Monthly Archives: November 2020

Sana Khan ties knot with Mufti Anas in Gujarat

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

GUJARAT :

Sana Khan ties knot with Mufti Anas in Gujarat
 Sana Khan with her husband Mufti Anas (Instagram)

In October, Sana Khan shared the news of her quitting showbiz forever citing religious reasons

Mumbai:

Television actress and Bigg Boss 6 contestant Sana Khan who quit showbiz to follow spiritual path, got married to Mufti Anas in Gujarat  on Saturday.

The videos of an intimate wedding ceremony of Sana Khan are surfacing online. We got our hands on an adorable video where the newly married couple was seen cutting a cake in the presence of their family members. The video was shared by Bollywood’s ace photographer Viral Bhayani on Instagram .

Sana Khan looked resplendent in a white bridal gown. She also wore a hijab along with her wedding dress and looked stunning. She compliment the look with a very simple and light make up. Her partner, Mufti Anas kept it traditional on the wedding day. He chose a white kurta-pyjama for the occasion.

Who is Mufti Anas?

Mufti Anas is a Muslim cleric from Surat, Gujarat. ‘Bigg Bos 8’ contestant Ajaz Khan reportedly introduced Sana Khan to her husband.

In October, Sana Khan took to her social media and surprised her fans by sharing the news of her quitting showbiz forever citing religious reasons.

In her post on Instagram, Sana Khan said that the entertainment industry has given her “all kinds of fame, honour and wealth” but she has realised that she should not make “wealth and fame” her only goal. She added that from now on, she will “serve humanity and follow the order of her Creator.”

“When I searched for the answer to this question in my religion, I realized that this life in the world is actually for the betterment of life-after death. And it will be better if the slave lives according to the command of his Creator, and does not make wealth and fame his only goal; rather, he/she should avoid sinful life and serve humanity, and follow the path shown by his/her Creator. Therefore, I declare today that from today onwards, I have resolved to say goodbye to my Showbiz lifestyle forever and serve humanity and follow the orders of my Creator. All brothers and sisters are requested to pray for me to Allah to accept my repentance and grant me the true ability to live in accordance with my determination of spending my life following the commandments of my Creator and in the service of humanity, and grant me perseverance in it“.

“Finally, all brothers and sisters are requested to not consult me with regards to any Showbiz work henceforth,” she wrote.

While sharing her decision, Sana removed several pictures and videos of herself from her shoot diaries and trips from her social media account.

source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> Top Stories / by Rasti Amena / November 21st, 2020

Why residents of this Hyderabad colony procuring boats

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, , ,

Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

These are not the boats of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) or Disaster Response Force (DRF) of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC)

With heavy rains and flash floods inundating Hyderabad’s Nadeem Colony, authorities pressed into service a few boats for rescue and relief operations, but a week later a couple of boats are still seen floating in the flooded waters in the area.

Abdul Qadeer and his friends sail from door to door, supplying free food, milk packets and water bottles to those still trapped in inundated houses. There was another inflatable boat seen floating in the area to provide relief.

These are not the boats of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) or Disaster Response Force (DRF) of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).

With the colony facing perennial problems of water-logging and as there is no end in sight to recurring floods, a couple of residents of the colony have procured boats to remain prepared for the worst.

Abdul Bari, a relative of Abdul Qadeer, brought the inflatable boat with a seating capacity of 5-6 persons from a recent trip to the US.

Though Abdul Qadeer’s house is also inundated with 2-3 feet of water, this did not deter him and some others from helping those who are the worst hit. “The next lane still has five feet of water and this boat is the only means to reach out to the people who have taken shelter on the first or second floor of their houses,” Abdul Qadeer told IANS.

A senior accountant in a private engineering college, he has been living in the colony in Toli Chowki area since 1989. Whenever it rains heavily, the colony gets inundated but the residents have learnt to live with a couple of feet of water every year. “This is the third worst flood. We earlier saw a similar situation in 1989 and 2000,” said Abdul Qadeer.

The colony is located near Shah Hatim pond, which gets stormwater from various uphill localities in Jubilee Hills. The residents in this colony of 500 to 600 families deny that they built the houses in Full Tank Level (FTL).

According to them, the main reason for water logging is the encroachments on the pond. “The pond in 1989 was spread over 35-40 acres but now it is just 17 acres because of encroachments,” he said.

