Princess Zahra Aga Khan at Louis Vuitton Trophy – Nice Cote d’Azur 2009.

Princess Zahra Aga Khan cheers as Azzurra wins Louis Vuitton Trophy -  Stefano Gattini/Azzurra

Morning Chai Family - where you live.

Zee's Notes: Every now and then I like to share with you a look at where all the visitors to Morning Chai come from and recently I added this feature - CLUSTRMAPS - which gives a visual of the cities and countries where Morning Chai visitors connect. So click on the map at the upper right hand and you will be taken to the map and listing...

So a huge thanks for being here...

Hunza Valley - Ismaili Shangri-La ?

Zee's Notes: The Gilgit-Baltistan area in Northern Pakistan has for centuries been of great geo-political interest and it also is home to the Hunza Valley. Straddling the borders of China, India and Afghanistan it is home to thousands of Ismailis and the serene land has been said to be the setting for the mythical kingdom of Shangri-La. Here's an interesting article on the current political landscape and the role of the people living there.

Read complete article here

Shangri-La is a fictional place described in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by British author James Hilton. In the book, "Shangri-La" is a mystical, harmonious valley, gently guided from a lamasery, enclosed in the western end of the Kunlun Mountains. Shangri-La has become synonymous with any earthly paradise but particularly a mythical Himalayan utopia — a permanently happy land, isolated from the outside world. In the novel Lost Horizon, the people who live at Shangri-La are almost immortal, living years beyond the normal lifespan and only very slowly aging in appearance. The word also evokes the imagery of exoticism of the Orient. In the ancient Tibetan scriptures, existence of 7 such places are mentioned as Nghe-Beyul Khimpalung. One of such places is mentioned to be situated somewhere in the Makalu-Barun region.

A popularly believed inspiration for Hilton's Shangri-La is the Hunza Valley in northern Pakistan, close to the Tibetan border, which Hilton visited a few years before Lost Horizon was published. Being an isolated green valley surrounded by mountains, enclosed on the western end of the Himalayas, it closely matches the description in the novel.

Reference : Wikipedia

AKDN in the News - Afghan Enclave Seen as Model for Development - New York Times

Five years ago, The Aga Khan Development Network spent more than a year trying to persuade a mullah to allow a girls' school. Today, the village of Fargamanch has a girls' high school.

Photo: Holly Pickett for The New York Times

JURM, Afghanistan — Small grants given directly to villagers have brought about modest but important changes in this corner of Afghanistan, offering a model in a country where official corruption and a Taliban insurgency have frustrated many large-scale development efforts.

Read complete article here 

Watch Slide Slow here

Kings of the World and their Royal Residences

Zee's Notes: While this one caught my eye as it had MHI listed (though the story does say the Aga Khan Palace in Pune, India was donated by the Aga Khan to the Indian Government) what struck me was some of the opulent palaces of Royalty.

http://tungblog.atikomtrirat.com/2009/10/kings-of-world-and-their-royal.html

Forbes Magazine back in June 2009 also ran a list of the Worlds Richest Royals if you want to see:

http://www.forbes.com/2009/06/17/monarchs-wealth-scandal-business-billionaires-richest-royals.html

Interesting article - Travel Blackboard

Zee's Notes: Sometimes when surfing the net one comes across interesting articles or stories which we can relate to and this is one of them - and it goes back 50 plus years  - if you find it interesting let me know and if you don't find it interesting let me know.

 Eden au Lac

http://www.etravelblackboardasia.com/article.asp?id=65378&nav=124

Ismailis in the News - Amin Virani - Success Coach

Zee's Notes: Amir Virani is a Success Coach - his message is to follow what you love and the money will follow - I like that message  - he was recently in Toronto - see the who what and why of Amir at the link below and watch the video.

http://www.knowledgehubonline.com/

With Masters Degree from London University in Education and Human Resource Optimization, Amin Virani has traveled across the world for his workshops, seminars and speaking engagements. More than 10000 people have benefited from his programs and written testimonials are received from hundreds of individuals and multinational companies. He has also volunteered extensively for Aga Khan Development Network, reaching out to the people from all walks of life.

Ismailis in the News - USA's Rahim Fazal -iMedia 25: Internet Marketing Leaders and Innovators

iMedia 25: Rahim Fazal

iMedia 25 Home

Rahim Fazal

• CEO and Co-Founder
• Involver

Rahim Fazal is the CEO and co-founder of Involver, an award-winning marketing and analytics platform for social networks. Involver powers branded communities for more than 2,000 organizations, including Us Weekly, Newsweek, Ford Models, and other leading brands and media companies.

