Raahat upholding hospitality of Kashmir, set up langar at Qazigund for truckers on national highway
Younus Rashid
Following heavy snowfall, and recent damage to the road at Kela Morh in Ramban has led to hundreds of truckers and tourists stranded on Srinagar Jammu national highway. Truck drivers are stranded from past 10days and as mercury dips to -8°c in Qazigund, they are left to God’s mercy. Hundreds of trucks are lined up on highway from checkpoint Levdoura Qazigund, day by day their miseries go up as no facility is being provided to them. Non-availability of drinking water, public convenience has added fuel to the anguished driver stranded here in Qazigund. No one from the administration has visited us except yesterday when they came with a dry kit of ration but, where will we go in this snow-clad area to get drinking water toilet alongside the highway is nowhere available, said a stranded driver.
Observing difficulties of stranded drivers a young group of guys have set up a community kitchen at Badragund (Daulatabad) in Qazigund area to at least help these drivers by providing them free of cost meals.
Lunch and dinner are being served, a young volunteer knocks at the window of truck asks the driver ‘ustad Ji free langar haa, bartan niklo and laylo dal chawal’ these words go on repeating at every single window of the truck, and likewise, drivers come and take a cooked food in their utensils and move back to the respective vehicle.
A youth committee under the banner of Raahat A Ray of Hope is reaching out to them with two-time meals -lunch and dinner in Qazigund. The young volunteers of Raahat are tirelessly working from dawn to dusk by preparing and distributing meals among the stranded truckers.
The food is catered via private cabs and served to passengers, spread across the area, in disposable packets as well. On the 3rd consecutive day, tourists and truckers are being served who are stranded on the Kashmir side of the tunnel. These young boys were seen busy in the distribution of dinner despite bone-chilling cold when the sun goes down and the temperature dips to minus.
A young volunteer Asrar Rayees says, he is pleased to do such work. There is no real pleasure than to reach out to stranded people with whatever possible is from our side, we are known for hospitality so we must keep it continue, Asrar added.
We are very much thankful to all these people who come to us with meals and other things, we never feel any kind of hindrance here, they are loving people, said a driver from Haryana state.
Restoration of Srinagar Jammu national highways will take few more day till then we are here to help them (drivers), we will continue this langar (community kitchen) until the highway is not restored, says Khan Lalee the chairman of Team Raahat.
News Kashmir Exclusive The travel along the 255-km so-called all-weather Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, which connects Kashmir with the rest of the country, has since long time become a nightmarish and horrible experience for people especially in the winter months despite constructions of tunnels .Pertinent to mention here, Notably, tunnels, such as the Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Tunnel and the Banihal Qazigund Road Tunnel have reduced the distance between Jammu and Srinagar (formerly 295 km) by about 40 km .The Banihal to Ramban sector is still proving to be uphill challenge with often closures in winter . The heavy snowfall at the start of this year has mean that in the month of January 2021 national highway has hardly remained open for traffic . The closure of highway has given much difficulty to the commuters and drivers plying on this road. The collapse of bridge near Ramban caused big obstacle .Jammu-Srinagar National Highway shall remain closed due to sudden collapse of retaining wall of a bridge near Kela Morh, Ramban on January 10 at 6:20 pm. Repairing by concrete filling and settling of the concrete for making it motorable may take approximately 10 days as per project director NHAI,” the Traffic advisory said .Highway closure of this nature leads to inflation .The much long nature of closure of the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway has now started affecting the smooth delivery of supplies to the Valley. The markets are already witnessing inflation in form of sky-rocketing of prices especially that of basic food items and vegetables. On average, every day, around 1,200 trucks and as many tankers, besides 1,000 vehicles ferrying passengers, ply on the Srinagar-Jammu highway. There are also over 500 vehicles of government forces on the road on a routine day. Nearly 7,000 vehicles cross the Banihal toll post on an average day. Recently also , The drivers stranded along Srinagar—Jammu highway for the past four days on rued lack of facilities alleging that the administration seems to have forgotten them. The drivers stuck along the highway following the damage to the bridge at Kela Morh in Ramban stated they are facing many difficulty. Many are hoping that four lanning , and start of rail link between Kashmir to Jammu would start soon so that highway blockades would not hamper lives of people soon. The work on the intervening 111 km section of Katra-Banihal is ongoing and is the most challenging portion due to its geology and extensive riverine system with deep gorges. Recently, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal asked the engineers working on the project to expedite the remaining portion on a mission mode. For the moment although the closed highway is giving much troubled time to the people of Kashmir .
