Otta Chora (Same Blood) by Shuhaib Alanallur, a student of Madin Academy in Malappuram, is being quoted by speakers in their programmes all across Malabar.
Kozhikode :
A poem that celebrates the warmth of the relationship between Hindu and Muslim families, penned by an upcoming writer, has become an instant hit after it was published in a magazine recently. Otta Chora (Same Blood) by Shuhaib Alanallur, a student of Madin Academy in Malappuram, is being quoted by speakers in their programmes all across Malabar.
In the poem, a Hindu woman, Narayani, finds solace in Nabeesu’s Islamic prayers while enduring the labour pain, and the ‘Mollakka’ (Muslim cleric) recites a verse from Quran to help her husband Velu quit drinking. Finally, Velu refuses to take his usual quota of toddy because the ‘Mollakka’ had donated his blood when he got injured after falling in a gutter. “I will not pollute Mollakka’s blood that runs in my blood by mixing it with toddy,” declares Velu at the end of the poem.
“Such relationships were quite common in our country-sides few decades ago. We are celebrating the bonding because it is fast fading away from our midst,” said the poet.
“The poem was written during the ‘Sahithyolsavam’ conducted by the Sunni Students Federation last year,” he said. It was the patronage given by Syed Ibrahimul Khaeel Al Bukhari Thangal, chairman of the Madin Academy, that shaped the writer in Shuhaib.
“Muslim Youth League leader Shibu Meeran quoted my poem in an impassioned speech that made it a discussion point on the social media,” Shihaib said. It was the fond memories that he spent with his Hindu friends in Alanallur near Mannarkkad that inspired Shuhaib to write the poem.
“There are people who argue that such relationships are normal in our midst and they need not be highlighted. But I believe that such voices should be amplified at a time when dark forces are lurking in our society,” said Basheer Faizy Deshamangalam, Islamic scholar and the leader of Samastha Kerala Sunni Students Federation.
“Narayani didn’t refuse to take the Islamic blessing saying that it is from another faith nor did Velu say no to verses from Quran. Such innocent virtues should be underlined when there are deliberate attempts to divide us,” he said.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by MP Prashantah, Express News Service / June 07th, 2022
The memorial has now become a pilgrimage point for locals
Half a century back, a Kali temple was built by the Border Security Force (BSF) as a war memorial at the request of two soldiers — a Christian and a Bengali Muslim — at the Border Outpost (BOP) in Srinagar, Tripura, which has now become a pilgrimage point for locals.
Major P. K. Ghosh, who was then commanding four border outposts (BOP) of BSF at Srinagar, Amlighat, Samarendraganj and Nalua in the southern part of Tripura bordering Chittagong division, in erstwhile east Pakistan, has chronicled the story in ‘Borderman’, the BSF journal.
When contacted, Major Ghosh said the Srinagar BOP was located in a very important strategic position and after the revolt by the East Bengal Regiment in 1971 against Pakistan, BSF aided the rebels in forming the first Muktibahini (Liberation army) in Srinagar.
“The MMG post at Srinagar BOP was playing a crucial role in thwarting the Pakistani army. It was the forward observation post near the Chittagong-Noakhali area. Exchange of fire was nothing new in that area, but it intensified when the liberation war started picking up”, Major Ghosh told PTI telephonically.
He said since the MMG post was causing major damage to the Pakistani side, it became a precision target for the enemy.
“A precision target receives continuous firing of shells over a period of an hour or so, it is likely to get damaged. On that day, they fired 100 shells in ten minutes”, Major Ghosh recalled.
“There were three members of the detachment at the post including a Nepali Christian, Constable Rehaman (a Bengali Muslim) and Constable Banabihari Chakraborty. The situation at the spot was terrible, and I asked them not to step out of the bunker,” he said.
