Nasheet Shadani is one of the handful ‘creative strategists’ Facebook employs around the world. He is also a great lover of the Urdu language and runs a unique platform called Ishq Urdu on, where else, Facebook, with 254,000 followers. The Cannes award-winning adman who has worked with ad agencies like McCann, Grey and Ogilvy and Mather tells Grin why he is dedicating his life to reviving the medieval Indian language of great poets.
From Shadani’s Project Urdu.
There are around 70 million Urdu speakers in the world — most of them in South Asia. ‘But most websites, blogs represent Urdu in a very boring way. Most are just e-books, directly uploading content from books. Many thought that Urdu is a language spoken by some kind of obscure species. There was no curation and at times it gave an impression that it is indeed spoken by obscure species. The need to modernize the language in terms of visual look and feel as well as curation was badly needed,’ says Shadani. Several great Indian poets including the 17th century maestro Mirza Ghalib wrote in Urdu.
Shadani grew up speaking the language in Old Delhi and studied fine arts at the Jamia Millia Islamia university. He learnt Urdu calligraphy while he was working on a project called Save Calligraphy and redesigned Ogilvy’s logo in Urdu which won awards at the Cannes Lions Festival in design.
Ogilvy in Urdu.
‘This made me realize how culturally rooted works with a good cause can make a huge difference. Soon, I started immersing myself in the language which was followed by a series of discoveries. From thoughtful Urdu poetry to Angaray (which was the start of ‘Progressive Writers Movement’) to Bollywood , I started feeling an urge to share this knowledge with friends through my personal Facebook profile,’ Shadani, who soon moved onto to creating Ishq Urdu.
The project took off the ground in August 2015 with the goal to make people realize that they are already speaking Urdu in their day to day routine and listening to Urdu all the time through Bollywood songs and dialogues. ‘Most people think that Urdu is limited to its poetry but the truth is that Urdu has an entire ecosystem around it. To help solve this problem, we came up with our first campaign Bollywood Without Urdu where we removed Urdu words from iconic Bollywood songs and dialogues to highlight the importance of Urdu in our day to day life,’ says Shadani. For instance, the famous dialogue Mogambo khush hua would not sound the same without the Urdu word khush in it.
Shadani says he is touched when Urdu lovers from all across the globe connect with him and share their stories which pushes him towards his goal of making the language cool, contemporary and relevant in today’s world.
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source: http://www.grin.news / Grin.news / November 22nd, 2017
Hasan joins Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Steve Carell and others, who return from the inaugural season of The Morning Show.
Hasan Minhaj will play the role of Eric, a charismatic rising star on the show. (Photo: Hasan Minhaj/Instagram)
Comedian and actor Hasan Minhaj has been cast in the second season of Apple TV+’s drama series The Morning Show, according to Deadline. Minhaj, known for his Netflix talk show The Patriot Act, stand-up special Homecoming King and The Daily Show, joins Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Steve Carell and others, who return from the inaugural season.
Deadline reports Minhaj will play the role of Eric, a charismatic rising star on the show. His other acting credits include Most Likely to Murder and The Spy Who Dumped Me.
Developed by Kerry Ehrin, the series is inspired by the book Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV by political commentator Brian Stelter.
The Morning Show is about the world of morning news and revolves around Alex Levy (Aniston), who is one of the two hosts of the titular morning news programme. Her career is endangered when the show’s co-host Mitch Kessler (Steve Carrell) is fired amid sexual harassment allegations. She also faces competition from Witherspoon’s Bradley Jackson, a field reporter.
The Morning Show Season 1, which premiered in November 2019, received mostly positive reviews, scoring 61 per cent on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes. The critical consensus read, “Though The Morning Show at times feels more like a vanity project than the hard-hitting drama it aspires to be, there is pleasure to be had in watching Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon give it their all.”
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Entertainment> Web Series / by Entertainment Desk, New Delhi / November 14th, 2020
Syeda Muhammadi Begum was the first woman in the Indian sub-continent to be the editor of a weekly magazine,‘Tehzeeb-e-Niswaan’. The Urdu magazine was dedicated to emancipate the women. The magazine came out with its first edition on 1st July, 1898.
Muhammadi Begum started her work along with her husband Mumtaz Ali. Mumtaz, who had also written a book stressing upon the rights of women, ‘Huqooq-e-Niswaan’, was a Darul Uloom, Deoband educated Lahore based publisher. He was a close associate of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan during the later years of the leader of Aligarh Movement. In fact, a hostel has been named after Mumtal Ali in AMU. Muhammadi and her husband realised that its was important that Muslim women also access modern education along with Muslim men. It must be kept in mind that when the magazine was launched Aligarh College was only a boys institution and there was no women’s college in Aligarh.
