28th Ensemble 2K18: Mega Show of University Drama Club-AMU Aligarh: Through My Lense

28th Ensemble 2K18 the annual drama festival of University Drama Club AMU Aligarh was organized from 27^th to 30^th March 2018.This year the drama club managed for the first time the most awaited alumni meet of its former members.

Skit Social-e-Azam---Hira Heera as Jodha

Alumni of UDC Ali Mehtasham Raza,Syed Zaidi,Faisal Waris Khan,Ishrat Jameel,Afsar Ali Khan,Waseem Khan,Zameer Ahmad,Asad Ali,Imran Rasheed,Athar Avi,Dr Made-ur-Rahman ,Salim Shah(Film Safrosh,Fana fame) were honourd.

From Skit Social-e-Azam

Sponcers of this 28th Ensemble 2K18 were--- Style PartnerLakme Acedamy, Amar Ujala, Koye Locks, Aligarh Body Building and Fitness Asssociation, Divine Corporation, Food Partner Sagar Caters,Radio Partner Current FM 94.1.

Four day function started with Ribbon Cutting Ceremony of the Khurram Zuberi Theatre Studio and Room of Folk Music and Fusion Music Clubs, and later a photography session with CEC Staff.

A Skit -A story from Maha bharat-Rishi Yadav as Arjun and directed by Imran Hashmi

The intoxicating evening was opened by colorful programme in Kennedy Auditorium by Prof. Dr Tariq Mansoor vice Chancellor.Cheif Guest of Inagural session was Mr Md.Furqan Mayor of our city Aligarh.

Dr.Vibha Sharma President of Drama Club welcomed the guests.Main attraction of that evening was a play “Sir Syed”.

Vote of Thanks by Mr ShahZaib Khan, organizing secretory. Next three days were magical days for drama and music lovers of Aligarh. Skits, Mono acts, Mimes, Plays and singing performances were held on stage of Kennedy Auditorium.

Skit Social-e-Azam a comedy Skit was v much liked by Audience. Ms.Heera Hira played thr role of Maharani Jodha. 

Forth and last day 30Th March was Valedicory and award ceremony day.

Secretary (2017-18)Mr.S.Jafar Hasnain,P.R head of this Ensemble 2K18,Mr Momin Ali,Talha Thakur,Shah Zaib Khan, Muqtada Ali Khan,Mateeb Imam,Imran Hashmi, Ali Raza Alig (Zinda Dil),Kajal Gupta were there.Mr Atif Ali Khan was official photographer of the event. 

Zehra Naqvi

One of the main attractions of this function was release of official Anthem of Ensemble 2018, prepared by AMU Students Mr Haider Saifulla.He is a wonder boy of melodious singing voice. He entertained audience by singing a song from Film Shor.

“Ek pyar kaa naghma hai maujon ki ravani hai
zindagi aur kuch bhi nahi teri meri kahani hai”

Ali Raza presented song with guitar in hand

“Once upon a time

a girl with moonlight in her eyes

Put her hand in mine

and said she loved me so

but that was once upon a time

Very long ago…

Nashra Ahmad presented this song in his velvet voice the song of film Masoom.

“Tujhse naaraaz 

nahiin zindagi

hairaan hoon main

tere masoom sawalon se 

pareshan hoon main”.

Miming involves acting out a story through body motions, without use of speech.Mime is vey difficult to play.Members of UDC presented Mime too.

Since Gandhi directed by Faisal Nizami,Evolution directed by Amit Kumar,Sainik dierected by Furqan Ahmad,The Plight of a river directed by Moazzam Ahmad and Humanity directed by Aquib Khan were played.

Play unt was declared best play,second was Kathghade.Rishi Kumar was awarded best male actor for play Arjun based on a story of Mahabharat ,directed by Mr Imran Hashmi.Zehra naqvi was best actress in female category.

Razia khanam was declared best director for drama Unt,and the Maximum and biggest trophy of event was awarded to Razia Khanam.

