From dak at sarai.net Fri Mar 1 21:12:34 2002 From: dak at sarai.net (dak at sarai.net) Date: Fri, 01 Mar 2002 15:42:34 GMT Subject: [Sarai Newsletter]March 02 Message-ID: <20020301.15423400@saumya.sarai.kit> Table of Contents Reader Launch @ Sarai Talks @Sarai Films @Sarai Open Source/ Free Software Research --------------------------------- I. Reader Launch @ Sarai Sarai Reader 02 "Cities of Everyday Lives" was launched on February 27th. Sarai was a buzz of activity with friends, associates and new acquaintances streaming in through the day. Writers, activists, medical professionals, media practioners and concerned citizens gathered together at the Sarai Interface Zone in the afternoon to talk on their experience of Delhi in the year gone by. Key speakers included Purushottam Agarwal, Manglesh Dabral, Nishit Saran, Sumit Ray & Dilip Simeon. The session, entitled This Year/ This City, borrowed its name from the last section in Sarai Reader 02 . The focus shifted to the seminar room by the evening where Ashis Nandy talked on "The City of the Mind". For those not present the lecture was streamed live on the internet. It will also be available as audio files soon on the Sarai website. Sarai Reader 02 "Cities of Everyday Lives" is available in hardcover & paperback editions. For more information log onto www.sarai.net/journal/reader2.html or write in to dak at sarai.net II. Talks @ Sarai All talks will take place in the Seminar Room, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi - 110054. 1. Media Theorists Series* March 7, Thursday, 4:00 pm Networks & Borders: Politics of Migration & Communication Florian Schneider Film Maker & New Media Activist *This is in collaboration with the Society for Old & New Media, Amsterdam 2. March 13, Wednesday, 3:30 pm Reading the Demolition: Urban Transformation in New Delhi Diya Mehra Researcher, University of Texas, Austin 3. March 14, Thursday, 3:30 pm What's a Community? The Whitechapel Art Gallery & its multi-ethnic audience in the 1990s Catherine Lampert Contemporary Art Historian 4. March 18, Monday, 3:30 pm Shehar Aur Sapna: Speculating on the City Ashish Rajadhyaksha Film Theorist 5. March 22, Friday, 4:30 pm Working Visions: The Imprint of Labour in Photography Ravi Agarwal Photographer & Environmentalist III. Films @Sarai All screenings are on Fridays, at 4:30 pm, in the Seminar Room, unless otherwise mentioned. Screenings will be followed by discussions at the Interface Zone. The films are listed in the order of screening. 1. March 1, 4:30 pm Freedom, 58 min Dir. Amar Kanwar "Freedom" is a documentary film about nature and captivity, about working people resisting an onslaught on their livelihoods, about democracy, profit and the sound of the rain. The film documents and presents insights into many different peoples struggles in India from the British colonial empire to the globalisation of today, from the anti mining tribal resistance in Kashipur and Gandhmardhan in Orissa, the mass movements in Chattisgarh to the coastal communities in their struggle against big ports and industrial parks in Kutch and Umbergaon. "Freedom" was filmed on a DV camera and shot mainly in Assam, Bihar, Orissa, Chattisgarh, Gujarat and Delhi. 2. March 8, 4:30 pm Dahan (The Burning) Dir. Rituparno Ghosh The film, based on an award winning novel by Suchitra Bhattacharya, is about two women's search for justice in a man's world. When the protagonist is saved from attempted rape by another woman, the subsequent battle within the family, and outside, leads them both to question the fragile nature of their relationships with the men they love. It is a film that raises questions of liberation, of rebellion, of compromises. And ultimately of the personal choices women have to make. Says Ghosh, in one of his interviews, "it was mainly the spirit of female bonding that attracted me to the story." Dahan bagged for its leading ladies, Indrani Haldar and Rituparna Sengupta, the National Award for Best Actress, split for the first time ever, between two artistes. 3.March 15, 4:00 pm Kashmir Film Series A set of 3 documentaries made on Kashmir: i. Pather Chujaeri (The Play is on...) Dir. Pankaj Rishi Kumar  How does art survive in a regime of fear? "Pather Chujaeri" follows two theatre groups as they  prepare for public performances of the traditional pather form of  satire, a rare  phenomenon  today. For the bhands, who daily witness the  erosion  of their way of life, each performance represents  both  a change as well as a repetition of the  same brutal fact: that they are not free to share their  revolutionary spirit. Pankaj Rishi Kumar found an illiterate  community that has sustained a centuries-old tradition  in  the face of debilitating social and cultural  changes.  