As the situation became worse, Constable Chakraborty asked the others to pray to goddess Kali. “They did that without even considering their religious beliefs. The post was saved due to its position near a pond and marshy land and heavy rain a night ago. A bamboo tree also prevented the shells from torching the bunker and they ended up as air bursts”, Major Ghosh said.
When the BSF decided to build a war memorial at the spot, the Christian and the Muslim soldiers requested that a Kali temple be built instead.
“Building a Kali temple for a war memorial is very unconventional. But BSF did that to honour the request of the soldiers,” Major Ghosh said.
The funds were collected from locals and the Bangladeshis also joined in constructing the Kali temple in 1972.
“We named it Rann Kali (War Kali) temple to honour their faith. At a time of religious intolerances, such examples stand as a beacon of hope”, he said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Other States / by PTI / Srinagar (Tripura) / July 03rd, 2022
Indian Journalist Rana Ayyub was awarded the International John Aubuchon 2022. She was honoured with the award by the National Press Club of Washington DC and the Aubuchon is the Club’s highest honor for press freedom.
National Press Club President Jen Judson and National Press Club Journalism Institute President Gil Klein said, “We are pleased to name Rana Ayyub the 2022 John Aubuchon Award International Honoree. Ms. Ayyub’s courage and skill in investigative work has been evident throughout her distinguished career and her criticism of the government has been met with an unwelcome assault on her rights and freedom of expression.”
Later, Ayyub, in her statement on Twitter, thanked the Press Club and said that “it is a testing time for journalism in India”.
She further added: “Huge honour to receive this award, the first ever for an Indian.”
Ayyub dedicated the award to her colleagues who are lying in different prisons across the country. “Dedicating this to my colleagues Mohd. Zubair, Siddique Kappan and Asif Sultan, incarcerated for speaking truth to power,” she said.
source: http://www.thekashmirlwalla.com / The Kashmir Walla / Home> News> South Asia / by News Desk / July 01st, 2022
The Delhi Youth Welfare Association works for the upliftment of underprivileged children in Old Delhi through many initiatives, including its Hazrat Shah Walliulah Public Library.
DYWA team with Capt Zoya and Heena Sodhi
On a hot Wednesday afternoon in June, Laxmi (14) and Ritika (11), residents of the walled city, braved the heat as they made their way through the crowded lanes of Old Delhi to arrive at a cramped quarter in Churiwalan, Jama Masjid. The dated signage and dilapidated environs may have served to put them off their mission, but they persevered. After all, they had it on the best possible authority––of their own older sister––that this was where they would receive school textbooks for the upcoming academic year.
These hardworking sisters are a few of the many girls and boys lining up outside the doors of the unassuming Hazrat Shah Waliullah Public Library, which distributes course books for children once a year, free of cost, to support them in their pursuit of education despite financial and other constraints.
In 1987, in the wake of curfew following religious tensions in Old Delhi, a group of young friends turned their energies towards the upliftment of destitute locals.
The library
They began by distributing rations, medicines, and scholarships to deserving widows and others in need, under the banner of the Delhi Youth Welfare Association (DYWA); but felt this action, though noble, did not make the desired difference to ground realities. Illiteracy due to poor financial conditions and the resultant lack of resources was a chronic problem that needed their immediate attention. Hence, they started sponsoring the education of deserving children, and opened the Hazrat Shah Waliullah Public Library, sometime in the 90s.
Muhammad Naeem, the President of the DYWA, has been associated with the organisation from the beginning. Narrating an incident that summarises the need for their organisation, he says, “Financial conditions are bad for the locals here. As soon as they clear their ninth standard exams, they want to move to Open University instead of going to school, so they can work and earn money. This is true for both boys and girls.”
Amidst this, the Hazrat Shah Waliullah Library strives to encourage a love of reading and learning–– an art that is swiftly being sidelined. SM Changezi, the General Secretary of DYWA and custodian of the library, wears his royal ascendancy from Chengez Khan with pride. However, he only displays it to the world through his passion for beautiful and rare old books.
