The Karnataka State Sunni Student Federation (SSF) celebrated a significant milestone on Sunday, marking 50 years of dedicated service to the student community. A grand event was held at the Palace Grounds in Bengaluru, where thousands of students and community members gathered to commemorate the organization’s achievements.
Addressing the attendees, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah lauded SSF’s contributions to upholding the values of unity, the constitution, and the integrity of the country. He emphasized the importance of education and urged students to channel their energy and organizational skills to propel India’s development.
The Chief Minister reiterated that India belongs to every Indian and pledged to protect the rights of all citizens, discouraging any form of discrimination based on name, caste, or religion.
Housing and Minority Affairs Minister Zameer Ahmed commended SSF for its exceptional 50-year service in education. He praised the organization for becoming a global model and for its significant contributions to the nation’s prosperity.
Minister Ahmed highlighted SSF’s role in producing IAS and IPS officers from its alumni and reaffirmed the Karnataka Congress government’s commitment to supporting minority community students, particularly in higher education.
He also announced plans to introduce Kannada language teaching in Madrasas within the state and the consideration of establishing a Madrasa Board, drawing inspiration from Kerala’s Madrasa education system.
SSF State President Hafiz Sufiyan emphasized the organization’s educational priorities and its dedication to operating numerous madrasas. He underscored that SSF members have remained committed to societal well-being.
The conference also featured the presence of notable figures, including the Grand Mufti of India, Sheikh Abubakr Musliyar, Kerala Muslim Jamaat General Secretary Syed Kalilul Bukhari Thangal, Waqf Board President Anwar Basha, former Karnataka Wakf Board President Shafi Saadi, Nasir Lucky Star, and others.
Founded in 1973 by Sheikh Abubakr Musliyar in Kerala, the SSF’s mission is to provide students with opportunities for education, social engagement, and community service.
For five decades, the SSF has been actively involved in the field of education, playing a significant role in promoting education and empowerment among Muslim students. Over the years, the SSF has established numerous educational institutions, including schools, colleges, and madrasas. The organization has also offered scholarships and financial aid to deserving students. In addition to its educational activities, the SSF has been engaged in various social welfare projects, including healthcare, housing, and poverty alleviation.
Over the past 50 years, the SSF has evolved from a small group of students in Kerala into a large organization with branches in multiple states.
source: http://www.thecognate.com / The Cognate / Home> News / by The Cognate News Desk / September 11th, 2023
Established on January 8, 1877, AMU Mathematics Department is one of the oldest in the university.
Aligarh:
Up-scaling on the graph of achievements among the best departments of Mathematics in the country, the Department of Mathematics, Aligarh Muslim University has become number one in India, taking a big leap to 137th position from the 175th in 2022, according to the Best Global Universities for Mathematics in India.
The latest ranking has been published by the U.S. News and World Report 2023.
Where AMU Maths Dept Stands?
Prof Mohammad Ashraf, Chairman of the Department said the AMU Mathematics Department’s progress is evident from an outstanding overall subject score of 56.8, positioning it at the top most on the national level followed by TIFR, whose ranking is 324 worldwide.
The third position is secured by the ISI, Kolkata with a ranking of 342, and the fourth by IIT Kanpur whose ranking in world list is 352.
On the other hand, IIT Madras and IISC Bangalore are at fifth and sixth positions with ranking 372 and 384 respectively. There are only six institutions of India on the list.
“Our achievement in this important global ranking is a testimony to the several years of dedicated efforts from our faculty and research scholars to enhance the ranking of the department. It is an accomplishment that could truly change the trajectory of the Department’s future”, Prof Mohammad Ashraf said.
“The department’s recognition also highlights the caliber of mathematics education and it is a testament to the impact of our teaching and research in India on the global stage”, he added.
One of the oldest departments in AMU
Prof Ashraf pointed out that the department is one of the oldest departments of studies in the university with its foundation dating back to January 8, 1877 with the establishment of Mohammadian Anglo Oriental College, which later became a university in 1920. The department has had the honour of having the great mathematicians like J.C. Chakravarti, Dr Ziauddin Ahmad, Mr. M.A. Aziz and Mr. Abdul Majeed Kuresihy on its staff.
