Category Archives: Education

Mohammad Sammad, who caught the audience’s attention as a precocious child in Tumbbad, plays his age in Selection Day

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, , , , , ,

Roorkee (Haridwar District), UTTARAKHAND :

Sammad is the younger of two siblings and lives in a joint family, with a grandmother, aunt and uncle. His businessman father deals with property as well as dry fruits.

Mohammad Sammad in a still from Selection Day.
Mohammad Sammad in a still from Selection Day.

Between struggling with commerce lessons and accounting tables — in preparation of his forthcoming class 12 boards — 18-year-old Mohammad Sammad has had to also mug up lines for a film, and practice cricket for at least two hours every day. Sammad, who calls himself a “lucky, accidental actor” has had a stellar year. He played a precocious 12-year-old and also the dying grandmother in the horror film, Tumbbad, and earned rave reviews for his rendition of Pandurang in the film. Next up was the role of Manju Nath in Netflix’s Selection Day, where he plays an upcoming cricketer, who deals with a controlling father, sexuality and a new social order.

Did he always want to act? “Actually no. Main dekhta tha filmein, but never had aspirations to act. It was all a matter of luck. I was selected out of 200 kids after some workshops, when the team of Gattu, directed by Rajan Khosa, came to conduct auditions in my school. Sab chance ki baat thi,” says Sammad, who divides his time between Roorkee and Mumbai. “The final scene, which I think clinched the role for me, was done off camera. I had to search for my lost goat, and cry. It’s only after shooting for Gattu, that I actually thought, yeh main kar sakta hun,” says Sammad who was all of 12, when he got selected for Gattu. Post Gattu he landed Tumbbad — the fantasy horror film set in Maharashtra in which a family seeks a jinxed ancestral treasure — and Shlok Sharma’s Haramkhor.

Sammad is the younger of two siblings and lives in a joint family, with a grandmother, aunt and uncle. His businessman father deals with property as well as dry fruits. “My father wanted ‘safe’ career options for me. And Mumbai is very far. But my mother and grandmother convinced him. They are my biggest supporters,” he adds.

It’s with Tumbbad that Sammad found himself in the big league. “I, till date, don’t really know why they asked me. It was a difficult shoot, especially the ones inside the ‘womb’, where even breathing seemed like a task. When I saw myself on screen, I felt a hint of pride. I felt good that I was able to pull those roles off. I was very young and inexperienced when we shot the film,” says Sammad.

Mohammad Sammad with actor Soham Shah in a still from Tumbbad
Mohammad Sammad with actor Soham Shah in a still from Tumbbad

While Tummbad had him dealing with a multi-layered narrative, with an all-adult cast, in the recent Selection Day he is with people his own age and is seen talking about issues related to young adults. “Selection Day shoots are a lot more fun. It’s a different vibe all together when you are working with people your age, as opposed to working with an adult team. You can’t really talk to adults. But it’s not easy – I am not athletic, I had to practice cricket for hours for five months, build my stamina and also work on my physique. I also got to meet Sachin Tendulkar  on the sets. I had previously worked with Rajesh sir (Tailang), in a short film, so we were pretty comfortable,” adds Sammad, who is reprising his role in the forthcoming second season.

Sammad’s story gives hope to many who harbour dreams of Mumbai. “I haven’t struggled much. I was represented by good agents and mangers. I have met other young actors who are struggling and have asked me to help them find work. I am blessed and very grateful,” he says. Sammad maintains, that while the exterior of show business is glitzy, it takes a while to reap the awards. “I have heard stories of people getting rich, even as children and young actors. My lifestyle is still the same. I do the same chores around the house, fetch anda-bread-milk for my mother when she asks me to,” adds Sammad.

Questions about his future plans are met with an earnest “I want to do good work”. “I don’t want to become a Khan, but I want to work with them for sure. And yes, I am being slightly selective. I am not saying yes to everything. I am not even doing advertisements,” says Sammad, who is now busy shooting for Maya Sabha, Rahi Anil Barve’s next in which he plays Javed Jaafri’s son.

