From info at nmartproject.net Thu Apr 1 12:46:51 2004 From: info at nmartproject.net (A Virtual Memorial) Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2004 09:16:51 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] memorial://april Message-ID: <006e01c417b9$4e670720$0300a8c0@NewMediaArtNet> !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! {A Virtual Memorial} - Memorial Project against the Forgetting and for Humanity ~New Media art project environment~ www.a-virtual-memorial.org . commemorates in April 2004 - the International Year to Commemorate the struggle against Slavery and its Abolition - . 09 April 1945 - Germany - execution of Dietrich Bonhoefer 19 April 2004 Jom Hashoa 24 April 1915/2004 - Memorial Day for Genocide in Armenia 26 April 1986/2004 - Chernobyl Commemoration Day 30 April 1976/2004 - Vietnam - Reunification Day //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////// Table of Contents: a) Features of the month April 2004 b) News //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ///////////// ********************************** New month - new subject ********************************** b) ***Features of the Month Subject--> Transit - transformation and movement Feature--> Transit Camps Featured Artist--> Fluid - net based project by Avi Ventura ArtObject--> Go to the mountain top Man--> Dalai Lama Animal--> Mountain Gorilla People--> Sinti and Roma Chernobyl--> ]and_scape[ Chernobyl --> Poems by Liubov Sirota City:--> Saigon Desease--> Mouth & Foot Desease *********************************** b) News in April 1. on 11 March, the horrible terror attack in Madrid/Spain took place. In order to commemorate the victims --> "Memorial for the Victims of Terror" is open for artists submissions. Please find the submission form on www.a-virtual-memorial.org/terrormemorial.htm 2. On 5 March - {A Virtual Memorial} launched officially .[R][R][F] 2004--->XP www.newmediafest.org/rrf2004 [Remembering-Repressing-Forgetting] online and in physical space at National Museum of Contemporary Art Bucharest/Romania www.mnac.ro/net.htm, Electronic Arts Center Bergen/Norway www.bek.no and finally at New Media Art Festival Bangkok/Thailand http://thailand.culturebase.org (20-28 March). . Due to its success, the show in Bucharest has been meanwhile prolonged until 30 April 2004 . [R][R][F] 2004--->XP is an experimental New Media art environment focussing on three main aspects --> Basic subject -->"memory and identity" Basic operational aspect -->"networking as artworking" Basic presentation aspect-->"exchange between virtual and physical space" ---> The project is a networking collaboration with numerous institutions, organisations, curators, artists and professionals and [NewMediaArtProjectNetwork]:||cologne, and will be developing and operating during 2004and 2005. Detailled information are available www.newmediafest.org/rrf2004 See also the suit of calls to be accessed on www.newmediafest.org/rrf2004 ***************************************** Until the next time all the best, . {A Virtual Memorial} www.a-virtual-memorial.org Memorial project against the Forgetting and for Humanity - ongoing New Media art project by Agricola de Cologne. A short description as PDF file for free download from http://www.a-virtual-memorial.org/downloads/pdf/pdf.htm info at a-virtual-memorial.org . corporate member of [NewMediaArtProjectNetwork] :||cologne -the experimental platform for net based art - operating from Cologne/Germany . copyright © 2000-2004 by AGRICOLA de Cologne All rights reserved. ******************************** Optimized for 1024x768 VGA resolution, latest browser versions of MS Internet Explorer, Netscape and Opera soundcard, Flash 7 required _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From madhuja_m at yahoo.co.in Thu Apr 1 17:53:40 2004 From: madhuja_m at yahoo.co.in (=?iso-8859-1?q?madhuja=20mukherjee?=) Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2004 13:23:40 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] 2nd posting - madhuja mukherjee In-Reply-To: <20040401100004.A042C28DD21@mail.sarai.net> Message-ID: <20040401122340.16555.qmail@web8202.mail.in.yahoo.com> 2nd POSTING : Madhuja Mukherjee. LOOKING AT THE GLASSES DARKLY: REVISITING CALCUTTA FILM STUDIOS. In the last two months, I have been scanning the ‘dark glasses’ and trying to make images of the shadows. And, what comes forth is, if the project was to ‘retrieve Glass Negatives of the Studio Era of Bengali Cinema’ and map the histories of cinematic practices of that era, from the first phase of scanning emerge - Publicity Material of diverse films – largely Hindi and that of late 1940s and early 1950s. Probing the material and seeking to understand the kind of films that were shown in Bengal, one may suggest that these scanned material re-posit my argument that Bengali audiences despite their claim to ‘Bhadralok’ cinema were immensely familiar with what may be loosely referred to as ‘Bollywood B –Movies’ or what B.N. Sircar of New Theatres Ltd., described as "Bhadur-di-khel". To substantiate this thesis one may use New Theatres Ltd., as a case in point and mention the article by Sharmistha Gooptu published in EPW, June 2003, where she discusses how New Theatres Ltd., projected the Bengali Bhadralok cultural ethos, or may quote Rani Burra saying - "New Theatres was known for its ‘elitist’ style, its aestheticism, its ‘cultured’ self-consciousness." (Pp-55, Looking Back- 1896-1960, The Directorate of Film Festivals, New Delhi, 1981). Similarly, Dilip Sircar (son of B.N. Sircar) in a personal interview insisted, "there was myth when a Bengali child was born – he or she would hear three names – Rabindranath, Mohun Bagan and New Theatres ." Evidently, what emanates from these quotes is that New Theatres Ltd., produced in a rather self –conscious way, a particular kind of cinema and cast itself as the cultural icon of the Bengali Bhadralok as they made a distinction between ‘culture’ and ‘popular’ and attempted to make films that were predominantly literary adaptations. Nevertheless, the filmography itself, as well as reviews, news, letters to the editors and publicity material indicate that a highly heterogeneous body of films were being produced that demand relocation in the wider context of cultural politics and politics of culture. For instance, just as New Theatres Ltd., publicised it self as the "Cathedral of Culture" (Advertisement for ‘Zindagi’, P.C. Barua, 1940) , and frequently quoted from Goethe and Voltaire in their advertisements; contrarily, the synopsis of ‘Dakoo Mansoor’ ,Nitin Bose, 1934, (" Paribanu, in fact passing through the forest road with a retinue of attendants. Monsoor, the monarch of the jungle fell on the procession like a tiger. Ensued a perplexity, disconcerted hurly burly disorder amidst the attendants. Monsoor ran away with the girl in the dark, deep and dense forest ") – manifest aspirations for another cinema for another audience. Though, this is outside purview of this project it would be exciting to explore how a kind of cinema has been privileged over the other by the house, critics and historians. Bengal thus, as a matter of fact, did produce and ‘consume’- ‘mythologies’, ‘comedies’, or run-of-the-mill ‘social pictures’ of the ‘Bollywood B-Movies’ variety. For instance, the scanned publicity material ( which are chiefly pages from publicity brochure) of ‘Shin Shinaki Boobla Boo’( 1952) - a film which was based on orientalist fantasy, and was banned by the censors for its ‘low moral tone’- chooses shots from the film that may be categorized as moments of violence, physical intimacy , (family) reunion within institutionalised spaces, the face of the star (actress) ,spectacle (that include dances, architectural wonders, shots lit in high-key etc. ), et al. The tone for the publicity material of films like ‘Anjam’ (1952), ‘Shair’ (1949), ‘Mastana’ (1954), ‘Kafila’ (1952), ‘Resham’ (1952) ‘Awara Shahzadi’ (1956) etc., are to some extent similar. Though, it may be correctly reasoned that such films (produced in Mumbai) were mostly released in central Kolkata theatres and were targeted at ‘non-Bengali’ audiences, nonetheless, such overwhelming volume of films and related material was not all together outside the experience of the Bengali Bhadralok. In a personally conducted interview, a Bengali Bhadralok in his late sixties said, though he had not seen ‘Shin Shinaki Boobla Boo’, he remembered few lines of the film "Shin Shina ki Boobla Boo upar main, niche tu ", likewise, many remember seeing ‘Daag’ (1952). Therefore, this to propose that, negotiations with cinema within city spaces may not be adequately understood simply through our understanding of the Bengali Bhadralok ethos. The definition of cinema is manifold and an understanding of the ‘culture-industry’ interface becomes necessary here. However, since the project is not so much about theorising cultural practices and issues of spectatorship, I wish to stick to the work of retrieving ‘glass negatives’. In the next posting I wish to study- even if in a limited way- the designs/logos of the names of the films, the use of fonts, the over all lay out of figures vis-à-vis the background etc., and also question the culture of using glass for photography. For now, a copy of about 300 images would be available with SARAI (archive) along with this posting. Win an evening with the Indian cricket captain: Yahoo! India Promos. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040401/0775a2b9/attachment.html From pz at vsnl.net Thu Apr 1 22:01:14 2004 From: pz at vsnl.net (Punam Zutshi) Date: Thu, 01 Apr 2004 22:01:14 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Need an address Message-ID: <009f01c41806$c13e4310$7ceb41db@punamzutshi> Could I please have the e mail address of Chander Nigam whose recent posting ( 26th, I think) I accidentally deleted... Punam Zutshi Below is proof I am a bonafide member ----- Original Message ----- From: To: Sent: Friday, March 19, 2004 11:31 PM Subject: Welcome to the "reader-list" mailing list > Welcome to the reader-list at sarai.net mailing list! Welcome to the > Sarai Reader List. > > The Reader List partly serves as a platform for online discussion on > the themes that emerged in the Sarai Reader 01, and partly to create a > lively community that discusses and debates key issues in new & old > media practice and theory and reflects on the experience of the > everyday, as well as technology, culture and politics in city spaces. > The Sarai Reader's concern with the theme of the Public Domain means > that the list is especially open to reflections on what is the nature > of a free public space in our cities, and in our various practices, > and what it might come to mean. The people who often post on the list > include social theorists, activists, filmmakers, telecommunications > engineers, artists and software programmers. > > LOCATING THE LIST The list is administered out of Sarai in Delhi, on a > server located in Amsterdam, and our members are spread over many > parts of the world, with strong concentrations in Delhi, Mumbai, > Amsterdam, Bangalore, Lahore, Kathmandu, Berlin, Chicago, the eastern > Atlantic seaboard (including New York), Brisbane, Sydney and London. > You could say that the List is beginning to be truly reflective of the > dispersed nature of internet culture, although we do need more people > from places that are nearer (in geographic terms) and perhaps more > distant (in virtual terms). It would be great to get postings from > Calcutta, Dacca or Ahmedabad... So, if you want to spread word of the > list, to people and places both far and near, please do so! I would > even request you to forward this email to others whom you think might > be interested in some (or all) of the things that the Sarai Reader > List sets out to discuss. > > LURKERS AND POSTERS As in all lists, (and especially new lists) the > majority of subscribers are also lurkers, (everyone who has ever been > on an online discussion has lurked for some time - there is nothing > wrong with lurking as long as it does not last for ever). I am sure > you would agree with me that over time one can even recognize > personalities and quirks of regular posters, and that we look forward > to our personal favourite correspondent who has been silent for some > time. So do lurk, but only for a while, and we look forward to reading > what you have to say. > > DIRECTION(S)? We at Sarai who have been involved with the list on a > day to day basis feel that future directions for and on the list > should emerge from the community of subscribers. To this end, we > propose that we spend some time discussing the list itself and how > best to make it as lively and convivial as possible, how best to > maintain a provocative edge so that there is always room for fresh and > new perspectives, and how to ensure the broadest possible > participation, so that the list does not become subject to anyone's > private agenda, but a true digital commons, very much in the 'public > domain', where everything that is relevant to cities, media and the > flows of information, culture, knowledge and power can be discussed > and talked about. > > WHAT SHOULD THE LIST DISCUSS So far, there has been a tendency on the > list to have a great deal of discussion on computer technology, > (especially free software) the internet, online surveillance, privacy, > even water. Even though these strands may look quite disparate, > interestingly enough, a common binding principle has been reflecting > on public access to resources. Some of these may have seemed to speak > to and from specialists, but we are sure that most people got the > gist/essence of the discussion, although we urge all posters that they > try and make their postings sufficiently accessible to non-technical > people. The habit of using metaphors and experiences from outside > one's immediate discipline and experience is a good one, it connects > people with 'idea bridges' and the more 'idea bridges' there are the > more walking across can be done. > > Anyway, what we do realize is that it is not necessary for these > issues to dominate the list to the exclusion of all other issues. So > please go ahead and post on things that seem relevant and important to > you. > > CONVERSATIONS Please be willing to enter into an argument, post > something that is interesting, and take issue with each other, in a > frank and civilised manner - we can then have a reasonable yet an > interesting online culture of debate. > > INTER DISCIPLINARY CONVERSATIONS This list is a platform for > inter-disciplinary conversation, and that can happen if techies, > artists, activists and the theorists who are on the list realize that > they are not talking to people of their own kind alone. > > This list is as much about the last film that you saw that made you > sit up and think, as much as it is about the last piece of code that > challenged your humanity. It is also as much about the delight and the > rage of living in a city, and it is especially looking for resonances > between urban experiences located in different places. > > The list needs to have a sustained take on other issues of > significance, like the presence of media in urban spaces, the politics > of information, spaces of autonomy and freedom in contemporary culture > - the aesthetics, ethics and politics of representation - all of these > are equally important to us, and we need to talk about all these as > well. > > GLOBAL/LOCAL What is also important is the ability of the list to have > a sustained reflection on what goes on around us in the immediate > vicinity of our lives. For example, there has been a reasonably active > discussion thread on online surveillance and the politics of > information which at times wove in the realities of many places, (esp. > Delhi and Amsterdam) onto a complex map of what happens when > information and power coalesce, but such discussions have tended to be > limited to thoughts on the 'Digital Domain' alone. > > This skews the list into a mirror of the activity that happens 'in > other places' and a silent, mute bystander to what goes on close to > our own offline realities. We all know how easily our sense of what > constitutes our reality is defined by the mainstream media. How the > filters that are locked into place by the big media also ensure that > many things that concern us remain unexpressed, unknown and > unarticulated. This is particularly true of the happenings and > realities in South Asian cities. This list can then be seen as a space > for the free encounters for the ideas, reports and reflections that > either slipped out of, or were suppressed by the 'big' (old & new) > media. > > Over time, we can see a whole cluster of lists emerging around the > Reader List, with sub-themes, and perhaps with invited moderations, or > proposals for discussions on specific topics. All this can happen, and > will depend on how much initiative and energy we all put into the > list. > > WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE For starters, we have a few suggestions. > These are not mandatory, but we would like you to give them due > consideration, as a sketchy roadmap of where the list can go. > > 1. That people on the list write a paragraph about themselves and > their interests and and send this to me (the list administrator). This > will help us all get a sense of who we are, and allow many lurkers to > have their say. I will prepare digests of these postings and put them > back into the list. > > 2. That topics and threads for discussion be proposed for discussion, > within the broad ambit of the interconnections between old and new > media practices, city spaces, info-politics and net criticism. > > 3. That the list spends some time discussing itself, and what > direction(s) it wants to take. > > 3, That we try and ensure that as much material that reflects South > Asian realities gets into the list as do news and views from > elsewhere. > > 4. That Original postings constantly keep coming into the list, and > that the list does not turn into a cooking pot of 'forwards' and > 'announcements' alone. Furthermore, when you wish to post an > announcement, please send the mail to announcements at sarai.net, and it > will reach everyone on the reader-list as well. > > 5. That no one uses the list for spamming, private agendas, > propaganda, personal aggrandizement, pet hates and advertising. > > This is a long and perhaps unusual welcome note, but I hope that it > provides something to chew (and then post) on. I would welcome any > responses, and urge that they be made on the list itself, and I hope > we can spark a thread of discussions on discussion itself. > > Warm regards, and welcome again. For old threads, do check the > archives. The reader is also available online at > www.sarai.net/journal/reader1.html > > > Monica Narula List Administrator. > > To post to this list, send your email to: > reader-list at sarai.net > > General information about the mailing list is at: > http://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > If you ever want to unsubscribe or change your options (eg, switch to > or from digest mode, change your password, etc.), visit your > subscription page at: > http://mail.sarai.net/mailman/options/reader-list/ > > You can also make such adjustments via email by sending a message to: > Reader-list-request at sarai.net > > with the word �help� in the subject or body (don't > include the quotes), and you will get back a message with > instructions. > > You must know your password to change your options (including changing > the password, itself) or to unsubscribe. If you forget your password, > don't worry, you will receive a monthly reminder telling you what all > your sarai.net mailing list passwords are, and how to unsubscribe or > change your options. There is also a button on your options page that > will email your current password to you. > > You may also have your password mailed to you automatically from the > Web page noted above. > > To post to this list, send your email to: > > reader-list at sarai.net > > General information about the mailing list is at: > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > If you ever want to unsubscribe or change your options (eg, switch to > or from digest mode, change your password, etc.), visit your > subscription page at: > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/options/reader-list/pz%40vsnl.net > > You can also make such adjustments via email by sending a message to: > > reader-list-request at sarai.net > > with the word `help' in the subject or body (don't include the > quotes), and you will get back a message with instructions. > > You must know your password to change your options (including changing > the password, itself) or to unsubscribe. It is: > > idahha > > Normally, Mailman will remind you of your sarai.net mailing list > passwords once every month, although you can disable this if you > prefer. This reminder will also include instructions on how to > unsubscribe or change your account options. There is also a button on > your options page that will email your current password to you. From kalyannayan at yahoo.co.in Sat Apr 3 11:59:09 2004 From: kalyannayan at yahoo.co.in (=?iso-8859-1?q?kalyan=20nayan?=) Date: Sat, 3 Apr 2004 07:29:09 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Decoding Planning Process in Jamshedpur Message-ID: <20040403062909.89619.qmail@web8103.mail.in.yahoo.com> The first effort in modern town planning may be said to have originated by the appointment of Sanitary Commission in 1864 in three presidencies, under directions from the Royal Sanitary Commissions nominated by the British Parliament in 1859. The work of the Sanitary Commissions was gradually taken over by sanitary Eng. And Health departments of the state under directions of special committees or Boards constituted for the purpose. With growing exodus towards cities from the villages had started taking unmanageable turns, mostly in search of jobs, due to rural plight, new measures were sought to improve the condition of cities in colonial India. City Improvement Trusts (CIT) was created and they were entrusted with the work of town improvement schemes. First CIT was created for Bombay in 1898. Interestingly Hyderabad IT came into existence by a firman issued by Nizam to improve the sanitation and general improvement of the city. With this background Jamshedpur can be considered as pioneer in planning thought. The very idea of comprehensive plans came late to India, given the fact that Calcutta Improvement Trust saw light of the day in 1911, and it was still the makeshift idea of regulation that was gaining ground. The first general plan for Jamshedpur came into operation in 1909 itself. It was also a novel attempt in terms of the idea of preemptive planning. In the 1920s Temple plan was developed to cater to the small needs prevailing. The interface of the colonial state with the management of the steel town was negligible. It was a de facto steel zamindari of the Tatas. But the ideas that were experimented in Jamshedpur had its roots in the Institute of Town Planners and English Garden City Association (GCA) and the City Beautiful Movement in America. In fact it was the extensive traveling in these countries that has convinced J.N.Tata to take measures so that the proposed township develops into one of the ideal industrial cities. The activity of planning has been given a spurt by the GCA. Later on it came to be known as Garden Cities and Town Planning Association in 1909. Three of the early Jamshedpur planners had strong linkages with this association. Temple was a regular contributor to the Journal of the Town Planning Institute. But every planner thought about Jamshedpur from the company’s perspective. It was the ‘rationality’ which guided their concerns. The idea of scientific planning was implicit in the documents. Ironically, the majority who was going to inhabit the townscape were not given its place in the documents. The giant labour population was completely neglected. The plans kept on talking about roads and streets and gardens whereas this concentration of labour was left unprovided for. It was guided by the industrial outlook and ideas were implanted from west by these planners. Patrick Geddes one of the pioneers in this field once expressed the relation ‘Folk-Place-Work’ as the true objectives of any town improvement scheme. This meaning is completely missing from these documents. A general discourse of well fare is evident but on minute reading it becomes clear that it is nothing but a cosmetic touch. ===== hi received your mail. thank you for calling me. i will reply you soon. sorry for the tantrum. bye ________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! India Insurance Special: Be informed on the best policies, services, tools and more. Go to: http://in.insurance.yahoo.com/licspecial/index.html From khergupta at hotmail.com Fri Apr 2 12:48:27 2004 From: khergupta at hotmail.com (khergupta) Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2004 23:18:27 -0800 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Exhibition of Bharti Kher Message-ID: HUNGRY DOGS EAT DIRTY PUDDING An Exhibition of sculptures and photos by Bharti Kher Until April 10th at Nature Morte A1 Neeti Bagh New Delhi 49 Mon to Sat 12 to 7 pm naturemorte at hotmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040401/64973e8a/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From patrice at xs4all.nl Mon Apr 5 15:19:36 2004 From: patrice at xs4all.nl (patrice at xs4all.nl) Date: Mon, 5 Apr 2004 11:49:36 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [Reader-list] "Destabilizing Networks" (US Navy Labs research) Message-ID: <23587.195.169.149.2.1081158576.squirrel@webmail.xs4all.nl> Bwo Evan HP's blog (http://www.anarchogeek.com) www.ksg.harvard.edu/complexity/papers/connections4.pdf An interesting, if somewhat abstruse study by a long standing US govt researcher on groups, processes and networks (Kathleen M Carley). Evan rightly pointed out that such studies can also be aimed at 'us'. This links up with the controversy in some fundamentalist activist ;-) circles directed against 'us' mapping our networks so as to facilitate 'them' to destroy 'us' later... Enjoy! p+D!+d! From meenu_j at yahoo.com Tue Apr 6 08:13:18 2004 From: meenu_j at yahoo.com (meenu bhambhani) Date: Mon, 5 Apr 2004 19:43:18 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: BLATANT DISCRIMINATION AGAINST PERSONS WITH DISABILITY IN BJP'S VISION DOCUMENT Message-ID: <20040406024318.1393.qmail@web14004.mail.yahoo.com> Could this please be posted on the sarai-reader's list? Thanks Meenu Note: forwarded message attached. Meenu --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Small Business $15K Web Design Giveaway - Enter today -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040405/04e25ee5/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: "Charis" Subject: BLATANT DISCRIMINATION AGAINST PERSONS WITH DISABILITY IN BJP'S VISION DOCUMENT Date: Tue, 6 Apr 2004 07:19:25 +0530 Size: 28617 Url: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040405/04e25ee5/attachment.mht From nisar at keshvani.com Sun Apr 4 19:47:31 2004 From: nisar at keshvani.com (nisar keshvani) Date: Sun, 4 Apr 2004 21:17:31 +0700 Subject: [Reader-list] LEA cfp's - Asia Pacific Digital Arts, ExtraOrdinary to the Uncanny and Researching our Origins Message-ID: ** Worldwide Call for Submissions ** Please feel free to spread the word widely The Leonardo Electronic Almanac (http://lea.mit.edu) is currently seeking submissions for its upcoming Special Issues - Please see individual calls for details. 1) Network Leaps, Bounds and Misses: Critiquing Regional Strategies for Digital Arts and Electronic Music in Asia and the Pacific - DEADLINE EXTENDED TO 15 APRIL 2) From the Extraordinary to the Uncanny: the persistence of a parallel universe 3) RE:SEARCHING OUR ORIGINS: Critical and Archival Histories of the Electronic Arts _____________________________ Network Leaps, Bounds and Misses: Critiquing Regional Strategies for Digital Arts and Electronic Music in Asia and the Pacific Guest Editor: Fatima Lasay Under the UNESCO Digi-Arts Knowledge Portal for technology- based arts and music, an international colloquium took place on 4-5 December, 2003 at the Sarai Center for Study of Developing Societies in Delhi, India. The meeting, entitled "Old pathways/New travelers: new media, electronic music and digital art practices in the Asia Pacific region", sought to launch a media arts and electronic music initiative sponsored by UNESCO Digi-Arts and Sarai, to promote and develop research, networking, mutual cooperation, training and knowledge in these fields within the region. The meeting also aimed to point out the role and place of media and technology in a social, cultural and economic landscape inscribed by ancient histories of contact and paths that internally connect the landmass of Asia and the island cultures of the Pacific regions, its impact on young people and its potential as a unique tool to promote cultural diversity. As critical and engaging discussions of such a network of associations are underway, what do our past and current national and regional practices reveal about the limits of localization, proximity and regional reification? What lies beneath or within concepts of media and technology as instruments for promoting cultural diversity? Is media and technology a result or cause of culture? What is the position of media, art and technology in the ontological divide between regionalization and globalization? In which aspects do we need to transcend the regional level in the regional network building efforts? What is the significance of local ontologies within the process of building a regional network? Can asymmetrical local and regional development and promotion of digital arts in the region be addressed by mere institutional and conventional proximity? If geographic proximity is insuficient, then which conceptual spaces might provide a more solid basis for cooperative development? What critical and realistic approaches have been and can be made, in both imagination and actualization, to move in opposite directions and still meet together, across the globe, in building that strong and balanced support structure for digital arts in the region? For the June issue of LEA, we invite contributions from artists, musicians, practitioners, curators and critics that address regional networking competence problems and realities in the field of digital arts and electronic music in the Asia Pacific cultures. LEA encourages international artists / academics / researchers / students to submit their proposals for consideration. We particularly encourage authors outside North America and Europe to send proposals for articles/gallery/artists statements. Proposals should include: - 300 word abstract / synopsis - A brief author biography - Any related URLs - Contact details Deadline for proposals: Extended to 15 April 2004 Please send proposals or queries to: Fatima Lasay fats at up.edu.ph or Nisar Keshvani LEA Editor-in-Chief lea at mitpress.mit.edu _____________________________ >From the Extraordinary to the Uncanny: the persistence of a parallel universe Guest Editor: Michael Punt < extraordinaryconnections at uk2.net > We are seeking submissions of papers and other works from artists historians, and theorists interested in this topic. In particular we are calling for short papers (±2500 words) or artists statements and image essays on: * para-science and para-art * spirit photography * magic, conjuring and performance * consciousness, precognition and the uncanny subject * coincidence, narrative and psychoanalysis * history and the inexplicable event * sub-cellular phenomena and a macro reality * toward a theory of unstable realities * accident, memory and amnesia LEA encourages international artists / academics / researchers / students to submit their proposals for consideration. We particularly encourage young authors outside North America and Europe to send proposals for articles/gallery/artists statements. Expressions of interest and outline should include: - 300 word abstract / synopsis - A brief author biography - Any related URLs - Contact details Deadline for expressions of interest: 30 April 2004 Deadline for accepted proposals: 10 September 2004. Please send proposals or queries to: Michael Punt extraordinaryconnections at uk2.net or Nisar Keshvani LEA Editor-in-Chief lea at mitpress.mit.edu _____________________________ RE:SEARCHING OUR ORIGINS: Critical and Archival Histories of the Electronic Arts Guest Editors: Paul Brown and Catherine Mason The mid- to late 20th Century has become a popular topic for humanities research in recent years. Many projects are attempting to re-discover and re-contextualise the somewhat neglected field of history of art and technology. International histories of electronic and digital arts are now beginning to be written and voice given to the pioneers of these artforms. Additionally, with contemporary 'new media' artforms such as video and net art enjoying high prominence at present, much discussion is taking place about the foundations of current practice and about reception of electronic arts in cultural institutions, including curatorial practice as well as archiving and conservation issues. This special issue of LEA seeks to report on international projects and initiatives working to recover, document or construct critical and historical contexts for the electronic arts. Topics of interest might include (but are not limited to): * Origins of electronic and digital arts * Key transition points, for example - from analogue to digital * Art and technology collaborations * Educational/access initiatives * Critical analyses * Cultural analyses * Acquisition and conservation issues * EtcÖ For the LEA February 2005 issue, we invite contributions from artists, practitioners, curators, theorists and historians that engage with histories of the electronic/digital arts and art/science/technology collaborations. These can include: - full papers - works in progress - artists' statements - museum and gallery initiatives - etcÖ Under three levels of submission: - Fully refereed papers - Shorter work that may be sent to peer review and - Personal reminiscences and experiences that may be editorially selected and not peer reviewed. The guest editors are members of CACHe: Computer Arts, Contexts, Histories, etcÖ a major research and archiving project based in the School of History of Art, Film and Visual Media at Birkbeck, University of London and funded by the UK Government's Arts and Humanities Research Board. CACHe is documenting and contextualising the early days of computer arts in the UK from its origins in the 1960s to 1980, when the first "User Friendly" systems began to appear. http://www.bbk.ac.uk/hafvm/cache/ LEA encourages international artists / academics / researchers / students to submit their proposals for consideration. We particularly encourage authors outside North America and Europe to send proposals for articles/gallery/artists statements. Proposals should include: - 200 - 300 word abstract / synopsis - A brief author biography - Any related URLs - Contact details Timeline 1 May 2004 - submission of abstracts 31 May 2004 - short-listed candidates informed 31 Sept 2004 - Contributors to submit full papers for peer review Deadline for abstracts: 1 May 2004 Please send proposals or queries to: Paul Brown or Catherine Mason and Nisar Keshvani LEA Editor-in-Chief lea at mitpress.mit.edu ******************************************************************************** LEA Information and URLs ------------------------------------------- Receive your FREE subscription to the Leonardo Electronic Almanac e-mail digest at http://mitpress.mit.edu/lea/e-mail -- just provide your email address, name, and password, and check off that you'd like to be added to the Leonardo Electronic Almanac monthly e-mail list to keep on top of the latest news in the Leonardo community. How to advertise in LEA? http://mitpress2.mit.edu/e-journals/Leonardo/isast/placeads.html#LEAads For a paid subscription (to become an ISAST member and access archives dating back to 1993): http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=4&tid=27&mode=p The Leonardo Educators Initiative ------------------------------------------------------- The Leonardo Abstracts Service (LABS) is a listing of Masters and Ph.D. theses in the art/science/technology field, for the benefit of scholars and practitioners. LEA also maintains a discussion list open only to faculty in the field. Students interested in contributing and faculty wishing to join this list should contact lea at mitpress.mit.edu What is LEA? ---------------------- For over a decade, Leonardo Electronic Almanac (LEA) has thrived as an international peer-reviewed electronic journal and web archive, covering the interaction of the arts, sciences and technology. LEA emphasizes rapid publication of recent work and critical discussion on topics of current excitement. Many contributors are younger scholars and artists, and there is a slant towards shorter, less academic texts. Contents include Leonardo Reviews, edited by Michael Punt, Leonardo Research Abstracts of recent Ph.D. and Masters theses, curated Galleries of current new media artwork, and special issues on topics ranging from Artists and Scientists in times of War, to Zero Gravity Art, to the History of New Media. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040404/d929dc90/attachment.html From zest_india at yahoo.co.in Tue Apr 6 12:00:48 2004 From: zest_india at yahoo.co.in (=?iso-8859-1?q?Shivam=20Vij?=) Date: Tue, 6 Apr 2004 07:30:48 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] So that the owl can keep hooting Message-ID: <20040406063048.31105.qmail@web8202.mail.in.yahoo.com> Pitch in! The more the media matters, the more we must track what it does. Updated twice a week, www.TheHoot.org brings you in-depth reports from all parts of the sub-continent and further afield. As the watchdog's watchdog we take a hard-edged look at issues that plague the media, and offer riffs and reflections on what is in the news and what ought to be. We are delighted to announce that the Hoot has completed three years of media watching on the Web. We are gratified that this milestone has been possible, despite a rather precarious existence. We go from grant to grant, and donation to donation, tiding over the in-between periods with loans. Currently we are alive because of a 1.5 lakh grant from the National Foundation for India, before that we were able to keep going for a few months because the European Union advertised on the site. Over three years, Rs 1.21 lakh has come as contributions from journalists and others. As of now, the money the Hoot runs on will run out in November this year. The site needs to do much more than it does, and substantially strengthen its coverage of South Asian countries other than India. It needs staff, and possibly a small office. At the moment it has neither. Funding from Indian sources has not been easy to come by, and funding from foreign sources including individuals cannot be taken under the rules of the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act. To put the Hoot on a footing whereby it can cover the media more substantially, regularly and responsibly, we are making another attempt to set up a subscription base which will bring in small contributions on a regular yearly basis. Earlier we asked for Rs 100 a month or Rs 1200 a year. That may have been too steep for some categories of Hoot visitors such as students. We have now decided to target one thousand subscribers at Rs 300 a year. This Rs 3 lakh will make possible some regular staffing support which will improve the site and possibly make it attractive for appropriate advertisers. Once registered as a subscriber, you will receive a reminder once a year. A fair number of students and teachers from the 100 plus journalism schools and departments in the country now use the Hoot. It would be good if journalism schools too could help support the existence of this site. We are asking such institutions to please consider contributing Rs 2000 a year. As always, all contributors will receive tax exemption certificates and a listing on The Hoot. Please forward this appeal to others so that the owl can keep hooting. Those individuals who wish to pay more than Rs 300 are most welcome to do so! Please fill the subscriber's form below to send with your cheque, or cut, paste and email it to us. Contributions via cheque should be made out to * The Media Foundation * and sent to 180 National Media Centre, Gurgaon 122002, Haryana. Please note that we cannot accept contributions from accounts abroad, or those made in foreign exchange. Thank you! 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Go to: http://in.insurance.yahoo.com/licspecial/index.html _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From dbase at mindless.com Sun Apr 4 16:07:41 2004 From: dbase at mindless.com (D base) Date: Sun, 04 Apr 2004 05:37:41 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] dbase does :psy: in>>'paradiso' 4th n '9 bar'on the 12 Message-ID: <20040404103741.2D1631F5037@ws1-12.us4.outblaze.com> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040404/14fcd3ad/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From nc-agricowi at netcologne.de Tue Apr 6 15:43:59 2004 From: nc-agricowi at netcologne.de ([R][R][F] 2004) Date: Tue, 6 Apr 2004 12:13:59 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] Gita Hashemi curates "RealPlay" Message-ID: <07db01c41bbf$e12cce50$0300a8c0@NewMediaArtNet> [R][R][F] 2004 --->XP ~ E-Journal - Vol.2 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ~ E-Journal, an extension of the global networking project, R][R][F] 2004 --->XP www.newmediafest.org/rrf2004/ will be edited periodically in order to feature projects, curators, artists and other networking instances on a textual information basis //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ~E-Journal Vol.2 - Features . 1. Gita Hashemi curates "RealPlay 2. [R][R][F] 2004 --->XP - News!! //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// 1. Gita Hashemi curates "RealPlay" . "RealPlay" is the title of Gita Hashemi's curatorial contribution to [R][R][F] 2004 --->XP www.newmediafest.org/rrf2004/ or direct access also via www.newmediafest.org/rrf2004/rrfv2.htm . Participating artists: 1. Jaromil 2. Hard Pressed Collective 3. Mireille Astore 4. Project Threadbare Coalition 5. Haleh Niazmand . RealPlay Essay by Gita Hashemi. RealPlay has little to do with play, really. It is about playing for real. Topically positioned in specific times and/or places, the works in RealPlay contest, counter and/or subvert dominant geopolitical and/or cultural notions with reference to the colonial constructs of the "Middle East" and the "West." This selection works as a broad political commentary as well as responses to certain trends in "new media" discourse that explicitly or implicitly (sometimes inadvertently) postulate and promote fundamental distinctions and discontinuities between the "virtual" and the "real." Such distinctions inevitably idealize the illusionary (utopic or distopic) space where code is entirely capable of masterminding experience, or where code becomes experience. The projects in RealPlay reject such Western-oriented techno-centric and techno-determinist tendencies by privileging urgent socio-political issues over media formalism and by insisting on the priority of social interaction over, as well as through, cyberspace interactivity. Using diverse practices of documenting and archiving, these projects capitalize on the function of the internet as a repository of retrievable data and, more importantly, as a communication channel that can be advantageously put to use towards inciting counter-hegemonic thought and action. Subverting stereotypical representations of Palestinians as fanatic terrorists or people solely occupied and pre-occupied by war, in Farah: In Search for Joy , an account from a trip to Palestine following the brutal Israeli re-occupation campaign of the West Bank in 2002, software pioneer and artist Jaromil (Italy) gives an account of the everlasting human search and capacity for joy in towns and refugee camps under siege (again). Farah: In Search for Joy is a brief and unpretentious traveler's search for and documentation of those aspects of the Palestinian popular culture that continue to create, offer and celebrate joy in spite of the prolonged conditions of colonial occupation and war. As an archive (in progress), the website is incubated in and reflective of the artist's interactions with his environment as it is a virtual space for our encounter with a dimension of Palestinian reality categorically forgotten or ignored in dominant representations in the West. An initiative of Hard Pressed Collective (Canada), a group of media artists with a penchant for politically-engaged art-making, The Olive Project is, on the surface, a programmed compilation of short videos by diverse international artists. Thematically grounded in the historically rich and culturally diverse symbolism of the olive, the videos exhibit a range of artist responses to the ruthless practice of uprooting olive trees in Palestine by Israeli forces- a favourite occupation strategy aiming to force Palestinians off their land by effectively undermining the economic survival of the growers and their local production. Collectively, the videos construct a time-based memorial to "peace and justice" made of 2-minute blocks. Before, through and beyond the remediated compilation and its dissemination in cyberspace, however, this project functions as a tool for consciousness-raising, mobilizing and networking around an issue of real world significance. Migrant is the web component of Mireille Astore's (Australia) larger sculpture and performance project that takes as its starting point the infamous Tampa ship incident in August 2001. The incident brought local and international public attention to the plight of the "boat people"- refugees primarily from the "Middle East"-who, upon arrival in Australian waters, were first refused landing and then recast as prisoners by a xenophobic "Western" state. Astore 's obsessive photographic documentation (from the inside looking out) of her 18-day self-inflicted virtual imprisonment-in a scaled recreation of Tampa on a public beach in Sydney-functions as a looking glass in which to observe the uneasy and disturbing reactions to the arrival of new migrants by a society that has repressed its own memory and burried its own racist and colonial settler history under the grounds on which Woomera and Nauru detention centres currently stand for real. Project Threadbare is animated by a coalition of activists in response to the detention in August 2003 of 21 South Asian (primarily Pakistani) students in Toronto, Canada under the guise of anti-terrorist and national security operations. Since its inception, Project Threadbare has been an immensely successful local expository and legal campaign against racial targeting, detention and deportation of immigrants and refugees by Canadian police, intelligence and immigration forces, who are hotly in the race for the third place prize of dishonour, after USA and Australia, for breaking their own nation's civil liberties codes as well as international human rights conventions. This website, an ongoing forum, newsboard and archive for Toronto activists, is one wiki that doesn't pretend to be the virtual world's better-than-original replica of "democracy." Although some of the active members of the coalition are artists and their website is pretty slick, Project Threadbare was not conceived as and does not make a claim to being new media art; rather, it is a real world experiment in social and creative participation and collaboration, with tangible impact in the lives of the original 21 detainees and now in the lives of many others in similar predicaments. Survey of Common Sense is a recreation of an earlier participatory painting installation project by the same title by Haleh Niazmand (USA). A parody of the polling industry that for the past 5 or 6 decades has been the engine of "democracy" in the United States, Niazmand's image-text intervention, in the form of survey questions with forced yes/no "choices," is not only an authorial comment on the practices of polling as determinant of "democratic outcome," but a strong challenge to notions of "pragmatism" and "common sense" preached from political pulpits in the present-day United States. Beyond this, Survey of Common Sense is an invitation, courtesy of an artist from the "Middle East" and a citizen of the "West," to the participants/viewers to recongnize, acknowledge and reflect upon the ways in which each and every one of us are intricately and deeply implicated, really and virtually, in the bloody absurdity of this political moment. As such and in the very impossibility of responding with any degree of ease and resolution to Niazmand's questions, this work is an incessant challenge issued so we will not slip into forgetting. The projects in this selection have taken shape independently of this curatorial effort. My thanks to all the participants for allowing me to include their work in RealPlay. . About the curator: Gita Hashemi engages in cultural practice as artist, writer, curator, organizer, worker and educator. Her most recent curatorial projects include RealPlay (2004, netart exhibit) Negotiations: From a Piece of Land to a Land of Peace (2003, art-driven multidisciplinary event, http://negotiations2003.net), WILL (2003, multidisciplinary transnational exhibition, http://negotiations2003.net/will), Afghanistan, 2002: No Refuge and Locating Afghanistan (2002-3, image-text exhibition and publication with photography by Babak Salari), and Trans/Planting: Contemporary Art by Women from/in Iran (2001, with Taraneh Hemami, http://strictlypersonal.net/transplanting). Her recent titles include Post-Coitus (2003, http://post-coitus.net), Olive Fair (2003, http://olivefair.net), Many Stones for Palestine (2002, http://strictlypersonal.net/stones), The Word Room (2001, with Post-Exile Collective, http://wordroom.net), A War Primer (2001, sound installation), and Of Shifting Shadows (2000, CD-R). Hashemi's work has been exhibited, reviewed and collected nationally and internationally. She is the founder of Iranian Artists in Dialogue, a co-founder of Post-Exile Collective and a founder of Creative Response. She resides in Toronto, Canada. Hashemi's labour as an intellectual has crystallized in simultaneous processes of de/re/construction; not in any specific class of objects or within any particular representational genres, but in the envisioning of the spaces and formulation of the critical practices that can be constitutive in transformative social and political movements. Informed by her direct engagement in liberatory political struggles before, during and after the 1979 Iranian Revolution as well as her experience of exile in North America, Hashemi's work takes shape in a continuous process of countering masculinist discourses of fundamentalism, fascism, colonialism, corporatism and militarism. Notions of community, co-labouring, public space and active participation are integral to her creative engagement. So is the understanding that artistic practice, as a fundamentally social process, is inherently political and must, therefore, be subject to conscious (re-visionary) feminist re-articulation: The political is personal, the personal is poetic, the poetic is political, the political must become ethical. The selected artists: ****************************************************** 1. Artist: Jaromil ---->The Farah project About artist/work Rami a.k.a. Jaromil (http://korova.dyne.org) is a free software programmer and streaming media pioneer, media artist and activist, performer and emigrant. Jaromil co-founded (1994) the non-profit organization Metro Olografix for the diffusion of information technology, and in 2000 founded the free software lab dyne.org; sub-root for the autistici.org / inventati.org community. Jaromil is active in the Italy Indymedia Collective, and is currently the software analyst and developer for PUBLIC VOICE Lab (Vienna). The Farah project documents Jaromils three-week trip, in August, 2002, through the occupied territories of Palestine. During this time he crossed East Jerusalem, Gaza, Bethlehem, Hebron and Ramallah. This was while Bethlehem and Gaza were still under siege and Ramallah was experiencing another full-time curfew after the assassination of Ahmad Saadat. Farah is an effort to document the life and culture of the Palestinian population in zones of war, without actually mentioning the war itself. It is a net-art project in the way that it tries to use the net as a privileged medium to unveil a beauty usually made far by war. ****************************************************** 2 Artists group: Hardpressed Collective --->The Olive Tree Project About the group/work The Hard Pressed Collective is a group of video artists working in support of a just peace in Israel/Palestine. This project was inspired by the solidarity efforts around the olive harvest in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Members include: Riad Bahhur, Richard Fung, Rebecca Garrett, John Greyson, Jayce Salloum, and b.h. Yael. The Olive Project coordinator at Charles Street Video is Greg Woodbury. The olive tree has been a long standing source of nourishment and livelihood for many peoples around the Mediterranean Sea. Images of olive branches and leaves have been used to symbolize peace for millennia. Olive oil is also a potent food, a rich salve,a currency, an energy source, and a site of struggle. Since the second Intifada in Palestine and Israel, the olive harvest in the Occupied Palestinian Territories has been disrupted by violence, with Israeli military forces and settlers preventing Palestinian farmers from bringing in the crop. Since 1967, more than 200,000 olive trees have been uprooted by Israeli forces from Palestinian land. This has prompted a campaign by hundreds of international and Israeli volunteers to provide protection for Palestinian olive farmers and help them harvest their crop and prevent their theft and destruction by Israeli settlers. The Olive Project is an artistic contribution to this solidarity effort. ****************************************************** 3. Artist: Mireile Astore ---> Tampa Project About artist/work Mireille Astore was born in Beirut and came to Australia in 1975 following the outbreak of civil war in Lebanon. Although at the time Astore was classified as a migrant by the Australian Government, her status bears a strong resemblance to that of past and current refugees in the world. She has two children and lives in Sydney. A multi disciplinary artist, Astore also has a solid background in the visual and literary Arts, the Sciences, art administration as well as policy development. "Tampa" was a site-specific performance, sculpture, photography and web-based art about the plight of recent refugees in Australia. It took place between 30 October 2003 and 16 November 2003 as part of the "Sculpture by the Sea" exhibition in Sydney. The sculpture and performance acted as a dichotomy between the sense of freedom and grandeur the individual experiences at the seashore and the imprisonment refugees faced as a result of their trust in the most basic form of human rights. The Tampa incident was of particular interest because of the definite schism it created in Australia's perception of itself. The terms asylum seekers and refugees entered the everyday vocabulary and with them, the unease about nationhood and a crisis about who the Other really is. In Tampa, the fusion of two spatial and temporal processes created a tension, which has at its core a conflict of identity. The relationship initiated and executed as I photographed onlookers then boldly circulated their images through the Internet stands in sharp contrast to the assumed refugee status I employed. Consequently, photographing from within was an attempt at illustrating that the watched and the caged are in indeed watching. ****************************************************** 3 Artists group: Threadbare Coalition ---> Project Threadbare About group/work Project Threadbare is a city-wide coalition in Toronto, Ontario, made up of members of the Pakistani and south Asian communities, cultural organisations, immigrant and refugee groups, anti-poverty organisations, political groups, faith groups, trade unionists, students, and concerned activists and individuals who came together in response to the arrest and detention of twenty Pakistani men and one south Indian man in August 2003. None of the men have committed a crime and none have been charged. Project Threadbare alludes to the RCMP investigation called "Project Thread. " Although the investigation produced no hard evidence of any wrongdoing by any of the men who were arrested, it was the basis on which they were all held. Our aim is to win exoneration for all the men by building a mass campaign in communities across the country. We also seek to raise awareness about the government's attacks on civil liberties in general and on immigrants, refugees, and non-status persons in particular. ****************************************************** 4 Artist: Haleh Niazmand ---> Survey of Common Sense About artist/work Haleh Niazmand's art has been exhibited widely in many galleries and museums including the San Diego Museum of Art, the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, The Des Moines Art Center, the University of Arizona Museum of Art, The Worth Rider Gallery at the University of California, Berkeley, the Macy Gallery at Columbia University and A Space Gallery, Toronto. The internet-adapted version of her participatory projects The Survey of Common Sense and the Post Exile collective's Word Room are included in the Rhizome's Artbase archive. In addition, Niazmand's art has been discussed in numerous scholarly essays, journals, and professional magazines including the Middle East Women Studies Review, Radical History Review, Mix Magazine and Artweek. Polls and surveys are amongst the most commonly utilized methods of social control. In addition to their use in scientific research, surveys aid the media and interest groups in the creation of public opinion, which often directly affects the democratic processes of policy-making. Consequently, over time, the influence of surveys will manifest in many aspects of public opinion including the evolution of common sense. The Survey of Common Sense is an art project that uses the methodology of polls to address an array of contemporary social issues. The structure of this work involves the audience's participation as an integral part of the art, making it not merely observational or interpretive, but it is during this participation that its purpose is revealed. The work's general strategy calls for a re-evaluation of our judgmental rights, focusing on the uneasy and the paradoxical worldview. ****************************************************** The texts copyright © by Gita Hashemi and the participatings artists //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// /////////////////////////// 2. News a) 7 April [R][R][F] 2004 --->XP - is participating NowMusic Streaming Festival Berlin (Germany) 7 April - 24 hours between 0:00 and 0:00 CET (Central European Time/Berlin) http://www.reboot.fm/stream/reboot.ogg.m3u . b) During the coming weeks [R][R][F] 2004 --->XP will develop a program of sound art in collaboration with numerous Internet radio stations around the globe. . c) 8-16 May 2004 [R][R][F] 2004 --->XP will participate in May in Basic Festival Salzburg/Austria http://www.basics-festival.net/exhibition/index.php . d) [R][R][F] 2004 --->XP will soon be part of Rhizome Art Base - the exact URL will be announced soon. . e) In case, you missed one of the email ~E-Journals, all volumes of ~E-Journal can be found on www.newmediafest.org/rrf2004/ in the section -->Reviews, Articles..... ******************************************* [R][R][F] 2004 --->XP global networking project by Agricola de Cologne, media artist and New Media curator from Cologne/Germany www.newmediafest.org/rrf2004/ rrf2004 at newmediafest.org . As a corporate part of [NewMediaArtProjectNetwork]:||Cologne, the project will develop and operate until deep in the year 2005. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// /////////////////// As an extension of the global networking project, [R][R][F] 2004 --->XP ~ E-Journal will be edited periodically in order to feature projects, curators, artists and other networking instances on a textual information basis. . copyright © 2004 by Agricola de Cologne. All rights reserved. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// /////////////////// From patrice at xs4all.nl Tue Apr 6 16:00:23 2004 From: patrice at xs4all.nl (patrice at xs4all.nl) Date: Tue, 6 Apr 2004 12:30:23 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [Reader-list] WSJE: 'Nearsourcing' by Indian firms to USA, Canada... Message-ID: <19738.195.169.149.2.1081247423.squirrel@webmail.xs4all.nl> Amidst panicky dispatches and growing (political) concern about massive white collar job losses to the Indian subcontinent as result of industries delocalazing and outsourcing, the Wall Street Journal (Europe) published on April 1st (no joke I presume...;-) an article highlighting job creation by Indian IT firms in Canadese Ontario, close to the US border, and other locations, even in mainland US. Infosys, Wipro, Tata Consultancy and a few others "have broadened their operations in the US and Canada to be closer to their top US clients" (So globalization works both way & is fine i guess...) If someone on this list also subscribse to the WSJ, sHe may want to rip the whole article and post it here ... From mody_monica at hotmail.com Wed Apr 7 18:18:24 2004 From: mody_monica at hotmail.com (Monica Mody) Date: Wed, 07 Apr 2004 18:18:24 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kamila Shamsie in India Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040407/aecc7d5d/attachment.html From sappho1999 at rediffmail.com Wed Apr 7 12:19:19 2004 From: sappho1999 at rediffmail.com (Sappho for Equality) Date: 7 Apr 2004 06:49:19 -0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Second Posting - The Lesbian Voices Message-ID: <20040407064919.26766.qmail@webmail8.rediffmail.com> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040407/35426ef9/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- LITERATURE SURVEY Hymn To Aphrodite Throned in splendor, immortal Aphrodite! Child of Zeus, Enchantress, I implore thee Slay me not in this distress and anguish, Lady of beauty. Hither come as once before thou camest, When from afar thou heard'st my voice lamenting, Heard'st and camest, leaving thy glorious father's Palace golden, Yoking thy chariot. Fair the doves that bore thee; Swift to the darksome earth their course directing, Waving their thick wings from the highest heaven Down through the ether. Quickly they came. Then thou, O blessed goddess, All in smiling wreathed thy face immortal, Bade me tell thee the cause of all my suffering, Why now I called thee; What for my maddened heart I most was longing. "Whom," thou criest, "dost wish that sweet Persuasion Now win over and lead to thy love, my Sappho? Who is it wrongs thee? "For, though now he flies, he soon shall follow, Soon shall be giving gifts who now rejects them. Even though now he love not, soon shall he love thee Even though thou wouldst not." Come then now, dear goddess, and release me >From my anguish. All my heart's desiring Grant thou now. Now too again as aforetime, Be thou my ally. -Sappho [Greece's greatest female lyric poet Sappho (ca. 610-580 B.C.E.) spent the majority of her life on the famed island of Lesbos. Passionate and breathtaking, Sappho's poems survive only in fragments following religious conspiracies to silence her. Sappho penned immortal verse on the themes of romance, love, yearning, heartbreak, and personal relationships with women] The entire effort of this research work is to document how "Sappho", the only support group for lesbian, bisexual and transgendered women in eastern India, became organized as a mediator of lesbian activism and how issues of personal preferences gradually transformed into issues of political discourse addressing the various aspects of sexuality and sexual preferences. The course of lesbian visibility in India has been like scattered fireworks, an isolated episode here and there which consumes itself in its own sensationalism and leaves no trace of the life that was its context. As far literature is concerned, at least for Indian context , there is no such instances where lesbian activism in organised form, can be referred. To be very honest hardly any reflection of lesbianism is present throughout socio-economic-political-religious life of an Indian. To an average Indian, the term lesbianism itself is a myth that gives rise to misconceptions. Our social structure further define and defend rigid notions of what it means to be a man or a woman, how the two should relate, and the family unit that should result. All those who dare to think outside this perfect ideal are considered threats to "morality" and to society at large. In response to this threat, the system either tries to altogether deny the existence of those deviating from the norm (as in the invisibilising of lesbians), or dismisses them as imports from the West ("Its only a handful of urban, westernised elite who are gay"). When their presence is difficult to ignore, they are punished in ways that deny them a life of dignity and freedom. In such an atmosphere lesbians often hate themselves, live in shamed secrecy, try to 'cure' themselves by restoring to quacks or forcing themselves into marriage, and even attempt suicide, individually or jointly. All of these oppressions and sufferings have been completely ignored by most political parties and social activists, including the supposedly radical ones. Most of them believed that "such issues" are not important since Indians face other "life - and -death " issues. For many Indian women with same sex preference their sexuality does remain a "life - and -death " issue. Under this circumstances most Indian lesbians have been compelled to become invisible. This invisibility becomes more enhanced due to the threat of Section 377 of Indian Penal Code that criminalises homosexuality. This was actually the backdrop on which Sappho has emerged in 1999. Primarily it was like an oasis where the lesbians could share their emotions, concerns, beliefs and rights without any fear or shame. This organized effort gradually helped them to come out of the cocoon and exposed to the urge to be recognized as a part of the larger society that discriminates and ostracizes in manifold ways. They raised voice to name the violence against them, name the rights that they are looking for. Sappho felt that the rights of the sexually marginalised women should be discussed and acted upon from human rights perspective. The journey to search for the documents is basically for the need felt to associate themselves to any existing reflections. The 90's were quite productive from this aspect. In 1990 the magazine "Bombay Dost" appeared and in 1991 Aids Bhedhbhav Virodhi Andolan (Anti AIDS Discrimination Campaign) known as ABVA published a pioneering report "Less Than Gay". 