Category Archives: Arts, Culture & Entertainment

They have played their cards right

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, , , , , , , ,

Chennai, TAMIL NADU :

H. Noor Mohamed (left) and his son Mohamed Faizal. Photo: K. Pichumani | Photo Credit: K_Pichumani
H. Noor Mohamed (left) and his son Mohamed Faizal. Photo: K. Pichumani | Photo Credit: K_Pichumani

When the wedding cards business was at a nascent stage, N.M. Habibullah sensed an opportunity and started Olympic Cards Ltd. Later, his son H. Noor Mohamed went on an ambitious expansion spree, making it a pan-Chennai enterprise

In 1962, N.M. Habibullah, a resident of Parrys, started a stationery store on Anderson Road under the name Olympic Papers and Stationery. With Habibullah’s work, the business flourished. Five years later, during a pensive moment at the store, when he was turning over in his mind various strategies to expand his business, two stores for wedding cards caught his attention.

In 1967, Habibullah switched to selling wedding cards. It turned out to be the right move. In 1974, his son, H. Noor Mohamed joined him and took the company to the next level.

“Until the mid-1960s, there were only two shops in Madras for wedding cards, Ramakrishna and MN Swami; and both wound up their businesses in a few years. Even in the 1970s, there weren’t too many stores for wedding cards. Sensing an opportunity, my father started this new business. As the basic raw material was paper, which is what he was selling in the stationery business, it took him only 15 to 20 days to set up a wedding card store,” says Noor, the current managing director of Olympic Cards Ltd.

Olympic Cards Limited was first set up on Anderson Road. In 1982, Noor and his brother Saladin Babu established a second store at No. 194 (now 195), N.S.C. Bose Road, and this went on to become the main office.

“The five-storey building, which originally belonged to the East Indian Company, was demolished and reconstructed to accommodate the showroom and the office,” says Noor.

Soon, Noor’s sons N. Mohamed Faizal and N. Mohamed Iqbal joined the business as the executive director and production head of the factory respectively.

Quickly, Olympic Cards Ltd. spread to other parts of the city: Kodambakkam, T. Nagar, Anna Nagar, Peravallur in Agaram, Velachery and Thiruvanmayur.

“Wedding preparations involve considerable stress for families. So, they would gravitate towards a wedding card store that is located in or close to their neighbourhood, sparing them a long trip. With this thinking, we began to take our collection to different localities,” explains Noor.

Besides wedding cards, they sell office envelopes, calendars, diaries, notebooks, account books, business cards, letterheads, files and folders, scribbling pads and greeting cards. They also have provisions for instant digital printing, design creation and proofreading at the outlets.

In addition to an outlet in Coimbatore, they have 25 franchise stores in Chennai, Puducherry and Kerala. There are plans to expand their franchising operation across Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka in the near future.

On how difficult it is to manage several branches, Mohamed Faizal says that besides training the staff, the heavy stock has to be managed and their timely delivery ensured every day.

“We cannot maintain all stock at all the outlets. Therefore, we keep all our stocks in Parrys. Whenever there is a requirement, we send it to the respective outlets,” he explains.

The waning demand for greeting cards too keeps the team on their toes. “We not only cater to direct customers but retailers as well; the latter look for variety. Creating designs that are different from previous year’s can be challenging. We create 20 to 30 designs once in three months. If these don’t sell out in three months, we incur a huge manufacturing loss,” says Mohamed.

Despite all these challenges, the business is growing, as is evident from the size of its manufacturing unit.

From a 13,000 sq.ft factory at the Vyasarpadi Cooperative Industrial Estate, the company now handles the production from a two lakh sq.ft factory near Periyapalayam. The factory is well-equipped with advanced machinery.

“Contributing to the creation of a healthy environment, we have installed 0.5MW solar power production facility at the unit. This way, we ensure all our products are manufactured in an eco-friendly manner,” says Noor.

Olympic Cards Ltd. will soon test the waters in the others areas of the print industry such as packaging and pharma-printing and luxury packaging.

“We have taken baby steps by way of outsourcing packaging jobs and associating with their print partners. We hope to get into mainstream packaging shortly,” adds Noor.

Name and fame

Olympic Cards Ltd was first incorporated as Olympic Business Credits (Madras) Private Limited, in April 1992 under the Companies Act, 1956. Subsequently, in October 1996, it became a public limited company and the name was changed to ‘Olympic Business Credits (Madras) Limited’. In 1998, it was renamed Olympic Cards Limited, in 1998. In 2013, the company offered IPO and successfully subscribed and listed in BSE.

