Tag Archives: Muslims of Hyderabad

Sajida breaks into male bastion to become first woman music technician

Hyderabad, TELANGANA:

Sajida Khan has served in many Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films as a sound engineer over the past 10 years

Hyderabad:

Since the time Indian women got the liberty to pursue jobs, most have fulfilled their ambitions by working in the government sector, banks and multinational companies. However, Sajida Begum from the Maula Ali suburb of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, has broken a new glass ceiling by establishing herself in ‘musical acoustics and audio engineering.’ She has not just learnt the ropes of the industry, but become an expert in her field.

For the same reason, President Ram Nath Kovind presented her the ‘Ladies Award’ recognising her as “India’s first female music technician” in 2018.

Every part of her life journey reflects her love for music.  

Interest in sound mixing and engineering

Sajida says she wanted to enter the music industry right from her school days. Alongside pursuing studies, she would often participate in competitions held at Hyderabad’s famous Ravindra Bharathi Theatre. She demonstrated her talent at various programmes and contests on Doordarshan and All India Radio as well.  

She recounted an incident when a folk singer from Andhra, once, spotted her passion and told her about the various genres of music — folk, classical, Bollywood, and others. Her interest grew and she became determined to try something new.

Sajida says that she completed an animation course and then a PG diploma in the subject while finishing her XIIth Standard studies.

Meanwhile, she had the opportunity to go to a studio with her friend. Here, she displayed such great technical knowledge of the devices and equipment, that the owners were impressed and offered her a job. She worked here as an assistant to the music director for about five years.

Making a mark in the industry over a decade

Talking about her current projects, Sajida says she aims to bring as many stories on the digital audio format as possible. This allows authors and societies to preserve their knowledge. She has recently helped 40 children record their poems in audio format.

Sajida has served in many Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films as a sound engineer over the past 10 years. She has done dubbing, background music and complete audio mix. Besides, she is responsible for the success of several jingles, music albums and TV serials.

She has worked with leading film directors like Dasari Narayana Rao, Teja and Puri Jagannadh.

The only female music technician in the country, Sajida has also found her way into the ‘International Audiobook.’ This is a collection of interviews with women achievers in the audio field from across the globe. It’s called ‘Women in Audio.’

Despite this, Sajida says that it will still take some time for India and the world to recognise the contributions of women sound engineers.

Encouraging more women to venture into the field

Sajida says there’s no gender discrimination in the music industry. In fact, she got more work and with more confidence from her employers due to her being a woman. She said families must encourage their girls if they take interest in music, just like her parents did.

For Muslim women she said, a lot of them get into Mehndi application, beautician and tailoring courses; but they can explore fields beyond these as well. Muslim women need to be provided education so they are empowered and made more aware of all the career avenues available to them.

Sajida said she wishes to start her own post-production studio and a music school. She would like to employ as many women as she can in them, she said.     

source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz The Voice / Home> Women / by awazthevoice.in / January 24th, 2021

How this 21-year-old created robotic gloves to help paralysed patients get their groove back

Hyderabad, INDIA / SAUDI ARABIA :

As a sweet little six-year-old, when Zain Samdani saw his mother taking care of the household like a pro, he decided to lend her a robotic hand. In all his innocence, he went up to her and said, “I will build you a robot that can do everything.” Today, the same boy has grown into an entrepreneur whose invention goes behind the peripheries of any household.

IMG_8293_(1)
Meet Zain | (Pic:  Zain Samdani)

He won the Young Entrepreneur Award from the Indian Business Forum, Riyadh in January 2018



But before the result came the hard, gruelling work of learning everything there is to learn about robotics.

Born in Hyderabad and brought up in Saudi Arabia, Zain started by reading. And then some. Then came a series of instruction videos and only after he turned 14 came his first robotics kit. In 2013, he pursued the PSSO Robotics Programme at the King Salman Science Oasis in Riyadh apart from participating in international competitions. He topped it off with pursuing online courses leading up to the summer of 2015. 

But it is usually when pain hits home that you really put your power into play. And that’s what happened with Zain. “A distant uncle of mine was paralysed and what upset me was that there was hardly any technological help that could be rendered to help him move around. In a quest to help my uncle, I decided to create ExoHeal,” says the youngster.  

