Category Archives: Arts, Culture & Entertainment

The ustad in Zila Khan

February 21, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainmentmpositiveone@gmail.com

Honest and unpretentious: Zila Khan. Photo: K. Ananthan

Zila Khan tells Parshathy J. Nath that her music is hard-earned and she will not stand for any gender inequality

“Yeh koi Zindagi hoti hain? (Can you call this life?)”, a nine-year-old Zila asked her father, Vilayat Khan. The sitar maestro was taken aback for a moment. But he could feel his daughter’s grief; how it is to grow up in a house that reverberates with music and yet not be allowed to learn the art form. Only because, the society that Zila grew up in did not encourage girls to learn classical music. But Zila was madly in love with music. She used to learn the bandishes secretly, without her father’s knowledge, while he took classes for the boys. Finally, the Ustad decided to go against all conventions, and teach her music. “Ï will teach you like how I will teach a son,” he told her.

Years have passed since that morning. And, today Zila Khan is Ustad Maa Zila Khan, a well known name in Sufi music. She has come to the city to perform at Isha Yoga Centre. When I go to meet her backstage after her performance, she is enveloped by friends, fans and followers. “Your music was so spiritual.” “Can I take a photo with you?” “You are effervescent!”; praises do not stop. She responds to all with one question, “Did you sing and dance along with me?” Because, no one sits still in a Zila Khan concert. She ensures that she and her team delivers a soul stirring performance.

“I love it when the audience grooves to your music. The essential quality of Sufi music is to be expressive. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan himself is a great example.”

Even though her concert weaves in contemporary influences and Western instruments, Zila owes her skill to the strong classical music foundation. “Classical music is little like algorithm. It is the basic for any kind of music. I am thankful for the rigorous riyaaz sessions my father put me through. I used to practise for 14 to 16 hours a day.”

About her relationship with her father, Zila says she questioned him as a daughter. “But he was a brilliant guru and strict too. If I was not in class at eight in the morning, he wouldn’t teach me! And, I was like a computer for him. He would wake me up in the middle of the night and teach me a bandish. And the next morning I had to repeat it.”

Zila feels her music is unpretentious and honest. “There are no high or low fundas. There are no trimmings to it.” And she, as a person, is equally brazen; especially when she speaks of the gender inequality in the field. “Women were not given the ustad title. Even Kishori Amonkar was not awarded it. Instead, they used to be called ‘begum’, ‘shrimathi’ and ‘kumari’, which were connected with their marital status and had nothing to do with their contributions to the field of music.”

But, Zila has broken this age old tradition. She is the first Sufi artist to be conferred with the title, Ustad. “Earlier, there was no awareness. A woman’s duty was considered just to be a wife and mother. That cannot be. One needs to find their kriya in life,” says Zila. This is not the first time that Zila has visited Isha. It keeps calling her back, she says. According to her, “it is Secular Divine”. Just like her concert, filled with poems and chants to pirs, gurus, and Shiva. “This is the real India. Actual India is secular. We have naturally learnt to live with each other, our food and culture. For instance, just look at this group. Can an outsider tell which religion each of us belongs to?” she asks.

And Hindustani music tradition itself is a great example of this co-existence, she says. “It originated from the shastras and was practised by people in the Northern belt, including the Muslims in the country. And, the Mughal rulers patronised it.”

One of her favourite musician is Akka Mahadevi, the rebel poet from the South. “Could you sing one of her poems for us?” her friend asks her. She shuts her eyes, clears her throat and mike less fills the still night with her deep throated rendition. The interview is over because my pen has stopped moving.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Parshathy J. Nath / Coimbatore – February 19th, 2015

‘Ek Yaad Mukesh ke Baad ‘ on Feb.22

February 20, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainmentmpositiveone@gmail.com

Part of the proceeds to be donated for treatment of kidney dialysis patients

Mysore:

A singer in a class of his own, his voice held a haunting, melancholic quality that could tug at your heart and move you to tears. One of the greatest playback singers in Bollywood history, Mukesh Chand Mathur made his way into the hearts of music-lovers with his song Dil Jaltha Hai To Jalne Dein from the movie Pehli Nazar (1945). Initially, though his voice seemed to imitate yet another legendary singer K.L. Saigal, Mukesh carved a niche for himself with his unique style in the film Andaz in 1949.

