From aliak77 at gmail.com Fri Sep 1 00:20:44 2006 From: aliak77 at gmail.com (Kath O'Donnell) Date: Fri, 1 Sep 2006 00:20:44 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] thanks to everyone involved with i-fellows2006 workshops Message-ID: <383607190608311150kd408106h8737f83300e67a87@mail.gmail.com> Hi everyone, just a quick message to say thanks to the organisers and presenters of the Sarai i-fellows 2006 workshops. I went along on the weekend. the sessions were great, quite varied. I discovered a bit more about India from some of the presentations. the questions/discussion time was interesting also. will the full papers be available online sometime in the future? it would be interesting to read them. I've heard so many things about Sarai and it's projects over the years it was great to see the place & people in person. I took a few photos and made a slideshow video of the weekend sessions if anyone is after a small momento/documentation. http://www.aliak.com/node/2375 has the video & links to the photos on flickr. thanks again cheers Kath -- http://www.aliak.com From mohaiemen at yahoo.com Fri Sep 1 21:40:24 2006 From: mohaiemen at yahoo.com (NAEEM MOHAIEMEN) Date: Fri, 1 Sep 2006 09:10:24 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Is It True, JetBlue? Artists In Time Of War In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20060901161024.87557.qmail@web50312.mail.yahoo.com> Is It True, JetBlue? by Naeem Mohaiemen "The artist says, "It's not my business." Then whose business is it? Does that mean you are going to leave the business of the most important issues in the world to the people who run the country? How stupid can we be?" [Howard Zinn, Talk @ Massachusetts College of Art, October 10, 2001] Is It True Jet Blue? JFK? TSA? A rhetorical question that leads to a tautology. Yes, of course people racially profile the darker masses while whipping up a pervasive fear in the name of "national security." Paranoia is so essential to running the modern state, other navigation tools seem permanently broken. After learning that Raed Jarrar was told to remove his Arabic WE WILL NOT BE SILENT t-shirt before he could board a JetBlue flight, four members of The Critical Voice (TCV) boarded a Jet Blue flight last Thursday. The four members, all white women and US citizens, were wearing the same Arabic t-shirts. They were allowed to board the flight. This is more evidence that the Raed Jarrar case is one of racial profiling and censorship. Many of us have been helping as supporters of TCV, an affinity group of Artists Against the War (AAW). Today, after consultation with other members, Laurie of TCV went on Democracy Now and broke the story. I first met Laurie when she and other TCV members were ejected from NY Public Library's "Who's Afraid of Iran" event (w/ Shirin Neshat, et al) -- they were wearing the same t-shirts, but were ostensibly ejected for carrying political posters. The t-shirts have now spread globally, and become an icon of popular, non violent resistance. Because of the open-ended nature of the two phrases "We" (who?) and "Will Not Be Silent" (about what?), people have appropriated these t-shirts and used their bodies to register opposition to many flanks of the "War On Terror", including invasions, fear-mongering, censorship, detention of immigrants, racial profiling of Muslims, use of African-Americans, Latinos and working-class Whites as cannon fodder, the abandonment of poor Blacks in New Orleans, and the linkages and overlaps between all these and other common struggles. To give one example, two weeks ago, many of us as members of Action Wednesday, collaborated with TCV to distribute the t-shirts at Outernational concert in Central Park, to protest the invasion of Lebanon. Caroline Parker, Laurie Arbeiter, Susan Kingsland, Ann Shirazi and other members of TCV and AAW put into practice a new model of artists as public actors, activists and intellectuals who refuse to confine their cultural production inside gallery or museum walls. Contra Adorno, it becomes even more essential to write "poetry" (using an expansive definition) after Auschwitz. To use the many routes of contemporary culture to dissent and to shape a new mental and actual reality. Sandy Kaltenborn of Kanak Attac in Berlin writes, "Design Is Not Enough." Neither are t-shirts, but they are a good start. To take the carrier of such witless 1970s slogans as "Have A Nice Day", "I'm With Stupid", "Pobody's Nerfect", "Kiss Me, I'm Drunk" "My Parents Went To London And All I Got Was This Lousy T-shirt", and invert it into an act of body-based defiance is a good beginning. At the risk of descending to repetition, I echo Adorno's sentiment: "The only relation to art that can be sanctioned in a reality that stands under the constant threat of catastrophe is one that treats works of art with the same deadly seriousness that characterizes the world today." [“Valéry Proust Museum” in Prisms, Samuel and Shierry Weber, trans. (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1983)] Stay tuned. ********************************************* Related Links We Will Not Be Silent On JetBlue (Press Release) http://tinyurl.com/jjo9k http://www.parkerstudio.com/AAW/JetBlueNotSilentweb1.pdf Snakes On, Arabs Of The Plane http://alternet.org/story/41140/ Artists Against War http://aawnyc.org/ The Critical Voice http://thecriticalvoice.org/ ********************************************* Naee Mohaiemen Visible Collective/Disappeared In America http://www.disappearedinamerica.org To join the SHOBAK mailing list, email me ********************************** __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From crd at fondation-langlois.org Sat Sep 2 00:46:22 2006 From: crd at fondation-langlois.org (CR+D) Date: Fri, 1 Sep 2006 15:16:22 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] News from the Daniel Langlois Foundation Message-ID: <2dbdfc7f1b3b7d738e69019b811cdc97@fdl-webmestre> Grants for Researchers in Residence: Deadline October 31, 2006 This year, the deadline for submission of research proposals for the Grants for Researchers in Residence Program is October 31, 2006. A number of changes were recently made to this program, including the introduction of two research components: CR+D documentary collections and archival fonds and Information architecture and online publishing. As in previous years, the Daniel Langlois Foundation will award two research grants for 2007. The proposals selected will allow researchers to work at the Foundation's Centre for Research and Documentation (CR+D). Anyone interested in submitting a research proposal is asked to read the new program guidelines, which can be found at: http://www.fondation-langlois.org/pdf/e/prog_res.pdf Please note: an online form is now available on our site and must be used by anyone wishing to apply for this program: http://www.fondation-langlois.org/e/programmes/res/menu.html To view the list of researchers supported by the Foundation: http://www.fondation-langlois.org/flash/e/index.php?NumPage=148 New CR+D Watch Bulletin Beginning in September, a new CR+D Watch Bulletin will be accessible on the Foundation's Web site. This bulletin is produced by the Centre for Research and Documentation (CR+D) team as part of the activities surrounding the identification and processing of numerous documents that pertain to the CR+D's research subjects. Each month, the CR+D Watch Bulletin will offer a list of newly referenced documents and recent or upcoming events. We hope that you find the bulletin useful and that it helps you discover new documentary resources and key events in the electronic arts domain: http://www.fondation-langlois.org/flash/e/index.php?NumPage=713 Second Annual DOCAM Summit The Daniel Langlois Foundation is pleased to announce that the second annual summit of the DOCAM Research Alliance (Documentation and Conservation of the Media Arts Heritage) will be held at the McGill University Schulich School of Music in Montreal on October 26, 2006. DOCAM is a major multidisciplinary research endeavour initiated by the Daniel Langlois Foundation in collaboration with numerous national and international partners and funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The second annual summit will provide an opportunity for members of the DOCAM research committees to report on the progress of research into the challenges of preserving and documenting technology-based works of art. Among the guest speakers slated to appear at the summit are Pip Laurenson of the Tate Modern in London, Mona Jimenez from New York University, and Hans Dieter Huber from the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Stuttgart. The complete summit program will be published in early October. For more information on DOCAM, please consult the Alliance's Web site at: http://www.docam.ca/ From mahmood.farooqui at gmail.com Sat Sep 2 11:49:17 2006 From: mahmood.farooqui at gmail.com (mahmood farooqui) Date: Sat, 2 Sep 2006 11:49:17 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] for the fatwa-mongerers Message-ID: >From the FDR list- Wahhabism in the Service of American Imperialism: The Politics of a Fatwa Yaqub Shah This July, shortly after the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah abducted two Israeli soldiers, a Saudi Wahhabi cleric, Sheikh Hamid al-Ali Jabreen, issued a controversial fatwa titled "The Sharia Position On What Is Going On." In it, the retired member of the Saudi government's official fatwa dispending committee condemned Hezbollah in no uncertain terms. Aware that Hezbollah's persistent opposition to Zionist and Western imperialism had endeared it to vast numbers of Sunni Muslims across the world, (in addition to a significant number of Christians in Lebanon itself), Jabreen's denunciation of the Hezbollah carefully ignored this most central aspect of the resistance movement. Instead, in order to counter the growing appeal of the movement among many Sunnis, it castigated Hezbollah simply for being Shia. Rather than use the commonly accepted term 'Shia' (the full form of which is Shiat-e Ali or the 'helpers of Ali', Ali being the son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad), Jabreen referred to the Shias, and, specifically Hezbollah, with the contemptuous term of 'Rafizis' or 'rejectors', a phrase often used for the Shias by many hardliner Sunni ulama who consider that Shias have 'rejected' Islam. Being allegedly 'rejectors' of Islam, Jabreen sought to argue, the Shias, including the Hezbollah, were not Muslims at all. Hence, he advised Sunnis 'to denounce them and shun those who join them to show their hostility to Islam and to the Muslims', adding that it wad forbidden for Muslims to pray for Hezbollah's victory. Jabreen's fatwa was soon followed by another one, again much highlighted in the Western and Israeli media, issued by another Saudi Wahhabi cleric, Shaikh Safar al-Hawali, who is said to have been among the sources of inspiration of Osama bin Laden. Al-Hawali denounced Hezbollah as the 'party of the devil'. In a number of articles posted on the web, Muslim critics of the fatwas argued that they had been probably issued at the instigation of the Saudi authorities. They insisted, and rightly so, that these fatwas would only further strengthen the forces of Zionist and Western imperialist forces. Although the authors of the fatwas sought to use religious arguments to denounce Hezbollah, the underlying political motives were clear. Hezbollah's fierce resistance to Israeli and Western imperialism is not favourably looked at by the Saudi rulers, whose very survival depends on American protection. Further, Hezbollah's links with Iran, which, since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, has consistently opposed the Saudi rulers both for the un-Islamic system of monarchy and for its servitude to America, has won it the wrath of the Saudi establishment. The fatwas thus come as no surprise. Meanwhile, the Western and Israeli press have been highlighting Jabreen's fatwa, touting it about as a major achievement. A search on the web reveals several dozen Western and Israeli websites, including online versions of newspapers, that have discussed the fatwa in glowing terms. Jabreen is hardly famous, but that does not stop these Western and Israeli papers from presenting Jabreen as a 'leading' scholar, bestowing on him the authority and following that he clearly lacks outside the limited circle of hardcore Wahhabis. Thus, for instance, the British Broadcasting Corporation refers to Jabreen as a 'well-known sheikh'; the International Herald Tribune calls him a 'a prominent Saudi cleric' and the Jerusalem Post piously proclaims him as 'a top Saudi Sunni cleric'. Since 9/11, 'Wahhabism' has been projected by the Western and Israeli media as the biggest danger to 'civilisation' and 'security', and so their enthusiastic highlighting of the Wahhabi Jabreen and his fatwa in order to lend weight to their campaign against Hezbollah for its resistance to Western and Israeli oppression is not just a little curious. Jabreen's fatwa is also being bandied about in the Western and Israeli media in order to promote divisions between Sunnis and Shias and thereby weaken the resistance to the American-backed Israeli offensive against Lebanon as well as the American occupation of Iraq. Thus, an article about the fatwa that has been reproduced in dozens American and Israeli newspapers quotes the little-known 'anti-terrorism expert', Rita Katz, the Jewish head of the SITE Institute, a staunchly Zionist 'anti-terrorism' outfit in America, as saying, 'I think that fatwas like Jebreen's are significant, because the division between Sunnis and Shia is more apparent than in the past". These newspapers refer to Katz describing the obscure Jabren as 'one of the most respected and more mainstream Wahhabi clerics in Saudi Arabia'. The attention that Jabreen and his fatwa have received in the Western and Israeli press is hardly surprising. It reflects the carefully selective and self-serving policy that Western imperialist powers have for long pursued vis-a-vis the Wahhabis. The Wahhabi movement was funded and propped up by the British as part of a broader strategy to dismember the Ottoman Empire. And, with the discovery of oil in the sands of Arabia, the Americans stepped in, funding the Saudi king to remain firmly seated to his throne while American companies pumped out cheap oil to the West and established huge markets for their products, including weapons, in Saudi Arabia. Wahhabism emerged as a powerful tool of the Saudi monarchy, backed by the West, to counter Leftist and nationalist movements all across the Muslim world, these being branded as 'irreligious' and 'un-Islamic' by Wahhabi clerics in the pay of the state. In the wake of the fiercely anti-Western, anti-Saudi and anti-monarchical Islamic Revolution in Iran, Saudi Wahhabism was, once again, pressed into service by the Saudis and the Americans, seeking to counter the influence of the Revolution among Sunnis worldwide by denouncing it as an alleged Shia plot and by branding Shias as non-Muslim apostates and 'enemies of Islam'. Wahhabism received a further boost when it was actively promoted by the Americans and the Saudis in the wake of the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan. All manner of right-wing Sunni Islamist movements and outfits in large parts of the world received generous Saudi funding, and in this the Saudi were backed by the Americans as they saw Wahhabism as a powerful counter to anti-imperialist forces. But when a section of radicalized Wahhabis, irked by the Saudi monarchy's blatant servitude to American dictates, emerged in the form of Osama bin Laden and vocally denounced the monarchy and America, Saudi and American policies on the export of radical Wahhabism underwent a sea-change. Wahhabism now transformed itself in the Western media as the dangerous 'green peril', being projected as the major cause of all that was wrong in the Muslim world and in relations between that world and the West. However, this denunciation of Wahhabism was selective. While radical Wahhabis who fiercely opposed the Saudi monarchy and Western dominance were to be stiffly opposed, pro-establishment Wahhabi scholars, paid servants of the Saudi rulers, were to be projected in a somewhat benign light, for they followed their masters in denouncing their radical opponents, who accused them of having sold their souls in return for their patronage that the Saudis showered on them. This explains the Western and Israeli media's enthusiastic reception of Jabreen and his fatwa. Jabreen is certainly not the first Wahhabi scholar to denounce the Shias as apostates. Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab, the founder of the Wahhabi movement, was himself fanatically opposed to the Shias, and when Ibn Saud established the Saudi state he embarked on a large-scale anti-Shia pogrom. The allegation that Shias are not Muslims, that they revile the Prophet and his companions, that they do not actually believe in exactly the same Quran that the Sunnis do, that the Shia faith was invented by a Jew who wanted to destroy Islam from within, and so on, is tirelessly repeated in writings and fatwas by numerous Saudi Wahhabi clerics and is a central pillar of the Wahhabi version of Islam. The late Abdul Aziz bin Baaz, chief mufti of Saudi Arabia, who issued a controversial fatwa allowing for American troops to be stationed in Saudi Arabia, was said to have been so fanatically anti-Shia that he refused to shake hands with them, considering them to be impure. Oil wealth has helped the export of Saudi-style Wahhabism to other parts of the world, leading to mounting intra-Muslim sectarian rivalries, including anti-Shia sentiments. In India, sections of the Ahl-e Hadith movement, in particular, have been the favourite recipient of Saudi largesse. This is because the Ahl-e Hadith are the closest to the Wahhabis in terms of their understanding of Islam, this closeness having led almost to identicalness because of the Saudi financial connection. The Ahl-e Hadith, like the Saudi Wahhabis, are stern literalist Sunnis and are fiercely opposed to the Shias, besides to various Sunni groups whom they do not see as authentically Sunni at all. Saudi funds, from both official and private sources, have gone into the setting up of a number of mosques, madrasas and publishing houses by certain individuals and organizations connected with the Ahl-e Hadith. Not surprisingly, these institutions have played a major role in fanning inter-Muslim rivalries in the country. Numerous Indian Ahl-e Hadith publishing houses have brought out volumes of literature denouncing the Shias as heretics and 'enemies of Islam', besides also condemning other Sunni groups, such as the Barelvis, Deobandis and the Jamaat-e Islami, for having allegedly deviated from the Sunni path. Often, this argument is based on minor issues on which the other Muslim groups differ from the Ahl-e Hadith and the Saudi Wahhabis, such as praying in a slightly different manner. Besides, these publishing houses have brought out masses of propaganda material in praise of the Saudi rulers, parroting their claim of being the most committed defenders of Islam and presenting the Saudi monarch as the 'khadim al-harimayn al-sharifayn' or 'the custodian of the two holy shrines', located in the cities of Mecca and Medina. In this way, these institutions must be seen as playing a key role in promoting the interests of the Saudi monarchy, something that is also true in the case of similar Saudi-funded institutions in other countries. The Ahl-e Hadith have not been alone in promoting the cause of Saudi Arabia's rulers by presenting them as model Islamic rulers. Saudi funding, from private or official sources, is also said to have benefited certain institutions or individuals in India associated with the Jamaat-e Islami and the Deobandi tradition, although details of this are hard to come by. Certain Muslim magazines published in the country are also said to receive Saudi money. This sort of Saudi funding has been repeated in almost every other country with a sizeable Sunni population. In this way, the Saudi rulers have sought to stamp out any vocal criticism of their internal and external policies, including the enormous corruption and untrammeled despotism at home, Saudi Arabia's key role in sustaining and promoting American imperialism and, of course, the very un-Islamic institution of monarchy. It is thus unlikely that institutions, in India and elsewhere, that receive Saudi funding will openly oppose Saudi Arabia's denunciations of the Hezbollah and the sort of fatwas that the likes of Jabreen are now issuing. Meanwhile, as is evident from numerous Muslim websites, many Sunnis have fiercely condemned Jabreen and his fatwa, angered at the lengths to which Wahhabi clerics aligned with the Saudi rulers are willing to go to please their bosses. If at all this is any indication, it appears that opposition to Wahhabi sectarianism and its historical and continuing nexus with Western imperialism is growing more vocal, fuelled further by the Saudis' opposition to Hezbollah and their continued subservience to American dictates. From preetunair at yahoo.com Sat Sep 2 21:07:14 2006 From: preetunair at yahoo.com (PREETU NAIR) Date: Sat, 2 Sep 2006 08:37:14 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Workshop tourism! In the name of poor kids Message-ID: <20060902153714.5276.qmail@web31712.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Workshop tourism! By Preetu Nair preetu_nair at gomantaktimes.com PANJIM: FIRST THE FIGURES: Nearly 12 workshops on women and child trafficking in three months. In other words, every month there are at least four workshops on trafficking of children. Besides, two training programmes to sensitise the police has been held at Police headquarters, Panjim. In September three more consultations on trafficking have already been announced. NOW THE FACT: These workshops and conferences are increasingly becoming more about “building partnerships” and less about children or trafficked victims. Check out what is happening in the child friendly state, even as activists are busy formulating new “drafts of conduct” and “mainstreaming child rights”. This is just the tip of an iceberg. • The trafficked victims of Baina are still awaiting rehabilitation. • A minor girl from Mohana, Orissa is trafficked to Goa and employed as a domestic help at a Public Prosecutor’s (PP) house in Margao. She is rescued from the PP’s house (cupboard to be precise) and sent to Apna Ghar. But no action is taken against the PP, though he is a government employee. • The state government gives an in-country adoption license to Preet Mandir and the child activists hardly react. Finally, media activism forces state government to suspend license. This is a clear indicator that somewhere, something has gone wrong. “Training, legislation and sensitisation programmes are important. At the moment there is an overdose of consultations on the same subject. Moreover, reaching out to victims and providing services to them is far more important,” explains Arun Pandey, ARZ. Audrey Pinto, CRG, argues, “It helps to sensitise to a certain extent. There is an awareness created through these conferences and workshops.” But Bernie D'Souza, Jan Ugahi, calls this “Workshop Tourism”, where expenditures, energies and time spent far outweigh the real benefits to the children or other target groups. The greatest irony is that majority of these meets are in five-star or three star resorts, where delegates sitting in AC rooms talk about poverty and trafficked victims. Incidentally, the amount spent on one cup of coffee in a five star resort can actually feed a child for two days. However, Sujay Pati from WISE, which has maximum number of meetings at five-star resorts argues, “What you are saying is ethically correct, but it is just not logical as we work with the hotel industry and holding meetings at five star resorts is a matter of convenience.” Sources reveal that there is a sudden focus on trafficking in Goa because 3 million dollars has been sanctioned for Goa by UNIFEM. However, Archana Tamang, Chief, Women's Human Rights and Human Security Unit rubbished it. “We have a small budget and have been trying to make optimum use of it by leveraging broad bases. Perhaps this is the reason why it looks like as though we have spent a lot of money in Goa,” said Tamang. She added, “The figure sources have quoted is almost 5 times greater than our Goa Program budget”. FLURRY OF WORKSHOPS SINCE JUNE 2006: 12 + two training programme to sensitise police TOPIC OF DISCUSSION: Trafficking of women and children and child rights NGO’S ORGANSING IT: WISE, CRG, Sangath, Shaktivahini (Delhi based NGO), Bagla Natak and Childline. (Article appeared in GT on Friday, September 1, 2006) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From shahzulf at yahoo.com Sat Sep 2 18:31:37 2006 From: shahzulf at yahoo.com (Zulfiqar Shah) Date: Sat, 2 Sep 2006 06:01:37 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] On Immortality : Paulo Coelho Message-ID: <20060902130137.28638.qmail@web38812.mail.mud.yahoo.com> On Immortality Paulo Coelho [Latest Write – UP] How do human beings respond to changes? Badly. Always very badly. One of the most widespread myths in the whole world – the myth of the vampire – reflects this idea. What is a vampire? It is someone who at a certain moment in their existence becomes immortal. In other words, after that moment their body will no longer follow the normal course of nature; they will become forever young, and they can live as long as they like without having to deal with problems caused by growing old. The vampire’s only diet is a little blood every day, and their only care with their skin is to avoid sunlight – but after all, this is a very small price to pay to enjoy all the possibilities of eternal life. Except for one thing: vampires stop in time, while the world carries on changing. Everything that they were always used to begins to change, and even though they have all the time in the world to adapt to these changes, they desire immortality precisely because they were happy with the world in which they lived. They are not interested in accompanying these changes. Let us imagine a human being who becomes a vampire right at the finals of the 1986 World Cup. He could smoke on airplanes, did not need to puzzle over picking what channel to watch on the television – the choice was so limited. He had an actress for a sex symbol, understood all about carburetors and fought for his socialist ideal, convinced that the Soviet Union would soon have more capable governors, and the yearnings of the people [called the proletariat] would at last be respected. One fine day he falls in love with a 22-year-old sociology student. He admires her beauty, her enthusiasm, her idealism. He suggests transforming her into a vampire, but she refuses – she has seen too many horror films. She is in love too and does not want to lose him, but she sets one single condition for going ahead with their relationship: he must never suck her blood. The vampire has no choice but to keep his word. They get married in the registry office to avoid mortal crucifixes. Twenty years roll by - in fact fly by, because another four World Cups have taken place. The former university student is now 42 years old, working in a bank [unemployment problems] or else writing useless Master’s and Ph.D. theses and dissertations merely to justify her life as a professional student. Carburetors have disappeared from the face of the earth. In horror he leafs through a magazine and sees his old sex-symbol actress transformed into a hybrid product made of plastic, Botox and silicone, her face coated with tons of makeup. He feels guilty for having 200 TV channels and only watches the same ones as long ago. The Soviet Union has collapsed. He was obliged to abandon his beloved cigarettes [although it did not affect his health, don’t forget that vampires are immortal], because smoking became impossible, either because of laws or because of the way people looked at him in restaurants. And worst of all: everyone is talking about chat, Internet, iPod, rave and so on. The vampire tries to keep up to date, but everything seems absolutely complicated, irritating and senseless. He looks at the computer as if he were looking at a clove of garlic – with a mixture of horror and impotence. He will never be able to manage one of those, although he has tried several times. His friends are retired, spend their days playing cards – they also do not know how to deal with computers, but they do not mind, the group has grown old together, they all have the same interests and can share experiences. The vampire stays young. Immortal. Now he is faced with eternal depression. He attempts suicide, going out in the sunlight or looking at crucifixes, only to discover that these were myths created by the Church and cause him no harm at all. He is left with one consolation: there is still one political figure that he knows all about [because all the other governors across the world have changed]. But Fidel Castro will also pass. And then nothing, absolutely nothing, will remain of the world that the vampire once loved so much. Courtesy: Warriors of Light --------------------------------- All-new Yahoo! Mail - Fire up a more powerful email and get things done faster. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060902/3e041948/attachment.html From shahzulf at yahoo.com Sat Sep 2 18:20:49 2006 From: shahzulf at yahoo.com (Zulfiqar Shah) Date: Sat, 2 Sep 2006 05:50:49 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Washington, D.C:WHAT'S HAPPENING IN PAKISTAN ?? Message-ID: <20060902125049.11226.qmail@web38803.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Note: forwarded message attached. --------------------------------- Talk is cheap. Use Yahoo! Messenger to make PC-to-Phone calls. Great rates starting at 1¢/min. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... 