Category Archives: Books (incl.Biographies – w.e.f.01 jan 2018 )

The real Wani: Army officer who gave Kashmiri children chocolates & guided against militancy

Amazing Feats, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Community Involvement / Social Issues, , , , ,

JAMMU & KASHMIR :

In a new book, Sonal Chaturvedi traces the life of late Lance Naik Nazir Ahmad Wani, the first Kashmiri Ashok Chakra awardee.

File photo of Lance Naik Nazir Ahmad Wani |PTI
File photo of Lance Naik Nazir Ahmad Wani |PTI

Killings in the valley were still a routine. Security forces were on their toes to combat these. Two months after these statements were made, thirty-five Hindus were killed in two separate incidents in Kashmir in May 2006. The killings were believed to be the handiwork of Islamist militants, just days before a scheduled meeting between Prime Minister Singh and the Kashmiri separatists. 

In one incident, shooters stormed a village in the Doda district, dragged Hindu villagers from their homes and shot twenty-two of them dead. In another, in the neighbouring Udhampur district, suspected militants kidnapped thirteen villagers from a remote mountain spot. Four of their bodies were found lying in the woods late on a Sunday, while the rest were discovered on Monday, the police said. Even though the stories of bloodshed in Kashmir were never-ending, these gruesome incidents were the deadliest instances of violence since peace talks had been initiated between both the countries more than two years ago. 

These attacks were a concern for the Indian Armed Forces as well. Apart from being heinous crimes that needed to be punished, these attacks were worrisome because they could hamper Hindu-Muslim peace. This issue was a point of discussion as it could disrupt the peace talks between separatists and the prime minister.

Every household spoke about this. ‘How can these terrorists take the lives of innocents in the name of Allah? Had they read the Quran, they would have known the truth,’ Nazir sighed. 

One soldier said, ‘These attacks are to fuel the fire burning in Kashmir. These people do not believe in any God, they believe in bloodshed.’ 

One day when they were going for patrol, Nazir took a packet of chocolate and placed it in his bag. 

‘Is it for Shahid and Athar?’ Hanif asked, tying his shoes. 

‘It is for the kids we ’ll meet on our patrol. The people here don’t have a very high opinion of the armed forces. I carry chocolates whenever I go for routine patrols and give it to the kids on the way. I think it’ll help in erasing fear from their minds. When the family sees that the kids are happy, it will have a positive impact.’ 

‘Kitna sochta hai tu, yaar (You think about these things so much, my friend),’ Hanif smiled. Nazir handed over a packet to him and said, ‘Tu bhi soch (You start thinking too).’ Major Jamwal knew about Nazir’s actions and eventually whenever they went out for patrol, they inevitably started keeping packets of chocolate in the vehicle. 

While Nazir was busy with his increasing responsibilities at work, at home, Mahajabeena was busy with the kids and her studies. She was pursuing a BA through correspondence. Athar was almost of age to be enrolled in school and Shahid was getting naughtier with every passing day. There were weeks when Nazir was not able to come home and during those times, Mahajabeena prayed for his wellbeing as she managed their home herself. When Nazir was home, however, it would be a complete riot for the kids. They would binge-watch Motu Patlu, Tom and Jerry and other cartoon shows together.

You are a grown-up, why do you behave like Athar and Shahid?’ Mahajabeena used to get irritated at times. Nazir would say, ‘What does watching cartoons have to do with age? I love watching them. And now  with kids, it’s more fun.’ They were having this light argument when their neighbour from Cheki arrived. ‘Arey Hassan, please come inside, sab khairiyat  (everything okay)? You didn’t inform me you would be coming,’ Nazir wondered what might have broughthim there. Hassan sounded worried; he said he needed Nazir’s help. 

‘But what happened, bhaijaan? Everything well at home?’ Mahajabeena asked. Hassan was struggling to choose his words and at last, he said, ‘Bhaijaan you have seen Abdul since birth.’ 

‘Your youngest brother, right,’ Nazir confirmed. 

‘Yes, bhaijaan…he was outstanding in studies. As you know, I left my education and worked so that he could study and become someone. But he was acting strange a few weeks ago. He was not talking to us. It looked like he was trying to avoid us. And above everything, he had started missing classes.’ Mahajabeena and Nazir were listening patiently. 

‘I tried to follow him at times and talked to his friends. Bhaijaan, they say that he wants to join the terrorists, he wants to fight,’ Hassan broke out in sobs. Nazir tried to console Hassan. He promised to come and speak to his brother. 

Hassan held Nazir’s hands in his, ‘But promise me that you will not discuss this with anyone else.’ 

‘I won’t, you have my word,’ Nazir assured him, ‘Let’s leave right away.’ He told Mahajabeena that he would be back by evening and they left. 

When they reached Cheki, Hassan took him directly to his home. They met Hassan’s father, who knew the reason for Nazir’s arrival. ‘Abdul is in the backyard,’ he said, gravely.

In the backyard, they saw Abdul busy on his phone. On hearing footsteps, he turned around and was shocked to find Nazir accompanying his brother. The two men greeted each other. 

‘I’ll ask Ammi to prepare tea, it has been so long since you last came,’ Hassan left them alone and went inside the house. 

Nazir continued, ‘So how are studies going, Abdul? Hassan tells me that you are very good at studies.’ 

Abdul waited for a moment to reply and then said in a stern voice, ‘I am thinking of not pursuing education any further, bhaijaan. Now I wish to learn about Allah and follow the path which will lead to peace in our homes.’ 

It was not difficult for Nazir to understand what Abdul meant. But he decided to put across his point without using the word ‘terrorist’. ‘That is good thinking. But why do you need to leave studies for it? You can serve our land better when you study and become something.’ 

Abdul had not expected Nazir to confront him in such a way. He was taken aback a little. Nazir continued, ‘The root word of Islam is salema which stands for peace, purity, submission and obedience. 

So, the spirit of Islam is the spirit of peace. The first verse of the Quran breathes the spirit of peace; it reads: “In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate”. It describes reconciliation as the best policy and states that God abhors any disturbance of peace.’ Abdul didn’t say anything. He just listened. 

‘So, I don’t think any path that asks for bloodshed or hurts your family is ever worth following. Even Allah will not approve of that.’

Abdul, being a little at ease with the discussion now, asked, ‘Bhaijaan, what you are saying is right, but don’t you think sometimes we need to take matters into our hands?’ 

Nazir nodded, ‘Yes we do, but we should always keep an eye on what is right. The path which focuses on the safety of others rather than instilling terror is the one that should always be chosen.’ Both remained silent for a moment. Abdul was scratching the wall as if thinking over what Nazir had just said. 