DRUG ABUSE AND SOCIETY.By Syed Mustafa Ahmad Drug abuse is a patterned use of a drug in which the users consume the substance in amounts or with methods which are harmful to themselves or others. Drug abuse corrodes the foundations of society and has the potential to lead to child abuse as well as sexual and domestic violence. The problem is global and India is no exception to it. In our country, drug dependence is a major social issue in parts of Maharashtra, North East, Karnataka, Goa and Punjab. The fact that India is in close proximity to the Golden Crescent (Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan) as well as the Golden Triangle ( Myanmar, Laos and Thailand) makes it vulnerable to drug trafficking. It means that there is no hardship in finding the harmful drugs. They are available at arm’s length. What started off as casual use among a miniscule population of high income group youth in the metropolitan cities, the drug abuse has permeated all sections of the society. Cannabis, heroin, and Indian_ produced pharmaceutical drugs are the most frequently abused drugs in India. Alcohol and tobacco are the most prevalent addictive substances used across India. The pharmaceutical products containing narcotic drugs are also being increasingly being abused. The codeine_based cough syrups continue to be diverted from the domestic market for abuse. To highlight the menace, the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is observed annually on June 26. The decision to mark the Day was taken on December 7, 1987 through a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly in order to strengthen global action and cooperation to achieve its aim of making the international society free of drug abuse. The year 2019 theme of the Day was ‘ Health for justice, Justice for Health’ which emphasized that justice and health are two sides of the same coin, when it comes to addressing the problems associated drugs. One of the major reasons for drug abuse is its presence at the nook and corner of the country. Sometimes, it is romanticized in films and it becomes a thrilling and seductive affair for youngsters , who can be misguided easily because of their relative lack of experience in life. The other cause for this the lack of counseling. Our youngsters are left to fight with the changes happening in them and the changes taking place around them. They are not in a position to emerge out of the trauma which the newest things bring with them. Here the need of counsellors is of utmost importance. But we lack it completely. We are lacking the main stream of doctors. The presence of counsellors, say in a city or a village, is a distant dream. Moreover, the unyielding system of education is another cause for this. Thousands of students commit suicide due to this rigid system of education. No knowledge for the practical life is imparted in the institutions. The dreams of the students fall like a pack of cards and they take to drugs, in order to avoid the haunting present and the black future. What is the motive of education? The object of education is to produce the human beings, who can settle in a society, whatever the situations be. There is a big chasm between what is taught in the classrooms and what is going on in the society. This difference makes them incompatible and they find solace in the harmful drugs. Love affair is another cause. Recently, The Times of India came up with a report that made it clear that the cause of deaths and drug addiction is caused by the love affairs in most of the states of India. Romanticism at the earliest age and the taboos attached with it, forces a youth to take to drug addiction. The media also are forefront. The glorification of the drug addiction in the movies or in other dramas, create a destructive mark on the plastic minds of the students in general and the youth in particular. They get excited and try to make imitate this at their homes and pave way for the destruction of the society. Peer pressure is another cause. Like in the movie “3 Idiots” the main theme is that a student should be allowed to live his or her life. He or she should not be forced to act according to a particular trend of the society. All the students should be patently listened. Their grievances and views should be respected and the ways should be found to tackle them. But they are being rebuked and they feel isolated. It is this isolation that takes harmful form in the future and make the brilliant minds vulnerable to the menace of drug addiction. The impacts of the drug addiction are manifold. The worst impact of drug abuse is on the brain, which consequentially affects every other aspect of life of the person addicted to drugs. Drugs are primarily chemicals that affect the communication system of the human brain. They disturb the ways in which nerve cells send, process and receive information. Drugs such as heroin and marijuana are structured in the Same way as chemical messengers known as neurotransmitters. These neurotransmitters are produced naturally by the human brain. As a result of this similarity, the drugs can fool the receptors of human brain and activate the nerve cells in such a way that they send some abnormal messages. In case of drugs like methamphetamine and cocaine, the nerve cells get activated and they release extraordinarily large volumes of neurotransmitters. This disrupts the normal functioning of the human brain and can prove very disastrous at sometimes. The another devastating affect of drug addiction is on the generation. A lot of person’s die due to this menace. They not only destroy themselves but also their family members in particular and the relatives and the neighbors in general, for a long time. Apart from this, a lot of money is lost in drug addiction. To ease their nerves, the drug addicts become thieves and are burden on the society with the passage of time. It brings misery and gloom in the lives of the people of any country. The dreams of a bright future are shattered and it gives rise to other diseases and with this, slowly and steadily, the whole society is engulfed and the escape is totally blocked. We are facing the agony of the drug addiction. Our alleys, streets and roads are preoccupied by the drug addicts. They are own brothers and sisters, if I talk about the youth. They need our guidance. They are the part and parcel of our society. We are the organs of a single body. We can’t be so mean in allowing anyone to die in this fashion. To curb this menace, prevention is one of the ways. In fact , it is one affliction that can be easily prevented according to medical experts and practitioners. Prevention programmes involving families, schools and the immediate communities are important in this regard. Media also should come forward in eradicating this menace, rather than romanticizing it. Movies should be based on the harmful effects of the drug addiction. From the beginning, the students should be taught to abhor these things. Adult education should be promoted so that our elders leave this harmful way. The best method to tackle this issue is to destroy the crops where the drugs are grown at the earliest. There should be strict punishment for those who are culprits. The suppliers of the drugs should be hanged in an open. They are the butchers. They should be sending to gallows. The Government should take initiatives to stop this menace. They can do a lot but they are not doing anything. They, in cooperation with the common people, can eradicate this menace from the society. The last but not the least thing is that cancel the license of the chemists, drug manufacturers, associations, etc.,. at the earliest. Ban the sale of medicines that can have the potential of being used as drugs. Lip service won’t do any miracles. Collective approach is the need of the hour. Parents and religious leaders have a lot to offer. We earnestly wait for it.
