The Trinamool Congress on Tuesday released its fourth list of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, including the son of late Indian president Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, and said it will play a decisive role in government formation post-elections.
The candidates have been announced for seven seats in Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Odisha.
Notable names in the list are Parvez Ahmed, son of late president of India Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed and who will be contesting from Barpeta in Assam, and former judge Ishrat Hashim Kuddus who will contest from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh.
Trinamool Congress supporters. AFP.
“No party, be it the BJP or the Congress, will get absolute majority and Trinamool will play a decisive role in formation of the next government at the centre,” party general secretary Mukul Roy said while announcing the names.
Besides West Bengal, the Trinamool has fielded candidates in Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Delhi, Sikkim and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Meanwhile, party supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will hit the campaign trail and share the stage with Bengali filmstar Dev at a rally in Midnapore.
Dev has been fielded from Ghatal parliamentary constituency in West Midnapore district.
Artist Gulam Mohammed Sheikh during an interaction with The Hindu at Fort Kochi on Monday./ Photo: K.K. Mustafah / The Hindu
Gulam Mohammed Sheikh creates images of mystics alongside demons
The idea of the Ram Janmabhumi came to artist Gulam Mohammed Sheikh from a mural in Mattancherry Palace depicting three mothers: Kausalya, Kaikeyi and Sumitra giving birth — a majestic portrayal of motherhood, as he describes it.
The dapper artist, who defies labels, borrowed the image and incorporated it alongside a picture of the Babri Masjid demolition in one of his ‘Shrine’ series of works, shaped like a Rajasthani ‘Kavad’, a portable miniature box-shrine, in the aftermath of the darkest day of Post-independence India.
He was in Kochi on Monday to take part in the ‘Let’s talk’ programme organised by the Kochi Biennale Foundation. In a conversation with The Hindu at Fort Kochi, Mr. Sheikh said the ills that gnawed at Indian society today boiled down to beliefs. Hence you also see demons in his shrine besides great mystic poets like Kabir Das, as if in contrast. “Our great poets have rarely been painted, you know,” points out the art historian, poet and teacher, who exerted a profound influence on the Indian art scene by mentoring several generations of artists who studied Fine Arts at the University of Baroda.
In the early 1960s, when Ratan Parimoo went on an academic sabbatical, then dean N.S. Bendre suggested Mr. Sheikh, still doing his post-graduation, teach in junior classes. He went on to teach art history, which he continued even after his return from the Royal College of Art in London. “Though trained as a painter, I was dabbling in art history as a member of the faculty. I was teaching the ‘story of art’, which was compulsory for students in all fine art disciplines. In a smaller institution, you have instruction at a personal level. It was a great learning experience for me, too, as they were all from different background and faced different types of problems…For a practising painter, the greater challenge was to keep yourself apart and enter into the mind of another artist all the same! But I found the challenge rather fulfilling. I also learnt to articulate myself,” he says.
Beat generation
It was the era of the Beat generation and language was being radicalised. It all came to a point where it hit the wall, appoint of no return. In our case, we were looking up to cinema, film-makers like Fellini, Godard and Bunuel for inspiration and were eager to discover a new idiom for creative expression, he says.
On return to India after hitchhiking across Europe, he saw his old pals doing different things. He went around the country and was struck by the tradition of Indian narrative painting. “I felt that the most traditional art is regional and personal. When you are personal you become confessional.”
Along with Bhupen Khakhar, he stumbled upon the idea of evolving an idiom to contextualise their times. While Khakhar turned to popular art of India to develop his language, Mr. Sheikh fashioned an idiom for ‘wanderlust’.
On an off, Mr. Sheikh dabbed in Guajarati poetry and prose as well. “Poetry and painting can coexist. Some things can only be written while some others can only be painted,” he says, insisting that he is open to all genres. “What is important in a work is how you articulate it.”
Even before magical realism and fragmented narrative found examples in Indian English writings, Khakhar’s and Sheikh’s works explored those.
‘Going Home’, a series on home just happened after his return from England. Based on the notion of home (originally, Surendranagar in Kathiawar where he spent the first 18 years of his life), he realised that ‘home’ was an idea he kept returning to, as it changed continuously. “There are homes; there are homes that you yearn for and those that don’t let you go,” he says.
