A dream I lived alone with Namrata Gupta Khan

“A dream I lived alone” is a beautifully written book highlighting the life story of the living legend Ustaad Ghulam Mustafa Khan Sahab. The book is co –authored by his daughter in law Namrata Gupta Khan. As I read the book, I couldn’t help but marvel at the simplicity and the down to earth nature and character that Ustaad Sahab has displayed throughout his life whether it was towards his own family, his neighbours, his students (Hariharanji, Shaan, Sonu Nigamji, Manna Dey Sahab, Asha Bhosleji to list a few) or his acquaintances. From humble beginnings he has emerged as an iconic figure not only in India but internationally in the field of Indian classical music. Whilst many people in today’s fast paced world command respect through their wealth and riches, Ustaad Sahab commands respect through his humility and wise words of wisdom. Having had the opportunity of being in his esteemed company a month ago, I was totally overwhelmed by the piety of this majestic soul. Every word that emerged from his mouth was either a prayer or words providing guidance in an individual’s life. (May Allah grant you all a long life of good health. May Allah grant you all success. May Allah protect your marriage from the evil eye). When Ustaad Sahab met Papa, out of respect towards his guest, Ustaad sahab got up to embrace dad and asked him to sit next to him. As we chatted, he quietly asked his beloved daughter in law to serve us tea or something cold. He was quite insistent that we do have something to eat. We spent only an hour in his esteemed presence, yet we will never ever be able to forget the warmth and hospitality displayed towards all of us. As a wise man once said, “People may not remember exactly what you did, or what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel.”

As a side thought, I am of the opinion that every narrow minded judgmental Muslim individual should read this book. I know for a fact that there are people out there within our community who are of the opinion that if a Muslim person is a part of the art and culture fraternity that they are going straight to hell. Who are we to judge another human being? Who are we to taunt another human being for the God given talent that they were born with? Ustaad Sahab is a very modest man, yet from what I was told, he spends the latter part of the night immersed in worship until sunrise. Whilst travelling he is consistently in the rememberance of God Almighty. His character is exemplary towards young and old. No one gives us the right to judge the affairs of another human being. The world that we reside in is indeed a beautiful place. Hence, use your eyes to see the good that exists all around you. Religion, prayer and faith should be a very personal interaction between you and God Almighty. The artist playing his harmonium or the singer engaging with his audience through his melodious voice bestowed upon him by his Creator, can in all probability be a better human being than the person tearing the prayer mat night and day but also chooses to run down his fellow human being at every given opportunity. Think about it. Live and let live!
My heartiest congratulations goes out to Namrata Gupta Khan for her sterling efforts in putting this book together. I am sure it was not an easy task considering Ustaad Sahab does not like talking much about himself or his achievements. At the end, it was definitely worth the effort. I would also like to take the opportunity to sincerely thank her once again for affording us the opportunity to meet her Papaji, Ustaad Ghulam Mustafa Khan Sahab. This book is definitely a must read.

Go order your copy today at
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*Amazon* : http://bit.ly/ADreamILivedAlone

*Flipkart* : http://bit.ly/UstadGhulamMustafaKhan

Book launch: Riding the Samoosa Express

I never dreamt of becoming an author or having my name printed on a book cover. I guess it was destiny that allowed me to be a part of the “Riding the Samoosa Express” journey. The book launched successfully on Saturday the 21^st of March at Skoobs theatre of books located at Montecasino. I am extremely proud to have been a part of this project alongside 27 other strong and dynamic South African Muslim women. Through my travels I have observed that many westerners actually have a very warped sense of how a Muslim woman should be. We are always portrayed in newspapers and in the media as being pitiful or hailing from a culture that supports male domination and patriarchy. “Riding the Samoosa Express” is an anthology that brings to the fore true life experiences of 27 strong willed and strong minded Muslim women.  It is a narrative that explores various themes including love, life, divorce and the concept of marriage as seen through the eyes of well educated South African Muslim women who have went against the norms of society and achieved their goals in life. It is a celebration of women and in particular Muslim women who have steered away from stereotypes and started questioning the idea of a patriarchal male dominated society. Islam has always placed women in extremely high esteem but we have allowed a patriarchal system to hijack our role and place within the Islamic world.

