The Voice silenced

The Voice Silenced

(By Huma Sheikh)

The recording was done in 2003, a few days before his killing when Dad was singing to a group of students and family at our home in Kashmir.

My father Ghulam Nabi Sheikh had sung and recorded those songs during reyaaz (practice) at our Srinagar home. His voice shimmered with his passion for Kashmiri music.

The recording tape was unlike his singing recordings created at home or for his radio and television shows. It was not a monument to Dad’s recording ability. As Program Executive in Radio Kashmir Srinagar and previously as producer and singer, he could create a high-quality recording whenever he presented or dubbed a show on radio.

But in this recording, pauses, little chats, laughing and sometimes throat-clearing sounds accompanied the songs. They brought him to life six years after death had taken him away from us suddenly and mysteriously.

In the recording, I could hear Dad ask his students to recall a line for a new song as he sang and composed it. He paused to clear his throat in the middle of another ghazal and thanked his tabla player, who skillfully matched his harmonium tunes. He joked and joined others in laughing before he sang another song. And all this made the recording priceless.

The power of Dad’s voice and his singing versatility earned him a title “Mehdi Hassan of Jammu and Kashmir,” and his compositions carried him to greater heights. Dad spent almost 40 good years of his life in devotion to music in Kashmir. He was “Top Grade” artist of JK and his songs and compositions blended with contemporary tunes yet retained their melodic folk texture that touched people’s hearts.

He further honed his singing and musical abilities by creating a breed of singers in Kashmir, who all are now popular singers in the valley.

Dad began his musical career at the age of 14. From these early days, he would participate in singing competitions in and outside of Kashmir, often winning first slots. His first international visit as a teenage was to Bangladesh, where he received first prize in a singing competition. Around the same time, dad began singing for Yuvavani service of Radio Kashmir.

He would be at the same recording room as popular singers of their days like Ghulam Hassan Sofi, Raj Begum and Naseem Akhtar. Dad received first prize in youth competition in 1980 by the Cultural Academy, Srinagar.

Dad soon joined a cluster of singers like Shaheema Azad, Kailash Mehra, who had started their singing career way ahead of him. Singers like Aarti Tikko and Vijay Mala came around the same time as dad. He started singing and composing songs for Radio Kashmir’s General Service while mesmerizing thousands of Kashmiris with his wonderful voice. Dad marveled people with his singing performances across all states in India. He won “Grade A” singer slot in light music.

In 1983, Dad was appointed Music Composer in Radio Kashmir. After 1989 when Pandit Bhajan Sopori, who was Program Executive at Radio Kashmir, left Kashmir, dad overlooked radio’s Music section. During those tough years of turmoil, he created a large set of singers in Kashmir, who eventually got recognition in the field of music. Among them are Rashid Farash, Waheed Jeelani, Muneer Ahmed Mir and others.

As approved Music Composer by Music Audition Board, All India Radio, New Delhi, dad also composed songs in Urdu, Dogri, Gojri, Punjabi and Bengali among others.

Years into his stint as Music Composer, dad cleared Union Public Service Commission examination to serve as Program Executive in Radio Kashmir. Dad was awarded “Top Grade Singer” in light music for excellence in the singing of Kashmiri songs--the other “Top Grade Singer” in light music in the Valley is Begum Akhtar. Dad also won “D-I Graded Singer” award in light music (Urdu).

Dad served as member of the Advisory Sub-Committee for Kashmir Folk Music in Cultural Academy (1995-2003) and member of Program Advisory Committee of Doordarshan Kendra Srinagar (1986-88). Dad was also empanelled with Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).

But the voice is silent now. Today is the sixth anniversary of my father’s death, which is still a mystery.

My father was killed in 2003. He disappeared mysteriously from the train bound for Delhi from Jammu on the night of July 13 and was reported dead the following day by Punjab police. They claimed his body had been cremated. We only got his clothes and slippers and the ring and watch he was wearing.

The tragedy of his death has stuck with us and the ghosts of mystery haunt us as time passes. We have many questions but no answers. Dad’s death is a mystery and his killing didn’t linger with our Valley’s people, though he was renowned in Jammu and Kashmir.

