From karim at sarai.net Sat Oct 1 00:51:09 2005 From: karim at sarai.net (Aniruddha Shankar) Date: Sat, 01 Oct 2005 00:51:09 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] "Liberality for All" - a right wing comic. Message-ID: <433D9025.2020806@sarai.net> It is the year 2021, tomorrow is the 20th anniversary of 9/11. It is up to an underground group of bio-mechanically enhanced conservatives led by Sean Hannity, G. Gordon Liddy and Oliver North to thwart Ambassador Usama Bin Laden's plans to nuke New York City ...And wake the world from an Orwellian nightmare of United Nations-dominated ultra-liberalism. http://accstudios.com/f/synopsis1.htm http://accstudios.com/ cheers, Aniruddha Shankar From hpp at vsnl.com Sat Oct 1 08:48:12 2005 From: hpp at vsnl.com (hpp at vsnl.com) Date: Sat, 01 Oct 2005 08:18:12 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Slum-based manufacturing Message-ID: <118ea11131ac.1131ac118ea1@vsnl.net> STRUCTURAL UPGRADATION OF BLIGHTED SLUM-BASED MANUFACTURING IN METROPOLITAN CALCUTTA V Ramaswamy Calcutta Basti or slum-based manufacturing in metropolitan Calcutta employs a few hundreds of thousands of people. Garments, footwear, paper-crafts, zari-work - are just some of the sectors where slum-based production is very significant. The trades themselves are in poor health, with lack of skill upgradation, lack of technological upgradation, lack of access to credit, poor marketing, dominance of middlemen, poor returns to owners, low wages to workers, child labour, severe cashflow problems etc being some of the key features. If the situation in the trade can be improved, in a structural sense, focusing on the most strategic aspects, then that would be a means to improve the livelihoods of large numbers of people. Studying the nature, structure and conditions of these trades is a fundamental task, and a basis for planning interventions aimed at structurally improving the fortunes of the trades. Following upon the research study, a pilot project could be taken up to implement the recommendations in a specific area. Thus, e.g. a local technology, skill development, design and marketing centre could be started in an area where a trade is concentrated. Establishing one such centre could have a significant demonstration effect, across trades and across slum localities, and in process terms. A specific trade could be taken up for a strategic action-research exercise. Institutionalisation is also called for. There should be an institute based in Calcutta which is committed to a long-term programme of research and action engagement with slum-based manufacturing, towards securing the livelihoods of the city's labouring poor. ................... A preliminary survey was recently initiated in collaboration with Massey University, New Zealand and the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta. The idea is to use this information to develop a proposal for a more elaborate in-depth study, for submission to an international bilateral funding agency. An effort is also being made to bring to the fold institutions, organisations and individuals in Calcutta and elsewhere who are interested in this work and could contribute to it. ........... In this connection, on Wednesday evening I visited Alifnagar, a Muslim basti in Metiabruz. The whole basti - which lives in another time and place altogether, yet coexists with us worldly people and our city - works on making kites, which are supplied all over north India. This has been going on for years. Thousands of people, men, women and children are involved in this work. But the whole trade is in a depressed state, livelihoods are insecure, the future is bleak. So many kites, kites somehow evoke the image of children, happy children; kites fly so high in the blue sky, bringing delight to children. But so many thousands of children who are involved in the making of thse kites - are in a not-so-happy plight! I was filled with dismay reflecting on why so few people in my city knew let alone cared about Alifnagar; why no research institution had any engagement with Alifnagar or any other manufacturing bastis; why institutes, professors and students of business management had no link with such bastis and trades... But Alifnagar is a vital part of the city's and country's economy! The recently announced Sarai fellowship could conceivably be used by someone to study the kite-making trade in Alifnagar, Metiabruz. I would be glad to lend all support to anyone who takes this up. From diya at sarai.net Sat Oct 1 11:44:07 2005 From: diya at sarai.net (diya at sarai.net) Date: Sat, 01 Oct 2005 08:14:07 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] India China Fellows Message-ID: <6a420d558c02cde2eaa2e5c74233b954@sarai.net> From: Anita Patil-Deshmukh < deshmukha at newschool.edu> I write on behalf of The India China Institute (ICI), based at The New School, a university located in New York City and at PUKAR, Mumbai. ICI announces its inaugural India China Fellows Program (ICFP) for which we seek applicants who are highly accomplished, innovative and emerging Indian leaders with a minimum of five to fifteen years of established experience in urbanization and globalization. We are looking for applicants from a wide range of backgrounds such as government officials, academics, researchers, media, artists, private entrepreneurs, non-government organization and civil society professionals, urban planners and architects are encouraged to apply. In early 2006, the India China Institute will select five Fellows each from India and China for a two-year fellowship award. The fellow-select could continue her or his current profession during the period of fellowship. We would be grateful if you could direct candidates from your own sphere of influence who, you feel, would qualify for this program, to apply for this fellowship. Applicant must demonstrate that he/she has: 1) A significant and established record of achievement, accomplishment and leadership in urbanization and globalization. The applicant must be able to describe an initiative that he or she has implemented within challenging institutional, organizational or social contexts different from his or her field and its impact on other people such as co-workers and team members. 2) A strong interest and plan to enhance his/her professional work by engaging with the India China Fellows, scholars, and experts from India, China and the United States. 3) A strong interest in participating in collaborative projects focused on India, China and the United States. Each Fellow will be an active and essential participant in an interactive, intellectual, collaborative project that will be innovative and influential. This project may yield, for example, a jointly authored paper, exhibition or creative project. In addition, applicants must: 1) Be a Chinese or Indian citizen living in India and/or China for the previous five years at the time of application. 2) Have a minimum of a Masters Degree from an accredited university or professional school. In India, applicants with "equivalent experience" to Masters Degree may apply. 3) Commit to participating in each of three India China Fellows workshops, which will be held approximately at six month intervals. The workshops will take place in India, China and the United States. 4) Have the ability to travel to India, China and the United States. 5) Have a working knowledge of computers and access to the Internet for communication and research purposes on a regular basis 6) Be an emerging professional with five to fifteen years of professional experience in urbanization and globalization. Funding and Support: Fellows will be provided with transportation, housing and living expenses for the three meetings in the United States, India and China Fellows will have access to the New School's faculty, digital library, and research facilities Each Fellow will be provided an e-mail address and access to password protected ICI account (email) Travel insurance will be provided for attending ICI organized activities. Award: Each India China Fellows will receive a $10,000 Award for the duration of the twenty-four month fellowship. In order to achieve the goals of the ICI Fellows Program, this award will consist of the Enabling Award of $5000 and the Recognition Award of $5000. The Enabling Award: This award is provided to each Fellow during the first meeting in New York. It should be applied toward advancing a Fellow's research, the collaborative efforts for the project or work during the Fellows Program. Suggestions for the use of the award money may be for the cost of part-time research assistant, to buy a computer or to subscribe journals. Fellows may also choose to apply this Enabling Award to provide for extra time or activities while visiting India, China or the United States. The Recognition Award: Fellows receive the Recognition Award of $5000 after successfully completing the Fellows Program and the collaborative Fellows project. I would be deeply grateful if you could guide and direct qualifying candidates towards this fellowship. The fellowship applications could be downloaded from the website given bellow. Please feel free to contact me for any further information at: India China fellowship Program c/o PUKAR 1-4 Kamanwala Chambers, Sir P.M. Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 001 Tel: 91-22- 5605-3302 E: deshmukha at newschool.edu www.indiachina.newschool.edu. From eye at ranadasgupta.com Sun Oct 2 11:19:21 2005 From: eye at ranadasgupta.com (Rana Dasgupta) Date: Sun, 02 Oct 2005 11:19:21 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Review of "The Ruling Caste" Message-ID: <433F74E1.40309@ranadasgupta.com> this was in my Asian Age today. i don't know if much comment is necessary. her battle against "political correctness" [what an alibi this phrase has become; one no longer needs to address arguments because we all know we are against "political correctness"] is passionate but at the expense of many facts. Starting with the first paragraph. it's amazing how people can repeat all these dreary cliches with such passion, as if they were such fresh ideas. the high-minded, embattled British civil servants trying to rescue the natives from a mind so benighted that it struggles against its own salvation. she clearly feels that the "revisionist" trend has gone far enough and now it is traditionalism that needs heroes. the world needs a single, clear, western story again for everything is getting a bit complicated. R THE RULING CASTE: IMPERIAL LIVES IN THE VICTORIAN RAJ By DAVID GILMOUR John Murray, £25, pp.383 BY JANE RIDLEY It is a remarkable but little known fact I that in 1901 the entire Indian subcontinent with a population totalling 300 million was administered by a British ruling elite which consisted of no more than 1,000 men. Still more extraordinary, their rule rested neither on military force nor on terror or corruption. On the contrary, the rulers of the British Raj were renowned for being impartial, highminded,-conscientious and incorruptible. Yet this astonishing British success story has been largely ignored. Historians have got their knickers in such a twist over the whole embarrassing business of imperialism that they have been blind to its strengths. Slaves to political correttness, they are fixated on Edward Said's idea of Oriental ism which, to put it crudely, brands all imperialists as racists almost by definition. Not since Philip Mason published The Men Who Ruled India 50 years ago has anyone attempted to write a full study of India's civil servants. David Gilmour is uniquely qualified to fill this gap. He is the author of an acclaimed biography of Lord Curzon, the greatest Indian viceroy of all, and he has recently published a life of Kipling, the laureate of the Indian official. The Ruling Caste is the fruit of 15 years of research, much of it spent quarrying the treasures buried deep in the British Library's India Office collections, the vast and little explored archive of Britain's lost Indian empire. These materials have enabled Gilmour to look at the Indian Civil Service from the perspective of its members, and not the other way round. The civilians, as they were called - the phrase civil servant derives from the East India Company's civil as opposed to its military servants - effectively formed a hereditary caste. Names such as Nicholson or Lyall occur again and again over three or four generations. Often . brothers serv~d together, such as the Strachey brothers, James and Richard (father of Lytton), who dominated the Raj in the 1870s. Many of these families originated as poor Scots gentry, such as the Macnabbs, who served in India for five generations, returning at last to Perthshire, where they morphed into clan chieftains imd became The Macnab of Macnab. Competitive examinations were introduced in the 1850s, and the social mix broadened slightly, but the old naines still recurred. Young civilians fresh from home found themselves in lonely, isolated postings, living in unfurnished bungalows where the bathwater ran out ofa hole in the wall covered by an iron grating to stop the snakes coming in. During the hot weather season, when temperatures climbed to well over 100 degrees, they sweltered through, sleepless nights and rose at dawn, to work long hours in court. If you were lucky, you were promoted to be a District Officer, in charge of a million people and 4,000 square miles. These officers were the lynchpins of the system. Within their districts they were omnipotent, responsible for everything from administering justice to sanitary conditions. Crises such as the plague of snakes that killed 10,000 people in Bengal in 1878 were dealt with by District Officers. The greatest worry was famine, in respect of which the British record in India was remarkably good (compare Africa today). Sometimes diplomacy was needed as well as organisational skill. The starving people of one district prayed not to be relieved,' believing that they were being given food to fatten them up before being sent off to Burma to be eaten by cannibals. District Officers spent much Of their time on tour. Gilmour beautifully evo.kes their lives sleeping under canvas, travelling' with a cara. van of bullock carts at two mph, dispensing rough-and-ready justice in shirt sleeves allday and shooting a brace of snipe for dinner. Thing$ changed with the coming'of railways and telegraphs, which allowed the central Secretariat to exercise greater control over distant District Officers. The paperwork increased, and DOs spent less time in their shirt sleeves and more at their desks. By the end of the century it was a paperobsessed empire. The civilian Alfred Lyall confessed to a throb of pleasure on coming into his cool, quiet office with a mountain of paper scientifically filed on each side of his armchair. Curlon's ability to deal with the stacKS of files delivered to him each evening by breakfast time next morning was legendary. The toughest jobs were on the frontiers, in the north-west, or north-east towards Burma. In the Punjab, John Lawrence ruled an area slightly larger than Great Britain. He was a hard, ruthless employer, obsessed by paperwork, and worked an 18-hour day. Among the wild tribes of Baluchistan, an officer named Sandeman kept order by befriending the fierce tribesmen and employing them as his auxilaries. "We want lean and keen men on the frontier, and fat and good-natured men in the states," said one civilian. The native states, which Britain controlled by a system of indirect rule, called for civilians who rode well, were good shots and possessed the manners needed to win the confidence of princely rulers - whose sons, as Gilmour shows, were all too often corrupted by contact with the West into playboys and sots who spent their money on clothes, drink and vice. Anglo-Indian social life was dire. Obsessed by status and protocol, civilians endured dull dinners and worse food. Rigid rules of precedence determined a never-varying placement at dinner parties, where it was compulsory to be "cheery" and you whiled away the tedious hours with endless games of whist. In the hot season the entire station would migrate to the hills, and the social round begin again. This was the world that E.M. Forster pilloried so mercilessly, in A Passage to India, where the ICS are caricatured as dull, blinkered social climbers. Yet, as Gilmour points out, Forster only observed these men at their clubs. He knew nothing of how India was governed; if he had been in charge he wouldn't have survived a single day. Philistine though many of the civilians undoubtedly were, they were superlatively good at doing their job. The ICS is usually blamed for the deterioration in relations with the Indians which took place after the Mutiny of 1857. This, as Gilmour mak~s clear, is only half the story. The Indians were hostile too. It's hard to socialise with people who wash their hands and change their clothes after meeting you, who refuse either to eat with you or invite you to their houses. "The British were not in India to be treated like Untouchables." Sexual relations between the British and Indians petered out too, less because of racial prejudice than because the British now tended, to bring their wives. In Burma, where few memsahibs came, because of the murderous climate, relationships between British men and Burmese women were commonplace. Gilmour is the perfect companion to Victorian India - shrewd, funny, always a joy to read. He writes lean, elegant prose and wears his learning lightly - the book entertains as much as it instructs; but Gilmour is gently subversive of the sacred cows of political correctness. In David Gilmour, the British in India have at last found the historian they deserve. This is a marvellous book. From eye at ranadasgupta.com Sun Oct 2 11:26:15 2005 From: eye at ranadasgupta.com (Rana Dasgupta) Date: Sun, 02 Oct 2005 11:26:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Scientific publishing Message-ID: <433F767F.5030002@ranadasgupta.com> Follow-up to another article i posted earlier about the move towards open availability of scientific information. R Scientific publishing The paperless library Sep 22nd 2005 From The Economist print edition Free access to scientific results is changing research practices IT USED to be so straightforward. A team of researchers working together in the laboratory would submit the results of their research to a journal. A journal editor would then remove the authors' names and affiliations from the paper and send it to their peers for review. Depending on the comments received, the editor would accept the paper for publication or decline it. Copyright rested with the journal publisher, and researchers seeking knowledge of the results would have to subscribe to the journal. No longer. The internet—and pressure from funding agencies, who are questioning why commercial publishers are making money from government-funded research by restricting access to it—is making free access to scientific results a reality. This week, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) issued a report describing the far-reaching consequences of this. The report, by John Houghton of Victoria University in Australia and Graham Vickery of the OECD, makes heavy reading for publishers who have, so far, made handsome profits. But it goes further than that. It signals a change in what has, until now, been a key element of scientific endeavour. The value of knowledge and the return on the public investment in research depends, in part, upon wide distribution and ready access. It is big business. In America, the core scientific publishing market is estimated at between $7 billion and $11 billion. The International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers says that there are more than 2,000 publishers worldwide specialising in these subjects. They publish more than 1.2m articles each year in some 16,000 journals. This is now changing. According to the OECD report, some 75% of scholarly journals are now online. Entirely new business models are emerging; three main ones were identified by the report's authors. There is the so-called big deal, where institutional subscribers pay for access to a collection of online journal titles through site-licensing agreements. There is open-access publishing, typically supported by asking the author (or his employer) to pay for the paper to be published. Finally, there are open-access archives, where organisations such as universities or international laboratories support institutional repositories. Other models exist that are hybrids of these three, such as delayed open-access, where journals allow only subscribers to read a paper for the first six months, before making it freely available to everyone who wishes to see it. All this could change the traditional form of the peer-review process, at least for the publication of papers. The process is organised by the publisher but conducted, for free, by scholars. The advantages afforded by the internet mean that primary data is becoming available freely online. Indeed, quite often the online paper has a direct link to it. This means that reported findings are more readily replicable and checkable by other teams of researchers. Moreover, online publication offers the opportunity for others to comment on the research. Research is also becoming more collaborative so that, before they have been finalised, papers have been reviewed by several authors. This central tenet of scholarly publishing is changing, too. From rgdj12 at yahoo.com Sun Oct 2 12:26:24 2005 From: rgdj12 at yahoo.com (roger das) Date: Sat, 1 Oct 2005 23:56:24 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] American Lie to Malign Muslims Message-ID: <20051002065625.28839.qmail@web42406.mail.yahoo.com> 9-11 crash victim Barbara Olson arrested in Europe By: Tom Flocco on: 01.10.2005 [08:42 ] (1328 reads) Germany September 22, 2005 TomFlocco.com (2924 bytes) Print SHE WAS DEAD WHEN HER FLIGHT HIT PENTAGON ON 911 AND MADE A HOLE OF HALF SIZE OF THE PLANE (A B/S FROM US MEDIA - WHAT A JOKE?) French and American intelligence agents have arrested Barbara Olson, the wife of a former Bush administration official, a few days ago on the Polish-German border, according to agents close to and with knowledge of the incident. The alleged 9.11 Pentagon crash victim was found to be in possession of millions in fake interbank Italian lyra currency, according to the agents. Olson was also reportedly in possession of a fraudulent Vatican passport and was held on charges of counterfeiting. Barbara K. Olson The former Fox News TV commentator and Independent Women's Forum activist was said to have called her husband Theodore Olson from her plane to seek help in countering hijackers who had allegedly taken over American flight 77 which the Bush administration said was crashed into the Pentagon- although the impact only left an opening approximately 16 feet across. Ted Olson is the former Bush 43 Solicitor General who had previously argued the President's legal interests in the controversial Bush-Gore 2000 election recount case before the U.S. Supreme Court. Theodore (Ted) B. Olson Mrs. Olson's alleged cell phone call to her husband was employed by the administration and the 9.11 Commission as partial proof that American 77 crashed into the Pentagon, despite physical evidence to the contrary. The Pentagon crash evidence was ignored and obstructed by both the Commission and previously by the Joint Congressional Intelligence Committee in its own separate probe. Due to the ongoing sensitive nature of the arrest, investigation and questioning, one source who declined to be named for this story, told TomFlocco.com that Olson's call to her husband was a fraud and that another projectile impacted the Pentagon other than Olson's plane. The agents were said to have closed in to arrest the former television pundit because the evidence of counterfeiting and passport violations was obvious and that the timing was right. According to the agents, Barbara Olson is reportedly considered to be a conspirator to the obstruction of justice in the mass murders of 3,000 individuals on September 11, 2001 in the attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the alleged crash in southwestern Pennsylvania. Olson's arrest and potential appearance at trial in the United States would undoubtedly have a profound impact upon current "Able Danger" hearings in the Senate and past probes by both the Joint Congressional Intelligence Committee and the 9.11 Commission. NB have changed the location of this report to the Polish-German border to correct the original phoned-in intelligence report we received. hen we went back and questioned this location, We were given the Polish-German border as the correct location. The spelling of Olson’s name was corrected within 60 minutes after the story was posted. TF --------------------------------- Yahoo! for Good Click here to donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20051001/d1d442d5/attachment.html From marnoldm at du.edu Mon Oct 3 08:55:01 2005 From: marnoldm at du.edu (Michael Arnold Mages) Date: Sun, 02 Oct 2005 21:25:01 -0600 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] October on -empyre-: Digital Writing In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Writing is one of the oldest known technologies, but the concept of writing did not change as substantially as the different forms of text mediation have done, throughout the years. Nevertheless, the invention of press and, most recently, of the computer, altered important operations related to how words and paragraphs are organized. Also, devices such as the Internet, DVD and mobile equipments allowed new forms of writing and publishing. During the month of October, Bill Seaman, Brigid McLeer, Friedrich Block, Giselle Beiguelman and Sue Thomas will discuss, at the ­ empyre ­ mailing list (http://www.subtle.net/empyre), if the concept of writing is still adequate to describe the most eloquent examples of creative processes involving words and digital media. Given the growing use of sound, image and programming at the web ‹ once claimed to be the media that brought text back to the center of an increasingly image oriented culture‹, what is the state of the art, on the field of digital writing? Issues such as the recombinant nature of digital writing, writing for public spaces (and related notions of placement / displacement), sampling as a form of intertextuality and writing for mobile devices, among others, will be the central topics. + Subscribe to empyre at: http://www.subtle.net/empyre/ + Guest´s Bio Bill Seaman ( http://www.billseaman.com ) received a PH.D. from CAiiA, University of Wales, 1999. He holds a MSvisS degree from MIT, 1985. His work explores an expanded media-oriented poetics through various technological means. Seaman is Head of the Digital+Media Graduate Department at RISD. Brigid Mc Leer ( http://www.inplaceofthepage.co.uk ) is an Irish artist and writer based in London. Her work is cross-disciplinary and process-based. Moving between the practices of art, poetry, architecture and critical writing, the challenge of 'place' and 'translation' has become a driving force of the work. She currently lectures at the Bartlett School of Architecture and Goldsmiths College, London . Friedrich W. Block ( http://www.brueckner-kuehner.de/block ) is the director of the Brückner-Kühner-Foundation and honorary director of the Kunsttempel gallery in Kassel. Curator of numerous exhibitions, e.g. the "p0es1s. Digital Poetry" show, Berlin (2004). He has published about art and media, experimental literature, and the media-culture of humor. Giselle Beiguelman ( http://www.desvirtual.com) is a new media artist and multimedia essayist who teaches Digital Culture at the Graduation Program in Communication and Semiotics of PUC-SP (São Paulo, Brazil). Her work includes the award-winnings "The Book after the Book" (1999) and egoscópio (2002). She has been developing art projects for mobile phones ("Wop Art", 2001), praised by many media sites and the international press, including The Guardian (UK) and Neural (Italy), and art involving public-access, by the web, SMS and MMS, and internet-streaming for electronic billboards like "Leste o Leste?" and "egoscópio" (2002), released by The New York Times, Poétrica (2003) and esc for escape (2004). Sue Thomas ( http://www.mti.dmu.ac.uk/~sthomas/ ) is the author of several books, most recently 'Hello World: travels in virtuality' (2004). She has managed numerous online writing projects and is interested in the impact of digital technologies on writing and lived experience - see the collaborative project Writing and the Digital Life. In 1995 she founded the trAce Online Writing Centre at Nottingham Trent University and was Artistic Director until joining De Montfort University as Professor of New Media in 2005, where she is developing research into transliteracy. + ============================== -empyre- is an arena for the discussion of media arts practice, and regularly invites practicioners, curators and theorists in the media arts field to discuss specific projects, publications, and issues. Subscribe to -empyre- at: http://www.subtle.net/empyre/ _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From mediachef at gmail.com Mon Oct 3 10:19:55 2005 From: mediachef at gmail.com (Steve Dietz) Date: Sun, 2 Oct 2005 23:49:55 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] ISEA2006 Transvergence call Message-ID: <85d7931b0510022149o34b6b7f9o73b8ee16893040bc@mail.gmail.com> Apologies for cross-posting. A reminder. The ISEA2006 Symposium call for projects related to the theme of Transvergence closes today, October 3, 2005. "Creative interplay of disciplines to catalyze artistic, scientific, and social innovation is evidenced by decades of multi-/ pluri-, inter-, and trans-disciplinary discourse and practice. Emphasis on the dynamics subtending this interplay has led to the notion of transvergence, a term coined by Marcos Novak which overrides discipline-bound issues, and serves as the focus of the present call. Proposals are sought that address but are not limited to issues outlined below, challenging the boundaries of disciplines and conventional (art) institutional discourse, and indicating creative strategies for overriding them." See http://isea2006.sjsu.edu/transvergence/index.html for more information. NOTE - This call is not for paper, panels, talks, etc. related to the theme of Transvergence. A call for papers will be sent out in mid-October. For a list of active and upcoming calls: http://isea2006.sjsu.edu/transvergence/index.html To subscribe to the ISEA2006 mailing list: http://cadre.sjsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/isea2006 -- Steve Dietz Director, ZeroOne: The Network Director, ISEA2006 Symposium + ZeroOne San Jose: A Global Festival of Art on the Edge http://isea2006.sjsu.edu : August 5-13, 2006 stevedietz[at]yproductions[dot]com AIM: WebWalkAbout http://www.yproductions.com From jcm at ata.org.pe Mon Oct 3 16:10:18 2005 From: jcm at ata.org.pe (Jose-Carlos Mariategui) Date: Mon, 03 Oct 2005 11:40:18 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] VIDALIFE 8.0 New deadline for projects 14 OCTOBER Message-ID: Concurso Internacional sobre Arte y Vida Artificial Art & Artificial Life International Competition VIDA-LIFE 8.0 AMPLIACIÓN PLAZO ENTREGA DE TRABAJOS NEW DEADLINE FOR PRESENTING THE PROJECTS HASTA EL 14 DE OCTUBRE OCTOBER, 14 2005 www.fundacion.telefonica.com/at/vida ENGLISH (spanish follows) VIDA 8.0 is the seventh edition of this international competition, created to reward excellence in artistic creativity in the field of artificial life. In previous editions, prizes have been awarded to autonomous entities able to bring us pleasure (Tickle 2.0, Tickle Salon 5.0), engage us in irrational conversations (Head 3.0) or invade our social space (Cour des Miracles 2.0); virtual ecologies that evolve with user participation (Autopoiesis 3.0, Electric Sheep and Remain in Light 4.0), autonomous systems that use the feedback obtained as a mechanism and metaphor for transformation (Appearance machine 3.0, Levántate 5.0) and works highlighting the social side of artificial life (Novus Extinctus 4.0, The Relative Velocity Inscription Device 5.0, The Central City 6.0 and Spore 7.0). Other themes are addressed in works that have been given honourable mentions: avatars and players in their unique worlds (Iconica 2.0, Life Spacies II and Unconscious Flow 3.0), new interpretations of the roots of artificial life, such as cellular automatons (Sandlines 3.0, Dadatron 5.0) and system feedback or autonomy translated into simple familiar media (Breathe and Autistic-Artistic Machine 4.0, The Responsive Field of Lattice Archipelogics 5.0). We are looking for art that reflects the panorama of the possible interaction between 'synthetic' and organic life, e.g. - Autonomous agents that shape and perhaps interpret the data-saturated environment we have in common. - Portraits of inter-subjectivity or empathy shared between artificial entities and ourselves. - Intelligent anthropomorphisation of the datasphere and its inhabitants. - User-defined exploration and interaction designed to reduce fear and stimulate interest in the emerging phenomena which, by definition, are beyond our control. An international jury will award prizes to the most outstanding projects in electronic art which use techniques such as digital genetics, autonomous robotics, recursive chaotic algorithms, knowbots, computer viruses, virtual ecosystems and avatars. ** Prizes There is a total of €20,000 in prizes for the three projects selected by the jury: First prize: €10,000 Second prize: €7,000 Third prize: €3,000 There will also be special mentions for a further seven projects chosen by the jury. ** Entry Each project must be submitted as a 5-10-minute video with voice-over narration describing the artistic concept and the technological realization of the project presented. The project must be post-September 2003. The jury's decision will be based essentially on the video. Participants must provide a VHS tape (PAL, NTSC or SECAM format) or DVD for the jury. If your work is awarded a prize or a special mention, you will be asked to provide a video on professional-quality format (Dvcam, Betacam, ¾” U-Matic, MiniDV) for inclusion in The Best of VIDA 8.0 . The competition is open to participants from all over the world; however, each participant may present only one project. To register, read the competition rules, complete and sign the application form and submit it together with the tape to Fundación Telefónica before 30 September 2005. For the video and the VIDA 8.0 website, we also require the following (printed and a copy on CD): - A short biography (150-200 words) of the author(s). - A description of the concept inspiring the project. - Technical information about the project. - One to three images (slides, photos or high-quality scans on CD or the Internet). - A transcription of the video narration. The application form contains the information required on the material that must be supplied to register for the competition. **Production Incentive for productions in Spain, Portugal and Latin America The second category of the competition promotes the production of pieces with artificial life and robotics techniques in Spain, Portugal and Latin America. With prize money totalling €20,000, this category includes prizes for one to three proposals meeting the following criteria: relevant concept, proven quality in previous works and evidence of the artist's ability to produce the piece. The prize is an incentive for production, not a subsidy to cover the total expenses of a project. Consequently, value is placed on the participant's capacity to secure the technical, financial and logistic infrastructure needed to produce the piece. Each project must be described in a memorandum contain no more than 2,000 words. The text must include details of the concepts and techniques to be used to develop the piece. Diagrams, sketches and any other material that supports the proposal and help the jury understand how the piece works should be furnished. The competition is open to participants from anywhere in Latin America, Spain or Portugal. Proposals may be sent in Spanish, Portuguese or English. However, each participant may present only one project. To register, read the competition rules, complete and sign the application form and send it to Fundación Telefónica before 30 September 2005. The application form contains the information required on the material required to register for the competition. SPANISH VIDA 8.0 es la séptima edición de este certamen internacional que tiene como objeto recompensar la excelencia en la creación artística desarrollada en el campo de la Vida Artificial. En pasadas ediciones los distintos premios concedidos han recaído en entidades autónomas que nos dan placer (Tickle, 2.0; Tickle Salon, 5.0); mantienen con nosotros una conversación irracional (Head, 3.0) o invaden nuestro espacio social (Cour des Miracles, 2.0); ecologías virtuales que evolucionan con la participación del usuario (Autopoiesis, 3.0; Electric Sheep y Remain in Light, 4.0); sistemas autónomos que utilizan el feedback que obtienen como mecanismo y como metáfora de la transformación (Appearance Machine, 3.0; Levántate, 5.0); y obras que destacan el aspecto social que interviene en la vida artificial (Novus Extinctus, 4.0; The Relative Velocity Inscription Device, 5.0, The Central City 6.0, Spore 7.0). Se tratan también otros temas en las obras que han recibido menciones honoríficas: avatares y agentes en sus mundos singulares (Iconica, 2.0; Life Spacies II y Unconscious Flow, 3.0), nuevas interpretaciones de las raíces de la Vida Artificial, como son los autómatas celulares (Sandlines, 3.0; Dadatron, 5.0), y el feedback del sistema o la autonomía traducidos a medios familiares simples (Breathe y Autistic-Artistic Machine, 4.0; The Responsive Field of Lattice Archipelogics, 5.0). Estamos interesados en un arte que refleje el panorama de la posible interacción entre la vida "sintética" y la vida orgánica, por ejemplo: - Agentes autónomos que den forma y quizás interpreten el entorno saturado de datos que tenemos en común. - Retratos de intersubjetividad o empatía, compartida entre entidades artificiales y nosotros. - Antropomorfización inteligente de la datasfera y sus habitantes. - Exploración definida por el usuario e interacción diseñada para mitigar el miedo y estimular la curiosidad por los fenómenos emergentes, que, por definición, están fuera de nuestro control. Un jurado internacional premiará los más destacados proyectos de arte electrónico en los que se utilicen técnicas como genética digital, robótica autónoma, algoritmos caóticos recursivos, cogni-bots, virus informáticos, avatares y ecosistemas virtuales. **Premios Se destinará un total de 20.000 euros para los tres proyectos seleccionados por el jurado: Primer Premio: 10.000 euros Segundo Premio: 7.000 euros Tercer Premio: 3.000 euros Se otorgarán también menciones especiales para otros siete proyectos elegidos por el jurado. **Inscripción Cada proyecto deberá inscribirse en forma de documentación en vídeo con narración sobrepuesta en la que deberá describirse el concepto artístico y la realización tecnológica del proyecto presentado. El proyecto deberá ser posterior a septiembre de 2003. La duración del vídeo entre 5 y 10 minutos. La decisión del jurado se basará fundamentalmente en el vídeo. La competición requiere el envío de una cinta VHS (formato PAL, NTSC o SECAM) o DVD para el jurado. Si su trabajo es reconocido con un premio o una mención especial, se requerirá que envíe la cinta en formato de calidad profesional (DVcam, Betacam, U-Matic de 3/4", MiniDV) para incluirla en un vídeo "Lo Mejor de VIDA 8.0". El concurso está abierto a participantes de todo el mundo. Cada participante, sin embargo, sólo podrá presentar un trabajo. Para inscribirse, lea atentamente las normas de presentación, cumplimente y firme el impreso de solicitud y envíelo con la cinta a la Fundación Telefónica antes del 30 de septiembre del 2005. Para la documentación en vídeo y el sitio web de VIDA 8.0 necesitamos también el siguiente material (impreso y una copia en CD): - Una breve biografía (150-200 palabras) del autor o los autores - Una descripción del concepto del proyecto - Información técnica sobre el proyecto - De una a tres imágenes (diapositivas, fotos, o digitalizaciones de alta calidad en CD o internet) - Transcripción de la narración del vídeo. En el propio impreso de solicitud encontrará la información necesaria sobre el material que debe presentar para poder inscribirse en el concurso. Producción . **Incentivo a las producciones Iberoamericanas La segunda modalidad del concurso fomenta la producción de piezas con técnicas de vida artificial y robótica en el ámbito iberoamericano. Dotada con 20.000 euros, esta modalidad premiará de una a tres propuestas que demuestren un concepto relevante, una contrastada calidad en obras anteriores y una clara capacidad del artista para producir la pieza. El premio se plantea como un incentivo de producción, no como una subvención para cubrir los gastos totales de un proyecto, y por tanto se valorará la capacidad del concursante de conseguir infraestructura técnica, económica y logística para realizar la pieza. Cada proyecto deberá describirse en un texto que no sobrepase las 2.000 palabras. El texto debe incluir detalles de los conceptos y de la técnicas previstas para desarrollar la pieza. Se deberán incluir diagramas, esquemas y cualquier otro material que soporte la propuesta y ayude al jurado a comprender el funcionamiento de la pieza. El concurso está abierto a participantes de toda Iberoamérica, España y Portugal. Se podrán enviar propuestas en español, portugués o inglés. Cada participante, sin embargo, sólo podrá presentar un trabajo. Para inscribirse, lea atentamente las normas de presentación, cumplimente y firme el impreso de solicitud y envíelo a la Fundación Telefónica antes del 30 de septiembre de 2005. En el propio impreso de solicitud encontrará la información necesaria sobre el material que debe presentar para poder inscribirse en el concurso. From aka at zestgroups.net Mon Oct 3 16:29:40 2005 From: aka at zestgroups.net (Albert Krishna Ali) Date: Mon, 3 Oct 2005 16:29:40 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Jat-Gujjar rivalry. Fresher's party. Delhi University. Murder. God is in heaven and all is well with the world. Message-ID: <1c8ca5cd0510030359p5995607djb412c2d5c61d8ad6@mail.gmail.com> Delhi University takes security measures after student's murder 3 October 2005 NEW DELHI — (IANS) http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2005/October/subcontinent_October77.xml§ion=subcontinent&col= The murder of a 20-year-old student outside Aurobindo College on Friday has shaken Delhi University enough for authorities to take immediate measures to provide security during the college festivals and other functions. With the college festival season just around the corner, Delhi University Vice-Chancellor Deepak Paintal has said better security would be provided during the functions. "We have called for a meeting of all the college principals and these issues would be discussed," Paintal told IANS. Terming the murder tragic, he said the college should be more alert during cultural events. On Friday, the student, Rinku Tanwar, was stabbed to death by members of a rival gang after he and his friends stopped them from attending a fresher's party at Aurobindo College. The rival group students reportedly did not belong to the college. Four other students were also injured. According to police, the two groups had clashed before. According to Paintal, discussions would be held with senior police officers so that adequate police presence could be maintained at colleges to avoid such incidents in future. He stressed that the staff and teachers of colleges should get involved in organising festivals and take on more responsibility. It is normally the students who organise such events, he said. According to Paintal, college staff needed to be more vigilant and alert during cultural events. He said police are always present outside colleges to maintain law and order. o o o o Community clash at the core of DU unrest By ABANTIKA GHOSH TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SUNDAY, OCTOBER 02, 2005 01:55:11 AM ] NEW DELHI: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-1249485,curpg-2,fright-0,right-0.cms When students of Sri Aurobindo College walked into their campus on Friday, they were looking forward to two hours of DJ and dance party. But what they got instead was blood at the gates. One person was stabbed to death and three injured, in a fight reportedly over entry of outsiders. Only, it quickly assumed the colours of a Jat-Gujjar showdown. So why are DU colleges cauldrons of aggression waiting to boil over at the slightest pretext? Times City takes a look. Jat-Gujjar rivalry has been Delhi University's (DU) bane for decades. It has increased over the years with the urbanisation of Delhi's periphery. Residents sold lands at high rates. What remained was a population that was not exactly urban in character or culture but had a lot of money. The correlation between rural background and less marks may not be a politically correct statement, but it is a reality. So colleges with an evening section that admit academically poorer students have a perpetual law and order problem, says a DU insider. Says a college principal: "The nouveau riche do not identify with their urban collegemates. Violence for them is almost a ticket to acceptance." Agrees sociologist Anand Kumar. "The urban-rural divide is a problem in DU. But what is more unfortunate is the benign neglect that authorities have been displaying when it comes to lumpensiation of marginal students. It is the responsibility of the vice-chancellor to take the initiative to cleanse the campus," he says. Vice-chancellor Deepak Pental says, "Freshers' party is not a pan-university exercise like DUSU elections. It is not possible for the VC or the proctor to be present everywhere. It is the college principal's responsibility to inform us about such programmes and ask for additional security arrangements. I have asked the proctor to hold an inquiry." Apart from the power equations stemming from students' polls, where all political parties resort to brawn to win votes, girls too are a potential reason. Says a student of ARSD College: "Every day, the campus sees minor fights that stem from real or perceived disrespect of girlfriends. It is a matter of prestige." From vanisuro at vsnl.net Mon Oct 3 16:33:19 2005 From: vanisuro at vsnl.net (vanisuro at vsnl.net) Date: Mon, 03 Oct 2005 04:03:19 -0700 Subject: [Reader-list] CATAPULT ARTS CARAVAN Message-ID: CATAPULT ARTS CARAVAN Announces its next series of public discussions and video + local arts performances in Hoshangabad district of Madhya Pradesh. The Catapult (Gulael) Arts Caravan is a socio political traveling arts performance partnership of artists and community workers. The performances are an innovative multimedia communication initiative on the theme – jal, jangal, zameen (water, forest and land) - that combines audio-visual arts and public discussion. A combination of video images selected from real life observations in the locality, and set to live traditional music is being used to draw attention to the themes outlined above. A short satirical comedy play – nadiya hira gayee – the river is lost!! - also forms part of the performance. The performances use video as a mirror for the local community to see itself and its surroundings along the thematic foci of jal, jangal and zameen. The big screen projection draws audience attention immediately and insistently to the themes of the programme. The performances re-assert creative potential of local communities while catalysing discussion about community governance., and are also a reminder of the continuing relevance of traditional and local knowledge and concerns. . The present series is a partnership with local NGO’s, adivasi, farmers, workers and community organisations, youth clubs and local cultural societies. Performance Schedule 6 October in Palia Piparia village, district Hoshangabad, MP 7 October in front of the District Collectors office, Hoshangabad. 8 October in Pipariya town, district Hoshangabad, MP HOW TO GET THERE Pipariya – By train Direct train from Delhi, change at Itarsi. Pipariya is an hour away in the direction of Jabalpur/Allahabad. If you get off at Bhopal, there is the Veraval-Jabalpur express leaving Bhopal station at 0930 hrs, Amarkantak express leaving Bhopal station at 1600 hrs and Bhopal-Jabalpur Jan Shatabdi express leaves (Bhopal) Habibganj station at 1700 hrs. Pipariya is 3 hours away. >From Bombay/Calcutta – the Howrah Bombay Mail (via Allahabad) stops at Pipariya station. >From Madras – Ganga Kaveri express (Chennai-Varanasi) stops at Pipariya station everyday. CONTACT Jatan Trust – 9425408801 (gopal) ; 9425475979 (shrigopal); 9868117784 (surajit) Eklavya, Pipariya – 07576 - 222574 (kamlesh) From jcm at ata.org.pe Mon Oct 3 17:29:42 2005 From: jcm at ata.org.pe (Jose-Carlos Mariategui) Date: Mon, 03 Oct 2005 12:59:42 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] Database on new media art in the 'Southern Cone': Videobrasil on-line Message-ID: Videobrasil on-line [the most complete database on new media art in the 'Southern Cone'] http://www.sescsp.org.br/sesc/videobrasil/vbonline/ English The Videobrasil Cultural Association has put together, in over twenty years, one of the most important collections of electronic art in the Southern Hemisphere, which is now available in this open database to all interested people. Here, you will find information on works, artists, institutions, and collaborators, as well as details on its festivals and exhibitions. With Videobrasil on-line we carry out our diffusion project, and specially focus on the production of the southern circuit. Supported by Prince Claus Fund and SESC SP. Portugues Em mais de vinte anos, a Associação Cultural Videobrasil reuniu um dos mais importantes acervos de arte eletrônica do Hemisfério Sul, disponível agora neste banco de dados aberto a todos os interessados. Aqui, você encontrará informações sobre obras, artistas, instituições e colaboradores, além de dados sobre sus festivais e mostras. Com o Videobrasil on-line, levamos à frente nosso trabalho de difusão, com foco voltado principalmente para a produção do circuito sul. Apoio do Prince Claus Fund e SESC SP. Español En más de veinte años la Asociación Cultural Videobrasil reunió uno de los más importantes archivos de arte electrónico del Hemisferio Sur, disponible ahora mediante una base de datos online para todo el público interesado. Aquí se puede encontrar información de trabajos, artistas, instituciones y colaboradores, así como detalles de sus festivales y muestras. Mediante Videobrasil online se lleva a cabo un importante trabajo de difusión con foco principal en la producción del circuito sur. Apoyo de Prince Claus Fund y SESC. From monica at sarai.net Mon Oct 3 19:12:49 2005 From: monica at sarai.net (Monica Narula) Date: Mon, 3 Oct 2005 19:12:49 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Call for Contributions to Sarai Reader 06: Turbulence Message-ID: CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO SARAI READER O6: TURBULENCE I. Introducing the Sarai Reader Sarai, (www.sarai.net) an interdisciplinary research and practice programme at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies invites contributions to Sarai Reader 06: Turbulence. We also invite proposals to initiate and moderate discussions on the themes of the Sarai Reader 06 on the Reader List (http://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list) with a view to the moderator(s) editing the transcripts of these discussions for publication in Sarai Reader 06. For an outline of the themes and concerns of Sarai Reader 06, see the Concept Outline below (section II). To know about the format of the articles that we invite, see 'Guidelines for Submissions' (sections III and IV) below. This year, the Sarai Reader has been invited to participate in the 'Journal of Journals' magazine project of Documenta 12. (see http://www.documenta12.de/documenta12/english/magazine.htm). Content from Sarai Reader 06 will be selected by the Sarai editorial collective to be published online on the Documenta 12 Magazine webpage. The Sarai Reader is an annual publication produced by Sarai/CSDS (Delhi). The contents of the Sarai Readers are available for free download from the Sarai website (http://www.sarai.net/journal/journal.htm) Previous Readers have included: 'The Public Domain', 2001; 'The Cities of Everyday Life', 2002; 'Shaping Technologies', 2003; 'Crisis/Media', 2004; and 'Bare Acts', 2005. The Sarai Reader series aims at bringing together original, thoughtful, critical, reflective, well-researched and provocative texts and essays by theorists, practitioners and activists, grouped under a core theme that expresses the interests of the Sarai in issues that relate media, information and society in the contemporary world. The Sarai Readers have a wide international readership. Editorial Collective: Jeebesh Bagchi, Monica Narula, Ravi Sundaram, Ravi Vasudevan, Awadhendra Sharan, Shuddhabrata Sengupta, (Sarai-CSDS, Delhi) + Geert Lovink (Institute of Network Cultures, Amsterdam) II. Turbulence The past decade has opened up a series of transformations that seem to define (cumulatively) the contemporary, even as they themselves defy definition by virtue of the speed and immediacy with which they have made themselves manifest. Every mythic moment has begotten its Faustian other; globalisation produced counter-globalisation, the crisis of the US empire was exposed on September 11th and the quagmire in Iraq, the world of Islam is torn apart by internal strife and humiliation, the global West makes way for global China. Sovereignty, that old pillar of the modern state, stands in ruins, along with all stable social theories of the world, citizenship, the university and liberal doctrines of rights. Property, the legal form of capital is under attack, not only from labour but also from the mode of circulation and re-production. The kingdom of Piracy threatens the kingdom of Property. Massacres, media events, commodity fetishisms, security analysts and scam artists all clog the airwaves and the internet. In this world of exhilaration, death and survival, new practices have sought to define themselves, refusing to fall within old redemptive modes. We want to invite the practitioners of these new practices, some of whom may be audacious even as others may be tentative, wherever in the world they may be located, whether in the domains of theory, research, contemporary art, media, information and software design, politics or commentary to join us in Sarai Reader 06. You are invited to contribute through essays, dialogues, arguments, interviews, photographs, image-text combinations, comics, art-works, diary entries, research reports, commentaries and manifestos that can evoke the idea of Turbulence in all its myriad dimensions. The Sarai Reader 6 uses 'Turbulence' as a conceptual vantage point to interrogate all that is in the throes of terminal crisis, and to invoke all that is as yet unborn. The Reader seeks to examine 'turbulence' as a global phenomenon, unbounded by the lines that denote national and state boundaries in a 'political' map of the world. We want to see areas of low and high pressure in politics, economy and culture that transcend borders; we want to investigate the flow of information and processes between downstream and upstream sites in societies and cultures globally; we want to witness surges and waves in ideas and practices as they crash against the shorelines of many dispersed locations. We want to inhabit moments of stillness and investigate the conditions that determine stasis, in the middle of a tremendous surge of movement. A rough and ready list of questions and concepts that Sarai Reader 06 wants to take on could be as follows: > How do we anticipate, recover from and remember moments of sudden >transformation? These moments could be anything from popular >uprisings, natural disasters, to an unexpected turn in a football >game. > Are there one, two, three, many globalizations? > Have the established categories of East and West, North and South >been thrown into confusion in the contemporary? > The earlier histories of the resolution of the crisis of property >are replete with violence. How does the current crisis of property, >in the wake of copy culture, play itself out? > Does the return of epidemics and natural disasters into our >consciousness imply the end of the grand modernist dream of immunity >from nature? > How do cities deal with the accumulation of complex infrastructural >uncertainty? What happens when urban chaos strikes back at urban >planning? > What does it mean to know and experience the pull of undercurrents >- in society, politics, the economy? How can we map the subterranean >tectonic shifts and displacements that occur in culture and >intellectual life? > What happens to the authority of the intellectual in the current >context of turbulence? How is the intellectual's authority eroded, >or sought to be shored up, when assailed by uncertainty, and the >rise of new networks of the generation and circulation of knowledge? > What does it take from us to tell stories, enact performances, make >images and record experiences in the wake of turbulence? > What are the histories of anxiety, exhilaration, dread, panic, >ecstasy, disorientation and boredom like? How can we begin to >narrate these histories? > How do we deal with the simultaneous pressures of knowing too much >or the anxiety of knowing too little about the world? > What does the consciousness of changing geo-political and economic >scenarios mean at the level of the street; how do we account for the >rise of 'Global China'? As in all Sarai readers we will feel free to innovate thematically. It is an invitation to an unconventional world of knowledge, and to unconventional producers of ideas. It is an invitation to be agile, mobile, versatile and flexible in forms of thought and creativity to navigate the tumult of the present moment. III. Guidelines for Submissions Word Limit: 1500 - 4000 words 1. Submissions may be scholarly, journalistic, or literary - or a mix of these, in the form of essays, papers, interviews, online discussions or diary entries. They could also be only image or image-text essays. All submissions, unless specifically solicited, must be in English. 2. Submissions must be sent by email as txt, or rtf, or MS Word document or Open Office attachments. Articles may be accompanied by black and white photographs or drawings submitted in the tif format. 3. We urge writers to follow the Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) in terms of footnotes, annotations and references. For more details about the CMS and an updated list of Frequently Asked Questions, see http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/cmosfaq/cmosfaq.html For a 'Quick Reference Guide to the Chicago Manual of Style' especially relevant for citation style, see http://www.library.wwu.edu/ref/Refhome/chicago.html 4. All contributions should be accompanied by a three/four line text introducing the author, as well as an email address. 5. All submissions will be read by the Editorial Collective before the final selection is made. The editorial collective reserves the right not to publish any material sent to it on stylistic or editorial grounds. All contributors will be informed of the final decisions of the editorial collective. 6. Copyright for all accepted contributions will remain with the authors, but Sarai reserves indefinitely the right to place any of the material accepted for publication on the public domain in print or electronic forms, and on the internet. 