The library’s vast collection includes a 100-year-old Quran with every page written in a different style, a copy of an illustrated Ramayana in Persian, and even one of the last copies of Bahadur Shah Zafar’s poetry, printed and sealed in the royal press while he was still in power.
About 50 percent of the books in the library are donated by locals who support the organisation, and the remaining are bought from the organisation’s funds.
With the increasing number of books, the association is now planning to open a second library in Haryana’s Nuh to cater to the local slums in the area. Apart from free course books, the DYWA sponsors the education of around 30 girls. To this effect, the DYWA collects and pays Rs 2.5-3 lakh per annum towards children’s fees, all from donations made by people who believe in the cause.
Other initiatives include inviting celebrated personalities originally from this area to speak to the children about making a success of their life. This happened recently when Air India pilot and social activist Captain Zoya Agarwal and Heena Sodhi Khera of women’s networking platform Queen’s Brigade, met the children for their course distribution ceremony.
Khera explains, “Capt Zoya shared her own experiences of being judged for her big ambitions. Yet, she achieved what she wanted and encouraged the kids to do so as well. The children were ecstatic and listened to her with rapt attention.”
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by Noor Anand Chawla / June 24th, 2022
Anzer Ayoob (22) is a college drop out from Doda who started a news portal in 2017. | Photo by arrangement
The portal is getting recognised for reporting on issues in Chenab valley which are overlooked by the mainstream media.
Jammu :
When 22-year-old Anzer Ayoob, a journalist based in Doda district in Jammu and Kashmir’s Chenab valley heard that a literary group had announced an award for his news portal, he was editing a story on frequent power outages–a recurring issue in the region.
Ayoob is the founding editor of Chenab Times , a local multimedia news web portal that covers social, cultural, political, and current events primarily in the Chenab region.
“Apart from highlighting the lack of electricity in the region, the other objective was to bring Chenab Valley on the tourist map of Jammu and Kashmir,” Ayoob told TwoCircles.net.
Founded in 2017, the news portal has gained decent viewership in the region and has been appreciated by locals.
Inspired by the positive response, the portal launched its daily news bulletin in Urdu, Sarazi and Bhaderwahi languages (spoken by the region’s population) in January 2021.
A year on, the programmes in local languages have earned the portal a distinct fame.
On January 23, the Pahari Core Committee, which is a representative organisation of fifteen literary groups from Doda, praised The Chenab Times for the promotion of local languages, and culture and decided to confer it with this year’s ‘Best News Portal’ award.
“Chenab Times is the sole channel that has always touched the hearts of thousands of Pahari speakers who speak Sarazi, Bhaderwahi, and Kashmiri,” said Sadaket Malik, president of the Pahari Core Committee, in a statement.
The Chenab Times staff in Doda. | Photo by arrangement
From college dropout to editor Ayoob is a college dropout. He was pursuing B.Sc. from Govt. Degree College Bhaderwah. “I discontinued my education in 2019 when my mother’s health deteriorated. My father passed away in 2015 and being the only male member of the family, I had to earn a livelihood,” he said.
Ayoob believes that practicing journalism does not require a degree. “Starting a news portal began with a single idea and journalism is all about ideas,” he said.
Promoting Chenab valley as tourist destination The Chenab Times started with a Facebook page of the same name promoting Chenab valley as a tourist destination on social media. “After 4-5 months, when our Facebook page gained 16K followers, we launched the website,” Ayoob said.
The portal has regularly covered stories of the downtrodden.
Slowly, the news portal began to carry news from the outside world. At present, the portal provides current news from around the world, with a special focus on video stories from Jammu & Kashmir.
The Chenab Times has around 140K followers on Facebook, 1K on Twitter, 8K on Instagram and 45K on YouTube.
Some of the stories published by The Chenab Times have been impactful.