A ringside view

*H. Noor Mohamed: “In India, the wedding card market is booming, despite the advent of e-cards and Whatsapp. So, any aspiring entrepreneur can enter this industry confidently.”

*Mohamed Faizal: “My father has cultivated a habit that has contributed immensely to his success. Every morning, he jots down the details of his tasks for the day, this is a habit he picked up from his father. This practice has made him so self-disciplined that he never forgets to take his pen, cellphone or wallet with him. It has helped him considerably in his business.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Shiba Kurian / February 24th, 2017

Duo overcome hurdles, succeed

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

Lucknow, UTTAR PRADESH :

DrSharmeenMPOs20feb2017

One is a doctor and the other is a counsellor and their team has achieved, what many others could not even with an army of workers.

Dr Sharmeen Ahmed and Anita Shukla are a team which has changed the family planning scene in Uttar Pradesh’s Allahabad district, about 200 km from Lucknow. They have been working relentlessly for the past seven years overcoming barriers of religious beliefs and misconceptions surrounding planning of families in the district. “I was the junior most doctor at the District Zanana (women) Hospital when I joined in 2010-11 and was sent for training for implanting Postpartum Intrauterine Contraceptive Device (PPIUCD) to roll out a pilot project in Allahabad,” says Ahmed.
“It was an important programme and I knew that its success would go a long way in achieving the objectives. I personally liked the programme very much,’’ Ahmed says. Fortunately, she has got an able companion in Anita Shukla, who is not only a counsellor but also a hard working professional. No wonder the two were able to form a formidable team.

Anita said that record keeping and monitoring had not been very effective then and even the government did not prioritise the PPIUCD programme. She, however, firmly believed that it would be very helpful for the beneficiaries and took immediate steps to complete the work.

They have been serving the people since then, particularly the lower-most strata of society, who needed counselling and services. Ahmed has been awarded by the state government for the highest number of insertions. Her average insertions have been around 390 annually.

But her work was never an easy one. With so many myths and misconceptions surrounding the family planning programme, it was really challenging if not impossible task to persuade people and achieve the goal, she says.

What makes it difficult are religious beliefs and illiteracy, she says. “The biggest problem with the people is illiteracy. Their religious beliefs also sometimes turn out to be an impediment,” she said.

“Most people have not read the Holy Koran because they are not literate and depend on others for interpretations. These interpretations by others may not always be correct. so when I counsel them, I cite Koran and interpret it for them which works most of the times,” Ahmed explains.

There were other problems also which she had to face while doing her job. Persuading husbands and mothers-in-law is even more difficult. “I had to face opposition from the beneficiaries’ husbands and mothers-in-law. They at times got very angry at the mere mention of the family planning. After agreeing to the family planning, sometimes the beneficiaries back out at the last moment,” she said.

Ahmed said that there were very few women in the community, who would take decisions on their own. On majority of occasions it is the husband, mother-in-law and rest of the family who decide, she adds.

Ahmed has trained counsellor Anita Shukla. “I have taught Anita how to counsel and what are the possible set of questions that a lady would come with which need to be answered with logic and even religious overtones but without any coercion because fertility and the number of children is the right of a woman which cannot be violated,’’ she explains.

Now, the situation is that she is the most sought-after family planning specialist in the district with women coming to seek Ahmed’s advice after hearing from others particularly from her own community which, she feels, is an achievement for her.

Counsellor Anita Shukla says 80% service seekers are victims of myths and misconceptions around planning families while 5% are just stubborn. “These myths and misconceptions must be removed if we want to make family planning programme a success,” she said.

Incidentally, Anita has also been awarded by the state government and was asked to share her experiences at a high-level meeting of officials. “We have to think of newer ways to convince people that family planning and contraception use are not against religious norms. We receive complaints like the woman does not like doing household work after insertion!

There are times we have to deal with really difficult people and there are some women who come and get it removed also. One day a woman said her neighbour had told her that the IUCD moves around in the body. I had to tell her then that the uterus was like an earthen pot with just one opening. We have no choice but to respect their decision,” Anita explains with a hearty laugh.

Though Anita and Ahmed did achieve what many others could not, they also realise very well that their task was far from over.

