Rehan Yar Khan is upbeat. He has just closed his first fund of ₹300 crore, raised only from domestic investors. “It was not difficult at all. The market and the people were supportive of the product,” he says.
His venture capital firm Orios Venture Partners last week closed a ₹300-crore fund. “We got it done in about eight months, whereas the average fund raising time is 18 months, especially if it is the first fund,” he says. This is an indication of how smooth it was for him to convince investors in India – mainly promoters of companies and wealthy individuals – to put their money in his fund.
He says his track record as an angel investor helped him when he made the pitch with prospective investors. In India, when you approach investors, most of whom are promoters of companies, you better have a track record to show. Else, getting the money will be difficult, is what he has to say for those wanting to follow his route of raising domestic funds. “I would say spend some time building your track record before you talk to them,” is Rehan’s suggestion. Abroad, most of the investors are fund managers.
Weak rupee
In what way is a domestic fund different from one raised abroad? “At least, I won’t have to worry about rupee depreciation,” says Rehan. A depreciating rupee has been the Achilles heel of even some of the best fund managers, for it can wipe out your IRRs (internal rate of returns).
Rehan, who has been an angel investor since 2008, decided to go in for a venture capital fund because he wanted to participate in subsequent rounds of funding of exciting enterprises and not confine himself to just writing out the first cheque. As an angel investor, you are not able to cut larger cheques and venture capital firms also do not allow you to co-invest if you are not going to contribute large sums of money, at least ₹5 crore and more, according to Rehan.
A home-grown Mumbai boy as he describes himself, 42-year-old Rehan, who studied Political Science and Economics at St Xavier’s College, says to be an entrepreneur was always in his blood and his parents encouraged him. He recalls he set up his first venture when he was in the last year in college. His first business between 1992 and 1998, was one that imported seeds. Then he had a venture that was in the telecom space, from 1998 to 2004. From then, he had an online flower service, his first exposure to the Internet space. With the surplus from Flora2000.com, he started investing in start-ups, the most notable ones being Druva. He has invested in 19 start-ups in seven-eight years, before launching Orios.
Orios, according to Rehan, will announce its first investment in the next two-three weeks. It will be in a software products company from Mumbai-Pune that sells in the US. He has known the entrepreneur for a long time. “This is a good time to raise money in India. There are lots of opportunities,” he adds.
source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Tech / by N. ramakrishnan / August 25th, 2014
The Department of Kannada and Culture has appointed heads and members to various academies.
M S Murthy (Bangalore) has been appointed the Chairman of Karnataka Lalithakala Academy, B A Mohammed Hanif (Dakshina Kannada) is the new chairman of Karnataka Beary Sahitya Academy while Kolkada Girish (Madikeri) has been appointed as the Chairman of Arebhashe Samskruthi Sahitya Academy and Biddatanda S Thammaiah has been appointed the Chairman of Kodava Sahitya Academy.
Members Named
For Karnataka Lalithakala Academy, B L Chauhan, Mahalingappa, Prabhu Urs, B K Badigera, Vishweshwari Tiwari, Devarishi, C Chikkanna, Krishna Devadiga, T H Shanmukappa, Khasim I Kansavi, Sharanappa B H, Wajid Sajid, Vedamurthy, Bargur Markandeya and C Rajashekar have been appointed the members.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnatkaka / by Express News Service / August 14th, 2014
Residents of Dongri area were amazed last week when they saw a group of spirited activists, many of them holding torches and sticks, roaming their streets at night. The march was part of the ‘Drug-Free Mumbai Campaign’ being led by Maulana Syed Moinuddin Ashraf, popularly known as Moin Mian, head of Jamia Qadriya Ashrafia madrassa in Grant Road.
