Category Archives: Arts, Culture & Entertainment

In Black & White : An orphaned school

October 3, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Leadersmpositiveone@gmail.com

by Vikram Muthanna

While we speak of how our city’s infrastructure suffers due to the nexus of contractors and leaders, it affects even our children. Recently, I had been to a Government School adopted by Star of Mysore. A few blocks away was another Government School and I dropped in to see how they were doing. It was shocking.

The Haleem Nagar Urdu and Kannada School was started in 2010 by the Government on a generous piece of land donated by the Haleem Nagar Mosque.

After giving land, the mosque allowed the government to use an existing structure with 6 very tiny rooms as classrooms till the government built proper classrooms in the vacant land. Soon a contractor was given the contract to build and construction began. Two new classrooms were built. The money from the government was fully utilised but…

Here is the shocker. Only two of the 7 classrooms built are useable. The two classrooms built on the first floor are not only incomplete but the school better have Jack and his bean stalk as one of its students for there are no stairs to reach them! Yes, the contractor built classrooms on the first floor but no stairs ! To add, the other three unfinished classrooms have no windows, doors and one has a wall missing! And this school has 118 students from class 1 to 7! So how do they manage?

Now that’s another shocker. I saw the first standard and second standard students cramped in one classroom. One teacher teaches both the classes two different subjects and in the same period! How does she do it ? The first half hour she gives some written assignment to the second standard students while she teaches the first standard students.

When done, she gives them a written assignment and turns her attention to the second standard students who can now stop writing and start listening. This is the case even with third and fourth standard students. Only the 5th, 6th and 7th standard students don’t have a problem because they are fewer in number and can manage in the tiny classrooms! And all the 118 students from class 1 to 7 are taught all subjects by 5 teachers.

Now, the construction was in the hands of the Head Mistress, committee member and the contractor. But only the Head Mistress has been suspended; the committee member roams free and the contractor reportedly claims he could not finish his work as the government did not pay him! Who suffers? The children.

Government School construction is always a money-making scheme. That is why the government now tries to tie-up with concerned citizens and social clubs to complete school buildings by providing matching grants.

In another case of bad construction and political callousness, last year the previous MP had released Rs. 3 lakh for building a classroom at a school in Sathagalli. The MP’s office themselves chose the contractor. A few months later the structure was up, they informed. What was the structure? The contractor had built four pillars and a roof but there were no walls! At best it was not even a car shed. Yet the contractor had the gal, or should we say shamelessness, to paint “Donated by Honourable ……. MP.” It was an insult to the MP and a great disservice to the children who were eager to have a classroom.

Finally, the walls were put up after threat of media frenzy and after the school itself supplied windows and doors. Now, MLA Tanveer Sait has promised the school a classroom next to this one.

Now, this MP was considered to be “intellectually” inclined. If such a leader can be so callous and insensitive to a children’s cause, what can we expect from contractors who are walking a tight rope between giving a cut and constructing as per plan.

As far as this particular Haleem Nagar School is concerned, the biggest photograph in the front office, which doubles as HM’s chamber, is that of late Azeez Sait, the father of that area’s MLA Tanveer Sait. In fact it is bigger than Mahatma Gandhi’s and Nehru’s and former President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed’s put together. May be, MLA Tanveer Sait is unaware about the state of this school for, if he did, he surely would have taken action, for the school is an insult to the memory of his popular father. Also since he is the one who is helping the Sathagalli School, we are sure he will do the same for this school which also is in his constituency.

Also, the other aspect of the school is that it is an Urdu school. I spoke to a few children and noticed that they knew some Kannada and no English at all. Now, Urdu is a fabulous and a poetic language, but how will it help these kids fare in this rapidly globalising India? They will be left in the lurch unable to participate in the new economy. May be the MLA can provide for a full time English teacher or at least request organisations like Pratham for assistance.

We are sure there are many such schools that are in dilapidated condition that need help. May be one of the many social organisations in city can help Haleem Nagar School to get a staircase, a wall and a few windows so the poor students can study in a good school and in a congenial atmosphere.

Our government may be deaf, but it doesn’t mean we have to be too; our government may be blind, but we need not be; our government is heartless, but we cannot be, we still have a conscience. So we must pitch in.