In fact, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan disagreed with Mumtaz and Muhammadi on women’s education. It was not until the demise of Sir Syed that they actually launched the magazine for women.
Muhammadi Begum, born in 1878 in Shahpur, Punjab, married Mumtaz Ali in 1897 after the death of his first wife. Syed Muhammad Shafi, father of Muhammadi, was the Principal of Wazeerabad High School and ensured that his daughters received modern education. In fact, Muhammadi used to play cricket and ride horses as well in those days when women were kept inside homes. When she married Mumtaz, he was already owning a publishing house and a printing press in Lahore.
Within a year, Muhammadi learned the art of publishing, editing and proofreading from her husband. She could read English, Hindi, Urdu, Persian and Arabic. Soon the first Urdu weekly dedicated to the cause of women was launched, ‘Tehzeeb-e-Niswaan’.
As expected, people did not take such progressive magazine positively. Muhammadi and Mumtaz used to send free complimentary copies to the well known educated people. In return they would receive the copies back along with letters abusing Muhammadi. The magazine picked very slowly and even after three months only 70 people subscribed to the magazine, after three years 345 and after five years 428.
Muhammadi had one son, Imtiaz Ali, whom he used to affectionately call Taj. She used to write stories, poems, plays and lullabies especially for him. She trained him to be a man of literary taste. Imtiaz grew up to edit the magazine and established himself as one of the greats of Urdu literature.
Muhammadi later launched another magazine for women, ‘Musheer-e-Madar’, in 1905. Which did not survive much after her death. She also established schools for women. A very interesting experiment carried out by Muhammadi was of an all-Women shop. This shop was operated by the women and for the women and no man was allowed inside the shop for any work. Interestingly, the title of Ashraf Ali Thanvi’s Bahishti Zewar is inspired by one of the poems written by Muhammadi.
From 1897, Muhammadi’s life was busy with social work. She edited magazines, wrote essays, stories, poems and held public meetings to emancipate the women of India. This hard work took a great toll on her health and left this world at a young age of 30, in 1908.
(Author is a well known historian)
source: http://www.heritagetimes.com / Heritage Times / Home> Women / by Saquib Salim / September 14th, 2020
The qorma is the king of Indian curries. The word qorma has its etymological root in the Turkic ‘qavirma’, which denoted a method of frying and was adapted in Persian, Arabic and Urdu.
Turkic qavirma is also the source of the Turkish qavurma. The qavurma is a fried and braised meat dish found in Turkish cuisine. It is not to be confused with qovurma, a similar meat stew found in Azerbaijani cuisine, which often includes dry fruits and sour grape juice (verjuice), and sometimes vegetables too. Qovurma, in contrast, is a dry meat dish, which sometimes uses preserved meat chunks or mincemeat, and is served with pilaf (pulao) or yoghurt. There are several variations of qavurma. Sabzi qovurma, or lamb stew with herbs, is a blend of Persian and Turkic cooking. Turşu qovurma combines lamb with preserved lemons and dried apricots and is flavoured with turmeric, while nur qovurma features lamb and pomegranate.
Persian cuisine has khoresh, khormeh or ghormeh – a basic stew with vegetables, herbs and kidney beans. The Persian khormeh uses yoghurt and almonds. It has a mild flavour, a thick, creamy texture and base tones of spices and herbs. Across the border, Afghan cuisine has kormeh, a meat curry that gets a slightly sour taste from the use of the limu omani or dried lemons. The use of lemon juice is incidentally also advocated in old Rampur cookbooks.
It can be hard to trace precise culinary trails, which meander and weave through regions and times. It is possible that sometime in the 18th century, in Mughal kitchens, the meat stew from Persian cuisine assimilated spices, yoghurt, almonds, garlic and other ingredients. This resulted in a thick, spicy curry, with fried onions giving it a classic aroma. Even today, fried and crushed or ground onions with whole spices form the foundational flavour of the Indian qorma. Thus, qorma is named after a style of cooking which involved braising meat over high heat followed by long slow cooking. In India, the technique of dumpukht, or slow-cooking the meat by sealing the pan, is used to prepare the meat.
Some food writers claim that a Persian meat curry dish (possibly khormeh) was imbued with Indian masalas through the collaboration of Rajput cooks and Mir Bakrawal, the superintendent of Mughal kitchens. It is sometimes even said that the dish was named after a Rajput clan – Kurma. This origin myth for qorma is highly suspect as no reference to qorma is found in the Ain-i-Akbari or the Nuskha-e-Shahjahani written during the time of the early Mughal emperors.
There are, however, a number of qaliya recipes to be found there. Food historian Neha Vermani writes: “In the Mughal context, the earliest reference to qorma which I am aware of, comes from aristocratic cookbooks produced during Shah Alam’s reign.” Possibly the qaliya and do pyaza metamorphosed over the years into the Indian qorma in Mughal kitchens.
