Shah Rashid Ahmed Khadri, a 67-year-old Bidri craftsperson from Bidar, is among the Padmashri Award winners this year.
He gained instant popularity when he sat working with his tools on the Karnataka Tableau at the Republic Day parade in 2011.
He has spent nearly five decades in the art that he learnt from his father Shah Mustafa Khadri, a master craftsman who was honoured by the Nizam of Hyderabad.
The Khadris were a family of limited means and Rashid could study only up to PU. His father, however, did not want him to be a Bidri craftsman as he felt they did not earn enough. He enrolled Rashid into English typewriting course. However, he began assisting his father who began losing eyesight due to old age.
He is a winner of Shilpa Guru Award, Rajyotsava Award and national award for handicrafts. He is a regular invitee to the Suraj Kund Mela, Dilli Haat and other exhibitions in India.
He has also served as a procurer for the Cauvery handicrafts museum in Bengaluru and a master trainee for various various craftsman training programmes of the Central and State governments.
His creations have been exhibited in the U.S., Europe, West Asia and Singapore.
He said that he had never expected this honour. “I miss my father today. I am sure he would have been happier than I am,” he said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> India> Karnataka / by The Hindu Bureau / January 25th, 2023
Phones have not stopped ringing at Tahir Ahmed Parray’s home in North Kashmir Hajin after his daughter Arbeen Tahir completed handwriting Holy Quran.
It took Arbeen six months to write the Quran using her calligraphic pen. With no formal training, she learnt calligraphy by watching YouTube videos before she tried her hand at writing the Quran.
“It was my childhood dream to write the holy Quran. I had no experience or training in calligraphy. I started watching videos and trying scribbling on paper before I learnt the art. I started writing the holy Quran in June and completed it in November. I was regularly showing manuscripts to my cousin for any correction,” she said.
Coming from a religious family, Arbeen’s father is a businessman dealing with fruits. She has a younger brother who studies in Class 10. Arbeen is living in a big joint family with all her uncles and cousins under one roof.
Arbeen received religious education from her childhood. Well versed in different languages, she developed an interest in reading theology and religious scriptures.
“I have written the manuscript on 900 pages. Now I plan to preserve this copy for posterity. I plan to bind it and keep it in my study. It is the prized possession,” she said.
Arbeen has become a role model for her clan and society. A student of class XII, she is now preparing for NEET and wants to become a doctor to serve humanity.
“I am working hard to crack NEET. My cousin is a doctor and she is my inspiration. I too want to become a doctor to serve mankind. I am preparing hard to achieve my goal,” she said.
The 18-year-old is also working on her debut book. “I am writing a book. `Tragedy of Innocence’ will soon hit the stands,” she said.
Arbeen is not the first student who has handwritten the Quran in Kashmir. Last year, Adil Nabi Mir of Srinagar completed writing the Holy Book in 58 days. Mir said he wrote the Quran in his handwriting purely for the ‘sake of Allah’ and to inspire the youth to follow Islamic teachings.
Coming from a humble background, Mir’s father is a mason. Mir said he received a lot of encouragement from his father and other family members.
He started writing on January 27, 2021, and it took him 58 days to complete the work. He used to write in his free time and spend 6-7 hours doing this. His fingers would ache a lot, but he persisted. Mir would rarely move out of the house barring visits to the mosque so that he could finish his task.
source: http://www.indiatomorrow.net / India Tomorrow / Home> Religion / by Ishfaq-ul-Hassan (headline edited) / December 13th, 2022
Mohammad Hafeez, veteran veterinarian and retired professor at Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University receiving ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ from Vice-Chancellors S.C. Parija (Sri Balaji Vijayepeeth, Pondicherry) and P.K. Roul (Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology) at the National Congress of Veterinary Parasitology in Bhubaneshwar on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University (SVVU) former Vice-Chancellor in-charge and a retired professor of veterinary parasitology Mohammad Hafeez received the ‘Stephen K. Wikel IAAVP Lifetime Achievement Award’ at the 3 rd National Congress of Veterinary Parasitology held at Bhubaneshwar on Tuesday.
He received the award from Vice-Chancellors S.C. Parija (Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth, Pondicherry) and P.K. Roul (Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology) at the event organised by Indian Association for Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology (IAAVP). The award was presented in recognition of his path-breaking research undertaken in the field of parasitology.
Prof. Hafeez is currently a research advisory member of ICAR’s National Research Centre on Equines (Hissar, Haryana) and Maulana Azad Education Foundation’s inspecting authority.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> India> Andhra Pradesh / by A.D. Rangarajan / December 07th, 2022
With petrol prices increasing, Asad Abdullah conceptualised the idea of developing an electric cycle in which six people can be accommodated.
