Fasana-e-Azad
''Fasana-e-Azad'' ( ur, فسانۂ آزاد; , also romanized as ''Fasana-i-Azad'') is an Urdu novel by Ratan Nath Dhar Sarshar. It was serialized in ''Avadh Akhbar'' between 1878 and 1883 before it was published in four large volumes by the Nawal Kishore Press. The story follows a wandering character named Azad and his companion, Khoji, from the streets of late-nineteenth-century Lucknow to the battlefields of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) in Constantinople and Russia. The work's status as a novel has been debated, but it is thought by most scholars to be one of the first novels (or a proto-novel) in Urdu. Sarshar conceived of writing ''Fasana-e-Azad'' after the success of the articles he contributed to ''Avadh Akhbar'' under the title ''"Zarafat"'' ("Wit and Humour"). Perennially popular, ''Fasana-e-Azad'' has been a subject of study by literary critics as the first Urdu novel and for its influence on the literary form's later development. It is noted for its colourful de ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ratan Nath Dhar Sarshar
Ratan Nath Dhar Sarshar (1846 or 1847 – 21 January 1903) was an Urdu novelist, columnist and editor from British India. Born into a Kashmiri Brahmin family which settled in Lucknow, he received his education at Canning College and later took up employment as a schoolteacher. In August 1878, he was appointed editor of the Lucknow-based newspaper ''Avadh Akhbar'', in which his most famous work '' Fasana-e-Azad'' was published serially. Biography Sarshar's date of birth is uncertain. Most probably he was born in 1846 or 1847. He was born in Kashmiri Brahmin (a group well known for their proficiency in Persian and Urdu) family. His father, Pandit Bej Nath Dhar, a trader who immigrated from Kashmir to Lucknow, died when Sarshar was four years old; thereafter Sarshar was brought up by his mother. Sarshar was initially schooled in the traditional way by learning Arabic and Persian at a local ''maktab'' (primary school). Sarshar joined, for his schooling, the Canning College (whic ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Avadh Akhbar
''Avadh Akhbar'' (or ''Awadh Akhbar'' or ''Oudh Akhbar'') was an Urdu-language newspaper founded by Munshi Nawal Kishore, and published by Nawal Kishore Press from Lucknow, British India. It was launched in 1858 and lasted for almost a century. It was the most popular newspaper of its time, specialising in politics, social reform and literature. In 1877, it became the first Urdu daily in Northern India. Pandit Ratan Nath Dhar Sarshar, one of the paper's editors, serialised his novel '' Fasana-e-Azad'' in this newspaper between 1878 and 1883. It is considered the first 'serialised novel' in Urdu. Founding The date of the first publication of ''Avadh Akhbar'' is not traceable, but most authorities on Urdu journalism maintain that the first issue of ''Avadh Akhbar'' did not appear before January 1859. The issue of 8 January 1862 was marked as volume 4, no. 2, which suggests that the first issue was produced in 1859. Naval Kishore launched the paper at some point in 1858; however, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era.. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime and, by the 20th century, critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories are widely read today. Born in Portsmouth, Dickens left school at the age of 12 to work in a boot-blacking factory when his father was incarcerated in a debtors' prison. After three years he returned to school, before he began his literary career as a journalist. Dickens edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed readings extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, for education, and for other social ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran border, west, Turkmenistan to the Afghanistan–Turkmenistan border, northwest, Uzbekistan to the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border, north, Tajikistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, northeast, and China to the Afghanistan–China border, northeast and east. Occupying of land, the country is predominantly mountainous with plains Afghan Turkestan, in the north and Sistan Basin, the southwest, which are separated by the Hindu Kush mountain range. , Demographics of Afghanistan, its population is 40.2 million (officially estimated to be 32.9 million), composed mostly of ethnic Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks. Kabul is the country's largest city and ser ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Social Work
Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work practice draws from areas, such as psychology, sociology, health, political science, community development, law, and economics to engage with systems and policies, conduct assessments, develop interventions, and enhance social functioning and responsibility. The ultimate goal of social work is the improvement of people's lives and the achievement of social justice. Social work practice is often divided into three levels. Micro-work involves working directly with individuals and families, such as providing individual counseling/therapy or assisting a family in accessing services. Mezzo-work involves working with groups and communities, such as conducting group therapy or providing services for community agencies. Macro-work involves fo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Opium
Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which is processed chemically to produce heroin and other synthetic opioids for medicinal use and for the illegal drug trade. The latex also contains the closely related opiates codeine and thebaine, and non-analgesic alkaloids such as papaverine and noscapine. The traditional, labor-intensive method of obtaining the latex is to scratch ("score") the immature seed pods (fruits) by hand; the latex leaks out and dries to a sticky yellowish residue that is later scraped off and dehydrated. The word '' meconium'' (derived from the Greek for "opium-like", but now used to refer to newborn stools) historically referred to related, weaker preparations made from other parts of the opium poppy or different species of poppies. The production methods have ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sancho Panza