It would be safe to assume that by the end of the 18th century, the qorma was on the royal menu. As the Mughal Empire disintegrated, it was carried to cultural centres across the subcontinent. The iconic recipe certainly graced the dastarkhwan,the royal table, of the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar. Munshi Faizuddin Dehlvi, writing with startling detail about the court of Bahadur Shah Zafar in Bazm-e Akhir, mentions the qorma in the list of dishes at the royal tables.
There are essentially three main variants of the qorma in the subcontinent – the north Indian qorma with yoghurt, almonds, cashews and/or cream; the Kashmiri version that uses fennel seeds, turmeric, tamarind and dried cockscomb flowers; and the South Indian qorma with a pronounced coconut taste. Under the rubric north Indian qorma, there are two styles: Mughlai and Awadhi. According to Lizzie Collingham, the author of Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors, Awadhi cooks added cream to the Mughal qorma and turned it into a sumptuous shahi qorma.
Rampur Qorma: Reflections of Tarana Husain Khan
The Nawab’s kitchen had a specialist khansama, or head cook, who only cooked qorma. A manuscript authored by Nawab Kalbe Ali Khan (1865-1887) describes qorma murgh. Chicken is marinated in yoghurt and spices (cumin, coriander seeds, cardamoms, cloves, ginger and chillies); onions are fried to golden brown and the chicken added to it along with saffron water. The use of powdered almond distinguished it from the qaliya, a basic meat curry with turmeric which might contain vegetables.
Rampuri qorma has a distinctive taste – a meaty flavour with few aromatic masalas and, occasionally, cream. It is not a complicated dish to cook, but balancing the flavours and rounding the sharp edges of the spices requires mastery. Most khansamas never reveal their spice mix or the ginger-garlic-onion proportions.
Rampur Qorma being cooked in a degh. Courtesy: Tarana Husain Khan.
An old khansama revealed the secret of the legendary Rampur qorma to me: add the stock from the leg bones of a goat to the gravy. I tried this technique once – it was tedious, but it changed the dimensions of taste. I would highly recommend using mutton stock for special occasions.
Rampur survived the devastation post-1857 and invited chefs and artists from the fallen kingdoms of Delhi and Awadh. At that time, the Rampur cuisine already had its basic meat curries as well as the tribal qaliya. There are several types of qaliyas described in late 19th-century manuscripts, showing its popularity and versatility. The Delhi and Awadh cooks collaborated with their Rampur counterparts to craft the inimitable Rampuri qorma.
Qorma served with pulao is still the benchmark of culinary skills in Rampur, but the boundaries between qorma and qaliya have become blurred. Taar roti, which was originally a qaliya with turmeric, has become a kind of faux qorma with the addition of fried onions – the sine qua non of the latter dish. The qorma served at elaborate dinners often has a significant amount of turmeric, which would be sacrilege in Mughlai and Awadhi cuisines. Interestingly, royal and aristocratic families do not use turmeric in their qorma, but the practice has become popular across all other strata. The Rampuris love the vermillion-red colour of the curry and appreciate a certain sharp flavour added by the turmeric. Though I prefer the more rounded taste of qorma sans turmeric, when I am in an adventurous mood, I put in a little haldito jazz things up.
Awadhi Qorma: Recollections Of Rana Safvi
In my childhood, qorma was associated with guests, festivities and celebrations. Our daily meals consisted of qaliya, or mutton cooked with vegetables. This menu choice ensured that vegetables were consumed daily.
Though chicken qorma is popular today, chicken was not always the preferred meat. Those were also the days when chicken was quite expensive (weight-for-weight) compared to mutton, and it was thus a delicacy. Murgh ka qorma was the ultimate dish cooked for a guest. All this was before the late Padmashree Dr BV Rao revolutionised the poultry industry. He established Venkateshwara Hatcheries Pvt Ltd in Pune in 1971 and is still remembered as The Father of the Indian Poultry Industry.
To this day, I associate chicken with feasts. I even prefer the desi variety over the farm-grown, as the latter is too bland. The epicures of Awadh, too, probably found chicken bland, for Abdul Halim Sharar writes in Guzishta Lucknow (a book about Lucknavi culture first published in serial form between 1913 and 1920) that the chickens used to be fattened with musk and saffron pills until their flesh was scented with these two substances. Since nobody can afford musk- and saffron-fed chicken, to ensure that the meat is not bland, it is best to marinate it in a garlic, salt and yogurt mix for a few hours and then sauté it in the masala before adding water for the curry, so that the masala seeps in.