7. Accepted submissions will not be paid for, but authors are guaranteed a wide international readership. The Reader will be published in print, distributed in India and internationally, and will also be uploaded in a pdf form on to the Sarai website. All contributors whose work has been accepted for publication will receive two copies of the Reader. IV. Where and When to send your Contributions Last date for submission: December 31st 2005. [Please write and send as soon as possible, preferably, latest by the 15th of November, 2005, a brief outline/abstract, not more than one page, of what you want to write about; this helps in designing the content of the Reader]. We expect to have the reader published by the end of February 2006. Please send in your outlines and abstracts, and images/graphic material to: 1. For articles to Shuddhabrata Sengupta (shuddha at sarai.net) 2. For proposals to moderate online discussions on the Reader List to Monica Narula (monica at sarai.net) 3. For images and/or graphic material to Monica Narula (monica at sarai.net) -- Monica Narula [Raqs Media Collective] Sarai:The New Media Initiative 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi 110 054 www.sarai.net www.raqsmediacollective.net From sastry at cs.wisc.edu Mon Oct 3 23:00:22 2005 From: sastry at cs.wisc.edu (Subramanya Sastry) Date: Mon, 3 Oct 2005 12:30:22 -0500 (CDT) Subject: [Reader-list] [openspace-announce] Announcing CACIM, OpenSpaceForum, and the Chennai Open Space Action (fwd) Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sat, 1 Oct 2005 23:30:05 +0530 (IST) From: cacim at cacim.net To: openspace-announce at cacim.net Subject: [openspace-announce] Announcing CACIM, OpenSpaceForum, and the Chennai Open Space Action 1st October 2005 Feel free to send this mail out to others! ************************************************************************* ** Announcing CACIM, OpenSpaceForum, and the Chennai Open Space Action ** ************************************************************************* Dear friends ! Welcome to an experiment in creating open spaces for discussion and debate, first about the World Social Forum and its culture of politics and then towards discussing institutions and processes more generally ! Many people, in all kinds of institutions and processes - students and researchers, movement activists and members of NGOs, workers and trade unionists, political activists, academics, professionals, and others - those who are concerned about democracy and wider participation, would like spaces that are 'open'. In this respect, the Internet carries with it a promise of such openness: open source, open access, wikipedia, creative commons, countless wikis, blogs, discussion forums, peer-to-peer networking, ongoing conflicts over file sharing, etc. bear testimony to that. The culture of such practices, in many a case, spills over from the world of bits to the world of flesh and blood. It only seems appropriate then (at least to those of us talking of openness, participation, democracy) that we all participate in the process of creating and fostering more such spaces. This mail tells you about a new initiative, CACIM (India Institute for Critical Action : Centre in Movement), about some of its activities over the next while, and specifically about something that is happening right now, over these next 2-3 weeks, the Chennai Open Space Action. This action, like most of CACIM's activities, is about promoting and defending open space, and towards pushing the boundaries of existing spaces and maybe even opening new spaces. We hope, by this mail, to also be able to reach out to and to perhaps also engage even wider sections of people -- people who may not be involved with the WSF or movements as such but who are nevertheless concerned about the state of the world and want to contribute or take part in debates about what is happening and how things take shape. From CACIM, our approach will at all times be one of critical engagement, and we invite you to join us in this. Please feel free to send this mail out to others and / or to post it on listserves! And of course, get back to us (cacim AT cacim DOT net) with any comments you have. In this email: - -------------- 1. The Chennai Open Space Action . In defence of open space! . The Chennai Action . Options for participating 2. About Open Space Forum . Proposed content on OpenSpaceForum: http://www.openspaceforum.net 3. About CACIM . Forthcoming activities Unsubscribing - ------------- We understand that these days, everyone is inundated with email, and we do not wish to burden you with unwanted email. Please email us at "cacim AT cacim DOT net" if you want to be taken off this list. You can also unsubscribe yourself directly by visiting: http://www.cacim.net/mailman/listinfo/openspace-announce_cacim.net With warm greetings, in peace and in solidarity - Members of CACIM. ######################################################################### 1. The Chennai Open Space Action -------------------------------- In defence of open space! - ------------------------- Arguably, one of the major contributions of the phenomenon called the 'World Social Forum' (WSF) is the idea of the Forum as an 'open space' -- and by this, signalling a 'new form of politics'. The central idea in this formulation is that a 'space', rather than a party or movement or other organisation, allows for more and different forms of relations among political actors, while remaining open-ended with respect to outcomes. It is 'open' in that encounters among multiple subjects with diverse objectives can have transformative political effects that traditional forms of movements, parties, coalitions, and campaigns, with more uniform themes and goals, exclude -- almost by definition. 'Open space' is not an alternative to these other modes of organisation -- but it is, for achieving democratic and emancipatory change, essential as a complement. While the jury is still out both as to just how open the World Social Forum is, and also as to how effective this concept and approach is in terms of creating more democratic and emancipatory ways of conducting and understanding politics and organisation, there seems little doubt that especially in today's world of rising fundamentalism and growing imperialism, at many levels and in many contexts, the essential idea of an 'open space' is appealing. It is a valuable concept, one that is worth defending and promoting. In many senses, it can be compared to the concepts of civil liberty and democratic right. We at CACIM therefore believe it is necessary, in today's juncture in world politics, to at all times practise, promote, and defend the concept of open space, to engage in a process of constantly opening spaces, and also to critically examine and interrogate the concept. The Chennai Action: - ------------------- A major WSF India meeting is to be held in Chennai, India, between October 6-8 2005. At one level, the meeting's organisers have billed this as stocktaking after organising the WSF world meeting in Mumbai in January 2004, and at another, as preparation for the Karachi edition of the polycentric World Social Forum that is scheduled to place in late January 2006. It is worth noting that one of the sessions of the Chennai meeting is titled 'WSF as an Open Space -- Confronting globalization or dissipating dissent'. Clearly, the concept of 'open space' is directly on the WSF official agenda, perhaps as a consequence of the WSF being widely criticised for saying it is open but not, perhaps being as open as it claims, in reality. But the time allotted for this crucial issue is just one hour -- which includes two presentations and only 20 minutes discussion time. And this is within a whole day of sessions, most of which is occupied by pre-selected speakers. There is clearly not enough time in general for debate and discussion, let alone on this vital issue, and it is therefore even more pertinent that this theme gets widely and intensively discussed prior to, during, and after the Chennai meet. Towards this end, we would like to invite you to: 1) Subscribe to a mailing list chennai-wsfindia-2005 at openspaceforum.net, come in with YOUR views and reports, and exchange thoughts with others. You can do this at: http://www.openspaceforum.net/mailman/listinfo/chennai-wsfindia-2005_openspaceforum.net This listserve has been created for discussions before the Chennai meeting, live reports and reflections from the Chennai meeting, and beyond this, critical engagement with the WSF and with WSF processes 2) Visit the webspace http://www.openspaceforum.net and use that space to engage with the concept and idea of 'open space', particularly in the context of the WSF. This webspace offers several tools to facilitate this engagement. CACIM now invites all those who are going to the Chennai meeting, or who cannot go but are interested in it, and indeed all those who are interested in what is happening with and in the Forum, in India and globally, to participate in creating a space -- multiple spaces - for debate and discussion on the meeting and on the WSF -- and anything else that YOU think is related. Options for participating - ------------------------- Over the last several months, we have come to understand that in the domain of internet-based technologies, most people are most comfortable and attuned with email. This has led us to privilege the "chennai-wsfindia-2005 at openspaceforum.net" listserve. However, for those who would like to be venture beyond email, on the http://www.openspaceforum.net webspace, we also provide: 1. BLOG SPACE: OpenSpaceForum provides blog space for people to "report" from the Chennai event, and also provides individuals the option of creating your own blog rather than writing onto the "common" blog. Of course, you need not restrict your blogging to the Chennai event, but are welcome to engage with other related issues. 2. UPLOADING YOUR OWN CONTENT: OpenSpaceForum also provides individuals the option to upload your own content such as photos, documents, etc onto the site -- which will then be available worldwide. 3. ARTICLE SUBMISSION: While you could submit documents (Word, PDF, etc), we also encourage you to use the article-submission feature to make some of these documents accessible as plain text. Please also feel free to comment on existing articles. 4. CREATING WIKI PAGES: You are also welcome to create new wiki pages, which are then open to being edited by others. You are also welcome to edit existing wiki pages, where it is possible to do so. 5. HELP FOR THOSE LESS FAMILIAR: The webspace also gives Help to those less familiar with blogging and editing wiki pages, and in case you would like to use this opportunity to do this. Come and join us! Please only note that we are attempting this experiment at somewhat short notice, and there are bound to be rough edges. We are working to make all the above tools available and usable without too much effort. So please try and overlook the smaller problems you may find with all this. We welcome your feedback at "cacim AT cacim DOT net". Our idea is also to do a collective and participative post-facto evaluation of this project, with a view to perhaps repeating this experiment, with greater preparation, for and at the polycentric Karachi Forum in January 2006. So you will be hearing more from us, in due course. Join us in any or all of this ! ######################################################################### 2. About Open Space Forum ------------------------- Open Space Forum was set up in 2004, in part, in connection with the work of the EIOS Collective, a new worldwide network of scholar-activists involved in or concerned with movement. The goal of this initiative is to explore and advance thinking and action involving new and more democratic ways of conducting and understanding politics and organisation within movements, institutions, and related political processes. For more information, visit http://www.openspaceforum.net This webspace is being reorganized, with relevant content being uploaded over the next couple of months. The proposed structure is listed below. We welcome you to contribute to this process. This is very much still an experiment-in-progress. Proposed Content on OpenSpaceForum: http://www.openspaceforum.net - ----------------------------------------------------------------- * Main Content + Books . Articles from the special issue of ISSJ (International Social Science Journal) 182 focussing on 'Explorations in Open Space : The World Social Forum and Cultures of Politics' . Link to content of World Social Forum : Challenging Empires, edited by Jai Sen, Anita Anand, Arturo Escobar, and Peter Waterman (2004) . Essays from Are Other Worlds Possible ? Talking New Politics, edited by Jai Sen and Mayuri Saini (2005) . Other related material + Articles . Articles by EIOS Collective members . Articles by other activists and researchers + Seminar Series . Transcripts from the Open Space Seminar Series held at the University of Delhi, 2003 . Other related material + Films, photographs, audio recordings + Other content . Stories/Experiences . Bibliographies . Chronologies * The WSF in India + India at WSF 2006 . WSF seminar, Chennai, October 2005 + India at WSF 2005 + WSF 2004 + ASF (Asia Social Forum) 2003 + Other regional forums in India . Bangalore Social Forum . Delhi Social Forum . Gujarat Social Forum . Karnataka Social Forum . Kerala Social Forum . Tamil Nadu Social Forum . Any other else ... + Report about SF-related meetings + WSF India (the organisation) + Links to critical and/or oppositional sites (for instance, Mumbai Resistance, in January 2004) + Debates about the politics of the respective fora. * WSF globally + WSF Events . WSF 2005 . WSF 2004 . WSF 2003 . WSF 2002 . WSF 2001 + Regional Forums + Others * EIOS + About EIOS and the EIOS Collective + EIOS Events: . EIOS 1: Workshop at Integria, Brazil Proposal, reports, articles, etc. . EIOS 2: Workshops at WSF 2005, Brazil . EIOS 3: Proposed conference & related meetings in India, 2006 + Other forthcoming EIOS activities . Activities planned for Karachi Forum . Proposed book on cultures of politics + Related people, organisations, projects . Other Worlds Project . Are Other Worlds Possible Project . Ephemera . Radical Theory Forum * HELP + Editing wiki pages + Site navigation + Using blogs + Using discussion forums + ... * Other + Links to related sites (groups, individuals, publications, sites .. ) + Anything else ######################################################################### 3. About CACIM -------------- [ CACIM is just in the process of forming. The following is therefore taken from a draft document, and should be seen as being only work-in-progress.] CACIM -- the India Institute for Critical Action : Centre in Movement -- proposes to be a hub within transnational networks among people and organisations located in different parts of the world. Its goal is to support and encourage activists, students, researchers, professionals, artistes, and thinkers, young and more mature, and both those belonging to the so-called 'civil' and also those excluded from this, belonging to the popular and 'incivil' worlds, who are involved in different ways with 'movement', in their individual work and also to network and work together. CACIM has grown out of Critical Action (CA), an experiment since about 2001 in informal, voluntary association between individuals based in different parts of India and other countries focusing on the critical study of, reflection and exchange on, and engagement in emerging social and political movement. [ CACIM webspace - http://www.cacim.net - under construction ] CACIM is registered in India as a non-profit company. But, although based in one country, it will be transnationalist, 'global', and open in spirit and concern. At another level, our goal will be to develop and to conduct CACIM as a loose, flexible, responsive, and lightweight organisation, reflecting and manifesting its principles. The principles that underlie CACIM's work are criticality, transnationalism and transcommunality, and engagement -- and at all times, and in many ways, a focus on movement. We hope to articulate criticality through a focus on critical reflection and thought, and a spirit of self-reflexivity; critical action; and critical pedagogy. CACIM's work will also be based on and informed by the interrelated principles of voluntarism, mutual aid, and solidarity. One aim and aspect of the application of CACIM's principles will be with respect to the question of the social and political dimensions of resource mobilisation for public work. We propose to open public debate in this critical area, and hope to be able to progressively define principles that can inform our own work and public work more generally. We plan here to take full advantage of the rich tradition in India of debate and controversy in this area. Over the next period, CACIM expects to have three main areas of activity: Strategies and Cultures of 'Movement', Information Culture Technology, and Building Bridges. Forthcoming activities: - ----------------------- December 2005 - January 2006: - ------------------------------ Publication and launch of the first two volumes of the Hindi translation of 'World Social Forum : Challenging Empires', with the plan to use this as the basis of a major pedagogical experiment and intervention in cultures of politics in north / Hindi-speaking India. Publication and launch of the Hindi edition of the first volume of the 'Are Other Worlds Possible?' series, English title Talking New Politics Publication and launch of the second and third volumes of the 'Are Other Worlds Possible?' series, tentatively titled 'Interrogating Empires and Imagining Alternatives'. Mid 2006: - --------- EIOS3 -- the third EIOS meeting, a ten-day encounter of the 'Explorations in/of Open Space' project (EIOS) focusing on open space and civil movement; to be organised by CACIM near New Delhi. The four interrelated meetings and the preparatory process proposed will significantly take forward the EIOS process, a major exercise in critical scholar-activism and global networking that has taken shape over the past year around the concept of 'open space'. If you are interested in knowing more about CACIM, write to us at "info AT cacim DOT net" We hope you now have enough information on us, and look forward to your joining us -- right now on http://www.openspaceforum.net and chennai-wsfindia-2005 at openspaceforum.net now, and soon also on http://www.cacim.net With warm greetings, in peace and in solidarity - Members of CACIM. CACIM -- India Institute for Critical Action : Centre in Movement A-3 Defence Colony, New Delhi 110 024, India Ph : +91-11/5155 1521, 2433 2451 Eml: info AT cacim DOT net Web: http://www.cacim.net From sastry at cs.wisc.edu Tue Oct 4 22:07:33 2005 From: sastry at cs.wisc.edu (Subramanya Sastry) Date: Tue, 4 Oct 2005 11:37:33 -0500 (CDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Oct 8: Internet and the culture of openness Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 4 Oct 2005 07:57:05 -0500 (CDT) From: Subramanya Sastry To: S Subramanya Sastry , T.B.Dinesh Subject: Oct 8: Internet and the culture of openness ######################################################################### Invitation to a discussion on "Internet and the culture of openness" Date : Oct 8th, Saturday Time : 3:30 pm Venue : 3354, K.R.Road, Bangalore Phone : 26762963 Directions : http://pantoto.com/p/UpLoad/tmdb/bhairava/f/Directions.gif You are also welcome to stay on and join another "open-space" event at the same location (For details, visit http://liveit.in) ######################################################################### The World Social Forum (WSF) first made its appearance on the global scene in 2001 and it seems that it is here to stay. The WSF means many things to many people, but, one of the more prominent conceptions of the WSF is as an 'open space' where individuals, organizations, and movements come together, share, exchange, build bridges, relationships, strategize, etc. Yet, the idea of an 'open space' is not peculiar to the WSF. One could perhaps trace this idea of 'WSF as an open space' to the various trends and practices of "openness" that are now prevalent on the Internet -- starting with the open source movement, which in turn has spurred various other endeavours from open access journals, open maps, open knowledge, open content, open design, open publishing, open encyclopedias (wikipedia), open politics, open democracy, and so on. Clearly, most of these endeavours in "openness" appear rooted in the potential and promise of the Internet -- the new-found zeal for openness in most endeavours could be seen as an outcome of what the Internet is. With this extremely brief background and context, we invite you to a discussion to take a critical look on the theme "Internet and the culture of openness", the promise, potential, and practicality of it. Theme: Internet and the culture of openness Date : Oct 8th, Saturday Time : 3:30 pm Venue: 3354, K.R.Road We encourage submissions from you before the meeting (at least an idea or a question that you would like to bring up during the meeting) so that it can help us facilitate a logical flow during the discussion. Even if you are not from Bangalore, and/or cannot be part of the discussion, we encourage you to write in -- your contribution will be shared with the group. We also hope to put up some of this material on a website (open to, participation of course!). Here are some questions to consider: - Is the underlying idea of openness particularly new to the Internet era? Or, what is the history of this value of openness? What can we say of its appeal in the future? - How much of this practice of "openness", so prevalent in the domain of the Internet, carries over to the domain of interactions in the world of flesh-and-blood? - Seen another way, if found desirable, how does one translate the practice and culture of openness from the electronic world to the "real" world? - How stable and robust are these practices of openness in the electronic world, dependent as strongly as they are on technological enablers? [ The recent case where Yahoo! helped the Chinese Government convict a Chinese journalist is a case in point. ] - Seen another way, what are the weaknesses of the Internet-driven cultures of openness? - Are we now entering a world losing control over our commons in the real world and getting enraptured by the commons of the electronic world? We look forward to an interesting discussion, even if this email is going out at short notice! Subbu (sastry at cs.wisc.edu) and Dinesh (dinesh at servelots.com). From kristoferpaetau at GMAIL.COM Tue Oct 4 13:45:54 2005 From: kristoferpaetau at GMAIL.COM (Kristofer Paetau) Date: Tue, 4 Oct 2005 10:15:54 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] ART FORUM ACCIDENT! Message-ID: <80bd928c0510040115l3447b1f7idd4daf6a8fae21b0@mail.gmail.com> This is a very embarrassing accident that happened at the opening of the Art Forum 2005 Art Fair in Berlin... If you want to check it out: A web documentation to view at: http://www.paetau.com/downloads/ArtForumAccident/ArtForumAccident.html A PDF documentation (0,8 MB) to download at: http://www.paetau.com/downloads/ArtForumAccident/ArtForumAccident.pdf A Quicktime Video (DSL required): http://www.paetau.com/downloads/ArtForumAccident/ArtForumAccident.mov Best wishes, Kristofer Paetau -- If you do not want mails anymore, you can unsubscribe automatically by sending an empty e-mail from your e-mail account to: ARTINFO-L-unsubscribe-request at listserv.dfn.de If this doesn't work, you probably got this e-mail re-routed through another address: Please reply to this mail and write UNSUBSCRIBE in the mail subject and please indicate some old or alternative e-mail addresses in order to help us unsubscribe you. Thank you and apologizes for the trouble! -- Kristofer Paetau http://www.paetau.com/exhibitions -- From gs_edu at rediffmail.com Wed Oct 5 15:27:00 2005 From: gs_edu at rediffmail.com (Gurminder Singh) Date: 5 Oct 2005 09:57:00 -0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Joint Special Task Force of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka Message-ID: <20051005095700.23487.qmail@webmail31.rediffmail.com>   Interaction with the victims in Janmanch on 14th 0ct.at Constitution Club--3 to 6pm October 2nd ,2005 Dear friends, We the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) and the Campaign for Relief and Rehabilitation of JSTF victims, are seeking justice on behalf of more than 500 families abused and victimized at the hands of Joint Special Task Force of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka (JSTF). The operations of the Joint Special Task Force (JSTF) set up in April 1993 with the express purpose of nabbing Veerappan were marked by several instances of atrocities and human rights violation on the people of the region, this included custodial torture, rape, sexual harassment, disappearance of men and women and so on. Persistent efforts by the civil rights groups and other conscious citizens led to the setting up of the justice Sadashiva panel of enquiry on June 28, 1999. The panel submitted its report to the NHRC on December 3, 2003 after holding as many as 10 sittings in the course of which it recorded evidence from 192 victims and 28 officers of the JSTF. Rather than putting pressure on the two state governments to act on the report the NHRC has been graciously extending deadlines for the state governments to respond. The last instance was a deadline issued by the NHRC that the two state governments to respond was February 25, 2005. This too has passed. And the situation is now taking a new turn with police officers against whom the people had testified and those who were notorious for inflicting torture and shooting down men in the name of encounter are being posted in-charge of the police stations in the region in both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. These men are gain on the prowl in the villages, particularly in the past couple of weeks terrorizing the villagers in general and targeting those who testified against them before the Sadashiva panel. There have also been instances of men being picked up, taken into the forests and tortured. One such instance that has come to our notice is that of Muthusamy of Yeamnur village of Penagaram Taluk of Dhamapuri district who was taken into the forest on 17.9.05 and let off with torture wounds still visible. Similarly, several women like Lakshim, whose evidence before the Sadashiva panel is illustrative of the ways of the JSTF have been approached by unidentified men and offered money. As part of our intervention in the matter, NFIW is organizing a meeting on 14th October at Speakers Hall in Constitution Club, VP House, Rafi Marg, New Delhi 110001 at 3 p.m to 6 p.m, with a view to building pubic opinion, and pressurize the state authorities to look into these cases and punish these guilty of committing atrocities on helpless, innocent people. A group of women who have been victims of unspeakable violence and torture, and have spend almost a decade of their lives in prison only to have found innocent and released at the end of it will speak about human rights violations which they are facing . With their families lost and their lives destroyed, these women are today non-people, ignored by the state and with no future, much like the victims in Manipur or Kashmir. We invite you to participate in the Janmanch on 14th October, 2005 so that we can all jointly work towards helping these people to get justice and compensation. Your presence will definitely instill confidence among the victims. In solidarity Annie Raja (General Secretary, NFIW) forwarded by Gurminder Singh BERC, Bhopal-462016 98932 99169 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20051005/864ccfe3/attachment.html From nc-agricowi at netcologne.de Mon Oct 3 21:00:01 2005 From: nc-agricowi at netcologne.de (NetEx) Date: Mon, 03 Oct 2005 17:30:01 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] SoundLab Channel launched EDITION III online Message-ID: <43414E79.3060706@netcologne.de> SoundLab Channel launched EDITION III online on 3 October 2005 in the framework of [R][R][F]2005--->XP global networking project http://rrf2005.newmediafest.org On occasion of the release of EDITION III, SoundLab Channel was completely re-constructed. It includes and features three curatorial contributions of works of sound & radio art a) from Australia curated by Michael Yuen (Adelaide/Australia) b) from Germany curated by Peter Wolf (Cologne/Germany) c) based on an open call curated by Melody Parker-Carter (Cologne/Germany) ******************************************** a) soundart from Australia curated by Michael Yuen who selected soundart by these artists Thomas Reiner, Lawrence English, Somaya Langley, Robert Sazdov Sebastian Tomczak, Stephen Gard Curatorial statement:--> Australia has a vibrant sound and experimental art community. By distance and cultural heritage Australia is a vast and isolated nation. With the ready integration of the Internet into our lives and artistic practices, Australian artists have become connected with their cultural past while reserving the right to observe from a distance. It has fallen to the current generation of artists to embrace our tyranny of distance and celebrate the freedom that is afforded by our new world conditions. There are many signs that Australia has evolved from an infant nation towards a vibrant new world community – the celebration of artistic freedom from the old; forced resourcefulness and innovation by the lack of traditional arts infrastructure; rapid acceptances of new technologies and techniques; the embracing of a national identity beyond iconicism; and the use of the old world as a historical reference rather than a guide to the future. The works assembled here are a reflection of sound art from around Australia celebrating these signs. b) soundart from Germany curated by Peter Wolf Cuttings from "KlangDrang 2005 - A Festival for Incredible Music" - Cologne In this case, "Incredible Music" means the spheres of New Music, experimental and improvised music, Performance Art and New Media. This festival was brought into being 2002 as a hommage for the Cologne Citizen Center Alte Feuerwache which enables the presentation of extraordinary music since more than 25 years. This year KlangDrang presented 4 ensembles from which you can hear each 3 cuttings of an each 45 minute performance featuring -----> F.I.M. (Free improvised music cologne) soundso Ensemble All-Tag Doppelpluss c) Based on an open call, Melody Parker-Carter (chief curator of SoundLab Channel) curates following selection, featuring ---> Gina Valenti, jean-françois flamey, David R. Mooney John Plenge, PRISM/ lars nagler, John E. Bower Michael Yuen, Pete Stollery, Tae Hong Park Suguru Goto, Nick Barker, Li-Chi Hsieh Herve Constant, Eldad Tsabary, Mira Burt-Wintonick Caroline de Lannoy, eduardo paz carlson, Andreja Andric & I. Vasiljev Natalie Bewernitz + Marek Goldowski CARLO FATIGONI, Annie Abrahams & Jan de Weille Ricardo Miranda Zuñiga, Damian Stewart Darko Vuckovic, Tsila Hassine & Alejandra Perez Nunez Le Tuan Hung, Les Riches Douaniers, Miha Ciglar Owen Plotkin, meta, Colin Black, Cynthia Payne Carl Priestly, popcrash, Till Nikolaus von Heiseler Paolo Paolizzo, Pablo Bas, Khaled Sabsabi More details and all soundart works can be found online by entering the artistic body of [R][R][F]2005--->XP Memory Channel 7 - http://rrf2005.newmediafest.org or direct access via on http://rrf2005.newmediafest.org/schannel.htm and http://concerthall.le-musee-divisioniste.org ******************************************** EDITION III is released on occasion of the series of [R][R][F]2005--->XP - exhibitions and events in October/November 2005 in the framework of "Groundworks" - Environmental Collaboration in Contemporary Art 14 October - 11 December 2005 at Regina Gouger Miller Gallery at Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburg/USA http://millergallery.cfa.cmu.edu/~miller/exhibitions/online.html , Biennale of Video & New Media Santiago/Chile 18-28 November - www.bienaldevideo.cl and IMPACT'SA 05 - the event series in South America Argentina, Chile, Brazil and Uruguay http://impact.newmediafest.org ********************************************* SoundLab Channel is a joint-venture between ConcertHall at le Musee di-visioniste.org http://concerthall.le-musee-divisioniste.org and [R][R][F]2005--->XP - global networking project http://rrf2005.newmediafest.org and is further corporate part of [NewMediaArtProjectNetwork]:||cologne www.nmartproject.net ********************************************** These info are also released on NetEX - networked experience http://netex.nmartproject.net/index.php?blog=3&cat=14 . contact: info (at) nmartproject.net _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From hight at 34n118w.net Thu Oct 6 00:07:51 2005 From: hight at 34n118w.net (hight at 34n118w.net) Date: Wed, 5 Oct 2005 11:37:51 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] BINARY KATWALK call for work for second edition. Message-ID: <1772.70.34.248.200.1128537471.squirrel@webmail.34n118w.net> BINARY KATWALK announces the call for work for second edition. Binary katwalk is an on-line exhibition space focusing on work that is highly experimental and would benefit from a non-traditional exhibition space. The site is co-curated by Sindee Nakatani and Jeremy Hight. The first edition was a great success and we are now looking for work for the second . We are looking for new media work: for cross disciplinary works, for experimental works, for works that are pushing into new horizons in form and functionality. Contact : info at binarykatwalk.net From aarti at sarai.net Thu Oct 6 14:11:34 2005 From: aarti at sarai.net (Aarti) Date: Thu, 06 Oct 2005 14:11:34 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Reader 05 Review Message-ID: <4344E33E.3070201@sarai.net> Sarai Reader 05: Bare Acts The Sarai Programme CSDS, Delhi 2005; pages: 582, paperback; price: Rs 350.00 Reviewed by Aditya Nigam Fellow, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi http://www.india-seminar.com/2005/553/553%20books.htm A whole new body of work is slowly emerging that maps new and intriguing features of the contemporary moment, under the aegis of the Sarai Programme at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi. Over the past few years, Sarai has made available to us a whole new language for apprehending the enormous changes taking place over the last decade, which have radically transformed our existence. In his celebrated work on postmodernism, Frederic Jameson characterized the phenomenon most notably as “the staging of the aesthetic popular”, embodying a significant turn away from high modernist art and architecture towards popular mass culture. In Jameson’s reading, this move is involves the /effacement of boundaries/ between high culture and popular culture, rather than a turning away from high culture altogether. Crucial to this idea is his notion of pastiche, which is mimesis or mimicry without purpose or destination. Pastiche mimics high art but unlike the form called parody, holds Jameson, has no respect for the original – for parody, even as it mimics, exalts itself through its reference to the original. To be sure, this condition is not exclusive to the domain of art and architecture. The effacement of boundaries is a pervasive condition that is evident in many different fields in the postmodern condition – both in the domain of knowledge as well as real life. We may add to Jameson’s idea of pastiche and in fact say that the copy (or mimicry) is not merely a degraded form of the original; once the canon collapses and boundaries blur, the copy acquires a life of its own. It mocks, even threatens, the original. This is true of the great ideologies of the twentieth century (e.g. Nationalism, Marxism, Liberalism) for instance, whose existence has been threatened by what the purists claim are popular corruptions but which might be the only form in which such high ideologies could become popular. It is equally true of the world of commodities and consumption where the cheap and “pirated” versions of the branded ones swamp the market and have become a major source of anxiety for the corporations producing the latter. Frenetic attempts to police the production and circulation of such pirated goods, has led to increasingly repressive measures being adopted by the governments in countries like India. The central figure in the context of these new and intense conflicts is that of the ‘pirate’ – a term redeployed in the context of the new cyber-economy from its earlier usage of one who pillaged on the high seas. The pirate today is one who copies, multiplies and distributes or sells with scant respect for the original except as object of consumption. Often, s/he who is called the pirate, in fact merely shares information and products with others. Effacement of boundaries in this arena of commodity and consumption has caused much anxiety, even panic. Raids by Delhi police in medical students’ hostels and confiscation of photocopied books – usually unaffordably priced foreign publications – can be considered symptomatic of this new anxiety. However, the really sharp conflicts have taken shape around the new possibilities of copying and sharing made available by new digital technologies and the Internet. “Intellectual property”, copyright and trade mark are the new banners of capitalist aggression – threatened as it is today, not by the working class, but by /contraband capital/ – its own cheap copy. It is this moment that the Sarai Programme chronicles. In doing so it challenges our received language. It forces us to see the world from a different vantage point from where “pirate” and “hacker” but refer to an existential condition, even a political stance. In drawing our attention to this domain of new conflicts, Sarai has also forced us to think in a more sustained way on the everyday practices of ordinary people – away from the large, ideologically driven structures like the state and political parties. Sarai /Readers/ that are published annually, focusing each time on a new and different theme, have become important aids for those who wish to explore the frontiers of the world of ideas and deal with the range of new issues that confront us today. The /Reader/ is a unique product, even in terms of form: neither book nor journal, it is a purely experimental enterprise that combines contributions that range from the academic to the literary, from the purely textual to the visual, from detailed ethnographic reports to fairly dense theoretical writings. In fact, it will not be an exaggeration to say that the Sarai Reader embodies in every sense, the collapse of all boundaries of form, style and genre. The volume under review is the fifth of the annual /Readers/ published by the Sarai Programme. The thematic title, “Bare Acts” is a play on the generic name used for documents that contain the Law or Act as such. On the other hand there is also the “bare” act of living, if one may use the term for the everyday practices that drive people across borders of their homes, villages, cities or nations – across the frontiers of the Law. These are the bare acts of living and consuming, of ceaseless innovations, including copying, ‘pilfering’ and enjoying. “Illegality” here is less about willful violation of the law; rather it is something to be negotiated, like a hurdle that must be overcome everyday in order to go about the normal business of life. “Bare Acts” is thus about the Law and its everyday negotiations/ violations and transgressions. It is about the “quiet politics of stealth” as Solomon Benjamin argues in his piece on the unspectacular but persistent struggle of the poor over urban space in Delhi; it is about the sleaze and consequent porosity that marks the institutional spaces of the Law – Tis Hazari courts in this instance – as Chander Nigam’s ethnographies show. As Lawrence Liang puts it, it is the world of “porous legalities” – “created primarily through a profound distrust of the usual normative myths of the rule of law, such as rights, equality, access to justice, etc.” The lived experience of most people, Liang argues, points to a network of day-to-day negotiations with power that renders vacuous any neat binary of legal/ illegal. Liang’s own essay that deals with these anxieties, which are explored through the fascinating instance of the music cassette industry and piracy in the India of the 1980s and 1990s. Awadhendra Sharan’s piece maps the “fashioning of the urban environment through the law and science” and focuses on the actual process of the law and government. Clifton D’ Rozario examines, through the example of the Narmada tribals, the actual ways in which, in the very act of entering the space of law and legal institutions, renders voiceless those who speak a different language. If contributions like these illuminate the processes of law and power, there are others that explore the other side of law. So, for instance, Aarti Sethi’s reconstruction of the famous Nanavati murder case (where a naval officer murdered his wife’s lover) and the drama enacted around it, reading it through the optic of “honour killings”, reveals interesting ways in which the bare act of life (non-modern practices, at that) gets inscribed into the very process of the law thus “effacing the boundary” in somewhat disconcerting ways. Between these two kinds of contributions lie a range of others that speak of the paranoia of state elites confronted with the collapse of more borders than just these. Kai Friese presents a moving account of the policing of Indian borders along the Himalayas and his attempts at tracking down two Chinese prisoners of war languishing in a Ranchi mental asylum. Naveeda Khan’s examination of the attempts in Pakistan by the orthodox Muslims to police the borders of “true Islam” as it were, and the astonishing attempt by the judiciary to invoke a discourse (yet to be born) by utilizing copyright laws for validating the claims of the “original”, provides an unintended comic element to the matter. So, if the Bare Act of the law is an embodiment of the norms of rights, equality and justice, the bare act of life is about border crossings and transgressions: across nation-states, across the sexual divide, across the moral and the amoral. With a vast range of contributions (more than 60), presented through an array of visual and textual material, this is a truly impressive volume. However, precisely, for this reason it is impossible to justice to all contributions and one can only pick some of them arbitrarily. For reasons of space, I have selected only some that relate to the South Asian experience. This should not give the impression that this is all that there is in this volume. Ursula Bieman’s “On Smugglers, Pirates and Aroma Makers” for example, which relates to a video /Europlex/, co-produced with visual anthropologist Angela Sanders, plots the lived micro-geographies along the Spanish-Moroccan border on both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar, looks at everyday practices: “perilous nocturnal boat voyages by clandestine migrants; helicopter patrols keeping watch; itinerant plantation workers who pick vegetables for the EU market; commuting housemaids, /domesticas/ who go to work for the /senoras/ in Andalusia…” Shujen Wang looks at piracy in China and the ambivalence of the Chinese government in controlling it while Franscesca Da Rimini explores the fate of Asian asylum seekers in Australia in another disturbing account. Between these different contributions, we are presented with a glimpse of our enigmatic and troubling times. From aarti at sarai.net Thu Oct 6 14:34:47 2005 From: aarti at sarai.net (Aarti) Date: Thu, 06 Oct 2005 14:34:47 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] reader 05 reveiw 2 Message-ID: <4344E8AF.7040200@sarai.net> Between Words and Worlds http://contrapuntal.blogspot.com/2005/07/between-words-and-worlds.html (To appear shortly in the Oxonian Review of Books) /Sarai Reader 05: Bare Acts/ (Delhi: The Sarai Programme, 2005) Price: Rs. 350, $20, €20 Paperback, 581 pages Reviewed by Rahul Rao Navigating Sarai’s latest offering in its annual series of Readers – /Bare Acts/ – is a bit like making my way through an anarchist festival: there is no one place to begin or pre-defined route to take, the constituent pieces interpret the central theme in such varied and original ways that I am almost immediately sceptical of their juxtaposition (how does this all hang together?), and the overall effect seems one of intelligent and exciting dissonance that takes more than a little while to sort through (fortunately, one has an entire year). Those of a left libertarian persuasion will take the anarchist analogy as a compliment, but in common parlance the term has pejorative connotations: chaos, disorder, incoherence. The editors appear acutely aware of this possibility, clarifying that theirs is an eclecticism by design and defending it as ‘a commitment to a variegated and democratic universe of discourse production’, as a refusal ‘to make any one ‘voice’ feel more entitled to expression than others’ (p. viii). Noble words that must be judged against the standard they set for themselves: that of making ‘a series of coherent but autonomous and interrelated arguments’, of making ‘different registers of writing, the academic, the literary, the journalistic, the autobiographical and the practice-based, speak to each other’ (pp. vii-viii). The Reader brings together an assortment of voices to consider the fraught relationship between ‘Bare Acts’ – the textual essence of legal codes, or the very letter of the law – and ‘bare acts’ – the range of acts of interpretation, negotiation, disputation and witnessing that reinforce or subvert the law. It is an ambitious attempt to map the relationship between words that seek to exert normative force (whether in the guise of formal legal codes or otherwise) and the world. In a collage-like rendition, it offers incisive accounts of this ceaseless, mutually constitutive dynamic in a staggering variety of contexts – urban studies, media, technology, environment, gender, migration, social movement politics, etc. A recurring theme through which this dynamic is revealed is that of transgression. A number of pieces provide fascinating glimpses of the ways in which bare acts of transgression of existing Bare Acts, decisively reshape the relevant technological, commercial and/or normative contexts (sometimes necessitating a revision of the supposedly authoritative Bare Acts themselves). One sees this, for example, in the role that piracy plays, in creating new markets where none existed before (Lawrence Liang, ‘Porous Legalities and Avenues of Participation’), and in driving innovation to which ‘legitimate’ industry responds belatedly and grudgingly (Menso Heus, ‘Innovating Piracy’). One also sees this in the startling revelation that regularisation of violations of urban master plans typically constitutes the dominant way in which cities are built (Solomon Benjamin, ‘Touts, Pirates and Ghosts’). These illustrations of the deeply significant role that transgression plays in creating ‘facts on the ground’ and shaping the future context in which regulation must operate, suggest that there are descriptive, value-agnostic rationales for studying transgression. But the editors are keen to highlight that there are strong normative reasons for the focus on transgression. Specifically, ‘the growing constriction of the domain of the doable by the letter of the law…leads to a situation where those committed to a modicum of social liberty, to expanding the territory of what may be creatively imagined and acted upon, have to invest in knowing and understanding an ethic of trespasses’ (p. 4). The Reader brings to light multiple contexts in which the constriction of the doable renders those already on the margins of society, trespassers on their own lands. I am drawn here to Anand Taneja’s account of the increasing limitation of avenues for non-elite entertainment – thanks to crackdowns on piracy and the growing stringency of safety regulations (which the more affordable cinema halls inevitably fall afoul of) – even as high-end shopping malls and multiplexes proliferate (‘Begum Samru and the Security Guard’). In a similar vein, Awadhendra Sharan describes how the middle-class environmentalism of India’s Supreme Court, with its particular conceptualisations of ‘nuisance’ and pollution, have often threatened the employment prospects of economically marginal groups (‘New’ Delhi). Under such circumstances trespass begins to look like an imperative of survival thrust upon subaltern groups. But the Reader also offers multiple illustrations in which the directionality of this relationship appears to be reversed – where trespass is explicitly intended to expand the realm of the doable (or ‘be-able’). The use of civil disobedience in struggles for the expansion of rights is perhaps the most obvious illustration of this. In this context, Preeti Sampat and Nikhil Dey provide a highly instructive account (‘Bare Acts and Collective Explorations’) of the manner in which acts in explicit defiance of long-honoured caste norms – petitions for land allotment, forest festivals, rallies, labour fairs, sit-ins, hunger strikes – successfully create the political impetus for Right to Information legislation. I am struck not only by the constitutive role of bare acts in the writing of (new) Bare Acts, but also by the extent to which the bare acts of transgressing caste norms rely on legal rights ostensibly guaranteed by (existing) Bare Acts. One sees here, more clearly than anywhere else, the bi-directionality of the relationship that is at the core of this Reader. The overall message seems to be that some choose transgression as a means of expanding the realm of the doable, while others have transgression thrust upon them as a result of the constriction of the doable. In the latter situation, if it is the case – as Benjamin points out – that subaltern transgression relies for its success on ‘quiet politics’, I wonder about the ethics of analysing and publicising mechanisms of subaltern agency. Once subaltern agency is rendered visible in the manner accomplished by many of the contributions to the Reader, it is no longer ‘quiet’. Does making subaltern transgression explicit simultaneously strip it of its most powerful weapon? Whom does such knowledge benefit? I also wonder at the very occasional lapse into unthinking relativism, in which there is a reluctance to judge the legitimacy of particular transgressions from any vantage point whatsoever. In this context one looks in vain for any acknowledgement, from Zainab Bawa, of the serious (class-neutral) implications for road safety, of her driving instructor’s ability to obtain licences for clients without the slightest demonstration of their competence! (‘My Driving Master’) One strength of the Reader is that despite its central preoccupation with the promulgation of legal norms and their social reception, it is ‘interested in looking not only at what happens in law courts but also at customs, conventions, formal and quasi-formal ‘ways of doing things’ that are pertinent to communities’ and more specifically at the ‘relationships of conflict, coexistence and accommodations between different kinds of codes that make claims to our idea of what is right, or just…’ (p. 2). This interest in a broad range of normative codes focuses attention on the crucial issue of the limits of the law: what sorts of considerations /are/ and/or /ought to be/ part of the judicial process? In this context, Clifton D’ Rozario brings to our attention the Supreme Court’s deafness to the normative claims of adivasis (forest dwellers) fighting against their displacement from the Narmada Valley on the basis of their traditional customary and modern citizenship rights (‘Bolti Band (SILENCED!)’). (He might also have mentioned the Court’s ready acceptance of the state’s arguments regarding the financial implications of halting dam construction – itself surely an extra-legal consideration.) Attention to the relationship between different kinds of codes also enables Aarti Sethi to reinterpret the notorious Nanavati trial and its convoluted political afterlife through the prism of an honour killing: from this rather intriguing perspective, Presidential Pardon becomes an act of state intended to allow compliance with a state-sanctioned honour code that contradicts the state’s avowed commitment to punishing murder. Finally, the Reader brings together between its covers a mind-boggling melange of rhetorical and argumentative devices – the printed word is supplemented with photographs, sketches, cartoons and even a tantalising discussion on the use of videologs in documenting the production of ‘trans-localities’ through the daily migrations of people in the border zones between Spain and Morocco (Ursula Biemann, ‘On Smugglers, Pirates and Aroma Makers’). Occasionally, a single piece does so many things as to defy categorisation – Kai Friese’s ‘Marginalia’ is a case in point. Part travelogue, part autobiography, part activist intervention, this is a delightful and depressing meditation on identity, nationality and the consequences of border transgression in both a literal and metaphorical sense. While marginalia can sometimes detract from the value of a book, Friese’s piece is a jewel. Like any visitor to an anarchist love-in, no two readers will navigate this volume in quite the same way. Indeed, the editors’ classification of contributions is likely to appear rather arbitrary, given the potentially fruitful connections begging to be made across sections. In this sense – more than with most texts – the relationship between readers and this Reader might also be seen as mutually constitutive. Sarai Reader 05 is available for free download at _http://www.sarai.net/_ /Rahul Rao is reading for a D.Phil. in International relations at Balliol College. His research interests encompass normative theory and postcolonial politics, and he is currently writing on the international relations of postcolonial social movements. He lives in Bangalore and Oxford./ From jeebesh at sarai.net Thu Oct 6 16:54:03 2005 From: jeebesh at sarai.net (Jeebesh Bagchi) Date: Thu, 06 Oct 2005 16:54:03 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Inside account of Honda conflict Message-ID: <43450953.5050600@sarai.net> dear friends, Here is an account of what was happening inside the Honda factory in Manesar. This is a first person account printed in the monthly hindi newspaper `Faridabad Majdoor Samachar` (August, 2005/ New Series No 206). Earlier i had posted (`after honda`) a text that puts into question various forms of leadership practices based on representation and delegation. In this account it is very clear that through a sustained process of lateral conversation and collective acts the workers had kept up some pressure within the work-place. But, the ensuing events have taken the process out of their hands and have landed them with an earlier rejected agreement. Since in our intellectual lifes very few processes are looked at carefully after an `event`, we have very little understanding of issues at stake and also how processes unfolds and to whose benefits. all the best Jeebesh ------------------------- Mazdoor Samachar, August 2005, New Series Number 206 Honda Motorcycle and Scooter Workers: Plot 1, Sector 3, Manesar. The biggest problem in the factory located in Gurgaon is – work, work, work and work. The factory was set up four years ago and one thing that has been on the rise is production demand and the burden of work. The 'saahabs' (managers) keep the pressure of work up, and if anyone is questioned, then you are told - “You don't have to come on your duty tomorrow. This is how things have to be done. If you can't, then you can leave.” In this way, one line has been made to produce 2000 scooters in one day, by work being done in two shifts. Production of motorcycles has reached 750 in one shift – motorcycle production work is an year and a half old. One scooter has to be produced in 25-26 seconds. In this way, production of 1000 scooters has been fixed for one shift. But if, for some reason, this does not happen, then the B-shift has to make up to meet the 2000 figure. If, in order to make this extra work possible, production is halted for half an hour during the second shift and then continued, then no overtime is given. If production is still not completed then workers are forced to put in overtime. B-shift ends at 11:15 PM, and usually one must work till 1-1:30 AM. On and off, one has to stay back till 5:30 AM to finish the production of 2000 scooters. Parts are made on CNC machines, where one worker has to operate two machines at a time. Some parts have to be made in 15 seconds, others in 30, others in 50 seconds, and some heavy parts in up to 2 minutes 10 seconds. In all this time, two machines have to be operated together. There are two shifts on the line, but three shifts for production of parts. Working one shift is so tiring that overtime is impossible, but has to be done or you will be shown the way out of the gate. Around 90-100 hours of overtime have to be put in every month. The company compensates for overtime with twice the payment, but we workers are very opposed to putting in overtime. Considering the speed at which work is being done, no one will be able to work beyond the age of 35-40 years. At first glance, at a superficial level, everything is good in the Honda Factory: Any worker (even the one who has come in through a contractor) is given two sets of uniform, one pair of shoes and a cap on the very day he joins. There are 25 buses which transport workers from the home to the factory and back, and if there are few workers then even an Indica or Qualis. There are two canteens and a meal – roti, rice, two vegetables, curd, salad, something sweet – is available for Rs. 6. Every worker is given a coupon of Rs. 200 for tea and snacks every month. It is clean. There is a doctor in the factory at all times, an ambulance, Medi-claim. Permanent workers, trainees and apprentices are all given their payment on the first of every month, and those who work through a contractor are paid through him by the 7th of every month. Trainees and apprentices are brought from far, and they are provided for accommodation for the entire month. Some of the ITI workers brought in by the contractor work for 6-7-8 month and are thereafter sometimes retained as trainees. Trainees are permanently employed once they finish their period of training (one to two years). Paucity of permanent employment opportunities and the desire for permanent employment post trainee-ship compelled us to bear anything. But after the incident in which a worker was kicked, we increased dialogue amongst ourselves. Late year, in October, at 11:15 PM in the weld-shop, during B-shift, one manager kicked a worker. The next day, during A-shift, workers stopped work at 9:00 AM, to protest against this. When the manager who had kicked the worker apologised, work was resumed – this was at 2:00 PM. B-shift workers also stopped work. The manager apologised again and work resumed at 7:30 PM. If work stops in a factory for one day, it amounts to a loss of Rs. 8 crore. Quarrels increased in the factory. This year, on 6th February, bonds were asked to be signed, and the management was very forceful about this. All the workers left their place of work and assembled in the canteen. No one ate food. No one left when the shift ended. C-shift workers also came and sat in the canteen. Next morning, A-shift workers made there way to the canteen as well, instead of going to work. Workers from all three shifts – 1200 permanent, 1600 trainee, 1000 employed through a contractor and 400 apprentices – were congregated in the canteen. No one ate or drank any tea. The company called police in the factory. The D.C. also reached the factory. There was no leader among us – the company asked for 5 workers from each department to talk with. An agreement was reached by 5-6 in the evening – there would be no suspensions, the bonds which had been signed were returned (workers burned them) and the production would be completed. Work resumed on the morning of 8th February, after having been stalled for one and a half days. Pay was not deducted for the period for permanent employees and trainees, but workers employed through the contractor lost a day and a half of pay. In April, the company gave its annual increment to the workers: Permanent employees got a raise of Rs. 2800-3500. Trainees got a raise of Rs. 600 (even through the raise in April 2004 was Rs. 750). This meant permanent employees were now earning Rs. 8500-10,000 per month; and trainees, Rs. 5600. One thousand workers employed through K.C. Enterprises did not get any increment. Their salary remained at Rs. 2,800. They work on production and operate the CNC machines. Apprentices get Rs. 900 from the government, and Rs. 700 from Honda Company. Like all companies, apprentices are put to production from the first day itself, instead of being trained first. They work all three shifts. Most apprentices are brought in from far off places and Rs. 1,600 do not suffice for them. They get overtime through a calculation on their 1,600, not what other workers would get. Once a machine got spoilt because of an apprentice, because of which the line didn't work the entire day. The apprentice was fired. Things were stable for a few days. Then, a fork lifter got spoiled and a permanent employee was suspended. Ten days after this, workers refused to eat. The work was heavy, and so workers would drink tea. Trainees, apprentices and workers employed through contractors were involved in this. Despite a lot of pressure, workers employed through the contractor did not eat at the factory. When this continued for a month, the factory gave the worker back his work. Talk about relief through a union began. Workers would meet at the Devilal Park in Gurgaon at intervals of 15-20 days. Cronies among us would report the proceedings to the company. Some steps to align with registered and bigger unions were taken. The Honda company began to increasingly suspend workers over small matters. It began with workers employed through contractors, and by 26th June, 500 of the 1000 workers employed through contractors were fired. On 2nd June, to protest against this, B-shift workers left their place of work and went to the administrative building and shouted slogans. Production had stopped for half an hour and was compensated for later. The company fired four permanent employees the following day and suspended 25. In protest, meals were refused and overtime was stopped. Production of scooters fell from 1000 to 450-500. On 22nd June, the company put up a notice that trainees whose training period was over would be put to test on 24th June, a Sunday. Those who passed the test and if considered necessary would be employed permanently. This, when till now the company had been employing trainees and there had been no test preceding this. No one appeared for the test on Sunday. By this time the number of suspended workers had increased to 50. On 27th June, when we reached for work, the company asked us to sign certain conditions at the gate. When we refused, the company refused to let us enter the factory. Over 300 staff, 40-50 permanent employees and workers hired through contractors on 27th June itself, entered the factory. Work continued – there were around 2000 people in the factory. Police was stationed at the gate. Four thousand workers were outside the gate. The administration was petitioned through the union. A procession. Even came to the Parliament during the 11th July session. But nothing changed. It was in this context that there was a clash with the police on 25th July and we were beaten with sticks. Following this, claims and announcements on TV, in newspapers and by political leaders made it look like our problems would be solved. But on the instruction of the Central Government, the compromise struck under the aegis of the Chief Minister of Haryana has pushed us into hell. According to this, workers returned the factories on 1st August, and are filled with anger. Everyone is annoyed: permanent workers are saying that if they had to sign the conditions of Honda company afterall, then what was the point of doing all that they did. The 35 trainees who had finished their training are still out of work. The 500 out of 1000 workers employed through the contractor, who were fired on 26th June have still not been hired back. Those who had been hired through contractors on 27th will remain. The company will not pay us for the period from 27th June to 31st July. Through the deal that has been struck, the workers have been divided. Postal Address: Mazdoor Library, Autopin Jhuggi, NIT, Faridabad - 121001 (text translated by Shveta ) From cahen.x at levels9.com Thu Oct 6 17:30:07 2005 From: cahen.x at levels9.com (xavier cahen) Date: Thu, 06 Oct 2005 14:00:07 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] pourinfos Newsletter / 09-30 to 10-06-2005 Message-ID: <434511C7.8000306@levels9.com> pourinfos.org l'actualite du monde de l'art / daily Art news ----------------------------------------------------------------------- infos from September 30, 2005 to October 6, 2005 (included) ------------------------------------------------------------------- (mostly in french) ------------------------------------------------------------------- 01 Call : Poetic text about windows sought for public art project in Shanghai, China. http://pourinfos.org/participation/item.php?id=2052 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 02 Call : MostraMundo, The Moving Image Festival, Recife, Brasil. http://pourinfos.org/participation/item.php?id=2051 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 03 Call : 52nd International Short Film Festival, Oberhausen, Germany. http://pourinfos.org/candidature/item.php?id=2050 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 04 Call : Sarai Reader 06: Turbulence, Delhi, India. http://pourinfos.org/participation/item.php?id=2049 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 05 Job : Art Director or Art Directors, Cape Africa Platform, Vlaeberg, South Africa. http://pourinfos.org/emploi/item.php?id=2048 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 06 Meeting : provi&testi 3, au monoquini, Montpellier, France. http://pourinfos.org/rencontres/item.php?id=2047 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 07 Meeting : for a new statute of art, place Publique at Guggenheim, Bilbao, Spain. http://pourinfos.org/rencontres/item.php?id=2046 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 08 Meeting : conference: Marcel Duchamp and erotism, University of Orleans, Orleans, France. http://pourinfos.org/rencontres/item.php?id=2045 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 09 Divers : documentary “mine of nothing”, Arte France, France. http://pourinfos.org/divers/item.php?id=2044 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 Publication : Electronic Wall-Paper, Stéphane Trois Carres, bookshop of Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/publications/item.php?id=2043 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 11 Exhibition : Migratory seasons, facets of Polish art, Espace my.monkey, Nancy, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2042 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 12 Exhibition : The Interior journey, Paris-London, Espace EDF Electra, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2041 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 13 Programme : 18ème Instants Video Nomades, France. lien http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2040 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 14 Program : 18ème Instants Video Nomades, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2039 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 15 Program : festival of the contemporary writings, 6, 7, 8 ocotbre 2005, Montpellier, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2038 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 16 Performance : Continuità naturali, artistic happening, Corso Nizza, Cuneo,Italy. