Cutchi Memon Digest April 2015

Mohamed Elyas Haroon Sait
Mohamed Hussain Gulmohamed Sait
Haji Hasan Haji Abdul Sathar Sait (Hasni Sait)
Jan Mohamed Abdul Sait
Mohamed Kassam Hassan Sait

Standing 2nd row:
Mohamed Hussain Haji Jacob Sait
Abdul Karim Abdul Sathar Sait
Zakeria Haji Salay Mohamed Sait
Abdul Sathar Haroon Sait
Joonus Ommer Chengali
M.A. Karim Sait
Moosa Esmail Sait
Mohamed Ommar Sait
Essa Ahmed Sait
Mohamed Jaffar Ebrahim Sait
Jan Mohamed Haji Joonus Sait

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Sitting (Left to Right)
E. Abdul Sathar Sait
Abdul Latheef Abdul Rahman Sait
Hussain Ommer Sait
Abdulla Ommer Sait
Haji Essa Haji Abdul Sathar Sait (Kikki Sait)
Ayoob Adam Sait Chengali
Ayoob Zackeria Sait

Sitting on the Floor:
Ommer Adam Sait
Osman Ahmed Sait
Abdul Hameed Zackeria Sait
Ali Joonus Sait
H.S.M. Zackeria Sait
Mohamed Hussain Sait
Haroon Abdul Kader Sait
Moosa Haji Makki Sait
Ebrahim Kassam Sait
Haroon Sait

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Glimpses of Islamic Law

It had been the practice among
Muslims in general and Cutchi
Memons in particular to create a
waqf or trust by means of a
single document bequeathing
one or a group of assets. The
bequest would be in a written
form created during the life time of the waqif or
reduced to writing by successors based on oral
wasiyyat. The trust deeds often indicated how the
income from the properties bequeathed shall be
utilised for various purposes.

The purposes for which waqfs are made included
both charitable and non-charitable items.
Charitable items would be the ones aimed at
beneficiaries at large and set apart in pursuance of
religious or social obligations the testator wants to

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discharge. Such items include construction and
maintenance of places of worship, support for
poor and destitutes for their livelihood or
accommodation. In the Indian society support for
the marriage of poor girls is also recognized as an
act of charity. Non-Charity items included support
for the family members, who would have in the
normal course inherited the property. Such
provisions are made to ensure that the property
does not get fragmented or disposed off resulting
in some or all of the descendants eventually
becoming deprived of a means of livelihood. It was
also a means to avoid disputes arising out of
division of property.

The income in the hands of the Trustees who
manage the affairs of the Trust could be
segregated into charity and non-charity according
to the terms of utilization of income provided in
the deed and the actual use to which it is put. If

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the deed says that the entire income from a
specified property should be used for charity, that
property is considered charitable and is exempt
from wealth tax. If, on the other hand, the
property or the income from it is to be used for a
charitable and a non-charitable purpose it cannot
be said to be a wholly charitable property and
hence eligible only for partial exemption from
wealth tax. The Tax authorities have disallowed
even the claims for partial exemption in
proportion to the charity contained in them or the
incomes used for charity. One of the Trusts in
Kochi which was affected by the Tax Authorities
and had to resort to High Court and Supreme
Court for relief was Abdul Sathar Haji Moosa Sait
Trust.

The Trust was created on 25th Kanni 1099 ME

(11th October 1923) According to Para 8 of the

Trust deed -

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"after meeting the expenses of upkeep,
maintenance, etc., of the trust properties, the
remaining income should be divided into four
equal parts at the end of every year and one
such part should be utilised for providing
food, clothing, etc., to indigent members of
the founder's parents' families and to new
converts to Islam; for teaching Islamic tenets ;
for popularising other languages among
Muslims ; for renovating damaged mosques;
for giving aid for constructing new mosques;
for constructing new mosques; for purchasing
land for mosques and for burial grounds ; for
digging free wells; for burying unclaimed
dead bodies of Muslims; for providing food,
clothing, etc., to indigent Cutchi Memons and
widows in Travancore and Cochin; and for
giving alms to the poor during Ramzan. The
trustees are given freedom to spend this
quarter of the income on one or more heads-

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-one head alone or more of them. It is also
provided that the whole of this quarter should
be spent every year."