“We have miles to go before we sleep. Family planning is the need of the hour for a country like India and without the cooperation of the people it can not succeed. We need to work in as a team and make persuasive efforts keeping in mind the sensitivity of the people. The same religious beliefs that are often cited as obstacles can be used by us to achieve our goals,” Anita added.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home>  Special Features / by Sanjay Pandey in Lucknow / February 19th, 2017

History repeats itself

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

Chennai, TAMIL NADU :

Kaman Darwaza in Chennai | Photo Credit: Kombai Anwar
Kaman Darwaza in Chennai | Photo Credit: Kombai Anwar

Madras was in the eye of a power storm, 200 years ago

An ailing or aged ruler triggering a political crisis is not something new in Indian history, but what is interesting about the recent drama that unfolded in Chennai has its parallels to a power struggle that Madras was witness to a little more than 200 years ago. The drama then too had an ailing ruler, various aspirants including a ‘sister’ scheming to take over power upon his death, and a Governor keenly assessing the situation.

The only visible token of the dramatic events that unfolded in 1801 when Umdatu’l-Umara, the Nawab of Arcot, died, is a nondescript arch with the name ‘Azeempet’ chiselled on it, that still stands on Chennai’s Triplicane High Road, a few yards away from the Walajah Mosque. It is a reminder of sibling love that turned bitter and ultimately led to the dramatic fall of the House of Arcot, paving the way for the East India Company to establish itself firmly in the saddle and change the course of Indian history. Old timers remember this arch as the gateway, ‘Kaman-Darwaza,’ to the palace of Sultanu’n-nisa Begam, the daughter of Nawab Muhammad Ali Walajah and sister to Nawab Umdatu’l-Umara.

Nawab Umdatu’l-Umara, who succeeded Muhammad Ali Walajah upon the latter’s death in 1795, was very fond of his sisters, especially his senior sister (meaning the eldest of his younger sisters) Sultanun’n-nisa, also known as Buddi Begum. Sultanu’n-nisa was equally fond of her brother so much so that, out of concern for his safety, and to ward off evil, she used to send everyday a rupee coin to the Nawab, which he would dutifully tie it on his upper arm.The Nawab very often spent his evenings at the palace of his senior sister, listening to musicians, watching a dance recital or just having dinner. He had a room in her house, where the Nawab met with his officers and others. It was widely believed that Sultanu’n-nisa was the actual power behind the throne. Somewhere down the line, Sultanu’n-nisa had assumed that her son Raisul Umara would succeed her brother to the throne. But she was not the only one eyeing the throne, as the Nawab himself would lament – “I intend my son for the throne; Sayful Mulk (the Nawab’s younger brother) intends that the throne is for him; my senior sister has in mind that her son is meant for the throne after me; and the firangs (foreigners – the East India Company) are waiting for their opportunity. But it shall be as the Supreme Ruler wills.” The Nawab wrote a will on his deathbed, making his son Tajul Umara his successor, a move that enraged his sister, who felt betrayed. It was an opportunity too good to miss for the firangs, who were looking for an excuse to take over the Carnatic entirely.The English used the simmering anger of Sultanu’n-nisa and spread the rumour that a coup against the Nawab was in the offing. With the connivance of Nawab’s Diwan, Col. Barret, they surrounded the ailing Nawab with the Company’s troops.

When Nawab Umdatu’l-Umara died in 1801, a bitter Sultanu’n-nisa would not forgive her brother. She refused to let the coffin pass through the Kaman-Darwaza. It had to be left the whole night with guards in a hall opposite the arch. After failing to persuade his aunt to let the coffin through, Tajul Umara, son of the deceased Nawab, decided to break the wall behind Nusrat-mahall and send the coffin to Trichy, to be buried next to the tomb of his grandfather Nawab Walajah.

This power struggle enabled Governor Edward Clive to make a man of Company’s choice as the next Nawab, a man who was willing to sign away the Kingdom, which the young Tajul Umara, the rightful successor, refused to do. Umara’s cousin Azim-Ud-Daula was anointed as the next Nawab. Tajul Umara died within a few months. Sultanu’n-nisa and her son left for a Hajj pilgrimage and chose to settle down in the holy city of Karbala in Iraq, where she eventually died.

Two hundred years later, the arch still stands, a mute witness to the bitter power struggle that not just led to the tragic fall of the House of Arcot .

