The opening night of Amazon India Fashion Week SS 18 was celebrated by the collaboration of designer Nida Mahmood and Milind Soman’s active lifestyle brand. The collection was inspired by the rich culture, colours, textiles in their four distinct lines.
The ageless art of Ikat was also an inspiration for designer Nida. From indigo dyeing, printing techniques and Mughal patterns, the collection was a visual treat on the Day 1 of AIFW.
The silhouettes were inspired by women of India, keeping their comfort in mind for various forms of workout. Be it a dance class or running out in a gym, the outfits will cater to all. This genius collab with the fitness enthusiast Milind Soman brought together body positive image and inclusivity through the collection.
One of the main highlights of the collection was the first ever running sari, suitable for all Indian women of different shapes and sizes. Who would have that of that?
“With the launch of our running sari we now empower more women to get fit with their choice of silhouette”, said Milind Soman in a statement.
The clothes were made keeping in mind every person’s body requirement, empowering women to be fit with their choice of clothes. Made with 100% recycled plastic bottles, the collection is a treat for all fitness buffs.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> Lifestyle> Fashion> Fashion Shows / TNN / October 13th, 2017
In a development that is something Bihar should be proud of, Dr Mumtaz Naiyer, a UK-based scientist from Kishanganj district, has come up with an ‘exciting’ discovery on path to develop new type of vaccine to treat global viruses.
He along with other scientists from the University of Southampton has made a significant discovery in efforts to develop a vaccine against Zika, Dengue and Hepatitis C viruses that affect millions of people around the world.
In a study published in Science Immunology, researchers have shown that natural killer cells (NK cells), which are a fundamental part of the body’s immune system, can recognise many different viruses including global pathogens such as Zika, Dengue and Hepatitis C viruses, through a single receptor called KIR2DS2.
The Southampton team have shown that this NK cell receptor is able to target a non-variable part of the virus called the NS3 helicase protein, which is essential in making the virus work properly. Unlike other proteins, the NS3 helicase protein does not change, which allows the immune system to grab hold of it and let the NK cells deal with the threat.
Lead researcher Salim Khakoo, professor of hepatology, said the findings are very exciting and could change the way viruses are targeted by vaccines but warned that the research is still at an early stage, and animal studies/clinical trials will be needed to test the findings.
It is very exciting to discover that other viruses similar to Hepatitis C, such as Zika virus, dengue virus, yellow fever virus, Japanese encephalitis virus and in fact all flaviviruses, contain a region within their NS3 helicase proteins that is recognised by exactly the same KIR2DS2 receptor.
“We believe that by targeting this NS3 helicase region, we can make a new type of vaccine based upon natural killer cells, which can be used to help protect people from these infections,” said Khakoo.
In an exclusive interview with MuslimMirror, Dr Naiyer, a postdoctoral scientist at the University of Southampton who the first author of the paper, talked at length about his roller coaster journey from Bihar to the United Kingdom and study.
Here are the excerpts:
MM: Please tell us about your journey from Bihar’s one of the most backward districts of Kishanganj to the University of Southampton, United Kingdom?
Dr Naiyer: I was born in one of the remotest village of Kishanganj in Bihar. The place earlier was referred to as ‘Kala Pani’ because of sheer backwardness and no access to mainland India. You can consider my small village as ‘Kala Pani’ with no access to schools etc. So much so, electricity in my village arrived in 2016 after 70 years of independence.
I was born in the 80s in a humble family of farmers. My parents were illiterate but had great quest for education. I was youngest among my siblings with five elder brothers and two sisters. The eldest brother did not attend school, one studied up to class V and three attended college. One of them did masters and later PhD in English literature.
My father passed away when I was 8 years old. It was extremely difficult for my mother to support us. As madarsas are cheaper, my mother even asked me to attend the Islamic seminary and become an ‘Aalim’ (Islamic scholar). After my father’s demise, one of my eldest brothers Mr Zainul Abedin had to discontinue his studies to support the education of two younger brothers.