Audience--Kennedy Auditorium

Faisal nizami and Sujani were awarded for The Best Co-Actor in male and female category.Rebel Troop was awarded for overall best performance.The Maximum and biggest trophy of event was awarded to Razia Khanam.

Prof.Dr F S Sheerani. Coordinator of CEC was honoured as Shahenshah of CEC.AMU.Aligarh.

University Drama Club (UDC) was established in the year 1966 in the Kennedy House Coplex. Earlier the interested students and different cultural societies of halls of residence, had seldom staged different production in Strachey Hall and Maris Hall. 

Faisal Nizami getting trophy from  Film Actor Salim Shah

After the completion of Kennedy Auditorium, and creation of General Education Centre, a new era of theatre had started in these beautiful buildings of Kennedy House under the patronage of some of the stalwarts like, Prof Muneebur Rehman, Prof Sajda Zaidi, Prof Zahida Zaidi, Prof Zauqi, Prof Gurudas Bhattacharya, Prof Habib Rasool, Mr. Iftekhar Alam Khan, Prof M. A. Alvi to name a few.

Zehra Naqvi

The Aligarh Muslim University Cultural Education Center is among the University’s finest co-curricular & extracurricular platform, and a place of unlimited creative discoveries.

University Drama Club has produced some well known artists of stage, film and television.

Few among them are: Habeeb Tanvir, Qadir Ali Baig, Irfan Panjatan, Surekha Seekri, Rehman, Iftekhar, Begum Para, Nigar Sultana, Naseeruddin Shah, Dilip Tahil, Raees, Maqbool Mehmood , Zoya Zaidi, , Saleem Shah, , Anubhav Sinha F. S. Sherani,Roomana Israr, Seemi Hasan. Madiurrahman Khan Sherwani, Fazal Waris Khan, S. Mohtashim Reza, Arman Rasool Faridi, Ankit Malik, , Amit Kumar Singh.

Razia Khanam,

Mentor of Drama Club

Dr. Vibha Sharma (Associate Professor, Department of English) – Vibha Sharma is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at Aligarh Muslim University. Her areas of specialization and interest are Literary Theory, Modern Drama and Postcolonial Studies, Theatre Studies, Translation Studies and Cultural Studies.She is a Visiting Faculty to Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden. She contributed to Asian Theater Encyclopedia published from the UK.

Dr.Vibha Sharma President of University Drama Club

President of Drama Club

Arman Rasool Faridi (Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science). He has more than 15 years of teaching experience. He obtained MCA degree from AMU in 1996 and is President of India Gold Medal Awardee for his overall achievements.

He has been closely associated with the literary and cultural life of the university.He has also served as the secretary of the University Drama Club during his student days.

F.S.Sheerani--Mentor of CEC.AMU Aligarh

Secretary Drama Club (2017-18)

Mr. S. Jafar Hasnain

The End—Hope we will meet again in 2018.Insha Allah.

Written, posted and Photographed by Engr Maqbool Akram.

Ghazipur: A Boat Riding In River Ganges

Ghazipur is a sleepy city of Poorvanchal, situated on the banks of holy river Ganges. Once upon a time, Ghazipur was famous for cultivation of gulab, champa, chameli, jasmine, kevda and many other fragmenting flowers. A few decades ago, perfumes, oils of these flowers and kevda water were traded on a large scale in the district.

Ghazipur has lost its fragrance and flowers but here still live people, who smell more than roses. One among them is Mr Obaidur Rahman Siddiqui.  He is a Historian who has written the History of Ghazipur beginning from the ancient time till Mughal time.

A Boat in River Ganges-Ghazipur

He has traced many historical places in Ghazipur with a story, which were lost in the dust of time. Frankly speaking the city has limited tourist attractions.I hope the research work of Mr Obaidur Rahman Siddiqui will keep Ghazipur a place on tourists map of Uttar Pradesh. 

