Bioscope of old Delhi.

Cinema has always been one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the city of Delhi, making them major entertainment venues. In recent years Delhi's many single-screen cinema halls have given way to large multiplexes. However some old theatres still survive in some parts of the city. The Excelsior theatre was established in 1935, earlier known as the Inayat pavilion theatre. It seats 452.



Moti theater in Old Delhi is the sole supplier of film reels in north India.

This machine has been made in the year 1940, imported form Germany. it is the 70 mm film Projector. In today's era of digital imagery , such old means still function as entertainment tools.



Suresh Chand is a film buff. He has been seeing films regularly since the last 40 years.

Token security measures are seen on the entrances to these halls. Frisking , metal detector, and checking of the bags are the measures that are employed .

At least 500 people queue outside these halls every weekend, keeping the cash registers ringing.

In spite of the badly kept interiors , the audience still throng the halls for the weekly entertainer film.

Despite the lure of cheap entertainment, these places have fallen on bad times. The halls are in a dilapidated situation , and are mostly ill maintained.


These cinema halls offer cheap entertainment for the masses. a ticket here costs between Rs 15 to 35. which is way cheaper than the swanky multiplexes.


Manny cinema halls like Moti show B-grade Bollywood and regional films. Moti cinema was established in the year 1938, its currently run by Karat Desai. Moti has had many silver and golden jubilee film runs.


Bioscope of Old Delhi. by Shariq H Naqvi is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.

Qutib Minar

The foundations of world famous tower, known as the Qutib Minar, were laid by the Qutbbiddin Aibak of the Mamulk dynasty towards the end of the twelfth century. The construction was interrupted at the first storey by his death and the remaining three storeys were completed in matching material and the style by his successor Iltutmish commonly known as Altamash in A.D. 1230. In A.D.1368 the Minar was damaged by lightning. Later, Feroz shah Tughluq (A.D. 1351-88) replaced the top storey by the existing two stores faced with the marble Sikandar Lodhi (A.D. 1489- 1517) also executed some repairs to the Minar in A.D. 1503, when it was again by lightning. The tower has a diameter of 14.32m at the base and of about 2.75m at the top with a height of 72.5m and ascended by 379 steps; it is the highest stone tower in India and a perfect example of Minar known to exist anywhere. The variegated plan of its three lower storeys, the projecting balconies with stalactite, pendentive brackets and ornate bands of inscriptions on its facades heighten its decorative effects.

Alia Minar
In 1311 A.D.

This unfinished Minar with his, extent height of 24.5 m, was commenced by Alauddin Khalji (A.D.1296 -1316) it had hardly reached its storey when he died. He had conceived this Minar to be double to the height of the Qutib Minar, in order to be proportionate with the Quwwatul -Islam mosque, as extended by him.Amir Khusru in Tarikh-I-Alia mention about the intentions of Alauddin Khalji to increase the area of the mosque and construct of another Minar.

College and Tomb of Alauddin Khalji.

This quadrangle enclosed by high walls with rooms along the side and the entrance on the west, was originally a college (madrasa), and built by Alauddin Khalji (A.D.1296-1316), to impart traditional instruction. His tomb was perhaps located in the centre of the southern wing of the enclosure. The conception of a combined college and a tomb appears here in India for the first time and is inspired by Saljuqian tradition.





Qutib Minar. by Shariq H Naqvi is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.

Global Warming: The Heat is on and on …………

The world cannot remain a fossil fool anymore, oblivious of the environmental destruction wrought as it guzzles fuels like coal and oil and causes global warming. Global warming is the phenomenon of the increase in the average temperature of the earth’s surface due to the increased concentration of Greenhouse gases (GHGs) like Carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), Sulphur dioxide (SO2), Nitrogen Oxide (N2O), Chlorofluorocarbons due to the burning of fossil fuels.
The inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been established by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to assess scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant for the understanding of climate change, its potential impacts and options or adaptations and mitigation.
The IPCC’s report of 2007 has left no room for skepticism on global warming. “The warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice and rising global mean sea level”, the report stated. The following are the main finding of the report:
 Sea levels are projected to rise between 7and 23 inches (18 and 59 centimeters) by the end of the century.
 Eleven of the last 12 years rank among the 12 warmest in the instrumental record, which stretches back to 1850.
 A best-guess temperature rise is between 3.2 and 7.1 degrees Fahrenheit (1.8 and 4 degrees Celsius), though the high end remain possible.
 Global temperature will increases between 2 and 11.5 degrees (1.1 and 6.4 degrees Celsius), by the end of this century over pre-industrial levels.
 If recent melting in Greenland and Antarctica continues, sea level could rise an additional 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters).
 In some projections, Arctic sea will continue to become more frequent.
 Observational evidence suggests an increase in hurricane strength in the north Atlantic Since1970 that correlates with an increase in sea surface temperatures.
 Temperatures and sea levels will continue to rise for centuries even if Greenhouse gas emissions are stabilized today.
 The Gulf Stream, which brings warm waters to the north Atlantic, may slow but is unlikely to Hollywood Disaster Movies The After Tomorrow.