Nazir looked at him and continued, ‘Education opens up a new world to you. So, my advice is don’t give up on something which will benefit you, your family and society in the long run just because you are disturbed now. Your brother has given up his dreams so that yours can flourish. Your Ammi and Abbu have their hopes attached to you. Don’t break their heart. 

And when the time comes, Allah will show you the right path, as he guided me. Trust Him more than yourself and everything will fall in place.’ Abdul nodded in agreement. For Nazir, this assurance was enough to feel that his efforts were worth it. 

‘Tea is waiting, Ammi wants both of you to come inside,’ Hassan called. 

‘Coming, bhaijaan,’ Abdul replied, going inside. 

Hassan looked at Nazir with questioning eyes and Nazir signalled to him that he need not worry. 

WaniBookMPOs09mar2020

The Real Wani: Kashmir’s True hero — A Definitive Biography of Lance Naik Nazir Ahmad Wani by Sonal Chaturvedi has been published with permission from Bloomsbury India. 

source: http://www.theprint.in / The Print / Home> Page Turner> Book Excerpts / by Sonal Chaturvedi / March 08th, 2020

Antulay daughter’s eulogy to parents’ love story when they were 28 and 14

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, , , , , , , , , , ,

MAHARASHTRA :

AntulayMPOs29feb2020

Mumbai:

Nearly seven decades after her parents “lived” the love-story of their youth through an exchange of letters, their doting daughter has now published those communication in a book form.

The letters were written by legendary Maharashtra political leader and former Chief Minister and Union Minister, Abdul Rahman Antulay to his home-maker wife Nargis – during their “bethrothal” of four years when she was just 14 and he was all mature at 28 – and also later on after their marriage in May 1959.

Eldest daughter Neelam Mushtaq Antulay had to carry out some major jobs before she could finally compile and create an Urdu and a Hindi book – “Banaam Nargis (‘To Nargis’)”.

First she had to convince her mother to part with them and later painstakingly sift through hundreds of pages of great emotional churning.

“Banaam Nargis” will be released on Saturday at a mega-event by Nationalist Congress President Sharad Pawar and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, while Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will rename the prestigious Anjuman-I-Islam law college in south Mumbai as “Barrister A. R. Antulay College of Law”.

“‘Banaam Nargis’, a collection of entirely personal letters written from a loving boy to his beloved fiance during the conservative era, were more than merely love-letters,” said Neelam.

“I remember from my childhood, how my mother, who treasured a majority of these handwritten letters, (with a fountain pen) — would quietly take them out, read, again and again with a myriad emotions lighting or clouding her face, even after he passed away in December 2014,” Neelam told IANS in a free-wheeling chat on Friday.

She remembers a well known Urdu book, “Zer-e-Lab” – a collection of letters written to renowned Urdu poet Jan Nisar Akhtar — father of equally distinguished son, Javed Akhtar – by his teacher wife, Safiya.

“This got me thinking… Why not highlight my Abbu’s letters to my Ammi? But it took me mountainous efforts to convince my mother before she finally relented over two years ago.

“Today, I consider it my humble tribute to my parents…” Neelam said.

After Nargis parted with her “treasure”, Neelam got down to reading them — around 300 — and many more which she kept aside without even reading, as they were ‘intimately personal’ though her Ammi now had no reservations!

“The letters are clear, concise, to the point.. he wrote prolifically, mostly daily, at times twice daily and posted them… From his bachelor home in Mumbai and Raigad to her parents’ home in Bhiwandi (then called Bhimdi, Thane), unveiling a different era of their lives…,” Neelam says with a heavy heart.

To a query, she points out that “of course, there was a lot of romance” but there was also a lot more.

“He shared with her practically everything… His joys and disappointments, achievements or failures, the highlights or downsides of his blooming legal career after he returned as barrister from Lincoln’s Inn, London, his maiden speech in public life with luminaries like Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and others present… It opened up a whole new world of my father which I never knew,” said Neelam.

In his inimitable style, Antulay would recount many incidents, anecdotes with references to the then prevalent social, cultural and political events and conveyed a lot more than what he wrote of what was in his heart and mind.

“He ‘lived’ his life with his love (Nargis) through these letters… These pages provide rare glimpses into history… I now feel there was something magical about them…

“Though during their engagement, my mother was too young and many things were beyond her comprehension coming from a highly qualified barrister, but today I understand why she keeps opening the trove to read them again and again,” says Neelam with a smile.

However, Neelam said that her mother was very less “reciprocal” and barely may have replied averaging to 10 per cent – probably one for every 10 letters from her besotted husband!

“But he was never offended and both enjoyed their life, loved their children and brought us all up with dedication and care… Surprisingly, my mother revealed that one day, she destroyed all the letters she had written to him!” said Neelam.

Surprisingly, she is the first member of the family allowed by Nargis to read the letters, described by an editor as “pearls of words and wisdom”.

No other family members – Neelam’s politician husband Mushtaq, sister Shabnam and her husband Justice Amjad Sayed, television personality and upcoming politician brother Naved Antulay, and youngest sister Mubeena and her businessman husband Ejaz Sayed – were allowed access to them.

The earliest of the letters were written by Antulay on 20-10-1957 from ‘Bambai’ (Bombay, now Mumbai) to ‘Bhimdi’, and the last of it was penned by him to Nargis on 22-10-1961 to ‘Bambai’ from London where he was part of a Congress Party delegation.

“I have mostly tried to transliterate the letters in Hindi to retain the special flavour… They are best read in Urdu, followed by Hindi, but any suggestions to translate them in English would kill their very essence,” she laughed.

Neelam is confident that most people “will fall in love with my parents” and learn a lot about life after reading these letters in ‘Banaam Nargis’. (IANS)

source: http://www.indianewengland.com / India New England News / Home> Books / byQuaid Najmi / February 21st, 2020

Buildings are books someone forgot to burn, says H Masud Taj

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Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA / Ottawa, CANADA  :

Architect, poet, professor H Masud Taj is on an India tour to talk about Sinan, Istanbul’s foremost architect, who has arguably built more than any other architect in documented history.

H Masud Taj ( Source: Noah Taj)
H Masud Taj ( Source: Noah Taj)

H Masud Taj, Adjunct Professor at Carleton University in Canada, was mentored in architecture by Hassan Fathy and in calligraphy by David Hosbrough. His talk on “Sinan:Architect at the Centre of the World” in Delhi drizzled with anecdotes of Ottoman empire’s most celebrated builder, and how history and politics were fertile soil for some of Istanbul’s lasting monuments. Excerpts from an interview:

Where did your love for calligraphy and poetry develop?
In Bombay, at home by the sea with its tidal rhythms, where my father had a divine hand that remains without a tremor even in his 90s and because my mother tongue is Urdu, the most poetic of Indian languages (besides being a descendant of the classical Urdu poet, Ameer Meenai). With a father who was a shayar a mother who tore the last page of Urdu novels to replace it with her own version, with storytellers and musicians for sisters, it just had to happen. And when it did, I was 13 years old, far from home, and far from my mother tongue, in Ooty in a school, grounded on JD Krishnamurti with a sprinkling of Aurobindo, where clouds would descend valleys, enter classrooms and blur categories.

