Zunaira Khan, 14, who runs her own tech company, dreams of expanding it and turning into an investor.
Hyderabad :
Zunaira Khan, a 14-year-old from Hyderabad is anything but your average teenager. She is a tech-savvy genius. A tech entrepreneur and software developer she got her first client at the tender age of nine. At the age of 11, she started teaching BTech students. Zunaira started her own website ‘ZM Infocom’ — a software development and consultancy firm — when she was just 12.
The wonder kid has developed business, mobile, and web applications for clients such as Licious, Fooditnow, Daily Ninja to name a few. The tech girl started learning at the age of seven and developing software from the age of eight. “My mother is a professional software developer. At the age of six, my sister and I after school, we used to be in her office.
When I was seven, I asked her to teach me coding and, she taught me everything,” says the spunky teen who lives in Nacharam industrial area with her family. Zunaira has also been conferred with the title of ‘Digital Ambassador’ of Delhi Public School. She says, “I feel good when I get these recognitions and the biggest award I get is the satisfaction in my parents’ eyes.”
How does she manage school and work? Zunaira’s hobbies are reading books and singing songs, and she says, “At the beginning, it was a bit difficult, but my principal and teachers are supportive. So after school, I give five to six hours to my company, then I study.” What is her advice to those chasing their dreams? She replies: “The secret of my success is that you need to believe in yourself.
You need to find your interest. You need to share everything with your parents because they are the ones who will show you the way. Start small, but think big and that big should be the goal.” What does the future hold for her? “Right now we are a service-based company, but I want to also make it product-based. I wish to provide maximum employment and I want to make this company reach the highest level… I also see myself as a big investor.”
Zunaira will be seen in the upcoming episode of Byju’s Young Genius show on Network 18 with actor Rajkummar Rao which will be telecast on February 6 where they talk about their first paychecks. The shooting for the show was in Mumbai and the starry-eyed girlscomments, “It was a big honour for me to meet Rajkumar Rao.”
— Tamanna S Mehdi tamanna@newindianexpress.com @tamannamehdi
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Tamanna S. Mehdi / Express News Service / February 04th, 2021
“It is heartening to know today that the Muslim students are excelling not only in their education but in every walk of life. Diamonds are always formed and picked from the dark coal mines. This is an apt situation for the Muslim community in contemporary India. However, the good tidings are around the corner and there is no need to be pessimists. We need to brave the adverse circumstances to march towards the path of progress and advancement,” said Siasat News Editor Aamir Ali Khan.
Khan was speaking on the eve of a ceremony held yesterday at Mehboob Husain Jigar Hall at Siasat compound to distribute merit certificates and awards to 540 Muslim students of Telangana state who were succeeded in getting admissions for MBBS for the current academic year.
Khan said, “Medical profession is a sacred mission and to do justice to its sacredness is the need of the day.” He said the doctors today increase the anxiety of the patients by their unethical and commercial behavior. He advised the young students – girls and boys – to “work with a missionary zeal to serve the humanity”.
The awards were given to those Muslim students who obtained admissions in Government, private, and Minority medical colleges in Telangana through the convener quota.
Speaking as an honorary guest, Director MS Education Academy Anwar Ahmed said, that the Muslim students are doing extremely well in Engineering, Medicine, and IIT’s these days. He informed that MS Educational Academy is helping Muslim students for civil services. Nine students have succeeded in the first phase of preliminary exams. The introductory note was delivered by M A Hamid and presented the report. Another honorary guest Engineer Syed Haider Ali distributed the awards among the students. A large gathering of the students and their parents from the city and other districts attended this ceremony.
source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> News> Hyderabad News / by Mohammed Hussain Ahmed / January 27th, 2021
Gauahar Khan and Zaid Darbar’s wedding will be an intimate affair attended by family and close friends.