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Lifestyle> Art and Culture / byEktaa Malik / January 31st, 2019

List of Padma awardees — 2019

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Leaders, Science & Technology, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

NEW DELHI :

PadmaAwardeesMPOs30jan2019

21 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 11 persons from the category of foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI, 3 posthumous awardees and 1 transgender person.

Padma Awards — one of the highest civilian Awards of the country, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The Awards are given in various disciplines/ fields of activities, viz. art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc. ‘Padma Vibhushan’ is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; ‘Padma Bhushan’ for distinguished service of high order and ‘Padma Shri’ for distinguished service in any field. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year.

These awards are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March/ April every year. This year the President of India has approved conferment of 112 Padma Awards including one duo case (in a duo case, the Award is counted as one) as per list below. The list comprises 4 Padma Vibhushan, 14 Padma Bhushan and 94 Padma Shri Awards.  21 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 11 persons from the category of foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI, 3 posthumous awardees and 1 transgender person.

Bharat Ratna (3)

1. Nanaji Deshmukh (posthumous)

2. Dr. Bhupen Hazarika (posthumous)

3. Pranab Mukherjee

Padma Vibhushan (4)

1. Ms. Teejan Bai — Art-Vocals-Folk — Chhattisgarh

2. Shri Ismail Omar Guelleh (Foreigner) —  Public Affairs — Djibouti

3. Shri Anilkumar Manibhai Naik — Trade & Industry-Infrastructure — Maharashtra

4. Shri Balwant Moreshwar Purandare — Art-Acting-Theatre — Maharashtra

Padma Bhushan (14)

1. Shri John Chambers (Foreigner) — Trade & Industry-Technology — USA

2. Shri Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa — Public Affairs — Punjab

3. Shri Pravin Gordhan  (Foreigner) — Public Affairs — South Africa

4. Shri Mahashay Dharam Pal Gulati  — Trade & Industry-Food Processing — Delhi

5. Shri Darshan Lal Jain — Social Work — Haryana

6. Shri Ashok Laxmanrao Kukade — Medicine-Affordable Healthcare — Maharashtra

7. Shri Kariya Munda — Public Affairs — Jharkhand

8. Shri Budhaditya Mukherjee — Art-Music-Sitar — West Bengal

9. Shri Mohanlal Viswanathan Nair  — Art-Acting-Film  — Kerala

10. Shri S Nambi Narayan — Science & Engineering-Space — Kerala

11. Shri Kuldip Nayar (Posthumous) — Literature & Education (Journalism) — Delhi

12. Ms. Bachendri Pal  — Sports-Mountaineering —  Uttarakhand

13.  Shri V K Shunglu  — Civil Service —  Delhi

14. Shri Hukumdev Narayan Yadav  — Public Affairs — Bihar

Padma Shri (94)

