Khawar Jalees hits the jackpot with Sajda Terey Pyaar Mein

Congratulations Khawar Jalees for Sajda!

A glimpse of the show Sajda Terey Pyaar Mein. The show is being written by Khawar Jalees of Seventh Day Adventist, Lucknow. Catch it on Star Plus:):)

The Danger of a Single Story

Prejudice is the gift of a simplistic thought. One needs skills to have multiple stories about people, communities, religions and nations. Was very keen to write something on prejudices that kill and destroy people and relationships. Came across this talk by Chimamanda Adichie.

 Chimamanda says it all very beautifully. Witty and smart is what this writer is. So I am letting her do the talking. Tell us what you thought of her and the talk:):)

Pamper the Adele within

In our liberalised world  people talk about women 'maintaining' themselves almost like Car maintenance. Adele's victory must have given some perspective. Its not size zero but voice 100 out of 100 that did it:):)

What a voice!! and what attitude!! and whoa is she hot? I don't care what men think of thin and fat women. What matters in life and work is women pampering what they love in themselves. There is more to women than being THIN. Yes run, jog aand workout to skip the artharitis and the diabetes etc. But fitting into that Shakira like framework is just that...FITTING IN!!! while you can stand out like Adele. I dedicate the March edition of SDA QUOTIENT to Adele! and all the women of SDA who are getting ready to stand up and stand out rather than just fit in!!

Sing your songs SDA girls! Fight your battles well:):)

Happy WOMAN'S MONTH and a HAPPY WOMAN'S LIFE!

Blogs that say a lot

Hi Friends,

Isn't it fun reading this thing called BLOG! Its brought so many lives closer. Our deepest fears. Our intimate concerns. Our political protests. Its all there for you to share and understand.

Presenting to you some blogs I have been reading lately-

http://childrenfirstnetwork.blogspot.in/

CHILDREN FIRST  is a blog by Shelja Sen, a  family and  child therapist. Its for all you parents, teachers,educators and psychologists there. Its also for those who love the child within and outside.

http://counterpoint123.blogspot.in/

Its a blog where you can catch counterpoint. In a world where America rules there are counter points. Some journos feel that the other voice must also be heard.

http://www.livemint.com/2012/03/02212636/Be-sure-to-doubt-yourself.html

This is one of our favourite blogs. A mum, an ex broadcast journo and a very wise woman Natasha Badhwar's blog. She writes about her three daughters, her inter culture marriage and life in general. Read and feel ALIVE.

Tell us what you think about all the above blogs. We have more coming soon.

Rukmini

Good Bye Shahryar

Poet Shahryayr passed away in the month of February. He was one of my most cherished writers. I had the priviledge of interacting with him as he was a family friend. Its apt to pay my respects to him in SDA QUOTIENT. After all I was introduced to Urdu poetry by my school friend and long time buddy Anwar Hussain.

This is a collage of Shahryar's life. Snippets from newspapers, youtube links of his songs and a very endearing interview by his son Faridoon.

Times Of India-

Poet Shahryayr's son Faredoon who lives in Mumbai said,"He passed away around 8.30 pm Monday. My elder brother was with him when he breathed his last.''

Shahryar had visited Mumbai for treatment last year and met Yash Chopra at the time."He had written the songs of Yashji's 'Faasle'.

 My father worked extensively with Muzaffar Ali, having written for Zooni which got shelved and another three ghazals for his forthcoming film,'' Faredoon said. He recalled the family's happiness at seeing their ailing father walk up to receive the Jnanpith award. Actor Farooque Shaikh was shocked at the news.

"This is a big loss to the world of Urdu literature. Shahryar Sahab wrote the lyrics for four of my films, Gaman, Umrao Jaan, Anjuman and Faasle, and each of them was a masterpiece. I met him several times during the 1980s and more recently at his son's residence in Mira Road when he came over to Mumbai for cancer treatment.''

Shaikh describes Shahryar as an extraordinary poet. ``He was extremely well educated and always mindful of the fact that his verses should give society something to think about even amidst all the ornamentation,'' he says. ``Like all true artistes, he led a quiet life away from publicity. But his writings speak for him.'' Urdu writer Hasan Kamal said, `"Shahryar Sahab's passing is tragic news. Not only was he a fine human being but one of the best poets in modern Urdu literature. His songs from Umrao Jaan and Gaman are popular to this day. He was media shy but otherwise very friendly.''