As there were no schools nearby, I studied at home and a single teacher used to teach all the children in the village. I was directly admitted to standard three in a government school, which was 4 km away from my village. There were no roads and the situation in rainy season was like a nightmare. There was a strict discipline in our family for education. No matter how bad the day, one cannot miss the school.
I studied up to high school in my village. After that, I moved to Patna. Since my medium of instruction was Hindi till high school, it was difficult to switch to English books at 10+2. Contrary to my elder brothers who studied arts, I choose science with biology, physics and chemistry. I had a dream to become a doctor as I had seen young children die in my village without medical facilities.
However, after repeated attempts I could not clear Premedical Test (PMT) conducted by Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Bihar Combined Entrance Examination (BCEE). I moved to Delhi from Patna in the year 2000. I cracked BDS (Bachelor of Dental Surgery) entrance examination of Karnataka and B.Pharm (Bachelor of Pharmacy) entrance examination of Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi. Unfortunately, I could not afford any of these two. Then, I decided to do a simple B.Sc. course.
I appeared in the entrance test of B.Sc. (Biosciences) at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, and I got selected for the course. That year, Jamia had lauched B.Sc. (Biotechnology) programme. The central university gave us an option to choose either of the programme. In addition, those who were top in the merit list have an option to choose biotechnology. I choose biotechnology.
Teachers were very supportive. Till that time, I had no predefine goals for an academic career like this. But later, I attended lectures of prominent academicians and scientists in my university. That changed my attitude completely towards higher education.
Surviving in a metro city like Delhi was not an easy job. The money I used to get from my family was not enough. I used to give tuitions in the posh colonies of Delhi to earn some bucks and support myself. Apart from that, I received Merit Scholarship by Central Wakf Board, Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India, for consecutive two years at bachelors level. I must say my brothers tried their best to support me throughout my academic journey.
After my bachelors, I joined Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi in its master’s programme in biotechnology, which was one of the best in the capital. Here too, my teachers were very supportive and encouraged me to do pursue research. I got training in institutions like Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), New Delhi. I got an exposure to quality research at my masters level. I was the recipient of Tasmia Merit Scholarship for best academic performance at masters level university exams in Jamia Hamdard.
My M.Sc. final year was full of turmoil. I lost my mother just a month before my final year’s examination and my family was going through financial crisis. Somehow, I managed to continue my studies.
I appeared in national level exams like National Eligibility Test (NET) jointly conducted by CSIR-UGC. I was awarded NET -Lectureship and Junior Research Fellowship by the UGC to pursue Ph.D. I also cleared GATE with 97 percentile.
After my masters, I joined National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS), Pune, an autonomous institution of the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, for my Ph.D. This is one of the top biotechnology research institutes in India. It is also a national cell repository. One of the best Immunologists in the country Dr Bhaskar Saha who is also a Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Awardee mentored me.
During my Ph.D., I gained knowledge in molecular immunology and cell signaling. I worked on Human Visceral Leishmaniasis also called Kala-azar. My research work ‘Identification and Characterisation of Interleukin-10 Receptor Antagonist’ was published in the journal ‘Human Immunology’. The financial support was provided by the UGC for five years in which I was awarded Junior Research fellowship (JRF) for two years and senior research fellowship (SRF) for three years.
At the end of my Ph.D., I received offers for postdoctoral fellowships from University of Montreal, Canada; John Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA; National Institute of Health, Bethesda, USA; and Imperial College London, UK. Previously, Khakoo lab was in Imperial College London, which was later shifted to University of Southampton where I work now since March 2012.
Although I had options to join other labs in the USA and Canada, I decided to join Professor Khakoo’s lab for my postdoctoral research as my research goals were best matched with the objectives of Khakoo lab.
At University of Southampton, I started working on clinically important viruses such as Hepatitis C virus, Dengue, Zika, etc. and tried to understand how Natural Killer cells – which are fundamental part of body’s immune system – can clear the viruses.
