Actor Milla Jovovich and her husband, filmmaker Paul W.S Anderson say Salman Khan has more fans in Germany than them.(Rich Fury/Invision/AP)
A Bollywood A-lister’s stardom can leave even Hollywood celebrities behind. That’s exactly what filmmaker Paul WS Anderson and his wife, actor Milla Jovovich witnessed when they ran into Salman Khan in Germany in 2011.
“We were staying at the same hotel and I was shocked because there was this huge crowd of fans inside the hotel. First immediately I thought they were my fans and I walked out all ah… No one is paying attention to me at all and what’s going on,” says Milla who will soon be seen in the sixth instalment of the Resident Evil film franchise.
She adds, “Suddenly this guy (Salman Khan) walks by and everyone is like Oh My God!! I see all of this happen and ask myself ‘Jesus Christ who is this guy?’ And then we get to know he’s the biggest Indian Bollywood star and he’s a huge deal.”
The 41-year-old actor says she was quite embarrassed with the incident. “That incident was quite interesting yet humiliating. We were all prepared to sign autographs and no one was interested and it was funny. We would turn up, pull-up at the hotel and literally more than 100 fans gathered outside the hotel. When we pulled up and got out of the car, no one was interested in us and it was so funny,” she adds.
Her husband, Paul Anderson feels Indian films are big in other countries. “Bollywood movies aren’t considered harmful in anyway. They are not pushing any western values. So Indian stars are huge in Germany,” says Anderson.
Actor Salman Khan’s stardom in Germany floored actor Milla Jovovich and her husband, filmmaker Paul W.S Anderson. (PTI)
Following the incident, Milla now wants to work with Salman and says, “I would love that. I don’t know about the singing and the dancing bit. Though I’d have to …it will be my next training.”
source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Bollywood / by Samarth Goyal, HT / January 26th, 2017
Roshni Misbah is pursuing an MA in Arabic & Culture Studies at Jamia. Photo Piyal Bhattacharjee
New Delhi :
She oozes attitude in her black leather jacket, jeans and high-heeled boots, her head covered in a hijab. But that is not why Roshni Misbah makes heads turn in Jamia Millia Islamia. What does is the way she moves — on a mean orange-red-and-black motorbike that leaves behind a trail of throaty retorts when she zooms by.
People unaccustomed to such derring-do on a tradition-bound campus are slowly coming to terms with the phenomenon of Misbah, a 22-year-old who is pursuing an MA degree in Arabic and Culture Studies at the university. She is also an online sensation. For those who think a woman should, at most, aspire to a scooter, she is a slap in the face.
“I am a member of groups like the Windchasers and Delhi Royal Enfield Riders, and was part of the Bajaj Avengers Club at the time I owned an Avenger bike,” said the girl from Ghaziabad. She also believes that she is one of the youngest members of Bikerni, an all-woman biker group in Delhi that aims at gender empowerment through female motorcyclists.
These days, she flashes by on a Rs 2-lakh, 250 cc Honda CBR Repsol. It has been a longish journey since the time her father, himself a lover of motorcycles and owner of, among others, a monstrous Suzuki Intruder 1800, said he would get her a Vespa when she declared pillion rides with him had whetted her keenness to become a biker.
She was in Class IX at Cambridge School when her wish was fulfilled. She learnt to ride a bike by herself and later managed to buy the Avenger, on which she perfected her skills. Her embracing of an unusual pursuit made her an immediate heroine for her two younger siblings and their friends.
Misbah knew she was doing something different, especially for a girl from a conservative community. But everyone around her — from family to friends and teachers — rallied around her. “My teachers even gave me a special parking slot near the Indo-Arab Centre on the campus,” she said. Her teacher, Jawed Khan, director, Centre for West Asian Studies, described her as a sincere student who remained attached to her culture despite being passionate about bikes. A friend, Fareed Farooqui, who too is a superbike rider, felt that “other girls should do whatever they wish to, like Roshni”.