India too Feel’s the Heat
There was a jolt for India when the report, given the possible economic losses due to its long coastline, dependent on monsoon and large number of the dependent on agriculture, considered India to be one of the most vulnerable to climate change.

Impact on India

Glaciers:
Himalayan glaciers will shrink from 500,00sq km to 100, 00 sq km.
Water:
Per captia availability of water will shrink from 1, 800 cubic m to 1,000 cubic m, making India water –scarce country.
Food Security:
Agricultural productivity is likely to shrink by 30 per cent. Substantial fall like in production of rain-fed wheat.
Rainfall:
Winter rains will decrease, especially in December, January and February, implying lesser storage and greater water stress.
Plant and Animal Species:
20-30 per cent of animal species assessed so far at increased risk of extinction if global temperature exceed 1.5 to 2.5 degrees centigrade.
Health:
Diarrhoeal diseases and cholera associated with floods and drought are expected to rise in south Asia.

By: SHARIQ HAIDER NAQVI.



Global Warming:The Heat is on and on....... by Shariq H Naqvi is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.

Pushkar fair 2009.

Pushkar Fair 2009. by Shariq H Naqvi is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.

SPECIAL FORCE TO PROTECT DWINDLING TIGER POPULATION.

To galvanize the tiger conservation effort in the country a special Tiger Protection forces (STPF) under the aegis of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is all set to provide the much -needed boost to provide the dwindling tiger population . The proposal formulated by the Home Ministry and the Ministry of Environment and Forest, envisages a special force trained by Central Paramilitary forces and recruited by local police familiar with difficult jungle terrain.
Following a Rs 50 crore grant from the then Finance Minister P. Chidambaram in this year’s budget for tiger protection, the NTCA, working with expert advice from the Home Ministry, has created specialized structure for the STPF with each company comprising 112 personnel, including a Deputy Superintend of Police, three sub-inspectors, 6 head constables and 30 constables, divided into three platoons. In a significant departure from the usual practice where the regular forest guard is above 50 years or nearing retirement, the NTCA has specified that each member of the force must be below 40 years of age.
The first companies of the Special Tiger Protection Forces (STPF) are to be posted at Corbett (Uttarakhand), Ramthambore (Rajasthan), and Dudhwa (Uttar Pradesh) with a total of 13 companies posted in 13 of the more sensitive tiger reserves in India, a first time step for Project Tiger.


Syllabus for STPF
The raising, training and deployment of the STPE is to be done expeditiously. The syllabus for the STPF will be on the basis of the syllabus prescribed by the Ministry of Home affairs for the Indian Reserve Battalion and training inputs will be provided by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the ministry of Environment and Forests. The force is to be conversant with forensic science, anti-poaching intelligence gathering and combat training. The recruitment will be by a panel of the NTCA, MOEF and the WLL.

The measure is certainly a step in the right direction in the context of frequent reports of tigers being killed by poachers for illicit trade in tiger skins and other animal parts. Despite best effort of the government, both at the centre and the states, the scenario of decline in tiger population could not be controlled, a scenario which threatened our ecology. The creation of STPF is expected to put a break on the predatory activities of the hunters and poaches and other anti-environment element. However, much more needs to be done by way of enlisting complete cooperation of the local populace to make the campaign of tiger conservation a success.


SPECIAL FORCE TOPROTECT DWINDLING TIGER POPULATION. by Shariq H Naqvi is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.

Shariq Haider Naqvi.

India Tops world Hunger Chart: WFP Report.

[With 230 million undernourished, it account for 27% of the Global Total]





India tops World Hunger Chart: WFP Report. by Shariq H Naqvi is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.

