Art/Culture

औरतों का मासिक धर्म, सेहत और रमज़ान

Art/Culture

अफ़शां खान ‘जानमाज़ मत छूना… क़ुरआन से दूर हटो… अपने कपड़े अलग धो लेना… तुम्हारा रोज़ा नहीं, लेकिन सबका है, इसलिए छुपकर खा लो…’ क्या...

Remember Asma Mohammed Rafi from Oman? She’s back

Art/Culture

By Kavita Bajeli-Datt, IANS, Muscat : Until a few months ago she could barely string together a sentence in Hindi. Now Omani girl Asma Mohammed Rafi, who won many Indian hearts on a music reality show on TV and rubbed shoulders with top Bollywood faces, is back for a second stint. The beautiful 18-year-old, whose faltering, funny sounding Hindi made her a rage on the "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge" last year, is on a two-year contract with Zee TV which produces the show.

Jaun Elia: A Concealed Philosopher Poet

Art/Culture

By Mohammad Suhail Yeh hai ek jabr Ittefaq nahi Jaun hona koi Mazak nahi (This is a hardship, not the coincidence Being Jaun is not a joke) (Jaun Elia) Mostly...

नोखा: जानिए एशिया की सबसे बड़ी मोठ मंडी को

Art/Culture

अफ़रोज़ आलम साहिल, TwoCircles.net नोखा (राजस्थान): दलित छात्रा डेल्टा मेघवाल की मौत ने राजस्थान के बीकानेर जिले के नोखा शहर को चर्चा में ला दिया...

पढ़िए गौहर रज़ा की वह ग़ज़ल, जिसके लिए जी न्यूज़ ने उन्हें देशद्रोही साबित...

Art/Culture

TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter नई दिल्ली: शायर गौहर रज़ा भी मुल्क में फ़ैली देशद्रोह की फिज़ा से अछूते नहीं रहे. हालांकि यह फिज़ा मुल्क में जितनी...

Kerala to pay tributes to Shaikh Zainuddin Makhdoom

Art/Culture

Fifty seminars on his book ‘Tuhfat Ul Mujahidin Fee Akhbaril Burthugaliyeen’ to mark the celebrations that start after Ramadan By Shafeeq Hudavi,...

UP Government confers Yash Bharti award to 46 people, list includes nine Muslims

Art/Culture

By TCN Staff Reporter Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh's highest honour Yash Bharti award was given to 46 personalities on Monday. Among them, nine Muslims were conferred...

Mappila culture: A harmonious mix of Arab and Kerala traditions

Art/Culture

By Kashif-ul-Huda, TwoCircles.net TCN Malabar series: Part 7

Master Qawwal Jani Babu Is No More

Art/Culture

By Ayub Khan, TwoCircles.net

Mumbai : Yesterday year's famous Qawwal Jani Babu passed away in Mumbai on 28th January at the age of 73. Syed Jan Muhammad, who acquired fame as Jani Babu, was born in 1935 in the town of Hingan Ghat near Nagpur.

Zikir-Zari mahotsav organized at Sivasagar in Assam

Art/Culture

By Dr. Syed Ahmed, for TwoCircles.net ,

Pulianthope: Muslim-dominated area in Chennai faces marital insecurity

Art/Culture

By Shafee Ahmed Ko, TwoCircles.net, In Chennai, thickly populated Muslim areas such as Pulianthope, Triplicane and Royapettah are considered very important. Pulianthope is an area once thought to be very sensitive for communal disharmony especially during Hindu festivals Vinayaga Chaturthi and the Ganesh Utsavs. Decades ago these were causes for communal flare-up. Nowadays this Muslim dominated area is rampant with broken marriages even when there is improvement in their educational, social and economic condition and there is low graph of crimes.

Texas doctor demands “retribution” after Kashmir Files film

Lead Story

The film has incited widespread calls for anti-Muslim violence. Pieter Friedrich | TwoCircles.net UNITED STATES — “Retribution,” declared Rajiv Pandit, a doctor based in Dallas, TX,...

Shah Jahan’s 353rd death anniversary observed at Taj Mahal

Art/Culture

By IANS, Agra : Mughal emperor Shah Jahan's 353rd urs (death anniversay) is being celebrated at the Taj Mahal here with prayers for ending terrorism. The three-day celebrations began Tuesday with customary fanfare and rituals. Entry to the 17th century monument of love build by Shah Jahan for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal is free from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the urs days. Authorities have made "foolproof" security arrangements to ensure orderly conduct of the urs and crowd management.

Almost 60 years later, Deekshabhoomi continues to draw Ambedkarites

Art/Culture

By Nivedita Khandekar Nagpur (Maharashtra): Hemlata Sontakke, 60, was too young to remember the epoch making event she had attended with...

Lucknow Zardozi Artisans Are Hanging By A Thread

Art/Culture

Hasan Zia Rizvi | Twocircles.net Lucknow has carved out a niche for the world-famous art form of Zardozi. In recent years, the art form has...

Mazars in Malda reminder of advent of Islam in Eastern India

Art/Culture

By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net TCN series on Malda and Murshidabad : Part 2

This Muslim-run NGO run in Hyderabad helps women build sustainable livelihoods

Lead Story

SAFA is an NGO that has changed the lives of thousands of women from poor economic groups in Hyderabad and given them hope...

Bengali actor Subhendu Chatterjee dead

Art/Culture

By IANS

Kolkata : Eminent Bengali actor Subhendu Chatterjee, who essayed significant roles in films of maestro Satyajit Ray, passed away in a city hospital Thursday night. He was 71.