1. Shri Rajeshwar Acharya — Art-Vocal-Hindustani — Uttar Pradesh

2. Shri bangaru Adigalar — Others-spiritualism — Tamil Nadu

3. Shri Illias Ali — Medicine-Surgery — Assam

4. Shri Manoj Bajpayee — Art-Acting-Films — Maharashtra

5. Shri Uddhab Kumar Bharali — Science & Engineering-Grassroots Innovation — Assam

6. Shri Omesh Kumar Bharti — Medicine-Rabies — Himachal Pradesh

7. Shri Pritam Bhartwan — Art-Vocals-Folk — Uttarakhand

8. Shri Jyoti Bhatt — Art-Painting — Gujarat

9. Shri Dilip Chakravarty — Others-Archaeology — Delhi

10. Shri Mammen Chandy — Medicine-Hematology — West Bengal

11. Shri Swapan Chaudhuri — Art-Music-Tabla — West Bengal

12. Shri Kanwal Singh Chauhan — Others-Agriculture — Haryana

13. Shri Sunil Chhetri — Sports-Football — Telangana

14. Shri Dinyar Contractor — Art-Acting-Theatre — Maharashtra

15. Ms. Muktaben Pankajkumar Dagli — Social Work-Divyang Welfare — Gujarat

16. Shri Babulal Dahiya — Others-Agriculture — Madhya Pradesh

17. Shri Thanga Darlong — Art-Music-Flute — Tripura

18. Shri Prabhu Deva — Art-Dance — Karnataka

19. Ms. Rajkumari Devi — Others-Agriculture — Bihar

20. Ms. Bhagirathi Devi — Public Affairs — Bihar

21. Shri Baldev Singh Dhillon — Science & EngineeringAgriculture — Punjab

22. Ms. Harika Dronavalli — Sports-Chess — Andhra Pradesh

23. Shri Joravarsinh Jadav — Art – Dance (folk)  — Gujarat

24. Ms. Godawari Dutta — Art-Painting — Bihar

25. Shri Gautam Gambhir — Sports-Cricket — Delhi

26. Ms. Draupadi Ghimiray — Social Work-Divyang Welfare — Sikkim

27. Ms. Rohini Godbole — Science & Engineering-Nuclear — Karnataka

28. Shri Sandeep Guleria — Medicine-Surgery — Delhi

29. Shri Pratap Singh Hardia — Medicine-Ophthmology — Madhya Pradesh

30. Shri Bulu Imam — Social Work-Culture — Jharkhand

31. Ms. Friederike Irina (Foreigner) — Social Work-Animal Welfare — Germany

32. Shri Joravarsinh Jadav — Art-Dance Folk — Gujarat

33. Shri S Jaishankar — Civil Service — Delhi

34. Shri Narsingh Dev Jamwal — Literature & Education — Jammu & Kashmir

35. Shri Fayaz Ahmad Jan — Art-Craft-Papier Mache — Jammu & Kashmir

36. Shri K G Jayan — Art-Music-Bhakti — Kerala

37. Shri Subhash Kak (Foreigner) — Science & Engineering-Technology — USA

38. Shri Sharath Kamal — Sports-Table Tennis — Tamil Nadu

39. Shri Rajani Kant — Social Work — Uttar Pradesh

40. Shri Sudam Kate — Medicine-Sickle Cell — Maharashtra

41. Shri Waman Kendre — Art-Acting-Theatre — Maharashtra

42. Shri Kader Khan (Posthumous-Foreigner) — Art-Acting-Films — Canada

43. Shri Abdul Gafur Khatri — Art-Painting — Gujarat

44. Shri Ravindra Kolhe (Duo)* — Medicine-Affordable Healthcare — Maharashtra

Ms. Smita Kolhe (Duo)* — Medicine-Affordable Healthcare — Maharashtra

45. Ms. Bombayla Devi Laishram — Sports-Archery — Manipur

46. Shri Kailash Madbaiya — Literature & Education — Madhya Pradesh

47. Shri Ramesh Babaji Maharaj — Social Work-Animal Welfare — Uttar Pradesh

48. Shri Vallabhbhai Vasrambhai Marvaniya — Others-Agriculture — Gujarat

49. Ms. Gita Mehta (Foreigner) — Literature & Education — USA

50. Shri Shadab Mohammad — Medicine-Dentistry — Uttar Pradesh

51. Shri K K Muhammed — Others-Archaeology — Kerala

52. Shri Shyama Prasad Mukherjee — Medicine-Affordable Healthcare — Jharkhand

53. Shri Daitari Naik — Social Work — Odisha

54. Shri Shankar Mahadevan Narayan — Art-Vocals-Films — Maharashtra

55. Shri Shantanu Narayen (Foreigner) — Trade & Industry-Technology — USA

56. Nartaki Natraj — Art-Dance-Bharatnatyam — Tamil Nadu