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2037 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 17 Exhibition : We electric, Galerie de l'Ecole Supérieure d'Arts de Brest, Brest, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2036 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 18 Exhibition : Magnetique, Magnetic, Center of Contemporary Creation of Tours, Tours, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2035 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 19 Exhibition : 6 picoles cycliques, L'usine à gaz and the gallery Passerelle, Lyon, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2034 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 20 Exhibiton : "Porcellina", Gallery of the Foundation Atelier de Sèvres, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2033 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 22 Appel à candidature : "unforeseen with the garden", jardin & parc du domaine de la pièce St Gervais sur Mare, France. http://pourinfos.org/candidature/item.php?id=2031 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 23 Call : "exploration of the singularities in the plural", Les Réseaux de la Création, Courbevoie, France. http://pourinfos.org/participation/item.php?id=2030 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 24 Call : for all the artistic media, Société Réaliste, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/participation/item.php?id=2029 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 25 Call : THE EYE OF THE I, Slide-projection, Berlin, Germany. http://pourinfos.org/participation/item.php?id=2028 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 26 Residence : Fairies of winter, new residence of artists in Hautes-Alpes, Champ Rond, Crévoux, France. http://pourinfos.org/residences/item.php?id=2027 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 27 Residence : International Residency Program, Sculpture Space, Utica NY, Usa. http://pourinfos.org/residences/item.php?id=2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 28 Residence : E uropean M edia A rtists in R esidence E xchange, EMARE, Halle, Germany. http://pourinfos.org/residences/item.php?id=2025 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 29 Job : Assistant of conservation, Musee d'art contemporain de Lyon, Lyon, France. http://pourinfos.org/emploi/item.php?id=2024 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 30 Meeting : "Go teaching", Centre Pompidou, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/rencontres/item.php?id=2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 31 Publication : art and politics of netporn, Cut-up.media.magazine, Haarlem, Netherlands. http://pourinfos.org/publications/item.php?id=2022 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 32 Program : LIEUX COMMUNS, Instants Chavires, Montreuil, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2021 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 33 Program : art meetings, Apero mix, movie theater, Practical collective, Espace Multimédia Gantner, Bourrogne, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2020 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 34 Divers : ale of contemporary art coming from the collection Liliane and Michel Durand-Dessert, sothebys, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/divers/item.php?id=2019 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 35 Exhibition: Corina Bezzola et Christophe Pillet, Cafe au lit, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2018 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 36 Exhibition : "Without borders", Tallinn, and "2live" , Slovenj Gradec, Estonia, Slovenia. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2017 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 37 Exhibition : "Manifeste", Antoine D'Agata, galery Le bleu du ciel, Lyon, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2016 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 38 Exhibition : slowness and geometry, Fabien Iliou et Léonie Young, galerie Kamchatka, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2015 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 39 Screening : exhibition, 1st festival of films queer, cité internationale universitaire de Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2014 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 40 Exhibition: Damien Oudoul, Installation, quai de la Gare, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2013 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 41 Exhibition : art is opened, Dordogne, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2012 -- pourinfos.org -------------- XAVIER CAHEN Direction de la publication xavier.cahen at pourinfos.org http://www.pourinfos.org From lalitbatra77 at yahoo.co.in Thu Oct 6 19:43:49 2005 From: lalitbatra77 at yahoo.co.in (lalit batra) Date: Thu, 6 Oct 2005 15:13:49 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] police firing in meghalaya Message-ID: <20051006141349.9172.qmail@web8309.mail.in.yahoo.com> Firing and subsequent killing of peaceful protestors in Tura and Williamnagar, Meghalaya Meghalaya/New Delhi, October 5 2005: North East Solidarity Group in Delhi strongly condemns the barbaric massacre of unarmed citizens carried out by Meghalaya police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) at Tura, West Garo Hills, and Williamnagar, East Garo Hills, Meghalaya, on September 30, 2005. On the morning of September 30, 2005, civil society groups and citizens of Tura gathered at the Chandmari grounds for a public meeting on the ongoing agitation by Garo Students’ Union on Meghalaya Board of School Education (MBOSE). The Deputy Commissioner of West Garo Hills gave due permission for this public meeting. However, the district administration along with personnel from the CRPF and the Meghalaya Police (MP), who were also present at the venue, disallowed the meeting at the last minute. A magistrate present at the venue, however, allowed Mr. Sengrak D. Marak, Chairperson of the Joint Action Committee for the meeting to speak for about 10 minutes. But as soon as Mr. Marak started to speak, Meghalaya Police personnel attempted to arrest him. The citizens present resented this. When the protestors tried to reason with the police the security personnel started firing tear shells at the gathering. This created confusion and panic among the people. Some at the gathering also attempted to throw shells away from them. It was then that the CRPF started firing into the air, causing more panic and confusion. As the confused protestors tried to run away from the location the armed personnel trained their guns towards them and started firing indiscriminately. This resulted in the death of 4 people and injured nearly 30. Till the time of the preparation of this report, sources in Tura reported that four more people had succumbed to their injuries taking the death toll to 8. The ones who died on the spot were: Benedict Marak, Male, 48 Segran B. Marak, Male, 41 Daniel M. Sangma, Male, 23, Student Dipak Phira, Male, 13, School Student in uniform, shot at point blank range In a similar incident and on the same day, police and CRPF personnel fired upon the citizens of Williamnagar when procession taken out by the citizens after a public meeting. After hurling tear gas shells and firing in the air, the police started firing at the procession, killing 4 people on the spot. About 20 were injured. Reports from Williamnagar also said that three of the injured succumbed to their injuries. The names of the one killed at the spot are: Trusbil G. Momin, Male, Class VIII student Pornit Sangma, Male, 21 Joynti G. Momin, Male, Class V student Saffirel G. Momin, Male, BA 2nd year student Selden N. Sangma, Male, 18 This incident was not only a barbaric act of human slaughter. It is also a violation, with utter impunity, of the democratic right to protest. Although the police brutality is nothing new, but if the civil society remains silent over the shrinking democratic spaces and increasing violations we would not be able to absolve ourselves of the guilt of silence over such issues. We as concerned citizens demand: Immediately bring the guilty security personnel to book Ensure adequate compensation to the victims of this barbaric act as demanded by the organizations lading the agitation Set up the up an independent committee into this event and also into the insecurity caused by the presence of armed personnel in civilian areas of Garo Hills, so that these atrocities on the citizens can be investigated and the guilty be punished. The Meghalaya Government should immediately institute a judicial inquiry and Government of India should initiate an action against the CRPF personnel involved in the incident The Government of India should initiate a process of demilitarization in Meghalaya and the entire North East __________________________________________________________ Yahoo! India Matrimony: Find your partner now. Go to http://yahoo.shaadi.com From mahmoodfarooqui at yahoo.com Thu Oct 6 22:38:04 2005 From: mahmoodfarooqui at yahoo.com (mahmood farooqui) Date: Thu, 6 Oct 2005 10:08:04 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] on madarsas Message-ID: <20051006170804.64527.qmail@web80910.mail.scd.yahoo.com> I am following into the atrocious habit of inflicting my writings on the hapless readers of this list, fully aware still that it can hardly be called 'writing' in the proper sense of the term...here is one of the last ones, I promise... _________ FOOTNOTING THE FOOTNOTES-MADARSA EDUCATION IN INDIA Work, for me, has always meant poring over books that I do not understand or enjoy. Perhaps it is exactly the same for thousands of Madarsa students in the sub-continent as they lean to and fro in orchestrated movements and memorise verses, passages, even entire books by heart. Discussions between these students may turn into heated arguments even, but merely on issues such as the appropriate length of the tooth brush and the permissibility of performing Namaz on trains. For the training at the Madarsas of South Asia today is almost exclusively devoted to issues of personal conduct and correct piety, necessitated perhaps by the appropriation by the Colonial state of the Public sphere and Criminal law, which relentlessly drove religion to the personal domain. You talk to a Muslim about the obscurantism of present day Madarsas and he would probably quote you a Hadith (a Prophetic tradition) that ‘the pen of the scholar’s ink is mightier than the martyr’s blood,’ or he might do better and quote to you this one, ‘go unto China even to acquire knowledge.’ You ask the Mulla, or as Madarsa graduates prefer, the Ulema the same thing and they would tell you that what these Hadith meant, in fact, was Godly knowledge. So Ilm, the central tenet of early Islam- and it is useful to remember here that in the entire Quran there are only about 200 verses directly enjoining prayer and three times as many that number commanding the believers to reflect, to ponder and to analyse God’s magnificence in nature, plants, stars, the solar system- has been transformed into ‘ilm of the trivial and the superfluous. The early Muslims unhesitatingly translated philosophical, literary texts from Greek, Latin and Sanskrit and considered it all a part of the useful knowledge. Perhaps that is why the religious scholars in the pre-modern era led such full blooded worldly lives. Maulana Fazle-Haq Khairabadi, for instance, one of the great religious scholars of pre-mutiny Delhi, delighted as much in his chess battles with the poet Momin and in expounding Arab poetry as in the religious texts he taught. Madarsas, as we know the term, full time religious seminaries with hostels, annual exams, hierarchies of gradations and branches and affiliations are an entirely modern phenomena. The preferred mode of religious scholarship before 1857, in South Asia at least, consisted of learning particular books under particular scholars and, since the State was the chief employer for many of these students, they naturally tended towards study of jurispudential subjects, laws governing personal, civil and criminal conduct. However, post-mutiny, with the disappearance of state patronage and protection, the establishment of a chain of Madarsas introduced a new dynamic to the religious relations within the community-the appeal to the individual and the community at large as the protectors of the faith, rather than to the State or to the political authority. These issues and themes, and much else besides, are well encapsulated in Bastions of the Believers-Madrasas and Islamic Education in India (Penguin, Delhi, 2005), this wonderful book by Yoginder Sikand. Yogi, as he is known, is unique among present day scholars in the range and comprehensiveness of his engagement with almost all aspects of contemporary South Asian Islam and in his wide-ranging personal and experiential access to all branches of them. He does well to distinguish two aspects of the Madarsa problematic: the ‘problem with Madarsas’ and ‘Madarsas as problems.’ The latter treats Madarsa and its products as being inscribed by a gene code which automatically impedes modernity from reaching them, as if modernity is a great river which cannot break through the flood walls that surround these madarsas. Had madarsas been so outside the pale of modernity it would have immensely pleased their leaders, and the modern world would have been happy at the problem being left outside its physical locale. However, the very existence of madarsas as schools with degrees, certificates and classes and the structure of the education they impart is in complete consensus with the modern world. As to the content of that education, I don’t know how far the content of school education can affect our formation as modern selves, without the socialization that accompanies it. Teaching us pious homilies about Gandhi or about social equality does not prevent our ‘normal’ school children from imbibing reactionary philosophies or caste biases. Besides, Madarsa students are not medieval monks that they do not sigh when they pass film posters or do not play cricket with tennis balls or, like ghettoed men or boys anywhere else in the world, do not indulge in illicit and sometimes forced sexual congress with other boys. To imagine that madarsas, with computers, tables, examinations, grading, the urge to excel, to compete, consisting of students who all attempt to chart a successful narrative for their selves in this world, this here and now-attributes of modernity, all-are somehow pre or anti-modern is to, in fact, take their claims too seriously. Similarly, to imagine that since they teach an outmoded theology, even a reactionary theology and therefore they must have something to do with the politics of extremism or terror is to take that theology too seriously. Madarsas, as the charge against them goes, impart a medieval theology. Yet, that same theology did not impede an Akbar from instituting the most liberal regime this country has known, a Quli Qutub Shah from singing praises of Krishna or a Nizamshahi dynasty from only employing Brahman Chief Ministers. If that same theology and curricula did not prevent the development of broadly tolerant, accommodative and inclusive polities of medieval South Asia, why must it ipso facto produce narrow sectarianism as a political attitude? Political attitudes emerge out of ideological and social formations and madarsas, far from engendering those formations, are themelves a product of it. While Madarsas in South Asia have been hugely instrumental in providing access to education and respectability, that is Ashrafisation, to students from lower income and status backgrounds, they yet remain mired in the central problematic of modern Indian history: that of caste. Most madarsas in India are still insistent on accepting only the Ashraf, the genteel castes, into their domain thus perpetuating the medieval tyranny of ascriptive statuses, reflecting perhaps the collusion of the Islamic orthodoxy with Brahmanical prejudices in turning this land into the terra firms of Homo Hierarchicus. Is it incidental that the Islamic thinkers and reformers who did centralize the issue of caste and class are not a part of our canon today and originated mostly as peasant-millenarian movements outside the Sharif fold? For every ten books on Deoband, in Urdu and English, there is not even one on the Faraizis and Titu Mir, who, before the Santhal rebellion and before 1857, wanted to institute a society where only those who tilled the land would be given its produce regardless of caste, class or gender. Perhaps this neglect and these biases are but a reflection of how deeply affected contemporary Muslim thought in South Asia remains with the Ashraf-Ajlaf dichotomy. In the absence of viable State alternatives the Madarsas are certainly doing sterling service in providing literacy to poor Muslims, and it is mostly poorer students who attend them, yet, as Yogi sympathetically elaborates, the content of their curricula is highly disappointing. I say that while accepting the fact that all forms of knowledge are sociological constructs and have validity only in their own contexts. Yet, poring over the footnote upon commentaries upon expositions of legal treatises, the chief preoccupation of Madarsa pedagogy, written mostly before 13th century, can hardly be an edifying experience. The Madarsas of South Asia, and it is instructive that the word Madarsa in the Arabic world refers simply to a school for they mostly do not have specialist religious schools like ours, mostly restrict their syllabi to books of fiqh, that is legal commentaries building upon the four prominent schools of Sunni thought that came into being in the eight century, and of Hadith, compendia of traditions and sayings of the Prophet. This mode of education, footnoting the footnoted footnotes, like the Tikas upon Vyakhyans upon Vivechnas of medieval Hindu thought, does not induce a reflective spirit in the modern, intellectual sense of the term. Although, as Yogi points out, there are now several modernizing Madarsas in this country in places such as Azamgarh and Kerala where not only are modern subjects taught but there are even hostels for girls, most still remain mired in medieval dogmas. They still have a subject called Ikhlafiyat, or disputations, which teaches the students to defend their particular sect and attack the followers of other sects. Indeed, Madarsas are loath to reform because for many of them their primary focus is on refuting other co-believers who they see as the greater evil. For the same reason, in Deoband today- one of whose founders wanted to institute Sanskrit as a subject and was planning to travel to Europe to learn English before he died- while Hindi is taught, English is still frowned upon. They dread the ire of their co-religionist rivals too much. I do wish though that Yogi’s book had more to say on the kind of students who enroll at Madarsas, their backgrounds and aspirations. What is it they seek? What do they think about the Quran as a philosophical text, about the stigma surrounding their seminaries, about their future in a world which seems to have no place for alternative forms of knowledge and even less respect for their variety of Godly knowledge. Do they agree that an Aalim, a scholar, even a Godly scholar is one who studies God’s mysteries as much as one who studies the books of the followers of commentators of expounders of his creatures? Is not a genetic scientist, studying stem cell research expounding upon God’s work and words better than the religious preacher who memorises the books of some obscure thirteenth century cleric? Is it satisfactory enough to them that they are to form the vanguard of the Ulema in mosques, Sharia Panchayats and other smaller seminaries and by transmitting the rote-learning they received, would be preserving the identity of the Ummat, even if that identity consists exclusively of commentaries upon selected tertiary texts? Notwithstanding that, Yoginder Sikand’s book is a highly valuable treatise which evaluates the historical development of Madarsa education and the contemporary debates between Islamists, traditionalists and Modernists as to the direction the Madarsa education should teach. Rightly, he puts all concerns about ‘Madarsas as problems’ whether for the civil society or for the extremist political movements in their, historical, place, and highlights the problems with Madarsas as far as their own preferred mission- of keeping alive the religious traditions of the South Asian Muslim communities- goes. Madarsas should certainly modernize and change but we should remember that they claim only to be religious seminaries, not schools that equip you to stand alone in the modern world. It is not the Madarsas that keep the Muslim community backward but the community that keeps them so, if ‘backward’ means anything in a world led by George Bush. ______________________________________________________ Yahoo! for Good Donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. http://store.yahoo.com/redcross-donate3/ From ayonadatta at hotmail.com Thu Oct 6 15:31:50 2005 From: ayonadatta at hotmail.com (Ayona Datta) Date: Thu, 6 Oct 2005 11:01:50 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] Need for Transcriber/Translator Message-ID: Apologies for cross postings Please circulate widely. There has risen a need for an experienced transcriber and translator for a British Academy project titled 'Mapping the Architecture of Control and Resistance'. The major duty is to transcribe taped English conversations into word documents and translate and transcribe taped Hindi conversations into English word documents. The audio files are in digital format which can be played on Windows Realplayer or equivalent. The successful applicant can do this work through email/internet as long as proper correspondence and contact is maintained with the principal investigator on this project. This is a short term commitment which will last around four months (full-time) from the beginning of the appointment. The successful applicant will have excellent knowledge and experience of using word processing software as well as fluency in both Hindi and English. Knowledge of cultural phraseologies in Hindi is also an advantage. The successful candidate will be chosen on the basis of a short translation and transcription that he/she will be asked to do as part of the selection process. Salary will be commensurate with experience and quality of work. Interested applicants should contact me on ayonadatta at hotmail.com for further information. Dr. Ayona Datta ******************************* Lecturer School of Architecture Queen's University Belfast 2 Lennoxvale Belfast BT9 5BY Tel: +44-2890974228 From b_vjg at yahoo.com Thu Oct 6 21:19:46 2005 From: b_vjg at yahoo.com (Gandhi, Valentine Joseph) Date: Thu, 6 Oct 2005 08:49:46 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Social Science Network Message-ID: <20051006154946.21663.qmail@web60422.mail.yahoo.com> Dear all, This group could be of use to you thanks BVJ Gandhi ICRISAT, Hyderabad The Development CAFE, Please join the CAFE if you are a development professional or a socially conscious individual. This CAFE is a platform for minds from all over the world to meet and interact and share info and resources based on the development sector. The CAFE is also a resource bank for Development professionals and individuals from other fields who would like to have information on the Social sciences and the Development field. Invest your knowledge, skills, expertise and intellectual ability in improving and expanding the CAFE. It has job postings, funding information and various other useful resources that is of use to Social Scientists and Development Professionals. Here is the link: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/The_Development_CAFE --------------------------------- Yahoo! for Good Click here to donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20051006/703eb184/attachment.html From zainab at xtdnet.nl Fri Oct 7 11:04:03 2005 From: zainab at xtdnet.nl (zainab at xtdnet.nl) Date: Fri, 7 Oct 2005 09:34:03 +0400 (RET) Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Urban Buffet Message-ID: <62446.202.88.213.38.1128663243.squirrel@webmail.xtdnet.nl> Urban Buffet --- (Flavours of kebabs, delicacies, neighborhoods, imaginations and memories of spaces in a city) Spaces in cities are fascinating, contiguous, frightening, terrifying, strange, awkward, funny and interesting (and a lot more adjectives can be added). And of course, the interaction between the spaces and the dwellers which leads to productions of imaginations of spaces! Urban Buffet is a walk through the Muslim neighbourhoods of South Mumbai including Nagpada, Dongri, Bhendi Bazaar, Bohri Mohalla, Mohammed Ali Road and Haji Ali – an experience of one area of the city by night and dawn. The walk will be led by Syeed Bijapuri. Syeed Bijapuri is a research subject who I encountered during my research on railway stations in Mumbai city. He is a Ticket Checker, a national basketball champion and a versatile personality of everyday life. The walk will involve savouring Ramzaan delights including Arabian Kahwa, Arabian Khapsa, kebabs, sweets and delicacies of Sehri breakfasts. It also entails walking through and visiting Nagpada Bachoo Khan Basketball Court, Foras Road and Bachoo ki Waadi, Moghul Masjid and its ancient Hamam and the interiors of Dongri area, walking through the interiors of Sarvi Mohalla and experiencing the underworld and criminal city. The rest is a production of our experiences and imagination Dates of the Walks: Saturday 15th October Timing: 10 PM to 1:00 AM – for those of us who wish to continue, we can stay on till 4 AM which is the timing for commencement of fasts. Meeting Place: Byculla Railway Station, East Side – ticket counter of platform number 4 Cost: The cost of eateries will be based on actuals and shared by the participants. A registration fee of Rs. 75 will be charged. Only 10 persons will be allowed for the first walk. We may conduct another walk on Saturday 22nd October. For inquiries and registrations, contact Zainab Bawa on zainabbawa at yahoo.com Zainab Bawa Bombay www.xanga.com/CityBytes http://crimsonfeet.recut.org/rubrique53.html _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From hpp at vsnl.com Fri Oct 7 13:25:17 2005 From: hpp at vsnl.com (hpp at vsnl.com) Date: Fri, 07 Oct 2005 12:55:17 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Slums in Calcutta Message-ID: <516b1851aded.51aded516b18@vsnl.net> SLUMS IN CALCUTTA V Ramaswamy, Calcutta A few weeks ago, the Calcutta newspaper "The Telegraph" had carried an article in its weekly property / real estate supplement ('propertt'). It reported the preparation of a proposal for slum redevelopment and the resettlement of slumdwellers by the property / real estate developers' lobby CREDAI. In today's 'propertt', The Telegraph once again highlights CREDAI's slum proposal, and says that the city cannot afford to neglect the 1.5 million slumdwllers of Calcutta. Its interesting that The Telegraph has made itself the mouthpiece of CREDAI. The article also quotes a couple of so-called experts from Calcutta. However, the credentials, character and activities of these people are well known to others in the city. Suffice it to say that they do not have an iota of first-hand experience of slums, nor any demonstrated concern for their real plight. (Birds of a feather flock together - these so-called experts, CREDAI, Telegraph etc etc.) The CREDAI proposal may be seen in the context of the close nexus that has been established between the West Bengal state govt - read CPI(M) - and some favoured real estate developers, who have been blessed to catapult to becoming big-time operators, undertaking large projects around the city, with even bigger ambitions. The major British govt funded Kolkata Urban Services Project (KUSP), aimed at poverty reduction and infrastructure provision in slums in the Kolkata metropolitan area was initiated last year. If one made a first-hand observation of what's happening in KUSP - its a scandal! This is a project that is being implemented by the party, which lacks any capability to implement such a project, or even really cares a fig for the plight of the poor slumdwellers. The result - shoddy, superficial work, waste and misappropriation of resources. The project's implementation design involves a bottom-up structure, beginning with women from poor slum households, and leading to Community Development Societies. In a bizarre travesty of this, what really exists are Community Development Societies set up from the top, by the party members in office in the municipalities, involving their friends and associates. In some cases, the supposed lower level tiers of this CDS have also been notionally enumerated, and people have been tutored to say the right things about this CDS structure. Key concerns in KUSP should have been slumdwellers' shelter, the Thika Tenancy Act, basti redevelopment, and building grassroots capability for community-manged slum redevelopment. But these are conspicuously absent from the project. For years and years, there has been a studied silence on the question of slums in Calcutta, even while the overcrowded and degraded living conditions worsen, and illegal construction flourishes (led by party cadres). The bastis of Calcutta and Howrah are spread throughout the cities, including in or near the 'poshest' locations and occupy prime real estate. Howrah - is very close to "social infrastructure" possessing Calcutta, thanks to the Vidyasagar Setu (2nd Hooghly bridge). With a huge stock of land under closed industries (where illegal construction projects have come up), and also a huge amount of land under bastis - Howrah is also a prized destination of developers' intentions. It is clear that the CREDAI wants basti lands to be given over to them. As far as the slumdwellers are concerned - either some token shoddy in-situ re-housing will be provided, where that becomes absolutely unavoidable; or they will be removed altogether from there and resettled in the city fringes. Its significant that the CREDAI leaves this off-site resettlement option open. Given the party's love affair with favoured real estate developers, its very likely that basti lands in Calcutta and Howrah are going to be handed over to them. The party will make the right noises about resettlement; eventually, a small number of people, the party faithfuls and potential leaders, will get some form of resettlement and the rest - will be expected to simply go to hell. The love affair with developers is actually not so new. In the early 90s, thanks to the good offices of the former chief minister, private land along the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass (opposite the Salt Lake Stadium) was summarily acquired by the state govt and handed over to a business house to build a hospital. This business house brought in a foreign hospital chain to build and start the hospital; and then sold its share to them. Over a period of a few years, using its good access to the party / chief minister, i.e.its 'fixing' capability, this business house made a neat and sizeable profit. Needless to mention, this is a posh hospital, where one will have to search very hard to find any low-income or economically weaker section patients. And next to this poeple's hospital, on the Kadapara hillock, is another example of public land being quietly given over to another business house, this time a real estate company, to build a folksy mall. Though the city is starved of open and recreational spaces, public land is privatised; one has to pay a stiff entrance charge to get into the mall. There one will find costumed pseudo / kitschy vendors of street foods, giving a feel of the 'real' thing. And so many of the beautiful and wonderful intellectuals, artists, poets etc would regularly be found in thismall, gracing cultural events, celebrating the favour with which they are feted. But nobody ever questions the privatisation of public land, and the rape of the public domain (they would of course talk about Vietnam, Cuba, now Venezuela, imperialistic globalisation and what have you...). In the early 1980s, a foreign NGO had obtained land from the state govt. in the fringes of Salt Lake to construct a large number of good quality houses for pavement dwellers. Some of these were allotted by the party to its favoured clients. The remaining lay unoccupied, because those whom the party wanted to give these to refused to move (the pesky Duttabad households, the survivors of the erstwhile fisherfolk of the area, so that they would go away from the side of the new Bypass that had come up). Many houses were vandalised (by party- and police-backed criminals), leaving not a trace of a housing complex. A couple of hundred houses still remained. In 1987, a group of homeless people from various parts of Salt Lake, rickshaw pullers, labourers, maidservants etc, who had been repeatedly evicted, occupied the empty NGO housing complex. They then appealed to the govt. to permit them to live there. In January 1988, using brute force, they were evicted. Today there is not a tra ce of these houses either, and the whole site has become part of the Salt Lake electronic / software complex. The CPI(M) is now going to be making proposals to the UPA govt. regarding slumdwellers and squatters, in keeping with its social conscience-keeper role at the centre. That is indeed interesting. In West Bengal, where they have been in power for 28 years, they have systematically ignored the plight of slumdwellers and squatters, not doing even what was definitely in their power to do. And instead they have had a love affair with real estate developers, and doing a merry Tandav dance over the bodies of the urban poor. From hpp at vsnl.com Fri Oct 7 13:47:55 2005 From: hpp at vsnl.com (hpp at vsnl.com) Date: Fri, 07 Oct 2005 13:17:55 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Most revered Communist leader in the country and Asia Message-ID: <526708525a1c.525a1c526708@vsnl.net> All pay & no work at KMDA KOLKATA, Oct. 5. — It was a ‘‘paid holiday’’, as it were, in the offices of the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) today. The reason: a function where the nonagenarian Marxist leader, Mr Jyoti Basu, was felicitated. And this at a time when Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is desperately trying to woo investors and has pledged to improve the work culture in government offices. The function was organised by the Left-affiliated KMDA Employees’ Union at Unnayan Bhavan, KMDA’s headquarters in Salt Lake, to mark 30 years of the agency. Those working in the KMDA’s offices in Barrackpore, Halisahar, Bansberia and Rishra came to participate in the function. Union leaders said they decided to felicitate Mr Basu as he was the former chairman of the KMDA and the most revered Communist leader in the country and Asia (sic). They refused to comment when asked whether, by organising the function during working hours, they were not flouting the chief minister’s ‘‘do-it-now’’ mantra. Senior KMDA officials, who preferred anonymity, said that there had been practically no work at the KMDA headquarters for the past two days as the employees were busy making preparations for the function. They wondered why wasn’t it organised either on a holiday or after office hours. As it is, the KMDA has not been keeping good health. Some of the employees said in private that things had gone from bad to worse. Due to dearth of funds, joint sector projects are being taken up where private agencies call the shots. The KMDA engineers play the role of mere supervisors. from: Statesman News Service From hpp at vsnl.com Sat Oct 8 15:24:04 2005 From: hpp at vsnl.com (hpp at vsnl.com) Date: Sat, 08 Oct 2005 14:54:04 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Moushumi Bhowmick's songs Message-ID: <624a0e621afa.621afa624a0e@vsnl.net> Moushumi Bhowmick's songs V Ramaswamy In April this year I got the opportunity to hear Moushumi Bhowmick sing. She is a sensational and phenomenal singer / poet / chanteuse. Her songs exist in another space, of a certain sensibility, far away from the daily grind, hustle and bustle, and immediately pull the listener there. I can't hear the songs without breaking into tears every time. Moushumi's songs evoke, uphold and inspire the best of this soil of Bengal, in musical expression, in feelings, in values and ideals - when all this is fast becoming a rarity in that very soil. She is a precious daughter of Ma Bangla. Two of her albums, "Ekhono golpo lekho" and "Aami ghorbahir kori" released by TimesMusic are available. I am transcribing / translating below two of her songs. ...... Jokhoni ektu chhuti pai (Whenever I get a little break) jokhoni ektu chhuti pai aami chhutey jai chhadey shondhyer mukhey jokhoni ektu chhuti pai aami chhutey jai chhadey aakash dekhtey Whenever I get a little break I go running to the roof in the early evening Whenever I get a little break I go running to the roof in the early evening chhader mathay aakash daandiye aakasher gayey koto koto rong rong bodlaay rong bodlaay megh pakhi shobi bodliye jaay Above the roof stands the sky So many colours in the sky Colours change, colours change Clouds, birds all change daandiye daandiye ei shob dekhi: jhilik diyeche bidyut rekha hothaat kokhon taara dekha jaay omni aakash rong bodlaay! daandiye daandiye ei shob dekhi: jhilik diyeche bidyut rekha hothaat kokhon taara dekha jaay omni aakash rong bodlaay! hai! shohorey aakash o eto khela jaaney tai to aakash adbhut taaney Ekhono aakash eto khela jaaney tai to aakash adbhut taaney Standing there I see all this: Lines of lightening flash Suddenly sometimes a star is visible Just then the sky changes colour! Standing there I see all this: Lines of lightening flash Suddenly sometimes a star is visible Just then the sky changes colour! Oh! In the city the sky too knows some many games That’s why the sky draws so marvellously Even now the sky knows so many games That’s why the sky draws so marvellously jokhoni ektu chhuti pai aami chhutey jai chhadey shondyer mukhey jokhoni ektu chhuti pai Whenever I get a little break I go running to the roof in the early evening Whenever I get a little break I go running to the roof in the early evening mostoyaakash mosto saagor diney diney koto rong bodlaay din raat choley aapon niyomey aamaro shomoy boyey choley jaay mostoyaakash mosto saagor diney diney koto rong bodlaay din raat choley aapon niyomey aamaro shomoy boyey choley jaay vast sky vast ocean through the days change colour so days and nights move by their own rules my time too is carried away vast sky vast ocean through the days change colour so days and nights move by their own rules my time too is carried away ek din aami surjogrohon dekhechi hoyto plabono dekhbo ek din aami purnogrohon dekhechi hoyto plabono dekhbo eto bodo dheu eto chhoto aami shomoyer todey bheshey choley jai eto bodo dheu eto chhotoyaami shomoyer todey bheshey choley jai eto bodo dheu eto chhotoyaami shomoyer todey bheshey choley jai One day I saw a solar eclipse Perhaps I’ll also see a deluge One day I saw a total eclipse Perhaps I’ll also see a deluge such big waves so tiny am I washed away in the current of time such big waves so tiny am I washed away in the current of time such big waves so tiny am I washed away in the current of time .................... Doya koro (Have mercy) doya koro ei khoraay aamaar shomosto deho poeedey poodey chhai doya koro ei shohor shorir shomoy shokoli poodey poodey chhai doya koro ogo brishti, ogo brishti tumi trishito shorirey shohorer bukey jhorey jhorey podo doya koro ogo brishti have mercy in this drought my whole body burnt to ashes have mercy this city, body, time all burnt to ashes have mercy o dear rain, o dear rain on the thirsty body in the bosom of the city shower down have mercy, o dear rain doya koro ei ghorer bhitorey ondho bondho deho mon tai doya koro ei stobdho gumot ruddho kopaat ghorer bhitorey kheley na baatash doya koro ei paancheel deyaal deyaaley taangano picassor potey nona dhorey achhey doya koro ogo jhod esho ogo jhod eshoyaar aaghaatey aaghaatey bhengey dao shob doya koro have mercy the blind closed body and mind inside this room so have mercy the paralysed sultry suffocation inside this room with closed doors where the air can’t play have mercy these walls-boundaries the Picasso scroll hung on the wall has become salted over have mercy o dear storm come o dear storm come and strike and break down everything have mercy doya koro aami bhalo bhalo bhalo bhalo-baasha-baashi khelatey klanto doya koro ei bhalo thaaka baasha bhalo kora bhalo bhalo to lagey na doya koro aami ek baar shudhu ek baar aami bairey daandaboi ek baar tai doya koro aami bhalo bhalo bhalo bhalo-baasha-baashi khelatey klanto doya koro ei bhalo thaaka baasha bhalo kora bhalo bhalo to laagey na doya koro aami ek baar shudhu ek baar aami bairey daandabo ek baar shudhu ek baar aami ek baar aami bairey daandabo ek baar shudhu ek baar aami ek baar have mercy this good good good loving I’m tired of playing have mercy this being good, loving, doing good does not feel very good have mercy I, once, just once I will stand outside once so have mercy good good good good loving I’m tired of playing have mercy this being good, loving, doing good does not feel very good have mercy I, once, just once I, will stand outside once just once I, once I, will stand outside once just once I, once From hpp at vsnl.com Sun Oct 9 11:02:20 2005 From: hpp at vsnl.com (hpp at vsnl.com) Date: Sun, 09 Oct 2005 10:32:20 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] One more of Moushumi's Message-ID: <67f199684ef3.684ef367f199@vsnl.net> Another song of Moushumi Bhowmick V Ramaswamy, Calcutta ............... Shopno dekhbo boley (As I want to dream) aami shuneychhi shey din tumi shagorer dheuey cheypey nil jol digonto chuyey esheychho aami shuneychhi shey din tumi nona bali teer dhorey bahu dur bahu dur henthey esheychho aami kokhono jayi ni joley kokhono bhashini neeley kokhono rakhini chokh daana mela gaang chiley aabaar jey din tumi shomudro snaaney jaabey aamakeyo shaathey niyo nebey to aamai bolo nebey to aamai I’ve heard that the other day you Rode a sea wave and touched the blue horizon I’ve heard that the other day You walked a great distance along the sandy salt shore and returned I’ve never been in the water Never floated in the blue Never laid my eyes On a sea gull with its wings spread When you go again To bathe in the sea Take me along too You’ll take me won’t you Tell me you’ll take me won’t you aami shuneychhi shey din na ki tumi tumi tumi miley tomra shobai boley shobha koreychhiley aar shey din tomra naki anek jotil dhadha na bola anek kotha kotha tuley chhiley keno chhutey chhutey chhutey chola eki eki kotha bola nijer jonnyo bacha nijey ke niyey jodi bhalobasha nai thakey shudhu eka eka laagey kothai shanti pabo kothai giyey bolo kothai giyey I’ve heard that the other day apparently You, you and you got together And all of you jointly held a meeting And that day apparently you raised Many complex paradoxes and many unspoken matters. Why the running, running, running along Saying the same thing Living for oneself by oneself If there’s no love Only feel very lonely Where will I find peace where should I go tell me where should I go aami shuneychhi tomra naki ekhono shopno dekho ekhono galpo lekho praan gaao praan orey manusher bacha mora ekhono bhabiyey toley tomader bhalobasha ekhono golatey photey aastha harano ei mon niyey aami aaj tomader kachhey eshey du haath peteychi aami du chokher gou ghorey shunnyota dekhi shudhu raat ghumey aami kono shopno dekhi na tai shopno dekhbo boley aami du chokh peyteychhi tai tomader kachhey eshey aami du haath peyteychhi tai shopno dekhbo boley aami du chokh peyteychhi I’ve heard that apparently you people Still dream Still write stories Sing your hearts out O the life and death of people Still moves you to think Your love still blossoms in your throats I come to you people today with this forlorn mind Spreading my two hands As far as my two eyes can see I can only see emptiness I don’t dream when I sleep at night So in order to dream I’ve laid down my two eyes So I’ve come to you people and laid out my two hands So in order to dream I’ve laid out my two eyes. From zainab at xtdnet.nl Sun Oct 9 12:02:10 2005 From: zainab at xtdnet.nl (zainab at xtdnet.nl) Date: Sun, 9 Oct 2005 10:32:10 +0400 (RET) Subject: [Reader-list] Help Needed - Kashmir Quake Message-ID: <3919.219.65.9.235.1128839530.squirrel@webmail.xtdnet.nl> Dear friends: As you would know by now about the powerful earthquake that has hit the Northern region of the country. Help is urgently needed for a girl's orphanage run by my friends Bharati and Adik's organisation called The Borderless World Foundation in Kupwara region - which is badly effected and the surrounding areas. They are rushing to Kashmir in five days from now. They need funds to reach out to these people. Please visit the website for the good work they are doing in Kashmir for many years. They called me this morning and requested if I could help raise funds so that they can purchase the basic necessities and get to the affected region as soon as they can. They intend to leave in 5 days from today. Can you please contribute whatever you can - no matter how little. It doesn't matter how much you give, what matters is the thought behind this good deed. Your contribution will change many children's lives in Kashmir. A receipt will be given for every contribution made. Can you please help me raise these funds. Need to send the money to Pune as soon as possible. Counting on all of you to raise some money among your family and friends... Waiting for a encouraging and positive response If you need any clarifications, please call +91 9820160455 Regards, Altaf Zainab Bawa Bombay www.xanga.com/CityBytes http://crimsonfeet.recut.org/rubrique53.html From hpp at vsnl.com Sun Oct 9 18:24:34 2005 From: hpp at vsnl.com (hpp at vsnl.com) Date: Sun, 09 Oct 2005 17:54:34 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] One more of Moushumi's Message-ID: <6a002c69f53b.69f53b6a002c@vsnl.net> Sorry, transcription error in the last song. Here's a corrected version. V Ramaswamy, Calcutta ........... Shopno dekhbo boley (As I want to dream) aami shuneychhi shey din tumi shagorer dheuey cheypey nil jol digonto chunyey esheychho aami shuneychhi shey din tumi nona bali teer dhorey bohu dur bohu dur henthey esheychho aami kokhono jayi ni joley kokhono bhashini neeley kokhono rakhini chokh daana mela gaangchiley aabaar jey din tumi shomudro snaaney jaabey aamakeyo shaathey niyo nebey to aamai bolo nebey to aamai I’ve heard that the other day you Rode a sea wave and touched the blue horizon I’ve heard that the other day You walked a great distance along the sandy salt shore and returned I’ve never been in the water Never floated in the blue Never laid my eyes On a sea gull with its wings spread When you go again To bathe in the sea Take me along too You’ll take me won’t you Tell me you’ll take me won’t you aami shuneychhi shey din na ki tumi tumi tumi miley tomra shobol boley shobha koreychhiley aar shey din tomra naki anek jotil dhadha na bola anek kotha kotha tuley chhiley keno shudhu chhutey chhutey chola eki eki kotha bola nijer jonnyo bacha nijey ke niyey jodi bhalobasha nai thakey shudhu eka eka laagey kothai shanti pabo kothai giyey bolo kothai giyey I’ve heard that the other day apparently You, you and you got together And as self-empowered ones organised a meeting And that day apparently you raised Many complex paradoxes and many unspoken matters. Why only running, running along Saying the same thing Living for oneself by oneself If there’s no love Always feel very lonely Where will I find peace where should I go tell me where should I go aami shuneychhi tomra naki ekhono shopno dekho ekhono galpo lekho gaan gaao praan bhorey manusher bacha mora ekhono bhabiyey toley tomader bhalobasha ekhono golapey photey aastha harano ei mon niyey aami aaj tomader kachhey eshey du haath peteychi aami du chokher gouhbhorey shunnyota dekhi shudhu raat ghumey aami kono shopno dekhi na tai shopno dekhbo boley aami du chokh peyteychhi tai tomader kachhey eshey aami du haath peyteychhi tai shopno dekhbo boley aami du chokh peyteychhi I’ve heard that apparently you people Still dream Still write stories Sing your hearts out the life and death of people Still moves you to think Your love still blossoms into roses I come to you people today with this forlorn mind Spreading my two hands As far as my two eyes can see I can only see emptiness I don’t dream when I sleep at night So in order to dream I’ve laid down my two eyes So I’ve come to you people and laid out my two hands So in order to dream I’ve laid out my two eyes. From zainab at xtdnet.nl Sun Oct 9 18:30:58 2005 From: zainab at xtdnet.nl (zainab at xtdnet.nl) Date: Sun, 9 Oct 2005 17:00:58 +0400 (RET) Subject: [Reader-list] Marked Practices Message-ID: <3822.219.65.9.171.1128862858.squirrel@webmail.xtdnet.nl> 8th October 2005 Marked Practices It was a sleepy afternoon. The train was bound for Kalyan. I was to get off at Kanjurmarg. Comfortable in a window seat, I watched the pace of the compartment. People appeared drowsy. In one instance, two ladies sitting opposite me had the following interaction: Lady 1: Where are you going to get off? Lady 2: Mulund. Lady 1: Oh, then go to sleep! Even I am going to get off at Mulund. I will wake you up. We don’t get to sleep once we get back home. Better to sleep it off in the train. I am afraid of dozing off because I risk missing the station. So you sleep, I will wake you up. Lady 2: (Smiles) (Then dozes off, drops her head downwards – too weary!) It was a sleepy Saturday afternoon in the first ladies compartment. With the arrival of Dadar station and the consequent and subsequent crowds, the pace continued to be a mix of drowsiness and of some rush at the door. But gradually, the crowds began to increase and in the passageway, things began to get messy. Women were hissing because other women were stamping their feet and trying to get across to make a comfortable space for themselves without getting in other people’s ways. As crowds increased, agitation and hostility increased too. [Slight detour ] Exactly a week ago, a party of us girls were traveling in Central Railway to Neral, a long, long distance journey. After we got off at Neral station, Ash remarked, I found the women in the compartment not being nice to us, as in they were trying to make things difficult for us. They were intentionally being unhelpful. Perhaps this is because we were a bunch of English speaking girls. Seems like a cultural bias. I have wondered about locality and whether locality can be exclusive. The experience with women in Western Railway is based on markings of Borivali and Virar. In Central Railway these days, the marking is English speaking and therefore disliked. In my own experience at Uruli Kanchan Ashram, my Maharashtrian roommate came and said to me on the last day, Everything about you is nice. But I simply hate it when you pratter in English and speak so smoothly and fast! [Back to Journey ] Crowds were increasing. I was afraid that I might experience a lot of difficulty in getting off at Kanjurmarg. So I decided to move to the door as soon as Ghatkopar station passed by. The area at the door was totally jammed. I started tapping the shoulders of women ahead of me, Kanjurmarg? Kanjurmarg? The lady immediately ahead of me said Everyone is getting of at Kanjurmarg. Don’t bother. A little later, another lady standing at the door said, No, not everyone is getting off at Kanjurmarg. Ask this lady ahead. She is planning to get off elsewhere. The lady ahead appeared like a bhangi. She was dressed as one. She was tall, dark, rural in appearance and wore a bright red tikka. She was to get off at Kalyan which is the junction of the train. She was accompanied by a little boy who was holding a big suitcase. The lady ahead of me got angry when she heard that the tall lady was going to get off at Kalyan. She screamt, Are you mad? Paagal hai kya? If you have to get off at Kalyan go and stand inside. Why are you here? Don’t you understand that people have to get off and get in at Kanjurmarg? No sense these people have. She went on muttering, These people have gangs. They are here to thug and steal from passengers in crowds. This is an organized group. Mad woman! Paagal hai kya? Go in. The woman refused to budge. Women standing at the side of the door now started scolding her, telling her to go inside. Between Ghatkopar and Vikhroli station, the woman was victim to everyone’s reprimanding. Her son was squashed between us women. And he was carrying a heavy suitcase. He was breathing hard and trying to keep his balance. After Vikhroli station, the tall lady began to move in. The women at the door started saying, This must be happening in your Bihar where people just pile on each other inside trains. Here in Mumbai, we have some etiquette and rules. Look at the poor boy. You are making him suffer as well. Yeh tumhare Bihar mein hota hoga. In your Bihar they only talk with knives and threat of might. Here at least you must understand. This must be happening in your Bihar but this is Bombay’s local trains. I don’t know how they assumed this was Bihar. She was moving in and simultaneously trying to retort to the allegations being leveled against her. I could not understand what she was saying. Kanjurmarg station came and I was pushed out. [End of Journey] Zainab Bawa Bombay www.xanga.com/CityBytes http://crimsonfeet.recut.org/rubrique53.html From aka at zestgroups.net Sun Oct 9 21:52:28 2005 From: aka at zestgroups.net (Albert Krishna Ali) Date: Sun, 9 Oct 2005 21:52:28 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Indian blogger gets a (hilarious) legal notice from Arindam Chaudhuri's IIPM Message-ID: <1c8ca5cd0510090922w7a47d842o47608022a321de10@mail.gmail.com> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Dear all, Mumbai-based blogger Gaurav Sabnis has been served a legal notice, via email, by the Indian Institute of Planning and Managment: http://gauravsabnis.blogspot.com/2005/10/im-disconnecting-my-cable-connection.html Unknown bloggers have sprung up to 'attack' JAM editor Rashmi Bansal: http://youthcurry.blogspot.com/2005/10/lies-damned-lies-and-fake-blogs.html More details and a call to arms at: http://www.desipundit.com/2005/10/08/lies-damned-lies-and-fake-blogs/ From hpp at vsnl.com Fri Oct 7 13:09:06 2005 From: hpp at vsnl.com (V Ramaswamy) Date: Fri, 07 Oct 2005 13:09:06 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Appropriating slum land Message-ID: <001101c5cb12$83ec04a0$8db541db@Ramaswamy> SINISTER DESIGN TO APPROPRIATE SLUM LAND IN CALCUTTA? V Ramaswamy, Calcutta A few weeks ago, the Calcutta newspaper "The Telegraph" had carried an article in its weekly property / real estate supplement ('propertt'). It reported the preparation of a proposal for slum redevelopment and the resettlement of slumdwellers by the property / real estate developers' lobby CREDAI. In today's 'propertt', The Telegraph once again highlights CREDAI's slum proposal, and says that the city cannot afford to neglect the 1.5 million slumdwllers of Calcutta. Its interesting that The Telegraph has made itself the mouthpiece of CREDAI. The article also quotes a couple of so-called experts from Calcutta. However, the credentials, character and activities of these people are well known to others in the city. Suffice it to say that they do not have an iota of first-hand experience of slums, nor any demonstrated concern for their real plight. (Birds of a feather flock together - these so-called experts, CREDAI, Telegraph etc etc.) The CREDAI proposal may be seen in the context of the close nexus that has been established between the West Bengal state govt - read CPI(M) - and some favoured real estate developers, who have been blessed to catapult to becoming big-time operators, undertaking large projects around the city, with even bigger ambitions. The major British govt funded Kolkata Urban Services Project (KUSP), aimed at poverty reduction and infrastructure provision in slums in the Kolkata metropolitan area was initiated last year. If one made a first-hand observation of what's happening in KUSP - its a scandal! This is a project that is being implemented by the party, which lacks any capability to implement such a project, or even really cares a fig for the plight of the poor slumdwellers. The result - shoddy, superficial work, waste and misappropriation of resources. The project's implementation design involves a bottom-up structure, beginning with women from poor slum households, and leading to Community Development Societies. In a bizarre travesty of this, what really exists are Community Development Societies set up from the top, by the party members in office in the municipalities, involving their friends and associates. In some cases, the supposed lower level tiers of this CDS have also been notionally enumerated, and people have been tutored to say the right things about this CDS structure. Key concerns in KUSP should have been slumdwellers' shelter, the Thika Tenancy Act, basti redevelopment, and building grassroots capability for community-manged slum redevelopment. But these are conspicuously absent from the project. For years and years, there has been a studied silence on the question of slums in Calcutta, even while the overcrowded and degraded living conditions worsen, and illegal construction flourishes (led by party cadres). The bastis of Calcutta and Howrah are spread throughout the cities, including in or near the 'poshest' locations and occupy prime real estate. Howrah - is very close to "social infrastructure" possessing Calcutta, thanks to the Vidyasagar Setu (2nd Hooghly bridge). With a huge stock of land under closed industries (where illegal construction projects have come up), and also a huge amount of land under bastis - Howrah is also a prized destination of developers' intentions. It is clear that the CREDAI wants basti lands to be given over to them. As far as the slumdwellers are concerned - either some token shoddy in-situ re-housing will be provided, where that becomes absolutely unavoidable; or they will be removed altogether from there and resettled in the city fringes. Its significant that the CREDAI leaves this off-site resettlement option open. Given the party's love affair with favoured real estate developers, its very likely that basti lands in Calcutta and Howrah are going to be handed over to them. The party will make the right noises about resettlement; eventually, a small number of people, the party faithfuls and potential leaders, will get some form of resettlement and the rest - will be expected to simply go to hell. The love affair with developers is actually not so new. In the early 90s, thanks to the good offices of the former chief minister, private land along the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass (opposite the Salt Lake Stadium) was summarily acquired by the state govt and handed over to a business house to build a hospital. This business house brought in a foreign hospital chain to build and start the hospital; and then sold its share to them. Over a period of a few years, using its good access to the party / chief minister, i.e.its 'fixing' capability, this business house made a neat and sizeable profit. Needless to mention, this is a posh hospital, where one will have to search very hard to find any low-income or economically weaker section patients. And next to this poeple's hospital, on the Kadapara hillock, is another example of public land being quietly given over to another business house, this time a real estate company, to build a folksy mall. Though the city is starved of open and recreational spaces, public land is privatised; one has to pay a stiff entrance charge to get into the mall. There one will find costumed pseudo / kitschy vendors of street foods, giving a feel of the 'real' thing. And so many of the beautiful and wonderful intellectuals, artists, poets etc would regularly be found in thismall, gracing cultural events, celebrating the favour with which they are feted. But nobody ever questions the privatisation of public land, and the rape of the public domain (they would of course talk about Vietnam, Cuba, now Venezuela, imperialistic globalisation and what have you...). In the early 1980s, a foreign NGO had obtained land from the state govt. in the fringes of Salt Lake to construct a large number of good quality houses for pavement dwellers. Some of these were allotted by the party to its favoured clients. The remaining lay unoccupied, because those whom the party wanted to give these to refused to move (the pesky Duttabad households, the survivors of the erstwhile fisherfolk of the area, so that they would go away from the side of the new Bypass that had come up). Many houses were vandalised (by party- and police-backed criminals), leaving not a trace of a housing complex. A couple of hundred houses still remained. In 1987, a group of homeless people from various parts of Salt Lake, rickshaw pullers, labourers, maidservants etc, who had been repeatedly evicted, occupied the empty NGO housing complex. They then appealed to the govt. to permit them to live there. In January 1988, using brute force, they were evicted. Today there is not a trace of these houses either, and the whole site has become part of the Salt Lake electronic / software complex. The CPI(M) is now going to be making proposals to the UPA govt. regarding slumdwellers and squatters, in keeping with its social conscience-keeper role at the centre. That is indeed interesting. In West Bengal, where they have been in power for 28 years, they have systematically ignored the plight of slumdwellers and squatters, not doing even what was definitely in their power to do. And instead they have had a love affair with real estate developers, and doing a merry Tandav dance over the bodies of the urban poor. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20051007/1e7758f4/attachment.html From mahmoodfarooqui at yahoo.com Mon Oct 10 13:42:07 2005 From: mahmoodfarooqui at yahoo.com (mahmood farooqui) Date: Mon, 10 Oct 2005 01:12:07 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Midnight's Children Message-ID: <20051010081208.4981.qmail@web80908.mail.scd.yahoo.com> I have been helping out with a National School of Drama production of Midnight's Children, in Hindi... It is on 10 to 15 Oct at the NSD Auditorium in the Mandi House and is called AADHI RAAT KE BACHHE. Please come... __________________________________ Yahoo! Music Unlimited Access over 1 million songs. Try it free. http://music.yahoo.com/unlimited/ From aka at zestgroups.net Tue Oct 11 03:40:39 2005 From: aka at zestgroups.net (Albert Krishna Ali) Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2005 03:40:39 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Re: Indian blogger gets a (hilarious) legal notice from Arindam Chaudhuri's IIPM In-Reply-To: <1c8ca5cd0510090922w7a47d842o47608022a321de10@mail.gmail.com> References: <1c8ca5cd0510090922w7a47d842o47608022a321de10@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <1c8ca5cd0510101510p43b2e0ebpad5729f4dbcd4349@mail.gmail.com> Dear all, It's not funny anymore. Gaurav Sabnis has had to resign from his job as a result, and through pro-IIPM comment spam on blogs, anonymous people have been posting all sorts of filthy, malicious stuff about Rashmi Bansal (JAM editor and blogger), Gaurav Sabnis and others supporting the issue. The blogosphere has come together to support Gaurav and Rashmi. It turns out that JAM too had been served a legal notice, which is fine, but e-stalking and sexually charged abuses and spreading lies about people's academic and personal lives - all this is not done. All those of you who believe hat censorship is not a done thing, must do something more than just believing. Follow the issue with continuous updates here: http://www.desipundit.com/2005/10/08/lies-damned-lies-and-fake-blogs/ Please urge your journo friends to give the issue press coverage, which is very difficult considering that IIPM gives full page ads in the papers and its owner, Arindam Chaudhuri, is regularly invited as a panelist on news channels. In whatever way you can, SPEAK on this. Thanks, Albert Krishna Ali On 10/9/05, Albert Krishna Ali wrote: > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > > Dear all, > > Mumbai-based blogger Gaurav Sabnis has been served a legal notice, via > email, by the Indian Institute of Planning and Managment: > http://gauravsabnis.blogspot.com/2005/10/im-disconnecting-my-cable-connection.html > > Unknown bloggers have sprung up to 'attack' JAM editor Rashmi Bansal: > http://youthcurry.blogspot.com/2005/10/lies-damned-lies-and-fake-blogs.html > > More details and a call to arms at: > http://www.desipundit.com/2005/10/08/lies-damned-lies-and-fake-blogs/ From rahul_capri at yahoo.com Tue Oct 11 06:38:57 2005 From: rahul_capri at yahoo.com (Rahul Asthana) Date: Mon, 10 Oct 2005 18:08:57 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Re: Indian blogger gets a (hilarious) legal notice from Arindam Chaudhuri's IIPM In-Reply-To: <1c8ca5cd0510101510p43b2e0ebpad5729f4dbcd4349@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <20051011010857.49915.qmail@web53604.mail.yahoo.com> Hi All, I do not think freedom of speech is the issue here.Gaurav Sabnis has made it clear that he was not asked to resign.No authority or agency of the government has tried to censor him. (I am trying not to judge Gaurav here, but I am not sure if his resigning was a good decision for anyone.) IMHO,The issue or the spotlight here is on law enforcement, if anything. And that issue is general, not specific to blogging or internet. The people who indirectly threatened Gaurav and defamed Rashmi should be brought to book.The only legal issue specific to blogging is that whether people can be tracked and made accountable to what they write over the internet and whether there are legal provisions that adequately take care of this sort of offence.The threatening phone calls made to IBM would certainly be cognisable as a legal offence, I would think.But if IBM,Gaurav or Rashmi dont seek redress from law then there is little anyone else can do about it. regards Rahul --- Albert Krishna Ali wrote: > Dear all, > > It's not funny anymore. Gaurav Sabnis has had to > resign from his job > as a result, and through pro-IIPM comment spam on > blogs, anonymous > people have been posting all sorts of filthy, > malicious stuff about > Rashmi Bansal (JAM editor and blogger), Gaurav > Sabnis and others > supporting the issue. The blogosphere has come > together to support > Gaurav and Rashmi. It turns out that JAM too had > been served a legal > notice, which is fine, but e-stalking and sexually > charged abuses and > spreading lies about people's academic and personal > lives - all this > is not done. > > All those of you who believe hat censorship is not a > done thing, must > do something more than just believing. Follow the > issue with > continuous updates here: > http://www.desipundit.com/2005/10/08/lies-damned-lies-and-fake-blogs/ > > Please urge your journo friends to give the issue > press coverage, > which is very difficult considering that IIPM gives > full page ads in > the papers and its owner, Arindam Chaudhuri, is > regularly invited as a > panelist on news channels. > > In whatever way you can, SPEAK on this. > > Thanks, > Albert Krishna Ali > > On 10/9/05, Albert Krishna Ali > wrote: > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > > > > Dear all, > > > > Mumbai-based blogger Gaurav Sabnis has been served > a legal notice, via > > email, by the Indian Institute of Planning and > Managment: > > > http://gauravsabnis.blogspot.com/2005/10/im-disconnecting-my-cable-connection.html > > > > Unknown bloggers have sprung up to 'attack' JAM > editor Rashmi Bansal: > > > http://youthcurry.blogspot.com/2005/10/lies-damned-lies-and-fake-blogs.html > > > > More details and a call to arms at: > > > http://www.desipundit.com/2005/10/08/lies-damned-lies-and-fake-blogs/ > _________________________________________ > 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!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From hpp at vsnl.com Tue Oct 11 16:09:00 2005 From: hpp at vsnl.com (hpp at vsnl.com) Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2005 15:39:00 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Retracting Moushumi trasnlations Message-ID: <83244682e76a.82e76a832446@vsnl.net> Retracting translation of Moushumi's songs V Ramaswamy Further to my posting of the transcription / translation of 3 of Moushumi Bhowmick's songs, I have received valuable feedback on the translations. For someone who does not know Bangla, the translations could confuse and even reflect poorly on the original text. This will do more harm than good to the author, which is not my intention at all. The deceptively simple text of the original, which masks the subtleties conveyed by various words, phrases and tones is very hard to render into any other language, without making it sound prosaic. And this is definitely not the case with the original. My verse by verse translation does not do justice to Moushumi's work. This also underlines the difficulty inherent in translation of Moushumi's songs. The poetry of the original is lost in the translation. Taking responsibility for the protection of Moushumi's work, I would like to take back / retract the translations posted by me, with sincere apologies to everyone concerned. If its possible for my posting of the translations to be removed I would be grateful for that. From aleclerc at fondation-langlois.org Tue Oct 11 21:31:00 2005 From: aleclerc at fondation-langlois.org (=?iso-8859-1?Q?Andr=E9ane_Leclerc?=) Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2005 12:01:00 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] News from the Daniel Langlois Foundation Message-ID: <641A525B0A2A2540B1DD0A3DE660241C014DCF10@exchange.terra-incognita.net> Workshops with professor Yvonne Spielmann (Ph.D.) The Daniel Langlois Foundation is pleased to provide online access to a pedagogical document recounting the history of experimental video and electronic and digital imaging. This document includes excerpts from a three-day workshop given by Professor Yvonne Spielmann (Ph.D.), which was held at the Foundation's Centre for Research and Documentation (CR+D) from September 29 to October 1, 2004. It also contains excerpts of works by artists such as Steina and Woody Vasulka, Bill Etra, Dan Sandin, John F. Simon Jr. and Granular Synthesis: http://www.fondation-langlois.org/flash/e/index.php?NumPage=525 Sonia Landy Sheridan fonds The Daniel Langlois Foundation is proud to make available the personal archives of Sonia Landy Sheridan. This fonds constitutes a major addition to the Foundation's Centre for Research and Documentation (CR+D) collection. Born in 1925 in Newark, Ohio, Sonia Landy Sheridan is one of the few women to have worked in technological arts in the 1960s and 1970s. The Sonia Landy Sheridan fonds primarily contains archive folders, manuscripts, notebooks, slides, photographs, video and audio records, films, exhibition catalogues and books, digital records and numerous colour and black and white reprographic works. The works of Ms. Sheridan can be found in the collections of many museums, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Canada, and the Fundacion Telefonica in Madrid. The largest collection brings together more than 600 of her works at the Dartmouth College Hood Museum in Hanover, New Hampshire: http://www.fondation-langlois.org/flash/e/index.php?NumPage=718 From preetunair at yahoo.com Wed Oct 12 10:37:58 2005 From: preetunair at yahoo.com (PREETU NAIR) Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2005 22:07:58 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] His name is Anthony Gonsalves but he has never met Big B Message-ID: <20051012050758.87370.qmail@web31704.mail.mud.yahoo.com> One of Amitabh Bachchan’s most well-known and loved screen name has a Goa connection. As the nation celebrated Big B’s birthday, GT contacted music maestro Anthony Gonsalves, who looks back at the man he has never met but still admires. PREETU NAIR PANAJI: When a tall man in a top hat and suit leaps out of a giant Easter egg and starts signing, “My name is Anthony Gonsalves” in Manmohan Desai’s classic Amar, Akbar, Anthony; there is a smile and sparkle on the face of the real Anthony Gonsalves in Majorda. Strangely though, the “real” Anthony Gonsalves has never met the “reel” Anthony. “By 1965, I quit the film industry and shifted to America. One day I got a call from my student Pyarelal (of Laxmikant Pyarelal fame), who had learnt violin from me. He asked me if he could use my name for a song to be featured on Amitabh Bachchan. I agreed with a condition that my name shouldn’t be abused,” revealed the 78-year-old magnificent, yet mild mannered, music maestro from Majorda. An overwhelmingly talented musician and a highly prized teacher who trained the likes of RD Burman and Pyarelal, Anthony never got his due in Bollywood, until his shishya immortalized his name forever with this song featured on Big B. “When I was working in Bombay film industry, Amitabh was not a superstar. Even later I never tried to meet Amitabh because I was too immersed in my work,” says the perfectionist. However, he admits that he enjoyed listening to the song, which was pure entertainment. “Last week, the movie was shown on television and it was great listening to the song and seeing Amitabh’s tricks. I heard the song after a long time,” recollects the man who travelled to Bombay in 1943 to earn a living as a musician in Bollywood. But compared to many who thrive to meet the Big B, Anthony has no such desires. “If by chance I get to meet him, it would be nice. However, I don’t have any great desire,” said the reclusive musician, who candidly admits that he enjoys listening to Big B say, “Computerji, Lock kiya jaaye” in Kaun Banega Crorepati. Anthony has warm feelings for the man he has never met and wishes him all the best in life on his 64th birthday. “On his birthday, I want to wish him all the best in his life and career. As well as a long and healthy life and many more happy years,” added Anthony. (this article appeared on 12 Sept. 2005 issue of Gomantak times) __________________________________ Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005 http://mail.yahoo.com From aarti at sarai.net Thu Oct 13 15:20:23 2005 From: aarti at sarai.net (Aarti) Date: Thu, 13 Oct 2005 15:20:23 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Fwd: Translator for tribal languguages] Message-ID: <434E2DDF.8030109@sarai.net> Dear All, If anyone can be of, or think of someone who could be of, any help, do get in touch with her. Thanks best Aarti -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Translator for tribal languguages Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2005 01:29:36 +0530 From: Natasha Shukla To: aarti at sarai.net Dear Aarti, Thank you for offering your help. I am sending this email as requested. Just to remind you I am doing research in the Narmada Valley and am looking for a translator who can spend around two months in a tribal village in the valley with me. I will need translation of interviews from Pavri or Bhilali into Hindi or English. I am starting fieldwork in a week from now, but I will be in the valley for over six months. So while it would be ideal to have a tanslator now for two months I can also make do if someone becomes available later. If you know of someone who could do this work or some other lead who may know someone able to do this work I would be grateful if you could let me know. Thank you very much. With regards, Natasha Shukla tel: 26534316, 51017078 From cahen.x at levels9.com Thu Oct 13 15:48:08 2005 From: cahen.x at levels9.com (xavier cahen) Date: Thu, 13 Oct 2005 12:18:08 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] pourinfos Newsletter / 10-07 to 10-13-2005 Message-ID: <434E3460.7020608@levels9.com> pourinfos.org l'actualite du monde de l'art / daily Art news ----------------------------------------------------------------------- infos du vendredi 07, octobre, 2005 au jeudi 13, octobre, 2005 (inclus) infos from October 7, 2005 to October 13, 2005 (included) ------------------------------------------------------------------- (mostly in french) ------------------------------------------------------------------- 01 Call : luminous device, festival "the breath of the equinox", Ecole superieure de l'image et le CNR de poitiers, Poitiers, France. http://pourinfos.org/candidature/item.php?id=2099 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 02 Call : New videoDictionary, TheVideoArtFoundation, Spain. http://pourinfos.org/participation/item.php?id=2098 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 03 Residence : Dazibao, centre de photographies actuelle, Montreal, Canada. http://pourinfos.org/residences/item.php?id=2097 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 04 Job : director, Fonds regional d’art contemporain d’Ile-de-France , Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/emploi/item.php?id=2096 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 05 Workshop : Workshop employment, Maison de l'architecture en Île-de-France, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/emploi/item.php?id=2095 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 06 Publication : CREVARD [baise-sollers], Thierry Théolier, éditions cameras animales, Tours, France. http://pourinfos.org/publications/item.php?id=2094 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 07 Publication : # 42, Papiers Libres, galerie ESCA, Milhaud, France. http://pourinfos.org/publications/item.php?id=2093 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 08 Screening : eDS Cut Climax, le collectif eDS espaces and Déplacements Sporadiques, Espace Delrue, Nantes, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2092 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 09 Program : Loris Greaud, Ricard s.a. 2005 prize, Espace Paul Ricard, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2091 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 Program : Mirror of sciences 2005 2005, Polly Maggoo's association, Espace culturel Comoedia, Aubagne, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2089 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 11 Program : "Discovered cinema" et "Discovered videos", " Rendez-vous teaching", Centre Pompidou, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2088 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 12 Performance : Good-bye cruel world, lucille calmel and antoine boute, revue Stalker, 15 th Salon de la Revue, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2087 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 13 Exhibition : "NO FUN! games and the gaming experience", PIKSEL 05 festival, Hordaland Kunstsenter, Norway. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2086 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 14 Exhibition : Volume publication, 7. 11, Volume, Netherlands Media Art Institute, Amsterdam, Netherlands. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2085 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 15 Exhibition : WJs, Dis-patch festival 2005 , Cultural centre REX, Belgrad, Serbia. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2084 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 16 Exhibition : Continuation 2, Caroline Duchatelet, Triangle france, Friche la Belle de Mai, Marseille, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2083 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 17 Exhibition : Le hurloir, Thierry Fontaine, Etablissement d'en face, Argosfestival, Brussels, Belgium. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2082 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 18 Exhibition : In memoriam, Galerie Dany Lafleur, Montreuil, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2081 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 19 Exhibition : Emergency Biennale, Bolanzo Stop, European Academy of Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2080 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 20 Exhibition : Orgy, the life secrete of the vine, Centre d'Animation Reuilly, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2079 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 21 Residence : artist, Ecole municipale des Beaux arts, Chateauroux, France. http://pourinfos.org/residences/item.php?id=2078 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 22 Call : festival of little and independent,film productions, Kino Klub, Novi Sad, Serbia and Montenegro. http://pourinfos.org/candidature/item.php?id=2077 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 23 Call : Transmission Art Web Projects, New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, Usa. http://pourinfos.org/candidature/item.php?id=2076 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 24 Call : IAS-STS Fellowship Programme 2006-2007, Institute for Advanced Studies, Graz, Austria. http://pourinfos.org/candidature/item.php?id=2075 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 25 Call : Appel à projets, Open Labs Projects, Brussels, Belgium. http://pourinfos.org/candidature/item.php?id=2074 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 26 Workshop : Call for workshop participation, Atelier Nord, Oslo, Norway. http://pourinfos.org/emploi/item.php?id=2073 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 27 Meetings : 4es Rencontres de la revue électronique, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/rencontres/item.php?id=2072 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 28 Meetings : eDS 3strings, eDS espaces et Déplacements Sporadiques and Les Moyens du Bord, Maison Prévotal, Plougasnou, France. lien http://pourinfos.org/rencontres/item.php?id=2071 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 29 Meetings : Dialogue of the shadow, Michel Nuridsany, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/rencontres/item.php?id=2070 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 30 Meetings : Conference - debat, Numeric Art and Reseaux, Paris 8 university, Saint Denis, France. http://pourinfos.org/rencontres/item.php?id=2069 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 31 Meetings : Agence Bolze et Rodriguez-Pages, Maison de l'architecture en Île-de-France, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/rencontres/item.php?id=2068 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 32 Rencontres : Poetry, Performance, John Giorno, Centre Culturel, Tinqueux, France. http://pourinfos.org/rencontres/item.php?id=2067 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 33 Publications : LENDROIT, artist editions, Rennes, France. http://pourinfos.org/publications/item.php?id=2066 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 34 Publication : Artistic Practice Guide on Paris and its area, Artiste Pluriel Magazine, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/publications/item.php?id=2065 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 35 Exhibition : light #2, Point Ephemere, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2064 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 36 Exhibition : 10 th Rencontres internationales Paris/Berlin, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2063 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 37 Screening : 361° f happiness, Le Panlogon, les papiers wallpapers, room and corridor, Brouillon d'un rêve numérique, Scam, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2062 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 38 Exhibition : You Are Beautiful,Treehouse Gallery, Los Angeles, Usa. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2061 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 39 Divers : Artists Charter of the "One by One", Ministry delegated to the Promotion of the Equal opportunity, France. http://pourinfos.org/divers/item.php?id=2060 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 40 Exhibition: Ulises Castellanos, Le Latina, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2059 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 41 Exhibiton : Third edition of the international festival of the Song and the Image, Tunis,Tunisia. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2058 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 42 Exhibition : Patrick Bougelet, Lille Metropole art museum, Lille, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2057 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 43 Exhibition : Common places, saturday octobre 15, 2005, Montreuil, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2056 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 44 Exhibition : Eduardo Kac, Eduardo Kac, Biche de Bere Gallery, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2055 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 45 Exhibition : Delphine Balley, Clare Langan, Christine Laquet et Stéphanie Nava, Centre d'art contemporain, chateau des Adhemar, Montelimar, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2054 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 46 Exhibition : « Simulations urbaines » Betonsalon, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2053 -- pourinfos.org -------------- XAVIER CAHEN Direction de la publication xavier.cahen at pourinfos.org http://www.pourinfos.org From aarti at sarai.net Thu Oct 13 17:12:40 2005 From: aarti at sarai.net (Aarti) Date: Thu, 13 Oct 2005 17:12:40 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Creative Writing Masterclass: Call for Applications Message-ID: <434E4830.9060509@sarai.net> CREATIVE WRITING MASTERCLASS Tutor: Sharmistha Mohanty This workshop is open to those who wish to have a serious engagement with imaginative prose writing, fiction or non-fiction. There are two fundamental aspects that the workshop will focus on. Because we are born into language, writing cannot be taught as a craft, like the other arts. We already know the codes, the grammar, how to make sentences, paragraphs, pages. In writing we work at the opposite end from a musician or a dancer who must first learn the basics, we need to refuse the ease with which words come. A first task then is to make a /relationship/ with language, different from the everyday one. For myself, as a prose fiction writer, I see speech as close to thought, writing as close to consciousness. That is why it is often possible in writing to express something unknown even to oneself. More than finding a way to /make/ this relationship with language, we can look at how it can be/ allowed/. This may mean expanding the space of language, not shrinking it by taking on given structures, or having too defined a purpose, or using things one already knows. A second task is to ask the question, what is form? In writing, form arises not from an external, not from mere wishes or ideals. Form arises from a real need. This is what must be identified, by everyone, individually, for themselves. Arising from a need and arriving at its shape through a struggle, each found form will have its own rigour and can never be whimsical or random. By letting oneself be with these explorations, once can move towards a writing which is able to evoke what is not already known. The basic principle I will work with in conducting the workshop is that writing, because it cannot be “taught,” can only be guided, by a practitioner, and the best form of guidance is to work on the actual writing and take it forward through criticism and dialogue. Each participant will present their writing on a regular basis during the workshop. The writing will be discussed at the workshop by myself and all the other participants. I will also hold one on one sessions with every participant at least once during the course. We will also be doing some reading in parallel. The reading will span vastly different kinds of prose, perhaps the autobiographical pieces of James Baldwin, the novels of W.G. Sebald, the prose of Claudio Magris, the short fictions of Bruno Schulz, the essays of Joseph Brodsky, and Indian myths and folktales which have their own special ways of approaching narrative. [Sharmistha Mohanty received a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (Fiction) from the Iowa Writer's Workshop. She is the author of the screenplay for the film Nazar (1989) by Mani Kaul, and two novels-- Book One (1995) and the just published New Life (India Ink/Roli Books, 2005). Her fiction has also appeared in the journals, Ploughshares (Boston), Siecle 21 (Paris) and Gender and History (London), and Inertia Magazine (New York, online).] The duration of the workshop is nine sessions from 26 November 2005 to 24 December 2005. The participants will meet every Wednesday and Saturday, from 4 pm to 7 pm. The class will have a limited number of participants. Applicants should send in a writing sample of imaginative prose, of not more than five pages (it can be an excerpt from a longer work), and a page on why they would like to attend the workshop. Masterclass fee: Rs. 1500/-, payable on confirmation of selection. Last date for applications: 25 October, 2005 Selected participants will be informed on email by November 10, 2005. Applications and queries can be sent to dak at sarai.net, with the subject line "Creative Writing Workshop". Paper applications should be posted to: "Application for Creative Writing Workshop" Sarai / CSDS 29 Rajpur Road Delhi - 110054 From amit.agnihotri2005 at gmail.com Thu Oct 13 20:11:50 2005 From: amit.agnihotri2005 at gmail.com (Amit K Agnihotri) Date: Thu, 13 Oct 2005 20:11:50 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Of lawyers and corporate scandals Message-ID: Highly respected lawyer Abhishek Singhvi wrote in The Hindustan Times, October 5, 2005, that he said at a seminar on business ethics that it has become an oxymoron. This article is a shining example of how it is accepted practice that one's actions need not have even a distant connection with one's words. He lectures at great length about the lack of ethics in business houses and about "the numerous corporate scams and scandals litter the moral landscape." Singhvi gives the examples of Enron and Tyco. But he forgot the biggest recent one: Escorts, who he represented in the Delhi High Court. Since the case is sub judice, not much can be said, but it can be said safely that the legality of the conversion of a charitable institution into a profit making company and then its sale has been brought into question. The strong interim order passed by the judge Anil Kumar, showed that not only did he quickly grasp the matter but actually wrote: "The acts committed by the defendants in creation of another society, merger of two societies and thereafter floating a company with limited liability and the new company giving loans to defendant no.1 and pledging its assets for the loans given to defendant no.1 and thereafter transfer of shareholding and assets to third parties, require adjudication and investigation." Instead of writing about the ethics of business, it would have been more appropriate for Singhvi to address the ethics of lawyers. Yes, every citizen has a right to defence. And many lawyers justify accepting any brief with that reference. But, there are multitude cases where lawyers refuse a brief on one pretext or another. Can we forget that when Kiran Bedi stood by the principled belief of standing by her constable who hand cuffed a lawyer in 1988, there was no lawyer willing to represent her? The same lawyer who gave legal opinions to a businessman and told him what he wanted to hear: that it is legal to convert a charitable institution into a profit making company, knowing full well that it is questionable, also ensures a steady income when he represents that client to defend that doubtful legal opinion. We now learn that wily, slimy businessmen often shop for a lawyer who will give them the twisted legal opinion that they need, to do what they want to do, rather than what is strictly the law. Get this. Singhvi writes: "We have also avoided addressing unpleasant issues like the role of professionals (especially accountants and legal advisors). Ancient jurisprudence described them as 'bloodhounds'. Slowly, case law started using the milder term 'watchdogs'. Recent corporate scams have led them to being described as 'lapdogs'. Enron and Tyco could not have occurred unless these professionals "cooked the books with a flair and a zest which would put the chefs at Taj Hotel to shame"." Right. Do we have to wait for the press to inform the distinguished lawyer where all these facts also apply? No doubt, this will make many a lawyer squirm at the unfairness of judging a lawyer for accepting a brief that contains illegal actions. Isn't that what lawyers are suppose to do? But is it? It is debatable, at least. The Bar Council of India, states in it Rules, Preamble, Chapter II, Standards of Professional Conduct, Section I - Duty to the Court: "An advocate shall refuse to represent the client who persists in such improper conduct. He shall not consider himself a mere mouth-piece of the client……………." A lawyer cannot absolve himself of endorsing illegal acts of the client. Okay, he can, but should he then virtually in the same breath write and lecture on "declining morality"? He should have added: "and increasing hypocrisy". Every lawyer's first and foremost loyalty is to uphold the law of the land. That is his stated dharma. There are lawyers and there are lawyers. There is a large section of senior lawyers who are honest and are known to refuse cases that hit against their conscience. Examples of many such cases have been reported, where briefs have been refused even when they come from the government in power. And there are those lawyers in a minority, whose doors are the first ones knocked at when you have run over and killed seven people, who can turn witnesses hostile and then morph a BMW into a truck. The actions of such lawyers attack and destroy the basis of Indian law. Singhvi wrote: "Unlike the US, we forget the mandate of the 'Doubter's dictionary', which defines ethics as 'a matter of daily practical concern, described glowingly in commercial terms by those who intend to ignore it.'" Exactly. Daily, practical concern. One presumes Singhvi is attempting to use a quotation from The Doubter's Companion (1994), known as the devil's dictionary, written by Canadian philosopher and writer, John Raulson Saul. So, let me continue to quote Saul: "So much credence has been given to essentially silly ideas, such as we are driven by self-interest, which would really make us hardly human at all, but mammals and nothing more. Obviously, what makes us most interesting is our ability to live with uncertainty and our ability not to slip into either/or views of the world. You cannot help but debunk a lot of the theories that have developed over the last 20 to 25 years. They are dependent upon us accepting the idea we are a frightened people driven by self-interest." Saul says citizens have more choice than they are led to believe and the aim of his book is to demonstrate this. "People feel they only have two choices," he says, "the head and the heart. One is the instrumental, hard-nosed thing, and the other is the marginal, romantic, idealist thing. Well, that is not a choice. The point is to show people they have these qualities they can use. For example, ethics is really very practical, but it isn't good enough to be right. It also has to work; otherwise, it is just good intentions, and then it is romantic. That doesn't mean it's easy and pretty." A lawyer can act as an officer of the court, that is, choose to stand up and protect the Law or he can be a taxi for hire. Singhvi ends his article reminding us of Mahatma Gandhi's demands for public character. While invoking Gandhi, it might serve him well to remember that it was Gandhi who defined his job as a lawyer in South Africa, when he refused to defend a client who turned out to be a liar and told the judge so. Gandhi was also brilliant enough to realise a mistake and was intelligently flexible enough to change track as he evolved. Singhvi ends his article with a plea to reconstruct our morality and reminds us of Gandhi's itemized seven deadly sins: "He listed them as politics without principles, wealth without work, business without morality, education without character, pleasure without conscience, science without humanity and worship without sacrifice. We have covered some parts of the journey but many miles remain." There are millions of lawyers who take that journey every day by working on cases that support their conscience. Gandhi always led by example and action. Now it is time for Abhishek Singhvi to walk his talk and cover the miles that remain. Thanks Amit Kumar Agnihotri From shivam at zestgroups.net Thu Oct 13 22:49:18 2005 From: shivam at zestgroups.net (Shivam) Date: Thu, 13 Oct 2005 22:49:18 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fellow ex-I-Fellow on ragging Message-ID: Dear esteemed readers of the (crumbling :) ) Sarai Reader List: I thought I wouldn't do this, but it was too tempting to subject you to another post on ragging. I recently exchanged some emails with a fellow ex-I-Fellow, excerpts from which she has allowed me to put on this list. In a tea break during the I Fellows workshop, I had overheard someone making fun of The Stop Ragging Campaign. Making fun of anything is very easy, but understanding it may be a completely different ball game. Cheers Shivam o o o o o Hi! I read about your Stop Ragging Campaign through Sarai Reader List. I recently joined a post graduate institute ***. I am filled with anger and disgust that in a PG institute with the knowledge of the Administration ragging took place. As I never have stayed in a Hostel all though my life, it took me few moments why we were asked to assemble on the terrace. As each of us were being ragged, i was scared. Because there were no right answers to their questions and the whole incident was very unpredictable. You never know what would happen next.....I just broke down out of confusion. it was really strange. I must confess that there are many seniors who were against the whole affair. They tried their best but they were far and few of them. Next day, before ragging began I yelled at the seniors threatening them with a FIR. Suddenly, after abuses hurled...everything cooled down and i was told that this was a ice breaking session and that as i girl i have to get strong to face the male dominated industry that i will be working in.... After the ragging session was over, the very same seniors who were involved in ragging turned out to be 'very nice people'. Everybody behaves as if nothing as happened. I just want to read a bit about the 'history' ragging...cud u please. help me with books, websites or any info. Thanking You, with warm regards, o o o Hi, I'm glad you spoke up and threatened them with an FIR. At least you knew that it is punishable. See www.stopragging.org. The important this is for you to be able to bring about a change next year. Best wishes and keep me updated, Shivam o o o Hi! Your website is exhaustive. Your dedication and work is reflected in it.....I am going through it page by page...... thanks for everything. Please do inform me if u need any help. With warm regards, o o o o Excerpt from another mail from her: yes, the ragging has stopped in my institute. In fact my batch, confronted the seniors within ten days of ragging. We told them clearly that we will just not attend the ragging sessions. After that the ragging did not take place. There was only uncomfortable silence. we also had a freshers party. Shivam, but i must confess that I still cannot forget those endless nights. In all the little years of my teaching, I would categorically tell students not to fear teachers. Fear is the worst kind of abuse. Unless we do not make the means to education non violent, we really cannot stop violence around us. I might sound idealistic but ceratinly i do not deny facts. The fact of ragging. o o o o o From aka at zestgroups.net Thu Oct 13 17:11:25 2005 From: aka at zestgroups.net (Albert Krishna Ali) Date: Thu, 13 Oct 2005 17:11:25 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Arindam Chaudhuri, IIPM and the Indian blogosphere Message-ID: <1c8ca5cd0510130441p1e18e611od079e8cd907d9c8a@mail.gmail.com> FREEDOM UNDER SIEGE - Bloggers' rights: Storm brews in cyberspace By ANUSHA Subramanian Hindustan Times, Mumbai, http://70.86.150.98/Hindustantimes/artMailDisp.aspx?article=12_10_2005_003_003&typ=0&pub=264 FOR THE first time in the history of Indian cyberia, it appears that a blogger has had to quit his job for expressing his personal opinion on a particular educational institute, and on the claims that it makes through its advertisements. Blogger and Mumbai resident Gaurav Sabnis, who till recently worked with IBM Mumbai's server department had, in his personal blog gauravsabnis.blogspot.com, linked to an article in JAM magazine that questioned the veracity of IIPM's advertising. He had added a comment of his own, raising questions about the educational qualifications of IIPM's founder, author and management guru Arindam Chaudhuri. IIPM reacted by issuing Sabnis with an e-notice that threatened him with a lawsuit if he did not withdraw his post. According to Sabnis, IIPM also got in touch with his employers, IBM, and attempted to pressurise them to have him remove the blog posts. Failing that, IIPM reportedly told IBM, their students would burn the ThinkPads that IBM had supplied to IIPM. Sabnis is categorical, however, that IBM did not ask him to leave. "I was not pressurised in any manner by IBM to resign," he said. "The decision to quit was entirely mine. I value my freedom of speech and therefore I stand by my posts. And I do not think it is right that my employers should be dragged into this matter." IBM's spokesperson prefers not to comment at this point in time. However, IIPM is now working towards sending a physical copy of the legal notice to Sabnis, seeking damages for defamation. "We are not concerned about the blog, and in no way has the written matter on the blog affected us," says A. Sandip, IIPM's all-India dean. "But we are going to take legal action against the blogger for defamation. The person is identifiable. It is a legal notice against the person and not the blog." The events have raised quite a ruckus in the Indian blogosphere. Both Sabnis's and JAM editor Rashmi Bansal's blogs have been flamed by anonymous commentators. And several bloggers across the country have objected to this "cyber-harassment". What all this now comes down to is the issue of free speech, as there are no specific laws for blogging. Pavan Duggal, a Supreme Court advocate specialising in cyber laws, says, "Blogs are not specifically covered in the IT Act of India. Secondly, every citizen has, except in certain extraordinary circumstances, the fundamental right to freedom of speech under the Constitution. This incident of a blogger being threatened with legal action clearly reflects the need for a clarification of the rights of a blogger." In the meantime, another blog ­ realgauravsabnis.blogspot.com ­has come up. And now, the question is who the real Sabnis is. Duggal says, "There are practical problems that will arise out of this case. The foremost problem would be that of identifying the right Gaurav Sabnis. It will become very hard for IIPM to prove the identity of the blogger and that he has written the blogs". The story so far June 15 JAM magazine runs a story on the Indian Institute of Planning & Management (IIPM) titled `The Truth about IIPM's Tall Claims' June 15-30 Rashmi Bansal, editor of JAM, posts a one-liner in her personal blog youthcurry.blogspot.com- which says, "Read The Truth about IIPM's Tall Claims in JAM" August 1-8 Reactionary article on JAM piece by Gaurav Sabnis on his personal blog gauravsabnis.blogspot.com. Sabnis is an alumnus of IIM Lucknow and was working with IBM Oct 4 Sabnis receives intimidating mail from IIPM threatening legal action Oct 10 Sabnis quits IBM allegedly after IIPM put pressure on his employers o o o o o For continuous updates see www.desipundit.com From amitrbasu50 at yahoo.co.in Fri Oct 14 12:52:38 2005 From: amitrbasu50 at yahoo.co.in (Amit Basu) Date: Fri, 14 Oct 2005 08:22:38 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Fellow ex-I-Fellow on ragging In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20051014072238.63404.qmail@web8508.mail.in.yahoo.com> Shivam, Good that you have raised the issue again. Yes the 'joke' form is a way to demean something. I live in Kolkata and have heard from some left-intellectuals that 'too much is being made out of ragging, which is a different way to get friendly to the juniors'! Amit Shivam wrote: Dear esteemed readers of the (crumbling :) ) Sarai Reader List: I thought I wouldn't do this, but it was too tempting to subject you to another post on ragging. I recently exchanged some emails with a fellow ex-I-Fellow, excerpts from which she has allowed me to put on this list. In a tea break during the I Fellows workshop, I had overheard someone making fun of The Stop Ragging Campaign. Making fun of anything is very easy, but understanding it may be a completely different ball game. Cheers Shivam o o o o o Hi! I read about your Stop Ragging Campaign through Sarai Reader List. I recently joined a post graduate institute ***. I am filled with anger and disgust that in a PG institute with the knowledge of the Administration ragging took place. As I never have stayed in a Hostel all though my life, it took me few moments why we were asked to assemble on the terrace. As each of us were being ragged, i was scared. Because there were no right answers to their questions and the whole incident was very unpredictable. You never know what would happen next.....I just broke down out of confusion. it was really strange. I must confess that there are many seniors who were against the whole affair. They tried their best but they were far and few of them. Next day, before ragging began I yelled at the seniors threatening them with a FIR. Suddenly, after abuses hurled...everything cooled down and i was told that this was a ice breaking session and that as i girl i have to get strong to face the male dominated industry that i will be working in.... After the ragging session was over, the very same seniors who were involved in ragging turned out to be 'very nice people'. Everybody behaves as if nothing as happened. I just want to read a bit about the 'history' ragging...cud u please. help me with books, websites or any info. Thanking You, with warm regards, o o o Hi, I'm glad you spoke up and threatened them with an FIR. At least you knew that it is punishable. See www.stopragging.org. The important this is for you to be able to bring about a change next year. Best wishes and keep me updated, Shivam o o o Hi! Your website is exhaustive. Your dedication and work is reflected in it.....I am going through it page by page...... thanks for everything. Please do inform me if u need any help. With warm regards, o o o o Excerpt from another mail from her: yes, the ragging has stopped in my institute. In fact my batch, confronted the seniors within ten days of ragging. We told them clearly that we will just not attend the ragging sessions. After that the ragging did not take place. There was only uncomfortable silence. we also had a freshers party. Shivam, but i must confess that I still cannot forget those endless nights. In all the little years of my teaching, I would categorically tell students not to fear teachers. Fear is the worst kind of abuse. Unless we do not make the means to education non violent, we really cannot stop violence around us. I might sound idealistic but ceratinly i do not deny facts. The fact of ragging. o o o o o _________________________________________ 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: --------------------------------- Yahoo! India Matrimony: Find your partner now. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20051014/47995945/attachment.html From shuddha at sarai.net Fri Oct 14 15:20:35 2005 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Fri, 14 Oct 2005 15:20:35 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fellow ex-I-Fellow on ragging In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <434F7F6B.1090603@sarai.net> Dear Shivam, thanks to you, and to your anoymous correspondent for forwarding the mail on ragging to the list. I for one have always been deeply uncomfortable with the 'lightness' with which 'ragging' is treated. I have nothing against people pushing the limits with each other in terms of what they think is acceptable between them in terms of behaviour. Horesplay, teasing, even violence in different forms is part of the normal warp and weft of daily life. But I think ragging takes things on to a different register altogether. It introduces the element of an a priori hierarchy into the mix of the rough edges of interaction between people wh really speaking, are peers. It is this unthinking acceptance of the element of hierarchy which underlies ragging that I find most disturbing. And I think that the reason why many 'progressive intellectuals' within our university community are willing to not take a tough line on ragging is because, actually, they have no problems with the playing out of the idea of an a priori hierarchy in everyday life. It does not surprise me in the least when someone who is openly sexist, or casteist or communal is also someone who invests heavily in the idea of ragging. What is interesting to ask is why 'ragging' is looked upon so benignly by people who would otherwise leave no stone unturned in demonstrating how Perhaps this ties in to a continuing, secret and paradoxical affection that many amongst us (especially those who claim for themselves the mantle of a so called enlightened liberality- a non sexist, anti communal, anti casteist identity) have for the feudal and casteist norms that normalize hierarchy - where the cutting remark, the sardonic sneer, the putting someone in their place, the ordering people about, and the whole discourse of 'aukad' is so much a part of the way in which people unthinkingly behave with one another. It is interesting to see how passionate people become in the 'defence' of ragging, once they are provoked into a reflection on their own self and where they stand, or have stood, and it is interesting ask why this should be do. Let me offer a speculative attempt towards an answer, perhaps because in all other spheres of life it is difficult for progressive, liberal, open-minded, left leaning, intellectuals to sustain some kind of naturalized 'hierarchy' argument, the intimate sphere of 'hostels, college, canteen' can be in some senses seen as the secret last resort of the theatre of naturalized hierarchy. No one can say any longer that 'domestic violence' or the psychological humiliation of a new bride is one way for a husband, the in-laws and the new bried to 'get to know' each other. So where else can progressive intellectuals locate and a small niche of justifiable hierarchical domination - in the no less intimate sphere of the hostel and the canteen. I do not take this space lightly, in a country where the college, the hostel is a formative space for millions of young people, many of whom leave cloistered worlds at home, or the environment of small towns, or villages, to come to cities to study, the first encounter with the 'enlightened liberality' of the university is the indifference of the faculty and the violence of the ragger. I am sure it introduces something into the behaviour patterns of millions of Indian men and women, just as I am sure that the inhumanity of the board exam system introduces lifelong feelings of competitiveness, anxiety and lack of confidence. It is interesting that in all the debate over the 'content' of education in our country, with secularists and communalists crying themselves hoarse about what people should or should not read in their textbooks, so little attention is paid to the actual ambience and environment of educational institutions. You can have the most squeaky clean liberal and secular textbooks in the world, but the way in which campus life is actually led, with its written and unwritten codes of domination and subordination, its arcane labyrinth of 'jats', 'biharis' , 'chinkies', 'mossies' and 'freshers' and 'fresh maal' will continue to produce closet and open little fascists of every political and apolitical colour and persuasion. Shivam wrote: >Dear esteemed readers of the (crumbling :) ) Sarai Reader List: > >I thought I wouldn't do this, but it was too tempting to subject you >to another post on ragging. > >I recently exchanged some emails with a fellow ex-I-Fellow, excerpts >from which she has allowed me to put on this list. > >In a tea break during the I Fellows workshop, I had overheard someone >making fun of The Stop Ragging Campaign. Making fun of anything is >very easy, but understanding it may be a completely different ball >game. > >Cheers >Shivam > > >o o o o o > >Hi! > >I read about your Stop Ragging Campaign through Sarai Reader List. > >I recently joined a post graduate institute ***. I am filled with >anger and disgust that in a PG institute with the knowledge of the >Administration ragging took place. > >As I never have stayed in a Hostel all though my life, it took me few >moments why we were asked to assemble on the terrace. As each of us >were being ragged, i was scared. Because there were no right answers >to their questions and the whole incident was very unpredictable. You >never know what would happen next.....I just broke down out of >confusion. it was really strange. > >I must confess that there are many seniors who were against the whole >affair. They tried their best but they were far and few of them. > >Next day, before ragging began I yelled at the seniors threatening >them with a FIR. Suddenly, after abuses hurled...everything cooled >down and i was told that this was a ice breaking session and that as i >girl i have to get strong to face the male dominated industry that i >will be working in.... > >After the ragging session was over, the very same seniors who were >involved in ragging turned out to be 'very nice people'. Everybody >behaves as if nothing as happened. > >I just want to read a bit about the 'history' ragging...cud u please. >help me with books, websites or any info. > >Thanking You, >with warm regards, > > >o o o > >Hi, > >I'm glad you spoke up and threatened them with an FIR. At least you >knew that it is punishable. See www.stopragging.org. > >The important this is for you to be able to bring about a change next year. > >Best wishes and keep me updated, >Shivam > >o o o > >Hi! >Your website is exhaustive. Your dedication and work is reflected in >it.....I am going through it page by page...... > >thanks for everything. >Please do inform me if u need any help. > >With warm regards, > > >o o o o > >Excerpt from another mail from her: > >yes, the ragging has stopped in my institute. In fact my batch, >confronted the seniors within ten days of ragging. We told them >clearly that we will just not attend the ragging sessions. After that >the ragging did not take place. There was only uncomfortable silence. >we also had a freshers party. > >Shivam, but i must confess that I still cannot forget those endless >nights. In all the little years of my teaching, I would categorically >tell students not to fear teachers. Fear is the worst kind of abuse. >Unless we do not make the means to education non violent, we really >cannot stop violence around us. I might sound idealistic but ceratinly >i do not deny facts. The fact of ragging. > >o o o o o >_________________________________________ >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: > > > -- Shuddhabrata Sengupta (Raqs Media Collective) The Sarai Programme Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi 110054, India Phone : + 91 11 23960040 Fax : + 91 11 23943450 E Mail : shuddha at sarai.net http://www.sarai.net http://www.raqsmediacollective.net From keith at thememorybank.co.uk Fri Oct 14 16:02:02 2005 From: keith at thememorybank.co.uk (Keith Hart) Date: Fri, 14 Oct 2005 12:32:02 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] Of lawyers and corporate scandals In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <434F8922.2020206@thememorybank.co.uk> Amit, Thank you so much for this piece whose spirit and letter I strongly endorse. I beleive that th ereturn of morality to law, politics and business is imminent, at least as a minority movement. And no 20th century figure better exemplifies what that might mean than Gandhi. A case can be made that some features of the information revolution support a shift towards more ethical approaches to public responsibilities, as in this BBC programme: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4271524.stm I have recently published an essay, The Hit Man's Dilemma: or business, personal and impersonal, which explores the apparent contradiction symbolised by a fictional gangster caught between huamnity and inhumanity. The argument takes in corporate privatisation of the cultural comons through intelelctual property or 'information feudalism'. Some copies of this are being distributed through Lawrence Liang's Alternative Legal Forum in Bangalore. But a similar version is avaliable online at: http://www.thememorybank.co.uk/publications/thmd Keith Hart From shivam at zestgroups.net Sat Oct 15 12:43:16 2005 From: shivam at zestgroups.net (Shivam) Date: Sat, 15 Oct 2005 12:43:16 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fellow ex-I-Fellow on ragging In-Reply-To: <434F7F6B.1090603@sarai.net> References: <434F7F6B.1090603@sarai.net> Message-ID: Dear Shuddha, Thanks for eloquently saying what I have been trying to for a long time. More than ragging itself is the status of ragging as a politically correct activity that is disturbing. You have set me thinking on how and why people come to have the political inclinations that they do. Regards Shivam On 10/14/05, Shuddhabrata Sengupta wrote: > Dear Shivam, > > thanks to you, and to your anoymous correspondent for forwarding the > mail on ragging to the list. I for one have always been deeply > uncomfortable with the 'lightness' with which 'ragging' is treated. I > have nothing against people pushing the limits with each other in terms > of what they think is acceptable between them in terms of behaviour. > Horesplay, teasing, even violence in different forms is part of the > normal warp and weft of daily life. But I think ragging takes things on > to a different register altogether. It introduces the element of an a > priori hierarchy into the mix of the rough edges of interaction between > people wh really speaking, are peers. It is this unthinking acceptance > of the element of hierarchy which underlies ragging that I find most > disturbing. And I think that the reason why many 'progressive > intellectuals' within our university community are willing to not take a > tough line on ragging is because, actually, they have no problems with > the playing out of the idea of an a priori hierarchy in everyday life. > It does not surprise me in the least when someone who is openly sexist, > or casteist or communal is also someone who invests heavily in the idea > of ragging. What is interesting to ask is why 'ragging' is looked upon > so benignly by people who would otherwise leave no stone unturned in > demonstrating how > > Perhaps this ties in to a continuing, secret and paradoxical affection > that many amongst us (especially those who claim for themselves the > mantle of a so called enlightened liberality- a non sexist, anti > communal, anti casteist identity) have for the feudal and casteist norms > that normalize hierarchy - where the cutting remark, the sardonic sneer, > the putting someone in their place, the ordering people about, and the > whole discourse of 'aukad' is so much a part of the way in which people > unthinkingly behave with one another. It is interesting to see how > passionate people become in the 'defence' of ragging, once they are > provoked into a reflection on their own self and where they stand, or > have stood, and it is interesting ask why this should be do. Let me > offer a speculative attempt towards an answer, perhaps because in all > other spheres of life it is difficult for progressive, liberal, > open-minded, left leaning, intellectuals to sustain some kind of > naturalized 'hierarchy' argument, the intimate sphere of 'hostels, > college, canteen' can be in some senses seen as the secret last resort > of the theatre of naturalized hierarchy. No one can say any longer that > 'domestic violence' or the psychological humiliation of a new bride is > one way for a husband, the in-laws and the new bried to 'get to know' > each other. So where else can progressive intellectuals locate and a > small niche of justifiable hierarchical domination - in the no less > intimate sphere of the hostel and the canteen. > > I do not take this space lightly, in a country where the college, the > hostel is a formative space for millions of young people, many of whom > leave cloistered worlds at home, or the environment of small towns, or > villages, to come to cities to study, the first encounter with the > 'enlightened liberality' of the university is the indifference of the > faculty and the violence of the ragger. I am sure it introduces > something into the behaviour patterns of millions of Indian men and > women, just as I am sure that the inhumanity of the board exam system > introduces lifelong feelings of competitiveness, anxiety and lack of > confidence. It is interesting that in all the debate over the 'content' > of education in our country, with secularists and communalists crying > themselves hoarse about what people should or should not read in their > textbooks, so little attention is paid to the actual ambience and > environment of educational institutions. You can have the most squeaky > clean liberal and secular textbooks in the world, but the way in which > campus life is actually led, with its written and unwritten codes of > domination and subordination, its arcane labyrinth of 'jats', 'biharis' > , 'chinkies', 'mossies' and 'freshers' and 'fresh maal' will continue to > produce closet and open little fascists of every political and > apolitical colour and persuasion. > > > > > > > > Shivam wrote: > > >Dear esteemed readers of the (crumbling :) ) Sarai Reader List: > > > >I thought I wouldn't do this, but it was too tempting to subject you > >to another post on ragging. > > > >I recently exchanged some emails with a fellow ex-I-Fellow, excerpts > >from which she has allowed me to put on this list. > > > >In a tea break during the I Fellows workshop, I had overheard someone > >making fun of The Stop Ragging Campaign. Making fun of anything is > >very easy, but understanding it may be a completely different ball > >game. > > > >Cheers > >Shivam > > > > > >o o o o o > > > >Hi! > > > >I read about your Stop Ragging Campaign through Sarai Reader List. > > > >I recently joined a post graduate institute ***. I am filled with > >anger and disgust that in a PG institute with the knowledge of the > >Administration ragging took place. > > > >As I never have stayed in a Hostel all though my life, it took me few > >moments why we were asked to assemble on the terrace. As each of us > >were being ragged, i was scared. Because there were no right answers > >to their questions and the whole incident was very unpredictable. You > >never know what would happen next.....I just broke down out of > >confusion. it was really strange. > > > >I must confess that there are many seniors who were against the whole > >affair. They tried their best but they were far and few of them. > > > >Next day, before ragging began I yelled at the seniors threatening > >them with a FIR. Suddenly, after abuses hurled...everything cooled > >down and i was told that this was a ice breaking session and that as i > >girl i have to get strong to face the male dominated industry that i > >will be working in.... > > > >After the ragging session was over, the very same seniors who were > >involved in ragging turned out to be 'very nice people'. Everybody > >behaves as if nothing as happened. > > > >I just want to read a bit about the 'history' ragging...cud u please. > >help me with books, websites or any info. > > > >Thanking You, > >with warm regards, > > > > > >o o o > > > >Hi, > > > >I'm glad you spoke up and threatened them with an FIR. At least you > >knew that it is punishable. See www.stopragging.org. > > > >The important this is for you to be able to bring about a change next year. > > > >Best wishes and keep me updated, > >Shivam > > > >o o o > > > >Hi! > >Your website is exhaustive. Your dedication and work is reflected in > >it.....I am going through it page by page...... > > > >thanks for everything. > >Please do inform me if u need any help. > > > >With warm regards, > > > > > >o o o o > > > >Excerpt from another mail from her: > > > >yes, the ragging has stopped in my institute. In fact my batch, > >confronted the seniors within ten days of ragging. We told them > >clearly that we will just not attend the ragging sessions. After that > >the ragging did not take place. There was only uncomfortable silence. > >we also had a freshers party. > > > >Shivam, but i must confess that I still cannot forget those endless > >nights. In all the little years of my teaching, I would categorically > >tell students not to fear teachers. Fear is the worst kind of abuse. > >Unless we do not make the means to education non violent, we really > >cannot stop violence around us. I might sound idealistic but ceratinly > >i do not deny facts. The fact of ragging. > > > >o o o o o > >_________________________________________ > >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: > > > > > > > > > -- > Shuddhabrata Sengupta (Raqs Media Collective) > The Sarai Programme > Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) > 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi 110054, India > Phone : + 91 11 23960040 > Fax : + 91 11 23943450 > E Mail : shuddha at sarai.net > http://www.sarai.net > http://www.raqsmediacollective.