1998 was another important year in the history of lesbian emergence in India. The huge controversy about "Fire", film by Deepa Meheta, after the right-winged Shiv Shena attacked the film for its lesbian theme, enabled a public debate on homosexuality, especially on lesbianism. For the first time in India lesbian organisations, identified as such, demonstrated in the streets along with civil rights group. First was CALERI, (Campaign About Lesbian Emergence In India), whose notion was simple, to push forward the issue of lesbian rights at the level of people. CALERI vociferously protested against homophobia, proclaimed public as well as private space for lesbians and boldly pointed out the problems faced by Indian women with same sex preference. In 1999 the Indian lesbians including the whole LGBT community was greatly benefited by Humjinsi, a resource book on lesbian, gay and bisexual rights in India, edited and compiled by Bina Fernandez, published by India Centre For Human Rights and Law. And then, within an year "Facing the Mirror" edited by Ashwini Sukhthankar was published. Acccording to the editor, "we share our lives in these pages. We did not necessarily have a collective goal in mind, but certain impulses came up again and again. We put pen to paper so that one less woman might have to experience the isolation we did. So that the anger and the passion which chokes us might begin to mean something beyond itself, the emotional energy set free from our individual, distinct lives to help other women chart theirs. So that we might make a shared language for the feelings, which have, been robbed of their name. Claim a public niche beyond the ignorance, which has been our license to live, beyond general tolerance to the acceptance that presupposes understanding. Challenge those who would say that our lives have nothing to do with theirs: I want to tell them, I wear the face of your loved ones: the contributor Anasuya asserted .I could be your mother, friend, wife. I want to tell them, I am both lesbian and one of you, like it or not.' And so we try to articulate the many connections of shared faith, shared blood, shared experience, writing of similarities without hiding the many points of difference." Penguin published another collection, "Selections from Feminist Fables" by Suniti Namjoshi, which bore some interesting short stories about women and their emotions and passions about women. Scholarly and journalistic interest in the field also has accompanied the growth of LGBT movements, as is evident from Jeffrey Kripal's work on homoerotic mysticism and the recent anthology of scholarly essays. "Same-Sex Love in India" & "Queering India" by Ruth Vanita and Salim Kidwai examines homosexuality from multidisciplinary perspectives. The preface of the book, "Same-Sex Love in India" actually works as a pledge for the LGBT people in India. "We hope this book will help assure homoerotically inclined Indians that large numbers of their ancestors throughout history and in all parts of the country shared their inclinations and were honored and successful members of society who contributed in major ways to thought, literature, and the general good. These people were not necessarily regarded as inferior in any way nor were they always ashamed of their loves or desires. In many cases they lived happy and fulfilling lives with those they loved. Labels like "abnormal," "unnatural," and "unhealthy" are of relatively very recent origin in India. Even the inventors of these labels, Euro-American psychologists, have already retracted them and come to the conclusion that same-sex love is perfectly natural, normal and healthy for many people. We hope that people who are not homoerotically inclined will also profit from this book, by learning to acknowledge that some of their ancestors were so inclined, that their writings and writings about them constitute an important part of our common Indian heritage as well as world heritage, and that such acknowledgment is crucial to building a more tolerant, better-informed, less conflict-ridden society that is accepting of all its members and encourages all to explore their full potential for life, love, and creativity." Writings on love between two women are also found in letters of Amrita Sher Gill and stories of Ismat Chughtai (Lihaf 1942, Tehri Laakir 1945). The regional scenario was surprisingly quite different from its national counterpart. While on searching regional references we toiled our sweats but hardly got other than a few poems, short stories or novels such as "Mallika Bahar" by Kamal Kumar Majumder, "Bama Bodhini" by Nabaneeta Dev Sen , "Jhara Phool" by Nilima Basu, "Chander Gaaye Chand" by Tilottama Majumder. Besides these, few articles or parts of novels are also available which could be homoerotically interpreted. e.g. "Indira" by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, "Sheiy Shomoy" by Sunil Gangopadhyay, "Gora O Binay" by Tapobrata Ghosh. Recently, a research paper titled "Politics of Sexual Identity from the Margin: Listening to Lesbians of Calcutta" by Dr. Amit Ranjan Basu, an independent researcher in social science and mental health, has drawn public interest. The paper was presented at the Seventh Subaltern Studies Conference, CSDS, Delhi in January 2004. For this research paper, Sappho has actively collaborated with Dr. Basu. It also needs to be mentioned that a few newsletters / magazines like "Mirch Masala" by Sangini, New Delhi, "Script" from Stree Sangam, Mumbai, "Arshi Nagar" by Pratyay, Kolkata and "Naya Prabartak", newsletter of Counsel Club, Kolkata 'been brought out, though all the said publications are either short-lived or very irregular. Actually for Sappho, the society around was totally barren of any reflections of lesbian existence. The literature, the cinema, the serials, the soaps, the politics, the social welfare groups even working for women, the health & hygiene programmes either dared not to speak up or ignored to spaek for women with same sex preferences. Sappho made her maiden voyage through this unexplored land with a few well-wishers. Starting from 1999 and till date, we are crossing our hurdles and we have gathered courage to speak out through our newsletter "Swakanthey (in her own voice)". The first publication came out on 29th January 2004 in 15th Kolkata Book Fair, an event of international fame. The members were courageous enough to hawk the copies in the fair openly, and received an immense support and warmth from common people, which ended up in selling out all the 500 copies even before the book fair ended. From shveta at sarai.net Wed Apr 7 12:36:24 2004 From: shveta at sarai.net (shveta) Date: Wed, 7 Apr 2004 07:06:24 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] A book of suggestions Message-ID: <200404070706.24191.shveta@sarai.net> Dear All, Please see http://www.sarai.net/cybermohalla/works/scratch_book/scratchbook.htm for the Cybermohalla Scratch Book, a work in progress which begins documenting the last thirty three months of processes at the Cybermohalla labs (http://www.sarai.net/cybermohalla/cybermohalla.htm). This book is also in the process of being translated into German, Italian and Spanish for use by different groups. ABOUT THE SCRATCH BOOK Scratch: (verb) Mark the surface of (something). (noun) The line from which a start is made. (adj) Assembled or made from available resources. (verb) Initiate the search for something. This is a book of suggestions. It contains a set of inscriptions that map the journeys and lines of flight of different people who have been working collaboratively in media labs for over thirty-two months. It embodies their process of work, experimentation, inventiveness and play. It is a register of notes, annals, journals, manuals, annotations, commentaries, conversations, suggestions, reflections, indexes and scrap books. It is a map of different projects undertaken, without defining final destinations. Instead it offers suggestions for alternative routes, and considerations on the possibilities that might lie in roads 'not yet taken'. It details everyday practical experiences, while creating something new in the process. It is an invitation to inscribe, and so to participate in this process of creating. Scratch and Plug In Produced at the Sarai Media Lab, March 2004 Published by Ankur+Sarai Looking forward to feedback, comments and inscriptions. best, Shveta Cybermohalla/Sarai From zest_india at yahoo.co.in Wed Apr 7 23:04:40 2004 From: zest_india at yahoo.co.in (=?iso-8859-1?q?Shivam=20Vij?=) Date: Wed, 7 Apr 2004 18:34:40 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Kamila Shamsie in India Message-ID: <20040407173440.86861.qmail@web8206.mail.in.yahoo.com> Stranger in a Familiar Land by Kamila Shamsie The Guardian / February 18, 2004 http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,1150276,00.html As with so many things to do with India and Pakistan, trouble started well before it had any business doing so. When I set about getting a visa to go to Madras (or Chennai as its now officially called) in order to spend a week as writer-in-residence at Stella Maris college, I imagined that my first stumbling block would be in fulfilling the requirements of the visa application. But as it turned out, getting hold of the visa office in Islamabad was a mini-saga in itself. When I finally dialled the correct number, a fax machine picked up. Undaunted, I wrote a letter asking for details of the visa application process and attempted to fax it across. But this time, no fax machine picked up - there was only the ringing of the telephone. I almost gave up right there; this is a metaphor, I decided. Pakistani phones Indian and gets a fax machine. Indian hears ringing phone, answers it to speak to Pakistani, and gets an incoming fax. The desire to communicate is there, but the machinery won't allow it. It was to see if the metaphor could stand up to scrutiny that I dialled the number a third time, and got through to a human being. And so it was that a few days later I found myself in Islamabad's "diplomatic enclave" (to enter the enclave you must board a bus which lets you off at your embassy of choice. The Indian embassy is the closest to the entrance, but it's also the last stop on the route. This, too, is a metaphor). In the end, the officials duly stamped my passport with a visa for Bombay and Madras (Pakistan and India don't give each other's nationals visas for the entire country, only for select cities within the country). And so on February 6 I found myself in Bombay, where I was to spend two days with friends on my way to Madras. Nothing had prepared me for Bombay. I don't mean the extremes of its extremes - though its wealth and its poverty are of an acuteness, and exist at an adjacency to each other, that are startling even to someone from Karachi. Simply, I had never been somewhere so completely unfamiliar that still managed to exude such a sense of familiarity. I knew, of course, that Bombay, like Karachi, was an overcrowded, industrial port city, with colonial architecture dominating certain parts of town, and that a distance of just over 500 miles separated them. But it is quite something else to be confronted with the reality of the fact. It struck me most forcibly one evening as I was sitting on the long verandah of the Bombay Gymkhana - almost identical to the long verandah of the Karachi Gymkhana - and, as evening descended, a cool breeze raced in from the sea, and carried away the heat of the afternoon. It's one of my favourite things in Karachi, the evening sea breeze that transforms a hot day, and to find it in Bombay was like meeting, for the first time, the sibling of someone you love and in that stranger's features encountering utterly beloved expressions. But it gets stranger. It was not only Karachi that I was reminded of in Bombay. In the architecture of some of its streets, it is London. In its frenzy, in the ultra-coolness of its ultra-coolness and in the constraints of geography that make it grow upward rather than outward, it is New York. And so there were moments in Bombay when it almost seemed possible to believe myself in a dream in which the three cities in which I had spent the previous year all came together in one place, and yet that one place was nothing like any of those other places at all. When you are in a place that is partly familiar, your attention is drawn more than ever to the ways in which it is utterly alien. So it was with me and Bombay. The statues, for instance, took me entirely by surprise. In all my travels, I had never stopped to consider that in Karachi we have no statues, but seeing the ones in Bombay made me aware for the first time that, in my home town, our monuments are fountains or swords or arid mountaintops in the midst of a landslide - to commemorate Pakistan's first successful nuclear test in 1998; when I first saw it, I didn't know whether to laugh or weep - but never people. Perhaps, I thought, what I sensed in Bombay was just a microcosm of what India and Pakistan encounter with each other: a constant movement between finding intimacy amid strangeness and difference buried within the heart of similarity. But then I went to Madras. And there, I found nothing of metaphor and dream - just a city that clearly belonged to the same region of the world as Karachi, and no more. In Madras you can't help being aware at all times that you are in southern India - and that, as a Pakistani, most of your associations with India are with northern India. The food, the languages, the topography were all distinct enough from the world I have grown up in that I was able simply to be there without overlaying images of Karachi on to any part of it. For many of the students at Stella Maris college, as well as for many of the faculty, I was the first Pakistani they had met, and they were immensely curious (and never less than utterly warm and hospitable). One day I asked a hall full of students which country in southern Asia they felt the strongest association with. I expected many to say Sri Lanka - Madras is, after all, the capital of Tamil Nadu, so it seemed natural to think there would be an affinity with the Tamils in Sri Lanka - but to my vast surprise, the entire hall called out "Pakistan". "Why not Sri Lanka?" I asked. "Because Pakistan used to be the same country as India," someone offered. "So was Bangladesh," I said. "Do you feel the same affinity there?" No, they all said, not at all. Afterwards, one of the teachers told me that there are many people in Madras who identify with the Sri Lankan Tamils, but not so many in the younger generation, since they don't remember the Sri Lankan civil war at its height in the 80s. But partition was in the 40s, I thought afterwards. This idea of affinity can't just be about a historical past - particularly not in Madras, which remained almost entirely untouched by the events of partition. It is our two nations' official state of enmity, I'm sure, that keeps us so connected - you have only to look at both countries' defence budgets to see how much force we exert on each others' lives. That flexing of military and rhetorical muscle at the same time ties us together and keeps us from really knowing each other. That same afternoon I was having an informal lunch with a group of students and one of them finally mentioned the K-word, which no one had thus far uttered. "Is Kashmir your Kashmir or our Kashmir?" she said. "It's the Kashmiris' Kashmir," I replied, andwas surprised by the degree of assent around me. But one of the students said, "I think of Pakistan as our Pakistan." The girls around her hushed her. "Don't say that in front of her," one of them whispered. The girl looked at me as though to say she meant no offence but was simply stating a fact. "We were the same country," she said. "Yes," I said. "We were. A while ago." A few minutes later another of the girls said, "We didn't know what to expect when we heard you were coming. We thought you'd be all - " and she made a gesture of someone covered up from head to toe. Then she pointed to my V-necked kurta with its rolled-up sleeves. "But you look just like us." I knew then that I was to them what Bombay had been to me - something far more familiar than anticipated. Back in my hotel that evening, I ran into one of the women in housekeeping who asked me where I was from. "Karachi," I said, and could see that she wasn't quite able to place the name. "Your mother tongue is Hindi?" she asked, which I already understood as a shorthand for asking me if I were from northern India. "Urdu," I replied. There was a moment's silence and then, "Karachi is on the Pakistan side of the border?" "Yes." "What, in Pakistan itself?" "Yes." I still can't stop thinking of the way she phrased her questions, as though, in her mind, there existed a place on the Pakistan side of the border that was not Pakistan itself. Now back in Karachi, I find that the part of me which writes fiction is utterly captivated by this idea - a city that is the border itself rather than existing within either nation - and in my imagining, the material of which that city, that border, is built dissolves into abstraction or transforms into impenetrable steel as contexts shift. ===== ========================================== ZEST Reading Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/zest-india ZEST Economics: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/zest-economics ========================================== ________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! India Insurance Special: Be informed on the best policies, services, tools and more. Go to: http://in.insurance.yahoo.com/licspecial/index.html From Rahul.Asthana at CIBC.com Thu Apr 8 03:43:38 2004 From: Rahul.Asthana at CIBC.com (Asthana, Rahul) Date: Wed, 7 Apr 2004 18:13:38 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] The Henan AIDS epidemic Message-ID: <66242625E3C7E84CA44074F9BA0114BEBF6B9C@gemmrd-scc014eu.gem.cibc.com> http://www.usembassy-china.org.cn/sandt/henan-hiv.htm Maybe you know about this.I learned of it just now. Horrific disregard of Human life.About a million infected(according to unofficial sources)from unregulated selling of blood in Henan,China.As to my knowledge, no bueraucratic heads have rolled.I remember, death of a handful of SARS patients in Canada created a nation wide stir. The importance of Human life has gone down drastically and this seems to be a pattern in the Eastern World. Is this callousness an offshoot of excess population? From sandipan at molbio.unizh.ch Sat Apr 10 02:27:34 2004 From: sandipan at molbio.unizh.ch (Sandipan Chatterjee) Date: Fri, 9 Apr 2004 22:57:34 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] ThinkCycle Message-ID: <86802834-8A68-11D8-BF1A-000A95A9FF20@molbio.unizh.ch> Not sure whether this has already been circulated on this forum (apologies if it already has). Was pointed out to me today and I am sure that it will be very interesting to a lot of us. http://www.thinkcycle.org/ Best wishes, Sandipan From shuddha at sarai.net Sat Apr 10 16:14:57 2004 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2004 16:14:57 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Looking for Ideas for Distribution of Reader 04 Message-ID: <04041016145701.01109@sweety.sarai.kit> Dear Friends, As you know, the Sarai Reader 04 was published in February this year, and the people who have been able to lay their hands on the book are coming back to us with very positive responses. Many people are also saying that it is difficult to get copies of the book and that it hasnt really moved into bookstores. Would anyone on this list have any ideas, suggestions about how we might try and get hold of a better distribution network for the book. Anyone with any experience in distribution of books could send us any ideas that they might have. Please write back to the list. Perhaps it can also generate a nice discussion thread on different forms of distribution. looking forward to your suggestions and ideas. cheers Shuddha -- Shuddhabrata Sengupta (Raqs Media Collective) Sarai Centre for the Study of Developing Societies 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi 110054 Phone : 91 11 23942199 Ext 305 www.sarai.net From coolzanny at hotmail.com Sat Apr 10 22:10:19 2004 From: coolzanny at hotmail.com (Zainab Bawa) Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2004 22:10:19 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Third Independent Research Posting Message-ID: Dear All, The research was moving a bit too slowly owing to my exams and involvement in a project on operationalizing the human right to water for the urban poor in Mumbai. I have been compiling my experiences in the slums with what I have observed in the trains and am trying to understand the phenomenon of crowding and its subsequent impact on people. >From Monday, I am beginning interviews with women who frequently travel by train. The first interview is slated to occur on a journey with a woman travels by first class in order to avoid the 'roughness' of second class. I will be traveling with her from her home to office and we will be talking along the way! She was quite amused with what I was doing. I also request you to send in your thoughts, comments and feedback, particularly on any literature which you think I should review in connection with this study. I have been advised to look at literature pertaining to New York's subways and compare scenarios which I think would be extremely interesting from a larger perspective. For now, this much. With best wishes, Zainab Bawa Date: 28/01/04 Journey: Byculla to Kurla Today�s experience in the trains was quite interesting. I boarded the train at Byculla. The train was bound for Kurla. There was not much crowd in the train because this was a short distance train. I stood at the platform where the middle ladies compartment was expected to halt. The middle ladies compartment was divided into two sections. The first section was large, amounting to 70% of the total compartment space; there was a partition dividing the small compartment (comprising of the rest of the 30%) from the large. I decided to purposely sit in the small compartment. There were very few people in my small compartment, mostly mothers, with their school-going children. The lady sitting opposite me was staring at my cell phone (which I was holding in my hand). The lady sitting next to me was sitting too close to me. There was very little space between her and me. For a moment, this was too disconcerting for me. I almost felt like this lady wanted to open herself up to me. She was thinking deeply. There was another lady sitting opposite me with her two school-going children. Even she was deeply immersed in her thoughts. Like this, there were several ladies sitting in the small compartment with their school-going children, deeply immersed in thought. I found this to be a very strange experience. After a while, even I was lost in my own thoughts. What I felt afterwards was that these moments were those where all of us women were together into the brains and all of us were simultaneously immersed in thinking. All of us were together lost in our thoughts. And, I am 110% certain that these thoughts were mainly about our existential worries and problems � the problems of living � nothing more than that! And yet, it is these existential problems which are more harrowing than anything else! As if automatically, all the �thinking� women (don�t know whether to call them thoughtful) came out of their thoughts the moment our train touched Dadar Station. They straightened themselves up, �proper-ed� their sarees, smiled loving and warmly at their children, and headed out of the compartment. The moment all of them left, I was all by myself in the compartment, and soon, the smallness of the compartment began to reveal itself to me. This small compartment appeared to be a very private space. The walls of the compartment were scribbled with various kinds of messages, most notably �love� messages. Some of the messages were: 1. One bird in hand worths two in a bush - Be happy with what you have - Khushi )): 2. MR 2004 from Yogesh Pawar 3. Shakeb love Shama � I am ________ waiting for you There were little scribbles were scratched everywhere on the walls of this compartment. I could not decipher some of the writings at all! I usually find young schoolgirls frequenting these small compartments: young meaning like 14-16 years onwards school � a lot of them go to municipal schools or Marathi medium schools These girls have very intimate talks to share with each other. They squeal, giggle, whisper and chat in hushed and hurried voices. A lot of times, the talks revolve around the latest crush, the most attractive guy, the popular guy (could be a film star or a local guy, someone from their school/chawl/neighbourhood/colony), or their boyfriend or friend�s boyfriend. But I don�t know whether it is these girls who scratch the train walls and write on them. My personal stereotype is that the scratches and scribbles are done by boys, because in my worldview, �girls� don�t do such rough things (except for rough girls or boyish girls). Perhaps my stereotype is influenced by Hindi films and by my visit to Gulmarg (in Kashmir), where a lot of the scribbling was done by the boys. And then, there are boys who also scratch/scribble their girlfriends� names on their hands/wrists. But I also know of my female schoolmates who had scratched their girlfriends� names on their wrists because they were very passionate and possessive about them. Anyway, coming back to the compartment. The smallness of the compartment was revealing itself to me. When there were few people in it, it was an intimate space. When there were no people in it (and I thought I was all alone in it), the space began to grow on me. By the time the train hit Sion station, I was beginning to feel intimidated. I was feeling like I am the only person in the compartment and what if some men at Sion are tempted to jump into my empty compartment. What would happen if a mugger got in? On this thought, I immediately threw my cell phone in my bag. I also tightened up myself and became a bit more alert. My mind wandered back to the journey which I had undertaken from Andheri Station to Churchgate at 8 o�clock in the evening on 12th Jan. On that journey too, I was sitting in the middle ladies compartment and by the time the train had reached Marine Lines (one stop before Churchgate), I was all alone, with everyone getting off at Marine Lines. Apart from me, there was a lady standing at the door of the compartment. When about five minutes had passed and the train was showing no sign of movement, I decided to check with this lady whether the train would go to Churchgate at all! She saw me and said, �Come, sit here.� I asked her if the train would go to Churchgate. She said, �Have you ever heard of a train which halts at Marine Lines as its final junction?� Yeah, I knew there was never such a train where Marine Lines was the junction. The she said, �I saw you seated and therefore I decided to continue sitting in this compartment. I was actually going to move to the first ladies compartment (which is usually filled with ladies, is bigger and irrespective of timing, always has quite a few women in it. Hence, it is perceived to be safer!). You know what happens nah when the train moves from Marine Lines to Churchgate; it halts for a while in between the two stations, waiting for a clearance signal so that it can park itself on a track occupied previously by a train which is now moving out. At night times, muggers and thieves get into relatively empty compartments during these halt periods and then threaten us and loot.� Frankly, I had never thought of this realistic possibility. A while before I had spoken to this lady, I was thinking to myself, �Wow! I am all alone in this compartment and this is so wonderful because I have all the space to myself,� and I was stretching out my hands and legs. After what this lady said to me, I was feeling like a romantic idiot. So, in a city, is this what happens to an empty space? Shit! The train halted for a long time between Marine Lines and Churchgate stations, waiting for the track clearance signal. The woman then said to me, �See, we have this chain to pull in order to alert the guard, but by the time we get to this bit of action, the thief would have already gotten to us. And sometimes, these people have weapons and they threaten us with them if we try to pull the chain. This was a local Maharashtrian woman who probably hailed from the unorganized sector. She taught me the difference between courage and impulse. Her attitude reinforced my beliefs about fraternity and community between women!!! While I was thinking about this incident, I walked towards the door of the compartment to hang around the pole (which is quite an emotional support during lonely periods). I was wondering about how the human mind and emotions work. We want space, but when there is lots of space, we want someone, some people around because we cannot be alone. The empty space grows on us after a while. While hanging onto the pole, I peered into the other corner of the compartment and actually saw another woman sitting snugly by the window. I could not see her earlier because of the partition separating the two window seats in the same compartment. My hunch was proved right! I knew I was not sitting alone all this while � (in the compartment)!!! - Zainab Bawa - For communication, email zainabbawa at yahoo.com _________________________________________________________________ Buzz on your screen! Download on your screen. http://www.msn.co.in/Download/screensaver/ Keep yourself smiling! From velivelli at yahoo.com Sun Apr 11 05:54:36 2004 From: velivelli at yahoo.com (aditya velivelli) Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2004 17:24:36 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] sources of violence In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20040411002436.23946.qmail@web40902.mail.yahoo.com> Why Bollywood films are prime motivators of rape and other forms of violence: http://www.hindu.com/mag/2004/04/11/stories/2004041100350200.htm __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - File online by April 15th http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html From menso at r4k.net Sun Apr 11 19:37:55 2004 From: menso at r4k.net (Menso Heus) Date: Sun, 11 Apr 2004 16:07:55 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] sources of violence In-Reply-To: <20040411002436.23946.qmail@web40902.mail.yahoo.com> References: <20040411002436.23946.qmail@web40902.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <20040411140755.GF7809@r4k.net> On Sat, Apr 10, 2004 at 05:24:36PM -0700, aditya velivelli wrote: > Why Bollywood films are prime motivators of rape and > other forms of violence: > > http://www.hindu.com/mag/2004/04/11/stories/2004041100350200.htm What is your opinion on this piece? Personally, however nicely the conclusion is put, I cannot agree with this and believe it's a tremendously simplistic portraying of the issues at hand. It has to do with lack of respect and contempt for the female, which I personally believe comes forth from societal and cultural structures which do nothing to disprove of such behaviour and at times even encourage it. It is the turning around of problem and symptom. The problem is not movies with as symptom the assaults of women: the problem is a lack of respect and the seeing of the female as a lesser person, which might or might not be a view that is confirmed by certain movies. Assault of women has always been an issue, long before how they were shown in movies became one. Menso -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The problem with America is stupidity. I'm not saying there should be a capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself? -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From diya at sarai.net Mon Apr 12 05:26:16 2004 From: diya at sarai.net (diya at sarai.net) Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2004 01:56:16 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1386.203.101.3.141.1081727776.squirrel@203.101.3.141> Visthaapan Virodhi Abhiyan Dear Friends, Hundreds and hundreds of families are being evicted to clear up the Yamuna Pushta following a High Court order of 2003 directing the authorities to remove all unauthorised constructions along the banks of the river Yamuna that flows through Delhi. Almost 6,000 families have already been displaced in the last few weeks. At least 16,000 more families have been targeted for eviction before the elections. All these families are losing their livelihood too. The use of police force and repression of any representation from the people is going systematically unreported by the media. All appeals against this order in both the High Court as well as the Supreme Court have been summarily dismissed. In not a single case has the Court acknowledged the right to be heard by the slums dwellers as the most affected party. What is being offered in terms of rehabilitation is highly inadequate. This ongoing human tragedy in our city touches many dimensions. We urgently feel the need to discuss and strategise both about relief and rehabilitation as well as organized protest. Meeting Details DATE: Monday, 12th April TIME; 4 pm VENUE: Indian Social Institute, Lodi Road, New Delhi Behind Sai Baba Temple Ranjana, Lalit, Arun, Dunnu, Gautam and Prakash For Visthaapan Virodhi Abhiyan 8.4.2004 From auskadi at tvcabo.co.mz Mon Apr 12 11:35:34 2004 From: auskadi at tvcabo.co.mz (auskadi at tvcabo.co.mz) Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2004 08:05:34 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] Looking for Ideas for Distribution of Reader 04 In-Reply-To: <04041016145701.01109@sweety.sarai.kit> References: <04041016145701.01109@sweety.sarai.kit> Message-ID: <407A31AE.5020201@tvcabo.co.mz> Dear Shudda My first impression here is to think back to the days (late '70's) of the DIY (do it yourself) - punk - indie music scene. Back then there was a time when many of us were trying to do something as an alternative musically and in organisation different from the multi national record companies ... people used to pay for their own recordings and make their own record labels and distribute the records themselves to shops that would take them(often on a consignment or sale or return basis) ... .... I spent many years walking the streets of Sydney and Melbourne visiting record shops and selling or leaving on consignment records, we also used small distributors to cover the suburbs and out of the way areas... but over time with different bands doing this networks where established and independent distribution networks evolved. I think people like autonomedia probably are like a book version of that, for example rough trade was back in the late 70's. Anyway, my prima facie idea is that maybe a combination of distributors (such as autonomedia or whoever) and just friends of Sarai could get involved. I will try and find Jim at autonomedias email for you. Thats one avenue... the other is that a time each of us could just try and get orders from local bookshops or other outlets and forward them on, and/or each get a small supply of books and try and find outlets for them as we did in the days of DIY-punk-indie music..........and of course now with the net and the number of web sites that we all have our fingers another way of walking the streets is available to compliment this ... if anything I hope i help get the thread going Best Martin Shuddhabrata Sengupta wrote: >Dear Friends, > >As you know, the Sarai Reader 04 was published in February this year, and the >people who have been able to lay their hands on the book are coming back to >us with very positive responses. Many people are also saying that it is >difficult to get copies of the book and that it hasnt really moved into >bookstores. > >Would anyone on this list have any ideas, suggestions about how we might try >and get hold of a better distribution network for the book. Anyone with any >experience in distribution of books could send us any ideas that they might >have. Please write back to the list. Perhaps it can also generate a nice >discussion thread on different forms of distribution. > >looking forward to your suggestions and ideas. > >cheers > >Shuddha > > > -- http://www.auskadi.tk/ "the riddle which man must solve, he can only solve in being, in being what he is and not something else...." From auskadi at tvcabo.co.mz Mon Apr 12 13:59:52 2004 From: auskadi at tvcabo.co.mz (auskadi at tvcabo.co.mz) Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2004 10:29:52 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] [Fwd: =?windows-1252?q?GERNIKA=92S_14TH_INTERNATIONAL_CONVENTION_?= =?windows-1252?q?ON_CULTURE_AND_PEACE_=5D?= Message-ID: <407A5380.4070008@tvcabo.co.mz> Commemoration of the 67th Anniversary of the April 26th Bombing of Gernika Place: Gernika-Lumo Date: April 25th to 28th, 2004 GERNIKA’S 14TH INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION ON CULTURE AND PEACE Pedagogy of Peace This year Gernika GoGoratuz invites you to share your experiences, doubts, difficulties, and reflections on the topic of A Pedagogy of Peace. The theoretical aspects on the subject of Building a Culture of Peace advance quantitatively and qualitatively each day. Local experiences can contribute key empirical data. As such, Gernika Gogoratuz considers it vital to create spaces where people can think together; and propose how to best transmit knowledge, values, and attitudes in favour of a Culture of Peace that could bear fruit all throughout society. The proposed objective for this convention has been enriched by gathered contributions from previous years. Among the many things stated is the support for: consensus-building, consenting to values of Coexistence, and a Just Peace. Not solely p eace at any price, rather, Peace by Peaceful Means that can take us closer to Reconciliation and that foster dialogues for change in the present, past and future. Topics for Plenary Sessions and Working Groups: -A Pedagogy of Peace discussed through - Academic Peace-Building Experiences - Social Peace Building Experiences - Artistic Peace-Building Experiences - Special Events - 8th Meeting of the Survivors of the Bombing of Gernika in 1937 - 7th Annual Assembly of the Gernika Network: An International Support Network for Efforts in Reconciliation. - 4th Conference of Gernika Associations and Institutions contributing to Peace-Building- Sunday, April 25th 13:30 - 18:00 2nd Lunch of the Survivors of the Bombing of Gernika. 8th Meeting of the Survivors of Gernika. 18:30 –20:00 7th Meeting of the Gernika Network: An International Support Network for Efforts in Reconciliation. Monday, April 26th - Commemoration of the 67th Anniversary of the Bombing of Gernika. 16:30 - Prayer for the Victims of the Bombing. An Offering of Flowers In Memory Of the 67th Anniversary at Gernika´s Cemetery. 18:00 -20:00 4th Conference of Gernika Associations and Institutions contributing to Peace. Tuesday, April 27th 9:00 - 9:30 Opening of the 14th International Convention on Culture and Peace. 9:30 - 11:00 The Pedagogy of Peace. 11:00 - 11:30 Break. 11:30 - 13:30 Workshop "Paths to Peace and Pedagogy" 14:00 –16:00 Lunch 16:30 – 18:30 Conclusions of Workshops 19:00 – 21:00 Open Discussion Wednesday, April 28th 9:30 - 11:00 A Methodology of Work: Artistic Expression in a Pedagogy of Peace. 11:00 - 11:30 Break. 11:30 - 13:30 Working Groups 14:00 –16:00 Lunch 16:30 – 18:30 Conclusion of Workshops 19:00 – 21:00 Open Discussion Registration Participants are responsible for their own accommodations, food, and travel. The University of the Basque Country offers (2) elective credits for registered students. Artekalea, 1-1; E-48300 Gernika–Lumo, Bizkaia. Spain. Telephone + 34 94 625 35 58 Fax: + 34 94 625 6765 There is a 20% discount for registrations received before the 5 of April, 2004. Registration Form Name _____________________ ID# __________ Passport # ________ Organization ___________________________ Address ____________________________ Zip/Postal Code ________ City ________ Province/State_______Country ____________ E-mail ______________________________ Tel. ________________ Fax ____________ Registration Fees Entire Convention 120 € (NGO’s, 60 €; Students 30 €) NGO ¦ Student ¦ Other ¦ Please send a copy of the registration form, the bank transfer; and proof of status as a student or employee/member of a NGO. Gernika Gogoratuz Association’s Account Number Gernika Gogoratuz: 2095 0562 80 9100339736 Provide full name and “Jornadas (Convention)” Information Gernika Gogoratuz Artekalea 1, 1º, 48300-Gernika-Lumo, Bizkaia, (Spain) Tel: +34 94 625 35 58 Fax: + 34 94 625 67 65 e-mail: gernikag at gernikagogoratuz.org *Gernika´s 14th International Convention on Culture and Peace* *THE PEDAGOGY OF PEACE* ** * * **-- http://www.auskadi.tk/ "the riddle which man must solve, he can only solve in being, in being what he is and not something else...." -- http://www.auskadi.tk/ "the riddle which man must solve, he can only solve in being, in being what he is and not something else...." From coolzanny at hotmail.com Mon Apr 12 15:44:53 2004 From: coolzanny at hotmail.com (Zainab Bawa) Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2004 15:44:53 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Looking for Ideas for Distribution of Reader 04 Message-ID: Dear Shuddha, The idea of doing local distribution sounds good. Zainab >From: "auskadi at tvcabo.co.mz" >To: shuddha at sarai.net >CC: reader-list at sarai.net >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Looking for Ideas for Distribution of Reader 04 >Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2004 08:05:34 +0200 > >Dear Shudda > >My first impression here is to think back to the days (late '70's) of the >DIY (do it yourself) - punk - indie music scene. Back then there was a time >when many of us were trying to do something as an alternative musically >and in organisation different from the multi national record companies ... >people used to pay for their own recordings and make their own record >labels and distribute the records themselves to shops that would take >them(often on a consignment or sale or return basis) ... .... I spent many >years walking the streets of Sydney and Melbourne visiting record shops and >selling or leaving on consignment records, we also used small distributors >to cover the suburbs and out of the way areas... but over time with >different bands doing this networks where established and independent >distribution networks evolved. > >I think people like autonomedia probably are like a book version of that, >for example rough trade was back in the late 70's. >Anyway, my prima facie idea is that maybe a combination of distributors >(such as autonomedia or whoever) and just friends of Sarai could get >involved. I will try and find Jim at autonomedias email for you. Thats one >avenue... the other is that a time each of us could just try and get orders >from local bookshops or other outlets and forward them on, and/or each get >a small supply of books and try and find outlets for them as we did in the >days of DIY-punk-indie music..........and of course now with the net and >the number of web sites that we all have our fingers another way of walking >the streets is available to compliment this ... > >if anything I hope i help get the thread going > >Best > >Martin > > > >Shuddhabrata Sengupta wrote: > >>Dear Friends, >> >>As you know, the Sarai Reader 04 was published in February this year, and >>the people who have been able to lay their hands on the book are coming >>back to us with very positive responses. Many people are also saying that >>it is difficult to get copies of the book and that it hasnt really moved >>into bookstores. >> >>Would anyone on this list have any ideas, suggestions about how we might >>try and get hold of a better distribution network for the book. Anyone >>with any experience in distribution of books could send us any ideas that >>they might have. Please write back to the list. Perhaps it can also >>generate a nice discussion thread on different forms of distribution. >> >>looking forward to your suggestions and ideas. >> >>cheers >> >>Shuddha >> >> >> > > >-- >http://www.auskadi.tk/ >"the riddle which man must solve, he can only solve in being, in being what >he is and not something else...." > >_________________________________________ >reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >Critiques & Collaborations >To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe >in the subject header. >List archive: _________________________________________________________________ Old pals, ex-flames, great times. Catch up with the past! Sign up now! http://www.batchmates.com/msn.asp From dylan at peripheralvision.net.au Sat Apr 10 18:46:13 2004 From: dylan at peripheralvision.net.au (Dylan Volkhardt) Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2004 23:16:13 +1000 Subject: [Reader-list] Test Group/s Required Message-ID: <3DDF9BD5-8AF1-11D8-8DF1-000393CE2DE4@peripheralvision.net.au> Dear all, Participants are needed to test the development of a new media public artwork titled Peripheral Vision. Peripheral Vision is a content contribution system that allows the anonymous upload of images, text and video (with sound) onto an outdoor video and audio installation in the City of Melbourne, Australia. IMAGES, TEXT and VIDEO (with audio) are transferred to the installation via a web site. The installation is situated in Croft Alley next to the Croft Institute in Melbourne. The installation uses a 3000 lumin video projector and outdoor audio speakers to present IMAGES, VIDEO and TEXT work submitted. I have developed custom designed software for this project and need it to be tested by designers, audiovisual makers, writers and the public. All you are required to do is upload images, video, and text onto the website to test the project and software. All content is uploaded anonymously and is completely non-censored. There are no restrictions to any content that is uploaded. After the 'TEST' phase the project will be launched in mid May as part of the Next Wave Festival 2004 Program in Melbourne. www.nextwave.org.au To be part of the TEST group and have some fun all you require is an internet connection or access to one on a regular basis. There are no restrictions to your geographical location, you will be able to view your contributions online via a web cam and by visiting the installation site. Please send an email to dylan at peripheralvision.net.au to be part of the TEST group for this project. I look forward to hearing from you. Following is the project description: Peripheral Vision is a non-censored project for electronic street art and community signification. Anyone with an internet connection can upload images, video, audio and text via a web site and have it presented (immediately) on a public outdoor video projection and audio system. ‘Peripheral Vision’ provides new ways of presenting, maintaining and implementing public art in line with the development of peer-to-peer networks across telecommunication nodes ( i.e. file sharing and copy culture). The project aims to stimulate further debate into ownership (copyright) and distribution (censorship/access) models in the cultural production context, as they currently exist in Australia and internationally. ‘Peripheral Vision’ is the first public art project of it’s kind to be presented in Australia and has been developed by Dylan Volkhardt after his City of Melbourne Laneways Public Art Commission in 2003. Participation in the project is open to the public and will include international and national contributions. This project is supported by www.wwtech.biz, The Croft Institute and Next Wave Festival 2004. Thanks for inspiration to SARAI Media Lab. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text/enriched Size: 2978 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040410/882fc6ae/attachment.bin From auskadi at tvcabo.co.mz Mon Apr 12 20:26:59 2004 From: auskadi at tvcabo.co.mz (auskadi at tvcabo.co.mz) Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2004 16:56:59 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] [Fwd: AUT: Looking for Ideas for Distribution of Reader 04]] Message-ID: <407AAE3B.20109@tvcabo.co.mz> Hi, this is Jim at Autonomedia. We understand copies of Sarai Reader 04 are on their way to us from Delhi, so we should have them available soon. Meanwhile, it can be backordered here: http://bookstore.autonomedia.org/index.cgi? cart_id=8303381.20513&pid=391 Best, Jim On Apr 12, 2004, at 2:08 AM, auskadi at tvcabo.co.mz wrote: > > Can someone tell me how to contact Jim at Autonomedia regarding this > request from India? > > Is anyone out there interested in trying to help flog some copies of > the reader or ordering one for themselves or their, place, > institution, whatever? > > You can see it and the contents here: > http://www.sarai.net/journal/reader4.html > > Thanks > Martin > > Dear Friends, > As you know, the Sarai Reader 04 was published in February this year, > and the people who have been able to lay their hands on the book are > coming back to us with very positive responses. Many people are also > saying that it is difficult to get copies of the book and that it > hasnt really moved into bookstores. > Would anyone on this list have any ideas, suggestions about how we > might try and get hold of a better distribution network for the book. > Anyone with any experience in distribution of books could send us any > ideas that they might have. Please write back to the list. Perhaps it > can also generate a nice discussion thread on different forms of > distribution. > > looking forward to your suggestions and ideas. > > cheers > > Shuddha > > -- > Shuddhabrata Sengupta (Raqs Media Collective) > Sarai > Centre for the Study of Developing Societies > 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi 110054 > Phone : 91 11 23942199 Ext 305 > www.sarai.net > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > List archive: > > > > -- > http://www.auskadi.tk/ > "the riddle which man must solve, he can only solve in being, in being > what he is and not something else...." > > > > --- from list aut-op-sy at lists.village.virginia.edu --- > > jim at autonomedia.org Info Exchange: New Books: Bookstore: Events Calendar: --- StripMime Warning -- MIME attachments removed --- This message may have contained attachments which were removed. Sorry, we do not allow attachments on this list. --- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts --- multipart/alternative text/plain (text body -- kept) text/enriched --- --- from list aut-op-sy at lists.village.virginia.edu --- -- http://www.auskadi.tk/ "the riddle which man must solve, he can only solve in being, in being what he is and not something else...." From auskadi at tvcabo.co.mz Mon Apr 12 22:44:54 2004 From: auskadi at tvcabo.co.mz (auskadi at tvcabo.co.mz) Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2004 19:14:54 +0200 Subject: [Fwd: Re: AUT: [Fwd: [Reader-list] Looking for Ideas for Distribution of Reader 04]] Message-ID: <407ACE8E.3050409@tvcabo.co.mz> here is another suggestion: Try AK Press in Oakland Calif... they handle lots of titles and do a good job of getting the books out to all the local outlets around North America. www.akpress.org --cc --- from list aut-op-sy at lists.village.virginia.edu --- -- http://www.auskadi.tk/ "the riddle which man must solve, he can only solve in being, in being what he is and not something else...." From velivelli at yahoo.com Tue Apr 13 04:29:15 2004 From: velivelli at yahoo.com (aditya velivelli) Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2004 15:59:15 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] sources of violence In-Reply-To: <20040411140755.GF7809@r4k.net> Message-ID: <20040412225915.83875.qmail@web40908.mail.yahoo.com> One thing you have missed out is - this kind of extreme sexual harassment was non-existent 30 and more years ago. Its rampant increase can only be attributed to exposure of the male to these tantalising movies, pictures which seem to offer them some kind of odious satisfaction, but in the end just leave them hanging - the resulting frustration is showing in the form of sexual misbehaviour. the problem may be a lack of respect and the seeing of the female as a lesser person, but then why wasn't this kind of sexual harassment present in India in the 1960's for instance. --- Menso Heus wrote: > On Sat, Apr 10, 2004 at 05:24:36PM -0700, aditya > velivelli wrote: > > Why Bollywood films are prime motivators of rape > and > > other forms of violence: > > > > > http://www.hindu.com/mag/2004/04/11/stories/2004041100350200.htm > > What is your opinion on this piece? Personally, > however nicely the > conclusion is put, I cannot agree with this and > believe it's a > tremendously simplistic portraying of the issues at > hand. > > It has to do with lack of respect and contempt for > the female, which > I personally believe comes forth from societal and > cultural structures > which do nothing to disprove of such behaviour and > at times even > encourage it. > > It is the turning around of problem and symptom. The > problem is not movies > with as symptom the assaults of women: the problem > is a lack of respect > and the seeing of the female as a lesser person, > which might or might not > be a view that is confirmed by certain movies. > > Assault of women has always been an issue, long > before how they were shown > in movies became one. > > Menso > -- > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > The problem with America is stupidity. I'm > not saying there should > be a capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't > we just take the > safety labels off of everything and let the problem > solve itself? > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and > the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to > reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the > subject header. > List archive: __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - File online by April 15th http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html From menso at r4k.net Tue Apr 13 05:01:20 2004 From: menso at r4k.net (Menso Heus) Date: Tue, 13 Apr 2004 01:31:20 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] sources of violence In-Reply-To: <20040412225915.83875.qmail@web40908.mail.yahoo.com> References: <20040411140755.GF7809@r4k.net> <20040412225915.83875.qmail@web40908.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <20040412233120.GJ7809@r4k.net> On Mon, Apr 12, 2004 at 03:59:15PM -0700, aditya velivelli wrote: > One thing you have missed out is - this kind of > extreme sexual harassment was non-existent 30 and more > years ago. Its rampant increase can only be attributed > to exposure of the male to these tantalising movies, > pictures which seem to offer them some kind of odious > satisfaction, but in the end just leave them hanging - > the resulting frustration is showing in the form of > sexual misbehaviour. > > the problem may be a lack of respect and the seeing of > the female as a lesser person, but then why wasn't > this kind of sexual harassment present in India in the > 1960's for instance. I can't comment on the situation in India specifically since I'm not too familiar with it. But I do believe that the treatment of women is something that has fluctuated over the years. It was good in 1960 you say, how was it in 1900? 1800? 1500? How does India do when it comes to sexual assault compared to other countries? I don't think movies have changed that much in Western Europe, but I might be completely wrong. I personally still strongly believe that the main issue is a lack of a social structure that educates men on gender equality. Living in Amsterdam, I am confronted daily with images of women that most would likely refer to as 'lust objects'. I never, though, feel the urge to sexually assault women. Nor do any of the men I know. And that includes men that 'aren't getting any'. I think blaming the movies is quite a simplistic answer to a problem that is far more complex. It is the lack of a frame of reality that causes one man to simply enjoy the view of a beautiful woman and causes another to go out and assault one because he thinks he has a right to do so. Menso -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The mark of a good party is that you wake up the next morning wanting to change your name and start a new life in different city. -- Vance Bourjaily, "Esquire" -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From cliftonrozario at hotmail.com Tue Apr 13 08:46:36 2004 From: cliftonrozario at hotmail.com (CLIFTON D'ROZARIO) Date: Tue, 13 Apr 2004 03:16:36 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Looking for Ideas for Distribution of Reader 04 Message-ID: hi, been following the discussion on distribution of the new Sarai reader... i feel that one possible was could be through plugging into existing forms of distribution of books on the streets. For example one can imagine distributing of the reader (and the other 3 as well, besides other publications) at Dariayagunj (on sundays) and other places where books are sold on the streets. If one were to actually convince the book hawkers in Mumbai (near VT now CST) to agree to distribute the book may reach a good reading audience. clifton >From: "auskadi at tvcabo.co.mz" >To: shuddha at sarai.net >CC: reader-list at sarai.net >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Looking for Ideas for Distribution of Reader 04 >Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2004 08:05:34 +0200 > >Dear Shudda > >My first impression here is to think back to the days (late '70's) of the >DIY (do it yourself) - punk - indie music scene. Back then there was a time >when many of us were trying to do something as an alternative musically >and in organisation different from the multi national record companies ... >people used to pay for their own recordings and make their own record >labels and distribute the records themselves to shops that would take >them(often on a consignment or sale or return basis) ... .... I spent many >years walking the streets of Sydney and Melbourne visiting record shops and >selling or leaving on consignment records, we also used small distributors >to cover the suburbs and out of the way areas... but over time with >different bands doing this networks where established and independent >distribution networks evolved. > >I think people like autonomedia probably are like a book version of that, >for example rough trade was back in the late 70's. >Anyway, my prima facie idea is that maybe a combination of distributors >(such as autonomedia or whoever) and just friends of Sarai could get >involved. I will try and find Jim at autonomedias email for you. Thats one >avenue... the other is that a time each of us could just try and get orders >from local bookshops or other outlets and forward them on, and/or each get >a small supply of books and try and find outlets for them as we did in the >days of DIY-punk-indie music..........and of course now with the net and >the number of web sites that we all have our fingers another way of walking >the streets is available to compliment this ... > >if anything I hope i help get the thread going > >Best > >Martin > > > >Shuddhabrata Sengupta wrote: > >>Dear Friends, >> >>As you know, the Sarai Reader 04 was published in February this year, and >>the people who have been able to lay their hands on the book are coming >>back to us with very positive responses. Many people are also saying that >>it is difficult to get copies of the book and that it hasnt really moved >>into bookstores. >> >>Would anyone on this list have any ideas, suggestions about how we might >>try and get hold of a better distribution network for the book. Anyone >>with any experience in distribution of books could send us any ideas that >>they might have. Please write back to the list. Perhaps it can also >>generate a nice discussion thread on different forms of distribution. >> >>looking forward to your suggestions and ideas. >> >>cheers >> >>Shuddha >> >> >> > > >-- >http://www.auskadi.tk/ >"the riddle which man must solve, he can only solve in being, in being what >he is and not something else...." > >_________________________________________ >reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >Critiques & Collaborations >To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe >in the subject header. >List archive: _________________________________________________________________ Easiest Money Transfer to India. Send Money To 6000 Indian Towns. http://go.msnserver.com/IN/42198.asp Easiest Way To Send Money Home! From joshirutul at yahoo.co.in Mon Apr 12 22:22:40 2004 From: joshirutul at yahoo.co.in (=?iso-8859-1?q?Rutul=20Joshi?=) Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2004 17:52:40 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] 2 & Half Posting- Framework and Positions Message-ID: <20040412165240.75864.qmail@web8206.mail.in.yahoo.com> HI, The third one should closely follow this one, as I am quite late in posting my second write up I am working on the subject: "Composition of Surat: A Study in urban cultural confluence and conflicts" where I am looking at evolving public culture of the city with the changes in its spatial and social composition. The attempt is also discover narrative of other sub-cultures within the city, which are marginalized over a period of time. In what form they still exists in the urban context.... and what is its relation with the 'predominant public culture' of the city. What I define as predominant public culture is the culture 'portrayed' by the politically and economically dominant group in the city. It is very much part of the identity politics within the city and the references of which exist in everyday life - more so for the 'outsiders'. Though it is wrong to believe that it is a homogenous entity.I define culture as 'way of life' and in India, it is very much community specific. Though there are various kinds of culture. Individuals make choices (political?) to be part of it or remain outside...and certain choices projects their overall identity. The concept of community is also changing rapidly. Caste is also a category of community, u can also have community of Urdu gazal writing poets in the city and now a day we can have virtual community (e-group may be). U make choice to associate with any one of them. It is also true that choices are not always given. As I have started getting into the subject since the research proposal, so I will put across some of my arguments as below: My study is focused only on the urban development in last 30-40 years in the city of Surat. Especially looking at the emergence of peripheral industrial cum residential areas occupied by the migrating population and its relations to the core city, which is mainly commercial (tertiary sector) and residential dominated by upper middle and middle class. Evolution of spatial and social composition of the city – is going to be the main body of work. Assumption 1: Culture is used as a political instrument to dominate space and economy Assumption 2: ‘The dominant culture’ is projected as ‘the culture’ of the city, which is not designed (may be subconsciously) to take in account several other sub-cultures and thus they are marginalized. Assumption 3: The conflicts are part of day-to-day identity politics. The subtle gestures separating the ‘self’ from the ‘others’ and its proclamations are also ‘conflicts’ of everyday life in the city. I will also be inserting the narratives of cultural confluence and conflicts in between the main text of the evolution of spatial and social composition of the city. (May be as box items) And I have no intentions of defining 'culture' per say. I am just interested in the use of cultural idioms in constructing identities and territories. Though, I have to specify - what ‘parameters of culture’, ..which I am currently working on. Yes, I still don’t know, I am playing with football or with bottle cap. Approach: It is going to be a qualitative case study based research. It will also be based on secondary literature, census/other statistics and their analysis. Photo documentation, case studies and interviews are going to be integral part of it. It would be great to receive any comments, suggestions etc on my positions and framework. Thank You, Rutul. Yahoo! India Matrimony: Find your partner online. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040412/2c5207de/attachment.html From sankarshan at hotpop.com Wed Apr 14 07:47:32 2004 From: sankarshan at hotpop.com (Sankarshan Mukhopadhyay) Date: Wed, 14 Apr 2004 07:47:32 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Looking for Ideas for Distribution of Reader 04 References: <04041016145701.01109@sweety.sarai.kit> <407A31AE.5020201@tvcabo.co.mz> Message-ID: <004c01c421c7$0c626500$22023c0a@dias> Hi, [using someone else's mail snippet and replying] > Shuddhabrata Sengupta wrote: > > >Dear Friends, > > > >As you know, the Sarai Reader 04 was published in February this year, and the > >people who have been able to lay their hands on the book are coming back to > >us with very positive responses. Many people are also saying that it is > >difficult to get copies of the book and that it hasnt really moved into > >bookstores. Primarily one has to define the category of readership that finds the Sarai Reader 04 [Crisis/Media] appealing. In wishes, it is best defined as 'all people would (and should) read the Reader 04' but in reality it is never the case. Defining the target audience is associated with reductionism - agreed, but it also facilitates placing the Reader 04 on very focussed shelves. For other cities I cannot possibly tell, for Kolkata however, here are a few suggestions: [1] Landmark [2] Oxford Bookstore [3] Seagull While [1] & [2] are more centrally located, albeit not on the 'book-street', they understand how to display titles in a reader-oriented environment. [3] has an always updated website (compared to the other 2) which translates into a lot of perusing of the category titles. [3] also has a reputation for storing 'off-beat' titles thus attracting an eclectic crowd. The D-I-Y approach is appealing and perhaps well suited to the Reader 04. In this case, a few individuals could be entrusted with the responsibility of stocking the books and distributing them, the publicity material being the soft copy of some of the selected articles. I am suffering from such a lag in replying to mails, that even apologising for not writing this earlier on, should not be sufficient. However, better late than never. The Sarai Reader 04 does make a very nice collection - great work done by the team. Warm regards Sankarshan ------------------- A GNU-Linux Community(@)Madhyamgram www.geocities.com/sankarshan76/glt-mad/index.htm www.geocities.com/ddipankardas/index.htm Let's spread the word : glt-mad at ilug-cal.org ------------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.656 / Virus Database: 421 - Release Date: 04/09/2004 From penguinhead at linux-delhi.org Thu Apr 15 10:34:25 2004 From: penguinhead at linux-delhi.org (Pankaj Kaushal) Date: Thu, 15 Apr 2004 10:34:25 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] TRAI consultation paper Message-ID: <407E17D9.8000705@linux-delhi.org> TRAI has issued a consultation paper on Private FM radios, inviting comments by 7th May 2004: http://www.trai.gov.in/April142004%20Final%20Consultation%20Paper%20FM.pdf Regards, Pankaj -- It is practically impossible to teach good programming style to students that have had prior exposure to BASIC: as potential programmers they are mentally mutilated beyond hope of regeneration. From marisa at sfcamerawork.org Wed Apr 14 06:57:39 2004 From: marisa at sfcamerawork.org (Marisa S. Olson) Date: Tue, 13 Apr 2004 18:27:39 -0700 Subject: [Reader-list] Defunct @ SFMOMA, 4/29-5/1 Message-ID: dear friends, grace & i have been working on this for a very long time and are thrilled to tell you about it. please join us on 4/29 to see the excellent work & the newest issue of our zine! best, marisa --------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------- DEFUNCT --> recycled | repurposed | remixed| rehashed --------------------------------------------------------- Works by the 8-Bit Construction Set, Jon Brumit, Tommy Becker, Joshua G. Churchill, & JODI --------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------- WHAT --> The San Francisco Media Arts Council (SMAC) is hosting an exhibition of artworks in DEFUNCT media, curated by Grace Hawthorne & Marisa S. Olson. The exhibition will be accompanied by a new issue of the SMAC! zine, featuring essays and artwork by Bruce Sterling, MTAA, Paperrad, Patrick Lichty, Mark Beam, and others. --------------------------------------------------------- WHERE --> The Schwab Room at SFMOMA 151 Third Street, San Francisco --------------------------------------------------------- WHEN --> Thursday, April 29, 2004 Exhibit opening and reception: 6 - 8:30 p.m. Friday, April 30, 2004 Exhibit open to the public, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Saturday, May 1, 2004 Exhibit open to the public, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. --------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------- --> Admission is FREE, but space is limited. Advance reservations are suggested for Thursday evening reception <-- email mediaarts at sfmoma.org --------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------- Description --> DEFUNCT highlights work in which artists have recycled, repurposed, or remixed presumably "defunct" hardware, software, audio/visual data, and representational systems. Whether one feels nostalgia at a bygone era or anxiety over the future of machine culture's "evolution," the work in the exhibition is provocative, engaging, and only a little loud... THE 8-BIT CONSTRUCTION SET (BEIGE programming ensemble) has created a legendary DJ battle record pitting the Atari against the Commodore 64 with Detroit-techno style songs composed of the sounds from each. The record is also the first ever use of the vinyl recording medium for software distribution--the inside tracks are audio data which can be dubbed to cassette tape and booted in your respective Atari or Commodore 8-bit computers. The record was entirely programmed in 6502 assembly language. --> http://www.beigerecords.com/products/beg-004.html TOMMY BECKER describes "Daddy Kill," his 90 second video as "a short film with a rhythm, repetition and tone that poetically conveys the activities of a murderous father." The video "recycles" a found film in which a man demonstrates to his son how leaving an object on grass, in sunlight, will kill the grass under the object. The video is part of Becker's "Tape Number One" project, a mutating construction of sentimental vignettes patched together by documented gestures, words, sounds, melodies, trivial facts and found materials. Becker thinks of video as "a hybrid medium for personal explorations in writing, performance, music and costume design." --> http://www.tommybecker.com JON BRUMIT's "mineflora" is part sculpture, part "found media sequencer." Its materials include a timpani drum, acoustical foam, clock radios, and a flasher, which, as the artist says, makes several things possible, simultaneously: "1. The tentative relationship of sounds to physical form via auto switching, 2. The rhythm of signal loss via unique or unintentional features of discarded technology, and 3. The residue of improvisation within chance parameters." --> http://www.bayimproviser.com/artistdetail.asp?artist_id=211 JOSHUA G. CHURCHILL's sound-activated mixed media installation, "Reciprocation/Retaliation," is based on the notion of 'mixed signals', both literally and figuratively. On the floor of a darkened room, electronic components, such as tv's and radios, are connected to Clappers and arranged in a circle around a turntable. As the electronics become activated by surrounding sounds, they begin to create sounds of their own, and an unpredictable chain reaction occurs wherein each device turns on and off in a seemingly random fashion. The noise patterns, jumbled words, and flashes of light that emerge from the installation create an ambiguous conversation of light and sound in which it becomes uncertain whether the tone is hostile or friendly. --> http://www.mindspring.com/~jgc/ JODI's "All Wrongs Reversed ©1982," is a 45 minute video which records the action of coding, typing, and running BASIC code on a vintage computer. The artists say "the whole recording is almost 1:1 live coding, so there are a lot of mistakes and slow progress." Their installation is conceived as an exercise in Defunct media... Their video is converted from the format of a DVD to the "defunct" format of UMATIC tape and, by special request, will be shown on the oldest recycled television the curators can locate. --> http://www.jodi.org --------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------- SMAC is a group of new media enthusiasts who produce events, publications and activities to enhance the experience and understanding of new media in the arts. SMAC's goal is to cultivate the incredible wealth of art and technological resources in the San Francisco Bay Area, fostering a closer relationship among technology and art communities. From dulallie at yahoo.com Thu Apr 15 18:19:12 2004 From: dulallie at yahoo.com (Alice) Date: Thu, 15 Apr 2004 05:49:12 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Blog from Jo, an activist in Iraq Message-ID: <20040415124912.93086.qmail@web12504.mail.yahoo.com> www.wildfirejo.blogspot.com subscribe by sending a mail to: wildfirejo-subscribe at yahoogroups.com Monday, April 12, 2004 April 11th Falluja Trucks, oil tankers, tanks are burning on the highway east to Falluja. A stream of boys and men goes to and from a lorry that�s not burnt, stripping it bare. We turn onto the back roads through Abu Ghraib, Nuha and Ahrar singing in Arabic, past the vehicles full of people and a few possessions, heading the other way, past the improvised refreshment posts along the way where boys throw food through the windows into the bus for us and for the people inside still inside Falluja. The bus is following a car with the nephew of a local sheikh and a guide who has contacts with the Mujahedin and has cleared this with them. The reason I�m on the bus is that a journalist I knew turned up at my door at about 11 at night telling me things were desperate in Falluja, he�d been bringing out children with their limbs blown off, the US soldiers were going around telling people to leave by dusk or be killed, but then when people fled with whatever they could carry, they were being stopped at the US military checkpoint on the edge of town and not let out, trapped, watching the sun go down. He said aid vehicles and the media were being turned away. He said there was some medical aid that needed to go in and there was a better chance of it getting there with foreigners, westerners, to get through the american checkpoints. The rest of the way was secured with the armed groups who control the roads we�d travel on. We�d take in the medical supplies, see what else we could do to help and then use the bus to bring out people who needed to leave. I�ll spare you the whole decision making process, all the questions we all asked ourselves and each other, and you can spare me the accusations of madness, but what it came down to was this: if I don�t do it, who will? Either way, we arrive in one piece. We pile the stuff in the corridor and the boxes are torn open straightaway, the blankets most welcomed. It�s not a hospital at all but a clinic, a private doctor�s surgery treating people free since air strikes destroyed the town�s main hospital. Another has been improvised in a car garage. There�s no anaesthetic. The blood bags are in a drinks fridge and the doctors warm them up under the hot tap in an unhygienic toilet. Screaming women come in, praying, slapping their chests and faces. Ummi, my mother, one cries. I hold her until Maki, a consultant and acting director of the clinic, brings me to the bed where a child of about ten is lying with a bullet wound to the head. A smaller child is being treated for a similar injury in the next bed. A US sniper hit them and their grandmother as they left their home to flee Falluja. The lights go out, the fan stops and in the sudden quiet someone holds up the flame of a cigarette lighter for the doctor to carry on operating by. The electricity to the town has been cut off for days and when the generator runs out of petrol they just have to manage till it comes back on. Dave quickly donates his torch. The children are not going to live. �Come,� says Maki and ushers me alone into a room where an old woman has just had an abdominal bullet wound stitched up. Another in her leg is being dressed, the bed under her foot soaked with blood, a white flag still clutched in her hand and the same story: I was leaving my home to go to Baghdad when I was hit by a US sniper. Some of the town is held by US marines, other parts by the local fighters. Their homes are in the US controlled area and they are adamant that the snipers were US marines. Snipers are causing not just carnage but also the paralysis of the ambulance and evacuation services. The biggest hospital after the main one was bombed is in US territory and cut off from the clinic by snipers. The ambulance has been repaired four times after bullet damage. Bodies are lying in the streets because no one can go to collect them without being shot. Some said we were mad to come to Iraq; quite a few said we were completely insane to come to Falluja and now there are people telling me that getting in the back of the pick up to go past the snipers and get sick and injured people is the craziest thing they�ve ever seen. I know, though, that if we don�t, no one will. He�s holding a white flag with a red crescent on; I don�t know his name. The men we pass wave us on when the driver explains where we�re going. The silence is ferocious in the no man�s land between the pick up at the edge of the Mujahedin territory, which has just gone from our sight around the last corner and the marines� line beyond the next wall; no birds, no music, no indication that anyone is still living until a gate opens opposite and a woman comes out, points. We edge along to the hole in the wall where we can see the car, spent mortar shells around it. The feet are visible, crossed, in the gutter. I think he�s dead already. The snipers are visible too, two of them on the corner of the building. As yet I think they can�t see us so we need to let them know we�re there. �Hello,� I bellow at the top of my voice. �Can you hear me?