57. Shri Tsering Norboo — Medicine-Surgery — Jammu & Kashmir

58. Shri Anup Ranjan Pandey — Art-Music — Chhattisgarh

59. Shri Jagdish Prasad Parikh — Others-Agriculture — Rajasthan

60. Shri Ganpatbhai Patel (Foreigner) — Literature & Education — USA

61. Shri Bimal Patel —  Others-Architecture — Gujarat

62. Shri Hukumchand Patidar — Others-Agriculture — Rajasthan

63. Ms. Madurai Chinna Pillai — Social Work-Microfinance — Tamil Nadu

64. Ms. Tao Porchon-Lynch (Foreigner) — Others-Yoga — USA

65. Ms. Kamala Pujhari — Others-Agriculture — Odisha

66. Shri Bajrang Punia — Sports-Wrestling — Haryana

67. Shri Jagat Ram — Medicine-Ophthalmology — Chandigarh

68. Shri R V Ramani — Medicine-Ophthalmology — Tamil Nadu

69. Shri Devarapalli Prakash Rao — Social Work-Affordable Education — Odisha

70. Shri Anup Sah — Art-Photography — Uttarakhand

71. Ms. Milena Salvini (Foreigner) — Art-Dance-Kathakali — France

72. Shri Nagindas Sanghavi — Literature & Education-Journalism — Maharashtra

73. Shri Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry — Art-Lyrics — Telangana

74. Shri Shabbir Sayyad — Social Work-Animal Welfare — Maharashtra

75. Shri Mahesh Sharma — Social Work-Tribal Welfare — Madhya Pradesh

76. Shri Mohammad Hanif Khan Shastri — Literature & Education — Delhi

77. Shri Brijesh Kumar Shukla — Literature & Education — Uttar Pradesh

78. Shri Narendra Singh — Others-Animal Husbandry — Haryana

79. Ms. Prashanti Singh — Sports-Basketball — Uttar Pradesh

80. Shri Sultan Singh — Others-Animal Husbandry — Haryana

81. Shri Jyoti Kumar Sinha — Social Work-Affordable Education — Bihar

82. Shri Anandan Sivamani — Art-Music — Tamil Nadu

83. Ms. Sharada Srinivasan — Others-Archaeology — Karnataka

84. Shri Devendra Swarup (Posthumous) — Literature & Education-Journalism — Uttar Pradesh

85. Shri Ajay Thakur — Sports-Kabaddi — Himachal Pradesh

86. Shri Rajeev Tharanath — Art-Music-Sarod — Karnataka

87. Ms. Saalumarada Thimmakka — Social Work-Environment — Karnataka

88. Ms. Jamuna Tudu — Social Work-Environment — Jharkhand

89. Shri Bharat Bhushan Tyagi — Others-Agriculture — Uttar Pradesh

90. Shri Ramaswami Venkataswami — Medicine-Surgery — Tamil Nadu

91. Shri Ram Saran Verma — Others-Agriculture — Uttar Pradesh

92. Shri Swami Vishudhananda — Others-Spiritualism — Kerala

93. Shri Hiralal Yadav — Art-Vocals-Folk — Uttar Pradesh

94. Shri Venkateswara Rao Yadlapalli — Others-Agriculture — Andhra Pradesh

* indicates duo case. (counted as one award)

In the earlier version of this article, a Padma Shri awardee name was repeated. It has been corrected now.

source: http://www.thehindu.com  / The Hindu / Home> News> National / by The Hindu Net Desk / January 25th, 2019

Shadab Hussain, son of a tailor: CA exam rank 1, in attempt number 1

Amazing Feats, Education, ,

Kota, RAJASTHAN :

Shadab Hussain: All India Rank 1 in the CA exam in his very first attempt. (Picture: Facebook)
Shadab Hussain: All India Rank 1 in the CA exam in his very first attempt. (Picture: Facebook)

Shadab Hussain, a resident of Rajasthan’s Kota is this year’s CA exam topper. What makes his feat remarkable is that he topped the exam in his very first attempt, and the fact that his parents were themselves not highly educated.

“Dream comes true…” was the simple message Hussain posted on Facebook with a screenshot of his results page on the website of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), which displayed his singular rank in a most non-fussy manner. He scored 597 on 800, a score of 74.63 percent.