It’s been 39 years since Mukesh passed away but his songs remain evergreen and his fan club has never diminished. For all his fans, the Sunheri Yaadein Music Club in city is bringing back his memories with the lilting tunes.

Ek Yaad Mukesh Ke Baad, to be held on Feb. 22 at the MMC Platinum Jubilee Auditorium from 6.30 pm onwards, will feature the best of Mukesh’s songs and will be rendered by Mukthar Shah from Ahmedabad, who is popularly known as the voice of Mukesh.

Mukthar, an ardent fan of Mukesh and an advocate by profession, started singing in the early 1980s and has performed all over the world. Last month he created a record by singing 130 songs non-stop for 14 hours and entered into the Limca Book of Records.

Mukthar has accompanied many celebrities including Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan and sung along with celebrated singers including Sonu Nigam and Shaan.

Sandeep Lokhande, a popular RJ from Mumbai, who has compered several music shows and award functions, will be the anchor.

A live 12-member orchestra ensemble from Calicut with renowned musicians will be the added attraction in the concert. Sushant from Calicut is the Orchestra Organiser.

Aiswarya Developers are the main sponsors of the concert. A part of the proceeds of the concert will be donated for the treatment of dialysis patients.

Venkatesh, the founder of the Sunheri Yaadein Music Club in 1994, who is an established singer himself, along with his singer wife Veena, has been organising concerts in city in memory of the legendary singers of Bollywood.

With a view to entertain the lovers of retro music, Venkatesh plans to hold four concerts a year in memory of all legendary singers. With a subscription to the Club, the fans will be given free passes for 3 concerts while the fourth one will be held to encourage budding talents of the member group.

For donor passes, contact Mob: 94484-74224 or 87628- 54751.

— Nandini Srinivasan

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Saturday – February 14th, 2015

Mughal-era coins donated to AMU by alumnus

February 18, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Travel & Tourismmpositiveone@gmail.com

Aligarh:

Two alumni of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), SM Javed, former principal of Yasin Meo Degree College in Haryana, and his wife Imam Bano, professor at the JN Medical College in the city, have donated their personal collection of historical artifacts – which includes some rare coins dating to the times of Akbar and Jahangir — to their alma mater. The collection, which the academic couple said had been in their family for many generations, contains 58 coins and medals along with documents of the Mughal court known as parwanas. Among the pride of the collection are silver and copper coins minted during the reign of emperors Akbar, Jahangir, Aurangzeb and Shah Alam, believed to be worth a few lakh rupees.

Elaborating on the reasons behind their decision to donate these family heirlooms, Javed, who passed out of AMU in 1968, said, “We could have easily got a tidy sum if we chose to sell these coins at online auction portals. But we decided that we would rather have these priceless items exhibited at the university museum where more people can see and appreciate them.”

A particularly interesting coin in the collection is a chau gosha or four-cornered coin minted in Akbar’s reign. “Akbar was an emperor who experimented consistently with the shape of his coins. Consequently, coins during his reign came in various shapes -round, square as well as hexagonal,” said Javed. The chau gosha bears the emperor’s full name ‘Jalaluddin Akbar’ and also has the names of the four caliphs inscribed on it.

Another unique coin has the words – Zarb-Zafar Urdu inscribed on it, indicating that it was a coin minted for the use of the army during military expeditions. “Urdu was a term used to denote a lashkar or military camp during Mughal times. Imperial marching armies were like moving cities and they needed their own currency while at war,” said Javed.