Thankful to the vast majority who have endorsed her passion, Misbah also recalled that there were a few who criticised her for not conforming to the accepted image of a woman. The confident super biker believes that she is doing her bit to break down such stereotypes and hopes instead “to inspire more and more girls to follow their desires”.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Delhi News / by Mohammad Ibrar, TNN / January 28th, 2017
Cakes, chips and fruit juice… 25-yr-old entrepreneur distributes snack boxes in Fraser Town school to spread smiles among underprivileged kids; next, she plans to start an NGO to teach English to students of Urdu- & Kannada-medium schools
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Students at this govt school in Fraser Town can barely conceal their excitement as Ameena hands out snack boxes
In this greed-filled world, a 25-year-old entrepreneur has set a shining example of how sharing can spread joy; and her efforts are already spreading smiles among children of a local government school in Fraser Town.
This young entrepreneur, Ameena Shaikh, running an event management company, keeps aside a part of her income every month, which goes into buying snack boxes filled with goodies for 210 schoolchildren studying in class 1-5. The boxes contain a piece of cake, potato chips, and a fruit juice.
Last week, when she distributed the boxes, the twinkle in the eyes of the children — all from underprivileged background — said it all. Inspired by her grandfather, Ameena has ensured that not a single month has gone without her separating a part of her income for charity.
“My grandfather is my inspiration. He gave away two acres of land in our native place (Tiptur) so that the poor could build their homes there. As for me, I began my event management company when I was in the second year of my degree. Right from my first income, I have always given a part of it for charity,” she says.
In the beginning, it was small things like packets of biscuits for kids, and even books and uniforms. “However, these are little kids, they find happiness in such goodies and cakes and all I wanted is to spread smiles. For these kids, a cake is a big thing, and I plan to bring all these pieces of happiness for them. As my income grew, my charity has also expanded,” she says.
Although the beginnings have been humble and Ameena works single-handed with no outside donations or help, she has bigger plans.
With her soon-to-begin NGO, Al-Maysan Trust (which means ‘the shining star’), she plans to bring volunteers on board and also accept donations.
In the coming months, Ameena and her NGO plan to take charity to the next level by educating the underprivileged.
“This NGO will begin working by next month. For now, I have 2-3 volunteers who only assist me in the distributions, but in future I do not want to constrict to distributing but will start English classes across Bengaluru for both Urdu and Kannada medium schools. I plan to go to city colleges to gather volunteers. I am sure there will be students who want to do some good work for the society. Also, with the NGO in place, we can take the charity work to a bigger level by donations as well,” she says of her plans.
Although she doesn’t believe in publicity,Ameena feels this would inspire people to do more and also join her as in her efforts. For her, helping people in need is more of a soul-purifying exercise and spreading smiles is what she calls ‘her calling’: “My trust is open for any number of volunteers who want to make a positive change. For me, charity means happiness. I cannot simply put it in words, but the moment I see smiles on these cute faces of children, or when I see someone is doing much better and is happier, I feel a whole lot of peace/calmness.”
source: http://www.bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Bangalore> Cover Story / by Farheen Hussain, Bangalore Mirror Bureau / January 26th, 2017
Kendra Sahitya Academy awardee Bolwar Mohammed Kunhi, who was felicitated at a programme jointly organised by Mysuru Zilla Sahitya Parishat and Bearys Welfare Association at the Institution of Engineers-India (IEI) on JLB Road here on Saturday, is seen with Kannada Sahitya Parishat Mysuru President Dr. Y.D. Rajanna, Treasurer Rajashekar Kadamba and others.
Mysuru :
Expressing concern over some persons making controversial remarks on holy books, Kendra Sahitya Academy awardee Bolwar Mohammed Kunhi has said that knowledgeable persons won’t make comments that divide the society and hurt religious sentiments.
He was speaking after receiving felicitation at a programme jointly organised by Mysuru Zilla Sahitya Parishat and Bearys Welfare Association at the Institution of Engineers-India (IEI) on JLB Road here on Saturday.
Taking objection to recent statements of some that Hindu women used to jump into the pyre of their husbands (Sati system) in order to protect themselves from Muslim men, he said that Madri jumped into the pyre of her husband King Pandu in Mahabharata. But as per his knowledge, Muslims came to India about 700 years ago and Mahabharata was written thousands of years ago, he pointed out.
He also said that one must not make any insulting remarks on sacred and holy books as it is bound to create tensions in the society.
Referring to Pejawar Mutt Seer, he said that Sri Vishveswara Teertha Swamiji used to treat him as his son. Blaming the media for seeking the opinion of the Seer on almost every issue, Mohammed Kunhi said that the Seer cannot alone bring about changes in the society. He further said that the Swamiji must be left alone to carry out his rituals and not to draw him (Seer) into controversies.