I would like to thank Zaheera Jina Asvat and Hasina Asvat for granting me the opportunity of being a part of this wonderful initiative. The Nisaa institute for women’s development has been adopted as the beneficiary for the book. The institute is an NGO organization that renders services to abused women and children. Hence I urge all my fans and friends to purchase this book and make a contribution towards a worthy cause. This book has proven to the world that Muslim women have a voice and we are willing to stand up against all odds in order to achieve success. I hope that this book will also be an inspiration to women out there who find themselves in abusive or submissive relationships. May this book arouse within you a desire to break free and ignite within you a passion to achieve all your goals in life. 

 

Sophia book event at the University of Johannesburg

As I drove off into the sunset yesterday evening heading back home, I couldn't help but ponder and reflect on the lovely afternoon I had at the Sophia book event held at the University of Johannesburg. What was discussed at the event was absolutely relevant and typical of what is happening to many women in South Africa including Indian women from rich and affluent homes. Gender based violence or violence against women is definitely a topic that society needs to bring to the fore. A few days ago a lady cashier at one of the shops mentioned to me that she was surprised to see a well known woman from within the community arriving at the shop with dark glasses on. Upon further investigation she realized that the woman was beaten up and hence the area around her eyes were blue. The abused woman however stated that she knocked herself into the door covering up for her husband. Hence, this woman has stuck in this abusive relationship for many years whilst her husband walks tall in society. Women are selfless creatures. God has made us this way to endure pain and to sacrifice for the sake of our families. But, then I wonder.. why should we be always sacrificing. No matter how powerful a woman is in terms of education or if she is a successful business woman, the minute a woman steps into her house she is immediately taken over by a patriarchal system whereby the husbands rules and regulations take over. Frankly speaking, I do not agree with this. Whilst a man is the head of the house, the wife should be his equal and she should have a right and a say with regards to the running of her home. This issue of gender based violence is prevalent across the globe. In countries like Yemen, Pakistan and Afghanistan women are abused to such an extent that acid is thrown on their faces, thereby disfiguring them for life. Hats off to Shafinaaz Hassim, for her involvement in gender based violence and for creating an awareness about this issue through her books. South Africa needs more women like this to support and encourage these abused women to come out of the closet. Every human being has a right to lead a happy and fulfilling life. If a man has dreams and aspirations so too do women. A woman's dreams don't just fade and wither away the day she marries or becomes a mom or a wife or a daughter in law. My advise to all women out there is this, if you are in an abusive relationship please please please, seek help. Talk to someone..go for counselling. We only live once, so let us all enjoy this life that God has blessed us with. Live your life to the fullest and follow your dreams.

BACK SEAT - A LITERARY MASTERPIECE

 

Wow, Wow, wow!! Aditya Kripalani's book 'Back Seat' has left me speechless. It took me two nights to get through 244 pages and when I came to the last and final page I continued to scroll down wishing that there were more pages that I could read. Aditya has an excellent command of the English language and lots of effort is placed on detail in the book. There are a number of colourful characters within the story line and each character is described in much detail. Every character can be visualized in terms of physical appearance and personality.It is almost as though you know the character on a personal level. I have visited India and I loved the vibe of Mumbai city. Aditya does an excellent job in describing Mumbai city as it is in reality.He simply brings the city to life. There is one scene in the book where Vijay stops the car opposite Shatranj Napoli and Olive and I had a huge smile on my face as I remembered having a sumptuous meal at the Italian restaurant during my trip. I recalled my experiences on Carter and Linking road as I read through this adrenalin pumping roller coaster ride. The only negative aspect of the book is its abrupt ending. I wanted to know more.I guess Aditya's rationale behind this, is to allow the reader's imagination to run wild. A more thorough spelling check could have been done as I picked up a few typos. Back Seat is a story that revolves around 15 year old Asawari Jog also known as Nikita who lives in a beach town called Ratnaghiri. Due to unfortunate circumstances she makes her way to Mumbai where she works as a dancer at Atithi dance bar, that is until a local politician imposes a ban on all bar dancers causing many of the girls to turn to prostitution in order to earn a reasonable living. Nikita's dream is to have her own restaurant so that she can escape from the body trade industry and after much effort she secures a restaurant premises by handing over a deposit to Mr. Louis for this dream venture.In order for her dream to materialize, she now requires to make up the rest of the money as soon as possible.

