From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Fri Jul 1 06:19:31 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Fri, 1 Jul 2011 06:19:31 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [The Moderates] Ramchandra Guha is Wrong In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: On Thu, Jun 30, 2011 at 7:41 PM, Anil Bhatia wrote: > Mani sir, > Not sure about the other points, but for sure, the 3rd point is true - West > Bengal remains one amongst the most backward states. That is not true and is a myth propagated by corporate media. In fact it has been ahead of other states during Left rule in plenty of sectors including agriculture, health, inequality reduction, SME and HDI (despite the population and central discrimination). Industrial development and investment in infrastructure has also been good, though all these will worsen under the present regime. Though the three tier Panchyati Raj system was introduced in 1977 in the state (and this was adopted only 16 years later throughout the country), the level of development of panchayats is behind Kerala. Statistically all these are well supported. >From the POV of middle and upper middle classes .... you can see the archives in this thread http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=201672&page=5 > As I sit typing this in Kolkata, I can't wait to get back to Mumbai, a city > I otherwise despise, being from Delhi. But Kolkata makes Mumbai look > remarkably good. Depends on which part of the city you are in...95% humidity > It is ironical that history would record Left Front's biggest achievement as > land reforms (Operation Barga), and record its biggest failure as forced > land grab (Singur, Nandigram). Not land grab ... there were administrative mistakes... top-down planning. In Nandigram it was also war with the Maoists in collusion with TMC. If the central govt follows neoliberal policies, then states do not have the power to oppose endlessly. Even during the 7th LF Govt, ~800 acres of land were distributed to the poor. Details of industry related land distn here: http://pd.cpim.org/2011/0306_pd/03062011_5.html Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From taraprakash at gmail.com Fri Jul 1 06:48:04 2011 From: taraprakash at gmail.com (Tara Prakash Tripathi) Date: Thu, 30 Jun 2011 21:18:04 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] [The Moderates] Ramchandra Guha is Wrong References: Message-ID: <6DED7B301DBC450EAA1BF399B14010E3@tara> Not land grab ... there were administrative mistakes... top-down planning. Not administrative mistakes, there was a ruling elite class palpable in all tiers of CPI(M), including as significant place as JNU, that had turned anarchic. The elite wanted to grab the power wherever they could by hook or crook. Browbeating the opponents was a usual thing for CPI(M), but recently it had become so much worse. I hope the opportunistic "communist" will join Congress or TMC now, and the party will be cleansed and they will be on the path of asking social justice for the disadvantaged rather than being on the side of those who obstruct it. Power corrupted CPI(M) in WB and when the absolute power corrupted them absolutely, they were shown the door. The mail below suggests that there are still committed members who are in denial mode. It's not a good time to justify Nandi Gram, it is time to introspect and reform the party. ----- Original Message ----- From: "A. Mani" To: "sarai list" Sent: Thursday, June 30, 2011 8:49 PM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] [The Moderates] Ramchandra Guha is Wrong > On Thu, Jun 30, 2011 at 7:41 PM, Anil Bhatia wrote: >> Mani sir, >> Not sure about the other points, but for sure, the 3rd point is true - >> West >> Bengal remains one amongst the most backward states. > > That is not true and is a myth propagated by corporate media. In fact > it has been ahead of other states during Left rule in plenty of > sectors including agriculture, health, inequality reduction, SME and > HDI (despite the population and central discrimination). Industrial > development and investment in infrastructure has also been good, > though all these will worsen under the present regime. Though the > three tier Panchyati Raj system was introduced in 1977 in the state > (and this was adopted only 16 years later throughout the country), the > level of development of panchayats is behind Kerala. > > Statistically all these are well supported. > > From the POV of middle and upper middle classes .... you can see the > archives in this thread > http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=201672&page=5 > >> As I sit typing this in Kolkata, I can't wait to get back to Mumbai, a >> city >> I otherwise despise, being from Delhi. But Kolkata makes Mumbai look >> remarkably good. > > Depends on which part of the city you are in...95% humidity > >> It is ironical that history would record Left Front's biggest achievement >> as >> land reforms (Operation Barga), and record its biggest failure as forced >> land grab (Singur, Nandigram). > > Not land grab ... there were administrative mistakes... top-down > planning. In Nandigram it was also war with the Maoists in collusion > with TMC. If the central govt follows neoliberal policies, then states > do not have the power to oppose endlessly. > > Even during the 7th LF Govt, ~800 acres of land were distributed to the > poor. > > Details of industry related land distn here: > http://pd.cpim.org/2011/0306_pd/03062011_5.html > > > Best > > A. Mani > > > > -- > A. Mani > ASL, CLC, AMS, CMS > http://www.logicamani.co.cc > _________________________________________ > 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 chandni_parekh at yahoo.com Fri Jul 1 10:53:16 2011 From: chandni_parekh at yahoo.com (Chandni Parekh) Date: Thu, 30 Jun 2011 22:23:16 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Film Screenings in July Message-ID: <264081.34937.qm@web161427.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Film Screenings in July: 11th Monthly Screening of Shorts and Docs, July 1, Chennai http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/docuwallahs2/message/9824 The 4th Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala, July 1-5, Trivandrum http://iffk.in/idsffk2011/pdf/rules.pdf 'Nepal's Stolen Children' on CNN on July 2 at 6:30 pm http://www.cnnasiapacific.com/press/en/content/689 CFD Suchitra Short Film Festival, July 2, Bangalore http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/b_f_s/message/2275 'In Search of Gandhi' by Lalit Vachani, July 2, Bangalore http://www.facebook.com/rangdeorg/posts/10150217788234350 'It's not our Fault' by Carlo Verdone (Italian), July 2, Delhi http://www.iicnewdelhi.esteri.it/IIC_NewDelhi/webform/SchedaEvento.aspx?id=568&citta=NewDelhi Short Films presented by Shamiana, July 2, Ahmedabad http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=236116746417670 'Nepal's Stolen Children' on CNN on July 3 at 2:30 pm http://www.cnnasiapacific.com/press/en/content/689 'The Land of Vanishing Lakes' and 'Power to People' by Ishani K Dutta, July 4, Delhi http://www.iicdelhi.nic.in/?q=node%2F97 'The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet’s Struggle for Freedom' by Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam, July 6, Bombay http://friendsoftibetglobal.blogspot.com/2011/06/july-6-2011-world-tibet-day-and.html 'Stavisky' by Alain Resnais (French), July 6, Bombay http://bombay.afindia.org/node/3847 'Not Me' by Simona Izzo and Ricky Tognazzi (Italian), July 6 and 9, Delhi http://www.iicnewdelhi.esteri.it/IIC_NewDelhi/webform/SchedaEvento.aspx?id=569&citta=NewDelhi 'Une Autre Solitude' ('Another Loneliness') by Stéphane Metge (French), July 8, Delhi http://delhi.afindia.org/node/3672 'Vipère au poing' ('Viper in the Fist') by Philippe de Broca (French), July 12, Bombay http://bombay.afindia.org/node/3856 'Suddenly Paradise' by Leonardo Pieraccioni (Italian), July 13 and 16, Delhi http://www.iicnewdelhi.esteri.it/IIC_NewDelhi/webform/SchedaEvento.aspx?id=571&citta=NewDelhi Vikalp at Alliance Screening of 'Arna's Children' by Juliano Mer-Khamis, July 15, Bombay http://bombay.afindia.org/node/3861 'L'aventure du Théâtre du Soleil' ('Adventures of the Theatre du Soleil') by Catherine Vilpoux (French), July 15, Delhi http://delhi.afindia.org/node/3674 'B.B. and the Cormorant' by Edoardo Gabbriellini (Italian), July 20 and 23, Delhi http://www.iicnewdelhi.esteri.it/IIC_NewDelhi/webform/SchedaEvento.aspx?id=573&citta=NewDelhi 'La Question Humaine' ('Heartbeat Detector') by Nicolas Klotz (French), July 21, Bombay http://bombay.afindia.org/node/3868 'Brook by Brook' by Simon Brook, July 22, Delhi http://delhi.afindia.org/node/3676 Short Films presented by Shamiana, July 24, Delhi http://www.indiahabitat.org/ Vikalp at Prithvi Screening of 'Pakistan’s Taliban Generation' by Dan Edge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and ‘Bit of Both’ by Merajur Rahman Baruah, Monday, July 25, 7 pm, Prithvi House, Juhu, Bombay http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=214722485229634 'To be Honest' by Davide Ferrario (Italian), July 27 and 30, Delhi http://www.iicnewdelhi.esteri.it/IIC_NewDelhi/webform/SchedaEvento.aspx?id=575&citta=NewDelhi 'Le Hussard sur le Toit' ('The Horseman on the Roof') by Jean-Paul Rappeneau (French), July 28, Bombay http://bombay.afindia.org/node/3872 ----- To join the Vikalp at Prithvi group on Facebook, visit http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_46819848804 - Chandni From shumonagoel at gmail.com Fri Jul 1 11:32:26 2011 From: shumonagoel at gmail.com (Shumona Goel) Date: Fri, 1 Jul 2011 11:32:26 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Bombay - NGO information Message-ID: Dear Friends, Please let me know if you know of any Bombay based organization that will assist in getting certificates such as ration card and SC certificate. Many thanks, Shumona From chiarapassa at gmail.com Fri Jul 1 12:03:21 2011 From: chiarapassa at gmail.com (Chiara Passa) Date: Fri, 1 Jul 2011 08:33:21 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] Ideasonair App limited edition OUT NOW! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear friends, my web project "ideasonair.net-blogging as an open art project" is now at the hundredth idea. I'll be glade to share with you a LIMITED EDITION (just for 100 devices) of the ideasonair IPhone-APP (you'll NOT find it on the apple store) I've made just for you, with an ad-hoc distribution. In order to create an Apple electronic certificate for the ad-hoc distribution, I need to add to the certificate (then, you can install and synchronize the App directly through your ITunes) also you identifier device number, is a long number that you can see, copy and paste, when the IPhone is connected to the ITunes. Image example. So, if you like to have the Ideasonair's App, please send me soon your device id number! Thank you very much for being with us since 2005! Best regards, Chiara Ideasonair.net is a web based project that serves digital artists. The site promotes artistic ideas created by me in various fields, especially for digital art. Therefore: “Dear artists, poets,architects, designers, critics, curators and ‘lovers of the trade’, if you are short of ideas this is the site for you!” Here, the ideas from ‘Hyperuranium’ have landed and found a place or better a virtual factory. Ideasonair.net creates for you a lot of different ideas ready to be developed. Ideasonair has a particular theory about ideas and how we perceive them: “ideas are in the air and the earth is spinning around connecting with these ideas at various places. So an identical idea could land or be had in New York and Rome at the same time”. This site could be considered somewhat like entropy. It puts in order and gives shapes to ideas. This online factory is continually updated to always give artists new ideas. Ideas appear in the site in three different stages. The first stage is purely preliminary and the idea is just a clue in their primordial state, maybe not yet able to be developed. The second stage we can call (as Freud would call it) the ‘daydream’ stage. This is the stage in which the various elements that constitute an idea come in contact and come to realization. The third stage deals with the complete idea ready to be developed. The three stages are marked on title by their respective colours: red when the idea is in the initial stage, orange when it is in the ‘daydream’ stage and green when it is ready to work. Finally artist doesn't need to fight for any ‘copyright’, ‘copyleft’, ‘copydown’ !!! Ideasonair is a conceptual artwork in progress that puts in evidence the concept of ‘open artwork’ getting ideas and waits for their realization. Moral of the fable: The ideas are the artwork and they can be transmitted… just like the thought! -- Chiara Passa chiarapassa at gmail.com http://www.chiarapassa.it http://www.ideasonair.net http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiara_Passa Skype: ideasonair From tejaspande at gmail.com Sat Jul 2 14:24:10 2011 From: tejaspande at gmail.com (tejas pande) Date: Sat, 2 Jul 2011 14:24:10 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Invitation: Imagining Infrastructures Message-ID: *Imagining Infrastructure* *July 7-8, 2011* *Le Meridien, Bangalore* Dear all, We at CSTEP are organizing a workshop titled “Imagining Infrastructures”, on 7-8, July 2011 at the Le Meridien, 28, Sankey Road, P.B. No. 174, Bangalore - 560 052. The main purpose of the workshop is to familiarize participants with the use of modeling, simulation and gaming in policy analysis for infrastructure design and operations, and highlighting the work we have done in the Next Generation Infrastructure Laboratory (NGIL) at CSTEP. Please visit our website (http://ngil.cstep.in/events/workshop2011/)for the latest update on the workshop. This workshop will begin with an introduction to our work, and an opening keynote address by Dr. Juval Portugali of Tel Aviv University, an expert in the use of these methods in studying urban evolution. Then each participant will have the opportunity to play one of the games we have developed or are using in our analysis. Other sessions will present our work to date in areas ranging from emergency response to rural energy and livelihood to links between shelter, livelihoods, and mobility in Bangalore. The agenda can be found at ngil.cstep.in We hope you or someone nominated by you to represent your organization can attend this unique workshop. We will limit the number of participants from any individual institution to allow the widest range of representation. If you plan to join us, please RSVP to Ms. Roopa at roopa at cstep.inas soon as possible on having a limited number of participants. In addition to your confirmation we request that you provide a rank ordering of your interest in the games listed below/in the attachment (with 1 the game you are most interested in playing, and 4 being the game you are least interested in). If you do not select your preference, we will select for you. GAMES: EMS Communication The Emergency Management System Communication game has been designed to demonstrate and understand the flow of information at the time of a disaster, within and across the organisations/authorities involved in relief and response activities. The players assume roles of various departments involved in managing the disaster, such as the Police department, Fire personnel, Medical aid, and District management authorities. The game begins with a call from the scene of the incident by bystanders. Energy Policy In the coming 20 years India needs to construct an additional 650,000 MW of electricity generation capacity – over 4 times the current capacity. In order to get relevant actors acquainted with the results of these research projects, the decision was taken to construct a game with this challenge as the subject. This game was named the Indian Electricity Game. By playing the IEG, the players gain insight in the various economical, technical, political and managerial issues that play a large role in the Indian electricity challenge. Emergency 2012 The player is the officer in charge of everything at the site of the disaster and sees to it that all vehicles and helpers are in the right place, doing the right thing at the right time. This is where the strong real-time strategy element of Emergency 2012 sets in. The player must make clever use of vehicles and personnel such as police officers and rescue dog handlers in order to bring everything back under control and save the victims. In the multiplayer version players decide which unit (fire, traffic, police, or medical) to control. Working in unison, the players have to efficiently control the disaster. We look forward to your participation in this exciting event. From rohitrellan at aol.in Sat Jul 2 14:41:36 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Sat, 02 Jul 2011 05:11:36 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] International Playwriting Competition 2011 Message-ID: <8CE06AF2D929F4F-14FC-2DD10@webmail-d060.sysops.aol.com> Plays for children and young people can excite and inspire writers, performers and audiences. Now in its second year, the International Playwriting Competition encourages new writing in this field, recognising the very best with cash prizes, performances on the London stage and publication with international distribution. Click here to enter the competition: http://www.trinitycollege.co.uk/event/playwriting Categories Writers are asked to submit a one-act play that is either: suitable for performers aged 11 years and under or intended for an audience aged 12–16 years. The competition is open to writers of any age, of any level of experience and from any country. All plays must be written substantially or entirely in the English language. Click here for the competition terms and conditions: http://www.trinitycollege.co.uk/resource/?id=4135 Some guidance on playwriting : http://www.trinitycollege.co.uk/resource/?id=4134 Prizes In each category: cash prize of £1,000 for the winning writer Trinity College London will publish the winning plays in a collection of plays from the competition winning play to be performed at a gala event at a London theatre in January 2012 travel and accommodation costs for the writer to attend the gala performance. In addition, up to six ‘Highly Commended’ awards: cash prize of £500 Trinity College London will publish the winning plays in a collection of plays from the competition. Awards will also be made for The Most Promising Playwright(s) aged 11 years and under and The Most Promising Playwright(s) aged 12–16 years. Judging process Every play will be read in its entirety by our expert panel and entrants may request written feedback on their play on payment of the appropriate fee. A shortlist of entries will be drawn up, which will then be considered by the distinguished panel of international judges. http://www.trinitycollege.co.uk/site/?id=2097 Winners will be announced at the end of October. Entry Options There are two options to choose from: entry with written feedback (£20 entry fee) entry only with no written feedback (£10 entry fee) Enter by Post To enter by post, please include a completed entry form, a printed or electronic copy of the play, and payment by cheque to Trinity College London, 89 Albert Embankment, London, United Kingdom SE1 7TP. All cheques should be made payable to ‘Trinity College London’. Enter Online You will be asked to complete a short registration document, attach your play to an email, and pay online. Three easy steps! Click here here to start.http://www.trinitycollege.co.uk/event/playwriting Closing date for entries: 1 September 2011. From indersalim at gmail.com Sat Jul 2 23:21:35 2011 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Sat, 2 Jul 2011 23:21:35 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] politics of the visual Message-ID: http://www.frontlineonnet.com/stories/20110715281406400.htm From rajkamalgoswami at gmail.com Sun Jul 3 02:06:55 2011 From: rajkamalgoswami at gmail.com (Rajkamal Goswami) Date: Sun, 3 Jul 2011 02:06:55 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Lost Highway Message-ID: Dear All, An update on my blog, the lost highway. Kindly read and comment. Lost Highway I am always lonely; when the eyes close suddenly Whom can I take in my team; before I drift into my dream? >From this world to that; Losing control like tit for tat Live and love but; take a flight beyond realities Where everyone is blind; I search for my own abilities..... read on, http://rkgoswami.blogspot.com/ regards Rajkamal From chintan.backups at gmail.com Sun Jul 3 11:29:53 2011 From: chintan.backups at gmail.com (Chintan Girish Modi) Date: Sun, 3 Jul 2011 11:29:53 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Exploring Gender Stereotypes through Dance In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: From http://www.tolerance.org/blog/exploring-gender-stereotypes-through-dance Exploring Gender Stereotypes Through Dance Submitted by Jill E. Thomas on June 30, 2011 When I took the opportunity to co-teach a mixed-grade level coed dance class, I expected some of the boys to be reluctant to participate in the ballet portion for fear of being seen as gay or at the very least feminine. To cut this off before it started, I used a Teaching Tolerance lessonplan that allows students to explore gender stereotypes. I put labels on each student’s back with the name of a profession. I assigned traditionally male careers to girls and traditionally female careers to boys. Students had to figure out their profession by asking yes or no questions of their classmates. Afterwards, they reflected on their reaction to the assigned profession. This activity set the stage for breaking down stereotypes as we also introduced ballet as a dance form. More than a few girls were dissatisfied with their assigned careers in manual labor. For example, one young woman, assigned to be a plumber said, “That’s such a gross job because you have to work with toilets.” No one directly rejected a job because it was associated with a particular gender. Students unhappy with jobs cited reasons of class. They wanted to do better for their family than “just wait tables.” After hearing from several students, I finally asked the young man whose assigned career was ballet dancer to share his reaction. With unexpected enthusiasm he said, “I’m excited. I love dancing.” To my surprise, no one snickered. One of the senior boys chimed in and said, “I know what you are trying to get us to say. You want us to say we don’t want a job that should be for the opposite gender, that being a male dancer makes you less male.” Of course, I didn’t want that to be true, but I was trying to uncover the assumptions I imagined some of my students held. And with that, the students brainstormed all of the stereotypes they had heard or thought in regard to male dancers: weak, feminine, gay, unathletic. There was no shortage of stereotypes to add to the list. We watched clips of Sokvannara (Sy) Sar, a ballet dancer from Cambodia and Mikhail Baryshnikov. After each clip, I asked students to cross off stereotypes from the list that just didn’t mesh with what we’d seen. They also read an essay called *Don’t Judge Me By My Tights * and continued to erase the stereotypes from the list. And finally, I asked them to try dancing ballet. For a group of urban students more comfortable with hip-hop, punta, and even bhangra, I knew it would be a stretch. I’m not sure how it would have played out if I had not taken the time to explore the students’ discomfort with ballet in general and male ballet dancers in particular. But when our ballet instructor asked them to follow her in the basic ballet positions, every single boy tried it. In fact, the only defectors were a few stubborn girls who just couldn’t see the value in pointing their toes. I’m left with many questions: Does my students’ openness to male dancers mean the stereotypes have disappeared? Is this merely a sign that students know they are supposed to mask or hide stereotypes, and, if so, does bringing stereotypes to the surface help students remove their biases? Most importantly, if there is no evidence of bias, should I assume that none exists? I may not get all these answers right away, but this opportunity was a way to at least start the conversation. *Thomas is an English teacher in California.