India’s position on the health front has been found to be shocking as per a report brought out by the United Nations world Food Programme (WFP).It finds its 230 million rural poor as undernourished, the highest for any country in the world. Malnutrition accounts for nearly 50% of child deaths in India as every third adult (aged 15-49 years) is reported to be below normal in health standards.
The position of food security in rural India is so much disappointing that more than 1-5 million children are at the risk of becoming malnourished because of rising food prices.
The report said that while general inflation declined from a 13 year high exceeding 12% in July 2008 to less than 5% by the end of January 2009, the inflation for food articles doubled from 5% to over 115 during the same period.
Food grain harvest during 2008-09 is estimated to be a record 228 million tonnes. However, requirement for national population would exceed 250 million tonnes by 20015.


India Tops world Hunger Chart: WFP Report.

India rank 94th in the Global Hunger Index of 119 countries, the report said. It says that more than 27% of the world’s undernourished population lives in India while 43% of children (under 5 years) in the country are underweight.
The figure is among the highest in the world and is much higher than the global average of 25% and also higher than sub-Saharan Africa’s figure of 28%.
Food For Thought
 More than 230 million people in India are undernourished –highest for any country in the world.
 More 27% of the world’s undernourished population lives in India. 43% of children (under 5 years) in the country are underweight compared to the global proportion of 25% and 28% in Sub-Saharan African.
 Every second child in the country is stunted.
 30% of babies in India are born under-weight.
 Malnutrition accounts for nearly 50% of child deaths.
 Every third adult (aged 15-49 years) in the country is reported to be thin (BMI less than 18.5)70% of children (under-5) suffer from anemia.
 More than 1.5 million children in India are at risk of becoming malnourished because of rising global food prices.
 Food grain harvest during 2008-09 is estimated to be 228 million metric tonnes.
 The requirement for the national population would exceed 250 millon mt by 2015.
More than 70% children (under 5) suffer from anemia and 80% of them don’t get Vitamin supplements. Percentage of women with chronic energy deficiency is stagnant at 40% over six years with the proportion in fact increasing in Assam, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana during the same period.
The report points out that the ambitious Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) was failing.


Instead of reducing food security it has led to greater insecurity for large section of the poor and the near-poor. Another problem of the TPDS was the issue of quantity of grain that a household would be entitled to. The TPDS initially restricted the allotments to BPL (Below Poverty Line) household to 10 kg per month. For a family of five this amount to 2% kg per capita. Using the ICMR recommended norm of 330 gram per day, the requirement per person per month would be 11kg and that for a family of five would be 55kg.

Shariq Haider Naqvi.
(Source Competition Success).

"EVERYONE" campaign to save children.

India is among the top five economies, according to the World Development Indicators (WDI) 2008, but the murky facet of silver coin is marked in the WDI report itself, as it says South Asia has the maximum cases of child malnutrition and the rate of India’s child malnutrition is twice of African average.

Nearly twenty one per cent of world’s child mortality cases are in India, and malnutrition causes about 50 per cent of these deaths and world’s one-third underweight children live in India, says a UNICEF report.

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"Everyone" campaign to save children. by Shariq H Naqvi is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.

Moni a seven year old underweight girl resides under the bridge of Okhla railway station. She doesn’t go to school; her mother argues if she will go to school than who will look after of three young siblings of her?

Moni’s two month old sister Radhika weight less than four kilograms, she is severe case of malnutrition. The problem of malnutrition is a curse that we must remove. Our efforts to provide every child with access to education and to improve health care services for all citizens will continue Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh addresses the nation in his Independence Day speech.

Rajjo mother of two months old Naina, grievance how she was refused two register her name in local dispensary as she had no domicile proof. People in this slum neither heard the PM’s speech nor do they know what health care services are improved.

In his speech the prime minister said, we have strengthened Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and expanded the mid-day meal programme upto upper primary level in all districts of the country.

Don’t know the condition of SSA in remote villages of our country but at least in these unorganized slums people have no idea at all about SSA. There are hundreds of children like Moni in this slum who don’t go to school. They all, from sunrise to sunset roam around the railway tracks. In second option they collect vegetable from the near by vegetable market.


I have urged all Chief Ministers to improve and strengthen the PDS to ensure availability of essential commodities to the common man at reasonable prices Prime minister in his message to nation.


