From designing cars to designing products for your home—Bengaluru-based Saif Faisal is fast becoming a name to reckon with
Foster Memo Clip (Left). Brackett Trays (Right).
Product designer Saif Faisal who started his career designing cars has very successfully ventured into designing products for your home. Trained as an architect at Bengaluru’s RV College of Architecture, Faisal previously represented his college at Formula SAE, a student design competition, where he worked on driver safety and ergonomics. Now, Faisal’s eponymous studio has created a collection of home accessories with a markedly minimalist design. AD sat down with the designer to get a more intimate understanding of his design instincts and inspirations.
Architect and product designer Saif Faisal (Left). Loop Mirror (Right).
Architectural Digest (AD):Where did you learn wood working? Saif Faisal (SF): It was more like collaborative learning with a couple of people in the trade to understand the craft. This helped a lot in the design and product development. With my earlier design and engineering work in Formula Student racing, this brought the two extremes of craft and high-tech together. For instance, our design, the Counterpoise lamp uses the dynamics of gravity but is made in a humble natural material: wood.
AD: Did you start the brand with the intention of specializing in table-top office accessories (like lamps, trays, clips, coasters, etc)? SF: Actually it’s the contrary; initially we were more focussed on furniture. We have worked on a lot of furniture, the String Series for Godrej Design Lab, a book case, and a series of Roto-molded seating for indoor/outdoor use. The development process of larger projects take quite a while so we started doing smaller objects in between, which can be self-produced and completed quickly as well—again something which we didn’t favour much earlier. I have to admit it’s quite enjoyable doing smaller stuff.
AD:Will we see any other products—like kitchen or tableware for instance—from your brand? SF: Maybe…in 2015 we ventured into jewelry and craft that was a surprise for us. Every new thing we do is an exploration and adventure.
Counterpoise Lamp. Principle: Function and flexibity with ease.
AD: In its minimalism and simplicity, your products remind one of Scandinavian design. What/who is your design inspiration? SF: You are right; they are reminiscent of Scandinavian design, and I suppose, of Japanese design too. I would say its Essentialism and not merely Minimalism, as we try to be more honest to the design essence with no frivolous decorative elements. If you see our Qaiser series in Bidriware, it has the Zillij pattern on it—that’s not minimal but essential. On that note, Essential Design can help the world become a better place, and it’s not just with the products…my observation is cultures with a better sense and appreciation of design have holistic politics and interactions.
AD:You mention ‘poetry’ and ‘harmony’ in design (in the notes on the products) several times. Why is this so important to you? SF: It’s quite important that a design be poetic, to express to a user the object needs to communicate on a poetic level.
source: http://www.architecturaldigest.in / Architectural Digest – AD / Home> Perspective> Profile / by Leena Desai / February 24th, 2017
Affan Yesvi continues to bring laurels for the state
New Delhi :
Affan Yesvi, a young award-winning social activist from Kashmir was facilitated with India’s Top 100 Young Leader’s Award 2017 in a glittering award function held at Connaught Place, New Delhi. The event was organized by Indian Youth Forum and the attendants included a diverse crowd of young enthusiasts from all walks of life.
The India’s Top 100 Young Leader’s Award is the one of the most coveted fellowship that is managed through Indian Youth Forum.
Affan, a regular contributor in Huffington post, Hindustan Times, The Tribune, DailyO, The Quint, Speaking Tree, & First Post has been an avid writer on various social issues. He has also presented research papers in various international conferences.
At a very young age, he founded a non-profit organization by the name of ‘The Inner Call – a forum for Evolution, Development and Awareness’ in 2009. The organization has been contributing in spheres of mental health, environment protection, women empowerment, youth activities and social research, with the sole aim of promoting human values. The organization has also organized various legal awareness camps.
In 2011, Affan founded the Yasawi Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to promote research and aesthetic development in the Sufi world heritage. Yasawi Foundation has been actively conducting Sufi Workshops and research in mysticism.
It is pertinent to mention that Affan Yesvi has received numerous applauds and recognitions for his efforts in the past as well. Indian Youth Forum is a youth network founded in order to meet people and inspire them to participate in the nation-building process. Creating India’s largest online platform for young people to express themselves on issues of importance, IYF finds and tells stories of people doing good to inspire global action.
