To highlight Islamic aesthetics and counter Islamophobia, Muslim women stepping into workplaces must achieve this, said P. Mujeeb Rahman, Ameer JIH Kerala, while inaugurating ‘Profisia’ Muslim Women’s Professional Summit at Calicut Tower Hotel, Kozhikode on Sunday.
The event, organised by Jamaat-e-Islami Kerala Women’s Wing, aimed to provide Islamic knowledge and opportunities to women professionals who are consistently active in society.
“In the 15 years since the Sachar Committee report, the growth in the presence of Muslim women in public spaces in Kerala, compared to other states, has been commendable. In this era where Islamophobia is being propagated, it’s essential for you to interact with society more extensively,” he added.
Dr. Mahera Ruby, founder Blooming Parenting (UK), delivered keynote address emphasising the importance of Islamic family structure amidst modern ideas that seek to disrupt it. Panel discussions covered topics like family, workplaces, Muslim women’s representation in a pluralistic society, Islamic financial practices, and liberalism. Panellists included All India Muslim Personal Law Board executive member A. Rahamathunnisa, CSR Kerala Director T.K.M. Iqbal, Ittihadul Ulama Kerala Secretary Sameer Kalikavu, and MediaOne Deputy News Editor Suhaila M.K.
Speakers like Mariam Vidhu Vijayan, co-founder of Crink App and parenting coach, Rashi Fither, Principal Engineer, Intel and Muhammad Najeeb, Head of Physiotherapy Department at Iqra Hospital, inspired attendees with insights from their life experiences on advancing in the professional sphere while upholding ethics.
Sessions on topics such as marriage, parenting, entrepreneurship, and acts of worship were conducted by Dr. V.M. Safir, Dr. Nishad, V.M. Wahida Hussain, and others, addressing queries from participants.
“A Muslim professional is not someone who learns merely to earn money but is someone who believes that what they study today is for the betterment of tomorrow. Professionalism should also empower the restoration of moral and ethical values in society,” said JIH Shoora Member Dr. Taha Mateen.
The event witnessed participation from leaders like Sajitha P.T.P (president, JIH Kerala Women’s Wing), Naseema K.T (Gen.Sec. JIH Kerala Women’s Wing), P.V. Rahmabi (secretary, JIH Kerala), Rukhsana P (Shoora member JIH Kerala), C.T. Suhaib (State President, Solidarity), Mehnaz Ashfaq (State President, WINGS), Afra Shihab (State Gen. Sec. GIO), Adv. Abdul Wahid (State President, SIO), Sahira M.A (Program Convenor, Profisia), and Suhail T (General Convenor, Profisia).
Various stalls were also set up as part of the business summit. More than 500 representatives attended the event.
source: http://www.radiancenews.com / Radiance News / Home> Latest News> Report / by Radiance News Bureau / January 15th, 2025
Three final-year Diploma Engineering students from the University Women’s Polytechnic, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), have brought laurels to their institution by excelling at the prestigious Young Researcher Forum during the IEEE CIS Winter School on Computational Intelligence and Generative AI, held at IIT Indore on January 8-9.
Ms Aqsa Eqbal and Ms Nahid Parween, final-year students of Diploma in Computer Engineering, were awarded the Best Virtual Presentation Award for their innovative project titled “Talking Hand: A Sign Language Translator Glove.”
This ground-breaking project aims to bridge communication gaps faced by individuals with hearing and speech impairments by utilising a technologically advanced glove that translates sign language gestures into speech.
Another shining star from the Polytechnic, Ms Bushra Yusuf, a final-year student of Diploma in Electronics Engineering, impressed the forum with her project titled “IoT-Based Monitoring and Controlling the Greenhouse Effect.” Her work reflects a significant step toward leveraging Internet of Things (IoT) technologies for sustainable environmental management.
These achievements highlight the Women’s Polytechnic’s commitment to promote innovation, research, and technical excellence. The event served as a platform for the students to exhibit their leadership skills, receive valuable feedback from the experts, and network with young researchers in the thrust areas of computational intelligence and artificial intelligence.
Dr. Salma Shaheen, Principal of the University Women’s Polytechnic, along with the faculty members, congratulated the students on their outstanding success. She lauded their dedication and hard work, which have brought recognition and pride to the institution.
source: http://www.radiancenews.com / Radiance News / Home> Awards> Focus / by Radiance News Bureau / January 15th, 2025
Renowned Hyderabad-based writer and doctor, Dr. Abid Moiz, has been conferred the prestigious Delhi Urdu Academy Award for his outstanding contributions to science literature in Urdu. He is the only recipient from South India to receive this recognition for 2023-24, which includes a cash prize of ₹2 lakh.
