Category Archives: Karnataka (under research project)

Entrepreneur Mohammad Mansoor honoured for contribution to sports & international relations

BAHRAIN :

Leading Bahrain-based Indian entrepreneur, Founder and Chairman of the Saara Group, Mohammad Mansoor was honoured for his enormous contribution to sports and international relations by the one of the oldest cultural organisations in Bahrain, the – Kerala Catholics Association. 

Mansoor was presented the award as presented the award by Minister of Labor and Social Development H E Jameel Bin Mohammed Ali Humaidan at a glittering gala ceremony at the Crowne Plaza hotel, in the presence of Ministers, Ambassadors, VIPs, distinguished guests and community leaders including India’s Ambassador to Bahrain, HE Piyush Srivastava, Bishop Rt. Rev. Dr. Abraham Mar Julios, Peravur MLA Adv. Sunny Joseph.

Mr Mansoor, a serial entrepreneur and venture capitalist, is the Founder & CEO of Saara Group, which has a portfolio of operations across the domains of Information Technology, Energy, Oil & Gas, Digital Media, Sports Infrastructure, Seed Capital Investments, and Social Initiatives.

The operations of the group span across the Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC), United Kingdom, United States of America, ASEAN countries and India.

As an active supporter of an array of social and cultural initiatives to empower community relations and strengthen the social fabric, he has played and played a crucial role in supporting the sports initiatives in the Kingdom of Bahrain under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad AI Khalifa. 

As a cricket enthusiast, he was the brains behind launching the first-ever franchise-based T20 Cricket Premier League which was held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad AI Khalifa in 2018. In 2021, he was appointed as the advisor to the newly revamped Bahrain Cricket Federation and was instrumental behind giving the sport a much-needed boost in Bahrain. So much so, that the women’s team has already inked its name in the record books by scoring the highest score in an T20 International. 

An active supporter of Bahrain’s flagship sports media property, BRAVE Combat Federation across multiple venues around the world. He spearheaded the KHK Heroes Foundation initiative assisting the economically vulnerable communities and expatriates throughout the Kingdom of Bahrain during the Coronavirus pandemic part from being a director of KHK Venture Holding. 

In 2021, he was appointed to the prestigious World Youth Group as director of the Council. The WYG has been designed by Collegiate Congress, in association with United Nations Member States, United Nations Agencies, youth and student groups; All-African Students Union (AASU), European Students Union (ESU), Young Republicans National Federation (YRNF), Young Democrats of America (YDA), higher education institutions, the private sector, and individuals from around the world.

Of the most notable among the awards that he has been conferred with is the Hind Ratan Award.

source: http://www.english.varthabharati.in / Vartha Bharati / Home> Gulf / by Vartha Bharati / June 14th, 2022

2nd PU toppers speak: Ilham wants to pursue clinical psychology

Mangaluru, KARNATAKA :

Anisha Mallya wants to take up B.Com. Both Ilham and Anisha did their 2nd PUC from St. Aloysius College, Mangaluru

Anisha Mallya wants to take up B.Com. Both Ilham and Anisha did their 2nd PUC from St. Aloysius College, Mangaluru

Ilham, student of St. Aloysius PU college in Mangaluru, who scored 597 in science stream. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Ilham, the 2nd year Pre University student from St. Aloysius PU College in Mangaluru, who stood second in the science stream by securing 597 marks, wants to pursue a career in clinical psychology.

“Since my Class 10 days, I developed a fascination towards the working of the brain. I want to pursue a career in clinical psychology,” said a beaming Ms. Ilham, the younger daughter of Mohammed Rafeeq, a manager in a retail chain outlet, and Moizatul Kubra, a home-maker.

She will be pursuing the course at Yenepoya Deemed to be University, Ms. Ilham said.

Ms. Ilham said since she was completely prepared for the 2nd PU examination, she did not face any nerves writing a public examination after a gap of nearly two years. “I had good support from our teachers. I did well in the pre-boards examination too,” she said. Ms. Ilham did her Class 10 at the Yenepoya School.

Anisha Mallya, student of St .Aloysius PU college Mangaluru, who scored 595 in commerce stream. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Self preparation

Anisha Mallya, from the same college, who came second in the commerce stream by securing 595 marks, wants to do a bachelors degree in commerce.

Anisha Mallya said she prepared for the examination herself and did not go for tuition classes. “Much to my delight, the papers were easy,” Ms. Mallya said ruling out any anxiety in facing the examination. “I am seeking admission to the B.Com course at St. Aloysius College,” she said.