Previous year, Subodh Kanth Sahay, minister of state for food processing, told Rajya Sabha that 58,000 crore value of agricultural goods get wasted yearly. Sahay said the food wastage was primarily due to lack of post harvesting infrastructure such as cold storage facilities, transportation and apt storage facilities

People like Rajjo and Moni’s parents have no idea of PDS. Their prime concern is to be alive in any condition. Plight of these malnourished breathing innocent is worsening, as their parents neither able to feed them well nor they have access to government’s scheme like mid-day meal. They don’t hope to government for their betterment, but any positive move from government can bring a smile on their face.

Friendly mode of transport.

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Endanger-speices threatened by fraudulent clearances.

Tiger

The Rs 230-lakh Project Tiger was a union Government and the world wildlife fund joint Endeavour in 1973, to check immediate threat to the nation animal. “It registered a marked increase is most animal population in the first decade”. (India Today , Dec 1983), with 1,550 sq km under its canopy, including 15 sanctuaries & nation parks, the project cordoned off a third of this land for conservation activities and demarcated the rest as a buffer area, relocating the villages around.

Hoolock Gibbon




Endanger-speices threatened by fraudulent clearanc by Shariq H Naqvi is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.

India’s only ape may not live another day as its forests in the North-east, part of a global- biodiversity hotspot, will be flooded thanks to shoddy.

SUFISM and SUFI MUSIC

The human being since ages has been inventing ways to please the Almighty. It has been the burning desire and it is well said, “Need is mother of all inventions”. This has made the human being to look beyond the horizon to achieve his/her desires to the brim.

The desire to understand God and His creation has been haunting the mankind since ages and the same led to the creation of Sufism or Tasawwuf (Arabic: تصوّف‎). The word Sufi is an Arabic which means holy person who is near and dear to Almighty. The abstract noun of Sufi is Sufism which is related to the inner instinct of the human being and consists of the mystical dimension of Islam.

The other word for the Sufi is dervish. Classical Sufi scholars have defined Sufism as “a science whose objective is the reparation of the heart and turning it away from all else but God”. Alternatively, in the words of the renowned Darqawi Sufi teacher Ahmad ibn Ajiba, “a science through which one can know how to travel into the presence of the Divine, purify one’s inner self from filth, and beautify it with a variety of praiseworthy traits.” It is many times addressed as “Islamic Mysticism,” in which Muslims seek to find divine love and knowledge through direct personal experience of God.

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Sufism and sufi music. by Shariq H Naqvi is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.
Sufism began to develop in the 7th century, the first century of Islam. Sufism arose out of various influences, among them a mystical overtone in some of the teachings of Muhammad, the founder of Islam; a desire to escape the social and political upheavals of the time; and a tendency toward quietism in reaction to the worldliness and extravagance of the early caliphs. The Sufi mystic follows a path of seven stages: repentance, abstinence, renunciation, poverty, patience, trust in God, and acquiescence to the will of God.

It was in the primary stages of Sufism, Sufis were attached to dhikr “remembrance of God” or asceticism. It was in the time of the Umayyad Caliphate when the need for peace of mind elevated mankind, hitherto Sufism came into existence. In the time of Umayyad Caliphate when the greed for the worldly processions was at large and the evil practices were uncontrollable. Few of the people renounced the world for the true peace and traveled to the lands of Arabia, Persia, Turkey, etc.

It is also advocated by few Muslims that Sufism is not the part of Islam and its nature is of universal status. On the other hand the other scholars of Islam voice it to be the name for the inner esoteric dimension of Islam.

The etymologic root of Sufi is traced to صُوف ṣūf “wool”, which the early Muslim ascetics used to wear. It is also said that the other reason for this may be the word to صَفا ṣafā “purity,” therefore it is said by the common people that Sufi is a person who wears wool over his purity. The others have their own reasoning to the origin of the word Sufi, which according to them is from Ashab as-suffa “Companions of the Porch”. Ashab as-suffa are know as a group of pauperized Muslims during the time of Muhammad and used to live in the veranda of the Prophet’s mosque, being devoted to prayers and memorise Quran as it was being revealed. In the 10th century a historian Abu Rayhan al-Biruni of Persia states that the word is linked to Greek word sophia “Wisdom”. Abu Rayhan al-Biruni a Persian historian of the 10th century has rooted the word Sufi with Greek word sophia “wisdom”.

In the 20th century in ‘The Mystics of Islam’ R. A. Nicholson described Sufism a product of diverse philosophical and spiritual influences from Christian, Neoplatonism, etc. In the same century A. J. Arberry defined Sufism as the mystical movement of an uncompromising Monotheism, relating it to be derived from Quran and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad.

