Latest news with #Siddi
Hans India
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Hans India
KIYG 2025: Khushbu Darjada keeps ‘Mini Africa' family's judo legacy alive with gold
Patna: Continuing the legacy started by her elder sister Shahin, a four-time Khelo India medallist, Khusbu Darjada ensured that the 57kg gold remained with the overcame stiff resistance from Maharashtra's Shravani S. in the Khelo India Youth Games 2025 Bihar final at the Gyan Bhavan. In the run-up to Bihar 2025, Shahin had exuded confidence that her sister would go the distance. Khushbu looked in great rhythm en route to the final, where she was challenged by an equally aggressive Shravani. Khusbhu gained an early point, but Shravani swiftly took her down to restore parity. However, Khusbhu played the waiting game and pinned down her opponent for gold. Hailing from Jambur village, more popularly known as the 'Mini Africa' of Gujarat, where some members of the African Siddi tribe had settled centuries ago, Khusbhu is one of the most promising judo athletes in the competition. There are a few more from the region, situated around 20km from the Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, and have served as a home to the Siddi community, a tribe that traces its origin in Africa. Inspired by her elder sister who is a Khelo India Athlete, Khushbu took up the sport as a seven-year old in an academy in Gir Somnath district, where she trained for four years before finally getting into the famed Vijay Bharat Sports Academy (VBSA) in Ahmedabad, the home of numerous judo stars emerging from the state. Khushbu felt that having her sister in the sport made it easier for her to focus completely on it rather than experiencing different disciplines. 'I was inspired by my sister's success, and it helped me to focus only on one sport. I trained at the academy in Gir Somnath for four years before I joined my sister at VBSA. The facilities at the Academy are great, and the support from the coaches has helped me reach here,' she said. A Class 10 student at Somnath Academy in her native village, Khushbu is one of seven siblings and considers herself fortunate to have supportive parents. Her father works in a Government Circuit House, while her mother is a homemaker. 'Our parents have really been supportive of our choices. In my case, it wasn't as difficult as Shahin had already started by then, but when she began winning medals in major competitions, my confidence grew from there,' she recalled. A bronze at the Cadet National Championships last year and a silver at the School Games in early 2025 further boosted Khushbu's confidence and helped her prepare for the KIYG. She now believes this gold will be a stepping stone as she targets the Cadet Asian Championships later this year.
Al Bawaba
29-04-2025
- Al Bawaba
Georgetown Students Bridge Campuses, Cultures, and Communities with Hands-On Learning in India
Ten Georgetown University students from campuses in the United States and Qatar recently came together in India for an immersive research experience as part of the interdisciplinary course Indian Ocean Research Colloquium. Taught simultaneously across continents, the two-semester-long course explores the cultural, historical, and social dynamics of the Indian Ocean world through the combined lenses of history, literature, and enrolled in the jointly offered course furthered their learning by spending a week in Goa and Kerala. Accompanied by their professors, they visited sites of religious, cultural, and historical importance. For many tourists to India, it is a land of historical wonders. 'From a 12th century synagogue in Kochi to grand historic mansions that are testament to the wealth and power of the Portuguese empire in Goa, the students witnessed a huge swathe of the past,' shared Professor Chakravarti, adding: 'At the same time it was important that the students understand that India is a complex modern nation.' During an early morning visit to a deep-sea fish auction, students spoke to the fishermen driving the economy of modern Kochi. Meetings with artists, academics, archivists and publishers gave students a glimpse of the cultural and intellectual life of contemporary Goa. 'During our visit to the Goa Central Library, I spoke with a researcher at the National Institute of Oceanography, the central focus of my research project, allowing me to understand the state of science and scientific education today,' said DC campus student Jyotsna Venkatesh 'Now, when conducting my research on the geopolitics of science in the Indian Ocean, I have a strong understanding of what investments in science look like at a local level in contemporary India.' The trip also fostered rich intellectual exchange between the students themselves who brought different regional insights and academic backgrounds to their work. Culture and Politics major Manha Siddiqui took the first course while studying on the DC campus in the Fall, furthering her study of the region, while still remaining connected to her classmates in Doha. She enrolled for the second semester in Doha. 'The opportunity to learn from three different professors motivated me to join the course,' she said. For other students, the first time they met in person was in India. 'Although we had been in classroom discussions together, we didn't really know each other,' Cindrella Pant (GU-Q'27) shared. 'We talked about how we were surprised by the personalities of the others when we got to know each other. That didn't translate through the screens.'Russell Niglo Adzedu (GU-Q'25) spent his time exploring the complex history of this coastal region for his paper on how a group of Indians of African descent, the Siddi, are portrayed on film. His travel journal discusses the erasure of black history in tourist sites, including Kerala's Jewish Quarter, and Portuguese mansions in Goa. 'I found that the way these cities construct their historical narratives often exclude key contributors to their formation—including enslaved people,' he noted.'I took the course because I am minoring in Indian Ocean Studies, and am really interested in South Asia in particular,' said Cindrella. 'One of the observations I made is that there is a lot of hatred towards tourists, who are known for just taking pictures of the beaches and then going away. Goa is very beautiful, but it also has a dark history. My research is on how that is being remembered.' © 2000 - 2025 Al Bawaba ( Signal PressWire is the world's largest independent Middle East PR distribution service.
