Cutchi Memon Digest
Kerala
ﮐﮁﻲ ﻤﻴﻤﻦ ﮢ ﺍﯿﺠﺴﭧ - ﮐﻴﺮﻻ
The Photographer Legend : Mrs. Halima Bai Hasham Usman Sait -alias UMMIJAN
The Cutchi Memon Digest, Special Kochi Edition will be incomplete without a note on the legendary photographer Halima Bai. Her photographic marvels were exhibited at Aasia Bai Trust Hall, Mattancherry, Kochi from 24th Dece-mber 2014 to 29th March 2015 as part of the Musiris Biennale Kochi. The following is an excerpt from the Hindu, December 18, 2014, reproduced with immense thanks to the Hindu for projecting the personality which would have otherwise gone behind curtains as has happened with many a similar talent over the past.
"In 1950 when Haleema Hashim started to photograph her family and a few others in the neighbourhood of Yasmin Manzil in Kochi, little did she know that one day her work would be read as documentation of the community of Kutchi Memons settled in Kochi. Thrilled at the Yashica SLR camera, someone had gifted her husband, Hashim Usman, Haleema simply began clicking the women and kids around her in Yasmin Manzil. The exercise transform-ed into a consuming passion which continued for 25 years and gave birth to an exhaustive photographic archive. Sixty-six photographs in both black-and-white and colour, out of some thousand, form “Ummijaan: Making Visible A World Within”, one of the partner projects at Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2014, which is on view at Aasiya Bai Trust Hall till the end of the Biennale. It has been curated by her great-grandson Nihaal Faisal who is studying at Bangalore-based Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology.
It was his grandmother who informed him about his great-grandmother’s treasure trove of photographs lying in Kochi, where the 86 year-old veteran photographer conti-nues to live. “Looking at those photographs, I realized even though she wasn’t trained, it didn’t show in the work. She was very concerned about the composition and framing. How the light was falling on her subject. She took references from studio photography. The photographs were taken inside domestic spaces yet had a very formal approach,” says Nihaal of the technical aspect of Halee-ma’s work.
For Haleema Bai, it was a very personal exercise which she carried out without any anthropological concerns. “She was shooting her immediate family in Yasmin Manzil which was also fairly large. Here also, she was shooting only the women and kids of the family,” he adds.
“She shot a self-portrait too. It was clicked by her husba-nd,” says Nihaal, who sifted through thousands of images to build this project. He was also struck by her bridal photographs in which she with the idea of showcasing the rituals and culture, captures the brides in all their finery and the paraphernalia around. “She didn’t just shoot the brides in the family but also in the neighbourhood. She had gradually started to move beyond her immediate family and shot Kutchi Memon families. She didn’t shoot men except her husband and father-in-law,” says Nihaal
Cutchi Memon Marriages Then and Now
Grand mothers used to take peasure in narrating marriages in their days. The girls used to be marr-ied away when they were too young to understand their rights and liabilities in the homes they were consigned to live. The range used to be 7 to 14 years, occasionally going beyond for reasons of poverty or bad connectio-ns. The marriage cerem-ony used to be a long process running upto a month of celebration. Every day there would be some function or other in the bride's or bridegro-om's home. Guests were invariably served with tea, sweets, sharbat and gift parcels of dry fruits and spices like cloves and cardamoms in silver, ceramic or enamel plates depending on the parents' finan-cial strength. During this period the bride and the bride room underwent rituals of applying Meendi (henna) and Peethi (Turmeric and other cosmetics). Exhibition of Patchi (costumes, ornaments, vessels and other gifts from the girl's parents and close relatives) was a night lon function just before the Nikah. All the festivities were in the nights after business hours running almost to dawn. The next generation found them shortened to a week preceding the Nikah, though the functions of Meendi, Peethi and Patchi continued unabated. As people got busier day after day, the functions have further become curtailed to a few hours each day during at the most a week preceding the Nikah.
The actual Nikah, however continues to be same even now except that the process of farewell is appended to the nikah day instead of a week long ceremony called Satahdo, during which period friends and relatives of the bride and bride groom visit the couple and the bride shuttles between the two households. If the bridegroom was from another town the barat (the entourage of bridegroom) would rmain in the bride's town in a temporary accommodation, usually provided by the bride's father. On the seventh day she is bid farewell with lots of gifts including jewelry and wearing apparel. The bridegroom also receives gifts from the bride's side. Now, especially where the barat returns immediately after Nikah, the Sathado is also done the same day.
Being and endogamous community Cutchi Memon marriages used to be arranged by parents from amon their own kith and kin. As time progressed help of relatives was taken to locate suitable matches, especi-ally because the community had spread over distant places. For example people from Alleppuzha, Kollam and Kayamkulam had moved to Kochi and Thiruvanant-hapuram in large numbers. Still the contacts were main-tained by occasional visits to attend marriages and fun-erals or otherwise. Services of memon marriage brokers were far and few. Interestingly today the scenario has chaned drastically and the services of professional marriage bureaus and media advertiseme-nts are being sought increasinly, although the word of mouth enquir-ies are still not uncommon. The use of these profssional websites and other media are mor common in places other than Kerala, especially overseas. Some of the notable institutions are Memon Shadi, Bandhan and Kutchi Memon Matrimony.
