From jha_vimal at rediffmail.com Thu Jun 1 09:30:55 2006 From: jha_vimal at rediffmail.com (vimlendu jha) Date: 1 Jun 2006 04:00:55 -0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Event and Concert on Monday 5th June!! Message-ID: <20060601040055.13384.qmail@webmail25.rediffmail.com> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060601/d0c9b63b/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- Dear All, At 'We for Yamuna', we celebrate the occasion of World Environment Day every year with the hope that our aspirations for a cleaner, greener and safer environment would be fulfilled. To celebrate our endeavours with other socially responsible citizens in Delhi, 'We for Yamuna' and Tehelka Foundation are organizing Yamunotsav – Celebrating the River. The event is supported by United Nations Volunteers. Event Details: Date: 5th June 2006 Time: 6 PM Onwards Venue: Amphitheatre, India Habitat Centre 'We at Yamuna' has been using the film 'Jijivisha – A river struggles' in the past to showcase the journey of the river. On this World Environment Day, we release the Hindi Version of Jijivisha. Highlights of the evening: · Special performance by Valentine Shipley · A Musical Journey by Artistes Unlimited. · Music Performances by Manzil and Manchale. We hope to celebrate the evening with a cross-section of Delhi's society, including bureaucrats, politicians, media persons, diplomats, academicians, people living on the river banks and most importantly the youth. We look forward to your company on the occasion. Regards Vimlendu Jha 9811812788 9868056642 www.swfc.org.in From iwasthere2000 at yahoo.com Thu Jun 1 17:50:23 2006 From: iwasthere2000 at yahoo.com (shashidhar sabnavis) Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2006 05:20:23 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] 'Striking AIIMS docs live in a glass house' In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20060601122023.27753.qmail@web32412.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Dear Mr. Shivam, I do not know where you get your facts from, he thinks that an institute like AIIMS has management seats, he must be the biggest fool on this planet, Has Mr. shivam been to any of the medical colleges, the students there study like dogs.. Without food without sleep and at the end of the day they have nothing but 2 or three seats in higher education, there have been no efforts from the government to raise any of these seats. The government spends about less than 5% on health and education combines, and as far the general population is concerned these are the only development activities ever, now if you scrutinize the education budget, more than 80% is spent on the hallowed and inaccessible higher education. One more point of consideration, Who pays for all this, the 2% educational cess you and I from the shameful middle class, Let me ask the very loud and brash Mr. Shivam how many Rural Empowered SC. ST. BC, OBC junta even bother filing their tax returns. They do not pay the money, they do not study, they want seats what else.. And the entire middle class who come to voice their opinions are shameful, in his opinion we must all give up on issues and sit at home and let people elected by a 40% representative population make rules for us. Does Mr. Shivam what stink exists in rural India and what kind of people are allowed to pass exams, nobody dares takes these people in their organization because their standards so abysmally low, instead of ensuring that children go to schools and enjoy their education, develop aspirations and works towards them, we want to push them into schools of excellence established to serve the country.. Shame on him for calling the youth of this Great nation a Shame Jai Hind, Shashi __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From shivamvij at gmail.com Fri Jun 2 02:24:13 2006 From: shivamvij at gmail.com (Shivam) Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2006 02:24:13 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 'Striking AIIMS docs live in a glass house' In-Reply-To: References: <20060601122023.27753.qmail@web32412.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Dear Anuj, Your views about the Supreme Court come in the way of the honourable justices delivering honest, independent judgement. You are causing serious damage to the integrity of the judiciary. It is your good luck that the Supreme Court judges do not read the Sarai reader-List and gag us here. It would be in your interest to add this customary disclaimer while being critical of the judiciary, as Shuddha recently did in an exchange with Lawrence on this list: "And, speaking of contempt, I would plead that I have no contempt, only admiration for the institution of our judiciary, and this honorable bench in particular. Their wisdome strikes awe into our hearts, as it should." :) Best, My liberal alter-ego > Lastly, wanted to raise a question about the supreme court's gag order on > protests and strikes against the reservation policy as it is apparently > "sub-judice." While I do think the prolonged doctors' strike is profoundly > immoral, the supreme court has again showed its own anti-political nature by > such a moronic order. How can any authority ban public debate on affirmative > action in india. Dont know which reality they live in. Perhaps the court > just perfectly complements our great technocratic prime minister who's never > won an election in his life-- we have gone a long way have enlightened > despotism in India. Finally, a quibble--no law or order has yet been passed > to bring the reservation policy into force, so how can a PIL impugn it and > challenge it in court. Beats me. But such technicalities perhaps our great > micro-managing court stopped bothering about years back in "public > interest". The more well-informed folk please let us know. > Best, > > anuj From shivamvij at gmail.com Fri Jun 2 02:28:52 2006 From: shivamvij at gmail.com (Shivam) Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2006 02:28:52 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 'Striking AIIMS docs live in a glass house' In-Reply-To: <20060601122023.27753.qmail@web32412.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <20060601122023.27753.qmail@web32412.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Dear Mr Shashidhar, I sincerely apologise to you for hurting your sentiments! Jai Hind to you too! Shivam On 6/1/06, shashidhar sabnavis wrote: > Dear Mr. Shivam, > > I do not know where you get your facts from, he thinks > that an institute like AIIMS has management seats, he > must be the biggest fool on this planet, Has Mr. > shivam been to any of the medical colleges, the > students there study like dogs.. Without food without > sleep and at the end of the day they have nothing but > 2 or three seats in higher education, there have been > no efforts from the government to raise any of these > seats. The government spends about less than 5% on > health and education combines, and as far the general > population is concerned these are the only development > activities ever, now if you scrutinize the education > budget, more than 80% is spent on the hallowed and > inaccessible higher education. > > One more point of consideration, Who pays for all > this, the 2% educational cess you and I from the > shameful middle class, Let me ask the very loud and > brash Mr. Shivam how many Rural Empowered SC. ST. BC, > OBC junta even bother filing their tax returns. They > do not pay the money, they do not study, they want > seats what else.. > > And the entire middle class who come to voice their > opinions are shameful, in his opinion we must all give > up on issues and sit at home and let people elected by > a 40% representative population make rules for us. > > Does Mr. Shivam what stink exists in rural India and > what kind of people are allowed to pass exams, nobody > dares takes these people in their organization because > their standards so abysmally low, instead of ensuring > that children go to schools and enjoy their education, > develop aspirations and works towards them, we want to > push them into schools of excellence established to > serve the country.. > > Shame on him for calling the youth of this Great > nation a Shame > > Jai Hind, > > Shashi From stevphen at autonomedia.org Fri Jun 2 02:38:36 2006 From: stevphen at autonomedia.org (Stevphen Shukaitis) Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2006 17:08:36 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Spivak Lecture, Leicester 16 June Message-ID: <4721.143.210.228.125.1149196116.squirrel@mail.panix.com> Please circulate widely. Apologies for cross-posting. Please find attached details of a public lecture to be held at the Centre for Philosophy and Political Economy, University of Leicester on 16 June. Details also below: “Ethics with a Public Face” Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak 3.30pm, Friday 16 June 2006 Centre for Philosophy and Political Economy University of Leicester Management Centre Lecture Theatre 1, Ken Edwards Building, University of Leicester To be followed by a reception, 5.30pm – 7.00pm Senior Common Room, 5th Floor, Charles Wilson Building Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak is Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University, New York. One of the leading public intellectuals of our times, she is the author of numerous articles and book chapters and is internationally renowned for her ground-breaking work in literary and cultural studies, in feminist, Marxist and deconstructive theory, and is a leading figure in postcolonial and subaltern studies. She is translator of Jacques Derrida’s Of Grammatology and many works by Mahasweta Devi and her books include In Other Worlds (1987), The Postcolonial Critic (1990), Outside in the Teaching Machine (1993), The Spivak Reader (1996), A Critique of Postcolonial Reason (1999) and Death of a Discipline (2003). For travel directions visit www.le.ac.uk/portals/maps/howto.html For more information visit www.le.ac.uk/ulmc/cppe or email cppe at le.ac.uk From shivamvij at gmail.com Fri Jun 2 02:03:38 2006 From: shivamvij at gmail.com (Shivam) Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2006 02:03:38 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Why are we opposed to reservations? Prof Rahul Varman Message-ID: Why are we opposed to reservations? By Prof. Rahul Varman (IIT Kanpur) http://www.ambedkar.org/News/News051707.htm I teach at one of the IITs, and off late my students, colleagues, friends and relatives have been sending me mails, organising meetings, writing petitions, initiating e-tirades, etc. against the recent MHRD announcement and generally taking it for granted that I'll join them in their protests. Each time they are taken by surprise when I decline their offer, try to mumble something as to why I do not agree with them, or sometimes simply keep quiet if I have the advantage of an impersonal medium like the email. But increasingly it has been hard to shrug the whole issue away - every time I open my mail box, or as I walk along the corridor, and even as I bid farewell to my students of the outgoing batch, the sentiment against reservations seem to be thick in the air intermixed with the feeling of unease when one does not make the 'right' noises. And therefore I'll try to articulate at some length as to why I disagree with the 'anti-reservationists', (the issue is too complicated for a mere agree/ disagree vote); in spite of having little sympathy with MHRD and their 'motivated' methods. Let me begin with an incident which occurred when I had just joined IITK way back in 1994. We were staying in the guest house then and some census officials knocked on our door one afternoon to make enquiries for filling up a questionnaire. On being asked about my caste my wife expressed her unawareness. When a brief consultation with each other trying to 'categorise' my surname did not yield any answer, the main person resolved the issue in an ingenious way. After confirming that I was a faculty member, he told his associate in quiet confidence, "likh do, Brahman honge". The point that I want to stress here is that it is not suddenly that either Mr. Arjun Singh today, or 16 years earlier Mr. B P Mandal, suddenly injected the caste divisions into our society (or, for that matter, in the elite educational institutes) as is being alleged by those against the reservations. The caste divide very much exists everywhere in our society and especially so in any of these elite institutes; my claim would be borne out by the names on the doors along the corridors in the faculty corridors or during the roll call in any of the class rooms. Only thing is that those who are on the right side of the divide can choose to ignore it. This will also be borne out by various kinds of statistics if we bother to look at them. Some say that instead of caste we should talk about the economic deprivation and by bringing caste reservations we'll only bring in more divisiveness. I do not understand this argument; it is like saying that we should not address the gender oppression as an issue primarily concerning women, as men also have been sometimes oppressed; or that racial discrimination is not about the blacks and Hispanics in the US, as whites also are sometimes on the receiving end. Further, as if acknowledgement of this form of discrimination(s), instead of being a logical step towards affirmative action, would actually promote them. Coming back to reservations in the present context, it is true that a lot of men and upper castes are also oppressed, but here we are talking about a specific systemic historical subjugation of a massive magnitude, at present perhaps involving more than half a billion people. Reservations may not be answer to this problem but the issue cannot be addressed by bringing in every other kind of discrimination also while attempting to address this issue. Caste problem can be solved only by addressing caste issues; similarly if there are other discriminations that exist in the society (and of course they do) they need to be identified and addressed too, not substituting one form of redressal for the other. Further if the social and economic equity spreads it will not harden the caste identity but loosen it as I'll argue further through the experience of the southern states later. Of course the most important argument of those protesting is that it is against the 'merit', that it is going to keep the 'meritorious' students out and bring in lesser students due to reservations, which in turn will 'lower' the standards and destroy the excellence of such institutes, which has been so assiduously and precariously cultivated as a part of the post colonial nation building project. Now this argument is at various levels and we can examine various parts of it one by one. The first part of the above argument is that reservations will bring students who lack merit and hence will lower the standards of the elite institutions; hence they should be kept away from such reservations. The point is that what does this merit really mean? In any exam where lakhs appear and only thousands get selected, it is not that rest are 'bad' but only that there are very limited opportunities. But does it mean that if we go down in the performance list of the exams, others are incapable of undergoing the training and we as an institution are incapable of teaching them in whatever it takes to make them a good professional? Remember we are talking of half a billion people when we say 'backwards'. Can't we find handful out of them who have the 'capability' to undergo the required training? To me the argument does not sound very different from the ancient times where by their birth a large number were excluded from learning Sanskrit or entering the temples. It is very much like Dronacharya refusing admission to Eklavya. Moreover, we do not seem to even recognise the odds that the children from disadvantaged face; my friend who is from a village 100 kms from Kanpur tells me that his village has just one school where hundreds study across classes with one 18 year old teacher for all the classes put together! And the point is that, even in this school, dalit children are not even allowed to drink from the public pot kept for the rest of the children. In contrast, is it merit when we see that overwhelming majority of those who clear the JEE and CAT are able to do so, only after spending huge resources, money and time, as will be borne out from the newspapers inserts everyday and hoardings at every corner in vast urban parts of the country? What this shows is the singular lack of opportunities and the desperation of educated youth to find a berth in the elite institutions that will catapult them into a different social and economic orbit. Now the point is that these berths are being reserved in one way so far, the question is are we ready to alter that process? If something sets the elite institutions apart it is the enormous resources that they attract, both human as well as material. And I do not see what stops such individuals who enter even after reservations from becoming good professionals given proper nurturing and resources. As far as failing of students in such institutes is concerned we'll find that students of all categories make such a list as the overwhelming reason for that is either lack of motivation and/ or the social context and not the lack of ability. Many students after clearing JEE, CAT, etc. lose the motivation to do well – they stop going to classes and studying and look for other expressions in life and simply feel alienated with the academics. The second reason is that many students simply find it hard to adjust to a westernised – elite culture of these institutions, especially those who come from rural or small town background. Since they are not able to find the right kind of supporting network of friends and peers they are not able to perform as a lot of learning in such institutions is collective. Many of the reserved category students have to further bear the stigma of coming through 'quota', of not being good enough and hence they get into a shell and are more likely to find themselves alienated, which finally reflects on their performance. If this is so, then what is required is more supporting systems within institutions and not stopping them at the gates. As a teacher I have also seen cases where within a semester or two some of the so called 'poor students' are completely transformed. They have been able to adjust to the requirements of the system and flourish, may be with the help of a supporting friend, or a patient teacher, or through an activity where they could express themselves, or a combination of the above. Moreover if these institutes are not only abut learning inside the class as we never tire telling the fresh students, but about becoming a complete professional as so many alumni will vouch for, and transforming a teenager into a professional who is in touch with her surroundings, then of course this diversity can do wonders to the overall learning inside and outside the class rooms. I have learnt so much from those of my students who are different from my protected middle class upbringing – a village in eastern UP, a small town in Bihar, a construction site in Kerala, and so on. Though I understand nothing about the medical education, but I am sure if a student can bring his experience of a Chattisgarh village, it can contribute hugely to the real education in the class. One can at this point ask a further question, is merit all about passing exams? After all, are the exams a means or an end? If the exams are means to look for ability to make better engineers, doctors and managers, then can there be better methods to look for such ability? After all in my first engineering class I was told that a good engineer is the one who can produce the best out of the least resources and similarly, management is supposed to find one's way in an uncertain situation – or allocate scarce resources in the most optimal way possible. If that is so, whatever I have seen of our deprived masses (of which overwhelming majority belongs to the backward, dalit castes or adivasis), they have the astonishing capacity to make something productive from almost next to nothing! For the last few years I have been studying small industry clusters, like Moradabad brass, Varanasi silk and Kanpur leather. Put together (all the clusters in the country), they are exporting more than the IT sector and their cumulative employment will be several times of the whole of IT industry. In all these clusters they operate with miniscule resources – small investment, no electricity, forget about air-conditioning, non existent roads, lack of water, and little formal education. These clusters are primarily constituted of these so called backward/ dalit castes and are truly a tribute to the genius that our society is. But in spite of centuries of excellence these communities have hardly produced any formal 'engineers', 'doctors' and 'managers', and conversely these elite institutions have not developed any linkages with such industries and their people. This brings me to a further question, what do 'meritorious' students from these institutions do when they pass out? I recall what Srilata Swaminathan, the noted activist, had said at the beginning of her talk at IIMA in the early 1990s (I at the time was a student there), "I am told that this is the cream of the country, and what do you do, sell soaps and toothpastes (ITC, HLL, etc. were the most coveted recruiters those days)?". There was hushed silence in a room full of students and faculty. I remember in the mid-90s my sense of disbelief, when I was the placement coordinator for my department, the HR manager of one of the big three Indian IT companies told me, "as long as somebody can recognise a keyboard we take him" in response to my query about what they sought in a potential employee. Remember this company over the years has employed thousands of IIT-IIM engineers - managers. As a child I remember the famous surgeon in my home town, who would first cut up a patient and then renegotiate the price with the relatives, before proceeding with the surgery! Or everywhere around me I find 'meritorious' doctors employed in public hospitals, drawing comfortable salaries and doing roaring private practice! You are not even required to turn up in the village health centre even once if you have a rural posting. If the majority of our people usually have to do with the village quack, they would not mind a 'slightly less meritorious doctor' coming to take care of them, instead of finding solace in the fact that super-specialised doctors are ensuring that the elite of our country have no wrinkles, and such like grave ailments. I recall when some students from IITK, almost all of them belonging to the North from UP to MP to Orissa, went to participate in post Tsunami relief work in Tamil Nadu. After they came back the overwhelming feeling was this difference from the North that "things are different over there and they work!" My relatives and acquaintances prefer to go down south when they are seriously unwell and not to Delhi or Lucknow. Remember this is the same place which has implemented the 'quota' much before Mandal and much beyond it too. I hear of far less caste strife in Tamil Nadu than in UP where caste based reservations have been implemented for such a long time – it does not seem to have furthered the caste based identities in South into a full fledged war like Bihar and UP. Point is 'merit' is not about stopping somebody at the gates or throwing them out of these seats of learning, but in creating robust institutions which can cultivate and nurture the talent with all the complexities of a vast and disparate society that we are. Let's put the creamy layer argument also in perspective now. Point is that such elite education which has so many barriers – expensive and time consuming coaching, expensive education, elite culture, etc. is under the present order going to be a preserve only of a select few. All we are saying is whether it is going to be the preserve of a few higher castes or some of the other castes can also find an entry. Even if it is backward IAS's daughter, so be it, finally many others are also IAS's wards, so how does it make a difference? As has been rightly said by the critiques, it's a populist measure for the votes. etc. But so is every single policy of the govt. and so it will be in a 'vote bank democracy' – either for the votes directly, or for generating resources for the next election. When an Ambani or an Enron is granted abominable concessions, why don't we come on streets and say, "it is for money for the next elections." The difficulty perhaps is that we are only against certain kinds of reservation. When an Ambani becomes a CEO, when a Gandhi becomes a minister, we do not say it is against merit, when a professor whose son is not able to qualify JEE, is still able to send her child abroad for higher studies, we do not say it is reservation, when only Valmikis do all the cleaning work at IITK we do not say it is reservation, the point that we need to ponder is that why is it that we are only against certain kind of reservation and for certain kind of merit? Finally for those of us who think that the present reservation exercise is ornamental and they would like to do something more basic and lasting, I recommend a reading of the Mandal report - they will find that the report goes to some length to capture the socio-economic indicators in understanding and classifying 'backwards'. Moreover reservation is a small part of their recommendation which includes things like special coaching for the disadvantaged to basic issues like land reforms. The difficulty is that in all these years, only the naxalite movement seem to have taken up some of the radical suggestions of the Mandal Commission! Meanwhile I have a question for those whose problem is the hasty implementation, that "how can we implement MHRD's recommendations so suddenly?" After all, the report has been available for debate, discussion, modification and implementation for all these 16 years! Why is it that we have suddenly woken up to bother about primary – secondary education as well as the economic upliftment of the masses, only when the government has started acting in its own bumbling ways? As far as I know, no academic body or business institutions like CII has debated these issues and no committees have been setup to examine the Mandal report all this while. Finally, history is catching up in its own imperfect ways. We need to ponder whether these institutions are meant only for supplying cheap labour for the American corporations. If they have to be more than that, the time has come for us to be self critical and look beyond the knee jerk response to the present quagmire. From shivamvij at gmail.com Fri Jun 2 13:19:18 2006 From: shivamvij at gmail.com (Shivam) Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2006 13:19:18 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Join us at India Gate: Human Chain in Defence of Reservations Message-ID: Members of JNU Student Union, Youth For Equal Opportunities and Indian National Medical Association are going to form a human chain in front of India Gate at 5.30 pm on 3rd June. We invite people in and around Delhi to be present there and show their solidarity with our cause. If you don't speak for yourself others will speak for you! Hope to see you there! From cahen.x at levels9.com Fri Jun 2 14:51:18 2006 From: cahen.x at levels9.com (xavier cahen) Date: Fri, 02 Jun 2006 11:21:18 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] pourinfos Newsletter / 06-01 to 06-07-2006 Message-ID: <4480030E.9040603@levels9.com> pourinfos.org l'actualité du monde de l'art / daily Art news ----------------------------------------------------------------------- From Thursday June 1, 2006 to Wednesday June 7, 2006 (included) ------------------------------------------------------------------- (mostly in french) @ 001 (01/06/2006) Exhibition : Love, Glory and Beauty, Charenton-le-Pont, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33024 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 002 (01/06/2006) Exhibition : espace Digital Sporadique, eDS, le SEPA Bon Accueil et LENDROIT "“editions of artists”", Rennes, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33025 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 003 (01/06/2006) Exhibition : The photographic collective of the Images To be rented, Ars Longa, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33042 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 004 (01/06/2006) Publication : "Jean Paul Civeyrac : Interstices" , Blaq Out / Incident.net, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33088 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 005 (01/06/2006) Meetings : International meeting of the young researchers in social sciences and arts, entitled “the body in all its states, university Paul Verlaine, Metz, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33121 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 006 (01/06/2006) Publication : Parade n° 6 : To speak sexes, Ecole Régionale Supérieure d‘Expression Plastique , Tourcoing, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33204 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 007 (01/06/2006) Meetings : Digitales 2006 , Women & technology, June 1-3 2006 , June 1-3 2006, Brussels, Belgium. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33209 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 008 (01/06/2006) Exhibition : "Vice Versa" Vincent Herlemont, La malterie et la petite surface, Lille, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33246 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 009 (01/06/2006) Exhibition : Collectif “of a Studio to the other”, Monaco, Principaute of Monaco. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33255 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 010 (01/06/2006) Exhibition : Don't do this, don't do that, attitudes espace d'arts contemporains, Geneva, Switzerland. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33277 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 011 (01/06/2006) Screening : in between - Last projection, Thursday June 1, 2006, Chapelle de l'Ecole nationale supérieure d'art de Bourges, Bandits-Mages, Bourges, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33283 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 012 (01/06/2006) Publication : The Vorpal Blade, Fergus Purcell, éditions nieves, Zürich, Switzerland. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33292 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 013 (01/06/2006) Job : transmediale seeks a new director from 2008 onwards, Berlin, Germany. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33296 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 014 (01/06/2006) Call : Electrohype 2006 Ð, fourth Nordic biennial for computer, based art, Lunds Konsthall, Sweden. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33297 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 015 (01/06/2006) Call : Video Art & Architecture event, Cultural Communication Centre of Klaipeda, Klaipeda, Lithuania. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33298 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 016 (02/06/2006) Exhibition : Chapiter 3, Abbey of Maubuisson, Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33153 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 017 (02/06/2006) Exhibition : Two words and Fourteen Words at Cargo 21, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33155 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 018 (02/06/2006) Various : meeting, Danielle Collobert, centre international de poésie Marseille, Marseille, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33206 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 019 (02/06/2006) Exhibition : LE BUS, Alternative Nomade, Le Caravansérail, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33227 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 020 (02/06/2006) Exhibition : “Icons of the daily life fragments”, Patrick Bogner, Espace International du CEAAC, Strasbourg, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33248 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 021 (02/06/2006) Exhibition : “What is”, association LAC&S Lavitrine de Limoges, La Briqueterie, Amiens, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33251 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 022 (02/06/2006) Screening : Black Nails, Stéphane Bérard, La galerie RLBQ et Musée d'art contemporain de Marseille, Marseille, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33284 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 023 (03/06/2006) Exhibition : like animals, Association art visuel, Tour des archives, Vernon, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=1669 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 024 (03/06/2006) Exhibition : The Embassy of Possible, 40mcube / Le Château, Rennes, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=2985 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 025 (03/06/2006) Exhibition : « Suintements impassibles », Véronique Hubert, Espace arts plastiques de Vénissieux, Vénissieux, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33022 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 026 (03/06/2006) Exhibition : Bruno Soubrane, artist rather Performeur and Chantal, ipso facto, Nantes, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33133 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 027 (03/06/2006) Exhibition : Suggestion of presentation - épisode 4, Sébastien Maloberti, SF - Lanscape, Association Tripode, Nantes, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33218 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 028 (03/06/2006) Exhibition : AIRWAVES, Daniel Chust Peters, ZOO GALERIE Nantes, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33221 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 029 (03/06/2006) Exposition : ARTLIFEFORTHEWORLD Eventi d'Arte Contemporanea Venezia, Italie. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33222 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 030 (03/06/2006) Exhibition : Shepard Fairey (dit Obey), Galerie Magda Danysz, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33228 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 031 (03/06/2006) Exhibition : “Natural Size” ART.O.BAZ, Parc PHOENIX de Nice, Nice, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33252 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 032 (03/06/2006) Meetings : three vidéos of Christian Barani, Saturday June 3, 2006, Ecrans documentaires, Cachan, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33266 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 033 (04/06/2006) Program : Frac Nord - Pas de Calais, June 2006, Dunkerque, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33249 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 034 (04/06/2006) Various : #18 - SITUATION, Around the work of Guy Debord, Indisciplines, Radio genouille, Marseille, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33294 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 035 (05/06/2006) Screening : Films of Russian artists in Barbizon, Monday June 5, 2006, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33174 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 036 (05/06/2006) Performance : Stembogen Partie, Monday June 5, 2006, PPT & Kinokho, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33211 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 037 (05/06/2006) Meetings : Fresh Theory in June, Pornography, Monday June 5, 2006, gallery of the Editions Léo Scheer, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33290 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 038 (06/06/2006) Exhibition : Alexis Malbert, OLGA, Limoges, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33253 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 039 (07/06/2006) Various : Concert/Reading, Steles for the emperor, Jean-Loup Philippe, Alain Kremski, Espace multimédia Gantner, Bourogne, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=3047 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 040 (07/06/2006) Meetings : The French cultural policy: end of cycle and/or new stakes? , Wednesday June 7, théâtre du rond point, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33168 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 041 (07/06/2006) Meetings : Launching of the stamps of ess, the number 57 Signatures, the publication Largu, Wednesday June 7, 2006, Olivieri bookshop of the Museum of contemporary art of Montreal, Canada. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33286 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 042 The artist and his “models”. Jean-Claude Moineau http://pourinfos.org/encours/item.php?id=3019 L’artiste et ses "modèles". Jean-Claude Moineau http://pourinfos.org/encours/item.php?id=3020 From bawree at yahoo.com Fri Jun 2 18:04:18 2006 From: bawree at yahoo.com (mamta mantri) Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2006 05:34:18 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] characteristics of these theatres,, mamta Message-ID: <20060602123418.38190.qmail@web33101.mail.mud.yahoo.com> The availability of so many cinema halls within so less a space, gives a very peculiar feel to the neighbourhood. In the wake of multiplexes, where a single building houses only multiple screens in the name of the films, these halls stand out because they provide an individual personality and therefore an individualistic experience of cinema. In contrast to the multiplexes, there is travel associated with them, where one traverses, among the people and the landscape from one space to another. This is also a part of the cinematic experience, with each theatre holding on to its uniqueness. There is an attempt here to outline the general characteristics of these cinema halls, although not all-pervasive: • These structures are very unlike the modern cinema halls and multiplexes. They are old structures and their outward appearances haven’t changed since their inception. Of course, there are minor renovations undertaken by the owners, in accordance with the profits and their business principles. Individual instances have been dealt with every hall. They are of solid masonry, lined up with other buildings along the busiest thoroughfares. The theatre is replete with a grand front entrance, an often spacious lobby, seats and stalls according to class, and a broad screen. The accent here seems to be on the status of the cinema venue as a "building": a celebration of consolidation and legitimization, of a new institution taking root. An institution: the masonry construction suggests that the cinema is here to stay, become a social reality and a means of communication and entertainment to be reckoned with, boasting continuous production in answer to settled demand. The permanent structure suggests that the city is in a position to absorb and distribute internally the various functions which traverse it, workplace, living space, meeting point and place of entertainment are ranged side by side along an intentionally visible path, that of the daily progress of each inhabitant; the diffuse and rather untidy spectacle has been replaced by a carefully composed schedule in which every experience finds its rightful place. • There is a concept of extended space in every cinema hall. This could get translated in a courtyard and garden, in the case of some, while in some it could be the seating space outside the hall. However, the amount of space is definitely more than that in the multiplexes. The balconies on the side of the halls are a excellent space to watch the street below and get some fresh air, while smoking or chatting. • All the halls house a ‘Dargah’ in their complex. While the general opinion about their inception is that “this place was originally a cemetery, where the dead of all communities were disposed off. So when these buildings were constructed, Dargahs were constructed as a mark of respect to all those dead. However, Dr. Afzal, a prominent citizen in the area, holds another view. He opines that there were no cemeteries earlier. People then always wished to get buried or cremated in their own spaces. So the property owners were buried in their own spaces. So these Dargahs are the “Kabr” of those property owners. However these are not meant for prayers. However, with the passage of time, these “Kabr” have become the places of worship for the ordinary masses.” This phenomenon is an outcome of fear of the dead. I remember a resident of Dinath building telling me, “When the Dargah of Taj was demolished to give way to a residential complex, the water levels rose inspite of repeated attempts to throw it away for a couple of days. It was only when the Dargah was restored, did the water levels subside”. One of the respondents, a friend of mine from Gwalior, attributed the success of these cinema halls to the presence of these Dargahs. • These cinema halls are given on rent to the distributors on a weekly basis for every film they exhibit, with the exception of Alfred. The rent varies with every theatre. There are 28 shows every week. The rent apart, the owners get 3 Rs as service tax per ticket, which translates into a good amount. The good thing is that one can actually see the money in its “hard cash” form. However, the figures don’t cross the thousands mark, with the exception of festivals. The management also gets its money from the canteen owners, who are taken on contract basis. The amount then ranges from anything between 25000 to 50000 every week. This is not inclusive of the publicity material that comes with every film. • Eid and Ganpati festivals are the best times for these halls, as they run houseful, all of them, even if they show repeat run films. The month of Ramzan is the worst in terms of numbers. Even Holi doesn’t give encouraging numbers because people are busy with the festival. Also, the monsoon months are dreaded, because the migrant population goes back to villages to till their lands. • The halls don’t have the concept on seat numbers, with the exception of Alfred, since there is no such thing as advance booking here. The halls don’t have the concept on seat numbers, with the exception of Alfred. The seating arrangements are ample and theatres like Alfred and New Roshan have balcony seats which resemble ones in an amphitheatre. This is reminiscent of the fact that these cinema theatres have been adapted from theatres used for stage plays. • These halls are not just there for the sake of pleasure only. They have varied functions to perform. For the audience, who buys the tickets for 3 hours, the hall is a private space to relax, sleep, fantasise, and remember the utopian past. In a very peculiar way, it becomes a home, a shelter from the harsh world just a few steps away. Talking about homes, the audience also comes to these halls for other basic necessities like the toilet and the bathroom. They are a poor man abode. In the night, they become the sleeping dens for all their employees who do not have a home elsewhere. This also aids in the security of the halls. It is not just the employees who make use of them, but the vagrants, and the numerous hawkers around there. • The halls are airy with a considerable amount of fans and exhaust fans. One can enjoy a film in a relaxed atmosphere. However, in a bid to regulate electricity bills, they are stopped after a point. Eventually, the audience is really exhausted by the time the film is over. • The tickets range from 13 Rs to 25 Rs, varying with every hall. The ticket counters sell tickets even after the show has begun, at least for an hour more. The marketing gimmicks involve ringing bells, shouting that the show has just begun, et al. The counter foil of the tickets are retained till the show is over, and destroyed after that. • The tickets are arranged in a wooden counter that is divided into 7x2 compartments, meant for every day of the week and the two categories-Balcony and Dress Circle. Since there are no seat numbers on the ticket, the remainder of the bundle can be used for the next show and the next week. This is not valid for Alfred, where the wooden counter is divided day wise, category wise and show wise. So the size of this counter is as huge as the wall that houses it. • The current favorite heroes here are Salman Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Govinda, and Ajay Devgan. Amitabh Bachchan, Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Dharmendra have had their share of visibility. However, the list is not rigid and changes according to the hero’s visibility in the A circuit, in terms of fresh releases. • The national anthem is played at the beginning of the film, in the midst of some announcements and advertisements of upcoming films on screen. With the exception of Alfred, no other cinema hall plays Hindi Film songs before the film and in the interval. • The staff includes the Manager, Assistant Manager, Projector Operator, Gatekeepers, Ticket Counter Man, Sweepers, and the Canteen Staff. It needs to be pointed that none of these categories are rigid and strict; one can perform the duty of the other, in ascending order of work hierarchy. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From mallroad at gmail.com Sat Jun 3 04:20:37 2006 From: mallroad at gmail.com (Shivam Vij) Date: Sat, 3 Jun 2006 04:20:37 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Caste matters in the Indian media: Siddharth Varadarajan Message-ID: <210498250606021550k36957cb5g2948f981e1c715e4@mail.gmail.com> Caste matters in the Indian media By Siddharth Varadarajan http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2006060301841000.htm&date=2006/06/03/&prd=th& If television and newspaper coverage of the anti-reservation agitation was indulgent and one-sided, the lack of diversity in the newsroom is surely a major culprit. MY FIRST brush with caste prejudice in higher education came in 1999, when a group of Dalit students from the University College of Medical Sciences (UCMS) came to see me at my office in another English newspaper where I worked at the time as an editorial writer. The students were residents of the hostel and had silently borne the brunt of casteist abuse and discrimination for some time. Whether by happenstance or design, the Scheduled Caste students were confined to two floors and not assigned rooms elsewhere in the building. In the dining hall, they were forced by the forward caste majority to sit together at one end. If a Dalit student sat somewhere else, he would be abused. "Bloody shaddu," one of them was told when he sat amidst others by mistake, "you cannot eat with us." The Dalits put up with this harassment and humiliation because, as one of their parents told them, "you have to become a doctor at any cost." But the abuse eventually turned to violence and when one of the students was badly beaten and another had his room ransacked, they decided to go on a dharna. This is also when they ended up in my office. After hearing them out, I requested the head of the Metro section to send someone to UCMS to cover the story. I was promised a reporter would be sent soon. Several days went by but nothing appeared. It turned out no reporter was assigned. I tried again, this time going one notch higher in the editorial chain-of-command. Again there was no response. Eventually, I decided to do the story myself. I spent half-a-day at the college, interviewed the college authorities, the students on dharna as well as the general category students. One of them admitted reluctantly to using the slur `shaddu' for the Scheduled Caste students but only as a `pet name'. I filed the story but it did not appear the next day or the day after. Nobody ever said the story was not interesting or not up to scratch but for some reason space could never be found. The story finally appeared, in a cut and mutilated form, a full month after the Dalit students began their dharna. Needless to say, the travails of the Dalit students at UCMS were not considered newsworthy enough by other newspapers or by any of the news channels. I narrate this story because of how it contrasts with the extraordinary indulgence the national media showed the nearly month-long anti-reservation agitation of doctors and medical students at AIIMS and other colleges. Despite the 24x7 presence of TV cameras, the daily protests in favour of reservation by AIIMS doctors and staff under the banner of `Medicos Forum for Equal Opportunities' were virtually blacked out. One channel showed the counter-protest last Sunday only when a `citizen journalist' presented it with footage he had shot. Often, it was impossible to separate the breathless TV reporters from the anti-reservation doctors they were reporting about. The insensitive and casteist forms of protest some of them adopted — the `symbolic' sweeping of streets, the shining of shoes, the singing of songs warning OBCs and others to `remember their place' (`apni aukat mein rahio') — were put on air without comment by the channels. Nobody asked what kind of doctors these `meritorious' students were likely to become if they had such contempt towards more than half the population of India. And in a media discourse which routinely reports the protests of the underprivileged only as "traffic jams" and other disruptions to the "normal" life of the city, the suffering of poor patients as a result of the AIIMS strike figured largely as a footnote to the "heroic" struggle the medical students and junior doctors were waging. Amidst the hysteria induced by the media coverage, no one cared to point out how indulgent the AIIMS authorities themselves were being towards the anti-reservation strike. Earlier this year, when a section of doctors concerned about higher user fees being imposed on poor patients sought to protest, they were warned of dire consequences. Under the terms of a High Court order, no protest or demonstration is permitted within the AIIMS campus. Yet nobody demurred when the anti-reservation students occupied the lawns, put up shamianas and coolers and received the "solidarity" of traders, event managers, and IT employees (whose employers usually ban their own staff from ever striking work.) While there were honourable exceptions — Outlook, The Hindu , and Frontline among them, as well as individual reporters in some newspapers and channels — would the media's coverage have been more balanced had there been a greater degree of caste diversity in the newsroom and editorial boards of our newspapers and channels? Put another way, in egging the forward caste students on to oppose any extension of reservation, were forward caste editors and reporters reflecting their own personal impatience with the idea of affirmative action? Was the media coverage, then, a display of trade unionism by the privileged? There are no official or industry statistics but every journalist is aware of the extent to which forward castes dominate the media. When B.N. Uniyal surveyed the scene in 1996, he found not a single Dalit accredited journalist in Delhi. Today, the position is unlikely to be much better. At a recent meeting of Journalists for Democracy, it was reported that an informal survey had found that the number of accredited North Indian OBC journalists in Delhi was under 10. I myself have counted the number of Muslims with accreditation to the Press Information Bureau and they barely cross the three per cent mark. In Chhattisgarh, a recent attempt to send Tribal journalists on a training programme had to be dropped because there was none. One is not saying the absence of Dalit or OBC journalists is the product of conscious discrimination though that factor cannot be ruled out. But the reality of their absence is something the media must have the courage to acknowledge. In an ideal world where professionalism is paramount, the caste or religious affiliation of a journalist should not matter. But journalism that has little or no space for the majority of citizens is bound to end up missing out on the complexity of the society it seeks to cover. Story ideas will not be taken up, or if taken up then covered only from a particular perspective. To be sure, many of the negative trends so evident in Indian journalism — the shrinkage of space, the lack of coverage of rural India or of the problems of poor Indians, the episodic, frenetic nature of news, the cult of the Sensex, the preoccupation with trivia and sensationalism — will not be cured by newspapers and TV channels hiring more Dalit, OBC, and Muslim journalists. But greater workplace diversity will certainly infuse a greater degree of vitality in the newsroom as wider varieties of lived experience intrude upon and clash with the largely urban, rich, forward caste Hindu certitudes of the overwhelming majority of journalists. Far from seeing affirmative action as a threat, India's media houses should look upon the entry of Dalit, Tribal, OBC, and Muslim journalists as an opportunity to broadbase their journalism and make it more professional and authentic. Last year, Ankur and Sarai-CSDS provided teenagers in the now-demolished slum cluster of Nangla Machi with computers. The daily diaries and fly-sheets they produced even as their homes were being brought down by bulldozers is journalism of as high a quality as anyone can find in India today (Interested readers should visit http://www.sarai.net/nm.htm). Certainly their writings tell us more about the reality of "slum clearance" than any of our TV channels, and in prose that is better than what one normally gets to read in our newspapers. As the OBC and SC-ST youths who want to become doctors and engineers are saying, merit is not simply a score that can be bought by parents who have the money to invest in the most expensive education for their children. It is also about the talent that all children have within them regardless of their caste or socio-economic background. A society — or an industry like the media — which does not find a way to tap that talent will only end up impoverishing itself. Specifically, media houses must seriously think about starting internships and training programmes for Dalit, Tribal, Muslim, and OBC students interested in becoming journalists. Reservation, affirmative action, targeted expenditure, and investment are all means of society helping people unlock their inherent talent. As pro-reservation scholars such as Yogendra Yadav, Satish Deshpande, Purshottam Aggarwal, and others have argued, the United Progressive Alliance Government's current approach is not necessarily the best one. But by conducting a shrill campaign and encouraging forward caste students to launch an ill-conceived agitation, the media themselves foreclosed the possibility of a rational debate on what the best way of building an inclusive education system really is. When the dust settles, the media should introspect and ask what they can do to make society as a whole more inclusive. Encouraging conversation and not hectoring is one way. But another is surely to diversify the newsroom by consciously bringing in those sections of society who have hitherto been excluded. There are a million stories out there waiting to be told. If only we allow the storytellers to do the telling. From shivamvij at gmail.com Thu Jun 1 18:51:08 2006 From: shivamvij at gmail.com (Shivam) Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2006 18:51:08 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Human Chain in Defence of Reservations In-Reply-To: <210498250606010611p503a9bf7q33e4718f171e39fd@mail.gmail.com> References: <210498250606010611p503a9bf7q33e4718f171e39fd@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: Dear Friends, Members of Youth For Equal Opportunities, the Indian National Medical Association and the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union are going to form a human chain infront of India Gate at 5.30 pm on 3rd June. We invite people in and around Delhi to be present there and show their solidarity with our casue. Please inform others about the event. If you do not speak for yourself others will speak for you. Looking forward to your support, regards Shivam for Youth For Equal Opportunities From iwasthere2000 at yahoo.com Mon Jun 5 11:16:43 2006 From: iwasthere2000 at yahoo.com (shashidhar sabnavis) Date: Sun, 4 Jun 2006 22:46:43 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] 'Striking AIIMS docs live in a glass house' In-Reply-To: <96a8bb180606020348u4566100fmf95549166cb8faa9@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <20060605054643.90424.qmail@web32410.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Dear Comrade from the most underprivilaged state, He feels that filing tax returns is the only way that one can contribute to the wealth of the nation, i am sure none of the children and old people pay or file any taxes so we will do away with them, similarly we will say the same to most of the women, most of the corrupt bastardly politicians, who devised caste in the first place. Instead of looking at developing rural infra, we will reserve places for them else where and create more and more slums, Please keep slumbering Mr. Dutta and keep pointing fingers at merit, let us all re engineer, todays dalits will become tomorrows kshatriaya and we will all be there to clap, a system which is still the same but only has new players. shashi Still likes merit and a Jai hind to all --- aniruddha dutta wrote: > Oh God, shit, how stupid are we for criticising the > middle class.... after > all, we all file our tax returns and the poor rural > 'junta' do nothing > because they don't file tax returns... wonder who > are the people who do all > the urban construction-work, share-cropping, cheap > industrial labour and so > on for abysmally low wages, on whose work we > survive? Mr Shashidhar, do you > know that a huge percentage of India's population > CANNOT (not DO NOT) file > tax returns because they can't even earn Rs 20,000 a > year and the least > taxable income is about Rs 60,000? About Rs 20,000 > is also what it takes > for coaching, tutorial etc. expenses for many of > these educational > institutes... so much for merit and opportunity. But > then it is useless to > argue about such basic points... so instead, let's > just sing a paean to > ourselves, the middle class. > > Yours Enlightenedly, > Aniruddha, Kolkata. > > > On 6/2/06, Shivam wrote: > > > > Dear Mr Shashidhar, > > > > I sincerely apologise to you for hurting your > sentiments! > > > > Jai Hind to you too! > > Shivam > > > > > > On 6/1/06, shashidhar sabnavis > wrote: > > > Dear Mr. Shivam, > > > > > > I do not know where you get your facts from, he > thinks > > > that an institute like AIIMS has management > seats, he > > > must be the biggest fool on this planet, Has Mr. > > > shivam been to any of the medical colleges, the > > > students there study like dogs.. Without food > without > > > sleep and at the end of the day they have > nothing but > > > 2 or three seats in higher education, there have > been > > > no efforts from the government to raise any of > these > > > seats. The government spends about less than 5% > on > > > health and education combines, and as far the > general > > > population is concerned these are the only > development > > > activities ever, now if you scrutinize the > education > > > budget, more than 80% is spent on the hallowed > and > > > inaccessible higher education. > > > > > > One more point of consideration, Who pays for > all > > > this, the 2% educational cess you and I from the > > > shameful middle class, Let me ask the very loud > and > > > brash Mr. Shivam how many Rural Empowered SC. > ST. BC, > > > OBC junta even bother filing their tax returns. > They > > > do not pay the money, they do not study, they > want > > > seats what else.. > > > > > > And the entire middle class who come to voice > their > > > opinions are shameful, in his opinion we must > all give > > > up on issues and sit at home and let people > elected by > > > a 40% representative population make rules for > us. > > > > > > Does Mr. Shivam what stink exists in rural India > and > > > what kind of people are allowed to pass exams, > nobody > > > dares takes these people in their organization > because > > > their standards so abysmally low, instead of > ensuring > > > that children go to schools and enjoy their > education, > > > develop aspirations and works towards them, we > want to > > > push them into schools of excellence established > to > > > serve the country.. > > > > > > Shame on him for calling the youth of this Great > > > nation a Shame > > > > > > Jai Hind, > > > > > > Shashi > > _________________________________________ > > 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 anujbhuwania at gmail.com Fri Jun 2 01:42:32 2006 From: anujbhuwania at gmail.com (Anuj Bhuwania) Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2006 16:12:32 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] 'Striking AIIMS docs live in a glass house' In-Reply-To: <20060601122023.27753.qmail@web32412.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <20060601122023.27753.qmail@web32412.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Hi all, Just wanted to draw attention to two recent articles which I think sum up the "Mandal II" debate quite well. The first one shows an amazing and rare quality to be constructive in the face of radical disagreement about policy-making processes, with some very sensible suggestions that go to the heart of the matter. http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20060531&fname=yogendrayadav&sid=1 The second one points fingers at the sudden, belated and utterly cynical interest in universalizing primary education that our media savvy upper caste elites have recently feigned while simultaneously repressing and reinforcing the class-caste segregated character that the sins of omission and commission of the Indian education policy have in common. http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2006053006711100.htm&date=2006/05/30/&prd=th& Lastly, wanted to raise a question about the supreme court's gag order on protests and strikes against the reservation policy as it is apparently "sub-judice." While I do think the prolonged doctors' strike is profoundly immoral, the supreme court has again showed its own anti-political nature by such a moronic order. How can any authority ban public debate on affirmative action in india. Dont know which reality they live in. Perhaps the court just perfectly complements our great technocratic prime minister who's never won an election in his life-- we have gone a long way have enlightened despotism in India. Finally, a quibble--no law or order has yet been passed to bring the reservation policy into force, so how can a PIL impugn it and challenge it in court. Beats me. But such technicalities perhaps our great micro-managing court stopped bothering about years back in "public interest". The more well-informed folk please let us know. Best, anuj On 6/1/06, shashidhar sabnavis wrote: > > Dear Mr. Shivam, > > I do not know where you get your facts from, he thinks > that an institute like AIIMS has management seats, he > must be the biggest fool on this planet, Has Mr. > shivam been to any of the medical colleges, the > students there study like dogs.. Without food without > sleep and at the end of the day they have nothing but > 2 or three seats in higher education, there have been > no efforts from the government to raise any of these > seats. The government spends about less than 5% on > health and education combines, and as far the general > population is concerned these are the only development > activities ever, now if you scrutinize the education > budget, more than 80% is spent on the hallowed and > inaccessible higher education. > > One more point of consideration, Who pays for all > this, the 2% educational cess you and I from the > shameful middle class, Let me ask the very loud and > brash Mr. Shivam how many Rural Empowered SC. ST. BC, > OBC junta even bother filing their tax returns. They > do not pay the money, they do not study, they want > seats what else.. > > And the entire middle class who come to voice their > opinions are shameful, in his opinion we must all give > up on issues and sit at home and let people elected by > a 40% representative population make rules for us. > > Does Mr. Shivam what stink exists in rural India and > what kind of people are allowed to pass exams, nobody > dares takes these people in their organization because > their standards so abysmally low, instead of ensuring > that children go to schools and enjoy their education, > develop aspirations and works towards them, we want to > push them into schools of excellence established to > serve the country.. > > Shame on him for calling the youth of this Great > nation a Shame > > Jai Hind, > > Shashi > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com > _________________________________________ > 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/20060601/d676b6a6/attachment.html From anirdutt at gmail.com Fri Jun 2 16:18:16 2006 From: anirdutt at gmail.com (aniruddha dutta) Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2006 16:18:16 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 'Striking AIIMS docs live in a glass house' In-Reply-To: References: <20060601122023.27753.qmail@web32412.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <96a8bb180606020348u4566100fmf95549166cb8faa9@mail.gmail.com> Oh God, shit, how stupid are we for criticising the middle class.... after all, we all file our tax returns and the poor rural 'junta' do nothing because they don't file tax returns... wonder who are the people who do all the urban construction-work, share-cropping, cheap industrial labour and so on for abysmally low wages, on whose work we survive? Mr Shashidhar, do you know that a huge percentage of India's population CANNOT (not DO NOT) file tax returns because they can't even earn Rs 20,000 a year and the least taxable income is about Rs 60,000? About Rs 20,000 is also what it takes for coaching, tutorial etc. expenses for many of these educational institutes... so much for merit and opportunity. But then it is useless to argue about such basic points... so instead, let's just sing a paean to ourselves, the middle class. Yours Enlightenedly, Aniruddha, Kolkata. On 6/2/06, Shivam wrote: > > Dear Mr Shashidhar, > > I sincerely apologise to you for hurting your sentiments! > > Jai Hind to you too! > Shivam > > > On 6/1/06, shashidhar sabnavis wrote: > > Dear Mr. Shivam, > > > > I do not know where you get your facts from, he thinks > > that an institute like AIIMS has management seats, he > > must be the biggest fool on this planet, Has Mr. > > shivam been to any of the medical colleges, the > > students there study like dogs.. Without food without > > sleep and at the end of the day they have nothing but > > 2 or three seats in higher education, there have been > > no efforts from the government to raise any of these > > seats. The government spends about less than 5% on > > health and education combines, and as far the general > > population is concerned these are the only development > > activities ever, now if you scrutinize the education > > budget, more than 80% is spent on the hallowed and > > inaccessible higher education. > > > > One more point of consideration, Who pays for all > > this, the 2% educational cess you and I from the > > shameful middle class, Let me ask the very loud and > > brash Mr. Shivam how many Rural Empowered SC. ST. BC, > > OBC junta even bother filing their tax returns. They > > do not pay the money, they do not study, they want > > seats what else.. > > > > And the entire middle class who come to voice their > > opinions are shameful, in his opinion we must all give > > up on issues and sit at home and let people elected by > > a 40% representative population make rules for us. > > > > Does Mr. Shivam what stink exists in rural India and > > what kind of people are allowed to pass exams, nobody > > dares takes these people in their organization because > > their standards so abysmally low, instead of ensuring > > that children go to schools and enjoy their education, > > develop aspirations and works towards them, we want to > > push them into schools of excellence established to > > serve the country.. > > > > Shame on him for calling the youth of this Great > > nation a Shame > > > > Jai Hind, > > > > Shashi > _________________________________________ > 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/20060602/c72931fe/attachment.html From muthatharamanathan at yahoo.com Sun Jun 4 12:07:51 2006 From: muthatharamanathan at yahoo.com (Muthatha Ramanathan) Date: Sat, 3 Jun 2006 23:37:51 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Caste matters in the Indian media: Siddharth Varadarajan In-Reply-To: <210498250606021550k36957cb5g2948f981e1c715e4@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <20060604063751.22733.qmail@web30303.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Dear Shivam Vij, Thanks for this email - I have been frustrated too with the lopsided media coverage, and saddened to notice that many do not view social change as a process, and possess an impoverished understanding of our country's social history. You also make the point that it is important to make an attempt to READ sociologically informed analyses and rich evidence rather than just watch the news on television. Thanks, Muthatha Shivam Vij wrote: Caste matters in the Indian media By Siddharth Varadarajan http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2006060301841000.htm&date=2006/06/03/&prd=th& If television and newspaper coverage of the anti-reservation agitation was indulgent and one-sided, the lack of diversity in the newsroom is surely a major culprit. MY FIRST brush with caste prejudice in higher education came in 1999, when a group of Dalit students from the University College of Medical Sciences (UCMS) came to see me at my office in another English newspaper where I worked at the time as an editorial writer. The students were residents of the hostel and had silently borne the brunt of casteist abuse and discrimination for some time. Whether by happenstance or design, the Scheduled Caste students were confined to two floors and not assigned rooms elsewhere in the building. In the dining hall, they were forced by the forward caste majority to sit together at one end. If a Dalit student sat somewhere else, he would be abused. "Bloody shaddu," one of them was told when he sat amidst others by mistake, "you cannot eat with us." The Dalits put up with this harassment and humiliation because, as one of their parents told them, "you have to become a doctor at any cost." But the abuse eventually turned to violence and when one of the students was badly beaten and another had his room ransacked, they decided to go on a dharna. This is also when they ended up in my office. After hearing them out, I requested the head of the Metro section to send someone to UCMS to cover the story. I was promised a reporter would be sent soon. Several days went by but nothing appeared. It turned out no reporter was assigned. I tried again, this time going one notch higher in the editorial chain-of-command. Again there was no response. Eventually, I decided to do the story myself. I spent half-a-day at the college, interviewed the college authorities, the students on dharna as well as the general category students. One of them admitted reluctantly to using the slur `shaddu' for the Scheduled Caste students but only as a `pet name'. I filed the story but it did not appear the next day or the day after. Nobody ever said the story was not interesting or not up to scratch but for some reason space could never be found. The story finally appeared, in a cut and mutilated form, a full month after the Dalit students began their dharna. Needless to say, the travails of the Dalit students at UCMS were not considered newsworthy enough by other newspapers or by any of the news channels. I narrate this story because of how it contrasts with the extraordinary indulgence the national media showed the nearly month-long anti-reservation agitation of doctors and medical students at AIIMS and other colleges. Despite the 24x7 presence of TV cameras, the daily protests in favour of reservation by AIIMS doctors and staff under the banner of `Medicos Forum for Equal Opportunities' were virtually blacked out. One channel showed the counter-protest last Sunday only when a `citizen journalist' presented it with footage he had shot. Often, it was impossible to separate the breathless TV reporters from the anti-reservation doctors they were reporting about. The insensitive and casteist forms of protest some of them adopted — the `symbolic' sweeping of streets, the shining of shoes, the singing of songs warning OBCs and others to `remember their place' (`apni aukat mein rahio') — were put on air without comment by the channels. Nobody asked what kind of doctors these `meritorious' students were likely to become if they had such contempt towards more than half the population of India. And in a media discourse which routinely reports the protests of the underprivileged only as "traffic jams" and other disruptions to the "normal" life of the city, the suffering of poor patients as a result of the AIIMS strike figured largely as a footnote to the "heroic" struggle the medical students and junior doctors were waging. Amidst the hysteria induced by the media coverage, no one cared to point out how indulgent the AIIMS authorities themselves were being towards the anti-reservation strike. Earlier this year, when a section of doctors concerned about higher user fees being imposed on poor patients sought to protest, they were warned of dire consequences. Under the terms of a High Court order, no protest or demonstration is permitted within the AIIMS campus. Yet nobody demurred when the anti-reservation students occupied the lawns, put up shamianas and coolers and received the "solidarity" of traders, event managers, and IT employees (whose employers usually ban their own staff from ever striking work.) While there were honourable exceptions — Outlook, The Hindu , and Frontline among them, as well as individual reporters in some newspapers and channels — would the media's coverage have been more balanced had there been a greater degree of caste diversity in the newsroom and editorial boards of our newspapers and channels? Put another way, in egging the forward caste students on to oppose any extension of reservation, were forward caste editors and reporters reflecting their own personal impatience with the idea of affirmative action? Was the media coverage, then, a display of trade unionism by the privileged? There are no official or industry statistics but every journalist is aware of the extent to which forward castes dominate the media. When B.N. Uniyal surveyed the scene in 1996, he found not a single Dalit accredited journalist in Delhi. Today, the position is unlikely to be much better. At a recent meeting of Journalists for Democracy, it was reported that an informal survey had found that the number of accredited North Indian OBC journalists in Delhi was under 10. I myself have counted the number of Muslims with accreditation to the Press Information Bureau and they barely cross the three per cent mark. In Chhattisgarh, a recent attempt to send Tribal journalists on a training programme had to be dropped because there was none. One is not saying the absence of Dalit or OBC journalists is the product of conscious discrimination though that factor cannot be ruled out. But the reality of their absence is something the media must have the courage to acknowledge. In an ideal world where professionalism is paramount, the caste or religious affiliation of a journalist should not matter. But journalism that has little or no space for the majority of citizens is bound to end up missing out on the complexity of the society it seeks to cover. Story ideas will not be taken up, or if taken up then covered only from a particular perspective. To be sure, many of the negative trends so evident in Indian journalism — the shrinkage of space, the lack of coverage of rural India or of the problems of poor Indians, the episodic, frenetic nature of news, the cult of the Sensex, the preoccupation with trivia and sensationalism — will not be cured by newspapers and TV channels hiring more Dalit, OBC, and Muslim journalists. But greater workplace diversity will certainly infuse a greater degree of vitality in the newsroom as wider varieties of lived experience intrude upon and clash with the largely urban, rich, forward caste Hindu certitudes of the overwhelming majority of journalists. Far from seeing affirmative action as a threat, India's media houses should look upon the entry of Dalit, Tribal, OBC, and Muslim journalists as an opportunity to broadbase their journalism and make it more professional and authentic. Last year, Ankur and Sarai-CSDS provided teenagers in the now-demolished slum cluster of Nangla Machi with computers. The daily diaries and fly-sheets they produced even as their homes were being brought down by bulldozers is journalism of as high a quality as anyone can find in India today (Interested readers should visit http://www.sarai.net/nm.htm). Certainly their writings tell us more about the reality of "slum clearance" than any of our TV channels, and in prose that is better than what one normally gets to read in our newspapers. As the OBC and SC-ST youths who want to become doctors and engineers are saying, merit is not simply a score that can be bought by parents who have the money to invest in the most expensive education for their children. It is also about the talent that all children have within them regardless of their caste or socio-economic background. A society — or an industry like the media — which does not find a way to tap that talent will only end up impoverishing itself. Specifically, media houses must seriously think about starting internships and training programmes for Dalit, Tribal, Muslim, and OBC students interested in becoming journalists. Reservation, affirmative action, targeted expenditure, and investment are all means of society helping people unlock their inherent talent. As pro-reservation scholars such as Yogendra Yadav, Satish Deshpande, Purshottam Aggarwal, and others have argued, the United Progressive Alliance Government's current approach is not necessarily the best one. But by conducting a shrill campaign and encouraging forward caste students to launch an ill-conceived agitation, the media themselves foreclosed the possibility of a rational debate on what the best way of building an inclusive education system really is. When the dust settles, the media should introspect and ask what they can do to make society as a whole more inclusive. Encouraging conversation and not hectoring is one way. But another is surely to diversify the newsroom by consciously bringing in those sections of society who have hitherto been excluded. There are a million stories out there waiting to be told. If only we allow the storytellers to do the telling. _________________________________________ 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 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060603/564b7654/attachment.html From induverma_virgo at yahoo.co.in Fri Jun 2 13:22:52 2006 From: induverma_virgo at yahoo.co.in (Indu Verma) Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2006 08:52:52 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Genaralizations and Social cliche's in TV Soaps- Posting 5 Message-ID: <20060602075252.33105.qmail@web8513.mail.in.yahoo.com> Generalizations & Social Clichés in TV Soaps: 5th Posting by INDU VERMA Literally...If looks could kill..... I bet you'll drop dead. With red streaks in her hair, Grey eyes popping out of her glasses, wearing ultra modern outfit with greasy make-up she barged in the office searching for the assistant to attend her on priority basis. Of course, we all sitting in the lobby recognized her but she refused to share a look. All being television actors carry huge ego, so a similar reaction was justified in return. Now starts the game where the assistants got to balance the situation, giving equal attention to everybody. One by one, actors including me, went in to meet the director. The director looked pretty confused, and my meeting finished pretty fast in comparison to others. Basically we were the selected lot and were there to sign the deal, just after the meeting. But I didn't or for that matter they did not choose me for the role. Reason? He just could not decide whether I would carry a negative look which they were looking for. Believe me the only girl finalized was the one with Grey eyes , where the director knew she was wearing lenses, but he was too lazy to imagine others with the same look . That was a short-cut to his creative imagination where he did not even bother to strain his mind on creating an actor into a character. This is a generalized notion today where we all accept heavy make-up, Grey eyes and unbelievable hair style, an asset to a Grey shade character. Also a possible scenario is created in our soaps where these characters fit in perfectly against the main protagonist of the show. As per the demand, they conveniently transform on episode to episode basis. Another regular feature is to opt for the in-laws of the “Bahu”(generally the main protagonist) to do the needful. I had the oppurtunity to play a Grey shade character in one of our famous dailies. I was lucky to look 'Myself' and yet play the shade. Of course some of the situations given were unbelievable, yet better in comparison to others. But this was hillarious! The main protagonist, at a particular point in the story, was supposed to slap me tight. She at first did not agree to do such a scene as she was shit scared to slap a co- actor. Every time she would rehearse and stop at a point where she was about to approach towards me. I had to really convince her, that I would not mind and she can slap me in reality and not cheat the action. Finally one fine shot, she managed to overcome her hesitation and slapped me hard, but as she hit me, before I could react, she immediately started crying and started apologizing and did not even wait for director's call to cut the scene. We all burst out laughing as I was the one who was supposed to cry, and she was to go on yelling even after the slap. Finally we had to take the scene in separate shots as in “close-ups” where she only cheated slapping someone and I had to separately react. A contrast to the above shade is of course positive, but what we see on television is something, which the Indian audience falls in love with. A character, which is clean, humble, and someone, who is always a sympathy seeker. All female oriented shows (as the target audience is household women) narrate the story of a woman who faces the hardships (all we have is SAAS or other in-laws) of life and struggle to change the negative characters into positive ones. Come what may she struggles generation after generation and remains nice and loyal to the family. She in a way is the lifeline of the show. She is generally the most important ingredient to the TRP recipe. Wonder how the women in India manage to believe or for that matter identify with such characters? I think I know the answer. The visualization of their ideal character is somewhere close to the television protagonist. She works as the emotional support for the household women and they in turn sympathize with her at every stage of her life. I have heard my grandmother saying, “ Bichaari har pal marti rahti hai, phir bhi iski saas ko shanti nahi milti”. But there is another angle to these positives and negatives. How do they survive? What do they do to earn their bread and butter? It is a shown fact that all of them always belong to high class well off families, but do the members ever go to work, or their office revolves around home and family matters? How come there is always a huge drawing-room in every house and everybody sits all dressed-up in a semi-circle? Such questions and many more will never find answers till the show has a story. ........till there is a beginning and an end to a story. Shooting for a show, I by chance asked the director, Sir I enter the room and start searching for something. What is it that I'm searching? He coolly replied, It hasn't been written as of now, when the revelation point comes later in the story, we'll think of something. The show ended but I still do not know what it was. We actors are now pretty used to playing scenes mechanically as the emotions are enacted by the camera, dialogue by the number of cuts, and motivation I guess is itself decided by the audience. Pardon me for saying the truth, but we all know the story of the show, we all know what will happen next even before it is shown on the screen......... because it is a regular feature in every episode, same in all the soaps, generalized version in all the stories featuring cliché characters ..........Yet we continue to WATCH! --------------------------------- Yahoo! India Answers: Share what you know. Learn something new Click here Send free SMS to your Friends on Mobile from your Yahoo! Messenger Download now -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060602/c6485f80/attachment.html From turbulence at turbulence.org Thu Jun 1 21:16:26 2006 From: turbulence at turbulence.org (Turbulence) Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2006 11:46:26 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Turbulence Commission: "mobotag" by Marta Lwin Message-ID: <000001c68592$8c2d3450$6601a8c0@t5x1c0> June 1, 2006 Turbulence Commission: "mobotag" by Marta Lwin http://turbulence.org/Works/mobotag "mobotag" reveals the hidden layers of a city through an active exchange of location based media and text messages via the cellphone. It's collaborative phone tagging of the city. Part virtual graffiti, part walking tour, "mobotag" creates a spontaneous and easy way for tagging a neighborhood via the cellphone. Send and view messages, images, videos and sounds. See art, read stories, and watch a hidden layer of the city reveal itself. Respond with your media and participate in the creative expression and mapping of your neighborhood. By sending a text message to "mobotag", with your city location, you begin an interactive tour of a neighborhood. Using a unique geocoding feature, "mobotag" tells you what other messages exist in your local area. In the near future "mobotag" will also feature art projects including "flyHere," a mobile phone audio installation featuring native bird calls; "bugBytes," collectible graphical bugs originating at major telecoms around NYC; and "lookHere," a written work in short form by a native NY writer. "mobotag" is a 2006 commission of New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc. (aka Ether-Ore) for its Turbulence web site. It was made possible with funding from the Jerome Foundation. BIOGRAPHY Marta Lwin is an artist, technologist, and researcher who recently completed her masters at the Interactive Telecommunications Program at NYU. Her background is both in art and activism. In the early to late 90's she worked with Greenpeace, UNEP, and Women's Environmental Network and Reclaim the Streets (UK). After joining a loose network of artists at Backspace (http://bak.spc.org/) in London, Lwin became interested in the creative use of technology as it relates to biology. Currently, her work focuses on the intersection of art and technology and includes projects that critically challenge and subvert accepted perceptions of the relationship between nature and technology. Her work has been shown at galleries in Europe and New York. Publications covering her work including networked_performance, Engadget, Core77, Treehugger, Cool Hunting, MocoLoco, WorldChanging, Rhizome and We Make Money Not Art. For more information about Turbulence, please visit http://turbulence.org 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: http://turbulence.org/blog Upgrade! Boston: http://turbulence.org/upgrade _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From mailbox at typedown.com Mon Jun 5 14:46:54 2006 From: mailbox at typedown.com (Benjamin Fischer) Date: Mon, 5 Jun 2006 11:16:54 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] Call for Images: Everyday Information Architecture References: Message-ID: <1C5744A4-4567-41BE-96E4-08D408678D40@typedown.com> - CALL FOR IMAGES: EVERYDAY INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE Deadline: 2006-06-10 - For a publication (part of my thesis in communication design) on how we find, collect, evaluate and share information I am searching for images of „Everyday Information Architectures“. The kind of images I am researching are those of personal design solutions for organizing and structuring everyday life and environment: bookshelves, movie- collections, mind-maps, mix-tapes, workplaces, toolboxes, garages, photoboxes, filing cabinets etc. If you would like to contribute an image send it to submissions at typedown.com or point me to an URL for download. If you are a Flickr user you can add your image to this group http:// www.flickr.com/groups/everyday-information-architecture Thank you for your efforts, - Best regards, Benjamin Fischer -- Benjamin Fischer | http://www.typedown.com From shuddha at sarai.net Tue Jun 6 15:31:29 2006 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Tue, 06 Jun 2006 15:31:29 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 'Striking AIIMS docs live in a glass house' In-Reply-To: References: <20060601122023.27753.qmail@web32412.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <44855279.50300@sarai.net> Jai Be-Hind to All on this list, I have been following with some interest the discussion that has been going on the anti-reservation protests for some time now. In any case, now that the national media has found the matter of whether the mourning Mahajan scion had ingested cocaine or heroin to cope with this bereavement, it is likely that the 'burning' issue of reservations (pro and contra) will get a momentary reprieve. Perhaps all the more reason why we should continue to discuss it here. Much of what I am going to say has been said here, and elsewhere, but I am writing this as much for my own internal clarification as anything else. There are a few interesting spin-offs of the whole issue that I think bear some thinking about. 1. It is clear, and demonstrated, that large sections of the media, and assorted white collar professional bodies, (industry and professional associations) have a clear (upper/forward) caste bias. I do not think that there is any doubt left in my mind at least that the medical students protesting against reservations at AIIMS and other institutes were doing so to protect their inherited privileges. Shivam Vij's posts on this list about the 'backroom' politicking of the anti reservation movement, and the excellent piece written by Siddharth Varadarajan in the Hindu on the media bias in the matter signify a reality we are just beginning to understand. 2. The argument that people who come in through the so called 'general' (should it be upgraded to 'brigadier' category) do so on grounds of merit now stands revealed for what it is worth. A system of admission examinations that hinges entirely on the ability of parents to pay for their sons and daughters to attend expensive coaching classes is a bastion of class (and correspondingly caste priviledge). I would argue that for every one person who gets admission into medical and engineering college on the basis of their performance in the joint entrance examinations, many others, who might make 'better' doctors or engineers or whatever, don't get in because their parents cannot afford to send them to coaching classes. This perpetuates a system of reservation based on priviledge in the most prestigious insitutes in this country. Merit has nothing to do with this. 3.I am also amused by the fact that no one in the anti reservation camp is expressing their distress about the harm done to the standards of the medical profession by people entering medical education by paying capitation fees in a host of 'private' medical colleges. I have not come across any all night vigils against capitation fees by people bothered by the question of merit being given short shrift. 4. It may be argued, and I think convincingly, that especially in professions such as medicine, it is crucial that education and employment make room for people with a variety of backgrounds and experiences. For an effective medical and theraupetic system to operate diversity within medical practitioners, is to my mind as important a criterion as the 'merit' of being able to do well in an examination that you have paid to do well in (refer to coaching classes argument above) Let me try and explain why. Large public hospitals are places where the majority of the people go for treatment. I have often witnessed an intern from a relatively priviledged background completely at sea when faced with a patient from a very different social and cultural universe. The medical profession (like any that requires interaction and engagement with human beings and hteir conditions) is better served when it is able to accommodate diversities. A dalit, OBC junior doctor may bring with him or her cultural experiences and linguistic competences that often make him or her a 'better', more competent doctor than someone who's engagement with human beings is founded on the fact of the distance of their priviledge. Not long ago, the medical profession was a preserve of men, and the idea that room be made for women doctors was thought of as preposterously, as the idea that the social profile of the medical profession be a little more heterogenous than it is at present. The masculine prerogative in the medical profession has led to the pathologization of the female body to a huge extent, which has been challenged only by the increasing presence of women in the medical profession. I would argue that the way in which I have seen many people in the medical profession treat many under-priviledged patients (sometimes bordering on contempt, blaming them for the aetiology of their illnesses) has something to do with the narrow range of social experiences that the profession is currently able to encompass. We need more serious investigation into the sociology of disease and medicine, and the cultural mores that are a part of the medical profession in India. Don't forget that a former figurehead of the medical profession, a Dr. Paintal, once famously remarked that AIDS prevention in India would be done best through a strong inculcation in the spiritual heritage of India. So, here was a 'meritorious' doctor, arguing that the best preventive medicine against HIV infection was a strong dose of puritanical brahminical values. I would shudder to think how he would actually treat a sex worker who had the infection, were such a person to be unfortunate to have been in his theraupetic care. I am not making this up. You can check on this by reading an article called "Preventive Medicine: AIDS Control Through Cultural Heritage" by Jayaraman, K.S., which appeared in the prestigious scientific journal Nature [(03/14/91) Vol. 350, No. 6314, P. 102 ], in which Paintal's social and cultural views on medical treatment are outlined. The reason I am saying this at some length is that Dr. Paintal was a former head of the Indian Council of Medical Research. I think that the medical profession needs fewer Dr. Paintals, and more young doctors, whose ancestry and family background have to do with the castes who have been traditionally associated with sex work. It is possible that such practitioners will find their way into the system only through reservation. This will be better for the 'health' of the medical profession in India, not worse. 5. Having said all of the above, I also think that it is time that those who are against caste, and anti-anti-reservation think creatively and imaginatively about the fact that reservation (outside education) is also a trap that commits underpriviledged communities to a seemingly un-ending compact with the state in India. So that the only 'political' dream that a dalit, ST, OBC young person has thrust upon them is the possibilty of being a wage slave of the state. This gives an inherently conservative, statist turn to most, if not all dalit-bahujan, OBC politics, and condemns it to a depressing 'abhimanyu' syndrome vis a vis the chakravyuha of the Indian nation state, constitutionalism, and nationalism. Perhaps it is time to think outside this circle, or box, or whatever. I have no answes, only questions here. 6. There is something good that has come out of all this, which is, a commitment by the state to fund more institutes of higher education, so that the pluses of reservations are factored off against a net benefit in an increase in opportunities for all. IT is good if a country of more than one billion people has more than one 'All India' Institute of Medical Sciences. Just as it is always good that there be more than one 'ALL INDIA' Congress Committees. But now, it is time to think about what the qualitative content of an expanded apparatus of higher education might be. It is time to think about what will produce thinking, engaged, critical medical professionals, and imaginative, creative, critical engineers. We haven't had too many of either. It seems as if the system of 'merit' has actually worked against the emergence of this kind of practitioner. TIme to change this, maybe? thanks and cheers Shuddha From shivamvij at gmail.com Tue Jun 6 18:05:41 2006 From: shivamvij at gmail.com (Shivam) Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2006 18:05:41 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 'Striking AIIMS docs live in a glass house' In-Reply-To: <44855279.50300@sarai.net> References: <20060601122023.27753.qmail@web32412.