Innovation on a dozen wheels by ITI-trained diploma engineer in electricals, Asad Abdullah. (Photo | EPS)
Innovation on a dozen wheels
All that innovation needs is a brilliant mind and passion coupled with the patience to apply it. Asad Abdullah, 22, of Azamgarh proved it by developing a 6-seater electric cycle. Asad’s innovation got recognised by none other than Anand Mahindra, chairman of Mahindra Group, who tweeted a small video of the cycle and made the innovation so viral that the video crossed 1 million views since December 1.
Mahindra tagged the chief design officer of the auto sector of his company asking if this device could find global application. With petrol prices increasing, Abdullah conceptualised the idea of developing an electric cycle in which six people can be accommodated.
He used scrap material and the motor of an old battery-operated. two-wheeler to develop the cycle in a month’s time at a cost of Rs ₹10,000-12,000. “I want to make it commercial and sell it to others at an affordable price,” says Asad Abdullah, an ITI-trained diploma engineer in electricals.
Lucknow touches zero covid mark
After a long span of 32 months, the city of Nawabs touched zero Covid figure mark as the last patient recovered from the ailment and no new case was reported, claim health authorities. The last patient who recovered and was discharged on Tuesday had tested positive last week. “This zero is a precious figure and we are making all efforts to sustain the status in Covid,” said Dr Manoj Agrawal, Lucknow CMO.
Lucknow has never had a status of zero Covid active cases since the 2020 pandemic. The first case in the state capital was reported in the third week of March 2020. Lucknow’s first Covid-19 patient was a doctor who returned from Canada. The second case reported was also that of a doctor and the third one was of a Bollywood singer Kanika Kapoor, who turned out to be a mass spreader after returning from the UK.
10 UP heritage sites up for adoption
UP Archaeological directorate has shortlisted 10 heritage sites up for adoption under the ‘Adopt Heritage Scheme.’ These sites include the Alambagh building of Lucknow, Potrakund in Mathura, Kalpa Devi and Astik Baba temples in Sitapur, Caves of Devgarh of Lalitpur, Raj Mandir Guptar Ghat in Ayodhya, Lakshmi temple in Jhansi, Fort of Tahrauli in Jhansi, Fort of Balabehat in Lalitpur, Digragarhi in Jhansi and Shiv temple of Bithoor in Kanpur.
Those interested in adopting the heritage site would be known as Smarak Mitra who would sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the department and work towards the conservation of the site. Smarak Mitras will also be responsible for arranging logistics for the tourists at the site.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Nation / December 07th, 2022
Wanaromah Essential and Perfumes at RK Salai in Chennai has been producing customised perfumes since 1933.
Mohamed Sadik, 56, the proprietor of Wanaromah Essential and Perfumes (Express)
“You can figure out people with the kind of perfume they use,” says Mohamed Sadik, 56, the proprietor of Wanaromah Essential and Perfumes at RK Salai in Chennai, which has been producing customised perfumes since 1933.
“My father Mohamed Hanifa started Wanaromah when he was 18. He was a widely-travelled man interested in aromatic perfumes and so he started this brand. He aimed to make a product here and sell them overseas. He made his first product in his village at Vadakarai, in Thanjavur district. We are a family of five, I am the youngest of five brothers. After completing my graduation, I took over the business here. My brothers are taking care of it overseas. I am the second generation in my family to take care of the business and now my son is also involved and I am helping him in every possible way,” Mohamed says.
Just like there is a difference between wearing a readymade shirt and wearing one stitched by a tailor as per your desire, there is a difference between standard and customised perfumes, according to him. (Express)
Mohamed says people usually associate perfumes with foreign brands and even in the local market, they try to buy those. He terms it as an “infatuation” towards foreign products.
Apart from perfumes, Wanaromah also sells incense sticks and handmade body bars. (Express)
“We can make a better product than any foreign brand. In perfumes, there are two types, one is natural and the other is synthetic. The former has got its natural odour, we cannot bring a fancy fragrance on that. Earlier, when we started here, we were making perfumes for other industries and later we set up our shop here. We started creating fragrances and we work for other companies as well.
Wanaromah’s speciality is that it is tailor-made for each individual. Perfume plays a major role based on your region, and what kind of work you do among other factors. Whenever customers visit our shop, we ask them a few questions and suggest them a perfume as per their lifestyle,” says Mohamed.
