tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23601388901828570402024-02-07T04:28:57.223-08:00Majestic MalihabadDr. Navras J. Aafreedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10762024069009738799noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2360138890182857040.post-21419603592556742622020-11-04T04:15:00.002-08:002020-11-04T04:25:51.905-08:00The Enigmatic Anwar Nadeem of Malihabad<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2gbP6K0d-teEEPgdqw9LHu3KNPt_hxwn1-QbTkXqzFbaq19JyMfUnD3UFXJcheQWthFBspzciRP7lrI5_mm803S2kDSBnSYk85DCMhjQtWj4VZSFdUkd5SKUwEy5yp4ocO72KnBPsKz8/s540/31c.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2gbP6K0d-teEEPgdqw9LHu3KNPt_hxwn1-QbTkXqzFbaq19JyMfUnD3UFXJcheQWthFBspzciRP7lrI5_mm803S2kDSBnSYk85DCMhjQtWj4VZSFdUkd5SKUwEy5yp4ocO72KnBPsKz8/s320/31c.jpg" width="320" /></a>
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A biographical essay on the Urdu poet and writer Anwar Nadeem (1937-2017) of
Malihabad, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India, by his historian son. The essay is at
once biographical and autobiographical because of the overlaps in the lives of
the father, the subject, and the son, the author. It not only documents Nadeem's
life and brings into sharp focus his literary contributions, but also explores
his interfaith marriage to a Hindu and his secularism and his assaults on
organized religion found in his poetry. It also draws attention to how he was
deprived of the recognition he richly deserved by the Urdu literary world which
was and continues to be prejudiced against him because of his apostasy and his
radical and unconventional views and his severe criticism of his peers.
"<a href="https://cafedissensuseveryday.com/2020/10/22/remembering-the-enigmatic-anwar-nadeem-on-his-birth-anniversary/" target="_blank">Remembering the Enigmatic Anwar Nadeem on his Birth Anniversary</a>".Dr. Navras J. Aafreedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10762024069009738799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2360138890182857040.post-9023928979528387242012-12-14T23:03:00.003-08:002012-12-14T23:23:02.580-08:00Time now to gorge on Mangoes!!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGSQgOn0HTieaXmGPznOAhyphenhyphen6YQb1jNgvCU9p5eGKZolghNAEznwtkt3VSxjqZSdSL17-jtCwqxnKH3UIr96t5o01prz9GilH7jjejl83H6v6szA1x2Ml6uUnhiEJS39Ul7h7eIOYukhZo/s1600/Malihabadi-mango_5832.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGSQgOn0HTieaXmGPznOAhyphenhyphen6YQb1jNgvCU9p5eGKZolghNAEznwtkt3VSxjqZSdSL17-jtCwqxnKH3UIr96t5o01prz9GilH7jjejl83H6v6szA1x2Ml6uUnhiEJS39Ul7h7eIOYukhZo/s400/Malihabadi-mango_5832.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="color: green;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>( Malihabad
is a town 30 km from Lucknow (India). It is the mango belt of North India and is
internationally acclaimed for its mangoes. Among different varieties of mangoes
grown here, Dussheri is the most popular variety )</b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br />
</b></span></span>
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<a href="http://tornosindia.com/lucknowledge_past/june-2012.php" target="_blank"><b>Lucknowsledge, Volume: 6, No: 6 ; June-2012</b></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The people of Malihabad are
as interesting as the Dussehri mangoes grown here. The frown on his forehead
eases a bit as the old man moves for the kill. Check and mate. "Shatranj
sharpens your mental faculties, but makes you an addict too," he tells anybody
who cares to listen, evidently satisfied with the result of the game. This
cannot be contested. After all, Padmashri Haji Kaleemullah Khan is the
country's best known expert on mangoes. You could call Khan the ultimate aam
aadmi ('Mango Man' - though correctly it translates as 'common man'), He has
developed innumerable new varieties of mangoes. 300 alone grow on a tree, in
his orchard at Malihabad near Lucknow, which is at least 100 years old (one of
these he calls Sachin and another Aishwarya). So, under the shade of mango trees
laden with fruit, the peace disturbed only by the chirping of birds, his
judgment on chess goes uncontested.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">
Of all the fruit we eat, mango perhaps is the only one indigenous to India.
Soon, the mango crops, in all their splendid colours, flavours and shapes, will
come to the market. First will be the Alphonso from the Ratnagiri belt in
Maharashtra. Some time towards the end of May, Dussehri from Malihabad, long and
sensuous, meant to be sucked and not cut, will hit the market. In a good year,
it can fetch up to Rs 150 crore to the 8,000-odd mango growers of Malihabad. It
is now sold to mango lovers in faraway Japan and United States also. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">
Malihabad, one of the three tehsils of Lucknow, has several claims to fame. It
was home to Urdu poet Josh Malihabadi (born Shabbir Hasan Khan, he was close to
Jawaharlal Nehru; but he migrated to Pakistan in 1958 because he feared Hindi
would kill Urdu) and tennis champion Ghaus Mohammed. Shyam Benegal's celluloid
caper, <i>Junoon</i>, based on Ruskin Bond's <i>A Flight of Pigeons</i> and featuring Shashi
Kapoor, Naseeruddin Shah and Nafisa Ali, was shot extensively in Malihabad. But
it is the Dussehri mango that has put the village on the world map. The
Malihabadi Dussehri was granted Geographical Indication registration in 2009. It
now sits on the same exalted pedestal as Darjeeling Tea and Coorg Orange
(Karnataka). </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">
The first Dussehri was grown some 150 years ago. That tree still exists, and
locals say it is "in good health". There are about 2,000 nurseries here and
almost 30,000 hectares under mango plantation. The economy of Malihabad runs on
the Dussehri mango; it's the lifeline of the 17,000 people who live here, most
of them Afridi Pathans. Legend has it that their ancestors came from the
north-west in pre-British times to work as soldiers of fortune in the armies of
local rajas and nawabs. In peace time, they took to farming and plantations.
During 1857, several locals joined the mutineers against the forces of East
India Company. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">
The men here are sturdy and handsome, and talk fondly of the Pathan code of
honour that revolves around revenge, hospitality and protection. One Malihabad
hothead, Nabi Sher Khan, is known to have removed his eye to drive away the fly
that was nagging it <i>"Na rahegi aankh, na baithegi makkhi"</i> (Where will the fly
sit when there is no eye), he is said to have told his people. </span><br />
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</span><br />
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Now there is a new twist to their ancestry. According to research carried out by
<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/aafreedi/" target="_blank"><b>Navras Jaat Aafreedi</b></a>, assistant professor in the Gautam Buddha University in
Greater Noida, on the lost tribes of Israel, the Afridi Pathans have Jewish
lineage. He started his research work in 2002 and, after his PhD from the
Lucknow University in 2005, went to the Tel Aviv University in Israel for this
work on the history of the Jewish people. "About half of the Pathans in
Malihabad are Afridis who are one of the 10 lost tribes of Israel," he says.
He prefers to call them Israelite meaning someone related to the ancient times
in modern-day Israel which came into existence as a nation for Jews only in
1948. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbbaVqWvkYwYxgTDn3ml4bEnoqmOC8GY6KHzxc1nyyGp1QswHpIkQMn83LmhMePFatUkJsb3BthwMahnOEWGSoFiitmlzsU37Cx9iLRbOKYP_EsD3IrCg0TzRRt2d8X9_1rV23tbS1UmU/s1600/0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbbaVqWvkYwYxgTDn3ml4bEnoqmOC8GY6KHzxc1nyyGp1QswHpIkQMn83LmhMePFatUkJsb3BthwMahnOEWGSoFiitmlzsU37Cx9iLRbOKYP_EsD3IrCg0TzRRt2d8X9_1rV23tbS1UmU/s400/0.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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But that is the last of the worries of Khan and the other mango growers of
Malihabad. Their problems are more mundane. "Production is falling every year
and it is sad that aam(mango, pun for commoner) is becoming khaas (special).
Falling production and the high prices will keep it away from the common man's
plate," says Khan. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">
Last year, Uttar Pradesh had produced 3.5 million tones of mangoes. About 40 per
cent of that came from Malihabad. This year, Dussehri prices will stay high. It
may not be such a bad thing for the farmers though. But they insist profits are
down because of the drop in yield. Bugs and pests are regular spoilers here, so
are parrots and squirrels. </span><br />
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</span><br />
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A scientist in the Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture at Lucknow
says that mango trees have biennial bearing and a regular crop is always
followed by 'shy bearing'. But farmers here say that, if the weather
doesn't turn inclement, with proper care these trees can give a rich harvest
every year. That way, they might end up over-flogging the trees. Scientists
suggest the mango plantations in Malihabad be rejuvenated to secure future
production. In the early part of the last century, almost 1,300 mango varieties
are said to have been grown in Malihabad; this figure is down to 600-odd now.
Apart from Dussehri, other famous varieties grown here include Chausa, Langda,
Amrapali, Safeda, Husnara etc. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">
Some growers rue that the fall in yields has driven their new generation away
from the plantations. In the lucrative West Asian market, Pakistan is giving
Malihabad a run for its money because it transports its fruit by sea, which
works out cheaper than Malihabad mangoes which are sent there by air. Some sharp
farmers have even begun to ask for a subsidy from the government to run their
plantations! "There are no facilities or incentives from the government for
the mango belts," All India Mango Growers' Association President Insram Ali
says. What is left unsaid is that farm income is not taxed in the country. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">
Some threats are imaginary, some real. Malihabad is only 30 km away from
Lucknow. Like most other cities, the Uttar Pradesh capital, too, has seen an
explosion in population. Many people dread the day when the lush green mango
orchards of Malihabad may have to make way for concrete and glass high rises. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">
At the moment, it is business time in Malihabad. Several contractorscome to
Malihabad, some local and many outsiders, some on bicycles and others on
motorcycles and cars, to take part in the auction of the orchards. Exporters
have already had trade enquiries from Japan; besides they will export mango to
Dubai, West Asian nations and Singapore too. The sweet taste of success, and
money, is unmistakable.</span></div>
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Dr. Navras J. Aafreedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10762024069009738799noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2360138890182857040.post-80709679679150708822008-08-28T07:06:00.000-07:002008-08-28T07:09:03.129-07:00Medieval Persian References to the Putative Israelite Origin of Afridi Pashtuns/Pathans<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Arial Black";"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">By<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Dr. Navras Jaat Aafreedi<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">A number of medieval Persian texts written by Muslim scholars refer to the Israelite origin of Afridi Pashtuns/Pathans<a style="" href="#_edn1" name="_ednref1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>, who mainly inhabit the hill country from the eastern spurs of the Safed Koh to the borders of the <st1:city st="on">Peshawar</st1:City> district in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Pakistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>. They occupy about one thousand square miles of the hill country south and west of <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Peshawar</st1:place></st1:City>, believed to be the area where Osama bin Laden has found asylum. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">A sprinkling of them are also spread out in certain parts of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> like Malihabad (District Lucknow) and Qayamganj (District Farukhabad) in Uttar Pradesh, where they settled in the mid-eighteenth century. Afridi, whose population was estimated to be 275,000 in 1962, is one of the most prominent tribes of the warlike Pashtuns/Pathans/Afghans, whose total population was estimated to be 20 million in 1986.<a style="" href="#_edn2" name="_ednref2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style=""> </span>Sadly Pashtuns/Pathans/Afghans are the same people who largely fill the ranks of the Taliban today.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The ethnic and etymological origin of the name Afridi is obscure. But there are those who connect it with the Persian <i>afridan</i>, which means ‘newly arrived’, indicating that they were immigrants in the land from where they originally got this name.<a style="" href="#_edn3" name="_ednref3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Some find its origin in the name of Afrata, a great intellectual and wife of Hisron (eighth in descent from the Biblical character David).<a style="" href="#_edn4" name="_ednref4" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> The derivation of the name Afridi in the <i>Hayat-i-Afghani</i> of Muhammad Hayat Khan from <i>afrida</i> (a creature of God) is evidently a modern fabrication.<a style="" href="#_edn5" name="_ednref5" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">According to the legend, in ancient times a Governor of the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">province</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:placename st="on">Peshawar</st1:PlaceName></st1:place> summoned certain members of the Afridi tribe to his court. With native pride, one such Afridi, took his seat at the entrance to the royal court, and as the Governor paused to ask him who he was, he exclaimed <i>Zah sok yam?</i><span style=""> </span>(Who am I?); and replied with solid indifference, <i>Zah hum Afrida yam</i>… (I am also a creature of God). <i>Afrida</i> means a created being in Persian (Farsi). From then on, the tribe were known by the name Afridi.<a style="" href="#_edn6" name="_ednref6" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">One of the oldest manuscripts in the world is Abu Suleman Daud bin Abul Fazal Muhammad Albenaketi’s <i>Rauzat uo Albab fi Tawarikh-ul-Akabir wal Ansab</i> (The Garden of the Learned in the History of Great Men and Genealogies) written in AH 717, in which the author traces the ancestry of the Afghans to the Israelites.<a style="" href="#_edn7" name="_ednref7" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">An outline of the main tribal traditions of the Pashtuns/Pathans/Afghans have been chronicled by Abul Fazl (1551-1602 CE) in <i>Akbarnama</i>. Slightly different versions are given in Sulayman Maku’s <i>Tadhkirat al Awliya</i> (allegedly of the thirteenth century CE), and in the Khazama.<a style="" href="#_edn8" name="_ednref8" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">A number of Pathan/Pashtun/Afghan historians subscribe to the theory of the Israelite origin of the Pathans/Pathans/Afghans. The first among them to trace the genealogy of the Pathans/Pashtuns/Afghans to <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> (an alternative name of the Biblical character Jacob) in a methodical manner was Khwaja Neamatullah. During a discussion at the Mughal emperor Jahangir’s court about the origins of the Afghans, the Persian ambassador amused the monarch by presenting the following account to support the contention that the Pashtuns/Pathans were descended from devils:</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: justify;">Books of authority recounted that King Zuhak, hearing of a race of beautiful women that lived in far off western countries, sent an army thither, which was defeated by the beautiful women, but afterwards, a stronger expedition being sent under Nariman, they were reduced to sue for peace and gave in tribute a thousand virgins. When, on its return march, the army was one night encamped close to a wild mountainous country, there suddenly came down upon it a phantom, smote and scattered the troops in all directions, and then, in that one night, ravished all the thousand virgins. In due course of time all became pregnant, and when Zuhak learnt this, he gave orders that the women should be kept in the remote deserts and plains lest the unnatural offspring should breed strife and tumult in the cities. This offspring was the race of the Afghans.<a style="" href="#_edn9" name="_ednref9" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Annoyed at the disgraceful account of the origin of Afghans/Pashtuns/Pathans, an Afghan/Pashtun/Pathan courtier, Malik Ahmad, entitled Khan Jahan Lodi, asked his secretary Khwaja Neamatullah Harawi to compile a complete account of the history of Afghans/Pashtuns/Pathans. Neamatullah sent five historians, viz., Qutb Khan, Sarmast Khan Abdali, Hamza Khan, Umar Khan Kakarr and Zarif Khan, to the Afghan/Pashtun/Pathan territories in AH 1030/1621 CE to investigate the descent of Afghans. This eventually led to the compilation of <b><i>Mirat-al-Afghani</i></b>, according to which Afghans/Pashtuns/Pathans are Israelites. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">According to <b><i>Mirat-al-Afghani</i></b>, after their expulsion from their native <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">land</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:placename st="on">Israel</st1:PlaceName></st1:place> by Bakhtnasr (Nebuchadnezzar), they took refuge in Kohistan-e-Ghor and Koh-e-Firozah, and were later converted to Islam by Khalid-ibn-al-Waleed, who was of the same racial stock as the Afghans. He is said to have invited his fellow Afghans/Pashtuns/Pathans to <st1:place st="on">Arabia</st1:place> to embrace Islam. Led by Qais/Kais, the Afghans reached <st1:place st="on">Arabia</st1:place> and after prolonged deliberations ultimately accepted Islam. Kais/Qais married Khalid’s daughter Sara, and fathered three sons from her – Sarban, Ghorghusht and Baitan. Numerous accounts forwarded by Afghan historians tend to favour this theory. Hafiz Rahmat Khan has presented genealogies showing descent from Talut – a prominent figure in the annals of <i>Bani Israil</i> (Children of Israel) in his <b><i>Khulasat ul-Ansab</i></b>.<a style="" href="#_edn10" name="_ednref10" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Neamatullah has given detailed genealogical accounts of several Afghan/Pashtun/Pathan tribes, tracing their descent from Qais Abdul Rasheed, who himself is said to have sprung from the line of Jacob (<st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>) in his <i>Tarikh-i-Khan-i-Jahani wa<b> Makhzan-i-Afghani</b></i> (AH 1021/ 1612 CE).<a style="" href="#_edn11" name="_ednref11" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Completed at Burhanpur, it gives an account of the Afghans, particularly the Lodis and the Surs.<a style="" href="#_edn12" name="_ednref12" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[12]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Naematullah writes:</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: justify;">…Khaled sent a letter to the Afghans who had settled in the mountainous countries around Ghor ever since the time of the expulsion of the Israelites by Bokhtnasser, and informed them of the appearance of the last of the Prophets. When this letter reached them, several of their chiefs departed from <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Medina</st1:place></st1:City>; the mightiest of them, and of the Afghan people, was Kais, whose pedigree ascends in a series of thirty-seven degrees to Talut, of forty-five to Ibrahim…<a style="" href="#_edn13" name="_ednref13" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[13]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Naematullah was the first historian to present a systematic genealogical table of Pathans/Pashtuns/Afghans from Israel/Jacob. However he can’t be given credit for propounding the theory of their Israelite origin.<span style=""> </span>Less than ten years before the compilation of <b><i>Tarikh-e-Khan-e-Jahani</i></b>, another scholar Akhund Darwiza had declared the Afghans/Pashtuns/Pathans to be Israelites in his <b><i>Tadhkirat al-Abrar</i></b> (an account of his adventures in Afghan territories) in 1611 CE.<a style="" href="#_edn14" name="_ednref14" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[14]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Even before the political rise of Afghans/Pashtuns/Pathans, Hamidullah Mustawfi had speculated that they were most likely Israelites in his monumental work <b><i>Tarikh-e-Guzeedah</i></b> (AH 730/1326 CE), as stated by Neamatullah.<a style="" href="#_edn15" name="_ednref15" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[15]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> This is a general historical account dedicated to Khwaja Ghiyasuddin Muhammad, son and successor of Rashiduddin Fazlullah, and deals with the Mongols of Persia (modern <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Iran</st1:place></st1:country-region>) and modern Trans-Oxiana. <a style="" href="#_edn16" name="_ednref16" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[16]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Sheikh <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Mali</st1:place></st1:country-region> of the Yusufzai tribe wrote in Pushto a book on the Israelite descent of the Afghans/Pashtuns/Pathans between AH 816/1409 CE and AH 828/1412 CE. Another work in Pushto on the same subject is ascribed to Khan Kaju, written in circa AH 900/1493 CE.<a style="" href="#_edn17" name="_ednref17" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[17]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Upon these two works were based Tarikh-e-Hafiz Rahmat and Khulasat al-Ansab of Hafiz Rahmat Khan. Minhaj-i-Siraj Jurjari, who had close contact with the Ghurids and held posts of qazi (<i>qadi</i>), <i>khatib, sadr-i-jahan</i> and principal of the Nasiriya Madrassa, wrote in his <i>Tabaqat-i-Nasiri</i> (1259-60 CE), “In the time of the Shansbani dynasty there were people called Bani Israel living in Ghor,” and that<span style=""> </span>“some of them were extensively engaged in trade with the neighbouring countries.”