The US News Education monitors higher education data for the world’s research-led institutions and it is through these rankings that students all over the world make their choices for study and career.
The subject rankings, according to the US News, are powered by Clarivate Analytics, which provided the data and metrics used in the rankings and the bibliometric data are based on the Web of Science.
The bibliometric indicators used in this US News ranking analysis have been drawn over the last five-year period from 2018-22. However, the citations to these papers came from all publications up to the most recent data available.
Some of the indicators on which the ranking is based, include publications, total citations, books, conferences, number of publications that are among the 10 percent most cited, number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1 percent most cited in their respective fields, international collaborations, etc.
source: http://www.ummid.com / Ummid.com / Home> Education & Career / by ummid.com news network / September 18th, 2023
He will celebrate authenticity with traditional cooking styles in tandoor and Mughlai dishes with a selection of signature curries and biryanis from the famed royal kitchens.
Mohammed Sirajuddin, Indian Master Chef- Nazaara, Courtyard By Marriott Bengaluru Hebbal.
Chef Mohammed Sirajuddin has been appointed as the Indian Master Chef at Nazaara, the rooftop restaurant at Courtyard by Marriott Bengaluru Hebbal . An experienced culinary professional, he is ready to spice up the gastronomic scene at Nazaara, known for its extensive offering of authentic Indian cuisine.
In his new role, he will take the dining experience at the restaurant a notch higher, celebrating authenticity with traditional cooking styles in tandoor and Mughlai dishes with a selection of signature curries and biryanis from the famed royal kitchens.
Prior to joining Courtyard By Mariott Bengaluru Hebbal , Sirajuddin was associated with JW Marriott Mumbai Juhu, where he began his culinary journey and mastered the intricacies of the art of cooking. At Courtyard By Marriot Bengaluru Hebbal, Chef Sirjauddin will spearhead the operations at Nazaara. With his immense passion for aesthetics and love for Indian and Mughlai Cuisine, he will play a crucial role in enhancing the skills of his team and further elevating the dining experience for the patrons.
He will also be responsible for the smooth and safe running of the kitchen operations while ensuring all health and safety and service standards are being enforced. He enjoys engaging with his guests and presenting his dishes while recounting the unique history and tradition behind each dish.
When not at work, Chef Sirajuddin spends his quality time cooking for his family and playing cricket. He loves travelling and listening to music.
source: http://www.hotelierindia.com / Hotelier India / Home> Operations / by Staff Writer / April 25th, 2022
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), the apex watchdog for the rights of Indian children has released stunning figures about education and poverty. It says 10 lakh people stopped going to school in 2021 because they could not pay the fees.
While most of us read it and moved on, the 23-year-old Wali Rahmani, a student of law, is working hard to change this situation. His focus is on Muslims, who have the worst record in education among the Indians.
The Kolkata-based Wali Rahmani is studying in the final year of law. He has studied at the country’s best schools, St. James, Kolkata, and Genesis Global School, Noida. As a student of the Singapore International School, he won the national-level gold medal in the turncoat debate held in Mumbai.
Wali Rehmani has set up Umeed Academy, an institution where he is trying to impart “Convernt-style” education to girls and boys who come from poor Muslim families. Soon after passing his 12th standard in 2018, he started the Umeed Foundation and his school project with 10 children.
Students of Umeed Academy
Wali Rehmani’s dream is to provide A-class and “Convent-style” education to a large number of Muslim students. At present the campus of the Umeed Academy is being built on a two-acre plot near Kolkata. When completed, it will have a school, separate hostels for boys and girls, a football ground and a basketball court.
However, since all this costs money and is beyond the means of one person, Wali Rehmani has released a video on social media to raise funds transparently and innovatively. In it, he says if 10 lakh Muslims donate Rs 100 each it will raise Rs crore and give wings to his dreams and those of the children who lose the race in life because of poverty.
In the video message released on YouTube recently, Wali Rehmani tries to explain easily the figures of school dropouts among Muslims.
