Category Archives: Amazing Feats

India’s Mumtaz Khan named FIH Rising Star of the Year 2021-22

ODISHA, INDIA / Lausanne, SWITZERLAND :

Mumtaz Khan was India’s top scorer in the 2022 women’s junior hockey World Cup and at the FIH Hockey5s Lausanne.

India’s Mumtaz Khan named FIH Rising Star of the Year 2021-22
Picture by Hockey India

Teenager Mumtaz Khan was named the FIH Rising Star of the Year 2021-22 in the women’s category, the international hockey federation (FIH) announced on Tuesday.

Mumtaz Khan scored eight goals, including a hat-trick against Malaysia in the group stages, as the Indian hockey team finished fourth in the 2022 women’s junior hockey World Cup in South Africa. She was India’s top scorer in the tournament and the third-highest scorer overall.

The 19-year-old Mumtaz was also the leading goal scorer for the Indian women’s hockey team that played in the FIH Hockey5s Lausanne 2022. She netted five goals in four games, including a hat-trick against hosts Switzerland.

“I cannot believe that I have won this award. It is the hard work of our entire team over the year that has paid off, and I dedicate the win to my team,” Mumtaz Khan said.

“I feel the award is a sign that the hard work that I have put over the past year on the training grounds has helped me improve a lot as a player. But this is just the beginning of my career. I wish to continue the learning process and will continue the hard work to improve upon my game.”

Mumtaz Khan won 32.9 points in the final standings for the FIH Rising Star of the Year award, edging out Belgium’s Charlotte Englebert, who finished with 29.9 points.

Mumtaz Khan is the third Indian woman to win the award after Lalremsiami in 2019 and Sharmila Devi in 2020-21. In the men’s category, Vivek Sagar Prasad has won the honour in both 2019 and 2020-21.

France’s Timothée Clément was named the FIH Rising Star of the Year 2021-22 in the men’s category.

source: http://www.olympics.com / Olympics.com / Home> English> News / by Rahul Venkat / October 04th, 2022

Cop killed, CRPF personnel injured in militant attack in J&K’s Pulwama

Wasoora Pulwama, JAMMU & KASHMIR :

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah condemned the attack.

Wreath laying ceremony held for SPO Javaid Ahmad (Image/ANI)

Srinagar :

A policeman was killed and a CRPF personnel injured when militants attacked a security forces team in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, police said.

The attack took place in Pinglana area of the south Kashmir district.

“Terrorists fired upon a joint Naka party of CRPF & Police at Pinglana, Pulwama. In this terror attack, 01 Police personnel got martyred & 01 CRPF personnel got injured,” Kashmir Zone Police said in a tweet.

The police said reinforcements were rushed to the area and a search operation was launched.

A police spokesman identified the slain policeman as Javid Ahmad Dar.

He said the injured CRPF personnel was evacuated to a hospital for treatment.

Senior police officers along with reinforcement reached the terror crime spot, the spokesman added.

“We pay our rich tributes to the martyr for his supreme sacrifices made in the line of duty. We standby the family of the martyr at this crucial juncture and pray for the speedy recovery of the injured personnel,” the spokesperson said.

Police has registered a case, the investigation is in progress and officers are working to establish the full circumstances of this terror crime, he said.

The area has been cordoned off and a search is going on there, he added.

Meanwhile, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah condemned the attack.

“While condemning this attack I send my condolences to the family of the J&K police personnel who laid down his life in the line of duty today. I also send my best wishes for the speedy recovery of the injured CRPF personnel,” Abdullah wrote on Twitter.

The Peoples Conference too condemned the attack.

“We strongly condemn the militant attack upon the joint naka party of Police & CRPF at Pinglana (Pulwama) in which 1 Police personnel lost his life & 1 CRPF personnel got injured. Heartfelt condolences & sympathies with the family of the deceased and prayers for the injured,” it said in a tweet.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Nation / by PTI / October 02nd, 2022 / (image edited by ANI )

S.H Raza’s biography is a glimpse into the lesser-known side of the iconic artist

MADHYA PRADESH / FRANCE / NEW DELHI :

Thanks to the painstaking efforts of biographer Yashodhara Dalmia, Sayed Haider Raza: The Journey of an Iconic Artist gives an insight into the global phenomenon

S.H Raza's biography is a glimpse into the lesser-known side of the iconic  artist | Architectural Digest India
S.H. Raza, Bombay, 1964

Imagine being born in the early 1920s in a small village in Madhya Pradesh amid the lush, inviting Kanha National Park, with quietude all around, only to reinvent the boundaries of contemporary modernist and abstract paintings.  

