Born and brought up in a small village of SARAR, Vadodara District where I imbibed the pastoral beauty of fields of cotton, tossing wheat crops in the spring zephyr and green grass.
I am fond of reading. In my boyhood once I had finished my school home work, I would start reading mostly well known fiction books in Gujarati and any odd books in the night, listening to a fox’s cries from a far away field.
My mother used to shout, ‘ blog, it is late at night, go to bed.’ Still I continued reading for a while eventually went to bed. I have been in this country for the past fifty years and still all of those past sweet reminiscences linger in me.
I am very grateful for your kind words of congratulations on my election as Mayor of London.
London is where I was born and grew up – it is a city that I love. Therefore, I am honoured and humbled that this great city has put its trust in me to improve the lives of all Londoners, and I will work tirelessly over the next four years to deliver my priorities for London.
Thank you again for taking the time to write to me.
A packed hall in East Ham of Newham’s Indian Muslims raised money to help in the fight against Cancer.
Local MPs Stephen Timms and Lyn Brown along with Newham Council’s Cabinet Member Ken Clark were in attendance joining over 600 people at The Royal Regency on High St North. Lyn Brown MP and Cllr Clark gave moving accounts of how cancer had impacted them after their loved ones contracted this illness, and the audience were visibly moved by their words.
Stephen Timms emphasised the need for communities to unite in the fight against Cancer and congratulated the organisers for their work.
The audience of mainly Muslims from across East London listened carefully as Professor Matin Sheriff, an expert on Cancer, gave a detailed presentation on Cancer and it’s causes. Politicians including newly elected London Assembly Member and Newham Cllr Unmesh Desai, urged people to help fight this terrible disease.
The organiser’s, the Indian Muslim Federation Newham’s Chairman, Saeed Mohamed said,
People tend to forget how cruel Cancer can be and how devastating it’s impact is on loved ones. If even one family or one person afflicted by this disease can be helped, then it is a something we must do. Muslims have a duty to help good causes and none come better than aiding the fight against cancer.
Newham’s Islamic community was joined by politicians at a charity night at the Royal Regency in High Street North, Manor Park.
More than 600 people came together at the event.
The event raised the cash from floor contributions – with some offering £1,000 and more – and raffles. The prizes included lunch at City Hall and dinner in the House of Commons.
The fundraiser was attended by East Ham MP Stephen Timms, West Ham MP Lyn Brown and Cllr Ken Clark, who joined London Assembly Member for City and East Unmesh Desai to speak about how cancer has affected their loved ones.
Medway Foundation Trust cancer specialist Professor Matin Sheriff also gave a presentation on the causes of cancer.
Mr Desai said he felt enlightened and empowered by the evening.
“It was a fantastic achievement and example of a community in action with a generosity of spirit,” he said.
“I’ve nothing but praise for the federation, who have an enviable reputation for charity work.
“I’ve spoken with Macmillan and they said they’ve never seen anything like this before. This was my first public engagement as an assembly member and I really learned something about a community in action.”
Saeed said it was important for Muslims to reach out to people suffering from cancer, and believes it is part of doing God’s work.
“Muslims have a duty to help good causes,” he said. “None come better than aiding the fight against cancer.”
And Lyn Brown MP praised the federation’s dedication.
It was a delight to attend the Indian Muslim Federation fundraising dinner,” she said. “I think that the leadership of the Indian Muslim Federation deserve much credit for organising this event and for raising so much money. It was a lovely evening and a very worthy cause.”
The Eminent poet with modern diction and style Nida Fazli passes away, urdu world in morning.
Nida Fazli who swiftly made his individual identity within the crowd of modern poets passed away last Monday he was 78 years old. His poetry dealt with man and humanity. He believed in human values and kept away from the traditional pathways of poetry and achieved eminence in prose and poetry . In poetry along with gazals he also used poems and couplets (dohas), to convey his thoughts and ideas to readers. This is the reason he was equally popular among urdu and hindi spheres.
His real name was Muqtada Hasan and was born on 12th October 1938 in Delhi. He completed his education in Gwalior graduating in 1957.
Rachael Maskell MP for York Central met with volunteers from the Seven Kings Mosque in Redbridge to welcome them to York and to thank them for all their hard work helping to clear up after the recent flooding.
The charity event organised by the Indian Muslim Federation – Newham branch, also raised over £4,000 and plan to present a cheque to York Council next weekend.
30 volunteers coordinated by the Indian Muslim Federation (Newham Branch) joined forces with council workers and York volunteers, spending the day cleaning up community spaces across the city. Ms Maskell met with the team at the Zoo Skatepark on Foss Bank, which had been badly affected by the flood water. The team removed litter and washed down the area, making the skatepark serviceable again and hopefully it will be open soon to be enjoyed by residents.
I am really touched by the generosity of all volunteers that have come from far and wide to assist our city in the big clear-up after the flooding that took place over the Christmas period. The team from the Seven Kings Mosque in Redbridge travelled over 200 miles to help us here in York and have done an absolutely amazing job helping to clear up some our affected community areas and for that I am truly grateful.
In the wake of the floods, community spirit in our city has been immense and I have been overwhelmed by the acts of kindness both from residents and those that have travelled to York to show their support and give hope to so many in the face of adversity.
I can’t thank everyone enough for the massive volunteer recovery effort in York and I am looking forward to the Zoo Skatepark being declared open very soon.