Retired Professor Dr. H.M. Krishnaswamy spoke about Kunhi’s work ‘Swatantrada Ota,’ which earned the veteran writer (Kunhi) the Kendra Sahitya Academy award.
Journalist B.M. Haneef, Bearys Welfare Association President N. Mohammad Haji, Kannada Sahitya Parishat Mysuru President Dr. Y.D. Rajanna, Treasurer Rajashekar Kadamba and others were present.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / January 23rd, 2017
Mirza Miyani Jani, 60, offers prayers in front of one of Alinaqipalem’s two mosques, holding on firmly to his tools of trade. Photo: Ch. Vijaya Bhaskar | Photo Credit: Ch. Vijaya Bhaskar
A village in Andhra Pradesh where every family is Shia and everyone is a mason
Every day before the sun rises, almost all the villagers of Alinaqipalem in Andhra Pradesh’s Krishna district set off for work with their lunch boxes and tool kits. Work could take them to Vijayawada, Challapalli or Machilipatnam, where they will lay stone and cement for homes and buildings all day and return home by sundown. They have been doing this for generations now, for Alinaqipalem is a mason’s village, with almost all the 450-odd families here involved in construction work. In fact, till a few years ago they were all masons without exception, but slowly they are beginning to take up other professions.
The remote and idyllic Alinaqipalem has another distinction — the village has only Shia families. Surrounding villages call it ‘Turakapalem’ or the village of Muslims.
According to oral history, Abul Hasan Qutb Shah or Tani Shah, ruler of Golconda and the last of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, invited Mullah Mohammed Ali from Isfahan in Iran to come to India to teach his children. This was some 330 years ago. The mullah’s eldest son Haider Ali Naqi Isfahani and two families later settled down in this part of Krishna. They were soon followed by more families and a small hub of Shias emerged gradually. The village derives its name from the first settler and is called Alinaqipalem or Ali Naqi’s village.
Over the years, the villagers married local people, lost their Iranian features and forgot their mother tongue. Today, no one understands or speaks Persian or Arabic, except the two imams who offer prayers at the village’s two masjids. Both men are in their mid-40s and they went to Isfahan and Najafi, respectively, for their training.
The villagers speak Urdu, liberally laced with Telugu. Nothing of Iran remains, either architecturally or culturally: they have neither the multi-storeyed buildings made of red clay as in Iran’s Abyaneh village nor the yellow clay-coated buildings of Masouleh. The only thing remotely Iranian are the occasional posters of Ayatollah Khomeini that I came across every now and then on the walls. “Khomeini is our religious leader. So the photographs,” said Mirza Mohammed Ali, 69, a village politician.
Girls cycle to school wearing colourful hijabs in Alinaqipalem. Photo: Ch.Vijaya Bhaskar | Photo Credit: Photo: Ch.Vijaya Bhaskar
Most of the villagers I spoke to didn’t remember how and when masonry became the village’s chief occupation. And then I found 57-year-old Mirza Javad Hussain, headmaster of the local school. We sat in the balcony of his neat, double-storied building covered with printed tiles and he told me the story of how some 120 years ago, one Azgar Ali from Pedana village, not so far away, introduced masonry work here.
“Until then,” said the bespectacled and bearded Hussain, “the villagers here worked as carpenters and ironsmiths.” Hussain is one of the few villagers with a modern connection to the Middle East — he was one of five persons from India to go to Baghdad in 2013 to participate in Jashn-e-Sabr-o-Wafa, the birthday celebrations of Imam Hussain, the grandson of the Prophet.
Mohammed Abbas is 22 and a mason. He dropped out of school as a teen. Ali Haider, who taught him in school, remembers him as “enthusiastic and eager to learn new things.” But Abbas is happy with his lot. “My grandfather used to be taapi maestri (mason). So was my father and now I am one too,” he said with a laugh. Others have been more ambitious. About 60 to 70 of his peers have gone off to West Asia to work on building sites.
***
According to revenue records, Alinaqipalem is really only a hamlet within Choragudi village. The families here don’t own any land and don’t farm. A couple of small shops stock all their needs. Mantada, 15 km away, is their closest transit hub. They take a share auto or bus from the Alinaqipalem junction to get there. The roads are not great and the bus services infrequent.