Kombai Anwar is a writer, photographer and film maker.

source: http://www.thehindu.com // Th Hindu / Home> Society> History & Culture / by Kombai S. Anwar / February 17th, 2017

Dance ballet to help Lucknow find connect with Wajid Ali Shah

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders, Travel & Tourism, , , ,

Lucknow, UTTAR PRADESH :

Lucknow :

A tribute to Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, a patron of classical dance and music, is set to come in the form of a dance ballet with the city witnessing its first Kathak on sufi qawwali. ‘Rang’, the hour-long dance ballet is directed by Muzaffar Ali and would feature at the fourth edition of the Annual Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Festival to be performed at Dilkusha Garden on February 14.

This year’s edition of the festival that is organised by the Rumi Foundation and supported by UP tourism department happens to fall on UP Tourism Day too. The ballet would be performed by Anuj Mishra of the Lucknow gharaana. It would depict the Nawab’s emotional conflict while he left his motherland for Matiaburj along with ten thousand followers.

The dance ballet is inspired by the compositions of the nawab. Other attractions of the evening would be Kathak performances from the Lucknow and Delhi gharanaas and Oddissi on sufi qawwali.

Speaking about the event, Ali said, “Wajid Ali Shah was perhaps the only Avadh ruler who promoted Lakhnawi culture. He was a learned man himself and was well versed in dance and poetry. Thus, this event is a tribute to the Nawab. It’s just a small effort to showcase the talent of the person. And also to make people aware of their rich heritage and carry the legacy forward through the festival.

“The youth today believes in taking life easy. They believe in instant gratification. Unko azaadi ki pehli jung aur Wajid Ali Shah ki baatein kahaaniyan lagti hain. So, the focus of the youth has to be put in the right place first,” said a member of the Young Rumi Forum.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Lucknow News / TNN / February 12th, 2017

Watch ‘Dastaan-e-Rafi’, a Special Feature exploring the life of Mohammed Rafi

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

Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaOJMv_C8ko

On the occasion on his 92nd birth anniversary watch Dastaan-e-Rafi, a special feature paying tribute to the legendary Mohammed Rafi on 24th December at 10 AM .

The special feature  sheds light on every aspect of the legend’s life. With over 5 years’ worth of research and close to 60 interviews, this is  a detailed account of his personal life and professional relationships. Catch a glimpse of his  childhood brother, Siddique Rafi, who lives in Lahore, Pakistan. Take  a look at the insights  that would shape Mohammed Rafi into the Legend he became .

Watch his illustrious colleagues  Shammi Kapoor,Manoj Kumar amongst others  reminisce about him. Other greats like Jeetendra, Randhir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor ,and the younger generation  of Sonu Nigam, Javed Ali express  their gratitude for him.

http://www.zeeclassic.com/promos/watch-dastaan-e-rafi-special-feature-exploring-the-life-mohammed-rafi

source: www.youtube.com

Reliving the life of Rafi

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, , , , , ,

Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA / Bengaluru – KARNATAKA :

RajniAcharaiahMPOs15feb2017

Dastaan-E-Rafi looks at the phenomenal Hindi playback singer through the eyes of the film fraternity, but as a human being

‘Do you know about the Sanjay Gandhi- Kishore Kumar incident? And how Rafi came to Kishore’s recuse?’ These are the kind of leading questions and anecdotes that we Bollywood-crazy people thrive on.

And it is this sort of personal journey that Rajni Acharya promises with his film on one of Bollywood’s most charismatic and versatile singers, Mohammed Rafi, titled Dastaan-e-Rafi.

“Mohammed Rafi was a very different kind of a singer. He was well trained in classical music. But he was not padha-likha …his attitude inspired me,” says co-director and producer of what he calls a “lifeOgraphy” of Rafi.

India is a music-loving country, he observes. “We all begin our day listening to music,” he smiles, speaking at the 9th Bengaluru International Film Festival (Biffes). And, what more can interest people than the life story of a musician, he argues. “Rafi was also a great actor. He could be Dilip Kumar when he sang for him. He could be Shammi Kapoor, or he could be Johnny Walker… that quality is so rare in a singer,” he adds. We all have our personal favourite list of Rafi songs.

Rajni, an industry insider of over 25 years with his own media production house, who admits he had reasonable access to information and people, also recounts the other side of the making of this two-hour saga – he slogged on it for five years, starting with research, and spent 55 lakhs on it!

Many studios and production houses refused to part with footage of songs for a commercial venture like his. Acquiring music tracks alone was proving too expensive. “Some of the actors, singers and music directors we approached for interviews demanded money! We have stood outside their homes for hours to get some of these interviews. I shot for over 120 days to complete this film.”