When Yashodhara Dalmia—a renowned art historian and curator in her own right—met S.H. Raza in Paris just a few months before his passing, it was the most extraordinary day of her life for all the right reasons. Of course, she could never have envisioned writing the biography of the man; but the memories are fond and wistful. “His presence itself was so welcoming,” she recollects. “I came out spell-bound. He was strikingly informative and ever so humble.” 

pix: harpercollins.co.in


Dalmia was commissioned by HarperCollins to work on Raza’s biography shortly after his passing in July 2016. Naturally, her biggest source—the man himself—was inaccessible. The only way for her to attempt near-accurate documentation of Raza was through his correspondences with other artists, interviewing his loved ones, and tracing his continent-spanning journey of more than seven decades.

S.H Raza's biography is a glimpse into the lesser-known side of the iconic  artist | Architectural Digest India
Raza, Kathe Langhammer, Rudolf von Leyden (sitting front row)  and Walter Langhammer, Ara (standing behind)

But it was an undertaking Dalmia had willingly signed up for. And she was in it for the long haul.

Childhood: The Only Muse

Dalmia observes that almost all of Raza’s works were informed by his childhood in India. He consciously made a point to visit the country annually, meet its burgeoning artists, and travel the interiors. “He grew up in the dense forests of Kanha. And he had more-or-less a happy childhood. Naturally, his relationship with nature which was solidified in his early years, manifested very powerfully on the canvas,” notes Dalmia. Raza channelized the concentrated beauty of Kanha through the funnel of expressionism in works like Saurashtra and Tapovan. His relationship with nature was symbiotic—he sought his creative muses in the spaces between the hushed silences of the night and the stillness of the imposing trees.

When he broke into his legendary bindu paintings it again stemmed from this very distinct memory of his childhood. “As a child, he was quite the wayward kind—easily distracted. He found it hard to concentrate on his studies. His teacher then told him to focus on a single dot and then this dot would go on to become the bindu,” Dalmia explains. Like all of his styles that later evolved—bindu advanced too. “The circle graduated into different spaces. Initially, it was solid, later it became concentric and diaphanous and then even suspended in space,” she says.

Global: Deeper Colours

Raza’s arc of global recognition was running in parallel to his own evolution as an artist. He’d started to experiment with more liberal brushstrokes and his relationship with impasto paintings became only more acute. The year 1956 had proven to be a turning point for the master in more ways than one—he was the first foreign artist to receive the prestigious Prix de la critique award. This would pave the way for his first solo exhibition because with this award he was in the august company of past winners—auteurs like Debre, Kito, and Buffet. “Even when he went to Berkeley in 1960s, he encountered a range of abstract and surreal artists,” notes Dalmia. “It’s not that he learnt anything new from them. But getting acquainted with these experimental art forms triggered the vast reserves of his childhood experiences.”

More than anything, Dalmia credits Raza’s relationship with his partner, Janine Mongillat, as being immensely influential on his liberation and artistic fulfilment. 


“She was an artist too but hers was a wholly different style. And yet, the conversations Raza had with Janine deeply impacted his works. He used to look forward to those conversations as he found them intellectually stimulating on multiple levels,” says Dalmia. Mongillat’s unfortunate death due to cancer in 2002 shook Raza to the core. He was confronted with an intense longing for the woman he had deeply loved. It naturally influenced his works, the bindu became more celestial and ruminative.