The nearest government health centre is at Veerankilakulu, 7 km away, and pregnant women are rushed to Uyyur, 22 km away, for an obstetrician. For everyday illnesses, there’s a registered medical practitioner who visits every day.
Sarpanch Ali Akbar says Alinaqipalem has been neglected. “We are trying to develop the village with available funds.” He complained about wanting a Shia qazi and is proud that the mosques were not handed to the Wakf Board but are managed by the villagers.
Alinaqipalem looks reasonably prosperous. Almost all the houses are brick and mortar (with cement bags as window curtains!) and there are only a handful of thatched roofs in sight. Those who can afford it, engrave their doors with quotes from the Koran. Every home has a television while some also have air-conditioners and two-wheelers. The headmaster has a car, and many homes have grapevines and flowering shrubs. The two mosques are well maintained, each with a pond stocked with fish. Each year, fishing rights are auctioned and the funds go to the mosque. Every villager pays Rs. 200 for the imams’ upkeep.
The newer mosque is shaped like an old three-paisa coin, a hexagon that fits the dimensions of the land available. Indeed, villagers now call it the ‘three-paisa mosque’. “The design was approved as the Qibla is the direction that should be faced during Salah prayers,” said Ali.
The Islam preached here is moderate and modern. The imams ban neither Western dress nor television. “Without television and knowledge of the outside world, they will remain ignorant,” said the imam, Mirza Ibrahim Ali Isfehani, “But I ask them to avoid serials and focus on the news.”
Elderly men wear dhotis and a local adaptation of the kurta, but the younger generation is in jeans or trousers. Women wear saris and don headscarves when they venture outdoors and cross the road when men walk by.
Ali Isfehani himself is resplendent in a long, white thobe flowing from shoulders to ankles, an imamah or white turban wrapped flat on his head, and the aba, a black, sleeveless, open cloak that is mandatory for an imam. As he spoke to us, couplets or noha in praise of Imam Hussain wafted from his tape recorder. Two steel cupboards were lined with religious texts, a few rosaries and phials of ittar.
Even though most of the villagers are school dropouts, they appear to have imbibed some progressive thinking from the mosques. “We are even advised informally to practise family planning,” said Ali. And long before the government came up with the Dulhan scheme, the villagers had drawn up their own plan. Elders and religious heads convene a meeting when a marriage is arranged in the village and everyone makes a contribution to the girl’s family towards wedding costs. In fact, in recent years, girls have completed schooling and a few are employed as teachers in neighbouring villages.
Alinaqipalem is a tiny bit of Iran that has now become completely Indian, whether in clothes, customs or even the villagers’ facial features. Sadly, not a trace remains of Iranian cuisine, with the only giveaway being the rotis the villagers eat a couple of times a week.
Soon, it might cease to be a mason’s village too. Already, a few of the younger men have studied engineering and medicine and are working in countries like Canada. Some have become teachers, some have joined the police. For the time being, however, masonry remains their mainstay. I asked Abbas if, given a chance, he would resume studies. He smiled shyly and said, “I get Rs. 400 to Rs. 500 a day now. What job will fetch me this kind of money?”
subbarao.gavaravarapu @thehindu.co.in
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society> Cover Society / by G.V. Subba Rao / January 20th, 2017
Poet Asrar Jamai, 75, says, “I am alive, but no official knows of it.”Photo: Maria Abhraham
Asrar Jamai, a 78-year-old poet, is fighting a bizarre battle for survival. For the past one-and-a-half years he has been making the rounds of the Social Welfare Department office to prove to the officials that he is alive, but no one seems to believe him.
According to Mr. Jamai, the department has declared him “dead” because of some confusion and has stopped his old age pension. He says he has submitted all relevant documents — PAN card, Aadhaar card — but they do not seem to be enough to change his “dead” status.
“I told the officials that I am standing in front of you, what else can be the biggest proof?” he says. “The official replied that he knows I am alive, but not other official knows of it.”
Mr. Jamai survives on the money he earns from his recitals at Mushairas. He lives in a small, rented room in the ever-crowded Batla House locality in Okhla. He has penned three books in Urdu and many of the unsold copies are stacked neatly in one corner of the room next to his cot where a collection of black fur caps are lying next to the pillow. A black Sherwani hangs on the electric wire that lights the only bulb in the room. He says he pays a little over Rs.1,000 as monthly rent for the room.