Although perenially intimidated by the  corruption,  violence and intolerance that prevail in Kashmir,  the  bhands continue to affirm a commitment to their  theatre, to the critical potential of its form  and  the  liberating joys of performance. Faith in  Sufism has, however, tempered their enthusiam for satire and they identify  with the collective voices of Kashmir's freedom. ii.  Tell them, the tree they had planted has now grown Dir. Ajay Raina  "Tell them..." is an account of Raina's return to Kashmir after 12 years - an account that he calls a "journey of fear" - and his association with the people and places in Srinagar, where he spent his childhood. Through the film Raina tries to grapple with the present situation in Kashmir, with how Kashmiris - both "Us" and "Them" - view the situation. It is an inquiry into the state of helplessness, confusion and gloomy uncertainty that Kashmiris feel about the future of their 'cursed' land whose legendary beauty has been fetishised. This film has won the Best Documentary Video Prize (Golden Conch) at the just concluded Mumbai International Festival of Documentary and Short Films. iii. Ku'near Dir. Abir Bazaz The Kashmiri word Ku'near has multiple meanings, particularly Onenesss and Solitude. Ku'near is a film on Kashmiri language as the language of solitude and the language of Kashmir's struggle for 'azaadi'. Nearly 95% Kashmiris cannot read or write Kashmiri. It is hardly surprising that Kashmiri writing - Sufi or Saivite - is inaccessible to most Kashmiris. Ku'near uses the state of the Kashmiri language to encounter the unconscious of the 'azaadi' struggle in Kashmir...And Ku'near discovers the beginning of an ethical solution to what is proclaimed as the Kashmir problem”in the reconciliation of Kashmiri Pandits and Kashmiri Muslims. IV. Open Source/ Free Software Research Frederick Noronha, a print media fellow of Sarai, has put together http://linuxinindia.pitas.com This page is an attempt at mapping some of the Indian contributions to the world of Open Source/ Free Software. There's a lot happening, which has not got  the attention it deserves. Check it out. It is meant to be a work-in-progress report. Frederick would be grateful for any pointers which you could send to fred at bytesforall.org And if you have any comments on the newsletter, or wish to make suggestions, or simply get in touch with Sarai do write in. Until next month, Ranita. The Sarai Programme Centre for the Study of Developing Societies 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi - 110054. Tel: 3960040, 3951190 Fax: 3928391, 3943450 email: dak at sarai.net www.sarai.net ----------------------------------------- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dak at sarai.net Tue Mar 5 17:46:43 2002 From: dak at sarai.net (The Sarai Programme) Date: Tue, 5 Mar 2002 17:46:43 +0530 Subject: [Sarai Newsletter]MEDIA THEORISTS SERIES Message-ID: <02030517464301.00972@saumya.sarai.kit> Dear Friends, Sarai invites you to the third lecture in the Media Theorists Series on NETWORKS & BORDERS: Politics of migration and communication by Florian Schneider, Filmmaker, Writer and Activist on Thursday, 7th March, 4:00 pm at the Seminar Room, CSDS, 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi - 54 As co-founder of the no-one-is-illegal campaign Florian Schneider has been involved in numerous online and offline activities around the issues of borders, migration and illegality, including the Make-World festival in  Autumn 2001. As a free-lance writer he contributes regularly for `Sueddeutsche Zeitung' as well as various other mainstream and independent media in Germany. Warm Regards, Ranita Programme Coordinator The Sarai Programme Centre for the Study of Developing Societies 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi - 110054. Tel: 3960040, 3951190 Fax: 3928391, 3943450 www.sarai.net From dak at sarai.net Fri Mar 8 20:26:12 2002 From: dak at sarai.net (The Sarai Programme) Date: Fri, 8 Mar 2002 20:26:12 +0530 Subject: [Sarai Newsletter]Talk @ Sarai Message-ID: <02030820261200.01001@saumya.sarai.kit> Dear Friends, Sarai & The British Council, India, invite you to a lecture on     What's a Community? The Whitechapel Art Gallery & its multi-ethnic            audience in the 1990s       by Catherine Lampert     Contemporary Art Historian on March 14, Thursday, 3:30 pm at the Seminar room, CSDS, 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi - 54 Catherine Lampert is the former director of the Whitechapel Art Gallery, London. She is currently an independent curator and a guest lecturer at the Slade School of Art, University of London; Wimbledon School of Art; the National Gallery, London and the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Thematic exhibitions curated by her include `Seven Stories About Modern Art in Africa', `New Art from Cuba', `Protest and Survive', `Sacred Circles: North American Indian Art', `The Modern Spirit in Painting' & `In the Image of Man: 2000 Years of Indian Art'. She has a number of published works and has also edited and contributed to the Centenary Review. Warm Regards Ranita The Sarai Programme Centre for the Study of Developing Societies 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi - 110054. Tel: 3960040, 3951190 Fax: 3928391, 3943450 www.sarai.net From dak at sarai.net Wed Mar 13 16:50:34 2002 From: dak at sarai.net (The Sarai Programme) Date: Wed, 13 Mar 2002 16:50:34 +0530 Subject: [Sarai Newsletter]KASHMIR FILM SERIES Message-ID: <02031316503400.01002@saumya.sarai.kit> Dear Friends, Sarai invites you for a special screening of documentaries on Kashmir on Friday, March 15th , 4:00 pm at the Seminar Room, CSDS, 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi - 54 The films are i.    Pather Chujaeri (The Play is on...)  (52mins)       Dir. Pankaj Rishi Kumar How does art survive in a regime of fear? "Pather Chujaeri" follows two theatre groups as they  prepare for public performances of the traditional pather form of  satire, a rare  phenomenon  today. For the bhands, who daily witness the  erosion  of their way of life, each performance represents  both  a change as well as a repetition of the  same brutal fact: that they are not free to share their  revolutionary spirit. Pankaj Rishi Kumar found an illiterate  community that has sustained a centuries-old tradition  in  the face of debilitating social and cultural   changes.  Although perenially intimidated by the  corruption,  violence and intolerance that prevail in Kashmir,  the  bhands continue to affirm a commitment to their  theatre, to the critical potential of its form  and  the  liberating joys of performance. Faith in  Sufism has, however, tempered their enthusiam for satire and they identify  with the collective voices of Kashmir's freedom. ii.  Ku'near  (29 mins)     Dir. Abir Bazaz The Kashmiri word Ku'near has multiple meanings, particularly Onenesss and Solitude. Ku'near is a film on Kashmiri language as the language of solitude and the language of Kashmir's struggle for 'azaadi'. Nearly 95% Kashmiris cannot read or write Kashmiri. It is hardly surprising that Kashmiri writing - Sufi or Saivite - is inaccessible to most Kashmiris. Ku'near uses the state of the Kashmiri language to encounter the unconscious of the 'azaadi' struggle in Kashmir...And Ku'near discovers the beginning of an ethical solution to what is proclaimed as the Kashmir problem”in the reconciliation of Kashmiri Pandits and Kashmiri Muslims. iii.    Tell them, the tree they had planted has now grown (58 mins)       Dir. Ajay Raina    "Tell them..." is an account of Raina's return to Kashmir after 12 years - an account that he calls a "journey of fear" - and his association with the people and places in Srinagar, where he spent his childhood. Through the film Raina tries to grapple with the present situation in Kashmir, with how Kashmiris - both "Us" and "Them" - view the situation. It is an inquiry into the state of helplessness, confusion and gloomy uncertainty that Kashmiris feel about the future of their 'cursed' land whose legendary beauty has been fetishised. This film has won the Best Documentary Video Prize (Golden Conch) at the just concluded Mumbai International Festival of Documentary and Short Films. The films will be followed by a discussion with the directors at the Sarai cafe. Cheers Ranita The Sarai Programme Centre for the Study of Developing Societies 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi - 110054. Tel: 3960040, 3951190 Fax: 3928391, 3943450 www.sarai.net From dak at sarai.net Thu Mar 14 19:01:21 2002 From: dak at sarai.net (The Sarai Programme) Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 19:01:21 +0530 Subject: [Sarai Newsletter]PRESENTATION BY ASHISH RAJADHYAKSHA Message-ID: <02031419012102.00973@saumya.sarai.kit> Dear Friends, Sarai invites you to `Shaher Aur Sapna: Bombay Goes to the Movies' a video presentation and talk by Ashish Rajadhyaksha, Senior Fellow, Centre for the Study of Culture & Society