The collection also includes coins from the time of Queen Victoria, East India Company, King Edward VII and King George V. Besides, there are gallantry medals of World War II. “My uncles were in the British Army during the war. The medals that they won are also a part of the collection,” said Javed.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Agra / by Eram Agha, TNN / February 11th, 2015

CORRIDORS OF POWER – People queue up to see Abdul Kalam

February 18, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, Science & Technologympositiveone@gmail.com

When he visited his friend in Madurai, people waited patiently to cheer him and lined up on the road when he left

Former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is known for visiting Madurai with a packed schedule as he goes about attending functions at schools, colleges and hospitals in and around the district. And his two-day visit to the Temple city on Friday and Saturday was no exception. Yet, the octogenarian found time to pay a visit to his former ISRO colleague D. Narayanamoorthy’s modest house at Vishwanathapuram fourth street in the city and spent almost an hour enquiring about the health of the former’s 94-year-old father N. Devarajan, who had been suffering from age-related ailments. Though the police had cordoned off the entire locality and prevented vehicular movement, a large number of people gathered outside the house to take a glimpse of the former President. Mr. Kalam entered the house at around 9.20 p.m. and emerged out only at 10.15 p.m. but the crowd waited patiently to cheer him with loud roars, whistles and claps. Then the people lined up on both sides of the road as his convoy passed through with Mr. Kalam waving to the crowd enthusiastically from the brightly lit backseat of an Ambassador car. Mr. Devarajan’s other son D. Sachidanandam said that Mr. Kalam had a great regard and admiration for his father, a retired BSNL engineer. “This is his second visit to our house. Though we did not inform anybody about the visit, people gathered up on seeing the presence of huge posse of policemen and the mobile metal detectors that were placed in our house.”

Media persons who had assembled for a press briefing by the Collector and District Election Officer in Tiruchi last week were surprised when V.Manoharan, who was shifted as the Returning Officer and Revenue Divisional Officer of Srirangam ahead of the by-election, walked in for a brief and informal interaction. The previous evening, the Election Commission had appointed T.G.Vinay, an IAS officer, in his place. With a disarming smile and folded hands, Mr.Manoharan told the reporters that he just wanted to thank all the reporters for their cooperation and coverage of the by-election related news. “I am moving out now, but wish to thank you all. I have no complaints,” he said, without any hint of rancour.

Sticklers for rules in the University of Madras may regret the resignation of the Head of the Department of Management Studies, a member of the university Syndicate a fortnight ago.

The professor, who turned 60 some months ago, was to retire in June as is the University norm. One of the few Syndicate members who ensured that laws and rules governing the university were followed in letter and spirit, he was respected for his knowledge of the statutes.

In the past several years he along with another senior professor questioned the University’s decisions to appoint heads of departments. With another Syndicate election coming up in a few weeks the University circles wonder if the associations will nominate persons who will take forward his legacy of checking violations.

( Mohammed Imranullah S, S. Ganesan, Syed Muthahar Saqaf )

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Tamil Nadu / February 16th, 2015

Fukrey actor Ashraful Haque passes away in Mumbai

February 17, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainmentmpositiveone@gmail.com

Ashraful Haque started his career with a critically acclaimed film, Behrupiya. (Photo courtesy: moviespictures.org)

Delhi Belly and Fukrey actor Ashraful Haque passed away at Sunita Hospital in Andheri East in Mumabi on Tuesday. He was 46.

Haque was suffering from bone marrow cancer and was going through intensive treatment.

His condition deteriorated recently and he was put on ventilator.

The actor, who started his career with a critically acclaimed film, Behrupiya, has performed in more than 30 Indian plays and acted in over approximately 30 films apart from his Telly Serials and Ad films.

Haque graduated from National School of Drama, New Delhi in Dramatics with specialization in Acting in 1997.

He acted in movies like Company, Jungle, Dil Kya Kare, Calcutta Mail, Deewaar, Black Friday, Delhi Belly, Paan Singh tomar.

