Monthly Archives: January 2019

Delhi Youth Welfare Association and American Federation of Muslims of Indian Origin felicitate meritorous students

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, NRI's / PIO's, SCHOLARSHIPS, World Opinion, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

NEW DELHI :

DYWAwadsMPOs15jan2019

Delhi Youth Welfare Association (DYWA) in collaboration with American Federation of Muslims of Indian Origin (AFMI), organized the DYWA Annual Award Celebration on 13thJanuary 2019 at Hindi Bhawan, Rouse Avenue, New Delhi.

96 students from 15 schools were felicitated with a shields, certificates and cash prizes. Five special awards were also given. Maulana Azad Education Foundation (best government organisation), Society for Promotion of Education (best non-government organization), Shehnaz (best student, class XII), Nikhat Urooj and Iffat Zareen (best students, Urdu Language/Literature in class XII) and Rabea Girls’ Public School (the school with highest number of individual awards in class X & XII).

This was the 28th edition of annual awards.

Various educationists, social activists and political leaders such as Arfa Khanum (Senior Journalist, The Wire), Dr. A.S. Nakadar (Founder Trustee and Former President AFMI), Dr. Aslam Abdullah (Editor, Muslim Observer and Director Islamic Society of Nevada) attended the convention as guests.

Siraj Hussain, former vice chancellor, Jamia Hamdard University, was the chief guest at the event. He shared a few tips on how to become civil servants. “Befriend as many books as you can. And choose best universities to pursue higher education,” he said.

Dr. Nakadar encouraged students to identify their latent talents. “Stop comparing yourself with others. It will make you better person and best among the people,” he said.

Arfa Khanum shared her journey from a small town in Uttar Pradesh to charting a successful career in journalism. “Being in Delhi is a privileged which many of you may have overlooked. You must make use the resources available to you to the optimum. You are the future of India and you would decide what this nation wants,” she said.

Aslam Abdullah underlined the perils of patriarchy. “We ought to treat at par with men. That is a perquisite for us to bring about any change,” he said.

DYWA is a well-known organization of old Delhi and has been working in the field of education for the last 28 years and AFMI (American Federation of Muslims of Indian origin) is a philanthropic charity formed by American Muslims of Indian Origin in the year 1989.

source: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCircles.net / Home> Education> India News> Indian Muslim> Lead Story / by TCN News / January 15th, 2019

Farnaaz Islam: Engineer by profession, artist by passion

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, , ,

Guwahati, ASSAM :

Many prizes have come her way in subsequent years and there has not been any looking back ever after that

Farnaaz Islam
Farnaaz Islam

Farnaaz Islam of Guwahati is an engineer by qualification but a flourishing artist by passion. She is one of the two artists from Assam who feature in the 11th Contemporary Painting Exhibition organised by the Bengal Art Foundation (BAF) which is going on now at the Gauhati Artists’ Guild here.

BAF is a platform and a beacon light for practising artists. The Foundation is committed to support artists around the country who are working with a contemporary attitude to art by projecting their works through exhibitions, art workshops, art seminars at major centres and creating awareness among the collectors and the connoisseurs of art in the country.

The Foundation is also inviting artists from various countries to integrate and create bonhomie among the practising artists of the world. It is indeed an honour and privilege to be featured in a BAF exhibition. Farnaaz has attained the feat at an early age.

Farnaaz did her schooling at the Blue Bells School and Holy Child School in Guwahati. Her father is a doctor and a professor at Gauhati Medical College and her mother is a lecturer. She herself has done M Tech in Electronics and Communications Engineering. But more than her profession, it is her passion for painting that is taking her places these days.

An art work by Farnaaz
An art work by Farnaaz

Expressing gratitude to her parents, Farnaaz says, “I have memories of my parents dropping me at Gauhati Artists’ Guild, my alma mater for painting lessons, and then my parents taking me to various art competitions, and me getting a 2nd prize in an art competition organised by the Productivity Council of India when I was just a KG student.”

Many prizes have come her way in subsequent years and there has not been any looking back ever after that.