Wali Gujarati: Father of Urdu poetry

Art/Culture

By Kashif-ul-Huda, TwoCircles.net, There are disputes over when and where Urdu poet Wali Gujarati was born and when he died. But what is not in dispute is Wali’s contribution to Urdu poetry. Also not in dispute is when and why his tomb was razed to the ground and road built over it.

Nazir Hussain: From INA to Bollywood

Art/Culture

By Danish Khan,

Popular calligraphy artist from Kerala aims to ‘build bridges between communities with his art’

Lead Story

A graphic designer by profession, Abdul Kareem, who is popularly known as Kareemgrahy, left his job at an American company in Qatar last...

Sunil Abhiman Awachar: An inimitable voice in Dalit poetry and painting in contemporary India

Art/Culture

Dr Sunil Abhiman Awachar is clearly an antithesis to discourse on contemporary Indian art. By Yogesh Maitreya, TwoCircles.net, New Delhi: Dr. Sunil Abhiman Awachar is well known as a poet and painter, also an assistant professor with the Department of Marathi in University of Mumbai. Meanwhile, he is full time activist in dalit human rights movement. He has published four anthologies of poetry, all in Marathi, that include ‘Global vartamanachya kavita (2008)’ ‘Mi mahasattechya darashi katora gheun ubha rahanaar nahi,’ ‘Bravo! Fox minds of capitalist’ and ‘Poems of the occupied everything’.

Renowned Urdu poet from Patna Dr. Kalim Ahmed Ajiz is no more

Art/Culture

By TwoCircles.net staff reporter, Patna: Renowned Urdu poet and the recipient of Padma Shri, Dr. Kalim Ajiz passed away on Sunday in Hazaribagh, Jharkhan. He was 90 years old. He was currently serving as the Chairman of the Urdu Advisory Committee, Government of Bihar. The author of several books on poetry Dr. Ajiz was a retired professor of Patna University.

From Adversity to Prosperity: How Shakeela’s Rug Weaving Initiative Transformed Rural Women’s Lives in...

Art/Culture

Pavan Kumar Maurya, TwoCircles.net Chandauli (Uttar Pradesh): Shakeela Bano’s journey from a housewife to an entrepreneurial inspiration in her village, Katsil in Sakaldiha Tehsil, is...

These Muslim artisans in Jaipur are preserving traditional art-form of Gulal Gota for celebrating...

Lead Story

Dozens of Muslim artisans in Jaipur have kept the 400-year-old traditional art form of Gulal Gota alive. Tabeenah Anjum | TwoCircles.net JAIPUR — The narrow lanes...

“Kesari”and “21 Sarfarosh” – a highly fictionalized ode

Art/Culture

By Misbahuddin Mirza Those familiar with America’s Civil Rights movement will tell you that African-American slaves were unofficially divided into two groups – ‘the field...

Zulfiqar – An attempt to negatively stereotype Muslims

Art/Culture

By TwoCircles.net staff reporter Kolkata: Otherization of Muslims in movies is nothing new but a recent Bengali movie went over the top in its negative...

MANUU launches its tarana written by Gulzar

Art/Culture

By TCN News, Hyderabad: The Directorate of Distance Education auditorium at Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) came alive with a musical ceremony on Friday to launch the university’s tarana (song), which is written by famous writer, poet and Bollywood lyricist Gulzar.

“I want to break the othering of Indian Muslims in media,” says film-maker Fahim...

Lead Story

In this free-wheeling interview, filmmaker Fahim Irshad of Aani Maani fame talks about the depiction of Indian Muslims in media, film, and society and...

A book by this Dalit author has left RSS fuming

Art/Culture

The 72-page book on RSS by a Dalit writer Devanur Mahadeva from Karnataka criticizes the right-wing Hindu nationalist party and is hitting record sales...

‘उदास नस्लें’ और अब्दुल्ला हुसैन

Art/Culture

जावेद अनीस उर्दू के शीर्ष उपन्यासकार अब्दुल्ला हुसैन का 7 जून 2015 को 84 वर्ष की उम्र में देहांत हो गया, वे लम्बे समय से...

Remembering Qurratulain Hyder : The fierce, unapologetic and bold Urdu writer

Art/Culture

By Sharjeel Usmani for TwoCircles.net The Union Hall building of Aligarh Muslim University Students’ Union (AMUSU) is buzzing with supporters of the newly elected...

Rooh Afza – the favourite sharbet is back in the market

Art/Culture

By Nikhat Fatima, TwoCircles.net Of late the favourite refreshing cool drink in almost every household during summers has been unavailable in the market giving rise...

हमारा हिजाब ही हमारी ताकत,देश भर की मुस्लिम लड़कियों ने बुलंद की आवाज़

Art/Culture

सिमरा अंसारी। Twocircles.net इलाहाबाद निवासी सारा अहमद सिद्दीकी हिजाब पर प्रतिबंध को इस्लामोफोबिया की संज्ञा देते हुए कहती हैं, ये जेंडर इस्लामोफोबिया है, इससे...

In the office of Kolom, a Kolkata-based newspaper, Hindus join Muslims for Iftar

Art/Culture

By Mirza Mosaraf Hossain, TwoCircles.net Over the last two years, starting from the inhuman killing of Akhlaq to the recent lynching of Pehlu Khan in...

‘Aaj rang hai’ – Qawwali revisited

Art/Culture

From Khanqahs to the auditorium; from shrines to international pop charts, from spirituality and devotion to entertainment – the qawwali has travelled far and wide in its 700 year journey.