Who knows, there may be a gem among these 118 students in Haleem Nagar school or any other such schools, who one day may change our Nation’s fortune. We can make sure it’s for our good, or we can ignore it and wait for something bad to happen and then the society will be as much to blame as the incompetent leaders, conscience-less teachers and greedy contractors.

e-mail:vikram@starofmysore.com

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / Saturday , September 27th, 2014

Revitalising city monuments

October 3, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Travel & Tourismmpositiveone@gmail.com

Lucknow:

The city just might have the pride of an underground museum corridor from Darshanbilas to Farhat Baksh via Lal Baradari connecting it to river Gomti.

Teachers at faculty of architecture (affiliated to UPTU) have come up with a proposal to revitalise the Chhatar Manzil complex, a relic of the Nawabi era. The proposed connection of Farhat Bakhsh (earlier part of Chhatar Manzil) can be restored with an underground museum corridor from Lal Baradari and the pavilion bridge can be reconstructed as pedestrian connection across the river. The objective is to revive glory of Chhatar Manzil’s historic manifestation and its connection with the river.

“Chhatar Manzil and Farhat Baksh are isolated monuments on the banks of Gomti. Chhatar Manzil comprises the Lucknow skyline but the royal building does not enjoy the glory it deserves,” said Vandana Sehgal and Ritu Gulati, experts who’ve made the proposal.

As per the proposed design, Farhat Baksh and Bada Chhatarmanzil can be live museums of handicraft and live performance of traditional Lucknowi dance and drama (dastaangoi). The landscaped court of the Bada Chhatarmanzil and the Chhota Chhatarmanzil footprint can be an open sculpture court and area for live fine art demonstration.

The riverside can be developed as a promenade with kiosks for food, drinks and curios, which will also direct movement towards the Gomti, where it will connect the complex to the erstwhile Bridge of Pavilions that needs to be reconstructed to go across the river to the esplanade on the other side, said Vandana. This perspective weaves all the fragmented parts of the complex physically and metaphorically with the river and the city.

During Ghazi-ud-din Haider’s time, the Chhatarmanzil Kalan badaa (next to Farhat Baksh) and the Chhatarmanzil Khurd chhota were connected through a court. The latter was flanked by Darshanbilas and Chaulakhikothi. These two monuments can be connected through a court as a foreground for performances in the backdrop, said Ritu.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / TNN / October 01st, 2014

Activate your ‘bars’

October 3, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Science & Technologympositiveone@gmail.com

Never judge yourself or others, because that hinders your well-being and even weakens your immune system. It’s a fact and science acknowledges it. This was what Ruby Mehmood’s recent talk at Lamakaan was all about. She was explaining a healing process called “Access Consciousness” and its basic component – “Bars”.

What are Bars?

There are 32 bars of energy that run through and around our heads, storing the electromagnetic component of all thoughts, ideas, attitudes, decisions and beliefs that we have ever had. There are thus bars for healing, body, control, awareness, creativity, power, aging, sex, money, etc.

Activate the Bars

This is what Ruby does as a bars practitioner and facilitator: “I activate the bars by touching points on the head lightly. Because judgments solidify the energy in these bars and limits your capacity to use them.”

A single session with Ruby at her residence in Chirag Ali Lane can clear 5,000 to 10,000 fixed points. This then creates a new space in the body, a space to receive and learn new things. But what judgments is she talking about? Ruby, who had stumbled upon this technique on a visit to Dubai, says, “As simple as ‘I don’t like this food, this job, this world’. ‘He is good or bad’. These judgements limit the ways you deal with a situation.”

Ask questions

Once the bars are activated, it’s time to ask questions and find answers. “Whenever you get stuck in a situation, ask these questions: Who does this (problem) belong to? How does it get better? What does it possibly mean?” says Ruby, who follows it up with body process classes. She can heal 60 body issues with hands-on healing like psoriasis, acidity, eye problems, arthritis and even skin issues like pigmentation and ageing. Ruby also knows 19 other healing modalities including past-life regression and Reiki.

