The wind-catcher at the Takht Mahal in Bidar fort.— photo: gopichand t.
This natural cooling system is in existence in the old Bidar fort
What is the warranty period on your air-conditioning system — five, seven or at the most 12 years? How about a system that has a warranty of 550 years?
Bidar fort houses this system. The Gagan Mahal, or the grand palace that has the takht (throne), has just such a natural cooling structure.
Local guides call it the ‘Bahmani AC’. Built by the Bahmani kings in the 15th century, it still functions.
Cool air gushes out from the bottom of the twin tunnels that are connected to towers on the ceiling. However, the roof of the building has collapsed, depriving visitors of a real air-conditioned experience.
The technique involved is simple. Hot air, sucked in from the surroundings, moves up a quadrangular pillar. It gets cooled, gains weight and comes down. Air is thus cooled by convection and evaporation.
The walls of the tower, exposed to the sun, attract cool humid air towards them. This happens through multiple vents, providing ample supply of cool air. Two such pillars are fixed in each room, on opposite sides of the hall.
These structures, called Badgeer, Malqaf or Hawa Khamba (wind-catcher), are also found in other buildings, including the Rangeen Mahal, Turkash Mahal or Queen’s Palace, and the Diwan-e-Khas or VIP enclosure.
There are some such structures inside the city too. Havelis of zamindars and the rich had these structures. “I had saw them while growing up in the old city,” says historian Abdul Samad Bharati.
V. Govindan Kutty, groundwater expert who has worked on the Surang Bavi system of medieval era aqua ducts in Bidar, said the method of cooling buildings involved both wind tunnels and underground water canals.
“There were several wind-catchers along the Jamuna Mori or the Shukla Teertha channels originating in the old city and ending in the Bidar fort. Some houses had basements where people would collect water. The combination of wind-catchers and underground channels led to general cooling of these houses,” Mr. Kutty said. He points out that this system is used extensively in Iran, where multiple wind-catchers are built over cisterns to chill water.
“The government should take steps to conserve these structures” says Digambar Thakur, heritage enthusiast.
This natural cooling system is in existence in the old Bidar fort
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Rishikesh Bahadur Desai / Bidar – July 31st, 2015
The Rampur Raza Library is renowned globally for its collection of ancient manuscripts from South Asia. The library has now organised an exhibition of Qurans, inviting scholars to view ancient manuscripts of the holy Quran in the month of Ramzan.
Some of the manuscripts on display are among the oldest pieces of Arabic calligraphy. A 7th century Quran written on parchment in the early Kufic script, attributed to Hazrat Ali (d. AD 661) is on display. Viewers are lining up to see this rare manuscript.
An 8th century manuscript of the Quran is attributed to Imam Jafar Sadiq, whose unique penmanship is widely appreciated.
A 9th century script is attributed to Imam Abul Hasan Musa, who served as prime minister to three caliphs of Baghdad. He died on July 20, 941 AD. His Quran is in the early Naskh style, popular in the 10th century. This form of calligraphy continues to be in vogue, with some changes.
Maulana Mohammad Irshad Nadvi, who is coordinating the exhibition, said, “The library also has a copy of a Quran written by master calligrapher of the 13th century Baghdad, Yaqut-al Musta Simi. It is decorated in gold and precious lapis lazuli.”
Nadvi said another masterpiece of Arabic manuscript by this calligrapher, titled Diwan-al-Hadira and dating to 1221 AD is part of the royal library of Sultan Ibrahim Adil Shah of Bijapur.
The exhibition also displays calligraphy in Arabic that created its own pseudo-geography, with exquisite and richly illustrated figures of human beings, animals and birds. Some of this came from the pen of 13th century calligrapher Zakaria bin Mahmud al-Qazvini.
Among the assets of the library on display is the Arabic manuscript Sharhal-Kafia of Razi. It bears marginal notes by Nawab Sadullah Khan, prime minister of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. Among the many seals on this manuscript is one of emperor Aurangzeb.
Jacob Thorek Jensen, who is visiting the exhibition from Denmark and serves as advisor to a Danish culture agency, said, “This is a brilliant show of the elaborate calligraphy of writers of the Quran.”