MM: Tell us about your research.
Dr Naiyer: This is a well-presented study and a significant advancement in this field that identifies the important role of the receptor KIR2DS2. Since I come from India, which has thousands of cases of dengue each year, I can understand the suffering of patients with dengue. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to ease the suffering of these dengue-affected patients.
Natural Killer Cells play important role in fight against cancer and viral clearance. Our study focuses on how a single vaccine can be effective against multiple viruses. Our findings, which was recently published in prestigious journal “Science Immunology” also suggests that this strategy for virus therapeutics could be easily translated into the field of cancer.
2. What kind of encouragement did you find from your family and friends?
Dr Naiyer: My family was supportive. My brothers would often say, ‘Do not think about money, you just focus in your studies and leave rest to us’.
I had a very healthy competition with my friends and some of them genuinely motivated me.
MM: given the literacy rate of your area, what did inspire you to select this stream in higher studies?
Dr Naiyer: During my growing up years in the 90s, the sentence I often hear in my surrounding was “padh likh kar kuch nahi hota” (education gives you nothing). Most of the parents would send their school going to children to Delhi, Mumbai, Punjab and other metro cities of India to earn money and livelihood. That was such a discouraging period for education in my area called Seemanchal, which resulted in very high number of unskilled labour force.
Nevertheless, I was never tempted to leave my school or studies and determined to prove that education is the most powerful tool. Despite hardship, I keep going systematically. Even during my bachelors and masters in Delhi, people from my area would say “kab tak padhte rahoge miyan” (how long would you study)?
MM: Why did not you go for engineering and other short-term professional courses like others belonging to humble family background do to support their families?
Dr Naiyer: As I said before, I wanted to become a medical doctor, so engineering or any other short-term courses were never in my mind.
MM: What are your future plans?
Dr Naiyer: I want to contribute more to science and use my knowledge and expertise against the serious threats to humankind posed by dangerous viruses such as Zika, Dengue, Ebola, etc.
I would like to establish my own lab and become a principal investigator. If given the opportunity, I would like to return to India and want to contribute to the Indian science.
MM: Is there anybig project in your mind?
Dr Naiyer: I am contemplating to write grants for my own funding to support my research work. I shall apply for grants in Medical Research Council, UK, and Wellcome Trust, UK.
MM: Where do you want to see yourself 10 years down the line?
Dr Naiyer: After 10 years, I want to see myself as a successful scientist who has contributed a bit for the welfare of humankind by doing high-level science. I want to become an expert in my field.
Do you have any plan for the educational upliftment of your area, especially for Muslim youth?
Dr Naiyer: This is interesting question. I would definitely plan and would happy to contribute for the educational upliftment of my area. I along with some other friends from Bihar are trying to develop a unique platform where we can support meritorious students from Seemanchal (Bihar) irrespective of their financial conditions.
I have a dream to establish school/colleges, hospitals and healthcare in every block of Seemanchal. I would also focus in girls/women education. I would share the road map at appropriate time.
MM. Do you want to give any message to the youth of the community?
Dr Naiyer: Our community has some deeper problems and the youth are looking for microwave solutions. Our community has limited resources, please use them effectively. You must work hard, and should not waste time and resources.
The message I would pass to the youths is that there is no short cut for success. You cannot bypass the stairs of education and reach on the top through a side-lift. If you try, it would be disastrous for your career. Do not fear failures as failures are there to make you strong.
source: http://www.muslimmirror.com / Muslim Mirror / Home> Health / by admin – Muslim Mirror Staff / October 10th, 2017
Hashmath Ali Khan. | Photo Credit: CH_VIJAYA BHASKAR
Hashmath performed 16 steps of Taekwondo for 65 times in 30 minutes
Hafez Hashmath Ali Khan, Taekwondo and Karate coach who hails from Vijayawada, is on a mission to make bigger achievements in the world of Taekwondo for several years. His spirit has got a boost after the successful participation in a recent event that found a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. Hashmath performed the 16 steps of Taekwondo for 65 times in 30 minutes. It was a result of rigorous training for six months, he says.