Besides quoting the NCPCR, he also quotes the 2019 data of the National Council for Applied Economic Resources, which says that 21 percent of the Muslims in the country are forced to live below the poverty line. The monthly income of 6 crore Indian Muslims is less than Rs 2500, while there is no data available for those earning Rs 2500 to Rs 10,000 per month.
Wali Rahmani says, in his video, that after passing his 12th standard, he decided to provide Islamic-convent education to the children of hard-working Muslim families.
A student makes a presentation
He says the existing Umeed Academy campus in Kolkata is small, the upcoming campus on two acres is being constructed. He says if this experiment is successful the corpus of Rs 10 crore will help him build 100 more such schools.
His message is impactful. People are donating money and his video is being shared widely on other platforms to spread the message.
As such, Wali Rahmani is a social influencer with more than one million followers on social media. He appears in various national television debates. He says his work is not ‘social work’ but his social duty.
Wali Rehmani believes that leaders are not born, they are made.
Wali Rehmani is the recipient of the Young Social Hero Award at the South India NGO Conference in 2019.
He has established the Al Hadi School Trust to carry forward the work of the school.
Wali Rahmani says Umeed Academy is not just an institution but an expression of a dream. It works towards the holistic development of destitute children and orphans and enables them to take control of their lives. “The goal is to convert these children, who are currently considered a liability into assets of the society.”
Meal time in Umeed Academy
The Ummeed Academy has a curriculum that combines worldly education and Islamic principles to inculcate the idea of civilization and spirituality at the same time.
Wali Rahmani says every child who graduates from Umeed Academy will become an institution builder and leader.
“Our mission is to promote inclusive growth by educating and skilling underprivileged children through easy access to quality education. Our objective is to bring rapid educational transformation in the weaker sections of the society who generally cannot afford to educate their children.”
The school has the CBSE and ISC curriculum. Given the background of students, they are mostly malnourished and not in good health. That aspect is also taken care of at the Academy.
The Umeed Foundation also aims to work on social problems like child marriage, sexual violence, lack of awareness about menstrual hygiene and child labour, drug addiction, and drug-induced environment faced by children from marginalized communities.
According to Wali Rahmani, Umeed Academy has adopted a holistic approach for its children. Our goal is to provide privileged education to the underprivileged. To achieve that goal, we follow the CBSE curriculum with special emphasis on outcome-based learning, discussion, debate, and interdisciplinary learning.
Students in the kickboxing class
We have developed a well-integrated system of curriculum, instruction, and assessment, where learning outcomes, teaching objectives, and goals are clearly defined for teachers.
The lesson plans are divided into three categories. Smart classes are installed in all the classrooms. We believe in visual and auditory learning. Muslim children are taught Quran recitation, Islamic history, Seera, Dua, Hadith, and Islamic etiquette.Rehmani says he is proud of the fact that the children have a glow on their faces because of the good and nutritious food provided to them at the academy.
The students also also taught kickboxing as a means to defend themselves. He says most children have faced sexual and domestic violence and kickboxing empowers them and makes them bodily and mentally stronger. They also learn martial arts from coach Noor Muhammad Bhutia.
Wali Rahmani says, “We have introduced research and presentation as a part of our curriculum, which mainly focuses on subjects like science and social studies.’
According to Wali Rehman, the foundation of our curriculum is to impart ethics and values. We want to give our children a healthy environment where they can develop unique personalities. Besides, research and presentation are also part of the curriculum.
Wali Rehmani offering bank details for donation
The Academy has developed a well-integrated system of curriculum, instruction, and assessment, where learning outcomes, teaching objectives, and goals are clearly defined for teachers.
The lesson plans are divided into three categories. Smart classes are installed in all the classrooms. We believe in visual and auditory learning. Muslim children are taught Quran recitation, Islamic history, Seera, Dua, Hadith, and Islamic etiquette.
curriculum, instruction, and assessment, where learning outcomes, teaching objectives, and goals are clearly defined for teachers.
The lesson plans are divided into three categories. Smart classes are installed in all the classrooms. We believe in visual and auditory learning. Muslim children are taught Quran recitation, Islamic history, Seera, Dua, Hadith, and Islamic etiquette.
“Our children come from dark backgrounds, which have distorted them in some way or the other. Most of all, we want our children to grow up as kind and decent human beings. We tell children the difference between good and bad and right and wrong,” Wali Rehmani said.