Library spokesman Himanshu Singh said visitors to the library and the exhibition come from different faiths.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Bareilly / by Nazar Abbas, TNN / July 16th, 2015
Special Camaraderie: “Throughout, Mandela retained hope, confident that sooner or later, the battle for equality would will be won.” Picture shows Nelson Mandela and Ahmed Kathrada. / by Special Arrangement / The Hindu
Ahmed Kathrada, who was on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela, recalls his famous co-prisoner’s eternal optimism.
As the world celebrated Nelson Mandela International Day on July 18 — Mandela’s birth anniversary — the air of mystery surrounding his long years of imprisonment is slowly being lifted. Mandela once called his time in prison “a long holiday”, a picture belying a life of denial and discrimination. For 10 years, Mandela was denied bread, his food was rationed, and he had to wear a humiliating uniform. Yet, according to new accounts of his time at Robben Island, where he spent 18 years in detention, Mandela was a picture of positivity.
Ahmed Kathrada was his fellow prisoner for 26 years. Prisoners with brown skin, many of whom were of Indian descent, were given preferential treatment over black prisoners. For instance, they wore trousers, while Mandela was only permitted to wear shorts. Yet, there was a sense of common cause and camaraderie. Mr. Kathrada and other prisoners would happily share their bread with Mandela and rejoiced when, three years into detention, Mandela was allowed to wear trousers. Throughout, Mandela retained hope, confident that sooner or later the battle for equality would be won.
These and other moments of joy and companionship were shared by Mr. Kathrada in a telephonic conversation with The Hindu. Mr. Kathrada also spoke of his latest book Triumph of the Human Spirit, in which he has written about his 300 visits to Robben Island as a tour guide since his release in 1990.
He is also updating his book No Bread for Nelson Mandela. “I am writing about our prison days. I was there for 26 years, Mandela for 27. I know him from 1962,” he says.
Mr. Kathrada, whose ancestors hailed from Surat, says Mandela’s personality came to the fore when hostilities were at their peak. “Mandela remained optimistic all along. When the Defiance Campaign and other movements of boycott were launched, it was with the sense that they would be successful. One does not expect immediate results. Success takes time. As an Indian you would know freedom cannot be attained in a matter of a year or two. We took heart and inspiration from the Indian struggle,” he says. “We understood that the protest had to be continuous. In South Africa, the Defiance Campaign helped in rousing public opinion. For instance, before the campaign, African National Congress had 5,000 members but following the campaign the numbers rose to over 1,00,000 members.”
Mr. Kathrada and others were arrested in July 1963 in Rivonia, Johannesburg, after which the famous Rivonia Trial began in October that year. The accused were charged with sabotage and attempts to overthrow the government by violent means. The trial ended a year later, after which Mr. Kathrada was sentenced to life imprisonment along with Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Andrew Mlangeni, Billy Nair and others.
“For 26 years, eight of us of were together. We were sentenced to life imprisonment. When we reached the prison, Mandela was already there. As we interacted, I realised that he was a natural leader of leaders. He had already emerged as a force to reckon with in the early 60s,” he says. In the Defiance Campaign, whose aim was to get rid of six unjust laws, Mandela was the chief leader, Mr. Kathrada explains. “Thousands of volunteers were taken prisoners. It made no difference to the Apartheid government. In a prison trial, most were found not guilty. The case went to the Supreme Court. Mandela went underground and continued his political work. He was arrested in 1962 on a tour of African countries and England for mobilising support for our struggle. He continued his work underground for a year, got solidarity and financial support in England.”
Mr. Kathrada reveals that when all the important leaders were in jail in South Africa, the African National Congress policy was to continue the struggle with the support of the world, especially India and other countries. “The aim was to force the government to come to the negotiating table. Mandela started talking to the government from prison. One of his demands was to release all political prisoners, legalise the urban spots, and allow exiles to come back. The government acceded to all the requests. The ANC was allowed to function. It was in the 60s and was a big moment for us back then.”
Looking to India
Mandela and other leaders drew inspiration from India’s non-violent path to freedom, he says. “The enemy does not concede anything in a hurry. Our struggle took a long time. Contrary to what many people believed, we had a peaceful transition from apartheid to democracy.”