Chicken was not the only meat that was used for qorma. Game meat (especially venison, quail and partridge) was also very popular, as hunting was a popular pursuit of the landed gentry before it was banned. Now, farm-grown quail is available and bater ka qorma is gaining in popularity. But one must remember that quail is a very delicate meat, so the masalas have to be minimal in order not to drown out the flavour. Indeed, while cooking any qorma, it is essential to remember this fact. Too often, the meat in the qormas is overpowered by the masalas. The special taste of Awadh is in the delicate flavouring as compared to the robust taste of Delhi cuisine.
I was accustomed to using very minimal garam masala. When I got married, that turned out to be boon – or I would have had to reinvent my recipes. My husband is allergic to cardamom, which almost led to a disaster. My wedding was held at home, as was usual in those days. Tents and shamianas would be erected on people’s lawns, as hotel weddings were unheard of. The cooks were called from Lucknow. I remember the old khansama sitting near my mother a couple of days before the wedding and presenting her with a list of ingredients to be bought. When he gave the amount of cardamom to be bought, my mother said, “That won’t be added to any food as my son-in-law-to-be is allergic to it.” I will never forget the look on the khansama’s face when he replied, “Begum sahib, had you told me earlier, I would not have come. What face will I show the world when they see that the qorma has no elaichi in it?” My mother had to coax him not to leave in a huff, persuading him that the taste was in his skill of using right proportions, roasting the masalas, marinating the meat and not in the blighted cardamom! The khansama then took it on as a personal challenge and the qorma turned out to be superb.
There is rarely any cardamom in my kitchen even now. I believe that the taste of the dish comes from the amount of time spent in roasting the masalas well – not in drowning it in oil and garam masalas.
To come back to the qorma, a feast would be considered complete only when there were at least two types of qorma, zarda (a sweet rice) and pulao, as well as at least two varieties of kababs and sheermal (a flatbread). This formula also meant that at least three types of meat such as mutton, fish and chicken were offered. Again, there would be adjustment in the masalas depending on the meat. Ginger paste continues to be used for meats with strong smell and those that are tough to digest. Fish, on the other hand, requires a delicate hand when using masalas.
There were cooks of yore who specialised solely in cooking qormas. In The Classic Cuisine of Lucknow: A Food Memoir by Nawab Jafar Hussain (Sanatkada Publications), there is an interesting anecdote. In 1925, Nawab Jafar Hussain – a descendent of the nawabi aristocrats of Lucknow – came across a cook named Mohammad Hussain who belonged to a family of cooks from the royal period. When the Nawab sahib asked him what he could cook: “He replied in the typical Lakhnavi tone of voice, ‘Sir, qorma and chapati. Besides this, what else is there in food? I will feed you only this. I do not know how to cook anything else.’” Nawab sahib immediately employed him and he stayed with him until his death in 1931. Before you wonder at this, let me add what Nawab sahib pointed out: “In the period of approximately five years, every day, for both meals, he cooked qorma and I never felt even a twinge of monotony.”
Though such artists are hard to come by, it is possible to cook a decent qorma if one uses the spices from scratch. That means you roast and grind all the garam masalas, coriander, etc. fresh just before starting to cook. There must be many people who remember the storeroom with their mothers sitting in front of it, getting the masalas taken out and ground fresh daily. The khansamas would grind it on a huge sil (grinding stone) with a batta (stone). The garam masalas were dry-roasted and then pounded separately in an imam dasta (mortar and pestle) and then strained. In those days, hardly any house used powdered masalas.
Another important point to be noted is that the meat (if it is mutton) should be from the raan (leg). The pieces in Lucknow would be cut with artistry and called katoris (bowls) – for they did not have bone and would curl up into a round shape in the curry. Today, when we ask the butcher for boneless mutton, he tells me to show him a boneless goat. These butchers lazily chop the meat instead of cutting along the grain.
While cooking, special care must be given to ensuring that the onions are fried just right, as the base of the qorma comes from the paste of fried onions. If it is too brown, the curry will taste bitter and have a dark colour; if it is not fried well and left a little raw, the colour of the qorma will be pale. The trick of a khushrangqorma (the bright reddish-brown hue) is in the way the onions is fried and the masala is sautéed. I learned these tricks as a young girl around the wood fire chulha (stove) in my grandparents’ kitchen, while my grandmother would describe the cooking process. I share this family recipe for you to try. Of course, as you start cooking, you will learn to make your own adjustments.