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Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2006 20:36:14 -0400 Size: 15372 Url: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060902/94050061/attachment.mht From jcm at ata.org.pe Sun Sep 3 23:39:43 2006 From: jcm at ata.org.pe (Jose-Carlos Mariategui) Date: Sun, 03 Sep 2006 19:09:43 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] VIBRA: Sound Arts Festival in Lima, Peru Message-ID: ---> English (Spanish version follows) First-time ever contemporary sound art festival in Peru ³VIBRA: AUDIO LIMA EXPERIMENTAL² · The festival will comprise exhibits, concerts, lectures and workshops, to be hold from August to November 2006. · The festival¹s main goal is for Lima to become an audio and sound documentation experiences centre that spreads out and links together diverse ways in which we listen to our surrounding world. · The festival¹s activities will focus around the importance of sound in our lives and in artistic creation. · Renowned art critic Jorge Villacorta curates the festival and its activities. Centro Fundación Telefónica and Alta Tecnología Andina presents ³VIBRA: Audio Lima Experimental² festival, the first major event dedicated to contemporary sound art ever organized in Lima. It will comprise exhibits, concerts, lectures and workshops, to be hold from August to November 2006. Art critic Jorge Villacorta curates the festival and its activities. ³VIBRA: Audio Lima Experimental² will turn Lima into an audio and sound documentation experiences centre that spreads out and links together diverse ways to listen to our surrounding world. The festival¹s activities will focus around the importance sound has in our lives and in artistic creation, and will reinforce the concepts of art, science and the new technologies. Starting in 1990, sound art has transformed visual arts with a new aesthetic that fuses sensory experiences, thinking, action and creation of scenarios that involve movement and space. Therefore, it was indispensable that a festival of such prominence and innovative proposals was organized for the first time ever in our country. Furthermore, ³VIBRA: Audio Lima Experimental² will also develop activities within the educational field, with a program that focuses on sound perception, interaction and creation. The program¹s goal is for children and school students to have a first approach towards current art trends and the new media. Children will be able to play and interact with the pieces and objects on exhibit at Centro Fundación Telefónica, and will learn about the diverse manifestations of sound that occur in their surroundings. This educational project is part of the ³Arte para aprender² (Art for Learning) program, executed by Fundación Telefónica in association with Museo de Arte de Lima. The festival will also showcase innovative experimental proposals ‹national and foreign‹ that incorporate digital technologies and link together sound and video in actions, interventions and installations. It will also encourage participative sound scenarios that include group listening experiences. All these proposal focus around sound as a source of inspiration and creative exploration, and lead to new ways of understanding what art is. Festival exhibitions The festival will show two main exhibitions, both of which will be hold in Sala Paréntesis of Centro Fundación Telefónica and will work as a ³foundation² for the rest of the activities. The first exhibition, ³Audiogeneradores² (August 23-September 20), includes the following installations: Spatial Sounds (The Netherlands), rrrrrrrringtonarumori! (Peru) and Audiotránsito Reflex (Peru). Spatial Sounds (100dB at 100km/h) is an interactive exhibit that responds to the spectator presence with a speaker mounted on an arm that rotates following the visitor movements. This project is a reminder of how human beings are attracted to technology, and of the vulnerable physical and emotional reactions they have towards technological power. Created by dutch artists De Nijs and Van der Helde, Spatial Sounds makes us aware of the links we ceaselessly create with sound-producing objects in our everyday life, and the influence those sounds have in our spatial perception. This exhibit will be shown in Lima thanks to the cöoperation of the Mondriaan Foundation from The Netherlands. On the other hand, peruvian artist Valentín Yoshimoto¹s rrrrrrrringtonarumori! is a system in which mobile phones properly become sound-producing machines. Yoshimoto presents us with a series of mobile phones and the public is invited to use them and to ³become² disc-jockeys by means of mixing and organizing musical sequences. The third part of ³Audiogeneradores² is Audiotránsito Reflex, an interactive installation that allows visitors of Centro Fundación Telefónica to hear the sound of their footsteps and watch the audio signals generated by their spatial location. This project, open to the public through September 30, consists of a platform crammed with contact microphones that record the passing public and project the sound waves produced by their footsteps. This installation has been created by Peruvian art collective Inaut. The second exhibition, ³Resistencias: Primeras vanguardias musicales en el Perú² (Resistances: The First Musical Avant-gardes in Peru) (October 4-November 8), will go back in Peruvian musical history, aiming to highlight its educational value and merit. It will showcase the avant-garde of an almost unknown Peruvian generation of artists that worked with foreign first-rate experimental musicians and have been in activity and producing works from the decade of 1950 up to the date. Invited artists Some of the most important names in the history of American and European experimental music from 1955 will take part in ³VIBRA: Audio Lima Experimental², among them: Charlemagne Palestine (USA), Pauline Oliveros (USA), Francisco López (Spain) and the group Black Dice (USA). Together, they represent the most prominent of the experimental sound art scene in the world nowadays. ³VIBRA: Audio Lima Experimental² will also be organizing the ³Ciclo de interpretaciones de piezas peruanas contemporáneas² (Series of performances of contemporary Peruvian compositions), with pieces created by composers such as César Bolaños and Celso Garrido Lecca. Performers include musicians from the local scene, such as José Javier Castro, Carlos García (Carlangas), Valentín Yoshimoto, Renzo Gianella and Renzo Filinch. The concerts will take place in October and November. The works by the invited artists range from post-industrial music to radical neo-modernist subjective listening, from electro-acoustic to electronica, also including minimalism and primitivism. Besides playing for the first time a series of concerts in Lima ‹in different parts of the city‹, they will share their knowledge by conducting workshops and lecturing about their creative process, all of which will allow the public to take a deeper, more thoughtful look, into sound art. The festival will take place over three months at Centro Fundación Telefónica, open Monday to Saturday from 12.00 to 21.00 (Wednesdays closed), and Sundays from 12.00 to 19.00. Access to all activities is free of charge (limited capacity). Centro Fundación Telefónica can also be reached at http://centro.fundaciontelefonica.org.pe/. ---> Spanish Por primera vez en el Peru se presenta un festival de arte sonoro contemporáneo.... CENTRO FUNDACIÓN TELEFÓNICA Y ATA PRESENTAN ³VIBRA: AUDIO LIMA EXPERIMENTAL² € El festival comprenderá exhibiciones, conciertos, conferencias y talleres durante los meses de agosto, setiembre, octubre y noviembre. € La meta es hacer de Lima un centro de experiencias de audio y documentación sonora que difunda y relacione diferentes modos de escuchar en el mundo que nos rodea. € Las actividades girarán en torno a la importancia del sonido en nuestras vidas y en la creación artística. € El curador del festival y de sus actividades es el reconocido crítico de arte Jorge Villacorta. El Centro Fundación Telefónica y Alta Tecnología Andina presentan el Festival ³VIBRA: Audio Lima Experimental², primera gran manifestación dedicada al arte sonoro contemporáneo realizada en nuestra capital, que acogerá exhibiciones, conciertos, conferencias y talleres durante los meses de agosto, setiembre, octubre y noviembre. El curador del festival y de sus actividades es el crítico de arte Jorge Villacorta. ³VIBRA: Audio Lima Experimental² convertirá a Lima en un centro de experiencias de audio y documentación sonora que difunda y relacione modos de escuchar dentro del universo que nos rodea. Las actividades del festival girarán en torno a revelar la importancia del sonido en nuestras vidas así como en la creación artística, y reforzarán el concepto de arte, ciencia y nuevas tecnologías. Desde 1990, el arte sonoro en el mundo ha transformado las artes visuales con una nueva estética donde se funden la experiencia sensorial, pensamiento, acción, y creación de situaciones que involucran el movimiento y el espacio. Por ello, es imprescindible que por primera vez en nuestro país se desarrolle un festival de esta categoría con propuestas innovadoras. Además, en el ámbito educativo, ³VIBRA: Audio Lima Experimental² pondrá en marcha un programa de percepción, interacción y creación referente al sonido, con lo cual se pretende introducir al público infantil y escolar en las corrientes del arte y los nuevos medios. De esta manera, los niños podrán interactuar de manera lúdica con las piezas que se expondrán en el Centro Fundación Telefónica, y se les enseñará las diferentes manifestaciones del sonido en su entorno. Este proyecto educativo es parte del programa Arte para aprender que lleva a cabo la Fundación Telefónica en asociación con el Museo de Arte de Lima. De igual modo, el festival servirá de plataforma para las propuestas experimentales innovadoras, nacionales o extranjeras, que incorporan tecnologías digitales y relacionan sonido y video en acciones, intervenciones, instalaciones, además de propiciar situaciones sonoras participativas, que incluyen experiencias de escucha grupal. Esta manifestación en torno al sonido, como fuente de inspiración y de exploración creadora, planteará otras formas de comprender el arte. Exhibiciones del festival El Festival tendrá dos muestras principales, que se llevarán a cabo en la Sala Paréntesis del Centro Fundación Telefónica, y funcionarán como ejes del resto de actividades. La primera muestra, denominada ³Audiogeneradores² (del 23 de agosto al 20 de septiembre) comprende las instalaciones Spatial Sounds (Holanda), rrrrrrrringtonarumori! (Perú) y Audiotransito Reflex (Perú). Spatial Sounds (100dB at 100km/h) es una obra interactiva que responde a la presencia del espectador mediante un parlante montado sobre un brazo que rota dependiendo del movimiento del visitante. Este proyecto nos recuerda la atracción del hombre por la tecnología y la relación vulnerable física y emocional del ser ante el poder tecnológico. Spatial Sounds, de los artistas holandeses De Nijs y Van der Helde, nos muestra los vínculos cotidianos que constantemente podamos tener con objetos que producen sonidos y la influencia de estos sonidos en nuestra percepción del espacio. Esta pieza llega a Lima gracias a la colaboración de la Fundación Mondriaan de Holanda. Por otro lado, la instalación rrrrrrrringtonarumori! del artista peruano Valentín Yoshimoto, es un sistema en el que el teléfono celular se convierte explícitamente en una máquina de hacer sonidos. De este modo, Yoshimoto nos brinda una serie de teléfonos que invita al público asistente a manipularlos y a convertirse en DJ´s, mezclando y organizando secuencias musicales. La tercera parte de ³Audiogeneradores² es Audiotránsito Reflex, instalación interactiva en la que los visitantes al Centro Fundación Telefónica pueden oír el sonido de sus pasos y ver las señales de audio que se generan por su ubicación en el espacio. Este proyecto, que está a disposición del público hasta 30 de setiembre, consiste en un tabladillo plagado de micrófonos de contacto que registra al público que lo atraviesa y proyecta las ondas sonoras producidas por sus pasos. Esta instalación ha sido creada por el colectivo peruano Inaut. La segunda muestra ³Resistencias: Primeras vanguardias musicales en el Perú² (del 4 de octubre al 8 de noviembre), resaltará el fin educativo y de valorización de nuestra historia musical, poniendo en vitrina la vanguardia peruana de una generación poco conocida, que alternó con músicos experimentales extranjeros de primer nivel, y que ha desarrollado trabajos desde los años 50 hasta la fecha. Artistas invitados al festival ³VIBRA: Audio Lima Experimental² contará con la participación de algunos de los representantes más importantes de la historia de la música experimental de Norteamérica y de Europa desde 1955, como Charlemagne Palestine (E.E.U.U), Pauline Oliveros (E.E.U.U), Francisco López (España), y el grupo Black Dice (E.E.U.U), quienes caracterizan lo más notable del arte sonoro experimental de la actualidad mundial. Por el lado nacional, VIBRA: Audio Lima Experimental contará con el ³Ciclo de interpretaciones de piezas peruanas contemporáneas² de músicos como César Bolaños y Celso Garrido Lecca. Las versiones estarán a cargo de músicos de la escena local como José Javier Castro, Carlos García (Carlangas), Valentín Yoshimoto, Renzo Gianella y Renzo Filinch. El ciclo de conciertos se llevará a cabo en los meses de octubre y noviembre. Las obras de los artistas invitados abarcan de lo post-industrial a la escucha subjetiva radical neomodernista, de lo electroacústico a lo electrónico, así como el minimalismo y el primitivismo. Además de ofrecer por primera vez en Lima una serie de conciertos en diferentes espacios de la ciudad, compartirán sus conocimientos, conducirán talleres y dictarán conferencias sobre su proceso de creación, que profundizará al público en el arte sonoro. El Festival se realizará durante tres meses en el Centro Fundación Telefónica, el cual está abierto al servicio de la comunidad de lunes a sábado de 12.00 m. a 9.00 p.m. (a excepción del miércoles que está cerrado) y los domingos de 12.00 m. a 7.00 p.m. El ingreso para todas las actividades es gratuito y la capacidad limitada. Además, se puede acceder al Centro a través de http://centro.fundaciontelefonica.org.pe/ From mail at shivamvij.com Mon Sep 4 01:40:46 2006 From: mail at shivamvij.com (Shivam Vij) Date: Mon, 4 Sep 2006 01:40:46 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Youth for Equality joins hands with ABVP Message-ID: <9c06aab30609031310g3c766ad0hdbefb80a9f02ec21@mail.gmail.com> Aye Bee Vee Pee! The same guys who just murdered a professor in Ujjain. The same guys who grow up at about 45 years of age to join the BJP, after they've done enough of their akharay-baaji at RSS shakhas. Who learn the chemistry of hate in the laboratory of the university. Brilliant. Youth for Equality - whoever they are and whatever they stand for, for it's always unclear - have shown their true colours. Transperancy always helps. best s ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Youth for equality < youthforequality.du at gmail.com> Date: 04-Sep-2006 01:02 Subject: YOUTH FOR EQUALITY EXTENDS ITS CONDITIONAL SUPPORT TO ABVP IN DUSU POLL Dear Friends Youth For Equality as you all know is not a political but social organization working on the ideologies of Mahatma Gandhi, Pt Nehru ,Rajiv Gandhi and Dr B.R.Ambedkar who wanted reservations only for a short period of time and for a minority of seats .Our aim is to create Equality for all citizens of India while preserving merit. Hence we support affirmative Action and Reservation for Sc/Sts and economically weaker sections of all caste. We support the criteria of hunger and deprivation where caste beyond SC /St is not a class in itself. We of course could not contest since the nominations were over and politics is not our concern. Yet in view of the challenge thrown to us we sent a questionnaire to all Political Parties contesting the DUSU election. NSUI declined to state that they are contesting the election on the main issue of reservation and asking for votes in name of Reservation. They seem to be scared of its repercussions. None of the other parties also responded to us. The only party, which responded to our query, was ABVP. They said; 1) We support caste-based reservations. 2) We support a nation wide survey and a white paper on reservation 3) We support affirmative action on basis of economic criteria. 4) Exclusion of creamy layer Of course our ideologies don't match. However: ABVP did become a part of the debate we started. And they have adequately supported our demand for a white paper, which will pave way for non-political review committee to know the actual ground reality and the truth. ABVP has also supported the exclusion of creamy layer ABVP has also supported affirmative action on basis of economic criteria. Based on these points we have decided to give conditional support to ABVP. We don't extend unconditional support to them neither agree with their ideology. But we issue just point-based support to them on these issues as among the choices we find their approach to be most reasonable. We however reiterate that we are fighting for an "ideal" and we are not concerned with the political result. WE might want ABVP to win and nothing more. Best of luck to ABVP. Again we retieriate that we don't agree on all issues and ideological points. Youth For Equality FOR QUERIES PLEASE CONTACT ON ; 9810404037, 9871844031 - -- www.shivamvij.com From meenakshie.verma at gmail.com Mon Sep 4 07:42:17 2006 From: meenakshie.verma at gmail.com (Meenakshie Verma) Date: Sun, 3 Sep 2006 22:12:17 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] A talk Message-ID: <3997c4960609031912g4c569768w9d05ce1efe5f2f10@mail.gmail.com> Dear all, Centre for Psychoanalytic Studies, University of Delhi has organised a talk by Psychonanlyst Dr. Salman Akhtar on Ram Rahim and Sigmund Freud: A Psychoanalytical perspective on Hindu Muslim Relations. At Stein Auditorium, Indian Habitat Centre on Wdnesday, 6th september at 6.45 p.m. Dr. Salman Akhtar is Professor of Psychiatry at Jefferson Medical School, Lecturer on Psychiatry at Harvard medical School, and training and Supervising Analyst at the Philadelphia Psychoanalytic Institute. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060903/d16a6019/attachment.html From aarti at sarai.net Mon Sep 4 11:02:14 2006 From: aarti at sarai.net (Aarti Sethi) Date: Mon, 4 Sep 2006 11:02:14 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] On The Move: Mixed Media Installation/Performance Message-ID: <61529F68-AFF9-4550-B757-2C848BEA07C4@sarai.net> ================================= Artists Presentation @ Sarai: On the Move ================================= On the Move: A mixed-media performance-installation Budhaditya Chattopadyay and Julia Milberger 6:00 P.M, Tuesday, 5 September 2006 Interface Zone, Sarai-CSDS One the Move is a mixed-media installation-performance of black and white photographs shot at the Calcutta railway station, a video loop and live sound. By juxtaposing three related but distinct formal registers, the artists create an immersive sound and video environment, and open up a range of associational possibilities for the viewer. _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From venzha at yahoo.com Mon Sep 4 00:01:27 2006 From: venzha at yahoo.com (venzha christ) Date: Sun, 3 Sep 2006 11:31:27 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] the DANUBE tele lectures In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20060903183128.14419.qmail@web32712.mail.mud.yahoo.com> http://www.donau-uni.ac.at/en/studium/fachabteilungen/kultur/zentren/zbw/veranstaltungen/archiv/06846/index.php live streaming in Yogyakarta, Indonesia www.natural-fiber.com/news_danube.html http://www.natural-fiber.com/news_danube.html the house of natural fiber, yogyakarta new media art laboratory www.natural-fiber.com the DANUBE TELE LECTURES Danube University Krems, Department of Cultural Studies 6 + 7 sept 2006, 1.30 AM at RamaNet, Seturan 14, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 5 + 6 sept 2006, 7.30 PM at Kino im Kesselhaus (Cinema), Österreichische Filmgalerie (Austrian Film Gallery), Austria Early September the Center for Image Science/Department of Applied Cultural Studies at Danube University Krems, under the direction of Univ.-Prof. Dr. Oliver Grau, will start a new international lecture series with prominent scientists of our time. The lectures will be presented worldwide by live online streaming technology. September 5: "DOES THE WEST STILL EXIST?" Presentations by and debate with Sarat Maharaj and Machiko Kusahara Hollywood, computer games, net and media art, micromovies, new devices images are undergoing a new internationalization never known before, and are increasingly being charged as a vehicle of ideologies and worldview. Seemingly bygone clashes between image opponents and image believers are reanimated in contemporary media to include all areas of art, science, politics and economy - now on a global scale. Can we still speak of images of the west today? Do we witness the arousal of a global visual language enriched universally by the various cultures, or are we at the brink of an ‘image war’, representing extremes between the old and new economic powers and their visual culture? September 6: “PYGMALION TENDENCIES: Bioart and its Precursors” Presentations by and debate with Gunalan Nadajaran and Jens Hauser Art and the natural sciences are forming a new interconnection that is closer than in past centuries. Recent developments in art such as Bioart, Techno-art, Genetic or Transgenic Art bring artists into the scientific laboratories and carry their visions to the general public. Not only do artists work cross-pollinated, they also create new creatures, frequently revealing spectacular spaces of reflection on new possibilities. International experts discuss these tensions oscillating between body and nature on one hand and artificial life and illusion on the other - none the least, in their historical contexts. the house of natural fiber, yogyakarta new media art laboratory info and contact : venzha mobile 0817468621 fax 0274 564276 venzha at natural-fiber.com venzha at yahoo.com www.natural-fiber.com venzha the house of natural fiber yogyakarta new media art laboratory perum soragan permai no 6 soragan - yogyakarta indonesia T : +62 (0) 817468621 F : +62 (0) 274 564276 E : venzha at yahoo.com venzha at natural-fiber.com URL : http://www.natural-fiber.com --------------------------------- Get your own web address for just $1.99/1st yr. We'll help. Yahoo! Small Business. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060903/a5bd5280/attachment.html From aarti at sarai.net Mon Sep 4 11:04:44 2006 From: aarti at sarai.net (Aarti Sethi) Date: Mon, 4 Sep 2006 11:04:44 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Seminar @ Sarai: Carol Upadhya - Reinventing India in the New Global Economy: Negotiation of Identity in The Software Outsourcing Industry Message-ID: <5B8DFFFF-935C-453D-83BE-CA9D40DB353C@sarai.net> ================================================ Seminar @ Sarai: Urban Cultures and Politics Seminar Series ================================================ Reinventing India in the new global economy: Negotiation of identity in the software outsourcing industry a talk by Carol Upadhya National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore and screening of film July Boys: New Global Players by Gautam Sontiin collaboration with Carol Upadhya 4:30 P.M. Wednesday, 6 September 2006Sarai-CSDS Seminar Room Drawing on research carried out over the last two years on the IT industry in Bangalore and on IT workers, the presentation focuses on questions of identity formation, subjectivity, and construction of the self among this category of global ‘knowledge workers’. Actors in the outsourcing industry occupy a range of positions in the workplace and in the global economy, which appear to be central in the shaping and structuring of their identities and sense of self – especially as cultural categories such as ‘Indian’ and ‘global’ are being reformulated and deployed in these new corporate workplaces. The presentation draws on software engineers’ narratives about their work experiences, and their feelings of belonging, alienation, and cultural identity, to point to the contradictory and multiple ways in which social identities are being restructured in this context. This theme will be illustrated by the film, ‘July Boys’. July Boys: New Global Players (part of the film series ‘Coding Culture: Bangalore’s Software Industry’) by Gautam Sonti in collaboration with Carol Upadhya The Indian software outsourcing industry has emerged as a key node of the global economy and the leading edge of globalisation in India. The series of films, ‘Coding Culture’, explores the culture of outsourced work and the moulding of a new workforce to cater to this global high-tech services industry. July Boys focuses on a small ‘startup’ company in Bangalore that designs and produces software products for cellular service providers in Europe and the U.S. Turning the tables on the usual outsourcing story, July Systems has leveraged U.S.-based venture capital and Indian technical expertise to break into the latest high-tech markets. The film explores the creation of a Silicon Valley-style work culture within this ‘cross-border’ company that has one leg in Bangalore and the other in Santa Clara, California. It also highlights the emergence of new kinds of identities (global, transnational, cosmopolitan) that incorporate and transcend pre-existing identities such as the national (Indian) and the regional (Tamil). But the narratives of the film’s characters reveal a tension between their assumed global subjectivity and their nationalist pride in July’s achievements as a company founded and run by Indians that makes ‘cutting edge products’ for the global market. [Carol Upadhya is a social anthropologist and is currently a Fellow in Sociology and Social Anthropology at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore (NIAS). For more than three years she has been researching various aspects of the IT industry and IT workforce in Bangalore.] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060904/f15013a6/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From aesthete at mail.jnu.ac.in Tue Sep 5 13:18:43 2006 From: aesthete at mail.jnu.ac.in (Dean School of Arts and Aesthetics) Date: Tue, 05 Sep 2006 13:18:43 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Storytelling performance at SAA Message-ID: <1157442523.8ddd78a0aesthete@mail.jnu.ac.in> The School of Arts and Aesthetics cordially invites you to Tilism-i-Hoshruba, or the Empire of Enchantments: a presentation of dastangoi, or the lost form of Urdu Storytelling in a brilliant revival by Mahmood Farooqui and Danish Husain on Friday, September 8, 2006 at the Auditorium, School of Arts and Aesthetics JNU at 4:30 pm ============================================== 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 hpp at vsnl.com Tue Sep 5 14:30:12 2006 From: hpp at vsnl.com (hpp at vsnl.com) Date: Tue, 05 Sep 2006 14:00:12 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] WINSTON CHURCHILL ON ISLAM Message-ID: Dear Friends Yesterday I came upon something posted on the blog http://groundzerotomajortom.blogmilitant.com/ This was a quote from Winston Churchill, about Islam. As the blog is in French, I could'nt make out what the stance of the blogger was. I suspect s/he is an Islamophobe! Though I found the purported view of Churchill highly offensive, nonetheless it is very revealing, and provides some insight on various subjects. I am reminded of something a former IAS officer and well-known (Hindi)writer once told me: "The Koran is a manual of terrorism". You see what you are! Best V Ramaswamy Calcutta cuckooscall.blogspot.com ............. "How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property, either as a child, a wife, or a concubine, must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men. Individual Moslems may show splendid qualities, but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilization of ancient Rome." Sir Winston Churchill (The River War, first edition, Vol. II, pages 248-50 (London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1899). From vrjogi at hotmail.com Wed Sep 6 10:56:56 2006 From: vrjogi at hotmail.com (Vedavati Jogi) Date: Wed, 06 Sep 2006 05:26:56 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Youth for Equality joins hands with ABVP In-Reply-To: <9c06aab30609031310g3c766ad0hdbefb80a9f02ec21@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: if you hold all abvp members responsible for murdering a professor, if you feel rss is responsible for assasination of gandhiji because nathuram happened to be the member of rss, then you must accept that whole muslim community is responsible for the partition of our motherland. vedavati >From: "Shivam Vij" >To: "sarai list" , "anoop kumar" > >Subject: [Reader-list] Youth for Equality joins hands with ABVP >Date: Mon, 4 Sep 2006 01:40:46 +0530 > >Aye Bee Vee Pee! The same guys who just murdered a professor in >Ujjain. The same guys who grow up at about 45 years of age to join the >BJP, after they've done enough of their akharay-baaji at RSS shakhas. >Who learn the chemistry of hate in the laboratory of the university. > >Brilliant. Youth for Equality - whoever they are and whatever they >stand for, for it's always unclear - have shown their true colours. >Transperancy always helps. > >best >s > >---------- Forwarded message ---------- >From: Youth for equality < youthforequality.du at gmail.com> >Date: 04-Sep-2006 01:02 >Subject: YOUTH FOR EQUALITY EXTENDS ITS CONDITIONAL SUPPORT TO ABVP IN DUSU >POLL > > >Dear Friends > > > >Youth For Equality as you all know is not a political but social >organization working on the ideologies of Mahatma Gandhi, Pt Nehru >,Rajiv Gandhi and Dr B.R.Ambedkar who wanted reservations only for a >short period of time and for a minority of seats .Our aim is to create >Equality for all citizens of India while preserving merit. Hence we >support affirmative Action and Reservation for Sc/Sts and >economically weaker sections of all caste. We support the criteria >of hunger and deprivation where caste beyond SC /St is not a class in >itself. > >We of course could not contest since the nominations were over and >politics is not our concern. Yet in view of the challenge thrown to us >we sent a questionnaire to all Political Parties contesting the DUSU >election. NSUI declined to state that they are contesting the election >on the main issue of reservation and asking for votes in name of >Reservation. They seem to be scared of its repercussions. None of the >other parties also responded to us. The only party, which responded to >our query, was ABVP. They said; > >1) We support caste-based reservations. >2) We support a nation wide survey and a white paper on reservation >3) We support affirmative action on basis of economic criteria. >4) Exclusion of creamy layer > >Of course our ideologies don't match. However: > >ABVP did become a part of the debate we started. And they have >adequately supported our demand for a white paper, which will pave way >for non-political review committee to know the actual ground reality >and the truth. > >ABVP has also supported the exclusion of creamy layer > >ABVP has also supported affirmative action on basis of economic criteria. > >Based on these points we have decided to give conditional support to >ABVP. We don't extend unconditional support to them neither agree with >their ideology. But we issue just point-based support to them on these >issues as among the choices we find their approach to be most >reasonable. We however reiterate that we are fighting for an "ideal" >and we are not concerned with the political result. WE might want ABVP >to win and nothing more. Best of luck to ABVP. Again we retieriate >that we don't agree on all issues and ideological points. > >Youth For Equality > > > >FOR QUERIES PLEASE CONTACT ON ; > >9810404037, 9871844031 > > > > > > > > > >- -- >www.shivamvij.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. >To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From machine at zerosofzeta.com Wed Sep 6 13:32:43 2006 From: machine at zerosofzeta.com (Yogesh Girdhar) Date: Wed, 6 Sep 2006 13:32:43 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Youth for Equality joins hands with ABVP In-Reply-To: References: <9c06aab30609031310g3c766ad0hdbefb80a9f02ec21@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <1d804b40609060102u1daa776aid881a4174217d477@mail.gmail.com> I dont think your arguments hold Vedavati. Here the "LEADER" of ABVP was booked for the murder. And I think be definition, whatever a leader does is representative of everybody following him/her. -Yogi On 9/6/06, Vedavati Jogi wrote: > if you hold all abvp members responsible for murdering a professor, if you > feel rss is responsible for assasination of gandhiji because nathuram > happened to be the member of rss, then you must accept that whole muslim > community is responsible for the partition of our motherland. > > vedavati > > > >From: "Shivam Vij" > >To: "sarai list" , "anoop kumar" > > > >Subject: [Reader-list] Youth for Equality joins hands with ABVP > >Date: Mon, 4 Sep 2006 01:40:46 +0530 > > > >Aye Bee Vee Pee! The same guys who just murdered a professor in > >Ujjain. The same guys who grow up at about 45 years of age to join the > >BJP, after they've done enough of their akharay-baaji at RSS shakhas. > >Who learn the chemistry of hate in the laboratory of the university. > > > >Brilliant. Youth for Equality - whoever they are and whatever they > >stand for, for it's always unclear - have shown their true colours. > >Transperancy always helps. > > > >best > >s > > > >---------- Forwarded message ---------- > >From: Youth for equality < youthforequality.du at gmail.com> > >Date: 04-Sep-2006 01:02 > >Subject: YOUTH FOR EQUALITY EXTENDS ITS CONDITIONAL SUPPORT TO ABVP IN DUSU > >POLL > > > > > >Dear Friends > > > > > > > >Youth For Equality as you all know is not a political but social > >organization working on the ideologies of Mahatma Gandhi, Pt Nehru > >,Rajiv Gandhi and Dr B.R.Ambedkar who wanted reservations only for a > >short period of time and for a minority of seats .Our aim is to create > >Equality for all citizens of India while preserving merit. Hence we > >support affirmative Action and Reservation for Sc/Sts and > >economically weaker sections of all caste. We support the criteria > >of hunger and deprivation where caste beyond SC /St is not a class in > >itself. > > > >We of course could not contest since the nominations were over and > >politics is not our concern. Yet in view of the challenge thrown to us > >we sent a questionnaire to all Political Parties contesting the DUSU > >election. NSUI declined to state that they are contesting the election > >on the main issue of reservation and asking for votes in name of > >Reservation. They seem to be scared of its repercussions. None of the > >other parties also responded to us. The only party, which responded to > >our query, was ABVP. They said; > > > >1) We support caste-based reservations. > >2) We support a nation wide survey and a white paper on reservation > >3) We support affirmative action on basis of economic criteria. > >4) Exclusion of creamy layer > > > >Of course our ideologies don't match. However: > > > >ABVP did become a part of the debate we started. And they have > >adequately supported our demand for a white paper, which will pave way > >for non-political review committee to know the actual ground reality > >and the truth. > > > >ABVP has also supported the exclusion of creamy layer > > > >ABVP has also supported affirmative action on basis of economic criteria. > > > >Based on these points we have decided to give conditional support to > >ABVP. We don't extend unconditional support to them neither agree with > >their ideology. But we issue just point-based support to them on these > >issues as among the choices we find their approach to be most > >reasonable. We however reiterate that we are fighting for an "ideal" > >and we are not concerned with the political result. WE might want ABVP > >to win and nothing more. Best of luck to ABVP. Again we retieriate > >that we don't agree on all issues and ideological points. > > > >Youth For Equality > > > > > > > >FOR QUERIES PLEASE CONTACT ON ; > > > >9810404037, 9871844031 > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >- -- > >www.shivamvij.