Mr. Kathrada left school when he was 17 to join the Transvaal Passive Resistance Council to work against the Asiatic Land Tenure and Indian Representation Act, which was popularly called the Ghetto Act. The Act, like many piecemeal concessions given by the British to Indians during the freedom movement, sought to give Indians limited political representation and defined the areas where Indians could live, trade, and own land. It was during the phase of increasing association between the African Congress and the Indian Congress that Mandela became close to Indian leaders.
Mr. Kathrada is hopeful that the path shown by Mandela is the one that South Africa will follow in the years to come. “We are only 20 years old as a democracy, but we have made considerable progress. Most of the children are now in schools; clinics and hospitals have been established. Electricity and sanitation have reached a majority of the population. Yes, challenges remain: we have hunger and poverty. But at the level of ideology, yes, it has percolated down to everybody.”
ziya.salam@thehindu.co.in
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Opinion> Comment / by Zia Us Salam / July 21st, 2015
We interview S.N. Mohammed Salahuddin, a young Triple Jump athlete from Tamil Nadu. He is the son of Mr. K.S. Mohammed Nizamuddin (1991 Colombo South Asian Games Triple Jump Gold medalist), and recently represented India at the Gwangju World University Games:-
Triple jumper S.N. Mohammed Salahuddin with his father and coach K.S. Mohammed Nizamuddin
1. Congratulations for your performance at the Universiade (World University Games), held at Gwangju, South Korea. How special is your feeling? How was your experience there, during the games?
A: I feel very happy about getting the chance to participate in the World University Games, which is one of the most important world-level tournaments. I feel I’ve started touching my achievements list, by this. And I acquired very good experience there, as I watched how the champions get trained over for the events and I’ve got an idea about what I must have to go through, to do something big next time. 2. Why did you choose athletics as your aim in life?
Ans:- My first active participation in the sports was at my school Sports Day, and I bagged some prizes initially. Once during the 8th standard, I was chosen for a meet, but was removed from it on the final day and told that I should improve my performance.
My parents, who were present there to watch me run were disappointed, came up to me and asked what had taken place. My father reassured me and suggested that I should start specialized training from the next day. So that was my start as a determined athlete. 3. Your father, Mr. K.S. Mohammed Nizamuddin, won the gold medal at the 1991 Colombo SAF Games for the nation. Did you want to become an athlete yourself or were you inspired by him?
Ans:- It’s not really like that, it all started after that mentioned incident took place, I took athletics seriously and achieved more and more. It’s good to be an achiever, and I went to achieve a lot, and that’s what made me into the game. Athletics is a game which requires only my effort – it’s not a team game, like cricket or football. So, I like it to win with the help of my own effort. Apart from my dad, Jonathan David Edwards, the triple jump World record holder, from Great Britain, inspired me a lot. He is awesome!
4. How old were you when you first developed an interest in athletics? How has your journey been till now?
Ans:- I started developing an interest in this sport at the age of 14. The journey till now is going quite good, but it has been hard in parts. The life of an athlete is very hard. There are some injuries, pains and similar sort of things, but an achievement can fade these instantly as well. I hope it gets better by the Olympic Games. 5. How did you feel when you realised you had broken your father’s record of 14.89 m (which he set in 1987) at the Nehru Stadium, in 2011?
Ans:- Ah, it’s a good question (smiles). Actually, during 2010, I read about my father’s record in a book, and imagined I would break it. I was confident that I’d make it by next year. I kept telling my dad to watch for my name to replace his. After I broke the record in 2011, I was very excited and proud, because the record stood for 24 years – a long time. He was extremely proud to know it was I who had broken his record. I also wanted to make him happy, and I was successful in doing so.
Salahuddin doing the triple jump
6. In a country obsessed very much with cricket and football, how difficult it is to claim a name in athletics?
A:- In India, people give too much importance to cricket, and the authorities spend a lot of money on it, but they don’t do the same for the sake of athletics. Just twenty countries in the world take part in cricket, but more than 200 countries participate in athletics, so it’s one of toughest sports in the world. If people show some interest and provide encouragement in the field of athletics, India can bag many gold medals in the coming Olympics. 7. So how do you manage both academics and athletics together?
A:- Academics are not at all a problem for me. Both my school teachers and college teachers support me a lot, and I always manage to get more than 60% marks in the exams, so it’s not difficult for me to handle both at the same time. 8. How does your educational institutes help you building you as a sportsman?
