Launching a Brand in Sudan

When I asked him whether he is coming for the flag hoisting at 9 am on 15th August, a Friday, he said he would be working till 4am in the morning being  a Thursday and might find it difficult to attend. Subhan Masood Ahmed has been working very hard as the Brand Ambassador for Chicano.Their first restaurant in Kafouri is doing very well . I love the spicy chicken broast with garlic sauce. The added attraction is the Jungle Zone - a safe play area for children.They have plans to expand with more branches in Khartoum soon. Masood originally from Bangalore, India comes to Sudan with a rich experience of 15 years with KFC in KSA. We welcome Masood on behalf of the Indians in Sudan and wish him a successful venture in Sudan.

Kullo Sanna Wa Inta Tayeb

A Sudanese journalist interviewed the Ambassador of India H.E. Sanjay Kumar Verma at an Iftar and wanted to know about Iftars in India. The Ambassador shared that Iftars in India were more of a homely affair which included friends from all religions. The most popular Indian dishes during Iftar are Koftas, Kababs, Biryanis and Firni (pudding) . His Excellency was then asked what was his favourite Sudanese dish, to which he remarked Aseeda and Omali (bread pudding).

On Thursday, 24^th July’14,the Ambassador and his wife Mrs. Gunjan Verma visited the patients in the Medical ward of Khartoum Teaching Hospital and distributed food to break the fast for 80 patients including the hospital staff. Dr.Hany Gaafar Eltom Zeyad, an active member of the Sudanese Indian Friendship Association remarked that this was a very kind gesture from the Indian Ambassador.

Today is Eid-ul-Fitr and I have the pleasure of wishing H.E. Sanjay Kumar Verma a Very Happy Birthday. Remarkable coincidence isn't it?

Symposium in Khartoum on Democracy in India

Council for International Peoples Friendship, Sudanese Indian Friendship Association and AlZaiem AlAzhari University jointly organized a symposium at the University hall in Khartoum (North), Bahri on Monday 9^th June’14. The title of the symposium was ‘Democracy in India’ and the speaker was none other than the Ambassador of India to Sudan His Excellency Sanjay Kumar Verma.

The Ambassador started with the definition of Democracy as given in the preamble of the Indian Constitution which is Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic India. Many misunderstand Socialist as Communist but here it means equality of resources and wealth. Secular in India means all inclusive. The Ambassador endorsed the point made by the announcer Prof. Abdelgadir Hamid AlFadil to explain India’s secularism by saying that India is Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Jain, and Parsi. Democracy in India also means Justice (not to be mistaken for judiciary). It is social, economic and political justice which means equality of status, opportunities; liberty of thoughts, expression, belief, faith and worship. The Ambassador gave an example that in India people can stand up in a corner and speak of non governance without being invalidated.

Mr.Verma spoke about the structure of the Parliament, the functioning of the Election Commission. It was interesting to learn that 64% of the voting population (840 million) is below the age of 30. This makes India the youngest country in the world. While talking about the process of elections the Ambassador mentioned that the first election in Sudan was conducted under the guidance of Sukumar Sen an Election Commissioner from India. The recent elections held in India were the first time in the world with 100% usage of Electronic Voting Machines. These machines replaced trillion plus pages of paper which was environment friendly and the results were announced faster. While responding to a journalist from a local newspaper in the symposium, Ambassador offered to share India’s experience from its Constitution and Election Commission and assist Sudan in this matter with what suits best for the country.

The Ambassador also spoke about bilateral relations stating that Sudan will always remain in focus in terms of institution building, capacity building in human resources and in industry. He added that Investment is the best way to prosper for a country like Sudan which brings in technology and management. In the recent CII Africa Conclave the robust delegation from Sudan discussed $ 86 billion worth of projects with India.

Good News on Friday the 13th

On Friday 13^th June, there was a Medical Doctor and an Ambulance waiting at Khartoum airport for a passenger from El Fasher, capital of North Darfur, Sudan. There were also senior security officials from United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), Sudanese Security Agencies, State Minister of Darfur, Ambassador of India,other officials from the Indian Embassy and the media waiting for this passenger. They were all waiting to receive Irfan Jaffery an Indian national who just got released from his abductors after three months in Darfur. Once he arrived he certainly didn’t look like he needed medical support. Irfan hails from Mumbai and is a software professional working with multinational company Trigyn Technologies who work for UN worldwide. He with almost 70 other professionals was posted in Darfur.