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. > >To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > >List archive: > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: From patrice at xs4all.nl Wed Sep 6 16:19:06 2006 From: patrice at xs4all.nl (Patrice Riemens) Date: Wed, 6 Sep 2006 12:49:06 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] fyi: AAG meet in San Francisco: Call for Papers/ INURA Message-ID: <20060906104906.GB19848@xs4all.nl> Bwo of the http://www.inura.org list ----- Forwarded message from Roger Keil ----- Date: Tue, 5 Sep 2006 23:35:47 -0400 From: Roger Keil Subject: aag in san francisco To: INURA at YORKU.CA The next meetings of the Association of American Geographers will be in San Francisco, April 17-21, 2007. Here is a call for papers for a panel we are planning to organize. AAG CFP: Infrastructure and Vulnerability in the In-Between City Urban morphology around the world has moved beyond traditional forms of downtown core and suburban sprawl. As Tom Sieverts has noted, much urban growth falls somewhere in between, in the spaces found literally between downtown and suburb, between the city and greenspaces, in areas dominated by large investments in major infrastructure, such as highways, airports, amusement parks, industrial parks. Despite such investment, residential pockets within this landscape are frequently underserviced and socially excluded. What is the relationship between the city's built landscape and its social landscape in these areas? How are these landscapes factors in the production of vulnerability to the effects of natural disaster, economic crisis and social upheaval? Papers on these issues in any city are welcome. Please send contact info and an abstract to either Tricia Wood (pwood at yorku.ca) or Roger Keil (rkeil at yorku.ca) by Sept. 30. - -- Roger Keil Director The City Institute at York University (CITY) http://www.yorku.ca/city http://www.yorku.ca/fes/faculty/keil/index.asp http://www.yorku.ca/sars2003 Co-editor The International Journal of Urban and Regional Research ((IJURR) http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0309-1317 - ----- End forwarded message ----- From rana at ranadasgupta.com Thu Sep 7 09:12:52 2006 From: rana at ranadasgupta.com (Rana Dasgupta) Date: Thu, 07 Sep 2006 09:12:52 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Are Cities Good For Creativity? Message-ID: <44FF953C.5070202@ranadasgupta.com> http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/freethinkingworld/2006/09/are_cities_good_for_creativity.shtml I want to approach this question by thinking about a related, and in some ways opposite, one. "Are internment camps good for creativity?" In some respects, though not all, the internment camp can be seen as the opposite, the alter ego, of the city. We can think of Auschwitz and New York inhabiting opposite ends of the American moral-spatial spectrum in the second half of the twentieth century (which is partly why the events of 9/11 had such a profound resonance). Yesterday my neighbour came to my door to show me the diary of one of his relatives, a Sikh fom Punjab who had fought in the British army in the second world war, and who was captured and interned in a prisoner-of-war camp. The man was a talented artist and draughtsman, and had filled his notebook with drawings of camp scenes. Men sunbathing in front of barracks, playing hockey, putting on theatrical performances. He wrote accounts of the camp's economy (with "one English cigarette" as the basic unit of currency) and stuck in newspaper clippings of Mussolini's death etc. His fellow camp inmates, among them Eric Newby, wrote poems and comments in the book, and painted pictures of "Jit Singh, the Indian painter" at his canvass. These comments bore witness to a deep intimacy and appreciation between the American, British, Canadian, French - and Indian - men who found themselves together. This diary put me in mind of the internment camp on the Isle of Man during the same period. Many German and Italian nationals resident in the UK were interned there in 1940, and a large proportion of these were central European Jews who had arrived in England to flee Nazism. They lived in great fear, believing that Hitler might soon invade the UK and that this enclosure might be one of his first targets. But the camp was full of Jewish artists and intellectuals, and nothing could stop the inevitable. Within weeks of their internment, there were camp newspapers, weekly lectures on nuclear physics, and regular concerts. Three members of the future Amadeus Quartet, all from Vienna, met in the camp. The quartet was founded in London immediately after the war, and endured until the death of violist Peter Schidlof in 1987. The Viennese composer Hans Gál was interned there, and wrote several works there. Perhaps readers know of other internees. (See also the fascinating story - http://www.therestisnoise.com/2004/04/quartet_for_the_2.html - of Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time, written in the Stalag VIIIA prisoner-of-war camp in Germany.) In many respects these camps were similar to cities. They inherited the civic cultures of places like Paris, Berlin and Vienna, and they brought together people from different backgrounds, with different skills and interests. But in other ways they were quite different. The notion of time was completely different, for the onward rush of urban time was taken away, and what was left was time as a still pool. Death was more proximate than in the cities (from which it had been exiled), and this gave a gravity, an earnestness, to conversation. Creativity is one of the qualities that most reassures us about our humanity. What do the outbursts of creativity in internment camps, and even death camps, mean for our thinking about cities? Do they display the fortitude of urban culture, which continues unabashed even in such terrible circumstances? Or do they remind us that creativity is somehow linked to those things that cities are most concerned to stamp out - death and inactivity - and that sometimes it may be in the most unlikely places that the most astonishing human creations arise? From hpp at vsnl.com Thu Sep 7 12:07:22 2006 From: hpp at vsnl.com (hpp at vsnl.com) Date: Thu, 07 Sep 2006 06:37:22 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] Are Cities Good For Creativity? Message-ID: Thanks Rana for this interesting and vivid reflection. It brought to mind the stories I heard from some of my friends who had been in prison (in Calcutta and in other places in West Bengal) in the late-60s - early 70s, for "naxalite" activities. There were people of various kinds of backgrounds in this lot: from physically strong action types, to intellectuals and the metaphysically inclined, poets, singers, theater activists, with several other kinds in between. A kind of congealed residue of many strands and streams of anti-establishment-ism, leftism, communisim, Stalinism and Maoism, sharing between them a good chunk of the history of protest and movement in Bengal, and its cultural expressions. There were several sub-groups, some of whom stayed aloof from each other, on ideological and ego considerations, with acerbic things to say about each other. (Interestingly, I had friends in some "opposing" groups, and enjoyed their confidence, so I could hear each one's versions about the others). And there were also (supposed?) police informers. Classes, lectures and study sessions took place. (One friend, an organic intellectual, told me about what he had read of David Ricardo the 18th century English political economist, besides the works of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, Mao). It seemed to me all kinds of ego-driven games were being played out by and among these people. Educated, middle-class, intellectually-oriented people sometimes had a patronising - though comradely convivial -attitude to people of more humble backgrounds. And among the latter, there were those who suffered their so-called inadequacies vis-a-vis the former, and everything about them was only a means to assert that they were as intellectually capable as the former. This worked vis-a-vis some weaker personalities among the educated, but was kept in check vis-a-vis those who were empowered enough to not feel any threat from the upwardly-aspiring humbles. Thanks for your eye-ball / ear! Best V Ramaswamy Calcutta cuckooscall.blogspot.com From vnr1995 at gmail.com Wed Sep 6 19:02:26 2006 From: vnr1995 at gmail.com (vnr1995) Date: Wed, 6 Sep 2006 09:32:26 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Youth for Equality joins hands with ABVP In-Reply-To: References: <9c06aab30609031310g3c766ad0hdbefb80a9f02ec21@mail.gmail.com> <1d804b40609060102u1daa776aid881a4174217d477@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: That the leader represents members is known to everybody. The difference between a Vedavati and a Yogesh depends on the scope of 'to represent': a referential ambiguity. As an aside, it is funny that Shivam claims ABVP members are stupid. However, ABVP memebers don't believe that they are stupid. The onus is on Shivam to show why (a) ABVP members are stupid and why (b) ABVP members don't think they are stupid. One suck an adhoc explanation out of thumb, and convince 'his' followers. However, convincing-his-followers is independent of the adequacy, or the otherwise, of the explanation. The best way is to reply to me, sucumbing to another adhoc explanation: "hey, you are an ABVP supporter". This kind of remark is irrelevant to the question being raised. Best, Reddy, V. On 9/6/06, Yogesh Girdhar wrote: > > I dont think your arguments hold Vedavati. Here the "LEADER" of ABVP > was booked for the murder. And I think be definition, whatever a > leader does is representative of everybody following him/her. > -Yogi > > > On 9/6/06, Vedavati Jogi wrote: > > if you hold all abvp members responsible for murdering a professor, if > you > > feel rss is responsible for assasination of gandhiji because nathuram > > happened to be the member of rss, then you must accept that whole > muslim > > community is responsible for the partition of our motherland. > > > > vedavati > > > > > > >From: "Shivam Vij" < mail at shivamvij.com> > > >To: "sarai list" , "anoop kumar" > > >< anoopkheri at gmail.com> > > >Subject: [Reader-list] Youth for Equality joins hands with ABVP > > >Date: Mon, 4 Sep 2006 01:40:46 +0530 > > > > > >Aye Bee Vee Pee! The same guys who just murdered a professor in > > >Ujjain. The same guys who grow up at about 45 years of age to join the > > >BJP, after they've done enough of their akharay-baaji at RSS shakhas. > > >Who learn the chemistry of hate in the laboratory of the university. > > > > > >Brilliant. Youth for Equality - whoever they are and whatever they > > >stand for, for it's always unclear - have shown their true colours. > > >Transperancy always helps. > > > > > >best > > >s > > > > > >---------- Forwarded message ---------- > > >From: Youth for equality < youthforequality.du at gmail.com> > > >Date: 04-Sep-2006 01:02 > > >Subject: YOUTH FOR EQUALITY EXTENDS ITS CONDITIONAL SUPPORT TO ABVP IN > DUSU > > >POLL > > > > > > > > >Dear Friends > > > > > > > > > > > >Youth For Equality as you all know is not a political but social > > >organization working on the ideologies of Mahatma Gandhi, Pt Nehru > > >,Rajiv Gandhi and Dr B.R.Ambedkar who wanted reservations only for a > > >short period of time and for a minority of seats .Our aim is to create > > >Equality for all citizens of India while preserving merit. Hence we > > >support affirmative Action and Reservation for Sc/Sts and > > >economically weaker sections of all caste. We support the criteria > > >of hunger and deprivation where caste beyond SC /St is not a class in > > >itself. > > > > > >We of course could not contest since the nominations were over and > > >politics is not our concern. Yet in view of the challenge thrown to us > > >we sent a questionnaire to all Political Parties contesting the DUSU > > >election. NSUI declined to state that they are contesting the election > > >on the main issue of reservation and asking for votes in name of > > >Reservation. They seem to be scared of its repercussions. None of the > > >other parties also responded to us. The only party, which responded to > > >our query, was ABVP. They said; > > > > > >1) We support caste-based reservations. > > >2) We support a nation wide survey and a white paper on > reservation > > >3) We support affirmative action on basis of economic criteria. > > > >4) Exclusion of creamy layer > > > > > >Of course our ideologies don't match. However: > > > > > >ABVP did become a part of the debate we started. And they have > > >adequately supported our demand for a white paper, which will pave way > > >for non-political review committee to know the actual ground reality > > >and the truth. > > > > > >ABVP has also supported the exclusion of creamy layer > > > > > >ABVP has also supported affirmative action on basis of economic > criteria. > > > > > >Based on these points we have decided to give conditional support to > > >ABVP. We don't extend unconditional support to them neither agree with > > >their ideology. But we issue just point-based support to them on these > > >issues as among the choices we find their approach to be most > > >reasonable. We however reiterate that we are fighting for an "ideal" > > >and we are not concerned with the political result. WE might want ABVP > > >to win and nothing more. Best of luck to ABVP. Again we retieriate > > >that we don't agree on all issues and ideological points. > > > > > >Youth For Equality > > > > > > > > > > > >FOR QUERIES PLEASE CONTACT ON ; > > > > > >9810404037, 9871844031 > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >- -- > > >www.shivamvij.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. > > >To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > >List archive: > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: < https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > _________________________________________ > 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. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060906/b955f7d0/attachment.html From daisyhasan at yahoo.co.uk Thu Sep 7 08:42:34 2006 From: daisyhasan at yahoo.co.uk (Daisy Hasan) Date: Thu, 7 Sep 2006 04:12:34 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] reader-list Digest, Poetry Reading in Mumbai In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20060907031234.17778.qmail@web25414.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Dear All, This is on behalf of my sis. Friends in Mumbai please try and make it! Love - daisy. THE PEN ALL-INDIA CENTRE invites you, with your friends, to A Poetry Reading by ANJUM HASAN from her first collection, *Street on the Hill* (2006) Date: 11 September 2006 (Monday) Time: 6.15 pm Place: Theosophy Hall, 3rd floor (40 New Marine Lines, Churchgate, Bombay 400 020) * ALL ARE WELCOME * ANJUM HASAN'S poetry has appeared, over the last ten years, in various journals in India and abroad. Her poems have also appeared in two recent Penguin anthologies of Indian poetry and are next due to appear in The Norton Anthology of Contemporary Voices from the East. She also writes criticism and fiction. Her first novel – The Lunatic is in my Head – will be published by Zubaan-Penguin next year. Ms Hasan grew up in Shillong and took a Masters in philosophy from the North-eastern Hill University, Shillong. She has lived in Bangalore for the last eight years where she works at the India Foundation for the Arts. *Street on the Hill*, published by the Sahitya Akademi, is Ms Hasan's first book of poems. It is a closely observed and highly textured narrative about middle-class lives in a small town. Its early poems explore a childhood that is both starkly revealed and yet persistently enigmatic. The book then goes on to describe the characters who people the protagonist's world -- small-time shop-owners, 'men who run sweetshops in faded dark ties', nuns who teach in convent schools, pregnant women, knife-grinders, serene matriarchs, fugitives. The later poems are about flight and the significance of the 'museum of the past'. Inverting the rootedness depicted earlier in the book, these poems celebrate travel, love and the life of the senses. Ranjit Hoskote Hon. Secretary-Treasurer The PEN All-India Centre * Enquiries: india.pen at gmail.com --------------------------------- The all-new Yahoo! Mail goes wherever you go - free your email address from your Internet provider. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060907/9054fd4d/attachment.html From prem.cnt at gmail.com Thu Sep 7 14:33:00 2006 From: prem.cnt at gmail.com (Prem Chandavarkar) Date: Thu, 7 Sep 2006 14:33:00 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Are Cities Good For Creativity? In-Reply-To: <44FF953C.5070202@ranadasgupta.com> References: <44FF953C.5070202@ranadasgupta.com> Message-ID: <7e230b560609070203q45cb929bu4a7c96eb4be4462e@mail.gmail.com> If you go by the early writings on urbanism it would appear that cities are good for creativity. See the collection of essays edited by Richard Sennett - "Classic Essays on the Culture of Cities" - particularly the writings of Georg Simmel and Robert Park. Both pick up on the point that cities are the most cosmopolitan form of settlement, particularly cities from the industrial revolution onwards which are based on high levels of labour mobility and occupation patterns that are determined by economic rather than hereditary critieria. This makes it more difficult to force individuals to conform to a pre-determined code of behaviour, which creates new opportunities. Simmel argued that this creates an opportunity for man to turn away from society and turn inwards and introspect. This creates a new breed of monk whose role is to provide the innovative and creative thinking that is then thrown back into the surrounding crowd and becomes the source of social and cultural creativity. Park saw in the city the breeding ground for the avant garde, and went so far as to say that the role of the city is "to foreground the moral range of deviant behaviour". In some ways the internment camp also creates a version of Simmel's monk, but due to different causes. If the city creates the conditions through non-conformance, the internment camps does so through enforced and prolonged waiting. There are many examples of this besides the one you mentioned, and two of the most famous come from the extreme circumstances of World War Two concentration camps - Viktor Frankl's book "Man's Search for Meaning" and Jakow Trachtenberg's mathematical algorithms for speed calculations. While one could agree with Simmel and Park, their observations are contextual to a particular period of urbanism, and one could question whether the same conditions prevail in this era of cyber-connected globalisation. For example Jean Baudrillard identifies a type of person he calls the "schizo", whose psychological disturbance is not caused by distance and alienation (as would commonly be assumed) but by an overwhelming proximity to everything. Unable to distance himself, he has no sheltered space for reflection and is reduced to "pure screen - a switching centre for networks of influence". Or in this era of hyper branding, where brands are put forward as symbols of transcendence, everything gets dragged into the brand-sphere. History cannot exist, nostalgia is re-packaged and re-mixed and sold as retro. Protest music is not possible - a band like Nirvana has their imagery of rebellion branded and they sell millions of albums (the remark has been made that Kurt Cobain would not have killed himself if he had not sold so many records). Or architects such as Frank Gehry or Zaha Hadid, who at one stage in their careers deliberately positioned themselves as iconoclastic rebels; but are now seen as heroic figures whose services are sought by the mainstream establishment to construct iconic buildings that enable a city or company to globally brand itself. So if I respond intuitively to your question on whether cities are good for creativity, I would say that at one time 'definitely yes', but at this point in time I am not at all sure. PC On 07/09/06, Rana Dasgupta wrote: > > > http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/freethinkingworld/2006/09/are_cities_good_for_creativity.shtml > > I want to approach this question by thinking about a related, and in > some ways opposite, one. "Are internment camps good for creativity?" In > some respects, though not all, the internment camp can be seen as the > opposite, the alter ego, of the city. We can think of Auschwitz and New > York inhabiting opposite ends of the American moral-spatial spectrum in > the second half of the twentieth century (which is partly why the events > of 9/11 had such a profound resonance). > > Yesterday my neighbour came to my door to show me the diary of one of > his relatives, a Sikh fom Punjab who had fought in the British army in > the second world war, and who was captured and interned in a > prisoner-of-war camp. The man was a talented artist and draughtsman, and > had filled his notebook with drawings of camp scenes. Men sunbathing in > front of barracks, playing hockey, putting on theatrical performances. > He wrote accounts of the camp's economy (with "one English cigarette" as > the basic unit of currency) and stuck in newspaper clippings of > Mussolini's death etc. His fellow camp inmates, among them Eric Newby, > wrote poems and comments in the book, and painted pictures of "Jit > Singh, the Indian painter" at his canvass. These comments bore witness > to a deep intimacy and appreciation between the American, British, > Canadian, French - and Indian - men who found themselves together. > > This diary put me in mind of the internment camp on the Isle of Man > during the same period. Many German and Italian nationals resident in > the UK were interned there in 1940, and a large proportion of these were > central European Jews who had arrived in England to flee Nazism. > > They lived in great fear, believing that Hitler might soon invade the UK > and that this enclosure might be one of his first targets. But the camp > was full of Jewish artists and intellectuals, and nothing could stop the > inevitable. Within weeks of their internment, there were camp > newspapers, weekly lectures on nuclear physics, and regular concerts. > > Three members of the future Amadeus Quartet, all from Vienna, met in the > camp. The quartet was founded in London immediately after the war, and > endured until the death of violist Peter Schidlof in 1987. The Viennese > composer Hans Gál was interned there, and wrote several works there. > Perhaps readers know of other internees. > > (See also the fascinating story - > > http://www.therestisnoise.com/2004/04/quartet_for_the_2.html > > - of Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time, written in the Stalag VIIIA > prisoner-of-war camp in Germany.) > > In many respects these camps were similar to cities. They inherited the > civic cultures of places like Paris, Berlin and Vienna, and they brought > together people from different backgrounds, with different skills and > interests. But in other ways they were quite different. The notion of > time was completely different, for the onward rush of urban time was > taken away, and what was left was time as a still pool. Death was more > proximate than in the cities (from which it had been exiled), and this > gave a gravity, an earnestness, to conversation. > > Creativity is one of the qualities that most reassures us about our > humanity. What do the outbursts of creativity in internment camps, and > even death camps, mean for our thinking about cities? Do they display > the fortitude of urban culture, which continues unabashed even in such > terrible circumstances? Or do they remind us that creativity is somehow > linked to those things that cities are most concerned to stamp out - > death and inactivity - and that sometimes it may be in the most unlikely > places that the most astonishing human creations arise? > _________________________________________ > 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. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060907/271ed099/attachment.html From pukar at pukar.org.in Thu Sep 7 13:06:51 2006 From: pukar at pukar.org.in (PUKAR) Date: Thu, 7 Sep 2006 13:06:51 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] [announcements] Save the dates - 22 & 29 September Message-ID: <000e01c6d250$678f2990$0f66c2cb@freeda> Save the dates for two PUKAR events this month: I A discussion in Marathi on 'Across Barriers: Caste in Religions' Speakers: Abhijit Deshpande Prakash Almeida Date: Friday, 22nd September 2006 Time: 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM Venue: 1st floor, Shramik, Behind Yogi Hall, Near Dadar Station (East), Mumbai 14 II Screening of 'Q2P' (Documentary, 55 minutes, DV, English, Hindi) followed by discussion A film about public toilets and the city, directed by Paromita Vohra Produced by the PUKAR Gender & Space Project, funded by the Indo-Dutch Programme on Alternatives in Development (IDPAD) Date: Friday, 29th September 2006 Time: 6:30 PM onwards Venue: Max Mueller Bhawan Auditorium, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai 1 Detailed synopses of these events will follow. 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) 6574 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/20060907/1fcfb337/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From mail at shivamvij.com Thu Sep 7 17:14:53 2006 From: mail at shivamvij.com (Shivam Vij) Date: Thu, 7 Sep 2006 17:14:53 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Youth for Equality joins hands with ABVP In-Reply-To: References: <9c06aab30609031310g3c766ad0hdbefb80a9f02ec21@mail.gmail.com> <1d804b40609060102u1daa776aid881a4174217d477@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <9c06aab30609070444k418259c5wf73be5f5bf83a144@mail.gmail.com> hey, when did I say ABVP members are stupid? I think they are quite smart! Please read my mail again, and don't put words into my mouth. That's all I wish to say. On 9/6/06, vnr1995 wrote: > That the leader represents members is known to everybody. The difference > between a Vedavati and a Yogesh depends on the scope of 'to represent': a > referential ambiguity. > > As an aside, it is funny that Shivam claims ABVP members are stupid. > However, ABVP memebers don't believe that they are stupid. The onus is on > Shivam to show why (a) ABVP members are stupid and why (b) ABVP members > don't think they are stupid. One suck an adhoc explanation out of thumb, and > convince 'his' followers. However, convincing-his-followers is independent > of the adequacy, or the otherwise, of the explanation. > > The best way is to reply to me, sucumbing to another adhoc explanation: > "hey, you are an ABVP supporter". This kind of remark is irrelevant to the > question being raised. > > Best, > Reddy, V. > > > > > > On 9/6/06, Yogesh Girdhar wrote: > > > I dont think your arguments hold Vedavati. Here the "LEADER" of ABVP > was booked for the murder. And I think be definition, whatever a > leader does is representative of everybody following him/her. > -Yogi > > > On 9/6/06, Vedavati Jogi wrote: > > if you hold all abvp members responsible for murdering a professor, if you > > feel rss is responsible for assasination of gandhiji because nathuram > > happened to be the member of rss, then you must accept that whole muslim > > community is responsible for the partition of our motherland. > > > > vedavati > > > > > > >From: "Shivam Vij" < mail at shivamvij.com> > > >To: "sarai list" < reader-list at sarai.net>, "anoop kumar" > > >< anoopkheri at gmail.com> > > >Subject: [Reader-list] Youth for Equality joins hands with ABVP > > >Date: Mon, 4 Sep 2006 01:40:46 +0530 > > > > > >Aye Bee Vee Pee! The same guys who just murdered a professor in > > >Ujjain. The same guys who grow up at about 45 years of age to join the > > >BJP, after they've done enough of their akharay-baaji at RSS shakhas. > > >Who learn the chemistry of hate in the laboratory of the university. > > > > > >Brilliant. Youth for Equality - whoever they are and whatever they > > >stand for, for it's always unclear - have shown their true colours. > > >Transperancy always helps. > > > > > >best > > >s > > > > > >---------- Forwarded message ---------- > > >From: Youth for equality < youthforequality.du at gmail.com> > > >Date: 04-Sep-2006 01:02 > > >Subject: YOUTH FOR EQUALITY EXTENDS ITS CONDITIONAL SUPPORT TO ABVP IN > DUSU > > >POLL > > > > > > > > >Dear Friends > > > > > > > > > > > >Youth For Equality as you all know is not a political but social > > >organization working on the ideologies of Mahatma Gandhi, Pt Nehru > > >,Rajiv Gandhi and Dr B.R.Ambedkar who wanted reservations only for a > > >short period of time and for a minority of seats .Our aim is to create > > >Equality for all citizens of India while preserving merit. Hence we > > >support affirmative Action and Reservation for Sc/Sts and > > >economically weaker sections of all caste. We support the criteria > > >of hunger and deprivation where caste beyond SC /St is not a class in > > >itself. > > > > > >We of course could not contest since the nominations were over and > > >politics is not our concern. Yet in view of the challenge thrown to us > > >we sent a questionnaire to all Political Parties contesting the DUSU > > >election. NSUI declined to state that they are contesting the election > > >on the main issue of reservation and asking for votes in name of > > >Reservation. They seem to be scared of its repercussions. None of the > > >other parties also responded to us. The only party, which responded to > > >our query, was ABVP. They said; > > > > > >1) We support caste-based reservations. > > >2) We support a nation wide survey and a white paper on > reservation > > >3) We support affirmative action on basis of economic criteria. > > >4) Exclusion of creamy layer > > > > > >Of course our ideologies don't match. However: > > > > > >ABVP did become a part of the debate we started. And they have > > >adequately supported our demand for a white paper, which will pave way > > >for non-political review committee to know the actual ground reality > > >and the truth. > > > > > >ABVP has also supported the exclusion of creamy layer > > > > > >ABVP has also supported affirmative action on basis of economic criteria. > > > > > >Based on these points we have decided to give conditional support to > > >ABVP. We don't extend unconditional support to them neither agree with > > >their ideology. But we issue just point-based support to them on these > > >issues as among the choices we find their approach to be most > > >reasonable. We however reiterate that we are fighting for an "ideal" > > >and we are not concerned with the political result. WE might want ABVP > > >to win and nothing more. Best of luck to ABVP. Again we retieriate > > >that we don't agree on all issues and ideological points. > > > > > >Youth For Equality > > > > > > > > > > > >FOR QUERIES PLEASE CONTACT ON ; > > > > > >9810404037, 9871844031 > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >- -- > > >www.shivamvij.