Speaking on the sidelines of the painting exhibition, Farnaaz further added, “I learnt to draw before I could speak …no matter how clichéd that sounds…it’s true… my parents encouraged me a lot. My mentors were my teachers at Gauhati Artists’ Guild, especially Debananda Ulup sir, Kishore Kumar Das sir, and Aminul Haque sir… each one of them a legend by their own merits.”

Farnaaz has in the recent past organised a solo exhibition of her paintings at the State Art Gallery  Guwahati. It was Debananda Ulup who introduced her to Ashoke Roy, the founder of Bengal Art Foundation paving the way for her to make an entry in the current exhibition in Guwahati which commenced on January 9 and will continue through to January 14.

Asked about her most memorable experience, Farnaaz says, “My most memorable experience was my grooming at Gauhati Artists’ Guild… at the age of 12, I completed the Visual Arts course there. It was an awful feeling; I can’t express it in words.”

As for the future, Farnaaz wants to continue experimenting with acrylic and watercolour using various styles, and learn more and more tricks of the trade until she is able to open her own you-tube art channel.

source: http://wwwnenow.in / NorthEast Now / Home> North East News> Assam / January 12th, 2019

Ponnaiyan, poet Thiyaroo among nine to get Tamil Nadu state awards

Arts, Culture & Entertainment,

TAMIL NADU :

Each award carries Rs 1 lakh, gold medal and a citation.

Chennai  :

The State government on Monday announced the names of recipients of nine awards being presented to mark the Thiruvalluvar Day celebrations.

The awardees are: Pazha Nedumaran (Kamarajar award), C Ponnaiyan (Periyar award), Soolur Kalaipithan (KAP Viswanatham award), Poet Thiyaroo (Bharathidasan award), Dr K Ganesan (Thiru.Vi.Ka award), M Bharathi Sugumaran (Bharathiyar award), M Aikkan (Perarignar Anna award) C Ramaguru (Ambedkar award), and MG Anwar Batcha (Thiruvalluvar award). 

Each award carries Rs 1 lakh, gold medal and a citation.  It will be presented by the Chief Minister on January 21.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / January 15th, 2019

Every step Mishal Mohammed takes helps save 74 lives

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Useful / HEALTHCARE, , ,

Kozhikode, KERALA :

The effort taken by the second-year MBBS student has now garnered attention on social media platforms, under the hashtag #newyearrevolution.

MishalMPOs12jan2019

Kochi :

Save more money, travel to new places, wake up early,  eat healthy – while New Year resolutions for the majority of us were about making our own lives better, for Mishal Mohammed, it was about saving the lives of 74 children. So, carrying a collection bucket and a poster with the message ‘Save 74 Lives’, this 19-year-old student of Government Medical College, Kozhikode, walked around 15 km on the second day of the New Year to support children suffering from Thalassemia, Diabetes and Wilson’s disease. The effort taken by the second-year MBBS student has now garnered attention on social media platforms, under the hashtag #newyearrevolution.

According to Mishal, the ‘revolution’ has been launched as part of the Imprints project of the College Union Society under which medical aid and treatment are provided throughout the year to 74 children suffering from the disease. “Nearly a year ago, I had conducted a solo trip to the Western and Northern parts of the country. I was stranded in the Himalayas without cash for a couple of days and had to walk several kilometres for help. However, the experience gave me an impetus to explore my own city on foot, “ said Mishal.

Once back in Kozhikode, Mishal decided to put his walking experiment for a better cause. “The entire cost of medical aid for children under the Imprints project comes up to nearly Rs one lakh per month. Since many are unaware of the initiative, I wondered why not use a novel method, walk around the city and raise funds for these children,” he said.

Over the past one week, Mishal has gained supporters from his college and on online platforms. He has been able to cover a total distance of 38 km on foot to JDT Islam College, Focus Mall and Kozhikode Beach and has raised a sum of Rs 30,000 for the project. “So far I have received only positive responses from people. Around Rs 5,000 was collected from online supporters,” said the Kozhikode-native.