* From ambarien at yahoo.co.uk Mon Jul 4 09:35:16 2011 From: ambarien at yahoo.co.uk (ambarien qadar) Date: Mon, 4 Jul 2011 05:05:16 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Looking for Urdu/Arabic Translators Message-ID: <1309752316.46547.YahooMailClassic@web24104.mail.ird.yahoo.com> Dear all, I am looking for someone interested in collaborating  in doing english to Urdu translations for a selection of experimental writing  based on walking in Jamia Nagar. The earliest drafts of this go back to year 2000 and the writing style combines the position of being a timeless woman flaneur with the activity of spying and acute observation. It includes references to the 2008 killing of what were called terrorists alongwith a general sense of what the experience of being watched feels like. This text forms the backdrop of a single channel video that I am currently working on. It is titled  The Ghetto Girl. Please note that this would be a paid position. Though I can read and write Urdu/Arabic, I feel too close to the drafts and the way they have shaped over the years. If interested, please write to me at ambarien[at]gmail.com. Thanks, ambarien From vibhaaurora at gmail.com Mon Jul 4 13:04:30 2011 From: vibhaaurora at gmail.com (Dr. Vibha Arora) Date: Mon, 4 Jul 2011 13:04:30 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Seeking Original Papers for Volume on Democratization in the Himalayas In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Seeking original unpublished submissions for ‘Democratization and Cultural Politics in the Himalayas’ (tentative title)  edited by Vibha Arora (IIT Delhi) and N. Jayaram (TISS Mumbai) Conceptual Outline: Democratization is a thematic thread that, in the contemporary period, stitches the independent Himalayan nations and Indian Himalayan states into a distinctive regional political mosaic. In the last fifty years, this area has fast become an ‘active political laboratory’ of experiments in democratic structures and institutions at different levels. It has witnessed the evolution of myriad political ideologies and administrative strategies to accommodate and pacify heterogeneous ethnic-national identities. The aim of this volume is to understand how the process of democratization and western liberal democratic values have interacted with an ethnic-nationally diverse population who are governed by a variety of political structures in a region that has witnessed historically fluctuating state and national boundaries due to the ebb and flow of numerous dynasties and empires in the past, and recently seen the birth of new ethnic-national states and nations. We endeavour to review how formal democracy, regular elections and adult suffrage, local self-governing structures, protection of the rights of the minorities and the indigenous people, protective discrimination and reservation, freedom of expression, the development of mass media, the formation of ethnic homelands, etc. have furthered participatory democracy, empowered the historically marginalized groups, and ensured sustainable development in these countries. The papers highlight the contested nature of liberal democracy and its indigenization, document the resurgence of oppositional politics in a cultural idiom, the continuing difficulties in reconciling majority with minority interests in the Himalayas. We are seeking original unpublished submissions for our Volume 2 (Soliciting papers either on Afghanistan, Mizoram, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Chittagong Hills of Bangladesh). Six original papers have been confirmed. Potential Contributors should email vibhaaurora at yahoo.com or aurora at hss.iitd.ac.in with a 300 word abstract outlining the paper, and give their name and affiliation. First draft of papers submissions will be due by endJuly 2011 or midAugust 2011 and we will like to encourage advanced PhD students or those with ABD status to join us in this Himalayan journey! Our Volume One entitled ‘Routeing Democracy in the Himalayas: Experiences and Experiments’ edited by Vibha Arora (IIT Delhi) and N. Jayaram (TISS Mumbai) is under publication with Routledge and contains 11 articles from eminent contributors (Gerard Toffin, Martin Gaenszle, Fiona McConnell, Bal Gopa Shreshta, Renske Doorenspleet, Nel Vanderkeschove, Mona Bhan, Vibha Arora, Duncan McDuie-Ra, N. Jayaram, Saloni Gupta, and Poshendra S. Pravat) Thanks and Sincerely Vibha -- Ms Vibha Arora (DPhil Oxon) Assistant Professor in Sociology and Social Anthropology Dept of Humanities and Social Sciences The Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016 INDIA aurora at hss.iitd.ac.in; vibhaaurora at yahoo.com From rohitrellan at aol.in Mon Jul 4 19:48:33 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Mon, 04 Jul 2011 10:18:33 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Italian Embassy Cultural Centre, New Delhi: film : IO NO (Not me) In-Reply-To: <8CE086C430F9A55-1D38-842FA@webmail-m137.sysops.aol.com> References: <09E3BB2BF93C45B18FA593986323B90F@Tucci.edu> <8CE086C430F9A55-1D38-842FA@webmail-m137.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <8CE086C6416AE55-1D38-8431C@webmail-m137.sysops.aol.com> ______________________­­­­­­­­______________________________________________________________________________________ FILM SCREENING At Italian Embassy Cultural Centre/New Delhi ON WEDNESDAY 06TH JULY 2011 AT 6.30 P.M AND RE-SCREEN ON SATURDAY 09TH JULY 2011 AT 2.00 P.M FOCUS ON:COMEDY BY NEW GENERATION DIRECTORS The Film : IO NO (Not me) Director : Simona Izzo, Ricky Tognazzi Duration : 104 min. Year : 2003 Cast : Gianmarco Tognazi, Ines Sastre, Myriam Catania …. Venue : Italian Embassy Cultural Centre, New Delhi, Multimedia Hall Entry by a valid photo ID card ___________________________________________________________________________ Thanks and best regards, Italian Embassy Cultural Centre 50- E Chandragupta Marg Chanakyapuri, New Delhi -110 021 Phone: 0091- 11- 26871901/03/04 Ext. 214 Fax: 0091- 11- 26871902 From aman.am at gmail.com Tue Jul 5 08:39:56 2011 From: aman.am at gmail.com (Aman Sethi) Date: Tue, 5 Jul 2011 08:39:56 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] excerpts from my first book - A Free Man Message-ID: Dear All, My first book - A Free Man, published by Random House India - should be in stores by the 10th of this month. Some list regulars may remember my early writings on this list as a part of the independent fellowship programme - back in 2006. Those early posts have worked their way into a larger narrative - read the excerpt in Caravan magazine at: http://caravanmagazine.in/Story.aspx?Storyid=970&StoryStyle=FullStory and a (much) shorter review in the Indian Express: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/it-is-market-day/811603/0 Warm regards Aman Sethi From rohitrellan at aol.in Tue Jul 5 10:01:01 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Tue, 05 Jul 2011 00:31:01 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Adda Screening: Andhere Se Pehle, TISS, Mumbai/ Film Show at Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi/ Caferati's Humour Writing Workshop with Varun Grover, Mumbai In-Reply-To: <089a3efc92d81fd789e7be1794a91f42@tiss.edu> References: <089a3efc92d81fd789e7be1794a91f42@tiss.edu> Message-ID: <8CE08E37ACB01F4-1398-89BB@webmail-m070.sysops.aol.com> Andhere Se Pehle Directed by Ajay TG, 33 mins., A CMCS Production July 7, 2011, !8.30 Room No. 4, TISS Main Campus In the name of development, tribal land is routinely grabbed or illegally acquired by private companies in India. In the Raigarh district of Chhatisgarh, farmers are caught in a search for justice against the Jindal Thermal Power Plant. Alongside testimonies by desperate farmers, this film documents their determined protest against an impending public hearing that will decide the expansion of the power plant in Tamnar. All are cordially invited Adda- The CMCS Film Club -- ---------------------------------------------------------- K.P. Jayasankar, Ph.D., Professor Centre for Media and Cultural Studies Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Deonar, Mumbai 400 088, India Phone: +91 22 2552 5660(Work) Fax: +91 22 2552 5050 e-mail: kpj[AT]tiss.edu URL: www.cmcs.tiss.edu -------------------------- Film Show at Lalit Kala Akademi Lalit Kala Akademi New Delhi cordially invites you to attend FILM SHOWS July 2011 07 ~ July, 2011 Great Artists: Rodin 23.00 mins, Seventh Art Production Painter’s Portrait: Amitava Das Directed by K. Bikram Singh 29.00 mins, Cine Arts India 21 ~ July, 2011 The Sculpture 100 58.00 mins, Illuminations Kaustubh Auditorium: Rabindra Bhavan, 35, Ferozeshah Road, New Delhi - 110001 Screening time - 6.00 p.m. The Films will be screened for educational purpose. ------------------------------------------ Caferati's Humour Writing Workshop with Varun Grover People, please note: signing up here isn't enough. You have to send that email. And there are limited places available.* What the workshop will do: Take a closer, analytic look into various forms, genres, techniques and cheat-codes involved in humour writing and applying them for a quick result. (Of course, the results are not scientifically proven, but still, would be better than those claimed by fairness cream ads.) Level: Starter, 101, Zero, Rahul Gandhi. 1. Stand-up comedy writing. a) Deconstructing a joke. b) Discovering a punchline. c) Constructing a full script. 2. Sketch writing. a) Formats. b) Writing, pruning and rewriting. c) There's no (c) 3. Parody and spoof writing. a) Value of a rhyme. b) Intro to musical, news and genre spoofs. Note: Not for people who get easily offended by jokes on personalities, religion, and other opiates of the masses. Workshop Fees: Rs 200, payable at the venue before the start of the workshop. To book a place: Please send an email to editors at caferati.com with a short bio, a paragraph (not more than 250 words) of your writing that you think is funny, and a reason you would like to attend this workshop. If you are Robert Vadera or Arnold Schwarzenegger, you can walk straight in. Varun Grover is a script-writer for film (Mahayodhha Rama, Accident at Hill Road, Zor Laga Ke Haiyya, Ghoom) and television (Oye It’s Friday with Farhan Akhtar, Still Moving Still Shaking with Shekhar Suman, Ranvir, Vinay aur Kaun, Aisi ki Taisi with Raju Srivastava, The Great Indian Comedy Show, Dus Ka Dum, Big Boss). He writing has also been published in Chakmak, Baal Vigyaan Patrika and Pratilipi. He also made the documentary Towers of Mumbai. __,_._,___ From nagraj.adve at gmail.com Tue Jul 5 21:47:15 2011 From: nagraj.adve at gmail.com (Nagraj Adve) Date: Tue, 5 Jul 2011 21:47:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Pani Hakk campaign meeting Message-ID: *PANI HAKK ABHIYAN* 5 July 2011 Friends, The Delhi government, instead of addressing the many existing problems of access to water by people of Delhi, has resumed its attack on the basic rights of the working poor by intensifying its drive towards the privatization of water. Its distribution, metering, billing, etc is being handed over to large corporates, threatening people’s right to water. A large collective, Pani Hakk Abhiyan, comprising over 30 organizations, unions, democratic rights groups, women’s organizations, etc, has been formed in Delhi to resist this attack and demand the basic right to adequate, clean and cheap drinking water for all. Three meetings have been held thus far. The details of a basic campaign are in the process of being charted out. An initial parcha is being printed. The next meeting of Pani Hakk Abhiyan is on Saturday, 9 July. The agenda would include the details of the strategy and specifics of the campaign over the next few weeks; sharing of any developments or work since the last meeting; issues arising out of the parcha’s contents, etc. We would like to underline that this is not any one organization’s initiative; the Abhiyan seeks to be as inclusive as possible. Please attend, join in, and inform others. *Date*: 9 July, Saturday *Time*: 3 pm *Venue*: BTR Bhavan, 13-A, Rouse Avenue (near Gandhi Peace Foundation) In solidarity, Nagraj Adve on behalf of the coordination committee PANI HAKK ABHIYAN In case you have any queries, call 9910476553, 9891320909, or 9818065092 From rohitrellan at aol.in Wed Jul 6 10:06:51 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Wed, 06 Jul 2011 00:36:51 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Editor for film.culture360.org, Open Call / film.culture360.org, Call for Articles Message-ID: <8CE09AD75FB113A-15C8-43F3D@webmail-m168.sysops.aol.com> Editor for film.culture360.org | open call Deadline: 25/07/2011 Website: http://film.culture360.org/ culture360.org is looking for a new Editor for its website dedicated to film, film.culture360.org. culture360.org is an online portal that connects Asia and Europe by providing information, facilitating dialogue and stimulating reflection on the arts and culture. film.culture360.org is a website specifically for filmmakers, producers and film organizations from Asia and Europe. The Film Editor will be in charge of providing relevant content to film.culture360.org website by selecting news, events, opportunities and various resources connected to the film sector from both regions. Information will cover all current ASEM countries* and new ASEM members (ie. Australia, New Zealand, Russia). The Film Editor will also write relevant articles related to the film industries of Asia and Europe. She/He will also be responsible to develop in accordance with the culture360.org policy the editorial policies of the website and commission articles to external contributors. The ideal candidate will have: a strong and broad knowledge of the film sector in Asia and Europe at least 3 years of previous working experience as editor for offline/online magazines/websites specialising in film a strong profile as film writer, researcher and contributing editor excellent writing and editing skills in English the ability to work in close coordination with the editorial team at the Asia-Europe Foundation and manage external contributors the skills to promote the website on different platforms and at film related events. For this position the Film Editor will receive a fee of SGD 1,300 per month. Please send your CV, cover letter and samples of writing to: Ramona Laczko Project Officer, Cultural Exchange, Asia-Europe Foundation, ramona.laczko(at)asef.organd film(at)culture360.org. Deadline for submission of applications: July 25th 2011. Please note that only the shortlisted candidates will be contacted. *ASEM countries list here: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cambodia, China, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Laos, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mongolia, Myanmar, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, United Kingdom, Vietnam, the ASEAN Secretariat and the European Commission. ------------------------------------------------------- film.culture360.org | call for articles Deadline: 31/07/2011 Website: http://film.culture360.org/ The Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) and the editorial team of film.culture360.org are inviting potential writers (comprising of film journalists, filmmakers, film academics, festival programmers, film professionals and film enthusiasts) from ASEM countries to submit proposals for articles. The selected articles will be published onculture360.org website dedicated to connecting Asia and Europe through film. The aim of these articles is to improve the understanding of the film ecosystem in Asia and Europe and to provide insight into the social, economic and cultural context in which films are being made and evaluated. We particularly encourage articles on: best practices related to policy in encouraging the development of the film sector in countries likeAustralia, Austria, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Laos, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdon, and Vietnam. collaborations between ASEM countries, encouraging film professionals from both regions to work together and exchange experiences latest developments in the sector, highlighting the opportunities but also challenges that the film sector is confronted with in both regions parallels between Asian and European practices in film making, financing, distribution, marketing and theory any other film related topic that is informative, educational and useful to our target visitors: young film professionals, journalists, scholars, and/or film enthusiasts. The articles can have the format of a feature story, profile of or interview with an organization or film professional from Asia and Europe or a review of film related initiatives and events. Articles should be written in British English with a maximum length of 800 to 1200 words. Proposals should be submitted in the form of an outline (short description up to 5 sentences) of the subject together with a short biography/background note before July 31th 2011. Proposals should be sent by email to film(at)culture360.org. and ramona.laczko(at)asef.org The editorial team of film.culture360.org will evaluate the proposals and send an email confirmation to the selected writers by August 15th 2011. The deadline for submission of the articles will be decided by the editorial team atfilm.culture360.org together with the selected writers. The writers will receive a financial remuneration of 250Singapore Dollars (SGD) per article. All content commissioned for the film.culture360.org website will remain the intellectual property of ASEF. ASEF reserves the right to alter, remove or perform any other necessary editing to content submitted for use on thefilm.culture360.org, on grounds deemed necessary by ASEF, such as sensitive issues concerning ASEM member-states. The author will be acknowledged accordingly on the page on which the article will be published. ASEF should be indemnified against any legal infringement and/or violation of intellectual property rights of third parties by the author, for content commissioned for the film.culture360.org website. From c.anupam at gmail.com Wed Jul 6 11:23:33 2011 From: c.anupam at gmail.com (anupam chakravartty) Date: Wed, 6 Jul 2011 11:23:33 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] IIT-Delhi rolls out 'etiquette lessons' for SC/ST students Message-ID: "Delhi is the only IIT to have felt the pressing need to put all the selected SC/ST candidates through classes on manners. The co-ed programme—which will be run from July 10 to July 17—is made up of modules on communication, personality development and theatre for communication (more like public speaking). Put together, "in all logical integrity, it is meant to boost the confidence of students who come from a different background", say IIT-Delhi heads. But not everyone thinks of the "correctional programme" as a means to achieve equilibrium among campus residents. An IIT-Delhi faculty member snorts at the idea. "A campus is a symbol of assimilation of many minds and several lives. To carve out a group on the basis of their origins and put them through a training programme—I would term it nothing short of apartheid." http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/IIT-Delhi-rolls-out-etiquette-lessons-for-SC/ST-students/articleshow/9045403.cms From lawrence at altlawforum.org Wed Jul 6 14:56:33 2011 From: lawrence at altlawforum.org (Lawrence Liang) Date: Wed, 6 Jul 2011 14:56:33 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] SC Holds Salwa Juddam unconstitutional Message-ID: Hi All A short post I have made on Kafila with