Skeptics vs science

Her doctor-husband, Tehar Mahmood is not her client. Ruby says, “But there have been doctors who’ve come to me. This has helped them find alternate solutions to medical problems.” “I am not saying stop medicines. Never,” she adds.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> LifeStyle> Health & Wellbeing / DC / Barkha Kumari /March 22nd, 2014

When actor Dilip Kumar turned ‘Gandhiwala’ in jail

October 2, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leadersmpositiveone@gmail.com

Veteran Bollywood actor Dilip Kumar was once arrested by police for his ‘anti-British’ views and spent a night on hunger-strike along with other ‘Gandhiwalas’ lodged in a prison cell.

In his recent autobiography ‘Dilip Kumar: The Substance and Shadow’, the legendary actor recounts how his patriotic eloquence met a fate he had never imagined!

In pre-independent India, during his stay at Poona (as Pune was known then), Dilip Kumar worked at a canteen in Air Force cantonment when one day, at the behest of a senior colleague, he made a speech about India’s superiority as nation a nation of hard-working, truthful and non-violent people.

“My speech evoked genuine applause and I felt elated but the enjoyment of my success was short-lived. To my surprise, a bunch of police officers had arrived on the scene and handcuffed me, saying I had to be arrested for my anti-British views.

“I was taken away to the Yerwada Jail and locked up in a cell with some decent-looking men, who I was told were satyagrahis (followers of Mahatma Gandhi who offered passive resistance). On my arrival the jailor referred to me as a ‘Gandhiwala'” Kumar recalls.

The actor said, “I could not figure out why he was using this term for me till I heard the policemen refer to all the inmates of the cell as Gandhiwalas. It was their way of herding us together as followers of Gandhiji.”

The young Dilip Kumar, who went on to become an acting legend, came to know that freedom fighter Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was also lodged in one of the cells of the same prison and they all were on a hunger strike with him.

“I don’t know why, but I too felt I should fast with them. So I refused the food that was that was brought for me in an unclean plate. The night was long and pangs of hunger kept me awake till dawn,” Kumar recalls.

An army major got Kumar released the next morning from the and after reaching his workplace he narrated the happenings to everyone there.

“As I sat alone in my room that night, I kept hearing the jailor’s words in my subconscious and a sense of pride built up within me that I had spent a night in jail with Gandhiji’s followers and, even if it was for a few fleeting moments, I was unafraid of expressing my pride about my country and my compatriots,” Kumar records in the book.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Entertainment> Hindi> Bollywood / PTI / October 02nd, 2014

Winners of Pratibha Karanji

October 1, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainmentmpositiveone@gmail.com

As part of ‘Prathiba Karanji’ organised by the Department of Education, North Zone, Urdu Cluster, various competition were held at Central Urdu School, Lashkar Mohalla Body Guard.

The following students of Farooquia Boys’ HS won the prizes: Syed Zuhaib and party (Qawali – I prize); Adnan Shariff (Drawing – II prize); Syed Moin (Kolatta – II prize); Syed Salman (General Quiz – III prize).

RMET Hon. Secretary Taj Mohammed Khan, Administrator Abdur Rahman Shariff and HM Iqbal Ahmed, have congratulated the winners.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> In Brief / Thursday , September 25th, 2014

Around the city

October 1, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainmentmpositiveone@gmail.com

Photojournalists felicitated

Three former senior photojournalists with The Hindu , Bangalore, T. Abdul Hafeez, T.L. Prabhakar and K. Gopinathan, were among the six who were honoured by the CMR University and CMR Group of Institutions on Monday.

The others areP. Sarangapani, D. Baburaj and P. Samson Victor. Chairman of CMR Group of Institutions K.C. Ramamurthy said the felicitation was a humble gesture for the service rendered by them to the society.

H.R. Ranganath, Managing Director and Editor of Public TV, was the chief guest.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / September 30th, 2014

Iqbals’s Hindu relations

October 1, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leadersmpositiveone@gmail.com

THIS ABOVE ALL – Khushwant Singh

I am beholden to P.V. Rawal of Jammu for sending me a photograph of Allama Iqbal’s Kashmiri Brahmin family taken in Sialkot in 1931. At this time Iqbal was in his mid-fifties. He had already risen to the top as the greatest Urdu poet, at par with Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib. Although he was proud of his Brahmin descent, he had nothing to say about his Hindu relations. In this picture, the elderly lady seated in the middle is his grandmother, Indirani Sapru, nicknamed Poshi, wife of Pandit Kanhaya Lal Sapru. The man standing on the left in a shawl is Iqbal’s cousin, Amarnath Sapru; note the close resemblance to the poet.

