Category Archives: World Opinion

The Extraordinary Life Of Educationist Begum Zaffar Ali | #IndianWomenInHistory

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Leaders, NRI's / PIO's, World Opinion, , , , , , , ,

JAMMU & KASHMIR :

Begum Zaffar Ali. Credit: Wikipedia
Begum Zaffar Ali. Credit: Wikipedia

In the year of 1987, Begum Zaffar Ali, the first woman matriculate of Kashmir was awarded a Padma Shri for her extraordinary perseverance in being a women’s liberation activist and working towards empowering women through education. Brought up in a conservative setting where women’s movements, ideologies and bodies were controlled by the patriarch of the family, the perseverance towards creating awareness regarding education was certainly extraordinary.

Early years

Born in 1900, Begum Zaffar Ali was an educationist, women’s liberation activist and a social worker. She was also a legislator. Her maiden name was Syyeda Fatima Hussain, she was the daughter of Khan Bahadur Aga Syed Hussain the first matriculate of Kashmir, later Governor, Judge of the First High Court of Jammu and Kashmir, and Home and Judicial Minister during Maharaja Rule. Her mother Syyeda Sakina Sadaat belonged to a Sayyid family of Sabzevar Iran, which was an affluent business family in Kashmir.

Even though the place was largely conservative and Purdah was considered an essential part of a woman’s life, her parents were mostly supportive of her natural inclination towards academics and encouraged her in her quest to be more informed and performing well in studies.

She had a Christian governess from Europe to familiarise her with formal education and there was also a separate tutor to teach Begum Zaffar Ali and her siblings religion. She was taught housekeeping, home science training, health education, society, family and childcare by her home governess.

Marriage and involvement with activism

She was married to her cousin – Agha Zaffar Ali and had three children. She managed to spare sufficient time for her education. Her husband was supportive of her endeavour and actively encouraged her to pursue academics and challenge herself.

In 1925, she was invited to join as a teacher at the girls’ school run by Miss Mallinson and Miss Bose in Fateh Kadal area of Srinagar. Despite her initial reluctance, she decided to join and started taking classes along with her children from their home tutor.

It was during this period she started her participation in social movements, and at a personal capacity started looking out for the girls she was teaching in schools. She taught them to maintain personal hygiene and inculcated good habits and etiquettes in them. Begum Zaffar Ali was not subtle about her love for education and she was suggested by the home tutor to take the matriculation exam.

Initially, she was hesitant as no woman in the Valley had passed the matriculation before, but putting her initial hesitation aside and giving precedence to her love for education, she decided to appear for the examination in 1930. She successfully passed in the second division in the exam and was celebrated for breaking the glass ceiling.

Since she was the first Kashmiri woman to achieve this feat, she was awarded a gold medal for the same.

Social Activism

She completed her graduation in 1938, immediately after which she started pursuing her post-graduation. As a credit to her qualifications, she served as Head Mistress for several different schools in the Valley. A staunch believer in women’s rights, Begum Zaffar Ali literally went door to door to raise awareness regarding girls’ education in the Valley and persevered to empower them through education. Shortly after, she was also appointed as Inspector of Schools in Kashmir, rewarding the passion she displayed as an educationist.

Begum Zaffar Ali was a fine orator, and would often indulge in public speaking to create awareness for the cause she backed. She would speak at several public events and in schools and inspired adulation among girls in the Valley for the very same reason. Her strong presence in public life and consciousness of Kashmir was further strengthened by the Teachers Club.

Teachers Club organised events and public gatherings, and Begum Zaffar Ali was instrumental in laying the foundation for it. She was a key member along with Tara Devi, the Maharani of Kashmir. The purpose of the club centred around discussion of women’s issues and their rights and she was actively involved in the conversation regarding women’s movement in India. She was the general secretary of the Ladies Club. Pre-Independence, she was also the secretary of All India Women’s Conference .

She later left the conference after a chance meeting with Muhammad Jinnah and his sister Fatima Jinnah, she directed her efforts towards the emancipation of women and their liberation.

She held several posts in the Department of Education and served in various capacities. She served as principal in several schools, she served as an education officer, she served as chief education officer as well as the chief inspector in schools of Kashmir.

