Naushad Ali- The Gretest Indian Music Director.

Naushad Ali was born on 25^th December 1919 in Lucknow. His father was a court clerk who never wanted his child to have anything to do with Music. But Naushad was fond of Music. He would visit the Annual Fair at the Deva Sharif in Barabanke near Lucknow. Here, the all the great Qawwals and musicians of those days would perform before the devotees. His love for music grew intense by listening to them.

 

 

His family was so much against music that he was turned out of home. He started tuning Harmonium with his keen sense of notes (Sur). After sometime he came to Mumbai. He had to struggle initially. He would sleep on the footpath but he dreamt that one day his film will be a great success in the theatre in the same vicinity.

 

Some of his well known films are Mughle- Azam, Baiju Bawara, Mother India Urran Khatola and many more. But the first movie which gave him success was Ratan.

 

 

He was awarded Dada Sab Falke award in 1982 and was comfort with Padmabhushan in 1992. In spite of his success he was afraid of telling his parents about his Music profession. It is said when he was married the Band of the Barat was playing one of the songs which was created by Naushad himself. Yet he kept quiet.

We are proud of this great musician.

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Indo Pakistan War of 1971.

16^th December happens to be an important day for our Nation. It was on 16^th December 1971 that the instrument of surrender was signed by the Unified Commander of Pakistan Armed Force’s Eastern Military High Command. The then Prime Minister of India Shrimati Indira Gandhi asked the Chief of the army staff General Manekshaw to go to Dhaka and sign the instrument. However the General said that the honor should go to his Army commander in the east, Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora.

 

 

The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was the direct military confrontation between India and Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. Indian, Bangladeshi and international sources consider the beginning of the war to have been Operation Chengiz Khan, when Pakistan launched pre-emptive air strikes on 11 Indian airbases on 3 December 1971, leading to India’s entry into the war of independence in East Pakistan on the side of Bangladeshi nationalist forces, and the commencement of hostilities with West Pakistan. (Source Wikipedia)

 

It was one of the shortest wars between two countries. it lasted only 13 days. Indian Bangladeshi and international sources consider that Lt. General Jagjit Singh Aurora had meticulously planned the operation.

 

At the outbreak of the war on 3 December 1971, as the GOC-in-C of the Eastern Command, Aurora oversaw the Indian ground forces into battle in East Pakistan. In a meticulously planned operation, forces under Aurora’s command formed numerous small combat teams and launched a four-front attack with the strategy of confronting and defeating the Pakistani forces on selected fronts, while bypassing Pakistani forces on others. In under two weeks, his forces advanced from the Indian border to capture Dhaka, the capital of East Pakistan. (Source Wikipedia)

The Unified Commander of Pakistan Armed Forces’s Eastern Military High Command, Lieutenant General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi was forced to sign an unconditional Instrument of Surrender. The photograph of Niazi and Aurora at the signing of the Instruments of Surrender became an iconic image of the war,^[7] with The Guardian describing the scene as “the glum Pakistani officer bowed over his signature. The turbaned figure beside him, showing not a scrap of elation”.^[8] The 90,000 Pakistani troops under Niazi’s command surrendered to General Aurora as prisoners of war.^[2] Pakistan lost almost 57,000 square miles (150,000 km²) of its territory and 70 million of its people to the newly formed nation of Bangladesh. (Source Wikipedia)

Many of our officers and soldiers lost their lives. On this day we pay our tribute to all of them.

 

Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora

 

General Sam Manekshaw

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Walter Elias “Walt” Disney.

Walter Elias Disney was an American Business Magnate and a filmmaker. But he was one of the greatest Cartoonists this world has ever seen. It is particularly true when we are thinking of one cartoon. When we are thinking of one character created by a cartoonist which has survived more than a century. The character is Mickey Mouse.

 

 

Of and on Mickey Mouse makes fashion statements on t-shirts, sweat shirts and children pajamas. It appears that the character is going to live another century. Walter also created Donald duck and Goofy. These are also good but nothing to beat Mickey Mouse. He won 22 academy awards including a record of four in just one year. It gave him the honor of being one with maximum nominations (59) and 22 awards.

 

 

Disney Land theme parks in US, Japan, France and Hong Kong are the places which attract tourists from all over the world. If the family travels with children there is no way that they could miss the Disney lands if they are visiting that particular country.

 

He died on December 15 1996 from longue cancer in California. He had created a large number of animated shorts and future films. The company created these parks and animation studio which bears his name. At times we think how could a cartoonist create a cartoon that transcends the limits of time and space. What Shakespeare is to drama and literature, Walt Disney is to entertainment particularly for the children.

 

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The Great Sardar of India

Sardar Vallabhbhai Javerbhai Patel was born on 31^st October 1875. He left this world on 15^th December 1950. Every Indian needs to remember the great Sardar of our country on this day. He left us but not before completing his task. India as we see it today was creation of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. He is also known as the Iron Man of India.

 

He was adet in negotiating skills. There were so many small and big princely states at the time of independence. But for his ability to unite all these states, we would not have seen our motherland as a mighty nation as reckoned today.

 

At one time there was a consideration in the party, among the senior leaders that he could be the Prime Minister. But the Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru was chosen to be the Prime Minister. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel acted as his strong deputy- the Deputy Prime Minister. He could take decision which possibly Pandit Nehru was not able to conclude.

He was the first Home Minister. He organized relief for the refugees in Punjab & Delhi. At the time of partition there was great confusion and intense riots. Law and order was totally disturbed. It required the strength and the leadership of Sardar Patel to handle the very difficult situation. He took charge of the task to forge a United India from the British Colonial provinces and more than 500 self governing princely states. Mahatma Gandhi, the father of Nation had great regards for this “Iron Man of India”. Sometimes he also had known as “Bismarck of India”.

 

Let us all pay our hearty tribute to the great leader of our country.

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Guru Shishya Parampara 2

Today, I will talk to you about the qualities of a great Guru in the context of present day teaching. While in our country, our Education System seems to have drifted away from the traditions, some of the teachers in the US are following our traditions.

 

The Guru-shishya parampara always emphasized that the Guru should also be a mentor. It meant that he/she does not just give lectures. But the classroom sessions are made interactive and participative. Here in India, we see that most college students have to rely on private classes. It is not only unnecessary, but also wasteful. Students lose the time spent in the college. At the same time College Lecturers are also unhappy because they don’t find devoted students.

 

Now I will describe how a good and passionate teacher is rated in a typical US school or college. The teacher ensures that the class is interesting. He/she does not stick only to the text, but gives examples from life to ensure a clear understanding of the subject. The teacher is always willing, and in fact wanting to help. The teacher displays deeper understanding and carefully listens to the students. Polite and human, the teacher ensures that everyone in the class understands the material before he/she is subjected to any kind of tests. The message is given repeatedly that Teacher should never bring personal problems to school. The teacher should have great respect for the students.

 

At the same time, the teacher motivates the students to come to the class on time. They are mentally prepared to learn, in fact eager to learn, and to respect each other. Students must listen when another student is talking. Of course there should be no cross talking during the class. The teacher repeats to the students, never say I can’t. Further, the teacher reassures them not to be afraid to say “I don’t understand”.

I hope that the new government and the HRD Minister will take suitable steps to ensure that we go back to our tradition.

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