Sania Mirza speaks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while her mother, Naseema, looks on, during a courtesy visit on Friday. Photograph: PIB
Indian tennis star Sania Mirza called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday after her victory in the US Open mixed doubles last week.
Sania met the Prime Minister in a courtesy visit. She was accompanied by her mother Naseema Mirza.
“Indian tennis player and winner of the 2014 US Open Mixed Doubles Event, Ms Sania Mirza, called on the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today,” a PIB release said.
Partnering Bruno Soares of Brazil, Sania clinched her third mixed doubles Grand Slam title last week.
Modi had also congratulated Sania just after her victory.
“Congratulations to Sania Mirza for the victory in the US Open Mixed Doubles Finals. We are very proud of the achievement @MirzaSania,” the PMO had tweeted.
On Wednesday, Sania met Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao in Hyderabad. She is the brand ambassador of the newly-formed state.
Nazrulgeeti exponent Firoza Begum, who was to be honoured with ‘Banga Bibhushan’ by the state government later this month, passed away in Dhaka on Tuesday evening. The 84-year-old was suffering from heart and kidney disease.
“She breathed her last around 8.15pm,” Bangladeshi media reports said. She had been undergoing treatment at the ICU of a private hospital. She was fitted with a pacemaker on Monday.
Mamata Banerjee grieved on social media as the news reached her on Tuesday night. “I am very sad to learn that the legendary Firoza Begum has just breathed her last. Her passing away will certainly create a huge void in the world of music and culture,” she posted.
The CM said her government had planned to confer the state’s highest civilian honour on her. “We had decided to honour her with ‘Banga Bibhusan’. She had also agreed to come to Kolkata to receive the award. But, now it’s all over,” she mourned.
Mamata recounted her last interaction with the legend by saying: “Hardly 10 days ago, we talked to each other. To me, her passing away is indeed a great personal loss. She used to treat me as a member of her family. On the last occasion of our meeting, she told me: ‘Ar ki dekha hobe? (Will we meet again?)’ Today, these words keep ringing in my ears,” the chief minister said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / TNN / September 10th, 2014
The G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology in Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, today honored its former student, United States Chief Agricultural Negotiator Ambassador Islam A. Siddiqui, with an honorary degree of Doctor of Science. The degree was conferred upon Ambassador Siddiqui in recognition of his contributions to agricultural research and development, as well as agricultural trade policy development and his work’s influence on world agriculture.
“I feel humbled and honored at the same time to be receiving this honorary degree of Doctor of Science. Thousands of agricultural scientists, engineers, and veterinarians graduating from Pantnagar and sister universities provided the foot soldiers to make the Green Revolution a reality. This massive technology transfer of modern agricultural practices – combining education, research, and extension — turned India from a net food importing country to a food exporting nation. As a student of the first batch of this great institution when it opened its doors 51 years ago, I had not imagined in my wildest dreams that one day I would receive this prestigious award.”
Ambassador Siddiqui was born in Haldwani, Uttar Pradesh and attended G.B. Pant University before taking a scholarship at the University of Illinois in the United States. Throughout his career, he has advocated for international cooperation, technology transfer, capacity building, and new technology development to achieve food security in the 21st century.
source: http://www.newdelhi.usembassy.gov / Embassy of the United States, New Delhi, India / Home> News & Events> Press Releases / New Delhi – May 20th, 2011
TOP HONOR: A TV grab shows International Indian School-Jubail Principal Dr. Syed Hameed receiving the award from Indian President Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi.
The Indian government has conferred the National Award for Best Teacher on International Indian School-Jubail Principal Dr. Syed Hameed.
The award is given in recognition of Hameed’s valuable contributions to the field of education over the last 37 years. “He has been selected for the coveted award after rigorous scrutiny by the Government of India,” said an official statement from the Human Resources Development (HRD) Ministry.
Hameed received the award in New Delhi on Sept. 5 from Indian President Pranab Mukherjee and in the presence of HRD Minister Smriti Irani. “I’m thankful and grateful to Almighty Allah, my students, colleagues and friends who have supported and guided me throughout my 37-year teaching career,” he told Arab News from the Indian capital.
Sixty-year-old Hameed, a native of Hyderabad, India, is a popular principal with a huge following. Ever since he took the reins at the Jubail school a couple of years ago, he has inculcated a spirit of seeking merit and excellence among both teachers and students. In addition, he is a motivational speaker and has delivered many talks at local and international events. It was he who introduced media studies for 10+2 students at the Jubail school.