S.H Raza's biography is a glimpse into the lesser-known side of the iconic  artist | Architectural Digest India
S.H. Raza, Rajasthan, 1975

Pinnacle: Towards Home

Towards the last phase of his artistic career, Raza grew fonder for the home country that had taught him so much and had shaped him, creatively, to be the master that he became. The longing for his home and his deceased partner was intense. And there was no way he could have reconciled with both. “After the 70s, he became more conscious of his Indian roots. Now, he did not channelise it into abstract expressions. He even explicitly started using verses in Devanagari in his works,” observes Dalmia. For instance, in L’inconnu, he uses a line in Devanagari to convey the dichotomy between sects and identities. The local character of India then formed a bulk of his works. And he captured the verve of India in its fullest spirit. “When you see Bombay or Rajasthan the colours are vivid. With Rajasthan he brings out the searing sensations of the desert so powerfully on the canvas,” elaborates Dalmia.

S.H Raza's biography is a glimpse into the lesser-known side of the iconic  artist | Architectural Digest India
S.H. Raza, L’inconnu, 1972

Mahatma Gandhi’s influence on his works cannot be understated at all. As a child when Raza first saw him with a singular lathi in his hand a simple white cloth wrapped across his body—the image seared in young Raza’s consciousness. As Dalmia notes in the biography, Raza did not follow the footsteps of his family to choose Pakistan after the partition of 1947 because he simply “couldn’t bear to leave the land of Gandhi” and even during his annual visits to India he would religiously bow before Gandhi’s samadhi in Delhi.

The Ethereal Touch

While the spiritual element in him only became more acute with each work. “Without divine intervention, paintings cannot be made,” he is quoted in the book. And the spiritual elements in his bindu paintings became perfectly attuned with the character of India on his canvas. With these multiple resonations in his works—ranging from the spiritual to the Gandhian and to the personal—for Dalmia, even writing the book and studying him was an “opening up experience” in many ways. She believes that Raza was an artist who lifted you up, he drew from life and made it bigger. 


“His journey is simply astounding,” says Dalmia. “I don’t claim to have done total justice to his life because there are a lot of things only his eyes were privy to. But one thing remains unchanged: the story of a little boy who rose from the forests of Kanha to conquer the art world is nothing if not astounding.”

source: http://www.architecturaldigest.in / AD , Architectural Digest / Home> Culture / by Arman Khan / Photography by The Raza Foundation Archives / New Delhi / June 11th, 2021 / Front cover pix. edited in ..harpercollins.co.in

Parvej Khan, Praveen Chithravel set new National Games records in 1500m, triple jump

Bhopal, MADHYA PRADESH :

Parvej clocked 3:40.89 to leave Bahadur Prasad’s 1994 National Games mark of 3:43.57 behind.

Parvej Khan (568) of Services wins the men’s 1500M gold, and Ajay Kumar Saroj (731) comes second at the 36th National Games in Gandhinagar on September 30, 2022. | Photo Credit: V. V. Krishnan

Gandhinagar, Gujarat:

Parvej Khan improved upon Bahadur Prasad’s 28-year-old record to win the men’s 1500m event in the athletics arena of the National Games  at the IIT campus here on Friday.

Parvej clocked 3:40.89 to leave Bahadur’s 1994 mark of 3:43.57 behind.

In the absence of Abdulla Aboobacker, Praveen Chithravel stole the limelight by setting a new Games record and winning the men’s triple jump title. The Tamil Nadu jumper leaped to 16.68m to erase Ranjith Maheshwary’s 2015 mark of 16.66m.

“After the Commonwealth Games I was not training with full intensity. But I wanted to finish well here. The presence of Eldhose Paul and Aboobacker would have pushed me,” said Praveen.

Altogether six Games records were made on the opening day of the athletics events.

The results (winners only):

Men:

1500m: Parvej Khan (SSCB) 3:40.89 (GR, old 3:43.57, Bahadur Prasad, Pune, 1994); Triple Jump: Praveen Chithravel (TN) 16.68m (GR, old 16.66m, Renjith Maheshwary, Thiruvananthapuram, 2015); Hammer throw: Damneet Singh (Pun) 67.62m (GR, old 66.79, Harvinder Singh, Ranchi, 2011); 20km race walk: Devender Singh (SSCB) 1:26:25.00.