Top 100 young leaders Awards is recognition for all those who have brought a change to the society through their actions.
source: http://www.thenewsnow.co.in / The News Now / Home / by TNN Bureau / January 15th, 2018
Safikul Mondal and Rokeya Khatun emerged the fastest man and woman in the Amway 67th West Bengal State Athletic Championship on Sunday.
Safikul Mondal
There were two meet records on the concluding day. Trisha Dhar set a meet mark in women’s U-20 heptathlon and East Bengal’s 4×400 U-20 relay team clinched the gold with a record performance.
North 24 Parganas emerged overall champions while East Bengal were runners-up. Nadia took the third spot.
Trisha, who is a first year student at Charu Chandra College, trains under Kuntal Roy at SAI campus and Sodepur Coaching Centre. The heptathlete, who accumulated 4218 points, broke the 21-year-old record set by another of Kuntal’s students, Soma Biswas. “I don’t get time to attend college regularly but Somadi’s husband Samir Bera, who works at Charu Chandra, has ensured that I don’t face problems… I haven’t spoken to Somadi yet,” said Trisha with a sheepish smile.
She had won the event last year too but an ankle injury had prevented her from performing at her best. She plans to participate in the Inter-state Open meet in Guntur later this month.
The East Bengal quartet of Chandan Barui, Santu Biswas, Sourav Ghosh and Sujoy Soren won the 4x400m relay with a record timing of 3:24.60. They bettered the record set last year by North 24 Parganas DSA (3:32.20).
Safikul has had a rich haul this time with three gold medals – 100m, 200m and 4x100m. The 21-year-old from Debagram in Nadia recorded 10.7 seconds edging out Tanmoy Chakraborty (10.8) in a photo finish. “I didn’t know I had won… Later I was informed by my coach,” he said. “I had a hamstring injury last month and haven’t fully recovered. There’s still tightness which prevents me from running at full tilt… I could have done much better had I been full fit,” said Safikul.
Rokeya Khatun
The women’s 100m gold is Rokeya’s second in this meet after having won the 100m hurdles. The Chapra girl, whose parents struggle to make ends meet, finished in 11.9 seconds.
“My parents wish I continue with the sport and that has kept me going. It pretty expensive to stay alone here. If I can finish in the top-4 in Inter-state Open meet, I will get a seat in the SAI hostel… That will help,” said the 20-year-old.
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Calcutta,India / Front Page> Sports> Story / Monday – July 03rd, 2017
Here’s a look at the craftsmen who worked on the gorgeous Banarasi saree that Anushka Sharma wore for her wedding reception in Delhi on 21 December. (Photo Courtesy: Vikrant Dubey (L), Yogen Shah (R))
Muazzam Ansari of Benares was among several thousands who were glued to the television screen for news of the glitzy Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma wedding. But unlike several others, Ansari was watching the ‘Indian wedding of the decade’ closely for a very special reason – the gorgeous Banarasi red saree that Anushka wore for her reception in Delhi.
Ansari was among a team of three craftsmen who toiled day and night for two months to create the exquisite saree. And the saree maker says having the world fawn over it was a moment of great pride.
Muazzam Ansari, the man behind the red Banarasi saree that Anushka Sharma wore for her wedding reception in New Delhi. (Photo Courtesy: Vikrant Dubey)
As the Virat-Anushka reception photos went viral, Ansari was quick to post photos of the saree on his Facebook page – a move that would quickly bag him the nickname, ‘Anushka Sharma’s Saree Man’.
Anushka’s saree called for extensive planning. After the designers decided on a Banarasi saree came the tough part – selecting a craftsman from the thousands of skilled workers in this trade in Benaras.
The important task was given to Maqbool Hassan from Peeli Kothi in Benaras, who has been in the business since 1966. Hassan, whose family has been engaged in the business for over two centuries, is also credited with having created a saree for Aishwarya Rai and a sherwani for Abhishek Bachchan.
Maqbool Hassan of Peeli Kothi in Benaras has been in the business since 1966. (Photo Courtesy: Vikrant Dubey)
After the Cottage Emporium in Delhi reached out to Maqbool Hassan with the order to create the sari, he set about creating a team of three of his most skilled craftsmen. Among his top three were Muazzam Ansari, whose work is already popular in Benaras, despite the fact that he only joined the industry five years ago. What’s more, fans of Ansari’s work reportedly compare his work with craftsmen with over 20 years of experience.
Months of Secret Planning & Weaving
From planning to making the saree it took almost six months. (Photo Courtesy: Vikrant Dubey)
As soon as the dates for Virat and Anushka’s wedding were decided, the designers zeroed in on the Banarasi saree for their Delhi reception.
