Lighting the lamp of education

This story is yet another generous gesture by my friend Ritu Raj Mate shown to me. He not only gave the story theme to me but also drive me to their house. That’s why I have always insisted this to my juniors where ever I have worked that have one person who knows the city and also the city’s people who can keep providing you stories from time to time. The trust factor is very important because one can be taken for a ride too, by means by the source trying to plant a story to nepotism him or whom he wants to be written about. So first one has to check the credentials of the subject on whom they are going to report about so that it matches that of your sources information. Well anyway after I visited this lady who was self funding her education programe for the underprivileged children, I knew that this story would make to the HT Bhopal Live paper of the Hindustann Times, Bhopal edition, on its own merit.

It’s a story of staunch social commitment as heart-warming as it is inspiring. Denied any Stat aid, a lady in the Madhya Pradesh State capital of Bhopal has been ploughing a lone furrow to shine the light of education on street urchins.
He own failure to make it as a doctor fired a strong desire in Mehraj Nadim to prepare slum kids to make it to the top professional league. She launched a primary school, Legion school in Koh-e-Fiza locality in n1997 to fulfill her dream.
And it’s not run-of the mill education either. Some of he charges have made it to the best schools of the State Capital on the strength of their academic performance. Take, for instance, Serish Iqbal, who was later admitted to the St Joseph’s Convent Girls School on Idgha Hills.
The teachers, all of whom comprise Muslim women, share the feeling that free access to education should be made the country’s policy in order to facilitate nation building.
The academic curriculum in her school in her school has some unique features. “Children are taught four languages – Hindi, English, Urdu and Sanskrit,” she says with obvious pride. “Verbal and written language skills are the key to a successful future,” she says.
Including the hands-on principal in Mehraj, the school has seven teachers; all paid a token sum of Rs 300-500 per month. ‘We’re here top extend a helping hand to Mehraj in her mission. Salary is only incidental,” says Faiza, one of her colleagues at Legion.
The journey for Mehraj and her school began on a humble note. “We had only four students to begin with,” she reminisces. But that was the least of her problems. The slum dwellers were reluctant to send their children to school. “They wanted the kids to start working early for extra income,” she says.
Untiring efforts to convince them was the first obstacle she overcame. Now, the school has on its roll over five-dozen children in different classes. For those in Class IV and V, basic computer training is mandatory.
Despite the wholesale effort, Mehraj is till handicapped by some odds. For one, cash for meeting the school expenses. “While the teachers have been gracious enough to work on paltry honorarium, there are other unavoidable expenses,” she says.
She has to provide them with free books and stationary. Then, there are shoes and uniforms for those children who come from the lowest strata even amongst the slum dwellers. “I have often taken money from my husband to meet the expenses,” the lady -on-a-mission says.
To her utter disappointment, the Government agencies haven’t been supportive enough. “My application for State Government aid has vanished without a trace. I’m still awaiting the Union HRD Ministry’s response to my letter,” she recalls.
The support from her husband, Syed Nadim-ul-Hasan is the best part of the Legion tale. He couldn’t have been more cooperative. “My parents have also chipped in from time to time,” she says, confident that as the school grows, so would the list of benefactors from the immediate family circle.

Faithful Women

These pictures of Indian Hindu woman show the religious side of them. They were captured by me during my visits for the Maha Kumbh Mela at the Mahakaleshwar temple near the river Kshipra at Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh in 2004. The Hindu woman flocked in large numbers to drench themselves with the holy water, which takes place once in twelve years. Apart from the Indian Hindu Woman they were some foreigners too.


A elderly lady and a sadhvi from orrisa performs the aarti on the banks of the river kshipra in Ujjain on the first Shahi Snan at Simhastha Maha Kumbh Mela.



Hindu ladies take a holy dip at Kshipra river on the eve of the beginning for the holy month at the Simhastha in Ujjain.






A local woman pushes other Hindu woman to the Kshipra River in her push cart for rupees 10 per person, (left) even as a couple take a dip at the river kshipra in the foreground of a partly submerged shivling and nandhi in Ujjain. Thousands of Hindus have already started to take the holy dip to avoid the huge gathering during the holy month of Simhastha alos know as the Maha Kumbh Mela.

Male family members hold on to a lady claiming to be possessed by ghosts even as a pundit try's to perform a pooja to route out the evil spirit at the Asha Ram Bapu Akhara (left), as a Hindu Devout pray in front of the more than 1.8 corer mini clay Shiv lings which was made by the devotees attending the Simhastha Maha Kumbh Mela in Ujjain.

Hindu devotees offering their prayers on the banks of river Kshipra during the first shahi snan in the month long Simhastha Maha Kumbh Mela in Ujjainnear the Mahakaleshwara Temple.




A Hindu Devotee silhouetted against the sun rays from the river Kshipra at Ujjain while she washes her clothes from the holy water, (left) as another woman pours the holy water to seek the blessings of the Sun god during the Holy month of the Maha Kumbh Mela in the once in 12 years Simhastha.



A lady walks back to the banks of river Kshipra after taking a dip on the eve of the beginning of the holy month (top left) A Hindu devout seen offering her prayers to the sun god on the banks of river Kshipra on the first shahi snan (top) and woman volunteers of a Hindu group seen with caps showing the anti cow slaughter movement of the state government of Madhya Pradesh in Ujjain during the Month long Simhastha Maha Kumbh Mela.


Artist From England seen sketching the Simhastha Camp area in Ujjain at the month long Kumbh Mela from one of the Akhara (left) as a Japnese lady chats with a Indian sadhu at an akhara (right). The Kumbh mela is an huge International attraction in which hundreds of foreign tourist come over to India to witness the Indian religious ethos.