Ms. Mallya is the daughter of businessman Panduranga Mallya and home-maker Shantala Mallya.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Mangaluru / by Raghava M / Mangaluru , June 18th, 2022

Arshiya Kauser bags eight gold medals at Gulbarga University convocation

Kalaburagi, KARNATAKA :

A total of 53 girls bagged gold medals out of a total of 74 students.

Arshiya Kauser bags eight gold medals at Gulbarga University convocation

Gulbarga:

Gulbarga University held its annual convocation on Wednesday where the girl students of the university outperformed the boys by bagging a maximum number of gold medals.

Poornima, a student of MA Kannada won 12 gold medals. She credited her family members and teachers for her excellent performance.

Arshiya Kauser, a student of MBA in finance and human resource management bagged 8 gold medals. In Spite of not belonging to an educated family, Arshiya excelled in her studies due to her sheer dedication and hard work.  Arshiya’s father runs a garage and has gone to Saudi Arabia for 8 years.

A total of 53 girls bagged gold medals out of a total of 74 students.

The Vice-Chancellor of Gulbarga University Prof Dayanandaga Saran welcomed guests and participants in the convocation.

source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> News> India / by Mohammed Hussain Ahmed / April 29th, 2022

Daily wager’s son plucks 10 gold medals in MA Kannada

KARNATAKA :

Ranganath and other medal winners K V Amrutha, Bibi Ruquyyah and N G Pooja, pose for shutterbugs on the sidelines of the convocation

A son of a daily-wager couple from Channagiri taluk in Davangere district hogged the limelight with 10 gold medals in MA Kannada at the 30th convocation of Kuvempu University at Jnana Sahyadri campus at Shankarghatta on Wednesday. 

Ranganath, the son of Hunya and Gangibai Naik from Maravanji Tanda, had faced a lot of hardships in his life due to financial constraints, but that didn’t deter him from pursuing his post-graduation in Kannada literature and excelling at that. Ranganath did M.A in Kannada in 2019. 

Speaking to DH, Ranganath credited his success to his love for the subject, hard work and professors Shivananda Kelaginamani, Rajiv Naik and Ravi Naik. He is pursuing research at Kuvempu University and wants to take up the teaching profession.

Golden girls

M R Sanchita of Mudigere in Chikkamagaluru district has bagged 5 gold medals in MSc in Biotechnology.

A daughter of coffee planter M B Ramesh and Radha, Sanchita is doing her internship at Biocon Limited Company. She aims to do research in pharmacy in the future. 

Bibi Ruqayyah, the daughter of Mohamad Firoz and Zakaria Banu, bagged 5 gold medals in BCom.

As many as 23,732 students were given degree certificates in the event. A total of 119 golden medals were presented to 67 students. 

The printed convocation address of Central University of Odisha Chancellor P V Krishna Bhat was read on the occasion.

source: http//www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State / by Nrupathunga SK / DHNS, Davangere / July 29th, 2020

Mangaluru: WeCare Home Nursing and Security Solutions wins ‘Best HealthCare Consultant’ award

Mangaluru, KARNATAKA :

Mangaluru : 

Partners Surakat Ahmed and Vijesh Kumar received the award. The award was presented by Sowmya Reddy, MLA of Karnataka and also the general secretary of All India Mahila Congress of Karnataka.

WeCare Home Nursing and Security Solutions, the face of quality Home Health Care and Security in Mangaluru and Dakshina Kannada, has been bestowed with ‘Best HealthCare Consultant’ in the healthcare sector at KTCC Karnataka Business Awards, the ceremony was held at Manpho Convention Centre in Bengaluru on May 29.

Karnataka Business Awards is the most cognized listing of Karnataka’s companies that have played a significant role in the success of the state and have unambiguously unveiled themselves as the next set of game changers in their respective categories.

The nominations were judged by a jury of independent senior professionals and experts. The winners of the award are those that have worked hard to win consumers’ trust.

Partners Surakat Ahmed and Vijesh Kumar received the award. The award was presented by Sowmya Reddy, MLA of Karnataka and also the general secretary of All India Mahila Congress of Karnataka.

Elated on receiving the award, Surakat Ahmed said, “In any service industry, customer is the king, and services and products that we provide are designed according to what the clients and patients require. We are delighted and honoured to receive such an award which recognizes the hard work we have put in to build this company in the past 3 years.