Sancho Panza () is a fictional character in the novel ''Don Quixote'' written by Spanish author Don Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra in 1605. Sancho acts as squire to Don Quixote and provides comments throughout the novel, known as ''sanchismos'', that are a combination of broad humour, ironic Spanish proverbs, and earthy wit. "Panza" in Spanish means "belly" (cf. English "paunch," Italian "pancia", several Italian dialects "panza", Portuguese "pança", French "panse", Romanian "pântec"). ''Don Quixote'' Before a fit of madness turned Alonso Quijano into Don Quixote, Sancho Panza was indeed his servant. When the novel begins, Sancho has been married for a long time to a woman named Teresa CascajoAlso known as Teresa Panza and ''Sancha'', a probable nickname derived from her husband's name. Later in the book, though, she is sometimes named Juana Gutiérrez, in an example of continuity failure. and has a daughter, María Sancha (also named Marisancha, Marica, María, Sancha, and S ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Alonso Quijano
Alonso Quijano (; spelled Quixano in English and in the Spanish of Cervantes' day, ) is the personal name of the famous fictional hidalgo (lowest nobility caste) who is better known as Don Quijote, a name he invents after either falling into or feigning insanity. Alonso Quijano/Don Quijote is the leading character of the 1605/1615 novel ''Don Quijote de la Mancha'', written by Miguel de Cervantes. At the outset of the work (Chapter 1 of Part I) we are informed that there is confusion about what his name is. Some (imaginary) authors, the text says, disagree about whether his name was Quijada ("jaw") or Quesada, although by reasoning ("conjeturas verosímiles") one could arrive at the name Quijana. At this point, Quijano is not even mentioned as a possibility, nor is Alonso, hinting the reader into one of the most notable yet purposefully obfuscated examples of an unreliable narrator. In Chapter 49 of Part I he tells us that he was a direct descendant of Gutierre Quijada. His "rea ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Aristocracy (class)
The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient Rome, or India, aristocratic status came from belonging to a military caste. It has also been common, notably in African societies, for aristocrats to belong to priestly dynasties. Aristocratic status can involve feudal or legal privileges. They are usually below only the monarch of a country or nation in its social hierarchy. In modern European societies, the aristocracy has often coincided with the nobility, a specific class that arose in the Middle Ages, but the term "aristocracy" is sometimes also applied to other elites, and is used as a more generic term when describing earlier and non-European societies. Some revolutions, such as the French Revolution, have been followed by the abolition of the aristocracy. Etymology The term ar ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Basant (festival)
Basant is a spring time kite flying event during the Basant Panchami festival in the Punjab. It falls on Basant, also called Basant Panchami. According to the Punjabi calendar it is held on the fifth day of lunar month of Magha (in late January or early February) marking the start of spring. Central/Majha Punjab Amritsar, Lahore, and Kasur are the traditional areas where kite flying festivals are held. A popular Basant Mela is held in Lahore (see Festivals of Lahore). However, the festival has also been traditionally celebrated in areas such as Sialkot, Gujranwala and Gurdaspur. Historically, Maharaja Ranjit Singh held an annual Basant fair and introduced kite flying as a regular feature of the fairs held during the 19th century which included holding fairs at Sufi shrines. Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his queen Moran would dress in yellow and fly kites on Basant. The association of kite flying with Basant soon became a Punjabi tradition with the centre in Lahore which rem ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mourning Of Muharram
The Mourning of Muharram (also known as Azadari, Remembrance of Muharram or Muharram Observances) is a set of commemoration rituals observed primarily by Shia people. The commemoration falls in Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. Many of the events associated with the ritual take place in congregation halls known as '' Hussainia or Imambargah''. The event marks the anniversary of the Battle of Karbala (AD 680/AH 61), when Imam Hussain ibn Ali, a grandson of Prophet Muhammad, was martyred by the forces of Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad, on the orders of Yazid I. Family members and companions accompanying him were either killed or subjected to humiliation. The commemoration of this event during the yearly mourning season, with the Day of Ashura as the focal date, serves to define Shia communal identity. Muharram observances are carried out in countries with a sizable Shia Muslim population. Storytelling, weeping and chest beating, wearing black, partial fasting, street proc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mid-Sha'ban
Mid-Sha'ban ( ar-at, نصف شعبان, niṣf šaʿbān or ''laylat niṣf min šaʿbān'' "night on the half of Sha'ban") is a Muslim holiday observed by Shia and Sunni Sufi Muslim communities on the eve of 15th of Sha'ban (i.e., the night following the sunset on the 14th day) — the same night as Shab-e-barat or ''Laylat al-Bara’ah'' ( ar-at, ليلة البراءة). Salafis do not celebrate this holiday. Overview It is regarded as a night when the fortunes of individuals for the coming year are decided and when Allah may forgive sinners. In many regions, this is also a night when prayers are arranged for forgiveness from Allah for one's deceased ancestors. Additionally, Twelver Shia Muslims commemorate the birthday of Muhammad al-Mahdi on this date. Salafi Muslims oppose the recognition of Mid-Sha'ban as exceptional for prayer. Etymology The 14th of Sha'ban goes by several names, depending on the country in which it is observed. Most can be categorised into two ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |