Latest news with #Salim
Observer
a day ago
- Observer
Al Haffa: A monsoon haven for frankincense lovers
SALALAH, JULY 28 Step into Al Haffa Market during Salalah's monsoon season and you're instantly transported — where the scent of frankincense lingers in the air, the charm of age-old trade fills the alleys, and the past blends beautifully with the present. 'It's like stepping into a storybook,' said Salim al Balushi, visiting from Muscat with his wife and two children. 'The smell of frankincense, the sound of traders calling out, the colours, the history — you feel like you're part of something real and timeless, yet it's so warm and welcoming.' His wife added, 'We were surprised to see the new seafront area — it's beautifully done. After shopping, we sat at a cafe overlooking the sea and watched the sunset. It was the perfect end to the day.' Their children, meanwhile, enjoyed exploring the market's winding paths and picking up handmade souvenirs. 'It's not just about shopping,' Salim added. 'It's about connecting with our culture. I hope my children remember this experience for a long time.' Nestled along Dhofar's coast, Al Haffa Market is more than a marketplace — it's a living expression of Omani heritage. Especially during the khareef, it draws locals and tourists seeking not only goods but a glimpse into the stories, scents and traditions. Shops brim with Omani frankincense — locally known as 'white gold' —handmade perfumes, embroidered fabrics, silver jewellery and incense crafted through centuries of tradition. For many visitors, Al Haffa is both the first and final stop in Salalah, with memories carried home in the form of fragrant treasures. A gentle transformation is underway at Al Haffa. A new seafront promenade is emerging, with cafes, restaurants and a coastal walkway enhancing the visitor experience — without sacrificing the soul of the place. Thoughtful development ensures that while the facilities grow, the spirit remains intact. During monsoon months, the market is alive from 8 am to 10 pm, especially in the evenings when families and travellers mingle under the soft glow of lights and gentle drizzle. Frankincense from Boswellia trees — found only in Dhofar and a few other regions — has shaped civilisations. Once carried in caravans to Egypt, Mesopotamia and Rome, this resin continues to be harvested the traditional way and remains a symbol of Oman's enduring legacy. Unesco-listed sites like Wadi Dawkah, Al Baleed and Shisr (Ubar) are silent yet powerful witnesses to Dhofar's historic role in global trade. Today, they attract visitors who seek to connect history, scent and story. As Oman advances towards Vision 2040, Al Haffa Market stands as a beacon of cultural continuity and meaningful tourism — where every visitor can feel the heartbeat of a land rich in memory and meaning.
Hans India
6 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Left parties hold rally in Kolkata against harassment of Bengalis in BJP-ruled state
Kolkata: Left parties in West Bengal, led by CPI(M), on Wednesday, took out a protest march in Kolkata to condemn the alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking people in BJP-ruled states. However, from the same rally, the Left leaders accused West Bengal Chief Minister of dichotomy, which had prompted her to exploit the issue to suit her political agenda. The rally was led by the CPI(M) politburo member and the party's state secretary in West Bengal, Md. Salim. The rally began from the base of the Lenin Statue in the Esplanade area in central Kolkata and ended at Ramlila Park near Moulali, also in central Kolkata. Addressing party workers who took part in the protest march, Salim alleged that the BJP was targeting the Bengali-speaking people as part of its divisive politics. "Elections in Bihar are scheduled soon. Next year, Assembly polls will be held in West Bengal as well. Across the country, Bengalis are being targeted. We have no words to condemn such harassment and attack as it is being done as part of the party's divisive politics," said Salim. He also accused different BJP-ruled state governments of allegedly harassing the Bengali-speaking people after branding them as illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators first. "At the same time, an attempt is going on to brand them as doubtful voters in the pretext of conducting a special revision of the voters' list by the Election Commission of India," Salim said. According to him, people coming from a weaker economic background, such as migrant labourers, are suffering the most in this process. 'The Constitution allows Indian citizens to travel, work, and live across the country. This is internal migration, and the central government must provide them with social security," said Salim. He also slammed Mamata Banerjee for turning the plight of the Bengali-speaking into a poll issue, given the 2026 West Bengal Assembly election. "She is politicising the matter because the election is just around the corner. Mamata Banerjee also wants to divide the people by instilling a sense of fear among them. If people get divided, then both Mamata Banerjee and the BJP would benefit from it," he said.