Syed Azhar, a businessman who has been living in the colony for 20 years, said a part of the pond was filled with debris to build houses and a golf course.

The flow of stormwater was also disrupted due to encroachments which led to narrowing of the drains at various points.

Several visits by public representatives and officials and assurances over the years have failed to change the destiny of the colony.

Despite their houses still remaining under water and with no electricity for more than a week, people like Abdul Qadeer are doing their bit to help those worst hit.

Asia Begum, who had to shift to her sister’s house in another colony, cooks food for 50-70 people every day and brings it to Nadeem Colony for distribution. “This is the testing time for all and this is the time to earn good rewards,” she said.

Some families are not ready to leave the houses as they either fear thefts or have no relatives where they can shift. “They can’t go to any other place. In these pandemic times even the guests are not being welcomed,” said Abdul Bari, who also comes here from another area in the city to take part in relief work.

One of the worst floods in Hyderabad’s history last week claimed 33 lives and inundated hundreds of colonies in and around the city.

source: http://www.nationalherald.com / National Herald / Home> National / by IANS / October 20th, 2020

KBC 12: Meet Nazia Nasim, The First Crorepati Of This Season Of The Game Show

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, , , , , ,

Ranchi, JHARKHAND / NEW DELHI :

The Wednesday episode of KBC (Kaun Banega Crorepati) was memorable for the Season 12 as the show got its first crorepati in Delhi-based Nazia Nasim. The contestant was lauded not only for her historic victory, but also for not using any lifeline till late during the game.

On November 11, she won the prize money of Rs 1 crore after answering 15 questions correctly. Nasim was the roll-over contestant of Tuesday’s game, during which she had earned Rs 40,000 already. Although Nazia couldn’t answer the 16th jackpot question of Rs 7 crore, she is hailed as the first crorepati after the season premiered on September 28, 2020.

Here are 10 things to know about Nazia Nasim.

  • Nasim hails from Ranchi, Jharkhand. She moved to Delhi in 2004 to do a PG diploma in advertising and PR from Indian Institute of Mass Communication. Currently, Nasim is working as a communication manager.
  • She got married in 2008. Along with her husband and 10-year-old son, she resides in the National Capital Delhi.
  • Nasim’s credits her inspiration of participating in KBC to her mother who has been a die-hard fan of the show and host Amitabh Bachchan. She and her father used to go to the telephone booth early morning to answer KBC’s participatory questions. After having tried for more than 8-10 seasons for 20 years, she finally had to chance to try her knowledge at the game show.
  • For Nasim, winning the prize money was a ‘Slumdog Millionaire moment’ as she just had to refresh the knowledge she had acquired over the years to answer the questions as she hadn’t prepared much for the show. Slumdog Millionaire is a 2009 Academy Award winning film about the journey of a teenager from slums of Mumbai becoming a millionaire.
  • Nasim revealed that she would use her prize money for medical expenses of her parents and in-laws. She also wants to get his son proper soccer training as he is an enthusiast of the sport. Moreover, she would donate 2.5 percent of the money for charity (zakat).
  • Nasim identifies herself as a feminist as she is a big propagator of women’s rights. She hopes that her victory helps cultivate confidence in women and girls from small towns to thrive.
  • The first crorepati of KBC 12 feels that the show is much more than just money as it provides a stage and opportunity for a person from a decent family to appear on national television and talk to a celebrity.
  • On talking about not winning the jackpot amount Rs 7 crore, she said that she had gone on the show to fulfill her mother’s dream.
  • The question that fetched Nasim one crore rupees was, “Which of these actresses once won a National Film Award for Best Playback Singer?” which she answered correctly as Roopa Ganguly.
  • Nasim’s strategy on the game show was eliminating every wrong option, which did eventually lead her to the right answer. Notably, she didn’t use any lifeline till the 11th question.

Shikha Chandra is an intern with SheThePeople.TV

source: http://www.shethepeople.tv / She The People / Home / by Shikha Chandra / November 13th, 2020

Hyderabad duo Thug Unit makes a comeback with ‘Resurrection 040’

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, , , , , , , ,

Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

Local flavour, global appeal Mudassir Ahmed and Syed Irshad of Thugs Unit  

Mudassir Ahmed and Syed Irshad have pioneered Urdu hip hop movements since the early 2000s.