on Monday 18th March, 3:30 pm at the Seminar Room, CSDS, 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi - 54. `Shaher Aur Sapna' is a compilation of excerpts from 44 films from the late silent cinema to 2000. It was assembled for the exhibition: `Bombay/Mumbai 1992-2001', part of `Century City: Art and Culture in the Modern Metropolis' (Tate Modern, 2001). This compilation is a cinephiliac's investigation into the role that the moving image plays in defining space and desire as a metropolitan construct. It explores the role that 'Bombay' as an imagined space has had in constructing the metropolis, as well as the role that the 'cinema' (in its broadest sense, which includes television, low-end digital `dumps' and a host of other resources that might well be viewed as cyber-garbage) has had in constructing 'desire' for all of us. Ashish Rajadhyaksha is a Film Historian & Cultural Theorist. Warm regards, Ranita The Sarai Programme Centre for the Study of Developing Societies 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi - 110054. Tel: 3960040, 3951190 Fax: 3928391, 3943450 www.sarai.net From dak at sarai.net Fri Mar 15 15:01:22 2002 From: dak at sarai.net (The Sarai Programme) Date: Fri, 15 Mar 2002 15:01:22 +0530 Subject: [Sarai Newsletter]Talk by RICHARD STALLMAN Message-ID: <02031515012202.01099@saumya.sarai.kit> Dear Friends, Sarai is happy to invite you to a talk on " Copyright vs Community in the Age of Computer Networks" by RICHARD STALLMAN, Founder, Free Software Foundation on 20 March, 2002, 3:30 pm at the Seminar Room, CSDS, 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi 54. "COPYRIGHT developed in the age of the printing press, and was designed to fit with the system of centralized copying imposed by the printing press.   But the copyright system does not fit well with computer networks, and only draconian punishments can enforce it. The global corporations that profit from copyright are lobbying for draconian punishments, and to increase their copyright powers, while suppressing public access to technology.  But if we seriously hope to serve the only legitimate purpose of copyright--to promote progress, for the benefit of the public--then what must be done is either to reduce copyright powers or effectively eliminate them, depending on the kind of work.  Governments must now protect the public's right to copy." RICHARD STALLMAN is "the founder of the GNU Project, launched in 1984 to develop the free operating system GNU (an acronym for "GNU's Not Unix''), and thereby give computer users the freedom that most of them have lost. GNU is free software: everyone is free to copy it and redistribute it, as well as to make changes either large or small." Stallman has also founded the related Free Software Foundation (FSF) and is outspoken about his belief that all software should be free. In his view   proprietary software, for which corporations charge a fee, is wrong from a moral or ethical standpoint. Warm Regards, Ranita The Sarai Programme Centre for the Study of Developing Societies 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi - 110054. Tel: 3960040, 3951190 Fax: 3928391, 3943450 www.sarai.net Landmarks: Near The Old Transport Authority. Near  ISBT Directions: http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/delhi/roadcompanion/index.html From dak at sarai.net Tue Mar 19 17:34:57 2002 From: dak at sarai.net (The Sarai Programme) Date: Tue, 19 Mar 2002 17:34:57 +0530 Subject: [Sarai Newsletter]Talk @ Sarai: Photography & Labour Message-ID: <02031917345705.06843@saumya.sarai.kit> Dear Friends, Sarai invites you to `Working Visions: The Imprint of Labour in Photography' by Ravi Agarwal, Photographer & Environmentalist on March 22, Friday, 4:30 pm at the Seminar Room, CSDS, 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi 54. `Working Visions...' is Agarwal's reflection on the political, ethical and aesthetic issues involved in the photographic representation of labour in India. Ravi Agarwal is a photographer and environmentalist, whose work encompasses policy as well as grassroots work on issues of waste, recycling and chemical safety at the national as well as international level . He is a founder of Toxics Link, a national information exchange on toxics and head of Srishti, an environmental group. He has also authored `Down and Out: Labouring under Global Capitalism'. Cheers Ranita The Sarai Programme Centre for the Study of Developing Societies 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi - 110054. Tel: 3960040, 3951190 Fax: 3928391, 3943450 www.sarai.net