Charles Spencer Chaplin was born in London, England, on April 16th 1889.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
History-Memons In Srilanka
The Memons in Sri Lanka are small in numbers but are considered an important minority community in the island.Like in other parts of the world memons in Srilanka are contributing immensely in the economic life of the country.The Memons, first arrived to Srilanka in 1870 from Gujrat, India.Abdul Rahman more famously known as Manna Seth is said to be the first memon to come to Srilanka.He began here as an itinerant peddler of textiles in Jaffna before settling in Pettah and building up a considerable business.In late 1900 certain Memon merchants mainly from Kutiyana, Porbandar and Upleta travelled to Ceylon present day Sri Lanka for trading.They would purchase textiles from India and sell them locally as they had a good demand here.
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| Memons Haji Karim Seth Dhedhi and Haji Saleh Mohamed Sami with the first Prime Minister of Independent Sri Lanka D.S. Senanayake in 1948. Pix courtesy ‘Memons of Sri Lanka.’ |
With time, Memons steadily came to the island for business purposes, but it was only the men who came here. The women were left behind in their homes in Kathiawad. However, with the partition of the subcontinent in 1947, those Memon businessmen brought their families and settled there permanently.They call Sri Lanka their own country and had been serving it to their best.
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| Memon Headquarters |
Among the early Memon firms were A. R. Kareem & Co established as far back as 1895. By the 1930s many Memon merchants had set up shop in the Pettah area of Colombo and other major towns such as Galle and Kandy. Although many of these firms initially traded in textiles, it was not long before the more enterprising among them came to realize the benefits of getting into garment manufacturing, particularly for the lucrative US and European markets. Thus arose the big-time Memon firms like Brandix, EAM Maliban, Timex Garments and Lucky Industries which today rank among the top apparel exporters, bringing in valuable foreign exchange earnings to the country.
Other areas were also explored for business prospects, among them the production and export of agricultural produce, manufacture of pharmaceuticals and aviation which was successfully pursued by the Expolanka Group, a large Memon business concern headed by Osman Kassim who also serves as Chairman of Amana Investments which pioneered interest-free Islamic banking in the country. There were others like Phoenix Industries, which got into the manufacture of plastic items and is today a market leader in this area. Yet others got into the food business, among them Chinatown Halal Restaurant in Colpetty, Queen’s Café in Bambalapitiya and Sweet Court in Wellawatte.
Other areas were also explored for business prospects, among them the production and export of agricultural produce, manufacture of pharmaceuticals and aviation which was successfully pursued by the Expolanka Group, a large Memon business concern headed by Osman Kassim who also serves as Chairman of Amana Investments which pioneered interest-free Islamic banking in the country. There were others like Phoenix Industries, which got into the manufacture of plastic items and is today a market leader in this area. Yet others got into the food business, among them Chinatown Halal Restaurant in Colpetty, Queen’s Café in Bambalapitiya and Sweet Court in Wellawatte.
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| Tuk Tuk as thy are called in Srialnka |
The Memons like their ancestors are a largely business community, though many have now taken to industrial activity and the professions as well.Now Memons here are not only importers and traders of various essential goods, but also are manufacturers and exporters of high quality garments that have today become a major source of foreign earnings. They also have their own member of parliament.
Memons as per their traditions have established mosques and madrasas in many parts of the island. The Memon Hanafi Mosque in Third Cross Street, Pettah, where Friday sermons are delivered in the Urdu language and Madrasa, Faiz-e-Raza are among the most known.
The Memons also have a distinct cultural identity.They mostly speak Memon. Many however understand Urdu, which serves as a lingua franca among the Muslims of the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent. Their Wedding Ceremonies include the Viahan ji Raja, the formal seeking of the bride’s consent shortly before the marriage ceremony and other practices such as the Mehendi ceremony.Brides here are dressed almost like Memon brides in India or Pakistan.