2/4ths of the income was reserved for giving
assistance to the poor relations of the testator and
the remaining 1/4th was earmarked for the
purpose of augmenting the corpus.

The High Court of Kerala, in the case
Commissioner of Agricultural Income Tax Vs
Abdul Sathar Haji Moosa Sait Trust held that the
dominant purpose of the trust was not charitable
and properties held by the assessee were not held
under trust wholly for religious or charitable
purposes, but they were held in part only for such
purposes (as described above). The court further
held that in so far as one-fourth of the income
derived from these properties was utilised for a
public charitable purpose, that portion of the

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income qualified for exemption from tax under
Section 4(b) of the Kerala Agricultural Income-tax
Act, 1950, which at the relevant time read :

This column derives its interest in the context of
Kochi because there are many Cutchi Memon
trusts and waqfs in Kochi. Many waqfs in India,
particularly the larger ones among them, have had
a series of litigations against them both by the
Income and Wealth Tax authorities as well as by
the beneficiaries and tenants or other occupants
of waqf properties. Though it is not the intention
here to reiterate the various cases an attempt is
made to submit the salient points coming out of
them, particularly the principles which should have
been followed by the drafters of trust deeds and
which the future bequeathers would better keep in
mind.

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"Any agricultural income derived from
property held under trust or other legal
obligation wholly for religious or charitable
purposes and in the case of property so held
in part only for such purposes, the income
applied thereto."

In terms of that provision, the court held that
three-fourths of the income did not qualify for
exemption. The finding that the properties were
held in part only for religious or charitable
purposes and that three-fourths of the income
derived from those properties were not applied to
public charitable purposes was confirmed by the
Supreme Court on appeal. (Vide Abdul Sathar Haji
Moosa Sait Dharmastapanam v. Commissioner. of
Agrlcultural Income Tax [1973] 91 ITR 5 (SC))

In the Wealth Tax matter the High Court, by a
majority decision) observed that (1) the Trustee is

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responsible for the income derived from the Trust
as he hold its on behalf of the Beneficiaries. (2)
Each beneficiary's is liable for his portion of the
beneficial interest in the property (3) the trustees'
liability is limited to the aggregate of the liabilities
of the beneficiaries (4) What the Trustee holds is
the benefit accruing to the beneficiaries and not
the corpus, so the corpus is not liable for wealth
tax (5) Where the quantum of income set apart for
public benefit or charitable or religious purposes
is defined only that portion of the beneficial
interest is exempt from income and wealth taxes.

Though the Trust was eventually exempted from
paying income tax on the 1/4 th of the income
earm-arked for charitable purpose and 1/4th
value of properties from Wealth Tax, it must be
noted that the Trustees had to go upto the
Supreme Court to obtain these reliefs.

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From 1980 any property subject to Wealth Tax
assessment has to be valued on the basis of
market value of the land and buildings. The
question that would rise in the context of ever
increasing property values and the stagnant
property income in future would be the balancing
of the benefits and taxes. One might reach a
situati-on where tax liability would exceed the
benefits. This is of particular concern regarding
Waqf alal Aulad which is meant to provide relief to
the poor relatives.

The important lessons to be learned from the legal
history of Haji Abdul Sathar Haji Moosa Sait Trust
is that waqf documents should be specific as to
show a clear link between the benefit under the
Trust and the asset which provides that benefit, as
far as possible. The saving point for the Haji Abdul
Sathar Haji Moosa Sait Trust was that the trust
deed contai-ned clear indication of the proportion

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of income that was to be allocated for charitable
purpose. Absence of that provision would have
rendered the Charity part indeterminate and led to
the entire property and the income subject to tax.

Another fact which comes out of the decision of
the case is that the income set apart for the
benefit of poor family members did not qualify for
exemption. Though the question was not raised or
discussed, it can be assumed that family members
and relatives are not considered as beneficiaries to
charity. Otherwise the court would have treated
3/4 of the income and assets as exempt. If at all
they were to be given a benefit possibly, that
would have to be limited within the amount set for
the public charity.