Hussain’s is a story that has the potential to inspire. His father is a tailor who has completed his Class 10, and his mother is a school dropout, and they did their best to ensure that there was little left wanting when it came to his education, reported The Indian Express.

“I studied day-and-night to earn a job so that my parents do not have to bother about their old age. I thought of Chartered Accountancy (CA) to be a niche profession where one can learn throughout their life. After due consideration and research I set my mind to become a CA,” Hussain was quoted as saying.

Hussain’s story caught the attention of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, who greeted the 23-year-old on Facebook. “Congratulations, Shadab! I feel very proud of you. I extend my best wishes to you for the journey ahead,” read Rahul’s message.

Hussain said he had prepared hard for the exam and had reduced the number of hours he would spend in preparations as the exam neared. He also advised other exam-takers to set aside some time every day to introspect and take stock of their actions.

Speaking further about the method he used in the exam, Hussain said he first identified a handful of questions that would take him over the threshold needed to pass the exam and solved them first. Once that was done, he set about answering the other questions to raise his score.

source: http://www.dnaindia.com / DNA / Home> India / by DNA Web Team / January 24th, 2019

Hasan Patel of George Mitchell School in Leyton has won an Eton scholarship

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, NRI's / PIO's, World Opinion, ,

Leyton, East London, UNITED KINGDOM :

Hasan Patel of George Mitchell School in Leyton
Hasan Patel of George Mitchell School in Leyton

An East End teen who shares his two bed council house with his parents and two brothers has won a £76,000 scholarship to Prince William and Harry’s old school Eton College.

Hasan Patel, 16, became the youngest speaker at a major political party conference, beating former Conservative leader William Hague.

He now has an army of followers after his rousing speech at the Labour conference last August when he was 15.

The state school student from a council estate, will rub shoulders with the elite when he joins the world-famous Berkshire school next September.

The rising political star, who currently studies at George Mitchell School in Leyton, will enter the sixth from to study A-Levels in four subjects; History, Geography, Politics and Drama and Theatre Studies.

It is a far cry from the two-bedroom council flat he shares with dad Abdul, 69, mum Aysha, 49, and two brothers Yusuf, 17, and Adam, 21.

He won his place after coming through a gruelling three-day assessment at the Berkshire School which included three entrance exams, seven interviews and a group interview.

Aged just 15 at the time, he was a year younger than the previous youngest speaker, former Conservative party leader William Hague.

Speaking of his future at Eton, he said: “I am very much there to provoke lively debate.

“I am a boy from a Leyton council estate who receives free school meals. My parents are on welfare and I share a room with my brothers.

“My dad was very smart and politically engaged but lived in abject poverty in India.

“The students at Eton are from the most privileged corners of society, we could not be any more different.

“My views may be different to them because my life experiences are very different. I think that is what impressed Eton, they wanted someone who could offer a different perspective.

“Eton is a place where they encourage debate, I genuinely believe I can offer something to the school.

He added: “My politics won’t change because I am entering a different type of environment.

“I may be attending Eton but I will still be the same boy from East London when I arrive and when I leave.I am not joining the elite but simply benefiting from the education my family would never in a million years be able to afford.

“This opportunity will allow me to return to my community better armed to tackle the many social problems we face.”

Hasan was mentored throughout the application process by his school’s Headteacher Saeed Hussain.

Hasan said: “George Mitchell is an exceptional school. The support I have received from the school, and particularly from my Headteacher, has been incredible.

“This is a place which gives us the students the tools and support to pursue our dreams. I have been here since I was three years old when I joined the nursery; it has played a crucial part in developing me into the person I am today.

Headteacher Saeed Hussain said: “Hasan is a truly exceptional young man. Aside from being incredibly bright he is one of the most engaged and motivated students I have known in my years of teaching.

“He is the type of person who will seize this opportunity generously offered by Eton. His is a name I expect we will all be hearing more of in the near future.”