The Indian community in Saudi Arabia, and especially in Jubail, is delighted at the national recognition of Hameed. “He richly deserves this award,” said John Thomas, member of the Higher Board of Indian Schools in the Kingdom. “He has rendered exemplary services and made significant contributions to the betterment of thousands of students and teachers across the Kingdom and India.”
Syed Waheed Lateef, a prominent community member and good friend of Hameed, was delighted.
“It is a matter of great pride for the Indian community,” he said. “He is the flag-bearer of the dreams and aspirations of the community in Jubail, and has played a key role in shaping the futures of our children.”
Lateef has, in cooperation with other members of the community, planned a grand celebration for Hameed on Saturday at the Intercontinental Hotel in Jubail. “We want to recognize him for his great achievements,” he said
source: http://www.arabnews.com / Arab News / Home / by Siraj Wahab, Jeddah / Monday – September 08th, 2014
“I’m deeply moved to receive an honorary doctorate from such a distinguished school which has contributed so much to the world of music,” said Rahman.
In recognition of his two-decades-long musical legacy, the prestigious Berklee College of Music is all set to honour Oscar-winning composer A R Rahman with an honorary doctorate.
The honour will be conferred on Rahman, 47, best known globally for the original scores and songs in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, ‘127 Hours’, ‘Elizabeth: The Golden Age’ and ‘Million Dollar Arm’, at an event at the Berklee College of Music on October 24, a media statement said.
“I’m deeply moved to receive an honorary doctorate from such a distinguished school which has contributed so much to the world of music,” said Rahman.
“I’m especially proud and honoured the college is graciously establishing a scholarship in my name for future generations of musicians to follow their dreams,” he added.
Berklee College of Music president Roger H Brown said, “A friend from India described A R Rahman to me as John Williams and Sting rolled into one – a leading film composer and a wildly popular, brilliant songwriter and performer.
“We welcome him to Berklee, where the college and our students look forward to paying our respects.”
At a concert celebrating his career on October 24, 2014 in Boston, students and faculty will perform songs paying tribute to his distinguished work with Rahman performing alongside them for select pieces.
In addition to the performance, Rahman will conduct a master class at the Berklee Performance Center, the college said in a statement.
In honour of Rahman’s new relationship with Berklee, the college will establish a scholarship in his name to help bring students from India to Berklee. All proceeds from the October 24 concert will go toward this scholarship fund, the statement said.
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Entertainment> Music / Press Trust of India, Washington / July 18th, 2014
Centuries before Peter Stillman the elder, the eccentric/insane professor in the first part of Paul Auster’s The New York Trilogy, had conducted a ghastly linguistic experiment on his son by locking him up in a dark, empty room from birth to find out his ‘natural’ language, a famous Indian emperor had supervised a similar research in real life. In the outskirts of Fatehpur Sikri, Akbar kept a ‘dumb house’, where babies were reared by dumb wet nurses: the emperor wanted to ascertain what language they would speak once they grew up under these laboratory conditions. Disappointingly, the experiment failed, and the children were found to have acquired no god-given or natural language when they were visited a few years later.
This incident may suggest that Akbar was a cruel man but the moral judgment would overlook his keen scientific temperament — this disposition had also led him to order the mating of a goat and a deer. The same urge to look beyond the given and to find out what happens when boundaries are crossed must have inspired him to create Din-i-Ilahi, the syncretic religion that still speaks volumes for that progressive man who could think of a faith combining elements from several existing religions in the 16th century. Akbar’s character, as analysed by Lucy Peck in FATEHPUR SIKRI: REVISITING AKBAR’S MASTERPIECE (Roli, Rs 795), is as intriguing as this palace complex built by the emperor over years and then, suddenly abandoned. Peck revisits the old mystery surrounding Akbar’s unexpected moving of court from Fatehpur Sikri, and although she doesn’t join the dots, the solution seems to lurk somewhere in the emperor’s character rather than in material causes, like the alleged shortage of water there.