Bhavna Talwar’s ‘Dharm’ goes to Cannes

Art/Culture

By Arpana

IANS

New Delhi : When a journalist decides to make a film, it has to be different, close to reality and an eye opener. That's exactly what scribe-turned-director Bhavna Talwar tries to achieve with her debut movie "Dharm" which will be premiered at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival.

औरंगज़ेब और दारा शिकोह की पारंपरिक छवि बदलने की कोशिश है ये नई किताब

Art/Culture

यूसुफ़ अंसारी, twocircles.net जब कभी मुग़ल काल के बादशाहों का ज़िक्र होता है तो औरंगज़ेब और दाराशिकोह बरबस ही एक आमने-सामने खड़े दिखते हैं। तीसरा...

Odisha’s applique artisans are struggling to conserve this 12th century traditional artform

Lead Story

Once known as the hub of applique works in Odisha, a market in Chandua has lost its shine with most of the shops selling...

Haryana announces Rs.21 lakh for L’il Champs contender Salman Ali

Art/Culture

By IANS,

Is Urdu journalism dying in India?

Lead Story

With decreasing readers and lack of capital driving the news content, Urdu journalism in India is staring at an uphill task to compete...

Nagpur keeps alive its unique ‘Marbat’ tradition

Art/Culture

By IANS Nagpur : Thousands of people here Tuesday participated in the annual 'Marbat' processions, organised to ward off social evils. Dressed in traditional attire, men carried clay idols of deities daubed in yellow and black and chanted 'Ida, pida gheun jaa ge Marbat' (Take away social evils and human miseries) after their women worshipped the idols. Famous all over India for its oranges, Nagpur has kept alive this exclusive tradition dating back to the 19th century when the Bhonsla dynasty ruled.

Breaking faith barriers, Shia Muslim artists create Hindu wedding mandaps

Art/Culture

(IANS Special Series) By Archana Sharma Jaipur, July 8 (IANS) For centuries, their creations have been used in sombre processions to commemorate and reconstruct the narrative of...

How Tamil filmmaker Pa Ranjith is bringing marginalised into the mainstream

Art/Culture

The brain behind several hit films in Tamil, Pa Ranjith is forcing us to confront caste in all its complexities. Smitha R | TwoCircles.net NEW DELHI...

Urdu poet Hanif Akhgar Malihabadi is no more

Art/Culture

By Afzal Usmani, “Jo hai Taazgi meri zaat mein, wahi zikr-o-fikr chaman mein hai Ke wajood mera kaheen bhi ho, meri rooh mere watan mein hai “ (Hanif Akhgar Malihabadi)

A new documentary challenges notions of mainstream anti-caste movement

Art/Culture

Caste-ing Space raises serious questions about the prevalence of caste in social spaces and underlies crucial concerns in anti-caste circles. Muhammed Nihad PV | TwoCircles.net KERALA — A...

Hyderabadi culture celebrated in Mississauga

Art/Culture

By TCN News, Toronto (Canada): Hyderabadi culture, in all its dazzling glory, was in full display at the annual Mehfil-e-Hyderabad gala event held on June 19, 2010 at the Versailles Convention Center in Mississauga. There was music, authentic Hyderabadi food, speeches, a raffle featuring round trip air tickets to Hyderabad from Etihad Airways, and above all great company.

अजमेर के हिन्दू दुकानदार मानते हैं उन पर है गरीब नवाज की रहमत का...

Art/Culture

अजमेर में ख़्वाजा गरीब नवाज दरगाह स्थानीय नागरिकों को आर्थिक रूप से सक्षम बना रही है। इनमे दुकानदार ज्यादातर हिन्दू समुदाय से आते हैं।...

बिहार के गरीब स्कूल की रंगीन कहानी

Art/Culture

TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter बोधगया(सुजाता) - आज कोई व्यक्ति नहीं, कोई शख्सियत नहीं न कोई संस्थान जिसे हम मिसाल की तरह पेश करना चाहते हैं. ऐसे...

Building to mark Mahatma Gandhi’s visit to Chhattisgarh

Art/Culture

By IANS, Raipur : The Chhattisgarh government has announced construction of a multi-storeyed building, which will house a library, an emporium and portraits of Mahatma Gandhi, to mark his visit to Raipur, now the state capital, in 1920. The building, to be constructed at a cost of Rs.20 million, will come up in the Kankali Para area, on a 1,560 sq metre piece of land. Mahatma Gandhi visited here during his trip to the area Dec 20, 1920 to build up the movement against British rule. Officials said the government sanctioned Rs.5 million to begin the construction work on a war-footing.

An epoch-making Urdu bibliography

Art/Culture

By Dr Omar Khalidi Dr. Anwar Moazzam, former professor of Islamic Studies at Osmania University in Hyderabad, Deccan, India and Ashhar Farhan, an info-technologist and entrepreneur has compiled a massive, epoch-making bibliography of works in social sciences in Urdu. Dr. Moazzam launched the project way back in 1976, under the auspices of Indian Council for Social Science Research and National Council for the Promotion of Urdu Language, both institutions funded by the union government of India in New Delhi.

Book review: Loknath Yashwant’s Broken man might be too hard-hitting for ‘Ghalib’ fans

Art/Culture

By Siddhant Mohan, TwoCircles.net Mirza Ghalib is a celebrated figure in the vast world of poetry, and many times Ghalib produces a self-demolishing effect on...

Research on folk songs in 1857 war urged

Art/Culture

By IANS

New Delhi : Reiterating the role of folk songs as a motivating force in the 1857 uprising, noted historians Tuesday urged scholars in India to carry out research on folk songs and publish books on the event.

