Society Scenes 8212; Pune

Ashoora observedMuslims across the city participated in a procession that took place on April 27 and which marked the solemn occasion of ...

Ashoora observed
Muslims across the city participated in a procession that took place on April 27 and which marked the solemn occasion of Ashoora, the tenth day of Moharrum. Several Tazias and panjas were part of the procession. It commemorates the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain. Hazrat Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Mohammed was slain with 74 members of his clan at the Battle of Karbala. Moharram also indicates the start of the first month of the Muslim calender.

A common ground
Vighaneshwar Vishwanath Sanstha was formed in September 1998 in Sanjay Park, with the idea of creating common ground through cultural and social functions, for the different communities living in the colony. The idea to build a temple had come up more than three years ago and it was made concrete with the formation of the trust. This first action was to create a spiritual atmosphere through the construction of a Ganesh Temple. Help came from all quarters of the community and eventually the temple was completed in six months. The Ganesh idol was brought from Rajasthan and was installed at the temple, with due ceremony, by Shankaracharya from Karveer Peeth on May 2. People like Rambhau Moze, MLA, and corporator John Paul, who have been an active force in the development of the Trust, were present at the function. The idol was to be installed between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. In the evening bhajans were sung.

Seminar on Urdu journalism
A two-day seminar on Urdu Journalism took place at the Anglo-Urdu Schools on April 29 and 30. It was organised jointly by the National Council for the Promotion of Urdu Language and the Maharashtra State Urdu Academy. The Haji Ghulam Mohammed Azam Educational Trust provided the venue and the Deccan Muslim Institute and Research Centre provided other assistance. This seminar coincides with the 25th year of the Maharashtra State Urdu Academy. The chief guest for the occasion was Anil Deshmukh, State Minister for Cultural Affairs and Vice President of the State Urdu Academy. The Director of NCPL, Dr. Hamidullah Bhat was also present at the conference. This is the third such All India Conference. Ten representatives from 13 State Urdu Academies have participated in this seminar with the view to promote Urdu language. One of the discussions revolved around Urdu journalism in the post-Independence era and in the new millennium, in light of modern technological developments.

French to Marathi
Poet and translator Meera Gunari presented her latest work Saal Padsaad, the Marathi translation of French poems. Her collection spans the work of French poets over six centuries. Her work was supported by the Embassy of France, New Delhi. The ceremony was held in the amphitheatre of Fergusson College. It was chaired by Head of the French Department, Ranade Institute, Surekha Kher. The editor of Saal Padsaad, Aniruddha Kulkarni, Continental Prakashan, was enthusiastic about the growing interest in French literature. Continental Prakashan is already responsible for the translation of English and German works into Marathi.

The chief guest was Samy Bouakaze, representative of the French Consulate in Mumbai. He declared his pride at the fact that French poets Hugo and Verlaine had taken a place along side Maharashtrian poets Keshavsut and Kusumagraj. Also present at the function was Director, Alliance Francaise de Poona, Evelyne Delorme-Beraud.

The poems were read in French and then recited in Gunari8217;s Marathi translation. Several poems had also been put to music and were sung by French professor Umashashi Bhalerao.

Health talk
More and more people are turning away from traditional systems of medicine and looking for alternatives. This is particularly in the case of illnesses such as cancer and AIDS where there are no fool-proof cures. In such an environment, the Rotary Club of Pune Riverside hosted a one-day seminar on Complementary System of Healing on May 2 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Subjects like holistic healing, pyramids, pujo and accupressure, mudra therapy, vastu and feng shui and magneto therapy were addressed. Participants were provided with breakfast, lunch and refreshments. Talk on VermicultureTry Vermiculture, it will cut your household waste in half! Let earthworms do the hard work for you. This is the message that Sheila Christian, vice-president, National Society for Clean Cities, will be giving on May 5 during a talk and demonstration on Vermiculture 8211; How to Turn Garbage into Manure8217;. The talk, organised by the Senior Citizen8217;s Welfare Organisation, will be held at the Sadhu Vaswani Hall, Mira Society, Salisbury Park at 5 p.m. Non-members can also attend this talk for a nominal fee of Rs 5.