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forfor sale NOVEMBER 1ST EDITION 2020 Yorkshire see page 7 Sofia Buncy joins the handful of Pakistani Muslim female Deputy Lord Lieutenants One of UK’s leading several national steering group. practitioners on the experiences She was announced as a Deputy of Muslim women in the Lord Lieutenant for West Criminal Justice System Yorkshire on Monday 2nd continues to set the benchmark November. as she joins just a handful of The Huddersfield community female Pakistani Muslim hero is one of five newly- Deputy Lord Lieutenants appointed Deputy Lord across the country. Lieutenants including Angela Sofia Buncy, founder and Monaghan; Sharon Watson; national coordinator of the Kath Lindley; Jenny Grainger pioneering ‘Muslim Women in and Paul Lawrence. Prison Rehabilitation Project’ in Bradford, contributes to Continued on page 8 COMMUNITY CHAMPION 2 Local www.asianexpress.co.uk November 2020 - 1st Edition November 2020 - 1st Edition www.asianexpress.co.uk Local 3 DDUUSSSSHHEERRThe dAAancers then set out w:: ith the drummers who give them a tempo, and Folk dance of Hulivesha energise them. As the dancers near the temple, their performances become more through the eyes of Pradeep KS extravagant, with some of them breathing fire, and others performing On the outskirts of the port city of his grandfather before him, begins with acrobatics. With the last few hundred Mangalore in Dakshin Kannada, the colour yellow, then white. It takes a meters left to go, they drop down on all Karnataka, India, a troupe of men get couple of hours for the initial coats to fours and prowl like tigers, while ready to paint themselves in vibrant dry, and then finally, the glistening black onlookers cheer them on, and the oranges, yellows, and whites. stripes are painted on. drums beat to a crescendo. It takes about 12 hours for their The eyes are left for the end, along While the festival has its roots in transformation to be complete, and with finishing touches. praying for a better harvest, what emerges from that little hamlet is Then, it is time to wait, as the paint worshipping the forces of nature, and in a strange pride of upright tigers, ready takes a long time to dry. The men stand humans as guardians and protectors of to prowl the streets as a form of with their arms balanced upon poles or the natural world, the present-day worship, and penance. on a line strung across the room, so as Hulivesha is more pageantry than This is the folk dance of Hulivesha, to not let them touch their bodies” conservation. which literally translates to ‘tiger mask’, explored and photographed by Pradeep KS, a photographer, based in Bangalore. Pradeep grew up with a deep interest in the folk art and dances of Karnataka. Curiosity led him on a journey that spanned five years and included repeated visits, and a lasting friendship with the Gopala Krishna Bhajana Mandali, one of the oldest troupes to perform the Hulivesha. Indian folklore and Hindu mythology are incomplete without their animal actors. Be it through fables, or through sacred texts, animals have been long revered and used as conduits to further messages and teachings, as well as used to represent certain values. One such animal of note in India is the tiger. A symbol of unlimited power, passion and strength, the tiger is revered as well as feared. One of the reasons for this reverence is because the tiger is the ‘vahana’ or divine vehicle and mount for the Hindu Goddess Durga, a fierce, protective, mother goddess of war and retribution. Durga is worshipped during the nine nights of Navratri in October, culminating in the grand tenth day celebration, or Dusshera, the occasion on which Hulivesha is ritually performed. It is during the festivals of Dussehra and Gopalashtami (the birth of the cowherd God, Krishna), that Durga’s tiger seems to acquire a life of its own. It is made corporeal by the various troupes of veshadharis or masqueraders who prowl the streets in processions through the temple town of Kateel that lead up to the Durga Parmeshwari temple, situated on an islet in the middle of the sacred river, Nandini. Over consecutive visits to Kateel, Pradeep learned that the painting itself is a laborious process, and there are rituals to be followed before the dance begins. “Not just anyone can participate in the Hulivesha,” he explains. “Usually, it is the men who have made a wish that has been fulfilled, such as the recovery of an ailing son, the marriage of a child, elimination of financial troubles, and so on. “They come to offer themselves as veshadharis besides experienced members of the troupe. “They bring an offering of a coconut, which is presented to Lord Krishna, after whom the troupe is named. Then, all the elders of the village get together in the