Pakistani singers distressed over vegetarian food in Mumbai

Art/Culture

By Subhash K. Jha

IANS

Mumbai : Five Pakistani contestants taking part in India's music talent-hunt show "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2007" are fed up with the vegetarian food being served to them at their temporary residence in Mumbai. Culinary setbacks notwithstanding, the Pakistanis are having a blast in India.

Nawab Sikandar Begum’s Hajj memoir

Art/Culture

By Kashif-ul-Huda, TwoCircles.net Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and for over fourteen hundred years a journey of a lifetime for millions of Muslims living in different corners of the world. These hajis returned to their homelands to tell a tale of physical and spiritual journey of extraordinary proportions. Hajj is obligatory for every Muslim man and woman who are able to undertake this journey. A large number of Muslim women from India made this pious trip but one of the first to write an account of her hajj journey was Nawab Sikandar Begum of Bhopal.

For the Love of Urdu: Running free Urdu classes

Art/Culture

"Even when Qamar Hayat retired in 2003 as a teacher from the Nagpur Municipal Urdu School, the Urdu class continues to be free of...

Facts and Fiction of Padmavat – the movie

Art/Culture

By Misbahuddin Mirza: Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s recent movie – Padmaavat, is supposed to be based on the silly fictional tale written by Malik Muhammad Jayasi...

Karbala: The true symbol of non-violent resistance

Art/Culture

By Rupa Abdi, TwoCircles.net Black was the colour of pathos, and I was submerged in it. Women dressed in black sarees and salwar kameez were beating their chests to the chant of ‘Ya Hussain’. The chorus rose to a fevered pitch followed by a sudden silence. In that momentary silence was crystallized generations of mourning. The place – a Shia Muslim neighbourhood in Lucknow; the time – the tenth of Moharrum. If grief has different shades, on can see it during Moharrum.

How independent publishers ensure Ambedkarite literature continues to reach the masses

Art/Culture

By Daisy K, TwoCircles.net Every year on December 6, millions of people from all over India gather at Chaityabhoomi in Shivaji Park, Mumbai to pay...

The works of a restless Dalit mind: Understanding Prabhakar Kamble’s art.

Art/Culture

By Shiva Thorat, TwoCircles.net The history, and the baggage, of the caste system in our country have always been felt the most by the...

Remembering Ustad Bismillah Khan on his death anniversary

Art/Culture

TCN News Today is the 13th death anniversary of Ustad Bismillah Khan the Shehnai maestro who won several accolades from the Government of India and others. Born...

Assam singer faces gender discrimination; barred from performance as she refused putting traditional chadar

Art/Culture

By Abdul Gani, TwoCircles.net, Guwahati: Even as several measures are being taken in minimizing the gender discrimination in the country, a female singer in Assam was barred from performing at a function, allegedly for not wearing a particular kind of dress.

Why has music maestro Ilayaraja been nominated to Rajya Sabha?

Lead Story

Many believe that Ilayaraja’s praise for prime minister Modi and the BJP’s agenda to give token representation to Dalits led to his nomination. Basil Islam...

Urdu mushaira organised in Washington by the alumni of Aligarh University

Art/Culture

TCN News The 44th Annual Mushaira was organized by the Aligarh Alumni Association (AAA), Washington DC on 11th November 2018 in Silver Spring, Maryland. The Aligarh Alumni Association, Washington DC...

Marathi author, children’s poet Kalyan Inamdar dead

Art/Culture

By IANS, Mumbai : Well-known Marathi author and children's poet Kalyan Inamdar expired in Pune Monday afternoon following a brief illness, according to his publisher Arun Jakhade. He was 68 and is survived by his wife and two daughters who are married, Jakhade told IANS by phone from Pune. Inamdar July 2 suffered a brain haemorrhage and was rushed to the Dinanath Mangeshkar Hospital. He died this afternoon around 2.30 pm, Jakhade said.

Parallel Literature Festival will attempt to counter the elitist nature of the Jaipur Lit...

Art/Culture

By Siddhant Mohan, TwoCircles.net The world-famous Jaipur Literature Festival, or JLF, has entered in its eleventh chapter this year. JLF has been inviting writers - both...

Tamil Poet ‘Kavikko’ Abdul Rahman no more

Art/Culture

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter S Abdul Rahman, a Tamil poet, passed away on Friday at the age of 79. Abdul Rahman was popularly known as...

Satiric poet Sagar Khayami passes away

Art/Culture

By TwoCircles.net staff reporter,

Mumbai: Famous Urdu satiric poet Sagar Khayami passed away yesterday at Mumbai’s Nanavati Hospital after a prolonged illness. He was 70. He was suffering from lung cancer. He is survived by his wife and three sons. His body has been flown to Lucknow for burial.

Kirdaar Art Academy to organize national Urdu drama festival in Mumbai

Art/Culture

By M. Reyaz, TwoCircles.net,

Photo Feature: Independence Day celebrations in Indian madrasas

Art/Culture

By Raqib Hameed Naik, TwoCircles.net Belying a perception that Madrasas generally show little interest in national festivals like Independence Day and Republic Day, several...

Report of Sixth Annual Independence Day Mushaira and Kavi Sammelan in Washington

Art/Culture

By TCN News

A festival in Tamil Nadu to honour folk artists from marginalized communities

Lead Story

The festival, titled “Veethi Virudhu Vizha (The Street Award Ceremony)” in its ninth year, has provided a platform for Dalit and other marginalized...