Then began the hunt for the saree design. After much debate and decision, the creators decided on a bright red colour with traditional golden work. The entire process of selecting a colour, finalising a design, and finishing the design took six months. All of it was done in absolute secrecy.
It took total of 60 days for Anushka’s saree to be made. (Photo Courtesy: Vikrant Dubey)
Once the design, colour, and fabric was finalised, it was time for the actual weaving. Banarasi sarees are made on handlooms – each thread and the colour for every bit of the design is put in place by hand.
The saree called for three weavers to work day and night for 45 days. It took another 15 days to add the finishing touches, taking it to a total of 60 days.
Painstaking Effort
Anushka Sharma’s saree took 60 days to make. (Photo Courtesy: Instagram)
A mixture of silk and chiffon was used to make the saree in order to create an outfit that was both soft and light, despite all the embroidery and the seemingly-heavy work on it. The craftsmen also ensured that the saree did not have a glittery shine, even with real gold being used for the zari – with each motiff being worked on separately.
The three craftsmen tasked with making the saree had to work simultaneously on the weaving, and the absence of even a single craftsman made weaving impossible. With all the work that has gone into the saree, it is small wonder why Banarasi sarees are known for their timeless allure.
Awadh, UTTAR PRADESH / London, U. K / Paris, FRANCE :
While walking around Paddington Old Cemetery during my lunch break earlier today, for some reason I felt compelled to read the faded stone slab that marked the resting spot of Princess Omdutel. Instantly my attention was grabbed, a Princess buried in Kilburn, North West London of all places, that sure wasn’t something I was expecting to find.
I have walked past the grave of Princess Omdutel, perhaps a 100 times or more since I moved to Kilburn and never paid it any attention. Now she had my full attention.
The badly worn and faded inscription on the stone slab was barely readable, but after a lot of scratching of my head, I finally managed to decipher the words: Sacred to the memory of Princess Omdutel Aurau Begum, daughter of the late General Mirza Sekunder Hishmut Bahadur, Brother to His Majesty King of Oude, who died 14th April 1858 aged 18 months.
With a little help from Google and www.findagrave.com, I managed to find the following information: Princess of Oude. Oude, or Awadh, which was the epicentre of the 1857 Indian Mutiny, when the sepoys rebelled against the British after baulking at orders to use cartridges greased in pig and beef fat. Members of the Awadh Royal Family arrived in London soon afterwards, lobbying unsuccessfully for the return of their lands. The princess’s father, Mirza Bahadur, died two months before her and is buried in Père Lachaise in Paris.
The British obviously offered the Awadh Royal Family a haven in London after they were ousted. I’m not sure how long the family had ruled for in Awadh, which is a region in India. But from what I can gather it seems likely that they were a puppets installed by the British Government.
Princess Omdutel Aurau Begum, her life had barely begun, when she died at only 18 months of age. I wonder if any of the family survived and if so what became of them. It is also intriguing that her father died two months before her in Paris. No mention of the mother, which is kinda sad if you ask me…
I find it strange that I have walked past the grave of Princess Omdutel numerous times over the past twenty months and never once read it, until today. Very strange. Maybe she was wanting a mention on London Is Cool…
source: http://www.londoniscool.com / London is Cool – a blog about Life in London / Home> Out and About in London / by William Wallace / February 21st, 2011
Awadh, UTTAR PRADESH / London, U. K / Paris, FRANCE :
The tragic story of Malika Kishwar, who rests in an unmarked grave in France’s most famous cemetery
The grave of Malika Kishwar at the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
She lies buried amidst sepulchres that house the remains of many who are still famous.
There is Jim Morrison on the premises, the American rock legend whom trains of tourists come to pay homage, like pilgrims bearing flowers. Edith Piaf, the waif who sang her way to greatness, finds her peace nearby, as does Frederic Chopin, the composer whose pickled heart is in Warsaw but whose body dissolves in the French capital. Benjamin Franklin’s grandson rests here, and in the vicinity there is a man believed to have been sired by Napoleon. Oscar Wilde’s sculpted grave competes with Marcel Proust’s neat bed of stone, and many more still are the artists, writers, and persons of esteem who crowd the hillside cemetery that is Père Lachaise in Paris.