<a style="" href="#_edn18" name="_ednref18" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[18]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <b><i>Tabaqat-i-Nasiri</i></b> is an encyclopaedic history from the patriarchs and prophets, viz., Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to the time of Nasiruddin Mahmud. It is an invaluable source of information for the history of the early Turkish sultans and their <i>maliks</i> and <i>amirs</i>.<a style="" href="#_edn19" name="_ednref19" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[19]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Abu Sulayman Daud’s <b><i>Rauza-ul-Bab Twarikh-ul-Akbar-wal-Ansab</i></b> (The Garden of the Learned in the History of Great Men and Genealogies) (AH 717/1310 CE) is considered the earliest work on the subject of the Israelite origin of Afridi Pashtuns/Pathans. It is a history of the Afghan/Pashtun/Pathan nation since the time of Moses.<a style="" href="#_edn20" name="_ednref20" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[20]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Genealogies of the Pashtun/Pathan/Afghan tribes, right up to King Saul, are given in the second chapter of the book, while Mustawfi’s <b><i>Majma-ul-Ansab</i></b> gives a detailed genealogy of Qais (<st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Kish</st1:place></st1:City>), the tribal head of the Afghans/Pashtuns/Pathans in a series of thirty-seven generations to King Saul and forty-five generations to Abraham.<a style="" href="#_edn21" name="_ednref21" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[21]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We find a detailed account of the journey of Afghans from <st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> to <st1:country-region st="on">Afghanistan</st1:country-region> in Bukhtawar Khan’s <b><i>Mirat-ul-Alam</i></b>, according to which Afghans are descendants of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> (Jabob/Yacov/Yaqub) through King Saul.<a style="" href="#_edn22" name="_ednref22" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[22]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> It is worth mentioning the names of Syed Jalal-ud-Din Afghani and Syed Abdul Jabar Shah, the ex-ruler of Swat (NWFP, Pakistan), who have given genealogies of different Afghan/Pashtun/Pathan tribes right up to King Saul and conclude that the Afghans/Pashtuns/Pathans represent the Lost Tribes of Israel.<a style="" href="#_edn23" name="_ednref23" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[23]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, founder of the Ahmadia Movement of Islam, draws upon <b><i>Tabaqat-e-Nasri</i></b> in his book <i>Jesus in India</i> (1899), where it is mentioned that during the Shabnisi rule there lived a tribe called Bani Israel, some members of which were good traders.<a style="" href="#_edn24" name="_ednref24" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[24]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> He further records that in 622 CE during the prophet Muhammad’s lifetime, his military chief Khalid ibn-al-Waleed converted about half a dozen chiefs of the Jewish tribes to Islam. Qais or <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Kish</st1:place></st1:City> was their leader. As neo-Muslim zealots, they fought bravely a number of battles for spreading Islam. As an expression of his appreciation, Muhammad showered gifts upon them and predicted that they would attain even greater victories. He decreed that the chief of the tribe would always be known as <i>Malik</i> and conferred the title of <i>Patan</i> upon Qais (<st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Kish</st1:place></st1:City>). <i>Patan</i> is a Syriac word meaning rudder. Since the newly converted Qais was a guide to his people, like the rudder of a ship, he was awarded this title.<a style="" href="#_edn25" name="_ednref25" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[25]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> And since then, his descendants have been called Pathan.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Another theory is that whenever people asked the Pathans/Pashtuns/Afghans about their nationality, they replied in Hebrew <i>phasq</i> or <i>phasht</i>.<span style=""> </span><i>Phasq</i> means “to liberate”, “to make free”, “to split”, while <i>phasht</i> means “to spread”. The word Pashtun seems to have been derived from this very word.<a style="" href="#_edn26" name="_ednref26" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[26]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> In Hebrew, <i>Pasht</i> is the name of a deity and also of a city in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Egypt</st1:place></st1:country-region>. In the Pashto language Pastu means an inner room with just one entrance, which indicates that they might have migrated from <st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> to their present mountainous country and called themselves Pusht after a village in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<a style="" href="#_edn27" name="_ednref27" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[27]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Some believe that Pathans got their name from Jonathan’s great-grandson Pithon. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Some Afghans/Pashtuns/Pathans believe that they descended from Bibi Qatoora, wife of Hazrat Ibrahim (Abraham). According to them, after the death of Bibi Sara, Ibrahim married Bibi Qatoora, from whom he had six sons. After distributing all his possessions among his sons, Ibrahim sent them towards the East. They settled down in Turan in the north-west of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Iran</st1:place></st1:country-region>, where they were soon joined by their brethren exiled by King Talut. All of them established themselves in Pasht. Pasht is identified with <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Parthia</st1:place></st1:country-region>, which later came to be known as Tabaristan. Their settling down in Pasht earned them the name Pashtin followed by Pashtun, and Pashtaneh.<a style="" href="#_edn28" name="_ednref28" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[28]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">According to Pashtun/Pathan/Afghan genealogies, <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Kish</st1:place></st1:City> married the daughter of Khalid ibn al-Waleed, from whom he had three sons – Sarban, Bitan and Ghurgasht, Sarban in turn had two sons – Sacharj Yun and Karsh. As per the tradition, the descendants of Yun are Afghans/Pashtuns/Pathans.<a style="" href="#_edn29" name="_ednref29" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[29]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It is noteworthy that the people of <st1:place st="on">Asia Minor</st1:place> and Muslim historians call the Afghans/Pathans “Sulaimanis”, after King Sulaiman (Solomon).<a style="" href="#_edn30" name="_ednref30" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[30]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">There is a tribal tradition that the Pashtuns originated in <st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> in the days of King Saul, from whom they claim descent through a son, Irmia (Jeremiah), and a grandson, Afghana, from whom the name <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Afghanistan</st1:place></st1:country-region> is derived, with its inhabitants called Afghans. Pashtuns/Pathans/Afghans maintain that they grew great in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>, where they were favourites of Daud (David) and Sulaiman (Solomon); and where the latter assigned them to guard the temple from the assaults of jealous demons. To aid them in this task, Sulaiman (Solomon), master of <i>djins</i> and <i>afreets</i>, taught the Afghans/Pashtuns/Pathans the language of hell. At this time there appeared a wicked magician, Bukht-ud-Nasir (Nebuchadnezzar), who scattered the tribes of <st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> and sent the Afghans, as the most obstreperous, far to the east, to the <st1:placetype st="on">land</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:placename st="on"><i>Sham</i></st1:PlaceName> or <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Syria</st1:place></st1:country-region>. From there they migrated to the mountains of Ghor in western <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Afghanistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>, and settled down, adhering to monotheism, although surrounded by countless idolaters and polytheists. As the legend goes, in the time of Muhammad, an Afghan/Pashtun/Pathan, Qais or <st1:city st="on">Kish</st1:City>, visited <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Mecca</st1:place></st1:City> and embraced Islam, receiving the name Abdul Rasheed. He returned to <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Afghanistan</st1:place></st1:country-region> to convert his people, and all the Pashtuns/Pathans/Afghans are the progeny of his two sons, Sarban and Ghurghusht, and daughter Bibi Matto.<a style="" href="#_edn31" name="_ednref31" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[31]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Fareed-ud-Din Ahmad tries to prove the Israelite descent of Pashtuns/Pathans/Afghans from King Talut in his <b><i>Risal-i-Ansab-i-Afghana</i></b>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The Pashtuns or Pathans are the world’s only claimants of Israelite descent whose claim is backed by so many medieval references, spanning hundreds of years.</p> <div style=""><!--[if !supportEndnotes]--><br /> <hr align="left" size="1" width="33%"> <!--[endif]--> <div style="" id="edn1"> <p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a style="" href="#_ednref1" name="_edn1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Pathans, Pashtuns, Pakhtuns and Afghans are names which are often used interchangeably. There is nothing wrong in this usage, but each name has its own meaning. Those who inhabit plains and plateaus are entitled to the name Afghan, which has a far wider connotation than just being a subject of the modern state of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Afghanistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>, founded only in 1747. The northern highlanders call themselves Pakhtuns, while the southern highlanders are known as Pashtuns. The appellation Pathan is the Indian variant of Pakhtanah, the plural of Pakhtun.</p> </div> <div style="" id="edn2"> <p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a style="" href="#_ednref2" name="_edn2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Harrison, “Ethnicity and Political Stalemate in Pakistan”, in Ali Banuazzi and Myron Weiner, <i>Religion and Ethnic Politics: Afghanistan, Iran and Afghanistan</i>, Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, 1986, p. 286</p> </div> <div style="" id="edn3"> <p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a style="" href="#_ednref3" name="_edn3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Oral Tradition</p> </div> <div style="" id="edn4"> <p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a style="" href="#_ednref4" name="_edn4" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Aatif, Khan Mohammad, “Sabhyata aur Sanskriti ke Aaine mein Malihabad”, in <i>Naya Daur</i>, Awadh Number, Public Information Department, Uttar Pradesh, u.d., p. 145 [Hindi]</p> </div> <div style="" id="edn5"> <p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a style="" href="#_ednref5" name="_edn5" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Islam, Zaiton, “Afridi”, in N. K. Singh and A. M. Khan, eds., <i>Encyclopaedia of the World Muslims</i>, Global Vision Publishing House, Delhi, p. 24</p> </div> <div style="" id="edn6"> <p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a style="" href="#_ednref6" name="_edn6" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> www.khyber.org/pashtotribes/afridi/afridi.html</p> </div> <div style="" id="edn7"> <p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a style="" href="#_ednref7" name="_edn7" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Ahmad, M. M., “The Lost Tribes of <st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region>”, in <i>The Muslim <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Sunrise</st1:place></st1:City></i>, Summer 1991 (Accessed on the Internet)</p> </div> <div style="" id="edn8"> <p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a style="" href="#_ednref8" name="_edn8" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Islam, op.cit., p. 20</p> </div> <div style="" id="edn9"> <p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a style="" href="#_ednref9" name="_edn9" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Kakakhel, Sayed Wiqar Ali Shah, “Origin of the Afghans”, in Dr. Fazal-ur-Rahman Marwat & Sayed Wiqar Ali Shah Kakakhel, eds., <i>Afghanistan and the Frontier</i>, Emjay Books International, Peshawar-Pakistan, 1993, pp. 149-151</p> </div> <div style="" id="edn10"> <p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a style="" href="#_ednref10" name="_edn10" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, pp. 150-151</p> </div> <div style="" id="edn11"> <p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a style="" href="#_ednref11" name="_edn11" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Immamuddin, S. M., “The Afghans: Etymological Analysis”, in Muhammad Tahir, ed., <i>Encyclopaedic Survey of Islamic Culture</i>, Vol. 16, Anmol Publications Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 1998, p. 205</p> </div> <div style="" id="edn12"> <p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a style="" href="#_ednref12" name="_edn12" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[12]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Habib, Mohammad and Khaliq Ahmad Nizami, eds., <i>A Comprehensive History of India</i>, Vol. Five, Part One: The Delhi Sultnat, Second Edition, The Indian History Congress, Peoples Publishing House, New Delhi, October 1992, p. xxi</p> </div> <div style="" id="edn13"> <p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a style="" href="#_ednref13" name="_edn13" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[13]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <i>Makhzan-i-Afghani</i> (History of the Afghans) of Naematullah (1612 CE), trans. By Bernhard Dorn, Part I, Oriental Translation Committee, <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">London</st1:place></st1:City>, 1829, p. 37</p> </div> <div style="" id="edn14"> <p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a style="" href="#_ednref14" name="_edn14" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[14]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Imamuddin, <i>op. cit.</i>, p. 206</p> </div> <div style="" id="edn15"> <p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a style="" href="#_ednref15" name="_edn15" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[15]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Imamuddin, <i>op. cit.</i>, p. 205</p> </div> <div style="" id="edn16"> <p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a style="" href="#_ednref16" name="_edn16" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[16]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Habib, Mohammad and Khaliq Ahmad Nizami, eds., <i>op. cit.</i>, p. xxi</p> </div> <div style="" id="edn17"> <p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a style="" href="#_ednref17" name="_edn17" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[17]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Imamuddin, <i>op. cit.</i>, p. 205</p> </div> <div style="" id="edn18"> <p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a style="" href="#_ednref18" name="_edn18" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[18]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Imamudin, <i>op. cit.,</i> p. 200</p> </div> <div style="" id="edn19"> <p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a style="" href="#_ednref19" name="_edn19" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[19]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Habib, Mohammad and Khaliq Ahmad Nizami, eds., <i>op. cit.</i>, p. xx</p> </div> <div style="" id="edn20"> <p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a style="" href="#_ednref20" name="_edn20" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[20]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Benjamin, Joshua M., <i>The Mystery of Israel’s Ten Lost Tribes and the Legend of Jesus in India</i>, 2<sup>nd</sup> edition, Mosaic Books, <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">New Delhi</st1:place></st1:City>, p. 16</p> </div> <div style="" id="edn21"> <p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a style="" href="#_ednref21" name="_edn21" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[21]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <i>Ibid</i>.</p> </div> <div style="" id="edn22"> <p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a style="" href="#_ednref22" name="_edn22" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[22]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <i>Ibid</i>., pp. 16-17</p> </div> <div style="" id="edn23"> <p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a style="" href="#_ednref23" name="_edn23" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[23]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <i>Ibid</i>., p. 17</p> </div> <div style="" id="edn24"> <p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a style="" href="#_ednref24" name="_edn24" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[24]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <i>Ibid</i>. p. 18</p> </div> <div style="" id="edn25"> <p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a style="" href="#_ednref25" name="_edn25" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[25]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, pp. 15-16</p> </div> <div style="" id="edn26"> <p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a style="" href="#_ednref26" name="_edn26" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[26]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Imamuddin, <i>op. cit.</i>, pp. 206-207</p> </div> <div style="" id="edn27"> <p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a style="" href="#_ednref27" name="_edn27" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[27]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, p. 207</p> </div> <div style="" id="edn28"> <p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a style="" href="#_ednref28" name="_edn28" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[28]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Kakakhel, <i>op. cit</i>., p. 153</p> </div> <div style="" id="edn29"> <p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a style="" href="#_ednref29" name="_edn29" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[29]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Benjamin, <i>op. cit.</i>, p. 16</p> </div> <div style="" id="edn30"> <p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a style="" href="#_ednref30" name="_edn30" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[30]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Ibid.</p> </div> <div style="" id="edn31"> <p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a style="" href="#_ednref31" name="_edn31" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">[31]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Singh, Nagendra K., ed.,<i> International Encyclopaedia of Islamic Dynasties</i>, Vol. I, Anmol Publications Pvt. Ltd., <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">New Delhi</st1:place></st1:City>, 2000, p. 35</p> </div> </div>Dr. Navras J. Aafreedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10762024069009738799noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2360138890182857040.post-33960757571836970252008-07-05T09:03:00.000-07:002008-07-05T09:05:45.091-07:00Anarkali joins orchard of wonders<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitj8p7zmhosg8Bq8aBraUhZP5LIUTTUlD27NEkOMYNShrFDwf1cCAJkL-_RemsuF4u8SBfwC1798SDZj4t4Ry9NStwAotswAhHA92huAUJyHDhvTxixpPDmc-NHlsiu7ap2MhsxY503GE/s1600-h/Haji+Kaleemullah+Khan.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitj8p7zmhosg8Bq8aBraUhZP5LIUTTUlD27NEkOMYNShrFDwf1cCAJkL-_RemsuF4u8SBfwC1798SDZj4t4Ry9NStwAotswAhHA92huAUJyHDhvTxixpPDmc-NHlsiu7ap2MhsxY503GE/s400/Haji+Kaleemullah+Khan.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5219561633551568098" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Padmashri</span> Haji Kaleemullah Khan</span></span><br /> </div><h4><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Shailvee Sharda, </span><i style="font-weight: bold;">The Times of <st1:country-region st="on">India</st1:country-region></i><span style="font-weight: bold;">, </span><st1:place style="font-weight: bold;" st="on"><st1:city st="on">Lucknow</st1:city></st1:place><span style="font-weight: bold;">, June 29, 2008</span><o:p></o:p></span></h4> <p class="MsoNormal">Malihabad: It is called Anarkali although has no relationship with either pomegranate or bud. Instead, this variation comes staright from the heart of Padma Shri Haji Kaleem Ullah, father of mango grafting. Anarkali is the latest addition to his collection of ‘unique’mangoes.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""></span>“It appears to be a rare of the rarest specie. It is a connoisseur’s delight who swear-in to serve a perfect blend of aroma, taste and appetising sight.<br />Anarkali has all the three traits,” said the man who took to mango grafting way back in 1957.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""></span>Anarkali has a double skin. Haji saaheb peeled off the first green layer finely with a Chinese knife. “<st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Orange</st1:city></st1:place> is the colour of the first layer,” he said.<br />He then showed the mango to a group of anxious admirers at his orchard in the heart of Malihabad. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Dilated pupils wondered ‘what is so special about the mango’. But before anyone could give words to the doubt, he made a deeper stroke in the mango and exposed its second yellow coloured skin. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">“The show does not end here,” said the man. He carefully sliced a piece from the mango and showed the deep yellow and rusty orange pulp.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""></span>What makes Anarkali ‘doubly’ interesting is its taste. “It tastes like a Chausa,” said a visitor after trying the first bite. But minutes later, she took the second slice and corrected herself. “I think it is a luscious combination of chausa and Lakhnavi dashahri,” she said.<br />Sharing the secret, Haji Saaheb said, “Anarkali comes from the flowers of two distinct varieties of mangoes were cross bred.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""></span>He believes that Anarkali would surely find admirers in <st1:country-region st="on">Americas</st1:country-region> and <st1:place st="on">Europe</st1:place> because it is less sweeter than other mangoes.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""></span>“But before going off-shores, it will pose a threat to Dashahri,” he predicted. He, however, said it would take about 3-4 years for the commercial production of Anarkali to start.</p>Dr. Navras J. Aafreedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10762024069009738799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2360138890182857040.post-73161272175544765062008-07-05T08:50:00.000-07:002008-07-05T08:55:25.193-07:00Mango Khan peels his heart for Anarkali, Ash<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgClToOVoO6BggZf9z4GjI5fVhl24I0EDGUE4uhs8uYTBSzFK-AiMS3wf2kJag2wqKNYPWjgqzrVgdEu8smZVxQI9YFAmIsci6-RA3LGSc6ldYHT7g2y5G_sE7CWSy4WFjsIum5DWhyphenhyphen-E/s1600-h/Kaleemullah+Khan.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgClToOVoO6BggZf9z4GjI5fVhl24I0EDGUE4uhs8uYTBSzFK-AiMS3wf2kJag2wqKNYPWjgqzrVgdEu8smZVxQI9YFAmIsci6-RA3LGSc6ldYHT7g2y5G_sE7CWSy4WFjsIum5DWhyphenhyphen-E/s400/Kaleemullah+Khan.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5219558728754402818" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Padmashri</span> Haji Kaleemullah Khan<br /><br /></span></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj06EAS1DJ28EF5bQPwXsg-3p6jhriMvtmQga79m6VKUcAuXhiqNJGp9RIpswaFMTTblXKqichLvbnUR7bRjFVWczNrWsDwIYrKlh43zBUAvpCtlq_71KAKiW9CQ-1Fjmd9yGwSHTZY-Vs/s1600-h/Mangoes+on+display.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj06EAS1DJ28EF5bQPwXsg-3p6jhriMvtmQga79m6VKUcAuXhiqNJGp9RIpswaFMTTblXKqichLvbnUR7bRjFVWczNrWsDwIYrKlh43zBUAvpCtlq_71KAKiW9CQ-1Fjmd9yGwSHTZY-Vs/s400/Mangoes+on+display.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5219558632876480194" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinXNfA8yDYE3boC4VTMIZR8J_Dm-auPn_y_GteOAdE23nxDhyElU5rTZcUKnTtV3w7iFnxkYoMOqJi6KTHUhyhFGr3vMrICL-QDx2YlE_hd8hZKNj2St2RYdsgH-xpR4ywBFaqeThVsRk/s1600-h/Mangoes.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinXNfA8yDYE3boC4VTMIZR8J_Dm-auPn_y_GteOAdE23nxDhyElU5rTZcUKnTtV3w7iFnxkYoMOqJi6KTHUhyhFGr3vMrICL-QDx2YlE_hd8hZKNj2St2RYdsgH-xpR4ywBFaqeThVsRk/s400/Mangoes.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5219558483003993634" border="0" /></a><br /><h4 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Avijit Ghosh, </span><i style="font-weight: bold;">The Times of <st1:country-region st="on">India</st1:country-region></i><span style="font-weight: bold;">, </span><st1:place style="font-weight: bold;" st="on"><st1:city st="on">Lucknow</st1:city></st1:place><span style="font-weight: bold;">, July 5, 2008</span> <o:p></o:p></span></h4> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Like a poet describes his sweetheart, Kaleemullah Khan talks about mangoes. He gushes about Anarkali, a twincoloured variety with a twincoloured pulp whose subtle flavour stays even after the hands have been washed. He explains why he named one his mangoes, Aishwarya. And he talks endlessly about his love affair with Al Muqarrar, the tree that has yielded over 300 varieties turning him into a mango-grafting legend and a Padmashri winner.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">‘‘Growing mango isn’t just a profession. It is a work of art and a labour of love where the aashique and the mashook (the lover and the beloved) blend into one,’’ says Khan, who has been grafting the king of fruits in Malihabad, the famous mango-growing area in Lucknow district, for over five decades now and who was in the Capital during the inauguration of the 20th Mango Festival (July 4-6) on Thursday. Grafting is a method through which new varieties of a fruit are created.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Books never enthused Khan. After he got zero in English in Class VII, the fourth in a line of 11 siblings abandoned school altogether. Growing mangoes is his family profession for the past 300 years. At a young age, he began visiting his father’s nursery where he fell in love with the fruit. ‘‘I always wanted to improve a mango; its looks, its taste,’’ he says. Then one day, he heard a friend talk about a rose plant that grew flowers of several colours. That got him interested in the art of grafting. He was 17 when he produced seven varieties of mango in a single tree. When the tree died in 1960, Khan was heartbroken.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">For the next two decades, Khan remained a mango grower working with his brothers in the orchard spread over 22 acres. But his major leap in the world of grafting came only in 1987 when he pruned an 85-year-old tree and recast it as Al Muqarrar. The tree yields over 300 varieties of mango and got his name into the Limca Book of Records. No surprise, former President K R Narayanan once called him, ‘‘a scientist without an official degree.’’ One of his trees is also planted in the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Mughal</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Gardens</st1:placetype></st1:place>.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Khan, now 68, says, ‘‘That’s my biological age, otherwise I am almost 22.’’ He has also named several varieties that he has created. ‘‘Three of them, Nayantara, Jahanara and Anarkali were christened by UP Governor T V Rajeshwar,’’ he says. Then there’s Aishwarya. And Arshi Pasand, the latter named after his daughter who won an award for polishing off three kg of mango in three minutes last year.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">A couple of years back, Khan saw that one of his photographs had Aishwarya Rai’s snapshot hanging in the background. ‘‘I wondered why. May be this was a signal from someone above to name a mango honouring someone who brought glory to the country. That’s why I called it Aishwarya,’’ he says.</p>Dr. Navras J. Aafreedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10762024069009738799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2360138890182857040.post-23260804841908246622008-05-16T00:42:00.000-07:002008-05-16T01:02:29.693-07:00A 'cipher' drove Haji to mangoes<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2jwZv_Nn4MFNqDkWtk6dDMg0iVnyL3VltNE-nDluuUa9c7EK02jRy3Khe5JBrfB3QSSsqHt2TvtNxF_DwXGga8Ud-FoSmrdMmzkJ48YIK9Aw6565ifbSZFm7vBpMuP7R7fyUdG6CX7xs/s1600-h/Haji+Kaleemullah+Khan.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2jwZv_Nn4MFNqDkWtk6dDMg0iVnyL3VltNE-nDluuUa9c7EK02jRy3Khe5JBrfB3QSSsqHt2TvtNxF_DwXGga8Ud-FoSmrdMmzkJ48YIK9Aw6565ifbSZFm7vBpMuP7R7fyUdG6CX7xs/s400/Haji+Kaleemullah+Khan.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200879493504234370" border="0" /></a><a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=xIpGNCfTOUc&feature=related"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Padmashri</span> Haji Kaleemullah Khan</span></span></a><br /></div><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:180%;">The Father Of Mango Grafting Finds King Of Fruits With Human-Like Traits</span></span></span></div><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><div style="text-align: justify;" name="textContainer"><span><h4><a href="http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIL&login=default&Enter=true&Skin=TOI&GZ=T&AW=1210923961703"><span style="text-align: justify;">Shailvee Sharda, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Times of India</span>, Lucknow, May 16, 2008</span></a> </h4><span style="text-align: justify;font-size:130%;" >Malihabad: He prefers calling himself a ‘cipher’ though he has been conferred upon a Padma Shri besides a host of national and international honours. The ‘zero’ milestone in Malihabad is the landmark of his unique mango orchard. And, it was a duck that drove him to meddle with mangoes. Cipher, it seems, is connected with <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=xIpGNCfTOUc&feature=related">Haji Kaleem Ullah Khan</a>, the father of mango grafting.<br /><br /></span><span style="text-align: justify;font-size:130%;" > “I scored zero in English following which I left school and developed interest in mangoes,” he said. So, he randomly picked up seven varieties of mango saplings for grafting. In three years, the experiment yielded mangoes of seven flavours on a single tree.<br /><br />Five decades of passion delivered five new varieties of mangoes and a number </span><span style="text-align: justify;font-size:130%;" >of mango trees bearing fruits of different flavours, shapes, sizes and aroma. The best one is a mango tree having 357 varieties of mangoes. The latest addition to his 22-acre orchard is a ‘slim’ looking mango likely to be named after actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.<br /><br />“The seeds of this obsession were sown in 1950s when a friend narrated the </span><span style="text-align: justify;font-size:130%;" >story of crossbred roses. That very moment the thought of experimenting with mangoes came to my mind,” he recalled. Acclaimed world over for his ‘madness’, Khan misses recognition of his worth on the home front.<br /><br />“This happened with me from the day one. No one bothered to laud me for my sevenin-one wonder,” said Kaleem. Even nature opposed and washed his efforts away. The patch of land which contained the premier trees turned into a marshland during the floods of 1960. “My daughters are the only admirers in the family,” he said.<br /><br />Obsessed with mangoes, he shares that mangoes have given him sleepless nights, indicating that his appetite for the ‘king of fruits’ is much above </span><span style="text-align: justify;font-size:130%;" >taste. “Mango has traits similar to those in humans,” he philosophised. Explaining his point, he said, “human race is unique because despite coming from the </span><span style="text-align: justify;font-size:130%;" >same parents- Adam and Eve- no two individuals (even identical twins) are the same. So is the case with mangoes. Seeds made from fruit of a specific mango tree, </span><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;">will germinate into a different fruit come what may. This uniqueness of mango, evident in the veins of its leaves, inspires me constantly.” Strangely, Khan has no personal favourites.<br /><br />Asked to speak on ‘what has the toil given him’, Khan said: “For me, mangoes have paved way for an interface with the Kaleem inside me. He has been making the blue-print of whatever I do for the past 15 years. But, I am sure that he was always with me, it was me who failed to find him earlier.”<br /><br />Citing an example, he said: “When I had to send a mango tree to former President KR Narayanan, the Kaleem inside me felt awful knowing that the roots of the tree will have to be cut to facilitate transportation.<br /><br />He wondered of a way out and offered a solution. The remedy was digging of earth around the tree and use of high power sprinklers to separate the soil from the roots. This completely avoided the use of axe and his tree came out unhurt.”<br /><br />Has life changed after the Padma Shri? Showing the holes and a patch on his kurta, Kaleem said: “Jab ek per phaldaar ho jata hai toh uski daalein jhuk jati hai (when a tree bears fruits, its branches bow).” In fact, he rides a bicycle to commute between his orchard and house, despite owning a four-wheeler. “I get to meet people when I move on a cycle, which is not possible with a car,” he humbly reasoned.</span> </span></span></div>Dr. Navras J. Aafreedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10762024069009738799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2360138890182857040.post-66506892035920908062008-05-12T07:09:00.000-07:002008-05-16T01:02:52.325-07:00No Language Barrier for this Muslim Scholar<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/storypage/storypage.aspx?id=a51b53b7-6475-45cb-bf98-5118d35aa3d1&MatchID1=34&TeamID1=5&TeamID2=1&MatchType1=5&SeriesID1=1&PrimaryID=34&Headline=No+language+barrier+for+this+Muslim+scholar">Pankaj Jaiswal, <span style="font-style: italic;">Hindustan Times</span>, Lucknow, February 25, 2008</a><br /><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Pandit Syed Hussain Shastri is a Sanskrit scholar who has been in love with the language all his life. Pandit and Shastri have been prefixed and suffixed respectively by people to his name because of his vast knowledge.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;">In Mirzaganj village, Malihabad, people know him as Shastriji. Malihabad is 20 kilometers northeast to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Lucknow</st1:place></st1:city> city. Shastriji had decided to learn Sanskrit because his father wanted it. “Once I started learning it in childhood, I just fell in love with it. The romance continues,” he says.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The 79-year-old scholar says: “I find French beautiful, but Sanskrit is the most beautiful.” In the last 56 years people came from far and wide — <st1:city st="on">Varanasi</st1:city>, <st1:city st="on">Allahabad</st1:city> and <st1:place st="on">Europe</st1:place> — to learn Sanskrit from him. One of them, Henry Shock, a scholar in oriental studies from <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Illionis</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place> visited him about two decades ago. On meeting him Shock said: “It is highly doubtful that Sanskrit is a living language, but it is never doubtful that it is living in your body.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Shastriji says: “I was barely four when I took admission in Dharm Sangh Sanskrit Vidyalaya, <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Lucknow</st1:place></st1:city>, and began my journey in Sanskrit. A Hindu priest initiated me into Laghu Kaumudi (beginner’s Sanskrit grammar) and then I continued with Sanskrit studies at <st1:placename st="on">Aminabad</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">High School</st1:placetype>, <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Government</st1:placename> <st1:placename st="on">Jubilee</st1:placename> <st1:placename st="on">Inter</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">College</st1:placetype></st1:place> and then the Lucknow Univeristy. In 1952 I graduated in Sanskrit.” He has a post-graduate degree in the language. All of his teaching lessons begin with chants from the Vedas.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;">He says: “I am waiting for my death to tip toe...” in the same breath he recites: “...And not a stone to tell where I lie...Just let me live and let me die.” Now most of his time is spent in reading Bhagwad Gita in Sanskrit.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The Muslim scholar is a firm believer in Brahminism. He says, “Take away Brahminism from Sanskrit, and nothing would be left in it.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;">“Shock has been the only person who interviewed me in Sanskrit. Many times during the interview I attempted to drift to English as I knew he was from the <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region>. But he continued in Sanskrit. When I asked Shock from where he learnt Sanskrit, he said ‘<st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region>’.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;">For some people languages know no barrier — of caste, creed, religion or nationality.</span><o:p></o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Dr. Navras J. Aafreedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10762024069009738799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2360138890182857040.post-39892190303611570922008-05-12T06:43:00.000-07:002008-05-16T01:36:44.683-07:00Mango Mania<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCrut7MU2m85-od6_MFImTaEXO8tUdsyJkH6Ge_4_IC8sEBbbBJvwrUwukeae8f_ldAyJAU0y1da8Ff_cTRYpoYKqq6DW70AmB7S9Wn2rErcZVKqrya3aEOkoLzZ6tu8h5NBNalP6sWAU/s1600-h/Haji+Kaleemullah+Khan.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCrut7MU2m85-od6_MFImTaEXO8tUdsyJkH6Ge_4_IC8sEBbbBJvwrUwukeae8f_ldAyJAU0y1da8Ff_cTRYpoYKqq6DW70AmB7S9Wn2rErcZVKqrya3aEOkoLzZ6tu8h5NBNalP6sWAU/s400/Haji+Kaleemullah+Khan.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199489242655290178" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=xIpGNCfTOUc&feature=related"><span style="font-style: italic;">Padmashri</span> Haji Kaleemullah Khan<br /></a><br /></span></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSdvre9OrthEppjCMy2-Lqt2cxxSDJQMWJFod7rdxxkMfjMC4qDckmkVII-7EvT7p5JT63rdX6G227a1vcPxmX9qHGQU889vZQuzu0jT1wcKu9QWbGP3QqYCnTwsB01MVGbasOOVlfV-k/s1600-h/Mangoes.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSdvre9OrthEppjCMy2-Lqt2cxxSDJQMWJFod7rdxxkMfjMC4qDckmkVII-7EvT7p5JT63rdX6G227a1vcPxmX9qHGQU889vZQuzu0jT1wcKu9QWbGP3QqYCnTwsB01MVGbasOOVlfV-k/s400/Mangoes.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199489023611958066" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKNqZ2TJKiie-i4_eIOBsJhOc3IHOgI8t2BYniBkXWazF6Kbg9ObYFd3FZcvc_FeskgLaJmakcU2kHd4sOdY6icKT8RJkpJ9xHE9XH88xKMUcFbb7wWfzkirGeIoV5_IHoAK1PfkrWCKM/s1600-h/Mangoe+Tree.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKNqZ2TJKiie-i4_eIOBsJhOc3IHOgI8t2BYniBkXWazF6Kbg9ObYFd3FZcvc_FeskgLaJmakcU2kHd4sOdY6icKT8RJkpJ9xHE9XH88xKMUcFbb7wWfzkirGeIoV5_IHoAK1PfkrWCKM/s400/Mangoe+Tree.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199488757323985682" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn6LVoWZPvCFGLnFa6GgLM5UHpKvfvuFKgRnLBf4rJmwmiGJW6Q-v7jCsHr8gCFAp8_ezFViFy3NpneTqGvGdCeR8YQmA8NlxCnWego7LgZf50EcmN2UheW6kk6JtzGj6nmcQJ0tIOqTA/s1600-h/Malihabadi+children.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn6LVoWZPvCFGLnFa6GgLM5UHpKvfvuFKgRnLBf4rJmwmiGJW6Q-v7jCsHr8gCFAp8_ezFViFy3NpneTqGvGdCeR8YQmA8NlxCnWego7LgZf50EcmN2UheW6kk6JtzGj6nmcQJ0tIOqTA/s400/Malihabadi+children.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199488572640391938" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdCE54WoTMMmayjAlN9ECKGeacPLq-lNKeI26-SPvmiGicHHsFQ0vd8I4tVJIgW0h0e-TbP_zQwMk7DycDhuo-IUhmerVRWNhOZNl_A893aaPwtRCXThcNKJC61jEkF6ebVVKXrl5ODOM/s1600-h/A+Malihabadi.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdCE54WoTMMmayjAlN9ECKGeacPLq-lNKeI26-SPvmiGicHHsFQ0vd8I4tVJIgW0h0e-TbP_zQwMk7DycDhuo-IUhmerVRWNhOZNl_A893aaPwtRCXThcNKJC61jEkF6ebVVKXrl5ODOM/s400/A+Malihabadi.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199488357892027122" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.indiacurrents.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=d575127fa484bcd0a387b92956712085">Texts and Photos by Preeti Verma Lal, <span style="font-style: italic;">India Currents</span>, August 4, 2005</a><br /><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Packing for Malihabad, the mango hub of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>? If you don’t want to be deemed deadwood or fumble with your mathematics, carry an abacus. Abacus? Why? Because you’d have a lot of counting to do— 700 different varieties of mangoes; 300 varieties on one tree; countless orchards; riches multiplying at the auction, the innumerable nails hammered on planks to make mango boxes. If you want to dig into history, perhaps that’s where you would need the abacus the most. For most of Malihabad was seeded centuries ago by an Afghan, Afridi Fakir Mohammad Khan Sahib Goya, who married 11 times and had 52 children. And when an impetuous history buff started rattling off the names, I was serene till count six, edgy by name 11, and much before he reached Child No. 20, I was puffing and bordering on the impolite. Even my abacus looked infuriated and completely bushed. When there was silence, I caught my breath and wondered how Khan Sahib Goya dredged up the names. Whoa …<br /><br />But the mud-spattered village of Malihabad has its temptations (forgive me for this digression, I’ll come to the mangoes in a trice): the men are really handsome, they all have beautiful smiles peeping from behind their spruced-up beards. Some even practice the dying art of chivalry!<br /><br />Okay Lord, I apologize for transgressing the path of duty and getting tempted. But my bones were creaking and I needed some distraction to forget the ache. On the map, Malihabad looks like <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Lucknow</st1:place></st1:city>’s coquettish neighbor sitting barely an inch away. Even the cartographer’s legend would have you believe that it is only 21 miles away, but when you have to travel on a terribly rutted road and in a heat that can singe a dainty damsel, those 21 miles seem like the Devil’s alley. As if that wasn’t enough, the car’s air conditioner died on the way and wind raked up all the dirt from the streets. If I did not roll up the window, within a mile I would have looked like a sack of Fuller’s Earth and a bone or two would have fallen off. I beckoned all the patience from my repertoire and looked around—Sadhvi Panchi Devi was promising a confirmed ticket to Heaven, there was Mighty chilled beer, a drug rehab center, and an <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Exhort</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Grammar School</st1:placetype></st1:place>. Yes, there were the statuesque mango trees and the whiff of the luscious fruit.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;">If you are a stranger in Malihabad and don’t know which names to drop or what addresses to look for, just hop off at any dhaba and ask for <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=xIpGNCfTOUc&feature=related">Kaleemullah Khan</a> or his Abdullah Nursery. They all know about him, they are all arrogant about him. And why not? So puffed-up is this conceit that its most famous mango grower once got a letter from Jeddah that only had “<a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=xIpGNCfTOUc&feature=related">Kaleemullah Khan</a>, Malihabad, India” on the envelope. Says something about the man, doesn’t it?