In the previous year, the ‘Walk to the Beach’ Challenge started by  Mishal had received a huge response with around 200 college students covering the 10 km distance from Government Medical College to Kozhikode beach, on foot. The student is also planning to visit a couple more localities and spread awareness on the Imprints project, on hartal days.Those interested in contributing towards the Imprints project can contact 9567992028 or 9745414085 for further details.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Kochi / by Express News Service / January 12th, 2019

Telangana sailors give their all

Sports, , , , , , , ,

TELANGANA :

Sailors who won big at Youth National Sailing Championship with coach Suheim Sehikh.
Sailors who won big at Youth National Sailing Championship with coach Suheim Sehikh.

Win two gold, two silver and six bronze in Youth National Sailing Championship

Telangana sailors put up an impressive show winning two gold, two silver and six bronze in the Youth National Sailing Championship, said coach Suheim Sehikh.

Jaikiran Bolli, a product of a social welfare school in Telangana, chose to defend his bronze rather than try for a gold that was within a striking distance on the final day of medal race, the coach said. And, Mahboobie of Marredpally Government School had a confirmed silver well before the final race, he added.

“Mahboobie could have bagged a gold, but she received a black flag that disqualified her in the penultimate race, dashing all hopes of a gold or a silver. She had to settle for a bronze in her last-ever appearance at a sub-junior regatta before moving on to the Olympic Class Laser this year,” the coach said.

“The stars of the junior fleet were Ravali Parandi and Vaishnavi Veeravamsham, both from Udbhav School, Rasoolpura here, who bagged two golds and two silvers respectively at the nationals and the international,” Mr. Suheim said. “Ravali was not even a favourite before the nationals and was seeded well below seventh in the Telangana fleet. With the two-meter swell and winds and current, we did not expect this diminutive 12-year-old of just 29 kg to strike gold,” the proud coach said.

“The best part is that five of our trainees are now ranked in the top 10 boys in the national fleet, thanks to the huge support of Yacht Club of Hyderabad,” he said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Telangana / by V.V. Subrahmanyam / Hyderabad – January 10th, 2019

Three Coimbatore kids ready to debut in Football league

Sports, , , , , , , , , , ,

Coimbatore, TAMIL NADU :

He has played in more than 20 tournaments at district and state level, and bagged many medals and awards.

(From left) Toufiq, Manas and Arsath  U Rakesh Kumar
(From left) Toufiq, Manas and Arsath  U Rakesh Kumar

Chennai  :

Track Force Sports Club, a student-run football club in Coimbatore, is the talk of the town because of its three players — A Mohammed Arsath, S Toufiq Ahamed, Mohammed Manas. The club has more than 70 players who are trained over the weekends. One of them is 12-year-old Mohammed Manas, who was recently selected for All India U-13 Youth Indian League, scheduled to be held in February 2019.

“My brother and his friends play football during weekends. I used to accompany them. Watching them play, I also became passionate about the sport and started training at Track Force Sports Club (TFSC) in 2015. The club conducts classes on weekends and public holidays, free of cost. Other days, I go to a ground nearby his home located at Selvapuram, Coimbatore and practice regularly,” says Manas, a class seven student of SBOA Matriculation School, Coimbatore.

He has played in more than 20 tournaments at district and state level, and bagged many medals and awards. Recently, he won the Best Player Award in the Dream Lights League of Champions, 2018 held on December 30 at Coimbatore. “I practice for two hours a day to increase my speed and stamina. Hard work and rigorous practice at TFSC helped me get selected for First Kick School of Soccer, All India Academy for football, which will represent a team of 25 players in All India Youth League under 12 category. The dates of the league is not announced yet,” he says.

On the other hand, Arsath’s and Toufiq’s dream of getting selected in Chennaiyin FC, an Indian Super League football club came true. They are the only players from Coimbatore to get selected in Chennaiyin FC team. “I started playing football when I was nine years old. I am a goalkeeper and I train regularly at TFSC.