� They must. They�re about 30 metres from us, maybe less, and it�s so still you could hear the flies buzzing at fifty paces. I repeat myself a few times, still without reply, so decide to explain myself a bit more. �We are a medical team. We want to remove this wounded man. Is it OK for us to come out and get him? Can you give us a signal that it�s OK?� I�m sure they can hear me but they�re still not responding. Maybe they didn�t understand it all, so I say the same again. Dave yells too in his US accent. I yell again. Finally I think I hear a shout back. Not sure, I call again. �Hello.� �Yeah.� �Can we come out and get him?� �Yeah,� Slowly, our hands up, we go out. The black cloud that rises to greet us carries with it a hot, sour smell. Solidified, his legs are heavy. I leave them to Rana and Dave, our guide lifting under his hips. The Kalashnikov is attached by sticky blood to is hair and hand and we don�t want it with us so I put my foot on it as I pick up his shoulders and his blood falls out through the hole in his back. We heave him into the pick up as best we can and try to outrun the flies. I suppose he was wearing flip flops because he�s barefoot now, no more than 20 years old, in imitation Nike pants and a blue and black striped football shirt with a big 28 on the back. As the orderlies form the clinic pull the young fighter off the pick up, yellow fluid pours from his mouth and they flip him over, face up, the way into the clinic clearing in front of them, straight up the ramp into the makeshift morgue. We wash the blood off our hands and get in the ambulance. There are people trapped in the other hospital who need to go to Baghdad. Siren screaming, lights flashing, we huddle on the floor of the ambulance, passports and ID cards held out the windows. We pack it with people, one with his chest taped together and a drip, one on a stretcher, legs jerking violently so I have to hold them down as we wheel him out, lifting him over steps. The hospital is better able to treat them than the clinic but hasn�t got enough of anything to sort them out properly and the only way to get them to Baghdad on our bus, which means they have to go to the clinic. We�re crammed on the floor of the ambulance in case it�s shot at. Nisareen, a woman doctor about my age, can�t stop a few tears once we�re out. The doctor rushes out to meet me: �Can you go to fetch a lady, she is pregnant and she is delivering the baby too soon?� Azzam is driving, Ahmed in the middle directing him and me by the window, the visible foreigner, the passport. Something scatters across my hand, simultaneous with the crashing of a bullet through the ambulance, some plastic part dislodged, flying through the window. We stop, turn off the siren, keep the blue light flashing, wait, eyes on the silhouettes of men in US marine uniforms on the corners of the buildings. Several shots come. We duck, get as low as possible and I can see tiny red lights whipping past the window, past my head. Some, it�s hard to tell, are hitting the ambulance I start singing. What else do you do when someone�s shooting at you? A tyre bursts with an enormous noise and a jerk of the vehicle. I�m outraged. We�re trying to get to a woman who�s giving birth without any medical attention, without electricity, in a city under siege, in a clearly marked ambulance, and you�re shooting at us. How dare you? How dare you? Azzam grabs the gear stick and gets the ambulance into reverse, another tyre bursting as we go over the ridge in the centre of the road , the sots still coming as we flee around the corner. I carry on singing. The wheels are scraping, burst rubber burning on the road. The men run for a stretcher as we arrive and I shake my head. They spot the new bullet holes and run to see if we�re OK. Is there any other way to get to her, I want to know. La, maaku tarieq. There is no other way. They say we did the right thing. They say they�ve fixed the ambulance four times already and they�ll fix it again but the radiator�s gone and the wheels are buckled and se�s still at home in the dark giving birth alone. I let her down. We can�t go out again. For one thing there�s no ambulance and besides it�s dark now and that means our foreign faces can�t protect the people who go out with us or the people we pick up. Maki is the acting director of the place. He says he hated Saddam but now he hates the Americans more. We take off the blue gowns as the sky starts exploding somewhere beyond the building opposite. Minutes later a car roars up to the clinic. I can hear him screaming before I can see that there�s no skin left on his body. He�s burnt from head to foot. For sure there�s nothing they can do. He�ll die of dehydration within a few days. Another man is pulled from the car onto a stretcher. Cluster bombs, they say, although it�s not clear whether they mean one or both of them. We set off walking to Mr Yasser�s house, waiting at each corner for someone to check the street before we cross. A ball of fire falls from a plane, splits into smaller balls of bright white lights. I think they�re cluster bombs, because cluster bombs are in the front of my mind, but they vanish, just magnesium flares, incredibly bright but short-lived, giving a flash picture of the town from above. Yasser asks us all to introduce ourselves. I tell him I�m training to be a lawyer. One of the other men asks whether I know about international law. They want to know about the law on war crimes, what a war crime is. I tell them I know some of the Geneva Conventions, that I�ll bring some information next time I come and we can get someone to explain it in Arabic. We bring up the matter of Nayoko. This group of fighters has nothing to do with the ones who are holding the Japanese hostages, but while they�re thanking us for what we did this evening, we talk about the things Nayoko did for the street kids, how much they loved her. They can�t promise anything but that they�ll try and find out where she is and try to persuade the group to let her and the others go. I don�t suppose it will make any difference. They�re busy fighting a war in Falluja. They�re unconnected with the other group. But it can�t hurt to try. The planes are above us all night so that as I doze I forget I�m not on a long distance flight, the constant bass note of an unmanned reconnaissance drone overlaid with the frantic thrash of jets and the dull beat of helicopters and interrupted by the explosions. In the morning I make balloon dogs, giraffes and elephants for the little one, Abdullah, Aboudi, who�s clearly distressed by the noise of the aircraft and explosions. I blow bubbles which he follows with his eyes. Finally, finally, I score a smile. The twins, thirteen years old, laugh too, one of them an ambulance driver, both said to be handy with a Kalashnikov. The doctors look haggard in the morning. None has slept more than a couple of hours a night for a week. One as had only eight hours of sleep in the last seven days, missing the funerals of his brother and aunt because he was needed at the hospital. �The dead we cannot help,� Jassim said. �I must worry about the injured.� We go again, Dave, Rana and me, this time in a pick up. There are some sick people close to the marines� line who need evacuating. No one dares come out of their house because the marines are on top of the buildings shooting at anything that moves. Saad fetches us a white flag and tells us not to worry, he�s checked and secured the road, no Mujahedin will fire at us, that peace is upon us, this eleven year old child, his face covered with a keffiyeh, but for is bright brown eyes, his AK47 almost as tall as he is. We shout again to the soldiers, hold up the flag with a red crescent sprayed onto it. Two come down from the building, cover this side and Rana mutters, �Allahu akbar. Please nobody take a shot at them.� We jump down and tell them we need to get some sick people from the houses and they want Rana to go and bring out the family from the house whose roof they�re on. Thirteen women and children are still inside, in one room, without food and water for the last 24 hours. �We�re going to be going through soon clearing the houses,� the senior one says. �What does that mean, clearing the houses?� �Going into every one searching for weapons.� He�s checking his watch, can�t tell me what will start when, of course, but there�s going to be air strikes in support. �If you�re going to do tis you gotta do it soon.� First we go down the street we were sent to. There�s a man, face down, in a white dishdasha, a small round red stain on his back. We run to him. Again the flies ave got there first. Dave is at his shoulders, I�m by his knees and as we reach to roll him onto the stretcher Dave�s hand goes through his chest, through the cavity left by the bullet that entered so neatly through his back and blew his heart out. There�s no weapon in his hand. Only when we arrive, his sons come out, crying, shouting. He was unarmed, they scream. He was unarmed. He just went out the gate and they shot him. None of them have dared come out since. No one had dared come to get his body, horrified, terrified, forced to violate the traditions of treating the body immediately. They couldn�t have known we were coming so it�s inconceivable tat anyone came out and retrieved a weapon but left the body. He was unarmed, 55 years old, shot in the back. We cover his face, carry him to the pick up. There�s nothing to cover his body with. The sick woman is helped out of the house, the little girls around her hugging cloth bags to their bodies, whispering, �Baba. Baba.� Daddy. Shaking, they let us go first, hands up, around the corner, then we usher them to the cab of the pick up, shielding their heads so they can�t see him, the cuddly fat man stiff in the back. The people seem to pour out of the houses now in the hope we can escort them safely out of the line of fire, kids, women, men, anxiously asking us whether they can all go, or only the women and children. We go to ask. The young marine tells us that men of fighting age can�t leave. What�s fighting age, I want to know. He contemplates. Anything under forty five. No lower limit. It appals me that all those men would be trapped in a city which is about to be destroyed. Not all of them are fighters, not all are armed. It�s going to happen out of the view of the world, out of sight of the media, because most of the media in Falluja is embedded with the marines or turned away at the outskirts. Before we can pass the message on, two explosions scatter the crowd in the side street back into their houses. Rana�s with the marines evacuating the family from the house they�re occupying. The pick up isn�t back yet. The families are hiding behind their walls. We wait, because there�s nothing else we can do. We wait in no man�s land. The marines, at least, are watching us through binoculars; maybe the local fighters are too. I�ve got a disappearing hanky in my pocket so while I�m sitting like a lemon, nowhere to go, gunfire and explosions aplenty all around, I make the hanky disappear, reappear, disappear. It�s always best, I think, to seem completely unthreatening and completely unconcerned, so no one worries about you enough to shoot. We can�t wait too long though. Rana�s been gone ages. We have to go and get her to hurry. There�s a young man in the group. She�s talked them into letting him leave too. A man wants to use his police car to carry some of the people, a couple of elderly ones who can�t walk far, the smallest children. It�s missing a door. Who knows if he was really a police car or the car was reappropriated and just ended up there? It didn�t matter if it got more people out faster. They creep from their houses, huddle by the wall, follow us out, their hands up too, and walk up the street clutching babies, bags, each other. The pick up gets back and we shovel as many onto it as we can as an ambulance arrives from somewhere. A young man waves from the doorway of what�s left of a house, his upper body bare, a blood soaked bandage around his arm, probably a fighter but it makes no difference once someone is wounded and unarmed. Getting the dead isn�t essential. Like the doctor said, the dead don�t need help, but if it�s easy enough then we will. Since we�re already OK with the soldiers and the ambulance is here, we run down to fetch them in. It�s important in Islam to bury the body straightaway. The ambulance follows us down. The soldiers start shouting in English at us for it to stop, pointing guns. It�s moving fast. We�re all yelling, signalling for it to stop but it seems to take forever for the driver to hear and see us. It stops. It stops, before they open fire. We haul them onto the stretchers and run, shove them in the back. Rana squeezes in the front with the wounded man and Dave and I crouch in the back beside the bodies. He says he had allergies as a kid and hasn�t got much sense of smell. I wish, retrospectively, for childhood allergies, and stick my head out the window. The bus is going to leave, taking the injured people back to Baghdad, the man with the burns, one of the women who was shot in the jaw and shoulder by a sniper, several others. Rana says she�s staying to help. Dave and I don�t hesitate: we�re staying too. �If I don�t do it, who will?� has become an accidental motto and I�m acutely aware after the last foray how many people, how many women and children, are still in their houses either because they�ve got nowhere to go, because they�re scared to go out of the door or because they�ve chosen to stay. To begin with it�s agreed, then Azzam says we have to go. He hasn�t got contacts with every armed group, only with some. There are different issues to square with each one. We need to get these people back to Baghdad as quickly as we can. If we�re kidnapped or killed it will cause even more problems, so it�s better that we just get on the bus and leave and come back with him as soon as possible. It hurts to climb onto the bus when the doctor has just asked us to go and evacuate some more people. I hate the fact that a qualified medic can�t travel in the ambulance but I can, just because I look like the sniper�s sister or one of his mates, but that�s the way it is today and the way it was yesterday and I feel like a traitor for leaving, but I can�t see where I�ve got a choice. It�s a war now and as alien as it is to me to do what I�m told, for once I�ve got to. Jassim is scared. He harangues Mohammed constantly, tries to pull him out of the driver�s seat wile we�re moving. The woman with the gunshot wound is on the back seat, the man with the burns in front of her, being fanned with cardboard from the empty boxes, his intravenous drips swinging from the rail along the ceiling of the bus. It�s hot. It must be unbearable for him. Saad comes onto the bus to wish us well for the journey. He shakes Dave�s hand and then mine. I hold his in both of mine and tell him �Dir balak,� take care, as if I could say anything more stupid to a pre-teen Mujahedin with an AK47 in his other hand, and our eyes meet and stay fixed, his full of fire and fear. Can�t I take him away? Can�t I take him somewhere he can be a child? Can�t I make him a balloon giraffe and give him some drawing pens and tell him not to forget to brush his teeth? Can�t I find the person who put the rifle in the hands of that little boy? Can�t I tell someone about what that does to a child? Do I have to leave him here where there are heavily armed men all around him and lots of them are not on his side, however many sides there are in all of this? And of course I do. I do have to leave him, like child soldiers everywhere. The way back is tense, the bus almost getting stuck in a dip in the sand, people escaping in anything, even piled on the trailer of a tractor, lines of cars and pick ups and buses ferrying people to the dubious sanctuary of Baghdad, lines of men in vehicles queuing to get back into the city having got their families to safety, either to fight or to help evacuate more people. The driver, Jassim, the father, ignores Azzam and takes a different road so that suddenly we�re not following the lead car and we�re on a road that�s controlled by a different armed group than the ones which know us. A crowd of men waves guns to stop the bus. Somehow they apparently believe that there are American soldiers on the bus, as if they wouldn�t be in tanks or helicopters, and there are men getting out of their cars with shouts of �Sahafa Amreeki,� American journalists. The passengers shout out of the windows, �Ana min Falluja,� I am from Falluja. Gunmen run onto the bus and see that it�s true, there are sick and injured and old people, Iraqis, and then relax, wave us on. We stop in Abu Ghraib and swap seats, foreigners in the front, Iraqis less visible, headscarves off so we look more western. The American soldiers are so happy to see westerners they don�t mind too much about the Iraqis with us, search the men and the bus, leave the women unsearched because there are no women soldiers to search us. Mohammed keeps asking me if things are going to be OK. �Al-melaach wiyana, � I tell him. The angels are with us. He laughs. And then we�re in Baghdad, delivering them to the hospitals, Nuha in tears as they take the burnt man off groaning and whimpering. She puts her arms around me and asks me to be her friend. I make her feel less isolated, she says, less alone. And the satellite news says the cease-fire is holding and George Bush says to the troops on Easter Sunday that, �I know what we�re doing in Iraq is right.� Shooting unarmed men in the back outside their family home is right. Shooting grandmothers with white flags is right? Shooting at women and children who are fleeing their homes is right? Firing at ambulances is right? Well George, I know too now. I know what it looks like when you brutalise people so much that they�ve nothing left to lose. I know what it looks like when an operation is being done without anaesthetic because the hospitals are destroyed or under sniper fire and the city�s under siege and aid isn�t getting in properly. I know what it sounds like too. I know what it looks like when tracer bullets are passing your head, even though you�re in an ambulance. I know what it looks like when a man�s chest is no longer inside him and what it smells like and I know what it looks like when his wife and children pour out of his house. It�s a crime and it�s a disgrace to us all. Posted by: Jo / 10:33 PM __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - File online by April 15th http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html From sbreitsameter at snafu.de Fri Apr 16 01:27:08 2004 From: sbreitsameter at snafu.de (Sabine Breitsameter) Date: Thu, 15 Apr 2004 21:57:08 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] New on Audiohyperspace In-Reply-To: <20040412100013.AB11D28DE63@mail.sarai.net> References: <20040412100013.AB11D28DE63@mail.sarai.net> Message-ID: Hello! This month you'll find on Audiohyperspace http://www.swr2.de/audiohyperspace - an interview with Monica Narula and Shuddhabrata Sengupta from Sarai-Network, Delhi/India - a presentation of Stefano Giannotti's modular online- version of his sound piece "Il Tempo Cambia" Greetings Sabine Breitsameter From diya at sarai.net Fri Apr 16 19:57:42 2004 From: diya at sarai.net (diya at sarai.net) Date: Fri, 16 Apr 2004 16:27:42 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [Reader-list] (no subject) Message-ID: <4909.61.95.228.72.1082125662.squirrel@61.95.228.72> Events at the Pushta I wanted to write and tell people about events at that have been unfolding at the Yamuna Pushta, near the Rajghat and opposite the Red Fort here in Delhi. Pushta is/was the largest slum cluster in the city having approximately 300,000 people. After fifty years of people living here, the Pushta is in the process of being demolished. The Delhi High Court has ruled that all encroachments must be removed from the Yamuna, especially those who are ‘polluting’. In the time that has followed, the Court has refused to hear a single petition about the Pushta. As the language goes, lawyers have been thrown out for bringing in cases. Other groups across the city, including the Congress, the Inam Bukhari and V.P Singh have tried to intervene but to no avail; and the Congress appeared to give up pretty easily. The Election Commission at one point had a stay on the demolition because it is right, of course, in the middle of election time. However, that was changed, and the Commission then decided to issue the forms to those who are getting alternative plots (the one/sixteenth) so that they can come back to the Pushta and vote. The demolitions started in the first week of March and have been continuing since. When I returned this morning after a month of the demolitions had started, the place looked as close to a war zone as I, personally can imagine. With everything flattened, one could see how really large it was. The first part is a thin strip along the river. Houses had circulating and circumvented the other apparatus that can be found on the city’s waterfront. Fly ash pools, giant rusted power plants, and then that ditch of a river. That part had been demolished first and so was the flattest. As we went northwards, the demolitions were ‘fresher’ – the mounds of rubble higher and the number of people still living there greater. They were cooking – still neighbors but with no walls between them now. By the time one reached the broadest part, people are breaking down their own houses, salvaging what they can – pieces of households – bricks, beams, tarpulin. I think this is technically called voluntary departure. You get to break down your own house. Some have made other arrangements, some will get plots from the government, and others will join the waves of out migration that the city has seen over the last six or seven years. Over a 60,000 people have been displaced it is estimated so far. One sixteenth are to get plots perhaps in the resettlement. The others are effectively homeless and invisibilised without the requisite papers. There have been pockets of ‘resistance, increasingly organized under the very nose of the state, multiplying like the man in the Matrix, with the passing days. Any one showing signs of netagiri (politicking) is picked up and policemen walk around at night telling people to quietly leave. The residents said the fire recently to standing jhuggies was caused by a policeman who openly dropped a match and was then lynched; the DDA says that a disgruntled resident set the place alight. In the violence of either version of the story, is a plan to ‘modernize’ the city built on ‘best feudal practices’ that the government currently espouses. The resonance of the Emergency, the last time Delhi saw mass evictions under a different government, with Mr Jagmohan at the helm are strong. However, the number of people who will be displaced at the Pushtas far exceed that. And does the showing up of bulldozers every few days to clear jhuggies, moving in further and further, cluster by cluster. The metaphor for all this has often been the generalized pollution of the river belt; yet the bulldozing operation reminds me of the cutting down of a forest. The riverbed is to be channelised, a temple complex built, a stadium. This part of the story is not over yet. There are great unknowns – for all but the ruling party assured of its strength through the predicted election win. What attitude will the government take now to the issue of the urban poor? It appears I am writing an obituary. However, I hope that does not have to be the case although the now familiar conspiracy of silence is once again difficult to break. Different groups in the city are working on different responses. There are interventions underway by the Jan Chetna Manch for the remaining demolitions to support the presence of other groups in surveys and distribution. Relief efforts are being organized. I will keep people posted on this as well as with efforts at the National Human Rights Commission. There will be a press conference held by the Visthaapan Virodhi Abhiyaan at the Indian Women’s Press Club on Friday the 16th (today) at 3 pm on state intimidation and the current situation of housing. The police brutality has to stop and so does this eviction. If people would like to write about the Pushta, that would be great. Please do come out. You can contact me for any information at diya at sarai.net or Hazards Centre: haz_cen at vsnl.net Ankur ankureducation at vsnl.net From diya at sarai.net Fri Apr 16 20:03:18 2004 From: diya at sarai.net (diya at sarai.net) Date: Fri, 16 Apr 2004 16:33:18 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [Reader-list] (no subject) Message-ID: <3062.61.95.228.72.1082125998.squirrel@61.95.228.72> Events at the Pushta I wanted to write and tell people about events at that have been unfolding at the Yamuna Pushta, near the Rajghat and opposite the Red Fort here in Delhi. Pushta is/was the largest slum cluster in the city having approximately 300,000 people. After fifty years of people living here, the Pushta is in the process of being demolished. The Delhi High Court has ruled that all encroachments must be removed from the Yamuna, especially those who are ‘polluting’. In the time that has followed, the Court has refused to hear a single petition about the Pushta. As the language goes, lawyers have been thrown out for bringing in cases. Other groups across the city, including the Congress, the Inam Bukhari and V.P Singh have tried to intervene but to little avail; and the Congress appeared to give up pretty easily. The Election Commission at one point had a stay on the demolition because it is right, of course, in the middle of election time. However, that was changed, and the Commission then decided to issue the forms to those who are getting alternative plots (the one/sixteenth) so that they can come back to the Pushta and vote ! The demolitions started in the first week of March and have been continuing since. When I returned this morning after a month of the demolitions had started, the place looked as close to a war zone as I, personally can imagine with the rubble stretching for miles. With everything flattened, one could see how really large it was. The first part is a thin strip along the river. Houses had circulating and circumvented the other apparatus that can be found on the city’s waterfront. Fly ash pools, giant rusted power plants, and then that ditch of a river. That part had been demolished first and so was the flattest. As we went northwards, the demolitions were ‘fresher’ – the mounds of rubble higher and the number of people still living there greater. They were cooking – still neighbors but with no walls between them now. By the time one reached the broadest part, people are breaking down their own houses, salvaging what they can – pieces of households – bricks, beams, tarpulin. I think this is technically called voluntary departure. You get to break down your own house. Some have made other arrangements, some will get plots from the government, and others will join the waves of out migration that the city has seen over the last six or seven years including those of the industrial closures. Over 60,000 people have been displaced it is estimated so far. One sixteenth are to get plots perhaps in the resettlement. The others are effectively homeless and invisibilised without the requisite papers. There have been pockets of ‘resistance, increasingly organized under the very nose of the state, multiplying like the man in the Matrix, with the passing days. Any one showing signs of netagiri (politicking) is picked up and policemen walk around at night telling people to quietly leave. The residents said the fire recently to standing jhuggies was caused by a policeman who openly dropped a match and was then lynched; the DDA says that a disgruntled resident set the place alight. In the violence of either version of the story, is a plan to ‘modernize’ the city built on ‘best feudal practices’ that the government currently espouses. The resonance of the Emergency, the last time Delhi saw mass evictions under a different government, with Mr Jagmohan at the helm are strong. However, the number of people who will be displaced at the Pushtas far exceed that. And does the showing up of bulldozers every few days to clear jhuggies, moving in further and further, cluster by cluster. The metaphor for all this has often been the generalized pollution of the river belt; yet the bulldozing operation reminds me of the cutting down of a forest. The riverbed is to be channelised, a temple complex built, a stadium. This part of the story is not over yet. There are great unknowns – for all but the ruling party assured of its strength through the predicted election win. What attitude will the government take now to the issue of the urban poor? It appears I am writing an obituary. However, I hope that does not have to be the case although the now familiar conspiracy of silence is once again difficult to break. The media has been largely following the government line that this is a 'peaceful, orderly' shifting of jhuggies, all of whom it tacitly suggests will get alternative housing. Different groups in the city are working on different responses. There are interventions underway by the Jan Chetna Manch for the remaining demolitions to support the presence of other groups in surveys and distribution. Relief efforts are being organized. I will keep people posted on this as well as with efforts at the National Human Rights Commission. There will be a press conference held by the Visthaapan Virodhi Abhiyaan at the Indian Women’s Press Club on Friday the 16th (today) at 3 pm on state intimidation and the current situation of housing. The police brutality has to stop and so does this eviction. If people would like to write about the Pushta, that would be great. Please do come out. You can contact me for any information at diya at sarai.net or Hazards Centre: haz_cen at vsnl.net Ankur ankureducation at vsnl.net From pukarmumbai at yahoo.co.in Fri Apr 16 09:41:18 2004 From: pukarmumbai at yahoo.co.in (=?iso-8859-1?q?PUKAR=20Mumbai?=) Date: Fri, 16 Apr 2004 05:11:18 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] [announcements] Saturday, 17th April:Presentations on 'Neighbourhood Documentations' Message-ID: <20040416041118.73110.qmail@web8308.mail.in.yahoo.com> Dear Friends, You are invited for the PUKAR event to be held this Saturday, 17th April 2004 at the Max Mueller Bhavan. Neighbourhood Documentations Presentations by Students of Dhirubhai Ambani International School The students of Dhirubhai Ambani International School will make presentations of their Neighbourhood Documentations done with the guidance of PUKAR Associates Sameera Khan and Rahul Srivastava as part of the PUKAR Neighbourhood Project. Shaun McInerney coordinated this exercise as part of the school’s International Baccalaureate Creativity Action and Service programme. Date: Saturday, 17th April Time: 6:00 p.m. Venue: Max Mueller Bhavan Auditorium Max Mueller Bhavan Kala Ghoda Mumbai 400 001 PUKAR (Partners for Urban Knowledge Action & Research) Mumbai. Phone +91 (022) 2207 7779, +91 98204 04010 Web Site http://www.pukar.org.in Yahoo! India Matrimony: Find your partner online. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040416/718db3e8/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From monica at sarai.net Sun Apr 18 13:56:05 2004 From: monica at sarai.net (Monica Narula) Date: Sun, 18 Apr 2004 13:56:05 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The breath of dissent Message-ID: Dear all I read this in last week's Outlook. I think it needs to be read. best M http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20040419&fname=Manipur&sid=1 MANIPUR Breath Of Dissent She has been on a fast unto death for four years. But a draconian army keeps her alive on a hospital bed. SANGHAMITRA CHAKRABORTY Young men are picked up in the dead of night for questioning. Some disappear, those who return have marks of torture on their bodies. Rape and confinement are common, fake encounter killings are routine. Those who protest run out of steam, mostly. Except for Irom Sharmila, who has been on a hunger strike for the past four years. Over the years, the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, has been enforced in parts of Assam, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh. It has been in force in Manipur since 1980. This is shocking, the state's insurgency record notwithstanding. The law gives wide-ranging powers and near-complete immunity to the security forces: "No prosecution...or other legal proceedings, except with the previous sanction of the central government" can be brought against them, "in respect of anything done or purported to be done in exercise of powers conferred by this Act". Sharmila wants to change that. Her moment of resolve came on November 2, 2000, when 10 innocent people, including women and children, were shot dead from point blank range by the Assam Rifles. "She vowed to challenge the killings and went on a fast-unto-death," says Nonibala, an Imphal-based activist of the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN). This forced a magisterial enquiry, but the army got a stay on it. Three days later, Sharmila was arrested on charges of attempted suicide. Since then, she has been arrested three times. Confined to a bed at Imphal's Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital under judicial custody, this 32-year-old writer-activist is fed forcibly through her nose. She is weak and some of her vital organs are giving up but she refuses to eat. "I love peace, but we must have justice first," she says. Governments have been status quoist on the Act. Says R.K. Bobichand, executive director of Human Rights Alert: "We have approached the state government, but apart from a committee, there has been no action." Activists allege that for the home ministry the issue is zero priority. "The human rights situation has deteriorated and Sharmila refuses to give up till the Act is withdrawn," says Bobichand. But who is Irom Sharmila? She is the youngest of nine children-without any political affiliations or mentors. Brother Irom Singhajit remembers: "We were poor, but all of us went to school. Sharmila was always a writer, deeply touched by suffering. Since she is willing to make the supreme sacrifice for the people of Manipur, we must support her." Signs of grit were evident to members of a people's commission which visited Manipur to study the human rights situation in mid-2000. Says lawyer Preeti Verma: "We remember this young girl following us on her cycle wherever we went listening to victims of torture." She was awarded the Best Volunteer of the Year 2000 by the UN. Amnesty International declared her a prisoner of conscience. Human Rights Alert has got the Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission to launch a signature campaign for Sharmila and her cause. The government, in response, has restricted her visitors. A Gujarat group managed to smuggle in a camera. In the film, Sharmila looks weak but determined. She still writes poetry about freedom, love and peace-and says she expects nothing from the government. Singhajit met her last July. "I have not been able to go back as I had promised to go with the news of withdrawal of the Act," he regrets. Her mother is braver. "She has not met her daughter all this while.She feels meeting her might weaken Sharmila's resolve," says Singhajit. Meanwhile, the force-feeding continues. -- Monica Narula [Raqs Media Collective] Sarai-CSDS 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi 110 054 www.sarai.net From bulle_shah at hotmail.com Sun Apr 18 22:21:42 2004 From: bulle_shah at hotmail.com (Anand Vivek Taneja) Date: Sun, 18 Apr 2004 16:51:42 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] lahore via ahmedabad and dv8 Message-ID: this is a (set of) narrative(s) about my quirky relationship with the India Pakistan cricket that just ended, a couple of days ago. Cheers, Anand Prelude, February, Delhi. We've made happy hours start half an hour early in the name of India-Pakistan friendship. We sprawl, downing pitchers of beer, F, U C and I (and how i wish my name began with K), in DV8, Regal Building. They're from Pakistan, students from Lahore here in Delhi for a conference, and we've known each other for less than a week. But we've bonded over the pleasures of public drinking in the middle of the afternoon and then going shopping in Connaught Place. In what U will later characterise as 'typical sub-continental style', they invite me to Lahore, with C promising an afternoon of drinking Murree beer. Relationships have just thawed between the two countries after over two years of closed borders. Perhaps it is only the reckless optimism of mild inebriation, but with talk of the forthcoming cricket series, and the possibilities of Indians getting visas to watch matches, it doesn't seem that fantastic to think of crossing the border for a drinking session. XXX Of course, there is many a slip betwixt the beer mug and the lip. I read, aghast, as the cricket is nearly called off because of the possibility of a defeat to Pakistan, which would take a bit of the shine off India, the sort of ball tampering that reverse swings electoral fortunes. Then the series is on again. I meet Mike Marquesee, whose book on sub-continental cricket, 'War Minus the Shooting', is pretty much a classic study on how jingoistic nationalism has hi-jacked the sport of one day cricket. Now that the cricket is over, and trophies and hearts have been won, it might be difficult to remember, but back then, in February, cricket for war rather than cricket for peace seemed an equal possibility. History was on the side of cricket for war. India Pakistan encounters have, previously, turned neutral venues into zones of war and battle cries. India Pakistan matches have led to riots in India. And now , the two teams were going to be playing a month and a half of cricket in the sub-continent, in front of tens of thousands of baying fans, their passions fuelled by MNC advertisements which are more nationalist than thou, staking their claim to belong... It could get really nasty. Especially becuase this is the initiative of a government which has advertised, over five years, its attempts to make peace with Pakistan and always ended up making war. The bus was followed by Kargil, The Agra summit was a fiasco, the Parliament attack, for which an innocent man was sentenced to death, led to a near war situation for two years, and the stoppage of all cross-border movement... dreams had been betrayed too often. Mike wanted a delegation of people to go for all the matches as 'cricket lovers for peace'. This was before we knew that whole cities and stadiums could be just that. XXX The lines and lines of people outside the Pakistan embassy, queueing up for cricket visas is something else altogether. I wonder if they would stand in lines so long for matches being played in Sri Lanka or Bangladesh or even in India. I think not, and am happy with that thought. History says, Don't hope On this side of the grave But then, once in a lifetime The longed for tidal wave... I con my sister into buying me a ticket for the Lahore test online on her credit card. XXX First One Day International, Karachi/Delhi/Lahore I watch the last eight overs of the first match in time honoured yuppie fashion. on a big screen in DV8, guzzling beer, and cheering loudly everytime we get a wicket and groaning every time they hit a boundary. I am too drunk to be ashamed of the fact that the crowds in Karachi are cheering, and have been cheering, for both teams. But I do remember being in DV8 a month ago. F writes that night - So you guys have finally avenged Sharjah?! but what a match it was! i watched it in complete sobriety in our largest auditorium with 200 other students... but ofcourse would have much preferred my usual leather sofa and a couple of beers at DV8. And still later that , long after the fireworks have died down, I catch U online - - I don't care how much I believe in Indo-Pak peace and how much I don't believe in nationalism, but if you'd been in DV8 today, in that final over, I'm sure we'd have had a fist-fight. - I'm pretty sure we would have. ;-) XXX Second One Day International, Rawalpindi/Ahmedabad. I feel like having a fist-fight with someone. Anyone. I've reached Ahmedabad in time for the second ODI and am wandering around Teen Darwaja, the elegant fifteenth century triple arched gateway at the heart of the Old City, surrounded by the bustling commerce and terrible pollution that so characterise the city. Across one of the arches of the Teen Darwaza is strung a banner that reads, 'Bhartiya Cricket Team Ne Haardik ShubhKaamna, Teen Darwaja Hindu Muslim Vyapaari Mandal.' I know that the banner wasn't there for the India Australia series. I know that in all his post-riot, pre-election speeches, Narendra Modi always invoked 'Mian Musharraf', as if the head of state of Pakistan was the biggest problem facing the government of his state. I know that the riot hit areas of Gujarat are still apt to explode at the least provocation, and anything can be provocation. I know that a minor riot (one in which a only a few people die) has started because of a game of gali cricket, in which a Muslim kid went to recover a ball that had accidentally been hit into the precincts of a Hindu temple. Give or take a couple of years, and it could have been Irfan Pathan... I know that in Gujarat, to be Muslim is to be constantly subjected to the Tebbitt test, and those banners across the Teen Darwaja, and elsewhere in the city, are the only guarantees they have for peace. A frayed, fraught peace, but in Gujarat, 2004, even that is a lot to expect. I fervently wish that India loses this game. What riles me is that as a Hindu, I have the freedom to wish that in public. XXX Fourth One Day International, Lahore/Junagadh. The last Nawab of Junagadh used to get his dogs married in elaborate ceremonies. Came partition, and he wanted to acceede to Pakistan, which was separated from his kingdom by about five hundred kilometres of Indian Gujarat. So plans didn't quite work out, and he fled Junagadh for Pakistan, taking with him two Hindu veterinarians, and so the story goes, leaving his wife behind. They still show Junagadh, status undefined but separate from India, in maps printed in Pakistan. So I'm in Junagadh, and I manage to get into a hotel room in time to watch the Indian innings. After watching four quick wickets fall, I give up on the match, disgusted, and go off to check mail. There's a mail from F. am on my way to the 4th ODI...hope we kick your butt today.. keep a look out for me on tv!!! I rush back to the hotel. Jungadh might not have made it to Pakistan, but sattelite TV ensures that Qadaffi Stadium, Lahore, makes it to my hotel room. I look for my friends, but it's too late. Though someone else sees them on TV, and phones U from Delhi, 'Hey I saw F on TV.' XXX Fifth One Day International, Lahore/Nowhere. By conservative estimates, there have been eight thousand Indians in Lahore for the one day internationals. By all accounts they've been won over by Lahore. By people going out of their way to make them feel more than at home. Auto-rickshaws refusing to take money, shopkeepers giving discounts, perfect strangers inviting them over for dinner. And yet all the same stories happened to me four years ago, when things were fairly frosty between India and Pakistan, when I was part of a student group in Lahore a week after the Kandahar hijacking. It's not just the hype, there's something else here... something warm and deeply human that manages to co-exist with the hatred and hostility which are undoubtedly part of our complex relationship. But there is the hype, too, and I have never appreciated it so much. I feel like going around Lahore wearing a T-shirt which says, "I'm an Indian, hug me", except that I'm sure everyone would. " It's become the New status symbol in Lahore to have Indian guests. People have been inviting Indians home off the streets. People have been begging, borrowing, stealing Indian guests, so that they aren't left out." But the best story of them all, which I heard from Yasser Hashmi, Faiz's grandson, was about Old Anarkali Bazaar, on the night of the final match. 'There must have been about two thousand Indians in the street, and India had won the match. But nothing untoward happened, and everyone was cheerful, and the street was packed. My father was with me, and he turned to me and said, "This is what Lahore used to look like [before Partition]. I never thought I'd see it like this again in my lifetime."' Apparently the Indians in Lahore even hired dhol-wallahs and danced, and no one seemed to mind particularly. Considering that a lot of the Pakistani audience started rooting for India once it was apparent that they were winning, I don't see why they would. I was glad, in a way that I didn't catch the final match. I was on a train between Gujarat and Delhi, getting regular updates on the match from the cell-phone of the guy on the berth across. I don't want to know what would have happened if we lost. I wasn't quite sure I wanted to know what happened after we won. We explode fireworks everytime we win against Pakistan, and we did that this time too, so what has changed? Mobs in Baroda surrounded Irfan Pathan's house to celebrate India's victory, but supposing that Pakistan had won, and hammered Irfan's bowling in the process, what would the mobs have done then? I was glad that I went to sleep on my berth, and the cell phone went out of range, and I only caught the excitement of the night before second hand in the next day's newspapers. XXX First Test, Multan/Delhi I get hope from the empty stands in Multan. It should be easy getting a visa for the Lahore test. There aren't that many people milling around for cricket visas outside the Pakistan embassy either. Maybe fifty. But the line of people waiting for 'normal' visas to Pakistanis as long, as patient, and as hopeless looking as it has ever been. These are people who don't have access to credit cards and online booking, these are people who need to cross the border and be in other towns and other times from where/when the cricket is getting played. For them it is still a long, torturous process, while us cricket visa seekers are asked to come back the same evening. Maybe the unprecedented handling of fifteen thousand visas at short notice by the Pakistan Embassy gives some hope to these people, becuase a precedent has already been set for visas being cleared, fast. There are people asking about business visas and being directed to yet another gate. This is certainly new. And welcome. What is interesting about the cricket line, when we come back in the evening, is that lot of the people there are from (Indian) Punjab, and have already crossed the border once for the Lahore one dayers, and are now waiting to get back again. my favourite are these two young girls from Amritsar, chattering away in Punjabi, who had gone on their own to Lahore the first time, and have now come all the way toDelhi (the visa camp at Amritsar being operational only for the crazy rush of the ODI's) to get a visa to go all the way back to Lahore. All the talk of enemy country seems to just have disappared down the toilet which we once eupemistically labelled 'Pakistan', after just one visit to Pakistan. These girls are now venturing into 'enemy territory' again, this time on an eight day visa. Unfortunately, now that the hype is largely over, and the cricket crowds are missing, they aren't allowing people to cross the border by foot as they did for the ODI's. You have to pick your mode of transport and stick to it. I choose the bus, which is expensive, and has limited tickets, but gets you to Lahore in twelve hours, four days a week. On the train, two days a week, you have to wait eight hours on either side of the border, and that's not an experience i want to repeat, certianly not in the April heat. However, the first availaible bus ticket, (which you only get post-visa, which already mentions your mode of transport) is for the 7th, half way through the Lahore test match... XXX U writes - "and after today's performance, i'm so not wiling to watch pak in the second match..as a sign of protest..." I find myself praying once again for an Indian defeat. I'm afraid that if we win as obscenely at Lahore as we did at Multan, the famed Pakistani mehman-nawazi might just dry up.... Rahul Dravid obliges by choosing to open and our top order getting creamed. Can I get you something from Delhi? really dont need anything (unless you can bring along DV8 - but i doubt that's feasible). XXX Day Three of the Lahore Test At 6.00 in the morning the PTDC bus leaves from Delhi. They have ash-trays in the backs of the seats, something unthinkable on DTC buses, on which it is illegal to smoke. On the bus are a Hindu couple from somewhere near Peshawar, an old Sikh lady from Bhopal on the way to somehere near Multan to mourn a brother's death. There are halves of cross border couples crossing over. It's a much more complicated pattern of movements and memories than I had thought possible. I seem to be the only one crossing over with a cricket visa. The customs officers on the Pakistani side laugh at it, tell me the cricket is nearly over, India's lost five wickets in their second innings, and wave me through without even opening my bag. I should have sneaked in some alcohol. Five kilometres past the border, as the sun is setting, we travel to Lahore on a road running along a tree lined canal, people lolling on its grassy banks. I had missed all of this last time, coming by train, when the customs checks enusred that we travelled long after darkness had fallen. It'a beautiful, poetic way to enter a city, on a road along a tree-lined canal, as the sun sets on a summer evening. Even the wailing sirens of the pilot car guiding the bus seem musical. XXX I've never felt more comfortable being Indian than in Lahore. That was true last time, when I came at a time of stress and tension, it was even truer this time, when I came at time of peace and overt friendship. After dinner at Cucoo's, the hip rooftop restaurant at Heera Mandi, overlooking the beautifully lit skyline of the Old City, dominated by the Badshahi Mosque and the Fort, F and I saunter into the mosque at nearly ten o' clock, and at around ten thirty, we come to the Gurudwara. At ten thirty at night, the sewadar of the gurudwara lets us in, long after everything has shut down, to see the the gurudwara, and shows us the room where the Guru Granth Sahib is put to bed, as it were, showed us the places associated with Guru Arjun, and then shows us Ranjeet Singh's samadhi. He is mildly amused that an Indian Hindu man and a Pakistani Muslim woman have come together to see one of Lahore's Sikh gurudwaras. As we are leaving, he asks us to wait another minute. 'You are from India', he says, 'you know these things, but I have to show her something.' We are both curious. He takes us into his room and then gives F a saropa, a robe of honour given to esteemed visitors, and a pen, becuase she is a student. The pen is a cheap ball-point, but what matters are the wishes that go with it. F will never hesitate about going into a gurudwara again, though she was slightly scared at first. Both of us are profoundly moved by the gates that are opened for one in Lahore by the accident of being born Indian. XXX The next morning, F and I entered Qadaffi Stadium without a single ticket between us. I had a photocopy email confirmation of my ticket which I waved at the security guards, and they pointed to some other buliding where I needed to go to get the actual ticket. - Buut the match will be over by then, I said. So they let me in, and F along with me, who didn't have a ghost of a ticket. On the way inside, we both noted these incredibly hot Pakistani police women in salwar kameezes and visored caps, totally unlike the burqa clad machine gun wielding aunties featured in Indian newspapers. Some of them even had bright red lipstick on. Really hard to miss, but the media somehow did. By then, India was pretty much out of the game. The Pakistanis needed to score forty runs to win. But Indian supporters were still dancing in the half-empty stands. Except that some of the Indians were in fact, Pakistani. The most enthusiastic of the dancers in our enclosure, waving an Indian tri-colour and dancing to peppy Punjabi bhangra numbers from that side of the border (yes, there is!), being played on the stadium PA during the lunch break, said he was from Lahore when I asked him. I wouldn't have believed him, except his companions sitting behind us, were calling him a fraud Hindustani. And a gentleman from Delhi was dancing with him, and this in the middle of a fairly ignominous Indian defeat. Perhaps our fraud Indian was doing it for the TV cameras, perhaps not. Either ways, a Pakistani posing as an Indian at a India-Pakistan match in Pakistan would have been considered impossible, if not insanely suicidal, a few years back. Now - "Students from Government College, Lahore are going around pretending to be Indians. They get discounts on everything." XXX Being an Indian also gets me to meet the Indian cricket team which I don't think I could ever pull of back in India. They've come to meet the students at the Lahore University of Management Sciences. I'm hanging around LUMS, gatecrashing a conference, becuase the match got over a day too early. It's obviously been arranged at short notice, because it's officially the fifth day of play. There'a huge crowd of people pushing and shoving to get into the auditorium, an hour before the team arrives, and I don't think there is any possibility of me getting in, as I stand far at the back of the pushing, shoving crowd. Then F tells them that I'm Indian. And I'm there inside the packed audi, waiting for my team to arrive, joining in the loud chants of 'Balaji, Balaji'. In my head i try to imagine IIM Ahmedabad(or even JNU for that matter) crowds yelling 'Akhtar, Akhtar' if Shoaib ever hoicks Balaji for an impudent six on an Indian ground. I give up. I want to personally thank the Indian Cricket Team for not letting security concerns bother them, and coming to Pakistan in spite of all the tremendous pressure on them, and playing beautifully. On the field and off it. They made it possible for me to be here without any agenda except meeting friends and drinking beer, and visiting a city I love. Like people can do in other countries... I fall in love with Rahul Dravid. He's diplomatic, articulate, and tackles the thorniest of questions with a sincerity and innate good humour that has the student audience eating out of his hands. I fall as much in love with Balaji as the Pakistanis have, with his endearing grin and weirdly Tamil English, and his self-deprecating desire to be a comedian. I totally fall in love with Pathan, who handles dumb questions with an effort, rather than just dismissing them. Someone asks him if Pathans get girlfriends in India. - ' What do you think, looking at me?' Claps and hoots from the audience. A kid asks him a question which seems to wound him. Have you ever considered playing for Pakistan? I don't know whether the audience cheers the question or boos it. I can't quite figure out. - 'I'm proud to be an Indian', he says softly. ' There's no chance of me playing for Pakistan.' Someone, somewhere in India, in a different form, at a different time, must have asked him that question before. Perhaps it's too much to hope that it will never be asked again. XXX Last time I was in Lahore, I was struck by the similarities with Delhi/India. The image I used was that of a mirror. What I forgot then was that mirror images mean lateral inversion. Inside outness, right side turned to left side. This time I paid attention to the differences. Qadaffi stadium is one of the most beautiful stadiums I've been to. Compared to the general neglected shitiness of Firoz Shah Kotla, it positively shines. (Some) Public Transport Buses are air-conditioned, and for prices not much higher (and lower in real terms as compared to India) than in Delhi. The drivers drive safely, the conductors are unfailingly polite, and announce advance stops gently over the PA rather than banging the side of the bus and hollering. No one picks fights. People give their seats to older people without being asked. The women sit in a separate section, unless they're too many of them. I thought that all Punjabi cities were rough and ready and full of attitude and braggadocio - apparently not. There is a long story behind the only time I heard someone (apart from myself) say behen****. But that's a story to be told later. (Incidentally, behen****, or BC is the name of a commercially unreleased song by this popular Paki band called Noori. It is available though on the Internet, a recording made in a LUMS auditorium for a student crowd. My reaction the first time I heard it - what a song!!! the sacred and profane, the sad and the ironic, love and hate and amused, cynical despair coming together in such a layer of meanings and possible interpretations ... and the very daring of just using those words in a public performance... so who is this guy, and where was this performance???? So yeah, Lahore also has a booming young, quirky, creative music scene, where artistes and bands write their own songs, perform them to widespread popular acclaim, and are even discovering alternative distribution networks.) Lahore, as compared to Delhi, seems to have an active, intelligent urban conservation movement going. In Old Anarkali Bazaar, the famed Food Street, house fronts have been restored by an initiative of the National College of Art, with the active participation of the residents, and are lit up at night by discreet moulded lighting. The effect, while strolling up and down the pedestrian street with its outdoor tables, is indescribably beautiful. All the monumental buildings, The Government College, Lahore the NCA, The Badshahi Mosque are all lit up at night with soft, yet directional lighting, which makes driving through Lahore at night a visual pleasure. Also, you can actually go up close to the monuments in Lahore, which makes a huge difference, since Lahore seems remarkably chilled out and non-anal about security, especially for a town thirty kilometres from a very recently hostile border, especially as compared to Delhi. In Defence, where I am piling on at C's apartment, the door is constantly open, and people keep coming and going till three in the morning. At LUMS, the first time i walk in, the guard doesn't even stop me to take my name down in a register, he just 'salaam aleikum's me in. And he doesn't even know I am Indian, which generally excuses all Lahori lunacy. I enter the Punjab Civil Secretatiat on the lame (but true) excuse of wanting to look at Anarkali's Tomb. The security guard offers me some tea. The houses in posh parts like Defence and Gulberg are most certainly not Punjabi Baroque the way Def Col and GK are. They are tastefully designed and graciously spread out, and low rise, with grassy broad pavments along the roads, not yet inundated by endless tons of cars. (Possibly becuase of military restrictions on house height, but still) And the Mall is one of the most beautiful public thoroughfares in the world, with sections of its central verge eighty feet wide, and covered with flowers.Now, if only the auto-rickshaws converted to CNG... XXX On my first evening in L ahore, I went to take a leak in a loo in the basement of the Islamic Summit Minar, a tall monumnetal tower, which marks the 1974 Organisation Of Islmaic Countries Conference, and marks Pakistan's turn towards Islamisation after the defeats and dismemberment of '71. On my second evening, I am taken to Pappu Sain, a man/institution who playes the dhol every Thursday, by the mazaar of Shah Jamal. Thousands of people gather on Thursday nights to listen to the complex rhythm patterns he beats out of the simple dhol for hours on end, with the help of a bit of bhang. People dance in whirling dervish ecstacy to his rhythms, as the audience around them, gathered in a circle, sways, entranced, and passes endless joints of charas forward. This is working class religion, and the whole connection with the higher beings is mediated through a frenzied bacchanalia here, and one wonders about Islam making Pakistan a puritan, fundamentalist state. XXX - Indian boy, get your passport. We need to get some beer. Beer is too bulky for the bootlegger to deliver, so my passport buys us a crate from a permit room at the back of the Pearl Continental, where the Indian team was staying. As a barbaad Hindustani kaafir, as i call myself, I am free to drink myself to hell. Which rule applies to pakistani kaafirs too, giving them a hell of a lot of economic opprtunity. Murree Beer really rocks, and should definitely be imported to India very soon in the future. Bolskaya Vodka, on the other hand, is strictly rot gut, but effective. XXX I do more in Pakistan than just drinking my promised beer, though. I wander the city, alone and with friends, and discover the little secrets that make all the difference between home, and away. Like the best roadside strawberry milkshake in Lahore. Like the best DVD collection in Hall Road, like Pak Tea House where Faiz and his companions used to sit back in those days. I attend a class on 'Faiz and Ghalib, Poetry of Protest', in chaste Urdu, at the Lahore University of Management Sciences. Possibilties of this happening in any of the IIM's? I don't think so. Possibility of a course like this happening as part of the curriculum offered by Delhi University for a liberal arts degree? I still don't think so. But, of course, the LUMS fee is insanely expensive, compared to all but our IIM's. XXX I feel so at home here that I know that I'm in a foreign country. I feel more comfortable, more secure, more wanted, more privileged, in Lahore than I feel in any Indian city, even in Delhi. It's my second last night in Lahore. The auto rickshaw driver and I spend half an hour looking for a house becuase I remember the address but have forgotten the directions. By now he's discovered that I'mIndian, so doesn't mind the search, and even refuses to charge extra money. Then, even though I have told him to leave if it's getting too late, he waits for me past midnight. Then on the way back, as we're speeding down an empty road, a car emerges as if from nowhere, the driver swerves to avoid it, and the auto crashes into a road side construction at high speed, and its front is completely smashed. In the back seat, I am almost completely unhurt, even calamities being generous to Indian vistors in Lahore. But the drivers' face is bleeding profusely from cuts from the flying glass of the broken windshield. (That's the only time I hear behen**** in Lahore as he curses at the car's driver.) A guy on a motorcycle comes and picks up the driver and takes him to a nearby hospital while I walk there. I'm with him as he gets stitched up, and till I'm sure he's out of danger. I call on the contact number he's given me. Then, as I'm about to leave, I try and give him money to pay for some of his medical treatment. Even in pain as he is, lying there, getting stitched up, the first thing he says, refusing the money, is 'Aap mujhe sharminda na karein.' XXX On my last day in Lahore, the bruises hurt, and I can understand a bit of Muhammad Sami's pain as he regulalrly gets hit by the Indian bowlers while playing his gritty knock. The cricket has acquired strange shades of the mirror-world similarities that Indians see while visiting Pakistan and vice versa. In Lahore, bowler Irfan Pathan had played a gritty knock of forty nine. In Rawalpindi, Muhammad Sami, playing a gritty knock, is run out on forty nine, by Irfan pathan. In Multan, Inzamam was run out without scoring a single run. The same happened to Rahul Dravid in Lahore. Mirror world - Like being hit clean over the top for an exhilirating Sehwag six over the boundary, the geo-strategic Indo-Pakistan gret game has seen thousands of Indians cross the border in what can only be called in retrospect, a superb statesmanly stroke. Though many thought that it was too fanastic an idea to work, a reverse sweep of the Mike Gatting variety. And now fiteen thousand(?) Indians have visited Pakistan, in Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Rawalpindi, and Peshawar, and they have discovered that it's not such a bad place to be. I wonder, at four in the morning, as U and C drop me off at Faletti's Hotel to catch my bus back, whether I'm the only one feeling sad about leaving, sad about saying goodbye... XXX Mirror world - lateral inversion. The Indian team may have won the test and one day series. The Pakistanis won our hearts. So hope for a great sea-change On the far side of revenge. Believe that a farther shore Is reachable from here. Believe in miracles And cures and healing wells. Even if the miracle is sponsored by Samsung, and the forces behind the sea change are a military dictator, a right wing nationalist government, and American geo-strategic visions of the future... Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, because you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup. Only that historian will have the gift of fanning the spark of hope in the past who is firmly convinced that even the dead will not be safe from the enemy if he wins. And this enemy has not ceased to be victorious. _________________________________________________________________ Marriage? http://www.bharatmatrimony.com/cgi-bin/bmclicks1.cgi?72 Join BharatMatrimony.com for free. From zest_india at yahoo.co.in Sun Apr 18 22:33:19 2004 From: zest_india at yahoo.co.in (=?iso-8859-1?q?Shivam=20Vij?