Book to renew Kolkata’s tie with Wajid Ali Shah

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Records, All

Kolkata :

“It’s the only book I’ve read twice. And my favourite line is ‘life can’t be divided into chapters’,” mused Shahanshah Mirza, great-great-grandson of Wajid Ali Shah, referring to ‘The Last King in India’ by Rosie Llewellyn-Jones. The British historian has made waves by compiling facts about the legendary nawab whose memory still divides opinion.

Rosie smiled: “Thanks for helping me investigate the mind of the last king. The British opposed him because they wanted to take his kingdom. Mirza nodded: “You’ve dealt with his seclusion rather well.” He thought the agony associated with the annexation of Awadh is well portrayed in the book.

Rosie begins with a chapter following this act, when the nawab’s mother travels to petition Queen Victoria for justice. Unknown to her, the Queen had no power to return Awadh. The bleak start sets the tone for the book — the British duplicity, with the king caught between forces over which he had no control.

For inputs, Rosie has watched ‘Shatranj Ke Khilari’ “several times”. “Ray did a lot of research,” said Rosie. “When Ray met my father in 1978, he was asked if it was easy getting Amjad Khan into Wajid’s skin. He had said ‘Amjad was blinking a lot. When a ruler is angry, he doesn’t blink. His eyes are wide open’,”
said Mirza.

Rosie’s Kolkata connect goes a long way — since she found Mirza on the royal family website in 2004. “I came here and we did a lot of research together,” she said. The cover is a painting of the nawab which belongs to Mirza’s relative Sultan Ali Sadiq.

Rosie pointed out: “In nearly all his pictures, the king has his left breast exposed.” Mirza explained: “I guess the poet in the nawab wanted to show that his heart was always open.”

The book will be unveiled for the third time on Sunday after a London launch in June followed by another such ceremony in the nawab’s very own Lucknow last month. “Now it is Kolkata’s turn and we had to have Shahanshah,” said Rosie. Mirza has given Rosie inputs on the king settling down in Metiabruz (or Metiaburj, which literally means a clay tower). An old watchtower had once stood there, guarding the Hooghly river bend, giving the place its name.

“The book shows that even 127 years after his death,
Wajid Ali Shah, who himself authored 117 books (Rosie found some of them at the London Library), is still a subject of interest.”

The king contributed greatly to Kolkata’s culture. Kathak and kite-flying were introduced by him. He opened a menagerie which attracted a lot of visitors. According to Rosie, the king tried, within his limited resources (he had to live off a pension given to him by the British), to recreate a miniature Lucknow in Garden Reach-Metiabruz where he lived his last 31 years. He brought with him the music, the poetry, the cuisine, the adab that had made Lucknow under him the byword of culture and etiquette.

“His Calcutta stay changed many aspects of its social life. The British failed to fathom (deliberately) the love that he enjoyed from his subjects,” said his great-great-grandson.

The British, who deposed him to Calcutta in 1856, could hardly accept a ruler who believed that his subjects singing his songs was enough guarantee that he was seen as a good ruler. “Do Queen Victoria’s subjects sing her songs?” Satyajit Ray makes Wajid ask his chief minister in ‘Shatranj Ke Khilari’, thus capturing the differing notions of kingship.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / by Ajanta Chakraborty, TNN / October 12th, 2014

Meet Tabassum Bano – the first female e-rickshaw driver of Allahabad

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Records, All, Travel

Tortured by her in-laws for dowry, Tabassum was thrown out of the house with her six months old son, she decided to not give up.

Tabassum Bano riding the e-riskshaw - Mohammad Anas
Tabassum Bano riding the e-riskshaw – Mohammad Anas

Tabassum Bano decided to fight and not surrender despite facing so many hardships some years back. She had been tortured physically and mentally by her in-laws for dowry, she was thrown out of the house with her six months old son, but Bano didn’t give up. She braved all the difficulties and challenges of her life. Confident and self dependent, Bano has set an example of courage as the first female e-rickshaw driver of Allahabad.

“I came to Allahabad in the year 2005. My family lives in a small village Narsimhagarh in Pratapgarh. One year after marriage, my in-laws started torturing me for more dowry. My son was just six months old at that time. One day they even took my clothes off and threw me out of the house. Tired of their torture, I had even thought of committing suicide, but my child gave me the reason to live and fight,” Bano broke into tears as she narrated her life story to iamin.