Sadness and DepressionSuhaib Ashraf Bhat.Peace of mind, contentment, happiness and freedom from worries and anxiety, these are what everyone wants, and these are the ways in which people can have a good life and find complete happiness and joy. There are religious means of achieving this, and natural and practical means, but no one can combine all of them except the believers; although other people may achieve some of them, they will miss out on others.The name of failure is enough to put us off it and strive for success, regardless of the material gains that a man may attain as the result of his success, because failure is a word that implies shortcomings and loss, and success is a word that implies perfection and praise. Failure and success are two sides of the same coin, although they may seem to contradict one another at first glance. But in fact they are interconnected if you think about it, based on experience and real life.You might often come across a conversation pertaining to things like “sadness is shaytan’s doing” or that “a believer never gets sad” or even that “sadness is an indication of weak or incomplete faith”. Nothing, and I mean nothing, could be further from the truth. Statements like these only escalate the process of drowning for individuals who suffer from depression, anxiety or hopelessness. It is of the utmost importance that people ought to know the difference between sadness and depression; sadness is a typical human emotion and depression is a much more damaging and longer lasting condition of hopelessness, despair, and dejection. Sadness is a part of what makes us human. No living soul is unfamiliar with it; even our Prophets faced multiple episodes of sadness. For example, Yaqub (Alahisalam) wept until he lost his vision and even our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah swt be upon him) experienced bouts of sadness upon the loss of his wife and uncle. Hence, sadness is not a sign of weakness in any form. To experience sadness is to be human. Having strong faith, or Imaan, does not render a believer to be an exception to the emotion of sadness. Depression is majorly defined by a sense of hopelessness- in yourself and in the world around you. It is rooted in a sense of sheer helplessness where you feel like nothing is in your control. But that is the truth; nothing IS in your control. It is in Allah’s (swt) control. Take a moment, embrace your lack of control over your circumstances, and know that the one in control is the best of planners and loves you more than you can imagine. Surrender your attempts to control your life, leave it up to Allah (swt), and trust His plan for you. Sometimes, the human mind is unable to understand Allah’s (swt) ultimate wisdom behind every single thing that happens to us. However, by accepting that Allah (swt) is in control and welcoming His plans for us ultimately leads to the enrichment of our mind, body and soul.Steadfastness of heart and not being disturbed about the imaginary things that bad thoughts may bring to mind. For when a person gives in to his imagination and lets his mind be disturbed by these thoughts, such as fear of disease and the like, or anger and confusion stirred up by some grievous matter, or the expectation of bad things and the loss of good things, it will fill him with worries, distress, mental and physical illness and nervous breakdowns, which will have a bad effect on him and which causes a great deal of harm, as many people have seen. But when a person depends on Allah swt and puts his trust in Him, and does not give in to his imagination or let bad thoughts overwhelm him, and he relies on Allah swt and has hope of His bounty, this wards off his worries and distress, and relieves him of a great deal of mental and physical sickness. It gives indescribable strength, comfort and happiness to the heart. How many hospitals are filled with the mentally sick victims of illusions and harmful imagination; how often have these things had an effect upon the hearts of many strong people, let alone the weak ones; how often have they led to foolishness and insanity. It should be noted that your life will follow your train of thought. If your thoughts are of things that will bring you benefit in your spiritual or worldly affairs, then your life will be good and happy. Otherwise it will be the opposite.Have great hope in Allah swt, and do not let the Shaytaan cause you to despair of the vast mercy of Allah swt which He has guaranteed for His believing slaves. You need to increase your hope and trust in Allah swt Who forgives all sins, and who accepts the slave who seeks His protection and refuge, for He is the Most Merciful, the Oft-Forgiving and the Most Loving. You should increase your good deeds, upholding the ties of kinship, etc. The sadness which we feel also happens to others, for it is something natural. How many people were examples followed by others and had a great deal of drive and ambition, then they lost their drive and ambition for a long time, then it came back to them by the grace of Allah swt. Remember the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah swt be upon him): “Everybody has his time of energy, and every time of energy is followed by a time of lethargy. But if a person tries to follow a moderate path, then I have hope for him, but if he becomes one who is pointed out (in the street), then do not think anything of him.”(Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2453; classed as hasan (sound) by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi, 1995). What is meant by “Everybody has his time of energy” is eagerness for a thing, energy and the desire to do good.What is meant by “every time of energy is followed by a time of lethargy” is tiredness, weakness and lack of movement.“But if a person tries to follow a moderate path” means that the one who has energy does his deeds in moderation and avoids going to extremes when he is feeling energetic and avoids being negligent when he is feeling lethargic.“Then I have hope for him” means, I have hope that he will be successful, for he can continue following a middle course, and the most beloved deeds to Allah swt are those which are continuous.“but if he becomes one who is pointed out (in the street)” means, if he strives hard and goes to extremes in doing good deeds so that he will become famous for his worship and asceticism, and he becomes famous and people point him out to one another,“then do not think anything of him” means, do not think that he is one of the righteous, because he is showing off. He did not say, “do not have hope for him,” as an indication that he has already fallen, and he will not be able to make up for what he has missed out on. Think about this hadeeth, and relate it to your own situation and the situation of others: you will see a clear similarity. This hadeeth clearly states that man goes through a stage of incomparable eagerness and great focus and ambition, and then suddenly he becomes weak and loses that focus and eagerness and ambition. When he reaches this stage, he must strive even harder to do obligatory duties and avoid haraam (impermissible) things. If he does that, then there is the hope that he will succeed and progress, but if he falls into haraam things and stops doing obligatory things, he will be lost and doomed.Don’t ever forget that Allah (swt) will never burden you with something that is beyond your capacity to deal with. Even on days when you feel as if you cannot take it anymore, know that you can survive it- for Allah (swt) knows us better than we know ourselves and whatever trial you’re facing in your life, know that He also gives you the strength to handle that trial. Suhaibbhatt85@gmail.com
Ugly Traffic Jams in Srinagar Traffic jams since many years have been a curse for the Kashmir Valley especially the Summer Capital Srinagar . The historic city of Srinagar is currently after the recent heavy snowfall battling one of the worst traffic jams in its history . Commuters state that for completing mere five to ten kilometers journey within the Srinagar city it is taking them many hours altogether making life miserable. Media reports state that various areas of Sriningar City centre witnessed massive traffic jams causing immense problems to commuters. The problem was further worsened due to presence of snow mounds on roadsides.