Their dresses are also similar too Memons in Indo-Pak. Men prefer the long shirt and ijar while women commonly wear the shalwa-khameez.The womenfolk are also extremely fond of typical Indian jewellery such as nose studs, which are even worn by the young girls. Thus the Memons could be said to represent a typical Indian migrant community who have preserved their traditional way of life.
The Memon Association of Sri Lanka (MASL) then known as Memon Association of Ceylon was formed in 1956 by well-known Memon personalities of the day such as Prof. Rauf Pasha, Dr. Ibrahim Dangra and Haji Usman Bhaila JP and was based in Hulftsdorp. It later shifted to the Memon Hall in Colpetty and now serves as a forum for bringing the community together on many an occasion, be it a religious event such as the Eid festival or more mundane activities such as the regular six-a-side softball cricket tournaments which it organizes.The Association also heavily involves itself in charitable activities not only towards the larger Muslim fraternity, but also the country at large.
References:
Wikipedia
The Memons – An Important Muslim Minority of Sri Lanka By Hameed Karim Bhoja
Early Days......No Business School yet Unique business system-- by Abdur Razzak Thaplawala
Mr. Sergy Levin, a Soviet Writer, writing in the book “Soviet Scholars View South Asia” has said that : “Memons have long been famous in India as very enterprising tradesmen. Merchants from this community have engaged in trade with the most varied goods, on land and on sea. In the 16th and 17th centuries they settled throughout all of Gujarat, and set up a number of factories on the Malabar coast. The Memon merchants played a particularly important role in the trade of the city of Surat, which was at that time the leading trade center of western India.
From the end of the 18th century and the first quarter of the 19th, a mass settlement of Memons began throughout India, and a few decades later they also emigrated beyond its borders, chiefly to the countries of the Indian Ocean basin. By the end of the 19th century, rich communities of Memons were appearing in the ports of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, in Ceylon and Bruma, and in East and South Africa”.
The Memon traders or professional businessman of those days had a unique system of organization and management. Many well known Memon firms had hundred of branches spread over the entire country and when none of the present day means of communication were available, they had evolved a system which kept the head offices of these firms in constant touch with all the branches. Apparently these firms were owned by one family but they had evolved a system of what we may call a contributory and participatory management. The Manager of each branch also contributed to the capital of that particular branch. His share in the investment was nominal from half an anna to four annas in terms of currency units of those days i.e. 1/32th to 1/4 of a rupee. Most of the Managers stayed at their branches for 10 months in a year leaving their families in their ancestors’ towns. When they returned to their native places for a two months leave every year, they would find their share of profit and the salary duly worked out by Mehtaji or Accountant of the firm and which was promptly paid to them. How could they keep control of the hundreds of branches and maintain their accounts in those days, is a delima to us today but it is an example of high professional & business acumen of the community. These Memons had not gone to a business School and yet they were able to evolve a unique business system. May be some of our professionals in accounting and business management profession will do some research on the subject one day.
Some people, with their own axe to grind often try to malign the community as hoarders & profiteers but it is a matter of common knowledge about our ansertors that very often they never hesitated in doing business when the gunnymmy bag or the bardana used for packing of the commodity was the only profit left to them. They believed in high turnover and small profits for overall success of the business. Many Management Gurus of today advocate this strategy.
Kida se Kida-From where to where.?6.ker karachi k kitro ourkheto naaron:)
Ghappar bhai poteji Ladli Fx me Shehnaaj Bai k gini ne Mai Kolachi road se theena PRC TOWERS wate se Netty Jetty je Fly over se Theena Aga Khan Road the poghia ne Wini ne Rukanra KUTIYANA MEMON HOSPITAL.boun Jara poteje rishetdar k Potri ji pedaish te Mubarak Baad deel le aawa wa.Sehnaaj bai Mithai jo dabbo jahle ne gadi se utri. clock tower dise ne pochi ee kitro juno aai.tou ji Dadi je jamane jo ouno.1904 me banyo wi ee towe ne akhro musalman ij banarai wi ithe pehla unje naam te dispensary halni wi Jaffer Faddoo Dispensary.Pache ite Kutiyana Memon Hospital bani ne ou dispensary in hospital jo ij hiso aye.Sehnaaj bai khilne khilne Ghappar Bha K chui .Haalo kite milan jo tame aj na nikri wine aayein taa pori tareekh sunaril mandia baqi ghare hali ne batarja .