“Finally, I decided to get divorce from my husband and made up my mind to come to Allahabad and start a new life. With just two rupees in hand and my son in my arms, I began my journey from Pratapgarh by foot and reached Allahabad after walking 50 kilometres. Once when I wa at new Yamuna bridge, out of hunger, my son started crying uncontrollably and I became restless and helpless in this unknown city. An old man saw us and brought us to Sister Sheeba Jones. My life changed since that day,” said Bano who lives in a rented room at Teliyarganj colony in Allahabad with her son.

Bano gives the credit to Sister Sheeba for changing her life. “Sister Sheeba first taught me how to ride a scooty and then four-wheelers.” Besides riding the e-rickshaw, Bano also works as a maid in houses to bear her expenses of her family members.

Yes, apart from her own son, Bano is taking care of six other members of the family. “After my brother-in-law’s death, I took care of my sister and her three children. My brother died in the year 2011 and his daughter is also my responsibility. There is no male member in our family. I take care of my old mother too,” said Bano.

Besides work, Bano who was an illiterate before coming to Allahabad started studying and cleared class X examination. Her son Abdullah studies in a reputed English school in the city. “I want a better life for my son so, I work hard to send him in a good English medium school.”

Sharing her experience as a female e-rickshaw driver, Bano asserted, “I want to change people’s attitude towards women. There are different types of people in our society. Some people stare at me awkwardly while some praise and encourage me. I want to show that women are strong and can face challenges.”

Bano also uses her scooty to carry people. She sometimes drops school children to their homes free of cost in her e-rickshaw. Tabassum is surely an inspiration for women in the country.

source: http://www.iamin.in / I am in DNA of Allahabad / Home> Allahabad> Trending News / by Mohammad Anas, Edited by : Longjam Dineshwori/ Tuesday – October 21st, 2014

Vintage treasures wheel across city

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, Travel

Lucknow :

A cool Sunday afternoon was made colourful by history cruising on Lucknow roads in deep red, yellow, olive green and dark gray. Seventy cars from the bygone era took part in a vintage car run organized by the Vintage Car & Motorcycle Club of Lucknow and State Bank of India.

His clothes in colour coordination with his yellow and blue 1947 MG TC, Dr Tarun Sehgal said he had heard words of awe and amazement for his vintage possession.

The caravan passed through Hazratganj and towards Gomtinagar through Lohia Park, crossing GPO and back to SBI head office from where it had taken off.

“Obtaining original parts is next to impossible. The mechanics too are not much adept with vintage engines and styles to be dealing effectively with them,” says Ravi Shankar Rajput, whose three generations have been into vintage cars. He now owns a 1935 Fiat Balilla.

Seldom taking out the 1934 Dodge owned by the police force, DGP Anand Lal Bannerji has to take another car for safety reasons. “It is a Dodge that dodges everyone and I need advice from experts for maintaining it,” he said.

“My father owned a two-seater Austin that he had to sell off, so when in 1944, I got hold of this second-hand four-seater Austin 7, I bought it and have been maintaining it ever since,” said Dr Sadiq about his deep red ‘baby Austin’.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / by Yusra Husain, TNN / October 20th, 2014

IT City foundation laid, CM enlists achievements

About Uttar Pradesh, Business & Economy, Science & Technology

Lucknow :

Making a strong pitch for UP’s “visionary governance”, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav said on Wednesday his Samajwadi Party government had envisioned a hi-tech city for Lucknow well before “others” launched the idea of “Smart Cities.” Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposal to build 100 Smart Cities, Akhilesh said “people are talking about Smart Cities today but I don’t see the difference between them and the hi-tech cities Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) proposed years ago.”

At the ground-breaking ceremony of the ambitious IT City, for which the state has partnered with HCL Technologies, the CM said UP government has taken several path-breaking decisions to strengthen UP’s infrastructure, from building four-lane highways to distributing free laptops and bringing metro rail project to Lucknow. “SP government is doing things according to the need of the day. At the same time it has not forgotten its tradition. Apart from getting Amul to set up its plant in Lucknow, we are also making cycle tracks,” Akhilesh added.