A Japanese woman along with her friend from Brazil who did not want to give their names pray to the sun god with both their palms locked into one on the banks of the river Kshipra (left) as another woman from Germany enjoys her holy bath with the holy water in the river Kshipra during the holy month of Maha Kumbh Mela at Ujjain in 2004.

*** Please scroll down for more on Simhastha ***

Jodh's Climb in Life

This photo story was part of my final project at The University of Missouri-USA during my Reuters Foundation Willy Vicoy Fellowship in 1997. When I was hunting for an Indian Restaurant to taste the delicious Indian dishes, during my fellowship in Columbia Town, in Missouri State, I met upon this 58 year old Punjabi lady who was running a chain of Restaurants named ‘India’s Rasoi’.
Then it so happened that I invited the Director of the PJ School Mr. Bill Kuykendall and his wife over for supper at this Indian Restaurant which he had not visited earlier.
During our supper Mr. Bill Kuykendall came up with an Idea for me and asked me to make this Indian lady as my Photo Story Project, and also asked me to speak to her for her consent which was duly agreed upon and in the following frames you will get to see my six months of work compressed in 14 visual frames.
For this 58 year old Mrs. Jodh Kaur, a Punjabi lady running one of the largest chains of Indian Restaurants (India’s Rasoi) in the USA is just another halt for her, in her long but fruitful journey from the small middle class living in Calcutta to a huge Palatial Mansion with more than 10 cars for her choice to travel in from her house to her work place.
Jodh had started her first restaurant in Columbia Town in 1987 with 25 dollars as a bank balance which she had earned by preparing and selling home made pickles to the Indian Community in USA.
And now Jodh has a bank balance of 85,000 dollars and keeps climbing every year.
Jodh shifted to the USA after her Husband passed away and her younger brother who was settled in the USA forced her to shift there along with her three daughters and one 10 year old son in 1977.
After nearly 10 years of struggle she came up with the idea of setting up Indian restaurants around the USA for the large and ever growing Indian community. Though she can afford to have a laid back life she prefers to stay put at the restaurant during the day time to ensure that the cooks and the waiters are neatly dressed and the day’s menu displayed well.

Jodh Kaur has a sense of belonging with her co workers at the 8 chain of restaurants spread in four states across USA, that if there is no call from her than the chef’s and the managers start to press the panic button. This she say’s is due to the extra care she takes with the food her restaurants serve the customers, and adds that there is a common menu in all our chain of restaurants every single day.

Jodh loves her workouts which she goes to on alternate days, the keeper of this workout joint says that this “Indian Aunty” is the kindest person he has ever met so far and adds she is the only regular person for the past 10 years.

As far as getting herself done up it is very minimal as Jodh says that “I hate all the facial colors and keep myself away them”. Though, she loves to apply lip sticks and a few gold ornaments.

Jodh after reaching her Restaurant in Columbia Town has a word with the Chief Chef Md.Abdullah Nadir for the day’s menu and adds that it is this Chef who keeps my chain of restaurants on the hunt for Indian food.

After noting down the menu her next important thing is to call up all the chefs in her other chain of restaurants to inform them about the day’s menu and also to note down the income of the previous day. Jodh says that she trusts the managers and they do all the cash handling.

Jodh is the first person to reach her restaurant and does the cleaning of the entrance glass herself as she says that this habit of hers has been their right from the beginning of her first restaurant and adds that “self help is the best help” and that is why she has kept the self service system in all her restaurants.

Jodh Prepares the South Indian dishes herself after her South Indian Cook fell ill. She says that working for her in the kitchen is like what a mother does for her children and adds that restaurant or no restaurant she loves to cook.

Jodh does not like to differentiate herself from her Co-workers, and adds if any businessman starts to think in that manner he or she will from that day start their downfall. The workers of Indian’s Rasoi are given a monthly salary along with a house and of course food during their jobs.

Jodh is loved by all in her huge chain of family and this she says is because she did not trouble them during her struggle in life and adds that her foreign born niece ( Anna Kaur – Above) loves her the most and has on many occasions made her come to her school and college functions as her guardian.

Jodh admires her American Sister-in –Law (Elizabeth Singh – seated left). Jodh says that it was her encouragement she gave me when I was new in the USA that what I am today and adds she keeps advising me every now and then which I heed too.

But for Jodh her first love is for her only son (Harinder Singh) for whom she has built this huge chain of restaurants and adds that he will remain as a new born child for me as long as I live to see him.

Jodh loves to travel and this she does every quarterly of the year. She clubs her travel when ever niece and nephews have their vacations and takes them to locales which they have not visited the previous trip and loves be like a new born child herself amidst them.
Jodh says that she will remain as she is today and adds that only this respect for other humans has fetched me all this success and adds that at every difficult moment of her life she has remembered her husband.

Thanks to the effort of Mrs. Jodh that we still remain religious who keeps our family together said all most all the family members I spoke to. After Jodh shifted to the USA we learned a lot of family values and religious sentiments from her they said.

Jodh herself loves to read the ‘Guru Granth’ every night before going to bed and adds that reading your religious book every night helps one to keep their thoughts pure and clean.

As for 32 year old Harinder Singh (the only hire to these chains of restaurants) it is time for fun life getting chilled along with his class mates on a glass of beer.

And after 10 long years of hard and relentless work she owns 8 restaurants spread over there states in the USA and has plans to open another three by the end of 2004.
For Mrs. Jodh Kaur this climb in life has been a long but fruitful one.