Bandipora man writes Quran by hand on a 500-metre scroll
Srinagar, Jul 27: A 26-year-old man from the remote Bandipora district here has hand-written the Holy Quran on a 500-metre-long paper scroll -- a calligraphic feat achieved through painstaking work over three months.
Mustafa-Ibn-Jameel, a resident of Tulail area of the frontier Gurez in the north Kashmir district, embarked on the project last year.
"It took me two months to arrange for the special art paper for calligraphy. I got that from a factory in Delhi as it was not available in the open market. Then I also got a special calligraphy ink for it," Jamil told PTI.
Jameel said he then started the calligraphy part -- done in Naskh font -- which took him three months and the project was concluded in June this year.
"Border designing took about a month. I designed it with about 13 lakh dots. Then the whole roll was laminated," he said.
Jameel said the project was completed in Delhi with a cost of about Rs 2.5 lakh.
"It was my heartfelt desire to write a Quran copy," Jameel said, adding, initially he took calligraphy to improve his handwriting. "Then, I started writing a few chapters of the Quran and felt so happy in doing so, that it occurred to me that I should use my God-given gift to do something unique."
The copy of Quran has 450 pages and each page is 14.5 inches wide, he said.
Jameel said his family was always appreciative of his passion and kept supporting him throughout the project.
He said he wants to pursue his art further and is working on some other projects which he did not want to share yet.
Jameel's art has won him recognition from the Chennai-based Lincoln Book of Records -- an independent NGO initiated to admire and promote hidden talents of the people across the globe.
"I feel so happy to have taken this task and to have completed it. I have put on paper my love for the Quran and calligraphy. You can gauge my passion from the fact that I used to spend about 18 hours a day on it," he said.
He expressed hope that his feat can inspire youths from Kashmir to take up calligraphy -- an art which has over the years been on the wane in the valley.
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In phone call, PM Modi, US President Trump resolve to promote global peace, security
New Delhi, Jan 27 (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump on Monday vowed to work towards a "trusted" partnership between India and US and advance global peace and security in their first phone conversation since the American leader's inauguration last week.
Modi and Trump exchanged views on global issues, including the situation in West Asia and Ukraine, and deliberated on measures to boost bilateral cooperation in areas such as technology, trade, investment, energy and defence, an Indian readout said.
The two leaders agreed to meet soon, it said.
"Delighted to speak with my dear friend President @realDonaldTrump @POTUS.
Congratulated him on his historic second term," Modi said on 'X'.
"We are committed to a mutually beneficial and trusted partnership. We will work together for the welfare of our people and towards global peace, prosperity, and security," he said.
In a statement, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said the two leaders "reaffirmed" their commitment for a "mutually beneficial and trusted partnership".
"They discussed various facets of the wide-ranging bilateral Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership and measures to advance it, including in the areas of technology, trade, investment, energy and defence," it said.
"The two leaders exchanged views on global issues, including the situation in West Asia and Ukraine, and reiterated their commitment to work together for promoting global peace, prosperity and security," the PMO said.
"The leaders agreed to remain in touch and meet soon at an early mutually convenient date," it added.
It is not immediately known whether the issues of immigration and tariff figured in the talks.
Like in many countries, there have been some concerns in India as well over the Trump administration's approach on immigration and tariff.
President Trump has already talked about slapping "100 per cent tariffs" on the BRICS grouping, a bloc that includes India too.
It is learnt that the phone call was initiated from the Indian side.
External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said last week that India is looking for "bolder, bigger and a more ambitious" relationship with the US and indicated its readiness to work with the Trump administration to address issues like illegal immigration and trade.
The phone conversation between Modi and Trump came six days after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held separate meetings with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz in Washington.
Jaishankar also attended the Quad foreign ministers' meeting in the American capital. The meeting was the Trump administration's first foreign policy engagement.
At a media briefing in Washington on January 22, Jaishankar said his meetings signalled that the Trump administration "prioritising" the bilateral relationship with India.
The external affairs minister also said that there was agreement between the two sides about the need to be bolder, bigger, and more ambitious about the bilateral relationship.
Asked about the Trump administration's policy on tariff and immigration, Jaiswal said on Friday that India is looking at addressing issues in a constructive manner.
"Our approach has always been to address issues in a constructive manner which is in keeping with the interests of both countries," he had said at his weekly media briefing last week.
"We remain in close communication with the US administration and would like to continue to work towards strengthening our economic partnership further," he said.
India is also keen to continue cooperation under the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) that was launched during the tenure of the Biden administration.