Ans:- My educational institutes are easy with me, and they support me a lot. They provide me enough time to train hard for the sports, and so balancing between studies and games is not hard for me. 9. Are you preparing hard for the 2016 Olympic Games?
Ans:- I’m currently not aiming for the 2016 Olympics in Rio, but I’m training hard with the aim of representing India in the 2020 Olympics as well as in the 2024 Olympics from now on. 10. Apart from athletics, which other sports do you like to play and watch? Who is your favourite in that sport?
Ans:- I’m mad about football. Cristiano Ronaldo and Frank Lampard are my favourite footballers. 11. What is your message for the young athletes of India who are hesitating to pursue sport as a career?
A:- Believe in hard work. Hard work can gift you achievements a bit late, but it can take you to new heights. Always be disciplined. And those who hesitate, should have an intense interest in the sport. Guys who have no interest in a particular sport, yet they are playing it, will not achieve success in it. Love for the sport helps a sportsman achieve a lot.
We also had Mr. K.S. Mohammed Nizamuddin (1991 Colombo SAF Games Triple Jump Gold medalist), say a few words about his son, Salahuddin:-
“It’s great to see that Salahuddin was selected to represent India in the World University Games, where he’d definitely gain a great experience. This is the fourth international competition he participated in, till date. His performance was quite satisfying in it, but still he would have done better as per my coaching view. He will certainly become an outstanding Triple jumper in the international field in coming years.”
Thank you Mr. Salahuddin, for giving his precious time for the interview session. We hope he wins many medals for India in future and make our country proud. We would like to see more Salahuddins emerging and making our country proud in Athletics. All the best for his future.
source: http://www.sportskeeda.com / SportsKeeda.com / Home> SK Athletics> World University Games> Interview / by Resham Das / July 14th, 2015
Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza pose with their trophies after winning their Women’s Doubles Final match / Reuters
Sania had come close to winning a women’s doubles Major in 2011 when she reached the French Open final with Elena Vesnina but ended up runners-up.
India’s tennis queen Sania Mirza today created history by becoming the first female player from the country to win a women’s doubles Grand Slam trophy as she clinched the Wimbledon title with Swiss partner Martina Hingis.
More than a decade after turning Pro, 28-year-old Sania laid hands on her first women’s doubles Major title when she and Hingis battled past second seed Russian team of Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina 5-7 7-6(4) 7-5 in a thrilling final.
In an interesting coincidence it was at these very historic courts that Sania had won women’s doubles junior Wimbledon championship with Russian partner Alisa Kleybanova in 2003.
Sania had come close to winning a women’s doubles Major in 2011 when she reached the French Open final with Elena Vesnina but ended up runners-up.
Already having a long list of firsts, Sania had become India’s first woman player to win a Grand Slam when she won the Australian Open with compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi in 2009.
She later added French Open (2012 with Bhupathi) and US Open (2014 with Bruno Soares) to her mixed doubles collection.
It was a remarkable turn around for the top seeds as they were trailing 2-5 in the deciding set but made a stunning comeback to reel off five straight games to clinch the issue.
Vesnina was all fired up and her smashing volleys at the net put Sania and Hingis in a lot of trouble. The Russian was left distraught as she played out of her skin.
It was third time in recent times that Sania and Hingis played the two Russians in finals — Indian Wells and Miami — and asserted their supremacy again.
Sania was broken in the very first game of the match when Vesnina hit a volley winner from the net but the top seeds immediately broke Vesnina to avoid falling behind. It was a remarkable lob from Hingis that gave them two break chances and they converted the second.
Sania and Hingis put tremendous pressure on the their rivals but the two Russians responded well and it was 5-5.
Hingis was broken in the 11th game at love after a terrific rally of powerful ground strokes from left-handed Makarova. Vesnina pounced on one return from the Swiss and hammered the volley winner close to the body of Sania.
Makarova served for the set and it was Vesnina’s smart play at the net that sealed them the opening set.
It was the first set that Sania and Hingis had dropped in this tournament.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport / by PTI / London – July 12th, 2015
Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza entered her maiden final at the prestigious Wimbledon with Swiss partner Martina Hingis by earning a straight sets victory in the women’s doubles semifinals at the All England Club here on Friday.
