Women, who participated in the kite flying training programme on Sunday on Kozhikode beach, trying to control a kite.— Photo: K. Ragesh
It takes eight to 10 men to control the 1,000-kg circular kite of the One India Kite team. Founder of the team Abdulla Maliyekkal was quite apprehensive when he gave the reins of the kite to a group of women . His apprehension was not misplaced considering how the women struggled with it initially, but it gave way to happiness watching the first professional all-women kite team in the country take form.
The team named ‘Incredible India’ was launched on the Kozhikode beach on Sunday, on the occasion of International Women’s Day.
Training in style
Supported by their parent group One India Kite Team, the women who have undergone training in the nuances of kite flying, took off in style flying the Circular kite and the Kathakali kite amidst the curious Sunday crowd on the beach. “This is the most relaxing experience I have ever had. Controlling a kite is not child’s play. It takes great coordination and team work. Hence while flying the kites, we forget everything else,” said Mini Nair, team captain.
The team now plans to take part in kite festivals across the country and abroad where they plan to present some kites of their own.
As part of the launch of the women’s team, the One India Kite Team, in association with the women’s wing of Junior Chamber International, Calicut, had organised a kite-flying training programme for women, which was attended by 25 women. “The training was given by expert kite flyers Abdulla Maliyekkal,Hashim Kadakkalakam and Shyam Padman.
source: http:// www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Kerala / by Aabha Anoop / March 09th, 2015
Back in the 1950s, when Bangalore was like something out of a F. Scott Fitzgerald bok, Whitefield was a small township on the outskirts of the city. On arriving at the railway station, one took a horse-drawn carriage home through the small, winding streets. It wasn’t long, however, before development put paid to much of that old world charm.
The Sommer House, a colonial bungalow that has been restored to its former beauty by long-time resident Sulaiman Jamal, aims to recreate some of that old world charm. Thrown open to the public on Monday evening, as a community center that gives senior citizens and retired army officials that long lost society whirl, Jamal, whose association with the area began when he set up his factory there said: “We have lived in Whitefield for ten years now, but when I first visited, it was a pretty wild place, Every six months, another bungalow would be torn down.”
The two-bedroom gabled roof Sommer House, bought two years ago by Jamal, replete with antique furniture, is home to a piano that belonged, back in the day, to the Defence Services Cinema. The cottage, sits surrounded by a garden, with restored vintage cars dotting the property.
Jamal would like the House to host programmes like piano nights, dancing, catered dinners and plays. Most importantly, it will also have a free catered dinner every month for senior citizens.
Beth Chapman, President, Overseas Women’s Club, has helped put Sulaiman’s ideas in motion.
“I’m always looking for old bungalows and the stories that surround them,” she said.
“The house is opposite Forum Value Mall and people expected a superstructure here,” Sulaiman explained. “They wonder what the catch is, but there is none. We want the people of Whitefield to feel a sense of belonging with what is now a community center.”
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / DC / Darshana Ramdev / June 18th, 2013
Saarah Hameed Ahmed, India’s only Muslim woman pilot
“People initially think I’m Christian and then gawk when I tell them my full name,” laughs Saarah Hameed Ahmed (25) the Bengaluru girl who is the only known Muslim among the 600-odd women pilots employed in the Indian aviation sector. “I just love the look on people’s faces when they discover I am Muslim.”
People’s reaction to her choice of profession is a constant source of entertainment for Saarah. Many want to know how a girl can handle a machine that’s many times her size, she says as she cracks up again. “Poor things; they don’t know that my fingers are all I need to fly,” she says twiddling her thumbs.
Of course, the reactions are not always amusing or sensitive. Saarah says she too has had to face the brunt of Islamophobia that gripped the world post 9/11. But each time she has managed to win people over with a combination of humour and tact, she says.
However, Saarah’s first battles were fought at home and within the community. She says that she still faces taunts from people who believe a girl’s only job is to get married and produce children.
“Initially none of us encouraged her. In our community girls don’t usually take up professions where they have to stay away from home and live in hotels without an escort,” confesses her father Hameed Hussain Ahmed, a professional photographer. When Saarah showed no signs of relenting, he spoke to his friend Atif Fareed, who is a senior pilot in the US.
“Fareed told me that I should consider myself lucky because most Muslim girls don’t even dream of flying. If he hadn’t convinced me, I might have made the blunder of killing Saarah’s dreams,” he says.
In 2007, when she was just 18, Saarah enrolled with a flying school in the US. “Those days most Muslim students were being denied US Visas. When she got the Visa without any trouble I saw it as a final message from God,” says the deeply religious Ahmed.