=) Date: Sun, 18 Apr 2004 18:03:19 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Re: reader-list Digest, Vol 9, Issue 20 In-Reply-To: <20040418145627.6DD0528E050@mail.sarai.net> Message-ID: <20040418170319.74276.qmail@web8203.mail.in.yahoo.com> It's rather annoying to get Sarai mails with promising subject titles and no content whatsoever! shivam --- reader-list-request at sarai.net wrote: > Send reader-list mailing list submissions to > reader-list at sarai.net > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, > visit > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > or, via email, send a message with subject or body > 'help' to > reader-list-request at sarai.net > > You can reach the person managing the list at > reader-list-owner at sarai.net > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it > is more specific > than "Re: Contents of reader-list digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. [announcements] Saturday, 17th > April:Presentations on > 'Neighbourhood Documentations' (PUKAR Mumbai) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Fri, 16 Apr 2004 05:11:18 +0100 (BST) > From: PUKAR Mumbai > Subject: [Reader-list] [announcements] Saturday, > 17th > April:Presentations on 'Neighbourhood > Documentations' > To: announcements at pukar.org.in > Message-ID: > <20040416041118.73110.qmail at web8308.mail.in.yahoo.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > Skipped content of type > multipart/alternative-------------- next part > -------------- > _______________________________________________ > announcements mailing list > announcements at sarai.net > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > reader-list mailing list > reader-list at sarai.net > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > End of reader-list Digest, Vol 9, Issue 20 > ****************************************** ________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! India Matrimony: Find your partner online. http://yahoo.shaadi.com/india-matrimony/ From amitbasu55 at hotmail.com Tue Apr 20 18:43:45 2004 From: amitbasu55 at hotmail.com (Amit R Basu) Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2004 13:13:45 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] FW: The Ultimate Betrayal - Howard Zinn Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040420/058bd9ec/attachment.html From alokrai at vsnl.com Tue Apr 20 09:45:49 2004 From: alokrai at vsnl.com (alok rai) Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2004 09:45:49 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Bush's Lobotomy Message-ID: <000201c426ba$bcc339e0$fee141db@ashoqwnhci010t> Anybody here remember Monty Python? Well, Terry Jones is one of the original team. ***** Invade Iraq? It's a no brainer Terry Jones on what makes our leaders tick Monday April 19, 2004 Everyone agrees that President George Bush's lobotomy has been a tremendous success. Dick Cheney, the vice-president, declared that he was fully satisfied with it from his point of view. "Without the lobotomy," Mr Cheney told the American Academy of Neurology, "it might have proved difficult to persuade the president to start wars all around the world without any good pretext. But the removal of those parts of the brain associated with understanding the outcome of one's actions has enabled the president to function fully and without hesitation. Even when it is clear that disaster is around the corner, as it is currently in Iraq, the chief executive is able to go on TV and announce that everything is on course and that he has no intention of changing tactics that have already proved disastrous. "I would like to commend the surgeons, nurses and all involved with the operation," said Mr Cheney. Similarly, Donald Rumsfeld regards the surgery as an unqualified success. He writes in this month's American Medical Association Journal: "The president's prefrontal leucotomy has successfully removed all neural reflexes resistant to war-profiteering. It is a tribute to the medical team who undertook this delicate operation that, no matter how close the connection between those instigating military action and the companies who benefit from it, the president is able to carry on as if he were morally in the right." Paul Wolfowitz, the deputy secretary of defence, is also delighted at the beneficial effect that medical intervention has had on the president. "Just imagine how the president might have responded to Ariel Sharon's crazy schemes if we hadn't had the foresight to take out the neural pathways normally connected with perception and understanding," Mr Wolfowitz told a meeting of the Association of Muslim Neurosurgeons For An All-Jewish Israel. "The president is now capable of treating the man responsible for the massacres at Shatila and Sabra as a decent human being, whose advice on how to deal with the problems of Israel is worth not only listening to, but also taking." With all this acclaim for the US president's lobotomy, it is scarcely surprising that Tony Blair, should have decided to follow suit and undergo similar psychosurgery. Thanks to the inhibition of specific presynaptic terminals, Mr Blair now appears to feel totally comfortable giving his support to the US massacre in Falluja and to the activities of US snipers who have been so busy in that city shooting women, children and ambulance drivers in revenge for the murder of four mercenaries. It is also believed that intervention in the motor speech area of his cortex now enables Mr Blair to describe Iraqis who respond negatively to having their houses blown up as "fanatics, extremists and terrorists". Similarly ablation of the oculomotor nerve means that Mr Blair is now able to see Israeli plans to retain Jewish settlements in the West Bank as a big step forward in the Middle East peace process. What has come as a complete surprise, however, is the recent revelation that Mr Blair's brain surgery may even predate President Bush's. For without the removal of large portions of his cerebellum, it is hard to understand how the British prime minister could have turned down Mr Bush's no-strings offer to keep British troops out of combat in Iraq. Political commentators are thus finding it impossible to say whether it is Mr Bush or Mr Blair who has pioneered the use of executive lobotomies in the war against terrorism. · Terry Jones is a writer, film director, actor and Python terryjones.cjb.net From balu_broadcaster at rediffmail.com Tue Apr 20 10:08:46 2004 From: balu_broadcaster at rediffmail.com (balu krishnan menon) Date: 20 Apr 2004 04:38:46 -0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Re: reader-list Digest, Vol 9, Issue 21 Message-ID: <20040420043846.31532.qmail@webmail28.rediffmail.com> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040420/105e2e14/attachment.html -------------- next part --------------   Read the posting on Manipur story of dissent against oppression. Please send me a photograph of Sharmila for preparing a campaign newsletter on the subject.I am a media activist having interest beyond All India Radio. M.Balakrishnan. Programme Executive.All India Radio.Kurnool.(A.P) From janarun at yahoo.co.uk Tue Apr 20 06:38:36 2004 From: janarun at yahoo.co.uk (=?iso-8859-1?q?jane=20bhandari?=) Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2004 02:08:36 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Remembering Nissim Message-ID: <20040420010836.22441.qmail@web25009.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Dear Shivam, I have just read your obituary of Nissim Ezekiel. It was sad that so few writers attended his funeral. I would have come myself but was in Delhi at the time. Funerals rarely give anybody much time to rearrange one's life. Adil Jussawalla and myself organised a private reading of Nissim's poems on behalf of Loquations at NCPA A/V Room on February 3rd. Asha and Nandoo Bhende attended, among others, and the turnout was quite good. I was moved by Asha's reading of a letter Nissim wrote to her on the occasion of her marriage, which he was unable to attend. Perhaps the Loquations reading should have been publicised better; though some members of the press were invited. But those that attended (and selected and read their favourite poems) came out of a genuine desire to pay homage to a great poet, and at the time we were not thinking of publicity. This was a private farewell. The poems read were presented in a souvenir anthology to the participants and copies sent to those who had requested poems but were unable to attend. A few copies still remain, if you would care to have one. Subsequently The Book Review asked me to do a posthumous review of his Collected Poems. I append the first para below: "It was in my daughter’s English literature textbook: ‘Goodbye to Miss Pushpa TP’ was my first encounter with Nissim Ezekiel’s poetry. ‘Very Indian Poems in Indian English’ might nowadays sound like tasteless wit to the politically hypersensitive, but to me they were authentic. They were the voices I heard on TV and radio, the every-day speech of people for whom English was not a first language, written by an Indian for whom English was the language in which he had been educated, was probably spoken at home more than his mother tongue, and was the language in which he would teach and write for most of his life. In an era when command of English was a necessity if one was to get on in life, a new class had emerged, of Indians who spoke English rather than the vernacular, and were comfortable with it. This is where Nissim sits in Indian English literature: wholly and comfortably in command of English, even as he tenderly pokes a little gentle fun at those for whom English is not their first language. In fact Nissim’s ‘Indian English’ poems are only a tiny part of his work, even though they are most often quoted. With wit and irony, Nissim wrote about his world, his ambiguous attitude to religion, his loves - and his poems. Every poet writes a few poems about writing poems in his lifetime. Nissim wrote more than most." I came to India in the late 60's, and it was some time before I discovered, via my childrens' English books, poets such as Nissim, Dom Moraes, Ramanujan, and Eunice DeSousa. In the last five or six years I have begun writing my own poetry. After being infected by Nissim and his compatriots, one could hardly do less, even if it comes a little late in life. I mourn his passing. I never met him; I am sorry that this was so. He must have been a fascinating man. As a woman, reading his love-poems makes me wish I had known him twenty years ago. Jane Bhandari ____________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Messenger - Communicate instantly..."Ping" your friends today! Download Messenger Now http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com/download/index.html From nc-agricowi at netcologne.de Mon Apr 19 15:32:58 2004 From: nc-agricowi at netcologne.de ([NewMediaArtProjectNetwork]:||cologne) Date: Mon, 19 Apr 2004 12:02:58 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Call for submissions Message-ID: <022e01c425f5$7e4060a0$0300a8c0@NewMediaArtNet> Call for submissions subject: Iraq Deadline: ongoing . [R][R][F] 2004 --->XP [Remembering-Repressing-Forgetting] www.newmediafest.org/rrf2004 global networking project is preparing a feature related to Iraq - the war and the periode afterwards, and is looking for proposals of net based art works, papers, articles, comments, links etc which fit in this spectrum. . Accepted works and items must have a clearly defined copyright note and will be included into the new Iraq module to be created. Besides URLs of works or sources, also certain media files are optionally accepted, see specification below. . Please use this form for submitting . 1. firstname/name of artist, email, URL 2. a brief bio/CV (not more than 300 words) 3. title and URL or type of media file, 4. a short work description (not more than 300 words), 5. one screen shot (max 800x600 pixels, .jpg) . please send your submission to rrf2004 at newmediafest.org subject: Iraq . Only these types of media files are accepted: 1. text-->plain email, .txt or .doc 2. image--->.jpg 3. movie--->.swf, .dcr, .mov, .mpeg . Deadline -->ongoing as soon as the first submissions are accepted, they will be included and posted. ********************** [R][R][F] 2004 --->XP www.newmediafest.org/rrf2004 rrf2004 at newmediafest.org global networking project by Agricola de Cologne is part of ---> Version>04 Festival Chicago/USA - 16 April - 01 May 2004 Basics Festival Salzburg/Austria - 08-16 May 2004 Electronic Art Meeting Pescara/Italy - 19-23 May 2004 Festival of New Film/New Media Split/Croatia 26 June - 02 July 2004 _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From ravik_rk at hotmail.com Wed Apr 21 12:06:02 2004 From: ravik_rk at hotmail.com (Ravi Kumar) Date: Wed, 21 Apr 2004 12:06:02 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Invitation to monthly seminar series Message-ID: Dear Friends, The current developments in the city of Delhi is not only changing physical landscape of the city but also about the changing life of laks of people. Yet, there is hardly any voice and even the voices being raised are forcibly drowned in the cacophony of loud, glaring and vulgar conceptualizations of 'development'. But it is a 'development' for whom? What is the logic for such a logic Dunu Roy, a social activist, engaging with such issues in the capital and currently engaging with the coercive displacement of people living along Yamuna will speak on the deeper meanings of such a developmental project at Council for Social Development on 30th April, 2004 at 3:30 PM. Kindly see the text of Invitation pasted below as well as attachment. And please do confirm your participation well in advance. It helps us organize the gatherings in a better way. Council for Social Development cordially invites you to its monthly seminar series 'Discourses in Development' - II Dunu Roy, Hazard Centre, New Delhi will speak on 'Pull to Push, Push to Shove: the Changing Face of Delhi' Abstract "The urban economy was characterised by the push-pull factor. In other words, marginalised people were pushed out of the stagnating agricultural economy into the growing demand for labour in the urban areas. However, in the last two decades, the situation appears to have changed significantly in that changing technologies have been creating less jobs in the manufacturing sector and more jobs in the tertiary services sector. This has also meant an internal push in the urban economy from relatively more secure livelihoods into casual and contractual unorganised forms. Since 1995, the push has turned to shove as urban governance has changed dramatically to deny both livelihoods as well as basic citizenship rights to the urban poor. "This transformation in the face of the city has been accompanied by three basic processes. Firstly, there has been a remarkable shift in priorities and values orchestrated through disinformation and sustained propaganda. Secondly, the state has gradually withdrawn from provision of basic services while providing for tighter control over social structures. Thirdly, a sense of helplessness in the working population is occasionally superseded by a creative surge of resistance. The city of Delhi displays the backdrop against which this conflict of social forces is played out." Date: Friday, 30th April, 2004 Time: 3:30 PM Venue: Dr. Durgabai Deshmukh Memorial Hall, Council for Social Development, 53, Lodi Estate, New Delhi - 110003 The presentation will be followed by discussion and high tea Kindly confirm your participation by Monday, 26/04/2004. RSVP Ghazala Shahabuddin/ Ravi Kumar/ Jaya Nair (2461 5383/ 2461 1700) jaya_csd at yahoo.co.in -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040421/347de98a/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Discussion No.2.doc Type: application/msword Size: 29696 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040421/347de98a/attachment.doc From zest_india at yahoo.co.in Sun Apr 18 21:46:40 2004 From: zest_india at yahoo.co.in (=?iso-8859-1?q?Shivam=20Vij?=) Date: Sun, 18 Apr 2004 17:16:40 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Mumbai this Monsoon and other events Message-ID: <20040418161640.56217.qmail@web8206.mail.in.yahoo.com> 1) Bangladeshi film in San Francisco 2) Language and the City: The PUKAR Monsoon 2004 Schedule 3) A Livelihood Documentary Competition 4) Liberty, Art & Culture Seminars 2004 5) Liberty and Society Seminars 1) Bangladeshi film in San Francisco The Clay Bird (Matir Moina) 3RD I SF and Milestone Films Present in its Bay Area Premiere Run THE CLAY BIRD (Matir Moina) San Francisco PREMIERE Friday, April 30 7:00 PM CASTRO Theatre 429 Castro Street San Francisco, CA 415.621.6120 Bangladesh's first submission for the Foreign-Language Oscar competition and Originally banned in Bangladesh for "controversial religious content". This intelligent and tender family drama is set against the backdrop of the turbulent period of Bangladesh's struggle for independence. Director: Tareque Masud France/Bangladesh. 2002 94 minutes. Color. In Bengali with English subtitles For more information visit: http://www.thirdi.org/~sf/screenings.html "Easily one of the finest pictures of this year or any other!" -- Elvis Mitchell, New York Times Winner of the FIPRESCI International Critics prize and award winning film at the Cannes film festival. * * * 2) The PUKAR Monsoon 2004 Schedule The PUKAR Monsoon 2004 Schedule Theme: Language and the City PUKAR Monsoon 2004 focuses on Mumbai's linguistic diversity. The workshops will examine the spontaneous translations, skilful use of multiple languages and the constant creation of new words and concepts that characterize the city's routine responses to its varied linguistic world. Participants will also explore the inter-play between the visual and textual aspects of communication and build a small archive through a creative documentation of the city's multi-lingual imaginary. All this will be used to develop an argument about Mumbai's modern identity and its much-debated cosmopolitan character. The sessions will be held over weekends spread out from May to July. Students can sign up for as many workshops as they wish. All workshops will be interactive, articipatory, conceptual and creative. We expect all participants to author texts that address the different dimensions of this theme in the form of posters, photo-essays, audio-novels, soundscapes, poems, essays and websites. All the work will be displayed to the public in August during the concluding session of the PUKAR Monsoon, which will be accompanied by a conference and public discussions on "Language and the City". Other than the workshops, there will also be panel discussions and film screenings, which will take place through the Monsoon period and are open to the general public. A flat registration fee of Rs. 200/- will be charged, applicable for the entire PUKAR Monsoon and must be paid at the Orientation Session to be held on 27th April 2004. Participants can then choose to attend one or as many sessions as they desire. SCHEDULE OF WORKSHOPS ORIENTATION SESSION DATE: Tuesday 27th April (10:30a.m. - 1:00p.m.) Conducted by PUKAR Associates For all participants signed up for any of the workshops. WORKSHOP 1: MAIN NAHIN KEHTA, COMIC BOOK MEIN LIKHA HAI DATES: Tuesday 27th April (2:00.p.m. - 5:00p.m.) to Thursday 29th April (concluding 1:00p.m.) ACTIVITY: Comics, Graphic Novels and Language. Conducted by Sarnath Banerjee, graphic novelist (Penguin India has published his work Corridor: A Graphic Novel this year) This workshop invites students interested in reading and producing comic-book texts. The participants will learn the skills of creating comics and actually produce strips around the theme of language and the city. The exercise will also explore how linguistic diversity has been expressed in comic-books in India, examine the growing underground cult of comics and explore the theme of multi-linguality and comics. WORKSHOP 2: ENGLISH: MEDIUM DATES: Wednesday 5th May - Friday 7th May: (10:00a.m. - 5:00p.m.) ACTIVITY: Producing Translated Texts Conducted by Abhay Sardesai, editor - Art India and graduate teacher of English Literature and Language. In this workshop students will translate poems and short stories using familiar idioms and their own special linguistic skills. The idea is to demonstrate how the act of translation can have transforming qualities and be creatively used to learn concepts using any language as a starting point. The workshop will simultaneously provide a critique of the existing bias in favour of English that most students have to deal with within colleges in the city even though it is often not their first language. WORKSHOP 3: LISTEN TO MY STORY DATES: Friday 14th May - Sunday 16th May (10:00a.m. - 5:00p.m.) ACTIVITY: Creating an Audio-Novel Conducted by Hansa Thapliyal and Vipin Bhatti, filmmakers who have produced an award winning audio-novel set in Sahibabad. What stories do the sounds of voices speaking - the cadences and accents, the colloquialisms and turns of phrase - tell us? This workshop will record and listen to the many voices the city speaks in, in all its different languages. It will retrieve from them meaning - our own and other people's - and create expressive, narrative works which may be fiction or non-fiction but which will eventually take the form of an audio novel or short story. WORKSHOP 4: ENGLISH FONT, VERNACULAR FILTER; SIGNS OF A NEIGHBOURHOOD. DATES: Friday 28th May - Sunday 30th May (10:00a.m. - 5:00p.m.) ACTIVITY: Photographic Documentation of Signs Conducted by Sameera Khan, writer and Chirodeep Chaudhuri, photographer. How do signs differ from neighbourhood to neighbourhood? How do they represent the transformations of a language? These themes will be explored as participants will travel, photograph and analyze the exciting graphic/visual world of signs that layers the city and is often not part of our conscious gaze. The participants will photograph street signs, shop-fronts, posters and advertisements that are a medley of scripts and linguistic symbols and act as the physical embodiment of the city's multi-lingual imaginary. The photo-essays and posters that students will produce will be exhibited in the concluding session of the Monsoon. WORKSHOP 5: THE TIES THAT DIVIDE DATES: Friday 4th June - Sunday 6th June (10:00a.m. - 5:00p.m.) ACTIVITY: Making an Audio-Documentary on language as a divider in the city Conducted by Paromita Vohra, filmmaker and writer. Vernie, Townie, Elite are all labels we throw at each other and somehow these divisions have come to play a very powerful role in shaping student relations in college campuses. What exactly do these labels mean? What kind of prejudices do they foster? How do people sometimes turn them upside down, through the excitements of slang and then re-instate them as the unspoken hierarchy of the spoken word? Through the exciting field of audio-documentary participants will be invited to create stories exploring these divisions around language. Each student (or pairs of students) will produce their own audio- documentary. WORKSHOP 6: THE WAY WE SPEAK DATES: Friday 11th June - Sunday 13th June (10:00a.m. - 5:00p.m.) ACTIVITY: Ethnographies of Slang using Audio Technology. Conducted by Rahul Srivastava, social anthropologist and Jerry Pinto, writer. Language is stretched and reshaped, given street-credibility and infused with flavor through the creation of slang. Slang is the way we create special codes and counter-linguistic cultures in very specific contexts. What kind of slang do we produce in English, Marathi and Hindi in very specific contexts in Mumbai? How does this help in pushing new frontiers to the way in which different languages grow? By observing and recording slang in different parts of the city the participants will produce their own ethnographies of slang in a variety of forms - mini-dictionaries, sound installations and prose pieces. WORKSHOP 7: SO MANY MARATHIS IN MUMBAI DATES: Monday 21st June - Wednesday 23rd June (10:00a.m. - 5:00p.m.) ACTIVITY: Multi-Media Conducted by Vandana Khare, writer and theatre person. The relationship of the Marathi language to Mumbai is a very special one. Yet there is not just one Marathi that the city speaks in. The way in which the language is spoken, read and written is as multitudinous as the city's social history. Through this workshop Marathi speaking students will explore this diversity and find creative ways of representing this through self-produced radio- programs, audio-features and even visual documentation. NOTE: SPECIAL WORKSHOPS There will be two more specialized weekend workshops held in end-July for which a schedule will be available in June. These will have international resource persons who are in conversation with us and will confirm their details only by end-May. PANEL DISCUSSION SCHEDULE There will be a series of panel discussions on language and the younger generation. Each panel will have a college student in discussion with representatives of the literary tradition of that particular language. The list of panelists will be announced later. June 26th Saturday: Panel Discussion on Urdu in Mumbai July 3rd Saturday: Panel Discussion on Sindhi in Mumbai July 10th Saturday: Panel Discussion on Tamil in Mumbai. July 17th Saturday: Panel Discussion on Bengali in Mumbai. Others on Gujarati, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam will also be held (Dates TBA) FILM SCREENINGS An evening of film screenings that explore the issue of linguistic diversity will also be held in July. Details for this will be circulated soon. FINAL EVENT 7th and 8th of August are the days scheduled for the concluding session of the PUKAR Monsoon. The final event will involve exhibitions / display and presentation of the texts produced in the workshop, a panel discussion and a public lecture. Eminent personalities from the world of Media, Education, Literature and the Arts will attend this session. PUKAR (Partners for Urban Knowledge Action and Research) Mumbai * * * 3) A Livelihood Documentary Competition Jeevika A Livelihood Documentary Competition Centre for Civil Society, Delhi Description People earn their livelihood in myriad ways: catch fish; collect medicinal leaves and fuelwood in forests; work on the farm or in the factory; pull a cycle-rickshaw, sell water, vegetables, or food on the roadside; rent land, money, or property; run an enterprise of a repair shop or road construction. At the root of this is the economic freedom to produce and sell a product or a service. Take away this freedom and the impact is as devastating as the loss of the right to vote or freedom of _expression. Jeevika is a search of documentaries that focus on legal and regulatory restrictions, bureaucratic process of approvals and licenses with attendant extortion and harassment as well as social and cultural norms and religious practices that prevent or constrain people from earning an honest living in the vocation of their choice. These procedures and practices coupled with the lack of rule of law, absence of transparency and accountability in governance, and poor enforcement of individual rights including property rights take away the freedom to earn a living. Entry Form Jeevika 2004 Application form is available here (.doc / .pdf), fill it in and send it by registered post/ courier only to the Centre's address http://www.ccsindia.org/jeevika.htm Entry Rules Young filmmakers are particularly encouraged to participate Any Indian language with English subtitles Submit one copy in in VCD/ VHS Prizes * Cash prizes * Financial support for the next film venture on a related issue to a winner Prize Ceremony & Screening of select entries: February 2005 (Venue: India Habitat Centre, New Delhi) Resource Material Last date for submission of entries with complete entry form: December 20, 2004 Press Coverage of Jeevika 2003 Jeevika 2004 Centre for Civil Society K-36 Hauz Khas Enclave, New Delhi 110016 Tel: 011-2653 7456/ 2652 1882 Fax: 2651 2347 Email: jeevika at ccsindia.org Website: www.ccsindia.org Supported by Sir Ratan Tata Trust * * * 4) Liberty, Art & Culture Seminars (LACS) 2004 Liberty, Art & Culture Seminars (LACS) 2004 Centre for Civil Society, Delhi and Kolkata A four-day residential seminar exclusively for students or recent graduates of Mass Communications, Media, Journalism, Cultural Studies, Literature, Performing & Creative Arts Globalisation: A threat to Indian Culture? Market or State: Who is good for the arts? Are we cultural pessimists or optimists? Liberty & equality: can we have both? Individual & Society: A Conflict? Has our culture become commercial? Are the arts for the masses? Are Indians free to express? Censor the Censors? Are businessmen moral? What is creativity? A seminar that provides a greater understanding of the society and culture, within the classical liberal framework that emphasises limited government, rule of law, free trade, and individual rights To debate this issues and more with a host of prominent speakers and artists like Anand Patwardhan, Dadi Pudumjee, Ritu Menon apply for any LACS: New Delhi: August 26-29, 2004 Kolkata: November 4-7, 2004 Download the Application Form: http://www.ccsindia.org/lacs.htm LAST DATE FOR APPLICATIONS: Delhi: July 26, 2004 Kolkata: October 4, 2004 Room & board will be provided by CCS Send your applications by courier/ speedpost only to Manali Shah Centre for Civil Society K-36 Hauz Khas Enclave, New Delhi 110016 Phone: 011-2653 7456/ 26521882 Fax: 011-2651 2347 Email: mana at ccsindia.org * * * 5) Liberty and Society Seminars Liberty and Society Seminars (LSS) Centre for Civil Society Mangalore, New Delhi, Shillong, Trivandrum, Ranchi, Mumbai What is LSS? The Liberty & Society Seminar (LSS) aims to provide college students a greater understanding of the larger world-society, economy and the culture-within the classical liberal framework that emphasises limited government, rule of law, free trade, and individual rights. LSS is the proud winner of the Templeton Award for Student Outreach by Atlas Foundation USA. The LSS is a four-day residential seminar. The format is interactive with discussions, working groups, documentary videos and field trips. About 45 students are selected through an application process. Who can participate? College students currently enrolled in Graduation or Post Graduation degree in any field. Recent graduates can also apply. How can I apply? You have to fill in a application form and send it to us. (click here to download the application form) http://www.ccsindia.org/lss.htm Are there any interesting articles related to Liberty & Society which I can read before the seminar? Yes. Download the LSS Reader and read articles by famous economists, and media personalities from India and abroad. What is the LSS Schedule for 2004? Apply for ANY ONE of the following seven LSSs in 2004: City Dates* Last Date for Applications Mangalore August 5-8 July 5 New Delhi September 2-5 August 2 Shillong September 16-19 August 16 Trivandrum October 14-17 September 13 Ranchi October 28-31 September 27 Mumbai November 25-28 October 25 New Delhi December 2-5 November 1 * These dates are subject to change. Please confirm before applying. What happens after LSS? There are various ways in which you can follow-up with us after the LSS: Contribute to eCatalyst, the quarterly e-newsletter run by the LSS Grads themselves. Participate in the Competition among LSS Grads: Let us know how you have applied your learning at LSS in your lives and how you have helped further the cause for liberty in your college/ city/ state. Prizes: Rs 3,000, Rs 2000, Rs 1000. Winners of 2003 Competition for LSS Grads! Get nominated to attend the Advanced Liberty & Society Seminar, December 2004 Start a Friends of Freedom group in your city * * * This event information brought to you by ZEST ===== ========================================== ZEST Reading Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/zest-india ZEST Economics: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/zest-economics ========================================== ________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! India Matrimony: Find your partner online. http://yahoo.shaadi.com/india-matrimony/ _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From zest_india at yahoo.co.in Wed Apr 21 21:45:51 2004 From: zest_india at yahoo.co.in (=?iso-8859-1?q?Shivam=20Vij?=) Date: Wed, 21 Apr 2004 17:15:51 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Re: Remembering Nissim In-Reply-To: <20040421172044.19FEF28E001@mail.sarai.net> Message-ID: <20040421161551.84939.qmail@web8202.mail.in.yahoo.com> Dear Jane,   This mail that you have posted to the Sarai list, addressed to me, I did get it on my ID a few days ago but I forgot to reply, writing as I was my own obituary in the examination hall. I'm really sorry.   But i'm also surprised. Firstly, I never wrote anything on Nissim Ezekiel, though no doubt I want to. This is happening for the third time this month, when somebody is accusing me of having written something that I did not. And when i do write, nobody responds so enthusiastically!   I did circulate, on Sarai, Zest and other reading lists, some obits on Ezekiel, particularly Dom Moraes' beautiful appraisal in Outlook.   Three poems of Ezekiel are (or were, If i pass this exam) in my course in English hons. I disagree with your view on the eight poems that comprise Ezekiel's 'Very Indian Poems in Very Indian English'.   One doesn't know if Ezekiel is actually symathising with 'Indian English' and its speakers. "Pusha TS" certainly pokes fun at the speaker. Is Ezekiel saying that people have the right to use English in the way they wish to - to colonise the English language, so to speak? But if that is the case, why are the poems funny? If you read all the eight poems in the series, and not just the famous Pushpa TS, you would realise that he is empathetic and not elitist. You would realise this particularly if you read "The Raliway Clerk" and feel the pathos in it. Yet, the Indianism of the language in these poems, in my view is exaggerated. Ezekiel in my view is unsuccessful in his attempt to sympathetically project the modern postcolonial common man. African writers like Chinua Achebe write in their own indigenous style of English, caring a fig for the Queen's language. But Ezekiel is not doing the same, because he writes predominantly in exactly the kind of English that is inaccessible to the speakers of "Pushpa TS" or "The Railway Clerk". In short, go to a raailway office. Ask the clerk to write a short introduction about himself in English. The English will all be in incorrect syntax. But it won't be funny. Objectionable, classist, condescending approaches to the problematic question of Indian English are complicatec further by the appropriation of Ezekiel's style by other writers. Farrukh Dhondy recently did this in an indifferent collection of short stories. The front inside cover of "The Little Magazine" does this. Any reactions? Jane, i'm very sorry to hear about the publicity problem at your private reading. The sarai list is one way of dealing the problem. I run a list called Zest which has nearly 400 members and apart from exchanging articles, Zest circulates event information. If you post event information on Zest, I post it on dozens of other mailing lists, with an estimated cumulative reach of 10,000 people. This has been of use to many. You, and others, might want to join Zest by sending a blank email to zest-india-subscribe at yahoogroups.com. A friend is running Zest Economic for economic issues. I strongly feel the need of having a poetry group, called Zest Poetry. Would you like to moderate it? There are so many people writing poetry, Indians and others, in Indian English and other languages. But there's no place to publish it. Nobody reads poetry, or so the publishers' logic goes. Zest Poetry would be a platform for all poets, to discuss, read and exchange poetry. Perhaps we could dedicate it to Ezekiel. If there's anyone else who would like to be moderator, please write to me at shivamvij at ststephens.edu. Thanks a lot, Khudha hafiz Shivam (in Lucknow till July) ===== ========================================== ZEST Reading Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/zest-india ZEST Economics: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/zest-economics ========================================== ________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! India Matrimony: Find your partner online. http://yahoo.shaadi.com/india-matrimony/ From zest_india at yahoo.co.in Wed Apr 21 22:45:44 2004 From: zest_india at yahoo.co.in (=?iso-8859-1?q?Shivam=20Vij?=) Date: Wed, 21 Apr 2004 18:15:44 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Night of the Scorpion: Oedipus complex? Message-ID: <20040421171544.39734.qmail@web8206.mail.in.yahoo.com> Kristina Chambers has turned Ezekiel's poem "Night of the Scorpion" into a painting: http://www.thedailystar.net/2004/01/31/d401312101106p.htm My classmate Gautam Rau done a Freudian reading of the poem; he says he finds an active oedipus complex in the poet-persona. Night of the Scorpion I remember the night my mother was stung by a scorpion. Ten hours of steady rain had driven him to crawl beneath a sack of rice. Parting with his poison - flash of diabolic tail in the dark room - he risked the rain again. The peasants came like swarms of flies and buzzed the name of God a hundred times to paralyse the Evil One. With candles and with lanterns throwing giant scorpion shadows on the mud-baked walls they searched for him: he was not found. They clicked their tongues. With every movement that the scorpion made his poison moved in Mother's blood, they said. May he sit still, they said. May the sins of your previous birth be burned away tonight, they said. May your suffering decrease the misfortunes of your next birth, they said. May the sum of all evil balanced in this unreal world against the sum of good become diminished by your pain. May the poison purify your flesh of desire, and your spirit of ambition, they said, and they sat around on the floor with my mother in the centre, the peace of understanding on each face .More candles, more lanterns,moreneighbours, more insects, and the endless rain. My mother twisted through and through, groaning on a mat. My father, sceptic, rationalist, trying every curse and blessing, powder, mixture, herb and hybrid. He even poured a little paraffin upon the bitten toe and put a match to it. I watched the flame feeding on my mother. I watched the holy man perform his rites to tame the poison with an incantation. After twenty hours it lost its sting. My mother only said Thank God the scorpion picked on me And spared my children. ===== ========================================== ZEST Reading Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/zest-india ZEST Economics: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/zest-economics ========================================== ________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! India Matrimony: Find your partner online. http://yahoo.shaadi.com/india-matrimony/ From zest_india at yahoo.co.in Wed Apr 21 22:50:14 2004 From: zest_india at yahoo.co.in (=?iso-8859-1?q?Shivam=20Vij?=) Date: Wed, 21 Apr 2004 18:20:14 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Ezekiel: modes no longer preoccupied with the self Message-ID: <20040421172014.24579.qmail@web8207.mail.in.yahoo.com> Note on Nissim's Very Indian Poems in Indian English Rajeev S. Patke Ezekiel's poems in Indian English show him venturing successfully into modes no longer preoccupied with the self, in which he can empathise better with the unsympathetic aspects of his linguistic and cultural milieu. In these poems, what is being said is refracted through how it is said. The ugly can be taken on its own terms when its self-conceit is treated with derision, while derision is made tolerable when lances by sympathy. Exaggeration hovers just this side of distortion, imitation never quite slips into full caricature. The humour is benign because the butt of each joke is non-malignant, even if the joke nurses a little malice: In India also Gujaraties, Maharashtrians, Hindiwallahs All brothers-- Though some are having funny habits. Still, you tolerate me, I tolerate you, One day Ram Rajya is surely coming. You are going? ('The Patriot') What makes these Indian archetypes funny is not merely how they mangle the language, but how they lack in self-awareness. What makes them human is the warmth and feeling behind the sentiments they express, which even the disfigured language will not hide. The expressive possibilities exploited in these poems may be limited (in comparison to what poets from Africa or the Caribbean have shown possible in dialect, patois, pidgin, and creole); they may verge on the sentimental; also, they could easily lead to an effect of the ad nauseam. But they also break the stranglehold exercised on poetic style by the notion of a standard language. in them, performance exceeds competence. To have opened this small account with rag-bag syndicate of the ostensibly sub-standard forms of linguistic practice, allowing poetry to explore parts of the human structure it had not earlier known it could accommodate or inhabit, is no small part of Ezekiel's contribution to post-Independence investment in poetry. ..................................................... Rajeev S. Patke is Associate Professor of English, National University of Singapore. ===== ========================================== ZEST Reading Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/zest-india ZEST Economics: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/zest-economics ========================================== ________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! India Matrimony: Find your partner online. http://yahoo.shaadi.com/india-matrimony/ From zest_india at yahoo.co.in Wed Apr 21 22:51:21 2004 From: zest_india at yahoo.co.in (=?iso-8859-1?q?Shivam=20Vij?=) Date: Wed, 21 Apr 2004 18:21:21 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Ezekiel: Background, Casually Message-ID: <20040421172121.94646.qmail@web8202.mail.in.yahoo.com> Background, Casually 1 A poet-rascal-clown was born, The frightened child who would not eat Or sleep, a boy of meager bone. He never learned to fly a kite, His borrowed top refused to spin. I went to Roman Catholic school, A mugging Jew among the wolves. They told me I had killed the Christ, That year I won the scripture prize. A Muslim sportsman boxed my ears. I grew in terror of the strong But undernourished Hindu lads, Their prepositions always wrong, Repelled me by passivity. One noisy day I used a knife. At home on Friday nights the prayers Were said. My morals had declined. I heard of Yoga and of Zen. Could 1, perhaps, be rabbisaint? The more I searched, the less I found. Twentytwo: time to go abroad. First, the decision, then a friend To pay the fare. Philosophy, Poverty and Poetry, three Companions shared my basement room. 2 The London seasons passed me by. I lay in bed two years alone, And then a Woman came to tell My willing ears I was the Son Of Man. I knew that I had failed In everything, a bitter thought. So, in an English cargoship Taking French guns and mortar shells To IndoChina, scrubbed the decks, And learned to laugh again at home. How to feel it home, was the point. Some reading had been done, but what Had I observed, except my own Exasperation? All Hindus are Like that, my father used to say, When someone talked too loudly, or Knocked at the door like the Devil. They hawked and spat. They sprawled around. I prepared for the worst. Married, Changed jobs, and saw myself a fool. The song of my experience sung, I knew that all was yet to sing. My ancestors, among the castes, Were aliens crushing seed for bread (The hooded bullock made his rounds). 3 One among them fought and taught, A Major bearing British arms. He told my father sad stories Of the Boer War. I dreamed that Fierce men had bound my feet and hands. The later dreams were all of words. I did not know that words betray But let the poems come, and lost That grip on things the worldly prize. I would not suffer that again. I look about me now, and try To formulate a plainer view: The wise survive and serve--to play The fool, to cash in on The inner and the outer storms. The Indian landscape sears my eyes. I have become a part of it To be observed by foreigners. They say that I am singular, Their letters overstate the case. I have made my commitments now. This is one: to stay where I am, As others choose to give themselves In some remote and backward place. My backward place is where I am. .................................... 1. Bene Israel tradition has it that their ancestors took to oilpressing soon after arrival in India. Hence Shanwar teli, Saturday oilpressers, i.e., who did not work on Saturdays. ===== ========================================== ZEST Reading Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/zest-india ZEST Economics: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/zest-economics ========================================== ________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! India Matrimony: Find your partner online. http://yahoo.shaadi.com/india-matrimony/ From zest_india at yahoo.co.in Wed Apr 21 22:56:10 2004 From: zest_india at yahoo.co.in (=?iso-8859-1?q?Shivam=20Vij?=) Date: Wed, 21 Apr 2004 18:26:10 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Ezekiel: The Patriot Message-ID: <20040421172610.95357.qmail@web8202.mail.in.yahoo.com> The Patriot I am standing for peace and non-violence. Why world is fighting fighting Why all people of world Are not following Mahatma Gandhi, I am simply not understanding. Ancient Indian Wisdom is 100% correct, I should say even 200% correct, But modern generation is neglecting- Too much going for fashion and foreign thing. Other day I'm reading newspaper (Every day I'm reading Times of India To improve my English Language) How one goonda fellow Threw stone at Indirabehn. Must be student unrest fellow, I am thinking. Friends, Romans, Countrymen, I am saying (to myself) Lend me the ears. Everything is coming - Regeneration, Remuneration, Contraception. Be patiently, brothers and sisters. You want one glass lassi? Very good for digestion. With little salt, lovely drink, Better than wine; Not that I am ever tasting the wine. I'm the total teetotaller, completely total, But I say Wine is for the drunkards only. What you think of prospects of world peace? Pakistan behaving like this, China behaving like that, It is making me really sad, I am telling you. Really, most harassing me. All men are brothers, no? In India also Gujaratis, Maharashtrians, Hindiwallahs All brothers - Though some are having funny habits. Still, you tolerate me, I tolerate you, One day Ram Rajya is surely coming. You are going? But you will visit again Any time, any day, I am not believing in ceremony Always I am enjoying your company. -- Nissim Ezekiel see: http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/516.html ===== ========================================== ZEST Reading Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/zest-india ZEST Economics: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/zest-economics ========================================== ________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! India Matrimony: Find your partner online. http://yahoo.shaadi.com/india-matrimony/ From siriyavan at outlookindia.com Thu Apr 22 10:45:23 2004 From: siriyavan at outlookindia.com (Anand) Date: Thu, 22 Apr 2004 10:45:23 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Dalit Diary: Reflections on Apartheid in India Message-ID: <002401c42828$d10fe820$1704a8c0@anand> Navayana announces the launch of Dalit Diary: 1999-2003. Reflections on Apartheid in India By Chandra Bhan Prasad A selection from Chandra Bhan Prasad's column in The Pioneer, the only weekly column by a dalit in any Indian newspaper. With an Introduction by Robin Jeffrey, author of India's Newspaper Revolution: Capitalism, Politics and the Indian-Language Press. Pages 264, paperback. Rs 225 (India). USD 25 (Elsewhere) ISBN 81-89059-04-1 On the Dalit Diary: Chandra Bhan Prasad's struggle for a dalit identity and voice encompasses the struggles of all those seeking to reform a socially conservative society. -Sagarika Ghose, Senior Editor, The Indian Express A dalit has the right to judge every community's role. If my shudra community commits atrocities against dalits, I certainly have to share the blame for these historical crimes. Dalitization of all communities is the only way out. For that, voices like Chandra Bhan's are very important. -Kancha Ilaiah, author of Why I am Not a Hindu Dalit Diary compares in its vision with Booker T. Washington's writings on the economic and educational empowerment of blacks. -K.P. Singh, University of Washington >From the blurb: India churns out 43,828 publications, including 4,890 dailies, in 18 principal languages and over 81 small languages and dialects. In 1998, the total circulation of the Indian press was 127 million. According to Unicef, "the Indian press reflects the country's immense diversity." However, dalits, who constitute one-fourth of India's billion-plus population, do not form a part of this diversity. Their exclusion from the print media, and probably other media as well, is near-total. In such a context, Chandra Bhan Prasad writes India's only column by a dalit in a mainstream newspaper, The Pioneer. Dalit Diary opened up new avenues for the dalit movement in India. Most significantly, it resulted in The Bhopal Document (2002), which made a case for the implementation of the diversity doctrine in India, the first major accretion to the discourse of dalit rights in post-Ambedkar India. Unlike nondalit journalists who dwell only upon the number of dalits killed, maimed, raped, brutalized-a reality, no doubt-Prasad effects a paradigm shift by speaking the language of rights. For him, the exclusion of dalits from the faculty of Jawaharlal Nehru University is a more unpardonable crime than the violence that the Ranvir Sena unleashes. As Robin Jeffrey writes in the Introduction to this book, "Chandra Bhan's writing may equally provoke the shankaracharyas of Puri, Kanchipuram and India International Centre." Week after week, Prasad relentlessly voices the aspirations of millions of dalits with controlled rage, clothes facts in original perceptions, and demonstrates how untouchability stares you in the face at every turn, in every corner. Excerpt: "Untouchability is such a doctrine that it does not fully liberate even the most rational, most emancipated, progressive-minded person from practising it, howsoever unconsciously. Contrary to the popular perception that untouchability is a 'social evil', it is in essence a doctrine of exclusion . if there is not a single dalit who is an editor of a national daily, an anchor on TV channels, or a member of the Confederation of Indian Industry, it is not by accident, but because of the doctrine of untouchability." -from 'Dalit Diary', 9 April 2000 Author note: Chandra Bhan Prasad was born in 1958 in Bhadawn village in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh. His early political initiation was with the CPI(ML) in 1983. He did MA and MPhil in International Politics at Jawarharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and specialized in the history of Chinese science and technology. In 1991, he started the Dalit Shiksha Andolan, which spread to almost every district in UP. Since 1999, he has been writing the column Dalit Diary for The Pioneer. Subsequently, he has written for leading Hindi dailies, and his opinions are sought by television news channels. ORDERING INFORMATION Drafts/cheques should be payable to 'Navayana Publishing'. Add Rs 45 to cheques drawn outside Pondicherry. Add Rs 30 for postage for individual orders of Dalit Diary inside India. (For overseas orders, USD 25 includes postage. For orders from European countries, pay equivalent of USD 25 in Euro. Overseas cheques must be preferably drawn on a bank in Pondicherry.) Navayana Publishing 28, Veerabhadrasamy Koil Street, Lawspet, Pondicherry 605008 Ph 91-413-2253666/ 91-44-24422199. Cell: 094440-61256 Email: navayana at navayana.org To avail FREE BOOKS and discounts up to 30 percent, join the Navayana Book Club. Visit www.navayana.org/book.html -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040422/bdb4e353/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From jeebesh at sarai.net Fri Apr 23 04:58:00 2004 From: jeebesh at sarai.net (jeebesh at sarai.net) Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2004 01:28:00 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [Reader-list] Expansion of europe...and labour Message-ID: <15556.193.191.206.35.1082676480.squirrel@193.191.206.35> Europe Illegal Immigrants in Europe Face Danger, Uncertainty Nicola Fell Brussels 17 Apr 2004, 00:30 UTC On the eve of its expansion from 15 to 25 countries, the European Union is tightening up immigration policies for fear of an uncontrollable influx of migrant workers. But with its aging and dwindling workforce, western Europe needs more outsiders to fill available jobs, and the marketplace is finding ways to do that, albeit not legally. In the heart of Brussels, the Canal de Charleroi runs through blocks of dismal factories and abandoned warehouses. It's still cold out, but that doesn't deter the illegal immigrants who come here in search of work. With hands in pockets and shoulders hunched, they wait for a car to pull over and offer them a day's work. There are Ukrainians here, Russians and Romanians. On one corner where the Africans gather a car pulls over and the men flock around it. Did the driver offer anyone a job? "I don't know, he had been drinking, he wants to play with us, there are people like that," said an African laborer. "Most the time, there is no work. Look there are over 100 people here, but only two or three of us will work today. It doesn't pay well. Maybe 25 or 30 euros a day." For these people without papers, there isn't much of a support network here. The only social worker for the area is Yann Malebeek and he worries about them. "It's pretty dangerous because you don't know what kind of person you go with, you just step into a car with somebody. A car just stops and points out a finger like two persons and they just jump into the car," he said. The would-be employers flee from a reporter's microphone, but Abdellah, an illegal worker standing on the Moroccan corner, was willing to speak about his experience with them. "An employer who takes a risk by employing someone without papers -- why does he do it? Not because I work better than someone else or am more competent but because I am the cheapest, the most obedient and always say yes.. and when it doesn't work I can be thrown out like a dustbin bag," he said. Many of the illegal immigrants turn to the church to ease their isolation and seek solace. The church also provides a network for people in the same situation looking for work. In Brussels, churches offer meetings in a variety of European languages. This Sunday the Polish church is packed with young men. Different nationalities sit at tables nursing endless cups of coffee, while a video about Jesus plays constantly. But not everybody here is an illegal immigrant. Elena has a good job at the European Parliament and comes to the Christian coffee house as a volunteer. "A lot of Belgians exploit them," she said. "A lot of diplomats exploit them and they are the ones who make laws against them.... with their nannies that they don't pay properly." With the European Union on the brink of enlargement, many EU countries have decided to limit the influx of foreigners, despite obvious labor shortages. But in a January visit to the European Parliament, U.N. General Secretary Kofi Annan called for Europe to change the rules. "I look forward to the day when Europe rejoices as much in the diversity within states as it does in diversity between them. Migrants need Europe but Europe also needs migrants (applause). A closed Europe would be a meaner, poorer, weaker, older Europe, an open Europe, fairer, richer, stronger younger Europe, provided you manage migration well," he said. Despite the standing ovation, Roger Helmer, a British Conservative member of the European Parliament who is known for his opposition to immigration, says it's presumptuous of Mr. Annan to lecture Europeans on immigration. "The idea that we can cut the population and replace it with people from very different foreign cultures is something I think a lot of people would feel very uncomfortable with," he said. In Europe, migration remains a divisive and emotional issue. But demographer and European Council Adviser Jerry Koomans stresses that Europe needs foreigners to come to live and work. "We have to learn to deal with the society we have, which is an aging society," he said. "We don't have the labor supply we had before. We need more workers. We have to speed up the awareness of the problem in terms of economic growth, look at what the U.S. is able to do compared to us. High immigration is part of their dynamism and if we did the same it could be part of our dynamism as well." But, as the busy market for day laborers at Brussels' Canal de l'Rois shows, people are already on the move, trading in their economic uncertainty at home for a chance of a better life elsewhere. From ysaeed7 at yahoo.com Fri Apr 23 15:45:16 2004 From: ysaeed7 at yahoo.com (Yousuf Saeed) Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2004 03:15:16 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Popular religious art of the Muslims: posting 3 Message-ID: <20040423101516.29105.qmail@web41301.mail.yahoo.com> Sarai Fellowship 2004, posting No.3: Syncretism in Muslim Religious Posters in India: Iconic Devotion in an Iconoclastic Religion Community and Gender Stereotyping in Religious Posters Like many other forms of popular art found in urban India�s public spaces - advertisements, print magazines, television, cinema hoardings, popular cinema itself � the religious posters too participate actively in what can be called the stereotyping of the image of certain communities and of the genders. To explore these typecasts, we need to first examine some broad differences between the content of various types of posters. The posters with clearly Hindu and Muslim themes differ, mainly, in the variety of subject matters they depict, and the purpose they fulfill in a devotee�s life. Most Hindu posters portray deities, gods, and goddesses, their attributes and myths � utilizing narratives that have been followed since the ancient times, even though the painting/art styles may have changed. In practice, a two-dimensional image of a Hindu god or deity serves the same purpose for an average devotee which an idol or statue does, that is, the worship or dhyana (though the classicists may somewhat disagree). There are specific day-to-day purposes � goddess Lakshmi bringing the wealth, and Saraswati, the knowledge, and so on. In a Hindu devotional image, there is absolutely no hesitation about the use of figurative icons as well as the plurality of gods. In fact, iconography and polytheism are the most important sources of a Hindu devotee�s religiosity. Hence, an artist�s liberty to interpret and use the representative icons results in Hindu devotional images that candidly reflect her/his own faith, as well as a collective/folk memory about the myth. South Asia�s Muslim iconography, on the other hand, carries some distinct differences from the Hindu images - even though some of it does seem like entering the realm of polytheism and icon-worship. While some artists/producers of the Muslim posters are extremely sensitive about Islam�s iconoclasm, and consider it a taboo to portray any figurative image (humans, living organisms), some others have less inhibition and draw freely the portraits of saints and holy men. But on the whole, one does notice a sense of reluctance in the iconography in most Muslim devotional images � not to mean that the diversity of visuals and ideas are limited in them. [Islamic iconoclasm and (despite that) the tradition of Iranian/Turkish miniature artists depicting Prophet Muhammad, other prophets, angels, and mythical beasts, is something that deserves a larger discussion for this project, and would be taken up in my subsequent postings]. An absolute (or partial) iconoclasm forces an artist to find more creative ways to illustrate a concept or folklore, without representing the taboo figures. It also provides (a Muslim iconographer) an almost unlimited scope for choosing the subject matter and innovative symbols. One cautious poster, for instance, simply shows a large dense knot of a rope, with a Qur�anic text at the bottom saying, �Hold on tight to the rope of the God�s message�and do not disperse�� It also has other icons, such as a rosary, a rose plant, a setting sun and some flying birds in the backdrop, probably to enhance the mundane sight of a knotted rope. Another poster shows six namazis (praying men) standing in a row (presumably inside a mosque) saying a collective namaz, wearing a wide variety of dresses � some in fine expensive robes while others in soiled rags � stressing on human equality in Islam. Such broad range, from iconoclasm to iconography, also exists, probably, due to the market�s demand. When a Muslim iconographer (not necessarily a Muslim by faith), explores new subject matters to draw a poster, or to make innovative variations of Mecca, Medina or the Qur�an, the first thing he/she recalls are the clich�images of the community itself � cute little girls with scarves reading the Qur�an, innocent boys in skullcaps hugging each other after the Eid prayers, beautiful and pious young women with raised hands from which a translucent dupatta (scarf) cascades down, all this with the essential backdrop of Kaaba and the green dome of Medina. One poster that epitomizes the typecast image of the community in the popular parlance has a little boy sitting cross-legged, about to turn the page of a Qur�an, wearing a white sleeveless vest (Sandow banian), a green check lungi or mundu (printed loin-cloth), a little metallic talisman case in a necklace, and the embroidered skullcap. Not to miss the rosary, the incense-sticks, the prayer mat, and the crescent-n-star encircling Mecca and Medina in the backdrop. The child may just walk out, one imagines, into a noisy Muslim mohalla (locality) and chew a paan or enter a butcher�s shop. While examining these stereotypes in popular art, one cannot ignore the non-religious posters and calendars of the early print era, especially the ones depicting India�s freedom fighters, nationalism, patriotism, agrarian reforms, and other secular themes, which evolved along with the devotional images. While the �national integration� calendars show the representatives of all faiths in their characteristic costumes under the shadow of mother India, certain other posters distinguish various professions by assigning them different genders. So, if men and women have different roles in the family and society, they would also practice their religious faith differently. While most men follow the rituals rigidly by the book � sticking to the code of conduct or prayer as given in the Shari�at or the Shastras, women stress more on a private and emotional relationship with the divine, and believe in many superstitions. Such role models often come across, albeit subconsciously, in the devotional posters. Men offering their namaz in a military like row, while women cloistered in their scarves, intimate with the Qur'an and the Ka'ba. A typical devotee to a saint�s tomb is usually a woman, with her jholi (scarf) held out in a posture of �asking�. Thus a line from a qawwali �Bhar do jholi meri ya Muhammad/Laut kar mein na jaaonga khaali� (Do fill my sack Oh Muhammad/Will not return empty handed) perfectly characterizes this scenario. In one poster, the mausoleum of Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jeelani in Iraq is visited by a beautiful female devotee wearing a distinct Punjabi dress and facial features. While the women are an embodiment of extraordinary beauty, stuffed with gold jewelry and expensive clothes, the portrayal of men (except the saints) is realistic and stiff. Men of importance are shown dressed in long embroidered robes and turbans, whereas the ordinary men folk wear white kurta pajamas and Gandhi caps as seen in other nationalistic calendar art. The �pious women� depicted in some posters seem to come straight from the community stereotypes that were sowed in the public memory by the 20th century Hindi cinema - Mughal-e-Azam, Chaudhvin-ka-chand, Mere Mehboob, and so on. The big chunk of moviegoers, the crowd that likes to see a blockbuster several times, and revels in its images and music, also happens to buy the devotional posters � no wonder a cinema genre called the �Muslim Social� pervaded the Bombay film industry for almost three decades in the 20th century, and contributed largely to the stereotyping of the Muslim community. It would not be surprising if the artists who drew the roadside hoardings for such films were also the original iconographers of some of the Muslim religious art. Some of the printing presses churning out the movie posters, no doubt, also produced the cheap religious images. Some (amongst Muslims) who may have hesitated putting up the poster of a film actress on their wall due to family or social pressure found legitimacy in a picture that combined the Ka'ba or the Qur�an with an attractive lady who looks like Madhubala or Surayya. This twin purpose of providing the religious devotion with the sensuous pleasure seems to be a selling point of most successful popular devotional art. Indian cinema and television continue to strengthen the community stereotypes in the popular culture. Many film producers wait for the Eid or Diwali to release their blockbusters, not so much for the auspicious day, but for the holiday and the savings the working class would spend on cinema. On last Eid in a Muslim locality, I found a surprise at a poster shop � a colour photograph of the actor Salman Khan in typical Muslim attire, doing a courteous aadab (Muslim salutation) with his naughty smile, and Eid mubarak printed at the bottom - it was obviously a movie poster, but selling briskly among the religious ones. Need one explain how many genres of popular culture and stereotyping did it represent? [Examples of the posters referred to in this write-up can be seen at the following site: http://www.alif-india.com/popart/gallery.html Yousuf Saeed New Delhi, India ysaeed7 at yahoo.com For those who missed the first and second posting: this project seeks to collect the contemporary religious posters and calendar art, depicting Muslim themes, mostly in north India, and analyze their content, focusing on the symbols of multi-faith or composite culture, besides studying briefly the industry and the artists who manufacture and sell them, the devotees who buy them, the milieu where they are adorned, and the reverence they evoke. This posting is only a section of the research and may not represent the holistic picture or the chronological sequence of the findings. More details, updates and a colourful poster gallery of the project can be seen at: www.alif-india.com/popart __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Photos: High-quality 4x6 digital prints for 25� http://photos.yahoo.com/ph/print_splash From ohm at zedat.fu-berlin.de Fri Apr 23 19:24:15 2004 From: ohm at zedat.fu-berlin.de (Britta Ohm) Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2004 14:54:15 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] Popular religious art of the Muslims: posting 3 Message-ID: <20040423205702.486D328D9BB@mail.sarai.net> Dear Yousuf, your project is very interesting to me and I have looked at your website with pleasure. Keep on posting. I am looking at typecasts, plots and representations of Hindus and Muslims in tv serials as part of my current work and would be happy to hear whatever you have observed in course of your study. In case you don't know it already, a must-read for your undertaking would be Orhan Pamuk's novel "My name is Red" which deals with the various debates on Islamic iconoclasm in 16th century Turkey's engagement with the West, particularly the Venecians and the Franconians. Best regards -- Britta -- Britta Ohm Solmsstr.36 10961 Berlin Germany +49-(0)30-61621414 (off.) +49-(0)30-69818368 (res./fax) ---------- >Von: Yousuf Saeed >An: reader-list at sarai.net >Betreff: [Reader-list] Popular religious art of the Muslims: posting 3 >Datum: Fre, 23. Apr 2004 11:15 Uhr > > Sarai Fellowship 2004, posting No.3: Syncretism in > Muslim Religious Posters in India: Iconic Devotion in > an Iconoclastic Religion > > Community and Gender Stereotyping in Religious Posters > > Like many other forms of popular art found in urban > Indiaís public spaces - advertisements, print > magazines, television, cinema hoardings, popular > cinema itself ñ the religious posters too participate > actively in what can be called the stereotyping of the > image of certain communities and of the genders. To > explore these typecasts, we need to first examine some > broad differences between the content of various types > of posters. > > The posters with clearly Hindu and Muslim themes > differ, mainly, in the variety of subject matters they > depict, and the purpose they fulfill in a devoteeís > life. Most Hindu posters portray deities, gods, and > goddesses, their attributes and myths ñ utilizing > narratives that have been followed since the ancient > times, even though the painting/art styles may have > changed. In practice, a two-dimensional image of a > Hindu god or deity serves the same purpose for an > average devotee which an idol or statue does, that is, > the worship or dhyana (though the classicists may > somewhat disagree). There are specific day-to-day > purposes ñ goddess Lakshmi bringing the wealth, and > Saraswati, the knowledge, and so on. In a Hindu > devotional image, there is absolutely no hesitation > about the use of figurative icons as well as the > plurality of gods. In fact, iconography and polytheism > are the most important sources of a Hindu devoteeís > religiosity. Hence, an artistís liberty to interpret > and use the representative icons results in Hindu > devotional images that candidly reflect her/his own > faith, as well as a collective/folk memory about the > myth. > > South Asiaís Muslim iconography, on the other hand, > carries some distinct differences from the Hindu > images - even though some of it does seem like > entering the realm of polytheism and icon-worship. > While some artists/producers of the Muslim posters are > extremely sensitive about Islamís iconoclasm, and > consider it a taboo to portray any figurative image > (humans, living organisms), some others have less > inhibition and draw freely the portraits of saints and > holy men. But on the whole, one does notice a sense of > reluctance in the iconography in most