Clad in a white flowing robe and a cap, the senior cleric has declared a jihad against drug peddlers with a nexus with police. Moin Mian, accompanied by fellow protestors including MLA Amin Patel and ex-MLA Yusuf Abrahni, invariably invites local cops to the marches through narrow streets. “We have identified 19 localities including, Dongri, Nagpada, JJ, Pydhonie, and Agripada that are dens of drug peddlers. We have forced the anti-narcotics cell of the Mumbai police to crack down on the drug mafia,” says Moin Mian, who adds that ever since he launched the campaign, along with NGO Social Educational Welfare Association (SEWA) on August 15 at Islam Gymkhana, results have been encouraging. “Earlier people were too scared to speak out against the peddlers who don’t hesitate to attack anyone. Now people join the protests and direct police teams to the dens,” says the spiritual leader. “It is an encouraging campaign. We have given our cell numbers to the volunteers to inform us. We are committed to act against the offenders,” says DCP (Anti-Narcotics Cell) Namdeo Chavan.
But why did a spiritual leader who is mostly surrounded by disciples at his Agripada-based home undertake a cause, which may invite the enmity of powerful drug mafia? He says a couple of years ago one Aslam Abdur Rahman narrated to him a traumatic story. Rahman said that his son Qadeer was doing well till he became a drug addict. “He said the boy had sold out two of the three shops he owned and would often become violent when told to quit drug use. The man started sobbing. It moved me and I decided to launch a campaign against it,” recalls Moin Mian. Is he not scared? And is it not enough that like most other religious and spiritual leaders, he should confine his reforms through preaching? “I am not scared of anyone except God. And preaching has its benefits but the time has come when religious leaders should launch mass movements against social evils,” he says. Ex-MLA and SEWA’s president Yusuf Abrahni says: “I am amazed by his determination to fight the powerful drug mafia. For him there could not have been a better cause than this to lead and we will support it.”
Senior psychiatrist and former head of Bombay Psychiatric Society Dr Y A Matcheswalla says the battle against drug addiction can be won through two methods: lowering demand and reducing supply. “Supply reduction can be done by the Narcotics Control Bureau and Anti-Narcotics Cell of the police while demand can be lowered by creating awareness. It is here that spiritual leaders like Moin Mian have a role to play. “He has galvanised the masses,” says Dr Matcheswalla who adds that Mumbai is “the drug capital of India”. “Many of us wrongly think that it is the job of only police and psychiatrists to fight drug menace and addiction.”
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Mumbai / Mohammed Wajihuddin, TNN / August 24th, 2014
Seventeen-year-old Sayyeda Salima Asra took up the mantle of increasing the literacy rate among Muslim girls in the country, which stood as low as 50 per cent and lower than the national female literacy rate of 54 per cent.
The Hyderabadi’s presentation and exposition on the ‘Indian Perspective of Muslim Minority Girls’ Education’ won her accolades from over 1,000 delegates from across the world. She spoke at the World Women’s Congress which was held at the University of Hyderabad between August 17 and 22.
Asra, a second year student of the Home Science College at Saifabad, was the youngest speaker among a galaxy of speakers drawn from the academia, women’s rights groups, industry, politics and other spheres of society.
Undeterred by the deafening silence, the 17-year-old Hyderabadi in her 12-minute talk, took the audience by surprise and received a standing ovation after her address.
Asra’s talk was far from dry statistics and abstract analysis of the problem and primarily focused on a first hand account of the issue. Her narration of the experience of visiting two Madarsas in the city reflected the issue in its crude form and brought to the fore the appalling conditions under which Muslim girls pursue their education.
According to Asra, it is not the principles of Islam which prevent girls to pursue education but personal thoughts of some leaders and preachers who manipulate texts leading to utter chaos.
“In his first revelation of Allah to prophet Mohammed, God said Islam and theory and practice always should promote knowledge. Seeking of knowledge is incumbent upon every Muslim. It never discourages women from obtaining knowledge,” she said.
Asra considers the Indiansation of Islam largely responsible for the low literacy rate among Muslim girls.