“It gives us immense pleasure to know that people of our region, Dakshina Kannada have trusted us and we have been able to fulfill their faith in us,” he said.

Vijesh Kumar said, “It is the result of dedicated service and collective hard work of the entire team over the years which enabled WeCare Home Nursing and Security Solutions to grab this award.”

WeCare Home Nursing and Security Solutions is a Mangaluru based ISO 9001:2015 certified company with over 250 employees currently under them having it’s office at Nandigudda. They have been providing exemplary service to the region in providing home nurses/ caregivers who are well experienced and have received formal training in patient home care skills and home management. They are qualified to perform duties and services that help maintain personal comfort in a clean and safe environment.

WeCare is also a highly reliable security service company providing thoroughly trained security guards to building contractors, apartments, business centres, industries, hotels, showrooms, banks and educational institutions.

www.wecare24.co

source: http://www.daijiworld.com / Daijiworld / Home> Top Stories / by Media Release / June 10th, 2022

Mangaluru: KMC Hospital confers E K Hussain with Dr TMA Pai Arogya Sevak Award

Mangaluru, KARNATAKA :

 Kasturba Medical College, Attavar organized camp organizers’ meet and conferred E K Hussain with Dr TMA Pai Arogya Sevak Award 2022, at the Sanjeevini Hall, KMC Attavar here on Saturday June 11.

Marketing head of KMC Hospital Mangaluru, Rakesh Darshan welcomed the gathering. Camp co-ordinator of KMC Attavar Herbert Pereira briefed on the number of camps organized in Dakshina Kannada and said, “Due to COVID, we were not able to organize more camps in 2020 but from October 2021, we have organized 178 camps in various places where more than 27,474 patients had undergone health check-up and 1,442 patients were given further treatment at the KMC hospital. When we organized camps, we received very good support from many organizations. I would like to thank all the organizations that joined hands with us to make our mission successful.”

Addressing the gathering Dr Deepak Madi said, “Our founder Dr TMA Pai had a dream of eliminating illiteracy, poverty and ill health. He started schools to educate the poor people, banks to eliminate poverty and hospitals to provide treatment. Now, KMC Hospitals in the health sector are in second place in the country.”

Dr Deepak Madi further said, “We cannot go to every village to treat the patients, but some good-hearted people have joined hands with us to reach out to every village in providing treatment to the people. We are also providing the KMC Attavar Loyalty card and the Arogya card to the people. We normally hold camps in the hospitals but holding camps in villages is quite different. It is a godly work and I salute all those who have dedicated their time to helping the people who are deprived of medical facilities. I urge all of you to continue your good work. If you need any help we are always there at your service. This humanitarian work should continue. In the coming days, let all the people make use of the KMC Loyalty Card and Arogya cards.”

E K Hussain was felicitated by Dr Deepak Madi with a shawl, memento, and citation. Medical social worker Asha read out the citation. Prajna Counselling Centre was awarded with ‘Best Camp Organizer – 2022’ for its outstanding work in the field of rural Helth. KMC Hospital also felicitated all the camp organizers and those who had done the highest registrations of Manipal Arogya Card on the occasion.

Dr Manohar Pai, Dr Sumana Kamath, Dr Athmananda Hegde, Dr Rajendra A, Dr Shourjya Banarjee, Dr Basavaprabhu, Dr Smitha D’Sa, and Dr Deepthi D’Souza were present.

Nithesh Shetty delivered the vote of thanks.

source: http://www.daijiworld.com / Daijiworld.com / Home> Karnataka / by Media Release / June 11th, 2022

Train guard’s daughter only Muslim woman in Karnataka to clear UPSC

Hubballi (Dharwad District) KARNATAKA :

Dawadi secured 482nd rank in her second attempt. 

Tahseen Banu Dawadi
Tahseen Banu Dawadi

Bengaluru : 

Monday was a momentous day in the history of the school run by the South Western Railway Women’s Welfare Organisation (SWRWWO) in Hubballi.

It held a mega felicitation function for its only student in its 32-year-old history who cracked the Civil Services Exam in the results announced a week ago. What makes it all the more remarkable is that Tahseen Banu Dawadi, the only Muslim woman to clear the exams out of 26 in the State, is the daughter of a retired goods train guard. Dawadi secured 482nd rank in her second attempt. 

Khadar Basha, who retired from Railways as a chief trains clerk in 2012, told TNIE, “I was very happy when the results were out. I was confident she would clear it. My two sons and two daughters are all good in academics. It was a proud moment for me when the General Manager, SWR and the Divisional Railway Manager, Hubballi invited us to their office and honoured my daughter.” 