Grime nature of the traffic jam was such that it has taken many commuters nearly an hour to reach LalChowk from Sonwar, Dalgate.Heavy snowfall and snow not cleared from many areas caused hardships to the masses. causing difficulties for the commuters as it is hampering the smooth passage to them.Massive gridlocks across the City were witnessed for many days after snowfall and it took hours for people to reach their destinations.All walks of life have been badly hit by these long and painstaking traffic jams especially the students community and office goes . One hopes in the new look Jammu and Kashmir the human resource of Traffic Department would be increased by much as the meagre human resource makes very less traffic cops visible on the streets of Sriningar and other parts of the Jammu and Kashmir.Recently, even the Travel Agents Association of Kashmir (TAAK) has expressed serious concern over the inconveniences the travellers faced on way to Srinagar Airport due to huge traffic jams and snow accumulation on the road.In a statement, TAAK President Farooq A Kuthoo said the logjams on way to Srinagar Airport is bringing bad name to Kashmir and may prove detrimental to tourism sector. The hopes on ground zero are that very soon these long and tiring traffic jams would be things of past and people will get relief from same .
Mir Tafazul , Kashmiri young lyricist shines in viral Song Kitna Tarsey lyric and acting stunt with famous TV actress Aparna Dixit For Kashmir’ s young lyricist Mir Tafazul ,who wrote his first song Khat describing pain of communication lockdown faced by Kashmiris living outside , the recent song Kitney Tarsey ,where he got surprising opportunity to act with Star TV actor Aparna. Dixit turned a unbelievable success . As the video in just one week crosses whooping one million views .In an exclusive interview with News Kashmir ,he talks to Rameez Makhdoomi.
How did viral and successful Kitna Tarsey Happened ? I actually wrote ‘Kitna Tarsey’ in 2019 and my friend Rauhan Malik who composed the song knew it from the beginning that our song will touch everyone’s heart. In 2020, we collaborated with a music record label ‘Koinage records’ and its core team really loved the song and were eager to produce this song and release it from their YouTube channel.When the song was completely produced, they told us to make the video for this song and gave us this humongous responsibility. We started with the pre production of the video and contacted some good people in the film making industry who were working in Delhi. Rivuraj Saha, a close friend of ours, got the opportunity to be the Director of this video and within a couple of days, prepared the script of the video and also asked me for some inputs which were added in the script. He asked me to work as an assistant director for this video and I willingly agreed to assist him. I gave my 100% and did a lot of hard work during the pre production of this video. From script writing to budget making , from recce to finalizing locations and sets, I gave my all efforts because this song was very close to my heart. The producer of the video, Managing Director of Koinage records, casted the actors for two lead roles only and everything was left on our shoulders. Producer wanted a very famous and beautiful actress for the video so the song gets good publicity and response, which was actually a good marketing strategy.So he casted Aparna Dixit who charged a lot of money, which she deserves actually, as she is a prominent actress of Indian Television and has an experience of 7 years of acting in Bombay. As he spent a lot of money on the female actress, he didn’t spent that much money on the male lead, and casted some inexpensive and common guy from Delhi. The director was very upset about this decision of the producer but he could not to do anything about it. Rivuraj, Rauhan and me were very nervous and restless before the night of the shoot and couldn’t sleep at all due to all the tension as it was the first big shoot of our lives. Then what happened next ?Yes we throughout the night we tried to figure out everything and planned a proper schedule for the shoot. We left for the shoot by 6am in the morning and I guess we were prepared for everything, we knew it, that to complete such a demanding script in a day would be a tremendous task and we needed utilize every second of that day.As we reached the set, we started with the shots of the singer, Rauhan Malik, and it took couple of hours to take all his shots, and all this time I was assisting the Director. Meanwhile the actors came to the set and were going through the script. When Aparna Dixit saw the actor casted by the producer, she was disappointed. She told the director and the producer that he looks like a child and it’s a complete mismatch. She was determined to cancel the shoot unless if someone else would act with her.The director, Rivuraj told me that Tafazul you have to act with her instead of that guy, because you look perfect for the role and also you know the script very well, and asked me take my mask off so that she can see my face.When she saw me, she instantly told the director and the producer that yes I am good looking and perfect for the role, so she asked me to be her co actor. I was stunned with all this and couldn’t believe that this is happening. Me being a 21 year old boy from Kashmir, who had no acting experience is suddenly getting a chance to act with a such an established actress, I just couldn’t swallow it. I was very hesitant initially and reluctant to act with her because I was prepared to do everything that day, but only behind the camera, not in front of it. I wasn’t prepared to act that day, and thousands of thoughts were troubling me at that moment. After talking to Rauhan and Rivuraj for a while, we came to the conclusion that we can’t afford to let all our hardwork go to waste and we couldn’t waste time as the shoot was meant to be completed in one day. So I said yes and agreed to act with her, and immediately director told me to go to the stylist and get ready for the shot.Everyone on the set, including the DOP, Naushad Ali Sir, who has worked with Shahrukh Khan, was very happy about the fact that I complied. He was the one among many other people on the set who had asked and persuaded me to say yes to act in the video at the last moment.The first shot of the shoot was the most difficult one for me because it was a romantic scene with Aparna dixit. It’s not easy to act, let alone romance