We have questions about who killed him and what led to his death. We regret that the Jammu and Kashmir government couldn’t do anything to unravel the mystery. The luke-warm response of the government toward handling the case also adds to the lingering feeling every Kashmiri has that the people hardly have any power when it comes to dealing with cases that happen outside of state.

My father’s death is not the only case in the Valley; many tragedies have happened in Kashmir. At the end of the day, it is not the death of a person but a family. Over the course of six years, my mother has lost hope that her husband will ever come back and so have I and my siblings—a brother and sister.

What is more frightening for us is the possibility that the tragedy may not have happened. We just don’t know as we have never seen his dead body. “Someday, there will be a miracle when dad will knock on our door. We don’t stop thinking about it.”

China's capital city strives to clear skies

By Huma Sheikh
http://www.cctv.com/english/20090502/101057.shtml
BEIJING, April 30 (Xinhuanet) -- Clearing the skies has been a major cause for concern for Beijing. The capital city has recently put in place a new pollution limits regulation for cars in Beijing to control climate-changing gases. Thousands of cars a day add to the list of Beijing's millions of vehicles, setting the stage for more pollution and traffic jam woes. The capital city is the hardest hit by the sweeping number of cars and during the peak time, a five-kilometer stretch could take a passenger a couple of hours to cover it. The new traffic rule follows the earlier Olympic and post-Olympic restrictions on vehicles. In order to help improve air quality during the Olympics and Paralympics last year, Beijing restricted use of vehicles through a system based on odd, even numbers. The system, which was in place from July 20 to September 20 in 2008, allowed cars with even number as their last digit on the number plate to hit the roads on even number days while cars with an odd last digit number would run on odd number days. The rule applied to an odd-even license plate system alternately. The rules were, however not applied to public buses, taxis, long-distance transportation and police cars, fire trucks, ambulance, wrecking cars or Olympic-used cars. During the two-month period, the system helped limit 45 percent cars and cleared the skies. But as the ban was lifted on September 20, traffic jams resumed. The government, after Olympic regulations showed promise, came up with another six-month rule to cut release of climate-changing pollution, especially carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels. It adopted a regulation with relatively fewer restrictions. In post-Olympics car restrictions, from October 11,2008 to April 10, 2009, cars with number plates ending one or six were off the roads on Mondays, while those ending with two or seven on Tuesdays, three or eight on Wednesdays, four or nine Thursdays and five or zero Fridays. Weekends were free of the ban. The ban was effective from 6 am to 9 pm each day, excluding weekends. The ban also applied to government vehicles as 70 percent of them would take turns to run on roads on weekdays. However, it did not apply to police vehicles, ambulances, fire engines, buses, taxis and other public service vehicles. While the environmental protection regulation generated remarkable results-- removing more than a million vehicles from the streets each day--people were confused about the one-month rotation of the rules. In other words, a car owner who was off the roads on Mondays in the previous month had to drive on Mondays in the current month and the process rotated the same way throughout the six-month rule. The current rules, which took effect from April 10, 2009 and last a year, are designed to address confusion of people. Now a person can stick to his same off-day schedule for 13 weeks in a row than the four-week regulation previously while the number-based regulation will remain the same; cars with license plates ending with zero or five will be banned from the roads on Monday, plates ending with one or six on Tuesday, two or seven on Wednesday and so on.
There has been another change in the new traffic regulation. The ban will be effective from 7am to 8 pm on weekdays instead of the previous 6 am-9 pm rule.
The new rules are expected to take off the roads 20 percent of the city's 3.61 million vehicles each day, excluding on weekends.
"I felt like I saw the sky in Beijing for the first time during the Olympics. The sky would always be hazier in Beijing, but during the Olympics, I actually saw the blue sky. I liked it so much. It was such a visible and clear sky. I hope the government make the current rules as stricter as during the Olympics," said Pliny, a colleague of mine at Xinhuanet. Chris, another colleague, said the new rules are more convenient for people, especially for car owners. The two-hour relaxation from the previous regulation has given a chance to car owners to avail the time. In other words, they can enjoy early morning drive until 7 am and drive for a few hours after 8 pm.
"I am in favor of traffic rules in Beijing, given the terrible traffic situation here. It is a great relief from huge traffic jams, even though some car owners are troubled by the regulation," said Amy.
Karl said: " I fully support the current traffic rules. Although I don't own a car, seeing less cars on the streets while I walk down to my university and work place, presents a better picture of traffic management in Beijing besides providing a cleaner environment."
"I feel bad because I can't drive everyday now. But it is a wake up call for all of us, especially when climate change caused by gas emissions is increasingly threatening lives of people. It is high time that we all kept our environment clean and look for a chance to contribute to it in one way or the other," says a car owner.
Another car owner said: "before Olympics, I hardly realized how hard it was for people in public buses to travel amid serpentine line of cars. But when I started using public transportation it opened my eyes to the reality. The explosion in number of cars in Beijing is a major contributor to Beijing's hazier skies."