As per Siyasat daily, Dr. Moiz’s ground-breaking work has made scientific concepts more accessible to Urdu-speaking audiences, fostering a deeper appreciation for science within the community. Known for his unique ability to merge science with literature, he has authored 23 science books and 17 humour and satire books, carving a distinct niche in the Urdu literature.
Dr. Moiz’s journey into science writing began with Diabetes Ke Saath Saath (Living with Diabetes), aimed at promoting health awareness. His repertoire includes books like Chiknai Aur Hamari Sehat (Fats and Our Health), Cholesterol Kam Kijiye (Reduce Cholesterol), Namak Kam Karen (Reduce Salt), and Ramzan Aur Hamari Sehat (Ramzan and Our Health). These books focus on health management and dietary choices, blending scientific knowledge with simple language and engaging graphics.
Dr. Moiz’s works, such as Motapa (Obesity) and Tarkari aur Phal Khayen (Eat Vegetables and Fruits), emphasise balanced nutrition and healthy living, solidifying his legacy as a visionary in the underrepresented genre of Urdu science literature.
In addition to his literary contributions, Dr. Moiz serves on the advisory board of Science Urdu, a popular science monthly magazine edited by Dr. Aslam Parvez, former Vice-Chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University. His involvement underscores his commitment to promoting scientific awareness among Urdu readers.
The Delhi Urdu Academy also honoured several other luminaries this year, including Javed Akhtar for promoting Urdu, Taha Naseem for children’s literature, Anee Aazmi for drama, Prof. Ahmed Mahfooz for research and criticism, and Rakshanda Roohi for prose.
Previously, Dr. Moiz received Lifetime Achievement Award from the Telangana State Urdu Academy in 2019 for his sustained contributions to Urdu literature and science writing.
Dr. Moiz’s achievements exemplify how science and literature can harmoniously coexist, even in languages traditionally associated with arts and culture. By simplifying complex scientific ideas, he continues to empower readers and enrich the legacy of Urdu literature.
source: http://www.radiancenews.com / Radiance News / Home>Pride of the Nation> Awards> Latest News / by Radiance News Bureau / January 09th, 2025
Rubina Rashid Ali with artisans (Source: Instagram)
Phool Patti embroidery or applique work has been the forte of women of Aligarh and Rampur regions of Uttar Pradesh since the Mughal period.
Rubina Rashid Ali from Aligarh told Awaz-the Voice that after she realised that women who are preserving this art were not getting due remuneration, she took up the cause of popularising this art form.
Rubina Rashid Ali works in the administrative department of Aligarh Muslim University. She lives on the AMU campus with her three children and husband. She did her Masters in Advertising and Communication from the National Institute of Advertising, Delhi.
Rubina Rashid Ali told Awaz-The Voice that she has been interested in ‘Phool-patti’ work and embroidery since 2003. However, only after becoming stable in her studies, job, and family life, did she dedicate her time and energy to promote it in 2019. She got connected to women who are into applique style. Now they take orders online and deliver them with their team on a contract basis.
Rubina Rashid Ali told Awaz-The Voice that women are mainly engaged in making articles with embroidery, while men take orders. This drained the earnings as a big part of the profit went to the middlemen.
“This craft suffers from a lack of design intervention and diversification and has to catch up with the contemporary aesthetics,” she said.
Rubina Rashid Ali said that the book Phool-Patti Ka Kaam is the first publication on this unique embroidery form. Phool-Patti Ka Kaam is the story of embroidery told through glimpses of Saleha Khan’s work with artisan women and girls during the 1970s and 1980s.
A beautifully illustrated book, it traces its background and scope. it takes us through the array of different floral patterns, designs, and materials. It covers experiments with ornamentation and innovations, including its use on various garments and home décor. And most importantly, it provides a glimpse of the artisans of Aligarh
This book is for art connoisseurs and those who appreciate, learn, promote, explore, and experiment with this unique applique style.
Apart from being a useful resource for craft lovers, the book aims to generate interest among designers, entrepreneurs, and policy planners to further the scope, popularity, and prospects of Phool-Patti, while ensuring a fair share of economic benefits and recognition for its artisans.
Rubina Rashid Ali told Awaz-the Voice that the suitable combination of flower leaf work with other crafts like Chinkara, Gota Patti work, hand-painting, tie and dye, Mukesh work, etc. needs to be widely explored in different colour palettes.
Product diversification not only in clothing and fashion accessories but also in home decor, lifestyle-based products, corporate gifts, souvenirs, etc. ensures its wide reach and penetration in various segments.
In the era of easy availability of fabrics, many people are interested in spending extra money for handmade applique work.