Saarah’s mother, Naseema Ahmed, says she never had any doubts about sending her to the US. Her proudest moment, she says, was when a group of Muslim girls surrounded Saarah at a wedding and started asking her for tips to become a pilot.
Saarah has other dreams too. “I really want to get married and have children,” she says. But finding the right man is proving to be tough. “I don’t understand people who just look at my photo and want to get their sons married to me. Don’t they want to know what I have studied or where I work?”
Many of her suitors have either wanted her to quit her job or move cities. “My father has shooed away people asking them to get their sons to quit his job and move cities,” Saarah says letting out another blast of laughter.
She also has a Women’s Day message for Muslim girls like herself: “Don’t fret over what the community thinks of you. And don’t let them kill your dreams.” And what is she planning on women’s day? “Fly, of course! My airline [Spicejet] is very keen that I fly on Women’s Day.”
Waiting in the wings
Ayesha Aziz, 18, is another aspiring pilot. A native of Baramulla, Kashmir, she has already obtained a basic flying licence.
Fatima Salva Syeda, 26, is a licenced commercial pilot. But she has to qualify additional training before she can be a professional pilot.
source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> India / by Sudipto Mondal – Hindustan Times, Bengaluru / March 08th, 2015
Capt. Fatima, the only Muslim woman in India to hold commercial pilot’s licence, needs financial help for additional training
She looks the typical Muslim woman next door – plain, timid and hesitant. It will be a surprise if she can drive a four-wheeler. Hold your breath – she can even fly an aircraft. Meet Capt. Syeda Salva Fatima, the only Muslim woman in India to hold the commercial pilot’s licence.
She is the shining example of Muslim women’s empowerment. What makes her ascent interesting is that she hails from the poverty-stricken old city of Hyderabad where life is a continuous struggle. Even more surprising is her decision to step into a domain which is predominantly male. But her black burqa and red scarf doesn’t betray her accomplishments.
Right from her school days, Fatima used to collect newspaper articles about aviation and pour over pictures of aircraft for hours. Her father, Syed Ashfaq Ahmed, a bakery worker, never imagined that his daughter would become a pilot one day. The dice was cast when she took admission in an institute which offered free EAMCET coaching. “What would you like to become,” the instructor asked. Pat came the reply, “Pilot”. It was a pleasant surprise to everyone present, more so to her father who struggled to make the ends meet. Seeing her determination, Zahid Ali Khan, Editor, Siasat daily, who was present at the time, asked Fatima to meet him later. “I couldn’t believe my ears when he offered to support me financially to undertake the pilot training,” recalls an overwhelmed Fatima.
After five years of rigorous training at the Andhra Pradesh Aviation Academy, Fatima obtained Commercial Pilot’s Licence, Private Pilot’s Licence and Flight Radio Telephone Operator Licence on March 11, 2013. She has logged in a total of 200 hours of flying on Cessna 152 and172, including 123 hours of solo flight. Now she has hit a rough weather. She needs to undergo Type Rating, an additional training beyond the scope of the initial licence and aircraft class training, on Air Bus A-320 or Boeing to be able to fly any aircraft. The training costs about Rs. 30 lakh which the 26-year-old couldn’t think of. But having come this far, she doesn’t want to give up. The Captain courageous has sent an SOS to the Civil Aviation Minister, Ashok Gajapathi Raju. She can be reached on: 9966073368.
Capt. Fatima, the only Muslim woman in India to hold a commercial pilot’s licence, needs financial help for additional training
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Swathi V / Hyderabad – March 07th, 2015
Was Mumtaz Mahal’s body mummified before her temporary burial in Burhanpur and later finally laid to rest at the Taj Mahal in Agra?
This is the subject of a book “Taj Mahal ya Mummy Mahal?” written by Afsar Ahmad, released on Sunday by the registrar of Central Hindi Institute Dr Chandra Kant Tripathi, here.
Historical records say that Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, the builder of the world heritage monument Taj Mahal, had her body transported to Agra from Burhanpur, six months after her first burial.
Her body remained buried in a ‘kachcha’ grave in the Taj Mahal complex for around 12 years and was then transferred to the main mausoleum.
How was Mumtaz Mahal’s body preserved for so long? Afsar Ahmad tries to answer this question in his book “Taj Mahal ya Mummy Mahal?”
He claims that her body was mummified.
Shah Jahan built the 17th century Taj Mahal here in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz who died while giving birth to their 14th child in Burhanpur, a town in Madhya Pradesh.