Dawadi, 24, who completed her B.Sc in Agriculture from University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad in 2019, set her sights on the civil services exams when she was studying in the final year of her graduation. 

She told The New Indian Express, “My father and mother Hasina Begum supported me and even sent me to Mumbai Hajj House in Mumbai for my coaching, which is conducted by the Ministry of Minority Affairs. I could not clear even the preliminary exams in my first attempt in 2020. But in my next attempt in 2021, I have cleared the prelims, mains and the interview. I was confident I would clear it as I have been good in academics throughout.” She also took coaching from the Residential Coaching Academy of Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi. 

Dawadi says, “It was a surprise for me that I secured 482nd rank out of 680. I had thought I would be in the bottom five. I am also the only Muslim girl from Karnataka to clear the exams,” she said. Sharing her keenness to take up a career in bureaucracy, she said, “I was keen on civil services as it directly gives one a chance to serve the society. I always wanted to be in a government job.”

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by S Lalitha, Express News Service / June 08th, 2022

Shamnad Basheer, My Friend And One of the Country’s Brightest Legal Minds

KERALA / KOLKATA / Bengaluru, KARNATAKA :

Shamnad was not just an expert in intellectual property rights, but a relentless crusader who worked towards ensuring diversity and representation of marginalised communities in legal practice.

Shamnad Basheer. Photo: Devendra Purbiya Productions

The untimely and tragic death of professor Shamnad Basheer was a bolt from the blue for many of us. As I scuttled to get more information on what initially seemed impossible to believe, I realised that apart from the loss of a friend, the country had also lost one of its finest legal minds. Globally renowned for his expertise in the field of intellectual property rights (IPR), Shamnad was found dead in his car near Bababundangiri in Chikkamagaluru of Karnataka.

As news of his death spread and tributes started pouring in all over my social media timeline, there remained no doubt that his sudden demise was a great loss to the legal fraternity and academia across the globe. Shamnad was a relentless crusader, working day in and out to ensure diversity and representation of marginalised communities in the field of law and legal practice. An alumni of the National Law University, Bangalore and Oxford University, Shamnad was a man on a mission as he championed many causes ranging  from internet equality, fairness in IPR, public interest litigation, judicial accountability, to the rights of sexual minorities, visually impaired and physically disabled persons.

For me, Shamnad was more a social justice warrior than a globally-known IPR expert. He was not just the force behind Increasing Diversity by Increasing Access to Legal Education (IDIA), but also Access to Legal Education for Muslims in India (ALEM India).

I first heard of him in 2009, when he wrote a blog about remarks made by then Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju. In open court, Justice Katju equated a young Muslim sporting a beard with a Taliban militant. That year, Justice Katju had rejected an appeal of a Muslim student that he should be permitted to sport a beard in his convent school. Rejecting the plea the judge had remarked that, “We don’t want to have Talibans in the country. Tomorrow a girl student may come and say that she wants to wear a burqa. Can we allow it?”

According to Shamnad, “notwithstanding the merits of the case”, Justice Katju’s comments were “callous and insensitive” and he was “unfit to be an impartial judge”. Back then, Shamnad was the HRD ministry’s professor of intellectual property law at the National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS), Kolkata. In the conclusion of his blog, he wrote:

“The Supreme Court bench may have been right in denying admission to Salim’s SLP. However, in view of Justice Katju’s statements made in open court that equated every bearded Muslim with a Taliban, the possibility of bias against a community cannot be ruled out. And the Chief Justice must not only censure such remarks, but take immediate steps to have this case reheard before another bench. For justice must not only be done, but also be seen to be done!”

Years passed by, and I kept reading his insightful articles and commentaries in various newspapers and websites. He was prolific, writing on a range of issues related to law, policy and public good. In 2015, a common friend (Tarunabh Khaitan) connected us, asking me if I would be interested in helping Shamnad’s team at IDIA to reach out to the Muslim community. Having admired Shamnad’s writings, the opportunity to work with him was like a dream come true. I readily agreed and eventually, we became good friends.