Rubina Rashid said that the original cotton, cambric cotton, Kota cotton, etc. are used for embroidery. However, these days it is also being done on Chanderi silk which is a unique silk from Madhya Pradesh. To promote the flower-leaf embroidery, she does new experiments every day in which sometimes she does the flower-leaf work using crochet, and sometimes other types of embroidery so that she can make that piece even better.
Rubina Rashid Ali and her artisans make articles like ladies’ kurtas, saree, dupatta, etc. for sale. She says this work involves designing it on fine fabric, cutting and skilfully folding these before shaping each piece into small petals and leaves by embroidering on the cloth.
This special applique work finds limited mention in the collection of Indian and global embroidery forms.
Rubina Rashid Ali prepares all her designs and also takes full care of the welfare of the artisans working with her. Rubina Rashid Ali told Awaz-The Voice that she exhibited her works at Delhi Haat, Kolkata Bazaar, Bangalore, Rajasthan, Kota, etc. She found people appreciated her work.
Rubina Rashid Ali told Awaz-The Voice that over time, crafts have become an integral part of the socio-cultural aspect of the country. Unfortunately, in the last few years, many crafts have reached the verge of extinction as fast fashion brands are dominating the market with their easily available cheap clothing options.
source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Story / by Onika Maheshwari, New Delhi / January 12th 2025
The All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA), after completing its 2020-2024 term, conducted elections for the new term 2025-2028 in New Delhi.
Delegates from across the country participated in the process and elected Abdul Rahim Sheikh from Maharashtra as national president for the next session. Mukhtar Kotwal will serve as general secretary.
Elections were also held for state presidents, and Khalid Akhtar was elected president of AIITA Rajasthan. Mohammad Yunus Ansari was nominated as state secretary.
State Advisory Council Members are Abdul Hameed Rangrej, Qari Mohammad Ishhaq, Mohammad Juned, and Ansar Ahmed from Jaipur; Mohammad Shakir, Makrana; Khalid Akhtar, Sikar; and Mohammad Yunus Ansari, Mangrol.
AIITA is functioning nationwide among teachers with objectives to improve the declining moral standards of educational institutions, to prevent the commercialisation of education, to make society aware of the respect for teachers, to curb the growing trend of violence among students, to inspire students to become good human beings, and to keep the curriculum free from communalism.
source: http://www.radiancenews.com / Radiance News / Home> Latest News> Report / by Raheem Khan, Radiance News Bureau / December 30th, 2024
Portrait of Malik ‘Ambar(detail), early 17th century. India, Ahmadnagar. Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Arthur Mason Knapp Fund
«Among the many surprises in the Deccan area of south-central India is its complex, multicultural society. Persian, Dutch, French, British, Danish, Portuguese, Central Asian, and African peoples all made their way through the region seeking trade and conquest, with some ultimately settling and leaving generations of descendants. Unlike the African movement to other places during this period (the Americas, for example), in the socially mobile culture of the Deccan, Africans migrants were able to rise to the rank of nobility.»
Habshi is the Arabic term for Abyssian, a nationality known today as Ethiopian. This term is used to describe the Africans who came to live in India, arriving as merchants and fishermen as well as slaves. Sidi (“my lord”) is another Arabic term to identify the same group, but connotes an elevated status. The integration of Africans into the subcontinent took place as early as the seventh century, and such immigration continues to sustain diasporas throughout Gujarat, Karnataka, Bombay, Goa, and Hyderabad. Today there are about sixty-five thousand Africans living in Sidi communities in these regions of India.
A few portraits of notable African Indians are currently on display in the exhibition Sultans of Deccan India, 1500–1700: Opulence and Fantasy, on view through July 26. One of the most well-known is the historical figure known as Malik ‘Ambar (1548–1626), who was born Chapu, in Ethiopia. He later came to be sold as a slave in Baghdad, where he converted to Islam and was given the name Ambar, from the Arabic term for “ambergris.” Noted for his outstanding intelligence and wit, he was purchased by the chief minister of Ahmadabad, who was himself a former slave. Upon the death of his master, ‘Ambar was freed and rose to the rank of nobility, whereupon he was imbued with the title Malik (“king”).
With his new-found freedom, Malik ‘Ambar built an army of African ex-slave soldiers and became the de-facto king in Ahmadnagar—a position that became even more influential when his daughter married Sultan Murtaza Nizam Shah II (r. 1600–1610). ‘Ambar was also a strong patron of the arts, and many portraits of him are held in museum collections worldwide.
Like ‘Ambar, the freed slave who came to be called Ikhlas Khan (d. 1656) of Bijapur also held great influence at court. Given the name Malik Raihan ‘Adil Shah, he grew up serving Sultan Ibrahim Adil Shah II (r. 1580–1627) and came of age alongside the sultan’s son, Prince Muhammad ‘Adil Shah (r. 1627–1656). When Muhammad assumed the throne, Malik Raihan was promoted alongside him.