Zain with Sundar Pichai

Started in May 2016, this start-up offers a modular robotic device based on the concept of neuroplasticity. There are two gloves — one that is sensory and one that is robotic. The sensory one goes on the good hand and the robotic on the other. When you move the good hand, the paralysed hand is almost forced to mimic the action which actually tricks the brain into believing that the paralysed hand is actually okay, forming new neural connections. With consistent usage, movement may gradually be restored in the paralysed hand. 

In 2016, his working prototype helped his uncle and since then, the Ashoka Young Changemaker has been trying to perfect the device. He has been adding little touches and enhancements like going wireless, with the help of Bluetooth and radio waves, and the latest, launching an app. “Because of the lockdowns, patients are unable to travel to their physiotherapists and hence, the app helps the doctor track the progress of their patients in real-time,” he explains. The app has a list of exercises the patient can choose from. With the team of five and machine learning, they are trying to adjust the level of assistance offered with the involvement of the doctors so that the latter puts only that much effort as is required from him.  
 


Selected as a Global Teen Leader by We Are Family Foundation in New York, USA in March 2019



Dr KV Rao Scientific Society in Hyderabad has also been of mighty help to this entrepreneur who is pursuing his Higher Secondary Course from the National Institute of Open Schooling due to medical reasons.

The Society started supporting his project in November last year. Currently, the 3D printed model is ready and they hope to conduct clinical trials for further validation. By the way, this innovation has been to the Google Science Fair twice (2016 and 2019) and both times, Zain was the Global Finalist. Even Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai has tried them out too. Now, how’s that for some validation?

www.zainsamdani.org

source: http://www.edexlive.com / edexlive, The New Indian Express / Home> Start-Up / by Seema Rajpal, EdexLive / June 09th, 2021

Shotgun Shooting World C’ship: Muffadal Deesawala, Bhavtegh Gill win junior skeet mixed team bronze

Hyderabad, INDIA /Osijek,CROATIA :

The Indian duo beat the American pair of Aidin Burns and Mikena Grace Fulton 5-1 in the second bronze medal match.

Muffadal Zahra Deesawala & Bhavtegh Singh Gill | ISSF YouTube

Muffadal Zahra Deesawala and Bhavtegh Singh Gill won India’s third medal of the International Shooting Sport Federation Shotgun World Championship in Osijek, Croatia. The duo picked up a bronze in the Skeet Mixed Team Junior event here at the Olympic Shooting Range ‘Pampas’ on Tuesday.

They beat the American pair of Aidin Burns and Mikena Grace Fulton 5-1 in the second bronze medal match. They were declared winners by Golden Hit after Bhavteg and Mufaddal shot seven out of eight targets in the last series, enough to ensure that the Americans cannot win the series after Burns missed one out of his four targets.

The first pair to six points usually wins the match but the Indians were up 5-1 already and a tied last series would have given the Indians the point needed to win.

Deesawala and Gill finished sixth in the qualifiers shooting a combined 132 out of 150 targets. Deesawala shot 62 out of 75 and Gill shot 72 out of 75 shots to secure the last position for the bronze medal matches.

The British pairing of Mitchell Brooker Smith and Sophie Herrmann won the Gold in the event beating Haolei Zhao and Dan Wang of China 6-4.

Areeba Khan, on Tuesday, had won India’s second medal of the World Championship after the Junior Men’s Trap Team had won a gold. 

Bhowneesh Mendiratta had also won a Paris Olympic quota, India’s first for the 2024 Games, earlier in the championship. He finished fourth in the event.

source: http://www.scroll.in / Scroll.in / Home> The Field> Shooting World Championships / by Scroll Staff / October 04th, 2022

Hyderabad: Exhibition of Muslim women achievers at Salar Jung Museum

Hyderabad, TELANGANA:

 Dr Lateef of ILM Foundation

Hyderabad: 

Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world. There is no limit to what they can accomplish. Now, one can learn all about the achievements of Muslim women at a two-day exhibition being organised at the Salar Jung Museum on October 1 and 2 by the Intellectual Learning Methodologies (ILM) Foundation in association with the Shaheen Group of Educational Institutions, Islah and Asli Talbina.

Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani, general secretary, All India Muslim Personal Law Board, will inaugurate the exhibition which showcases the achievements of 40 women in different fields. Details of their accomplishment will be explained through posters, said Dr Lateef of ILM Foundation.

The main objective of holding the exhibition is to inform the common man about the achievements of women, particularly Muslim women.

A study of early Islamic history showed that women enjoyed the freedom of movement and took an active part in all walks of life. They excelled as rulers, warriors, nurses, scholars, jurists, teachers, traders and companions of the Prophet (Sahabiat).

In fact, they defined success on their own terms and proved that they are the real architects of society. When he started working on the subject some one-and-half years ago, Dr Lateef said, he stumbled upon the names of at least 10,000 women who had made immense contributions in their chosen field of activity.

These details he accessed through four books. They are  Al Muhaddthat written by Oxford scholar of Indian origin, Dr Akram Nadvi, Muslim Women Biography Dictionary of Aisha Bewley, Great Women of Islam written by Mehmood Ahmed Ghazanfar and Achievements of Muslim Women in Religious and Scholarly Field by Maulana Qazi Athar Mubarakpuri.

Some of the well-known names whose exploits and achievements are being showcased include Hazrath Aisha, wife of the Prophet Muhammed, who made an enormous contribution to the cause of Islam through her intelligence and scholarship. Besides being an important narrator of Prophetic traditions (Hadith), she proved to be more learned than many men of her period.

Many male companions of the Prophet used to approach her for clarification of Hadith. Similarly, Hazrath Zainab, daughter of Hazrath Ali, was also a great scholar. Eminent Islamic scholar, Ibn Hajar, is stated to have studied under 53 women while Al Suyuti is under 33 women. All this is history now. Other prominent women are Queen Zubaida, Princess Razia Sultana, Durru Shehvar, and Princess Niloufer.

These women could leave their indelible marks as Muslim society gave them their fundamental rights to education and self-development.

“Lives of early Muslim women represent exemplary models, transcending time and boundaries. And they are a great source of inspiration,” Lateef said.

Organisers plan to take the exhibition to other parts of the country after Hyderabad. The exhibition on the inspiring women achievers is the result of the hard work put in by two talented girls -Juveria Sabir and Zoha Ansari. The latter is working at Edventure Park, a start-up incubator.

The two-day exhibition is being held in the eastern block of the Salar Jung Museum from 11 am to 5 pm. Entry is free.

source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> Featured News / by J S Ifthekhar / September 27th, 2022

Watch Mahboob Khan’s journey: A hidden gem in India’s combat sports

Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

Hyderabad: 

Although known primarily for its food and culture, Hyderabad is fast emerging as a centre for Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). All over the country, those looking to make their mark in the sport make the city their home as the Hyderabad MMA Gym on Kali Khabar Road in Chaderghat churns out well-rounded, technically sound fighters. The man responsible for this, Head Coach Shaik Khalid, creates fighters adept at grappling and striking.

Among his earlier students is India’s first gold medallist in the sport, Mahboob Khan. Originally from Gulbarga, Karnataka, he moved to Hyderabad with his family at the age of 10. To help make ends meet, he began working from a very young age at an onion shop in Madannapet. His work ethic improved even further as helped provide for his family.

But a chance visit to Shaik Khalid’s gym would change his life as Khalid recognized that Mahboob incorporated the same discipline from his previous jobs into his training.

Seeing this potential, Khalid asked Mahboob to quit his job and paid for his daily expenses. The result has been a gold medal on the international stage and more than 10 within the country’s domestic scene. He hopes to also make a professional debut soon. Do check out Siasat.com’s mini-documentary about Khan’s journey.

source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> News> Hyderabad / by Daneesh Majid / September 05th, 2022

Mohammed Yasin, A Calligrapher and Painter Par Excellence, is No More

Mogalgidda (Mahbubnagar District) / Hyderabaad, TELANGANA :

Mohammed Yasin, veteran painter and one of the best calligraphers in the subcontinent.

OBITUARY

Yasin’s early works have explored all available mediums from lithography, etching, aquatint, engraving, dry point, serigraphy, mezzotint water colours, oils, gouache and egg tempera.

“85-year-old veteran artist Mohammed Yasin’s character impresses as a person and his characteristics as an artist. Perhaps the distinction is unreal, for, in his case, it is the same integrity that reveals itself in the structure of life and in self-expression through art.”