TID BITS
Memon Youth Forum
Constituted in 1967 under the presidentship of Iqbal Zackaria Sait, the Memon Youth Forum celebrated its silver Jubilee in 1999. Iqbal Zackaria Sait was succeeded by Anwar Sait, Mansoor Sait, Riyaz Ahmed Sait, Gaffar Essa Sait, and Sadiq Essa Sait. The MYF originally acted as a wing of the Cutchi Memon Association charged with the duty of helping the poor with cash and kind during Ramadhan. It was inactive for a long time and was revived in 1996 with Rasheed Usman Sait as President and Salim Shakoor Sait as Secretary. In their term, besides continuing with the charity activities as before, a blood donation camp was organized where 53 bottles of blood was collected and handed over to the Indian Medical Association. 65 patients were helped with the blood so collected.
A Cricket Tournament was organized at Parade Ground, Fort Kochi which was participated by 6 teams. They played 8 overs each. Rasheed Usman Sait was re-elected President for the 1998-2000 term, with Mohmmed Atheek Sait Secretary who had already taken over as Secretary from Salim Shakoor Sait mid term. During this term 91 bottles of blood was collected.
Apparently the MYF once again into a lull and on 12th April 2012 re-emerged as Young Memons continuing with similar activities, particularly the 8 over Cricket Tournament with 6 teams participating.
Cutchi Memon World Conference April 19, 1993 - A Flashback
22 years ago, this day in 1993, a World Cutchi Memon Conference became a reality. It was originally arranged by the All India Cutchi Memon Federation to be held in Bombay on January 15th, 16th and 17th. Alas, because of communal strife in India that followed Hindu-Muslim riots and the bomb blasts in Bombay, the Conference was postponed! It was held later at Udhagamandalam (Ooty), after the climate was normalized, on April 19, 1993.
Haroon S. Kably, President, All India Cutchi Memon Federation wrote in a a Foreword in the CMWC Suvenir ….”It is with all humility that I present this Souvenir…With the principle in mind I learned years ago that “a parachute never opens until you jump”, I started preparing for the World Confere-nce. By Allah Subhanahu Talla’s kind grace, I succeeded. The World Conference has been our dream for quite sometime. It has been called, not only to link Cutchi Memons allover the world but also to see that we do not loose touch with our roots, not only for ourselves but for the coming generations as well. We want to give the community a global platform. I need your cooperation, support and prayers in achieving these objectives”.
Several leaders around the world sent in messages of good wishes. Governor of Maharashtra state, C. Subramaniam wrote on December 13, 1992…”I am happy to know that the All India Cutchi Memon Federation will be holding a World Conference of Cutchi Memons from 15th to 17th January 1973. On this occasion, I extend my greetings to the delegates and wish the Conference all success”.
Governor Sarup Singh of Gujarat wrote on March 23, 1993…”I am happy to learn that All India Cutchi Memon Federation is organizing a World Conference of Cutchi Memons in Ootacamund, Nilgiris, on April 20, 1993 and a souvenir is also being brought out to mark the occasion. People of Gujarat living in and outside the State have earned well-deserved reputation, for goodness of their nature, positive attitude to life, business acumen, and philanthropic and humanitarian activities. The participation by the delegates from within and outside the country in the conference, I am sure, will help the delegates in sharing the rich experience and skills of each other for further strengthening the humanitarian activities as well as the traditional values and cultural heritage of Cutchi Memons who are an integral part of India’s unique and chequered civilization. I send my warm greetings on the occasion and wish the conference all success”.
Hon. Azeez Sait, Minister for Transport and Wakfs in the Government of the State of Karnataka, and a Cutchi Memon, wished the Conference well on September 5, 1992. So did Fakhruddin T. Khorakiwala, the Sheriff of Bombay followed by Ebrahim Sulaiman Sait, Member of the Indian Parliament and a Cutchi Memon from Mysore (later migrated to Bangalore and the Kochi).
Arif G. Kadwani, Founder-Presdient. (now Secretary General) of Cutchi Memon Jamat of North America wrote on September 27, 1992 as he wished the Conference all success…”As we watch the world around us taking progressive strides, we cannot help appreciating the fact that our world of Cutchi Memons is no more confined to narrow, rigid and restricted views of life. Education coupled with a general comprehensive upliftment of social values has placed greater demands on us as members of a unique community structure. These demands include social fraternizing, community bonding, and a sense of sharing pride in being Cutchi Memons. While there are Cutchi Memon Jamats or Associations all over India and Pakistan (and now in the United States of America), the uniting factor is the All India Cutchi Memon Federation. Its World Conference will not only enable a meeting of minds relating to the past, present and future of Cutchi Memons but also an enriched scheme of augmenting education and health plans, monetary assistance, cultural and nationalistic beliefs and feelings, etc”.
Messages were also received from Abdul Gany Joonas, President, Cutchee Maiman Society, Mauritius; Daud Abdullah, Chairman, Memon Jamat Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania); Salamatullah, Chairman, Haj Committee, Bombay; Ahmed B. Zakaria, Founder Chairman. Islamic Cultural Centre (India); Hashim Abdullah Memon, Chairman, Cutchi Memon Markazi Jamat, Karachi, Pakistan; Muhammad Yousuf Patel, President, The Cutchi Memon Jamat Saddar of Karachi, Pakistan; Muhammad Ilyas Usman (Dadu), President, Cutchi Memon Jamat, Ghari Khata, Karachi, Pakistan; Usman Abdul Rehman, President, Cutchi Memon Jamat Kalri of Karachi, Pakistan; Adam Ibrahim Anjarwala, Chief Patron, All Pakistan Cutchi Memon Centre of Karachi, Pakistan; Haji Saleh Mohd. Gheewala, President, Cutchi Memon Friends Society of Karachi, Pakistan; and Abdul Ghani Saeed, Director, Centre of Executive Excellence of Karachi, Pakistan