Rahim is a top-notch entrepreneur with an unrivaled understanding of the digital marketing scene. His listening skills are particularly striking -- I know few people who are as good at listening, clarifying, and then offering a helpful response or solution."

• Ben Casnocha
• Author of "My Start-Up Life"

During high school, Fazal co-founded a web hosting company and negotiated its sale for $1.5 million --while taking his senior year final exams. He then started a web services platform business and eventually took it public, becoming one of the youngest directors ever of a publicly-traded company in the U.S.
Fazal completed his MBA at the Richard Ivey School of Business, the top-ranked business school in Canada. In recognition of his prior achievements, he was the youngest student in the school's 80-year history to be accepted without a prerequisite undergraduate degree.
He is a frequent and popular speaker to high school and college students across the U.S. and Canada. He is also an advisor to the Extreme Entrepreneurship Education Corporation in New York City.
In September 2008, Fazal was named one of America's "Top 30 Entrepreneurs Under 30" by Inc. Magazine.

You can follow him on Twitter at @rahimthedream.

Aga Khan Museum - Toronto 2013

Zee's Notes: View the podcast on this remarkable collection of Islamic Art collected by MHI and his family over the last 2 decades. Go to the AKDN link http://www.akdn.org/podcasts.asp?id=878  and click on:

 

 Aga Khan Trust for Culture

 



The Aga Khan Museum, which will open in Toronto, Canada in 2013, will house collections of approximately 1000 items of Islamic art collected by His Highness the Aga Khan and members of his family over the last two decades.

Meet the new Chief Executive Officer of AKF USA - Nov. 2009

The leaves are changing and so are the faces around the office at Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A. This month, we welcome our new Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Mirza Jahani (pictured above on right), who brings with him fresh ideas and energy to strengthen the growing U.S. branch led by Iqbal Noor Ali (pictured above on left) for the past 25 years.  Dr. Tom Kessinger, General Manager of Aga Khan Foundation, based in Geneva, is pictured above in center.

Read his complete Bio

Ismailis in the News - MG Vassanji awarded Governor General Award for non-fiction

Zee's Notes: Moyez Vassanji continues to rack up the awards and his 15 minutes of fame is getting to be 'hours' - but kidding aside MG Vassanji deserves all the accolades - if you read his books you know what I mean. Hey I actually read his books from cover to cover and here is my take on what I thought about his latest award winning masterpiece.

http://morningchai.blogspot.com/2009/03/mg-vassanji-place-within-rediscovering.html

M.G.Vassanji, from Toronto, accepts the Governor General's Literary Award for Non-Fiction for his book "A Place Within:Rediscovering India," at a ceremony Tuesday, November 17, 2009 in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz The Canadian Press

Acclaimed fiction writer MG Vassanji wins GG for non-fiction debut

The Canadian Press - ‎Nov 17, 2009‎

MONTREAL — MG Vassanji's fiction has been heaped with critical acclaim, but it was his non-fiction debut that grabbed the spotlight Tuesday as the Toronto ...

 

MG Vassanji wins canadianimmigrant.ca 

 

Pullinger and Vassanji take GG awards Globe and Mail 

Ismailis in the News - UBC's Dr. Nazira Chatur

A Catalyst for Change

Dr Nazira Chatur has been credited with raising the reputation of UBC's Department of Gastroenterology amongst residents and medical students.

Read how she did it here.

Ismailis in the News - Alberta's Raeesa Merali lands Broadcasting Scholarship

 
Raeesa Merali receives her scholarship cheque from Paul Mason, GM of the Jim
Pattison Broadcast Group’s Red Deer operations

Read News Release Here

Ismailis in the News - Naguib Kheraj closes GPB 2b JP Morgan buyout

Zee's Notes: Morning Chai first caught Naguib Kheraj when the Queens Banker, as he was called, took the top job at JP Morgan Cazenove in October 2008. This week it was announced that Wall St. bank JP Morgan was buying out the balance of the European Investment bank which Naguib is the CEO for GBP 2b giving many of the executives a windfall on their shares and speculation has Naguib being handed a key role at JP Morgan.

Cazenove eyes Europe after £2bn buy-out deal

Naguib Kheraj has successfully landed the £2bn JP Morgan Cazenove deal. Five years in the making, the agreement concludes the US bank's buy-out of the Queen's stockbroker and recasts Cazenove's blue-blooded bankers as multi-millionaires. 