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: > > -- "We are protean. We can become anything." - MM www.shivamvij.com (Blog) | mail at shivamvij.com (Email & MSN) From shivam at zestgroups.net Sun Oct 16 16:15:49 2005 From: shivam at zestgroups.net (Shivam) Date: Sun, 16 Oct 2005 16:15:49 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fellow ex-I-Fellow on ragging In-Reply-To: References: <434F7F6B.1090603@sarai.net> Message-ID: Am sorry about "spammimg" you all again, but there's just been a ragging suicide in Jalandhar in a 'National Institute of Technology'. So it goes, so it goes... See http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1261982.cms Excerpt: "You call it ragging but it is humiliation and should be banned. It is, but everyday students are ragged in the college. They are made naked and ordered to do bad things. This all has brought me to this point. I can't tell it even to my parents. It is not justified but I can't bear it any more." Amit Kumar, reg. no. 234, industrial engineering, room no. 312, Hostel I, NIT, Jalandhar. This suicide note, left by Amit from Bareilly, UP, says it all. It was recovered by Government Railway Police staff from a cupboard in his hostel room. A first year student of the NIT here, Amit had jumped before a train on Tuesday night. The note gives the names of 10 of Amit's seniors who ragged him, their branches and home states. "Sir" follows every name, exhibiting the lasting terror of the seniors. From hfg at konsumerziehung.de Sun Oct 16 19:33:15 2005 From: hfg at konsumerziehung.de (he tears consume) Date: Sun, 16 Oct 2005 16:03:15 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] Meine heimliche Mitarbeit an normative bebilderung In-Reply-To: References: <434F7F6B.1090603@sarai.net> Message-ID: http://subjektivation.de/alfred_andrea_sawatzki.mov Offener Brief an Sab Internet, Direktor des Landes Kunstmuseum Frankfurt und die Kuratoren Thomas Erdelmeier, Stella Bumsig und Florian Cramer Berlin, den 11.10.2005 Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, sehr geehrte Direktion, sehr geehrte Kuratoren, wie ich vor wenigen Tagen herausfinden durfte, besteht das von Ihnen herausgegebene Internet-Archiv "normative bebiderung" (Lukas & Sternberg, Wien, 2005) u.a. aus meinem Film "Vom freien Gebrauch der Bilder und Normen", den ich im Jahr 2002 fertig gestellt habe und der unter anderem unter der Adresse veröffentlicht ist. Dieser Film erscheint im Archiv leicht gekürzt und anonymisiert, ohne Autoren- und Quellenangabe, als Teil eines 246 Terabyte umfassenden Gesamtwerks, für den das Landes Kunstmuseum verantwortlich zeichnet. Wie Sie selbst wissen, bin ich zu keinem Zeitpunkt von Ihnen wegen der Verwendung gefragt oder auch nur informiert worden, habe kein Geld erhalten und bin so nur durch Zufall - als heimlicher Nutzer des Archives nämlich - auf meinen Film darin gestoßen. Wenn eine öffentliche Institution wie das Landes Kunstmuseum glaubt, Recht und institutionelle Ethik vorsätzlich brechen zu können, handelt es wie ein Staat, der seine eigenen Gesetze gegenüber seinen Bürgern systematisch mißachtet. Dies ist nicht subversiv oder kritisch, sondern zynisch. Mit freundlichen Grüßen, Alfred Andrea Sawatzki http://subjektivation.de/ http://subjektivation.de/alfred_andrea_sawatzki.mov [alfred andrea sawatzki] 15.10.2005, 15m30s archiv fuer kontemplative bewegtbilddokumentation frankfurt am main From anupam_iase at yahoo.co.in Sat Oct 15 12:49:03 2005 From: anupam_iase at yahoo.co.in (anupam pachauri) Date: Sat, 15 Oct 2005 08:19:03 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Staging of Court Martial at KMC Message-ID: <20051015071903.86681.qmail@web8404.mail.in.yahoo.com> SWADESH DEEPAK'S COURT-MARTIAL ________________________ Direction - Arvind Gaur Date: October 18, 2005 Time: 11.30 am Venue: Auditorium, Kirorimal College, North Campus, University of Delhi ABOUT THE PLAY _______________ When respect is denied to a man for the only reason that he is borne by 'low-caste' parents, the offence cannot simply be termed as a social violence. It assumes larger proportions of crime against humanity and society at large. Yet by the turn in situation the murderer becomes a winner whereas the victim is unforgiven. The culprit may receive severe punishment at the hands of the law but, in fact, it is the society which is put in the docks. Court Martial,written by Swadesh Deepak, is a story of recruit Ram Chander who is tried for murdering one of his officers and injuring another. The Court Martial is presided by a war veteran. Col. Surat Singh who has witnessed many 'life –and –death' situation. But this trial puts him in a queer position, so far unknown to him, and during the course of interrogation he realize that the issues at stake are much larger than what meets the eye. Realizing that the Indian Army is the only government agency in which reservation on caste basis is not permissible. Court Martial presents a combination of legal and poetic justice. CRITICS SAY _______________ Tight pace of Court Martial .not to be missed . - \nKavita Nagpal (H.T.) Gaur\'s hard hitting realism ..His infinitely intelligent approach .strong play. - Aruna Ahluwalia (E.News)\n Kudos to Court Martial .a drama that went beyond the limits of drama . - (Indian Express) \nThe Asmita team has created a marvelous piece of theatre out of a\nwonderful script .don\'t miss it. The times spent watching it is well\nworth it. -Smita Narula (Pioneer) Stealing scenes with revolt as the theme .Court Martial was an engrossing display of theatre for social awareness.\n -Sushama Chadha (T.O.I.) Excellent acting, live and memorable ..worth visit. \n -Ajit Rai (N.B.T.) ABOUT THE GROUP ___________________ ASMITA\n(A Sedulous Move for Innovative Theatre Activities) stands committed to\naesthetically innovative and socially relevant theatre. It takes up\ncontemporary issues to underline the contours of our time while\nproviding the best of entertainment. It is today one of the leading\nhindi theatre groups in the country. To date, it has 48 production to its credit and on an average has been performing for about 60 nights a year. All\nthese plays have been directed by Asmita\'s Resident, Director Arvind\nGaur. For ASMITA, theatre has a purpose of awakening the audience to\ncontemporary issue and creating a dialogue on prevailing social\nproblems. It has carved a niche for itself in the Indian theatre\nscene by staging plays of varied socio-political interest while not\nlosing out mass appeal.",1]);//--> CAST ______ (In order of appearance) Col. Surat Singh : Susan Brar Judge consultant- I : Sandeep Srivastava Judge consultant­-II : Amita Walia Judge-III: Shamim Gandhi / Rajesh Mishra IV: Sunil rawat / Mohit Chabbra V: Rajesh Kumar / Awadesh Kr. Major Ajay Puri : Ajeet Kumar Mahato Capatian Bikash Rai : Pushpraj Rawat Subedar Balwan Singh : Prageet Pandit Cap. Dr. Gupta : Vipin Arora Lt. Col. Breajendra Rawat : Amit Rana Captian BD. Kapoor : Akhilesh Praveen Ramchander : Rohan Madeshya Soldier -I : Shilendra Bist Soldier –II : Rakesh Shah ENACTMENTS___________ Ramchandar : Sidharth Dubey Capatian Kapoor : Tanmay /Siddarth Dubey Mrs. Kapoor : Anupam Pachauri Soldiers : Sanjay Chawhan, Kartik Shah, Abhijit, Suleman Khan, Aman Sharma, Deepak Rajor,Abeer Mourya, Amit Baisoya, Sharad Verma, Prabhakar Ranjan, Abhishek Sharma, Rajesh raj, Nitin Garg,Ashutosh Das Music : Dr. Sangeeta Gaur PRODUCTION ____________ Sunil Rawat,Sharad Verma,Akhilesh Praveen,Ajit Mahto,Susan Brar,Kranti Pratap Singh,Sandeep Srivastava --------------------------------- Yahoo! India Matrimony: Find your partner now. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20051015/3c9f21e0/attachment.html From irabhaskar at vsnl.net Sat Oct 15 10:32:15 2005 From: irabhaskar at vsnl.net (Ira Bhaskar) Date: Sat, 15 Oct 2005 10:32:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] A Film Scriptwiting Workshop by Anjum Rajabali at the Habitat Centre Message-ID: <000801c5d145$9dec8800$66ec41db@zxy> The Habitat Film Club presents A Film Scriptwriting Workshop by Anjum Rajabali 11-20 November, 2005 Anjum Rajabali is an independent, professional scriptwriter for the Bombay Film industry, and has been writing scripts for feature films for the last 12 years. Apart from writing features independently, he has also collaborated on scripts with some well-known names in the film industry including Govind Nihalani and Rajkumar Santoshi. Films based on his scripts include Ghulam (1998), Kachche Dhaage (1999), The Legend of Bhagat Singh (2002), Drohkaal (1995 � co-written), China Gate (1998 � co-written), and Pukar (2000 � co-written). He has also received formal training in scriptwriting under the Professional Program in Screenwriting Online at the UCLA, in 1998-99. He is the Course Consultant for the one-year Certificate Course in Screenplay Writing at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. His current professional writing committments include scripts for Rajiv Menon, Rajkumar Santoshi, Baba Azmi, Prakash Jha, Vipul Shah and two for iDream Production. Anjum is also a script consultant with iDream Productions, Bombay. The Film Scriptwriting Workshop This workshop is ideally designed for people who not only want to become scriptwriters, but have already done some work in the subject. Even if they haven�t written full scripts, they should at least have written story-ideas and stories for potential film-scripts on their own, and even tried to explore the craft - formally or informally. (And yet, the workshop doesn�t preclude rank beginners from applying either. The absolute basic eligibility to attend this workshop is to have a serious interest in writing scripts.) This 10-day workshop, has been designed to offer a substantial introduction to the subject of Film Scriptwriting, with a clear understanding of all its basic principles, aspects and elements. This should give participants a solid foundation on which to build a further understanding of the craft. And in this direction, there will be enough guidelines offered in the workshop - on how to continue the process of learning the craft on one's own so as to become full-fledged scriptwriters. The ultimate aim and goal of the workshop is to equip participants with an understanding of the basic principles and practical training to launch them on the course to becoming professional film scriptwritersoHowevea;lkjs g. To that end, the workshop will get participants to actually write under supervision: from theme, to premise, to story to even treatment for a screenplay. If completed successfully, this exercise should ensure that participants will be able to complete the rest of the stages � step-outline to full script - on their own. For those who have always dreamt of writing for films, this is a chance to acquire some training. Modus operandi: The instructional part will cover all the basic principles of film scriptwriting via lectures by the instructor. Each lecture will comprise of a talk followed by an interactive Q&A session with the participants. The practical part (writing-under-supervision) will consist of intensive sessions where the participants will interact with the instructor � collectively and individually - on their pitches, stories and treatments, and discuss the revisions of the same. For this each participant will have to come to the workshop with a five-page story which he/she wants to convert into a screenplay. Schedule : The 10 day workshop will be conducted in the evenings between 6 and 9 pm on weekdays and during the day from 10 am to 6 pm on the two Weekends that fall during this period. Application Process : A Maximum of 14 participants will be selected for the workshop. Those interested may apply with the following details at the Programme Desk, India Habitat Centre: i. Name, address, telephone, e-mail id ii. Age, gender iii. Current profession iv. A brief note on why you want to become a scriptwriter v. A story (or story-idea) for a film-script in three paragraphs vi.A list of five favourite movies, with the story of the first one in just one paragraph All applications will be screened by Anjum who will also make the final selection of the participants for the Workshop. Course Fees : Rs 6,000 Students : Rs 3000. Students are encouraged to apply - there will be 3 slots for students. The applications will be screened separately, and the final selection will be made by Anjum. Last Date for the applications to come in : 28th October, 2005. The selected candidates will be informed by email. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20051015/1f010bb6/attachment.html From khadeejaarif1 at rediffmail.com Sun Oct 16 20:55:26 2005 From: khadeejaarif1 at rediffmail.com (khadeeja arif) Date: 16 Oct 2005 15:25:26 -0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Fellow ex-I-Fellow on ragging Message-ID: <20051016152526.9582.qmail@webmail36.rediffmail.com> Dear Shivam, I am Khadeeja and I work at Sarai. I have been following your emails with some interest (when you were an I fellow and even post that). I am interested in your posts because they discursively engage with a subject which all of us identify with; they talk of an experience that we all have gone through, but somehow were not able to express it. Your research on ragging is not just novel but also IMPORTANT and I am sure you have gain tremendous support of people all around. The reason I am writing this mail is to tell you that your research on ragging is crucial and you must work on it more and post on the list with the same confidence as you used to do it during I fellow period. I have noticed that all your post I fellow posting on the reader list have an apology in the begining .. I dont think that you should feel apologetic about writing on a list which is open to all and meant to actually initiate dialogue and debate about issues that concerns you and people at large.. So please dont feel shy of postings on the list.. Your research project at Sarai might have ended technically but it dose not mean that you should not continue the dialogue on the list... I look forward to more of your posts Best Khadeeja On Sun, 16 Oct 2005 Shivam wrote : >Am sorry about "spammimg" you all again, but there's just been a >ragging suicide in Jalandhar in a 'National Institute of Technology'. >So it goes, so it goes... > > >See http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1261982.cms > >Excerpt: > >"You call it ragging but it is humiliation and should be banned. It >is, but everyday students are ragged in the college. They are made >naked and ordered to do bad things. This all has brought me to this >point. I can't tell it even to my parents. It is not justified but I >can't bear it any more." > >Amit Kumar, reg. no. 234, industrial engineering, room no. 312, Hostel >I, NIT, Jalandhar. This suicide note, left by Amit from Bareilly, UP, >says it all. It was recovered by Government Railway Police staff from >a cupboard in his hostel room. A first year student of the NIT here, >Amit had jumped before a train on Tuesday night. > >The note gives the names of 10 of Amit's seniors who ragged him, their >branches and home states. "Sir" follows every name, exhibiting the >lasting terror of the seniors. >_________________________________________ >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: -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20051016/03e0da0c/attachment.html From gif at 220hex.org Sat Oct 15 20:06:42 2005 From: gif at 220hex.org (220hex) Date: Sat, 15 Oct 2005 16:36:42 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] Piksel05 :: 'collective code' - artistic program Message-ID: <200510151636.44307.gif@220hex.org> ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| -- Piksel05 - 'collective code' -- october 16-23. 2005 -- artistic program online ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Piksel05 - festival for free / libre and open source audiovisual software and art kicks off this weekend in Bergen, Norway. The Piksel05 artistic program is curated by Isabelle Arvers and Gisle Frøysland as a collaboration with pixelACHE 2006[1] in Helsinki and Mal au Pixel 2006 in Paris. Some of the projects will be selected to be shown in Helsinki and/or Paris. The program is now online at: www.piksel.no/piksel05 ----- Piksel[2] is an annual event for artists and developers working with free/libre and open source audiovisual software. Part workshop, part festival, it is organised in Bergen, Norway, by the Bergen Centre for Electronic Arts (BEK)[3] and involves participants from more than a dozen countries exchanging ideas, coding, presenting art and software projects, doing workshops, performances and discussions on the aesthetics and politics of open source. The development, and therefore use, of digital technology today is mainly controlled by multinational corporations. Despite the prospects of technology expanding the means of artistic expression, the commercial demands of the software industries severely limit them instead. Piksel is focusing on the open source movement as a strategy for regaining artistic control of the technology, but also a means to bring attention to the close connections between art, politics, technology and economy ---- [1] http://www.pixelache.ac [2] http://www.piksel.no [3] http://www.bek.no ----- -- +---gif at bek.no +47329234+4790665018c.sundtsgt.55,5004bg. www.xn--frysland-64a.com ---+ http://mob.bek.no From iram at sarai.net Mon Oct 17 18:11:10 2005 From: iram at sarai.net (Iram Ghufran) Date: Mon, 17 Oct 2005 18:11:10 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: APPEAL TO CANCELL WSF- JAN '2006 Message-ID: <43539BE6.4020705@sarai.net> -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net Subject: Forward of moderated message Date: Mon, 17 Oct 2005 07:24:04 +0200 Size: 8434 Url: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20051017/dd6455c7/attachment.mht From reyhanchaudhuri at eth.net Mon Oct 17 13:15:47 2005 From: reyhanchaudhuri at eth.net (reyhan chaudhuri) Date: Mon, 17 Oct 2005 13:15:47 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fellow ex-I-Fellow on ragging References: <434F7F6B.1090603@sarai.net> Message-ID: <008801c5d2ee$cadda560$5aec41db@ReyhanChaudhuri> Dear Readers, I'm a teacher and Medical Officer,for a considerable part of the day.Every year ,during the new Session we face this problem, as do most other teachers in this country. It has always baffled me on 4 points- 1) Whenever you discuss this with other senior students and even sometimes(alas!)'colleagues',at a personal level.We are often met with a 'chuckle' and playful rejoinder " C'mon.Don't be a 'stick-in-the -mud' or 'wet blanket.' ...As long as things do not go 'extreme',let them have a little fun... (NB: I always however dread that if sanctioned openly,there is no barometer to measure,when was it it 'playful ribbing' and when it became offensive or torturous'.) 2) How - when any Senior Student is questioned,her defence is that ,"We were just 'getting to know' them,Ma'am? We didn't know they would over-react." Our answer is generally ,'Do you know 'everyone' in your class"?Does everyone in your class and even your own family,want to interact unwarranted with you, on a one-way basis sans 'personal space' ? I however hope to use this dialogue / line of thought ,next time.(It may be more immediate and 'hit home'...) >>No one can say any longer that 'domestic violence' or the psychological humiliation of a new bride is one way for a husband, the in-laws and the new bried to 'get to know' each other. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Shuddhabrata Sengupta" (3) How 'Raggers' come in all types and shades.You cannot predict by behaviour,resonality or even performance- that this Student may be next year a 'Potential Ragger'. Am always baffled how the cheeky,hyper,loud-volumed,sharp-tongued Student is often very kind and considerate to freshers(though ofcourse some display predictable behaviour) and how very often a timid and introverted student transforms into a terrible 'bully'.. 4) Why is ragging peculiar to our subcontinent?Why does it 'happen'?The Far-East or Western Universities and Colleges ,do not have this despicable phonomenon... From iram at sarai.net Mon Oct 17 19:54:15 2005 From: iram at sarai.net (Iram Ghufran) Date: Mon, 17 Oct 2005 19:54:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Fwd: My Outsourced Life] Message-ID: <4353B40F.8040606@sarai.net> -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net Subject: Forward of moderated message Date: Mon, 17 Oct 2005 07:39:08 +0200 Size: 3802 Url: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20051017/9d4d857d/attachment.mht From oishiksircar at hotmail.com Mon Oct 17 17:19:06 2005 From: oishiksircar at hotmail.com (Oishik Sircar) Date: Mon, 17 Oct 2005 11:49:06 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] MINDSPEAK: MASCULINITIES and THE CITY Film Series Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20051017/439d135b/attachment.html From kristoferpaetau at GMAIL.COM Mon Oct 17 00:29:06 2005 From: kristoferpaetau at GMAIL.COM (Kristofer Paetau) Date: Sun, 16 Oct 2005 20:59:06 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] Xavier Gautiers presents: E.T. & me, Matthew, The garden, Arnold and Peng! Message-ID: <80bd928c0510161159k462c4609s86d081a5bdfcff12@mail.gmail.com> In his artistic research, Xavier Gautier is using old super 8 mm films made by his father, combining them with excerpts of mainstream Movies. Xavier operates a re-interpretation of existing visual documents, blurring the borders of different cinematographic expressions, interveening subjective experience with mainstreammedia. I hope that you will enjoy Xaviers films as much as I do! Please have a look at: http://www.paetau.com/downloads/Friends/XavierGautier.html Best wishes, Kristofer Paetau -- If you do not want mails anymore, you can unsubscribe automatically by sending an empty e-mail from your e-mail account to: ARTINFO-L-unsubscribe-request at listserv.dfn.de If this doesn't work, you probably got this e-mail re-routed through another address: Please reply to this mail and write UNSUBSCRIBE in the mail subject and please indicate some old or alternative e-mail addresses in order to help us unsubscribe you. Thank you and apologizes for the trouble! -- Kristofer Paetau http://www.paetau.com/exhibitions -- From supreet.sethi at gmail.com Mon Oct 17 23:38:30 2005 From: supreet.sethi at gmail.com (s|s) Date: Mon, 17 Oct 2005 23:38:30 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Taj Mahal ka tender , Hindi theatre of the day Message-ID: Hi people, Recently saw this play. Many question arose. And I along with the really short review wanted to share those questions with fellow hindi speaking friends. Taj Mahal ka tender, a play depicting the current style governance. The satire relocates the Emperor Shahjahans wish to make a mosoleum for his beloved in 21st century and its execution or *rather execution* at hand of current beurocracy. The play is so apt, because Hindi/Urdu of our times fits in double meanings and innaundos of corruption so well. But looking at this play, and few others one wonders, whats happening in Hindi/Urdu theater scene. Is satire dead as a style, if not why are we still looking at few plays written 70s and 80s, re-contextualized but still not global in there outlook. Although some like Agra Bazaar, by Habir Tanvir, looks at larger issues taking the perspective of the everyday. But why not now, why are'nt any plays being written in todays context. Is hindi theatre dead. Is it fallen in trap of same beurocratic pen pushing which some of these plays point at in edgy manner. URL: http://supreetsethi.net/drupal/360_hindi_theatre With hope that things are not a bleak as they look S|S -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20051017/5254e0b2/attachment.html From shuddha at sarai.net Mon Oct 17 13:03:17 2005 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Mon, 17 Oct 2005 13:03:17 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Documenting Lives in Sex Work Message-ID: <435353BD.4040107@sarai.net> Dear all, I am forwarding this announcement for an event at Wellseley College on to the Reader List on the request of Shohini Ghosh. It may be of interest especially for member of this list or their friends who live in or near Boston, MA, USA. best Shuddha * DOCUMENTING LIVES IN SEX WORK* *A series of films, roundtable discussion and workshops* * One Red-light District, Two Different Visions: * *Featuring a screening of * *Born into Brothels (2003) * *&* *Tales of the Night Fairies (2002) * *Followed by a Discussion with the filmmakers* *Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman,* *and Shohini Ghosh* *October 25 (Screening of Films) October 27 (Round Table Discussion) * *At the * *Collins Cinema* *Davis Museum and Cultural Center* *Wellesley College* -- Shuddhabrata Sengupta (Raqs Media Collective) The Sarai Programme Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi 110054, India Phone : + 91 11 23960040 Fax : + 91 11 23943450 E Mail : shuddha at sarai.net http://www.sarai.net http://www.raqsmediacollective.net _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From ravikant at sarai.net Tue Oct 18 12:20:05 2005 From: ravikant at sarai.net (Ravikant) Date: Tue, 18 Oct 2005 12:20:05 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Taj Mahal ka tender , Hindi theatre of the day In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <200510181220.05552.ravikant@sarai.net> Dear Supreet, I know some people on the list who have been doing theatre in Delhi for some time and they would be in a much better position to respond but generally speaking I agree with you. There is so much recycling(of Mohan Rakesh, Sarveshwar, Girish Karnad and Habib Tanveer) going on in Hindi thatre that it looks like there isn't much new coming up. Have we witnessed a shift of market value of NSD in recent years? What with Anupam Kher et al, products of NSD, also seen as its success stories, now joining the bandwagon of new acting schools? I know Arvind Gaur's group Asmita is fairly active and I know there is a critical discourse around the NSD publication Rang Prasang. But the hindi theatre scene has not looked as exciting as it once did, in Act One days for example. I could be wrong and would be very happy to be corrected. cheers ravikant On Monday 17 Oct 2005 11:38 pm, s|s wrote: > Hi people, > Recently saw this play. Many question arose. And I along with the really > short review wanted to share those questions with fellow hindi speaking > friends. > From hpp at vsnl.com Wed Oct 19 07:03:46 2005 From: hpp at vsnl.com (hpp at vsnl.com) Date: Wed, 19 Oct 2005 06:33:46 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Lewis Mumford - Child of the City Message-ID: Dear Friends "Only mammalian tenderness and human love have saved mankind from the documented gods that rise up from the unconscious when man lets himself off from the cosmic and earthly sources of his life.” --- Lewis Mumford Today, 19 October, is the 110th birth anniversary of Lewis Mumford, American social philosopher, and one of the leading thinkers and writers of the 20th century. Born in Flushing, New York, Mumford was, in his own words, a child of the city. In an assiduously and single-mindedly pursued writing life, spanning over 60 years, Mumford wrote some thirty books, covering subjects as diverse as the history of cities, the history of machine technology, art and architectural criticism, and literary criticism. He is most widely known for the books "The City in History" and "The Myth of the Machine : The Pentagon of Power". He died on 26 January 1990. Though widely honoured during his lifetime, with fellowships, professorships, awards and honorary doctorates, he remains largely unknown in the field of public culture even in his native America. I am reproducing below an extract from his autobiographical volume "Sketches from Life", which Prof KT Ravindran (of the School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi) once told me moved him to tears. “I loved the great bridges and walked back and forth over them, year after year. ... One twilight hour in early spring, starting from the Brooklyn end, I faced into the west wind sweeping over the rivers from New Jersey. The ragged, slate-blue cumulus clouds that gathered over the horizon left open patches for the light of the waning sun to shine through, and finally, as I reached the middle of the Brooklyn Bridge, the sunlight spread across the sky, forming a halo around the jagged mountain of skyscrapers, with the darkened loft buildings and warehouses huddling below in the foreground. The towers, topped by the golden pinnacles of the new Woolworth building, still caught the light even as it began to ebb away. Three-quarters of the way across the Bridge I saw the skyscrapers in the deepening darkness become slowly honeycombed with lights until, before I reached the Manhattan end, these buildings piled up in a dazzling mass against the indigo sky. Here was my city, immense overpowering, flooded with energy and light; there below lay the river and the harbour, catching the last flakes of gold on their water ... And there was I, breasting the March wind, drinking in the city and the sky, both vast, yet both contained in me, transmitting through me the great mysterious will that had made them and the promise of the new day that was still to come. The world at that moment, opened before me, challenging me, beckoning me, demanding something of me that it would take more than a lifetime to give, but raising all my energies by its own vivid promise to a higher pitch. In that sudden revelation of power and beauty, all the confusions of adolescence dropped from me, and I trod the narrow, resilient boards of the footway with a new confidence that came, not from my isolated self alone but from the collective energies I had confronted and risen to.” V Ramaswamy Calcutta From kavitapai at rediffmail.com Wed Oct 19 10:26:51 2005 From: kavitapai at rediffmail.com (kavita pai) Date: 19 Oct 2005 04:56:51 -0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Zalzala! Message-ID: <20051019045651.16276.qmail@webmail18.rediffmail.com> It happened in Sopore. It happened as I was climbing on to the roof of the Sumo, reluctantly and against my better judgement, to shoot the funeral procession of the two girls killed in Friday's firing in Sopore. Emotions were at a fever pitch and the mourning chants of the women were frequently drowned by the angry slogans of men. Though sympathetic to their grief, I was afraid of rousing them further by pointing the camera at them. But they wanted to be heard and I couldn't refuse, so there I was climbing on to the roof. I'd barely managed to pull myself up, when there were screams and people started running helter skelter. Someone said 'firing', and i thought this is it, the army's opened fire on the procession and we're dead meat. Hastily I scrambled down. The trees, the electricity poles, the houses started swaying. 'Its the accumulated trauma of the past few minutes,' I thought,' I'm probably collapsing under the strain'. It took me a few moments to realise that the ground beneath my feet was also shaking, and people were running not to take cover from army firing, but to escape nature's wrath.. there was only one word on everyone's lips 'zalzala, zalzala..earthquake'! Slowly other sounds started filtering in..voices around us urged us to sit down and stay calm. The chanting of the mourners resumed as if it'd never stopped. All around us people were praying. From the heart rending cries of mothers pleading for justice, the prayers had now taken on the aspect of fear and awe at His wrath, and belief in His mercy.It was as if the quake was divine retribution for the thousands killed in the past 15 years in the valley. It was His way of saying, "I know, and I care." And then I saw X, the maternal cousin of one of the girls killed, crouching with my two companions, reassuring them that they were safe, no harm would come to them.. "You are my sisters," he was telling them, "and Insha allah you'll be fine,"..all of a sudden I wanted to be reassured too. At that moment it was as if my long lost faith was re-ignited, not in God, but in His believers, X and others, who, even in their grief, had not forgotten the three frightened strangers in their midst, who despite the danger to their own life and limb were concerned about our well being, who despite the bleak hopelessness of their existence, had found it in their hearts to pray for us and give us hope. We'd arrived in Sopore only a few minutes ago but it had begun to seem like a lifetime. We were three of us - myself,and my friend and colleague Hansa, who were there in connection with a documentary on Women and Conflict, and our young translator Safia, a local from Srinagar, for whom it was the first day of work. Only the previous day we'd received news of the grenade blast in Sopre followed by the firing in which the two girls were killed, among others.There was also talk of a Fidayeen attack and an ongoing encounter with security personnel. We reached Sopore early morning of the day after and accidently bumping into a recent acquaintance in the town square, asked him about the incident."Yes, they were killed in cross fire," he said, drawing angry denials from local bystanders, who dared us to go to the house of the victims, to their mohalla, if we really wanted to know the truth. "You want to go there? i'll take you there,"said a young man,whose name I still do not know. Before we had time to think, X and his friends had jumped into our vehicle. She was my cousin, he said, killed on her way back from school. We'd like to meet her parents, we mumbled. A little way from the house our vehicle was stopped and we proceeded on foot, followed by a quickly swelling crowd. One either side of me walked X and his friend, grim faced, but constantly reassuring us that we should not be afraid, we were safe in their hands. Having no choice I strided alongside, sticking as closely to him as possible. But no sooner had we reached the house than he spun around on his heels to face the crowd, and began shouting slogans for azaadi, for freedom from the terrorising Indian state. His cries were met with answering shouts from the crowd, massed in the narrow lane and craning out of overhanging windows. Hemmed in from all sides and feeling suddenly bereft, I kept my eyes on the ground, uncertain and nervous about what might happen next. But it was a momentary fear. No sooner had the crowd started to push and shove than X and his friends once again threw a protective cordon around us and slipped us in into the house. The air was rent with the anguished wailing of women. Next to the coffin of one of the victims sat her mother, quietly weeping, while her father stood stoically to one side. In an enclosure in the courtyard, the other victim was being bathed and dressed in preparation for her final journey. "They were like peas in a pod - Shehnaza and Ulfat - of the same age, always together - cousins, friends and lifelong companions..go and see for yourself, see what they've done to her..record it, so that the world knows what they do to us and our children." I entered the 'tent' and looked, just a glance, and then could look no more..the ground seemed to give way beneath my feet and I could feel the camera slipping from my grasp. She was young, half woman, half child, pretty, like the boisterous and cheerful students of Women's College in Srinagar, and innocent, like the vast majority of the casualties of conflict in Kashmir. And now, she was just a statistic - collateral damage of the bloody war waged by the world's largest democracy on her own people.And as a citizen of the sovereign secular socialist democratic republic of India, the guilt was mine. I was as culpable in her death as the bullets that brought her down, the fingers that carelessly pulled the trigger..I was guilty thorugh my refusal to see, to acknowledge the terrible truth of this most beautiful of graveyards. Did you see the mehendi in her hands, Hansa asked me later. I hadn't because I'd looked, and then looked away, overcome with guilt. As my composure cracked, it fell to her to calmly take the camera from my hands and shoot. Her predominant emotion then, she told me later, was rage - rage which impelled her to put the horror, the shame and the sorrow of it on record, for all to see. So she shot the mothers bathing their little girl - stroking her beautiful seemingly unscarred body, gently combing her hair and kissing her fingers. She shot them while I fled to the courtyard and tried to tell her family that we really didn't need to shoot then, we could come back in a few days to record. I told myself we were intruding on their grief, that they may not be up to talking about so fresh a wound. The reality was that I was not up to it. I'd never before come face to face with such evil and such desperation. Bathed and dressed, Shehnaza and Ulfat began their last journey through the winding narrow streets of their neighbourhood, followed by scores of angry and grieving mourners - the women at the back, their faces creased with sorrow, the men in front, grieving too, yet thristing for justice. Hansa, Safia and I scurried alongside, herded to the head of the procession by one of the relatives. More people were going to join where the lane broadened out and the family wanted us to shoot the procession there, from a house on the second floor. As we reached the junction I looked around and up at the staring angry faces ranged on all sides, and again got that sinking feeling. Unsure of what might happen next - even one stone pelted by a mischievous kid could give the situation a very ugly turn - I looked for an escape route which came in the form of X, who probably taking pity on us, said I could get into our vehicle and shoot from there. Just as I was breathing a sigh of relief, he thought it'd be better still if I could get on to the roof of the Sumo - he'd probably seen other media persons doing that. Anyways, I didn't know how to refuse, so I found myself half climbing, half hoisted on to the roof, and it was then that the earthquake struck and all hell broke loose. It was as if the cries of the mourners had shaken the very foundations of the world and reached Allah, and this was his Judgement,his warning and punishment to a creation gone totally awry. "But you will be safe Insha Allah," X was telling my friends. It was then that I reached out, reached out and took his hand in mine.And I was safe.It was as if he could protect me from the fury of the elements, as if his prayers and the collective prayers of all the mourners would shield us from everything. After what seemed like a lifetime of fervent prayer, the tremors subsided. People got busy checking on family and neighbours, calling up the police and rushing the injured to hospital. X and his friends jumped again into our vehicle, this time carrying the limp body of a man with a gaping wound in the centre of his head. He didn't look like he'd survive but within moments we'd screeched up to the hospital gate speeding through police and army cordons, the tension of the past 24 hours forgotten. Having entrusted the man to the doctors, they were out again asking whether we'd like to go back and shoot the procession. I demurred and X said understandingly, "You carry on, things are going to get worse here..haalaat kharaab hone waale hain." I didn't know what he meant - what could be worse than what had already happened? We left shaken, not so much from the earthquake, but from the bizarre timing of it, and the significance it had taken over in that small battered community. For the people of Sopore, it was divine retribution for the many sins that had been committed on this land - the blood of countless innocents had come back to haunt the earth. This sentiment was to be echoed again and again by people across Kashmir in the coming few days, with a slightly different twist. The earthquake was a signal of impending doom - for fifteen years the people of the valley had suffered, but their sorrows had only multiplied. "The Koran says that there will come a day when evil will rule and there will be wars and disasters, zulm all around..these are warning signs, the end of the world is nigh," said not one, but person after person we met. At another time I don't know how I'd have reacted to such talk, but the reality of Kashmir is so strange that it probably becomes impossible to live without recourse to external explanations for phenomena, which can also go by the name of faith.We'd barely left Sopore and were on our way to Bandipore to meet another family when we were forced to turn around. The countryside was afire with rumours that a prominent leader, Iftekar Ansari, had been killed, and his supporters were out in force on the streets. Taking another route, we found that our way was blocked again. We decided to turn back and head towards Srinagar only to find the same story repeated. With all routes cut off and feeling well and truly trapped we pulled off the road to consider our options - take refuge someplace in the village or try to brave it through. Spotting a vehicle attempting to sneak through the cordon, we followed, telling our driver to move slowly and cautiously but on no account stop. He was quite jittery from the time spent in Sopore - his tail lights had been damaged, and now again, his vehicle was at risk, if not his life. We on the other hand were confident that as women we would be accorded special treatment. If they don't let us pass, at least they wouldn't harm us. Needless to say we went past not just that block but numerous others before reaching Srinagar safe and sound.I wonder when the women of Kashmir will be able to move about freely with the same degree of confidence about their safety. As we were leaving Sopore a young boy had pointed out a similar contrast between their world and ours:"Why is it that when one school boy is killed in a blast in Srinagar it makes newspaper headlines whereas when scores of children are killed in broad daylight in Sopore and other places in the interior, we have no one to mourn for us? If this is the cost of education I don't want to go to school, at least I'll live.. I don't know about this azaadi business, i don't want azaadi, but isn't it strange that I'm an Indian and I'm being kiled here everyday and nobody's bothered?" As an Indian I could only hang my head in shame.As a woman I could only wonder whether our worlds could ever meet - two young girls had died a senseless death less than 24 hours back, while we were alive and well, in large measure due to the consideration shown to us as women, by men.As a human being I couldn't stop thinking about X, couldn't stop myself from scanning the newspapers the next day my mind in a whirl about what might happen to him, what could have happened to him, since the time we left Sopore.The often voiced fears of the many mothers we'd met suddenly came alive for me.As a young man, he was the most hated, the most vulnerable - hot headed, outspoken, a potential militant.For the next two days, every once in a while my thoughts would return to him - who would shield him from his fate, the way he had shielded us from ours? who would pray for him? Post Script Today we went back to Sopore after three days to meet the family again.the FIR had still not been lodged, even four days after the incident. when the parents had first gone to the police station, the gates were shut in their faces..then the earthquake came, like a godsend, and the police station has stayed shut since citing the excuse of relief work in Uri. The second thing we learnt was that at the time of the funeral procession the fidayeen attack (or encounter, whichever u prefer), was still in progress, so there WAS firing going on..the guy we'd evacuated to hospital had a really ghastly wound on his forehead and his brain was visible from the back of his head - I kept telling Hansa it looks like a bullet wound..i might be wrong, but the point is the attack was still on and there was only a brief lull during the earthquake after which it started again..so that was what X probably meant by "it's going to get worse"..i'm still wondering what will happen to him..not what, but when.. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20051019/97911311/attachment.html From manoshchowdhury at yahoo.com Wed Oct 19 09:48:01 2005 From: manoshchowdhury at yahoo.com (Manosh Chowdhury) Date: Tue, 18 Oct 2005 21:18:01 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Re: seeking help -- again Message-ID: <20051019041801.39356.qmail@web53305.mail.yahoo.com> Dear Friends, One of my friends in Bangladesh is now working on cinema banners. I am wondering if anyone in this list is involved in similar project. It would be so nice of you if you can please suggest some relevant research and/or papers regarding the theme. Best regards manosh --------------------------------- Yahoo! Music Unlimited - Access over 1 million songs. Try it free. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20051018/555d11b3/attachment.html From hpp at vsnl.com Thu Oct 20 13:05:53 2005 From: hpp at vsnl.com (hpp at vsnl.com) Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2005 12:35:53 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Calcutta Ramzaan buffet Message-ID: Ramzaan Buffet in Calcutta V Ramaswamy Following upon Zainab's "Urban Buffet" from Bombay, here is a Ramzaan Buffet from Calcutta. The area around Zakaria Street, the Nakhoda Mosque (Chitpur Road), Colootola Street, Bolai Dutta Street, Phears Lane (Calcutta 73) - is THE place to visit in Calcutta during Ramzaan for gastronomic delight . This locality used to be the hub of the Urdu-speaking Muslim elite of Calcutta. There are other important centres of the Muslim community in Calcutta, but they are predominantly of a working-class character. So, as far as food is concerned, the food available would tend to cater to the low-income consumer, rather than a gastronome. Ramzaan is a time when food becomes very significant, and various items (quite rich) are available only during this time. The whole locality becomes a public exhibition of food. Note: strong digestive system needed. The cuisine is derived from north India, but has acquired its own distinctive style and flavour; referred to as Calcutta Mughlai. One of the important influencers (but not the nly one) was Awadh's Nawab Wajid Ali Shah's exile in Metiabruz, Calcutta. The visit can begin from Zakaria Street (opposite Mohd. Ali Park on Chittaranjan Avenue), which leads to Chitpur Road, near the Nakhoda Mosque. Colootola Street is parallel to (north of) Zakaria Street. Bolai Dutta Street is off Chitpur Road (going west). Bolai Dutta Street is also a centre of fruit wholesaling. Ramzaan is a very important time for the city's fruit trade. On Zakaria Street: murg changazi and mahi akbari (fish), and special fish fry. These are road side items around the mosque. Besides we have renowned restaurants like Sufia and Aminia which sells special halims-- Arbi Halim, Maghaz / Kofta zaban halim / Ghost halim. All quite heavy (filling), so its best to buy and take home. Delectable special breads and buns are available on the roadside. Aminia and the nearby Royal both have special Ramzaan menus on offer. In Bolai Dutta Street there is the famous Adam's kebab shop, its specialities being sutli kebab or boti kebab, and niri kebab. In Colootola, roasted chicken items are available on the roadside. Biryanis are available all around, like always. Nearby is the famous Haji Allauddin sweets shop - important sweets items being khajla / laccha/ dudiya/ Mansoor pak / Malai barfi / special laddu. Visit, check out what's available, try a few things, take things home. And come again with family and friends. People interested in kurtas and lungis / dhotis would find a lot on offer, at attractive prices, on Zakaria Street. There are also shops selling itr (fragrance) and surma. So many shops, selling so many interesting things. (I once bought an old-style iron (istri), the kind where burning coal is put inside. I gave this as a gift to a friend, who uses it as a paper-weight cum odds-and-ends repository on his desk!) I was also pleasantly surprised to find a Tamil shop selling lungis / dhotis. I had bought a white dhoti there, which I still use.) There are also several bookshops in this area selling Urdu books (so if anyone wants to get Iqbal, Faiz, Manto, dictionaries, primers etc, this is the place to go to). After this one can walk down southwards towards Poddar Court and going down along Bentick Street reach the Tipu Sultan mosque in front of the Statesman office. Behind the mosque is an old and famous faluda shop which offers nargisi faluda. The best time for the gastronomic stroll would be 7 to 8.30 pm. Note: the best Halim runs out by 7 pm. While the "Right to Information" is important in a democracy, equally important in a pluralist society is the "Desire to Know & Share"! If anybody is interested in a guide / accompaniment for a visit, please contact: Hasnain Imam: hasimam at yahoo.co.in, 98313 02281 V Ramaswamy: hpp at vsnl.com, 98300 69413 From zainab at xtdnet.nl Thu Oct 20 15:14:47 2005 From: zainab at xtdnet.nl (zainab at xtdnet.nl) Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2005 13:44:47 +0400 (RET) Subject: [Reader-list] Calcutta Ramzaan buffet In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <64281.202.88.213.38.1129801487.squirrel@webmail.xtdnet.nl> Way to go folks. Please share the experience on the community. Mine comes up next week after the messy and enriching walk last Saturday and the upcoming one this Saturday! Cheers, Zainab > Ramzaan Buffet in Calcutta > > V Ramaswamy > > > Following upon Zainab's "Urban Buffet" from Bombay, here is a Ramzaan > Buffet from Calcutta. > > The area around Zakaria Street, the Nakhoda Mosque (Chitpur Road), > Colootola Street, Bolai Dutta Street, Phears Lane (Calcutta 73) - is THE > place to visit in Calcutta during Ramzaan for gastronomic delight . > > This locality used to be the hub of the Urdu-speaking Muslim elite of > Calcutta. There are other important centres of the Muslim community in > Calcutta, but they are predominantly of a working-class character. So, as > far as food is concerned, the food available would tend to cater to the > low-income consumer, rather than a gastronome. > > Ramzaan is a time when food becomes very significant, and various items > (quite rich) are available only during this time. The whole locality > becomes a public exhibition of food. Note: strong digestive system needed. > > The cuisine is derived from north India, but has acquired its own > distinctive style and flavour; referred to as Calcutta Mughlai. One of the > important influencers (but not the nly one) was Awadh's Nawab Wajid Ali > Shah's exile in Metiabruz, Calcutta. > > The visit can begin from Zakaria Street (opposite Mohd. Ali Park on > Chittaranjan Avenue), which leads to Chitpur Road, near the Nakhoda > Mosque. Colootola Street is parallel to (north of) Zakaria Street. Bolai > Dutta Street is off Chitpur Road (going west). > > Bolai Dutta Street is also a centre of fruit wholesaling. Ramzaan is a > very important time for the city's fruit trade. > > On Zakaria Street: murg changazi and mahi akbari (fish), and special fish > fry. These are road side items around the mosque. > > Besides we have renowned restaurants like Sufia and Aminia which sells > special halims-- Arbi Halim, Maghaz / Kofta zaban halim / Ghost halim. All > quite heavy (filling), so its best to buy and take home. > > Delectable special breads and buns are available on the roadside. > > Aminia and the nearby Royal both have special Ramzaan menus on offer. > > In Bolai Dutta Street there is the famous Adam's kebab shop, its > specialities being sutli kebab or boti kebab, and niri kebab. > > In Colootola, roasted chicken items are available on the roadside. > > Biryanis are available all around, like always. > > Nearby is the famous Haji Allauddin sweets shop - important sweets items > being khajla / laccha/ dudiya/ Mansoor pak / Malai barfi / special laddu. > > Visit, check out what's available, try a few things, take things home. And > come again with family and friends. > > People interested in kurtas and lungis / dhotis would find a lot on offer, > at attractive prices, on Zakaria Street. There are also shops selling itr > (fragrance) and surma. So many shops, selling so many interesting things. > (I once bought an old-style iron (istri), the kind where burning coal is > put inside. I gave this as a gift to a friend, who uses it as a > paper-weight cum odds-and-ends repository on his desk!) I was also > pleasantly surprised to find a Tamil shop selling lungis / dhotis. I had > bought a white dhoti there, which I still use.) > > There are also several bookshops in this area selling Urdu books (so if > anyone wants to get Iqbal, Faiz, Manto, dictionaries, primers etc, this is > the place to go to). > > After this one can walk down southwards towards Poddar Court and going > down along Bentick Street reach the Tipu Sultan mosque in front of the > Statesman office. Behind the mosque is an old and famous faluda shop which > offers nargisi faluda. > > The best time for the gastronomic stroll would be 7 to 8.30 pm. Note: the > best Halim runs out by 7 pm. > > While the "Right to Information" is important in a democracy, equally > important in a pluralist society is the "Desire to Know & Share"! > > If anybody is interested in a guide / accompaniment for a visit, please > contact: > > Hasnain Imam: hasimam at yahoo.co.in, 98313 02281 > > V Ramaswamy: hpp at vsnl.com, 98300 69413 > > > _________________________________________ > 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: > Zainab Bawa Bombay www.xanga.com/CityBytes http://crimsonfeet.recut.org/rubrique53.html From supreet.sethi at gmail.com Thu Oct 20 15:32:21 2005 From: supreet.sethi at gmail.com (s|s) Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2005 15:32:21 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Tao of Internet Gold Rush Message-ID: Article on web technologies and core non-technology situation of web 2.0 generation URL: http://supreetsethi.net/drupal/tao_of_internet_gold_rush I am showing withdrawal symptoms, someone mentioned when we went for a trek recently. It was not smoke he was talking about but that I was away from computer for 2 days. I surf, I surf a lot. Mostly costing my phone bill and some miscellaneous charges. And I expect the services on Internet to be reliable. Which always brings to my mind, how the hell are these people making any money when everything is free. And if stock market is any reflection of state of "online" companies. They are making lots. After touching bases with lots of technological aspects of these companies. One can make an attempt discerning some of core ideas behind this gold rush, if I could call it that. Candy FLOSS No not the pink one. FLOSS is the cheapest candy in town and every one wants a piece of it. LAMP(Linux, Apache, MySQL, (Perl/Python/PHP)) have consolidated itself as a heavy weight enterprise web technology stack. If one keeps the philosophy part on the fences, one can clearly see the pattern that these "online" companies and LAMP having grown over the period in similar fashion. Its not mere coincidence. FLOSS and especially LAMP forms the horizontal building blocks for vertical application which consists of domain logic aspect of web application. Vertical and horizontal aspect basically points at if the technology is specific particular business requirement or general purpose, wider use type. So it works in interest of "online" companies to invest in reusable general purpose technology, which is developed in FLOSS, hence distributing the cost. Hiring people privy to these technologies help, giving the technological depth required to modify and maintain certain parts of these horizontal components. And this provides food and shelter to many FLOSS developers. Data thy god Its all in the data. Oh yes, the money too. Considering that Internet itself cannot produce data, it is an external input. In forms of text, sound, images, hypermedia producers online are creating something which is the only asset online. Banks in form of numbers, musicians in form of musical notes, IM, images, emails, documents exchanged online. More intertwined and interpressed, the data with shared comments, more the value of data itself. Ebay's rating system or Amazon's comment on the inventory are examples of high value data, which is USP of these web applicastions. Accumulating data is one aspect, but making sense out of it forms the basis most successful web applications. Data, applications to interpret it and Meta-data form the holy trinity of virtual world. Entry free, Exit denied Openness on web is pipe dream. Search for unsubscribe/delete my account button in your favorite application. In most cases it wouldn't be there. Openness is about choice. Only choice online is to consume or produce on web and be comfortable with one/ or set of web applications. It doesn't matter what you do on web, using vendors web application as long as you are not breaking it and you are producing a pattern, a profile which can be used to target advertisements things are open for you. Normally "online" company wouldn't intervene any which way because it might bring bad publicity. There have been exceptions though, like one recently in China. Web 2.0, Internet6 etc etc If we were using complex search queries earlier, we are using tags. If we were using drab little photo gallery software, we are using shiny flickr to make sets. Technologies come and go. But if there is any substance, in Web 2.0 as a buzzword, that will be in terms of community formation. Most successful web applications of "Web 2.0" generation are community centric. These applications are giving consumers/producers ability to mix and match various technologies to build a web universe of his/her own. Making locality out of world of online friends and onlines resources has become a major goal. Again bring the spotlight onto data, which in this case is user preferences for personalization. Internet gold rush is there to stay for now. Despite privacy policy declarations, one is always left to wonder, how much of onself is left online which one doesn't want people to see and judge. Nothing is for free I guess then. From cahen.x at levels9.com Thu Oct 20 22:54:01 2005 From: cahen.x at levels9.com (xavier cahen) Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2005 19:24:01 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] pourinfos Newsletter / 10-14 to 10-20-2005 Message-ID: <4357D2B1.3040707@levels9.com> pourinfos.org l'actualite du monde de l'art / daily Art news ----------------------------------------------------------------------- infos from October 14, 2005 to October 20, 2005 (included) ------------------------------------------------------------------- (mostly in french) ------------------------------------------------------------------- 01 Call : public Art - Nanterre, France. http://pourinfos.org/candidature/item.php?id=2141 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 02 Call : IMMERSION 2005 : call for projects, [ars]numerica, Montbeéliard, France. http://pourinfos.org/candidature/item.php?id=2140 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 03 Call : zemos98 Call for Audiovisual Works, Sevilla, spain. http://pourinfos.org/candidature/item.php?id=2139 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 04 Call : Proposals Wanted Concerning the Worldwide Decline of,Personal Time, Dronninglund, Denmark. http://pourinfos.org/candidature/item.php?id=2138 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 05 Job: assistant in charge with the editions and the exhibitions, FRAC Champagne-Ardenne, France. http://pourinfos.org/emploi/item.php?id=2135 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 06 Meetings : transversale, Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux Arts, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/rencontres/item.php?id=2134 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 07 Publication : The Utopias posthumaines, of Remi Sussan : a travel fascinating in the heart of the underground-culture. http://pourinfos.org/publications/item.php?id=2133 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 08 Publication : vibrö 3 – The Citizen Band Issue, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/publications/item.php?id=2132 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 09 Publication : S&P Stanikas. End of a Millennium, catalogue, Gallery Vu, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/publications/item.php?id=2131 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 Exhibition : opening at centre d'art et de diffusion Clark , Montreal, Canada. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2130 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 11 Exhibition : usr grps, Francesco Finizio, Gallery RLBQ, Marseille , France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2129 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 12 Exhibition : Tony Oursler, Stephen Vitiello et Constance de Jong, Ecole superieure d’art de Mulhouse, Le Quai, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2128 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 13 Exhibition : Program December 2005, January 2006, Gallery trait personnel et alors..., Lyon, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2127 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 14 Exhibition : Del Zero al 2005, Perspectivas del arte en Portugal, Santander, Spain. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2126 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 15 Divers : Dominique Boudou, Director of the Fonds régional d'art contemporain Nord- Pas de Calais, France. lhttp://pourinfos.org/divers/item.php?id=2137 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 16 Divers : Votings begin, 2nd One Second Vidéo, Italy. lien http://pourinfos.org/divers/item.php?id=2136 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 17 Exhibition: CLOSE UP #2, David Wojnarowicz, Gallery eof, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2125 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 18 Call : Invisible city, video, Manifestation Internationale video and electronic art, Montreal, Canada. http://pourinfos.org/candidature/item.php?id=2120 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 19 Call : 9 th edition of the festival of numerical arts Bandits-Mages, Bourges, France. http://pourinfos.org/candidature/item.php?id=2119 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 20 Call : Residences of production, laboratory of creation on web, La chambre blanche, Québec, Canada. http://pourinfos.org/candidature/item.php?id=2118 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 21 Publication : numero Derives II, No 55, automne 2005, esse arts + opinions, Montreal, Canada. http://pourinfos.org/publications/item.php?id=2117 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 22 Call : for Submissions to SCAN online gallery, Media Department of Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. http://pourinfos.org/participation/item.php?id=2116 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 23 Call : 'CARTES Flux', Centre for Art and Technology CARTES, Espoon Kaupunki, Finland. http://pourinfos.org/participation/item.php?id=2115 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 24 Call: proposals for articles for the archee, cybermensuel, Montreal, Canada. http://pourinfos.org/participation/item.php?id=2114 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 25 Job : new artistic director, interdisciplinary centre for art and audiovisual media, Argos, Brussels, Belgium. http://pourinfos.org/emploi/item.php?id=2113 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 26 Residence : cration in situ, La chambre blanche, Quebec, Canada. http://pourinfos.org/residences/item.php?id=2112 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 27 Meetings : Tuesday 18 octobre 17h-19h , Tuesday it's numedia, Carrefour numerique Agora, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/rencontres/item.php?id=2111 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 28 Meetings : Generative Arts Practice 2005, A Creativity & Cognition Symposium, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia. http://pourinfos.org/rencontres/item.php?id=2110 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 29 Mettings : Olivier Mongin at the Platform of the philosophers, Maison de l'architecture en Île-de-France, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/rencontres/item.php?id=2109 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 30 Publication : Jean Baudrillard and a Counter-Mannerist Art of Latent Excess, Joseph Nechvatal, The International Journal of Baudrillard Studies, Canada. http://pourinfos.org/publications/item.php?id=2108 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 31 Screening : Albanie : découverte d’Anri Sala, association Panoplie , Montpellier, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2107 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 32 Exhibition : Laurent Montaron, La Galerie, contemporary art center of Noisy-le-Sec, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2106 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 33 Exhibition : Judith Bartolani, Artistes studio of Ville de Marseille, Marseille, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2105 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 34 Exhibition : Femininities in question, Laplateforme, Mains d’Œuvres, Saint-Ouen, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2104 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 35 Exhibition : body nomad, Claudie Dadu, Venice, Italy. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2103 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 36 Exhibition : arte Studio Invernizzi, ART COLOGNE 2005, Germany. lien http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2102 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 37 Exhibition : “media flow. videoventure on electronic music”, Stuttgart, Germany. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2101 From nr03 at fsu.edu Thu Oct 20 23:16:40 2005 From: nr03 at fsu.edu (Nicholas Ruiz) Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2005 13:46:40 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Kritikos, V.II October 2005 Message-ID: <20051020134640.x58yrdb6u8coog0w@webmail2.fsu.edu> Kritikos, V.II October 2005 The A-life Undeadening of Painting via the Digital...(j.nechvatal) http://garnet.acns.fsu.edu/%7Enr03/Nechvatal.htm Le Dieu Recombinant...(n.ruiz) realmedia http://garnet.acns.fsu.edu/~nr03/Le%20Dieu%20recombinant.rm -- Nicholas Ruiz III GTA/doctoral candidate Interdisciplinary Program in the Humanities Florida State University Editor, Kritikos http://garnet.acns.fsu.edu/~nr03/ ---------------------------------------------------------------- From ohm at zedat.fu-berlin.de Thu Oct 20 19:58:14 2005 From: ohm at zedat.fu-berlin.de (Britta Ohm) Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2005 16:28:14 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] global call for films Message-ID: In any case this announcement should be early enough! Apply in numbers, it's a really nice festival! Cheers - Britta > > > ************************************************* > > To You it may Concern - globale06 is looking for films > > globale06 is a Berlin collective, made up of political activists, > artists, > students, filmpassionates and many more, who organize a > globalization-critical filmfestival in a more or less annual cycle. In > 2006 > we are going into our third year. Festival dates for the year 2006 are: > March 9 to March 16. > > globale06--as a political filmfestival--is about more than showing > films: > during one week globale fills two established Berlin cinemas and a > festivalcenter and is participated by around 4000 people each year. > Films > are not shown on their own but combined with discussions and workshops > taking place directly after the screenings and throughout the whole > week. > Sometimes we invite filmmakers, activists or 'experts' to give us > inputs and > share their knowledge and experience with us. In addition to the Berlin > location several films are going to be screened in a number of other > German > cities afterwards. > Every year we focus on 5-6 subjects that we find to be politically > important > in the context of globalization and that we discuss in greater detail. > The > topics for the globale06 haven't been chosen yet but these might be > some > suggestions: G8, religion, sexual violence, privatization, migration, > media > and power relations, racism, global working conditions, etc. > > Here is your part of the game: support us in finding films from all > around > the world! Forward this mail to your activist and filmmaker friends and > acquaintances, people you think might have knowledge about or access to > films. Or send us info about the films you have made. Or tell us about > films > you have seen. Every genre--documentary, shorts, clips, > activists-films, > feature-films--and format--except Beta NTSC--is welcome. We will then > get > back to you and ask you to send us a copy. > > Our address: globale filmfestival > c/o Medienkombinat > Köpenicker Str. 187/188 > D-10997 Berlin, Germany > > E-mail films at globale-filmfestival.de > Internet www.globale-filmfestival.de > > Entry deadline December 31, 2005 > > For those who want to know about our infrastructure: > globale is open to everyone who wants to participate in the > organisation, > based on a few basic principles: no hierarchies (except informal > ones), no > sexisms, no racisms, no anti-semitism. Decisions are taken through > consensus. We all work on a voluntary basis, the festival itself is > financed > through foundations, public funds, local support and collectives. No > sponsoring by commercial partners. > Throughout the year we try to support political campaigns and events > through > our tools, knowledge and our growing filmarchive, i.e. the > anti-lager-tours > or the EuroMayday. To know more also check the website! > > > > *********************************************************** > > -- > jörn hagenloch > medienkombinat berlin > köpenicker straße 187/188 > 10997 berlin > 030 - 7891 3457 > 0179 - 90 16 634 > > > > > > boell at yahoogroups.de ist eine inhaltlich nicht moderierte Mailingliste > der StipendiatInnen für StipendiatInnen der Heinrich Böll Stiftung und > MitarbeiterInnen des Studienwerks. Sie ist kein Organ der Heinrich > Böll Stiftung oder des Studienwerks, diese sind für den Inhalt dieser > Mail nicht verantwortlich. Nach dem Selbstverständnis unserer > Diskussion sind allerdings Texte mit diskriminierenden Inhalten > unerwünscht, insbesondere rassistischen, antisemitischen, > islamophoben, sexistischen oder homophoben Tendenzen. > Antworten werden an die AbsenderInnen geschickt. Mails an die ganze > Liste gehen an die Adresse boell at yahoogroups.de - bitte dabei die > Betreffszeile möglichst genau und verstaendlich formulieren! > Die Boell-StipendiatInnenliste verlaesst Du, indem Du von der > eingetragenen Emailadresse aus eine Mail (ohne Text) an > boell-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.de schickst. Bei allen Problemen: Mail > an boell-owner at yahoogroups.de > Yahoo! Groups Links > > <*> Besuchen Sie Ihre Group im Web unter: > http://de.groups.yahoo.com/group/boell/ > > <*> Um sich von der Group abzumelden, senden Sie eine Mail an: > boell-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.de > > <*> Mit der Nutzung von Yahoo! Groups akzeptieren Sie unsere: > http://de.docs.yahoo.com/info/utos.html > > > From dunkinj at cscsban.org Fri Oct 21 08:46:26 2005 From: dunkinj at cscsban.org (dunkinj at cscsban.org) Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2005 23:16:26 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] CSCS, Short-term Library Fellowships Message-ID: <380-220051052131626189@M2W092.mail2web.com> Centre for the Study of Culture and Society, Bangalore, invites applications for Short-term Library Fellowships. The fellowships are intended to make CSCS Library Resources available to college teachers engaged in interdisciplinary research. Duration: One Month Applications will be received throughout the year. One fellowship is exclusively reserved for a project on Curriculum Development. CSCS library has a collection of about 10,000 books, journals and access to J-Stor. The library covers areas like Popular Culture, Feminist theory, Film Theory, Law, Media Studies, Philosophy, Photography, Politics, Sociology, Visual Arts, Anthropology and Educational Theory. This is complimented by a vast collection of films and documentaries. Visit our online Library catalogue at www.cscsarchive.org/Library For details about the Centre, its Library and application procedure please visit our website www.cscsban.org or write to teena at cscsban.org Centre for the Study of Culture and Society 466, 9th Cross, Madhavan Park I Block, Jayanagar, Bangalore- 560011 -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web - Check your email from the web at http://mail2web.com/ . From gl_sudhir at yahoo.co.in Wed Oct 19 20:59:36 2005 From: gl_sudhir at yahoo.co.in (Gulati, Sudhir) Date: Wed, 19 Oct 2005 16:29:36 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Please Submit to "art'ishake" (arts and MDGs journal): deadline NOV 1st] Message-ID: <20051019152936.91105.qmail@web8408.mail.in.yahoo.com> Arts for Global Development, Inc. (Art4Development.Net), in conjunction with the international arts coalition, ActALIVE, is pleased to announce the debut of a new arts journal called "art'ishake", which will focus on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), youth empowerment, peace-building and conflict resolution, cultural heritage and diversity, "edutainment" to address HIV/AIDS, and much more. We welcome submissions of all kinds: essays, research, projects, events, artwork, poetry, scripts, news, and related material. Please read more about "art'ishake" below, and see more about the journal at http://www.art4development.net/home.html . For more information on "art'ishake", see below, and to submit materials write to artishake at art4development.net. ************************************************************************************! ** Call for Submissions: Deadline November 01, 2005 -art'ishake welcomes participants to submit papers, articles, news, images of artworks, and announcements on arts and development issues. -art'ishake is a brand new publication intending to address interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral issues in tandem with arts and development. The purpose of art'ishake is to provide an open, collaborative, and learning approach to creativity and development, to share experiences and views from different perspectives, present 'how-to's' through the exchange of best-practice examples, inspire, and add 'knowledge-based' value to the positive-creative change process! -art'ishake would like to invite individuals and organizations to share and explore together the value created, and help inspire each other particularly to address the needs of our global society and overcome the challenges of underdevelopment. -art'ishake aims to provide an outlet for interdisciplinary and international exploration of the concepts and practices of creative and arts-infused development projects. Submission Areas: -News, Experiences, Events, Projects, and Opinions on Millennium Development Goals [MDGs], in particular as these relate to the arts and to creativity. -Research and white-papers on arts, human development, as well as the impact within the local, national, and international community [Theoretical, methodological, economic, international and intercultural approaches to and perspectives on arts and development, and more] -Auto-story by artists who create artworks and/or conduct workshops aiming for social impact, particularly those that relate to MDGs -Auto-story by non-profit and/or for-profit organizations who utilize arts to create change and improve community -Announcements on support material and partnership opportunities such as funding possibilities, awards, grants, fellowships, cause-related arts exhibitions and benefit events, workshops, trainings, publications, etc. -Artworks and brief concept paragraphs [images of any ty! pe and style of artworks/photographs, paintings, cartoon, 3D... Please mention the material used, titles, purpose/theme] -Poetry, scripts, and short stories [max. 1200 words] related to arts and MDGs, cultural heritage and diversity; youth empowerment, conflict resolution and peace building, and more. art'ishake is developed by Arts For Global Development, Inc [Art4Development.Net], in partnership with ActALIVE, an international arts coalition whose members use the arts and media to address HIV/AIDS and development (www.actalive.org). If you are interested in submitting material and/or becoming a contributing partner contact us : artishake at art4development.net URL: www.art4development.net Email: info at art4development.net International Youth Development Agency is a non-governmental organization whose aim is to develop, enhance and increase the role of the youth in a rapidly globalizing world. The goals of Organization: To improve and extend the youth work and services To enhance and demonstrate youth work in the society To promote effective youth policy To organize international network of NGOs working towards the development of youth work To organize seminars, conferences, workshops, trainings To maintain international youth exchange programs ---------------------------------------------------------- Sudhir Gulati Post Graduate Student MBA, 2nd Year Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur Cell No #09839351179 ---------------------------------------------------------- "Dreams pass into the reality of action. From the actions stems the dream again; and this interdependence produces the highest form of living." --------------------------------- Yahoo! India Matrimony: Find your partner now. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20051019/8dba777b/attachment.html From rehanhasanansari at yahoo.com Wed Oct 19 19:32:06 2005 From: rehanhasanansari at yahoo.com (rehan ansari) Date: Wed, 19 Oct 2005 07:02:06 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Did God make a mistake in Pakistan? Message-ID: <20051019140206.87099.qmail@web51109.mail.yahoo.com> Bilal Minto writes a column for DNA Did God make a mistake in Pak? Sunday, DNA, October 16, 2005 20:17 IST Bilal Hassan Minto hopes that next time God feels like doing a little justice, he could do a bit of homework first lest there is a mistake LAHORE: Despite my frivolity, I am finding it hard to say anything funny today. A couple of hundred miles north of here, hundreds of thousands of people lie dead and a few more hundreds of thousands await death. It will come to them; surely, and slowly. In the ghost cities and villages up there, the dead far outnumber the living. A young mother sits besides the debris of her erstwhile home pulling at something. It is the hand of her four-year-old son and it is the only part of him visible. He was crying loudly before. Then he was whimpering. Now he is quiet. For his mother whom God has graciously spared, life’s journey is suddenly much, much longer than she ever expected. Unless she ends it herself, like some others have done. A father finally displaced enough rubble to reach his son, the only one alive underneath. When he saw the son he knew that the only favour he could do him was to finish him. He picked up a heavy stone and did that. Then he killed himself. God’s self-appointed representatives are telling us that this is a warning; that the people have gone wayward and left God’s path and that we must repent and beg for His forgiveness. True. Very true! Muzaffarabad, Balakot and Rawalakot were a hedonist’s paradise. The little dead girls and the little dead boys in their school uniforms, the little crippled starving girls and the little crippled starving boys and their crippled starving families, were busy in orgies when the slap from God came. No, they were not merely trying to get by through another difficult day in their less than ordinary small lives. They were drinking and dancing and having orgies at 8.50 in the morning. Or did God simply miss the target and make a mistake? Manto wrote a short piece on the killings during partition in which a Muslim slays a passerby thinking he is a Hindu. Then discovering that the dead was circumcised, he says, “Saala, mishtake ho gaya”. Next time God feels like doing a little justice, he could do a bit of homework first lest there is a mistake. He could ask me for a list which I will have ready with the correct names and addresses from Karachi to Khyber. Bilal is a lawyer & filmmaker. bilalminto at gmail.com --------------------------------- Yahoo! Music Unlimited - Access over 1 million songs. Try it free. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20051019/51905b70/attachment.html From vipinvijay at yahoo.com Thu Oct 20 19:53:50 2005 From: vipinvijay at yahoo.com (vipin vijay) Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2005 07:23:50 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Zalzala! Message-ID: <20051020142351.91505.qmail@web53712.mail.yahoo.com> Al- Zalzala! “When the earth is shaken to her (utmost) convulsion . I just thought of the pygmy legend of the little boy who finds the bird with the beautiful song in the forest and brings it home. He asks his father to bring food for the bird, and the father doesn’t want to feed a mere bird, so he kills it. And the legend says the man killed the bird, and with the bird he killed the song, and with the song, himself. He dropped dead, and completely dead, and was dead forever. They killed the song! They killed their environment How can you cut down vegetation and evacuate the land and turn the rivers into real estate without killing the God? The mission is only to know what is, and then to act in relation to the brotherhood of all these things. Brotherhood in most of the myths I know is confined to a bounded community. In enclosed communities, violence is projected outward. I think the only possible way everyone can relate to is the pedagogical function of the myth of how to live a human era under any circumstances. Myths teach us that! The only solution is to begin today the new myth of our time. Scientists are beginning to talk quite openly about the Gaia principle. The whole planet as an organism. My faith in the art of cinematography assures me that new myth will emerge from this image. Myths and dreams come from the same place. YUSUFALI: And anyone who has done an atom’ weight of evil, shall see it. PICKTHAL: And whoso doeth ill an atom’s weight will see it then. SHAKIR: And he who has done an atom’s weight of evil shall see it. In the name of Allah! Vipin Vijay 24/273 TSRA: 105 Sasthamkovil Street, Thycud, (P.O) Trivandrum-14, Kerala, India + 91- 9847318777 / +91- 495 - 2856178 E-Mail: vipinvijay at yahoo.com --------------------------------- Yahoo! Music Unlimited - Access over 1 million songs. Try it free. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20051020/b2474beb/attachment.html From iram at sarai.net Fri Oct 21 12:23:57 2005 From: iram at sarai.net (iram at sarai.net) Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2005 08:53:57 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Fwd: SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH COLLOQUIUM Message-ID: <95c721dd3413173612b1e49116aff1bd@sarai.net> ------ Original Message ------ Subject: Fwd: SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH COLLOQUIUM To: reader-list at sarai.net From: khadeeja at sarai.net Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2005 08:28:31 +0200 SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH COLLOQUIUM Dr. Roddur De, guest lecturer, Department of Sociology, Jamia Millia Islamia, will present a paper entitled 'Representations of Masculinities in Popular Hindi Cinema' at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, 21 October 2005, in the seminar room (Ist Floor). You are cordially invited to attend the presentation and participate in the discussion. Rajni Palriwala Convenor Sociological Research Colloquium Damandeep Kaur Technical Assistant Department of Sociology Delhi School of Economics University of Delhi Delhi-110007 Tel No.011-27667858 -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: Subject: announcement Date: Wed, 19 Oct 2005 13:49:55 +0200 Size: 1926 Url: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20051021/39369792/attachment.mht -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From chauhan.vijender at gmail.com Fri Oct 21 22:17:18 2005 From: chauhan.vijender at gmail.com (Vijender chauhan) Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2005 22:17:18 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Did God make a mistake in Pakistan? In-Reply-To: <20051019140206.87099.qmail@web51109.mail.yahoo.com> References: <20051019140206.87099.qmail@web51109.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <8bdde4540510210947i111ee48j8c3307e01f114df3@mail.gmail.com> What to say! Except that please ask me as well I'll add some from kashmir to kanyakumari. One name I am eager to add to this list is "GOD". vijender On 10/19/05, rehan ansari wrote: > > > Bilal Minto writes a column for DNA > > > > Did God make a mistake in Pak? > Sunday, DNA, October 16, 2005 20:17 IST > > > > > Bilal Hassan Minto hopes that next time God feels like doing a little > justice, he could do a bit of homework first lest there is a mistake > > > > LAHORE: Despite my frivolity, I am finding it hard to say anything funny > today. A couple of hundred miles north of here, hundreds of thousands of > people lie dead and a few more hundreds of thousands await death. It will > come to them; surely, and slowly. In the ghost cities and villages up there, > the dead far outnumber the living. > > A young mother sits besides the debris of her erstwhile home pulling at > something. It is the hand of her four-year-old son and it is the only part > of him visible. He was crying loudly before. Then he was whimpering. Now he > is quiet. For his mother whom God has graciously spared, life's journey is > suddenly much, much longer than she ever expected. Unless she ends it > herself, like some others have done. A father finally displaced enough > rubble to reach his son, the only one alive underneath. When he saw the son > he knew that the only favour he could do him was to finish him. He picked up > a heavy stone and did that. Then he killed himself. > > God's self-appointed representatives are telling us that this is a warning; > that the people have gone wayward and left God's path and that we must > repent and beg for His forgiveness. True. Very true! Muzaffarabad, Balakot > and Rawalakot were a hedonist's paradise. The little dead girls and the > little dead boys in their school uniforms, the little crippled starving > girls and the little crippled starving boys and their crippled starving > families, were busy in orgies when the slap from God came. > > No, they were not merely trying to get by through another difficult day in > their less than ordinary small lives. They were drinking and dancing and > having orgies at 8.50 in the morning. Or did God simply miss the target and > make a mistake? > > Manto wrote a short piece on the killings during partition in which a Muslim > slays a passerby thinking he is a Hindu. Then discovering that the dead was > circumcised, he says, "Saala, mishtake ho gaya". Next time God feels like > doing a little justice, he could do a bit of homework first lest there is a > mistake. He could ask me for a list which I will have ready with the correct > names and addresses from Karachi to Khyber. > > Bilal is a lawyer & filmmaker. bilalminto at gmail.com > > ________________________________ > Yahoo! Music Unlimited - Access over 1 million songs. Try it free. > _________________________________________ > 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 ysaeed7 at yahoo.com Sat Oct 22 10:15:28 2005 From: ysaeed7 at yahoo.com (Yousuf) Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2005 21:45:28 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Did God make a mistake in Pakistan? In-Reply-To: <8bdde4540510210947i111ee48j8c3307e01f114df3@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <20051022044528.49169.qmail@web51607.mail.yahoo.com> Everytime there is a disaster like that, the religious priests all over start talking about how the disaster was a sign from God on how the people have gone wayward. Even on 9/11 some Church in the US had claimed that this was a sign from God on how we need to go back to Church. But the most hillarious was a Friday sermon I heard at a mosque in Jamia Nagar (Delhi) at the time of Tsunami. The Imam said that Tsunami was a punishment for the kafir sinners who were indulging in their sins at places like Phuket and Patong in Thailand. He obviously didn't know about millions of innocent people who died in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Nagapattinam. By the way, the most interesting debates on "Act of God" took place in the letters column of The Hindu at the time of Tsunami and even now. Yousuf --- Vijender chauhan wrote: > What to say! Except that please ask me as well I'll > add some from > kashmir to kanyakumari. One name I am eager to add > to this list is > "GOD". > vijender > > > > On 10/19/05, rehan ansari > wrote: > > > > > > Bilal Minto writes a column for DNA > > > > > > > > Did God make a mistake in Pak? > > Sunday, DNA, October 16, 2005 20:17 IST > > > > > > > > > > Bilal Hassan Minto hopes that next time God feels > like doing a little > > justice, he could do a bit of homework first lest > there is a mistake > > > > > > > > LAHORE: Despite my frivolity, I am finding it hard > to say anything funny > > today. A couple of hundred miles north of here, > hundreds of thousands of > > people lie dead and a few more hundreds of > thousands await death. It will > > come to them; surely, and slowly. In the ghost > cities and villages up there, > > the dead far outnumber the living. > > > > A young mother sits besides the debris of her > erstwhile home pulling at > > something. It is the hand of her four-year-old son > and it is the only part > > of him visible. He was crying loudly before. Then > he was whimpering. Now he > > is quiet. For his mother whom God has graciously > spared, life's journey is > > suddenly much, much longer than she ever expected. > Unless she ends it > > herself, like some others have done. A father > finally displaced enough > > rubble to reach his son, the only one alive > underneath. When he saw the son > > he knew that the only favour he could do him was > to finish him. He picked up > > a heavy stone and did that. Then he killed > himself. > > > > God's self-appointed representatives are telling > us that this is a warning; > > that the people have gone wayward and left God's > path and that we must > > repent and beg for His forgiveness. True. Very > true! Muzaffarabad, Balakot > > and Rawalakot were a hedonist's paradise. The > little dead girls and the > > little dead boys in their school uniforms, the > little crippled starving > > girls and the little crippled starving boys and > their crippled starving > > families, were busy in orgies when the slap from > God came. > > > > No, they were not merely trying to get by through > another difficult day in > > their less than ordinary small lives. They were > drinking and dancing and > > having orgies at 8.50 in the morning. Or did God > simply miss the target and > > make a mistake? > > > > Manto wrote a short piece on the killings during > partition in which a Muslim > > slays a passerby thinking he is a Hindu. Then > discovering that the dead was > > circumcised, he says, "Saala, mishtake ho gaya". > Next time God feels like > > doing a little justice, he could do a bit of > homework first lest there is a > > mistake. He could ask me for a list which I will > have ready with the correct > > names and addresses from Karachi to Khyber. > > > > Bilal is a lawyer & filmmaker. > bilalminto at gmail.com > > > > ________________________________ > > Yahoo! Music Unlimited - Access over 1 million > songs. Try it free. > > _________________________________________ > > 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: > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > 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: > > __________________________________ Start your day with Yahoo! - Make it your home page! http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs From mahmoodfarooqui at yahoo.com Sat Oct 22 17:59:21 2005 From: mahmoodfarooqui at yahoo.com (mahmood farooqui) Date: Sat, 22 Oct 2005 05:29:21 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] meherbaan, qadrdaan Message-ID: <20051022122922.85318.qmail@web80909.mail.scd.yahoo.com> Haazreen, meherbaan, qadradaan, ahl-e fan, ahl-e husn... aapke shahar mein, dastan-e amir hamza ki chaar nayi daastaanein jinmein amar aiyyar ka kamaal, jaadu ka dhamal, tilism ki shokhi, falsafe ki chaashni hai- itvaar shaam, 6.30 baje, IIC ke aala martaba maidan mein, sikandar lodhi ke maqbare ke peechhe... aaiye aur daad deejiye aur paaiye. __________________________________ Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005 http://mail.yahoo.com From nr03 at fsu.edu Sat Oct 22 18:23:56 2005 From: nr03 at fsu.edu (Nicholas Ruiz) Date: Sat, 22 Oct 2005 08:53:56 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] The Immersion of New Orleans Message-ID: <20051022085356.vl76v3g2qkgg8gkc@webmail2.fsu.edu> The Immersion of New Orleans Nicholas Ruiz III Sometimes a city must be sacrificed, so that people can exhale. The omnilateral spreading of our species can only be furthered as hope floats away from the city of New Orleans. Like the recent New Orleans displacee said in the television news, "Now I can leave this town! I've never had such an opportunity!"--that and on his way to Houston to get some pants. Courage or recklessness? Perhaps the only difference is in winning and losing. If those on the inside can see us, those of us on the outside of New Orleans, on the outside of the world's latest sacrificial offering, can attempt to see past the context of media obliteration, past the screening of the immersion of New Orleans. Of course, every smile of the media clown has its sinister wrinkle, and for us non-participants, a sign of the real hidden joy borne by the hosts of the new victims manifests itself in baleful anticipation, as the gun sales rise in the cities that receive our American refugees, an ironic greeting for the displacees of New Orleans. In the midst of the mediated screen of Texan empathy lies the factual fear of absorption. Not to be outdone, back in the disaster zone, the Gulf coast reveals its own ironies; casinos (Mississippi claims 10% of its state budget reflects casino taxation) highlighting the simulation of southern values in the Bible belt. Especially the holiest of His states fill their state coffers with the excesses of extracurricular Sunday evening slot machines and paper-bagged beer. Another reminder of the supplementary speculation we call the just economy. Too much goodness in our hearts, minds and screens--but little to be found on the freshly looted streets filling with the muscle and hate of that ultra-postmodern Venice. Unlike Venice, which took years to flood, New Orleans was flooded in a few hours. The city of New Orleans itself is a speculation gone bad, wedged as it was between two gargantuan sources of water, below sea level, damned and leveed for the always spreading masses. Speculations hold that development contracts will explode all over the city map, as the bidding wars begin and a "new" New Orleans is sure to rise as quickly as they can pump the water out of the old one. I liked New Orleans, for what it's worth. How to imbibe this event? What is its meaning? What is our new ontological location, now that that another "world-changing" cataclysmic event has occurred. A chance for the do-gooders to do good; the finger-pointers to point fingers; Bush isn't responsible for the severity of our complacency, and the aristocrats merely capitalize upon it?despite the editorial pieces and listserv diatribes of the free-thinkers; a chance for the speculators to place new bets, build bigger casinos, build them inland and get it right this time, so the Good News poker hands will never have to fold? I say forget about New Orleans and build a new city, in a new American place, maybe in Iraq, where at least the imbecility is out in the open and not hidden in the barrio waiting for a hurricane to uncover it. Now that would be honest. Infinite casinos in the desert?we specialize in that, no? We began and continue our new millennium with the entire prowess of flies, taking off and landing, repeatedly wherever we can, leaving our urine and feces behind. The dissolution of New Orleans reminds us of our shit, we still refuse to take care of. Cash for the victims is a sign of the metaphysics of Capital, where suffering is always bought and paid for. New Orleans signifies the lightness of our new locations, new Capital, new identities, all tokens that we are, unbeknownst to ourselves, still alive and reprogrammable--all we can hope for is a hurricane to remind us. Perhaps then, we can start again. In the eye of the ruin lies our hope and our souvenir of where we have been and where we are going. But the survivors of the storm will instead be turned into the sacrificial bread to be broken at the mediated dinner table of the world, reminding us all of how "good" we've got it. If the ambiguity of New Orleans as an event leaves us feeling a little light, a bit nauseated; there is always the laceration of Capital to wake us from our sympathetic malaise. Positions have already been taken--go long the builders, developers, clean-up outfits and architectural face-lifters and short the casinos, retail setups and insurance companies with heavy exposure in the Gulf. Just another day on the trading floor of our lives. What New Orleans offers us is a bit of exposure--another crack in the surface of the screen; 9/11 made a similar offering. New Orleans shows us that humanity prefers its empathetic compassion to be best delivered from the barrel of a gun--or at least, best dispensed when the police are on duty. Chaos does not envelop us during tragedy, rather chaos saves us from the banal machinations of our undead lives. For those of us that are eternally watching the events unfold, the screens of New Orleans show us all that nothing can save us from ourselves--like so many of the police that never showed when called for duty during those irregular days of our latest pandemonium. One might be tempted to say that the great white American underbelly lies exposed and fully parched in the full heat of the still-burning spotlights of that late, great city of New Orleans. -- Nicholas Ruiz III GTA/doctoral candidate Interdisciplinary Program in the Humanities Florida State University Editor, Kritikos http://garnet.acns.fsu.edu/~nr03/ ---------------------------------------------------------------- From sastry at cs.wisc.edu Mon Oct 24 01:12:05 2005 From: sastry at cs.wisc.edu (Subramanya Sastry) Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2005 01:12:05 +0530 (IST) Subject: [Reader-list] NewsRack: FLOSS fellowship report Message-ID: Hi there, This is my final (longish) report to mark the end of my 6-month FLOSS fellowship. This report relies on some passing familiarity about what the NewsRack project is about. If you are unfamiliar, please refer to the Abstract and Background sections at: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/prc/2005-April/002978.html For potential users, sections 2, 5, 6 might be of interest. For potential developers, I hope you read all of this. For the technically-minded, sections 1, 3, 4, 5 might be of interest, but I hope you will read through section 6. For the sociologically-minded, section 6 might hopefully be of some interest. Subbu. ########################################################################### News Rack: Automating News Gathering and Classification ------------------------------------------------------- Brief summary of work --------------------- Over the last six months, I have primarily worked on: - fixing some critical bug fixes and making NewsRack stable. - providing useful new features (output RSS feeds, news classification from archives). - improving the user interface. - ways to access news sites that do not provide RSS feeds. - continuing to talk about NewsRack and provide demos at various forums. Overview of this report ----------------------- In this report, I will: 1. present an overview of NewsRack 2. present its current status in terms of usability 3. present some technical details about the underlying design 4. present some challenges that need to be addressed 5. present an outline of work in the future 6. discuss the "politics" of NewsRack 7. summarize feedback I have received from various people -------------------- 1. NewsRack Overview -------------------- In this section, I will provide an overview of NewsRack at a conceptual level, first by providing a model of the news monitoring problem, and then, by providing a model of NewsRack's solution. 1.1 Conceptual model of the news monitoring problem --------------------------------------------------- +----------------------+ ALL | # | PUBLISHED ----> | #### <--+----- Desired News NEWS | *** ##### | | *** <------####-----+----- Desired News | *** # | | oo | | ooo <---------+----- Desired News | oo | +----------------------+ FIG 1: Conceptual model of the news monitoring problem If the box represents the universe of all published news, the various blobs in the box represent the desired news subsets of various users. So, at this conceptual level, the problem of news monitoring reduces to - how one discovers published news, - how users specify what subsets they are interested in, and - how these subsets are identified. 1.2 Discovery of published news ------------------------------- Broadly, there are two approaches (that I know of) to discover published news: 1. One way is to crawl news sites. Ex: GoogleBot, MsnBot, YahooSlurp, etc. 2. The other way is to rely on news feeds. Ex: RSS, Atom. At this time, NewsRack only uses RSS news feeds to discover the universe of published news. This is not going to discover all published news and is only restricted to those newspapers that provide feeds. Here is a list of Indian newspapers that provide RSS feeds at this time: The Hindu, Hindu Business Line, Telegraph, Times of India, Economic Times, Indian Express (Front Page only), Express India, Rediff.com, Sify.com, IndiaInfo.com, NewKerala.com, India Together (the last six are online publications). The situation has changed significantly in the last year and it is expected that in the coming year, more newspapers will continue to provide RSS feeds. However, if implemented, NewsRack could also discover published news via crawling of newspaper sites. Section 5.2 addresses this aspect in greater detail. 1.3 Identifying desired subsets ------------------------------- There are different ways in which subsets of news can be discovered. - Automated clustering techniques: Using these, a tool could automatically creates different clusters of related news. Vivisimo (vivisimo.com) is a search engine where automated clustering is used to collate search results. - User-guided clustering: Here, a user can provide input to learning algorithms (ex: bayesian clustering) by dropping sample news articles in different bins. Thunderbird's spam-detection uses this technique. - Filtering Rules: Here, users write filtering rules to pick up desired news. Setting up filters in email clients for routing email to different folders is an example. NewsRack relies on user-specified filtering rules for selecting desired subset of news. In Sections 6.2 and 6.5, I will discuss the merits of the filtering-rule approach (over machine learning techniques). To summarize, the conceptual model of NewsRack is shown in FIG 2. +--------------+ INPUT ---->| |----> FILTERED NEWS ---->| NEWS FILTERS |----> NEWS FEEDS ---->| |----> FEEDS +--------------+ (Published News) (News Subsets) FIG 2: NewsRack conceptual model 1.4 User Profiles ----------------- In NewsRack, the user writes a profile in which (s)he specifies the news sources to monitor, what news clippings to select and how to classify them. I will not dwell at length on the specification format in this report, but just present the key idea. The heart of filtering rules in NewsRack is the idea of a "concept". Technically, a concept is simply a collection of keywords. Ex: [india] = "india", "hindustan", "bharath" Semantically, a concept attempts to encapsulate various things: - Spelling variations Ex: [nagapatnam] = "nagapatnam", "nagapattinam", ... - A conceptual idea: Ex: [rehab] = "rehabilitation", "resettlement", "R&R", ... - Collections: Ex: [narmada-dams] = "sardar sarovar", "maheshwar", "jobat", ... - Cross-language ideas: Ex: [water] = "water", "paani" (hindi), "neeru" (kannada), ... ("paani" is written in hindi, and "neeru" is written in Kannada. More on this in Section 5.3) - ... This model simplifies filtering rules, eases maintenance, captures personal perception of an issue, and enables knowledge sharing across users. I will elaborate on some of this in Section 6. --------------------------------------------------- 2. Current status of NewsRack in terms of usability --------------------------------------------------- As it stands today, NewsRack can be deployed as a web-based service with multiple users using the service or as a standalone tool on one's desktop. This distinction is somewhat cosmetic, because both uses require a web server over which NewsRack runs. In the web-based service incarnation, the installation will be on a web-server that is accessible on the internet. However, in a standalone-tool incarnation, the web-server serves pages locally. Currently, there is only one public installation at http://floss.sarai.net/newsrack However, its primary drawback is the lack of a friendly/intuitive interface for non-technical users to specify profiles for news filtering. During the last 6 months, I have made some progress in identifying approaches towards designing an user interface that makes it possible to develop profiles easily, and also to improve collaboration between different users of the system. The current version has been tested on Resin 2.1.16 and Tomcat 5 web servers on Linux and Windows XP systems. The software has not been tested on other combinations of web servers and operating systems. -------------------------------- 3. Technical details of NewsRack -------------------------------- Once again, I will not dwell too much here because much of this has been covered in my postings over the two terms of my fellowship. 3.1 NewsRack: J2EE application ------------------------------ Briefly, NewsRack is a J2EE application and utilizes the Struts and VelocityMacro tools. At this point, the backend relies on the underlying file system for storage of the news. News indexes and the user database is stored in XML files. This is not a very scalable solution and in future, this will be converted to a MySQL backend. It relies on other FLOSS software besides Struts and Velocity. It uses RSSLib4J RSS parsing API, Rome RSS parsing API, and JFlex scanner generator. In future, one of RSSLib4J or Rome will be retired -- as of April 2005, neither library provided all the features utilized by NewsRack. 3.2 Implementation of news filtering ------------------------------------ For every issue that the user has defined, NewsRack examines all the filtering rules, collects all concepts that have been used in the profile, and then generates a lexical analyzer (or scanner) using JFlex. Downloaded news articles are then passed through this scanner to identify all concepts that are present in the article. By analyzing these concepts and their frequency, the news article is then assigned to one or more categories based on the filtering rules that match. At this time, the concept analysis and rule matching algorithm is somewhat rudimentary and it can be refined and extended over time. In the earlier stages of development, NewsRack also supported JavaCC, but at this time, support has been dropped for it because experimentation showed that JFlex generated scanners are faster and more compact than JavaCC generated scanners. 3.3 Extracting news content from HTML source of a news item ----------------------------------------------------------- But, the crucial component for the accuracy of news filtering is the ability to extract news content from the HTML source of a news item. This is because, most news items are always presented on a page where there are links to other/related news, as well as advertisements (Google ads or others). If all this extraneous text (links to other/related news, as well as ads) is not removed, this text will lead to "false" matches of the news item against concepts. So, this component of NewsRack -- extraction of news content from the HTML source -- is central to the accuracy of classification. While this works quite well in general, there are several potential problems. The first problem is somewhat cosmetic. But, the next two problems are more serious and affect classification. 1. During the process of extracting news content, spurious characters were getting through due to a problem with the Swing HTML parser. Jaikishan Jalan, a student from Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, worked on this problem and helped fix these problems. Additionally, he pointed me to a different HTML parser (HTMLParser on Sourceforge) which does a better job of parsing HTML pages. 2. Several news items of Times of India are split across pages, i.e. at the bottom of the first page, there is a link to navigate to the next page of the news item. The current news-content-extraction technique is not smart enough to recognize this break in flow and automatically fetch the next page. 3. The current news-content-extraction works by "blindly" throwing away all content found as part of anchor tags ( .. ). This works well with most "conventional" news items wherein there is no hyperlinking in the body of the news item. However, there are also several online newspapers (CNet, for example) where there is heavy hyperlinking in the body of the news item. The current technique will end up throwing away all this hyperlinked text which will then compromise the accuracy of news classification. So, this technique will not work very well across all kinds of HTML pages -- the current technique is tailored to work with conventional news sources. But, this is one area where there is scope for improvement to make NewsRack work well with different kinds of news sources. ------------- 4. Challenges ------------- There are continuing challenges both in terms of continuing development of the tool, and adoption and usage of the tool by others. 4.1 User interface ------------------ This aspect was covered earlier. The user interface is better and easier to use than last year. It is now possible to examine profile files of other registered users, copy desired files, and edit them suitably to develop a new profile. Such sharing is actively encouraged within NewsRack since all profiles are default, by public. However, as explained in Section 2, work is in progress to make this process more friendly and non-technical. 4.2 Copyright issues -------------------- While there can be potential problems with creating local copies of news clippings without getting permission from newspapers, by highlighting the fair-use policy and the not-for-profit motive of this tool, this problem can be avoided. 4.3 Bandwidth and disk usage ---------------------------- Right now, across all (24) registered users on http://floss.sarai.net/newsrack, about 230 RSS feeds are monitored. The average daily download is of the order of 40 MB which translates to about 1GB download per month. 1GB is also the average disk usage per month. But, once few more details and bugs are ironed out of the backend, the original HTML files downloaded from news sites can be deleted bringing down the (uncompressed) storage requirements to about 100 MB a month. With compression and on-demand decompression of most-accessed news items, this disk usage can be brought down further. In future, as more newspapers provide RSS feeds, or news sites are crawled, the bandwidth and disk usage will continue to grow. At the current usage of monitoring of about 15 different news sources (with about 230 RSS feeds), the disk usage would be about 50MB a month. The more critical resource usage would be internet bandwidth usage of about 1GB a month. This will be the biggest hurdle for this tool to be installed widely by individuals or small resource-crunched organizations. However, the resource usage is not yet exorbitant for larger institutions to install them and provide access to others over the Internet. Additionally, the number of news sources monitored can be adjusted to match resource availability. The current design of NewsRack retains the possibility for capability to be developed for different installations of NewsRack to collaboratively download content without duplication. These different installations would then act as a larger decentralized NewsRack installation. But, this is still some time away in the future. This development would further bring down the resource usage of any one installation. 4.4 Scalability --------------- The primary upcoming technical challenge that I can foresee is one of scalability. I mentioned that with further refinement of the back-end disk usage can be managed significantly. Over the last 6 months, I have continued to refine the back end to make the process of download and filtering more efficient than it was. Additional challenges of scalability will crop up with the management of the backend archive. While the current backend relies on XML files for storing news indexes, this is not a very scalable solution because of the parsing overheads associated with XML. A move to a database-backend like MySQL/Postgres will address this technical problem. Additionally, all user information is currently maintained "in-memory". This is not a problem currently. But, as the number of registered and active users continues to grow, some degree of redesign is needed to read in user information "on-demand" from the backend (MySQL/XML-files). A further challenge of scalability is in terms of navigability of classified news for categories that have a huge number of classified articles. While this is not an issue of resource constraint, it is an issue of accessibility. This can be addressed by the provision of a Lucene-backed search capability over classified news -- this search has to work on multiple axes (title, news source, date, relevance, and other possible metrics) so that a subset of the classified news can be quickly accessed. -------------- 5. Future Work -------------- There are a number of directions that this project can go, both based on my own interest/understanding of the utility of this tool, as well as based on feedback and feature requests I have received from others. 5.1 User Interface ------------------ The primary task will be to develop an user interface to aid creation of profiles and to facilitate collaboration. I have a basic design worked out for this user interface. I am omitting the technical details of that design in this email. 5.2 Crawler-based news gathering for sites without RSS feeds ------------------------------------------------------------ I have done some work on writing crawlers for sites that dont provide RSS feeds. I spent some time writing a Perl script for developing a generic crawler. But, that has not gone very far because newspapers like 'Indian Express', 'Times of India', 'Hindustan Times' use database-backed sites and the site/URL structure does not reflect news published on a particular day. Additionally, the web servers installed on these newspaper sites do not provide the 'Last-Modified' time which makes it hard to download news published in the previous 24 hours. However, it is possible to develop site-specific news crawlers. I have a script that works for Hindu. However, by the time I got this Perl script in place, Hindu has started providing RSS feeds. But, this script is nevertheless useful in gathering news from Hindu's archives. I have already used this feature because Hindu does not seem to be updating its RSS feeds every day. Additionally, from a developer point of view, it is possible to write these site-specific crawlers in languages other than Java (PHP, Perl, Python, etc.) as long as the news is downloaded in the appropriate directories, and as long as the index file is written in the proper XML format. This provides one clean way for various people to contribute to NewsRack -- by developing site-specific crawlers for different newspapers. The developed crawlers can be "plugged into" NewsRack thus making available news from those sites to users. 5.3. Ability to monitor news in other Indian languages: ------------------------------------------------------- Since NewsRack is written in Java, it supports Unicode. So, it is possible (as of today) to create profiles where all name and keywords are in Hindi. In fact, it is also possible to write a concept where each keyword is in a different language For example, a concept [india] could have the keyword "india" in english, "hindustan" in hindi, "bharata" in kannada, etc. Thus, an english language news item, a hindi language news item, and kannada language news item can all be classified in the same category. It is this capability that demonstrates the real power of concept-based news (as opposed to keyword-based) news filtering. But, this is unlikely to fly off the ground right away because of two reasons: (a) I am not sure what encoding is used by different newspapers. (b) It is unlikely that these papers provide RSS feeds. So, support for these papers also requires non-RSS based news gathering to be in place. So, this aspect of NewsRack requires an investigation into questions of encoding, and writing a site-specific crawler for that newspaper. 5.4 Laundry list of other work to be done ----------------------------------------- . Providing a MySQL backend . Investigating issues of scalability and beginning to address them . Providing the search feature (Lucene indexing) . Providing features for managing classified news (deleted news, adding missing news, ...) .... ------------------------- 6. "Politics" of NewsRack ------------------------- It is perhaps somewhat of an obvious statement to make that software are born out of ideas, and that those ideas are rooted in politics. This is a playful (but not necessarily frivolous) exercise trying to explicate the ideas that have shaped the design of NewsRack and the resultant (intended or unintended) politics of NewsRack as a tool. 6.1 Sharing and Collaboration ----------------------------- NewsRack incorporates the idea of sharing and collaboration at multiple levels. 1. Firstly, as a FLOSS application, it is freely sharable, and it is possible to collaborate on the development. Hopefully, the collaboration part of this will happen sooner than later :-) I am the sole developer at this point. 2. Secondly, at the level of developing profiles, NewsRack is designed to encourage collaboration and knowledge-sharing. All data (in the form of concepts, news sources, filtering rules) are made public by default. As of today, NewsRack does not yet implement any other sharing policy. But, that may change in the future. Most existing profiles on the Sarai NewsRack installation have been developed by copying and suitable editing. 3. Thirdly, at the level of NewsRack output, the categorized news is free for all. Anyone visiting (or stumbling into) the site can browse news that has been categorized by various users. This aspect of NewsRack is readily exercised all the time. Taken together with the practice of copy-edit profile development, NewsRack can be loosely said to enable practices of open content. 