And yet, between them all, under a platform of rugged rock, lies this tragic Indian woman. Her name and cause have been largely forgotten, but since 1858, she has been here, longer than many of her revered neighbours. Tourists walk by with cameras, oblivious to her unmarked square existence. But every now and then there is a stray visitor who arrives on a quest: to locate the final resting place of that remarkable woman, the last queen of Awadh.
I was that visitor a few days ago, when I trekked up Paris’ most famous graveyard to look for this forgotten tomb.
The lady appears in yellowed old books by several names. She was to some Malika Kishwar, while others knew her as Janab-i Aliyah, Her Sublime Excellency, mother to the ruler of “Oude”, Wajid Ali Shah.
In 1856, when the British deposed this nawab from his ancestral seat in Lucknow, his family departed for colonial Calcutta, with all the money they could gather and what dignity they had left. But while the son (a “crazy imbecile” in the eyes of his sneering oppressors) prepared to fade quietly into history, the mother was determined to win back that which was her family’s by right.
That very year, this woman who knew little beyond her sequestered palace, set foot on a ship, determined to sail to England so she might speak—woman to woman—to the English queen in person. After all, declared the middle-aged begum, Victoria was “also a mother”; she would recognize the despair her people had unleashed, and restore to the House of Awadh territory, titles, and its rightful honour. And so proceeded Malika Kishwar, her health already in decline, braving cold winds in a foreign land, to plead the cause of royal justice.
The mission was doomed from the start. Advisers were many and much was the money they sought for the privilege of their counsel. The results, meanwhile, were nowhere to be found.
As historian Rosie Llewellyn-Jones records, Kishwar discovered quickly enough that Queen Victoria, in her “circular dress”, had little power to bestow anything more than polite conversation on her and her Awadhi line—when an audience was granted, they spoke about boats and English mansions, not about imperial treacheries and the unjust business in Lucknow.
In the British parliament, things got worse. A prayer at long last prepared was dismissed on spurious bureaucratic grounds: the begum was to submit a “humble petition”, words that she failed to use in the document laid before the House. While her son accepted British imperium, the mother was obstinate in battle. So, when she wished to travel, they sought to dragoon her into acknowledging their suzerainty—if Malika Kishwar and her ménage wanted passports, she would have to declare herself a “British subject”.
The begum refused to do anything of the sort, prepared, at best, to be under “British protection”, but never anybody’s “subject”. And legal quibbles aside, the Great Rebellion of 1857 compounded matters—there was now no prospect of relinquishing even a fragment of British power when the hour called for a demonstration of obdurate strength alone. Awadh was lost forever.
The tide having turned, in 1858, the begum decided to return at last, defeated and unhappy in the extreme. But in Paris she fell ill and died on 24 January. The funeral was simple, but there was yet some dignity and state—representatives of the Turkish and Persian sultans gave this Indian queen the regard the British denied her and her line.
A cenotaph was constructed by the grave, but it has long since fallen to pieces—when decades later the authorities at Père Lachaise sought funds to repair the tomb, her exiled son decided from Calcutta that it was simply not worth his pension, while the colonial state was even less inclined to honour a difficult woman lying several feet underground in an alien European country. And so, since that time, in a graveyard full of magnificent memorials, the queen of Awadh has remained, a shell of broken stone sheltering her from the weeds and overgrowth that alone have made a claim upon her and the story that she tells.
Others of her suite also suffered. A younger son had come with her, Sikandar Hashmat by name. He died in England, and was carried to join his mother in her unmarked grave. A grandson’s infant child was also buried within, turning the tally in Paris to three.
But it was in London that one more of the delegation fell, this one a baby princess, born to Sikandar Hashmat from his Rajput wife on British shores. I walked around a dull little place called Kilburn to look for this grave. And there, in a cemetery, after an hour between tombs set in the soggy English ground, I found a memorial to the child: Princess Omdutel Aurau Begum, “who died 14th April 1858”, months after her grandmother who was once a queen.
But Omdutel, all of 18 months, had a minor triumph where her royal grandmother had none—lying by a pathway in that cemetery in Kilburn, her grave at least bears her name.
The begum, on the other hand, has become to the passing tourist at Père Lachaise in Paris a plinth on which to rest, smoking a cigarette and looking on to a horizon full of the dead, till a stranger might appear to tell how they have under them.
Medium Rare is a column on society, politics and history. Manu S. Pillai is the author of The Ivory Throne: Chronicles Of The House Of Travancore.