with a complete stranger, behave like that you know her for years, in front of the camera with so many people staring at you. It takes courage, a lot of courage. The director helped me a lot in the first shot, because he knew what my situation was, and gave me some tips to feel comfortable. Even Aparna Dixit, during the takes conversed with me and she was being very Frank with me, trying make me comfortable. As things got better for me, I gave my first good take which looked completely natural on the screen. After seeing it on the monitor everyone applauded and told me that I am looking brilliant on the screen, and the DOP, Naushad Sir shouted that this video is a hit. As the shoot went on, Aparna helped me a lot with the scenes and gave her efforts to build up a chemistry between us, and that’s why she is such a great and humble actress. We talked a lot during throughout the shoot and we became good friends, got along very well and eventually we delivered every shot perfectly. Everyone at the set was amazed by my acting, especially Aparna, who repeatedly told me that I am doing good and no one is going to believe that It’s my debut as an actor. She told me that my Screen presence is outstanding and you’ve a very bright future. Even though I was the lead actor on the set, I helped a lot the director and the team in preparing for the scenes. I even helped the spot boys while I was waiting for my shots.Everyone on the set appreciated my hard work and ethics, and told me that you’re going to have a great future, just stay the way you are.After the shoot was completed, the producer came to me and said his thanks, and told me that you were god sent, and you should start your career as an actor. He told me if you did this so good as a spontaneous and in prompt to actor, you will do wonders if you join theatre and get more experience as an actor.After so much appraisal on the set that day, I decided to start my journey as an actor and made my mind to keep learning acting and become a great actor in future.Now, after the release of this music video, I am getting so much appreciation from the people, and no one can believe that it’s my debut as an actor. They are really impressed.The video is getting such a great response, it received one million views in a week, so many comments and most of them are about me and my performance, which is so overwhelming for me. Where you knowing the video will go viral like this ? I believe that Allah had written it for me, to start my acting career in such an unexpected way, with such a beautiful actress, with such a talented team, and for such a melodious song. I am blessed to have so much support of my family and they are really proud of me and they want me to reach heights in this journey of mine as an actor. I will work in front and also behind the camera during my journey and make sure that my work touches the heart of millions of people around the globe. I want to inspire the youngsters of Kashmir to dream big and achieve everything they dream of. I will make sure that my work will push and persuade them to start on with their journey as an actor or a film maker from a very young age. I am so thankful to Allah for the fact that my debut received one million views in a week, and it’s quite a big achievement for everyone of us, especially the singers of this song. Our upcoming videos will always be better than the last one and we will always keep improving and deliver art every time through our work. We are about to start with the shoot of the second music video and it will be out in coming months. Till then stay tuned and updated through my Instagram, @7afazul and catch up with me there. Thank you.
News Kashmir Exclusive Kashmir has seen one of the heaviest snowfall in decades . On 3 January, 2021 Sunday heavy Snowfall began to lash parts of the Kashmir .And, after Four days of incessant snowfall, weather in Kashmir witnessed a significant improvement on Thursday, 7 January but heavy snowfall left property worth lakhs of rupees damaged and two persons including a CRPF sub-inspector dead.As a matter of fact ,heavy snowfalls in Kashmir have given testing times to both people and authorities. Jammu Srinagar NHW [national highway] blocked due to snow accumulation at Jawahar Tunnel and Landslides/mudslides/shooting stones at Samroli, Magarkot, Panthyal, Marog, Cafeteria mor, Dhalwas, Nashri @JmuKmrPolice,” tweeted Jammu & Kashmir traffic police. A group of tourists from Rajasthan had a narrow escape along the highway near Panthal when a landslide hit the vehicle they were travelling in. Police said the tourists were rescued and were safe. The snowfall, heaviest in decades created havoc on the road and electricity infrastructure in the Valley. The heavy snowfall caused faults in several feeder lines in Kashmir leading to power outages in many areas especially the rural areas .In many areas of Sriningar the administration was seen clearing the snow but in many areas of Kashmir Valley especially the rural areas people were on their own clearing snow and facing hardships .Electricity supply remained good in some areas but equally poor in many with bad reports of many transformers exploding causing hardship to the masses .The claims and counter claims continued .CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami alleged that the claims of the administration on alertness had been exposed “especially in South Kashmir that saw massive power breakdown, road blockades and scarcity of essential commodities”. Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, P.K. Pole said adequate stock of essential commodities was available in the Valley. “For the higher reaches and the other areas, which remain cut-off during the winter period, we have kept ration for 4-6 months stocked,” Mr. Pole said. The need of the hour is to strengthen the roots of Administration further so that we meet such heavy snowfalls with better preparedness.As heavy snowfall blocked roads in Kashmir, local youth ferried a pregnant woman on a cot in South Kashmir, marched for 12 km on foot amid 7-inch snow accumulated on got the road and took her to the hospital. Later, she delivered the baby safely. The patient had developed labor pain but the snowy roads blocked her way. Locals accused the administration of failing to clear the snow accumulated on the road because of which, no vehicle could ply on the road and the patient had to be taken on the cot. One hopes administration would take holistic view of these serious issues .