The family traces its origin to one Birbal. They lived in the village of Saprain (hence, the surname Sapru) on Shopian-Kulgam road. Then the family moved to Srinagar where Iqbal and most of his cousins were born. Birbal had five sons and a daughter. The third one, Kanhaya Lal, and his wife, Indirani, had three sons and five daughters. Kanhaya Lal was Iqbal’s grandfather. His son, Rattan Lal, converted to Islam and was given the name Nur Mohammad. He married a Muslim woman — Imam Bibi. The Saprus disowned Rattan Lal and severed all connections with him. There are different versions of Rattan Lal’s conversion. The one given to me by Syeda Hameed, who has translated some of Iqbal’s poetry into English, maintains that Rattan Lal was the revenue collector of the Afghan governor of Kashmir. He was caught embezzling money. The governor offered him a choice: he should either convert to Islam or be hanged. Rattan Lal chose to stay alive. When the Afghan governor fled from Kashmir to escape its takeover by the Sikhs, Rattan Lal migrated to Sialkot. Imam Bibi was evidently a Sialkoti Punjabi. Iqbal was born in Sialkot on November 9, 1877. As often happens, the first generation of converts are morekattar than others. Iqbal thus grew up to be a devout Muslim. It is believed that once he called on his Hindu grandmother, then living in Amritsar. But there is no hard evidence of their meeting and of what passed between them; Iqbal did not write about it. Though he had many Hindu and Sikh friends and admirers, he felt that the future of Indian Muslims lay in having a separate state of their own. Iqbal was the principal ideologue of what later become Pakistan. Iqbal’s mother-tongue was Punjabi but he never wrote in it. He used only Persian and Urdu, as did many Urdu poets before him.

There are many aspects of Iqbal’s personal life which have not been fully researched by his biographers. We know he married two or three times and that his favourite son was Javed, who became a judge of the Lahore high court. Iqbal’s affair with Atia Faizi of Bombay when they met in London is well-known. There must have been some correspondence between them to show the kind of relationship they had. When in Heidelberg, he was taken up by his young German tutor, Emma Veganast. This secret was divulged by the mayor of Heidelberg in a speech in which he named a part of the bank of the river Neckar after him — Iqbal Weg. The Pakistani ambassador to Germany had the mayor’s speech mentioning the girl’s name suppressed. Iqbal and Emma continued to write to each other till the end of his life. The correspondence should be available in archives in Lahore and Heidelberg. Lovers of Iqbal, among whom I count myself, deserve to be presented with a fuller picture of their idol. We have biographies of Rabindranath Tagore revealing all his love affairs but none of the Allama telling us of the kind of man he was.

Cleansing the system

A couple of lines by Guru Nanak which I often recite to myself to preserve my mental balance run as follows:

Haumain deerag rog hai

Daaroo bhee iss maahen

Ego is a foul disease

Its cure also lies in itself.

I agree with every word of the Guru’s advice. Egoism or self-esteem is a disease like cancer. If not nipped in the bud, it infects other parts of the body and ultimately makes a person a deadly bore who loves talking about himself and wants others to praise him. Every one of us is prone to catch it and must evolve his own methods of fighting it.

Since I get more than my share of flattery from men and women who want me to write about them in my columns, I have to battle against them in different ways. Most tell me how they have read everything I have written and how much they liked it. I know it is not true; so I try to put it out of my mind. Others lay it on thick, that is, makkhan lagoing, when they come to see me. I do my best to change the subject. Despite that some of it sticks because later I find I am pleased with myself. I have found a more effective antidote: it is to make fun of myself. I narrate incidents in which I have made an ass of myself. I did that so many times. Everyone has a hearty laugh at my expense and thinks I must be the kind of fool I make out myself to be. It has a cathartic effect. It purges a lot of ego-poison out of my system.