Freed from his slave status, Raihan became a commander of troops and an important advisor to the sultan. Eventually he was named governor of a province on the border with Golconda, and, in 1635, he received the title Ikhlas Khan, by which he is known to history. His presence as the strength behind the king is evident in contemporary biographies as well as portraiture.
” Left: Ikhlas Khan with a Petition, ca. 1650. India, Bijapur. Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper. The San Diego Museum of Art, Edwin Binney 3rd Collection, 1990.442
Much of this interest is perhaps thanks to the research of the groundbreaking study African Elites in India: Habshi Amarat, edited by Kenneth X Robbins and John McLeod. In addition, public exhibitions such as The African Diaspora in the Indian Ocean World at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library also have promoted this subject, and this awareness, in turn, has directly inspired contemporary artist and designers such as Grace Wales Bonner. The continued interest in this community is a testament to its unique and longstanding cultural assimilation.
A group of Indian school children walk past a Sidi dance performer having her makeup applied. Uttara Kanada, Karnataka State, India, January 2015. Photo courtesy of Luke Duggleby
Social media to social work, women empowerment to political activism, she has worked everywhere
Hyderabad :
Few women have dispelled patriarchal notions with sheer hard work, courage and determination as Khalida Parveen, a social activist from Hyderabad, fondly known as Khalida Baji.
Now 65, Khalida Baji has been working for women empowerment through her NGO, Amoomat Society, which does everything from financially helping the needy to providing matchmaking services.
Khalida Baji got into social activism when she was young, and hasn’t let age or husband’s death come in the way.
Khalida Baji (Fourth from Left) after attending a workshop with police persons.
Amoomat Society was established in 2005 in Toli Chowki, a suburb of Hyderabad, with Khalida Baji as the general secretary. Khalida Baji didn’t know much about running an NGO and had little understanding of legal or technical aspects. But what kept her going was her sheer determination and steadfastness. And the task got easier with the support and help of her family, friends and like-minded people.
Over the years, Amoomat Society has grown into a NGO that’s trusted by the needy and donors alike. And Khalida Baji has harnessed social media to the hilt in her endeavours. One example stands out.
Recently, Khalida Baji took to social media seeking a used laptop for a college-going girl. In no time, several people offered their laptop. But once Khalida Baji received the laptop, she closed the query, saying the need has been fulfilled and no more help was needed.
“For every project, we seek just the right amount of funds. Neither more nor less,” she tells India Tomorrow.
This not only speaks of Khalida Baji’s reach but also her moral conviction. “Every NGO faces financial problems,” she says. “People who once received help from Amoomat Society now help us raise funds.”
Amoomat Society also provides matrimonial services, including premarital counselling. The head of matrimonial service, Shehnaz Ilyas, says they focus more on the priorities and desires of women than the wishes of their families. The marriage bureau is also manned by assistant Shehnaz Begum and office secretary Asiya Nusrat.
Another area of Amoomat Society’s work is raising legal awareness and helping people during unforeseeable events.
Khalida baji in a workshop by Hyderabad Police.
The sudden, unplanned lockdown earlier this year dealt a huge blow to numerous people. Although the offices of Amoomat Society were closed, Khalida Baji’s social activism wasn’t. She helped the needy, especially migrant workers, feeding and clothing them. She got going from the first day of the lockdown in March, and has so far distributed thousands of facemasks and nearly 35,000 food packets to the needy.
Following a rise in Covid-related deaths, Khalida Baji started an ambulance service to transport the bodies from the mortuary to the final resting place. The service was available to everyone, regardless of their religion. According to Khalida Baji, she started the service after noticing that ambulances were charging anywhere between Rs 20,000 and Rs 30,000. Khalida Baji’s ambulance service prompted the local Member of Parliament to launch a similar service the next day, with two ambulances. Many organisations followed suit. Khalida Baji also helped perform the last rites of Muslim Covid victims through video calls.
The lockdown saw a sudden spurt in cases of domestic violence. Khalida Baji and her team were flooded with phone calls from distraught people, some of whom even wished to end their lives. But she and her team counselled them in the light of the Qur’an and Hadees, and provided them with sufficient resources.
During the agitation against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR), Khalida Baji actively led numerous flash protests across Hyderabad, for which she was sometimes detained by the police. Baji has vowed to establish a ‘Shaheen Bagh’ in Hyderabad once the anti-CAA agitations resume.
Telangana, of which Hyderabad is the capital, doesn’t have a women’s commission for two years now. Many organisations have been demanding the appointment of the commission’s chairperson and several activists have filed RTI queries but the state government is dilly-dallying.
