Meerut:

Nine months ago, Teer Gran in Meerut was in the news for all the wrong reasons – communal clashes had broken out, claiming one life. Several people were injured. Few are aware, however, that Teer Gran is home to the Muslim families that make the colourful Holikas that Hindu communities traditionally burn on Holi eve. This locality is also called ‘Holi Mohalla’.

Around 25 Muslim families here make more than a 1,000 Holikas which find their way to various west UP cities besides Meerut. Mohd Yunus, 50, has a small shop near the lane leading to Bhairon Temple. On Tuesday, there were numerous life-size effigies, decked up and colourful, with feminine features, lining his shop.

“Holika symbolizes victory of good over evil. Hindu legend has it that after demon king Hiranyakashipu demanded that he be worshipped, his son Prahlad remained defiant, and said he would only worship Lord Vishnu. The king’s sister Holika, on instructions from her brother, attempted to burn Prahlad alive by taking him in her lap and sitting on a pyre. Holika had a magic shawl with which she could save herself from burning. She hoped her nephew would be reduced to cinders. When the fire was set, however, the shawl flew and enveloped Prahlad instead. Holika was burnt to death. Prahlad escaped unhurt,” Yunus explains.

For generations, Yunus’ family has been making effigies of Holika that are burnt on the eve of Holi festivities.

“We have no records, but for hundreds of years our family has been making these effigies.” There are about 25 Muslim families that make Holikas in Holi Mohalla. The effigies are made with waste paper, masks and colours.

Shaukat Ali, another resident of the area, said, “We need to make about 1,000 Holikas every year. These travel to Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat and Muradnagar.”

The Holika effigies are the work of entire families. With time, interestingly, volumes have grown. Mohd Wasim, an effigy maker, said, “Earlier, communities would select one place to burn the Holika, which was made on order, and would be quite tall and expensive – we have made effigies 20 feet tall, costing about Rs 2,000, at least. Now, as cities have expanded, even small colonies have their own Holika burning ceremony. Volumes have grown, but the size of each Holikas has shrunk. These days, we make Holikas about five feet tall, costing about Rs 250 each, at most.”

While the Muslim families here make Holikas ahead of Holi, they also make effigies of Ravana ahead of Dusshera. “The Ravanas are rather more difficult to make. For the rest of the year, we make decorations for temples and mosques,” Wasim said.

Asked of his experience during the riots last year, Yunus said, “Buddhi bhrasht ho jaati hai logon ki (people go out of their minds) in time of riots. No one wants riots. These are all politically motivated, and everyone only suffers a loss. Thankfully for us, every time communal tension happens here, Hindu friends ask me to move to a safer place and take responsibility for my shop.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Meerut / by Sandeep Rai / March 03rd, 2015

Hyderabad :

Imagine poetry being ‘sold’ off the streets. Yes, you heard that right! With a noble mission to revive Telugu poetry in the two states, 50-year-old Sheik Sadiq Ali is seen pushing around his cart which doesn’t sell vegetables, but poetry!

“The declining state of Telugu poetry has always bothered me. So I decided to take it to the masses and what better way to do it than a pushcart,” Sadiq explains. While most people lecture on the need for reviving the Telugu poetry from air-conditioned auditoriums, he decided to do stay connected with lovers of literature. Though he doesn’t have shortage of resources to hold book exhibitions, the 50-year-old decided to use a push-cart for his mission. To buttress his argument for adopting this unconventional method to promote Telugu poetry, he says: “Pusharts are something that people feel comfortable with. They have been a part of our culture for ages. It will be inappropriate for a non-traditional object to promote traditional poetry”.

Sadiq now takes his pushcart around town, one area at a time, holding forth on poetry and inviting people to read books. With over 135 titles on his pushcart, Sadiq literally carries a mobile bookstore to your doorstep. “What surprises me is the kind of response I receive from people of all age groups. Those who are new to Telugu poetry spend some time reading a book and end up buying it. These are small steps towards the bigger mission,” says an earnest Sadiq.

A native of Kalluru in Khammam distruct and a postgraduate in Telugu literature from Osmania University, Sadiq has books by various Telugu poets on his cart. The cart – ‘Thopudu Bandi’ – adorns pictures of famous Telugu poets like Sri Sri, Arudra and Maqdoom Mohinuddin. “People on Facebook started seeing what I am doing and sent in their books. So if someone buys the book, the poet gets the money, which in a way encouraging poetry,” he elaborates.

Sadiq, who was a journalist with a Telugu daily, Udayam, which was shut down long ago – embarked on his his ‘literary’ journey on February 22 when he travelled from Ramnagar to People’s Plaza in the city. Ever since, he has been travelling to one part of the city everyday promoting Telugu literature in his own unique way. And he does not intend to stop until he covers all the districts in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. “There is a lot to be done and there is not much time. All I want is to bring back the golden era of Telugu poetry,” he says with an air of determination. His initiative has reached many through social networking sites and people like Chukka Ramaiah, a well-known educationist, have heaped praise on him for this unique initiative.

But Sadiq, who left his marriage bureau business, isn’t pushing around the 200-kilo cart full of poetry for fame or money. “I have enough to make ends meet. What I am doing isn’t for a living. It is out of passion. It is for the love of Telugu poetry,” he says with a broad smile and a sense of pride.

A fifty-year-old man pushes his cart on the roads of Hyderabad. He isn’t selling vegetables or trying to earn a living with the cart, but he is a man on a mission to revive Telugu poetry in the two Telugu speaking states.

Meet Sheik Sadiq Ali, who gave up his business to revive the art of Telugu poetry in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

While most people talk about reviving Telugu poetry from air-conditioned auditoriums with an ‘intellectual’ audience, Sadiq decided to do exactly the opposite. “The declining state of Telugu poetry has always bothered me. So I decided to take it to the masses and what better way to do it than a pushcart,” he explains.

Despite the availability of funds, the 50-year-old decided to use a cart over an exhibition or a display truck. And the reason: “Carts are something that people feel comfortable with. Carts have been a part of our culture for ages. It will be incorrect to a non-traditional object to promote traditional poetry,” elaborates Sadiq.s

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad / by Bhavneet Singh, TNN / March 03rd, 2015