As a chief inspector, she also introduced mid-day meals in school. Before her retirement, she was also appointed as the Deputy Director Education Kashmir for her relentlessness in the matter of empowerment through education. She was also a member of the Social Welfare Advisory Board, Jammu and Kashmir.

Later years

Begum Zaffar Ali also established a technical training centre for women of limited means in the Valley, in the capacity of Deputy Chairman of the advisory board. Between 1977-82, she also became a member of the Legislative Assembly and tried to bring out various reforms for education and women’s emancipation along with other social issues. The policies she endorsed were by and large progressive and directed towards the upliftment of women.

In 1987, she was the recipient of Padma Shri, India’s highest civilian award for her social work and her perseverance in working for women’s liberation and education. However, later in a televised protest in Doordarshan, she returned the award citing the then Government’s harsh and unfair policies as a reason.

Image Credit: Academy of American Poets
Image Credit: Academy of American Poets

Death

Begum Zafar Ali died in 1999 at the age of 99 at the residence of her son Agha Shaukat Ali  in the United States of America. Her grandson Agha Shahid Ali an award-winning Kashmiri-American poet, wrote a poem in memory of her which was included in the collection The Veiled Suite : The Collected Poem . 

source: http://www.feminisminindia.com / Feminism In India.com / Home> History / by Shruti Janardhanan / November 14th, 2017

Sharif Manzil’s Hakims

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Freedom Fighters (under research project), Leaders, Travel & Tourism, World Opinion, , , , , , , , , , ,

NEW DELHI :

Hakim02MPOs30dec2017

Not far from Gali Mir Qasim Jan, where Ghalib’s haveli is situated, is Sharif Manzil. Here the descendants of the famous hakim Sharif Khan live in comfort. Among the hakims of Sharif Manzil were such physicians as Mahmud Khan and his sons, of whom Hakim Ajmal Khan (in sketch) became almost a legend in his lifetime. It was he who established the Hindustani Dawakhana nearby and also the Tibbia College in Karol Bagh.

At Sharif Manzil, which had dropped the suffix haveli, came rajas and maharajas and even government officials, besides ordinary people to seek medical advice from Ajmal Khan and his two elder brothers. During the “Mutiny” of 1857, the Manzil was guarded by the troops of the Maharaja of Patiala, who patronised the hakims. Ghalib too escaped arrest and destruction of his haveli because the hakims sent some of the Patiala soldiers to guard it. When Ghalib’s younger brother died and a sort of curfew order was in force in the troubled city it was under the protection of these troopers that the dead body was taken for burial.

Lala Chunna Mal’s haveli in Chandni Chowk is a 120-room building with shops below it. The haveli is partly occupied by his descendants, while the others have locked their rooms and gone to stay in modern bungalows in the posh areas of New Delhi. Chunna Mal, who belonged to the Khatri community, was an influential banker of the Mughals and a friend of the Sharif Manzil hakims, but after the “Mutiny” he came into the good books of the British, who allowed him (on payment) to take control of some Mehrauli palaces and Fatehpuri Masjid, which was given back to the Muslims only in 1877, otherwise it was closed to the namazis.

Skinner’s haveli in Kashmere Gate area is now a ruin of its former self and occupied by transporters. It was at this haveli that Col Skinner used to hold his lavish parties in which the main attraction was his friend and British Resident at the Mughal court, William Frazer. The Christmas, New Year and Easter get-togethers here have passed into legend.

The havelis of Mirza Jahangir and fellow-royal Mirza Babar in Nizamuddin were magnificent buildings during the last days of the Mughals and still retain some of their old grandeur.

source: http://www.thestatesman.com / The Statesman / Home> Features / Statesman News Service  / December 17th, 2017

The amazing Hakim Sahib

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Freedom Fighters (under research project), Leaders, Science & Technology, World Opinion, , , , , , ,

NEW DELHI :

Illustration by Vinay Kumar | Photo Credit: 01dmc rvsmith
Illustration by Vinay Kumar | Photo Credit: 01dmc rvsmith

Providing a healing touch to the sick and the destitute, there are several stories associated with Hakim Ajmal Khan

An Oriental wearing a Western suit and carrying a small box walked down a street in Paris when he saw a man rolling on the ground. Quickly he took out something from the box and, after a few minutes, the man got up, clutched his stomach for a while and then, with a nod of thanks, walked away. The Oriental was Hakim Ajmal Khan who had put away his sherwani and pyjamas to don a suit during his visit to France in 1925. It was widely believed by generations of Delhiites that Ajmal Khan had a magic chest from which he took out medicines to effect near-miraculous cures, like that of a woman in England with an abnormal issue of monthly blood and an epileptic at an Iraqi shrine. He spent nine years as the guest of the Nawab of Rampur, where he revived a dying begum.