The top seeds needed only 56 minutes to overcome American fifth seeds Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears 6-1, 6-2 in their semifinal match on No.1 Court to enter the summit clash.
This is Sania’s first final here across all formats in seniors though she had won the girls’ doubles title here 12 years ago with Russian Alisa Kleybanova. Martina, on the other hand, has two doubles (1996, 1998) and one singles title (1997) to her credit that she won at the lone grass court Major.
Though the World No.1 Indian has three mixed doubles Grand Slam titles, she is yet to win the top prize in women’s doubles. The only time she reached a Major final in the category was at the 2011 French Open.
The top seeds totally dominated both the sets.
In the first one, they broke their opponents twice out of four opportunities which was more than enough to seal the set in their favour. Though they gave three breakpoint chances to Raquel and Abigail, they managed to save all three. Also, they dominated by taking 30 of the 46 points played in the set.
The fifth seeds were already rattled by now which led to double fault thrice at crucial moments in the second set. Sania and Martina got two chances to break Raquel and Abigail and utilised both perfectly to clinch the set and match. They were so clinical that they did not even give a breakpoint opportunity to their opponents.
The world’s two highest ranked players will next take on the winners of the match between Russian second seeds Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina and Hungarian-French fourth seeds Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic.
Earlier in the day, another Indian Sumit Nagal, partnering Vietnam’s Nam Hoang Ly, earned a straight sets victory to enter the boys’s doubles semifinals.
The eighth seeds needed only 53 minutes to defeat Japanese combination of Yusuke Takahashi and Jumpei Yamasaki 6-2, 6-3 on Court 6. Nagal and Ly will next take on Serbian-Norwegian pair of Miomir Kecmanovic and Casper Ruud for a place in the final.
In Wipro’s annual report for the year ended March 2015, Premji said he has now allocated the equivalent of 39% of the company’s shares to a trust focussed on philanthropic initiatives, mainly primary education.
Bengaluru :
Wipro’s billionaire chairman Azim Premji, the first Indian to sign the Giving Pledge, has set aside more than half of his wealth for charity by allocating an additional 18% stake in the company to fund philanthropy.
Premji, who will turn 70 this month, controls a 73.39% stake in India’s third-largest software company, which is worth about Rs 99,500 crore ($15.7 billion). In Wipro’s annual report for the year ended March 2015, Premji said he has now allocated the equivalent of 39% of the company’s shares to a trust focussed on philanthropic initiatives, mainly primary education. The additional 18% stake forms the latest tranche of shares Premji has allocated for charity.
The Giving Pledge is an effort to invite the world’s wealthiest individuals and families to commit half of their wealth to philanthropic causes and charitable organisations. In his pledge in 2013, Premji said he believes that those who are privileged to have wealth should contribute significantly to try and create a better world for the millions who are far less privileged. “Over the past 15 years, I have tried to put this belief into action through my personal philanthropic work. Over these years, I have irrevocably transferred a significant part of the shareholding in WiproBSE -0.03 %, amounting to 39% of the shares of Wipro, to a trust (of which ownership of 21.14% was transferred and for the balance, the trust is entitled to the beneficial interest of dividends and sale proceeds),” Premji wrote in a letter to shareholders.
People close to Premji said he has been quietly and steadily been transferring wealth to fund philanthropy.
“Apart from the Tata Trust, nothing comes close to the commitment made by him on this front,” said a person who knows him well. “And now, he has two engines to carry on philanthropy—theAzim Premji Foundation, and the newly formed Philanthropic Initiatives formed to making grants to NGOs.”
Last year, Premji hired Amnesty India head G Anantha Padmanabhan to build an organization that will offer grants to external agencies.
“The new initiative of making grants to NGOs has just started under what we call Philanthropic Initiatives. We are continuing to look at various areas, e.g., nutrition, water — the only area that we have decided on is support to NGOs working with the most vulnerable people — eg, street children, urban homeless, teenage girls from disadvantaged communities, women at risk of violence,” said Anurag Behar, CEO of Azim Premji Foundation and vice-chancellor of Azim Premji University.