<br /><br />There’s something about the place, too. Though the mangoes are highly prized, surprisingly, most nurseries have no mustachioed, baton-wielding security guards; forget a gate, there is not even a barbed-wire fence. When I say prized, I mean utterly profitable too—in a good season Malihabad sells mangoes worth Rs 150 crores ($34 million). Once you see the beige signboard of Abdullah Nursery, turn left and drive straight into the nursery. Khan is not there; but there’s Afsak Ahmed, a friend who also runs errands for Khan. Before you blink Ahmed scampers on his rickety bicycle and returns with chilled cola. Meanwhile, Nazmi, Khan’s son, is already showing the family’s prized possession—the 90-year-old tree on which grow 300 different varieties of mango. The tree is huge and the canopy awfully dense; it also finds mention in the Limca Book of Records. When you bend, set the branches aside, and wriggle near the main trunk, it feels like the world of Willy Wonka; except that instead of chocolates there are mangoes. Everywhere you look there’s an unusual variety of mango staring back at you. Asroor Mukarar is almost heart-shaped, Glass is petite, Prince is stout and handsome, Karela looks like the eponymous bitter gourd, Aamin Lamba is so long it kisses the ground …<br /><br />Once Khan returns to his fiefdom, he spews more information—how angry parrots peck the fruits, how naughty squirrels fatten every summer on mango juice, and how the bhoonga bug is any orchard’s most frightening nemesis. But according to Khan, these are mundane traits. Every mango, like a human being, has its intrinsic virtues, he says. Khan is so passionate about mangoes that he almost gives them a human garb. Khan inherited the 20 acres of mango plantation from his father Abdullah Khan and years ago started experimenting with crops and breeds. That’s when he grafted one variety on an Asroor Mukarar tree, then another, then another … . Now he nurtures 300 varieties of mangoes on that one tree. Such is his love that he refused an offer by the Iranian government to settle in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Iran</st1:place></st1:country-region> and do what he loves—grow mangoes. Khan is not willing to leave Malihabad, it is his love; it is his fiefdom.<br /><br />Perhaps an experimental streak and an attractive smile are both genetic traits with the Khans. Kaleemullah’s younger brother Hamidullah, who owns nearly 50 acres of mango orchards, slogged seven years to develop a late variety of mango that would yield fruits even in winter. Hamidullah has not christened the tree yet, but he dreams of a day when people will sit by the fireplace and eat their winter variety of mango in December. Like the elder Khan, he too smiles beatifically.<br /><br />During the mango season, this experimentation of varieties is shelved, as are the trophies and awards. Summer is the time to rake in the moolah. Much before the fruits acquire that golden yellow tinge, the orchards are auctioned. But it is no ordinary auction where a rag-tag of ordinary mortals gather and holler their bids. There is a method to this madness. Days before the auction, a man with a gargantuan amplifier on a rickshaw scours through the muddy lanes announcing the date, time, and venue. Then the prospective buyers are allowed to preview the “for sale” orchards. They move around in groups, assess, and finally huddle in the evening with the elders to decide a price cap.<br /><br />Just before the auction there’s a flurry of activities—plastic chairs are arranged, tumblers are cleaned, water is spattered on the ground for the rowdy dust to settle. Then the buyers start arriving in rickety bicycles, fancy cars, and sleek motorcycles; some just meander on foot. The seller sits with knitted brows, twiddling his thumbs, while buyers tick off the who’s who and mull on their strategy knowing who they are pitched against. Look at Guru Prasad in striped shirt and gray trousers, you’d assume there wouldn’t be too much stashed in his coffers. Or Baba, in a red robe and stringed rudrakash; you’d think Baba’s truth is God, but wait till he raises the bids by thousands. And in the midst of all this is the master screamer—Ramzan Ali, unkempt and uncouth, but with a decibel level of Mach 3. He is Malihabad’s master hollerer, and for the hours he spends screaming he sure ends up with a sore throat every night. I sat through an auction of 200 trees that began with a bid of Rs 50,000 ($1,150) and ended at Rs 1.33 lakh ($3,000) all in about two hours. There are neither gavels on a mahogany desk nor any digital displays. The most literate among those present scribbles the bids on a piece of paper and once the deal is struck, jalebis and laddoos seem to emerge out of thin air. Not really; Afsak Ahmed and his rickety cycle do the trick again.<br /><br />If Malihabad had its raison d’être, another village barely six miles away has its own reasons to celebrate. Essentially, just one reason. It is a mango tree that they say rose out of the earth as a blessing some 300 hundred years ago. The tree borrowed its name from the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">village</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Dusseheri on whose soil it has livedand borne fruit for centuries. And of course, the mango purists would always vouch for the delicate taste of a ripened Dussehri. They'd say even the manna from from heaven would pale in significance.<br /></st1:placename></st1:place></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on"></st1:placename></st1:place><br /><br />The tree, which attracts mango aficionados and curious onlookers from all over, was, and remains, the property of the Nawab of Lucknow. No ordinary mortal can enjoy the fruits of this tree—it is never up for sale in the market. The fruits are hand-picked, arranged in a basket and sent to the Nawab’s family who, interestingly, also has a mansion called Dusseheri House.<br /><br />I had been in Malihabad for two days, my ears were buzzing with all the mango anecdotes; perhaps my iris rented the colors of the mangoes, too, and I could barely see anything else; I had also probably fattened like the squirrels. I did not want to count the numbers of mangoes I had eaten or the sinful calories I has ingested; I ignored the abacus merrily. Believe me, it was heavenly to be sinful that one afternoon in Malihabad.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Preeti Verma Lal has worked as a journalist in </span><st1:country-region style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" st="on">India</st1:country-region><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> and the </span><st1:country-region style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" st="on"><st1:place st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">. Now based in New Delhi, she writes, edits, shoots with her camera, and runs her website: www.deepblueink.com</span><br /><br />...............................................................................<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);font-size:130%;" >* Getting There</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);font-size:130%;" >By Air:</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);font-size:130%;" > </span><span style="font-size:130%;">Take a flight to Lucknow’s Amausi airport. From there you can hire a cab for Malihabad, which is 21 miles away.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);font-size:130%;" >By Rail:</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> Take the Shatabadi from <st1:city st="on">New Delhi</st1:city> to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Lucknow</st1:place></st1:city>.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);font-size:130%;" >By Road:</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> Take a bus or cab from <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Lucknow</st1:place></st1:city> to Malihabad. Buses headed to Hardoi will also drop you at Malihabad. Remember, it is a rough ride.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);font-size:130%;" >* Where to Stay</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br />There are no hotels in Malihabad. <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Lucknow</st1:place></st1:city> will have to be your base camp.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);font-size:130%;" >* Must See in Malihabad</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br />- Kaleemullah Khan’s Abdullah Nursery<br /><br />- Hamidullah Khan’s Nursery<br /><br />- The house where poet Josh Malihabadi was born. His relative Asif Hasan Khan has some rare photographs of Malihabadi and his handwritten letters.<br /><br />- If you are a history freak, go to ancient palaces of Sayed Khan and Qazi Kamaal Khan; movies like </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" >Umrao Jaan</span><span style="font-size:130%;">, </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" >Kalyug</span><span style="font-size:130%;">, and </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" >Junoon</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> were shot there.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;">- Look for Kakori kebabs in the neighboring <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">village</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Kakori</st1:placename></st1:place>.</span><o:p></o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Dr. Navras J. Aafreedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10762024069009738799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2360138890182857040.post-1792737122895408262008-05-03T09:17:00.001-07:002012-12-14T23:31:32.521-08:00A Land of Legends<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK2xxeV3mBjc4wK5atrHh_oEoffE3Qei0t-vVNA_teBHAXyceoTJZjo073RTJTsDJt-rMFFsjZImtBMcgtPToh2JhAA9wRZQpajQyk1XliyywLkGtUdS4o-ivyg-ZudQupvLRMCSbNuHw/s1600-h/Ghaus+Mohammad.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200896102142768034" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK2xxeV3mBjc4wK5atrHh_oEoffE3Qei0t-vVNA_teBHAXyceoTJZjo073RTJTsDJt-rMFFsjZImtBMcgtPToh2JhAA9wRZQpajQyk1XliyywLkGtUdS4o-ivyg-ZudQupvLRMCSbNuHw/s400/Ghaus+Mohammad.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Padmashri</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Ghaus Mohammad Khan</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://navrasaafreedi.blogspot.com/">Dr. Navras Jaat Aafreedi</a>, Azad Academy Journal, XXI, 8</span></span> <br />
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<span style="font-size: 130%;">Majestic Malihabad (one of the three <i>tehsils</i> of Lucknow district, UP), known all over the world for the marvellous mangoes it produces and for the great Urdu poet <b><i>Padmabhushan </i><a href="http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=JUsnl4sEU3s&feature=related">Josh Malihabadi</a> </b>(ne Shabbeer Hasan Khan Afridi)(1898-1982) it gave birth to, is a land of legends, both of yore as well as living. Apart from Josh, who became a living legend in his own life, Malihabad produced the first Indian to reach <place st="on">Wimbledon</place>’s quarter-finals in 1939, <b><i>Padmashri </i>Ghaus Muhammad Khan</b> <b>Afridi</b> (1915-1982). Another illustrious son of Malihabad was <b>Wali Kamaal Khan Afridi ‘Aarif Adeeb’</b> (1916-2003), a genius par excellence. The life of this great philosopher, who was a reservoir of wisdom and knowledge, was a unique spiritual journey in search of the ultimate truth. The saga of this sage seems fictional rather than real. Sunni Hanfi Muslim, Communist, Radha-Soami ascetic, Bahai proselytizer, Christian missionary, Sufi – he was each of these at different stages of his life. Reverentially called “Maulana”, this erudite <i>guru </i>made Malihabad, known for its great literary traditions and vibrant mango economy, a spiritual place, of which he was the epicentre. The spiritual vibrations sent by him were felt far and wide. A great horticulturalist Malihabad produced was <b><i>Khan Saheb</i> Abdul Bari Khan Afridi</b> (1886-1940) (father of Wali Kamaal Khan Afridi ‘Aarif Adeeb’), who was one of the founders of Uttar Pradesh Fruit Development Board and <placename st="on">Sikandar</placename> <placename st="on">Bagh</placename> <placetype st="on">Botanical Gardens</placetype><city st="on"><place st="on">Lucknow</place></city>. In 1937, the British bestowed upon him the prestigious title of <i>Khan Saheb</i> for his great contribution to the development of horticulture in Malihabad. The legendary tradition continues and Malihabad still has a number of living legends to boast of, like the world famous <b>Haji Kaleemullah Khan</b>, who has managed to graft three hundred and fifteen varieties of mangoes on just one tree and over two hundred varieties on another. Then there is the ‘Walking Veda’ – <b>Pandit Saiyad Husain Shastri</b>, a Vedic theologian and a great Sanskritist, who received innumerable offers from all over the world, including <country-region st="on">America</country-region> and <country-region st="on"><place st="on">Germany</place></country-region>, in recognition of his immense erudition, but declined to leave Malihabad. Yet another living legend is <a href="http://anwarnadeem.blogspot.com/"><b>Anwar Nadeem</b></a> (ne Anwar Kamal Khan Aafreedi) (b.1937) (<i>Khan Saheb</i> Abdul Bari Khan’s youngest son), who holds the world record for having written the maximum number of reportages of <i>mushairas</i> (Urdu poetic symposiums). His award winning collection of reportages, <i>Jalte Tave ki Muskurahat</i> (“Smile of the Burning Pan”) is a rich repository of contemporary poetic traditions and styles. It is priceless for its timeless worth. He is an acclaimed Urdu poet, satirist, humorist, critic, dramatist, theatre and <a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-410405904127048331&q=&hl=en">film actor</a>, short-story writer and feature-film/television drama serial screenplay writer – all rolled into one. Anwar Nadeem has written more than thirteen books, which have won rave reviews along with a number of prestigious awards like Uttar Pradesh Urdu Academy Award, Bihar Urdu Academy Award, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad Memorial Committee Award, etc. His poems have been included in some of the greatest poetic anthologies ever compiled in Urdu, and his writings have appeared in some of the most prestigious literary journals like <i>Insha, Shair, Imkan, Laraib,</i> etc. English translations of his poems have appeared in the Sahitya Akademi’s (<country-region st="on"><place st="on">India</place></country-region>’s national academy for literature) bi-monthly <i>Indian Literature</i> as well as in the <i>Azad Academy Journal</i>.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />It is the presence of Afridi Pathans in Malihabad that lends the land its identity and grants an aura of <a href="http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/Page/IndexSpecials&cid=1211286166040">mystery</a> to it. It is believed by many that hundreds of years ago ancestors of Malihabad’s <a href="http://navrasaafreedi.blogspot.com/">Afridis</a> were uprooted from their place of birth, thousands of kilometres away in <a href="http://navrasaafreedi.blogspot.com/"><country-region st="on">Israel</country-region></a>, and curbing the tyranny of distance and difficulty of terrain, they finally landed up here in <country-region st="on"><place st="on">India</place></country-region>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />It is just a sprinkling of Afridi Pathans here in Malihabad; the rest of them form part of the world’s largest tribal confederacy in the hill country from the eastern spurs of the Safed Koh (<country-region st="on">Afghanistan</country-region>) to the borders of the <city st="on">Peshawar</city> district (<country-region st="on"><place st="on">Pakistan</place></country-region>). The Afridis in Malihabad are largely ignorant of their putative Israelite descent in sharp contrast to the Afridis in <country-region st="on">Afghanistan</country-region><country-region st="on"><place st="on"> Pakistan</place></country-region>. It is not difficult to find an explanation for their ignorance. Most probably when the Afridis settled in <country-region st="on">India</country-region>, in Malihabad (district <city st="on"><place st="on">Lucknow</place></city>) and Qaimganj (district Farrukhabad), among non-Afridi Muslims, who were greatly prejudiced against Jews, they hid their Israelite descent, which if disclosed, would have rendered them most unpopular in the non-Pathan Muslim society. As a result, the knowledge of their Israelite origin could not be passed on to the next generation; and subsequently the succeeding generations were left absolutely ignorant of it. This theory about the Afridi ignorance of their Jewish past is substantiated by the fact that with the march of time, they gradually lost all their tribal characteristics; their dance and music traditions. So it is not improbable that they also lost their knowledge of any traditions of their Israelite past.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />According to the legend, the Afridi is actually the lost Israelite tribe of Ephraim, which was forced into exile and thus into oblivion in 721 BC by the Assyrians. The Israelite past of Afridi Pathans is mentioned in a number of medieval Persian texts, viz :</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 130%;">· </span><span dir="ltr" style="font-size: 130%;">Muhammad Hayat Khan’s <i>Hayat-e-Afghani </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 130%;">· </span><span dir="ltr" style="font-size: 130%;">Abul Fazl’s <i>Akbarnama</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 130%;">· </span><span dir="ltr" style="font-size: 130%;">Sulayman Maku’s <i>Tadhkirat al Awliya</i> (13<sup>th</sup> century)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 130%;">· </span><span dir="ltr" style="font-size: 130%;">Qutb Khan, Sarmast Khan Abdali, Hamza Khan, Umar Khan Kakarr and Zarif Khan’s <i>Mirat al-Afghani</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 130%;">· </span><span dir="ltr" style="font-size: 130%;">Hafiz Rahmat Khan’s <i>Khulasaat-ul-Ansab</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 130%;">· </span><span dir="ltr" style="font-size: 130%;">Nimatullah’s <i>Tarikh-e-Khan-e-Jahani </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 130%;">· </span><span dir="ltr" style="font-size: 130%;">Akhund Darwiza’s <i>Tadhkirat al-Abrar</i> (AD 1611)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 130%;">· </span><span dir="ltr" style="font-size: 130%;">Hamidullah Mustawfi’s <i>Tarikh-e-Guzeeda</i> (12<sup>th</sup> century)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 130%;">· </span><span dir="ltr" style="font-size: 130%;">Minhaj-e-Siraj’s <i>Tabaqat-e-Nasiri</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 130%;">· </span><span dir="ltr" style="font-size: 130%;">Abu Sulayman Daud’s <i>Rauza-ul-Bab Twarikh-ul-Akbar-wal-Ansab</i> (AD 1310)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 130%;">· </span><span dir="ltr" style="font-size: 130%;">Hamidullah Mustawfi’s <i>Majma-ul-Ansab </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 130%;">· </span><span dir="ltr" style="font-size: 130%;">Bukhtawar Khan’s <i>Mirat-ul-Alam</i></span><span style="font-size: 130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 130%; font-style: normal;">Amishav (a <city st="on">Jerusalem</city> based organisation, solely dedicated to the task of finding the ‘Lost Tribes of Israel’) wants the Afridis to migrate to <country-region st="on"><place st="on">Israel</place></country-region>. Another Israeli organisation, Beit Zur, too, has welcomed them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal;"><br />In November 2002, an international research team comprising Professor Tudor Parfitt (Chairman of the Centre of Near & Middle East and Director of the Centre of Jewish Studies, SOAS, London University), Dr Yulia Egorova (a historian and linguist from Russia) and the present author embarked on an expedition to Malihabad and collected DNA samples of fifty paternally unrelated Afridi males to confirm their supposed Israelite descent with the help of genetic research. Now, modern science is providing tantalising clues to this ancient legend. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">The Pathan settlement in Malihabad dates back to AD 1202, when the <place st="on"><placetype st="on">village</placetype> of <placename st="on">Bakhtiarnagar</placename></place> was founded by the invading Muhammad Bakhtiar Khalji. But most of the Pathan population came in about the middle of the seventeenth century, and each migrant Pathan clan secured possession of ten to twelve villages around Malihabad. The latest and the greatest wave of migrant Pathans, comprising mainly Afridis, who fought the Marathas in the Third Battle of Panipat for the Afghan invader Ahmad Shah Abdali, arrived in Malihabad in AD 1761, and made Mirzaganj their base over there. Mirzaganj owes its foundation to a Mughal called Mirza Hasan Beg (also known as Mirza Hassu Beg). There are Pathans of other tribes also in Malihabad, viz., Ghilzai (popularly known as Qandhari), Bazad Khail, Amanzai and Bangash. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">Ghilzai (Qandhari) settlement in Malihabad dates back to AD 1753, when a Ghilzai Pathan adventurer, Yusuf Khan, settled in Khairabad, a <place st="on"><placetype st="on">village</placetype> of <placename st="on">Malihabad</placename></place>. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">The Bazad Khail settlement in Bari Garhi in Malihabad was founded by one Sheikh Ibrahim, who was a <i>Mansabdar</i> (a noble with high rank) in the Mughal emperor’s service. They first settled in the Ahma <place st="on"><placetype st="on">village</placetype> of <placename st="on">Habibpur Nasimabad</placename></place> and are said to have bought their remaining villages from the Sheikhs of Kasmandi-kalan and Sahlamau. A Bazad Khail Pathan, Alaawal Khan, received eight <i>bighas muafi</i> in Badaura, one of the villages of <i>tappa</i> Kathauli Rao, where he built a fort. Subsequently this Pathan family clashed with Abul Nabi Khan, an Amanzai Pathan, and the latter defeated them with the help of the old Janwaar proprietors of the <i>tappa</i>. But they could not stop the Bazad Khail Pathans from capturing most of the Janwaar villages. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">The Amanzai Pathans settled in Garhi Sanjar Khan and Bakhtiarnagar in Malihabad under the auspices of Nawab Diler Khan, a <i>Subadar</i> of <place st="on">Oudh</place>, in AH 1076/AD 1656. Nawab Diler Khan was the son of that Daria Khan who was a compatriot of Khan Jahan Lodi when he rebelled against Shah Jahan. As the legend goes, Daria Khan, embittered and sad at the ruin that had fallen on himself and family after the rebellion, asked his two sons to take his head after his death to the emperor and save themselves. Then he placed his seal within his mouth and slew himself. His sons complied with his orders, but as they were bearing the head before the emperor, one of the courtiers claimed the merit of having slain the Pathan rebel. Thereupon they pointed to the seal within the deceased’s mouth, and their mendacious opponent was silenced. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">The sons were after this received into favour. Bahadur Khan was appointed to <city st="on">Kabul</city>, and Diler Khan, otherwise Jalal Khan, received <place st="on">Oudh</place> (Awadh). But before separating, the brothers founded Shahjahanpur in Rohilkhand, and Diler Khan moving on to his province first founded Shahabad in Hardoi, and finally fixed his headquarters at Malihabad, attracted to this place, perhaps, by his fellow Pathans already resident there. All this time Diler Khan had been followed by two Amanzai brothers – Kamaal Khan and Bahadur Khan (his brother’s namesake), whose father, Diwan Muhammad Khan, had been invited from Banair near Peshawar by the Daria Khan mentioned above. They first settled in Hasanpur-bari in AH 1015/AD 1656, when they shifted to Ahma, a <place st="on"><placetype st="on">village</placetype> of <placename st="on">Bulaqinagar</placename></place> in Malihabad. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">In AH 1105/AD 1693, Sarmast Khan, son of Bahadur Khan, separated, and shifted to Bakhtiarnagar in Malihabad. Sanjar Khan, the son of Kamaal Khan, remained in Bulaqinagar, and changed its name to that of Garhi Sanjar Khan. But the hero of the family was Dilawar Khan’s son Sarmast Khan, who raised it to its greatest prosperity. He took service under the Mughal emperor, and rose to the rank of <i>Mansabdar</i> under Farrukhsiyar, and by his many legendary acts of valour, won himself the title of Nawab Shamsher Khan. An instance of his bravery is cherished. It is said that as he was marching with the Saiyyads of Baraha to raise Farrukhsiyar to the throne, the future emperor remarked – “It is all very well when I conquer, but is there any one now that dare use my land measure and money ?” Dilawar Khan stepped forward, and said that he dared, and he went into <place st="on">Oudh</place> (Awadh) and used Farrukhsiyar’s land measure and money coined in his name. He annexed an estate of more than a hundred villages and secured a <i>jagir</i> of three lakh rupees, which he shared with another general, Nasim Khan.</span><b> </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />But during the reign of Safdar Jang, this family fell into disgrace. While the Nawab Wazir was in <city st="on">Delhi</city>, Ahmad Khan Bangash of Farrukhabad attacked his dominions, and encamped on the <city st="on">Kanpur</city> side of the river <place st="on">Ganga</place>. The Nawab’s lieutenant went to meet him, and Makarim Khan, a son of Shamsher Khan, dutifully attended with his contingent, but his nephew Dilawar Khan had quarelled with him, and had joined the enemy. The Nawab’s troops finally fell back and retreated to Faizabad, but for some reason or other – probably from distrust of his Pathan contingent – left Makarim Khan on the banks of the <place st="on">Ganga</place> to watch the troops of Ahmad Khan Bangash. Makarim Khan seeing that he was likely to come to no good between these two parties fled to Rohilkhand, and his <i>jagir</i> was confiscated. A few villages were afterwards restored to him through the intervention of Hafiz Rahmat Khan, the Ruhela chief, who at that time lived on terms of amity with Shuja-ud-daula. Amongst them was Bakhtiarnagar, which he received in <i>jagir</i> for the pay of his regiment of Pathan horse, that he was sent to command at <city st="on"><place st="on">Gorakhpur</place></city>. It was at about this time that the Amanzai Pathan Makarim Khan granted the <place st="on"><placetype st="on">village</placetype> of <placename st="on">Kenwalhar</placename></place></span> <span style="font-size: 130%;">to Faqeer Muhammad Khan (circa 1780-1847), an Afridi Pathan.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />Faqeer Muhammad Khan’s grandfather, Muhammad Yar Beg Khan Afridi, came to India at Delhi, to serve under the second Nawab of Oudh (Awadh), Safdarjang, who was there as the prime minister of the Mughal kingdom. He also accompanied him to Faizabad. He was an army commander of five companies, comprising soldiers from his own tribe, the Afridi. Faqeer Muhammad Khan arrived in Malihabad during the reign of Nawab Shuja-ud-daula (1754-1775). He then took service in the Qandhari horse, a regiment of the Nawab’s that was commanded by Abdur Rahman Khan of Khalispur. He soon left the regiment to join the service of Nawab Ameer Khan at his state at Tonk in Rajasthan. Impressed by him, Nawab Ameer Khan sent him as his envoy to the Nawab of Oudh (Awadh), Sa’adat Ali Khan, with an elephant and rupees six thousand for his road expenses, Enroute to Lucknow, at Kanpur, Faqeer Muhammad Khan learnt of the death of Nawab Sa’adat Ali Khan (on July 11, 1814), and changed his route for his old home in Malihabad. He then got an introduction to Agha Mir, Minister of Ghaziuddin Haidar, and got a place about the court on the pay of Rupees One Hundred and Fifty per month; and eleven horse riders were put under him. He soon rose to become the commander of a cavalry of twenty-five thousand. This became the nucleus of a regiment, which he recruited from his countrymen in Malihabad. In AD 1827 he was granted the lease of the Malihabad pargana by the Amils, Gobardhan Das and Param Dhan. And he held the pargana in different occassions from them till AD 1843, pitching up several villages whose owners had defaulted. He got a lieu on others, and in this way founded an estate, which came to be called Tharri Fatehnagar. Later, he was also the governor of Khairabad. Prestigious titles of <i>Nawab Tahavur Jang</i> and <i>Hasaam-ud-daula</i> were bestowed upon him by the Nawab of Oudh (Awadh). In AD 1850 he died, and his sons, Nawab Muhammad Ahmad Khan (circa 1828-1903) and Nawab Muhammad Naseem Khan, succeeded to the estate, which they divided. Nawab Muhammad Ahmad Khan’s was called Kasmandi Khurd, while that of Nawab Muhammad Naseem Khan’s was Sahlamau.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />Interestingly, <b>Nawab Faqeer Muhammad Khan</b> was also a notable poet of his time, who assumed the <i>takhallus</i> (pseudonym) of ‘Goya’. His collection of poems, titled <i>Diwan-e-Goya</i>, consists of different styles of Urdu verse – <i>ghazal, nazm,</i> <i>qaseeda</i> (ode), <i>naat</i> (poem in praise of the prophet Muhammad), <i>noha</i> (elegy), salaam, etc. He translated the Persian masterpiece <i>Anwaar-e-Suheli</i> into Urdu. The translated version became popular as <i>Bustaan-e-Hikmat</i>,<i> </i>several<i> </i>editions of which have been published till now. The subject of more than thirty books, Goya is considered one of the greatest classical Urdu poets.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />His son <b>Nawab Muhammad Ahmad Khan ‘Ahmad’</b> (1828-1903), grandfather of Josh, was a prominent poet of his age, who published a <i>diwan</i> (collection of poems) of six hundred and eighty-six pages. His collection of poems, titled <i>Makhzan-e-Aalam</i>, was published in 1860 at Naami Press, <city st="on"><place st="on">Lucknow</place></city>. It comprised of <i>ghazals, qaseedas, marsiyas, salaams, sehras</i>, etc.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />A son of Nawab Muhammad Ahmad Khan ‘Ahmad’ rose like a meteor on the poetic horizon, but died at the young age of twenty-eight, leaving behind a collection of poems which was published in 1890. It contained naats and ghazals. His name was <b>Ameer Ahmad Khan ‘Ameer’</b></span> <span style="font-size: 130%;">(1858-1886).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />Another son of Nawab Muhammad Ahmad Khan ‘Ahmad’ – <b>Basheer Ahmad Khan ‘Basheer’</b><i>Diwan-e-Basheer</i>, was also published</span> <span style="font-size: 130%;">(1874-1916), Josh’s father, earned great repute for his poetic genius. His collection of poems, </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />Malihabad’s Afridi Pathans have a penchant for poetry. It would not be an exaggeration to say that every Afridi is born with a poetic potential, but only some of them use it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />It is impossible not to mention the great poet <b>Muhammad Murtuza Khan</b> <b>‘Wasl Malihabadi’</b> (1820-1903),Anwar Nadeem’s great-grandfather, when talking about the tradition of poetry among the Afridi Pathans of Malihabad. His <i>diwan </i>(collection of poems) titled <i>Gulshan-e-Wasl</i> was published in 1896. His absorbing poetry is distinguished by an unusual choice of words and a specific style.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />His son <b>Abdul Rauf Khan ‘Lutf Malihabadi’</b>, Anwar Nadeem’s grandfather, was the author of the famous work <i>Naerang-e-Khayaal</i>. He also translated the Persian classics <i>Guldast-e-Najaat</i> and Maulana Rum’s <i>Munajaat</i> into Urdu. His language and diction is still admired for its lucidity, its transparent structure and unparalleled precision. The translations done by him have been considered splendid mixtures of clarity, precision, grace, sophistication and wit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />The Afridi Pathans of Malihabad took active part in <country-region st="on"><place st="on">India</place></country-region>’s First War of Independence in 1857. Nawab Muhammad Ahmad Khan and Muhammad Naseem Khan, the Afridi <i>taluqdars</i> (feudal lords) of Malihabad, fought the British at <city st="on">Kanpur</city> and <city st="on"><place st="on">Lucknow</place></city>. The arrest orders issued for them were revoked only after Mirza Hasan Beg (a <i>ziladar</i> of their father) who had immense political clout, intervened. Malihabad was among those first places where the first seeds of revolt against the British rule germinated.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />The corresspondence between the then Chief Commissioner of <place st="on">Oudh</place> (Awadh) and the then senior British officials shows that the Afridi Pathans of Malihabad loved freedom and fought for it since 1857.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />A son of Nawab Muhammad Ahmad Khan, Khwaja Ahmad Khan, emerged as a prominent Congress leader of the time of freedom struggle।</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />An Afridi <i>zamindar</i> of Malihabad and famous horticulturalist, <b><i>Khan Saheb</i> Abdul Bari Khan</b>(1886-1940), father of Anwar Nadeem, attended the Surat session of the Indian National Congress in 1907, and is still remembered for a revolutionary Urdu weekly,Falaahat, he published against the imperialist rule, from 1919 until it was banned by the British government in 1923. A senior to Josh Malihabadi, he was Josh's local guardian when he was a student in Sitapur.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />The great Urdu poet <b><i>Padmabhushan </i><a href="http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=JUsnl4sEU3s&feature=related">Josh Malihabadi</a> (ne Shabbeer Hasan</b> <b>Khan Afridi</b>) was exiled from the state of <city st="on"><place st="on">Hyderabad</place></city> in circa 1925 for writing a poem against the Nizam’s being a feudatory of the British. He then shifted to <city st="on"><place st="on">Delhi</place></city> and started publishing a literary journal <i>Kaleem</i>, in which he openly wrote articles in favour of freedom from the British rule. His <city st="on"><place st="on">Delhi</place></city> sojourn brought him close to Jawaharlal Nehru and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, which led to his joining the freedom struggle. Now, he would mostly write about patriotism. His endorsement of the Progressive Writers’ Movement also altered his ideas about poetry. Instead of <i>ghazals</i> (romantic poems), he started writing <i>inquilaabi nazmein</i> (revolutionary poems). </span> <br />
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br /><i>My mission is change </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><i>My name is youth </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><i>My slogan is revolution </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><i>Revolution and revolution !!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />The revolutionary nature of his poetry won him the title of <i>Sha’ir-e-Inquilaab</i> (“the Poet of Revolution”). The belief that one moment of freedom is far better than years of existence under bondage formed the core of his philosophy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><i>Oh, dwellers of the planet Earth </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><i>The thundering sound which is coming from the heavens </i></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 130%;"><i>One solitary moment of life in freedom is better than eternal life of slavery !!</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 130%;">The feeling that Josh’s poetry creates in its readers is nothing short of revolution. A number of his poems were banned by the British government. In recognition of his valuable contribution to <country-region st="on"><place st="on">India</place></country-region>’s struggle for freedom, the prestigious <i>Padmabhushan</i> award was conferred upon him by the grateful nation. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />“Rosy and fair to the eye are the daughters of the Afridis,” wrote the seventeenth century Pathan warrior-poet Khushal Khan Khattak. Afridi women are celebrated for their beauty. No wonder it is an Afridi damsel from Malihabad, Raushanara, resident in <country-region st="on"><place st="on">Kuwait</place></country-region>, who was adjudged the most beautiful girl there for the year 2005.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />The Afridi Pathans of Malihabad have always been a law unto themselves, and even today they remain as unconquered as ever. During the later Mughal age it became virtually impossible to circulate the Mughal currency in the region – let alone – realise tax from the locals.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />The Pathans, including the Afridi, are a people who have built up an ethical code – <i>Pathanwali/Pakhtunwali/Pashtunwali</i>, the essence of which is honour. “I despise the man who does not guide his life by honour,” wrote the great Pathan poet Khushal Khan Khattak. “The very word ‘honour’ drives me mad.” Although it is nowhere written down or formalised, yet every Pathan knows what is required of him.<br /><br /><br />There are three main canons of <i>Pathanwali/Pakhtunwali/Pashtunwali</i> :-</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 130%;">· </span><span dir="ltr" style="font-size: 130%;"><i>Badal</i> (revenge)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 130%;">· </span><span dir="ltr" style="font-size: 130%;"><i>Nanawatai</i> (assylum), and</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 130%;">· </span><span dir="ltr" style="font-size: 130%;"><i>Maelmastya</i> (hospitality).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />The workings of <b><i>Badal</i></b> have led to innumerable feuds and brought Malihabad as much notoriety as its mangoes have brought fame. The obligation of <i>Badal</i> is nicely summed up in a Pathan proverb : “He is not a Pathan who does not give a blow for a pinch.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br /><b><i>Nanawatai</i></b> requires a Pathan to offer protection to anyone who asks it of him. Its biggest manifestation was seen when Begum Hazrat Mahal took refuge with the Afridi Pathans at Mawai Basantpur in Malihabad. When about three hundred British soldiers reached Malihabad in her pursuit, they were massacred by the men of Nawab Muhammad Ahmad Khan ‘Ahmad’, taluqdar of Malihabad. The site of this incident came to be known as ‘Gumsena’.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br /><b><i>Maelmastya</i></b> is best reflected in the Malihabadi Pathan practice of feeding mangoes to everyone with the same munificence, from the ordinary villager to the President of the country, from fakirs to aristocrats. Even the richest and proudest Pathan personally serves tea and biscuits, or sometimes a full-scale meal to his guests. Their hospitality has few parallels, but it does not take long for the violent streak in their nature to manifest itself at the slightest provocation. Lieutenant Governor Havelock, at one time considered an honoured guest by Nawab Muhammad Is’haaq Khan, taluqdar of Qamandi Khurd and Thari in Malihabad, had to flee for his life from Malihabad, when he made the near fatal slip of the tongue by telling his Afridi host that the area was a stronghold of wicked scoundrels. For the proud Afridi Pathans, for whom bravery, strength, and courage are highly valued qualities, there could not have been any insult greater than this.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />Legends abound in Malihabad, and the anecdotes of Nabi Sher Khan are still recounted with characteristic laconism by locals. As to how the hotheaded Nabi Sher Khan smashed an eye of his out of existence, just to get rid of a fly that kept sitting on it. <i>“Na rahegi aankh, na uspe baithegi makkhi”</i>, was the unassailable logic that prompted him to such drastic action. When hospitalised for medical treatment, he proceeded to chew up the thermometer, which the nurse kept inserting into his mouth to his great annoyance. That he survived despite all this speaks volumes for his hardiness. But then, Malihabad is a land of legends, synonymous with unimaginable things.</span></div>
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Dr. Navras J. Aafreedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10762024069009738799noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2360138890182857040.post-30654549750565480162008-05-03T09:06:00.000-07:002020-09-12T00:51:44.822-07:00Malihabad: An Oasis of Poets<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgubTGb0XmxakCvzm9cmHMMpqIlxBAHqVEHwD9fGPHomJfY5QefnLFLBbCtIbysAeSk1YA_3ytVZ7s5j3sXIYfYQtc4KNbgdtqe7ZYfvk4PLEhKu94AzVdX4BXwO6AYPuBk7jvZv-4Mxng/s1600-h/Josh-Malihabadi-Great-Afridi-Poet.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgubTGb0XmxakCvzm9cmHMMpqIlxBAHqVEHwD9fGPHomJfY5QefnLFLBbCtIbysAeSk1YA_3ytVZ7s5j3sXIYfYQtc4KNbgdtqe7ZYfvk4PLEhKu94AzVdX4BXwO6AYPuBk7jvZv-4Mxng/s400/Josh-Malihabadi-Great-Afridi-Poet.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200895633991332754" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Padmabhushan</span> Josh Malihabadi</span>
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<a href="http://navrasaafreedi.blogspot.com/">Dr. </a><a href="http://navrasaafreedi.blogspot.com/">Navras Jaat Aafreedi</a>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Azad Academy Journal</span>, XIX, 3<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;">
</span></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The real flavour of Malihabad, <metricconverter st="on" productid="25 kilometres">25 kilometres</metricconverter> from <city st="on"><place st="on"><st1:city><st1:place>Lucknow</st1:place></st1:city></place></city>, lies not in its delicious mangoes, but in its lifestyle soaked in traditions. The Pathans of Malihabad have always been a law unto themselves and boast an impressive pedigree of great Urdu poets. Name of Josh has attained the distinction of a synonym for Malihabad. Today, Malihabad is known as much for the great Urdu poet Josh Malihabadi it produced, as for its mangoes. So it would be most apt to talk about the great tradition of poetry among the <a href="http://navrasaafreedi.blogspot.com/">Afridi Pathans</a> of Malihabad, still so alive.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://navrasaafreedi.blogspot.com/">Afridi Pathans</a> have always been lovers of poetry. It would not be wrong to say that every Afridi child is born with a poetic potential, but only some of them use it. Malihabad has producedc many famous Urdu poets, the most acclaimed being <a href="http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=JUsnl4sEU3s&feature=related"><b>Josh Malihabadi</b></a>, who dominated the scene of Urdu literature for over half a century. He emerged on the literary horizon of <country-region st="on"><place st="on"><st1:country-region><st1:place>India</st1:place></st1:country-region></place></country-region> as a personification of revolution or <i>inquilaab</i>, and won for himself the title of <i>Shair-i-Inquilab </i>(the Poet of Revolution). The belief that one moment of freedom is far better than years of existence under bondage formed the core of his philosophy.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Listen
Oh, dwellers of the planet Earth,
The thundering sound which is coming from the heavens
One solitary moment of life in freedom is better than eternal life of slavery<o:p></o:p>
He was impressively articulate against the British rule:<o:p></o:p>
My mission is change,
My name is youth,
My slogan is revolution,
Revolution and Revolution.<o:p></o:p>