Hashmath, also an Imam who occasionally teaches in masjids in Andhra Pradesh, is one among the few persons in Hyderabad who successfully performed the feat of delivering 300 perfect punches in 180 seconds. This feat secured a place in the High Range Book of World Records.
As a profession, Hashmath teaches Taekwondo and Karate at many schools in Hyderabad and simultaneously grew stronger in the martial art under the guidance of his master Jayanth Reddy of the JR International Taekwondo Academy in Hyderabad, which is known for its Guinness records in Taekwondo.
‘Governments attention needed’
“Taekwondo is an important sport that needs the attention of the Union and the State governments. However, there is not much encouragement from the State governments even as the sport is an Olympic event since decades,” says Hashmath.
“Government should take Taekwondo seriously and focus on providing the training facility for the students who could get into Olympics and bring medals to the nation. I am confident that I can compete in Olympics and also nurture my students including national fighters to rise up to the level of Olympics,” said Mr. Hashmath, who also trained the police in Hyderabad.
Hashamth, 30, was born in Vijayawada. He moved to Nellore for education and then moved to Hyderabad where he learned Karate 12 years ago and then took up Taekwondo in 2012.Now, he is a Master Instructor as recognised by the Korean Cultural Centre India as per the World Taekwondo Federation rules.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Tharun Boda / Vijayawada – October 08th, 2017
Samiya found the going tough in the opening game as Stephani jumped to a 6-1 lead early on and kept distancing herself to grab it easily.
Samiya Imad Farooqui poses alongside junior chief coach Sanjay Mishra in Yangon on Sunday.
Yangon (Myanmar):
Indian shuttler Samiya Imad Farooqui clinched the gold medal at the Under-15 women’s singles competition after defeating Indonesia’s Widjaja Stephani at the Asian Junior Championship here on Sunday.
The third seeded Indian, who had reached the finals at Pembangunan Jaya Raya International Junior Grand Prix U-19 in April, defeated Stephani 15-21, 21-17, 21-19 in a 56-minute match to lay claim to the coveted title.
P.V. Sindhu had won the gold in U-19 Asia Junior championship in 2012 at Gimcheon, South Korea. Samiya found the going tough in the opening game as Stephani jumped to a 6-1 lead early on and kept distancing herself to grab it easily.
However, the 14-year-old from Hyderabad made a roaring comeback in the second game, opening a 6-2 lead and then grabbing a 13-8 lead.
The Indonesian clawed back at 13-13 but Samiya managed to wriggle out and eventually forced the match into a decider. In the third game, Stephani and Samiya entered in a tooth and nail battle. Samiya clawed back to a 16-16 and turned the tables eventually to take the title home.
source: http://www.asianage.com / Asian Age / Home> Sports> In Other Sports / by PTI / October 09th, 2017
In his innings of 111, the senior of the two brothers was more aggressive as he hit 13 fours and six maximums.
Out of favour, India all-rounder Yusuf Pathan hit a sublime hundred while brother Irfan Pathan also hit a fifty against Madhya Pradesh on day 3 of the Ranji Trophy encounter between Baroda and Madhya Pradesh. Known for his hard-hitting batting, Yusuf played an innings which once again highlighted his power hitting. In his innings of 111, the senior of the two brothers was more aggressive as he hit 13 fours and six maximums. Younger brother Irfan also kept pace with his innings of 80 which featured ten fours and three sixes.
Earlier, the home side was in a spot of bother after conceding 551 runs against MP and then losing four wickets for 54 runs at one stage. But the Pathan brothers dug in and rescued the side. Together they forged a partnership of 188 runs which helped the Baroda side avoid follow-on.