Over the years, since his death in 1927, people seem to have forgotten the great hakim whose lasting legacy is the Unani Tibbia College in Karol Bagh. But last week Jamia Millia Islamia held a symposium on the works of Hakim Sahib, who was one of its founders and also the first Chancellor in 1920. It was decided to set up a Hakim Ajmal Khan Institute for Literary and Historical Research in Unani Medicine at Jamia Millia. The proposed institute would translate the classical works on Unani medicine which are hitherto available only in Urdu and Arabic.

Hakim Ajmal Khan was descended from Hakim Sharif Khan. His father Hakim Mahmud Khan was one of the three sons of Sharif Khan and, interestingly enough, also had three sons of whom Ajmal Khan was the youngest. His elder brother, Hakim Abdul Majid died in 1901 and the second brother three years later. Ajmal Khan founded the Tibbia Conference in 1906 to bring hakims together for joint initiatives. His popularity increased with each passing year and he began to be regarded as a man whose views on medicine, politics and religion were widely respected, not only by Hindus and Muslims but also by Europeans like C. F. Andrews and Sir Malcolm Hailey, Chief Commissioner of Delhi. Mahatma Gandhi, six years younger than Ajmal Khan, was the one who opened Tibbia College in 1920 though he regarded Unani and other medicines as “black magic” and believed in natural cures.

It is interesting to note that Ajmal Khan started off by wearing the Mughal angarkhas, then switched over to the Aligarh sherwani and pyjamas and then suits for foreign visits he made in 1911 and 1925, besides the one in between to Shia religious places in the Middle East. When Ahmed Ali wrote his “Twilight in Delhi”, he couldn’t help mentioning the great hakim in it as the one who had attended to the novel’s hero, Mir Nihal after a paralytic attack. The hakim gave him rare medicines and also prescribed the soup of wild pigeons, caught by the Mir’s Man Friday, Ghafoor, whose own wife had died of abdominal ulcers since she was wedded at a young age to a much older. Even the hakim could not cure her as Ghafoor did not exercise restraint. But Mir Nihal surely benefited from his medication, as also the goat being masqueraded as a sick purdah woman and prescribed green grass.

Barbara D. Metcalf, who wrote a learned paper on Ajmal Khan and his family, recalled the words of the poet Hali on the death in 1900 of Hakim Mahmud Khan: “…Mahmud Khan’s strength was an honour to our race/ But he too, left the World. Alas, the fortune of our race/Ajmal Khan filled up the gap with élan. Not only that, he was also a born poet with the pseudonym of Shahid Dihlawi (possessed lover from Delhi) and left behind a dewan of his poetry, which he sometimes recited at mushairas and during debates on who was greater: Daagh or Zauq. Surprisingly enough Ghalib was left hanging in between.”

Being a man of common sense, despite dabbling in romanticism, he refused to entertain fakirs who claimed to have secrets of alchemy. Ahmed Ali writes about Mir Sangi who had wasted his wealth in trying to make gold and of Molvi Dulhan, dressed as “the bride of God in red sari and with bangles and long hair like a woman”.

According to the Moulvi, there is a prescription written on the Southern Gate of the Jama Masjid which no one has been able to unravel. It says (for alchemy is needed) “half a piece of That”! However the vital word describing ‘That’ is missing though a fakir once claimed that it was ‘actually a small, golden flower with red circles and dots on the petals”. When the problem was referred to Ajmal Khan he wrinkled his forehead and remarked “There are other things worth seeking instead of the art of making gold which remains a fantasy”. The writing on the masjid gate is just a brain teaser.”