Theatre is fundamental thing if you aspire to be good actor : Mir Sarwar, Bollywood Actor
Mohammad Sarwar Mir popularly known as Mir Sarwar is a prominent Bollywood actor from Kashmir who has shined both in local industry and Bollywood . He has appeared in several Bollywood films like Kesari (2019 film), Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Jolly LLB 2, Phantom etc .Mir Sarwar has played important roles in movies Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Jolly LLB 2 Kesari (2019 film). He has also played protagonist in film’s like Half Widow, Kashmir Daily, Lihaaf and Negative lead in Dharma Productions Kesari (2019 film).He started his exciting career in 1999 as a model and then switched to the theatre in Delhi and later on worked with several renowned directors M K Raina and Bapi Bose in Delhi. He was part of three National School of Drama workshops as well. In an exclusive interview with the News Kashmir, Mir Sarwar talks to Rameez Makhdoomi and Farzana Mumtaz. Was your aptitude towards acting generated since childhood. Was there a spark that needed to be kindled? This was not something I planned but some instincts did incline me towards acting. I had a fit body and many would tell me whether I was model and I wouldn’t know what modelling was, it was in mid nineties .Then I explored modelling in Delhi Circles and developed thrust for acting but had no Godfather who would teach me. So I took theatre route and learnt real realms of acting. I would like to tell you that I had SRO 349 that was national medal and eligibility that assured me a Government Job but it’s validity was till 2005 only. I took a decision to follow acting career while as my other three colleagues did job under this medal, and I had to hear many taunts and criticism for not opting for a Government job .I then had to witness a difficult phase as my family had stopped sending money for my expenses, so I had to do door to door marketing for survival in Delhi. In 2006 I decided to go to Mumbai but I had to thwart the plan due to train blasts (as my Kashmir identity and name Mohammed Sarwar Mir aborted same).It took me few years to regain myself as financial issues had cowed me down. After few years I came back quitting job in HCL where I was trainer. I began to contemplate that for acting I left everything and now I am not doing it ,so i took route to come back to Kashmir to restart acting for one Serial and went back after doing forty Serials to Mumbai to try my luck once again . I also developed interest for making film in local language . The first film I did was Dil Patang ,which was unfortunately not released and first releasead Bollywood formal film that I did was Phantom . I used to do several rehearsals for my scenes individually working very hard.Kabir Khan took my audition for Bollywood via Facebook and was impressed by my acting and stated he wanted same .How much role did Theatre played in your acting career ? Theatre is the real game changer for me and changed my entire life style towards betterment. I used to earn five thousand via door to door marketing but used to spend rs 2500 on Theatre as it does not pay you well . Theatre joining also overshadowed my modelling as theatre teaches you real acting , and developed my real love towards local language it’s music and literature .When I did national school drama workshop in which my friend Sheezan was also one of the actors , I developed resolve towards everything of Kashmiri Language .Theatre makes you humble as you have to do ground zero work while during modelling I was like travelling in skies . Theatre makes you know how much you have to learn and give you life long lessons that learning is forever .I would say theatre is everything if you aspire to be good actor and human being .How much opposition you had to face from family ?Some of the relatives and near ones had told my family that you preach religion to others and your own boy has opted for acting as a career. I had done Punjabi album which had few intimate scenes. They were told that now he will marry from outside and is no longer Muslim ,but when they saw my real work and also work in local language cinema and ads ,interviews those who opposed me earlier now did appreciate my work. I had always double traits of curiosity and passion . When I learnt theatre under MK Raina I did everything passionately . I was never knowing politics but always proactive that trait made some hate me and take credit of my work . But my teachers always knew it was my work . Sheezan Zargar was my right hand . Manzoor Mir assistant director in theatre assisted me greatly .When you have right intentions God helps you. How did you manage a tough role in Kesari ?I would say every role has been challenging . Be it my first movies Bajrangi Bhaijaan or phantom I had to undertake several challenges . I am non smoker had to smoke and that too while breaking filter as a result I swallowed tobacco on several instances.In Kesari it was challenging to change dialects , and wearing heavy outfits and keeping beard for one and half year .During acting I have to vent out because if you are acting you get opportunity to vent out whereas in real life I am soft spoken and do not ever use abuses but during negative roles in acting I get opportunity to vent out and use filthy language. In Laxami Bomb and web series avrodh I got emotional roles which I Iove . I love doing these roles as emotions are natural to me . I love to get in the skin of the role . As an actor it is challenging to get in to the skin of character and in this regard three things are important – one what I will do as Mir Sarwar in that situation , second challenzing all my learnings, techniques of years experience and third important factor is learning importance of spontaneity value, that it had to happen so happened .It is being rumoured that you have special bond with Bollywood icon Akshay Kumar, please inform us about it?I had opportunity to do three movies with Akshay Kumar .First was Jolly LLB 2, Kesari and Laxami Bomb . I had done movies prior to it but Akshay Kumar was my favourite. First shot I had to do was arresting him there was a fan moment, I had learnt that after action is clicked I am actors and they are actors and same learning made my scene great . Akshay Kumar is a great human and loves doing pranks on sets and is a jolly person . I interacted with Salman Khan in Bajrangi Bhaijaan I found him quite informative and Knowledgeable as we talked from topics ranging to Kashmir , deforestation.Akshay Kumar brings aura to set and is most punctual actor in industry . The suicide of a talented actor like Sushant Singh Rajput has proven Bollywood is tough mountain to climb for outsiders? See it has some interesting stuff- be it industry ,any company , home or even mohalla favouritism or special bond exists everywhere which can be dubbed as favouritism and sometimes it goes to extreme things like nepotism when it goes ahead at cost of eschewing others rights . But we need to remind that special bonds exist everywhere .We have to remember big thing that talent and preparedness would get you real success and once Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister reference ensured one movie for one actor but couldn’t take him long. Talent will take you