The wallpaper of Asharq al-Awsat bears images of Beit Jabri, a large, famous restaurant in Damascus. / Photo: Vamika Jain
When I walked into Asharq al-Awsat on a morning in early July, a man named Anas was praising Abdullah, the restaurant’s head chef, for helping him feel like he was back in his native Syria. Anas’s praise was prompted by Abdullah’s kibbeh labaniyeh—a yoghurt-based meat dish that is a staple of Arab cooking.
Like many of the guests who frequent Asharq al-Awsat, Anas was receiving treatment at a medical centre nearby. Over the past several years, Sarita Vihar has become a hub for medical tourists from all over the world, especially West Asia, who come to receive affordable medical treatment at private hospitals in the neighbourhood. While here, many patients from West Asia yearn for a taste of home, particularly because the food they are accustomed to is much less spicy than Indian food. Responding to this need, Asharq al-Awsat—which translates to “the Middle East” in Arabic—serves up Arab food in a setting that almost makes you forget that you are in India.
Asharq al-Awsat is on the fourth floor of Om Palace, a guest house in an area of Sarita Vihar dotted with lodging for medical tourists. The restaurant’s wallpaper bears images of Beit Jabri—a large, iconic restaurant in Damascus. An Arabic news channel plays on a small television. The restaurant’s patrons are typically Arabs wearing off-white thawbs and joking loudly in Arabic. But these jolly surroundings belie the difficulties faced by many of the restaurant’s patrons and staff.
Abdullah used to work as a chef in Damascus, but he and his family fled the ongoing Syrian civil war in 2011, leaving for Delhi. “Other than the war, there’s no other reason I would ever leave Syria,” he said. He lost two brothers in the war.
Two years after leaving Syria, Abdullah began work at Asharq al-Awsat. The restaurant was founded by Sohaib Kamal, an Indian man from Rajasthan, who studied Arabic and Farsi in a madrasa in old Delhi. He was inspired to open the restaurant in 2013, he told me, after he visited Om Palace—which, at the time, had an Indian restaurant on the fourth floor. Kamal spoke to many West Asian medical tourists staying at the hotel who were struggling to stomach the restaurant’s spicy food. “When I met a few Iraqis here once, they complained, ‘Coming to India was such a mistake—there’s nothing to eat here! I can’t even drink tea here, because I’m afraid it could be spicy,’” Kamal recounted, when I met him at Asharq al-Awsat. “They were so distressed and hungry all the time, and would end up eating biscuits and curd for meals.” Kamal spoke to the owners of the Indian restaurant and asked if he could start a restaurant there that served Arab cuisine. The owners agreed to rent out their kitchen, and Kamal opened his restaurant.
One day, about a month after Kamal rented out the fourth-floor space, Abdullah, who was at Om Palace to meet someone, stormed into the restaurant’s kitchen. “Who made this? This is not how you make kabsa!” Kamal remembered him saying. Abdullah then proceeded to show the cook—an Indian, and a personal friend of Kamal—how to make chicken kabsa, a popular Arab dish. Abdullah then, Kamal said, offered to help the restaurant in any way he could. “I was excited, because no other restaurant in Delhi has an Arab chef,” Kamal said. Before Abdullah came along, Kamal added, “We had been learning the cuisine off the internet and through other ad-hoc methods.” The chef at whom Abdullah had snapped on that fateful day became his assistant, and, “to date, he continues to learn from Abdullah,” Kamal said. Even the restaurant’s name bears Abdullah’s stamp—Kamal had not settled on a name for the place until the Syrian cook came along. They eventually decided on “Asharq al-Awsat” because it was the name of the restaurant where Abdullah worked as a chef in Damascus.
For the past few months, however, business has been bad at Asharq al-Awsat. “Sometimes this happens,” Kamal said. “We are mostly dependent on foreign medical patients—not many Indians come here, because we don’t serve any Indian food.” Faced with this downturn, the team decided to open another restaurant, in the more centralised location of New Friends Colony, opposite the Fortis Escort Heart Institute. Called MEC Syrian Food (the MEC stands for “Middle Eastern Cuisine”), this restaurant has been doing much better than Asharq al-Awsat, as it is frequented by Indian students from nearby universities.