The British Government banned many of his revolutionary poems, such as ‘To the Sons of East India Company’ The quality and quantity of his compositions have secured for him a distinguished and permanent place in the galaxy of great Urdu poets.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Another poet whose name immediately comes to mind when talking about Malihabadi poets is <b>Nawab</b> <b>Faqeer Muhammad Khan ‘Goya’</b>, whose brilliant poetic career spans over the first quarter of the nineteenth century. He was an accomplished litterateur as well as a deft warrior, and is the subject of more than thirty books. He translated the Persian masterpiece <i>Anwaar-i-Suheli</i> into Urdu. The translated version became popular as <i>Bustaan-i-Hikmat</i>, several editions of which have been published till now. His own collection of poems was also published as Diwaan-i-Goya, which consisted of different styles of Urdu verse, viz., ghazal, nazm (in free verse and blank verse), qaseeda, naat (poem in praise of Muhammad), noha, salaam, et cetera. Nawab Faqeer Muhammad Khan ‘Goya’ is considered an avante-garde and one of the greatest Urdu poets.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Nawab Faqeer Muhammad Khan ‘Goya’’s son – <b>Nawab Muhammad Ahmad Khan ‘Ahmad’</b> (1820-1903), grandfather of Josh, was a prominent poet of his age. He had a published diwan of 686 pages. His collection of poems titled Makhzan-i-Aalam was published in 1860 at Naami Press, Luccknow. It comprised of ghazal, qaseeda, marsiya, salaam, sehra, et cetera.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;">A son of Muhammad Ahmad Khan ‘Ahmad’ rose like a meteor on the poetic horizon, but died at the early age of twenty-eight, leaving behind a collection of poems, which was published in 1890. It contained naats and ghazals. His name was <b>Ameer Ahmad Khan ‘Ameer’</b> (1858-1886).<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Another son of Nawab Muhammad Ahmad Khan ‘Ahmad’ – <b>Basheer Ahmad Khan ‘Basheer’</b>, Josh Malihabadi’s father – earned great repute for his poetic genius. His collection of poems was also published, titled <i>Diwan-i-Basheer</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;">An aunt of Josh Malihabadi, <b>Ali Begum</b>, was a popular poetess of her time. Urdu language will always remain indebted to her for her great contribution to its poetry.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;">A niece of Josh Malihabadi and daughter of famous Urdu poet Abrar Hasan Khan ‘Asar’, <b>Jameela Khatoon ‘Tasneem Malihabadi’</b> achieved much fame and popularity as an Urdu poetess.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Yet another famous Malihabadi poetess is <b>Safiya Khatoon ‘Shameem Malihabadi’</b> (b. 1920). Her published works include <i>Aahang-i-Shameem</i> and <i>Giriya-o-Tabassum</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;">No list of Malihabadi poets can be considered complete without a mention of <b>Muhammad Murtuza Khan ‘Wasl Malihabadi’</b>. His <i>diwan</i> (collection of poems) titled <i>Gulshan-i-Wasl</i><o:p></o:p></span> <span style="font-size:130%;">was published in 1896. His poetry is distinguished by an unusual choice of words and a specific style. His poems are absorbing.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;">His son, <b>Abdul Rauf Khan ‘Lutf Malihabadi’</b> was the author of a famous book <i>Naerang-i-Khayaal</i>. He also translated the famous literary works <i>Guldast-i-Najaat</i> and Maulana Rum’s <i>Munajaat</i> from Persian into Urdu. His language and diction is still admired for its lucidity, its transparent structure, and unparalleled precision. The translations done by him have been considered splendid mixtures of clarity, precision, grace, sophistication and wit.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Lutf Malihabadi’s grandson <b>Wali Kamaal Khan ‘Aarif Adeeb’</b> was a well acknowledged poet and essayist. He contributed readily in Urdu literature’s philosophical and metaphysical spheres.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Lutf Malihabadi’s youngest grandson, <b><a href="http://anwarnadeem.blogspot.com/">Anwar Nadeem</a> (ne Anwar Kamal Khan Aafreedi) </b>(b. 1937) is a well known Urdu poet, satirist, humorist, critic, dramatist, broadcaster, actor, and short-story writer as well as film and television-drama screenplay writer, who has more than thirteen books to his credit, including </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><i>Jalte Tave ki Muskuraahat</i></span> <span style="font-size:130%;">(collection of<i> mushaira</i> reportages), </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><i>Safarnama</i> (poetry), </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><i>Kirchein</i> (film-script), <i>Maidaan</i> (collection of ghazals), <i>Jai Shri Ram </i>(collection of nazms), <i>Paani</i> (collection of ghazals), et cetera. Recipient of Uttar Pradesh Urdu Academy Award, Bihar Urdu Academy Award, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad Memorial Committee Award, et cetera, his programmes are broadcast regularly on the All India Radio and Doordarshan (National Television network). His works have been published in some of the most prestigious literary journal like India’s national academy of letters <i>Sahitya Akademi</i>’s bi-monthly <i>Indian Literature</i>, Urdu monthlies like <i>Insha, Shair</i>, et cetera. A few of his better known poems are as follows:<o:p></o:p></span>
</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;">How is it?</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p></o:p>
The governments do not function in our country <o:p></o:p>
The parties <o:p></o:p>
After winning the elections <o:p></o:p>
Have a bed of roses <o:p></o:p>
Orgies, animal gratification <o:p></o:p>
Passing days and nights <o:p></o:p>
In Luxurious enjoyment <o:p></o:p>
And perchance – <o:p></o:p>
If they lose the elections <o:p></o:p>
There’s a wrangling jade – <o:p></o:p>
Infuriate <o:p></o:p>
Quarrelsome, <o:p></o:p>
Pugnacious, <o:p></o:p>
Inordinate, <o:p></o:p>
They finally go to <st1:city><st1:place><city st="on"><place st="on">Jericho</place></city></st1:place></st1:city>! <o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Only Poet</span> <o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;">People <o:p></o:p>
Just caught hold of Iqbal <o:p></o:p>
And stuck to him <o:p></o:p>
Once for all – <o:p></o:p>
</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;">Keeping themselves away <o:p></o:p>
From a camel’s hold <o:p></o:p>
And a dog’s spring! <o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;">Yah! <o:p></o:p>
They took it for granted <o:p></o:p>
That religion <o:p></o:p>
History <o:p></o:p>
Poetry <o:p></o:p>
Society <o:p></o:p>
The social issues <o:p></o:p>
As it were – <o:p></o:p>
No longer demand <o:p></o:p>
To think over <o:p></o:p>
And understand again <o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;">Let <st1:country-region><st1:place><country-region st="on"><place st="on">India</place></country-region></st1:place></st1:country-region> <o:p></o:p>
With its latitude <o:p></o:p>
And amplitude <o:p></o:p>
Remain in tatters!!<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe class="BLOG_video_class" allowfullscreen="" youtube-src-id="ln848kisMD8" width="320" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ln848kisMD8"></iframe></div> There are many other reputed poets as well, while many from the younger generation are coming up; thus keeping their great Pathan legacy of poetry alive and taking the tradition forward.</span> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Dr. Navras J. Aafreedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10762024069009738799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2360138890182857040.post-35397553191424053992008-05-03T08:52:00.000-07:002008-05-16T01:10:35.504-07:00An Ode to Mangoes<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK6t3hacHx8zZUJHOsRRa9RfH-JIkRY_COVyEvjuS9bwbEXBG_HDyynD0VWCXYVLIiEjWzd-ZtaeKm650f3jUROs95Po-0yTyGJBaJcsnLHH96tohJ5_G99hX08renU7mIC1VJDfePoX0/s1600-h/mango_2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK6t3hacHx8zZUJHOsRRa9RfH-JIkRY_COVyEvjuS9bwbEXBG_HDyynD0VWCXYVLIiEjWzd-ZtaeKm650f3jUROs95Po-0yTyGJBaJcsnLHH96tohJ5_G99hX08renU7mIC1VJDfePoX0/s400/mango_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196182393544400850" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">Picture courtesy: <span style="font-style: italic;">Little India</span></span><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Times;font-size:130%;color:black;" ><nobr><a href="http://209.85.175.104/search?q=cache:xYH18owPJOgJ:www.naaa.gov.in/Publications/AcademyCallings/Academycalling%2520feb-apr,%25202006.pdf+%22malihabad%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=86&gl=in">Saurabh Shukla, <span style="font-style: italic;">Academy Calling</span>, August-October, 2005, pp. 5-7</a><o:p></o:p></nobr></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Times;font-size:130%;color:black;" ><nobr>Just as the monsoons start from </nobr>the south of </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style=";font-family:Times;color:black;" >India</span></st1:place></st1:country-region></span><span style=";font-family:Times;font-size:130%;color:black;" > and flow northwards to cover the whole country to bring much needed succour from the summer heat, the mango season begins early in the summer in Kerala and western ghats slowly sweeping the entire sub-continent to give us something to look forward to despite the heat of the summer. What’s that they say about the best pleasures being the ones inflicted with a certain amount of pain? Part of the pain is the long wait for the seasonal fruit and the other the summer heat that signals the start of the mango season. Well, not that long, really. </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style=";font-family:Times;color:black;" >India</span></st1:place></st1:country-region></span><span style=";font-family:Times;font-size:130%;color:black;" >’s mango ‘season’ begins in March to end in August. And right now the markets are flooded with mangoes of all shapes and sizes, and like every year they would have captivated the hearts, minds, taste buds and digestive tracts of a sixth of the world’s population. Mangoes happen to be native to the subcontinent, and over the millennia have woven themselves intricately into the life and culture<o:p></o:p> here. The word mango itself comes from the Tamil word for the (unripe) fruit, </span><span style=";font-family:Times;font-size:130%;color:black;" >mang kai</span><span style=";font-family:Times;font-size:130%;color:black;" >, which the Portuguese and Spanish first started taking to </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><st1:place><span style=";font-family:Times;color:black;" >Europe</span></st1:place></span><span style=";font-family:Times;font-size:130%;color:black;" >, and then the new world. They are now also grown in places like </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><st1:state><st1:place><span style=";font-family:Times;color:black;" >California</span></st1:place></st1:state></span><span style=";font-family:Times;font-size:130%;color:black;" >, </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style=";font-family:Times;color:black;" >Guatemala</span></st1:place></st1:country-region></span><span style=";font-family:Times;font-size:130%;color:black;" >, </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style=";font-family:Times;color:black;" >Ecuador</span></st1:place></st1:country-region></span><span style=";font-family:Times;font-size:130%;color:black;" >, </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style=";font-family:Times;color:black;" >Nicaragua</span></st1:place></st1:country-region></span><span style=";font-family:Times;font-size:130%;color:black;" > and </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style=";font-family:Times;color:black;" >Honduras</span></st1:place></st1:country-region></span><span style=";font-family:Times;font-size:130%;color:black;" >. However, when it comes down to satisfying the <span style=""> </span>taste buds, none can come close to the mangoes produced in </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style=";font-family:Times;color:black;" >India</span></st1:place></st1:country-region></span><span style=";font-family:Times;font-size:130%;color:black;" >. </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style=";font-family:Times;color:black;" >India</span></st1:place></st1:country-region></span><span style=";font-family:Times;font-size:130%;color:black;" > probably has more varieties of mangoes than it has languages. Each region has its own unique variety of mango, and regional pride insists that their mango is better than theirneighbours’ mango. At the beginning of the season Andhra Pradesh sends out at least six varieties. The most famous probably being the Safeda or Banginapalli, which has gained tremendous popularity even in </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><st1:place><span style=";font-family:Times;color:black;" >North India</span></st1:place></span><span style=";font-family:Times;font-size:130%;color:black;" >. The other early varieties from south </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style=";font-family:Times;color:black;" >India</span></st1:place></st1:country-region></span><span style=";font-family:Times;font-size:130%;color:black;" > are the Totapari and <span style=""> </span>Sinduri, with its unique colour. The Alphonso, which most people swear by is also an early variety grown in the western ghats, most notably in the Ratnagiri area of </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><st1:place><span style=";font-family:Times;color:black;" >Maharashtra</span></st1:place></span><span style=";font-family:Times;font-size:130%;color:black;" >. <span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Times;font-size:130%;color:black;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Times;font-size:130%;color:black;" >However for somebody like me who has literally subsisted on a diet of Dussheri’s in the summers, nothing can beat them. The release of the juicy flavour as a ripe dussheri melts in the mouth is almost to die for. The early varieties merely act as appetizers before the dussheri hits the market.The Dussheris from <b><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 102) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;">Malihabad</span></b> tehsil in </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><st1:city><st1:place><span style=";font-family:Times;color:black;" >Lucknow</span></st1:place></st1:city></span><span style=";font-family:Times;font-size:130%;color:black;" > are almost legendary. The Dussehri is part of <b><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 102) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;">Malihabad</span></b> folklore. Local mango legend is that the original Dussehri tree was on the Nawab of Lucknow's property in <b><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 102) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;">Malihabad</span></b>. For years stories of its amazing fruit did the rounds but the Nawab refused to let anyone make a graft from the tree. Infact, the old original tree still exists in <b><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 102) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;">Malihabad</span></b> and is somewhat of a tourist attraction. <b><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 102) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;">Malihabad</span></b> also boasts of the Chausa village, from where the chausa variety of mangoes originated. However, the best mangoes that I remember having are not the Alphonsos’ or the dussheris’ that my father used to bring from the market, but the ones that our gang of friends had plucked from our neighbourhood gardens. Even if these desi mangoes were raw, to our young minds, they tasted much better than any alphonso<o:p></o:p> that our parents bought after paying a hefty price. <o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Times;font-size:130%;color:black;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Times;font-size:10;color:black;" ><span style="font-size:130%;">Connoisseurs assert that even the way in which the mango is eaten affects the taste. Some swear by peeling and dicing mangoes and serving them chilled, by keeping them over ice. Others say that the act of peeling itself takes away from the taste of mangoes and one should simply cut a mango into two or three slices and serve them. However, in my mind the best way to eat mangoes is to so simply sit around a bucket full of mangoes, the mangoes being cooled in the water and squeeze the juice straight from a ripe mango into the mouth. And to eat till the mango juice starts oozing out of one’s ears. </span><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span><span style="font-size:130%;">Mangoes, is one subject which can lead to heated debates between close friends and even family members. Every person has his or her favourite </span><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span><span style="font-size:130%;">variety, which they swear, is the<o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-size:130%;"> perfect variety. Haji Kaleemullah Khan of <b><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 102) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;">Malihabad</span></b> has managed to graft 315 varieties ranging from Totapari to Alphonso into a single tree, in his search for the perfect variety. But, is there something like a perfect mango? Probably every variety is as perfect as the next, bringing a uniqueness that no other variety can.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Dr. Navras J. Aafreedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10762024069009738799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2360138890182857040.post-75548917864512655402008-05-03T07:44:00.000-07:002008-05-16T01:27:43.574-07:00Mad about Mangoes<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfr0UYnUrvGkB9ldwDGvb66OXFRRz2kD_IXcx7zdSaa9UlbncQAT2EG2yYQx-PVjVuEEH7s5g-NBH2UqmY8tnztZ6loutm0HuBK6RuvNWZO9z5hE7v0g78bdxlXZ8HX0f3tBbs-Sk1Tds/s1600-h/travel_malihabad.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfr0UYnUrvGkB9ldwDGvb66OXFRRz2kD_IXcx7zdSaa9UlbncQAT2EG2yYQx-PVjVuEEH7s5g-NBH2UqmY8tnztZ6loutm0HuBK6RuvNWZO9z5hE7v0g78bdxlXZ8HX0f3tBbs-Sk1Tds/s400/travel_malihabad.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196165870805213122" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://deepblueink.com/writing/features/travel_malihabad.htm">Preeti Verma Lal</a><br /><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="intro"><span style=";font-size:130%;color:black;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >A non-descript muddy street leads straight into the Abdullah Nursery. There are no mustachioed, baton-wielding security guards; forget a gate, there is not even a barbed fence. You drive straight into the nursery where red plastic chairs and an old table await you. The sun is sharp and I scurry under the prized tree for a little shade. I perch myself on a gravel pathway, sip on the cola, soak all the information and let hedge-sparrows flirt with the breeze. Within minutes there are other Khans being kind and spewing information - how angry parrots peck the fruits, how naughty squirrels fatten every summer on mango juice and how the bhoonga insect is any orchard's most frightening nemesis.</span> <o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span class="dropcap" style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:black;">T</span></span><span class="bodytext" style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:black;">here is something very supercilious about Malihabad. You might call it conceit, but it really has no identity crisis; it has no uncertainty about its reputation. It is the mango capital of the country, within its 20 sq. km. radius grows about 700 varieties of mangoes that fetch roughly Rs 150 crores each season. Here you don't need to be beatified as an orchardist, everyone is born with a definite occupation - Thou shalt own an orchard! Ask anyone what makes it so special and the inevitable answer is: Mitti ka masla hai (it is all about the soil). So puffed up is its confidence that its most famous mango grower once got a letter from Jeddah that only had <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=xIpGNCfTOUc&feature=related">Kaleemullah Khan</a>, Malihabad, India, on the envelope. It is also all in a family. In Malihabad the same blood seems to run in everyone's veins; the blood of an <a href="http://navrasaafreedi.blogspot.com/">Afridi </a>Afghan called Fakir Mohammad Khan Sahib Goya who married 11 times and had 52 children. Not just the blood, all of Malihabad shares the same aroma too, on its street waft the whiff of mangoes - lush, luscious and blessed. </span></span><span style=";font-size:130%;color:black;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="bodytext1"><span style=";font-size:130%;color:black;" >They say a pilgrim's path is always strewn with perplexities. And so truly said. If you are a mango aficionado on a pilgrimage to Malihabad, carry a little forgiveness for the terribly rutted and mucky 35 kms from </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><st1:city><st1:place><span style="color:black;">Lucknow</span></st1:place></st1:city></span><span style=";font-size:130%;color:black;" >. If you don't roll the car windows up, you might soon look like a sack of Fuller's Earth and if you don't fasten the seat belt, a bone or two might just fall off. Add to all this, the beyond 42 degree Celsius heat. Stack water, patience and like me, if you are a stranger to Malihabad, stop anywhere and just ask for <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=xIpGNCfTOUc&feature=related">Haji Kaleemullah Khan</a> or Abdullah Nursery. That's where the mango narrative can begin and end and there would be no missing links.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="bodytext1"><span style=";font-size:130%;color:black;" >A non-descript muddy street leads straight into the Abdullah Nursery. There are no mustachioed, baton-wielding security guards; forget a gate, there is not even a barbed fence. You drive straight into the nursery where red plastic chairs and an old table await you. There's Afsak Ahmed too, a friend who also runs errands for <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=xIpGNCfTOUc&feature=related">Kaleemullah Khan</a>. Khan is not there, but before you blink Ahmed scampers on his rickety bicycle and returns with chilled cola. Meanwhile, Nazmi, Khan's son, is already showing the family's prized possession - the 90-year old tree on which grows 300 different varieties of mango. The sun is sharp and I scurry under the prized tree for a little shade. I perch myself on a gravel pathway, sip on the cola, soak all the information and let hedge-sparrows flirt with the breeze. Within minutes there are other Khans being kind and spewing information - how angry parrots peck the fruits, how naughty squirrels fatten every summer on mango juice and how the bhoonga insect is any orchard's most frightening nemesis. <o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="bodytext1"><span style=";font-size:130%;color:black;" >There were stories about how Khan's home was laden with trophies and citations. Shoaib Khan, Khan's nephew, is worried about the heat and takes us to Khan's home where the shelves are literally burdened with trophies and shields. A few minutes later Kaleemullah Khan walks in. The first thing you notice is his genial smile and good looks; the next he mesmerizes you with his mango tales and his metaphors about how mangoes are like human beings, each mango has innate virtues. Khan inherited the 20 acres of mango plantation from his father Abdullah Khan and years ago started experimenting with crops and breeds. On one tree he has nurtured 300 varieties of mangoes and that feat garnered him a place in the Limca Book of Records. He also refused an offer by the Iranian government to settle in </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color:black;">Iran</span></st1:place></st1:country-region></span><span style=";font-size:130%;color:black;" > and do what he loves - grow mangoes. Khan is not willing to leave Malihabad, it is his love; it is his fiefdom. <o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="bodytext1"><span style=";font-size:130%;color:black;" >Perhaps experimentation and an attractive smile are genetic with the Khans. Kaleemullah's younger brother Hamidullah who owns nearly 50 acres of mango orchards has slogged seven years to develop a late variety of mango that would yield fruits even in winter. Hamidullah has not christened the tree yet, but he dreams of a day when people would shiver by the fireplace and eat his special variety of mango in December. Like the elder Khan, he too smiles beatifically.