Mudassir Ahmed and Syed Irshad of Thugs Unit are unable to contain their excitement about making a comeback with hip hop album Resurrection 040 on Apple Music on Friday, November 20.

Syed Irshad says, “The album will feature exclusively on Apple Music once it goes live on November 20, following which it will be released on other music platforms after a fortnightly exclusive with Apple. We are elated that Bobin James, Editor and Artists Relations Lead at Apple Music liked them enough to feature our music on their platform.”

Within the hip hop community, Mudassir Ahmed and Syed Irshad are popular as ‘Mo Boucher’ and ‘Irish Boi’ respectively. The duo from Hyderabad is known as one of India’s finest hip hop groups who pioneered Urdu hip hop genre in Hyderabad.

Explaining the essence of Resurrection 040, Mudassir says, “The tracks in the album blend eastern and western music producing a mystical confluence of Sufism and hip hop genres. The 12-track album features expressive lyrics in Urdu, English and Jamaican styles. It has tracks include . ‘Rubaroo’ (Face to face), ‘Raahe Rast’ (Straight path), ‘Suroor-e-Ishq’ (Exhilaration of love), ‘Pardafash’ (Unmasked), ‘Azmaish’ (Test), ‘Atishbazi’ (Fireworks), ‘Bossman’, ‘Bus’em’ (Bust Them), ‘Hate monger’, ‘Intro’, Kun (Be) featuring Rebel of Khan Artists, and ‘Original Rajah’ (Original ruler). Our music is Sufism-inspired, self-reflection and raises voice against community evils and power establishments.”

Giving a little background of where the two started from, Mudassir says, he’s been writing, creating and recording his music since 2006. He says, “Around the same time, I came to know of Irshad who used to hold hip hop parties and events. Without wasting time, I met up with him and also performed at his hip hop events. We got along instantly and decided to create our own music with our experience. We cut a few mixed tapes in 2008 and 2010.” The duo later released a couple of singles in 2012 and 2014 on myspace and YouTube. “After our musical journey and the continuous association, I felt I was stuck in a loop; we seemed to be creating one track after the other and yet, I found no contentment. I took a break and pursued a spiritual journey in 2014.” Mudassir explains his spiritual journey ‘as the quest to reflect the purity of thoughts in music.’

Some of their mix tapes are The Beginning (2008), The Movement (2010) and Poets Word (2012). Later in 2019, the duo reconnected to create Resurrection 040.

The pull of Urdu

Why in Urdu? “To bring the real flavour of what Hyderabad has to offer in terms of music. All our music is a mix of Urdu and English for ease of understanding by people of all languages. In the early days, Irshad and I experimented with local languages and decided to go with Urdu as we loved how it sounded. Our followers too appreciated the Urdu hip hop, so we decided to make it our signature style. We also lace it with Jamaican flavour by adding a bit of reggae,” explains Mudassir.

Irshad adds, “We see hip-hop as a tool for spreading knowledge and shifting mindsets. Essentially, hip hop is a genre for representing the voice of the people; we use it as a tool to voice our thoughts against oppression in all forms. When we see something wrong in our community, we speak about it in our music.”

The artistes are very proud that the music for the album is produced by Grammy-nominated and multi-platinum producers like Buck Wild. This also makes the duo the first from Telangana (and perhaps from India) to work with the US-based Grammy-nominated producers.

Resurrection 040. will be available for streaming and purchase on all leading music platforms including Spotify and Amazon among others after 15 days.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Prabalika M. Borah / Hyderabad – November 20th, 2020

Ustad Imrat Khan: The unsung brother

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Calcutta, INDIA / USA :

Ustad Imrat Khan   | Photo Credit: Avinash Parischa

Remembering surbahar legend Ustad Imrat Khan, who shone bright despite being overshadowed by his celebrated brother Ustad Vilayat Khan

Mention the name Ustad Imrat Khan to any young Indian classical music lover, and chances are the reply will be, “Imrat Khan sahib? Oh yes, Ustad Vilayat Khan’s younger brother, the surbahar player.” But Ustad Imrat Khan was much more than just the younger brother of an iconic musician. He was also one of the finest instrumentalists of his time, an innovator, composer, great teacher, and the inheritor of the surbahar playing tradition of the five-generation-old Imdadkhani gharana.