These were the words said a few years ago by a noted art critic for Mohammed Yasin, veteran painter and one of the best calligraphers in the subcontinent, who passed away on August 19.

Yasin was born in Mogalgidda, a village near Shadnagar, 30 km from Hyderabad. As a young school boy, he felt an aptitude for Art when he was just 14 years old. After passing his elementary and intermediate drawing examinations, he moved to Hyderabad city with his family members from his birthplace Mogalgidda.

Showcasing art work.

Though quiet in his demeanour, Yasin has had seriously tragic experiences. His father passed away when he was only 14 months old. He was brought up under his mother’s care and guidance. He had to grow up with many hardships. While as a boy, he was affected by tuberculosis of the spine which has left a limp which necessitates the use of a stick to aid in walking. But through a sustained musing, he has won an inner serenity.

Art works displayed in an art gallery

His most important contribution goes to the art of calligraphy. He chose to work in an abstract symbolic manner. Geometrical elements like the circle within the square, concentric circles, etc. comprise the basic structure emphasizing a symmetrical arrangement and abstract formal values–calm and quiet but they are, nevertheless, active fields. They seem to be deeply influenced by the Buddhist art. They generate impulses of colour and focus attention on the symbolic images they contain.

The use of circle, square, triangle adds to his innovation a transparency, a water colour. The orthodox prohibition of representational figuration in art made the Islamic tradition turn to calligraphy. Yasin has brought to this tradition a modernist love of abstraction and monumental geometricism.

His early works have explored all available mediums from lithography, etching, aquatint, engraving, dry point, serigraphy, mezzotint water colours, oils, gouache and egg tempera.

His works are very poetic and also dramatic; actually they are calligraphic in nature. Tantric symbolism, Sufi mysticism, echoes of the miniature schools, shades of thankas and pictorialised Arabic Calligraphy are all inspirations which could be identified in Yasin’s work.


Aseem Asha Usman is founding director of Aseem ASHA Foundation, and has been documenting the life and works of the veteran calligrapher and painter.

source: http://www.clarionindia.net / Clarion India / Home / by Aseem Asha Usman / August 20th, 2020

Shabnam Khatoon is the best athlete of MANUU; wins cash award

Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

Hyderabad: 

Shabnam Khatoon has been felicitated as best athlete of Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) on Friday. Prof. Syed Ainul Hasan, Vice-Chancellor, presented a cash award in recognition of her all round performance in sports events held recently during Jashn-e-Baharan, an annual event.

Shabnam, a student of B.Tech III Year, emerged as the fastest running girl of MANUU winning both 100 and 200 meter sprints. She also bagged first place in 50 kgs weight lifting event and led the Department of Computer Science & Information Technology girls’ Kabbadi team to the title.

Prof. Ainul Hasan lauded her performance and announced special coaching facility particularly for girl students at MANUU. He also felicitated Dr. A Kaleemulla, Deputy Director, Directorate of Physical Education & Sports for efficiently organizing the sports competitions.

Prof. Mohammed Abdul Azeem, Proctor, and Chairman Sports Committee informed that MANUU has availed the services of well known badminton coach Mr. Ziaur Rahman for the students.  Mr. Muzaffar Ali is the football coach.

source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> News> Hyderabad / by News Desk / July 22nd, 2022

Mohammed Shakeb: Preserver of Mughal Archival Documents and Reconstructor of Libraries

Kokori, UTTAR PRADESH /Hyderabad, TELANGANA / London, U.K :

A tribute to a polymath historian who recently passed away.

Dr Ziauddin Ahmed Shakeb at the Qutb Shahi tombs in Hyderabad, October 2013. Photo: Author provided

I first met Dr Mohammed Ziauddin Ahmed Shakeb in the summer of 2011, as a naïve PhD student who’d arrived in Hyderabad from Los Angeles wanting to “read Shah Jahan’s documents”. He asked me the very standard question asked of research students in India, “What is your topic?”