I love traveling and meeting different people.These travelling has broadened my vision and wisdom.The reason: It opens many unkwon secrets. That makes my journey perfect.

 By the grace of God I got an opportunity to travel Ghazipur.I was invited Ghazipur by Obaidur Rahman Siddiqui to attend a function, “Rasm-e-ijra” of his new book

Next day of his function Obaidur Rahman arranged a boating trip in Ganges.I spend my beautiful time at Ghats and an adventurous memorable boating trip, hearing mesmerizing bubbling musical noise created by stearing helm of boat in water of river Ganges. 

Ghazipur District played an important role during freedom movement of the country. After independence of the country, Ghazipur District could not develop as it was in the past.

Any writing on Ghazipur is incomplete without mention of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, the great Social reformer and founder of Aligarh Muslim University. The Aligarh Movement was not an instant phenomenon. It took its shape in many many years and was started even before Sir Syed moved to his final home Aligarh. 

Ganges Ghat View --Ghazipur

Among the first step towards establishing M.A.O. College and Aligarh Movement was establishment of Scientific Society at Ghazipur in 1864. In 1860, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was transferred from Moradabad to Ghazipur. The stay of Sir Syed in Ghazipur is a milestone in his life. Sir Syed had also established a school at Ghazipur which was named as Victoria School (established 1864) at Ghazipur. Later its name was changed to Shri Shivnath Singh Girls Government College.

A View of Ganga Ghats --Ghazipur

This Blog is dedicated to that boating trip which I enjoyed from Steamer Ghat to Opium Factory, with my camera in holy river of Ganges. 

The boatman freed anchor, pushed boat into main river stream.I was in company of Tariq, Anees and Rashid: Stepped in boat and fixed myself in a comfortable position in the boat.

A View of Ganges Ghats --Ghazipur

Boatman was stearing boat on up stream and the return was down stream.Our boat passed through ghats constructed along the river: Manadev ghat, Dadri ghat, Collector ghat, Cheetnath ghat, Posta ghat, Streamer ghat, Rameshwar ghat, Pakka ghat, Sikandarpur ghat, Kankadiya ghat, Gola ghat, Masood ghat, Nakta ghat, Khirki ghat. 

The boat was flowing ahead, but I was lost in memories of my child hood. Remembering the days when as a kid, when I used to come on an adventurous birds hunting,with my Big Father.Those were the thrilling and exciting moments to see shooing some migratory birds direct from boats in winter. 

Now as a grown mature man, I realized that, birds hunting were nothing more than a violent form of recreation of the feudal system. Bird’s migration is one of nature’s wonders. 

Tragically, every year millions of birds are slaughtered during their journeys: The delicate balance of ecosystems ensures their survival.Need not to say that Birds were the primary inspiration for development of space technology. 

Boat was leisurely sailing.The ghats were open to me as a theatre of real life dramas. Sitting in boat, I was observing the activities on the ghats, through my camera lens and clicking them.

Pilgrims taking ablution in the waters of the Ganga, dhobis washing clothes, water buffaloes roaming around.young local boys were jumping high from ghat stairs. Women were busy in domestic gossips.

Now it was time to return back before Sun set. The Sun looked as a big plate of crimson red, ready to sink in Ganges water .The rays of the setting sun were no longer hot. The crimson red was prominently visible in western sky.A peacefull silence was around us, only noise of river waves striking bottom of boat. Fisher men, in mid stream, were also pulling fish nets to return back.

As I stepped out of the boat, I found my self tired but the mesmerizing beauty of this Ganga boat ride was refreshing me. My camera was fully loaded with some marvelous moments. Those memories are treasure for the rest of my life.

A Boat in River Ganges--Ghazipur

Written, photographed and posted by Engr Maqbool Akram.

The Scarf- A Small Untold Love Story

A flying Scarf, fell down at his feet.A puff of Jasmine fragrance was in air.Before Arshad could  lift the Scarf, a quivering hand lifted that Scarf.She was Anjali with her parents.An exchange of eyes with amour.He saw Anjali after a gap of 10 years.

