ന്യൂ ഡൽഹി: തബല മാന്ത്രികൻ ഉസ്താദ് സാകിർ ഹുസൈന് വിട. അമേരിക്കയിലെ സാന്‍ ഫ്രാന്‍സിസ്‌കോ ആശുപത്രിയിലായിരുന്നു അന്ത്യം. ഹൃദയസംബന്ധമായ ആരോഗ്യപ്രശ്‌നത്തെ തുടർന്ന് ഗുരുതരാവസ്ഥയിലായിരുന്നു അദ്ദേഹം. 1951-ൽ മുംബൈയിലാണ് സാക്കിര്‍ ഹുസൈന്‍ ജനിച്ചത്. വളരെ ചെറിയ പ്രായത്തിൽ തന്നെ തന്റെ മികവ് കാട്ടിയ അദ്ദേഹം 12 വയസ്സുള്ളപ്പോൾ കച്ചേരികളിൽ അവതരിപ്പിക്കാൻ തുടങ്ങി. ഐതിഹാസിക പോപ്പ് ബാൻഡ് ദി ബീറ്റിൽസ് ഉൾപ്പടെ നിരവധി പാശ്ചാത്യ സംഗീതജ്ഞരുമായി അദ്ദേഹം സഹകരിച്ചിട്ടുണ്ട്. ശക്തി” എന്ന ഫ്യൂഷന്‍ സംഗീത ബാന്‍ഡിന് 1974ൽ രൂപം നൽകി. 1999-ൽ അദ്ദേഹം യുണൈറ്റഡ് സ്റ്റേറ്റ്‌സ് നാഷണൽ എൻഡോവ്‌മെൻ്റ് ഫോർ ആർട്‌സ് നാഷണൽ ഹെറിറ്റേജ് ഫെലോഷിപ്പ് നേടി. അദ്ദേഹത്തെ രാജ്യം പത്മശ്രീ, പത്മഭൂഷൺ, പത്മവിഭൂഷൺ എന്നിവ നൽകി ആദരിച്ചു. മലയാളത്തില്‍ ‘വാനപ്രസ്ഥം’ അടക്കം ഏതാനും സിനിമകൾക്ക് സംഗീതം നൽകി.

1991ലും 2009ലും ഗ്രാമി പുരസ്‌കാരം ലഭിച്ചു. പ്രശസ്‌ത കഥക്‌ നര്‍ത്തകിയുമായ അന്റോണിയ മിനെക്കോളയാണ് ഭാര്യ. അനിസ ഖുറേഷിയും ഇസബെല്ല ഖുറേഷിയുമാണ് മക്കള്‍.

കഴിഞ്ഞ ഗ്രാമി പുരസ്‌കാര വേദിയിലും സാക്കിര്‍ ഹുസൈന്‍ ശ്രദ്ധേയമായ നേട്ടങ്ങള്‍ കൈവരിച്ചിരുന്നു. മികച്ച ഗ്ലോബല്‍ മ്യൂസിക്ക് പെര്‍ഫോമന്‍സ്, മികച്ച കണ്ടംപററി ഇന്‍സ്ട്രുമെന്റല്‍ ആല്‍ബം, മികച്ച ഗ്ലോബല്‍ മ്യൂസിക് ആല്‍ബം എന്നീ വിഭാഗങ്ങളിലാണ് പുരസ്‌കാരം പങ്കിട്ടത്. മന്റോ, മിസ്റ്റര്‍ ആന്റ് മിസിസ് അയ്യര്‍, വാനപ്രസ്ഥം എന്നിവയുള്‍പ്പെടെ ഏതാനും സിനിമകള്‍ക്ക് സംഗീതം നല്‍കിയിട്ടുണ്ട്. ഹീറ്റ് ആന്റ് ഡസ്റ്റ്, ദി പെര്‍ഫക്റ്റ് മര്‍ഡര്‍, മിസ് ബ്യൂട്ടിസ് ചില്‍ഡ്രന്‍, സാസ് എന്നീ ചിത്രങ്ങളില്‍ അഭിനയിച്ചിട്ടുണ്ട്.

Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain died in a San Francisco hospital on Monday, his family announced. He was 73. Hussain’s death resulted from complications of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, according to his family. He was hospitalised for two weeks and later moved to intensive care as his health worsened.
Among those who posted tributes on X were top politicians, industrialists, sportspersons and film personalities.
Tributes for Zakir Hussain flood social media
Social media was flooded with tributes to tabla maestro Zakir Hussain Sunday night.

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TV and film director Dallas Jenkins has forever etched a name for himself in Hollywood history with his record-breaking creation of “The Chosen,” the Jesus-themed series that has taken the world by storm.

But Jenkins recently recognized another dream of his: bringing author Barbara Robinson’s 1972 novel “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” to the big screen. The film by the same name, which released Nov. 8 in theaters nationwide, was very literally an answer to Jenkins’ long-uttered prayers.

The director recently appeared on “Higher Ground With Billy Hallowell” to share how his faith and the power of prayer led to some truly incredible events and, ultimately, the making of that film.

According to Jenkins, he simply felt called by God to make the movie.

“The difference between my own desire and God’s desire … one of the best tests of that is … when you first have an idea or … something God puts on your heart, and if it just doesn’t let go of you … I think that’s one of the best signs that it could be a calling from God,” Jenkins said. “And there’s others as well.”

He said he immediately knew after reading the novel that he was “born to make this movie.”