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="bodytext1"><span style=";font-size:130%;color:black;" >Ask any mango purist from the North to choose one variety and he would invariably pick the Dussehri. It has dark flesh and takes its name from Dussheri, a small village about 25 kms from </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><st1:city><st1:place><span style="color:black;">Lucknow</span></st1:place></st1:city></span><span style=";font-size:130%;color:black;" >. The village's claim to fame is the original 300-year old Dussheri tree which some would have us believe was not planted by humans; it rose from the earth as a blessing. <o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="bodytext1"><span style=";font-size:130%;color:black;" >For centuries the tree has been the property of the Nawab of Lucknow and even now the fruits of this tree are picked and sent to the Begum who also owns the palatial Dussheri House. They are never sold in the market. This summer the tree was laden with at least 1,000 kgs of gorgeous fruits.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="bodytext1"><span style=";font-size:130%;color:black;" >There's more to the mango narrative than spraying insecticide and plucking the fruits. Much before the fruits ripen, the orchards are auctioned. I sat through an auction of 200 trees that began with a bid of Rs 50,000 and ended at Rs 1.33 lakh. Not for them the gavels on a mahogany lectern, the bids are screamed by a man whose decibel level can demolish a weak roof. He perhaps ends up with a sore throat every night because every day he screams for nearly 10 orchards and gets paid anywhere between Rs 200-500 per deal. Then there are the peti (box) makers, who buy mango timber for nearly Rs 100 a quintal, out of which they carve 10-15 petis, selling each for Rs 8-10. The carpenter who hammers 50 nails in each peti gets paid only 50 paise for the work! Sikander whose family has been in the business for three generations informs that each season they make about 15,000 boxes. Once the mangoes are packed, transporters like Kamaal Khan 'Guddu' rev their trucks and take the famous Malihabadi mangoes to various mandis, including Azadpur in </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><st1:city><st1:place><span style="color:black;">Delhi</span></st1:place></st1:city></span><span style=";font-size:130%;color:black;" >. Guddu alone ferries nearly 100 trucks to </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><st1:city><st1:place><span style="color:black;">Delhi</span></st1:place></st1:city></span><span style=";font-size:130%;color:black;" >; he is not the only one, there are 20 other transporters from Malihabad. It is after so much fuss that the mango finally lands on your dinner plate. Imagine that!<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;color:black;" >If you want to see Malihabad in its magnificence, go there between June 10 and 20. That's when the mangoes wear their fineries, scatter their scent and sway elegantly in the breeze. You might call it conceit; I would call it the closest approximation to ecstasy. <o:p></o:p><br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;color:black;" >Published in Swagat magazine, June 2005.</span><span style="color:black;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Dr. Navras J. Aafreedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10762024069009738799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2360138890182857040.post-74558041506078073922008-05-02T09:43:00.000-07:002020-11-04T04:23:32.251-08:00Malihabad's Israeli Connection<div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" id="test" name="test" style="color: black; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4EQP62v2mizn0WxmRDaA9HOgZxE0681pXbmlpMXXednNzk1Eex5zx7rZytc-7F9HLJJJTFHDLdZYcQZEnfRXZNn1fq4oTnccGCJAxECfyIzooYqmF2AWTLZts-K_c3LTv5GtIPensOLQ/s2048/DSCN5971.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1664" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4EQP62v2mizn0WxmRDaA9HOgZxE0681pXbmlpMXXednNzk1Eex5zx7rZytc-7F9HLJJJTFHDLdZYcQZEnfRXZNn1fq4oTnccGCJAxECfyIzooYqmF2AWTLZts-K_c3LTv5GtIPensOLQ/w406-h500/DSCN5971.JPG" width="406" /></a></div><br /> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" id="test" name="test" style="color: black; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/28194049.cms"><span style="font-size: 100%;">
Dr. Navras Jaat Aafreedi, </span><span style="font-size: 100%; font-style: italic;">Lucknow Times, The Times of India</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">, November 14, 2002</span></a></span> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" id="test" name="test" style="color: black; font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">Here’s a juicy bit of information for all those who thought Malihabad is only famous for its delicious mangoes. Dr Tudor Parfitt, a professor of Jewish Studies at the London University has taken up research on the resident Afridis in Malihabad in order to confirm their claims of Jewish descent through DNA tests.</span><span style="font-size: 130%;">
</span><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" id="test" name="test" style="color: black; font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"> Barely 25 kms from Lucknow, Malihabad enjoys a distinguished place on the national map for its delicious mangoes, but it is the presence of Afridi Pathans that grants an aura of <a href="http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/Page/IndexSpecials&cid=1211286166040">mystery</a> to it. It is said that the Afridis trace their descent to a lost Israelite tribe of Ephraim, forced into exile and oblivion in 722 BC by the Assyrians. Amishav (a Jerusalem based organisation, solely dedicated to the task of finding the lost tribes of Israel) wants the Afridis to migrate to Israel. Another Israeli organisation-‘Beit Zur’ too has welcomed them. Parfitt aims to fully confirm any doubts on the matter. </span><span style="font-size: 130%;">
</span><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" id="test" name="test" style="color: black; font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"> A lost tribes enthusiast as he was, Yitzhak Ben Zvi (Israel’s 2nd president and a prominent historian) interviewed Afghan-Jewish immigrants in Israel and drew information about a number of Jewish customs practised by the Pathans, and found many similarities between the Pathan code of honour-Pathanwali/ Pakhtunwali/Pashtunwali and the Jewish law-Mishna.</span><span style="font-size: 130%;">
</span><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" id="test" name="test" style="color: black; font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"> Afridi is a tribe that emigrated to the hill country from the eastern spurs of the Safad Koh (Afghanistan) to the borders of the Peshawar district inPakistan. A sprinkling of them settled in India in Malihabad and Qaimganj in 1761 when they came with Ahmad Shah Abdali to fight the Marathas at Panipat.</span><span style="font-size: 130%;">
</span><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" id="test" name="test" style="color: black; font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"> The origin of the Afridi is uncertain, but they themselves believe to be one of the lost tribes of Israel and call themselves “Ben-i-Israel”.</span><span style="font-size: 130%;">
</span><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" id="test" name="test" style="color: black; font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"> The Afridi claim of Jewish origin is supported by Jochanan Shareth of Amishav, headed by Rabbi Eliyahu Avichail. Shareth believes that Ephrain migrated to “Charah” or “Harah” (present day Herat in Afghanistan) in 336 AD, and were eventually converted to Islam by the invading Arabs in the eleventh of twelfth century.</span><span style="font-size: 130%;">
</span><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" id="test" name="test" style="color: black; font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"> The ethnic and etymological origin of the name “Afridi” is obscure. But there are some who connect it with the Persian “Afridan”, which means “newly arrived”, indicating that they were immigrants in the land where they got this name. </span><span style="font-size: 130%;">
</span><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" id="test" name="test" style="color: black; font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"> Indeed, the names of Pathan/Afghan tribes seem to echo those of the Israelite tribes:Afridi-Ephraim, Rabbani- Reuben, Levani-Levi, Shinwari- Shimeon, Yunim-Judah, Yusufzai-sons of Yusuf (Joseph). Old graves with Hebrew inscriptions have been discovered in Ehcharan, near Herat in Afghanistan. The graves date back to the 11th and the 13th century. There are a number of rock engravings in the ancient Hebrew script near the town of Netchaset in Afghanistan-Dar-al- Aman museum of Kabul, possesses a black stone with Hebrew inscriptions found in Kandahar.</span><span style="font-size: 130%;">
</span><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" id="test" name="test" style="color: black; font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"> It is all these links and more that have prompted Parfitt’s arrival in Malihabad. Using tools of modern science he attempts to rely on DNA sampling to finally ofrge as fact or bust the belief of the Afridis descent, once and for all.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" id="test" name="test" style="color: black; font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" id="test" name="test" style="color: black; font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><b>Lecture on the Tradition of the Israelite Origin of Pathans/Pashtuns:</b> <br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" id="test" name="test" style="color: black; font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/s5i3KxwBmKI" width="320" youtube-src-id="s5i3KxwBmKI"></iframe></div><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" id="test" name="test" style="color: black; font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" id="test" name="test" style="color: black; font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">Part 1</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" id="test" name="test" style="color: black; font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" id="test" name="test" style="color: black; font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bZf4dMG-crY" width="320" youtube-src-id="bZf4dMG-crY"></iframe></div> </span><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" id="test" name="test" style="color: black; font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">Part 2</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" id="test" name="test" style="color: black; font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" id="test" name="test" style="color: black; font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/R-MoEeJ4GJ0" width="320" youtube-src-id="R-MoEeJ4GJ0"></iframe></div> </span><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" id="test" name="test" style="color: black; font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">Part 3</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" id="test" name="test" style="color: black; font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2X95QfS63uU" width="320" youtube-src-id="2X95QfS63uU"></iframe></div><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" id="test" name="test" style="color: black; font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">Part 4</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" id="test" name="test" style="color: black; font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/omXNc0CSeHs" width="320" youtube-src-id="omXNc0CSeHs"></iframe></div><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" id="test" name="test" style="color: black; font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">Part 5</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" id="test" name="test" style="color: black; font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/a3NlJ_T6u9Q" width="320" youtube-src-id="a3NlJ_T6u9Q"></iframe></div><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" id="test" name="test" style="color: black; font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">Part 6</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" id="test" name="test" style="color: black; font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/j2Z-El7NsPk" width="320" youtube-src-id="j2Z-El7NsPk"></iframe></div><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" id="test" name="test" style="color: black; font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">Part 7<br /></span></div>Dr. Navras J. Aafreedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10762024069009738799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2360138890182857040.post-31279293983409185052008-05-02T09:32:00.000-07:002008-05-29T08:47:48.345-07:00In Pursuit of the Lost World<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1mq68Z7n1-D_jDHP0nAnp5AM8c3Gh4ctS7Y_xqbv5Ej4U24iIDe9WCE0jX0R94xIMRTbdCaofnW0UJInVc2k9RUfl8gDnevELYi6IOkrlBBGr9Ux6sjDYZRug1A7rPfVbzWIggnDALeY/s1600-h/Dr.Y.Egorova_Prof.T.Parfitt_and_Dr.N.J.Aafreedi.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1mq68Z7n1-D_jDHP0nAnp5AM8c3Gh4ctS7Y_xqbv5Ej4U24iIDe9WCE0jX0R94xIMRTbdCaofnW0UJInVc2k9RUfl8gDnevELYi6IOkrlBBGr9Ux6sjDYZRug1A7rPfVbzWIggnDALeY/s400/Dr.Y.Egorova_Prof.T.Parfitt_and_Dr.N.J.Aafreedi.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199146422660690626" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">From left: Dr. Yulia Egorova, Prof. Tudor Parfitt and Dr. Navras Jaat Aafreedi on their joint Malihabad expedition</span></span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/28302826.cms/">Agniva Banerjee, <span style="font-style: italic;">Lucknow Times, The Times of India</span>, November 15, 2002</a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;color:black;" >It was a hectic day. From the time he alighted from the Pushpak Express early morning, till 7:00 in the evening. In between there was a bumpy ride all the way to Malihabad, where it was quite an ordeal convincing 30-odd temperamental Pathans that giving mouth swabs would in no way interfere with their observance of the Ramzan fast. Still, there he was, 7:30 pm sharp, at the Taj Residency Bar for the appointment.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;color:black;" >Tudor Parfitt Professor of Jewish Studies at the <st1:placetype st="on">School</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Oriental</st1:placename> and African Studies, <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">London</st1:placename></st1:place>. Broadcaster, journalist, inveterate traveller and author of <i>The Lost Tribes of Israel </i>among other books and a string of bestsellers<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;color:black;" > "I became interested in Jewish studies in the mid-Sixties while I worked as a volunteer in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> at the age of 19. I fell in love with <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Jerusalem</st1:place></st1:city>, a spiritual place and a beautiful city," he says.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;color:black;" > A man of many pursuits, Dr Parfitt was in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Sudan</st1:place></st1:country-region> in 1984 when he found himself in possession of a journalistic scoop. "I discovered that the Ethiopians were working with the Sudanese secret police to get the Ethiopian Jews, called the Falashas, airlifted to <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region></st1:place> in a clandestine operation"<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;color:black;" > A front page article in The Times was followed by the book Operation Moses, the story of the exodus of the Falashas from <st1:country-region st="on">Ethiopia</st1:country-region> to <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;color:black;" > "A year later at a lecture in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Johannesburg</st1:place></st1:city> on this operation, I noticed some black people wearing Jewish skull caps. At the end of the lecture I talked to them and found they were a southern African tribe who called themselves Lemba and who staked claim to a Jewish heritage.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;color:black;" > "I found it hard to believe but found that their rituals and practices were essentially Semitic in character. They said they had come from the North and went to a place called Sena, and from there they came to <st1:place st="on">Africa</st1:place> via Pusela. I didn't know what that was. Neither did they but they kept saying Sena and Pusela."<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;color:black;" > That launched him on a journey that took him halfway across Africa to a remote corner in southern <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Yemen</st1:place></st1:country-region>. "There I did find this place called Sena! Later I corroborated their claims on the basis of DNA tests."<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;color:black;" > A similar pursuit brought him to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Lucknow</st1:place></st1:city> "I am here to collect DNA samples of the Afridi people who live in Malihabad. I didn't know that Pathans also lived in Malihabad, but this promising young man <span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://navrasaafreedi.blogspot.com/">Navras Jaat Aafreedi</a> </span>who's investigating into the <a href="http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/Page/IndexSpecials&cid=1211286166040">Afridi's Jewish connection</a> informed me about it."<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;color:black;" > Whether that connection is established or not, remains to be seen। But what all this research is leading to, is to establish the identity of several lost cultures in the world.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;color:black;" > "People are getting an identity they didn't have before. The Blacks were brought to continents other than <st1:place st="on">Africa</st1:place> as slaves. They lost their identity. But when some Black person in <st1:country-region st="on">America</st1:country-region> learns that his ancestors belonged to say the Euroba tribe of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Nigeria</st1:place></st1:country-region>, he derives a sense of pride from it."<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;color:black;" > Dr Tudor says, "Genetics for the first time is giving us incontrovertible evidence that racism is false. The modern world since the Second World War has been at great pains to put different cultures on an equal footing. But the idea that the differences between people should not divide humanity but be a cause to celebrate has mostly gone unappreciated. Post-WWII, the modern world concentrates on similarities. Biology and genetics are showing us that we are literally identical."