‘नक्काश’ बनारस के मंदिरों में काम करने वाले एक मुस्लिम कारीगर की कहानी

Art/Culture

TCN News, हिंदू-मुस्लिम सब्जेक्ट पर आधारित इस फ़िल्म की कहानी हर किसी का ध्यान अपनी ओर आकर्षित कर रहा है. प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी के संसदीय...

Ahmad Mustafa Siddiqui Rahi – A tribute on his birthday 14th August

Art/Culture

By Ahmed Sohail Siddiqui Who would have predicted that the date of birth of the eldest son of Maulana Abdul Waheed Siddiqui would be the date...

15 shrines in Pakistan under the Religious Shrines Bilateral Protocol

Art/Culture

By TwoCircles.net staff reporter 15 religious shrines in Pakistan are covered under the 1974 Bilateral Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines. This information was given by the Minister of External Affairs, Shri Pranab Mukherjee in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today. 1974 Bilateral Protocol on Visit to Religious Shrines signed by India and Pakistan ensures that places of religious worship mentioned in the protocol are properly maintained and their sanctity preserved.

Ambedkar Age Digital Bookmobile: Displaying centuries-old songs, and artworks on anti-caste struggle of Maharashtra

Lead Story

The project aims to collect Maharashtra’s long history of social reform, accessing 500-year-old traditions of song-writing, performances and poetry against caste-based exploitation and untouchability. Riya...

The legacy of the Shankar-Shad Mushaira

Art/Culture

By Bushra Alvi Razzack for Twocircles.net Delhi: Dilliwalas can never get enough of Urdu poetry. In spite of inclement weather, Urdu lovers converged in...

Closure of slaughter houses in UP brought 400-year-old bone carving trade to an end

Lead Story

Over-400-year-old bone carving trade in UP has been hit hard by the government’s crackdown on illegal slaughter houses. A Tripathi | TwoCircles.net UTTAR PRADESH — Abrar Ahmed,...

Muslim singer sets the stage on fire at Raas Jalsa

Art/Culture

By TCN News, Mumbai: Days after furor over BJP leader’s ‘Muslim men should be stopped from entering Garba pandals’ comment, a Muslim singer Osman Mir – of Deepika Padukone starrer ‘Ramleela’ fame – set the stage on fire at a Raas Dandiya event at Juhu.

Urdu does not belong to any religion: Danish Hussain

Art/Culture

By Kishori Sud Lonavla, (IANS): Dastangoi artiste Murtaza Danish Hussain, who is active in both the theatre and film worlds, says that in the old...

Urdu Magazine Ma’arif completes 100 years of publishing

Art/Culture

By TCN News Bijnor (UP): To commemorate 100 years of Ma’arif, a monthly Urdu magazine, a symposium titled, “Hundred years of Ma’arif: a...

Rafi was dedicated singer, compassionate man: Khayyam

Art/Culture

By Jivraj Burman, IANS

Mumbai : Had Mohammed Rafi been alive, the legendary playback singer would have celebrated his 83rd birthday Monday (Dec 24). Perhaps, he would still have been singing.

Rafi Sahab, as he was fondly referred to in Bollywood, died 27 years ago. But his legacy of thousands of songs, including ghazals, qawwalis, bhajans, rendered during four decades of his singing career lives on, virtually unchallenged and un-imitated.

A Mehfil-e-Ghazal in Toronto

Art/Culture

By TCN News,

Wearing slogans on sleeves: Rupali Jadhav designs her activism on T-shirts

Lead Story

33-year-old Rupali Jadhav started designing and selling T-shirts in early 2020, a year after the arrest of six activists of Kabir Kala Manch (KKM). Riya...

Book Review: People having no record of Patriotism make Muslims ‘Perpetual Others and Losers’

Art/Culture

By Afshan Khan for TwoCircles.net Book title: Of Saffron Flags and Skullcaps: Hindutva, Muslim Identity and the Idea of India Author: Ziya Us Salam Publisher: Sage Pages:...

How online hate, trolling engenders social ostracization, cancel culture

Art/Culture

By Laraib Fatima and Aafreen Khan, TwoCircles.net The internet is no stranger to trolls and abuse and is a powerful tool in the hands of...

A woman, a Muslim, and an artist: How a 23-year-old in Delhi’s Jamia Nagar...

Art/Culture

23-year-old Anjum, who lives in Jamia Nagar, a middle-income Muslim-majority enclave near the Yamuna River in Delhi, has been actively involved in art-based...

Prem Nazir: The Ever Green Hero of Malayalam cinema

Art/Culture

By Abdul Basith MA, TwoCircles.net,

Maulana Wahiduddin Khan awarded with ‘Life Time Achievement’ award by ISNA

Art/Culture

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter, Chicago: Renowned Islamic scholar Maulana Wahiduddin Khan is here awarded with ‘Life time achievement’ award by America’s biggest Muslim...

Urdu Journalism legend Hazrat Maulana Ahmad Mustafa Siddiqui Rahi no more

Art/Culture

By Raqib Hameed Naik, TwoCircles.net New Delhi: Urdu Journalism legend and Chief editor of Islami Digest ‘Huda’ and ‘Taha'...

Comic lovers remember Herge, creator of Tintin and Snowy

Art/Culture

By DPA

Brussels : When the Belgian cartoonist known as Herge died in March 1983, not even Fanny, his widow, thought the extraordinary success of "The Adventures of Tintin" would live on.