a few extracts from the judgment The whole text which is worth reading closely is available here http://kafila.org/2011/07/06/a-beacon-of-light-in-the-heart-of-darkness-sc-holds-salwa-juddam-unconstitutional/ Lawrence A beacon of light in the heart of darkness: SC holds Salwa Juddam unconstitutional The Supreme Court has held that the use of extra legal armed forces in Chhattisgarh is unconstitutional. Responding to a PIL filed by Nandini Sundar, Ramachandra Guha and E.A.S.Sharma, the court’s decision turns on the nature of the Salwa Juddam and the appointment of special police officers under the Chhattisgarh Police Act. But if it were a judgment that had merely ruled on the technicalities, it would have been a welcome and competent order, but would have missed its moment of constitutional greatness. This judgment attains such greatness by virtue of its deft combination of insightful legal analysis, the articulation of a moral vision of constitutionalism and development and its sharp invocation of rhetoric (in the best sense of the term) and fiction to buttress its arguments. Fiction, William Gass reminds us is the figure of truth. Law has always produced and promoted legal fictions and the substantive interpretation of law often rests upon on a body of rhetorical figures and scenarios. The imaginative and moral character of legal fiction can often be found wanting, but there are times when the courts produce inspired moral visions that outdo even literature. Although fiction in the manner of its making, is pure philosophy, Gass says that no novelist has created a more dashing hero than the handsome absolute, or conceived more dramatic extrications- the soul’s escape from the body, for instance, or the will’s from cause. Nandini Sundar v. State of Chattisgarh is an excellent example of the ways in which the law can productively use metaphor as legal argument (‘our constitution is not a pact for national suicide’) There will be time in the near future to examine all the nitty gritties of the judgment, but for now lets celebrate this amazing judgment. I am reproducing some extracts which may be of interest, and highlighting some of the key metaphors that the judges use in describing the state of affairs in Chhattisgarh and India more generally. (Full text available here) The judgment begins with an argument that a collective commitment to a constitutional democracy requires an equal obligation to the demands of the discipline and rigour of constitutionalism, the cornerstone of which is the accountability of state power which ‘can only be used for promotion of constitutional values and vision. This case represents a yawning gap between the promise of principled exercise of power in a constitutional democracy, and the reality of the situation in Chattisgarh, where the Respondent, the State of Chattisgarh, claims that it has a constitutional sanction to perpetrate, indefinitely, a regime of gross violation of human rights in a manner, and by adopting the same modes, as done by Maoist/Naxalite extremists.” It then goes on to invoke Joseph Conrad’s Heart of darkness, and repeats in different parts of the judgment the last lines of the novel, the horror, the horror. While a number of judges are fond of peppering their judgments with literary quotes, the integrity with which they quote is often questionable. In this case, the judges cite Conrad to draw a powerful parallel between the violence of the exploitative colonial state and what was happening in Chattisgarh In Para 2 of the decision, the judges say As we heard the instant matters before us, we could not but help be reminded of the novella, “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad, who perceived darkness at three levels: (i) the darkness of the forest, representing a struggle for life and the sublime; (ii) the darkness of colonial expansion for resources; and finally (iii) the darkness, represented by inhumanity and evil, to which individual human beings are capable of descending, when supreme and unaccounted force is vested, rationalized by a warped world view that parades itself as pragmatic and inevitable, in each individual level of command. They go on to say that as they heard more evidence about what was happening in Chhattisgarh “we could not but arrive at the conclusion that the respondents were seeking to put us on a course of constitutional actions whereby we would also have to exclaim, at the end of it all: “the horror, the horror.”). They return to this image of horror when the say that pursuing policies whereby guns are distributed amongst barely literate youth amongst the poor to control the disaffection in such segments of the population would be tantamount to sowing of suicide pills that could divide and destroy society. The judges then say that ‘Our constitution is most certainly not a “pact for national suicide.” In the least, its vision does enable us, as constitutional adjudicators to recognize, and prevent, the emergence, and the institutionalization, of a policing paradigm, the end point of which can only mean that the entire nation, in short order, might have to gasp: “The horror! The horror!”” The judges also approvingly cite the report of the expert group constituted by the planning commission on “Development Challenges in Extremist Affected Areas” which describes the neo liberal agenda as a ‘rapacious’, a word that the judges interpret as referring to a predation for satisfaction of inordinate greed, and subsistence by capture of living prey, continuing with the theme of the descent into the heart of darkness. The judges argue that ‘Predatory forms of capitalism, supported and promoted by the State in direct contravention of constitutional norms and values, often take deep roots around the extractive industries’. Coming down strongly on the central government’s claim that law and order and policing are state subjects, their role was merely limited to limited to approving the total number of SPOs, and the extent of reimbursement of “honourarium” paid to them, the judges hold in para 34 that “Given the tasks and responsibilities that the Constitution places on the State, it is extremely dismaying that the Union of India, in response to a specific direction by this Court that it file an affidavit as to what its role is with respect to appointment of SPOs in Chattisgarh, claim that it only has the limited role as set forth in its affidavit. Even a cursory glance at the affidavit of the Union of India indicates that it was filed with the purpose of taking legal shelter of diminished responsibility, rather than exhibiting an appropriate degree of concern for the serious constitutional issues involved.” Rejecting the urgency argument, the court constantly reiterates the need to address the underlying socio economic roots of armed struggles, and brings back the question of just means into an issue where the state had virtually erased the difference between means and ends. The judges remind us that no conflict takes place in a normative void, and rejecting Cicero’s thesis that laws are silent during war, the judges bring back the urgency of political ethics into their discussion on violence In Para 70, the judges hold “It is true that terrorism and/or extremism plagues many countries, and India, unfortunately and tragically, has been subject to it for many decades. The fight against terrorism and/or extremism cannot be effectuated by constitutional democracies by whatever means that are deemed to be efficient. Efficiency is not the sole arbiter of all values, and goals that constitutional democracies seek to be guided by, and achieve. Means which may be deemed to be efficient in combating some immediate or specific problem, may cause damage to other constitutional goals, and indeed may also be detrimental to the quest to solve the issues that led to the problems themselves. Consequently, all efficient means, if indeed they are efficient, are not legal means, supported by constitutional frameworks. As Aharon Barak, the former President of the Supreme Court of Israel, while discussing terrorism, wrote in his opinion in the case of Almadani v. Ministry of Defense1 opinion: “….This combat is not taking place in a normative void…. The saying, “When the canons roar, the Muses are silent,” is incorrect. Cicero’s aphorism that laws are silent during war does not reflect modern reality. The foundations of this approach is not only pragmatic consequence of a political and normative reality. Its roots lie much deeper. It is an expression of the difference between a democratic state fighting for its life and the aggression of terrorists rising up against it. The state fights in the name of the law, and in the name of upholding the law. The terrorists fight against the law, and exploit its violation. The war against terror is also the law’s war against those who rise up against it.”” From rohitrellan at aol.in Thu Jul 7 08:02:32 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Wed, 06 Jul 2011 22:32:32 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Luna Theater: Play Festival Submissions Message-ID: <8CE0A654249F0CD-1758-4B0BA@web-mmc-m08.sysops.aol.com> Luna Theater Company is accepting submissions for the First Annual 10-Minute Play Festival. In keeping with our tenth season (which includes the Philadelphia premieres of Fin Kennedy’s “How To Disappear Completely And Never Be Found” and Leslye Headland’s “Bachelorette”), Luna will be presenting a festival of world premiere plays in June 2012, each dealing with the season’s theme of “Identity Crisis”. We would love it if you could submit... • Plays that fit within the festival’s theme of “Identity Crisis”. More specifically, intimate, intelligent and intense plays that deal with big ideas and explore the human psyche. For more information on the type of pieces we are looking for, we invite you to look at our Production History on the Luna Theater website (www.lunatheater.org/past_p​roductions) • Plays no longer than 10 minutes • Plays requiring no more than four actors. • Plays for actors between 18 to 30 years old. • Plays that have yet to receive their world premiere production. Staged readings are acceptable • Plays submitted via e-mail (.doc, .docx or .pdf formats only) with the subject line “(Last Name)/Solstice Submission/Date of Submission” (i.e. “Smith/Solstice Submission/Date of Submission”) • One script per playwright. Send us your best work. Or your worst. Up to you However, we would rather you not send us this: • Plays longer than 10 minutes • Plays that do not meet the cast size and age range requirements. • Plays that have had a previous production • Snail mail submissions • Multiple submissions Plays that do not meet the requirements will not be considered. There is no compensation, but your play will receive a full world premiere production. Deadline for submissions is November 30, 2011. We will e-mail you regarding the status of your submission by December 31, 2011. Submissions should be sent to: Jeremy Gable, Literary Manager lunaliterary at gmail.com www.lunatheater.org From rohitrellan at aol.in Thu Jul 7 08:02:32 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Wed, 06 Jul 2011 22:32:32 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Luna Theater: Play Festival Submissions Message-ID: <8CE0A654249F0CD-1758-4B0BA@web-mmc-m08.sysops.aol.com> Luna Theater Company is accepting submissions for the First Annual 10-Minute Play Festival. In keeping with our tenth season (which includes the Philadelphia premieres of Fin Kennedy’s “How To Disappear Completely And Never Be Found” and Leslye Headland’s “Bachelorette”), Luna will be presenting a festival of world premiere plays in June 2012, each dealing with the season’s theme of “Identity Crisis”. We would love it if you could submit... • Plays that fit within the festival’s theme of “Identity Crisis”. More specifically, intimate, intelligent and intense plays that deal with big ideas and explore the human psyche. For more information on the type of pieces we are looking for, we invite you to look at our Production History on the Luna Theater website (www.lunatheater.org/past_p​roductions) • Plays no longer than 10 minutes • Plays requiring no more than four actors. • Plays for actors between 18 to 30 years old. • Plays that have yet to receive their world premiere production. Staged readings are acceptable • Plays submitted via e-mail (.doc, .docx or .pdf formats only) with the subject line “(Last Name)/Solstice Submission/Date of Submission” (i.e. “Smith/Solstice Submission/Date of Submission”) • One script per playwright. Send us your best work. Or your worst. Up to you However, we would rather you not send us this: • Plays longer than 10 minutes • Plays that do not meet the cast size and age range requirements. • Plays that have had a previous production • Snail mail submissions • Multiple submissions Plays that do not meet the requirements will not be considered. There is no compensation, but your play will receive a full world premiere production. Deadline for submissions is November 30, 2011. We will e-mail you regarding the status of your submission by December 31, 2011. Submissions should be sent to: Jeremy Gable, Literary Manager lunaliterary at gmail.com www.lunatheater.org From chintan.backups at gmail.com Thu Jul 7 11:17:17 2011 From: chintan.backups at gmail.com (Chintan Girish Modi) Date: Thu, 7 Jul 2011 11:17:17 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] India Water Portal is looking for Content Publishers - Apply by July 15, 2011 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: India Water Portal Date: Mon, Jul 4, 2011 at 11:55 PM Subject: [Opportunity2389] India Water Portal is looking for Content Publishers - Apply by July 15, 2011 To: The India Water Portal is an open, collaborative, web-based platform, anchored by Arghyam, that shares water management knowledge amongst practitioners, experts and concerned citizens. Through its content and services, the Portal aims to inspire, catalyse and support water and environment-related development initiatives on the ground, across the country. The Portal has grown significantly since its start in 2007, and we are looking for new people to help us manage our work. *Title of position* Content publisher(s) - India Water Portal. *Nature of position* Part-time, as a consultant working from home. You must be able to put in at least *100 hours* of work in a month. After a 3-month induction period, your appointment will be confirmed till the end of the financial year (2011-12), and can be extended. *Location* Preferably Bangalore. Day to day coordination of the work will be through phone and email. You must be able to make weekly visits to Arghyam's office for initial training. *Start Date* August 01, 2011. *Academic Qualifications* Graduate in any discipline. *Work Description* Creating and uploading content onto the portal, as per our internal content guidelines, and based on background information which will be provided for every content task. *Required Skills / Facilities* - Excellent English writing/communication skills, with good typing speed. Ability to read and write (type) in Hindi/Kannada is desirable. - Comfortable using basic MS Office software and various internet-based tools. - Have good computer and high speed internet access at home. *Compensation* Pay will be based on actual hours of work put in. The rate of pay will be Rs. 80/hour, and will vary depending on your capacity, skills and related experience. TDS (rate as per usual norms) will be deducted. *NOTE: Work-related expenses such as computer purchase / maintenance, electricity, internet etc will not be reimbursed.* *Deadline for receiving applications* Send in a 1-page resume in PDF format to contact at indiawaterportal.org (cc jobs at arghyam.org), with the relevant subject, latest by *July 15, 2011*. Only selected applicants will be contacted by India Water Portal. Thanks India Water Portal Team Follow us @ http://twitter.com/indiawater, https://www.facebook.com/IndiaWaterPortal & http://indiawaterportal.org/latest Post your content: http://www.indiawaterportal.org/upload From jeebesh at sarai.net Fri Jul 8 15:16:28 2011 From: jeebesh at sarai.net (Jeebesh) Date: Fri, 8 Jul 2011 15:16:28 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Tracing Phalke Message-ID: dear all, here is a beautiful account of Dada Saheb Phalke. Phalke pioneered filmmaking in India. warmly Jeebesh Arbour: Research Initiatives in Architecture The PORTRAITS Series invites you to Tracing Phalke Kamal Swaroop will project his scrap book, tell stories and explore the Phalke Wikipedia on Tuesday 19 July at 7:00 pm at Arbour AV Space Do join us for tea at 6:30 pm [Poster attached. Detailed venue address below.] The PORTRAITS series - will develop a biographical take on a thinker, artists, patron, historical figure, who's contribution in one way or another to our space of culture and thinking has been crucially important. The series will invite practitioners, thinkers and scholars to do this portrait presentation as against only historians, to specifically engage with the relationship a practitioner shares with other figures in the design, architetcure, art and cultural field. The series aims at developing ideas in the process of History and Practice. Notes on the Phalke project... My journey and Phalke I was born in Kashmir in 1952. My father was an educationist. I was brought up in Ajmer, Pushker. I finished my graduation in science biology in1969 and did my post graduation in film direction in 1974 from F.T.I.I Poona. Same year my film Dorothy was given best documentary film award by Filmfare. My first job was with Children film society of India, teaching village children how to make films. In 1975 I joined I.S.R.O as a senior producer making science educational programmes for the village children; it was India’s first experiment in satellite transmission. This was the time when new wave was happening. We had formed a film cooperative and produced films like Ghashi ram Kotwall and Arvind Desai ki Ajeeb daastaan. Somewhere the idea of film cooperatives failed. And all of us parted our ways. After this I did various things-teaching puppetry, drawing, story telling and traveling all over the country. Around beginning of eighties I started working as assistant director in foreign film productions. My big opportunity came with Gandhi where I worked as chief assistant director, at the same time continuing as a writer in art films. In 1988 I produced Om Darbdar which won the Filmfare critic’s award for the best film. This was a Dadaist kind of a film. This film was about adolescence and myths of Pushker- the only place where Brahma the creator and the father is allowed to be worshiped. He is also the god of the artist and the craftsmen. I was wondering what to do next and met a psychoanalyst friend who suggested why not make a film about learning and imagination itself. I hit upon the idea of Phalke, his life compresses all process of learning that goes in film art. He himself is a product of the industrial art school. Since then all my work has been Phalke related— teaching, workshops, documentaries, short films, promos, subsidizing my dream to make a big mainstream film on his life and times, encompassing time span between 1870-1944.As Brahma of the Pushker is the father of the artisan, so is Phalke of trimbak given the title of father of Indian cinema-my two obsessions. Tracing Phalke – A Biographical introduction As we follow the life of Phalke we see a definite pattern of learning and essential experience that materialized/manifested itself in his filmmaking. After being trained in the scriptures and story-telling by his father, a Sanskrit scholar and astronomer, he moved to Sir J.J.School of arts where he learnt tracing, drawing and moulding. It was the time when the mechanical means of reproduction were being introduced. Industrial arts were beginning. The traditional arts and crafts people were finding themselves jobless. A new breed of artist and crafts people were being nurtured in art school to cope with the new market demands. The idea of perspective, oil painting and representing the nature in its free form were being introduced. After passing from J.J.School, Phalke went to the Kala Bhavan in Baroda where he learnt photography, printing and magic. He began his career as a small town photographer in Godhra but had to leave business after the death of his first wife and child in an out break of the bubonic plague. Persecuted, driven by from the city where he practiced the new art of photography (camera seen as life snatching lens), he went through a paranoia state for some time. During which he met the German magician Carl Hertz, one of the 40 magicians employed by the Lumiere Brothers. Soon after, he had the opportunity to work with the Archeological Survey of India as a draftsman. However, restless with his job and its constraints, and moved by the swadeshi and swaraj spirit, he turned to the business of printing. He specialized in lithography and oleography, and worked for Raja Ravi Varma, man producing the paintings that found homes across the country. He later started his own printing press, made his first trip abroad to Germany, to assimilate the latest technology and machinery and proved to be most successful at home as well as abroad, where his excellence received high praise But, following a dispute with his partners about the running of the press, he gave up printing and turned his attention to the moving picture. Once again, he proved successful in his new art, and proceeded to make several silent films, short, documentary feature, educational, comic, tapping all the potential of this (dynamic explosive) new medium. However, the market that had opened up in the face of naked skepticism and against all odds, having proved its almost unlimited financial viability, soon attracted businessmen and money minded entrepreneurs who sacrificed the aesthetic and moral concerns of the new media on the altar of commence. Phalke thought expedient to