We had selection matches at 16 places across Tamil Nadu and 25 members got selected for the team. We are the only two from Coimbatore to have made this selection in under-14 category,” says 14-year-old Arsath, a class nine student of Sri Ramachandra Vidhyalaya School.  The boys will undergo training at football camps for five months.

When Toufiq started playing football in class seven, he didn’t make it to the school team. He began training at TFSC and after two years of practice, he got selected to play in the school team in 2018. “The selection for Chennaiyin FC began in February 2018 at SRM University, Chennai. We underwent another selection in March and got selected along with 25 others players for the team.

I play wing back in the game. In the camps, we were trained on ball control, shooting, ball sense, game sense, drill practice, speed and accuracy, defence, offence, ball tackling and more,” says Toufiq, a class 9 student of Carmel Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Coimbatore. The club sponsors the boys for camps and tournaments.  All the three players aim to play for the country and become a part of the Indian football team.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by SP Kirthana / Express News Service / January 08th, 2019

Khelo India Round-up: Gymnasts Mohammed Rafey, Prathista claim first gold

Sports, , ,

UTTAR PRADESH :

Odisha and Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday posted victories in their respective second Pool A matches of the Under-17 men’s hockey competition in the Khelo India Youth Games 2019 in Mumbai.

Mohammed Rafey became the first gold medal winner
Mohammed Rafey became the first gold medal winner

Uttar Pradesh’s Mohammed Rafey and West Bengal’s Prathista Samanta became the first gold medal winners of the Khelo India Youth Games 2019, emerging victorious in the men’s and women’s under-17 all-round artistic gymnastics events respectively here Tuesday.
Uttar Pradesh were dominant in the men’s category with gymnasts Rafey and Raj Yadav grabbing gold and silver with scores of 68.25 and 67.50 respectively.
Delhi’s Tushar Kalyan clinched the bronze medal with an all-round score of 66.90. Tushar had won the bronze medal at the Khelo India School Games last year.
Pratishta staved off a challenge from Maharashtra’s twin sisters Siddhi and Riddhi Hattekar to emerge on top in the women’s under-17 competition.
It was her vault that helped to keep her nose ahead of the Aurangabad twins. She scored 13.00 on the vault to compensate for the uneven bars score of 7.10.
The results:
Men’s under-17 all-around:

1. Mohammed Rafey (Uttar Pradesh) 68.25 (floor 11.90, pommel horse 9.75, roman rings 11.05, vault 12.40, parallel bars 11.30, horizontal bar 11.85); 2. Raj Yadav (Uttar Pradesh) 67.50; 3. Tushar Kalyan (Delhi) 66.90.
Women’s under-17 all-around:

1. Pratishta Samanta (West Bengal) 42.05 (vault 13.00, uneven bars 7.10, beam 11.30, floor 10.65); 2. Siddhi Hatekar (Maharashtra) 40.85, 3. Riddhi Hattekar (Maharashtra) 40.45.

Odisha, Uttar Pradesh register wins in U-17 men’s hockey

Odisha and Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday posted victories in their respective second Pool A matches of the Under-17 men’s hockey competition in the Khelo India Youth Games 2019 in Mumbai.

Haryana, Odisha and Punjab also emerged triumphant in the Under-21 men’s category.

Men’s hockey matches of the Games began at the Mumbai Hockey Association Stadium here from Monday.

In the Under-17 men’s category, Odisha defeated hosts Maharashtra 7-0 and registered their second win in as many matches.

The match saw Odisha’s Sudeep Chirmako score four goals (5th, 38th, 50th and 53rd minute), while Sunil Jojo (14′), captain Sunit Lakra (19′) and Prasant Lakra (52′) also chipped in with a goal each, a media release from Hockey India stated.

Uttar Pradesh registered their first win of the competition as they defeated Delhi 6-0 to overcome the opening day 1-3 defeat to Odisha.

Goals for Uttar Pradesh were scored by Ajay Yadav (50′, 56′), Pankaj Yadav (9′), Suraj Singh (29′), skipper Saurabh Anand (36′) and Rajan Gupta (60′).