In modern times, when art became a commodity post-liberalisation and communalism became endemic to society, he offered resistance by way of his works. “You got to retain your sanity, acutely aware as you are that we as a society are capable of destroying ourselves. But it’s a collective battle. In fact, it is a fantastic challenge when all spheres are appropriated by fanatical forces. You don’t do activism. But every artist worth his grain will sympathise with the victim and you gain strength from inside. There’s always a way out,” he says.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by S. Anandan / Kochi – March 18th, 2014
It was a mammoth task: England had set India a target of 326 at Lord’s in the July 2002NatWest final. In those pre-T 20 days, teams seldom piled up such huge scores, forget chasing them. India, after a robust start, lost five wickets in five overs. Mohammed Kaif came in at no 7, when India were 5 for 146. What happened after that is history. Kaif went on to become the man of the match, hitting an unbeaten 87 off 75 balls, and steering India to a famous victory that most now remember as the match where skipper Sourav Ganguly took off his blue jersey and did a victory dance.
Twelve years later, Kaif has another big challenge. He is the Congress candidate from Phulpur in Allahabad, a onetime Congressbastion from where Jawaharlal Nehru, and then his sister, Vijaylakshmi Pandit, contested. But the last time Congress won there was in 1984. Kaif is pitted against BSP’s Kapil Muni Karwariya, the sitting MP, and SP’s Dharma Raj Patel. BJP is yet to announce its candidate.
“I realize it is a Herculean task,” says 33-year-old Kaif, who is from Allahabad. “I am a newcomer to politics. But as an internationalcricketer, I am ready to take up the challenge and give it my best shot.”
A couple of weeks back, he was in a mall in Delhi and bumped into Rahul Gandhi. “He asked me if I was interested in contesting. He told me that more and more youngsters need to join politics from all walks of life. He inspired me to take up the challenge… I agreed to his offer,” says Kaif.
His cricket career was going nowhere. He was dropped from Team India in 2006. He was playing domestic cricket and IPL matches, but this seasos, he was ignored at the IPL auctions.
But he knew people in the Congress inner circle like Union minister Rajiv Shukla. Besides, he “met Rahulji whenever he came to watch our matches”. “I am no stranger to the party,” he says.
Kaif is married to Noida-based journalist Pooja and has a two-year-old son. “Our family has been a very liberal, sporting family. My father Tarif played first-class cricket for UP and Railways. So did my brother Saif. We have always been told to respect all religions and cultures. Besides, onsports fields only your performances and behaviour matter, not your religion or caste.” UP politics, though, is another story.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Specials / by Santosh Suri , TNN / March 17th, 2014
Hailing from an ordinary background, who caught the eye of AICC president Rahul Gandhi, state youth Congress president Rizwan Arshad has the responsibility of wresting the seat held by BJP since 2004 and also prove to the state Congress leadership that winnability exists among the youngsters too.
Was it a sportive gesture on Congress veteran C K Jaffer Sharief to sulk and plan to quit the party, when he failed to get the Bangalore Central Lok Sabha ticket?
He is a senior and aged leader, I would not like to comment on whether it was sportive or not. But the duty of every senior political leader is to develop a second and third line leadership. Today its time Sharief also develops a second level leadership. I am sure he will fulfill this duty of giving an opportunity to the next generation.
With all Muslim legislators and leaders in the party petitioning the Congress high command in favour of former MP C K Jaffer Sharief, how do you plan to win them now?
The Congress party does not function on what a single community says. My candidature was recommended by chief minister Siddaramaiah and KPCC president G Parameshwara. I have met senior leaders in my party to seek their support. There’s a big generational change happening under AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who wants to provide opportunities to the youth hailing from ordinary background.
Bangalore Central has been having candidates across parties, who were senior in age, as an younster, how will you connect with voters?
Bangalore Central is a constituency with youngsters. Of the 17.96 lakh voters here, 45% are under 35 years. And when I meet the seniors they have been saying that they wanted a young candidate to contest.
What are the major issues to be tackled in Bangalore Central ?