“Whatever you eat, you get that in your body odour. Suppose you work outdoors, naturally, you are going to be in a polluted atmosphere and your body odour would not be pleasant so we blend a perfume that would last longer and provide a sense of calmness amid your hectic schedule,” he says.
Mohamed says all the perfumes they blend are to be used on apparels and not directly on the skin. “If you are in a cold region, the perfume lasts longer and in hot places like Chennai, the perfume has to be a bit stronger. So if someone buys something overseas and uses it here, they are not going to get the proper result because the climatic conditions differ.”
Mohamed says people ask their friends and family abroad to bring two things compulsorily; one is chocolate and the other is perfume. (Express)
The proprietor notes that perfumes are made up of more than 25 fragrance families. After analysing various factors of several regions, they decided to blend their perfumes with five fragrance families.
These are ‘oriental/woody’, which is a blend of wood, amber, tobacco and animalic, and is widely used in India as well as West Asian countries. The ‘fresh/aqua’ fragrance has clean bright scents with citric and aquatic notes while ‘floral’ is for spring and evenings. Then there is ‘sweet/fruit’ which is a blend of wild berries and exotic fruit fragrances. Wanaromah’s ‘spicy’ fragrance is made up of pepper, fresh ginger and cinnamon.
“Each fragrance has got its properties. If you are a sports personality, you can use a citrus note, you can use them when you are on a holiday as well. If you are going for a function, you can use oriental notes. Floral and sweet notes are preferred by women,” he says.
Mohamed adds preferences differ by gender and age. “Teenagers prefer berry notes…. If you are in an office, your perfume should be subtle and nice, so we blend it accordingly… For festivals we should be using a different note,” he says.Don’t miss
Mohamed notes that perfume is not just another ordinary product but it is linked intrinsically to our life. “You can think of your loved ones even in their absence by using a perfume which they had used or a perfume which you used that was liked by them. Perfume plays a major role in our life,” he says.
Mentioning an incident that happened while he was travelling abroad, Mohammad says in an area where a thick labour population was located, he noticed the smell of a jasmine fragrant perfume. While he enquired, the labourers told him that these were perfumes used by their wives and since they would be able to go back to their hometowns only after the end of their contract period and they used that fragrance to remember their wives.
Mohamed, curiosly, mentions that several people approach him to suggest a perfume that would attract the opposite gender.
“Perfume plays a major role in intimacy. It is like a time machine which helps you to remember beautiful moments that happened in your life. I had several requests from customers to blend a perfume similar to the one their father or mother had used so that they can feel them in their home even in their absence,” he adds.
Mohamed says people ask their friends and family abroad to bring two things compulsorily; one is chocolate and the other is perfume. Wanaromah is proud that it is making people take their favourite perfume abroad.
“A product made in India, in Tamil Nadu, is going global and I can’t be more proud than that. ‘Made in Tamil Nadu for the world’ was my father’s motto and we are going to realise it,” he says.
Mohamed also stresses the importance of using more Indian products that will boost the economy. He claims people nowadays are attracted more towards foreign brands without realising that Indians were the pioneers in producing aromatic fragrances. He says their attempt to spread more awareness about local products is an act of reviving history.
At Wanaromah, the price of the perfumes ranges from Rs 2,000 for 130 millilitres up to lakhs of rupees. When asked if they have come across requests to lower their price, Mohamed says there is no space for bargaining in their store as it spoils the time of both parties. Also, he doesn’t believe in franchising his business.
“Quality is everything to me. The business is very personally involved with the family members, and hence even in our stores in Indonesia and Singapore, my cousins are taking care of them. Secondly, we can make a perfume with all these ingredients and sell them at a cheaper price but we know when we make that we are cheating our customers, and I will never do that.
We handpick the best quality raw materials and prepare the pure blend. We don’t degrade our concentration level. When the customers use them and tell us that they have never experienced this kind of a product, it sort of gives us satisfaction which cannot be achieved by anything. So I tell my customers that I offer you the best service and the product price range will be accordingly,” he says.
Apart from perfumes, Wanaromah also sells incense sticks and handmade body bars.
Mohamed says he is thinking about expanding the business further but it would take some time.
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai> Know Your City / by Janardhan Koushik / Chennai – November 19th, 2022
An unintended but welcome consequence of the lockdown to contain the coronavirus has been improved air quality stated the presentation of ALTAIR, a team of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) students led by MBBS first-year student, Ayesha Samdani, which won the ‘The Judges Choice Award’ in the International NASA Space App Challenge-2020 for presenting a solution in response to the NASA’s Challenge ‘A One Health Approach’.