“The Foundation’s work continues to expand and deepen in helping improve public (government) school education across seven states, which have about 350,000 schools. The university that we run also continues to expand. This year, we have launched a Master’s in public policy and governance and also our undergraduate programme,” Behar added.
Philanthropy has been on the rise among the rich in India as Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, the world’s richest person, and business magnate Warren Buffet urged the wealthy to give their fortunes to charitable causes.
According to the Hurun Research Institute, at least 50 individuals donated over Rs 10 crore to philanthropic causes in 2014.
Premji, Anil Agarwal, Shiv Nadar and Ratan Tata were the most generous givers in India, according to the Hurun India Philanthropy List 2014.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Business> India Business / by Pankaj Mishra, ET Bureau / July 08th, 2015
Alumnus of the Aligarh Muslim University, Syed Ali Jafar wins Blavatnik National Award for Young Scientists
Aligarh, UP:
AMU Alumnus Wins Blavatnik National Award for Young Scientists on 4th July, 2015. An alumnus of the Aligarh Muslim University, Syed Ali Jafar, a computer scientist at the University of California Irvine (UCI), USA, who has changed the world’s understanding of the capacity of wireless networks, has won the 2015 Blavatnik National Award for Young Scientists in physical sciences and engineering. One of the three winners chosen from amongst 300 candidates from highly ranked American universities and research institutions, Jafar will receive a $250,000 unrestricted cash prize and a medal in September at New York’s Museum of Natural History.
“I am incredibly honored and humbled to be recognized on the national stage – from such an amazing cohort of extremely accomplished finalists – by such an illustrious jury of the nation’s most distinguished scientists,” Jafar said. “I am deeply indebted to my brilliant students and collaborators, who are my true miracle workers. It is my hope that this recognition will lead to broader exposure to and appreciation of both the beauty of information theory and the tremendous impact it has on our lives. It’s also a ‘shot in the arm’ for me to continue taking on challenging problems in our research group.”
A professor of electrical engineering & computer science, Jafar explores the fundamental performance limits of wireless communication networks. Determining network capacity – the maximum data rates that can be reliably supported – is the holy grail of network information theory, according to Jafar and others. And with the rapid growth of wireless communication networks, the quest has taken on unprecedented urgency. Jafar’s research group has gained worldwide recognition for its numerous seminal contributions to this topic, including its groundbreaking work on interference alignment in wireless networks. This research found that data rates are not limited by the number of devices sharing the radio frequency spectrum, a discovery that changed the thinking about how wireless networks should be designed.
“Syed Jafar revolutionized our understanding of the capacity limits of wireless networks. He demonstrated that each user in a wireless network can access half the spectrum without interference from other users, regardless of how many are sharing the spectrum,” said one of the judges, Paul Horn, senior vice provost for research at New York University. “This is a truly remarkable result that has a tremendous impact on both information theory and the design of wireless networks.”
Jafar became interested in science in high school. “Einstein’s E=mc2 captured my imagination,” he said. The equation made him wonder about how something so profound could be so simple and beautiful – and it became his lifelong dream to pursue beauty through science. As a graduate student studying information theory at the California Institute of Technology, Jafar found similar elegance in the formula describing the capacity of an information channel. He realized that much about the capacity of communication networks was still unknown and made it his life’s work to solve the mystery.
The Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists program, established by the Blavatnik Family Foundation with the guidance of the New York Academy of Sciences, recognizes America’s most innovative and promising young faculty scientists and engineers. The organization’s judges include Nobel laureates, National Academy of Sciences members and National Medal of Science recipients. They select three laureates annually, one each in life sciences, chemistry, and physical sciences & engineering.
Jafar earned a B.Tech. at the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi, an M.S. at Caltech and a Ph.D. at Stanford University, all in electrical engineering. He’s a fellow of the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers, and he recently received the UCI Academic Senate’s Distinguished Mid-Career Faculty Award for Research. Jafar was also recognized as a Thomson Reuters Highly Cited Researcher and included by ScienceWatch among the World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds in 2014.
Syed Jafar grew up in Aligarh, a city that is home to the Aligarh Muslim University. His father, late Prof. Syed Jafar Raza Zaidi and mother, Dr. Shabnam Zaidi, were both university professors, in the departments of Hindi and English at the AMU, respectively. Syed Jafar finished his secondary school examination at AMU’s STS High School (Minto Circle) in 1991, and the senior secondary exam in 1993. As the University topper in AMU’s senior secondary exam he received the University Gold Medal.