Inaugurating three key infrastructure projects for Lucknow—two of them in the IT sector—Akhilesh inaugurated UP’s second Indian Institute of Information Technology, and UP’s first IT City project. “Besides creating job opportunities for UP’s youth, these projects will increase importance of Lucknow and UP in the country,” Akhilesh said.

On Wednesday, the CM also laid the foundation stone of Medanta Awadh, the 1000-bed super specialty cardiology hospital by Gurgaon’s Medanta group in Lucknow. Speaking at the ceremony, Medanta chairman Dr Naresh Trehan said “I am a product of King George’s Medical College and had the dream to pay back Lucknow for what I learnt here. The aim of this hospital is to be able to deliver state-of-the-art health facilities to patients at affordable rates. We hope the government ensures we get this project off the ground as soon as possible.”

The IT City project, rechristened by the state government as CG City, will come up in Lucknow on a total of 830 acres of land. About 530 acres of this land pocket will be developed for residential purposed by the Lucknow Development Authority. As part of the state’s affordable housing policy, the government also plans to build low cost housing facilities on 10-acre plots to be given to beneficiaries with monthly income of Rs 8,000 per month.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / TNN / October 16th, 2014

Lucknow Expressions society hosts literary evening with british scholar Rosie Llewellyn Jones

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, World Opinion

It was a packed house when the Lucknow Expressions society organised another literary evening, this time with historian Rosie Llewellyn Jones.

Rosie Llewellyn Jones (left)
Rosie Llewellyn Jones (left)

Rosie’s writings on Nawab Wajid Ali Shah were released by filmmaker Muzaffar Ali, who was the chief guest at the event. Introducing the audience to the life of Wajid Ali Shah, Jayant Krishna expressed disappointment over the lack of monuments or places in the city named after the Nawab.

“Perhaps, we are looking for the international airport to be named after him,” joked Jayant. Muzaffar Ali, on the other hand, spoke about a temple in Vrindavan with a statue of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah.

The event concluded with a question-answer session, followed by high tea.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / by Renu Singh, TNN / October 16th, 2014

Quality education helps rustic talent blossom

Education

Surencha (Sitapur):

Class IX student of VidyaGyan (Sitapur), Prashant Singh is a happy-go-lucky boy. He was one among eight students selected for the Duke Talent Identification Program held sometime in Sonipat. Here, students did a three-week course in different subjects.

Son of a farmer in Hardoi, Prashant’s mother is a home-maker. “It (the course) was fantastic. My subject was forensic science. We were given to investigate a mock crime scene. The idea was to familiarise us with a crime scene, how to deal with it and what are the duties and jobs of an investigator,” said Prashant who aspires to become a forensic scientist. He, however, is also determined to create awareness in his village on use of fertilizers for enhancing crop quality.

At the workshop, Nancy Kulshrestha and Anupam Mishra studied social entrepreneurship and mathematical problem solving. Dreaming of becoming an IAS officer, Nancy took to social entrepreneurship because she wants to eradicate poverty in her village. On the other hand, Anupam who wants to be an IIT engineer is set to go back to his village and create awareness on the importance of education.

Class XI student Vaishali Dhariwal (along with three others) from VidyaGyan (Bulandshahr) met Usain Bolt after they won the ‘PUMA School of Speed Award’, India’s first national school-level running meet. “There were over 300 teams. We were nervous and excited at the same time. But when we ran, we saw we were better than others,” said Vaishali from Moradabad.

The batch of class X students at Bulandshahr passed with flying colours too. Around 60% students secured above 90% marks in board exams. Of these, 50% achieved 95% and above aggregate.

“We are seeing promising signs already. Our students, who have never stepped out of villages before they came here, are now travelling overseas,” Roshni Nadar Malhotra, trustee of Shiv Nadar Foundation that runs VidyaGyan schools, which run classes from VI to XII affiliated to the CBSE board.

VidyaGyan is the philanthropic arm of HCL promoter Shiv Nadar. Designed by the finest architects, VidyaGyan School campuses at Bulandhahr and Sitapur have sprawling acreage with state-of-art academic and residential facilities for students. The campus also houses an extensive sports complex with a basketball court on the hostel premises.