Women:

1500m: K.M. Chanda (Del) 4:19.59; High jump: Swapna Barman (MP) 1.83m (GR, old 1.82m, Bobby Aloysius, Ludhiana, 2001); Shot put: Kiran Baliyan (UP) 17.14m (GR, old 16.54m, Harbans Kaur, Imphal, 1999); Hammer throw: Sarita Romit Singh (UP) 61.03m; 20km race walk: Munita Prajapati (UP) 1:38:20.00 (GR, old 1:40:35.0, Sapna, Thiruvananthapuram, 2015).

A new ball game for Malayali expatriates in Italy

INDIA / ITALY :

Adlers Lombard Football Club. Photo: Special Arrangement

Adlers Lombard, a Keralites-run football club, will become the first of its kind to compete in an Italian soccer league on Sunday

They moved from Kerala to Italy for higher studies, work and seeking better lives. But for these soccer maniacs, there was no better life without football. Moving from a football-crazy State to a country where soccer is almost a religion, they took their game to a new level.

Come Sunday, Adlers Lombard, a Keralites-run football club in Italy, will begin its journey in the Italian football system by competing in the CSI (Centro Sportivo Italiano) Regione Bergamo, a lower-division football league competition consisting of 12 teams. The club formed in 2019 plays the 7-a-side football format. It is the first of its kind, with 15 Keralites among its 20-member roster, to play in an Italian league. The CSI Regione Bergamo season lasts 10 months.

“Before moving to Italy from Kerala, one thing we all liked doing most was playing football. We came to Italy from different parts of Kerala at different times. But football has brought us together. After launching Adlers Lombard (Eagles from Lombardy), the team initially participated in some local tournaments. In the last 12 months or so, we have won five tournaments organised by the Kerala European Football Federation in Italy and Germany. The victories prompted the team management to register the club with the CSI and participate in the league,” says club vice-captain Mohammed Naseef C.P. who hails from Malappuram and works as a teacher in Italy. According to him, Adlers Lombard is the first ‘Indian Club’ to compete in an Italian football league.

The team is captained by Muhammed Abir P.T., also from Malappuram. The rest of the Keralite players are from Thrissur, Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram and so on. Two other Indians and a couple of Italian players are part of the team.

The club has spent around €20,000 (approximately ₹15.84 lakhs) to prepare the team for competing in the league. They raised the money through sponsorships from several funders including an Italy-based automobile giant.

For Adlers Lombard, competing in CSI Regione Bergamo is just a start. “We are currently plying our trade in a lower division. But we are ambitious and have a long-term goal. Our aim is to play professional football in Italy in Serie D, Serie C, Serie B and Serie A and compete against top teams like Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan. We hope to recruit Indian players and provide them with a chance to play in the Italian league. It will help the growth of football in India,” says Smento Joseph, president, Adlers Lombard who hails from Angamaly in Kerala.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> India> Kerala / by Sam Paul A / September 30th, 2022

India’s Shubi Gupta, Charvi emerge champs in U-12 and U-8 section

KERALA :

In the under-10 category, India’s Hanya Shah took the eighth spot with 7.5 points while compatriots Aadya Ranganath (7 points) and V Tirupurambika (7 points) finished 14th and 19th respectively.

Shubhi Gupta, Charvi A and Safin Safarullakhan after medal ceremony. ( Source : All India Chess federation / Twitter )

Batumi, Georgia:

India’s Shubi Gupta and A Charvi emerged winners in the girls under-12 and under-8 sections respectively in the FIDE World Cadets Chess Championship .

Shubhi Gupta, who hails from Ghaziabad, scored 8.5 points from 11 rounds to claim the top prize in the under-12 event. In the girls under-8 section, Charvi finished first with 9.5 points from 11 rounds. Charvi was trailing Bodhana Sivanandan (England), who finished second for the last three rounds, but managed to catch and overtake her, thanks to a better tie-break score after both ended up with 9.5 points.


Samhita Pungavanam finished 10th with 7.5 points.

In the under-10 category, India’s Hanya Shah took the eighth spot with 7.5 points while compatriots Aadya Ranganath (7 points) and V Tirupurambika (7 points) finished 14th and 19th respectively.

In the open events, India’s Ethan Vaz scored eight points to take the sixth spot in the under-12 category while the next best was Arjun Adireddy (7 points) in 20th place. In the under-10 section, Vivaan Vishal Shah (8 points) settled for 9th place while France’s Lacan Rus David took the first prize scoring nine points.