Awadhi Murgh Qorma
Our Family Recipe
Ingredients
1 whole chicken, cut in curry pieces (cleaned; no skin or offal)
(Note: marinate chicken for at least 2 hours in 1 tsp salt, lemon juice & 1 tsp of ginger-garlic paste)
1 large onion, finely sliced
3 tbsp oil
2 tbsp curd
1 tbsp ginger paste
1 tbsp garlic paste
1 tbsp coriander powder, lightly roasted on a griddle
½ tsp garam masala, freshly ground or powdered
¼ tsp whole peppercorns
3 cloves
2 green cardamom
2 bay leaves
2 drops kewra
1 cup water
¼ cup fresh cream, well beaten
Salt and chilli to taste
A few strands of saffron, soaked in 1 tbsp of warm milk
Method
Add the cloves, peppercorns, cardamom and bay leaves. Toss in the onions and fry until golden brown. This takes about 4-5 minutes on low heat.
Remove the onions and spices from the oil, making sure the oil is drained back into the cooker and set aside. Remove bay leaves. The rest should be ground to a fine paste.
Shake off excess water from the chicken. Add the pieces to the oil and fry lightly.
Add the ginger and garlic pastes, chilli and coriander powder. Sauté, adding dashes of curd at intervals to prevent the mixture from sticking or burning. This process will continue for at least 10 minutes
When the oil separates from the masala, add the garam masala, salt, paste of fried onions and bay leaves. Stir for a minute. Add the water and cook until the meat is tender. Keep the flame low and the pot covered.
Strain the cream if you are using fresh cream from home, so that it is smooth consistency. Add cream, saffron and let it simmer for two minutes.
Add 2 drops of kewra water (mixed in 1 tbsp of water) before serving.
Please note: Do not garnish the dish with green coriander leaves. That garnish is reserved only for qaliya.
Our thanks to Neha Vermani for her careful reading and suggestions on an early draft.
This article is part of the project “Forgotten Food: Culinary Memory, Local Heritage and Lost Agricultural Varieties in India”, curated by Tarana Husain Khan and edited by Siobhan Lambert Hurley and Claire Chambers. It has been funded by Global Challenges Research Fund through the Arts & Humanities Research Council in the United Kingdom. Read the other parts here.
source: http://www.scroll.in / Scroll.in / Home> Forgotten Food / by Tarana Hussain Khan and Rana Safvi / November 07th, 2020
Shawar Khan, resident of Bagh Frahat Afza had a dream since he and his brothers built a house of his own, to paint it in tricolor shade.
Man waiving flag/ Representative Pic
Bhopal :
At times when patriotism of Muslims is being questioned, a Muslim man from Bhopal demonstrated it by painting his house in tricolor hues.
Shawar Khan, resident of Bagh Frahat Afza had a dream since he and his brothers built a house of his own, to paint it in tricolor shade. ‘I have love for the tricolor from school days. I used to paint tricolor hues at most of the places. I also used to make tricolor flags on occasion of Independence Day and Republic Day and distribute them for free to my friends and relatives,’ said Shawar.
Shawar has been taking up petty jobs including driving auto rickshaw for living. Corona pandemic had adverse impact on him like thousands of others and he lost living. Since then he assists his brother Raja at his grocery shop.
‘Allah ne meri murad poori kar di (Allah fulfilled my wish),’ says Shawar with sense of achievement in his tone. He said that he and his brothers built the house in 2013. ‘Since then I had a wish that the house be painted in tricolor but I didn’t have enough money,’ he added. With my brother’s help my dream has come true.
Considering wish of Shawar, his brothers came to his help and contributed money to paint the house like a national flag. It cost us about Rs 20,000, says Shawar, whose house is located near Maqbare wali Masjid in Bagh Farhat Afza.
It took about a week to pain the house tricolor. In his three storey house, the ground floor is painted green. The first floor is white and the second floor has been painted saffron to give it a tricolor look. The house after getting new looks started attracting people who are coming from all corners of the city to have a look at it.
source: http://www.freepressjournal.in / The Free Press Journal / Home> Bhopal / by Shahroz Afridi / August 15th, 2020
“Sara Shehar Mujhe LION Ke Naam Se Janta Hai” reminds us of the twirling mustachioed daku of Hindi cinema, Ajit. Known for his distinctive performance and incredible dialogue delivery, actor Ajit was the one who had revolutionised the way of villains’ slang in the world of cinema.
He entertained the audience, especially the movie buffs, for over 4 decades by appearing in more than 200 films.
Ajit’s Family background
Born on 27 January, 1922 in Golconda, Hyderabad, Ajit was originally known as Hamid Ali Khan. Ajit was his stage name which he acquired after stepping into the world of cinema. His father Bashir Ali Khan worked in the Nizam’s army in Hyderabad.
Ajit along with his sons Shahid Ali Khan, Zahid Ali Khan and Abid Ali Khan and grand children Saadia and Saeb.