He shot parts of the film in Pakistan, in Kotla Sultan Singh in the Punjab area, speaking to Rafi’s brother, son, friends. He interviewed Shamshad Begum, Ghulam Ali, Lata Mangeshkar, the entire Kapoor khandaan across generations, including a total of 60 people — co-singers, actors, music directors, his daughters who’ve given interviews before, interspersed with 60 of his songs.

The film also traces the famous singer’s career graph. “He is one of the very few in the industry who was able to rise once again, after a downward career spiral,” opines Rajni, who got close to Rafi’s family.

When the media was busy writing off Rafi’s career, it was Kishore Kumar who called a press conference and told them not to write about him negatively, says Rajni. When Sanjay Gandhi approached Kishore to do concerts to raise party funds, Kishore demanded his fee. “So Kishore was banned on radio. Producers stopped giving him work. People came and told Rafi this is a great opportunity for you. But Rafi instead approach Sanjay Gandhi and offered to sing for free, asking for the ban on Kishore to be lifted.” His film, says Rajni, looks at Rafi not just as a singer, but as a great human being. “Every single person we spoke to agreed he is a gentleman.”

The film has been telecast on Zee already, and will soon be out on DVD.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment / by Bhumika K  / Februar 08th, 2017

Kunhi wants to write a novel on Prophet’s young wife

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, , ,

KARNATAKA :

Bolwar Mahamad Kunhi during a session in the 2nd day of the Times Litfest held at Jayamahal Palace in Bengaluru on Sunday (TOI Photo)
Bolwar Mahamad Kunhi during a session in the 2nd day of the Times Litfest held at Jayamahal Palace in Bengaluru on Sunday (TOI Photo)

Bengaluru :

Award winning Kannada novelist Bolwar Mahamad Kunhi wants to write a novel on Prophet Muhammad’s young wife Aisha, who was among eleven wives of the prophet who married him at the age of eight.

Kuhni, who recently won Kendra Sahitya Academy Award for his novel Swathantrada Ota, was in conversation with critic M S Ashadevi at a session on ‘the return of the novel to Kannada literature’ at  Times Literature Festival on Sunday. The discussion was moderated by writer Vikram Hatwar.

He said writing about Sita was easier than Aisha since the character of Sita and sacrifice she made was known to people whereas. “It is difficult to write about someone like Aisha and it is going to be demystifying myths about her,” said Kunhi. “It takes some more time before writing the novel. I am yet to get authentic data about her, and I am still researching,” he added.

Commenting on the politics over Ayodhya, the novelist said an issue was made out of Ram temple for a particular reason and Ayodhya was never been a pilgrimage centre unlike Kashi. “I find it odd when people go on pilgrimage to Ayodhya and Ram idol has been relegated to a corner there,” he said.

The issue of Ram temple came up in the discussion in the context that Kunhi has used Ramayana and the character of Ram as parallel to the main characters in his 1,100-page mega novel Swanthanthrada Ota.

Swathanthrada Ota was originally was a short story about two children coming to India from Pakistan during the Partition and Kunhi elaborated into a novel as he wanted to tell the saga of Partition that is relevant for many more years to come.

On the recent tendency of Kannada short story writers migrating to the novel genre, Asha Devi said the development has an historic significance and the tendency was being seen even in all other Indian languages. “It is not an accidental phenomenon. There is a historic significance to it. The writers have affinity to short story genre and gravitating towards novel. And it signifies the longing for returning to the roots and also quest for the remedy of social decadence,” she said.

Asha Devi observed that the short story genre is giving way to novel at a time when the writers are returning to find Mahatma Gandhi as their subject. She gave the instance of the novel Gandhi Banda by H Nagavni, while Kunhi’s Swathanthrada Ota revolves round Gandhi in the backdrop of the Partition.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Bangalore News / by B V Shiva Shankar / TNN / February 12th, 2017

Media Academy Awards Announced

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, , , , ,

KARNATAKA :

‘Mysooru Mithra’ Sub-Editor A.C. Prabhakar among 15 awardees

Prabhakar, Shantala, Chandru & Rajeev
Prabhakar, Shantala, Chandru & Rajeev

Mysuru :

‘Mysooru Mithra’ Sub-Editor A.C. Prabhakar and photo journalist K.H. Chandru of Mysuru are among the 15 journalists who have been selected for Karnataka Media Academy awards (2016).