Arshad was coloring the last touch of brush on a Sun set painting.Sun was slowly setting down behind hills at other end of Naina Jheel.

A sunset  after all, is welcome  scenery for anyone who’s having a bad day. It tells that finally, today whatever woes went away through will end in a few moments. This colorful Sun set made Arshad to forget that ,” behind every pretty picture there could be an ugly story”.

Arshad lifted his easel, paint boxes, brushes and handed over to helper boy to carry upto his guest house. He was posted in Nainital as Forest Officer.

Sitting on cane chair, Coffee mug on small round table was getting cold, Arshad was inhailing aroma of some memories for which he wished To roll back the clock and take back all sadness.A screaming titehri flown away some where in thick forest.

A nock at door. His orderly was at door with a small box, “a lady has given this box for you”, and he told him.For his surprise,there was a letter without address.The mysterious lines in Hindi:

“Zindagi yun bhi guzar hi jati

   kyon tera rahguzar yaad aaya”. 

Sure it was Anjali. Next two days he searched her at every tourist points of Nainial. He went upto, Bhimtal, Saat Tal, Naukuchia Tal, Bhawali and even Jim Corbett National Park.

The forgotten tales were surfaced.The Auditorium of Abdulla Girls College Aligarh. He was representing his Suleiman Hall in Annual Inter Hall cultural function. He was there to recite his story. Anjali a singer she presented” Rana Akbar Abadi 's” ghazal—

“Sunate hai ke mil jaati har cheese dua se
ek roz tumhe mang ke dekhenge khuda se

Jab kuch na mila hath duao ko uthakar
phir hath uthane hi pade humko dua se

Duniya bhi milli hai ghum-e-duniya bhi mila hai
woh kyo nahi milta jise manga tha khuda se

Tum samane baithe ho to hai kaif ki barish
woh din bhi the jab aag barasti thi ghata se”

After Function ,they chatted each other on Story and ghazal; they performed, on tea table hosted by college. 

Anjali get up from chair ,but her Scarf fell down at his feet.“Your Scarf”------“Thanks”.

It was the one epic moment that gave him a lifetime agony.After that day, he interacted with Anjali in many cultural functions of University. She was from Moradabad and student of B.A in Abdullah Womens College. In Aligarh, she was living with her widow aunty. Arshad was from Bareilly and student of Msc.

One fine day of the autumn vacation, Arshad reached station and was in ques to buy railway ticket from Aligarh to Bareilly. He found Anjali in ladies line.Those were the days when Reservation system was not smart and advanced as today. Bareilly passenger was steam Engine and used to stop at every station.

They boarded in same compartment. Anjali has to change train from Chandausi for Moradabad and Arshad to keeps his journey continue for Bareily in same train.He helped Anjali in shifting her luggage from Bareilly Passenger to Chandausi-- Moradabad passenger.

Love is a delicious feeling that is a mixture of many emotions, attitudes. That is why it is said that the best language to express love is silence, if any, that is the sense of love human mind, which is not meant to be heard but to understand.

They were student of same university, so start and end of holidays were common.They felt at ease and comfort with together. They developed a silent harmony that at every holiday they will travel in Bareilly Passenger, and will wait at station for other to come. At return journey both will wait for each other at Chandausi Railway station.

Slowly the seed of endearment sprouted among them.They used to exchange festival pakwans and sweets with each other at Chandausi railway station.They never wanted the end of this three hours journey.It was their passion.This waiting and travelling together continued for two years.

In one long summer vacation journey at Babrala railway station, a group of boys and girls with musical instruments entered in the same compartment.After siting with comfort on seats, they started playing with musical instruments singing....