4. Fourthly, the current design of NewsRack retains the potentiality of easing resource usage of any individual installation by sharing bandwidth and disk usage at any one site. For example, one installation of NewsRack can exclusively take care of downloading and classifying news articles from Hindu, another installation of NewsRack could handle articles from BBC, and so on. While tapping this potential of NewsRack requires more work, but, the potential very clearly exists and has been been consciously added keeping in mind the resource requirements of this tool (Sec 4.3). Thus, the values of openness, sharing, collaboration has been right at the heart of NewsRack's design -- and this has been a deliberate design from the beginning. The primary audience from the beginning has been the community of NGOs, social activists, academics, and researchers. From a very pragmatic point of view (rather than an idealogical point of view), collaboration and openness is fundamental to this tool being useful for this class of users. 6.2 "Putting the computer in its place": User-control over news monitoring -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ours is an era of increasing automation and computerisation, and it is hard to deny that NewsRack is very much a part of that trend. I would like to believe that psychologically, as humans, we like to be in control of situations, and at certain fundamental levels, automation and computers seem to hit at that psychological necessity. This is especially so with things like articifial intelligence, machine learning, intelligent agents, and the like. Movies like "I, Robot" and "The Matrix" (Trilogy) among others are devoted to the exploration of the conflicts given birth by "machine intelligence". To the extent we understand the beasts and can learn to control and direct them to our ends, we feel comfortable and secure in the knowledge that it is still us that order around the computers. But, it is also true there are also levels of control ("My slave might be your master"). To the programmer who builds a piece of software, he is very much in control. But, what about the user of that software? One can also better appreciate the appeal of open-source software using the language of control. Open-source software holds the promise and potential of control (even if illusory at times) -- if the piece of software does not behave, I can bring it to heel by hacking it (up) in a way that I think it should behave. Note that I am using this language of control not in terms of control of corporations or governments (which is also very much an issue) but at a much more intimate and immediate level: as an assertion of my control over the seemingly-autonomous program. Among many things, the culture of piracy via cracking of licences could be seen as being fed by this need to establish control over (closed-source) software. There is an increasing trend of behaviour monitoring to better target information (and products) to us as consumers. There is something very uncanny and disconcerting about the fact that more and more aspects of our lives are getting digitized which are then digested by software to spit out the next product that we might be interested in. This is once again a conflict over control: deciphering behavioural patterns to turn me into a Pavlov's dog and control my salivation. Perhaps then, in some perverse sense, it is a cause for celebration when some spammer gets through the spam filters :-). It is in this context that I would like to situate NewsRack. Going back to Section 1.3, there are different ways in which desired news subsets can be identified: there are machine learning techniques and there are techniques based on user-specified filtering rules. Right at the beginning, I made the decision to go with filtering rules to let the user specify what news needs to be monitored, and how it needs to be classified. While one could use machine learning techniques to learn from the user's actions (of dropping articles in different labelled folders) without the need for any filtering rules, there is something psychologically comforting about filtering rules and the fact that the damned piece of software is only following my rules. Of course, all of this discussion should be rightfully seen as my personal intellectual, psychological, and political baggage that has influenced my decision to go for filtering rules (besides reasons like my familiarity with programming languages and compilers and relative unfamiliarity with machine learning techniques). There are also some other reasons for preferring filtering rules -- more in Sec 6.5 below. Additionally, this is not to mean that machine learning techniques have no place here. By a suitable design, they can be made available as optional components to be turned on by users according to their taste. But, I still see them as being useful in an auxilliary capacity to improve the accuracy of classification as specified by the filtering rules (perhaps by removing news items of low relevance, or by clubbing together items that are similar). 6.3 NewsRack Profiles as Open-Source programs --------------------------------------------- This might seem a bit strange, but, all said and done, profiles with filtering rules are nothing but programs. NewsRack profiles are simply logic programs. Those familiar with Prolog can recognize the similarity. Membership of a news article in a category depends on whether a logic clause (corresponding to the filtering rule for that category) is satisfied. Let us now revisit the various aspects of NewsRack from this perspective of "Profiles-as-Programs". Encouraging copying/sharing while writing profiles is equivalent to writing open-source programs. As discussed previously, in the current design of NewsRack, all profiles are, by default, public. So, all profiles are thus open-source programs. It is very well-known that sharing and re-usability (whether in the open-source or proprietary world) is greatly facilitated by modular design and programming. This is no different in NewsRack and profile development. NewsRack encourages modularity in a couple of different ways. The idea of a "concept" in NewsRack is the first level where modularity is achieved. By defining a set of related keywords as a concept, it is possible to reuse concepts in a profile at multiple places, and also by different users. Secondly, it is possible to define collections of concepts, news sources, or categories. The benefit of defining collections is that it is now possible to share entire collections, and use whatever is desired (rather than copy one concept at a time). So, for example, it is possible to define a collection of concepts that represent different countries, different states, concepts corresponding to IFIs, concepts corresponding to organic agriculture, and so on. This level of modularity has already been leveraged at the level of collections of news sources. Collections of news sources get copied 'en masse' and users use only those news sources that they are interested in monitoring. However, this power present in modular design is unlikely to be unleashed without a well-designed user interface (discussed in Section 5.1). So, to summarize this section, NewsRack enables writing of modular open-source programs for monitoring news. However, with a well-defined user interface, a user need not necessarily realize that (s)he is writing a program in actuality (which can be daunting to some and a rush for others). 6.4 NewsRack profiles as unravellers of personal politics --------------------------------------------------------- This is a somewhat unexpected side-effect of writing profiles. This is best illustrated with an example. Consider the following concept which yours truly wrote while developing a profile to monitor tsunami-related news (partly as a showcase of NewsRack's abilities). economic-impact economic impact economic devastation slowdown in growth financial loss financial losses tsunami losses months to recover crippling his livelihood crippling their livelihood Firstly, of course, is the matter of what is considered to be an economic impact. One can read into this definition accordingly. But, more glaring is the last two "keywords". Those two "keywords" betray a potential gender bias because of the omission of "crippling her livelihood" (I have of course fixed this once I discovered this, but it nevertheless stands out). As another example, here is a concept from another user's profile: backwardness backwardness illiteracy flood backward kosi Kamla Lalu JD(U) Once again, this concept makes explicit one's personal ideas and notions of what backwardness means. This is one very good reason to prefer filtering rules over machine learning techniques. For one person development could be: development software companies infrastructure highways power plants foreign direct investment For another person, development could be: development land reform organic agriculture decentralization While one could get a sense of this from the article classified into the various folders by the machine learning algorithm, there is something to be said for the explicitness of the politics that comes through concepts and filtering rules. 6.5 NewsRack as a media analysis tool ------------------------------------- Closely linked with the previous section (concepts as unravellers of personal politics) is the idea of concepts as an unraveller of media politics. At a very crude level, for any particular issue, the number of articles in that particular category is a good indication of how much attention the media is giving that issue. A quick glance at the main listing of users and issues at "http://floss.sarai.net/newsrack/Browse.do" shows very clearly that the India-Pakistan issue and the Tsunami issue have hogged the most media attention amongst all the issues that NewsRack users have written rules for. One can then dig into the next level and look at the specific categories within that issue and see how the coverage has been for that issue. It is also possible to do an analysis between different news publications and see how they cover the same issue. It is possible to do an analysis over time to see how the coverage has been over time (especially for issues like the tsunami disaster). Of course, before one jumps to pass judgments about newspapers, it is also important to examine the specific filtering rules used by the user. They can be analysed to see how things change by tinkering with the rules. Thus, the filtering rules provide a very concrete basis for verification of claims about media coverage. As a very specific example, I have created a profile for monitoring news about water privatisation. Initially, I had some straightforward rules to catch "water", "privatisation" (and their spelling and tense variants). However, I was told that this is insufficient and that keywords need to be chosen more carefully. To quote: just water+privatisation will not suffice. Indeed, due to the political backlash to privatisation, many agencies do not even use that word. So you will find privatisation news where "private" word may not figure; instead, you may have water+BOOT, or BOT; or, management contract, or lease, or PPP (which expands to Public Private Partnership, but they may just use the short form), of PSP (Private Sector Participation), or even the more insidious "reforms", "restructuring" etc. Of course, I modified the profile accordingly. But what this exchange also indicates is that it is possible to monitor how different newspapers report about an issue by analysing the concepts/keywords that matched in the classified news items. Thus, by choosing keywords/concepts/rules appropriately, they can be put to use as unravellers of politics of media coverage. Here again, the use of filtering rules (as opposed to machine learning) comes in handy. ---------- 7. Summary ---------- I have received good feedback about NewsRack. There is interest in its potential utility in a number of people, especially researchers. I have received feedback that the fact that news is categorized and stored all in one place, rather than being emailed as news alerts, that itself is of some value because of the email deluge and because information received in emails is not easy to manage. I will end this report on this note. I will continue to work on NewsRack and welcome input into this process from anyone so interested. I especially invite technical people to come forward and participate in taking forward this tool. It is still somewhat early to say how useful NewsRack will be or how widely it will be adoptd, but hopefully it will in the course of the next several months as things improve. --------------- Acknowledgments --------------- - Sarai, the institution, for providing me with the fellowship - Everyone at Sarai for their feedback and vote of confidence in this project - Mary, Vivek, and Dinesh for their technical inputs and support - ESG, CED, and CSE for their input about their news monitoring processes - several others who have used NewsRack or seen presentations/demos about NewsRack and given me feedback about it From anivar at gnu.org.in Mon Oct 24 13:10:24 2005 From: anivar at gnu.org.in (Anivar Aravind) Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2005 13:10:24 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] NewsRack: FLOSS fellowship report In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <35f96d470510240040o1d61b87dt21a2ae663a11173a@mail.gmail.com> What about Developing a XUL/Mozilla based front end for newsrack. It will make it more accessible. Another idea striking in my mind is linking it with new social browser Flock which usesmozilla code base. ~ Regards Anivar From aman.malik at gmail.com Sun Oct 23 23:13:43 2005 From: aman.malik at gmail.com (Aman Malik) Date: Sun, 23 Oct 2005 23:13:43 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Media in conflict Message-ID: <95be63560510231043u14eeb53eh2ac9c38a7c8b7cfd@mail.gmail.com> Hi all, I am currently engaged in researching for a paper that seeks to analyse the role of mass media in identity based conflict situations in South Asia(Sri Lanka, Kashmir, North East etc). The abstract of the paper is given at the end of this meessage. This paper is to be presented at a conference next month and is to be sent in by November 4, 2005. Would anyone on this group be in any position to help me with the same? You could either lead me to certain published material which pertains to the said subject, that you know of or if you have any inputs to offer by way of comments, suggestions etc. You may also be aware of people who could help me. I would be most greatful for all help extended. Regards, Aman Malik New Delhi, India *Media in Conflict The role of the media in a conflict situation. By: Aman Malik In an identity based conflict situation, the media is usually the first casualty as its power tends to get usurped by all the players in the conflict. This is especially true of conflicts where there is a complete breakdown of local governance and so the media ends up as the only functioning democratic agency, thereby acquiring the role of the sole validator of public opinion. In long drawn out (violent) conflicts such as the ones in the Middle East, Sri Lanka and Kashmir, over time, fault lines develop within the media and it tends to get polarized along ideologies that are antithetical to each other. Eventually, the media, a tool whose power, in theory at least, has the potency and indeed the vibrancy to play a constructive role toward the resolution of the conflict, becomes subservient to the players the conflict. Sections of the media take up such hard-line positions that they become de-facto propaganda machines for the state, the sub-state actors and other players (human rights groups, NGOs, think tanks and special interest groups et al.) in the conflict. Moreover, every sub-state actor today has its own mouthpiece, whose ability to influence public opinion cannot be neglected. It therefore becomes pertinent to study the role of the media at all three levels: the local national and the international. In fact today, with the evolution of the electronic media and the Internet the media has become ubiquitous, with the result that the validity of aforementioned stratification itself may be in dispute. This paper would seek to analyse this transformation in the role of the media by taking up the Sri Lanka and Kashmir conflicts as case studies. It would seek to draw parallels between the three situations and arrive at informed conclusions. The paper would be more journalistic than academic i.e. it would analyse the issue polemically and not in an overly academic fashion. -- "There is nothing more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things - because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new." *"The Prince" Nicolo Machiavelli -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20051023/5e69d511/attachment.html From lawrence at altlawforum.org Mon Oct 24 09:23:05 2005 From: lawrence at altlawforum.org (Lawrence Liang) Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2005 09:23:05 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] FW: [Urbanstudy] In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Call for Contributions World Information City Public Campaign Material World Information City - Bangalore,(WIC-B) is a week long event (14th-19th November 2005) jointly organized by Netbase (Vienna), Alternative Law Forum (Bangalore), The Waag Society (Amsterdam) and Sarai-CSDS (Delhi) in partnership with Mahiti.org (Bangalore) WIC - B is one of a series of events and processes titled World Information.Org - initiated by the Netbase (Vienna) in partnership with organizations and initiatives in different parts of the world to focus attention on cultural, social and political aspects of information in the contemporary world. Previous 'editions' of World Information.Org have taken place in Vienna, Brussels, Amsterdam, Belgrade and Novi Sad For more details, see http://world-information.org/wio In November from 14th to 19th, an event called World Information City will be taking place in Bangalore organized by Alternative Law Forum, Mahiti, Public Netbase, Sarai and Waag. The event raises questions about the impact of new technologies on our societies: on daily life, work, culture, and politics. We encounter the myth of moving into the information era on an everyday basis. How do we understand the politics of information in terms of ownership, control and access and link it to the transformation of the urban experience in India? WIC consists of a dense program of events including conference, exhibition, information displays, workshops and public campaign. Wanted: Concepts for the design of posters, stickers, billboards supposed to carry the issues of ³World-Information City¹ into the public sphere of the urban space of Bangalore in November 2005. Theme: The Other Information City WIC is a look at the global information city that exists not only in the shopping malls, technology parks and gated communities, but also in the everyday electronic cultures that have changed equations of access through piracy (software, culture) and tinkering (hardware, infrastructure). People continue to hack into networks of power for electricity, entertainment, information etc. and these tactile practices and imagination of the other information city exists in the everyday practices of people Submission Submissions in Kannada, Hindi, English and to be sent to worldinfoex at yahoo.com or namita at altlawforum.org. Please post or drop off your concept and/or image(s) to the following address, or send by email to worldinfoex at yahoo.com / namita at altlawforum.org Alternative Law Forum No. 4, 3rd Cross Vasanthnagar Bangalore - 560052 Call open to all. Deadline: 5th November, 2005 Jury: * Allan Stanley, Mahiti, Bangalore * Ayisha Abraham, artist, Bangalore * Kiran Subbaiah, artist, Bangalore * Lawrence Liang, Alternative Law Forum, Bangalore * Namita Malhotra, Alternative Law Forum, Bangalore The selected design will be presented between November 10-20, 2005, in the public sphere of Bangalore, as billboards or posters. Costs for the realisation of the draft, and a cash prize of 10,000 will be covered. Travel expenses and stay for out-station applicants will not be covered. A maximum of 2 designs will be selected. Queries Mailto: worldinfoex at yahoo.com, namita at altlawforum.org Links World Information City, Bangalore http://world-information.org/wio/program/bangalore2005 Sarai CSDS http://www.sarai.net Waag Society http://www.waag.org The Alternative Law Forum http://www.altlawforum.org Mahiti www.mahiti.org ======= World Information City Information - by which we mean the gamut of practices and processes of knowing and making known the world can also be seen as that constellation of embodied intellectual labour, accumulated cultural capital and evolving knowledge systems that plays a key part in the maintenance of the fabric of contemporary existence. Information seems to be implicated in everything - from piracy to privacy, from commoning to control, from identification to identity, from repression to resistance, from learning to labour, from border patrols to border crossings, from urban planning to urban . Yet, information, which acts as a 'glue' that adheres reality to representation is a grossly under-theorized, hyped and mis-understood category. Our work at at Netbase, Sarai-CSDS, Waag Society and Mahiti has a great deal to do with information, though we all come at it from different angles. WIC-B, and the 'conference' that is placed at its culmination is an effort on our part to inaugurate a set of discussions that we hope will animate our future work, as well as contribute to debate within the public domain. While currently prevailing notions of 'information-society' belabour under the delusion that more efficient information management systems (such as 'e-governance') are the panacea for all societal problems, the term 'information' also seems to conjure for many, anxieties of loss of agency in the face of excessive information control. A more nuanced view suggests that the everyday life of information in contemporary societies occupies a far more slippery terrain than can be listed by the narratives of either 'progress', or 'paranoia', it consists of surveillance regimes and counter-surveillance processes that work only inconsistently, of a chain of intellectual property claims and violations that bring a new level of constant attrition and strain to bear on capitalism, of complex histories and conflicts about knowing -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20051024/c611c7e2/attachment.html From lawrence at altlawforum.org Mon Oct 24 09:24:24 2005 From: lawrence at altlawforum.org (Lawrence Liang) Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2005 09:24:24 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Call for Contributions- World Info City Public Campaign In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Call for Contributions World Information City Public Campaign Material World Information City - Bangalore,(WIC-B) is a week long event (14th-19th November 2005) jointly organized by Netbase (Vienna), Alternative Law Forum (Bangalore), The Waag Society (Amsterdam) and Sarai-CSDS (Delhi) in partnership with Mahiti.org (Bangalore) WIC - B is one of a series of events and processes titled World Information.Org - initiated by the Netbase (Vienna) in partnership with organizations and initiatives in different parts of the world to focus attention on cultural, social and political aspects of information in the contemporary world. Previous 'editions' of World Information.Org have taken place in Vienna, Brussels, Amsterdam, Belgrade and Novi Sad For more details, see http://world-information.org/wio In November from 14th to 19th, an event called World Information City will be taking place in Bangalore organized by Alternative Law Forum, Mahiti, Public Netbase, Sarai and Waag. The event raises questions about the impact of new technologies on our societies: on daily life, work, culture, and politics. We encounter the myth of moving into the information era on an everyday basis. How do we understand the politics of information in terms of ownership, control and access and link it to the transformation of the urban experience in India? WIC consists of a dense program of events including conference, exhibition, information displays, workshops and public campaign. Wanted: Concepts for the design of posters, stickers, billboards supposed to carry the issues of ³World-Information City¹ into the public sphere of the urban space of Bangalore in November 2005. Theme: The Other Information City WIC is a look at the global information city that exists not only in the shopping malls, technology parks and gated communities, but also in the everyday electronic cultures that have changed equations of access through piracy (software, culture) and tinkering (hardware, infrastructure). People continue to hack into networks of power for electricity, entertainment, information etc. and these tactile practices and imagination of the other information city exists in the everyday practices of people Submission Submissions in Kannada, Hindi, English and to be sent to worldinfoex at yahoo.com or namita at altlawforum.org. Please post or drop off your concept and/or image(s) to the following address, or send by email to worldinfoex at yahoo.com / namita at altlawforum.org Alternative Law Forum No. 4, 3rd Cross Vasanthnagar Bangalore - 560052 Call open to all. Deadline: 5th November, 2005 Jury: * Allan Stanley, Mahiti, Bangalore * Ayisha Abraham, artist, Bangalore * Kiran Subbaiah, artist, Bangalore * Lawrence Liang, Alternative Law Forum, Bangalore * Namita Malhotra, Alternative Law Forum, Bangalore The selected design will be presented between November 10-20, 2005, in the public sphere of Bangalore, as billboards or posters. Costs for the realisation of the draft, and a cash prize of 10,000 will be covered. Travel expenses and stay for out-station applicants will not be covered. A maximum of 2 designs will be selected. Queries Mailto: worldinfoex at yahoo.com, namita at altlawforum.org Links World Information City, Bangalore http://world-information.org/wio/program/bangalore2005 Sarai CSDS http://www.sarai.net Waag Society http://www.waag.org The Alternative Law Forum http://www.altlawforum.org Mahiti www.mahiti.org ======= World Information City Information - by which we mean the gamut of practices and processes of knowing and making known the world can also be seen as that constellation of embodied intellectual labour, accumulated cultural capital and evolving knowledge systems that plays a key part in the maintenance of the fabric of contemporary existence. Information seems to be implicated in everything - from piracy to privacy, from commoning to control, from identification to identity, from repression to resistance, from learning to labour, from border patrols to border crossings, from urban planning to urban . Yet, information, which acts as a 'glue' that adheres reality to representation is a grossly under-theorized, hyped and mis-understood category. Our work at at Netbase, Sarai-CSDS, Waag Society and Mahiti has a great deal to do with information, though we all come at it from different angles. WIC-B, and the 'conference' that is placed at its culmination is an effort on our part to inaugurate a set of discussions that we hope will animate our future work, as well as contribute to debate within the public domain. While currently prevailing notions of 'information-society' belabour under the delusion that more efficient information management systems (such as 'e-governance') are the panacea for all societal problems, the term 'information' also seems to conjure for many, anxieties of loss of agency in the face of excessive information control. A more nuanced view suggests that the everyday life of information in contemporary societies occupies a far more slippery terrain than can be listed by the narratives of either 'progress', or 'paranoia', it consists of surveillance regimes and counter-surveillance processes that work only inconsistently, of a chain of intellectual property claims and violations that bring a new level of constant attrition and strain to bear on capitalism, of complex histories and conflicts about knowing -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20051024/fb400462/attachment.html From khadeeja at sarai.net Sat Oct 22 22:58:37 2005 From: khadeeja at sarai.net (khadeeja at sarai.net) Date: Sat, 22 Oct 2005 19:28:37 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] [Fwd: Exhibition Opening at Khoj] Message-ID: <1983.203.122.31.62.1130002117.squirrel@mail.sarai.net> ---------------------------- Original Message ---------------------------- Subject: Exhibition Opening at Khoj From: "khoj studios" Date: Sat, October 22, 2005 1:48 pm To: khojinteract at gmail.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Khoj Studios* invite you to attend an evening showcasing the work of New York artist * * Ann McCoy THE DEATH AND TRANSFORMATION OF THE MONKEY KING: AN ALCHEMICAL FAIRY TALE *Date: 28th Oct, Friday 05* Time: 6:30 pm onwards The exhibition will be on view until the 30 th of Oct, between 11:30 am and 6:30 pm. Ann McCoy is a New York artist who studied alchemy in Zurich for 25 years with Jung's main assistant C. A. Meier. Her work deals with mythology, depth psychology, comparative religion, and the dream world. Her forthcoming exhibition at KHOJ represents a political departure from her past work. She is disturbed by the current policies of the Bush administration with the war in Iraq and the environmental devastation that is occurring. THE DEATH AND TRANSFORMATION OF THE MONKEY KING: AN ALCHEMICAL FAIRY TALE comprised of wall text and projections, deals with Bush as the 'monkey on the back' of the world, and was inspired by the myth of Osiris, and alchemical texts. This exhibition examines the problem the lack of 'shadow reflection' of both the king and his country and the need for renewal. The exhibition is divided into four sections. Each room deals with a different part of the problem in a different dimension. The first is the history of the Monkey King and the king and his countries "shadow". The second is the death, dismemberment and reconstitution of the Monkey King. The third is the introduction and marriage of the Monkey King to the nature goddess. The last is the birth of the Self, not simply the personal 'self' but a concept of the self, which includes the transpersonal. for more information please visit http://www.khojworkshop.org/database/exhibitions/upcmngex05/ www.annmccoy.com We look forward to seeing you!!! -- Khoj Studios S-17. Khirki Extension. (Near Sai Baba Temple) New Delhi-17 Call:91-11-55655874\73 www.khojworkshop.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20051022/d48de4fb/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: annmccoyfront.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 758158 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20051022/d48de4fb/attachment.jpg -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From cahen.x at levels9.com Mon Oct 24 22:51:53 2005 From: cahen.x at levels9.com (xavier cahen) Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2005 19:21:53 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?actu_/_Bokeo_and_Chantaburi_mines?= =?windows-1252?q?=2C_Lao=2C_Thailand_/__Les_mines_du_Bokeo_et_de_Chanthab?= =?windows-1252?q?uri=2C_Laos_et_Tha=EFlande=2E?= Message-ID: <435D1831.6080506@levels9.com> Actu. /pictures for news - des photos pour infos [french version below] Bokeo and Chantaburi mines, Lao, Thailand. (Chanthaburi, August 30, 2005). http://levels9.com/artprog1/actu/document_actu/chanthaburi/chanthaburi.html Ou / or http://www.levels9.com/light/actunews.html Ou / or http://www.levels9.com/actu Bokeo and Chanthaburi mines, Laos and Thailand. (Chanthaburi, August 30, 2005) The Bokeo valley is located all along the Mekong River at the crossing point of Thailand, Myanmar (the old Burma), and China. Laos, one of the least developed countries in South-East Asia, is only surviving with an economy essentially based on farming. However, this region is not as poor as the others because of fruitful commercial exchanges. Parallel to its rice production, lumber trade and poppy culture in the Golden Triangle (opium and heroin are derived from poppy flowers), huge gems deposits are laying in this valley whose name means “valley of the sapphires”. This land became a highly coveted one because of sapphires and rubies. In fact, sapphires belong to the corundum gem family. The label “sapphire” is granted to all corundum gems excepted red ones, which characterizes rubies. Traditionally, sapphires are blue, but since the 19th century the term sapphire is applied to all transparent corundum. It is custom then to specify the color when they are not blue. In fact, green, yellow or pink sapphires can be found. Sapphires generally come from Mesozoic rocks belonging to the metamorphous type composed of sands and alluvium clays. In a raw state, they look rather like small round opaque and cask-shaped pebbles. These days, the richest and most productive deposits are not only situated in Sri Lanka, but also in Burma’s Mogok region; they are not as profitable in Laos. Cashmere’s famous cornflower blue sapphires are almost impossible to get. Mining exploitations in Laos have various dimensions, from shovel to excavator, but still remain family or village size enterprises. Farmer and child labor is used for digging huge holes in the middle of rice paddies with the hope of finding one’s fortune and the stone that would change a whole life… Small operations are mainly using shovels, sieves and pumps in order to protect themselves from a possible drowning caused by water coming from nearby rivers and rice fields; water is constantly oozing in from porous sides. Younger workers are given the hardest tasks; they are digging with their shovels at the bottom of the excavation. Hiring remains the main resource; a full workday would not often bring anything at all, at the best, a one-carat sapphire… These gems will sooner or later all end up on the Chanthaburi market. The Chanthaburi mining region is a Thai town but also a province located close to the Cambodian border. It was the first ruby producer in the world in the 80’s. Rubies have always been considered the most precious stone. The color indicates where it comes from; a pale or paler red and a pink color stone would be from Burma or Sri Lanka, as a dark garnet almost burgundy red one from Siam origins. “Pigeon blood” color rubies have great reputation; they are very rare and even more expensive than good quality diamonds. The Chanthaburi mining centre is no longer a major one since its ruby production is almost gone and has been replaced by industrial type yellow sapphire exploitations. In this region, mines are scarce but large. Most of the time, mechanical shovels are tossing and digging the ground all day long using plenty of water in order to separate the sapphires from the sediment. In spite of this situation, Chanthaburi still prevails for the size of its rubies and the quantity of its sales; 80% of them are passing through Thailand. An amazing gem variety coming from everywhere in the world is offered to merchants. The main supply sources of raw gems are the Mong Hsu region in Burma, Pai Lin in Cambodia, Ratnapura in Sri Lanka, and more recently, in Africa with the Tanzania, South Kenya and Madagascar mining areas. Guineans are routing them to Thailand. A special part of town turns into a huge precious stone market where sellers and buyers from all over the world are meeting every weekend. The buyers’ lobby is mostly from India or the Middle East, and a few from Holland and America as far as the Westerners are concerned… Gems will be transformed into jewels. They reflect the social contrast and paradox between poverty and extreme destitution of the gem diggers and miners, and the ultimate function of the rocks, an ornament for the rich… Xavier Cahen +++++ +++++ /Related subject/ Mines of Cerro Rico, Potosi, Bolivia. (Potosi, August 25 th, 2004) http://www.levels9.com/artprog1/actu/document_actu/potosi/potosi.html Ou / or http://www.levels9.com/light/actunews.html Cerro Rico (or Sumaj Orcko in Quechua, means the most beautiful mountain) is the symbol of South America exploitation by the Europeans. This 4920 meters high mountain has been exploited for three centuries by the Spaniards who had discovered there a colossal silver deposit. This massive exploitation took the lives of 8 million Indians; 50 000 black slaves were sacrificed per year in order to extract the valuable metal. The mountain lost more than 200 meters of its slope because of the excavations during that same time. Set at the foot of Cerro Rico, the town of Potosi was raised to the rank of Imperial City by Charles Quint in 1546, the only city in South America to enjoy this title. During the XVIth century, the place was considered the biggest industrial complex in the world. At the beginning of the XVIIth century, Potosi was the second largest city in the West with 160 000 inhabitants, before London and Paris. In 1987, UNESCO designated Potosi to be part of World Heritage. Today, in this town set 4100 metres high, life has become very hard. Silver mines have been exhausted for a long time. A few lead and pewter miners are still working using archaic methods; some are becoming tourist guides for Westerners... Xavier Cahen English Translation : Kristine Barut Dreuilhe +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ [french version] +++++ [french version] +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Les mines du Bokéo et de Chanthaburi, Laos et Thaïlande. (Chanthaburi, 30 août 2005) http://levels9.com/artprog1/actu/document_actu/chanthaburi/chanthaburi.html Ou / or http://www.levels9.com/light/actunews.html Ou / or http://www.levels9.com/actu Les mines du Bokéo et de Chanthaburi, au Laos et en Thaïlande. La vallée du Bokéo se situe tout au long du Mékong, au carrefour de la Thaïlande, du Myanmar, l’ancienne Birmanie et de la Chine. L'économie laotienne, essentiellement agricole, est une des économies de subsistance la moins développée d'Asie du sud-est. Cependant cette région s’avère plutôt moins pauvre que les autres grâce à ses échanges commerciaux conséquents. Parrallèlement à la production de riz, au négoce du bois et à la culture du pavot dans le Triangle d’Or (à partir duquel est produit l’opium et l’héroïne), il existe d'importants gisements de pierres précieuses dans cette vallée dont le nom signifie “vallée des saphirs”. Les saphirs et les rubis en particulier, assurent à cette région un statut de territoire convoité. Le saphir correspond en réalité à une variété gemmologique du corindon. L’appellation saphir est octroyée à tout corindon gemme d'une autre couleur que le rouge qui caractérise uniquement le rubis. Traditionnellement le saphir est bleu, mais depuis le 19e siècle le terme “ saphir “ s'applique à tous les corindons transparents; il convient alors de préciser leur couleur lorsqu'ils ne sont pas bleus. Il existe donc des saphirs verts, jaunes ou roses… Le saphir se forme généralement dans des roches secondaires de type métamorphique constituées de sables et d'argiles alluvionnaires. Il se présente à l'état brut sous l'aspect de petits cailloux plus ou moins arrondis, opaques et en forme de tonnelet. Les gisements les plus riches et les plus productifs se situent de nos jours au Sri Lanka, mais aussi en Birmanie, dans la région de Mogok, ceux de la vallée du Bokéo au Laos se montrent moins rentables. Quant aux célèbres saphirs du Cachemire, couleur de bleuet, ils sont devenus rarissimes. Au Laos, les exploitations minières sont de tailles très variables, allant de la pelle à la pelleteuse, tout en restant principalement de types familiales ou villageoises. Une main d’œuvre paysanne et parfois enfantine est exploitée pour creuser de vastes trous au milieu des rizières à la recherche de la fortune, de la pierre qui changera leur vie… Ces petites exploitations utilisent principalement comme outils la pelle, le tamis et la pompe qui pare aux éventuelles noyades provoquées par l’eau provenant des rivières et des rizières et qui suinte en permanence des parois poreuses. Les plus jeunes doivent assurer les travaux à risques, ils creusent avec leur pelle du fond de l’excavation. L’embauche reste ici la principale ressource ; il est donc fréquent qu’une journée de travail ne rapporte rien et dans le meilleur des cas, un saphir d’un carat… Toutes ces pierres, aussi petites soient-elles, se retrouvent finalement sur le marché de Chanthaburi. La région minière de Chanthaburi, ville et province thaïlandaise, située non loin de la frontière cambodgienne fut dans les années 80 le premier producteur de rubis au monde. Le rubis a toujours été considéré comme la pierre la plus précieuse qui soit. Sa couleur donne une information sur sa provenance géographique ; ainsi une couleur rouge plus ou moins pâle ou rosée indiquera une origine birmane ou sri lankaise, alors qu'un rouge grenat sombre, tirant vers le bordeaux une origine siamoise. Les rubis de couleur "sang de pigeon" sont d’une grande valeur, plus rares, et plus chers que des diamants de grande qualité. Le centre minier de Chanthaburi n’est plus aujourd’hui de première importance car sa production de rubis a quasiment disparue laissant place à une exploitation de type industriel du saphir jaune. Dans cette région, les mines sont plus rares mais de plus grandes tailles. Généralement, des pelles mécaniques retournent et creusent inlassablement le sol à l’aide d’une grande masse d’eau afin de séparer les saphirs de leur sédiment. Pourtant, Chanthaburi affirme encore sa prédominence pour la taille et la vente des rubis dont 80% transitent aujourd’hui par la Thaïlande. Une incroyable variété de pierres précieuses venue des quatre coins de la planète y est proposée aux marchands. Ses principales sources d’approvisionnement en pierres brutes sont les régions Mong Hsu en Birmanie (ou Myanmar), Pai lin au Cambodge, Ratnapura au Sri Lanka et plus récemment, l’Afrique avec les mines de Tanzanie, du sud Kenya et de Madagascar. Elles sont acheminées en Thaïlande principalement par les Guinéens. Chaque week-end une partie de la ville se transforme en un vaste marché de pierres précieuses où se croisent vendeurs et acheteurs du monde entier. Le lobby des acheteurs semble tenu largement par la communauté indienne, suivie de celle du Moyen Orient et de quelques Hollandais et Américains, parmi les Occidentaux… Ces pierres seront montées en bijoux. Elles cristallisent le contraste et le paradoxe social entre la pauvreté et le dénuement extrême des mineurs, face à la fonction ultime de ces cailloux, une parure pour les nantis… Xavier Cahen +++++ +++++ /Sujet connexe/ Les mines du Cerro Rico, Potosi, en Bolivie. (Potosi, le 25 août 2004) http://www.levels9.com/artprog1/actu/document_actu/potosi/potosi.html Ou / or http://www.levels9.com/light/actunews.html Le Cerro Rico (ou Sumaj Orcko en Quechua, signifie « la plus belle montagne ») est le symbole de l'exploitation de l'Amérique du Sud par les Européens. En effet, cette montagne de plus de 4920 mètres fut exploitée pendant trois siècles par les Espagnols après qu’ils y eurent découvert un gisement d'argent colossal. Cette exploitation forcenée a coûté la vie à huit millions d'Indiens et d'esclaves noirs sacrifiés, au rythme de 50 000 par an, pour en extraire ses richesses. La montagne, pendant cette même période, a perdu plus de 200 mètres de dénivelé en raison des excavations. La ville de Potosí, qui se trouve au pied du Cerro Rico, fut élevée au rang de ville impériale par Charles-Quint en 1546 ; elle fut l’unique ville d´Amérique Latine qui bénéficia de cette distinction. L'endroit était considéré au XVIe siècle comme le plus grand complexe industriel du monde. Au début du XVIIe siècle, Potosi était, devant Londres et Paris, la seconde ville la plus importante d’Occident, et comptait alors 160 000 habitants. En 1987, Potosi fut déclaré patrimoine mondial de l'humanité par l’UNESCO. Aujourd'hui, la vie dans cette ville à 4100 mètres d'altitude est bien difficile, les riches filons d'argent sont épuisés depuis longtemps. Les mineurs y travaillent encore afin d’extraire le plomb et l’étain avec des méthodes archaïques, ou se retrouvent guides pour touristes occidentaux... -- XAVIER CAHEN -------------- cahen.x at levels9.com Paris France http://www.levels9.com From anupam_iase at yahoo.co.in Tue Oct 25 10:02:55 2005 From: anupam_iase at yahoo.co.in (anupam pachauri) Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2005 05:32:55 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Civil Rights Pioneer Rosa Parks Dies at 92 Message-ID: <20051025043255.41012.qmail@web8403.mail.in.yahoo.com> Civil Rights Pioneer Rosa Parks Dies at 92 DETROIT - Rosa Parks, whose refusal to give up her bus seat to a white man sparked the modern civil rights movement, died Monday evening. She was 92. Mrs. Parks died at her home during the evening of natural causes, with close friends by her side, said Gregory Reed, an attorney who represented her for the past 15 years. Mrs. Parks was 42 when she committed an act of defiance in 1955 that was to change the course of American history and earn her the title "mother of the civil rights movement." At that time, Jim Crow laws in place since the post-Civil War Reconstruction required separation of the races in buses, restaurants and public accommodations throughout the South, while legally sanctioned racial discrimination kept blacks out of many jobs and neighborhoods in the North. The Montgomery, Ala., seamstress, an active member of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, was riding on a city bus Dec. 1, 1955, when a white man demanded her seat. Mrs. Parks refused, despite rules requiring blacks to yield their seats to whites. Two black Montgomery women had been arrested earlier that year on the same charge, but Mrs. Parks was jailed. She also was fined $14. Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick said he felt a personal tie to the civil rights icon: "She stood up by sitting down. I'm only standing here because of her." U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel (news, bio, voting record), D-N.Y., lauded Mrs. Parks' mettle. "I truly believe that there's a little bit of Rosa Parks in all Americans who have the courage to say enough is enough and stand up for what they believe in," Rangel said. "She did such a small thing, but it was so courageous for her as a humble person to do." Speaking in 1992, Mrs. Parks said history too often maintains "that my feet were hurting and I didn't know why I refused to stand up when they told me. But the real reason of my not standing up was I felt that I had a right to be treated as any other passenger. We had endured that kind of treatment for too long." Her arrest triggered a 381-day boycott of the bus system organized by a then little-known Baptist minister, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who later earned the Nobel Peace Prize for his work. Read further at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051025/ap_on_re_us/obit_rosa_parks Regards, Anupam __________________________________________________________ Yahoo! India Matrimony: Find your partner now. Go to http://yahoo.shaadi.com From aarti at sarai.net Mon Oct 24 18:03:03 2005 From: aarti at sarai.net (Aarti) Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2005 18:03:03 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Fwd: South Asian earthquake relief coordination: portal and village-level information] Message-ID: <435CD47F.1000805@sarai.net> -------- Original Message -------- Subject: South Asian earthquake relief coordination: portal and village-level information Date: Sun, 23 Oct 2005 21:31:13 -0400 From: Bilal Siddiqi To: Bilal Siddiqi Folks, For those of you directly involved with, or in touch with any individual or institution that is involved with or potentially interested in working with the broader South Asian quake relief effort, please take a look, and if you don’t have time, please just pass this along. RISEPak.com is an essential tool for relief effort coordination with potential for avoiding the usual pitfalls of emergency disaster relief (poor matching, duplicative efforts, slow and ad hoc delivery). www.risepak.com Relief Information Systems for Earthquakes-Pakistan (RISEPak) is an information-sharing web portal that compiles detailed demographic data, damage, access and relief updates at the village/town level to help coordinate relief efforts and ensure that no village is overlooked. Online bulletin board posts (via sms, email, phone & fax) and regular data updates by teams of volunteers will allow aid and relief efforts to be matched directly with the needs of victims in affected regions. The information is provided in a flexible and searchable format and is based on data from population statistics, satellites, geographical systems, and relief agencies, workers, and local officials. The portal is maintained by a consortium of experts based in US and Pakistani universities, the World Bank, NGOs, and the private sector, with support from the Pakistan government. Bilal -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: RISEPAK Organizational Structure.doc Type: application/msword Size: 36864 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20051024/2fc15f7f/attachment.doc -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: RISEPAK Demo.ppt Type: application/vnd_ms-powerpoint Size: 136704 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20051024/2fc15f7f/attachment.bin From geert at xs4all.nl Mon Oct 24 19:23:16 2005 From: geert at xs4all.nl (Geert Lovink [c]) Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2005 15:53:16 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] Indian and Pacific Crossings: Perspectives on Globalisation and History, Dec 2006 [u] Message-ID: <3843a836809de3a422bc712cbbd0d587@xs4all.nl> > From: "T.Matthew Ciolek" > -------------------------------------------------------------- > The Asian Studies WWW Monitor: late Oct 2005, Vol. 12, No. 15 (240) > -------------------------------------------------------------- > 21 Oct 2005 > > Indian and Pacific Crossings: Perspectives on Globalisation and > History, Dec 2006 > > Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, Australia > > Supplied note: "Indian and Pacific Crossings: Perspectives on > Globalisation and History 12-15 December 2006. > Fremantle, Western Australia. Sponsored by Edith Cowan University and > the Western Australian Museum [...] > > We are now making a first call for papers for the international > conference Indian and Pacific Crossings, > an interdisciplinary gathering which will explore the processes and > systems developed in the Indian and > Pacific rims over extended periods and from a variety of perspectives. > Suggested themes for the conference are: * Navigation and Commerce: > patterns, methods, technologies. > * Diffusion of Ideas: transfer of political, religious, cultural, and > social ideas, including revolts, labor movements, > technologies, missionary work, etc. * Imperial Structures: alternative > means of conceptualizing power and authority, > models and patterns of rule. * Archaeology: recent excavations or > surveys germane to any portion of the regions. > * Migration: including permanent settlement, itinerant movement, > patterns of labor diffusion. * Cartography: > development of cartographic technologies, exchanges and transfer of > information, conceptualizations of land- and sea-scapes > * Periodizations and Perceptions of the areas: the development of an > Indian-Pacific narrative(s) > > We welcome submissions that afford both narrow and broad perspectives > on these and related themes. > We anticipate the body of scholarship emerging from this conference > will help address such questions as: > Can we speak of an Indian Ocean Basin and a Pacific Basin in the way > scholars have construed types of > coherence for the Mediterranean and Atlantic worlds? What, > furthermore, are the possible links between > these two basins? - md." > > URL http://www.ecu.edu.au/ses/iccs/Conference2006/home.html > > Internet Archive (web.archive.org) [the site was not archived at the > time of this abstract] > > Link reported by: Mark Dupuy (m.dupuy at ecu.edu.au), forwarded by > h-asia at h-net.msu.edu > > * Resource type [news - documents - study - corporate info. - online > guide]: > Corporate Info. > > * Publisher [academic - business - govt. - library/museum - NGO - > other]: > Academic > > * Scholarly usefulness [essential - v.useful - useful - interesting - > marginal]: > Useful > > * External links to the resource [over 3,000 - under 3,000 - under > 1,000 - under 300 - under 100 - under 30]: > under 30 > -------------------------------------------------------------- > Src: The Asian Studies WWW Monitor ISSN 1329-9778 > URL http://coombs.anu.edu.au/asia-www-monitor.html > The e-journal [est. Apr 1994] provides free weekly abstracts > and reviews of new/updated online resources of significance to > research, teaching and communications dealing with the Asian Studies. > The most valuable resources identified by the Monitor are also > grouped in http://asia-www-monitor.blogspot.com/ > The email edition of this Journal has now over 4,810 subscribers. > Currently (i.e. in Oct 2005) The Monitor has a Google rank #2 among > the 68,700,000 'asian studies' web pages published world-wide. > Please announce new/improved Asian Studies' Web sites via > http://coombs.anu.edu.au/regasia.html > > - regards - > > Dr T. Matthew Ciolek tmciolek[use"@"]coombs.anu.edu.au > Head, Internet Publications Bureau, RSPAS, > The National Institute for Asia and the Pacific, > The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia > ph +61 (02) 6125 0110 fax: +61 (02) 6257 1893 > also, Asia Pacific Research Online at www.ciolek.com > > [You may freely forward this information, but on condition that you > send the text as an integral whole along with complete information > about its author, date, and source.] > - > To subscribe to Asian Studies WWW Monitor email edition > send email to: majordomo at coombs.anu.edu.au > message: subscribe asia-www-monitor > > International students: ANU (http://studyat.anu.edu.au) CRICOS > Provider Number is 00120C > - > From turbulence at turbulence.org Mon Oct 24 18:52:29 2005 From: turbulence at turbulence.org (Turbulence) Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2005 09:22:29 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] October at The Upgrade! Boston: Morgan Schwartz and Cat Mazza/microRevolt Message-ID: <435CE015.4030602@turbulence.org> October at The Upgrade! Boston: Morgan Schwartz and Cat Mazza/microRevolt http://turbulence.org/upgrade/ When: October 24, 7:00-9:00 p.m. Where: Art Interactive, 130 Bishop Allen Drive, at the corner of Prospect Street, Cambridge MORGAN SCHWARTZ* http://turbulence.org/upgrade/archives/10_05MS.html Morgan Schwartz creates video installations, single-channel videos, urban actions and interactive media projects. He works collaboratively on projects in response to specific sites or cultural systems. In collaboration with Glowlab, he developed "One Block Radius", an online interactive archive commissioned for New York's New Museum of Contemporary Art (oneblockradius.org). Morgan organized The Hope. Project, an urban performance and skywriting public art project made in response to September 11th. His work has been presented at the DUMBO Short Film/Video Festival, NY 2004, Participant Gallery, NY 2004; The Kitchen, NY 2003; Boston Cyber Arts Festival 2003, 2001; ArtRages: Mobius, Boston 2003; Berwick Research Institute, Boston 2002; Aquinas College, Grand Rapids 2002; Aidekman Arts Center, Boston 2002; Tisch School of Visual Art, NY 2001; Gallery@ Green Street, Boston 2001. Morgan earned a BSE in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University in 1996 and his MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 2002. He is an Assistant Professor of Digital Multimedia at Marymount Manhattan College. CAT MAZZA/MICROREVOLT http://turbulence.org/upgrade/archives/10_05micro.html microRevolt projects investigate the dawn of sweatshops in early industrial capitalism to inform the current crisis of global expansion and the feminization of labor. microRevolt developed web application knitPro, a protest tool that generates knit patterns of sweatshop offenders. It was founded in 2003 by knit hobbyist Cat Mazza. COMING UP: NOVEMBER 1, 2005 Sal Randolph*: http://turbulence.org/upgrade/archives/11_05SR.html Carmin Karasic: http://turbulence.org/upgrade/archives/11_05CK.html * Morgan Schwartz and Sal Randolph are both participants in "Glowlab: Open Lab," an eight-week psychogeography festival and exhibition at Art Interactive, October 14 - December 11, 2005. For more information about this event, please visit http://www.artinteractive.org/shows/glowlab/glowlab_press.html REPORT FROM UPGRADE! INTERNATIONAL by Catherine D'Ignazio http://turbulence.org/upgrade/report05/index.html -- Jo-Anne Green, Co-Director New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc.: http://new-radio.org New York: 917.548.7780 . Boston: 617.522.3856 Turbulence: http://turbulence.org New American Radio: http://somewhere.org Networked_Performance Blog and Conference: http://turbulence.org/blog -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20051024/bb782ee5/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From jo at turbulence.org Mon Oct 24 18:48:31 2005 From: jo at turbulence.org (Jo-Anne Green) Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2005 09:18:31 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Turbulence Artists' Studios: "re_collection" by Michael Takeo Magruder Message-ID: <435CDF27.3080503@turbulence.org> October 24, 2005 Turbulence Artists' Studios: "re_collection" by Michael Takeo Magruder http://turbulence.org/studios/takeo Select from Standard Computer, PDA or Smartphone versions "Re_collection" is the product of one of the most ubiquitous technologies - the mobile phone. A captured moment, precious and instilled with personal significance, provides the exclusive source material for the artwork. The recorded sequence -- stripped of resolution and apparent depth -- has become depersonalised, reduced to a minimalist aesthetic that reveals archetypal forms and the inherent emotional connotations they evoke. Through this purposeful paring back of detail the divisions between personal and universal are questioned. It is a search to reveal the underlying 'truth' to these, our most intimate of recollections that exist between dream and remembrance. BIOGRAPHY Michael Takeo Magruder is an American artist based in the UK who works within the fields of New and Interactive Media. He received his formal education at the University of Virginia, USA, graduating with a degree in Biological Sciences. For the past eight years his artistic practice has reflected upon society's data-driven and information saturated existence through the examination of international news communications. By recombining the notions of art and media, it has been his intention to analyze the interconnections which have been forged between the individual and the pervasive media network. It is a questioning of product vs. process, knowledge vs. stimulation, fact vs. perspective. Magruder's artistic production has been exhibited worldwide and encompasses an eclectic mix of forms, ranging from futuristic stained-glass windows, digital lightscreens and modular light-sculptures to architectural manipulations, ephemeral video projections and interactive network installations. His current explorations and research embrace 3D stereoscopic projection, immersive multi-sensory environments and interactive non-linear narratives for network/gallery settings. His work in these fields is presently supported by Turbulence.org, 3D Visualization Group: University of Warwick, and Arts Council England. For more Turbulence Artists' Studios please visit http://turbulence.org/studios/index.html -- Jo-Anne Green, Co-Director New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc.: http://new-radio.org New York: 917.548.7780 . Boston: 617.522.3856 Turbulence: http://turbulence.org New American Radio: http://somewhere.org Networked_Performance Blog and Conference: http://turbulence.org/blog -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20051024/3233d0a0/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From hpp at vsnl.com Wed Oct 26 13:04:33 2005 From: hpp at vsnl.com (hpp at vsnl.com) Date: Wed, 26 Oct 2005 12:34:33 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?Educational_Scenario__of_Kolkata=92s_Urdu_Speak?= =?windows-1252?q?ing_Community?