The pension he received was Rs.1,500 every month. “It may seem little for others but at least I could pay my rent with it,” he says, adding, “But now it’s not about money, it’s about my existence.”
Narrating his ordeal, he says that it took him more than five years to get registered with the department and start getting the pension. His passbook shows he starting receiving the pension from March 5, 2011 and the last time it was credited to his account was on April 22, 2013. “Since then I am fighting to prove that I am alive.”
According to officials, the department conducts a survey every year to ensure that the pensioner is alive and stays in the city. Moreover, the pensioner has to fill a form every year. “It seems either Mr. Jamai did not fill the form or there is an error from the department’s side. We will get it checked and if there is an error from our side, we will get it rectified,” said an official.
The area MLA, Amanatullah Khan, said he will take up the matter with the department.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> New Delhi / by Maria Akram / New Delhi – September 28th, 2015
Together for food : From left, Sajida Aslam, Ruqia Suhaib, Nazia Tamir and Munira Munir from ‘Cutchi Kitchen’. Photo :Thulasi Kakkat
‘Cutchi Kitchen’ documents Kutchi cuisine through memories and recipes.
Almost 200 years ago, Sajida Aslam’s grandfather moved to Alappuzha from the Kutch region of Gujarat. Seventy-five years ago, her father moved to Kochi, where she was born among the growing community of Kutchi Memons in the city. Today, Sajida’s daughter, Shazia Wahid, is the founder of ‘Cutchi Kitchen’ — an initiative that documents through history and memories, the rich cuisine of the migrant community.
‘Cutchi Kitchen’ runs a website and a catering service primarily of Kutchi delicacies, with world cuisine as well. While Shazia runs the website from her present home in London, her mother Sajida, aunt Munira Munir Sait, sister Nazia Tamir and cousins Ruqia Suhaib and Sabiha Munir man the local orders from their homes in Ravipuram and Kaloor. “Shazia was inspired to begin ‘Cutchi Kitchen’ after she left the country,” says Ruqia, “She gave us all the first big push and we’ve completed almost a year now.”
‘Cutchi Kitchen’ opens with Shazia’s tribute to her ummima’s (maternal grandmother) special Kutchi chicken biryani. It is a detailed affair with three layers of rice sandwiching chicken in between, and served with raita. This recipe has been a favourite in our family for three generations for its minimal standing-by-the-stove time, writes Shazia. While two generations of Sajida’s family are involved in the daily workings of ‘Cutchi Kitchen’, Ruqia and Nazia say their children have taken a keen interest too, often chipping in with the preparations and tasting.
‘Cutchi Kitchen’ now has an active Facebook presence with over 3,000 fans and several followers on Twitter too. “We try and post at least once a day — either tips, or full recipes,” says Nazia. Thus far, they’ve had two online competitions too — the more elaborate one after they completed 100 recipes.
Their popularity rose most during the Ramzan fast, when they put together nine special Iftar menus, each with six dishes from starter, drink and main course to dessert. One of the highlights of these menus was their falooda recipes. While Sajida created an unusual falooda pudding made from China grass and cut into diamonds once set, Munira prepared the falooda drink, served cold and with jelly or ice cream. The menus were then released as an e-book.
The fasting season also brought with it almost daily orders for homemade frozen chicken fillets, samosas and rolls that only have to be fried before consumption. Their most ordered dish was also ‘Cutchi Kitchen’s’ most prized recipe — the goond jo laddoo, a powdery, sugary dessert served for auspicious occasions, given to brides before weddings and to mothers after deliveries. Explains Sajida, “The goond (acacia gum) has medicinal properties, and though the recipe for the laddoo is simple, it takes years of practice to get the mixture to hold right without giving way or being too sticky.” Sajida and Munira are the only ones in the family who prepare the laddoo, even today, as the next generations are still grasping the knack.
Changing rituals
Time has changed much among the Kutchi Memons, says Sajida. Old, prolonged rituals have turned brief, and with it, the associated foods have morphed too.
For example, by tradition, the peeti (haldi) ceremony for brides lasted several days and the household favourite was muthiya, a steamed rice dumpling dish that could be served dry or with gravy. “I remember my ummima sitting and shaping the muthiyas all by herself, not trusting anyone to make them correctly with her special mix of spices and ingredients,” writes Shazia. Peeti ceremonies now are associated more with quicker dishes such as kaaja (a badusha-like savoury) and paalchaya, a condensed milk-based drink. Hot favourites are also the Kutchi koottan (a dal curry served with pathiri), beef kofta (boneless beef meatball curry), buttery, cookie-like nankhatais and mitta ghatia, a deep-fried flour-based snack.