Ajit did his early education from a Government Junior College, Hanamkonda in Warangaldistrict. He is survived by five sons:: Shahid Ali Khan, Zahid Ali Khan, Abid Ali Khan, Shehzad Ali Khan and Arbaaz Ali Khan.
Journey in the world of cinema
Hamid Ali Khan aka Ajit was fond of acting since childhood. He left Hyderabad and landed in Mumbai to begin his career in the film industry. He was apparently so passionate to get into Bollywood that he reportedly sold his college books to pay for his journey to Mumbai, which is the heart of the Hindi film industry.
After some struggle, Ajit finally managed to get roles in a few films. He started his acting career with the film Shahe Misra opposite Geeta Bose, which was released in 1946. From 1946 to 1956, Ajit struggled to find his place in the film industry.
After Shahe Misra, he acted in various films like Sikander (with Van Mala), Hatimtai (1947), Aap Beeti (with Khursheed), Sone Ki Chidiya (with Leela Kumari), Dholak (with Meena Shori) and Chanda Ki Chandni (with Monica Desai) as leading hero. Unfortunately, almost all those films flopped as luck did not favour Ajit initially.
In 1950, director K. Amarnath who roped Ajit in his film ‘Beqasoor’ opposite Madhubala, advised him to shorten his film name. Thus on Amarnath’s advise Hamid changed his name to Ajit.
Other films in which he acted as hero include Nastik (1953), Bada Bhai, Milan, Baradari and Dholak. In all of them, his work earned him credibility. However, it would not be enough; Ajit still had to shift to supporting roles in few big ventures of Bollywood like ‘Naya Daur and Mughal-e-Azam’.
When Ajit switched to villainous characters
As most of his films in which he played the leading protagonist roles flopped badly, he chose to switch to antagonist characters. His first movie as a villain was Suraj, followed by films such as Zanjeer and Yaadon Ki Baaraat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6d0q1yS2-0
Ajit’s popular dialogues
Known for his peculiar dialogues in a baritone voice, Ajit used to deliver them in Hinglish accent (Hindi+English), something that was never heard before in the industry. Few of his popular dialogues are listed below.
“Lilly don’t be silly” (Zanjeer)
“Saara shahar mujhe Loin ke naam se janta hai” (Kalicharan).
Mera jism zaroor zakhmi hai … lekin meri himmat zakhmi nahi (Mughal-E-Azam).
Rajput jaan harta hai … vachan nahi harta (Mughal-E-Azam)
Kutta jab pagal ho jaata hai toh usse goli maar dete hai (Zanjeer)
Jis tarah kuch aadmiyo ki kamzori baimaani hoti hai … is hi tarah kuch aadmiyo ki kamzori imaandari hoti hai (Zanjeer)
Apni umar se badhkar baatein nahi karte (Zanjeer)
Aashirwad toh bade aadmi dete hai … hum toh sirf rai de sakte hai (Kalicharan)
Zindagi sirf do paon se bhaagti hai … aur maut hazaaron haathon se uska rasta rokti hai (Azaad)
Over the years, his one-liners, iconic drawl and sidekicks — Mona darling and Robert (pronounced Raabert) — gave rise to a whole new genre of ‘Ajit jokes’ that would go on to entertain generations, like the Mona darling-Teja scene in Imtiaz Ali’s Tamasha starring Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone.
Believe it or not, Ajit gave a whole new definition and look of the villain which has been immortalised in the history of Hindi cinema. Fans especially those from Hyderabad still remember the late actor for his amazing dialogues delivery, antagonist roles and his major contribution to the world of Hindi cinema.
Ajit breathed his last on on October 21, 1998 (he was buried the next morning at about 8 a.m.) , leaving a huge void in the film industry that can never be filled again!
source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> Entertainment>Bollywood News / by Rasti Amena / October 26th, 2020
An advertisement about an inter-faith couple garnered so much hate online that it had to be pulled down by Tanishq this week. In a temple in Manamelkudi in Pudukkottai, there is no room for such hate. A muslim district councilor has constructed a pathway in and around the temple with paver blocks at a cost of Rs. 5.34 lakhs.
77-year-old Chidambaram, who has been the temple priest at the Muthu Mariamman Temple in Manamkeludi for several decades had just one demand – a pathway around the temple and one that would connect it to the road. When Najimudeen Jahabersadik came to canvass for votes last year, he told him that he would win, and asked just one thing of him – a pathway for devotees.
“Najimudeen delivered his promise. I am extremely happy, my long pending demand has been fulfilled. I feel even happier that the councilor chose to work on a temple first, proves that God is one,” said Chidambaram.
Najimudeen Jahabersadik has been a union councilor for Manamelkudi since 2011. After a few years when elections weren’t held, he came back to power last year as the District Councilor with the DMK.