Haque is survived by his wife and a son.

source: http://www.indiatoday.intoday.in / IndiaToday.in / Home> India> West / New Delhi – February 17th, 2015

DOWN MEMORY LANE – As others saw us

February 17, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Travel & Tourism, World Opinionmpositiveone@gmail.com

India always fascinated foreigners who were smitten by its monuments, beauty, culture and much more

We are always curious to know what others think about us! About 118 years before President Obama came calling to Delhi, compatriot Mark Twain had observed: “So far as I am concerned India is the only foreign land I ever daydream about or deeply long to see again.” Fifty years later John Wohlfarth, after serving in India, recorded in his diary: “The world needs India intact! Tear down Roman ruins if you will, level Cyclopean walls, build bridges with stones of gothic abbeys and feudal fortresses but lay no hand on the glory and grandeur of India.” Both US visitors were among those who looked at the country without prejudice, unlike the British. Twain was fascinated by the monuments of Delhi and Wohlfarth too while sitting under the Qutub Minar, wandering in the Purana Quila and the Red Fort or while viewing the sublime beauty of the Taj Mahal. These impressions are among many recorded by Pran Nevile during research in the US Library of Congress which gave birth to the treatise, “India Through American Eyes” (Primus Books).

In 1833, while Akbar Shah-II was on the throne, American ice was introduced into the Mughal empire. It replaced mountain ice brought from the Himalayas since the time of Akbar the Great in bullock carts and stored in wells to last through the summer. In Shah Jahan’s reign there were ice-fields near Turkman Gate where ice made in winter was stored for use when the weather turned beastly hot. The credit for bringing the first ice-ships to Calcutta, Bombay and Madras goes to Frederick Tudor, who as a result became a very rich man and the ice-fields of Turkman Gate slowly disappeared.

There is a fascinating account of Elehu Yale (after whom Yale University is named) who as Governor of Madras received a female Mughal emissary (from Delhi) reported to be of “majestic form and the magnificence of whose pearls and diamonds were beyond description”. There was also a report about a nawab’s wife, published in 1743 (Mohammed Shah’s reign), whose “glittering costume, elaborate sophisticated make-up and exotic jewellery, which adorned her from head to toe”, was enchanting. The refreshments served on “gold plates, with guests being entertained to 60 dishes” were among the amazing accounts of Mughal hospitality.

Bayard Taylor, who came in 1853 (four years before the First War of Independence) as correspondent of New York Tribune, was fascinated by a ride in a palanquin. After going about in it in the Capital, he took a horse-drawn Dak buggy and travelled from Delhi to Meerut, Agra, Mussoorie, Kanpur, Lucknow, Allahabad, Benaras and Calcutta. About the Taj, he observed: “Did you ever build a castle in the air? Here is one brought down to earth… when seen from a distance, so like a fabric of mist and sunbeams.” In 1871, the Rev William Butler said “that a flute played gently in the vaults below where the remains of the Emperor and his consort repose, produces a sound, which is perhaps the finest to be heard as it were from heaven and breathed by angels”.

Gertrude Emerson, who visited Delhi, Agra and Lahore in 1923, says, “Here were lavishly scattered the great red sandstone forts and gates of Akbar, the marble palaces and pearl mosques of Jahangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb and the magnificent tombs they constructed”. She goes on to say: “I sat alone for a long time once at the top of one of the four minarets surrounding the Taj Mahal. It was a night of a full November moon, and silver mists clung to the Jumna, flowing silently past the great marble platform from which the Taj rises with ineffable grace. I had had my first view of this far-famed ‘Crown of Palaces’ from the Jasmine Tower at Agra Fort, whence Shah Jahan, an old man and a prisoner, fallen upon evil days, must often have looked out mournfully at the beautiful mausoleum he had erected many years before, in honour of Mumtaz Mahal, his queen… Suddenly in the moonlight it was like the breast of a lovely woman.” According to Percy Brown, it was the magic of Indo-Persian architecture blended by rulers originally from beyond the Oxus.