Largely forgotten by a younger generation of listeners, he is a musician whose impact can be discerned in the instrumentalists of today. For one, the fact that he was as fine a sitar player as surbahar player was deliberately underplayed by his mother, Begum Inayat Khan, who was keen that the legacy of her late husband Ustad Inayat Khan be carried forward equally by both her sons, Vilayat and Imrat. From an early age, Imrat was encouraged to practise only the surbahar, on which he was trained by his uncle Ustad Wahid Khan.

Imrat was only three when his father died, so his gurus were his maternal grandfather, Ustad Bande Hasan Khan, uncle Ustad Wahid Khan, and brother Ustad Vilayat Khan. In the early years, the brothers were encouraged to also present their music as a jugalbandi, with Imrat playing the much heavier, more difficult surbahar with his brother Vilayat Khan on the sitar. Some of their immortal recordings, ‘Night at the Taj’, ‘Mian Malhar’, and a private recording of Yemeni on YouTube, reveal Imrat’s musical prowess. Although Ustad Vilayat Khan was famed for his amazing musicality, creativity and virtuosity, the jugalbandis reveal that Ustad Imrat Khan managed to hold his own with elan.

Looking at the legacy he left behind, foremost is his excellence as a guru. He was thorough, exacting, meticulous and inspirational. His sons and disciples, Nishat, Irshad and Wajahat, are well known worldwide. Ustad Imrat Khan was also a fine composer — Satyajit Ray, who interacted with him closely during the making of Jalsaghar, apparently said that though the name of the music composer was given as Ustad Vilayat Khan, it was Ustad Imrat Khan who dealt with the minute details. He created raags Chandra Kanhra, Madhuranjani, Geetanjali, Amrit Kauns, among others, but these never really became mainstream ragas.

Unusual raags, his forte

Understanding that he had to carve out a musical identity distinct from his more celebrated brother, Ustad Imrat Khan revelled in playing unusual raags; two that he popularised were Kalavati and Abhogi Kanhra. His compositions too reveal an attempt at individuality — son Ustad Nishat Khan speaks of a ‘gat’ in raag Gaoti, which was ‘the smallest gat ever composed, in which the mukhda was in just two matras. Says Nishat, “His compositions had a unique style; he used bolkaari (stroke work) in a distinctive way,” a style that was followed later by other instrumentalists. His son Ustad Irshad Khan remembers how he played compositions other than in teen taal. “This was something his gharana was not known for.”

The training on the surbahar gave him a command on the sitar that was awesome, and the wazan of his right hand, the fluid stroke work, and the extensive use of gamak taans on the sitar were distinctly his own. He preferred to encourage the then relatively lesser-known tabla players, Ustad Lateef Ahmed Khan of the Delhi gharana and Pt. Mahapurush Mishra and Pt. Kumar Bose of the Banaras gharana.

Yet, living in the times of those superb sitariyas, Ustad Vilayat Khan and Pt. Ravi Shankar, Ustad Imrat Khan never got the acclaim that was his rightful due. He moved to the U.K. where he taught at the Dartington College of the Arts, then to Europe in the mid-1970s, where he taught at the Central Academy of the Arts, Berlin, then moved to the U.S. in the 80s, where he taught at Washington University, St Louis. In the process, his concerts in India shrank, and a newer generation of listeners forgot his presence. Recipient of the Sangeet Natak award in 1988, the nation forgot him till his Padma Shri in 2017, which he declined as being too little too late.

The Ustad was a simple, large-hearted and fun-loving man. He loved good food and enjoyed watching Hindi movies. Most of his waking hours were spent in music, whether playing, listening or teaching. He was technically proficient, and and was able to tweak the jawari (the ivory tuning bridge) perfectly. A traditionalist, he turned down all offers for fusion concerts, saying there was enough to explore in Indian music. Today, four decades after his prime, one is able to appreciate the extent of his mastery.

The Delhi-based author writes on Hindustani music and musicians.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment> Music / by Shailaja Khanna / November 19th, 2020

The BJP does not want Owaisi, the BJP does not need Owaisi

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders,

Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

The BJP’s aim is to invisibilise Muslims. Owaisi is a challenge to that project.