Gauahar Khan and Zaid Darbar at their wedding reception. (Photo: PR Handout)
Actor Gauahar Khan is set to marry choreographer Zaid Darbar today. The couple hosted their chiksa and mehendi ceremonies earlier this week. Sharing pictures of her mehendi, Gauahar wrote, “Writing our love story on each other’s hearts forever with the blessings of our family and friends and above all Allah. ❤”
Announcing her wedding on Instagram, the actor had written, “The year 2020 has been anything but ordinary and our love story through it all has been nothing short of extraordinary! It gives us immense joy to announce that we are tying the knot and embarking on a journey of forever. Keeping the current scenario in mind, we will be celebrating the big day with our family in an intimate ceremony. We seek your blessings & love & are eternally grateful for the constant support & the outpour of warm wishes we have received. We hope for every soul to find its mate and pray for every heart to find it’s reason to beat. All our love, Gauahar and Zaid.”
Gauahar Khan had previously shared an animated video on Instagram, which detailed her love story with Zaid Dabar. She shared with her followers that the two bumped into each other during the lockdown as they shopped for groceries and hit it off instantly. They started texting and their dates comprised of long drives and Zoom calls.
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Entertainment> Television / by Arushi Jain, Kriti Sonali and Sana Farzeen – New Delhi / December 25th, 2020
Indian-origin Sabih Khan has been named as the Senior Vice President of Operations at Apple, the global tech giant announced. Khan, whose family hails from Rampur in Uttar Pradesh has been with Apple since 1995 working in various senior executive roles.
In his new role, Khan would be in charge of Apple’s global supply chain, ensuring product quality and overseeing planning, procurement, manufacturing, logistics and product fulfilment functions, Apple said in a statement.
“Sabih leads our Ops team with heart. He and his entire worldwide team are committed to delivering unmatched experiences to our customers, treating workers everywhere with dignity and respect, and protecting the environment for future generations,” said Tim Cook, Apple CEO.
Before joining Apple’s procurement group in 1995, Sabih Khan worked as an applications development engineer and key account technical leader at GE Plastics. He earned a bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Mechanical Engineering from Tufts University and a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Khan’s promotion follows the departure of Apple’s legendary chief design officer Jonathan Ive, who quit the company to form his own design company, LoveFrom.
KKhan will report to Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer
“I’ve been privileged to work with Sabih for more than 20 years, and you won’t find a more talented operations executive anywhere on the planet,” said Williams. “He is a world-class leader and collaborator, and I have no doubt that he will be the best leader of the Ops team in Apple’s history.”
source: http://www.thecognate.com / The Cognate / Home> Business / by Shaik Zakeer Hussain / June 29th, 2019
Chairman and Managing Director of UAE-based Lulu Group International is an employer of more than 30,000 Indians abroad.
Thiruvananthapuram :
M.A. Yusuffali, Chairman and Managing Director of UAE-based Lulu Group International has been nominated as expert member of the Governing Council of India Centre for Migration (ICM) by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
ICM is a committee that undertakes research and studies on migration of Indian workers for overseas employment and supports informed policy making in MEA.
Among other objectives, ICM is tasked with equipping the country’s human resources in the field of employment to international standards, providing guidance for promoting employment in foreign countries, highlighting India as a country with a highly qualified and skilled workforce, and preparing welfare schemes for the Indian working community abroad.
The committee, chaired by the Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, also includes the Secretary, Ministry of Finance, the Secretary, Ministry of Labour and the Secretary, Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises.
Yusuffali, while thanking Indian government and the prime minister for this important nomination, said that he will use his experience of almost 5 decades in the Middle East both as an NRI businessman and as an employer of more than 30,000 Indians to further enrich the diaspora.
“My efforts will be more towards preparing the new generation as a global professional fit for today’s fast-evolving business environment, especially considering the challenging times we are going through,” UAE-based Indian businessman said. — IANS
source: http://www.clarionindia.net / Clarion India / Home> Editor’s Pick / by IANS / January 19th, 2021
Amir Sayed with his mother Marcela. File photo IANS
Coimbatore:
Teen sensation Amir Sayed from Kottayam sealed the Novice Cup in the 23 JK Tyre National Racing Championships at the Kari Motor Speedway here on Saturday.
The 16-year-old representing MSport has won all 10 races he has taken part in thus far and has won the championship with two races to go.