He tweets at @UnamPillai
source: http://www.livemint.com / LiveMint / Home> Leisure> Medium Rare / by Manu S. Pillan / Friday – Jan 12th, 2018
The freedom movement of India was not the sole agenda of a particular political party but it had moved aam aadmi in the form of masses in his/her own capacity. The history of Indian national movement would be biased and incomplete without the presentation of the actual role of Indian Muslims in it, right from the revolt of 1857 to the day of Independence in 1947.
Shoulder to shoulder they fought with the other communities for the Independence of India. The contribution of Muslim poets, revolutionaries and writers is not known today. Instead of secular historiography, it has been communalised. Courtesy: Mapsofindia.com
The Muslims and other minorities never envisaged India as adopted land because Muslims of India have not come from outside but are the converts to Islam and have deep feeling sense of belonging to this country and therefore contributed to the cultural, economic, intellectual and spiritual progress throughout the ages.
The role, significance and uprising of Indians against British imperialists can be seen since mid of 18th century in the form of Battle of Palashi (Plassey), June 23, 1757. It was Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah who first awakened Indian rulers and gave a call to oppose the British. He, however, lost the battle and was executed at the young age of 24. This was soon followed by the great Tipu Sultan, who was killed by Lord Wellesley during the fourth Anglo-Mysore war in 1799.
The contribution of Muslim revolutionaries can be witnessed from the first half of 19th century. The Faraizi and the Wahhabi Movements had disturbed the pace of British plan in the initial stages of its expansion in India. The Wahabi movement of Syed Ahmed Barelvi was the most organised one. He appealed to all Hindus and Muslims to overthrow the British and thus he was killed in 1831 at Balakot.
The number of Muslims executed only in Delhi during 1857-58 was 27,000. During this revolt, Asghari Begum (mother of Qazi Abdur Rahim, the revolutionary of Thana Bhawan, Muzaffarnagar) fought against the British and was burnt alive when defeated. It was estimated that about 225 Muslim women gave their lives in the revolt.
Similarly, barely is known about the contribution of Muhammad Ashfaq Ullah Khan of Shahjehanpur who conspired and looted the British treasury at Kakori (Lucknow) to cripple the administration and who, when asked for his last will, before execution, desired: “No desire is left except one that someone may put a little soil of my motherland in my winding sheet.”
Likewise, the present generation does not know about Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, a great nationalist who had passed 45 years of his 95-years of life in jail for the freedom of India and thus awarded ‘Bharat Ratna’ in 1987. Barkatullah and Syed Rehmat Shah of Ghadar Party sacrificed their lives. Umar Subhani, an industrialist and a millionaire of Bombay who, then, presented a blank cheque to Gandhiji for Congress expenses and who ultimately sacrificed his life for the cause of Independence. Maulana Hasrat Mohani, with his poetry, infused zeal of freedom in young hearts.
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, at the age of 35, became the youngest person to serve as the President of the Indian National Congress. He was the icon of Hindu-Muslim unity as well as espousing secularism and socialism. Raj Mohan Gandhi in his book ‘Understanding Muslim Minds’ mentioned that Maulana went straight to Congress office just after the funeral procession of his wife, Zuleikha Begum and led Quit India Movement.
Manmohan Kaur in her book entitled as ‘Women In India’s Freedom Movement’ makes reference to only Begum Hazrat Mahel and Bi-Amma out of the hundreds of women who fought the battle of freedom along with their men folk against the British Raj. The history of the Indian national movement would be incomplete without mentioning the heartily services of Abadi Begum (mother of Maulana Muhammad Ali), Amjadi Begum (wife of Maulana Muhammad Ali), Amina Tyabji (wife of Abbas Tyabji), Begum Sakina Luqmani (wife of Dr Luqmani and daughter of Badruddin Tyabji), Nishat-un-Nisa (Begum Hasrat Mohani), Saadat Bano Kitchlew (wife of Dr Saifuddin Kichlew), Zulekha Begum (wife of Maulana Azad), Mehr Taj (daughter of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan), Zubaida Begum Daoodi (wife of Shafi Daoodi, the reputed nationalist of Bihar) and many others.
Santimoy Ray’s ‘Freedom Movement And Indian Muslims’ challenges the many prejudices that generate bias and hatred against the Indian Muslims, particularly their contentions role in Indian freedom movement.