As for dance and music, Lily Strickland Anderson, a prolific composer of music, writer and painter, was captivated by the performance of two nautch girls invited from Delhi to perform at a Raja’s party in Bombay. They were obviously from Chawri Bazar and akin to midsummer night fairies. Some other Americans were struck by the soulful singing in the fields and village streets “and the many sorts of (rural) work done to the lilt of a song”. All in all, an amazing saga of a medieval and emerging modern scene. Such was the milieu that produced Esther Sherman (Ragini Devi), her daughter, Indrani Rehman and granddaughter Sukanya.

source:http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by R.V. Smitha / February 15th, 2015

More between the covers

February 17, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leadersmpositiveone@gmail.com

M.A. Sikandar / Special Arrangement / The Hindu

National Book Trust Director M.A. Sikandar on his concerns for the book fair

The New Delhi World Book Fair, to be held at Pragati Maidan from February 14 to 22, will be all about inclusiveness as for the first time lesser known literary figures from the North East of the country will be acknowledged for giving a glimpse into the cultural heritage and rich diversity of the states known as the Seven Sisters. Their books will be displayed in a special theme pavilion of the exhibition ground.

National Book Trust Director M.A. Sikandar has gone out of his way to accommodate the genuine concerns of North Easterners. As a result, the book fair’s theme programme titled “Suryodaya: Emerging Voices from Northeast India” will see books by Sanjay Hazarika, also participating in a panel discussion, and by literary figures like Sanjeeb Kakoty, Mitra Phuken and Arup Kumar Dutta at Hall No. 7.

“When I took over the reigns of NBT in 2012, we selected cinema as the theme. It was followed by tribal literature, children’s literature and now literature from the North East. There are prolific writers who have produced work in different languages. The time has come to acknowledge these writings and showcase them to an international audience. Former militant Hemanta Jamatia, now a folk singer, will be in conversation with Utpal Borpujari,” says Sikandar.

Sikandar informs us that NBT has opened two centres in Guwahati and Agartala to promote the book reading habit in the remotest regions of Assam and Tripura respectively. “Whenever book fairs are held in these States, schools shut down and children accompanied by their teachers come from far and wide. In the years to come, the North East, with a sizeable urban, educated population, would become the most literate State. There is a direct link between literature and education. Tripura has become the number one literary State.”

The NBT director feels that the decision to highlight the literature from these states would eventually help in integrating the entire North East with the rest of the country as people would be acclimatised with the rich culture, traditions and history of the region.

As for choosing South Korea as the focus country, he says, “This move would open business opportunities for Indian publishers. Or else, like other years, European publishers would have struck deals with their Korean counterparts. Now Korean publishers do not have to go to the London Book Fair and the Frankfurt Book Fair. Consequently, publishers and authors would get royalties and Korean publishers would sign translation rights.”

About 200 books, contemporary literature, comics and children’s books, authored by well known as well as new Korean authors will be available.

The WBF does not provide facilities like snack bars or cafés inside the auditoriums. Even the infrastructure at Pragati Maidan, which is fit for hosting melas rather than exhibitions, dies not match world-class book fairs held in cities like London, Frankfurt and Seoul.

“We do not know. The ITPO (Indian Trade Promotion Organisation) is planning this event and is our co-organiser. Not even a big auditorium, where the opening ceremony can be held with all invitees in attendance, exists at the moment at Pragati Maidan. Last year, the audience was sitting under the open sky and it started pouring. Due to lack of infrastructure, business generation is not on the expected lines. We are not able to attract leading foreign authors to the fair and even lose out on translations of famous English books into Indian languages.”

Sikandar says modernisation of infrastructure needs to be carried out in right earnest at Pragati Maidan. “We cannot have such a venue in Greater Noida or in the NCR.”

This time round, NBT has appointed a committee to catch hold of exhibitors, including foreign participants, who are selling the remaindered books.

As China will be the guest of honour nation next year, a five-member Chinese delegation will be discussing the next edition, to be held in January 2016, says the director.

“Since last year, I was keen to change the month, because November is the time of examination fever for school students. To strengthen our age-old storytelling traditions, puppeteers from Iran have been invited. When Chinese President Xi Jinping visited India last September, I had the good fortune of signing an MoU with the Chinese Minister to have China as guest of honour country at World Book Fair-2016.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Madhur Tankha / February 13th, 2015

Revealed: Sheikh Abdullah’s grand-daughter says her grandmother NEVER wed ‘Lawrence of Arabia’

February 16, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders, NRI's / PIO'smpositiveone@gmail.com

When Prof Nyla Ali Khan, a US-based Kashmiri academic and granddaughter of Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, writes about her grandmother Begam Akbar Jehan, she demolishes “many a myth”.