In the Under-21 men’s category, Haryana opened their campaign with an emphatic 10-0 victory over Jharkhand in a Pool B match.

Goals for Haryana were scored by skipper Mandeep Mor (3′, 13′, 40′), Abhishek (24′, 43′), Mohit (31′, 44′), Jasbir Antil (7′), Deepak (36′) and Pankaj (58′).

In the other Pool B match of the day, Odisha matched their Under-17 team’s feat as they also defeated hosts Maharashtra by a margin of 6-3.

Indian international Nilam Sanjeep Xess (18′, 29′, 49′) scored a hat-trick for Odisha as Amit Chirmako (12′), Krishna Tirkey (38′) and Ashis Topno (43′) also contributed with goals.

Goals for Maharashtra were scored by Rohan Patil (25′), Malhari Chavan (52′) and Harish Shindgi (57′), it said.

In Pool A, Punjab continued their good form as they won their second consecutive match by defeating Uttar Pradesh 1-0 in what turned out to be a hard-fought win.

The only goal of the game came in the 57th minute as Punjab’s Harmanjit Singh converted a penalty corner to give his team full three points, the release stated

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Sports / by PTI / January 08th, 2019

‘No ban on women entering Vavar mosque’

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Travel & Tourism, , , , , ,

Erumelly  (Kottayam District) , KERALA :

Amidst reports of a few women activists of a Right wing group attempting to enter forcibly the prayer hall of the Nainar Mosque (Vavar Palli) at Erumely, its management has clarified that devotees of all religion, gender and age groups can visit the mosque as part of their pilgrimage to Sabarimala.

P.H. Shajahan, president, Erumely Mahalla Muslim Jamaat, which manages the mosque, said here on Tuesday that they had not imposed any restrictions on the visit of Sabarimala devotees before or after the Supreme Court’s verdict that lifted the ban on women in the 15-50 age group from entering the Sabarimala temple.

“We have been receiving women of all age groups as visitors for a long time and the trend continues even after the recent SC verdict. There is no restriction on them entering the mosque, circumambulating it and providing offerings, as is the tradition,” he said.

A large number of Sabarimala pilgrims visit the mosque throughout the annual pilgrim season, reviving the the local myth of Lord Ayyappa’s friendship with the Muslim youth Vavar. Besides pilgrims, the location has witnessed a huge inflow of tourists, including women, who come to Erumely during the pilgrimage season. It, however, does not permit the entry of Muslim women to the prayer hall.

The other day the police had arrested six people, including three women from Tamil Nadu, while on their way to visit the mosque here. The accused were booked under various Sections, including attempts to promote animosity between different religious groups, and were remanded.

In the face of reports that some women belonging to a Right wing group would attempt to enter the prayer hall here, additional police personnel were posted here to prevent their entry to the prayer room.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Kerala / by Staff Reporter / Kottayam – January 08th, 2019

J&K HC judge Mohammad Yaqoob Mir is new Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court

Leaders, , , , ,

Rajpura, Pulwama , JAMMU & KASHMIR / MEGHALAYA :

The Meghalaya HC currently has just one judge, Justice Sudip Ranjan Sen, who is also officiating as the acting Chief Justice. Its sanctioned strength is four judges.

THE CENTRE on Thursday appointed Justice Mohammad Yaqoob Mir, the most senior judge of the Jammu & Kashmir High Court, as the Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court.

The Meghalaya HC currently has just one judge, Justice Sudip Ranjan Sen, who is also officiating as the acting Chief Justice. Its sanctioned strength is four judges.

“In the exercise of powers conferred by clause (1) of Article 217 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint Shri Justice Mohammad Yaqoob Mir, Judge of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, to be the Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office,” said the notification issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice.