You taught architecture simultaneously at Sir JJ College of Architecture, Rizvi College and Pillai college in Mumbai
Yes, while running an architectural practice in Bombay and consultancy in Delhi besides being a fortnightly op-ed architectural columnist. Now I teach in Canada, practice in India and research in-between in Europe and Turkey. For instance this year the University’s Faculty of Public Affairs, showcased the research and photography I did while reading medieval buildings and Don Quixote, in Toledo, Spain.

In your next book on the Seven Muslim Wonders & the Making of the Modern World, which are the sites you will be exploring?
Those that I have visited in Agra, Cairo, Cordoba, Granada, Isfahan, Istanbul and Mecca. If you add Jerusalem that is eight but one of them is latent in all others just as the sound of alif is latent in all letters of Arabic.

Louis Kahn’s IIM-A building and the poem that Taj wrote, inspired by the building
Louis Kahn’s IIM-A building and the poem that Taj wrote, inspired by the building

And where do you see the intersections?
Seven mnemonic monuments embody civilizational ideas. Buildings are books that someone forgot to burn; they await a reading and then paradigms begin to shift and you see the world anew and hopefully the reader will too. For instance, satellite images show that the original Taj Mahal complex extended much further at both ends: across the Yamuna to the royal Mughal garden with a reflecting pool that reveals why the Mughals called it Rouza-e-Munnawara: The Illuminated Tomb (Taj Mahal is a misnomer). However, the real action of the complex was at the other end: the quadrant bazaar as a node of the global Muslim network of an ‘ethically driven commerce’, of poet merchants and Sufi merchant brotherhoods.

What prompted this book?
Many things but the final straw was Jerry Pinto saying I was offering “forever the promise of beauty”. He inscribed that in my copy of his incredible Em and the Big Hoom. He was right.

And when will it be launched?
Ship building is easy; it is the ocean that takes a while.

You were inspired by Louis Kahn’s Indian Institute of Management building in Ahmedabad. You even wrote a poem in calligraphy about it.
As a student, I was at CEPT in Ahmedabad for a month, participating in a workshop designing shells upside down. In the evenings, I’d sprawl on the IIM lawns. Once at dusk, above several storeys of brick arches, right on axis, was the upturned crescent. That’s when the Brick Poemoccurred. Decades later when I began to study Sinan in Turkey, I understood what that poem really meant; poets can lag behind the curve of their poems. I’ll be giving a talk at CEPT and that’s when after more than three decades the Brick Poemwill return to its site.

You have known and been with the legendary Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy and wrote a book on the elusive Indian architect Nari Gandi, apprentice to Frank Lloyd Wright. What were your learnings from and with them that you bring to your work, as a teacher and an architect?
Buildings are prophecies if they are mainstream; or conversations. Gandhi was trapped in his quest for absolute freedom. He excelled as a conversationalist; but did not influence mainstream. Fathy’s prophecies were at mainstream’s edge, yet conversed with the surroundings. Choose between an escapee and an escape-artist.

What does your long poem, which was written while staying in all those houses of Gandhi, say? Could quote a few lines.
Courtyard is silence
To talk of the courtyard
Is to break the spell.

You co-authored a book of poems, Alphabestiary, in which each letter of the alphabet is associated with an animal, such as Ant, Bull, Cat, Dragon, etc. What were you influenced by?
The animal fables of Panchatantra, Aesop Fables; Ibn Arabi arguing for animal rights in the 12th century; the 7th-century father-of-kitten Abu Hurairah. Mostly when we decided to call our son Nuh in Urdu, Nuhh in Arabic, Noah in English, Noé in French. Soon after, Dragonflyfluttered in (its now on YouTube) with a host of animals in its wake turning the oral poet into a one-man travelling zoo. Alphabestiaryis a thin slice, yet featured at the International Festival of Authors in Toronto.

Who, from the past, do you think looks over your shoulder when you write?
Ameer Meenai, and hopefully he can detect Urdu’s fragrance in my English.

Taj has lectured at Nashik, Pune and Delhi and Goa. His talks in Ahmedabad and Mumbai are on July 22 and 24 respectively.

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Lifestyle / by Shiny Varghese / September 28th, 2015

Little-known fact: Aurangzeb had more Rajput administrators than Akbar

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DELHI , INDIA :

In ‘Understanding Mughal India’, Meena Bhargava writes about how Aurangzeb patronised several Hindu institutions & was supported in the war of succession by Rajputs.

A portrait of Mughal ruler Aurangzeb | Photo: collections.vam.ac.uk/
A portrait of Mughal ruler Aurangzeb | Photo: collections.vam.ac.uk/

That Aurangzeb’s orthodoxy and his dedication to his beliefs was personal rather than a matter for political interference is evident in his reactions and responses during the war of succession of 1658, a quadrangular conflict between Dara, Shuja, Aurangzeb, and Murad. Throughout the struggle, Aurangzeb was concerned about Dara’s political manoeuvres. Their individual feelings and religious outlook—which stood in sharp contrast—remained confined to the personal level. Aurangzeb referred to Dara as mushrik (heretic) while Dara called Aurangzeb kotah pyjama (narrow pants), a symbolic attribute of orthodoxy. Both attempted to rally public opinion, but never on religious grounds. In fact, the support that largely came for Aurangzeb was from the Rajputs, notably Rana Raj Singh of Mewar, Raja Jai Singh Kachwaha of Amber, and later, Maharaja Jaswant Singh of Marwar. In this context may be related an interesting nishan that Aurangzeb sent to Rana Raj Singh of Mewar, condemning such kings who practised intolerance that could become the cause of dispute, conflict, and harm to the people, and could ‘devastate the prosperous creations of God and destroy the foundations of the God-created fabric’. Such attitudes of kings, Aurangzeb ordained, deserve ‘to be rejected and cast off’. This document from the Udaipur records is a clear revelation of what Aurangzeb intended as his public policy. It further confirmed that Aurangzeb, in the struggle for succession, did not raise the cry of jihad or Islam in danger, nor did he promulgate a new religious policy contrary to that of his predecessors; neither did Dara claim to be the champion of liberal forces. The issue was not religious or ideological, or whether orthodoxy would triumph or liberalism. It was a question of personal vested interest, political in nature but free from religious connotations, that is: Who would be the emperor of India, Dara or Aurangzeb? It is in such a context that Aurangzeb deserves to be assessed.