I visited MEC Syrian Food a few days after it had opened, in late June. There, I met Abu Tarikh—the restaurant’s manager, who has also been Asharq’s manager for over a year. The walls had just been decorated with tiles inscribed with Arabic lettering. Some tables were draped with Persian rugs.
Tarikh, like Abdullah, is a Syrian refugee. He fled Damascus with his family in 2015, after both his home and the mobile-accessories shop he owned were destroyed in the war. He and his family initially moved to Mumbai, but they only stayed there for 20 days before Tarikh realised it “was not for him.” They moved to Delhi after that, he told me, and he is much happier here; he “understands things” in this city, and thinks that the “people here are good.”
It has not all been smooth sailing for Tarikh, though. He speaks some English but no Hindi at all, except for the few functional words which help him communicate with autorickshaw drivers and customers. This means, he said, that “one day’s work sometimes takes ten days. Nobody here understands me as they do back home.” But “I like India in general,” he added. “I have many Indian friends.”
Abdullah has had more trouble adjusting to life in Delhi. He finds the language barrier even more difficult to deal with than Tarikh does, since he barely knows any English or Hindi. “I left my home in Damascus because the entire country was in dire straits; but even here, I don’t know anybody, and I’m facing just as many troubles,” he said. “I don’t like it here at all. But I’m helpless, what can I do?”
In Abdullah’s ideal world, he would migrate to the United States. In India, he said, “there are no facilities. Even if you work for 24 hours a day, you can’t earn enough to take care of your children—everything is so expensive.” Also, he said, “Indians don’t like my food, because they eat such spicy food. I can make at least 80 types of Arabic food, but unfortunately, I have to limit myself to four, five types of dishes. It’s very frustrating.” He told me he has applied for a US visa, but has not heard back.
Every day, the Palestinian embassy places an order with Asharq al-Awsat for mansaf, an elaborate lamb-based dish
When I first met Abdullah, it was rush hour at Asharq al-Awsat. Each day, the Palestinian embassy places an order with the restaurant for mansaf—an elaborate dish of lamb cooked on top of a layer of flatbread and rice in a yoghurt-based sauce, decorated with pine nuts and almonds. His enthusiasm was palpable as he spun around the kitchen, grilling meat, assigning tasks to employees, bringing various dishes to boil.
But, shortly after that, during a smoke break outside the restaurant, he confessed, “Honestly, here, I am just going about my days, not even living. I am barely existing, with no end in sight.”
Anisha Sircar is an intern at The Caravan.
source: http://www.caravanmagazine.in / The Caravan / Home> Reporting & Essays> The Lede / by Anisha Sircar / September 01st, 2017
For connoisseurs of Indian music, Google’s October 7 doodle is special. Today, Google is celebrating the 103rd birth anniversary of Mallika-e-Ghazal Begum Akhtar with a commemorative doodle. Manuja Singh Waldia – a young Indian illustrator and graphic designer who studied in Delhi before she moved to the US – was commissioned to do the doodle art.
Google describes Begum Akhtar — born Aktharibai Faizabadi — as one of India’s most iconic singers. “In spite of early personal tragedies, Begum Akhtar’s mother recognized her daughter’s gift at a young age. With the help of family members, she sent her daughter for vocal training with some of the Ustads (masters) of the time. Though her soulful and melancholic voice was featured in many movies, Begum Akhtar ultimately returned to classical music, where she composed many of her own melodies and steeped herself in the rhythm of ghazals. After marrying, Begum Akhtar gave up singing. However in 1949, deteriorating health drew her back to her calling. Weeping tears of jubilation, she finally returned to a Lucknow studio to record and continued to share her gift with the world until her death in 1974. Her rich voice was comforting, particularly during the years India underwent upheaval caused by partition. With nearly 400 songs to her credit, Begum Akhtar’s legacy shines on in the musical traditions she loved over her lifetime,” Google’s description of the iconic singer states.