Every morning, children attend an assembly where morals and values are taught. Along with education, teachers also work with children on language skills, basic etiquette, table manners, politeness, love, compassion, kindness, agreement, caring, appreciation, and integrity.
Umeed initially visited underdeveloped target areas to promote a clean, hygienic environment and safe drinking water, but as time passed, our team learned about all the social issues that come with illiteracy.
Today, apart from providing exemplary education, our efforts are also towards addressing social issues like child labor, child marriage, sexual and domestic abuse, and substance abuse.
Studies have shown that almost 70 percent of girls do not know anything about the menstrual cycle before their first menstruation. So the girls in the school learn about this biological process well in time to remain prepared to handle it.
source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Story / by Malick Asghar Hashmi, New Delhi / September 19th, 2023
Industrialist and Philanthropist Usman Kukkady breathed his last at a private hospital in the city on Monday night following brief illness.
Kukkady, aged 56, was a respected industrialist, and also served as the Deputy Governor of Rotary International, and was partner in Uno Pack Industries and Plama Plywood.
Hailing from the popular Kukkady family of Baikampady, Usman Kukkady had earned a reputation not only for his business achievements but also for his dedication to social work.
He is survived by his wife, one son, one daughter and a large circle of relatives and friends.
The mortal remains of Usman Kukkady have been kept at his brother, Abdul Kader Kukkady’s residence near Surathkal Vidyadayini School. The final rites are scheduled to be held at Idgah Masjid, Krishnapura 7th Block at 11 am on Tuesday, said family sources.
source: http://www.varthabharati.in / Vartha Bharati / Home> Karavali / by Vartha Bharati / September 18th, 2023
Idris Khan Mohammed, who runs the popular Mohammedia Shawarma, gets candid about his small business journey.
Idris Mohammed Khan shows how the perfect shawarma is made. | Photo Credit: Serish Nanisetti
Hyderabad, which is known for biryani, haleem, mirchi bajji and Irani chai has a new contender in popularity: the shawarma. The credit largely goes to one man — Idris Khan Mohammed. He is an elusive man but the brand he has created —Mohammedia Shawarma — is everywhere in Hyderabad.
His food can be found across the city, in malls, on street corners, and restaurants. In the evening, he sits in a small cubicle reached by a fire-escape and watches the CCTV feed of his dozens outlets. “I start my day at 4 a.m. to supervise the arrival of meat from three chicken producers. I check the quality of all the ingredients to ensure that my outlets have the same quality, be it in Qadeer Bagh or DD Colony,” says Mr. Khan.
Beginning as a DTP operator in a financial firm, Mr. Khan dabbled in real estate until the 2009 Telangana agitation crushed his plans. Mr. Khan took the calculated risk of starting a small business. “I realised that shawarma as a snack requires very little investment. But it was available only in two or three places in the city. I decided I can do this business with a low investment.” He invested ₹80,000 in 2011 and started the business in the Qadeer Bagh area just beside the place where he has his office now.
“I used to use one or two chickens. Make the preparation at home and bring it here. Before this, I had never cooked salan (curry) or even entered the kitchen. Some days, I sold one. Other days I could not sell any,” says Mr. Khan. He tried to hire an expert chef but to no avail. “Then I turned to YouTube and watched hundreds of videos and noted down the ingredients. I noted they had 30 ingredients in common. I got my formula by tweaking them. Using that information, I turned around my business,” says Mr. Khan who now uses 40 kilograms of green chillies every day for the marination process.
Shawarma is a middle-eastern dish that uses a vertical rotisserie to turn and roast thin slices of meat which is used as a filling, along with mayonnaise and chopped vegetables to stuff bread and served as a roll. Idris had spiced it up with chillies and turned it into an appetising and filling snack that is popular among the younger people who eat on their bikes and scroll through Instagram reels and YouTube videos about food.
“By 2013, people started enjoying my shawarma and I had to start a token system as the crowd became unmanageable. The kitchen of my rented house was not big enough to cook so much food,” says Mr. Khan. He bought a larger premises and built a warehouse as well as a palatial home in an area known as Golden Heights. How many shawarmas does he sell? Mr. Khan remains tightlipped about the figure. But a back of envelope calculation yields a figure upwards of 10,000 per day.