“The real truth about Taj Mahal was suppressed. If the truth had been revealed when Taj Mahal was being built, it would have become almost impossible to construct the monument,” Ahmad said.
The journalist-turned-writer has also disclosed in the book what he claims are several unknown facts related to Mumtaz’s death.
The book has details about Mumtaz’s death and her last few days and details of the mummification of her body.
The book has been published by Evoco Networks.
A large number of scholars and heritage conservationists were present at the release of the book at a hotel here.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Nation / PTI / March 01st, 2015
70-year-old Jamal Baig is one among those who persistently combat with poverty and destituteness since their childhood. He hails from Udgir district of Karnataka state. He had arrived Hyderabad 30-year-ago and has been residing in Jhirra Karwan since then.
Jamal Baig has been pulling Rickshaw for 20 years. He is becoming weaker day by day but is compelled to work otherwise it would be difficult to make both ends meet. He has 4 daughters and a son.
Sadly two of his daughters have become widow and he has to shoulder their responsibility too.
Unfortunately his only son is mentally ill hence his wife Amena Begum is busy all day taking care of the boy. Jamal Baig’s worries didn’t with that, he also has an 8-year-old, grandson who is diabetic. His widow daughters also work as domestic servants to support the family.
Siasat News
source : http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> Hyderabad / Siasat News / Thursday – February 26th, 2015
A Qutub Shahi Masjid was uninhabited at Amarkunta village of Ghatkesar. The 450 year old Qutub Shahi masjid was uninhabited since police action. According to locals 2 years ago miscreants had tried to demolish the masjid but local Muslims foiled their nefarious plan. Only some part of the walls is remaining while the roof is almost gone. A builder named Pop Reddy was eying on the Waqf land he was doing plotting around the masjid.
According to a local elder Mohammed Yaqoob Ali Quadri it is likely that the Waqf land under the Masjid is 24 acre but plotting has been done on almost all the land and just a few sqyds are remaining. Keeping in the view the situation, local Muslims with the help of TRS leaders and police offered Friday prayers in the masjid. They pledged to reconstruct the masjid and offer 5 day prayers in it.
Siasat news
source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> Hyderabad / Siasat News / Saturday – February 21st, 2015
Apart from fire proof and earthquake proof, the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Cultural and Languages has added flood proof code to its list of precautions for building any new strong room to store rare manuscripts and paintings.
The Academy, whose collection of valuable artifacts was damaged during the last year’s flood, has taken the decision to prevent the occurrence of such a situation in future. The academy is in possession of some of the rarest manuscripts, many of which are the only surviving copies.
“Just a day before the floods, on September 6, we shifted majority of our manuscripts and paintings to the second floor,” said Haroon Rashid, Secretary of the Academy. “That saved our treasure from total annihilation.”
The floods damaged around 40 newly acquired manuscripts and 50 paintings at the Academy’s repository. “To restore these manuscripts and paintings we got a team of four experts from National Museum of India, New Delhi, and National Research Laboratory For Conservation Of Cultural Property, Lucknow,” said Rashid.
The experts worked for over two weeks by employing latest techniques for the preservation of manuscripts. “With their efforts we were able to save our entire flood-affected collection,” said Rashid. “As of now the damage to the cultural treasure of Kashmir remains minimal.”
Rashid said that the Academy was never prepared for floods, although precautions were always taken against other dangers like fire, theft and earthquakes. “Now we have added another safety measure of protection against floods. Whenever our strong room is built it would be flood proof too,” said Rashid. The Academy has currently shifted the strong room to the top floor.
The Academy is in possession of over 400 manuscripts and 500 rare paintings. Their total value runs into hundreds of crores although the officials say that they are priceless. Some of the manuscripts include first Quranic manuscripts handwritten in the subcontinent in 1237 AD by Fateh-ullah Kashmiri, the Holy Quran dating back to 1594 written in an ink prepared by blending gold with saffron, another Quranic manuscript written in gold dating to 1711 AD and a Persian manuscript written in embossed calligraphy with nail of thumb popularly known as Khat-e-Nakhun.
The paintings include those of M F Hussain, GR Santosh, NS Bendre, VS Gaitonde, Tayeb Mehta, J Swaminathan and others. One of Hussain’s paintings with the Academy is worth Rs 5 crores.
source: http://www.greaterkashmir.com / Greater Kashmir, Srinagar / Home> Kashmir / by Haroon Mirani / Srinagar, January 23rd, 2015
Geo technical research vessel Fugro Scout setting sail amid cheers at Malpe fisheries harbour in Udupi on Monday.