Nikita was never comfortable with the idea of prostituting herself to many men. She therefore,chooses the lesser evil by becoming Shashank's escort for one month . He is the troubled son of Mr. Inder Mehta, a Mumbai based film producer.I loved the way Aditya portrays Shashank's character. There were times that I actually felt sorry for him. I could feel his pain, hurt and all the emotional turmoil within him. The plot takes a twist when Nikita falls in love with Vijay, Shashank's driver. Vijay's past is equally painful and traumatic. Mumbai for him is an escape route, an abode where dreams come true. At this point in the book, you are desperately trying to get to the end of it to find out if Nikita's dreams do reach fruition or not.The book is captivating and Aditya does well in revealing bits and pieces of Nikita's life, leaving the reader constantly intrigued at every moment.Back Seat is a well written, thought provoking realistic tale that reaches the depths of human character and emotion. It has all the ingredients to turn the book into an award winning Madhur Bhandarkar type film. If you have not read a book in a while, I suggest that you get hold of "Back seat" right away. This is one book that you just have to read. My heartiest congratulations to Aditya. I wish him all the best and I am looking forward to his next book Front Seat

 
About The Author ( As taken from his book)
The author, Aditya Kripalani, has a passion for writing in its myriad forms—short stories, poems, scripts screen plays and magazine write-ups, on topics as varied as watches, films, fashion and fitness.He is a post graduate, qualified in Script and Film Screenplay writing from the Film and Television Institute, Pune, and has also taught screen writing at St. Xavier’s Institute of Communication, Mumbai. He currently heads the Script Department of one of the film industry’s established corporate film houses, I Dream Production. Thirty one year old Aditya is fond of cooking, music, travelling, observing and analyzing people. He has the ability to get into the psyche of the characters, male and female, and view situations from each one’s unique perspective. He has spent a major part of his life in Mumbai city which has moulded and influenced him tremendously. Multi-faceted Aditya has a degree in fitness training from the Reebok University and is a Karateka practicing Karate in the GoJu form of Karate.
Readers can interact with him by email at backseat.theauthor@gmail.com

FIFTY SHADES OF GREY- NOTHING BUT A LITERARY DISASTER

http://www.businessinsider.com/report-angelina-jolie-in-talks-to-direct-50-shades-of-greyheres-todays-buzz-2012-6- picture