Other awardees are senior journalist H.R. Sreesha of Bengaluru, Shantala Dharmaraj of Samyukta Karnataka, Mysuru, G. Veeranna of Vijayavani, Ballari, Siddiqui, Alduri of Chikkamagaluru, Ronald Fernandes of Deccan Herald, Mangaluru, Chini Purushotham of Tumakuru, Ujjini Rudrappa of Koppal, Hemanth Kumar of Bengaluru, Ramaswamy of Ramanagaram, Shankarappa Chalavadi of Bagalkot, Nagaraj Sunagar of Dharwad, Anil Kumar Hosamani of Vijayapura and Malatesh Angur of Haveri.

The award carries a purse of Rs. 20,000 and a citation.

Shivamogga Times has bagged the ‘Andolana’ award, while Chandrashekar More of Udayavani has bagged ‘Abhimani’ award, C.J. Ravi of Vijaya Karnataka has bagged ‘Mysuru Digantha’ award, Cinema Journalist Snehapriya Nagaraj has bagged ‘Aragini’ award and senior journalist Dr. Nataraj Huliyar has bagged ‘Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Mookanayaka’ award.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / February 04th, 2017

Six is a lucky number for these brides

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

Gundyadka (Sullia) – Mangaluru, KARNATAKA :

On his sixth daughter’s wedding, this Mangaluru businessman will finance the wedding of six other girls

Ibrahim Haji, a fish vendor, has 10 children, of whom seven are girls and three are boys
Ibrahim Haji, a fish vendor, has 10 children, of whom seven are girls and three are boys

Extravagant weddings have become the norm for the rich in recent years, where tycoons don’t hesitate to spend crores of rupees on celebrations that last almost a week.
Then we have seen other wealthy people who lead by example. Recently, a businessman from Aurangabad celebrated his daughter’s wedding by gifting 90 houses to the homeless poor.

Now it is the turn of G Ibrahim Haji, a fish vendor from Gundyadka in Sullia, about 86 kilometers from Mangaluru .

On the occasion of the marriage of his sixth daughter on Feb 5, he has decided to get six other poor girls married. Ibrahim Haji has 10 children, of whom seven are girls and three boys. Five of his daughters are married and he decided to celebrate the wedding of his sixth daughter Aasma B in a special way. She will be marrying Shahul, a businessman.

Speaking to Bangalore Mirror, Nasiruddin, also a businessman who is married to Ibrahim’s second daughter Fauzia, said, “This is not the first time that my father-in-law has decided to help the poor. He came up in life the most difficult way and now he feels that he should help those who are in need.”

Ibrahim Haji started out in life as an ice candy vendor. After working for some time, he bought a secondhand Ambassador car for Rs 3,500 and was running service trips for some time. He then went to Dubai hoping for better prospects, but returned within months. On his return to Sullia, he ventured into the fish business. He would buy fish from Mangaluru and sell in Sullia. Gradually, his business grew and today he has about 20 mobile vehicles that sell fish on the Sullia-Madikeri and Puttur route and nearly 30 employees, said Nasiruddin.

He said Ibrahim Haji has undertaken lot of charity. “When he was the president of the Mogarpane Jumma Masjid, he built a 20-room building, so that the masjid earns revenue. Even in the past, he has helped poor girls in their marriage. To make his daughter’s wedding special, he has decided to conduct the marriage of six other poor girls. He will be offering about 10 sovereigns gold, wedding dress and lunch and look after other wedding expenses. The Nikah will take place in turns and is expected to begin at around 11.30 and go on till 2 pm. Food for nearly 6,000 people will be arranged. The wedding will take place at a ground near his house. The beneficiaries have been identified after we personally visited them. They belong to Belthangady, Puttur and Sullia area. Each of their families has a sad story to narrate. When a few among them are orphans and looked after by their relatives, a girl’s father is bedridden and another girl’s marriage was getting postponed repeatedly because the family had no money,” he said.

Ibrahim has helped poor in other ways too, like in getting a house constructed in time. “Even today, he works at his stall in the market and is very down-to-earth and hopes to continue his charity work in the future too,” said Nasiruddin.

Ibrahim Haji said, “God has blessed me and I want to continue helping people in need. I started my business from zero and today would like spend a part of my income on the needy.”