Ayesha and team members, Mohd Zakir Husain (MBBS), Aman Ahmad Khan (MBBS), Faisal Jamil (B.Tech) and Abdullah Samdani (BA LLB) gave an analysis on air quality of the pre and post lockdown periods in the Indo Gangetic region of Northern India. Their study gave details about how an improvement in the air quality benefited the health of people.
For the presentation, the ALTAIR members also coded an Air Quality Index (AQI) Calculator to measure AQI of a certain region, which is helpful in giving health and cautionary statements and providing guidance to common people on pollution related health issues.
Congratulating the students on the achievement, Prof Shahid Ali Siddiqui, Principal, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (JNMC) of the university and Prof Shakeel Samdani, Dean, Faculty of Law said that the work of these AMU students is formative as it provides a clear comparison of average concentration levels during the months before the lockdown and the time period during the lockdown restrictions, showing a reduction in SO2 level.
The event was judged by ISRO and NASA scientists including Tazeen Siddiqui of NASA.
source: http://www.milligazette.com / The Milli Gazette / Home> News> Community News / by The Milli Gazette Online / October 06th, 2020
Prof Nafees Ahmad Khan, Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, has been declared as the Elected Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI).
The National Academy of Sciences, recognises researchers who excel in the field of their research as Fellow of the Academy, which is considered as the most coveted accomplishment in academics.
Prof Khan has worked on the mechanisms of hormonal and nutritional regulation of plant development with emphasis on plant resilience against stressful environments using nutriomics and metabolomics.
He has published many research papers in crucial high Impact Factors journals and collaborated internationally for research. He has published about 200 research papers（H-index 67; i–10 index 175）and was noted as one of the most-cited Indian researchers in the area of Plant Science by Elsevier every year from 2019 to 2022.
He has edited 19 books published by Elsevier, Springer-Nature, Frontiers, NOVA, Alpha Science and others. Supervised research projects focused on signalling molecules-nutriomics and abiotic stress tolerance mechanisms, and served as Editor/Guest Editor of the leading plant science journals, published by Elsevier, Frontiers, Springer-Nature MDPI.
Prof Khan is also fellow of The Linnean Society, Indian Botanical Society, Indian Society for Plant Physiology.
source: http://www.amu.ac.in / Aligarh Muslim University / Home / by Public Relations Office / November 04th, 2022
20-year-old Roshna created the longest cartoon strip measuring 430m, titled ‘The Billion Dollar Journey’ honouring businessman MA Yusuff Ali
Father and daughter duo M Dileef and Roshna M. Photo: Nasreen Abdulla
The ongoing Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) houses two record-breaking installations — tucked away in Hall 7, the world’s largest screwdriver is displayed and right next to it is the world’s longest cartoon strip depicting the inspirational story of UAE-based businessman MA Yusuff Ali.
Both of these Guinness world record-holding creations have been made by Indian expat father-daughter duo M Dileef and Roshna M. “It feels great to be exhibiting here,” said 20-year-old Roshna, who broke her own record for the longest cartoon strip established in 2021 with her latest creation. Measuring 430m, the new strip titled ‘The Billion Dollar Journey’ is stretched across two wheels and can be read by rotating the hand.
On Sunday, the illustrious Indian businessman from Kerala, MA Yusuff Ali, visited the stall and commended Roshan’s efforts.
Roshna’s father, M Dileef, a seasoned record-setter, said this is his third Guinness World Record. “Due to space constraints, I could only put the head of the screwdriver on display,” he said. Completed in March, the tool measures a whooping 6.6m in length. The artist was recently granted a Golden Visa in the UAE.
The longest cartoon strip
The cartoon strip charts the journey of businessman MA Yusuff Ali, from his childhood in a village in Kerala to his meteoric rise as one of the most influential businessmen in the world.
“I have always looked up to him,” she said. “I want to be an entrepreneur; he is my role model, so I wanted to make something to honour him.”
It was in 2021 that Roshna set her first world record with a cartoon strip measuring 404 metres in collaboration with Global Village. This year, she has broken that record. According to the youngster, who recently graduated with a bachelor’s in fine arts, making this strip took her 8 months, five months of which was just for research.
“I had a team of six classmates,” she said. “We had decided that we wanted to do something to make our mark, and this is the idea we came up with. They helped me in the entire research process and aided me when drawing the cartoon strip as well.”
The graduate now dreams of pursuing a master’s degree in Europe and hopes to raise funds for her education with her artwork.