to long run .We need to know that millions are aspiring for a role in Bollywood and you have to create a niche in it and after realising same I found myself in negative role niches . I remember dailogue of our teacher MK Raina ” even if you cut grass,cut good quality ” and we need to do justice to our work. Only real talent and perseverance would get you long in Bollywood. One who goes prepared shines . Be it Amir Bashir or Iqbal khan many are doing well . Nothing happens in jiffy . One needs to have passion and have to be passionate . For fourteen years I had no movie but kept growing from modelling to serials to movies . You need to have all important preservance.What are unfulfilled goals and ambition of yours in Bollywood?There is no end to goals. Above All, I want to do action movie which I have not done so far and also try hands on comedy which I am seriously trying .I also have ambition to strengthen the local film industry on parlance of Punjabi and Bhojpuri .The same thrust made me venture into film making . And we would not go long way by making excuse that we didn’t had cinemas so we did not go long in local film industry . In Africa and Iran they make great movies on handicams . My parents and my spouse ,daughter have played a great role in journey of my life . I would like to say shortcuts in acting world do not pay you in long run . The theatre institute like NSD refine you and make you know where you lag. We often hear name of MK .Raina when it comes to theatre world especially from Kashmiri and other celebrities?In Kashmir MK .Raina did five theatre workshops and those who participated in these are among the participants in world of film making . He is s great teacher and fatherly figure , he has contributed a lot and taught us .We will teach others .Your message to youngesters especially from kashmir?I would like to say go prepared whether you go to Delhi ,Mumbai or other place . If you go unprepared it would make you depressed and make you lose key financial resources and make you also lose time , demotivate you . In today’s world people via online modes can cast you from any part of the world and you need not to travel to that place . In Kashmir look is not problem we are good looking but we need to work on our communication skills . Our problem is we have fast speed of speaking and influence of mother tongue which can be managed by working on it . Youngesters need to be prepared and keep themselves visible on social media platforms.
Among the many evils in our society, the evil of dowry system has attained the harmful forms. It has proved to be a life-taking evil. The dowry system is as old as the institution of marriage. It is a social evil prevalent not only in India, but other parts of the world. Many of the traditional customs have been given up but the custom of dowry has not only continued but flourished over the years. It reflects and perpetuates man’s superiority over woman and hence marks a mockery on the very idea of the gender equality. In general, dowry refers to the durable goods, cash and real or movable property that the bride’s family gives to the bridegroom, his parents or his relatives as a condition of the marriage. It is essentially in the nature of a payment in cash or some kind of gifts given to the bridegroom’s family along with the bride. It includes cash, jewellery, furniture, crockery and other household items that help the newly-weds to set up their home. The system of dowry also prevailed during the ancient period. Parents of the bride provided gifts, money, property and other household items to the girl out of their own wish. It was known as the premortem right of the girl. She was the absolute owner and even her husband had no right over it. But with the passage of time, the definition and the dimensions of dowry changed. It became an important and a primary factor in marriage. It became necessary for the parents of the girl to give a good dowry to her irrespective of their ability. The married life of a girl came to depend upon dowry. Several girls, whose parents could not afford good dowry had to commit suicide as their in-laws made their lives miserable. The worst part of this evil led to another evil i.e., female foeticide. It becomes important to understand what causes such an evil practice to prevail in the society when we are moving towards modernity. There are multiple reasons of dowry. It is a feeling that practicing or practising customs generates and strengthens solidarity. It means that they sail in a single boat of demonstrating that we are one in this regard. A few people give more dowries just to exhibit or show their high social and economic status. It has become a trend in our society to feign. Without this evil, it has become difficult to live. Most of the people believe that their daughters should live happily with their husbands and hence provide dowry. Here, in my opinion, the parents are not to be blamed. For the happiness of their daughter, they readily follow this tradition. Illiteracy is an important cause of dowry. Most of the people are unaware about the harmful effects of dowry. They blindly follow the traditions that are going on in the society. They have no time to ponder over the negative effects of dowry. They, being the so-called rich, in their comfortable rooms, think that everyone is capable of doing this. However, the reality is something different. It has brought a lot of misery in our society. The society of ours has become more difficult to live, particularly for those who are poor and can’t afford to opt for dowry. With the advent of science and technology, almost everything goes through a change, though in a limited manner. But it is our mindset that doesn’t accept good changes. Dowry has involved many characteristics when compared to the traditional practices of giving gifts. It is no more a voluntary exercise rather it is demanded diplomatically. The groom’s family may act modest or civilized but do not hesitate to accept precious articles offered by to the bride’s family on their own. I have come across many cases where the same situation came. They, being the champions of decency in talk, walk and behaviour, are devils when it comes to dowry. I was amazed at those times. I felt the urge to change the dynamics of learning. A system of learning can never be life-taking. But in our society, from the bottom to the top, the menace of materialism has taken strong roots. In the college, we were taught about the defects of materialism. Our English textbook had a poem which said that earning and spending had become our prime objective. In this process, we had lost touch with morality. The concept of morality had lost in thin air. Today, after completing the college course, I meditate and find that the laws are for fools. The lawbreakers are the real champions. The predominant types of dowry crimes relate to creulty, domestic violence, abetment to suicide and dowry death which includes bride burning and murder. In India, approximately 247710 deaths have been reported in past three years. As per National Crime Records Bureau data, the country had recorded 3.48 lakh cases of creulty by husband or his relative. There is hardly a day when one does not read of dowry deaths in the national newspapers. Dowry is considered as