Category Archives: Uncategorized

Madiba’s Indian connection

December 16, 2013Leaders, NRI's / PIO's, Uncategorized, World Opinionmpositiveone@gmail.com

While Nelson Mandela was a symbol of the struggle against oppression across the globe, he and his movement always had a very special connection with India.

A Bharat Ratna awardee in 1990, he is the only non-Indian to receive the honour. (He was also given the Nishan e Pakistan in 1992).

Mahatma Gandhi, who evolved and perfected his technique of Satyagraha in South Africa, was a source of great inspiration to Mandela. On his India visit in 1990, Mandela, when informed of a veteran journalist’s 13-year-old daughter, who was his fan, said “Tell her that I was in fact inspired by a man who was born right here in India.”

Mandela used Gandhi’s tactics at several points as he went about evolving his own philosophy. In the early sixties, the ANC had a militant wing called the Umkhonto We Sizwe (Spear of the Nation) which Mandela was part of. In 1962, Mandela spoke of the need for forceful action and quoted Gandhi as saying: “If the choice is between cowardice and violence, I will pick violence.” Later, he once again used Gandhi as a guide in his efforts to build bridges between seemingly irreconciliable forces.

Several of Mandela’s closest comrades and associates were of Indian origin. Two of his closest comrades, Ahmed Kathrada, and Ismail Meer, with whom he spent almost all of his prison years, were Indian.

An Indian, Sonny Venkatrathnam, also jailed at Robben Island in the 1970s for his role in anti-apartheid activities, got his wife to smuggle ‘The Collected Works of Shakespeare’ inside the prison and passed it off as the Robben Island Bible. Nelson Mandela, Ahmed Kathrada, Chris Hani and others read Shakespeare’s plays as a relief from the boredom of having to break stones all day.

Mandela kept a diary while in prison, and hid it in the grass to ensure that the wardens do not destroy it. After twelve years in prison with Mandela, another Indian, Mac (Sathyandranath) Maharaj, who was released after 12 years, as opposed to Mandela’s 27 years, transcribed his notes and smuggled the account out, which was known to the world on its release in 1976 as The Long Walk to Freedom.

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home / by Seema Chisti / New Delhi , Saturday – December 07th, 2013

Indian-origin Ahmed Kathrada pays moving tribute to Nelson Mandela

December 16, 2013Leaders, NRI's / PIO's, Uncategorized, World Opinionmpositiveone@gmail.com

Pretoria :

Ahmed Kathrada, the Indian-origin veteran anti-apartheid activist and aide of Nelson Mandela, moved many mourners to tears when he paid a poignant tribute to the late statesman during the state funeral at Qunu village in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province Sunday.

“When Walter (Sisulu) died, I lost a father, when you died I lost a brother, now I don’t know who to turn to,” Kathrada said.

A long-time friend of Mandela, Kathrada said the last time he saw Mandela alive was when he visited him in hospital, South Africa’s government news agency SA News reported.

“He tightly held my hand… and brought all emotions… Farewell my dear brother, my mentor my leader… I have lost a brother.”

Kathrada and Mandela were both imprisoned in Robben Island for their political views.

“I recall the tall, healthy strong man, the boxer, the prisoner who rigorously exercised every morning. Now the inevitable has happened. He left us to join the ‘A team of the ANC’.

“Together, we shared ideas and walked side by side in the shadow of death,” Kathrada said.

“We are deeply grateful to Madiba… We are deeply grateful that dignity has been restored to the people of South Africa, we are deeply grateful to Chapter 9 institutions that zealously guard our Constitution,” he added.

Mandela, South Africa’s first democratically elected black president, died of illness in his Johannesburg home Dec 5 at the age of 95.

source: http://www.economictimes.indiatimes.com / The Economic Times / Home> News> World News – International / by IANS / December 15th, 2013

Abdul Khayum Khan appointed head of Andhra Pradesh Anti-Corruption Bureau

December 11, 2013Leaders, Uncategorizedmpositiveone@gmail.com

Picture for representational purposes only.

Hyderabad:

Abdul Khayum Khan, an IPS officer of the 1981 batch, has been appointed as Director General of the Andhra Pradesh Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).

Currently Vice-Chairman and Managing Director (VC&MD) of the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC), he had also held additional charge as ACB Director General (DG) for the past few days, after the appointment of B. Prasada Rao as Andhra Pradesh’s Director General of Police.

In a minor exercise on Thursday, the government appointed Khan as the regular DG of the ACB and posted 1988 batch IPS officer J. Purnachandra Rao as VC&MD of APSRTC. Chief Secretary P. K. Mohanty issued an order to this effect on Thursday evening.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / by Sijihaya / November 28th, 2013

The Turkish connection

November 30, 2013Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Travel & Tourism, Uncategorized, World Opinionmpositiveone@gmail.com

Indialogue Foundation director Osman Kayaoglu talks about the places to see in Turkey as he holds a traditional Turkish vase./ Photo: Nagara Gopal / The Hindu

As the Turkish Consulate gets ready to set up office in Hyderabad, Neeraja Murthy finds a Turkey-Hyderabad connect

Enter the first floor of Learnium School on Road No. 44, Jubilee Hills and you’ll find a slice of Turkey in Hyderabad. On the walls is a Turkish Corner that displays photographs of ‘Turk folklor’, a Turkish bride, ‘Turk Lokumu’ among other things. Move around and there is a Indo-Turk Corner and photographs of famous Turkish palaces. As we soak in the pictures, we hear the booming voice of Sevim Kayaogolu calling out “Bir, iki, uch, dort… “(one, two, three four… in Turkish). She is teaching a Turkish dance to a group of young girls who are dancing to the beats of Yeni bir dunya, dressed in their traditional Turkish dresses.