France’s Marc Llari and Russian Sav Shogdzhiev Roman, who finished first and second respectively after the tie-breaks. Safin Safarullakhan added Under-8 Open Bronze Medal to the Indian Medal tally at World Cadet Championship at Batumi, Georgia / pix @aicfchess

India’s Safin Safarullakhan claimed a bronze medal in the under-8 category with nine points.

The Kerala boy ended up half a point behind France’s Marc Llari and Russian Sav Shogdzhiev Roman, who finished first and second respectively after the tie-breaks.

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Sports> Chess / by PTI / plus pix edited added source @aicfchess / September 28th, 2022

The Shama affair worth remembering

INDIA:

Raj Kapoor with the editor Yunus Dehlvi | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

How the Urdu magazine Shama peaked to popularity and disappeared

In the years gone by, the fountain at the Fawwara intersection in Chandni Chowk seldom worked. Yet, few complained. Most people came to Fawwara for their daily news, for here sat a newspaper seller who sold practically every language newspaper in the country.

Besides English, Hindi and Urdu dailies, one could get Punjabi, Marathi and Bengali papers too. He did not sell many magazines, the sole exception being Shama, the Urdu monthly that presented a heady cocktail of Urdu literature, Indian culture and Hindi cinema. Shama, like water, charted its own course.

Founded by Yusuf Dehlvi in 1939, some bought Shama to read Urdu writers. The who’s who of Urdu litterateurs, including Rajinder Singh Bedi, Sahir Ludhianvi, Saadat Hasan Manto, Ismat Chughtai and Qurratulain Hyder, graced its pages. There were pieces by connoisseurs of Indian culture as well, talking of traditions, little and large, and values, shifting or timeless.

Shama was appreciated in literary circles at a time when Delhi had a lively literary circuit with its mushairas, book readings, debates and even street theatre. Yet it would have remained a niche publication but for a couple of masterstrokes by Yusuf Dehlvi’s sons – the widely read Yunus Dehlvi and the widely popular Idrees Dehlvi – who turned what was otherwise a haloed literary publication into a family magazine.

Literary love 1960 cover of Shama and editor of the Urdu magazine  | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Idrees had strong film connections. In a column he wrote under the pen name of Musafir, he talked of little things in the life of film stars: the films they signed, the films they opted out of, the flops they gave or the jubilee hits they notched up. He talked too of their relationships, their moments of stolen pleasure. He backed it all up with photographs of film shooting, movie storylines and lyrics of popular songs.

Readers lapped it up. Within no time, fans of Meena Kumari and Madhubala, Sadhana and Sharmila Tagore, Sridevi and Jayaprada started collecting the photos of their matinee idols.

Emboldened by the success, Shama started its own annual film awards with a graceful function at Ashok hotel’s convention hall. Soon, the biggest stars of Hindi cinema started frequenting Shama Kothi on Sardar Patel Marg in New Delhi, the residence of the Dehlvis named after the magazine. From Dilip Kumar and Sunil Dutt to Dev Anand, Rajendra Kumar, Rajesh Khanna and Dharmendra, they would all come over.

The rise and fall of Shama Shashi Kapoor and Sadia Dehlvi | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Once, as Vaseem Dehlavi, son of Yunus, recalls, “Sunil Dutt and Sanjay came shortly after Nargis Dutt had passed away to share their sorrow.” Often, the staff photographer of Shama clicked the pictures of stars here. They were then shared with readers as exclusive photos.

From predominantly abstract illustrations and photographs in the 40s, Shama by the 60s started having film stars on the cover. There were also film quizzes where a hundred cassettes of a new film’s songs were given away as prizes in the 70s and 80s. Every issue sold at least a lakh copies. People went to newspaper stalls to pick up their copy if their vendor delayed in delivering it at their house.

Crossword craze

The other big push was given by Yunus Dehlvi who had joined his father at the magazine as a young boy of 14-15. He started an Adabi Muamma (loosely culture crossword). It was in many ways the first such venture in an Urdu magazine. Men with pretensions to knowledge of varied kind were so hooked to Adabi Muamma that the magazine started getting lakhs of replies to every crossword. They all vied to win the two kilogram of gold bumper prize every month in the 80s.