In all, there are 1,400 students and 92 teachers. This is targeted to increase three-fold and touch 4,200 in the next five years. Students are admitted after a three-tier selection process.

The SNF boasts of conducting one of the largest private selection and admission processes in India covering 75 UP districts. In 2014, it evaluated 2 lakh students for VidyaGyan of which 300 were inducted.

Students come from families of farmers and daily wagers in rural UP whose annual income is less than Rs 1 lakh.

The foundation has so far invested Rs 400 crore in these schools. The foundation has committed Rs 5,000 crore towards philanthropic initiatives, of which Rs 2,900 crore had already been incurred.

Going places

– 8 students selected for Duke TIP program that provides families and educators with an opportunity to identify and support academically talented students

– 2 students selected for an exchange programme with Brown University

– 1 student selected for an exchange programme with Lee University

– 1 student selected for the AFS YES Youth Exchange and Study Programme. The student has been adopted by a US family and is attending Thomas Alva Edison High School in Minneapolis

– 1 student selected for third annual edition of Doha Goals gathering of All leaders in Sport Forum

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / by Isha Jain, TNN / October 14th, 2014

Chestnuts rule market as costliest dry fruit

Agriculture, Business & Economy

Varanasi:

Gone are the days when cashew nuts and almond were known as kings in dry fruit markets.

Now in the pricelists of the dry fruits shops, chestnuts are mentioned as costliest not due to festival season or recent floods in Jammu and Kashmir but courtesy people, who follow the advice of Yoga gurus, Ayurvedacharyas and medical practitioners.

A dealer of dry fruits at Gola Dinanath Mandi said: “We are in this trade for generations but in past two-three years, a surprising trend has emerged as chestnuts, which were consumed mainly in winters, are now being sold round the year. Arthritis patients consume chestnuts on the advice of Yoga gurus and medical practitioners. It has resulted in shooting up of per kg price of chestnuts from Rs 1300 in the wholesale market to Rs 1,600 to Rs 2,200.

But, this change in consumption of chestnuts has diverted those buyers, who gift dry fruits during festivals like Diwali. Apricot had become its substitute to maintain the look of the gift packs, another wholesaler mentioned. It had reduced the price of gift packs by 50%. The markets of Gola Dinanath caters to demand of markets falling in a radius of 400 kms. General secretary of Kashi Kirana Vyapar Mandal Anil Keshari said that there are 126 wholesalers.

According to these traders, on an average per day trade of dry fruits remains above Rs 25 lakhs in volume. “The boom in this trade begins from sixth or seventh day of Shardiya Navratra and continues till Diwali. In comparison to normal days, the trading of dry fruits rises to five times per day in this period,” a trader said. The market revealed that major fluctuation in the prices of dry fruits like coconut, makhana, cashew and pistachio had been noticed four months back but now it is stagnant and there is no indication for further rise.

Traders consider that the rise in trend noticed in the price of almond has started changing now. The monsoon season when moisture damages many dry fruits is over now and the arrival of fresh dry fruits will also start in the market, which can bring the prices down in coming days. Indian raisin is losing attention because better quality Afghan raisin is available at cheaper cost despite import duty.

source:http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Varanasi / by Rajeev Dikshit, TNN / September 29th, 2014

No ‘Ravana vadh’ possible without this Muslim family

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Varanasi :

Sharadiya Navaratri is a time for celebrations for many but a Muslim family, away from all celebrations, is busy making effigies of demon king Ravana and his kin to be burnt on the tenth day of Navaratri, Vijayadashmi.

The members of this family, who believe that Vijayadashmi is the celebration of victory of good over evil, have been in this work for three generations.

Shamshad Khan, a member of the family said, “It has been 35 years since we are making effigies for Vijayadashami. We are the third generation of our family continuing the tradition.” About 8 members of his family are engaged in this work. They are now giving final touches to the huge effigies at Diesel Locomotive Works.