The doodle on Begum Akhtar is Waldia’s first for Google. When Penguin Classics decided to publish new editions of Shakespeare’s plays to enliven his work offstage, Waldia was commissioned to do the covers that would give the centuries old texts a contemporary update. “Erich Nagler, art director at Google, San Francisco, had commissioned me to work on it. He had traced contacted me through email,” said Waldia from Oregon. Nagler’s Twitter profile states that he is the art director for the Google doodles team in San Francisco. “The brief was to create on commemorating Begum on her birthday, and celebrate her status as one of the most popular ghazal singers, and one of the first female public ghazal performers,” she added.
The project was wrapped up a few weeks ago. For many in India, it was a pleasant surprise to find Google commemorating the birth anniversary of the legendary singer. “She deserves all the attention in the world. She is a pioneer and early feminist! She is pretty amazing. She overcame a lot of prejudice against female singers, survived sexual abuse as a young girl, escaped a bad marriage, was independent during times where women were either wives or mothers. It is so inspiring! I was reading articles on her today which mentioned her smoking habit, and insinuated that as a character flaw. That’s the kind of sexism that still exists today. So, she probably faced worse during her time,” the doodler said.
Having studied Communication Design at NIFT Delhi, Waldia also insists that she draws a lot of creative inspiration from Kolkata – a city where Begum Akhtar spent many years of her professional life. In 1934, the ‘Koyelia’ singer had the first stage performance in this city. It was here that she acted in films and theatres as well. Her first album – ‘Deewana Banana Hai Toh Deewana Bana De’ – was recorded here as well. She had sung for the megaphone company. The record was such a huge hit that the company had to make a special unit in Dumdum to meet buyers’ demand! “I’ve been to Kolkata thrice in my life, and had some of the happiest times there. The city’s creative energy had a major influence on me while growing up, and when I was contemplating if I should be an artist,” she said.
source: http://www.gadgetsnow.com / Gadgets Now / Home> News> Tech News / by Priyanka Dasgupta / TNN / October 07th, 2017
Mr Islam’s wife, Kaneez Fathima could make her announcement after the 40 days of mourning are up on September 27.
Qamarul Islam
Kalaburagi:
Late Congress leader and former Minister, Qamarul- Islam’s wife could contest the coming Assembly polls from the Gulbarga North Assembly constituency he represented, according to his close associates.
Mr Islam’s wife, Kaneez Fathima could make her announcement after the 40 days of mourning are up on September 27.
A six term MLA and a former Lok Sabha member, Mr Islam passed away on September 19 after a brief illness. He was Minister for Muncipal Administration and Wakf in the Siddaramaiah government before he was dropped from the cabinet in June 2016.
As a politician he had a strong hold over Muslim voters, especially of Gulbarga city and neighbouring constituencies. When he wasalive, the Gulbarga North seat was a safe bet for Congress as he would inevitably win it. His death has left a big void as there is no other Muslim Congress leader, who can match him in stature in the district unit of the party.
With no choice, the party has reportedly persuaded Mrs Kaneez Fatima to enter politics. “Mr Islam held sway over the Muslim population for well over 40 years and we don’t want this to end following his demise. Moreover, the Muslim voters will be divided if somebody other than a family member takes over from him. The party will benefit immensely from the sympathy factor,” said party sources.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Politics / by K N Reddy , Deccan Chronicle / October 05th, 2017
Lalitpur (Jhansi) & Agra (UTTAR PRADESH) / London, GREAT BRITAIN with Empress of India
Queen Victoria at her desk, assisted by her servant Abdul Karim, the munshi.
VICTORIA & ABDUL
The True Story of the Queen’s Closest Confidant
By Shrabani Basu
Illustrated. 334 pp. Vintage Books. Paper, $16.