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <44855279.50300@sarai.net> Message-ID: Dear Shuddha, Many thanks for continuing the conversation. Your views on the limitations of caste reforms via reservations insofar as they are driven by state policy are indeed food for thought. You summarised the issue of media coverage; I wanted to something more about it. Even though most of it was just a tent illegally erected on a ground in a medical institute in Delhi, it seemed the reservations issue had set the nation on fire. And just as quickly as it had erupted, it seems to be dying down after that self-uncritical schoolmaster called the Supreme Court of India whacked everyone with a stick in their behinds: the striking doctors, the rationale debate on the issue largely in the print media, the "conflict-hungry" coverage on TV and the dilly-dallying UPA with its moronic minister for 'Human Resource Development', a amuses me only a little less than the pomposity of the 'Knowledge Commission'. Over the last two weeks, I met a lot of people all over Delhi. Leftist doctors and rightist doctors, militant corporate types threatening to sack all SC/ST/OBCs they had hired;, journalists and editors with varying degrees of innocence about the one-sidedness of the coverage; all kinds of residents of MPs' houses in central Delhi, trying to do 'something' about the hungama; the self-caricatured Comrades of JNU who are ready to abandon class struggle lest they be left out in the reservations din; Ambedkarite activists and academics. Amongst all the people I met, there was this disdain for the media that I shared wholeheartedly. Indeed, I do think the TV coverage of the debate over the last two months has been the Indian media's hour of shame. When a studio anchor tells a bunch of college kids to make their 'Rang de Basanti' with Arjun Singh as the villain, you can rest assured that TV is not even pretending objectivity. With the sole of exception of Kancha Ilaiah, everyone else seemed to say, 'Media to unkay saath hai hee hain. (The media is with them anyway.)' The 'them' being anti-reservation activists. The media bias has been related to three causes, and perhaps all three are true in varying degrees: 1) "Manuwaadi media" - Caste inequality within the media, as excellently articulated by Siddharth Varadarajan, and statistically proved by a CSDS survey for those who love statistics. 2) The middle class bias that made young reporters internalise the anger of the students on the street. 3) It is an open secret by now that the TV channels raised the ad spots rates; the TRPs will soon bear this out. Thus the sensationalism. Be that as it may, I have noticed, in each one that I met, an unwillingness, sometimes a conscious one, to engage with the media. The pro-reservationists - and there are many - lacked a coherent strategy to attract the attention of the TV crew. On the contrary, 'Youth for Equality' was purely a media spectacle. The one word about the television that the pro-reservation agitators - be it politicians or JNU post-Marxists or the leftist doctors or the Dalit politicians - need to hammer into their heads, is 'VISUAL'. Take this from a TV editor: "But imagine the even greater power of that image, (which might have endured for generations to come) if a burning screaming Goswami had been captured on prime time news and played again and again, rather than just remained frozen on a dull newspaper front page". [Link: http://www.ibnlive.com/blogs/rajdeepsardesai/1/11708/prime-time-reservation.html ] And then take this from the same editor: The competition has also led to what some believe is the growing 'tabloidisation' of the medium. I have often chosen to take refuge in what Sir Robin Day, the venerable BBC broadcaster once said, 'Television is a tabloid medium, at its best when there is war, violence and disaster.' The most powerful images are often those that have a touch of drama: a stone thrown at a bus will always be a more dramatic visual image than an empty street during a bandh. [Link: http://www.india-seminar.com/2006/561/561%20rajdeep%20sardesai.htm ] When you begin to understand not just the importance but also the means and processes of transformation from being a media consumer to becoming a media subject, TV will begin to hear your voice. So don't wait for the self-important TV journalist to find your phone number and call you up. You call them up and say: this is what I think, can I be on your show? This is the sort of story I think you should do, why not? And if you are staging a dharna, remember that dharna happen every day in Jantar mantar and India Gate and other well-known Constitutionally ordained dharna sites of Delhi. How you you providing TV with a different visual. Yes, dare I say, taking a mob into a "VIP area" where demonstrations are not allowed, and thus incurring the wrath of the water canons and militantly braving some tear gas might help. Half a dozen IIT students entered Jawahrlal Nehru University with candles in their hands. They were allegedly drunk. It took no time for some JNU student to say: what are you doing here? And thereafter it took no time for a little punching and kicking to take place. The nose of a girl started bleeding. The amazing thing was that the whole thing was organised so well that half a dozen students entering JNU with candles in the wind had merited the arrival in JNU of several Outdoor Broadcast vans. Obviously, the news editors had been informed about the pre-planned gimmick. For the pro-reservationists, their idea of media coverage is to call up friends in The Hindu. Youth for Equality, on the other hand, had amongst other committees, a two-member 'SMS co-ordination committee'. The mobile numbers of hundreds of accredited journalists in Delhi are publicly available, and that includes the top bosses of all news channels. Can you put two and two together? I've been telling the pro-reservation doctors to wear their lab coats and stethoscopes. They laugh at me. But that's exactly what the Youth for Equality protesters had been doing in their stint at martyrdom via tear gas. The lab coat and stethoscope is the visual equivalent of the word "merit". Are you going to reply it with your Fab India kurta? If you have too much contempt for the tabloidised, sensational, dumbed-down media - as you should! - to begin wearing the lab coat and providing the cameras the visuals they lust for - fine, but you lose the right to complain about one-sided coverage. Once the progressives grow up to the TV age and begin representing themselves there, they will find the media will be forced to introspect, like, for instance, this bit from the same TV editor quoted twice above: "…mutually competitive 24 hour news networks are almost direct participants in public processes: not only do they amplify the news, they also influence it. […] "For every practitioner of television, the moment of truth dawns when you ask yourself the question, where does the cut throat competition of TRPs end and social responsibility begin?" [Link: http://www.ibnlive.com/blogs/rajdeepsardesai/1/11708/prime-time-reservation.html ] The battle of hearts and minds, the battle of opinion-building and public debate - it's not on the streets or the op-ed pages anymore. The TV age is upon us. Take it or leave it. Best, Shivam From penguinhead at linux-delhi.org Tue Jun 6 19:27:31 2006 From: penguinhead at linux-delhi.org (Pankaj kaushal) Date: Tue, 06 Jun 2006 19:27:31 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 'Striking AIIMS docs live in a glass house' In-Reply-To: <44855279.50300@sarai.net> References: <20060601122023.27753.qmail@web32412.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <44855279.50300@sarai.net> Message-ID: <448589CB.9080302@linux-delhi.org> > 2. The argument that people who come in through the so called 'general' > (should it be upgraded to 'brigadier' category) do so on grounds of A general is actually a higher rank than a brigadier, if your "joke" was referring to that. P. -- Wir wollen dass ihr uns alles glaubt. From shuddha at sarai.net Tue Jun 6 19:44:09 2006 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Tue, 06 Jun 2006 19:44:09 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 'Striking AIIMS docs live in a glass house' In-Reply-To: References: <20060601122023.27753.qmail@web32412.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <44855279.50300@sarai.net> Message-ID: <44858DB1.6010703@sarai.net> Dear Shivam, Thanks for your response. I agree with you that there needs to be a much greater degree of sophistication and intelligence in the way in which different social movements engage with the media. An awareness of the 'visual' and the 'aural' is no doubt crucial, and for too long has the left in India suffered from a priggish aniconism, and a general lack of style (not that it made up for it in substance :)). However, a tactical, agile, flexible attitude to the question of representation does not necessarily mean that we play the parts written in for us by the script that the 'big' media hands out. Clearly, it would be difficult to endorse a situation where, just because anti-reservationists find their self-immolator (and it makes for great 'news'), anti-anti-reservationists should go about looking for their own 'self immolators'. Nor am I entirely comfortable with the suggestion that the language of protest has to be spectacular in order to fit the 'TV Bill'. It could be viral, insiduous and quietly subversive, instead, as you were when you used the option to be a 'citizen journalist' on CNN-IBN on the medias non coverage of medicos for equal opportunity, when you took the media's claims to democratic representation, tested it, and put it to good use. Or, it could create a counter public sphere of sorts, through a barrage of blogs, and mobile messages, which makes what is meaningful to you, to us, visible, ubiquitous and 'outside' the big media, so that it 'becomes' news, rather than merely being something that'feeds' news. I am not being able to spell out the distinction here very clearly, because I am sort of thinking on my feet, but what I basically mean is, the difference between being quoted as an alternative voice on a given issue - like the token maverick dissident in every episode on Barkha Dutt's 'We the People' and in creating an alternative frame of discourse and action so clearly different that it 'becomes' news because everyone is talking about it. Take the demolitions in Delhi for instance, when the demolitions of the slums were going on, hardly any reporters were interested, but when a critical mass of postings on the Nangla Machi blog were virally dispersed, through this, and other lists (and the odd phone call, exactly as has been suggested by you) and by a variety of quiet strategies, the demolition issue came back on the radar, through a big tehelka story, through a considered mention in Siddharth Varadarajan's piece on caste and the media, and I am sure that we have not heard the end of it. Could we begin to think of this strategy, and others like it, as one way of thinking about the way forward.Meaning can 'letting a million whispers speak' have a cumulative effect that can be interesting. Meanwhile, dissident social movements had better get cracking on how to make blogs, podcasts, stickers, attractive posters, and start thinking seriuously about radio, or using flash-mob like strategies for unexpected gatherings and dispersals in public spaces, and other creative and imaginatively performative strategies that are as far away from street theatre as possible. But for starters, maybe someone should collect and put up a directory of the emails and mobile phone numbers of the correspondents and editors of the most important English and Hindi newspapers, news magazines and channels (beginning with Delhi) that can be available as a kind of easy to use 'activists directory'. I know for certain that handing or faxing press releases to newspaper and media offices just does not work. It is that crucial phone call, or that e mail that reaches the personal inbox of a person who would be interested that makes the difference. All we need is a blog or something that centralizes this information. Someone could say that it represents an unwarranted intrusion into a journalists privacy. i dont buy that argument. I think that a journalist is a public person, the nature of their vocation requires them to be open to story ideas that can come from the unlikeliest of places, and if they are so bothered about privacy, they could always buy that handy second mobile phone. It is time that they got as used to being called up as they expect people to be when they call people up. looking forward to more discussion on this issue regards Shuddha From shuddha at sarai.net Tue Jun 6 21:55:56 2006 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Tue, 06 Jun 2006 21:55:56 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 'Striking AIIMS docs live in a glass house' In-Reply-To: <448589CB.9080302@linux-delhi.org> References: <20060601122023.27753.qmail@web32412.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <44855279.50300@sarai.net> <448589CB.9080302@linux-delhi.org> Message-ID: <4485AC94.8030601@sarai.net> Dear all, especially Pankaj I am grateful to Pankaj Kaushal for having pointed out to me my error in assuming that Brigadiers are senior to Generals. It shows how ignorant I am of the protocol and chain of command in the military, something I shall promise to recompense for by studying the arcana of the chain of command. In the light of Pankaj's timely correction, I should amend my proposal, the 'General' category should be upgraded to the 'Field Marshall', I take it, that barring the post of the C-in-C, which happens to be reserved for the president of the Republic, one can go no higher. Is this true? yours corrected, Shuddha Pankaj kaushal wrote: >>2. The argument that people who come in through the so called 'general' >>(should it be upgraded to 'brigadier' category) do so on grounds of > > > A general is actually a higher rank than a brigadier, if your "joke" was > referring to that. > > P. From shahzulf at yahoo.com Tue Jun 6 22:44:15 2006 From: shahzulf at yahoo.com (Zulfiqar Shah) Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2006 10:14:15 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Trouble with Islam, the European Union ... Message-ID: <20060606171416.55210.qmail@web38808.mail.mud.yahoo.com> The trouble with Islam, the European Union - and Francis Fukuyama Roger Scruton Francis Fukuyama's historicism fails to accommodate two contemporary political realities and in the process misunderstands history itself, says Roger Scruton. Francis Fukuyama has the gift of shining a cheerful American light on the mystical visions of the German romantics. He takes Hegel's apocalyptic idea of the end of history and, instead of standing it on its head as Marx did, strips off its funereal clothes and gives it a carnival suit of democratic values. In The End of History and the Last Man, Fukuyama takes his thesis that history has worked towards its end from Alexandre Kojève, who also associated it with a gesture of sarcastic welcome towards Nietzsche's "last man". Kojéve influenced a whole generation of French post-war intellectuals with his lectures on Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit, in which he injected into the bloated Hegelian body some strong shots of Nietzsche and Heidegger, making the moribund organism writhe in interesting torment. The fact that he was a life-hating Russian at heart, a self-declared Stalinist, and a civil servant who played a leading behind-the-scenes role in establishing both the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the European Economic Community, should be borne in mind by all who wish to understand what Kojève was really up to in declaring the end of history. This man was, in my view, a dangerous psychopath, who brought with him from Russia the same kind of nihilistic fervour that had inspired the Bolsheviks, and who took an exhilarated joy in the thought that everything around him was doomed. He could not set eyes on any human achievement without relishing its future ruin. He lived in a Götterdämmerung of his own imagination, wishing meanwhile to create the kind of post-historical, universal and bureaucratic form of government that would extinguish all real human attachments and produce the only thing he really cared for: the last man, the loveless and lifeless homunculus which he knew in intimate detail since he knew it in himself. The Atlantic difference It was thanks largely to Kojève and Jean Monnet that the European project took on its current form, of a rigid and unreformable bureaucracy, dedicated to extinguishing not only the national loyalties of the European people, but also the Christian culture and democratic institutions that had thrived in them. The European Union ought surely to show to everybody – to those who endorse it as much as those who view it with alarm – that the "end of history" is not a prediction but a project, and one which may very well go wrong. It is a project that is as disconnected from democracy as that other "end of history" project in which Kojève was raised, the project of communist revolution in which "the government of men gives way to the administration of things". Friedrich Engels's prediction was the only Marxist prediction that ever came true: under communism the government of men really did give way to the administration of things, since men became things. Now it seems to me, reading between the lines of Fukuyama's afterword, that he has woken up to the fact that the European Union is not proceeding in a democratic direction, that its increasing tendency to prefer "group rights" over individual rights is setting it on a collision course with the Enlightenment (just the same collision course, in fact, that was taken by communism and fascism), and that the kind of bland but unaccountable bureaucracy which the EU seeks to install across the continent is the antithesis of the ideals enshrined in the United States constitution. Europe may very well be heading towards the "end of history", since it involves a conscious repudiation of its own historical identity. But the country where Fukuyama lives, and on which he tested – with a few first-hand observations – the thesis that he inherited from Kojève, is moving in another direction, which is not a direction at all, but the day-to-day perambulation of a living organism, held together by national identity, historical allegiance and a Judaeo-Christian culture irritated by its symbiotic liberal parasites. Set Europe and America side by side, as Fukuyama now does, and you will surely see a striking difference, between a place that has consciously espoused the "end of history" and a place which has consciously espoused nothing except itself. And in both places history goes on as "just one damn thing after another". A problem for universalism Fukuyama likens the Islamist terrorists to those already seen in our midst: Bolsheviks, extreme nationalists, Baader-Meinhof nihilists. All are in reaction against the modern world, in search of a pure and unalienated society – the society which, according to Sayyid Qutb, grows only "in the shade of the Qur'an". My response to this is: yes and no. Fukuyama attributes to Samuel Huntington the thesis that liberal democracy is downstream from Christianity, and that there is therefore no universal law of history according to which human societies everywhere tend, with growing economic mastery, in a liberal-democratic direction. Fukuyama's grounds for resisting that thesis are not entirely persuasive. Radical Islamism, according to Fukuyama, is a version of "modern identity politics". But that is not a sufficient explanation of its posture. English Toryism is also a version of "modern identity politics". But by and large it accepts the Enlightenment vision of the divide between public and private life; it is founded in a love of the secular law and free institutions, and it has never produced a terrorist – I am the furthest it goes in that direction. "Identity politics" explains nothing: it all depends on the identity. You can squeeze Islam into the process of universal history only if you overlook such facts as these: that the sharia does not recognise secular law; that it punishes apostasy with death; that it accords only "treaty" rights to Christians and Jews and no rights at all to pagans. Moreover it contains no intrinsic principle of reform, since "the gate of ijtihad (creative jurisprudence) is closed". For these reasons, it seems to me, Islamism is not merely a vast and growing problem for western democracies; it is also an insuperable problem for the universalist view of human history. Fukuyama is wrong to believe that Hegel was the first historicist philosopher. He was preceded by Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406) and Giambattista Vico (1668-1744). Ibn Khaldun made the useful point that historical processes are not governed by culture and knowledge only, but also by the will to reproduce. This will, he believed, dwindles as people become habituated to luxury, and dynasties therefore rise and fall according to a quasi-biological logic. That, clearly, is far too simple an hypothesis. But it adds something that is missing from most historicist theses, and especially from those German theories that appeal to Kojève and Fukuyama, namely the permanent legacy of human biology. Much that we attribute to history we ought rather to attribute to biology – including aggression, territorial expansion and maybe even scapegoating, racism and the all-pervading emotion that Nietzsche called ressentiment. Christ taught us to overcome those things, and paid the price for doing so. Maybe it is the long-term effect of his sacrifice that so much of European history looks like a process of steady emancipation from the grim realities of species life. But that only tends to confirm the thesis that Fukuyama attributes to Huntington: that the march of history towards liberal democracy is a local achievement of Christian culture. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ An attempt to open a serious disscussion. It has nothing to do with senders agreement and / or disagreement. --------------------------------- New Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. Call regular phones from your PC and save big. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060606/2a9372c2/attachment.html From pukar at pukar.org.in Tue Jun 6 15:46:05 2006 From: pukar at pukar.org.in (PUKAR) Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2006 15:46:05 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [announcements] Save the dates for forthcoming events Message-ID: <002101c68952$40d544c0$1dd0c0cb@freeda> Save the following dates for the forthcoming PUKAR events: Saturday, June 24th Churchgate to Dombivli: Youth Special A Youth Fellowship annual celebration Chief Guest: Kumar Ketkar, Distinguished editor and writer; and three other Media Celebrities Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Venue: P. L. Deshpande Maharashtra Kala Academy, Next to Ravindra Natya Mandir, Prabhadevi, Mumbai Friday, August 25th The Third Annual PUKAR Lecture Panelists: Arjun Appadurai Dilip DeCunha Anuradha Mathur Aromar Revi Time: 6:00 PM onwards Venue: Godrej Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point, Mumbai PUKAR (Partners for Urban Knowledge Action and Research) Address:: 1-4, 2nd Floor, Kamanwala Chambers, Sir P. M. Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 001 Telephone:: +91 (22) 5574 8152 Fax:: +91 (22) 6664 0561 Email:: pukar at pukar.org.in Website:: www.pukar.org.in -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060606/5c032bcf/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From aman.am at gmail.com Wed Jun 7 17:43:35 2006 From: aman.am at gmail.com (Aman Sethi) Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2006 17:43:35 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 'Striking AIIMS docs live in a glass house' In-Reply-To: <4485AC94.8030601@sarai.net> References: <20060601122023.27753.qmail@web32412.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <44855279.50300@sarai.net> <448589CB.9080302@linux-delhi.org> <4485AC94.8030601@sarai.net> Message-ID: <995a19920606070513v7e34adbeo6e7957647aa2082d@mail.gmail.com> My two cents worth ... an article i wrote for the frontline - http://www.flonnet.com/stories/20060616003302500.htm A. "QUOTAS," reads the poster on the wall at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), "this cure is worse than the disease." Standing around the poster in white "No Reservation" T-shirts, a group of students from medical colleges around Delhi discussed how best to ensure that reservation reached only those "who truly needed it the most", ensuring that the benefits were not siphoned off by the "creamy layer". The doctors' strike was called off on May 31 following a Supreme Court order. But 20 days of agitations, strikes and protests by upper-caste students, doctors and faculty members of the AIIMS and other medical colleges across the country had ensured that the anti-reservation campaign got a more-than-fair hearing. The protests were organised in opposition to the proposed 27 per cent hike in reserved seats in Central universities, from 22.5 per cent to 49.5 per cent, under the banner of Youth for Equality - a forum initiated by students of five medical colleges. In a statement to a news channel, Youth for Equality spokesperson Anirudh Lochan explained that while the doctors had decided to call off the strike, students from Delhi University, Indian Institute of Technology - Delhi and others across the country would continue the protests. While the protests garnered hours of television footage and miles of newsprint, few seemed familiar with the exact demands put forward by the striking doctors. A possible reason could be the lack of coherence in the movement itself. What began as a strident desh bachao movement against reservation in the name of merit, equality and "the future of the country" transformed into a movement in support of "affirmative action" but not "reservation" and culminated in an impassioned plea against the "misuse of reservation". The first charter of demands put up on the Youth for Equality web site demanded the deferral of the proposed hike in reservation in all Central universities. However, hours before the strike was called off, it carried a new charter of demands that simply asked the government to ensure that the general category seats were not reduced below 50.5 per cent - thereby accepting the 27 per cent hike in reservation, withdrawing their most important demand, and leaving a trail of flummoxed students, unsure what they were fighting for and to what purpose. Dismissing insinuations of incoherence, Dr. Anindya Banerjee, vice-president of the Association of Resident Doctors, Post-Graduate Institute of Medicine, Chandigarh, argues that the movement was never against reservation: "It was against the use of reservation for political ends." Banerjee believes in the urgent need for an "apolitical" review of the entire reservation process and for the formulation of a transparent reservation policy on the part of the government. Another major concern that the doctors claim to espouse is that reservation would go to the "so-called backward castes" and not to the "truly backward". Truly backward castes, the argument goes, have not even gained access to schools and hence are unable to take up seats that are rightfully theirs. Being unavailable to the general category, these seats are then taken by the so-called backwards. The solution, according to most, is affirmative action without reservations where the state invests in primary and secondary education and provides scholarships and asistance to outstanding students from under-privileged backgrounds. The anti-reservation camp has also been categorical about its opposition to what it terms caste-based vote-bank politics. "Let's not make this a caste thing," says Dr. Divyajot Singh Vinayak of General Medical College, Chandigarh. "Reservation should be on the basis of economic criteria. After all, there are economically under-privileged Brahmins too." A number of upper-caste doctors and students told Frontline that reservation actually increased caste stigmatisation by drawing distinctions between general and reserved category students, leading to low self-esteem among the latter. Students also spew impressive, yet sadly unverifiable, statistics on dropout rates among reserved category seats, on hundreds of reserved seats across the country that are allegedly lying vacant for wont of eligible candidates and on how, as per National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) statistics, OBCs already hold 23 per cent of all university seats. While Frontline was unable to verify the authenticity of the data, what is clear is that a complete paucity of information and data on reservation has contributed to a debate where every possibility and scenario (both for and against) is almost as plausible as every other. Every afternoon, not far from the anti-reservation protests, a small group staged a rally in favour of reservation. Calling themselves "Youth for Equal Opportunity", this motley crew of faculty members, doctors and students chose patient care over protests and staged a demonstration only during their lunch hours. Dr. Sukhbir Singh Badhal is one of them. Badhal is a Scheduled Caste member from Gugahedi village in Rohtak district, Haryana. His father was a daily wage labourer who earned between Rs.60 and Rs.100 a day and could barely afford to send his children to school. Badhal got his first break when he got into a local Navodaya Vidyalaya, run under a scheme started by the Rajiv Gandhi government to help under-privileged children, and graduated with a specialisation in life sciences. He then completed his MBBS from a government college in Rohtak, and is at present in his final year in post-graduate specialisation in Lab Medicine on a reserved seat. Badhal says that his career improved the lives of most members of his family. His younger brothers can now afford to attend private school, and his father no longer has to work as a labourer. His companion at the rally, Dr. Sandeep Sabarwal, is another example of how reservation works. An OBC member from Sonipat district in Haryana, Sabarwal also made it to an undergraduate medical college in Rohtak through a reservation. He topped the general category All India Post Graduate Entrance Examination for a Masters in Dental Surgery last year. "As AIIMS had no reservation for OBCs, I gave the General Exam and topped it," he says. "But without reservation in my undergraduate course, I would never have made it." Students in favour of reservation point out that a faulty school system only makes the need for reserved seats in higher education essential. Sabarwal would like to ask the anti-reservationists just one question: "What will you tell students who have spent their whole lives battling prejudice, poverty, and non-existent schools only to lose out to private-school educated, tuition-coached city kids?" Sabarwal's case also flies in the face of the "merit dilution" argument. He points out that most doctors who graduate from medical colleges are equally qualified and that most entrance examinations now have syllabi that go far beyond the school syllabi. Expensive tuitions are thus the only way to get into these elite-dominated institutes. Students also point out that harassment, humiliation and discrimination are a reality in all institutions across the country, a situation that is supported by some members of the faculty. "Harassment by upper-caste students and faculty is the major cause for high dropout rates among reserved category students, not lack of merit," says a faculty member speaking on condition of anonymity. "In my assessment, reserved category students are as meritorious as any other student." Unfortunately, the narrow parameters of the reservation debate have ensured that reserved category students shall continue to fight accusations of inability and incompetence. "If you get into college through reservation and do badly, it's because you don't deserve to be here," remarks an OBC student. "And if you do well, then you are not `truly backward'. It seems we are incompetent by definition." On 6/6/06, Shuddhabrata Sengupta wrote: > Dear all, especially Pankaj > > > I am grateful to Pankaj Kaushal for having pointed out to me my error in > assuming that Brigadiers are senior to Generals. It shows how ignorant I > am of the protocol and chain of command in the military, something I > shall promise to recompense for by studying the arcana of the chain of > command. > > In the light of Pankaj's timely correction, I should amend my proposal, > the 'General' category should be upgraded to the 'Field Marshall', I > take it, that barring the post of the C-in-C, which happens to be > reserved for the president of the Republic, one can go no higher. Is > this true? > > yours corrected, > > Shuddha > > > Pankaj kaushal wrote: > > >>2. The argument that people who come in through the so called 'general' > >>(should it be upgraded to 'brigadier' category) do so on grounds of > > > > > > A general is actually a higher rank than a brigadier, if your "joke" was > > referring to that. > > > > P. > > _________________________________________ > 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 vivek at sarai.net Wed Jun 7 20:28:36 2006 From: vivek at sarai.net (Vivek Narayanan) Date: Wed, 07 Jun 2006 20:28:36 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Sudipta Paul (Asansol Industrial Area): Labour and Capital, An Old Story Retold Message-ID: <4486E99C.3090509@sarai.net> This is the fourth posting by the independent fellow, Sudipta Paul Labour and Capital : Old Story Retold > > Capital thrives on profit maximization. Whenever > it gets threatened by the prospect of a falling rate > of profit – and inevitably it has to face such > misfortune at some point or other of it’s journey – > capital typically responds by resorting to > increasing the rate of exploitation. That is to say > it tries every trick to reduce the fraction of the > surplus value (produce by the worker) it has to > return to the worker in the form of wages. All these > are well known ever since Marx expounded his famous > theory of capitalist development. But twentieth > century has taught capital an important lesson. > That, the blessed mission of expropriation of > surplus value and accumulation of capital often gets > jolted by satanic forces, because every attempt to > increase the rate of exploitation brings back the > specter of social unrest. The later half of the last > century was there fore also capital’s period of > learning and experimenting how to exorcise the ghost > of popular dissent. It was in this > process that post-war period witnessed welfare > sate, new deal and so on. But beyond political > imperative, welfarism is clearly incompatible with > profit maximization and encouraging the sense of > social security is considered sacrilegious by > capital because so long there is at least a > perceived social security, people will not rush to > the market to sell their labour power. So, with the > shadow of socialism receding to furthest corners, > capital has gradually liberated itself from the > welfare cloak and by the last decade of previous > century it has once again returned to it’s original > business of profit maximization in the form of so > called liberalization. > > Looking back at this trajectory is necessary to > understand that this liberalized economy is not only > a liberation from the welfare cloak but also a > conscious effort to pre-empt social and political > opposition. The process, at least in our country, is > still evolving. To explore and analyze multifarious > aspects of this phenomenal development are both > challenging and exciting for any social researcher. > Presently, though, I do not intend to arrive at any > comprehensive analysis but will only look at the > changes taking place at Asansol region, the > pre-eminent industrial area of West Bengal. > > Coal production is the core industrial activity in > Asansol. Till ‘90s, ECL was the main producer of > coal. But in 1993 coal Mine Nationalization Act 1973 > was amended to allow private sector participation in > coal production and after that, Bengal EMTA Ltd, a > joint venture company with 74% share of private > agency and ICML, the first major private initiative > in coal production has started producing coal. Apart > from that, ECL has outsourced ten coal reserve > patches for contractual extraction by private > contractors. And beyond the ambit of ECL and > licensed private agencies there are the “illegal > mines” engaged in rat-hole mining, which can be more > accurately termed as unlicensed small private or > cooperative companies. > > The ostensible reason for inviting private > agencies is, ECL is no longer able to make > investments required to increase the volume of > production. But the queer fact is, neither it seems > that private agencies are coming with large and > responsible investments. They are not interested in > underground mining which requires larger investment > and has longer gestational period. They are picking > up areas for open cast mining where Dumper and > Doser, shovels suffices, no systematic long-term > planning is required and the investor can walk off > with easy profit quickly enough. Incidentally this > trend is not peculiar to coal production. In fact > almost whole of what is being hailed as resurgence > in manufacturing segment in West Bengal is > essentially small and medium scale investment for > quick profits in areas like sponge iron units (of 50 > or 100 ton per day capacity), iron rolling mills, > ferro alloy units, small cement units and so on. And > the secret of their easy assured profit lies in > their common mantra of brazen labour exploitation > and spending nothing whatsoever for environmental > safeguard. These workers are sweating it out for > astonishingly meagre wages. If comparison helps, it > can be stated that a worker of a public sector > integrated steel plant earns almost five times than > that of a worker of sponge iron unit or iron rolling > mill unit. More often than not, they toil for twelve > hours a day without adequate safety provision. In a > sense, they are not even formally employed by the > owners. They have no pay structure, identity card or > for that matter, no piece of paper supporting their > status of regularly employed worker. Actually what > happens, they are simply gathered together by labour > contractors and are being put to work on no-work-no > pay basis. > > Along with this stark exploitation and scornful > violation of existing labour laws, planned efforts > to pre-empt labour unrest are also clearly > discernible. There is no other reason why half of > the workers engage in private coal production and > newly built manufacturing units should have to be > brought from neighboring states. Especially when > Asansol is reportedly having a ‘reserve army’ of > nearly one lakh workers rendered unemployed by the > spate of industrial closer in last fifteen years. > Nearly 90% of this migrated labour are skilled > labour though it is scarcely believable that in the > oldest coal field of the country there is any dearth > of skilled miners. > > Local workers are very categorical in their > opinion in this regard. They say that those who are > coming from far- off places find here themselves > completely at the mercy of contractor and their > acolytes and are in no position to bargain for fair > wages. Skilled workers generally wield some sort of > bargaining power, workers feel, and to emasculate > them almost entire section of skilled workers are > being brought from outside. And their story of > migration seems to be an endless one. One group of > workers don’t stay long at one place because > contractors go on rotating them between different > work sites, so that they always remain alien in the > land where they are toiling. > > Of course, remaining half of the worker are local > men and women whose legitimate dissatisfaction and > grievance about abysmally poor wages and working > conditions may turn out to a fountainhead for > popular dissent. The way of this inconvenience has > been taken care of is truly remarkable. Take one > example. In one unit of joint venture coal > production, nearly 600 people from nearby village > are engaged as piece rated workers at the site for > coal loading in railway wagon. For several months > they were agitating for rational wage, drinking > water facility, rest shelter, one weekly rest day > etc. In response, the management sought the > intervention of local political power which the > latter readily did. And the political party quickly > took control of the situation, successfully > dissuaded the workers – or at least a section of > them – from agitating and brokered an agreement by > which hereafter two groups of workers are to work > rotationally, one group for 20 days a month and the > other > group for 10 days. This bizarre arrangement was > hailed as a victory because now more people are to > get jobs! Similarly when there was unrest among > local people demanding jobs in Mangalpur industrial > estate and in the private coal mine, it was the > local political power which took charge, convened > village level meetings and choose people for the > jobs. > > This, unquestionably, is a very significant > development. At least in West Bengal, political > power is not merely political but social and > administrative as well. This omnipotent, omnipresent > power is playing a crucial role in present day > industrialism. The political establishment is the de > facto employment agency and labour contractor and by > this virtue it commands unquestionable social > authority in a society starved of employment > opportunities. And this authority has placed itself > at the service of capital for ironing out whatever > inconvenience capital has to encounter in its > mission for profit maximization. Thus we get the > strange ambience of an industrial area where > coloured flags symbolizing workers movement flutters > at every rook and corner as if presiding over there > eerie silence where workers have lost almost all of > the right including to have their union. > Write Up prepared by Sudipta Paul and Sovon Panda > > From ektenel at hotmail.com Thu Jun 8 06:18:34 2006 From: ektenel at hotmail.com (Ah_Ek Ferrera_Balanquet) Date: Thu, 08 Jun 2006 00:48:34 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Apoyo_Support Message-ID: Sorry for crossposting Dear friends, hope this letter will reach as many people as possible and we can offer our support to the curators of Manifiesta 6 who are this moment are in need of our understanding Warm Wishes and paz to all. Raul For Immediate Release June 6, 2006 A letter from Mai Abu ElDahab, Anton Vidokle and Florian Waldvogel, former curators of Manifesta 6 Dear Colleagues, Dear Friends, Manifesta 6 was planned to take the form of a temporary art school, the Manifesta 6 School, comprised of three departments revolving around diverse cultural issues and debates, and each proposing a different structural model for art education. The proposed Manifesta 6 School is a postgraduate, trans-disciplinary program for approximately 90 participants from many parts of the world lasting about 12-weeks: (see full list of Manifesta 6 participants below). Inspired by such historical examples as Black Mountain College and the Bauhaus, the School would be a meeting ground for cultural producers in the region and beyond, and a platform for discussion and production. In keeping with the past goals of Manifesta to open dialogue between West Europe�s artists and audiences and their Eastern European peers, Manifesta 6 intended to �play a modest role in developing new forms of cultural partnerships, not only within the new Europe, but particularly between Europe and its immediate neighbouring regions.� Such cultural partnerships in the context of Nicosia, a city located on the furthermost edge of European Community and divided into Greek and Turkish Cypriot sectors, specifically implies engagement and presence in both communities inhabiting this city. Unfortunately, on June 1st, we received a letter from the Mayor of Nicosia, Cyprus, effectively terminating our contracts to organize Manifesta 6, the European Biennial of Contemporary Art in Nicosia. On June 2nd, Nicosia for Art Ltd. (the non-profit organization set up and owned by the Municipality of Nicosia to run the project) made a public announcement and circulated it internationally defining a variety of alleged breaches of contract by the curators, which led the city to cancel the project. The alleged breaches of contract being referred to relate in large part to what Nicosia for Art Ltd. states as �Recently and contrary to the original concept of the Manifesta 6 program the curatorial team insisted on the establishment and operation of an essential part of the Manifesta 6 School in the occupied part of Nicosia�, a break of confidentiality and an unwillingness on the part of the curators to mediate the situation to reach an amicable compromise to allow for the project to be realized. With regards to the primary issue around the location of a part of the school in the north, the contractual agreement made with the local authorities clearly defined Manifesta 6 as a bi-communal project, therefore, we believed ourselves to be working within the parameters outlined and agreed upon at the outset of the project. Accordingly, we developed the project in the spirit of this bi-communality, and throughout the process, the Greek Cypriot authorities not only agreed, but also encouraged this approach to working in both areas of the city and made numerous official public statements confirming their support. The Manifesta 6 School was envisioned as an important cultural project to take place in a city whose political climate has been changing dramatically. Needless to say, we continued to work to safeguard this position while obviously making every effort to reach a compromise with Nicosia for Art Ltd. to ensure our concept is realized. Moreover, we continuously advocated for a transparency within the process to maintain responsible and accountable conditions for our collaborators and ourselves. Unfortunately, throughout the course of the last six months, we were increasingly hindered by a lack of administrative support to realize the project, which simply climaxed with the termination of our contracts as the final gesture reflecting Nicosia for Art�s unwillingness to resolve any disagreements. Although we can conjecture and analyze the problematics of the situation, we feel that our foremost priority now is to attempt to find a way to ensure that the commitments and hard work of all of those involved whether administratively or from the artistic side is not lost, and is treated with the utmost respect and support. This cancellation of the Manifesta 6 School does a great disservice to the cultural community of Cyprus. Numerous artists, writers and academics who live on both sides of the island have sent us letters of support, protesting arbitrary action by local authorities that deprives the cultural community of an invaluable opportunity to meet and engage with their peers from around the world, noting that �given the limited resources available at the local level, the mobilization of such interest and expertise for Nicosia is unprecedented and extremely special.� We are currently in the process of considering and planning how to proceed, while rejecting any form of censorship that obstructs the dissemination of ideas and impedes artistic production. We very much appreciate the support we have been getting in the course of the past few days and very much hope we are able to turn these unfortunate events into a productive outcome. The International Foundation Manifesta will be sending out a press release shortly outlining the plans to come. Thank you once again. Sincerely, Mai Abu ElDahab, Anton Vidokle, Florian Waldvogel For further information, please write to International Foundation Manifesta at secretariat at manifesta.org Invited participants of Manifesta 6 School Department 1 Curator - Mai Abu ElDahab, Assistant Curator - Mohamed Yousri Participants: Eyal Weizman, Variant Magazine, Francesco Bernardelli, Philip (a workshop by Heman Chong and Leif Magne Tangen), Pages Magazine, Jonas Ohlsson, Jan Verwoert, Yael Davids, Mark Aerial Waller, Brian Kuan Wood, Demetris Talliotis, Constantinos Talliotis, Christina Lambrou, Constance Gonoud, Sarah Oppenheimer, Andrew Peter Steen, Gidoen Boie, Motaz Atalla, Maha Maamoun, Dena Kasraian, Babak Rostamian, Andre Sousa, Gul Kozacioglu, Will Holder, Valentinas Klimasauskas, Ricardo Alzati, dotdotdot Department 2 Curator - Anton Vidokle, Assistant Curator - Kaja Pawelek Participants: Boris Groys, Martha Rosler, Walid Raad, Jalal Toufic, Tirdad Zolghadr, Liam Gillick, Anri Sala, Mete Hatay, Tobias Rehberger, Yiannis Papadakis, Christian Jankowski, Neurotransmitter, Pierre Huyghe, Akram Zaatari, Chrostodoulos Panayiotou, Ali Cherri, Alexandra Weirstall, Amber Onar, Antonios Bogadakis, Mike Bouchet, Carlos Motta, Carolina Caydeco, Driton Hajredini, Emily Mast & Carly Busta, Ethan Breckenridge, Fia Backstrom, Gabriel Lester, Haris Pellapaisiotis, Hila Peleg, Hubert Czerepok, Jakup Ferri, Jonah Freeman, Jose Leon Cerrilo, Julieta Aranda, Katina Saoulli, Katsura Kuniera, Koken Ergun, Liz Linden, Mandla Reuter, Munir Al Azawi, Pelin Uran, Polonca Lovsin, Regina Basha, Santiago Cucullu, Serap Kanay, Setareh Shahbazi, Shahab Fotouhi, Nico Dockx Department 3 Curator - Florian Waldvogel, Assistant Curator - Benjamin Seibel Participants: Julie Ault, Martin Beck, Silke Wagner, Japanther, Sebastian L�, Thomas Edlinger, Sister Corita Kent, Fritz Ostermeyer, Dona Carmen, Jeronimo Voss, Gui Bonsiepe, Thomas Vizent, Nikolaus Hirsch, Moshe Zuckermann, Stefan Lehnert, Kisa, Alfred Schobert, Duncan McCowan, Katherine Hare, Melita Couta, Maria Efstathiou, Margarita Paraskevaidou, Anna Photiadou, Christopher Malapitan, Jens Strandberg, B�el Hartje, Gabriele Gaspari, Alexander Schikowski, Begum Erciyas, Can Sarvan Boranbay, Samuel Dowd, Andria Meletiou, Windianto Utomo, Claudia Di Lecce, Gaja Fugazza, Squid, Magnus Liistamo, Ralph Kistler, Robin Bhattachanya, Societe Realiste, Sussannah Mira, Craig Smith, Patrica Reed, Lasse Emlund Lorentzen, Lyn Lowenstein, Craig Leonard, Anthony Schrag, Inga Zimprich, Chicks on Speed, Petros Moris Raul Moarquech Ferrera-Balanquet,MFA Artist/Writer/Scholar/Curator ektenel at hotmail.com From rajeshkumar at cds.ac.in Thu Jun 8 11:50:21 2006 From: rajeshkumar at cds.ac.in (Rajesh Komath) Date: Thu, 8 Jun 2006 11:50:21 +0530 (IST) Subject: [Reader-list] Fifth Post. In-Reply-To: <20060502074026.9C12A2A052@p15122045.pureserver.info> References: <20060502074026.9C12A2A052@p15122045.pureserver.info> Message-ID: <1530.59.93.10.27.1149747621.squirrel@cds.ac.in> Dear Friends, Here is a myth behind a form of Teyyam and its relation with caste. Muchilott Bagawati: This Teyyam is one of the popular mother goddesses of Malabar. The myth reveals that Bhagawati was a female member of a Namboothiri family (Illam). Namboothiris of the Illam used to have discussions on various issues. One day, discussions went on around sexuality and consequently a question emerged. Which ‘rasa’--taste of human emotion – gives highest pleasure to a human being? A female member of the family came from inside and answered that it is ‘Kamarasam’- sexual emotion, which provides umpteen pleasures. Male Namboothiris got annoyed and suspected her purity and later assumed that she should have sexual relation with somebody. Consequently, she was excommunicated from the Illam. She offered prayers and sought blessings from all kinds of ‘Gods’, but none removed her sorrows. Ultimately, she decided to commit suicide and jumped into fire. She begged people passing along the side of the fire to pour oil into it. All of them went away and finally a Vanian poured oil into the fire of death. Later, he realized that the bottle, from which he poured oil into the fire, is full. Bhagawati has been deified and later became the caste Teyyam of Vanians in north Malabar, known as the Muchilott Bhagavati. The caste Vaniar has also faced a kind of identity crisis in the sense that they were treated as lower caste by Nairs and they tried to be the part of Nairs at least in front of other lower castes such as Tiyyas. So they have taken the patronage of this deity and thereby tried to establish their social status in society. It can be seen as an assertion of the Vanias against castes hierarchically above them Regards Rajesh Komath. > > mailia > > "Rajesh Komath" wrote: >> Dear Friends, >> >>Ooruvilakku or Banishment: >> >>Ooruvilakku means denying a performer to perform in shrines. For example, >>a performer named Padmanabhan Panicker, Kotakad, has revealed that he was >>denied the right to performance because a ‘crime’ has imposed upon him. >> It >>was alleged that he took more money from devotees without giving any >> share >>of it to the shrine-authority. The charge against his brother was that, >> as >>a performer he had behaved badly towards the shrine authority. Next year, >>the shrine authority bargained with a performer and conducted a >>performance. The misdemand charged against on the performer may not be >>true, but it become evenful bane for enacting of his shrine authority to >>bargain for the reduction of reward for the performance. Because of >>competition within the community of Theyyam, they could easily exploit >> the >>performers according to their will. And, in the case of many performers >> in >>the Village of both Karivallur and Chirakal, they had the same problem. >>They agreed to perform at the invitation of the Asia Games help in Delhi >>in 1984 as these performers were going to perform outside the shrine >> where >>they could perform freely without the element of casteism and on such an >>occasion they receive an identity (pride) of being artists. Moreover, >> they >>could get reasonable remuneration too. But, most of the performances >>outside the shrine, mediated by intermediaries and take lion’s share. The >>performers could receive only a small share. Intermediaries are people >> who >>made contact with national and international Programme co-ordinators. >> This >>is what is the new folk- art lovers are doing by exploiting these artists >>while they arrange programmes on spaces different from the traditional. >>This also resulted in the Ooruvilakku to those who went to perform >>outside. Because of fear of Oruvillaku, many good performers are now not >>at all willing to perform outside the shrine even if they get good >>opportunity to perform. So, social mobility of the performer faces many >>hurdles, and they experience these disadvantages from the society as well >>as the community due to the psychological, cultural and traditional >>attachment to the rituals. >> >>[Sorry for late posting] >> >> >>Rajesh Kumar.K. >>Doctoral Scholar >>Centre For Development Studies >>Prasanth Nagar, Ulloor >>Trivandrum- 695011 >>Kerala, India >>Ph : +91-471-2442481 >>Fax: +91-471-2447137 >>Mobile: 9895056659. >> >>_________________________________________ >>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: >> >> > Rajesh Kumar.K. Doctoral Scholar Centre For Development Studies Prasanth Nagar, Ulloor Trivandrum- 695011 Kerala, India Ph : +91-471-2442481 Fax: +91-471-2447137 Mobile: 9895056659. From rajeshkumar at cds.ac.in Thu Jun 8 11:50:33 2006 From: rajeshkumar at cds.ac.in (Rajesh Komath) Date: Thu, 8 Jun 2006 11:50:33 +0530 (IST) Subject: [Reader-list] Fifth Post. Message-ID: <1532.59.93.10.27.1149747633.squirrel@cds.ac.in> Dear Friends, Here is a myth behind a form of Teyyam and its relation with caste. Muchilott Bagawati: This Teyyam is one of the popular mother goddesses of Malabar. The myth reveals that Bhagawati was a female member of a Namboothiri family (Illam). Namboothiris of the Illam used to have discussions on various issues. One day, discussions went on around sexuality and consequently a question emerged. Which ‘rasa’--taste of human emotion – gives highest pleasure to a human being? A female member of the family came from inside and answered that it is ‘Kamarasam’- sexual emotion, which provides umpteen pleasures. Male Namboothiris got annoyed and suspected her purity and later assumed that she should have sexual relation with somebody. Consequently, she was excommunicated from the Illam. She offered prayers and sought blessings from all kinds of ‘Gods’, but none removed her sorrows. Ultimately, she decided to commit suicide and jumped into fire. She begged people passing along the side of the fire to pour oil into it. All of them went away and finally a Vanian poured oil into the fire of death. Later, he realized that the bottle, from which he poured oil into the fire, is full. Bhagawati has been deified and later became the caste Teyyam of Vanians in north Malabar, known as the Muchilott Bhagavati. The caste Vaniar has also faced a kind of identity crisis in the sense that they were treated as lower caste by Nairs and they tried to be the part of Nairs at least in front of other lower castes such as Tiyyas. So they have taken the patronage of this deity and thereby tried to establish their social status in society. It can be seen as an assertion of the Vanias against castes hierarchically above them Regards Rajesh Komath. > > mailia > > "Rajesh Komath" wrote: >> Dear Friends, >> >>Ooruvilakku or Banishment: >> >>Ooruvilakku means denying a performer to perform in shrines. For example, >>a performer named Padmanabhan Panicker, Kotakad, has revealed that he was >>denied the right to performance because a ‘crime’ has imposed upon him. >> It >>was alleged that he took more money from devotees without giving any >> share >>of it to the shrine-authority. The charge against his brother was that, >> as >>a performer he had behaved badly towards the shrine authority. Next year, >>the shrine authority bargained with a performer and conducted a >>performance. The misdemand charged against on the performer may not be >>true, but it become evenful bane for enacting of his shrine authority to >>bargain for the reduction of reward for the performance. Because of >>competition within the community of Theyyam, they could easily exploit >> the >>performers according to their will. And, in the case of many performers >> in >>the Village of both Karivallur and Chirakal, they had the same problem. >>They agreed to perform at the invitation of the Asia Games help in Delhi >>in 1984 as these performers were going to perform outside the shrine >> where >>they could perform freely without the element of casteism and on such an >>occasion they receive an identity (pride) of being artists. Moreover, >> they >>could get reasonable remuneration too. But, most of the performances >>outside the shrine, mediated by intermediaries and take lion’s share. The >>performers could receive only a small share. Intermediaries are people >> who >>made contact with national and international Programme co-ordinators. >> This >>is what is the new folk- art lovers are doing by exploiting these artists >>while they arrange programmes on spaces different from the traditional. >>This also resulted in the Ooruvilakku to those who went to perform >>outside. Because of fear of Oruvillaku, many good performers are now not >>at all willing to perform outside the shrine even if they get good >>opportunity to perform. So, social mobility of the performer faces many >>hurdles, and they experience these disadvantages from the society as well >>as the community due to the psychological, cultural and traditional >>attachment to the rituals. >> >>[Sorry for late posting] >> >> >>Rajesh Kumar.K. >>Doctoral Scholar >>Centre For Development Studies >>Prasanth Nagar, Ulloor >>Trivandrum- 695011 >>Kerala, India >>Ph : +91-471-2442481 >>Fax: +91-471-2447137 >>Mobile: 9895056659. >> >>_________________________________________ >>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: >> >> > Rajesh Kumar.K. Doctoral Scholar Centre For Development Studies Prasanth Nagar, Ulloor Trivandrum- 695011 Kerala, India Ph : +91-471-2442481 Fax: +91-471-2447137 Mobile: 9895056659. From tushar_bhor at yahoo.com Thu Jun 8 11:13:42 2006 From: tushar_bhor at yahoo.com (tushar bhor) Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2006 22:43:42 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] 5th post : slums, water contractors and plumbers Message-ID: <20060608054342.68399.qmail@web51907.mail.yahoo.com> 5th Posting : Working Title: WATER LENSES Prelude for new imagination for urban water of Mumbai. This posting is in reference to inventory in slum pockets of eastern suburban parts [Trombay] of Mumbai. The stories briefly mention about the two important players , water contractor and plumber, important for acquisition and sustenance of the water system. The next step will be to get the details about these two players. Slums, Water contractors and Plumbers. ..this clarifies, on contrary, Mumbai Municipal Corporation said that water cannot reach the heights, people have demonstrated the way in which water problem can be solved. - Students of CORO Samiti [this story is covered with ex-students of CORO samiti. CORO is a organization who organizes short courses in social development in Mumbai] Community tactics and human exploitation goes hand in hand for the case of Sahyadri in reference to the water issue. Communities have managed to acquire water through different means; on another hand it is adversely affecting the health and education of women and children respectively. Women are vehicles for transporting the water, affecting maternal health and children queuing at community tap are found attending school very late. Sahyadri nagar is a slum pocket located on hill top in eastern suburban parts of Mumbai. Being located on a hill top, water is a perennial problem and water acquisition becomes important part of routine life. History says that prior to 1995, the cluster was deprived of basic facilities like water and electricity and even local corporaters did not visit the site. Now the cluster receives or rather acquires water through following means: - Through Mumbai Municipal Corporation [MMC] Supply. - Through Formation of groups - Through Individual based connections MMC with the intension to supply water to sahyadri nagar, constructed over head tank at the base of hill. The tank also have a capacity to supply water to the near by cluster of Rahul nagar and Ganesh nagar. Single network of pipes were laid for supplying water to all the three clusters, but eventually due to less pressure at the hill top, sahyadri nagar is still facing water problems. So certain dwellers have to collect water from the community tap in the clusters at the base or alternately buy water from vendors. Secondly, groups have routed up and thru help of water contractor [locally called as contractor, who helps communities to acquire illegal connection form MMC network] managed to install taps for group of houses. This connection cost them around Rs. 60,000- 70,000. Once the tap is installed, the group benefiting does not pay any water charges to MMC and only have to look after the operational and maintenance cost of electric motor. Individual connections are also taken for Approx. Rs. 60,000 - 70,000. Other than serving the family, this connection is intentionally taken for selling water to neighbours at Rs. 1 /can. A family depended on this; spend about Rs. three hundred or so, which some times account less than MMC water charges. A story of Siddharth colony: Siddharth colony is blessed with water for 24 hrs. The reason being a main MMC water pipe passes near by the colony. Previously before some years there were 4 community taps provided by corporation, but eventually the supply was stopped by the MMC with the advent of rust, contaminating the water and was declared unsafe for human consumption. Today almost 90% of household connections are illegally acquired and are connected to the main MMC pipe line passing nearby. The main player involved in installing the connection is the local Plumber. To quote a resident, “no outside plumbers can solve the water problem as colony plumbers only have the idea about all the connections”. The network of underground pipe lines are highly depended upon these local plumbers for any kind or repair or maintenance or even during obtaining new connection. Almost 90% of residents do not pay water charges to MMC and enjoy full time water supply. TUSHAR BHOR ARCHITECT and INDEPENDENT RESEARCHER. Residence Address: 10/60, Madhu Sadan,Sion(w),Mumbai–400022,Maharashtra,India. Tel. No: +91 22 24083828. Mobile: +91 98190 35176. E mail: tushar_bhor at yahoo.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060607/16c46095/attachment.html From turbulence at turbulence.org Thu Jun 8 05:32:16 2006 From: turbulence at turbulence.org (Turbulence) Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2006 20:02:16 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Turbulence Commission: "Monolith[s]" by Michael Takeo Magruder Message-ID: <000001c68a8e$d676b210$6601a8c0@t5x1c0> June 7, 2006 Turbulence Commission: "Monolith[s]" by Michael Takeo Magruder http://turbulence.org/works/monoliths Requirements: The technical specifications are detailed on the Setup/Help page. Please read them before proceeding. "Monolith[s]" juxtaposes two icons of British culture: stone circles (Stonehenge in particular) and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). "We are in a gravitational pull of past and future." (1) Lacking declarative evidence of its original purpose, Stonehenge is a site of contested meaning. "It suffers from polysemia, in that it signifies a range of meanings, discursively contested through image and text." (2) Visitors are kept at a distance, no longer permitted to walk among the stones and physically experience their immense scale. In "Monolith[s]," Magruder has appropriated the perspective that many images of the monument give: that of the majestic site at a distance, the glow of the sunset or moonrise radiating from the horizon, its backdrop. But Magruder's virtual world IS approachable-indeed, the user may immerse herself in it or fly above it. As she does, the temporal and spatial dimensions of her own immediate environment are absorbed and rearranged into a constantly evolving virtual realm in which the history of the Information Age materializes. Formulated according to motifs and proportions of ancient architecture, infused with fundamental mathematics of modern digital communication systems, each genesis of the artwork's geometry is unique. Variables such as the time of day, the viewer's location on the Earth, and the position of the Earth around the sun are incorporated into the artwork, thus instilling into the realm functions of a rudimentary clock, global positioning system, and solar calendar. "Monolith[s]" is a 2006 commission of New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc., (aka Ether-Ore) for its Turbulence web site. It was made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. BIOGRAPHY Michael Takeo Magruder is an American artist based in the UK who received his formal education at the University of Virginia, USA, graduating with a degree in biological science. His artistic production has been exhibited worldwide and encompasses an eclectic mix of forms ranging from futuristic stained-glass windows, digital light-screens and modular sculptures, to architectural manipulations, ephemeral video projections and interactive net-installations. His work seeks to reflect upon the dualistic nature of media as both information source and cultural stimulant. References: (1) Jeanette Winterson, "Weight" (2) Andy Letcher, Jenny Blain, & Robert J. Wallis, "Re-viewing the Past: Discourse and Power in Images of Prehistory." For more information about Turbulence, please visit http://turbulence.org. 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: http://turbulence.org/blog Upgrade! Boston: http://turbulence.org/upgrade _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From image.science at donau-uni.ac.at Thu Jun 8 15:52:23 2006 From: image.science at donau-uni.ac.at (Image Science) Date: Thu, 08 Jun 2006 12:22:23 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] New Masters Programs in Image Science Message-ID: <4488167F0200007D000007E6@gwgwia.donau-uni.ac.at> .. Please excuse cross posting .. => Key Competence for the Art and Media Sector New and expanded course offer at the Center for Image Science Parallel to employment! => Postgraduate Program MEDIA ART HISTORIES, MA => Postgraduate Program IMAGE and SCIENCE => Postgraduate Program IMAGE MANAGEMENT, MA => Postgraduate Program PHOTOGRAPHY / IMAGE SCIENCE, MA => Postgraduate Program ICONOGRAPHY / IMAGE SCIENCE, MA Danube University Krems is the first public university in Europe which specializes in advanced continuing education offering low-residency degree programs for working professionals and lifelong learners. The Center for Image Science, where many MediaArtHistories courses take place, is housed in a 14th century Monastary, remodeled to fit the needs of modern research in singular surroundings. With its new modular courses starting in November 2006 the Center for Image Science (CIS) at Danube University offers an educational program unique in Europe. Without interrupting their career students have the opportunity to learn through direct, hands-on experience, social learning in small groups and contacts with commerce and industry. They gain key qualifications for the contemporary art and media marketplace. International experts analyze the image worlds of art, science, politics and economy and elucidate how they originated, became established and how they have stood the test of time. The innovative approach at CIS is reinforced by praxis-oriented study, for example, of new types of image and video databases and the application of advanced processes for converting image collections into digital form. The post-graduate MA courses offer instruction in a finely tuned mix of practical skills, theoretical knowledge and close cooperation with top researchers and professionals from the international image science community. => First international Master in MEDIA.ART.HISTORIES (English language) The postgraduate program MediaArtHistories conveys the most important developments of contemporary art through a network of renowned international theorists, artists and curators like Steve Dietz, Erkki Huhtamo, Lev Manovich, Christiane Paul, Paul Sermon, Oliver Grau and many others. Using online databases and other modern aids, knowledge of computer animation, net art, interactive, telematic and genetic art as well as the most recent reflections on nano art, CAVE installations, augmented reality and wearables are introduced. Historical derivations that go far back into art and media history are tied in intriguing ways to digital art. Important approaches and methods from Image Science, Media Archaeology and the History of Science & Technology will be discussed. Media Art History offers a basis for understanding evolutionary history of audiovisual media, from the Laterna Magica to the Panorama, Phantasmagoria, Film, and the Virtual Art of recent decades. http://www.donau-uni.ac.at/mediaarthistories www.virtualart.at Application Deadlines: June 15th, Sept. 15th 2006 => Course Image & Science (English language) Have you ever asked yourself: "How do I get on the Cover of Nature?" The program Image & Science conveys in-depth knowledge of the history, aesthetics and practice of scientific visualization. Based on historically established image competency it demonstrates the latest possibilities of exemplifying scientific data and results in a visual form and helps professionals in the field to achieve quick results and improve their way of presenting their work. Various forms of visual information are being included - from statistical analysis and diagrams, plans and technical drawings to visualizations in natural sciences like in Medicine or Nanotechnology or displays of fluidity. The close cooperation of natural scientists, IT-professionals, historians, artists and designers contribute to the interlacing of the complementary perspectives of natural sciences and the cultural and historical approach. http://www.donau-uni.ac.at/imageandscience Application Deadlines: April 30, June 30, September 1, 2006 Master Programs in German => Course BILDMANAGEMENT, MA (Image Management, MA) http://www.donau-uni.ac.at/bildmanagement Application Deadlines: June 30th, Sept. 1st => Course FOTOGRAFIE / BILDWISSENSCHAFT, MA (Photography/Image Science, MA) http://www.donau-uni.ac.at/fotografie Application Deadlines: June 30th, Sept. 1st => Course IKONOGRAPHIE / BILDWISSENSCHAFT, MA (Iconography/Image Science, MA) http://www.donau-uni.ac.at/ikonographie Application Deadlines: June 30th, Sept. 1st => CONTACT and REGISTRATION: Mag. Andrea Domanig MA, Tel: +43(0)2732 893-2569 Petra Gratzl, Tel: +43(0)2732 893-2542 Fax: +43(0)2732 893-4550 E-Mail: andrea.domanig at donau-uni.ac.at petra.gratzl at donau-uni.ac.at http://www.donau-uni.ac.at/cis The programs start in November 2006 Further details at http://www.donau-uni.ac.at/cis/studies From irabhaskar at vsnl.net Fri Jun 9 10:02:38 2006 From: irabhaskar at vsnl.net (Ira Bhaskar) Date: Fri, 09 Jun 2006 10:02:38 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: Film Series on the Cinematic City at the Habitat Centre Message-ID: <001a01c68b7d$c8f65ec0$51e541db@zxy> THE CINEMATIC CITY A Film Series Curated and Introduced by Ranjani Mazumdar (Associate Professor School of Arts and Aesthetics, JNU) at The India Habitat Centre All the films will be screened at 6.30 pm at Gulmohar and will be introduced and discussed by Ranjani Mazumdar (Filmmaker and Film Scholar). On June 12th, the curator will introduce the entire package before the screening of the first film. She will also briefly introduce and facilitate discussion for the individual films. June 12th – 6.30 p.m (Introduction to the Series by Curator, Ranjani Mazumdar) Four Hundred Blows directed by Francois Truffaut (1959/ France/ 99 minutes) Considered to be one of the most influential films about adolescence, The Four Hundred Blows follows 13-year-old Antoine (Jean-Pierre Leaud), as he turns to a life of small time crime to escape the neglect he receives at home from his parents and the harsh criticism of his teacher. The Four Hundred Blows is a non-judgemental film about injustice, pain, and the events in a young boy's life that make him the person he is. Neither good nor bad, Truffaut treats Antoine with warmth and compassion as a child caught up in a maelstrom not of his own making. The grace and perfection of the film has made it the standard against which all films on the subject of youth are judged, and Leaud's portrayal that to which all-young performers' are compared. June 19th – 6.30 p.m (Film Introduced by Curator, Ranjani Mazumdar) Stray Dog directed by Akira Kurosawa (1949/ Japan/ 122 minutes) An early encounter between Kurosawa and two of his favourite actors, Mifune and Shimura, both playing detectives in Japan's uneasy postwar period under U.S imperialism. When Mifune's pistol is stolen, he is overwhelmed by a feeling of dishonour rather than failure and sets out on a descent into the lower depths of Tokyo's underworld, which gradually reveals Dostoevskian parallels between himself and his quarry. A sweltering summer is at its height, and Kurosawa's strenuous location shooting transforms the city into a sensuous collage of fluttering fans and delicate, sweating limbs. A fine blend of U.S thriller material with Japanese conventions, Stray Dog is a fine Classic. June 24th – 6.30 p.m (Film Introduced by Curator, Ranjani Mazumdar) Rififi directed by Jules Dassin (1955/ France/ 117 minutes) The story concerns a collection of thieves led by Tony Stephanois (Jean Servais) who band together to commit a seemingly impossible robbery. The set piece of the film is an intricate 28-minute sequence that depicts the robbery in detail -- all filmed silently without dialogue or music. After the success of the robbery, the gang barely has time to celebrate when a rival gangster, Pierre Gruuter (Marcel Lupovici), decides that he wants a cut of the take. When Tony's gang refuses to cooperate, Pierre kidnaps Jo's son, and the gang has to get tough with their nemesis. Adapted from Auguste Le Breton's pulp novel "Du Rififi Chez Les Hommes" - the word rififi is underworld slang, approximately translating as pitched conflict. One of cinema's seminal heist movies, Riffifi's central robbery sequence has influenced the likes of Mission Impossible and Ocean's Eleven June 27th – 6.30 p.m (Film introduced by Curator, Ranjani Mazumdar) Roma directed by Federico Fellini (1972/Italy/ 119 minutes) Roma is a lavish autobiography, full of "lush fantasy sequences and monumental pageantry" (Los Angeles Times), as Fellini outlandishly pays tribute to his beloved city Rome. The film begins with Fellini as a youngster living in the Italian countryside. In school he studies the eclectic but parochial history of ancient Rome and then is introduced as a young man to the real thing - arriving in this strange new city on the outbreak of World War II. Here through a series of vignettes brimming with satire and spark, the filmmaker comes to grips with a "sprawling boisterous, bursting at the seams portrait of Rome"(interview), reinterpreting with his inimitable style an Italian history full of sensual imagery and adventurous perception. June 29th – 6.30 p.m (Film introduced by Curator, Ranjani Mazumdar) City of God directed by Fernando Meirelles (2002/Brazil/ 130 minutes) Celebrated with worldwide acclaim, this powerful true story of crime and redemption has won numerous awards around the globe. The Streets of the World's most notorious slum, Rio de Janeiro's "City of God," are a place where combat photographers fear to tread, police rarely go and residents are lucky if they live to the age of 20. In the midst of the oppressive crime and violence, a frail and scared young boy will grow up to discover that he can view the harsh realities of his surroundings with a different eye: the eye of an artist. In the face of impossible odds, his brave ambition to become a professional photographer becomes a window into his world and ultimately his way out. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060609/f991c70e/attachment.html From mahmood.farooqui at gmail.com Fri Jun 9 13:08:15 2006 From: mahmood.farooqui at gmail.com (mahmood farooqui) Date: Fri, 9 Jun 2006 13:08:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Can I borrow your term 'Reflected Appraisal'? In-Reply-To: <489e03b80605211136v245e13bbxd8568998812556f7@mail.gmail.com> References: <489e03b80605211136v245e13bbxd8568998812556f7@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: This was a wonderful post on Junior Artistes, Vasundhra. Your exhaustive list of respondents was equally impressive. With all our interest in films we actually know so little of the actual conditions of film production and your post goes some distance in offsetting some aspects. What I want to know is this-is there a differentiation between models, dancing boys and girls and junior artistes. I understand that if you are not a member of the Junior Artiste Association you cannot appear in the film, is that true? And if you are a member of the Association, are you still dependent on the Artist suppliers to get work? And, once the association grades you, can the production side still override their ranking, make an A grade person lower or vice versa? Looking forward to more on extras... On 22/05/06, Vasundhara Prakash wrote: > Reflected Appraisal is the perception of how others perceive us and > evaluate us. This theory suggests that we see ourselves as others see > us, or as we think they do. It is perceived reactions. The operative > word here is "perceived" because research has demonstrated that a > person's interpretation of others' opinion is conditioned by self > analysis and may not necessarily be accurate. The research also > suggests that the extent, to which this perception of external > appraisal shapes our judgment of ourselves, depends on the importance > to us of the people providing it. Particularly influential are the > reactions of "significant others," people whose opinions make a > difference to us. > > --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > January 23rd, St. Carmel School, Bandra, Mumbai. This was the first > time I was going to meet junior artistes shooting for the film, > 'Marathon'. The first person I met was Kitty, an English-speaking, > well-dressed, Catholic girl in her early 20s. After having struggled > to explain what a fellowship meant, in the course of proving that I > wasn't a journalist, Kitty told me how they all hated journalists. > "Many of the people have families in villages, but we live with our > families here who read the kind of stories that journalists write > about us, that spoils our reputations." > > They fear being misrepresented. XYZ told me about an article that had > been written about dance bar girls which featured photographs of > junior artistes. They felt cheated, betrayed and completely > misrepresented. > > >From day one when a person comes to either the Junior Artistes' > Association/Mahila Kalakar Sangh office s/he is judged on the basis of > looks and age ie; their exterior selves and classified into grades. > > The Junior Artistes Association (men's wing) has the following grades: > > Grade A: This class comprising of both young and old are required > usually for hotel scenes, airport scenes. > Grade B: men are used for playing villagers, constables etc. > > The Mahila Kalakar Sangh (women's wing) has the following grades: > > Super Class: Class members are required for parties, wedding scenes, > airports etc, > Grade A: members for a regular crowd in hospitals, market places etc, > Grade B: members are those who can pass off as villagers, beggars etc. > > Members are to be classified at least every five years if not > annually. All the members are called in the office one by one and two > producers, two Federation officer-bearers; two cine agents/suppliers > classify them into different grades. > > When one does become a member a lot depends on your > relationship/rapport with the Junior Artiste supplier/Cine Agent. If > you're in his (almost always) good books, you are bound to get more > work. Therefore a supplier's opinion about you gets you all the work. > > So in a junior artistes' life others' opinions, judgments, > classification, appearance, grading, reputation are crucial. > > While a group of psychology students engage in finding answers to > "Where do judgments come from? Are they based on human instincts or > are they influenced by outside variables? If they are influenced, what > is most likely to have an impact on judgments and what had the > strongest impact? What are the patterns of judgment of others based on > their own gender and other personal traits? Do people think they have > the right to judge others more in one field if they believe themselves > to be superior in that field?" I will share with you what the > "significant others" really think about junior artistes. The following > is based on meetings, interviews, chats, arguments and counter > arguments with various people from the Hindi film industry on their > experiences, treatments, grouses, perceptions and opinions of Junior > Artistes. > > > > "The irony of being recognized" > Anurag Kashyap is one of those directors who casts junior artistes in > major roles. Junior artiste and Assistant Supplier, Deva was cast as a > police official in Black Friday. Anurag refuses to work with the top > classes of the Association members because eventually it is the same > people who are sent for work. And a recognizable junior artiste makes > a film look unreal and unauthentic. There are many who get stuck in > this sort of a phase when they are relatively recognized but precisely > because of their recognition nobody wants to give them work. > Anurag feels a huge difference in the way junior artistes are treated > in India and in the treatment abroad. "Gai bhains ki tarah haankte > hain" He adds that it is more difficult for women because they are > assumed to be prostitutes. One often hears of such incidents > concerning female junior artistes and production people, even big time > stars at times. He adds that a lot of female junior artistes even get > opt for C-grade films. > Anurag narrating his own experience of working as an extra in ad films > and a feature called Chirantan for pocket money says that there are > many people who eventually become members of the Association because > it is difficult to go back to your homes with the humiliation of not > being able to make it. > Anurag Kashyap > Writer: Love Story 2050 (2006) (announced) (dialogue), Fool and Final > (2006) (pre-production) (dialogue), Guru (2006) (filming) (dialogue), > Water (2005) (Hindi dialogue and script consultant), Main Aisa Hi Hoon > (2005) (dialogue), Yuva (2004) (dialogue), Black Friday (2004) > (screenplay), Paisa Vasool (2004), Paanch(2003), Nayak: The Real > Hero(2001) (dialogue), Jung (2000), Shool (1999) (dialogue), Kaun > (1999), Satya (1998), Kabhie Kabhie (1997) (TV series) > Director: Gulal (under-production) Black Friday (2004), Paanch (2003) > Actor: The Maharaja's Daughter (1994) (mini TV series) as Lt. Sayed, Chirantan() > > > > "Lower Depths" > Debu calls the junior artistes the underbelly of the Hindi film > industry, drawing a parallel to Maxim Gorky's Lower Depths. Because of > their backgrounds, many being slum-dwellers, junior artistes are > looked down upon. He says that it's not about the profession that much > as is it about the class they come from- exploitation of this class is > rampant, anywhere and everywhere. One hears of female junior artistes > being taken advantage of, especially on outdoor shoots, some women are > specially brought for this. When I ask him if it is forced, he says > money is an indirect force. > Other people on the sets have notions about junior artistes that they > dirty the toilets, make a mess of everything. Debu believes that an > orientation of junior artistes as well as about them is extremely > necessary for promoting professionalism in the industry. > Bombay film industry is all about the money, there is no dignity of > either art or the artistes. "Jo sabse zyada paisa leta hai, woh Boss > hai, Junior Artiste sabse kam paisa leta hai, to woh naukar hai". > There are many directors who don't even bother to find out the actor's > name. And Debu should know since he has himself risen from the ranks. > "Yahan Art nahi hai, yahan pet hai" > Debuyandu Bhattacharya > NSD Graduate, Actor: The Rising (2005) as Krupashankar Singh, Black > Friday(2004) as Yeda Yakub, Ab Tak Chhappan(2004) as Zameer's Gang > member, Aetbaar(2004), Maqbool(2003) as Chinna's killer, Monsoon > Wedding(2001), Divya Drishti(2001) as Hawaldaar > > > > "I felt humilated…." > Richa was auditioned and signed for the original Munnabhai MBBS, when > Shah Rukh Khan was supposed to play the main lead and the setting was > supposed to be of a chawl (dhobi ghaat later). Ultimately her role was > reduced to that of a Junior Artiste. She started being treated like > one on the sets. She confessed to have felt extremely humiliated. Soon > she walked out of the film. > Richa also told me that to know more about their lives it would be > interesting to talk her TV actor friend's driver, because the junior > artiste interact mostly with drivers. > In the Indo-french film Hawa Aane De, Richa plays a bar dancer. She > wonders why on one hand she was very proud to get the opportunity to > portray a different kind of role, the junior artiste in the background > would hide their faces. > Richa Bhattacharya > NSD Graduate, Actor: TV serials,The Rising(2005), Hava Aane De(2004), > Dhoop(2003) > > > > "Gender Stereotypes and expectations" > There is a stereotype about the women junior artistes. They are > expected to "compromise". Since everything eventually comes down your > rapport with the hand that feeds you, in the case of a supplier, he > always tries to please the production by offering women to the > assistant directors and production managers. > Apu recalls instances on the sets when women were thrown at him, so > that the supplier could get a better cut or the Mahila Kalakar herself > would be able to stand in the centre, near the main leads. > Apartiem Khare > Associate Director, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam(1999), Devdas(2001/2), Black(2005) > > > > "The problem is with us" > Devang says that we can't blame the junior artistes who are anyway > extremely underpaid and ill-treated, for not being involved and > responsible on the sets. Instead he takes the blame saying that there > is a need for better planning and organization at the higher level. He > suggests that the supplier should be involved in the pre-production > stage and then it should be the responsibility of the supplier to make > sure that the environment/ambience is created appropriately by the > junior artistes as per the requirement. He proposes an orientation of > the junior artistes about their work. > Devang Desai > Assistant Director: Bhoot(2003), White Noise(2005), Kaal(2005), > Salaam-e-Ishq(under production) > > > > "Many experienced veterans" > Talking from experience Rakesh thinks that if one treats junior > artistes as humans, they are fine. Unfortunately they are not usually > treated as human beings. On the sets mostly their identity is from the > colour of their clothes, "Oye! Red shirt!", "Green pant, tum idhar se > idhar passing dega!" > Rakesh also narrates incidents when some of the veteran junior > artistes have displayed a far more informed technical knowledge of > camera angles, lenses and frames than the technicians themselves. > Rakesh Sain, > Assitant Director, > > > > "Tragic Comedy" > Most junior artistes come to the industry to become stars but > unfortunately nobody tells them that they can't, ultimately it's a > gradual acceptance. According to Vikramaditya junior artistes are an > extremely important part of the film but sadly they don't get the > respect in return. They are treated badly, yelled at, many a times not > provided with basic facilities such as toilets. > The junior artiste group is an extremely close-knit group, actually > the only group that doesn't interact with anybody else on the sets. > Vikramaditya points out that the older women especially can be quite > grumpy and uninvolved in their work probably because they are the most > affected by trend of non members being roped in for their work. > When asked if he thought women were treated any differently he said > "they're all one". Though what interests him about junior artistes is > the relationship they have with the suppliers; suggesting obvious > sexual undercurrents. > Vikramaditya's favourite junior artiste moment was when he shot the > rock song in Paanch. The song was shot in very long takes and > therefore the crowd (junior artistes) got quite involved and started > reacting to the performance (by actor KayKay) and the song like they > were actually in a rock concert. "It looked right, it felt right". He > thinks the more involved they are, the better they work. > He considers junior artistes to be both insiders in terms of their > importance and outsiders in terms of their treatment and involvement. > As we step out of the coffee shop, Vikramaditya says he always wonders > why 'extras' is a derogatory term just for Indians who are doing > "extra" work while everywhere else in the world it is an accepted > term? > Vikramaditya Motwane > Executive Assistant: Deepa Mehta, Water (2005), Director, songs and > Sound Designer: Paanch (2003), Associate Director and Sound Designer: > Devdas (2002/I) > > > > "I don't find anything to romanticize about" > Prawaal thinks that there is nothing to romanticize about junior > artistes, they are well-paid and well-treated. Everybody is here to do > their job; a film set is not a family, it's not supposed to be. "You > do your work, you get paid, and you go home." According to Prawaal > junior artistes are not supposed to be creatively involved in the > film, they are merely moving props but are just as much a part of the > film as anybody else is. > A director/writer/actor is committed to or belongs to a film at least > till the film is released but a junior artiste has no-sense of > belonging to any film that is because they work in different films > every shift, it would be ridiculous to expect them to be involved. > Prawaal Raman > Director, Zabardast (underproduction), Darna Zaroori Hai(2006), Loot > (Stuck/On Hold) > Gayab, Darna Mana Hai (also the story writer) > > > > "Baithe Hain Rahguzar Pe Hum, Koi Hume Uthaye Kyon?" > It is probably because of the fact that Imtiaz is so fond of junior > artistes that he had so much to say about them. As a director, he > compares junior artistes to props, they are numbers that one uses to > dress a frame. Their treatment as mere objects that can be quantified > causes further angst to their misery of shattered dreams. He says one > has to be careful when it comes to junior artistes, you have to > understand why they are the most seemingly desentisized people in the > industry. The primary cause of their bitterness is probably because > almost all junior artistes have higher aspirations which with time get > crushed. The journey to become a hero and the feeling of self gets > trampled along the way. Imtiaz believes that they are always wearing > their armours, ready for combat, almost fortifying themselves against > any possibility of being hurt. You can't expect them to > enthusiastically participate in your collective dream of the film > because for them their biggest dreams have already been shattered. > They put their guards down only when you make them trust you that you > acknowledge the fact that they human beings too. Little things like > who gets a chair, how many times does one can get chai and who can > talk to the director are the kind of things junior artistes are > sensitive about. He points out that interestingly the different grades > determine their treatment and the demands they can make. Imtiaz argues > that one can understand that the main actors are important but that > doesn't give anybody the authority to defile anybody's sensitivity. > Though it is difficult to be friends with junior artistes especially > girls because they always think one expects something in return. > As far as the girls are concerned, he hasn't had any direct experience > but he has reasons to believe that there are many "informal > prostitutes". He explains that he understands why a woman junior > artiste would be attracted to prostitution that is because she shares > the misfortune that a film heroine has. Her film career span is very > short and at the time when she is at the prime of her look, she tries > to make the most of it. They have to be content with the fact that as > the years go by the money be less. One often hears of women junior > artistes being full-fledged prostitutes and 'kepts'. > Then Imtiaz fondly remembers Saira, a junior artiste who turned out be > a talented actress. After having given her a character in the TV > serial, Imtihaan, he would encourage her to take the leap and try to > become an actress. Since a board consists of only numbers of the > requirement, you cannot ask for a specific junior artiste. "When I > would insist on her the word got around that I wanted to sleep with > her." When Imtiaz met her after a few years, he realized that Saira > was already on her journey down. > Imtiaz realizes that there is a certain comfort in not having to go > from one director to another with your photographs and resume to be an > actor but being a junior artiste. He says that it is almost like > prostitutes where there are no pretensions; their worth is on their > faces (different grades). "Main 600 wali hoon!" "Main 400 wala hoon!" > "Jo hain yehi hai" He quotes Ghalib saying, "I am already at the > lowest point, who is going to put me down further" > Imtiaz Ali > Director and Editor, Television for 7yrs, Socha Na Tha (2005) > Actor, Black Friday as Yakub Menon > > > > "The obsession with the stars: a vicious circle" > Earlier there used to be three kinds of junior artistes: > 1.In the crowd, 2. near the Hero/Heroine 3. saying dialogues. Now one > usually finds crowd scenes being given to Association members while > the better looking models are placed near the main leads and the > talking roles are given to either struggling actors. One also finds a > trend of special appearances by stars becoming a favourite. > It is an extremely sad story that film journalism is completely > centred around the stars because that is what the masses are > interested in while the other aspects of cinema are of academic > interest only. Popular writing comprises of rumours, gossip and trivia > about the stars. > ~Legendary gossip columnist Liz Smith of the New York Post, author of > Dishing, argues that gossip builds fame and legends: "I always say to > people when they object to the things that are written about them, > 'Accept it as part of your myth.'"