a major contributor towards violence against women in India. Some of these violence include physical violence, emotional abuses and the murder of bride’s and young girls prior to marriage. The Government has taken many steps to stop the abominable practice of dowry. A few of them are listed below: The Dowry Prohibition Act,1961 marked the beginning of a new legal framework of dowry harassment laws. It prohibits the request, payment or acceptance of dowry and provides penalty for the same.Section 304B was added to the Indian Penal Code(IPC) which made dowry death a specific punishable offence. Any one who commits offense under section 304B or 113B shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than seven years but which may be extended to imprisonment for life.Section 498A IPC was included in 1983 to protect women from creulty and harassment. Whoever being the husband or relative of the husband, subjects creulty under this section shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be extended to three years and shall be liable to fine.In 2005, the Government of India passed the ‘Protection of Women from Domestic violence Act’ to provide a cover law remedy for the protection of women from domestic violence. India is also a party to several international human rights instruments which provide theoretical remedies to the dowry problems. However, on the ground level, much is not happening against the evil. These include the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It may be concluded that the abolition of the dowry system would be a landmark towards social reforms. With whatever intentions this custom may have been started, it cannot be denied that it has failed to give equal status to women in the society. The time has come to scrape the roots and branch of dowry system. Unless we become more progressive in our outlook, less orthodox in our ways and more revolutionary in our ideas, dowry will remain the same of our society. We can’t afford to lose more brides. In the present moment, the institution of marriage has already become complicated. Marriages often after a lot of bargain. We have thousands of girls who have passed their marriage ages and can never marry. Their redness of hands will never come true. They will die with the dream of going to husband’s home. In this context, all should come forward and try his or her best to fight against this crime. I think it will be a revolution for the superstitious society. Writer: Syed Mustafa Ahmad.Syedmustafaahmad9@gmail.com.
Safura Amin In Islam, marriage (nikah) is a legal contract between a man and a woman. Both the groom and the bride are to consent to the marriage of their own free will. Nikah is concluded by guardian (Wali) of the bride and the groom but it does not give them a right to force bride and groom to enter into a nikah. According to Islam, the marriage is invalid without free consent. Modern times have brought about change in the quality of the marital relationship. With changing generations we find more and more information about what marriage involves and requires. When I asked my mother whether selection of life partner is easy she said,” The selection of life partner has gone through lot of changes. It is being modernized. The women who once had completely no role as for as the selection of life partner was concerned have now an important role in it” and I totally agree with my mother that the institution of marriage has undergone various alterations but women has important role in it is little bit hard to digest. The rules governing selection vary widely from society to society. I personally feel love and compatibility are very important but in Kashmir the focus is always on caste, government employee, wealth, family status, physical beauty, Age, body shape, personal adornment and especially facial appearance are usually the focuses.Selection of life partner is the responsibility of the parents in Kashmir and children’s usually don’t interfere in such decisions and in case if any kid says anything he/she is considered as rebel and unfaithful but our elders fail to understand that , selection of life partner is one of the most important choices of both men and women. The possibility of happiness is low in marriage if they do not understand each other. Our parents take it as a mission which is named as “Proper match”. It was observed during research that most of the partners who were getting marriage late or were found unmarried in fact suffered from years in finding their proper matches. So proper match is a challenge in selection of life partner and I wonder whether such thing even exists. In spite of so many changes in our society, we find that the child is still so conditioned as not to think in terms of his own rights, his own pleasures, his own status and his own privacy etc, but to think in terms of family.Prof. Bashir Ahmad Dabla, in 2009, said late marriage phenomenon is increasing in kashmir due to poverty, unemployment, family status, poverty and socio-economic status, conflict, illiteracy, modernization impact, health abnormality, customs and traditions, caste consideration, dowry in different shapes, waiting for higher education and jobs, and the lengthy search for a proper match and 10 years down the line I feel nothing has changed in our society. This has brought negative ill-effects in Kashmir, like Psychiatric problems, suicides, drug addiction, pre- marital affairs, sex scandals and a spiral in divorces. That’s why in Islam marriage is considered half-faith completes which prevents the believers from the immodesty and immorality but in Kashmir we have made (Zina) cheaper but (Nikah) expensive. All the above factors have led to Postponing marriage in Kashmir and this trend has become so common that the percentage of women who are unmarried is now more than double what it was 10 years back. As per the census, 60 per cent of the total population in the state has actually never married, even after attaining a standard marriageable age which in old times was 22-25 years has now changed to 27 to 32. I personally request parents to be actively involved in the lives of their children, to guide and lead them properly recognizing their choices, preferences and desires and help them not force them to arrive at decision in their life. Let us cherish our traditional and cultural way of doing marriage but let us not turn this into competition with others. There is lot poverty and unemployment in Kashmir so it is completely fine if we don’t find a Government employee as a life partner, trusts me we can still go to heaven. Then comes “the caste “which is much different in Kashmir than the caste system in India, as caste system in Kashmir is based on occupations and is an obstacle in marriages. The caste and family background of the families is an extreme object for our parents in Kashmir that they will not compromise a bit over caste and family match but they fail to understand that all these factors are not key for successful marriage but a key to destroy lives of their children’s. All I can say is let us follow Islamic laws when it comes to selection of life partner or marriage indeed life will be blessed. Let us avoid the unnecessary delay in marriage as it has biological, social and the psychological consequences.