form a film company, Hindustan films in partnership with five businessmen from Bombay in the hope that by having the financial aspect of his profession handled by experts in the field, he would be free to pursue the idealistic nature of his calling. He set up a model studio and trained technicians, actors, but, very soon, as with his printing business he ran into insurmountable problems with his partners. Disgusted, disillusioned and despairing, Phalke resigned from Hindustan company, made his first announcement of retirement from cinema and retreated with his family to Kashi where he wrote Rangbhoomi, a play. (‘Rangbhommi’ fetched him accolades and honors in the realm of theatre.) But lacking his imaginative genius, the Hindustan company ran into deep financial loss, and he was finally persuaded to return. But it did not suit his temperament that he had to surrender his unique individual identity to the demands of meeting schedules and release dates and, after directing a few films for the company, he withdrew, content to train fresh directors, and to supervise the technical side of films production. But then the times changed and Phalke fell victim to the very cause he had championed with such zeal and self sacrifice - the onward march of technology. Sound had arrived. Unable to cope with the talkie times, the man who had fathered the Indian film industry was engulfed by an image explosion that rendered him inert and paralyzed. His own creation haunted him, mute, he fled into fragmented memories of his pre-cinema, magic lantern days, his children unaware of the tragedy of his life and excited and enthralled by a promise for the future, fantasizing with the adventures of the new silver screen god. From jeebesh at sarai.net Fri Jul 8 15:34:28 2011 From: jeebesh at sarai.net (Jeebesh) Date: Fri, 8 Jul 2011 15:34:28 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Tracing Phalke References: Message-ID: <9E9747A1-6C81-4E53-847B-FEE8877BDB24@sarai.net> Begin forwarded message: > Dear Jeebesh, > > Thanks for forwarding this email on the list, however this > particular one has a date error... I have just forwarded the > corrected email from the Arbour email id to you with date in email > body text corrected as Monday 18 July. Please forward the correct > email. > > thanks much, > Kind regards, > K From rohitrellan at aol.in Fri Jul 8 18:08:30 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Fri, 08 Jul 2011 08:38:30 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] An evening of play readings by Anjum Katyal and Vinay Sharma, New Delhi Message-ID: <8CE0B8313814A37-10D0-1F60@webmail-d089.sysops.aol.com> Correspondence – Ingeborg Bachmann and Paul Celan An evening of play readings by Anjum Katyal and Vinay Sharma Thursday, 21.07.11, 7.00 p.m. Library, Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan In collaboration with Seagull Books. The reading will be followed by a reception. Entry is free. Paul Celan (1920–70) is one of the best-known German poets; many of his poems, admired for their straight, precise diction, deal directly with the basics of being human. Austrian writer Ingeborg Bachmann (1926–73) is recognized as one of post–WWII German Literature’s most important novelists, poets, and playwrights. It seems only appropriate that these two contemporaries and masters of language were once lovers, and they shared a lengthy artful and passionate correspondence. Collected here for the first time in English are their letters written between 1948 and 1961. Their correspondence forms a moving testimony of the discourse of love in the age after the German atrocities and mass-murders of the Holocaust. “Correspondence – Ingeborg Bachmann and Paul Celan” is translated by Wieland Hoban and published by Seagull Books as part of its “The German List” series with support from Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan, India. All titles from “The German List” can be purchased at a special discount price before and after the event. Anjum Katyalis a published poet, co-edits Art and the City, a web journal on the contemporary arts in India, sings the blues, translates and reviews books and writes on theatre and the visual arts. Vinay Sharma is an actor, director, writer, with Padatik, Kolkata since 1981 and has worked with directors such as Shyamanand Jalan, Usha Ganguly, Anmol Vellani and Rodney Marriott. His own directorial works have toured extensively in India and abroad. For further information please visit: http://www.goethe.de/ins/in/ned/ver/en7804647v.htm Or contact: cappel at delhi.goethe.org, Tel.: 011-23329506 Ext.149 From whysabih at gmail.com Fri Jul 8 21:16:58 2011 From: whysabih at gmail.com (Sabih .) Date: Fri, 8 Jul 2011 21:16:58 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Interfaces of Art History, Museum Practices and Popular Visual Culture: A Curatorial Enquiry Message-ID: *Reminder:* Dear Friends, this is just to remind that the *last date* for receiving the concept note, along with long and short CV for the Hyderabad Workshop is * **2nd August, 2011.* * * *Association of Academics, Artists and Citizens for University Autonomy (ACUA), Vadodara * * * *Invites Curatorial Concepts for the Third in the Series of Five Workshops: * * * *Curating Indian Visual Culture: Theory and Practice** * (An India Foundation for the Arts (IFA), Bangalore initiative, funded by Sir Jamsetji Tata Trust) *Venue: * Department of Fine Arts, Sarojini Naidu School of Arts & Communication, University of Hyderabad, Gachibowli, Hyderabad - 500 046. * * *Dates:* 12th to 17th September 2011. * * *Thematic Focus**:* *Interfaces of Art History, Museum Practices and Popular Visual Culture: A Curatorial Enquiry* * * *Concept Note:* In the field of artistic production, museological and art historical practices function as validatory mechanisms and disciplinary apparatuses. The political history of museology and museum practices illustrates the role these institutional mechanisms have played in validating the construction of particular histories as ‘real’ in nature and ‘universal’ in dimension. It is equally important to scrutinize the role of art history’s institutional discursive practices, which often corroborate these claims while dealing with the larger hermeneutical enterprises at their disposal. Keeping in mind these larger paradigms, this workshop aims to address the contemporary challenges in curatorial practices within museums due to the paradigmatic shifts in the very idea of both the museum and of curatorial practice itself. One of the significant questions this workshop attempts to address is about the conceptual implications of the entry of popular visual culture into the pristine/elite spaces of the museum in the context of curatorial practices. This is especially so, given that the museum’s ideological entrenchment and canonical status and art history’s professional practices – connoisseurship and art criticism – constantly try to naturalize the existing differences; and its commensurability renders them into a universal frame of reference. Here, the museum’s notion of ‘Art’ had been playing a central role in fulfilling the social function of totalizing and legitimating social differences. One of the focuses of the workshop will be to explore the ways in which non-Euro-American historical cultures – of the tribes and folk; and of the non-Christian ‘high’ traditions – have been tamed to fit within the Enlightenment project of commensurability. This workshop also focuses on the changing notions and roles of museums in our contemporary context and seeks to examine new challenges that such changes bring into the realm of curatorial practices. On the one hand, the socio-political dimensions of such changes seek a radical revision of existing curatorial practices, and on the other hand open new imaginative horizons for critical curatorial practices. This workshop seeks to explore the role of newer discursive formation around the question of popular visual culture in the radical transformation of museum and curatorial practices. It aims to analyze the dialectical relationship between the conceptual and practical aspects of curation by exploring the complex interplay of these mutually dependent and enriching paradigms. However, for analytical purposes, this workshop may also analyze practices in terms of conceptual frameworks and the practical aspects of display in their own terms as well, which may enable a critical reflection upon fresh curatorial proposals in the context of museums. Moreover, it is an initiative to facilitate interactions between and among workshop participants and subject experts, in order to conceptually and pragmatically enrich such projects of historical and contemporary art - including those which are ‘conventionally’ bracketed within the realm of popular cultures. *The last date for receiving the concept note, along with long and short CV with postal address and phone numbers for the Hyderabad Workshop:* * 2nd August, 2011**.* * **Email it to: artcurationworkshop at gmail.com * *For details see URL: http://www.curationtheory.com/ (Check the button* * ‘Functional Logistics’ for how to apply &mode of selection. * * * *Forthcoming **workshops* *Jammu** *– February 2012, *Shillong* – September 2012 & a colloquium at * Vadodara* – December 2012 * * *Please widely circulate this notice.** * From whysabih at gmail.com Fri Jul 8 21:20:33 2011 From: whysabih at gmail.com (Sabih .) Date: Fri, 8 Jul 2011 21:20:33 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] A Digital Archive of 20th-Century Latin American and Latino Art and A Companion Book Series Message-ID: ***Some 10,000 primary-source documents will be available worldwide for the first time, launching with materials from Mexico, Argentina and the American Midwest.* The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and its research institute, the International Center for the Arts of the Americas (ICAA), have devoted ten years and 50 million USD to initiatives in 20th-century Latin American and Latino art. In January 2012, the MFAH and ICAA will reach a milestone in these efforts: the initial launch of a digital archive of some 10,000 primary-source materials, culled by hundreds of researchers based out of 16 cities in the U.S. and throughout Latin America. The online archive will be available worldwide, free of charge, and is intended as a catalyst for the future of a field that has been notoriously lacking in accessible resources. The phased, multi-year launch begins with 2,500 documents from Argentina, Mexico and the American Midwest. Documents from other countries and communities will continue to be uploaded and made available. The first volume in a companion series of 13 annotated books will be published with the archive launch, with subsequent volumes in the series published annually. The online archive is rich in artists' writings, correspondence and other unpublished materials, as well as in texts published in newspapers and period journals by artists, critics, scholars and others who have played a vital role in shaping the cultural fabric of the countries and communities in which the Documents Project has had a presence. The material brings to life the ferment of international cultures, ideas and personalities that swept across 20th-century South America, the Spanish-speaking Caribbean and the North American Midwest, as artists, writers and intellectuals sought to define or challenge notions of a national art; art movements emerged in response to changing local political regimes, as well as to what was perceived as the onslaught of North American culture; and the contribution of Latin American artists to the early stages of avant-garde global movements that resulted in highly original artistic manifestations. The archive also highlights the common interests and affinities shared by Latin artists working in North and South America, allowing for first-hand comparative studies of these broad-based, highly heterogeneous groups. Documents from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and the United States will continue to be added to the website over the next three years, with the entire selection of holdings to date available by 2015. As the ICAA research initiatives progress, the website will continue to develop in perpetuity, making it an indispensable provider of Latin American and Latino primary-source documents. A series of 13 books to be published over the next dozen years, *Critical Documents of 20th-Century Latin American and Latino Art*, will accompany the digital archive initiative. Selections from the archive will be translated into English and organized by theme, rather than country or chronology. The general, non-Spanish speaking reader will have access to Latin American primary-source materials in English, while the specialized reader can cross-reference the books with the archive, accessing both the original and the translated versions of the texts. Co-published by the MFAH and Yale University Press, the series is the most ambitious editorial venture of its kind. The release of the first anthology, *Resisting Categories: Latin American and/or Latino?*, by Mari Carmen Ramírez with the late Olivier Debroise, Tomás Ybarra-Frausto, and Héctor Olea, is timed for the *Documents * website launch. Media Information: MFAH Communications: Mary Haus, Dana Mattice and Lisa Sursavage; (713) 639-7554 mhaus at mfah.org; dmattice at mfah.org; lsursavage at mfah.org Website [image: Description: Image removed by sender.] From rohitrellan at aol.in Sat Jul 9 08:28:12 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Fri, 08 Jul 2011 22:58:12 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Casting Call - SITA - URGENT - "Indian female child, 8 years to 12 years of age, A white female, mid-40s to mid-50s"/MOFILM Current Competitions Message-ID: <8CE0BFB2D27CF07-5E0-BB70@webmail-d009.sysops.aol.com> Casting Call: Sita Sita is a short film by Arpita Kumar about an Indian woman doctor and her patient, Sita, as both women get embroiled in the seedy underbelly of the commercial surrogacy industry. Driven by the moral compass of the doctor, the film culminates in tragic irony when the body of a young girl and Sita's rented womb becomes the site for the opposing narratives on female reproduction. Director: Arpita Kumar (MFA film/video at CalArts in Los Angeles, CA) Shoot location: Delhi, India Shoot Dates: August 12TH to August 18th (Tentative) Film length: 20 minutes The film is a graduate thesis short film for California Institute of the Arts that will premiere in Los Angeles in May, 2012. The film is being line-produced by UnCommonSense Films , New Delhi, The DOP is Travers Jacobs of Zone 6 productions in Los Angeles, CA. The film will be shot on H.D. Seeking: Indian female, late teens to mid-20s, for the character of Sita. Should be fluent in Hindi with the ability to do a UP accent. An Indian female, mid 30s to mid 40s, for the character of Dr. Angela Sharma. Should be fluent in both Hindi and English. An Indian female child, 8 years to 12 years of age, for the character of Ankita. Should be fluent in Hindi and English. A white female, mid-40s to mid-50s, for the character of Joan. Should be able to do an American accent. An Indian female, mid-40s to mid-50s, for the character of Munni. Should be fluent in Hindi with an ability to do a UP accent. Actors should be available for rehearsals from mid July to mid August. Please email your headshot, resume, and reel link (if possible) for consideration to kumar.arpita at gmail.com & ashutosh at uncommonsensefilms.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ MOFILM Current Competitions Wroclaw Poland 2011 : Make A Video Contest There is a wealth of creative talent in Poland and MOFILM is delighted to be going to the new horizons international film festival which is held between 21st and 31st July 2011 in Wroclaw. Poland is a beautiful country and the winners of this video contest will be flown to the medevial city of Wroclaw for the MOFILM Award ceremony. During the four day trip, they will be treated to a special MOFILM themed screening at the new horizons international film festival. Amazing accomodation and rubbing shoulders with the movie industry's finest comes as standard, As does partying the night away at an exclusive festival themed party courtesy of MOFILM and our partner brands. For more details Log on to http://www.mofilm.com/competitions/wroclaw2011/ MOFILM CHICAGO 2011: Make A Video Contest Lollapalooza, in Chicago's beautiful Grant Park, has become one of the biggest music and arts festivals worldwide and is celebrating it's 20th anniversary this year with headline acts - Foo Fighters, Eminem, Coldplay, Muse, Deadmau5. The festival spans over 115 acres, multiple stages, and will host 130+ artist from every genre - hip-hop, electronica, reggae, indie, rock, modern roots, and many more. Is there a better way to spend your Summer than listening to music under the sun and stars? We have a great mix of brands participating for our first Chicago event, and as usual there will be at least one winner for each brand with prizes that include cash and a trip for two people to the Lollapalooza festival. Winners will get 2 General Admission, 3-day passes, plus a free stay at the Renaissance West Wacker, right across the festival grounds. The MOFILM event has been strategically organized to take place 2 days prior to Lollapalooza, so you can enjoy all 3 days at the musical festival, with no interruptions and just fun in the sun! To enter just pick a brand on the right hand side of the screen, download the brief, get creative and we'll see you at Lollapalooza! For more details Log on to http://www.mofilm.com/competitions/lollapalooza2011/ Taj Mahal 2011 : Make A Video Contest Buoyed by the grand success of our Goafest competition in April this year, MOFILM is returning to India and will be at Agra from 19th - 21st August 2011. The city of Agra, situated on the banks of the Yamuna river, is steeped in history dating back to 1526AD. The most famous monument, of course, is the Taj Mahal, a marble mausoleum built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Acknowledged as one of the new seven wonders of the world, the Taj is widely considered as one of the most beautiful buildings in the world and stands as a symbol of eternal love. MOFILM's Taj Mahal competition will host big brands like Pepsi, Akshaya Patra, Hindustan Times and Chevrolet. Our winners will be invited to join our brand representatives and the MOFILM team for an unforgettable trip to Agra. For more details Log on to http://www.mofilm.com/competitions/tajmahal2011/ From jeebesh at sarai.net Sat Jul 9 15:18:11 2011 From: jeebesh at sarai.net (Jeebesh) Date: Sat, 9 Jul 2011 15:18:11 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Dissidence in Cricket Message-ID: <2718C4AC-DC16-4C7A-BD11-7698B2DB826F@sarai.net> dear all, since cricket is big showbiz and passion here, it will be worthwhile to hear top grade cricketers discomfort with the management of the game. this should be seen as an emergent dissidence culture in sports. here it is not about winning and losing. it is about the very core of why play. warmly jeebesh Sangakkara's interview : http://www.thehindu.com/sport/article2161791.ece (The canny wicket keeper, calm batsman and Captain of Sri Lanka till World Cup 2011) -------------------------------------------------------------- (Flamboyant and mercurial Gayle) I, Christopher Henry Gayle, am making this statement so that all my friends, fans and followers who continue to wonder why I am not being picked for the West Indies team despite being fit, available and in form will know the truth considering the many rumours and statements that have been made as it relates to this issue. Until now, I have kept my silence, but I believe that the time has come for you to all know what I plan to do about this extremely frustrating and humiliating situation. Ever since I was a little boy growing up in Rollington Town, and living in the shadow of Sabina Park I had two dreams. The first was to play for Jamaica and the second to play for the West Indies. Fortunately, and thanks to the Almighty, I have been able to achieve both of them. I have been Captain of both Jamaica and of the West Indies, and have worn both uniforms with pride and served with distinction. I find it really painful now to hear that I did not give my best or that I lost my commitment to the cause of West Indies Cricket. This is not true. I have always given my all. I have always played with my heart and soul. I am not a boastful person. I normally don't speak until I have to. I try not to show in my face what is in my heart but now my heart is heavy. I have played with injuries. I have played with pain. But nothing in my life has been more painful and more injurious to my spirit than what has been done to me in the past few months. Nothing. I want to take you back to September 2009 when Ernest Hilaire who was not yet the CEO of the West Indies Cricket Board cast doubts on my being retained as the West Indies Captain despite my performance in that role. I thought that what I was seeing was a statement made in error. I did not know at the time that what I was seeing was the writing on the wall and what was being written about me was not pleasant or true. Ernest Hilaire acted quickly. At a meeting of the WICB held in October 2009, as soon as he took up office, the Board questioned the recommendation of the selectors that I should be Captain of the team to tour Australia. Eight members voted for me and five members of the Board voted against me. Clive Lloyd, who had praised me highly before was one of them who did not want me as Captain. He never said anything to me about why he was no longer on my side. Joel Garner who was the Manager of the West Indies team and who worked with me closely on the Stanford game which we won voted against my being Captain of the West Indies. Conde Riley from Barbados voted against me. Most surprising is the man who said publicly that he always