~ > According to Ajayji every junior artiste comes to Bombay to become a > star. Though many people from Bombay who become members are > slum-dwellers and for them this is a job opportunity that pays like > any other B-grade C-grade job. There is no aspiration or a higher goal > for stardom. > Ajay Brahmatmaj > Film journalist, Dainik Jagran > > > > > "Models do exist" > Navdeep after having admitted that he knew very little about junior > artistes agrees that especially in ad films because of their glossy > and glamorous look they usually require better looking junior artistes > (Super Class and Grade A) and models. It is not a social judgment but > just a requirement. > Navdeep > AD filmmaker, Red Ice > > > > "The Model Game" > Jordyn dedicates a chapter on models in his book, Backside Bollywood. > "This chapter details an informal system of how in-front-of-the-camera > talent operates, displaying the internal dynamics of a huge chunk of > the film world which receives scant attention." He rejects the popular > belief that almost all junior artistes come to become stars, his > observation is that serious and able aspirants choose the model route > instead. Going through model coordinators models get better work, > better treatment, better exposure and also better money. > Jordyn Steig > Author, Backside of Bollywood: Hindi Films Up Close and Personal In > Mumbai (unpublished) > Actor, Mitti(2001), Page 3(2005) > > > > "Most helpful…." > Shubhankar narrates various incidents when the junior artistes have > stood out to be the most helpful and giving people in the industry. > During a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film shoot, the producer Bharat Shah > had been jailed, Bhansali informed everybody that he would not be able > to pay everybody right away. Inspite of the fact that junior artistes > are paid daily, they were the first ones to come forward to cooperate > with Bhansali, and worked for months without money. > According to Shubhankar they're an extremely close-knit community and > he thinks them to be complete insiders of the industry. > Shubhankar > Assitant Director, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam(1999), Haasil(2003), Devdas(2001/2) > > > > "Parallel narrative" > In Nikhil's 8-year experience as an assistant, while the director > concentrated on the foreground with the main leads, he enjoyed > constructing his own stories in the background. He believes that the > foreground and the background should blend smoothly without either of > them sticking out as a sore thumb. He doesn't believe in unimaginative > passings from one side of the frame to the other like zombies. He says > he always encourages his assistants to develop corresponding stories > in the background. A good example of this is the scene from Kuch Kuch > Hota Hai, where the actress Neelam, playing a TV host, asks the crowd > for love messages to be aired live on television. This is right before > Kajol's character Anjali finds out that the little girl, Anjali in the > summer camp is her college friend's (Shah Rukh Khan's character) > daughter. Interestingly, it is Nikhil Advani(assistant in KKHH) who > comes out of the crowd and gives a nasty message to his wife saying > he's dumping her because he has found somebody else. > Another thing that he encourages his assistants to do is to find out > the names of the junior artistes. In long schedules he would always > make it a point to either find out their names or give them names > lovingly. He realized that by doing so the junior artistes felt as if > they were part of the film not just notionally but substantially. > Unfortunately junior artistes are usually treated like cattle in this > industry. Comparing them to extras abroad, Nikhil jokingly says that > if they were to be treated the way the junior artistes are treated > here, they would shut us down immediately. He says that the disparity > is ofcourse because of the difference between a developed country and > a developing country. He adds that though there is no excuse for it, > most of the production is treated like that. > Finally Nikhil shares his major grouse against the Junior Artiste > Association. He argues that for a cinematographer to get work, s/he > needs a degree from a recognized institute say the Film and Television > Institute of India (FTII), work under an established director of > photography, who writes a recommendation and it is only then that s/he > can become a member of their Association. The same goes for dancers, > make-up artists, set designers etc. "So how is it that a junior > artiste is not expected to act? How is that everybody behind the > camera is supposed to have a certain skill but the people who are > going to be seen on camera require no qualifications?" Besides, > becoming a member of the junior artiste Association is a mere > fulfillment of the Bombay dream of becoming a star. Therefore there > are 800 members out of which only a small percentage know how to act. > He agrees with his assistant, Devang's suggestion that there should be > an orientation for the junior artistes that would equip them to > understand the basics of the work better. > Nikhil Advani > Director, Kal Ho Na Ho, Salaam-e-Ishq(under-production) > Assistant Director, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai(1998), Mohabbatein(2000) Kabhi > Khushi Kabhi Gham(2001) > > > > "Those who get desperate, join the Junior Artistes Association" > Interestingly, Asha K. Chandra aspired to become a star herself but > now she runs an acting school that trains aspirants in film acting, > dance and fighting. Ashaji tells me that there are people who after > having struggled for sometime give up and become members of the Junior > Artistes Association as a way to sustain themselves. > Asha Chandra > FTII Graduate, runs a film acting school in Juhu, features in Lalit > Vachani's Star Maker > > > > "Bas Ek Parivar Jaise Hain" > Deva insists that nobody becomes a junior artiste in order get a break > into acting. Earlier only Muslim girls used to join this line but > gradually people realized that it is a decent way to earn a living, > now there girls and boys from all kinds of backgrounds and families > that come. > According to Deva, the struggling actors and even the assistant > directors should become members and work for atleast six months, he > believes the kind of exposure and access one get to the industry and > the people would be useful for them. For him, it is a perfect platform > for learning and experience. > Coming back to the question of how many junior artistes think this > line to be an entry into the industry, he insists that our junior > artistes have no such ambitions. Many times junior artistes don't want > to be in the centre, be seen or given lines that is because once a > junior artiste is seen in a scene, s/he will not get more work in that > production. How things work here is that a particular supplier has his > set of junior artistes that he sends to X,Y,Z production. If a film is > being shot with junior artistes for 100 days, a junior artiste > normally is used for various scenes say, railway station, market > place, airport etc, so consistent work for 100 days is assured. But > once a junior artiste gets a line say as a ticket collector, he is > seen and therefore cannot be used again. > When I tell Deva that one thing that everybody says about junior > artistes is that they have an extremely strong Association, he > immediately corrects me saying that is us who are strong and always > looking out for each other, the Association does its work in pulling > out non-members from film sets. > Deva > Junior Artiste and Assistant Supplier, Guddu Suri, Suri & Co. > Actor, Police official in Black Friday > > > > "Better facilities" > It was in the office of the Federation of Western Indian Cine > Employees that I met Ms. Nones. She had been called by Mr. Ranjan, the > Secretary of the Federation to meet me. Thinking that I am a > journalist (as usual!) they'd already prepared a list of problems that > needed media attention. Unfortunately only 10% of the members and > that too of only the Super Class get consistent work, others get only > 5-10 days work in a month. Another trouble they face is lack of basic > facilities like toilets and changing rooms. Having said that, Delphin > says that there are both people who are suffering because of lack of > work as well as people who are quite well-off. The media tends to > always focus on their plight, completely ignoring people who are > earning a decent living out of this profession. She gives me a list > of old people who did substantial work as junior artistes in their > time and supported their families. > Delphin Nones > Vice-President, Mahila Kalakar Sangh > > > > "Roz Kuan Khodna, Roz Paani Peena" > Aziz Khan says it is not an easy life. What usually happens is that > the higher grades are connected with the suppliers on a daily basis > through mobile phones, but the rest of the grade members have to go to > the Association office everyday and wait for that one phone call from > the production that will get them work that day. Therefore, it's an > everyday struggle. > Aziz Khan > Ex- Junior Artiste Association council member > _________________________________________ > 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 cahen.x at levels9.com Fri Jun 9 14:08:00 2006 From: cahen.x at levels9.com (xavier cahen) Date: Fri, 09 Jun 2006 10:38:00 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] pourinfos Newsletter / 06-08 to 06-15-2006 Message-ID: <44893368.5040405@levels9.com> pourinfos.org l'actualité du monde de l'art / daily Art news ----------------------------------------------------------------------- From Thursday June 8, 2006 to Thursday June 15, 2006 (included) ------------------------------------------------------------------- (mostly in french) @ 001 (08/06/2006) Screenings : experimental films, on June 8, 2006, WINDOW, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33175 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 002 (08/06/2006) Exhibition : POP-UP CITY!, Festival of Architectures Sharp, A-pack association, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33275 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 003 (08/06/2006) Exhibition : No system can give the masses the proper sicial graces, haptic in the Hall of the Maison Rouge, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33280 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 004 (08/06/2006) Meetings : and signature, Publication of the monograph of Joel Hubaut, June 8, 2006, FNAC of Caen, Caen, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33285 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 005 (08/06/2006) Meetings : French song in Sorbonne, Thursday June 8, 2006, University of the Sorbonne, Paris, France http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33288 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 006 (08/06/2006) Sreening : short films, Thursday 8 Monday June 26, Pompidou Center, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33302 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 007 (08/06/2006) Screening : vidéos artists, exhibition Sixty fourteen and one day, Museum of art and history of Saint Denis, Saint Denis, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33304 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 008 (08/06/2006) Exhibition: Ithyphallique, Thursday June 8, Barbizon, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33308 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 009 (08/06/2006) Exhibition : Crossed glances, mixed glances, Nord-pas-de-Calais, Mahjoub BEN BELLA and Sam BELLET, Masion Folie de Lambersart le Colysée, Lambersart , France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33323 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 010 (08/06/2006) Formation : New Masters Programs in Image Science, Danube University Krems, Krems, Autria. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33327 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 011 (08/06/2006) Job : artist Professor, volume, Ecole Régionale des Beaux-Arts de Rouen, Rouen, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33328 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 012 (08/06/2006) Job : artistic Professor, general-purpose attache with the concepts of transversality, Ecole Régionale des Beaux-Arts de Rouen, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33329 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 013 (08/06/2006) Job : Professor, History of Arts - Philosophy of Arts, Ecole Régionale des Beaux-Arts de Rouen, Rouen, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33330 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 014 (08/06/2006) Publication : art.es #14 / Press Release, Madrid, Spain. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33332 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 015 (08/06/2006) Publication : L’art pour objet. Travaux de sociologie, André Ducret, Bruxels, Belgium. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33333 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 016 (08/06/2006) Publication : Art for object. Work of sociology, André Ducret, Bruxelles, Belgique. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33335 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 017 (08/06/2006) Call : 'Expressions in miniature size', Call For Entries! Deadline 15th June 2006, Waves Art Gallery, Pune, India. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33338 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 018 (08/06/2006) Call : Call for Artists! Medium Gallery open Air event, Groningen, Netherlands. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33339 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 019 (08/06/2006) Call : DISONANCIAS 2006, San Sebastián, Spain. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33340 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 020 (08/06/2006) Call : Call for entries: Digital Fringe, Melbourne, Australia. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33341 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 021 (08/06/2006) Call : Prize of the Criticism of Art: ART in the MEDIA, Fondation de Moffarts, Lummen, Belgium. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33342 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 022 (09/06/2006) Exhibition : : Guy Limone, Espace Paul Ricard, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=2978 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 023 (09/06/2006) Exhibition : Franck Houndégla, Gallery de l’Ecole Supérieure des Beaux-arts de Valenciennes, Galerie de l’Ecole Supérieure des Beaux-arts de Valenciennes, Valenciennes, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33026 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 024 (09/06/2006) Meetings : The imprisoned Writing - XXe century, on June 9, 2006, University Sorbonne News-Paris III, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33055 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 025 (09/06/2006) Exposition : François Marcadon, La très petite librairie, Clisson, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33278 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 026 (09/06/2006) Publication : edition of artist with Christophe Boulanger, Friday June 9, 2006, Bureau d'art et de recherche, Roubaix, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33291 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 027 (09/06/2006) Exhibition : Galiléographes, Laurent Bolognini and Françoise Henry, Ensci/Les Ateliers, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33300 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 028 (09/06/2006) Exhibition : Ombres [au] Sols, Jocelyne Alloucherie, Gallery Françoise Paviot, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33306 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 029 (09/06/2006) Meetings : ENTRE CHIEN ET LOUP, Friday June 9, 2006, Esplanade François Mitterrand, Quimper, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33315 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 030 (10/06/2006) Various : "June Events 06" / Dance festival : "June Events 06", Atelier de Paris-Carolyn Carlson, Cartoucherie, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33181 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 031 (10/06/2006) Exhibition : SENS FICTION 2, École Régionale des Beaux-Arts de Rouen, Rouen, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33257 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 032 (10/06/2006) Exhibition : presentation of the éditions parisiennes Dasein, Espace Piano Nobile, Geneva, Switzerland. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33281 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 033 (10/06/2006) Meetings : Esthetics intermédias: historical approaches, Saturday June 10, 2006, Theatre Paris, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33289 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 034 (10/06/2006) Meetings : Lecture, Frédérique Wolf-Michaux, Saturday June 10, Librairie Passage des deux Portes, Versailles, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33316 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 035 (10/06/2006) Meetings : The ESSAI : INDEPENDENCE OF the MIND, Saturday June 10, 2006, BNF- Site François Mitterrand, Paris, France http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33317 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 036 (10/06/2006) Exhibition : Pascal Bircher, Sylvain Rousseau et Kristina Solomoukha, gallery martinethibaultdelachâtre, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33321 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 037 (11/06/2006) Exhibition : Exhibition Zwy Milshtein, Zwy Milshtein, reopening of the l'Oeil écoute, Lyon, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=3025 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 038 (11/06/2006) Exhibition : Nackt – nu – naked, Stéphane Belzère, café au lit, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33192 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 039 (11/06/2006) Screening : Documentary on Large Screen, Cinéma des Cinéastes, Paris, France http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33226 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 040 (12/06/2006) Formation : Workshop Processing, Médias-Cité, Saint-Medard en jalles, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33295 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 041 (13/06/2006) Screening : white chart with Guy Sherwin, Tuesday June 13, 2006, Voûtes, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33250 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 042 (13/06/2006) Exhibition : Week Set of themes Zero, on June 13, 2006, bookshop "Folies d'Encre", Saint-Ouen, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33307 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 043 (13/06/2006) Meetings : Psychoanalyse and feminism: stakes of a disagreement, Sophie Mendelsohn, Maison populaire, Montreuil, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33337 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 044 (14/06/2006) Exhibition : TIGHT ON THE EDGE, Gallery Les Inflammables, Bordeaux, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33082 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 045 (14/06/2006) Exhibition : Daniel Buren, Memories of photographs, la box _bourges, Bourges, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33320 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 046 (14/06/2006) Publication : le livre de tomoko, Paul Armand Gette, éd. la maison chauffante, florence loewy – books by artists, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33334 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 047 (15/06/2006) Performance : « Oeil-océan », performance, Anne-Sarah Le Meur, Girlsatwork, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33229 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 048 (15/06/2006) Metings : Journée d'etudes "Tangible Interfaces " on June 15, 2006, Laboratories Paragraph - University Paris 8, Saint-Denis, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33235 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 049 (15/06/2006) Performance :"Jaimais plus jaimais", Thomas Braichet & Julien d'Abrigeon, Thursday June 15, 2006,, Le Plateau / Fonds régional d’art contemporain d’Ile-de-France, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33282 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 050 The artist and his “models”. Jean-Claude Moineau http://pourinfos.org/encours/item.php?id=3019 L’artiste et ses "modèles". Jean-Claude Moineau http://pourinfos.org/encours/item.php?id=3020 From nangla at cm.sarai.net Fri Jun 9 21:47:16 2006 From: nangla at cm.sarai.net (CM@Nangla) Date: Fri, 09 Jun 2006 18:17:16 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] Nangla's Delhi - 15 May to 6 June Message-ID: <7881918ab9bbe36483ae013a24911ce2@sarai.net> New posts on Nangla's Delhi http://nangla.freeflux.net Postcard from JP, by Saifuddin [ Nangla Elsewhere ] >From up above, in the sky. I think I may fall, what if I do! But what have I to fear? God has, after all, made me to fly. But some of the others like me live the fear more intimately, and have begun to shy from flying. Perhaps it is the sights that they see which makes them fearful. I remember one such sight. Brick after brick was falling apart. It was a heart-wrenching sight. From the sky, people flocking and moving from where they live looked like us flock of birds. Constantly on the move. But when their place of abode is destroyed, what is it that they go out to seek? Is it for a new home? A new set of troubles and woes? A new identity? A new recognition or regard from the city? But from here, up above in the sky, from where I watch them, I feel all of this will not be possible... [Read whole post] Entering Narela [ The Journey After ] The Street Lamp at the entrance to Narela Subcity, a resettlement colony far from the city, lights Narela, but turns its face from the path that leads away from it. The five year lease of the land allotees expires this year. Photo by Shamsher Ali. [Read whole post] Entering Ghewda, by Lakhmi [ The Journey After ] As far as the eye could see, there was flat land. Not a single construction could be seen. No sound reached the ears. Criss-crossing lines made by tractors, cycles and feet stretched from below my feet and traveled on. The land is dry. Divided up like small tracts of land for farming, it has soaked any water it has got. Eyes search for a trace of the city, search for a semblance of a house-like structure. The ears seek a trace of human voice. [Read whole post] A Song In the City [ Daily Life ] [Videos] [Read whole post] The Road Opposite Nanglamachi [ Daily Life ] [Animation] "A cooling river and a pair of hissing serpants flank Nanglamachi. The river is the Yamuna, and the serpants are the two wide lanes of the Ring Road with their speeding traffic. Even stranger clasp each others' hands to navigate across the Ring Road." [A popular description of the Ring Road, at Nangla.] Conversation with a journalist [ Eviction ] At the time of demolition, and in talking about demolition, what gets lost is the making of the space. People who live in Nangla have come from Bihar, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, etc. They came into the city, and perhaps were already living somewhere, when to save their rent, they started to make a new space instead. People do not settle somewhere to take over land. [Read whole post] CM Lab, Nangla Maanchi http://nangla.freeflux.net http://nangla-maachi.freeflux.net ----------------------------------------------- It quenches the thirst of the thirsty, Such is Nangla, It shelters those who come to the city of Delhi, Such is Nangla. ------------------------------------------------ From anujbhuwania at gmail.com Fri Jun 9 23:37:18 2006 From: anujbhuwania at gmail.com (Anuj Bhuwania) Date: Fri, 9 Jun 2006 14:07:18 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Disney and the new Akshardham Temple Message-ID: http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/06/08/travel/08letter.html?pagewanted=all The Disney Touch at a Hindu Temple By JONATHAN ALLEN Published: June 8, 2006 It barely needs stating that India already has a lot of Hindu temples, and so if you want to persuade people to slip their shoes off for a new one, you've got to be imaginative. The temple complex includes a hall of animatronic tableaux which recount the life and philosophy of Bhagwan Swaminarayan. To this end, the creators of the new Swaminarayan Akshardham temple complex that towers over east Delhi thought to include several features not commonly found in Hindu architecture, including an indoor boat ride, a large-format movie screen, a musical fountain and a hall of animatronic characters that may well remind us that, really, it's a small world after all. There are even pink (sandstone) elephants on parade. "There is no doubt about it — we have taken the concept from Disneyland," said Jyotindra Dave, the chief public relations officer for the organization that built the temple, which opened in November. "We visited five or six times. As tourists, I mean. And then we went away and worked out how they did everything." The organization in question is Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (it calls itself BAPS), a Hindu sect-cum-registered charity with a global reach and a list of humanitarian activities as unwieldy as its name. The Delhi Akshardham is not BAPS's first such venture, but it is certainly the largest. (Another Akshardham temple in the nearby state of Gujarat was the site of a deadly terrorist attack in 2002; and in 1995 the organization opened the largest Hindu temple outside India in the London suburb of Neasden.) Like all BAPS centers, the Akshardham is devoted to Bhagwan Swaminarayan. Followers believe that he was incarnated in 18th-century India as Ghanshyam Pande (later called Neelkanth Varni), who at age 11 embarked upon an epic spiritual journey across the subcontinent, preaching a message of peaceful compassion as he went. Or, as the tagline to the center's giant-screen biopic has it, with inspired concision: "12,000 km, 7 years, barefoot!" It is consoling to bear this in mind while mired in the 300-yard two-hour Sunday line to actually see the film. The temple, carved by 7,000 sculptors out of pink sandstone and white marble, is beautiful in the way that all elaborately ornate things are beautiful. Visitors will probably be informed several times that it has been built entirely without the use of steel, like in the good old days. Indeed, much of the building's impact comes from the pleasant shock of discovering that some people are still going to the very great trouble of building things that look like this. A kind of optical illusion is established: from a distance, the intricate carvings look, in some generic sense, old; close-up, all the hallmarks of the builders having recently been in are still visible — the odd join still needs grouting, and the raw, unweathered stone bears in many places a thin sheen of masonry dust. On a recent visit, a half-dozen sculptors were still plinking away with hammer and chisel, putting finishing touches to the exterior. The appeal of this might at first be lost on visitors to India, who are usually coming to see the country's abundance of genuinely ancient buildings; Indians, who are surrounded by them, will generally grab any opportunity to escape from all that decrepitude for the afternoon, ideally to a place with musical fountains. The crowds here aren't pilgrims; they're day trippers. But if one of the holy grails of the self-loathing tourist is shaking loose from his fanny-packing peers and finding a delightful restaurant patronized entirely by locals, then this, paradoxically, is the tourist attraction equivalent. The members of the crowd, around half of whom are dressed in their best saris, is almost entirely made up of multigenerational middle-class Indian families escaping the city, along with a small minority of posses of young men, escaping their families. And so, although Western tourists are welcome, they can expect to receive the occasional look of benign giggly bemusement, the same kind a gentleman receives upon joining the line for the ladies' toilets. Over two visits, I encountered a Norwegian tour group, but otherwise sightings of Westerners were distant and unconfirmed. Signs are in both Hindi and English, but the English audio in the exhibition buildings will usually be switched on only for groups of at least 20 who phoned ahead. Smaller groups should not worry; it's never too difficult to get the basic gist of the Hindi. A series of typically unnerving animatronic tableaux recount the life and philosophy of Bhagwan Swaminarayan; the boat ride is a mellow trip celebrating the scientific and cultural achievements of ancient India; and the film adaptation of the Bhagwan Swaminarayan's pilgrimage, with its lovely swooping shots of the Himalayas, is a far less gory take on Mel Gibson's blockbuster evangelism. Hemmed in on four sides by impressive colonnades of red sandstone, the temple itself manages to transcend the kitsch of the nearby exhibition halls. Wrapped around its base is a 1,070-foot-long carved pink sandstone frieze of near-enough-to-life-size elephants in inspirational poses. Many of them drill home the importance of family values and community spirit. Sometimes the allegorical power of elephants is overestimated, as in the tableau which, according to the caption, claims that: "One problem elephants never face is the generation gap." The one that most strikes me is the creature shown "equipoised and nonchalant amidst barking dogs"; for the tourist sometimes overwhelmed by the colorful chaos of India, this could well be the most relevant elephant. Inside the temple, stewards slumped in chairs forlornly hold up signs on sticks imploring visitors to keep silent, all of which are ignored by the cheery weekend crowds. Sometimes, when the din peaks, a steward will jump to his feet and rapidly — yet silently — waggle his sign toward the face of an especially loud visitor, temporarily stunning the crowd into a low murmur. The noise should not be mistaken for irreverence. Everyone, without visible exception, will break from conversation in front of each of the temple's five icons to seal his hands in prayer. Some bow deeply, or perform a short sequence of crisscrossing movements in which they touch their earlobes with alternating hands. Small children do all this with particular relish. At the center of the temple, near the large gold-plated icon of Bhagwan Swaminarayan, an ever-renewing scrum churns around a hidden nucleus. It's the donation box. Devotees leave a few rupees in a dish beside a single small candle, briefly hold a hand over the flame, wipe its warmth over their forehead, and then finally shove their way back out to the open. Elbows are similarly employed in the chaotic self-service refreshment area. I bite my lip and try to think of my favorite elephant from the frieze. People cut in line and tread on my toes, which strike me as things Bhagwan Swaminarayan would not do. It seems the combined efforts of the Akshardham's robots, elephants and talking boats in relaying BAPS's essential message of humble compassion may still not have been enough. As I leave the temple, a horde of rickshaw drivers surrounds me, loudly and physically hustling for my business. I again try to adopt the posture of the unflappable elephant. Then it occurs to me that that elephant must get ripped off all the time, and I argue furiously with the drivers until one of them relents and agrees to take me back to central Delhi on the meter. From ysaeed7 at yahoo.com Sat Jun 10 17:48:15 2006 From: ysaeed7 at yahoo.com (Yousuf) Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2006 05:18:15 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Why I published the M cartoons Message-ID: <20060610121815.38596.qmail@web51408.mail.yahoo.com> May 31, 2006, New York Times Why I Published the Muhammad Cartoons By Flemming Rose European political correctness allows Muslims to resist integration, argues the culture editor of Jyllands-Posten. Instead, Muslims should be treated just like all Europeans -- including being subject to satire. He argues that publishing the caricatures was an act of "inclusion, not exclusion." The worldwide furor unleashed by the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed that I published last September in Jyllands-Posten, the Danish newspaper where I work, was both a surprise and a tragedy, especially for those directly affected by it. Lives were lost, buildings were torched and people were driven into hiding. And yet the unbalanced reactions to the not-so-provocative caricatures -- loud denunciations and even death threats toward us, but very little outrage toward the people who attacked two Danish Embassies -- unmasked unpleasant realities about Europe's failed experiment with multiculturalism. It's time for the Old Continent to face facts and make some profound changes in its outlook on immigration, integration and the coming Muslim demographic surge. After decades of appeasement and political correctness, combined with growing fear of a radical minority prepared to commit serious violence, Europe's moment of truth is here. Europe today finds itself trapped in a posture of moral relativism that is undermining its liberal values. An unholy three-cornered alliance between Middle East dictators, radical imams who live in Europe and Europe's traditional left wing is enabling a politics of victimology. This politics drives a culture that resists integration and adaptation, perpetuates national and religious differences and aggravates such debilitating social ills as high immigrant crime rates and entrenched unemployment. As one who once championed the utopian state of multicultural bliss, I think I know what I'm talking about. I was raised on the ideals of the 1960s, in the midst of the Cold War. I saw life through the lens of the countercultural turmoil, adopting both the hippie pose and the political superiority complex of my generation. I and my high school peers believed that the West was imperialistic and racist. We analyzed decaying Western civilization through the texts of Marx and Engels and lionized John Lennon's beautiful but stupid tune about an ideal world without private property: "Imagine no possessions/ I wonder if you can/ No need for greed or hunger/ A brotherhood of man/ Imagine all the people/ Sharing all the world." It took me only 10 months as a young student in the Soviet Union in 1980-81 to realize what a world without private property looks like, although many years had to pass until the full implications of the central Marxist dogma became clear to me. That experience was the beginning of a long intellectual journey that has thus far culminated in the reactions to the Muhammed cartoons. Politically, I came of age in the Soviet Union. I returned there in 1990 to spend 11 years as a foreign correspondent. Through close contact with courageous dissidents who were willing to suffer and go to prison for their belief in the ideals of Western democracy, I was cured of my wooly dreams of idealistic collectivism. I had a strong sense of the high price my friends were willing to pay for the very freedoms that we had taken for granted in high school -- but did not grasp as values inherent in our civilization: freedom of speech, religion, assembly and movement. Justice and equality implies equal opportunity, I learned, not equal outcome. Now, in Europe's failure to grapple realistically with its dramatically changing demographic picture, I see a new parallel to that Cold War journey. Europe's left is deceiving itself about immigration, integration and Islamic radicalism today the same way we young hippies deceived ourselves about Marxism and communism 30 years ago. It is a narrative of confrontation and hierarchy that claims that the West exploits, abuses and marginalizes the Islamic world. Left-wing intellectuals have insisted that the Danes were oppressing and marginalizing Muslim immigrants. This view comports precisely with the late Edward Said's model of Orientalism, which argues that experts on the Orient and the Muslim world have not depicted it as it is but as some dreaded "other," as exactly the opposite of ourselves -- that should therefore to be rejected. The West, in this narrative, is democratic, the East is despotic. We are rational, they are irrational. This kind of thinking gave birth to a distorted approach to immigration in countries like Denmark. Left-wing commentators decided that Denmark was both racist and Islamophobic. Therefore, the chief obstacle to integration was not the immigrants' unwillingness to adapt culturally to their adopted country (there are 200,000 Danish Muslims now); it was the country's inherent racism and anti-Muslim bias. A cult of victimology arose and was happily exploited by clever radicals among Europe's Muslims, especially certain religious leaders like Imam Ahmad Abu Laban in Denmark and Mullah Krekar in Norway. Mullah Krekar -- a Kurdish founder of Ansar al Islam who this spring was facing an expulsion order from Norway -- called our publication of the cartoons "a declaration of war against our religion, our faith and our civilization. Our way of thinking is penetrating society and is stronger than theirs. This causes hate in the Western way of thinking; as the losing side, they commit violence." The role of victim is very convenient because it frees the self-declared victim from any responsibility, while providing a posture of moral superiority. It also obscures certain inconvenient facts that might suggest a different explanation for the lagging integration of some immigrant groups -- such as the relatively high crime rates, the oppression of women and a tradition of forced marriage. Dictatorships in the Middle East and radical imams have adopted the jargon of the European left, calling the cartoons racist and Islamophobic. When Westerners criticize their lack of civil liberties and the oppression of women, they say we behave like imperialists. They have adopted the rhetoric and turned it against us. These events are occurring against the disturbing backdrop of increasingly radicalized Muslims in Europe. Muhammed Atta, the 9/11 ringleader, became a born-again Muslim after he moved to Europe. So did the perpetrators behind the bombings in Madrid and London. The same goes for Mohammed Bouyeri, the young Muslim who slaughtered filmmaker Theo van Gogh in Amsterdam. Europe, not the Middle East, may now be the main breeding ground for Islamic terrorism. Lessons from the United States What's wrong with Europe? For one thing, Europe's approach to immigration and integration is rooted in its historic experience with relatively homogeneous cultures. In the United States one's definition of nationality is essentially political; in Europe it is historically cultural. I am a Dane because I look European, speak Danish, descend from centuries of other Scandinavians. But what about the dark, bearded new Danes who speak Arabic at home and poor Danish in the streets? We Europeans must make a profound cultural adjustment to understand that they, too, can be Danes. Another great impediment to integration is the European welfare state. Because Europe's highly developed, but increasingly unaffordable, safety nets provide such strong unemployment insurance and not enough incentive to work, many new immigrants go straight onto the dole. While it can be argued that the fast-growing community of about 20 million Muslim immigrants in Europe is the equivalent of America's new Hispanic immigrants, the difference in their productivity and prosperity is staggering. An Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development study in 1999 showed that while immigrants in the United States are almost equal to native-born workers as taxpayers and contributors to American prosperity, in Denmark there is a glaring gap of 41 percent between the contributions of the native-born and of the immigrants. In the United States, a laid-off worker gets an average of 32 percent compensation for his former wages in welfare services; in Denmark the figure is 81 percent. A culture of welfare dependency is rife among immigrants, and it is taken for granted. What to do? Obviously, we can never return to the comfortable monocultures of old. A demographic revolution is changing the face, and look, of Europe. In an age of mass migration and the Internet, cheap air fares and mobile phones everywhere, cultural pluralism is an irreversible fact, like it or not. A nostalgic longing for cultural purity -- racial purity, religious purity -- easily descends into ethnic cleansing. Yet multiculturalism that has all too often become mere cultural relativism is an indefensible proposition that often justifies reactionary and oppressive practices. Giving the same weight to the illiberal values of conservative Islam as to the liberal traditions of the European Enlightenment will, in time, destroy the very things that make Europe such a desirable target for migration. Europe must shed the straitjacket of political correctness, which makes it impossible to criticize minorities for anything -- including violations of laws, traditional mores and values that are central to the European experience. Two experiences tell the tale for me. Shortly after the horrific 2002 Moscow musical theater siege by Chechen terrorists that left 130 dead, I met with one of my old dissident friends, Sergei Kovalev. A hero of the human rights movement in the old Soviet Union, Kovalev had long been a defender of the Chechens and a critic of the Russian attacks on Chechnya. But after the theater massacre he refused, as always, to indulge in politically correct drivel about the Chechens' just fight for secession and decolonization. He unhesitatingly denounced the terrorists, and insisted that a nation's right to self-determination did not imply a free ticket to kill and violate basic individual rights. For me, it was a clarifying moment on the dishonesty of identity politics and the sometime tyranny of elevating group rights above those of individuals -- of justifying the killing of innocents in the name of some higher cause. The other experience was a trip I made in the 1990s, when I was a correspondent based in the United States, to the Brighton Beach neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y. There I wrote a story about the burgeoning, bustling, altogether vibrant Russian immigrant community that had arisen there -- a perfect example of people retaining some of their old cultural identity (drinking samovars of tea, playing hours of chess and attending church) while quickly taking advantage of America's free and open capitalism to establish an economic foothold. I marveled at America's ability to absorb newcomers. It was another clarifying moment. An act of inclusion. Equal treatment is the democratic way to overcome traditional barriers of blood and soil for newcomers. To me, that means treating immigrants just as I would any other Danes. And that's what I felt I was doing in publishing the 12 cartoons of Muhammad last year. Those images in no way exceeded the bounds of taste, satire and humor to which I would subject any other Dane, whether the queen, the head of the church or the prime minister. By treating a Muslim figure the same way I would a Christian or Jewish icon, I was sending an important message: You are not strangers, you are here to stay, and we accept you as an integrated part of our life. And we will satirize you, too. It was an act of inclusion, not exclusion; an act of respect and recognition. Alas, some Muslims did not take it that way -- though it required a highly organized campaign, several falsified (and very nasty) cartoons and several months of overseas travel for the aggrieved imams to stir up an international reaction. Maybe Europe needs to take a leaf -- or a whole book -- from the American experience. In order for new Europe of many cultures that is somehow a single entity to emerge, in a manner similar to the experience of the United States, both sides will have to make an effort -- the native-born and the newly arrived. For the immigrants, the expectation that they not only learn the host language but also respect their new countries' political and cultural traditions is not too much to demand, and some stringent (maybe too stringent) new laws are being passed to force that. At the same time, Europeans must show a willingness to jettison entrenched notions of blood and soil and accept people from foreign countries and cultures as just what they are, the new Europeans. Flemming Rose is culture editor of Jyllands-Posten, the largest newspaper in Denmark. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/31/world/europe/31spiegel.html?_r=1&oref=slog in __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From daisyhasan at yahoo.co.uk Sat Jun 10 19:22:42 2006 From: daisyhasan at yahoo.co.uk (Daisy Hasan) Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2006 14:52:42 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Re: reader-list Digest, Vol 35, Issue 14 In-Reply-To: <20060610100023.24D4128D994@mail.sarai.net> Message-ID: <20060610135243.21799.qmail@web25408.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> (Dear All, I am forwarding this on behalf of my sister, Anjum.) Dear friends, My first book of poems - Street on the Hill - has just appeared from the Sahitya Akademi, Delhi. I will be reading from the book in the Sahitya Akademi Auditorium (Rabindra Bhavan, 35, Ferozeshah Road, New Delhi 110 001) on June 16 at 5.30 p.m. Keki Daruwalla will say a few words about the book. Poet Archana Sahini will also read later in the evening. Please do come - it will be good to see you there. The Akademi is sending out invitations by post but they will probably reach you only next week. Warm regards, Anjum Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060610/6a120a21/attachment.html From mallroad at gmail.com Sun Jun 11 12:44:48 2006 From: mallroad at gmail.com (Shivam Vij) Date: Sun, 11 Jun 2006 12:44:48 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] But the economic criterion is already included! Message-ID: <210498250606110014n683428e5v72e23c629f6698b4@mail.gmail.com> The CNN-IBN-Indian Express-AC Nielsen survey says a majority of Indians want the economic criterion along with the caste criterion, and not just caste: http://www.ibnlive.com/news/the-vote-is-out-quotas-good-for-the-nation/12705-3-single.html If people would care to read the Mandal Commission report, they will find that there are three broad criteria - social, educational and economic - that are taken into account before listing a community as OBC. Here is the economic criteria: * C. ECONOMIC 1. Castes and communities, a significant proportion of whose members reside only in Kachha houses. 2. Castes and communities, the share of whose members in number of cases and in extent of agricultural lands surrendered under the Agricultural Land Ceiling Act of the State, is nil or significantly low. 3. Castes and communities, the share of whose members in State Government posts and services of Groups A & B/Classes I & II, is not equal to the population-equivalent proportion of the caste/community. [see http://www.theotherindia.org/caste/who-decides-who-is-an-obc.html ] * And this make far more sense than income tax returns, or the lack thereof! Best, Shivam From daljitami at rediffmail.com Sun Jun 11 18:48:00 2006 From: daljitami at rediffmail.com (daljit ami) Date: 11 Jun 2006 13:18:00 -0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Celluloid and Compact Disks in Punjab Message-ID: <20060611131800.18758.qmail@webmail32.rediffmail.com> IZZAT: dishonouring life Imagine you have been invited to see a newly made film in a private circle by the maker. What sort of questions can you ask? Would you ask for the caste composition of the team? I, personally, dislike such questions. But that is the question I asked, for I say the situation left me choiceless. So I asked, and the response was very quick, firm and certain. The respondents were the producer, the director and the co-producer. The reply was that not only they but their whole cast is from Jat Sikh (upper caste sikhs) background. The answer was not unexpected but certainly left me even more uncomfortable. The other questions in my mind were about their understanding of women, minorities, patriarchy, masculinity and caste equations. I could not ask these questions and choose to understand these issues from the film. Gurchet Chitarkar has remained usual name in my earlier postings. He initiated the trend of short films in Punjabi and is still supposed to be the most successful entrepreneur. His recent film is IZZAT, a real story. He was in my city, Chandigarh. His colleagues invited me and I was quick in response as I was desperate to interact with Gurchet. I have talked to him on phone and had a short meeting earlier but never got the chance to talk to him at length. To begin with, an off the cuff remark: this film is technically (cinematographically) better compared to his earlier films. With fewer continuity jerks and less jerky editing it can be said that this team is growing in grammatical aspects. Three different locations have been used whereas rest of his films are based in single locations. The transitions of the film are based on stock shots of location and nature (sunrise and sunset) which looks awkward. I will focus on the content of the film. Like rest of his films this film is also placed in Malwa region. The film starts with a happy family of parents having two sons and a youngest daughter. The daughter (Channi) is the most loved in the family. This upper caste family lives in a big house supposed to be of any big landlord family. The brothers have a lower caste friend (Gurmukh) whom they treat as a family member. An upper caste youth had an abusive interaction with lower caste women. The exchange of chosen gendered and castist remarks crosses every limit of decency, after he teased them. The village panchayat punishes that youth after similar exchange in their presence. Gurmukh and Channi are in love with each other and they run away with jewellery and cash. Channi’s parents commit suicide and younger brother got killed in a fight with villagers when they tease him about the elopement of Channi. The elder brother got the revenge and landed in jail. Channi was sold in Uttar Pradesh. A Hindi speaking well dressed woman (pimp) living in huts has purchased her for two lakh rupees and sell her to earn one lakh rupees as profit. Why such profit making business is being run from huts? The pimp let a customer rape her in her hut. The door of the hut has prominently written 786 on it. These alphabets are prominent characters as compared to the living matter moving around. The return of Channi from that place has been punctuated with two more rapes. One of the rapists is temple priest. What better treatment one can expect after questioning the patriarchical norms? Her journey is full of taunts, teachings and remorse emanating from patriarchal values and masculine hegemony. Her repentances forcefully endorse these values. The only ‘help’ she receives after sermons of patriarchal honour of males is a compulsive favour from a baptised Sikh. The youth punished for eve teasing exposes Gurmukh to fulfil his ‘moral responsibility’. This exposure leads to a jailbreak and subsequent murder of Gurmukh. The lower caste women welcome Channi with all sorts of explitives; honour, moral, social and class issues. Channi losses her mental balance and in the last shot she is being stoned by children. The background scores states that honour is ‘ones lost for ever’ matter and ‘impure women can’t be purified’ and so on. After this film would you like to ask the question I asked violating my own ethics? Daljit Ami -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060611/c15d3b70/attachment.html From aesthete at mail.jnu.ac.in Sat Jun 10 21:26:21 2006 From: aesthete at mail.jnu.ac.in (Dean School of Arts and Aesthetics) Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2006 21:26:21 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] THE CINEMATIC CITY Message-ID: <1149954981.8fb75c40aesthete@mail.jnu.ac.in> India Habitat Centre THE CINEMATIC CITY A Film Series Curated and Introduced by Ranjani Mazumdar (Associate Professor School of Arts and Aesthetics, JNU) All the films will be screened at 6.30 pm at Gulmohar and will be introduced and discussed by Ranjani Mazumdar (Filmmaker and Film Scholar). On June 12th, the curator will introduce the entire package before the screening of the first film. She will also briefly introduce and facilitate discussion for the individual films. June 12th – 6.30 p.m (Introduction to the Series by Curator, Ranjani Mazumdar) Four Hundred Blows directed by Francois Truffaut (1959/ France/ 99 minutes) Considered to be one of the most influential films about adolescence, The Four Hundred Blows follows 13-year-old Antoine (Jean-Pierre Leaud), as he turns to a life of small time crime to escape the neglect he receives at home from his parents and the harsh criticism of his teacher. The Four Hundred Blows is a non-judgemental film about injustice, pain, and the events in a young boy's life that make him the person he is. Neither good nor bad, Truffaut treats Antoine with warmth and compassion as a child caught up in a maelstrom not of his own making. The grace and perfection of the film has made it the standard against which all films on the subject of youth are judged, and Leaud's portrayal that to which all-young performers' are compared. June 19th – 6.30 p.m (Film Introduced by Curator, Ranjani Mazumdar) Stray Dog directed by Akira Kurosawa (1949/ Japan/ 122 minutes) An early encounter between Kurosawa and two of his favourite actors, Mifune and Shimura, both playing detectives in Japan's uneasy postwar period under U.S imperialism. When Mifune's pistol is stolen, he is overwhelmed by a feeling of dishonour rather than failure and sets out on a descent into the lower depths of Tokyo's underworld, which gradually reveals Dostoevskian parallels between himself and his quarry. A sweltering summer is at its height, and Kurosawa's strenuous location shooting transforms the city into a sensuous collage of fluttering fans and delicate, sweating limbs. A fine blend of U.S thriller material with Japanese conventions, Stray Dog is a fine Classic. June 24th – 6.30 p.m (Film Introduced by Curator, Ranjani Mazumdar) Rififi directed by Jules Dassin (1955/ France/ 117 minutes) The story concerns a collection of thieves led by Tony Stephanois (Jean Servais) who band together to commit a seemingly impossible robbery. The set piece of the film is an intricate 28-minute sequence that depicts the robbery in detail -- all filmed silently without dialogue or music. After the success of the robbery, the gang barely has time to celebrate when a rival gangster, Pierre Gruuter (Marcel Lupovici), decides that he wants a cut of the take. When Tony's gang refuses to cooperate, Pierre kidnaps Jo's son, and the gang has to get tough with their nemesis. Adapted from Auguste Le Breton's pulp novel "Du Rififi Chez Les Hommes" - the word rififi is underworld slang, approximately translating as pitched conflict. One of cinema's seminal heist movies, Riffifi's central robbery sequence has influenced the likes of Mission Impossible and Ocean's Eleven June 27th – 6.30 p.m (Film introduced by Curator, Ranjani Mazumdar) Roma directed by Federico Fellini (1972/Italy/ 119 minutes) Roma is a lavish autobiography, full of "lush fantasy sequences and monumental pageantry" (Los Angeles Times), as Fellini outlandishly pays tribute to his beloved city Rome. The film begins with Fellini as a youngster living in the Italian countryside. In school he studies the eclectic but parochial history of ancient Rome and then is introduced as a young man to the real thing - arriving in this strange new city on the outbreak of World War II. Here through a series of vignettes brimming with satire and spark, the filmmaker comes to grips with a "sprawling boisterous, bursting at the seams portrait of Rome"(interview), reinterpreting with his inimitable style an Italian history full of sensual imagery and adventurous perception. June 29th – 6.30 p.m (Film introduced by Curator, Ranjani Mazumdar) City of God directed by Fernando Meirelles (2002/Brazil/ 130 minutes) Celebrated with worldwide acclaim, this powerful true story of crime and redemption has won numerous awards around the globe. The Streets of the World's most notorious slum, Rio de Janeiro's "City of God," are a place where combat photographers fear to tread, police rarely go and residents are lucky if they live to the age of 20. In the midst of the oppressive crime and violence, a frail and scared young boy will grow up to discover that he can view the harsh realities of his surroundings with a different eye: the eye of an artist. In the face of impossible odds, his brave ambition to become a professional photographer becomes a window into his world and ultimately his way out. ============================================== This Mail was Scanned for Virus and found Virus free ============================================== _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From avinashcold at gmail.com Wed Jun 14 11:55:13 2006 From: avinashcold at gmail.com (Avinash Kumar) Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2006 11:55:13 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] survey findings on composition of 'national' media Message-ID: A recently conducted survey report sent to me by one of the researchers. avinash SURVEY OF THE SOCIAL PROFILE OF THE KEY DECISION MAKERS IN THE NATIONAL MEDIA By Anil Chamaria, Feelance Journalist Jitendra Kumar, Independent Researcher Yogendra Yadav, Senior Fellow, CSDS KEY FINDINGS India's 'national' media lacks social diversity, it does not reflect the country's social profile Hindu upper caste men dominate the media. They are about 8 % of India's population but among the key decision makers of the national media their share is as high as 71 %. Gender bias rules: only 17 % of the key decision makers are women. Their representation is better in the English Electronic media (32 %). Media's caste profile is equally unrepresentative. 'Twice born' Hindus (dwijas comprising Brahmins, Kayasthas, Rajputs, Vaishyas and Khatris) are about 16 % of India's population, but they are about 86 % among the key media decision makers in this survey. Brahmins (including Bhumihars and Tyagis) alone constitute 49% of the key media personnel. Dalits and adivasis are conspicuous by their absence among the decision makers. Not even one of the 315 key decision makers belonged to the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes. The proportion of OBCs is abysmally low among the key decision makers in the national media: they are only 4 % compared to their population of around 40 % in the country. Muslims are severely under-represented in the national media: they are only 3 % among the key decision makers, compared to 13.4% in the country's population. Christians are proportionately represented in the media (mainly in the English media): their share is about 4 per cent compared to their population share of 2.3 % Social groups that suffer 'double disadvantage' are also nearly absent among the key decision makers: there are no women among the few OBC decision makers and negligible backwards among the Muslims and Christians. These findings are based on a survey of the social background of 315 key decision makers from 37 'national' media organizations (up to 10 key decision makers from each organisation) based in Delhi. The survey was carried out by volunteers of Media Study Group between 30 May and 3 June 2006. The survey was designed and executed by Anil Chamaria, Feelance Journalist, and Jitendra Kumar, Independent Researcher, from Media Study Group and Yogendra Yadav, Senior Fellow, CSDS. Survey methodology: For this survey 40 'national' media organizations located in Delhi were identified. These included all the major news papers, news magazines, radio channels, television channels and news agencies that could be said to have a national spread. Of these information could be obtained about 37 organizations. For this purpose different publications or channels of the same media house have been treated as different organizations. For each of these organizations we sought information on the top 10 'key decision makers' who matter in deciding the news and editorial policy of the organization. For each of these persons thus identified, information was collected on their social profile in terms of their gender, age, religion, caste/community, mother tongue and state of domicile. The information was available for 315 key decision makers. This was gathered by a group of volunteers of the Media Study Group. Since the information was gathered not by face-to-face interview but by speaking to colleagues and other informants, the data here may contain some errors. SUMMARY TABLES Gender Profile Men Women Print Hindi 86 % 14 % Print English 84 % 16 % Electronic Hindi 89 % 11 % Electronic English 68 % 32 % All 83 % 17 % Religious profile Hindu Muslim Christian Sikh Share in India's population 81 % 13 % 2 % 2 % Print Hindi 97 % 2 % 0 % 0 Print English 90 % 3 % 4 % 0 Electronic Hindi 90 % 6 % 1 % 0 Electronic English 85 % 0 % 13 % 2 % All 90 % 3 % 4 % 1 % Caste-community profile Brahmin Kayastha Vaishya/ Jain Rajput Khatri Non dwija upper caste OBC Print Hindi 59 % 9 % 11 % 8 % 5 % 0 % 8 % Print English 44 % 18 % 5 % 1 % 17 % 5 % 1 % Electronic Hindi 49 % 13 % 8 % 14 % 4 % 0% 4 % Electronic English 52 % 13 % 2 % 4 % 4 % 4 % 4 % All 49 % 14 % 7 % 7 % 9 % 2 % 4 % Caste-Community profile compared to population share Caste/community group Share in India's population Share in key media personnel 'Twice born' Hindus (Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, others) 16 % 85 % 'Intermediary' Hindu castes (Jat, Reddy, Maratha, Patel, etc.) 8 % 3 % Hindu OBC 34 % 4 % Muslim 13 % 4 % Christian 2 % 3 % Sikhs 2 % 1 % SC 16 % 0 % ST 8 % 0 % Note: Figures for population share are based on Census of India 2001 and estimates generated by National Election Study 2004 of CSDS. Share of Hindu upper caste men Share in population 8 % Share in key decision makers in the media 71 % -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060614/7269f4e0/attachment.html From mallica_jnu at yahoo.co.in Thu Jun 15 11:33:47 2006 From: mallica_jnu at yahoo.co.in (mallica mishra) Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 07:03:47 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Identities of Tibetan Youth in Delhi: Merging of the Past with the Present Message-ID: <20060615060347.36555.qmail@web8902.mail.in.yahoo.com> IDENTITIES OF TIBETAN YOUTH IN DELHI: MERGING OF THE PAST WITH THE PRESENT H'lo all! My earlier postings have attempted to explore the identities of the Tibetan youth studying in Delhi University by looking at the role of their immediate, physical environment, and their place of residence in the city, particularly in context of the Tibetan Youth Hostel in Rohini, Delhi. I have also looked at the influence of media, the 'global resources' of television; cinema; e-mail; FM Radio etc in forging their youth identities. This posting will now, try to delve into their past, particularly the impact of the years of schooling in the host country, to understand the complex yet interesting process of identity construction and their aspirations in life. Identities are as much a matter of being as also of becoming, they are part of a continuous process rather than a finished product. It is important to realize that the identities of the youth in question have elements of the present (influence of the place and city of residence, influence of 'global urban youth culture' that they tend to become a part of through lived experiences in the city as also by increased exposure through the media (TV; Cinema, Internet etc). At the same time, the role of their past lives: the country they were born in, the schools that they went to, the spaces and relationships that they were part of, all becomes important as elements that helped forge their identities. Even now, relatively grown-up, going to college and living in the city of Delhi, many of these elements seem to continue to constitute the essentials of their identities, to that extent these issues need to be further explored. My initial postings identified the Tibetan schools in exile in India (Tibetan Children's' Village (TCV); Central Tibetan Schools (CTS) and other autonomous schools, like THF etc), as schools which had been deliberately set up by the Tibetan Government in exile with the support of the Government of India, with the goal of providing an education that would be a balance between 'traditional' and 'modern' education and enable the children to be equipped with the skills and qualities required in future (free/autonomous) Tibet. This posting will look at the role that these schools play in creating a certain, composite, pan-Tibetan identity amongst all Tibetan children. Discussions with Tibetan youth revealed that it was in these schools that most of them realized that they "were Tibetan", "refugee" and "different from others". Alongwith socialization at home and influence of the Tibetan community, these schools emerge as major sites for the construction of Tibetan identities (particularly for those children who were born in Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan etc and came to India at a very early age for their education). In the absence of a real family, for many, the schools constitute 'family' and 'home' to those who have been brought up in these residential schools. This posting will look at the role of the schools: pedagogies and language/medium of instruction; subjects taught; co-curricular and extra-curricular activities which all combine to create a 'School Culture' and an environment that are crucial elements in determining their sense of self and their identity as Tibetan. A. Bonding with the school: 'Home' parents vs. 'Real' Parents: The institutionalized presence and example of Tibetan adults at these schools as housemother and sometimes also housefather called Amala (mother) and pala (father) respectively, and the love and care provided by them to Tibetan children seems to be an important determinant in identity-construction. This is because, a majority of the students in the residential schools, such as TCV, Dharamsala , H.P have come to India at a very young age leaving their parents behind. They usually lose all contact with their parents after coming to India (fearing that any contact with parents may lead to the penalization of the former by the Chinese government) and pass the growing years of their life, from primary to senior secondary school level, under the care of these house parents. The life history of Ngodup , college student, interviewed in Delhi brings out the relationship of students with their housemothers. Ngodup says that: "For 10 years I had no information about my parents and vice versa. They believed that I was dead. I was looked after and raised by TCV, Suja and later by TCV upper Dharamsala". "I am very close to the elders (for example, my housemother in TCV School, Dharamsala and other teachers and staff members there). This is because when I was growing up, I had none to turn to except them. They understand me better than my own parents". These bonds with foster parents sometimes even manifest in dilemmas over decisions over 'going back' to Tibet as it becomes difficult to break these ties created over a long period of time and to go to families they have had no contact with, sometimes, over a period of several years. What is poignant is the desire for the parents, in such cases, to be able to see their children "before they die". For the youth, in such cases, it becomes difficult to decide As Ngodup says, " I have grown up here in India amidst Tibetan teachers and friends who are telling me not to go. I feel undecided." The residential schools, for instance, the network of TCV schools with their 'homes' where the children stay with their foster parents as a 'family' emerge as important determinants in the identity formation of Tibetan children, particularly those who have come from Tibet at an early age to study in India. According to Lawrence Liang, they are important as "structures in place for the Tibetan refugee children to have a 'normal' childhood"(Liang, 1999:2). An example of this bond is evident in the words of Tsiring Dorjee-Sidhu, "Strangely the first time I ever met the rest of my 'family' was after my tenth standard when I went to Manali to meet them. While these strangers were my real family I never felt at home with them as I did with my TCV family. While all the stories I have told you about TCV may make it seem like we did not have a good childhood all I want to say in the end is that I really loved TCV and it was the best family that someone like me could hope to get. I am still in touch with my home father and mother" (cited in Liang, 1999: 71). It is the power of these bonds that makes many of the youth want to go back to the schools as teachers, after graduation. Tenzin Yangkyi, who came with her mother to India as a four year old, remembers her mother leaving her behind and her crying as she left. She is studying in Laxmi Bai College in Delhi University and says that many students think of "coming back to our society to teach even though they are not paid well in the Tibetan schools to repay debts of gratitude that we feel for them. We consider our school classmates as our brothers and sisters. Our boarding house is called 'home' and an attachment is there for the small ones and for the elders". Poems written by school children in their school magazines, for instance,' Sherab-Lophel', a students' bi-monthly brought out by the Tibetan Homes School, Mussoorie express the emotions of love and gratitude that Tibetan children have for their schools /'homes' and towards their house parents. They also give some indication of the sense of self and identity of the children as being formed in the schools. Who am I? Who am I? I am a boy from Tibet Who lives in snow land Eating Tsampa and meat Rearing Yaks and sheeps. Who am I? I am a boy of refugee Since from the year of 1999 But due to the grace of H.H.The Dalai Lama I'm getting all the good facilities at free of cost. Who am I? I am s student of big institution Called Tibetan Homes School Due to the guidance given by my teachers, I feel, am going on the right path of life. Who am I? I am a follower of His Holiness To prevail peace on the earth With no difference of nationality, caste and age. But with a spirit of harmony always. Who am I? I am a reporter of the BBC news Who will one day make the announcement The real condition of Tibet. -Kalsang (Home no#25) (Source: Sherab-Lophel, March April,2005, Tibetan Homes School, Mussoorie) My Great Foster Parent My Great Foster Parent Oh! My great foster parents,I am lucky to get the kind blessing of yours what a lucky boy am I to get your love. I never had a parent like you in my life. Where I can see the reflection of my real parents. Oh! My great foster parents, I am lucky to get the kind blessings of yours I never had the kind of blessings like that In my whole life. I consider you as the real god: Disguised in human being. Your care for us and the lessons Valuing small things will be cherished forever. Oh! My great foster parents, How can I ever repay your kindness, The moments shared with you is unforgettable. And all I can say is "THANK YOU!!!" Pema Wangchen ,Home-14. (Source: Sherab-Lophel, March April,2005, Tibetan Homes School, Mussoorie) a) School Culture: Role of Tibetan Language Tibetan language can be regarded as another very strong reinforcement of Tibetan ethnicity and identity in Tibetan schools and has emerged from an almost exclusive use of Tibetan language inside classrooms as well as outside in the school campus not only in the residential schools but also in the day schools in the settlements. Traditional Tibetan language (U-Tsang dialect) has been seen as an important and irreplaceable component of Tibetan identity for the Tibetan community in exile. It is believed that preservation of language is a "survival cause", as the prime reason for coming into exile was to preserve their unique linguistic and cultural heritage. This belief can be seen translated into the educational policies formulated by the Department of Education of the Government in exile over the years. The Tibetanization of Education project introduced in TCV schools in 1984 (followed by other CTSA and other schools in 1995) and the new Basic Education Policy on Education for Tibetans in Exile introduced in 2004. Both have been efforts in this direction, which have brought about radical changes in the system of education system of Tibetans in exile, particularly in the field of choice of mother tongue as the medium of instruction. b).Textbooks & Subjects Radical changes were brought about in terms of preparation and publication of a series of Tibetan language textbooks to teach and inform students on aspects of Tibetan language, religion, culture and history. The content of the textbooks suggest that the aim is to provide knowledge and information to students about aspects of traditional culture that cannot be transplanted to India. I looked at a few books (in English), for instance, the History book meant for classes above VI in TCV schools. A History of Tibet Book-1 'The Land of the Snows' has a chapter called 'A Visit from the Nomads'. A paragraph from this chapter given below provides an idea about the way textbooks are being used in exile for cultural preservation. "In the past, nearly half the population of Tibet lived as wandering mountain nomads. Most lived in the wild Amdo and Kham regions of northeast Tibet, though there were others on the great plains in the north, and in the remoter mountains of the west as well. It was a hard but vigorous life Before dawn the women would rise and milk the female yaks, called dris. Then, they would serve hot, buttered tea to their families, and, as, in the villages, a small offering of food and juniper was made on simple stone altar outside the tent " (Source: Gibb, A History of Tibet Book-1 'The Land of the Snows', 2004:69). Other than highlighting socio-cultural aspects and ways of life of the people in Tibet before the Chinese occupation, political aspects are also dealt with, specially the Chinese takeover of Tibet in 1959, the events preceding and following it. The objective seems to be not only to inform the students about these political realities but, more importantly, to develop feelings of Tibetan nationalism amongst them. The History book 'A History of Tibet Book-2 'Independence to Exile' meant for classes VIII-IX in the chapter 'Tibet is Crushed' highlights the following aspects. "From April 1959, then, all pretense of allowing the Tibetans any say in conducting their own affairs was abandoned. A virtual military dictatorship was set up in Lhasa A reign of terror was begun against all those thought to have aided, or even sympathized with the recent uprising Most lamas ended up in forced labour camps, or were executed in the most horrifying ways. Nor did the poorest peasants escape from this wave of persecution. Anyone even suspected of opposing Chinese rule was punished and executed. Indeed, so bad was the situation in Tibet immediately after 1959, that a Commission of the United Nations- on the evidence of the thousands of Tibetan refugees pouring into India-described the Chinese behaviour to the Tibetan people as 'genocide'. "In the years following 1959, Tibetan culture and traditions continued to be attacked and destroyed. All education was now in Chinese, religion was declared to be 'poison' and effectively banned, and many young children were forcibly removed from their parents and sent to China to be indoctrinated. Meanwhile, Chinese officials continued to hold the most important posts in the Tibetan administration". The last chapter of the book, 'The Future' expresses the "fervent wish of most exiles" for the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan refugees to "return to Tibet"(Source: (Gibb, 'A History of Tibet Book-2 'Independence to Exile', 1987:90). Thus, the history and geography lessons and the lessons on polity emerge as an important means through which children are told and taught about their rich past and through which their imagination of Tibet, as a nation in exile, emerges. Thus, the language classes serve as a practical means of transmitting traditional culture alongwith providing the students with a "thorough modern education". In line with this aim, the Tibetan schools have adopted a common syllabus for grades one to eight, with standardized curricula, courses and textbooks all prepared by NCERT. Schools with grades nine and above were affiliated to CBSE and the programmes were standardized with a view for preparing students for AISSE. c).Pedagogy & Co-Curricular activities While a series of new textbooks and courses have been introduced in the Tibetan schools over the years and represent modernization of the traditional system of education and curriculum, the pedagogical approaches used in classrooms are still very much subject to criticism as they continue to retain much of their earlier features. Learning tends take place in a very passive way with limited student participation and initiative. Monastic pedagogical methods of lecture-based teaching and mantra reciting and guru-submitting seem to be very common and also seemingly at odds with modern student-centered pedagogy. There are many Tibetan holidays (alongwith Indian) that are celebrated in school, though the numbers of days of celebration has been shortened as compared to pre-occupation Tibet due to situational constraints in exile. The Holiday schedule of the TCV schools refers to the following holidays observed in the schools: Parents Day; Tibetan National Uprising Day; Tibetan Women's Uprising Day; Second Saturday; State Day; Saka Dawa; SOS Day; Zamling Chisang; Birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama; Choekor Duechen; Independence Day of India; Democracy Day of Tibet; Staff Day; Gandhi Jayanti; Tibetan Youth Day; Village/School anniversary day; Lha-bab-Duechen; Children's Day; Nobel Peace Prize Day; Nyanpa-Guzom; Republic Day of India; Tibetan New Year and Choenga-Choepa. Non-Tibetan teachers are permitted to take holidays on: Holi, Good Friday, Dussehra, Diwali (Source: Education Code for TCV Schools, Dharamsala, H.P, 1999). Prayers seem to compose an important aspect of life in the Tibetan schools. Along with the half-hour (daily) prayer sessions, there are occasions when the whole school community-students, teachers and dormitory house parents all get together in special prayer and incense-burning ceremonies (bsangs-gsol) in a prayer-hall in the school or in the temple/monastery located on campus or elsewhere in the settlement. These prayer ceremonies represent a blend of the religious as well as the political as references are made to the status and situation of Tibet. These occasions also seek to refresh the memory and remind the younger generations of their duties towards their nation, Tibet, thus, helping in the development of an ethnic self-definition. With reference to co-curricular activities in the present Tibetan schools, the semi-structured discussions with Tibetan youth refer to holding of many co-curricular and extra-curricular activities in schools such as intra and interschool competitions in dance, music, debate (Tibetan & English), quiz, elocution (Tibetan & English), essay-contest, athletics-meet etc, painting and Tibetan calligraphy, holding of the 'Tibet-Our-Country-Project', celebration of important days according to the Tibetan calendar, such as celebration of the Dalai Lama's birthday; observance of the 10th March Uprising Day etc d).'Rituals' and 'Ceremonies' in school With regard to Tibetan children studying in Tibetan schools in India, school rituals, such as the morning assembly emerge as important determinants in identity formation of the children. To those children who have never seen Tibet (were born in India, Nepal Bhutan etc) as well as those who were born there (but left the country at a very young age so were unable to fully comprehend the nature of Tibetan identity), it is through observance of these rituals and ceremonies in the school that a picture of Tibet as a pure, unchanged, idyllic, sacred, land of their ancestors emerges and takes shape in their imagination and goes on to become the most important element of their identity as Tibetan refugees in exile. These school rituals and ceremonies, emerge as important 'transmitters of identity' which more importantly create, foster and celebrate a we-feeling amongst the students, teachers, house parents by bringing them together Reference can also be made here to other such aspects and school activities which seek to encourage the idea of cultural preservation for the survival of the unique heritage of the community. For instance, Dechen , a student in the hostel, states that there used to be Inter-house competitions in cultural and sports categories between the four houses in her school, ie;Songsten; Trisong; Triral; Nyatri (She was in this house).These are all names of ancient Tibetan kings. 'Tibet-Our-Country Project': Celebration of an important month-long event called the 'Tibet-Our-Country Project' seems to be a very significant school activity playing an important role in educating the Tibetan children on aspects of Tibetan culture and identity as also influencing the ethnic identity formation of the former. Peace and protest marches are also an integral part of school life. On occasions such as March 10th, Tibetan Uprising day, students and teachers take to the streets, with placards (they had stayed up late in the nights to prepare) stating, 'Tibet Ki Aazaadi- Bharat Ki Suraksha'; 'Long Live Dalai Lama'; 'China- Go Out of Tibet', 'We Want Justice' etc with the local Indian shopkeepers watching the spectacle with bemused or bored expressions. e).Role of teachers: the schools contribute towards the development of an intense type of nationalism by providing a legitimate official Tibetan context for what would otherwise be individual, personal statements from individual refugees. The impact of respected, awe-inspiring authority figures such as teachers, like "we are refugees; we are different; we have to go back" alongwith the thoughtfully constructed school environment and activities within and outside it (daily singing of national anthem; staging of inter-house debates/elocution contests etc on Tibet, its independence and related issues, protest marches on occasions, such as, annual 10th March Uprising Day etc), all combine to provide and official context to the essential identity of Tibetanness that every Tibetan child tends to come across and embrace and the schools' role in promoting nationalism, thus, becomes even more evident. The words of Tsundue, Tenzin , a youth poet-activist are very expressive in this context. He writes, "When we were children in a Tibetan school in Himachal pradesh, our teachers would regale us with tales of Tibetans suffering in Tibet. We were often told that we were refugees and that we all bore a big 'R' on our foreheads. It didn't make much sense to us, we only wished the teacher would hurry up and finish his talk and not keep us standing in the hot sun, with our oiled hair. For a very long time I sincerely believed that we were a special kind of people with an 'R' on our foreheads. We did look different from the local Indian families who lived around our school campus.." "Perhaps the first thing I learnt at school was that we were refugees and we didn't belong to this country" (Tsundue, Tenzin, 2004). Talks with Tibetan youth I came across also reveal such feelings. To Ngodup, a student who came to India when he was very young, the idea of Tibetanness grew only in school. "The idea that I am Tibetan grew in school, especially during the 'Tibet-Our Country Project' every year. Every they would release statistics of Tibetan political prisoners who were tortured and killed in Tibet, which initially, I used to find difficult to believe as I had no idea of all this while I was in Tibet. Questions like, "where is all this happening?" "How come, I never saw?" would arise in my mind. It was going on peace marches from school shouting slogans, like, 'Chinese! Go out of Tibet!' 'Tibet belongs to Tibetans'! that I realized my identity as Tibetan. In the 4th , 5th and 6th classes, our teachers would tell us that we are refugees; we are different; we have to go back. Indians have their own country and we don't. They would say that we have extra responsibility to do well in studies and we have to work hard. If others (Indians) study for 2 hours, we need to put in 4 hours. They would tell us that we are completely different from Indians and that we should not get carried away with fashion". The role of the Tibetan schools in India in constructing identities of the Tibetan children through a certain school culture, in terms of school curriculum through the following agents become important: a) residential schools & the Institutionalized role of house parents b) language c) role of (textbooks & subjects and (pedagogy & co-curricular activities, primarily, 'rituals' & 'ceremonies') curriculum, thus, emerges as an important. Students are taught to regard themselves as the proud inheritors of future 'free' Tibet and as the heirs of a unique cultural and religious heritage in exile. All of the above create certain values and attitudes amongst the children, which contributes to form and forge their sense of Tibetanness and Tibetan identity. These elements of Tibetan identity that are formed, while in school, and remain an essential part of the identities of the Tibetan youth in Delhi are: i). Feelings of intense nationalism: many scholars seem to believe that this feeling of nationalism is also 'militant' in nature borne out of frustration amongst the youth with the 'middle-way' approach of exile politics not bearing any fruitful results upon their 'freedom struggle'. However my discussions with the small sample of youth studying in Delhi university did not reveal any such 'militant' aspirations, though the feeling of nationalism and pride in their Tibetanness is strong, they seem to have full faith in the Dalai Lama's approach (peaceful methods for grant of 'real' autonomy) which is supposed to be a more 'practical' method. ii). Concept of The Dalai Lama as the sole Tibetan leader and International icon: The Dalai Lama is not only the most important spiritual and temporal leader of the Tibetan refugees in India; he is also a living god for them, their 'protector', the manifestation of Chenresig, Lord of Compassion.The older as well as the younger generations, may of whom have been born and brought up in exile have grown up with framed photographs of the former beaming down at them with an expression of benevolent compassion, not only in schools (classrooms; 'homes') but also everywhere in the Tibetan settlements, not only in Tibetan houses but also in all the offices of the Tibetan government in exile, Tibetan restaurants; shops; cafes; youth associations; beauty parlors; bakery shops; handicraft centers/shops etc. The story of the 'banishment' and 'forced exile' of the living god is faithfully passed on to children through textbooks; quotations by him form an important part of school calendars; his birthday celebrations have emerged as an important time for reaffirming Tibetan ness and unquestionable loyalty to the one and only leader of the Tibetans in exile. This feeling of absolute adoration and respect for the Dalai Lama seems to remain, even as they grow up, outside Tibetan settlements and shift to bigger cities like Delhi. To each one of the youth I talked to, the Dalai Lama, is the most important role-model they admire who they look upto and who comprises the essence of what and who they are today (they are 'alive' and 'doing well' in exile, 'because of him'). He is revered, also for being the most important advocate of their cause in International circles, the key to their future destiny. iii). Association of Tibetan Buddhism with Tibetan identity: Though intergenerational gap seems to be evident in the amount of importance given to religion in the day-to-day lives of the young and the old. However, religion, particularly, Tibetan Buddhism, seems to be an integral part of their identity as Tibetan refugees. Right from birth, the role of religion in shaping their identity is visible: a mantra that is perpetually on their lips is 'Om Mani Padme Hum', an invocation of the boddhisatva Avalokiteshwara; brightly-colored Buddhist prayer flags fluttering from the rooftops in the settlement schools and all houses in the settlement. The youth shed light on the important role of religion in their lives when they were in school with the daily morning assembly starting with a Tibetan Buddhist prayer to the god of wisdom, Manjushri; special classes on religion held by Lamas and geshe's; holidays observed on days of religious significance (for instance:Saka Dawa on 11th June every year commemorating the birth; enlightenment and passing away of the Buddha); prayer ceremonies in a temple on campus attended by students, teachers, house parents etc. School textbooks on religion and culture consciously aim to communicate to children the importance of religion in life and give teachings on Buddhism that seek to create certain values and attitudes of compassion, honesty and sacrifice amongst the children. In college in Delhi, many of the youth admitted that the daily habit of offering water to the Tibetan deities and the Dalai Lama's photograph and doing prostrations before going off to bed every night (an integral part of their school life) had slackened. However, they reaffirmed the fact that though might not seem to be 'so religious' now, religion is still important to them, they pray 'when they get time' and even attend Wednesday prayer sessions in the Tibetan Youth Hostel (though they are not very regular with it). Tibetan Buddhism thus seems to emerge as a marker of Tibetan youth identity in exile that manifests itself in expressions such as the routine Wednesday prayer sessions in the hostel, and also acts of 'compassion' such as releasing of fishes in the water to seek the 'long life' of the Dalai Lama etc. iv). The sense of cultural uniqueness and importance of preserving Tibetan culture, language and identity: An urgency to preserve the unique and precious Tibetan culture, language and identity is communicated to the Tibetan children studying in Tibetan schools', not only with the help of curriculum and pedagogy specifically designed for the same purpose but also through activities, as stated above. An important component of these co-curricular and extra-curricular activities is that they emphasize upon the uniqueness and preciousness of the cultural and linguistic heritage that Tibetans' possess and that is being systematically destroyed by the Han Chinese in Tibet through systematic genocide. For instance, the exhibitions organized by the gu-chu-sum (an organization formed by ex-political prisoners in exile) in the schools' where photographs of Tibetan prisoners being tortured alongwith the torture weapons (smuggled out of China) are exhibited, creates a strong feeling of urgency to save their race from extinction. This is the reason why mixed marriages with people from other nationalities are not considered favourable as it amounts to their abdicating their responsibility towards their community identity. This concern manifests itself in the conscious desire of the youth to marry only within the community. Most of the interviewed youth stated that they would prefer to marry within their own community rather than outside. B. Role of the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) Alongwith the role of the school, the role of the most important Tibetan youth organization, i.e. the Tibetan Youth Congress in fostering a type of "militant nationalism" also has to be examined. The Tibetan Youth Congress was set up to create a "sense of cultural solidarity and "group identification" by inducting the youth in community welfare and social service programmes (Saklani, 1984:330). It is supposed to be the 'most active NGO of Tibetans worldwide' having more than 30,000 members. It's mission is to fight for the "complete independence for the whole of Tibet"(www.tibetanyouthcongress.org).However, over the years the TYC seems to have been displaying a more militant nationalism and coming into conflict with the ideologies of the older generation of Tibetan leaders in exile, who led by the Dalai Lama have been advocating 'real autonomy' of Tibet as against the TYC's demand for "complete independence" of Tibet. TYC, more than an organization seems to represent a certain necessary period of one's life as youth, as a kind of rites de passage that every Tibetan youth is supposed to go through after school. As Tsering, Topden, President of San Fransisco Bay area, Regional Tibetan Youth Congress (RTYC) puts it, "Tibetan Youth Congress is the must-read flyer that's thrust in one's hand as soon as he reaches certain maturity, that threshold to armpit hair, the first cigarette and the sexual awakenings. The contents of the publication, the raison de tre of the organization; these are all known to him, right down to the green logo (yet another version of Tibetan map), one more souvenir to add to the images Tibetan on the mantelpiece of his exile identity"(Tsering, T: 2004). The RTYC in Delhi, also, seems to have a significant presence amongst the Tibetan youth, as most of the youth who were interviewed, stated that while many of them are not members of the TYC, they still participate in activities, peace protests and demonstrations organized by it (even 'illegal' ones such as storming of the Chinese embassy etc and suffering lathi-charge and even courting arrest due to the same). Many of them seem to be paradoxically opposed to the use of 'militant' or violent means in Tibet's struggle, and support the Middle Way approach (of real autonomy as against total independence) as is advocated by the Dalai Lama. Elements of Identities of Tibetan Youth in Delhi An analysis of the identities of Tibetan youth, thus, needs to consider the values, attitudes of the former already created in Tibetan schools' in India, as explored in the above section. I have, therefore, tried to explore in this posting the role of school culture that seeks to be distinctly Tibetan in nature and which helps form, give character and depth to the identities of the children as Tibetan refugee children. These are the elements that remain, as parts of their identities as they leave the portals of their school and go out into the bigger world. It is a combination of their past experiences (place of birth and schooling) with their present experiences in exile (may include spaces and relationships within the hostel and without (college campus etc) as also the 'global resources' of television; cinema; e-mail; FM Radio etc) alongwith the association with activities of organizations such as the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) that constitutes the bedrock or the core elements of Tibetan identity in exile. It is on this 'bedrock' of identity that the life experiences of Tibetan youth in cities (who come to pursue their higher education) build on adding the supplementary layers and the 'top-soil' to constitute their present identities which are multiple, hybrid and constantly in flux. Warm wishes, Mallica Send instant messages to your online friends http://in.messenger.yahoo.com Stay connected with your friends even when away from PC. Link: http://in.mobile.yahoo.com/new/messenger/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060615/28ce8987/attachment.html From jeebesh at sarai.net Thu Jun 15 18:00:44 2006 From: jeebesh at sarai.net (Jeebesh Bagchi) Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 18:00:44 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Prol-position Message-ID: http://www.prol-position.net/ "This website and the prol-position newsletter are part of an open project discussing and circulating articles from different regions, translated from different languages, and reporting on different spheres of exploitation and proletarian struggle around the world." From cahen.x at levels9.com Thu Jun 15 20:08:30 2006 From: cahen.x at levels9.com (xavier cahen) Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 16:38:30 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] pourinfos Newsletter / 15-08 to 06-21-2006 Message-ID: <449170E6.4020304@levels9.com> pourinfos.org l'actualité du monde de l'art / daily Art news ----------------------------------------------------------------------- From Thursday June 15, 2006 to Thursday June 21, 2006 (included) ------------------------------------------------------------------- (mostly in french) @ 001 (15/06/2006) Performance : « Oeil-océan », performance, Anne-Sarah Le Meur, Girlsatwork, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33229 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 002 (15/06/2006) Meetings: day of studies "Interfaces Tangible" on June 15, 2006, Laboratoires Paragraphe - University Paris 8, Saint-Denis, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33235 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 003 (15/06/2006) Performance :"Jaimais plus jaimais", Thomas Braichet & Julien d'Abrigeon , Thursday June 15, 2006, Le Plateau / Fonds régional d’art contemporain d’Ile-de-France, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33282 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 004 (15/06/2006) Exhibition : “Mirrors Pixels”, Bruno Girard, Gallery mamia bretesché, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33343 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 005 (15/06/2006) Exhibition : SAMUEL MORSE MEETS BRIAN WILSON, Dominique Blay + Angela Detanico & Raphaël Lain, Le Commissariat, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33361 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 006 (15/06/2006) Publication : COMIC BOX, the review of the comics-books, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33370 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 007 (15/06/2006) Various : ECOUTE_QUE_COÛTE 06/06, Atelier de Création Radiophonique, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33372 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 008 (15/06/2006) Various : Formation art, Fraap, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33373 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 009 (15/06/2006) Meetings : Plasticien du Web, Thursday June 15, 2006, and Kurt HENTSCHLÄGER, Sunday June 18, 2006, Troisième oeil / Face au Présent, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33377 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 010 (15/06/2006) Call :3rd ZEBRA Poetry Film Award!, Berlin, Germany. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33380 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 011 (15/06/2006) Call : European Art Students' Digital Works, Ljubljana, Slovenia. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33381 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 012 (15/06/2006) Call : «Women of power, power of women» Assistants Photographes 2006 Prize, Photographie.com, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33382 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 013 (15/06/2006) Call : XXII th international festival of video art and new media, Clermont-Ferrand, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33383 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 014 (16/06/2006) Exhibition : Heat, Marcel!, Funds regional of contemporary art of Languedoc-Roussillon, Montpellier, Nîmes, Alès, Milhaud, Villeneuve Lez Avignon, Sigean, Cases de Penne, Bélesta, Bagnols-les-Bains, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=2997 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 015 (16/06/2006) Exhibition : “High Pressures” Meets around the print, Association transArtcafé, Antibes, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33276 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 016 (16/06/2006) Exhibition : “Video Festival art” of Yokohama, is this a good news, Université of Arts of Tokyo, Japan. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33345 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 017 (16/06/2006) Exhibition : UNITED ISLANDS TOUR III, Cannelle Tanc & Frédéric Vincent, Copyright Projektbüro, Berlin, Germany. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33349 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 018 (16/06/2006) Exhibition : Lavage/Salissage Multiplexage, Les coeurs purs, La MACH_Inante, Montreuil, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33366 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 019 (16/06/2006) Exhibition : Meetings, Le bleu du ciel editions, éof, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33367 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 020 (16/06/2006) Exhibition : A little Alice, Chinese underground, June 16, 2006, Caméléon, Cabaret Aléatoire, Marseille, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33368 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 021 (16/06/2006) Publication : Prétention d’édition QQ1, Charles Pennequin, Lucille Calmel, Antoine Boute et Ariane Bart, Littératures Pirates, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33371 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 022 (17/06/2006) Exhibition : PROJECTION VII, Patrick Rimond, Galerie KH15, Berlin, Germany. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=3007 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 023 (17/06/2006) Exhibition : The Festival of water, Wattwiller, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33103 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 024 (17/06/2006) Exhibition : Residencys : Bouchées doubles , the kitchen, Montauban, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33314 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 025 (17/06/2006) Meetings : The absolute deviation, Salon du livre libertaire et des médias libres, 17 -18 juin 2006, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33336 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 026 (17/06/2006) Exhibition : Katrin Sigurdardottir, Frac Bourgogne, Dijon, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33365 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 027 (18/06/2006) Exhibition : photo Gisèle Freund, House of the Latin America, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33137 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 028 (18/06/2006) Exhibition : Protokolle, Muntadas, StuttgartWürttembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart - WKV, Stuttgart, Germany. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33160 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 029 (18/06/2006) Meetings : "SIMULACRUM POPULI. PAYSAGES PARALLELES", Jaanis Garancs, Sunday June 18, 2006, association Bandits-Mages et Ellipse, Galerie du Haïdouc, Bourges, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33318 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 030 (18/06/2006) Exhibition : « Routes », Atelier d'Estienne, Pont-Scorff, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33363 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 031 (18/06/2006) Program : Cinéma Le Barbizon, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33369 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 032 (18/06/2006) Meetings: “The culture, for which? Test on the limits of cultural democratization”, Jean-Claude Wallach, Sunday June 18, 2006, Editions of l'Attribut,Toulouse, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33378 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 033 (19/06/2006) Exhibition : “2 Days of night… ”, 134 artists in 93 huts, Places Saint-Sulpice, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33344 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 034 (19/06/2006) Exhibition : "Désir d'imprevu" a project of contemporary art in real time, Studiometis, Galerie du Théâtre de l'Agora d'Evry, Evry, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33364 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 035 (20/06/2006) Exhibition : “A critical situation! ”, Joan Salo Braut, Astérides with Buy-Sellf Art Club, Marseille, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33319 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 036 (20/06/2006) Meetings : Women of James Joyce: of Molly Bloom in Anna Livia Plurabelle, by Franz Kaltenbeck, psychoanalyst, Tuesday June 20, 2006, Maison populaire, Montreuil, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33374 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 037 The artist and his “models”. Jean-Claude Moineau http://pourinfos.org/encours/item.php?id=3019 L’artiste et ses "modèles". Jean-Claude Moineau http://pourinfos.org/encours/item.php?id=3020 From ish at sarai.net Thu Jun 15 21:43:08 2006 From: ish at sarai.net (ish at sarai.net) Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 18:13:08 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] Hamari Dilli : Sound bites on delhi Message-ID: Hi , following are some recordings we had done in 2002(i think) for a Pilot radio prog on delhi which never got finished. We had gone delhi around recording sound bites of delhi and asking people what do they feel about delhi and the kind of life they are leading in this city. So i have edited the final part and put it together as a programme. It is called 'Hamari Dilli' and is available at the Sarai Archive. best Ish From sananth at sancharnet.in Fri Jun 16 10:37:34 2006 From: sananth at sancharnet.in (Ananth) Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2006 10:37:34 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Request for Information Message-ID: <6.1.0.6.0.20060616103130.01a686d0@smma.sancharnet.in> Hi, Looking for information on nature and dynamics of the Multi-level marketing business (also referred to as network marketing or referral marketing business or pyramid schemes). Any idea where we can find research oriented articles, court judgements, laws, etc on the business (excluding newspaper reports and company websites) on the business. Ananth From machine at zerosofzeta.com Fri Jun 16 15:56:45 2006 From: machine at zerosofzeta.com (Yogi) Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2006 15:56:45 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Women's Summer Outreach Program 2006 Message-ID: <1d804b40606160326s62721951p7e280881ec101a7b@mail.gmail.com> I dont know if thre are any women programmers on this list. but if there are then this might interest them: http://www.gnome.org/projects/wsop/ Women's Summer Outreach Program 2006 Following on from GNOME's participation in Google's Summer of Code, we've decided to sponsor three projects in a similar fashion to the Summer of Code, but for women only. GNOME had no Summer of Code applications from women, and we think it's time to do something to encourage more women to join our development community. How will it work? This summer, GNOME will sponsor three female students to hack on GNOME-related projects from the comfort of their own home. Each project will last two months, and each participant will each receive a stipend of 3,000 US$. You can submit your own proposal for how to improve GNOME, or choose from our list of potential projects. You don't need to be the world's greatest coder to take part, since several mentors will be assigned to get you up to speed and help with any problems. If you're worried about whether you're suitable, feel free to ask us what we think. How can I help? First and foremost, we need you to spread the word! If you know any women who might be interested, whether they're students of computer science or another field, please tell them about the program! If you're near a CS department, we'd be thrilled if you could ask to have our poster (PNG, PDF, SVG) put up. Do let us know that you've done it so that we can follow up with the department. Thanks! When? We're accepting applications immediately, and will stop accepting them on July 1st 2006. The projects will then run from July 1st-September 1st. Where can I read more? While this project isn't affiliated with Google, Google's Summer of Code Student FAQ contains many questions and answers that may be relevant — please e-mail us at gnome-wsop-list at gnome.org if there's something you aren't clear on. Isn't this unfair to men? What about people who were rejected from Google's Summer of Code? The recent FLOSSPOLS report describes many opportunities that women miss out on when getting involved with computing and free software, ranging from being introduced to computers at a later age, being less encouraged to specialise in computing, having few female role models, having less free time to spend programming than men do, and being on the receiving end of sexism when they do try to get involved. We think it's this imbalance that's unfair, and we're trying to help fix it. As for whether this is unfair to Summer of Code applicants, we don't think so – this is GNOME's money to use how it sees fit, and we want to use it to correct a disturbing lack of participation from women in the GNOME development community. We're doing this for outreach reasons as well as for technical ones, and so just adding another three projects to the twenty Summer of Code projects being sponsored wouldn't achieve our stated goals. If you'd like to talk about this with us, feel free to get in touch. How do I get started? If you're considering applying, we encourage you to drop us an e-mail at gnome-wsop-list at gnome.org and let us know what you're planning and give us an opportunity to give you feedback on the idea and answer any questions you have. Application form We'll have an application form available here shortly; please check back in a day or two, and e-mail us if you have any questions. Who's running this? This project is being run by the GNOME Foundation. The program coordinators (Chris Ball, Hanna Wallach and Vincent Untz) are happy to answer any questions you have about the program via e-mail to gnome-wsop-list at gnome.org. Press enquiries Please see our press release for further details. Acknowledgements Many thanks to Máirín Duffy for designing our poster and Raphael Slinckx for his work on the website. From samit.basu at gmail.com Fri Jun 16 16:50:03 2006 From: samit.basu at gmail.com (samit basu) Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2006 16:50:03 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Trousers of Time: The Indian superhero Message-ID: <2fa79cb60606160420n73d19834gfb42926e16553e69@mail.gmail.com> "You must admit that the genesis of the great man depends on the long series of complex influences which has produced the race in which he appears, and the social state into which that race has slowly grown....Before he can remake his society, his society must make him." – Herbert Spencer Superhumans – Nietzschean uberbeings who bend circumstances, stories and worlds around their fiery wills – are creatures Indians should be familiar with. Among the heroes and villains of the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Puranas we have several characters who could teach Superman a thing or two about high-flying deeds of derring-do. And through a strange combination of market forces, timing, and serendipity, the time seems to be ripe for Indian superheroes to step up and be counted – after making some very serious decisions about clothing, of course. It's an interesting time to be discussing superheroes from India, because Krrish, a big-budget superhero film, is due to release in a few days, featuring state-of-the-art special effects, a martial-arts choreographer from Hong Kong, a cast full of Bollywood stars, music, dancing, chaste love and lots of leather – and is expecting competition from another Bollywood SFF film, Alag. Besides this, Virgin Comics, a new publisher looking to redefine comics and animation worldwide using India-themed content, is due to unleash its first collection of Indian heroes (not superheroes, they say, because cape-and-tights crusaders are best left to traditional comics powerhouses DC and Marvel) in about a month – which means that the time to discuss them as 'potential' phenomena is fast running out. While the establishment of Virgin Comics and Animation is definitely cause for hope among Indian speculative fiction writers looking to start out professionally and it is to be hoped that Krrish will turn out to be a compelling, entertaining superhero blockbuster, experience leads one to believe that Bollywood's attempts at speculative-fiction material are best discussed in advance, because the actual viewing of SFF Bollywood movies thus far has always been extremely inimical to discussion of these ludicrous masterpieces as anything other than a source of unintentional humour. A prime example of this is an internationally famous box-office turkey named 'The Indian Superman', a completely unabashed copy of the original, featuring Dharmendra as the Jor-El copy, Ashok Kumar as Jonathan Kent and Puneet 'Duryodhan' Issar as Superman, and also starring Jagdeep and Shakti Kapoor. Fortunately, this is not India's best-known superhero film thus far. That honour goes to Mr. India, where Anil Kapoor plays a man visible only in areas lit by red lights. The annals of non-superhero SFF Bollywood films, too, are full of unforgettable classics – Ajooba, for instance, featuring the who's who of Bollywood at the time, and featuring Russian-made monsters, large stuffed tigers and a Rishi Kapoor miniature doll cavorting inside a blouse. Of course, not even the worst excesses of Bollywood SFF filmmaking could match Lollywood's International Gorillay, the climax of which features arch-fiend Salman Rushdie being laser-skewered by four lightning-emitting flying Korans. But since these essays aim to take South Asian SFF and its future seriously, perhaps these classics are best left for other discussions. Like their TV counterparts Shaktimaan, Aryamaan, Karma and Captain Vyom, Bollywood's superheroes thus far have mostly been badly produced, badly copied version of well-known western costumed vigilantes from film and comics, though Bollywood's defenders might point out this is only right, given how vigorously early American superhero comics copied one another. Indian comics have also featured a number of interesting spec-fic heroes, from Chacha Chowdhury's sidekick Sabu from Jupiter to Amitabh Bachchan as the pink-clad Supremo, in an Indrajaal Comics series featuring Bollywood scriptwriter Gulzar, from half-machine RAW spy Koushik to Raj Comics snake-man Nagraj. The heroes of Indrajaal comics, notably the dashing detective Bahadur, commanded genuine cult appeal and are cherished collectors' items today. The superheroes of Raj, Diamond and Manoj comics also inspired a considerable fan following in India, thriving on local content, the intrinsic appeal of comics and the lack of high-quality alternatives. Comprehensive lists are available on the Internet, created lovingly by fans who grew up devouring the adventures of Indrajaal Comics heroes Mandrake the Magician and Lee Falk's Phantom – indeed, the lack of memorable Indian superheroes is even more ironic when one considers that the Phantom, widely believed to be the first comics action hero to wear a skin-tight costume, was originally based in India, in the 'Bengalla' forests, and his first enemies were the Singh Brotherhood. The comic-book superhero in its current from is an American creation, and has been popular since the late 1930s. Other nations have superheroes too, of course – Japan probably has even more than the US – but have not managed to sell them to the world as well as the Americans. It's interesting to note that thanks to the superhero, speculative fiction is the mainstream in comics, and more literary, serious, set-in-reality comics have to seek audiences in the margins – a hierarchy that resembles Bollywood more than Hollywood, assuming that Bollywood films, thanks to their not-so-realistic action sequences and musical numbers, can be said to contain speculative content. Be that as it may, the triumphal march of the American comic-book hero across media and across countries is a sign of many things – globalization, Americanization, the triumph of hype and marketing, the universal power of the heroic archetype. And the evolution of the superhero down the decades has been a potent metaphor for the state of the world – from the clean-cut, often absurdly simplistic, high-minded, clean-living and completely unconvincing heroes of the Golden Age, the confused, violent, bitter heroes of the Silver Age and the amoral, angst-ridden, equally confused, thoroughly deconstructed, often self-mocking, ultimately human super-protagonists of the current day. And as the superhero genre becomes more and more complex, and succumbs to two major pushing forces – Hollywood, pushing it towards the pop-culture mainstream, and grown-up comic-books called graphic novels pushing it towards literature, multicultural, diverse heroes become a necessity, to deal with an ever-growing, ever-changing audience not just in America, but across the world. Mainstream comics down the decades have always been more audience-driven than writer-driven; the phenomenon of comicbook writers becoming famous literary figures working in various media with fan followings outside the field of comics is fairly recent. While science fiction and fantasy literature have always been a step ahead of their readers – in fact, the process is interesting and Ourobouros-like; a path-breaking new work creates an army of fans, and copies of that work then flood the SFF market to feed those same fans, resulting in the need for more path-breaking work – superhero comicbooks, until recently, were much more a reflection of what their publishers thought their fans wanted. Through letters, conventions and now the Internet, fans have been one of the key factors in determining what the superhero industry does, and where it goes – sometimes to the extent that fans wrote in and voted to decide major plot developments, such as the death of the second Robin. And as America became more multicultural, and its comics found their way around the world, the blatant cultural/social/political stereotyping of the early days had to be done away with. New, important sections of fandom had to be represented in the comics they read, wholly new and very diverse sets of people were reading comicbooks, and people who were offended by representations of their kind in comics found it easier to raise their voices in protest – so black and Asian characters could no longer play just one note or serve as identikit cannon fodder, female characters could no longer be silly sex objects, right-wing patriotism had to be toned down a bit, and a few superheroes had to be gay. While this diversification couldn't do away with stereotyping – many mainstream comicbooks remain riddled with the worst clichés in the world – blatant racism, sexism, jingoism and other politically incorrect prejudices were no longer openly acceptable. Along with this came a growing demand for new plots and new exotic settings – and once the word exotic featured in the list of demands, could India really ever be far behind? There are a surprisingly large number of Indian superheroes out there in the universes created by Marvel and DC, which no doubt means that there is a significant market among the South Asian diaspora for the comic series they feature in. And since Gotham comics started distributing Marvel and DC comics in India a few years ago, the demand can only have increased. The only thing that hasn't happened yet, alas, is research. Indian characters continue to fit into standard roles, and we're yet to see a South Asian comics hero who does for South Asians what Luke Cage did for African Americans, or what Northstar did for the gay community. And the arrival of Virgin Comics, and potentially other comic-book companies in its wake if its projects turn out to be successful, mean that the mainstream speculative comic becomes a tremendously exciting avenue of exploration for the South Asian writer and artist, both in its existing form and in potentially reinvented forms. Which is not to say that writers outside the subcontinent can't create South Asian convincing spec-fic comicbook heroes; just that they haven't really bothered to, yet, as the following list of Indian superheroes currently stomping around in the West will demonstrate. While the list is by no means comprehensive, it serves as a pointer to the roles available for South Asians in comics published worldwide today – and also reveals, alarmingly, that the Indian superheroes created in America, by and large, aren't particularly any better or more convincing than the American-clone superheroes created in India. Bombaby, the Screen Goddess, was a creation of Slave Labor Graphics, California, starring Saira Banu-esque Sangeeta Mukherjee, dutiful daughter (!), struggling sister, potential arranged marriage victim (!) and avatar of that well-known Hindu deity (!), the goddess of Mumbai (?) Grant Morrison, one of the brightest talents in comics worldwide, mind-bending writer of The Invisibles and Animal Man, came up with Vimanarama, where a young British-Asian boy named Ali, whose father runs a corner-shop (!) in Bradford (!) accidentally releases ancient monsters who want, of course, to destroy the world, and can only be stopped by the Ultra-Hadeen, a team of giant metal-clad Vishnu-avatar-esque superheroes similar to Jack Kirby's Eternals. Featured Bollywood (!) inspired artwork starring many lotuses. DC comics' deadliest assassin, Lady Shiva, isn't Indian, but is worshipped by turban-wearing fanatics (!) as an avatar (!) of Shiva (!) the famous Hindu goddess of death (?) Chandi Gupta, a DC Justice Leage Europe (JLE) member, was left by her parents with a cult (!) who, again, thought she was a Shiva incarnation (?). This cult was evil (!) and planned to sacrifice her. Like all clever Indians, Chandi turned NRI – in London, where she lived under the name Maya, she helped the JLE win a battle, and then joined them. On one of her earliest missions, she encountered and defeated her former guru, (!) the Mahayogi (!) Adri Nitall, was an unfortunate young lad from the village of Jajpur (!) who was turned into a vampire by Marvel's version of Dracula's minions, while his father, Taj (!) Nitall, hunted vampires with Van Helsingh. Black Box aka Commcast, Garabed Bashur (?), is a Marvel supervillain from India, who, now that India is a known IT hub, is a cyberpath who can psychically process electronic data. Right up there with Bashur in terms of common Indian names is Shakti Haddad, a genetics expert code-named Cerebra, who co-founded the X-Men of the future. Their names, however, fade into insignificance when confronted by Chris Claremont's IT genius Muaharam Ram. Chris Claremont, one of superhero comicdom's most respected writers, is also a frequent Indian character introducer, which is nice, except that his Indians are terrible caricatures like the bindi-wearing Amina Synge (?) or his two most famous Indian characters, Neal Sharra (?), or Thunderbird, who is from Calcutta, in Bangladesh and Assam (!), where his family owns a tea plantation and runs the Indian National Police (?). His lover, Karima Shapandar (?), the Omega Sentinel, is a former Indian National Police operative doomed to destroy mutants like Neal, which might have been a good idea. Of course, some Indian characters are better drawn than others – where 'better' is taken to mean 'no obvious mistakes.' Jinx, an Indian elemental sorceress, is a relatively inoffensive DC supervillain. Paras Gavaskar, or Indra, is a mutant Marvel superhero from the New X-Men, who is probably one of the most believable Indian superheroes out there. Fortunately there's nothing Hindu or god-like about him, he just has retractable armour plates. Spiderman India, an interesting relocation of the world's favourite web-crawler, featured a lungi-clad teenager named Pavitr Prabhakar taking on green goblin/rakshas and a multi-armed Doc Octopus-esque Hindu demon, and drew a lot of media attention in India, where even mainstream literary coverage is minimal. The winner of the prize for best-done Indian comics character goes to Fables creator Bill Willigham, for his stylish, smart and cliché-free version of the Jungle Book gang – Mowgli, a world-roaming secret agent who goes under the name of Vincent Jagatbehari, is an excellent creation and probably the only charismatic Indian in world comics today, and Kipling's animals are well extrapolated from the book. Of course, given how rare well-rounded (emotionally, that is) characters are in mainstream comics as a whole, and that the new evolved spec-fic comicbook (Watchmen, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Sandman, Preacher, Transmetropolitan, Fables, V for Vendetta, Hellboy) is essentially a product of the last two decades, the result of the maturing of an industry after years of professionals gaining expertise and experimenting with the form, it seems unreasonable to expect a wave of intelligent, fully formed South Asian heroes to emerge immediately, no matter how demanding the market. But given time, opportunities and a sufficiently large wave of talented writers and artists, there's no reason why Indians shouldn't be a significant force in the evolution of the superhero comicbook, adapting it to create new, exciting, entertaining and enriching varieties of speculative fiction. It's actually possible now, for the very first time. * hyperlinked version to follow soon at my blog, http://samitbasu.blogspot.com From anjalijyoti at yahoo.com Fri Jun 16 17:53:32 2006 From: anjalijyoti at yahoo.com (anjali jyoti) Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2006 05:23:32 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] around delhi- photo essay Message-ID: <20060616122332.41361.qmail@web38914.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Here are some pictures from around town: http://foggyfroggie.blogspot.com more later anjali __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From hight at 34n118w.net Sat Jun 17 03:16:27 2006 From: hight at 34n118w.net (hight at 34n118w.net) Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2006 14:46:27 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] new medial HZ issue #8 is live.....my locative art above the earth paper is out.. Message-ID: <55071.70.34.241.32.1150494387.squirrel@webmail.34n118w.net> www.hz-journal.org Hz #8 presents: [Articles] AUGMENTED BODY AND VIRTUAL BODY by Suguru Goto Composer Suguru Goto's "Augumented Body and Virtual Body" is a combination of his previous project "BodySuit" utilising 12 censors on a human performer and his new project "Robotic Music," in which 5 robots performs following percussions: Gong, Bass Drum, Snare Drum, Tom-Tom, and Cymbal. FLOATING POINTS: LOCATIVE MEDIA, PERSPECTIVE, FLIGHT AND THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION by Jeremy Hight Jeremy Hight has developed an experiment for the International Space Station that questions all the current notions of location in locative media by the inclusion of perspective: he proposes a new field of art to trigger above cities and the landscape at various altitudes. GLOBAL vs. LOCAL: THE ART OF TRANSLOCALITY by Ewa Wojtowicz "The Internet-based culture has a global impact although its origin is blurred. Is it local? Are there any tendencies of locality visible in the world of net art?" Ewa Wojtowicz, theoretician/historian of art & culture and new media, examines the present net art practice from the perspective of locality and gloval networked community. TECHNOLOGY AS IF by Annika Olofsdotter Bergstrom Annika Olofsondotter Bergstrom discusses three New Media performances in which all use technology as body's extension: Troika Ranch's "Future of memory", Stelarc's "Ping Body" and Laetitia Sonami's "Lady’s Glove" MAN MACHINE by Bjorn Norberg New Media Art Curator Bjorn Norberg leads us through the back-stage of the exhibition "Man Machine" shown at the National Museum of Science and Technology in Stockholm, February this year. "WHERE ARE YOU FROM?": THE NETWORKED APHERE by Pat Badani Interviews in 6 cities (Montreal, Toronto, Chicago, Mexico City, Buenos Aires and Paris) are compiled in Pat Badani's net art project "Where Are You From" to reveal the dynamics between the notions of "place" and "belonging." [Hz Net Gallery] THE PROSTHETIC COMPONENT INTERFACE SERIES or PCI by Andrew Bucksbarg CONTINUUM by Tom Badley SEARCHING IN THE BOX by Francesca Roncagliolo THEUSE.INFO by Chris Mann ZINHAR by Babel Hz is an on-line journal published by the non-profit art organization Fylkingen in Stockholm. Established in 1933, Fylkingen is the oldest forum for experimental music and intermedia art in Sweden. Throughout its history Fylkingen has been known to be a driving force in the Swedish art scene to introduce and promote yet-to-be-established art forms, the examples of which include the music of Bartok, the video works of Nam June Paik, Electro-Acoustic music during the '50s as well as the New Media performance of Stelarc in recent years. Our members are leading composers, musicians, dancers, performance visual artists in Sweden. For more information on Fylkingen, please visit www.hz-journal.org/n4/hultberg.html. Sachiko Hayashi/Hz From ish at sarai.net Sat Jun 17 15:35:40 2006 From: ish at sarai.net (ish at sarai.net) Date: Sat, 17 Jun 2006 12:05:40 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] Hamari Dilli : Sound bites on delhi In-Reply-To: <210498250606160904x3bc107a4y83f8eac6173f6630@mail.gmail.com> References: <210498250606160904x3bc107a4y83f8eac6173f6630@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: The prog 'Hamari Dilli' is available at the 'Sarai Media Archive' in Wav format. At Sarai/CSDS, 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi. I will upload it on the frEeMuZik.net soon along with other samples i am compiling now. Best Ish (sarai.net/ frEeMuZik.net) On 6:04:51 pm 06/16/06 "Shivam Vij" wrote: > no link :) > > On 6/15/06, ish at sarai.net wrote: > > Hi , following are some recordings we had done in 2002(i think) > > for a Pilot radio prog on delhi which never got finished. We had > > gone delhi around recording sound bites of delhi and asking people > > what do they feel about delhi and the kind of life they are > > leading in this city. So i have edited the final part and put it > > together as a programme. It is called 'Hamari Dilli' and is > > available at the Sarai Archive. > > best > > Ish > > > > _________________________________________ > > 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: net/pipermail/reader-list/> From shebatejani at gmail.com Sat Jun 17 16:09:41 2006 From: shebatejani at gmail.com (sheba tejani) Date: Sat, 17 Jun 2006 16:09:41 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Queer conversations about the city Message-ID: <5f6114430606170339s916c1beof7cd7969b813d45c@mail.gmail.com> Hi everyone, This is my next posting for my project- Queer conversations about the city. I've created an album of working stills that I took while working on the visuals for one of the four scripts planned for the piece. http://saraiproject.gfoto.com This particular script deals with the experience of travelling on trains, from a queer lens, and has the two protaganists discussing their experiences and points of view, their observations and fears. We shot these stills at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Bombay, still known commonly as VT (short for Victoria Terminus). VT can be overwhelming because of the sheer number of people that pass through it every single day and travelling on the train most times feels like a battle. But when the train pulls in here, there is suddenly a feeling of release because of the sheer breadth and scale of its interiors, quite unlike most other stations in Bombay. If you keep your head tilted upwards, especially, the sights are rewarding..... It was difficult to shoot here because of the constant surveillance by the railway police and of course curious passengers. The last we heard they had installed cameras to keep an eye on "miscreants"! But we're hoping to return there and shoot some more... cheers sheba From naresh.rhythm at gmail.com Sat Jun 17 17:45:07 2006 From: naresh.rhythm at gmail.com (Naresh Kumar) Date: Sat, 17 Jun 2006 17:45:07 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fifth posting Message-ID: <9e53509a0606170515y5a18f1b9x260937a01cdc4107@mail.gmail.com> Hi everybody, When I began working on Harballabh, it was something like a joke for many of my friends that a festival of a national character that concentrates on Hindustani classical music only and doesn't allow any other music to be performed on its stage has been happening for more than a century in a city like Jalandhar. My surprise crossed all the limits when Mrs. P.U. Sarkheil, a promising star of Hindustani music who came to perform in the Spring festival of Harballabh from Rajkot, told me in her interview [March16th, 2006] that she was unaware of Harballabh. She got to know about it very recently when some music practitioners and aficionados from Jalandhar met her in Sangeetalok Utsava in Ambala where she performed in November-2005 itself. It is a big astonishment not just for a common person but even an average listener or learner of Indian classical music that Punjab possesses a great tradition of classical music since antiquities. For most of the people it is very difficult to digest the fact that there can be any classical music when we move from Delhi towards Northwest. To most of the people Punjabi music means either Bhangrha on the beats of dhol or the songs set to music in western pop-style. This Punjabi-pop has acquired so much popularity among young generation that one can see people twisting their waists on these songs at any occasion in any part of the country. Actually very few people know that the sacred Guru Granth Sahib gives strict directions about every verse being sung in a particular raga. Many ragas like Malkauns, Sohni, Kafi, Pahadi, Sindh Bhairavi etc have their origin in folk or tribal music of Punjab. Even in present time Patiyala gharana, Sham Chaurasi gharana and above all, Punjab gharana of Tabla with Allarakha and Zaqir Hussein as its exponents have earned international recognition. The reasons behind this stereotypical image of Punjab as the land of foot-tapping, noisy, nonclassical and unsophisticated music can be traced to the developments in the 20th century which have affected the musical as well as socio-economic scenario of not only Punjab but of the whole country also. First, the music that used to be a hereditary profession largely for Muslims now came in the hands of Bengali and Maharashtrian upper caste people. The nationalization and Hinduization of Indian classical music, which began in the earlier decades of the 20th century, reached its zenith when the country achieved independence along with partition. With the partition, many of the Punjabi singers who were Muslims migrated to Pakistan. Along with that went the cities like Lahore, which were the centers of culture in north India. Secondly, the image of a community, which highlights certain aspects of its culture and ignores others, owes its origins to the colonial experience. The Sikhs were the martial race for the British and so, the music of these people was also supposed to be heavy. Therefore, only the loud voices and heavy beats of Dhol [drum] were thought to be the music of Punjab, which suited to their imagery. This image of Punjabis got more strength in postcolonial Hindi cinema. To glorify the impacts of Green Revolution, the common Punjabi peasant was picturized dancing and singing at the time of the harvest in many of the popular films of 1960s and 70s. The major upsurge in Punjabi pop industry has come with the boom in the cassette and music video industry. In recent years when cassettes/CDs and recording have become quite cheep and affordable the music too has become a consumable and disposable commodity rather than something worth preserving. Obviously, on one hand it has brought foreword many less-trained upcoming singers and on the other hand this has affected the content of the lyrics and quality of music also because simple tunes set to rhythm can be sung without serious efforts and for a low-cost album it is not necessary to pick up high quality lyrics. More than anything else, the taste of the listeners has undergone a drastic change. Now for a common youth music doesn't mean something emotional or tranquilizing. It should be exciting and making the body move. Nobody wants to sit only for listening and enjoying music. People listen to it while driving. In the present time the words has hardly any importance and today, the music only means the heavy beats of metal and drums coming from sophisticated speakers with high wattage, which can break the glasses of the windows of the rooms. The reason behind this blending of Punjabi and western music seems to be somewhat musical also. Simply because, normally Punjabi tunes are set to four or eight beat rhythmic cycle that corresponds to the common western one which is used for most of the pop and rock melodies. So fusing the two hardly causes any inconvenience for composers. That's why great exponent of Sufi Qawwalis, Us. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan started singing on western rhythms and orchestra for popularizing it in the listeners living beyond the Asian boundaries. Now a days, this experiment has been picked up by every singer/composer because it is liked very much by the consumers of these albums and has become the most-played music on most of the F.M. radio stations. Rest of the excitement, which cannot come from music, is created through choreography. Scantly dressed girls dancing on these songs make them more watchable and sellable. Obviously, when one Punjabi-pop album gives huge profits and fame in comparison to that having serious classical songs, why would a musician opt for a losing game? This financial and popularity affair compels even the talented singers like Hans Raj 'Hans' to sing more songs like 'dil chori sada ho gaya' than Sufi and other melodious things for which he has really got a mastery. Because the price of a pop album by him is Rs.60 or 75 whereas the cassette containing Sufi and other good songs costs Rs.30 only in the market. One of the independent fellows, Siddhartha is planning to work on Hir, a very famous love-epic of Punjab but very few actually know that more than poetry, Hir is a musical specialty which has been used by a number of music-composers in Hindi cinema. One example that strikes the mind is from the film 'mera nam joker'. Almost every performance by Ghulam Ali in north India remains incomplete without Hir. Nobody has the idea who gave this tune. Perhaps it may be Varas Shah, the author himself but the touching melody of Hir which is in raga Bhairavi really takes one away from this world of the noises. From zainab at xtdnet.nl Sun Jun 18 23:21:27 2006 From: zainab at xtdnet.nl (zainab at xtdnet.nl) Date: Sun, 18 Jun 2006 21:51:27 +0400 (RET) Subject: [Reader-list] Conflict versus Violence Message-ID: <1225.219.65.11.196.1150653087.squirrel@webmail.xtdnet.nl> Sometimes just a scene gets you to write. I write This evening I was walking past the bus stop to get to home. On the outsides of Byculla market is a garbage dump. About four to five cows are always hovering around the dump, getting some grub (just as much as some urchins hover around the dump for their daily bread and possibly a bit of butter). It was about 9 PM. I saw one of the cows upturned. She was on her back, her four feet crouched onto her stomach. I could not understand what was happening to her. I wondered whether she was suffering from a terrible stomachache. She rolled to the sides, then attempted to get up. As she got up, she tottered on her feet, clamoured, tottered, and then fell sideways. Another cow, brown in colour, standing by her started to move into the space left open by the small crowd, looking at the bystanders (many of who had collected by then out of curiosity and some waiting for their bus to arrive). The brown cow stared into the crowd, as if asking for help. A man on a cycle shouted out, ‘pour some water onto her. She is giddy’. He went on to say how the cows are not fed and made to do a lot of work which is why this one had gotten giddy. Meanwhile, the cow continued to get up, totter, and fall. The condition of this cow was pathetic. I am almost feeling helpless as I write because these futile words are just unable describe the visual I have witnessed. Tottered, stood, wavered, tottered, fell. Tottered, stood, wavered, tottered, clamoured, fell. Tottered, stood, wavered, tottered, clamoured, stood, fell. The man on the cycle continued, ‘everyone is standing, staring at her. No one is coming to her rescue. She may just go mad and hit out at the crowd.’ All the bystanders were feeling something – some felt pity, some expressed sympathy, but no one came forward. I got frightened. The word VIOLENCE rang into my head as I witnessed this all. I wondered when the cow would go mad and lash out at the crowd. Meanwhile, I almost felt as if the brown cow was advancing towards me. I quickly decided to move away and head back home. (Frightened Vulnerable Ashamed Guilty) I feel indifferent these days. I walk around the city as if I were numb. There are times when I get aggressive. I wonder whether I will also feel giddy, totter, waver, stand and then fall ... CUT TO BANGALORE The autorickshaw was standing at the signal of Forum Mall at Koramangala. A dark girl was selling cotton ear buds. I looked at her as she moved around. She was as beautiful as a doll. I felt a strong sense of affection towards her. I decided that if she were to come by me, I will buy the cotton buds. And she came by me. Ten rupees, she said. I brought out the coins from my purse and gave it to her. Ten rupees, she said. Ten rupees, I said, counting out the coins to her. Ten rupees, she said again. Ten rupees, what the hell, I said to myself, until I quickly realized that for her, ten rupees meant a ten rupee note. She could not count. She could not decipher. I fished for a ten rupee note and gave it to her. She smiled and handed out a packet of ear buds to me. I went back home that evening and narrated the story to Nick. He looked at the cotton buds and said to me, Careful, these are risky. The cotton can just come off and the plastic can hit your ear drum and cause damage. As I lay in the bed that night, I wondered how it would feel for the plastic to hit my ear drum and I go deaf. DEAF! How I wish I were deaf! Life would perhaps be easier then. I would not be able to listen. I would not be able to listen to the screams of apathy. I would not be able to listen to the screeching silences. I would not be able to listen to things not spoken, but definite. DEAF, I wish I were. (Coward Vulnerable Fragile Guilty) CUT TO BANGALORE PUBLIC TRANSPORT Where else do you get the flavour of the city but for its public transport! I started to do a jaunt on the Bangalore buses. The lines of gender division are clear in here. The front portion of the bus is for the women, the rear for the men. On my first trip on the BMTC bus, I happened to get pushed to the rear side when a man, himself squashed, said to me in Kannada to move ahead because that’s the place for women. The ladies section was crowded to the core. ‘Solpa solpa,’ ‘little, little’, they kept saying. Little to me implied space, just a little space, push a bit, shove a bit, twitch a bit, solpa, solpa, little, little. I now equate solpa, solpa to mean space, a little space. And I think that’s where my city and Bangalore city are positioned today, positioned at solpa, solpa, a little space – inch, centimeter, millimeter, solpa, solpa. The city has been a space of conflict, everyone fighting for territory, space and economic holding. There will definitely be no situation where there is no conflict. I notice conflict in Bombay’s local trains and there will always be. Women fight for water at the standposts and there is conflict but violence happens when access is denied, when the space, solpa, solpa, becomes difficult to reach to. There is no question for adjust maadi then. And I guess this is what is happening in our cities today. The conflict seems to have escalated and is assuming proportions of violence. The space for ‘adjust maadi’ is getting scarce as we stand on the edges, the brinks of precarity where violence is absolutely imminent. A little spark and the next thing I know will be Tottering, standing, wavering, tottering, falling. As I write the above words, the transition that I see from conflict to violence, it will seem like I am talking of a prophetic doom, as if violence were imminent and the futures of our cities have been already written. But I must reassert that our futures are not written so completely. Today I feel angry, apathetic, dejected, pessimistic, but at every moment, some spaces get carved out, some stories get enacted on the stage of the urban and the script just gets altered. The drama is upturned, four feet crouched on the stomach. THE END. Claimer: I hereby take responsibility for the above words which may appear patronizing, emerging out of a sense of guilt, disregarding anthropological positions of subject, object, practice, induction, etc. Rubbishing every theory, I call this state of mind, state of being! Zainab Bawa Bombay www.xanga.com/CityBytes http://crimsonfeet.recut.org/rubrique53.html From machine at zerosofzeta.com Mon Jun 19 03:14:36 2006 From: machine at zerosofzeta.com (Yogi) Date: Mon, 19 Jun 2006 03:14:36 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Conflict versus Violence In-Reply-To: <1225.219.65.11.196.1150653087.squirrel@webmail.xtdnet.nl> References: <1225.219.65.11.196.1150653087.squirrel@webmail.xtdnet.nl> Message-ID: <1d804b40606181444i41d04906h73053671bcd38afc@mail.gmail.com> I was yesterday walking in connaught place. I walked passed a a young dark colored woman, sitting in a corner with her head down and completely motionless. In front of her on the ground was a small baby completely naked and again motionless. There were a few one rupee coins scattered around the baby. I tried not to pay attention and got into a restaurant and had some food and drinks and completely forgot about the woman and the child. After a few hours, as i was walking back to my car, I again saw the woman with her face down completely motionless, and in front of her was her baby still naked and still motionless. and the coins untouched. was she dead? was her baby dead? i don't know. I wanted to help but I didn't know how to help, or was afraid to help. (cowardness, guilt, disgust) -yogi On 6/18/06, zainab at xtdnet.nl wrote: > Sometimes just a scene gets you to write. > > I write … > > This evening I was walking past the bus stop to get to home. On the > outsides of Byculla market is a garbage dump. About four to five cows are > always hovering around the dump, getting some grub (just as much as some > urchins hover around the dump for their daily bread and possibly a bit of > butter). > > It was about 9 PM. I saw one of the cows upturned. She was on her back, > her four feet crouched onto her stomach. I could not understand what was > happening to her. I wondered whether she was suffering from a terrible > stomachache. She rolled to the sides, then attempted to get up. As she got > up, she tottered on her feet, clamoured, tottered, and then fell sideways. > Another cow, brown in colour, standing by her started to move into the > space left open by the small crowd, looking at the bystanders (many of who > had collected by then out of curiosity and some waiting for their bus to > arrive). The brown cow stared into the crowd, as if asking for help. A man > on a cycle shouted out, 'pour some water onto her. She is giddy'. He went > on to say how the cows are not fed and made to do a lot of work which is > why this one had gotten giddy. Meanwhile, the cow continued to get up, > totter, and fall. The condition of this cow was pathetic. I am almost > feeling helpless as I write because these futile words are just unable > describe the visual I have witnessed. > > Tottered, stood, wavered, tottered, fell. > Tottered, stood, wavered, tottered, clamoured, fell. > Tottered, stood, wavered, tottered, clamoured, stood, fell. > > The man on the cycle continued, 'everyone is standing, staring at her. No > one is coming to her rescue. She may just go mad and hit out at the > crowd.' All the bystanders were feeling something – some felt pity, some > expressed sympathy, but no one came forward. I got frightened. The word > VIOLENCE rang into my head as I witnessed this all. I wondered when the > cow would go mad and lash out at the crowd. Meanwhile, I almost felt as if > the brown cow was advancing towards me. I quickly decided to move away and > head back home. > > (Frightened > Vulnerable > Ashamed > Guilty) > > > I feel indifferent these days. I walk around the city as if I were numb. > There are times when I get aggressive. I wonder whether I will also feel > giddy, totter, waver, stand and then fall ... > > > CUT TO BANGALORE > > The autorickshaw was standing at the signal of Forum Mall at Koramangala. > A dark girl was selling cotton ear buds. I looked at her as she moved > around. She was as beautiful as a doll. I felt a strong sense of affection > towards her. I decided that if she were to come by me, I will buy the > cotton buds. And she came by me. > Ten rupees, she said. > I brought out the coins from my purse and gave it to her. > Ten rupees, she said. > Ten rupees, I said, counting out the coins to her. > Ten rupees, she said again. > Ten rupees, what the hell, I said to myself, until I quickly realized that > for her, ten rupees meant a ten rupee note. She could not count. She could > not decipher. I fished for a ten rupee note and gave it to her. She smiled > and handed out a packet of ear buds to me. > I went back home that evening and narrated the story to Nick. He looked at > the cotton buds and said to me, > Careful, these are risky. The cotton can just come off and the plastic can > hit your ear drum and cause damage. > As I lay in the bed that night, I wondered how it would feel for the > plastic to hit my ear drum and I go deaf. DEAF! How I wish I were deaf! > Life would perhaps be easier then. I would not be able to listen. > I would not be able to listen to the screams of apathy. > I would not be able to listen to the screeching silences. > I would not be able to listen to things not spoken, but definite. > DEAF, I wish I were. > > (Coward > Vulnerable > Fragile > Guilty) > > CUT TO BANGALORE PUBLIC TRANSPORT > > Where else do you get the flavour of the city but for its public > transport! I started to do a jaunt on the Bangalore buses. The lines of > gender division are clear in here. The front portion of the bus is for the > women, the rear for the men. On my first trip on the BMTC bus, I happened > to get pushed to the rear side when a man, himself squashed, said to me in > Kannada to move ahead because that's the place for women. > > The ladies section was crowded to the core. 'Solpa solpa,' 'little, > little', they kept saying. Little to me implied space, just a little > space, push a bit, shove a bit, twitch a bit, solpa, solpa, little, > little. > > I now equate solpa, solpa to mean space, a little space. And I think > that's where my city and Bangalore city are positioned today, positioned > at solpa, solpa, a little space – inch, centimeter, millimeter, solpa, > solpa. The city has been a space of conflict, everyone fighting for > territory, space and economic holding. There will definitely be no > situation where there is no conflict. I notice conflict in Bombay's local > trains and there will always be. Women fight for water at the standposts > and there is conflict but violence happens when access is denied, when the > space, solpa, solpa, becomes difficult to reach to. There is no question > for adjust maadi then. And I guess this is what is happening in our cities > today. The conflict seems to have escalated and is assuming proportions of > violence. The space for 'adjust maadi' is getting scarce as we stand on > the edges, the brinks of precarity where violence is absolutely imminent. > A little spark and the next thing I know will be > Tottering, standing, wavering, tottering, falling. > > As I write the above words, the transition that I see from conflict to > violence, it will seem like I am talking of a prophetic doom, as if > violence were imminent and the futures of our cities have been already > written. But I must reassert that our futures are not written so > completely. Today I feel angry, apathetic, dejected, pessimistic, but at > every moment, some spaces get carved out, some stories get enacted on the > stage of the urban and the script just gets altered. The drama is > upturned, four feet crouched on the stomach. > > THE END. > > Claimer: I hereby take responsibility for the above words which may appear > patronizing, emerging out of a sense of guilt, disregarding > anthropological positions of subject, object, practice, induction, etc. > Rubbishing every theory, I call this state of mind, state of being! > > > > Zainab Bawa > Bombay > www.xanga.com/CityBytes > http://crimsonfeet.recut.org/rubrique53.html > > _________________________________________ > 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 cawnpore at rediffmail.com Fri Jun 16 04:33:11 2006 From: cawnpore at rediffmail.com (Maitrey Bajpai) Date: 15 Jun 2006 23:03:11 -0000 Subject: [Reader-list] "Cawnpore" Third Posting. "Conversations with Mother..." Message-ID: <20060615230311.12979.qmail@webmail30.rediffmail.com>   I am once again sorry Oh! Leave it. I know it dose not make a difference, the fact is my postings got delayed big time and i am the one responsible for it. Anyways the work on my film is going on with slow pace (reasons unexplained). As of now I am in 'Cawnpore' trying to figure out a lot of things. I shot with my family during this short trip of a week; still a lot has to be done. I still hope I would be able to get in touch with some of the other business and worker's families on my next trip. I could not use this trip the way i wanted to but i was successful getting some insights about my own family. Conversations with Mother It was hot and humid. Must be around 8:15 in the morning. I was having my cup of coffee; my mother (I still call her “Maa”) was busy with newspapers and her cup of tea. I don’t know why, but I just asked her what dose she thinks of the film I am planning to make. We started talking. I just kept my cup on trhe floor and rushed to get my handy-cam. Here is the first part of transcript of that conversation we had. Interestingly it brought out her experiences, issues and her opinion about the city, family and Mills. Apart from being my mother she is 1. Resident of the city 2. Daughter of a freedom fighter 3. Wife of a businessman 4. A businesswoman 5. And mother of my brother as well Before the transcript of the interview, a little background about my mother. Born “Usha Shukla in 1954, in a middle class brahmin “Shukla” family, she was the youngest in the family with two elder brothers and a elder sister. She is still very proud of her father being a freedom fighter. All brother and sisters had their mothers influence (as I think all of us have). As children they all were persuaded to study hard as it would help them in making a decent living. The family owned a sweet shop in the traditional “khoya Bazaar” (old area of the city majorly filled with wholesale shops). They lived in a joint family, with their “Chacha’s” family (Paternal Uncle). Even after splitting they all are really close today. Maa: Wait let me get ready, what everyone will say, your mother knows nothing. Me: Its ok! Maa: One day your kids will see this, what will they say: "was our grandmother an idiot". I dont want to make a fool out of myself. Me: Maa why are you reading my questionnaire, that’s for me. Maa: why not? I can read it. I am 1954 born and I am still there, I understand. After some hiccups we started Me: How was it like growing up in the city, your growing years? Maa: What do you mean growing years? Me: What was city like when you were growing up, what was the Ethos at that time. Maa: It was different then, like, trees on the both sides of guarded streets you see. Parrots and birds chirped all day. My mother woke me up by saying birds are up its time you also get up from bed. Now people don’t talk much, now even neighbors don’t talk. Earlier people were happy, you could see people talking to each other in the morning. You could see children playing and sleeping in the mornings. Now you see children in uniform and parents running to leave them. Earlier children were lazy and playful. Me: So what do you remember of mills. Maa: ya! We use to go to schools walking and we saw hundreds of mill workers on their cycle. It always was like this, simultaneous children on foot, workers on cycle. City was lively. Live was lively ”raunak thi”. Not like today, where all you find is dead faces, fearful faces, and ‘yellow’ faces. Workers Tiffin’s had food in it. They ate together, they talked together they lived together. Now I get news from T.V channels, earlier there was exchange of thoughts. Shops in neighborhood had every thing of need, there weren’t big malls. Not even many schools, children from all classes studied together. (Upper class/Middle Class/ Lower Class). As I remember there was not much discrimination. Nowadays the gap is bigger than ever before, gap between people, even in families. She continues: Maa: I started my education in a municipal school (Gyan Bharti inter college) it was ok In 9th I took science and started with English medium, that was a big achievement for me because I studied “A, B, C” in 6 standard for the first time. I got good marks in class 12th so I got admitted to Christ Church college, it was considered to be one of the best at that time. I had good circle of friends. They belonged to every class (economic & social), but I never felt complexed, as children of today. Me: What was your family status? Maa: You could call us middle class. We ate good food. We dint spend much on clothing. Even as kids we were not very concerned about our clothing. We just studied. My Mother was very concerned for our studies. As my father was a freedom fighter, so he was not very involved in the family, but my mother was also very committed for nationalist vision. She wore khadi throughout her life. Both my parents were not money minded. My father died when I was in class X. Me: As your father was freedom fighter do you remember any political happening at that point? Maa: No! No! By the time I was born we were an independent nation Me: Even then city would have been politically active. Maa: at that time ‘politicians were politicians’ we did not had any problems. Me: City’s politics had a big role of mill workers. Maa: it all started after independence, “mill baji” started. Power was misused after independence, unions were a big problem, and even then ethos was not polluted. Marriage: After knowing each other for several years your father and I got married in 1979. Me: So it was Love Marriage Maa: ya you could call it so, but both our families agreed. Maa: Your grandfather had died 2 years before our marriage, so Papa (my father) had to join the family business. Me: So he joined family business because of crisis Maa: Yes it was not something he wanted to do, one of the reasons for joining the business was because his academic qualification was not that great, and so under the circumstances he was bound to do that. Me: What do you know about family business, this cloth shop. Maa: I knew your father’s family even before marriage. They were rich bunch. Cloth trade was at its boom and Papa’s family made most of it. Your grandfather was very academic but he was not very involved in social causes like my father but he was religious. Otherwise most of Papa’s family was loyal to British, they were awarded with titles like Rai Bahadur etc. Me: Ya! I know my grandfather was rich, I have heard those stories about his horses and bungalow. Maa: yes he was definitely rich. He earned a lot of money and he lived a lavish life. At that point he was very successful and he moved with the Top people of the city. But had sincerely earned that status and money. Your grandfather was only 14 when his father died. They lost a lot of money in business due to your great grandfather’s death. Me: This means my great grand father was also very rich! Maa: Actually they came to the city from “Unnao” (an outskiting village of kanpur) due to some rivalry with the local people. They bought a lot of money along with them. They started trading cloth. At that point very few people were involved in the cloth trade. With time they established a good name in the market. But due to consistent early deaths in the family, each generation had to start from ground zero. With every death in the family things went back to square one. Your grandfather lost everything when his father died, similarly Papa had to start all over again after his father’s death. Maa: He changed the trend, started dealing with Private mills. Mills here had already collapsed, so he had to change. Me: Was this the reason Papa switched to Private mills? Maa: Look; earlier buyers/ purchasers came to us ---to Cawnpore—because of the mills,(Manufacturing sectors are assumed to be cheaper) they traded with mills & the local market. Now when the mills collapsed they turned to big cities and private mills. Slowly trend changed, more and more people started trading with private mills, we also had to do it. When Papa took agencies of Private mills, now he and others like him had to go to buyers to sell his product. When they started going out they, their changed lifestyle City started loosing its flavor, comparison from bigger cities started bothering. “Bahar ye hai . Bahar who hai” suddenly city started looking small. The number of unemployed workers kept rising in the city. This helped the small-scale industries to grow. But with this development city had to pay its price, all sorts of problems started electricity, pollution, exploitation of labor and resources, corruption and red tapism flourished. Today’s politicians don’t work, the political scene changed so rapidly that, and no eyebrows were raised when government switched from committed to selfish. Now a day’s patriotism is a joke, nobody cares anymore. Places like ‘phoolbagh’ (old meeting ground for politicians) where people use to meet for debates and there was a very rich library. Suddenly things changed students use to go there May be it’s because of the computer age, but the computer change was also not that swift in Uttar Pradesh. We left what we had but we failed to adapt to the new system. Me: When papa started this Private dealership, was it intentional that he wanted to expand his business, did he ever had any plans?? Maa: when mills collapsed people from outside came to us and said “Ab ye kapda bechiye” (now sell this cloth), and it was obvious and practical thing to do. But due to that we now had to go to door to door and sell our products. Buyers just stopped coming to the city. A major factor that changed the way business was conducted was change in payment pattern. Earlier when buyers came to us they brought money (cash), now we were going to their door to sell, so we had to offer them discounts, schemes and worse we had to give them credit. Trade, which was prestigious, was now short of credibility. Earlier when they came they said you are doing a great favor to us by selling goods to us, now they said if I buy from u what will I get. The newly established credit system worsens the working conditions. Me: When did papa started dealing with Private mills? Maa: around 1980 just after our marriage Me: Before marriage did he had plans to switch the trend. Maa: No! No! When his father was handling the business, he purchased cloth from local mills and sold it. Production had stopped when I was in class 12th but there was stock. At one point there was ‘Rationing of cloth’, cloth came from outside. Then mills started manufacturing cloth in the city and Cawnpore became a big business center. At a point I think there were 36 big mills so during that period your grandfather made a lot of money. Your father had never thought of career, so after his fathers death he had no option, and once he joined he changed the trend. End of Part I. I just presented this random conversation as it is. I request you to forgive me for transcripting it in a formal maner. But i have my reasons for it. 1. I dont know how to do that and 2. I thought it might dilute the essence of this conversation. In future posting i plan post some other transcripts of interviews of other members of the family. peace, Maitrey Bajpai 9820844311 9320844311 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060615/c626e249/attachment.html From budhaditya_chattopadhyay at rediffmail.com Fri Jun 16 22:01:18 2006 From: budhaditya_chattopadhyay at rediffmail.com (budhaditya chattopadhyay) Date: 16 Jun 2006 16:31:18 -0000 Subject: [Reader-list] audio restoration Message-ID: <20060616163118.21116.qmail@webmail27.rediffmail.com> Hi all It's monsoon, a nice time to work indoor. I am currently working with the restoration process of the transferred recordings from 78 RPM 10 inches discs of Bishnupur Gharana recordings. I did the transfers using one DUAL and a PHILIPS 533 turntable. The main concern at the time of play-back was the speed and the signal chain. For speed control I kept the turntable on rotation without load for one day and with load for one day checking the speed in alternate hours. Tried to avoid transmission loss at the signal chain with better pairs of cables. Used balanced I/O connectors at the line levels. I transferred the audio materials to a Digital Audio Workstation with a Creative Audigy Platinum Professional sound card. This sound card is easy to use and enough to handle a limited dynamic range of shellacs. I recorded the tracks on NUENDO, and using Adobe Audition 2 for cleaning the surface noise. Here is a trick, I take out the noise with a medium sized FFT and put it in reverse against the original track. It is certainly eating up the original noise content of the disc surface to a decent level. Hereafter, I’m using an optimum level of equalization in NUENDO. But the processed sounds are renamed and kept separate from transferred originals as meta-data in pool. Each disc was cleaned of its surface dust before play back. For that I used solution of Labtone Detergent in de-ionized H2O. Bought one polyester velvet to use as a cleaning cloth--the pile is soft but gets into the grooves effectively without scratching. Labtone is a balanced detergent, rinses off totally (in de-ionized water, off course) so there is no residue to worry about. The discrete droplets of water left on the surface can be quickly dried with 100% cotton wipes. Shellacs are to be exposed to moisture the absolute minimum of time, if at all. More on the discography and thanksgivings to the private collectors in my next posting.. Enjoy monsoon. Budhaditya -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060616/498d763e/attachment.html From debjanisgupta at yahoo.com Fri Jun 16 18:49:57 2006 From: debjanisgupta at yahoo.com (debjani sengupta) Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2006 06:19:57 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] posting from kolkata Message-ID: <20060616131957.99166.qmail@web54209.mail.yahoo.com> I have now been in Kolkata over a month reading and collecting material on my project. It has been good but the weather has been hot and humid, though the mangoes this season, I am being assured, is superlative. For the last few days I have been walking around some of the refugee colonies in Kolkata, particularly Bijoygarh and Bapuji nagar, talking to people and getting to see, rather imagine, the colony as it was thirty years ago. It is not easy. Very few of the old tin roofed bamboo houses remain standing. In their place a quiet revolution has transformed those hutments to three storied two storied houses, narrow, with a mean look but obviously going some place else. My guide was Anjan Chakraborty whose father was the principal of Bijoygarh College, one of the first educational institutions to be started by the refugees from East Bengal. Anjan babu loves Bijoygarh with a passion. He spent his early years in the colony and still lives there. His family now runs Shishutirtha, a primary school for the locality children. Anjanbabu was lucid about those first days when the colony began. He is now more than 65 years old and some of the reminiscences are family tales, some his own experience. He remembers the early struggles of the uprooted people to build a cultural life of their own, how they organized a shishumela where Ritwik Ghatak had once been invited as chief guest, the colony's fight for water and roads and the fight against poverty and hopelessness. Bijoygarh had earlier been a military camp during the second World War. The abandoned army barracks had first housed the families and in 1949, when the refugees continued to come, the marshy areas were taken over. The Jadavpur Refugee Committee began to organise the people to take over these lands and slowly the bamboo structures came up. Those were hard days but there was a distinct sense of community, of fellow feeling and a sense of purpose in each life. It was that or going under. Anjan Chakraborty still considers himself an East Bengali first and a Calcuttan later. When I asked him whether Kolkata had been good to him, he shook his head positively.' This is where I live now. My East Bengal is no longer alive, except in my memory and in the memories of my contemporaries.' I met some of them. That part comes later. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060616/e863d416/attachment.html From debjanisgupta at yahoo.com Mon Jun 19 12:19:33 2006 From: debjanisgupta at yahoo.com (debjani sengupta) Date: Sun, 18 Jun 2006 23:49:33 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] posting from kolkata: another part Message-ID: <20060619064933.10072.qmail@web54211.mail.yahoo.com> Parimal Shome was 28 years old when Partition of Bengal and India took place. He had been living in the city from 1936 as a student at Ripon College and then went to Shantiniketan to study music.He has set to tune some of the incomplete Rabindra sangeet and have brought out a cd from here. He came to Bijoygarh colony in the early years of 1950 and he lives there still. After the Partition, some refugees landed in the refugee camps, some took shelter in the Sealdah station. Most of them started immediately to make an effort to be independent and fend for themselves. Bijoygarh colony was born as part of that effort to stand on one's feet.The Jadavpur Refugee Association, whose membership was rupees two only, gave three katha of land to each family and each family began by building houses made of tin, bamboo, tiles. When Parimalbabu was asked about thoses early days and the ghoti bangal divide (the ghotis were West Bengalis and bangals were from the East) he said, 'There was no open conflict but there was grudge. In many ways the East Bengalis were more educated, more capable of taking risks, more aggressive (danpitey was the bengali word he used, impossible to translate).The contribution of the people from East Bengal to the economic and political and cultural life of Kolkata was immense. Certainly there was a clash of interest among the professional classes but there was no genocide, no race riots when we came to live here. We were as different from each other as far as possible but we were Hindus, we were seeking shelter. The initial grudge was slowly diffused. Initially Bangal was a derigatory word, but that changed, not in one day but over the years.' 'Kolkata was different then. When we came to Bijoygarh, the area was very green, wild rabbits played by the roads. The few Muslim hutments were abandoned by their owners. The refugees took up shelter there as well as the military barracks. When their hutments came up, the land sharks swung into action. They sent armed hooligans to frighten the colony inhabitants. The boys from Jadavpur Engineering college, many of them bangals, came to our rescue.Lyalka, a notable landowner's grandson was kidnapped by us to make him stop sending his goons. Those were the days. We were extremely united, highly motivated and deeply committed to the colony.That has all gone now. I dont recognize Bijoygarh any more.' --------------------------------- Ring'em or ping'em. Make PC-to-phone calls as low as 1¢/min with Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060618/4ad72fc8/attachment.html From kaushiki.rao at gmail.com Fri Jun 16 10:14:01 2006 From: kaushiki.rao at gmail.com (Kaushiki Rao) Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2006 10:14:01 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] i-fellow: Posting 3 Message-ID: <53241df60606152144r283ac686wc14fc01be52db7be@mail.gmail.com> Hi all, I'm so very sorry for this ridiculously late posting. Many more soon, I promise. Kaushiki Bawana: Apparently not "city". According to the ever-worthy Wikipedia, 'urban' is defined as: "increased density of human-created structures in comparison to the areas surrounding it." Wikipedia further explains, "The minimum density requirement is generally 400 persons per square kilometre … In less developed countries, in addition to land use and density requirements, a requirement that a large majority of the population, typically 75%, is not engaged in agriculture and/or fishing is sometimes used." By these definitions, Bawana is an urban settlement. Moreover, Bawana is officially within Delhi city limits. The DDA has built roads and drains and TATA provides electricity. There are MCD schools in the area. The Delhi government very much considers this resettlement colony to be within its jurisdiction. Bawana, it would seem, is not just urban, it is in fact Delhi. Yet, many people who live here say they are "far from the city". They repeat that they "miss Delhi", and that they would like to move back there. Bawana, they shrug, "is supposed to be part of the city, but it doesn't feel like it." "Look around you!" Anita exclaims, "does this look like a city to you?!" So then, what is it that makes Bawana seem like it is not part of a city? What makes it seem not urban? One reason is a sense of distance. Most Bawana people have been resettled from the Yamuna Pushta. Living at the Pushta meant incredible mobility, and easy access to income generating opportunities. All that Delhi can offer – jobs, schools, hospitals, parks, bazaars, movie theatres, and even the river – was a stone's throw away. Now, going to the "city" entails a 3 hour bus ride, on a bus that comes only once a day. Cycle-rickshaw wallas – of whom there are many among the Bawana families – can only visit their families in Bawana about once every two weeks. A second reason is the lack of a sense of belonging. Living at the Pushta gave people a sense of belonging to Delhi – a sense that is missing at Bawana. Interestingly, the families of many people who were resettled from the Pushta to Bawana come from places other than Delhi. Some are from Haryana, Gujarat and Rajasthan, and many others are from places as far as Bangladesh. There are even some Tamil families in the mix. Still, all these families had been at the Pusta for 2 or 3 generations before they were resettled. They had become Delhi-ites, and Delhi had become theirs. Being moved to the Pushta has erased that sense of belonging. "This doesn't feel like home, I am not comfortable here." Rafiya told me. A third reason that makes Bawana seem like it is not part of the city is a very different sense of space. This, perhaps, is the most immediately tangible reason. Bawana is located in an un-used industrial area. The colony is surrounded by barren, uncultivated land with fabulously wide roads and amazingly bright street lights. I'm not sure if the land surrounding Bawana is privately or publicly owned, but it has been 'developed' to support factories … which never appeared. What has appeared instead is a reluctant settlement of a few thousand people. Go to the highest point in Bawana (and this is a third storey of a house), and you will see a small congested colony surrounded by wide swathes of land. Bawana looks like a little concrete island in the middle of a desert of road, barren land and eyucalptus trees. The colony itself has the trappings of an urban area: one large main road on either side of which are houses set along narrow gullies. But a five minute walk from the main road through one of the gullies will take to you to the end of the colony. Pankaj who was showing me around the colony would declaim every time we came to the edge of the colony "And this is the end! The end!" There is much more to the politics of resettlement than simply 'adequate rehabilitation'. Aside from access to means of livelihood and entertainment, to schools, hospitals and parks, perhaps discussions on resettlement should include what means to be located not just in a different space, but in an environment that is completely unfamiliar. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060616/446ca22e/attachment.html From nirupama.sekhar at gmail.com Thu Jun 15 20:53:55 2006 From: nirupama.sekhar at gmail.com (Nirupama Sekhar) Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 20:53:55 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Urban Stories update Message-ID: <87927e9c0606150823u5698b2f1u3232959bcc6eba36@mail.gmail.com> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Nirupama Sekhar Date: Jun 14, 2006 4:00 AM Subject: Urban stories..post.. To: reader-list at sarai.net Urban Stories: 5th Posting Hello all. I've been trying without success to send this email for the last couple of days.. but it keeps getting bounced back.. so hope this one works. The updates on Urban Stories can be found at the following address.. http://mumbai-urbanstories.blogspot.com/ Thanks. - -- Nirupama -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060615/a170646e/attachment.html From vnr1995 at gmail.com Fri Jun 16 22:52:46 2006 From: vnr1995 at gmail.com (vnr1995) Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2006 10:22:46 -0700 Subject: [Reader-list] Striking AIIMS docs live in a glass house Message-ID: Not all OBCs get benifitted from this proposed reservation scheme. Would OBCs who can afford training in coaching factories stop taking coaching? Surely not. This economically advantaged will beat the OBC brethern who can't afford such training. The same applies to so-called upper castes which some members here are lambasting so much: for every one OC person who can get into coaching factory, there are 7 other OCs who can't afford the same. Once a while we keep hearing news like "a son of SC constable got 20th rank in IIT-JEE". In Andhra, many corporate Intermediate colleges offer free seats to those who get 540/600 in 10th grade, in the hope that if these people get top ranks, they can publicize their coaching factories. And our proverbial son of constable is of such category. Who will benifit the most: the economically advantaged people across the board, irrespective of what caste one belongs to. Reddy, V. Palo Alto, CA. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060616/da9a3683/attachment.html From maitreybajpai at rediffmail.com Sat Jun 17 20:22:18 2006 From: maitreybajpai at rediffmail.com (Maitrey Bajpai) Date: 17 Jun 2006 14:52:18 -0000 Subject: [Reader-list] "Cawnpore" 3rd posting Conversation with Mother Message-ID: <20060617145218.32490.qmail@webmail24.rediffmail.com>   I am once again sorry Oh! Leave it. I know it dose not make a difference, the fact is my postings got delayed big time and i am the one responsible for it. Anyways the work on my film is going on with slow pace (reasons unexplained). As of now I am in 'Cawnpore' trying to figure out a lot of things. I shot with my family during this short trip of a week; still a lot has to be done. I still hope I would be able to get in touch with some of the other business and worker's families on my next trip. I could not use this trip the way i wanted to but i was successful getting some insights about my own family. Conversations with Mother It was hot and humid. Must be around 8:15 in the morning. I was having my cup of coffee; my mother (I still call her “Maa”) was busy with newspapers and her cup of tea. I don’t know why, but I just asked her what dose she thinks of the film I am planning to make. We started talking. I just kept my cup on trhe floor and rushed to get my handy-cam. Here is the first part of transcript of that conversation we had. Interestingly it brought out her experiences, issues and her opinion about the city, family and Mills. Apart from being my mother she is 1. Resident of the city 2. Daughter of a freedom fighter 3. Wife of a businessman 4. A businesswoman 5. And mother of my brother as well Before the transcript of the interview, a little background about my mother. Born “Usha Shukla in 1954, in a middle class brahmin “Shukla” family, she was the youngest in the family with two elder brothers and a elder sister. She is still very proud of her father being a freedom fighter. All brother and sisters had their mothers influence (as I think all of us have). As children they all were persuaded to study hard as it would help them in making a decent living. The family owned a sweet shop in the traditional “khoya Bazaar” (old area of the city majorly filled with wholesale shops). They lived in a joint family, with their “Chacha’s” family (Paternal Uncle). Even after splitting they all are really close today. Maa: Wait let me get ready, what everyone will say, your mother knows nothing. Me: Its ok! Maa: One day your kids will see this, what will they say: "was our grandmother an idiot". I dont want to make a fool out of myself. Me: Maa why are you reading my questionnaire, that’s for me. Maa: why not? I can read it. I am 1954 born and I am still there, I understand. After some hiccups we started Me: How was it like growing up in the city, your growing years? Maa: What do you mean growing years? Me: What was city like when you were growing up, what was the Ethos at that time. Maa: It was different then, like, trees on the both sides of guarded streets you see. Parrots and birds chirped all day. My mother woke me up by saying birds are up its time you also get up from bed. Now people don’t talk much, now even neighbors don’t talk. Earlier people were happy, you could see people talking to each other in the morning. You could see children playing and sleeping in the mornings. Now you see children in uniform and parents running to leave them. Earlier children were lazy and playful. Me: So what do you remember of mills. Maa: ya! We use to go to schools walking and we saw hundreds of mill workers on their cycle. It always was like this, simultaneous children on foot, workers on cycle. City was lively. Live was lively ”raunak thi”. Not like today, where all you find is dead faces, fearful faces, and ‘yellow’ faces. Workers Tiffin’s had food in it. They ate together, they talked together they lived together. Now I get news from T.V channels, earlier there was exchange of thoughts. Shops in neighborhood had every thing of need, there weren’t big malls. Not even many schools, children from all classes studied together. (Upper class/Middle Class/ Lower Class). As I remember there was not much discrimination. Nowadays the gap is bigger than ever before, gap between people, even in families. She continues: Maa: I started my education in a municipal school (Gyan Bharti inter college) it was ok In 9th I took science and started with English medium, that was a big achievement for me because I studied “A, B, C” in 6 standard for the first time. I got good marks in class 12th so I got admitted to Christ Church college, it was considered to be one of the best at that time. I had good circle of friends. They belonged to every class (economic & social), but I never felt complexed, as children of today. Me: What was your family status? Maa: You could call us middle class. We ate good food. We dint spend much on clothing. Even as kids we were not very concerned about our clothing. We just studied. My Mother was very concerned for our studies. As my father was a freedom fighter, so he was not very involved in the family, but my mother was also very committed for nationalist vision. She wore khadi throughout her life. Both my parents were not money minded. My father died when I was in class X. Me: As your father was freedom fighter do you remember any political happening at that point? Maa: No! No! By the time I was born we were an independent nation Me: Even then city would have been politically active. Maa: at that time ‘politicians were politicians’ we did not had any problems. Me: City’s politics had a big role of mill workers. Maa: it all started after independence, “mill baji” started. Power was misused after independence, unions were a big problem, and even then ethos was not polluted. Marriage: After knowing each other for several years your father and I got married in 1979. Me: So it was Love Marriage Maa: ya you could call it so, but both our families agreed. Maa: Your grandfather had died 2 years before our marriage, so Papa (my father) had to join the family business. Me: So he joined family business because of crisis Maa: Yes it was not something he wanted to do, one of the reasons for joining the business was because his academic qualification was not that great, and so under the circumstances he was bound to do that. Me: What do you know about family business, this cloth shop. Maa: I knew your father’s family even before marriage. They were rich bunch. Cloth trade was at its boom and Papa’s family made most of it. Your grandfather was very academic but he was not very involved in social causes like my father but he was religious. Otherwise most of Papa’s family was loyal to British, they were awarded with titles like Rai Bahadur etc. Me: Ya! I know my grandfather was rich, I have heard those stories about his horses and bungalow. Maa: yes he was definitely rich. He earned a lot of money and he lived a lavish life. At that point he was very successful and he moved with the Top people of the city. But had sincerely earned that status and money. Your grandfather was only 14 when his father died. They lost a lot of money in business due to your great grandfather’s death. Me: This means my great grand father was also very rich! Maa: Actually they came to the city from “Unnao” (an outskiting village of kanpur) due to some rivalry with the local people. They bought a lot of money along with them. They started trading cloth. At that point very few people were involved in the cloth trade. With time they established a good name in the market. But due to consistent early deaths in the family, each generation had to start from ground zero. With every death in the family things went back to square one. Your grandfather lost everything when his father died, similarly Papa had to start all over again after his father’s death. Maa: He changed the trend, started dealing with Private mills. Mills here had already collapsed, so he had to change. Me: Was this the reason Papa switched to Private mills? Maa: Look; earlier buyers/ purchasers came to us ---to Cawnpore—because of the mills,(Manufacturing sectors are assumed to be cheaper) they traded with mills & the local market. Now when the mills collapsed they turned to big cities and private mills. Slowly trend changed, more and more people started trading with private mills, we also had to do it. When Papa took agencies of Private mills, now he and others like him had to go to buyers to sell his product. When they started going out they, their changed lifestyle City started loosing its flavor, comparison from bigger cities started bothering. “Bahar ye hai . Bahar who hai” suddenly city started looking small. The number of unemployed workers kept rising in the city. This helped the small-scale industries to grow. But with this development city had to pay its price, all sorts of problems started electricity, pollution, exploitation of labor and resources, corruption and red tapism flourished. Today’s politicians don’t work, the political scene changed so rapidly that, and no eyebrows were raised when government switched from committed to selfish. Now a day’s patriotism is a joke, nobody cares anymore. Places like ‘phoolbagh’ (old meeting ground for politicians) where people use to meet for debates and there was a very rich library. Suddenly things changed students use to go there May be it’s because of the computer age, but the computer change was also not that swift in Uttar Pradesh. We left what we had but we failed to adapt to the new system. Me: When papa started this Private dealership, was it intentional that he wanted to expand his business, did he ever had any plans?? Maa: when mills collapsed people from outside came to us and said “Ab ye kapda bechiye” (now sell this cloth), and it was obvious and practical thing to do. But due to that we now had to go to door to door and sell our products. Buyers just stopped coming to the city. A major factor that changed the way business was conducted was change in payment pattern. Earlier when buyers came to us they brought money (cash), now we were going to their door to sell, so we had to offer them discounts, schemes and worse we had to give them credit. Trade, which was prestigious, was now short of credibility. Earlier when they came they said you are doing a great favor to us by selling goods to us, now they said if I buy from u what will I get. The newly established credit system worsens the working conditions. Me: When did papa started dealing with Private mills? Maa: around 1980 just after our marriage Me: Before marriage did he had plans to switch the trend. Maa: No! No! When his father was handling the business, he purchased cloth from local mills and sold it. Production had stopped when I was in class 12th but there was stock. At one point there was ‘Rationing of cloth’, cloth came from outside. Then mills started manufacturing cloth in the city and Cawnpore became a big business center. At a point I think there were 36 big mills so during that period your grandfather made a lot of money. Your father had never thought of career, so after his fathers death he had no option, and once he joined he changed the trend. End of Part I. I just presented this random conversation as it is. I request you to forgive me for transcripting it in a formal maner. But i have my reasons for it. 1. I dont know how to do that and 2. I thought it might dilute the essence of this conversation. In future posting i plan post some other transcripts of interviews of other members of the family. peace, Maitrey Bajpai 9820844311 9320844311 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060617/5322b913/attachment.html From pukar at pukar.org.in Thu Jun 15 14:34:29 2006 From: pukar at pukar.org.in (PUKAR) Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 14:34:29 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] [announcements] 24th June: Youth Fellowship annual celebration Message-ID: <002801c6905a$bb2442d0$1dd0c0cb@freeda> PUKAR cordially invites you to Churchgate to Dombivli: Youth Special A Youth Fellowship annual celebration Date: Saturday 24th June 2006 Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Venue: P. L. Deshpande Kala Academy Prabhadevi, Mumbai - 25 Chief Guests Kumar Ketkar Editor, Loksatta Arun Nalawade Actor Neelam Shirke Actor The event marks the completion of the first year of the Youth fellowship Programme. It is a space to engage with the youth and their research projects with respect to specific social, political, economic or cultural aspects of their neighbourhoods and the city at large. The PUKAR Youth Fellowship Programme aims to generate and support thirty research-action projects each year. PUKAR (Partners for Urban Knowledge Action and Research) Address:: 1-4, 2nd Floor, Kamanwala Chambers, Sir P. M. Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 001 Telephone:: +91 (22) 5574 8152 Fax:: +91 (22) 6664 0561 Email:: pukar at pukar.org.in Website:: www.pukar.org.in -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060615/4af92398/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From shivamvij at gmail.com Fri Jun 16 22:03:01 2006 From: shivamvij at gmail.com (Shivam) Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2006 22:03:01 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] "Merit": A poem by Varavara Rao In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Although I am increasingly viewing the politics of victimhood in Dalit discourse with a critical eye, this is worth a read: "Merit" Lucky You are born rich To say in your language ``Born with silver spoon in the mouth'' Your agitation sounds creative Our agony looks violent You are meritorious You can break the glass of buses In a shape As symmetric as sun's rays You can deflate the tires With artistic elan While indulgent police look on With their jaws rested on rifle butts You can tie 'Rakhis' Even in The dark chambers Of a police station You do not buy bus ticket Not because Your pocket is empty That is practical protest The beautiful roads Are all yours Whether you do a `Rasta Roko' Or drive vehicles with `save merit' stickers We are bare-footed Sweat-stinking road rollers What if we built the roads? The merit of plan is yours The credit of contract is also yours Those exhilarating sixty days, what fun! When your cute little girls And their daredevil mates Were going on a delectable rampage, Everybody was delighted Parents, their parents Brothers and sisters Even the servants And reporting Newspapers? Oh, absolutely thrilled! Boys and girls Hand in hand In protest Of buried merit and dashed future Going off to a picnic O Yaar, How heroic! You are the marathoners In merit competition Poor tortoises Can we run with you? If You serve ``Chair'' in Chikkadpalli Sell ``pallies'' in cinema hall Polish boots in Kothi Circle Stop a Maruti or Priya on the Tankbund To demand agitation fund Well Media persons are `merit' creatures Their camera hearts `click' Their pens shriek, ``Youthful brilliance''! We are drab faced duds Sitting in the stink of dead animals We make shoes By applying color with our blood And polishing them With the sinking light of our eyes However, Isn't the shine different When polished By someone in boots? We clean up your filth Carry the night soil on our heads We wear out our bodies Washing your rooms To make them sparkle Like your scented bodies We sweep, we clean; our hands are brooms Our sweat is water Our blood is the phenyl Our bones are washing powder But all this Is menial labor What merit it has? What skill? Tucked-in shirts and miniskirts Jeans and high heels If you sweep The cement road with a smile It becomes an Akashvani scoop And spellbinding Doordharshan spectacle We are Rickshaw pullers Porters and cart wheelers Petty shopkeepers And low grade clerks We are Desolate mothers Who can give no milk To the child who bites with hunger We stand in hospital queues To sell blood to buy food Except For the smell of poverty and hunger How can it acquire The patriotic flavor Of your blood donation? Whatever you do Sweep, polish Carry luggage in railway station Or in bus stand Vend fruits on pushcart Sell chai on footpath Take out procession With `Save merit' placards And convent pronunciations We know It is to show us that Our labor of myriad professions Is no match to your merit White coats and black badges Hanging over chiffon saris and Punjabi dresses `Save merit' stickers On breasts carrying `steth's (stethoscopes) When you walk(ed) in front of daftar Like a heaven in flutter For EBCs among you And those who crossed 12000 among us The reservation G.O. Is not only a dream shattered and heaven shaken But also a rainbow broken Yours Is movement for justice On the earthly heaven That is why `Devathas' dared more for the amrit The moment You gave a call for `jail bharao' In the press conference We were shifted out From barracks To rotting dungeons Great welcome was prepared Red carpet was spread (`Red' only in idiom; the color scares even those who spread it.) We waited with fond hope that The pious dust of your feet Would grace not only the country But its jails, too How foolish! The meritorious cream The future Of country's glorious dream How can they come To the hell of thieves, Murderers and subversives? We read and rejoice That function halls Where rich marriages are celebrated Became your jails Ours may be a lifelong struggle till death But yours is a happy wedding party of the wealth If you show displeasure It is like a marriage tiff If you burn furniture It is pyrotechnical stuff If you observe `bandh' It is the landlord's daughter's marriage Lucky The corpse of your merit Parades through the main streets Has its funeral in `chourastas' Amidst chanting of holy `mantras' But Merit has no death So You creatively conduct symbolic procession And enact the mourning `prahasan' In us To die or to be killed There is no merit We die With hunger, or disease, Doing hard labor, or committing crime, In lock up or encounter (Meritorious will not agree inequality is violence) We will be thrown By a roadside; In a filthy pit; On a dust heap; In a dark forest We will turn ash Without a trace We will `miss' From a hill or a hole Our births and deaths Except for census statistics, What use they have For the national progress? We take birth And perish in death In and due to Miserable poverty You assume the `Avatar' When Dharma is in danger And renounce the role After completing the job You are the `sutradhar' You are lucky You are meritorious. Varavara Rao (b. 1940) is a member of Viplava Rachayitala Sangham (VIRASAM —Revolutionary Writers' Association). He lives in Hyderabad. Navayana Publishing 54, Ist Floor Savarirayalu Street Pondicherry 605001 Ph: 0413-2223337 Cell: 91-94440-61256 www.navayana.org Join Navayana Book Club and avail free books and special discounts! http://www.navayana.org/content/bookclub.