Try out this purgative

Recently, I had to undergo an endoscopy to clear or confirm cancer in my belly. Needless to say, I wanted everyone to show concern for my health. It is another form of feeding one’s ego. As I had calculated, I got exaggerated shows of affection for me. After it was over, I felt I should restore my ego-balance to its earlier level. I wrote about it in lurid detail. Since I had to use a lot of indelicate vocabulary, which I feared publishers of my columns would find unacceptable, I sent the copy to Vinod Mehta, editor of Outlook. He is the only man I know who would understand what I wanted to say without censuring how I said it. In that piece I have written in detail about the humiliation and loss of esteem an endoscopy entails. Writing about it did cleanse my system of the false notions I had about myself. I felt much better.

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Calcutta / Front Page> Opinion> Story / Saturday – June 30th, 2007

Failed in my dream of becoming pilot: Abdul Kalam in new book

September 30, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leadersmpositiveone@gmail.com

Former President Abdul Kalam says that true nation building is not made by political rhetoric alone but should be backed “by the power of sacrifice, toil and virtue”. File photo: K. Ramesh Babu / The Hindu

For former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, becoming a fighter pilot was a “dearest dream” but he failed to realise it by a whisker as he bagged the ninth position when only eight slots were available in the IAF.

In his new book “My Journey: Transforming Dreams into Actions”, published by Rupa, Mr. Kalam, who specialised in aeronautical engineering from Madras Institute of Technology, says he was desperate to pursue a career in flying.

“Over the years I had nurtured the hope to be able to fly to handle a machine as it rose higher and higher in the stratosphere was my dearest dream,” he writes.

Out of the two interview calls Mr. Kalam got, one was from the Indian Air Force in Dehradun and the other from the Directorate of Technical Development and Production (DTDP) at the Ministry of Defence in Delhi.

While the interview at DTDP was “easy” he recounted that for the Air Force Selection Board, he realised that along with qualifications and engineering knowledge, they were also looking for a certain kind of “smartness” in the candidate.

Mr. Kalam bagged the ninth position out of 25 candidates and was not recruited as only eight slots were available.

“I had failed to realise my dream of becoming an air force pilot,” he writes.

He says he “walked around for a while till I reached the edge of a cliff” before deciding to go to Rishikesh and “seek a new way forward.”

“It is only when we are faced with failure do we realise that these resources were always there within us. We only need to find them and move on with our lives,” says Mr. Kalam who went on to put his “heart and soul” at his job as the senior scientific assistant at DTDP.

The book is filled with stories of “innumerable challenges and learning” in his years as the scientific adviser when India conducted its second nuclear test, his retirement and dedication to teaching thereafter and his years as President.

Mr. Kalam has compiled life’s learnings, anecdotes and profiles of key moments and people who inspired him profoundly in the book, which will hits the stands on August 20.

He recounts “staring into the pit of despair” when he failed to make it as an IAF pilot and how he pulled himself up and rose to become the man who headed India’s missile programme and occupy highest office in the country.

While the 82-year-old, popularly known as the Missile Man for his contribution to the development of ballistic missile technology, had in 1999 brought out his autobiography “Wings of Fire” and followed it with “Turning Points”, a journey through challenges” in 2012 that details his political career and challenges, the latest book talks about the people who left a deep impression on him as he was growing up.

In the 147-page book, Mr. Kalam writes about his experience of watching his father build a boat, his early working life as a newspaper boy at the age of eight and even his first-hand experience of the way in their religious elders settled a religious matter in his school.

In a chapter “A brush with fire”, Mr. Kalam recounts the 1999 January 11 incident involving two aircraft which took off from Bangalore towards the Arakkonam-Chennai coastline and crashed, killing 8 men on board.

While Mr. Kalam immediately flew to Bangalore from Delhi and met the bereaved families, he says the grief of the devastated parents and the wailing of the infants remained with him even after years of the incident even after he moved from his office at South Block to Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The former President says that true nation building is not made by political rhetoric alone but should be backed “by the power of sacrifice, toil and virtue”.

“When grand plans for scientific and defence technologies are made, do the people in power think about the sacrifices the people in the laboratories and fields have to make?” he writes.

The book also contains a chapter detailing Mr. Kalam’s favourite books “which have always been close companions” who “were like friends” guiding him through life. Lilian Eishler Watson’s “Light from Many Lamps,” the “Thirukural”, Nobel Laureate Alex Carrel’s “Man the Unknown” have been listed.