The materials used for making these effigies are bamboo, flour, waste sarees, taant (china rubber), colours, papers and sutli. “We get our materials from Guddi Silai, Chaukaghat and also Manduadih. Altogether three effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghnaad are being made at DLW. These effigies are of 70-ft, 65-ft and 60-ft height, respectively”. Besides, five other effigies are also being made at Titthupur, Lahartara, Phulwaria, Kabirnagar and Babatpur.

Despite hailing from the Muslim community, these people prepare effigies and play a major role in Vijayadashami celebrations. Shamshad remarked, “The virus of communalism should be abolished and there should not be any animosity.”

source:http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Varanasi / TNN / October 02nd, 2014

KVT likely to engage CBRI to save temple walls

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence

Varanasi :

The Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust has decided to rope in Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) Roorkee for saving centuries-old temple’s artistic walls being ruined by the delay in removal of enamel paint.

However, the date of starting the work is yet to be decided as the trust meeting scheduled for Wednesday was once again postponed due to some undisclosed reason.

In 2008-09, the experts had opined that enamel paint applied on the temple was damaging its wall. Till 2013, the temple administration and trust knocked at the doors of Archeological Survey of India (ASI), National Research Laboratory for Conservation of Cultural Property (NRLC), NGOs and individual artistes for removal of paint. Now, they have turned to CBRI for the same.

KVT chief executive officer AK Awasthi told TOI, “The CBRI is seeking Rs 57 lakh to study the problem and find a solution. The decision to forward the issue to the state government for approval and sanctioning of budget was to be taken during KVT trust’s meeting on Wednesday.” However, he could not pin-point a date for forwarding the proposal.

Built by Maharani Ahilya Bai Holkar of Indore in 1977 the KVT, which enshrines one of the 12 Jyotirlings of Lord Shiva was, started facing threat after the enamel paint was applied on it in 1990s. The blunder of applying enamel paint on KVT walls was repeated more than five times in the past two decades. The temple is built of porous stones, which absorb water along with salt and mineral through capillary action. Plastic paint applied on the walls locked the moisture in stones causing damage to the structure. The attention of temple administration as well as state government was drawn towards it when general secretary of the Citizen Forum and former minister Shatrudra Prakash sought a white paper on the application of enamel paint in 2008-09.

Later the temple trust sought help of ASI and NRLC to examine the impact of enamel. After examining the effect of enamel paint the NRLC initially prepared an estimate of Rs 2.19 crore to remove it. But, when trust rejected this estimate the NRLC prepared another estimate of Rs 1.22 crore. But, this proposal was also not accepted by the trust as well as the temple administration. After these developments the temple was given proposals by NGOs and individual artisans for removal of enamel paints.

In 2013 the principal secretary (religious works) Navneet Sehgal had mentioned that some selected artistes can be allowed to start removing paints after the end of Maha Kumbh’s rush following Mahashivratri. But, now Awasthi claims that this work can be assigned to any government institution only due to which the decision for engaging CBRI has been taken. The officials are surely in no hurry but the adverse effect of delay is visible on the walls of the temple for past two-three years. In July 2012 a railing of a decayed portion had collapsed in which a priest was injured.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Varanasi / by Rajeev Dikshit, TNN / October 09th, 2014

Razzak elected chairman of UP Bar Council

Business & Economy, Leaders

Lucknow-based lawyer Abdul Razzak Khan was declared elected as chairman of the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday.

Razzak won unopposed as all the other contestants- Hari Shankar Singh, Anil Pratap Singh and Shree Nath Tripathi withdrew their nominations in his favour. All the 25 members of the Bar Council, who had to elect the chairman, were present at the headquarters of the Bar Council of UP at Thrornhill Road on Sunday.

Later, Khan promised to make all possible efforts to get welfare schemes for lawyers implemented. Outlinign his priorities, he said that first of all, he would persuade the state government to implement the insurance scheme worth Rs 5 lakh for the welfare of lawyers. Secondly, he assured to request the state government to implement the scheme of stipend to new lawyers.

He even warned the state government that if these two long standing demands were not fulfilled expeditiously, then he would lead the members on a dharna in front of chief minister’s residence on October 31, to pressurize the state government to provide all the necessary assistance to get these two welfare schemes for lawyers implemented.

He further promised to taken more steps for the welfare of lawyers after getting the aforesaid two demands implemented.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Allahabad / TNN / October 12th, 2014