Sajida counts among her most prized possessions, a kombi, a 100-year-old bandini shawl bordered by gold, traditionally placed over the bride’s head at weddings. What they also cherish is their Kutchi language — a conglomeration of Sindhi, Gujarati,Urdu and Hindi, reflective of the community’s wide travels.
“We still speak it at home and though it has no specific script, all our children have learnt it too alongside Malayalam, Hindi and English,” says Sajida in fluent Malayalam. Someday, they hope to bring out a book of their family’s recipes. For now, ‘Cutchi Kitchen’ conducts workshops on their food, alongside those on Arabian recipes and world cuisine. Find the ‘Cutchi Kitchen’ at www.cutchikitchen.com
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Food / by Esther Elias / November 14th, 2013
At 92, Shah Alam Khan visits his office daily and tries his best to preserve Hyderabad’s culture.
Shah Alam Khan, one of Hyderabad’s royals who is still referred to as ‘Nawab’.
At 92, Shah Alam Khan, one of Hyderabad’s royals who is still referred to as ‘Nawab’, is gracious enough to stand up to welcome you into his study at the Hyderabad Deccan Cigarette Factory in Musheerabad. What’s more, he eloquently reminisces on the “good old days” when Hyderabad was still ruled by the Nizams.
“Life was not expensive at all. I once saw a goat being sold for four rupees… four rupees!” he says incredulously. With seven sons, Alam’s family has, over the years, expanded their businesses in various fields but one thing that they all take pride in is ensuring that the Nawabi and Hyderabadi culture isn’t forgotten.
Alam’s son Mehboob Alam Khan is a well-known food historian and connoisseur who has helped preserve the Hyderabadi Mughlai cuisine that the city is famous for. Working with various restaurants, Mehboob helps them maintain authenticity in their recipes.
“Hyderabad was known for two things — biryani and sherwani!” says Alam, and says that training today’s chefs is all that is required to bring back the lost culture. “The cooks in our city know only a little bit of this and that. But our womenfolk know a lot of recipes,” he says.
Sipping a typically Hyderabadi cup of chai, he talks about growing up in the Cantonment area in Secunderabad and moving on to study at the Jagirdar College — what’s now known as Hyderabad Public School. “We had the best of Continental as well as Mughlai food. Even the schools served amazing food, that we didn’t even get at home!” he remembers.
Alam then pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science from Osmania University, where he says his professors helped mould his life: “I can’t forget the way my English teacher, Prof Doraiswamy, taught us. When the results came out and I passed, I went to his house and fell at his feet.”
The lessons came in handy when he took over the reins of a cigarette factory from his wife Begum Abida Khader’s father in 1945. “When I used to hoist the flag during ceremonies, I’d tell them that this is the place where you as well as me fill our tummy. If there’s a quarrel in the house between the husband and the wife, then your house is not good. If there’s a quarrel in the factory, it’s not good for the industry,” Alam explains.
Alam still goes to office every day but has one regret: Not doing enough to preserve Hyderabad’s culture — “I once had the opportunity to address the old boys’ association of Osmania University in Karachi. And I told them with tears rolling down my cheeks that I can’t believe that the association is here… it should have been in Hyderabad. And with it, you have also taken away our culture.”
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Lifestyle> Viral and Trending / Deccan Chronicle – by Christopher Isaac / March 18th, 2016
A Mumbai-based voluntary group launches a diary about the contribution of Indian Muslim women.
(From right) Book jacket of the diary; one of the inside pages that acts as a separator
Earlier this week, several Indian intellectuals and feminists paid homage to Savitribai Phule on her 185th birth anniversary. The contribution of the social reformist towards women’s rights, especially in the field of education, is now being recognised. However, Fatima Sheikh continues to be an elusive figure in Indian history. A diary introduced by Parcham Collective — a voluntary group in Mumbra in Thane district — celebrates Sheikh and several other pioneering Muslim women, who have contributed to society but have remained largely unacknowledged.