Sevim (in the centre) joins a group of girls dancing to the tune of Turkish song ‘Yeni bir dunya’. / Photo: Nagara Gopal / The Hindu

“The students are presenting this Turkish dance for the Parents Day meeting,” informs Sevim. The school (will be called Iqbalia International School) run by a Trust (which also includes Turkish people) teaches Turkish language art, dance and culture to its students, in addition to its regular CBSE syllabus. Osman Kayaogolu, director of Indialogue Foundation’s second year in Hyderabad, calls the city ‘historical’. “Among the different cities in India, Hyderabad has a beautiful history,” he says and adds, “Turkey and Hyderabad share a lot in common in culture. We have given our daughters here in marriage – Princess Durru Shehvar who married Azam Jah, Princesses Esin and Esra have also come to Hyderabad after marriage.”

Osman talks about the ‘royal’ similarity between the two regions. “The Chowmahalla Palace looks like a replica of Dolmabahche palace, only the former is smaller. It is said that the Chowmahalla was built for Durru Shehvar so that she would feel at home in a place that reminds her of Turkey,” he smiles.

Indialogue Foundation, the Turkish cultural centre acts as a hub for the 15 Turkish families living in Hyderabad. “We get together here during religious ceremonies like Eid and we organise inter-faith seminars, talks, conferences and cultural programmes. We arrange business meetings between Turkish and Indian businessmen and also organise Turkish celebrations.”

Osman says the Turks enjoy their stay in the city. “The climate is nice and we enjoy eating biryani which is like our not-so-spicy Osmani pulao. We have made many friends here and people are affectionate too.”

What baffles Osman however is the way friendly Hyderabadis behave while driving on roads. “During busy traffic, they are not at all friendly and act differently,” he says with a smile. The Turkish women volunteers try to spread their art and culture in the city. Osman and his group of friends also play football every Sunday. “We don’t know about cricket, but now our children are picking up the game in Hyderabad.”

There is also good news for the Turkish families in the city with the Turkish Consulate coming up here. “The Turkish Consulate General Murat Omeroglu is in Hyderabad with his family and the work to establish the Consulate has begun. The process might take six months,” says Osman.

Osman says Turkish people in the city do miss their family and friends back home as well as Turkish food; but they have found a home away from home here.

“Hyderabad is our second home. Merhaba Hydarabad (Salaam Hyderabad),” he signs off.

Short film contest

Indialogue Foundation and Sarojini Naidu School of Arts and Communication, University of Hyderabad had organised a Indialogue Short Film Contest 2013on the theme ‘Peaceful Coexistence” which aimed to foster universally shared values among public .

The contest had two categories – YouTube award and Jury award. Emrah Alpaslan from Saritha Vidya Niketan with his short film titled Dedicated Life won the YouTube award with 2100+ views. Jhilam Chattaraj, from University of Hyderabad with her movie In Search of History was selected for the Jury award.

Both the awards carried a prize money of Rs. 35,000 each.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Neeraja Murthy / November 19th, 2013

I am… Basheer; Gold, silver polisher

November 19, 2013Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Uncategorizedmpositiveone@gmail.com

It’s only four in the evening, but Basheer has already decided to go home — he has no work that day. “The festive season just got over, hasn’t it? People will come to polish bangles and chains only after a few days,” he says, softly. Seated in front of a steel basin, with four boondhi kottais (soap berries) and four small brushes floating in the water, Basheer talks of the gold polishing business that he has been a part of for the last 30 years.

A Class 8 dropout, Basheer was initially a two-wheeler mechanic, before he trained for five years and became a skilled silver and gold polisher. After working out of several locations in Mylapore, Basheer now runs the ‘K. Noor Mohamed Gilt Shop’. “Earlier, I had my own shop. This one,” he says, pointing to the small, rectangular shop, with its blue shutters and green walls, “belongs to my cousin. He asked me to run it.” I strain to hear his voice, which gets drowned in the street noises of Mathala Narayanan Street; it’s only an old, narrow thoroughfare, but vehicle sounds and arguing neighbours make us raise our voices.

Our loud voices attract attention. One gentleman enquires why I’m asking Basheer “all these questions”; another offers to answer on his behalf and says, “He lives in Kunrathur.” Basheer explains that he moved to the ECR approximately 30 years ago. “Land was cheaper there, but now, it sells for crores!” Every morning, for the last three decades, Basheer has been taking two buses to reach Mylapore. “It’s faster to get here now, even though there’s heavy traffic after Tiruvanmiyur. In those days, there were hardly any buses, you see!” he smiles. The return journey is equally long, and he typically gets home for a late dinner around 10 p.m.