“Chale aj tum jahan se hui zindagi parayi
Tumhe mil gaya thikana Hume maut bhi na ayi

O door ke musafir Hum ko bhi saath le le re
Hum ko bhi saath le le Hum rah gaye akele

Tune vo de diyaa gham bemaut mar gaye Hum
Dil uth gayaa jahaan se le chal Hume yahaan se

Suni hai dil ki raahe khamosh hai nigahe
Nakam hasarato kaa uthane ko hai janaza

Charo taraf lage hai barabadiyo ke mele re
Hum ko bhi saath le le Hum rah gaye akele”

All passengers were mesmerized by the lyric, but Arshad was agonized as he saw that Anjali was weeping, tears were dropping from her eyes.

Anjali stepped down at Chandausi station,“I will not return again to continue my further education”, she told him. Why?

“My parents want this, they are suspicious about us”.Arshad was disheartend hearing this news.Both were feeling uneasiness.

Her train was was coming on other platform, for which she has to cross over foot bridge.Reaching at top of bridge ,she turned back ,looked at him, cleaned her wet eyes with her scarf and dropped it.

Arshad ran to pick that scarf, but his train whistled.He turned away towards his compartment to board in.His train was leaving palate form. Anjali was still standing over stairs of foot bridge ,at one point she disappeared from his gaze. Arshad wished to weep and cry in agony.He stroked his head with compartment window.

At 5.30AM Bareilly passenger reached at  its last stopage “Bareilly” to  finish its journey .

The journey of Arshad was continued, last stoppage of destiny un-known.After completing his M.sc, he joined Indian Forest Service (IFS).He was posted in Nainital as Forest Officer.He started painting ,to express his emotions.”Sun set” was his most favourite Niche of painting.

Today he was painting a “Setting Sun” at Nain Jheel, when the Pink Scarf the identity of Anjali fell down at his Feet.

After 40 years.

Now Arshad was an internationally recognized Artist.His paintings were exhibited in famous Art Galleries and get auctioned in Lacs.

He was in France; to attend an international conference on Art.His painting works were on exhibit at 59 Rivoli Art Gallery of Paris.Next day was fixed for inauguration.

After four days, he opened his eyes.Sister kept her hand full of love over his fore head,

“So—you are now awake, that is good”.

Sister --where am I? You are in ICCU.

What happened to me.Heart attack?

After two days, he was shifted from ICCU to other room.His wife Farhat was besides him reciting Holy Quran.Sister enterd in room and told him that a lady wants to meet him she was also admitted in iccu the same day with you.To day she has been discharged.

His heart tossed inside his chest to break; blood boiled in head and a second heart attack was….He was dazed…

Anjali was at door, Pink salwar with green border and same Kolhapuri chappals in feet, parting hair line without vermilion, Neck without Mangal sutra.

“I am Anjali from Moradabad,  A great fan of Artist Arshad Saheb ,I live with my younger brother,who has settled in France and works as a Charted Accountant “.

Farhat offerd her chair to sit.”Through media I came to know that Arshad Saheb is here in France”.After some time,his brother entered in room.”My brother has paid yours bills too”.Anjali told and raised up the chair.

Her scarf fell down. Scarf was again fallen down.

“Your Scarf”, Farhat told her.

“Thanks”.

Anjali turned and said—“Chandausi aur Aligarh ka station ab bhut badal gaya hai, bada bhi hogaya hai.Bareilly passenger train ab Aligarh ke platform no 4  par khadi hoyi hai”.

Story written and posted by Engr Maqbool Akram ,photos are taken from Net with thanks.

Zindagi  ke  safar mein  guzar  jate  hain jo  maqam,

woh   phir  nahin  aate,  


phool  khilte  hain,  log  milte  hai

Patjhad  main  jo  phool  murjha  jate hain

Woh  baharon  ke  aane  se  khilte  nahin

kuchh  log  ek  roz  jo  bichad  jate  hain

Woh  hazaron  ke  aane  se  milte  nahin

umr  bhar  chahe  koi  pukara  kare  unka  naam

The End