supported me as Captain. Professor Sir Hilary Beckles voted against me so when he says that he pushed for me to be Captain you have to decide whether to believe Beckles or the Minutes of the Meeting. Gregory Shillingford of the Leeward Islands voted against me. The Board decided to appoint a Committee to meet with me and it should be no surprise that among the members of that Committee were Messrs. Lloyd, Garner and Beckles. Looking back, I now realise that I have been put in a no-win situation since 2009. I found out how bad things were when the WICB held a meeting in St Lucia in July last year. I saw the Minutes of the Meeting later. In reporting on why he thought that the West Indies had not done well in the T20 World Cup, the Coach, Otis Gibson, said "the Captain was not a natural leader" and that "Senior players and some others lack a passion for the game." He also said that "there was no evidence of leadership qualities among the senior players" and that the "Captain is not a student of the game and lacks tactical awareness on the field." The sad and horrible thing is that Gibson never said anything to me about how he felt about me before or after his report. He is a man who sought my advice when things were not going well. Before he became the West Indies Coach he used to call me often. I could never imagine that he would deliberately try to destroy my character, reputation and livelihood or question my commitment to West Indies cricket. I would not have believed, until I saw it in black and white, that he would devalue my leadership and try to destroy me without giving me a chance to respond. The WICB should have invited me to that meeting to face my accuser and, as Captain, to give my views about why we did not do well. What also hurts me is that there are three members of the Jamaica Cricket Association who are on the WICB and none of them told their colleagues on the Board, "Wait. We believe that Chris should be allowed to defend himself" or even "We need to hear from the Captain." None of them. Coach Gibson recommended to the Board that they should "select the team on character" which means that by leaving me out the WICB, including the Jamaican Directors, feels that I have no character. In October I was sacked as Captain and still have no idea why. I did not protest since the Captaincy is not a right. It is a duty. I went on the Sri Lanka tour having recommitted myself to West Indies Cricket and giving the new Captain the assurance that I would support him. I played the best test innings of my life in the first test and contributed 333 runs out of a team total of 580 in that match. Nobody questioned my commitment then. It was after the World Cup when the Board was looking for people to blame for the poor performance of the team that they picked on me and the other senior players. This time it was not the Captaincy that was the issue but the senior players. Gibson said we lacked the hunger and the desire to succeed. Would I be where I am today as a cricketer if I lacked the desire and hunger to succeed? It was the easy way out. There are people who will constantly refuse to look deeply into themselves and question their own actions and motives while there are others to blame. I was an easy target and my 333 was forgotten, and all my years of blood, sweat and toil for the West Indies cause was abruptly cast aside. I played with an injury during the World Cup and returned to Jamaica to get myself in shape for the Home Series against Pakistan. A camp was set up and nobody contacted me. I was ignored. The squad was picked for the first two ODIs. I was again ignored and saw in the newspapers that I was omitted. I read the comments of the WICB CEO Ernest Hilaire who said that we, the senior players, thought we were bigger than the team and all we wanted was money. I then got an offer to play in India and went when the WICB made is publicly clear in its release to the media that Sarwan, Chanderpaul and Gayle was not considered for selection. I did not turn my back on the West Indies because the West Indies had already turned its back on me. I was not in the squad and it was clear that there was no intention to pick me. I was being punished for the failure of an entire team and also of the administration. What I did in India for the Bangalore Royal Challengers is history. The management and fans of the team treated me with respect and showered me with love and support. I did respond to the accusation made by the WICB CEO Ernest Hilaire that implied that I lacked commitment to West Indies Cricket. I reminded him that I had to pay my own medical bills, which I hoped to be reimbursed at some stage. The feeling by some people is that I started the whole thing. I did not. What I have shown you is that there is a pattern in the attempt to paint me into a corner and destroy my career and reputation. There was a pattern to marginalising me. Yes, there was a pattern and what came next was the proof. The proof came in a speech made by a Director of the WICB, Hilary Beckles, who had opposed my captaincy in 2009 despite his claims that he supported me. Beckles compared me to a "Don" and my captaincy as "Donmanship". He likened me, Chris Gayle, to the notorious criminal and alleged drug dealer Christopher "Dudus" Coke. Beckles says his second home is Jamaica so he knows the implications of what he said but in an effort to avoid the consequences, he says he was talking in a private capacity and not as a Director of the WICB. The other Directors, especially the three from Jamaica who are on the WICB, did not say anything or do anything to clear my name or to get answers from the WICB. They could have requested an emergency meeting of the WICB to ask why I was omitted and targeted but they did not. They left me hanging out on a branch and were, at the same time, helping to cut that branch. I want to tell you that I am not going to hide and say that this statement is in any other capacity. I am Christopher Henry Gayle and I stand by what I say. I am a professional cricketer and the former Captain of Jamaica and the West Indies. This is my capacity. This is my job. This is my livelihood and this is my life. I was not surprised when the WICB CEO Ernest Hilaire sent me a letter on June 2, 2011 in which they accused me of a number of incidents including "making myself unavailable for the home series against Pakistan, my interview on KLAS radio in Jamaica and several "tweets‟ which have suggested a general disenchantment on your part with West Indies cricket and the West Indies Cricket Board." He said that the Board wanted to make my considerable talent available to the West Indies and international cricket. I took the Board seriously and went to the meeting which was held in Jamaica a few weeks ago. The meeting ended without any commitment with regard to my future selection for the West Indies team again. I thought that was the purpose of the meeting and was foolish enough to believe that it would end with a decision about when I would be back on the team. Instead I have read about an incident between the President of WIPA Dinanath Ramnarine and the WICB CEO Ernest Hilaire that makes me question whether I was at the same meeting. Ramnarine was not the only person to lose his cool in that room and I can understand if someone falsely accuses you of attempting to siphon funds into some account that you will be understandably upset. The accusations made by the WICB are not true. I can say without fear of contradiction, and what I am saying has been supported by other people who were present at that meeting, that there was no picking up of any chair and Ramnarine never threatened Ernest Hilaire. It is unfortunate that Ramnarine is being accused of not representing my best interest at that meeting, a view I strongly disagree with. It was also reported that in some quarters that Ramnarine was responsible for the breakdown of the meeting, a view I strongly disagree with also since the meeting went on for more than one hour after certain accusations were made by the CEO WICB Ernest Hilaire at the meeting. But that was not why we were there and what we went there for was never accomplished. When I saw the misleading reports coming out I realised that I was being used to cast blame on someone else and the meeting had other motives than my reinstatement. In other words it was a diversion of the real issue and the outcome of the meeting was clearly predetermined. I was again put on hold. My career was put on hold. My future was put on hold. My life was put on hold. Ernest Hilaire said he could not do anything until he had spoken to the Board, the selection committee, the management and, although he didn't say it out loud, the media. I believe now it was deliberately staged to give the impression that the Board wanted me back and that the intention was always to string me along and to fool the people of the West Indies. I made it clear that I was still willing to meet with the Board to resolve the issues. On June 22, I wrote to WICB CEO Ernest Hilaire who had sent me an email the day before saying that I would also like to resolve the issue, and while I am willing to meet I would like to ask what it is you would like me to do? I told him that I have not received any guidance, other than what has appeared in the media, as to what it is that needs to be done for me to be included in the West Indies team. I said that I am putting in writing the willingness to meet with you as soon as possible. I also said that time has been wasted and it would seem that the delays will ensure I am unable to play for the entire home series. I pointed out to him that a meeting was not requested until the India series had almost begun, and the meeting was then delayed until after the Test Team for the 1st match was chosen and it has taken over a week for this meeting request to be sent. The WICB CEO Ernest Hilaire wrote me back on June 24th complaining about my antagonistic approach and the tone of my email. He said that the issue is more than my radio interview but is about a history of misunderstanding, miscommunication and mishandling of issues, on both sides. It cannot be easily swept under the carpet with the hope that it goes away. He said that I would have to meet with the team management and after that with the selectors and after that with the cricket operations department and only then he would meet with me before he could send a report to the Board. He said he would not be available to meet with me until August. This means that I will definitely not be playing against India and that I will be cooling my heels until after August- more than two months away and even then my matter would go to the Board if the WICB CEO Ernest Hilaire believes we have a final and agreed position. I was glad that the Board admitted its own guilt in the situation and despite the fact that there seemed to be no end to this, I then met in yet another meeting with the Coach and the Team Manager on June 24th 2011 in Jamaica. I tried my best to compromise with the two representatives of the Board. Still, despite this meeting and the fact that both sides agreed that significant progress had been made, I am still on hold. My career is at a standstill. My hopes of representing my country at home in the West Indies have been destroyed. My contribution has been devalued and the fans of the West Indies who believe I can make a difference have had their hopes dashed. After the conclusion of this second meeting, my suspicions were confirmed and it was now beyond doubt that there was never any real intention of resolving any issues concerning me at the first meeting. The WICB CEO Ernest Hilaire's letter of June 24th 2011 also confirmed this as well. I have now reached the stage where I have to say that enough is enough. I understand that the WICB and the Jamaica Board met and my matter was discussed but nobody has told me anything and I can only assume without any positive feedback there has been no resolution. I played cricket for Jamaica and served the Board well. I would have thought that from the beginning of this whole attempt to discredit me that the Board would have done or said something on my behalf. I don't want them to cover up for me but at least to ensure that I received natural justice and was able to respond to my accusers. They have all been silent. The three members on the WICB Board have not asked for an emergency meeting, as they have the right and power to do, so that we can get everything cleared up. Instead they leave me out here to dangle in the wind. There is a disciplinary process in West Indies Cricket. Yet the Board is allowed to be the complainant as well as policeman, judge, jury and executioner in my case. When I tried to respond to the accusations made against me, I am deemed to be out of place and trying to destroy West Indies cricket. I am now coming close to the end of my shelf-life as a cricketer. While other professionals can plan on a career from the time they graduate from University to when they retire in their sixties, most cricketers have an average of eight years - between 24 and 32 - to earn enough money for the rest of our lives. Some are lucky to be coaches or commentators. I have no such option at this stage and must concentrate on providing for my family now and in the future. On this basis, and not hearing from the West Indies Cricket Board with any clear pathway forward, I have come to the bitter realisation that I am not wanted by the Board and all that has gone before in terms of reconciliation is a sham and a mockery. I see it as a scam to fool the people of the West Indies and the world into believing that they were serious about my returning to West Indies cricket. My eyes are open, my heart is clean, my conscience is clear and the voice of reason is loud in my ears telling me that I should close this chapter in my life. I am not going to be the WICB's whipping boy. They have said they will root me out and they have succeeded in doing so by using the sort of underhanded tactics while attempting to ascribe blame to other people for what is clear is a well planned set of action. We as West Indies players are admired throughout the world for our honesty and sportsmanship. Yet the custodians of West Indies cricket, the people who are responsible for the development of our heritage sport, have not dealt with us honestly. It is against this background that I have now decided not to wait on the WICB any longer but while I still have the time and the skills to explore the opportunities available to me elsewhere. I do it reluctantly but have no choice. I have people to take care of and cannot sit for months waiting on WICB CEO Ernest Hilaire and the Board. Despite all that has happened I am still hopeful that good sense will prevail and I would once again represent my country and my region in near the future. I wish to make it abundantly clear that I have not yet retired from any form of the game and remain available for selection for both Jamaica and West Indies. However, this is entirely out of my hands. As for the Jamaica Cricket Association they have let me down badly even though I did meet with the new President of the JCA, Mr. Wright and Mr. Hinds but nothing has been done. I want to say to my colleagues on the team, that I have opened the batting for the West Indies against some of the fiercest fast bowlers in the world bowling at almost 100 miles per hour. I have stood up to them as I am standing up for what I believe is right. I want to tell them that if you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything. I appeal to the Heads of Government of CARICOM to do something about this situation. West Indies Cricket is different from the West Indies Cricket Board. West Indies Cricket and West Indies Cricketers need help. Since you are the people who represent the fans and all the other stakeholders, it is time for you to act. Finally, I want to thank you all for your support and look forward to your continuing that support in future as I follow the path that the Almighty has mapped out for me. I place my trust in God and believe that if your heart is pure and you have faith in Him, you will always triumph against oppression and adversity. When one path is closed, there is another path opened for the righteous and pure in spirit. I now set out on that path with confidence, safe in the assurance that I will succeed. From rohitrellan at aol.in Sun Jul 10 12:22:07 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Sun, 10 Jul 2011 02:52:07 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Dramatized Reading - Haryana Folklore, New Delhi/INSIDE OUT A Theatre Workshop based on Improvisational Techniques, Hyderabad /Casting needed for an English play which is an adaptation of the 'Flight of the Hilsa'. Message-ID: <8CE0CE5049FC136-C98-1917F@webmail-m068.sysops.aol.com> Dramatized Reading - Haryana Folklore The Bards and Minstrels of India Series presents Raginiya of Haryana by Gulab Singh and troupe in collaboration with North Central Zone Cultural Centre. In Haryanvi Lokgeet, Raginiya is the most popular form. It is sung in various lokdhuns and in Veera Rasa. Hariyanvi Lok Natya or folk theatre (also called swang) also incorporates Raginiya. This form of storytelling became popular only in the 19th century. Some eminent singers of this genre were Pt. Lakhmi Chand, Baje Bhagat, Pt. Mange Ram. The stories or ‘Kissa’ revolve around the immortal stories like Raja Harishchandra, NalDamayanti, Chand Kiran Padmavat. More recently, Raginiyas have been innovatively used during elections to extol the virtues of the candidates. The Main Objective of The Bards and Minstrels Series is to preserve, innovate and promote the projection and dissemination of the arts of the States of India. To make special efforts to encourage folk and tribal arts and to frame special programmes for the preservation and strengthening of the vanishing art forms. Entry Free on first come first serve basis Please feel free to contact us at 011 4366 3090 / 84 Location: India Habitat Centre , (+11) 24682001—24682005 Time: Thursday,July 14, 7:00pm-8:30pm ------------------------------------------------------- INSIDE OUT A Theatre Workshop based on Improvisational Techniques INSIDE OUT A Theatre Workshop based on Improvisational Techniques Facilitated by Devendranath Sankaranarayanan The workshop, intended for adults, will familiarize the performers with a range of improvisational theatre techniques, and the participants will be trained in voice and speech modulation along with several emerging psycho-physical performative languages. Each performer explores the multiple possibilities of flexibilities by improvising the altered states of consciousness such as attention, perception, inner speech, memory, elevated thought process, meaning or significance of experiences, emotional feeling and expression, self-control, body image, and sense of personal identity. Using the aforementioned techniques, awareness is created among the performers that they perform in their day-to-day life as well. Thus each of them shall explore new ways of thinking, cultivate respect for others in negotiations or transactional relationships, and learn how to be "in the present". Improvisational theatre practice therefore allows an interactive relationship with the surroundings of the 'performer' in everyday life. The workshop will be a journey through 1. Basic Awareness of the body 2. Voice and Vocal Energy Exercises 3. Movement and Voice 4.Pitch, Volume, Tempo of voice 5. Voice culture 6. Voice and Speech 7. Energy Management and Flexibility 8. Sense Memory exercises 9. Circle of Attention & Concentration 10. Imagination 11. Body Image 12. Space and time Appropriation 13. Character and situational Improvisation 14. Scene/ Ensemble improvisation 15. Team Building Games All participants will take part in a major scene work. The emphasis is upon the individual participants as well as the ensemble work as, in practice, most work is dependent upon the individuals as well as the team’s co-operation communication and performance. At the end of this hearty process, there will be an open class for invited guests to witness the outcome of the workshop on Sunday24th July from 7PM The Facilitator: Devendranath Sankaranarayanan The facilitator is a performance researcher/practitioner and workshop facilitator with more than fifteen years of experience in the area. He has been active in promoting theatre for learning and conducting workshops in India and abroad. He is a Master of Arts in International Performance Research (MAIPR) from the University of Warwick, the University of Amsterdam and the University of Helsinki/Tampere with the Erasmus Mundus scholarship of the European Union. He did his post graduation from the University of Hyderabad and graduated from the School of Drama, Thrissur, both in the discipline of Theatre and Performing Arts. Course Details Date: 15th - 24th July, 2011 Time: 19:00 hrs to 21:00 hrs Venue: Venkataramana Colony Community Hall Road No. 1, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad (Opposite City Centre; the lane between Fusion 9 and Chevrolet) Fees: Rs. 3000 /- To register, send a brief self-reflecting profile to asdevendranath at gmail.com For more details, call 09885404784 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Casting needed for an English play which is an adaptation of the 'Flight of the Hilsa'. CONCEPT The play is adapted from the novel,. Story of Avantika Sengupta, who manages to soar above all challenges to discover and define her own truth, which leads to acceptance—the source of all happiness. But can one really strive to be happy when happiness should be a natural state? Can one really search for happiness when it should rest deep within? Can one link happiness to materialistic pursuits—a big house, a fancy car or a cushy, well paying job when in reality its breeding ground is contentment? Avantika travels through the various cycles of emotional and creative penury, to hype and windfall, to finally self realization. Only when the window to the inner self and outer world are aligned the perfect ray of sunshine is let in. The stage which holds the story is spread across cities, locations and mental spaces. Different zones have been used as part of theatrical freedom to represent these areas. The acting process and stage characterization will lead the audience into the world that the script meanders through. Character required Leads- Two Female One Male Between 20 to 35 years age Supporting cast - Two Female Three Male Between 30 to 50 years of age Character Roles - Two Male Between 25 to 45 years of age Please note 1. Any sort of payment to actors is not assured as of now . 