This is a constituency, which is the heart line of Bangalore as we have the Whitefield IT corridor. Its one of the oldest and attracts the maximum traffic with people criss-crosing from various points. For the last five to seven years there has bee no special focus on central part of Bangalore, which we need to prepare for futue challenges. Reason: Bangalore is going to compete with citiesoverseas. For this purpose CM Siddaramaiah constituted the Vision Group.
Unlike other communities like the Vokkaligas and Lingayats, why has the Muslim community not been able to project a single leader pan parties?
Its a very sensitive question. Among other communities, if they have singular leaders, the Muslim community cuts across parties to vote. The reason is for a Lok Sabha poll not more than two Muslims get the ticket and in assembly elections about 20-25 candidates. In the rest of the Lok Sabha and assembly constituencies the Muslims vote for candidates of other communities. Therefore no Muslim leader can say he owns the community.
Having contested two elections for the youth Congress polls, how does it feel to be catapulted into a Lok Sabha election?
Both are tough. In the youth Congress polls, we need to convince the youngsters to become members. Then these members have to become delegates who become the electoral college. Its a tedious process. In the assembly or Lok Sabha elections the voters’ list will be ready and we have a defined boundary. Huge manpower is required and you need to convince the people to vote for you.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Specials / by Naheed Ataulla, TNN / March 17th, 2014
I have been pretty good about posting one of these every two weeks. I wanted to do Masarat this week because she is speaking at TED (March 15 – 28 ) on Thursday, March 20, 2014, 5:00pm-6:45pm PST.
When I first met Masarat, I was told (by Masarat) that I judged by what I saw. In fairness (to me), we did not have any interaction. She joined my place of work just as I was leaving to set up my own company. I think if I had spoken to her, I would have known the person I know (and adore) today. (Masarat, am I being sycophantic enough?)
Masarat is a maverick on so many levels: as a woman/girl, as a muslim woman, as a muslim woman from rural Rajasthan in India, as a muslim woman IN A BURQA from rural Rajasthan growing up in Dubai and NOW living in UK. She breaks all the stereotypes you have in your head about these women. You just have to meet her once to know that. She does not broadcast about the work she does – she just does it. Her feet are firmly grounded, and she has a wicked sense of humour. I love her, in awe of her, and inspired by her. Like all my heroes, I sent her the same questions and here are her responses.
What inspires you?
This is a difficult question to answer. Inspiration comes to me in the most random, fleeting moments. These days, I am moved by a heightened sense of moralobligation. I feel that it does not leave me with much choice than to do what I am doing.
But on a larger level, I am inspired by good people. I have a deep respect for regular humans and their capacity to be good in challenging circumstances. In the middle of a communal riot victims’ camp, while walking around and talking to people about their conditions, almost everyone whose camp I passed, invited me to have tea or dinner—plain, boiled rice. I think these acts inspire me because they give me hope which we all desperately need these days! Plus, they push me to be closer to earth.
Who is your hero? Why?
Another tough question! I have many people who I admire for many different qualities. My hero is everyone who has fought the norm and created a different/better life for themselves. People who could stand up for what they believed was right; people who do not moan and whine that Life gave them a rotten deal. Whether it was my father who fought his society by educating himself and us; whether it is Person X [someone I know] who fought her deep pain to love us untainted, unconditional; whether it is people who I know are struggling personally but don’t lose themselves to bitterness and grudge…just so many.
If you had a choice of becoming one of your (all time – dead or alive; real or fiction) favourite character, who would it be and why?
I wouldn’t want to BE one of the people I know personally, simply because if I were them…then I would not experience them in my life the way I have. So I will have to choose outside: I think Sir Syed! A man who was way ahead of his time—in terms of thought process, passion and action. You can read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syed_Ahmad_Khan
When are you happiest?
I am particularly happy when:
– When I am in my village
– When I am surrounded by my family (anywhere in the world)
– When I am doing something meaningful
What pisses you off most?
Hypocrisy (religious and other), Ego, Lies, Anchovies and capers in my food
What is your most embarrassing moment?
I think I got over this long time back. I can hardly remember any but maybe ages ago, when I turned up to school in two different shoes: one with heel and the other one flat
What would you describe as your most sublime experience?