Asma Saleem awarded Sahitya Akademi’s award for translation

Art/Culture

By TCN News Panaji, Goa: Prominent scholar and litterateur Mrs. Asma Saleem was awarded Sahitya Akademi’s award for her Urdu translated book Safar at a ceremony in Panaji on August 20. The Sahitya Akademi translation awards presentation ceremony was held at the Kala Academy’s Dinanath Mangeshkar hall. The welcome speech was delivered by the secretary of Sahitya Akademi, Mr Agrahar Krishnamurti. The president of Sahitya Akademi, Mr Sunil Gangopadhyay presided over the function.

Veteran actor, playwright Girish Karnad no more

Art/Culture

TCN News Legendary actor, playwright, Rhodes scholar, public intellectual, director Girish Karnad breathed his last today morning at his residence in Bengaluru. Girish Karnad, 81...

Yogesh Maitreya’s Flower on the Grave of Caste gives space and voice to Dalit...

Art/Culture

By Dipankar Kamble for TwoCircles.net Author- Yogesh Maitreya Publisher- Panther’s Paw Publications Cost- Rs 299 ISBN- 9788193290576 Yogesh Maitreya’s stories are not stories which we read in mainstream books....

J. Krishnamurti is growing in popularity in China

Art/Culture

By IANS Chennai : Noted Indian thinker J. Krishnamurti has a considerable following in China where young people are looking at a philosophy that can give them answers from within, says Mark Lee, executive director of the Krishnamurti Foundation of America. He was speaking at the release of the Indian edition of a new book from the foundation, titled "Facing a World in Crisis", edited by David Skitt, a trustee of the foundation in Britain. The book is a collection of the Indian spiritual teacher's speeches in Switzerland and Britain in the 1970s and 1980s.

Ambedkarism on the canvas: Artist Navin Chahande’s attempt to bring caste to art’s discourse

Art/Culture

By Daisy Katta, TwoCircles.net Artist Navin Chahande does not like to prove his point using abstract forms. He says his art is direct. Navin is...

‘धर्म संकट में’ के बहाने विमर्श

Art/Culture

By जावेद अनीस, भारत एक धर्मान्ध देश है, यहाँ धार्मिक जीवन को बहुत गंभीरता से स्वीकार किया जाता है लेकिन भारतीय समाज की सबसे बड़ी खासियत विविधतापूर्ण एकता है. यह ज़मीन अलग-अलग सामाजिक समूहों, संस्कृतियों और सभ्यताओं की संगम-स्थली रही है और यही इस देश की ताकत भी रही है. आज़ादी और बंटवारे के ज़ख्म के बाद इन विविधताओं को साधने के लिए सेकुलरिज्म को एक ऐसे जीवन शैली के रूप में स्वीकार किया गया जहाँ विभिन्न पंथों के लोग समानता, स्वतंत्रता, सहिष्णुता और सहअस्तित्व जैसे मूल्यों के आधार पर एक साथ रह सकें.

Lucknow Muslims setup water stall on Hanuman’s Bada Mangal

Art/Culture

By TCN News Lucknow: Living upto the ganga jamuni tehzeeb in the city of nawabs, the Hussain Day Celebration and Welfare Society organised a bhandara and drinking water stall outside Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) office on Tuesday. The stall was organised to celebrate the second Tuesday of the Jyestha month as per Vikram Samvat calendar.

Bihar: These Muslim women break taboo by learning Madhubani painting

Art/Culture

A project for women to learn Madhubani painting saw mostly Muslim girls turning up to learn. Sufi Parween | TwoCircles.net MADHUBANI (BIHAR)—A bunch of Muslim girls...

‘Left, farmers’ movement ignore distinction between peasants, labourers

Lead Story

Interview with Gita Ramaswamy, author of “Land, Guns, Caste, Woman—The Memoir of a Lapsed Revolutionary” Aatika S | TwoCircles.net In this interview, the author talks...

Fasihuddin Balkhi: the forgotten historian of Bihar

Art/Culture

Born in Patna, Bihar during the British era, Fasihuddin Balkhi made a tremendous contribution to history-writing in Urdu. Despite this feat, he remains largely...

Ajmal National Rural Education Movement launched in Guwahati

Art/Culture

By TCN News, Guwahati: A teacher of a government-aided school in Morigaon District of Assam took away his own life in September this year, alleging...

Sufi Conference & the Hijacking of Islam -By the West and now by India

Art/Culture

Compiled by Dr.Ajmal About the Conference A four-day international “Sufi” conference was inaugurated by the Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi in New Delhi on 17 March....

Eid in Kerala became an occasion for Muslim unity

Art/Culture

By Abdul Basith MA, TwoCircles.net,

रुकता चाक, गायब होते कुम्हार

Art/Culture

फ़हमिना हुसैन, TwoCircles.net डेहरी ऑन सोन: एक समय था जब चाय की दुकानों पर अक्सर मिट्टी के कुल्हड़ नज़र आते थे. शादियों में अक्सर मिट्टी...

400 साल पुराने उर्दू और फारसी के लाखों दस्तावेजों की मरम्मत करवा रहा टीएसएआरआई,...

Art/Culture

टीएसएआरआई के पास शाहजहाँ और औरंगज़ेब के समय के मुगल-युग के दस्तावेजों का सबसे बड़ा संग्रह मौजूद है। इन दस्तावेजों की मरम्मत के साथ-साथ...

Marathi movie Khwada projects the rebel against upper-caste hegemony

Art/Culture

By Yogesh Maitreya, TwoCircles.net After Fandry, the Marathi movie Khwada, released on Oct 22, 2015, does a brilliant job of depicting lower castes’ struggle...