Peck’s Akbar is an artist, with all the attendant symptoms and characteristics of artisthood. He seems perfectly capabale of believing six contradictory things before breakfast. However, that may well be because the Akbar about whom we read now is a construct of texts by three different people with different agendas — Abul Fazl, who is all-praise for the emperor; Badauni, who, displeased by Akbar’s religious tolerance and out of favour in the court as a result, is embittered; and the Jesuit priest, Monserrate, whose account is seemingly unbiased because it is by an outsider. Sifting through their stories, Peck presents a flamboyant Akbar whose interests range from block-printing, carpet-weaving, taming elephants, flying pigeons to settling his subjects’ disputes hands-on, debating tirelessly on religious issues, sometimes throughout the night. He is possibly an epileptic — given his frequent trances — a dyslexic and an opium eater, subject to bingeing bouts. He spends nights meditating alone on a rock, seeking answers to life’s questions. Add to this driven, excessive nature the emperor’s prerogative, and one can begin to fathom why, for instance, he ordered the dumb house experiment or built a place like Fatehpur Sikri, with its eccentric blend of varied styles, its mix of austerity and extravagance. As Peck writes of the buildings of Fatehpur: “[They] reveal themselves to be remarkably disparate. One can well imagine Akbar hearing about or seeing an unusual building and saying, ‘I’ll have one of those.’”
Top right is an illustration of the diverse designs that come together in Fatehpur Sikri. The grapevines look European while the pattern on the right panel resembles the stringed decorations that Hindus hang from the top of door frames on festive occasions. Left shows Akbar in the Ibadat Khana, where he held the discussions with people of other faiths that eventually resulted in Din-i-Ilahi. Bottom left is the tank on the banks of which Akbar’s courtiers had met on the emperor’s birthday in 1582 to celebrate the occasion with games of chaupar, chess and cards. Akbar had looked on with mixed feelings at such frivolities until disaster struck: a side of the tank collapsed and the water swept downhill, washing away settlements. The breathtaking ceiling of the Royal Baths is on bottom right.
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Calcutta / Front Page> Opinion> Story / by Anusua Mukherjee / Friday – September 05th, 2014
Indian tennis star Sania Mirza with her family members on arrival at the Hyderabad airport after winning the US Open mixed doubles title on Sunday. Photo: V.V. Subrahmanyam / The Hindu
Chief Minister K. Chandrase-khar Rao has complimented tennis ace and State brand ambassador Sania Mirza on winning the US Open mixed doubles title. In a statement, the Chief Minister said he was happy for Ms. Mirza upon her winning the grand slam after being appointed brand ambassador.
On Mr. Rao’s directive, State Government officials welcomed Ms. Mirza at the airport here on Sunday, on her return from the US. They presented her a bouquet on behalf of the Chief Minister.
A beaming Sania Miza, who won the US Open mixed doubles title, being greeted by her jubilant mother Nasima Mirza on reaching her home in Hyderabad on Sunday. Photo: V.V. Subrahmanyam / The Hindu
Speaking on the occasion, Ms. Mirza said she felt proud to win the title as the brand ambassador of Telangana. She thanked the State government for cooperating in her preparation for the grand slam and said she dedicated her title to the people of Telangana.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Andhra Pradesh / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – September 07th, 2014
Left teary-eyed after her Indianness was put into question just weeks back, tennis star Sania Mirza dedicated her US Open title to the country and the new state of Telangana, where her appointment as brand ambassador triggered a political furore.
Last night, the first-time combination of Sania and Brazil’s Bruno Soares clicked brilliantly as they secured a close win in the final to win the mixed doubles trophy.
“I am very happy, it’s great to win it with Bruno. For the first time we played together, it’s been great two weeks.
I dedicate this victory to everybody in India, my country, and to the state of Telangana and all people of Telangana,” Sania said from New York after winning the final.
“I am extremely ecstatic, it’s a dream come true, hopefully many more will come,” said the 27-year-old.
Sania’s third career Grand Slam came barely a month after she was branded ‘daughter-in-law’ of Pakistan by a BJP leader due to her marriage with cricketer Shoaib Malik. The comment was triggered by the Telangana government’s decision to appoint her brand ambassador of the newly-created state.
The Hyderabadi was forced to issue a statement to assert her roots and was seen breaking down on news channels while trying to do so.
Asked if the controversy played on her mind during the US Open campaign, Sania said she believes in moving forward and remains focussed on her game after stepping into the court.
“I don’t think we should focus on the negatives,” said Sania, who is first Indian female player and only the third from the country after Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes to have won Grand Slam titles.
Sania and Bruno were cruising in the Match Tie break and had five championship points after securing a comfortable 9-4 lead but a flurry of errors threatened to devastate their hopes.
Local hope Abigail Spears and Santiago Gonzalez made it 9-9 and looked like snatching it away from the Indo-Brazilian top seeds.