Poetry says Mr. Kalam has been “one of his first loves” and poems by T.S. Elliot, Lewis Carroll and William Butler Yeats has “played out in my over and over again”.

In conclusion, Mr. Kalam writes his life can be summed up as “Love poured to the child… struggle… more struggle… bitter tears… then sweet tears… and finally a life as beautiful and fulfilling as seeing the birth of the full moon.

“I hope these stories will help all my readers understand their dreams and compel them to work on these dreams that keep them awake,” he writes.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Books> Authors / PTI / New Delhi – August 18th, 2013

Sir Syed Day 2014 in San Francisco Bay Area

September 30, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Leaders, NRI's / PIO'smpositiveone@gmail.com

San Francisco:

The Aligarh Muslim University Alumni Association of Northern California carried on its annual tradition of holding Sir Syed Day in the San Francisco Bay Area with a fine evening of cultural expression, reflection and entertainment at the ICC in Milpitas on Saturday, September 20th.

Funds were also collected on the occasion for the Aligarh Education Endowment Fund (AEEF) which supports those whose path to education is impacted by lack of funds or social mobility. Both children and youth are assisted through this AEEF vehicle and one can commend Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) alumni for making their annual homage to Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, the founder of their Alma Mater an added purpose.

After a fine dinner of Mughlai cuisine the formalities began with the traditional recitation from the Holy Qur’an by Mohammed Nadeem. Emcee for the evening Dr. Shaheer Khan made the necessary introductions. He said that everyone here needs to be thanked for their dedication, because the hall tonight is full to its maximum capacity and people unfortunately had to be turned away. He added that the Mushaira or Urdu poetry recital held here attracts many people but it is the cause which is the prime reason for this gathering, which is Sir Syed and AMU. He said that Aligarh was and is a movement and not just a place. He also took the opportunity to thank the sponsors and supporters along with the ICC for making this event possible. He also recognized local South Asians who are running for positions in the upcoming elections (Mohammed Nadeem running for Santa Clara City Council and Moina Shaiq running for Fremont School Board were here. Congressional candidate Ro Khanna was to arrive later).

Next was the President’s Welcome which this year was given by the new head of the AMU Alumni Association of Northern California, Mr. Shachindra Nath. In his short speech Shachindra Sahib welcomed everyone and took the opportunity to share his familial connection with Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) which his father also had the good fortune to attend. He pointed out the mutual respect and tolerance which he found at AMU. “I am so proud to be an Aligarian,” he said. Shachindra Sahib has been a dedicated member of the AMU Alumni Association for several years and it should come as no surprise that today he is the President of this organization.

The Sir Syed Day keynote address this year was presented by Ambassador Islam A. Siddiqui. Dr. Siddiqui till recently served as Chief Agricultural Negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and has now joined a think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) as a senior adviser in its Global Food Security Project in Washington DC. He is also a very familiar face to many of us in northern California because of his many years working for the State of California in Sacramento and for his long-time community activism; he is one of the founders of UMA and has been the President of the Downtown Sacramento Muslim Mosque. Although not an alumni of AMU, Dr. Siddiqui said that he was forever indebted to the campus because that is where he met his wife over 40 years ago!

“When I think of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan’s contributions to India and the world at large, it is about Education, Economic Empowerment and Moderation,” said Siddiqui. Giving the audience a backdrop of British-Indian history, and the poor state of Muslims after the 1857 revolt (the first attempt by Indians to gain independence) which failed, Sir Syed’s unique role was highlighted. “Here came a thinker and a visionary, who had worked for the British East India Company, had studied the causes of the Indian revolt, published a commentary on the Bible and was even instrumental in establishing The Scientific Society of Aligarh,” he said. He added that Sir Syed was fighting for the educational, social and economic uplift of Indian Muslims about the same time as President Abraham Lincoln was fighting for the cause of African Americans to abolish slavery in the United States.

He said that today the situation of the Muslim masses in India is not great and cited some relevant statistics from the Sachar Committee Report of 2006 which concluded that “When it comes to education the situation of Indian Muslims is indeed depressing as compared to other socio-religious communities and the problem is more acute among girls and women”. Siddiqui remained hopeful that as India’s economy grows, economic opportunities for all Indians will expand. “As the saying goes: A rising tide lifts all boats,” he said. He also reinforced the charter of the AEEF and its fundraising activity by saying that it is our moral obligation to give back to the under-privileged in the community and country that made it possible for us to reach where we are today.