File photo | AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi | Facebook/Asaduddinowaisi

The Bharatiya Janata Party will do anything it needs to win elections, we are often told.

Yet, there is one thing the BJP does not do, particularly the BJP of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. It rarely ever gives tickets to Muslims . That costs it a few Muslim-dominated seats. If the BJP’s single-minded purpose was to win seats, it would happily give tickets to Muslims.

By giving some representation to Muslims in their ticket distribution, the BJP could, perhaps, have won state elections in Rajasthan, Delhi, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh. You can find Muslims who are all too willing to engage with the BJP at a time when the party has a monopoly over winning elections. Like most communities, Muslims don’t mind being on the right side of power.

It is the BJP that does not respond to Muslim aspirations, because there are things the BJP values more than winning elections, such as ideology. In its post-2014 phase, it has been clearer than ever that the BJP’s ideological purpose is to marginalise Muslims to the point of making them invisible. The Muslim must shut up and stay at home. The Muslim must not be MLA, MP, minister or leader. Muslims must not speak or be heard.

What was such a big deal about blocking traffic on a road or two over the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests that it caused riots in Delhi? Was the blocking of a road in east Delhi that nobody was really noticing that big a problem for commuters? That is how unacceptable the Muslim political voice is to the BJP.

The BJP doesn’t want Owaisi

It is facetious to say that the BJP wants Asaduddin Owaisi around in politics. The BJP doesn’t want the Muslim beard or cap. My understanding is that it doesn’t want a Muslim standing up in Parliament — because why should Muslims be present in Parliament of a ‘Hindu Rashtra’ in the first place?

For the first time in the history of Bihar politics, the treasury benches do not have a single Muslim MLA. The BJP did not give a single ticket to a community that is nearly 17 per cent of Bihar’s population — every sixth citizen. It is the only party that seeks to actively exclude an entire community from the corridors of power. Do you think they enjoy the sight of five MLAs from the All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) in the assembly?

The five seats won by the AIMIM have led to the usual hand-wringing about how Owaisi’s rise is just what the BJP wants. The BJP wants Muslims to vote for a Muslim party just as it wants Hindus to vote for a Hindu party. This is a misreading of the BJP’s agenda. The BJP-RSS have gone out of their way to make secular parties apologetic about seeking Muslim votes. This has been done to silence the voice of the Muslim community in Indian politics and public life. If Indian Muslims now get a voice through Owaisi and the AIMIM, no, that doesn’t serve the BJP’s purpose.

The BJP would rather that Muslims don’t have a vote at all— which is what might be eventually achieved by the ‘chronology’ laws of NPR-NRC-CAA, which could strip many Muslims of citizenship. One look at the attempts in Assam to repeat the National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise again and again, flogging a dead horse until it comes alive, shows you how the BJP wants to reduce the number of Muslim voters from the electoral rolls. That’s how the absence of Muslim representation from not just the treasury benches but even the opposition benches might be achieved.

The BJP doesn’t need Owaisi

The BJP does not need Owaisi for polarisation because the BJP has anyway maxed the polarisation game. All that fake news against Muslims — like the Palghar lynching of sadhus immediately blamed on Muslims even though there was no communal angle whatsoever — doesn’t need Owaisi. If anything, Owaisi’s nuanced assertion of constitutional nationalism comes in the way of the BJP leaders and supporters’ efforts to portray the Muslim as the Hindu-hating, Pakistan-loving, cow-slaughtering devil.

The larger misreading here is that the Hindu voter votes only on account of religion. If religious identity was enough, Prime Minister Modi wouldn’t need to sell ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ or whatever the latest hollow slogan is. The sort of voter who would vote for the BJP because they are repulsed by Owaisi’s face will anyway vote for the BJP. Owaisi’s presence or absence isn’t going to affect the Hindutva-minded voter’s affinity for the BJP.

Who needs Owaisi? 

If anyone needs Owaisi, it is the Indian Muslim. The Indian Muslims who are being deprived of a voice in public discourse because the ‘secular’ parties who claim to uphold their interests have also gone silent. In fact, they’re going beyond silence to active collaboration with Hindu fundamentalism, if you see the recent actions of Priyanka Gandhi, Kamal Nath, and Arvind Kejriwal.