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060616/09d9c129/attachment.html From aarti at sarai.net Fri Jun 16 16:48:51 2006 From: aarti at sarai.net (aarti) Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2006 16:48:51 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] The Monsoon Festival: Call for films Message-ID: <4492939B.7000705@sarai.net> The Monsoon Festival CALL FOR SUBMISSION OF FILMS Red Earth is organising The Monsoon Festival at Alliance Francaise de Delhi, New Delhi, India from 28 July - 3 August 2006. The Monsoon Festival is an exploration of the diverse awakenings and experiences of the monsoon. An omnipotent creative catalyst, monsoon is the source of multi-hued awakenings -- from the delightful expressions of love (in celebration or bereavement) to the experience of change as symbolised by change in nature to inspiring awe and terror with its occassional ferocious grandeur. The Monsoon is not just the rain, but a season, one that offers a range of other complex sensual, visual and aesthetic experiences which the festival hopes to foreground. Among other events such as an art exhibition on the theme of monsoon, a concert of Hindustani classical music, we are also organising screenings of films centred around the monsoon. We already have a body of films for the festival, but are also interested in including more films on the theme of monsoon. Monsoon/ rain can be the narrative, sub-text or a motif in the film. We're interested in exploring the meaning of monsoon in different cultures and films that do so will be looked forward to. Films may be feature films, documentaries, videos or any other genre. If you have a film that fits in with the theme of the festival, and would like to submit it for consideration, please send 2 copies of the film, on DVD format, latest by 25th June 2006. The earlier, the better! Please make sure to include a letter addressed to The Director, Red Earth, stating that you are the rightful copyright owner of the film, and that if selected, it may be screened at the Monsoon Festival for an invited audience, or a statement from the copyright owner to the same effect. The films may be supported by additional material like synopsis, credits, reviews etc. Copies of the films will not be returned. If desired, you may provide us details of the films for feedback, before actually sending in copies of the films. All communication may be addressed to himanshu at redearthindia.com Send to: Himanshu Verma Director, Red Earth A 39/3, SFS, Saket New Delhi 110017 Ph: 011-41764054, 98182-10894 www.redearthindia.com With Regards Himanshu Verma, Director, Red Earth _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From zainab at xtdnet.nl Mon Jun 19 18:10:45 2006 From: zainab at xtdnet.nl (zainab at xtdnet.nl) Date: Mon, 19 Jun 2006 16:40:45 +0400 (RET) Subject: [Reader-list] Conflict versus Violence In-Reply-To: <1d804b40606181444i41d04906h73053671bcd38afc@mail.gmail.com> References: <1225.219.65.11.196.1150653087.squirrel@webmail.xtdnet.nl> <1d804b40606181444i41d04906h73053671bcd38afc@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <1117.219.65.10.24.1150720845.squirrel@webmail.xtdnet.nl> Hi Yogi, Thanks for writing in. I wonder what gets us to react in ways that you did on Sunday night, I did last night and the crowd did when the cow went giddy? Is it only apathy? Or is it the fear of getting too involved? Regards, Zainab > I was yesterday walking in connaught place. I walked passed a a young > dark colored woman, sitting in a corner with her head down and > completely motionless. > In front of her on the ground was a small baby completely naked and > again motionless. > There were a few one rupee coins scattered around the baby. > I tried not to pay attention and got into a restaurant and had some > food and drinks and completely forgot about the woman and the child. > After a few hours, as i was walking back to my car, I again saw the > woman with her face down completely motionless, and in front of her > was her baby still naked and still motionless. and the coins > untouched. was she dead? was her baby dead? i don't know. I wanted to > help but I didn't know how to help, or was afraid to help. > (cowardness, guilt, disgust) > > -yogi > > On 6/18/06, zainab at xtdnet.nl wrote: >> Sometimes just a scene gets you to write. >> >> I write >> >> This evening I was walking past the bus stop to get to home. On the >> outsides of Byculla market is a garbage dump. About four to five cows >> are >> always hovering around the dump, getting some grub (just as much as some >> urchins hover around the dump for their daily bread and possibly a bit >> of >> butter). >> >> It was about 9 PM. I saw one of the cows upturned. She was on her back, >> her four feet crouched onto her stomach. I could not understand what was >> happening to her. I wondered whether she was suffering from a terrible >> stomachache. She rolled to the sides, then attempted to get up. As she >> got >> up, she tottered on her feet, clamoured, tottered, and then fell >> sideways. >> Another cow, brown in colour, standing by her started to move into the >> space left open by the small crowd, looking at the bystanders (many of >> who >> had collected by then out of curiosity and some waiting for their bus to >> arrive). The brown cow stared into the crowd, as if asking for help. A >> man >> on a cycle shouted out, 'pour some water onto her. She is giddy'. He >> went >> on to say how the cows are not fed and made to do a lot of work which is >> why this one had gotten giddy. Meanwhile, the cow continued to get up, >> totter, and fall. The condition of this cow was pathetic. I am almost >> feeling helpless as I write because these futile words are just unable >> describe the visual I have witnessed. >> >> Tottered, stood, wavered, tottered, fell. >> Tottered, stood, wavered, tottered, clamoured, fell. >> Tottered, stood, wavered, tottered, clamoured, stood, fell. >> >> The man on the cycle continued, 'everyone is standing, staring at her. >> No >> one is coming to her rescue. She may just go mad and hit out at the >> crowd.' All the bystanders were feeling something – some felt pity, some >> expressed sympathy, but no one came forward. I got frightened. The word >> VIOLENCE rang into my head as I witnessed this all. I wondered when the >> cow would go mad and lash out at the crowd. Meanwhile, I almost felt as >> if >> the brown cow was advancing towards me. I quickly decided to move away >> and >> head back home. >> >> (Frightened >> Vulnerable >> Ashamed >> Guilty) >> >> >> I feel indifferent these days. I walk around the city as if I were numb. >> There are times when I get aggressive. I wonder whether I will also feel >> giddy, totter, waver, stand and then fall ... >> >> >> CUT TO BANGALORE >> >> The autorickshaw was standing at the signal of Forum Mall at >> Koramangala. >> A dark girl was selling cotton ear buds. I looked at her as she moved >> around. She was as beautiful as a doll. I felt a strong sense of >> affection >> towards her. I decided that if she were to come by me, I will buy the >> cotton buds. And she came by me. >> Ten rupees, she said. >> I brought out the coins from my purse and gave it to her. >> Ten rupees, she said. >> Ten rupees, I said, counting out the coins to her. >> Ten rupees, she said again. >> Ten rupees, what the hell, I said to myself, until I quickly realized >> that >> for her, ten rupees meant a ten rupee note. She could not count. She >> could >> not decipher. I fished for a ten rupee note and gave it to her. She >> smiled >> and handed out a packet of ear buds to me. >> I went back home that evening and narrated the story to Nick. He looked >> at >> the cotton buds and said to me, >> Careful, these are risky. The cotton can just come off and the plastic >> can >> hit your ear drum and cause damage. >> As I lay in the bed that night, I wondered how it would feel for the >> plastic to hit my ear drum and I go deaf. DEAF! How I wish I were deaf! >> Life would perhaps be easier then. I would not be able to listen. >> I would not be able to listen to the screams of apathy. >> I would not be able to listen to the screeching silences. >> I would not be able to listen to things not spoken, but definite. >> DEAF, I wish I were. >> >> (Coward >> Vulnerable >> Fragile >> Guilty) >> >> CUT TO BANGALORE PUBLIC TRANSPORT >> >> Where else do you get the flavour of the city but for its public >> transport! I started to do a jaunt on the Bangalore buses. The lines of >> gender division are clear in here. The front portion of the bus is for >> the >> women, the rear for the men. On my first trip on the BMTC bus, I >> happened >> to get pushed to the rear side when a man, himself squashed, said to me >> in >> Kannada to move ahead because that's the place for women. >> >> The ladies section was crowded to the core. 'Solpa solpa,' 'little, >> little', they kept saying. Little to me implied space, just a little >> space, push a bit, shove a bit, twitch a bit, solpa, solpa, little, >> little. >> >> I now equate solpa, solpa to mean space, a little space. And I think >> that's where my city and Bangalore city are positioned today, positioned >> at solpa, solpa, a little space – inch, centimeter, millimeter, solpa, >> solpa. The city has been a space of conflict, everyone fighting for >> territory, space and economic holding. There will definitely be no >> situation where there is no conflict. I notice conflict in Bombay's >> local >> trains and there will always be. Women fight for water at the standposts >> and there is conflict but violence happens when access is denied, when >> the >> space, solpa, solpa, becomes difficult to reach to. There is no question >> for adjust maadi then. And I guess this is what is happening in our >> cities >> today. The conflict seems to have escalated and is assuming proportions >> of >> violence. The space for 'adjust maadi' is getting scarce as we stand on >> the edges, the brinks of precarity where violence is absolutely >> imminent. >> A little spark and the next thing I know will be >> Tottering, standing, wavering, tottering, falling. >> >> As I write the above words, the transition that I see from conflict to >> violence, it will seem like I am talking of a prophetic doom, as if >> violence were imminent and the futures of our cities have been already >> written. But I must reassert that our futures are not written so >> completely. Today I feel angry, apathetic, dejected, pessimistic, but at >> every moment, some spaces get carved out, some stories get enacted on >> the >> stage of the urban and the script just gets altered. The drama is >> upturned, four feet crouched on the stomach. >> >> THE END. >> >> Claimer: I hereby take responsibility for the above words which may >> appear >> patronizing, emerging out of a sense of guilt, disregarding >> anthropological positions of subject, object, practice, induction, etc. >> Rubbishing every theory, I call this state of mind, state of being! >> >> >> >> Zainab Bawa >> Bombay >> www.xanga.com/CityBytes >> http://crimsonfeet.recut.org/rubrique53.html >> >> _________________________________________ >> 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 abshi at vsnl.com Mon Jun 19 18:04:31 2006 From: abshi at vsnl.com (Shilpa Phadke) Date: Mon, 19 Jun 2006 18:04:31 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] reader-list Digest, Vol 35, Issue 24 References: Message-ID: <000401c693a9$a3ef8fa0$c088050a@abc> Please circulate widely. Sorry for cross-posting. -------------------------------------------------------- The South and Southeast Asia Resource Centre on Sexuality Applied Study Program on Sexual Diversity About the Centre The South and Southeast Asia Resource Centre on Sexuality aims to increase knowledge and scholarship on issues of sexuality, sexual health and sexual well being in this region. The Resource Centre specifically focuses on sexuality related work in China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, The Philippines, and Vietnam. A regional Advisory Committee provides inputs on country specific needs. Similar centres are located in Africa, Latin America, and the United States. The Centre serves as a space for activists, advocates, practitioners, and researchers, to better understand, examine, and expand upon the complex issues surrounding debates on sexuality. Goals The goals of the Resource Centre are to: a.. Develop and build on the scholarship and capacity in the field of sexuality in the South and Southeast Asian region with a view to transform theory into practice. b.. Enhance the conceptual understanding of the fields of sexuality, gender, and rights and of their inter-linkages with socio-cultural issues in the South and Southeast Asian region. c.. Increase and consolidate the knowledge base and resources available on issues of sexuality and sexual well-being in the South and Southeast Asian region. Applied Study Program on Sexual Diversity: Aug 23 - Sept 19, 2006 What is it? The Applied Study Program focuses on the practical implications of working on issues of sexuality using a rights affirming approach. Through this program participants are exposed to a variety of rights-based strategies used by organisations that work on sexuality. This year, the four-week long program is on issues of Sexual Diversity, primarily focusing on issues of men who have sex with men (MSM) and on transgender issues. It will host 5 participants from different countries in the South and Southeast Asia region. The programme will be in English. The Resource Centre will meet costs of participants' travel, boarding, and lodging. Where is it? The Applied Study Programme on Sexual Diversity will be conducted in Surabaya, Indonesia in collaboration with The GAYa NUSANTARA Foundation from August 23 to September 19, 2006. GAYa NUSANTARA is a pioneering organisation in Indonesia that provides HIV/AIDS counselling; community outreach and gay awareness workshops, sexual health services program, integrating physical, psychological and social aspects; and engages in advocacy for sexual rig hts. GAYa NUSANTARA coordinates the Indonesian lesbian and gay network, consisting of lesbian and gay organizations and individual activists throughout the nation. Many of the organizations in the network comprise also of transgendered people (warias) and lesbians. Who can apply? Participants will be selected from amongst those placed at a middle level in their organisations, who have prior experience and interest in working on issues of sexual diversity. Individuals working on MSM and/or Transgender issues are strongly encouraged to apply. Participants will be selected through a selection/nomination process after they complete the application process. What will participants do in this program? The Applied Study Program will be a combination of work and study. Participants will work in GAYa NUSANTARA under the guidance and supervision of two experienced mentors - Dede Oetomo and Chung To. Participants will be paired with a member of the host organisation who will be their study partner through the program and also familiarise them with the nuances of an unfamiliar cultural context. Participants will learn more about sexual diversity issues, including advocacy for sexual rights. They will discuss and analyse strategies and experiences in their own country contexts and will also meet other local groups working on these issues. Participants will focus on strategies for human rights advocacy (for groups marginalized on account of their sexuality/gender) as well as political alliance building with other social movements. The program content and process will be documented for dissemination. As a result of this program, we hope participants will build their capacity as activists, advocates, and practitioners, to further develop and improve upon the work they are doing and share country-level experiences and strategies across the region. Depending on the participants' background, interests, and expertise, they will be expected to contribute to GAYa NUSANTARA's as well as the Resource Centre's activities by holding seminars on their topics of interest, acting as resource persons, developing articles for publication, and so on. Contact Us The South and Southeast Asia Resource Centre on Sexuality TARSHI (Talking About Reproductive and Sexual Health Issues) 11 Mathura Road, First Floor Jangpura B, New Delhi, 110014, India. Phone: 91-11-24379070, 24379071 Fax: 91-11-24374022 Email: resourcecentre at tarshi.net Website : www.asiasrc.org --------------------------------------------------------------- Arpita Das Programme Associate The South and Southeast Asia Resource Centre on Sexuality Hosted by TARSHI 11 Mathura Road, 1st Floor, Jangpura B, New Delhi-110014, India. Phone: 91-11-24379070, 24379071 Email: arpita at tarshi.net Website: www.asiasrc.org From abhinanditamathur at gmail.com Tue Jun 20 02:13:01 2006 From: abhinanditamathur at gmail.com (abhinandita mathur) Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 02:13:01 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Walk through the Galis of Purani Dilli Message-ID: <19aa1b810606191343s4b7ffcb3td6a4c00b4e268e56@mail.gmail.com> Walk through the Galis with children from the Mathur Building turned into a day long outing. Very fun. Pictures and details: www.mathurbuilding.blogspot.com abhinandita From jace at pobox.com Tue Jun 20 11:14:42 2006 From: jace at pobox.com (Kiran Jonnalagadda) Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 11:14:42 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Conflict versus Violence In-Reply-To: <1117.219.65.10.24.1150720845.squirrel@webmail.xtdnet.nl> References: <1225.219.65.11.196.1150653087.squirrel@webmail.xtdnet.nl> <1d804b40606181444i41d04906h73053671bcd38afc@mail.gmail.com> <1117.219.65.10.24.1150720845.squirrel@webmail.xtdnet.nl> Message-ID: <00311C2A-CC29-4342-85D3-7FC7A7761CC6@pobox.com> It's been observed and proven by study that the more the witnesses there are, the lesser the likelihood any of them will react. The Kitty Genovese murder incident of 1964 is frequently cited. 38 people were witness to her murder on a street. None of them bothered to react to her cries for help. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitty_Genovese http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/predators/kitty_genovese/ ~j On 19-Jun-06, at 6:10 PM, zainab at xtdnet.nl wrote: > > Hi Yogi, > Thanks for writing in. I wonder what gets us to react in ways that > you did > on Sunday night, I did last night and the crowd did when the cow went > giddy? Is it only apathy? Or is it the fear of getting too involved? > Regards, > Zainab > > >> I was yesterday walking in connaught place. I walked passed a a young >> dark colored woman, sitting in a corner with her head down and >> completely motionless. >> In front of her on the ground was a small baby completely naked and >> again motionless. >> There were a few one rupee coins scattered around the baby. >> I tried not to pay attention and got into a restaurant and had some >> food and drinks and completely forgot about the woman and the child. >> After a few hours, as i was walking back to my car, I again saw the >> woman with her face down completely motionless, and in front of her >> was her baby still naked and still motionless. and the coins >> untouched. was she dead? was her baby dead? i don't know. I wanted to >> help but I didn't know how to help, or was afraid to help. >> (cowardness, guilt, disgust) >> >> -yogi >> >> On 6/18/06, zainab at xtdnet.nl wrote: >>> Sometimes just a scene gets you to write. >>> >>> I write … >>> >>> This evening I was walking past the bus stop to get to home. On the >>> outsides of Byculla market is a garbage dump. About four to five >>> cows >>> are >>> always hovering around the dump, getting some grub (just as much >>> as some >>> urchins hover around the dump for their daily bread and possibly >>> a bit >>> of >>> butter). >>> >>> It was about 9 PM. I saw one of the cows upturned. She was on her >>> back, >>> her four feet crouched onto her stomach. I could not understand >>> what was >>> happening to her. I wondered whether she was suffering from a >>> terrible >>> stomachache. She rolled to the sides, then attempted to get up. >>> As she >>> got >>> up, she tottered on her feet, clamoured, tottered, and then fell >>> sideways. >>> Another cow, brown in colour, standing by her started to move >>> into the >>> space left open by the small crowd, looking at the bystanders >>> (many of >>> who >>> had collected by then out of curiosity and some waiting for their >>> bus to >>> arrive). The brown cow stared into the crowd, as if asking for >>> help. A >>> man >>> on a cycle shouted out, 'pour some water onto her. She is giddy'. He >>> went >>> on to say how the cows are not fed and made to do a lot of work >>> which is >>> why this one had gotten giddy. Meanwhile, the cow continued to >>> get up, >>> totter, and fall. The condition of this cow was pathetic. I am >>> almost >>> feeling helpless as I write because these futile words are just >>> unable >>> describe the visual I have witnessed. >>> >>> Tottered, stood, wavered, tottered, fell. >>> Tottered, stood, wavered, tottered, clamoured, fell. >>> Tottered, stood, wavered, tottered, clamoured, stood, fell. >>> >>> The man on the cycle continued, 'everyone is standing, staring at >>> her. >>> No >>> one is coming to her rescue. She may just go mad and hit out at the >>> crowd.' All the bystanders were feeling something – some felt >>> pity, some >>> expressed sympathy, but no one came forward. I got frightened. >>> The word >>> VIOLENCE rang into my head as I witnessed this all. I wondered >>> when the >>> cow would go mad and lash out at the crowd. Meanwhile, I almost >>> felt as >>> if >>> the brown cow was advancing towards me. I quickly decided to move >>> away >>> and >>> head back home. >>> >>> (Frightened >>> Vulnerable >>> Ashamed >>> Guilty) >>> >>> >>> I feel indifferent these days. I walk around the city as if I >>> were numb. >>> There are times when I get aggressive. I wonder whether I will >>> also feel >>> giddy, totter, waver, stand and then fall ... >>> >>> >>> CUT TO BANGALORE >>> >>> The autorickshaw was standing at the signal of Forum Mall at >>> Koramangala. >>> A dark girl was selling cotton ear buds. I looked at her as she >>> moved >>> around. She was as beautiful as a doll. I felt a strong sense of >>> affection >>> towards her. I decided that if she were to come by me, I will buy >>> the >>> cotton buds. And she came by me. >>> Ten rupees, she said. >>> I brought out the coins from my purse and gave it to her. >>> Ten rupees, she said. >>> Ten rupees, I said, counting out the coins to her. >>> Ten rupees, she said again. >>> Ten rupees, what the hell, I said to myself, until I quickly >>> realized >>> that >>> for her, ten rupees meant a ten rupee note. She could not count. She >>> could >>> not decipher. I fished for a ten rupee note and gave it to her. She >>> smiled >>> and handed out a packet of ear buds to me. >>> I went back home that evening and narrated the story to Nick. He >>> looked >>> at >>> the cotton buds and said to me, >>> Careful, these are risky. The cotton can just come off and the >>> plastic >>> can >>> hit your ear drum and cause damage. >>> As I lay in the bed that night, I wondered how it would feel for the >>> plastic to hit my ear drum and I go deaf. DEAF! How I wish I were >>> deaf! >>> Life would perhaps be easier then. I would not be able to listen. >>> I would not be able to listen to the screams of apathy. >>> I would not be able to listen to the screeching silences. >>> I would not be able to listen to things not spoken, but definite. >>> DEAF, I wish I were. >>> >>> (Coward >>> Vulnerable >>> Fragile >>> Guilty) >>> >>> CUT TO BANGALORE PUBLIC TRANSPORT >>> >>> Where else do you get the flavour of the city but for its public >>> transport! I started to do a jaunt on the Bangalore buses. The >>> lines of >>> gender division are clear in here. The front portion of the bus >>> is for >>> the >>> women, the rear for the men. On my first trip on the BMTC bus, I >>> happened >>> to get pushed to the rear side when a man, himself squashed, said >>> to me >>> in >>> Kannada to move ahead because that's the place for women. >>> >>> The ladies section was crowded to the core. 'Solpa solpa,' 'little, >>> little', they kept saying. Little to me implied space, just a little >>> space, push a bit, shove a bit, twitch a bit, solpa, solpa, little, >>> little. >>> >>> I now equate solpa, solpa to mean space, a little space. And I think >>> that's where my city and Bangalore city are positioned today, >>> positioned >>> at solpa, solpa, a little space – inch, centimeter, millimeter, >>> solpa, >>> solpa. The city has been a space of conflict, everyone fighting for >>> territory, space and economic holding. There will definitely be no >>> situation where there is no conflict. I notice conflict in Bombay's >>> local >>> trains and there will always be. Women fight for water at the >>> standposts >>> and there is conflict but violence happens when access is denied, >>> when >>> the >>> space, solpa, solpa, becomes difficult to reach to. There is no >>> question >>> for adjust maadi then. And I guess this is what is happening in our >>> cities >>> today. The conflict seems to have escalated and is assuming >>> proportions >>> of >>> violence. The space for 'adjust maadi' is getting scarce as we >>> stand on >>> the edges, the brinks of precarity where violence is absolutely >>> imminent. >>> A little spark and the next thing I know will be >>> Tottering, standing, wavering, tottering, falling. >>> >>> As I write the above words, the transition that I see from >>> conflict to >>> violence, it will seem like I am talking of a prophetic doom, as if >>> violence were imminent and the futures of our cities have been >>> already >>> written. But I must reassert that our futures are not written so >>> completely. Today I feel angry, apathetic, dejected, pessimistic, >>> but at >>> every moment, some spaces get carved out, some stories get >>> enacted on >>> the >>> stage of the urban and the script just gets altered. The drama is >>> upturned, four feet crouched on the stomach. >>> >>> THE END. >>> >>> Claimer: I hereby take responsibility for the above words which may >>> appear >>> patronizing, emerging out of a sense of guilt, disregarding >>> anthropological positions of subject, object, practice, >>> induction, etc. >>> Rubbishing every theory, I call this state of mind, state of being! >>> >>> >>> >>> Zainab Bawa >>> Bombay >>> www.xanga.com/CityBytes >>> http://crimsonfeet.recut.org/rubrique53.html >>> >>> _________________________________________ >>> 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 > > _________________________________________ > 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: > -- Kiran Jonnalagadda http://www.pobox.com/~jace From stevphen at autonomedia.org Tue Jun 20 11:15:47 2006 From: stevphen at autonomedia.org (Stevphen Shukaitis) Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 01:45:47 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Reader-list] The Commoner Number 11 Re(in)fusing the Commons Message-ID: <50105.70.107.231.66.1150782347.squirrel@mail.panix.com> The Commoner N. 11. Spring/Summer 2006 http://www.thecommoner.org Re(in)fusing the Commons Angela Mitropoulos, Autonomy, Recognition, Movement Nick Dyer-Witheford, Species-Being and the New Commonism Precarias a la Deriva, A Very Careful Strike - Four hypotheses P.M., The golden globes of the planetary commons George Ciccariello-Maher, Working-Class One-Sidedness from Sorel to Tronti Silvia Federici, The Restructuring of Social Reproduction in the United States in the 1970s Ida Dominijanni, Heiresses at Twilight. The End of Politics and the Politics of Difference After ten issues, The Commoner makes the first timid steps toward changing format and organisation, towards making more explicit and visible the practices of cyber commoning it is grounded on. Watch this space, we are slow, but things will happen. Meanwhile, enjoy the edition that our two guest editors, Nate Holdren and Stevphen Shukaitis, have put together, an edition in which the different contributions are traversed by the problematic of commoning. Commoning, a term encountered by Peter Linebaugh in one of his frequent travels in the living history of commoners’ struggles, is about the (re)production of commons. To turn a noun into a verb is not a little step and requires some daring. Especially if in doing so we do not want to obscure the importance of the noun, but simply ground it on what is, after all, life flow: there are no commons without incessant activities of commoning, of (re)producing in common. But it is through (re)production in common that communities of producers decide for themselves the norms, values and measures of things. Let us put the “tragedy of the commons” to rest then, the basis of neoliberal argument for the privatisation: there is no commons without commoning, there are no commons without communities of producers and particular flows and modes of relations, an insight we have focused on in issue 6 of this journal, entitled “What Alternatives? Commons and Communities, Dignity and Freedom.” Hence, what lies behind the “tragedy of the commons” is really the tragedy of the destruction of commoning through all sorts of structural adjustments, whether militarised or not. As the guest editors of this issue rightly point out, the question of commoning is linked to the question of “refusal of work,” that magic expression used in the 1970s to highlight the frontline clash of value practices. The term, however, is not meant as a refusal of doing, of commoning, of (re)producing in common, but on the contrary is an affirmation of all this in the only way possible when in the presence of a social force, capital, that aspires to couple its preservation to that of the commoners through the imposition of its measures of things. In these conditions, “refusal of work” as refusal of capital’s measures, and commoning as affirmation of other measures are the two sides of the same struggle. How can we refuse capital’s measure without participating in the constitution of other common measures? And how can we participate in this commonality without at the same time setting a limit, refusing capital’s measure? The setting of a limit to the beast and the constitution of an “outside” are two inescapable coordinates of struggle. It is through the problematic of this polarity that we could read the very diverse contributions of this issue of The Commoner. Massimo De Angelis ___ In June 2005, at the centenary celebration of the Industrial Workers of the World, historian and Midnight Notes Collective member Peter Linebaugh made a provocative remark in a talk about the commons. He said the World Bank also talks about commons. An important difference in how we think about the commons, he suggested, should be that we pay attention to practices of commoning, as human activities. In light of this remark, we would like to suggest a gloss on the title of this journal. Commoner, not only as someone who dwells within and relies upon the commons, but also as someone who commons. To common: to produce and hold in common. Just as capitalist production has as its fundamental product social relations in the form of the capital relation, commoning produces social relations in the form of commons, freely associated humanity. It is in this sense that we want to link the commons with the work of Mario Tronti, linking commoning with the refusal of work. What is the relationship between refusal of work and commons? Well, first, what do we mean by refusal of work? It has been noted before that 'refusal of work' is not simply 'refusal to work,’ but it is refusal of the work relationship. Work has at least two moments: the purchase by the capitalist of our bodies and time in the form of the commodity labor power, and the capitalist attempt to make use of our bodies and time after the purchase is made. Refusal of work spans both moments: the attempt to break out of the need to sell oneself as a commodity, and the attempt to resist or completely refuse being made use of if one has sold oneself. How does this relate to commons? We see it this way: another name for the compulsion to sell labor power is 'enclosure.’ And it is only within the enclosed spaces of workplaces (which, to be clear, for us include homes, classrooms – potentially any moment of life) and by resort to the violent mechanisms of enclosure that the capitalist can make use of us for surplus value production. The commons, then, in these terms is two things. It is a name for spaces, times, histories, memories, moments of life that are not – or at least not fully – enclosed, ruled by and functional for capital. It is the uses of our bodies and times that are different from and antithetical to the capitalist use. We do not only mean this in an abstract and utopian sense. The commons were constructed; the new commons are being constructed. Commoning is a process of organization. In a sense the commons are always already organized. They do not exist without organization(s), sometimes formal but more often informal. The simple fact of producing the commons is a moment of refusal of the values of capitalism. Refusal of work is simultaneously an attempt to produce new commons, new forms of commoning (we can all point to relationships, memories, styles, images, and knowledges produced through our involvements in strikes, demonstrations, and other forms of refusal), an attempt to defend existing commons, and a use of existing commons to attack – or defend ourselves against – capitalism. If we do not have a type of commons in the social relationships with our comrades then our efforts are less likely to succeed. Stan Weir recognized this when he stressed the importance of informal work groups, and emphasized their empirical existence within important struggles. This issue of the Commoner was originally intended to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the publication of Mario Tronti's Operai e Capitale, a text which had an enormous impact on the Italian far left and whose influence is most present today in the work of Antonio Negri. Part of the project for we commoners is to analyze the facts and questions that Tronti posed: “How is the working class made, from the inside, how does it function inside capital, how does it work, how does it struggle, in what sense does it accept the system, in what way does it strategically refuse it?” Our goal for this issue is a modest one: to show the continuing relevance of Tronti's work and to draw more attention to this neglected body of Marxist thought. We expect that we are largely preaching to the choir when it comes to the readership of the Commoner. Some of the contributors to this issue have decided to directly engage with and develop Tronti's work at a theoretical level; others carry out inquiry into trends and practices within the global movements of commoners and of capitalism. While Angela Mitropoulos opens the issue by applying ideas from Tronti’s writings to explore issues around immigration and autonomy, Ida Dominijanni closes it by exploring the relation between Tronti’s thought and the feminist politics of difference. As Nick Dyer-Witheford explores connections between species-being and the specter of commonism, George Ciccariello-Maher begins to draw together a line of thought based on the logic of separation that connects thinkers such as Sorel, Tronti, Negri, and Fanon. In exploring the connection between refusing work and creating new commons it is important to not give the impression that this is not a difficult or in some cases even impossible task, especially for those who are engaged in forms of caring and affective labor. For as argued by Alisa Del Re, to build a conception of utopia upon refusing work that does not take into account the labors of social reproduction most often carried about by females is to base one’s notions of freedom on the continued exploitation of female labor. This issue is taken up by Precarias a la Deriva in their consideration of what form a strike from such constrained positions might take as well as a previously published article by Silvia Federici from the early 80s which elaborates on the revolt against housework that took place during the 70s coming out of campaigns such as Wages for Housework. What runs through all the contributions is the attempt to understand refusal and commoning in order to practice both better. To us, commoning and refusal are one and the same. Freely associated production of social relations is precisely the real movement that abolishes the present state of things. Refusal defends and produces the commons. Let us then, following the whimsical suggestion of p.m., hang golden globes all over marking points for the congealing of new planetary commons and revolt. The commons nourish and produce refusal. In the words of the IWW constitution, by the subversive practices of the global movement “we are forming the structure of the new society within the shell of the old.” Nate Holdren + Stevphen Shukaitis -- Stevphen Shukaitis Autonomedia Editorial Collective http://www.autonomedia.org http://slash.interactivist.net "Autonomy is not a fixed, essential state. Like gender, autonomy is created through its performance, by doing/becoming; it is a political practice. To become autonomous is to refuse authoritarian and compulsory cultures of separation and hierarchy through embodied practices of welcoming difference . . . Becoming autonomous is a political position for it thwarts the exclusions of proprietary knowledge and jealous hoarding of resources, and replaces the social and economic hierarchies on which these depend with a politics of skill exchange, welcome, and collaboration. Freely sharing these with others creates a common wealth of knowledge and power that subverts the domination and hegemony of the master’s rule." -subRosa Collective From rahulpandita at yahoo.com Tue Jun 20 11:17:53 2006 From: rahulpandita at yahoo.com (rahul pandita) Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 06:47:53 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Looking for Chandrashekhar Azad Message-ID: <20060620054753.89135.qmail@web31713.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Dear Friends I am looking for an original picture (photograph) of the Indian revolutionary Chandrashekhar Azad. In the photo, he is seen twirling his moustache, with a Janeu (sacred thread) running over his left shoulder. A realistic painting (is that kitsch art?), based on the original photograph is available in the market, but I am looking for the original photo. The original photo was also used in the film 'Rang De Basanti'. Where can i get this picture? Rahul Pandita www.sanitysucks.blogspot.com Mobile: 9818088664 ___________________________________________________________ All New Yahoo! Mail – Tired of Vi at gr@! come-ons? Let our SpamGuard protect you. http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowyoucan.html From zainab at xtdnet.nl Tue Jun 20 11:40:58 2006 From: zainab at xtdnet.nl (zainab at xtdnet.nl) Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 10:10:58 +0400 (RET) Subject: [Reader-list] Identity and Urban Message-ID: <1245.219.65.11.64.1150783858.squirrel@webmail.xtdnet.nl> BACK TO BANGALORE One day It’s amazing how many Muslim women I notice in Bangalore, clad in the black veil called the burkha. I notice them frequently, walking on the roads and in the BMTC buses. I wonder what it feels to be Muslim in Bangalore The other day in the BMTC bus It was bus number 27. I sat on a seat meant for two persons. At some point, a lady who I assume was Tamilian came over and sat next to me. She appeared pleasant and social. She was praying the rosary. I deducted she was Christian (overt symbols, semiotic markings, making sense of masses in the urban) and most likely not Brahmin. At the fourth block bus station, the bus started to get crowded. A tall, well-built woman came and stood by our seat. I assumed that she was Tamilian because she was wearing the white ash spread over three lines on her forehead. She was Hindu (perhaps Brahmin) and had a staunch and stern look on her face. The Tamilian Christian woman started to say something in Tamil. She then gestured to the well-built Tamilian Hindu lady to sit next to her. She began to squeeze in a bit, moved, solpa, solpa, and eventually, we were three women sitting on a seat meant for two. Our Tamilian Christian lady, the one who made space, was evidently the most uncomfortable, but she was happy that she had made space for the other lady to sit. She began to chat with me in Tamil. I don’t comprehend Tamil, but I do comprehend emotions and gestures and hence, was making some sense of what she was saying to me. She spoke to me of the Church, the priest in the church and maybe the importance of completing the rosary daily. After a while, she asked me where I was headed for. Shivajinagar, I said. Immediately she asked, ‘Muslim?’ I was a trifle shocked that she had ‘caught’ me as a Muslim. I shook my head, saying no. That evening, I wondered whether my looks were a give-away or just stating that I was headed for Shivajinagar was the give-away. I assume the latter to be true. Shivajinagar is a large market area, filled with meat shops and wood furniture trade. It is a Muslim area. I find that most of the women on bus numbers 27 and 27E who are headed for Shivajinagar are Muslim women. But an equal number are not Muslim and are still headed for Shivajinagar. Then what makes me marked as Muslim? What is it to be Muslim? Then the other day It was raining heavily. The door downstairs was locked. I had no way to reach to the house. I stood downstairs, looking like a cat drenched in the rains. The shopkeeper on the other side gestured to me to get inside the store room to protect myself. Then he gestured to switch on the lights. I could not find the exact switch. One of the boys came in and tried to find the switch. On discovering that there was no light in there after all, he went away and joined the bunch of boys. In a few minutes, some of the boys in the bunch asked me to get inside the opposite door neighbour’s house. I ran across the street. (The house opposite is interesting. It has been designed and created by its inhabitants. It consists of a row of one room tenements on one side and some store space on the other side and perhaps a toilet too. In between is a passageway which runs across the tenements. All of this is covered by a tin roof which is partitioned such that it covers the tenements’ portion on one side, is open in between through the passageway, and then covers the other side. The rain keeps pouring in the house through the open section of the roof.) I knocked on the door. The neighbour’s daughter opened the door. The boys shouted out to her saying that they must let me in till the rain stops or someone comes and opens the door downstairs, whichever is first. The daughter let me in. She can converse in English, unlike her mother who largely speaks Tamil and some amount of broken Hindi. I call the mother Amma and the daughter Sunee. Sunee asked me where I am from. We chatted a bit about my background. I asked her about some of hers. Eventually Sunee asked me, which god do you pray to? I smiled. Muslim, I said. Oh, Sunee replied back, if you stay here, you will be able to manage because there are lots of Muslims here. I smiled again. Sunee communicated to Amma that I was Muslim. Amma smiled and spoke rapidly. Sunee then translated back, Amma thought you were Christian. I smiled. Sunee mentioned that her family is Christian. I told her that I’d like to come to the church some day with them. Amma thought you were Christian. if you stay here, you will be able to manage because there are lots of Muslims here. Sunee’s words appeared schizophrenic to me because I live in a schizophrenia of identity and to some extent, a paranoia too. Sunee says I will be able to manage because there are lots of Muslims in this neighbourhood. Then Sunee says that Amma thought I was Christian. And here is precisely where my schizophrenia strikes. I dress differently as against conventional Muslims. I barely behave like a Muslim. Among Muslims, I am an outsider. An outsider! Schizophrenia! Paranoia! I stand on borders I don’t know of. Precarity, on the edge. Identity, affiliation. Outsider I feel and perhaps remain. It reminds me of my times when I walk through the lanes of Imambada where I see myself clearly as an outsider, by custom, manners, demeanor. And maybe others see me as an outsider too. Mumbai-Bangalore Tilaknagar is in Bangalore. Imambada and Dongri in Mumbai. Both places are different. Being Muslim in Mumbai is a tactile experience, perhaps emerging magnifies owing to the density and crowdedness in this city. But as I walk through the now familiar lanes of Tilaknagar, I also conclude that the experience of being Muslim in Dongri and Imambada and the texture and tactility which comes along with it is embedded in memory. For me, these are vivid memories of the 1992-1993 communal riots in (the then) Bombay. While I was not living in those areas at the time of the riots, my childhood affiliation with the place and the marked identity of being Muslim add to the sense of tactility and that texture (which I guess is lined with inherent paranoia) which I experience as I navigate through Dongri and Imambada. I don’t know Tilaknagar yet. But I do know that it has a history and like Dongri and Imambada, it continues to be a marked space – space for rumour, riot and mischief, linked with everyday life, practices, the print media and people’s memory/ies. I don’t know what it is to be Muslim in Bangalore. THE END. Zainab Bawa Bombay www.xanga.com/CityBytes http://crimsonfeet.recut.org/rubrique53.html From hpp at vsnl.com Tue Jun 20 12:18:39 2006 From: hpp at vsnl.com (hpp at vsnl.com) Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 06:48:39 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] Short stories of Subimal Misra Message-ID: Dear Friends Some time back I had posted a message about my project of translating short stories of the Bengali writer Subimal Misra. Two stories are now on-line at: http://www.hackwriters.com/misra.htm and http://www.hackwriters.com/Camel.htm I would be happy to get your comments. Thanks. Best regards V Ramaswamy Calcutta / INDIA From rochellepinto at yahoo.com Mon Jun 19 13:50:03 2006 From: rochellepinto at yahoo.com (rochelle pinto) Date: Mon, 19 Jun 2006 01:20:03 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] (no subject) Message-ID: <20060619082003.9227.qmail@web30509.mail.mud.yahoo.com> I found Varavara Rao's poem poignant and politically charged. It is a pity though that middle class women's sexuality is still such a convenient target for leftist opposition to middle class culture. (Since this is the one thing that unites the left and every other party in India, I see no problem in clubbing Varavara Rao with every other leftist organisation) If one asks why the high visibility of middle class sexuality evokes such a response, it will probably be met with a predictable and vulgar combination of repressive ideas of what 'good' and 'bad' sexuality are, what tradition is, and what the public role of revolutionary women should be. The phrase 'cute little girls' is both condescending and politically blind. It is a mistake for Varavara Rao to imagine that the female anti-reservation activists are unable to hold their own political views because they are so attentive to their appearance. It is disappointing that a writer and activist whose life and work are much respected, cannot find other means of criticism beyond 'chiffon saris and punjabi dresses and breasts carrying ...stethoscopes'. --------------------------------- Ring'em or ping'em. Make PC-to-phone calls as low as 1¢/min with Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060619/57a3c8b1/attachment.html From zzjamaal at yahoo.co.in Tue Jun 20 01:35:08 2006 From: zzjamaal at yahoo.co.in (khalid jamal) Date: Mon, 19 Jun 2006 21:05:08 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Conflict versus Violence In-Reply-To: <1225.219.65.11.196.1150653087.squirrel@webmail.xtdnet.nl> Message-ID: <20060619200508.4527.qmail@web8606.mail.in.yahoo.com> Dear Zainab, You are right: "Sometimes just a scene gets you to write." But for the past few months i am realizing that when we see something, it does't just crosses our eye, it also crosses our brain, our conscience and the sensation of what we see, decides what we do next.It takes us away,however momentarily, from what we were thinking,seeing and feeling ... And if we(or atleast I..) decide to write, it takes me back to the point of "encounter"; i recall the visual, the exact point, the sound, the smell and while this whole process of recalling continues, the new image of what i 'd seen evolves..or shall i say re-evolves.. This becomes the most important point of my writing because at this point i always ask myself," Are you sure this is what you saw or you are exagerrating , missing out some thing or just mixing up many other images that crossed, formed, & deformed in your mind at that moment..??" Writing then become a very isolating process.It suddenly opens a lot of doors of thinking..going back into past, coming back, asking a question,trying to answer that question and by the time this happens,a new question pops up with a new answer.. Writing at such moments, becomes a Jihad, a Struggle , in the true sense of the term.. But no matter what, there is always a time gap between the two thoughts.Always. And when i worked in a fast food joint i often wondered, " What if my manager comes to know abt this gap?" "...Would he fill it with more work?? Or..." And my manager comes into the picture... i start working again..the gap gets filled on it own. Goodluck and keep up the struggle.. zainab at xtdnet.nl wrote: Sometimes just a scene gets you to write. I write This evening I was walking past the bus stop to get to home. On the outsides of Byculla market is a garbage dump. About four to five cows are always hovering around the dump, getting some grub (just as much as some urchins hover around the dump for their daily bread and possibly a bit of butter). It was about 9 PM. I saw one of the cows upturned. She was on her back, her four feet crouched onto her stomach. I could not understand what was happening to her. I wondered whether she was suffering from a terrible stomachache. She rolled to the sides, then attempted to get up. As she got up, she tottered on her feet, clamoured, tottered, and then fell sideways. Another cow, brown in colour, standing by her started to move into the space left open by the small crowd, looking at the bystanders (many of who had collected by then out of curiosity and some waiting for their bus to arrive). The brown cow stared into the crowd, as if asking for help. A man on a cycle shouted out, ‘pour some water onto her. She is giddy’. He went on to say how the cows are not fed and made to do a lot of work which is why this one had gotten giddy. Meanwhile, the cow continued to get up, totter, and fall. The condition of this cow was pathetic. I am almost feeling helpless as I write because these futile words are just unable describe the visual I have witnessed. Tottered, stood, wavered, tottered, fell. Tottered, stood, wavered, tottered, clamoured, fell. Tottered, stood, wavered, tottered, clamoured, stood, fell. The man on the cycle continued, ‘everyone is standing, staring at her. No one is coming to her rescue. She may just go mad and hit out at the crowd.’ All the bystanders were feeling something – some felt pity, some expressed sympathy, but no one came forward. I got frightened. The word VIOLENCE rang into my head as I witnessed this all. I wondered when the cow would go mad and lash out at the crowd. Meanwhile, I almost felt as if the brown cow was advancing towards me. I quickly decided to move away and head back home. (Frightened Vulnerable Ashamed Guilty) I feel indifferent these days. I walk around the city as if I were numb. There are times when I get aggressive. I wonder whether I will also feel giddy, totter, waver, stand and then fall ... CUT TO BANGALORE The autorickshaw was standing at the signal of Forum Mall at Koramangala. A dark girl was selling cotton ear buds. I looked at her as she moved around. She was as beautiful as a doll. I felt a strong sense of affection towards her. I decided that if she were to come by me, I will buy the cotton buds. And she came by me. Ten rupees, she said. I brought out the coins from my purse and gave it to her. Ten rupees, she said. Ten rupees, I said, counting out the coins to her. Ten rupees, she said again. Ten rupees, what the hell, I said to myself, until I quickly realized that for her, ten rupees meant a ten rupee note. She could not count. She could not decipher. I fished for a ten rupee note and gave it to her. She smiled and handed out a packet of ear buds to me. I went back home that evening and narrated the story to Nick. He looked at the cotton buds and said to me, Careful, these are risky. The cotton can just come off and the plastic can hit your ear drum and cause damage. As I lay in the bed that night, I wondered how it would feel for the plastic to hit my ear drum and I go deaf. DEAF! How I wish I were deaf! Life would perhaps be easier then. I would not be able to listen. I would not be able to listen to the screams of apathy. I would not be able to listen to the screeching silences. I would not be able to listen to things not spoken, but definite. DEAF, I wish I were. (Coward Vulnerable Fragile Guilty) CUT TO BANGALORE PUBLIC TRANSPORT Where else do you get the flavour of the city but for its public transport! I started to do a jaunt on the Bangalore buses. The lines of gender division are clear in here. The front portion of the bus is for the women, the rear for the men. On my first trip on the BMTC bus, I happened to get pushed to the rear side when a man, himself squashed, said to me in Kannada to move ahead because that’s the place for women. The ladies section was crowded to the core. ‘Solpa solpa,’ ‘little, little’, they kept saying. Little to me implied space, just a little space, push a bit, shove a bit, twitch a bit, solpa, solpa, little, little. I now equate solpa, solpa to mean space, a little space. And I think that’s where my city and Bangalore city are positioned today, positioned at solpa, solpa, a little space – inch, centimeter, millimeter, solpa, solpa. The city has been a space of conflict, everyone fighting for territory, space and economic holding. There will definitely be no situation where there is no conflict. I notice conflict in Bombay’s local trains and there will always be. Women fight for water at the standposts and there is conflict but violence happens when access is denied, when the space, solpa, solpa, becomes difficult to reach to. There is no question for adjust maadi then. And I guess this is what is happening in our cities today. The conflict seems to have escalated and is assuming proportions of violence. The space for ‘adjust maadi’ is getting scarce as we stand on the edges, the brinks of precarity where violence is absolutely imminent. A little spark and the next thing I know will be Tottering, standing, wavering, tottering, falling. As I write the above words, the transition that I see from conflict to violence, it will seem like I am talking of a prophetic doom, as if violence were imminent and the futures of our cities have been already written. But I must reassert that our futures are not written so completely. Today I feel angry, apathetic, dejected, pessimistic, but at every moment, some spaces get carved out, some stories get enacted on the stage of the urban and the script just gets altered. The drama is upturned, four feet crouched on the stomach. THE END. Claimer: I hereby take responsibility for the above words which may appear patronizing, emerging out of a sense of guilt, disregarding anthropological positions of subject, object, practice, induction, etc. Rubbishing every theory, I call this state of mind, state of being! Zainab Bawa Bombay www.xanga.com/CityBytes http://crimsonfeet.recut.org/rubrique53.html _________________________________________ 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: ONE LIFE. ONE SHOT. Happiness, Health & Peace, Syed Khalid Jamal --------------------------------- Yahoo! India Answers: Share what you know. Learn something new Click here Send free SMS to your Friends on Mobile from your Yahoo! Messenger Download now -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060619/badd77ce/attachment.html From padmalatha.ravi at gmail.com Tue Jun 20 12:21:37 2006 From: padmalatha.ravi at gmail.com (Padmalatha Ravi) Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 12:21:37 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Conflict versus Violence In-Reply-To: <00311C2A-CC29-4342-85D3-7FC7A7761CC6@pobox.com> References: <1225.219.65.11.196.1150653087.squirrel@webmail.xtdnet.nl> <1d804b40606181444i41d04906h73053671bcd38afc@mail.gmail.com> <1117.219.65.10.24.1150720845.squirrel@webmail.xtdnet.nl> <00311C2A-CC29-4342-85D3-7FC7A7761CC6@pobox.com> Message-ID: It is not just apathy but a mixture of not wanting to be involved and also not knowing how to help. We go through situations like this every single day, but don't take it beyond one odd thought for the person in trouble. On 6/20/06, Kiran Jonnalagadda wrote: > > It's been observed and proven by study that the more the witnesses > there are, the lesser the likelihood any of them will react. The > Kitty Genovese murder incident of 1964 is frequently cited. 38 people > were witness to her murder on a street. None of them bothered to > react to her cries for help. See: > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitty_Genovese > http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/predators/kitty_genovese/ > > ~j > > > On 19-Jun-06, at 6:10 PM, zainab at xtdnet.nl wrote: > > > > > Hi Yogi, > > Thanks for writing in. I wonder what gets us to react in ways that > > you did > > on Sunday night, I did last night and the crowd did when the cow went > > giddy? Is it only apathy? Or is it the fear of getting too involved? > > Regards, > > Zainab > > > > > >> I was yesterday walking in connaught place. I walked passed a a young > >> dark colored woman, sitting in a corner with her head down and > >> completely motionless. > >> In front of her on the ground was a small baby completely naked and > >> again motionless. > >> There were a few one rupee coins scattered around the baby. > >> I tried not to pay attention and got into a restaurant and had some > >> food and drinks and completely forgot about the woman and the child. > >> After a few hours, as i was walking back to my car, I again saw the > >> woman with her face down completely motionless, and in front of her > >> was her baby still naked and still motionless. and the coins > >> untouched. was she dead? was her baby dead? i don't know. I wanted to > >> help but I didn't know how to help, or was afraid to help. > >> (cowardness, guilt, disgust) > >> > >> -yogi > >> > >> On 6/18/06, zainab at xtdnet.nl wrote: > >>> Sometimes just a scene gets you to write. > >>> > >>> I write … > >>> > >>> This evening I was walking past the bus stop to get to home. On the > >>> outsides of Byculla market is a garbage dump. About four to five > >>> cows > >>> are > >>> always hovering around the dump, getting some grub (just as much > >>> as some > >>> urchins hover around the dump for their daily bread and possibly > >>> a bit > >>> of > >>> butter). > >>> > >>> It was about 9 PM. I saw one of the cows upturned. She was on her > >>> back, > >>> her four feet crouched onto her stomach. I could not understand > >>> what was > >>> happening to her. I wondered whether she was suffering from a > >>> terrible > >>> stomachache. She rolled to the sides, then attempted to get up. > >>> As she > >>> got > >>> up, she tottered on her feet, clamoured, tottered, and then fell > >>> sideways. > >>> Another cow, brown in colour, standing by her started to move > >>> into the > >>> space left open by the small crowd, looking at the bystanders > >>> (many of > >>> who > >>> had collected by then out of curiosity and some waiting for their > >>> bus to > >>> arrive). The brown cow stared into the crowd, as if asking for > >>> help. A > >>> man > >>> on a cycle shouted out, 'pour some water onto her. She is giddy'. He > >>> went > >>> on to say how the cows are not fed and made to do a lot of work > >>> which is > >>> why this one had gotten giddy. Meanwhile, the cow continued to > >>> get up, > >>> totter, and fall. The condition of this cow was pathetic. I am > >>> almost > >>> feeling helpless as I write because these futile words are just > >>> unable > >>> describe the visual I have witnessed. > >>> > >>> Tottered, stood, wavered, tottered, fell. > >>> Tottered, stood, wavered, tottered, clamoured, fell. > >>> Tottered, stood, wavered, tottered, clamoured, stood, fell. > >>> > >>> The man on the cycle continued, 'everyone is standing, staring at > >>> her. > >>> No > >>> one is coming to her rescue. She may just go mad and hit out at the > >>> crowd.' All the bystanders were feeling something – some felt > >>> pity, some > >>> expressed sympathy, but no one came forward. I got frightened. > >>> The word > >>> VIOLENCE rang into my head as I witnessed this all. I wondered > >>> when the > >>> cow would go mad and lash out at the crowd. Meanwhile, I almost > >>> felt as > >>> if > >>> the brown cow was advancing towards me. I quickly decided to move > >>> away > >>> and > >>> head back home. > >>> > >>> (Frightened > >>> Vulnerable > >>> Ashamed > >>> Guilty) > >>> > >>> > >>> I feel indifferent these days. I walk around the city as if I > >>> were numb. > >>> There are times when I get aggressive. I wonder whether I will > >>> also feel > >>> giddy, totter, waver, stand and then fall ... > >>> > >>> > >>> CUT TO BANGALORE > >>> > >>> The autorickshaw was standing at the signal of Forum Mall at > >>> Koramangala. > >>> A dark girl was selling cotton ear buds. I looked at her as she > >>> moved > >>> around. She was as beautiful as a doll. I felt a strong sense of > >>> affection > >>> towards her. I decided that if she were to come by me, I will buy > >>> the > >>> cotton buds. And she came by me. > >>> Ten rupees, she said. > >>> I brought out the coins from my purse and gave it to her. > >>> Ten rupees, she said. > >>> Ten rupees, I said, counting out the coins to her. > >>> Ten rupees, she said again. > >>> Ten rupees, what the hell, I said to myself, until I quickly > >>> realized > >>> that > >>> for her, ten rupees meant a ten rupee note. She could not count. She > >>> could > >>> not decipher. I fished for a ten rupee note and gave it to her. She > >>> smiled > >>> and handed out a packet of ear buds to me. > >>> I went back home that evening and narrated the story to Nick. He > >>> looked > >>> at > >>> the cotton buds and said to me, > >>> Careful, these are risky. The cotton can just come off and the > >>> plastic > >>> can > >>> hit your ear drum and cause damage. > >>> As I lay in the bed that night, I wondered how it would feel for the > >>> plastic to hit my ear drum and I go deaf. DEAF! How I wish I were > >>> deaf! > >>> Life would perhaps be easier then. I would not be able to listen. > >>> I would not be able to listen to the screams of apathy. > >>> I would not be able to listen to the screeching silences. > >>> I would not be able to listen to things not spoken, but definite. > >>> DEAF, I wish I were. > >>> > >>> (Coward > >>> Vulnerable > >>> Fragile > >>> Guilty) > >>> > >>> CUT TO BANGALORE PUBLIC TRANSPORT > >>> > >>> Where else do you get the flavour of the city but for its public > >>> transport! I started to do a jaunt on the Bangalore buses. The > >>> lines of > >>> gender division are clear in here. The front portion of the bus > >>> is for > >>> the > >>> women, the rear for the men. On my first trip on the BMTC bus, I > >>> happened > >>> to get pushed to the rear side when a man, himself squashed, said > >>> to me > >>> in > >>> Kannada to move ahead because that's the place for women. > >>> > >>> The ladies section was crowded to the core. 'Solpa solpa,' 'little, > >>> little', they kept saying. Little to me implied space, just a little > >>> space, push a bit, shove a bit, twitch a bit, solpa, solpa, little, > >>> little. > >>> > >>> I now equate solpa, solpa to mean space, a little space. And I think > >>> that's where my city and Bangalore city are positioned today, > >>> positioned > >>> at solpa, solpa, a little space – inch, centimeter, millimeter, > >>> solpa, > >>> solpa. The city has been a space of conflict, everyone fighting for > >>> territory, space and economic holding. There will definitely be no > >>> situation where there is no conflict. I notice conflict in Bombay's > >>> local > >>> trains and there will always be. Women fight for water at the > >>> standposts > >>> and there is conflict but violence happens when access is denied, > >>> when > >>> the > >>> space, solpa, solpa, becomes difficult to reach to. There is no > >>> question > >>> for adjust maadi then. And I guess this is what is happening in our > >>> cities > >>> today. The conflict seems to have escalated and is assuming > >>> proportions > >>> of > >>> violence. The space for 'adjust maadi' is getting scarce as we > >>> stand on > >>> the edges, the brinks of precarity where violence is absolutely > >>> imminent. > >>> A little spark and the next thing I know will be > >>> Tottering, standing, wavering, tottering, falling. > >>> > >>> As I write the above words, the transition that I see from > >>> conflict to > >>> violence, it will seem like I am talking of a prophetic doom, as if > >>> violence were imminent and the futures of our cities have been > >>> already > >>> written. But I must reassert that our futures are not written so > >>> completely. Today I feel angry, apathetic, dejected, pessimistic, > >>> but at > >>> every moment, some spaces get carved out, some stories get > >>> enacted on > >>> the > >>> stage of the urban and the script just gets altered. The drama is > >>> upturned, four feet crouched on the stomach. > >>> > >>> THE END. > >>> > >>> Claimer: I hereby take responsibility for the above words which may > >>> appear > >>> patronizing, emerging out of a sense of guilt, disregarding > >>> anthropological positions of subject, object, practice, > >>> induction, etc. > >>> Rubbishing every theory, I call this state of mind, state of being! > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> Zainab Bawa > >>> Bombay > >>> www.xanga.com/CityBytes > >>> http://crimsonfeet.recut.org/rubrique53.html > >>> > >>> _________________________________________ > >>> 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 > > > > _________________________________________ > > 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: > > > > > -- > Kiran Jonnalagadda > http://www.pobox.com/~jace > > > _________________________________________ > 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: > -- Cheers Padma -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060620/108b348d/attachment.html From anjalijyoti at yahoo.com Tue Jun 20 14:09:54 2006 From: anjalijyoti at yahoo.com (anjali jyoti) Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 01:39:54 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] scenes off the street- more photos Message-ID: <20060620083954.63889.qmail@web38905.mail.mud.yahoo.com> More pics oming up........ http://foggyfroggie.blogspot.com anjali __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From machine at zerosofzeta.com Tue Jun 20 16:10:49 2006 From: machine at zerosofzeta.com (Yogi) Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 16:10:49 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Conflict versus Violence In-Reply-To: <1117.219.65.10.24.1150720845.squirrel@webmail.xtdnet.nl> References: <1225.219.65.11.196.1150653087.squirrel@webmail.xtdnet.nl> <1d804b40606181444i41d04906h73053671bcd38afc@mail.gmail.com> <1117.219.65.10.24.1150720845.squirrel@webmail.xtdnet.nl> Message-ID: <1d804b40606200340p1c5db2e2i53253a514216584b@mail.gmail.com> If I were in US, I would have just called 911 and the police/ambulance would come and help the person. In india, I can't do the same. police doesnt care about the homeless, nor does police care about a dead cow. So the other option is I can get personally involved.. rent a cab and take them to the hospital. foot all the bills. and spend the entire day on it. That would be fine.. if this sort of incident was rare. however there are thousands of such cases. I want to help. I just don't know how to. giving the begger money does not help them at all. any other ideas? -yogi On 6/19/06, zainab at xtdnet.nl wrote: > > Hi Yogi, > Thanks for writing in. I wonder what gets us to react in ways that you did > on Sunday night, I did last night and the crowd did when the cow went > giddy? Is it only apathy? Or is it the fear of getting too involved? > Regards, > Zainab > > > > I was yesterday walking in connaught place. I walked passed a a young > > dark colored woman, sitting in a corner with her head down and > > completely motionless. > > In front of her on the ground was a small baby completely naked and > > again motionless. > > There were a few one rupee coins scattered around the baby. > > I tried not to pay attention and got into a restaurant and had some > > food and drinks and completely forgot about the woman and the child. > > After a few hours, as i was walking back to my car, I again saw the > > woman with her face down completely motionless, and in front of her > > was her baby still naked and still motionless. and the coins > > untouched. was she dead? was her baby dead? i don't know. I wanted to > > help but I didn't know how to help, or was afraid to help. > > (cowardness, guilt, disgust) > > > > -yogi > > > > On 6/18/06, zainab at xtdnet.nl wrote: > >> Sometimes just a scene gets you to write. > >> > >> I write … > >> > >> This evening I was walking past the bus stop to get to home. On the > >> outsides of Byculla market is a garbage dump. About four to five cows > >> are > >> always hovering around the dump, getting some grub (just as much as some > >> urchins hover around the dump for their daily bread and possibly a bit > >> of > >> butter). > >> > >> It was about 9 PM. I saw one of the cows upturned. She was on her back, > >> her four feet crouched onto her stomach. I could not understand what was > >> happening to her. I wondered whether she was suffering from a terrible > >> stomachache. She rolled to the sides, then attempted to get up. As she > >> got > >> up, she tottered on her feet, clamoured, tottered, and then fell > >> sideways. > >> Another cow, brown in colour, standing by her started to move into the > >> space left open by the small crowd, looking at the bystanders (many of > >> who > >> had collected by then out of curiosity and some waiting for their bus to > >> arrive). The brown cow stared into the crowd, as if asking for help. A > >> man > >> on a cycle shouted out, 'pour some water onto her. She is giddy'. He > >> went > >> on to say how the cows are not fed and made to do a lot of work which is > >> why this one had gotten giddy. Meanwhile, the cow continued to get up, > >> totter, and fall. The condition of this cow was pathetic. I am almost > >> feeling helpless as I write because these futile words are just unable > >> describe the visual I have witnessed. > >> > >> Tottered, stood, wavered, tottered, fell. > >> Tottered, stood, wavered, tottered, clamoured, fell. > >> Tottered, stood, wavered, tottered, clamoured, stood, fell. > >> > >> The man on the cycle continued, 'everyone is standing, staring at her. > >> No > >> one is coming to her rescue. She may just go mad and hit out at the > >> crowd.' All the bystanders were feeling something – some felt pity, some > >> expressed sympathy, but no one came forward. I got frightened. The word > >> VIOLENCE rang into my head as I witnessed this all. I wondered when the > >> cow would go mad and lash out at the crowd. Meanwhile, I almost felt as > >> if > >> the brown cow was advancing towards me. I quickly decided to move away > >> and > >> head back home. > >> > >> (Frightened > >> Vulnerable > >> Ashamed > >> Guilty) > >> > >> > >> I feel indifferent these days. I walk around the city as if I were numb. > >> There are times when I get aggressive. I wonder whether I will also feel > >> giddy, totter, waver, stand and then fall ... > >> > >> > >> CUT TO BANGALORE > >> > >> The autorickshaw was standing at the signal of Forum Mall at > >> Koramangala. > >> A dark girl was selling cotton ear buds. I looked at her as she moved > >> around. She was as beautiful as a doll. I felt a strong sense of > >> affection > >> towards her. I decided that if she were to come by me, I will buy the > >> cotton buds. And she came by me. > >> Ten rupees, she said. > >> I brought out the coins from my purse and gave it to her. > >> Ten rupees, she said. > >> Ten rupees, I said, counting out the coins to her. > >> Ten rupees, she said again. > >> Ten rupees, what the hell, I said to myself, until I quickly realized > >> that > >> for her, ten rupees meant a ten rupee note. She could not count. She > >> could > >> not decipher. I fished for a ten rupee note and gave it to her. She > >> smiled > >> and handed out a packet of ear buds to me. > >> I went back home that evening and narrated the story to Nick. He looked > >> at > >> the cotton buds and said to me, > >> Careful, these are risky. The cotton can just come off and the plastic > >> can > >> hit your ear drum and cause damage. > >> As I lay in the bed that night, I wondered how it would feel for the > >> plastic to hit my ear drum and I go deaf. DEAF! How I wish I were deaf! > >> Life would perhaps be easier then. I would not be able to listen. > >> I would not be able to listen to the screams of apathy. > >> I would not be able to listen to the screeching silences. > >> I would not be able to listen to things not spoken, but definite. > >> DEAF, I wish I were. > >> > >> (Coward > >> Vulnerable > >> Fragile > >> Guilty) > >> > >> CUT TO BANGALORE PUBLIC TRANSPORT > >> > >> Where else do you get the flavour of the city but for its public > >> transport! I started to do a jaunt on the Bangalore buses. The lines of > >> gender division are clear in here. The front portion of the bus is for > >> the > >> women, the rear for the men. On my first trip on the BMTC bus, I > >> happened > >> to get pushed to the rear side when a man, himself squashed, said to me > >> in > >> Kannada to move ahead because that's the place for women. > >> > >> The ladies section was crowded to the core. 'Solpa solpa,' 'little, > >> little', they kept saying. Little to me implied space, just a little > >> space, push a bit, shove a bit, twitch a bit, solpa, solpa, little, > >> little. > >> > >> I now equate solpa, solpa to mean space, a little space. And I think > >> that's where my city and Bangalore city are positioned today, positioned > >> at solpa, solpa, a little space – inch, centimeter, millimeter, solpa, > >> solpa. The city has been a space of conflict, everyone fighting for > >> territory, space and economic holding. There will definitely be no > >> situation where there is no conflict. I notice conflict in Bombay's > >> local > >> trains and there will always be. Women fight for water at the standposts > >> and there is conflict but violence happens when access is denied, when > >> the > >> space, solpa, solpa, becomes difficult to reach to. There is no question > >> for adjust maadi then. And I guess this is what is happening in our > >> cities > >> today. The conflict seems to have escalated and is assuming proportions > >> of > >> violence. The space for 'adjust maadi' is getting scarce as we stand on > >> the edges, the brinks of precarity where violence is absolutely > >> imminent. > >> A little spark and the next thing I know will be > >> Tottering, standing, wavering, tottering, falling. > >> > >> As I write the above words, the transition that I see from conflict to > >> violence, it will seem like I am talking of a prophetic doom, as if > >> violence were imminent and the futures of our cities have been already > >> written. But I must reassert that our futures are not written so > >> completely. Today I feel angry, apathetic, dejected, pessimistic, but at > >> every moment, some spaces get carved out, some stories get enacted on > >> the > >> stage of the urban and the script just gets altered. The drama is > >> upturned, four feet crouched on the stomach. > >> > >> THE END. > >> > >> Claimer: I hereby take responsibility for the above words which may > >> appear > >> patronizing, emerging out of a sense of guilt, disregarding > >> anthropological positions of subject, object, practice, induction, etc. > >> Rubbishing every theory, I call this state of mind, state of being! > >> > >> > >> > >> Zainab Bawa > >> Bombay > >> www.xanga.com/CityBytes > >> http://crimsonfeet.recut.org/rubrique53.html > >> > >> _________________________________________ > >> 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 cahen.x at levels9.com Tue Jun 20 16:38:10 2006 From: cahen.x at levels9.com (xavier cahen) Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 13:08:10 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] reader-list Digest, Vol 35, Issue 29 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <4497D71A.9090800@levels9.com> reader-list-request at sarai.net a écrit : > > Today's Topics: > > 1. scenes off the street- more photos (anjali jyoti) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 01:39:54 -0700 (PDT) > From: anjali jyoti > Subject: [Reader-list] scenes off the street- more photos > To: reader-list at sarai.net > Message-ID: <20060620083954.63889.qmail at web38905.mail.mud.yahoo.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > More pics oming up........ > http://foggyfroggie.blogspot.com > > anjali > anjali jyoti Thank you for very much or your photos yours :-) Xavier > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com > > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > reader-list mailing list > reader-list at sarai.net > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > End of reader-list Digest, Vol 35, Issue 29 > ******************************************* > -- XAVIER CAHEN -------------- cahen.x at levels9.com Paris France http://www.levels9.com From ritika at sarai.net Tue Jun 20 20:34:59 2006 From: ritika at sarai.net (ritika at sarai.net) Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 17:04:59 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] Conflict versus Violence In-Reply-To: <1d804b40606200340p1c5db2e2i53253a514216584b@mail.gmail.com> References: <1225.219.65.11.196.1150653087.squirrel@webmail.xtdnet.nl> <1d804b40606181444i41d04906h73053671bcd38afc@mail.gmail.com> <1117.219.65.10.24.1150720845.squirrel@webmail.xtdnet.nl> <1d804b40606200340p1c5db2e2i53253a514216584b@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <5fcb1cf0484bf8d72dd99501d8d26647@sarai.net> Yogi, anant and zainab.. if its really about providing solutions - there can be too many - if we really want to help: call up the people from society for prevention towards cruelty towards animals..which means keep the phone nos like these handy!! I try and keep tofees in my purse and give it to boys and girls who come begging..is it a solution? i don't know. Lot of people say don't give money to beggars - they'll waste in drinking. So? How come our spending of money on booze is 'lifestyle/luxury' and their drinking is 'not justified?' yes one can give a moral argument and say - begging is bad...but i don't even know how this person came to the city? maybe he was in debt in village, maybe coca cola sucked up all the water and no water was left in his village to till the soil, maybe the governemnt policy of reducing subsidy spoilt to buy seeds, no (urban) doctors wanting to work in the villages... irresponsible, insensitive, random From stevphen at autonomedia.org Tue Jun 20 23:08:23 2006 From: stevphen at autonomedia.org (Stevphen Shukaitis) Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 13:38:23 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Conflict versus Violence In-Reply-To: <1d804b40606200340p1c5db2e2i53253a514216584b@mail.gmail.com> References: <1225.219.65.11.196.1150653087.squirrel@webmail.xtdnet.nl> <1d804b40606181444i41d04906h73053671bcd38afc@mail.gmail.com> <1117.219.65.10.24.1150720845.squirrel@webmail.xtdnet.nl> <1d804b40606200340p1c5db2e2i53253a514216584b@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <50202.70.107.231.66.1150825103.squirrel@mail.panix.com> Well it's not quite that simple. Emergency services in the US can be just as racist and amazingly incompetent / non-existent as that too. When Public Enemy wrote the song "911 is a Joke" it reflected wide spread views about this very ineptness. Not to mention that in many rural areas the distance from where people live to the nearest hospital can be quite great. And if the homeless person manages to get to a hospital often times they are (illegally) refused treatment or end up in overcrowded, understaffed, and underfunded facility. Anyways, point is that it's just not that simple and it's not like when one calls 911 is the US this just work. often times they don't work very well at all. cheers stevphen > If I were in US, I would have just called 911 and the police/ambulance > would come and help the person. In india, I can't do the same. police > doesnt care about the homeless, nor does police care about a dead cow. > So the other option is I can get personally involved.. rent a cab and > take them to the hospital. foot all the bills. and spend the entire > day on it. > That would be fine.. if this sort of incident was rare. however there > are thousands of such cases. > I want to help. I just don't know how to. giving the begger money does > not help them at all. > any other ideas? > -yogi > > > On 6/19/06, zainab at xtdnet.nl wrote: >> >> Hi Yogi, >> Thanks for writing in. I wonder what gets us to react in ways that you >> did >> on Sunday night, I did last night and the crowd did when the cow went >> giddy? Is it only apathy? Or is it the fear of getting too involved? >> Regards, >> Zainab >> >> >> > I was yesterday walking in connaught place. I walked passed a a young >> > dark colored woman, sitting in a corner with her head down and >> > completely motionless. >> > In front of her on the ground was a small baby completely naked and >> > again motionless. >> > There were a few one rupee coins scattered around the baby. >> > I tried not to pay attention and got into a restaurant and had some >> > food and drinks and completely forgot about the woman and the child. >> > After a few hours, as i was walking back to my car, I again saw the >> > woman with her face down completely motionless, and in front of her >> > was her baby still naked and still motionless. and the coins >> > untouched. was she dead? was her baby dead? i don't know. I wanted to >> > help but I didn't know how to help, or was afraid to help. >> > (cowardness, guilt, disgust) >> > >> > -yogi >> > >> > On 6/18/06, zainab at xtdnet.nl wrote: >> >> Sometimes just a scene gets you to write. >> >> >> >> I write >> >> >> >> This evening I was walking past the bus stop to get to home. On the >> >> outsides of Byculla market is a garbage dump. About four to five cows >> >> are >> >> always hovering around the dump, getting some grub (just as much as >> some >> >> urchins hover around the dump for their daily bread and possibly a >> bit >> >> of >> >> butter). >> >> >> >> It was about 9 PM. I saw one of the cows upturned. She was on her >> back, >> >> her four feet crouched onto her stomach. I could not understand what >> was >> >> happening to her. I wondered whether she was suffering from a >> terrible >> >> stomachache. She rolled to the sides, then attempted to get up. As >> she >> >> got >> >> up, she tottered on her feet, clamoured, tottered, and then fell >> >> sideways. >> >> Another cow, brown in colour, standing by her started to move into >> the >> >> space left open by the small crowd, looking at the bystanders (many >> of >> >> who >> >> had collected by then out of curiosity and some waiting for their bus >> to >> >> arrive). The brown cow stared into the crowd, as if asking for help. >> A >> >> man >> >> on a cycle shouted out, 'pour some water onto her. She is giddy'. He >> >> went >> >> on to say how the cows are not fed and made to do a lot of work which >> is >> >> why this one had gotten giddy. Meanwhile, the cow continued to get >> up, >> >> totter, and fall. The condition of this cow was pathetic. I am almost >> >> feeling helpless as I write because these futile words are just >> unable >> >> describe the visual I have witnessed. >> >> >> >> Tottered, stood, wavered, tottered, fell. >> >> Tottered, stood, wavered, tottered, clamoured, fell. >> >> Tottered, stood, wavered, tottered, clamoured, stood, fell. >> >> >> >> The man on the cycle continued, 'everyone is standing, staring at >> her. >> >> No >> >> one is coming to her rescue. She may just go mad and hit out at the >> >> crowd.' All the bystanders were feeling something – some felt pity, >> some >> >> expressed sympathy, but no one came forward. I got frightened. The >> word >> >> VIOLENCE rang into my head as I witnessed this all. I wondered when >> the >> >> cow would go mad and lash out at the crowd. Meanwhile, I almost felt >> as >> >> if >> >> the brown cow was advancing towards me. I quickly decided to move >> away >> >> and >> >> head back home. >> >> >> >> (Frightened >> >> Vulnerable >> >> Ashamed >> >> Guilty) >> >> >> >> >> >> I feel indifferent these days. I walk around the city as if I were >> numb. >> >> There are times when I get aggressive. I wonder whether I will also >> feel >> >> giddy, totter, waver, stand and then fall ... >> >> >> >> >> >> CUT TO BANGALORE >> >> >> >> The autorickshaw was standing at the signal of Forum Mall at >> >> Koramangala. >> >> A dark girl was selling cotton ear buds. I looked at her as she moved >> >> around. She was as beautiful as a doll. I felt a strong sense of >> >> affection >> >> towards her. I decided that if she were to come by me, I will buy the >> >> cotton buds. And she came by me. >> >> Ten rupees, she said. >> >> I brought out the coins from my purse and gave it to her. >> >> Ten rupees, she said. >> >> Ten rupees, I said, counting out the coins to her. >> >> Ten rupees, she said again. >> >> Ten rupees, what the hell, I said to myself, until I quickly realized >> >> that >> >> for her, ten rupees meant a ten rupee note. She could not count. She >> >> could >> >> not decipher. I fished for a ten rupee note and gave it to her. She >> >> smiled >> >> and handed out a packet of ear buds to me. >> >> I went back home that evening and narrated the story to Nick. He >> looked >> >> at >> >> the cotton buds and said to me, >> >> Careful, these are risky. The cotton can just come off and the >> plastic >> >> can >> >> hit your ear drum and cause damage. >> >> As I lay in the bed that night, I wondered how it would feel for the >> >> plastic to hit my ear drum and I go deaf. DEAF! How I wish I were >> deaf! >> >> Life would perhaps be easier then. I would not be able to listen. >> >> I would not be able to listen to the screams of apathy. >> >> I would not be able to listen to the screeching silences. >> >> I would not be able to listen to things not spoken, but definite. >> >> DEAF, I wish I were. >> >> >> >> (Coward >> >> Vulnerable >> >> Fragile >> >> Guilty) >> >> >> >> CUT TO BANGALORE PUBLIC TRANSPORT >> >> >> >> Where else do you get the flavour of the city but for its public >> >> transport! I started to do a jaunt on the Bangalore buses. The lines >> of >> >> gender division are clear in here. The front portion of the bus is >> for >> >> the >> >> women, the rear for the men. On my first trip on the BMTC bus, I >> >> happened >> >> to get pushed to the rear side when a man, himself squashed, said to >> me >> >> in >> >> Kannada to move ahead because that's the place for women. >> >> >> >> The ladies section was crowded to the core. 'Solpa solpa,' 'little, >> >> little', they kept saying. Little to me implied space, just a little >> >> space, push a bit, shove a bit, twitch a bit, solpa, solpa, little, >> >> little. >> >> >> >> I now equate solpa, solpa to mean space, a little space. And I think >> >> that's where my city and Bangalore city are positioned today, >> positioned >> >> at solpa, solpa, a little space – inch, centimeter, millimeter, >> solpa, >> >> solpa. The city has been a space of conflict, everyone fighting for >> >> territory, space and economic holding. There will definitely be no >> >> situation where there is no conflict. I notice conflict in Bombay's >> >> local >> >> trains and there will always be. Women fight for water at the >> standposts >> >> and there is conflict but violence happens when access is denied, >> when >> >> the >> >> space, solpa, solpa, becomes difficult to reach to. There is no >> question >> >> for adjust maadi then. And I guess this is what is happening in our >> >> cities >> >> today. The conflict seems to have escalated and is assuming >> proportions >> >> of >> >> violence. The space for 'adjust maadi' is getting scarce as we stand >> on >> >> the edges, the brinks of precarity where violence is absolutely >> >> imminent. >> >> A little spark and the next thing I know will be >> >> Tottering, standing, wavering, tottering, falling. >> >> >> >> As I write the above words, the transition that I see from conflict >> to >> >> violence, it will seem like I am talking of a prophetic doom, as if >> >> violence were imminent and the futures of our cities have been >> already >> >> written. But I must reassert that our futures are not written so >> >> completely. Today I feel angry, apathetic, dejected, pessimistic, but >> at >> >> every moment, some spaces get carved out, some stories get enacted on >> >> the >> >> stage of the urban and the script just gets altered. The drama is >> >> upturned, four feet crouched on the stomach. >> >> >> >> THE END. >> >> >> >> Claimer: I hereby take responsibility for the above words which may >> >> appear >> >> patronizing, emerging out of a sense of guilt, disregarding >> >> anthropological positions of subject, object, practice, induction, >> etc. >> >> Rubbishing every theory, I call this state of mind, state of being! >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> Zainab Bawa >> >> Bombay >> >> www.xanga.com/CityBytes >> >> http://crimsonfeet.recut.org/rubrique53.html >> >> >> >> _________________________________________ >> >> 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 >> >> > _________________________________________ > 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: > -- Stevphen Shukaitis Autonomedia Editorial Collective http://www.autonomedia.org http://slash.interactivist.net "Autonomy is not a fixed, essential state. Like gender, autonomy is created through its performance, by doing/becoming; it is a political practice. To become autonomous is to refuse authoritarian and compulsory cultures of separation and hierarchy through embodied practices of welcoming difference . . . Becoming autonomous is a political position for it thwarts the exclusions of proprietary knowledge and jealous hoarding of resources, and replaces the social and economic hierarchies on which these depend with a politics of skill exchange, welcome, and collaboration. Freely sharing these with others creates a common wealth of knowledge and power that subverts the domination and hegemony of the master’s rule." -subRosa Collective From shveta at sarai.net Wed Jun 21 11:32:43 2006 From: shveta at sarai.net (Shveta) Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2006 11:32:43 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The first known lesbian activist/1900s Message-ID: <4498E103.1040904@sarai.net> [October 8, 1904] "In middle-class circles they believe, oddly enough, that among them homosexuality has no place, and from these circles the most annoying enemies recruit each other to oppose the movement to free Uranian people. I would like to give as an example, that my father, when by chance he came to speak about homosexuality, explained with conviction, "nothing of the sort can happen in my family." The facts prove the opposite. I need to add nothing to that statement." With this century-old utterance, Anna Rüling became the first known Lesbian activist. http://www.angelfire.com/fl3/uraniamanuscripts/anna.html May be of interest. best shveta --- Anna Rueling http://www.angelfire.com/fl3/uraniamanuscripts/anna.html *Anna Rüling (Theo Anna Sprüngli) August 15, 1880 (Hamburg) - May 8, 1953 (Delmenhorst) First Known Lesbian Activist * */100 Years of Lesbian Activism/ by Michael Lombardi-Nash , Ph.D. for Paul J. Nash * Lesbian Love "In middle-class circles they believe, oddly enough, that among them homosexuality has no place, and from these circles the most annoying enemies recruit each other to oppose the movement to free Uranian people. I would like to give as an example, that my father, when by chance he came to speak about homosexuality, explained with conviction, "nothing of the sort can happen in my family." The facts prove the opposite. I need to add nothing to that statement." With this century-old utterance, Anna Rüling became the first known Lesbian activist. Very recently more has become known about Anna Rüling. She gave her interesting and expressive speech, "What Interest does the Women's Movement have in Solving the Homosexual Problem? " on October 8, 1904, at the Prinz Albrecht Hotel in Berlin. She was invited to give her address at the annual meeting of the Scientific Humanitarian Committee. The Committee, the first Gay organization in world history, was established in Berlin in 1897 by Magnus Hirschfeld. In her speech, Rüling brought Gay rights and women's rights under one umbrella. She congratulated the Committee for its support of women's rights and for including Lesbians in its fight for equal rights. Such support by men and the inclusion of Lesbians in homosexual interests, according to Rüling, had been sadly neglected. Because the involvement of Lesbians in the Women's Movement continues to be as great an issue a century after the delivery of Rüling's speech, it is important that people today know what she had to say. Sagaris or double axe - an androgynous symbol of all gynocratic nationsUntil relatively recently, very little had been written about the Women's Movement, and those writings that did exist concerning women's issues most often had been authored by men. As it is, there are few writings that directly treat the subject of the Gay Movement as it affects the Women's Movement. On the very outset of her speech Rüling makes the point that women are considered only as an afterthought even in the fight for equal rights. Although she is not complaining, she indicates that it is due to the lack of laws against the practice of sexual acts between women that has kept them on the sidelines of the fight for sexual liberty as it concerns the love between women. Rüling uses the terms "homosexuality," the word coined by Karoly Maria Kertbeny in 1868, and "Uranism," coined by Karl Heinrich Ulrichs in 1862. It is interesting to see Rüling using the same economic and social ideas that are current today in the attempt to present the circumstances which separate men and women in the workplace and in the home. She speaks about stereotypes and stigmas and which kinds of jobs are said to be fit for which sex. She denies the conventional roles in a way that is so totally modern that the reader would almost believe the speech, written one hundred years ago, was for presentation to a contemporary audience. Then, on the other hand, Rüling makes remarks about conjugal unions between homosexuals and heterosexuals that might be difficult to accept today. While it is true that such unions may cause misery, as she says, it is not believed today that the offspring would be any more unloved or unfortunate or become "... weak-minded, idiotic, epileptic, chest-diseased degenerates of all sorts..." accompanied by "unhealthy sexual drives such as sadism and masochism." Today's readers might question which side Rüling is on at this point; however, when they understand that many of the physicians and psychiatrists of her day diagnosed "homosexuality" and "uranism" to be exactly as Rüling describes the offspring, a morbid brood indeed, they will see that she is just trying to persuade people from falling into the trap of marriage for convenience and ones entered into when giving into the pressures of society. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Read More about Anna! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Later in the speech, Rüling points to the fact of the inability to change sexual orientation by force and the inability of parents to know the sexual orientation of their children. Here is a woman who already knew the humane treatment of Gay children. Her answer to any problem concerning the sexuality of children: love and understanding. One notes that Rüling distinguishes between three individuals. She says that "men, women, and homosexuals" are different and should have equal opportunities in education and in the job market. Rüling, her contemporaries, and her predecessors believed in the existence of a third sex, a Gay sex. Yet for all her understanding and importance it is interesting to note that Rüling is not mentioned in the introduction to Ilse Kokula's / Weibliche Homosexualität um 1900 in zeitgenössischen Dokumenten / (Female Homosexuality Around 1900 in Contemporary Documents), published in 1981, even though Helene Stöcker, the only leading women in the Women's Movement who was a member of the Hirschfeld Committee, is mentioned. However, Kokula does reprint Rüling's speech. On the other hand, Simone de Beauvoir does use Rüling as a reference in her book, / Le Deuxième Sexe / (The Second Sex), published in 1949. The only other indication of the importance of Rüling's speech is the appearance of a second (after mine) translation of her speech by Lillian Faderman and Brigitte Eriksson. Unfortunately, Faderman and Eriksson, limiting their comments solely to her speech, shed no light on the life of Rüling. As a note of interest, only in a roundabout way can the reader of Rüling's speech deduce Rüling's sexuality. She says that her father was wrong in stating that no homosexuality could appear in her family. The reader can only guess from this statement that she is admitting to being Lesbian. Also, nothing is known about Rüling's position in the Women's Movement. She is not counted among the leadership or even as belonging to the active membership. Perhaps, in this case, her position is unimportant. Nevertheless, she does deserve the careful attention of today's Gay and non-Gay readership, because her idea, that both the Women's Movement and the Gay Movement together one day would raise their banners in victory, remains the dream of many Gay and non-Gay people. Because the Equal Rights Amendment has yet to be passed, Rüling's enthusiastic speech can still play an active role in the endless battle against bigotry and sex discrimination in general and male chauvinism in particular. Postscript In a private email, Claude Summers wrote that Rüling published a volume including short stories in 1906 and that Bonnie Zimmerman's /Lesbian Histories and Cultures: An Encyclopedia/ (New York: Garland Publishing, 2000), includes an article on Rüling by Hanna Hacker, an Austrian writer. Also, Ralf at the Berlin Hirschfeld Society says in an email that his "colleague Christiane Leidinger has solved the biographical riddle of Anna Rueling." Leidinger's article is published in the December 2003 issue of the /Mitteilungen der Magnus-Hirschfeld-Gesellschaft/ " (Reports of the Magnus Hirschfeld Society): Christiane Leidinger, "Theo A[nna] Sprüngli (1880-1953) alias Anna Rüling/Th. Rüling/Th. A. Rüling - erste biographische Mosaiksteine zu einer zwiespältigen Ahnin lesbischer herstory." (The First Biographical Mosaic of a Conflicted Forebear of Lesbian Herstory). Bibliography: Rüling, Anna. /What Interest does the Women's Movement have in Solving the Homosexual Problem? / 1905; trans. M. Lombardi-Nash. F 1978; 2nd ed. Jacksonville, Florida: Urania Manuscripts, 2000. Source of the translation: Rüling, Anna. "Welches Interesse hat die Frauenbewegung an der Lösung des homosexuellen Problems? Eine Rede." /Jahrbuch für sexuelle Zwischenstufen unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Homosexualität / (Annual for Sexual Intermediaries with Special Emphasis on Homosexuality) ed. Magnus Hirschfeld, vol. 7 (1905), pp. 131-51. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "1904: The First Lesbian Feminist Speaks." /The Gay & Lesbian Review/ , May-June 2004: 31-34. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Other translations: Faderman, Lillian and Brigitte Eriksson, eds. and transs. /Lesbian-Feminism in Turn-of-the-Century Germany: Stories and Autobiographies/. Weatherby Lake, MO: The Naiad Press, Inc., 1980. Reprinted in Mark Blasius and Shane Phelan, eds., /We Are Everywhere: A Historical Sourcebook of Gay and Lesbian Politics/ (New York: Routledge, 1997), pp. 143-150. Fiorentini, Isa. Che interesse ha il movimento delle donne a risolvere il problema omosessuale? (www.fuorispazio.com), 2003. Available now! * Ridinger, Rob. /Speaking for Our Lives: Historic Speeches and Rhetoric for Gay and Lesbian Rights/1892-2000 / . New York: Haworth Press, January 2004. [Reprint of Rüling's speech in English, among other Gay and Lesbian speeches and rhetoric] * Anna Rueling's speech online in the original German version : "Welches Interesse hat die Frauenbewegung an der Lösung des homosexuellen Problems?" ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Anna Rueling's Speech Online!* Women's Movement activist Irene at undelete.org in Arkansas put Anna's speech online in English: What Interest Does the Women's Movement Have in Solving the Homosexual Problem? Anna at Fuorispazio (OutSpace), an Italian website, had Isa Fiorentini translate Anna's speech into Italian: Che interesse ha il movimento delle donne a risolvere il problema omosessuale? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Friends of Anna Rüling (links) * MetroG (Southern California). * Lesbian Worlds * Suite 101 * Lesbian Alliance * Wolfram Setz (Munich) * Massimo Consoli (Rome) * The Lovely Lesbian * Acción Violeta * Life on Brian's Beat From anant_umn at yahoo.co.uk Tue Jun 20 19:56:23 2006 From: anant_umn at yahoo.co.uk (anant m) Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 15:26:23 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] [Urbanstudy] Conflict versus Violence In-Reply-To: <1225.219.65.11.196.1150653087.squirrel@webmail.xtdnet.nl> Message-ID: <20060620142623.36508.qmail@web25704.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Perhaps it will be useful to reflect for a moment what reading sometimes does ? I read Zainab's post, and froze.... my mind refusing to translate into words the pulsation in my head. How does one translate into words an urge to do something about the crouched cow ?, the desire for space that is amenable to adjust maadi ? the need for a secure place to which you belong, even if it is only a seat on the bus ? I left the computer, spent an hour aimlessly grooming my cats, took the bus to dinkytown -the image of which brought me to this cold country six years ago. It was here in a bar that Bob Dylan started his career many decades ago. All things being equal, the only way I could decide on which university to go to was settled by the possibility of hanging out at DinkyTown. The home I left behind dissolved into a powerful potion of words, images, metaphors ...the materiality of which was so unbearable and incomprehensible...the scent of blood and sweat in the city that grew so overpowering in just a matter of five years from 1995 and finally made me retreat...it was now avaiable to me only in words. My first encounter with the absurdity of it all was during the 2000 elections when I asked a colleague what were the common techniques of election rigging in the US. The woman was shocked beyond words. What ? Rigging ? America is a democracy! As news started trickling in from Florida, I sort of felt embarrassed at the prospect of running into her in the corridors. Five years later, she sent me the transcript of a recent talk by Jimmy Carter, ex president who promotes democracy world over where he categorically said that the Carter Center does not monitor elections in the US because theoretically the US just cannot have free and fair elections! Theoretically the US cannot have free and fair elections! yet the Democracy Center carves up the world into neat little pieces and ranks them in democracy scores...the US always being 100 per cent and the rest having to measure up to it and the American that is not offended by the suggestion that their elections could be rigged is a rarity. As I walked through Dinky Town strip malls after reading Zainab's email... I remembered my early struggles with textuality and with theory. I presented a compilation of articles on agrarian violence in Andhra Pradesh written by Balagopal to a young professor. He avoided eye contact with me for a few weeks and when I finally caught up with him, he said: I am stunned. How can we theorize this ? How can we represent such corporal violence in words and images ? There is something of the materiality that always remains in excess of what words can represent...that demands other responses. What do we do with that excess ? Five years on, that question now brings Alice's words to mind: What if I should fall right through the center of the earth... oh, and come out the other side, where people walk upside down. Writing and theory I think some times happen because there is always something in excess of the materiality of the world. It happens because there is no space for adjust maadi and we want to know why. We write and theorize because, we are unable to make room for a secure belonging for that child selling ear buds. because we see something of ourselves in the cow's struggle to stand up with dignity. because through writing, we seek to stand up with dignity, make room for ourselves, create belongings in solidarity. the funny thing though is that success in that venture is never a lasting one. when i read zainab's email the first time, I felt as if there was nothing more to be said. that was why my mind refused to translate into words the pulsation in my head. but this morning, i knew i had something to put into words. anant --- zainab --- zainab at xtdnet.nl wrote: > Sometimes just a scene gets you to write. > > I write > > This evening I was walking past the bus stop to get > to home. On the > outsides of Byculla market is a garbage dump. About > four to five cows are > always hovering around the dump, getting some grub > (just as much as some > urchins hover around the dump for their daily bread > and possibly a bit of > butter). > > It was about 9 PM. I saw one of the cows upturned. > She was on her back, > her four feet crouched onto her stomach. I could not > understand what was > happening to her. I wondered whether she was > suffering from a terrible > stomachache. She rolled to the sides, then attempted > to get up. As she got > up, she tottered on her feet, clamoured, tottered, > and then fell sideways. > Another cow, brown in colour, standing by her > started to move into the > space left open by the small crowd, looking at the > bystanders (many of who > had collected by then out of curiosity and some > waiting for their bus to > arrive). The brown cow stared into the crowd, as if > asking for help. A man > on a cycle shouted out, ‘pour some water onto her. > She is giddy’. He went > on to say how the cows are not fed and made to do a > lot of work which is > why this one had gotten giddy. Meanwhile, the cow > continued to get up, > totter, and fall. The condition of this cow was > pathetic. I am almost > feeling helpless as I write because these futile > words are just unable > describe the visual I have witnessed. > > Tottered, stood, wavered, tottered, fell. > Tottered, stood, wavered, tottered, clamoured, fell. > Tottered, stood, wavered, tottered, clamoured, > stood, fell. > > The man on the cycle continued, ‘everyone is > standing, staring at her. No > one is coming to her rescue. She may just go mad and > hit out at the > crowd.’ All the bystanders were feeling something – > some felt pity, some > expressed sympathy, but no one came forward. I got > frightened. The word > VIOLENCE rang into my head as I witnessed this all. > I wondered when the > cow would go mad and lash out at the crowd. > Meanwhile, I almost felt as if > the brown cow was advancing towards me. I quickly > decided to move away and > head back home. > > (Frightened > Vulnerable > Ashamed > Guilty) > > > I feel indifferent these days. I walk around the > city as if I were numb. > There are times when I get aggressive. I wonder > whether I will also feel > giddy, totter, waver, stand and then fall ... > > > CUT TO BANGALORE > > The autorickshaw was standing at the signal of Forum > Mall at Koramangala. > A dark girl was selling cotton ear buds. I looked at > her as she moved > around. She was as beautiful as a doll. I felt a > strong sense of affection > towards her. I decided that if she were to come by > me, I will buy the > cotton buds. And she came by me. > Ten rupees, she said. > I brought out the coins from my purse and gave it to > her. > Ten rupees, she said. > Ten rupees, I said, counting out the coins to her. > Ten rupees, she said again. > Ten rupees, what the hell, I said to myself, until I > quickly realized that > for her, ten rupees meant a ten rupee note. She > could not count. She could > not decipher. I fished for a ten rupee note and gave > it to her. She smiled > and handed out a packet of ear buds to me. > I went back home that evening and narrated the story > to Nick. He looked at > the cotton buds and said to me, > Careful, these are risky. The cotton can just come > off and the plastic can > hit your ear drum and cause damage. > As I lay in the bed that night, I wondered how it > would feel for the > plastic to hit my ear drum and I go deaf. DEAF! How > I wish I were deaf! > Life would perhaps be easier then. I would not be > able to listen. > I would not be able to listen to the screams of > apathy. > I would not be able to listen to the screeching > silences. > I would not be able to listen to things not spoken, > but definite. > DEAF, I wish I were. > > (Coward > Vulnerable > Fragile > Guilty) > > CUT TO BANGALORE PUBLIC TRANSPORT > > Where else do you get the flavour of the city but > for its public > transport! I started to do a jaunt on the Bangalore > buses. The lines of > gender division are clear in here. The front portion > of the bus is for the > women, the rear for the men. On my first trip on the > BMTC bus, I happened > to get pushed to the rear side when a man, himself > squashed, said to me in > Kannada to move ahead because that’s the place for > women. > > The ladies section was crowded to the core. ‘Solpa > solpa,’ ‘little, > little’, they kept saying. Little to me implied > space, just a little > space, push a bit, shove a bit, twitch a bit, solpa, > solpa, little, > little. > > I now equate solpa, solpa to mean space, a little > space. And I think > that’s where my city and Bangalore city are > positioned today, positioned > at solpa, solpa, a little space – inch, centimeter, > millimeter, solpa, > solpa. The city has been a space of conflict, > everyone fighting for > territory, space and economic holding. There will > definitely be no > situation where there is no conflict. I notice > conflict in Bombay’s local > trains and there will always be. Women fight for > water at the standposts > and there is conflict but violence happens when > access is denied, when the > space, solpa, solpa, becomes difficult to reach to. > There is no question > for adjust maadi then. And I guess this is what is > happening in our cities > today. The conflict seems to have escalated and is > assuming proportions of > violence. The space for ‘adjust maadi’ is getting > scarce as we stand on > the edges, the brinks of precarity where violence is > absolutely imminent. > A little spark and the next thing I know will be > Tottering, standing, wavering, tottering, falling. > > As I write the above words, the transition that I > see from conflict to > violence, it will seem like I am talking of a > prophetic doom, as if > violence were imminent and the futures of our cities > have been already > written. But I must reassert that our futures are > not written so > completely. Today I feel angry, apathetic, dejected, > pessimistic, but at > every moment, some spaces get carved out, some > stories get enacted on the > stage of the urban and the script just gets altered. > The drama is > upturned, four feet crouched on the stomach. > > THE END. > > Claimer: I hereby take responsibility for the above > words which may appear > patronizing, emerging out of a sense of guilt, > disregarding > === message truncated === ___________________________________________________________ All New Yahoo! Mail – Tired of Vi at gr@! come-ons? Let our SpamGuard protect you. http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowyoucan.html From anjalijyoti at yahoo.com Wed Jun 21 12:18:55 2006 From: anjalijyoti at yahoo.com (anjali jyoti) Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 23:48:55 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] cricket fever... Message-ID: <20060621064855.68638.qmail@web38901.mail.mud.yahoo.com> more pics yet again.. am sorry but just dont feel like writing.... anyway take a look.. http://foggyfroggie.blogspot.com anjali __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From mahmood.farooqui at gmail.com Wed Jun 21 22:12:15 2006 From: mahmood.farooqui at gmail.com (mahmood farooqui) Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2006 22:12:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] in search of the bhands Message-ID: Searching for the word Bhaand on google brought these two results- "He is no more than a common bhaand that has entertained us , got money in return and is enjoying without a care for the poor masses of this country…" "That he is willing to do anything for money - which includes jumping like a monkey in movies and dancing like a bhaand ( a term used by himself )…" Surely, a term which can bring disparagement on two of our greatest superstars must be highly derogatory. And the commonest connotation of Bhand is hugely derogatory. One uses the term, always, to run things or people down. So what does the term bhaand mean? Here is the definition given in a nineteenth century Urdu dictionary. BHAAND-mimic, jester, those singing buffoons who sing and dance and do mimicry. A related term is Bhaand bhagatiye, about which there is a couplet from the eighteenth century poet Mir Hasan- Kiya bhaand aur bhagatiyon ne hujoom Hui aahe aahe mubarak ki dhoom In a contemporary Hindi dictionary, the meaning of the word Bhand has expanded to include, other than buffoonery, the sense of a shameless person, hence Bhandgiri is explained as 'shamelessness.' Over the last one hundred years Bhands, never really respectable to start with, have suffered further abasement. Now, listen to this story about the leader of Bhands in late nineteenth century. Shooting a gun in Urdu, is described as goli daaghna, hence bandooq daagh. The greatest poet of the day Dagh Dehlavi said something nasty to the leader of the Bhands. Ustad had no choice but to suffer in silence. Some weeks later, there was a function at which Dagh was the chief guest and Ustad was on the stage. Promptly, he called a man on the stage, handed him a gun, pointed him to Dagh and said, shoot. The man obviously hesitated. Ustad said, abe daagh, followed it with, haramzaade daagh, and then with ullu ke pathhe daagh and suchlike until Dagh got up and ran away. Ustad chased him to the bazar and Dagh, obviously, learnt better than to cross a Bhand. Yes, ladies and gentleman, this byword for cheapness and debasement once described artists of a caliber that would put contemporary legendary bhaands like Jay Leno and David Letterman to shame. Bhands were mimics, lampoonists, satirists, outspoken commentators on the affairs of the day, stand up comedians, masters of pun, sarcarsm, double entendre and performance. And look how we serve them. The only historian who considered Bhaands worthy of description was, predictably, the great chronicler of nineteenth century Lucknow, Abdul Halim Sharar. In Guzishta Lucknow, Sharar states, "The Bhands are a kind of National Satirists, and they performed the same function here as was done by the Spectator and Tatler in England. Dehli's Karela Bhand was legendary at the time of Mohammed Shah. Their jokes, sacrcasm and mimicry is legendary. Once a Nobleman in Lucknow gifted a shawl to a bhand, it was very old and tattered. He took it and began to pore into it, turning it around, looking closely. Somebody asked what are you looking at, he said there is something written here. What is it, they said. He took out his glasses and read with difficulty, La Ilaha Illallah, the first phrase of the Islamic kalimah. They said, that is it, doesn't it also say Mohammedur Rasoolullah. The Bhand looked up and said, how could that be written, it is from before the time of our Prophet. It was said of them that wherever they performed, they always used to lampoon their host and patron. After Karela Bhand of Delhi, there was Sajjan, Qaim, Daim, Rajabi, Naushah, Bibi Qadar etc. Once, Qaim was making faces and went on for over three hours, the whole gathering sat there mesmerized." There is also another strain of Bhandgiri, popular in Kashmir. M K RAINA, the famous Hindi theatre director worked with the Kashmiri bhands briefly and describes them in the web article at http://radiokashmir.org/mkraina/bhand.html. "The Bhand has to train himself to be a skillful actor, dancer, acrobat and musician. The leader of the troupe is called the magun, a word taken from maha guni, a man of varied talent. The Maskharas are one of the most important characters in the Bhand Pather. They lampoon the king and the upper classes by exposing their corruption. The jester is the constant factor in the performance, the link of the various episodes. The elements of homour, be it hazal (mockery), mazaak (jokes), tasan (sarcasm) or even finding fault with the other characters is the forte of the maskhara. They do very accurate caricatures of society using a great deal of pantomime. Finally, the maskhara emerges as the rebel, the character who does not cow down to the oppressor." So wherefrom this violence on a profession and on artists whose like is not to be found anywhere on the horizon? Why have we so systematically degraded and lampooned a performing class whose forte lay in lampooning everyone and everything? Why did we allow one of our most versatile, popular and explosive performing genres to sink so much into debasement that it can disgrace even the best of our actors and stars? While we search for the answers, we can start by imbuing the term with a little more respect. I take pride in announcing in these pages that I am nothing but a chhota mota bhaand. May God make me a great one. ___________________________________ From vivek at sarai.net Thu Jun 22 12:02:15 2006 From: vivek at sarai.net (Vivek Narayanan) Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2006 12:02:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Posting by Mallica: The Remembered Past of Tibetan Youth in Delhi Message-ID: <449A396F.8090907@sarai.net> Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 07:03:47 +0100 (BST) From: mallica mishra Subject: Identities of Tibetan Youth in Delhi: Merging of the Past with the Present To: reader-list at sarai.net IDENTITIES OF TIBETAN YOUTH IN DELHI: MERGING OF THE PAST WITH THE PRESENT H'lo all! My earlier postings have attempted to explore the identities of the Tibetan youth studying in Delhi University by looking at the role of their immediate, physical environment, and their place of residence in the city, particularly in context of the Tibetan Youth Hostel in Rohini, Delhi. I have also looked at the influence of media, the 'global resources' of television; cinema; e-mail; FM Radio etc in forging their youth identities. This posting will now try to delve into their past, particularly the impact of the years of schooling in the host country, to understand the complex yet interesting process of identity construction and their aspirations in life. Identities are as much a matter of being as also of becoming, they are part of a continuous process rather than a finished product. It is important to realize that the identities of the youth in question have elements of the present (influence of the place and city of residence, influence of 'global urban youth culture' that they tend to become a part of through lived experiences in the city as also by increased exposure through the media (TV; Cinema, Internet etc). At the same time, the role of their past lives: the country they were born in, the schools that they went to, the spaces and relationships that they were part of, all becomes important as elements that helped forge their identities. Even now, relatively grown-up, going to college and living in the city of Delhi, many of these elements seem to continue to constitute the essentials of their identities, to that extent these issues need to be further explored. My initial postings identified the Tibetan schools in exile in India (Tibetan Children's' Village (TCV); Central Tibetan Schools (CTS) and other autonomous schools, like THF etc), as schools which had been deliberately set up by the Tibetan Government in exile with the support of the Government of India, with the goal of providing an education that would be a balance between 'traditional' and 'modern' education and enable the children to be equipped with the skills and qualities required in future (free/autonomous) Tibet. This posting will look at the role that these schools play in creating a certain, composite, pan-Tibetan identity amongst all Tibetan children. Discussions with Tibetan youth revealed that it was in these schools that most of them realized that they "were Tibetan", "refugee" and "different from others". Alongwith socialization at home and influence of the Tibetan community, these schools emerge as major sites for the construction of Tibetan identities (particularly for those children who were born in Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan etc and came to India at a very early age for their education). In the absence of a real family, for many, the schools constitute 'family' and 'home' to those who have been brought up in these residential schools. This posting will look at the role of the schools: pedagogies and language/medium of instruction; subjects taught; co-curricular and extra-curricular activities which all combine to create a 'School Culture' and an environment that are crucial elements in determining their sense of self and their identity as Tibetan. A. Bonding with the school: 'Home' parents vs. 'Real' Parents: The institutionalized presence and example of Tibetan adults at these schools as housemother and sometimes also housefather called Amala (mother) and pala (father) respectively, and the love and care provided by them to Tibetan children seems to be an important determinant in identity-construction. This is because, a majority of the students in the residential schools, such as TCV, Dharamsala , H.P have come to India at a very young age leaving their parents behind. They usually lose all contact with their parents after coming to India (fearing that any contact with parents may lead to the penalization of the former by the Chinese government) and pass the growing years of their life, from primary to senior secondary school level, under the care of these house parents. The life history of Ngodup , college student, interviewed in Delhi brings out the relationship of students with their housemothers. Ngodup says that: "For 10 years I had no information about my parents and vice versa. They believed that I was dead. I was looked after and raised by TCV, Suja and later by TCV upper Dharamsala". "I am very close to the elders (for example, my housemother in TCV School, Dharamsala and other teachers and staff members there). This is because when I was growing up, I had none to turn to except them. They understand me better than my own parents". These bonds with foster parents sometimes even manifest in dilemmas over decisions over 'going back' to Tibet as it becomes difficult to break these ties created over a long period of time and to go to families they have had no contact with, sometimes, over a period of several years. What is poignant is the desire for the parents, in such cases, to be able to see their children "before they die". For the youth, in such cases, it becomes difficult to decide As Ngodup says, " I have grown up here in India amidst Tibetan teachers and friends who are telling me not to go. I feel undecided." The residential schools, for instance, the network of TCV schools with their 'homes' where the children stay with their foster parents as a 'family' emerge as important determinants in the identity formation of Tibetan children, particularly those who have come from Tibet at an early age to study in India. According to Lawrence Liang, they are important as "structures in place for the Tibetan refugee children to have a 'normal' childhood"(Liang, 1999:2). An example of this bond is evident in the words of Tsiring Dorjee-Sidhu, "Strangely the first time I ever met the rest of my 'family' was after my tenth standard when I went to Manali to meet them. While these strangers were my real family I never felt at home with them as I did with my TCV family. While all the stories I have told you about TCV may make it seem like we did not have a good childhood all I want to say in the end is that I really loved TCV and it was the best family that someone like me could hope to get. I am still in touch with my home father and mother" (cited in Liang, 1999: 71). It is the power of these bonds that makes many of the youth want to go back to the schools as teachers, after graduation. Tenzin Yangkyi, who came with her mother to India as a four year old, remembers her mother leaving her behind and her crying as she left. She is studying in Laxmi Bai College in Delhi University and says that many students think of "coming back to our society to teach even though they are not paid well in the Tibetan schools to repay debts of gratitude that we feel for them. We consider our school classmates as our brothers and sisters. Our boarding house is called 'home' and an attachment is there for the small ones and for the elders". Poems written by school children in their school magazines, for instance,' Sherab-Lophel', a students' bi-monthly brought out by the Tibetan Homes School, Mussoorie express the emotions of love and gratitude that Tibetan children have for their schools /'homes' and towards their house parents. They also give some indication of the sense of self and identity of the children as being formed in the schools. Who am I? Who am I? I am a boy from Tibet Who lives in snow land Eating Tsampa and meat Rearing Yaks and sheeps. Who am I? I am a boy of refugee Since from the year of 1999 But due to the grace of H.H.The Dalai Lama I'm getting all the good facilities at free of cost. Who am I? I am s student of big institution Called Tibetan Homes School Due to the guidance given by my teachers, I feel, am going on the right path of life. Who am I? I am a follower of His Holiness To prevail peace on the earth With no difference of nationality, caste and age. But with a spirit of harmony always. Who am I? I am a reporter of the BBC news Who will one day make the announcement The real condition of Tibet. -Kalsang (Home no#25) (Source: Sherab-Lophel, March April,2005, Tibetan Homes School, Mussoorie) My Great Foster Parent My Great Foster Parent Oh! My great foster parents,I am lucky to get the kind blessing of yours what a lucky boy am I to get your love. I never had a parent like you in my life. Where I can see the reflection of my real parents. Oh! My great foster parents, I am lucky to get the kind blessings of yours I never had the kind of blessings like that In my whole life. I consider you as the real god: Disguised in human being. Your care for us and the lessons Valuing small things will be cherished forever. Oh! My great foster parents, How can I ever repay your kindness, The moments shared with you is unforgettable. And all I can say is "THANK YOU!!!" Pema Wangchen ,Home-14. (Source: Sherab-Lophel, March April,2005, Tibetan Homes School, Mussoorie) a) School Culture: Role of Tibetan Language Tibetan language can be regarded as another very strong reinforcement of Tibetan ethnicity and identity in Tibetan schools and has emerged from an almost exclusive use of Tibetan language inside classrooms as well as outside in the school campus not only in the residential schools but also in the day schools in the settlements. Traditional Tibetan language (U-Tsang dialect) has been seen as an important and irreplaceable component of Tibetan identity for the Tibetan community in exile. It is believed that preservation of language is a "survival cause", as the prime reason for coming into exile was to preserve their unique linguistic and cultural heritage. This belief can be seen translated into the educational policies formulated by the Department of Education of the Government in exile over the years. The Tibetanization of Education project introduced in TCV schools in 1984 (followed by other CTSA and other schools in 1995) and the new Basic Education Policy on Education for Tibetans in Exile introduced in 2004. Both have been efforts in this direction, which have brought about radical changes in the system of education system of Tibetans in exile, particularly in the field of choice of mother tongue as the medium of instruction. b).Textbooks & Subjects Radical changes were brought about in terms of preparation and publication of a series of Tibetan language textbooks to teach and inform students on aspects of Tibetan language, religion, culture and history. The content of the textbooks suggest that the aim is to provide knowledge and information to students about aspects of traditional culture that cannot be transplanted to India. I looked at a few books (in English), for instance, the History book meant for classes above VI in TCV schools. A History of Tibet Book-1 'The Land of the Snows' has a chapter called 'A Visit from the Nomads'. A paragraph from this chapter given below provides an idea about the way textbooks are being used in exile for cultural preservation. "In the past, nearly half the population of Tibet lived as wandering mountain nomads. Most lived in the wild Amdo and Kham regions of northeast Tibet, though there were others on the great plains in the north, and in the remoter mountains of the west as well. It was a hard but vigorous life… Before dawn the women would rise and milk the female yaks, called dris. Then, they would serve hot, buttered tea to their families, and, as, in the villages, a small offering of food and juniper was made on simple stone altar outside the tent…" (Source: Gibb, A History of Tibet Book-1 'The Land of the Snows', 2004:69). Other than highlighting socio-cultural aspects and ways of life of the people in Tibet before the Chinese occupation, political aspects are also dealt with, specially the Chinese takeover of Tibet in 1959, the events preceding and following it. The objective seems to be not only to inform the students about these political realities but, more importantly, to develop feelings of Tibetan nationalism amongst them. The History book 'A History of Tibet Book-2 'Independence to Exile' meant for classes VIII-IX in the chapter 'Tibet is Crushed' highlights the following aspects. "From April 1959, then, all pretense of allowing the Tibetans any say in conducting their own affairs was abandoned. A virtual military dictatorship was set up in Lhasa…A reign of terror was begun against all those thought to have aided, or even sympathized with the recent uprising… Most lamas ended up in forced labour camps, or were executed in the most horrifying ways. Nor did the poorest peasants escape from this wave of persecution. Anyone even suspected of opposing Chinese rule was punished and executed. Indeed, so bad was the situation in Tibet immediately after 1959, that a Commission of the United Nations- on the evidence of the thousands of Tibetan refugees pouring into India-described the Chinese behaviour to the Tibetan people as 'genocide'. "In the years following 1959, Tibetan culture and traditions continued to be attacked and destroyed. All education was now in Chinese, religion was declared to be 'poison' and effectively banned, and many young children were forcibly removed from their parents and sent to China to be indoctrinated. Meanwhile, Chinese officials continued to hold the most important posts in the Tibetan administration". The last chapter of the book, 'The Future' expresses the "fervent wish of most exiles" for the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan refugees to "return to Tibet"(Source: (Gibb, 'A History of Tibet Book-2 'Independence to Exile', 1987:90). Thus, the history and geography lessons and the lessons on polity emerge as an important means through which children are told and taught about their rich past and through which their imagination of Tibet, as a nation in exile, emerges. Thus, the language classes serve as a practical means of transmitting traditional culture alongwith providing the students with a "thorough modern education". In line with this aim, the Tibetan schools have adopted a common syllabus for grades one to eight, with standardized curricula, courses and textbooks all prepared by NCERT. Schools with grades nine and above were affiliated to CBSE and the programmes were standardized with a view for preparing students for AISSE. c).Pedagogy & Co-Curricular activities While a series of new textbooks and courses have been introduced in the Tibetan schools over the years and represent modernization of the traditional system of education and curriculum, the pedagogical approaches used in classrooms are still very much subject to criticism as they continue to retain much of their earlier features. Learning tends take place in a very passive way with limited student participation and initiative. Monastic pedagogical methods of lecture-based teaching and mantra reciting and guru-submitting seem to be very common and also seemingly at odds with modern student-centered pedagogy. There are many Tibetan holidays (alongwith Indian) that are celebrated in school, though the numbers of days of celebration has been shortened as compared to pre-occupation Tibet due to situational constraints in exile. The Holiday schedule of the TCV schools refers to the following holidays observed in the schools: Parents Day; Tibetan National Uprising Day; Tibetan Women's Uprising Day; Second Saturday; State Day; Saka Dawa; SOS Day; Zamling Chisang; Birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama; Choekor Duechen; Independence Day of India; Democracy Day of Tibet; Staff Day; Gandhi Jayanti; Tibetan Youth Day; Village/School anniversary day; Lha-bab-Duechen; Children's Day; Nobel Peace Prize Day; Nyanpa-Guzom; Republic Day of India; Tibetan New Year and Choenga-Choepa. Non-Tibetan teachers are permitted to take holidays on: Holi, Good Friday, Dussehra, Diwali (Source: Education Code for TCV Schools, Dharamsala, H.P, 1999). Prayers seem to compose an important aspect of life in the Tibetan schools. Along with the half-hour (daily) prayer sessions, there are occasions when the whole school community-students, teachers and dormitory house parents all get together in special prayer and incense-burning ceremonies (bsangs-gsol) in a prayer-hall in the school or in the temple/monastery located on campus or elsewhere in the settlement. These prayer ceremonies represent a blend of the religious as well as the political as references are made to the status and situation of Tibet. These occasions also seek to refresh the memory and remind the younger generations of their duties towards their nation, Tibet, thus, helping in the development of an ethnic self-definition. With reference to co-curricular activities in the present Tibetan schools, the semi-structured discussions with Tibetan youth refer to holding of many co-curricular and extra-curricular activities in schools such as intra and interschool competitions in dance, music, debate (Tibetan & English), quiz, elocution (Tibetan & English), essay-contest, athletics-meet etc, painting and Tibetan calligraphy, holding of the 'Tibet-Our-Country-Project', celebration of important days according to the Tibetan calendar, such as celebration of the Dalai Lama's birthday; observance of the 10th March Uprising Day etc d).'Rituals' and 'Ceremonies' in school With regard to Tibetan children studying in Tibetan schools in India, school rituals, such as the morning assembly emerge as important determinants in identity formation of the children. To those children who have never seen Tibet (were born in India, Nepal Bhutan etc) as well as those who were born there (but left the country at a very young age so were unable to fully comprehend the nature of Tibetan identity), it is through observance of these rituals and ceremonies in the school that a picture of Tibet as a pure, unchanged, idyllic, sacred, land of their ancestors emerges and takes shape in their imagination and goes on to become the most important element of their identity as Tibetan refugees in exile. These school rituals and ceremonies, emerge as important 'transmitters of identity' which more importantly create, foster and celebrate a we-feeling amongst the students, teachers, house parents by bringing them together Reference can also be made here to other such aspects and school activities which seek to encourage the idea of cultural preservation for the survival of the unique heritage of the community. For instance, Dechen , a student in the hostel, states that there used to be Inter-house competitions in cultural and sports categories between the four houses in her school, ie;Songsten; Trisong; Triral; Nyatri (She was in this house).These are all names of ancient Tibetan kings. 'Tibet-Our-Country Project': Celebration of an important month-long event called the 'Tibet-Our-Country Project' seems to be a very significant school activity playing an important role in educating the Tibetan children on aspects of Tibetan culture and identity as also influencing the ethnic identity formation of the former. Peace and protest marches are also an integral part of school life. On occasions such as March 10th, Tibetan Uprising day, students and teachers take to the streets, with placards (they had stayed up late in the nights to prepare) stating, 'Tibet Ki Aazaadi- Bharat Ki Suraksha'; 'Long Live Dalai Lama'; 'China- Go Out of Tibet', 'We Want Justice' etc with the local Indian shopkeepers watching the spectacle with bemused or bored expressions. e).Role of teachers The schools contribute towards the development of an intense type of nationalism by providing a legitimate official Tibetan context for what would otherwise be individual, personal statements from individual refugees. The impact of respected, awe-inspiring authority figures such as teachers, like "we are refugees; we are different; we have to go back" alongwith the thoughtfully constructed school environment and activities within and outside it (daily singing of national anthem; staging of inter-house debates/elocution contests etc on Tibet, its independence and related issues, protest marches on occasions, such as, annual 10th March Uprising Day etc), all combine to provide and official context to the essential identity of Tibetanness that every Tibetan child tends to come across and embrace and the schools' role in promoting nationalism, thus, becomes even more evident. The words of Tsundue, Tenzin , a youth poet-activist are very expressive in this context. He writes, "When we were children in a Tibetan school in Himachal pradesh, our teachers would regale us with tales of Tibetans suffering in Tibet. We were often told that we were refugees and that we all bore a big 'R' on our foreheads. It didn't make much sense to us, we only wished the teacher would hurry up and finish his talk and not keep us standing in the hot sun, with our oiled hair. For a very long time I sincerely believed that we were a special kind of people with an 'R' on our foreheads. We did look different from the local Indian families who lived around our school campus.." "Perhaps the first thing I learnt at school was that we were refugees and we didn't belong to this country" (Tsundue, Tenzin, 2004). Talks with Tibetan youth I came across also reveal such feelings. To Ngodup, a student who came to India when he was very young, the idea of Tibetanness grew only in school. "The idea that I am Tibetan grew in school, especially during the 'Tibet-Our Country Project' every year. Every they would release statistics of Tibetan political prisoners who were tortured and killed in Tibet, which initially, I used to find difficult to believe as I had no idea of all this while I was in Tibet. Questions like, "where is all this happening?" "How come, I never saw?" would arise in my mind. It was going on peace marches from school shouting slogans, like, 'Chinese! Go out of Tibet!' 'Tibet belongs to Tibetans'! that I realized my identity as Tibetan. In the 4th , 5th and 6th classes, our teachers would tell us that we are refugees; we are different; we have to go back. Indians have their own country and we don't. They would say that we have extra responsibility to do well in studies and we have to work hard. If others (Indians) study for 2 hours, we need to put in 4 hours. They would tell us that we are completely different from Indians and that we should not get carried away with fashion". The role of the Tibetan schools in India in constructing identities of the Tibetan children through a certain school culture, in terms of school curriculum through the following agents become important: a) residential schools & the Institutionalized role of house parents b) language c) role of (textbooks & subjects and (pedagogy & co-curricular activities, primarily, 'rituals' & 'ceremonies') curriculum, thus, emerges as an important. Students are taught to regard themselves as the proud inheritors of future 'free' Tibet and as the heirs of a unique cultural and religious heritage in exile. All of the above create certain values and attitudes amongst the children, which contributes to form and forge their sense of Tibetanness and Tibetan identity. These elements of Tibetan identity that are formed, while in school, and remain an essential part of the identities of the Tibetan youth in Delhi are: i). Feelings of intense nationalism: many scholars seem to believe that this feeling of nationalism is also 'militant' in nature borne out of frustration amongst the youth with the 'middle-way' approach of exile politics not bearing any fruitful results upon their 'freedom struggle'. However my discussions with the small sample of youth studying in Delhi university did not reveal any such 'militant' aspirations, though the feeling of nationalism and pride in their Tibetanness is strong, they seem to have full faith in the Dalai Lama's approach (peaceful methods for grant of 'real' autonomy) which is supposed to be a more 'practical' method. ii). Concept of The Dalai Lama as the sole Tibetan leader and International icon: The Dalai Lama is not only the most important spiritual and temporal leader of the Tibetan refugees in India; he is also a living god for them, their 'protector', the manifestation of Chenresig, Lord of Compassion.The older as well as the younger generations, may of whom have been born and brought up in exile have grown up with framed photographs of the former beaming down at them with an expression of benevolent compassion, not only in schools (classrooms; 'homes') but also everywhere in the Tibetan settlements, not only in Tibetan houses but also in all the offices of the Tibetan government in exile, Tibetan restaurants; shops; cafes; youth associations; beauty parlors; bakery shops; handicraft centers/shops etc. The story of the 'banishment' and 'forced exile' of the living god is faithfully passed on to children through textbooks; quotations by him form an important part of school calendars; his birthday celebrations have emerged as an important time for reaffirming Tibetan ness and unquestionable loyalty to the one and only leader of the Tibetans in exile. This feeling of absolute adoration and respect for the Dalai Lama seems to remain, even as they grow up, outside Tibetan settlements and shift to bigger cities like Delhi. To each one of the youth I talked to, the Dalai Lama, is the most important role-model they admire who they look upto and who comprises the essence of what and who they are today (they are 'alive' and 'doing well' in exile, 'because of him'). He is revered, also for being the most important advocate of their cause in International circles, the key to their future destiny. iii). Association of Tibetan Buddhism with Tibetan identity: Though intergenerational gap seems to be evident in the amount of importance given to religion in the day-to-day lives of the young and the old. However, religion, particularly, Tibetan Buddhism, seems to be an integral part of their identity as Tibetan refugees. Right from birth, the role of religion in shaping their identity is visible: a mantra that is perpetually on their lips is 'Om Mani Padme Hum', an invocation of the boddhisatva Avalokiteshwara; brightly-colored Buddhist prayer flags fluttering from the rooftops in the settlement schools and all houses in the settlement. The youth shed light on the important role of religion in their lives when they were in school with the daily morning assembly starting with a Tibetan Buddhist prayer to the god of wisdom, Manjushri; special classes on religion held by Lamas and geshe's; holidays observed on days of religious significance (for instance:Saka Dawa on 11th June every year commemorating the birth; enlightenment and passing away of the Buddha); prayer ceremonies in a temple on campus attended by students, teachers, house parents etc. School textbooks on religion and culture consciously aim to communicate to children the importance of religion in life and give teachings on Buddhism that seek to create certain values and attitudes of compassion, honesty and sacrifice amongst the children. In college in Delhi, many of the youth admitted that the daily habit of offering water to the Tibetan deities and the Dalai Lama's photograph and doing prostrations before going off to bed every night (an integral part of their school life) had slackened. However, they reaffirmed the fact that though might not seem to be 'so religious' now, religion is still important to them, they pray 'when they get time' and even attend Wednesday prayer sessions in the Tibetan Youth Hostel (though they are not very regular with it). Tibetan Buddhism thus seems to emerge as a marker of Tibetan youth identity in exile that manifests itself in expressions such as the routine Wednesday prayer sessions in the hostel, and also acts of 'compassion' such as releasing of fishes in the water to seek the 'long life' of the Dalai Lama etc. iv). The sense of cultural uniqueness and importance of preserving Tibetan culture, language and identity: An urgency to preserve the unique and precious Tibetan culture, language and identity is communicated to the Tibetan children studying in Tibetan schools', not only with the help of curriculum and pedagogy specifically designed for the same purpose but also through activities, as stated above. An important component of these co-curricular and extra-curricular activities is that they emphasize upon the uniqueness and preciousness of the cultural and linguistic heritage that Tibetans' possess and that is being systematically destroyed by the Han Chinese in Tibet through systematic genocide. For instance, the exhibitions organized by the gu-chu-sum (an organization formed by ex-political prisoners in exile) in the schools' where photographs of Tibetan prisoners being tortured alongwith the torture weapons (smuggled out of China) are exhibited, creates a strong feeling of urgency to save their race from extinction. This is the reason why mixed marriages with people from other nationalities are not considered favourable as it amounts to their abdicating their responsibility towards their community identity. This concern manifests itself in the conscious desire of the youth to marry only within the community. Most of the interviewed youth stated that they would prefer to marry within their own community rather than outside. B. Role of the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) Alongwith the role of the school, the role of the most important Tibetan youth organization, i.e. the Tibetan Youth Congress in fostering a type of "militant nationalism" also has to be examined. The Tibetan Youth Congress was set up to create a "sense of cultural solidarity and "group identification" by inducting the youth in community welfare and social service programmes (Saklani, 1984:330). It is supposed to be the 'most active NGO of Tibetans worldwide' having more than 30,000 members. It's mission is to fight for the "complete independence for the whole of Tibet"(www.tibetanyouthcongress.org).However , over the years the TYC seems to have been displaying a more militant nationalism and coming into conflict with the ideologies of the older generation of Tibetan leaders in exile, who led by the Dalai Lama have been advocating 'real autonomy' of Tibet as against the TYC's demand for "complete independence" of Tibet. TYC, more than an organization seems to represent a certain necessary period of one's life as youth, as a kind of rites de passage that every Tibetan youth is supposed to go through after school. As Tsering, Topden, President of San Fransisco Bay area, Regional Tibetan Youth Congress (RTYC) puts it, "Tibetan Youth Congress is the must-read flyer that's thrust in one's hand as soon as he reaches certain maturity, that threshold to armpit hair, the first cigarette and the sexual awakenings. The contents of the publication, the raison de tre of the organization; these are all known to him, right down to the green logo (yet another version of Tibetan map), one more souvenir to add to the images Tibetan on the mantelpiece of his exile identity"(Tsering, T: 2004). The RTYC in Delhi, also, seems to have a significant presence amongst the Tibetan youth, as most of the youth who were interviewed, stated that while many of them are not members of the TYC, they still participate in activities, peace protests and demonstrations organized by it (even 'illegal' ones such as storming of the Chinese embassy etc and suffering lathi-charge and even courting arrest due to the same). Many of them seem to be paradoxically opposed to the use of 'militant' or violent means in Tibet's struggle, and support the Middle Way approach (of real autonomy as against total independence) as is advocated by the Dalai Lama. Elements of Identities of Tibetan Youth in Delhi An analysis of the identities of Tibetan youth, thus, needs to consider the values, attitudes of the former already created in Tibetan schools' in India, as explored in the above section. I have, therefore, tried to explore in this posting the role of school culture that seeks to be distinctly Tibetan in nature and which helps form, give character and depth to the identities of the children as Tibetan refugee children. These are the elements that remain, as parts of their identities as they leave the portals of their school and go out into the bigger world. It is a combination of their past experiences (place of birth and schooling) with their present experiences in exile (may include spaces and relationships within the hostel and without (college campus etc) as also the 'global resources' of television; cinema; e-mail; FM Radio etc) alongwith the association with activities of organizations such as the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) that constitutes the bedrock or the core elements of Tibetan identity in exile. It is on this 'bedrock' of identity that the life experiences of Tibetan youth in cities (who come to pursue their higher education) build on adding the supplementary layers and the 'top-soil' to constitute their present identities which are multiple, hybrid and constantly in flux. Warm wishes, Mallica From daljitami at rediffmail.com Wed Jun 21 18:27:51 2006 From: daljitami at rediffmail.com (daljit ami) Date: 21 Jun 2006 12:57:51 -0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Celluloid and Compact Disks in Punjab Message-ID: <20060621125751.17889.qmail@webmail27.rediffmail.com> Seriously understanding the non-serious Ferozepur, faridkot, Gurdaspur, Amritsar and Pathankot are Districts of Indian Punjab bordering with Pakistani Punjab. This area has unique features on cultural, linguistic, and geographical accounts. This area could not contribute much in Film Industry after partition despite having big names of Bollywood like Muhammad Rafi and Balraj Sahni from this area. Partition of Punjab happens to be cultural displacement of this area from broader scene. During recent trend of Compact Disks, film aspirants from this area also tried their hand on film making. The reason and aspirations of the film makers from this area are not different from those of other area. Harinder Bhullar did his BA, B Ed., DPEd., ITI, ETT and is about to join as elementary teacher in a government school. He was ignored as comedian by college seniors and cultural co-ordinators during college days. He could not get chance on stage to show his talent. He tried his luck in films as artist (in short films) but nobody offered him role without money. He did a role in a religious film (Dhan Baba Badhbagh Singh) but the role doesn’t have any dislodge. Irritated Harinder Bhullar decided to produce his own film. Meanwhile he was writing articles on entertainment industry and sports personalities. He developed good relations with established Punjabi comedians. When he produced the film, Duniya Bigad Gayi, he took six bites of these people as best wishes and used these bites as prelude of the film. He says that he was unknown so these stars provided known faces which facilitated his film to reach the audience. These six faces are on the CD Cover which definitely makes audience think about their role in the film. This first film is a compilation of skits, one find really difficult to laugh upon. Leaving apart the treatment part this film rustically introduces the phenomena of music industry and Multilevel Marketing from rural prospective. This film has found new minority to demean, linguistic. Two characters of the film speak a particular dialect of Punjabi which Rai Sikh community speaks. These are foolish characters demeaning Rai Sikh sensibility. Rai Sikh community lives on the border in Ferozepur and Faridkot districts of Punjab. Despite being educationally backward thin minority, they are known for their wisdom. Most probably this dialect has been introduced in the film for the first time. Through his links Harinder Bhullar found an NRI, Avtar Lakha, who agreed to be the presenter of the film if his photograph is added in the film and published on the cover. He paid 50, 000 Indian rupees for this. Harinder spent 80,000 on the film and sold it to Peritone, an audio video company for 65,000. After producing his first film in 2004 Harinder produced his second film, Desi Sholey, in 2006. This remake of Sholey, a super hit Bollywood film of seventies, could not attract the buyer. Harinder ended up requesting the companies to release the film free of cost. World Touch, another local company, agreed to release but asked for the cost if posters are to be published for advertisement. Harinder paid another 3,000 to get the posters printed. Harinder is no more interested in making films as he feels that the trend has reached saturation point. He is planning for a comedy cassette as he thinks that ‘audio cassette can fetch stage shows’ for him. People don’t take film seriously as they think us to be artists not comedians. Is the person not taken seriously by college seniors, fellow comedians, film audience, and video companies deserves to be taken seriously? My answer is YES, he is important to understand the ongoing phenomena? Aspirations, market equations, desperation and technology have brought us face to face with a situation never experienced in History. Harinder is a character who is living this piece of history. Daljit Ami -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060621/cdbcf64a/attachment.html From angharadcloss at hotmail.com Wed Jun 21 16:42:23 2006 From: angharadcloss at hotmail.com (Angharad Closs) Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2006 11:12:23 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Call for Papers: 'London in a Time of Terror' Message-ID: **************************************************************************** CALL FOR PAPERS LONDON IN A TIME OF TERROR: THE POLITICS OF RESPONSE Birkbeck College, University of London, 7-8 December, 2006 http://londonresponse.blogspot.com/ **************************************************************************** The 7 July bombings in London, on underground trains and a double-decker bus, killed 56 (including the four bombers) and injured 700. Two weeks later, four unexploded devices were discovered across the city's transport network. In the hunt for the suspected bombers, Jean Charles de Menezes was mistakenly shot seven times in the head at Stockwell station. Despite intense media coverage, instances of public protest and a series of formal reports, the events in London last summer have gone largely unexamined in the discipline of Politics and International Relations (broadly conceived). Our aim is to organise a two-day conference in order to provide an opportunity for scholars to reflect critically on these events and their aftermath. Whilst any attempt at such a reflection is fraught with ethical, methodological and terminological difficulties, the academic community has an important role to play in examining what happened and the way it has been dealt with. The conference will focus on the theme of the 'politics of response' to July 7th, the 'failed bombings' on July 21st, and the shooting of Menezes. We seek to examine the range of responses to the events of last summer but also the events themselves as responses. This theme raises many provocative questions: * How do these events relate to London's position as a global power, to the lingering effects of imperialism and colonialism and to British foreign policy more generally? * How might responses to events such as '7/7' (re)produce (unwittingly or otherwise) the sort of disasters that they seek to overcome? * What assumptions and/or interests are reflected in the civil contingency arrangements in place to deal with large-scale disasters? * How do certain discourses serve to reify particular notions and ends of sovereign politics and community? * What is at stake in the cultivation of a public culture in which 'good citizens' are constantly on the look out for 'suspect bombers'? * What practices of racism, dominance and violence have been unleashed as a result? * How have they related to class and gender oppressions? * What risks are involved in adopting and defending an insistence on unity such as that implied by the 'One London' campaign? * How do responses to the events in London last summer compare to the responses to similar events in Madrid, Casablanca and New York? * And what about the politics of our own responses to these events as academics? We invite proposals for papers related to the conference theme. Proposals should include a preliminary title, abstract (of no more than 300 words) and details of the institutional affiliation of each participant. To submit a proposal please e-mail Angharad Closs and Nick Vaughan-Williams at london.response at yahoo.co.uk. The deadline for proposals is 1 August 2006. Successful applicants will be notified soon after. All panel participants are responsible for covering travel and accommodation costs. For updates please visit: http://londonresponse.blogspot.com/ _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From pukar at pukar.org.in Wed Jun 21 17:43:24 2006 From: pukar at pukar.org.in (PUKAR) Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2006 17:43:24 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] [announcements] Saturday 24th June: Youth Fellowship Event Message-ID: <000801c6952c$1b780d30$1dd0c0cb@freeda> PUKAR cordially invites you to 'Churchgate to Dombivli: Youth Special' The Annual Event of the PUKAR Youth Fellowship Programme Date: Saturday 24th June 2006 Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Venue: P. L. Deshpande Kala Academy, Prabhadevi, Mumbai - 400 025 Chief Guests Kumar Ketkar Editor, Loksatta Arun Nalawade Actor Neelam Shirke Actor The event marks the completion of the first year of the Youth Fellowship Programme. In July 2005 PUKAR selected 30 Senior Fellows, each of whom worked with Mumbai's youth on a year- long research-action project. The research questions looked at distinct aspects of their locality and of the city at large. Churchgate to Dombivli: Youth Special is an annual event that provides a space for the youth fellows to inter-face with the public and discuss the findings of their research projects. The PUKAR Youth Fellowship Programme aims to generate and support thirty research- action projects each year till 2008. The basic idea of this project was tested in an earlier initiative carried out by PUKAR - 'Tarunaee', in which five groups of youth had explored city-based themes of their choice. During the event on June 24th, PUKAR will release a book titled 'Paach Prashna, Shambhar Uttara' which documents the process and the experience of 'Tarunaee'. The PUKAR Youth Fellowship Programme is supported by the Sir Ratan Tata Trust. PUKAR (Partners for Urban Knowledge Action and Research) Address:: 1-4, 2nd Floor, Kamanwala Chambers, Sir P. M. Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 001 Telephone:: +91 (22) 5574 8152 Fax:: +91 (22) 6664 0561 Email:: pukar at pukar.org.in Website:: www.pukar.org.in -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060621/c26df3b7/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From monica at sarai.net Wed Jun 21 18:45:46 2006 From: monica at sarai.net (Monica Narula) Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2006 18:45:46 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] 'A dying man sings of that which felled him' Message-ID: <368BDEE4-E50F-4F10-960D-D261881F49D7@sarai.net> 'A dying man sings of that which felled him' Raqs Media Collective "Subcontingent: The South Asian Subcontinent in Contemporary Art" at the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo (Torino/Turin) Curated by Ilaria Bonacossa and Francesco Monacorda. Opening : 29th of June, 2006. “A dying man sings of that which felled him” presents its visitors with a silent song of a thousand words, a bier of iron rods for the repose of a fallen man, a setting sun, and an empty chair awaiting a visitor. Here, in this long twilight, a story from the Bhishma Canto of the Mahabharata - replayed as if on a remote camera, realized with construction materials - is configured to form a meditation on contemporary capitalism.The list of a thousand words (reminiscent of Bhishma's death-bed incantation of the thousand names of Vishnu) may be thought of as a 'dying declaration', or as an eulogy chanted by a dying man to the power that felled him. The installation involves us all as witnesses to this terminal state. At a time when the rhetoric of impending ‘super-powerdom’ resounds in the metropolises of South Asia with an exhausting monotony, this installation is a reminder of the whimsical contingencies of the operation of power which spare no one, not even those who imagine themselves at the helm of affairs. The iron rods - a notational trope that recalls both the buillding and destruction of cities as well as Bhishma's death-bed of arrows made by Arjun during the Mahabharata battle - act as a reminder of the fragility and tenuousness of our hold on the world. The visitor is invited to contemplate their own recorded image within the matrix of this installation, and to reflect on the caveats that this work offers to the discourse of triumph that surrounds us today. Acknowledgements: Rana Dasgupta, Mrityunjoy Chatterjee, Video Image : Mansour Aziz Video Editing: Iram Ghufran In addition to this installation we are contributing to this exhibition as crtitical interlocutors to the curatorial framework with a text for the catalogue - 'Once Again, to the Distant Observer' - and with textual interventions within the space of the exhibition. 'Subcontingent', according to curators Ilaria Bonacossa and Francesco Monacorda, is an exhibition of contemporary art "revolving around an 'open notion' of the South Asian Subcontinent - not as a map of nation states often riven by conflict, but as a complex matrix of people, ideas, cultures, languages, ways of living, faiths and histories...The title of the exhibition envisages an imaginary utopian space, one able to contain all the different aspects of the subcontinent without reducing it to one single identity." For details about the exhibition and other participating artists, see the website of the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo The Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo is at : Via Modane, 16 10141 Torino/Turin : Phone +39 011 3797600 The exhibition opens on the 29th of June, 2006 and will stay on view till the 8th of October 2006. Monica Narula Raqs Media Collective Sarai-CSDS 29 Rajpur Road Delhi 110054 www.raqsmediacollective.net www.sarai.net _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From ysaeed7 at yahoo.com Thu Jun 22 17:30:24 2006 From: ysaeed7 at yahoo.com (Yousuf) Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2006 05:00:24 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] film appreciation course in Delhi Message-ID: <20060622120024.32813.qmail@web51408.mail.yahoo.com> Grey Zone Film Club, New Delhi, presents Film Appreciation Course If you love watching the cinema of the world, here is a chance to start appreciating it better with the help of professionals. Watch movies that you may have heard about never got a chance to see. Grey Zone Film Club brings to you a package of classic movies by world-class directors. >From the controversial to the obscure, from the classic to the contemporary; from Neo Realism to Noir, from Expressionism to Dogme. Its all here! This one of its kind effort to help sensitize and expose movie lovers as well aspiring filmmakers to this provocative and stimulating medium of visual art. To bring intellectual input into this course, the film club also plans to invite well-known scholars, cinema critics, and independent filmmakers to present and discuss various films. Starting 2nd July, 2006 Location: Central Delhi Hurry!! Limited Seats For details, contact: Saif 9810787773, or Dhruv 9810261773 Email: saif at ektaramusic.com Visit us at http://www.ektara.org (Kindly forward this message to your friends who may be interested.) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From ish at sarai.net Thu Jun 22 20:49:20 2006 From: ish at sarai.net (ish at sarai.net) Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2006 17:19:20 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] Sounds of the City (Audio Samples) Message-ID: <2b5143211cf9a6521068dd49111a5fdb@sarai.net> The 3rd CD with Wav Samples from Delhi and some samples from a village near Pune(Maharashtra) is Available at 'Sarai Media Archive'. These samples were recoeded using a MD player and combinations of condenser, dynamic and stereo-condenser mics through a digital mixer(for a few recordings). The samples are in Wav format(16bit, 44.1 Khz). These Samples are in continuation to an earlier posting 'The sound from the City to the mountains (Audio Samples/ 2Cd's) Audio Samples CD-3 _______________________ 01. Delhi Street Ambience- traffic cycles people 02. Household - Cleaning Utensils sounds 03. Kabaadi Walla - Maharashtra 04. pahar Ganj Streets 05. pahar Ganj Streets 2 06. pahar Ganj Streets 3 07. Railway Station Ambience 08. Shaadi Band with Baarat traffic and generators 09. Street traffic cars scooters 10. Street traffic Cycle bells 11. Streets Traffic Vendor Cycle Rickshaws 12. Train entring Station 13. train station Ambience - Maharashtra 14. Village Ambience - Cattle with bells 15. Village Ambience at night time 16. Village Sounds - birds crows man in background Best Ish (sarai.net/ frEeMuZik.net) From ysaeed7 at yahoo.com Thu Jun 22 22:28:11 2006 From: ysaeed7 at yahoo.com (Yousuf) Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2006 09:58:11 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] in search of the bhands In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20060622165811.50567.qmail@web51413.mail.yahoo.com> Dear Mahmood Very interesting read on the Bhands. I think the question of why we treat them with such disrespect has something to do with how we have treated all our traditional artists - what caste they belong to? Meerasis, dhadis and so on have always remained at the lowest rung of the society (I even heard terms like Chooda-chamar for musicians in Pakistan/Punjab). Any "respectable" family man or woman going to learn traditional music is always denounced as going the meerasi way - the most disrespectable profession. Then there are layers and layers of castes between the classical gavayyas and the qawwals, the bhands, and so on. I even know one extended family in Delhi where some people practice khayal while some others are qawwals - the khayaliyas always disown the qawwal part of their family since its a different class. But it would be interesting to compare our traditional bhaands to the new bhands appearig on Star-TV's Laughter Challenge. Fancily staged comedy shows are a new craze on every TV channel. Difficult to see the difference between the traditional bhands and Jhony Lever. Yousuf --- mahmood farooqui wrote: > Searching for the word Bhaand on google brought > these two results- > > "He is no more than a common bhaand that has > entertained us , got > money in return and is enjoying without a care for > the poor masses of > this country " > > "That he is willing to do anything for money - which > includes jumping > like a monkey in movies and dancing like a bhaand ( > a term used by > himself ) " > > Surely, a term which can bring disparagement on two > of our greatest > superstars must be highly derogatory. And the > commonest connotation of > Bhand is hugely derogatory. One uses the term, > always, to run things > or people down. So what does the term bhaand mean? > > Here is the definition given in a nineteenth century > Urdu dictionary. > > BHAAND-mimic, jester, those singing buffoons who > sing and dance and do mimicry. > > A related term is Bhaand bhagatiye, about which > there is a couplet > from the eighteenth century poet Mir Hasan- > > Kiya bhaand aur bhagatiyon ne hujoom > Hui aahe aahe mubarak ki dhoom > > In a contemporary Hindi dictionary, the meaning of > the word Bhand has > expanded to include, other than buffoonery, the > sense of a shameless > person, hence Bhandgiri is explained as > 'shamelessness.' Over the last > one hundred years Bhands, never really respectable > to start with, have > suffered further abasement. > > Now, listen to this story about the leader of Bhands > in late > nineteenth century. Shooting a gun in Urdu, is > described as goli > daaghna, hence bandooq daagh. The greatest poet of > the day Dagh > Dehlavi said something nasty to the leader of the > Bhands. Ustad had no > choice but to suffer in silence. Some weeks later, > there was a > function at which Dagh was the chief guest and Ustad > was on the stage. > Promptly, he called a man on the stage, handed him a > gun, pointed him > to Dagh and said, shoot. The man obviously > hesitated. Ustad said, abe > daagh, followed it with, haramzaade daagh, and then > with ullu ke > pathhe daagh and suchlike until Dagh got up and ran > away. Ustad chased > him to the bazar and Dagh, obviously, learnt better > than to cross a > Bhand. > > Yes, ladies and gentleman, this byword for cheapness > and debasement > once described artists of a caliber that would put > contemporary > legendary bhaands like Jay Leno and David Letterman > to shame. Bhands > were mimics, lampoonists, satirists, outspoken > commentators on the > affairs of the day, stand up comedians, masters of > pun, sarcarsm, > double entendre and performance. And look how we > serve them. > > The only historian who considered Bhaands worthy of > description was, > predictably, the great chronicler of nineteenth > century Lucknow, Abdul > Halim Sharar. In Guzishta Lucknow, Sharar states, > "The Bhands are a kind of National Satirists, and > they performed the > same function here as was done by the Spectator and > Tatler in England. > Dehli's Karela Bhand was legendary at the time of > Mohammed Shah. > Their jokes, sacrcasm and mimicry is legendary. Once > a Nobleman in > Lucknow gifted a shawl to a bhand, it was very old > and tattered. He > took it and began to pore into it, turning it > around, looking closely. > Somebody asked what are you looking at, he said > there is something > written here. What is it, they said. He took out his > glasses and read > with difficulty, La Ilaha Illallah, the first phrase > of the Islamic > kalimah. They said, that is it, doesn't it also say > Mohammedur > Rasoolullah. The Bhand looked up and said, how could > that be written, > it is from before the time of our Prophet. > > It was said of them that wherever they performed, > they always used to > lampoon their host and patron. After Karela Bhand of > Delhi, there was > Sajjan, Qaim, Daim, Rajabi, Naushah, Bibi Qadar etc. > Once, Qaim was > making faces and went on for over three hours, the > whole gathering sat > there mesmerized." > > > There is also another strain of Bhandgiri, popular > in Kashmir. M K > RAINA, the famous Hindi theatre director worked with > the Kashmiri > bhands briefly and describes them in the web article > at > http://radiokashmir.org/mkraina/bhand.html. > > "The Bhand has to train himself to be a skillful > actor, dancer, > acrobat and musician. The leader of the troupe is > called the magun, a > word taken from maha guni, a man of varied talent. > > The Maskharas are one of the most important > characters in the Bhand > Pather. They lampoon the king and the upper classes > by exposing their > corruption. The jester is the constant factor in the > performance, the > link of the various episodes. The elements of > homour, be it hazal > (mockery), mazaak (jokes), tasan (sarcasm) or even > finding fault with > the other characters is the forte of the maskhara. > They do very > accurate caricatures of society using a great deal > of pantomime. > Finally, the maskhara emerges as the rebel, the > character who does not > cow down to the oppressor." > > So wherefrom this violence on a profession and on > artists whose like > is not to be found anywhere on the horizon? Why have > we so > systematically degraded and lampooned a performing > class whose forte > lay in lampooning everyone and everything? Why did > we allow one of our > most versatile, popular and explosive performing > genres to sink so > much into debasement that it can disgrace even the > best of our actors > and stars? While we search for the answers, we can > start by imbuing > the term with a little more respect. I take pride in > announcing in > these pages that I am nothing but a chhota mota > bhaand. May God make > me a great one. > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From cahen.x at levels9.com Fri Jun 23 00:03:36 2006 From: cahen.x at levels9.com (xavier cahen) Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2006 20:33:36 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] pourinfos Newsletter / 06-22 to 06-29-2006 Message-ID: <449AE280.7010306@levels9.com> pourinfos.org l'actualité du monde de l'art / daily Art news ----------------------------------------------------------------------- From Thursday June 22, 2006 to Thursday June 29, 2006 (included) ------------------------------------------------------------------- (mostly in french) @ 001 (22/06/2006) Exposition : Opening of a new space, Anthony McCall, You and I, Horizontal, LIA Lieu d’Images et d’Art, Site sommital de la Bastille, Fort de la Bastille, Grenoble, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33159 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 002 (22/06/2006) Rencontres : Conference, Transmission and trans (E) - position for art? , Thursday June 22, 2006, Espace Paul Ricard, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33376 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 003 (22/06/2006) Screening : Big in Japan, Cinefeel, Thursday June 22, 2006,, le Cube, Issy-Les-Moulineaux, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33394 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 004 (22/06/2006) Screening : What it remains about it, Barbara Spitzer, Thursday June 22, Ateliers Varan, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33395 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 005 (22/06/2006) Exhibition : “Gun-Cut-Up = Peace-Action”, Jean-François Aillet, Euskirchen, FzKKE e.V, Germany. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33412 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 006 (22/06/2006) Exhibition : Hell Rave Wave, Andres Laracuente, Gallery Yukiko Kawase, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33415 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 007 (22/06/2006) Exhibition : Conjonctions. Mille et trois plateaux, Mamco, Geneva, Switzerland. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33419 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 008 (22/06/2006) Program : transversale-newsletter No. 4, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33420 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 009 (22/06/2006) Exhibition : installation of two monumental sculptures, Michel Stefanini, Mende et Limoges, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33422 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 010 (22/06/2006) Formation : [Locusonus] Call for session 2006/2007, École Supérieure d'Art d'Aix-en-Provence, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33436 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 011 (22/06/2006) Formation : Masterclass for independent producers of interactive entertainment, Interactive Digital Cinema Workshop, sagasnet, Germany. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33438 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 012 (22/06/2006) Formation : Postgraduate program in arts, Transmedia, Brussels, Belgium. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33439 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 013 (22/06/2006) Call : Under water, Association des Activités Artistiques Sans Frontière, Quiévrechain, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33440 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 014 (22/06/2006) Call : UN/Settled Multiculturalisms, A Space Gallery,Toronto, Canada. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33441 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 015 (22/06/2006) Call : International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33442 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 016 (22/06/2006) Call : Festival Pocket Films, Forum des images, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33444 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 017 (23/06/2006) Exhibition : Javier Pérez, La Criée center of contemporary art, Rennes, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=1818 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 018 (23/06/2006) Exhibition : "Traits sympathiques", association Noir de monde, Saint Bauzille de la Sylve, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33100 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 019 (23/06/2006) Exhibition : A song of loves, Royal Abbey of Fontevraud, Fontevraud l'Abbaye, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33161 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 020 (23/06/2006) Exhibition : Artelinea it Museum from the Point of view, Boussières, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33190 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 021 (23/06/2006) Exposition : Open studio, June 23-24, 2006, Ecole nationale supérieure des beaux-arts, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33322 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 022 (23/06/2006) Meetings : The review L’Ennemi, vFriday June 23, 2006, international Center of Marseilles poetry, Marseille, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33354 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 023 (23/06/2006) Exhibition : retro-prospect, Public closes its doors, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33389 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 024 (23/06/2006) Screening : Third Tropical Night, Domenica Gonzalez-Foerster, Friday June 23, 2006, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33396 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 025 (23/06/2006) Exhibition : V . O . S . T ., movie theater Le Barbizon, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33418 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 026 (24/06/2006) Exposition : Viva Cité, a festival not like the others, the Festival of Arts of the Street of de Sotteville-lès-Rouen, Sotteville-lès-Rouen, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=2912 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 027 (24/06/2006) Exhibition : “Made Your games”, Museum of art and history, Saint-Brieuc, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33131 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 028 (24/06/2006) Meetings : The European night of the young creation, on June 24, 2006, Seedbeds European for young artists, Park of Val Flory, Marly le Roi, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33144 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 029 (24/06/2006) Exhibition : peinture&video#3 , Eduardo Srur / Ida Tursic et Wilfried Mille, galerie/appartement Interface, Dijon, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33256 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 030 (24/06/2006) Exhibition : dialogue n#1. Edouard LEVÉ et Olivier GALLON, est-ce une bonne nouvelle, Le bureau des Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33387 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 031 (24/06/2006) Publication : pinxit LM 1997-2003, Laurent Marissal, German Bookshop, Marissal Bücher, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33400 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 032 (24/06/2006) Meetings: two processions with the counterpart of Dais de Patrick Van Caeckenbergh, Frac Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Marseille, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33407 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 033 (24/06/2006) Call : « Perruques-architecture » Meschac Gaba, Magenta Ephémères, Faubourg Saint Martin, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33409 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 034 (24/06/2006) Screening : Stars and canvas, Christophe Tourrette, Film on the artist Claude Gazier, Cine-Cinema, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33425 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 035 (24/06/2006) Meetings : Jacques Bonnaffé clown and poet, Saturday June 24, 2006, Salon du theatre, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33427 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 036 (25/06/2006) Screening : White chart to the Cahiers du Cinema " Blind without kingdom: the documentary handicap”, Sunday June 25, 2006, Documentaire sur Grand Ecran, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33311 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 037 (25/06/2006) Exhibition : “Eager Machines”, Le Commissariat, Le Syndicat Potentiel, Strasbourg, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33362 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 038 (25/06/2006) Various : March for the DECREASE IN the NORD-PAS-DE-CALAIS, Lille, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33399 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 039 (26/06/2006) Meetings : Colloque : Conference: “The poster in the literature and the culture Frenchwomen of 1870 to our days”, 26- June 28, 2006, University of Manchester, the United Kingdom. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33375 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 040 (26/06/2006) Screening : short films, Monday June 26, 2006, Demain dès l'aube, Centre pompidou, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33424 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 041 (27/06/2006) Exhibition : Animals, Animals, Museum of Contemporary art of Lyon, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=1837 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 042 (27/06/2006) Exhibition : OUTLAB, CITU / Paragraphe, University Paris 8, Saint-Denis, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33392 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 043 (27/06/2006) Meetings : Eighth wonder of the world, Jordan Plevnes,Tuesday June 27, 2006, University of the Sorbonne, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33429 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 044 (28/06/2006) Meetings : Lecture, Ioan TEPELEA , Kazem SHAHRYARI, association Art En Exil, Wednesday June 28, Art Studio Theatre, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33404 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 045 (29/06/2006) Performances : exhibition, Points of impact, Space Piano Nobile, Geneva, Switzerland. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33309 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 046 (29/06/2006) Exhibition : “Of the Men without History”, Museum of Last Arts, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33385 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 047 The artist and his “models”. Jean-Claude Moineau http://pourinfos.org/encours/item.php?id=3019 L’artiste et ses "modèles". Jean-Claude Moineau http://pourinfos.org/encours/item.php?id=3020 From rahulpandita at yahoo.com Fri Jun 23 19:07:10 2006 From: rahulpandita at yahoo.com (rahul pandita) Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2006 14:37:10 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] The Ninnies of Television Message-ID: <20060623133710.77710.qmail@web31715.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Sometimes he wondered, damn it, how does this channel function? He asked this to his friend. Both of them, after exchanging meaningful glances, would sneak out and visit Gupta Ji’s shack to have a cigarette. After taking a deep breath inside and making rings of smoke in the air, his friend answered his query: This channel, it is a sample survey of our country. The channel functions the way our country runs. He hesitated a bit, but finally asked: And how does our country run? His friend closed his eyes and replied: God knows. It was a reality. Journalists no longer held the reins of the channel. The 24-hour cycle of news had changed everything. An editor ceased to be an editor, he turned into a manager. And then, gradually, managers came to be recruited directly to run the editorial affairs of the channel. Why carry on the façade when a newspaper had begun to declare ‘Made in Delhi’ instead of ‘Published in Delhi’. A very few so-called journalists still held the top editorial positions. The problem also was that there were too many ‘heads’ like the multiple heads of Ravana. One such ‘journalist’ was employed by Lala Ji and was made the output editor. His name was Gaurav Sinha. It was said that until a couple of years ago, he handled MCD and DVB press releases at the Jagbharat Times. Later he joined Phataphat channel as a business reporter. He met an old business journalist in Press Club, one evening. After greeting each other, the business reporter enquired about his office and he told the reporter about Gaurav Sinha. Upon hearing that Gaurav Sinha had become an output editor, the business reporter burst into laughter and said: Just six months back, Gaurav Sinha was covering the Auto Expo with him at the Pragati Maidan. Afterwards, Gaurav Sinha stood in front of the camera, to record a Piece to Camera, which went like this: Mere peeche Auto Expo chal raha hai, jisme gaadiyan dekhne ko mil rahi hein. When he was saying this in front of the camera, the business reporter kicked him mildly on his rear and said: abhe champak, Auto Expo mein gaadiyan nahi to kya Gulab Jamun dekhne ko milenge kya? This unnerved Gaurav Sinha so much that he left the scene without recording his PTC. The same Gaurav Sinha was the channel’s output editor now. One day, he had just come back after completing a story on Kargil war. He had just entered the newsroom when he saw Gaurav Sinha trashing a reporter’s copy. When Gaurav Sinha’s eyes fell on him, he asked: Batao bhai Defence Correspondent sahab, Kargil Yuddh mein marne wale Indian Army ke sabse highest ranking officer ki rank kya thi? A face flashed in front of him and he replied: Lieutenant Colonel. Gaurav Sinha made an ugly face and shot back: arre yaar, kya baat kar rahe ho? Major bhi to mara tha eik. He didn’t say anything. He was possessed by a strange mental state. It was not anger; he ddin’t feel like laughing or crying either. His mental state was expressionless. He remembered Lieutenant Colonel Vishwanathan, who was, a few hours before he proceeded to Kargil, setting a dynamite at the base of a house in the Ganderbal area of Kashmir valley. Few militants had taken refuge in it and he put them to death. Late in the night, he went to the Press Club and drank till memories flushed out of his mind. Rahul Pandita www.sanitysucks.blogspot.com Mobile: 9818088664 ___________________________________________________________ All new Yahoo! Mail "The new Interface is stunning in its simplicity and ease of use." - PC Magazine http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowyoucan.html From dripta82 at yahoo.com Fri Jun 23 23:24:18 2006 From: dripta82 at yahoo.com (Dripta Piplai) Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2006 18:54:18 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] 5th posting.Dripta Piplai Message-ID: <20060623175418.88769.qmail@web37006.mail.mud.yahoo.com> A large building at beckbagan crossing, Calcutta-wooden chairs covered with red carpets,coloured glass windows,smell of new books,an unusual silence.The picture of Viswa Bharati Office was absolutely like this. I went to the publication division first to meet a person who is famous for helping the researchers. Inwanted to see some documents of the Music Board, though, I knew, it is not at all an easy job-still, I tried. The helpful person told me to talk to a specific person at the Music Board. The reception room of the Music Board is nicely decorated with old photographs of persons like Dinendranath Tagore and laminated page sof Swarabitan are on display. I asked the person about the rules and regulations of the board and also asked whether there are some printed documents or not.The person suddenly started giving me word by word dictation( he had doubts regarding why people from non-music-academic background can do research on Rabindrasangeet,why this young girl is asking him irrelavant questions,and he doubted that today's researchers may not know good English). Let me quote him now- ' At the time of existing copyright our concern was usually to examine the efficiency of a Rabindrasangeet singer through an audition ...where the selected experts were present.' ( as I asked him by which body the selection was done, he told me to erase the word 'selected'.He was not sure that whether the secretary or the VC canm select the board members) Anyways, he told me in details about the procedures of audition( In between he mentioned several times that he has read Einstein and he knows what is a researcher's job and what is not) One important task for me was to collect or at least listen to some sample of cancelled audio cassettes-which were cancelled for the reason of 'Non-efficiency'.The person told me first that they do not have any good audio cassette player,so he cannot help me. As I told that I can bring my own-he told that I can do so.But he kept questioning me that why it is needed, why I am doing this work,etc etc.(Again he commented why a person who doen not have any musical sense can do such a research). The time I was supposed to leave I told him that I am coming again-he just started shouting at me. The words were- 'we'll not help you.' I tried to show my letter from SARAI and told him that it is an organization under Central Govt.,he shouted that Viswa Bharati is above any Centarl Govt. organizationand he will not help me and told me to leave. The experience scared me a lot.The influence of Viswa Bharati Music Board in Bengali High-culture and its consequences raised many important questions,too. It became quite evident that the practice of Rabindrasangeet is continuously being threatened by some authorities which is a threat towards the freedom of the performers in the domain of city-culture. Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060623/f21175c9/attachment.html From amitrbasu50 at yahoo.co.in Thu Jun 22 22:56:51 2006 From: amitrbasu50 at yahoo.co.in (Amit Basu) Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2006 18:26:51 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] The first known lesbian activist/1900s In-Reply-To: <44997838.9020003@sarai.net> Message-ID: <20060622172651.28179.qmail@web8503.mail.in.yahoo.com> shveta, by mistake i didn't check that it was only your address. sorry. i am trying to resend the message in plain text. best amit thanks shveta, for your mail and the URL you posted. there is an > interesting programme we are organising in Kolkata, if possible spread > the message: QUEERING JUSTICE /Sappho /steps into the eighth year of > its journey on June 20, 2006. /Sappho for Equality /celebrates this > occasion with a discussion on: Queer moralities and Law *Speakers* * * > *Mr. Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, Senior Advocate Venue: Kala Kunja* > *Mr. Joymalya Bagchi, Advocate *(KALAMANDIR, basement) *Mr. Aditya > Bandopadhyay, Advocate Date: 24 June, 2006* * Time: 3.00 – 6.00 PM* > all the best. in solidarity amit --------------------------------- Yahoo! India Answers: Share what you know. Learn something new Click here Catch all the FIFA World Cup 2006 action on Yahoo! India Click here -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060622/59c4d94d/attachment.html From bhatt_rudra at yahoo.com Sun Jun 25 17:39:56 2006 From: bhatt_rudra at yahoo.com (Rudradep Bhattacharjee) Date: Sun, 25 Jun 2006 05:09:56 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] RE-EVALUATION Message-ID: <20060625120956.62475.qmail@web34201.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Greetings fellow Fellows (and ...), Am writing this in a real hurry. That might explain the disjointed nature of what comes next. Six months into the project, it seems an ideal opportunity to evaluate the project. It also seems necessary as the project has become larger than I had earlier anticipated. When I had started out, I was seeing a 30 min docu. But in subsequent months, I think nothing less than a 60-minute film can do justice to the subject. But when I said ‘larger’, I was not just talking about the length of the final film. There are newer angles that have to be explored and others further explored. But before I talk about these, it’s important to point out the core debates. It took me the better part of six months to actually deconstruct the entire body of arguments into the basic debates. And the reason it took me so much time is the fact that these debates are like the network itself, so interlinked that it is difficult to distinguish where one ends and the other begins. There are, as I see it, four major debates: the free spech v. censorship debate open network v. secure network debate public domain v. intellectual property debate the privacy debate Now, added to that are issues pertaining to: the digital divide internet governance The debates mentioned-above have to be re-contextualized to the Indian experience and for that it is important not only to give a brief history of the Internet but also a history of the cyberspace experience in India To add to the previous point, all the above debates also have to be understood in reference to the IT and ITES industry in India. This is India’s largest industry, its biggest money-spinner. And the biggest concern that those in the government and industry have now is this: can this remarkable growth that has happened in the last few years be sustained? Or will countries like China, Russia, Phillipines, Malayasia manage to sink their teeth into this pie? It is important to understand how the industry works , how software writers conceptualize ‘code, how network security systems work, etc. Another interesting point I would like to make here: though I have listed the free speech v. censorship debate at the top, I think this has taken a backseat. Censorship issues were important in the earlier days of the Internet, but with increasing commercialization of the Internet, it is this conflict between the interests of commerce, often supported by the state, and others who believe in ‘free information' or those who see in the Internet the ability to subvert the market that has taken centrestage. The whole concept of Internet governance is a new one and very murky. One hopes that things will become clearer after the Internet Governance summit in Greece in November later this year. Will keep you updated on that. Till the next time... Cheers, Rudradeep __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From samit.basu at gmail.com Sun Jun 25 23:24:57 2006 From: samit.basu at gmail.com (samit basu) Date: Sun, 25 Jun 2006 23:24:57 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Spec-fic, the Indian diaspora, and Indian potential in multicultural speculative fiction Message-ID: <2fa79cb60606251054i1631a6a8i664d6e4e80868d76@mail.gmail.com> The Great Indian Diaspora has always been a key topic of discussion whenever the theme of Indian writing in English has come up. Many of the world's most successful writers of Indian origin live outside the subcontinent yet set their books there, and many critics feel this harms the authenticity of their work. A lot of the criticism stems from the fact that a number of serious literary writers from India are also the most commercially successful writers from India, and the uncomfortable relationship between the creation of literature and the sale of literary products to well-defined markets is not something most critics or writers seem to want to talk about – and hence every aspect of the plot, the settings and language used by Indian writers at home or abroad who work in and sell their works to Western markets has been ruthlessly analyzed and criticized, often unfairly, for being strung together to dupe susceptible readers . Diaspora writers who write about India or Indians have also regularly been accused of selling out, of peddling India to the West with over-exotic, elephant/arranged-marriage/spices/maharaja-laden versions of India that have nothing to do with reality, but bring them large advances, of sitting in comfortable ignorance in the West and not truly understanding the nation they are seen to be 'explaining' to the rest of the world. Fortunately for genre writers of Indian origin living outside India, they are less likely to be accused of distorting reality, since that is what they set out to do in the first place in order to understand the real world better. Or of being overly exotic – how exotic is an elephant when placed next to a demon or a spaceship? Unfortunately for them, they are unlikely to pick up huge advances from the literary publishing world at this point, because the publishing market for speculative fiction is a very different one from mainstream lit, and while the mainstream fiction market is still eager for Indian fiction, the speculative fiction world, which already has a fair number of colourful, mysterious, fragrant otherworlds. British diaspora writer William Dalrymple stirred up a good amount of controversy recently with an Observer article where he claimed, among other things, that the diaspora was the last brown hope as far as Indian writing was concerned. While his views came in for some stringent criticism and ridicule, even prompting writer Amit Chaudhuri, that most literary of Indian litterateurs, to write speculative fiction (in an article where he compared the planets Dalrymple and he lived on), one observation he used while making his claims was that most of India's most commercially successful and most widely published authors spend a large chunk of their time outside India – not noting, however, that this might have something to do with the fact that in writing, as in all other jobs, access is important, and resources flow to the places where they are optimally utilized. In fact, what really most significantly differentiates the SFF writer in the Indian diaspora and the Indian writer in India is access. SFF is a very close-knit, community-driven market, possible even more so than mainstream lit, and a lot of sales of manuscripts are made at giant SFF conventions, where fans, editors, agents and writers gather to celebrate all things speculative. While obviously the quality of a work of fiction would determine its eventual future, the practicalities are important too – it's impossible for even great books to reach bookshelves unless they reach the right editor or agent at the right time, and simply because there isn't a tradition of Indian spec-fic publishing, it's difficult to establish one. While opinions are widely divided on how relevant these conventions are for writers to sell manuscripts to editors and thus get their work published (completely essential, say some, no longer relevant, say others, in the interviews that follow these essays), the fact remains that Indian/South Asians in the diaspora are simply in a better place as far as getting their work out is considered. Also very relevant is the fact that apart from the leading names in children's fantasy literature, contemporary, cutting-edge spec-fic is not widely available in India at all. But these problems, while very real now, will hopefully disappear, thanks largely to the Internet, over the next few years. As conditions stand now, though, it is very likely that if there is a genuine wave of Indian/South Asian speculative writing over the next few years, it will be led by the diaspora. Of course, the question that comes before this is whether writers in the Indian diaspora are writing speculative fiction in large numbers in the first place. Mary Anne Mohanraj, US-based writer and founder of the Speculative Literature Foundation: "Most South Asian/diaspora authors I encounter seem more concerned with writing mainstream 'literary' fiction. In part this is simply where their interests lie -- in part, I wonder whether some of the leanings in that directions come out of a desire for respectability. Making your living as a writer is generally not one of the acceptable career tracks for an ambitious South Asian, and it may be that many authors are afraid to venture into sf/f for fear of even more mockery from the relatives. But that's pure speculation on my part -- it may be just that most South Asian/diaspora authors didn't grow up reading and loving spec fic, and so it doesn't occur to them to try writing it." "Cecilia Tan and I tried to pitch an Asian companion volume to _Dark Matter_ (an anthology of speculative fiction from the African diaspora) some years ago, and were told that the publisher didn't think there was a sufficient market for it. Maybe in a few years..." But hopes of a wave of SFF writing from the diaspora aren't entirely speculation even at this point. Already, a few writers living in the US like Vandana Singh and Anil Menon have established their presence in the SF community, getting short stories published in leading genre magazines, and in the process of finishing their first speculative fiction novels. SFF author Vandana Singh, author of the Younguncle series of children's books: "I think there is definitely an interest in seeing something new. Unfortunately Americans in general are sadly uninformed about India and what little they know is often caricatured and stereotyped beyond recognition. In addition there are a lot of Western SF writers who have used Indian characters or settings in their stories, sometimes honestly and sometimes with a hostility that harks back to the old colonial British hack writers of penny-dreadfuls. An Indian SFF writer thus has to overcome all these stereotypes. One of the things that helps is that writers of colour in North America are getting together across ethnicities --- African-Americans, South Asians --- forming groups like the Carl Brandon Society that gives out its own rewards to people or writings that focus on issues of race --- or publishing anthologies like So Long Been Dreaming that are being treated seriously by SFF critics and academics alike. So I think there is a lot of hope and new interest, now, in expanding the boundaries of SFF. We have more and more Indian names popping up. For instance there is Anil Menon --- remember his name, you will see it again! And emerging others who are going to Clarion workshops, working away at their stories, getting ready to see their names in print. " "It is true that in the West the SFF culture has developed an enormous fan base and also great support for new, emerging and established writers, through conventions and writers' workshops. There is no reason why these things cannot be organized in India, where we already have traditions like the literary mehfil. Even in the US conventions and workshops arose as ideas dreamed up by penniless writers (probably over coffee at 3 am), evolving from a very small scale to epic proportions (the last Worldcon I attended in Boston had at least 5000 participants). I think we have to start small, with writers getting together in neighborhoods and localities and giving honest critiques of each others' works. The next steps may include launching small-press magazines or ezines for publishing outstanding works, holding conventions, doing readings at bookstores to popularize SF and generating fan newsletters. " "We can consider Japanese SF as an example. Now Americans generally think the world revolves around them, and unfortunately this is mostly true of American SFF writers and editors as well. But lately I've been hearing more and more about Japanese SF in US publications, and of American SF writers going to Japanese SF conventions. (The next Worldcon is in Japan, by the way.) I am no expert on the history of Japanese SF but I really think that creating their own subculture of SF helped put the Japanese on the world SF map. There is no reason why Indians can't do this as well. Now, with the publication of the international SF magazine Internova (from Germany) there is a real interest among SF writers around the world (particularly Europe) to find SF from all over the globe and publish it. I have heard of SF from Croatia and Argentina, from China and Sri Lanka. Each SF community enriches the whole. " Indian-origin US-based SFF writer Anil Menon, is optimistic about the future of South Asian SFF: "If it wanted to, Indian SFF could kick some major ass. Indians (south-asians) are born storytellers. The earliest speculative fiction -- Jataka tales -- was home grown. We have the talent, we have the untold stories and we have an audience -- mostly young and mostly female -- sick of reading about cowboys in outer space. But we're like the elephant who doesn't realize its an elephant. So we politely wait for American or British editors to develop a taste for SFF with an Indian flavor. That's not going to happen any time soon." "But it doesn't matter. The way I see it, the future used to happen exclusively in the US. It doesn't any more. The focus has shifted. The future has been democratized. Look at what the Japanese did with Manga. Suddenly, Superman is a 60 year old dude with a weird penchant for wearing his underwear on the outside. We've as much a shot at manufacturing the future as do the Americans. And we can probably do it cheaper too." "What's to prevent us from building websites like Strange Horizons, which are entirely volunteer and donation driven? Why can't we start small print-on-demand publishing houses? In the US, there's a lot of resistance to publishing innovations, and for good reason: they could lose their shirts. But heck, we are already broke; what do *we* have to lose? Why can't we have our own Clarion India, conferences and awards?" "I'm not saying that we shouldn't address western audiences. Of course we must. But sometimes it seems to me that we're like the dude who went sailing around the world when the pot of gold lay right in his backyard." On breaking into the SF community and getting his stories into print: " It's been a lot easier than I had expected. In my case, Clarion West turned out to be the big break. I met a lot of writers and editors in the six week program, got a lot of tips, and my writing improved. But there was/is no secret handshake. I remember that Charles de Lint, who was one of our instructors in 2004, was so impressed with a student's story, he sent along a recommendation when she submitted it to Fantasy & Science Fiction. It still got rejected. It's almost a cliche that the key to good writing is rewriting. But equally important, a successful submission is usually a resubmission." "There's definitely a lot of interest. I've found my "Indian stories" move a lot faster than the "ethnically neutral" ones. What I find in most contemporary stories though is that the Indian-ness, if present, tends to be an exotic touch; a character may have an Indian name, but she/he could just as well be Irish-Eskimo." Thomas Abraham, president, Penguin Books India: On the probability of the diaspora leading an Indian SFF wave: "I don't see why not. And not just the diaspora but from here. Leaving aside conferences, access is pretty much available to everything else. And even going with the notion that flights of imagination are still inevitably rooted someway to cultural influences; we're now (at least in urban India) definitely tech advanced for SF and have a mythology that's definitely richer than Celtic folklore to be able to produce world class fantasy. The problem is we need a basic readership here, which I think will be available over the next 10 years. All those Potter and Alfred Kropp readers will hopefully graduate into reading SFF." On Indian SFF writers needing to piggyback on Indian themes: "Not as a generalization, but if they don't, they have to labour against the prejudice that "there's nothing new here; this is essentially a western universe". It's a bit of a catch-22 situation. It would be far easier to position their work as rooted in their own cultural contexts and try to break through on the exotica platform. But conversely they would probably come up with the objection from agents that this is too culturally alien to succeed in the west. But that's now. Increasingly these barriers are being wiped out and hopefully in ten years it won't matter." Critic, writer and prolific blogger (The Mumpsimus) Matthew Cheney: "I think we're already seeing some exhaustion in the SF field with the typical props and models of writing, and so U.S. and British writers are looking elsewhere for ideas. Also, we live in a world where it's much easier to encounter people from outside our own countries, and to gain information about places other than our own, and many readers hunger for it. Some of it may just be the attraction of exoticism, but I think the success of books like Tobias Buckell's "Crystal Rain", which mixes a variety of influences in a traditional SF adventure story, or Ian MacDonald's "River of Gods", which is more specifically Indian, bodes well for the future, because such books show writers trying to bring an honest sensibility about non-Western or post-colonial cultures into their work, and to do so in as honest a way as possible Ashok Banker, author of the new Ramayana and the best-known name in Indian SFF worldwide: "We should be writing about our culture, our mythology, our people, right? But then you look around at the US genre scene today: There are fantasy novels with characters named after Indian characters, set in places like Hastinapura and Ayodhya! There are references to Indian myth, legend, history everywhere! You can hardly read a genre novel today without encountering multi-cultural references...and I'm talking about genre fiction written by white, European or American writers." "By the same yardstick, why shouldn't it be acceptable for an Indian or Asian writer to write a book using American characters or European-Celtic elements? For that matter, why should subject matter be restricted to a writer's own culture or nationality? A good writer writes about anything he or she pleases, and should be free to do so." "But try stepping across the same line that western writers step across routinely and see the result. I don't think you'll find the acceptance you accept, and it might often have nothing to do with the quality of your writing or intrinsic strength of your book." Jeff VanderMeer, award-winning SFF author (Shriek, City of Saints and Madmen): "There's a difference between an artistic scene or movement and getting attention and publicity for that scene or movement. No one needs to rely on a diaspora to create original, innovative, and moving work. The important thing is to focus on the work and to create something powerful and important. Then, in the fullness of time, you make people come to you. This is increasingly true considering we live in an Internet age where everyone is just a click away." "That said, I think it is imperative that non-English speaking countries leverage the internet by creating website for the fiction of their country, with translations into English. There's no avoiding the fact that English is the language that dominates the marketplace outside of Asia. But I do not believe you have to physically be in the US or UK to be successful. It may be harder, but it is possible. You just have to have people who are PR and market savvy in addition to people producing amazing work." Cheryl Morgan, writer, critic and blogger who runs online SFF magazine Emerald City: "Editors are always looking for something new, so if you can blend South Asian culture and traditions into your writing it will help get it noticed. Ashok Banker has had some success with that. I'm afraid I don't know enough about South Asian writing to answer the last question, but I do think that we will see more and more SF books set in "Third World" countries from now on. There's a general view that the American Economic Empire is on the wane, and that "the future" will happen in India, China, South America and Africa. Ian McDonald's _River of Gods_ has been a huge success - you guys should build on that." "Remember that Zoran Zivkovic has been very successful despite writing in Serbian and never leaving Belgrade. He just got a good translator and submitted stories to places like Interzone, and Jeff VanderMeer's _Leviathan_ anthologies. Now he's won a World Fantasy Award and the small presses all love him. There's nothing particularly Serbian about Zoran's writing, he is just talented and has worked hard." From rahulpandita at yahoo.com Mon Jun 26 10:11:26 2006 From: rahulpandita at yahoo.com (rahul pandita) Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2006 05:41:26 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] My Mother's 22 Rooms Message-ID: <20060626044126.34905.qmail@web31702.mail.mud.yahoo.com> http://sanitysucks.blogspot.com/2006/06/my-mothers-22-rooms.html Rahul Pandita www.sanitysucks.blogspot.com Mobile: 9818088664 ___________________________________________________________ Now you can scan emails quickly with a reading pane. Get the new Yahoo! Mail. http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowyoucan.html From rakesh at sarai.net Mon Jun 26 11:51:16 2006 From: rakesh at sarai.net (rakesh at sarai.net) Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2006 11:51:16 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] contribute for media bibliography Message-ID: <449F7CDC.4000501@sarai.net> Dear All This is to invite you all to contribute references and links to compile a comprehensive media bibliography, which will be published in Medianagar 03. Whatever you have read, or came across about media can be contributed. All the contributors will be given their due credit. The only request to you is that please write a two line introduction of the references, but keep the deadline ie 15 September 2006 in mind. thanks & salam rakesh - Rakesh Kumar Singh Sarai-CSDS 29, Rajpur Road Delhi-110054 Ph: 91 11 23960040 Fax: 91 11 2394 3450 web site: www.sarai.net web blog: http://blog.sarai.net/users/rakesh/ From nangla at cm.sarai.net Tue Jun 27 11:15:09 2006 From: nangla at cm.sarai.net (CM@Nangla) Date: Tue, 27 Jun 2006 07:45:09 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] Nangla's Delhi, June 2006 Message-ID: New posts on Nangla's Delhi, June 2006 http://nangla.freeflux.net Visit the gallery for images. See images: http://nangla.freeflux.net/blog/archive/2006/05/31/entering-ghewda-01.html http://nangla.freeflux.net/gallery/sawda-ghevra-17-june/ ::Blog postings:: Four Weeks Stay on Demolition [From The Hindu] 23.06.2006 >From THE HINDU Friday, June 23, 2006 by Siddharth Narrain "The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Delhi Government not to demolish the slum cluster [sic] at Nangla Machi in the Capital for four weeks. Read whole post Some Fragments, by Lakhmi 21.06.2006 When the land is flat for miles, even a slight elevation looks like a height. A road is being built around the land with a radius of two kilometers. It is three feet above the land it surrounds. This road will lead to Haryana. The path is littered with broken boulders. Several pairs of hands beat at them with hammers to flatten them into the earth. Read whole post >From Far and From Close, by Yashoda 20.06.2006 When you look from far, Ghewda looks like an endearingly small new settlement made of beautiful new woven mats. It looks open, airy, pretty. Read whole post Ghewda: 17th June, 2006 18.06.2006 [See Image] In construction, Ghewda. Parchee, again 13.06.2006 [See Image] 13th June, 2006. Again, it was heard parcheez were to be given out. Read whole post A Temporary Edge, by Priya 13.06.2006 It takes almost Rs. 5000 to build a jhuggi out of chatai. There are shops now in Ghewra that sell building material for making jhuggies out of chatai. Tarpaulin from Loni, string from Shahdara. The jhuggies are supposed to be temporary. But noone knows whether that means 3 months or two and a half years. Read whole post Ghewda: 4th May to 9th June, 2006 10.06.2006 [See Image] Left: Gehwda, 4th May 2006; Right: Ghewda, 9th June, 2006. Photos by Lakhmi and Shabana. Read whole post The beginning, by Rakesh 05.06.2006 Again this wait, in which hopeful eyes search the land of resettlement for signs of hope. This land, away from the banks of the river, away from the centre of the city, away in the peripheries of the city, where there is nothing. Here, where gathering resources to live seems impossible, families have been sent. Settled, lived land has been dismantled and its pieces have been ejected out of the city, left on the land called Sawda-Ghewda. Read whole post CM Lab, Nangla Maanchi http://nangla.freeflux.net http://nangla-maachi.freeflux.net ----------------------------------------------- It quenches the thirst of the thirsty, Such is Nangla, It shelters those who come to the city of Delhi, Such is Nangla. ------------------------------------------------ From ravis at sarai.net Tue Jun 27 14:28:28 2006 From: ravis at sarai.net (Ravi Sundaram) Date: Tue, 27 Jun 2006 14:28:28 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] another flood in Sarai Message-ID: <6.2.3.4.2.20060627142342.03594838@mail.sarai.net> For those who don't know it yet, sarai was flooded today, early morning. The CSDS pumps crashed despite being tested two days ago, One burnt out, another could not start. For the last 2 years this has prevented flooding. Stuff that was on the floor got wet, documents, some archive stuff, Shuddha's monitor replacement, some art stuff, some cm stuff. It is drying out. Himanshu lost his UPS and other equipment. As usual sarai folks and the proletariat(including the cleaning workers who were great) cleaned all asap, and by lunch the internet was back on. Ravi From uddipana at gmail.com Wed Jun 28 11:49:05 2006 From: uddipana at gmail.com (Uddipana Goswami) Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2006 11:49:05 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] an epiphany Message-ID: another post, more musings http://my-guwahati.blogspot.com/ From ojpatrick at yahoo.com Wed Jun 28 12:48:47 2006 From: ojpatrick at yahoo.com (John Patrick Ojwando) Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2006 03:18:47 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Interesting article recomended by your friendJohn Patrick Ojwando Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060628/805c9cd5/attachment.html From ojpatrick at yahoo.com Wed Jun 28 12:48:59 2006 From: ojpatrick at yahoo.com (John Patrick Ojwando) Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2006 03:18:59 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Interesting article recomended by your friendJohn Patrick Ojwando Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060628/f1d49cd2/attachment.html From ojpatrick at yahoo.com Wed Jun 28 12:52:17 2006 From: ojpatrick at yahoo.com (John Patrick Ojwando) Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2006 03:22:17 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Interesting article recomended by your friendJohn Patrick Ojwando Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060628/16064000/attachment.html From ojpatrick at yahoo.com Wed Jun 28 12:52:25 2006 From: ojpatrick at yahoo.com (John Patrick Ojwando) Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2006 03:22:25 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Interesting article recomended by your friendJohn Patrick Ojwando Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060628/8c4dfe72/attachment.html From arshad.mcrc at gmail.com Tue Jun 27 11:56:59 2006 From: arshad.mcrc at gmail.com (mohd arshad) Date: Tue, 27 Jun 2006 11:56:59 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 4th Posting:NEW TRENDS IN MADRASA JOURNALISM Message-ID: <2076f31d0606262326r1ea7dd13we92b5ca9c471e80d@mail.gmail.com> NEW TRENDS IN MADRASA JOURNALISM Though the term madrasa stands for old, oriental and obscurant, new writings on the same have proved that the real situation inside these reminiscents of the old education system is diverse enough to break the stereotype. So is the case with the journalism practiced there. It took me around four months to discover that new things are taking place in the domain of the madrasa journalism, though slowly. It started in January of the year when Maulana Mohd Sajjad Rizvi, one of my friends, informed me about a magazine called "Jaam-e-Noor", Delhi and suggested me to include it in my study. But as the magazine has seen only three springs of its life and I have been looking at the five years of the magazines, I did not take the advice seriously. Though a couple of things about it remained fresh in my memory, I could not decide what to do with it which was hinting the advent of a new brand of journalism in the sphere of madrasas. During the course of my fieldwork, I discovered two more magazines, Maah-e-Noor and Tooba, both from Delhi .Now, I was convinced that a wave of new trends was very soon going to sweep the field and the process had already been unleashed. THE JAAM-E-NOOR STORY What I found interesting about Jaam-e-Noor, the first magazine of this sort I came across, was the screaming headline on its laminated title page: "Sania Mirza ka Libas Koi Masla Nahi Hai." (What Sania Mirza wears is a non-issue.) .This headline suggests that the magazine, in its content and approach, is sailing against the direction wind blows in madrasa journalism. The driving force behind bringing out this magazine is Maulana Khushtar Noorani, a graduate from the Islamic Call College, Tripoli, Libya in 1998. A chubby and bearded young man in his late 20s was posing for being photographed by another bearded but slim man when I entered 422, Matia Mahal, Jama Masjid, the office of Jaam-e-Noor to interview its editor. The person with camera turned out to be a fan of the magazine and was trying to capture a moment of his meeting with the editor, Khushtar Noorani. This visitor from Lahore was the evidence of name and fame he was enjoying in Pakistan where 2000 copies of his magazines are consumed, a record by any standard of the religious journalism, as the total circulation of the most of the madrasa journals does not exceed 2000 copies. However, there are other contributory factors too which set ground for the heights of popularity Jaam-e-Noor and his editor is scaling nowadays. Religious education runs into the family of Khushtar Noorani. Allama Arshadul Qadri, his paternal grandfather, is an ideologue and the best-seller pen of international fame within the circle of the Ahl-e-Sunnat sect. Though his body of work is comprised of more than a dozen books, Zer-o-Zabar, Zalzala and Lalazaar are supposed to be his magnum opus in which he engages in the polemics with the Deobandi ulama at an unprecedented plane. According to Mohd Arif Barakati, a student of Al Jamiatul Ashrafia, Mobarakpur, Azamgarh, Jaam-e-Noor was a familiar name within the circle of Ahl-e-Sunnat as the personality of Allama Arshadul Qadri had been associated with it. In 1963, he started a magazine called Jaam-e-Noor from Kolkata. But it had to shut down in 1964 because his involvement in an increasing number of projects left him with almost no time for the magazine. When Maulana Khushtar announced in 2002 on the occasion of the Chehlum ceremony of Allama Qadri, to bring out the deceased magazine in a new avatar, every body hailed the decision. The magazine is so popular among the students of Al Jamiatul Ashrafia, the Oxford of the Ahl-e-Sunnat sect that Paigham-e-Islam, one of the student associations in the institution orders for 200 copies of Jaam-e-Noor every month. Imtiaz Ahmed, President of the association and also a student at the Ashrafia madrasa, is of the opinion that "apart from the subscribers, at least 5-7 talibilms read a copy of the magazine". Not counting its historical importance, Jaam-e-Noor owes its unprecedented popularity to novelty of the approach it adopts towards the content and its presentation technique as well. This glaring difference between it and other madrasa journals is a conscious effort on the part of the editor Khushtar. During his academic sojourn (1996-1998) to Libya, he had closely observed how the journalism is practiced in the Arab world. Returning to India, he took a diploma in Print Journalism from Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, New Delhi in 2001. All this helped him in evolving his own vision of quality journalism. He has been a bitter critic of the madrasa journalism. Articulating his views on the theme, he says that "journalism per se has never been taken seriously in madrasas. The motive behind bringing out these journals has either been to manage funds or to keep the community informed of the daily routine of the pir of the shrine. These magazines have been reduced to the status of the mere mouthpiece of the institution". Those who are at the helm of affairs, Khushtar continues, "are simply not concerned with what are the current ground realities of the Indian Muslims, what they need, what ails them and what the earlier can offer to the community through their magazines. One of the reasons responsible for this phenomenon is that the editors of madrasa journals are not the professional and trained ones. Without having any idea how to plan the content of the magazine and how to introduce diversity in it ,they just keep on reproducing stuff relating to namaz , fasting, miracles and prophecies. One can find them in the religious books, easily available in the market. What new things you are offering through your journal to the readers? Besides all these, the editors lament of their low circulation. Obviously, if you are not a professional editor, the reading material you are offering are not upto the expectations of the readers, why should they buy your magazine? That's why these magazines soon cease publication". Jaam-e-Noor is the incarnation of the vision Khushtar has regarding journalism and bringing out a magazine. In fact the magazine has introduced, Khushtar claims, a number of innovations in the field of madrasa journalism. The magazine contains 64 pages which are divided into regular columns and it strictly sticks to this column design. Its editorial runs into 6-8 pages and is per se a full-fledged article dealing with an important current issue. There is a column of Tahriri Mobahasa (debate in writing). He relates passionately how the idea of this column originated: "This concept I've borrowed from The Times of India which in its Sunday edition provides diverse views of experts on a chosen theme. I also select a theme and request experts to express their opinions in 2-3 pages." In one of his columns entitled Fikr-o-Nazar, he publishes views of those readers who are not columnists or scribes but they have some important issue to share with others, though in brief, say only in 10 lines. "You can sense a sort of democracy in this column" informs Khushtar happily. He has a regular column devoted to interviews, which carries every month an interview of one of eminent Muslim personalities or of renowned literary persons. Letters of the readers suggest that this column is amazingly popular among them. Khama Talashi is another interesting column. In fact; the phrase khama talashi itself is new to the dictionary of Urdu. Khama stands for pen and talashi for interrogation. Thus, khama talashi means academic interrogation. "I've commissioned one of my most talented friends for this column. He writes under the pen name of Abul Faiz Moinee. In his three paged column, he critically analyses all what gets published in every issue of Jaam-e-Noor. He even does not spare me and I publish his scathing remarks because I want to spread the message that democracy and the freedom of expression are two key components of journalism", exclaims Khushtar proudly. What really worked miracles for Jaam-e-Noor is the tone and tenor of its editorials. Khushtar, in his long and uncompromising editorials, blasted madrasa system and attacked the ulama community vociferously. This created a lot of controversy among the religious sphere of the sub-continent, resulting in carving out a niche for the magazine among both the critics and the criticized. In his own words, "the ulama were exercising a sort of control on the society. There was unstated rules that none could utter or write a single word against the mistakes they make….. I wanted to break this hegemony on the part of the ulema. In my editorials, I started writing against them and without paying any heed to their status or age." Here it will not be out of place to have a look at some of the issues discussed in his editorials. The Ahl-e-Sunnat ulema have a history of polemecising against each other on a certain theological issue in the pages of Dabdaba-e-Sikandari, a weekly newspaper from Rampur which began its publication around 1864, as Usha Sanyal has mentioned in her seminal work Devotional Islam and Politics in British India. (P.188-98.OUP, 1996). Contrary to this, no magazine has ever criticized the way they engage the laymen of the sect or questioned the efficacy of methods they are employing to counter the arguments of the 'others'. Khushtar Noorani in his editorial entitled "An overview of the conventional and path-breaking activities of the Ahl-e-Sunnat" (April 2005) discusses the following evils prevalent in his sect: 1. Craze for the admission in madrasas 2. Obsession with the rebuttal of the Wahabis 3. Eloquence of Oratory 4. Establishment of the Jurisprudential Board 5. Flood of journals There used to be a time when there was a craze among Muslims to send their children into madrasas while the current trend is that only poor students study there or those children are spared for madrasas who do not show any penchant for studies. This attitude of the Muslims is responsible, according to Khushtar, for the constant degradation in the standard of madrasa education and, also, provided 'others' (defined in terms of Islamists and secular modernists) with the opportunity to question their relevance. Lambasting on the obsession of the ulema of the Ahl-e-Sunnat with rebuttal of the Wahabism, he says, we have a tradition of countering the Wahabis with both pen and speech since the inception of this stray sect. Though a number of very important areas merit the urgent attention of the ulema, the problem is that nobody has time to give them a thought because of their obsession with this anti-Wahabi spree. Worse, they are not ready to mellow down their tone in rebuttal of the Wahabis. Moving to the next point of the editorial, Khushtar writes that there is no denial of the fact that oratory, like writing, is a tested device of propagation. So, some of the Ahl-e-Sunnat ulema also started using oratory to enhance the mass appeal of the sect. Later on, a number of ulema introduced new elements in their oratory to multiply their impact on the masses. As the popularity of the orator is directly linked to his monetary income, madrasa students went mad in seeking excellence in the field and the whole night oratory session became recurrent phenomena within the religious circle, forcing the neighborhood to spend a sleepless night. In 1992, under the auspices of Al Jamiatul Ashrafia, Mobarakpur, the Jurisprudential Board was set up as a splendid body of Muftis, envisioning it as a platform where important decisions relating to Sharia, will be finalized with consensus. The event sent waves of happiness across the Ahl-e-Sunnat. Though the body made it a point to incorporate all the renowned muftis of the sect, it was not long before a number of such bodies started mushrooming in the length and breadth of Jahan-e-Riza (the world of the followers of Imam Ahmed Riza Khan).Khushtar writes with astonishment: "I am at loss to understand the use of establishing all these small and big Jurisprudential Boards if their decisions are not followed by others". He, taking a dig on theses muftis or the towering ulema, bitterly notes that though they think these enterprises as noble deeds, to me, the latter are not more than "just a waste of time and money". The only way to transform them into a fruitful exercise, he suggests, is to constitute a co-ordination committee of these Jurisprudential Boards which can strive for making decisions of one of them acceptable to the most of the rest. Khushtar has devoted the concluding paragraphs to the religious journalism practiced within the circle of the Ahl-e-Sunnat. He, in his own singular style, very succinctly bares the fact about it. He says that till date I am at loss to get appropriate words to describe these magazines: whether they are "anthology of essays taken from religious books", "bundle of personal advertisements", or "dazzling blood-drops of journalism on white papers".(p.5). However, there are instances from the history that some magazines really did well and are still remembered. .Khushtar is of the opinion that their success can not be termed as the success of the magazine per se as they were not different from others from the pack. It was the personal writings of their editors the popularity of the magazines springs from. What baffles him is the herd mentality prevalent in the Ahl-e-Sunnat sect. None is ready to do any sort of experiment. Every body wants to trade on the trodden path, resulting in unnecessary crowd in some fields while in want of appropriate man power in others which are by no standards less important. Jaam-e-Noor came as a fresh gust of air to the readers of the madrasa journals. Khushtar's editorials provided them with a new vision of journalism. In past, no body mustered the courage to express such daring views regarding the shortcomings of the Ahl-e-Sunnat ulema. Started in 2002, his magazine is about to successfully complete its four years in a couple of months. He says that many persons wonder: "It was very courageous on your part that you have written publicly on the issues people were afraid of mentioning in their private chambers. We wonder how they have spared you from the fatwa yet". Maulana Qamar Ahmed Ashrafi Misbahi, a graduate from Al Jamiatul Ashrafia, Mobarakpur, is the advisor-in-chief of Jaam-e-Noor. Trying to analyze the factors behind the success of the magazine, Qamar says: "There was a discomfort among the new generation of the Ahl-e-Sunnat ulema regarding the scheme of things in the sect. But they were afraid of being ostracized or the backlash from the elder ones .So, they were looking for someone who is immune to this sort of reaction. Khushtar was a perfect case as he was the grandson of Allama Arshadul Qadri whose towering stature and contribution to the Ahl-e-Sunnat was undisputable. Surrounded by this hallow of familial linkage to Allama, he was shielded from any direct reaction on the part of the elder ulema. Moreover, a number of leading ulema demised during this decade, leaving an intellectual and authoritarian vacuum behind them. In addition to this, he had advantage of being educated in Libya and was one of those few who had a degree in journalism from a recognized government institution. He had a great passion for journalism and was impatiently looking for the opportunity to tap his potentials. Besides, he did not owe allegiance towards any khanqah, excluding any chance of being pressurized by his pir. Last but not the least; Jaam-e-Noor is published by Maktaba Jaam-e-Noor publishing house, owned by Ghulam Rabbani, Khushtar's father. In other words, Khushtar is not a servent-editor but is the editor cum proprietor. So, he needed not to be afraid of being thrown out of his job. Thus, all these factors worked in his favor and he became the vehicle for the dissemination of the thoughts of the agitated young ulema who extended to him tremendous support: intellectual, moral and in form of articles". Had there been someone else in his place, he would have been either silenced or a fatwa would have been issued against him. Self-criticism is intrinsic to the vision of Jaam-e-Noor. It is this call of introspection which it gives time and again to the laymen and ulema of the Ahl-e-Sunnat, keeps its readership graph up. In February 2005, Khushtar as the editor of the magazine went on a tour to Pakistan and interacted there with a range of ulema of his sect. His editorial of the month of May, 2005 is a sort of travelogue of this trip. Interestingly, he has mentioned a couple of differences, which he observed, between the ulema of India and Pakistan. "It should be acknowledged that in the period of last 2-3 decades, the contribution of the Pakistani ulema has outnumbered that of their Indian counterparts. The propagation of the thoughts of Imam Ahmad Riza has been carried out on a scale which is unparallel in the world."(p5).Consequently, he continues, "Pakistani literature constitutes today 70% of what the Indian publishing houses are churning out". It suggests, on the one hand, the paucity in the intellectual production of the Ahl-e-Sunnat ulema of India, and it speaks volumes about the state of original contribution and publication in the language of Urdu on the other hand. He, in the later part of the editorial, emphasizes that contrary to the Indian ulema, their Pakistani counterparts are more open to find out people-friendly legal solutions of the problems posed by the innovations in the field of science and technology. He is amazed at the glaring difference between the ulema of both countries in their approach to the day-to-day issues, despite the fact that all of them adhere to the same sect. Then he goes on to elaborate it with the help of an example. On the question of the legitimacy of Videography and photography, the Ahl-e-Sunnat of India is divided into two camps, triggering a series of writings and counter-writings on the issue. Interestingly, on the other side of the border, it is simply a non-issue. The Pakistani ulema find videography and photography useful in spreading the views of their sect. Critiquing those who consider the use of videography illegal, Khushtar argues, what they mean by "majority" (Jamhoor) when they refer to their stand as representing that of jamhoor while the reality is that it is legal in all parts of the Muslim world, including Pakistan. So, in majority are those who see its use lawful, contrary to the arguments of those who are against it. (p6). It is this position of the editor which makes Jaam-e-Noor perhaps the only Ahl-e-Sunnat magazine which publishes blurred photographs of human beings on its title page. Hamrey Masail (Our Problems) is a weekly program telecast by ETV Urdu. Devoted to the discussion on one of the current issues relating to Muslims, Obaid Siddiqui anchors the programme amidst the invited experts and a number of participant audiences. In one of its episodes, Khushtar was invited as the representative of the Ahl-e-Sunnat sect to express his view regarding the Division in the All India Muslim Personal Law Board. His reaction to the arguments of Shaista Amber, President of Women Personal Law Board makes an interesting reading as it provides a glimpse of his thoughts regarding the secular reformist Muslim women. He writes in his editorial that the session started with the question: why Shias, Barelwis and women, breaking away from the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, have formed their own boards? It was Shaista Amber who spoke first. Listening to her words, I felt that "she is suffering from the labor pain (emphasis mine) caused by the birth of rebellious mentality in the women against men and specially against ulema, springing from western thoughts, superficial study of Islam, limited knowledge, borrowed insights and ordinary power of perception.".(Jaam-e-Noor, June 2005, pp 3-4). In the concluding paragraph of the editorial, he summarizes what he spoke in the program. In his words: "If the representatives of the AIMPLB believe that drafting a model Nikahnama, they can solve the familial disputes and social tension, and if women, forming their own personal law boards, think that this will add to their prestige in the society, and they will not be meted with any injustice and atrocities in their homes as well as the incidents of talaq will stop, I think, they are chasing the mirage and nothing more". The tranquility and peace can not prevail in the society unless initiatives to implement Islamic injunctions in the society are taken. (Ibid, p5). In an editorial on the electoral politics in Bihar, Khushtar has presented a detailed analysis of the dynamics of the Laloo Prasad vs. Ram Vilas Paswan scenario. Subheadings like the Muslim situation in the post 1990 Bihar, role of media in the politics of Bihar, an overview of the Paswan's love for democracy, the reality of the slogan of Muslim chief minister, use of puppet ulema by Paswan in the election campaign are enough to suggest that the editorial has a pro-Laloo and anti-Paswan tilt. It highlights how Laloo has made riots an alien phenomenon in Bihar which had been the worst-hit state by the recurrent communal violence under the Congress regime. After the demolition, Muslims got disenchanted with it and started voting different secular parties in the different parts of the country. This strategy on the part of Muslims divided their votes, culminating in the emergence of the BJP as the single largest political party in the 14th Loksabha election. He has shown how Paswan's secular credentials kept oscillating from Laloo to NDA to Congress. That's why he should not be given a chance any more. Then, Khushtar argues how the consolidated Muslim votes to Congress in the general election of 2004 has breathed a new life into it, reduced to almost a dead party then. "The need of the hour is that Muslims of every state, using their foresight, should vote for only that party which is capable of stopping the rising tides of communalism and which guarantees for their development in different walks of life ", concludes Khushtar.(Jaam-e-Noor, December 2005.p9). When it comes to the international affairs, Jaam-e-Noor is no different from other traditional madrasa magazines. Muslim world and how the US engages it, is what dominates most of the writings on international politics in the magazine. Also, they have great appetite for the hear-say about the Zionist lobby. Like any other traditional alim, Khushtar Noorani too has his own understanding of what takes place in the arena of international relations. It will not be out of context to reproduce here a couple of paragraphs from one of his editorials entitled: "Well-Planned Designs of the US against the Muslim World and the Reality of our Silent Protests": 1. "After the 2nd World War the US and Soviet Russia emerged as two superpowers on the world map. But after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the 9th decade of the 20th century, the United States became the sole super power .Now it got involved in its retaliatory actions against the Muslim world, for which the whole western Christianity and Zionism have been preparing since 15th century after their defeat in the Crusades".(Jaam-e-Noor,July 2005,p3). 2. "If we chronologically analyze the meticulous planning behind these regular attacks on the Muslim world then we come to know that when Muslim world was celebrating its victory on the West in the Crusades, vows were being solemnized in the churches of the West to erase the contours of the Muslim world from the world map. According to this plan when Europe was struggling hard to wake up afresh, mustering its courage, Muslim rulers and nobility were leading lavish life in their palaces and were busy in wine sessions. In the 16th century, two movements swept Europe: Renaissance and Reformation. The earlier made Europe shine with the light of knowledge and paved the way for establishing of universities of Oxford and Cambridge, institutions of international repute, while the latter led to the emergence of the Protestants as a sect. At that time the Muslim rulers were busy in composing verses in praise of their beloved and were putting all the might of their kingdom at disposal to erect wonderful monuments like Taj Mahal to please the souls of their dead soulmates. In the 17th century there started an age of scientific and material development in Europe and till the 18th century they, to subjugate the world and especially the Muslim world, were successful in inventing arms and ammunitions which were earlier beyond imagination… ". (Jaam-e-Noor, July 2005, pp3-4). Among other eye-catching columns of Jaam-e-Noor, those of interview, tahriri mobahsa and Khama Talashi worth mentioning here. As far as the interview column is concerned, it's really an innovation in the field of madrasa journalism. That the magazine unfailingly publishes a fresh interview every month exudes how serious the editor is about the quality he promises to his readers. Some of personalities whose interviews have already been published in it is : Maulana Mansha Tabish Qasuri ,Lahore; Dr.Syed Aleem Ashraf Jayesi,UP; Mohd.Arif Iqbal, editor, the monthly Urdu Book Review; Mosharraf Alam Zauqi, the novelist; Maulana Kaukab Noorani,Karachi; Dr.Monazir Aashiq Harganwi,Bhagalpur University,etc. Tahriri Mobahsa (discussion) is another interesting column which is exclusive to Jaam-e-Noor. It should be borne in the mind that in the Muslim religious circle, dissenting voices even in the matters concerning academics are shortly silenced by one means or another. This column, through its debate on a range of issues, has established, on one hand, how ulema of a particular sect differ from each other in their opinions on a given topic while on the other hand; it reiterated the need to tolerate differences in opinions. Some of the topics of this column are as follows: How to save the world from the scourge of terrorism? , What should be the role of ulema in the general election?; Should Urdu be included in the curricula of madrasas?; How useful is the university education for the madrasa graduates?. The last question was thrown for the discussion in the month of April, 2005(pp21-27). Views of five madrasa graduates on the topic have been published. Here is what the editor has put in boxes as the summary of their views: 1. University education widens the mentalscape of the madrasa graduates, revitalizes their views and makes their arguments serious and factual. (Tanveer Arshad, Department of Arabic, JNU). 2. People should stop bothering about the shortcomings of the modern educational institutions because every coin has two sides. (Samrul Hoda Noori, 4th semester, Faculty of Medicine, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi). 3. In the contemporary time, one can not properly render his services to Islam on the global scale unless one is trained in the modern sciences. This underlines the need for the modern education. (Shaukat Ali, Department Urdu, Jamia Millia Islamia). 4. Today it's obligatory for every Muslim child to marry religious education with modern one so that he, retaining his identity, can lead a dignified life. (Sadrul Islam Misbahi.Department of Arabic, University of Delhi). 5. Modern education, through some of the madrasa graduates, will steer the course of the history of the Ahl-e-Sunnat towards a new direction. It's started making its effects felt since now. (Zishan Ahmed Misbahi, sub-editor, monthly Jaam-e-Noor). The column of Khama Talashi (Academic Interrogation) adds one more feather to the cap of Jaam-e-Noor. This style of self-criticism is not only praiseworthy but is a contributory factor towards emergence of a culture of tolerance and internal dialogue among religious elites. Abul Faiz Moinee, who writes the column with unmatched fearlessness and erudition, is extremely popular among the readers. He starts one of his columns narrating an incident of Josh Malihabadi: "Josh Malihabadi sent a copy of his autobiography entitled 'Yaadon ki Baarat' to Mahirul Qadri, editor of the monthly 'Faraan' with this note: Janab Mahir! Lijiye bakra hazir hai.Shauq se zabah farmaiye. (Mr.Mahir! The lamb is here before you. Please butcher it.).Then Mr. Mahir butchers the lamb with his own style .i.e., wrote a 60 pages treatise as a critique of the book. My friend Maulana Khushtar Noorani too every month sends me a copy of Jaam-e-Noor with an identical note on it. It's a matter of coincidence that till date it's his own writings which have been slaughtered at the altar of criticism".(Jaam-e-Noor, October 2005, p55). In the present column, he first congratulated the editor on having designed such a wonderful title page, and that's without including any dome or minaret. Then he wonders how the editorial has adopted a soft line towards the ulema as the editor has a reputation of being extremely critical of ulema. Further, he mentions an article which seeks to analyze observations of some oriental scholars regarding the Hadis literature. He writes: "Though the piece is informative and analytical, there are few places where my eyes stopped" due to mistakes in the years of birth and death mentioned. Commenting on the debate on the topic of "Whether the suicide bombing may be a form of jihad or is just a waste of human life", he criticizes a participant for the mistake he committed in translating an Arabic sentence while takes a dig on the other for using jargon-laden language, almost incomprehensible for the masses. Assessing the next piece which is a travelogue by Maulana Kaukab Noorani, Moinee writes in a lighter vein: "I went through the piece, the first part of a two part-series and am eagerly waiting for the next part as the earlier has nothing substantial in it." (p 55). Thus, every column of Khama Talashi makes a hilarious reading, especially when you are aware of the content of the previous issue of the magazine. Besides all these, Jaam-e-Noor is an Ahl-e-Sunnat magazine to the core of its content. Though I came across a couple of non-Ahl-e-Sunnat fans of Khushtar's writings, being an Ahl-e-Sunnat magazine is central to its identity. That's why themes which distinguish the sect from 'others' frequently find place in the pages of the magazine. Even Khushtar, in some of his editorials, writes on these issues. Apart from the content of Shari' Adalat, the fatwa column, which reinforces the Ahl-e-Sunnat identity of the magazine, other columns also time and again keep raising these issues. For example, articles like 'Of course, there is no sect called Barelwi' (February, 2006), 'Accounts of Oral Contestations (Monazara) with Deobandis' (July, 2005), 'Seeking help from the grave of the deceased Shah Saud' (November, 2005) suggest that polemics are not completely out. Thus, university education and a degree in journalism has engendered in the editor's approach a tilt towards providing choices to the readers but while doing so he has to be careful enough not to cross lakshman rekha of the sect. On the other hand, the journalism course has enabled him to package the commodity called magazine in an eye-catching manner and then to adopt marketing techniques to lure the consumers (here readers) and increase its salability. In a way, with advent of this professionalism, a shift, though unacknowledged and not much pronounced, takes place in the approach of the madrasa journalism: from dawah-oriented to economy oriented, though in a limited sense. Thus, these new trends in this genre of journalism don't signify a paradigm shift, rather 'shifts within the paradigm'. OTHER NEW TRENDS Maah-e-Noor, another praiseworthy adventure of the Ahl-e-Sunnat sect into the madrasa journalism, came into the picture in May, 2005. This monthly is brought out by a publishing house named Maktaba Maah-e-Noor, located in Matia Mahal, Jama Masjid, Delhi. Though the magazine has just celebrated its first birth anniversary, it has seen more than one reshuffling in its editorial board. From the 1st of June, 2006, Afzal Misbahi has joined it as the editor, a post which was lying vacant for months. A graduate of Al Jamiatul Ashrafia in 1997, Afzal has worked for 7 years with the Delhi and Gorakhpur bureau of Rashtriya Sahara, the largest Urdu daily of North India. Enrolled in the University of Delhi as a PhD candidate on the theme of "Urdu Journalism in India after Independence", Afzal has extensively interviewed veteran political leaders for and considerably contributed to the daily in his Sahara days. As a madrasa monthly, Maah-e-Noor is no different from others of the pack in any considerable way when it comes to the content. However, what distinguishes it from others, including Jaam-e-Noor, is the remuneration it offers to everybody who contributes to its content. "This is the first magazine which pays to its contributors", exclaims Afzal with pride. According to the system of gradation it observes, it pays Rs.300, Rs.400 and Rs.500 to respectively amateurs, regular and senior scribes. Though it's a meager amount compared to what a mainstream magazine offers, it is a pointer of the change which is slowly creeping in the sphere of madrasa journalism. Even the acquiring services of someone like Afzal who has experience of working for years in the mainstream media; itself has no parallel in the history of religious journals. As he is just one month old in his new office, his own vision of journalism is yet to be translated into the reality. However, in the very first issue of the journal under his editorship, under the heading of Special Articles, he has published on the contemporary reality of Muslims some pieces by Dr.Mushtaq Sadaf, Ahmed Javed and Mohd Aurangzeb Khan, all from the mainstream media. Also, his editorial on the controversial film The Da Vince Code reflects his willingness to make his magazine relevant to the modern time, not divorced from the current issues. Though the editorial is rich in its content, ideologically speaking it mirrors the concerns of the religious conservatives. Interestingly, Maulana Abul Hasan Ashrafi Miyan, the editor –in-chief cum proprietor of the magazine is based in London and makes frequent visits to India. Its finances are met with what Ashrafi Miyan manages to garner from the Ahl-e-Sunnat diaspora of UK. It also gets funded by Choksi Brothers & Sisters, Toronto, a private firm run by the Indian diaspora. Unlike these two magazines, Tooba, the next one in this league is the organ of an Ahl-e-Hadis madrasa Jamia Ibn-e-Taimiya, Chandanwara, East Champaran of Bihar and its research wing Allama Abdul Aziz bin Baz Islamic Studies Centre, Darya Ganj, Delhi. The monthly is consistently in publication since it started in 2001. Maulana Zillur Rehman Taimi, associated with the magazine since its inception, has been promoted to the post of the editor in May, 2006. It is he who was instrumental in bringing the editorial work of the magazine to India from Riyadh, its former workplace. As he is enrolled as a research scholar with the department of Arabic in JNU, Zillur Rehman has a degree of journalism from the same university. In this way, he belongs to the new generation of the madrasa editors who, having received religious education in a proper madrasa went to the government universities for higher education and, also, have a degree in journalism under their belt from a reputed institution. Zillur Rehman says stressing on the fact that it has the policy of not publishing any thing which may lead to widening the intra-community divide among Muslims. This policy, according to him, "distinguishes Tooba from other madrasa magazines". Though the Ahl-e-Hadis have earned a reputation of being obsessed with the rebuttal of other Muslim sects, the magazine has, amazingly, sticked to the policy in its five years of life span. However, the magazine is open to any piece which observes the academic parameters to prove its hypotheses, irrespective of its being against the popular practices of the Ahl-e-Hadis. In this connection, Zillur Rehman narrates an incident that once we received an article in favor of calling two azans for the prayer of Juma' .In stead of its being against the common practice of the Ahl-e-Hadis, we published it. Running into 66 pages, the magazine is strictly divided into more that 15 regular columns. Unlike Jaam-e-Noor which has no fixed columnists for its regular columns, Tooba has its fixed columnists for all its columns. This column design is a contributory factor to its popularity as Shahnawaz Alam, a student of Jamia Salafia, Varanasi puts it: "It gives you a sort of satisfaction to go through a range of information encapsulated in a single issue. To me it's possible only because of the meticulous column planning on the part of its editor". Interestingly, most of its columnists are those who teach at Jamia Ibn-e-Taimiya, Chandanwara. It's obligatory for them to contribute to the magazine under their assigned columns. However, couple of its columnists doesn't belong to the teaching community of the madrasa. For example, Yusuf Nazim, a celebrated satirist of Urdu, regularly writes a column for the magazine and is paid for the same, although a very meager amount of money. In this respect, Tooba has partial resemblance with Maah-e-Noor which pays for every word published in it. Zillur Rehman has been conducting interviews of the Muslim celebrities for Tooba but unlike Jaam-e-Noor, it is yet to maintain consistency in this regard. The total circulation of the Tooba stands at 3000. That its 1400 subscribers are the students of Jamia Ibn-e-Taimiya is an interesting feature of the magazine. Every student has to subscribe it as its subscription fee is included in the admission fee of the Jamia. Though the institution receives generous donations from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, this unique feature of Tooba is a step towards making it economically independent. CONCLUDING REMARKS In the light of what have been discussed till now, it would be fair to conclude that: 1. Those youngsters who are university educated and trained in journalism are increasingly donning the cap of editors of madrasa journals. 2. They are trying their best to observe the norms of mainstream journalism in their respective journals. 3. They are taking measures to make the magazine more participatory for the readers. 4. They tend to publish the writings of young ulema who are enrolled in the government universities. 5 Some magazines have started paying a token amount of money to the scribes. 6. Self-correction is going to be the buzzword in the case of some of the magazines, although the bashing of the 'others' has not lost all of its charm. arshad amanullah 35,masihgarh, jamia nagar new delhi-25. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060627/0d5f5c3f/attachment.html From joel at well.com Tue Jun 27 10:20:34 2006 From: joel at well.com (Joel Slayton) Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2006 21:50:34 -0700 Subject: [Reader-list] ISEA200 Message-ID: <9B291460-42C3-4C47-B205-DFE47431B4EC@well.com> 13th International Symposium for Electronic Art August 7-13 San Jose California ISEA2006 emphasizes conversation and discourse http://01sj.org/content/blogcategory/13/102/ There will be NO reading of papers! There will be ample opportunity for interaction with keynotes and paper authors during the extended sessions. Presentations of projects by artists will run continuously. A re:mote symposium will take place concurrently featuring presentations of those who physically cannot attend. All of the Symposium events are integrated into the ZeroOne San Jose Festival via streaming. Most importantly, the Symposium proceedings and environment are structured to encourage audience participation. Over 70 papers, artists presentations and posters are will be showcased. Scheduled Keynotes include Saskia Sassen and Raqs Media Collective. Register before June 30 and receive a 33% discount. http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=110251 Those that take advantage of Early Bird Registration will receive a print copy of Intelligent Agent, the official ISEA2006 Papers Publication and a free copy of the special edition issue of the Leonardo Journal, published in conjunction with the Pacific Rim New Media Summit. Come early for pre-symposium Summits http://01sj.org/content/blogcategory/95/134/ Focused topics through peer to peer knowledge sharing: Interactive City—Berkeley Intel Labs Pacific Rim New Media Summit—SJSU CADRE Laboratory. ISEA2006 Symposium Highlights PAPERS http://01sj.org/content/blogcategory/135/144/ Allison Sant, Redefining the Basemap Current collaborative mapping projects using locative media technologies have often overlooked the conventions of the basemap as a site for reinvention. Although these projects imagine alternative organizations of urban space through the way it is digitally mapped, they remain bounded by datasets that reinforce a Cartesian and static notion of urban space. This paper questions the methodology of the basemap, as it is utilized in these projects, and proposes alternative tactics for mapping the city. Other Papers by: Trebor Scholz, Kevin Hamilton, Sharon Daniel, Joline Blais, Mara Traumane, Mirjam Struppek, Tapio Mäkelä, Franck Ancel, Timothy Murray, Machiko Kusahara, Ned Rossiter, Steve Anderson, Jon Ippolito, Oron Catts, Ionat Zurr, Josephine Bosma, Gheorghe Dan, Alisa Andrasek, Valentina Nisi, Dr. Mads Haahr and Dr. Ian Oakley ARTIST PRESENTATIONS http://01sj.org/content/blogcategory/137/146/ Bioteknica: Laboratory Re:Mix – Jennifer Willet and Shawn Bailey BIOTEKNICA is a fictitious corporation, generating designer organisms on demand. Irrational and grotesque, our specimens are modeled on the Teratoma, a cancerous multi-tissue growth. Initially virtual, our organisms are now under laboratory development using living tissue. BIOTEKNICA both embraces and critiques biotechnology, considering the contradictions and complexities that these technologies offer the future of humanity. Other Artist presentations: Ben Rubin, Norene Leddy, Andrew Milmoe, Thom Kubli, Markus Schneider, Christian Riekoff, Paula Levine, Atteqa Malik, Tamiko Thiel, Mara Tralla, Angelo Vermeulen, Luc De Meester, Elio Caccavale, Matt Gorbet Design Inc., GORBET + BANERJEE, Christian Hubler, Felix Stalder, Jill Scott, Bill Dolson, Randall Packer, Julie Andreyev, Andrea Polli, David Drake, Frederic Madre, Ursula Damm, Matthias Weber, Peter Serocka, Nigel Helyer a.k.a. Dr. Sonique, Peter Agostino, Silavn Zurbruegg a.k.a. etoy.SILVAN, Robert Neiderfer, Olga Kessila, Steve Wilson, Jody Zellen, Burak Arikan, Vincent Leclerc , Vincent Kraeutler a.k.a Etoy.VINCENT, Gisselle Beiguelman, Tiffany Holmes, Jennifer Willet, Pia Tikka, Mauri Kaipainen George Legrady, Rama Hoetzlein, Mathias Fuchs, Shona Kitchen, Ben Hooker POSTERS http://01sj.org/content/blogcategory/136/145/ A Metro of Meaning: Understanding the semantic meaning of a city. – Matthew Hockenberry and Rob Gens Can computers understand what a space means to us? We think so, and demonstrate a system that seems to feel the same way. By making use of common-sense knowledge what an average person takes a way from a place we can build visualizations that aren't dependent on what we put in a database - just what we can describe with language. Other Posters by: Steve Anderson, Tara McPherson , Stanislav Roudavski, Giorgos Artopoulos, Diego Diaz, Wei Liu, Clara Boj, Chris Byrne, Atau Tanaka, Petra Gemeinboeck, Kuljit Chuhan, Dennis Kaspori, Kenneth Fields, Ajaykumar, Julie Freeman, David Muth, Maria Mencia, Peter Hasdell, Vladimir Todorovic, Goran Andrejin, Keng Soon Teh, Adrian Cheok, Roger Tan, Shang Ping Lee, Casey Reas, Ben Fry, Francis Li, Inga Zimprich, Elliot Anderson, Stefan Riekeles, Andy Bilchbaum, Nathalie Magnan, Gissle Geiguelman, Burak Arikan PANELS SoundCulture Panel — Shawn Decker, Ed Osborn, Nigel Helyer a.k.a. Dr. Sonique SoundCulture is an international collective doing sound-related work that explores artistic and cultural contexts for this work outside of the traditional modes of presentation of music. SoundCulture artists will discuss this aspect of their current practices in particular, and how working from a background in sound informs these other activities. Other Panels: WETWARE Hackers Discussed – Paul Vanouse, Natalie Jeremijenko, Beatriz da Costa, Oron Catts Discounted Events Tickets for Symposium Registrants http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=110251 Ryoji Ikeda - C41 and Datamatics Builders Association/dBox - Super Vision Performative Cinema with Michael Lew; Morten Schjodt Peter Greenaway - VJ Tulse Luper Survival Research Labs Lynn Hershman Leeson - Strange Culture 'Work-in-Progress' special showing Troika Ranch - 16 [R]evolutions Commonwealth Club Lecture - David Kelley; Bill Viola Please pass this information along to colleagues, students, and local networks. Thanks. Steve + Joel Joel Slayton Chair, ISEA2006 Symposium + ZeroOne San Jose: A Global Festival of Art on the Edge  August 7-13, 2006 | 8 WEEKS TO GO Early bird discount tickets through June 30 only: http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=110251 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060626/4920793e/attachment.html From induverma_virgo at yahoo.co.in Wed Jun 28 10:32:30 2006 From: induverma_virgo at yahoo.co.in (Indu Verma) Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2006 06:02:30 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] INDU VERMA - 6th Posting: money, madness & morality Message-ID: <20060628050230.75010.qmail@web8501.mail.in.yahoo.com> Money, Madness and Morality (6th Posting) by: Indu Verma The famous ALFRED HITCHCOCK was once questioned by one of his Actors .... Sir, what is my MOTIVATION to enter the room? Hitchcock replied, YOUR SALARY. So, the important factor called Motivation should always be addressed on priority basis. And the motivating factor for the television industry is TRP. This is a place where Money of course is God and TRP is the boss. Sorry, we are not here to use this medium As an art form or A medium of giving a social message or A medium of pure entertainment or A source of documenting true stories or A source of dramatizing fiction It is only a mode of minting MONEY, it is only a source of earning “Gold Plated” Bread & Butter, it is only BUSINESS. Among the maddening world of soaps, I happened to once shake hands with a Medical Awareness Show where I was to Anchor the show with an Animated Character as my co-actor. On the initial narration, I was pretty hesitant about doing it because I was an Alien to this world which was (as far as the script and acting style was concerned) new to me. It did not have the regular features of a daily, weekly or an episodic show. It also sounded boring to go on talking without anybody around because the Animated Character was to be created in post-production. But I agreed to do it. Just for money. Not once did I think that I'll be the one, making people aware of the Deadly Diseases like AIDS and HIV. We, the Actors are in a way, a medium to help create a better society, portraying the D o's and the don't s. Anyway, we started shooting. Suddenly,I was on a set where I had this strange feeling of loneliness. With no actor around, I felt a little out of place. As the episodes went by, I realized, that because the Producers were unable to cope up with the required shooting speed, they started chopping the extra bit which they thought could be filled in with the voice-overs. In a way, the motivation was to complete two episodes in a day, which was only possible with this solution. Fair enough, but what about the extra information which possibly could help in any way. More so, none of the popular channels have this as a running show on prime time. Is it because they are not interested showing or nobody is interested watching. The remote control is the easy way for you but replacement of the show is the only solution for us. And I may not get my money if the running show is discontinued because probably the production house might not get the same from the Channel. For that matter, there is a possibility of Channel not getting money from sponsors who might feel that they were not marketed or publicized enough because of the non-popularity of the show. The Channel might blame the Producers for a bad show who in return might say that the publicity wasn't good enough on Channel's part. And the blame game continues....... Popular is the key word and every body wants and got to stick to it. You may say, we have no morals for we show all kind of bull-shit on television, which is so unreal, so unbelievable, so predictable, same in all shows, yet we don't mind repeating the same. As long as we are paid, we are here to stay. I am no one to even talk on this issue as I myself am a part of the industry under scanner. All allegations are true to any extent. Because if I start questioning the content, I will be shown the Exit Door. I dare not do that or for that matter anybody cannot. We are mere puppets and the strings are in the hands of the masters........ The Channel. But, come to think of it, the Channel will produce, market and telecast the shows which are able to return their cost with profit. And the shows will make profit only if there is viewer ship in return. So it is a cyclic movement which probably might change when diverted to a different orbital path. Who will take the initiative? --------------------------------- Yahoo! India Answers: Share what you know. Learn something new Click here Catch all the FIFA World Cup 2006 action on Yahoo! India Click here -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060628/99271bcc/attachment.html From tunsaremu at yahoo.co.uk Mon Jun 26 23:11:16 2006 From: tunsaremu at yahoo.co.uk (Tunde Aremu) Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2006 10:41:16 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Nigeria Security detain journalist, to try him for sedition In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20060626174116.98883.qmail@web25006.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Lagos, June 26, 2006: The Nigeria State Security Service (SSS) may charge a Nigerian journalist, Rotimi Durojaiye, to court tomorrow for Sedition. Durojaiye, a Senior Aviation Correspondent with the Independent Newspaper, a daily newspaper in Nigeria is being detained for two days running over a story published by the newspaper on an aeroplane purchased by the country’s presidency that has continued to generate controversy. The story with the headline, Controversy Over Age, Cost Of Presidential Jet published on the front page of the paper on June 12, 2006 had given elaborate information on the presidential jet which developed technical fault and made emergency landing barely three weeks after it was delivered. The reporter had been painstaking in investigating the story speaking to government officials including some of the aides to the president. As at this afternoon, Rotimi Durojaiye was still being held and denied access to relatives and colleagues by the security agency. In a telephone discussion with the Managing Editor of the Independent Newspaper, Akpandem James told the International Press Centre, Lagos that “they have taken his mobile phone from him. At a time we would call and there would be no response. Later when we call, the answering machine would respond that the phone has been turned off”. Akpandem said that efforts at securing the release of the reporter are being thwarted. “They said at a stage that we should bring a surety they would release him to. Later we learnt that he would be charged to court,” Rotimi Durojaiye is the second reporter that would be arrested and detained by the SSS over the presidential jet controversy. A presenter with an independent television station, AIT, Gbenga Aruleba was arrested two weeks ago for discussing the presidential jet on his programme, Focus Nigeria. Tunde Aremu Senior Programme Officer International Press Centre 11, Dideolu Court Dideolu Estate 2nd Gate bus stop Ogba, Lagos State, Nigeria 231-1-8112422, 234-802-3180493 taremu at ipcng.org, tunsaremu at yahoo.co.uk, ipc at ipcng.org www.ipcng.org --------------------------------- Open multiple messages at once with the all new Yahoo! Mail Beta. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060626/5048ea57/attachment.html From shahzulf at yahoo.com Tue Jun 27 11:07:31 2006 From: shahzulf at yahoo.com (Zulfiqar Shah) Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2006 22:37:31 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Invitation to the Launch of The Mirpur Connection Message-ID: <20060627053731.9251.qmail@web38806.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Fwd. massage ---------------------- Invitation to the Launch of The Mirpur Connection Recently a five strong delegation from Bradford travelled to Pakistan and to the Mirpur District in particular to endeavour to foster links with educational institutions. The group, a collaboration between the University of Bradford, Education Bradford, Bradford Achievement Forum, Bradford Confederations and a Keighley based Businessman, visited a range of schools, colleges and universities and held a press conference and meetings with colleagues from a variety of institutions, including; Professor Dr Atta-ur-Rahman, Federal Minister and Chairman of the Higher Education Commission, representatives of the Mirpur District Education Department, the Mirpur Degree College, the Kashmir Institute for Special Education, the Vice Chancellors of Mohiuddin University and University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and the British Council in Islamabad. As a result of this visit a report has been compiled relating to potential education links between Bradford and the Mirpur region, we would like to invite you to join us for this event, which will be launched by the Vice Chancellor of Azad Jammu Kashmir University, Professor Manzoor Khan, on: Thursday July 13th 2006 Richmond Building C7, University of Bradford 3.45-5.30pm Places are limited, to reserve your seat please reply to Tom Clayton (01274 236068 or t.clayton at bradford.ac.uk) by Friday July 7th Further details will be forwarded upon confirmation of your place. Nadira Mirza Deputy Dean School of Lifelong Education and Development University of Bradford __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060626/eaae8df1/attachment.html From arshad.mcrc at gmail.com Wed Jun 28 13:08:34 2006 From: arshad.mcrc at gmail.com (mohd arshad) Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2006 13:08:34 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 4th Posting:NEW TRENDS IN MADRASA JOURNALISM In-Reply-To: <2076f31d0606262326r1ea7dd13we92b5ca9c471e80d@mail.gmail.com> References: <2076f31d0606262326r1ea7dd13we92b5ca9c471e80d@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <2076f31d0606280038g4fd35984o7acaa69d8afe7fad@mail.gmail.com> NEW TRENDS IN MADRASA JOURNALISM Though the term madrasa stands for old, oriental and obscurant, new writings on the same have proved that the real situation inside these reminiscents of the old education system is diverse enough to break the stereotype. So is the case with the journalism practiced there. It took me around four months to discover that new things are taking place in the domain of the madrasa journalism, though slowly. It started in January of the year when Maulana Mohd Sajjad Rizvi, one of my friends, informed me about a magazine called "Jaam-e-Noor", Delhi and suggested me to include it in my study. But as the magazine has seen only three springs of its life and I have been looking at the five years of the magazines, I did not take the advice seriously. Though a couple of things about it remained fresh in my memory, I could not decide what to do with it which was hinting the advent of a new brand of journalism in the sphere of madrasas. During the course of my fieldwork, I discovered two more magazines, Maah-e-Noor and Tooba, both from Delhi .Now, I was convinced that a wave of new trends was very soon going to sweep the field and the process had already been unleashed. THE JAAM-E-NOOR STORY What I found interesting about Jaam-e-Noor, the first magazine of this sort I came across, was the screaming headline on its laminated title page: "Sania Mirza ka Libas Koi Masla Nahi Hai." (What Sania Mirza wears is a non-issue.) .This headline suggests that the magazine, in its content and approach, is sailing against the direction wind blows in madrasa journalism. The driving force behind bringing out this magazine is Maulana Khushtar Noorani, a graduate from the Islamic Call College, Tripoli, Libya in 1998. A chubby and bearded young man in his late 20s was posing for being photographed by another bearded but slim man when I entered 422, Matia Mahal, Jama Masjid, the office of Jaam-e-Noor to interview its editor. The person with camera turned out to be a fan of the magazine and was trying to capture a moment of his meeting with the editor, Khushtar Noorani. This visitor from Lahore was the evidence of name and fame he was enjoying in Pakistan where 2000 copies of his magazines are consumed, a record by any standard of the religious journalism, as the total circulation of the most of the madrasa journals does not exceed 2000 copies. However, there are other contributory factors too which set ground for the heights of popularity Jaam-e-Noor and his editor is scaling nowadays. Religious education runs into the family of Khushtar Noorani. Allama Arshadul Qadri, his paternal grandfather, is an ideologue and the best-seller pen of international fame within the circle of the Ahl-e-Sunnat sect. Though his body of work is comprised of more than a dozen books, Zer-o-Zabar, Zalzala and Lalazaar are supposed to be his magnum opus in which he engages in the polemics with the Deobandi ulama at an unprecedented plane. According to Mohd Arif Barakati, a student of Al Jamiatul Ashrafia, Mobarakpur, Azamgarh, Jaam-e-Noor was a familiar name within the circle of Ahl-e-Sunnat as the personality of Allama Arshadul Qadri had been associated with it. In 1963, he started a magazine called Jaam-e-Noor from Kolkata. But it had to shut down in 1964 because his involvement in an increasing number of projects left him with almost no time for the magazine. When Maulana Khushtar announced in 2002 on the occasion of the Chehlum ceremony of Allama Qadri, to bring out the deceased magazine in a new avatar, every body hailed the decision. The magazine is so popular among the students of Al Jamiatul Ashrafia, the Oxford of the Ahl-e-Sunnat sect that Paigham-e-Islam, one of the student associations in the institution orders for 200 copies of Jaam-e-Noor every month. Imtiaz Ahmed, President of the association and also a student at the Ashrafia madrasa, is of the opinion that "apart from the subscribers, at least 5-7 talibilms read a copy of the magazine". Not counting its historical importance, Jaam-e-Noor owes its unprecedented popularity to novelty of the approach it adopts towards the content and its presentation technique as well. This glaring difference between it and other madrasa journals is a conscious effort on the part of the editor Khushtar. During his academic sojourn (1996-1998) to Libya, he had closely observed how the journalism is practiced in the Arab world. Returning to India, he took a diploma in Print Journalism from Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, New Delhi in 2001. All this helped him in evolving his own vision of quality journalism. He has been a bitter critic of the madrasa journalism. Articulating his views on the theme, he says that "journalism per se has never been taken seriously in madrasas. The motive behind bringing out these journals has either been to manage funds or to keep the community informed of the daily routine of the pir of the shrine. These magazines have been reduced to the status of the mere mouthpiece of the institution". Those who are at the helm of affairs, Khushtar continues, "are simply not concerned with what are the current ground realities of the Indian Muslims, what they need, what ails them and what the earlier can offer to the community through their magazines. One of the reasons responsible for this phenomenon is that the editors of madrasa journals are not the professional and trained ones. Without having any idea how to plan the content of the magazine and how to introduce diversity in it ,they just keep on reproducing stuff relating to namaz , fasting, miracles and prophecies. One can find them in the religious books, easily available in the market. What new things you are offering through your journal to the readers? Besides all these, the editors lament of their low circulation. Obviously, if you are not a professional editor, the reading material you are offering are not upto the expectations of the readers, why should they buy your magazine? That's why these magazines soon cease publication". Jaam-e-Noor is the incarnation of the vision Khushtar has regarding journalism and bringing out a magazine. In fact the magazine has introduced, Khushtar claims, a number of innovations in the field of madrasa journalism. The magazine contains 64 pages which are divided into regular columns and it strictly sticks to this column design. Its editorial runs into 6-8 pages and is per se a full-fledged article dealing with an important current issue. There is a column of Tahriri Mobahasa (debate in writing). He relates passionately how the idea of this column originated: "This concept I've borrowed from The Times of India which in its Sunday edition provides diverse views of experts on a chosen theme. I also select a theme and request experts to express their opinions in 2-3 pages." In one of his columns entitled Fikr-o-Nazar, he publishes views of those readers who are not columnists or scribes but they have some important issue to share with others, though in brief, say only in 10 lines. "You can sense a sort of democracy in this column" informs Khushtar happily. He has a regular column devoted to interviews, which carries every month an interview of one of eminent Muslim personalities or of renowned literary persons. Letters of the readers suggest that this column is amazingly popular among them. Khama Talashi is another interesting column. In fact; the phrase khama talashi itself is new to the dictionary of Urdu. Khama stands for pen and talashi for interrogation. Thus, khama talashi means academic interrogation. "I've commissioned one of my most talented friends for this column. He writes under the pen name of Abul Faiz Moinee. In his three paged column, he critically analyses all what gets published in every issue of Jaam-e-Noor. He even does not spare me and I publish his scathing remarks because I want to spread the message that democracy and the freedom of expression are two key components of journalism", exclaims Khushtar proudly. What really worked miracles for Jaam-e-Noor is the tone and tenor of its editorials. Khushtar, in his long and uncompromising editorials, blasted madrasa system and attacked the ulama community vociferously. This created a lot of controversy among the religious sphere of the sub-continent, resulting in carving out a niche for the magazine among both the critics and the criticized. In his own words, "the ulama were exercising a sort of control on the society. There was unstated rules that none could utter or write a single word against the mistakes they make….. I wanted to break this hegemony on the part of the ulema. In my editorials, I started writing against them and without paying any heed to their status or age." Here it will not be out of place to have a look at some of the issues discussed in his editorials. The Ahl-e-Sunnat ulema have a history of polemecising against each other on a certain theological issue in the pages of Dabdaba-e-Sikandari, a weekly newspaper from Rampur which began its publication around 1864, as Usha Sanyal has mentioned in her seminal work Devotional Islam and Politics in British India. (P.188-98.OUP, 1996). Contrary to this, no magazine has ever criticized the way they engage the laymen of the sect or questioned the efficacy of methods they are employing to counter the arguments of the 'others'. Khushtar Noorani in his editorial entitled "An overview of the conventional and path-breaking activities of the Ahl-e-Sunnat" (April 2005) discusses the following evils prevalent in his sect: 1. Craze for the admission in madrasas 2. Obsession with the rebuttal of the Wahabis 3. Eloquence of Oratory 4. Establishment of the Jurisprudential Board 5. Flood of journals There used to be a time when there was a craze among Muslims to send their children into madrasas while the current trend is that only poor students study there or those children are spared for madrasas who do not show any penchant for studies. This attitude of the Muslims is responsible, according to Khushtar, for the constant degradation in the standard of madrasa education and, also, provided 'others' (defined in terms of Islamists and secular modernists) with the opportunity to question their relevance. Lambasting on the obsession of the ulema of the Ahl-e-Sunnat with rebuttal of the Wahabism, he says, we have a tradition of countering the Wahabis with both pen and speech since the inception of this stray sect. Though a number of very important areas merit the urgent attention of the ulema, the problem is that nobody has time to give them a thought because of their obsession with this anti-Wahabi spree. Worse, they are not ready to mellow down their tone in rebuttal of the Wahabis. Moving to the next point of the editorial, Khushtar writes that there is no denial of the fact that oratory, like writing, is a tested device of propagation. So, some of the Ahl-e-Sunnat ulema also started using oratory to enhance the mass appeal of the sect. Later on, a number of ulema introduced new elements in their oratory to multiply their impact on the masses. As the popularity of the orator is directly linked to his monetary income, madrasa students went mad in seeking excellence in the field and the whole night oratory session became recurrent phenomena within the religious circle, forcing the neighborhood to spend a sleepless night. In 1992, under the auspices of Al Jamiatul Ashrafia, Mobarakpur, the Jurisprudential Board was set up as a splendid body of Muftis, envisioning it as a platform where important decisions relating to Sharia, will be finalized with consensus. The event sent waves of happiness across the Ahl-e-Sunnat. Though the body made it a point to incorporate all the renowned muftis of the sect, it was not long before a number of such bodies started mushrooming in the length and breadth of Jahan-e-Riza (the world of the followers of Imam Ahmed Riza Khan).Khushtar writes with astonishment: "I am at loss to understand the use of establishing all these small and big Jurisprudential Boards if their decisions are not followed by others". He, taking a dig on theses muftis or the towering ulema, bitterly notes that though they think these enterprises as noble deeds, to me, the latter are not more than "just a waste of time and money". The only way to transform them into a fruitful exercise, he suggests, is to constitute a co-ordination committee of these Jurisprudential Boards which can strive for making decisions of one of them acceptable to the most of the rest. Khushtar has devoted the concluding paragraphs to the religious journalism practiced within the circle of the Ahl-e-Sunnat. He, in his own singular style, very succinctly bares the fact about it. He says that till date I am at loss to get appropriate words to describe these magazines: whether they are "anthology of essays taken from religious books", "bundle of personal advertisements", or "dazzling blood-drops of journalism on white papers".