Effect of H1N1 flu on an Indian Wedding

Shahrukh Khan Detained at Newark Airport

Shahrukh Khan's press conference in India after he was detained at Newark Airport for more than two hours because of his surname 'Khan' and being a Muslim. In the interview, he said that he is more than happy to abide by the security rules of any country, but there shouldn't be any racial profiling. The rules should be same for all people, they shouldn't be discriminated based on color, religion, race, country of origin or surnames.

Ramadan Glossary

Ramadan time is around, i thought its the right time to share some of the words frequently used during ramadan. Ramadan kareem to all

RAMADAN GLOSSARY

Adhaan/Azaan: Muslim call for Prayer

Duaa/Du'aa: Supplication

Eid al Fitr: Muslim Festival at the end of Ramadan

Fajr: The morning prayer that marks the starting of the fast for the day

Iftaar:The time when Muslims break their fast as the sun begins to set, coincides with the Maghrib prayer

Leylatul Qadr: The night of power, Falls under the last ten days of Ramadan. A night in which the first verse of the Quran was revealed

Maghrib: The evening prayer that marks the ending of the fast for the day

Masjid: Mosque, muslim place of worship

Mubarak: Blessed

Ramadan: The holy month of fasting

Salat/Namaz: Prayer

Sadaqah: Charitable giving (not obligatory like Zakat)

Sehri/Suhor: The pre-dawn meal

Taraweeh: Evening prayer only in the month of Ramadan where 1/30 of the Quran daily is read until completion at the end of the month

Zakat: Almsgiving, one of the five pillars of Islam

Indian Independence Day - August 15th

August 15th we're gonna celebrate our independence day. The independence from the British rule of over 200 years. There were two Kings who early on resisted the British rule and fought till their last breath. Nawab Siraj Ud Daulah and Tipu Sultan.

Siraj-Ud-Daulah

The Battle of Plassey (or Palashi) is widely considered the turning point in the history of India, and opened the way to eventual British domination. After Siraj-Ud-Daulah's conquest of Calcutta, the British responded by sending fresh troops from Madras Chennai to recapture the fort and avenge the attack. A retreating Siraj-Ud-Daulah met the British at Plassey, but betrayed by a conspiracy hatched by Jagat Seth, Mir Jafar, Krishna Chandra, Umi Chand etc, he lost the battle and had to escape. He went first to Murshidabad and then to Patna by boat, but was eventually arrested by Mir Jafar's soldiers. Siraj-Ud-Daulah was executed on July 2, 1757 by Mohammad Ali Beg under orders from Mir Jafar.

Tipu Sultan

The Sultans of Mysore, Hyder Ali and Tipu proved much harder nuts to crack. They defied the British and their allies. They fought four valiant wars. In the fourth war British gold effected what British guns had so far failed to accomplish. The ministers betrayed the master. Tipu refused to surrender and died bravely fighting in defence of his fort.

---- Tara Chand, History of the Freedom Movement in India,

revised edn., Delhi, 1965, I, pp.226-27.

Must Watch Video of a movie made on Tipu Sultan

Reaction of British after seeing Tipu dead

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2R60xM1lwA (unable to embed, so please click to watch :) )

Hyderabad Gearing up for Ramadan

There is a lot of hustle justle going on around the city. Its like the silence before a storm. Very soon the roads are going to witness a sea of people around the city. The faithful are awaiting the sighting of the moon to begin fasting. Shops have renewed their stocks and awaiting customers. People are awaiting their paychecks. Businessmen are expecting an explosive turnover and a windfall of profits.

Foodies are awaiting haleem, the traditional flavour of Hyderabadi evenings. Brightly illuminated hotel fronts, buzz of a gathering, clanking spoons and a rejuvenating haleem disappearing in minutes from bowls is a common sight at almost every nook and corner.

The lip-smacking delicacy which has the city restaurants and eateries set up special counters and stalls to dish it out is the most popular draw for denizens during the month of Ramzan

People do not hesitate to travel from one end of the city to other to try different outlets around the city. Some people make it a point to have haleem every day at a new outlet and do not repeat the outlet.

Even the parcel service at most places has become popular and at times, those manning the counters can be seen struggling to manage the orders of packing and delivering.

Some of the most popular haleem spots of the city include hotels such as Naayab, Madina, Shaadab, Niagara, Rainbow and Paradise apart from other outlets such as Pista House and Kababish (the MD of Kababish is my friend :) ). Clusters of eateries at Punjagutta, Nampally, Madina and other places too have a good daily evening clientele that stretch till late hours.

Taraweeh, is the special prayers performed through the month of Ramadan. It begins about two hours after breaking the fast. It is the Sunnah prayers and the Huffaz (reciters of Quran) recite complete Quran at least once during the month of Ramadan in the Taraweeh. There are 30 chapters in the Quran and mosques have schedules according to the convenience and the schedules of nearby mosques. For example, if there are three mosques in a locality, one mosque would have a schedule of 3 chapters per day, second would have a schedule of 5 chapters per day, and the third would have a schedule of 1 or 1.25 chapters per day.

During the last 5 days of Ramdan, there would be special Taraweeh organized at certain mosques and community places where they would recite the whole Quran in one night in the prayers.

Last but not the least, the rich and well to do families become very generous during the month of Ramadan and distribute clothes, food, and sometimes even help poor relatives in building a home from the Zakat fund.

This month of Ramadan comes as a blessing for one and all. The rich get an opportunity to earn good deeds while the poor get their needs fulfilled. The faithful dedicate themselves to the prayers. The businessmen finish the month with swollen bank accounts. The kids would be happy too with the holidays and fun through the holy month. I wish all my readers a very happy and blessed Ramadan. Ramadan Kareem to all.

PS: I am gonna try to post pics of Ramadan in Hyderabad whenever I find time to.

World AirTraffic - A beehive from outerspace

Stay with the picture. You will see the light of the day moving from the East to the West, as the Earth spins on it’s axis. Also you will see the aircraft flow of traffic leaving the North American continent and traveling at night to arrive in the UK in the morning. Then you will see the flow changing, leaving the UK in the morning and flying to the American continent in daylight. It is a 24 hour observation of all of the large aircraft flights in the world, condensed down to about 2 minutes.

You could tell it was summer time in the north by the suns foot print over the planet. You could see that it didn’t quite set in the extreme north and it didn’t quite rise in the extreme south.

With this 24 hour observation of aircraft travel on the earth’s surface we get to see the daylight pattern move as well.

PS: The yellow dots are airplanes in the sky during a 24-hour period.

Taslima Nasreen back to India again

Back again on the diplomatic dilemma of the Indian Foriegn affairs ministry. Controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen, who was dramatically bundled out from West Bengal in November 2007, returned to New Delhi on Thursday to seek an extension for her visa, which is ending on August 17. More news here

I have earlier posted about Rebiya Kadeer being denied a visa to enter India.