Chennai’s Ashwin Datta came a step closer to sealing the national title in the Formula LGB 4 category with a win and a second-pace finish on Saturday. The results took his points tally for the season to 57 in the FMSCI National Racing Championship.
“I like to focus from race to race and not on the overall championship and points etc. I am happy for myself and my team Dark Don as we have been very dominating on the track,” Datta, 22, said after race.
Meanwhile, Vadodara Mira Erda from Vadodara escaped unscathed after her car was hit from behind by Akshay Kapoor. Mira lost control of the car which turned turtle.
source: http://www.onmanorama.com /OnManorama / Home> Sports / by IANS / January 24th, 2021
PB Nooh opened a control room with some 50 young doctors and volunteers for the exercise, which technology helped a great deal
P.B Nooh, who grew up in Kerala’s Perumbavoor, near Ernakulam district, studied in a public school before graduating from the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru
PB Nooh opened a control room with some 50 young doctors and volunteers for the exercise, which technology helped a great deal
P.B. Nooh, the collector of Pathanamthitta district, is known to be an aggressive young man, facing adversities with a smile and having the capability to take quick decisions. And, he is at the ground-zero of Kerala’s coronavirus crisis.
While he has been regularly hitting the streets without any complaint, for many other young civil servants it would have been a nightmare. In fact, this is third attempt to help the state sail out of a crisis of giant proportions.
Shortly after he was appointed as the district collector, and just 15 days after having a surgery, Kerala had witnessed the worst floods in over a century. In August 2018, when the waters started rising, the low-lying areas of Pathanamthitta were one of the most affected. Nooh was tasked with the largest rescue operation ever seen: Around .14 million people were rescued and moved to safer locations uphill within hours.
Months later, the district hogged national headlines as the epicentre of the Sabarimala protests. But Nooh stood tall as the protests over the ban on the entry of menstruating women in the hill shrine, and dealt with the situation with an iron hand.
Nooh, who grew up in Kerala’s Perumbavoor, near Ernakulam district, studied in a public school before graduating from the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru. He followed his elder brother P.B. Saleem to the civil services, with a ranking of 48 in 2012.
“Ever since, he has weathered crisis after crisis, but the current one has simply been no match to all previous occasions,” said an official of the chief minister’s office who has worked with closely with Nooh, requesting anonymity.
“When we called him to enquire about the first three Covid-19 cases (in Pathanamthitta), he was away on work in Trivandrum. He reached Pathanamthitta around 12am the same night, did not rest until he traced those three patients, and their primary contacts, isolated them in hospitals, and prepared an action plan in consultation with several experts, including doctors,” the official added.
“It must have all ended by 3am or so. We would have faced a bigger crisis if he had not acted that quickly. He has the gift for instant decision-making, and is a god-sent gift for us. Young turks like him are the ones who really enable chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s CEO style of operation.”
The next day, on 8 March, the district administration announced about five residents of Ranni, who had evaded health screening at Kochi airport on their return from Italy about a week ago, and subsequently tested positive for Covid-19.
The case of the couple and their son came as a shocker to Kerala, as it came to light only after two other relatives were infected with the deadly virus. The state was immediately put on high alert, as the family had travelled to several places across Pathanamthitta and Kottayam districts, including a local health clinic. Two nonagenarian family members were also shifted to the Kottayam Medical College hospital with high fever.
“The Italy-returned family hid their travel details from the health authorities. Such practices have to be seen as a crime,” said an angry Kerala health minister K.K. Shailaja to reporters that day. By the following day, it became clear that the family had inflected about eight others, India’s most number of Covid-19 cases for a district back then. And, Nooh was key to the success of the rapid action team.
Mint could not get Nooh’s comments. But, in an interview with Mathrubhumi News on Thursday, he said: “That was a scary moment. This was an unprecedented situation. Until we set an action plan, I was a bit disturbed.”
“Societally, we knew the news would create a lot of panic and trauma. Second, the government is answerable on how they escaped. So, I called the superintendent of police and said, look we only have this night, we have to get hold of these guys before sun rise. SP The did a good job and by 1.00am we had them.” The district administration then went into a massive drive to trace the contacts who were in touch with the family.