I only had a rather incoherent answer to give to Shakeb, the man who had, among other things, created the Mughal Record Room, in what is today known as the Telangana State Archives. Located in a nondescript building at the periphery of the Osmania University campus in the dusty precinct of Tarnaka, this institution has undergone numerous transformations over the course of a half-century of its existence in Hyderabad. But institutions were often narrow and unimaginative places for sustaining a towering figure such as Shakeb. He went on to have a long and eclectic life and career that consistently defied the logic and constraints of institutions, for he was himself an institution. The loss of Shakeb is thus far more than the loss of an individual.

His was a formidable generation of post-Independence intellectuals from different parts of the subcontinent who, from the 1950s, devoted themselves to preserving its languages, repairing and reconstructing our scattered archives and libraries, and re-imagining our past(s) long before colonialism. Shakeb embodied, above all, a boundless curiosity coupled with a complete disregard for trends, ‘schools,’ cliques, and fancy theories.

He was not interested in being a Marxist or a nationalist nor in chasing the Western academy’s greener pastures. In some ways, his foremost allegiance was to the detritus of the past itself – to what paper, ink, and materiality mean and what they can tell us about our past and present selves. He asked, what a document or manuscript had gone through over centuries, how had it come to be, and how can we best preserve thousands of paper fragments for future generations so we can continue to tell their stories?

This rare commitment to the study and preservation of archival knowledge led him to write the landmark catalog, Mughal Archives Vol I: A Descriptive Catalogue of the Documents Pertaining to the Reign of Shah Jahan, in 1977, followed by many publications for The British Library, State Archives Andhra Pradesh, and other repositories, universities, and auction houses. I remember asking Shakeb once why he was so committed to creating reference tools to access rare historical materials, and he answered, “because I know no one will care to read them in the future!” In some ways, he was right.

Today, when the stakes for writing about the subcontinent’s pasts are fraught and closely tied to an ongoing project of hollowing out academic institutions, it’s worth remembering a very different kind of Indian historian.

Shakeb standing in the second row, in a group photo from a conference in March 1968 at Andhra University, Visakhapatnam. Also pictured are G.H. Khare, Mohibbul Hasan, V.K. Bawa, P.M. Joshi, Suvira Jaiswal, Burton Stein, and Eugene Irschick, among others. Photo: Author provided

Born on October 21, 1933, Shakeb grew up in Hyderabad and Aurangabad. He studied Political Science and English at Osmania University before heading to Aligarh Muslim University in 1956 for his Masters, where he was taught by Mohammed Habib and S. Nurul Hasan. In 1962, he returned to the south where he was employed as an archivist at what was then known as the State Archives Andhra Pradesh. There, Shakeb acquired the unique training of deciphering documents and identifying their categories, genres, and forms from the last generation of the traditional jagirdari staff of the Nizam’s state who were retiring when he joined the archives. He also worked under Yusuf Husain Khan who had begun the work of processing Mughal administrative documents. The archives thrived under the directorship of committed scholar-administrators such as Hadi Bilgrami and V.K. Bawa.

As rich documentary caches from families, Sufi shrines, and samsthanams were discovered and deposited into state institutions, post-independence archivists and historians confronted challenges, including the reluctance of individuals to part with materials that had been in their homes for centuries. Debates and disputes ensued about what constituted a ‘valuable’ manuscript or document, how to classify materials, and to which regional-linguistic nationalism a remnant ‘belonged.’

These were debates that had already begun in the pre-Independence period, in the work of institutions like the Indian Historical Records Commission. Recent studies of the debates between Jadunath Sarkar and the Maratha historians have traced the longer history of such tensions. Part of the problem was the mutual suspicion between scholars oriented to modern social sciences and those with a more ‘traditional’ orientation and training. Shakeb, the archivist-historian, was at once both and neither.

At a distance from the halls of JNU and Aligarh, where the Mughal state’s merits were being debated, Shakeb inhabited yet another set of worlds. He was at ease reconstructing the household library of Chishti Sufi Abu’l Faiz Minallah in Bidar, discussing the southern India Cholas with the American historian Burton Stein, and discovering a shipwreck off the coast of Masulipatnam in the late 1960s.

Based on newly-processed materials, in 1976, he would complete his doctorate under P.M. Joshi at Deccan College in Pune, a connected history that examined circulation and political diplomacy between Safavid Iran, Mughal India, and the Golkonda sultanate. Shakeb’s study brought the question of mobility and exchange to the centre stage at a time when the norm was to study either the Mughal heartland (often synonymous with Delhi or the northern Indian plains) or select one province of the empire. After many years in archives and universities, Shakeb charted his own path beyond academia. His forensic ability for assessing manuscript provenance, material objects, and documentary genres, allowed him to thrive in other professional contexts, leading to work as a consultant for Christie’s in London.

