Awaz the voice

Shimla In the wake of tourists from different parts of India rushing to the hills in Himachal Pradesh to ring in New Year, the state government and health department have issued directions to the local authorities in all districts to execute the COVID-19 protocols strictly to contain the spread of Omicron. "The trains on Kalka-Shimla heritage railway track are full to its capacity. The Railway authorities in Shimla are trying to implement the COVID-19 protocol amid the surge in Omicron cases" said Superintendent of Shimla Railway Station, Joginder Singh. "These days we have a good number of tourists; there is 95 per cent occupancy in trains. As far as the Omicron variant is concerned we are trying to follow the protocol. The passengers are happy and enthusiastic and they are following the COVID-19 guidelines. We are expecting this tourist season will provide a good business to all as we have full occupancy till January 10 and after that the snowfall will draw more touris

Saquib Salim As the year draws to an end, we have compiled a brief list of the Indian Muslims who have been in news during 2021. Danish Siddiqui  was a Pulitzer Award winning photojournalist from New Delhi, who was killed by Taliban while covering the war in Afghanistan. An alumnus of Jamia Millia Islamia, Siddiqui was one of the country’s most well known photographers who documented the Rohingya refugee crisis, Covid deaths and the Delhi riots to win several awards. In July 2021, Reuters assigned him documentation of the Afghanistan War as an embedded journalist with Afghan Special Forces. On July 16, Siddiqui was killed in action. Governments of India, USA, Afghanistan and United Nations expressed grief and shock on his death and thousands joined his funeral procession in Delhi. Also Read:  Danish was murdered in cold blood: senior journalist Dr. Shahid Jameel Dr. Shahid Jameel  is a world renowned virologist and is one of the leaders of India’s fight against Covid-19. The Covid-19 o

Kabul   The Taliban regime in Kabul is facing a virtual revolt from women for curbing their freedom and asking them to be always accompanied by a male relative while moving out of their homes.  Women on Tuesday staged protests in Kabul demanding the restoration of their rights and freedom.  According to TOLO News, several dozen women on Tuesday held a protest calling for their rights to ‘education, employment, and social freedom.’   They raised the slogans "we are the voice of hungry people" and "we are awake, we hate discrimination" and alleged the Taliban government is keeping them out of society by imposing curbs on their basic freedom – to work, to move around.   The women asked how is it possible for them to find a male relative to accompany them in an emergency and how will the relatives provide for their food “Pay our salaries so that we can eat.” Said women protesters. They said times have changed and today’s women can not be silenced,” said Wida, a protesto

Sabir Hussain/New Delhi Forty-four-year-old Nasar Thootha, a native of Perinthalmanna in Malappuram district of Kerala who once worked in a supermarket in Saudi Arabia, now plays the role of a good Samaritan for brides from poor families after he returned home. He started driving a taxi after he returned in March 2013 and was also involved in charity.  In March 2020, Nasar started what has come to be known as the Dress Bank project after being moved by the plight of many poor families who were struggling to buy costly bridal dresses and bear other wedding expenses. In a little over a year, he is thrilled by the roaring success of the Dress Bank project. “Under the project, about 200 brides from economically weak families were able to dress up for their weddings in bridal dresses that would normally have been out of their reach. There are no charges for the clothes that we give away,” he told Awaz-The Voice.   Nasar Thootha shows off a bridal at the Dress Bank.   Nasar leaned on social

Mansooruddin Faridi/Srinagar We all know Bangladesh as a country. However, in Kashmir, there is a village by that name. The Valley’s Bangladesh village is located in Aloosa tehsil of Bandipora, North Kashmir about 70 km from the capital Srinagar. Bangladesh is located on the banks of the picturesque Wular Lake, the largest freshwater lake in Asia. It’s thus situated amidst magnificent hills and overlooks a grandiose lake, commanding a beautiful and captivating view. How did this village, so far off from Bangladesh, get its name? This village has a connection to the 1971 Indo-Pakistani war.   Talking to Awaz-the VoiceAbdul Haleek Butt, Sarpanch of Jorimens, said that there was a war between India and Pakistan in 1971, in which Bangladesh became independent.   Meanwhile, a fire broke out in the village. Many houses got burnt to ashes, leaving the villagers homeless. After the incident, many people rebuilt their houses on the nearby vacant land and settled there. Residents of Bangladesh a

Ehsan Fazili/Srinagar   In restoring and conserving a dilapidated, abandoned, and decaying Church, the Srinagar Municipal Corporation has not only revived a place of worship for the handful of local Christians but also preserved Valley’s architectural heritage and traditions of harmony. The 125-year-old Saint Luke’s Church in Dal Gate area, close to the Lake by that name, will have its first mass for the devout on Christmas after 30 years. The carol singing happened at its online inauguration by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha. The church was built in 1896 on the southwest slope of Shri Shankaracharya Hill on top of which is located the famous Shiva temple.   According to Athar Aamir Khan, Commissioner, Srinagar Municipality, a lot of credit for the restoration of this building goes to local artisans who reworked the Khatamband ceiling of this church, a unique feature of local art. Khatamband is a roof made of designer wooden tiles. The church building is otherwise a Gothic structure. An insid

Ajit Rai Actor Ranbir Singh took five months of rigorous training at the Lord's Stadium in London, suspending all his other assignments, to play Kapil Dev, the captain of the Indian team that won the Cricket World Cup for the first time in 1983. Kabir Khan, director of the film '83' that captures the moments of the historic World Cup, said this in a special conversation during the Al Guna Film Festival in Egypt. The film is being released worldwide on December 24. Significantly, Kabir Khan was a member of the jury of the main competition section of the 5th Al Goona Film Festival (Egypt). Ajit Rai had a special conversation with filmmaker Kabir Khan for Awaz-The Voice in Cairo Poster of 83 How is the treatment of this film different from your previous films? This film is different from my previous blockbusters like  83 , Ek  Tha Tiger ,  Bajrangi Bhaijaan . This film will usher in a new era in Bollywood mainstream cinema. We could not use the video recordings of the 1983 Cri

Ehsan Fazili/Srinagar If you ask today young men and women in Kashmir about glazed earthen or  Roghane  pots, you are likely to see their blank expressions. This is not surprising since the art of glazing the terracotta pots had almost become extinct during the last four decades though earlier it was sold in shops.   The glazed pottery of Kashmir was loved by tourists and pilgrims as these were regularly sold around the places of worship and shrines in Kashmir, be it Jamia Masjid in Srinagar or the shrine of Sheikh Nooruddin Wali at Chrar-e-Sharief in central Kashmir, Budgam.   The credit of the revival of the glazed pottery goes to the 26-years old Mohammad Umar Kumhaar, belonging to one of the families of pot-makers, who are still carrying on this traditional art of clay pottery, from the Nishat area in Srinagar outskirts.   Mohammad Umar Kumhaar at his center; the glazed terracotta pots made by him (Right)   Ever since Umar graduated in Commerce from Srinagar’s Gandhi Memorial Colle