</span><span style="color:black;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Dr. Navras J. Aafreedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10762024069009738799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2360138890182857040.post-10067252571712421662008-05-02T09:23:00.000-07:002008-05-16T01:16:32.057-07:00मलिहाबाद के रंगीन गुलिस्तान अलविदा<span style="font-size:130%;"><span>ऐ</span> <span>मलिहाबाद</span> <span>के</span> <span>रंगीन</span> <span>गुलिस्तान</span> <span>अलविदा</span><br /><span>अलविदा</span> <span>आये</span> <span>सरज़मीन</span>-<span>ए</span>-<span>सुब</span>’<span>ह</span>-<span>ए</span>-<span>खानदान</span> <span>अलविदा</span><br /><span>अलविदा</span> <span>आये</span>-<span>किश्वर</span>-<span>ए</span>-<span>शे</span>’<span>र</span>-<span>ओ</span>-<span>शबिस्तां</span> <span>अलविदा</span><br /><span>अलविदा</span> <span>आये</span> <span>जल्वागाह</span>-<span>ए</span>-<span>हुस्न</span>-<span>ए</span>-<span>जानन</span> <span>अलविदा</span><br /><span>तेरे</span> <span>घर</span> <span>से</span> <span>एक</span> <span>ज़िंदा</span> <span>लाश</span> <span>उठ</span> <span>जाने</span> <span>को</span> <span>है</span><br /><span>आ</span> <span>गले</span> <span>मिल</span> <span>लें</span> <span>की</span> <span>आवाज़</span>-<span>ए</span>-<span>जरस</span> <span>आने</span> <span>को</span> <span>है</span><br /><span>आये</span> <span>मलिहाबाद</span> <span>के</span> <span>रंगीन</span> <span>गुलिस्तान</span> <span>अलविदा</span><br /><br /><span>हाई</span> <span>क्या</span> <span>क्या</span> <span>नेमतें</span> <span>मुझको</span> <span>मिली</span> <span>थीं</span> <span>बे</span>-<span>बहा</span><br /><span>यह</span> <span>खामोशी</span> <span>यह</span> <span>खुले</span> <span>मैदान</span> <span>यह</span> <span>ठंडी</span> <span>हवा</span><br /><span>वै</span>, <span>ये</span> <span>जान</span> <span>बख्श</span> <span>गुस्ताहाई</span> <span>रंगीन</span> <span>फिजा</span><br /><span>मार्के</span> <span>भी</span> <span>इनको</span> <span>न</span> <span>भूलेगा</span> <span>दिल</span>-<span>ए</span>-<span>दर्द</span> <span>आशना</span><br /><span>मस्त</span> <span>कोयल</span> <span>जब</span> <span>दकन</span> <span>की</span> <span>वादियों</span> <span>मी</span> <span>जायेगी</span><br /><span>यह</span> <span>सुब</span>’<span>ह</span> <span>की</span> <span>छाओं</span>, <span>बगूलों</span> <span>की</span> <span>बोह</span>’<span>टी</span> <span>याद</span> <span>आयेगी</span><br /><span>आये</span> <span>मलिहाबाद</span> <span>के</span> <span>रंगीन</span> <span>गुलिस्तान</span> <span>अलविदा</span><br /><br /><span>कल</span> <span>से</span> <span>कौन</span> <span>इस</span> <span>बाघ</span> <span>को</span> <span>रंगीन</span> <span>बनाने</span> <span>आएगा</span><br /><span>कौन</span> <span>फूलों</span> <span>की</span> <span>हँसी</span> <span>पर</span> <span>मुस्कुराने</span> <span>आएगा</span><br /><span>कौन</span> <span>इस</span> <span>सब्जे</span> <span>को</span> <span>सोते</span> <span>से</span> <span>जगाने</span> <span>आएगा</span><br /><span>कौन</span> <span>इन</span> <span>पौदों</span> <span>को</span> <span>सीने</span> <span>से</span> <span>लगाने</span> <span>आएगा</span><br /><span>कौन</span> <span>जागेगा</span> <span>कमर</span> <span>के</span> <span>नाज़</span> <span>उठाने</span> <span>के</span> <span>लिए</span><br /><span>चांदनी</span> <span>रातों</span> <span>को</span> <span>जानू</span> <span>पर</span> <span>सुलाने</span> <span>के</span> <span>लिए</span><br /><span>ऐ</span> <span>मलिहाबाद</span> <span>के</span> <span>रंगीन</span> <span>गुलिस्तान</span> <span>अलविदा</span><br /><br /><span>आम</span> <span>के</span> <span>बाघों</span> <span>में</span> <span>जब</span> <span>बरसात</span> <span>होगी</span> <span>पुर्खारोश</span><br /><span>मेरी</span> <span>फुर्कात</span> <span>में</span> <span>लहू</span> <span>रोएगी</span> <span>चश्म</span>-<span>ए</span>-<span>मैं</span>-<span>फरोश</span><br /><span>रस</span> <span>की</span> <span>बूँदें</span> <span>जब</span> <span>उर</span> <span>देंगी</span> <span>गुलिस्तानों</span> <span>के</span> <span>होश</span><br /><span>कुञ्ज</span>-<span>ए</span>-<span>रंगीन</span> <span>में</span> <span>पुकारेंगी</span> <span>हवाएं</span> <span>जोश</span> <span>जोश</span><br /><span>सुन</span> <span>के</span> <span>मेरा</span> <span>नाम</span> <span>मौसम</span> <span>घम्ज़दा</span> <span>हो</span> <span>जायेगा</span><br /><span>एक</span> <span>मह्षर</span> <span>सा</span> <span>गुलिस्तान</span> <span>में</span> <span>बापा</span> <span>हो</span> <span>जायेगा</span><br /><span>ऐ</span> <span>मलिहाबाद</span> <span>के</span> <span>रंगी</span> <span>गुलिस्तान</span> <span>अलविदा</span><br /><br /><span>आ</span> <span>गले</span> <span>मिल</span> <span>लें</span> <span>खुदा</span> <span>हाफिज़</span> <span>गुलिस्तान</span>-<span>ए</span>-<span>वतन</span><br /><span>आये</span> <span>अमानीगंज</span> <span>के</span> <span>मैदान</span> <span>आये</span> <span>जान</span>-<span>ए</span>-<span>वतन</span><br /><span>अलविदा</span> <span>ई</span> <span>लालाज़ार</span>-<span>ओ</span>-<span>सुम्बुलिस्तान</span>-<span>ए</span>-<span>वतन</span><br /><span>अस्सलाम</span> <span>आये</span> <span>सोहबत</span>-<span>ए</span>-<span>रंगीन</span>-<span>ए</span>-<span>यारां</span>-<span>ए</span>-<span>वतन</span><br /><span>हश्र</span> <span>तक</span> <span>रहने</span> <span>न</span> <span>देने</span> <span>तुम</span> <span>दकन</span> <span>की</span> <span>ख़ाक</span> <span>में</span><br /><span>दफन</span> <span>करना</span> <span>अपने</span> <span>शायर</span> <span>को</span> <span>वतन</span> <span>की</span> <span>ख़ाक</span> <span>में</span><br /><span>ऐ</span> <span>मलिहाबाद</span> <span>के</span> <span>रंगीन</span> <span>गुलिस्तान</span> <span>अलविदा</span></span>Dr. Navras J. Aafreedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10762024069009738799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2360138890182857040.post-72452188456807028192008-04-29T08:59:00.000-07:002008-05-16T01:14:40.227-07:00A Nazm by Josh Malihabadi<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBDSPcQyzpQIEOuZRIsuP_rZbDK5WWJYoPvDIYxzyyectswIKZzIdJTbsG6FYL0Ez8wZDC4ISj4HfHr9RkmveCCjUTRDGMRhNKuqSNLidRim3SR_E7IgVn_lS1n-xOavDUUBdYHIJl68M/s1600-h/JoshMalihabadi.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBDSPcQyzpQIEOuZRIsuP_rZbDK5WWJYoPvDIYxzyyectswIKZzIdJTbsG6FYL0Ez8wZDC4ISj4HfHr9RkmveCCjUTRDGMRhNKuqSNLidRim3SR_E7IgVn_lS1n-xOavDUUBdYHIJl68M/s400/JoshMalihabadi.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194969752478048162" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">aye malihabad ke rangiiN gulistaaN alvidaa<br />alvidaa aye sarzamiin-e-sub’h-e-KhandaaN alvidaa<br />alvidaa aye-kishvar-e-she’r-o-shabistaan alvidaa<br />alvidaa aye jalvagaah-e-husn-e-jaanaN alvida<br />tere ghar se ek zindaa laash uTh jaane ko hai<br />aa gale mil leN ki aavaaz-e-jaras aane ko hai<br />aye malihabad ke rangiiN gulistaaN alvidaa<br /><br />haai kyaa kyaa nemateN mujhko milii thiiN be-bahaa<br />yeh khamoshi yeh khule maidaan yeh Thandi hawaa<br />vaae, ye jaaN bakhsh gustaahai rangiin fizaa<br />marke bhi inko na bhuulega dil-e-dard aashnaa<br />mast koyal jab dakan ki vaadiyoN me gaayegi<br />yeh sub’h ki chhaoN, baguulon ki boh’t yaad aayegii<br />aye malihabad ke rangiiN gulistaan alvidaa<br /><br />kal se kaun is baagh ko rangiiN banaane aayega<br />kaun phooloN ki hansii par muskuraane aayega<br />kaun is sabze ko sote se jagaane aayega<br />kaun in paudoN ko siine se lagaane aayega<br />kaun jaagega qamar ke naaz uThaane ke liye<br />chaandni raatoN ko zaanuu par sulaane ke liye<br />aye malihabad ke rangiiN gulistaaN alvidaa<br /><br />aam ke baaghon meN jab barsaat hogi purkharosh<br />meri furqat mein lahuu royegi chashm-e-mai-farosh<br />ras ki buundeN jab uRa dengi gulistaanoN ke hosh<br />kunj-e-rangiiN mein pukarengi hawayeN Josh Josh<br />sun ke meraa naam mausam ghamzada ho jayega<br />ek mahshar sa gulistan mein bapaa ho jayegaa<br />aye malihabad ke rangii gulistaaN alvidaa<br /><br />aa gale mil leN Khudaa haafiz gulistaan-e-vatan<br />aye amaniganj ke maidaan aye jaan-e-vatan<br />alvidaa ai laalazaar-o-sumbulistaan-e-vatan<br />assalam aye sohbat-e-rangiin-e-yaaraan-e-vatan<br />hashr tak rahne na dene tum dakan kii Khaak meN<br />dafn karna apne shaayar ko vatan ki khaak meN<br />aye malihabad ke rangiiN gulistaaN alvidaa</span>Dr. Navras J. Aafreedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10762024069009738799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2360138890182857040.post-27158647176044943042008-04-29T07:33:00.001-07:002008-05-16T01:43:38.080-07:00The Khans of Malihabad<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_myVBgCkVxnNz8d7z5zsBhNmw-4IW7mhO_EuzlBbd_GEBCkaVzw2RDKFKNQVHGYUZVlFpz2CsuHcDDegR7bw_7VWsYV42To2qOn4F2bwlh_U0O_AtzZbucI2lG0P2G2oC_Lo1hb2yVZ0/s1600-h/Malihabad,%2BIndia,%2BGoogle%2BEarth.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_myVBgCkVxnNz8d7z5zsBhNmw-4IW7mhO_EuzlBbd_GEBCkaVzw2RDKFKNQVHGYUZVlFpz2CsuHcDDegR7bw_7VWsYV42To2qOn4F2bwlh_U0O_AtzZbucI2lG0P2G2oC_Lo1hb2yVZ0/s400/Malihabad,%2BIndia,%2BGoogle%2BEarth.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194969185542365074" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKYFt1csiLEP1qTe_xUXNGD-zLbAO6DqRdYwniNfLQDwO8QpNxirc9b414YTAJw4j-rKhmP1fGXmOoOuVE8OpfHjVwSv4ck9SBZSNfHBlhQk7GFcfJnhFO2WywpoSNK6UkSJ47eqFifm0/s1600-h/Malihabad.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKYFt1csiLEP1qTe_xUXNGD-zLbAO6DqRdYwniNfLQDwO8QpNxirc9b414YTAJw4j-rKhmP1fGXmOoOuVE8OpfHjVwSv4ck9SBZSNfHBlhQk7GFcfJnhFO2WywpoSNK6UkSJ47eqFifm0/s400/Malihabad.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194968670146289538" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ajit Parmar, <span style="font-style: italic;">Probe India</span>, Vol. 7, No. 5, July 1985, pp. 56-61</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The distance from Lucknow is barely 25 dusty kilometers. But it transports you back in time by almost half-a-century. To an island of prosperity and fierce pride. Where a sense of history is as palpable as the sweet-sour tang of ripening mangoes - the fruit that has put Malihabad on the national map. Yet, the real flavour of Malihabad lies not its delectable safedas, but in the tradition-steeped lifestyle of its "masters". Men who are - and always have been - a law unto themselves. The inimitable Khans of Malihabad.</span><br /><br />The incident is still recounted with characteristic laconism by locals. As to how the hotheaded Nabi Sher Khan, pestered beyond endurance by a fly that favoured his left eye as a resting spot, smashed the eye out of existence. </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" >"Na rahegi aankh, na uspe makkhi baithegi,"</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> was the unassailable logic that prompted him to such drastic action. And then, when this worthy of true-blue Pathan stock was hospitalised, he proceeded to chew up the thermometer which the nurse kept popping into his mouth with irritating frequency. That he survived despite all this speaks volumes for his hardiness. But then, the Khans of Malihabad are a hardy lot. Hardy and hospitable. Their </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" >mehman-nawazi</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> has few parallels. Yet, scratch them, and you uncover a savage streak of violence. A wildness that has brought as much notoriety to Malihabad as it mangoes have brought fame.<br /><br />Stories abound of a time when no person travelling through the area was safe after dusk. When baraats returning from weddings were waylaid and the brides detained for the night for the pleasure of the local Khan chieftain or </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" >talukadar</span><span style="font-size:130%;">. Murder, loot and pillage were commonplace. The domination of the Khans was absolute. Nothing could take place without their approval. Nor could anything which was an affront to their shaan. In the time of Emperor Faruqsiyar, it is said, it became difficult to circulate Mughal currency in the area and realise tax from the locals because the Khans were opposed to it. Lieutenant-Governor Havelock, at one time considered an honoured guest by Muhammad Isak Khan, talukadar of Thari, had to flee for his life from Malihabad when he made the near-fatal error of telling his Pathan host that the area was a "stronghold of </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" >badmashes</span><span style="font-size:130%;">." For the proud Khans, for whom violence was a way of life, and bravery, strength and courage highly valued qualities, there could have been no graver insult.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" >"Yahaan taaqat ki puja hoti thi,"</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> says Khalid Yusuf, an influential - and controversial - figure in the community of 5,000 odd Khans that inhabit Malhabad today. His words carry a wistful ring. Almost as if he wishes it were so even now. A suspicion that is further enhanced by his subsequent statement: "I should have been born 200 years ago." But then, Yusuf like so many other members of his community, is an intriguing picture of contrasts - of a present dominated by a nearly four-century-old past.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Feudal heritage:</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> No doubt, time has been a great mellowing factor in the case of the Khans. Especially the past 25 years or so. Today they are a considerably subdued version of their brash Afridi Pathan ancestors. Literacy has made inroads into the area. Commerce with outsiders through the flourishing mango trade has softened their uncompromising demeanour. But a heritage as turbulent and intense as theirs cannot be expected to fade away as easily. The attitude of men like Khalid Yusuf bears testimony to this .<br /><br />A nephew of tennis ace Ghaus Mohammad and himself a former Ranjhi Trophy player, Yusuf preferred to return to the backwoods of Malihabad even after several years of exposure to life in cities like Lucknow and Calcutta. Now, he lives enconced in the dilapitated 52-room Kothi Amaniganj - waited upon by a few domestics, leading a life that echoes his feudal heritage. With his income of a couple of lakhs every year from his mango orchards, he could easily have set himself up in style elsewhere. Yet he has opted to stay among his own. And he is not the only one to have done so.<br /><br />It is a peculiarity of the Khans that it is only the rare exception among them that ventures forth into the "outside world" for long. Even those of the younger generation who go in for higher education - mostly at Lucknow or Aligarh - tend to return to Malihabad. Not that they lack a spirit of adventure. Its just that Malihabad alone offers an ambience wherein they can exist without having to give up the lifetsyle they are accustomed to. A lifestyle structured on values and customs that have endured for almost seven generations now.<br /><br />The Malihabad Khans claim to be direct descendants of one Baland Khan, an Afridi Pathan who came to the erstwhile Tonk state (in Rajasthan)from Afghanistan nearly 400 years ago. The association with Avadh - and Malihabad - began with his son, Faqir Mohammad Khan, who was given a commission in the Nawab's army at Rs. 350 by the then Wazir, Agha Mir. He soon rose to become its commander-in-chief and simultaneously, the Nawab's revenue minister. It was under him that the development of Malihabad as a mango belt began. He appointed men to taste and pick out superior varieties of the fruit - that till then, had been growing wild - and plant orchards of these throughout the area. Among the varieties thus evolved was the delectable safeda.<br /><br />Legend has it that the pick of the first batch of safedas was presented to Nawab Raisuddin Haider by Faqir Mohammad. The fruit so pleased the royal palate that the Nawab rewarded his commander-in-chief with a generous gift of gems. This led to the new variety being christened jauhari safeda. What followed is local history.<br /><br />Since the custom of the day, would have deemed it an "insult" had someone taken a sapling of the tree whose fruit had been honoured by the royal personage, the risaldar despatched his troops to burn down the grove of safedas. The charred soil was then irrigated with milk - till one sapling of the prized variety sprouted. This was the progenitor of Malihabad's prosperity. The seed which continues to sustain the descendants of Faqir Mohammad to this day.<br /><br />Mango trade: In peak season, more than 200 trucks with a minimum of 700 </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" >petis</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> - move out of Malihabad every day, carrying an assorted variety (nearly 80 different kinds) of mangoes to the far corners of the country. Nearly 90 per cent of the fruit goes to Delhi - from where is despatched to various centres. The annual turnover of the trade is of the order of Rs. 1 crore - with the individual income of the bigger orchard-owners touching around Rs. 12 lakh. This apart, some of the Khans are not averse to making a packet on the side through the drug-running.. The aroma of ripe mangoes is an effective camouflage for the smell of opium. And not too infrequently, truckloads of mangoes leaving the township are also said to contain a few </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" >petis</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> of "black gold".<br /><br />Assured of a comfortable income from their backyards, the Khans do not feel the need to look beyond the borders of Malihabad for additional resources. Which quite suits their insular outlook. And while they may have squandered away much of their substantial material inheritance indulging their expansive habits, their orchards and nerseries provided them with enough to keep up appearances. Despite personal disputes and differences - mainly over property - they remain a close-knit community, brooking no outside interference in their affairs. The gun still remains the final arbitrator in resolving most disputes - and in upholding their dominance over the area. Their women to continue to live in </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" >purdah</span><span style="font-size:130%;">. And marriages are solemnised strictly within the community - "to preserve the purity of our lineage," says Qavi Kamal Khan, 69, owner of the sprawling "mahal" made famous by Shashi Kapoor in his film Junoon.<br /><br />Qavi Kamal, however, does admit that there has been an erosion of the Khan' "Pathan culture", </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" >"Ab woh baat nahin rahi,"</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> he says. And the reason is not far to seek. With more and more of the younger generation going to cities for higher education, the urban influence was bound to manifest itself in their way of life.<br /><br />"Our youth are becoming Europeanised," laments Wali Kamal Khan, 67, younger brother of Qavi Kamal and a research felow of Lucknow University. "Values have begun to change, though as yet, subtly," he says. "Even the concepts of bravery and courage (highly prized qualities amongst the Khans) have suffered with the coming of </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" >kattas</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> (countrymade pistols), " says Tahir Yusuf Khan, a young advocate and owner of a flourishing nursery.<br /><br />The young, of course, are largely oblivious of the concern their ways are causing amongst their elders. But then, prosperity without occupation seems to have made them indolent. Even the educated among them who return to Malihabad find time hanging heavy on their hands. So most of them tend to while away the hours in their idle pursuits - mostly card games and drinking. While the latter maybe somewhat unexpected considering that they are Muslims. Khalid Yusuf clarifies that in the Khan tradition, </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" >"nasha haram hai, sharab haram nahin."</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br />So very little seems to have changed after all. And there are certain things which have not changed at all - like the Khans' </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" >mehman-nawazi</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> (hospitality) and their tradition of guarding with their lives anyone who seeks their protection.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Secular Outlook:</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> Wali kamal Khan relates that following the annexation of Avadh by the British, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah's wife, Hazrat Mahal, took refuge with the Khans at Mawai Basantpur for three days. When about 300 British soldiers reached Malihabad in her pursuit, they were massacred by the men of Mohammad Ahmed Khan, taluqdar of Kasmandi Khurd (and great grandfather of Khalid Yusuf). The site of the incident came to be locally known as Gumsena.<br /><br />Mohammad Ahmed Khan's prowess, it would seem, was not restricted just to the battlefield, but extended to his boudoir as well. It is said that at the time he died (in 1901), at the age of 79, he left behind some 30 wives - three of them pregnant - most of them half his age. According to Qavi Kamal Khan, the formidable Khan was in the habit of divorcing wives once they lost their youth and acquiring younger ones. He would, however, continue to give shelter to the divorced women in his "mahal" (palace) and would take care of their maternal needs. With so many women in his life, it was but natural for the man to be plagued by headaches. And when this happened, reveals Qavi Kamal, a pair of tongs had to be used to massage the </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" >talukadar</span><span style="font-size:130%;">'s head.<br /><br />Mohammad Ahmad Khan also seems to have been of a secular disposition. Following the Gumsena massacre, he expressed appreciation of his soldiers' (mostly Pasis) bravery by marrying a Pasi woman. What is more, he gave the son born of her two villages - Siraiwan and Faridipur.<br /><br />Secularism however, has always been a quality of the Khans. According to Wali Kamal Khan, the Hindus (present population around 6,000) and Muslims of the area "have always lived in complete harmony. Their relations are worthy of being studied." In fact, locals proudly proclaim "there has never been a communal conflict in Malihabad. "In this context, Khalid Yusuf relates the incident of a Pathan from Shahjahanpur being "banished" from Malihabad by Khan Bahadur Mohammad Yusuf - who succeeded Mohammad Isak Khan as talukdar of THari - when the "outsider" prevented a priest from ringing the temple bells.<br /><br />Such tolerance is attributed by Qavi Kamal Khan to assimilation of the "Avadh culture" by the "Pathan culture" of Malihabad. "Ours is aunit of the Avadh culture, and always has been," he asserts, "even though we had links with Afghanistan till 1940." What makes Malihabad Khans unique, however, is the fact that none of them left the country at the time of Partition. Besides, says Wali Kamal Khan, "no Pathan from Malihabad ever served under the British - unlike Muslims elsewhere in the country." And if the Khans can be said to have served anything, it is the land that has sustained their successive generations for centuries "Malihabad hamara khet hai," declares Qavi Kamal with pride. And a fondness that is reflected in the care and attention that the lovcal orchardists lavish on the trees that provide them with their livelihood.<br /><br />"The Pathan is constantly thinking of how to evolve new mango varieties and how to improve the existing ones," says Khalid Yusuf. "We ensure timely spraying of the of the crop to prevent disease from setting in. We use fertlisers. We have also developed a formulation to snsure flowering, and have been using it since 1976." Obviously, the Khans are conscious of their almost total dependence on their natural bounty. And they are doing their best to keep pace with the times by adopting modern techniques. What makes them bitter, howver, is the goverment's apathy towards the mango belt.<br /><br />Points out Tahir Yusuf: The government promulgated an ordinance for development of the mango belt before the 1984 byelection in Malihabad (in which the ruling party was trounced by the Rashtriya Sanjay Manch). But the ordinance lapsed without being converted into an Act." Local orchardists also complain about lack of irrigation and other facilities essential for promoting mango cultivation. No doubt, A Central Mango Research Institute has been set up in the area. But says Khalid Yusuf: "What benefits can we hope to get from an institute which canot even ensure the survival of its mango trees?' Another factor that is causing concern to the locals is the entry of "outsiders" in the mango trade.<br /><br />Come the mango season, and the orchards are sold off to these "outsiders" - usually buyers from Delhi - often for amounts as high as Rs. 20-30 lakh. Earlier, the buyers comprised almost entirely of local people. But now the "outsiders" have pushed up prices beyond the reach of most of them. "even the orchardists have suffered," complains Qavi Kamal Khan. "They get the least benefit, while the transporters and the buyers get the most."<br /><br />So the inevitable is happening. Since Malihabad was reluctant to go to the outside world, the outside world is coming to it. Not for the flavour of its mahals or it machismo. But for the money to be made from its mangoes. Commerce has breached the walls which had so far protected a proud heritage. For the first time in centuries, the fearless Khans are apprehensive.</span><br /></div>Dr. Navras J. Aafreedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10762024069009738799noreply@blogger.com3