With much hype created around the 2011 erotic novel Fifty shades of Grey written by E.L. James, I decided to read the book online. It took me two days to read part one of the trilogy. To be honest, I do not think that the book is anything to rave or shout about. It is definitely not a literary master piece in my opinion. Once again, the novel has proven that sex sells with over 31 million copies sold world wide according to wikipedia, setting the record as the fastest selling paperback of all time. The story revolves around 22 year old Anastasia Steele who lives with her wealthy room mate Katherine Kavanagh. Katherine is a beautiful good looking woman who writes for the college student's newspaper. Due to illness, she asks Anastasia to interview the powerful and successful 27 year old entrepreneur Christian Grey. Ana is instantly attracted to Mr. Grey and desires to have a relationship with him. Mr. Grey on the other hand is not 'a heart and flowers kind of guy.' Ana finds him dominating and intimidating and yet at the same time at the back of her mind she is in complete awe of him and aspires to be with him. Ana completes the interview and returns home to Kate. Over the next few days she has several encounters with Mr. grey and eventually agrees on going out on a date with him. Christian takes Ana by helicopter to his apartment and reveals a few secrets about himself to her. He first insists that she signs a contract and a legal document preventing her from discussing his personal life with anyone else. Ana blindly signs the agreement. He also mentions other paperwork, but first takes her to a room full of BDSM toys and gear. There Grey informs her that the second contract will be one of dominance and submission and that there will be no romantic relationship between the two of them, only a sexual one. The contract even forbids Ana from touching Grey or making eye contact with him. After spending the night with Mr. Grey and losing her virginity to him, Ana meets Christian's mother the following morning who is delighted to see her as she is always under the impression that her son is a homosexual.Grey later reveals to Ana at a restaurant that he had lost his virginity at the age of fifteen by one of his mother's friends. In essence he was sexually abused and molested by the woman. He was submissive to her sexual needs and desires.The abuse continued over a few years. Over the next few days Ana receives several packages from Grey. These include a brand new state of the art laptop to enable the two of them to communicate and a more detailed version of the dominant/submissive contract. She and Grey email each other, with Ana teasing him and refusing to honour parts of the contract like refusing to eat certain foods that were written on his list. Christian asks Anastasia to stop wasting her time emailing him but rather spend time researching the subject of BDSM type relationships. Ana later meets up with Grey to discuss the contract, only to grow overwhelmed by the potential BDSM arrangement and the potential of having a sexual relationship with Grey that is not romantic in nature. Torn between a variety of feelings and emotions Ana runs away from Grey and does not see him again until her college graduation, where he is a guest speaker at the event. At this point, Ana finally agrees to sign the dominant/submissive contract.
Ana and Grey once again meet up together to further discuss the contract, and they go over Ana's hard and soft limits. Ana is spanked for the first time by Grey; the experience leaves her both enticed and slightly confused. This confusion is further exacerbated by Grey's lavish gifts, and the fact that he insists that Ana meets his family. The two continue with the arrangement without Ana having yet signed the contract. Ana manages to successfully secure a job at Seattle Independent Publishing, however she further
bristles under the restrictions of the non-disclosure agreement and the complex relationship with Grey.The tension between Ana and Grey eventually reaches a boiling point after Ana asks Grey to punish her in order to show her how extreme a BDSM relationship with him could be. Grey fulfills Ana's request, beating her with a belt, only for Ana to realize that the two of them are incompatible. Devastated and heart broken, Ana leaves Grey and returns to the condo she shares with Katherine.

Whilst there has been a huge media coverage regarding the book, I firmly believe that the book sends out a dangerous message that powerful and wealthy men are sexy and that women in general love to be hurt in secret. With domestic violence and abusive relationships soaring amongst teenagers and young couples I firmly believe that promoting this type of a book is morally and ethically wrong and absurd. Whilst the west is constantly against Islam with regards to women's rights, the question is what kind of women's rights is this book actually promoting?What kind of a woman would agree to be a man's sex slave? Every woman that I know wishes to be in a loving and secure relationship with her partner. What I am really surprised about is the fact that the book is free to download of the internet without any restrictions or censorship. This basically means that children are at risk of reading sexually provocative material online.The book has also been available in all bookstores worldwide without any age restrictions.Naturally, film stars and actors have come out in full support of the book simply because sex sells within the music and film industry as well. There is a huge drive and move towards robbing our kids and youth of their innocence, taking them away from morality and values. There is a huge sexual revolution all around us in a sense that 'sex' is being utilized to sell anything and everything. Sexy and erotic pictures are splashed across billboards, magazines, newspapers, movies, television and now more and more books are riddled with provocative and sexually erotic content without any censorship.In the past, parents implemented parental guidance on the type of movies or television programs their kids would watch but nowadays parents need to be aware of the type of books their kids are reading. What message is the book sending out to these kids? Is the book promoting good values and moral etiquette or is it simply corrupting the child's mind with filthy pornographic and erotic content? For those of you out there who have read the book, what are your thoughts and opinions regarding the content of the book?.....