(p.5). However, there are instances from the history that some magazines really did well and are still remembered. .Khushtar is of the opinion that their success can not be termed as the success of the magazine per se as they were not different from others from the pack. It was the personal writings of their editors the popularity of the magazines springs from. What baffles him is the herd mentality prevalent in the Ahl-e-Sunnat sect. None is ready to do any sort of experiment. Every body wants to trade on the trodden path, resulting in unnecessary crowd in some fields while in want of appropriate man power in others which are by no standards less important. Jaam-e-Noor came as a fresh gust of air to the readers of the madrasa journals. Khushtar's editorials provided them with a new vision of journalism. In past, no body mustered the courage to express such daring views regarding the shortcomings of the Ahl-e-Sunnat ulema. Started in 2002, his magazine is about to successfully complete its four years in a couple of months. He says that many persons wonder: "It was very courageous on your part that you have written publicly on the issues people were afraid of mentioning in their private chambers. We wonder how they have spared you from the fatwa yet". Maulana Qamar Ahmed Ashrafi Misbahi, a graduate from Al Jamiatul Ashrafia, Mobarakpur, is the advisor-in-chief of Jaam-e-Noor. Trying to analyze the factors behind the success of the magazine, Qamar says: "There was a discomfort among the new generation of the Ahl-e-Sunnat ulema regarding the scheme of things in the sect. But they were afraid of being ostracized or the backlash from the elder ones .So, they were looking for someone who is immune to this sort of reaction. Khushtar was a perfect case as he was the grandson of Allama Arshadul Qadri whose towering stature and contribution to the Ahl-e-Sunnat was undisputable. Surrounded by this hallow of familial linkage to Allama, he was shielded from any direct reaction on the part of the elder ulema. Moreover, a number of leading ulema demised during this decade, leaving an intellectual and authoritarian vacuum behind them. In addition to this, he had advantage of being educated in Libya and was one of those few who had a degree in journalism from a recognized government institution. He had a great passion for journalism and was impatiently looking for the opportunity to tap his potentials. Besides, he did not owe allegiance towards any khanqah, excluding any chance of being pressurized by his pir. Last but not the least; Jaam-e-Noor is published by Maktaba Jaam-e-Noor publishing house, owned by Ghulam Rabbani, Khushtar's father. In other words, Khushtar is not a servent-editor but is the editor cum proprietor. So, he needed not to be afraid of being thrown out of his job. Thus, all these factors worked in his favor and he became the vehicle for the dissemination of the thoughts of the agitated young ulema who extended to him tremendous support: intellectual, moral and in form of articles". Had there been someone else in his place, he would have been either silenced or a fatwa would have been issued against him. Self-criticism is intrinsic to the vision of Jaam-e-Noor. It is this call of introspection which it gives time and again to the laymen and ulema of the Ahl-e-Sunnat, keeps its readership graph up. In February 2005, Khushtar as the editor of the magazine went on a tour to Pakistan and interacted there with a range of ulema of his sect. His editorial of the month of May, 2005 is a sort of travelogue of this trip. Interestingly, he has mentioned a couple of differences, which he observed, between the ulema of India and Pakistan. "It should be acknowledged that in the period of last 2-3 decades, the contribution of the Pakistani ulema has outnumbered that of their Indian counterparts. The propagation of the thoughts of Imam Ahmad Riza has been carried out on a scale which is unparallel in the world."(p5).Consequently, he continues, "Pakistani literature constitutes today 70% of what the Indian publishing houses are churning out". It suggests, on the one hand, the paucity in the intellectual production of the Ahl-e-Sunnat ulema of India, and it speaks volumes about the state of original contribution and publication in the language of Urdu on the other hand. He, in the later part of the editorial, emphasizes that contrary to the Indian ulema, their Pakistani counterparts are more open to find out people-friendly legal solutions of the problems posed by the innovations in the field of science and technology. He is amazed at the glaring difference between the ulema of both countries in their approach to the day-to-day issues, despite the fact that all of them adhere to the same sect. Then he goes on to elaborate it with the help of an example. On the question of the legitimacy of Videography and photography, the Ahl-e-Sunnat of India is divided into two camps, triggering a series of writings and counter-writings on the issue. Interestingly, on the other side of the border, it is simply a non-issue. The Pakistani ulema find videography and photography useful in spreading the views of their sect. Critiquing those who consider the use of videography illegal, Khushtar argues, what they mean by "majority" (Jamhoor) when they refer to their stand as representing that of jamhoor while the reality is that it is legal in all parts of the Muslim world, including Pakistan. So, in majority are those who see its use lawful, contrary to the arguments of those who are against it. (p6). It is this position of the editor which makes Jaam-e-Noor perhaps the only Ahl-e-Sunnat magazine which publishes blurred photographs of human beings on its title page. Hamrey Masail (Our Problems) is a weekly program telecast by ETV Urdu. Devoted to the discussion on one of the current issues relating to Muslims, Obaid Siddiqui anchors the programme amidst the invited experts and a number of participant audiences. In one of its episodes, Khushtar was invited as the representative of the Ahl-e-Sunnat sect to express his view regarding the Division in the All India Muslim Personal Law Board. His reaction to the arguments of Shaista Amber, President of Women Personal Law Board makes an interesting reading as it provides a glimpse of his thoughts regarding the secular reformist Muslim women. He writes in his editorial that the session started with the question: why Shias, Barelwis and women, breaking away from the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, have formed their own boards? It was Shaista Amber who spoke first. Listening to her words, I felt that "she is suffering from the labor pain (emphasis mine) caused by the birth of rebellious mentality in the women against men and specially against ulema, springing from western thoughts, superficial study of Islam, limited knowledge, borrowed insights and ordinary power of perception.".(Jaam-e-Noor, June 2005, pp 3-4). In the concluding paragraph of the editorial, he summarizes what he spoke in the program. In his words: "If the representatives of the AIMPLB believe that drafting a model Nikahnama, they can solve the familial disputes and social tension, and if women, forming their own personal law boards, think that this will add to their prestige in the society, and they will not be meted with any injustice and atrocities in their homes as well as the incidents of talaq will stop, I think, they are chasing the mirage and nothing more". The tranquility and peace can not prevail in the society unless initiatives to implement Islamic injunctions in the society are taken. (Ibid, p5). In an editorial on the electoral politics in Bihar, Khushtar has presented a detailed analysis of the dynamics of the Laloo Prasad vs. Ram Vilas Paswan scenario. Subheadings like the Muslim situation in the post 1990 Bihar, role of media in the politics of Bihar, an overview of the Paswan's love for democracy, the reality of the slogan of Muslim chief minister, use of puppet ulema by Paswan in the election campaign are enough to suggest that the editorial has a pro-Laloo and anti-Paswan tilt. It highlights how Laloo has made riots an alien phenomenon in Bihar which had been the worst-hit state by the recurrent communal violence under the Congress regime. After the demolition, Muslims got disenchanted with it and started voting different secular parties in the different parts of the country. This strategy on the part of Muslims divided their votes, culminating in the emergence of the BJP as the single largest political party in the 14th Loksabha election. He has shown how Paswan's secular credentials kept oscillating from Laloo to NDA to Congress. That's why he should not be given a chance any more. Then, Khushtar argues how the consolidated Muslim votes to Congress in the general election of 2004 has breathed a new life into it, reduced to almost a dead party then. "The need of the hour is that Muslims of every state, using their foresight, should vote for only that party which is capable of stopping the rising tides of communalism and which guarantees for their development in different walks of life ", concludes Khushtar.(Jaam-e-Noor, December 2005.p9). When it comes to the international affairs, Jaam-e-Noor is no different from other traditional madrasa magazines. Muslim world and how the US engages it, is what dominates most of the writings on international politics in the magazine. Also, they have great appetite for the hear-say about the Zionist lobby. Like any other traditional alim, Khushtar Noorani too has his own understanding of what takes place in the arena of international relations. It will not be out of context to reproduce here a couple of paragraphs from one of his editorials entitled: "Well-Planned Designs of the US against the Muslim World and the Reality of our Silent Protests": 1. "After the 2nd World War the US and Soviet Russia emerged as two superpowers on the world map. But after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the 9th decade of the 20th century, the United States became the sole super power .Now it got involved in its retaliatory actions against the Muslim world, for which the whole western Christianity and Zionism have been preparing since 15th century after their defeat in the Crusades".(Jaam-e-Noor,July 2005,p3). 2. "If we chronologically analyze the meticulous planning behind these regular attacks on the Muslim world then we come to know that when Muslim world was celebrating its victory on the West in the Crusades, vows were being solemnized in the churches of the West to erase the contours of the Muslim world from the world map. According to this plan when Europe was struggling hard to wake up afresh, mustering its courage, Muslim rulers and nobility were leading lavish life in their palaces and were busy in wine sessions. In the 16th century, two movements swept Europe: Renaissance and Reformation. The earlier made Europe shine with the light of knowledge and paved the way for establishing of universities of Oxford and Cambridge, institutions of international repute, while the latter led to the emergence of the Protestants as a sect. At that time the Muslim rulers were busy in composing verses in praise of their beloved and were putting all the might of their kingdom at disposal to erect wonderful monuments like Taj Mahal to please the souls of their dead soulmates. In the 17th century there started an age of scientific and material development in Europe and till the 18th century they, to subjugate the world and especially the Muslim world, were successful in inventing arms and ammunitions which were earlier beyond imagination… ". (Jaam-e-Noor, July 2005, pp3-4). Among other eye-catching columns of Jaam-e-Noor, those of interview, tahriri mobahsa and Khama Talashi worth mentioning here. As far as the interview column is concerned, it's really an innovation in the field of madrasa journalism. That the magazine unfailingly publishes a fresh interview every month exudes how serious the editor is about the quality he promises to his readers. Some of personalities whose interviews have already been published in it is : Maulana Mansha Tabish Qasuri ,Lahore; Dr.Syed Aleem Ashraf Jayesi,UP; Mohd.Arif Iqbal, editor, the monthly Urdu Book Review; Mosharraf Alam Zauqi, the novelist; Maulana Kaukab Noorani,Karachi; Dr.Monazir Aashiq Harganwi,Bhagalpur University,etc. Tahriri Mobahsa (discussion) is another interesting column which is exclusive to Jaam-e-Noor. It should be borne in the mind that in the Muslim religious circle, dissenting voices even in the matters concerning academics are shortly silenced by one means or another. This column, through its debate on a range of issues, has established, on one hand, how ulema of a particular sect differ from each other in their opinions on a given topic while on the other hand; it reiterated the need to tolerate differences in opinions. Some of the topics of this column are as follows: How to save the world from the scourge of terrorism? , What should be the role of ulema in the general election?; Should Urdu be included in the curricula of madrasas?; How useful is the university education for the madrasa graduates?. The last question was thrown for the discussion in the month of April, 2005(pp21-27). Views of five madrasa graduates on the topic have been published. Here is what the editor has put in boxes as the summary of their views: 1. University education widens the mentalscape of the madrasa graduates, revitalizes their views and makes their arguments serious and factual. (Tanveer Arshad, Department of Arabic, JNU). 2. People should stop bothering about the shortcomings of the modern educational institutions because every coin has two sides. (Samrul Hoda Noori, 4th semester, Faculty of Medicine, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi). 3. In the contemporary time, one can not properly render his services to Islam on the global scale unless one is trained in the modern sciences. This underlines the need for the modern education. (Shaukat Ali, Department Urdu, Jamia Millia Islamia). 4. Today it's obligatory for every Muslim child to marry religious education with modern one so that he, retaining his identity, can lead a dignified life. (Sadrul Islam Misbahi.Department of Arabic, University of Delhi). 5. Modern education, through some of the madrasa graduates, will steer the course of the history of the Ahl-e-Sunnat towards a new direction. It's started making its effects felt since now. (Zishan Ahmed Misbahi, sub-editor, monthly Jaam-e-Noor). The column of Khama Talashi (Academic Interrogation) adds one more feather to the cap of Jaam-e-Noor. This style of self-criticism is not only praiseworthy but is a contributory factor towards emergence of a culture of tolerance and internal dialogue among religious elites. Abul Faiz Moinee, who writes the column with unmatched fearlessness and erudition, is extremely popular among the readers. He starts one of his columns narrating an incident of Josh Malihabadi: "Josh Malihabadi sent a copy of his autobiography entitled 'Yaadon ki Baarat' to Mahirul Qadri, editor of the monthly 'Faraan' with this note: Janab Mahir! Lijiye bakra hazir hai.Shauq se zabah farmaiye. (Mr.Mahir! The lamb is here before you. Please butcher it.).Then Mr. Mahir butchers the lamb with his own style .i.e., wrote a 60 pages treatise as a critique of the book. My friend Maulana Khushtar Noorani too every month sends me a copy of Jaam-e-Noor with an identical note on it. It's a matter of coincidence that till date it's his own writings which have been slaughtered at the altar of criticism".(Jaam-e-Noor, October 2005, p55). In the present column, he first congratulated the editor on having designed such a wonderful title page, and that's without including any dome or minaret. Then he wonders how the editorial has adopted a soft line towards the ulema as the editor has a reputation of being extremely critical of ulema. Further, he mentions an article which seeks to analyze observations of some oriental scholars regarding the Hadis literature. He writes: "Though the piece is informative and analytical, there are few places where my eyes stopped" due to mistakes in the years of birth and death mentioned. Commenting on the debate on the topic of "Whether the suicide bombing may be a form of jihad or is just a waste of human life", he criticizes a participant for the mistake he committed in translating an Arabic sentence while takes a dig on the other for using jargon-laden language, almost incomprehensible for the masses. Assessing the next piece which is a travelogue by Maulana Kaukab Noorani, Moinee writes in a lighter vein: "I went through the piece, the first part of a two part-series and am eagerly waiting for the next part as the earlier has nothing substantial in it." (p 55). Thus, every column of Khama Talashi makes a hilarious reading, especially when you are aware of the content of the previous issue of the magazine. Besides all these, Jaam-e-Noor is an Ahl-e-Sunnat magazine to the core of its content. Though I came across a couple of non-Ahl-e-Sunnat fans of Khushtar's writings, being an Ahl-e-Sunnat magazine is central to its identity. That's why themes which distinguish the sect from 'others' frequently find place in the pages of the magazine. Even Khushtar, in some of his editorials, writes on these issues. Apart from the content of Shari' Adalat, the fatwa column, which reinforces the Ahl-e-Sunnat identity of the magazine, other columns also time and again keep raising these issues. For example, articles like 'Of course, there is no sect called Barelwi' (February, 2006), 'Accounts of Oral Contestations (Monazara) with Deobandis' (July, 2005), 'Seeking help from the grave of the deceased Shah Saud' (November, 2005) suggest that polemics are not completely out. Thus, university education and a degree in journalism has engendered in the editor's approach a tilt towards providing choices to the readers but while doing so he has to be careful enough not to cross lakshman rekha of the sect. On the other hand, the journalism course has enabled him to package the commodity called magazine in an eye-catching manner and then to adopt marketing techniques to lure the consumers (here readers) and increase its salability. In a way, with advent of this professionalism, a shift, though unacknowledged and not much pronounced, takes place in the approach of the madrasa journalism: from dawah-oriented to economy oriented, though in a limited sense. Thus, these new trends in this genre of journalism don't signify a paradigm shift, rather 'shifts within the paradigm'. OTHER NEW TRENDS Maah-e-Noor, another praiseworthy adventure of the Ahl-e-Sunnat sect into the madrasa journalism, came into the picture in May, 2005. This monthly is brought out by a publishing house named Maktaba Maah-e-Noor, located in Matia Mahal, Jama Masjid, Delhi. Though the magazine has just celebrated its first birth anniversary, it has seen more than one reshuffling in its editorial board. From the 1st of June, 2006, Afzal Misbahi has joined it as the editor, a post which was lying vacant for months. A graduate of Al Jamiatul Ashrafia in 1997, Afzal has worked for 7 years with the Delhi and Gorakhpur bureau of Rashtriya Sahara, the largest Urdu daily of North India. Enrolled in the University of Delhi as a PhD candidate on the theme of "Urdu Journalism in India after Independence", Afzal has extensively interviewed veteran political leaders for and considerably contributed to the daily in his Sahara days. As a madrasa monthly, Maah-e-Noor is no different from others of the pack in any considerable way when it comes to the content. However, what distinguishes it from others, including Jaam-e-Noor, is the remuneration it offers to everybody who contributes to its content. "This is the first magazine which pays to its contributors", exclaims Afzal with pride. According to the system of gradation it observes, it pays Rs.300, Rs.400 and Rs.500 to respectively amateurs, regular and senior scribes. Though it's a meager amount compared to what a mainstream magazine offers, it is a pointer of the change which is slowly creeping in the sphere of madrasa journalism. Even the acquiring services of someone like Afzal who has experience of working for years in the mainstream media; itself has no parallel in the history of religious journals. As he is just one month old in his new office, his own vision of journalism is yet to be translated into the reality. However, in the very first issue of the journal under his editorship, under the heading of Special Articles, he has published on the contemporary reality of Muslims some pieces by Dr.Mushtaq Sadaf, Ahmed Javed and Mohd Aurangzeb Khan, all from the mainstream media. Also, his editorial on the controversial film The Da Vince Code reflects his willingness to make his magazine relevant to the modern time, not divorced from the current issues. Though the editorial is rich in its content, ideologically speaking it mirrors the concerns of the religious conservatives. Interestingly, Maulana Abul Hasan Ashrafi Miyan, the editor –in-chief cum proprietor of the magazine is based in London and makes frequent visits to India. Its finances are met with what Ashrafi Miyan manages to garner from the Ahl-e-Sunnat diaspora of UK. It also gets funded by Choksi Brothers & Sisters, Toronto, a private firm run by the Indian diaspora. Unlike these two magazines, Tooba, the next one in this league is the organ of an Ahl-e-Hadis madrasa Jamia Ibn-e-Taimiya, Chandanwara, East Champaran of Bihar and its research wing Allama Abdul Aziz bin Baz Islamic Studies Centre, Darya Ganj, Delhi. The monthly is consistently in publication since it started in 2001. Maulana Zillur Rehman Taimi, associated with the magazine since its inception, has been promoted to the post of the editor in May, 2006. It is he who was instrumental in bringing the editorial work of the magazine to India from Riyadh, its former workplace. As he is enrolled as a research scholar with the department of Arabic in JNU, Zillur Rehman has a degree of journalism from the same university. In this way, he belongs to the new generation of the madrasa editors who, having received religious education in a proper madrasa went to the government universities for higher education and, also, have a degree in journalism under their belt from a reputed institution. Zillur Rehman says stressing on the fact that it has the policy of not publishing any thing which may lead to widening the intra-community divide among Muslims. This policy, according to him, "distinguishes Tooba from other madrasa magazines". Though the Ahl-e-Hadis have earned a reputation of being obsessed with the rebuttal of other Muslim sects, the magazine has, amazingly, sticked to the policy in its five years of life span. However, the magazine is open to any piece which observes the academic parameters to prove its hypotheses, irrespective of its being against the popular practices of the Ahl-e-Hadis. In this connection, Zillur Rehman narrates an incident that once we received an article in favor of calling two azans for the prayer of Juma' .In stead of its being against the common practice of the Ahl-e-Hadis, we published it. Running into 66 pages, the magazine is strictly divided into more that 15 regular columns. Unlike Jaam-e-Noor which has no fixed columnists for its regular columns, Tooba has its fixed columnists for all its columns. This column design is a contributory factor to its popularity as Shahnawaz Alam, a student of Jamia Salafia, Varanasi puts it: "It gives you a sort of satisfaction to go through a range of information encapsulated in a single issue. To me it's possible only because of the meticulous column planning on the part of its editor". Interestingly, most of its columnists are those who teach at Jamia Ibn-e-Taimiya, Chandanwara. It's obligatory for them to contribute to the magazine under their assigned columns. However, couple of its columnists doesn't belong to the teaching community of the madrasa. For example, Yusuf Nazim, a celebrated satirist of Urdu, regularly writes a column for the magazine and is paid for the same, although a very meager amount of money. In this respect, Tooba has partial resemblance with Maah-e-Noor which pays for every word published in it. Zillur Rehman has been conducting interviews of the Muslim celebrities for Tooba but unlike Jaam-e-Noor, it is yet to maintain consistency in this regard. The total circulation of the Tooba stands at 3000. That its 1400 subscribers are the students of Jamia Ibn-e-Taimiya is an interesting feature of the magazine. Every student has to subscribe it as its subscription fee is included in the admission fee of the Jamia. Though the institution receives generous donations from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, this unique feature of Tooba is a step towards making it economically independent. CONCLUDING REMARKS In the light of what have been discussed till now, it would be fair to conclude that: 1. Those youngsters who are university educated and trained in journalism are increasingly donning the cap of editors of madrasa journals. 2. They are trying their best to observe the norms of mainstream journalism in their respective journals. 3. They are taking measures to make the magazine more participatory for the readers. 4. They tend to publish the writings of young ulema who are enrolled in the government universities. 5 Some magazines have started paying a token amount of money to the scribes. 6. Self-correction is going to be the buzzword in the case of some of the magazines, although the bashing of the 'others' has not lost all of its charm. arshad amanullah 35,masihgarh, jamia nagar new delhi-25. From dilip.sarai at gmail.com Thu Jun 29 00:12:03 2006 From: dilip.sarai at gmail.com (Dilip D'Souza -- Sarai) Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2006 00:12:03 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The Film, Then the Road Message-ID: <1a57bfd0606281142i1921f739h8b910038b63276a5@mail.gmail.com> June 28 Dear All, Here's my -- I've lost count -- next post on my theme, "Village in the City". I want to express here a note of thanks to Mamta Mantri, fellow fellow, who took me to the film mentioned. Comments welcome. More on the way. cheers, dilip d'souza ------------------ The Film, Then the Road ----------------------- Dilip D'Souza The attraction is two-fold. One, it fits with my recent forays into Bombay neighbourhoods -- its "villages in a city" -- that I do not ordinarily frequent. Two, it takes me to one of this city's older (-est?) cinema theatres. They're a vanishing breed, these single-screen affairs, with a character all their own. So when I get the chance to see a film in the area known as Playhouse, I jump at it. Talk about multiplexes -- true, everyone appreciates the choice of films they give you, all under one roof. But apart from the roof, it's close to being the same in this area. The choice, I mean. Within a 150 metre radius from the Falkland Rd/Grant Rd junction, there are at least 9 theatres. Novelty, Super, Nishat, Alfred, Gulshan, New Royal, Roshan and some more whose names escape me. So my first task in Playhouse was to decide which theatre to visit. Two things had some bearing on the decision: I've always wanted to see a Bhojpuri film, and I've long wanted to see a film at Alfred on Falkland Road. The latter, because I have an soft corner for theatres that still use those rosy-cheeked lurid hand-painted posters, and Alfred is one of those. So Super was showing "Pyaar ke Bandhan" in Bhojpuri. That was a possibility. But in the end, I chose Alfred. (Super, next time). Not that the film at Alfred was much of an attraction: Himmat from 1996, starring Sunny Deol, Tabu, Naseeruddin Shah and Shilpa Shetty. "Superstar kalakar ka jhamela dekhiye!" ("See the drama of the superstars!") says a hand-lettered poster in the theatre, not much of an attraction either. We enter a good 30-45 minutes late, leave after an hour. But as always with such films, it hardly matters when you enter or leave. You still get the same cocktail of deafening music, execrable songs, meaningless plot sequences and horrifying acting. Naseeruddin Shah probably shudders -- well, I hope he does -- when he remembers his performance in this one. Tabu is tall, dressed gaudily and does little of any note. Shilpa Shetty is all cleavage and simper, which grows old fast. (Yes, I said that). Sunny Deol, the man should pick any vocation but acting. Enough said. But of course, my feeling is that people come to see a film like Himmat only for the pretty faces and the melodrama. Who cares about acting ability? And so this is the usual delightful Bollywood film experience. I have myself an absolute all-round blast. Alfred is old all right, but it's not as if Alfred is gorgeous heritage-value art-deco. It does have a cavernous hall, long poles from the ceiling that whirring fans hang from, an obvious stage in front on which the curved screen is mounted, and a steeply-sloped balcony. Given where we are in this city, the general seediness here, I naively expected dirt and a noisy audience. But even with the hall packed as it is, it is surprisingly quiet. No cellphones go off, nobody has to be asked to hush. Several women are watching the film, some with kids, some clearly on their own. My companion tells me that this is one of the few theatres in the city where women feel comfortable enough to come alone. Oh yes, no rats, and it is about as clean as any other theatre I've been to. And outside the hall, plenty of open space, long silent gleaming corridors (remember we walked out while the movie is still on) where you hear every footfall, big windows to let in the evening air and sounds. Those windows! Through them drift the sounds and sights of this heart and soul of the city: traffic, horns, brisk walkers, lights, signs, cafes. Opposite is "Pestonji Building, 1928" -- home to the temptingly lit and crowded Nekzad Restaurant. And there are posters plastered in every direction for the new film Mobile Phone ("This film is inspired by famous MMS scandal of New Delhi"). All I can say about that is that the cleavage on display on those posters comfortably shades Shilpa Shetty in Himmat. It's been a delicious 90 minutes or so. When done, I stand at that bustling junction for a long time, looking around. Firdos Guest House is across the road, promising "homely comfort". Cafe Heaven is over there too. I look over at Nekzad ("Just tonight, I stood before the tavern/Nothing seemed the way it used to be", Mary Hopkin's throaty voice comes back to me), wondering if I have the time to go have a coffee. Have to return soon to see another film at one of the other little theatres here. That Bhojpuri one first, but I want to come back after it. And again. *** See a film, see a road ... Falkland Road is, of course, really Patthe Bapurao Marg. You knew that. It angles jauntily off the severe east-west gauntlet of Maulana Shaukatali Road, stretching actually from the Tardeo junction to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Road. It is only the final segment -- from Maulana Shaukatali Road to Sardar VP Road -- that is, of course, Bombay's long-time red-light district. Speaking of cleavage. Many others have written far more eloquently than I could about the sex-workers of Falkland Road; and it's unlikely I can find something new to say about them. Yet even so, it is a sobering experience to walk down this street. Never has so much flesh looked so sordidly sad, and I truly mean no offence when I say that. The females of the species who stand on the road are certainly past adolescence -- their tight blouses leave you in no doubt of that -- yet most of them have an air of utterly tragic youth. Oh, they wear those lurid petticoats, they probably pad their blouses, they paint themselves thick with lipstick, some dust themselves with powder to look fairer. And they meet the eye of every male who passes with an unmistakable, disconcerting, yet somehow still imperceptible, inquiry. This is adult territory in every sense. Yet so many of these women are so obviously children. What are they doing here? Silly question, yes. What's the point of bemoaning the second-oldest profession? Of all the incongruous thoughts, this is the one on my mind as we walk this street. There is, never mind the girls, plenty else to see here too. One strip of shops has both Ma's Dental Clinic (where the dentist is Dr HK Ma) and Dr CH Yi's all-purpose clinic. There's also the "Indo-Chinese Institute for Medicine", which pursues "Research in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Acupuncture and Allied Sciences". What Chinese doctors and dentists have meant to this part of Bombay is another story altogether, worth its own exploration. Close by is one more of those theatres, Silver Talkies ("Balcony Ticket Rs 16"). Today the feature is "Swiging Love in Pagal Diwani" (sic), which sounds intriguing enough to miss. I could say the same about New Roshan Talkies, even if the feature there is the more demure "Sher-E-Hindustan." Then there's Pila House, marked by a number of this city's ornate horse-drawn rickshaws parked on the road outside (tight-bloused girls pouting behind). Inside is a small yard which houses, incredibly, dozens more of these horse-carts and the horses themselves. All getting a morning cleanup. Plenty to see, yes, but on Falkland Road it's really about the women. Reminders of that everywhere. On that balcony, a sheaf of coloured saris, drying in the sun. That building, a long row of dark cages, women standing outside. Many more women, many more of those famous cages. Then, as we approach the Alfred theatre and Maulana Shaukatali Road, right up against a row of those cages, I see the sign. And for some inexplicable reason, it seems to sum up this neighbourhood of clinics and horse-carts and theatres and Chinese medicine and girls, girls, girls. It says: "Coffin will be issued free of charge to any people and caste indeed no relation." From ojpatrick at yahoo.com Thu Jun 29 12:14:35 2006 From: ojpatrick at yahoo.com (John Patrick Ojwando) Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2006 02:44:35 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Interesting article recomended by your friendJohn Patrick Ojwando Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060629/283ba29c/attachment.html From ojpatrick at yahoo.com Thu Jun 29 12:15:15 2006 From: ojpatrick at yahoo.com (John Patrick Ojwando) Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2006 02:45:15 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Interesting article recomended by your friendJohn Patrick Ojwando Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060629/30681d7d/attachment.html From monica at sarai.net Wed Jun 28 15:57:59 2006 From: monica at sarai.net (Monica Narula) Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2006 15:57:59 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Digressions from the Memory of a Minor Encounter Message-ID: Digressions from the Memory of a Minor Encounter Raqs Media Collective The Manifesta Decade: Debates on Contemporary Art Exhibitions and Biennials in Post-Wall Europe, Edited by Barbara Vanderlinden and Elena Filipovic, Roomade and The MIT Press, 2006 Once, not so long ago, on a damp, rainy afternoon in Paris, a stroll took us across the Avenue d’Iéna, from contemporary art to ancient and medieval Asian art, from the Palais de Tokyo to the Musée Guimet. There, standing at the far end of the ground-floor section of the Guimet’s permanent collection in front of a frieze from the Banteay Srei temple in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province, we felt the sharp edge of estrangement in something that also felt downright familiar. The Banteay Srei frieze narrates a story from the Mahabharata, a Sanskrit epic. The story is of two brothers, the demons Sunda and Upasunda, whose tussle over the attentions of Tilottama, an Apsara—a heavenly courtesan sent by the gods to destroy them with jealousy—was the cause of their downfall. Like most others who grew up listening to stories in India, we knew it well, even if only as an annotation to the main body of the epic. But it wasn’t the details of the story that intrigued us that afternoon, nor the carved contours of Sunda and Upasunda’s rage, not even the delicacy of the depiction of Tilottama’s divisive seduction. Instead, standing before these stone images, made in a region roughly 3,500 miles to the east of where we live, in Delhi, and exhibited in a museum roughly 6,500 miles to the west, we felt compelled to think again about distance and proximity, and about how stories, images, and ideas travel. The story of Sunda, Upasunda, and Tilottama was probably first told around 200 B.C. in the northwestern part of the South Asian subcontinent. Between the first telling of the story and the carving of the frieze in a clearing in the forests of Seam Riep in circa 967 lay a little more than a thousand years and an eastward journey of a few thousand miles. Between its carving and our sudden encounter with it in Paris, there lay a little more than another millennium and a westward journey halfway across the world. These intervals in time and space were overlaid by an elaborate circuit that encompassed travel, conquest, migration and settlement, wars and violence, the clearing of forests, the quarrying of stone, slavery and indenture, skilled artisans, the faces and indiscretions of the men and women who would become the inspiration for jealous demons and divine courtesans, a few thousand years of history, the crossing of oceans, the rise and fall of several empires across different continents, and the repeated telling and forgetting of a minor story. Contemporaneity, the sensation of being in a time together is an ancient, enigma of a feeling. It is the tug we feel when our times pull at us. But sometimes one has the sense of a paradoxically asynchronous contemporaneity—the strange tug of more than one time and place. As if an accumulation or thickening of our attachments to different times and spaces was manifesting itself in the form of some unique geological oddity, a richly striated cross section of a rock, sometimes sharp, sometimes blurred, marked by the passage of many epochs. Standing before Sunda, Upasunda, and Tillottama in the Musée Guimet, we were in Siem Reap, in Indraprastha (an ancient name for Delhi, in whose vicinity much of the Mahabharata story is located), in New Delhi, in nineteenth-century Paris, and in the Paris of today. We were in many places and in many times. Sometimes art, the presence of an image, moves you. And you find yourself scattered all over the place, as a consequence. How can we begin to think about being scattered? Collections of objects from different parts of the world are indices of different instances of scattering. The minor encounter that we experienced in the Musée Guimet is one kind of scattering. It taught us that sometimes we encounter familiarity in the guise of strangeness and then suggested that we learn to question the easy binary shorthand of the familiar and the strange, as ways of thinking about ourselves, others, and the world. It suggested the possibility of other less polarized and more layered relationships between cultural processes. But this is not the only possible kind of scattering that the presence of images and stories echoing the familiar in uncanny ways provoke. An increased intensity of communication creates a new kind of experiential contagion. It leads to all kind of illegitimate liaisons between things meant to be unfamiliar. The first thing that dissolves under the pressure of this promiscuous density of contact across space is the assumption that different degrees of “now” obtain in different places, that Delhi or Dar es Salaam are somehow less “now” than Detroit. The “nows” of different places leach into each other with increasing force. The realities of different contemporaneities infect each other. This condition generates active estrangement, a kind of nervous expulsion, a gladiatorial of repulsion scripted either through an orientation of contempt or of homage. Why contempt and homage? They permit the automatic assumption of a chasm between the beholder and the object of contemplation. The tropes of contempt and homage are an optic through which some perennially survey others and then evaluate them along an axis where the production of estrangement has to be resolved in terms of either positive or negative regard. The “survey” mode of understanding the world presumes a stable cyclopean and panoptic center of surveillance to which the gaze can never adequately be returned, ensuring that a meeting of visions will never take place on equal footing. Like Sunda and Upasunda fighting over Tilottama, the more that different parts of the world come to be aware of each other’s desires, the more disputes there are over who has the greatest access to the contemporaneity both desire—the part of the world that has more confidence in itself or the one that has more of the élan of the “Other.” Key to this conflict of perceptions is a refusal to recognize that, like the sudden appearance of a Sanskrit story in a Khmer frieze in a Parisian museum to a collective of practitioners from Delhi, the relationships between familiarity and estrangement are compromised of many folds and cracks in space and time. Estrangement is only familiarity deferred or held in abeyance. Rather than recognize the fact that familiarity and estrangement are only two non-distinct and contiguous instances of cognitive and affective transfer, this tendency to resolve the unfamiliar into the binary of the “like” and the “alien” needs constant mechanisms of reinforcement. The duality of contempt and homage is one such mechanism. In the first instance (contempt), the object of the survey is pinned down in taxonomic terms, explained away to require no further engagement, making impossible the blurring of the distinction between the surveyor and the surveyed. In the second (homage), the object is exalted beyond the possibility of an engagement. In either case, a difference, once identified, becomes a factor of cognitive and affective excision. This forecloses the possibility of recognizing that what is identified and estranged may in fact be disturbingly similar to what is familiar, even though it may be located in realities that are difficult to translate with coherence or consistency. It is the inability to recognize the face of a stranger when you look at your own reflection. The amalgam of the sensations of familiarity and estrangement evokes a new register of a tense accommodation, a hospitality to the presence of the “strange” that is not without attendant unease to the “familiar.” In the end, this may guarantee the disavowal of mutual antipathy and the cultivation of some sort of cohabitation. We can change the framework of the story on the Banteay Srei frieze. Sunda and Upasunda can both survive by agreeing to stay within the framework of a generous but awkward polyandry. They can do this by learning to negotiate with Tilottama’s claims on both their desires, and displaying a little more effort at being open to unpredictable encounters. What does a little more by way of encounter attain in the domain of contemporary art? An assessment of the amplitude of signals and the intensity of contact that marks our world today is still waiting to be made. One of the ways in which this could be undertaken would be for us to try and account for the implications of the growth in Internet-based connectivity on a global scale. The Internet, as we know it today, is barely a decade and a half old, and its expansion can be dated to as late as the mid-1990s. Curiously, the expansion of the Internet and the recent expansion in the number of biennials have been co-incident with each other. Today, it is estimated that 13.9 percent of the world’s population, or 888,681,131 people, have some kind of regular Internet access. The majority of Internet users live in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and parts of East Asia (South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and Singapore). World Internet usage grew by an estimated 146.2 percent from 2000 to early 2005, and the highest growth rates were in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. Chinese is the second most used language on the Internet, and a country like India experienced a growth of 684 percent in Internet usage, from five million people in 2000 to 39.2 million in early 2005. It means that some thirty-nine million people in India (through labor, education, correspondence, and entertainment) employ, use, rely on a medium that enables an exceptional level of global reach. Actual figures are probably significantly higher, as most people in India and other similar societies tend to go online not from the computers that they own (since not that many people 'own' computers) or even computers that they might access at work, but from street-corner cybercafés. No other platform of communication in world history can claim that it has attracted the attention of 13.9 percent of the world’s population in the span of ten years. Ten years is a very short time in the history of culture. It is the span between three Documentas or the time between the founding of the European biennial, Manifesta, and its fifth edition. If Internet usage continues to grow, at least at this rate, for the next twenty years, approximately seventy-five percent of the world’s population will have initiated a deeply networked existence in the time it takes to produce the next four Documentas. Nothing has prepared us for the consequences of this depth and density of communicative engagement on a global scale. And unlike previous expansions in communicative capacity (print, radio, cinema, television), this time, with the Internet and new digital devices, we see readers, who are also writers and editors, users, who are also producers, viewers, who are also, at least potentially, creators, entering a global space of cultural production. While it would be simplistic to argue for a cause-and-effect relationship between the expansion of the constituencies served by the Internet and the growth in number of biennials and other international art events, it would be equally facile to dismiss the implications of the emergence of this vast augmentation in global communication for the contemporary art scene. What are these implications? Firstly, the discursive communities around contemporary art, like the discursive communities in science or politics, are poised to undergo a significant transformation. Secondly, an increasing diversity of positions vis-à-vis the role of authorship, creativity, and intellectual property in the actual domain of global cultural practice are challenging the notions of bounded authorship that have dominated the concept of art production in the recent past. Both of these formulations need some elaboration. The discursive framework of contemporary art, like any other domain of thought and practice today, can no longer be viewed as something that occurs only between an exclusive cognoscenti of curators, practitioners, theorists, and critics, residing in Europe and North America. Discursive networks can afford to practice an exclusionary mode of existence only at the risk of their own obsolescence. Every node in such a network survives only if it is able to affect a critical mass of new connectivities and be a conduit for new information about a very rapidly changing world. In politics, it is impossible to conceive of a discursive framework that does not include an active interest in what is going on in the majority of the world. The realities of the Middle East, South America, Eastern Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, and Central, South, and East Asia affect profoundly what happens in Europe and North America. The networks of global finance and trade or even of distributed production that characterize the world economy today would not exist as they do without the Internet. Similarly, the global production and dissemination of news is deeply tied into the substance of everyday politics. It is impossible to separate domestic politics in any major Asian or European country from, say, what is happening in Iraq today. To say this is to state the obvious. But what is obvious in a discussion of the economy, the media, or politics is somehow seen as novel or esoteric in the realm of culture. This prevailing surprise about the fact that the “contemporary” is also “trans-territorial,” that “now” is “elsewhere” as much as it is “here,” as “strange” as it is “familiar,” is one of the symptoms of the lag in the levels of informed discussion between the domains of culture and of political economy. However, while it may still be possible for some to argue, from a perspective that privileges the present state of affairs, that a globalization of contemporary culture may imply an attempt to impose a specifically Western modernist agenda on a global scale due to the inequalities in articulative capacity, it would be impossible to sustain this argument in the long term. The momentum generated by different processes of cultural articulation set in motion in various local contexts all over the world indicate a reality of densely networked yet autonomous tendencies, movements, genres, styles, and affinities that are far more complex than those for which the discourse of =20 westernization allows. Even a cursory glance at the crosscurrents of influence in global popular culture, in music, film, cuisine, fashion, literature, gaming, and comics, reveals the inner workings of this web. We are in a world where cinema from Mumbai, manga from Tokyo, music from Dakar, literature from Bogotá, cuisine from Guangzhou, fashion from Rio de Janeiro, and games from Seoul act as significant global presences, rivaling, occasionally overshadowing, the spread and influence of their European and North American analogues. The trends in contemporary art practice and exhibition can, in the end, only be an echo of this banal generality of the everyday life of global cultural traffic and transaction. The growing presence of art practitioners and works from outside Europe and North America within major European and North American exhibitions, and the realization that there are non-Western histories of modernity have had two ancillary effects. They have demonstrated that these practices, practitioners, and their histories have a significant global perspective, speaking to the world from their own vantage points, as they have done for a while. These two realities also have created pressure within non-Western spaces and by non- Western practitioners, curators, and theorists to lay claim to a global cultural space through the founding of contemporary art institutions, networks of practitioners, and exhibition circuits. One implication of this has been the proliferation of biennials and other international exhibitions of contemporary art in spaces outside Europe and North America and a corresponding increase in the discourse generated through and around contemporary art in these areas. Another implication of this has been the nascent presence of the curator and the critic of contemporary art in Asia, Africa, and Latin America or who finds him- or herself located within or at a tangent to new Asian, African, and Latin American diasporas in Europe and North America. At first, this new curator may be someone who seems to speak only to and for his or her place of origin. He or she then may be perceived as working with other curators and artists within specific regional (but transnational) settings or with peers in similar contexts elsewhere in the world. Eventually, he or she will be seen as laying a claim to working with artists from everywhere, including Europe and North America. These claims, as and when they occur (and some are indeed occurring even now), will be based not on the operation of affiliations based on geo-politics, geography, and location, but on elective affinities of interest, taste, curiosities, methodologies, and concerns. This will coincide with the rise of institutional and non-institutional structures, spaces, and networks in contemporary art that have significant presences outside Europe and North America. These entities will become forums for discussion and exhibition as well as fulcrums that enable the leveraging of transregional contexts for collaboration and curating. The idea that contemporary art has to have a central location, privileging a particular history or cultural framework, will erode and give way to the idea that contemporaneity is best expressed within the logic of a flexible and agile network that responds to emergences and tendencies on a global scale. This means that the logic of spatial and cultural distance that operated as a perennial handicap for the non-Western curator, practitioner, or theorist is unlikely to remain of much significance. Likewise, the European or North American artistic practitioner or curator increasingly will be called upon to demonstrate his or her relevance in a multipolar world where European or North American origins or location will no longer operate as an automatic set of credentials. In a world that grows more used to being networked, curators and artists from different spaces will work together and in each other’s spaces, as a matter of course. In their everyday practices, they will question, challenge, and subvert stable identifications of spatiality and cultural affiliation. This will not necessarily mean better or worse art or discourse; what it will mean is that the terms “global” and “contemporary” will resonate in a host of different ways, so as to indicate the active presences of hitherto absent, silent, or muted voices and expressions. The formulation regarding the challenge to the notion of bounded authorship as a result of the expansion of a global platform like the Internet is perhaps of deeper significance for contemporary art, even if it is at the moment less visible. The Internet has set in motion peer-to-peer networks and online communities that do more than share cultural intelligence: They also occasionally collaborate on the making of things and of meaning, often on a global scale, in a way that is at variance with mainstream protocols of intellectual property. This is most clearly visible in the global open-source communities, but the influence of the “open-source” idea has ramifications beyond software. This tendency is increasingly audible in the domain of a new global musical sensibility based on file sharing, remixing, and recycling of extant musical material, with scant regard to the admonitions either of the protectors of intellectual property or cultural purity. It is also present in peer- to-peer networks founded by scientists, legal scholars, philosophers, historians, and other social scientists who have used the internet to establish a new intellectual common that gains strength through regular usage, participation, and contribution, often in direct opposition to the hierarchies prevalent in institutionalized academic and intellectual life. These new communities of research and reflection are rapidly establishing today’s bridgeheads of inquiry, freed from the inherent conservatism founded on concerns for proprietary or commodifiable utility that ties production in academic institutions and research spaces to “safe” areas of inquiry through the instruments of intellectual property. Increasingly, these “open” spaces are the ones where science, philosophy, social theory are “hot,” more responsive to the world around them. By foregrounding an emphasis on the commons and other forms of collaboration or non-property or anti-property arrangements, open- source practitioners and theorists (be they in software, music, science, or the humanities) have initiated a profound turbulence in cultural economy. The domain of contemporary art cannot remain immune to this turbulence, which exists all around it. It is perhaps only a matter of time before the ethic of sharing, collaboration, and “commoning” becomes commonplace within contemporary art, just as it has in other domains of culture. It is already visible, in a nascent sense, in numerous curatorial collaborations and artist-practitioner- technician-curator-theorist networks that transcend borders and disciplinary boundaries, that give new twists to the “publicness” of public art projects, and that raise vexing questions concerning the “ownership” of the ephemeral and networked creations and processes that they generate. The increasingly dense cross-referential nature of practices within contemporary art are also pointers in this direction, leading us to think of the space of contemporary art not as a terrain marked by distinct objects, but as one striated by works that flow in and out of each other or cohabit a semantic territory in layers of varying opacity. Crucially, a liberality of interpretation about what constitutes intellectual property and what devolves to the public domain will be central to defending the freedom of expression in art. Art grows in dialogue, and if intellectual property acts as a barrier to the dialogue between works, then it will meet with serious challenges that arise from the practice of artists and curators. All this cannot happen without conflict and disruption. The domain of the sign is the playing field of a new cultural economy where the generation of value hinges on an adherence to the principles of intellectual property. Practices that are at variance with the principles of property in culture for a variety of ethical, social, intellectual, aesthetic, and pragmatic reasons increasingly, however, have perforated this domain. The likely consequence of all this is that the tasteful tranquility that marked the enterprise of aesthetic contemplation will find itself besieged by disputations, legal suits, accusations of copyright infringement, and intense, invasive scrutiny by owners of intellectual property. Making art will increasingly be about forging new legal concepts and creating new economies of usage, ownership, and participation. Making and exhibiting art will be fashioning politics, practicing a new economics, and setting precedents or challenges in law. The existence of contemporary art is ultimately predicated on the conditions of life of its practitioners. The myriad daily acts of practicing, reading, inscribing, interpreting, and repurposing the substance of culture, across cultures, constitute these conditions of life. These acts, in millions of incremental ways, transpose the “work” of art to a register where boundedness, location, and property rest uneasily. The work of art, the practitioner, the curator, the viewer, and the acts of making, exhibiting, and viewing all stand to be transformed. All that is familiar becomes strange; all that is strange becomes familiar. Monica Narula Raqs Media Collective Sarai-CSDS 29 Rajpur Road Delhi 110054 www.raqsmediacollective.net www.sarai.net From cugambetta at yahoo.com Fri Jun 30 12:17:13 2006 From: cugambetta at yahoo.com (Curt Gambetta) Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2006 23:47:13 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] "Pentagon Spying on Gay, Antiwar Groups More Widespread than Previously Acknowledged" Message-ID: <20060630064713.29728.qmail@web42409.mail.yahoo.com> Eek! From Democracynow.org... -curt Thursday, June 29th, 2006 Pentagon Spying on Gay, Antiwar Groups More Widespread than Previously Acknowledged Servicemembers Legal Defense Network released documents earlier this week showing that the Pentagon conducted surveillance on a more extensive level than first reported late last year. We speak with the executive director of SLDN and a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union who recently filed a federal lawsuit to force the agency to turn over additional records. [includes rush transcript] Earlier this week, the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network released documents showing that the Pentagon conducted surveillance on a more extensive level than first reported late last year. De-classified documents show that the agency spied on "Don't Ask, Do't Tell" protests and anti-war protests at several universities around the country. They also show that the government monitored student e-mails and planted undercover agents at least one protest. But the Pentagon has not released all information on its surveillance activities. The American Civil Liberties Union recently filed a federal lawsuit to force the agency to turn over additional records. The lawsuit charges that the Pentagon is refusing to comply with Freedom of Information Act requests seeking records on the ACLU, the American Friends Service Committee, Greenpeace, Veterans for Peace and United for Peace and Justice, as well as 26 local groups and activists. * Dixon Osburne, co-founder and Executive Director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. * Ben Wizner, staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union. RUSH TRANSCRIPT This transcript is available free of charge. However, donations help us provide closed captioning for the deaf and hard of hearing on our TV broadcast. Thank you for your generous contribution. Donate - $25, $50, $100, more... AMY GOODMAN: Dixon Osburne now joins from us Washington, D.C. He is the Executive Director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. Can you talk about what you learned about the Pentagon spying on your organization? DIXON OSBURNE: Well, the Pentagon has not released any documents suggesting that it has spied on Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. The documents that they've released have shown that they have spied on student groups, including student groups at U.C. Santa Clara, the state universities in New York, NYU Law School, and what those documents show is that they were investigating these groups for potential terrorist activity. They even called a gay kiss-in at U.C. Santa Cruz that was trying to protest “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” it was, quote, “a credible threat of terrorism.” AMY GOODMAN: And how did you learn exactly what was happening? DIXON OSBURNE: The story was first reported on NBC News late last year, and it gave us a window into what was going on at the Department of Defense. So at SLDN, we filed FOIAs, Freedom of Information Act requests, with various agencies within the Department of Defense, C.I.A., F.B.I., N.S.A. and other agencies, asking them to release any documents that indicated that they were spying on student groups or lesbian/gay/bisexual student groups around the country. It was in response to those Freedom of Information Act requests that the Pentagon started very slowly dribbling out a few responses, some last year and now another stack just this past week, confirming that they indeed were investigating various student groups, that they were collecting emails, that they, at least in one case, sent an undercover agent to spy on their protest and determine what was going on at those protests, all under this rubric of trying to thwart terrorism here in the United States. Instead it's just an indication of how sweeping this administration's domestic spying program is. They aren't focused on terrorism. They're focused on peaceful demonstrations and people exercising their rights of freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. And so, we are still pressing the Pentagon to release even more documents. JUAN GONZALEZ: Well, this is a stunning revelation, because clearly now we're talking about a much more expanded surveillance of, basically, dissent in the United States under the cover -- or peaceful dissent under the cover of continuing to fight the war on terrorism. DIXON OSBURNE: You're absolutely right. This administration has said that they are conducting domestic surveillance only to try to identify potential links between people living here and terrorists abroad. And the reality is that that's not the case, that, in fact, the domestic surveillance program is extremely grand and extremely sweeping. And it is very chilling here in the United States. AMY GOODMAN: We're talking to Dixon Osburne, co-founder and Executive Director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. We're also joined by Ben Wizner, ACLU staff attorney. The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network got information under Freedom of Information Act. You're not having as much luck. BEN WIZNER: Not yet. I also want to pay my respects to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Fund. They've been out on front on this issue. They put in their FOIA requests early, and they have been able to uncover through that FOIA request some very important information that we're talking about today. Following up on their requests, ACLU affiliates around country filed a series of FOIA requests on behalf of a whole litany of antiwar and anti-military recruitment groups, some of whom had appeared in the Pentagon database that was released to NBC News. And we also want to know what kinds of policies and procedures the Pentagon is relying on. How can they possibly think that it's appropriate for the United States military to be maintaining a database of peaceful protest activities? We've not yet been able to get any documents. We filed a lawsuit to enforce that Freedom of Information Act request. We expect that within the next month or two we will begin to receive documents in response to our lawsuit. JUAN GONZALEZ: And the responses to your request, have they been saying that they have no material that meets your request or that they're precluded, in one way or another, from releasing it? BEN WIZNER: No, we have not yet gotten the substantive request from the military saying that they don't have responsive material. Essentially they ignore us until a federal judge requires them to respond to us. But if we were in a functioning democracy, we wouldn't need FOIA requests to get to the bottom of what's going on here. The minute that report was leaked to NBC News, the minute NBC News reported that grannies and Quakers and people protesting “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” at law schools were in a Pentagon secret database, there would have been hearings the next week, and Don Rumsfeld and Stephen Cambone would have been dragged up to Capitol Hill, and there would have been a full airing of what was going on. And that really is what's needed here. I mean, we will find out more information through this FOIA, but Congress's silence here is really remarkable. AMY GOODMAN: When you say if we were really functioning in a democracy, what exactly do you mean? BEN WIZNER: What I mean is that we have not had any meaningful congressional oversight of any of these surveillance activities over the last five or six years. You know, I do know, Amy, I’ve been here on the program talking about what we've uncovered through our FOIAs against the F.B.I., F.B.I. surveillance of peaceful protesters. What's going on with the N.S.A. really is a constitutional crisis, and Congress has yet to play a meaningful role. The reason why the FOIA, the Freedom of Information Act, has taken on such great importance over the last four or five years is that there is no meaningful oversight whatsoever going on on Capitol Hill. And so, our only choice is to get this information, bring it before the public and hope that there's some pressure on the administration to change its policies. AMY GOODMAN: Now, Arlen Specter, the Pennsylvania Republican, really went after the Bush administration around warrantless spying on Americans, said he was going to subpoena the telecom executives and then totally backed off. He's a Republican. What about the Democrats? BEN WIZNER: Well, you know, it takes the Republicans, in order for administration officials to be subpoenaed, in order for documents to be subpoenaed. So whatever the Democratic Party might do if it were in power -- and I’m not confident to answer that question -- it doesn't have the power to do anything right now. AMY GOODMAN: It certainly could make noise. BEN WIZNER: It could make noise, and I think that it has made some noise. But I’m not here to defend the Democrats. I mean, the point is this is not a partisan question. A president saying that neither the courts nor the Congress has any role in the defense of the country is a constitutional crisis, not a Republican or Democrat issue. JUAN GONZALEZ: Russ Feingold, among the Democrats, has repeatedly spoken out and obviously opposed the PATRIOT Act, in terms of insisting that this kind of continued government surveillance was unacceptable through our Constitution. But very few other voices, even among the Democrats, have spoken out. BEN WIZNER: No, there aren't, and, you know, I’m glad you mentioned the PATRIOT Act, and we rightly celebrate Russ Feingold for being the lone courageous vote against that act that was written in the dead of night and not read by anybody. But what's so striking about the PATRIOT Act is that the administration, which really demonized Congress for not passing it more quickly, which threatened Congress that the American people wouldn't be safe unless it got passed right away, they then went ahead and ignored it. I mean, what is the PATRIOT Act? The PATRIOT Act is an amendment of the FISA law. It makes it easier for the government to get FISA warrants. And while the administration is arguing out of one side of its mouth that it needs the FISA law amended, at the same time it's completely and secretly ignoring it for years and saying that FISA is unconstitutional now, once its crimes are reported in the public. And so it's very important that we're having these discussions on this program. It's very important that people understand the full scope of the power that the administration is claiming. AMY GOODMAN: And what do you think people can do? If the parties aren't doing it, the elected leaders. BEN WIZNER: You know, this is a moment of serious accountability for the democracy. And people need to demand it, and not just demand it by replacing people in Congress, but making clear to the people who are in Congress right now that if they don't rein in the abuses of power in this administration, they'll be gone. AMY GOODMAN: Now, we asked the Pentagon to join us on this program, and we weren't able to get anyone on. The Pentagon did say they shouldn't have added peace groups to the Talon database. BEN WIZNER: Well, I’m not sure they said it that clearly. I think, you know, the Pentagon has asked for audits of these databases. But I’ve looked at the documents that have been released under the FOIA so far, and I haven't seen a document where the Pentagon says straight out that it's improper to have antiwar protest activity in a database. I do agree that in contrast to, say, the F.B.I., there has been a willingness on the part of the Pentagon take a look at this. And I can assure you that there are people in the military who are very, very uncomfortable with the military being seen as another arm of this administration's political agenda. AMY GOODMAN: Last question to Dixon Osburne of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. When you learn you're being spied on, you how does it affect your work and your group, the servicemembers who work with you? DIXON OSBURNE: It affects us in at least two ways. First, the majority of Americans oppose “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” And they see that the federal government is now spying on them and keeping personal records on them if they are trying to protest “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and that that change in government policy has a very chilling effect on their freedom of speech. Secondly, at Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, we are also a legal services organization, and to the extent that the government is spying on us, it really threatens attorney-client confidentiality. So we're very concerned for our clients if the government is engaged in as broad a domestic spying program as is suggested by these documents. AMY GOODMAN: And the kind of cases you represent? DIXON OSBURNE: We assist servicemembers who were hurt by “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” These are individuals that, if it is known that they are gay, lesbian or bisexual, they will lose their career in the armed forces. So if the government is keeping a database on the individuals who might be our clients – and we don't have evidence of that right now -- it would be enormously chilling and would be a violation of additional fundamental constitutional rights to an attorney. AMY GOODMAN: Dixon Osburne, I want to thank you for being with us, co-founder and Executive Director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, joining from us a very wet Washington, D.C. And Ben Wizner, thanks for joining us here in New York with the American Civil Liberties Union. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From janicepariat at gmail.com Fri Jun 30 03:42:06 2006 From: janicepariat at gmail.com (Janice Pariat) Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2006 23:12:06 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] River Song Message-ID: <72cca7600606291512k409822bfif3d67b02c7ee1a46@mail.gmail.com> Hello! Finally...a post.Im so sorry for the silence but I have been travelling for the past month and have not had access to a computer for a long enough period of time to complete a story! Ironically, River Song was something I first started...but three other stories were completed before I touched it again. I dont know why but I found this one the most difficult to write. It is different to the others in the sense that, for me, at the end of the story there is a sense of looking forward, of being swept into the future and of there being perhaps more hope in what is to come. Unlike Ring Road with its almost suffocating feeling of being stuck in a circle and never really getting anywhere, or An Aerial View & The Castle which relied heavily on childhood and drawing strength from a sense of where the protagonist once was. The bottom line however...I do hope you enjoy it. The link is http://thefirstsixstories.blogspot.com/ Cheers! 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URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060629/3d2a634c/attachment.html From cahen.x at levels9.com Fri Jun 30 14:45:18 2006 From: cahen.x at levels9.com (xavier cahen) Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2006 11:15:18 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] pourinfos Newsletter / 06-30 to 09-15-2006 Message-ID: <44A4EBA6.3030506@levels9.com> pourinfos.org l'actualité du monde de l'art / daily Art news ----------------------------------------------------------------------- From Friday June 30, 2006 to Friday September 15, 2006 (included) ------------------------------------------------------------------- (mostly in french) pourinfos will be closed from July first until September 15, 2006 Enjoy the Summer Yours Xavier @ 001 (30/06/2006) Screening : performances, New China Action, Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33224 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 002 (30/06/2006) Exhibition : “Glory of the forms”, international Center of poetry, Marseille, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33386 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 003 (30/06/2006) Meetings : ontemporary art and music, Artatouille, Sabarros, France http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33431 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 004 (30/06/2006) Exhibition : MASUYAMA, ADN Galerie, Barcelona, Spain. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33453 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 005 (30/06/2006) Exhibition : Authorized lawns, Park of la Villette et Le Plateau, Parc de la Villette, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33454 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 006 (30/06/2006) Exhibition : Vincent Lamouroux, Geert Goiris, Le Grand Café, Saint-Nazaire, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33457 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 007 (30/06/2006) Performance : Mysteries of East III, Baltic States, Latvia, Lithuania, Friday June 30, 2006, Museum of Modern art of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33460 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 008 (30/06/2006) Exhibition : Jan Kopp et Marcelline Delbecq, Galerie RLBQ, Marseille, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33480 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 009 (30/06/2006) Various : ECOUTE_QUE_COÛTE 06/06, the Radiophonic Workshop of Creation, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33485 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 010 (30/06/2006) Various : 1 st conclusion - La force de l'Art, Grand Palais, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33486 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 011 (30/06/2006) Publication : editions Complicities/new publication for the summer, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33488 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 012 (30/06/2006) Publication : June/July 2006, les presses du réel, Dijon, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33489 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 013 (30/06/2006) Publication : Discours sur les passions de l’amour, Christophe Boulanger, bureau d'art et de recherche, Roubaix, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33490 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 014 (30/06/2006) Publication : n°40, MOUVEMENT, Paris, France http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33491 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 015 (30/06/2006) Publication : New Zine by Jay Nelson, Nieves éditions, Zurich, Switzerland. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33492 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 016 (30/06/2006) Publication : New Publications, R-diffusion, Strasbourg, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33493 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 017 (30/06/2006) Publication : PARC CENTRAL, Gonzalez-Foerster, DVD Mk2 Production, Collection Anna Sanders films, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33494 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 018 (30/06/2006) Residences : temporary studios for artists, Astérides, Marseille, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33496 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 019 (30/06/2006) Formation : Call for workshop participation, Mobile Troops - Urban Jungle / Mobile media art, Atelier Nord, Oslo, Norway. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33497 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 020 (30/06/2006) Job : The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts’ Schools of Visual Arts: Announcement of professorship, Denmark. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33498 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 021 (30/06/2006) Call : HORS PISTES, international medium-length films, 2nd edition, Pompidou Center, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33499 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 022 (30/06/2006) Call : WHAT MAKES ARTISTS, video and of writings, the Spore review, Marseille, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33500 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 023 (30/06/2006) Call : La Re-Visite, TRAVERSE VIDEO 2007 - 10th EDITION - Toulouse, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33501 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 024 (30/06/2006) Call : DIME 2006, Rangsit University, Bangkok, Thailand. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33502 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 025 (01/07/2006) Exhibition : Jeppe Hein, center of contemporary art of Delme, Delme, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33279 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 026 (01/07/2006) Program : festival les anomalies 06, Amiens, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33331 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 027 (01/07/2006) Exhibition : Joseph Zanni, Espace Bellini, Cannes, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33346 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 028 (01/07/2006) Exhibition : Paranoia, Curated by Predrag Pajdic, Leeds City Art Gallery, Leeds, United Kingdom. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33393 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 029 (01/07/2006) Exhibition : Kaliningrad , Marcel Dinahet, Center of contemporary art of Pontmain, Pontmain, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33416 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 030 (01/07/2006) Meetings : Jakob Gautel, July 1, 2006, La Marechalerie, Versailles, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33428 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 031 (01/07/2006) Publication : catalogue monographic, Laurent Montaron, isthme éditions, Librairie Bookstorming de La Maison Rouge, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33435 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 032 (01/07/2006) Screening : Instants vidéo, Fundación de Arte Contemporáneo, Montevideo, Uruguay. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33458 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 033 (01/07/2006) Program : July 2006, instants vidéo, Marseilles, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33459 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 034 (01/07/2006) Exhibition : "Un congrèes de lucioles" et "L’Ormeau blessé", Two exposures of Mamco to Arques, Les Arques, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33483 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 035 (01/07/2006) Variouss : Lebanese National day of "Tabouleh", 15th Biennial of Paris, Beirut, Lebanon. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33487 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 036 (02/07/2006) Exhibition : Polish Avant-guardes, departmental Museum Matisse, Le Cateau-Cambrésis, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33219 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 037 (03/07/2006) Exhibition : International Queer Festival 2006, Copenhagen, Denmark. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=2632 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 038 (03/07/2006) Exhibition : Ron Athey & Lee Adams curate The Monster in the Night of the Labyrinth. Hayward Gallery, London, United Kingdom. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33324 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 039 (03/07/2006) Formation : Analogical workshop technology, Espace multimédia Gantner, Bourogne, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33325 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 040 (03/07/2006) Program: envisaging radio as exhibition space, Radio Gallery, London, United Kingdom. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33421 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 041 (04/07/2006) Exhibition : of the young graduates of the DNSEP 2006 of the EESI site of Poitiers, rurart, Rouillé, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33450 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 042 (05/07/2006) Exhibition : Claire Bianchi in the French Arts centre in Helsinki, Finland. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33456 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 043 (05/07/2006) Performance : Patrick Pinon, Vincent Ségal, July 5, 2006, Le Local, association Ombre en Lumière, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33476 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 044 (06/07/2006) Exhibition : ONE SHOT BY... Samon Takahashi, Nuke Gallery, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33347 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 045 (06/07/2006) Exhibition : “that holds in the hand”, le 51, association STROBO, Sète, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33413 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 046 (06/07/2006) Meetings : Seminar “Spaces of European higher education: to stimulate mobility - initiatives, tools and accompaniments”, Thursday July 6, 2006, ASIEM, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33432 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 047 (06/07/2006) Screening : Hugo Verlinde, Thursday July 6, 2006, Mk2 Beaubourg, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33474 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 048 (06/07/2006) Screening : 17ème FIDMarseille, Palais du Pharo, Marseille, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33475 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 049 (06/07/2006) Exhibition : Xavier Gautier et Sung-A Yoon, haptic dans le vestibule de la Maison Rouge, Maison Rouge, Paris,France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33477 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 051 (07/07/2006) Exhibition : Emergency Biennale @ Centre A, opening July 7, Vancouver, Canada. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33481 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 052 (07/07/2006) Various : Andromaque, Le Théâtre de l'homme qui marche, from July 7 to 12, 2006, Studio Théâtre de Montreuil, Montreuil, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33484 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 053 (08/07/2006) Exhibition : Diario/8, Maison des Artistes, Cagnes, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33156 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 054 (08/07/2006) Performances : hormigas culonas/amigas culonas, VINCENT+FERIA, “7th tropical night”, July 8, 2006, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33398 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 055 (09/07/2006) Exhibition : Electric trees and telephone booth conversations, Martin Boyce, Frac des Pays de la Loire, Carquefou, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33388 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 056 (09/07/2006) Exhibition : Other people's time, Andrew Miller, Frac des Pays de la Loire, Carquefou, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33391 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 057 (10/07/2006) Formation : Workshop perception of the landscape, Espace multimédia Gantner, Bourogne, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33326 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 058 (10/07/2006) Meetings : Small anthology of Machinima, On July 10, 2006, Cinéma l'Arlequin, Paris. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33430 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 059 (13/07/2006) Exhibition : 5th edition, Zooarte 2006, Cuneo, Italie. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33455 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 060 (15/07/2006) Exhibition: Africa-art, Rhode Bath-Schéba MAKOUMBOU, Mairie de Saint-Amant-Roche-Savine, Saint-Amant-Roche-Savine, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33414 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 061 (17/07/2006) Formation : Photo Romance workshop, Espace multimédia Gantner, Bourogne, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33351 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 062 (21/07/2006) Call : Seminar & Workshop on Urban Culture, Bandung July 2006, Indonesia. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=2649 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 063 (07/08/2006) Formation : How to photograph the body? , Workshop, Chalon-sur-Saône, France. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33437 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 064 (07/08/2006) Meetings : 13th International Symposium for Electronic Art, ISEA2006, San Jose California, Usa. http://pourinfos.org/index.php?art=33495 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 065 L’artiste et ses "modèles". Jean-Claude Moineau http://pourinfos.org/encours/item.php?id=3020 The artist and his “models”. Jean-Claude Moineau http://pourinfos.org/encours/item.php?id=3019 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- From samit.basu at gmail.com Fri Jun 30 19:24:47 2006 From: samit.basu at gmail.com (samit basu) Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2006 19:24:47 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Trousers of Time: Comics, graphic novels and Indian spec-fic Message-ID: <2fa79cb60606300654v3b29bf6bg5ab5fc12a2cb90f3@mail.gmail.com> Speculative fiction and comics have gone hand in hand from the very beginning; even today, apart from the mainstream superhero comicbooks, which are essentially spec-fic, the greatest and best-known comic writers in the world, like Alan Moore or Neil Gaiman, are wildly popular for SF and fantasy creations which use the comic-book medium's ability to tell compelling stories and create a sense of scale and wonder to rival the very best speculative fiction text-only books, bringing the strengths of both text and art to create a truly wonderful compound. And in India, the enduring popularity of Asterix, Tintin, and the home-grown Amar Chitra Katha series serve to underline the fact the fact that the comic book is a medium the speculative fiction writer cannot afford not to take seriously. With the publication of Sarnath Banerjee's Corridor two years ago, the setting up of comics publisher Phantomville and the arrival in India of Virgin Comics and Animation, graphic novels have been in the Indian news fairly consistently for a while. The term graphic novel is, of course, a controversial one at every level – attributed to Will Eisners ground-breaking A Contract with God (1978), though it's the term had been around since 1964. The phrase was created as a term to help sell comicbooks to serious literary publishers, to distinguish serious, literary comics from more pulp fare, building a serious artistic movement aiming, as per Eddie Campbell's 2004 manisfesto, "to take the form of the comic book, which has become an embarrassment, and raise it to a more ambitious and meaningful level." The next decade should be an extremely exciting time for the comicbook medium in India – on the one hand, literary graphic novels, and on the other, high-flying spec-fic comics that revisit myth, history and the future, should make their presence felt in a very significant way both among Indian readers and worldwide with Indian themes and settings. Gotham Chopra, Chief Creative Officer, Virgin Comics and Animation: "I am proud to be a part of what we think is a creative renaissance in India. I think India in of itself will become the dominant market for publishing and other forms of entertainment and servicing that is certainly our goal. But there is also a richness to our heritage and stories that we think the world will really fall for if its package the right way with great quality." "As with any new business, there are a thousand new challenges every day! I think the toughest is identifying the best and most real opportunities amongst the million that come at us every day and staying focused on them. Also, of course is building the right team. I have no doubt that the right mix of creative and managerial talent exists in India but finding them is not the easiest thing in the world. We also only want to work with dreamers - those who share our vision and want to be a part of something truly innovative and bold." "I am a sucker for mythology and have always been a history buff as well. Of course re-inventing our great myths - the Ramayan and Mahabharat - is a no-brainer and something we are exploring. But I'd rather take our rich mythology and our Asian thinking and integrate it into contemporary stories and dramas. I think we have a type of story-telling that will increasingly find a global audience, a richness to our characters and their backstories that roots them in a greater sense than just themselves and propels good narratives. In terms of things to dodge, I think super heroes in the classic mold. The days of tights and capes seem to be passing in terms of teh emergence if new heroes. I definitely think there is room in the pantheon for new and dynamic characters that have powers as part of their arsenal but I generally look away from the classic caped crusaders as we develop new stories." Others are more guardedly optimistic, at least about the future of well-done comics in India. Sarnath Banerjee, comics writer/artist and co-founder of Phantomville: "Historically comics reading population was quite narrow-minded, people could make an acute demographic profile of an average comic book reader. However that profile has changed already, at least in the west. It has become a cultural phenomenon since the last ten years, a lucky number of absolutely brilliant graphic novelists and a vacuumed in the reading market created this. Pundits says it is here to say, that is why the top three publishers in the world have developed their own graphic line, I am talking of Penguin, Random house and Gallimard. Other powerful words-only publishing houses have joined the band wagon. Corporations are putting money. The comics form is crossing over to Cinema and advertising. In short these are exciting times for comics." "Unfortunately, I feel we have to wait till it gets filtered down from the western, particularly the American market. As Phantomville, we are trying several approaches to sell a larger number of books without resorting to violence- multiple distributors, presentations in Universities, word of mouth, keeping the price of book embarrassingly low etc. yet the progress is very slow. In France the first print run of comics is 10,000 copies even for a beginner, in India 5,000 copies is the magic number, it means you are a bestseller." "This embodies the whole phenomenon of the book trade. India is an emerging power with a vast middle class, a growing consumer economy, but not for books. Whether comics or otherwise. However I am told that self-help and management books are doing well." "One Corridor is not going to change the outlook to comics. To build a comics culture in the country a lot of investments have to be made. Capital has to be spent on training and shaping comics illustrators, which is a specialised art. As you are aware that although there is no dearth of good writers is the country comics illustrators are almost insignificant. I know many talented writers including you, given an opportunity will want to do and have the capacity to do brilliant comics, but somehow are crippled by lack of visionary illustrators" "In a royalty-oriented publishing house this is almost impossible to achieve, because the charges of a good illustrator is almost astronomical, and they tend to charge by panels. Under no circumstances would the book recover the money spent on creating it. These are the problems faced by my peers such as Rajesh Devraj, who conceived this idea of converting the Tamil cowboy, Quickgun Murugan, into comics, but couldn't justify the capital to be paid to the illustrators. I feel your trilogy has great possibility to crossover into comics, but who will support a project of that scale? These are questions that bother us. Where will the money come from? Which marketing department will accept a proposal like that?" "Although, clearly it can't be avoided but speculatively there should be a five-year ban on any thing on Hanuman, for the sake of Hanuman. And while you are at it Mahabharata and Jatakas, only for five years. Let us explore some other stories. I feel these tales have done what cricket has done to hockey and what Bollywood has done to other cultural forms that could have come out of India." Which leads us to the question: But do 'real' writers, even non-literary genre types, write for comics? Yes, of course, they do that stuff abroad, but comicbooks are still seen as children's fare in India, and doesn't SFF get enough flak even in book form? The easy answer to this is that comicbooks for grownups have only just started being widely available in Indian bookstores, and it's difficult for Indian readers to become supremely well-versed in the arts and sciences of good new comics unless they have access to them. As more comics are created for and by Indians, a readership seems bound to follow, because comics do hold immense appeal for the most high-nosed of readers. Sarnath Banerjee elaborates: "Comics can fit in a lot of complex ideas in a single page, they can create atmosphere and psychological states, a theme can be explored in all its facets and point of views. This is particularly relevant in discussing history, sociology, anthropology, natural sciences and emerging technologies, reproductive or otherwise." " Informed minds have to come together and collaborate creatively to get to this phase. "Let's do comics because it has simple funny pictures that will instruct simple people on simple principles of watershed management" is merely one way of looking at things." The Indian comics industry as it stands today is extremely underdeveloped, and relies heavily on the unrelenting retelling of classic Indian myths, the unabashed regurgitation of American superheroes and some original comics that are funny, pacy and work for children at an entertainment level and for adults, both in India and among the diaspora, as memorabilia, but don't approach in any sense the production or stylistic qualities of contemporary international work. One major reason for this, of course, is a lack of money in the industry as far as creators, both writers and artists, are concerned; this needs to change before any indigenous quality comics become available all over the country, because the production of comics always has been a laborious, time-consuming and difficult process. But given the intrinsic appeal of the medium, the kind of devotion that Indian comics, whatever their defects, inspire in their readers across ages and countries, and the kind of attention comics have been getting in the mainstream media, it's not unreasonable at all to be optimistic about the future of Indian comics. For speculative fiction writers, this is actually more of an opportunity than it is for writers of mainstream literary fiction, at least in terms of finding readers – spec-fic comics are tried and tested, drive markets in the US and in Japan, the two largest producers of comics, and are much more likely to sell (and, thus, attract publishers) even in India, where comics have been selling in large quantities for about 50 years. The arrival of more comics publishers in India, if and when it happens, should see even more opportunities for people who can spin a good spec-fic yarn, but can't draw to save their lives, to see their work in visual form and actually make that spectacular movie that runs in their head while they're writing with their Indian leads that Hollywood would have rejected, and with the kind of visual effects that Bollywood couldn't have afforded.