear of the politics that informs her paintings. Painting mostly women from middle- eastern cultures I assume carries a certain kind of latent political symbology, given the kind of times we are living in; but Hana vehemently denies any conscious political underpinnings to her alluring portraits.
She says “No, nothing political. I’m just drawn to these cultures because I cannot actually experience them, so I live them through my paintings and also allow others to access the same through them. For this reason, I do not paint portraits, I try to paint emotions. So, I focus a lot on the eyes – the windows to the soul.It is the look that captivates, not the colours, or the sketch. I paint anything that has a culture and meaning associated with it.”
Hana Bawa
We end the conversation with Bawa telling me about her four year old showing exactly the same skills as she did at his age, if not better. As I sit down to write this, and the world witnesses Bawa’s phenomenal skill and artistic genius, I smile with the hope that there’s another young life who might further enliven the world she has created and aims to create through her art – a world of emotions, passion, dreams and intrigue.
Minicoy (Lakshwadeep) / Olavanna (Kozhikode), KERALA :
Another major interest of Manikfan is Lunar calendar and he has built one calendar based on the New moon and on astronomical algorithms
Thiruvananthapuram :
The locals of Olavanna in Kozhikode used to see an upright, lean person wearing Arabian clothing walking towards his home. They only knew that he was a retired official from Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) living here and was from Lakshadweep.
But, when television screens flashed the name of Ali Manikfan among the Padma awardees, the people were lost in words as to who they had ignored albeit unknowingly.
Mohammed Basheer and P.R. Ramachandran, employees of a private firm in Olavanna said, “He is lean and frail but walked straight and with a twinkle in his eyes but we never knew who he was until the news flashed that he was awarded the Padma Shri.”
Manikfan, who is currently living in a rented accommodation along with his wife in Olavanna, was sent to Kannur in Kerala for studies but after fifth standard he did not pursue formal education and returned to Minicoy, his home town in Lakshwadeep Islands.
He was a keen observer, knew almost every fish that inhabited the sea off the Minicoy islands and this observation turned into a passion for fishes. This motivated him to study more about fishes, their origin and everything in and out about them.
The research in fishes got him a job at the CMFRI where he discovered a rare fish which has been named after him – Abudefduf Manikfani.
He can speak, read and write 14 languages including French, German, English, Arabic and other languages and uses seven of them to communicate.
In 1981, he was invited to Oman to make a ship, a replica of the one believed to be used by Sinbad, the Sailor, during his voyages. He was invited by the Irish voyager Tim Sirven who wanted it to be made without metals. Ali and his made a 27-m long ship using timber and coir in an year. Named “Sohar” after the town of Sohar in Oman. Tim and his team travelled 9,000 km from Oman to China on it and it is now kept in a museum in Oman.
Manikfan told IANS, “Those days metal was not used for making ships and hence we had to replicate one using timber. This ship sailed up to China from Oman and is still kept at Oman museum.”
Another major interest of Manikfan is Lunar calendar and he has built one calendar based on the New moon and on astronomical algorithms.
The multifaceted personality had invented a bicycle with roller motor and travelled to New Delhi along with his son Musa.
Another of his interest is agriculture and he has converted a barren 15 acre land at Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu into a lush green farm land using indigenous methods of cultivation. He also built a residential premises using traditional materials.
He is now basking in the glory of Padma Shri award but local people vouch that there is no difference in his attitude even after this honour.
Ramachandran said, “He is a great personality and down to earth, we never knew who he was until media reported about him. The local people are planning a grand programme to felicitate him.”
–IANS
source: http://www.muslimmirror.com / Muslim Mirror / Home> Featured / by Muslim Mirror / February 07th, 2021