Muslim > devotional images ñ not to mean that the diversity of > visuals and ideas are limited in them. [Islamic > iconoclasm and (despite that) the tradition of > Iranian/Turkish miniature artists depicting Prophet > Muhammad, other prophets, angels, and mythical beasts, > is something that deserves a larger discussion for > this project, and would be taken up in my subsequent > postings]. > > An absolute (or partial) iconoclasm forces an artist > to find more creative ways to illustrate a concept or > folklore, without representing the taboo figures. It > also provides (a Muslim iconographer) an almost > unlimited scope for choosing the subject matter and > innovative symbols. One cautious poster, for instance, > simply shows a large dense knot of a rope, with a > Quríanic text at the bottom saying, ìHold on tight to > the rope of the Godís messageÖand do not disperseÖî It > also has other icons, such as a rosary, a rose plant, > a setting sun and some flying birds in the backdrop, > probably to enhance the mundane sight of a knotted > rope. Another poster shows six namazis (praying men) > standing in a row (presumably inside a mosque) saying > a collective namaz, wearing a wide variety of dresses > ñ some in fine expensive robes while others in soiled > rags ñ stressing on human equality in Islam. Such > broad range, from iconoclasm to iconography, also > exists, probably, due to the marketís demand. > > When a Muslim iconographer (not necessarily a Muslim > by faith), explores new subject matters to draw a > poster, or to make innovative variations of Mecca, > Medina or the Qurían, the first thing he/she recalls > are the clichÈd images of the community itself ñ cute > little girls with scarves reading the Qurían, innocent > boys in skullcaps hugging each other after the Eid > prayers, beautiful and pious young women with raised > hands from which a translucent dupatta (scarf) > cascades down, all this with the essential backdrop of > Kaaba and the green dome of Medina. One poster that > epitomizes the typecast image of the community in the > popular parlance has a little boy sitting > cross-legged, about to turn the page of a Qurían, > wearing a white sleeveless vest (Sandow banian), a > green check lungi or mundu (printed loin-cloth), a > little metallic talisman case in a necklace, and the > embroidered skullcap. Not to miss the rosary, the > incense-sticks, the prayer mat, and the > crescent-n-star encircling Mecca and Medina in the > backdrop. The child may just walk out, one imagines, > into a noisy Muslim mohalla (locality) and chew a paan > or enter a butcherís shop. > > While examining these stereotypes in popular art, one > cannot ignore the non-religious posters and calendars > of the early print era, especially the ones depicting > Indiaís freedom fighters, nationalism, patriotism, > agrarian reforms, and other secular themes, which > evolved along with the devotional images. While the > ënational integrationí calendars show the > representatives of all faiths in their characteristic > costumes under the shadow of mother India, certain > other posters distinguish various professions by > assigning them different genders. So, if men and women > have different roles in the family and society, they > would also practice their religious faith differently. > While most men follow the rituals rigidly by the book > ñ sticking to the code of conduct or prayer as given > in the Shariíat or the Shastras, women stress more on > a private and emotional relationship with the divine, > and believe in many superstitions. > > Such role models often come across, albeit > subconsciously, in the devotional posters. Men > offering their namaz in a military like row, while > women cloistered in their scarves, intimate with the > Qur'an and the Ka'ba. A typical devotee to a saintís > tomb is usually a woman, with her jholi (scarf) held > out in a posture of ëaskingí. Thus a line from a > qawwali ìBhar do jholi meri ya Muhammad/Laut kar mein > na jaaonga khaaliî (Do fill my sack Oh Muhammad/Will > not return empty handed) perfectly characterizes this > scenario. In one poster, the mausoleum of Shaikh Abdul > Qadir Jeelani in Iraq is visited by a beautiful female > devotee wearing a distinct Punjabi dress and facial > features. While the women are an embodiment of > extraordinary beauty, stuffed with gold jewelry and > expensive clothes, the portrayal of men (except the > saints) is realistic and stiff. Men of importance are > shown dressed in long embroidered robes and turbans, > whereas the ordinary men folk wear white kurta pajamas > and Gandhi caps as seen in other nationalistic > calendar art. > > The ëpious womení depicted in some posters seem to > come straight from the community stereotypes that were > sowed in the public memory by the 20th century Hindi > cinema - Mughal-e-Azam, Chaudhvin-ka-chand, Mere > Mehboob, and so on. The big chunk of moviegoers, the > crowd that likes to see a blockbuster several times, > and revels in its images and music, also happens to > buy the devotional posters ñ no wonder a cinema genre > called the ëMuslim Socialí pervaded the Bombay film > industry for almost three decades in the 20th century, > and contributed largely to the stereotyping of the > Muslim community. It would not be surprising if the > artists who drew the roadside hoardings for such films > were also the original iconographers of some of the > Muslim religious art. Some of the printing presses > churning out the movie posters, no doubt, also > produced the cheap religious images. Some (amongst > Muslims) who may have hesitated putting up the poster > of a film actress on their wall due to family or > social pressure found legitimacy in a picture that > combined the Ka'ba or the Qurían with an attractive > lady who looks like Madhubala or Surayya. This twin > purpose of providing the religious devotion with the > sensuous pleasure seems to be a selling point of most > successful popular devotional art. > > Indian cinema and television continue to strengthen > the community stereotypes in the popular culture. Many > film producers wait for the Eid or Diwali to release > their blockbusters, not so much for the auspicious > day, but for the holiday and the savings the working > class would spend on cinema. On last Eid in a Muslim > locality, I found a surprise at a poster shop ñ a > colour photograph of the actor Salman Khan in typical > Muslim attire, doing a courteous aadab (Muslim > salutation) with his naughty smile, and Eid mubarak > printed at the bottom - it was obviously a movie > poster, but selling briskly among the religious ones. > Need one explain how many genres of popular culture > and stereotyping did it represent? > > > [Examples of the posters referred to in this write-up > can be seen at the following site: > http://www.alif-india.com/popart/gallery.html > > Yousuf Saeed > New Delhi, India > ysaeed7 at yahoo.com > > For those who missed the first and second posting: > this project seeks to collect the contemporary > religious posters and calendar art, depicting Muslim > themes, mostly in north India, and analyze their > content, focusing on the symbols of multi-faith or > composite culture, besides studying briefly the > industry and the artists who manufacture and sell > them, the devotees who buy them, the milieu where they > are adorned, and the reverence they evoke. > > This posting is only a section of the research and may > not represent the holistic picture or the > chronological sequence of the findings. More details, > updates and a colourful poster gallery of the project > can be seen at: www.alif-india.com/popart > > > > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Photos: High-quality 4x6 digital prints for 25¢ > http://photos.yahoo.com/ph/print_splash > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe > in the subject header. > List archive: > From rafael at csi.com Fri Apr 23 21:54:36 2004 From: rafael at csi.com (Rafael Lozano-Hemmer) Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2004 17:24:36 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] Vectorial Elevation Message-ID: Dear Sarai, The interactive installation "Vectorial Elevation" is up and running again, this time at O'Connell Street in Dublin, Ireland. Until the 3rd of May, people may design huge light sculptures using a web 3D interface. The designs are rendered by 22 robotic searchlights and captured by four cameras placed around the city. To participate, please log on to http://www.alzado.net Saludos, Rafael http://www.lozano-hemmer.com From soumava at vsnl.com Fri Apr 23 23:40:08 2004 From: soumava at vsnl.com (Soumava Das) Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2004 23:40:08 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Third posting] Implementation of a peer-to-peer news distribution network Message-ID: <4089A958.251.4AC1A2@localhost> Hi, This is my third posting and it is a survey of various approaches for choosing reliable peers in a P2P network. Soumava Das Major areas that need to be studied to design the P2P network : ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Content searching : A key challenge to the usability of a data-sharing peer-to-peer system is implementing efficient techniques for search and retrieval of data. The best search techniques for a system depend on the needs of the application. For example, search techniques based on distributed hash tables (DHTs) are well-suited for web caches or archival systems focused on availability, because they guarantee location of content if it exists, within a bounded number of hops. In many scenarios, the increased search efficiency makes structured networks preferable to the widely deployed unstructured networks which rely on flooding. To achieve these properties, these techniques tightly control the data placement and topology within the network, and currently only support search by identifier. In contrast, other work focuses on more flexible applications with rich queries such as regular expressions, meant for a wide range of users from autonomous organizations. A survey on the various search techniques has been posted to the list last month. Resource management : Aggregating and allocating peer-to-peer resources is much more difficult than in a centralized system. One reason is the autonomous nature of peers: rational, essentially selfish, peers must be given an incentive to contribute resources. In addition, the scale of the system, with perhaps very many nodes, makes it hard to get a complete picture of what resources are available. This is especially true in a dynamic system, with nodes constantly joining and leaving, where resources and resource demands are constantly changing. Our approach to dealing with these issues is to use concepts from economics to construct a resource market-place, where peers can buy and sell or trade resources as necessary. Economic incentives are used to encourage resource sharing, while the problem of system-wide resource allocation is broken down into numerous exchanges between pairs of nodes to enhance scalability. We hope to post a write-up on this topic next month. Security : P2P data sharing systems are highly susceptible to many forms of malicious attacks. Nodes in a P2P system operate in an autonomous fashion, and any node that speaks the system protocol may participate in the system. However, just because a node can speak the protocol does not mean that it will do so with good intentions. As a result, nodes cannot necessarily assume that other nodes will respond to their queries, limit the number of queries they generate, produce authentic results, or keep the contents of their queries private. So protocols must provide mechanisms to mitigate attacks by nodes that abuse the P2P network by exploiting the implicit trust peers place on them. Here we focus on the security aspects of the P2P network. A survey of various approaches for choosing reliable peers in a P2P network is done here. Specifically we discuss research meant to address the security issues related to availability, authenticity and trust. The survey will help choosing or proposing a trust management system for the P2P news distribution system that has been proposed. Why trust management ? ------------------------------------ Peer-to-Peer overlay networks are increasingly gaining acceptance on the Internet as they provide an infrastructure in which the desired information and products can be located and traded. While P2P systems based on central indices have run into legal problems, the decentralized systems have continued to flourish. Gnutella, Kazaa, Freenet are extremely popular amongst the WWW community with millions of users world-wide. One of the most attractive features of a typical P2P resource-sharing application is the anonymity that it provides to the requester and the provider of a resource. However, the open nature of the P2P networks also makes the system vulnerable to malicious users trying to abuse the network. Genuine looking files may actually contain viruses, which can potentially destroy data and infect programs on a peer's hard drive. Though the use of anti-virus software can detect such incidents, there is hardly any mechanism to prevent this threat or to punish such malicious users. The first issue is related to trust models used for building trust among peers. The second issue is related to secure storage and secure access of trust values against possible misuses and abuses by malicious peers. A fair amount of work has been done in the area of computing reputation-based trust ratings . However, the area of developing secure underlying protocols to distribute and access the trust ratings in the overlay network has been relatively unexplored. Attacks against a system's availability are often called denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, and are targeted at degrading system performance, or shutting down a system completely by having malicious clients use up resources (CPU cycles, disk space, network bandwidth, etc.) such that these resources cannot be used by legitimate clients in the system. In addition, a common characteristic of such attacks is that it is often hard to distinguish nodes that are malicious from those that are simply under a high load. As a result, there is a need to balance the generated load so that malicious nodes can use a portion of the system's but not a disproportionate amount of the resources. It has been suggested that the future development of P2P systems will depend largely on the availability of novel methods for ensuring that peers obtain reliable information on the quality of resources they are receiving. In this context, attempting to identify malicious peers that provide non-authentic files or bogus content is more effective than attempting to identify non-authentic resources themselves, since malicious peers can easily generate a virtually unlimited number of non- authentic resources if they are not banned from participating in the network. The process of tracking the apparent behaviour of peers and selecting resource providers based on such information is the work of a reputation system. One weakness of reputation systems is their reliance on persistent identity in order to maintain a behavioral history of nodes in the network. Due to the open and anonymous nature of P2P networks, it may be infeasible to enforce the usage of persistent non- repudiable identities by all nodes. Types of security systems: --------------------------------------- Several researchers have recently addressed the problem of enforcing security in the peer-to-peer scenario. One main line of work in the security community has been devoted to the enhancement of access control approaches with new authentication and authorization capabilities to address the fact that access requests may represent interactions between parties that know little about each other. All these works focused on allowing a peer acting as a server to restrict others' ability to access its resources. Peer-to-peer systems, however, also introduce other problems that reverse the security assumptions of traditional access control and require to focus the attention on providing protection from those who offer resources (servers), rather than from those who want to access them (clients). This paradigm shift is due to the inherent vulnerability of peer-to-peer systems from providers abusing the network to spread tampered-with resources. Proposals to prevent or discouraging peers from distributing invalid or malicious content into the network are based on two main techniques: micropayment and reputation-based trust systems. Micropayment techniques (e.g., Mojo Nation, www.mojonation.net) are less closely related to our approach as they require peers to offer something of value in exchange of their participation in the system. Therefore, they impose a cost on malicious peers, as to insert invalid content into the network they would first need to provide a certain amount of resources. Reputation models allow the expression and reasoning about trust in a peer based on its past behaviour and interactions other peers have experienced with it. Reputation Management Systems Currently in Use: ------------------------------------------------------------------------- There are several reputation management systems that are currently being used in situations such as online auctions and file sharing. While these systems demonstrate why trust management is needed in "peer- to-peer" situations, they also illustrate some of the issues that need to be addressed in the design of a reputation management system. In the following sections, brief overviews of reputation management systems that have been implemented is presented, along with their drawbacks. Reputation management on The eBay system: ------------------------------------------------------------------ eBay is a Web site where buyers and sellers can meet and conduct auctions entirely online. In eBay's reputation management system, called the "eBay Feedback System," buyers and sellers can rate each other based on their past transactions with each other. This is done via users' leaving comments on one another's eBay user pages, which can be positive, neutral, or negative. An eBay member's reputation is calculated by assigning each type of comment a point value (+1 point for positive comments, 0 points for neutral comments, and -1 point for negative comments) and summing the point values of all of a member's transactions to obtain that member's "reputation," which is the number of positive comments that the user has received. An eBay user's reputation score can then be used by other users as a factor in their decisions on whether to conduct a transaction with that user or not. Unfortunately, eBay's Feedback System can be compromised in several ways. For example, a seller may gain a high reputation score by leaving positive comments using forged identities. eBay also uses a centralized structure to store and present the trust knowledge, this is undesirable in a P2P system. Reputation Management on The Kazaa ------------------------------------------------------------ Kazaa [5] is a peer-to-peer file sharing application that allows its users to share files with other Kazaa users. It also allows users to search for and download files from other users who are sharing them. Kazaa has implemented a reputation management system consisting of two components, "Integrity Rating" and "Participation Levels," each of which is described below. Integrity Rating on Kazaa Kazaa has a feature called Integrity Rating that allows peers who share files to rate their own files in terms of their technical merits, such as whether the files have accurate metadata and are of high quality. In order to guide other peers toward the highest quality files available for download, Kazaa users are encouraged to Integrity Rate their files and delete files that should not be shared (e.g., virus-infected files or files that are corrupted), but it is not required that a peer Integrity Rate its files in order to participate in the Kazaa network. There are four levels of Integrity Rating for files on Kazaa: Excellent: File has complete metadata and is of a high technical quality. Average: File has some metadata (which may not be complete) and the file is of mediocre technical quality. Poor: File is of poor technical quality and has no metadata. Delete file: File should not be shared (e.g., it is virus-infected, bogus, or unusable). When a peer Integrity Rates its files, it will earn double points toward its Participation Level (which is explained below) each time an Integrity Rated file is downloaded from the peer. Participation Levels on Kazaa In Kazaa's reputation management system, each peer has a "Participation Level" that is based on the quality and amount of files that it shares. A peer's Participation Level is a number that reflects the ways in which that peer has used Kazaa to upload and download files. A peer's Participation Level can be within one of six ranges and is meant to reward peers who share many Integrity Rated files by providing those peers with increased bandwidth that they can use to download files from other peers on the network. A peer's participation level is calculated using: Plevel_i = ( uploaded_i / downloaded_i ) × 100 where plevel_i is the participation level of peer i, uploaded_i is the amount of data (in megabytes) that peer i has uploaded to other peers, and downloaded_i is the amount of data (in megabytes) that peer i has downloaded from other peers. In the above formula, if peer i uploads a file that has not been Integrity Rated to another peer, that file will be counted as half its size when calculating the peer's Participation Level. Kazaa Participation Levels have a minimum of 0 points and a maximum of 1000 points. Upon installing the Kazaa file sharing software, each peer's Participation Level starts in the "Medium" range with 100 points (which is the second-lowest of the six ranges) and the level can go up or down from there depending on how the peer uses the network as described above. A major issue with Kazaa's reputation management system is that it is designed to reward peers who demonstrate good peer-to-peer behaviour but it does not punish those who do not. XRep : ------------- A representative work is presented by Cornelli et al [3], in which any peer, say Peer A, who wants to query for the trust value of another peer, say Peer B, broadcasts a query to the network. Then the peers who have interacted with Peer B and would like to express their opinions reply back with their (IP, Port) tuple, encrypted with public key of Peer A. After receiving the replies, Peer A will individually contact the voters and ask them to confirm their votes to filter out incorrect fake messages. There are a number of drawbacks of this approach: No persistence: The trust metrics are not persistent. All the peers who have interacted with Peer B, but are not present in network cannot have their reviews counted. This can be potentially exploited by a collective of malicious peers who are always present in the network sending the same high/low value for Peer B, thus masking the opinions of various other peers who would have genuine ratings. A small number of malicious peers can totally dominate the ratings of a targeted peer. targeted No anonymity: The peers expressing opinions lose their anonymity. A peer can potentially query for its own trust value (if protected against this, ask a friend to query), and identify the peers who are giving poor trust values for it. Now these peers can be selectively targeted with other attacks like DoS. This is equivalent to voters not having a right to secret ballot. Tedious decision-making: The decision making process becomes extremely lengthy and tedious. Peer A has to contact all the voters and confirm their votes, thus increasing the time taken to make a decision on whether it wants to trust Peer B or not. Also Peer A has to combine all the valid votes before arriving at a decision. Eigenrep : ------------------------------ Eigenrep presented an alternative approach. They propose a simplistic underlying protocol based on a Directed Hash Table (DHT) based mechanism like CAN or Chord[13]. Each peer has a set of mother peers, which hold the trust values of that peer. The mother peers are decided based on hashing the ID of the peer (Different hashes are used to obtain a number of mother peers). If Peer A wants to query for the trust value of Peer B, it just hashes its ID to obtain the various mother peers and then queries them for the trust values. Then, it decides by taking the majority of those values. This kind of approach also suffers from a number of short-comings: Insecure communication: After hashing a peer's ID to obtain various mother peers, the communication between the mother peer and the querying peer is not secured. This is vulnerable to a host of threats like Man-in-the-middle/Bucket-brigade attacks. DHT Threats: By relying on a DHT based design, the system automatically becomes prone to numerous other possible attacks. Malicious routing-information tampering, malicious lookup replies and a host of other possible scenarios come into the picture. Even a small percentage of malicious nodes can have devastating consequences. The security solutions to some of these attacks are extremely complex and are not compatible with the current available systems. No anonymity: Also in such a scheme the identity of mother peers is exposed. And as already mentioned, a malicious node can attack those mother peers to prevent them from sending the true trust values. Group threats: Another problem is that since user chosen IDs are used to hash, after significant monitoring, a malicious group of nodes (or a single node simulating a group of nodes) can select good combinations of IDs to have a favourable scenario, for example, in which trust values of a particular node in the group are most likely to be hosted by other group members. TrustMe: A Protocol for Anonymous Trust Management ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ TrustMe, a protocol developed by Ameek Singh and Ling Liu [7] is of great importance. TrustMe is an anonymous and secure protocol for maintaining and accessing trust rating information. TrustMe uses Public Key cryptography schemes to provide security and is resistant to various attacks. TrustMe uses a random assignment of Trust-Holding Agent peers (henceforth called THA peers) and uses smart Public Key mechanisms to prevent any loss of anonymity. Also it ensures all communication to be secure. They argue that the distribution and access of trust ratings should be distinguished from the routine functions such as file inquiry and downloading performed in a P2P system. A unique characteristic of the TrustMe protocol is its support for mutual anonymity in managing peers' trust relationships. Not only the peers who access trust ratings of other peers remain anonymous but also peers who store trust ratings of other peers are protected from targeted attacks by keeping their identity hidden. In addition, the TrustMe design ensures the following properties: 1. Security: Due to decentralized management of trust relationships, the trust rating of a peer is stored at other peers in the network and it is extremely important to protect these trust hosting peers from targeted attacks. 2. Reliability: It is important to ensure that anybody querying for a trust value gets the true trust value inspite of presence of various malicious users. 3. Accountability: In a peer-review based trust systems, it is important that peers are accountable for the feedback they provide about other peers. Any malicious peer trying to manipulate trust ratings should be identifiable. TrustMe broadly functions in the following manner. Each peer is equipped with a couple of public-private key pairs. The trust values of a peer (say Peer B) are randomly assigned to another peer (THA peer) in the network. This assignment is done by the bootstrap server in a way that the trust holding responsibilities are equally distributed amongst the participating peers. This assignment is unknown to all peers including Peer B. All the communication with the THA peer is carried out using a special key which indicates its knowledge of the trust value of Peer B. Any peer (say Peer A) interested in querying for the trust value of Peer B can broadcast a trust query for Peer B. The THA peer replies with the trust value along with some other information. Depending upon the trust value, Peer A can decide to interact with Peer B or not. Also after an interaction, Peer A can securely file a report (after giving adequate proof of the interaction) for Peer B, indicating Peer A's new trust value for Peer B. Then, the THA peer can modify the trust rating of Peer B. To provide security, reliability and accountability, TrustMe uses smart public key cryptography mechanisms. The protocol achieves complete anonymity, security, reliability and accountability. In the following, we summarize a few other important aspects of the TrustMe protocol: Persistence: Any peer just has to file a report to make sure its experiences are accounted for in the trust value of the interacting peer. After that, even if that peer logs out of the system, its review is counted. This way, we provide persistence to votes and provide a stronger trust mechanism. Non-persistent systems can provide highly misleading trust values in the presence of even a small number of malicious peers. No Central Trusted Authority: It is important to notice that the bootstrap server does not act as a CTA. It is rather a form of a certification authority. All the trust mechanisms are within the network and the bootstrap server does not participate in it. Small decision time: Only a reply messages is enough for a peer to make a decision on whether to interact with a particular peer or not. This is extremely convenient and fast. Ease of contribution: It is extremely easy for a peer to contribute its trust value for another peer - by sending a single report message. This is a highly convenient as opposed to notifying each THA peer as in Eigenrep. TrustMe over other protocols: ------------------------------------------ After studying a variety of trust management protocols, we see that amongst the protocols studied so far, the TrustMe protocol is best suitable to be adopted as the trust management protocol for the P2P news distribution network that we proposed. It ensures the total anonymity of the querying as well as the answering peers. This will help in providing privacy to all the users and escape censorship, which is a desire property of our proposed P2P news distribution network. Also we see that the decision making process (about which peer to take the service from) of the TrustMe protocol is pretty lenient in terms of bandwidth consumption. Only the THA peers' reply is needed and a decision is made from the THA replies only. This is very important since, in India, majority of the users use a low bandwidth Internet connection. This is much better than the polling based mechanisms since they have to collect the replies from all the peers and combine them.Every peer while forwarding the trust value, can cache the trust value. This can be stored for a certain amount of time in its cache, this will significantly reduce the response time of the querying peers. Unlike eBay and some other systems, TrustMe does not use any centralized server or global control mechanism to store and distribute the trust values. The protocol is fully decentralized. This prevents the system from Denial of Service attacks. Being fully decentralized will also help in maintaining a pure ideal P2P network without incorporating any hierarchy in the system. The stored trust values are persistent in TrustMe, which helps in better trust as the vote of a particular user stays in even after a user has logged out, as the vote is stored in a secret ballot box. Future work : --------------------- We need a survey about the trust metrics that we can select to correctly signify the trust values of each peer. The trust metrics could be server based or content based or could be a collection of both. References : ------------------ [1] S. Kamvar, M. Schlosser, and H. Garcia-Molina. Eigenrep: Reputation management in p2p networks. In Twelvth International World Wide Web Conference, 2003. [2] K. Aberer and Z. Despotovic. Managing trust in a peer-2-peer information system. In CIKM, 2001. [3] F. Cornelli, E. Damiani, S. D. C. di Vimercati, S. Paraboschi, and P. Samarati. Choosing reputable servents in a p2p network. In Eleventh International World Wide Web Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii, May 2002. [4] K. Aberer and Z. Despotovic. Managing trust in a peer-2-peer information system. In Proc. of the Tenth International Conference on Information and Knowledge Management (CIKM 2001), Atlanta, Georgia, November 2001. [5] KaZaA. http://www.kazaa.com [6] The Gnutella Protocol Specification v0.4 (Document Revision 1.2), June 2001. http://www9.limewire.com/developer/gnutella protocol 0.4.pdf. [7] Ameek Singh, Ling Liu. TrustMe, Anonymous management of trust relationship in decentralized P2P systems. College of computing, Georgia Tech. [8] Beverly Yang, Patrick Vinograd, Hector Garcia-Molina. Evaluating GUESS and Non-Forwarding Peer-to-Peer Search. . [9] Groove networks, see http://www.groove.net. [10] Napster, see www.napster.com. [11] Seti at home, see http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu. [13] I. Stoica, R. Morris, D. Karger, M. F. Kaashoek, and H. Balakrishnan. Chord: A scalable peer-to-peer lookup service for internet applications. In Proceedings of the 2001 Conference on Applications, Technologies, Architectures, and Protocols for Computer Communications, 2001. From benjamin_lists at typedown.com Mon Apr 26 16:51:51 2004 From: benjamin_lists at typedown.com (Benjamin Fischer) Date: Mon, 26 Apr 2004 13:21:51 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] =?iso-8859-1?q?=5BWanda_News=5D_Die_T=F6dliche_Dor?= =?iso-8859-1?q?is?= Message-ID: <75455932d27a555354f80028f393787d@domain.tld> Short English summary „The Deadly Doris“ see below: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- DIE TÖDLICHE DORIS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wand 5 veranstaltet einen Stuttgarter Wanderzirkus mit den 80er Jahre-Kultfilmen der Performance-, Musik-, Film- und Künstlergruppe Tödliche Doris – vorgestellt von Martin Schmitz (Berlin) Termine: 26.04.04: Die Tödliche Doris 1, Club Schocken, Hirschstr. 36, 22 Uhr 27.04.04: Die Tödliche Doris 2, Oberwelt, Reinsburgstr. 93, 19 Uhr 27.04.04: Die Tödliche Doris 3, Club Hi, Nadlerstr. 20, 22 Uhr 28.04.04: Die Tödliche Doris 1, Ciné Colibri, Alte Poststr. 3, 20 Uhr 29.04.04: Die Tödliche Doris 2, Filmhaus Stuttgart, Friedrichstr. 23 A, 19 Uhr 29.04.04: Die Tödliche Doris 3, Filmhaus Stuttgart, Friedrichstr. 23 A, 21 Uhr Die 80er Jahre – unendliche Weiten! Immer noch und trotz mehr oder weniger gelungener Aufarbeitung liegt dieses Jahrzehnt im Dunkeln. Viele Ideen und Konzepte sind in Vergessenheit geraten oder werden heute ohne Bewußtsein für die Ursprünge ausgewertet. Im Zentrum der kulturellen Peripherie in den 80ern standen Die Tödliche Doris, die mit ihren Super 8-Filmen, Trashkultur, aber auch Medienkunst und Massenmedien maßgeblich beeinflußt haben. Ohne die Ideen der Doris hätte es wohl die Aktionen eines Christoph Schlingensief, die Videos einer Pipilotti Rist, die Trashmusik eines Helge Schneider oder Stereo Total, aber auch manche eigenartige Fernsehshow nicht gegeben. Zwischen Neue Deutsche Welle und Wilder Malerei haben Die Tödliche Doris eine dritte Form etabliert, die Wolfgang Max Faust als „Cross Culture“ bezeichnet hat. Wenn man die Doris überhaupt irgendeiner Kategorie zuordnen möchte, dann der Bewegung der „Genialen Dilletanten“. Wolfgang Müller, Mitglied der Gruppe, veröffentlichte 1982 den gleichnamigen Band im Merve-Verlag mit Beiträgen u.a. von Blixa Bargeld. Die Tödliche Doris waren aber kein theoretisches Manifest, sondern immer ironischer Aktionismus. In den sieben Jahren ihres Bestehens – anscheinend, so die Legende, wurde die Dauer der Existenz der Doris im Voraus festgelegt – trat die Gruppe u.a. in Tokyo, Amsterdam, Paris, Warschau, Budapest und Villingen-Schwenningen auf. Sie waren Teilnehmer der documenta 8 in Kassel und das MOMA in New York sowie das Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris luden die Gruppe zu Auftritten und Filmvorführungen ein. Das erste Open Air-Konzert der Tödlichen Doris fand auf der Insel Helgoland statt. Ihre Konzerte waren bizarr und unterhaltsam. So sangen die Doris-Mitglieder manche Konzerte mit Kissen vor den Gesichtern, auf die die Textzeilen ihrer Lieder gestickt waren. Aber auch das filmische Werk auf Super 8 ist bizarr, radikal und zugleich ironisch und wurde nun erstmalig in Gänze auf DVD veröffentlicht. Wand 5 zeigt in drei Programmen alle Filme der Gruppe um Müller, dem verstorbenen Nikolaus Utermöhlen, Käthe Kruse, Chris Dreier und Dagmar Dimitroff. So vielfältig die Medien waren, die Doris einsetzte, so vielfältig ist auch das Filmprogramm: es reicht von abgefilmten Tapeten – eine subversive Antwort auf den blutleeren strukturellen Experimentalfilm der 70er Jahre – bis hin zu trashigen Punkmovies. Die Doris verfilmte z.B. kurz nach dem Heroin-Tod von Sid Vicious von den Sex Pistols dessen Leben mit dem 3-jährigen Oskar, Sohn der Schlagzeugerin Dagmar Dimitroff, und der 7-jährigen Angie als Nancy. Viele Filme handeln von Banalitäten und Alltäglichkeiten. Einige Filme dauerten nur wenige Sekunden. „Die Gesamtheit allen Lebens und alles Darüberhinausgehene“ ist nur zwei Sekunden lang und besteht aus 44 gemalten Bildern. Filmische Professionalität waren der Doris zuwider und sie propagierten das Prinzip „Do It Yourself“. Blickt man auf die heutige Underground-Digital Video-Bewegung in Europa, aber auch in Ländern wie China, gehören die Tödliche Doris zu den wichtigsten Vorläufern dieser Bewegung. Mit zahlreichen Ausstellungen, Büchern und CD-Veröffentlichungen ist die DTD zu dem geworden, was sie nie sein wollten oder mit dem sie immer kokettiert haben: Kunst für die Ewigkeit. Das Programm wird von Martin Schmitz vom Martin-Schmitz-Verlag aus Berlin vorgestellt, der bereits mehrere Bücher von Der Tödlichen Doris und deren Umfeld veröffentlicht hat. Weiterführende Websites: www.martin-schmitz.de www.wolfgangmueller.net www.die-toedliche-doris.de Die Veranstaltung findet mit freundlicher Unterstützung von Feuersee Software GmbH, Oberwelt e.V., Club Schocken, KOKI Stuttgart, Ciné Colibri und der Medien- und Filmgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg mbH, Abteilung Filmförderung sowie in Zusammenarbeit mit der Merz Akademie statt. Der Eintritt beträgt 5 Euro. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ENGLISH SUMMARY: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Deadly Doris was one of the most innovative art groups in Germany in the 80es. Their work includes music, performance, and film but also painting. In the context of the genious diletantism movement The Berlin based Deadly Doris has devolped new strategies of art production and presentation. Like many artist from the early 80es the three artists Wolfgang Mueller, Nikolaus Utermoehlen and Kaethe Kruse they were involved in the Punk and New Wave scene. For the first time Wand 5 shows the complete filmic work of The Deadly Doris which was shot on Super 8 and is now available on DVD. The programme also includes The Deadly Doris related projects by René Block, Peggy Ahwesh and others. The programme will be introduced by Martin Schmitz (Berlin). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- VERANSTALTER / ORGANIZER: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wand 5 e.V. im Filmhaus Friedrichstr. 23 A 70174 Stuttgart Tel 0711-99 33 98-0 Fax 0711-99 33 98-10 wanda at wand5.de www.wand5.de -- Benjamin Fischer | http://www.typedown.com/?RDCT=f95611a1725678ad8ae1 From quraishy at sarai.net Mon Apr 26 17:27:43 2004 From: quraishy at sarai.net (quraishy) Date: Mon, 26 Apr 2004 17:27:43 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Posting on behave of Naresh Fernandesh (Sarai-CSDS Independent Fellow) Message-ID: <408CF937.7020806@sarai.net> Hi Peole , I am posting this article on the behave of Naresh Fernandesh . He is an Independent Fellow of Sarai. He is working on Jazz Goes To Bollywood. Thank You, Quraishy Jazz Goes To Bollywood It could only have happened in the Hindi movies. Geeta Bali and Bhagwan are swinging through /Shola Jo Bhadke/ in the 1951 classic /Albela/, when the camera cuts to the musicians providing the rhythm for their terpsichorean fantasies. In keeping with the tune’s throbbing Cuban beat, the members of the band are wearing Latinesque frills. Suddenly, the leader steps forward and smiles broadly at the audience in a show of tribute to his real-life hero, a jazz star from distant New Orleans. This is Chic Chocolate, who also was known as the Louis Armstrong of India. It’s a crazy, muddled up, wonderful world. Chic – who was born Antonio Xavier Vaz – was among the Bombay-based Goan Roman Catholic musicians who haunted the city’s numerous jazz clubs by night, but spent their days blowing up a storm in the Hindi film studios. His partners in song included the trumpet players Frank Fernand, Peter Monserrate and Chris Perry; the trombonist Anibal Castro; and the drummer Lester Godinho. As the titles roll on the Bollywood classics of the ’50s, the credit for creating the scores goes to music directors like Anil Biswas, C. Ramachandra and Shankan-Jaikishan. But the vital contribution of their assistants – who often were Goan jazzmen – goes almost unnoticed. *Jazz Goes To Bollywood* will tell the stories of the jazz musicians who arranged some of the best-loved Hindi film tunes and without whom the Sound of India would never have been created. The Goan dominance of the Hindi film audioscape is largely a function of the structural differences between Indian and Western music. Indian classical music is melodic, composed of unilinear ragas. Individual vocalists or instrumentalists in this tradition each explore independent lines. But to move an audience, film scores must be performed by orchestras of massed instruments playing in harmony. Only Goans – with a 400-year-old heritage of Western music education established by the Portuguese who ruled their home territory – knew how to belt out what was required. But in addition to performing the tunes, Goan musicians played a vital role in crafting them. That’s because many of the men who composed the scores for Hindi films were stepped in the Hindustani music tradition and couldn’t write music. Besides, they had only a vague notion of the potential of the orchestras they employed. That’s why many of them hired Goan assistants. To hear old-time jazzmen tell it, the music director would come to the studio and sing a line (or pick it out on the harmonium) to his Goan amanuensis. The assistant would transcribe the melody on sheet paper. But it isn’t as if the assistant was merely taking dictation. It was his job to compose the parts for the banks of violins and cellos, for the horn sections, the piano and the percussion. It was also often his task to craft the introductions and bridges between verse and chorus. Drawing from their experience in the jazz clubs and from their training in Western classical music, the Goan music assistants slipped in Bach fugues, Portuguese fados and a variety of jazz: Count Basie stomps, Dixieland swing, Ellingtonian doodles, earthy blues. It’s clear that Bollywood scores would lack their characteristic promiscuous charm if but for the efforts of these anonymous Indian jazzmen. *Jazz Goes To Bollywood* will be a journalistic recounting of how the hot music of Bombay’s jazz clubs came to permeate the Hindi film studios and will retrace the lives of the Roman Catholic musicians who taught India how to jazz it up. Among others, it will follow men like Sebastian D’Souza (who did his best-known work for Shankar and Jaikishan between 1952 and 1975); Chic Chocolate (who assisted C. Ramachandra – the man popularly acclaimed for having introduced swing to the Hindi films); the legendary Anthony Gonsalves (who taught the composer Pyarelal how to play the violin); and Frank Fernand (who worked with such greats as Anil Biswas, Hemant Kumar and Kishore Kumar). The project will tell the story of how their journeys from Portuguese India through the British Indian Empire left a lasting impression on Hindi film music. The project will trace the musical innovations they introduced from faraway America – innovations whose origins long have been forgotten. For instance, as R.D. Burman’s raucous growl continues to thrill listeners, few remember that he discovered the sound after hearing Chic Chocolate’s Louis Armstrong imitations. But *Jazz Goes to Bollywood* will do more than merely establish the breadth of Bollywood’s influences. It will explore the culture of exchange and osmosis that allowed disparate influences to meld together under the music director’s baton. In the end, it will throw light on the nature of syncreticism in the Hindi film industry as it documents the efforts of Indians from various communities to find common ground through music. Posting Number 2 Jazz goes to Bollywood I’ve spent the month tracking down information about the early history of jazz in India and acquiring early jazz recordings made in this country. I had interesting interviews with Frank Fernand and Mickey Correa, the last surviving Indian jazzmen from the 1930s, the era in which the music first established itself in the subcontinent. Fernand is a Goan trumpet player who learned his art at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai, playing in the African-American dominated bands of Crickett Smith and Teddy Weatherford. Mickey Correa is a multi-instrumentalist who became the first Indian to lead the dance band at the Taj, heading the lineup for 30 years after Independence until diphtheria forced him to seek less strenuous employment. Cricket Smith was an African-American cornet player who played at the Taj Mahal Hotel in the 1936-’37 season. His compatriot Weatherford was a pianist who led bands with shifting personnel at the same hotel soon after. Both of them had respectable reputations in their home country. Cricket Smith, born in 1883, had been part of the U.S. music scene at the critical movement when jazz was evolving from the more primitive forms of vaudeville and ragtime. He made some crucial recordings in 1913-14 with an outfit led by James Reese Europe, before heading out to South America and Asia. Teddy Weatherford was a pianist whose style was a major influence on the legend Earl Hines. He left the U.S. in 1926, spending the rest of his career mainly in India and China. He married an Anglo-Indian woman and died in Calcutta in 1945. Both these American musicians played a vital role in teaching Indian jazzmen how to play what was then called “hot music”. Both also made jazz recordings in the subcontinent. The earliest mention of an American-American musician performing in India, though, goes back much further: there’s evidence to show that William H. Bernard, a performer of a style called minstrelsy, stopped by in the subcontinent on his way back from Australia in 1849. Other African-American musicians followed him over the next few decades. The earliest jazz tracks I’ve been able to acquire were made in 1926 by Lequime’s Grand Hotel Orchestra, which performed at the famous Calcutta hotel. They’re titled “Soho Blues” and “The House Where The Shutters Are Green”. An aside: the vocalist and banjo player on these songs is Al Bowly, a South African who later found fame in England as the British answer to Bing Crosby. He earned the nickname “The Swoon”, evidently a description of his effect on the women in the audience. From April 1936, I found recordings by Crickett Smith’s outfit of “Taj Mahal Foxtrot”, essentially an advertisement for his employer. Teddy Weatherford also recorded a few tunes at the time, for the Rex label. A recording from 1942 of the All Star Swing Band is interesting, among other things, for its trumpet player: George Banks, father of the Indian jazz legend Louis Banks. I’ve also managed to track down four recordings by Ken Mac, the Anglo-Indian musician who performed regularly around Mumbai. These tracks, though, are less jazzy and are merely in the big band style. Skipping ahead a few decades, I found a 45 recorded in 1966 by Toni Pinto, a pianist who led a band for 16 years at Mumbai’s Ambassador. It has three tracks, two originals on one side, the standard “Autumn Leaves” on the other. I’d be grateful if any of the readers of this list could point me to more Indian jazz recordings. I’m at fernandesn at vsnl.net . Posting Number 3 I used a week last month to head off to Goa to interview a few musicians who played an important role in helping Hindi film music develop harmonically. The most significant of them was Anthony Gonsalves, who gave his name to Amitabh Bachchan’s character in “Amar Akbar Anthony” and who is immortalised in the song from that film which begins, “My name is Anthony Gonsalves…” The song was music director Pyarelal’s tribute to his violin teacher. But Gonsalves wasn’t just a music instructor. He was an important innovator and, in 1958, composed one of the first raga-based symphonies, which was performed by a 110-piece orchestra in the quadrangle of St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai. The orchestra had an Indian and a Western section, each with its own chorus, which sang in Latin, Konkani and Hindi. Lata Mangeshkar and Manna Dey were among the soloists. Born in the southern Goa village of Majorda in 1927, Gonsalves’s father was the director of music at the local church and the younger Gonsalves began music lessons at the age of three. After directing church choirs himself for a few years, Gonsalves headed to Mumbai in 1943 to try to put his talents as a violinist to work in the Hindi film industry. The music director Naushad was his first employer. For the first time, Gonsalves was exposed to Hindustani music and, as he put it, he “fell in love forever”. Gonsalves was an exception among the Goan Catholic musicians in the industry. Most of them thought that Hindi film music was too simplistic for their Western classically oriented and jazz-stuffed ears, and claimed that playing in the studios was a necessary way of making a living. Gonsalves, however, immediately signed up for Hindustani lessons: he studied with Pandit Ram Narayan, Pandit Shyam Sunder and Ustad Inam Ali Khan. Using the money he earned from arranging music for more than 100 films, Gonsalves eventually put together the Indian Symphony to give voice to his attempts to compose harmonic versions of ragas. He scored pieces for chamber groups (giving his fantasies such titles as “Sonatina Indiana”) as also for the orchestra; his works for the orchestra included “Concerto In Raag Sarang” and “Goenchim Xetam”. Gonsalves quit the industry in the mid-60s to study at Syracuse University in upstate New York. I also did an interesting interview with Emiliano D’Cruz, who played Latin American music in several Mumbai nightclubs with a group that initially called itself Emiliano and his Gay Caballeros until the leader, whose grasp on English slang was only tenuous because he’d grown up speaking Portuguese, finally realised the implication of the adjective. Like so many Goan musicians, D’Cruz took refuge in the studio when Mumbai’s nightclubs went into decline, playing violin on countless films and attempting unsuccessfully to strike out as a composer in his own right: his Portuguese-trained sensibility didn’t allow him to really get under the skin of Hindi film tunes, he confessed. From basharatpeer at rediffmail.com Fri Apr 23 20:20:57 2004 From: basharatpeer at rediffmail.com (basharat peer) Date: 23 Apr 2004 14:50:57 -0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Second Posting:Shrinking Public Spaces in a City of Bunkers Message-ID: <20040423145057.4470.qmail@webmail36.rediffmail.com> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040423/5c5a3393/attachment.html -------------- next part --------------   Second Posting:Shrinking Public Spaces in a City of Bunkers Hi All, Over the last few months I have been exploring Srinagar, though other commitments kept taking me out of the city. Primarily I was walking through the city, interviewing people on the way and spending time at the secular and the sacred landmarks in Srinagar. I am tempted to get into the specific descriptions of what I found on the way but to brief I barely mention the places and some general conclusions, while keeping the narratives for the final presentation. One important realisation has been the need to re-look at the very title of my fellowship. I have felt like deleting the ‘Shrinking’ word at occasions, when I faced breezes of individual freedom in the mundane occurrences like a careless political talk chat at a coffee shop in Lal Chowk, the city centre; the growth of snooker and cyber cafés presenting an escape to the local youth or the expanding the limits of the ‘normal time’ to return home by an hour or so. But other instances of discovering Srinagar prove that the invisible and the visible entry signs are still staring at us. Be it entering Srinagar via the Jammu-Srinagar highway, visiting the Shankaracharya temple a little ahead or roaming through the remains of Moghul prince Dara Shukhoh’s library, known as Pari Mahal, you come to realise that most of the markers of Srinagar’s history have turned into barracks inaccessible to the average resident of the city. The spaces are not shrinking just physically but in the mental domain too. While cricketing times relaxed the soldier’s and the militant’s fingers on the rifle trigger, the general elections and the subsequent increase in violence has again shrunk Srinagar like a fist closing in on sponge of humanity. And beyond the political ups and downs, the city remain in a constant mixture of calculation and caution against free, reckless verbal and physical behaviour, like a child conscious of the watching of gaze of an adult watching over. I hope to ‘complete’ my exploration of the Srinagar by June and intend to make the final presentation a mixture of stories, which would best represent these months of loitering in the city and the analysis of it all. Looking forward to your suggestions, Best, Basharat Independent Journalist, Srinagar, basharatpeer at rediffmail.com From chandernigam at rediffmail.com Sun Apr 25 20:46:54 2004 From: chandernigam at rediffmail.com (chander nigam) Date: 25 Apr 2004 15:16:54 -0000 Subject: [Reader-list] second posting Message-ID: <20040425151654.3455.qmail@webmail25.rediffmail.com> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040425/b02c52df/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- Hi friends sorry for delayed posting. I hope you will try to understand the peculiar situation, under which I am working. I do not get much time to write after the exhausting courts work. Koi baat nahin. I have much to share with you. While I am writing this note I have several things in my mind but I would try to concentrate myself primarily on some of the court cases, which I am following in the court after a very brief chat with Jeebesh last month. But before coming to the court cases I would like to share the general scenario in the court premises briefly. Right in front of the Metro Station there is gate of Tis Hazaari Courts. If you enter into the court premises between 10am to 3 pm from this gate you will see blue colored buses having very small nets (slightly bigger than the mosquito nets) on its windows. And if your eyes are ready to bear the pain you can watch how ruthlessly people are pitted inside the buses. In fact the MCD vans carry the animals better than the blue colored van. Yes, these blue buses are nothing but the Delhi Police vans and the people pitted into the vans are inmates. Delhi Police brings them for their appearance in different courts on every date. These vans stop in front of the huge gate (behind this gate there are several other gates) of ‘Hazat’ (lock up) and the inmates are kept into it. If you hardly walk two-three steps on the same side you can easily watch a large number of men and women, badly dressed up (mostly in dirty and torn cloths) spread in groups are trying to have a glimpse of their relatives and acquaintances. And the personals of DAP running behind them with their LATTHHS. This is the usual scene of the ‘hazat’ of the court. The people, who come to meet their acquaintances, first try to sit outside the huge iron wall of the hazat, but in front of DAP’s abuse and chase they have to search other space to sit over. So, the parked scooters, the walls of parking and the backside of the Court no. 38 (CMM’s court) finally become their waiting point. The moment a blue van enters into the gate, the groups sitting at different waiting points start soughting like, “aa gayi aa gayi, char number wali aa gayi.” “aare nahin, yeh to paanch number wali hai.” Actually, this ‘char number wali’ or ‘paanch number wali’ is nothing but the jail numbers in Tihar and the van comes from every jail. Anyway, This is followed by the procedure of appearances of inmates in different courts. Holding the hands of inmates very tactfully, the Delhi Armed Police (DAP) staffs take them to the concerned courts, which is spread all over the three floors of the huge court building. Here one can watch the real scene! The interesting scene! The inmates are going along with DAP staffs, their acquaintances are running behind them for having a clear glimpse and whispering something personal or private. And doing this sometimes relatives start running with the inmates, which is generally not allowed and objected by the DAP staff. Now comes the stage of negotiation. The acquaintances start with offering 10 or 20 rupees to the DAP and finally reaching at 50-100 rupees note the compromises are made. And by the time one reach to the compromise they reach very close to courts. Anyway, the DAP staffs keeps the money very tactfully and say, “koi nahin, wapsi me baat kar lena.” And in the wapsi they say, “jaldi karo-jaldi karo, bahut ho gaya.” Here what I want to point out is that this happens only in case of poor and illiterate types of inmates, who do not have any clue of the official way of meeting with the relatives. They can meet with their acquaintances getting only an order by concerned magistrates, which they generally pass. And you know, such kind of persons comprise the biggest section of the inmates. Otherwise for the rich and affluent section of inmates such meetings are not a big deal. The hand-holders never object them. If fact the moment they came out of lock up, you can see them surrounded by their relatives and friends like they are walking in their home. Many a times I myself have seen the court appearance of king pin like Romesh Sharma and Tandoor fame Shushil Sharma freely. Anyway I think I should stop here with my descriptions, otherwise it would be detailed instead of my promise of brief. NOw. let me talk something from the court cases. Although, I am following a number of cases but I would like to discuss the legal status of one matrimonial case and one criminal case. And through these two cases I will also try to convey the procedure and behavior of courts, staff and of course of my fraternity i.e., advocate. Since these cases are on trail I am not mentioning the name of courts and concerned magistrates and counsels, even then I am requesting my friends not to quote the facts and figures anywhere otherwise I shall be made the next accused probably under the OSA. Firstly I would like to discuss the facts of ASMA AND OTHER VERSUS IQBAL. According the case the petitioner ASMA was married to the respondent IQBAL on 21-06-1997, at Balia, UP. After marriage the petitioner’s family came to Delhi and settled here. Asma’s family had spent a lot of money, even beyond his limit in the marriage and met all the demands of the respondent’s family. In fact they had given some cash and kind also in the dowry. But the respondent’s family was not satisfied with items brought by the petitioner. They all started taunting and harassing the petitioner that she did not bring adequate amount of dowry. They insisted her to ask her parents to bring Rs. 10, 000. But Asma refused to act according to her in-laws by saying that they are not in a position to give the said amount, they gave merciless beatings to her. Even the petitioner was given beatings at the time of her pregnancy. Petitioner gave birth to a male child in the March 2000. After some time see fell ill but she was not given medication there. Finally she wrote to her parents about her illness and the ill treatment of in-laws. After that father of Asma came to Balia and took her back to Delhi for her treatment. The moment her husband knew that see got well, came and took her to his home in Balia. And the same harassment and beating things started happening again. Again she wrote to her parents in November 2002. Her father again came and brought her to Delhi. But through different sources her in-laws continiously pressrised her to come back with the asked amount and threatened her that if filed any case against him and his family members then he would kill her son. Now, petitioner is living with her son in her parental house since 14-11-2002. She filled the case for maintenance through her counsel on 10-9-2003. Next date of hearing was given as 5-11-2003 for appearance of respondent. But he did not turn up to the court on the above said dated. Neither court nor the counsel knows what happened to the first three summons issued by the court. Only the last summon i.e., the fourth one returned with the remark of postman, “BAAR BAAR JANE PAR BHI KOI NAHIN MILTA”. The next date of hearing was 9-1-2004 but again he did not turn up. The court again issued summon through the registered post and DASTI (Actually, dasti is a process of serving notice to someone, in which any person who has acquaintance with the respondent are send with the process server or individually to delver the court notice) as well and fixed 17th March as the next date of hearing. The registered summon went through its own way but no body from petitioner side became ready to go with the dasti summon and the reason they said that, “unka bahut logon se wahan par jaan-pahchaan hai, kahin kutch karva hi diya to kaun guarantee lega? vakil sahab lenge?” Anyway, the next date came and same thing was repeated again. The court again issued summon and gave the next date of hearing, which is 31st May. This time the advocate requested for summon through the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) of District Balia. Summon via CJM is another way of issuing notice to the respondent, in which the summon goes through the court under which jurisdiction the respondent resides. The petitioner is a poor woman. Apart from the counsel’s fees (which is not less than Rs. 5000/-) she has to spend Rs.200/- on every date of hearing for filling the process fees and the charge of registered post (PF & RC). Without filling the PF & RC summons can’t be issued. The economic and social condition of her in-laws is much better than her. Their every refusal of getting noticed cost her too much. Most interesting story is this that the courts issued summons five times but only one summon returned. Let us see what happens to the next date of hearing, which is almost after one month. More than seven months have already passed but service of notice is still considered to be effective by the court. While in the court’s functioning and procedure after 21 days of serving notice it is assumed that the party has already received notice and on the basis of that the magistrate can pass the order, and in such cases it can be ex-party (in favor of the petitioner) decree. But what I want to highlight here is that the process of summoning someone is so lengthy that the petitioner starts loosing his/her patience. In this case petitioner’s family has started saying that VAKILSAHAB KUCH KARO, KITNE DIN AUR LAGENGE. And this is the perfect case where the slogan, “ justice delayed is justice denied” deems fit. Now let me share something about another case, which is quite different from the former. This is related to a bad character (BC) of a police station in North West District. Actually the BC is a character, who in case of any robbery or theft or any other criminal occurrence in that locality which he belongs to, made responsible for that by the local police station. Or in other words he is supposed to be well connected and well informed about any crime in his/her locality and with that assumption police try to nab him first as the main source of crime. The story goes like this, a robbery case occurred in his area, which followed by the midnight knock at his door by the local police as usual. The police personals called him by their own way. Hearing the knock his wife walked to the door and tried to have a glimpse of the callers. It was police. She replied from inside, “woh nahin hai ghar me”. Policewallah asked that they wanted to search her house. She refused and said that if she was saying that he is not in the house then why they were insisting for search. But they continued with their demand. Finally she said, “agar aaplog nahin manoge to main khud to khatam kar lungi.” Police has its own way of interpretation of any subject. They thought that she is speaking lie and simply threatening them. So by saying ‘koi baat nahin’ they again asked for search of her house. Finally she went to her kitchen and after pouring kerosene on her body came near the door and said, “maine mitti ka del urel liya hai apne upar agar ab bhi nahin mane to main aag laga lungi. “Main matchis dun kya” was the reply from outside. She opened the door and police wallah ‘badhaoed’ the matchis to her and finally she burnt herself. Looking the burning body the policewallah left the place appallingly. Since her husband was afraid of his arrest he also fled from the scene. Anyway, after a few days her husband was arrested in the previous case and sent to Tihar. Now, for the last two months he is struggling for getting bail. Neither he nor his family members has any idea of how to act in this case. They do not know the prose and cons of the legal affairs. However, it is a clear case of abetment of suicide under section 306 of IPC against the police personals and under this section punishment is imprisonment of either description for a term, which may extend to 10 years and the accused shall also be liable to fine. This offence under section 306 is cognizable, non bailable and non compoundable. But who will fight for this case? Who will help them in getting justice? No one knows after his release whether he will fight for his wife or not. His counsel says that he is paid only for bailing him out so why he should bother about the suicide. If I will be paid for the next case that is section 306, I will fight for that also. I am not a social worker. Let the social workers do their work. This is the status of only two cases but in number of other cases situation are more or less similar. Apart from following some of cases, I am also trying to collect the statistics of cases in Tis Hazari both in terms of civil as well as criminal cases. I want to collect the number of cases come into the court yearly. And in this regard I have started looking at criminal cases of two of the police stations and trying to find out the statistics of last 2-3 years. Actually the main purpose of doing this exercise is that I am interested in understanding the pattern of crimes and its trends in the last few years. My experience speaks that this is a very tough kind of job to get such data, especially in terms of criminal matters. Anyway I have collected some data from one of the police stations, but since it is not substantial, I am not writing about that right now. But I will try to write the detail in this regard very soon. You are most welcome with your suggestions and comments. Thanks and regards Chander   From dknitenine at hotmail.com Mon Apr 26 11:47:32 2004 From: dknitenine at hotmail.com (dknite nite) Date: Mon, 26 Apr 2004 06:17:32 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] next draft. Message-ID: Family and Work The coal industry in the Jharia coalfield had started working from the decade of the 1890s. The laboring masses, in an increasing number, had begun pouring for colliery work from different parts of South Asia. The Mazdoors who initially joined colliery came mainly from the contiguous areas and neighbouring districts. The males, females, and children of these families worked together in colliery. This was true by and large for both underground and surface works. In my first chapter, I have discussed the nature of streams of mining classes taking up colliery work between 1890�s and 1970�s. From the early years of the decade the 1900�s, the migration began to flow from relatively distant areas into the colliery work . They also joined colliery largely as �Family Mazdoors�. Some of them were, though, single male workers. This category of labour swelled in numbers during the boom period of coal trade (1915-19) and its aftermath . The mining community lived in three kinds of homes in the coalfield. One- those miners who lived in their Bustees in the nearby mines. Second, those who lived in the Dhowrahs obtained from the Company. Third those who lived in self-built huts of mud and straw. The second and third types of homes constituted the dominant form of the colliery bastis/pada/neighborhoods and grew around each colliery. This relocation around collieries meant the �re-organisation of their lives�. They had to cope with the �colliery working and living contexts� (at the work place and the Dhowrahs). For instance, the mining people who worked in a �family gang�, had to habituate to the situation when women workers were withdrawn from underground work from the decade of the 1920�s onwards . In reaction there was an exodus from collieries. Some miners protested. Similarly, Mazdoors� families had to struggle and devise ways for sustaining the combination between task of production and reproduction (of physique as well as generation). While, the industrial regime worked to redesign the organisation of their lives and scope of familial- social obligation, workers sought to maintain their own conception of family life. This chapter is intended to study the following set of questions. What was the form of organisation of �socio-familial relation� of mazdoors? How did they apprehend the �socio-familial time�? In what ways and, how far the labour/time regime in the mines affected the organisation of mazdoors� socio-familial relation? How did mining community react to the challenges? I What do I understand by the term �family�? We have at least two sets of well acknowledged definitions of �Family�. 