This shows the great sacrifices they made to oust the British rule in all the national uprisings from Sanyasi Movement to Independence, finally led to the withdrawal of British from India in 1947. It is such a pity that their roles in the struggle for freedom has not been adequately presented in the Indian history. The comprehensive study about the role of Muslims struggle for freedom is essential to help eradicating prejudices and many misconceptions against the Muslims grown in the absence of fair historiography.
I’m recalling some of the beautiful lines of Faiz Ahmed Faiz …
Ye daagh daagh ujaalaa, ye shab-gaziida sahar,
Vo intizaar thaa jis-kaa, ye vo sahar to nahiiN,
Ye vo sahar to nahiiN jis-kii aarzu lekar
Chale the yaar ke mil-ja`egi kahiiN na kahiN
Falak ke dasht meN taroN kii aakhiri manzil,
KahiN to hogaa shab-e sust mauj kaa sahil,
KahiN to jaake rukegaa safiina-e-gham-e-dil.
Abhii chiraagh-e-sar-e-rah ko kuchh khabar hii nahiiN;
Abhii giraanii-e-shab meN kamii nahiiN aa’ii,
Najaat-e-diidaa-o-dil ki ghaRii nahiiN aa’ii;
Chale-chalo ke vo manzil abhii nahiiN aa’ii.
Meaning:
This stain-covered daybreak, this night-bitten dawn,
This is not that dawn of which there was expectation;
This is not that dawn with longing for which
The friends set out, (convinced) that somewhere there we met with,
In the desert of the sky, the final destination of the stars!
Somewhere there would be the shore of the sluggish wave of night,
Somewhere would go and halt the boat of the grief of pain.
The lamp beside the road has still come no lessening,
The hour of the deliverance of eye and heart has not arrived.
Come, come on, for that goal has still not arrived.
(Author is currently preparing for civil service examinations.)
source: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCircles.net / Home> Articles> Indian Muslim / by Shaik Amer Arafath / August 14th, 2015
UTTAR PRADESH / Kolkata, WEST BENGAL / NEW DELHI :
They are not the only one calling the Malcha Mahal prince an imposter. Many old families of Lucknow that have for long maintained their discernment for the Royal family concur.
King Wajhid Ali Shah in Matiaburj. (Image: News18)
New Delhi:
The Prince who died in Malcha Mahal was a pauper. Not just in the life he lived but also in the claims he made about his family lineage. At least that’s what the descendants of Wajid Ali Shah and Begum Hazrat Mahal, currently living in Kolkata, will have you believe in.
They are not the only one calling the Malcha Mahal prince an imposter. Many old families of Lucknow that have for long maintained their discernment for the Royal family concur.
Taken aback by the media reports which referred to one Ali Raza— who died in New Delhi’s 14th century’s Malcha Mahal— as Prince, the living members of the Royal Family of Oudh are trying to clear the air on Nawab’s lineage.
“We want to assert our credibility as the real heirs to the title. We have in the past dealt with the menace of impersonation. My uncle also raised the issue with the government of Uttar Pradesh and the Prime Minister when the impersonator – the mother of the deceased ‘prince’ called Vilayat Mahal got an allotment in Malcha Mahal on the false claims of royalty,” said Manzilat Fatima from Kolkata, who is the “great, great grand-daughter of Wajid Ali Shah. She lives in Kolkata and spends her time working to “preserve Awadh cuisine”.
The Malcha Mahal, Fatima claims, was a Mughal hunting-house or shikargah given to Vilayat Mahal and her two children including the ‘ the dead Prince’ when the family arrived in Delhi after many a unsuccessful bid to claim the Nawab’s title in Lucknow.
The family spent days in the waiting-room of the New Delhi Railway Station before their petition to the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi for temporary accommodation in Delhi was acceded to by the government.
Fatima’s 89-year-old father, Dr Kaukub Qudr Meerza, is not surprised by the reports of ‘Prince’s death’, because he knows the real Prince is still alive. His Highness, and yours truly, Dr Meeraz, says “our family has witnessed the hoax for years now.”
The family says one of the immediate relatives— Prince Anjum Qudr had in-fact challenged the false claims of Vilayat Mahal before the government.
Qudr wrote a series of letters in 1975 to the UP government and then again in 1985 to Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi informing him about the “impersonation” being done by Vilayat Mahal calling it “hoax”. The letter is available on the website of their Oudh family to keep people informed about the legend of impersonation. Qudr wrote Begum Hazrat Mahal had only one son Birjis Qadr, who was crowned in 1857.