Nooh opened a control room with some 50 young doctors and volunteers for the exercise, which technology helped a great deal. Soon after, Nooh helped devise a strategy with the help of the police to track a patient’s phone number and trace tower locations, before marking the places of visit on Google Maps to zero in on possible contacts. Within six days, all contacts were traced and at least 4,000 people, including 2,000 people who returned from foreign countries, were traced and home quarantined. The challenge for Nooh will only increase by the day, but he could be central to Kerala’s fight against Covid-19.
source: http://www.livemint.com / Mint / Home> India / by Nidheesh M K / March 21st, 2020
CM Sarbananda Sonowal calls Zafri Mudasser Nofil’s new book, The Identity Quotient: The Story of the Assamese Muslims, an informing and inspiring read as it significantly highlights the Assamese Muslims and their lineage to the medieval period when Muslim rulers and generals invaded the region
Assam epitome of Hindu-Muslim unity: CM Sonowal in foreword of Zafri’s new book(Twitter/zafrimn/sarbanandsonwal)
Assam has over the years set a perfect example of harmonious coexistence and is an “epitome of unity” between Hindus and Muslims, which is reflected in the Zikir devotional songs popularised by Muslim mystic Azan Pir and inspired by Vaishnavite saint Srimanta Sankaradeva, says Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.
He makes these remarks in the foreword to a new book “The Identity Quotient: The Story of the Assamese Muslims” written by journalist Zafri Mudasser Nofil and brought out by Har-Anand Publications.
“Assam has over the years set a perfect example of harmonious coexistence of Hindus and Muslims. The state has been an epitome of Hindu-Muslim unity which becomes evident from the symbiosis of Hindu-Muslim friendship,” Sonowal says.
“The Zikir and Zari of Azan Pir inspired by Srimanta Sankaradeva essentially preach the secular message, the same way as to how Dr. Bhupen Hazarika’s songs reverberate the message of equality, peace and unity between religions and humanism,” he adds.
The Zikirs and Zaris are Muslim devotional songs in Assamese ascribed to Azan Pir who has become a spiritual icon of Assam exemplifying universal brotherhood. He was inspired by Srimanta Sankaradeva and was successful in building a bridge of unity.
The chief minister notes that the book significantly highlights the Assamese Muslims and their lineage to the medieval period when Muslim rulers and generals invaded the region. Nofil, himself an Assamese Muslim, covered Assam for ‘The Sentinel’ newspaper in Guwahati before moving to New Delhi where he is now working as a Senior News Editor for Press Trust of India (PTI) on its national desk. “I am happy with the book which encapsulates vignettes of the contributions of the Muslims of the state, their customs, traditions and their unique cuisines. With its uniqueness of being a narrative non-fiction with vivid quotes from historical texts, I am sure the book will be read and appreciated by all. I hope the book informs and inspires many,” Sonowal says.
In the book, Nofil traces the history of Muslims in Assam in the medieval era, their amalgamation with the locals and discusses their contribution to the state up to the present day, when talks of a controversial citizenship law and national register of citizens (NRC) have caused tension among the community “This book tells how Muslims of Assam are different from the rest of the country. They take pride in calling themselves Assamese first and never consider themselves to be lesser Assamese than Assamese Hindus,” Nofil writes. The book draws information from multitudes of credible historical documents and archives, interactions with litterateurs, scholars and artistes.
The contribution of Assamese Muslims has been multifaceted, diverse and immense. Be it politics, civil services, literature, art, education, law, sports, music, films and entertainment, they have excelled in every other field, Nofil says in the book.
It profiles several achievers, who have made a mark in their respective fields. They include former president Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed to actor Adil Hussain and classical singer Begum Parveen Sultana, to several people from the community who have many firsts to their names.
But of late, he says, the indigenous Muslims have been “suffering the ignominy” of being bracketed with illegal immigrants as ‘Miya’, an Urdu word meaning gentleman, which is, however, used in Assam for Bangladeshi-origin Muslims who mostly live in ‘char’ areas or floating river islands.
(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)
source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Lifestyle / by Press Trust of India / posted by Zafarshan Shiraz,New Delhi / December 14th, 2020
While the majority of children today are born with gadgets loaded with raunchy music and sensual dance videos, 25-year-old Sumiya Faruq wants to change the way kids are growing up.