temple for a puja (a prayer) over the masks. The head of the troupe then anoints each of the men with a stripe of yellow paint on the arms, so as to formally begin the painting process. “While 30-40 dancers queue up, the painter, like his father before him, and 4 Local www.asianexpress.co.uk November 2020 - 1st Edition Manchester Superstore gets vulnerable families fed in epic effort In a magnanimous effort Bilal Ghafoor said: “Shadim Manchester regular involves itself involving 30 volunteers saw 8000 Hussain and his team of volunteers in supporting local food banks, as meals provided to families who had worked very hard and done an well as assisting international aid were struggling over the half term. excellent job of executing this efforts. WHOPPING Managing director Bilal Ghafoor project which was very impressive. “We regularly lend our help to Manchester Superstores decided he wanted to assist, and visited Shadim Hussain at the Bradford Foundation Trust who’s been at the “Shadim Hussain and his team of 8,000 meals helm of the Bradford Free School Meals initiative. Manchester Superstores, along volunteers had worked very hard and with other local businesses, mobilised an army of volunteers done an excellent job of executing this distributed who meals and food boxes over five days. These ‘unsung’ heroes’ project which was very impressive.” contributed countless hours to cook, pack, deliver and arrange for free collection points for food, helping ensure struggling families and “Manchester Superstores would global cause, and this year those that are vulnerable had love to work further supporting distributed food and essential access to free food. projects throughout the next lock packs in Pakistan, and are The food was distributed mainly down and beyond.” sponsoring children's education. in the BD3 and BD4 postcodes to Manchester Superstore, which And during the COVID period people of all faiths and has a number of branches across this was increased drastically both backgrounds. Yorkshire, Lancashire and Greater in UK, Pakistan and Greece.” November 2020 - 1st Edition www.asianexpress.co.uk Local 5 6 Local www.asianexpress.co.uk November 2020 - 1st Edition Community champion raises money to help vaccinate children from polio “I’ve had so many people support The me - it’s been simply fantastic! The money we raised - over £3,600, will Manoj help to vaccinate 75,000 children against polio - that’s a wonderful, Joshi wonderful feeling.” big shave A much-loved key Yorkshire who host Iftaars (breaking of the BEFORE AND AFTER: community figure decided to shave fast) for our Muslim friends during off the moustache he’s donned for Ramadan,” he says happily. Bradford community over 52-years, along with his beard. Dr Joshi built a successful career in hero Dr Manoj Joshi 68-year-old Dr Manoj Joshi DL, pharmacy, and after retirement saves off beard and distinctly recognised by his big continues his work to improve the hearty signature ‘tash, took to lives of deprived and moustache for charity supporting the global ‘End Polio underprivileged children in the Now’ campaign, and had dyed his district. He is currently the chairman facial hair purple ahead of the Big of governors at Bradford Academy, Shave on Saturday 24th October. which last year won the prestigious Surrounded by his wife and friends National Times Educational on the day in City Park, Bradford, Dr Supplement (TES) Award for Joshi says he was “very nervous”, but Community and Collaboration. his determination to raise both He’s also been a Rotary member money and awareness of the polio for 37 years - and is believed to be vaccine campaign spurred him on. the first South Asian member of any “Having my beard and moustache Rotary Club in Yorkshire; and is shaved off for charity was such a currently the immediate past district great feeling. governor for Rotary International in “I’ve had so many people support Great Britain and Ireland. me - it’s been simply fantastic! The His decision to shave off his facial money we raised - over £3,600, will hair came as part of a Rotary Club help to vaccinate 75,000 children initiative to raise awareness and against polio - that’s a wonderful, funds to end polio. wonderful feeling.” Currently, confirmed by the World And it seems that shaving off his Health Organisation Afghanistan facial hair has caused quite a bit of a and Pakistan are the only two stir, his wife Bhavna says her countries where polio is still husband looks 20-years younger! classified as endemic. Polio is a The entire adventure of ‘The contagious viral illness that in its Manoj Joshi’ big shave attracted most severe form causes nerve injury quite a few onlookers in city centre, leading to paralysis, difficulty as well as viewers via live steaming breathing and sometimes death.