In Berlin, at a random small Italian restaurant, eating the juiciest, more incredible tomato I had ever eaten. AND.
In Muzaffarnagar, hearing Urdu being spoken among regular people. You can then really understand why language is so important in shaping us as sensitive, respectful humans.
If you had a million dollars, what would you do with it?
Money is useless if it cannot allow me to make others happy. I know myself—I will give it to whoever has a more life-changing need than I. If something remains, I am booking travel tickets immediately!
Enjoy getting to know this amazing woman if you haven’t already and connect with her in the links below.
The second season of Aamir Khan’s TV show ‘Satyamev Jayate’, which brings lesser-discussed social issues to the audience’s drawing rooms, has got a favorable response from the viewers, especially the police officials.
The second episode Aamir Khan dealt with the problems faced by the Police system in our country and he went through the nuances of the day to day life problems faced by the police officers.
After the episode went on air, Aamir got a lot of congratulatory messages from police force. Right from the constables to high ranking officers, everyone thanked the actor for his effort.
Recently, when Aamir was driving through the city, one of the traffic constables came to him at the signal and spoke to him about the great gesture the actor made for them. He even said to the actor that it is perhaps the first time someone has understood them and their working conditions.
At a time when the audience is busy blaming the police system to be bad and laid back, Khan made it a point to bring out the problem they face.
Spokesperson of the actor confirmed the news and added, “Aamir is humbled by the messages he has been getting from the police officials. He was very pleased by the encounter he had with the traffic police official too.”
source: http://www.in.movies.yahoo.com / Yahoo Movies India / Home / by Glamsham.com editorial / Glamsham – Thrusday, March 13th, 2014
The company is promoted by Yakub Habeebudin Tucy, the great grandson of last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar.
Hyderabad-based Mughal Emperors Logistics Private Ltd is reaching out to Iraqi nationals interested in medical tourism in India.
The company, which is promoted by Yakub Habeebudin Tucy, the great grandson of last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, said it was also looking at Jordan and Palestine.
According to Tucy, the potential medical tourists from Iraq to India is 800-900 every year. While a less severe medical therapy costs around Rs 60,000 in Iraq, in India it costs Rs 15,000-20,000. The cities mostly preferred for therapies are Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad.
On average, a medical tourist from Iraq stays for 20-25 days in India, while in some cases it’s around 60 days.
On the total Indians visiting Iraq annually, Tucy said more than 16,000 visit places of religious interest including the shrines of Abdul Qadir Gilani in Baghdad, Imam Hussain in Karbala and Imam Ali in Najaf. Some Indians also throng the ruins of Babylonia on the River Tigris.
Mughal Logistics is ferrying a batch comprising 100-120 individuals every two months to these holyplaces for the Muslim community.
It runs a seven and eight-day package for Indians travelling to Iraq, priced at Rs 65,000 and Rs 75,000 respectively.
source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> Companies> News / by BS Reporter / Hyderabad – March 05th, 2014
For a person to be recognised in any field it is important for him / her to possess special qualities and Syed Aftab Ahmed of our city is one such. He has a unique skill to hold forth attention of an audience for he is a master when it comes to being the Master of Ceremony (MC). Be it ‘Geeth Gaatha Chal’ organised by city doctors or high profile birthday parties, fashion shows, quiz programmes, and corporate parties. He is there on the stage conducting the event, grabbing the eyeballs of the audience. Aftab has been conducting programmes as the MC from the past 23 years in the city of Mysore.
MAKING SURE THEY ARE THERE: Aftab interacting with an audience member during one of the events.
by S.N. Venkatnag Sobers
It all started in 1999 when Aftab got an opportunity as a professional anchor for a programme organised by Help Age India. Since then there has been no looking back for him.
Till date, Aftab has anchored more than 2,000 shows throughout the State, one among them being the popular Geeth Gaatha Chal organised by doctors in the city every year.
Having worked for a private company for about 13 years, Aftab decided to come back to Mysore, quitting his job in Chennai as the Regional Business Manager at a private firm. After his return, Aftab started his career a freelance soft skills trainer and also started anchoring programmes in city.