Zakat cannot be paid to one's dependents whom
he is responsible for supporting. These include the
wife, parents, grandparents (up to the eldest living

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grand grandparent), children, and grandchildren
(down to the last born grand grandchild). However
it may be noted that relatives, other than those
whom the testator, his family members, or his
legal heirs down the line are bound to support, are
not prohibited from accepting Zakat or Sadqa.
Then the provision for maintenance of relatives
would mean support to such of those relatives
whom the testator or the heirs down the line are
bound to maintain, while other relatives could be
included in the public charity regime.

PANJO
CUTCHI RASODO

I am from Kochi and take particular
pride and interest in the Cutchi
culinary as practiced in Kochi and
demonstrated by my grand mother

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Ammi Bai (Moonnam Maliga). Here are just a few
of them - the Roat, Gudpapdi, Nankhatai and
Goond. In those days we used to knead the sooji
and atta by hand. Now we can use the blender or a
kneader machine. The roasting of Roat and
Nankhatai was done in a local bakery tandoor.
Today we use baking ovens and microwaves. But
the texture and taste certainly do not match the
hand made stuff. Choose your own way. However,
with the mass production in mechanised bakeries
tandoor is also not popular or easily accessible.

Roat and Nankhatai are snacks that go well with
tea. In all functions where tea was being served,
nankhatai was a traditionally compulsory item.
"Chai-Nanghatai" was the constant menu.

Gud papdi had been and continues to be a kids'
favourite and adults behave like kids when it
comes to Gud Papdi.

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Goond has been recognized as a rejuvnating tonic.
The plain variety is children's favourite. The
medicinal one had been a must for post partum
care in every Cutchi memon household, though it
has lost its popularity due to difficulty in getting
quality goond and lack of skill in making it.

Roat

What you need
Sooji/ Rava - 4 cups
Atta (Wheat Flour) - 2 cups
Baking Powder - 2 tsp
Sugar - 2 to 2 1/2 cups
depending on the sweetness preferred.
Ghee - 0.5 kg
Eggs - 2 or preferably 3 eggwhites
Milk Powder - 1/2 cup (optional)
Almonds, pistachios, cashew nuts - 100 gm (any
item alone or in combination of two or three).

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Ground nuts can be a substitute. Do not mix with
other nuts. Use it alone.
Dabor's Rose Water - 2-3 teapoons for fragrance.
Saffron - a big pinch, optional.
Milk - 1/2 cup. One cup if milk powder is not
used. The roat will be soft if milk is used instead
of milk powder. Also it will not keep for long.
Cardamom - 15.
Khaskas - 0ne tablespoon
kalonji seeds - 0ne teaspoon
Two flat bottom cake trays, rectangular or circular.

Preparation:
 In certain places you may be able to buy powdered

sugar. Otherwise powder the sugar. My grand
mother used a mortar and pistle to grind the
sugar.
 Preheat the oven to 160-170 degrees C.
 Grease the baking tins with a little ghee

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 Remove cardamom seeds from the pod and grind
them to powder.

 Slice nuts into thin shavings or small bits
 If milk powder is not used then boil the milk until

the quantity is reduced to about half, constantly
removing the malai, cream. Let it cool down to
room temperature.

The Process
1. Mix ghee, sugar and eggs and knead them

together with the palm pressing hard against the
vessel until they become a smooth paste.
Alternatively beat them with an electric beater in
two or three batches for about 2 to 3 minutes
each.
2. Add all other ingredients except the nuts and
khaskas. Mix well and knead lightly until a soft
dough is formed.
3. Spread the mixture in the baking tins in a layer
half to one inch thick. Thinner layer will be more

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crispy than the thicker one. Wet the hand in water
and slightly press down the dough so that the
thickness throughout is uniform. Smoothen with
the back of a spoon.
4. Spread the nuts, kalonji and khaskas over the
dough and press the nut pieces down with the
back of a spoon so that they are submerged in the
dough. Don't cover them with the dough.
Alternatively the nuts can be mixed with the
dough while kneading. There will be slight
difference in taste if the nuts are exposed and get
roasted while baking.
5. Bake for about 20 minutes. Now the product will
be soft. Cut it with a sharp knife to square, oblong
or diamond shape as desired. If the dough shows
a tendency to break hold it pressed slightly with
the back of a spoon while applying the knife.
Slightly wetting the knife can also avoid breaking.
6. Put back the tray into the oven and bake for
another 20 to 25 minutes depending on the