“There are various far-flung villages in Doda district that weren’t receiving adequate water supply and it was a crisis for the villagers. When we highlighted the issues on our portal, the villages got water supply,” Ayoob said.
Farasat Rasool is a graduate in arts and a regular reader of the website. “Chenab Times is doing a good job by providing local news and civic concerns. The portal has given voice to the voiceless,” he said.
Power outages deter journalism What bothers Ayoob are the frequent power outages and blackouts in the region. The outages, he said, are impacting the portal’s multilingual programme, for which it has been recognised.
Ironically, the Chenab valley is known as the hub of hydroelectric power projects in the region.
Due to a massive power outage in the Halla village of Doda district in late January, one of Chenab Times correspondent Fareed Ahmad Naik was unable to deliver the Sarazi language news programme. The village was without electricity for 12 days.
“In winters, the first importance is not the story but to charge our cell phones,” Ayoob said.
Involving youth in community journalism Ayoob believes in involving more youth from his region in doing community journalism.
The portal has a staff of eight reporters, six of whom are from the Doda district, one each from Kishtwar and Ramban districts and a six-person editorial board, and three legal consultants.
While press freedom in Jammu and Kashmir has been severely restricted in the last few years, Ayoob said, “poor media environment won’t deter us from doing our job.”
Ayoob is of the view that journalism is the kind of profession “where the government frequently becomes an adversary.”
Besides power outages, another challenge faced by his portal is political targeting. “We have done stories after which we faced pressure from certain political quarters. We were summoned by police on a sarpanch’s complaint and received legal notices after we reported on the absence of doctors,” he said.
Ayoob, however, added that he has received support from Doda police after his portal did a story on illicit liquor and drugs. “They cooperated with us,” he said.
His goal is to recruit female reporters at his portal. “We want to give a platform to emerging women reporters in the region,” he said.
Naseer Khora, a senior journalist and commentator from Doda, believes that “local civic concerns of the people haven’t been highlighted much in the media as politics dominates the coverage in Jammu and Kashmir.”
“Chenab Times, in particular, is making a difference by encouraging new people to enter the sector while also restoring rural journalism and reviving endangered languages,” he said.
Shadab Farooq is TCN SEED-Fellow. He tweets at @shadabfarooq_
source: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCircles.net / Home> Lead Story / by Shadab Faarooq, TwoCircles.net / February 04th, 2022
The Centre has resumed the hunt for a 12 kg gold coin which has been missing for almost four decades.Touted as the world’s biggest gold coin, it was last seen in hands of titular Nizam VIII of Hyderabad, Mukarram Jah.
Reportedly, he had auctioned the coin at the Swiss Bank. However, India’s CBI couldn’t get hold of the gold coin that was passed to Jah through his grandfather and last Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan.
The last Nizam had taken over the coin which was devised by emperor Jahangir. Renowned historian Prof Salma Ahmed Farooqui of HK sherwani Centre for Deccan Studies, Maulana Azad National Urdu University, conducted research on the history and legacy of the world’s biggest gold coin and said it was invaluable to Hyderabad’s pride. At present, the coin hunt has begun after 35 years.
In 1987, when Indian officials in Europe alerted the central government about auctioneer Habsburg Feldman SA auctioning the 11,935.8 gm gold coin in Geneva at Hotel Moga on November 9 through Paris-based Indosuez Bank’s Geneva branch, CBI came into the picture. Investigations started and much information was unearthed,” Prof Salma was quoted by TOI.
She further stated that the CBI played the role of historians while searching for the huge coin but later the search was left hanging as the officials’ didn’t return to the office.
In a book written by former joint director of CBI, Shantonu Sen said that officials discovered that Jahangir has printed two similar coins. One was given to the ambassador of the Shah of Iran, Yadgir Ali and the other was in control of the Nizams.