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. > > >To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > >List archive: > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: < > https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > _________________________________________ > 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. > To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: > <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > _________________________________________ > 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. > To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: > <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > -- Shivam Vij Delhi, India *new number* +91 98718 45627 mail at shivamvij.com www.shivamvij.com From machine at zerosofzeta.com Thu Sep 7 17:19:10 2006 From: machine at zerosofzeta.com (Yogesh Girdhar) Date: Thu, 7 Sep 2006 17:19:10 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Youth for Equality joins hands with ABVP In-Reply-To: References: <9c06aab30609031310g3c766ad0hdbefb80a9f02ec21@mail.gmail.com> <1d804b40609060102u1daa776aid881a4174217d477@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <1d804b40609070449q24cff539l49b1508932149dfa@mail.gmail.com> I don't know why would anybody not consider this within scope. If a leader murder's his wife because she was not faithful, then that is out of scope, however if he is a political leader and killing a professor for something relation with the elections, then the deed is professional and is representative of the entire group. -Yogi On 9/6/06, vnr1995 wrote: > That the leader represents members is known to everybody. The difference > between a Vedavati and a Yogesh depends on the scope of 'to represent': a > referential ambiguity. > > As an aside, it is funny that Shivam claims ABVP members are stupid. > However, ABVP memebers don't believe that they are stupid. The onus is on > Shivam to show why (a) ABVP members are stupid and why (b) ABVP members > don't think they are stupid. One suck an adhoc explanation out of thumb, and > convince 'his' followers. However, convincing-his-followers is independent > of the adequacy, or the otherwise, of the explanation. > > The best way is to reply to me, sucumbing to another adhoc explanation: > "hey, you are an ABVP supporter". This kind of remark is irrelevant to the > question being raised. > > Best, > Reddy, V. > > > > > > On 9/6/06, Yogesh Girdhar wrote: > > > I dont think your arguments hold Vedavati. Here the "LEADER" of ABVP > was booked for the murder. And I think be definition, whatever a > leader does is representative of everybody following him/her. > -Yogi > > > On 9/6/06, Vedavati Jogi wrote: > > if you hold all abvp members responsible for murdering a professor, if you > > feel rss is responsible for assasination of gandhiji because nathuram > > happened to be the member of rss, then you must accept that whole muslim > > community is responsible for the partition of our motherland. > > > > vedavati > > > > > > >From: "Shivam Vij" < mail at shivamvij.com> > > >To: "sarai list" , "anoop kumar" > > >< anoopkheri at gmail.com> > > >Subject: [Reader-list] Youth for Equality joins hands with ABVP > > >Date: Mon, 4 Sep 2006 01:40:46 +0530 > > > > > >Aye Bee Vee Pee! The same guys who just murdered a professor in > > >Ujjain. The same guys who grow up at about 45 years of age to join the > > >BJP, after they've done enough of their akharay-baaji at RSS shakhas. > > >Who learn the chemistry of hate in the laboratory of the university. > > > > > >Brilliant. Youth for Equality - whoever they are and whatever they > > >stand for, for it's always unclear - have shown their true colours. > > >Transperancy always helps. > > > > > >best > > >s > > > > > >---------- Forwarded message ---------- > > >From: Youth for equality < youthforequality.du at gmail.com> > > >Date: 04-Sep-2006 01:02 > > >Subject: YOUTH FOR EQUALITY EXTENDS ITS CONDITIONAL SUPPORT TO ABVP IN > DUSU > > >POLL > > > > > > > > >Dear Friends > > > > > > > > > > > >Youth For Equality as you all know is not a political but social > > >organization working on the ideologies of Mahatma Gandhi, Pt Nehru > > >,Rajiv Gandhi and Dr B.R.Ambedkar who wanted reservations only for a > > >short period of time and for a minority of seats .Our aim is to create > > >Equality for all citizens of India while preserving merit. Hence we > > >support affirmative Action and Reservation for Sc/Sts and > > >economically weaker sections of all caste. We support the criteria > > >of hunger and deprivation where caste beyond SC /St is not a class in > > >itself. > > > > > >We of course could not contest since the nominations were over and > > >politics is not our concern. Yet in view of the challenge thrown to us > > >we sent a questionnaire to all Political Parties contesting the DUSU > > >election. NSUI declined to state that they are contesting the election > > >on the main issue of reservation and asking for votes in name of > > >Reservation. They seem to be scared of its repercussions. None of the > > >other parties also responded to us. The only party, which responded to > > >our query, was ABVP. They said; > > > > > >1) We support caste-based reservations. > > >2) We support a nation wide survey and a white paper on > reservation > > >3) We support affirmative action on basis of economic criteria. > > >4) Exclusion of creamy layer > > > > > >Of course our ideologies don't match. However: > > > > > >ABVP did become a part of the debate we started. And they have > > >adequately supported our demand for a white paper, which will pave way > > >for non-political review committee to know the actual ground reality > > >and the truth. > > > > > >ABVP has also supported the exclusion of creamy layer > > > > > >ABVP has also supported affirmative action on basis of economic criteria. > > > > > >Based on these points we have decided to give conditional support to > > >ABVP. We don't extend unconditional support to them neither agree with > > >their ideology. But we issue just point-based support to them on these > > >issues as among the choices we find their approach to be most > > >reasonable. We however reiterate that we are fighting for an "ideal" > > >and we are not concerned with the political result. WE might want ABVP > > >to win and nothing more. Best of luck to ABVP. Again we retieriate > > >that we don't agree on all issues and ideological points. > > > > > >Youth For Equality > > > > > > > > > > > >FOR QUERIES PLEASE CONTACT ON ; > > > > > >9810404037, 9871844031 > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >- -- > > >www.shivamvij.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. > > >To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > >List archive: > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: < > https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > _________________________________________ > 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. > To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: > <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > From mohaiemen at yahoo.com Thu Sep 7 21:15:17 2006 From: mohaiemen at yahoo.com (NAEEM MOHAIEMEN) Date: Thu, 7 Sep 2006 08:45:17 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] On Internment Camps In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20060907154517.53042.qmail@web50315.mail.yahoo.com> Speaking of internment camps, I'm put in mind of two classic captivity narratives from WW II James Clavell's KING RAT and Pierre Boulle's BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER KWAI. Both were also made into films, the latter being more of a classic w/ a young Alec Guinness and William Holden-- going on to win 7 oscars, including one for David Lean and of course the famous whistling "Colonel Bogey March" (echoing a dirty limerick about Hitler). --- reader-list-request at sarai.net wrote: > Send reader-list mailing list submissions to > reader-list at sarai.net > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, > visit > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > or, via email, send a message with subject or body > 'help' to > reader-list-request at sarai.net > > You can reach the person managing the list at > reader-list-owner at sarai.net > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it > is more specific > than "Re: Contents of reader-list digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. fyi: AAG meet in San Francisco: Call for > Papers/ INURA > (Patrice Riemens) > 2. Are Cities Good For Creativity? (Rana > Dasgupta) > 3. Are Cities Good For Creativity? (hpp at vsnl.com) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Wed, 6 Sep 2006 12:49:06 +0200 > From: Patrice Riemens > Subject: [Reader-list] fyi: AAG meet in San > Francisco: Call for > Papers/ INURA > To: reader-list at sarai.net > Message-ID: <20060906104906.GB19848 at xs4all.nl> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > Bwo of the http://www.inura.org list > > > ----- Forwarded message from Roger Keil > ----- > > Date: Tue, 5 Sep 2006 23:35:47 -0400 > From: Roger Keil > Subject: aag in san francisco > To: INURA at YORKU.CA > > > The next meetings of the Association of American > Geographers will be in San > Francisco, April 17-21, 2007. Here is a call for > papers for a panel we are > planning to organize. > > AAG CFP: Infrastructure and Vulnerability in the > In-Between City > > Urban morphology around the world has moved beyond > traditional forms > of downtown core and suburban sprawl. As Tom > Sieverts has noted, much urban > growth falls somewhere in between, in the spaces > found literally between > downtown and suburb, between the city and > greenspaces, in areas > dominated by large investments in major > infrastructure, such as highways, > airports, amusement parks, industrial parks. Despite > such investment, > residential pockets within this landscape are > frequently underserviced and > socially excluded. What is the relationship between > the city's built landscape > and its social landscape in these areas? How are > these landscapes factors in > the production of vulnerability to the effects of > natural disaster, economic > crisis and social upheaval? > > Papers on these issues in any city are welcome. > Please send contact info and an > abstract to either Tricia Wood (pwood at yorku.ca) or > Roger Keil (rkeil at yorku.ca) > by Sept. 30. > > > - -- > Roger Keil > Director > The City Institute at York University (CITY) > > http://www.yorku.ca/city > http://www.yorku.ca/fes/faculty/keil/index.asp > http://www.yorku.ca/sars2003 > > Co-editor The International Journal of Urban and > Regional Research ((IJURR) > http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0309-1317 > > - ----- End forwarded message ----- > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Thu, 07 Sep 2006 09:12:52 +0530 > From: Rana Dasgupta > Subject: [Reader-list] Are Cities Good For > Creativity? > To: reader-list at sarai.net > Message-ID: <44FF953C.5070202 at ranadasgupta.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"; > format=flowed > > http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/freethinkingworld/2006/09/are_cities_good_for_creativity.shtml > > I want to approach this question by thinking about a > related, and in > some ways opposite, one. "Are internment camps good > for creativity?" In > some respects, though not all, the internment camp > can be seen as the > opposite, the alter ego, of the city. We can think > of Auschwitz and New > York inhabiting opposite ends of the American > moral-spatial spectrum in > the second half of the twentieth century (which is > partly why the events > of 9/11 had such a profound resonance). > > Yesterday my neighbour came to my door to show me > the diary of one of > his relatives, a Sikh fom Punjab who had fought in > the British army in > the second world war, and who was captured and > interned in a > prisoner-of-war camp. The man was a talented artist > and draughtsman, and > had filled his notebook with drawings of camp > scenes. Men sunbathing in > front of barracks, playing hockey, putting on > theatrical performances. > He wrote accounts of the camp's economy (with "one > English cigarette" as > the basic unit of currency) and stuck in newspaper > clippings of > Mussolini's death etc. His fellow camp inmates, > among them Eric Newby, > wrote poems and comments in the book, and painted > pictures of "Jit > Singh, the Indian painter" at his canvass. These > comments bore witness > to a deep intimacy and appreciation between the > American, British, > Canadian, French - and Indian - men who found > themselves together. > > This diary put me in mind of the internment camp on > the Isle of Man > during the same period. Many German and Italian > nationals resident in > the UK were interned there in 1940, and a large > proportion of these were > central European Jews who had arrived in England to > flee Nazism. > > They lived in great fear, believing that Hitler > might soon invade the UK > and that this enclosure might be one of his first > targets. But the camp > was full of Jewish artists and intellectuals, and > nothing could stop the > inevitable. Within weeks of their internment, there > were camp > newspapers, weekly lectures on nuclear physics, and > regular concerts. > > Three members of the future Amadeus Quartet, all > from Vienna, met in the > camp. The quartet was founded in London immediately > after the war, and > endured until the death of violist Peter Schidlof in > 1987. The Viennese > composer Hans Gál was interned there, and wrote > several works there. > Perhaps readers know of other internees. > > (See also the fascinating story - > > http://www.therestisnoise.com/2004/04/quartet_for_the_2.html > > - of Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time, written > in the Stalag VIIIA > prisoner-of-war camp in Germany.) > > In many respects these camps were similar to cities. > They === message truncated === __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From contact at biennaledeparis.org Fri Sep 8 21:42:05 2006 From: contact at biennaledeparis.org (XV BIENNALE DE PARIS) Date: Fri, 08 Sep 2006 18:12:05 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] XV BIENNALE DE PARIS - 8.09.2006 Message-ID: (English version below) XV BIENNALE DE PARIS ***************************************************************** NOTE D'INFORMATION DU 8 SEPTEMBRE 2006 ***************************************************************** Conférence de presse le 26 septembre à 11h - Maison de Radio France. Près de cinquante ans après sa première édition, la XVème Biennale de Paris aura lieu à Paris, en France et à l'étranger, du 1er au 31 octobre 2006. Elle se déroulera également en dehors de ces dates. Près de 100 projets seront présentés, en provenance de 20 pays : 58 à Paris et en Ile-de-France, 16 en province et 29 à l'étranger. Les démarches présentées lors de cette manifestation induisent d'elles-mêmes leurs modes de présentation. La Biennale de Paris n'impose ni objets, ni oeuvres, ni artistes, ni idées. Son catalogue (1185 pages) se compose de documents jamais rassemblés à ce jour. L'ouvrage est disponible à partir du mois d'octobre auprès de Paris Musées http://emill.net/bdp/r.emt?h=www.parismusees.com&t=lDd8AQ&e=rReHUedsqkw ou auprès de la Biennale de Paris. http://emill.net/bdp/r.emt?h=www.biennaledeparis.org&t=lDd8AQ&e=rReHUedsqkw La Biennale de Paris remercie ses partenaires pour leur précieux soutien. http://emill.net/bdp/r.emt?h=www.biennaledeparis.org/2006/fr/partenaires.htm&t=lDd8AQ&e=rReHUedsqkw La conférence de presse se tiendra le 26 septembre à 11h00 au Centre d’Accueil de la Presse Etrangère en France (Maison de Radio France). 116 Avenue du Président Kennedy 75220 Paris Cedex 16 Tél. : + 33 (0)1 56 40 15 15 http://emill.net/bdp/r.emt?h=www.capefrance.com&t=lDd8AQ&e=rReHUedsqkw Accès : RER C, Bus 70 ou 72. ------------------------------------------ Biennale de Paris BP 358 75868 Paris cedex 18 France T: + 33 (0)1 42 29 48 23 E: contact at biennaledeparis.org http://emill.net/bdp/r.emt?h=www.biennaledeparis.org&t=lDd8AQ&e=rReHUedsqkw ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Si vous avez reçu ce message par erreur ou si vous ne souhaitez pas recevoir les informations de la Biennale de Paris envoyer un email à contact at biennaledeparis.org avec comme sujet "desinscription". Ce message est établi à l'intention de la personne a laquelle il est adressée. Tout message électronique est susceptible d'altération et son intégrité ne peut être assurée. La Biennale de Paris décline toute responsabilité au titre de ce message s'il a été altéré, déformé, falsifié. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- XV BIENNALE DE PARIS ***************************************************************** INFORMATION NOTE – SEPTEMBER 8, 2006 ***************************************************************** Press Conference – September 26, 11am – Maison de Radio France Almost fifty years after it was first celebrated, the XVth Biennale de Paris will be held in Paris, France and abroad, mostly between 1 and 31 October 2006. Nearly 100 projects from more than 20 countries will take part : 58 projects in Paris and its surrounding area, 11 in the provinces and 29 in foreign countries. The approaches presented speak for themselves. The Biennale de Paris no longer imposes objects, works, artists or ideas. The catalogue (1185 pages) brings together a comprehensive selection of unpublished documents and is available from Paris Musées http://emill.net/bdp/r.emt?h=www.parismusees.com&t=lDd8AQ&e=rReHUedsqkw or from the following website: http://emill.net/bdp/r.emt?h=www.biennaledeparis.org&t=lDd8AQ&e=rReHUedsqkw The Biennale de Paris would like to thank all its partners for their precious support. http://emill.net/bdp/r.emt?h=www.biennaledeparis.org/2006/en/associates.htm&t=lDd8AQ&e=rReHUedsqkw The press conference will be held on 26 September at 11 am at the Centre for Foreign Press in France (Maison de Radio France). 116 Avenue du Président Kennedy 75220 Paris Cedex 16 Phone. : + 33 (0)1 56 40 15 15 http://emill.net/bdp/r.emt?h=www.capefrance.com&t=lDd8AQ&e=rReHUedsqkw Accès : RER C, Bus 70 ou 72. - Translated by Abadenn Multilingue Internationale - ------------------------------------------ Biennale de Paris BP 358 75868 Paris cedex 18 France T: + 33 (0)1 42 29 48 23 E: contact at biennaledeparis.org http://emill.net/bdp/r.emt?h=biennaledeparis.org&t=lDd8AQ&e=rReHUedsqkw ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you have received this message by error, or you wish to be removed from our list, please send an email to: contact at biennaledeparis.org and set the subject to "unsubscribe". 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URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060908/9d867fc1/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From nisha_s_a at yahoo.com Fri Sep 8 12:27:49 2006 From: nisha_s_a at yahoo.com (nisha susan) Date: Thu, 7 Sep 2006 23:57:49 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Toto Funds the Arts: Call for entries Message-ID: <20060908065749.99004.qmail@web37115.mail.mud.yahoo.com> 1. CALL FOR ENTRIES: CREATIVE WRITING AWARDS TOTO FUNDS THE ARTS (TFA) invites entries for its second annual awards for young Indian fiction writers in English. Two cash awards of Rs. 25,000 each will be given in January, 2007. BUT: If you are older than 30 on January 1, 2007, or live outside India, read no further! ALSO: The spirit of the Toto Awards is to identify promise and encourage young talent. Therefore, do not submit an entry if you are already a well-known, published writer. TFA is looking for entries in a variety of genres -- the novel, short stories, plays, scripts and poetry. The submissions should ideally not be more than 10,000 words. Pieces of short fiction; an extract from a novel, play or script; or between five and ten poems are recommended (but not mandatory) norms. Sensible combinations of the above are acceptable within the word limit. Entries should reach TOTO FUNDS THE ARTS (TFA) before October 31, 2006. TOTO FUNDS THE ARTS (TFA) H 301 Adarsh Gardens 8th Block, 47th Cross Jayanagar Bangalore 560 082 Phone: 080-26548139 Entries should be sent in soft e-mail copy to totofundsthearts at yahoo.com as well in hard copy form to the above address. THE FINE PRINT: Entries must be accompanied by a signed statement confirming the applicant’s date of birth, whether the applicant’s work has been published in print (give details), and also affirming that the submitted work is original. Submitted material will not be returned. The decision of the TFA jury is final and cannot be contested in any forum. TOTO FUNDS THE ARTS (TFA) is a not-for-profit public trust set up in memory of Angirus ‘Toto’ Vellani, who was intensely passionate about music, literature and films. 2. CALL FOR ENTRIES: MUSIC AWARDS TOTO FUNDS THE ARTS (TFA) announces the third in its series of annual awards for young musicians and bands. The award is worth Rs. 50,000 in cash, intended to support the advancement of your musical career. BUT: If you are older than 30 on January 1, 2007, or do not live in India, read no further! ALSO: The spirit of the TFA Awards is to identify and encourage young talent. Therefore, do not submit an entry if you are already a well-known and established name in the music world. TFA is looking for entries in contemporary music from all parts of India (bands or individuals). The list of genres extends from rock, jazz, heavy metal, trance, house, instrumental, folk – to the as yet unimagined. Language is also no barrier. The submissions should be 100% original. Copyright issues are the responsibility of the applicant, not TFA. Entries should be sent as three CD copies of the music. The entries should reach TOTO FUNDS THE ARTS (TFA) before October 31, 2006. TOTO FUNDS THE ARTS (TFA) H 301 Adarsh Gardens 8th Block, 47th Cross Jayanagar Bangalore 560 082 Phone: 080-26548139 THE FINE PRINT: Entries must be accompanied by a signed statement confirming: (i) the applicant’s date of birth (ii) the names of any released singles/CDs (iii) that the submitted work is original. Submitted material will not be returned. The decision of the TFA jury is final and cannot be contested in any forum. TOTO FUNDS THE ARTS (TFA) is a not-for-profit public charitable trust set up in memory of Angirus ‘Toto’ Vellani who was intensely passionate about music, literature and films. --------------------------------- Talk is cheap. Use Yahoo! Messenger to make PC-to-Phone calls. Great rates starting at 1¢/min. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060907/73507bf4/attachment.html From mahmood.farooqui at gmail.com Sat Sep 9 20:06:37 2006 From: mahmood.farooqui at gmail.com (mahmood farooqui) Date: Sat, 9 Sep 2006 20:06:37 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] for those who enjoy a good fall Message-ID: http://www.planetdan.net/pics/misc/georgie.htm From amitabhkumar84 at gmail.com Sun Sep 10 00:47:11 2006 From: amitabhkumar84 at gmail.com (Amitabh Kumar) Date: Sun, 10 Sep 2006 00:47:11 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] for those who enjoy a good fall In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: MOUSTACHES UNLIMITED, A film by Vasudha Joshi on Moustaches and the idea of Masculanity is being screened on Saturday, 16 September at 05:45 pm during the forthcoming festival THE OPEN FRAME. The screenings will be followed by a forum entitled DECONSTRUCTING GENDER at 06:30 pm, that will also include a discussion on the film. The panelists will include the filmmakers,Dr Radhika Chopra and Mr Gautam Bhan as the moderator. Please do come to the venue - the auditorium at the India Habitat Centre. Hope to see you there, Amitabh From monica at sarai.net Sun Sep 10 20:37:25 2006 From: monica at sarai.net (Monica Narula) Date: Sun, 10 Sep 2006 20:37:25 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Out now - Sarai Reader 06: Turbulence Message-ID: <36B09C76-D629-4EAE-AC93-CEE1D3D3F78A@sarai.net> Dear All, We are happy to announce the print and web publication of Sarai Reader 06 : 'Turbulence'. Please find more details about the book below. This year, the Sarai Reader 06 is one of the participating publications of the Documenta 12 Magazines Project. We would welcome responses, reviews and critiques of the publication, and discussions based on its contents. If you would like to write a review of the book, and wish to obtain a review copy, do write to publications at sarai.net, mentioning details of the publication where the review will appear, and when it is likely to be published. The contents of the book may also be translated into other languages, and published elsewhere. We, and the authors, would like to be informed. Looking forward to your responses The Editorial Collective, Sarai Reader Series ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------- Sarai READER 06: TURBULENCE Editors for Reader 06: Monica Narula, Shuddhabrata Sengupta, Jeebesh Bagchi, Ravi Sundaram, Awadhendra Sharan + Geert Lovink Sarai Reader Series Editorial Collective: Monica Narula, Shuddhabrata Sengupta, Ravi Sundaram, Ravi S. Vasudevan, Awadhendra Sharan, Jeebesh Bagchi + Geert Lovink Sarai Reader 06: Turbulence is part of ’the Documenta 12 Magazines Projectí Published by the Sarai Programme, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi, 2006 [cc] Produced and Designed at the Sarai Media Lab, Delhi ISBN 81-901429-7-6 608 pages, 14.5cm X 21cm Paperback: Rs. 350, US $ 20, € 20 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ --- 'TURBULENCE' (from the introduction) If there was ever to be a 'weather report' for our times, an audit of the climate in which we have grown accustomed to live, it would use the word 'turbulence' often. Turbulence is a practice for and of a time that has no name. This book, embodying that practice, is an eclectic index of an uncertain age.The Sarai Reader 6 uses 'Turbulence' as a conceptual vantage point to interrogate all that is in the throes of terminal crisis, and to invoke all that is as yet unborn. It seeks to examine 'turbulence' as a global phenomenon, unbounded by the arbitrary lines that denote national and state boundaries in a 'political' map of the world. Sarai Reader 6 surveys areas of low and high pressure in politics, economy and culture that transcend borders, investigates the flow of information and processes between downstream and upstream sites in societies and cultures globally, witnesses surges and waves in ideas and practices in contemporary art, culture and discourse as they crash against the shorelines of many dispersed locations. How do we anticipate, recover from and remember moments of sudden transformation? How do we look at the debris of the past and brace ourselves for the whirlwind coming our way from the future? How do we deal with the simultaneous pressures of knowing too much or the anxiety of knowing too little about the world? How do we cope intellectually with the sudden dissolution of established ways of knowing and doing things? What does it mean to know and experience the pull of undercurrents - in society, politics, the economy? How do cities deal with the accumulation of complex infrastructural uncertainty? What happens when urban chaos strikes back at urban planning?How can we map the subterranean tectonic shifts and displacements that occur in culture and intellectual life? What are the histories of anxiety, exhilaration, dread, panic, ecstasy, disorientation and boredom like. How can we begin to narrate these histories? What does it take from us to tell stories, read poetry, make images and record experiences in the wake of turbulence? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---= See below for the complete table of contents. The complete text of 'Tubulence', like the entire contents of previous readers, is available for free browsing and download as pdf files at CONTENTS In Turbulence - Editorial Collective - vii TRANSFORMATIONS: REFLECTIONS ON UNCERTAINTY - 1 The Time of Turbulence - R. Krishna - 2 The Father of Long/Fat Tails: Interview with Benoît Mandelbrot - Hans Ulrich Obrist - 6 Place - Renée Green - 19 Notes from New York, July 2005 - Molly Nesbit - 28 Cement and Speed - Michael Taussig - 33 Mapping the Invisible: Notes on the Reason of Conspiracy Theories - Cédric Vincent - 41 Turbulent Spaces of Fragments and Flows - Felix Stalder - 49 The Terror of Having a Body - Baijayanta Mukhopadhyay - 55 WEATHER REPORT: FORCES OF NATURE - 63 Disaster Signs - Pradeep Saha - 64 An Aesthetic of Turbulence: The Works of Ned Kahn - David Mather - 70 After the Deluge - Gyan Prakash - 77 Waterline - Legier Biederman - 84 Waves of Wrath - R.V. Ramani - 97 Zalzala (Earthquake)! - Kavita Pai - 99 TROUBLESHOOTING: TECHNOLOGIES OF COMMUNICATION IN TURBULENT TIMES - 105 A Candle in My Window - Peter Griffin - 106 Support Iraqi Bloggers: Interview with Cecile Landman - Geert Lovink - 117 Locative Dissent - Jeremy Hight - 128 Once upon a Flash - Nishant Shah - 131 ALTERED STATES: EXPERIENCING CHANGE - 139 Pixels of Memory on the Hypertextualised ’Ií - Deb Kamal Ganguly - 140 Playing Wild! - Andreas Broeckmann - 150 Download Downtime - Trebor Scholz - 160 A Science of Liberalisation and the Markets It Produces - Siva Arumugam - 173 The Visibility of the Revolutionary Project and New Technologies - Raoul Victor - 191 Light from the Box - Franco La Cecla, Stefano Savona + Piero Zanini - 204 The Neurobiopolitics of Global Consciousness - Warren Neidich - 222 In Search of the Centre - Vlado Stjepic - 237 Like Cleopatra - Parismita Singh - 243 STRANGE DAYS: THE HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF TURBULENCE - 253 ìJahan se Dekhiye Yak Shor-e Shor-angez Nikle Hain (A Riot of Turbulence, Wherever You Look)î: The Dehlvi Ghadar - Mahmood Farooqui - 254 The Silent Memorial: Life of the Mutiny in Orchhaís Lakshmi Temple - Rahaab Allana - 271 Buccaneers, Pirates and Privateers - Vijayalakshmi Balakrishnan - 282 A City Feeding on Itself: Testimonies and Histories of 'Direct Actioní Day' - Debjani Sengupta - 288 'Kothai Aj Shei Shiraj Sikder'(Where Today Is that Shiraj Sikder)?: Terrorists or Guerrillas in the Mist - Naeem Mohaiemen - 296 Remembering Communism: The Experience of Political Defeat - Philip Bounds - 312 The Dynamic Balkans: A Working Model for the EU? Interview with Kyong Park and Marjetica Potrc - Natasa Petresin - 320 GuateMex: No-Man’s-Water - Marcos Lutyens - 329 Paisajes - Sergio De La Torre - 333 Ceuta and Melilla Fences: A Defensive System? - Guido Cimadomo + Pilar Martínez Ponce - 336 Shifting Sediments - Dane Mitchell - 342 SIGNAL DISTURBANCE: QUESTIONS - MEDIA / ART / IDENTITY - 353 What Hit the News-Stand?! Introduction to a Dialogue - Nasrin Tabatabai, Babak Afrassiabi + Kianoosh Vahabi - 354 The Sand of the Coliseum, the Glare of Television, and the Hope of Emancipation - Nancy Adajania - 364 Be Offended, Be Very Offended - Linda Carroli - 376 The Khushboo Case File: Reverse Culture Jamming - Tushar Dhara - 388 Seeking Chaos: The Birth and Intentions of Queer Politics - Gautam Bhan - 401 CLOSE ENCOUNTERS: WITNESSING TURBULENCE - 407 Family/Families - Ashim Purkayastha - 408 Liberal Nightmares: A Manual of Northeastern Dreams - Tarun Bhartiya - 413 Poetry in a Time of Terror - Robin S. Ngangom - 422 Turbulent Indigo and the Act of Cautious Reassemblage - Sampurna Chattarji - 431 The Man Who Could Walk through In-Between Positions - Sureyyya Evren - 440 This Morning, This Evening: Beirut, 15 July 2006 - Walid Raad - 450 Who Didnít Start the Fire...? Reflections on Bombs over a Cup of Coffee - Simran Chadha - 454 A Kashmiriís ëEncounterí with Delhi - Bismillah Gilani - 459 On Listening to Violence: Reflections of a Researcher of the Partition of India - Sadan Jha - 467 UNSTABLE STRUCTURES: IMPROVISATIONS WITH INFRASTRUCTURE - 473 Contingent - Emeka Okereke - 474 Turbulence before Take-Off: Life Trajectories Spotted en Route to a Brazilian Runway - David Harris - 480 Casting Village within City - Yushi Uehara - 485 Tapping In: Leaky Sovereignties and Engineered (Dis)Order in an Urban Water System - Karen Coelho - 497 A ’Legitimate’ Business Activity: Unofficial Stock Exchanges of Vijayawada - S. Ananth - 510 NOTES FROM BESEIGED NEIGHBOURHOODS - 523 Nanglaís Delhi - Cybermohalla Practitioners - 524 ALT/OPTION - 571 Collaboration: The Dark Side of the Multitude - Florian Schneider - 572 We Lost the War. Welcome to the World of Tomorrow - Frank Rieger - 577 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------- For Purchase, Distribution and Other Enquiries, mail to - publications at sarai.net or, contact - Publications Sarai, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies 29, Rajpur Road, Delhi 110054, India Tel : (+91) 11 2396 0040 http://www.sarai.net E mail : dak at sarai.net International Sales : Autonomedia, New York (USA) Order online from: www.autonomedia.org Monica Narula Raqs Media Collective Sarai-CSDS 29 Rajpur Road Delhi 110054 www.raqsmediacollective.net www.sarai.