“Although Islam in its true sense never had any caste system, the increased intervention of extraneous forces brought the system into the community. This changed the attitude of people and only aggravated the issue,” the 17-year-old pointed out. Continuity in policy-making is important to tackle the problem, according to Asra. “There are many schemes to address the issue. The problem is that a political party, which comes to power after few years, wants to undo what its predecessor has done. This is hurting the cause of Muslim girls’ education,” the Hyderabadi concluded.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service / August 25th, 2014
The Department of History and Culture, Jamia Millia Islamia is going to organize a lecture on Partners in Freedom: Jamia Millia Islamia by Professor Mushirul Hasan on August 26 at 11.00 AM in the Seminar Room, Department of History and Culture, Jamia.
Professor Mushirul Hasan (JMI Photo)
Professor Hasan is the former Vice-Chancellor of Jamia and has a distinguished place among historians. As VC of Jamia from 2004 to 2009 he played a crucial role in opening many centres. Many existing buildings and the beautification of the campus happed during his tenure. Many call his the modern architect of Jamia.
He received his education at Aligarh Muslim University and Cambridge University. He is also the recipient of Padma Shree. He is the author of many important books on Indian history. He has written extensively on the Partition of India, on communalism, on the histories of Islam in South-Asia and on the role played by the Muslim community in the freedom struggle and in the process of nation-building. Also, he served as the Vice-Chairman of Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla and Director General of National Archives of India apart from other numerous responsibilities as Member of Professional/Learned Bodies/Societies.
Despite all his achievements and numerous contributions in building Jamia what it is today he had to take VRS, sparking debate whether he was forced to quit.
source: http://www.okhlatimes.com /Okhla Times / Home> JMI> OT Campus Reporter – JMI / OT – August 25th, 2014
Feisal Alkazi, author of Srinagar: An Architectural Legacy talks to Payel Majumdar about Kashmir’s multi-racial architectural heritage, its existence as a periphery kingdom, and its 777 gardens.
Khanqah-i-Muallah, with its traditional Kashmiri pagoda-style spire
Could you tell me how this book came about?
A. I have been in and out of Srinagar for the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, that runs a rehabilitation programme for children whose parents have been killed by terrorists. I ran a project called “Discovering Kashmir” with them over a period of three-four years. This was my first set of trips to Kashmir, and I became interested in its heritage, its unique history, its sections of Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam. Then INTACH’s Delhi office got in touch with me about writing this particular book because of my background, based on the listings (what INTACH does is list about 500 buildings, a group of architects go around and write a description.) They felt a self-directed guide book based on these listings had great potential.
Q. History is often looked upon as a dry subject. Do you think this is something that needs to be addressed within our education system?
A. With young people, my work has primarily been about making history come alive. I have worked a lot on heritage education, and I think it is very important that we stop teaching history as a lot of dates to cram up. Very often when I work with young people, I start with, “What in your house is 50 years old?” Then they start thinking, woh bartan hai, woh kursi hai. This is how we start with personal histories, and then we arrive at the history of a nation. Heritage education is about looking back at our roots, because we have this collective sense of what makes us Indian, whether it is something as simple as tandoorichicken or cricket. So what is it that we perceive as being Indian, and ourselves? How is someone who lives in Jaipur, different from someone who lives in Delhi, different from someone who lives in Srinagar? Every place has its own unique stamp. And I’ve done this exercise for 25 years.
Q. Three aspects of Kashmiri architecture that fascinates you?
A. One, that so much of Kashmiri architecture was done without cement. You can’t think of any building these days without cement. And if you think of the buildings there — sufi shrines like Khanqah-i-Muaallah or the other sufi shrines, they structure the building in a way that the weight of it keeps it down, using deodar logs with bricks, and building a whole structure without concrete. Another aspect of the traditional structure is that all buildings are earthquake proof, for it is a seismic zone. They use these diagonal members, like how they use in Simla — very rarely do you have buildings where horizontal and vertical beams aren’t in use. And then there are these very specific features — how they use papier mache in the decoration of walls, or the idea of the balcony — the dub — which is always wooden. These structures have been there since the 15th-16th century. You might replace the knobs, but essentially the structures are unchanged. You have those Maharaja bricks as well, which you see in the Old Delhi.