The appointment is significant as the Supreme Court Collegium, on April 19, while recommending Justice Mir’s name, had cited regional representation. “Justice M Yaqoob Mir is the senior-most Judge from Jammu & Kashmir High Court and has been serving there since his elevation as a Judge of that High Court in November 2007. Having regard to all relevant factors, the Collegium finds Justice M Yaqoob Mir suitable in all respects for being appointed as Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court. The Collegium resolves to recommend accordingly. While making the above recommendation, the Collegium has also taken into consideration the fact that for quite some time there has been no Chief Justice from Jammu & Kashmir High Court,” it had said.

Last week, a Supreme Court bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta had pointed out the shortage of judges in high courts in the North-East. On May 5, Attorney General K K Venugopal had assured that the appointments would be made soon. On May 4, the ministry also cleared the appointment of Arindam Lodh, member of bar, as a Judge of the Tripura High Court.

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> India / by Kaunain Sheriff M / New Delhi / May 11th, 2018

The Past is Present

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA :

Fellows from the Godrej Culture Lab Leadership Programme examine the role and relevance of Urdu in contemporary culture

A poster by Nasheet Shadani
A poster by Nasheet Shadani

On display today at the Godrej India Culture Lab are posters with lines which might seem oddly familiar. ‘Tu vastu badi hai anandmayi anandmayi…’, reads one, and ‘Jeevan ek yatra hai mangalmayi…’ reads another. It’s not difficult, if one focuses a little and, uses a dictionary (if required) to understand these lines, and neither is it difficult to identify them as what they are — lyrics from well-known Hindi film songs, in which all the Urdu words have been replaced by Sanskrit-origin Hindi words.

Shorn of the original words, these lines present a disconcerting picture, showing us what we would lose without the Urdu words that still make up so much of our culture. And that exactly is the point being made by visual artist Nasheet Shadani in these posters, part of the series of works he calls ‘Bollywood Without Urdu’.

Zeenat Kulavoor’s calligraphy
Zeenat Kulavoor’s calligraphy

These works by Shadani are being displayed as part of ‘Urdu Culture Now’, a celebration of contemporary Urdu culture. “Despite Urdu having had such a strong influence, it doesn’t seem to have much presence in Mumbai right now. We wanted to challenge this underrepresentation of the language in the city’s culture and show the different ways in which it is used in contemporary culture,” says Pallavi Khare, a student of Media and Cultural Studies at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, who is one of the curators. Khare, along with six other Humanities students from colleges across the city, is a Fellow in the first batch of the Lab’s Leadership Programme, the first of its kind in the city.

Besides, Shadani’s works, also on display will be graphic designer and typographer Zeenat Kulavoor’s contemporary takes on Arabic calligraphy. The event will also have a panel discussion on ‘Urdu Revival Through the Internet’, featuring lyricist and poet Hussain Haidry, Kulavoor, and executive editor of The Wire Urdu, Mahtab Alam. This will be followed by a Qissabaazi performance by actor and storyteller Danish Husain and an Urdu rock performance by independent musician Winit Tikoo. “There are so many misconceptions about Urdu — that it isn’t an Indian language or that it is all about this old world ‘pehle aap’ culture, and we wanted to challenge that,” says Divya Vaidya, a third year student of architecture from the School of Environment and Architecture. Also available at the event will be a specially curated collection of books by city-based library and book store, Trilogy, as well as a daawat representing Hyderabadi and Lucknowi cuisines.

For the Lab itself, an important reason for hosting the event is to give its Fellows a good grounding in what it takes to be engaged with art and culture in the city. Parmesh Shahani, who heads the Lab, explains that this falls within the larger goal of enabling more people to engage productively with the city’s, and the country’s, culture scene. He explains, “We started the leadership programme for three reasons. The first one was the need to formalise our internship. The second reason, which is more ambitious, is to create a pipeline for people who want to work in culture because in the seven years that we’ve existed, we realised that almost everyone who is currently working in culture has either stumbled onto it or somehow figured out their way in. The third reason comes from a strong impetus we have to innovate. We have a super focused calender of events, but we also try to make some innovations every year. This time, one of the innovations is this programme.”

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Lifestyle / by Pooja Pillai / June 08th, 2018