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thickness of the roat you are making. Check after
15 to 20 minutes or when slight aroma comes
out.
7. Remove from the oven as soon as the roat is
golden brown. Do not over heat it; otherwise it
would be charred and become hard.
8. Bake only one tray at a time, unless the oven is big
enough to hold both trays. Leave at least two
inches space between trays for better convection
of heat. You can prepare the second tray while the
first is baking.
9. Remove and let it cool naturally. Separate the
pieces Serve them warm. Children will like it. For
storage they should be cooled well and kept in
airtight tins or bottles.

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Nan Khatai

Making Nan Khatai is a
simple process but it is
strainful if made by hand
as we used to do before
the advent of mixing and
blending machines. It is a mixture of flour, sugar
and ghee in the proportion of 2:1:1. A few
cardamoms would add flavour. My grand mother
used to mix them together in a flat pan pressing
the mixture with her palm and the bottom end of
the thumb hard against the pan. It used to take
about half an hour's effort to obtain a thick dough
of good consistency. Now with a blender it is
much easy and consistency more smooth.

What you need:

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Wheat flower 250 gm, sieved

Ghee 125 gm. or 100 gm

Dalda + ghee 50 gm

Normal sugar 125 – 150 gm depending on the

sweetness desired

Cardamoms Ground seeds of 10 pods
A baking tray lightly buttered.
The Process
 Preheat the oven to 150 degrees C
 Grind the sugar and cardamom seeds separately
and mix them well in a grinder blender.
 Melt the ghee to a liquid state.
 Beat the ghee while still warm with the sugar till
smooth.
 Add flour and mix well, preferably in a dough
maker, till a soft dough is formed.
 Place the butter paper in the tray

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 Make 25 to 30 small balls. In your palm press the
balls slightly to form a flat seating and place them
on the buttered tray.

 With a knife cut across the crest of the balls to
make an 'x' mark in order to avoid cracks during
baking.

 Bake for about 20 minutes till lightly brown. If you
need it more brownish and crispy keep the oven
door shut for another 3 to 5 minutes after killing
the flame.

 Remove and cool the tray as a whole.
 Serve with tea or coffee while still slightly warm.
 To store, keep in an air tight tin or plastic

container, after the stuff comes to room
temperature.

There are many varieties of nankhatai made by
various people, particularly the Hindu Gujarati
women for their festivals like Diwali etc. Some add
besan and sooji. The one given here is what the

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Cutchi Memons used to make traditionally. The
method still survives in the south, not much even
in Cutch. One local variation is made at Alappuzha
with the flour roasted to a light brownish colour
and with an increased proportion of ghee a table.
It is very crispy and brownish. Adding spoon of
sooji adds to crispiness.

If you are using a micro wave oven, then preheat it
for 10 to 15 minutes keeping the door shut and
the oven in convection mode, without keeping
anything inside, maintaining the temperature at
the level mentioned in the recipe. However, note
that various oven types have different heat
convection. So take the timings here only as a
guide, watch out for the exact time by observat-
ion. One important indication comes through an
aromatic smell when the roasting is reaching a
scarring stage.

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Gud Papdi

It is an easy to make
sweet dish, though it
needs a bit of care in
handling gud (Jaggery).
In Cutch it is made of
wheat flower. Jaggery comes in different shades
from yellowish brown to dark brown. My grand
mother used to make gudpapdi with rice and
brown jagery. Raw rice is fried in a dry kanayo
(Kadai) till golden brown and crispy. Grind it to a
course meal. Jaggery should be grated or powder-
ed without any lump or pieces in it. This is
important for getting the proper and uniform
consistency for the syrup.

What You Need 1 cup
Wheat or rice flour 1 cup
Grated Jaggery 1/2 cup
Ghee

The Process

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 Grease a thali or baking tin and keep it aside.

 In a deep frying pan heat the ghee until it melts.

 Add wheat flour and fry it on medium flame until it

becomes golden brown constantly stirring with a

spatula to avoid charring. If you are using rice

flour, heat only to make the meal warm taking

care not to scorch it.

 When you get a sweet aroma of the fried meal /

flour lower the flame and add the grated jaggery

and mix well.