As Vaseem Dehlavi reveals, “It was a completely honest exercise. When my father started putting the muamma together, he would lock himself in a room for two days and not allow any family member to come in.”

The rise and fall of Shama The magazine crossword | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The newspaper sellers matched its huge popularity with their innovation. They started selling forms for the puzzle and photostat copies of the original crossword separately. There was a time in the 70s and 80s when the magazine’s cover price was ₹5 but the photocopies of the muamma were sold separately by some vendors for ₹10!

There was a pickle seller in Old Delhi who made hay while Shama shined. He started selling the muamma, besides his pickle delicacies. Then there was a bookseller at Nai Sarak who mixed books with the puzzle. Children came for books, their parents for the puzzle. “We used to get at least 2 lakh responses to each muamma. If more than one person got the answer right, the prize money was shared between them. If in some issue, nobody got the right answer, it was carried over to the next issue. The prize money for the following month was added to it. There was that level of integrity to the whole issue,” says Vaseem Dehlavi, who is now based in Mumbai.

All good things, however, do come to an end. By the 90s, Urdu was no longer as popular a language. And the internet provided access to films. The heady days of longing for photographs and interviews of film stars are consigned to history. Add to that the crests and troughs of the family business. By December 1999, Shama, meaning candle flame, was extinguished, leaving many a parvana (moth) with happy memories of the years gone by.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Books / by Ziya Us Salam / July 22nd, 2022

New memorial to Indian Army soldiers who died in Scotland unveiled

INDIA / SCOTLAND:

Nine soldiers from the Indian Army’s Force K6 died in the area after fighting with the British in World War I and II.

Monument: The memorial to the nine soldiers has been unveiled in Kingussie.

A memorial has been unveiled to commemorate a band of war heroes who served with the Indian Army and perished in the Scottish Highlands.

Nine soldiers were buried at a cemetery in Kingussie. The new monument stands prominently in the centre of the town.

People came from all corners of the UK for a pilgrimage to honour the men.

The Indian Army’s Force K6 was a transport unit that used mules to deliver vital supplies to frontline troops. It was despatched to various UK destinations.

The nine soldiers who died during training in the Cairngorms are remembered on the new stone-built tribute.

Among those attending the unveiling was 99-year-old Isobel Harling from Kingussie who had served in the Navy.

Isobel Harling tended the men’s graves for more than 70 years.

She tended the men’s graves for seven decades, influenced by kindly people who had done the same for her brother after he was shot down in Belgium.

Nasim Azad of the Muslim Council of Scotland, who travelled from Edinburgh for the ceremony, was thrilled to have met Isobel.

Ms Azad said: “She decided to take it upon herself to care for them with love but for no return – no return – for 70 years.

“For 70 years she took care of those graves, so it’s an absolute honour to have met such a wonderful, wonderful lady.”

Also attending the multi-faith event was Asif Hassan Sheikh of the Scottish Ahlul Bayt Society.

He said: “Thank you Scotland for looking after these sons who served so faithfully and gave their lives for the cause.”

Puneet Dwivedi of Hindus In Scotland said: “It’s very important to recognise the efforts of the soldier who gave their life for world peace.

“And I’m really impressed with Highland Council and the community here who built this memorial.”

He added: “It’s a changing world and this shows that all colours of people are the same and they’re honoured for their work.”

Memorial project officer Heather Taylor said: “The design was based on pulling together several aspects of faith, hope and charity – the charity that Isobel has shown, the hope that we have for the future tomorrow and the faiths that are represented here today.

“We’ve got an Islamic inscription from the Qur’an. We’ve got a Christian inscription and we’ve also got representation from the Hindu faith as well – all brought together under Isobel’s guidance.”

The men laid to rest at Kingussie New Cemetery are Ali Bahadur, Bari Sher, Dadan Khan, Fazl Ali, Khan Muhammad, Khushi Muhamm, Muhammad, Muhammad Sadiq and Mushtaq Ahmad.

The black granite stone monument is the UK’s first permanent memorial to all ranks of Force K6. It was engraved and adorned with gold leaf by Inverness monument makers Andrew Stewart and Son Ltd.