Debating Aurangzeb’s leanings—religious orthodoxy or political pragmatism—one needs to ask: Did Aurangzeb really intend, as Jadunath Sarkar suggested, the establishment of dar-ul-Islam or a truly Islamic State in India, the conversion of the entire population to Islam, and the annihilation of dissenters? Or, as Ishtiyaq Husain Qureshi argued, was it rigid adherence to the shari’a and undoing the damage caused by Akbar; or the triumph of Muslim theology, as Shri Ram Sharma asserted? If this was really the case, then the emperor’s personal valour, military skills, and single-minded commitment to achieving territorial expansion and consolidation would stand negated. The biased ideological portrayal of the emperor, regardless of historical accuracy, makes it difficult to explain the increase in the number of Rajput mansabdars in Aurangzeb’s administration as compared to Akbar’s period, and their rise from 24 per cent under Shahjahan to 33 per cent in 1689. Nor can Raghunath Ray Kayastha’s dominance as diwan-i kul be understood rationally. Raghunath Ray not only supported Aurangzeb but also participated in several expeditions of the period. Aurangzeb honoured him with the title of Raja and when Raghunath Ray died in 1664, the emperor, in his obituary written in Ruqa’at-i Alamgiri, remembered him as the greatest administrator he had ever known.

There are well-documented evidences of Aurangzeb’s patronage of various Hindu religious institutions, namely temples, maths, grants to Brahmins and pujaris:

  • Land grants were renewed to the temples at Mathura, Banaras, Gaya, Gauhati, and others, while the emperor is known to have donated ghee for the navadeep in a few temples, including the Mahabateshwar temple at Agra;
  • Gifts were offered to the Sikh gurudwara at Dehradun;
  • Madad-i ma’ash grants, as listed in the Rajasthan documents, were continued to a math of Nathpanthi yogis in pargana Didwana, sarkar Nagor;
  • Grants were also made to Ganesh Bharti faqir and his successors in pargana Siwana with the instructions that the faqir should not be disturbed so he could ‘pray for this sultanat’.
  • The Vrindavan document of 1704 referred to a parwana which sanctioned the rights of Chaitanya gosains who had founded Vrindavan and established pilgrimages in Braj Bhumi, and recognised the right of Brajanand Gosain to receive a fee from the followers of the sect on account of kharj sadir o warid, that is, expenses on guests and travellers from each village. In effect, it was a government levy for the benefit of Brajanand Gosain and his Vaishnavite followers.

From the above description, Aurangzeb’s patronage to temples appears without doubt. And yet some temples were attacked, while others were spared. This aberration in the emperor’s attitude can be explained by only one rationale: it was not iconoclasm, but reprisal for rebellion or political misconduct or disloyalty to the emperor. This exposition can be applied to understand the attack on the Vishwanath temple at Kashi, the Keshav Dev temple at Mathura, and several prominent temples in Rajasthan. In 1669, during a zamindar revolt in Banaras, it was suspected that some of them had assisted Shivaji in his escape from imperial detention. It was also believed that Shivaji’s escape was initially facilitated by Jai Singh, the great-grandson of Raja Man Singh, who had built the Vishwanath temple. It was against this background that Aurangzeb ordered the destruction of that temple in September 1669.

Around the same time, in a Jat rebellion that had erupted in the neighbouring regions of Mathura, a patron of the local congregational mosque was killed, leading to Aurangzeb’s order in 1670 to attack the Keshav Dev temple at Mathura. Temples in Marwar and Mewar were also attacked following the death of Maharaja Jaswant Singh to reprimand and crush the Rathor rebellion and the development of a Sisodia– Rathor alliance. These included temples in Khandela patronised by rebel chieftains; temples in Jodhpur maintained by a former supporter of Dara Shukoh; and the royal temples in Udaipur and Chittor patronised by Rana Raj Singh after the Rana entered into an alliance with the Rathors that signalled the withdrawal of loyalty to the Mughal State. It may be observed that the Rathor rebellion was not a reaction or a protest against the re-imposition of jizya. Instead, this re-imposition, as Abu’l Fazl Ma’muri observed in the context of the suppression of the Satnami revolt and prior to the emperor’s expedition to Ajmer, was meant for ‘the affliction of the rebellious unbelievers’.

MughalBookMPOs24feb2020

This excerpt from Understanding Mughal India: Sixteenth to Eighteenth Centuries by Meena Bhargava has been published with permission from Orient BlackSwan.

source: http://www.theprint.in / The Print / Home>  Page Turner> Book Excerpts / by Meena Bhargava / February 19th, 2020

Majrooh Sultanpuri: The wounded heart

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Nizamabad Town (Azamgarh District) UTTAR PRADESH / Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA  :

MajroohSultanpuriMPOs21feb2020

A committed communist, Majrooh Sultanpuri wrote about matters of love and freedom with equal conviction

Main akela hi chala tha janib-e-manzil magar

Log saath aate gaye aur karvan banta gaya

( I set out towards my destination all alone but people began to come along and a caravan was formed.)

With the exception of master poets like Mir Taqi ‘Mir’ or Mirza Ghalib, it seldom happens that an Urdu couplet becomes so popular and is quoted so often that it becomes part of everyday speech and people do not even remember the name of its creator. This is what happened to the above quoted couplet of Majrooh Sultanpuri whose enormous contribution to the Hindi film industry was acknowledged when he became the first lyricist to be decorated with the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1993. In 2013, a commemorative postal stamp was also issued on him.

Hindi literary journal Yugtevar has come out with a special number (January-March, 2020) on him to celebrate his life and work. It offers detailed information about the poet and contains critical appraisals and reminiscences written by, among others, top Urdu critics such as Prof. Shamim Hanfi, Urdu poets like Ali Sardar Jafri and Javed Akhtar, Hindi poets like Subhash Rai, and singers such as Lata Mangeshkar. A selection from his poetry has also been given in the concluding section of the journal.

Majrooh was born on the eve of Id as Asrar ul Hasan Khan in town Nizamabad that fell under police station Sarai Mir in Azamgarh district where his father Sirajul Haq Khan was posted as a police constable although his family belonged to village Ganjehdi near Sultanpur. There seems to be some confusion about the year of birth while the date is unanimously given as October 1. In his article, Akhtar Farooqui mentions 1918 as the year of Majrooh’s birth but Utkarsh Singh settles for 1919 while Rekhta website takes it back to 1915.

Asrar ul Hasan began writing poetry at an early age using the pen name ‘Naseh’ (religious preacher). As a young lad, he fell in love with a girl but failed to receive her affections. Soon, on the advice of his close friends, he became Majrooh (wounded) to the world and remained so until the end. Little wonder that his song “Jab dil hi toot gaya” in film Shahjehan remains hugely popular even now after more than 70 years. Initially, he wrote songs and lyrical song-like nazms but soon turned towards ghazal. As Prof. Shamim Hanfi recalls, in a creative life spanning nearly 60 years, he wrote only fifty odd ghazals and two notable nazms, besides penning more than two thousand film lyrics.