The day is spent in polishing silver and gold. Job orders range from small items — bangles and chains — to the temple kavacham or crown polishing. “Approximately 15 years ago, I polished silver items for the Kapaleeswara temple. Many of my customers are from Chennai, but some come from faraway places too.” Basheer, very modestly, says he’s an expert at polishing temple (dance) jewellery. “Dance jewellery is made in Nagercoil, and it’s difficult to clean and polish, as it has a lot of stones,” he says, showing me a pair of red-stone bangles that he has freshly gilded for a customer. It’s hard to tell it’s only ‘covering’.

To gold polish jewellery, Basheer first cleans it well. “I use soap berries bought from the naatu marundhu kadai; they foam naturally,” he says, pointing to the soapy water in the basin. Next, Basheer readies the ‘gold bath’, by dissolving a tiny amount of gold in acid, and boiling the resulting fine dust in water. This is then used to coat the article, by electrolysis. “After plating, the chain or bangle is dried on a bed of sawdust. It will then shine like gold.” (Silver plating is somewhat similar, except, it is buffed in the end).

Gold polishing costs around Rs. 250, a price that does not make it really profitable. “Gold prices have increased, but customers are not willing to pay more,” Basheer says. But he also rationalises their reluctance — gilt jewellery itself sometimes only costs Rs. 250, and the gold finish lasts for just a few months. And yet, Basheer seems happy with his lot; he talks of his three children — all graduates — and his visits to Nagore, with his family, once every two years. And when an old woman comes to his shop seeking alms, he springs up from his low stool, and fetches her a few coins…

(A weekly column on men and women who make Chennai what it is)

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Society / November 11th, 2013

Winners of Tipu Gold Cup

November 19, 2013Sports, Uncategorizedmpositiveone@gmail.com

Mysore :

The Universal Cricket Club won the Tipu Sultan Gold Cup-2013, organised by Moon Star Cricket Club at University Ground in city recently.

Seen in the picture are Sallahuddin, Abbas, Noushad Khan Durrani (Coach), Javed Pasha (Captain), Abrar Ahmed, MMH Bijlee, Jameel Ahmed, Rafiq (Manager), Nissar Ahmed, Imran Shareif, Nasir, Mahboob Pasha, Sannan Ahmed, Nazruddin, Asif Ahmed, Afreed Bijlee, Raffiuddin, Sallahuddin and Raqiub.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / November 13th, 2013

A Braveheart never dies

November 17, 2013Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Uncategorizedmpositiveone@gmail.com

Nasreen Fatima, left, cries during the funeral ceremony of her husband Indian army soldier Firoz Khan, as she looks out from the window of her home in Hyderabad on Thursday./ Photo: AP / The Hindu

Indian Army soldier Mohd. Firoz Khan, who died in Pakistan’s shelling across the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu & Kashmir on Tuesday, is given a tearful farewell and buried with military honours

The city bade a tearful adieu to martyred soldier Mohd. Firoz Khan on Thursday. Businesses and commercial establishments voluntarily shut down in the Nawab Sahab Kunta area of Old City to pay respects to the soldier who died in Pakistan’s shelling across the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu & Kashmir on Tuesday.

Hundreds of people from various parts of the city converged at a local burial ground where the jawan was buried with full military honours on Thursday.

Procession

The funeral prayers were held at the ‘Masjid-e-Saliheen’ after which his body was draped in the national flag and taken out in procession led by a military band.

Onlookers raised slogans denouncing Pakistan and praising the martyr.

Women and children too participated in the procession by climbing on to the rooftops to have a final glimpse of the body of the brave soldier. Before burial, the martyr was offered a gun salute by Army personnel while Additional DCP South, K. Babu Rao offered the wreath on behalf of the State government along with other officials of the armed forces.

Labour Minister D. Nagender, YSRC president Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy, BJP leaders Bandaru Dattatreya and G. Kishan Reddy, MIM leaders Asaduddin Owaisi, Akbaruddin Owaisi, Ahmed Pasha Quadri and Mohd Moazam Khan and Mayor Majid Hussain visited the house of the slain army man and offered condolences to the family.

The leaders demanded government to take all necessary steps to extend every possible assistance to the family and also provide adequate ex-gratia. They also called upon the Central Government to take strong measures to prevent frequent skirmishes at the LoC.

Mr. Akbaruddin Owaisi offered to take the responsibility of providing education to the three children of the slain army man.

IANS reportrs: Earleir, heart-rending scenes were witnessed at Firoz’s house. His mother Razia Begum and wife Nasreen Fatima were inconsolable.

Many were in tears after seeing his four—year—old daughter Afshin Fatima, two—year—old son Arshad Khan and eight—month—old daughter Aisha Fatima.

Firoz has been serving with the Madras Regiment for 12 years.

Firoz Khan had last visited his family on the occasion of Eid—ul—Fitr two months ago.

According to family members, he spoke to his wife over phone a couple of days ago to express his inability to come home on Eid and asked her to buy new clothes for the children.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Staff Reporter / Hyderabad – October 17th, 2013