2. Some experience on stage as an actor would be an advantage . 3. Play is scheduled for late August and early September. Promise lot of fun but with lot of dedication . Please free to contact Robin on 9818633474 or mail to robin_sapphirestar at rediff.com From shahzulf at yahoo.com Sun Jul 10 13:50:22 2011 From: shahzulf at yahoo.com (Zulfiqar Shah) Date: Sun, 10 Jul 2011 01:20:22 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] March for Residential Land Rights Message-ID: <1310286022.31023.YahooMailClassic@web38806.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Dear All:   You are invited to attend the March for Residential Land Rights in Hyderabad on Monday, July 11. The march will incept from old campus at 10 am. The march is being attended by the rural communities and their representatives.  The march is supported by Oxfam GB.      Kind Regards,   Zulfiqar Shah   The Institute for Social Movements, Pakistan (Hyderabad) Landline: +92 22 265 49 05 Mobile: +92 333 464 88 81 Skype: shahzulf URL ISM: www.ismpak.org URL TSM: www.thesocialmovements.com   From annaten1986 at gmail.com Sun Jul 10 19:10:30 2011 From: annaten1986 at gmail.com (Anna Ten) Date: Sun, 10 Jul 2011 15:40:30 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] Dimanche Rouge #6, July 17, 2011, Paris, France Message-ID: ****VERSION FRANÇAISE CI-DESSOUS**** DIMANCHE ROUGE, EDITION #6, July 17, 2011 A Sunday of experimental live performances www.dimancherouge.org July 17, a Sunday of experimental performances at the NOO-TEK, a 1,200 sq m former iron foundry turned into an art gallery. Bring your appetizers and drinks to enjoy experimental live performances ranging from performance art and dance to stop-motion graffiti animation and video projection mapping. Not to be missed, the sixth edition of Dimanche Rouge, which has already showcased over 100 performing artists from 25 different countries in six months. Some of our artists, VJ Eletroiman, VJ and multimedia, winner of VJ Torna and director of Visual Brasil (Brazil), The Lumiaks, installation and performance (Angie Eng, USA, and Sofi Hemon, Fance), Un escargot vide? live drawing and sound performance (France), E _ R é B U S, harmoniques, bifurcations, chaos (France), Anne Horel, show of sound and lights (France), The Incredible Dreamheadz, multimedia artist and composer (UK), Eva Peel/ Laurence Shroeder, dance and music (France), Alexandre Pombo-Mendes/ Mathilda Noor (France), performance art (France), Talia Beck, dance and choreography (Israel), Inês d' Almeÿ, performance/dance (Portugal), Marina Nikonov, VJ (Russia), Les Idiotes, no action(France), Human Koala, sound art (France). Special stop-motion graffiti animation performance by Un escargot vide?, Emi Uda and Bayu Widodo (France, Indonesia, Japan). After-party by Eva Peel. FREE ADMISSION Noo-Tek (Pantin) from 2pm till midnight 11 rue Gambetta, 93500 Pantin, Metro Eglise de Pantin, Line 5 Google Maps: http://tinyurl.com/nootekmap www.dimancherouge.org dimancherouge at gmail.com Friend us/Devenez ami Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dimancheRouge http://www.dimancherouge.org http://www.dimancherouge.wordpress.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dimancheRouge Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dimancheRouge Vimeo: http://www.vimeo.com/channels/dimancherouge Livestream: http://www.livestream.com/dimancherouge YouTube: http://wwww.youtube.com/dimancheRouge SoundCloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/dimancheRouge Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ti115 ****VERSION FRANÇAISE**** DIMANCHE ROUGE, EDITION #6, 17 juillet, 2011 Un dimanche de performances expérimentales. www.dimancherouge.org 17 juillet, un dimanche de performances expérimentales à la NOO-TEK, une ancienne fonderie de 1200 mètres carrés transformée en une galerie d'art. Apportez vos hors d’oeuvres et des boissons pour profiter de performances expérimentales allant de la performance art à la danse en passant par le stop-motion graffiti et la vidéo projection mapping. Ne manquez pas la sixième édition du Dimanche Rouge. Plus de 100 artistes provenant de 25 pays différents se sont deja produits ces six derniers mois. Nos artistes, VJ Eletroiman, VJ and multimedia, le vainqueur de VJ Torna et directeur de Visual Brasil (Brazil), The Lumiaks, installation et performance (Angie Eng, USA, and Sofi Hemon, Fance), Un escargot vide? live drawing et sound performance (France), E _ R é B U S, harmoniques, bifurcations, chaos (France), Anne Horel, show of sound and lights (France), The Incredible Dreamheadz, artist multimedia et compositeur (UK), Eva Peel/ Laurence Shroeder, dance et musique (France), Alexandre Pombo-Mendes/ Mathilda Noor (France), performance art (France), Talia Beck, dance et choréographie (Israel), Marina Nikonov, VJ (Russia), Les Idiotes, no action(France), Human Koala, sound art (France). Performance spécial de stop-motion graffiti de Un escargot vide?, Emi Uda and Bayu Widodo (France, Indonesia, Japan). After-party by Eva Peel. ENTREE GRATUITE Noo-Tek (Pantin) from 2pm till midnight 11 rue Gambetta, 93500 Pantin, Metro Eglise de Pantin, Line 5 Google Maps: http://tinyurl.com/nootekmap www.dimancherouge.org dimancherouge at gmail.com Friend us/Devenez ami Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dimancheRouge http://www.dimancherouge.org http://www.dimancherouge.wordpress.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dimancheRouge Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dimancheRouge Vimeo: http://www.vimeo.com/channels/dimancherouge Livestream: http://www.livestream.com/dimancherouge YouTube: http://wwww.youtube.com/dimancheRouge SoundCloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/dimancheRouge Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ti115 From avinash at csds.in Mon Jul 11 15:56:10 2011 From: avinash at csds.in (Avinash Jha) Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2011 15:56:10 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Invitation to a dialogue on People's Knowledge Movement In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Jibesh, could you please post it to Sarai list and any other list you think relevant. And, please contribute to the dialogue. Critical voices are welcome. Check the call for participation. You could respond to that. First week of contributions (12th to 21st) will have several articulations of lokavidya which needs to be debated. avinash Lokavidya Jan Andolan - Invitation to a dialogue on People's Knowledge Movement Dear friends In preparation for the First International Conference of Lokavidya Jan Andolan to be held in Varanasi on 12-14 November, 2011, we invite you to participate and contribute to an online dialogue at http://lokavidyajanandolan.blogspot.com/ . You could see the call for participation for the conference here (in 9 languages): http://lokavidyajanandolan.blogspot.com/2011/06/call-for-participation-lokavidya-jan.html The idea of Lokavidya or People's Knowledge has been around for a while. You could look up various kinds of material on the Vidya Ashram website (www.vidyaashram.org) to get a glimpse of the development of this idea. Lokavidya is the knowledge in society, based on which a majority of people all over the world lead their lives. This knowledge has not been recognized, and when recognized has been subject to exploitation. The need is now being felt for a political movement, for a space, where people can mobilize on the basis of their knowledge. Lokavidya Jan Andolan aspires to contribute to such a movement. We wish to have an open dialogue where the basis, potential and strategies of such a movement can be openly debated. We would like you to participate in this dialogue with your insights and critique. You could simply go to the blog site http://lokavidyajanandolan.blogspot.com/ to read posts and comments and add your own. Or you could subscribe to the contents by entering your email above 'Subscribe' button. In order to contribute you would have to login using your gmail user name and password and then use the option of 'New Post'. In case of any difficulty, please contact Avinash (kalisaroj at gmail.com) or Surendran (k.k.surendran at gmail.com) The dialogue begins on 12th July and will last for about 10 weeks. Avinash Jha for Vidya Ashram [If the blog is being mailed to you regularly then you are ALREADY SUBSCRIBED.] -- Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi - 110054, India. Please note the new email id: avinash at csds.in From rohitrellan at aol.in Mon Jul 11 18:03:30 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2011 08:33:30 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Call for Applications: Workshop on Film Curatorial Practices, Katha Centre for Film Studies, Mumbai In-Reply-To: <20110711082704.2C0498E8041@mdreg-mst.qlc.co.in> References: <20110711082704.2C0498E8041@mdreg-mst.qlc.co.in> Message-ID: <8CE0DDDE0352F36-5DC-DC80@webmail-m002.sysops.aol.com> Call for Applications Workshop on Film Curatorial Practices, Katha Centre for Film Studies (22nd – 26th August) Venue: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahlaya, Mumbai Katha Centre for Film Studies and the India Foundation for the Arts in association with the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahlaya (formerly Prince of Wales Museum) invite young cinephiles, film scholars, artists and students for its second Workshop on Film Curatorial Practices from 22 – 26 August, 2011. The workshop aims to equip young film enthusiasts with specialized knowledge about and around the idea of Film Curation. It will also give them an opportunity to interact with established practioners and academicians, and engage with them in a cinematic discourse centred on film curation. The workshop Film Curating is concerned with a more evolved understanding of the moving image. Film and video are artistic mediums – much like what canvas and brush are to a painter. Today, both filmmakers and visual artists work increasingly with the medium of the moving image to make their art works. In addition, museums and galleries are increasingly exhibiting moving image work – experimental film and installation; and video art and video installation. It is this artistic and aesthetic understanding of the moving image that the Katha Centre for Film Studies is looking to develop through its workshop on Film Curatorial Practice. The workshop will create a platform to represent, think and debate the following: · Curatorial research methods · Curatorial writing · Practical aspects of curation · Context specific curation · Different ways of engaging with audiences · Critical understandings on the history of film criticism and curation For the second workshop, Katha Centre for Film Studies has engaged distinguished practioners, filmmakers, curators and academicians - Madhusree Dutta, Gargi Sen, Bina Paul, Amar Kanwar, Shai Heradia and Moinak Biswas. At the end of the five-day workshop, participants will submit their own curatorial proposals, based on which they will be selected for a second one-day workshop, to be held two months after the first. Between the two workshops, a mentor will guide the participants and help them refine their curatorial proposals. After the second workshop, the selected participants will get an opportunity to curate a day-long film festival. This workshop series is a part of a four-year Curatorship Programme conceptualized by India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) in collaboration with select institutions from across the country. This Curatorship Programme is funded by the Jamsetji Tata Trust. (For more information on IFA’s Curatorship Programme visit: www.indiaifa.org/article.asp?id=645&viewType=online For more information about Katha Centre for Film Studies: www.kathacfs.in ) Important Dates: Last date for receiving Applications: 10th August, 2011 Workshop: 22nd-26th August, 2011 How to Apply: Send us: · A copy of your latest Resume · The adjoined application form Email: katha.film at gmail.com with “WFCP 2011” in the subject line By post: Katha Centre for Film Studies, A102, Sumeru, MHADA, SVP Nagar, Andheri West, Mumbai 400 053 Note: For the 5-day workshop, we are not charging any registration fee. During the workshop breakfast and lunch shall be provided by us. Travel expenses and stay of participants coming from cities other than Mumbai would be taken care of by Katha Centre for Film Studies. Application: Workshop on Film Curatorial Practice 2011 Name: ____________________________________________________ Age: ___ M\F Educational Qualification: ______________________________________ Current Employment status: ____________________________________ 1. Conceptualize a film programme/package that you would like to curate. Please include a list of films that you plan to include, with a detailed explanation as to why these films are significant to your concept. 2. Write a 300 word critical note on any film festival/film programme you may have attended. 3. If given free access to any type of venue, where would you want your film programme to be screened? 4. Why do you think the practice of film curation is important to study/investigate? 5. How familiar are you with the concept of curation, and in what context have you thought about it. Please elaborate. 6. “The public has lost the habit of movie-going because the cinema no longer possesses the charm, the hypnotic charisma, the authority it once commanded. The image it once held for us all - that of a dream we dreamt with our eyes open - has disappeared. Is it still possible that one thousand people might group together in the dark and experience the dream that a single individual has directed?” - Federico Fellini Discuss in the context of changing ways of engaging with cinema. From chintan.backups at gmail.com Mon Jul 11 20:53:12 2011 From: chintan.backups at gmail.com (Chintan Girish Modi) Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2011 20:53:12 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Cursive being phased out of U.S. schools In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: From http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/07/07/cursive-finally-being-phased-out-of-u-s-schools/ Cursive being phased out of U.S. schoolsJul 7, 2011 – 8:04 PM ET | By Laura Baziuk Forget the looping Ls and curving Gs. Students in Indiana’s public schools will no longer have to learn cursive writing starting this fall. The state is one among 48 others transitioning to new state-led national learning guides, the Common Core State Standard Initiatives, which no longer require children to learn handwriting. They do, however, have to sharpen their typing skills. An Indiana Department of Education memo last spring said teachers can still choose to teach cursive writing, or can stop altogether. “State standards themselves, they’re just supposed to be a guide for what students must know before moving on to the next grade,” said department spokeswoman Stephanie Sample. “And there are lots of little details that aren’t in those standards that kids learn.” Sample said she has not heard any feedback from parents who are concerned their children will no longer learn a basic, yet fading, skill. How often does one write in cursive every day? Much of our daily personal and business correspondence is done by a quick e-mail or text message. Note-taking and composing essays or statements are done almost entirely on the computer. Indiana father Mark Shoup said he wouldn’t be concerned if his children, though now grown, had not learned cursive. “There are much more important skills I think they take into this century than whether or not they write cursively,” the former teacher said, listing critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork and literacy. “Maybe it’s something we should not give up on, but keep it in perspective of its relative importance in the scheme of things,” Shoup said. “How long we really have children in school and what are our real goals for them?” Perry Klein, a professor of literacy education at the University of Western Ontario, said a child’s ability to compose depends on whether she can form letters clearly and accurately. “If students can form letters fluently, then that frees up their attention to focus on the content and language of what they’re writing,” Klein said. Research has yet to be published, he said, on whether forming those letters works best on a page with a pen or on a computer screen. But as long as they can read what they compose, they will develop the right skills. “The important thing is that for kids to learn [printing)]and cursive accurately and fluently, and if they have that, then they’ll be able to do written composition in a whole variety of situations,” Klein said. Marie Picard, a penmanship workbook dealer in London, Ont., said cursive might be fading away, but still exists in letters, envelopes, signatures and signs. “Handwriting shows some sort of style and flair and how you are as a person,” she said. “I just think that it’s (becoming) a lost art.” Sonja Semion, with the Colorado branch of Stand for Children, an education advocacy organization, said with limited resources in classrooms, it’s time to focus not on what has always been taught, but what’s best for children for when they become adults. “I think schools have to toe a line right now where they have to really prepare kids for the careers of the future,” she said. “We still need writing, some kind of penmanship, but I think the keyboard is really the way it’s going to go. The technology is the future.” *Postmedia News* From the-network at koeln.de Tue Jul 12 11:23:19 2011 From: the-network at koeln.de (CologneOFF2011) Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2011 07:53:19 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] =?iso-8859-1?q?14_July_--=3E_CologneOFF_2011_Madrid?= Message-ID: <20110712075319.2F1ED992.38620BDF@192.168.0.4> CologneOFF 2011 - videoart in a global context nomadic festival project --> 1 January - 31 December 2011 proudly presents ------------------------------------------- CologneOFF 2011 Madrid http://coff.newmediafest.org/blog/?page_id=1339 @ Proyector Video Art Festival 11-17 July 2011 Madrid Screening on Thursday, 14 July 2011 @ OFFLIMITS Madrid http://proyectorvideoartfestival.blogspot.com/2011/06/cartel-proyector-2011.html featuring 3 videoart programs under the title: --> Art & the City 1. Gesture of Generosity 2. Connected - Disconnected 3. A Matter of Identity --> Art & the City: The Gesture of Generosity --> Daniel Lo Iacono (Germany) - Digital Snapshots, 2:30, 2003 Mikhail Zheleznikov (Russia) - Together - Vmeste, 2010, 4?23 iaaai (France) - Patience, 2006-2007, 4 min 10 sec Myriam Thyes (Switzerland) - Depression Marquis, 2009, 2:23 Jude Anogwih (Nigeria) - Unstable Stables, 2009, 1:20 Albert Merino Gomez (Spain) - The City and The Other, 2010, 3:09 Ira Needleman (USA) - Corporate Art Policy, 2007, 5:30 Giuseppe Girardi (Italy) - Foreigner-Straniero, 2008, 6:56 Yuriy Kruchak, Yulia Kostereva (UA) - The 7th of November, 2009, 3:36 Ezra Wube (Ethiopia) - Amora, 2011, 2:26 Andres Villa (Mexico) - The Gang: La Raza Loca 2004, 8:00 --> Art & the City: Connected- Disconnected --> Sai Hua Kuan (Singapore) - Space Drawing No. 5 - , 2009, 1:02 Pablo Fernandez-Pujol (Spain) - 142-143 - 2010, 2:10 Emeka Ogboh (Nigeria) - [dis] connection - 2009, 1:58 Denise Hood (USA) - Disconnect - 2009, 3:47 Shahar Marcus (Israel) - Homecoming Artist, 2008, 4:37 Jorge Garcia Velayos (Spain) - THE BEAST , 2009, 05' 20'' Mohammed Harb (Palestine) - Without Windows, 2009, 5:00 Renata Gaspar & Marcin Dudek (Poland) - Axis, 2010, 3:07 min. Johanna Reich (Germany) - A State of Crystall, 3'19, 2010, Doug Williams (USA) - Back & Forth, 2009, 2:42 Nick Fox-Gieg (USA) - Disarmed, 2:42, 2005 Francesca Fini (Italy) - Oasis in The Desert, 2010, 5:05 William Peña Vega (Colombia) - Carton, 2010, 12:00 --> Art & the City: A Matter of Identity --> Ane Lan (Norway) - Ane Lan, 2:50, 2001 Cynthia Whelan (UK) - Selfportrait, 3:27, 2005 Roland Wegerer (Austria) - How to Clean a Puddle, 1:48, 2008 Luc Gut (Switzerland) - Alter Ego, 2008, 2 min Jamie Marie Waelchli (USA) - Little Pleasure, 2007, 11:09 Kisito ASSANGNI (Togo) Explosion, 2009, 2?22? Masha Yozefpolsky (Israel) - Noli Me Tangere, 2008, 6:20 Agricola de Cologne (Germany) - Silent Cry, 3:05, 2008 Unnur Andrea Einarsdottir (Iceland) - Toilet, 5:00, 2005 Beatrice Allegranti (UK) - IN MY BODY, 2005, 4 min Ascan Breuer (Germany) - The Kurukshetra-Report, 2009, 8:00 Many thanks for this collaboration to Mario Gutiérrez Cru, director of Proyector Videoart Festival Madrid ------------------------------------------ CologneOFF 2011 - videoart in a global context nomadic festival project - 1 January - 31 Dwecember 2011 @ Cologne Intzernational Videoart Festival http://coff.newmediafest.org http://coff.newmediafest.org/blog/ directed & coordinated by Agricola de Cologne powered & operated by artvideoKOELN - the curatorial initiative "art & moving images" http://video-mediaartcologne.org info (at) coff.newmediafest.org ------------------------------------------- From ujwala at openspaceindia.org Tue Jul 12 11:28:12 2011 From: ujwala at openspaceindia.org (Ujwala Samarth) Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2011 11:28:12 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Aadab