At such a time, Owaisi is a force for good in Indian politics. He’s not going to become chief minister or prime minister and he knows it. What he will achieve is the creation of some competition for Muslim votes, which will force the ‘secular’ parties to acknowledge that, yes, India has Muslims and they must be treated with the same dignity by all political parties as any other voter.

The author is contributing editor to ThePrint. Views are personal.

source: http://www.theprint.in / The Print / Home> Opinion / by Shivam Vij / November 20th, 2020

Bengaluru’s Mohsin Ahmed leads in Indian Crossword League

Education, Karnataka (under research project), Sports, World Opinion, , , , ,

Bengaluru, KARNATAKA :

Representative image/Credit: Pixabay Image

Reigning champion Mohsin Ahmed of Bengaluru has established lead at the end of the first scoring round of the eighth edition of the annual global contest Indian Crossword League, popularly called IXL.

Ahmed is followed by Chennai’s Ramki Krishnan at the second position. Ramki has won the contest four times in the last seven editions, an IXL release said on Sunday.

Three overseas players Sowmya Ramkumar (3rd), Philip Coote (6th) and Koh Ting Sween Kenny (7th) have also made it to the top 10.

The contest, which was open to Indians across the world earlier, has been thrown open to foreigners from this edition, the release said.

There will be eight more weekly online rounds before the offline ‘Grand Finale’ to be held in Bengaluru, the date for which will be decided later.

The top 30 participants on the cumulative leader board will take part in the final.

Started in 2013, IXL has been acknowledged as one of its kind by the Limca Book of Records, the release said.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> City> Top Bengaluru Stories / by PTI / September 07th, 2020

2 Muslim women to contest for BJP in Malappuram

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, , ,

Malappuram, KERALA :

Party in Malappuram upbeat over Muslim women entering the fray

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has finally found two Muslim women to contest the elections in Malappuram, the only Muslim-majority district in the State.

T.P. Sulfath from Wandoor and Ayisha Hussain from Chemmad have become the first Muslim woman duo in Malappuram to contest an election under the BJP’s banner.

Ms. Sulfath filed her nomination for the Wandoor grama panchayat from Ward 6 (Shanti-Koottambara) on Wednesday. Ms. Ayisha will file her nomination on Thursday for the Ponmundam grama panchayat from Ward 9.

The BJP in Malappuram has been upbeat over finding Muslim women to contest the local body elections. Although Ms. Sulfath was offered a district panchayat division, she chose her own grama panchayat as she has been keen on beginning from the grassroots.

Fan of Modi

An avid fan of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ms. Sulfath said the progressive policies followed by the BJP had attracted her to that party. “Who else can implement such progressive measures as banning triple talaaq and raising marriageable age for women? There is none in current Indian politics to match Modiji not only in charisma but in efficiency and determination as well,” she told The Hindu.

A mother of two children, Ms. Sulfath prefers to be self-reliant by engaging in a variety of business.

Married at 15, Ms. Sulfath said her life had taught her the bitter lessons of entering into nuptials as a child. Her progressive thoughts have won her many new friends and fans. Youngsters have started approaching her for selfies.

Ms. Sulfath is not certain about staging an upset in a ward where the BJP has a weak base.

“But my candidature sends home the message that the BJP is a safe party. We want a third alternative to end the adjustment politics being played by the United Democratic Front and the Left Democratic Front,” she said.

Ms. Ayisha too is a first timer in the fray. Mother of a 10-year-old girl, Ms. Ayisha too has been a fan of Vajpayee and Modi. Her husband Hussain Varikkottil, who is a district committee member of the Minority Morcha, is also contesting to the Malappuram district panchayat from the Edarikode division under the BJP banner.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> States> Kerala / by Abdul Latheef Naha / November 19th, 2020

Kovalam fishermen now home deliver fresh, seasonal fish

Business & Economy, Green Products, Travel & Tourism, , , , , , , ,

Kovalam, Chennai, TAMIL NADU :

Hanif Mohammed wants to take you out on his boat to share the wonders of the sea. He is also promoting sustainable fishing with his new online portal.

Over a hundred dolphins swimming alongside each other in clear blue waters. And a few whales too. It was a lucky day for Kovalam-based Hanif Mohammed Q and guests on his boat. “It’s another world out there,” says Hanif, recalling the sight. An interior designer, Hanif has been fishing out of passion for 15 years, and owns two boats. He knows the wonders of the sea first-hand, and wants to share it with others.