Khalida Baji has supported the demand, saying that establishing the women’s commission in the state would help speed up the investigation into pending cases of violence against women.
The recent floods in Hyderabad rendered innumerable citizens homeless and penniless. Khalida Baji provided groceries, clothes and shelter to the affected families in her neighbourhood.
A hallmark of her social activism is that she has always kept government authorities in the loop. She also actively campaigned for the Welfare Party of India, which strives for value-based politics.
Khalida Baji is active on social media and keeps up with technology. Her Twitter (@kparveen2005) and Facebook accounts bear testimony to this. She plans to launch a YouTube channel soon.
Another field of her active engagement is the mainstream media. She is frequently quoted in news and feature stories that appear in newspapers. She also appears on regional and national television, and is as fluent in Telugu, Malayalam and English as she is in Urdu.
The social activism hasn’t deterred Khalida Baji from building her connections with the Almighty. She takes time off for Namaz and fasts regularly during non-Ramazan days.
At 65, she is the true definition of a multitasker and has shown how an individual can contribute to the community and society at large.
(Nabila Mulla is a freelance journalist based in Hyderabad. She can be contacted at NabilaaMulla@gmail.com)
source: http://www.indiatomorrow.net / India Tomorrow / Home> News> Society / by Nabila Mulla / November 26th, 2020
The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) alumnus Zeyad Masroor Khan has won the prestigious Crossword Book Award-2024 in the nonfiction category for his gripping and coming of age memoir City on Fire: A Boyhood in Aligarh.
The awards ceremony took place at Mumbai on Sunday. The Crossword Book Award, established in 1998, honours and promotes Indian writing in English. Honours were bestowed in six diverse categories – fiction, non-fiction, children’s books, business and management, mind, body and spirit, and translations.
The winning authors received a cash prize of Rs 50,000 each.
The short list in non-fiction category included some of the best writings such as Sudha Bharadwaj’s From Phansi Yard, Sohini Chattopadhyay’s The Day I Became a Runner, Zeyad Masroor Khan’s City on Fire: A Boyhood in Aligarh, Yamini Narayanan’s Mother Cow Mother India, and Arati Kumar-Rao’s Marginlands.
In his review of the book, Prof Mohammad Asim Siddiqui, wrote: “Though Aligarh has found a worthy mention in many recent memoirs penned by writers having some association with Aligarh, like Naseeruddin Shah, an alumnus of AMU, wrote a chapter on ‘Aligarh University Absurdists’ in his excellently-written memoir And Then One Day (2014), his brother Zameer Uddin Shah, vice chancellor of AMU from 2012 to 2017, talked about his efforts to make AMU a top-ranked university and his spats with some political leaders during his tenure in his memoir The Sarkari Mussalman (2018), and Muzaffar Ali credits AMU’s poetic culture and its celebrated Urdu poets for influencing his visualisation of subjects in his films in his autobiography Zikr: In the Light and Shade of Time (2023), Aligarh city is missing in these memoirs.”
Prof Sidddiqui noted that “Zeyad Masroor Khan’s City on Fire fills this gap. It vividly describes life in Aligarh city, particularly Muslim localities such as Uper Coat, Bhujipura, Nuner Gate, Babri Mandi, Mian Ki Sarai, Thakurwali Gali, Haddi Godam, Sarai Sultani and Shah Jamal inside out to debunk many myths about them”.
Sahitya Akademi award winning author Professor Shafey Kidwai congratulated Mr. Zeyad Masroor Khan on winning this prestigious award. “Zeyad Masroor Khan’s spectacular success should inspire other young writers, particularly those coming from Aligarh Muslim University,” he added.
Prof Shaheena Tarannum, Chairperson, Department of English, congratulated Mr. Khan on winning the prestigious award.
Notably, Zeyad Masroor Khan studied BA English at AMU, and now works as a journalist, writer and documentary film-maker.
Each category of the award was judged by a separate jury, and the non-fiction jury consisted of TCA Raghavan, Anuradha Sengupta, and Kaveree Bamzai.
source: http://www.radiancenews.com / Radiance News / Home> Pride of the Nation> Awards> Latest News / by Radiance News Bureau / December 10th, 2024
Former Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot, met with Just Media Foundation Director Masihuzzama Ansari and Research Coordinator Dr. Raheem Khan here Saturday. During the meeting, the Foundation’s accomplishments, objectives, and ongoing initiatives in the media field were discussed.
A key highlight of the meeting was the presentation of “Me Goaim,” a recently published book by Dr. Omair Anas, which explores the intricate relationship between literature and society. The book reflects the Foundation’s commitment to advancing intellectual and cultural discourse.
The Foundation team elaborated on its efforts to promote media research, foster social awareness, and empower youth through specialised training. They outlined their mission of providing research-based content and encouraging constructive dialogue on various social issues.