Now there are dozens of franchisees who invest money and lease premises while Mr. Khan provides the chefs and processed food. For a man who began with a hired help, a scooter and a kitchen in a rented house; Mr. Khan now employs hundreds of people who source, process, cook, slice up meat, and deliver his shawarmas through the city.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> India> Telangana / by Serish Nanisetti / September 16th, 2023
Hadhramis of Yemen have migrated for centuries in large numbers. (Supplied)
Can you believe that there is a large settlement of Yemeni descent people in India’s Hyderabad? Barkas, about 4 kms from the iconic Charminar, presents a slice of Yemen.
Here, a large number of Arabs from Yemen, called Hadhramis, have settled down having migrated from their country of origin for many generations.
Most of them were employed in the Nizam government. Barkas was home to the former employees of Nizams, the sovereigns of the erstwhile princely state of Hyderabad. The colony originally used to serve as the Military Barracks of the former ruler of Hyderabad – the Nizam.
Men with Arabian facial features clad in Yemeni lungis (wraparound kilt) or Futah ambling around the colony’s narrow lanes is a regular sight that intrigue outsiders.
History records that Hadhramis of Yemen have migrated for centuries in large numbers, establishing a diaspora that extends around the Indian Ocean, Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states.
The Hadhramaut region, one of the southern governorates of Yemen, today has around 1.5 million inhabitants. Though migration began during the 3rd Hijri century (eighth century in the Gregorian calendar) but Hyderabad connection is of not that old. A good number of Hadramis had already migrated on India’s West Coast in the ninth century AD.
a typical mandi restaurant owned by Hadrami in Barkaas, Hyderabad. (Supplied)
World War II
According to Salam Bin Juman Bamraan, of Yemeni origin, who lives in Barkas, “My father Juman Saleh Bamraan took the ship to Mumbai in 1942 during the World War II since the situation in Yemen was not conducive for living.
“When my father came to Hyderabad the Nizam of Hyderabad was kind enough to give him a job. My father married a local Muslim woman and thus we integrated into the Hyderabadi community. Our language at home was Arabic until recently but after my father died we converse in Deccani Urdu.” Though Salam did go to Kuwait for work but did not return to Yemen.
Yemen served as a trans-shipment center for luxury goods — particularly spices — originating in India and points farther east and also as a Haj route for pilgrims coming from India.
So, migration was happening to and fro. There were thousands of traders from India doing business in Yemen, mainly Aden and Sana.
Dhirubhai Ambani, the founder of the now famous Reliance Group, also started his career as a trader in Aden and his famous son Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Industries Limited chairman, was also born in Aden.
Hadhramis of Yemen have migrated for centuries in large numbers. (Supplied)
300,000 strong Diaspora
These age-old ties between India and Yemen are reflected now by the presence of nearly 300,000 strong Yemeni-origin Diaspora in India and a vibrant Indian-origin Diaspora in Yemen.
Besides India, almost all Arabs in Southeast Asia and India trace their ancestry to Hadhramaut.
Five and six generations after their forefathers made Hyderabad their homes, many have retained their culture and traits. The members of this well-knit community are now integrated in Hyderabad. Homecomings had already begun dropping off in the 1970s as Yemen became more politically disturbed.
A documentary by Adam Sawab, a Yemeni student who did journalism from Osmania University titled ‘Barkas – A Small Yemen in India’ as part of his course shed light on Hadhramis living in Hyderabad’s Barkas.
The documentary reported that Barkas is a habitat for mainly members of the Chaush community, who are direct descendants of the Hadhrami – military men in the Hadhramaut region in Yemen, there are 52 Yemeni tribes in Hyderabad.
According to Salam Bin Bamraan says his father Juman Saleh Bamraan took the ship to Mumbai in 1942. (Supplied)
Settled tribesmen
Some of the Yemeni tribes settled here are those of al-Saadi, al-Nahdi, al-Yamani, Barabaa, al-Amoodi, al-Saqqaf, Bamraan, al-Aidroos, al-Saadi among others.
