Nawabi kitchen to revive this Ramzaan
The two-year lull following the pandemic is about to end as the fire at Nawabi kitchen at Chhota Imambara in the ‘city of nawabs’ is ready to be rekindled this Ramzaan. The 183-year-old facility will again be seen bustling with activity while following its Nawabi tradition of providing ‘Iftari’ — a meal served in the evening to rozedars (people who fast) to break their day-long fast in Ramzaan — to rozedars at 13 mosques and about 600 poor families for 30 days. The ‘Shahi Bawarchikhana’ (royal kitchen), run by Husainabad and Allied Trust (HAAT), had been lying defunct since the onset of Covid in 2020. To reinitiate the kitchen, a tender inviting interested individuals or companies to provide food for the activity has been floated. Ramzaan is expected to begin on April 3 this year.
Mercury soars
The Sun is at its blistering best and the mercury has crossed the 40 degree Celsius mark in Luckow and most of Uttar Pradesh making it one of the hottest months of March in the past five years. Met officials have warned that no relief is likely in the coming days and the maximum temperature during the day could soar to 42 degrees Celsius by the weekend. Normally known for pleasant weather conditions, March has been unusually hot this year, with both maximum and minimum temperatures keeping 5-6 degrees above normal. State Met director JP Gupta said that normally March and early April witness 3-4 spells of thundershowers or rains due to western disturbances, which kept temperatures at the normal levels. The year so far has been different. Sky has remained clear throughout March and with no rains, mercury levels remained constantly high.
UP floats ‘adopt a heritage’ scheme
Working on the perception that heritage is a shared legacy, the UP culture department has decided to put some of its prominent monuments up for adoption by ‘monument mitras’ so that the conservation could be a shared endeavour. Titled ‘Apni Dharohar Apni Pehchan’, the scheme has invited expression of interest for some heritage buildings, including Lucknow’s Chhatar Manzil, Mirzapur’s Chunar Fort, Gurudham Temple in Varanasi and Goverdhan ki Chhatri in Mathura. The idea is to enhance tourist footfalls and augment amenities in these places through private partnerships besides ensuring conservation. As per the expectations, the scheme will encourage public sector and private companies, corporate citizens, NGOs, individuals and other stakeholders to become ‘Monument Mitras’ and take up the responsibility of upgrading tourist infrastructure.
3D printing for facial reconstruction
In a first such initiative in Uttar Pradesh, the forensic odontology unit of King George’s Medical University (KGMU) is about to start the facility for facial reconstruction through 3D printing of unidentified victims of murder or any other crime which leaves the face and body deformed beyond recognition. The move may help such victims get an identity and justice thereon. The department will also be able to identify rapists with bite marks on the victim’s body. All these new technologies are expected to begin at the unit under KGMU’s department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology and Microbiology in April. The forensic odontology lab is ready in the department with a newly procured 3D printing technology for facial reconstruction.