Details regarding Qadr’s children from different wives are available in Kaiserut Tawarikh Vol-2 and other books on the history of Oudh. An auto-biographical Masnavis (illustrated stories) of Wajid Ali Shah Huzn-e Akhtar or Tarikh-e Pari Khana also describe the Nawab’s lineage in some detail.
These details corroborate with other sources of information on the exiled King from the poems and Diwan of Birjis Qadr- the only son of the Begum of Oudh.
The original claimants say that there are records of the Political Pension Office of the District Collector of 24 Parganas, West Bengal, from where all heirs of Birjis Qadr drew a political pension after Qadr was assassinated in 1893 in Kolkata. Wajid Ali Shah in his will has named only one son Birjis Qadr (and no daughter) that Begum Hazrat Mahal bore him.
“Fraud of the present claimant is obvious from her very name “Begum Vilayat Mahal” because Mahal is not really an inheritable work,” said Qudr in his appeal to the various government. Mahal is a title which used to be awarded by a Muslim King or Emperor in India to his wife after she bore him a son.
Thus when Birjis Qadr was born to Begum Hazrat, that King Amjad Ali Shah awarded the revered title Mahal to the wife of his Crown Prince. Just as Mumtaz, Mughal Emperor Shahjahan’s wife acquired the title after bearing successor to the Mughal throne.
Nawab Ibrahim Ali Khan of Shish Mahal, Lucknow, where Vilayat Mahal lived briefly before leaving for New Delhi, told News 18.com that the veracity of the claims can be established from the family tree or shajra of Nawab Saadat Khan who established the Oudh dynasty in the early 16th century.
He adds, further that King Wajid Ali Shah, when he was exiled to Matia Burj, Calcutta [now Kolkata] in 1856, took all his sons and daughters with him and only his siblings, divorced wives and close relatives were left behind. Some of his progeny migrated to Pakistan and England later on. Every descendant of King Wajid Ali Shah is registered with the Kolkatta office.
For the record, any title of Maharaja, Raja, Rana or Nawab recognized by the East India Company and later by Her Majesty’s government was registered with the British Indian Association or Anjuman e Hind in 1861.
The documents are still available at Lucknow Baradari.
source: http://www.news18.com / News18.com / Home> News 18> India / by Eram Agha / November 19th, 2017
It was the year 1962, the year of the Asian Games in Indonesia.
The gold-winning football team of India was perhaps the best ever in its history.
India’s chef-de-mission to the 1962 Asian Games had criticised the hosts for excluding Israel and Taiwan from the Games for political reasons. Thus, right from the beginning, the crowds were hostile to India. Amidst such circumstances in Indonesia in front of the anti-India crowd, India came out on top beating a formidable Korea team 2-1 in the final, a team that India had lost 2-0 to in the opening match of the group stage.
These Indian footballers belonged to a tough breed of athletes. It was a matter of life and death for them. If one had to choose that one member who stood out in this team, it was none other than the midfield maestro Mohammed Yousuf Khan.
Born in Andhra Pradesh on 5th August, 1937, Yousuf Khan is considered one of the best all-round players in Indian football history. When he used to play, he used to gallop on the pitch like a horse, controlling the play in midfield, for which he was famously known as “the bearded horse.” He played a huge part in India’s triumph in the 1962 Asian Games, and was deservedly awarded the Arjuna Award in 1966.
Khan, who passed away in 2006, was a key member of the famous Hyderabad City police team in the late ’50s and the early ’60s. He was one of the only two Indians to be selected in the 1965 Asian All Stars XI. Such was his authority on the games that even the association acknowledged it.
However, life wasn’t all rosy – as it seldom is even now – for Indian athletes back then. Lack of proper infrastructure has been an obstacle since time immemorable. The determination and the will to do well for the country, to see the national flag fly high was what drove them to put their lives at stakes and achieve what they set on to.
Yousuf Khan was one of those athletes whose life faced an unfathombale and drastic turn of events so much so that one won’t get an answer to that even if one keeps wondering what and how something could go wrong.
Continuing to play in spite of the three head injuries during his playing days is a testimonial to the fact that football was much more than a game to him. When he was on the pitch, he had no second thoughts than to give it all for the team.
The 1960 Rome Olympian may have brought the best of defences to its knees on his day but, as he aged, he was waging a grim battle for survival, almost on his own with little support coming by.
This ageing footballer was clearly wondering whether players of his generation were right in sacrificing so much on the personal front, not even concerned about health, to earn name and fame for the country. But, why did such a thought even occur to him?