"Satisfying your taste buds in China"

By Huma Sheikh
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-04/14/content_11183997.htm
BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhuanet) -- When thinking of some fine dining experience, China comes to mind! The country offers great cuisines of the world cooked in myriad ways. You can find world's best platter on table in China and dine on foods you have ever eaten anywhere. China's unique variety of cuisines represents different customs and style based on different parts of China. For example, each province in China has different kinds of cooking style and specialties. Some of the best-known Chinese cuisines today are Cantonese, Shanghai, Mongolian-Shandong, Sichuan-Hunan and Beijing. The Beijing (Peking) duck is one of the national foods of China. The roast duck is the famous attraction of the visitors from across the world, which is served thin and crispy in a duck-shaped platter and sliced before diners by the cook.
While Northern food is a little spicy, Sichuan cuisine is highly spicy with peanuts as its special ingredient for most of the dishes. Hunan cuisine is also hot but with moderate use of chili pepper.
Mongolian food is served in large meat chunks to be eaten with Mongolian-style knife or else barbequed or roasted. Cantonese food is defined by its variety, the freshness of its ingredients and its delicate sauces and seasoning. Fruit, vegetables, and seafood, such as crabs, prawns, abalone, and squid, are its popular cooking ingredients.
Shanghai cuisines, on the other hand, are delicately seasoned. The special feature of Shanghai food is sugar -- more sugar is used in its dishes than in any other part of China.
Hot pot, a bubbling broth container simmering in the middle of the dining table, is a popular dish in almost every part of China. The meat is cooked in the hot water along with vegetables. Both together are then dipped in spicy sauces and condiments and eaten with round sesame buns.
Then there is another uniqueness found in Chinese cuisine.
A simple dish of spinach and eggs cooked in various styles tastes so different that you won't feel you just had eaten the same dish an hour ago in another restaurant. The knack of Chinese chefs for cooking wide range of specialties in different styles is amazing.
But it was different on this day!
Had it not for Mr Zhang, an overseas Chinese, who called the Aquatic Wildlife Protection Center (Guangzhou), the nurse shark would have found its place on the luxurious food menu of the China restaurants.
A Guangzhou restaurant had invited more than 70 clients to dine on a nurse shark on March 18. As the stage was set for the grand banquet, Mr Zhang informed the protection center and was even ready himself to donate ten thousand yuan to save the animal. The environmentalists intervened and recovered the nurse shark after shelling out 130 thousand yuan. The shark was kept for ornamental use for some time.
But due to the deteriorating health of the shark because of lack of quality water and food, it was not immediately released in the ocean. Guangzhou Ocean World provided the animal free medical service and kept the shark in a little pool during the observation. The shark was released a few days ago in the seawaters.
China has so much to serve to satisfy food cravings of people from across the world and the shark incident cannot cause much of the exuberance about the Chinese delicacies to evaporate. As the saying goes, "there are two great cuisines in the world -- the Chinese and the French. And the Chinese cuisine is traditionally much older than the French".