Speaking to Star of Mysore, Aftab said that his earlier job involved a lot of travelling and he never got time to spend with his family. “It was at that time I decided to come back to Mysore and pursue the things l loved. I started off as freelance soft skills trainer at a time when people had no idea about what soft skills was all about. Later, I started anchoring small programmes, simultaneously working as a soft skills trainer and as an anchor and eventually went on to become Master of Ceremony.”
Aftab shared with us the passion which made him choose this career of becoming a MC. Though Aftab always had the desire to be on the stage hosting shows, talking to people, he never got an opportunity during his college days. “I always wanted to experience the joy and thrill of hosting a show or at least address a huge audience. There were times when I would offer bribe to people whom I knew just go to go on to the stage for a couple of minutes and address the audience,” says Aftab.
His long-wait was finally fulfilled when he joined Rotaract, which recognised his talent and gave him an opportunity to host a show. From then on began Aftab’s journey as a MC. What started initially as a hobby turned out to be his great strength which even he acknowledges.
Aftab, today, is one of the most sought after Master of Ceremonies in Mysore city and also the State. In fact, it is an alternative career for him. Apart from pursuing his career as a soft skill trainer, he is also seen anchoring many shows.
According to him, it can be an alternative career only if a person has passion and flair for talking.
One specialty of Aftab is that he prepares no script for any of the programme he hosts and everything he does is extempore. The first thing he does is to read the pulse of the audience and then start the show. He arrives at the venue at least 45 minutes or an hour before the event and takes control of every department involved in the show. Be it lighting, sound or others, Aftab checks for perfection before starting event and once it starts, he takes the audience on a journey which they will remember for a long time.
His greatest strength is that he connects with the audience well and makes sure people leave the venue with a happy face, relieved from their stress and tension.
“People who come to a show want to get involved. I make sure that everyone of them enjoy the event and go back home with a happy face. For me it is important to connect with the audience as I cannot stay away from them for a long time. A master of ceremony is one of the important persons of any event. If there is a technical snag during the event, it is the MC who has to manage the crowd until the problem is rectified,” says Aftab.
Sharing his experience, Aftab said, that so far it had been a wonderful experience as a Master of Ceremony. “It has given me a kind of celebrity status in the society which I cannot deny. But, at times, people who do know the importance of Master of Ceremony have treated me as an announcer which has hurt me but I tend to ignore it for my own good,” said Aftab.
For a person to be the Master of Ceremony, it is important to keep the doors of learning always open as each show is different. A person who aims at pursuing his career as a MC should have a sound knowledge of things around him. According to Aftab, it is a crime for any MC to give wrong statistics to the audience. He says, apart from having sound knowledge of things going around it is also important to use simple language as much as possible and keep the audience engaged in some way or the other.
Syed Hussain, Aftab’s father, is a retired veterinarian and Saleha, his mother, is a home-maker. Aftab is married to Rukhsana, who is a Senior Faculty at District Institute of Educational and Training (DIET) in city. His two daughters Alia and Sadia, are currently studying in 11th std and 9th std. respectively. While Alia aims to become a Dietician, his younger daughter Sadia wants to continue her father’s legacy.
Having come from a modest background, Aftab wants to pass on his skills to others who are interested in carrying forward the baton. His dream is to see talented people emerging as Masters of Ceremony under his guidance. Aftab can be contacted on Mob: 99009-04101.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / by S.N. Venkatanag Sobers / March 07th, 2014
Railway Board Chairman Arunendra Kumar is on the test drive of John MorrisFire Engine, one of the priceless possessions of Indian Railways maintained at the National Rail Museum, before its participation in the 38th Statesman Vintage and Classic Car Rally to be held in New Delhi on 2nd March, 2014.
This vintage FireEngine which was built by the famous Fire engineers M/S John Morris and Sons Ltd., Salfor, Manchester in 1914, completed 100 years of its existence this year (2014), coinciding the formation of Telangana, erstwhile Nizam’s state.
Will Telangana also fight for its vintage and priceless proud possession, now that the new state is born?
(PIB)
source: http://www.microfinancemonitor.com / MF Monitor / Home / Thursday – March 13th, 2014