Q. How are gardens a crucial aspect of Kashmiri architecture?
A. Kashmir held a strategic position for the Mughal Empire because the main cities were Delhi, Agra and Lahore. All the early Mughals never built palaces, because they lived inshamianas. Theirs was a moving, transient culture. When the Emperor annually moved out of Delhi, 65% of the population moved with him. 2,00,000-3,00,000 people were on the move and there would be two travelling tented cities, one that the Emperor would stay at for the night, and one that would be set up ahead for the next halt.
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When the Emperor moved out of Delhi, 65% of the population moved with him. 2,00,000-3,00,000 people were on the move.
There is no flat land in Kashmir where you can pitch tents for these many people. To accommodate the Emperor’s entourage the gardens came up with pavilions and palace tents. There is the whole structure of the Red Fort in the royal gardens of Kashmir—Diwaan-i-khaas, a diwaan-i-aam, a zenana, a mardaana. There would be two or three pavilions — like the one in black marble in Shalimar Garden — around which colourful tents would be pitched. They say that there were 777 gardens around the Dal lake. And Dal Lake was never the centre of the city. Gardens would be built because the soil is so fertile, that everything thrives in it under Kashmiri weather. The Mughals had come from Bukhara and Samarkhand, which also have prominent gardens. The very idea is crucial to Mughal architecture as a whole.
Q. How have the different rulers influenced different styles of architecture, and how have these architectural styles come together?
A. Architecture anywhere is an outcome of what is locally available as building material. Say, if in your vicinity there is a particular kind of tree, which becomes the building material, then you are limited by the height of that tree, the durability of that tree. For instance, for those khatamband ceilings in Kashmir, you use pine which is very thin, like plywood, that can be replaced, while the exteriors last forever.
So structures that come up traditionally reflect the surroundings completely and are built for that time. Kashmir was never the centre of an empire, it was the periphery of an empire. As a result, being on the periphery, too much of the architecture did not change. And when the Dogras came, in the last 110 years — when they bought it from the British for 75,00,000, they brought in a lot of British influences — the similarity of the Gothic arches, specific style of building, use of repetition, and the Kashmiri architecture since then is sometimes a combination of that and older traditions. There was hardly any Mughal influence on residential architecture. The Mughals created those pavilions in the gardens and created the gardens, one gateway and a couple of mosques. And really, the mosque Noor Jehan created was never prayed in, whether it was because it was built in stone, built by a woman, or by someone who wasn’t perceived to be Kashmiri.
Q. Are there ongoing efforts in Kashmir by the locals to preserve their architectural heritage proactively?
A. Certainly, the local INTACH chapter has done quite a bit. They have done a beautiful conservation job on the Aali Masjid. The government has stepped in as well to restore the temples in Martand; so yes, there is an interest in keeping that style of architecture alive. But builders come into question, and suddenly things change when money comes in from other parts of the world, which influences the whole thing. When Hazratbal was built in the ’60s, they decided to use a dome, which is a West Asian influence. A dome is not suitable for a place where it snows, marble is not a good for Kashmir which has three months of winter. But there were political pressures there, which decided not to use traditional Kashmriri three-tiered pagoda roof but build something that looked like it was out of the Middle East.
source: http://www.sunday-guardian.com / The Sunday Guardian / Home> Artbeat / by Payel Majumdar / August 23rd, 2014
Bodybuilder Syed Siddiq talks about his journey from a scrawny lad to winning the Mr.Asia title
Mr Asia – Syed Siddique / Photo: G.P. Sampath Kumar / The Hindu
It is hard to miss Syed Siddiq. As he strolls down the road, passersby stop and stare. It would take a brave man, however, to pass a smart-alec comment in his direction, or to antagonise him in any way.
Siddiq is the closest thing to the superhuman comic figure ‘Hulk’ you can hope to see.