This sect of ascetics has its branches all around the globe. It is not only the Arabian countries that home these true lovers of God as stated by the common people but they are found in Turkey, China, India, Pakistan, etc.

Sufism states that one has to undo his ego which is the only way of purification through controlling blameworthy conscious. This fills the heart of a person with the love of Almighty and thus purifies him for the Day of Judgment. It can be broadly described as a way to control greed for the worldly things which repulses one from God. Unlike all the studies of the world this also require a teacher and as the normal pupil passes from one grade to another her the disciple move to another master in to an unbroken succession (Silsilah).

Sufism can be compared to different religions of the world. Sufism is similar to a Buddhist or Hindu mysticism, and a Sufi can be defined to be a Christian hermit of a monk.




The motive of this ascetic group was to educate the common masses regarding curtailing the desires and thus to lead a happy and prosperous life. In this regard to make people come to them they created a form of music which is popularly known as Sufi music. This comprises of the popular for of Qawwali which has the stage of “wajad” in which the listener starts to dance divinely on the music. This according to Sufis happens when the divine power of Almighty bestows on you.

Shariq Haider Naqvi.

The land of Scorpions

India has been a land of Rulers and Kings who traveled from far off lands and came here with the desire of wealth that India has beheld since ages. The motive of these foreign invaders was greed but most of them stayed here mesmerized by this strange exotic land till their last breath. These invaders who ultimately settled here and contributed heavily to the culture, architecture and add to the general blend of Hindu and Muslim cultures.
And such amalgamation of cultures and religion lead to many stories and legends to be born. Adding to the mystic quality of this land, which through centuries had sustained its mythologies and beliefs. Even till today in spite of the modern technology and lifestyle, people still go back to their beliefs and faith.
One such instance is the small town of Amroha situated in Uttar Pradesh, 134 kilometers from Delhi. This town was established by King Amarjodha around 474 BC.

This town has great historical importance not only in respect to its age and ancient heritage, but also to this strange legend of the spiritual belongings. As legend goes, it was on 30 June 1272 AD when a saint came to this small town from a town Wasit in Iran via Multan. He was the Holy Saint–Syed Husain Sharafuddin Shahvilayat–. This town–Amroha–became his place of residence and prayer.

After his death his place of burial in Amroha came to become a famous place for pilgrimage and spiritual importance. It still draws huge believers and the non-believers equally. A strange phenomena occurs here. The grave site has a large numbers of scorpions, –a deadly venomous insect– they surprisingly don’t bite in the vicinity of the grave. This miracle has made many people to travel to this place even from far off lands for the authentication of the word of mouth. It is the inhabitants of this town– the Naqvi clan–who have their family tree traced - to Syed Shahvilayat proudly boast that one can carry the scorpion out of the shrine’s vicinity with the permission of the saint for a promised time, in which the scorpion will obey his master and not harm the carrier. If the time passes by, then there is no guarantee if the same scorpion stings.
It is also said that this shrine has medicinal cures for some ailments. Like in the case of corns which till date have no cure in modern medicine. It is said that if anyone suffering from corns brush their feet with broom that is used in the dargah the corns will be healed. Also adding to mystique of this place is in the autumn season that glucose pills fall from the tree which has sprouted from the grave of Bibi Bakhoi (daughter of the syed vilayat). And the same dissolves in the mouth instantly.

This area where the holy saint rests is also shared by his family members. His wife–Hazrat Kaneez Fatima urf Tahira–his son–Syed Amir Ali urf Doodha Dhari–his daughter–Bibi Bakhoi–his Grandson–Dade Raje– are some of the members of the family who rest here. Syed Amir Ali urf Doodha Dhari never ate food or drank water. He existed on milk alone. Therefore, another medicinal ability of the shrine shared by Syed Amir Ali urf Doodha Dhari is to provide milk to animals and women who are unable to lactate.



The Land of Scorpions. by Shariq H Naqvi is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.

Many people from different walks of life, all religions, any caste visit this shrine for the blessings of this Holy Saint for their wishes to come true. Amroha has been a center of spirituality for ages attracting many till date and the crowd of people will still throng to this place which is called “The Land of Scorpions”.

By: - Shariq Haider Naqvi.

Architecture

by Shariq H Naqvi is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.