Traditional physician

Young Asrar ul Hasan studied Unani medicine to train as a traditional physician but he practised for only a few years as a Hakim appointed by Sultanpur District Board. He studied Arabic and Persian in Sultanpur and Tanda. While training to become a Unani hakim in Lucknow, he took admission in a music college to learn classical Hindustani music. However, his destiny was not to sing but to write songs for others to sing.

Top Urdu poet Jigar Muradabadi had noticed Majrooh’s talent and Majrooh too treated him as his ustad. He wrote that although Jigar never advised him on his ghazals, but he did shape his poetic temperament. Jigar Muradabadi was the uncrowned king of mushairas (poetic soirées) and he took Majrooh to Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1945 to take part in a mushaira where Majrooh proved to be a big hit. A R Kardar wanted Jigar to write songs for his film Shahjehan but Jigar recommended Majrooh’s name. Thus, the film lyricist was born. Perhaps, it it not common knowledge that Majrooh, whose mother tongue was Awadhi, wrote lyrics for a number of Bhojpuri films too and was a great success.

Impressive persona

It was during the Emergency when Majrooh Sultanpuri and Jaan Nisar Akhtar came to Jawaharlal Nehru University. Majrooh’s was a very impressive persona and he recited his ghazals in a tuneful but robust voice. And, fearlessly, he recited a ghazal that had shades of Kabir in it as it challenged the injustice and oppression. This couplet continues to resonate with me even today.

Sutoon-e-daar par rakhte chalo saron ke chiragh

Jahan talak ye sitam ki siyaah raat chale

(March ahead while placing the lamps of our heads on the opening of wounds till the dark night of oppression lasts.)

This was a poet who had spent two years in jail for reciting a poem at a mill union workers’ meeting in 1949 that harshly criticised the then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. A committed communist and member of the All India Progressive Writers’ Association (AIPWA), he followed the communist party’s line that held “Yeh aazadi jhoothi hai” (This freedom is false). The Maharashtra government slapped a case on him and asked him to seek forgiveness if he wanted to avoid jail.

Instead, Majrooh went underground and appeared in public in 1951 to attend a meeting organised to protest the arrests of Faiz Ahmed ‘Faiz’, Sajjad Zahir and others in Pakistan in the Rawalpindi Conspiracy Case. He was arrested after the meeting was over.

Majrooh breathed his last on May 24, 2000.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Books> Authors / by Kuldeep Kumar / February 20th, 2020

With the End of 2019, A Great Scholar Also Departs for Heavenly Abode

Amazing Feats, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Leaders, NRI's / PIO's, World Opinion, , , , , , , , ,

Deoband, UTTAR PRADESH / KENYA / Croydon (South London). UNITED KINGDOM :

With 2019 saying goodbye, Maulana Izhar Ahmad Qasmi, an embodiment great scholarship, piety, humility, patience and perseverance, also said adieu to this mortal world.

Maulana Izhar Ahmad Qasmi, 74, was born in Deoband, India, and breathed his last on 30 December, leaving his family and admirers in tears.

MaulanaIzharMPOs31jan2020

He belonged to a very rare breed of ulema who had dedicated themselves to the service of Islam. His funeral prayer and burial was attended by thousands of his admirers from all over UK.

A widely respected and admired person, Maulana Izhar worked tirelessly to propagate the message of Qur’an without indulging in controversial issues.

In 1970 when Indian Muslims living in Kenya approached the great scholar and rector of Darul Uloom Deoband, late Maulana Qari Tayyab, and requested him to send a scholar to Kenya for their religious guidance, his choice fell on Maulana Izhar, a man Allah SWT had blessed with a spiritual attraction, humility, politeness and deep knowledge of Deen. He convinced Maulana Izhar to accept this responsibility.

From 1970 – 1983, Maulana Izhar served as the Imam in Pangani Mosque of Kenya. Following political unrest in the country, like several other Asians, Maulana Izhar had to migrate to Britain with his family.

In Britain he established the first mosque in Croydon, a town in South London, and served as an Imam for 15 years until he was diagnosed with a brain tumour and had to undergo a delicate surgery in the 90s.

As an Imam Maulana Izhar earned admirable love and respect of the local community. His knowledge of Qur’an and deep love to spread its message earned him wide respect all over Britain.

After his surgery, doctors said that his days were numbered and that he would not be able to survive more than a few days. But Allah SWT’s plans and works in strange and mysterious ways. When He chooses someone for the service of His Deen, He does it in ways that are beyond human comprehension. Not only did Maulana Izhar lived for at least 21 years but also completed his seminal translation and interpretation of Qur’an, titled, Izharul Qur’an in ten volumes, and continued his Qur’anic lectures even after suffering from stroke after his brain surgery and becoming partially paralysed. Gradually he became bedridden and spent the last few years in this condition.  Strangely until it was possible for him to sit in a chair he continued his Qur’anic lectures on Iqra TV without letting the viewers feel that his body was paralysed and that he was bedridden.

A comment on my Facebook from Dr Atif Suhail Siddiqui, University of Yale, says it all about Maulana’s resolve. He writes, ‘You did not mention one of the most important qualities of Maulana: He performed 42 Hajjs. After every Hajj he used to travel to Deoband to see his parents. In Deoband, my house is next door to his. So whenever he came to India, I used to visit him. When his [extended] family members noticed his swollen shoulder, they were shocked. I am a witness to it myself. They immediately called for a doctor who advised them to take him to an orthopaedist. His x-ray showed a fracture in his shoulder. It was then that it was found out that during Hajj he got pushed during tawaf and fell down. Due to the stroke one side of his boy had become so insensitive that he did not feel any pain and did not realise that his shoulder had been fractured. He performed all the arkans of Hajj in this condition and even travelled to Deoband. May Allah SWT shower His mercy on him.’

Despite such severe condition Maulana did not like to take anybody’s help. Another Facebook friend, Chicago based alim, social media activist, blogger  and YouTuber, Mufti Yasir Nadeem al-Wajidi, said that he had seen Maulana performing Tawaf and SaI during Umrah without anybody’s assistance or a wheelchair despite the fact that ‘He was virtually dragging himself.’ He added, ‘On one occasion Maulana said that his ailment and his bedridden condition had become a blessing for him because it allowed him to finish one Qur’an every day. Seeing this [and his contentment] one of his Christian doctors had embraced Islam.’