Shahryar was born June 16, 1936, in a village named Anwalla in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. He received his early education at Bulandshahr and then studied at Aligarh Muslim University. He was appointed as a lecturer in Urdu at Aligarh Muslim University in 1986 and served until in 1996 he retired as chairman of the Urdu Department of the University. He edited the literary magazine `Sher-o-Hikmat'. In 1987 he received the Sahitya Akademy Award in Urdu for his poetry collection, `Khwab Ka Dar Band Hai'. He leaves behind three children, two sons and a daughter.

HINDU-

Akhlaq Mohammed Khan, better known as Shahryar, who breathed his last in Aligarh on Monday following a prolonged battle with cancer, straddled the worlds of pure and popular poetry with equal ease. As a lyricist, he courted fame and riches with the unforgettable lyrics of Umrao Jaan. As a poet, he catered to connoisseurs of the Urdu language. He served both from his perch at Aligarh Muslim University, where he was a widely respected academic. He did not need to change his address to taste success in Hindi films as filmmakers approached him in Aligarh with their stories. A much sought after name in mushairas – poetic soirees – Shahryar was conferred the Jnanpith award in 2008 and the Sahitya Akademi Award for “Khwab ka Dar Band Hai”.

Shahryar got success on his own terms. Eminent filmmaker Yash Chopra offered him three films after Faasle. However, Shahryar turned down the proposal as he did not want to be reduced to a “song shop” ready with wares according to the demands of the consumer. He preferred leisure and solitude for his work, something he got in Aligarh. In his poetry, he preferred to talk of the pain of the deprived, the social concerns of the man on the street. The feeling came out most aptly in the ghazal, “Seene mein jalan aankhon mein toofan sa kyun hai” which became part of Muzaffar Ali’s film Gaman in 1978.

 

Ali and Shahryar were friends from the student days. It so happened that Ali was a painter and once Shahryar went to show him some of the ghazals he had composed. Later, when Ali became a filmmaker, he used them in Gaman. They again worked together in Umrao Jaan. Incidentally, Asha Bhonsle got the National Award for rendering the ghazal, “Dil cheez kya hai” in the film.

However, Shahryar almost did not become a poet. In his younger days, he wanted to be an athlete. His father wanted him to join the police. Shahryar, though, ran away from his home and honed his craft under the watchful eye of Khalil-ur Rehman. To earn a living, he ended up teaching Urdu fiction in AMU, from where he retired as chairman of the Department of Urdu. He never taught poetry in the university as he believed poetry could never be taught. His first poetry collection, Ism-e-Azam was released in 1965 and he used to co-edit a literary journal Sher-o-Hikmat. He also composed songs for Ali’s forthcoming project Noorjehan.

Six Movies on SDA March list

Costa Gavras- Music Box

A lawyer defends her father accused of war crimes, but there is more to the case than she suspects.

Andres Wood- Machuka
Two boys observe a political coup in their native Chile.

John Ford - How Green was my Valley?
Life is hard in a Welsh mining town and no less so for the Morgan family. Seen through the eyes of the family's youngest, Huw, we learn of the family's trials and tribulations. Family patriarch Gwyllim and his older sons work in the mines, dangerous and unhealthy as it is. Gwyllim has greater hopes for younger son how to honor his hard working parents. Huw who has his own ideas on how to honor his father. Daughter Angharad is the most beautiful girl in the valley and is very much in love with Mr. Gruffydd who isn't sure he can provide her the life she deserves. Times are hard and good men find themselves out of work and exploited by unseen mine owners. Written by Garykmcd.

At the turn of the century in a Welsh mining village, the Morgans (he stern, she gentle) raise coal-mining sons and hope their youngest will find a better life. Lots of atmosphere, very sentimental view of pre-union miners' lives. Written by ED Stephan. 

            
 Charlie Chaplin - Goldrush
 A Lone Prospector (Charlie Chaplin) searches the tundra for gold. He discovers more than gold. He finds love and a roller coater adventure. This forever changes the lives of the people he meets.

                                                                               
                                                         


Charlie Chaplin - The Great Dictator
 Dictator Adenoid Hynkel has a doppelganger, a poor but kind Jewish barber living in the  slums, who one day is mistaken for Hynkel.

                                                                                  
                                                      

 Ritwik Ghatak- Meghey Dhaka Tara
"Meghe Dhaka Tara" tells the tragic story of the beautiful daughter of a middle-class refugee family from East Pakistan, living in the outskirts of Calcutta under modest circumstances. Neeta sacrifices everything for her family, including her personal happiness, her money, and her health, while her achievements are hardly ever recognized by the people around her.


                                                                               

Colours, Smells and Taste of SDA

White shirt, navy blue skirt,striped tie, white socks, black shoes and we were ready for 17, Vidhan Sabha Marg. Life in school was a routine that remained unchanged almost for thirteen years. In those days, however, that routine was something I loved. How we used to run with shoelaces undone. How our rickshaw guy would get angry almost everyday. Every irrelevant detail seems like magic.