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060910/03a57bd6/attachment.html From mohaiemen at yahoo.com Mon Sep 11 23:45:26 2006 From: mohaiemen at yahoo.com (NAEEM MOHAIEMEN) Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2006 11:15:26 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Go West, Young Muslim In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20060911181526.50968.qmail@web50301.mail.yahoo.com> To post comments on this text, go to http://shobakorg.blogspot.com Go West, Young Muslim by Naeem Mohaiemen "Go West, young man, and grow up with the country." [John Soule, Terre Haute Express, 1851] A few months after the Afghan war, I was sitting in the Dhaka office of Sajjad Sharif. Sajjad is an art critic and associate editor of Prothom Alo (progressive newspaper often under attack from Islamists). The regular tea cicle was assembled (artists, poets and journalists all end up in Sajjad's office), talking about the "Muslim street" (that elusive beast!). For years, my personal dual existence between New York and Dhaka had been fairly unremarkable and unremarked. Now, there was a desire to boil down everyone to their "essence". I was supposed to be some sort of stand-in for "the American street" -- a farcical concept that I always deflect. In the middle of a heated debate, Sajjad lightened the mood with a popular street saying of the time: "Tomorrow, if Osama said, 'all my jihadi brothers come and join me!'" "Yes?" "10% of Bangladesh would cross the border into Afghanistan." "Bolen ki bhai?" "Yes, it's true." "But if the next day, Bush announced 'jobs for everyone'..." "Hya?" "90% of Bangladesh would line up in front of the American Embassy!" It reminded me of many, more prosaic, encounters, in "living rooms" of various Dhaka uncles and aunties that I have to visit as an obligation. The conversation always veers to, "Oi desh e pore thako kibhabe baba?' (how do you live in that place?). This is often followed a little later with the revelation that their eldest son or daughter is taking the SATs next month. "Do you have any advice about applying to American colleges?" This strand is not to, in any way, minimize or trivialize the varied oppositions to the new Imperialism project. But we can at least complicate the conversation by looking to the revulsion and fascination projected on the same surface. A similar sentiment seems to be at play in the European obsession with the idee fixe vis-a-vis American power and culture. Things are not of course quite so simple. Nor will they stay the same. Obsession with the American dream will be replaced by other foci, including the idea of India Shining, China Rising, and all the rest. Al Jazeera may yet replace CNN as the most watched channel (actually, CNN is already not the most watched channel anyway). Then again, certain shifts may be temporary (recall the total obsession with Japan for a minute in the 80s). Only a fool or Nostradamus makes predictions without caveats. I was thinking of all this as I was reading a new data released by Homeland Security (they are also responsible for immigration). It shows that, contrary to all expectations, Muslim immigration to America has increased, after an initial drop, since 9/11. In 2005, more people from Muslim countries became legal permanent US residents (green card), nearly 96,000, than in any year in the previous two decade. More than 40,000 arrivals from Muslim countries were admitted into US in 2005, the highest annual number since 2001. One of the photos that illustrates the report is taken on Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn, once again a bustling center of Pakistani and Bangladeshi migrants. This is the same Coney Island Avenue targeted when "Special Registration" and Immigration raids went after Pakistanis (Bangladeshis were lesser targets). At that time, writers evoked Germany 1939, a comparison that raised hackles but also pointed to shared struggles between Jewish and Muslim migrants. That same Coney Island wears a hopeful look in this photo. Fluttering American flags in background, hugging Musollis in the foreground. It looks for a moment like a moon alignment that brought Eid and July 4th on the same weekend. Swiss philosopher Tariq Ramadan has explored a new definition of dar al-harb (also dar al-shirk, but not to be confused with dar al-kufr). In the older consensual view, a country is dar al-harb when the legal system as well as government is non-Islamic. Dar al-harb translates in one formulation to "Abode of War". The Hanafi school says that this is a territory where Muslims are neither protected nor able to live in peace. If law and political systems define this, then even a nation like Bangladesh, which is majority Muslim, is still dar ul-harb (as are Indonesia, Malaysia, etc). A competing vision argues that it is the condition of population, and safety of that same, that defines dar al-harb. Ramadan argues that "Muslims may actually feel safer in the West, as far as the free exercise of their religion is concerned, than in some so-called Muslim countries." Thus America and Europe, having large Muslims populations that maintain (even after all recent events) some measure of religious freedom, can also be defined as dar al-islam. If Muslims feel safe in the West, Muslim immigration will continue and will create a new form of hybrid Islam, as postulated in Ramadan's "To Be A European Muslim." But there is another aspect to consider. If the West is not dar al-harb as per the old definition, militant groups' manifesto to attack the West loses a key theological underpinning. This is not to say that militants will read Ramadan and change their key strategy (and many scholars debate Ramadan on this). But it can outline the beginnings of a counter-debate, one that looks at the roots of Islamic theology to counter the bastardization of the same. We have two visions on display in this week's newspapers. One is the dark, apocalyptic view in Roger Cohen's essay: "But like the world it still claims to lead, the United States has grown darker. Two wars lurk on a leafy street. Fear haunts the political discourse. A century that dawned brightly now offers conflict without end. Beyond U.S. borders, no longer those of a sanctuary, the fanatical group called Al Qaeda that turned planes into missiles has morphed into a diffuse anti- Western ideology followed, in some measure, by millions of angry Muslims. They are convinced the United States is an infidel enemy bent on humiliating Islam. Anti-Americanism has become the world's vogue idea." Now if "millions" had truly joined the jihad, there would be very few buildings left standing. But never mind, the man is writing with a flourish, allow him a moment of hyperventilation. Let's turn to Andrea Elliott's lead article in yesterday's Times for another take: "[Muslims] have made the journey unbowed by tales of immigrant hardship, and despite their own opposition to American policy in the Middle East. They come seeking the same promise that has drawn foreigners to the United States for many decades, according to a range of experts and immigrants: economic opportunity and political freedom. Those lures, both powerful and familiar, have been enough to conquer fears that America is an inhospitable place for Muslims." Today is the 5th anniversary of 9/11. In years past, in a more navel-gazing state of mind, I wrote pedestrian, sentimental entries about biking down to Tribeca to look for my then-partner (she had been evacuated), tracking down Bengali victims' families, losing a fond memento at airport security, etc, etc. These are not unique, nor are they (after thousands of memorial stories) particularly emotive. I wrote as an ideological naif about the end of technology in the face of box cutters. It is time to look beyond only these stories. Time to also feel the pain of others outside these borders. Time to formulate theory, trajectory and a vision for a more humane future. A shared world beyond wars without end. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Naeem Mohaiemen/Visible Collective http://disappearedinamerica.org ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Cohen: Darker Landscape http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/09/10/news/terror.php Elliott: Muslim Immigration Up Since 9/11 http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/10/nyregion/10muslims.html ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From ravikant at sarai.net Mon Sep 11 18:38:17 2006 From: ravikant at sarai.net (Ravikant) Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2006 18:38:17 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] a reminder for those in delhi Message-ID: <200609111838.17396.ravikant@sarai.net> Media, Politics and Solidarity Media Seminar Series II Organized by Media and Communication Group of ISF 2006, World Social Forum- India Tuesday, 12 September, 2006 Venue: The Sarai Programme, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies 29, Rajpur Road, Delhi 110054 Time: 2:00-5:00 pm Towards an Alternative Media- The articulation on this theme can touch upon the diverse media and communication tools, initiatives, experiments that have gone into making of plural and democratic media. In the realm of old and new media, there are several dynamic developments towards creating peoples’ media. Speaker-Seema Mustafa, Journalist Rich Media, Poor Democracy – The basic premise of this theme can address the several myths about the media--in particular, that the market compels media firms to "give the people what they want"--that limit the ability of citizens to grasp the real nature and logic of the media system. If we value our democracy, can we organize politically to restructure the media in order to affirm their connection to democracy. Speaker- Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Director, School of Convergence, Journalist and Film maker Truth, Market Forces and Media- Market forces blur’s various facet of society. Its command the monopoly over the distribution, production of the news/ views on in a society. The corporate globalization and liberalization have given a tremendous boost to the Media and Information technologies. Does this also hold true for revealing the truth? Speaker- Umesh Anand, Editor, Civil Society Publication and Journalist Towards India Social Forum: Another “Media Culture” is possible- WSF-India and the proposed ISF would like to open create spaces where diverse forms of media, their practitioners, and those who reflect on, or critically engage with these practices, can come together, discuss and debate, enter into shared pursuits, to build on democratic, plural and independent media within and across open spaces, as opposed to corporatised and profit-oriented media. Speaker- Aditya Nigam, Senior Fellow, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies Mukul Sharma, Journalist/ Writer, Director, Amnesty International – India Moderator: Mr. Shuddhabrata Sengupta, SARAI _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From rgdj12 at yahoo.com Wed Sep 13 13:45:10 2006 From: rgdj12 at yahoo.com (roger das) Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2006 01:15:10 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] India's communal police and hindutva media Message-ID: <20060913081510.32922.qmail@web38905.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Malegaon Blasts: The Corpse with a Fake Beard The Milli Gazette Online 11 September 2006 Muslim leaders and liberal opinion in India are suspecting Hindu extremist hand behind the recent bombings of a mosque/qabristan in Malegaon in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. A corpse with a fake beard was discovered by Muslims while lifting dead bodies killed in the blasts. The police in Malegaon immediately took over that particular body and claimed to have sent it to Nasik the same day. Next day, 10 September, it denied that any such body was ever found. The news of the discovery was carried by Delhi's Urdu daily Hindustan Express on 9 September. The same paper the following day carried the Malegaon police's denial of the same. Urdu daily Inquilab of Mumbai carried the following report on 11 September. Here is an English translation of the report: "Malegaon 10 Sept (Inquilab correspondent): The dead body of a man who was wearing a fake beard and had died in the bomb blasts of Malegaon has mysteriously disappeared. His body was badly mutilated and the lower part was completely missing. Aqeel Ahmed, a 37 year old tailor from Islampura area of Malegaon, says that he had himself moved the dead body of this man into the ambulance van when his [fake] beard came off. Inquilab’s correspondent visited the mortuary along with Aqeel Ahmed. When he asked Aqeel Ahmed to identify the dead body, he said that the body in question was not there. The medical officer of Malegaon Municipal Corporation Dr Vagh said that post-mortem had been carried on 30 corpses in Wadia Hospital and one body was autopsied in Dholia Hospital but none of them was without legs. It should be noted that Aqeel said to have himself moved into the ambulance van a dead body that did not have the lower part. According to Aqeel, at that time he did not pay much attention to this but realised the significance only later. This revelation links these blasts to the explosions in the house of a RSS member in Malegaon from where fake beards were discovered. Police say that they do not have any such information. However, if an eyewitness comes forward, investigation will be launched into the fake beard." [Inquilab, Mumbai, 11 September 2006] (English translation courtesy: Council of Indian Muslims (UK)) « --------------------------------- Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. Make PC-to-Phone Calls to the US (and 30+ countries) for 2¢/min or less. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060913/526e6f5c/attachment.html From patwardhan_gauri at yahoo.com Wed Sep 13 21:55:22 2006 From: patwardhan_gauri at yahoo.com (gouri) Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2006 09:25:22 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] A book on Karachi Message-ID: <20060913162523.38622.qmail@web32402.mail.mud.yahoo.com> A PROPOSAL TO PUBLISH THE BOOK STORY OF KARACHI IN ENGLISH AND URDU 12 September 2006 Background The Urdu quarterly Aaj (literally meaning "Today") is published from Karachi, Pakistan, since 1989 under the editorship of Ajmal Kamal. Usually it is an anthology of literary prose and poetry from different languages and parts of the world translated into Urdu, apart from original, ground-breaking writings in Urdu, for Pakistani and Indian readership. Fifty-four issues have come out so far which have secured a small but meaningful readership for the journal and have been critically acclaimed. The Special Issue on Karachi In 1996, a special two-volume, above 800-page issue of the quarterly Aaj was published devoted to the city of Karachi under the title "Karachi ki Kahani" ("Story of Karachi"). It was very well received by readers and reviewers alike. The following excerpts from a few of the press reviews tell about the range and quality of the material put together in the special issue: A compendium on Karachi: a hundred years hence, this two-volume compilation will serve as a source of basic information about this megapolis. ¯ Muhammad Ali Siddiqui, Dawn, Karachi, 7 June 1996 Ajmal Kamal, who produced an earlier number of Aaj on the ethnic cauldron of former Yugoslavia, has tried to get to Karachi's personality and its concealed layers of self-destruction. The two volumes under review are an act of courage Ajmal Kamal has performed the incredible task of unearthing the real history of a city exploited by its leaders The two volumes of Aaj provide new ways of looking at the city and ourselves. ¯ Khaled Ahmed, The Friday Times, Lahore, 21-29 May 1996 We must all celebrate the publication of the two volumes of Aaj on Karachi titled Karachi ki Kahani. We have here, almost for the first time, a window on Karachi which affords an expansive revealing view of the various transformations that the city has endured Karachi ki Kahani may still be partially told but Aaj has fostered our essential kinship with a city in which the nation's own crisis of identity must be resolved. ¯ Ghazi Salahuddin, Newsline, Karachi, May 1996 This anthology of writings on Karachi is a painstaking labour of love, an attempt to rescue the city from the kind of thinking which can lead only to despair The effort that has gone into the selection and editing of the material and the translation from English and Sindhi must have called for almost a superhuman stamina for work, to say nothing of a dedication to the ideal of creating an environment of harmony and peace in a city torn by senseless dissensions. ¯ M. H. Askari, The Herald, Karachi, June 1996 Contributors The two-volume anthology is dedicated to the memory of Jamshed Nusserwanji Mehta, Karachi's benefactor and long-time head of the Karachi Municipality. The writings of the following are included in the anthology: Naomal Hotchand, John Brunton, K.R. Malkani, Pir Ali Mohammad Rashdi, Nagendranath Gupta, Lokram Dodeja, Sohrab Katrak, Dr. Feroz Ahmed, G. D. Khosla, Mohan Kalpana, Shaikh Ayaz, Sobho Gyanchandani, Kewal Motwani, Hatim Alvi, Hasan Habib, A. K. Brohi, Anwar Shaikh, Mir Imdad Ali, Abdul Hameed Shaikh, Hasan Manzar, Asad Mohammad Khan, Sigrid Kahle, Anita Ghulam Ali, Fahmida Riaz, Akhtar Hameed Khan, Asif Farrukhi, Mohammad Hanif, Zeenat Hisam, Benjamin Anthony, Sharif Soz, Liaquat Munawwar, Bexter Bhatti, Nasreen Stephen, Asif Shahbaz, Mahboob Jan, Tasneem Siddiqui, Kenneth Fernandez, Jan van der Linden, S Akbar Zaidi, Mark Tully, Arif Hasan. The Proposed Book: Story of Karachi It is proposed that a book, based on the special issue of Aaj, be published simultaneously in English and Urdu under the title Story of Karachi and Karachi ki Kahani respectively. Each edition (English and Urdu) will consist of two volumes of around 430 pages each. The Urdu and Sindhi writings included in the special issue have been translated into English and are being copy-edited at the moment. The proposed date of publication is 01 January 2007. The tentative price of the two-volume set would be: English: Rs.950 Urdu: Rs.950 How can you participate? You can participate and earn a grateful acknowledgement in the proposed book in one of the following ways: 1. Help in getting financial support for the production of the book; 2. Give design input; 3. Get advance orders for the book Ajmal Kamal City Press Publishing House, Bookshop and Film Club 316 Madina City Mall, Abdullah Haroon Road, Saddar, Karachi 74400, Pakistan. Tel: (92-21) 5650623, 5213916 Email: ajmalkamal at gmail.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From franciska at skynet.be Thu Sep 14 04:22:48 2006 From: franciska at skynet.be (Franciska Lambrechts) Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2006 00:52:48 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] fake beards In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <81f170a6d94a69f8f0eaddc43435b8f3@skynet.be> Speaking about fake beards, on 9-11 me and my pakistani friend take the underground (we were heading for a walk in the forest) and there was this empty box in the underground station of, yes a fake beard with hair piece. I thought it was a strange thing to find in the underground station on such a day and took a closer look. The box stated it was a hair piece with long beard of 100% indian hair. The next day Musharraf was speaking in the european parliament. On our way back a man in a suit sitting in front of us looks at my friend in a way you could almost see him thinking: I should inform the authorities that there was a pakistani in the underground on 9-11. Of course how could this guy know he's pakistani since most pakistani don't believe he is because he doesn't look like one. Sorry, it sounds like a joke but it's a real piece of life in the brussels underground. From patwardhan_gauri at yahoo.com Thu Sep 14 10:53:01 2006 From: patwardhan_gauri at yahoo.com (gouri) Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2006 22:23:01 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Whither Balochistan? Message-ID: <20060914052301.23674.qmail@web32414.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Whither Balochistan? By Kaiser Bengali THE murder of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti at the hands of state security forces is both a human and a national tragedy, with consequences of unimaginably perilous scale. That such disproportionate force was used to kill a 79-year old ailing man and that his bereaved family has been denied the opportunity to offer their last respects and accord him a proper burial is deplorable. There may be many questions about Akbar Bugti’s conduct as a tribal leader. Today, however, he stands tall as a man who forsook the comforts of his home in Dera Bugti and took up abode in mountain caves to fight for the rights of his people. The same cannot be said of many of his detractors living in the comforts of official residences and in cantonments and defence housing schemes in Islamabad, Lahore or Karachi. The calamity and the sordid handling of the aftermath reflects General Musharraf’s arrogant faith in military solutions to the patently political problems that the country faces, including those that have been created by the perpetuation of the current military dictatorship since October 1999. The generals have certainly not learnt any lessons from Pakistan’s unfortunate history of a quarter of a century ago, nor from the current failure of the world’s sole superpower to enforce its writ in Iraq, or of the mighty Israeli army’s failure to write its agenda in Lebanon. In 1971, the then generals opted to lay down their arms before the Indian army rather than negotiate and arrive at a compromise with the leaders of the people of the eastern wing of Pakistan. This attitude appears to be pervasive even today. And general Musharraf’s chest-thumping speech in Murree, hurling threats at the people of Balochistan, as well as of Pakistan, is likely to stoke more defiance rather than scare anyone. The policy drift that the country has suffered under General Musharraf’s leadership portends disaster for the country. Questions about the general’s judgment had arisen immediately after the inane militarily untenable Kargil misadventure. He also made a foreign policy U-turn, hours after the tragedy of 9/11, and Pakistan shifted from being the most pro-Taliban country in the world to the most ardent ‘terrorist’ busting country in the US camp. The slogan that was then trumpeted as a rationale for the U-turn was that Pakistan must come first. The implications of the principle of this simplistic justification are disturbing. Extended further, it could imply that, under external pressure, the Kashmir cause or the nuclear status could be abandoned on the grounds that ‘Pakistan has to come first’. After all, it could be perceivably argued that there can be no struggle for the freedom of the Kashmiri people if there was no Pakistan or of what use will the nuclear arsenal be if there was no Pakistan? Now General Musharraf has proclaimed that the writ of the government will be enforced ‘at all costs’. One hopes that ‘all costs’ does not imply that the writ of his government — of questionable legitimacy — will be imposed even at the cost of Pakistan. These questions are not frivolous, given the increasingly apparent absence of any degree of political intellect in general Musharraf’s policy decisions. After all, the legacy of disastrous policy decisions by the coterie of Generals headed by Yahya Khan did not provide any assurance of intelligent conduct. And, given the current military regime’s paramount and almost exclusive objective of clinging on to power, there can be no confidence in the quality of decision-making on national, regional or international issues. General Musharraf has tried to present the conflict in Balochistan as one where a mere three sardars, out of about 75, are attempting to sabotage development. The argument holds no water. Several facts need to be taken into account. Balochistan is a very heterogeneous province. The sardari system is a Baloch institution. Out of 26 districts, one-third of them in the north/north-east are populated by Pukhtuns and, as such, not subject to the sardari system. The system also does not prevail in the Mekran coast and adjoining districts. It appears, therefore, that the sardari system is prevalent only in about one-third of the districts in the eastern/central part of the province. This is the part over which up to about 75 sardars are said to hold sway. As such, the area controlled by the three ‘anti-development’ sardars is likely to be rather small. The question that arises, is: why has development not blossomed in the rest of the province? An overview of the development scene in Balochistan is discomforting and the extent of relative deprivation in the province is appalling. Eighteen out of the 20 most infrastructure-deprived districts in Pakistan are in Balochistan. The percentage of districts that are classified as high deprivation stands as follows: 29 per cent in Punjab, 50 per cent in Sindh, 62 per cent in the NWFP, and 92 per cent in Balochistan. If Quetta and Ziarat are excluded, all of Balochistan falls into the high deprivation category. And Quetta’s ranking would fall if the cantonment is excluded from the analysis. The percentage of population living in a high degree of deprivation stands at 25 per cent in Punjab, 23 per cent in urban Sindh, 49 per cent in rural Sindh, 51 per cent in the NWFP, and 88 per cent in Balochistan. Measured in terms of poverty, the percentage of population living below the poverty line stands at 26 per cent in Punjab, 38 per cent in rural Sindh, 27 per cent in urban Sindh, 29 per cent in the NWFP, and 48 per cent in Balochistan. Yet another stark measure of Balochistan’s relative deprivation is that while the country boasts of a 50-per cent-plus literacy rate, the same for rural women in Balochistan is a mere seven per cent. Balochistan’s relative decline is also indicated by provincially disaggregated national accounts data. Estimates for the period 1973-2000 show that Punjab alone has increased its share of national GDP by two percentage points from 52.7 per cent to 54.7 per cent. Sindh — on account of Karachi — and the NWFP have maintained their share. Balochistan’s share has declined by nearly one percentage point from 4.5 per cent to 3.7 per cent. Resultantly, the annual rate of growth of per capita GDP has been 2.4 per cent in Punjab and 0.2 per cent in Balochistan. Statistics tell only a part of the story. In fact, given the conditions in Balochistan, Pakistan’s national statistics do not tell the full story. This is because no enumerator of the official statistics collecting department makes the effort to visit a settlement that is two days walking distance away. Conditions in such settlements are so dire that, if half the children born in a family survive, it is considered lucky. The absence of such data has tended to show national statistics in a better light than it actually is — and has tended to conceal Balochistan’s real plight. Apart from chronic underdevelopment, the insurgency is also a product of the exclusion of the Baloch from the mainstream national political process. After all, in the period since independence to date, how many of the corps commanders or lieutenant-generals or brigadiers have been Baloch? How many of the ambassadors or high commissioners in Pakistan missions abroad have been Baloch? How many of the federal secretaries or additional secretaries have been Baloch? How many of the heads of public organisations — a la Wapda — have been Baloch? How many of the heads of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry have been Baloch? How many of the members of Pakistan’s national cricket or hockey teams have been Baloch? And so on. Perhaps General Musharraf or his prime minister or his more garrulous ministers would venture to answer some of the above questions, at least with respect to the current situation. Admittedly, Balochistan’s underdevelopment is a product of over half a century of exploitation and neglect. Unfortunately, however, General Musharraf’s seven years in power has merely seen an extension of the past record. The fact is that, not unlike any previous governments, the Musharraf regime has never had any development agenda for Balochistan. The few mega projects that have been undertaken, a la Gwadar, are actually motivated by strategic considerations. They are more likely to bypass the local population and, worse still, turn the Baloch into a minority in their home province. The Baloch intelligentsia has seen through Islamabad’s colonisation game and the general insurgency is merely a response. The military’s operation in Balochistan is a counter response, not to the insurgency per se, but to the challenge posed to Islamabad’s colonisation agenda. Resultantly, the situation is extremely precarious. With the army possibly embroiled in Balochistan, the defence of the eastern frontier is likely to be compromised. There are likely to be serious impacts on the national economy as well. Without security across the vast province, Gwadar port’s planned position as the third port of the country and a transshipment point for central Asia and western China will go up in smoke. So will the under-discussion Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project. The rest of the country too will not remain unaffected. Unlike in the case of East Pakistan, Balochistan is not a thousand kilometers away. Given Karachi’s geographical proximity to Balochistan, the presence of large Baloch settlements in the city, and the sympathetic Sindhi nationalist element, any civil war-like situation in Balochistan will inevitably envelope Karachi in the theatre of conflict. And, given that Karachi and neighbouring Port Qasim are the only seaports of the country and handle the entire shipping of export and import cargo, the situation will impact the economy in all parts of the country. The postponement of the National Assembly session, scheduled for March 3, 1971, in Dhaka, finally snapped the tenuous emotional thread that had bound the eastern province with the rest of the country. Today, the killing of Akbar Bugti has severely frayed the emotional thread linking Balochistan with Pakistan. The withdrawal of Baloch nationalist legislators from the parliamentary process is an ominous signal that cannot and should not be ignored. If the damage to the federation is to be repaired, the military establishment will need to withdraw from the political, economic and commercial arenas and a genuinely elected government will need to take effective charge of the country to assuage the deep wounds that have been inflicted on Balochistan. http://www.dawn.com/2006/09/14/op.htm#1 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From ajmalkamal at gmail.com Wed Sep 13 21:51:34 2006 From: ajmalkamal at gmail.com (Ajmal Kamal) Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2006 21:21:34 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] A book on Karachi Message-ID: <7e6d07440609130921p4950f340seb688b208daa8b12@mail.gmail.com> *A PROPOSAL TO PUBLISH THE BOOK* *STORY OF **KARACHI* *IN ENGLISH AND URDU* 12 September 2006 *Background* The Urdu quarterly *Aaj* (literally meaning "Today") is published from Karachi, Pakistan, since 1989 under the editorship of Ajmal Kamal. Usually it is an anthology of literary prose and poetry from different languages and parts of the world translated into Urdu, apart from original, ground-breaking writings in Urdu, for Pakistani and Indian readership. Fifty-four issues have come out so far which have secured a small but meaningful readership for the journal and have been critically acclaimed. *The Special Issue on **Karachi* In 1996, a special two-volume, above 800-page issue of the quarterly *Aaj*was published devoted to the city of Karachi under the title "Karachi ki Kahani" ("Story of Karachi"). It was very well received by readers and reviewers alike. The following excerpts from a few of the press reviews tell about the range and quality of the material put together in the special issue: A compendium on Karachi: a hundred years hence, this two-volume compilation will serve as a source of basic information about this megapolis. ― Muhammad Ali Siddiqui,* Dawn*, Karachi, 7 June 1996 Ajmal Kamal, who produced an earlier number of *Aaj *on the ethnic cauldron of former Yugoslavia, has tried to get to Karachi's personality and its concealed layers of self-destruction. The two volumes under review are an act of courage… Ajmal Kamal has performed the incredible task of unearthing the real history of a city exploited by its leaders… The two volumes of *Aaj * provide new ways of looking at the city and ourselves. *― *Khaled Ahmed,* The Friday Times*, Lahore, 21-29 May 1996 We must all celebrate the publication of the two volumes of *Aaj* on Karachi titled *Karachi** ki Kahani*. We have here, almost for the first time, a window on Karachi which affords an expansive revealing view of the various transformations that the city has endured… *Karachi ki Kahani *may still be partially told but* Aaj *has fostered our essential kinship with a city in which the nation's own crisis of identity must be resolved. *― *Ghazi Salahuddin,* Newsline*, Karachi, May 1996 This anthology of writings on Karachi is a painstaking labour of love, an attempt to rescue the city from the kind of thinking which can lead only to despair… The effort that has gone into the selection and editing of the material and the translation from English and Sindhi must have called for almost a superhuman stamina for work, to say nothing of a dedication to the ideal of creating an environment of harmony and peace in a city torn by senseless dissensions. *― *M. H. Askari,* The Herald*, Karachi, June 1996 *Contributors* The two-volume anthology is dedicated to the memory of Jamshed Nusserwanji Mehta, Karachi's benefactor and long-time head of the Karachi Municipality. The writings of the following are included in the anthology: Naomal Hotchand, John Brunton, K.R. Malkani, Pir Ali Mohammad Rashdi, Nagendranath Gupta, Lokram Dodeja, Sohrab Katrak, Dr. Feroz Ahmed, G. D. Khosla, Mohan Kalpana, Shaikh Ayaz, Sobho Gyanchandani, Kewal Motwani, Hatim Alvi, Hasan Habib, A. K. Brohi, Anwar Shaikh, Mir Imdad Ali, Abdul Hameed Shaikh, Hasan Manzar, Asad Mohammad Khan, Sigrid Kahle, Anita Ghulam Ali, Fahmida Riaz, Akhtar Hameed Khan, Asif Farrukhi, Mohammad Hanif, Zeenat Hisam, Benjamin Anthony, Sharif Soz, Liaquat Munawwar, Bexter Bhatti, Nasreen Stephen, Asif Shahbaz, Mahboob Jan, Tasneem Siddiqui, Kenneth Fernandez, Jan van der Linden, S Akbar Zaidi, Mark Tully, Arif Hasan. *The Proposed Book: Story of **Karachi* It is proposed that a book, based on the special issue of *Aaj*, be published simultaneously in English and Urdu under the title *Story of Karachi *and *Karachi** ki Kahani* respectively. Each edition (English and Urdu) will consist of two volumes of around 430 pages each. The Urdu and Sindhi writings included in the special issue have been translated into English and are being copy-edited at the moment. The proposed date of publication is 01 January 2007. The tentative price of the two-volume set would be: English: Rs.950 Urdu: Rs.950 *How can you participate?