“During the time of the Nizam’s rule, the Arab population here increased and slowly settled mainly in the Army barracks, now Barkas, on the outskirts of the city,” Adam stated in his documentary.
Sheikh Mohammed Azzan Jabari, whose grandfather came from Yemen in 1940 and was employed in Nizam’s army, says that their culture is of mixed origin with strands from Arabs and local.
Having his own textiles business in Barkas, he says, “We are into third generation. Our weddings still encompass elements of Arabic traditions like nikah is performed in Barkas’ jame masjid and we play the duff which is a Yemeni custom. We still relish Yemeni traditional breakfasts items like mandi, fuul (a dish made of cooked fava beans), hareesa (savory porridge), etc and mandi, kabsa as meals. I think Barkas is home to more than 60,000 Yemeni descent people.”
So, if you want to experience Yemeni culture with a plateful of mandi (as the area is teeming with restaurants selling delectable mandi) head to Hyderabad’s Barkas locality.
Yemenis in their traditional attire in the Barkas community of Hyderabad. (Supplied)
source: http://www.english.alarabiya. net / AlArabiya News / Home> Features / by Aftab Husain Kola / December 13th, 2018
OMAR FAROOK KHATANI, an officer of M.P. state administrative service, has been elected president of the state administrative officers association by a large margin in the elections held in Bhopal recently. The cadre strength of this association is 700 consisting of additional, joint and deputy collectors. Khatani is presently posted as chief executive officer, M.P. Wakf Board Bhopal. He has held important portfolios during his career including secretary, M.P. state Minorities Commission.
PROF NARGIS JAHAN, who is associated with the department of Persian in Delhi University for a long time, has now been appointed head of the Persian department in this University. She also served as teacher in Delhi’s Zakir Husain College, Kamla Nehru College and Saint Stephen’s College. She has authored many books including Human Right in Urdu Literature, Sa’di-e Hind’ (English) Farsi Vyakaran aur Anuwaad’ (Hindi).
PROF MIRZA SAMAR BAIG presently incharge of the department of political science at Aligarh Muslim University has been appointed as Member Incharge of the Department of Public Relations by AMU vice chancellor in place of Dr Faizan Mustafa who was recently appointed as Registrar of this university. Dr Samar Baig is a prominent writer whose research articles on politics are published in important Indian and foreign journals. During the cold war period he had worked as research analyst on India’s foreign policy towards USA and USSR.
PROF SHIRIN MUSAVI, Head of Department of History in Aligarh Muslim University, has been appointed by the Union ministry of human resources development as a Member of Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) in consideration of her valuable services and contribution in the filed of history. She will be the Member of ICHR for 3 years.
Aligarh Muslim University has conferred PhD and M Phil degrees on the following students: PhD: RAEES HASAN (Hindi), NIHAAL NAZIM (Urdu), MOHAMMAD IRFAN (Theology), SHAHROZ ALAM, MOHD QAISAR ALAM and S HASAN QAID (Economics) and MA’ARIFUR RAHMAN (Sanskrit). M.Phil: (Ms) SARITA SHARMA and SYED ABDUL MOINUDDIN (Mathematics).
Well-known fiction writer, poet and educationist, DR GHAZANFAR ALI, who is also the principal of Urdu Teaching and Research Centre, Lucknow has been entrusted with the additional charge of director of National Council for the Promotion of Sindhi Language by the Union ministry of human resources development. He has taken over the charge of his new assignment in the Council’s head office in Vadodra, (Baroda).
RAMZAN ALI appears to have set up a record in hair-cut of 210 women by continuously standing and working for 24 hours. Though his name is already entered three times in Limca Book of Records for hair cutting, this time he wants to get his name entered in Guinness Book of World Records for his feat of 210 haircuts in 24 hours. It is to be seen if his ambition is fulfilled and Guinness Book acknowledges it.
PROF AKHTARUL WASEY, renowned scholar of Islam who is also Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Languages and director of Zakir Husain Institute of Islamic Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi was unanimously elected president of the Managing Committee of Ajmer’s Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti’s Dargah. He is associated with the Dargah Committee since 1995 as its member. Syed Abdul Bari was elected vice president of the Dargah Committee.