Out of my mind: A few observations in China

Huma Sheikh
(http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-03/31/content_11108050.htm)

Beijing, March, 31 (Xinhuanet) -- Working with people in Beijing who are living a life characterized by their humble behavior, rich culture and language has encouraged me to pour my mind out.
Chinese people, as I have mentioned in my earlier articles on Xinhuanet, are extremely hospitable. In fact, I should say I am overwhelmed by their ready-to-help approach; they are available any time you need them.
My visit to Beijing in November as a student and now as an employee is as "different an experience" for me as the two professions themselves. On the earlier occasion, my time (24 days) was split into different places to be visited in China, including Beijing. I traveled to four different places all across China, spending only a few days at each place, with Beijing an exception where I relatively spent larger amount of time. And as a result, receiving "superior treatment" from people in different places was obvious. A guest can expect a good welcome in the first place anywhere in the world. Things become, nevertheless, completely different when a person starts living and working with the same people at a newer place for a longer period of time.
A good relationship, I believe, doesn't often take longer to get bitter if people from different cultures lived together for a prolonged time-period. One of its reasons may be monotony; COM 'on; we need some change and really want to break out of the routine stuff!
But in Beijing, people have really proved me wrong. In fact, every time I come across my colleagues and friends, I get closer to them.
There are many things I like about China and its people and some have inspired me immensely. A few among them are unswerving determination and patience of the people.
The Chinese government has announced a 4 trillion yuan stimulus package to offset economic meltdown by boosting its domestic demand. The country is also keen to create jobs for the unemployed, especially for rural youth, that will help people to earn as well as to spend, thus generating revenue for the country to make up for their losses. The rescue package, which is 585.5 billion U.S. dollars, will be spent over the next two years to finance programs in 10 major areas, such as low-income housing, rural infrastructure, water, electricity, transportation, environment, technological innovation and rebuilding from several disasters, such as the May 12 earthquake, among others.
There has been a huge reduction in the illiteracy rate in China, the world's most populated country because of its strenuous efforts made in the past three decades. According to the United Nations Development Program Report 2007/2008, China's literacy rate stood at 90.9 percent.
Nonetheless, Chinese youth are building the capacity for use beyond their own country. They travel to faraway places to learn new things in order to expand their knowledge. They trust others and behave with integrity. Above all, they encourage others to act with them.
Amid economic, education and employment boom, Chinese youth have acquired the greatest amount of change in their interest. The development of their country has precipitated desire of the Chinese people to increase their bread of knowledge about different cultures and countries. I have seen almost 90 percent of the youth taking English classes either individually or in small groups given by some universities on weekends. Most of the teachers are from U.S. and the UK besides other countries. As Scott (my professor in U.S.) once said in the classroom, China in about a decade will have the highest number of English speaking people in the world. I indeed have no second thoughts about it. It is surely going to happen.
Apart from English, Chinese people are also learning other foreign languages such as German, Spanish, and French. In Beijing, there are approximately three specialized foreign language universities and ten in China. Other universities also offer foreign language classes apart from their coursework.
One of my Chinese colleagues is working so hard to make it to the electronic media. Xinhua News Agency has launched its audio and video channel and my friend's "amber like enthusiasm" is taking her to all places where she could hone her broadcasting skills in order to pass the audition. She yearns to acquire more skills to be able to do better in future and compete globally.
In a globalized world, individuals collaborate and compete globally. The competition, the dynamic force in globalization, calls for individuals to possess varied skills that would enable and empower them to go global. And in China, the youth is exactly answering the call!

Caffeine may reduce risk of skin cancer

Al-Jazeerah: Cross-Cultural Understanding
www.ccun.orgwww.aljazeerah.info
News, February 2009
Editor: Huma Sheikh
(http://www.aljazeerah.info/News/2009/February/27%20n/Caffeine%20may%20reduce%20risk%20of%20skin%20cancer.htm)