“In a political environment when the minorities in India, especially the Muslims, are having to prove their allegiance to the country, we hope this diary will reiterate that we aren’t the ‘other’,” says Sabah Khan, one of the co-founders of Parcham Collective, which attempts to break stereotypes based on religion, class, caste and gender. Active since 2012, they have been working with girls and have been successful in using football among adolescents to reclaim public space for the feminine gender and also bridge the gap between Hindus and the dominant Muslim population of Mumbra.
In the diary, Sheikh, a 2016 organiser, is the first Muslim woman, among six. Savitribai’s classmate from college, she not only taught at her school but also gave the Phule couple shelter when they were ostracised by the society for their work. The other women include Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (1880-1932), Nazar Sajjad Hyder (1894-1967) and Rashid Jahan (1905-1952), among others. Their stories appear with illustrations and act as separators between the diary pages.
The idea of a diary, says Khan, came up earlier in 2015 during a discussion on Muslim women and their contribution to society. “At a time when education of the Muslim girl child is an issue and girls often drop out of school in Mumbra, we wanted to highlight women as role models who would inspire people,” says Khan.
The Parcham Collective team had been trying to unearth names and information of such women for a long time; the information had been tough to come by. It took them three months of research, tapping feminists such as Uma Chakravarti, and the names started to come up.
So there is Rashid Khan, a gynaecologist and writer, who was an inspiration to writers such as Premchand, Ismat Chughtai and Faiz Ahmed Faiz. A member of the Progressive Writers’ Movement, Rashid spoke about the oppression Muslim women faced everyday. As for Begum Qudsia Aizaz Rasul (1908-2001), few are aware that the Indian Women’s Hockey Cup is named after her. A politician from a privileged family, her key contributions include fighting for the abolition of the zamindari system and encouraging sports among women.
This is their first diary, but Parcham Collective wants to make it an annual project, using it to talk about subaltern women. They hope to dedicate the 2017 diary to Muslim women across the world in the arena of sports. “While the diary has been welcomed by feminists, we believe the real success of the project will be if common people purchase it and gain from it,” says Khan. Buyers can visit Parcham Collective’s Facebook page page and place an order for the diary.
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Lifestyle> Book / by Dipti Nagpaul D’Souza / January 07th, 2017
Rare: Liaquat Ali Khan and his son showing his collection of stamps in Bidar.
Liaquat Ali Khan’s house in Bidar is an informal museum
Bidar:
What would be the value of a Koran that has words written in liquid gold? Amateur antique collector Liaquat Ali Khan of Bidar has such a rare piece.
This is one of his prize possessions. He has many such invaluable things in his collection. His house is an informal museum of artefacts, coins, stamps, documents, rare cutlery, currency notes, paintings, books, matchbox covers, leaflets about stamp and coin collection, pens, historical tools, knives and many other things.
Mr. Khan’s early life was hard. He could not complete his studies and took up odd jobs. He started a petty shop and ran it for nearly 25 years. He had to close it down owing to some problems. He now lives with his son in a small rented house in Bidar. He keeps the valuables in trunks under the cot and spreads the collection on the bed whenever there are visitors.
“These antique pieces are my only asset. I have spent all my resources to collect them,” he says.
“Whenever I used to hear that somebody had a rare collectible, I would go and look at it. I would buy it if I liked it. I would request the owner to give it to me and bid for it,” Mr. Khan says.
His obsession with collecting rare things was such that his family grew weary of it.
“They would despise my hobby. My wife would complain that I gave more thought to collecting coins than bringing up my children,” he says.
His collection includes a “miracle coin” from the British mint. It is concealed in a cover that looks exactly like the coin inside. One can find out that there is a coin inside only by dropping it on the floor.
There is also a set of gold coins brought out by the Vijayanagara king Sri Krishnadevaraya.
He has a copy of a letter written in Urdu by Mahatma Gandhi to one of his friends.
Mr. Khan also has government orders signed by the Nizam of Hyderabad.
He has rare stamps such as the 3D stamp of Germany and a scented one of Saudi Arabia. Mr. Khan has currency notes of nearly 100 countries.
His son is helping him in preserving the collection.
Mr. Khan has requested the Government to provide him a room to set up a permanent museum. “I have repeatedly made this request. But it has not been considered,” he says.
“Many VIPs have seen my collection. All of them have appreciated it and promised help. But none of them have kept their promise,” he says.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Rishikesh Bahadur Desai / June 22nd, 2007