In A Time Of Allah Hafiz Message-ID: Language, especially the words and colloquialisms we use in our everyday interactions, is a sharp but subtle indicator of changing mores, shifts in socio-political realities and the collective 'pulse' of a community...In this article written for *Open Space/CCDS,* Pune, Samina Mishra reflects on the trajectory from “adaab” to “asalam waleikum”, from “khuda hafiz” to “Allah hafiz”, and on why people feel the need to group around markers of identities… *http://www.openspaceindia.org/express/articles-a-essays/item/749.html * *Aadab In A Time Of Allah Hafiz* Some months ago, I was chastised by a woman for saying “adaab”, instead of “assalam wa leikum”, the latter being the “the proper Islamic greeting” in her opinion, to be exchanged between Muslims. I grew up as a Muslim and learnt to say “adaab” when I met someone and “khuda hafiz” when we parted ways. Originating from a North Indian Islamicate high culture, “adaab” as a form of greeting was imbued with a certain class hierarchy. It was a familiar greeting even in many elite non-Muslim households in North India, households that were closely associated with that cultural space. Among many other Muslim populations, the Arabic greeting “assalam wa leikum”, meaning “may peace be upon you” was also used. But, there was no formal dictum about the usage while I was growing up and there could be overlaps. So, as a child I often replied with an “adaab” to someone who came in saying “assalam wa leikum” and it was not considered inappropriate. As for “Allah hafiz” (may god keep you safe), I did not hear the term until about a decade ago. The word “khuda” originates from Persian but because it is used in other languages too, it can be seen as a more embracing word for God than Allah. The latter is a more specific reference to god in Islam and is confined to its Arabic origins, at least so far. Thus, although they emerge from a specific North Indian Muslim culture, “adaab” and “khuda hafiz” have had a more inclusive history. Today, these terms are being given up by many Muslims in India, from different class backgrounds, in favour of the more unambiguously Islamic “assalam waleikum” and “Allah hafiz”. For those of us who seek to draw attention to the complicated greys that lie between the uncompromising blacks and whites, this notion of unambiguity is naturally problematic. But, in this trajectory of change from “adaab” to “asalam waleikum”, from “khuda hafiz” to “Allah hafiz”, there are other stories too, stories about why people group around markers of identities, about what gives people a sense of security and comfort, about what creates new groupings. So, even as I feel uncomfortable about puritanical Islamic practices creeping in around me, I recognise that our lives are composed of many overlapping stories, as the novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche has so eloquently spoken about, stories that need to be told to avoid what she calls “the danger of the single story”. So, in the context of adaab and khuda hafiz, what are these other stories? Consider some of these: In the late 1960s, a young girl joins a college hostel and as the lone Muslim girl, she is made to eat separately in the dining hall and put her used dishes apart from the rest. In the 1980s, one Muslim family loses 56 members to communal rioting, including the murder of an uncle at the hands of his best friend. In the 1990s, a woman from a small town in UP with a BA, MA and BEd moves to Delhi to teach in a school. She moves back within a month – “I wear a burkha and the whole environment there was not suited for me…” In the years since 2002, a dynamic young woman, founder of an NGO to help poor and dalit Muslims, stops telling people her real name while travelling on trains because of being looked at with suspicion. In the mid-2000s, a teacher attends a workshop in which participants are asked to introduce themselves by talking about their biggest fears. One participant shares that hers is that her son will marry a Muslim - because they are dirty. In 2008, a young girl, who likes going to school and does well at studies, wonders why the school celebrates Holi and Christmas but not Eid. In 2009, a media person who offers her neighbour the use of her flat during wedding festivities is told by colleagues that she should not have done so since the groom was a Muslim man from Azamgarh. The same woman remembers a Muslim boy who worked for a while in her office – “He was referred to as jihadi!” This is a sample of stories that I have encountered in the course of a two-year research project on Muslim women and their experiences of education in parts of western UP. It is only a sample and it is only one person’s encounter. What, I wonder, would a more comprehensive collection reveal? But, even in this sprinkling of voices, there is a larger narrative of exclusion. A story of people being grouped together, in both subtle and direct ways. People are identified by the religion they practise or are born into. Not in itself a bad thing since human beings choose a variety of groupings - around class/caste/religion, schools, football teams, movie stars, work ethics, fashion statements, job aspirations. The list is endless. But when that identification becomes the sole defining identity, it presents itself as the natural order of things instead of the construction that it is. It becomes a wall that seeks to make itself invisible. And when the cloak of invisibility falls off and the wall shows up – in the form of a veil, a riot or a separate greeting code – who is the one who built it? The ones who sought to keep out? Or the ones who chose to stay in? And what of those who wanted windows instead of walls? Continuing to say “adaab” and “khuda hafiz” is my way of acknowledging that while there is a wall, it can have an open window. --*Samina Mishra is a documentary filmmaker and media practitioner based in New Delhi.* -- Ujwala Samarth (Programme Coordinator, Open Space) www.openspaceindia.org www.infochangeindia.org http://www.facebook.com/pages/Open-Space/116557125037041 B-301, Kanchanjunga Building, Kanchan Lane, Off Law College Rd,, Pune 411004 (020-25457371) From slp at brmworld.org Tue Jul 12 16:52:47 2011 From: slp at brmworld.org (Social Leaders Program) Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2011 16:52:47 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Blue Ribbon Movement's Social Leaders Program : Applications open (Last 2 days) Message-ID: Dear Members, *Blue Ribbon Movement* - a social enterprise that creates and nurtures leaders who meet social challenges through community building and civic engagement invites applications for its flagship *'Social Leaders Program'. * Its a 3 month practical leadership program for 18-25 yr olds in Mumbai. Each participant takes a social problem, researches it, leverages citizens, NGOs and municipality to collectively resolve it.** * * For more details, please log on to www. brmworld.org. Applications open till 13 July. *Please Note: Scholarships available. * Cheers, Akshat Singhal The Blue Ribbon Movement + 91 9821111102 www.brmindia.org From member at linkedin.com Tue Jul 12 19:25:23 2011 From: member at linkedin.com (inder salim via LinkedIn) Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2011 13:55:23 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [Reader-list] Invitation to connect on LinkedIn Message-ID: <354976448.11479038.1310478923981.JavaMail.app@ela4-bed33.prod> LinkedIn ------------ inder salim requested to add you as a connection on LinkedIn: ------------------------------------------ Anuradha, I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn. - inder Accept invitation from inder salim http://www.linkedin.com/e/5l2h9f-gq0xbd8p-10/u-6BBwpbUgB_dFU59yC_yGTbG_b_X5ohl2/blk/I135311043_15/1BpC5vrmRLoRZcjkkZt5YCpnlOt3RApnhMpmdzgmhxrSNBszYRclYPd30NcjcRcP59bSVbrCVSrQVTbPAOczkMcP0NdjcLrCBxbOYWrSlI/EML_comm_afe/ View invitation from inder salim http://www.linkedin.com/e/5l2h9f-gq0xbd8p-10/u-6BBwpbUgB_dFU59yC_yGTbG_b_X5ohl2/blk/I135311043_15/3kNnPcQc34NcPkPckALqnpPbOYWrSlI/svi/ ------------------------------------------ Why might connecting with inder salim be a good idea? Have a question? inder salim's network will probably have an answer: You can use LinkedIn Answers to distribute your professional questions to inder salim and your extended network. You can get high-quality answers from experienced professionals. http://www.linkedin.com/e/5l2h9f-gq0xbd8p-10/ash/inv19_ayn/ -- (c) 2011, LinkedIn Corporation From chintan.backups at gmail.com Tue Jul 12 20:41:15 2011 From: chintan.backups at gmail.com (Chintan Girish Modi) Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2011 20:41:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Samina Mishra's new piece: Adaab in a time of Allah hafiz Message-ID: >From http://www.openspaceindia.org/express/articles-a-essays/item/749.html Adaab in a time of Allah hafizBy Samina Mishra Some months ago, I was chastised by a woman for saying “adaab”, instead of “assalam wa leikum”, the latter being the “the proper Islamic greeting” in her opinion, to be exchanged between Muslims. I grew up as a Muslim and learnt to say “adaab” when I met someone and “khuda hafiz” when we parted ways. Originating from a North Indian Islamicate high culture, “adaab” as a form of greeting was imbued with a certain class hierarchy. It was a familiar greeting even in many elite non-Muslim households in North India, households that were closely associated with that cultural space. Among many other Muslim populations, the Arabic greeting “assalam wa leikum”, meaning “may peace be upon you” was also used. But, there was no formal dictum about the usage while I was growing up and there could be overlaps. So, as a child I often replied with an “adaab” to someone who came in saying “assalam wa leikum” and it was not considered inappropriate. As for “Allah hafiz” (may god keep you safe), I did not hear the term until about a decade ago. The word “khuda” originates from Persian but because it is used in other languages too, it can be seen as a more embracing word for God than Allah. The latter is a more specific reference to god in Islam and is confined to its Arabic origins, at least so far. Thus, although they emerge from a specific North Indian Muslim culture, “adaab” and “khuda hafiz” have had a more inclusive history. Today, these terms are being given up by many Muslims in India, from different class backgrounds, in favour of the more unambiguously Islamic “assalam waleikum” and “Allah hafiz”. For those of us who seek to draw attention to the complicated greys that lie between the uncompromising blacks and whites, this notion of unambiguity is naturally problematic. But, in this trajectory of change from “adaab” to “asalam waleikum”, from “khuda hafiz” to “Allah hafiz”, there are other stories too, stories about why people group around markers of identities, about what gives people a sense of security and comfort, about what creates new groupings. So, even as I feel uncomfortable about puritanical Islamic practices creeping in around me, I recognise that our lives are composed of many overlapping stories, as the novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche has so eloquently spoken about, stories that need to be told to avoid what she calls “the danger of the single story”. So, in the context of adaab and khuda hafiz, what are these other stories? Consider some of these: In the late 1960s, a young girl joins a college hostel and as the lone Muslim girl, she is made to eat separately in the dining hall and put her used dishes apart from the rest. In the 1980s, one Muslim family loses 56 members to communal rioting, including the murder of an uncle at the hands of his best friend. In the 1990s, a woman from a small town in UP with a BA, MA and BEd moves to Delhi to teach in a school. She moves back within a month – “I wear a burkha and the whole environment there was not suited for me…” In the years since 2002, a dynamic young woman, founder of an NGO to help poor and dalit Muslims, stops telling people her real name while travelling on trains because of being looked at with suspicion. In the mid-2000s, a teacher attends a workshop in which participants are asked to introduce themselves by talking about their biggest fears. One participant shares that hers is that her son will marry a Muslim - because they are dirty. In 2008, a young girl, who likes going to school and does well at studies, wonders why the school celebrates Holi and Christmas but not Eid. In 2009, a media person who offers her neighbour the use of her flat during wedding festivities is told by colleagues that she should not have done so since the groom was a Muslim man from Azamgarh. The same woman remembers a Muslim boy who worked for a while in her office – “He was referred to as jihadi!” This is a sample of stories that I have encountered in the course of a two-year research project on Muslim women and their experiences of education in parts of western UP. It is only a sample and it is only one person’s encounter. What, I wonder, would a more comprehensive collection reveal? But, even in this sprinkling of voices, there is a larger narrative of exclusion. A story of people being grouped together, in both subtle and direct ways. People are identified by the religion they practise or are born into. Not in itself a bad thing since human beings choose a variety of groupings - around class/caste/religion, schools, football teams, movie stars, work ethics, fashion statements, job aspirations. The list is endless. But when that identification becomes the sole defining identity, it presents itself as the natural order of things instead of the construction that it is. It becomes a wall that seeks to make itself invisible. And when the cloak of invisibility falls off and the wall shows up – in the form of a veil, a riot or a separate greeting code – who is the one who built it? The ones who sought to keep out? Or the ones who chose to stay in? And what of those who wanted windows instead of walls? Continuing to say “adaab” and “khuda hafiz” is my way of acknowledging that while there is a wall, it can have an open window. *--Samina Mishra is a documentary filmmaker and media practitioner based in New Delhi. * From ambarien at yahoo.co.uk Tue Jul 12 21:42:13 2011 From: ambarien at yahoo.co.uk (ambarien qadar) Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2011 17:12:13 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Aadab In A Time Of Allah Hafiz In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <1310487133.21052.YahooMailClassic@web24102.mail.ird.yahoo.com> I must say I am going to be very spontaneous in this response. So if it reads too emotional, my apologies. Neither is this any definitive statement. This is a thinking through, something I or rather we should mediate on together. Some years back my friend Khadeeja Arif and I started a research project with support from The Sarai Independent Research Fellowship.  We named it 'Lives of Women in Jamia Nagar' without realizing that the fragmented nature of material such an inquiry would generate . It lead us to questions of form and the way one frames the question, what one searches for. We have been baffled with the open endedness of the material since and have repeatedly wondered about how to make sense of a material that does not allow a closure this way or that.The stories we collected  were fragmented narratives of muslim women who go about the everyday through a series of well crafted strategies -they wear the burqa when they know they can't get away with it and fling it once they reach the India Gate lawn. Infact, Khadija's thesis film Elsewhere at MCRC follows a girl who works in a salon and leads a comfortably double life. So I have always found it very difficult to read the burqa as a sign of pure regression. It is a sign of making do with what you have when you negotiate an increasingly radicalized community on the street. To talk about radicalization, is well another story for another time.The women in their stories talk about the pleasure of duping men who think they can control them by making them wear the burqa.These are stories about women who do not give up the desire to walk the streets or sit in phatphat sewa and see the city just because they are aware of being watched, they negotiate with 'looked-at-ness'. It is there that their struggle lies.So I have wondered how those stories have come to be lost. How can the history of an entire community be decided on the basis of where we stop listening?How can an entire history be one of regression, radicalization and victimization? How can there not be stories of resistance, desire, pleasure seeking and love? Banal stories?Stories keep unfolding but we want to make closed narratives out of them. So we pause listening when we get what we want. thanks, ambarien. --- On Tue, 12/7/11, Ujwala Samarth wrote: From: Ujwala Samarth Subject: [Reader-list] Aadab In A Time Of Allah Hafiz To: "sarai list" Cc: "Samina Mishra" Date: Tuesday, 12 July, 2011, 11:28 Language, especially the words and colloquialisms we use in our everyday interactions, is a sharp but subtle indicator of changing mores, shifts in socio-political realities and the collective 'pulse' of a community...In this article written for *Open Space/CCDS,* Pune, Samina Mishra reflects on the trajectory from “adaab” to “asalam waleikum”, from “khuda hafiz” to “Allah hafiz”,  and on why people feel the need to group around markers of identities… *http://www.openspaceindia.org/express/articles-a-essays/item/749.html * *Aadab In A Time Of Allah Hafiz* Some months ago, I was chastised by a woman for saying “adaab”, instead of “assalam wa leikum”, the latter being the “the proper Islamic greeting” in her opinion, to be exchanged between Muslims. I grew up as a Muslim and learnt to say “adaab” when I met someone and “khuda hafiz” when we parted ways. Originating from a North Indian Islamicate high culture, “adaab” as a form of greeting was imbued with a certain class hierarchy. It was a familiar greeting even in many elite non-Muslim households in North India, households that were closely associated with that cultural space. Among many other Muslim populations, the Arabic greeting “assalam wa leikum”, meaning “may peace be upon you” was also used. But, there was no formal dictum about the usage while I was growing up and there could be overlaps. So, as a child I often replied with an “adaab” to someone who came in saying “assalam wa leikum” and it was not considered inappropriate. As for “Allah hafiz” (may god keep you safe), I did not hear the term until about a decade ago. The word “khuda” originates from Persian but because it is used in other languages too, it can be seen as a more embracing word for God than Allah. The latter is a more specific reference to god in Islam and is confined to its Arabic origins, at least so far. Thus, although they emerge from a specific North Indian Muslim culture, “adaab” and “khuda hafiz” have had a more inclusive history. Today, these terms are being given up by many Muslims in India, from different class backgrounds, in favour of the more unambiguously Islamic “assalam waleikum” and “Allah hafiz”. For those of us who seek to draw attention to the complicated greys that lie between the uncompromising blacks and whites, this notion of unambiguity is naturally problematic. But, in this trajectory of change from “adaab” to “asalam waleikum”, from “khuda hafiz” to “Allah hafiz”, there are other stories too, stories about why people group around markers of identities, about what gives people a sense of security and comfort, about what creates new groupings. So, even as I feel uncomfortable about puritanical Islamic practices creeping in around me, I recognise that our lives are composed of many overlapping stories, as the novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche has so eloquently spoken about, stories that need to be told to avoid what she calls “the danger of the single story”. So, in the context of adaab and khuda hafiz, what are these other stories? Consider some of these: In the late 1960s, a young girl joins a college hostel and as the lone Muslim girl, she is made to eat separately in the dining hall and put her used dishes apart from the rest. In the 1980s, one Muslim family loses 56 members to communal rioting, including the murder of an uncle at the hands of his best friend. In the 1990s, a woman from a small town in UP with a BA, MA and BEd moves to Delhi to teach in a school. She moves back within a month – “I wear a burkha and the whole environment there was not suited for me…” In the years since 2002, a dynamic young woman, founder of an NGO to help poor and dalit Muslims, stops telling people her real name while travelling on trains because of being looked at with suspicion. In the mid-2000s, a teacher attends a workshop in which participants are asked to introduce themselves by talking about their biggest fears. One participant shares that hers is that her son will marry a Muslim - because they are dirty. In 2008, a young girl, who likes going to school and does well at studies, wonders why the school celebrates Holi and Christmas but not Eid. In 2009, a media person who offers her neighbour the use of her flat during wedding festivities is told by colleagues that she should not have done so since the groom was a Muslim man from Azamgarh. The same woman remembers a Muslim boy who worked for a while in her office – “He was referred to as jihadi!” This is a sample of stories that I have encountered in the course of a two-year research project on Muslim women and their experiences of education in parts of western UP. It is only a sample and it is only one person’s encounter. What, I wonder, would a more comprehensive collection reveal? But, even in this sprinkling of voices, there is a larger narrative of exclusion. A story of people being grouped together, in both subtle and direct ways. People are identified by the religion they practise or are born into. Not in itself a bad thing since human beings choose a variety of groupings - around class/caste/religion, schools, football teams, movie stars, work ethics, fashion statements, job aspirations. The list is endless. But when that identification becomes the sole defining identity, it presents itself as the natural order of things instead of the construction that it is. It becomes a wall that seeks to make itself invisible. And when the cloak of invisibility falls off and the wall shows up – in the form of a veil, a riot or a separate greeting code – who is the one who built it? The ones who sought to keep out? Or the ones who chose to stay in? And what of those who wanted windows instead of walls? Continuing to say “adaab” and “khuda hafiz” is my way of acknowledging that while there is a wall, it can have an open window. --*Samina Mishra is a documentary filmmaker and media practitioner based in New Delhi.