Dr. Raheem Khan emphasised the importance of media in shaping societal perspectives and shared insights into the Foundation’s research endeavours. The team also extended an invitation to Ashok Gehlot to attend an upcoming seminar on “Gandhi and Journalism.” The former Chief Minister graciously accepted the invitation.
Gehlot commended the Foundation for its significant contributions to media and education.
Dr. Omair Anas’ “Me Goaim,” has garnered acclaim in literary circles, and Gehlot expressed keen interest in its themes and insights.
source: http://www.radiancenews.com / Radiance News / Home> Latest News> Reports / by Radiance News Bureau / December 08th, 2024
The halwa sold today is not the halwa of my childhood. It has been revised, adapted, diminished, like so many sweetmeats of times past.
Tarana Husain Khan
My childhood winters could not be considered complete without Rampur halwa sohan from the shop of Amanat Bhai. The halwa used to come in a crimson and gold box with, appropriately enough, the words “mausam e sarma ka tohfa”, meaning the gift of winters, written across it.
Like mutable memories, the halwa sohan of Rampur too has changed. For one, the “gift of winters” is now available throughs the year. For another, it no longer tastes the same. The texture used to be finer in my childhood, each piece coalescing with the barely visible ghee, leaving behind not a smidge of aftertaste. The halwa today has a thick, grainy texture. It is crumblier and instead of the old red-brown, it is of a darker brown hue with a sheen of glistening ghee.
This confounding degeneration led me to Amanat Bhai ki laal dukaan in Rampur’s ancient Nasrullah Khan bazar. Maybe they could give a ready explanation for the decline. The shop is not hard to find. Its rouge walls, which gave rise to the vivid name, distinguishes it from the other stores outside the qilla.
Haris Raza, the grandson of Amanat Bhai who runs the shop, informs me that it dates to the time of Nawab Raza Ali Khan (1930-1949). Its founder Amanat ulla Khan learned the art of making halwa sohan from his father and used to prepare it, along with gulqand (a rose petal sweet), for Nawab Raza. There are now two Amanat Bhai shops, each run by a different branch of the old maestro’s family, each claiming to possess the genuine recipe.
Amanat Bhai ki laal dukaan. Courtesy: Tarana Husain Khan.
At Rs 600 a kilogram, halwa sohan today is not hard on the pocket of the ordinary man. I believe it is to achieve this economy that the ingredients and their proportions have been altered. Where the older recipe used genuine ghee, the newer one employs ghee substitutes, possibly contributing to the aftertaste.
Haris says he makes special halwa sohan for members of the royal family with large quantities of pure ghee. But even this possesses the same grainy and burnt dark brown look as the everyday one. There is also an overpowering taste of caramel to it. Haris lays the blame on the evolving palate: customers’ preferences have changed. He nods when I describe the halwa sohan of my childhood. “Khaane pe ghee ki pichkaari nikalti thi,” he exclaimed. When you ate it, ghee would squirt in the mouth.
We go up the rough steps to the kitchen above the shop. Haris shows me pictures of celebrity chef Kunal Kapur stirring halwa in a large kadhai and asks if I have watched the episode of The Royal Palate in which the chef visited his shop. I tell him I have, but that is not how I know of the shop. My association with it goes back far longer. He smiles and decides to call me Appi (elder sister). He says he was compelled to give up his fledgling career as a real estate agent and take over the family business in 2016 after his father’s sudden death. It was important for him to continue the family tradition.
As I watch the cooks working furiously over large steaming kadhais, Haris enlightens me on the finer points of halwa-making. The process is as lengthy as it is laborious. It all starts with the making of samnak or wheat germ. The grains are first sifted for broken or blackened seeds and then soaked in water for three days. Great care must be taken at this stage. When the sprouts are about an inch long, they are dried and then ground to a flour. Next the flour is dissolved in just enough milk to make a thick paste. The rest of the milk is added in splashes while sautéing.
The halwa gets its sweet caramel flavour and dark red-brown colour from being sautéd in a kadhai for a long time. According to Haris, the normal cooking in the past was six hours, but now they cook it for nine hours because customers – including the erstwhile royal family – prefer a darker colour. Once cooked, the halwa is spread on trays, sprinkled with pistachio juliennes, and cut into squares. Each chewy soft square with its sweet and caramel taste is still delectable.
Haris says it takes a halwai years of practice to get everything right, from the intensity of the sauté to the timing of when to add the ingredients. At precisely the right time, a little alum must be tossed in to curdle the milk and effect a daana, or grainy texture, in the halwa. Just one error can make the difference between adequate and delicious. Most halwais, Haris explains, make the mistake of adding all the milk with the flour.
courtesy: Tarana Husain Khan.