According to her, the biggest fiction being peddled as history is that Sheikh Abdullah was Akbar Jehan’s second husband, after the latter’s divorce from T.E. Lawrence, alias “The Lawrence of Arabia”.

Leftist historian Tariq Ali had written that Jehan married Lawrence in 1928, while he was on a visit to Kashmir.

Nyla Ali Khan has written a biography of her grandmother, Begum Akbar Jehan (below), who was married to Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah

Begum Akbar Jehan who was married to Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah

Prof Khan, the niece of Farooq Abdullah, is a faculty member at the University of Oklahoma in the US and member of Scholars Strategy Network. She is the author of Fiction of Nationality in an Era of Transnationalism, Islam, Women, and Violence in Kashmir, and the editor of The Parchment of Kashmir.

In an interview with Mail Today, she said: “The biography of Jehan provides an insight into the history, politics, and society of Kashmir in the major part of the 20th century.”

While debunking the Lawrence theory, Khan said that Jehan herself had told her that “this tall tale was just another fabrication, the purpose of which was to denigrate her and to belittle her work”.

Khan quoted Stephen E. Tabachnick, a renowned Lawrence scholar, to make her point: “Tabachnick unequivocally pointed out the story of that betrothal or marriage is completely false. If it had happened, it would have been impossible to keep it a secret, considering Lawrence’s world-wide fame. And given Lawrence’s homosexual tendencies and flagellation compulsion, the odds are really against it being true.

Prof Khan says her grandmother was never married to - or divorced from - T.E. Lawrence , known to history as 'Lawrence of Arabia', and that this was a tale told to denigrate her. Kashmiri statesman Sheikh Abdullah (below) married her in 1933. — Prof Khan says her grandmother was never married to – or divorced from – T.E. Lawrence , known to history as ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, and that this was a tale told to denigrate her. Kashmiri statesman Sheikh Abdullah (below) married her in 1933.

“He pointed out that John Mack and Jeremy Wilson have written the best Nyla Ali Khan’s (right) biography is an insight into Kashmir in the major part of the 20th century and Begum Akbar Jehan (above). biographies of Lawrence. But, neither had mentioned this apocryphal story nor do any of the other biographies that he was familiar with.”

Khan’s biography, titled The Life of a Kashmiri Woman: Dialectic of Resistance and Accommodation is published by Palgrave Macmillan, and available in North America and the United Kingdom. The book is likely to be available in India in mid-summer this year.

For Khan, Jehan had a substantive role in “public events”, and she cannot sink into the shadows or be “memorialised into the realm of abstractions”.

Jehan’s father, Michael Henry [Harry] Nedou, later Sheikh Ahmed Hussain, of Slovak and British descent, was a charming hotelier. Her mother, Rani Jee, was an indomitable Gujjar (pastoral tribe) woman, with her clan’s lineage traced to the martial, patrilineal, and traditional Rajputs of Rajasthan.

“Jehan, born with the proverbial silver spoon in her mouth, made the intransigent decision to throw in her lot with a determined and politically savvy young man, Sheikh Abdullah.”

Khan said: “The Sheikh’s fiefdom was the political battlefield; his entourage comprised the poverty-stricken, disenfranchised, dispossessed, denigrated masses; his palace was his home in Soura, on the outskirts of Srinagar.”

“During her husband, Sheikh Abdullah’s incarceration, Jehan was burdened with the arduous task of raising five children in a politically repressive environment that sought to undo her husband’s mammoth political, cultural, legal attempts to restore the faith of Kashmiri society in itself.”

Jehan’s forebears, the Nedous, had emigrated from the Croatian city of Dubrovnik to Lahore in the 1800s.

Croatia, now independent, was in the Austrian Empire from 1815 to 1918 and part of Yugoslavia from 1918 to 1991.

source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk / Mail Online India / Home>India / by Naseer Ganai / February 08th, 2015