Among Maulana’s survivors is the renowned Alim of Britain, Mualana Qasim Rasheed, who himself is an institutions-maker. Lest this be confused with merely establishing mosques and madarsas, let me make it clear that he is the founder and chairman of one of the major charity organisations, Al-Khair Foundation , that does not only send food and other temporary aid to the displaced people in war-torn and hit by natural-disaster-hit regions of Africa, Middle East, Bangladesh and Pakistan but has also built schools and health clinics for them. He has also established two secondary schools and two TV channels in Britain. However, most important of all these is a full-fledged hospital in Gaza . I have mentioned it only to reflect on the impact of tarbiyah on one’s children.

May Allah SWT bless Maulana Izhar saheb with huge rewards for his services and bless Imam Qasim Saheb and all the survivors with patience and perseverance to tolerate this loss.

source: http://www.milligazette.com / The Milli Gazette / Home> Online News> Community News / by M Ghazali Khan , The Milli Gazette Online / January 04th, 2020

Meet Salma Mahfooz: World’s first Muslim woman to do her PhD in Sanskrit

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Education, Videos, , , , , , ,

Dibai, (Bulandshahar District) , UTTAR PRADESH :

Born as Salma Begum in a Muslim family of a small town Dibai, District Bulandshahar in the northern state of India, Uttar Pradesh, she went on to become the first Muslim woman in the world to do her PhD in Sanskrit (1969), India’s ancient language. After marriage she changed her name to Salma Mahfooz.

“My father, Ishtiaque Ahmed and mother, Ehsaan Fatima encouraged me to pursue my higher studies in Sanskrit as I was deeply interested in the language.

After completing high school from the UP board, I came to Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) for higher studies in 1961 and opted for Sanskrit,” says Dr. Salma Mahfooz.

Salma Mahfooz completed her BA and MA in Sanskrit and finally went on to write her PhD thesis in Sanskrit on the ‘Types of Heroines in Sanskrit Dramas’ under the supervision of India’s acclaimed Sanskrit scholar Dr. Ram Suresh Tripathi. She also did an MA in Hindi literature.

“In my PhD thesis, I have analysed several roles that a woman portrays in multiple Sanskrit literary forms,” says Dr. Salma Mahfooz.

She taught Sanskrit at Rani Bhagyawati College in Bijnor and later joined AMU as a Lecturer.

Under the fellowship of India’s regulatory body for higher education, University Grants Commission, she authored a book ‘A Critical Study of ‘Sirre Akbar visa-vis-The Upanishads’ by Dara Shikoh (1615 – 1659), the eldest son of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan

“I have taught Upanishads, Hindu religious texts, and various other Sanskrit literature components,” adds Dr. Salma Mahfooz.

A practicing Muslim, Salma Mahfooz has studied Hindu scriptures and texts, including The Bhagavad Gita, a 700-verse Sanskrit scripture that is part of the Hindu epic Mahabharata, and Kama Sutra, an ancient Indian Sanskrit text on sexuality and eroticism.

She was a Senior Research Fellow and Research Associate at the University Grants Commission and also headed the Sanskrit Department of the Aligarh Muslim University.

source: http://www.youtube.com / www.cineink.com / Cine Ink / January 10th, 2019

Mujtaba Hussain – A humorist par excellence

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, , , , , , ,

Hyderabad , TELANGANA :

Padma Shri Mujtaba Hussain who completed 50 years of humour writing in Urdu. Photo: G. Ramakrishna | Photo Credit: G_RAMAKRISHNA
Padma Shri Mujtaba Hussain who completed 50 years of humour writing in Urdu. Photo: G. Ramakrishna | Photo Credit: G_RAMAKRISHNA

Many people have learned Urdu just to read his articles

Laughter is the shortest distance between two people. But in this case, it spans the entire Indian sub-continent. Whatever he writes, creates ripples of laughter across the Urdu world.

No prizes for guessing who the writer is. If it is Urdu and humour , it ought to be Mujtaba Hussain.

For the past half a century, this Padma Shri recipient has been dishing out what is in great short supply today – humour.

Mr. Hussain’s writings open up the lips and the heart and at the same time show the pearls and the soul.

At 77, he is anything but tired.

This Hyderabadi humorist doesn’t believe in resting on laurels. Week after week, he churns out sharp and witty write-ups that are lapped up by his growing fans club.

Two books recently published by the Educational Publishing House, Delhi, bring out some of the finest writes-ups about Mr. Hussain penned by critics and writers of no mean repute.

The book “Mujtaba Hussain Jaisa Dekha Jaisa Paya” is all about his personality while “Mujtaba Hussain Aayeinon ke Beech” deals with his art and style.

At a time when the Urdu language has few takers, Mr. Hussain has revived interest in it through his satirical writings.

Many people have learnt Urdu just to read his articles.

Today a number of people have done research on him and many waiting to do Ph.D on his art.

The enduring appeal of his writings is a tribute to his uncanny sense of humour and the Urdu language itself.

Well known writer-journalist, Khushwant Singh, is an unabashed admirer of Mr. Hussain and feels he is rare among Indian writers of humour.

Pakistan writer, Syed Arif Hussaini, calls Mr. Hussain a purveyor of wit and humour.

“He excels in his field due to simplicity of his language, racy style and absence of overlapping themes,” he says.

Sure, Mr. Hussain’s brand of humour is wholesome and straightforward.

He creates humour without offending anyone. Borrowed brilliance is not his forte, says Mohd Ali Siddique, Pakistan’s well known critic.

No compromises

In a bid to tickle the funny bone, Mr. Hussain doesn’t compromise on the language either.

The simple but literary touch in his works comes as a breath of fresh air.

“His humour is laced with a bitter truth which only a honest person can perceive,” says his daughter, Rashida Samdani. Those who have read his “Apni Yad Mein” composition will know. It is a masterpiece of self obituary wherein the author highlights his own follies while taking pot-shots at life.

The two publications unveil interesting facets of Mr. Hussain’s personality. Several real life incidents are cited to show his ready repartee, subtle intellect and scintillating humour even during trying times.

Man knows how to cry from birth, but laughter takes some learning. But with Mr. Hussain’s ready wit, the job sure becomes easier.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by J.S. Ifthekhar / Hyderabad – April 01st, 2013

An engineer with a witty approach to Urdu writing

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), , , , , , ,

Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA :

NadirKhanMPOs22dec2019

Nadir Khan Sargiroh’s stories about trivial things like raasta, chuha-billi and joote are full of proverbs, puns and punchlines.

To improve is to change, to be perfect is to change often. He has done  just that and is garnering significant attention. Nadir Khan Sargiroh, the new kid on the block, has come as a breath of fresh air in Urdu literary circles. With a whole new approach to humour writing, he is trying to be ahead of the curve.

What is different about him is his out-of-the-box thinking and alternative way of telling stories. As his name suggests, Nadir has novel ideas. He has chosen to move off the beaten path, think freely and creatively. He doesn’t carry the burden of his contemporaries or constraints of his predecessors. Humour gets a fresh lease of life at his hands.