In Hailakandi, a father-son duo might hold edge over their rivals

Art/Culture

By Amit Kumar, Twocircles.net Hailakandi: The district of Hailakandi, Assam, has been a hotspot of political activity in the past few weeks, and...

रमज़ान का साथी रूह अफ़ज़ा…और क्या चाहिए

Art/Culture

सिद्धांत मोहन, TwoCircles.net रूह अफ़ज़ा, ये कोई पेय या महज़ शरबत नहीं है. एक सभ्यता का नाम है. एक पूरे त्यौहार का नाम, एक पूरी...

Pakistani feminist Urdu poet and writer Fahmida Riaz passes away

Art/Culture

By Nikhat Fatima, TwoCircles.net Noted Pakistani feminist writer and poet Fahmida Riaz died in Lahore, Pakistan on Wednesday night at the age of 72. The...

Artist Akash Choyal uses 3D illusion art

Art/Culture

By V.N. Balakrishna, IANS, Ahmedabad : Akash Choyal, who has made a name for himself for 3D illusion art and fibre glass sculptures, revisits memories of his childhood for inspiration. He claims to be the first Indian artist to have used triographics in contemporary art. "Triographics are art works in 3D illusion paintings that can be viewed without any special spectacles," he says.

Globalization, religion and Hindi Press: A Case Study of Nav Bharat Times, New Delhi

Art/Culture

Read First Part here: Communal agenda and Hindi press in a globalizing India</a Read Second Part here: Religious Diversity and Hinduisation of press</a Dr Arvind Das, Global...

Art festival at TISS celebrates the colours of Bahujan resistance

Art/Culture

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter The Mumbai campus of Tata Institute of Social Sciences was abuzz with the colours of Bahujan Art the past weekend as...

Sevens Football: Throbbing Soul of Kerala’s Sporting Fraternity

Art/Culture

Grace Mubashir, TwoCircles.net The December weather in Northern Kerala is humid and soakingly sizzling. Askar Vandithodi, a 33-year-old IT official by profession and loyal fan...

Agra remembers Nazeer Akbarabadi

Art/Culture

Agra, Feb 10 (IANS) Agra on Sunday remembered Nazeer Akbarabadi, the people's poet whose birthday falls on Basant Panchmi, the festival of spring. As bright...

रमज़ान स्पेशल : जामिया के छात्रों को इस बार बहुत भाया रमज़ान,क़ायम की सौहार्द...

Art/Culture

देश की सबसे प्रतिष्ठित यूनिवर्सिटी जामिया मिल्लिया इस्लामिया में इस रमज़ान कई अदुभुत नज़ारे देखने को मिले। जामिया के तमाम छात्रों ने इस बार...

Aalaap: First movie out of Chhatisgarh will take on Naxalism head on

Art/Culture

By TCN News, Mumbai: Chhattisgarh is caught between Capitalism and Naxalism. A group of people who hail from the region are making a movie to change the perception of the region.

सवाल : एकमात्र मुस्लिम आदिवासी समुदाय वन गुर्जरो की परवाह किसे है !

Art/Culture

<अहमद क़ासिम Twocircles.net के लिए उत्तराखंड के पौड़ी गढ़वाल ज़िले में रेवासन नदी के किनारे बसे इस गाँव का नाम नत्थू चोड़ है. घने...

Ustad Ghulam Husain Khan – Keeper of Indian classical music, a neglected music maestro

Art/Culture

By Manzar Imam, If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music, famous scientist Albert Einstein said. Einstein, the physicist had such a high musical vision. His musical dream did materialize, but there was something else in store for him.

An evening of Lucknawi Qawwali and Mushaira

Art/Culture

By Faisal Fareed, TwoCircles.net,

Obituary to Ambedkarite poet and writer, Ketan Pimpalapure

Art/Culture

By Yogesh Maitreya, TwoCircles.net Mr. Ketan Pimpalapure, a poet, writer and journalist died in the month of July 31st, 2015. He was...

Ancient art of Dastaangoi (story telling) relived in Lucknow

Art/Culture

By TCN Special Corespondent,

‘Everyone in uniform is not a hero’: Meet the man behind biopic Haemolymph

Lead Story

In an interview with TwoCircles.net, Abdual Wahid Sheikh, a school teacher from Mumbai who was falsely implicated in 2006 Mumbai train blast and later...

Van Versus Vikas: New documentary dismantles mythology of India’s “progress” from worldview of Adivasi...

Lead Story

The film chronicles the resistance of an Adivasi family, along with other city activists and residents, to stop the Mumbai Metro Rail project...

Indians in Malaysia celebrate Navratri with religious fervour

Art/Culture

By IANS, Kuala Lumpur : Malaysia's Indian community is celebrating the Hindu festivals of Navratri and Durga Puja with gusto, combining worship with dance and music. During the nine-day celebrations, which began Sep 30, devotees have been offering prayers and celebrating through music and dance, The New Straits Times said Wednesday. Kuala Lumpur's Indian community congregates at the Shree Lakshmi Narayan Temple in Jalan Kasipillay, off Jalan Ipoh in the national capital, the venue for the worship of goddess Durga.

Adding sparkle to lives with poetry: Diwali at a Gurudwara

Art/Culture

By Bushra Alvi Razzack for TwoCircles.net New Delhi: In a unique celebration of the festival, poets from the literary group Delhi by Verse, along...

TCN Interview: “My purpose as a filmmaker is to bring stories of marginalised into...

Lead Story

In this interview with TwoCircles.net, acclaimed documentary filmmaker Somnath Waghmare talks about the production of films and the social landscape that constitutes film-making...