1. A group of people tied with each other along the blood- line and sharing one household. 2. A group of people who share a marital and generational bond between each other. And, they are a part of a household economy. I see some limitations in these conceptions. They heavily emphasize on �biological ties� & �legal relation�, and household economy. In contrast, a family of a group of people may exist, whose members feel a sense of ties/attachment with each other. And the feeling is both substantial and concrete. I have deployed this meaning/ understanding of a family in the subsequent analysis. II There was more than one form of �social- familial organisation� amongst the colliers. [The latter lived and conceived those organisation at different levels]. One form of socio-familial organisation was a �family gang�. They lived in Dhowrahs, allotted to them by companies. The Santhals from Hazaribagh & Santhal Pargana, the Bauris from Burdwan, Bakura & Manbhum, the Rajwars from Manbhum, the Bhuiyans from Monghyr worked in family gangs . These families included the husband, the wife, the children, and even some other kith & kin. But, some of the family miners preferred to live in their houses in bastis, and did not live in Dhowrahs. They were predominantly the Santhal of nearby areas/bastis. They lived there with their kith of the same social group. At this time members of a social group known as Mahto also lived in those bastis. Bishu Mahto reported �people were simple and honest � the original inhabitants- the Santhals and Mahtos lived together amicably�almost like members of the same family� . There is, hence, a notion of a �bastis family� Dhowrahs were very crowded from the early years of mining. On an average around one dozen people lived in a small room. The workers preferred to live with fellow workers of their kith or same caste/ territory/ jila (district)/ilaka/gaon- group . I would call these forms of social organisation as a communitarian-family. Some of them were socio-familial group, which did not maintain regular links to the kin living in their bastis of origin. The proportion of this form of labour was very small till the 1920�s. It was around 15% of the total work force . An overwhelming majority of miners maintained their contact with their kin and homes in villages. They were located within an �extended family�. Chitra Joshi has shown largely similar phenomena in the case of Kanpur textile workers. These were Mazdoors from both adjacent and distant areas. The single male workers, who constituted a large section of the miners by 1920�s, were largely of this category. Some of them had to bring their female-folks. It was done for obtaining work of malcuttas, a job with better pay . A great number of male workers could not bring their female counterparts and children. They preferred to work as a trammer, timber-mistri and other surface works, where a family gang did not work. They lived in dhowrahs, in which a group of single male workers lived. They preferred a fellow worker of own kith & kin, of the same Gaon/ elaka (socio-cultural territory, and not essentially administrative one). Over time the para/ dhowrahs developed along the line of caste/ elaka community. We hear of Bhuiya Dhowrahs, Bauri, Paschima Dhowrahs etc. I want to explore whether employers planned such type of housing/ spatial arrangements. This form of configuration of socio-familial relationship led the formation of different cohesive circles of miners. This socio-familial relation was manifest even at the workplace. A sizeable number of miners worked belowground as a family gang. They were not always linked to each other through marital and parental ties. The pairs of malcuttas and loaders of family gangs contained the males and the females of broad socio- familial groupings. Workers preferred to be paired with the colliers of their kin/ caste/ tribe/bastis/elaka. The Kamins, working belowground in the 1910�s and 1920�s, declined to work along side the male workers other, than the members of their �socio- familial groupings�. The Kamins of the social group like, the Santhals, the Rajwars, the Mahtos, the Bhuiyans, the Bilaspuris, some of the Bauris, etc refused to accompany Paschima male miners, as loaders. III Case study: �Household family majdoors� were employed in two ways in colliery works. One, they worked belowground in form of family gangs. Second those families whose members worked at surface. Male members worked as malcuttas and female members as loaders in the case of belowground work. They slogged to carry the combined tasks of production and reproduction even at the colliery workplace. They took their babies and elder children there. The latter members also worked as loaders along side of their parents. The attempts of combining production and reproduction tasks seem took some time out from work. But, mining families had never seen it in that way. For them those tasks were organically associated . L.Barnens in her fieldwork noted that the women workers often narrated with joy �the work they did below ground, the people they worked with, members of their gang- and how they used to sing and work�. Mostly, kamins used to revert back to their village-homes during the period of child bearing and rearing (initial years of it). Santhal women loaders interviewed in the later 1920�revealed that �they often absented themselves for 6 months or one year at the time of childbirth. After this, they could return to the mines &take up employment again�. Thus, Kamins could combine production & reproduction /familial tasks in the collieries at this time, as in the pre colliery days. While� male members could largely continue their work. It has been the conventional conception that industrial economy created disjunction between the temporal organisation of productive task and reproductive/ familial �obligations at the work. In the case of Jharia collieries the miners strove for combinely carrying on both �tasks�. They were subject to the process of regidification of labour regime/work regime during second half of the decade of the 1920�s. These took place especially in big mines (European owned). These mines had gone through the progression of investment in technological capital. Colliery owners wanted quick and greater return from their investment in technological upgradation, so they also wanted their miners to use maximally those machines and organization of production. Mazdoors, thus, witnessed and experienced the increasing demand from their employers for �greater regularity� at work and greater attention towards it. This resulted in intensification of work for respective miners. This change (business strategy) influenced and was manifest on the employers� talks/discourses of time routine. Employers, managers and supervisory authorities, towards the late 1920s, began to bemoan vociferously against the ostensible �irregular, irrational and non-disciplined/non-efficient working pattern� of Indian miners. From 1925 onwards CIMAR (D.P.Denman), European and big colliery owners agreed-in contrast to their position in previous years-�that women at present keep cost up by hampering the work. They are very largely in the way and prevent speeding up. They lead to difficulties about discipline and that sort of thing reduces output�. Now, the Kamins suffered from their forceful gradual removal from belowground works. It had begun to take place even before the declaration of act of 1929 (seeking the withdrawal of Kamins from belowground). From 1929-30 onwards their withdrawal increased, particularly in those big collieries favoring such replacement or/and retrenchment. Some collieries tended to provide works at surface to some withdrawal Kamins. It was allotted according to the pressing need of work to Kamins. In practice, the munshi authorized for allotting such work demanded sexual favour from respective Kamins. IV How did family gangs experience and cope with the attempts by mine owners to intensify labour? Intensification disrupted their household-familial organisation of their lives. For male counterparts production and reproduction obligations became unmanageable. It could have happened due to more than one reason. They could hardly afford the non-working/non-earning members in existing economy of households. An average real earning of miners was inadequate even to the minimum basic subsistence needs of mining household-family . Employers, stuck with mercantilist labour economy, had been far short of paying �family-wage� in the Jharia coalfield. There was a practice of working together between these labouring poor for their sustenance . The male and female members of those families used to share household-familial tasks at homes. One old women worker reported to L.Barnes that after returning back from work both she and her husband used to jointly do house works such as, cooking, child-caring etc. Theme of joint work recurs from their joyful memories of working careers. It is also mentioned during the debate on the withdrawal of Kamins participants. Some old Kamins informed me in Dubaree colliery that these Kamins also worked to build their own houses of mud and straw. Inadequacy of Dhowrahs and of sharing rooms with sometimes more than dozen of members of a socio- family was a problem acutely felt by them. Mining community adopted more than one strategy to cope with the situation, and they responded in multifarious ways. They now evolved new tactics. The Kamins hid their children in mines, when white men visited, and left �older� ones in the care of family members or other retired/old women in Dhowrahs, [after the ban on child labour (below 13 years) in 1923]. They, thus, contrived to come to term with the regimenting work- discipline. I would like to explore further, how colliers came to terms with the new rules and regulations? Yet, some Kamins could not successfully fight the gradual process of marginalisation. [The conservative philanthropists, scholars, the �masculine�- labour economy of the employers and the State acted in collusion against the rights of the Kamins to employment]. One �proletariat philanthropist� � Kamini Roy � advocated the voice of such Kamins, and also demanded maternity benefit. Some hundreds of family Majdoors remonstrated. In 1930-31 several pairs of Malcuttas and loaders -from Santhals, Bauris and Bilaspuris- social groups in particular, left the coalmines in search of works, in the places they could work together. In this context some of them concentrated themselves in quarry works in coalfield. Thousand of males and females Mazdoors organised a protest- demonstration in 1934 in Jamadoba. [I will discuss the significance of this demonstration for the examination of domestic economy. I would like to explore how workers came to terms with the new rules and regulations.] [One may examine a question: why the mining class could not come to resist collectively that onslaught?] The existing formal labour unions were not opposed to that. In fact, they voiced in favour of 1929 Act . Some of the participants of discussion such as, Royal Commission on Labour- recommended wage increase otherwise, poor miners might get away from colliery works. A trade union leader from second half of 1930�s demanded for �family wages� to compensate the loss of income to miners- families. It became one of the core demands of labour unions, in response to withdrawal of Kamins. This in some way helped to de-prioritise the demands/voices of �family-miners�. But, family majdoors struggled to get scope for continuing wage works. They steeped, in some collieries, to foster a little reprieving practice. The kamins who were lay-off could get work at surface for a few days in a week. Here, they had to sometime suffer from the sexual victimisation by Munshi responsible for distribution of works. B L E C in 1938, noted that munshi used to ask for sexual favour from Kamins in return of award of regular employment. There were a higher number of job seekers including women and men. Munshis tended to exploit this situation . Every one could not grease the palm of munshis. Some Kamins from Bauri social-group in particular succeeded in obtaining their ends by serving / making such nexus . The formation of such rapport did not essentially disrupt their household-familial relation. It in some cases led the making of a household-familial relation between those of munshi and Kamins. Illyas Ahmad Gaddi discusses such cases of (live-in) in his novel �Fire Area�. This was also expressed in the folk-tales of a Kamins, I have quoted in chapter one (p-5-6, section-I). It is sometime portrayed in terms of intensified practice of relation of prostitution in the Jharia coalfield. I would, rather like to suggest that one needs to make distinction between operation of �socio-familial� relation, and, of prostitution. The former was beckoned aiming to make earning through tasks of actual production. Now, family miners needed to assert them in one more way. The Kamins had to show their regular presence at work. It required a re-designing of relation between work and the time of child bearing and rearing. To practice the old form of its organisation i.e. to reverting to gaon for a period of � to1 year was �costlier�. In this situation those who could secure jobs started increasing demand for maternity benefits. V Upshots: . this is sent by dhiraj kumar nite. i would like to invite your critical comments & suggestions. i have sent drafts on my research project previously on dak at sarai.net. i came to know just today that postings are invited on reader at sarai.net. _________________________________________________________________ Pay Cash on delivery of� products. http://go.msnserver.com/IN/47509.asp Free Registration on Baazee.com From kalpagam25 at rediffmail.com Fri Apr 23 11:04:35 2004 From: kalpagam25 at rediffmail.com (kalpagam - umamaheswaran) Date: 23 Apr 2004 05:34:35 -0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Here's the posting for April-Roadside Temples Message-ID: <20040423053435.9752.qmail@webmail10.rediffmail.com> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040423/75814ea5/attachment.html -------------- next part --------------  Roadside Temples in Chennai- Second Posting I had last indicated that this time I will discuss what I have found in the field so far. In this I will discuss the temples I have visited so far. In the next posting I will discuss what women respondents have so far told me. I hope that with what I have gathered so far, I will be able to chalk out the itenary and the strategy of my intensive fieldwork in the month of June. The first temple I visted was the temple of Manikandanswamy opposite Mandaveli market and occupies the pedestrian platform while abutting the Corporation School building. It is clearly a roadside temple and could be considered occupying illegal land. The temple is also known as Ayappan temple and was first put up there in 1978 by one Natarajan, whom the temple pujari asked me to consider as a local "dada". He probably sold vegetables there but had died four years ago. The family of Natarajan still retain control in terms of sweeping and cleaning the temple and takes the hundi collection but the Pujari, also known as Kurukul, who is an AdiSaivam gets to retain the dakshina and no other earnings from the temple. Although the idol was installed in 1979-80, it remained a small temple between 1981-1986, when in 1986 the Navagraham was installed. In 1984 the Kumbabishekam was performed and in 1992 with the support of one of the devotees Ganesan Chettiar the present temple Mandapam was constructed. Although there are no trustees of the temple there are 4 or 5 active devotees. One K.Annaswamy a former employee of Union Bank who had opted for VRS is an active member who since 1997 has been doing the "Panguni Uthsavam" and has ensured that two pujas are performed in a day-morning and evening. On "Panguni Utharam" and a few other days like New Year on Jan 1st, the temple performs Anna Dan for which the active devotees support; even otherwise every Tues, Friday and Saturday the temple distributes prasad of Pongal, Rice and Payasam to about 30 or 40 persons. I was told that on Saturdays the temple attracts crowds. The pujari has been with the temple since 1982. The son of a pujari of a Sivan temple in a village Paachur near Trichy, he belongs to the AdiSaivam caste and has studied upto SSLC but learnt Sanskrit from his father. He had apparently come to Chennai to visit his sister and just stayed on here as a pujari never returning to his village. When he is on leave, his sister's son performs his duties. Apparently when the temple was first started, it was the only Aiyappan temple in Mandaveli, though since then a much bigger one in a nearby posh residential colony MRC Nagar has come up. I interviewed a family of flower sellers at the front of the temple, who claimed they were selling flowers at that spot for the last twenty years. In their estimate about 50 to 60 people visit the temple everyday but more people visit on festival days and months. At this time, in March about 10-15 people visit, though when I was there about 8 people had come by. The flower sellers reported that whereas earlier they had 100 percent profits, they don't get that much these days nor is every temple visitor their customer either. The second temple I visited was just a few yards from the first, also constructed on the corner of the pavement under a big neem tree, known as "Thandumariyamman Koil" which I have known to exist since my primary school days. As the Abishekam was in progress I could not speak to the pujari but the plaque on the wall stated that the Kumbabishekam was done in September 1997 under the leadership of Dr. Viswanatha Sivacharya. The "Dharmagartha" of the temple is a hereditary position currently occupied by a fifth generation incumbent who oversees the temple. It has the support of a few big local people, one of whom Mr. Yellappa Mudaliar, listed in the plague, has a cloth store just opposite the temple for many years. The temple has an interesting history for it originated with a break away group from another temple just opposite to it which claims to have been started in 1913 under the name of "Thandumariyamman Koil". When the splinter group after some controversy started the temple with the same name in 1961, the older one subsequently changed the temple to "Renukambal Mariamman Temple". Until my recent interview, I thought both were just one temple, and the one opposite which in earlier years had stone figures of snakes under the intertwined Neem and Arasam (peepul) trees with a thatched roof was thought by me as the place where they kept the decorated goddess before and after a procession and for community events like the "koozhu" offering. This temple too is on the roadside abutting a flour mill. Some space near the temple even now belongs to the splinter group where they have put up a mantap of Ramalingaswamigal. The pujari of this temple whom I interviewed produced a certificate dated 10-8-1945 which claimed that the temple had been in existence then for 32 years and was managed by the caste members of Vanniyakula Kshatriya in the Mylapore neighbourhood. This "mariamman" temple has attracted many notable visitors like Congress leaders Kamaraj, Bhaktavatsalam and Kakkan as also cine stars like K.R.Vijaya and spiritual figures like Kripananda Warier and Anantharama Dikshidar. This temple has also figured in film shootings, especially of the most popular Tamil film "Aadhi Parashakti" in which actress K.R.Vijaya is shown to be worshipping in the temple and a snake slides down from the main diety. It has also appeared in the Tamil film "Rajarajeswari". The Kumbabishekam for this temple with its new construction was done on September 6th, 1998 but an earlier Kumbabishekam for the Amman was done in 1942. I was shown the "Swayambhu", the snake pit under the neem and arasam tree and stone figures of Rahu, Ketu and so on. The Moolavar or the presiding diety, the Amman goddess is a decked figure on the trunk of an old "Athimaram" or fig tree. I was told that in earlier pre-independence times, there used to be sacrifices of goats and buffaloes for this goddess and that much of the area then were grazing fields for cows and sheep. Today the temple is expanding in its very limited space and has a number of exquisite stone figureines from Uraiyur in Tamilnadu that is noted for these sculptures. The temple also lends the "procession murthis" to other temples. Today the donors for this temple are drawn from Mudaliar, Brahmin and Vanniyar caste people in the neighbourhood. The temple is managed by a group of 11, of families of hereditary trustees, half of whom live in the neighbourhood and the rest are scattered in the city. On days like Krithigai and Sankatachathurthi, there are special pujas in this temple. During the Tamil month of Aadi there is a "Thiruvizha" and special puja offerings on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays. The pujari of this temple is 54 years and was formerly an employee of Coromandel Garments (a Tata unit that supplied clothing to the defence sector) who opted for the VRS scheme. Today he gets no monthly salary as a pujari but gets to keep the "dakshinai" that he receives from the devotees to whom he gives "Vibhuti" and "Theertham". What I have gathered so far suggest certain questions and lines of inquiry in my more detailed survey to follow. First is a classification of temples in terms of size and age. Second why did so many temples perform Kumbabishekam in the 1990s. What is the significance of Kumbabishekam as a community event and as Hindu religious ritual? Does its performance imply the coming under the fold of a more sanskritic form of Hinduism, that is from the more popular variety of Hinduism into a more formalized one? I need to make note of who or which groups start the temple and who subsequently support them, the cross section of devotees they attract, the community events around a temple, issues of temple management, and biographical details of the pujaris. I need to inquire into location choice as well. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Second_Posting_WPad.doc Type: application/msword Size: 13312 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040423/75814ea5/attachment.doc -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Second_Posting_WPad.doc Type: application/msword Size: 13312 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040423/75814ea5/attachment-0001.doc From naveid at rediffmail.com Mon Apr 26 04:06:40 2004 From: naveid at rediffmail.com (naveid pasha) Date: 25 Apr 2004 22:36:40 -0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Origin and Growth of Hzt Nizamuddin Basti: 3rd posting Message-ID: <20040425223640.26219.qmail@webmail31.rediffmail.com> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040425/8c5c4928/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- Giyaspur Se Hazrat Nizamuddin tak This is the study of the origin and development of a settlement, of the socio-economic factors affecting the lives of the people there. An attempt to understand an Urban Structure, its morphology.... The origin of Nizamuddin is obscure, but it is believed to be the personal territory or domain of Giyas-ud-din Balban (1266-1287), the last of the Slave Kings. It was created along with Lal Kot, the first Muslim capital. Balban named the area Giyaspur after himself. He built the palace called Lal Mahal and the surrounding fortifications. The next stage of developments is associated with the Saint Hazrat Nizamuddin, a Sufi saint of the Chishti order. He chose the area very near Balban’s palace, a flat piece of land which he called Chabutara Yaran, as his meeting place. Alauddin Khilji (1296-1316) built the Jamat Khana mosque as he was a disciple of the saint. The saint made some modifications and additions in the area. He constructed the baoli (stepped well) and extended the existing gateway to relate to the baoli. Both these acts are of mystic significance to the local people, but they also demonstrate a vision which was the key factor for the village’s subsequent growth and development. When he died, he was buried in the Chabutara Yaran, as he had desired in his lifetime. This added to its importance and soon the area acquired a new identity, Nizampur after the saint. The village gradually developed, more people came and settled and came to be known as Nizamuddin. The village was embellished by subsequent dynasties of kings and important people by buildings. Feroze Tughlak made the Kali Masjid, a semi covered mosque. Other buildings of interest are the tomb of Ataga Khan, the tomb of Telangani and the Chausath Khamba, the tomb of Mirza Aziz Kokantash. Nizamuddin has the most outstanding collection of Islamic Architecture ranging over a period of 700 years. The buildings vary in visual appearance and material, but yet retain homogeneity. The post Independence period brought a great deal of change to Delhi. The influx of refugees from West Pakistan and there resettlement began the trend of migration to the capital. This rapid rate of population growth caused concern which led to the preparation of the Master Plan for Delhi. The Master Plan declared Nizamuddin a slum to be cleared. The village was red-lined along its existing boundaries, and development proposals were made for the land immediately outside this confined area. The Delhi Development Authority acquired the surrounding land. People relying on the land for agriculture lost their livelihood. The new surrounding development meant that the village could not grow as it had in the past. This led to a marked change in the village structure. The old walls were broken down and new shops were built which opened to the outside. The value of the land in the village increased due to its proximity to central hub of Delhi. This led to demolition of buildings and new high rise construction. This, in turn, caused two new problems: first, the loss of heritage by demolition of buildings, and second, the new buildings spoil the skyline of the historic area. In the past, the size of the building related to their relative importance, resulting in an interesting skyline of domes. The new construction is not only out of scale, but it is also incompatible in the materials used and final visual appearance. The next series of problems within the village were attributed to the general problems of Delhi, one being that of migration. The Muslims from the rural areas of adjoining states are attracted to Nizamuddin. As it is a Muslim neighbourhood, the new arrivals find it the most appropriate area in which to settle. Many of the monuments and dilapidated buildings provide shelter, which is cheap and inexpensive accommodation. The other problem relates to large scale building projects in Delhi. The area near the village of Nizamuddin saw the construction of two flyovers, an open air stadium and numerous office blocks and housing complexes. All of these Government projects require massive labour. This scale of construction brings more migrants from the rural areas. As each project takes a considerable period of time, the labourers settle. The population of Nizamuddin grew without control because of the construction projects in the vicinity. From promod at duaassociates.com Sat Apr 24 13:51:40 2004 From: promod at duaassociates.com (Promod) Date: Sat, 24 Apr 2004 13:51:40 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Contempt of the Supreme Court: Evaluating Arundhati Roy's Case Message-ID: <001401c429d5$2b8ab520$2a01a8c0@promod> DEFINING THE CORRECT PATH OF ART AND LITERATURE: THE SUPREME COURT IN ARUNDHATI ROY'S CASE -Promod Nair [1] The Narmada Bachao Andolan case,[2] a high- profile case with a rather tame judicial ending saw a number of instances of alleged acts of contempt of court being brought to the notice of the Apex Court. The first Petition in this regard was filed by the State of Gujarat bringing to the notice of the Court the allegedly intemperate reaction (by threat of protests, public meetings and of undertaking satyagrahas) of the Narmada Bachao Andolan to the interim orders of the Supreme Court permitting the construction of the dam up to a height to RL 85 metres.[3] The Court's attention was drawn to the article in the weekly news magazine, Outlook under the heading "The Greater Common Good" by Arundhati Roy and a book by the same title written by the author. On 22.7.1999, the Court made the following order: "We have gone through the statements, the press releases, the article and the certain portions of the book referred to above. Prima facie, it appears to us that there is a deliberate attempt to undermine the dignity of the court and to influence the course of justice. These writings, which present a rather one- sided and distorted picture have appeared in spite of our earlier directions restraining the parties from going to the Press etc during the pendency of the proceedings in this Court." The court took offence to the breach of the sub judice rule by members of the NBA and stated that the NBA and its leader. Medha Patkar knowingly made comments on pending proceedings and prima facie disobeyed the interim injunctions issued by the Supreme Court on 11.4.1997 and 5.11.1998 and that these statements appeared to be an attempt to prejudice or interfere with the due course of judicial proceedings. Chief Justice Anand, speaking for the majority (for himself and B.N. Kirpal, J.) stated that "(l)itigants must realise that courts cannot be forced by pressure tactics to decide pending cases in the manner in which the party concerned desires. It will be a negation of the rule of law if the courts were to act under such pressure. The Court then extracted what it considered to be objectionable passages in the book The Greater Common Good[4] by Roy,[5] and these it considered to be a comment on matters connected with the case. The Court stated that the comments made by Roy were, prima facie, a misrepresentation of the proceedings before the Supreme Court and declared that: "(j)udicial process and institution cannot be permitted to be scandalised or subjected to contumacious violation in such a blatant manner in which it has been done by her." The Court then advanced reasons as to why the comments made by Roy amounted to contempt of court: "6. While hypersensitivity and peevishness have no place in judicial proceedings- vicious stultification and vulgar debunking cannot be permitted to pollute the stream of justice. Indeed, under our Constitution there are positive values like right to life, freedom of speech and expression, but freedom of speech and expression does not include freedom to distort orders of the court and present incomplete and a one- sided picture deliberately, which has the tendency to scandalise the court. whatever may be the motive of Ms. Arundhati Roy, it is quite obvious that she decided to use her literary fame by misinforming the public and projecting in a totally incorrect manner, how the proceedings relating to resettlement and rehabilitation had shaped in this Court and distorting various directions given by the Court during the last about 5 years. The writings referred to above have the tendency to create prejudice against this Court. She seems to be wholly ignorant of the task of the Court. The manner in which she has given a twist to the proceedings and orders of the Court is in bad taste and not expected from any citizen, to say the least. 7. We wish to emphasise that under the cover of freedom of speech and expression no party can be given a licence to misrepresent to the proceedings and orders of the court and deliberately paint an absolute wrong and incomplete picture which has the tendency to scandalise the court and bring it into disrepute or ridicule. The right of criticising, in good faith, in private or public, a judgment of the court cannot be exercised, with malice or attempting to impair the administration of justice. Indeed, freedom of speech and expression is the "lifeblood of democracy" but this freedom is subject to certain qualifications. An offence of scandalising the court per se is one such qualification, since that offence exists to protect the administration of justice and is reasonably justified and necessary in a democratic society. It is not only an offence under the Contempt of Courts Act but is sui generis. Courts are not unduly sensitive to fair comment or even outspoken comments being made regarding their judgments and orders made objectively, fairly and without any malice, but no one can be permitted to distort orders of the court and deliberately give a slant to its proceedings, which have the tendency to scandalise the court or bring it to ridicule, in the larger interest of protecting administration of justice. 8. The action of the petitioner and its leaders Ms. Medha Patkar as well as the writings of Ms. Arundhati Roy have caused us much anguish and when we express our displeasure of the action of Ms Arundhati Roy in making distorted writings or the manner in which the leaders of the petitioner Ms Medha Patkar and Mr Dharmadhikari have, after giving assurances to this Court, acted in breach of the injunctions, we do out of anguish and not out of anger. Maybe the parties were overzealous in projecting their point of view on a matter involving a large segment of tribal population, but they should not have given to themselves the liberty of acting in the objectionable manner as already noticed. We are unhappy at the way the leaders of NBA have attempted to undermine the dignity of the Court. We expected better behaviour from them." The Court however refrained from initiating contempt proceedings in view of the "larger interest of the issued pending before" it and given the importance of the issue of resettlement and rehabilitation which was being monitored by the Court for the last five years. The Court expressed its hope that the statements made by it would have the effect of making the petitioner and its leaders to desist from acting in a manner which would have the tendency to interfere with the due administration of justice or which would violate the injunctions issued by the Court.[6] The passages extracted above make for interesting reading. Does ignorance of the task of the Supreme Court of India constitute an offence of contempt of court? Is the offence of contempt of court sui generis in the light of the enactment of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 by the Union Parliament which is a law ".to define and limit the powers of certain courts in punishing contempt of courts and to regulate their procedure in relation thereto"?[7] Can non- repetition of an alleged act of contempt of court by Roy be a valid reason for the court to drop contempt proceedings if the statements made by her previously had the effect of 'scandalising the Court'? Bharucha, J. passed a separate order and while recording his disapproval of the statements made by Medha Patkar, Shripad Dharmadhikari and Arundhati Roy, expressed his disinclination to take action in contempt against them since, in his opinion, the Court's shoulders were broad enough to shrug off their comments and because he felt that the court's focus should not shift from the resettlement and rehabilitation of the oustees. AN ANGRY SUPREME COURT AND THE CONVICTION OF ARUNDHATI ROY[8] On the 15th of January 2002, G.B. Patnaik and Sethi, JJ., of the Supreme Court of India heard arguments in the second contempt case initiated against the writer Arundhati Roy.[9] It is pertinent to set out the brief factual background in which the Court suo motu initiated contempt action against the writer- activist. The first stage of the case for criminal contempt emerged out of the following events:[10] Ø On the 18th of October 2000, the Supreme Court delivered its final judgment in the Sardar Sarovar Case, allowing construction to resume on the controversial dam on the Narmada River.[11] The judgment was controversial, and amongst the most vocal critics of the judgment were Medha Patkar, leader of the Narmada Bachao Andolan, Prashan Bhushan, Counsel for the NBA, and the writer Arundhati Roy. Ø On 13th December 2000, a few hundred people from the Narmada Valley staged a day long dharna (demonstration) outside the gates of the Supreme Court of India protesting against the judgment in the Sardar Sarovar Case. Ø A day later, on the 14th of December 2000, five lawyers attempted to file a First Information Report at the Tilak Marg Police Station, a stone's throw away from the Supreme Court alleging that Patkar, Roy and Bhushan had led a demonstration outside the Supreme Court, shouted filthy slogans against the court, and had physically assaulted the petitioner lawyers and threatened to kill them. The police however did not see much merit in the matter, and decided not to register a case. Ø More than a fortnight later, in January 2001, the same lawyers filed a petition in the Supreme Court for criminal contempt of court against Patkar, Roy and Bhushan.[12] The Supreme Court issued notice to all three, asking them to personally appear before it.[13] The three alleged contemnors responded with individual affidavits denying the charges,[14] and stated that the charges were so ridiculous that even the local police station had not entertained them. These affidavits also pointed out that the petition did not meet any of the conditions required by the Contempt of Courts Act.[15] The judgment in this case was delivered on 28th August 2001 by G.B. Pattanaik and Ruma Pal, JJ. who dismissed the contempt petition. But before venturing to adjudicate the case on its merits, the Supreme Court highlighted the principles relating to the law of contempt. The raison d'etre for the law of contempt was expressed by Ruma Pal, J. thus "12. A civil society is founded on a respect for the law. If every citizen chose to break the law, we would have no society at all, at least not a civil one. It is this respect for the law and of the law- enforcing agencies that, somewhat paradoxically, ensures the freedoms recognized in the Constitution. The respect is at best a fragile foundation. While it is to be built and sustained by the conduct of the persons administering the law, it has to be shored up by sanctions for actual breaches of the law and for actions destroying that respect. The law of contempt is framed for the second purpose." The Court stated that fair criticism was always permissible and in fact was provided for by Section 5 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 which provides that a person shall not be guilty of contempt of court for publishing any fair comment on the merits of any case which has been heard and finally decided. The Court however dwelt on the fact that any such criticism would necessarily have to be fair and that in the guise of criticising a judgment, personal criticism of the judge was impermissible.[16] The Court rightly stated that to ascribe motives to a judge was to sow the seeds of distrust in the minds of the public about the administration of justice as a whole.[17] She also referred to the convention that judges do not defend their decisions in public, and said that if citizens disrespect the persons laying down the law, they cannot be expected to respect the law laid down by them. Justice Pal accepted that the only way a Judge can defend a decision is by the strength of the reasoning in the decision itself, and it was certainly open to being criticised by anone who thought it was erroneous. Having stated the core principles governing the exercise of the contempt jurisdiction, Justice Ruma Pal held on merits that the petition was grossly defective and unsubstantiated and should not even have been accepted by the Registry of the Court. The Court observed that almost every one of the Rules framed by the Court" had been violated and that the petition was "shabbily drafted, procedurally grossly defective". The court also observed that "apart from the defective nature of the petition, the unexplained reluctance on the part of the four petitioners to affirm an affidavit verifying the facts contained in the petition, the failure to even attempt to obtain the consent of the Attorney- General or the Solicitor- General[18] and most importantly, the refusal of the police station to record an FIR on the basis of the complaint lodges by the Petitioner No. 1" were telling circumstances against the case in the petition.[19] The Court went on to say that the Registry ought not to have cleared the petition, and observed that had the attention of the Court been drawn to the procedural defects, it would have had no hesitation in rejecting the application in limine on this ground alone. Having said this, the Supreme Court ought to have dismissed the Petition. Surprisingly, the matter did not end here. While accepting that the case filed by the 5 lawyers ought never to have been entertained, GB Pattanaik and Ruma Pal, JJ went on to say that Arundhati Roy's affidavit- in- reply contained at least three paragraphs that were prima facie contemptuous.[20] These paragraphs were extracted in the judgment: "On the grounds that the judges of the Supreme Court were too busy, the Chief of India refused to allow a sitting judge to head the judicial enquiry into the Tehelka scandal, though it involves matters of national security and corruption in the highest places. Yet when it comes to an absurd, despicable, entirely unsubstantiated petition in which all the three respondents happen to be people, who have publicly- though in markedly different ways- questioned the policies of the government and severely criticized a recent judgment of the Supreme Court, the Court displays a disturbing willingness to issue notice. It indicates a disquieting inclination on the part of the Court to silence criticism and muzzle dissent, to harass and intimidate those who disagree with it. By entertaining a petition based on an FIR that even a local police station does not see fit to act upon, the Supreme Court is doing its own reputation and credibility considerable harm." The Court held that in these three paragraphs, Arundhati Roy, ".imputed motives to specific courts for entertaining litigation or passing orders against her. She has accused courts of 'harassing' her (of which the present proceeding has been cited as an instance) as if the judiciary were carrying out a personal vendetta against her. She has brought in matters which were not only not pertinent to the issues to be decided but has drawn uninformed comparisons to make statements about the court which do not appear to be protected by the law relating to fair criticism."[21] Ruma Pal, J. concluded by directing that notice in the prescribed form be issued to Roy asking her to show cause as to why she could not be proceeded against for contempt for the statements made in the three paragraphs of her affidavit. Based on this judgment, a fresh contempt notice was issued to Arundhati Roy. In her reply to this notice, Roy pointed out the circumstances in which she said what she did in her affidavit. She pointed out that the absurd and grossly defective nature of the first contempt petition against her had been acknowledged by the Court itself. For a common citizen like her, not well versed in the processes of the law, there was no distinction between the court and its registry she found it very strange that though the judges of the Supreme Court were obviously very busy, they still found time to entertain such a petition. She went on to say that, in the circumstances, "it seemed perfectly appropriate to air my views that in this particular instance, the court, by allowing certain citizens to grossly abuse its process in this way, creates a disturbing impression that there is an inclination on the part of the Court to silence criticism and muzzle dissent. This does not, and was not meant to impute motives to any particular judges. It does not, nor was meant to undermine the dignity of the court. I was simply stating an honest impression that had formed in my mind." Roy went on to say that her impression would have been corrected if the court had done any or all of the following things: "a) Dismissed the petition without issuing notice. b) Ordered an inquiry into the functioning of the Registry to establish how such a 'procedural lapse' could have taken place. c) Taken action against the Petitioners for filing a false case and deliberately attempting to mislead the Court." Roy also pointed out that instead, the Court denied the members of the public entry into the court on each occasion when the matter came up for hearing. She also referred to the fact that the Court took no action against one of the Petitioners, R.K. Virmani, who stood up and shouted without any justification that he had lost confidence in the judges hearing the matter and that it should be transferred to another Bench. She drew attention to the contempt of court case against the former Law Minister, Shiv Shankar who had, in a public speech, accused judges of having an "unconcealed sympathy for the haves" and who went on to say that "anti- social elements i.e., FERA violators, bride burners and whole hordes or reactionaries have found their haven in the Supreme Court".[22] He was however not held guilty of contempt and the Supreme Court held that though unfortunate, these were his views and he was entitled to air them. Roy concluded her affidavit- in- reply by saying: "Whimsical interpretations of the same law leave citizens at the mercy of individual judges. If the 3 paragraphs of my affidavit dated 16/4/2002 are deemed to be a criminal offence, it will have the chilling effect of gagging the Press and preventing it from reporting on and analyzing matters that vitally concern the lives of millions of Indian citizens. This will be an unfortunate blow to one of the most responsible, robust institutions of Indian democracy. The prospect of having to undergo a lengthy and exorbitant process of litigation, and the threat of an eventual prison sentence, will effectively restrain the press from writing about or analyzing the actions of the judiciary. It will render the judiciary accountable to no one but itself. As I have stated in my affidavit dated 16.4.2001, if the judiciary removes itself from public scrutiny and accountability, and severs its links with the society that it was set up to serve in the first place, it will mean that another pillar of Indian democracy will eventually crumble." On 15th January 2002, this contempt petition came up for final hearing before a Bench of Justice Pattanaik and Justice Sethi. Appearing for the alleged contemnor, Mr. Shanti Bhushan moved an Application on her behalf asking Justice Pattanaik to recuse himself from the proceedings and transfer this case to some other court, on the ground that since the allegation against Roy was that she had attributed motives to him (he being the judge who had issued notice in the first contempt petition), she had a reasonable apprehension of bias on his part. Roy's application stated that in hearing and deciding this contempt petition, Justice Pattanaik would be sitting as a judge in his own cause. The Court did not take kindly to this Application. In fact, Justice Pattanaik said that the Application should have been made earlier and not when the matter had been listed for final hearing, and that the objection sought to raised was mala fide. Mr. Shanti Bhushan argued that under the Indian Constitution, freedom of speech was paramount and could only be subjected to 'reasonable restrictions for contempt of court. it was universally accepted that the Courts and their judgments could be criticised in the most trenchant terms. Moreover, what Roy had said was in reply to a court notice (unlike Shiv Shankar who gave a public speech). Voicing one's perception in an affidavit in court could not constitute contempt of court. Altaf Ahmed, the Additional Solicitor- General appeared as an amicus curiae (friend of the Court) and submitted that the freedom of speech was subject to the law of contempt. He argued that Roy's affidavit contained a blatant imputation of a motive on the court and was therefore destructive of the independence of the judiciary. He said that in the past, people who had "erred" had tendered unconditional apologies which the court had accepted "magnanimously". Roy however, had been defiant and her current affidavit did not contain a hint of apology or remorse, and she had instead delivered a gratuitous lecture to the court, he argued that even after the Shiv Shankar case, there had been many instances in which the Court had sentenced persons for imputing motives or otherwise scandalising the court. Sethi, J., delivered the judgment for the court. The judgment starts off with a reiteration of the principle that 'rule of law' constituted the basic rule of governance in civilised democratic polity and part of the Indian constitutional scheme. The judge then set out what he thought to be the purpose of conferring courts the power to punish for contempt: "For the judiciary to perform its duties and functions effectively and true to the spirit with which it is sacredly entrusted, the dignity and authority of the courts have to be respected and protected at all costs. After more than half a century of independence, the judiciary in the country is under a constant threat and being endangered from within and without. The need of the time is of restoring confidence amongst the people for the independence of the judiciary. Its impartiality and the glory of law has to be maintained, protected and strengthened. The confidence in the courts of justice, which the people possess, cannot in any way, be allowed to be tarnished, diminished or wiped out by contumacious behaviour of any person. The only weapon of protecting itself from the onslaught to the institution is the long hand of contempt of court left in the armoury of the judicial repository which, when needed, can reach any neck howsoever high or far away it may be." The beginning of the judgment itself is poorly reasoned. The court admits in the first part of the paragraph that the judiciary is being endangered not only by external forces, but also by forces from within. In other words, it accepts the fact that there exist black sheep in the judiciary which has inescapably tarnished the image of the judiciary. If this is the problem highlighted by the court, then the solution suggested by it could not have less correlation to the problem. If much of the dangers to the judiciary stems from within, how can the "long hand of contempt of court" be "the only weapon" for courts to protect themselves? Surely, it behoves the court to introspect and put its own house in order with a strong hand when threatened by forces internal to the judiciary. Else, it would legitimately attract the criticism that the power of courts to commit for contempt is used to shield deviant judges rather than the institution itself. The court committed the cardinal error of citing, but refusing to follow the principle enunciated by Frankfurter, J in Pennekamp v. Florida[23]: "If men, including Judges and journalists, were angels, there would be no problems of contempt of court. Angelic judges would be undisturbed by extraneous influences and angelic journalists would not seek to influence them. The power to punish for contempt, as a means of safeguarding judges in deciding on behalf of the community as impartially as is given to the lot of men to decide, is not a privilege accorded to judges. The power to punish for contempt of court is a safeguard not for judges as persons but for the function which they exercise." The court then addressed the tension between the guarantee of free speech contained in the Constitution and the power of courts to punish for contempt: "No person can flout the mandate of law of respecting the courts for establishment of rule of law under the cloak of freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by the Constitution. Such a freedom is subject to reasonable restrictions imposed by any law. Where a provision, in the law, relating to contempt imposes reasonable restrictions, no citizen can take the liberty of scandalising the authority of the institution of judiciary. Freedom of speech and expression, so far as they do not contravene the statutory limits as contained in the Contempt of Courts Act, are to prevail without any hindrance. However, it must be remembered that the maintenance of the dignity of courts is one of the cardinal principles of rule of law in a democratic set- up and any criticism of the judicial institution couched in language that apparently appears to be mere criticism but ultimately results in undermining the dignity of courts cannot be permitted when found having crossed the limits and has to be punished." After having set out the rationale of the power to punish for contempt in most unsatisfactory terms, the court sought to examine the case against the Roy. Perhaps the most objectionable part of the judgment is Sethi, J. trying to state the case against Roy: "The respondent (Roy) who is stated to be an author of name and fame, has landed herself in the dock of the Court, apparently by drifting away from the path on which she was traversing by contributing to art and literature." This statement was clearly unnecessary and is indicative of the biases and prejudices of individual judges having a bearing on their decision. Is it part of the judicial function to ascertain what the correct path of an individual should be or what activities he or she should indulge in? Can drifting away from one's primary activity be reason enough for a person to land in the dock of the Court? Is not a writer or for that matter, any person entitled to espouse a democratic cause and actively campaign for the same? Such judicial statements, recklessly made, can seriously impair public confidence in the judiciary- something which the Hon'ble Supreme Court was supposedly striving to protect in the case before it. In her reply affidavit to the notice of the court, Roy had stated that as a consequence of the Supreme Court judgment, the people in the Narmada Valley were likely to lose their homes, their livelihood and their histories. She stated: "I believe that the people of the Narmada Valley have the constitutional right to peacefully (protest) against what they consider an unjust and unfair judgment. As for myself, I have every right to participate in any peaceful protest meeting that I choose to. Even outside the gates of the Supreme Court. As a writer, I am fully entitled to put forward my views, my reasons and arguments for why is believe that the judgment in the Sardar Sarovar case is flawed and unjust and violates the human rights of the Indian Citizens. I have the right to use all my skills and abilities such as they are, and all the facts and figures at my disposal, to persuade people to my point of view." Roy also stated that she had written and published several essays and articles on the Narmada issue and the Supreme Court judgment, none of which was intended to bring the Court into contempt, but only to express her disagreement with the court's views on the subject. It was her opinion that big dams were economically unviable, ecologically destructive and deeply undemocratic. Roy went on to state: "But whoever they are, and whatever their motives, for the petitioners to attempt to misuse the Contempt of Courts Act and the good offices of the Supreme Court to stifle criticism and stamp out dissent, strikes at the very roots of the notion of democracy. In recent months, this Court has issued judgments on several major public issues. For instance, the closure of polluting industries in Delhi, the conversion of public transport buses from diesel to CNG, and the judgment permitting the construction of the Sardar Sarovar Dam to proceed. All of these have had far- reaching and often unanticipated impacts. They have materially affected, for better or for worse, the lives and livelihoods of millions of Indian citizens. Whatever the justice or injustice of these judgments, whatever their finer legal points, for the Court to become intolerant of criticism of expressions of dissent would mark the beginning of the end of democracy. An 'activist' judiciary, that intervenes in public matters to provide a corrective to a corrupt, dysfunctional executive, surely has to be more, not less accountable. To a society that is already convulsed by political bankruptcy, economic distress and religious and cultural intolerance, any form of judicial intolerance will come as a crippling blow. If the judiciary removes itself from public scrutiny and accountability, and severs its links with the society that it was set up to serve in the first place, it would mean that yet another pillar of Indian democracy will crumble. A judicial dictatorship is as fearsome a prospect as a military dictatorship or any other form of totalitarian rule. The Tehelka tapes broadcast recently on a national television network show the repulsive sight of the Presidents of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Samata Party (both part of the ruling coalition) accepting bribes from spurious arms dealers. Though this ought to have been considered prima facie evidence of corruption, yet the Delhi High Court declined to entertain a petition seeking an enquiry into the defence deal that were referred to in the tapes. The Bench took strong exception to the petitioner approaching the Court without substantial evidence and even warned the petitioner's counsel that if he failed to substantiate its allegations, the Court would impose costs on the petitioner. On the grounds that Judges of the Supreme Court were too busy, the Chief Justice of India refused to allow a sitting Judge to head the judicial enquiry into the Tehelka scandal, even though it involves matters of national security and corruption in the highest places. Yet when it comes to an absurd, despicable, entirely unsubstantiated petition in which all the three respondents happen to be people who have publicly- though in markedly different ways- questioned the policies of the Government and severely criticized a recent judgment of the Supreme Court, the Court displays a disturbing willingness to issue notice. It indicates a disquieting inclination on the part of the Court to silence criticism and muzzle dissent, to harass and intimidate those who do not agree with it. By entertaining a petition based on an FIR that even a local police station does not see fit to act upon, the Supreme Court is doing its own reputation and credibility considerable harm. In conclusion, I wish to reaffirm that as a writer I have a right to state my opinions and beliefs. As a free citizen of India, I have the right to be part of any peaceful dharna, demonstration or protest march. I have the right to criticize any judgment of any court that I believe to be unjust. I have the right to make common cause with those I agree with. I hope that each time I exercise these rights I will not be dragged to court on false charges and forced to explain my actions." Sethi, J. stated that although the above paragraphs of the affidavit appeared to have caused no injury to any judge or judges personally, it resulted in a wrong done to the public. This was because, the Judge reasoned, that Roy had created an impression in the mind of the "people of this backward country regarding the integrity, ability and fairness of the institution of the judiciary." The judge tries to fortify his opinion by attempting to decipher the legislative purpose in enacting the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971. According to him, the legislature enacted the said law keeping in mind ". the ground realities and prevalent socio- economic system in India, the vast majority of whose people are poor, ignorant, uneducated, easily liable to be misled, but who avowedly have tremendous faith in the dispensers of justice." This sweeping ex cathedra observation is based on fairly tenuous logic. The judge does seem to think of India in terms of a second- class democracy consisting of an unsuspecting public which can be easily befooled by any statement made (not even in a widely circulated newspaper article but in an affidavit filed in the Apex Court). If the judge is really right when he says that the people of India have tremendous faith in the courts of the land, scarcely can such tremendous confidence be dented by some isolated statement made in an affidavit not easily available to the public. The judgment also has an elitist bias in so far as it conceded the right to fair criticism of courts and judges, but at the same time seemingly confined this right to those well- versed in the law. Sethi, J. stated: "All citizens cannot be permitted to comment upon the conduct of the courts in the name of fair criticism which, if not checked, would destroy the institution itself." Roy did not claim to possess any special knowledge of law and the working f the institution of the judiciary. She did not claim to have made any study regarding the working of the Supreme Court or the judiciary in India. As such, the benefit afforded to certain offending statements made by Mr. P. Shiv Shanker, a former Law Minister could not be extended to Roy. Roy could not even claim to be in the position of E.M.S. Namboodiripad who believed in the philosophy he was propounding and had made certain observations regarding the working of the courts.[24] The court held that the affidavit of Roy amounted to a destructive attack on the reputation and credibility of the judiciary and far exceeded the scope of fair criticism. Further, Roy had shown no repentance and stood by the statements made in her affidavit. The Court concluded thus: "32. . (Roy) wanted to become a champion to the cause of writers by asserting that persons like her can allege anything they desire and accuse any person or institution without any circumspection, limitation or restraint. Such an attitude shows her persistent and consistent attempt to malign the institution of the judiciary found to be the most important pillar in the Indian democratic set- up. This is no defence to say that as no actual damage has been done to the judiciary, the proceedings be dropped. The well- known proposition of law is that it punishes the archer as soon as the arrow is shot no matter if it misses to hit the target. The respondent is proved to have shot the arrow, intended to damage the institution of the judiciary and thereby weaken the faith of the public in general and if such an attempt is not prevented, disastrous consequences are likely to follow resulting in the destruction of the rule of law, the expected norm of any civilised society. 33. On the basis of the record, the position of law, our findings on various pleas raised and the conduct of the respondent, we have no doubt in our mind that the respondent has committed the criminal contempt of this Court by scandalising its authority with mala fide intentions. The respondent is, therefore, held guilty for the contempt of court punishable under Section 12, of the Contempt of Courts Act. 34. As the respondent has not shown any repentance or regret or remorse, no lenient view should be taken in the matter. However, showing the magnanimity of the law by keeping in mind that the respondent is a woman, and hoping that better sense and wisdom shall dawn upon the respondent in the future to serve the cause of art and literature by her creative skill and imagination, we feel that the ends of justice would be met if she is sentenced to symbolic imprisonment besides paying a fine of Rs. 2000. 35. While convicting the respondent for contempt of the Court, we sentence her to simple imprisonment for one day and to pay a fine of Rs. 2000. In case of default in the payment of fine, the respondent shall undergo simple imprisonment for three months." The decision of the Court in Arundhati Roy's case has been roundly criticised by the popular press,[25] academics and legal experts[26] and by Arundhati Roy herself.[27] The decision has created a feeling that there is something terribly amiss about a law and a legal environment which imposes unreasonable restrictions on the freedom of speech and punishes people for nothing more than speaking their mind. The conviction of Arundhati Roy by the Supreme Court for criminal contempt is an unfortunate and disturbing incident in Indian constitutional history and should worry all those who believe that the law of criminal contempt, an extraordinary legal provision which vests extraordinary and largely unfettered powers with the courts, should be used only in the most sparing manner and in the rarest of the rare cases. An analysis of the decision reveals that the Supreme Court seems to have overlooked the fact that the principal objective of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 is to protect the authority and dignity of the Court. The provisions of the Act are not intended to suppress criticism (even if expressed trenchantly) of court judgments, discourage frank and free expression about the state of the legal system or, as sought to be done by Sethi,J., to bring 'errant' writers to book. The Supreme Court seemed to think that it was magnanimous in sentencing the Booker Prize winning author to (an ostensibly nominal) punishment of a day's imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 2000. But in a larger sense, it only reflects yet another instance of the tendency of the judiciary to interpret the law of criminal contempt in an extremely rigid and arbitrary manner. In criticising the Supreme Court's judgment on the Narmada Dam issue and in defending herself against a contempt notice by a vociferous affidavit, Roy had admittedly been unsparing in her criticism of the Supreme Court. Yet, at the same time, the Apex Court was obliged to ensure that judicial sensitivities was not allowed to get the better of judicial restraint. It may be true that matters would not have come to such a pass if Roy, in the course of her long and passionate affidavit- in- reply, had refrained from making a couple of questionable references or had chosen to retract them when given an opportunity to do so. But the overall progression of the contempt case, which began with a defective petition and ended with an unfortunate conviction, raises issues which go beyond the three allegedly offending paragraphs in Roy's affidavit. They concern the worrying ease with which the Indian courts invoke criminal contempt even as the courts in other comparative jurisdictions have virtually given up this power. Dissent or criticism, howsoever strongly worded, must be permissible in any democracy. Roy's criticism of the Supreme Court is no doubt hyperbolic, but any lay reader would most certainly agree that the criticism is not male fide, motivated or contemptuous. Airing one's opinion on a judgment of the court cannot be said to be outside the protection of Art. 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. This does not lower the dignity or power of the Court. If it is so, when the judgment of a lower court is reversed in an appellate court, can the dignity of the court be said to be lowered? Can the opinion voiced by an individual lower the dignity of a court? If any criticism made by such an individual is found to be unfounded, would this not automatically rebound on the reputation and credibility of the person who made it? On the other hand, if such criticism is valid, can the court hope to restore its dignity by punishing or silencing the critic? The Contempt of Courts Act has been enacted to 'define and limit' the powers of courts to punish for contempt. Has the judicial interpretation of the Act defined or limited the powers of the courts, or has it rather been misused to stifle genuine criticism against the judiciary? These questions do find any satisfactory answers in the judgment in Roy's Case. The nature of democratic institutions in a democracy requires that all institutions profess the virtues of fundamental freedoms, more so when accused of disregarding them. The reason that courts and judges are held in high esteem is because of the difficult task they perform in considering intricate issues and attempting to arrive at reasonable judgments. Given that the issues that judges are called upon to decide are often complex, and more than one view is often possible, some disagreement over the fairness of outcomes is inevitable. But when someone takes issue with a judgment, judges must act with patience and utmost restraint. Unusually aggressive prosecution of such criticism under the provision of the law of contempt of court would be unjudicial, and possibly injudicious. The lack of clear and precise criteria to assess as to what "scandalises" the court, the dubious legal position where even truth is not a valid defence to a charge of contempt and the fact that, in a contempt proceeding, the judge and the prosecutor are the very same have complex ramifications. Together, they demand that the judiciary observes a tremendous amount of restraint when invoking criminal contempt. The conclusion is inescapable that the Supreme Court fell abysmally short of discharging this solemn responsibility in Arundhati Roy's Case. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] B.A.LL.B. (Hons.) (NLSIU); LL.M (Cantab); Advocate, High Court of Karnataka, Bangalore. [2] Narmada Bachao Andolan v. Union of India, (2000) 10 SCC 664. In this case, an organisation called the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) filed a petition under Article 32 of the Constitution of India before the Supreme Court of India. The Petitioner was a movement or andolan which was concerned with the adverse environmental impact of the construction of the dam across the Narmada River. The grievance of the petitioners was that a large number of persons, mostly tribals and other marginalized groups were being forcibly uprooted from their homes and lands on account of the project. Further, such construction has been undertaken without even having completed the studies regarding the environmental impact of the project. The petition was heard and finally decided by a Bench of three judges, and the majority judgment was delivered by Kirpal, J. speaking for himself and Chief Justice A.S. Anand. The majority rejected the challenge on the following grounds: · The majority held that when hundreds of crores of rupees was expended on a project of such great magnitude, individuals or organizations under the garb of PIL could not permitted to challenge the policy decision taken at a belated stage. · The Court, in the exercise of their jurisdiction, would not transgress into the field of policy decision. Whether to have an infrastructure project or not, the type of project and the mode of execution were all matters which courts were ill- equipped to adjudicate on. Having said this, Kirpal, J. strangely went on to extol the benefits of the project, and concluded that the construction of the dam would result in a multifold improvement in the environment of the areas where the canal waters would reach. The majority, despite declaring itself incompetent to do so, seems to have undertaken a cost- benefit analysis, and concluded that the benefits from the project far outweighed its drawbacks. · The majority sought to laud the benefits of large dams, and concluded that large dams could convert wasteland into agricultural land and become instruments in making the area greener and improving the environment. · At the time when the environmental clearance was granted, whatever studies were available were taken into consideration. If certain data was not available, it could not mean that the decision to grant environmental clearance could be said to be vitiated. In any case, ameliorative steps could always be taken to counter the adverse effect, if any, on the environment with the construction of the dam. · The majority held that the project in issue was only a dam, and not a nuclear establishment or a polluting factory and therefore it would be incorrect to presume that the project would lead to an ecological disaster. Kirpal, J. concluded that there was conclusive evidence to indicate that there had been ecological upgradation with the construction of large dams in the Indian experience and that the Sardar Sarovar Project would be making a positive contribution for the preservation of the environment in many ways. The majority then allowed the construction of the dam to go ahead, and passed various incidental directions for the completion of the project at the earliest and for the resettlement and rehabilitation of the oustees. Justice Bharucha partly dissented from the opinion of the majority and in his judgment held as under: · The petitioners were not guilty of laches and that when public interest was so demonstrably involved in the petition, it would be against public interest to decline relief only on the ground that the Court was approached belatedly. · The environmental clearance was based on next to no data in regard to the environmental impact of the project and was therefore contrary to the terms of the then policy of the Union in regard to environmental clearances. · Under the professed policy of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the Union of India was bound to give environmental clearance only after (i) all the necessary data in respect of the environmental impact had been collected and assessed; (ii) the assessment showed that the project could succeed; and (iii) the environmental safeguard measures and their cost had been worked out. · An adverse impact on the environment could have disastrous consequences for present and future generations, and the Supreme Court itself had recognized this in its various judgments under Article 21 of the Constitution. The Supreme Court could not place its seal of approval on a project of such enormous magnitude without first ensuring that those best fitted to do so had the opportunity of ascertaining the environmental impact of the project and deciding on necessary safeguard measures to be undertaken. Such studies would have to precede the project and ex post facto studies and surveys could not be used to justify the project. Until environmental clearances were accorded by the authorities concerned, further construction on the dam would have to cease. For an excellent analysis of the various issues involved in the Narmada Case, see Shyam Divan and Armin Rosencranz, Environmental Law and Policy in India 441-458 (2001). [3] The judgment of the Court is reported in Narmada Bachao Andolan v. Union of India and Others, (1999) 8 SCC 308. [4] Arundhati Roy, "The Greater Common Good", http://www.narmada.org/gcg/gcg.html (accessed on February 19, 2004). [5] The paragraphs which were considered objectionable by the Court was set out by the Court and are extracted as hereunder: "I stood on a hill and laughed out loud. I had crossed the Narmada by boat from Jalsindhi and climbed the headland on the opposite bank from where I could see, ranged across the crowns of low, bald hills, the tribal hamlets of Sikka, Surung, Neemgavan and Domkhedi. I could see their airy, fragile homes. I could see their fields and the forests behind them. I could see little children with littler goats scuttling across the landscape like motorised peanuts. I knew I was looking at a civilisation older than Hinduism, slated- sanctioned (by the highest court in the land)- to be drowned this monsoon when the waters of the Sardar Sarovar reservoir will rise to submerge it. * * * Why did I laugh? Because I suddenly remembered the tender concern with which the Supreme Court judges in Delhi (before vacating the legal stay on further construction of the Sardar Sarovar Dam) had enquired whether tribal children in the resettlement colonies would have children's park to play in. the lawyers representing the Government had hastened to assure them that indeed they would and what's more, that there were seesaws and slides and swings in every park. I looked up at the endless sky and down at the river rushing past and for a brief, brief moment the absurdity of it all reversed my rage and I laughed. I meant no disrespect. * * * Who owns this land? Who owns its rivers? Its forests? Its fish? These are huge questions. They are being taken hugely seriously by the State. They are being answered in one voice by every institution at its command- the army, police, the bureaucracy, the courts. And not just answered, but answered unambiguously, in bitter, brutal ways. * * * According to the Land Acquisition Act of 1894 (amended in 1984) the Government is not legally bound to provide a displaced person anything but a cash compensation. Imagine that. A cash compensation, to be paid by an Indian government official to an illiterate tribal man (the women get nothing) in a land where even the postman demands a tip for a delivery! Most tribal people have no formal title to their land and therefore cannot claim compensation anyway. Most tribal people- or let's say most small farmers- have as much use for money as a Supreme Court Judge has for a bag of fertiliser." [6] The court decided not to initiate contempt proceedings against Roy on the ground that since 22.7.1999 when the court passed an order appointing an amicus curiae, Roy had written nothing objectionable in so far as the judiciary was concerned. The court attributed this to the fact that Roy had perhaps realised her mistake, and decided not to pursue the matter further. [7] Whether the Contempt of Courts Act lays down an exhaustive statement of the law of contempt in India is an interesting issue which is adverted to in greater detail in a later section of this paper. See Section 22 of the Act. [8] See (2002) 3 SCC 343. [9] An interesting fact about this proceeding was that when this case came up for hearing, no visitors or journalists (other than officially accredited court correspondents) were allowed entry into court. The Registrar said that he had 'orders from above' in this case not to allow entry to everyone. This matter was also apparently raised with the Bench, but no measures were taken to either explain or redress this curious phenomenon. A preference for virtually an in- camera proceeding is in contrast with the fundamental spirit of open courtrooms and public justice. [10] J.R. Parashar v. Prashant Bhushan and Others, (2001) 6 SCC 735. [11] Narmada Bachao Andolan v. Union of India, (1999) 8 SCC 308. [12] According to the petition, the dharna, slogan- shouting and assault on the petitioners were designed to compel the Supreme Court to decide a pending application filed by the NBA in its favour. [13] The Supreme Court also explained the reasons for issuance of the notice to the Respondents thus: "2. Given the allegations in the petitions that the respondents had incited a crowd by shouting slogans attacking the integrity of the Judges of this Court, notices were issued to the respondents of the application, so that they could give their version of the incident, if it had taken place at all." J.R. Parashar v. Prashant Bhushan and Others, (2001) 6 SCC 735 (para 2). [14] Medha Patkar, the 2nd Respondent in her affidavit stated the background of the Narmada Bachao Andolan and the merits of the case of the oustees whose case she represented. She further stated: "The superior courts have recently shown a disturbing tendency to use the power of contempt against persons who have been criticizing the courts and their judgments. A judiciary which insulates itself from criticism by using the power of contempt, is bound to be insensitive to the people it is meant to serve. This does not bode well for the future of our republic. I will continue to help them raise their voices in protest against this system even if I have to do so against the judiciary and the courts. I will continue to do so as long as I can, even if I have to be punished for contempt for doing that." (Para 5). [15] The Petition was no supported by a proper affidavit, it was not signed by the Petitioners, and it did not contain the addresses of the Petitioners or of the Respondents. Most crucially, the Petition did not have the consent of the Attorney- General or the Solicitor- General and hence did not comply with the procedure set out in Section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971. Section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act provides as follows: "15. Cognizance of criminal contempt in other cases.- (1) In the case of a criminal contempt, other than a contempt referred to in Section 14, the Supreme Court or the High Court may take action on its own motion or on a motion made by- (a) the Advocate- General; or (b) any other person, with the consent in writing of the Advocate- General; or (c) in relation to the High Court for the Union Territory of Delhi, such Law Officer as the Central Government may by notification in the Official Gazette, specify in this behalf or any other person, with the consent in writing of such Law Officer. (2) In the case of any criminal contempt of subordinate court or on a motion made by the Advocate- General or, in relation to a Union Territory, by such Law Officer as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify in this behalf. (3) Every motion or reference made under this section shall specify the contempt of which the person charged is alleged to be guilty. Explanation: In this section, the expression "Advocate- General" means- (a) in relation to the Supreme Court, the Attorney- General or the Solicitor- General; (b) in relation to the High Court, the Advocate- General of the State or any of the States for which the High Court has been established; (c) in relation to the Court of a Judicial Commissioner, such Law Officer as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify in this behalf. (emphasis supplied) Thus, the Act seems to provide for a filtering mechanism with frivolous complaints being weeded out by the Advocate- General. [16] The Court referred to the decision of the Privy Council in Andre Paul Terence Ambard v. Attorney- General of Trinidad and Tobago, AIR 1936 PC 141 which principle, it stated, was still the law on the point: "No wrong is committed by any member of the public who exercises the ordinary right of criticizing in good faith in private or public the public act done in the seat of justice. The path of criticism is a public way: the wrongheaded are permitted to err therein: provided that members of the public abstain from imputing improper motives to those taking part in the administration of justice, and are genuinely exercising a right of criticism and not acting in malice or attempting to impair the administration of justice, they are immune. Justice is not a cloistered virtue: she must be allowed to suffer the scrutiny and respectful even though outspoken comments of ordinary men." [17] See also Rama Dayal Markarha v. State of M.P., (1978) 2 SCC 630. [18] The Court also referred to the fact that the petition did not comply with the mandatory provisions of the Contempt of Courts Act which were a pre- requisite for the initiation of contempt proceedings. Sections 14 and 15 of the 1971 Act both deal with the procedure for taking cognizance in cases of criminal contempt. In cases where the contempt is in the face of the Supreme Court or the High Court, the Court acts suo motu. However, in other cases of criminal contempt which does not fall within the scope and ambit of Section 14, the Supreme Court or the High Court has the power under Section 15(1) to take action "on its own motion or on a motion made by- (a) The Advocate- General; or (b) Any other person, with the consent in writing of the Advocate- General." The Explanation to the provision clarifies that the expression "Advocate- General in relation to the Supreme Court, means the Attorney- General or the Solicitor- General. Thus, the Act provides for a filtering mechanism before actions for contempt can be initiated. The underlying rationale of the scheme set out above is that when the court is not itself aware of the contumacious conduct, and the actions are alleged to have taken place outside its precincts, it is necessary to have the allegations screened by a responsible constitutional functionary so that frivolous complaints are weeded out at this stage itself. This provision has been inserted on the basis of the following recommendations of the Sanyal Committee which had been set up in 1961 to consider and suggest reforms to the existing law of contempt: "In the case of criminal contempt, not being contempt committed in the face of the court, we are of the opinion that it would lighten the burden of the court, without in any way interfering with the sanctity of the administration of justice, if action is taken on a motion by some other agency. Such a course of action would give considerable assurance to the individual charged and the public at large." Cited from J.R. Parashar v. Prashant Bhushan and Others, (2001) 6 SCC 735 (para 21). See also S.K. Sarkar v. V.C. Mishra, (1981) 1 SCC 436. [19] The Court clarified that holding a dharna by itself may not amount to contempt. But if by holding a dharna, access to the courts was hindered and the officers of the court were not allowed free ingress and egress, or the proceedings in court were disrupted, a dharna would amount to contempt because the administration of justice would be obstructed. At the same time, Justice Ruma Pal hastened to add that this should not be understood as approving the holding of a dharna before the Court. While such a protest may not constitute contempt, it necessarily had to be discouraged and deprecated since otherwise every disgruntled litigant could adopt this method of ventilating his/ her grievance. The Court then opined that a dharna was ". an inappropriate form of protest since the object of holding a dharna is either to raise public opinion or to exhibit the extent of public opinion against a decision of a court. Neither of these objects weigh with courts when deciding a case. Judges are required to decide what they think is right according to the law applicable and on the material placed before them and not be swayed by public opinion on any particular issue." (emphasis supplied) The above statement has useful implications for the sub judice rule which is discussed in a later part of the present paper. [20] The Court held that the filing of an affidavit amounted to a publication within the definition of criminal contempt. The reason advanced was that an affidavit was not a secret document, but forms part of the court records and is therefore available to and accessible by the public. (para 34). [21] Para 38. [22] P.N. Duda v. P. Shivshanker, (1988) 3 SCC 167. [23] 90 L Ed 1295; 328 US 331 (1946). [24] P. Shiv Shanker, at the relevant point of time was the Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs, had stated in a public speech that the ".Supreme Court, composed of the elements of the elite class, had their bride- burners, and a whole horde of reactionaries, have found their haven in the Supreme Court." The Supreme Court in P.N. Duda v. P. Shiv Shanker, (1988) 3 SCC 167 held that the statements did not amount to an offence of scandalizing the court. Sethi, J. referred to the decision in P. Shiv Shanker and opined that the statements were permissible because they were made by a person who had been a judge of the High Court and was the Minister at the relevant time. But this latitude could not be allowed to someone like Roy or other citizens. In other words, the Supreme Court seems to have indicated that it is not what one says, or the correctness or justification of such statement, but rather the status of the person making the statement, that would determine whether such statement would amount to an offence of criminal contempt or not. Thus, the grand assertion made by Sethi, J. in the beginning of the judgment that "whoever the person may be, however high he or she is, no one is above the law notwithstanding how powerful or how rich he or she might be" is unfortunately contradicted in a latter portion of the very same judgment! [25] "Law of Contempt Stands Like a Sword over Media", The Hindu, March 16, 2003; "Judicial 'Intolerance' to Criticism Decried", The Hindu, March 31, 2002. [26] "The Conviction of Arundhati Roy", The Hindu, March 07,2003; [27] Roy issued a statement after her release from Tihar Jail on March 7,2002 standing by what she stated in her Afidavit. "Arundhati Roy's Statement", Frontline, Vol. 19, Issue 6, March 16-29,2002. In her statement, Roy reiterated her stand thus: "I stand by what I have said in my Affidavit and I have served the sentence which the Supreme Court imposed on me. Anybody who thinks that the punishment for my supposed 'crime' was a symbolic one day in prison and a fine of two thousand rupees, is wrong. The punishment began over a year ago when notice was issued to me personally in Court over a ludicrous charge which the Supreme Court itself held should never have been entertained. In India, everybody knows that as far as the legal system is concerned, the process is part of the punishment. . There are parts of the judgment which would have been deeply reassuring if it weren't for the fact that citizens of India, on a daily basis, have just the opposite experience- "Rule of Law is the basic rule of governance of any civilized, democratic polity. Whoever the person may be, however high he or she is, no one is above the law notwithstanding however powerful and how rich he or she may be." If only! I wish to reiterate that I believe that the Supreme Court is an extremely important institution and has made some enlightened judgments. For an individual to argue with the Court, does not in any way imply that he or she has a stake in this society and cares about the role and efficacy of that institution. Today, the Supreme Court makes decisions that affect- for better or for worse- the lives of millions of common citizens. To deny comment and criticism of this institution, on pain of criminal contempt, from all but an exclusive club of 'experts' would, I think, be destructive of the democratic principles on which our Constitution is based. The judiciary in India is possibly the most powerful institution in the country, and as the Chief Justice recently implied, the least accountable. In fact, the only accountability of this institution is that it can be subjected to comment and criticism by citizens in general. If even this right is denied, it would expose the country to the dangers of judicial tyranny. I was also puzzled by the statement in the judgment that says: '. showing the magnanimity of law, by keeping in mind that the respondent is a woman, and hoping that better sense and wisdom shall dawn upon the respondent.' Surely, women can do without this kind of inverse discrimination. Lastly, I wish to point out that the judgement says that I have drifted away 'from the path on which she was traversing by contributing to the Art and Literature.' I hope that this does not mean that on top of everything else, from now on writers will have to look to the Supreme Court of India to define the correct path of Art and Literature." -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040424/f08d56fb/attachment.html From mklayman at leonardo.info Thu Apr 22 20:32:59 2004 From: mklayman at leonardo.info (Melinda Klayman) Date: Thu, 22 Apr 2004 08:02:59 -0700 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Leonardo announces: Alex Galloway and Cory Arcangel "A Video Game Saved My Life" Message-ID: *Apologies for cross-posting* LEONARDO/ISAST co-sponsors: A VIDEO GAME SAVED MY LIFE, a Zero:One HOTSPOTS Event Monday, May 10, 7:00 Followed by Reception & Book-Signing at Broadcom Corporation, 190 Mathilda Place, Sunnyvale Hosted by Dr. Edward H. Frank, Broadcom VP of R&D Sponsored by SF Camerawork, Zero:One, and Leonardo/ISAST Artists Cory Arcangel (Beige) and Alex Galloway (RSG) frequently draw on video games in making their own work--whether they are remixing them, hacking them, or pointing out strange internal flaws. At this event they will showcase their favorite cracked Commodore 64 games, plus perform live game hacks with the help of the audience. In a reception following their performance, Galloway will sign copies of his book, PROTOCOL, or, How Control Exists After Decentralization, published by Leonardo/MIT Press. For further information or to purchase PROTOCOL, see http://lbs.mit.edu CORY ARCANGEL is a computer artist & musician who lives and works in Brooklyn. He is a founding member of BEIGE, a programming crew and record label who produced the legendary record "8-Bit Construction Kit." His work has been written about in the New York Times, Village Voice, Chicago Reader, and elsewhere. He has exhibited internationally and is currently in the 2004 Whitney Biennial and the Guggenheim exhibit "Seeing Double." He frequently collaborates with the Radical Software Group (RSG). ALEXANDER R. GALLOWAY is Assistant Professor of Media Ecology at New York University. Galloway previously worked for six years as Director of Content and Technology at Rhizome.org. He is a founding member of the software development group RSG whose data surveillance system Carnivore was awarded a Golden Nica in the 2002 Prix Ars Electronica. The New York Times recently described his work as "conceptually sharp, visually compelling and completely attuned to the political moment." Both artists are included in the SF Camerawork exhibition "POP_Remix," open May 11-June 12. ZeroOne HOTSPOTS is a nomadic series of discussions on hot topics in art & technology, hosted by a range of unique venues through the Bay Area. ZeroOne thanks Rx Gallery for hosting the first in this series of events. PROTOCOL by Alex Galloway is part of the Leonardo Book Series, published by the MIT Press. The Leonardo Book Series publishes texts by artists, scientists, researchers, and scholars that present innovative discourse on the convergence of art, science and technology. Recent books include Women, Art, and Technology edited by Judy Malloy; Uncanny Networks by Geert Lovink; and The Language of New Media by Lev Manovich. See more at http://lbs.mit.edu For detailed submission guidelines see http://mitpress.mit.edu/authors/ms-submission.html. The Leonardo Book Series is a program of Leonardo/ISAST. Leonardo/The International Society for the Arts, Sciences, and Technology (ISAST) serves the international arts community by promoting and documenting work at the intersection of the arts, sciences, and technology, and by encouraging and stimulating collaboration between artists, scientists, and technologists. For further information, go to www.leonardo.info. ---------------------------------------- Directions to Broadcom Corporation: ---------------------------------------- 101 South from San Francisco (approximately 60 minutes): Take 101S/San Jose, exit at Mathilda, continue on Mathilda for approximately 1-1/2 miles, turn left at Washington Avenue (Chevy's restaurant will be across the street, the 5 story Broadcom building will be on the left), turn left at Taafee, turn left at stop sign (Capella), the Broadcom building will be straight ahead. The building lobby will be toward your left; underground parking will be straight ahead. 101 North from San Jose Take 101S/San Francisco, exit at Mathilda/South, continue on Mathilda for approximately 1-1/2 miles, turn left at Washington Avenue (Chevy's restaurant will be across the street, our 5 story building will be on the left), turn left at Taaffe, turn left at stop sign (Capella), our building will be straight ahead. The building lobby will be toward your left; underground parking will be straight ahead. There is underground parking for your convenience, pick up a ticket in the lobby for your exit. You can also park on the street. -- LEONARDO HAS A NEW ADDRESS! Please note our new contact information as of May 1, 2004: Leonardo/ISAST 211 Sutter Street, Suite 800 San Francisco, CA 94108 phone: (415) 391-1110 fax: (415) 391-2385 Email: mklayman at leonardo.info Web: http://www.leonardo.info Did you know that whenever you buy anything through Amazon.com, you could help to support Leonardo? Always access Amazon through the Leonardo portal. That way, no matter what you purchase, Amazon will automatically credit a percentage of their profits to Leonardo/ISAST, at no additional charge to you. Access Amazon via Leonardo at: http://mitpress2.mit.edu/e-journals/Leonardo/isast/leobooks.html _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From miriamchandy at yahoo.com Mon Apr 26 19:22:08 2004 From: miriamchandy at yahoo.com (miriam chandy) Date: Mon, 26 Apr 2004 06:52:08 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] a childhood beyond the red light Message-ID: <20040426135208.58397.qmail@web60508.mail.yahoo.com> Dear friends, I am afraid I have been sending my previous reports to the saraidak address. However this is the crucial stage of my research where the first workshops will begin starting tomorrow. Am attaching the process that will be adopted...is open for suggestions, interpretation and discussion. warm regards Miriam REPORT 25/4/2004 A childhood�beyond the red light It has been an eventful month in terms of the number of NGOs we have interacted with and built a working relationship with. The government home which is the biggest shelter for rescued minor sex workers however is still proving to be an elusive task. There are 3 workshops which have been finalized on the foll dates � udaan (works with males who have sex with males) on 28th April, Ashray (shelter for children of sex workers who are affected by HIV) on 15th and 16th May, Prerna (who works with the children of minor sex workers) in the last week of May. Please find attached the procedure behind the art and theatre workshops. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Photos: High-quality 4x6 digital prints for 25� http://photos.yahoo.com/ph/print_splash -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: wk shop exercises.doc Type: application/msword Size: 27136 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040426/79e348f1/attachment.doc -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Udaan Workshop.doc Type: application/msword Size: 21504 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040426/79e348f1/attachment-0001.doc From virtualart at culture.hu-berlin.de Mon Apr 26 19:56:59 2004 From: virtualart at culture.hu-berlin.de (Pete Otis) Date: Mon, 26 Apr 2004 16:26:59 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] ANNC: Virtual Art - Book and Database In-Reply-To: <20040426212649.CB05428E042@mail.sarai.net> Message-ID: DATABASE OF VIRTUAL ART - now public For the first time, the DATABASE OF VIRTUAL ART has been developed to specifically document digital installation art. This type of art has rapidly evolved over the last decades and is emerging into our most contemporary art. In close cooperation with established media artists, researchers and associated institutions, a complex overview of the immersive, interactive, telematic and genetic arts is being developed. This new documentation instrument, appropriate to the needs of processual art, is built in Open Source Technology. It is supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Federal Ministry of Education and Science (BMBF). The Database of Virtual Art is both an evolving research instrument and a work in progress, changing according to the ongoing development of the field. Its documentation system will also serve as a predesessor for the systematic preservation of this art. Due to the fact that virtual art is totally dependent upon storage media, it is no exaggeration to say that an entire decade of art threatens to be lost for all time. The Database: http://virtualart.hu-berlin.de/ Considering the fundamental differences of virtual art, the documentation system reaches beyond traditional data by especially focusing on information about technical requirements, installation settings, blueprints, software-hardware configurations, interface and displays. Video documentation has strategically been given a core role, due to its ability to show the processual nature of these works – with more than 100 videos created by the artists. Institutions displaying media art and media theory researchers also hold a prominent place in the database. For further information on the concept of database: http://www2.hu-berlin.de/grau/ click on “datenbank/database” For more information on the book whcih inspired the database: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/102-0588059-8633701 http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?sid=CE228AC8-6D73-40A2-9442 -6E6CA6785D62&ttype=2&tid=9214 The web interface allows the artists, researchers and institutions to post the information themselves, so that gradually an elaborate information network and communication platform grows. Since the database is in the first phase of being available to the public, you are encouraged to check the site frequently over the coming months and watch the growth of this new web-based research instrument. Database of Virtual Art DIRECTION, SCIENTIFIC CONCEPT AND ARTISTS NETWORK Dr. Oliver Grau TECHNICAL CONCEPT AND DATABASE Christian Berndt, M.A. VIDEO DOCUMENTATION, PRODUCTION AND EDITING Robert Lößl EDITING AND ARTISTS NETWORK COMMUNICATION Anne Peterok, M.A. COORDINATION WITH MUSEUMS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS Wendy Jo Coones, M.Ed. FOUNDING ARTIST MEMBERS: Christa Sommerer/Laurent Mignonneau, Paul Sermon, Charlotte Davies, Jeffrey Shaw, Jill Scott, Ken Goldberg, Daniela Alina Plewe, Agnes Hegedüs. Maurice Benayoun, Suzanne Anker, Zoe Beloff, Eduardo Kac, Michael Naimark, George Legrady, Bernd Lintermann, Monika Fleischmann/Wolfgang Strauss, Lev Manovich, Seiko Mikami, Louis Bec, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Knowbotic Research, Myron Krueger, Luc Courchesne, Lev Manovich, Thomas Ray, Nell Tenhaaf, Karl Sims, Joel Slayton, Bill Seaman, Jack Ox, Jane Prophet, Roy Ascott, Seiko Mikami, Jean Baptist Barriere, Toni Dove, Simon Penny, Fabricators, Yanis Melanitis, Toni Dove, Victoria Vesna, Paul Yuxweluptun, Rebecca Allen, Andrea Zapp. From m_narula at yahoo.co.uk Mon Apr 26 20:37:17 2004 From: m_narula at yahoo.co.uk (=?iso-8859-1?q?Monica=20Narula?=) Date: Mon, 26 Apr 2004 16:07:17 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Call for Papers Message-ID: <20040426150717.44338.qmail@web9601.mail.yahoo.com> Call for Papers **Deleuze and The Social** An edited anthology As a popular field of study and an increasingly utilized tool for social research, the work of Gilles Deleuze has perhaps come to fulfil Foucault's prophecy that one day we would see a Deleuzian century. However, the nature of this century which is becoming so Deleuzian is arguably plagued by problematics surrounding what becoming 'Deleuzian' might mean. Studies of Deleuze in relation to philosophy, psychoanalysis, literary theory, moral reasoning and critical theory offer insight into the work of this eminent scholar and place Deleuze's writings in an historical academic context. Simultaneously, sociological, cultural, architectural, artistic and educational studies have, particularly over the past decade, become increasingly popularized by references to Deleuze and his fantastic neologisms. Yet, the space between these two trajectories; that is, the spaces between Deleuze's conceptual philosophy, the ethics that underlie them, and everyday community practices, politics and social relations, remain relatively unmapped. What does it mean to read Deleuze in relation to the social? To retain an ethical commitment both to Deleuze as a scholar, and to those material social concerns which continually call us to action? In what ways can we enable community practices and social politics to resonate with Deleuze's work? Brian Massumi and Paul Patton have offered us some fascinating work in this area - work which is, to date, the closest example we have of reading Deleuze in relation to the social. This anthology aims to build upon and extend the critical insight offered by the work of these established scholars. Through reading social, political and community concerns in relation to Deleuze we look to inform social theory and Deleuzian scholarship in considered, original ways. The anthology, 'Deleuze and The Social', will bridge a gap between high-level Deleuzian theory and critique and popularizations of Deleuze; trajectories which are often grounded in Deleuze's love for reappropriating, reinventing and creatively bastardizing theory. The anthology particularly seeks to explore how 'minority' bodies and communities can be re-thought in relation to Deleuzian theory, and to investigate the ethical implications of such an encounter. Editors call for expressions of interest from authors to be submitted as a 500 word abstract detailing a proposed book chapter and the ways in which the chapter will address issues relating to Deleuze and the social. Possible areas of contribution may include, but are not limited to: * Activism, Deleuze and political change * Gendered subjectivities * Minoritarian ethics * New technologies and virtual communities * Illness and aesthetics * Regional spaces and identity * Bullying * Vernacular creativity * Behavioural disorders * Performance art * Classroom interfaces between policy, pedagogy and corporeality * Sexual practices, politics and power * Style and aesthetic communities * Suicide * Sonic communities * Transgenderism * Drug use * Eating disorders * Disability * Graffiti and public space * Bodily mutilation * Activism * Addiction * Mental health * Globalisation/Capitalism and bodies * Refugee bodies * Environmental Activism * Indigenous politics * Gambling * Delinquency, crime, and imprisonment. Deadline for expressions of interest: 31 July 2004 Please email submissions to: Anna Hickey-Moody and Peta Malins at: deleuzeandthesocial at yahoo.com.au Or send hardcopy submissions to: Peta Malins Department of Criminology The University of Melbourne Melbourne 3010 Australia Phone +61 3 83449464 Fax +61 3 93494259 ____________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Messenger - Communicate instantly..."Ping" your friends today! Download Messenger Now http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com/download/index.html _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From m_narula at yahoo.co.uk Mon Apr 26 20:52:53 2004 From: m_narula at yahoo.co.uk (=?iso-8859-1?q?Monica=20Narula?=) Date: Mon, 26 Apr 2004 16:22:53 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] yamuna pushta Message-ID: <20040426152253.41073.qmail@web9602.mail.yahoo.com> Dear all Today morning Diya and I visited the site for demolitions at Yamuna Pushta New Delhi to take photographs which could be circulated into the wider public. Nothing I saw there, can I really describe in words, or at least in a few words. What was earlier a human settlement was now rubble. Bombed and razed.War zone. Somewhere black and burned. Everywhere debris, with the landscape broken by human faces and a numb everydayness as people cooked in private places turned public and bathed in the open. Vegetable sellers with fresh vegetables which contrasted the black mortar and grime only served to highlight the will of a human being to maintain a sense of dignity even when a state can in a moment reduce people to rubble. It is a site of power. The police are arresting those who has the termity to question or the dignity to stand up. A local woman, sitting on a charpoy outside a blackened wall and a frontless home , could no longer hold her fury. "May his (Jagmohan's) grave be here. In this the park he is going to build, over the fury of the poor?." Other looked on, cynical and unspeaking. A man was furiously digging to implant a rope peg for his makeshift tent, in a sea of rubble. Another man somewhere must have with even less effort signed a paper authorizing such destruction. How a hand can do such different things. One vested with the brutal power of the state and another with just the power to wield a hammer. What then did citizenship mean? Or nationhood? However not to turn this into a lament, but just as a reminder that here in Yamuna Pushta is taking place a complete subjugation of what may consider human. It has so many dimensions, as also I am sure so many narratives, that encompassing all one felt and underwent in a couple of hours is impossible. While some people are trying to have those arrested bailed, or trying to raise the stoic media. or planning srtatergy to resist and subvert, for others just a visit to the site can be a grim reminder of the grim times which we live in. Of times which have probably remained unchanged. ravi agarwal H-2 Jangpura Ext. New Delhi - 110014 ph: 24328006/ 24320711 fax: 24321747 ____________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Messenger - Communicate instantly..."Ping" your friends today! Download Messenger Now http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com/download/index.html From Rahul.Asthana at CIBC.com Mon Apr 26 21:08:05 2004 From: Rahul.Asthana at CIBC.com (Asthana, Rahul) Date: Mon, 26 Apr 2004 11:38:05 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Dalai Lama and Tibet Message-ID: <66242625E3C7E84CA44074F9BA0114BEBF6BFB@gemmrd-scc014eu.gem.cibc.com> Hi all, The Dalai Lama is now in Canada, and everyone is fascinated by his teachings(look at the news item below).He has also won the Nobel Peace Prize,as you all might know. He seems to be a wonderful person to have as a grandfather, no doubt about it.But as a representative of the people of a nation? I wonder if he is giving peace a good name by acquiescing to the Chinese invasion of Tibet.He says he does not want independence, but more autonomy within the state of China.He wants to conserve the spiritualism and traditions of Tibet. All noble thoughts, as the Chinese are continuing with the physical and cultural invasion of Tibet.While the Lama is preaching compassion all over the world,more and more Chinese are settling down in Tibet..The Lama himself can't return to Tibet , taking refuge in DharamShala. Perhaps it is not his fault, he says that he is 80 % spiritual and 20% political. Perhaps, if the Tibetan people, driven from their homeland , and taking refuge all over India, still look up to him, they deserve none better. The non-violence of Mahatma Gandhi was accompanied by civil-disobedience , non-coperation and the cry of "Quit India"., which are not to be seen in case of Dalai Lama. I wonder how long the Tibetans would endure the Dalai Lama brand of tolerance. Thanks Rahul http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040426/DALA I26/TPNational/Toronto Dalai Lama wows them at SkyDome TORONTO -- The Dalai Lama drew 25,000 people to Toronto's SkyDome on a blustery, wet afternoon yesterday for a grandfatherly chat on the happiness of showing compassion and the peace of mind that comes from being with children, friends and neighbours not talking about complicated things. Seated in a white armchair on a flower-bedecked stage, the 69-year-old Buddhist monk and exiled Tibetan leader was repeatedly applauded as he urged the world's political leaders to embrace compassion rather than conflict and violence. "War is outdated," he said, his deep voice echoing through the sports stadium. "The 20th century was the century of violence, [and] violence solved nothing. The 21st century should be the century of dialogue." Moments later, a dropped pin could have been heard as his audience hung on his description of the source of his buoyant energy: "Good sleep -- seven, nine, even 10 hours . . . and no solid food after lunch. And a certain amount of peace of mind. Sometimes I feel like the ocean. A wave comes, a wave goes. But underneath the ocean is always calm." He urged the audience to cultivate the habit of watching one's thought processes from a distance, not becoming immersed in them. "When sadness happens, try to look at it separately from the [emotion of] sadness. Some sense? What do you think?" The audience applauded. He was animated, waving his arms as he spoke, his hands fluttering like butterflies. He frequently chuckled at humanity's foibles, including his own. He jabbed the air with an index finger to make his points. He frequently needed assistance from a translator. "As I get older, my English gets older," he explained. After Justin Trudeau introduced him as a man "who gets along with just about everyone" in a world of violence, mistrust and hatred, the bespectacled monk in his saffron and claret robes put his arms around the son of the former prime minister and, for a long moment, pressed his cheek against his. His public talk, called The Power of Compassion, began nearly an hour late in the bustling heart of Canada's largest city because of the unexpected time needed to security-screen people coming into the stadium. As the audience took their seats, the words "greed," "envy" and "selfishness" flashed on two giant screens as a soft mellifluous voice announced that the Dalai Lama would speak about harmony and peace of mind. Six uniformed police officers took up positions around the stage when he appeared. He defined compassion as respect -- not pity -- for others. He termed it something more than ordinary love, which he said is too often based on others' attitudes toward oneself. He said it could best be called a developed sense of concern for others, and it was an inner quality -- "a deep value necessary for being a human being" -- as necessary for parents to possess as for political leaders. As an innate quality, he said, it was a natural extension of human beings' dependence upon the compassion of others in the first years of life. He defined true peace as not merely the absence of violence but as an expression of peace with compassion. Asked in the question period at the end of his talk what he considered the world's greatest problem, he replied: "Population . . . and the growing gulf between rich and poor." He referred to poor blacks in the capital of the world's richest nation, America, and aboriginal people "lagging behind" in rich Canada. "The huge gap between rich and poor is not only morally wrong but practically wrong," he said. He said he was optimistic that negotiations would soon begin between his Tibetan government in exile and the Chinese government, whose troops occupied Tibet in 1959. His listeners left the SkyDome with rave reviews. Halina Bregman, who lives on the Toronto Islands, said: "I think we need more Dalai Lamas in the world, appreciating the basic human goodness we all possess." Sarah Gingrich, a Toronto environmental scientist, said: "I was really pleased to hear one person expressing so many positive ideas." Her friend, Judy from Kitchener -- she would not give her last name -- said: "It was so wonderful to hear someone so positive. He expressed complex ideas in very simple terms. It was smashing . . . and he's cute. I wish he were my neighbour." Minnesota resident Tashi Dorjee, 21, one of 16 people -- two of them Canadians -- who cycled nearly 1,000 kilometres from Washington to Toronto to raise public awareness of Tibetans' struggle for autonomy, called the event "very emotional. It's very, very touching." He said most of the cyclists were students, one of them the Dalai Lama's nephew. Pennsylvania university student Jillian Winschel called it "amazing." A friend, Bradford Burgess, in his second year of medicine in the state, said he came to Toronto to hear the Dalai Lama "out of desire for enlightenment." And his reaction? "I found it rather enlightening." "This was fabulous, on all levels," said Jane Damude-Empey of Toronto, who practises Tibetan Buddhism. "I think the Dalai Lama is what they call in Buddhism a precious jewel in the sense that he truly lives and is what he talks about," she said. "He's one of the few leaders in the world who is everything that he says. "The most touching thing about him is that he is so human and that he is so humble," she said, adding that the only thing that could have made it better was a more intimate setting. Her only complaint: "I'd like to be closer. I mean, 25,000 people is a lot of people." From nkarani at hotmail.com Tue Apr 27 03:13:53 2004 From: nkarani at hotmail.com (Nitin Karani) Date: Tue, 27 Apr 2004 03:13:53 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: Humsafar DIC: A Dream come true Message-ID: > fyi > nitin karani > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "The Humsafar Trust" > Sent: Monday, April 26, 2004 9:16 PM > > > Last Sunday, 25th April 2004 "Humsafar" opened its door to all members of > the queer community to its new Drop In Centre which was inaugurated by > writer-celebrity columnist Shobha De in company of all friends who have > supported us through all odds. > > Shobha De expressed her joy that the city's gay, lesbian, bisexual and > transgender (LGBT) communities finally had a warm, comforting and safe > drop-in center in Mumbai and it was a landmark day for the sexual minorities > in India. She said it was a matter of pride that the Mumbai Municipal > Corporation and state had responded to the needs of community. > > In mid '90s, The Humsafar Trust embarked on a struggle to create a drop-in > center to help meet the pressing need of the LGBT community for a safe > space - a space where we can be ourselves without fear of harassment or > violence. > > We made a small effort to make the word 'Humsafar' more meaningful and to > provide social and recreational space and services for the community, while > we carried on the fight against a disease that threatened to decimate us. > Over the years, Friday workshops--and later Bombay Dost 'Sunday Highs'-have > provided comfort and cheer to the community in a small but important way. > > Now, after three long years of arduous struggle and lobbying with BMC and > other state officials-and much investment-a full-fledged drop-in center is a > dream that has finally come true. > > There are two distinct areas in this new Drop In Center - the lounge area > and the events/workshops area--on the same floor. (So, if you feel you have > the talent in any art-fine art, performing, fashion or even gastronomy-we > may be interested in show casing your creative expression for the rest of > the community.) You can also just laze around in the lounge area or watch > TV, listen to music, read gay-themed (and non-gay themed) books and > magazines, play a board game or simply share stuff with your gay friends. > > Should you require any counselling or medical services including testing, > these can be accessed on a separate (second) floor which is also the > administration block. > > The Drop In Center is open six days a week from 2.00 pm to 8.00 pm. > > The Drop In Center is also open on 2nd and 4th Sundays for "Sunday High" > meetings organized by the Bombay Dost Group from 5.00 pm to 8.00pm > > Opening Attraction -- Queers Like Us : A poster exhibition of Gay Icons > > Address: First floor, The Humsafar Trust, Vakola Municipal Market Building, > Nehru Road, Vakola, Santa Cruz (East), Mumbai - 400 055. Tel.: 26187476, > 26650547. > > Vivek Anand > The Humsafar Trust > ----------------------------- > > Press Release > > > > Drop-in center for Mumbai's gay and lesbian community inaugurated by Shobha > De > > > MUMBAI, April 25th: Celebrity columnist and writer Shobha De, expressed her > joy that the city's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) > communities had finally got a warm, comforting and safe drop-in center in > Mumbai. She said it was a matter of pride that the Mumbai Municipal > Corporation was responding to the needs of communities under stress, and > said that it was a landmark day for the sexual minorities in India. > > > > Ms. De was speaking after declaring open the Humsafar Trust's Drop-in Center > at Vakola in North Mumbai today as she addressed more than 150 gay men, > lesbians and transgenders of the city. Ms. De said she was fascinated with > the way gays and lesbians were organizing and hoped that the center would > fulfill its purpose of being a safe space for all kinds of people > marginalized by society for their sexual orientation. > > > > Mr. Ashok Row Kavi, chair of the Humsafar Trust, thanked both the BMC and > the state government for helping set up services for the LGBT communities. > Mr. Row Kavi said that the LGBT communities would also be able to access > various services including counseling, health services, and information on > sexuality and human rights issues. The center has a library with some rare > books and drop-ins visiting the center could sit in the library and read > books. The drop-in centre would be the venue for events of the Bombay Dost > group and also be a platform to promote LGBT creative expression. > > > > Mr. Row Kavi added, "Even if we have never received funding for lesbian > organizing, we are committed to helping the lesbian and bisexual women > access funds and services in the city's health delivery system" > > > > Ms. Geeta Kumana of the lesbian NGO, the Aanchal Trust, expressed her > happiness that lesbians too would share the space. "We intend using this > space to celebrate our second anniversary next month," Kumana added. Ms. > Kumana said she was delighted that a celebrity and writer like Shobha De > came and encouraged the LGBT communities to fight for their rights. She said > Humsafar and Aanchal were partners in fighting oppression against lesbians > and gay people in India. The Aanchal Trust runs a help-line and drop-in > center for lesbian and bisexual women in Mumbai and she added that both > organizations shared their scarce resources in helping their respective > communities. > > > > Mr. Row Kavi further added that the center has a drop-in area for dietary > advice for HIV positive persons, an STI clinic specially organized to serve > gay men, men-having-sex-with-men (MSM) and transgendered persons (hijras). > Out of the 26 voluntary counseling and testing centres (VCTCs) started by > the Mumbai District AIDS Control Society (MDACS) and the BMC, the Humsafar > Trust's VCTC was the only one situated within an NGO to make it easier for > gay men to access health facilities. > > > > Mr. Row Kavi said the Humsafar Trust had reached out to over one lakh MSM at > nearly 150 sites in and around Mumbai city to distribute nearly six lakh > condoms and safer sex literature. It's outreach services were linked to five > public hospitals in Mumbai. > > > > Mr. Vivek Raj Anand, the Humsafar Trust's Chief Executive Officer, urged the > audience to go around and view the Bombay Dost gay and lesbian icons > exhibition mounted at the drop-in center before giving a vote of thanks. > > > > For more information, please contact: Mr. Vivek Anand, c/o. The Humsafar > Trust, tel: 26187476, 26650547 or Mr. Ashok Row Kavi (cell) 98203-30169 > From ifellow at sarai.net Tue Apr 27 13:17:35 2004 From: ifellow at sarai.net (Sarai Independet Fellowship) Date: Tue, 27 Apr 2004 13:17:35 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 2nd posting Message-ID: <408E1017.7010407@sarai.net> Second Posting:Shrinking Public Spaces in a City of Bunkers Hi All, Over the last few months I have been exploring Srinagar, though other commitments kept taking me out of the city. Primarily I was walking through the city, interviewing people on the way and spending time at the secular and the sacred landmarks in Srinagar. I am tempted to get into the specific descriptions of what I found on the way but to brief I barely mention the places and some general conclusions, while keeping the narratives for the final presentation. One important realisation has been the need to re-look at the very title of my fellowship. I have felt like deleting the ‘Shrinking’ word at occasions, when I faced breezes of individual freedom in the mundane occurrences like a careless political talk chat at a coffee shop in Lal Chowk, the city centre; the growth of snooker and cyber cafés presenting an escape to the local youth or the expanding the limits of the ‘normal time’ to return home by an hour or so. But other instances of discovering Srinagar prove that the invisible and the visible entry signs are still staring at us. Be it entering Srinagar via the Jammu-Srinagar highway, visiting the Shankaracharya temple a little ahead or roaming through the remains of Moghul prince Dara Shukhoh’s library, known as Pari Mahal, you come to realise that most of the markers of Srinagar’s history have turned into barracks inaccessible to the average resident of the city. The spaces are not shrinking just physically but in the mental domain too. While cricketing times relaxed the soldier’s and the militant’s fingers on the rifle trigger, the general elections and the subsequent increase in violence has again shrunk Srinagar like a fist closing in on sponge of humanity. And beyond the political ups and downs, the city remain in a constant mixture of calculation and caution against free, reckless verbal and physical behaviour, like a child conscious of the watching of gaze of an adult watching over. I hope to ‘complete’ my exploration of the Srinagar by June and intend to make the final presentation a mixture of stories, which would best represent these months of loitering in the city and the analysis of it all. Looking forward to your suggestions, Best, Basharat Independent Journalist, Srinagar, basharatpeer at rediffmail.com From ifellow at sarai.net Tue Apr 27 13:19:37 2004 From: ifellow at sarai.net (Sarai Independet Fellowship) Date: Tue, 27 Apr 2004 13:19:37 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 2nd posting Message-ID: <408E1091.8010707@sarai.net> The Forgotten Empire: The Madan Theatres Pvt. Ltd. Biren Das Sharma If the very term ‘film industry’ denotes ‘an economic system, a way (or ways) of organizing the structure of production, distribution, and consumption’ of films in a given society, then the study of a specific film industry naturally demands attention to ‘product conventions and production conventions’ as Janet Staiger has suggested. So far as the Indian film industry is concerned, the name of J. F. Madan is archetypical of Indian film industry’s phenomenal growth in the first decades of 20th century. As a young entrepreneur J. F. Madan came to ventured in the film business around 1903 with tent show of films imported from abroad and eventually established a giant empire that had spread its wings all over the Indian subcontinent. The Madan Theatre was pioneer in many ways: it built the first permanent cinema hall in Calcutta in 1912, produced the first Bengali feature film in 1917, engaged contemporary eminent theatre personalities like Dani Babu, Sishir Bhaduri, Naresh Mitra and Ahindra Chowdhury in film productions, employed Anglo-Indian actresses for the first time in India and created silent stars like Patience Cooper. The company was pioneer in even using filmed scenes in its own theatrical productions as early as in 1920s. There was a time when Madan Theatre Private Limited either owned or controlled more than 300 cinema houses all over the Indian subcontinent. The company produced the first Bengali sound film in early 1930s and was also the producer of famous musical Indrasabha which had more than seventy songs in it. For three decades, the company virtually controlled the entire film business in India by producing, distributing and exhibiting films all over the subcontinent. Last but not the least, Madan Theatres was also pioneered in importing not only foreign films for the Indian market but also all kinds of equipments including camera, editing and sound recording machines. No doubt, the company had a lasting influence on the film business as it introduced several trade rules such as block booking and minimum guaranty. The company, with its vast network of show houses, came very close to the British Government who on several occasions used the network to promote its own propaganda film. On the other hand, other smaller companies who had found it difficult to compete with criticized the Madan’s trade practice and sought intervention from the British Government. The Film Enquiry Committee of 1926-27 debated at length Madan’s unabashed trade practice and recorded many complains, objections and suggestions. The business of the Madan’s was so lucrative that even the Universal Studios of Hollywood once wanted to buy it. I am presently engaged in recovering data on Madan’s film trade and hope to study its phenomenal growth as an economic system and also as culture industry. I hope to highlight some of the specific working practices of the company and its monopolistic control over the film industry more minutely in my next posting. From ifellow at sarai.net Tue Apr 27 13:21:43 2004 From: ifellow at sarai.net (Sarai Independet Fellowship) Date: Tue, 27 Apr 2004 13:21:43 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 2nd posting Message-ID: <408E110F.10909@sarai.net> Early Cinema and Rise of a New Form of Advertising Posting dated 25th March 2004 by Indrani Majumder I have started collecting and studying the handbills preserved from the period 1900 - 1905 which were definitely the first and most primitive form of film advertisement to appear in those days. The handbills, though visually unattractive, provide a lot of information about early films and the spectators. A handbill is an extension of newspaper advertisement of the same programme often providing a little more information to its reader. The handbills indicate that cinema was predictably presented to the audience as a new form of ‘attraction’ – a visual ‘gimmick’ not to be missed at all. It was almost mandatory for some established commercial theatre to feature ‘bioscope’ along with the main play in the commercial theatres of Calcutta regularly in the first decade of 20th century. Different packages of shorts, mainly documentaries or ‘actualities’ as they were known in those days, were considered as crowd-pullers. Occasional comic films and travelogues were also started appearing soon. After all cinema was a ‘modern scientific marvel’ and many believed that the magic of cinema was a logical extension of stage illusions or ‘special effect’s that was so special to commercial theatre in those days. The first newspaper advertisements and handbill were careful in listing these ‘attractions’ offered by a film programme for the benefit of its potential spectators. In Bengal Hiralal Sen started recording specific scenes from the threatre productions and showed those to the theatre audiences. The rare handbills featuring Hiralal Sen’s ‘Royal Bioscope’ shows begged the audience not to miss these ‘attractions’ and were sometimes quite blatant in praising the quality or standard of the films. One handbill, for example, indicated that the images are not ‘dark’ which was most common ‘fault’ in the early films where exposure control had yet to be perfected. The handbills carried no photographs but used different front sizes to highlight specific ‘attractions’ such as a memorable moment from a theatre or a nationalist meeting which had its obvious theatrical / performative characteristics. As a new commodity cinema had to appeal to popular sensibilities, to address the public directly and convincingly. It was rather natural for the cinema industry to use all means of communication to intimate the public to come and see a film. Handbills, slides, newspaper advertisements, lobby cards, song books, hoardings, banners, and ‘trailers’, which were so unique to cinema, had created not only a subsidiary industry of its own but also new ways of intimating and addressing the people. The language of the cinema advertisement uses words and images, graphics and designing unlike any other medium. The film advertisement among other things, I believe, is a form of graphical construction of pleasure in and through which both words and images talk to its ‘reader’. Ideology of graphical representation of cinematic pleasure in the form of advertisement in which power of addressing becomes supreme needs to be deconstructed to show how the codes of representation were created and functioned. The handbills from the first decade of 20th Century indicate the beginning of this. I welcome suggestion / advice. From ifellow at sarai.net Tue Apr 27 13:50:29 2004 From: ifellow at sarai.net (Sarai Independet Fellowship) Date: Tue, 27 Apr 2004 13:50:29 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 2nd posting Message-ID: <408E17CD.5030709@sarai.net> Origin and Growth of Hazrat Nizamuddin Village The origin of Nizamuddin is obscure, but it is believed to be the personal territory or domain of Giyas-ud-din Balban (1266-1287), the last of the Slave Kings. It was created along with Lal Kot, the first Muslim capital. Balban named the area Giyaspur after himself. He built the palace called Lal Mahal and the surrounding fortifications. The next stage of developments is associated with the Saint Hazrat Nizamuddin, a Sufi saint of the Chishti order. He chose the area very near Balban’s palace, a flat piece of land which he called Chabutara Yaran, as his meeting place. Alauddin Khilji (1296-1316) built the Jamat Khana mosque as he was a disciple of the saint. The saint made some modifications and additions in the area. He constructed the baoli (stepped well) and extended the existing gateway to relate to the baoli. Both these acts are of mystic significance to the local people, but they also demonstrate a vision which was the key factor for the village’s subsequent growth and development. When he died, he was buried in the Chabutara Yaran, as he had desired in his lifetime. This added to its importance and soon the area acquired a new identity, Nizampur after the saint. The village gradually developed, more people came and settled and came to be known as Nizamuddin. The village was embellished by subsequent dynasties of kings and important people by buildings. Feroze Tughlak made the Kali Masjid, a semi covered mosque. Other buildings of interest are the tomb of Ataga Khan, the tomb of Telangani and the Chausath Khamba, the tomb of Mirza Aziz Kokantash. Nizamuddin has the most outstanding collection of Islamic Architecture ranging over a period of 700 years. The buildings vary in visual appearance and material, but yet retain homogeneity. The post Independence period brought a great deal of change to Delhi. The influx of refugees from West Pakistan and there resettlement began the trend of migration to the capital. This rapid rate of population growth caused concern which led to the preparation of the Master Plan for Delhi. The Master Plan declared Nizamuddin a slum to be cleared. The village was red-lined along its existing boundaries, and development proposals were made for the land immediately outside this confined area. The Delhi Development Authority acquired the surrounding land. People relying on the land for agriculture lost their livelihood. The new surrounding development meant that the village could not grow as it had in the past. This led to a marked change in the village structure. The old walls were broken down and new shops were built which opened to the outside. The value of the land in the village increased due to its proximity to central hub of Delhi. This led to demolition of buildings and ne! w high rise construction. This, in turn, caused two new problems: first, the loss of heritage by demolition of buildings, and second, the new buildings spoil the skyline of the historic area. In the past, the size of the building related to their relative importance, resulting in an interesting skyline of domes. The new construction is not only out of scale, but it is also incompatible in the materials used and final visual appearance. The next series of problems within the village were attributed to the general problems of Delhi, one being that of migration. The Muslims from the rural areas of adjoining states are attracted to Nizamuddin. As it is a Muslim neighbourhood, the new arrivals find it the most appropriate area in which to settle. Many of the monuments and dilapidated buildings provide shelter, which is cheap and inexpensive accommodation. The other problem relates to large scale building projects in Delhi. The area near the village of Nizamuddin saw the construction of two flyovers, an open air stadium and numerous office blocks and housing complexes. All of these Government projects require massive labour. This scale of construction brings more migrants from the rural areas. As each project takes a considerable period of time, the labourers settle. The population of Nizamuddin grew without control because of the construction projects in the vicinity. From rupali_gupte at rediffmail.com Tue Apr 27 11:38:30 2004 From: rupali_gupte at rediffmail.com (Rupali Gupte) Date: 27 Apr 2004 06:08:30 -0000 Subject: [Reader-list] third posting: Tactical City Message-ID: <20040427060830.25442.qmail@webmail17.rediffmail.com> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040427/f44c7fec/attachment.html -------------- next part --------------   Third Posting: Rupali Gupte, Sarai Independent Fellowship, 2004 TACTICAL CITY In the narrative ‘Tactical city – Tenali Rama and other stories of Mumbai’s urbanism’ certain cultural theorists appear anachronistically as markers of particular ways of thinking about the city and the urban. While the narrative incorporates these synthetically and in a playful manner, this paper will attempt to self consciously examine the references. The last posting was a paper on the Tactical position and a précis of the narrative with respect to the position. This paper will intend to further delve into the term ‘tactical’ and elaborate some of the KEY CONCEPTS in cultural theory that help situate the narrative. These hopefully, will form the various nodes that the narrative in its ‘tactical form’ will attempt to connect. POWER: “Modern power is tolerable on the condition that it masks itself – which it has done very effectively. If truth is outside of and opposed to power, the speaker’s benefit is merely an incidental plus. But if truth and power are not external to each other, as Foucault will obviously maintain, then the speaker’s benefit and associated ploys are among the essential ways in which power operates. It masks itself by producing a discourse, seemingly opposed to it but really part of a larger deployment of modern power. ” (Dreyfus and Rabinow, 1982- Dreyfus and Rabinow, Foucault Beyond Structuralism and hermeneutics. ) ARCHEOLOGY Archeology is structuralist. It tries to take an objective neutral position and avoids causal theories of change. (Dreyfus & Rabinow1982) GENEOLOGY The genealogy of knowledge consists of two separate bodies of knowledge: First, the dissenting opinions and theories that did not become established and widely recognized and, second, the local beliefs and understandings (think of what nurses know about medicine that does not achieve power and general recognition). The genealogy is concerned with bringing these two knowledges, and their struggles to pass themselves on to others, out into the light of the day. Genealogy does not claim to be more true than institutionalized knowledge, but merely to be the missing part of the puzzle. It works by isolating the central components of some current day political mechanism (such as maintaining the power structure which diagnoses mental illness) and then traces it back to its historical roots (Dreyfus and Rabinow). These historical roots are visible to us only through the two separate bodies of genealogical knowledge described above. Foucault says, "Let us give the term 'genealogy' to the union of erudite knowledge and local memories which allows us to establish a historical knowledge of struggles and to make use of this knowledge tactically today.” Whereas archeology studies the practices of language (in a strict sense), genealogy uncovers the creation of objects through institutional practices. (Dreyfus & Rabinow,). Whereas the archeological historian claims to write from a neutral, disinterested perspective, the Nietzschean or Foucaultian genealogist admits the political and polemical interests motivating the writing of the history (Hoy, 1986 RESISTANCE "There are no relations of power without resistance" (Foucault 1980) TACTICS “If there is an imperative in my lesson then it is a tactical one: If you want to fight, here are some guidelines. I will expose tactical directions. (Foucault, 1978: This is taken to another level by Michel de Certeau’s thesis of tactics versus strategies in his ‘Practice of Everyday Life’. According to De Certeau, Strategies are the tools of the dominant elite while tactics work in the shadow of strategies and are ‘an art of the weak’, which form mute processes that organize socioeconomic order. With respect to Foucault’s thesis of all pervading power structures, De Certeau notes “ If it is true that the grid of discipline is everywhere becoming clearer and more extensive, it is all the more urgent to discover how an entire society resists being reduced to it, what popular procedures (also miniscule and quotidian) manipulate the mechanisms of discipline and conform to them, only to evade them and finally what ways of operating form the consumer’s (or dominee’s ) side of the mute processes that organize socio-economic order” .Tactics are for De Certeau “procedures that gain validity in relation to the pertinence they lend to time, to the circumstances which the precise instant of an intervention transforms into a favorable situation, to the rapidity of the movements that change the organization of space. Strategies, as De Cereal argues, “reflect a typical military attitude towards establishing autonomous place and distinguishing it from an 'environment.' Therefore, strategy is about a mastery over space through an exercise in the control of sight, for which De Certeau uses Foucault's idea of panoptic practice. In this architectural metaphor of power relationships, tactics stay permanently out of the reach of panoptic power; it is time where one realizes individual preferences” . The Role of the Architect Having laid out the idea of Tactics with respect to power relations and the representation of power, one goes on here to dwell on the role of the architect vis-à-vis this position. If De Certeau’s argument talks about how people, through quotidian practices seek to tweak power relations, where does the architect fit into the equation? Isn’t the architect’s work primarily in the category of ‘Strategies’? To answer this question would be to attempt to expand on the role/definition of the architect and the understanding of the tools s/he has at her disposal. The first place to go to, to expand the role of the architect would be to challenge the architect’s understanding of Space. One needs to understand Space not as an object or thing as the architectural discipline does but as Lefebvre suggests, a historical production and the outcome of social being. Lefebvre postulates three kinds of spaces: Spatial practices, Representational Spaces and Spaces of Representation SPATIAL PRACTICES The first, spatial practice concerns the production and reproduction of material life. Encompassing both everyday life and urban activities, it results in the various functional spaces – ranging from single rooms and buildings to large urban sites – that form part of the material production of space. Spatial practice is thus roughly equivalent to the economic or material base. Producing the spatial forms and practices appropriate to and necessary for different productive and reproductive activities, it thereby defines places, actions and signs, the trivialized spaces of the everyday and conversely, places made special by symbolic means. It is both a space of objects and things and a space of movements and activities. This is space, in Lefebvre’s terms, as it is “perceived” – in the sense of being the apparent and often functional form of space that we perceive before considering concepts and experiences. This is space as empirically observed. REPRESENTATIONS OF SPACE The second kind of space, Representations of space, relates to the conscious codifications of space typified by abstract understanding, such as those advanced by the disciplines of planning, science, and mathematics (and architecture – my emphasis) and by artists of a scientific bent. Representations of space are a form of knowledge that provides the various understandings of space necessary for spatial practices to take place. They thus display a tendency toward intellectually constructed systems of verbal signs. This is space as conceived as “concept without life” SPACES OF REPRESTATION The third and last kind of space, spaces of representation, concerns those experienced as symbols and images. In part then, the spaces of representation function similar to conceptions of reality in conditioning possibilities for action. But they are also liberatory, for at this level resistance to and criticism of dominant social orders can take place. In spaces of representation, space can be invented and imagined. They are thus both the space of the experience and the space of the imagination, as lived. Spaces of representation tend towards systems of non verbal symbols and signs; they are “life without concepts”. Lefebvre also has 3 other categories of space based on the idea that space is a production and postulates that each mode of production produces its own understanding of space. Thus here he distinguishes between natural or physical space (a preexistent natural phenomenon over which activities range – the space of prehistory) gives way first to absolute space (fragments of natural space rendered sacred, the space of rites and ceremonies, death and the underworld – the spaces of slavery) the historical space (the early towns of the west- the space of feudalism) and finally abstract space (space as commodity, at once concrete and abstract, homogenized and fragmented – the space of capitalism. ) Each space contains within it both traces of its predecessors and the seeds of the next, creating a compex historical geography of different social spaces. Lefebvre however also introduces the idea of a space yet to come : differential space, which restores the human body, the social body with its knowledge desires and needs. Edward Soja also locates his thesis in a similar tripartite categorization of geographical space and argues for a relation between the social and the spatial – “a socio-spatial dialectic”. He calls his conception of space yet to come, “Third Space”. Tactical City is an attempt to produce the tools for a “socio-spatial dialectic’. The Architect Having thus broadened the canvas of space for the architect, one needs to go back to our earlier question, what then is the role of the architect? The architect perhaps in Tactical City is less of a specialist using his/her bag of tools to carve out abstract space or a middleman/woman as he/she tends to be in the earlier conceptions, but more of an agent, an actor in space, helping tweak the power relations with his/her specialized bag of tools. The end product of such an architecture then is ‘tactics’: which could be as much in the form of words and images as they could be buildings and objects. TACTICAL TOOLS Let us now peek into the bag of tools available to the architect to develop tactics. These tools will encompass references and modes of representation that allow certain ways of thinking about the production of space. Situationists: Mapping the city The Situationists in their deviant ways of mapping allow a reading of the city that is different from the narratives and truths conjured by the powers that be. In their tendency of paying attention to the detail as opposed to the whole, they allow a more subjective reading of the city. These form important tools for creating new knowledge banks and thus preparing the field for a more relevant intervention. Surrealists: Collage, Montage and the irrational The Surrealists offer many tools for the production of space. Like the Situationists, they help construct defiant narratives of the city, the self and ways in which the self relates to the city and the everyday. Besides this, the Surrealists with their tools of collage and montage allow the juxtaposition of completely varying and sometimes contradictory ideas to generate a third idea. They allow the convergence of the banal and the significant, the mixing of scales and the swapping of the detail with the whole. These can be methodologically sound ways of tweaking power structures. The powerful imagery generated by these methods form stinging criticisms of the normalizing tendencies of power. Tactical Phenomenology Architecture owes a lot to the work of phenomenologists starting with Gaston Bacchelard and Heidegger. The phenomenologists have taught us that we do not live in a homogenous or empty space but a space saturated with qualities and that may even be pervaded by a spectral aura . It is important to add the prefix ‘tactical’ however to phenomenology and marry the concepts because the tactical by definition is about ‘appropriation, domination and resistance’ and phenomenology has the tendency to be appropriated by a ‘self referential authenticity ’ However the marriage of the two phenomena, allow Space to be perceived, not as ‘abstract space’ but as a ‘lived space’ according to Lefebvre. Phenomenology understood in this way then has its own tools and trajectories to tap the ‘ontological potential of human experience ’ and contains within it a shade of emanicipatory possibilities. These here are some of the tools that Tactical City references. This thesis is also a search for new tools and references and so this list will have to grow. From hopa65 at yahoo.com Tue Apr 27 07:48:17 2004 From: hopa65 at yahoo.com (Hope) Date: Mon, 26 Apr 2004 19:18:17 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] CFP: Subtle Histories: Uncovering the Unseen in Visual Culture In-Reply-To: <20040426150717.44338.qmail@web9601.