Largest screwdriver
The masterpiece by Dileef was first displayed at World Art Dubai in March of this year. “I wanted to pay tribute to the working-class population in the city,” he said. “No other country has honoured and valued the contribution of the working class like the UAE has. So many lives were transformed because of Dubai. This piece was a homage to that.”
Made out of mahagony wood and mild steel, the screwdriver was constructed in Dubai. The handle, which has a diameter of 70cm, also has storage space for knickknacks.
Dileef has earlier set two world records- one for curating the world’s longest Quran and another for the largest badminton racket.
www.dileefartgallery.com
source: http://www.khaleejtimes.com / Khaleej Times / Home> UAE / by Nasreen Abdulla / November 06th, 2022
The Indian Nation Science Academy (INSA) has elected Prof. Mohammad Zahid Ashraf, Head, Department of Biotechnology, Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), as a fellow of the academy. His fundamental work on the role of high-altitude hypoxia in the development of cardiovascular and blood clotting disorders has been recognised with the coveted fellowship.
The Indian National Science Academy, one of the most renowned academies in the nation, was founded to promote science in India and utilise scientific knowledge for the benefit of humanity and the nation. As a fellow of the Academy, Prof. Ashraf will work to further the scientific cause of the nation. To his credit, Prof. Ashraf is now elected fellow of all three national science academies – the Indian National Science Academy, the Indian Academy of Sciences, and the National Academy of Sciences.
JMI Vice-Chancellor Prof Najma Akhtar, who has recently been conferred with Padma Shri Award, congratulated Prof. Ashraf for his outstanding accomplishments. She further mentioned that Prof. Ashraf’s achievements will motivate other faculty members for excelling in research and contribute to the nation’s progress.
Prof. Ashraf is best known for his unique work on high altitude induced blood clotting disorders. His research has had a substantial impact on both fundamental and applied aspects of cardiovascular biology and human diseases. He is a pioneer in the field of highaltitude thrombosis and has done seminal work in unravelling the enigma of blood clotting in response to hypoxia. His remarkable efforts have enriched our understanding of the prevalence, mechanism, genetics, diagnostics, and development of therapeutics for hypoxia- induced thromboembolic disorders.
Prof. Ashraf’s contribution to the research community is well acknowledged. He is the recipient of the 2020 Visitor’s Award by Hon’ble President of India for biological sciences, The Ramachandran National Bioscience Award by DBT and the Basanti Devi Amir Chand Award of ICMR, among several other accolades.
Prof. Ashraf also holds membership of the prestigious Guha Research Conference and various scientific committees.
source: http://www.jmi.ac.in / Jamia Millia Islamia / Home / by Press Relations Officer, JMI (headline edited) / October 19th, 2022
Prof Kamal is also ranked 2nd in India in the subject of Medicinal and Biomolecular Chemistry.
New Delhi:
Professor Ahmed Kamal, Jamia Hamdard Pro-Vice Chancellor has been named among top 2 per cent cientists in the world by Stanford University.
Prof Ahmed Kamal has also been ranked among top 0.10 per cent scientists in India with 537 papers in his name and with a worldwide subject rank of 83 among scientists.
Prof Kamal is also ranked 2nd in India in the subject of Medicinal and Biomolecular Chemistry.
Prof Ahmed Kamal has been named among top scientists globally in the subject-wise analysis conducted by a team of scientists at Stanford University USA which was led by Dr. John PA Ioannidis.
The analyses used citations from Scopus with data assessing scientists for career-long citation impact up until the end of 2019 and for citation impact during the single calendar year.
Prof Ahmed Kamal has filed more than 368 patents. Five of his US patents that have been licensed to a pharmaceutical company and are under the process of clinical development.
Prof Kamal’s research interests mainly focus on the design and synthesis of gene-targeting compounds as new anti-cancer agents and their targeted delivery. He has designed and developed a large number of target based new molecules as potential cytotoxic agents for the treatment of various cancers mostly inspired from natural products. New chemical entities for anti-tubercular and anti-microbial activities are also his research avenues.
Prof Kamal is also proficient in the development of new efficient synthetic methodologies including solid phase, resin bound reagents and chemo-enzymatic strategies that are useful in both basic and applied pharmaceutical chemistry. He has won several honours and awards for his research work.
Prof Kamal has over 540 publications, more than 10000 citations, 30 review papers and 10 book chapters in the areas of medicinal chemistry and biocatalysis.
source: http://www.ummid.com / Ummid.com / Home> Science & Technology / by Ummid.con News Network / November 03rd, 2020