Meet the Hyderabad-based entrepreneur and founder of Taqva — the single largest video repository of Islamic content, who is fast replacing irrelevant music and inappropriate videos with faith reviving content, inspiring the younger generation to honour integrity, morals, values, ethics, and principles to adopt righteous behaviour.
Started as a way to help toddlers and kids of the digital era to find a safe online audio-visual zone, and to shield young minds from exposed danger of inappropriate video content that has now overtaken creative online space with distracting adverts, and illicit pop-ups, Taqva was created to provide virtuous online space for families and children, where scholarly erudition of faith, etiquettes and mannerisms are being taught at the forefront, gradually but firmly establishing reverential consciousness of God.
Realising the monumental threat to the 21st-century children being exposed to explicit online content, Sumiya recalls the earlier times where the online space was still non-existent.
“During my childhood, my parents used to have a collection of cassettes and CDs containing Islamic content. We used to exchange and share these collections with friends and relatives. Over time, this practice changed as the content was being available and accessible by anyone on the internet, thanks to content sharing websites such as YouTube, Vimeo, etc. But unfortunately, these sites are like a jungle. You can find any and every type of content on there and it’s possible for a person watching Islamic videos to get lost in that jungle and get into “haraam”/ forbidden zone. Even the advertisements on these channels could be distracting and often have forbidden content.”
“Internet has become a huge jungle where kids might soon end up learning things that are completely inappropriate for their age,” says Sumiya Faruq, who also holds a Masters degree in Psychology and a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science & Engineering.
Taqva, a video-aggregation platform of beneficial videos was created to jeopardise the great peril of early exposure to illicit websites. Created and curated with the assistance of volunteers from various parts of the world. Taqva comes with the ability to link the best of videos from content sharing websites such as YouTube, Vimeo, Vine, etc.
The videos are suggested by a group of enthusiastic volunteers who analyse the Islamic videos’ quality of content, such as the content’s suitability, reliability, and authenticity, along with various other important parameters.
“There are various categories of Islamic videos on Taqva such as — Quran recitation, Tafseer, Hadiths, Islamic reminder videos, Prophetic stories, Inter-faith debates, Revert stories, Islamic cartoons for kids, etc” adds Sumiya.
However, Taqva’s major USP is the Kids section, which is a huge collection of Islamic cartoons for Kids. It is one of website’s most viewed sections — a testimony that its audience love it.
Gaining a popular momentum, Sumiya and her team are making their online presence felt by marketing their brand using social media as their marketing tool. Taqva is available and active on major platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest, as “TaqvaOfficial” added Sumiya who has created a niche of her own with her brainchild — Taqva, which is an exclusive one-stop destination for all Islamic Videos.
Today, Taqva has become the YouTube of Islamic videos. “Currently, we are reaching to 50,000+ users and have over 20,000 active followers on Social Media outlets such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter & Pinterest. Our Target viewership for Taqva is definitely, all the Muslims across the globe — and of course, many non-Muslims too! We want Taqva to be the go-to website for Islamic Videos” says Sumiya, who believes Taqva.com is an “Islamic” video hub.
“It has been designed to be intuitive, easy to use and clutter-free. Also, it’s Ad-free and all the videos are neatly categorised into several relevant categories making it easy for users to browse Islamic content says Sumiya excitedly. The Taqva team also curates posts based on Islamic quotes, mainly from the Quran and the Hadith (authentic sayings of the Prophet), featured videos and shares them on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
“We are not biased towards any particular school of thought. We fundamentally believe that there is only One Islam, the religion completed by our Prophet” she further explains.
With Taqva, this determined entrepreneur is sure to influence and change the way Muslim families are engaging with online platforms. The enterprising youngster who also works full time at a Multinational corporation as a software engineer aims to extend her team of dedicated volunteers, to help identify and list the best of Islamic content being produced in various languages across different countries.