But, to restrict myself to Shakeb the historian would fail to capture the range of subjects, languages, and disciplines over which he had complete mastery – Persian and Urdu literature, Islamic studies, geography, philosophy, linguistics, and art history. Shakeb always kept the historian’s arrogance in check by reminding her of the literary critic’s skills. The study of prosody and poetics was just as important for making sense of an India without and before English.

Dr Ziauddin Ahmed Shakeb (L) with his friend Dr Leonard Lewisohn (R) at Bidar fort in January 2012. Photo: Author provided

Literary circuits would light up the minute Shakeb landed back in Hyderabad (as they often would in London). He had been working for many years on translating Iqbal’s Persian poetry into Urdu. He was equally committed to the study of Bedil, Ghalib, Dagh, and Amir Minai. He would unveil to students the unique phonetics and cadence of Dakani, the pan-regional literary idiom of southern India, with many living poets and a long literary history, which he emphasised, is yet to be fully understood for its role in shaping classical and modern Urdu.

When he published his dissertation, Relations of Golkonda with Iran, in book form in 2017, he dedicated it to his grandchildren – Itrat, Taha, Mahamid, Khadija, Tawsin, Mahd, Istafa, Fatima, ‘Ali, Nuha – all of whom embody their dadasaab’s fortitude and resilience. I haven’t sufficient words to describe the patience of his wife, Farhat Ahmed, and the enormity of what she has taught me over many years about balancing the scholarly life with everyday living. It was this reminder that grounded Shakeb’s engagement with multiple worlds. His hands that treated every piece of archival paper like a newborn child. Lethal scoldings hurled at junior scholars too convinced of their own greatness. And, never forgetting to make fun of people who take themselves too seriously. With Shakeb’s passing, we are reminded how fragile the threads are that connect us to the past, and how dependent we are on a handful of such individuals. It’s difficult to imagine what, if anything, might come after such larger-than-life figures.

Subah Dayal is Assistant Professor at New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. Her research is on social and cultural histories of the Deccan and the Indian Ocean world.

source: http://www.thewire.in / The Wire / Home> English> Culture> History / by Subah Dayal / February 10th, 2021

Hyderabad mosque allots space for free dialysis centre

Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

The unit is being run under medical supervision of Dr Shoeb Ali Khan, leading consultant nephrologist and a kidney transplant surgeon.

A patient undergoes dialysis at the unit

Hyderabad :

Probably for the first time in the world, a mosque in Hyderabad has allotted space on its premises for establishing a full-fledged haemodialysis unit. Masjid-e-Mohammadia, located in Langar Houz area now houses a state-of-the-art free dialysis centre that mainly caters to the weaker sections of the society, regardless of caste and creed.

The centre, set up by two NGOs – Helping Hand Foundation and SEED US, has five latest Fresenius brand machines and will acquire five more machines in the next three months.  The swanky centre, designed like a corporate hospital, has a separate access for dialysis patients and it is equipped with high quality equipment, clinical care as well as facility to manage onsite emergencies.

The unit is being run under medical supervision of Dr Shoeb Ali Khan, leading consultant nephrologist and a kidney transplant surgeon.A medical doctor, ANMs, dialysis technicians and an ambulance will be available at the centre from 8 am to 8 pm on any given day. “We have invested about Rs 45 lakh for the initial setup of this unit. About Rs 2 lakh per month will be managed by Helping Hand Foundation,” said Mazhar Hussaini of SEED.

To register for free dialysis, one can call Ph: 9603540864.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by Express News Service / July 22nd, 2022

The legend of Ghulam Ahmed turns 100; he was like Caeser, not born again

Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

The contribution of Ghulam Ahmed to cricket in Hyderabad and India is extremely difficult to quantify in mere words.