भोजपुरी फिल्मों की मशहूर अभिनेत्री सहर अफशा ने इस्लाम के लिए छोड़ी फ़िल्म इंडस्ट्री

Art/Culture

स्टाफ रिपोर्टर।Twocircles.net उत्तर प्रदेश में बेहद लोकप्रिय भोजपुरी फिल्मों की अभिनेत्री सहर अफशा ने अभिनय की दुनिया को खुद से जुदा कर करते हुए...

Historic all-India Mushaira in Riyadh

Art/Culture

By TCN News, Riyadh: Prominent Urdu poets from across India enthralled a huge audience of about 2,000 Indians at a historic All-India Mushaira (poetry session)...

Ismail Hussain memorial harmony award given to Homen Borgohain

Art/Culture

By Abdul Gani, TwoCircles.net, Guwahati: Prominent author Homen Borgohain, who returned his Sahitya Akademi recently protesting against the ‘intolerance’, was honoured with litterateur...

Sri Lankan revives Ravana’s musical instrument

Art/Culture

By P.K. Balachandran, IANS Colombo : Dinesh Subasinghe, a rising star on the Sri Lankan rock and fusion music horizon, has a new and daring passion - to popularise ravanahatha, a violin-like instrument that Lanka king Ravana had devised and played about 5,000 years ago. The ravanahatha is a crude violin made of coconut shell and bamboo, with horsehair or a natural fibre serving as the string. Goat and sheep gut and coconut wood are also used. Having been the first stringed instrument to be played with a bow, it is recognised as the world's first violin.

Seminar on representation of Char-Chaporis of the Brahmaputra in media and literature organised in...

Art/Culture

By TCN News New Delhi: Negative stereotypes related to the representation of the inhabitants of the char-chaporis of Assam in literature and media figured prominently...

Bhise’s visual expression of critical Ambedkarite imagery a landmark moment for mainstream Indian art

Lead Story

Vikrant Bhise’s recent work is influenced by the Dalit Panther movement. Riya Talitha | TwoCircles.net NEW DELHI — Walking into the Centre for Contemporary Arts at...

Power and Piety: An exhibition of Islamic talismans on the battlefield

Art/Culture

By Misbahuddin Mirza for TwoCircles.net The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s (the Met, New York) fabulous exhibition - Power and Piety: Islamic Talismans on the Battlefield...

पाठा का अमूल्य पानी : भौरा तेरा पानी ग़ज़ब करी जाए,गगरी न फूटै, खसम...

Art/Culture

चित्रकूट से ज़ियाउल हक़ Twocircles.net के लिए जैसे जैसे गर्मियां बढ़ती है वैसे वैसे पाठा के जलश्रोत सूखने लगते हैं। आलम यूं हो जाता है...

टीपू सुल्तान को लेकर कर्नाटक में सियासी हलचल

Art/Culture

आकिल हुसैन। Two circles.net टीपू सुल्तान की मौत के लगभग 220 साल बीत चुके हैं। लेकिन टीपू सुल्तान आज भी कर्नाटक की राजनीति में मुद्दा...

India was Guest of Honour in Saudi Festival “Janadriyah 2018”

Art/Culture

By TCN News Janadriyah is a cultural heritage and folk festival of Saudi-Arabia that is held every year ever since 1985 when it was first...

AMU Emirates Chapter celebrates Sir Syed Day in Sharjah

Art/Culture

By TCN News The Emirates Chapter of the Aligarh Muslim University celebrated Sir Syed Day in Sharjah on November 20 to remember and learn from...

Celebrations in Kerala as New Year dawns

Art/Culture

By IANS Thiruvananthapuram : Keralites celebrated the state's New Year Friday, with tens of thousands of Hindus thronging temples. In schools and offices, people dressed in traditional attire participated in competitions to make floral designs on the ground to mark the beginning of the auspicious month of Chingam. Chingam is the first month of the Malayalam calendar. The harvest festival Onam falls in this month.

Mappila Haal: A virtual exhibition celebrating 100 years of Malabar Rebellion

Lead Story

Mappila Haal is a comprehensive creative expression of the Malabar Rebellion enabling the viewer to travel through the revolutionary days and nights. Amjad Ali EM...

Life of Pi famed actor from Assam appeals for peace on Bihu eve

Art/Culture

By TwoCIrcles.net Staff Reporter,

For many rural women in Bihar, Kheta embroidery work aims to boost livelihood

Lead Story

Kheta is said to be a 500-year-old quilting heirloom practised exclusively by Shershahabdi women. Today, Kheta embroidery work is getting popular among non-Shershahabdi people...

Jamia Faculty member wins 2 Gold medals in National Power-lifting Championship

Art/Culture

By TCN News, New Delhi: A faculty member of Jamia Millia Islamia, Dr. Aurangzeb Khurram Hafiz, at the Department of Physics has become the National...

Aadivasi’s cultural identity in Jharkhand’s under assault

Art/Culture

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat As I boarded the Rajdhani express from New Delhi for Parasnath for my intended visit to Jharkhand...

Shimla toasts 175 years of historic Barnes Court

Art/Culture

By IANS Shimla : A European exterior with a 'pahari' (mountainous) soul! That is how the historic Barnes Court, a neo-Tudor timber framed building that now serves as the Himachal Pradesh governor's residence, was described on its completion of 175 years this week. Governor V.S. Kokje hosted the city's elite to celebrate the occasion Thursday and recalled the sprawling building's history. Barnes Court was first occupied by the then British commander-in-chief of the Indian Army, Sir Edward Barnes, in 1832 and gets its name from him.

12 3...21 Page 1 of 21