Hasan’s dad left India in the early 1970s to build a better life for himself and his family. His mum moved over in the mid-1990s.

source: http://www.guardian-series.co.uk / East London & West Essex GUARDIAN / Home> News / January 22nd, 2019

Rare language ‘Nawaiti’ gets own software

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Karnataka (under research project), Leaders, , , ,

KARNATAKA :

This is expected to boost the writing of people belonging to Nawayat community from Bhatkal, who use the Persian script to write their unique language ‘Nawaiti’ — a rare language and script.

Karwar :

A 1,000-year-old language is complete only now after a team of software engineers from Mumbai developed three of its characters to crack its Unicode script.

This is expected to boost the writing of people belonging to Nawayat community from Bhatkal, who use the Persian script to write their unique language ‘Nawaiti’ — a rare language and script.

Nawayat is an Indian-Muslim community, which lives in Bhatkal of the Uttara Kannada district.

Mohammed Mohsin Shabandri, a community member, pointed out that due to three missing characters in Unicode fonts, people were not able to write as they pronounced.

“About three years ago, we decided to develop these three characters and called a meeting of Nawaiti-speaking people. After eliciting their opinion and conducting proper research, we finalised three new characters,” he said.

“Nawaiti is an endangered language. Three months ago, we approached a software development firm in Mumbai. After studying the language, they developed phonetic characters and its software, which is called ‘Nawayat language solution’,” he said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Arunkumar Huralimath / Express News Service / January 16th, 2019

Delhi Youth Welfare Association and American Federation of Muslims of Indian Origin felicitate meritorous students

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, NRI's / PIO's, SCHOLARSHIPS, World Opinion, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

NEW DELHI :

DYWAwadsMPOs15jan2019

Delhi Youth Welfare Association (DYWA) in collaboration with American Federation of Muslims of Indian Origin (AFMI), organized the DYWA Annual Award Celebration on 13thJanuary 2019 at Hindi Bhawan, Rouse Avenue, New Delhi.

96 students from 15 schools were felicitated with a shields, certificates and cash prizes. Five special awards were also given. Maulana Azad Education Foundation (best government organisation), Society for Promotion of Education (best non-government organization), Shehnaz (best student, class XII), Nikhat Urooj and Iffat Zareen (best students, Urdu Language/Literature in class XII) and Rabea Girls’ Public School (the school with highest number of individual awards in class X & XII).

This was the 28th edition of annual awards.

Various educationists, social activists and political leaders such as Arfa Khanum (Senior Journalist, The Wire), Dr. A.S. Nakadar (Founder Trustee and Former President AFMI), Dr. Aslam Abdullah (Editor, Muslim Observer and Director Islamic Society of Nevada) attended the convention as guests.

Siraj Hussain, former vice chancellor, Jamia Hamdard University, was the chief guest at the event. He shared a few tips on how to become civil servants. “Befriend as many books as you can. And choose best universities to pursue higher education,” he said.

Dr. Nakadar encouraged students to identify their latent talents. “Stop comparing yourself with others. It will make you better person and best among the people,” he said.

Arfa Khanum shared her journey from a small town in Uttar Pradesh to charting a successful career in journalism. “Being in Delhi is a privileged which many of you may have overlooked. You must make use the resources available to you to the optimum. You are the future of India and you would decide what this nation wants,” she said.

Aslam Abdullah underlined the perils of patriarchy. “We ought to treat at par with men. That is a perquisite for us to bring about any change,” he said.

DYWA is a well-known organization of old Delhi and has been working in the field of education for the last 28 years and AFMI (American Federation of Muslims of Indian origin) is a philanthropic charity formed by American Muslims of Indian Origin in the year 1989.

source: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCircles.net / Home> Education> India News> Indian Muslim> Lead Story / by TCN News / January 15th, 2019

Every step Mishal Mohammed takes helps save 74 lives

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Useful / HEALTHCARE, , ,

Kozhikode, KERALA :

The effort taken by the second-year MBBS student has now garnered attention on social media platforms, under the hashtag #newyearrevolution.

MishalMPOs12jan2019

Kochi :

Save more money, travel to new places, wake up early,  eat healthy – while New Year resolutions for the majority of us were about making our own lives better, for Mishal Mohammed, it was about saving the lives of 74 children. So, carrying a collection bucket and a poster with the message ‘Save 74 Lives’, this 19-year-old student of Government Medical College, Kozhikode, walked around 15 km on the second day of the New Year to support children suffering from Thalassemia, Diabetes and Wilson’s disease. The effort taken by the second-year MBBS student has now garnered attention on social media platforms, under the hashtag #newyearrevolution.

According to Mishal, the ‘revolution’ has been launched as part of the Imprints project of the College Union Society under which medical aid and treatment are provided throughout the year to 74 children suffering from the disease. “Nearly a year ago, I had conducted a solo trip to the Western and Northern parts of the country. I was stranded in the Himalayas without cash for a couple of days and had to walk several kilometres for help. However, the experience gave me an impetus to explore my own city on foot, “ said Mishal.

Once back in Kozhikode, Mishal decided to put his walking experiment for a better cause. “The entire cost of medical aid for children under the Imprints project comes up to nearly Rs one lakh per month. Since many are unaware of the initiative, I wondered why not use a novel method, walk around the city and raise funds for these children,” he said.

Over the past one week, Mishal has gained supporters from his college and on online platforms. He has been able to cover a total distance of 38 km on foot to JDT Islam College, Focus Mall and Kozhikode Beach and has raised a sum of Rs 30,000 for the project. “So far I have received only positive responses from people. Around Rs 5,000 was collected from online supporters,” said the Kozhikode-native.

In the previous year, the ‘Walk to the Beach’ Challenge started by  Mishal had received a huge response with around 200 college students covering the 10 km distance from Government Medical College to Kozhikode beach, on foot. The student is also planning to visit a couple more localities and spread awareness on the Imprints project, on hartal days.Those interested in contributing towards the Imprints project can contact 9567992028 or 9745414085 for further details.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Kochi / by Express News Service / January 12th, 2019

The Past is Present

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA :

Fellows from the Godrej Culture Lab Leadership Programme examine the role and relevance of Urdu in contemporary culture

A poster by Nasheet Shadani
A poster by Nasheet Shadani

On display today at the Godrej India Culture Lab are posters with lines which might seem oddly familiar. ‘Tu vastu badi hai anandmayi anandmayi…’, reads one, and ‘Jeevan ek yatra hai mangalmayi…’ reads another. It’s not difficult, if one focuses a little and, uses a dictionary (if required) to understand these lines, and neither is it difficult to identify them as what they are — lyrics from well-known Hindi film songs, in which all the Urdu words have been replaced by Sanskrit-origin Hindi words.

Shorn of the original words, these lines present a disconcerting picture, showing us what we would lose without the Urdu words that still make up so much of our culture. And that exactly is the point being made by visual artist Nasheet Shadani in these posters, part of the series of works he calls ‘Bollywood Without Urdu’.

Zeenat Kulavoor’s calligraphy
Zeenat Kulavoor’s calligraphy

These works by Shadani are being displayed as part of ‘Urdu Culture Now’, a celebration of contemporary Urdu culture. “Despite Urdu having had such a strong influence, it doesn’t seem to have much presence in Mumbai right now. We wanted to challenge this underrepresentation of the language in the city’s culture and show the different ways in which it is used in contemporary culture,” says Pallavi Khare, a student of Media and Cultural Studies at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, who is one of the curators. Khare, along with six other Humanities students from colleges across the city, is a Fellow in the first batch of the Lab’s Leadership Programme, the first of its kind in the city.