He says that he won with a margin of more than 16,000 votes, one of the highest margins ever. As soon as he received funds, the first thing he did was use it for constructing this pathway at the Muthu Mariamman Temple.
“The locals faced lot of problems as there was no proper structure around the temple, it was all sticks and stones. Due to COVID, fund allotment took time and the districts received funds very late. I was in Dubai during the lockdown and did this work with the help of the Panchayat President. We first received Rs. 5.34 lakhs and decided to use it for this temple,” says Najimudeen.
For Najimudeen, duty trumps all. He wants to show his thanks to voters through his performance. “As a councilor, everyone is same for me. I want to fulfill promises made to everyone, irrespective of religion, caste or creed. I will try to fulfill the commitments made to everyone in my district,” adds Najimudeen.
The councilor already has atleast 5-6 more projects up his sleeve, mostly road laying, tank work and helping two other temples in the district.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Sowmya Mani / Express News Service / October 18th, 2020
Visitors look at the vast range of antique utensils and other items exhibited from the collection of Ponnacchana Madhu in Madikeri on Friday.
Madikeri, KARNATAKA :
She was speaking after inaugurating the exhibition of antique items from the collection of Ponnacchana Madhu at Coffee Krupa building near Raja Seat in Madikeri on Friday. The exhibition a part of Janapada Dasara, was organised by Taluk Janapada Parishat.
“The items that were used by our ancestors had scientific applications. Some utensils in the older days were designed to improve the health of people. Unfortunately, the young generation is forgetting the significance of the livelihood of their ancestors,” she added.
Zilla Janapada Parishat president B G Anantashayana said that the folklore was close to nature. Folklore is a form of knowledge. But, the modernity has been taking us away from this knowledge, he added.
Taluk Janapada Parishat president Anil H T said that Ponnacchana Madhu, the exhibitor, had collected rare items in the last three years.
These items will be on display till October 26. The work by Madhu and Preethu couple is laudable, he added.
Collector and Exhibitor Ponnacchana Madhu said that he purchased old items in the households, after convincing the elders in the houses. Many tourists have been willing to purchase them from me. However, they are not for sale. The collection began with an old lamp contributed by an old lady called Arifa Munavar, a scrap dealer in Madikeri.
Taluk Janapada Parishat Treasurer Ambekal Navin Kushalappa, Parishat Directors Savita Rakesh and Veenakshi were present.
Exquisite collection
The collection showcases traditional weapons, a 120-year-old mud bowl, an ancient lamp from a temple in Tamilnadu with 84 diyas, puja items, African dolls, bronze items, utensils, coffee grinding machines and so on.
The agricultural equipment are an added attraction.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State / by DHNS, Madikeri / October 17th, 2020
KMS Hakkim Biryani also offered biryani for Rs 1 to frontline warriors who are battling the coronavirus pandemic.
Tiruchities throng in large as hotel chain offers biryani for 10 paisa | EPS
Tiruchy :
To celebrate the World Biryani Day in a unique manner, a popular Biryani chain in Tiruchy sold delicious biryani for a mere amount of 10 paise on Sunday. The restaurant chain also offered biryani for Rs 1 to frontline warriors who are battling the coronavirus pandemic .
Contrary to the regular Sunday morning look, the Shastri road in Tiruchy was bustling with activity and excitement after KMS Hakkim Biryani centre sold Biryani to the public for 10 paise. With the outlet advertising that the offer is valid only for the first 100 customers, several people beelined in front of the restaurant holding demonetised 10 paisa coins in their hands.
Speaking to TNIE, KMS Mohideen, owner of the KMS Hakkim Biryani Chain said, “We wanted to appreciate the frontline workers for braving their lives and decided to offer biryani at a cost of Rs 1 on the World Biryani Day. However, we did not want the other customers to be left out, so we introduced an idea to sell biryani for the public who in possession of the demonetised 10 paisa coin.”
With the biryani being offered for such an unbelievable price, several people including children and women tried their luck. Incidentally, few customers waiting in the lines expressed that they spent the last couple of days searching their houses in and out so that they could find 10 paisa coins and purchase biryani.
Ravindran, a city resident who had come along with his son in hope of purchasing a packet said, ” My father in a conversation with my son had taught him about the currency values in the olden days and gave him a few 10 paisa coins as memorabilia. After we saw the advertisement on social media, our entire family started searching the house thoroughly to find the demonetised coin.”
The biryani centre today through its two outlets served a total of 210 people- 100 customers through the 10 paisa offer and 110 COVID warriors. The customers were served with Chicken biryani along with raita and dalcha in neatly packed containers. Although they offered token to frontline workers on Saturday itself by verifying their ID cards, the tokens for 10 paisa offer were issued only on Sunday.