I really do wonder if I am qualified to review this remarkable work. I am a nonagenarian, Anglo-Welsh, republican, agnostic liberal, an only half-redeemed British imperialist, sexually complex and incorrigibly romantic. “Victoria & Abdul” is about an aging British queen, her eccentric obsession with an engaging Muslim servant from India and the half-farcical opposition of the British establishment to their relationship. I had never heard of the story until the book reached me for my critique, and I had no idea it was about to be the subject of a much-publicized movie. Am I qualified to respond to it for The New York Timer? Reader, judge for yourself.
When it first reached me I began, as a republican, by scoffing. The very status of Alexandrina Victoria, Queen of England, at the time of her first encounter with that Indian servant struck me as perfectly ridiculous. She was a woman in her late 60s who was treated with almost religious reverence and responded accordingly. The whole preposterous charade of royalty was performed perpetually in her presence. It was wildly exaggerated, too, because she happened to be the titular head not simply of a small island nation but of the most enormous empire in the history of empires, claiming sovereignty over nearly a quarter of the earth’s surface. Perhaps the least logical of these bizarre circumstances was the fact that among her far-flung territories was one of the proudest and most ancient of all human entities, India. Since 1877, Victoria had been called Queen Empress, and India was the reason.
I scoffed, but then that Indian charmer entered the book, and I was beguiled.
So was Victoria. Abdul Karim was 24 when he arrived in England in 1887, engaged as an orderly for the queen during her Golden Jubilee celebrations and presently also charged with teaching Her Imperial Majesty Hindustani (as the British habitually referred to both Hindi and Urdu). Although of relatively humble stock, he was a born winner, educated, good-looking, clever and ambitious. I soon fell for him myself.
In no time at all, it seems, he became far more than an orderly, but rather an Indian gentleman of the court, more or less self-promoted out of the servants’ quarters and dubbed, by Her Majesty’s command, a “munshi” — which meant, I gather, a sort of more-than-teacher. This in turn seems to have morphed into a vaguely aristocratic honorific, and before long the delightful young orderly had become the Munshi. For the rest of his life he flaunted the title, and “Bravo,” say I!
I find myself genuinely touched by the bond between the empress and the munshi. He was an opportunist, but he was kind, which for my money redeems many faults, and old Victoria had been having a rotten time of it. First she lost her adored husband, Albert, and never got over it, and then John Brown, her beloved Scots gillie, died on her. Victoria’s nine children were scattered across Britain and Europe, and they were a mixed bag anyway. It must have been a lonely time for the old lady, but then along came Abdul Karim, in his virile youth, and he was very soon treating her not only as an empress but as a woman.
There was obviously nothing carnal about the relationship. Heaven forbid! The munshi seems to have regarded Victoria as an affectionate and generous surrogate mother. (She gave Abdul Karim and his wife three cottages, each near one of her own palaces, plus some land in India, and when he traveled on the royal train he had a whole carriage to himself.) In return he gave her his sympathy and understanding, and in particular they both seem to have enjoyed her daily (and very successful) lessons in Hindustani.
The affair, if we can call it that, spilled over into the style of the British court, which became more and more Indianified. Indian colors were everywhere, Indian sounds and even Indian smells (for curries were often served). When the court indulged itself or its visitors with one of its elaborate tableaux vivants, Indian faces were prominent on the stage, and indeed in the tableau of the king of Egypt, pictured in this book, the Pharaonic ruler himself was played by none other than — the munshi!
The generally snobbish and often racist British establishment of the day came to detest the munshi with an almost comical fervor, and, led by Victoria’s son and heir, Bertie, who later reigned as Edward VII, persecuted even Abdul Karim’s memory when he and his love were both long gone. I suspect that the munshi was a sort of dual reincarnation of Victoria’s beloved Albert and her dear, dear John Brown. And if there was something rather excessive — even, to my mind, schoolgirlish — about her attachment to her young servant, it was perhaps only a late and pathetic extension of the maternal instinct.
I grew fond of them both as I read this generous and meticulous book, and I write this review now with a sentimental tear in my eye. So what think you, Reader? Am I qualified for the job?