Haris admits to reducing the amount of ghee and sugar in the recipe. The earlier proportion was 40 litres milk, 2 kilograms samnak flour, 1 kilogram semolina, 7 kilograms ghee and 10 kilograms sugar. His cooks use the semolina to get the crumbly texture and darker colour. But the recipes I discovered in my research of 19th century cookbook manuscripts and a 1940s cookbook did not use semolina, but instead a small proportion of maida (refined flour) with samnak flour. Maybe that is the reason for the different texture. Haris has no idea when they changed the ingredients. He checks my profile on Google and promises to make the old-style halwa for me.
Origin Story
Oral history narrated by Rampur’s cooks credits the royal hakims for the recipe of halwa sohan and other halwas. However, given halwa sohan’s popularity in Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan, it is safe to assume that it was the Rohilla community that carried the rustic samnak halwa to India. Once here, the recipe was made more elaborate in the royal kitchens of Rampur.
The test of the famed halwa sohan, once called habshi halwa, was that when placed on a dish, it would show no sign of the ghee. However, if you stabbed it with a finger, the ghee would gather around the finger, only to disappear again once the finger was removed. This sounds remarkable considering there was 10 to 12 times the amount of ghee than the flour.
Muneeza Shamsi, a writer and a niece of Raffat Zamani Begum of Rampur (1907-1986), says the halwa sohan she used to eat at Khasbagh Palace in the 1960s could never be replicated. Equally impressed was Rampur historian Ali Asghar Shadani, who described the halwa sohan of Rampur in Ahwal e Riyasat e Rampur years after he migrated to Pakistan:
“When you put a piece of halwa sohan or habshi halwa in your mouth, it starts melting immediately. The taste is heavenly and it never sticks to the tooth or irritates the throat. If you ate the halwa sohan cooked by a Rampur khansama, you would forget Abdurrazaq khansama’s halwa served at Ghanta Ghar, Delhi.”
Halwa sohan would be cooked through the night before a wedding or a grand celebration. Cooks would be given a corner of the courtyard and a large kadhai set over open fire as guests came in with gifts and sang songs for the bride. Each square of the halwa was packed into a box bearing the names of the couple and the boxes then distributed to the groom’s family and guests after the nikah (nuptial vows). The in-laws would be given several boxes.
Well-cooked halwa sohan doesn’t spoil for a long time and requires no refrigeration. My brother’s wife and her family from Lucknow, who fell in love with the halwa, stored it for more than a year. The nikah sweets these days tend to be boondi ladoos rather than halwa. This is because, like me, most Rampuris feel that halwa sohan doesn’t taste the same anymore.
Nasreen Begum, the wife of Nawab Raza Ali Khan’s nephew, told me she used to cook halwa sohan at home with the help of her khansamas. She is now too old to supervise cooking, the old khansamas have passed away, and she has to depend on the local halwai for her supply. There are barely any khansamas willing to cook it at home these days, so for special occasions people order halwa sohan from their local shops.
Aloe Vera Or Adrak
A popular variant of halwa sohan in Rampur is doodhiya halwa sohan. The ingredients of this variant are the same – samnak and wheat flour form the base – but the higher proportion of milk changes its colour and taste. The way it is cooked is similar to the way halwa sohan is cooked in Multan and Afghanistan – the flours are dissolved into the milk and then cooked – although Afghans generally use curd to curdle the milk. Apart from doodhiya halwa, there are other variants. Jauzi halwa sohan uses the same ingredients but has a lighter colour because it is sautéed for less time. Papdi halwa sohan is hard and biscuit-like.
Haris says his late father added aloe vera halwa to the menu some 20 years ago because aloe vera was a fad then. It still survives on the menu and is in high demand every winter as a remedy for joint pain. I found no mention of aloe vera halwa in the historical sources on Rampur cuisine. Instead, for join pain relief, people used to prefer adrak halwa in the olden days.
Several articles on Rampur cuisine based on oral history mention adrak halwa. The story goes that a nawab suffering from joint aches was prescribed ginger or a ginger-based medicine, which he absolutely loathed. As a workaround, his cooks were asked to create a ginger-based halwa in such a way that the nawab should never suspect he was being fed the detested tuber. The cooks succeeded and from their ingenuity sprang adrak halwa.
Old texts advocate the use of young ginger stems with a light greenish hue, so that there are no fibres to spoil the texture and produce an aftertaste. Rampuri adrak halwa is a speciality that can still be found at local shops. Amanat Bhai’s shop offers it too, along with aloe vera halwa, though given the amount of ghee and sugar in them, they cannot be said to be healthy by any stretch of the imagination.