The hakim sahib is then said to have walked away with a shrug of his shoulders, still what followed him was the belief that the Sharifi family had a special verbal formula (amal-i-taskhir) which never failed to effect a cure. It is not known whether Ajmal Khan divulged it to his successors but those who came for treatment to the Hindustani Dawakhana in Ballimaran probably thought he had, for after all wasn’t he the “Masiha-e-Hind!”.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society / by R.V. Smith / May 31st, 2015

HPS students represent India at U.N. session at Bonn

Education, World Opinion

Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

The students of Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet, who took part in the 13th Conference of Young Climate Activists.
The students of Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet, who took part in the 13th Conference of Young Climate Activists.

A team of nine students and their facilitator from Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet, represented India for the first time in the 13th Conference of Young Climate Activists in the run up to the 23rd United Nations Climate Summit at the headquarters of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at Bonn in Germany last month.

The students led by Tharunimm Jamal shared with the gathering at Bonn a report on climate change in India. The report was the result of four months of painstaking efforts by the students preparing blogs, researching and gathering information on climate change, a release said.

It added that Mr. Jamal presented India’s voice in green peace rally at Bonn and made some presentations on climate challenges facing the country. On return, Mayor Bonthu Rammohan met the team and presented it appreciation letters on behalf of the GHMC.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent /  Hyderabad – December 23rd, 2017

Indians for Collective Action Hosts 49th Anniversary Gala Awards Banquet

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

UTTAR PRADESH / Saratoga, California, USA :

The Indians for Collective Action's Annual Awards Banquet Oct. 28 honored (l-r) Indian Americans Kamil and Talat Hasan, seen here with Dr. Anuradha Luther Maitra (photo provided)
The Indians for Collective Action’s Annual Awards Banquet Oct. 28 honored (l-r) Indian Americans Kamil and Talat Hasan, seen here with Dr. Anuradha Luther Maitra (photo provided)

Menlo Park, Calif. :

Indians for Collective Action, a San Francisco Bay Area-based nonprofit established in 1968 at the UC Berkeley campus with a motto of ‘Development through Innovation’, celebrated its 49th year anniversary with its ‘Annual Awards Banquet’ at the Arrillaga Family Recreation Center here Oct. 28.

The awardees this year were Sonam Wangchuk, founder of the Student Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh, and founder of the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives Ladakh; as well as Silicon Valley-based Indian American philanthropists Talat and Kamil Hasan.

The blockbuster Bollywood movie, “3 Idiots,” was in large part based on Wangchuk’s life. He has increased the high school graduation rate in Ladakh’s districts from 5 percent to 70 percent in a decade.

“It is pleasant to see that people from India in this country are connected and caring for the country of their origin. After having worked with schools to bring reforms, to make them future ready, we are now working with higher education universities to create an alternative university that does education as it should be—more engaged and practical rather than just theory, which is what happens in most institutes of higher learning whether in India or the U.S.,” Wangchuk told India-West.

“Just sitting down and listening to lectures is not in harmony with human nature. Youth are not suited for sitting for hours in a classroom. We are a more hands on species and that is how we learn. This is what we are working towards and hoping that it will not only solve the problems of higher education in a place like Ladakh but in other parts of India and the world too,” Sonam added.

“We are working to engage young people to solve real life problems and if it succeeds, the ripple effects will influence universities in rest of India and the world that needs something more engaging than what we currently have,” he continued. “Higher education is too theoretical, up in the air and abstract and not related to life in most places and people feel it. Higher education of today does not prepare you for real life and people are looking forward to something more real than mumbo jumbo of words.”

Working in partnership with dedicated social workers and organizations in India and the U.S., ICA has supported 370 development projects totaling to more than 8.5 million in 25 states in India.

Bhupen Mehta, the organization’s co-president spoke about some of ICA’s projects like SEWA Rural’s IamTeCHO mobile phone technology rolled out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in cooperation with WHO and UNICEF, as well as the Jaipur Foot Camp Rajkot that has been scaled by Modi in Rajkot.

“I request you all to give your tan, man and dhan (efforts, heart, and wealth) in whichever order that you want to ICA,” Mehta said. “We are getting senior in age and would like to retire. We are looking for youth to take over ICA and run it for the next 50 years.”