Friends, delicious breaks, games, pranks, studies, window slamming, constant fantasies of two three affairs. Now thats what we mean by “Life was very busy”.

Time really flies. There are so many things I miss about my SDA. There are also somethings I feel I missed out on due to the strict vigilance there. Thankfully it wan't just discipline that was the goal of our traning. We were also taught to enjoy our studies and more importantly life.

You say SDA and I think of playing a lot and eating endless  potato patties. Those small snacks  that were sold by the watchman’s wife have their own place in my memory. Fights with the classmates. What fun it was to bend the rules.

I remember troubling my two bengali  KG teachers a lot. They used to call me by my nick name. Strange but an endearing memory!

The first grade teacher was beautiful but very strict. I was mighty scared of her. So much so that I used to cry to avoid going to school. Finally one fine day my mother paid her a visit and sorted it all out. This teacher used to stay in our colony. It was during these years that everyone wanted to be the monitor. Ah! Important piece of memory there!

In years to follow I enjoyed every day of the school, made many friends and cherished every moment spent. I will never forget the picnics and movies we went for. Must have been a small thing for the school but for us that was childhood well spent. One of the movies was on Subhash Chandra Bose. As a child that was an exciting watch in the local theatre.

SDA was all about its teachers and students. Every teacher had something distinct about her/him.  Ayesha Abbasi used to fling her hair. We often talked about her smart wardrobe. Ah and she had a chewing gum in her mouth much too often. Namrata Bahadur is remembered by most of us for her punch lines. Shanta, the chemistry teacher was an inspiration for mimicry and mono acts. Her voice was often copied while telling tales about her. Haroon Massy used to settle the  convictions. Oh how can I forget our handsome mathematics teacher.

With such exciting teachers arounds one but missed school in the summer vacations. I would wait for the school to reopen. We were a laidback bunch. Our teachers didn't push us for the rat race. We were trained to feel and think. What was respected the most was a kind act. That was the focus of the moral classes.

The very thought of SDA brings a smile on my face. I feel nostalgic often and pray that god gives me such a golden opportunity time and again. What does an innocent heart need but a nice bunch of friends and well meaning teachers.

Arunima is a mother, a teacher and a badminton player. She lives with her husband and daughters in Nagpur. In school she loved biology and History. There are many interesting stories we would want our Misti to share with us. This is only the begining.

Aam-e-Avadh

Avadhis will graciously hear you praise mangoes from other parts of the country but they are firm on one thing —  the king of mangoes is the delicately flavoured Malihabadi Dussehri

Lucknow does not have a problem with being called an ‘aam shaher’ (a common city). And why would it? The city  of graces is home to what it considers the mango royalty — Dussehri, Chausa, Safeda — even Langda from the  neighbouring Varanasi.

So addictive, say Avadhis, are the Dussehris, that they would rather go mango-less than eat any other variety . TV  actress Aarti Singh, who works in Mumbai, craves for the Lucknow mangoes. “I miss the Malihabadi Dussehri. Ever  since i shifted to Mumbai, I stopped eating mangoes as I don’t find that sweet taste here,” she says.
Vishal Anand, a businessman who travels across the country, has tasted every region’s produce. But nothing, he  says, matches the delicate smell and blush of a ripened Dussehri. “I’ve eaten Alphonso, Malda, Himsagar — but they  are nowhere near Dussehri in taste,” he says.

Avadh takes mango worship to a different level. For the rest of the country, mango eating maybe a hearty ritual  with no time to spare for refinement. But in Avadh enjoying a mango is very much a part of the Nawabi culture.
“Mango eating is about nazakat (delicacy) and nafasat (refinement),” says citybased writer KP Saxena. “In some  families, mangoes were served to guests on a tashtari (tray), decorated with roses. It was considered improper to  present cut slices of the fruit to the guests.”

How to eat mangoes best is the subject of much polemics among old-time Avadhis. Jafar Mir Abdullah, a descendant  of Avadh Nawabs, says that it is a delicate fruit and should be eaten with the zabaan (tongue) and not the teeth.  “We used to have mango-eating contests, and to the sheer bewilderment of the audience, some would consume dozens  within minutes,” recalls Jafar.