Hear Jenkins share the powerful story:

“I just said, ‘I believe this is a movie that I was born to make,'” Jenkins said.

He immediately began reaching out to the rights holders to share his vision and heart for the movie, but he soon discovered they were already working with another studio.

Jenkins was saddened but undissuaded.

“Every year, I would check in,” he said. “Every year, I would bug them, and every year the answer was the same.”

During that time, Jenkins also did something else: he created a recurring calendar reminder on his phone and laptop that included just three words: “Pray for Pageant.” It was a reminder for him to take time each and every week to pray for God to open a pathway to make the movie.

“I’d love to tell you that I prayed the holy prayer of, ‘Whatever God’s will is, I’ll be happy with,'” he quipped. “I was praying against this movie being made by anyone else. I was praying that God would let me have it, and I’m being a little lighthearted, but, ultimately, I really did believe God was putting this on my heart.”

After five years, Jenkins found out the studio looking to make “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” wasn’t working out. Sadly, though, yet another big studio jumped into the mix, once again axing his ability to get the rights to the film.

“I went and told my wife, and we were so upset, and we had tears in our eyes,” Jenkins recapped. “And I really felt like it was over, and I went to my computer to sit down and get some work done and, ‘ping,’ [the calendar invite pops up] taunting me, ‘Pray for Pageant.'”

He continued, “And what are the odds? What are the odds? … I grabbed the mouse, I moved the cursor up to the delete button, and I was gonna delete this prayer prompt, because I said, ‘I can’t do it anymore. I can’t keep getting my hopes up. If this isn’t for me, I need to stop.'”

But Jenkins said he felt God telling him not to click the delete button and to keep hoping.

“I wanted to delete it and God just wouldn’t let me,” he said, noting that he opted to once again pray.

Jenkins was already working on “The Chosen” at that time, with the series quickly blowing up into a phenomenon. Still, his thirst to make “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” progressed.

Eventually, he reached back out to the rights owners and learned the film was again stalled. And that’s when the story truly gets interesting.

“He says, ‘You know what, Dallas? It’s kind of a funny coincidence you reached out, ’cause just last week, the studio forgot to renew the rights. We got them back. They’re asking us to renew, but we haven’t been happy. They’ve been taking too long. And just a couple of days ago, my mom reached out to me and said, ‘Have you seen this show called ‘The Chosen?’ and I said, ‘Oh, that’s funny, the creator of the show is always bugging me to watch it, and always bugging me for the rights to this movie.'”

The rights holder’s mother, upon hearing this, told her son to give Jenkins the rights and the rest is, well, history. Jenkins was granted the rights, the film was made, and it has now grossed more than $25 million at the box office.

Jenkins believes it’s a remarkable testament to the power of prayer, trust, and God’s timing.
Sources:BREAKING CHRISTIAN NEWS

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A school in Finland has cancelled a concert of Handel’s “Messiah” performed by the Finnish Baroque Orchestra and the Helsinki Chamber Choir over concerns the recital’s Christian themes might offend some students.

Officials with the school hosting the concert in question made the decision after learning about a case in Hämeenlinna, a Finnish city, where a child objected to songs about the life of Jesus performed at an undisclosed school. Ultimately, the National Non-Discrimination and Equality Tribunal decided the non-Christian pupils should be compensated 1,500 euros (or $1,562) for their offense, local outlets reported.

However, on Nov. 19, the city’s Education and Welfare Committee voted 6-5 no payment was due to the offended school students.

The show in Hämeenlinna was one of three performances based on faith-filled themes. The first recital was held in 2022, with subsequent recitals in 2023 and 2024. At least one non-religious student watching the 2022 show was purportedly offended.

Finnish news outlet Helsingin Sanomat reported the “religiosity of the concert was not announced in advance, but [the school] apologized after the concert.” It was only the first show accused of being “discriminatory.”

A hymn was removed from the second performance in 2023 and some apparently voiced concerns about a parish choir at the third event.

“The board also found that the educational institution had neglected its obligation to promote equality,” Helsingin Sanomat reported of the choir singing at the performance. “It held this view, inter alia, because the educational institution did not inform that the choir’s performance had been organized jointly with the congregation.”

Given the experience in Hämeenlinna, the organizers of the yet-to-be performed concert cancelled the event, citing issues with the religious overtones in the music.

“The atmosphere in the chamber choir and baroque orchestra has been shocked by the decision,” Laura Kajander, executive director of the Baroque Orchestra, reportedly said, noting it was the first time she was aware such a cancellation happened. “If concerts are cancelled, it is the children who suffer.”

It’s worth noting some 65% of Finns still identify as Christians, belonging to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, one of two national churches in the country, Christian Network Europe reported. Additionally, 32% said they don’t identify with any religious group, per the U.S. Department of State.

All of this comes as former Finnish PM Päivi Räsänen is embroiled in what has become a years-long legal battle after she shared a Bible verse on social media.

She weighed in on the compensation conflict in Hämeenlinna and the recent concert cancellation, arguing the decision to remove the performance from the schedule defied common sense.

“Compensation payment of 1,500 euros for discrimination when a non-religious child accidentally heard a song about Jesus,” she wrote in an X post on Oct. 31. “Has the use of common sense disappeared? At the same time, schools celebrate Halloween with witches and zombie characters. How can a song about Jesus be perceived as so dangerous?”
Sources:faithwire

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