“By 2020, we envision Taqva to become the largest video repository of Islamic Content reaching to millions of Muslims across the world,” she adds.
source: http://www.thecognate.com / The Cognate / Home> Startups / by Hajira Firdouse / March 02nd, 2018
Awarded the Padma Shri in 2017, Karimul Haque began helping the sick commute to the hospital in his village. But his reason will bring you to tears.
Jugaad – a flexible approach to problem-solving that uses limited resources in an innovative way.
The reason I start with this definition of a colloquial Hindi term is only because the protagonist of my story—Karimul Haque (55), who is also referred to as ‘Ambulance Dada’—truly embodies the meaning of the word jugaad.
Losing his mother due to the non-availability of an ambulance in time led him to start his own motorcycle ambulance in 1998. Since then he has ferried over 5,500 patients from across 20 villages in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district.
In 2017, Karimul was also awarded with a Padma Shri for his service. Karimul is a stellar example of the phrase – ‘service above self’.
No one should die for lack of treatment
Karimul Haque – Ambulance Dada
Having seen his mother pass away due to lack of timely access to treatment, Karimul says that his constant thought was to find a way to ensure that this does not happen to anyone else. He says, “It was just another day when I was working in the tea garden. I saw a fellow worker collapse and without thinking about it, I put him on my motorbike, tied him to me and took him to the nearest hospital.” It worked and Karimul managed to save his life.
“That incident was all the push I needed. I decided to use my motorbike to ferry those in need,” he says, adding, “I realised that in my area, a motorbike works better than a van or a full ambulance. The reason why a bike ambulance works best in this area is because the roads are not conducive for a larger vehicle to cross and sometimes even the rivers overflow. It is easiest to maneuver a motorbike in these conditions.”
‘People would mock and even laugh at my face’
Ambulance Dada providing first aid to an elderly.
Since the ambulance that Karimul operates is not one that follows conventional norms, he says he was often mocked and even laughed at. “But once they saw the work that I was able to do and the number of people I was able to help, people’s perception started to change,” he says. Besides always being there for people when he is called upon, Karimul also seems to always have a solution to the problems people come to him with.
Not just an ambulance service provider
Day and night ambulance service.
With the passage of time, Karimul and his sons also got trained in administering basic first aid to patients. He says, “Today, I also organise regular health camps in the village. The kind of poverty that the villagers live in often stops them from visiting a doctor or the hospital. With these camps, many small niggling health issues are being corrected.”
Karimul has also gone one step further and converted a part of the land his house is built on to serve as a hospital. “We have tie-ups with doctors who also do video consultations now. Basic tests like sugar and blood pressure are also conducted at the hospital. In the case of an emergency, I am also trained to administer saline drips,” he says.
With former President Pranab Mukherjee.
Dr Soumen Mondal, a general surgeon practicing in Jalpaiguri says, “I have known ‘Ambulance Dada’ – Karimul since 2013. Not just dedicated but he is also someone who will go out of his way to help those in need. I have personally trained him in many of the basic first aid techniques and often help through video consults as well.”
Even busier during the pandemicpix06
At a time when a majority of us stayed indoors during the lockdown period, Karimul and his sons have been busy. “Besides ferrying patients to the hospital on my motorbike ambulance, we also saw that many of them were not even able to afford one meal a day. That was when we decided to start supplying rice to as many people as we could,” says Karimul.
So far close to 1,000 people have benefitted by the rice that Karimul and his family have distributed and another 200 families have been provided with cooked food. “These are migrant labourers, and with no work, they had no income whatsoever. We started cooking at home and serving these families,” says Raju, the elder son of Karimul.
He goes on, “Now people know baba (Karimul) and we also get donations and sponsorships. We have used the money to buy and provide blankets and food to those in need near our village.”
Raju ends the conversation by saying, “We have grown up seeing him readily available to everyone at whatever time they needed. Even though he is in his 50s, the energy he has sometimes even puts me to shame.”
This nine-times over grandfather says, “I may be 55 years of age but mentally and even physically I am not a day older than 30. It is my duty to serve those in need and will do so until the day I can’t any more.”
(Edited by Yoshita Rao)
source: http://www.thebetterindia.com / The Better India / Home / by Vidya Raja / December 04th, 2020