 Switch off the flame and keep stirring until the

jaggery melts completely ensuring that it does not

solidify. It should melt with the heat from the

flour; if overheated it will become hard and

rubbery.

 As soon as the melting is complete transfer the

contents to the greased thali and quickly spread it

evenly with the back of a spatula, before it starts

cooling; otherwise you may not be able to spread

it.

 Optionally, at his stag, you can garnish it with

sliced almonds, cashew nuts, pistachio etc. if you

like. Press down the nuts slightly.

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 Cut into shapes you like and leave it to cool for 10
to 15 minutes.
Store in air tight containers. It keeps fine for a
week but fungus or mold develops on longer
storage.

Goond ja Laddu

Goond, the Arabic Gum, has a medicinal value and
is used in winter as it also helps warm up the
body. It is also a rejuvenating tonic for women

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after delivery It is administered in the form of a
mixture or as laddus. The ingredients are also
modified to suit the end use, the common base
being gond.

What you need 100 gm
Cleaned and sliced goond 200 gm
Wheat flour or sooji 300 gm
Ghee 350 gm
Sugar 0ne tbspoon
Shelled pumpkin seeds
or Chebbad seeds or Charoli 40-50 pcs
Blanched and flaked Almonds 10 pods
Cardamom 3/4 cup
Water

Add for special preparation as post delivery tonic:

jati patri (Nutmeg arillus) 5 gm

Kalonji (Black seeds) 20 gm

Sonf (Caraway seeds) 20 gm

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Methi (Fenugreek) 20 gm
Laung (Cloves) 10
Sond (Dry ginger) powder 10 gm
Tippali, powder
Val Milagu, powder 5 gm
black pepper powder 5 gm
Asafoetida 5 gm
a pinch

The Process
 Ensure that goond is broken into small pieces in

order to facilitate complete frying inside and
outside.
 Heat ghee to a boiling point, on medium flame
 Lower the flame and fry the goond slices little by
little. Keeping the flame low will ensure that the
gond pieces blow into thin bubbles and get
cooked outside as well as inside. Otherwise
outside will be scorched while inside will remain
raw and hard. Remove the fried gond pieces with a

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perforated spatula and keep in a metal plate or

tray.

 Fry pumpkin seeds, almonds, jati patri, kalonji,

caraway seeds and fenugreek separately in the

remaining ghee and keep them aside.

 Fry the wheat flour or sooji in the rest of the ghee

until slightly brown.

 Pulverise the fried goond in the plate moving and

pressing with a rolling pin.

 In a kadai mix the sugar with 3/4 th of a cup of

water and bring to boil. Keep boiling for 3 to 4

minutes. Check the syrup for a thick thready

consistency and close the flame.

 Add all the other ingredients and mix them

together

 It is optional to keep the mixture loose.

 If desired to make into balls, take small portions in

hand while still warm and roll into small balls

(Laddus) and stack them on a plate. The laddus

are fragile.

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 Store the prepared material in air tight tin or
bottle.

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

129

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

130

over Cricket Tournament with 6 teams
participating.

Cutchi Memon Marriages Then and Now
Grandmothers used to take pleasure 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 connections. 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-

131

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' financial 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.

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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 remain 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
among their own kith and kin. As time progressed

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help of relatives was taken to locate suitable
matches, especially because the community had
spread over distant places. For example people
from Alappuzha, Kollam and Kayamkulam had
moved to Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram in large
numbers. Still the contacts were maintained by
occasional visits to attend marriages and funerals
or otherwise. Services of memon marriage brokers
were far and few. Interestingly today the scenario
has changed drastically and the services of
professional marriage bureaus and media
advertisements are being sought increasinly,
although the word of mouth enquiries are still not
uncommon. The use of these professional
websites and other media are more common in
places other than Kerala, especially overseas.
Some of the notable institutions are Memon Shadi,
Bandhan and Kutchi Memon Matrimony.

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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-

135

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 all over 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”.

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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”.

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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-President. (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

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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,

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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.

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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 December 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

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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

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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 Haleema‟s work.
For Haleema Bai, it was a very personal exercise
which she carried out without any anthropological

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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
husband,” 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
Here you have three samples of her creations.>>>

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