GHULAM NABI KHAYAL, Sahitya Akademi award-winning veteran Kashmiri writer and journalist, was elected as the President of Kashmir Writers Association. Amin Kamil (Padma Shree) and Prof G N Firaq (Sahitya Akademi awardee) were elected as patrons of the Association.
The Governor of Uttar Pradesh, in his capacity as Chancellor of Agra University, has nominated
PROFESSOR MOHAMMAD ZAHID of the Department of Urdu, Aligarh Muslim University as member of the Executive Council of Dr BR Ambedkar University, Agra. Dr. Zahid has had a brilliant academic record. He has authored a number of books and research papers. He also served as a member of the Academic Council of AMU. «
source: http://www.milligazette.com / The Milli Gazette / Home> Milli Gazette Online / 16-31 May 2005
Chronogram is an ancient art. On the tombstone, along with the person’s information, the poetry is inscribed and the last couplet or line has a numerical value as per the ‘Abjad’ system that represents the date or year of death. Poets like Dr. Makhmoor, who can compose chronograms or write ‘Qita-e-Tareekh’ are few.
Dr Makhmoor Kakorvi and Chronogram: The poet of Kakori, who keeps alive the ancient art
Lucknow:
One would be surprised to see the passion of poet Makhmoor Kakorvi, who has several books to his credit, is quite often seen visiting graveyards and hospices, dargahs and mazaars.
He started the mission to collect all the ‘chronograms’ on epitaphs in Kakori, one of the most important towns of North India that is known for its litterateurs and writers apart from Sufis.
The master poets who have absolute command over language are able to write poetry in the manner that their numerical value, either of the stanza or a phrase, comes out as the year of a person’s demise. This art is termed ‘Tareekh-Goi.’
It’s an ancient art and such skilled poets who can compose chronograms or write ‘Qita-e-Tareekh’ are few. On the tombstone, along with the person’s information, the poetry is inscribed and the last couplet or line has a numerical value as per the ‘Abjad’ system that represents the date or year of death.
And, this mathematical equation is also engraved, often, on the tombstone’s plaque. In an era when people are no longer able to compose poetry in meters and as per traditional and hard standards of prosody, it is even more difficult to find someone who writes chronograms.
But till a few decades ago, it was common. When Makhmoor began registering the long verses and couplets carrying the chronogram on the epitaphs, he found that there were not a few but dozens of senior poets who had composed them over the last three centuries in Kakori.
In a town that has a population of barely 22,000 but has a history of producing one of the biggest Urdu dictionaries—Noor-ul-Lughaat, as well as being home to writers and poets of the calibre of Shah Turab Ali Qalandar, Mohsin Kakorvi, Furqat Kakorvi and scores of others, Makhmoor found that poets with the ability to write chronograms were exceptional, in fact, too many poets who were perfect in this art in Kakori in the past.
“I would go to the graves, clean the plaque and then try to decipher the verses. The last line or stanza or phrase is the poetic chronogram. I found more than 60 different poets who had written chronograms in Kakori alone. Many of them were poets of such stature and command over language that is not seen anymore.
Some of them wrote many chronograms and the terms used are fascinating as well as a reflection of their mastery over Urdu poetry”, says Makhmoor Kakorvi, who is also a poet and has also written chronograms. He is, perhaps, the only person who can pen it, in the town now. However, he hopes to compile all these couplets and information about these poets of yore in the form of a book.
source: http://www.enewsroom.in / eNewsRoom / Home> Audio-Video> Top Stories / by Shams Ur Rehman Alavi / December 07th, 2022
A promising author, Zehra Naqvi, nuancedly articulates how the multi-layered and complicated processes with its intense emotional pressure leave mothers completely burned up in her book, ‘The Reluctant Mother: A Story No One Wants to Tell’.
Much -revered and almost deific motherhood sprouted by religious injunctions, social practices, cultural prescripts, and ethnic sensibilities – goes well beyond its well-defined boundary – being a place where all love begins and ends. Motherhood symbolizes self-effacement and denial.
