Desi Talk - page 14

14
May 27, 2016
COVER STORY
– that’s all you need to know
By Urvashi Verma
ver 1,100 people from
different walks of life
attended the
“Celebration of the Glory
of Hyderabad” held
under the patronage of Consulate
General of India in Chicago at
Shalimar Banquets in Addison, Ill.
May 15.
The event was aimed at cele-
brating the famed ‘Ganga-Jamuni
Tehzeeb’ – display of the diversity
and culture of one of India’s cos-
mopolitan cities, its spirit of civili-
ty, hospitality, and capturing the
essence of what is known to
many as the “Hyderbadi
Tehzeev”.
“Hyderabad has always
remained as a point of conver-
gence of many different cultures,
traditions, festivals, and religions
that gave it its distinct cosmopoli-
tan character, typifying the true
plural character of the city, where
people belonging to different
castes, creed, and religions live in
peace and harmony and partici-
pate in each other’s festivals with
enthusiasm”, said Ausaf Sayeed,
Consul General of India, in
Chicago in his inaugural address.
The dignitaries who attended the
event included Dr. Gopal
Lalmalani, Mayor of Oak Brook,
Hardik Bhatt, Chief Information
Officer, Office of the Governor of
Ill, Raja Krishnamoorthy,
Democratic Party nominee for
the 8th Congressional District of
Chicago and Krishna Bansal.
From the displays of the beau-
tiful calligraphy to award-win-
ning theater performances from
the Qadri Ali Baig Theater
Foundation, which was flown
from India to perform at the
event, and Sufi Qawaali, the event
showcased the best of the arts
from Hyderabad.
Honoring the diversity and
strength of Hyderabad’s educa-
tional institutions the “Glory of
Hyderabad” Steering Committee
honored prominent Chicago area
Hyderabadis with awards of
excellence in many areas. The
awardees included Dr. Azher
Quader from the Compassionate
Care Network, who received an
award of excellence for commu-
nity service; Dr. Vidyasagar, for
excellence in science and medi-
cine in the field of neonatology;
Dr. M.T. AliNiazee, for excellence
in promoting education through
his service as an academician for
the past 50 years; Ratnam
Chitturi, for excellence in pro-
moting education as the founder
of North South Foundation which
successfully delivered at least
nine national spelling bee cham-
pions as well as educated thou-
sands of students in India;
Mohammed Kaiseruddin, for
excellence in community Service
interfaith for his tireless efforts in
building relationships with other
faith communities in Chicago; Dr.
Nazneen Razi, for excellence in
business as the senior vice presi-
dent and chief human resources
officer of Health Care Service
Corporation, the largest cus-
tomer-owned health care services
provided in the U.S. and Sadiq
Ahmed Naqvi, for excellence in
promoting Hyderabad’s history
and culture.
Prominent Chicagoan from
Hyderabad Prem Rupani high-
lighted in his address the intellec-
tual might of Hyderabad with the
establishment of world class edu-
cational institutions like the
Indian School of Business, Indian
Institutes of Management, Indian
Institutes of Technology, and a
string of professional, technical,
and vocational and educational
institutions. “Hyderabad is
emerging as the most preferred
destination for students from a
number of countries,” he said.
The Steering Committee also
presented a special award to
Consul General Sayeed for his
exceptional commitment and
service to the welfare of Indian-
Americans in Chicago. “This
event really displayed what the
cosmopolitan and diverse the city
of Hyderabad really is, and we
were not only able to bring cul-
ture, traditions, literature, music,
poetry, calligraphy and even dress
to Chicagoland but also were able
to raise close to $1,000,000 which
will be used to help the city back
home that’s a great achievement”,
said Sayeed.
The Qadir Ali Baig Theatre
Foundation presented two
acclaimed plays, “Spaces: Story of
Hyderabadi Haveli” which con-
fronted the modern-day question
of how space is defined , or “does
space defines us” and “Quli:
Dilon ka Shahzaada,” the story of
Golconda Kingdom that look the
audience back to the time a
through a tale of true love.
According to Padma Shri
Awardee Mohammed Ali Baig,
head of the Qadir Ali Baig
Foundation, the most important
mission for him is to keep the
ancient tradition of Indian the-
ater, which found it roots in
Hyderabad and is alive across the
world. “It is across India and
unlike Bollywood movie and
songs, performing arts and artists
have to make a lot of efforts to get
recognition. My father was the
founder and we are now trying to
bring this art form to main-
stream. Today, we hold the largest
festival in India and we are going
to France, Germany, Asia and we
have accomplished a lot. Our
whole mission and effort is to
revive the love for theater and
promote this ancient art to the
world while maintaining its his-
torical integrity”, Baig said.
The Siasat Urdu Daily of
Hyderabad, showcased calligra-
phy made by artists from India as
part of the Urdu and Arabic
Calligraphy Exhibition, including
exhibits of Nayeem Saberi and
Faheem Saberi, paintings of
Lateef Farooqui, embroidery of
Naseer Sultan, and wood work of
Mohammed Mazharuddin. The
visit of Zahid Ali Khan, Editor of
Siasat, to Chicago, exclusively to
attend the event, was a once-in-
a-lifetime experience for many
Urdu lovers.
The highlight of the entertain-
ment event was a Qawwali which
is part of the rich culture of
Hyderabad. Riaz Qawwal and his
party, who came from Houston
for the event, presented popular
Qawwalis.
The event also raised more
than $1,000,000 in funds which
will be contributed directly to
Hyderabad for various projects,
including building hospitals, pro-
viding treatments to patients,
offering educational scholarships,
and improving educational insti-
tutions with a generous donation
from Deepak Kant Vyas
Chairman and CEO of RedBerri
Global Corp.
Mir Z. Khan, chairman of the
Steering Committee, thanked the
Steering Committee – Ashfaq
Hussain Syed (secretary), Iqbal Ali
M.Baig (treasurer), Prem Rupani,
Muzaffar Mirza, Sami Siddiqi,
Tasneem Osmani, Iftekhar
Shareef, Gazala Rahman, Syed
Sharafat Hussain, Anis Khan,
Syed Hussain, Khalid Osmani,
and Ali Jaffer who worked to
make the event a success. He
also thanked Azam Nizamuddin,
the MC of the event.
“ This is such an amazing
event, unbelievable even though I
am not Hyderabadi, I have many
friends who are physicians from
Hyderabad, and I really enjoyed
seeing their amazing culture and
fantastic cuisine. This is the first
year we have seen anything like
this in Chicago land I hope that
they will continue this for years to
come” commented Mayor of Oak
Brook Gopal Lalmalani.
O
Above from left, Azam Nizamuddin, master
of ceremonies Mir Z. Khan, chairman
of the Steering Committee, with recipients
of the Excellence Award, Dr. Nazneen
Rizvi, Dr. Azhar Quader, Dr. Dharmapuri
Vidyasagar, Dr. M. T. Ali Niazee, Dr. Ausaf
Sayeed, consul general of India in
Chicago, Dr. Ratnam Chitturi and Dr.
Mohammed Kaiseruddin, and Dr. Sadiq
Ahmed Naqvi, at the Glory of Hyderabad
event on May 15 in Addison, Illinois.
Left, Renowned Padma Shri Awardee
Mohammed Ali Baig and his wife Noor Ali
Baig from the Qadir Ali Baig Theater
Foundation in Hyderabad performing
"Quli: Dilon Ka Shezada" at the event.
‘Glory Of Hyderabad’ Celebration
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