Dr. Shaheer Khan returned to present an AEEF Update. The Aligarh Education Endowment Fund needs about $100,000 for 2014-2015 academic year to fund its projects which include the sponsorship of excellence in education through scholarships, Aligarh Modern School, Hamara School Aligarh, Faizabad Public school (Faizabad), Faiz-e Aam Muslim Inter College (Faizabad), Hira Public School (Ambedkar Nagar), J.A.B.I.C. Bhadarsa (Ambedkar Nagar), J.D.J.B. Anand P.G. College (Faizabad), M.I. Girls Inter College (Faizabad), Rishiraz Singh Maha Vidyalya (Faizabad), and many others.

It is also supporting Saiema Mansoor Public School (Hathras), vocational training for women, a mentorship program and students at premier institutions in India. A short fundraising appeal was made with a target of $60,000 in mind. And in the process, just before the entertainment, the Aligarh Tarana or anthem was enthusiastically played and sung by some of the alumni of AMU present.

The second part of Sir Syed Day is the “International Mushaira” which brings together some of the finest poets or practitioners of Urdu language poetry from around the globe (mainly from where it is used most, India and Pakistan). Countries can be partitioned but one cannot do that with a language. Urdu’s birthplace is in India where AMU is physically located too, but Urdu ironically is the national language of Pakistan. Where borders and governments divide, language-culture and family unite. I did get an opportunity at this event to meet the Consul of India in San Francisco and air the trials and tribulations of getting a visa for India for a person of Pakistani origin!

This year the list of poets was “Pakistan heavy” for the lack of a better term. The Mezban or host poets in order of appearance were Shahid Siddiqi (Canada), Misum Samer (Bay Area), Faisal Azeem (Canada), and Ahmar Shehwaar and Tashie Zaheer (both from the Bay Area). The Mehman or guest poets were Ambareen Haseeb ‘Amber’ (Pakistan), Nusrat Mehdi (India), Abbas Tabish (Pakistan) and Sarfraz Shahid (Pakistan). Two new aspects were noted in this year’s Mushaira. One the Nizamat was done by a young lady (Amber) and two the Sadarat and closing poet (Sarfraz) was the one who provided comic relief (possibly designed so that people went home in a good mood).

It would take another full article here just to cover the Mushaira segment of the evening. But just to highlight some of the activity here, senior poet Abbas Tabish aptly described the entire Mezbaan Shayir group (locals) as amongst the most talented that he has ever seen. All of them were worthy and it was good to see young Faisal Azeem back in this area. I just had to thank Tashie Bhai personally for his one line that made us proud. In a nutshell none of the local “amateur” poets were less than professional!

Amongst the four Mehman Shayir’s (guests) Ambareen was extremely entertaining both as a poet and in her “Tum Bhi Naa” and in her Nizamat role. Nusrat Mehdi was the feminist voice of the evening and she was amazing in Tarannum especially with her “Mein Bhi to Hoon”. Abbas Tabish was his usual pensive self with his “Intizar ke Lamhe” and his ode to mothers everywhere. And last but not least Sarfraz Shahid who in his Sadarat role provided enough comic relief to us that many had smiles on our faces as we made our way out of the door. His take on “Maulana and Hoorain”, romance in Cricket “Musalman mard ko char hi run ki Ijazat Hai” and his political cutlery were all very well received.

The Annual Sir Syed Day Aligarh magazine was also released on this occasion. The magazine is dedicated to Hali and Shibli. This year marks the 100th death anniversary of Maulana Altaf Husain Hali and Maulana Shibli Nomani, two pivotal members of the team of Sir Syed’s ‘Rufaqaa’ in the establishment of the MAO College.

In conclusion we did not stay for the doosra daur (round two) of the poetry but it was already quite a rewarding and satisfying event for us. The Aligarh Alumni Association of Northern California once again needs to be congratulated for holding this gathering where everyone enjoyed the food, revisited Sir Syed’s vison and participated in quality entertainment.

source: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCircles.net / Home> News / by Ras H. Siddiqui, TwoCircles.net / September 30th, 2014