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> News> State / by Bangalore Mirror Bureau  / February 01st, 2017

Mobile museum of rocks, minerals

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Travel & Tourism, World Opinion, ,

Pune, MAHARASHTRA :

RockMPOs30jan2017

 Makki has rare collection of stones: Makki owns over 1,000 exhibits worth several crores

Huge claws of a T-Rex dinosaur that would take you to the world of Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park, massive amethyst crystals and a meteorite that fell in Siberia in Russia that remind of Carl Sagan’s Cosmos are part of his collection. Besides them, he owns hundreds of small precious stones, which would hold visitors in awe and expose them to a new world of stones.

Interestingly, all these are held by one man and he answers to the name of Makki. He is virtually a mobile museum. Whether it is something extra-terrestrial or buried in mounds or deep inside the earth, he has almost everything. He has ruby, agate, amethyst and many more.

“You need to touch them, feel them and experience them,” says 68-year-old Muhammad Fasihuddin Makki about his exhibits. He is not touchy about anyone touching specimens and insists that students need to be brought closer to them to change their perspective about stones.

Collecting and selling stones are his hobby as well as profession. “It’s my passion and I love it… my bread and butter are minerals,” he said. “I am taking stones to the doorstep of people for them to develop love for them,” said Makki, who has no formal training in geology. In fact, Makki is a Master’s in English and calls himself a “pujari of Laxmi and Saraswati”.

The Pune-based Makki is the founder of Matrix India and also runs a touring museum. His personal collection is displayed in exhibitions across India. He has participated in several exhibitions, conferences and auctions abroad. He has been supplying rocks and minerals to schools and colleges. He also runs one of the biggest agencies in the world involved in exporting and importing rocks and minerals.

“We offer a variety of minerals from spectacular specimens for collectors to large stock of supplies to wholesale buyers. We have a ready stock of different rough materials from India and we regularly add to our inventory freshly mined new specimens from the Deccan Traps,” said Makki. They also supply boulders and large colourful rocks for landscaping and interior decoration.

Makki is a member of various associations, including Minerological Society of India, Minerological Society of America, Collectors Society of India, Volcanological Society of India, Euromineral France and Mineralientage Germany.

The family of Makki hails from Karnataka and his father was into collecting minerals. “I picked it up from him,” he said. It has been close to five decades into this profession and hobby. “I love this and it keeps me going,” he said. He takes over 1,000 specimens for exhibitions and their value will be several crores.

“I do not charge any money or take remuneration.The institutions where I arrange these mineral and fossil exhibitions arrange for my accommodation and for my two or three assistants. The organisers bear the cost of transporting exhibits like stones from Pune. Some of the exhibits are quite heavy and many of them weigh more than 100 kg,” he said.

His son Sami has started helping him in the business and in arranging these educational earth science exhibitions.

The most precious among the specimens in his collection is a meteorite. It looks small but it is over 8 kg, he smiles. “It fell in 1947 in Sikhote-Alin in Siberia. In 1994, I visited an exhibition in the United States, where this was auctioned…. I did not hesitate, bid for it and bought it… it was quite a sum, but it is a rare collection,” he says.

He recently held “Exhibition of Rocks, Minerals & Archaeological Antiques” and it was hosted by the Centre for Extra-Mural Studies (CEMS) of the University of Mumbai in collaboration with the INSTUCEN (India Study Centre) Trust, and the Deccan College of Pune. “I want people to touch them, photograph them… it is a kind of a bond…it is a rock. Minerals do not have life, but once you touch and feel it, you are in a totally different world,” he says passionately.

He said, “The trilobites are over 400 million years old. These are the oldest fossils with me. Dinosaurs became extinct 60 million years ago. I have dinosaur fossils with me and in fact children love to see them. They often want to touch and see and I do not object. Today one can see dinosaurs in films or on television. When children see a live claw or egg or remains they get excited,” points out Makki.

Explaining how he goes about his collection, he said: “I do mining and collection from all parts of India. I have set aside a lot of large exotic colourful mineral specimens as my personal collection and in addition to that I also acquire many different kinds of colourful and interesting mineral specimens found in other countries. I buy from other dealers or exchange with my specimens and in this way over the years I have accumulated a huge collection of colourful crystalline mineral specimens from all over the world.”

India, he says, is a treasure house of minerals and the Geological Society of India and Geological Survey of India have been doing a great job. “Collection and exhibition of rocks and minerals offer good careers,” he claims.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Special Features / by Mrityunjay Bose  in Mumbai / DHNS – January 29th, 2017