Besides, Shadani’s works, also on display will be graphic designer and typographer Zeenat Kulavoor’s contemporary takes on Arabic calligraphy. The event will also have a panel discussion on ‘Urdu Revival Through the Internet’, featuring lyricist and poet Hussain Haidry, Kulavoor, and executive editor of The Wire Urdu, Mahtab Alam. This will be followed by a Qissabaazi performance by actor and storyteller Danish Husain and an Urdu rock performance by independent musician Winit Tikoo. “There are so many misconceptions about Urdu — that it isn’t an Indian language or that it is all about this old world ‘pehle aap’ culture, and we wanted to challenge that,” says Divya Vaidya, a third year student of architecture from the School of Environment and Architecture. Also available at the event will be a specially curated collection of books by city-based library and book store, Trilogy, as well as a daawat representing Hyderabadi and Lucknowi cuisines.

For the Lab itself, an important reason for hosting the event is to give its Fellows a good grounding in what it takes to be engaged with art and culture in the city. Parmesh Shahani, who heads the Lab, explains that this falls within the larger goal of enabling more people to engage productively with the city’s, and the country’s, culture scene. He explains, “We started the leadership programme for three reasons. The first one was the need to formalise our internship. The second reason, which is more ambitious, is to create a pipeline for people who want to work in culture because in the seven years that we’ve existed, we realised that almost everyone who is currently working in culture has either stumbled onto it or somehow figured out their way in. The third reason comes from a strong impetus we have to innovate. We have a super focused calender of events, but we also try to make some innovations every year. This time, one of the innovations is this programme.”

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Lifestyle / by Pooja Pillai / June 08th, 2018

Sahitya Akademi honour for Rahmat Tarikere

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Education, Karnataka (under research project), Leaders, , , , , ,

Samatala Village, Tarikere Taluk, Chikkamagalur District – KARNATAKA :

RahamatTarikereMPOs08jan2019

Tarikere, the Dean of the Languages Discipline at the Hampi Kannada University won the award for his work Kattiyanchina Daari.

The others who have been chosen for the awards are former union minister Veerendrakumar (Malayalam), Aurobindo Uzir (Bodo), Arun Sakhardande (Konkani), Gopi Narayan Pradhan (Nepali), Vanita (Punjabi), Mangat Badal (Rajasthani), Mithila Prasad  Tripathi (Sanskrit), Laxman Dubey (Sindhi), Sheen Kaaf Nizam (Urdu), Bani Basu (Bengali), Esther David (English), Dhirendra Mehta (Gujarati), M Borkanya (Manipuri), Manoj (Dogri), Uday Prakash (Hindi), Nanji Nadan (Tamil), Keshada Mahanta (Assamese), Basher Bashir (Kashmiri), Ashok R Kelkar (Marathi) and Pathani Pattnaik (Oriya).

Tarikere told Deccan Herald: “I had authored this book in 2006 itself. The joy is manifold as the award comes at a time when Kannada University is celebrating the 19th ‘Nudihabba’. I dedicate the award to the university”.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State / by New Delhi – Hospet / DHNS / December 20th, 2010

AMU researcher publishes book

Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Education, Green Products, Science & Technology, World Opinion, ,

Aligarh, UTTAR PRADESH :BookBrassicaceaeMPOs27dec2018

Aligarh :

Dr Naser A Anjum, a DBT-RLF researcher (Scientist-D) in the Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University edited “The Brassicaceae – Agri-Horticultural and Environmental Perspectives” in collaboration with Prof Om Parkash Dhankher (University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA), Prof Juan F Jimenez (Instituto Potosino de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica, San Luis Potosí, Mexico), Dr Sarvajeet S Gill (MD University, Rohtak) and Dr Narendra Tuteja (ICGEB, New Delhi). The Frontiers Media, Lausanne, Switzerland has published the book.

The book covers Agri-Horticultural and Environmental role of members of Brassicaceae, an angiosperm family that includes model plants such as Arabidopsis, Alyssum, and Brassica, developing model generic systems like Boechera, Brassica, and Cardamine and several cultivated plant species including radish, rocket, watercress, wasabi, horseradish, vegetable and oil crops.

According to Dr Anjum, the book is available at https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/3959 for free consultation and download.

source: http://www.amu.ac.in / Aligarh Muslim University / Home> AMU News / Public Relations Office,  Aligarh Muslim University / December 26th, 2018