Humour is usually created by poking fun at someone. Urdu humourists do it at the expense of biwi, saas and saali. Nadir Khan steers clear of these stereotype characters. He doesn’t need a fixed image to construct his story or connect with readers. He is adept at creating humour by talking about such trivial things like raasta (way), chuha-billi (mouse and cat), janwar ki dum (animal tail), joote (shoes). He sets store by well-known phrases and expressions. His writings are proverb-packed and pun-based, something unheard of in Urdu literature.

In the story Duniya Bhar Ke Raaste Waaste, he writes: Kisi bhi manzil tak pahunchne ki awwaleen shart hai raasta. Shahron main raaste iss liye banaye jaate hain ke waqt be-waqt khudai ke liye koee maqool jagah maissar ho, aur hadison ka koee bahana ho (Roads are the prerequisite to reach any destination. In cities roads are laid so that they come in handy for on and off digging and there is some pretext for accidents). About the roadways in China, he says Cheen ke raaste duniya ke raaston ke muqable main zara chain ka saans lete hain. And here is the masterstroke: Cheen ke tamam raaste Made in China hain.

Nadir Khan has developed the craft of playing on words. Idiomatic construction of sentences is his strong point. And he loves to exploit multiple meanings of a term. There is, of course, spontaneity in the use of expressions and this adds to the charm. Readers never feel that an expression has been squeezed in needlessly. In the story Hunooz Billi Door Ast, Nadir Khan’s writing prowess comes to the fore as he goes on a wordplay binge. The story is all about the terrific time rats give, their secret holes and clever exit points. There is nothing new about rat infestation, but the way Nadir Khan weaves the story with idioms and expressions makes it highly readable. Sample these sentences:

Baaz janwar dil main ghar kar jaate hain aur chuhe ghar main bil kar jaate hain. Nadir plays on the word ‘ghar’ and ‘bil’ to say how some animals make a home in hearts while some a burrow in homes. Then, he goes on to explain the ‘naak main dum’ created by rats and also the importance of ‘har-bil azeez’ rodents in medical testing. If only they stopped making runs from here to there. For this wishful thinking, he puns on Mirza Ghalib’s famous verse: Gharon main daudte phirne ke hum nahin qaail

Nadir Khan, who hails from Mumbai, is an engineer in urban designing. He took to Urdu fiction writing in 2006 but soon realised that he should write something different if he wants to stand out from the rest. Endowed with a natural flair for humour, he decided to make it his passion. But here too, he faced challenges as there are many big names in Urdu humour writing like Ibne Insha, Mushtaq Ahmed Yousufi (Pakistan) and Mujtaba Hussain of India.

“I have evolved a different style of humour writing which is engaging and full of proverbs,” says the 48-year-old writer who enthralled the audience at the recently-held annual humour conference of Zinda Dilan-e-Hyderabad.

Nadir Khan is careful in avoiding double meaning words and below-the-belt remarks. His stories are humorous in a dignified way. No wonder he has a good fan-following among women. The title of his first book itself is humorous. He has named it Baa-Adab Baa-Muhaawara Hoshiyaar.  His second book Nadir Shahi Tukde is almost ready and will be released shortly.

Nadir Khan keeps his short stories really short, sometimes just a few paragraphs. But, every para is laced with phrases and punchlines. When he writes about cricket, he says how Australia ‘cricket ko khel samjhta hai’. Describing the nabbing of a thief from a well he twists the well-known proverb to say ‘chor geele hathon pakda gaya’. In a ten-line write-up on Payedar Paye, he uses as many proverbs. Playing on the word ‘paya’ (goat’s legs), he writes how badi der tak paye aag par aur hum intezar main galte rahe (for a long time, the lamb trotters on fire and me in waiting kept roasting). In the short piece on Ainak Ka Bojh, he explains how spectacles rest on naak ke sar par pate ke bal while uski tangon ka bojh donon kanon ke kandhe sambhalte hain.

Writing about the shoe-hurling incident at George Bush by an Iraqi journalist, he says the media highlighted the targetted attack more than the gola-bari on Iraq. But, see the bravado of Bush who jootiyan kha ke be-maza na huva. Nadir Khan resorts to Ghalib’s famous verse to deliver the punch by replacing the word ‘gaaliyaan’ with ‘jootiyan’. His write-ups are such that readers will die laughing. And surely zindagi naam hai hans-hans ke mar janeka.

Nadir Khan’s sense of humour and irony come out in the story on matrimonial ads. He writes: Alliance is required from a teacher who is educated, a policeman who is honest, a professor who is attentive and a politician ‘jo galiyan kha ke be-maza na hua’.

Like all humour writers, a sidekick figures in Nadir Khan’s stories. This Quixote goes by the name Purjosh Puri and comes in handy for the author to take pot-shots. Many writers, including the king of humour, Mujtaba Hussain, feels Nadir Khan has the potential to emerge as the leading humour writer of Urdu.

Karta nahin hai tanz-nigari main aiyen-gaiyen

Khail hain iske rang ke khud Mujtaba Hussain

Ye Sargiroh-e-Khafila haraf saaz hai

Iss par to Urdu ke adeebon ko naaz hai

source: http://www.telanganatoday.com / Telangana Today / Home> Literature / by J S Ifthekhar / December 15th, 2019

Many shudder at my sight. But I don’t care: acid attack survivor Reshma Qureshi

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Community Involvement / Social Issues, , , , ,

Allahabad, UTTAR PRADESH / Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA  :

Qureshi talks of the attack that changed her life, her journey through depression and her book, Being Reshma

Reshma Qureshi / Image: Arnab Mondal
Reshma Qureshi /
Image: Arnab Mondal

She is a vlogger, has walked the ramp and is an youth icon. She is also an acid attack survivor. Reshma Qureshi talks of the attack that changed her life, her journey from depression and her book, Being Reshma (Pan Macmillian, Rs 599), at an event, An Author’s Afternoon, at the Alipore star hotel. She shared the dais with co-author Tania Singh, the CEO of NGO Make Love Not Scars, who traced the making of the book. They were in conversation with designer Agnimitra Paul.

Agnimitra Paul / Picture: Arnab Mondal
Agnimitra Paul /
Picture: Arnab Mondal

CHILDHOOD DAYS

Reshma: I was the youngest in the family and my father’s favourite. I used to be very naughty as a child. If I wanted something, I would get it somehow. I was also full of mischief. I would sell stuff from the house to buy treats that I fancied. Once I sold a gold ornament to buy apples. That was the time my mother had beat me up. I lived with my parents, two brothers and two sisters in Allahabad. My father was a taxi driver, but he had to sell his taxis when my mother was diagnosed with cancer.