= Message-ID: <15112f2150fee6.150fee615112f2@vsnl.net> Dear Friends, I am copying below an article that was recently published in the Festival supplement of The Statesman, Kolkata. V Ramaswamy Calcutta ............. Educational Scenario of Kolkata’s Urdu Speaking Community by M.K.A. Siddiqui Educational scenario of the Urdu speaking population in this great metropolis may be found to be extremely alarming. Only 11 per cent of boys and girls of school going age are lucky enough to get enrolment in all the 27 recognised schools, generally of very poor standard, available for catering to their needs. Many thousands seeking admission are disappointed, while those who are fortunate enough to get admission find themselves in extremely over crowded classes where use of loud speakers are not unknown. Scope for self improvement is extremely limited. While there is no concern among the authorities about this extremely gloomy and depressing state, they seem to be alarmed over Madrasahs, deemed to be breeding ground for ‘fundamentalism, ‘terrorism’ and such largely imaginary issues as large scale infiltration and supposed high growth rate of Muslim population. Is the community being maligned to unnerve it for political reasons? ....... The educational scenario of Urdu speaking community in West Bengal, particularly in Kolkata is somewhat depressing. Things as they are, do not but present a very gloomy outlook. The situation demands the attention of all those who uphold the right cause and are large hearted enough to lend helping hand in solving the problems. We shall mention very briefly certain disturbing facts about the Urdu speaking community with special reference to this great metropolis. Urdu as a language has unfortunately come to be exclusively associated with Muslims, though some non-Muslims continue to have emotional attachment with the language and spare no pains to champion its cause. The plight of the language in Uttar Pradesh, the land of its birth, is not unknown, where its script along with its phonetic speciality, the soul of the language, has largely gone out of use and survives precariously in a small section of older generations. Unlike most other vernacular languages in the country, the speakers of Urdu have remained worried about the future of their mother tongue since independence. It has been more so in Uttar Pradesh, the land of its birth, where it was disowned and discriminated against by a politically powerful section. It was pushed aside and banished from educational institutions of even primary level, disregarding the aspirations and needs of a sizable section of students. In the tension ridden society in the post-independence period some scholars stepped up criticism of Urdu, pointing out its inadequacies and rejecting it outright. One such example may be found in H. Rahmans’ (1974) extremely unjustified criticism of the language in his doctoral dissertation under the supervision of as eminent a person as Prof. N.K. Bose who was for quite some time associated with Mahatma Gandhi. The work in question, claimed to pay attention to the socio-cultural base of Hindu-Muslim relations, attributed Muslim backwardness in education to their concern for Urdu. The researcher ridiculed the language and thought that it was merely a language of conversation. Relying solely on William Adam’s report of 1883, the so called research work dwelt on the inadequacies of Urdu, ignoring the fact that the language had quite remarkably achieved the position of one of the most advanced languages in the country. It acquired the status of medium of instruction in the post-graduate classes in arts and science and even in the MBBS course in the Osmania University, during the period of this ‘learned’ work, where a mysterious fire had destroyed its unique translation section and a number of works on scientific terminology. The ‘accident’ went unlamented and did not lead to its reconstruction and reestablishment. It resulted in its stoppage and winding up. Bipan Chandra, a former chairman of the Text Book Review Committee is not incorrect when he says that ‘not only the authors do any research, they do not even read secondary books. What they read is books written a hundred years ago’ (Quoted from ‘Plundering History’ by Monobina Gupta in the Telegraph Calcutta 13.11.94). The cause of the backwardness of the Muslims in education does not appear to lie in their concern for Urdu. It lies elsewhere. In fact Urdu developed into an excellent literary medium and came to symbolize the unity of the people of diverse backgrounds in a large part of the country. Asoka Mehta and Achut Patwardhan in their book ‘The Communal Triangle’ (1968) speak on the subject in a very different tone. They say : “…………..from this union was born a new language spoken by the masses who were unacquainted alike with Sanskrit and Persian. Urdu, which was at first confined to the army and then spoken mostly in the North, reached the South with Malik Kafur’s invasion. In course of time it developed from a spoken dialect into a fine literary medium and today has one of the richest literature in India” (p-16). Both the works, one by Mehta and Patwardhan and another by Rahman, were published around the same period, but presented interestingly quite divergent views. Rahman went further and criticized Muslims for sending their children to maktabs without trying to observe the socio-economic level of the children going to such institutions. The view that Muslims’ concern for Quran and Islamic theology which stood in the way of their social development needs no comment. This view is also rendered doubtful in the light of what Broomfield (1968) has got to say. The educational system, according to him, was exclusive and costly. It did not hold promise to their social expectations. “The curriculum”, according to Mehta & Patwardhan, “was so designed as to estrange rather than interest the Muslims”. Mehta & Patwardhan further quoting from Durbin of July 14, 1868 provides example of gazette notification to the effect that Muslims were excluded from appointment to the posts advertised. Both education and employment were not within easy reach of the Muslims. It would appear that Rahman was trying to answer the questions raised by Broomfield, Mehta & Patwardhan and several others. It shifts the entire blame on the people already suffering and absolves the system of all responsibilities for the lamentable situation. Contemporary Situation While the controversy around Urdu continued, the cause of the Urdu speaking community suffered further in the area of our observation as it will be seen from the facts noted below. We must, however, admit that the situation in West Bengal has been a little different, where Urdu as a language of a considerably small minority was not considered rival to Bengali. Students having Urdu as mother tongue had to endure heavier burden of learning two more languages, than others, besides English, yet they were never forced to give up their mother tongue. Urdu speaking minority has a grievance of being neglected by the ‘dominant socio-political system’, and its endeavour for self-improvement was discouraged. Confining our observation to a limited area we note that Muslims constitute about nine lakh individuals or 20 per cent of the total population of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (K.M.C.) area, 80 per cent of whom are Urdu speaking. The total number of boys and girls of school going age in this population is estimated to be 1, 40,000. It was however observed that the total enrolment figure of boys and girls of this linguistic group in all the 27 recognised school, which cater to their educational needs did not exceed 14,663. If all the other kinds of institutions are taken into account we find 5090 children enrolled in madrasahs and approximately 15,000 in maktabs. The total number of enrolment does not exceed 35000. This means to say that only 11 per cent of the Urdu speaking boys and girls go to school and if enrolment figures in institutions of all kinds, including maktabs and madrasahs are taken into account, not more than 25 per cent of Urdu speaking boys and girls attend some sort of educational institutions. In terms of absolute number 1, 05,000 students belonging to the linguistic group do not attend any school, largely due to extreme dearth of educational institution. Out of an approximately total number of 600 to 700 schools in Kolkata Municipal Corporation area there are 43 Urdu medium schools (Junior 16, High 21 & H.S. 6). Only 27 of these schools are recognized and the remaining are unrecognized, while one H.S and two junior schools are run by the state Government. These two junior government schools are over a century old but have not been upgraded till now, nor do we know of any such plan for future. Incidentally intensive survey of a bustee in 1997 showed that percentage of illiteracy was higher than what it had been on the eve of independence in 1947. This is an index of the downward mobility of the community in the field of literacy and much more in the field of education. The 27 recognised schools, with the exception of one or two are extremely substandard and incredibly overcrowded. Many thousands of boys and girls are refused admission because of the lack of accommodation. The extreme scarcity of accommodation leads to corrupt practices, which among other things, leads to very poor results. Efforts to improve the situation do not lead to desired results. Several junior schools are struggling for up-gradation and quite a number of schools are tirelessly imploring for recognition but with little success. Establishment of new schools by the Govt. is also not a possibility on ground of the paucity of funds at the disposal of the Government. The only Government higher secondary school for Urdu speaking boys namely, Calcutta Madrasah A.P. school, does not have a headmaster for over a decade and several science teachers for several years. This may be noted that this H.S. school is Madrasah merely in name. Keeping the posts of teachers vacant for unreasonably long periods is a general practice, also there is much to be desired about the standard of text books. Instances may not be lacking, of schools established by the community being taken over by the government, where admission of students of the community has become difficult. The spirit within the community to adopt measures for self-improvement gets dampened. Some people tend to describe the situation as ‘strategic deprivation’ of the significant minority for keeping it subservient to the dominant, and unable to achieve equality of status with all others, playing their due and legitimate role in the society. In spite of their socio-economic condition there is a burning passion among the decisive bulk of Urdu speaking population to acquire education and educate their children. This, they have been told, is the only way to change their lot. But when they come forward to provide their children the benefit of education, they confront nothing but frustrations. There is no denying the fact that this linguistic group in this city has a small affluent class. Also a middle class, though comparatively smaller, is not inconsiderable. The people of these classes, include a number of well –to-do craftsmen and self-employed people. They are not generally endowed with similar accomplishment as their counterpart in the Hindu society, yet they try their best to send their children to English medium schools, quite often offering capitation fees, ranging from RS 50,000 to one lakh or more for each child. Many get disappointed and the number of such ‘fortunate’ children getting admission in English medium schools is fast dwindling probably due to change in the international scenario. We have no means to calculate the amount. Even in this situation the capitation fees paid by the members of the community in the city in a year may be rupees ten to fifteen crores or even more. Many of the boys and girls of this category get dropped out midway , resulting in a colossal wastage of the extremely scarce resources. Thus with merely a glance at the city’s Urdu speaking population one will notice quite a number of difficult problems they are confronted with. These relate to spheres of housing and space, health, economy and education, which deserve attention. It may appear that the very survival of the community, as a self-respecting segment of the society, is at stake. An awareness of the situation is a pre requisite for any action programme. The cost of higher and technical education is rising at an incredibly high rate, at the same time the socio-economic condition of the community and performance of the boys and girls of the community is on the decline. Limiting ourselves to the field of education we have provided data to show the extent of backwardness and a state of despair. We feel that it is largely through the improvement in education that we may change the despair into hope and set the community on the path of progress along with other fellow citizens. Course of Action: If this linguistic minority in this great metropolis is to be saved from total disaster it will demand formulation of an action programme in the field of education and address itself to tasks which require selfless endeavour and considerable amount of sacrifice by relevant sections of the community and the society. While details of some important short term measures can be worked out, the importance of establishing schools of high standard may demand immediate attention. Love for mother tongue is not unique to Urdu speaking population. Facility for teaching the subject at the primary stage and as second language at the higher stage will be quite rational. It is however sad that the dominant socio-political environment is either completely unaware of the socio-enconomic and educational problems of this unfortunate linguistic minority or is determined to treat the problems it faces as unworthy of attention under a policy of ‘stregic deprivation’. It is all the more unfortunate that this significant minority is often deemed as a potential threat to the society, ever ready to provide shelter to imaginary infiltrators and is seen as demanding for educational institutions which breed fundamentalism. The dominant socio-political leadership may have its own logic in its power game, but raking up issues which are absolutely unreal, perhaps only aiming at maligning the oppressed people, cannot be excused, because instated of encouraging the people in the their struggle for survival, it keeps them in a state of perpetual anxiety and despair, and deprived and awstriken, to keep them under the thumb of the regime in power. References: Broomfield, J.H. Elite conflict in Plural Society, Bombay,1968. Gupta, Monobina, Plundering History, in The Telegraph, Calcutta, 13.11.94. Mehta, A & Patwardhan, A. The Communal Triangle 1968. Metcalf, Barbara; Islamic Revival in British India, Deoband (1860-1900), Princeton 1982. Rahman, H., Hindu Muslim Relations in Bengal 1905-47, Study in Cultural Confrontation. .............. About the author: Prof.(Dr) M.K.A. Siddiqui was formerly associated with Asiatic Society and Anthropological Survey of India. At present he is Coordinator, Institute for Objective Studies (IOS), Kolkata Chapter. E-mail: mkasiddiqui at yahoo.com From mediachef at gmail.com Wed Oct 26 20:48:26 2005 From: mediachef at gmail.com (Steve Dietz) Date: Wed, 26 Oct 2005 10:18:26 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] ISEA2006 Pacific Rim call Message-ID: <85d7931b0510260818v170e5beeg1e3573d47de6b3c9@mail.gmail.com> This is an invitation by the ISEA2006 Symposium and ZeroOne San Jose: A Global Festival of Art on the Edge to groups and individuals to submit proposals for exhibition of interactive art work and projects reflecting on the thematic of the Pacific Rim. This is the second and final call for artworks in this category. Proposals Due: December 15th, 2005 Final Decisions: Feb 10, 2006 Full information at http://isea2006.sjsu.edu/prnmscall2/ PLEASE NOTE The second and final Interactive City call is open through Dec. 9. A call for Symposium papers will be posted in November. More information at: http://isea2006.sjsu.edu./calls.html -- Steve Dietz Director, ZeroOne: The Network Director, ISEA2006 Symposium + ZeroOne San Jose: A Global Festival of Art on the Edge http://isea2006.sjsu.edu : August 7-13, 2006 stevedietz[at]yproductions[dot]com From anivar.aravind at gmail.com Thu Oct 27 10:38:12 2005 From: anivar.aravind at gmail.com (Anivar Aravind) Date: Thu, 27 Oct 2005 10:38:12 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Call to vote against software patents in "European of the Year" poll In-Reply-To: <878xwge32c.fsf@spider.localnet> References: <878xwge32c.fsf@spider.localnet> Message-ID: <35f96d470510262208l28d1bf63vc48eed8d2d68e113@mail.gmail.com> FREE AND OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE LUMINARIES CALL ON WORLDWIDE COMMUNITY TO VOTE AGAINST SOFTWARE PATENTS IN THE "EUROPEAN OF THE YEAR 2005" INTERNET POLL Richard Stallman, Tim O'Reilly, Alan Cox, Rasmus Lerdorf and Monty Widenius endorse Florian Mueller's candidacy "because he runs on a NoSoftwarePatents ticket, and that is the message we want to reinforce" Brussels (20 October 2005) -- A group of Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS) celebrities has weighed in on the election of the "European of the Year 2005" by calling on "software developers and users around the globe" to vote for Florian Mueller, the founder of the NoSoftwarePatents.com campaign, in a public online poll. The illustrious consortium consists of--in alphabetical order of last name--Alan Cox, Red Hat Fellow and Linux kernel maintainer; Rasmus Lerdorf, creator of the PHP programming language; Tim O'Reilly, book publisher and conference organizer; Richard Stallman, President of the Free Software Foundation (who in 1984 began the work that produced today's popular GNU/Linux operating system); and Monty Widenius, creator of the MySQL database. In a NoSoftwarePatents press release, the community leaders today expressed their support for the voting recommendations that NoSoftwarePatents.com has published in more than a dozen languages: http://www.nosoftwarepatents.com/en/m/ev50/vote.html Participants in the poll are required to make a choice in each of ten categories, and the voting list provided by NoSoftwarePatents.com explains the role that various candidates played in the software patent debate so that voters can reward the opponents of software patents and penalize pro-patent politicians. On 22 September, Florian Mueller was nominated for the most prestigious award in EU politics, the "EV50 Europeans of the Year". The jury thereby recognized his political efforts against a legislative proposal that in his opinion would have legalized software patents in Europe. The European Parliament rejected the bill on 6 July by a landslide of 648-32 votes. Mueller, who stressed that he owes this nomination "to our entire community and especially to the Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII)", is credited with founding a multilingual campaign website, speaking out in the media and at public events, and lobbying MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) as well as governments and parliaments in select EU member states. The European Voice, a major EU-focused weekly, is now conducting an Internet poll in which Mueller runs against such famous contenders as U2 frontman Bono, Bob Geldof, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, and political leaders including British prime minister Tony Blair, the outgoing German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, and Schroeder's successor designate Angela Merkel. The poll is open to the worldwide public until 11 November. Mueller's endorsers pointed out that the FOSS community has played a particularly active role in the fight against software patents, but that software patents "threaten us all because they don't discriminate based on programming language, operating system, or licensing model". The group is "disconcerted by early reports" that the EU is now looking at alternative ways of giving software patents a stronger legal basis in Europe, such as an EU community patent regulation. The press release underscored the fact that "this is a campaign for a cause, not for a person": People are asked to vote for Mueller "because he runs on a NoSoftwarePatents ticket, and that is the message we want to reinforce". The NoSoftwarePatents.com label is right next to Mueller's name on the ballot (http://www.ev50.com/poll). The endorsement furthermore stated: "Some other nominees also stand for valid concerns and noble causes. However, those issues and individuals have already received a lot of coverage in the mass media, while the implications of software patents to the whole world, including developing countries, still require much more public awareness. In the sense that software patents monopolize mental steps, they are also a human rights issue." Mueller is confident that he can win the title of the "European of the Year" against his famous competitors in the light of the "indisputable e-campaigning power of the anti-software patent movement". In addition to a campaign statement and voting recommendations, the website provides an email form that allows supporters to spread the information (http://www.nosoftwarepatents.com/en/m/ev50/notify.html), and banners (http://www.nosoftwarepatents.com/en/m/ev50/banners.html). The two main slogans of the electoral campaign are "Vote against software patents" and "Vote for your right to program". Should he win the popular vote, Mueller said that "everyone is a winner". He promised "to donate the Microsoft-sponsored prize money to the FFII", without which he says he "probably wouldn't have become involved, let alone succeeded, in this political battle". The EV50 winners will be announced on 29 November. A gala evening at the Palais d'Egmont in Brussels will be hosted by former European Parliament President Pat Cox, who was hired by US corporations to lobby for software patents in the build-up to the 6 July vote. The EV50 awards are supported by Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt. Sponsors include PR and lobbying firm Burson-Marsteller, software maker Microsoft Corporation (a major owner and backer of software patents), and pharmaceutical giant Novartis. The European Voice is a publication of the Economist group. NOTE: Florian Mueller founded the NoSoftwarePatents.com campaign in 2004 with the support of three corporate sponsors (1&1, Red Hat, MySQL AB), and managed it until March of 2005. He then gave his website to the Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII), the leading European pressure group that opposes the patentability of computer programs. CONTACT INFORMATION Florian Mueller florian.mueller at nosoftwarepatents.com Anivar Aravind FSF India -- Knowledge is power... share it equitably! http://www.gnu.org From clifton at altlawforum.org Thu Oct 27 11:28:19 2005 From: clifton at altlawforum.org (Clifton) Date: Thu, 27 Oct 2005 11:28:19 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Seminar on Privatisation of water in Bangalore, Saturday, Senate Hall Message-ID: <43606C7B.9060009@altlawforum.org> *KARNATAKA KOLAGERI NIVASIGALA HITRAKSHANA JANTI KRIYA SAMITHI* *Seminar On* "Water Supply Privatisation and its impact on Bangalore's People" We are all shocked to learn the full details of the GBWASP project launched by the World Bank agencies, USAID with the Govt. of Karnataka and BWSSB. This project is launched with the objective of providing drinking water and sanitation to the 8 CMCs around Bangalore city with 658 cores Budget. The privatization of water process was initiated by the Govt of Karnataka way back in 1999, in connivance with the World Bank. Now the IFC, USAID, Thames Water, KUIDFC, Govt. of Karnataka, ULBs and various Govt agencies involved in Urban development have come together for this project. They have decided that the project will be a public-private participation venture. Though these private companies do not invest in their project, they are proposed to run the project. This water privation process is designed to deprive drinking water to the urban exploited communities living in slums. This has been the experience all over the world wherever water privatiastion has taken place. Hence, various mass organization Women’s organisations, Dalit movements, HR organizations, Trade Unions Student Youth organizations, left mass organizations movements and others have come together to organise this seminar to understand the full implications of GBWASP. *SEMINAR* On 29.10.2005, Saturday At Senate Hall Near Mysore Bank, Bangalore At 11.00 am *Programme:* Welcome : *Smt . Gowramma* Chair person : *Prof. Hassan Mansur* *Issues* Water Privatisation in Bangalore :*Mr. R. Prabhakar* Struggle against water privatisation at Global level - Experiences :*Mr. Clifton D' Rozario, ALF* *Speakers:* * /Mr. L C Jain,/ /Mr. M. Venkat swamy, /SSD /Mr. D Saraswathi, /Manasa monthly /Mr. Shiva sunder, /Journalist /Mr. Indoodhar Honnapra /- Editor, Samvada /Mr. Mavali shankar, /DSS (Ambedkar vada) /Mr. Banjagere Jayaprakash, /Writer /Dr. Kshitij urs, /APSA /Dr. Vasu, /KVR, Bangalore /Sister Celia /NAPM And such other prominent personalities, leaders and speakers are participating in this seminar. We invite one and all to come and participate, share view points and contribute towards initiating successful campaign against the conspiracy of ‘Politics of Privatization of Water. In solidarity, L.I.A. Selva for *KARNATAKA KOLAGERI NIVASIGALA HITRAKSHANA JANTI KRIYA SAMITHI* From gl_sudhir at yahoo.co.in Wed Oct 26 18:30:13 2005 From: gl_sudhir at yahoo.co.in (Gulati, Sudhir) Date: Wed, 26 Oct 2005 14:00:13 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd:Grants for developing country researchers studying poverty Message-ID: <20051026130013.75561.qmail@web8407.mail.in.yahoo.com> Srinivasa Reddy Srigiri wrote:To: Dev_Cafe From: Srinivasa Reddy Srigiri Date: Wed, 26 Oct 2005 15:13:23 +0530 Subject: [The_Development_CAFE] Fwd: [capri] Grants for developing country researchers studying poverty Dear All, Here is an interesting opportunity for researchers from developing countries focusing on poverty. Please go through it. Best, Srinivas ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Esther Mwangi Date: Oct 25, 2005 6:37 PM Subject: [capri] Grants for developing country researchers studying poverty To: Collective action and property rights for poverty reduction Call for Proposals, Grants for Developing Country Researchers Studying Poverty, Poverty and Economic Policy Research Network The Poverty and Economic Policy (PEP) Research Network brings together and provides support to developing country researchers working to reduce poverty. PEP invites researchers originating from and residing in developing countries to submit research proposals for up to CAN$20,000 to support research. This call for proposals targets work under two sub-networks: Poverty Monitoring, Measurement and Analysis (PMMA) and Modeling and Policy Impact Analysis (MPIA). The PMMA network currently focuses on multidimensional poverty analysis, public spending/impact evaluation, and intra-household allocation. MPIA focuses on the poverty impacts of growth, public spending and agricultural policies. Both networks also offer a special Gender Challenge Fund for poverty studies on gender issues. For more information and to submit a proposal, consult the Call for Proposals at http://www.pep-net.org/. Dgroups is a joint initiative of Bellanet, DFID, Hivos, ICA, IICD, OneWorld, UNAIDS and World Bank - --- You are currently subscribed to capri as: s.r.srigiri at gmail.com To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-capri-335881K at dgroups.org - -- Humboldt University of Berlin Institute of Agricultural Economics and Social Sciences Department of Resource Economics Luisenstrasse 56 - D-10099 Berlin - Germany Tel: +49-30-2093 6231 (Office) +49-30-4660 8988 (Home) SPONSORED LINKS Social sciences Computer science Science education Social science book - --------------------------------- YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS Visit your group "The_Development_CAFE" on the web. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: The_Development_CAFE-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. - --------------------------------- - ---------------------------------------------------------- Sudhir Gulati Post Graduate Student MBA, 2nd Year Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur Cell No #09839351179 - ---------------------------------------------------------- "Dreams pass into the reality of action. From the actions stems the dream again; and this interdependence produces the highest form of living." - --------------------------------- Yahoo! India Matrimony: Find your partner now. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20051026/415ec6f9/attachment.html From aarti at sarai.net Wed Oct 26 12:51:33 2005 From: aarti at sarai.net (Aarti) Date: Wed, 26 Oct 2005 12:51:33 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] World Youth Conference Message-ID: <435F2E7D.3070007@sarai.net> * /World Youth Conference/* Hello, Around the globe, people are sweeping aside old notions of how we learn and develop, how to educate and to help, and what it is to build community -- by developing new practices based in performance. In both theory and practice, a new psychology that understands our ability to perform -- to pretend, to play, to improvise, to be who we are and other than who we are -- as key to our emotional, social and intellectual growth and well-being. Organizing the International Conference on Racism and Child Abuse , fights and interrogates the growing social vices Child Abuse and racism taking place in urban centers, towns and villages the world over. The conference will bring together Youths, Youth Leaders, Performers, Educators, Artists, Scholars and Researchers, psychologists and therapists, Health Professionals, Business professionals, Youth workers, Activists, and Community organizers to showcase what need to be done to win this war. These events are scheduled to commence in Michigan, USA and come to an end in Napoli, Italy. It is a two-tied kind of events in which all the participants and educators shall be happy to partake in. Spend some unique days ... Learning new ways to relate to human beings, to culture, to community, and to social change. Meeting others like yourself; learning, teaching, inspiring and being inspired. Exploring the potential of a performance approach to unleash and nurture the human capacity to create, collaborate and change the world. The events shall commence on the 28th of November 2005 and end on the 1st of December 2005 at Elvis Concert Hall 1800 Pardee Rd Taylor, MI 48180-6320 USA While the second segment in Italy shall commence on the 5th of December and end on the 8th of December 2005 at Centro Giovanile le Tecchio 10, 80125 Napoli, Italy */Participants;/* We believe this is an incredible opportunity to network with like-minded Individuals and organizations in the promotion and development of pro-active youth associations and NGOs in our communities. These events are open to Youth Organizations, Socio-Cultural Organizations, performers, educators, artists, scholars and researchers, health Organizations, Professionals and Business Organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations, Human Right Organizations, Women Groups and persons that adhere to our principles. The Global Youth Welfare Organization shall provide an all round flight ticket to all cities of the events in U.S.A and Italy for every participant, and also accommodation and feeding for all participants in U.S.A shall also be provided. Participants will only take care of their accommodation and feeding expenses in Italy. All Interested organizations should forward your names to the contacts below rozeneadams at yahoo.com 1) Aims and objectives of the Organization 2) Organization profile 3) Achievement so far Participants MUST be a group of 5-10 persons to qualify for registration. Registrations will be confirmed via a message to your designated e-mail address after processing your profile. Regards, Rozene adams _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From palsu at rediffmail.com Thu Oct 27 12:32:59 2005 From: palsu at rediffmail.com (Palyam Suresh) Date: 27 Oct 2005 07:02:59 -0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Re: [kria] Seminar on Privatisation of water in Bangalore, Saturday, Senate Hall Message-ID: <20051027070259.12175.qmail@webmail31.rediffmail.com> Dear ALL, Kindly refrain from posting such mails on this group. This group is menat for activities on RT ONLY. Please cooperate. Thanks and regards, JAI RTI Palyam Suresh   On Thu, 27 Oct 2005 Clifton wrote : >*KARNATAKA KOLAGERI NIVASIGALA HITRAKSHANA JANTI KRIYA SAMITHI* > >*Seminar On* > >"Water Supply Privatisation and its impact on Bangalore's People" > >We are all shocked to learn the full details of the GBWASP project >launched by the World Bank agencies, USAID with the Govt. of Karnataka >and BWSSB. This project is launched with the objective of providing >drinking water and sanitation to the 8 CMCs around Bangalore city with >658 cores Budget. > >The privatization of water process was initiated by the Govt of >Karnataka way back in 1999, in connivance with the World Bank. Now the >IFC, USAID, Thames Water, KUIDFC, Govt. of Karnataka, ULBs and various >Govt agencies involved in Urban development have come together for this >project. They have decided that the project will be a public-private >participation venture. Though these private companies do not invest in >their project, they are proposed to run the project. This water >privation process is designed to deprive drinking water to the urban >exploited communities living in slums. This has been the experience all >over the world wherever water privatiastion has taken place. > >Hence, various mass organization Women’s organisations, Dalit movements, >HR organizations, Trade Unions Student Youth organizations, left mass >organizations movements and others have come together to organise this >seminar to understand the full implications of GBWASP. > >*SEMINAR* >On 29.10.2005, Saturday >At Senate Hall >Near Mysore Bank, Bangalore > >At 11.00 am > >*Programme:* > >Welcome : *Smt . Gowramma* >Chair person : *Prof. Hassan Mansur* > >*Issues* > >Water Privatisation in Bangalore :*Mr. R. Prabhakar* >Struggle against water privatisation at Global level - Experiences :*Mr. >Clifton D' Rozario, ALF* > >*Speakers:* > > * > > /Mr. L C Jain,/ > /Mr. M. Venkat swamy, /SSD > /Mr. D Saraswathi, /Manasa monthly > /Mr. Shiva sunder, /Journalist > /Mr. Indoodhar Honnapra /- Editor, Samvada > /Mr. Mavali shankar, /DSS (Ambedkar vada) > /Mr. Banjagere Jayaprakash, /Writer > /Dr. Kshitij urs, /APSA > /Dr. Vasu, /KVR, Bangalore > /Sister Celia /NAPM > >And such other prominent personalities, leaders and speakers are >participating in this seminar. We invite one and all to come and >participate, share view points and contribute towards initiating >successful campaign against the conspiracy of ‘Politics of Privatization >of Water. > >In solidarity, > >L.I.A. Selva >for *KARNATAKA KOLAGERI NIVASIGALA HITRAKSHANA JANTI KRIYA SAMITHI* > > > > >------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> >Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page >http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/xYTolB/TM >--------------------------------------------------------------------~-> > > >Yahoo! Groups Links > ><*> To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kria/ > ><*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > kria-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com > ><*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > > Palyam Suresh -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20051027/d1072806/attachment.html From cahen.x at levels9.com Thu Oct 27 20:46:36 2005 From: cahen.x at levels9.com (xavier cahen) Date: Thu, 27 Oct 2005 17:16:36 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] pourinfos Newsletter / 10-21 to 10-27-2005 Message-ID: <4360EF54.4050504@levels9.com> pourinfos.org l'actualite du monde de l'art / daily Art news ----------------------------------------------------------------------- infos from October 14, 2005 to October 20, 2005 (included) ------------------------------------------------------------------- (mostly in french) ------------------------------------------------------------------- 01 Call : project for the artistic and cultural, exchange 2006, night organiza, Milan, Italy. http://pourinfos.org/candidature/item.php?id=2185 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 02 Call : Apply for the Logo Parc design team, the Jan van Eyck Academie, Amsterdam, Netherlands. http://pourinfos.org/participation/item.php?id=2184 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 03 Meetings : E,W)3. Internet Ethic , 28-29 october 2005, franco-italiennan meeting, 2005, Venice, Italy. lien http://pourinfos.org/rencontres/item.php?id=2183 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 04 Meetings : the social housing crisis, Monday October 31 2005, le Cafe des architectes, Les récollets, Maison de l'architecture, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/rencontres/item.php?id=2182 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 05 Meetings : Function of Art - Function of the Artist, November 10, 2005, place Publique au Guggenheim, Bilbao, Spain. http://pourinfos.org/rencontres/item.php?id=2181 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 06 Meetings : Conference, Friday November 4 and 18, 2005, Contemporary art museum of Lyon, Lyon, France. http://pourinfos.org/rencontres/item.php?id=2180 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 07 Meetings : Art, Science and Technology, Saturday October 29, 2005, Fnac digital, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/rencontres/item.php?id=2179 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 08 Residence : Fellowship announcement from Global Arts Village, New Delhi, India. http://pourinfos.org/residences/item.php?id=2178 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 09 Publication : Places and Non-Places of Contemporary Art, esse editions, Montreal, Canada. http://pourinfos.org/publications/item.php?id=2175 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 Divers : #14 - Work of writing, Sunday November 6, 2005, Indisciplines, Radio Grenouille, Marseille, France. http://pourinfos.org/divers/item.php?id=2177 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 11 Divers : electronic petition to support Alternation 2119 association, Paris, France. lien http://pourinfos.org/divers/item.php?id=2176 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 12 Performances and readings: 7th symposium of Capital Presence, November 19, 2005, CAPC de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2174 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 13 Screening : fiav.05, [Festival Images, Video], Center of Art SantaMòniCA , Barcelone, Spain. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2173 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 14 Exhibition : Michel Verjux, Art Cologne 2005, A arte Studio Invernizzi, Cologne, Germany. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2172 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 15 Screening : ESANZE, Friday October 28, Maison Internationale de Rennes, Rennes, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2171 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 16 Screening : Utopia #2, Friday November 4, 2005, Project 101,, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2170 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 17 Screening : program end of october et november, le Barbizon, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2169 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 18 Exhibition : program Louise du 5 November to December 23, 2005, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2168 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 19 Performance : Clement Thomas, the Love-shoW, Thursday November 3, 2005, association panoply, Monoquini, Montpellier, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2167 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 20 Performance : "Micro-événementn°25 /VIP Cocktails", Tsuneko Taniuchi, October 29, 2005, Swiss Arts center, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2166 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 21 Exhibition : The Interior journey, Paris-London, Espace EDF Electra, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2165 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 22 Exhibition : Happy travel, contemporary art center Le Quartier, Quimper, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2164 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 23 Exhibition : Crossed exhibition, Jean Marquis et Guy Le Perse, Le Colysee, maison folie de Lambersart, Lambersart, France. lhttp://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2163 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 24 Exhibition : CONNESSIONI LEGGENDARIE , the first exhibition devoted to NET.ART history, Milan, Italy. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2162 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 25 Exposition : "In" Usages Quotidiens, contemporary art center, lycee du Forez, Feurs, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2161 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 26 Call : Media City, Annual International festival of Experimental film and Video Art, Ontario, Canada. lien http://pourinfos.org/candidature/item.php?id=2160 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 27 Call : "Digital Landscape", KRN, incident.net, France. http://pourinfos.org/participation/item.php?id=2159 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 28 Call : Open Call, videoDictionary, Impakt, Utrech, Netherlands. http://pourinfos.org/participation/item.php?id=2158 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 29 Call : Open Call for Side Cinema, Newcastle, United Kingdom. http://pourinfos.org/participation/item.php?id=2157 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 30 Call : Call for Articles and Net Art, On-line journal Hz, Stockholm, Sweden. http://pourinfos.org/participation/item.php?id=2156 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 31 Call : AGON and Archaeology and Arts, Athens, Greece. http://pourinfos.org/participation/item.php?id=2155 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 32 Call : space for filmmakers, Directors Lounge Berlin 2006, Berlin, Germany. http://pourinfos.org/participation/item.php?id=2154 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 33 Meetings : Design of urban furniture, Thursday October 27 has 19h, Maison de l'architecture en Île-de-France, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/rencontres/item.php?id=2153 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 34 Meetings : ZKM/Symposium zum\\internationalen\medien\preis 2005: »mental engineering«, Karlsruhe, Germany. http://pourinfos.org/rencontres/item.php?id=2152 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 35 Meetings : Nicolas Boone, Conference in Ensad on November 9, Esnad, Paris, France. lien http://pourinfos.org/rencontres/item.php?id=2151 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 36 Meetings : Seminare "Between source and destination - To reconsider the cultural mediation", Dunkerque, France. http://pourinfos.org/rencontres/item.php?id=2150 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 37 Publication : BIO + ART : CIAC'S ELECTRONIC MAGAZINE ÉLECTRONIQUE DU CIAC NO 23, Montreal, Canada. http://pourinfos.org/publications/item.php?id=2149 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 38 Exhibition : les 10 th Rencontres internationales Paris/Berlin, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2148 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 39 Screening: Experimental cinema and films of artists, University François Rabelais, Tours, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2147 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 40 Screening : Documentary Screens, 9th edition, association Sound and Image, Espace Jean Vilar, Arcueil, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2146 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 41 Exhibition : Meetings of autumn, 36bis, the gallery of the school, Ecole Regionale Superieure d'Expression Plastique, Tourcoing, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2145 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 42 Exhibition : Photographs, Laurence Bagot, mamia bretesché Gallery, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2144 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 43 Exposition : "FILM" of the Nominoë collective au Bétonsalon - Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2143 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 44 Exhibition : Photographic intervention of Lorentino at Love Experience, Nantes, France. http://pourinfos.org/expositions/item.php?id=2142 From aka at zestgroups.net Thu Oct 27 19:10:45 2005 From: aka at zestgroups.net (Albert Krishna Ali) Date: Thu, 27 Oct 2005 19:10:45 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Re: [kria] Seminar on Privatisation of water in Bangalore, Saturday, Senate Hall In-Reply-To: <20051027070259.12175.qmail@webmail31.rediffmail.com> References: <20051027070259.12175.qmail@webmail31.rediffmail.com> Message-ID: <1c8ca5cd0510270640l5a7ee683o2fa9bb97049da201@mail.gmail.com> I thought this was the Sarai Reader-List! Since when did I join an RT list?! On 27 Oct 2005 07:02:59 -0000, Palyam Suresh wrote: > > Dear ALL, > Kindly refrain from posting such mails on this group. This group is menat > for activities on RT ONLY. > Please cooperate. > Thanks and regards, > JAI RTI > Palyam Suresh > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20051027/a7e53581/attachment.html From singhgurminder2000 at hotmail.com Fri Oct 28 17:22:14 2005 From: singhgurminder2000 at hotmail.com (gurminder singh) Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2005 17:22:14 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Happy Diwali Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20051028/e410ae78/attachment.html From gmc at sonologic.nl Sun Oct 30 19:04:55 2005 From: gmc at sonologic.nl (Koen Martens) Date: Sun, 30 Oct 2005 14:34:55 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] [Fwd: Announcement: Issue Crawler Back-End Movie now online [u]] Message-ID: <4364CBFF.7020204@sonologic.nl> Thought some of you might find this particular tool interesting and maybe of use to your own research.. The tool itself is to be found on www.issuecrawler.net Best, Koen -------- Original Message -------- A N N O U N C E M E N T The Issue Crawler (issuecrawler.net) is Web network location and visualization software for issue professionals. Enter URLs of organizations working in an issue area, and an issue network is returned. The Issue Crawler Back-End Movie is a demonstration of how the Issue Crawler works. The movie is also a narrative of a research project conducted with the Issue Crawler and allied tools. The movie focuses on the implications of global civil society's 'issue drift.' As global civil society and intergovernmental organizations move from issue to issue, from place to place and from forum to forum, the question is, do they remember what is happening on the ground? http://movies.issuecrawler.net Streaming and iPod versions available. A large windows media file (.wmv) also may be downloaded for full-screen viewing. The Issue Crawler movies page includes a clip of the Issue Ticker (infoid.org), explained by Bruno Latour at the ZKM, March 2005. A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S Richard Rogers and the Govcom.org Foundation (govcom.org) would like to acknowledge the generous support of the Center for Arts and Media (ZKM), Karlsruhe, Germany. The movie was made by Crooked Line, with contributions by Creative Industries and Anderemedia, organizations all based in Amsterdam. With Govcom.org and Anderemedia, Sonologic (The Hague) provided the software, and Noortje Marres furnished the issue as well as significant findings. Marc Tuters produced the Issue Crawler exhibition ("The Places of Issues"), where the movie was first shown: "Making Things Public: Atmospheres of Democracy," exhibition curated by Bruno Latour and Peter Weibel, ZKM, Karlsruhe, Germany, March-October 2005, http://makingthingspublic.zkm.de/. Exhibition catalogue: Bruno Latour and Peter Weibel (eds.), Making Things Public: Atmospheres of Democracy, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2005, http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp? ttype=2&tid=10595. -- K.F.J. Martens, Sonologic, http://www.sonologic.nl/ Networking, hosting, embedded systems, unix, artificial intelligence. Public PGP key: http://www.metro.cx/pubkey-gmc.asc Wondering about the funny attachment your mail program can't read? Visit http://www.openpgp.org/ From ysaeed7 at yahoo.com Sun Oct 30 18:56:05 2005 From: ysaeed7 at yahoo.com (Yousuf) Date: Sun, 30 Oct 2005 05:26:05 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Re: [peace initiative] Kashmir Quake, Delhi Bombings and Our Response In-Reply-To: <20051030083458.51038.qmail@web61015.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <20051030132605.73806.qmail@web51411.mail.yahoo.com> Its true, very few people seem to be serious about Kashmir earthquake relief, compared to what happened around Tsunami. UN and other agencies have declared that the damage by Paksitan/Kashmir earthquake is much worse than Tsunami. At the time of Tsunami, almost every institution, including schools, colleges and offices had gathered money to send, but this time is very different. Is it really the sectarian bias. --- Sherwani Mustafa wrote: > > I was shocked by the revelations made in the > article > of Mr. Yogi Sikand as how some people tend to view > even the victims of such a devastating natural > tragedy in terms of 'Muslims' and 'Hindus'.The > religions are a reality, and so is the distinct > affection of their respective adherents. However, we > must not forget that 'humanitarianism' is the > integral > core of every religion, and those who ignore it > cannot > be described in terms of the religious convictions. > It > must be specially so in a country like ours which > has > been, and still is the cradle for different > religions > and thousands of cultures, customs and traditions - > all integrating into a single abstract notion, named > as India. > In the midst of all these bitter experiences > which I have also encountered, it is my conviction > that still the moral majority of the country is a > staunch believer in human values, cutting across all > the religious barriers.The most appropriate lesson > for > the Indian masses may be derived from the following > couplet of Dr. Iqbal. > > "Shakti bhey shanti bhey bhakton key geet mein > hai, > > > Bharat key vasiyon key mukti hey preeti mein > hai." > > Dr. M.K. Sherwani > > > > > --- yogi sikand wrote: > > > Kashmir Quake, Delhi Bombings and Our Response > > > > Yoginder Sikand > > > > > > If Indian newspapers are to be believed, all is > well > > in Tangdhar, Uri and in other parts of > > Indian-administered Kashmir devastated by the > recent > > quake that took a toll of some 1500 lives and > > rendered > > around 100,000 people homeless. Relief has been > > provided, so the government claims and so the > press > > reports. Such, indeed, is the shocking > indifference > > of > > ‘mainstream’ India to the continued plight of tens > > of > > thousands of people living in this remote corner > of > > the country straddling the Line of Control that > > separates India and Pakistan that they no longer > > merit > > even passing mention in the press. Hussain, a > > teacher > > I met in Tangdhar on my visit there last week, > > remarked how Indian NGOs and corporate houses had > > responded generously in the wake of the quake in > > Kutch > > and the Tsunami in south India, and contrasted > this > > with their reaction to the quake in Kashmir. He > had > > a > > point when he noted that this indifference > probably > > owed to the fact the victims of the quake in > Kashmir > > were almost all Muslims, and Kashmiri Muslims at > > that. > > > > > > A neighbour in Bangalore had virtually slammed the > > door on my face when I approached him for clothes > > that > > we were collecting for the victims of the Kashmir > > quake. ‘They are all Muslims, so it is not our > > problem’, he told me, shamelessly. I heard similar > > explanations from several other people I had > > approached, who all uniformly declined my appeal. > > The > > fact that most of the few people in my locality > who > > sent me material for the victims happened to be > > Muslims saddened me, because it provided more > > evidence > > that the quake was seen by many in essentially > > communal terms. Yet, this was hardly surprising. > For > > many people in my largely middle-class and ‘upper’ > > caste Hindu locality in Bangalore, the Kashmir > quake > > was not a human tragedy but, rather, simply a > Muslim > > affair. One of my neighbours was so brutally frank > > as > > to tell me that the quake victims deserved their > > fate > > for allegedly supporting terrorism and advocating > > secession from India. > > > > Such deeply-rooted prejudices also probably > account, > > in no small measure, for the fact that few Indian > > NGOs > > have responded to the quake at all. While several > > Muslim organizations, from Kashmir as well as from > > other parts of India, in addition to some > Christian > > groups and larger international NGOs, are active > in > > providing relief in the quake-affected parts of > > Kashmir, one gets the distinct impression that the > > victims of the quake are not a pressing priority > for > > most Indian NGOs. This explains their virtual > > absence > > in the ongoing relief efforts in the region. > > > > Tarring all Muslims with the same brush, branding > > all > > Muslims in Kashmir as ‘terrorist sympathizers’, > > little > > do my bigoted neighbours and others like them know > > that the militant movement has hardly any support > > among the people living in the regions most badly > > affected by the quake, Uri and Tangdhar. This is, > of > > course, not to argue that the urgency of providing > > them humanitarian assistance would be any less if > > their political proclivities were different. The > > vast > > majority of the inhabitants of these remote parts > of > > Jammu and Kashmir are Punjabi/Pahari-speaking > > Muslims, > > ethnically and culturally quite distinct from the > > Muslims of the Kashmir Valley. As numerous army > > personnel I met in Tangdhar themselves stressed, > > militancy has failed to take root in the region > > despite the fact that it straddles the Line of > > Control, on the other side of which live people of > > the > > same ethnic communities. In fact, I was told, many > > locals have actively assisted the Army in > combating > > infiltration from across the border, and several > > families also have members working in the Army. > That > > the vast majority of the locals have stayed away > > from > > involvement in the ongoing militancy in Kashmir > owes > > to various factors, including awareness, due to > > living > > along the Line of Control, that the economic > > conditions on the Indian side of the Line are > > considerably better than across; the role of the > > Army > > in sustaining the local economy; the fact that the > > locals have Backward Class status, which has > enabled > > a > > number of them to secure government jobs; and the > > fact > > that the non-Kashmiri communities of the state, > > non-Muslims as well as Muslims, tend to see the > > militant movement as a means to sustain and > promote > > Kashmiri domination. Arguing that the victims of > the > > quake do not deserve relief because they are > > allegedly > > supporters of ‘terrorists’ is not just inhuman. It > > is > > also factually incorrect and only reveals the > > ignorance of those who make this claim. > > > > In contrast to the dismal response of the NGO > > sector, > > the Army has played an active role in providing > > relief > > to hundreds of families, particularly in the > > immediate > > aftermath of the quake, as many locals I met > === message truncated === __________________________________ Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005 http://mail.yahoo.com From aka at zestgroups.net Sun Oct 30 19:18:04 2005 From: aka at zestgroups.net (Albert Krishna Ali) Date: Sun, 30 Oct 2005 19:18:04 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Re: [peace initiative] Kashmir Quake, Delhi Bombings and Our Response In-Reply-To: <20051030132605.73806.qmail@web51411.mail.yahoo.com> References: <20051030083458.51038.qmail@web61015.mail.yahoo.com> <20051030132605.73806.qmail@web51411.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1c8ca5cd0510300548k54ff6320gc79e4d46697a5ec4@mail.gmail.com> >At the time of Tsunami, almost >every institution, including schools, colleges and >offices had gathered money to send, May I please absolve myself by informing you of having made my contribution? And that too along with others in my institution. May I also suggest that the bias is not sectarian - just that earthquakes strike every now and then but the tsunami was something new. And far more died in the tsunami, far more countries were affected, and so the response was greater. May I also suggest the world is suffering from disaster fatigue, and hence we are becoming a little numb? May I also suggest that in no earthquake in India has government response been adequate? Een in the tsunami the state has showed cases of irresponsibility - such as allowing caste discrimination in relief camps? May I suggest that the idea of seeing the Kashmir earthquake victims as Hindus or Muslims is a fringe and fanatic one, not shared by most Indians. Not me, for one :) May I also suggest that we refrain from seeing religious/regional discord where it does not exist? Peace be upon Allah, Aka From shivam at zestgroups.net Mon Oct 31 22:24:42 2005 From: shivam at zestgroups.net (Shivam) Date: Mon, 31 Oct 2005 08:54:42 -0800 Subject: [Reader-list] Afra/Tafri Message-ID: <210498250510310854i33810e4g40360cfc046ec3da@mail.gmail.com> My profound apologies for adding another potentially irrelevant mail in your mailbox, and for cross-posting this from http://www.shivamvij.com/2005/10/dilli-mein-afra-tafri-machi-hui-hain-dekhtay-rahiye-aaj-tak/#comments Cheers, S. o o o o o Dilli mein afra tafri machi hui hain. Dekhtay rahiye Aaj Tak. I was in an auto to Anand Vihar ISBT at around 6:30-ish when Aman called up. "Vij where are you?" I told him I was travelling, on my way to catching a bus to Lucknow. "Be careful, there have been a series of bomb blasts in Delhi, one in Paharganj." Shit, I thought, Asim and Fahad, room neigbours both, were going by train today. Paharganj is the hopeless medieval-looking market whose unmanageable traffic has been responsible for making many a traveller miss the train and stay longer in this angry city. Before I could finish the conversation with Aman, Saattvic called up: "Shivam could you confirm the news that there have been some bomb blasts…" I told the autowallah about it, who started muttering some bhagwan-hi-maalik-hain stuff, and strangely, started driving at full speed, as if to give vent to his anger about the blasts. I was checking news on my mobile when mom called up from Lucknow. "Dilli main afra tafri maji hui hain, tum kahan ho?" Yes, yes, I'm at a safe place. But how do you convince her, she's been seeing Aaj Tak which must have been giving the impression that all of Delhi is running helter-skelter. I can imagine what the anchor must have been like: "Dilli main afra tafri machi hui hain, dekhtay rahiye Aaj Tak!" Followed by: "Dilli main aatank!…" But Delhi is too huge for a few bombs, really. Bombs go off in Delhi every now and then. The last time it was over a movie. At Anand Vihar I met Gaurav and we were trying to figure out if we had the luck to get a 'Delux' bus. Folks were already going bonkers with the idea of my coming to Lucknow by bus. Apparently, no one I know has heard of bus travel to Lucknow. "By bus? How long is the journey?" Most importantly, "Is it safe?" Now it is only Uttaranchal where buses turn topsy0turvy so often that I don't know why they ply at all. As it turned out, the bus was safer than the train for which I would probably have had gone through Paharganj. In the midst of this an SMS from Dilip said, "On your Metro again, going to Lohia hospital." I ignored the second part of the message, too busy to understand the method of the Anand Vihar madness. At places like these conductors shout destinations as though they were selling vegetables, and in Delhi even vegetables are sold in a saner manner - in something called Mother Dairy outlets. "Your Metro" in Dilip's message was a reference to our meeting a few Sundays ago, when I had told him how great the Metro was, how they fined people who spat, how two men had refused to use the Metro because they didn't want the policemen to 'touch' them for frisking at the entry gate. Since the Delux wasn't forthcoming, Gaurav wanted to go eat lest we be hungry on a bus as inconvenient as was ever made. We got on to a rick and I realised Gaurav was not so much hungry as thirsty: a few sips of vodka was the least he needed to gulp down the defeat of the Marxist-Leninist AISA in the JNU students election. "Some new parties came up shouting slogans of radicalisation, our votes were cut and SFI (which is Marxist but not Leninist!) won." On the way the rickshaw puller was not particularly careful about traffic rules, outraging a traffic policeman enough to come and slap the guy. I felt as though he had slapped the passengers as well. Over vodka and peanuts I discussed violence with Gaurav. Gaurav's problem with the blasts seemed to be more that they were "politically and strategically flawed" rather than that they killed people. He had no problem with the policeman slapping the rickshaw puller: "it's a sorting out process." How can one ignore the sheer violence of violnce? The hard slap our rickshawpuller got was very humiliating, he tried to brush it off by laughingand murmuring some prafanities. For me the explosions that killed a few dozen and the policeman's slap are the same thing: both come from a worldview which sees violence as means to an end. To which Gaurav said that the liberal position on violence was ahistoric, that violence becomes justified and inevitable in some circumstances. Like? Like the insurgency in Iraq, which is strategically aimed at state authorities, American army, corporate interests… I didn't know what to say. So we arranged food in a 'food court' in a mall that is still partially under construction. "What if my comrades see me in a food court!" Never mind, I said, hypocrisy was a JNU trait. As folks were calling up every now and then to ask me if I was safe from the afra-tafri, and if it was safe to be in a bus to Lucknow amidst the afra-tafri, I lied that I had cancelled the trip. I could now enjoy my rajama-chawal. Then Dilip called up and said he was with a man who had lost his mother in the Paharganj explosions. If I could get the word out that they were looking for Mrs Suman Jain, 58? I called up Dhiraj, who asked me to sms him the info, and told me that the injured were all taken to four hospitals: Lady Hardinge, Ram Manohar Lohia, Kalawati and AIIMS. I called up Dilip and told him so. He said they had already looked in the first three. Now they were going to Safdarjung Hospital. I told Dhiraj who asked me to tell Dilip to find the channel's correspondent in Safdarjung. At about midnight, the bus had reached Greater Noida when I messaged Dilip: Let me know when his mom has been found. Dilip messaged back: We have just identified the body in Lohia. Dilip's involvement brought the tragedy so much closer. The Hindi paper in Agra that I got early morning said the toll was over 60. To think that any Delhite could have been part of that statistic is chilling. I told Gaurav I could now understand how the dumb Bush-voting Americans must have felt about 9/11, or why terorrism in the cities makes people so angry. Smoke 'em out would quite be my reaction as well. "Just before the vodka what were you saying about violence?" asked Gaurav. [Dilip D'Souza wrote about the incident in his column: http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/oct/30dilip.htm ]