* You can participate and earn a grateful acknowledgement in the proposed book in one of the following ways: 1. Help in getting financial support for the production of the book; 2. Give design input; 3. Get advance orders for the book -- Ajmal Kamal City Press Publishing House, Bookshop and Film Club 316 Madina City Mall, Abdullah Haroon Road, Saddar, Karachi 74400, Pakistan. Tel: (92-21) 5650623, 5213916 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060913/9ac48473/attachment.html From tripta at gmail.com Thu Sep 14 14:53:43 2006 From: tripta at gmail.com (Tripta B Chandola) Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2006 14:53:43 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: South-South Research Seminar on Democratic Developmental States References: <450916CC.1060804@kein.org> Message-ID: Begin forwarded message: > From: Soenke Zehle > Date: 14 September 2006 2:16:04 PM > To: incom > Subject: South-South Research Seminar on Democratic > Developmental States > > [via SEATINI] > > > > APISA - CLACSO - CODESRIA > > SOUTH-SOUTH COMPARATIVE RESEARCH SEMINARS > > THEME: THE FEASIBILITY OF DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENTAL STATES IN THE SOUTH > > DATES: 27-30 November, 2006 > > VENUE: Kampala, Uganda. > > CALL FOR APPLICATIONS > > 1. INTRODUCTION: THE NEED FOR A SOUTHERN REFLECTION ON THE > DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENTAL STATE > > The Asian Political and International Studies Association (APISA), > the Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO) and the > Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa > (CODESRIA) are pleased to announce the Africa/Asia/Latin America > scholarly collaborative initiative encompassing joint research, > training, publishing and dissemination activities by researchers > drawn from across the global South, and to call for applications > for participation in the South-South comparative research seminars > they are organising within the framework of the initiative. The > theme that has been selected for the fourth seminar in the series > is: The Feasibility of the Democratic Developmental State in the > South. The seminar will take place in Kampala, Uganda, from 27 - 30 > November, 2006. It is designed to generate a collective reflection > among Southern intellectuals on a theme which is enjoying a revival > against the backdrop of the crises of neo-liberalism. > > During the 1970s, in the wake especially of the transformations > which the countries of East Asia were undergoing, a major > discussion took place on the notion and experience of the > developmental state. The debates covered a variety of concerns: the > nature of the accumulation of capital that was going on, the > implication of the export-orientation strategy that underpinned it, > the feasibility of the developmental state that was emerging, its > basic institutional attributes, the nature of the relationship > between the state and business, the sustainability of the > developmental state over the long-run, its social discontents and > environmental impacts, its democratic deficits, the geo-political > and strategic security contexts that triggered it in some regions > of the South, its replicability in other regions of the developing > world, the failure of developmentalism to take-root in some > countries, and the local and global policy environments that shaped > it. > > During the 1980s, however, the developmental state debate went into > recession as the neo-liberal market ideology gathered steam and > sustained ideological attacks were launched both against the state > as an institution and the state-led model of accumulation that > predominated in the post-1945 period. During the two and half > decades that market-led economic reforms prevailed and neo- > liberalism enjoyed an ideological and a policy hegemony, all > suggestions about an effective role for the state in the > development process were deemed passé and illegitimate. Indeed, > some even went so far as to proclaim the end of history on the > basis of the alleged triumph of market capitalism over state > socialism, and with it the death of development. It took a costly > realisation that two and half decades of structural adjustment had > failed signally to deliver the results that had been expected for > reluctant efforts to begin to be made in the second half of the > 1990s to recognise that the state had an inevitable and unavoidable > role in development. Moreover, the type of state that was called > for and the role which it needed to play could not simply be > limited to a night watchman function of providing an enabling > environment "that was nothing more than another way of re-casting > the ideology of the minimalist state of the 1980s„ but, more > crucially, a state that is developmentalist in its ideological > moorings, institutional chatacteristics and operational practices. > It was in this context that the debate on the developmental state > was revived, aided and popularised by spectacular episodes of > market failures in East Asia and Latin America that took a huge > toll that is comparable to the equally huge social costs that > structural adjustment exacted across Africa, Central America and > the Caribbeans, and South Asia. > > The renewed debate on the developmental state is, however, taking > place in a vastly changed political context in which pressures for > democracy, whether popular or liberal, are in evidence globally and > across the South. Also, all over the world, citizens are forging > new claims of entitlement on the state and social policy has come > to occupy a central place in politics. It is this context that, in > part, accounts for the push to address the feasibility of bringing > the state back more centrally into the developmental process as the > leading agency in the developmental process whilst simultaneously > building the socio-political foundations on which it is anchored on > democratic principles and inclusive social policies that are > capable of producing a democratic developmentalism. Participants in > the Kampala session of the South-South Comparative Research > Seminars are invited to reflect on the feasibility of the > democratic developmental state in Africa, Asia and Latin America, > doing so by revisiting the broad contours of the old developmental > state debate whilst simultaneously addressing on-going efforts > aimed at tackling the social and democratic deficits in the earlier > experiments in developmentalism that occurred in East Asia by > treating the notion of development as going beyond economic growth > to include human development, social justice and environmental > sustainability, as well as focusing on issues of regime types, > embededness, and representativity. Other concerns that would merit > being addressed include the possibility for the emergence or > sustenance of a democratic developmental state in the South in the > light of the widening national, South-South, and North-South > inequalities that characterise the contemporary world system, the > asymmetries that are built into the international development > architecture such as it is presently structured, the constraints > posed by the pre-dominantly neo-liberal tone and tenor of > contemporary globalisation, and the implications of the hegemonic > position of international finance capital driven by a speculative > logic over manufacturing capital. > > 2. OBJECTIVES: > > Within the ambit of the APISA-CLACSO-CODESRIA collaboration, a > series of activities and programmes has been scheduled for > implementation over the period to the end of 2007, among them three > annual comparative research seminars. The seminars are designed to > serve as a research forum for the generation of fresh and original > comparative insights on the diverse problems and challenges facing > the countries of the South. In doing so, it is hoped also that the > seminars will contribute to the revival and consolidation of cross- > regional networking among Southern scholars, foster a scholarly > culture of Southern cross-referencing, and contribute to a type of > theory-building that is more closely attuned to the shared > historical contexts and experiences of the countries and peoples of > the South. The seminars will be rotated among the three continents > where the lead collaborating institutions are located, namely, > Africa, Asia and Latin America. This way, participants in the > seminars who will also be drawn from all three continents will be > exposed to the socio-historical contexts of other regions of the > South as an input that will help to broaden their analytical > perspectives and improve the overall quality of their scientific > engagements. > > The underlying objective of the comparative research seminars is to > offer participants an opportunity to transcend the limitations of > received wisdom emanating from structures and processes of > knowledge production and dissemination that are characterised by > various degrees and layers of inequality. In doing so, it is hoped > to both motivate and equip participants in the seminar with the > critical theoretical and methodological perspectives that might be > appropriate for gaining a full understanding of the specific > situation of countries and peoples located outside the core of the > international system such as it is presently structured. The main > premise for this effort is the glaring inadequacy of the theories > and methodologies developed in the North, and crystallised in the > mainstream social sciences, to provide the required instruments for > the attainment of a sound and holistic understanding of the > problems confronting â•„ and, in many cases, overwhelming the > countries of the South. Through the seminars, it is hoped to be > able to mobilise scholars from across the South to reflect on the > alternatives that are available for overcoming the present > situation. This way, the seminars will contribute to the promotion > of a better knowledge and understanding of the theories and > methodological approaches developed in different regions of the > South as alternatives to the dominant, Northern-biased paradigms > that have shaped the social sciences. It is also expected that > participants will become acquainted with the local intellectual > environment in the regions where different sessions of the seminar > are hosted, and strengthen their comparative research capacities in > the process. In sum, the seminars are structured to serve as a > unique forum for enhancing a deeper understanding among Southern > scholars of the history, politics, economy and culture of the > countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America, and offer an > opportunity to participants to develop long-lasting collaborative > relationships with their counterparts from other Southern countries. > > 3. ELIGIBILITY FOR PARTICIPATION: > > Scholars resident in countries of the South and who are pursuing > active academic careers are eligible to apply to participate in the > seminars. Each applicant should have an advanced university > education and an established track record of research and > publishing in any of the disciplines of the social sciences and > humanities. Selection for participation will be on the basis of a > competitive process. All together, 12 people will be selected for > participation in the institute on the basis of four each from > Africa, Asia and Latin America. The full participation costs of the > selected laureates will be covered, including their travel costs > (economy return air tickets), accommodation and subsistence. > > 4. COORDINATION: > > Each seminar will be convened and coordinated by an experienced > Southern scholar recognised for the versatility of his/her > knowledge, acknowledged for his/her skills in applying the > comparative methodology, and known either for the depth of work s/ > he has done in different regions of the South or for his/her > capacity to draw on experiences from across the South in his/her > writings. The convenor/coordinator will be responsible for > establishing the comparative framework for the seminar for which s/ > he is responsible and will work with each participant to determine > his or her primary area of focus. S/he will also undertake the task > of synthesising results produced by the researchers into one major > publication that will be designed to serve as a major statement on > the theme of the seminar. > > 5. THE 2006 SEMINAR SCHEDULED FOR KAMPALA, UGANDA: > > For the 2006 session of the South-South comparative research > seminar, it has been decided by APISA, CLACSO and CODESRIA to host > it in Kampala, Uganda. CODESRIA will assume overall responsibility > within the tri-continental partnership for the session. The local > institutional host in Uganda that will be working closely with > CODESRIA in managing the seminar is the Centre for Basic Research. > The seminar will run from 27 to 30 November, 2006. It is a > requirement that prospective laureates should have a demonstrable > working knowledge of the English language. APISA, CLACSO and > CODESRIA will work together with the local host to facilitate the > procurement of entry visas to Uganda for the prospective > participants whose applications are successful. At the end of the > seminar, each participant will be expected to produce a publishable > article which will be considered for inclusion in the book of > proceedings that will be issued. > > 6. APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS: > > Every researcher wishing to be considered for selection as one of > the 12 scholars to be invited to participate in the any of the > comparative research seminars organised within the framework of the > APISA-CLACSO-CODESRIA tri-continental partnership is required to > submit an application that will comprise the following key items of > documentation: > > a) An outline research proposal, written in English, on the subject > on which s/he would like to work. The topic selected must be > related to the theme of the seminar and should have a demonstrable > comparative potential. Proposals should not exceed 10 pages in > length and should have a clearly defined problematic which can be > followed through further research and culminate in a publishable > scientific paper; > > b) A covering letter, of one-page, which should indicate the > motivation of the prospective researcher for wanting to participate > in the seminar and explaining how they envisage that they and their > institution will benefit from the programme; > > c) An updated Curriculum Vitae complete with the names of the > professional and personal references of the researcher, the > scientific discipline(s) in which s/he is working, the nationality > of the applicant, a list of recent publications, and a summary of > the on-going research activities in which the applicant is involved; > > d) A photocopy of the highest university degree obtained by the > applicant and of the relevant pages of his/her international > passport containing relevant identity data; > > 7. APPLICATION PROCEDURES AND DEADLINE > > As the comparative research seminar will involve the participation > of researchers from Africa, Asia and Latin America, it has been > decided that applicants resident in Africa should submit their > applications to CODESRIA, those resident in Asia to APISA and those > resident in Latin America to CLACSO. The full contact details for > APISA, CLACSO AND CODESRIA are reproduced below for the attention > of all prospective applicants. The deadline for the receipt of > applications is 31 October, 2006. Applications found to be > incomplete or which arrive after the deadline will not be taken > into consideration. > > An independent Selection Committee charged with screening all > applications received will meet shortly after the deadline for the > receipt of applications. Successful applicants will be notified > immediately the Selection Committee completes it work. Notification > of results will be dome by e-mail, fax and post. The results of the > selection exercise will also be published on the websites of APISA, > CLACSO and CODESRIA. > >  Latin American and Caribbean applicants should send their > applications to: > > CLACSO, > > (2006 South-South Comparative Research Seminars) > > Callao 875, 3º (1023) Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA > Tel: (54 11) 4811-6588 / 4814-2301; Fax: (54 11) 4812-845 > E-mail: programa_sur-sur at campus.clacso.edu.ar > > Website: http://www.clacso.org > >  Asian applicants should send their applications to: > > APISA, > > (2006 South-South Comparative Research Seminars) > > Strategic Studies and International Relations Program > > Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, MALAYSIA > > Tel: 603- 89213647; Fax: 603-89213332 > > E-Mail: secretariat at apisanet.org > > Website: http://www.apisainfo.org > > > >  African applicants should send their applications to: > > CODESRIA, > > (2006 South-South Comparative Research Seminars), > > BP 3304, CP 18524, Dakar, SENEGAL > > Tel: (221) 825 9822: Fax: (221) 824 1289 > > E-mail: south.institute at codesria.sn > > Website: http://www.codesria.org > > _______________________________________________ > incom-l mailing list > incom-l at incommunicado.info > http://mail.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/incom-l http://the-summer-afternoon-stillness.blogspot.com/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/summer-afternoon-stillness/ http://listcultures.org/mailman/listinfo/multiplicity_listcultures.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060914/f0af0401/attachment.html From wrc at chintan-india.org Thu Sep 14 13:36:13 2006 From: wrc at chintan-india.org (wrc at chintan-india.org) Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2006 13:36:13 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] apology from alitalia Message-ID: <20060914080748.21962.qmail@ngblhost1.netgables.com> An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed... Name: not available Url: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060914/6c3d0233/attachment.pl -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060914/6c3d0233/attachment.html From aarti at sarai.net Fri Sep 15 13:31:15 2006 From: aarti at sarai.net (Aarti Sethi) Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2006 13:31:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Films @ Sarai Message-ID: <4BE85201-40FE-4A29-915E-ADA118FEFA5D@sarai.net> [[FILM]] temporary loss of consciousness 35 mins, Colour, India, 2005 A film by Monica Bhasin 6:00 P.M, Friday, 15 September 2006 Sarai-CSDS Seminar Room ‘temporary loss of consciousness’ alludes to the recurring displacement of populations in the Indian subcontinent from the time of Partition (1947) to the present. The film explores the ideas of borders, boundaries, limits and forbidden spaces that generate vast expanses of wastelands of human emotion and action. Treated as a poetic essay the film tracesthese ideas through the voices of those that live in exile in the Indian subcontinent. It has been shot in New Delhi apart from the borders of India - Pakistan and India and Bangladesh. Falling in the genre of Experimental Documentary, the film constructs meaning through juxtaposition of several elements like found footage of Independence/Partition, constructed narratives spoken in the respective languages of the affected populace and abstractions of abandoned spaces or spaces of refuge. Characters from ‘Toba Tek Singh’, a short story by Saadat Hasan Manto, are woven into the structure and the spoken narratives are poetic in character, speaking of longing and belonging, home and honour, loss and betrayal, boundaries and crossings. The screening will be followed by a discussion with Monica Bhasin, the director of the film. [Monica Bhasin is a filmmaker/editor who graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, in 2004. She is previously a graduate of the Mass CommunicationResearch Center, Jamia Millia Islamia University (1992) New Delhi, India. For many years she worked as an editor for documentary films in Delhi and she recently completed her first non-fiction film called temporary loss of consciousness. The film has screened at the Indo American Art Council Film Festival 2005, New York as well as at the Mumbai International FilmFestival for Documentaries, Shorts and Animation, 2006, Mumbai.] ******************************************* Saacha (The Loom)49 Mins, English and Marathi versions, 2001 A film by K.P. Jayasankar and Anjali Monteiro 7:00 P.M., Friday, 15 September 2006 Sarai-CSDS Seminar Room Second Prize, New Delhi Video Forum, 2001 Saacha is about a poet, a painter and a city. The poet is Narayan Surve, and the painter Sudhir Patwardhan. The city is the city of Mumbai (a.k.a. Bombay), the birth place of the Indian textile industry and the industrial working class. Both the protagonists have been a part of the left cultural movement in the city. Weaving together poetry and paintings with accounts of the artists and memories of the city, the film explores the modes and politics of representation, the relevance of art in the contemporary social milieu, the decline of the urban working class in an age of structural adjustment, the dilemmas of the left and the trade union movement and the changing face of a huge metropolis. The screening will be followed with a discussion with the directors, Anjali Monteiro and K.P. Jayashankar. [Anjali Monteiro is Professor, and K.P. Jayasankar is Professor and Chair, Centre for Media and Cultural Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences. Monteiro has a Masters degree in Economics and a Ph.D. in Sociology. Jayasankar has an M.A. in German language and a Ph.D. in Humanities and Social Sciences. Both of them are involved in media production, teaching and research. Jointly they have won thirteen national and international awards for their films. A presiding thematic of much of their work has been problematising of notions of self and the other, of normality and deviance, of the local and the global, through the exploration of diverse narratives and rituals. They have several papers in the area of media and cultural studies and have contributed to scholarly journals such as Cultural Studies.] ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ From machleetank at gmail.com Fri Sep 15 11:44:57 2006 From: machleetank at gmail.com (Jasmeen P) Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2006 11:44:57 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] BLANK NOISE: NIGHT ACTION PLAN Message-ID: Are you ready for the Night Action Plan? where: Our Friday Night Action Plan begins from Delhi Haat at 9 pm------girl's hostel------towards Sarojini Nagar Market. criteria: wear something you always wanted to but could not. Walk includes some talk. food. drink and 'action' warning: (Action might require people to sprint, hide, run) Confirm by calling Blank Noise Delhi at 98734 85284 We will arrange for taxis to get home. Blank Noise will be grateful if people lend their cars for public service. Thankyou! Jasmeen for the Blank Noise Team BLANK NOISE PROJECT Ph:+ 91 98734 85284 (In Delhi) + 91 98868 40612 (Bangalore) www.blanknoiseproject.blogspot.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060915/2522412d/attachment.html From machleetank at gmail.com Fri Sep 15 11:47:16 2006 From: machleetank at gmail.com (Jasmeen P) Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2006 11:47:16 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] SOME MORE NOISE! In-Reply-To: <277f58b70609142310h6412122du9af7b6a4aab04443@mail.gmail.com> References: <277f58b70609140616s5075b9ecrd9a2d124a63f468f@mail.gmail.com> <277f58b70609142310h6412122du9af7b6a4aab04443@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: SOME MORE NOISE!!! is a sound and performance intervention scheduled for Sept 17th at South Ex Subway, New Delhi at 6 pm Blank Noise calls for volunteers, both male and female ! Women volunteers are requested to wear something they have always wanted to but have not. Volunteers are expected to meet at Barista, South Ex 1 at 4 30 sharp To participate please call 98734 85284 immediately! We look forward to having you on board! The Blank Noise Team BLANK NOISE PROJECT Ph:+ 91 98734 85284 (In Delhi) + 91 98868 40612 (Bangalore) www.blanknoiseproject.blogspot.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060915/b59b67a2/attachment.html From radiofreealtair at gmail.com Mon Sep 18 08:41:13 2006 From: radiofreealtair at gmail.com (Anand Taneja) Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2006 20:11:13 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] New photos Message-ID: <1570078862.1158549073497.JavaMail.ringo@ringo16.tickle.com> Check this out: http://www.ringo.com/i.html?i=156227668x22462&homeEmail=reader-list%40sarai.net&firstName=Reader&lastName=List&origin=invite Block invitations from Anand: http://www.ringo.com/friends/invite/block.html?memberId=156227668&email=reader-list%40sarai.net&origin=invite Block all invitations: http://www.ringo.com/friends/invite/block.html?email=reader-list%40sarai.net&origin=invite -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060917/5a52c8c0/attachment.html From vivek at sarai.net Mon Sep 18 14:12:47 2006 From: vivek at sarai.net (Vivek Narayanan) Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2006 14:12:47 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] SARAI-CSDS INDEPENDENT FELLOWSHIPS, 2007: Call for Proposals Message-ID: <450E5C07.7070603@sarai.net> Please note: the schedule for the ifellows programme has changed. This year, although October 31 is still the deadline for applications, the fellowship term will now run from March to the end of October 2007 (fellows are required to be in the country until then to complete the term and attend the fellowship workshop at the beginning of November). --Vivek. CALL FOR PROPOSALS – SARAI-CSDS INDEPENDENT FELLOWSHIPS, 2007 Applications are invited for the upcoming cycle of Sarai-CSDS Independent Research Fellowships. The Sarai Programme, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi Sarai is a programme of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), Delhi. CSDS is one of India's best known research centres, with traditions of dissent and a commitment to the work of the public intellectual going back four decades. The Sarai Programme at CSDS was initiated in 2000 as a platform for discursive and creative collaboration between theorists, researchers and practitioners actively engaged in reflecting on contemporary urban spaces in South Asia—their politics, built form, ecology, culture and history—as well as on the histories, practices and politics of information and communication technologies, the public domain and media forms. For more information, visit www.sarai.net *The Purpose of the Independent Fellowship* The Sarai-CSDS Independent Fellowships allow the time for individuals from diverse backgrounds to either begin or continue research into specific aspects of media and urban culture and society, broadly and creatively defined, and to also think carefully and rigorously about the various public forms in which their research might be rendered. We are also interested in using the materials generated through the research to continue to build up our thematic archive of research on the city. Thus, we see the fellowship as an important source for this archive. Finally, an important purpose of the fellowship program is to spark, overlap and allow access to newly emerging research networks across disciplines, academic and non-academic institutions, organisations, practices, geographical locations and professional backgrounds. We are thus invested in the idea of what we call public and distributed research, where new knowledge is created and shaped from a variety of locations, and not just in a top-down fashion. Participants in the fellowship programme are expected to have a very strong and independent motivation towards the pursuit of their own specialised areas of research, but also to respond to and critique the research of others in the programme as intelligent non-specialists, and be open to suggestions and comments from non-specialists. Each year, a large number of the fellowships are awarded to projects that deploy standard methodologies and forms from the humanities and social sciences towards what we feel are justly deserving, new and emergent areas of research. We would like to not lose sight of these tried and tested methodologies in the humanities and social sciences, and will place a special emphasis on them this year. However, a significant number of fellowships are also awarded to projects that are innovative both in terms of what they consider to be research, as well as the variety of purposes and forms to which that research is applied. As a result, we encourage the inclusion of individuals with little or no previous formal research experience who want to pursue, more rigorously, a passion for a tightly-focused, feasible, understudied research topic; and equally, we encourage individuals with seasoned research experience in a conventional context to experiment with forms that are relatively new to them. For detailed abstracts of successful proposals from previous years, please visit www.sarai.net and click on the link for "Independent Fellowships" on the left-hand sidebar. *Conditions* --For administrative purposes, applicants are required to be resident in India, and to have an account in any bank operating in India. --Applications can be in Hindi or in English. The research work and presentation can also be in either Hindi, English, or a combination of the two languages. *Please note that this year the schedule for the Independent Fellows programme has changed.* --The research fellowship will run from March 2007 to the end of October 2007, with a final workshop that all fellows are expected to attend. It will award up to Rs 70,000 during this period. --Fellows will be required to make a minimum of six postings, one per month, on Sarai's "reader-list" email listserve, between February and the end of August 2007. --A working draft or initial prototype of the final work will be expected by the end of September. The final presentation of the research project will be made in Delhi at the beginning of November 2007. --The fellowships do not require the fellows to be resident at Sarai. --Although participation in the fellowship programme does require a substantial time commitment—to the research, the postings on progress, and interaction with other researchers and projects in the fellowship cycle—participants are also welcome to pursue the fellowship research in addition to their primary occupations or commitments to other fellowships or grants, if any. --Proposals from teams, partnerships, collectives and faculty are welcome, as long as the grant amount is administered by and through a single individual, and the funds are deposited in a single bank account in the name of an individual, partnership, registered body or institutional entity. --Applicants who apply to other institutions for support for the same project will not be disqualified, provided they inform Sarai if and when support is being sought (or has been obtained) from another institution. The applicants should also inform Sarai about the identity of the other institution. *What Do You Need To Send, Where and When?* There are no application forms. Simply send us by postal mail your: 1. Name(s), email address(es), phone(s), and postal address(es). 2. Proposal (not more than 1200 words) including details of the subject, process, mode of public presentation and rationale for the research. Your proposal will be greatly strengthened if you are also able to indicate the kinds of materials that you think your research project would be able to generate for the Sarai archive. In the past, fellows have submitted transcripts of interviews, photographs, recordings, printed matter, maps, multimedia and posters, related to the subject of their study, to this archive. 3. Two work samples: if possible, the samples of previous work done should give us a sense of your preferred mode of public presentation for this project (e.g., academic research paper, narrative prose, multimedia, video, performance, photography, installation, sound recording, "creative" writing, prototype design, combinations of the above, etc.) and also suggest to us how you might understand your upcoming research process for this fellowship. The work samples can—but do not necessarily have to—make reference to the current research topic. 4. A clear work plan (not more than one page) with, if possible, a month-by-month breakdown of the research work. 5. An updated CV (not more than two pages) for each applicant, and a short text (about half a page) giving us your intellectual biography. --Send these to: ATTN: I-FELLOWS PROPOSAL 2005-2006, Independent Fellowship Programme, Sarai, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi 110054, India. --Enquiries: vivek at sarai.net for English proposals, ravikant at sarai.net for Hindi proposals. --Last date for submission: English proposals should be postmarked on or before Tuesday, October 31, 2006; Hindi proposals should be postmarked on or before Monday, November 13, 2006. --The list of successful proposals for 2007 will be announced on the Sarai website, and on Sarai's email list, reader-list at sarai.net, between the end of December 2006 and the beginning January 2007. For more details on joining the reader-list, please visit www.sarai.net and click on "LISTS at Sarai". *Who Can Apply? * There is absolutely no pre-qualification required for application to the Sarai-CSDS Independent Fellowship. Sarai invites independent researchers, media practitioners, working professionals, software designers and programmers, urbanists, architects, artists and writers, as well as students (postgraduate level and above) and university/college faculty to apply for support for research-driven projects. *What Other Fellowships Does Sarai Offer?