An FIR was registered under the Antique and Art Treasures Act 1972 by a superintendent rank officer In 1987, said Prof Salma. She said, “Further investigations revealed Mukarram Jah was trying to auction two gold mohurs in 1987 at the Swiss auction, one of which was supposedly the 1,000 tola coin. It was valued at $16million in 1987.”
Since many years have gone by and nobody has information related to the big gold coin minted by Jahangir, Salma hopes that new efforts by the Centre may bring positive results this time.
source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> News> Hyderabad / posted by Umm E Maria / June 27th, 2022
At a modest house in South Delhi’s leafy Sarita Vihar colony, a tall, handsome man woke up early in the morning to read a bunch of newspapers religiously. He didn’t only read whatever “readable” news and views a dozen newspapers in Hindi, Urdu and English carried, but also shared them with the wider world. For five years–ceaselessly, tirelessly.
His huge circle of friends, from Birmingham to Barabanki, Miami to Mumbai, Seattle to Singapore devoured the selected news and views this selfless, soft spoken news warrior shared with such dedication and devotion. I don’t know any other person on the planet doing this with such consistency for five long years. Yes, some of us news premi pick up news randomly and share them with a few friends.
Shafique Ul Hasan, a senior journalist-turned-advertising professional, completed five years of sharing the news clippings on June 24 this year. Among hundreds of friends who value his work and have congratulated Shafique Bhai—that is how most of us address him—on reaching this milestone include filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, writer-politician Shashi Tharoor, former bureaucrat and ex-VC of Jamia Millia Islamia Najeeb Jung. They all underlined the importance of Shafique Bhai’s work—making available some of the important news and opinion pieces at one place. In our crazily busy schedule, many of us have forgotten what and how to read news. In the age of social media explosion, it has become very important to decide what news and views one should consume. At a time when fake news and viral videos are shared with an ulterior motive, Shafique Ul Hasan’s work assumes significance.
It all started with the news of Hafiz Junaid’s lynching. The young, kurta-pajama clad maulvi was returning home after shopping for Eid when a group of boys accosted him in train, beat him up so badly that he succumbed to injuries. The news shocked us. Most of us silently mourned the loss of an innocent’s life due to demonization of Muslims. Had fellow passengers intervened, young Junaid’s life could have been saved. But the hate-mongering has made us so insensitive and numb that we don’t react till the trouble reaches our own doorsteps. “This is not our problem,” we dismiss and move on. We forget the episode till a fresh case of mob violence hits the headlines.
Shafique Bhai reacted to the lynching of young Junaid in a different way. It affected him so deeply and intensely that he decided to do something beyond mourning his death silently. He made clippings of the horrific news and shared them with some of his friends on WhatsApp. And then he thought more. “What can I do to stop this madness? What power do I possess to make an intervention?”, he asked himself.
Most of us don’t realise the hidden power we possess. The strength lies in communicating the pain too. If we share some genuine, truthful news, this too is a service. Taking out morchas and petitioning authorities are not the only forms of protest. A protest is registered if news about an unkind, unjust thing or event is shared with a purpose to create awareness and help form an informed opinion. Shafique Ul Hasan decided to share the news clips from newspapers in the morning daily.
He made it part of his daily routine. So, he didn’t miss sharing the clippings even if he was travelling, in India or abroad, attending wedding celebrations or birth parties, vacationing in Europe or in the Middle East. “Once during our holiday in Europe I ensured that I woke up in the morning according to Indian time and made clippings from digital editions of the newspapers while my wife was fast asleep. Not many of my friends realized that they had shared those clippings sitting in Paris or London,” he told me recently.
Significantly, Shafique Bhai’s services have been acknowledged and appreciated widely. Many individuals and organizations have feted him for this yeomen service. Among those who have awarded him for this service include Sirajuddin Qureishi of New Delhi-based India Islamic Cultural Centre (IICC), several NGOs and organisers of a programme celebrating 200 years of Urdu Journalism recently in New Delhi.