BEIJING, Feb. 27 (Xinhuanet) - - Caffeine may prevent skin cancer because it disrupts a protein called ATR-Chkl that could cause the damaged cells become cancerous, says a leading U.S. researcher.
Dr. Paul Nghiem, an associate professor of dermatology at the University of Washington in Seattle, said, "We have found what we believe to be the mechanism by which caffeine is associated with decreased skin cancer."
For the study, Nghiem's team looked at caffeine's effect on human skin cells in a laboratory that had been exposed to ultraviolet radiation. They found that in cells damaged by UV rays, caffeine interrupted ATR-Chk1, which caused the damaged cells to self-destruct. "Caffeine has no effect on undamaged cells," Nghiem said.
ATR is essential to damaged cells that are growing rapidly, Nghiem said, and caffeine specifically targets damaged cells that can become cancerous. "Caffeine more than doubles the number of damaged cells that will die normally after a given dose of UV," he said.
"This is a biological mechanism that explains what we have been seeing for many years from the oral intake of caffeine," he added.
But, Nghiem added, people shouldn't increase the amount of coffee or tea they drink to prevent skin cancer. "You are talking a lot of cups for a lot of years for a relatively small effect," he said. "But if you like it, it's another reason to drink it."
Nghiem has also been experimenting with applying caffeine directly to the skin. "It suppresses skin cancer development by as much as 72 percent in mice, and human studies are moving ahead slowly," he said.
It's possible that topical caffeine preparations might one day be used to help prevent skin cancer, Nghiem said. "Caffeine is both a sunscreen and it deletes damaged cells," he said. "It may well make sense to put it into a sunscreen preparation."
Dr. Robin Ashinoff, a dermatologist and clinical associate professor of dermatology at New York University's Langone Medical Center, however, thinks these findings need to be verified before they can have any clinical application.

A Kashmiri in Beijing

Huma Sheikh
(http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-03/11/content_10992587.htm)

In less over three months, Beijing never looked the same; perhaps it was the excitement about being in China for the first time. The "unusual feeling" kept me from exploring Beijing and extensive travel across China and living in five-star hotels also played its part. The sudden November cool in Beijing was another reason not to venture out, especially after coming from warmer Honolulu, Hawaii.
In November last year, Beijing, nevertheless, presented to me a "HOME-Like" picture; people talking in groups on roadsides, horn-blaring traffic sounds, jammed roads looked like Delhi, the national capital of my native country, India. The scene gave the impression of being in a neighboring Asian country, which has similar aspects to that of India. But, having come from USA-- a place of an entirely different set up -- and not from India at the time, I felt like feeling that way was inevitable. I was traveling to China from the U. S. and being in another developing country after having spent months in the developed country, Beijing was obviously to replicate Delhi.
But now things are quite different. Currently, I am neither a visitor nor a student on a field trip to Beijing.
On Feb 23, 2009, I joined the website of Xinhua News Agency and as time slipped by I realized my first impression about Beijing was absolutely realistic. I was right. Working as a journalist at Xinhua portal gave me a chance to know how it was like working in Beijing and living like a Beijinger. A routine work schedule, organizing time and shuffling between appointments at home and workplace was drawing me closer to China, the fastest economy of the world. The other advantage was sharing an apartment with a Chinese couple and knowing more about their culture and lifestyle. The home sharing, nevertheless, followed the two-day frantic search and thanks to my cousin and his friend who helped me to find the accommodation.
Living in Beijing was like living in New Delhi. Both China and India have so much in common culturally and both share the same social, moral values and respect for elderly, reflecting their common practices that have traditionally been followed by Asians for centuries. A crowded subway with widespread working class crowd was another shared feature.
China and India share economic, military and diplomatic ties and over the years both the countries--as emerging economies-have attempted to strengthen bilateral ties.
The Sino-Indian cultural history dates back to the first century when Buddhists from India transmitted to China. Even the Indian epic Mahabharata contains references to China, indicating their relation from the 5th century BC.
It was amazing to hear "culturally-embedded" similar "words of wisdom" from one of my colleagues, who said the other day: "My parents always ask me to get married and I tell them I would get soon. My concern is not the marriage but additional responsibilities. You have the responsibility of your wife and her parents too. I am marrying a girl and her family becomes my responsibility and their care my liability. My understanding is when I am economically sound, I should go ahead and tie a knot."
"We must draw on the achievements of all cultures, but the culture of respecting elderly and their decision that was honed since centuries is still the same for Chinese people. We are modern like any other western country but when it comes to marriage, parents have the upper hand in decision-making. I have a love marriage and my parents supported my decision. We still believe in conventionalism," said my friend, adding "conventionalism appeals and further intensifies adherence to cultural norms.''
Her words mirrored Indian culture and the fact that cultural determinism stays with us, however modern and contemporary we have become.