Massive muscles seem to rip through every inch of his 105 kilogram body – a truly intimidating sight when he ‘flexes’’ to strike a pose.
Ace bodybuilder
The ripped physique of India’s ace bodybuilder, of course, did not take shape overnight. Siddiq, who recently won the Mr. Asia title at Manila (Philippines), takes out a dusty photo of a scrawny lad. “That was me, eight years ago. I weighed just 48 kilos,” he says with a grin.
That photo is a reminder of his first tryst with the sport. “I was 17 and I enjoyed watching World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on television. I admired The Rock , and wanted to be like him. That pushed me to the gym, for the first time,” he says.
Around a year later, Siddiq witnessed a State-level bodybuilding competition, which sparked his desire to take up the sport seriously.
“I saw the crowd’s reaction to the competitors, and I decided that I wanted to be on stage one day. I drew inspiration from Arnold Schwarzenegger. He is an icon for all of us.”
In the documentary Pumping Iron, which chronicles Schwarzenegger’s path-breaking route to stardom, the Hollywood star talks about one of the turning points of his career.
The introduction of big quantities of meat in his regimen, after years of ignoring his diet, finally allowed Schwarzenegger to put on much-needed mass. This aspect is not lost on Siddiq.
The 25-year-old states that he consumes 30 egg whites and two kilos of boiled chicken in a day, apart from large servings of fruits and vegetables.
And three months prior to competition, rice, bread, salt and oil are off the table.
“I don’t drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes. Ever. A strict diet overall must be maintained to succeed as a bodybuilder.”
Acting with Vikram
Director Shankar cast Siddiq in his to-be-released flick, Ai. Siddiq will feature in a few fight scenes with lead actor Vikram, and recalls the experience with excitement.
“It was great fun to be on a movie set. I have been approached to act in Bollywood movies as well, but I think I will focus on bodybuilding for now.”
With the Mr. Universe event coming up in Germany later this year, Siddiq clearly has his hands full.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Ashwin Achal / Monday – August 25th, 2014
Rich tributes were paid to Shehnai maestro Bharat Ratna Late Ustad Bismmillah Khan on his 8th death anniversary observed at Dargah-e-Fatman on Thursday.
A music lover and a fan of Ustad, Narendra Gupta from Delhi, paid tributes to him by reading Sunderkand of Ramcharitmanas and Hanuman Chalisa beside his grave. Gupta visits the city every year on birth and death anniversary of Ustad. Some music lovers also paid a musical tribute to him on the occasion.
They were disappointed to see that the grave of Ustad could not take a shape of a maqbara yet, and a music academy after his name also seemed to be a distant dream. A series of promises were made by the government after the death of Shehnai maestro but none of them have been fulfilled yet.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Varanasi / TNN / August 22nd, 2014
A view of the swimmers in the men’s section in action in the Mysore City Inter-collegiate swimming competitions 2014-15, conducted by the DPE, University of Mysore at the University swimming pool, Saraswathipuram, in city on Monday.
Mysore :
A.Thejas of Maharaja’s Govt. PU College, Mysore, (four golds and four silver medals) with 31 points and Akshatha N. Gowda of Sankalpa PU College, Mysore with 24 points bagged the top honours by clinching the individual titles in the men’s and women’s sections respectively in the Mysore City Inter-collegiate swimming Competitions 2014-15, conducted by the DPE, UoM at the University Swimming Pool, Saraswathipuram here on Monday.
National Institute of Engineering, Mysore bagged the Overall Team championship title in the men’s section with 53 points.