The foundation only works with NGOs with guiding principles of secularism, non-partisanship and democracy with a vision of a secure life for every Indian, in a sustainable environment and a just society.

It provides seed funding, ongoing financial resources, moral and technical support to innovative, community-based, scalable development initiatives.

Some of the initiatives of ICA include the youth project helping connect youth in the U.S. with NGOs in India for hands-on social development experience; and its fellowship fund to help activists in India, especially women, in securing opportunities to come to the U.S. for higher training in the areas of environment, women and child development work.

Kamil Hasan expressed his admiration for ICA’s work and went on to say that the main impetus of all the philanthropic activities that he and his wife, Talat Hasan ,have engaged in are to raise the profile of the Indian American community, so that it can make an impact on mainstream American society economically, socially and politically.

He opined that the Jewish community is a good example to emulate and there are four angles — economic success, philanthropy, cultural education and political involvement — that any community keen to raise its profile in U.S., has to work on.

“We have done very well in the area of economic success and fairly well in philanthropy within the community and in India and cultural dissemination via Bollywood movies, actors, yoga, etc.,” Hasan said. “But we have a lot of work to do in expanding our philanthropy to the mainstream community and in political involvement and public service.”

This was followed by a speech on the legacy of philanthropy by Talat Hasan, who amusingly narrated the philosophy passed down by her father, historian and ambassador, Nurul Hasan. She said that her father told her that since she had been privileged by accidental birth, she has an obligation to give back more to society than she had taken.

“I learnt from my parents that working for the community is not a feel-good activity. It is an obligation and should be an integral part of life,” Talat Hasan said. “You should not wait until retirement to do good, and anything that you take on should be sustainable, not just financially but also in such a way that long after you are gone, the work continues.”

source: http://www.indiawest.com / India West / Home> Featured  / by Shalini Kathuria Narang, Special to India West / November 02nd, 2017

Biographies of Kamil and Talat Hasan

Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Leaders, NRI's / PIO's, Science & Technology, World Opinion, , , , , ,

Lucknow , UTTAR PRADESH / Saratoga, California , USA :

Kamil and Talat Hasan have two daughters and live in Saratoga, California. They have recently purchased land in Santa Cruz county and intend to establish a home there as well. They are actively involved in charity and educational activities through the Hasan Family Foundation.

Kamil Hasan

Kamil Hasan is a general partner in the San Jose-based venture company, Hitek Venture Partners. He received his B.S. in engineering from Aligarh Muslim University, India, in 1967, an M.S. degree in engineering from M.I.T, in 1969, and a Ph.D. degree in engineering from UC, Berkeley in 1973. After receiving his Ph.D., he taught at the Indian Institute of Technology, Dehli, as an assistant professor of engineering and later at Stanford University as an associate professor of engineering.

For more than 25 years, Hasan has worked in the software industry. He founded Hitek Venture Partners in 1995, to invest in early-stage companies in the internet, e-commerce, telecommunications, and enterprise software areas. He has a portfolio of 35 companies and serves on the board of five of these companies.

Kamil’s articles have appeared in more than 50 technical and trade journals, and he is a recipient of a John F. Lincoln Foundation award for outstanding achievement in engineering design.

Talat Hasan

Talat Hasan is chairman and CEO of Sensys Instruments, a company she founded in 1996 to market products for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. She holds an M.A. in physics from Oxford University and a B.Sc. in physics from Aligarh Muslim University, India.

Prior to founding Sensys, she was vice president of corporate business development at Tencor Instruments (now KLA/Tencor), and, in 1983, was cofounder of Prometrix Corporation, serving as a board member and senior vice president of strategic planning when the company merged with Tencor.

Previously, she worked as a scientist, conducting research in semiconductor characterization and process control and working for almost five years at Signetics Corporation/Philips Research Labs in Sunnyvale.