“I take people on small trips into the sea,” says the 40-year-old, adding that from July to August, and February to March, guests can witness the migration of dolphins.

Hanif demonstrates how fishing is done along the way. “I want to encourage parents to show children the outdoors; to let them experience Nature at its best,” he adds. “They can learn about the sea, among a lot of other things,” he says, adding how once, his guests released turtles caught in a fishing net. He is now in the process of setting up his company, called South Fin for leisure trips, as well as finalising essentials such as changing rooms and toilets. “We will launch in 10 days or so,” he says.

Hanif has launched yet another recent venture: Fresh Fins, an initiative that lets people from Chennai order fresh fish online. “My intention is to help small boat fishermen make a better living,” he says. With less financial support from the Government and no access to facilities to store their catch, these fishermen often end up selling to middle-men for a pittance. “I want to take their catch directly to customers,” he explains.

Right now, he sells catch from over 45 boats from Kanyakumari to Ennore and 90% of his team, right from call-centre executives to delivery persons, are from Kovalam. “There are 40 people in my team right now, and we deliver as far as Mogappair and Anna Nagar West,” he says.

Apart from eliminating middlemen and ensuring small boat fishermen get a good price for their catch, Hanif wants to familiarise people with seasonal fish and promote sustainable fishing.

“Customers should get used to the idea of eating what is local and seasonal,” he says. “This way, they will be able to enjoy a wide range as opposed to the usual vanjiram that big boats bring from as far as Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.”

For details, visit freshfins.in. To know more about the fishing trips — prices depend on the distance and number of people — call 9696089696.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society / by Akila Kannadasan / November 18th, 2020

Facebook’s Urdu lover

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, World Opinion, , , , ,

NEW DELHI :

Nasheet Shadani is one of the handful ‘creative strategists’ Facebook employs around the world. He is also a great lover of the Urdu language and runs a unique platform called Ishq Urdu on, where else, Facebook, with 254,000 followers. The Cannes award-winning adman who has worked with ad agencies like McCann, Grey and Ogilvy and Mather tells Grin why he is dedicating his life to reviving the medieval Indian language of great poets.

From Shadani’s Project Urdu.

There are around 70 million Urdu speakers in the world — most of them in South Asia. ‘But most websites, blogs represent Urdu in a very boring way. Most are just e-books, directly uploading content from books. Many thought that Urdu is a language spoken by some kind of obscure species. There was no curation and at times it gave an impression that it is indeed spoken by obscure species. The need to modernize the language in terms of visual look and feel as well as curation was badly needed,’ says Shadani. Several great Indian poets including the 17th century maestro Mirza Ghalib wrote in Urdu.

Shadani grew up speaking the language in Old Delhi and studied fine arts at the Jamia Millia Islamia university. He learnt Urdu calligraphy while he was working on a project called Save Calligraphy and redesigned Ogilvy’s logo in Urdu which won awards at the Cannes Lions Festival in design.

Ogilvy in Urdu.

‘This made me realize how culturally rooted works with a good cause can make a huge difference. Soon, I started immersing myself in the language which was followed by a series of discoveries. From thoughtful Urdu poetry to Angaray (which was the start of ‘Progressive Writers Movement’) to Bollywood , I started feeling an urge to share this knowledge with friends through my personal Facebook profile,’ Shadani, who soon moved onto to creating Ishq Urdu.

The project took off the ground in August 2015 with the goal to make people realize that they are already speaking Urdu in their day to day routine and listening to Urdu all the time through Bollywood songs and dialogues. ‘Most people think that Urdu is limited to its poetry but the truth is that Urdu has an entire ecosystem around it. To help solve this problem, we came up with our first campaign Bollywood Without Urdu where we removed Urdu words from iconic Bollywood songs and dialogues to highlight the importance of Urdu in our day to day life,’ says Shadani. For instance, the famous dialogue Mogambo khush hua would not sound the same without the Urdu word khush in it.

Shadani says he is touched when Urdu lovers from all across the globe connect with him and share their stories which pushes him towards his goal of making the language cool, contemporary and relevant in today’s world.

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source: http://www.grin.news / Grin.news / November 22nd, 2017