“A total of 110 frontline workers- 45 from the police department, 35 from the Corporation department, 20 from the health department and 10 sanitation workers were served with delicious biryani. Although the parcel to the regular customers was limited to the Biryani and the raita, we had added Chicken 65 and Sweet Kesari for the frontline workers parcels to appreciate their efforts and make them feel special,” said, a manager of the hotel chain.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Jayakumar Madala / Express News Service / October 11th, 2020
The life and times of Delhi’s leading poets of the Mughal era and their enrichment of a syncretic language
Beloved Delhi: A Mughal City and Her Greatest Poets
Beloved Delhi: A Mughal City and Her Greatest Poets Saif Mahmood Speaking Tiger 367 pages Rs 599
Shaikh Mohammad Ibrahim Zauq, the poetry ustaad of the last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah ‘Zafar’ saw, in his lifetime, the Mughal Empire brought to its knees (though not formally ended — Zauq, perhaps mercifully, died three years before the ‘Ghadar’ of 1857, the uprising that was to so impact the fabric of Delhi’s social, cultural and literary life). But an impoverished Mughal court and an equally penurious north Indian aristocracy meant that many of Zauq’s contemporaries drifted south to Hyderabad, where there was still patronage to be sought and stipends to be earned. Zauq, however, when asked why he did not migrate to the Deccan, had famously remarked, “In dinon garche Dakan mein hai bohot qadr-e-sukhan/ Kaun jaaye Zauq par Dilli ki galiyaan chhor kar?” As Saif Mahmood translates this in his book Beloved Delhi: “Although poetry is greatly valued in the Deccan these days, Zauq, who would trade that for the lanes of Delhi?”
It is this — the connection between Delhi and her Urdu poets, an almost umbilical cord that binds the city to her greatest bards — that forms an important theme in Mahmood’s book. Beloved Delhi has, as its subtitle, A Mughal City and Her Greatest Poets, and those words describe the book perfectly: it is about the Mughal city of Delhi — not the city before or after the Mughals (though there is a fleeting mention of those as well), and about its greatest poets of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Mahmood examines the life and work of eight of Delhi’s greatest Urdu poets, against the backdrop of the city. Mirza Mohammad Rafi Sauda, Khwaja Mir Dard, Mir Taqi Mir, Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib, Momin Khan Momin, Bahadur Shah Zafar, Shaikh Mohammad Ibrahim Zauq and Nawab Mirza Khan Daagh Dehlvi are the eight poets who form the subject of Mahmood’s book. For each poet, Mahmood begins with a biography (often preceded by a description of the current state of the poet’s grave or former home). The biography is followed by an insight into the most relevant aspects of the poet’s work — Sauda’s satire, Zauq’s use of everyday language, Momin’s sensuality, Ghalib’s often cryptic verses, and so on. Finally, there are selected verses (with translations) by each poet.
There are several reasons to recommend Beloved Delhi. Firstly, it’s a well-written, readable book that manages to strike a balance between being informative on the one hand and unintimidating, entertaining, even witty on the other. Mahmood handles with commendable skill a subject that is often perceived as unapproachable by those not familiar with the Urdu script, or who are daunted by the more Persianised form of the language. But it’s also a subject that is regaining popularity and Mahmood’s translations, his occasional helpful notes, and the very fact that he takes care to bring in popular connections — Hindi film music’s use of couplets and ghazals from classical poets, for example, or ghazals rendered by popular singers — helps make this poetry more relatable.
Also playing a major role in making the poetry easier to relate to is Mahmood’s approach to the lives of the men who wrote that poetry. He uses various sources — autobiographies, reminiscences of contemporaries, memoirs, correspondence, even the poetry they penned— to bring alive the men behind the verses. Sauda, so acerbic that his satire repeatedly got him into trouble. Mir, the mad egoist, who willingly wrote poetry in exchange for groceries. Momin, a brilliant hakim as well as a great poet. Ghalib, so addicted to gambling that it brought him into repeated conflict with the law (which, Mahmood, himself a lawyer, points out as being reflected in the many legal and judicial terms — muddai, talab, hukm, faujdaari, giraftaari, etc — that Ghalib uses in his poetry). Mahmood even busts some myths, such as the authorship of popular works attributed to poets like Zafar and Ghalib.
And there is Delhi. The Delhi of mushairas. A city where fakirs and courtesans could be heard singing Ghalib’s ghazals, where a language born out of a syncretic confluence of cultures and traditions was nurtured even through the turbulence and horror of 1857 and its aftermath. As much as he brings alive the eight poets he focusses on, Mahmood brings alive the Delhi that was so beloved to them.
Madhulika Liddle is a Delhi-based writer
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Lifestyle> Books / by Madhulika Liddle / May 18th, 2019