She currently serves on the board of directors of Microbar and the board of trustees of Castilleja School (a private school for girls) and of IBPW (Indian Business and Professional Women), and is a charter member of TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs). She is also active, with her husband, as an Angel Investor for start-up companies and a mentor to several budding entrepreneurs. Also with her husband, she is in the process of establishing the Nurul Hasan Educational Foundation (named after her late father, Professor Nurul Hasan, who was Minister of Education in the cabinet of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and was a governor of the State of West Bengal, India).

source: http://www.1.ucsc.edu / UC Santa Cruz Current Online / by Barbara McKenna / October 16th, 2000

Glorious arch over Telugu meet regales ballad & king Qutub Shah

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, World Opinion, , , , , , , , , ,

Hyderabad, TELANGANA  :

ArchMPOs27dec2017

Hyderabad :

Malkibharamuni. The name may not ring a bell for many Hyderabadis. But much of the rich and varied cultural and linguistic heritage of Telugu owes to this former ruler of Telangana. For the first time, Ibrahim Qutub Shah IV, revered as Malkibharamuni in Telugu ballads and legends, gets recognition in the World Telugu Conference.

Ibrahim Qutub Shah, who patronized Telugu and issued royal decrees in the language, had endeared the people of his times by popularizing the local language through mega literacy drives. He and his successor Mohammad Quli Qutub Shah V, who founded Hyderabad and built Charminar, had a number of Telugu poets in the royal Qutub Shahi court. Ibrahim Qutub Shah was fluent in Telugu and his generosity towards Telugu language and culture was so high that he continues to live as a legendary Malkibharamuni in the world of Telugu literature and folks songs.

Malkibharamuni figures in the list of 83 personalities, who had contributed to the development of Telugu language. One of the arches to be erected in the city to welcome the delegates of the World Telugu Conference will be dedicated to him. Historian Abdul Majeed Siddiqui in his “History of Golcunda” published about eight decades ago extols the Qutub Shahi ruler saying that Ibrahim’s “lasting service in the domain of politics and culture had lent fascination to the name of the remarkable king and had made him alegendary figure in the Telugu literature. He is Malkibharam (Malkibharamuni) of legend and ballads.”

According to Siddiqi, Telugu, received encouragement and Telugu was patronized as liberally as Arabic and Persian languages. “Telugu poets and prose-writers were munificently encouraged and rewarded,” he said. Mohammad Quli is believed to have composed poems in Telugu too.

The Qutub Shah’s poetry “depicts his impressions about the life and culture of the Telugu society. It shows his sympathy with the local life and traditions,” Siddiqi adds.

In fact, the Qutub Shahis were the first non-Telugu kings, who spoke and wrote in Telugu. The language was at its golden peak during the period of Ibrahim and Mohammad Quli.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City News> Hyderabad News / by Syed Akbar / TNN / December 11th, 2017

RWITC pays tribute to forgotten trainer

NRI's / PIO's, Sports, World Opinion

MAHARASHTRA  / Bangalore, KARNATAKA :

Dr Cyrus Poonawalla holding the SM Shah Trophy presented to him by the late trainer’s son Kaleem Shah (in light blue chequered blazer). PIC: RS GUPTA
Dr Cyrus Poonawalla holding the SM Shah Trophy presented to him by the late trainer’s son Kaleem Shah (in light blue chequered blazer). PIC: RS GUPTA

The Royal Western India Turf Club mostly prefers to stick to its traditional format when framing its year-long horse-racing programme. But the turf club’s management does make occasional concessions as it did when springing a pleasant surprise with the inclusion of a race in memory SM Shah on Sunday. Late SM Shah, incidentally, was veteran SS Shah’s elder brother who passed away earlier this year.

The younger generation probably may not have heard much about Majeed Shah but old-timers would certainly recollect him as a hard-working and celebrated trainer who carved a place in the heart of the ardent horse-racing fans during an era, which was dominated by the likes of ALJ Talib, Aziz Mahmoud, DP Pandole, Dady Adenwalla and Major VM Lad. He held sway for over two decades before moving permanently to Bangalore in the late 70‘s.

Shah saddled three Indian Derby winners: Nijinsky (1967), Our Select (1968) and Bright Hanovar (1971). He also trained other prominent winners like Hard Held, Bade Miya, Beandaz and Bakhtawar. Apart from MD Mehta and Laxmi P Lala, Shah was patronised by late Mary Homi Wadia aka Fearless Nadia and Mehmood, the actor par excellence and a superstar in his own right who brought glamour to the game with his presence at the racecourse.