He was a legendary player, inspirational leader, far thinking administrator and a very capable manager. Whichever role he played, he did so with a measure of excellence that was unmatchable. The Greek philosopher Aristotle once said: “Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort and intelligent execution. Choice, not chance, determines our destiny.”  The words can be applied most aptly to the life and career of Ghulam Ahmed, one of Indian cricket’s most accomplished off spinners and administrators, whose 100th birth anniversary falls on 4th of July, 2022.

But any person who knows about the family from which Ghulam Ahmed emerged, will not be surprised by the fact that this gentleman cricketer achieved so much in his lifetime.

In a way, this illustrious family can be called the first family of Hyderabad sports. Others who are connected to the Razvi family are Pakistan’s former captain Asif Iqbal, India’s former captain Mohammed Azharuddin and tennis champion Sania Mirza. Since Sania’s husband is an ace Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Malik, he too is connected to this family by marriage. So that makes it two captains of India, two captains of Pakistan and a tennis Grand Slam winner in doubles and mixed doubles, all belonging to or connected to one family.

Ghulam Ahmed meets the queen

We all know about the famous off spinner’s exploits on the cricket field. But what was he like as a person? Was he a disciplinarian or was he indulgent? Was he a strict parent or a friendly person who could be addressed as Dad? After siasat.com spoke to several persons who knew him well, an interesting picture emerged.

Apparently Ghulam Ahmed was a person whose character and conduct were unblemished. It was his most outstanding trait. He was painstakingly honest and fair in his thought and judgement. If he made a decision, everyone would accept it because they knew his reputation for being impartial and equitable. As a parent he was not the old fashioned taskmaster. Instead he obtained the love, affection and friendship of all his children. As a person he stuck to his principles but did so with a measure of kindness and tact that earned the willing cooperation of his colleagues.

When Nari Contractor was injured

He hailed from a family wherein the male members had mostly served in the civil services. Ghulam Ahmed himself chose the same path. He was the chairman of the A.P. Public Service Commission and then also the Hyderabad Race Club. He handled sensitive issues with graceful prudence. He had a large group of friends and was well loved and respected by all. Often there would be large gatherings of his friends at his house. The men would play cards and sometimes go out on hunting trips which was a popular pastime among young men of those days.

Ghulam Ahmed studied at the famous Madrasa-E-Aliya and then at Nizam College. In his cricket career, his seniors were the well known brothers S.M. Hussain and S.M. Hadi. The latter was an all round sportsman who excelled at many sports while the former was a member of the Indian cricket team. When he was a raw beginner, he once sought permission to bowl against Hussain. After he was allowed to do so, he bowled the experienced batter with his very first delivery leaving Hussain highly impressed.

Later Ghulam Ahmed grew up and became a very renowned player himself. He grew to be very close to some of the most famous names of those days. They often dropped in at his house. Cricket administrators such as M.A. Chidambaram, M. Chinnaswamy and Kishan Rungta visited him regularly.

The legendary Lala Amarnath, Test cricketers C.D Gopinath, Hemu Adhikary and Polly Umrigar – all these people used to visit his house.

Later, Ghulam Ahmed also served as a cricket administrator both in Hyderabad as well as the BCCI.

Besides serving as the Secretary and Vice President of the BCCI, he was the Chairman of the BCCI selection committee which selected the Indian team that won the World Cup in 1983. He was also given honorary membership of the prestigious Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).

When Ghulam Ahmed passed away after a long and illustrious life, encomiums flowed in from all parts of the world.

This is what The Independent (UK) wrote: “His smooth action enabled him to bowl for long spells while his clever flighting and variations of pace, length and line brought him comparisons with Jim Laker. He made his debut at 17 for Hyderabad but the second world war interrupted his further progress so that he did not appear in Test cricket until 1948 when he was chosen for the third Test against West Indies in Calcutta. He captained India against New Zealand in 1955 and also twice against the West Indies in 1958-59.”

In Shakespeare’s play Caesar, the character of Mark Antony says about his dear departed friend: “Here was a Caesar! When comes such another?” Meaning that Rome will probably never have another outstanding and upright personality like Caesar. The same can be said of Ghulam Ahmed. Like Caesar, Ghulam Ahmed too can never be replaced. His 100th birth anniversary is an occasion to remember with pride and affection, the excellent achievements of the man who was the first cricketer from Hyderabad to lead the nation in the international cricket arena.

source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> News> Sports / by Abhijit Sen Gupta / July 04th, 2022