The head injuries were cited as the reason for the Parkinson’s Syndrome he would go on to suffer from 1994.The legs that created magic on the field by then, were swollen and unable to even support him. His struggle to walk even a few paces at home and feeling pain while getting up indicated that the champion player was going through a real torture. It was a sight that any sportsperson would not dare dream about in the worst of scenarios.
It is a tragedy that Yousuf Khan was being forced to live on the Rs. 3500 monthly pension which he got by virtue of retiring from the Police Department and the Central Government monthly grant of Rs. 2000. But, most of that was spent towards his medical expenses with little to cater to the needs of his family members — one son and five daughters.
Worse, even the Rs. 50,000, presented by Mr. H. J. Dora, former DGP and president of AP Olympic Association, was blocked in a private finance firm.
The time when he needed the utmost support from the country, the Indian Government took a backseat.
source: http://www.sportskeeda.com / Sports Keeda / Home> Feature> Football / by Ashish Shettyt / May 23rd, 2014
Sajid Yousuf Dar, 42, is the first and only Kashmiri so far to coach any Indian soccer team for international events.(Waseem Andrabi / HT Photo)
In the last week of November, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) appointed Sajid Yousuf Dar as coach of the women’s national football team for the upcoming SAFF women’s championship 2016.
As a teenager, Sajid Yousuf Dar played football in Kashmir during curfew breaks at the height of militancy. Now, the 42-year-old Dar’s dedication to the game has earned him a third stint as head coach of the Indian women’s football team for the South Asian Federation Games.
Dar is also the first and only Kashmiri so far to coach any Indian soccer team for international events.
In the last week of November, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) appointed Dar as coach of the women’s national football team for the upcoming SAFF women’s championship 2016.
Dar told HT that the team was gearing up for the championship, which is slated to kick-off in Siliguri from December 26. Defending champions India have been placed in Group B along with Bangladesh and Afghanistan. A total of seven countries are taking part in the competition.
“We have to be on our toes to defend the title as more and more countries in the region are working and developing their game,” Dar, who is currently in Srinagar, says.
Owing to his impressive record as coach for the under-14 and under-19 boys’ soccer teams of the country, Dar was first roped in by the AIFF for the women’s team in March 2015 when ahead of the Olympic qualifiers. He was also chosen as the technical advisor for football development in India.
Under his guidance the women’s team got gold in the 12th South Asian Games earlier this year in Shillong. “The AIFF provided us with the facilities and we had enough time to prepare leading to our success. I am proud that our women’s team got gold. The men’s team had to settle for silver,” he says.
Dar has come a long way since the time he started playing football in Shri Pratap (SP) higher secondary school in 1991-92.
This was the time when militancy had just erupted in Kashmir and youth were crossing the line of control in hordes for arms training fuelled by the idea of “freedom from Indian rule”. The violence derailed all developmental work and virtually stopped sports activities.
But it didn’t quite deter Dar, then 18, from pursuing his first love. “I was mad about the game. Despite the bad situation all around a few friends and I continued to practice in the otherwise empty grounds,” he says.
In fact football is in his blood. His father Mohammad Yousuf was the first Kashmiri to play any international game for the Indian team.
But pursuing the game with violence all around was never easy for Dar junior. Owing to the violence and mass protests, curfew used to be imposed for days at a stretch in the early 1990s.
“They would give relaxation for a few hours and I would rush to the ground to play,” Dar remembers.
In fact, young men in Kashmir fancied football more than cricket before the start of militancy. Abdul Majid Kakroo was the first Kashmiri to captain the Indian squad in 1986-87 and played for the national team for nine years.
A resident of Dalgate in the heart of Srinagar, Dar was fortunate that there were at least three grounds near his home where he could hone his skills.
Dar’s perseverance finally paid and he captained Srinagar’s YMCA team in the Federation Cup in 1998 held at Chandigarh and later represented state in the Santosh Trophy three times from 2000 to 2002.
“It was only after playing outside the state that I realized how absence of professional coaches was hampering game in our state,” he says.
He started training youngsters and went for different coaching courses, AFC licenses and degrees in physical education and also started coaching Kashmir University team since 2006. “My first break at national level came in 2012 when I was chosen as assistant coach by AIFF for the under-19 boys’ team,” he says.
Since then, Dar has not looked back.
source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> India / by Ashiq Hussain, Hindustan Times / December 03rd, 2016