The Hindu
21-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
CPI(M) West Bengal State secretary Md. Salim slams Mamata for ‘waking up late' to Bengali identity issue
Communist Party of India (Marxist) West Bengal State secretary Mohammad Salim has ridiculed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's claims of upholding Bengali identity. He added that the Bharatiya Janata Party and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh have for many years been targeting regional identities and accused Ms. Banerjee for 'waking up to the issue now' in a bid to win the 2026 Assembly elections. 'This is not a new issue, BJP and RSS have always been targeting the most marginalised sections using various State and non-State machineries to profile and single-out the poorest of the poor. Ms. Mamata stayed mum for all these years, now she has suddenly woken up and realised she can use this to win the 2026 elections,' Mr Salim told The Hindu. He accused that if the Trinamool Congress party chairperson, Ms. Banerjee cared about the Bengali language and Bengali identity she would work to strengthen the public institutes which teach and impart the language to the young generations. 'The Bengali language has been ruined in schools and colleges under her, lesser students enroll to study the subject. Bengali language is already under threat under her,' Mr Salim added. Addressing a press conference, Mr Salim also dismissed the annual Shahid Dibas (Martyr's Day) celebration that the TMC conducts annually on July 21 is more of an 'annual picnic' which is organised for TMC workers under the watch of the Kolkata Police. He accused that for all the crimes that the TMC workers conduct throughout the year, they are rewarded through this annual 'excursion day'. His remarks came in response to Ms. Banerjee holding her final Martyr's Day address at the heart of Kolkata addressing her workers and supporters and setting the political narrative for the upcoming State Legislative Assembly elections in the State. Bengali language and Bengali identity took centre stage as TMC kept dialing up the heat on BJP for attack of Bengali-speaking migrants in multiple BJP-ruled States. From the Martyr's Day program, Ms Banerjee also gave a call to start a language movement in West Bengal from July 26. Reacting to this call given by the CM Mr. Salim said, 'Language movements happen when one language is being forcefully imposed on another community, like it happened in Tamil Nadu for Hindi imposition or in Bangladesh for Urdu imposition. This discrimination based on language that is happening against Bengalis calls for a political movement.' Mr. Salim said that Ms. Banerjee has ruined Bengali language, culture, and traditions and brought established Bengali writers into her party and have degraded their standards. He stated that if a language needs to be saved, then it should be done through education, respect, and institutional support, not political addresses. Senior CPI(M) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya said Mamata is now scared of CPI(M) because the recent programmes of their party are gathering support.
The Hindu
17-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
CPI(M)'s Md Salim says SIR Electoral Roll revision will target marginalised people and strip democratic rights
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) West Bengal State Secretary, Md Salim, accused on Thursday (July 17, 2025) that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) Electoral Roll revision is a strategic method to remove all marginalised people from the voter lists and strip them of their democratic rights. 'We have to accept that India is a multilingual country, the union government's tactic of one nation, one election, one language cannot work here. This attack on Bengalis across the country is an attack on the diversity, democracy, and unity of our country,' Mr Salim said. He also added that tagging all Bengali-speaking people as Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshis is a way to 'other' a certain class of people and attack them. He alleged that Bharatiya Janta Party and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh supported organisations are putting various labels on Bengalis and pushing them out of BJP-ruled states, and sometimes outside India into Bangladesh, and in some cases, they are being tagged in the category of doubtful voters. 'We have a lot of partition refugees, these displaced Bengalis were given a place to stay in Andaman, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh during the partition crisis. How can they abuse the same people for speaking Bengali and call them Bangladeshis?' Mr Salim said while addressing a press conference in Kolkata. He also said that at some point, it will affect all communities, and not just Bengalis. He accused that once the Matua community was given cards to prove their identity, now the same government is attacking them in various BJP-ruled States. Mr Salim said that the measure to revise the electoral voter list through the SIR is a measure to remove the marginalised people from the voter lists and take away their voting rights. 'Under SIR, everyone will have to prove their citizenship. Back in the day, in any democratic State, the government needed to prove a person's citizenship; now the onus is solely on the people,' Mr Salim said while responding to a question by The Hindu. He added that the magnitude at which the central government is planning to implement the SIR electoral roll revision will affect everyone. 'If it burns my house today, soon it will burn all other houses,' Mr Salim concluded. War of words West Bengal and its politicians have been engaging in a political war of words over the past few weeks after several cases of Bengali-speaking migrant workers being targeted in States like Odisha, Delhi, Maharashtra, and Chhatisgarh came to light. On Wednesday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee hit the streets in Kolkata to protest against the attack on Bengali migrants in various BJP-ruled States. The Trinamool Congress chairperson warned of dire consequences if targeting of Bengali migrants did not stop. 'The poor who go to work outside. They will be made to work and then sent to jail if they speak in Bengali. Why? What is your [BJP] right? Is West Bengal not in India? Why so much hatred against Bengalis,' Ms. Banerjee said. The TMC leadership is raising the issue of attack on 'Bengali identity' along with the attack on migrants. The issue of Bengali identity and pride had helped the party tide over the BJP in the 2021 Assembly polls. On the day, the TMC leader held a march to protest against the attack on migrants, Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari met the State's Chief Electoral Officer demanding a thorough revision of the voter list in West Bengal in the same way that it is being implemented in Bihar.