Meanwhile, sticking to a fixed schedule for long and sitting for a few hours without a break daily began to take a toll. Shafiqul Hassan’s health got affected. His BP shot up and had to be hospitalized before his condition could have worsened. He didn’t stop from doing what he loved to do even while he recuperated in a hospital. Despite protests from his lovely family, he didn’t take a break. He resolved to complete at least five years of sharing the news and views clippings. He fulfilled the promise he had made to himself.
Meanwhile, a few well-meaning friends advised him to monetize it. Since many websites and other news outlets charge money for their products, it would have been quite fair had Shafiqul Hassan too put a price to his services. “No. I don’t want to make any money out of it. It will be free of cost till whatever time I do it,” he told me.
But he had to take a break. Many of us told Shafique Bhai to take a long break after completing five years of this selfless service. He deserves to pay attention to his health, his business and spend more quality time with family. He has announced that much-deserved break. I suggest he finds a mechanism through which he resumes this service in a more organized way. He needs to get a team of computer savvy individuals who can work with him. Rather than doing everything himself, he should delegate work to subordinates. He should now work more as a supervisor. But to create such a team, some funds will be needed. Shafique Bhai is a self-respecting man. He will never seek charity or any other funds to set up a professional team for news/views gathering and dissemination. It is the duty of all concerned citizens to ensure that such a corpus is created and this work resumes.
Mohammed Wajihuddin is a senior journalist, now associated with the Times of India, Mumbai. His write-ups are popular with wide range of readers.
source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> Opinion / by Mohammed Wajihuddin / June 27th, 2022
Qatar Indian Social Forum, prominent Indian expatriate community celebrated Eid-ul-Fitr with array of Cultural Programmes representing Rich cultural Heritage of Indian Subcontinent with Skits, Folk songs, Martial arts, traditional Cultural events from different Indian states in different Languages under theme ‘Celebrating Unity in Diversity’.
Welcoming the gathering, Usman general secretary of Social forum, said that the forum would like to uphold a sense of unity among Indians despite the difference in their caste, creed, and religion, and cherish different cultural backgrounds, a land that shows unity in diversity truly reflecting the theme of the evening.
Social forum president Ayyub Ullal launched ‘IndianSocialForum.com’ website, and delivered EID message, hosting these types of gatherings will promote respect for each other’s Cultural Heritage and improve collective commitment towards society at large.
‘Abdul Latheef Madikkeri Memorial Humanitarian Activist Award’ of the year
Chief guest of the Evening Subramanya Hebbagelu, vice president Indian Cultural Center, handed over the ‘Abdul Latheef Madikkeri Memorial Humanitarian Activist Award’ of the year to Basheer Ahamed, leader from Social Forum Tamilnadu, and paid tribute the veteran leader Abdul Latheef Madikeri, who passed away in April last year, in his speech stressed the importance of Serving Humanity.
Vinod Nair, president, Indian Community Benevolent Forum (ICBF) congratulated the gathering and handed over medal to Cultural teams including ‘Thullal-Parai’ and ‘Nagam-16’ from Tamilnadu, Kolkali and ‘Daughters of Kerala’ from Kerala, Tippu Sultan Drama from Karnataka, Nasheed from Northern States for their spectacular display.
Fastest Kid
Ayyub Ullal, handed over the ‘Award of Appreciation’ to Muhammed Ameen Bin Thaisser, honoring his achievement to become ‘Fastest Kid to recite’ all Elements of Periodic table.
The meet brought together more than 20 Community Leaders representing various Indian states Organization, attracting more than 500 community members. The programme ended up with a feast for all participants.
Saeed Kommachi, general secretary, proposed the vote of thanks.
www.indiasocialforum.com
source: http://www.daijiworld.com / DaijiWorld.com / Home>Middle East / by Daijiworld Media Network – Doha (EP) / May 06th, 2022
Well-known social worker Abdul Lathif Madikeri, secretary of Qatar Indian Social Forum (QISF), an association for NRIs, passed away on Sunday April 11.