Read complete story here

MHI in US - November 2009

President Mahmoud Eboo and Vice-President Dr Barkat Fazal of the Ismaili Council for the United States, and President Shaheen Kassim Lakha of the Ismaili Council for the Western United States, bid farewell to Mawlana Hazar Imam as he departs Sacramento. Photo: Zahur Ramji

Read complete story at Ismaili.org

Ismailis in the News - Lawyer Jameel Jaffer

Zee's Notes: Jameel Jaffer, 39, was born in London, Ontario, before graduating from Williams College, Cambridge University, and Harvard Law School and serving as a law clerk to Hon. Amalya L. Kearse, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the Rt. Hon. Beverley McLachlin, Chief Justice of Canada.

He was co-lead counsel for ACLU v. Department of Defense, which released thousands of documents about prisoner abuse in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantánamo Bay.




One of the key figures behind the cascade of documents detailing torture and abuse within America's global "war on terror" happens to be a Canadian-born graduate of Toronto's Upper Canada College.

Jameel Jaffer, an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer born in London, Ont., was instrumental in filing and fighting an unlikely Freedom of Information Act request that eventually unearthed thousands of pages of secret documents which illustrated damning evidence of U.S. government complicity in violations of international humanitarian law.

Read complete article here

Ismailis in the News - Shailaz Dhalla - Top 40 Under 40 - Calgary

After graduating from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Laws in 2006, Shailaz Dhalla articled and practiced with Fraser Milner Casgrain. And just a year and four months after being called to the bar, she accepted a position as counsel with the Alberta Utilities Commission, a significant move considering the role the AUC plays in regulating investor-owned electric, gas and water utilities, as well as some municipal electric utilities.
As counsel, Dhalla represents the AUC at hearings where the tenuous balance between industry and the hearts, minds and wallets of all Albertans is at stake. Her skill at negotiation and understanding complex issues serves her well when the law books get put away and she indulges her other passion: helping her community.
Outside of work, Dhalla contributes as many as 30-plus hours per week to her community. She has recently been named a board member to the Ismaili Regional Muslim Conciliation and Arbitration Board for the Prairies, which mediates family and commercial disputes. In addition to that, she also contributes to literacy and mentorship initiatives through the University of Calgary and the Calgary Bridge Foundation, all with a view to providing support for immigrants. She is also a member of the Ismaili Muslim Volunteer Corps.
Dhalla says her remarkable schedule, commitment to giving back to the community and her ability to achieve balance is proof the sum of her life is greater for the parts that have made it.
“The two things that have enabled me to succeed personally and professionally are my family and the Ismaili Muslim community, of which I am a part,” she says. “Through its philanthropic endeavours and commitment to pluralism, my community inspires me to direct my energy and capacity to those most in need.
“Both of these elements serve to ground me; they also provide the motivation for me to continue to seek greater growth and success despite any challenges along the way.”
Dhalla is quick to point out volunteering is not a one-way street, and she gains as much out of the exchange as does those she aims to help.
“My involvement in the community, particularly with immigrant youth, provides me with a feeling of fulfillment,” she says.
“Interacting with these children and their families, and hearing their amazing stories of struggle and survival, engenders a deep sense of compassion within me.
“It makes me appreciative of my circumstances and compels me to share my time and knowledge with others.”
Why she’s the top: Beyond her professional success, she is a deeply committed volunteer who lives her beliefs and leads by example.
The key to her success: “My parents have always been my foundation; they have made innumerable sacrifices in order to provide me with the greatest of opportunities,” says Dhalla.

Eid in the Square 2009 - Muslims gather to celebrate in Trafalgar Square

Zee's Notes: This event is celebrated at London's Trafalgar Square and this year the Ismaili Community Ensemble participated - here is the highlight video - you can catch the Choir at the 2:31 mark though it's only a few seconds.







Ismaili Community Ensemble in collaboration with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

The Ismaili Muslim Community in the UK comes from all over the world, resulting in a truly cosmopolitan outlook in its musical and cultural expressions. The Ismaili Community Ensemble, in collaboration with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, aims to encourage, nurture and showcase musical talent in the community. Comprising of semi-professional and amateur musicians, the Ismaili Community Ensemble draws its inspiration from the rich tradition of poetry and literature in Islam to create a unique musical harmony between east and west.

http://www.theismaili.org/cms/908/Ismaili-Community-Ensemble-celebrates-Eid-in-the-Square

Princess Yasmin Aga Khan in Dallas for Alzheimer Gala

Alan Peppard: Margot Winspear, Phyllis George and Princess Yasmin Aga Kahn attend Alzheimer's benefit

12:00 AM CST on Monday, November 16, 2009

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/stories/DN-peppard16_1116gd.ART.State.Edition1.4b67226.html

Aga Khan in Kabul for Karzai swearing in ceremony - November 19, 2009

Zee's Notes: MHI joined world leaders such as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Pakistan President Asif Zardari at the swearing in ceremony for Afgan President Hamid Karzai.