Fitting finale

The race framed in memory of the late trainer who spent two decades in Western India was not in RWITC’s prospectus but Shah’s eldest son Kaleem, an American citizen now, helped RWITC pay a perfect tribute to his father. Not only did he sponsor a glittering gold trophy worth a lakh of rupees for the winner but, in a noble gesture, also gave away twenty thousand rupees each to the grooms of five best turned out horses during the day.

By the way, Kaleem, contrary to his father’s wish, ventured into owning horses in USA by purchasing his first thoroughbred in 1996 and gradually increased his bloodstock to become one of the big owners. Kaleem’s famous win till date has been with Bayern who won the Breeders’ Cup Classic, worth US$ 5 million, in 2014. Bayern was saddled by one of USA’s top horse-trainer Bob Baffert.

Returning to the running of the SM Shah Trophy, call it providence if you like; it was won by the filly Priceless Art, owned by none other than Cyrus Poonawalla. It was only fitting that the trophy was presented by one passionate racehorse owner-breeder to another.

Chivalrous gesture

On a day of festivities when the entire Shah clan was in attendance at Mahalaxmi to witness the race, what came as a dampener was that most race-goers were unaware of the significance of the event. The RWITC replayed a video clip which showed some of India’s senior professionals paying tribute to one of their colleagues and that was it.

No effort was made to highlight Majeed Shah’s achievements as a professional or his son’s feat as a race-horse owner in the United States. It was Kaleem’s sobriety that neither did he demand attention from the club’s administration nor the club’s officials.

However, it was Cyrus Poonawalla’s chivalry that saved RWITC some blushes as the former was only too happy to accompany Kaleem for most of the time till the day’s races were over.

source: http://www.punemirror.indiatimes.com / Pune Mirror / Home> Columns / by Usman Rangeela, Columnist, Pune Mirror / December 27th, 2017

Armenian X’mas link

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, Travel & Tourism, World Opinion,

Agra, UTTAR PRADESH :

ArmenianChurchMPOs26dec2017

This Christmas, let’s rewind to the times when the cross and the crescent met in the Capital

Christmas is much the same everywhere but the medieval Armenian one was different. Even the Cross (that proclaims Christ’s crucifixion) had its own peculiar shape, hardly seen in Catholic and Protestant churches, except in old cemeteries, like the one in Agra which was once a Mughal orchard gifted to an Armenian lady by Akbar in the 17th Century. In Armenian celebrations, cakes were there, of course, but the emphasis was on animal sacrifices. The cakes and sweet breads were embellished with raisins (kishmish). No wonder non-Christians started calling Christmas “Kishmish”.

The visit of the former Armenian President, Levon Der Petrossian during Indira Gandhi’s time was a reminder of the age-old ties between India and Armenia, two countries where the Aryan influence predominated. The visit of Vice-President Hamid Ansari earlier this year was a follow-up to the one by Mrs Gandhi’s to Yeravan.

Armenia is an ancient country which has been regarded as “the doorway between East and West.” Mount Ararat, where Noah’s Ark rested after the Deluge, was in the present Turkish part of Armenia and it was there that those who were saved from the great flood along with the patriarch settled down to create a new world. It was, therefore, natural for Christianity to take root there in its initial days. It is worth mentioning, however, that the old beliefs of the Armenians were incorporated into the Church for quite a long time. Animals were sacrificed in the church porch before the celebration of the Eucharest, especially at X’mas and Easter. The Armenians had started coming to the Mughal Empire some years before the invasion of their country by Turkey. They found the hospitality that they needed and built churches in Delhi, which, however, do not exist now.

At Agra also they built a chapel and the son of a nobleman, Mirza Zulquarnain, was brought up by Akbar. He was later to become the head of the salt works at Sambar. The Mirza is known as the Father of Christianity in North India because it was during his time that the cross and the crescent met in the Mughal Capital.

Mirza Zulquarnain’s palace occupied the land where the British later built the Agra Central Prison, which in recent times has made way for the ambitious shopping project known as Sanjay Place. It was on this piece of land that a cathedral was erected by the Capuchins 200 years later. The Armenians planted olive trees, one of which still survives near Akbar’s church. The mystical cross was used as an emblem on even residential buildings. It is said that during Akbar’s time after Christmas Mass the sick members of the congregation drank of the water in which earlier a crucifix had been bathed. It was supposed to cure patients, or so the belief went. In the Martyrs’ Cemetry at Agra are the graves of many Armenians which look like Muslim graves with Persian inscriptions. One of the graves, that of the saintly Armenian merchant, Khwaja Mortiniphas is still venerated, along with that of Fr. Santus. Some say he was related to the Bishop of Tabriz and became a hermit in later life after giving all his wealth to the poor.

In Delhi, the most famous Armenian tomb is that of Sarmad Shaheed at the foot of the Jama Masjid. Kishanganj, between old Delhi and Sarai Rohila stations, also has some Armenian graves, besides those of Dutch nationals some connected to the Mughal Court like Bibi Juliana. Incidentally, the Chief Justice in Akbar’s reign was Abdul Hayee, an Armenian Christian.

Destroyed by Nadir Shah

There were two Armenian churches in Delhi, one near the slaughter house, beyond the old Sabzi Mandi, another in Sarai Rohilla; though accounts of their exact location differ. According to Sir Edward Maclagan, there were 120 catholics in Delhi during Shah Jahan’s reign in 1650. Their number went upto 300 by 1686, when Aurangzeb was on the throne. Two priests looked after them. A Catholic cemetery was also in existence from 1656. Father Desideri, who came to the city from Tibet, found the churches in ruins in 1732 (Mohd Shah’s reign). He stayed on for three years and built a new Armenian church dedicated to the Virgin Mary and blessed on All Souls’ Day, Nov 2, 1723. In 1739, this church and another Armenian one were destroyed by the Persian invader, Nadir Shah during the massacre of Delhi. One of the churches was rebuilt in 1746, and blessed on Christmas Eve. Later another Armenian church came up, but both seem to have been razed in the early 19th century.

When the Armenians held X’mas celebrations, boys and girls dressed as angels greeted Akbar and later Jahangir at their church in Agra which still exists. After that the two emperors watched the Christmas play and later sent the ladies of the harem to see the crib depicting Christ’s truth in a manger. Armenian X’mas is now a nostalgic memory but when the church bells peal for midnight Mass at Christmas in the Cathedral near Akbar’s church, the Armenian spirit is revived as the local Padritolians pull the ropes of the five huge bells imported from Belgium by the Italian Capuchin fathers. This tradition dates back to Armenian times, when one of the bells broke and could be lifted with great difficulty by two elephants, who deposited it in the Mughal Kotwali till Jahangir had it repaired and restored to the old church.

Probably the most famous Armenian in Indian history was Shah Nazar Khan who cast the Zamzamah gun for the Third Battle of Panipat (1761) on the orders of Ahmed Shah Abdali and about which Kipling wrote: “Who hold Zam-Zamah, that fire-breathing dragon, hold the Punjab”. The giant on wheels, gun is now parked in front of the Lahore Museum, while Nazar Khan rests in Agra where father discovered the nearly-obliterated Persian inscription on his tomb in December 1935, almost two years before one was born. Merry Christmas!

source:  http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Miscellaenous> Othes / by R.V.  Smith / December 26th, 2017

AMU Faculty Elected As Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry

Education, Science & Technology, World Opinion, , ,

Aligarh, UTTAR PRADESH :

ProfAsadullahMPOs23dec2017

Dr Asad Ullah Khan, Professor in Biotechnology Unit, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), has been elected as Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry. The designation FRSC is given to a group of elected Fellows of the society who have made major contributions to chemistry and other interface disciplines such as biological chemistry. The names of Fellows are published each year in The Times (London).

The contribution of Prof Asad in the field of drug designing against antibiotic resistant bacteria gained this recognition to his credit. He has been working for a decade on antibiotic resistance in bacteria and trying to develop way to get rid of this global problem. He has discovered many molecules and experimentally proved them as drug candidates against resistant bacteria for future antibiotic development.
His work has been recognized by national and international scientific societies.
He is also recipient of prestigious National Biosciences award 2012, given by Science and Technology, Government of India.
source:  http://www.myamu.in / My AMU / Home> News / November 16th, 2017