“We all had our hearts in our mouths at that point but we just tried to be positive and do whatever we could, help each other out and come out on top,” Sania said recalling the crunch moment.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Sport / by PTI / September 06th, 2014
Bruno Soares, left, and Sania Mirza pose for photos with the championship trophy after defeating Abigail Spears and Santiago Gonzalez in the mixed doubles final of the 2014 U.S. Open tennis tournament
New York:
Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza clinched her third mixed doubles Grand Slam title as she and her partner Bruno Soares overcame a few anxiuous moments in the Match Tie break to win the US Open, here today. The top seeded Indo-Brazilian pair squandered five straight championship points before scoring a 6-1 2-6 11-9 win over Abigail Spears from the USA and Santiago Gonzalez from Mexico in exactly 60 minutes.
Spears sent a backhand volley long after making it 9-9from 4-9, as Sania and Soares heaved a sigh of relief. It was first time that Sania and Soares were playing together as a pair.
“Playing with him is a lot of fun. He did not play withme all these years not sure why?,” Sania gushed after the win and confirmed that the pairing will continue for the
Australian Open. Sania’s previous titles came with compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi. They won Australian Open in 2009 and French Open in 2012.
The 27-year old had reached the Australian Open mixed doubles final this year also but ended runners-up with Romanian partner Horea Tecau. Sania played well in the women’s doubles also, making the semifinals with Zimbabwe’s Cara Black.
Alisha Abdullah is one of India’s very few women bike racers. / by Special Arrangement / The Hindu
Champion racer Alisha Abdullah is in top gear as she dons new roles
“The guys, after every race, used to put me down. I would be one among the last. They would tell me that I am a girl and that I couldn’t do it, say things like girls should get married. I took it up as a challenge. And with every race I worked hard and I improved my position,” says Alisha Abdullah. She went on to prove the ‘guys’ wrong.
One of India’s very few professional women bike racers Alisha inched her way up, competing with men, to be one among the best in the circuit. “Today guys come up to me asking me for tips for the track.” She is also a car racer. She recently won the Toyota Vios Cup, a street car race held in Thailand, where she competed with the best women racers in Asia. “These women are much stronger and tougher racers and I won competing against them.” She says over phone from Chennai where she is based. She said she is scheduled to visit the city for the inauguration of Lap 47, a performance studio for vehicles.
At a time when little girls dreamt of becoming princesses or at least a Miss Universe, Alisha was on the race track wanting to be a biker like her father, R.A. Abdullah, a seven-time national biking champion. Go-karting, bikes and car racing…the petite Alisha has done it all – won prizes and broken records. At 13 she won the national go-karting championship and the best Novice Award in the open class of Formula car racing. She was all of 15 when she got to bike racing.
It is not easy being a professional car or bike racer ‘irrespective of gender’, she says. “As a racer you have to extremely alert. There are many things you need to monitor – check if the RPM is going down or if there is some other suspicious blip and this at speeds exceeding 160 kmph.” A profession which demands physical and mental strength, it keeps her on her toes constantly. She works out intensely, “focussing on strength training than cardio. I never do any cardio. The physical demands of car and bike racing are different. For the former, neck and lower back are the areas of focus. And I train only with men because, I mean no offense, but their workouts are much more intense when compared to how women workout. I can do between 50 to 60 push-ups in a minute.”
With all talk of RPM, bikes, cars and racing tracks one would think this is all the 25 year-old does. She is consumed by it but there is more to her. She is a model and an actor too. She debuted in the recently released Tamil film Irumbu Kuthirai. She plays the villain’s (a biker) girlfriend. “The story was based on bike-racing and, like everything else in my life; I wanted to do a role different from the usual run-of-the-mill characters.” This was a guest role, soon she is to start shooting for a yet-to-be named project she is the lead actor, “I play a psycho.”
Any offers from the Malayalam film industry? “None yet!”
Films and racing, isn’t the plate loaded? “No. My role model is Danica Patrick, she is an actor and a car racer. She is married, has a family and multi-tasks. It’s not that I am doing a 100 things. Just two things and that’s fine.”
She is a car racer, model and actor, too. / by Special Arrangement / The Hindu
Films and modelling are an aside, her focus is racing. She plans to start an academy for racing for women at Chennai. Her dream is fuelled by a desire to see more women competing in motor sport. “There are so many talented sportswomen, but almost none in motorsport. I want to change that trend. And if a man wants to come he can come wearing a wig!” she signs off.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Society / by Shilpa Nair Anand / August 31st, 2014