The University of California, Irvine is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary. UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 30,000 students and offers 192 degree programs.
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has selected Naziya Syed of Bangalore for Student of the year 2013-2014 Award along with four other students across the globe who appeared for the exam and overall academic performance. Naziya completed her Certificate, Professional and Advanced Level , in the year 2012- 2013 respectively from ICAEW
The award was given at Chartered Accountant Hall’s at the headquarters of ICAEW in London on 17 November 2014.
Naziya, aged 21, is a qualified Chartered Accountant Article (Intern) at Ernst and Young.
When asked what special did she do that she was awarded student of year she said “Dream big and commit yourself to your dreams, and believe that your hardwork will return you great rewards.”
She is thankful to her teachers and family for their support and guidance. Naziya did her 10+2 from RV College (Bangalore) and schooling from Shantiniketan Educational Institute (Bangalore) in the year 2009.
She said her future plans are to pursue MBA and Insha Allah lead a firm one day.
source: http://www.milligazette.com / The Milli Gazette / Home> Online News > Special Reports / Online pub. Jan 20th, 2015 / Print: 1-15 Jan 2015
“Konjem konjem Telugu vastundi and thoda bahut Hindi bol leta hun,” says Benjamin E Cohen with a boyish grin. An associate professor in history at the University of Utah, Benjamin was on one of his yearly visits to the city. Also a research scholar, he was here to launch his second book, ‘In the Club’.
PIC: A RAdhakrishna
“People at the book launch said that my books and writings are ‘history, with a twist’. I like that. That is how my work is,” he says, with a wink.
Though it may seem quite natural for a history scholar to explore the history of clubs in a diverse country like India, the idea of dedicating a book that helps understand club culture is unconventional.
Benjamin explains, “I knew there were many old clubs across India and South Asia. I investigated whether or not any scholar had taken up their history – their whole history and not just one individual club. It turns out that there was a gap. I was interested in filling that gap.” He also shares his experience, “when you ask people if they know about the Secunderabad Club, they say yes. But if you ask them to elaborate, nobody will.”
The book takes a look at clubs in India, their role in building an associational life and a civil society in colonial India.
“It also talks about their role when India was transitioning from colonial rule to independence,” he elaborates.
His first book, ‘Kingship and Colonialism in India’s Deccan: 1850-1948’ was a fresh perspective on the relationship between the rulers and the ruled. Using archival material and not hearsay and rumour, Benjamin reconstructed the societal equations without any blinkers.
Benjamin is grateful to his friends and colleagues especially here in the city who have helped him draft the book. His biggest strength is his fluency to read, write and converse in Telugu, Hindi and Urdu. “I studied my languages first as a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Then I had the opportunity to live and work in Hyderabad during my graduation. I took private lessons with both Telugu and Urdu teachers. I tried to keep up with the languages back in the states,” he shares and adds that his interest in the area began when he was a child. As the son of a political scientist who also specialised in South Asian studies, he first came to India in 1977.
“I lived in Vizag, Delhi and Mussourie. We spent a year in Hyderabad. My whole life, I have either come to India or grew up in a home that was steeped in either Indian or South Asian culture,” he recalls. He worked in Chicago for three years after that.
“I was tired of that life,” he admits, “What I really wanted to do was find out more about India and South Asia,” he shares. Ask him what he likes about India and he counter questions, “How can I begin to answer that question?” and adds, “India is both a very old civilisation also a very young democracy. I find that combination fascinating. India has more excitement in one block than America has in 10.”
That is why he enjoys coming to India and is glad to contribute to its rich and diverse history. He also has two interesting projects lined up.
“I am finishing a book on Nawab Mehdi Hasan Fateh Nawaz Jung who was a minister in Hyderabad from 1883 to 93. He came here from Lucknow to work in the Nizam’s government. He had a British wife and they ran into some trouble. It was a scandal and was on the front pages of all the newspapers,” he tells us.
Another is a long history of water in Telangana from the Kakatiya rule. “I am very excited about these projects,” he exclaims.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Rajitha S / June 19th, 2015