* Sarai offers an exciting "Student Stipendship" for students at academic institutions wishing to pursue closely mentored and innovative research (contact: Sadan Jha, sadan at sarai.net) and a "FLOSS Independent Fellowship" for programmers and coders wishing to develop free and open source software (contact: Gora Mohanty, gora at sarai.net). Please note that the Sarai Media Fellowships have been discontinued. MORE INFORMATION *Why Research? What Do We Mean by Research? * Sarai is committed to generating public knowledge and creativity through research. Hence the support for research driven projects and processes. The fellowships are in the nature of small grants in order to emphasise the initiation and founding of projects that would otherwise go unsupported. By research we mean both archival and field research, and forays into theoretical work as well as any process or activity of an experimental or creative nature—for instance in the audiovisual media, as well as in journalism or the humanities and social sciences, or in architecture and socially attuned computing. We are especially interested in supporting projects that formulate precise and cogent intellectual questions, reflect on modes of understanding that implicate knowledge production within a critical social framework, foregrounding processes of gathering information and of creating links between bodies of information. We also encourage research that is based on a strong engagement with archival materials and imaginative ways of tackling the question of the public rendition of research activity. *The Experience of Previous Years* This is the sixth year in which Sarai is calling for proposals for such fellowships. We would like to describe how the process has worked in previous years, as an indication of what applicants should expect. These included work toward projects based on investigative reportage of urban issues; essays on everyday life; a history of urban Dalit performance traditions; soundscapes of the city; a graphic novel about Delhi; a documentation of the free software movement in India; research on displacement and rehabilitation in cities; interpretative catalogues of wall writings and public signages; digital manipulation of popular studio portrait photographs; the limitations of language in shrinking public spaces in Srinagar; histories of cinema halls and studios in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata; a study of the world of popular crime fiction in Bengali; reflections on the Kashmiri 'encounter' in Delhi, and many others. Successful applicants included freelance researchers, academics, media practitioners, artists, writers, journalists, activists and professionals such as nurses and bankers. The projects were submitted in English, Hindi or a combination of the two languages. We have seen that projects that set important but practical and modest goals were usually successful, whereas those that may have been conceptually sound but lacked sufficient motivation to actually pursue a research objective on the field, usually did not take off beyond the interim stage. Sarai interacts closely with the researchers over the period of the fellowship, and the independent fellows make a public presentation of their work at Sarai at the end of their fellowship period. During the term of their fellowship each fellow is required to make a posting to our email list every month, reporting on the development of their work. These postings, which are archived, are an important means by which the research process reaches a wider discursive community. They also help us to trace the progress of work during the grant period, and understand how the research interfaces with a larger public. Submissions at the end of the fellowship period included written reports and essays, photographs, tape recordings, audio CDs, video, pamphlets, maps, drawings and html presentations. Fellows have made their final presentations in the form of academic papers, lecture-demonstrations and performances. *What Happens to the Research Projects?* The annual research projects add to our increasingly substantial archival collections on urban space and media culture. These are proving to be very significant value additions to the availability of knowledge resources in the public domain. Researchers are free to publish or render any part or all of their projects in any forms, independently of Sarai (but with due acknowledgment of the support that they have received from Sarai). Sarai Independent Research Fellows have gone on to publish articles in journals, work towards the making of films, exhibitions, websites, multimedia works and performances, and the creation of graphic novels, soundworks and books. We actively encourage all such efforts. *What We Are Looking For* As in the past, this year too we are looking for proposals that are imaginatively articulated, experimental and methodologically innovative, but which are pragmatic and backed up by a well-argued work plan which sets out a timetable for the project, as well as suggests how the support will help with specific resources (human and material) that the project needs. Suggested Themes: Sarai's interests lie in the city and in media. Broadly speaking, any proposal that looks at the urban condition, or at media, is eligible. Proposals for projects that seek to push disciplinary limits and boundaries or break new ground, that offer fresh and detailed empricial insights, that desire to engage with questions and problems pertaining to cities, urban culture, media from a philosophically and conceptually enriched terrain of inquiry are especially welcome. We are committed to methodological and analytic rigour even as we are also keen to engage with sensibilities and registers of thought that are oppositional, dissident, heretical, imaginative and poetic. More specifically, themes may be as diverse as the experience of work in different locations, institutions and work cultures, histories of urban sexuality, heretical figures and imaginations, histories of particular media practices, legality and illegality, migration, transportation, surveillance, intellectual property, social/digital interfaces, urban violence, street life, technologies of urban control, health and the city, the political economy of media forms, digital art and culture, or anything else that the applicants feel will resonate with the philosophy and interests that motivate Sarai's work. We are particularly interested in work that comes from non-metropolitan and mofussil urban spaces, even though we continue to look for strong projects that articulate the realities of major cities. -- Vivek Narayanan Sarai: The New Media Initiative Centre for the Study of Developing Societies 29 Rajpur Road Delhi 110 054 From divyaz at yahoo.com Mon Sep 18 20:14:22 2006 From: divyaz at yahoo.com (divya sachar) Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2006 07:44:22 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] help for a film Message-ID: <20060918144422.28812.qmail@web34809.mail.mud.yahoo.com> hi, I know this is more of a place for reflections and observations and comments on lots of things, but it would be great if you read this one as well! I'm making a documentary on the various emotions, meanings and associations attached to women's breasts. Basically I'm trying to gather a number of personal experiences of women, related to their own bodies, and more specifically, to their breasts. I have been researching since god knows when and shot a bit with a few women as well, but am still looking for women who wouldn't mind talking about their bodies and breasts for the film Anonymity is not an issue, though i would obviously prefer it they don't have a hassle in coming in front of the camera. Please contact me on divyaz at yahoo.com or +91 9811330714 (Delhi) if you feel you can contribute to the film yourself, or please pass this mail around. Also, I thought it best to mention, I'm actually in a tearing hurry and need to speak to, and meet everyone at the speed of light! Thanks. Regards Divya Sachar __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From mail at shivamvij.com Mon Sep 18 23:34:10 2006 From: mail at shivamvij.com (Shivam Vij) Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2006 23:34:10 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] No Onions Nor Garlic Message-ID: <9c06aab30609181104i24be7c85jcf718ec9306f3da2@mail.gmail.com> Just the sort of stuff we need. Shivam -- Courtesy, The Bindhu Srividya has produced one of the finest fictional critiques of caste society. By S. Anand http://outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20060925&fname=Booksb&sid=1 NO ONIONS NOR GARLIC by Srividya Natarajan Penguin Pages: 336; Rs 295 In which debutant Srividya Natarajan pays her tribute to Shakespeare by arranging a cast of characters of various castes, sexualities and shapes; which is set in the English Department of Chennai University where professors invite a dead Foucault to a conference; where atrocities are committed on Brahmins (the up-trodden who suffer trodditude) by acts such as the pedestalisation of a bronze Ambedkar reading Annihilation of Caste; in which Students for Democracy are pitted against TamBrahmAss whose members have curd rice in their dental cavities and lemon/mango pickle under their fingernails; in which everyone is constantly referring to reportage in The Bindhu, plugging into e-prarthana.com for spiritual solace, or seeking post-menopausal bliss in the groping hands of triple-blessed swamis prefixed with Sri Sri Sri; in which Shakespeare's injunction to actors 'no onions nor garlic', interpreted via Manu, becomes a Tam-Brahm's way of life. The reader, if she enjoys comedy and satire, and can stomach caricatures of Tam-Brahms and their lifestyle, can laugh as loudly as some characters in this novel fart. The way the novel wears its comic heart on its sleeve is deceptive; Srividya has produced one of the finest fictional critiques of caste society. From gowharfazili at yahoo.com Tue Sep 19 12:27:38 2006 From: gowharfazili at yahoo.com (gowhar fazli) Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2006 23:57:38 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: [sociodse] Poetry Club, SUNDAYS, Arts Block 9:30 Message-ID: <20060919065738.14576.qmail@web60613.mail.yahoo.com> And it was at that age ... Poetry arrived in search of me. I don't know, I don't know where it came from, from winter or a river. I don't know how or when, (Neruda) bus ki dushwaar hai har kaam ka aasaaN hona aadmee ko bhee muyassar naheeN insaaN hona POETRY CLUB hamko maaluum hai jannat kii haqiiqat lekin dil ke Khush rakhane ko Ghalib ye Khayaal achchha hai The plan is to sit somewhere and share one’s poetic feelings/understandings/sensibilities with friends, elevating one’s sense of pleasure and sensitivity. So if you feel like coming and enjoying this session with a cup of tea, bring your own favourite self-written or others’ poetry and let your friends share its flavour. Every Sunday .9:30 a.m ..arts faculty .. For any further query ..anil/9868012022 Unfortunately, the balance of nature decrees that a super-abundance of dreams is paid for by a growing potential for nightmares. Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit. Peter Ustinov __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: gowhar fazli Subject: [sociodse] Poetry Club, SUNDAYS, Arts Block 9:30 Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2006 23:53:07 -0700 (PDT) Size: 6871 Url: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060918/49f57d0b/attachment.mht From pukar at pukar.org.in Tue Sep 19 10:56:18 2006 From: pukar at pukar.org.in (PUKAR) Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2006 10:56:18 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] [announcements] Two events in September Message-ID: <000b01c6dbac$25ba44e0$5866c2cb@freeda> PUKAR cordially invites you to two events in September: I A discussion in Marathi on 'Across Barriers: Caste in Religions' Speakers: Abhijit Deshpande Prakash Almeida The speakers will present their experiences about how caste is still a dominant force within religions - whether in Hinduism or in Christianity. There will be a discussion on how the caste system continues to foster social injustice. Date: Friday, 22nd September 2006 Time: 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM Venue: 1st floor, Shramik, Behind Yogi Hall, Near Dadar Station (East), Mumbai 14 II Screening of 'Q2P' (Documentary, 55 minutes, DV, English, Hindi) followed by a discussion Director: Paromita Vohra Q2P peers through the dream of a futuristic Bombay and finds... public toilets... not enough of them.... Q2P is a film about toilets and the city. It sifts through the dream of Mumbai as a future Shanghai and searches for public toilets, watching who has to queue to pee. As the film observes who has access to toilets and who doesn't, we begin to also see the imagination of gender that underlies the city's shape, the constantly shifting boundaries between public and private space; we learn of small acts of survival that people in the city's bottom half cobble together and quixotic ideas of social change that thrive with mixed results; we hear the silence that surrounds toilets and sense how similar it is to the silence that surrounds inequality. The toilet becomes a riddle with many answers and some of those answers are questions - about gender, about class, about caste and most of all about space, urban development and the twisted myth of the global metropolis. This film is produced by the PUKAR Gender & Space Project, funded by the Indo-Dutch Programme on Alternatives in Development (IDPAD) Date: Friday, 29th September 2006 Time: 6:30 PM onwards Venue: Max Mueller Bhawan Auditorium, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai 1 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) 6574 8152 Fax:: +91 (22) 6664 0561 Email:: pukar at pukar.org.in Website:: www.pukar.org.in -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... 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ARCHIVING MATERIAL FOR 7/11 FILM Message-ID: <20060919144053.41263.qmail@web34209.mail.mud.yahoo.com> hi... some of us here are trying to put together a film on the events on the evening of 7th july in mumbai. if there is any way you can help us, pls do write back. looking for video material, photographs, mobile snapshots, witness accounts, links to blogs or anything else that you think might be relevant. also, what did you think of the media coverage that evening? pls forward this mail. thanks. rudradeep mumbai 9867826754 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From aesthete at mail.jnu.ac.in Wed Sep 20 02:09:56 2006 From: aesthete at mail.jnu.ac.in (Dean School of Arts and Aesthetics) Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2006 02:09:56 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] documenta platform Message-ID: <1158698396.8e263e40aesthete@mail.jnu.ac.in> The School of Arts and Aesthetics cordially invites you to documenta 12 magazines – Transregional Meeting Saturday, September 23 6.00 pm School of Arts and Aesthetics, Auditorium, Jawaharlal Nehru University In co-operation with the Goethe-Institutes in New Delhi, Hong Kong, Sao Paulo, Cairo and New York, representatives from over 80 international print and online periodicals including editors, writers, theorists and artists are being invited to discuss the main themes and theories behind documenta 12. The focus of these meetings will be on the specific knowledge of a particular local context for a dialogue with documenta 12. These debates will be compiled in a series of publications representing a forum for the contemporary aesthetic discourse. This platform will form part of the documenta 12 exhibition in Kassel, Germany, in 2007. In Delhi, at the public session at the School of Arts and Aesthetics, Georg Schöllhammer, head of documenta 12 magazines, and Ruth Noack, documenta 12 curator, will introduce the project concept and discuss it with the public. Please do come. For information about the documenta magazines, click on the link below: www.documenta12.de/english/magazines.html ============================================== 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 aarti at sarai.net Wed Sep 20 13:02:29 2006 From: aarti at sarai.net (Aarti Sethi) Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2006 13:02:29 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Seminar: In the ruins of Truth: Massacre, Memory, Melancholia: Pradeep Jeganathan Message-ID: <1FD8D01B-DE15-467F-A772-FE818F6FE2A8@sarai.net> The Programme in Social and Political Theory takes great pleasure in inviting you to a talk by Pradeep Jeganathan on Thursday, 21 September 2006 at 3.30 pm at the CSDS Seminar Room. He will be speaking on "In the ruins of Truth: Massacre, Memory, Melancholia". Pradeep Jeganathan is Senior Research Fellow, International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES) Colombo, Sri Lanka. He is co-author with Prof Qadri Ismail of "Unmaking the Nation" and co-editor of Subaltern Studies, Vol 11. He has written extensively in various research journals and is currently Editor of "Domains", the ICES journal. He has also recently published a collection of short stories, "At the Edge of Water", which was shortlisted for the Graatien award. _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From aarti at sarai.net Fri Sep 22 00:08:37 2006 From: aarti at sarai.net (aarti at sarai.net) Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2006 20:38:37 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Call for Applications: A Masterclass on Imaginative Prose Message-ID: <1234.203.101.15.147.1158863917.squirrel@mail.sarai.net> Call for Applications: Imaginative Prose A masterclass facilitated by Sharmistha Mohanty 4 November 2006 to 12 December 2006 Sarai-CSDS 29 Rajpur Road Civil Lines Delhi 110054 This workshop is open to those who wish to have a serious engagement with prose writing, fiction or non-fiction, that is, imaginative prose. Because we are born into language, writing cannot be taught as a craft, like the other arts. We already know the codes, the grammar, how to make sentences, paragraphs, pages. In writing we work at the opposite end from a musician or a dancer who must first learn the basics, we need to refuse the ease with which words come. A first task then is to make a relationship with language, different from the everyday one. For myself, as a prose writer, I see speech as close to thought, writing as close to consciousness. That is why it is often possible in writing to express something unknown even to oneself. More than finding a way to make this relationship with language, we can look at how it can be allowed. This may mean expanding the space of language, not shrinking it by taking on given structures, or having too defined a purpose, or using a kind of language that has been worn out with use. A second task is to ask the question, what is form? In writing, form arises not from an external, not from mere wishes or ideals. Form arises from a real need. This is what must be identified, by everyone, individually, for themselves. Arising from a need and arriving at its shape through a struggle, each found form will have its own rigour and can never be whimsical or random. This also means that we can explore the very borders of prose, where it stands at the edge, perhaps, of poetry. By letting oneself be with these explorations, one can move towards a writing which is able to evoke what is not already known. The basic principle I will work with in conducting the workshop is that writing, because it cannot be “taught,” can only be guided, by a practitioner, and the best form of guidance is to work on the actual writing and take it forward through criticism and dialogue. Each participant will present at least two prose pieces of reasonable length during the course of the workshop. The work will be discussed at the workshop by myself and all the other participants. I will also hold one-on-one sessions with everyone at least once during the course. We will also be doing some reading, in a parallel track, reading which spans a vast array of prose forms. The reading however, will only be ancillary, it is the writing on which we will concentrate. [Sharmistha Mohanty studied at the Iowa Writers Workshop in the USA. She is the author of two novels, Book One, and the recently published New Life (India Ink/Roli Books.) Her translations of Tagore’s fiction, Broken Nest and Other Stories, is due out in early 2007. Mohanty’s work has appeared in journals in the USA, UK, France, and India, as well as the online journal www.inertiamagazine.com. She was a fellow at the Akademie Schloss Solitude in Germany and has been awarded a Senior Fellowship by the Minsitry of Culture. She has also worked as a scriptwriter, among others with Mani Kaul, for the film Nazar.] The workshop will have limited participants. Applicants should send in a writing sample of imaginative prose, not more than five pages, and a page on why they would like to attend this workshop. The workshop will run from November 4th to December 12th. There will be two sessions a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays. The sessions will begin at 4:00 p.m. and will run for three hours each time. Applications must be in by October 10th, 2006. Applicants will be informed by October 20th. There is a participant charge of Rs. 1500, payable on confirmation of selection. Applications and queries can be sent to dak at sarai.net, with the subject line "Creative Writing Workshop". Paper applications should be posted to: "Application for Creative Writing Workshop" Sarai / CSDS 29 Rajpur Road Delhi - 110054 _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From mail at shivamvij.com Sun Sep 24 19:52:28 2006 From: mail at shivamvij.com (Shivam Vij) Date: Sun, 24 Sep 2006 19:52:28 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] This wasn't one page one cos she wasn't a south Delhi model Message-ID: <9c06aab30609240722r5bc07edei696fee7635a542f6@mail.gmail.com> New Delhi, Sep 15 (IANS) A six-year-old Dalit girl from Uttar Pradesh continues to battle for life nearly a year after she was brutally raped, resulting in her uterus getting damaged. On Oct 4 last year, the victim was kidnapped while she was sleeping in her home in a village in Hamirpur district. A man from a dominant caste assaulted her near a temple. She was later found in a pool of blood. Her medical examination revealed that her genitals and uterus were severely damaged. Although she was operated upon immediately, doctors at a district hospital had advised more operations over the next few months, to be followed by plastic surgery. The victim's parents, however, do not have the necessary funds and the girl continues to suffer from physical pain and mental trauma. "She belongs to a very poor Dalit family. Her father is a landless labourer. Her family has spent more than Rs.50,000 which they had raised by taking loans from a village moneylender," said Santosh Kumar Samal, executive director of the Dalit Foundation that is trying to raise funds for the girl's rehabilitation. While the family received a paltry sum of Rs.25,000 as compensation from the district administration, the amount was spent in repaying the debt taken for her treatment. "Apart from the financial burden, the family is also suffering from social ostracising. No one in the village is willing to help them out except a few Dalit activists," Samal told IANS here. "Now the doctors have advised her to undergo two more operations as soon as possible. The surgery will cost her family more than Rs.30,000. The expenditure on her medical treatment is estimated to be around Rs.100,000," he said. Samal said the Dalit Foundation was trying to raise sufficient funds and get all that is required to take care of not only the medical treatment but for her complete rehabilitation. "The child is not able to go to school or lead a normal life because of her present condition," he added. --By Arun Anand From mail at shivamvij.com Sun Sep 24 20:16:27 2006 From: mail at shivamvij.com (Shivam Vij) Date: Sun, 24 Sep 2006 20:16:27 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] This wasn't one page one cos she wasn't a south Delhi model In-Reply-To: <9c06aab30609240722r5bc07edei696fee7635a542f6@mail.gmail.com> References: <9c06aab30609240722r5bc07edei696fee7635a542f6@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <9c06aab30609240746u4fd1e8f5y8eafa26fa5deb38@mail.gmail.com> To help with the financial aid, please contact the Dalit Foundation: http://dalitfoundation.org/060contact The report: http://www.teluguportal.net/modules/news/article.php?storyid=13737 From trebor at thing.net Mon Sep 25 00:35:40 2006 From: trebor at thing.net (Trebor Scholz) Date: Sun, 24 Sep 2006 15:05:40 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Architecture and Situated Technologies Message-ID: The Center for Virtual Architecture at the University at Buffalo, the Institute for Distributed Creativity, and The Architectural League of New York present: ARCHITECTURE AND SITUATED TECHNOLOGIES October 19-21, 2006 @ The Urban Center & Eyebeam New York City http://www.situatedtechnologies.net A 3-day symposium bringing together researchers and practitioners from art, architecture, technology and sociology to explore the emerging role of "situated" technologies in the design and inhabitation of the contemporary metapolis. Organized by Omar Khan, Trebor Scholz, and Mark Shepard Participants: Jonah Brucker-Cohen, Richard Coyne, Michael Fox, Anne Galloway, Charlie Gere, Usman Haque, Natalie Jeremijenko, Sheila Kennedy, Eric Paulos, Karmen Franinovic, Mette Ramsgard Thomsen, Kazys Varnelis Contact: Jessica Blaustein - blaustein at archleague.org Since the late 1980s, computer scientists and engineers have been researching ways of embedding computational intelligence into the built environment. Looking beyond the model of personal computing, which placed the computer in the foreground of our attention, "ubiquitous" computing takes into account the social dimension of human environments and allows computers themselves to vanish into the background. No longer solely virtual, human interaction with computers becomes socially integrated and spatially contingent as everyday objects and spaces are linked through networked computing. Today, researchers focus on how situational parameters inform the design of a wide range of mobile, wearable, networked, distributed and context-aware devices. Incorporating an awareness of cultural context, accrued social meanings, and the temporality of spatial experience, situated technologies privilege the local, context- specific and spatially contingent dimension of their use. Despite the obvious implications for the built environment, architects have been largely absent from this discussion, and technologists have been limited to developing technologies that take existing architectural topographies as a given context to be augmented. At the same time, to the extent that early adopters of these technologies have focused on commercial, military and law enforcement applications, we can expect to see new forms of consumption, warfare and control emerge. This symposium seeks to occupy the imaginary of these emerging technologies and propose alternate trajectories for their development. What opportunities and dilemmas does a world of networked "things" pose for architecture and urbanism? What distinguishes the emerging urban sociality enabled by mobile technologies and wireless networks? What post-optimal design strategies and tactics might we propose for an age of responsive environments, smart materials, embodied interactions, and participatory networks? How might this evolving relation between people and "things" alter the way we occupy, navigate, and inhabit the city? What is the status of the material object in a world privileging networked relations between "things"? How do distinctions between space and place change within these networked media ecologies? How do the social uses of these technologies, including (non-) affective giving, destabilize rationalized "use-case scenarios" designed around the generic consumer? Through a combination of presentations, discussions, and performative design scenarios organized around the notion of "encounter" with the city, this symposium will explore how architecture might contribute to the development of situated technologies, and how a critical engagement with these technologies might extend architecture beyond itself. +++ Architecture and Situated Technologies is a co-production of the Center for Virtual Architecture, The Institute for Distributed Creativity, and the Architectural League of New York, as part of the League's celebration of the 125th anniversary of its founding. Architecture and Situated Technologies is supported by the J. Clawson Mills Fund of the Architectural League and is supported in part by the School of Architecture and Planning and the Department of Media Study at the University at Buffalo. +++ The Center for Virtual Architecture at the University at Buffalo http://cva.ap.buffalo.edu The Center for Virtual Architecture¹s research is located at the intersection of architecture, new media and computational technologies. We are interested in the possibilities offered by computational systems for rethinking human interaction with (and within) the built environment. Our focus areas include learning environments, design environments, responsive architecture and locative media. Computational technology provides both a means and a medium for this research: an operative paradigm for conceptualizing relations between people, information, and the material fabric of everyday life. The Institute for Distributed Creativity http://www.distributedcreativity.org The research of the Institute for Distributed Creativity (iDC) focuses on sociable media and media theory with an emphasis on social justice. Its mailing list is a vivid discoursive platform for the social implications of emerging forms of networked sociality. The iDC is an international network that combines collaborative research, events, and documentation. The Architectural League of New York http://www.archleague.org The Architectural League of New York is an independent forum for the presentation and discussion of creative and intellectual work in architecture, urbanism, and related design disciplines. Founded in 1881, the League promotes excellence and innovation in architecture and urbanism by furthering the education of architects and designers, and by communicating to a broad audience the importance of architecture in public life. Through an active schedule of programs, the League provides a venue for contemporary work and ideas, identifies and encourages the work of talented young architects, creates opportunities for exploring new approaches to problems in the built environment, and fosters a stimulating community for dialogue and debate. All of the League¹s work is shaped by its ongoing commitment to interdisciplinary, intergenerational, and international exchange, and by its concern for the quality of architecture and city form as critical components of a vital and dynamic culture. From aarti at sarai.net Fri Sep 22 17:59:53 2006 From: aarti at sarai.net (Aarti Sethi) Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2006 17:59:53 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] The Crisis of Egalitarian Liberalism: Paul Fletcher Message-ID: <0D925C5D-B3FF-483C-9369-437FEDA3CCAE@sarai.net> Department of Political Science University of Delhi SEMINAR PAUL FLETCHER (Department of Religious Studies, Lancaster University) speaks on THE CRISIS OF EGALITARIAN LIBERALISM Venue: Main Lecture Hall, Faculty of Social Sciences Building, 2nd Floor (opposite Daulat Ram College) Date: 26th Sep 2006 Tuesday Time: 2.30 pm. ALL ARE WELCOME -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060922/79d9d39b/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From nalaka at tveap.org Sat Sep 23 04:50:14 2006 From: nalaka at tveap.org (Nalaka Gunawardene, TVE Asia Pacific) Date: Sat, 23 Sep 2006 05:20:14 +0600 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] [infosouth] Media for Cleaner Air in Asia: Journalists invited to apply for BAQ 2006 media scholarships Message-ID: <6.0.0.22.0.20060923051902.01c90568@mail.tveap.org> This news story also appears at: http://www.tveap.org/news/0609baq.html Media for Cleaner Air in Asia: Journalists invited to apply for BAQ 2006 media scholarships Manila/Colombo, 21 September 2006: A major new initiative was announced today for engaging Asian media professionals to cover the region’s quest for cleaner air. Two dozen journalists from across developing Asia will be granted media scholarships to attend Better Air Quality 2006 (BAQ 2006, www.baq2006.org) to be held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, from 13 to 15 December 2006. They will also benefit from skills training on clean air issues on 11 to 12 December 2006 at the same city. BAQ 2006 will be the year’s largest regional gathering of industry, research, government and civil society representatives committed to cleaner air in the world’s largest region, the Asia Pacific. The media scholarship programme is a joint effort by the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia, www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia) and TVE Asia Pacific (TVEAP, www.tveap.org) – two regional organisations committed to promoting better media coverage of clean air issues. “BAQ 2006 is a great opportunity for the national, regional and global media to understand important air pollution issues experienced by Asian cities and meet the people from each country who are the sources of information on these issues,” said Cornie Huizenga, Head of Secretariat of CAI-Asia. “Polluted air has been a concern of the Asian media for years,” says Nalaka Gunawardene, Director and Chief Executive Officer of TVE Asia Pacific. “But some efforts for cleaning up the air seem to be happening below the media’s radar. We hope our scholarship winners will highlight these and also focus on remaining challenges.” CAI-Asia and TVEAP will select up to 25 journalists from developing Asia (list of eligible countries given at the end) on an open, competitive basis. These journalists are to be drawn from print, broadcast and online media. As part of the scholarship, each journalist is expected to produce at least three (3) items (newspaper articles, radio/TV items, or online articles) using information and material gathered during BAQ 2006. Spending a working week in Yogyakarta, they will first attend a 2-day training workshop (December 11 – 12) on ‘Covering Asia’s quest for Cleaner Air: Where are the stories?’ that will be organized by TVE Asia Pacific. This will involve a mix of presentations by air quality experts and media specialists, discussion sessions, and viewing ‘best practice’ media products from around the world. Journalists will then be able to attend BAQ 2006 events of their choice during December 13 - 15, conducting their own investigations and interviews. The media specialists will remain available for on-site advice and support. Television journalists will be provided the free, shared services of a professional camera crew and basic non-linear editing facilities. CAI-Asia and TVEAP expect that these inputs will result in a higher level of coverage – both in terms of quantity and quality – on clean air related issues and concerns that will be highlighted at BAQ 2006. Applications will be accepted from mid-career journalists until 16 October 2006, and selections are to be announced by mid November 2006. * * * * * The Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia, www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia) is a multi-stakeholder network of institutions and individuals committed to improving air quality management (AQM) in Asia. It was launched in February 2001 to address the growing problem of air pollution that threatens public health, productivity, and overall quality of life in the region. ADB is a founding member of the initiative and, along with the World Bank, jointly hosts the CAI-Asia Secretariat. Its mission is to promote and demonstrate innovative ways to improve the air quality of Asian cities by sharing experiences and building partnerships. TVE Asia Pacific (TVEAP, www.tveap.org) is a regional not-for-profit organisation that uses television, video and Internet to raise awareness on sustainable development and social justice issues. Established in 1996, and governed by an international Board of Directors, TVEAP operates as an editorially independent, journalistic organisation. Working with experts and media professionals from across the region, TVEAP: produces and distributes TV programmes; trains TV professionals; consults on communications strategies; and networks with governments, civil society and educational institutions. Note: Media scholarships are available to full time journalist and regular freelancers engaged in the print, radio, television or online media in any of the following countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, People's Republic of China, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. For further information/clarifications on this press release, contact: Glynda Bathan, Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities Secretariat Phone: + 63 2 632 5151; Fax: + 63 2 636 2381; Email: Nalaka Gunawardene, TVE Asia Pacific (Television for Education – Asia Pacific) Phone: + 94 11 4412 195; Fax: + 94 11 4403 443; Email: More information and application forms available at: http://www.tveap.org/baq2006/index.html http://www.cleanairnet.org/baq2006/1757/propertyvalue-26756.html Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/infosouth/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/infosouth/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:infosouth-digest at yahoogroups.com mailto:infosouth-fullfeatured at yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: infosouth-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From pukar at pukar.org.in Mon Sep 25 11:17:56 2006 From: pukar at pukar.org.in (PUKAR) Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2006 11:17:56 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] [announcements] September 29 : Screening of 'Q2P' Message-ID: <001101c6e066$28411e00$3466c2cb@freeda> Screening of 'Q2P' (Documentary, 55 minutes, DV, English, Hindi) followed by a discussion Director: Paromita Vohra Q2P peers through the dream of a futuristic Bombay and finds... public toilets... not enough of them.... "Vohra juxtaposes the dream of Shanghai II with ground realities that our cities are built on rock solid inequalities. While glass offices continue to proliferate and a Delhi municipal officer dreams of building 'toilets that don't look like toilets,'' girl children and female teachers in Mumbai's BMC schools battle urinary infections - a by-product of zero toilet facilities. The film progresses like a personal essay, with grassroot characters, where the writer learns as much from the project as the viewer." -Indian Express Q2P is a film about toilets and the city. As the film observes who has access to toilets and who doesn't, we begin to also see the imagination of gender that underlies the city's shape, the constantly shifting boundaries between public and private space; we learn of small acts of survival that people in the city's bottom half cobble together and quixotic ideas of social change that thrive with mixed results; we hear the silence that surrounds toilets and sense how similar it is to the silence that surrounds inequality. The toilet becomes a riddle with many answers and some of those answers are questions - about gender, about class, about caste and most of all about space, urban development and the twisted myth of the global metropolis. This film is produced by the PUKAR Gender & Space Project, funded by the Indo-Dutch Programme on Alternatives in Development (IDPAD) Camera: Ajay Noronha Editing: Jabeen Merchant Sound: Anita Kushwaha and Samina Mishra Animation: Shilpa Ranade Music: Tarun Shahani and Nirav Gandhi Date: Friday, 29th September 2006 Time: 6:30 PM onwards Venue: Max Mueller Bhawan Auditorium, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai 1 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) 6574 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/20060925/6b17626f/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From arshad.mcrc at gmail.com Mon Sep 25 20:04:46 2006 From: arshad.mcrc at gmail.com (arshad amanullah) Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2006 20:04:46 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] :Book Review:Directory of Ahle Hadis Madrasas Message-ID: <2076f31d0609250734j68aa22f3oc4f512bafb4d88a6@mail.gmail.com> Madaris-e-Ahle Hadis: Ek Tarikhi Dastavez (Directory of the Ahle Hadis Madrasas In India) Compiler: Khalid Haneef Siddiqui Publisher: Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadis, Delhi Year : 2004 pp. 622+xvi INR: 200.00 Reviewed by: Arshad Amanullah The Ahle Hadis, pejoratively known as 'Wahhabis', though emerged like several other sects as a response to the crisis of the slippage of political power from the Muslim ruling elite to the British, the sect, unlike others, has a well-documented history as a group which offered armed resistance to the Raj. The British suppression of the sect made its ulama introvert and forced them to maintain a low profile. This also gets reflected in the body of the academic literature available on this section of the South Indian Muslims. There is absolutely no serious empirical or sociological investigation about the people and ulama of the sect in Independent India. By putting a first hand data about several important aspects of madrasas of the sect in public domain, Siddiqui seeks to fill a very important gap in our understanding of Muslim religious groups and ulama activism after 1947. This directory, report of the survery conducted under the aegis of Markazi Jami'at Ahle Hadis, Hind, provides important information regarding 1636 out of about 2500 Ahle Hadis educational institutions, including boys and girl madrasas, secular schools, technical institutes and tibbiya colleges all over country. In arranging the data, the compiler has observed the following method: names of states and districts are in alphabetical order; it divides the madrasas in five categories (Fazilat, Alamiyat, Sanaviya, Motawassita and Ibtidaiyya) ; each district starts from the highest level of the madrasas i.e. Fazilat it has. Here he does not observe the alphabetical order. The section on every state begins with a brief but useful note on its geography, demography and literacy rate in general. It points out names of the districts which have the concentration of the Ahle Hadis population and, as a result, that of the educational institutions. It vaguely talks about the status of literacy and the economic condition of the sect-members in a particular state. It places special emphasis on mentioning names of the girl madrasas of the state. Moreover, it mentions names of the Ahle Hadis magazines coming out of the state. Libraries and publication houses of the sect also find place in the note. The directory furnishes the following details regarding every institution it enlists: year of establishment; name of founders; present general secretary and principal; level of education; number of the students(boys and girls) enrolled, whether they are day scholars or avail the boarding facilities; number of academic and administrative staff; nature of curriculum(religious, secular or a mix of both); whether it is affiliated to any board or university; source of revenue, whether it gets any financial grant from the government, annual budgets; details of the land and the premises; number of books available in the library if there is any; registration number( if registered) and the full postal address with phone numbers. None of them carry email address. Though the directory is a remarkable shift in terms of the presentation and content from its prototype Jama'at-e-Ahle Hadis Ki Tadrisi Khidmaat (Contribution of the Ahle Hadis Sect to the Field of Education, Jamia Salafia, Varanasi, 1984) by Maulana Azizur Rahman Salafi, Siddiqui's compilation also leaves much to be desired. As the maps enclosed in the beginning of the section on every state do not bear any coloured or graphic representation of the presence or concentration of the population and educational centers of the sect in a particular region, they do not serve any purpose. Like most of the Urdu publications, this directory does not have any alphabetical index. However, towards the end, it incorporates two exclusive indexes: one for those madrasas which provide education upto the Fazilat level and another for the girl madrasas. The last page contains names of 88 institutions on which no information is provided in the directory. It ends with the promise to include them in the second edition. Using deftly the available data, the compiler could have made it more user- friendly. Like he could have very easily inform the users about the number of people employed in the unorganized sector of the madrasas as every madrasa had mentioned total number of its staff. Moreover, the directory divides the curriculum of a certain madrasa into two categories: dini (religious) and asri (modern). One needs to know what they stand for as they have not been explained anywhere. Despite its limitations, very few books have proved as timely as is the case with this directory. It is a must for scholars interested in the South Asian Islam as it is an invaluable contribution to the madrasa studies which has flourished so rapidly in the wake of rise of Taliban and fall of twin towers. arshad amanullah 35,masihgarh, jamia nagar new delhi-25. From mail at shivamvij.com Thu Sep 28 17:33:56 2006 From: mail at shivamvij.com (Shivam Vij) Date: Thu, 28 Sep 2006 17:33:56 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Protest against burning of the works of Dr. B R Ambedkar at AIIMS on 29 September 2006 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <9c06aab30609280503h667d538eud81e99ff106acafa@mail.gmail.com> Protest against burning of the works of Dr. B R Ambedkar at AIIMS on 29 September 2006 To protest against the burning of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar's literature by doctors of the AIIMS, 15 Dalit organisations plan to hold a demonstration outside the main gate of AIIMS (opposite the Safdarjang Hospital gate) at 12 noon on Friday September 29, 2006. The act of burning demonstrates the fact that even educated doctors can be so much insolent towards the constituional ideals of social inclusion, social cohesion and protection of human rights through affirmative action. Please consider joining the protest and support the cause of inclusion Rajni Tilak From mahmood.farooqui at gmail.com Fri Sep 29 17:23:18 2006 From: mahmood.farooqui at gmail.com (mahmood farooqui) Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2006 17:23:18 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] call for Applications Message-ID: CALL FOR APPLICATIONS FOR DIRECTORSHIP OF JAHANGIRABAD MEDIA INSTITUTE Jahangirabad Media Institute has been set up by Jahangirabad Education Trust under Jahangirabad Institute of Technology as one of its centers of excellence in electronic media. JMI aims to train and shape highly skilled professionals for the video, television and advertising industry. Its broad mission is to impart a holistic education It aims to stimulate creative potential of students and to cultivate a scientific temper, carry out research in media and communication and encourage the students to creatively e xplore the audio visual medium for social change. To achieve above objective the institute is currently imparting post graduate diploma to prepare its students for a leading careers in TV channels, production houses, advertising firms, MNC's, media research and educational institutions, non-governmental organizations, more courses are planned soon. This premier institute of higher learning is located in the fort of Jahangirabad, a 19th century palatial monument, built across the serene and picturesque environs of more than 30-acre campu s at Barabanki district, is about 35 kilometers from Lucknow City . The institute is loo king for Director, The candidate will be a Dynamic media professional with a vision & passion to shape the Media Studies and set global benchmarks. The ideal candidate will have proven track record as a leader and of handling academic, administrative and financial matters. He/She will have excellent contacts in the media & government agencies. The position carries competitive emoluments as well as appropriate ac commodation on the campus. The interested candidates are requested to send their detailed resume in confidence along with a 'Vision Paper' to: The Chairman Search Committee for Director Media Institute Jahangirabad Institute of Technology Jahangirabad Fort. District Barabanki UP." From m at 1010.co.uk Mon Sep 25 23:46:09 2006 From: m at 1010.co.uk (m) Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2006 19:16:09 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] xxxxx_at_piksel Message-ID: xxxxx_at_piksel 13-14 October, Cinemateket USF,Bergen, Norway Two days of seminar, discussion and highly practical interrogation of expanded software and the impact of the executable on necessarily open hardware as a political act. xxxxx crashes into the intent of open hardware, eviscerating software; the blunt realm of the user as cynical economic motif. After Artaud, the CPU (central processing unit) and its double mimes The Theatre and its Double. On the one hand, there is the System or entropic operation of a necessarily cynical machine for living, an atrocity exhibition, on the other hand the specification of an artistic CPU for life coding. The data sheet will be examined as to its operational codes (day one), new (simulation) models will be constructed (day two). Confirmed participants: Wilfried Hou Je Bek, Martin Howse, Jonathan Kemp, Aymeric Mansoux, Bruno Marchal, Otto Roessler, Tom Schouten, Marloes de Valk, Eva Verhoeven, Valentina Vuksic Produced by BEK and ap/xxxxx: ap/xxxxx[1] was founded in 1998 to necessitate the code-terms expansion implied by a growing and politically active free software movement. With wilfully avant-garde intent, and through intervention, performance, staged events, seminars, hardware constructions and readily accessible software, ap/xxxxx examines through live descriptive process software (culture and history), embedding auto-destruction. Software is viewed as substance. Piksel[2] is an annual event for artists and developers working with open source audiovisual software. Part workshop, part festival, it is organised in Bergen, Norway, by the Bergen Centre for Electronic Arts (BEK)[3] and involves participants from more than a dozen countries exchanging ideas, coding, presenting art and software projects, doing workshops, performances and discussions on the aesthetics and politics of open source and free culture. This years event - Piksel06[4] – continues the exploration of audiovisual code and it's myriad of expressions, but also brings in open hardware as a new focus area. Information: xxxxx_at_piksel[5] will take place 11am to 3pm 13 October, 11am to 5pm 14 October at Cinemateket USF[6], Bergen, Norway as part of the Piksel06 festival. Admission is free but with a limited number of seats. For reservation send a mail to: piksel06 at bek.no About the participants: **Wilfried Hou Je Bek (NL) Applying scientific rigour and an eminently wide-ranging frame of crytsalpunk reference, socialfiction.org protaganist Wilfried Hou Je Bek plays out the expressively elegant and digressional expansion of software across all (literalised) domains, for example algorithmic psychogeography. **Martin Howse (UK) Speculative and necessarily open hardware explorer Martin Howse proposes a denuded artistic CPU (an elaborated, auto-destructive bachelor-culture machine) running heavily promiscuous code and operating on a noise terrain. Latest plans include the staging of the xxxxx research institute in Berlin. **Jonathan Kemp (UK) Performer, theorist, ap/xxxxx collaborator and visual artist, Jonathan Kemp applies the refined instruments of his adoptive stoneworking to excavate the esoteric thought matter of characters such as Emmanuel Swedenborg and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. **Bruno Marchal (BE) Bruno Marchal is currently occupied with refining his supremely elegant, code-based theories of COMP at the IRIDIA AI labs in Brussels. COMP has precise consequences, for example that physics is necessarily a branch of computer science; the implication being that "if you were in a perfect simulation you wouldn't know it." **Otto Roessler (DE) German biochemist Otto E. Roessler occupies the rare contemporary position of a scientific and artistic polymath with noted significant contributions to chaos theory, under his original attractor, and the fresh science of endophysics. His current major project, Lampsacus, proposes a truly free networked informational society. **Eva Verhoeven (NL) The original work of artist and theorist Eva Verhoeven proposes a concise and well defined series of laboratory-style experiments and interventions which elaborate a trajectory from noise/interference within existent (computer) systems towards totally speculative hardware. **Valentina Vuksic (DE) Former student of both essential economics and computer science, Valentina Vuksic explores a highly individual articulation of hard and software mediation; the processes in such intermediate space as action thus implying actors rendered audible through novel intrusion. **Tom Schouten (BE) Artist and independent software developer. He is the author of PDP, an extension for Pure Data, which adds building blocks for image and video processing, and other media oriented applications, tightly integrated to the computer music system which hosts it. Currently he is developing Packet Forth, a stand-alone application / scripting language for media processing and BADNOP, an interactive FORTH compiler for Microchip Picmicro microcontrollers. **Aymeric Mansoux (FR) Since the mid-nineties, Aymeric Mansoux has taken part in many artistic experiments based on the internet and the emergence of networks. Traceroutes, network packets, digital feedbacks and piped logs become a new clay that can be used to develop autonomous artistic processes. Currently an mphil/PhD? student at the creative technologies department of the University of Huddersfield, his most recent artistic projects include a residency at the Mediacentre of Huddersfield, a collaboration with Chun Lee within the live electronic music group 0xA, and Metabiosis, a project on non-carbon based pseudo live forms in distributed computing and peer-to-peer networked ecosystems with the Dutch artist Marloes de Valk. **Marloes de Valk (NL) Dutch audiovisual artist, currently based in the UK. She studied Sound and Image at the Royal Conservatory in the Hague, specializing in abstract compositional computer games, HCI and crashing computers. Starting out as a visual artist who played violin, she ended up bringing the worlds of sound and image together by building her own digital instruments in which sound and image are of equal importance, created real-time, simultaneously, influencing and distorting each other. Currently she is collaborating with French artist Aymeric Mansoux on Metabiosis, a project investigating the ups and downs of datapackets living in a world of connected ecosystems. Marloes is part of the Digital Research Unit at the University of Huddersfield. ---- links: [1] http://www.1010.co.uk [2] http://www.piksel.no [3] http://www.bek.no [4] http://www.piksel.no/piksel06 [5] http://www.1010.co.uk/xxxxx_at_piksel.html [6] http://www.usf.no -- ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Piksel06 - 12.-15. oct 2006 www.piksel.no/piksel06 ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| apologies for x posting _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From ttsetan at yahoo.com Tue Sep 26 09:08:49 2006 From: ttsetan at yahoo.com (tenzin tsetan) Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2006 20:38:49 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Korean Film Council Invites Young Asian Film Professionals! Message-ID: <20060926033849.23326.qmail@web50609.mail.yahoo.com> Opportunity for Film Professionals Tenzin Tsetan Choklay Korean Film Council Invites Young Asian Film Professionals! The Asian Film Professionals Training Program KOFIC operates the Asian Film Professionals Training Program in order to train individuals specializing in the film policies and industries of various Asian countries, to further expand exchanges between Korea and other Asian nations. We hope that those interested in this field will apply to and participate in this program. ￭ Qualifications - Individuals who are engaged in film-related institutions, companies, or schools in their native countries - Individuals who have a thorough knowledge of their country's film industry, policies, and culture - Individuals interested in the Korean film industry and its film policy, and who also desire to promote film-related exchanges between Asian countries - Individuals who speak Korean and English (priority will be given to those who are able to speak Korean) ￭ Eligible Nations: Countries in Asia ￭ Number of Trainees: Two per year ￭ Training Period: 1. 3 months 2. 6 months * Duration to be decided after deliberation between the applicant and KOFIC. ￭ Contents of the Training Program - Opportunity to experience various tasks at KOFIC during the internship - Carrying out film industry/policy projects of both countries (2 projects for each person) - Korean language program (10 weeks /20 weeks) - Visits to Korean film-related institutions/agencies and international film festivals ￭ Provisions: general expenditures including airplane tickets (round trip), accommodation and language training fees Information for the 2nd Asian Film Professionals Training Program ▪ Training Period: November 2006 - ▪ Application Period: August 1, 2006 – October 8, 2006 ▪ Required Documents: C.V. (attach a photograph of the applicant), personal statement (including reasons for application, and future plans once the training program is completed), letter of recommendation from employer (or a film-related institution) ※ Additional documents may be requested. ▪ Inquiries and Reception - Person in Charge: Jiyin PARK, Manager of Asia & Middle East - Address: 206-46, Cheongnyangni-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 130-010, Korea - Tel: +82 2 958 7594, Fax: +82 2 958 7590 - E-mail: heedong21 at kofic.or.kr / heedong21 at hotmail.com ___________________________________________________________ To help you stay safe and secure online, we've developed the all new Yahoo! Security Centre. http://uk.security.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060925/d0a2431c/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From zainab at xtdnet.nl Sat Sep 30 23:53:54 2006 From: zainab at xtdnet.nl (zainab at xtdnet.nl) Date: Sat, 30 Sep 2006 22:23:54 +0400 (RET) Subject: [Reader-list] Notes from Bangalore Message-ID: <33027.202.56.231.116.1159640634.squirrel@webmail.xtdnet.nl> It’s been two months and nine days since I landed here in Bangalore. Can I say I have arrived here? Not yet. Not yet. Bangalore is a city of different time-spaces (or so I have concluded it to be). Different areas in the city live in different time-spaces and time practices. Koramangala is a different time-space and the town area, mainly M. G. Road, is a different time-space. The area I live in, Thilaknagar, is a different time-space. Each of these areas lives in a time-space of its own – historic time and present time. I fathom historic time from the architecture and built form of the buildings and surroundings. But that’s not all. The built space, the history of the area have something to do with people’s time practices of that area. Present time I see from people’s everyday life and practices as well from new built form. And there is continuous interaction between historic time, people’s practices located in that time, present time and people’s practices of the present time. I don’t know in what ways this city has transformed but it sure has is what everyone here says. For one, everybody agrees that the traffic on the roads has increased. I have come from Mumbai, a much more dense city. There, density produces a different experience of space. Bangalore is not at all dense. And so the experience of space here is quite different. Bangalore is just rushed and moving at close shaves, as I have experienced as a pedestrian trying to walk on the streets. Every movement is a close shave I see a lot of burkha-clad Muslim women on the streets and around the spaces of Bangalore. Each sight of a Muslim burkha-clad woman in each space brings in the experience of a certain historic time. You might think I am suggesting that burkha-clad Muslim women are symbolizing some kind of pre-modernity, but I don’t know what modernity itself is. What I am simply saying is that each time I see a burkha-clad Muslim woman in the public bus or squatting by the side of the pavement or simply walking on the streets, through each of these sights I experience a city that suddenly lives in a different time-space. I don’t know the time-space of a space such as the Electronic City, what people’s time-space practices there are. But when I watch burkha-clad Muslim women, I realize that different people in this city are living in different time-spaces or rather different groups in this city are living in different time-spaces and these differences in time-spaces are not necessarily historic, but also very much located in the present, in the everyday of the here and now! Let me speak of where I live, that interesting space called Thilaknagar. I am told Thilaknagar is one of Bangalore’s most successful slums, by what standards and what benchmarking, I don’t know. At 5 AM in the mornings, I sometimes watch queues of women waiting for something. I have guessed that that something is sometimes fair-price shop kerosene and sometimes that something is water. The times when I have watched these patient yet seething queues, I have shuddered to think of the implicit violence that this practice carries with it – that contest for basic resources. (Have you ever waited for rationed water?) Thilaknagar consists of Tamils and Muslims. The Muslims here are largely Tamil-speaking. I live on some kind of urban mental boundary. This area is also known as Jayanagar 4th T block. Now here is where the urban mental boundary is (if you are with me uptil now). As you walk out South from where I live in Thilaknagar, South-West towards Sanjay Gandhi hospital, what you will witness is a gradual transformation of not just physical space, but of the urban experience itself. From the unclean, messy Thilaknagar to Jayanagar 4th T Block, onwards to 4th block, the shift is both gradual and sudden. From some kind of messiness to some kind of ordered affluence. Everything changes, including the relationships which characterize the time-space. Time-spaces don’t operate in a vacuum. Time-spaces also emerge from the relationships which people share with one another, with the space itself and the elements which constitute the space (including capital, territory, land and identity, ethnicity, etc.) Out here in Thilaknagar, the relationships are both antagonistic as well as existing. Since the last few days, in the Southern part of Thilaknagar, there are calls from the mosques given that Ramzaan has begun. And then, last night, in the North Western part, there were pandals of excitement and festivity, celebrating the nine days of Dussehra. Perhaps here is where the antagonistic relationships exist. The Muslims and the Tamilians are historic enemies here, but they exist. And the interesting thing is that both the Tamils and the Tamilian Muslims are very similar in their essential personalities – just different communal lines. The other day, someone shit inside the gate of my stairways. When I saw the little pile of excreta, I felt disgusted. Just about who would dare do this? In a fit of irritation and anger, I brought out the broom and began to clean, creating more mess than what was before. I gave up, left the broom by the side of the gate, locked the gate and went away. When I returned in the evening, the broom was gone. Then just a few days ago one morning, I carelessly left the Chinese lock hanging by the gate. When I got down in the afternoon, the lock was gone. I wondered who would have taken it away. Irritated. Disgusted. No sense of property here. I checked with the shopkeeper by the street. While he spoke, he also mentioned that he lived about ten kilometers away from Thilaknagar. Curious, I asked him why that far. “The kids enter your house; they scamper around; no sense of privacy. I don’t think my house people would have liked this. I moved.” And I curiously try to understand notions of property, space and private and public ‘spheres’ in this curious time-space. Let’s get back to the city. I was walking by the 4th block post office this evening. The air was full of moisture. It seemed like the impending dawn of another winter. I felt I re-discovered words that were lost. No, I don’t own this city. I am a stranger here. I find it strange. I am trying to prove my identity in every sphere as I attempt to settle in here (before I can leave again) – identity for opening a bank account, address proof for obtaining an LPG connection. I thought my sense of self came from my words and all this while I felt a loss of sense of self because my words were lost. But in the everyday life of the city (including bureaucracy, state, government, etc.), self has to be proved existing through address proofs. Ah, what futility! What futile words! Zainab Bawa Bombay www.xanga.com/CityBytes http://crimsonfeet.recut.org/rubrique53.html From ektenel at hotmail.com Sat Sep 30 20:37:46 2006 From: ektenel at hotmail.com (Ah_Ek Ferrera_Balanquet) Date: Sat, 30 Sep 2006 15:07:46 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Toronto Latin American New Media Exhibition Message-ID: DIGITAL EVENT(O) presented by E-FAGIA. E-Fagia organization presents: Toronto Latin American New Media Exhibition Digital Evento www.e-fagia.org September 20th to October 1st Gallery 1313 1313 Queen Street West, Toronto, www.g1313.org Gallery hours: Wednesday-Sunday 12-6pm Opening Reception: Thursday September 21st 6-10 ARTISTS ON ATTENDANCE AT THE GALLERY: SATURDAY 30th 6-8pm Webcam performance, Tania de la Cruz 6pm Digital Evento is a selection of interactive projects and web art, reflecting on the concept of "transformation", a term used to dimension the possibilities of digital media and their connection and interaction with the environment and the concept of reality. The show will be supported by a series of theoretical insights about art in the Internet era. Website: www.e-fagia.org/event.html Curated by: Arlan Londo�ssitant Curators: Jorge Marulanda and Mar�Jos�rbel� Atists� Taira Liceaga, Patricio D�la, Claudia Bernal, Tania de la Cruz, Colibr�ollective, Zot'z Collective, Jorge Lozano, Sinara Rozo, Guillermina Buzio, Diana Cadavid, �varo Gir�Lina Rodr�ez, Alexandra Gelis, Julieta Mar� Jorge Alb� Regina Pinto, Sara Malinarich, Eugenio Tisselli, Ra�arquech Ferrera-Balanquet, Marina Zerbarini, Antonio Mendoza. We will also launch the new edition of our web Magazine Disfagia that includes the project Sub-version, which is a project dedicated to Art produced by Latin American artists. When we speak about Latin America or the sub-version of modernity and post, we want to refer to the idea of not only subverting the gaze of the West and its hegemonic discourses, but also subverting that which can be referred to as an imposed idea of Art. Sub-version project includes artists, curators and art theoreticians: Miguel Rojas, Elena Feder, Gabriela Salgado, Rodolfo Kronfle, Juan Carlos Pergolis, German Rubiano Caballero, Mercedes Angola, Heliumen Triana, Silvia Arango, German Mejia, Armando Silva, Ivonne Pini, Jacquelina Lacasa, Susan Douglas, Andres Corredor, David Lozano. Evento Digital is a project in colaboration with Alucine Toronto Latin @ Media Festival. Information: Julieta Maria contact at e-fagia.org Arlan Londono halsap2 at gmail.com Raul Moarquech Ferrera-Balanquet,MFA Artist/Writer/Scholar/Curator ektenel at hotmail.com