Shamnad Basheer at a panel discussion of intellectual property rights. Photo: Flickr/World Intellectual Property Organisation CC BY NC ND 2.0

Diversifying the legal field

More than anything, he was always on the lookout for ways and means to ensure that IDIA reaches the remotest parts of the country. To contextualise the need of diversity in national law schools, let me quote a study conducted by the students of NLS Bangalore in 2016. According to the study:

“While the students are somewhat evenly divided across sexes, the income, caste and religion statistics are telling of what constitutes ‘merit’ in this country. While 15% of the students reported their family’s annual income to be above Rs 36 lakh per annum, more than 50% reported an annual income of more than Rs. 12 lakh per annum. Eighty two percent were Hindus and the next largest religious group was the wealthy Jain community (5%), which constitute less than 0.5% of India’s population. On the other hand, Muslims, who constitute 14% of India’s population, make up only 0.5% of that of NLS. The NLS also has predominantly upper-caste students at 65%, with about 27% identifying as Brahmins.”

Similarly, another report found:

“In the last 15 years i.e., from 2000 onwards, only one Dalit advocate has been designated senior by the Supreme Court, and only two from the Muslim Community. The Advocates from backward States like Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand or Bihar have not been designated at all. The Advocates from rural background are totally ignored. Even with regard to a progressive State like Karnataka, only one Advocate has been designated after a gap of 25 years. It is relevant to mention that in the last round of designation, out of five advocates designated, four of them belonged to one caste.”

Despite being an extremely busy person, Shamnad believed in and practiced mentoring and coaching young minds, individually and personally. Few years ago, when I visited his flat in Bangalore, he was helping two students who were staying at his house to prepare for the CLAT exam. Both belonged to an unprivileged background, a common thread among the spectrum of students whom IDIA supported. A glance at IDIA scholars, like visually impaired Najrul Islam from Siliguri, West Bengal, who studies at the National Law University, Delhi (NLU) or Meraka Mani from Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh, currently studying at IFIM Law College, Bangalore, Aparna Amnekar from Nagpur, Maharashtra, a student of Government Law College, Mumbai, Sonia Sabu of Ernakulam district in Kerala, studying at NLIU, Bhopal and Vinatoli of Dimapur (Nagaland), studying at NUJS Kolkata shows an incredible initiative founded and run by him, with diversity and representation at its core.

Learning from IDIA’s experiment and under the guidance of Shamnad, ALEM India was started last year. The initiative tries to ensure access for socio-economically disadvantaged Muslims and improve their representation in Indian law schools.

Personally coaching legal professionals

His objective was not just to coach students for national law schools or produce batches of successful lawyers and legal professionals. He wanted to prepare young minds who are competent yet socially committed. It is hardly a surprise that IDIA produced graduates like Yogendra Yadav, better known as Yogi. The son of a manual labourer (working in Alang, Gujarat) and a resident of Pitij village in Chhatra district of Jharkhand, Yogi graduated from the National University for Study and Research in Law (NUSRL), Ranchi in 2017. He is currently a lawyer in the Ranchi high court. He worked as a newspaper hawker in and around his village from a very early age and it is while distributing newspapers that he got to know about IDIA and CLAT.

In the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, he contested as an independent candidate. Explaining his rationale to contest the election, Yogi told Bar & Bench, “IDIA always encouraged me to take up community causes and help as best as I could, They were training me to become a CHAMP and this is all part of that.” I clearly remember Shamnad informing us of Yogi’s inspiring story with pride. “Yogendra Yadav, our IDIA Scholar makes his Political Debut!,” read the email he had sent to some of us.

Shamnad was also keen to highlight IDIA scholars to people working in different walks of life, not just those in the law and judiciary. In 2017, got in touch with me to invite the anti-manual scavenging activist and convener of the Safai Karmachari Andolan, Bezwada Wilson, to deliver the key note address at the IDIA conference on creativity and leadership.

Bezwada Wilson. Photo: PTI

“We share the same set of ideals in terms of empowering the marginalised and building a more inclusive India,” he had written to Bezwada, copying me in the email. Bezwada’s key note, according to Shamnad was “a provocative address”. A year later, he also wrote an article on Bandicoot, a robot to replace manual scavenging. He noted:

“Bandicoot is not just a clever idea; it is a game changer, and dare I say a life saver! Putting some teeth back into India’s constitutional promise of “equality” for Dalits and other marginalized sections who’ve had to clean our crap for years. Only a few days ago, the Delhi high court ruled on a case involving the death of two manual scavengers; making the government pay for its murderous negligence!”