Craftsman Marc Bruce from Aviemore chose Indian sandstone and mixed shades of locally sourced Cairngorm granite.

Kingussie’s Am Fasgadh Regeneration Company was awarded £20,706 through a Highland Council investment programme to put towards the match-funded Force K6 memorial project.

Isobel Harling was awarded a British Empire Medal for her dedication.

Force K6 came from across India including the country now known as Pakistan.

They arrived in France in 1939 – with their mules – to provide animal transport for the Allies.

During Hitler’s infamous ‘Blitzkrieg’ one company was captured in Gerardmer. The others were evacuated with the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk and other ports.

After postings in England and Wales most of the companies ultimately arrived in the Highlands.

The 51st Highland Division remained with the French 9th Army to attempt to deny and delay Rommel’s advancing troops from further gains.

From June 1942 they had several camps in Badenoch and Strathspey from where they supported winter warfare training in the Cairngorm mountains.

The soldiers were popular in the local communities, helping on farms, playing with children, sharing cultural cuisine and demonstrating their flair for horsemanship.

After postings to other locations in the Highlands, they returned to India by early 1944.

Fourteen of the Force K6 men died in Scotland.

For outstanding duty in France, members of Force K6 received an MBE, an Indian Order of Merit, three Indian Distinguished Service Medals and one mention in despatch.

The British Indian Army contributed 1.5 million servicemen in World War I. A total of 74,000 died and up to 100,000 were injured.

In World War II, there were 2.5million service personnel – 87,000 of whom died and up to 150,000 were injured.

The soldiers were Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Gurkhas, and Indian Christians.

source: http://www.news.stv.tv / STV News / Home> News> Highlands & Islands / by Iain Ramage / September 21st, 2022

All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC) fetes Malabar Gold and Diamonds for being 6th largest jewellery group in world

Kozhikode, KERALA :

The All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC) felicitated Malabar Gold and Diamonds on being selected as the 6th largest jewellery group in the world, taking the Indian brand to the world stage.

M P Ahammed, chairman, Malabar Group, O Asher, managing director – India Operations, Malabar Gold & Diamonds and A K Nishad, director, B2B and Manufacturing (India), Malabar Gold & Diamonds received the award from the Ashish Pethe, chairman, GJC in presence of Saiyam Mehra, vice chairman, GJC, Nilesh Sobhawat and Sunil Podar, directors, GJC at an event held in Mumbai.

source: http://www.daijiworld.com / DaijiWorld.com / Home> Karnataka / by Media Release (headline edited) / September 27th, 2022

Bearys scores a Hat trick & bags the “National Energy Leadership Award” from CII, New Delhi

Mangaluru / Bengaluru, KARNATAKA :

Bearys scores a hat trick by winning the prestigious ‘National Award for Excellence in Energy Management’ by CII for three consecutive years (2020, 21 & 22) for its project Bearys Global Research Triangle (BGRT), Whitefield, Bangalore and was declared the ‘National Energy Leader’. 

Bearys was also commended and was awarded another accolade for the ‘Most useful Presentation’ at the award ceremony.

The awards were presented by Dr. Ashok Kumar, Director, Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), Ministry of Power, Govt. of India to Mr. Mazhar Beary, Executive Director, in the presence of other eminent dignitaries at a grand award ceremony held at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi on Wednesday 21st Sept. 2022.

India’s first LEED Platinum R & D Park BGRT is globally recognized by both Industry and Academia as an epitome of sustainable development and an exemplary benchmark project and has become an arche model for sustainable development. A stream of Architects, Consultants, Developers and students from across India are visiting the project to see, learn and understand more about sustainable development and its manifold benefits.

‘We, at Bearys feel elated to receive this award and would like to dedicate this laurel to our mentors the late Dr. Prem C Jain, former Chairman, IGBC and the late Mr. Mahendrarajji, renowned structural consultant, New Delhi, who have inspired and guided us along the way. We now rededicate ourselves to our relentless pursuit to promote Sustainable Development & further the IGBC led ‘Green Building Movement’ in India” proclaims Mr. Syed Mohamed Beary, Founder & CMD.

source: http://www.beads.edu.in / BEADS / Home> News / by BEADS / September 21st, 2022