Ghaffar Bhai and Shehnaaz Bai were going to congratulate some of their Relative on the Birth of their grand daughter.Their beloved FX moved on to Mai Kolachi road,passed near PRC TOWERS and went over the Netty Jetty fly over.It turned towards Aga Khan road and stopped at KUTIYANA MEMON HOSPITAL.Shehnaaz Bai got off the car with the box of mithai and looking at the clock tower adked how old could that be?Ghaffar Bhai said it must have been built in your Grandma's Era.It was constructed by a Muslim philanthropist Jaffer Faddoo in 1904.The well-maintained Jaffer Faddoo Dispensary belongs to the Kutiyana Memon Association and is part of the newly built hospital.
THIS WEEK:
Shadien Jo season aawo ne Shehnaaj bai k houns thi k mehndi lagayean ne shopping karan...Shopping le ta Ghaffar bha ha na ha na kariya per mehndi lagarai deen mathe raji thi wia ne boun haliya ghare se kida se kida bataro..!!!
As the wedding season was on the go Shehnaz Bai wished to have mehndi in her hands and do some shopping too.Ghaffar bhai did not like the idea of shopping much but was ready for the Mehndi.guess from where to where are they going!!
Beacon Of Light-Liaquat Soldier
Liaquat Soldier was a popular Pakistani stage and television comedy actor, writer and director. Born in 1952, Soldier started his acting career in 1973 .Initially he was not a very successful actor and even forgot lines on stage but then he showed his potential.He liked to call himself an entertainer rather than a comedian.He was also very pasionate about writing and had written and directed many plays.“OYE OYE OYE” , “EID AIRPORT” and “EIDY DAY DO”.were some of the plays he wrote and directed.
Speaking about how he came to showbiz in an inerview to Kalpoint he said;"I started my career as an actor in the mid 1970s, I also had the passion for writing but unfortunately did not get the opportunity to do so. I was paid 50 PKR when I first took part in a drama named “TUM KIA JANO” which was directed by Safdar Ali Shah, in which I played the role of a tough guy. Up till 1974, I was an extra and had no major role in any play, even though I was in contact with super stars of that period like Razaq Rajo, Ibraheem Raj and Taj Niazi. I kept struggling so that I would be given the opportunity to act. Eventually I did get a chance in a drama, but unfortunately I failed to remember my lines on stage. I did not let that incidence de-motivate me and by the Grace of God I got yet another chance which helped me prove my abilities. From there on, there was no looking back. Initially I acted in Memoni and Gujratee Dramas. Urdu stage dramas later gained popularity because of Moeen Akhter, he is one Artist who really knows how to attract a crowd. "
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| Last show on Samaa Tv |
Liaquat Soldier also appeared in couple of films but they were not big hits.He featured in over 250 plays and co-starred with many famous theatre personalities, including the likes of Moin Akhtar, Furqan Haider, Umer Sharif, Hanif Raja and Shahzad Raza. He came from a modest, low-income family in Karachi. Soldier’s unusual last name was given to him by his friend Nazar Hussain, a stage artist. Channels for which Soldier worked included Geo TV, SAMAA TV, Dhoom TV, Metro, Hum TV and ARY Digital. Overseas, he worked in the United States, Dubai and South Africa.
On 30 March 2011, Liaquat Soldier died of a heart attack; before his immediate death, he was reportedly participating in a live TV show during a special transmission of the semi-final between India and Pakistan of the 2011 Cricket World Cup and had passed away by the time he was transported to the hospital.Liaquat Ali Soldier belonged to a Memon family and left behind one daughter and three sons.May his soul rest in peace.