Urdu poets, when they were not bemoaning the infidelity of their lovers, often waxed eloquent about mangoes.  Mirza Ghalib was an avid mango lover and would even miss mushairas to remain in the company of the fruits. It is  said that once Ghalib was savouring mangoes just outside his home when a donkey came by. The animal smelt the  discarded mango peels lying around on the ground and walked away without tasting them. Seeing this, a passerby  remarked: “Huzur, donkeys don’t eat mangoes.” The poet immediately quipped: “Yes, only donkeys don’t eat mangoes.”  Poet Nida Fazli too sings paeans to the majestic fruit: “Acchi sangat baith kar sangi badle roop, jaise milkar aam  se meethi ho gayi dhoop (good company transforms a man just as sunlight sweetens as it glances off a mango).”

Malihabad, about 30 km from Lucknow, is known for producing the best Dussehris in the country. Padma Shri  Kalimullah Khan, who is known for having grafted new varieties of mango — some named after celebrities like Sachin  Tendulkar and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan — is the town’s most famous resident. “Malihabadi mangoes are high on demand;  even foreign countries have become addicted to them and place bulk orders every season,” says Kalimullah.

Among the mangoes grown in the north, loyalties are divided between Dussehri, Langda and Chausa. Saxena prefers  Chuswa over Dussehri. “Chuswa is sweeter and one gets great satisfaction in consuming it. We would sit in the  orchards of Malihabad in 1960s and end up eating a dozen chuswa mangoes. It is full of pulp and hence cannot be  cut into slices. You have to press it softly from all sides and savour it directly,” says the writer who has  penned dialogues for Bollywood.
Avadhis are a gracious lot but their pehle aap culture does not quite extend to ceding territory to mangoes  from elsewhere.

Writer- Vijay Chopra is Senior Sub-Editor with Times of India, Lucknow. After finishing his ICSE from SDA he had joined La Martiniere College. Later he did his Masters in History from Canning College, Lucknow University. Vijay is a voracious reader. Watch out for his coloum here. He will be writing on some interesting stuff.

Is Lucknow Boy worth a pat on the back?:) - Reviewed by Vijay Chopra

Vinod Mehta, one of the most dynamic editors of our time must be delighted to be a  Lucknow Boy.

LUCKNOW BOY, Mehta's book has hogged the limelight for two reasons. First, for its strong brand value --being the autobiography of  the former editor of Debonair and Outlook magazine. Secondly,the memoir is replete with enticing anecdotes. It bares the "dark secrets"of many  Indians like Atal BihariVajpayee, Shobha De, Salman Rushdie, VS Naipaul among others. A lucid and crisp style of writing makes it a fascinating read.  

As the title suggests, Mehta, like most of the SDA fraternity, spent his formative years in the City of Nawabs. The opening chapter dwells on the lazy times spent in Lucknow. There is Ganj, LaMartiniere, Cantonment, Coffee House, Lucknow University and, of course, the dames! Over all, a chapter every Lucknowite can easily relate to, relish and feel nostalgic about.

After completing BA (third division) from LU, Mehta left for England. His eight-year stay in London was uneventful -- he mainly survived running errands. But, in Passage to England,the astute editor makes a candid confession about his personal life. One that evokes emotions as well as appreciation for the writer's 'Sach Ka Saamna' guts.

When a pauper Mehta returned from his UK sojourn in 70s, he willingly accepted to edit the then sinking Debonair. This was the Indian version of Playboy. It did not take Mehta too long to revive the centre-spread magazine. In the subsequent years, he launched and revived many publications including Outlook and Pioneer. The ups and downs of this most successful launch editor are well recorded in his memoir.

There is no dearth of thrilling tales in Lucknow Boy. Mehta brags about his victories and failures. He is at ease while mocking friends, foes and colleagues. I still wonder how he has escaped libels. The memoir has ample potential to invite  them.

Instead of giving a detailed account of the writer' personal life, Lucknow Boy largely remains confined to his professional adventures and misadventures. A reader would have expected more but the book disappoints on this count.    

The title Lucknow Boy, though, has left me dejected. Perhaps, many of you would agree with me. For a Lucknow male, there couldn't be a more apt title for an autobiography!!  Mehta has clean bowled us with a class googly. Will have to scratch my head for a better title if I ever plan to pen down my memoirs.

Hate it or like it, no harm in reading Lucknow Boy. Its a must for anybody who wants to dig into an Editor's head. A must must for any English language journalist.

Vinod Mehta's exciting life as documented in Lucknow Boy also tells us that good journalists must travel, read and watch life. A good college degree may make us an Editor but a subversive editor needs to have a human touch. Read it friends. If not for the writer, then at least  for our city's sake:).

(You can buy the book from Flipkart or Indiaplaza as theyare offering good discounts.)     

Vijay Chopra works with Times Of India. Chopra is an avid reader, an enthusiastic copy editor and an incorrigible optimist. You will find him writing  a lot about People, politics and kebabs in the coming months.