His latest email to me was in July this year, a heart breaker titled: “Deeply Disappointing News: 7 IDIA Scholars Still Without Committed Donors!”. “I am deeply saddened to bring you this disheartening message. Unfortunately, of the 12 IDIA scholars that gained admission to leading law schools this year, we found donor support (covering all expenses) for only 5 of our scholars. Which means 7 of our kids are left behind and it will be a struggle to put them through law school without some promise of a committed donor (or donors),” read his email. Little did I know then that this was going to be his last email to me.

Now that Shamnad is gone and we cherish his memory, our duty is to ensure that we carry forward the work he initiated, in the same spirit that he always professed. And that, I believe, would be our real tribute to him.

source: http://www.thewire.in / The Wire / Home> Law> Rights / by Mahtab Alam / August 11th, 2019

Karkala: Son of taxi driver Mohammed Shaukath Azeem secures 545th rank in UPSC examination

Karkala (Udupi District) , KARNATAKA :

Karkala :

Mohammed Shaukath Azeem, son of taxi driver, resident of Jarigudde near here has secured 545th rank scoring 914 marks in the UPSC examination that was held recently.

Shaukath got his primary education from SVT school of Karkala and completed his high school and degree studies in KMES college. He did the engineering graduation in Electronics and Communication from MITE at Mijar near Moodbidri. Later when he wanted to appear for UPSC, he was selected for UPSC training by the government of Karnataka and he was given stipend during training.

Shaukath started writing the UPSC examination for the first time in 2016. This was his seventh attempt and he came out with flying colours.

The Public Service Commission of 2021 has selected 685 candidates throughout the country and Shaukath is one of the few who are selected from Karnataka. Shaukath comes from a financially poor family. His father Sheikh Abdul drives a taxi for a living, while his mother Maimuna is a housewife.

An elated Mohammed Shaukath Azeem said, “My parents, who stressed on my education even during financial difficulties are my inspiration. I used to prepare everyday for five hours before the examination. Not only studying, but the social knowledge helped me a lot. I will most probably get selected for revenue or chartered accountancy. Selection process will be held within two months.”

source: http://www.daijiworld.com / DaijiWorld.com /(Headline edited) / Home> Top Stories / by Daijiworld Media Network – Karakala (MS) / June 01st, 2022

Healing through art

Bengaluru, KARNATAKA :

After a near-death experience, Badrunissa Irfan, wife of Irfan Razack, CMD of Prestige Group, has put paintbrush to paper, expressing all that she’s been through.

Bengaluru : 

11 years ago, Badrunissa Irfan was in a comatose state for almost a month. Doctors had lost hope but Irfan pulled along.

Today, over a decade after the incident, Irfan is sharing what she experienced for the first time, through her art works. Titled ‘Freedom of the Soul’, 35 paintings of Irfan will be on display at Sublime Galleria in UB City through the month of June.

Picking up her acrylic paints after a 20-year break, Irfan questions what a soul is through her paintings. “I had a near-death experience where I was in a state of coma for 23 days and was declared clinically dead twice. But I came back to life and what I witnessed during those days is what I have painted now. I want to convey the message I received from the Almighty through my art.”

While she took to art at a young age, her passion took a backseat when life and responsibilities took over. “It was my daughter Uzma [Uzma Irfan, director of Prestige Group], who encouraged me to pick up the brushes again. When I told her that my body cannot do what it used to before, she sent her daughter (my granddaughter) Alayna Zaid (who is also an artist) to sit with me while working,” she says, adding that she started work on her paintings in January this year.

Talking about her paintings, Irfan says, “You’ll find that most of my paintings are of open skies, mountains, gushing streams, animals and birds.”

Starting at `75,000 and going up to `1,40,000, all proceeds from this show will be donated to charity. She recalls how she couldn’t hear anyone except her daughter reading verses from the Quran every day.

“In my unconscious state, there was a scenario where I felt like I was looking at my own body from the outside,” she says. Every experience that she went through during that period comes to life in this series. “The colours that I use depend completely on my mood. I spend about two hours in the afternoon and another two in the evening and finish one painting within two days. It might take a little longer if it’s a bigger one,” Irfan adds.

Irfan believes she ‘came back to life’ to share what she has seen and witnessed. “I personally feel more connected with nature, animals, birds, flowers and fruits. I feel humans are hypocrites and so I use my art to share the beauty I believe in,” says Irfan, who is also the author of cookbook Duniya-e-Ziyafat.


(Freedom of the Soul will be showcased from June 1 to 30 at Sublime Galleria. All proceeds from this show will be donated to charity)

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Anila Kurian , Express News Service / May 31st, 2022