Forgotten Sweetness
Beyond halwas, Rampur’s cuisine has other heavenly desserts. Some have been incorporated from Mughal and Awadh cuisines, while others were born of the creativity of royal khansamas. Remembrances of Days Past: Glimpses of a Princely State, a memoir of Jahanara Habibullah, the sister of Raffat Zamani Begum, describes in details the sweetmeats loved by the Rampur nawabs.
Rice-based desserts such as zarda (sweet rice with saffron) and safeda (sweet rice) are all-time favourites that are served at weddings and banquets. Safeda is a sweet rice that is cooked in five times the amount of sugar until each grain of rice attains the sheen of sugar syrup. Zarda, by contrast, is less sweet and is dyed zard (yellow) with saffron and food colouring.
I, for one, have never understood the logic of serving zarda or any sweet rice with savoury pulao – it is too much rice for me in a feast. Maybe one explanation for this profusion of rice dishes is that Rampur lies in a rice-growing belt.
On the royal tables, zarda was embellished with fruits fashioned out of sugar – an art of presentation that lives on through food memoirs. Begum Noor Bano recalls that the Basmati rice for zarda and safeda used to come from Tanda tehsil of Rampur and had to be matured for 10 years for it to absorb the large amounts of sugar. We now have at best two-year-old rice, and double the sugar is all we can aspire for. To make matters simpler, cooks today use parboiled rice, which I find a bit too firm, almost plasticky and with zero aroma.
In the 1960s, the last years of grand Rampur cuisine, my husband and his brother attended a royal banquet with their grandfather, Ameer Ahmad Khan. This distinguished gentleman, who was the chief secretary to the nawab at the time, kept an eagle eye on his young wards. The meal was a buffet. As one of the boys reached for what looked like a kabab to go with the poori, Ameer Ahmad Khan abandoned his circle and pounced on the errant grandson, confiscating his plate.
“Idiot! This is hubaabi, not kabab,” he hissed.
Hubaabi was a deep-fried sweet dipped in sugar syrup that looked like a round kabab. The poor boy, too shy to get another plate, came home hungry, and the episode became a part of family lore.
By the 1960s, some Rampur sweets became confined to the royal tables and were unrecognisable to the ordinary populace. One of them was hubaabi. Made of maida, sugar, milk and ghee, hubaabi required a perfect khameer (yeast) to rise or the spheres would become flat and harden while frying. Mangochi (sweet moong dumplings), sheer badey (sweet urad dumplings), gul e akbari (almond flour sweet), qutub khani (fried maida sweet) were other sweets that got relegated to food memories.
Jahanara Habibullah mentions the sweet dar e bahist (gateway to heaven) in her memoir. It is an almond-based sweet, shaped like a thick, large barfi. It is difficult to make because the pastry of almond flour, sugar and milk has to be cooked to the moment when the surface bubbles into holes – the jaali point. It is then taken off the heat, spread out on a flat tray and cooled. Next it is cut into two-inch squares. It is the flakiness of the jaali that is difficult to achieve. I have only heard and read descriptions of dar e bahist and I’m assuming that if the crucial point is missed, the texture and taste changes. Maybe it was the arduous cooking procedure, the expense or the fall in demand which led to its discontinuation. Haris says he makes it sometimes for members of the royal family on special occasions. There are several variations of the dar e bahist described in old cookbooks – made with pistachios, chickpea flour, rose petals, or coconut – several gateways to heaven where none exist now.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the struggling elite sold their lands to survive. The loss of the privy purse in 1971 left the royalty strapped for cash, and one of the casualties of the resulting parsimony was the cuisine. The more expensive dishes were excluded from the royal menu and slowly forgotten. For other dishes, ingredients were replaced, procedures abridged, and general cost-cutting measures adopted. The fate of halwa sohan, as of other sweets, was sealed. The nawabs let go of the royal cooks and depended on halwais for those sweets that used to be cooked in their kitchens.
An invite from Nawab Kazim Ali Khan to the wedding of his son last year was accompanied by a large box of halwa sohan. Prepared from the old recipe at Amanat Bhai’s shop, it had the fine texture and the elusive red-brown hue with the sheen of ghee. I took a tentative bite of a soft square. It melted in the mouth, an amalgam of earthy and caramel flavours, a satiating whole with an approximation of the well-remembered and much-loved taste.
This article is part of the project “Forgotten Food: Culinary Memory, Local Heritage and Lost Agricultural Varieties in India”, curated by Tarana Husain Khan and edited by Siobhan Lambert Hurley and Claire Chambers. It has been funded by Global Challenges Research Fund through the Arts & Humanities Research Council in the United Kingdom. Read the other parts here.
source: http://www.scroll.in / Scroll.in / Home> Forgotten Food / by Tarana Husain Khan / June 05th, 2021