Abdul Latif was an active social worker who used to respond to all issues faced by non-resident Indians and help to find solutions for them. He always led from the front when it came to social and humanitarian works and was well-known to all NRIs in Qatar.
He was employed in Qatar Police Force for the past thirty years and has left behind his wife, three sons, a daughter, a large number of friends and relatives.
Qatar Indian Social Forum has condoled his demise, describing that his departure has left a void that cannot be filled. QISF also prayed that the almighty bestows strength to his family to bear the loss.
source: http://www.daijiworld.com / DaijiWorld.com / Home /by Daijiworld Media Network – Doha (EP) / April 11th, 2021
These superb translations make two Tamil classics accessible to a wider readership
Kalki’s Parthiban Kanavu, published in the 1940s and considered to be one of the earliest historical novels in Tamil, is an acknowledged classic.
Thoppil Mohamed Meeran’s short stories are contemporary classics.
The translation of these works from Tamil into English by two experienced writers, Nandini Vijayaraghavan and Prabha Sridevan respectively, achieves a major aim: to make cultures and histories of India accessible to a wider readership.
They are also of interest to prospective translators as a study in contrast, indicating the wide range of skills and knowledge that make translation a creative art.
Impeccable choice
Parthiban Kanavu is a swashbuckling story of a young prince keeping alive his father’s dream of establishing a glorious kingdom. The storyline is marked by palace intrigues, betrayals, and love at first sight. Vijayaraghavan faithfully follows the plot, omitting no digressions or descriptions. Nor does she editorialise to explain plot complications. Her choice of words is impeccable, the polysyllabic and slightly archaic language reflecting Kalki’s Sanskritised Tamil, which is not easily accessible to contemporary readers.
Kalki at work | Photo Credit: The Hindu
Parthiban’s Dream features exquisite artwork by Gopulu which was part of the Tamil original when it was serialised. The volume will be a treasured addition to any bookshelf.
Cover of ‘Meeran’s Stories’
Deceptively easy
The 18 short stories in Meeran’s Stories have been selected from across three anthologies. Taken together, they showcase the Sahitya Akademi award winner’s range and sensitivity. Belonging to a Muslim community in Kerala, Meeran’s characters lead insecure lives where violence is both tacit and direct.
Noorunisa waits in vain for the Arab trader who will sweep her off her feet and cover her with gold. A tsunami changes the entire landscape, bringing about a sea change in the lives of the fishing community. A poor man thrown out by his son goes on a safar to holy Muslim sites, only to be treated as a terrorist by the authorities.
The young boy who bullies and finally strangles his mother, learns that the woman who petted, cosseted and indulged him owed him nothing, not even his birth. An unsympathetic official refuses to grant a girl’s simple request to thank the bus conductor who rescued her till it is too late. The economic and environmental disaster created by Coca-Cola at its Plachimada plant is recorded with clinical precision through descriptions of dry wells, poisonous fertilisers and a devious investor.
Meeran’s stories make for deceptively easy reading, mirroring the apparently uneventful lives of his characters. The narrative style, without editorial comments, is powerful in its starkness. Through what he leaves unsaid, Meeran allows readers to reconstruct the cultural context.
The twist in the tale, the hallmark of a good short story, is sharp and blink-and-you-miss-it short.
The closed Coca-Cola company at Plachimada in Palakkad. | Photo Credit: Mustafah K.K.
Like idioms, Meeran’s syntax and structures do not cross languages easily.
Translating Meeran’s work is thus a delicate undertaking, balancing the said and the unsaid, needing simplistic, not simple, English to create a feeling of rarity.
Sridevan pays attention to both word and spirit. But her work goes a step further: it spurs the reader on to go back to the original, looking for hidden depths. This is a singular accomplishment for a translation.
These two books are must-reads for the Tamil diaspora, in India and abroad.