Time of India
17-07-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
Salman Khan built his first ‘jugadu' bike in two months; friend threw it into Film City lake: 'Took it away when I was asleep'
Salman Khan built his first 'jugadu' bike over nearly two months using a 125 CC engine and parts from friends. Despite his effort, his friend Salim took the bike while Salman slept and used it for a film stunt, ultimately driving it into a lake at Film City where it remains. Salman Khan recently made an appearance at a Mumbai event for the Indian Supercross League, where he serves as the brand ambassador. During his interaction with the media, he shared a memorable story about building his very first motorcycle all by himself over a period of more than a month. The bike, however, met an unexpected fate when his close friend and fellow actor Salim Khan , affectionately known as Ding Dong, accidentally drove it straight into a lake located at Film City. Choosing to Build His Own Bike in College During his college days, Salman wanted to own a bike, but unlike many young people who buy new ones, he chose to build his own. To do this, he teamed up with his childhood friend and actor Salim Khan, a bike enthusiast involved in providing stunt bikes for movies, and a stuntman named Dilawar Khan , whom Salman referred to as his cousin. Dilawar owned a garage in Maharashtra, and together they gathered and assembled the necessary parts to create Salman's custom motorcycle. Salman's Recollection of Building the Bike In an interview with India Today, Salman fondly talked about his friend Salim, who acted alongside him in films like 'Baaghi' and 'Jagruti'. Salman said, 'You remember that friend of mine? The Salim who used to be in movies with me earlier. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Eine zielgerichtete Strategie für Ihre finanzielle Zukunft eToro Click Here Undo He was in Baaghi and Jagruti. He was a hero as well. He used to have bikes and did bike dealings. He had this engine just lying there.' He also mentioned Dilawar Khan, a movie stuntman, and recalled, 'So I picked up the engine from Salim, I went to Maharashtra garage to pick up tires from there. I made the whole bike myself.' The Hard Work and Loss of His First Bike Khan explained that while his father's car was being painted, he worked on assembling the bike, which took him about a month and a half. After finally riding it, Salim happened to pass by and showed interest in the bike, recognizing the engine he had given Salman earlier. The next day, Salim took the bike away because he supplied motorcycles for stunt sequences in films. He lent it for a movie scene, and unfortunately, the bike ended up submerged in a lake at Film City. As a result, Salman only got to ride the bike once despite all the effort he had put into building it. More Details About the 'Jugadu' Bike In an interview with NDTV, Salman Khan shared an interesting anecdote about his first motorcycle, which he described as a 'jugadu bike.' He recalled assembling it himself using a 125 CC engine, old Bullet tires, and a frame from another motorcycle. The entire process took him about a month and a half, with occasional help from a cousin who owned a garage. He mentioned that the engine had originally come from his friend Salim. After completing the bike, Salman was once seen riding it on Carter Road, where Salim recognised the engine. Later, when Salman was asleep, Salim took the bike without informing him. The next day, Salman was puzzled to find the bike missing, only to be told that 'Salim baba' had taken it. When he confronted Salim, he was told that the bike was needed for a film stunt at Film City lake. Apparently, the bike was used in the stunt and never returned—it might still be lying somewhere in Film City.