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <20040427021817.39325.qmail@web20607.mail.yahoo.com> CALL FOR PAPERS - Deadline for abstracts June 16, 2004 Subtle Histories: Uncovering the Unseen in Visual Culture Graduate Symposium - UCLA Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA - November 12, 2004 sub�tle \sut'-l\, adj. 1 a: DELICATE, ELUSIVE b: difficult to understand or distinguish : OBSCURE <~differences in sound> 2 a: PERCEPTIVE, REFINED b: having or marked by keen insight and ability to penetrate deeply and thoroughly 3 a: highly skillful: EXPERT b: cunningly made or contrived: INGENIOUS 4: ARTFUL, CRAFTY Graduate students in any discipline are invited to submit abstracts for the 39th annual UCLA Art History Graduate Student Symposium, the longest-running Art History student symposium in the United States. To be held on November 12, 2004, this event will bring together emerging scholars to share their research on any aspect of the visual arts relevant to this year's theme. This year, for the first time, the event will take place in the UCLA Hammer Museum, an important center of art and culture in the heart of West Los Angeles. This year's theme, Subtle Histories: Uncovering the Unseen in Visual Culture, is meant to encourage the disclosure of subtle, or untold, stories in art history, those that have been marginalized by adherence to strict disciplinary categories. We seek innovative submissions from scholars in any field who are concerned with the uncovering of such visual histories that have been hidden, lost, or never realized. In a climate charged with identity politics, often based on binary oppositions, have we been overlooking those stories that do not fit neatly into these binaries? During the past two decades, Postcolonial studies, for instance, has increased our awareness of the complexity of cultural interaction and exchange, both past and present. How can this kind of critical reassessment be applied to other periods, cultures and media, within the broad domain of visual art, to address these new, composite cultural and political identities and histories? How can we incorporate these stories into the discourse? Writers such as Antoinette Burton, Ann Stoler, and Christopher Pinney, among others, have sought to direct our attention to these "smaller" stories that have not yet found a place within standard academic divisions. Contributions from fields ranging from anthropology to the sciences have successfully challenged Art History's established categories and opened up new spaces for the recovery of representations that did not fit the frames of the discourse. Our goal is to build on those strides that have already been made and further explore the subtle complexities in visual culture and representation. Possible questions that might be asked include: -In what ways have categories of knowledge influenced how works of art are judged and valued? -How must old frameworks be reconfigured in order to "tease out" neglected or marginalized histories? -Are there unknown histories behind shifting standards of taste and beauty, through time and across cultures? -In what way have regimes of power and patronage inhibited the recording of subtle histories? -How has the absence of subtle histories in the discourse affected the construction of cultural memory? Abstracts of 300 words or less, along with a C.V., must be postmarked by June 16, 2004. Submissions may be e-mailed to or mailed to: AHGSA Symposium 2004 Department of Art History, UCLA 100 Dodd Hall University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 90095-1417 Visit the UCLA AHGSA Symposium website at : http://www.humnet.ucla.edu/humnet/arthist/ahgsa/symposium.html __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Win a $20,000 Career Makeover at Yahoo! HotJobs http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/careermakeover _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From nigahmedia at yahoo.com Tue Apr 27 16:03:51 2004 From: nigahmedia at yahoo.com (Nigah Media Collective) Date: Tue, 27 Apr 2004 16:03:51 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Pictures from Here -- Sunil Gupta Message-ID: <200404271603.51336.nigahmedia@yahoo.com> ***Please Forward Widely*** Sunil Gupta -- Pictures from Here www.geocities.com/nigahmedia/sunil.html A collection of photographs that represent six of the artist's projects over 20 years, reflecting his desire to create a cultural history for others and himself in his position as a gay Indian man living with HIV in the west. May 4th-14th, 10am-8pm everyday, Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre. In order to make the exhibition a true community space, there are daily tea's at 6pm, and an accompanying schedule of talks, films, and, of course, cocktail launches. Mark your calenders! For a detailed program: www.geocities.com/nigahmedia/sunilprog.html Launch Party: 3rd May, 6pm onwards, Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre. All are invited! Talk: Sunil will be present to talk about his work on the 4th of May, at 6pm. Talk: Nigah is organising a discussion with known gay activist, writer, and historian Saleem Kidwai (co-author of Same-sex love in India, as well as the recent translation of Malika Pukhraj's autobiography). The discussion will be held on the 8th of May, at 7pm at the Open Palm Court Conference Room in the Habitat. Films: The Naz Foundation is organising films on the 5th, 6th, and 7th, and Nigah is putting together films on the 9th of May. All films are in the Open Palm Court Conference Room at the Habitat. May 5th 2-6pm Tales of the Night Fairies -- Shohini Ghosh Majma - Rahul Roy May 6th 2-6pm King of Dreams -- Amar Kanwar Love Dance -- Ramesh Venkataraman May 7th 2-6pm Manjuben Truckdriver -- Sharna Dastur In the Flesh -- Bishaka Datta May 8th 7pm Discussion on Owning Gay History by Saleem Kidwai Organised by the Nigah Media Collective May 9th 2-3pm Love is not just a Straight Thing I and II by Nolan Lewis, Rachna Gutka, Shweta Dharia, Siddharth Surana, Nehal Thakakr, Thomas Koshy 30min. (2003) Tehdi Lakeer (The Crooked Line) by Amrit Sharma, Aparna Sanyal, and Arunima Sharma 21min. (2002) 3-3:15pm Break 3:15-3:45pm BomGay by Riyad Wadia 12min Beauty Parlour by Mehreen Jabbar 20 min (2000) Thanks to Friends of Siddharth for providing this film. 4-5pm My Friend Su by Neeraj Bhasin 55min (2001) 5-5:30pm Tea/Coffee and Snacks 5:30-6:30pm Gulabi Aaina by Sridhar Rangayan 40min (2002) 6:30-7:30pm Films by Riyad Wadia Nadia A Mermaid called Aida ***** All films are free. No passes needed. All are invited! ******* "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention." --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Win a $20,000 Career Makeover at Yahoo! HotJobs _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From monica at sarai.net Tue Apr 27 21:55:33 2004 From: monica at sarai.net (Monica Narula) Date: Tue, 27 Apr 2004 21:55:33 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] N.E.S.T Message-ID: http://c6.org/nest C6 releases its latest creation, the application N.E.S.T. http://c6.org/nest N.E.S.T - Network Examination of Serendipitous Transfer. Online 'chinese whispers', best describes c6's latest work. The software is free! When installed, it logs you in to a community deeply involved in the act of corruption..Data corruption that is! When online the program links to its nearest geographical neighbours to form a ring of users. As an audio file is passed, those connected look and listen for signs of change and who knows? Perhaps even serendipity! The passing audio file is visualised within the conventional application window, with statistics on cycle involvement and neighbours details displayed below. The bottom half of the screen shows you, the state that the file is in, its packets mapped to a rising cubic terrain in both 2D and 3D. A world map (on the website) shows the NEST poulation rising and falling as users log on and off. The nationalities locations and stats gives the up to date state of international corruption. C6 co-create with those of lesser connections. Turning the frustration, dropped and erratic data transfer experienced, into a medium for collective artistic involvement. Each user can snapshot their findings and add to a growing database of weird sounds and strange terrains. This SETI inspired art work is the first of three planned software releases from c6 in the future. The first, NEST searches virtual space for corruption and chaos, a far cry from its inspiration's distributed analysis of deep space chaos for intelligence. C6 is a collective of artists who share a decisively anarchistic view of life and sense of humour, C6 creates events from a heady mix of digital and physical performance, anarchic stenciling campaigns and fine-art propaganda." 'Deep Sites' Intelligent Innovation in contemporary web design, Max Bruinsma, Thames and Hudson, 2003. C6 - Creating chaos in an ordered world. -- Monica Narula [Raqs Media Collective] Sarai-CSDS 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi 110 054 www.sarai.net _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From achellappa at yahoo.com Wed Apr 28 08:28:30 2004 From: achellappa at yahoo.com (=?iso-8859-1?q?Aarathi=20Chellappa?=) Date: Wed, 28 Apr 2004 03:58:30 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Third Posting - Understanding the Patenting of Traditional Knowledge Message-ID: <20040428025830.92182.qmail@web41506.mail.yahoo.com> I recently returned from a two week visit to Ahmedabad and Delhi where I got to interact with Prof. Anil Gupta, head of Sristi and National Innovation Foundation (NIF). This was an extremely useful interaction for me as Prof. Gupta has been dealing with issues relating to traditional knowledge for about 14 years now. I also got to understand the workings of Sristi and NIF and the moves undertaken by them to protect traditional knowledge. At Delhi I met with the team at the National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources (NISCAIR) that is working on the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library. This is an initiative undertaken by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) along with certain other government entities, to prevent repeats of the turmeric situation. I also interacted with Ms. S. Vishalakshi and Mr. Dinesh Abrol at the National Institute of Science Technology and Development Studies (NISTADS) who have worked on related areas such as biotechnology for several years now. In Bangalore, I plan to meet with the Centre for Ecological Sciences and the Foundation for the Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions, as they are also involved in efforts to document traditional knowledge. I have arrived at the overall scheme of the report and will attempt to have a draft ready by the next posting date. The First chapter will focus on what tradtitional knowledge is and why it should be protected. The next will deal with the patent system, how it evolved and when and why prior art became relevant. Thereafter I will discuss whether all traditional knowledge is prior art followed by whether certain patents that overlap on traditional knowledge were properly granted or not. Upon conclusion of this analysis, I shall examine strategies for protection of traditional knowledge. I think I have collected sufficient data, but believe that I need to write a draft report to see if there are any gaps. So ideally, by the next posting date, I should know what more needs to be done. All thoughts/insights/comments/critcism welcome, thanks, Aarathi. ____________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Messenger - Communicate instantly..."Ping" your friends today! Download Messenger Now http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com/download/index.html From shireen_sona at hotmail.com Wed Apr 28 17:50:50 2004 From: shireen_sona at hotmail.com (shireen mirza) Date: Wed, 28 Apr 2004 17:50:50 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] II The Everydays of Eternity: A Study of Muhurrum Processions Message-ID: II The Everydays of Eternity: A Study of Muhurrum Processions (A summary of the war of Karbala and the procession is given at the end) When I first started my study on Muhurrum processions, the central question of my project was to understand why certain events gain momentum through history and become constitutive of a community and of individuals within the community. What processes have gone into shaping a community�s perception of itself in terms of others, and itself as the �other�? Specifically in relation to the Shia community, how does Karbala become the trope for acting out the political, historical oppression faced by the Shias over centuries, in a manner that Shia identity gets articulated in a language of oppression, a language of deep pessimism and a sense of fatalism that casts the world outside as it as that which has been and will always be alien and threatens its existence. These continue to be the questions I have been asking through the two months of Muhurrum and Safar this year. (While Safar has just gone by, the majlis still continue till Eid and the mourning and black clothes are worn till 9th Rabiul Awal, 30th April) Only it wasn�t the only kind of question I needed to ask� If identity of a community is too abstract a concept to articulate, Muhurrum was the perfect instance to map Shia identity on to body, time and space: In The black clothes worn during Muhurrum Beating the chests (matham) The flagellating subject :acting out of a condition of subjecthood in relation to historical and social processes that form it. Mourning as a metaphor embodied in the songs of Karbala Collective purging of emotions Imam Badhas /ashurqanas built mostly for the women to congregate during majlis� Languages of suffering and pain Alam: the symbolic palm which is a battle standard carried in the Asuhra processions Muhurrum then could be read as a site for not just locating identity but a public performance and a spectacular staging of the Shia identity that is performed to make a political-historical point. I was in Hyderabad during Ashura (the 10th of Muhurrum), this year. My first Muhurrum in Hyderabad. Till this year I have only attended the regular majlis� at particular homes, within the family and in the ashurqanas on Richmond Road in Bangalore. It changed everything for me. Also I stayed in Raichur for the first few days of Muhurrum on my way to Hyderabad. Raichur is interestingly located on the border of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and has a very interesting history. It was under the Nizam�s rule, which gives it an interesting permutation and combinations of various influences. The bombing attacks on the Shias this year during the 10th of Muhurrum (Ashura) in Iraq and Pakistan during the 2nd March 04 brought out in some ways how closely linked the martyrdom of Hussain and the battle of Karbala is to the Shia imagination, in its self conception and in the way the world conceives it. Somehow some identities get articulated louder than others. I saw the famous procession in Hyderabad on Ashura with Bibi Ka Alam that moves from Sar Tok Ka Alawa to Mosa naddi announcing as it marched from ashurqana to ashurqana through the streets of Darul Shifa: �Since Imam Hussain�s time the Shias have been killed and oppressed. It is no different today. Our brothers in Iraq and Pakistan have been killed on Ashura in the act of azadari (mourning). While you curse (lanath) the martyrs of Imam Hussain also send lanath on America and the enemies of the Shias.� Muhurrum for the Shias could definitely be understood as their response to the world outside, their response to the on-going battle� against the West, against America, against their enemies with whom they have political, economical and historical scores to settle. The announcement during the Bibi ka Alam procession distinctly echoes Ayathollah Khomeini�s speech that re-inscribed Karbala within modern political terms: "And they should know that the injunctions of the Imams, peace be upon them, regarding the commemoration of this momentous event in the history of Islam, and the cursing and hating of those who oppressed the Prophet�s household, are all (of a piece with) the protesting laments of communities (everywhere) against oppressors throughout history until eternity. And you know that the cursing and hating and lamenting against the unjust Umayyad dynasty, God�s curse be upon them, although they have been destroyed and sent off to Hell, are cries against (all) the world�s oppressors and keep alive these cries which break oppression brought about by oppressors at every time and place be recounted. And in this age, which is the age of the tyrannizing of the world of Islam at the hands of America, the Soviets, and the clients attached to them, including the House of Saud, these traitors to the Great Sanctuary of the Divine, upon whom be the curses of God, his angels and the prophets, their crimes must be energetically recounted, cursed and hated." (Khomeini, 1361: 9, cited by Devji in Culture and Dynamics) Khomeini was instrumental in reclaiming the Shia identity politically with the Iranian revolution and ending taqiyah, the �necessary dissimulation� in which one may give an external show of acquiescence while preserving silent resistance in one�s heart.2 It acts as a guiding principle for any Shia living under a tyrannous government too powerful to be safely resisted, where the person does not affirm his or her Shia identity but believes in their heart and keeps their suffering restrained within their family and among other Shias. In fact this enacting ones identity in a ritual performance perhaps comes from years of silences under which Shias might have found themselves. Also any display of matham or azadari has a history of persecution, which perhaps is the reason for self-flagellation. Beat yourself before the authorities/enemies beat you. While on the one hand Karbala has embodied the religious and political thought and struggle of the Shias and will always be the essence of Shia identity; such a reading doesn�t capture what Karbala has come to mean outside this mainstream understanding. While I can easily make the link between Shiism and Karbala, it leaves many other links unexplained. Karbala remains significant to different people belonging to different communities. Almost everybody has this inexplicable, unquestionable deep faith in martyrs of Karbala. A lot of the faith is innocent and ignorant of its historical and political significance and has little to do with the sacrifice or the ideals of Islam. Bibi ka Alawa for instance, the main Imam badha in Hyderabad where Bibi Fathima�s alam stands, is maintained by a Sunni, a Shia and a Hindu family. Anybody who has faith is welcomed. People come distances hoping to make a mannath (a wish, would be a bad translation), asking for a child to be born in the family, asking for a daughter�s marriage. Obviously a deeper narrative underlines the spread and the diversification of Muhurrum. It has come to mean a million different things to a million different people. Why muhurrum; would be the next question I would inevitably ask everyone. Why not Ramazan? Why not a happier occasion? The question seemed almost forced and unnecessary. The knowledgeable would say it is the love of the prophet, his son-in law Imam Ali and his grandson Imam Hussain; others would say it is because of the sacrifice for Islam and the intolerable cruelty inflicted on the prophet�s grandson and his family. But for most Shias and non-Shias the reasons were hardly historical, it had little or nothing to do with the martyrdom or the sacrifice. In fact there are hardly any reasons. I choose to call it faith, the �living faith�. Living, because it is the faith which has evolved and is evolving with history, time and space. Because it arises from the mainstream faith but has fanned into different shades, all merging and blending. The main procession during Ashura has the main alam and many small groups that follow it. Some without alams but with coconuts and flowers and smoke, and each has a story of faith and belief. Each coming from their own family legacy and tales. On my way to Darul Shifa on Ashura I saw a small procession, moving to the beating of the drums with apparently no Muslims, who told me they had the horse shoe of Imam Hussain�s horse when he went to the battleground. Another ashurqana called Panje-Shah has Hazrath Ali�s alam from Najaf. The Najafi family, who are Sunnis, own it and take care of it. It is an important ashurqana for the Shias who come there are read their majlis and have the buttermilk that is distributed, but they don�t do matham because Sunni thought does not allow matham. All ashurqanas are owned and looked after by families who stay there and take care of it. Each ashurqana has its own amazing history, linked with the family legacy. Most are built with open spaces and pillars for people to congregate and pray and chat and just be. They run on donations. I even heard of a hijrah ashurqana, obviously owned and maintained by the hijrah community. The Iranian community in Hyderabad plays a very active role during Ashura. These families are in the food business in a big way and they own the famous Paradise hotel, Hotel Sarvi, Madina caf�Hotel Alpha�all extremely popular for Hyderabadi biryani and Iranian chai. They make haleem or khitchda for everybody during Ashura. They told me, for Arabayein (which is observed 40 days after ashura) they transport gallons of food to Jowrah in Madhya Pradesh, and feed millions of people coming there from all over the country. The auspiciousness of the day is believed to remove the bad eye that�s been caste on someone�s life and people get into a trans and purge their lives of its sorrows and problems. In Raichur again, Muhurrum means something similar. From the 7th of Muhurrum the alams are put up (�peeran bethathein�, they told me) and nauhas, sometimes in Kannada and sometimes in Urdu, are sung every evening till the main day, the 10th of Muhurrum. Entire villages get together for the main procession on the 10th. Needless to say it isn�t a Shia or a Muslim observance. The Muslims (the people didn�t seem to understand the Sunni-Shia distinction and I felt silly pushing this question every time I talked to someone), liked to believe it was a sad occasion for them because they had this vague idea about someone killing someone. But the enemy changed with each person�s narrative. Some said it was the Pakistani Muslims that killed Hassan and Hussain (together). Some said it was a Hindu-Muslim jhagdha. The enemy changed with each village. In fact for the people in Maski, the Muslims in Manvi (villages in Raichur) were the bad people who killed Hassan-Hussain basha. According to the Maski faqir the bad people who killed Hassan-Hussain were the Congress who had penalized the Nizam. He also spoke about the separate worlds and work areas of the peers and the mullahs. The mullahs do not celebrate Muhurrum and discourage people. Muhurrum is more a festival of the people. They make mannaths at the dargah during Muhurrum. �Hum peeran bethathein, shakharan (sugar) khelathein�. Everybody joins the main procession, which carries the alams to the nearest river. Someone beats the drums, and songs are sung. Some drink, some dance, some get into a trans, some even walk on fire. The procession at Maski stops at some point, where Imam Qasim is suppose to meet Mariamma and they discuss the drought situation. Why has there been no rainfall this year? Will it rain next year? The Maski peer sang the only Urdu nauha I heard in Raichur, which is so similar and yet so different from the nauhas sung in Bangalore and Hyderabad. I don�t think even he knew what he was singing about. �alweda yo alweda shah-e shaheedan alwedaaa� I have recorded nauhas in Kannada from various villages in and around Raichur and some amazing conversation I�ve had with the people there, which need to be transcribed. The Sufi influence and the coming of Shiaiism through the Bahmini kingdom certainly has an impact on how traditions have come in and how they linger and how they�ve changed. It would be interesting to trace the developments as well as collect the millions of oral traditions that are so alive. A trajectory that shows the nexus between Shiaism and Sufiism will probably untangle the many ways in which the martyrdom of Hussain has been incorporated and now forms the rubric of Sufi philosophy. Karbala in Sufi philosophy is devoid of its political agenda but gets projected inwards as an inner conflict with the base self where the higher self or khuddi emerges victorious. For Iqbal, Karbala becomes the embodiment of ideal love or khuddi: invested with knowledge and action. �For without knowledge the object of quest, the beloved, remains unknown and in order to attain this knowledge one has to perform the action of soul searching. This playful circular quest, existential jouissance of sorts, is often painful. However, the more painful it is, the keener is the awareness that the lover has of his separation from the beloved.� (�Iqbal and Karbala� Syed Akbar Hyder in Cultural Dynamics 13 (3) 2001; pg. 345) The kind of literature that Karbala has managed to generate has immensely diversified where suffering in love becomes a common theme, sacrifice and self-destruction for God/Beloved becomes the truest and the purest form of love. Abida Parveen sings the Iranian poet Hafiz�s verse in her most popular album Raqs-E-Bismil: Aanche jaane aashiqan az dast hijrat min kushad Kas na deeda dar jahan juz kushtagaan e Karbala No one in this world knows The Anguish of separation from the Beloved as would the martyrs of Karbala. Hafiz Perhaps it is because Karbala might be an instance that allows for suffering, allows for narratives of love (especially familial love within the Shia marsiya tradition) that makes it so popular across people and communities in India. And I know I might just be referring to the tip of the iceberg. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The History Karbala is the cornerstone of institutionalized devotion and mourning azadari). Its tale is recounted in vivid details in the commemorative atherings (majalis) during the first two months of the Islamic calendar, muhurrum and Safar, and throughout the year in various other contexts, such as when personal losses are mourned. For Shias, the event of Karbala is inextricably bound to the issue of succession to the Prophet Mohammed, the issue that caused the first major split in the larger Muslim community: The Prophet had clearly designated his successor in the form of his cousin and son-in-law, Ali b. Abi Talib, after whom the spiritual leadership of the Muslim community would be the sole providence of Ali�s chosen descendants (the Alids). However, after the Prophet�s death, the position of Ali and his descendants was usurped by Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and then the Umayyad family. The Alid resistance to this usurpation manifested itself in Karbala when Ali�s son, Hussain, refused to pay allegiance to the Umayyad ruler Yazid.(�Iqbal and Karbala� Syed Akbar Hyder in Cultural Dynamics 13 (3) 2001) The Procession During the two months when mourning is observed, the entire community wears black clothes and recalls the tragedy through speeches delivered by the mullahs and through songs sung to the rhythm of beating chests (matham). The first ten days of Muhurrum are recalled as the family of Imam Hussain suffers without food and water (a fact much mourned and exaggerated) and the suffering culminates in death on the tenth day. On the tenth of every Muhurrum, after the afternoon prayers, the Shia men and children gather to form the army that was led to death�with horses, flags and alms; while the women look on,silently beating their chests and the tragic tale is sung as the men bleed their bodies with blades, knives and chains; signifying the battle fought to save the community and thereby immortalized in time as an act of martyrdom. _________________________________________________________________ Ready cash in just 72 hours. Apply Now !!! http://go.msnserver.com/IN/46922.asp From terriblus at hotmail.com Wed Apr 28 16:10:15 2004 From: terriblus at hotmail.com (Taran Khan) Date: Wed, 28 Apr 2004 10:40:15 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] fellowship posting Message-ID: Sarai Posting April 2004 �Very Progressive People: Stories of Women and Movements from post-Independence Bombay� Taran Khan 280404 I thought of several ways of doing this posting. The most tempting option was to simply transcribe the interviews I have been conducting with Zehra over the past weeks. Not for reasons for convenience or methodological scruples (preserving the unmediated nature of the source) but because that would be make for the most interesting reading. I am avoiding this form of narrative because in the process of transcribing Zehra�s words to English, and in adding the footnotes necessary to understand them as isolated text, the sparkling wit of her conversation dries up. So instead I will try and give a brief account of what it feels like to listen to her talk, try and communicate a sense of her conversations and my way of listening to them. In many ways, Zehra was the country girl in the threesome--unsophisticated, domestically inclined and without pretensions to �intellectual-pana� (intellectual-ness) as she calls it. (She is fond of this reading of herself, it is one of her favourite poses, yet constantly contradicts and problematises it). On an �objective� level however, it is easy to appreciate her initial discomfort as well as excitement at being in Bombay. One of several daughters in a large household, a prominent Shia landowning family, she was brought up in a fragmented world where the men had brushes with new ideas, some of which trickled into the women�s lives. She has little formal schooling, and was fond of her unadorned domestic life. However, her family�s active political affiliation and involvement (to the Congress and later the Left) and cultural status(1) gave her intimate insights into different worlds. All these influences notwithstanding, it was clear when she got married that she was expected to live in the city as the previous generation and her contemporaries lived in the qasbas. She was to live according to the same codes and the same rhythm, suitably adapted to the Bombay setting. This is what interests me the most in her narratives, the sense of attachment to a world that most of her friends either disowned or disregarded. Her admiration for Ismat Chugtai in many ways is rooted in a common sense of ownership-Chugtai�s work is exciting precisely because it speaks of her roots, a place she shares in many ways with Zehra. This is also part of the reason why Zehra�s descriptions of figures like Ali Sardar Jafri and Maqdoom Mohiyeddin have always fascinated me-- because of the simplicity of her vision and her descriptions. In part his is because she saw them up close, and knew them well. But it is also because she saw them as herself, with links to a world similar to the one she held dear. The thrill is not in listening to stories of famous people doing ordinary things. It is in the view she gives of a turbulent time, and of dazzling personalities, seen with a simplicity of vision that disregarded the reputations and recorded only the unadorned persona, with its talent and brilliance. She is fond of telling an anecdote where a jaded Kaifi, tired of the machinations of the film industry, says in a letter that the sound of her laughter brought back to him a sense of innocence and uncomplicated purity. To me, this is interesting because she sees herself clearly as being removed in a way from that �corrupt� world. Yet it is this same corrupt world she blithely defends to her sister-in- law who wonders that she will let her husband stay out all hours without a word of explanation. �Tum nahin jaanti Aliya, hum bohot progressive log hain, hamare yahan aisa hi kiya jaata hai.� You don�t understand Aliya, we are very Progressive people, this is how we do things. This priceless retort, at once defense and jibe at the world she is defending, has come to represent for me the sum of her balancing act through life. One that reminds me in so many ways of my own attempts at living in several separate worlds. Both of us, grandmother and granddaughter �have had the privilege of travelling to different worlds and living layered lives. Both have (been) denied the luxury of denouncing or alienating the values and habits of �home�. Both have tried to explain to this idea called �home� the things we do when we are not there, to explain people and behaviour �our� people know only as caricatures, characters on TV, friends of friends who do strange things. The state of being an Indian Muslim woman (I dare not extend this to AnyWoman AnyWhere) has not moved along a continuum, a linear trajectory of forward motion (slow or fast, however you care to argue it). My conversations with Zehra and with Sultana and Shaukat put me in mind of threads on a spider�s web, meeting at odd, arbitrary yet ordered intervals, supporting a whole we cannot see but try to guess at. It is a fragile, almost invisible connection, that re-casts time from its linearity of past-present-future. Like characters in Calvino�s �Castle of Crossed Destinies�, our stories have points that intersect, have moments that inspire other stories from a different time, and continue to their conclusions. We have talked of several things by now, but like I said I would prefer them to be heard in Zehra�s own voice. I will be travelling to Bombay next week to talk to Sultana and Shaukat, to listen to different stories and different versions of the same stories. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTES 1. One of the most active centers of cultural production, the �qasbas� of Awadh created and perpetuated their particular form of syncretic culture through the patronage of the feudal gentry, like Zehra�s family. Most members of the family were thus reared with an intimate understanding of poetry, music and criticism, as texts and as lived art especially in Moharram through marsias and other gatherings. _________________________________________________________________ Ready cash in just 72 hours. Apply Now !!! http://go.msnserver.com/IN/46922.asp From sahanirmal at yahoo.co.in Thu Apr 29 12:08:22 2004 From: sahanirmal at yahoo.co.in (=?iso-8859-1?q?nirmal=20saha?=) Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2004 07:38:22 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] posting Message-ID: <20040429063822.47754.qmail@web8007.mail.in.yahoo.com> A brief outline on the genesis of Anya Artha When the Soviet model of western socialism was faced with the eastern model of China, when the students became strong political agents in the world scenario, a Journal was silently born in the metropolis of Calcutta. The initiative was mainly taken by the students (mostly from the 1968 batch) of the Calcutta University, specially the economics dept, situated a bit away from the main campus. These group of students got their masters degree almost around 1972, courtesy to the then existing political scenario. By the time the initiatives took the form of the journal, most of them had started working for their doctoral theses, almost all of them with a political inclination, which might be termed as left. Today, majority of them have earned respect and repute for the contributions they have made to social sciences. At the start of their journey with Anya Artha, it was a state of unease that served as their motivating factor. None of them were satisfied with the soviet model, neither were they in a situation to accept the then existing radical left positions, and the official left position in India offered them no hope. It was a time for new thoughts to ripe. My initial work was to interview the persons whose prolonged joint effort gave birth to the journal. Many interviews have already been taken. The remaining will be taken by the end of May. Besides I am also undergoing a through scanning of the literature reflecting the socio-economic-political-cultural landscape of Calcutta of that time. The interviews give multi directional dimensions to the genesis of this journal and its activities. The first interview taken was that of Dr. Subhendu Dasgupta , publisher of most of the issues of this journal and a very important member of the editorial collective. Presently he is teaching at Calcutta University in the dept. of South East Asian Studies. Interview of Prof. Partha Chatterjee, Director of Centre For Studies In Social Sciences Calcutta has also been taken. While taking the interviews many interesting elements surfaced. They reflect on the features which made the journal such an unique endeavor. While giving his interview for the SARAI project on this journal, Prof. Parth Chatterjee commented that at that juncture little magazines were mushrooming in Calcutta. Still they felt the need for an-other one, perhaps in search of the hitherto unanswered questions, or perhaps in search of a space to articulate the questions, to reach out to people with their articulation. Dr. Subhendu Dasgupta stressed the importance of a space left almost untouched by both the official left and its radical counterparts. The spirit of questioning the existing social orders, of agitation, of formulating newer ideas and ideals was the then existing environment in the city of Calcutta, and it’s University. In fact students across the globe were vibrant over various issues and making their presence felt. To go by Dr.Dasgupta all these served as major motivating factors for the genesis of the Journal. Dr. Anjan Ghosh, another member of the editorial collective claimed it as the only Journal so far published in Bengali that dealt with various issues of social sciences rigorously. Why a Journal? Anya Artha came into being in the winter of 1973. Its last issue was published in the hot summer of 1985. A total of 19 issues were brought out during these twelve years. To understand that the then existing situation needs to be analyzed. The whole world was shaken with a strong student movements and the socialist movement was divided along two broad camps. If this is the background worldwide what was happening in India and narrowly in Calcutta? The left movement here had also been divided - the more powerful part attaching itself with Soviet line with a concomitant downfall of the Naxalite movement. It was a time of unease a time when everything was viewed with a pinch of skepticism. The Neheruvian development model was unable to satisfy the agrarian community constituting most of the Indian population. Students at the Universities were in a process of gradual alienation from the reality. Social sciences study could hardly help to analyze the then present social issues. The University syllabi were following the colonial legacy with little or no connection with the ground reality and the changes taking place worldwide. A range of issues starting from the mode of production to that of University syllabi were debated among the academicians, but they remained almost unreachable to the so called activists. Debates among the social scientists hardly found a match in the thoughts and activities of the activists. The theory practice division was widening all the more. Practicing theory in English language had kept not only the vast majority of common people but also a large section of students at bay, away from any sort of participation. The social sciences issues became an-other subject of study. The whole system of academia as well as official and unofficial party activities seemed to be hollow blubber. A new meaning to life was required. New economic theories were on the call. Yet an-other analyses of the social phenomenon were required. Hence the journal Anya Artha , An-other Economy. Interestingly the word ‘artha’ in Bengali also means meaning. Retroactively we might see the journey of this journal as a pilgrimage in the landscape of meaning, meaning of economy, meaning of various social sciences with a perspective of the then present social scenario. Political unrest, large-scale migration from Bangladesh added to the problems in the life of Calcuttans. Its urban character was changing at a fast speed. All this forced a sensitive section of students to think afresh on various issues ranging from syllabi to mode of production debate. The analyses of the relationship between state and power, party and state, party and power were put into the dissection table. Though Economy remained the most important element, it was felt that a serious analysis was required which would provide a combination of cultural-political-social and economic forces at a time. The scene was almost prepared for an inter-disciplinary approach in the arena of social sciences. So the Journal, which started as a Journal of social economy made its way to the field of social sciences. This could largely be pointed as the moment of difference of Anya Artha from the political publications as well as the popular Journals and little magazines. So the journal was born from the want of a space where the above issues could be discussed. Also the emergence of middle class service holders who did not fit properly with the definition of working class, the student community and its role in social movements raised new problems to handle. For whom? There were huge debates over the various issues published throughout the life of the journal. Initially it was thought to cater to the needs of the students, the activists and the general urban population associated with various jobs and services. It was thought out as a meeting point for all of them. It was looked upon as a space where difference in opinion and ideas could be celebrated. But in the process it failed to reach the common people and became more accepted among the students and academic segment. The problem was that of communication. How to communicate serious theories in the language of a layman? How to represent facts and figures to attract the reader’s imagination to build up an opinion of her own? Again a condition of unrest leading to adapting various writing styles was taken up as experiments. Various other activities in the form of publishing bimonthly pamphlets focusing on news items, a regular gathering of people from various walks of life, increasing the reach of the journal in various district towns of West Bengal were practiced. A very interesting feature of the journal was its editorial collective. The name of the editor kept changing. All the articles published had to be a consensus decision of all the members. Until the consensus was reached it was debated upon. All the members would participate not only in writing articles but also in the associated technical activities such as proof reading, circulation and collection of money. Though the members of the editorial collective shared a common ideology of socialism they tried to engage with other ideologies. So people with a strong inclination towards market economy, believing in Gandhi’s ideology found a space in the journal. The members entered a serious debate over this issue too. It was debated that whether offering different views would give the reader a freedom to choose from or would confuse them about the characteristics of the Journal. They were uncertain with it till the end. The rigor of their analysis could be seen when in an article analyzing the Indian state they made a prediction of a situation where emergency becomes necessary to sustain the same. The emergency followed almost after a few months. Some members of this group were largely instrumental in the creation of Subaltern Studies. For the past few months I have collected 18 issues of the journal. One more issue needs to be obtained, which I hope to get by the end of May. Also all the members of this journal living in this country have been contacted for their interviews. All the issues collected so far (except one) are now in the press to prepare a soft copy of them. Most of the interviews have been taken in Bengali and so the process of transcription and transliteration are on. They will also be sent to the interviewee for any correction before submitting it to SARAI. Instead of publishing some selected articles from the journal I have thought to make it available in electronic format so that it could be readily available for the further researchers. ________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! India Matrimony: Find your partner online. http://yahoo.shaadi.com/india-matrimony/ From karunakar at indlinux.org Thu Apr 29 20:55:58 2004 From: karunakar at indlinux.org (karunakar at indlinux.org) Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2004 20:55:58 +0530 (IST) Subject: [Reader-list] 3rd Posting Update on KDE Hindi Localization (sarai ifelow 2004) Message-ID: <20040429152558.1B97D3BA4A@uucp3.netcore.co.in> CSDS-SARAI - Independent Fellowship 2004 Hindi Localization of KDE 3rd Posting Update on KDE Hindi Localization. After the 80% translation work that was completed by Ravi, he has reviewed the translations to remove incosistency and typos. He has now completed 90% of the work. I am working on the KDE Indic live CD, which will directly boot into the Hindi interface. A demo version is almost ready, which would be released next week. The live CD also supports Bengali and Tamil for which localization work has been done by other teams Ankur Bangla (http://www.bengalinux.org), Tamilinux (http://www.tamillinux.org). More updates on live CD is available at http://www.indlinux.org/wiki/index.php/KdeLiveCd Also check out KDE Hindi screenshot gallery at http://www.indlinux.org/hindi/kde/gallery/index.html KDE Hindi translation team: G Karunakar , Ravishankar Shrivastav Comments and feedback are welcome at If you wish to volunteer in the localization efforts, you are welcome to join it at http://www.indlinux.org Regards, Karunakar Sarai Ifellow 2004 From sankarshan at hotpop.com Fri Apr 30 06:54:05 2004 From: sankarshan at hotpop.com (Sankarshan Mukhopadhyay) Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2004 06:54:05 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Third post to the list on GNU/Linux L10n and ICT4D Message-ID: <007901c42e54$a862e300$22023c0a@dias> Hi, The subject for my proposal was "GNU/Linux L10n initiatives and their impact on ICT4D efforts with special relevance to management of such projects, integration and collaboration protocols, tools and methodologies". This post [3rd in order of posting] would thus be in two parts. Here, in part 1, I'll provide the update on two of the major L10n [localisation] teams - Hindi [www.indlinux.org] and Bangla [www.bengalinux.org] with regards to project status and vision. Part 2 will consider the special implementation domains of such L10n as well as provide updates on the other L10n teams, namely Punjabi and Malayalam. The posts in the form of articles also appeared in the World News Section of the Linux Magazine http://www.linux-magazine.com/issue/42/Linux_World_News.pdf [Correction in the print media] http://www.linux-magazine.com/issue/43/Linux_World_News.pdf Warm regards Sankarshan ***************************** The Tux speaks in Bengali The group is just over a year old and it is already making a name for itself in the Bengali Localisation [L10n] of GNU/Linux. The Ankur Bangla Project has released the AnkurBangla LiveDesktop v1.0. Sayamindu Dasgupta (Release Coordinator) prefers to call it a 'Technology Preview'. And that is exactly what it is. With features being added to the previous beta release, the Technology Preview (PaantoBhuter Jyaanto Chhaanaa) is rich with possibilities. Updated packages include xine-lib (now at 1.0-rc1) and Gaim 0.72 (with support for the newer avatars of MSN and Yahoo! protocols). The documentation has been updated, and with this release, as soon as the end users pops the CD into a Windows box, it autoruns with a nice HTML page coming up with info about the CD and directions on how to boot from it. The Ankur group is the example of a classical F/LOSS organisation, being exclusively virtual in nature. It comprises of hackers, technologists, linguists, font designers, graphic artists and enthusiasts from India and Bangladesh. Providing a completely localised GNU/Linux OS is one of the core issues that this group takes seriously. The Projects page lists quite a few of them like: Bangla Archive Project or an archive of Public Domain works in Bengali Lekho - a multiplatform editor and a document output program BSpeller - a spellchecking program and a dictionary that is integrated at the modular level in the LiveCD Extensive screenshots are provided on the development page of the Project at www.bengalinux.org. The Ankur effort is being consolidated at 2 levels - a localised KDE (with a possible release of a KDE LiveCD) and an enterprise scale full-scale distribution. The group is also defining the paradigm of Localised Low Cost Computing, something that is being referred to as L2C2. Extending the concept of low cost computing, L2C2 involves extensive customisation of the effort to produce a content rich computing experience. ******************************** Hindi is the language of the Tux In his now famous piece on Slashdot titled "Why Linux Makes Sense for India", Prof Venkatesh (Venky) Hariharan argued that "the localisation of Linux to Indian languages can spark off a revolution that reaches down to the grassroots levels of the country". This simple statement was the inspiration behind setting up IndLinux - The Indian Linux Project [www.indlinux.org] with initial funding from Netcore [www.netcore.co.in] and a handful of volunteers. Addressing the need for localised software and interfaces, the projects aims to build a fully Indian language enabled distro, with focus on ease of use and functionality. With a small team of dedicated volunteers, the IndLinux Project has come a long way. It has managed to complete 80% of KDE 3.2, 20% of GNOME and 100% of Xfce string translations. It has also released in the public domain localised application sets based on GNOME and KDE , Xfce desktops in Hindi as well as a bootable LiveCD with Indian language interface. Screenshots of the project are available at http://www.indlinux.org/hindi/gnome/gnome24.html - GNOME related http://www.indlinux.org/hindi/kde/gallery/index.html - KDE related Deployment of the efforts of the project centre around the end-user primarily the personal desktop or community kiosk. The initial aim is to provide a functional and localised computing experience which enables the end-user to learn and reskill. The project has seen a constant turnaround in the number of volunteers with quite a few choosing to stay on throughout the lifetime. The current requirement is for translators and language experts as well as for people skilled in C/C++, Python, Perl and shell scripting. IndLinux faces hurdles similar to other localisation projects. These include small number of volunteers, coordination issues, font and other technical issues. For Hindi in particular lack of standardized terminology however has been addressed by creating their own set of jargon. IndLinux plans to initiate a Hindi translation project, which would derive out of GNOME-KDE hindi work done so far. Aim is to have a large team of translators who can work on technical and general translations including user documentation. Later down the line there are plans to integrate content development tools for anyone to develop Indian language content rapidly. IndLinux is also involved in team formation and initial support for Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi and Telugu localisation initiatives. End of Part 1 of 3rd post for Sarai Independent Research Fellowship 2004 ****************************************** ------------------- Share views about Low Cost Computing at lowcostcomputing at freelists.org. Subscribe to the list by sending email to lowcostcomputing-request at freelists.org with 'subscribe' in the Subject field ------------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.672 / Virus Database: 434 - Release Date: 04/28/2004 From sappho1999 at rediffmail.com Fri Apr 30 10:27:37 2004 From: sappho1999 at rediffmail.com (Sappho for Equality) Date: 30 Apr 2004 04:57:37 -0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Third Posting - Interviews With Lesbian, Bisexual And Transgendered Women Message-ID: <20040430045737.4840.qmail@webmail7.rediffmail.com> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040430/40b24cb8/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- UNSTRUCTURED INTERVIEWS WITH LESBIAN, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDERED WOMEN Sappho, the support group for women with same sex preference, was not embraced open-armly with a homosocial atmosphere during its emergence and even afterwards. The process by which Sappho came into being itself remains a breath-taking episode. The social, cultural and political atmosphere of Kolkata was so homophobic and heterosexist that finding out a single like-minded person for a woman with same sex preference seemed next to impossible. The founder members themselves had confronted innumerous problems and difficulties before they just came to know each other. A social gathering of a hot April noon in 1999, the charm and spell of which remains magical and luring even today, soon turned into a serious endeavor of setting up an organization first of its kind in Kolkata and eastern India. As a result Sappho emerged, not only as a support group but also as a positive intervention into the repressed silence of lesbian existence. Within a year and half (January15, 2001) Sappho started its helpline services (with the help of an NGO) and it is highly necessary to mention here with grave concern that till date no newspaper house in West Bengal has published any advertisement of this helpline in a proper way, though “supportive” and “progressive” articles were quite recurrent in most of the leading news papers. Consequently, the process of outreach to more and more women with same sex preference was duly hindered. Thanks to the few supports coming from both personal and organizational level, which spread the fact that Sappho exists for lesbian, bisexual and transgendered women who are oppressed, humiliated and isolated for being so. Today Sappho has a regular number of more than fifty members and a fluid membership of more than hundred, coming from the heart of the city, from outskirts, from suburbs, from rural Bengal and even from the far northeast part of India. The age group varies between eighteen to mid-forties. Though it is a perfect cross section of present socio-economic structure there is a slight tilt towards non-elitist, middle and lower middle-income groups from the suburbs. (This is itself a very important fact that nullifies the much discussed argument of lesbianism being a urbane, elitist and upper-class phenomenon and thus having nothing to do with the common Indian life and lifestyle.) Sappho has always prioritized economic independence as the pre-condition for a life of dignity, grace, and power and obviously of free choice and devoid of all sorts of control, confinement, indignity and disgrace. While Malobika and Akanksha are the only members who lead a conjugal life and have a comparatively smooth life for their well placed services, most of the other members are trying their level best to be more and more economically sound and lead a life of their own preference and practice. A day long monthly meeting, usually scheduled on the fourth Sundays, is generally the space where members come and share their personal experiences within the family and outside, their problems and crises, their dreams and desires. The initial meetings of Sappho were full of joyous excitements of finding out like-minded women. Differences were there but it was more or less the same story of immense pain both physical and mental from and outside the family that has a very important role in present Indian social structure. Members have shared their various experiences numerous times and discussed their problems within groups with a view that in future all these experiences may be used as references while resolving different facets of same-sex relationships among women and combating homophobia at different levels. Most of the cases described various traumatic events from their lives and majority of violence that came in the form of forcing them to marry, perpetrated by their parents and or family members. Nina, aged twenty-five stated how she was forced by her parents to leave the city and her relationship with her girlfriend and compelled to dwell at her maternal uncle’s home nearly 300 miles away from Kolkata. She underwent several attempts of rape by her uncle but her parents took her repeated cries for help as a trick to come back and meet her lover and henceforth did not respond in any way. She had to runaway all alone in almost a penniless condition just to survive and presently resides in a shelter home after totally disowned by her family. Bhaswati, painfully stated how she was also humiliated and harassed at its worst by her family and how as a act of punitive measure for being homosexual, her orientation was exposed to her work place by her parents time and again, which eventually terminated her job. Roon, another member stated about her horrified memories of hostel days (Master’s Degree in Physical Education). She was tremendously humiliated and harassed by her male classmates who even threw shit in her room and teased her in the classroom by calling ‘homo-homo’ from the backseats. Even the teachers once insulted her openly hinting her relationship with her lover. She almost decided to leave the course but completed it by compromising with her detractors and did not show any inclination toward her lover openly. Her results suffered and she still cannot forget those days. Shree, had all the same kind of experience as Nina, but much more severe due to a strong orthodox non-urbane family background. She had to suffer from an intense emotional blackmailing by all her family members, which ended up in forcing her into a marriage ritual. Vehemently opposing to which she had to leave her house at the midnight without any least preparations. Bursting out into tears Shree stated how her mother even wished her death than accepting her being a homosexual. Priyanka, a NIIT topper and senior faculty of Computer Course in a reputed school in Kolkata stated how she was literally slapped by her father with sleepers in front of other flat members for her sexual orientation. Other emotional black-mailing were also very common, worst of which was not taking the regular prescribed medicines for hypertension and blaming Priyanka for all the eventual consequences. Molly also came out with similar kind of experiences in her family, mainly her mother, who even being a heart patient used to refuse medicines and intentionally worsen her physical condition, which ultimately told on Molly’s nerve so badly that she herself was at the verge of nervous breakdown. She also stated another situation where her ex-employer, just guessing about her sexual orientation and her relationship with her girlfriend, tried to blackmail her and take undue advantage of the whole situation. While sharing their story, Soma and Ira, two girls from a distant suburb town, told how they flew away to Nepal, failing to negotiate with their respective families about their relation and future planning and not consenting to forcible marriage. But unfortunately both the families discovered them through a letter and actually dragged them home with the help of police and presently are kept under a strong vigilance. Jasmine’s story, though somewhat similar with others regarding familial problems had a different dimension. Her orthodox Muslim family background alarmed her quite in advance about the deadly consequences of her decade long relation with a Hindu girl, if exposed. Without further delay they determined about settling abroad and Jasmine herself strived her level best to overcome her mediocre academic career and succeeded. Presently both are well placed and happily settled abroad. This will forever remain as an instance of determination and hardworking to champion an affair otherwise unaccepted and looked down. In the domain of domestic violence, which is one of the rallying points of feminists, good number of cases go unreported where the woman has been tortured for her same-sex preference, for example, two girls, now members of Sappho, one of them married, left their respective houses when the torture of the husband became unbearable. Their families filed a ‘missing’ case after which they contacted Sappho. Sappho turned up for a negotiation with an NGO working on violence on women. The NGO said this is a clear case of domestic violence. Husband cannot perpetrate physical violence to his wife; the question of sexual preference never became the crucial issue, which was the reason for violence. Even the woman Sub-Inspector virtually scolded us that how could we support such bad things which society does not accept? This Sub-Inspector constantly told one of the girl to go back to her ‘widowed’ mother stressing emotionally on the ‘widowhood’ with utter sympathy and told us to convince the other woman to go back to her children and the (torturing) husband. But this pathetic ‘widowed’ mother only had held tight the throat of her lean and thin daughter so aggressively that we had to literally struggle to rescue her! Although the NGO deliberately sidelined the issue of lesbian relationship, to Sappho it was an achievement that the said NGO rushed for their help and saved two women’s lives. Whether it is the story of Sonali, a postgraduate student or 29 year old Rina, all these narratives repeatedly mark marginalization by the power of heterosexuality, and lesbianism treated as deviancy. All of them found that their sexual preference was not treated as a personal thing rather it frequently became the issue of public exposure of ‘abnormality.’ Their discussion revealed their consciousness how the so-called ‘private’ issue of their sexuality is actually linked to larger issues like biological family, private property and governance. Many of them said that most of the everyday traumas are produced from the ignorance and accepting heterosexuality as something ‘normal’ and all they want is a negotiated space of dignity and self respect for their sexual identity in the movement. All of them felt the urgent need to aware the public about lesbianism. ‘Even close persons like parents or family members fail to understand what we are, how we think differently on sexual preferences and why’.