The results:
Men:
200mts Breast Stroke: 1.R.Karthik -V.V.C.E (3:20.90 ); 2. V.S. Vipul (NIE- 3:22.31); 3. S. Sudarshan (Vijaya Vittala PUC-3:31.01); 100mts Back Stroke: 1.Shreyank P. Swamy ( AIISH – 1:26.05); 2. A. Thejas (Maharaja Govt. PUC-1:27.88); 3.R. Karthik (V.V.C.E- 1:29.52); 400mtsFree Style: A.Thejas ( Maharaja Govt. PUC- 6:05.23); 2. S. Sudarshan. (Vijaya Vittala PUC- 6:05.92); 3.V.N. Varun (NIE IT -7:20.31); 100mts Butter Fly: Abhishek R.Das- (SBRR MFGC -1:41.02 ); 2. M.R. Shashanksimha (Maharaja Govt. PUC-1:51.63); 3. K.Vignesh Mallya (Amritha School of A&S- 2:13.32); 200mts Free Style: 1. V.S.Vipul(NIE -2:44.55); 2. A. Thejas( Maharaja Govt. PUC -2:44.56 ); 3.Shreyank P. Swamy (AIISH- 2:51.55); 200mts Individual Med Lay: 1. R. Karthik. (VVCE -3:17.91); 2. Shreyank P. Swamy -AIISH- 3:46.70); 3. M.C. Prajwal (Vijaya Vittala PUC – 6:00.82); 50 mts Back Stroke: 1. V.S. Vipul (NIE -0:37.74); 2. A.Thejas (Maharaja Govt. PUC 0:38.85); 3. Shreyank P. Swamy (AIISH- 0:39.13); 100 mts Breast Stroke: 1.R. Karthik (V.V.C.E -1:32.57); 2. V.S. Vipul(N.I.E -1:34.49); 3. R. Sudarshan(Vijaya Vittala PUC -1:37.06 ); 200 mts Back Stroke: 1.Shreyank P Swamy (AIISH -3:29.24); 2. Thejas A (Maharaja Govt. PUC -3:30.35) ;3. Shashank Simha M.R (Maharaja Govt. PUC -4:23.11); 50mts Breast Stroke: 1. V.S. Vipul (N.I.E -0:40.22 ); 2. R. Karthik V.V.C.E -0:40.90); 3. Shreyank P Swamy (AIISH -0:42.72); 200mts Butterfly : 1.A. Thejas (Maharaja Govt. PUC -3:39.28); 2. M.R Shashank Simha (Maharaja Govt. PUC -5:11.96 ); 3. Nagendra L (GFGC Siddharthalayout -9:19.20 ); 100mtsFree Style : 1.V.S. Vipul (N.I.E- 1:13.67); 2. Shreyank P Swamy (AIISH- 1:15.83); 3. R. Karthik (V.V.C.E -1:15.94); 50mts Butterfly: 1. A. Thejas (Maharaja Govt. PUC- 0:34.89 ); 2. M. Prajwal Prasad (NIE -0:37.58); 3. Abhishek R Das (SBRR MFGC -3:38.34); 400mts IndividualMedley: 1. S. Sudarshan (Vijaya Vittala PUC -7:40.33) ;2.M.R. Shashank Simha (Maharaja Govt. PUC -9:13.69); 3. M.C. Prajwal (Vijaya Vittala PUC -13:03.63);
50mts Free Style: 1.Shreyank P Swamy (AIISH -0:29.94); 2. Abhishek R Das (SBRR MFGC -0:31.44); 3. V.S Vipul. (N.I.E -0:32.10);
Individual Championship – A.Thejas -Maharaja Govt. PU College with 31 Points
Overall championship – NIE, Mysore with 53 Points.