The status of the hyped-up emotional and domestic pivot of the family pleasantly prods a mother to relinquish her existence to her offspring. These popular assumptions offer a deceptive and naive simplistic view of a far more complex and intriguing relationship between a mother and child than we perceive
The idolized representation of motherhood has a long tradition in literature, but it did not mirror in some highly acclaimed literary texts such as Hamlet, Madame Bovary and Lolita. Queen Gertrude, Emma Bovary and Charlotte Haze present a repugnant image of a mother who poses a constant psychotic and physical threat to the children.
The mothers, refusing to stick to subservient roles stipulated by the society, fire the imagination of non-conformist authors. These sorts of mothers continue to subvert the dominant narrative of the world that mocks normativity and moral policing.
Here Christina Crawford’s memoir, “Mommie Dearest” (1978), comes forth that tears apart all that is traditionally associated with motherhood. Her mother, Joan Crawford, emerges as the grandmama of all socially ambitious and figure conscious women who find pregnancy, birth and rearing too exasperating.
Indian cultural ethos adores motherhood, and hardly any authors treat it with disdain by equating it with “motherdom”. A promising author, Zehra Naqvi, nuancedly articulates how the multi-layered and complicated processes with its intense emotional pressure leave mothers completely burned up in her book, “The Reluctant Mother: A Story No One Wants to Tell” (Hayhouse,2021). Far from a misery memoir, the book written in a diary format narrates a tantalizing and equally agonizing story of pregnancy, birth, and motherhood.
Contrary to popular perception, her reluctance is not restricted to the early days of motherhood, but it seems to be a festering emotional wound that refuses to heal. Not overly dramatized but reasonably pitched entries of the diary covering four years provide a shifting glimpse into harrowing and fascinating maternal experiences.
Zehra’s observations, wrapped in lucent prose, are funny and bittersweet. She seeks to upend the dominant notion that hardly recognizes a mother more than the deliverer of the child. The author who joined the company of prominent Muslim female English writers such as Rakshanda Jaleel, Rana Safavi, Ainee Zaidi, Nazia Erum, Sami Rafique, Ghazala Wahab, Reema Ahmad, Tarana Khan, Huma Khalil, Saba Bashir and the like, astutely refutes that only function of the mother is to breed.
Diary writing closely resembles fiction as intense creative outpourings spruce it up. It is a less formal and intimate medium of stitching up a warm and immediate rapport with the reader. Zehra’s intriguing, placid and tearing entries set a pulsating debate on the nature of the life of desire, individual space, possessiveness and socially bred sense of sacrifice.
At the onset of motherhood, the author hardly feels exulted; contrarily, it produces annoyance and irritation instead of euphoria. The moment of ecstasy leaves her completely downcast:
“I had always seen in movies that women break into tears of joy and men swing their wives up in their arms on kerning that they have a new life coming. I do break into tears. But they are tears of shock, of dread, of dismay.
And they are the tears of wrath- wrath that I unleash on the man that I love the most in the world. Wrath of having my dreams washed over, having my carefully magical universe destroyed. “. p13.
For her, marriage is not meant for procreation or extending the family. It is an intense companionship through which both can explore the unrealized potential of their lives. The child adds an extra presence to intimate companionship. It sounds selfish, but it affirms Jean-Paul Sartre who defines hell as the presence of the other.
The author, after initial reluctance, gets herself prepared for caring, but it cannot be taken for love. She has a point here, but love does not happen in a vacuum and caring is the place where it is born.
Nuancedly written divergent entries make it clear that Zehra strives to perform different but equally significant roles with the same sense of devotion and impeccability. To abandon one role is an affront to womanhood as her epilogue reads,” I am not a mother above everything else. I am a mother along with everything else that I am . It is an integral part of me. And I should not have to denounce all other parts to acknowledge this one.”
It is a refreshing and insightful read that spells out new contours of motherhood in graphic prose with occasional sloppiness. Zehra deserves accolades for not regurgitating the traditional aspects of motherhood.
(Shafey Kidwaiis a bilingual critic and teaches miscommunication at Aligarh Muslim university.)
source: http://www.outlookindia.com / Outlook / Home> National / by Shafey Kidwai / December 25th, 2021