WHY A BOOK ON RESHMA

Tania: We run a rehabilitation centre for acid attack survivors in Delhi. So many people confess they don’t have the courage to interact with a survivor. They wonder how I can work with them day in and day out. Such reaction has always left me shell-shocked. The minute you make a statement like this, you have made an attacker successful in his mission and you make survivors believe that they don’t belong to mainstream society. Many survivors, despite the trauma they go through, have retained their sense of humour. They have a love for life. They love dressing up and going out. Some of them will enjoy an occasional glass of wine. They are normal people.

Reshma is so inspiring. For a 17-year-old girl who was attacked with acid, she overcame depression in a year and a half. She went on to create videos that garnered millions of views, she gives beauty tutorials, walks the ramp and is always the first one to jump at every opportunity. She loves the colour pink and designs her own clothes, including the red jacket she is wearing today. I wanted the book to show people that you are not an accumulation of your circumstances. You are a human being first. I hope this book will help readers connect with survivors. When I am having a tough day I talk to these survivors and realise that nothing in the world is that bad. And that’s what I hope this book will give readers — courage.

Tania Singh / Image: Arnab Mondal
Tania Singh /
Image: Arnab Mondal

THE ATTACK AND TRAUMA

Reshma: I was attacked in Allahabad on May 19, 2014. My sister Gulshan’s husband was the perpetrator. My sister had a bad marriage. Her husband would physically abuse her and would not give her food. When my father was told of the situation, he brought Gulshan home. She had two kids. We admitted the boy to a school but his father kidnapped him from school. After that incident we slapped a case on my brother-in-law. One day he accosted Gulshan and me near the station. He caught me by the hair and two others pinned down my hands and threw acid on my face from a glass bottle. That minute I did not even understand what was thrown at me. Initially I thought maybe it was hot water. I heard my sister shouting. As she tried to catch the perpetrators her hands were also burnt. The culprits managed to run away. My face and eyes were burning, I could not see anything and we kept screaming but nobody came to help. I still have nightmares of the scene. Only one guy came to our rescue and dropped me home in his motorcycle, burning his back in the process. The minute my mother saw me she became unconscious. My whole face was burnt!

COLLABORATION AND CAMARADERIE

Tania: When I broached the idea of a book to Reshma, she was excited. At first I asked her about childhood memories and how she was attacked. I knew the story since her joining Make Love Not Scars. Reshma’s memory had a lot of lapses. People who go through trauma have certain vivid memories but they forget a few events in between because of depression. I had to fill up these gaps by talking to her family. I visited Reshma’s house in Mumbai. Her family made me biryani and were happy to have me over. I stayed there for a while and interviewed her mom, sister and brother. They filled me in on details of what happened while she was in the hospital and what it takes for a family to help a survivor recover. So while Reshma’s story is written from her perspective, it has anecdotes of what went on when she was not around. In Mumbai, I also bonded with Reshma, the person. I would stay in my friend’s place and Reshma would join me there for some fun time.

THE BATTLE

Reshma: Post-surgery, I was sent home after 15 days. I had not seen my face after the attack. I was taken to my aunt’s house since my home did not have an air-conditioner. When I finally saw my face on the washroom mirror, I was shocked. Scared I came out of the washroom and decided to go home. I did not feel like staying with my aunt. I kept howling even after I reached home. I could not accept my face. I was angry and upset at the same time. I hurled a glass at my brother in frustration. My brother told me to fight for my rights. He said it was my duty to put the perpetrators behind bars. He helped me get back the confidence. I met Ria Sharma, the founder of Make Love not Scars a few days later. Till then I had no clue how common acid attacks were. Ria showed me pictures of other survivors. I realised so many girls were living with greater scars. I got the strength to fight and start living.

REALITY CHECK

Tania: There is no data to tell the exact number of acid survivors in India. Datas are always contradictory. In 2017 the UK reported more acid attacks than India. I refuse to believe the UK has more victims than India. The rate of crime reported in that country must be higher. It is a reflection on the willingness of authorities to take down the victim’s complaint and of the society’s willingness to actually report the crime.

In India, the police and local authorities are often unwilling to take down the complaint. Sometimes survivors don’t go to cops as they are attacked by their own family members. There is a case in UP where a woman and her daughter were attacked by the husband and are still living with him. Again, in some cases, the victims might pass away before they have a chance to report the crime. So whatever the reported number is, the reality is always 15 to 20 times bigger.

Now the minimum sentence for an attacker is 10 years and a survivor is supposed to get compensation. After campaigns on social media more people are feeling confident to report the crime. Acid is a weapon and we have to recognise that. In America there are gun shootings. In India guns are not easily available, knives are messy so acid is the easiest weapon. It’s like throwing water on someone’s face. It leaves no trace. Attackers cover their bike’s number plate, wear helmets and drive off. It is the easiest crime to commit and the most brutal and long-lasting.

In 2015 we did a campaign with Reshma seeking ban on the sale of acid. There was a petition to the Supreme Court demanding implementation of the ban. We garnered over 350,000 signatures and SC upheld the petition. The law states you cannot sell acid to anyone without ID proof and specific purpose of purchase. But just like any law in India, implementation is the problem.

TURNING POINT IN LIFE 

Reshma: I met an acid attack survivor in the hospital in Mumbai. Both her eyes and nose were damaged. Seeing her I realised I am better off. The girl did not even have family support, unlike me. That incident got me thinking. I got strength from my family too. When I had recovered, my cousins would take me out for movies. Slowly my confidence grew. But people continued to stare and react insensitively. I would cover my face but people kept saying how my life was spoilt. Nobody appreciated my efforts to start living. Initially I was not even keen on applying make-up. I thought what was the point when you have scarred your face. But then I decided to give people a damn. There are many who look at me and shudder even now. But I don’t care. I keep telling other victims, too, to apply make up. Everybody deserves it. I have learnt to live for myself. Hopefully my efforts are giving strength to others.

ON NEW YORK FASHION WEEK 

Reshma: I had won an award for my beauty tips and campaigns. Ria (Sharma) told me at the award show that a greater surprise is awaiting me. I was told that I will participate at the New York Fashion Week and walk the ramp with other models. I was so thrilled that I cried for an hour. This was my first trip abroad. Ria was with me in New York. There was so many media. I was very scared before my ramp walk, but Ria gave me support. She told me the world was looking at me so I better be good. I did my job well and was praised. Since then I have travelled to many places.

BUCKET LIST

Reshma: I dream of a movie on my life where I am the heroine. I am the best fit for Reshma’s role.

The event, An Author’s Afternoon, is presented by Shree Cement and Taj Bengal and held in association with t2, Prabha Khaitan Foundation and literary agency Siyahi

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Online edition / Home> Books  by Chandreyee Ghose / January 16th, 2019