Women :
200mts Breast Stroke : 1. C. Swetha(Teresian College -4:48.31); 2. Meenaz Ahamed(PGSC, MGM -4:53.94); 3.Akshatha N Gowda (Sankalpa PU College – 4:54.88); 100mtsBack Stroke: 1. Meenaz Ahamed ( PGSC, MGM -2:16.51); 2. Arpitha N Gowda (Sharadavilas College – 2:33.79); 3. C. Swetha (Teresian College -2:45.37); 200mts FreeStyle: 1.C. Swetha (Teresian College -4:19.40); 2. Meenaz Ahamed (PGSC, MGM-4:31.05) ; 3. Arpitha N Gowda (Sharadavilas College -5:32.30); 50mts Back Stroke: 1.Akshatha N Gowda (Sankalpa PU College – 0:58.66); 2. Meenaz Ahamed (PGSC, MGM-1:02.38); 3. Arpitha N Gowda (Sharadavilas College -1:12.79); 100mts Breast Stroke: 1. C. Swetha (Teresian College -2:18.86); 2. Akshatha N Gowda (Sankalpa PU College -2:21.24); 3. Meenaz Ahamed (PGSC, MGM -2:21.82); 50mts Breast Stroke: 1.Akshatha N Gowda (Sankalpa PU College -0:59.49);2.C. Swetha (Teresian College-1:01.32); 3.Meenaz Ahamed (PGSC, MGM-1:04.05);100mts Free Style : 1. Akshatha N Gowda ( Sankalpa PU College- 1:50.38);2. C. Swetha (Teresian College -2:04.70); 3. Arpitha N Gowda (Sharadavilas College – 2:15.77); 50mts Free Style: Akshatha N Gowda (Sankalpa PU College -0:42.29); 2. Sanjana Prasad( NIE IT- 0:48.39); 3. Meenaz Ahamed (PGSC, MGM -0:52.93 ).
Individual Championship – Akshatha N Gowda, Sakalpa PU College, Mysore-24 points.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / August 19th, 2014
India-born author Surinder Deol has penned a new English translation of Mirza Ghalib’s works to bring the famous Urdu poet to North Americans as also those South Asians who have lost touch with their native languages.
Author Deol, who worked as a World Bank staffer for nearly 25 years before turning a poet and novelist, says he undertook the task “with the objective of bringing Ghalib to those North American readers who have found Persian poets like Rumi and Hafiz interesting to read.”
“That is a very large audience. And if I succeed in getting their attention, then my job is done. But I also feel that my book is useful for South Asian readers too,” Mr Deol told IANS in an interview.
Published by Penguin-Random House imprint Partridge, Deol’s 378 page free verse translation of Ghalib’s entire Urdu divan titled “The Treasure: A Modern Rendition of Ghalib’s Lyrical Love Poetry” was released last week.
It’s not easy to understand Ghalib even for those who have a normal level of proficiency in Urdu, Deol said, but “My book makes life easy for everyone.”
“If you have high school level understanding of English, you can read the whole book and get the true essence of Ghalib’s poetry without any difficulty.”
“The younger generation of Indians in the US and other foreign countries who do not read Urdu or Hindi scripts or can’t speak the language can now enjoy India’s most loved poet in a language that they speak every day,” he said.
Mr Deol said he was quite satisfied with the result of his efforts to bring Ghalib to American readers as also Indians abroad, but the key factor will be how people react to his work
“Most importantly, I have used a language that is poetic but it is not archaic. Look at the reason why Americans love Rumi in Coleman Barks’ translation. It is simple, direct, and touches you at a deep personal level as you read it.”
Asked what inspired him to translate Ghalib, who is considered “untranslatable”, Mr Deol said “Because I loved Ghalib, I wanted to see his work made available in a good English translation so that he gets the recognition as a great world poet.”
“Since I was very impressed with Coleman Barks’ free verse rendering of Rumi, I thought of using the same technique for Ghalib.
“My idea was to apply this technique on 15-20 compositions or ghazals as a creative experiment.”
“But you know Ghalib’s poetry is like red wine that he cherished so much. You start this work and you get intoxicated and you can’t leave it.” Mr Deol said.
“The task got harder as I proceeded but by then I had become an addict.
That took two solid years of my life. But I have no regrets.”
“A book like this takes much longer to find acceptance but I’m very hopeful that my rendition of Ghalib will one day become a popular text for ordinary readers as well as for students of oriental literature,” Mr Deol said.
“The Treasure” is available on amazon.com internationally and on FlipKart in India.
source: http://www.ndtv.com / NDTV / Home> Sections> Diaspora / Indo-Asian News Service / August 24th, 2014