On 11^th March he was abducted by armed rebels in El Fasher. He was kept in various places and the last place was Kabkabiya. There was a ransom for INR 32, 00,000 which is approximately USD 50,000. The policy of Government of India and UNAMID was against payment of ransom.

“Safety of Irfan Jaffery was my prime concern and we profusely thank Sudan Government particularly the Security Agencies, Provincial Government and the Foreign Ministry for getting him released from the abductors without paying any ransom” said the Ambassador of India H.E. Sanjay Kumar Verma. Irfan, a bodybuilder had a smile in his face and was anxious to go back to his distraught family who had patience for these three months. Irfan expressed his gratitude to UNAMID, Sudan Government and the Government of India for their sincere and strategic plan and action in getting him released from captivity.

Laparoscopic Surgeon in Managil

Laparoscopic surgery is keyhole surgery with minimal invasion. It is a modern surgical technique in which operations in the abdomen are performed through small incisions. This specialized surgery is performed by Surgeons and Gynaecologists by making use of images displayed on TV monitors to magnify the surgical elements.

 The Fourth World Congress of Laparoscopic Surgeons was held at the World Laparoscopy Hospital in Delhi, India on February 8^th and 9^th 2014. This International conference was well attended by Surgeons and Gynaecologists all over the world. One such Surgeon was Dr.Mohamed ElFatih Mohamed ElHag who is a surgeon in Managil, Gezira State in Sudan. Dr.Mohamed Elfatih had obtained his Laparoscopic training earlier from the Laparoscopic hospital in India. He must have made at least three trips to this hospital in India for training. The picture shows him receiving his certificate from leaders of Laparoscopic surgery at the World Congress.

School Toppers and Karate Kids

The two common factors between siblings Lina and Mohamed Elhaj are that they both have a Brown Belt in Karate and both have achieved excellent results in their Primary School Examinations.

Lina Emad Mohamed Alhaj is this year’s Topper in Sudanese Primary Certificate Examination with a total of 279 out of 280. Her father Emad said that they had expected her to do well. When asked about how many hours of study she devoted in a day, Emad replied that Lina always maintained a daily routine of studies in the evening after school and also watched TV and played games. She actually did not put in extra hours during the Exams because she had studied consistently well throughout the year. Lina’s favourite subjects are Science and English. She nurtures the hope to be an architect or an interior designer someday. Lina thanks her parents particularly her mother for her good results. She is also grateful to her school Khartoum Shariq and her teachers Malik, Isam, Gibreel and the school leader Baday.

Her brother Mohamed Elhag is very happy for her because Lina has topped the results with 279 while he had scored the third highest with 278 in 2012. He will feel more proud of her when he accompanies her to the Police Club for Karate lessons.

  

Congratulations Anuradha Lohia

If you see the group picture below, the girl in the extreme left is Anuradha Fatehpuria. We used to call her Fateh. I somehow was always comfortable calling her Anuradha. We were classmates studying the same subjects in the same college in Calcutta. She was a pleasant person with a spring in her gait. Later we knew that she was a dancer. We had witnessed the Arangetram her first public performance of Kuchipudi dance with her Guru at the YMCA auditorium in Chowringhee. She got married while studying in college and was renamed Anuradha Lohia. After graduating with flying colours she joined Science College to study her Master’s in Biochemistry. The last time I saw her was in the canteen of Science College almost 35 years ago.

She later became a Senior Professor of Biochemistry in Bose Institute. And today she has been selected as Vice Chancellor of Presidency University, our alma mater. That is why she said “ Whatever I learnt at Presidency College, I will return it for the best of Presidency University”. I am sure you will Anuradha. All the best to you. She sadly shut down her Facebook account and I will receive no more comments from her on my posts. I guess one has to pay the price for positions especially in academic institutions.

N.B. You will find me in the box