The state-of-the-art Geo Technical Research Vessel (GTRV) ‘Fugro Scout’ manufactured by Tebma Shipyards Ltd. set sail to Singapore via New Mangalore Port from Malpe fisheries harbour here on Monday.
The company constructed the GTRV in 18 months and delivered it to The Netherlands-based company Fugro here. The Fugro Scout has been registered in Panama and will function under its flag. It was constructed at a cost of Rs. 240 crore.
The vessel is a mini-drill ship capable of drawing soil samples up to 3 km below the sea bed for exploration of oil, natural gas and other resources. When the vessel was flagged off by Pramod Madhwaraj, MLA, there was a loud applause, lot of cheering and waving of hands.
P. Aboobacker, Vice President – Operations, Tebma Shipyards, said the entire ship was constructed at its shipyard here. Since beginning operations in Malpe port in 2008, the company had built 18 vessels.
These 18 vessels included 10 tugs for the Indian Navy, while the remaining vessels were built for commercial purposes. “This is the second GTRV we have built for Fugro. The first one – ‘Fugro Voyager’, was awarded the ‘Best Research Vessel of 2014’ by the magazine ‘Work Boat World’,” he said.
Efficient ship
The Fugro Scout is powered by diesel electrical propulsion systems driven by active front-end drives for best fuel efficient operation. The vessel has an automated pipe and tool-handling equipment to promote safe drilling floor operations for sea bed sampling and testing.
Graeme Alexander, Project Director of GTRVs, Fugro, said the Fugro Scout would start its work in Vietnam in May. Then it was expected to sail to Iceland.
Mr. Madhwaraj said Tebma Shipyards had donated Rs. 1.10 crore for the construction of slipway for the third stage of Malpe fisheries harbour. “We want the company to do more for the fishermen here under their corporate social responsibility schemes,” he said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Karnataka / by Ganesh Prabhu / Udupi – February 24th, 2015
The car rally witnessed participation from Kanpur as well as Lucknow and Allahabad.
Juhi poses with her Hillman vinatge car
The 9th annual vintage car rally organised by the Vintage and Classic Car Club of Cawnpore on Sunday was a big success from the word go. Vintage cars, bikes and even scooters lined up early in the morning at the Green Park Stadium with proud owners from Allahabad and Lucknow also participating in the event. “This vintage car rally is very popular among vintage vehicle owners and its popularity can be judged by the fact that we have participants from outside the city also showing their vehicles,” said Tariq Ibrahim, the president of the club. The rally was flagged off by ADM Avinash Singh and normal traffic on the road, from the stadium till Mall Road, came to a halt as people stood and looked in awe at the Rolls Royce, Austin, Morris Cowley and Hillmans drive past.
A few of the cars that have made history were also part of the rally including a Rolls Royce Silver Ghost Convertible Sports, owned by Yasser Ibrahim, is the winner of the 1st Formula One Race that took place in Spain in 1913.
Visitors at the rally were given much gyaan of the technical specifications of the vehicles by their respective owners.
Also finding an enviable spot at the rally was a Rolls Royce Double Limousine Silver Ghost 1913 and Rolls Royce Silver Ghost convertible sports of 1913 owned by Yasser Ibrahim. “The Rolls Royce Silver Ghost Convertible Sports has features like 7500 CC engine, four-gears, semi-automatic transmission with cruise control. My great-great grandfather Hafiz Halim Saheb bought it from London in the year 1913. I am the fifth generation driving this car. We sent this car to England to the Rolls Royce company last year, for its restoration. These cars are one of their own kinds in the world. I feel so proud when people driving fancy modern cars on the roads, stop and inquire about my old beauties,” said Ibrahim.
Vintage two-wheelers attracted just as much attention at the rally as did the four wheelers. Ruchika showed off her Lambretta 1945 scooter while TS Johar displayed his vintage BSA motorcycle. Tahir’s 1945 manufactured Ford Jeep had many automobile enthusiasts lining up to see the vehicle. But the biggest draw at the rally was businessman Shahid Mirza’s Ford Anglia manufactured in 1938 which was also used in the film Gadar-Ek Prem Katha.
We spotted Juhi Nigam, Umama, Kajri and Saif displaying their vintage cars. “I have brought my Hillman and two other vintage cars for the rally. These were owned by my grandparents and we are carrying forward the family tradition of maintaining them,” said Juhi. Dr Aditya Mohan Jain and wife Neeta also participated in rally along with three of their Morris cars.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kanpur / by Sumit Jha, TNN / February 21st, 2015