* -- Ujwala Samarth (Programme Coordinator, Open Space) www.openspaceindia.org www.infochangeindia.org http://www.facebook.com/pages/Open-Space/116557125037041 B-301, Kanchanjunga Building, Kanchan Lane, Off Law College Rd,, Pune 411004 (020-25457371) _________________________________________ 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 rohitrellan at aol.in Wed Jul 13 10:02:31 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Wed, 13 Jul 2011 00:32:31 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] ISFFH CALL FOR ENTRIES / Scriptapalooza Television Writing Competition/ Bangaladesh Film Festival, Bangalore In-Reply-To: <02c201cc4110$e0b51df0$a21f59d0$@org> References: <02c201cc4110$e0b51df0$a21f59d0$@org> Message-ID: <8CE0F2D0358BC8A-CB8-440AF@webmail-d084.sysops.aol.com> CALLING ALL STUDENT FILMMAKERS! International Student Film Festival Hollywood ISFFH Film & Video Competition Call For Entries 2011 When: November 5 - 6, 2011 Where: North Hollywood, CA USA NoHo Arts District For more information and entry forms visit our website: www.isffhollywood.org Submission Deadline: August 31, 2011 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scriptapalooza Television Writing Competition Hey all you TV writers, this is your chance to change the way you watch TV! Scriptapalooza TV has seen major success in their 12 years. - 2 writers won Emmys - Andrew Colville wins WGA award - Finalist writes for Comedy Central - numerous writers have gotten agents, managers and meetings for the most recent headlines: http://www.scriptapaloozaTV.com/recentheadlines.htm for an application: https://gochargeit.mywebteam.com/scriptapalooza/form.asp for a list of the producers that are onboard: http://www.scriptapaloozaTV.com/participants.htm DEADLINE October 1st Accepting pilots, sitcoms, one hour dramas and reality shows. www.scriptapaloozaTV.com 323.654.5809 office info at scriptapalooza.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangaladesh Film Festival,Bangalore BFS in collaboration with Karnataka Chalanchitra Academy and the Federation of Film Societies of India is screening the following Bangladeshi films as part of a Bangladesh Film Festival at Badami House, Corporation. Entry Free. Date Time Movie Dir Dur 11/07/2011 6.30 p.m. Inaugural film: QUITE FLOWS THE RIVER CHITRA (Chitra Nadir Pare) Tanvir Mokammel 114 mins 12/07/2011 6.30 p.m. ANTARJATRA Catherene Masud, Tareque Masud 123 mins 13/07/2011 4.00 p.m. THE SHADOW OF LIFE (Chandragrohan) Murad Parvez 125 mins 13/07/2011 6.30 p.m. JOY JATRA (Rqhviv) Tanquir Ahmed 119 mins 14/07/2011 4.00 p.m. THIRD PERSON SINGULAR NUMBER Mostofa Sarwar Farooki. 123 mins 14/07/2011 6.30 p.m. WAITING (Opekkha) Abu Sayeed 84 mins 15/07/2011 6.30 p.m. Closing film: ON THE WINGS OF DREAMS (Swopnodanay) Golam Rabbany Biplob 88 mins Location: Badami House , Phone: (080) 22275869 Central Reservation Counter(Opposite to City Corporation Office), NR Square ( http://www.mycitybuddy.com/map.do?l=biz&id=4456) From geetaseshu at gmail.com Wed Jul 13 12:20:35 2011 From: geetaseshu at gmail.com (geeta seshu) Date: Wed, 13 Jul 2011 12:20:35 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Cursive being phased out of U.S. schools In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: very interesting chintan...thanks for the post. apart from all the implications of right/left brain development, cultural issues and whatnot, I was trying to recall when - and what - I last wrote by hand... but to give up on teaching a skill completely? On Mon, Jul 11, 2011 at 8:53 PM, Chintan Girish Modi < chintan.backups at gmail.com> wrote: > From > > http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/07/07/cursive-finally-being-phased-out-of-u-s-schools/ > Cursive being phased out of U.S. schoolsJul 7, 2011 – 8:04 PM ET | > > By Laura Baziuk > > Forget the looping Ls and curving Gs. > > Students in Indiana’s public schools will no longer have to learn cursive > writing starting this fall. > > The state is one among 48 others transitioning to new state-led national > learning guides, the Common Core State Standard Initiatives, which no > longer > require children to learn handwriting. They do, however, have to sharpen > their typing skills. > > An Indiana Department of Education memo last spring said teachers can still > choose to teach cursive writing, or can stop altogether. > > “State standards themselves, they’re just supposed to be a guide for what > students must know before moving on to the next grade,” said department > spokeswoman Stephanie Sample. “And there are lots of little details that > aren’t in those standards that kids learn.” > > Sample said she has not heard any feedback from parents who are concerned > their children will no longer learn a basic, yet fading, skill. > > How often does one write in cursive every day? Much of our daily personal > and business correspondence is done by a quick e-mail or text message. > Note-taking and composing essays or statements are done almost entirely on > the computer. > > Indiana father Mark Shoup said he wouldn’t be concerned if his children, > though now grown, had not learned cursive. > > “There are much more important skills I think they take into this century > than whether or not they write cursively,” the former teacher said, listing > critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork and literacy. > > “Maybe it’s something we should not give up on, but keep it in perspective > of its relative importance in the scheme of things,” Shoup said. “How long > we really have children in school and what are our real goals for them?” > > Perry Klein, a professor of literacy education at the University of Western > Ontario, said a child’s ability to compose depends on whether she can form > letters clearly and accurately. > > “If students can form letters fluently, then that frees up their attention > to focus on the content and language of what they’re writing,” Klein said. > > Research has yet to be published, he said, on whether forming those letters > works best on a page with a pen or on a computer screen. But as long as > they > can read what they compose, they will develop the right skills. > > “The important thing is that for kids to learn [printing)]and cursive > accurately and fluently, and if they have that, then they’ll be able to do > written composition in a whole variety of situations,” Klein said. > > Marie Picard, a penmanship workbook dealer in London, Ont., said cursive > might be fading away, but still exists in letters, envelopes, signatures > and > signs. > > “Handwriting shows some sort of style and flair and how you are as a > person,” she said. “I just think that it’s (becoming) a lost art.” > > Sonja Semion, with the Colorado branch of Stand for Children, an education > advocacy organization, said with limited resources in classrooms, it’s time > to focus not on what has always been taught, but what’s best for children > for when they become adults. > > “I think schools have to toe a line right now where they have to really > prepare kids for the careers of the future,” she said. “We still need > writing, some kind of penmanship, but I think the keyboard is really the > way > it’s going to go. The technology is the future.” > > *Postmedia News* > _________________________________________ > 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 a.mani.cms at gmail.com Wed Jul 13 20:05:49 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Wed, 13 Jul 2011 20:05:49 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] NDA used in Cults Message-ID: http://www.nithyananda-fraud.com/docs/evidence-Swami-Nithyananda-sex-contract-with-victims.pdf Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Wed Jul 13 20:09:35 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Wed, 13 Jul 2011 20:09:35 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Economics of Oil Prices Message-ID: http://www.pragoti.in/node/4452 "Even as the entire country, particularly the poor people, are reeling under heavy pressure of inflation, the UPA government has hiked the prices of diesel, kerosene and LPG by Rs 3 per litre, Rs 2 per litre and Rs 50 per cylinder respectively. The reasons given for this move can be broadly categorised as follows: The prices have merely moved in tandem with the international prices. The government could not take the burden for it more than what it already takes in the form of heavy subsidies for various petroleum products. There is a case for deregulation of prices of these three products on the lines of petrol as it is becoming unsustainable for the exchequer and the public sector oil companies who are facing 'under-recoveries' for a long time. This step is a forward movement in that direction. In a period of inflation, such increase in prices would bring the demand down and, hence, would put a downward pressure on inflation. This note attempts to call the bluff of the government by presenting both the factual picture and the vacuous economic logic behind these arguments. " Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From aliens at dataone.in Wed Jul 13 20:42:53 2011 From: aliens at dataone.in (Bipin Trivedi) Date: Wed, 13 Jul 2011 20:42:53 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] MUMBAI BOMB BLAST Message-ID: <003301cc416f$57569890$0603c9b0$@in> Mumbai again victim of bomb blast... and I am not surprised at all with it. Since moral of police department is down and they have stopped encounter.and why should they? Earlier they did encounter on small clue from intelligence, but if they have to suffer with harassment of court cases and arrest, how they can? Congress and their people like digvijay singh is there, terrorist did not have to worry, since they will go and take care of terrorist family as he did in Azamgarh.!!! Even Rahul Gandhi giving statement in wikileaks increases the booster of terrorist group.!!! So, until congress is there, no worry for terror groups.!!! Even after today bomb blast, police will arrest culprit and diggi will go to their family for healing.!!! Thanks Bipin Trivedi From javedmasoo at gmail.com Wed Jul 13 21:39:40 2011 From: javedmasoo at gmail.com (Javed) Date: Wed, 13 Jul 2011 21:39:40 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Aadab In A Time Of Allah Hafiz In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: While I enjoyed reading parts of this piece, I am intrigued by one very basic knowledge of the author. (And I know everyone on this list is going to chide me for my being too much of a purist.) While I appreciate her use of Adab and Khuda Hafiz as an inclusive salutation, she continues to write the salam as “assalam waleikum” which any Muslim worth his cap would know is a faulty word. The correct word is assalamu-alaikum, and there is no "wa" before alaikum. I am amazed that the author grew up as a Muslim in a Muslim family knowing an incorrect word which is a very basic understanding in any Muslim home. In reply to the salam you do say wa-alikum salam, but there is no such thing as salam walekum. "We Muslims" usually make fun of non-Muslims who ignorantly use the word salam walekum, and try to correct them. Most people on this list would say, how rude you are by making fun of this. But I simply ask: how would you react if someone ignorantly (and seriously) said manaskar instead of namaskar or manaste instead of namaste. Won't you try to correct the person? thanks Javed On Tue, Jul 12, 2011 at 11:28 AM, Ujwala Samarth wrote: > Language, especially the words and colloquialisms we use in our everyday > interactions, is a sharp but subtle indicator of changing mores, shifts in > socio-political realities and the collective 'pulse' of a community...In > this article written for *Open Space/CCDS,* Pune, Samina Mishra reflects on > the trajectory from “adaab” to “asalam waleikum”, from “khuda hafiz” to > “Allah hafiz”,  and on why people feel the need to group around markers of > identities… > > *http://www.openspaceindia.org/express/articles-a-essays/item/749.html > * > > *Aadab In A Time Of Allah Hafiz* > > > > Some months ago, I was chastised by a woman for saying “adaab”, instead of > “assalam wa leikum”, the latter being the “the proper Islamic greeting” in > her opinion, to be exchanged between Muslims. I grew up as a Muslim and > learnt to say “adaab” when I met someone and “khuda hafiz” when we parted > ways. Originating from a North Indian Islamicate high culture, “adaab” as a > form of greeting was imbued with a certain class hierarchy. It was a > familiar greeting even in many elite non-Muslim households in North India, > households that were closely associated with that cultural space. Among many > other Muslim populations, the Arabic greeting “assalam wa leikum”, meaning > “may peace be upon you” was also used. But, there was no formal dictum about > the usage while I was growing up and there could be overlaps. So, as a child > I often replied with an “adaab” to someone who came in saying “assalam wa > leikum” and it was not considered inappropriate. As for “Allah hafiz” (may > god keep you safe), I did not hear the term until about a decade ago. The > word “khuda” originates from Persian but because it is used in other > languages too, it can be seen as a more embracing word for God than Allah. > The latter is a more specific reference to god in Islam and is confined to > its Arabic origins, at least so far. Thus, although they emerge from a > specific North Indian Muslim culture, “adaab” and “khuda hafiz” have had a > more inclusive history. > > > > Today, these terms are being given up by many Muslims in India, from > different class backgrounds, in favour of the more unambiguously Islamic > “assalam waleikum” and “Allah hafiz”. For those of us who seek to draw > attention to the complicated greys that lie between the uncompromising > blacks and whites, this notion of unambiguity is naturally problematic. But, > in this trajectory of change from “adaab” to “asalam waleikum”, from “khuda > hafiz” to “Allah hafiz”, there are other stories too, stories about why > people group around markers of identities, about what gives people a sense > of security and comfort, about what creates new groupings. So, even as I > feel uncomfortable about puritanical Islamic practices creeping in around > me, I recognise that our lives are composed of many overlapping stories, as > the novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche has so eloquently spoken about, stories > that need to be told to avoid what she calls “the danger of the single > story”. > > > > So, in the context of adaab and khuda hafiz, what are these other stories? > > > > Consider some of these: > > > > In the late 1960s, a young girl joins a college hostel and as the lone > Muslim girl, she is made to eat separately in the dining hall and put her > used dishes apart from the rest. > > > > In the 1980s, one Muslim family loses 56 members to communal rioting, > including the murder of an uncle at the hands of his best friend. > > > > In the 1990s, a woman from a small town in UP with a BA, MA and BEd moves to > Delhi to teach in a school. She moves back within a month – “I wear a burkha > and the whole environment there was not suited for me…” > > > > In the years since 2002, a dynamic young woman, founder of an NGO to help > poor and dalit Muslims, stops telling people her real name while travelling > on trains because of being looked at with suspicion. > > > > In the mid-2000s, a teacher attends a workshop in which participants are > asked to introduce themselves by talking about their biggest fears. One > participant shares that hers is that her son will marry a Muslim - because > they are dirty. > > > > In 2008, a young girl, who likes going to school and does well at studies, > wonders why the school celebrates Holi and Christmas but not Eid. > > > > In 2009, a media person who offers her neighbour the use of her flat during > wedding festivities is told by colleagues that she should not have done so > since the groom was a Muslim man from Azamgarh. The same woman remembers a > Muslim boy who worked for a while in her office – “He was referred to as > jihadi!” > > > > This is a sample of stories that I have encountered in the course of a > two-year research project on Muslim women and their experiences of education > in parts of western UP. It is only a sample and it is only one person’s > encounter. What, I wonder, would a more comprehensive collection reveal? > But, even in this sprinkling of voices, there is a larger narrative of > exclusion. A story of people being grouped together, in both subtle and > direct ways. People are identified by the religion they practise or are born > into. Not in itself a bad thing since human beings choose a variety of > groupings - around class/caste/religion, schools, football teams, movie > stars, work ethics, fashion statements, job aspirations. The list is > endless. But when that identification becomes the sole defining identity, it > presents itself as the natural order of things instead of the construction > that it is. It becomes a wall that seeks to make itself invisible. > > > > And when the cloak of invisibility falls off and the wall shows up – in the > form of a veil, a riot or a separate greeting code – who is the one who > built it? The ones who sought to keep out? Or the ones who chose to stay in? > And what of those who wanted windows instead of walls? Continuing to say > “adaab” and “khuda hafiz” is my way of acknowledging that while there is a > wall, it can have an open window. > > > --*Samina Mishra is a documentary filmmaker and media practitioner based in > New Delhi.* > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > Ujwala Samarth > (Programme Coordinator, Open Space) > > www.openspaceindia.org > www.infochangeindia.org > http://www.facebook.com/pages/Open-Space/116557125037041 > > B-301, Kanchanjunga Building, > Kanchan Lane, Off Law College Rd,, > Pune 411004 > (020-25457371) > _________________________________________ > 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 nagraj.adve at gmail.com Wed Jul 13 22:40:15 2011 From: nagraj.adve at gmail.com (Nagraj Adve) Date: Wed, 13 Jul 2011 22:40:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Twiddling our thumbs Message-ID: Yet again, reality is unfolding much faster than models predict. The Arctic may seem very far away and remote but significant changes there will have huge impacts on weather systems very widely. Capital would be interested in freed up oil and gas, in easier sea routes, etc. What's our response going to be? Continue to twiddle our thumbs? Naga Arctic may be ice-free within 30 years Data showing dramatic sea ice melt suggests warming at the north pole is speeding up John Vidal , environment editor - guardian.co.uk , Monday 11 July 2011 16.42 BST - Article history [image: Arctic ice cave] Arctic ice is melting at a record pace, suggesting the region may be ice-free during summer within 30 years. Photograph: Alexandra Kobalenko/Getty Sea ice in the Arctic is melting at a record pace this year, suggesting warming at the north pole is speeding up and a largely ice-free Arctic can be expected in summer months within 30 years. The area of the Arctic ocean at least 15% covered in ice is this week about 8.5m sq kilometres – lower than the previous record low set in 2007 – according to satellite monitoring by the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre(NSIDC) in Boulder, Colorado. In addition, new data from the University of Washington Polar Science Centre, shows that the thickness of Arctic ice this year is also the lowest on record . In the past 10 days, the Arctic ocean has been losing as much as 150,000 square kilometres of sea a day, said Mark Serreze, director of the NSIDC. "The extent [of the ice cover] is going down, but it is also thinning. So a weather pattern that formerly would melt some ice, now gets rid of much more. There will be ups and downs, but we are on track to see an ice-free summer by 2030. It is an overall downward spiral." Global warming has been melting Arctic sea ice for the past 30 years at a rate of about 3% per decade on average. But the two new data sets suggest that, if current trends continue, a largely ice-free Arctic in summer months is likely within 30 years. That is up to 40 years earlier than was anticipated in the last Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC) assessment report. Sea ice, which is at its maximum extent in March and its lowest in September each year, is widely considered to be one of the "canaries in the mine" for climate change, because the poles are heating up faster than anywhere else on Earth. According to NSIDC, air temperatures for June 2011 were between 1 and 4C warmer than average over most of the Arctic Ocean . The findings support a recent study in the journal Science that suggested water flowing from the Atlantic into the Arctic ocean is warmer todaythan at any time in the past 2,000 years and could be one of the explanations for the rapid sea ice melt now being observed. Computer simulations performed by Nasa suggest that the retreat of Arctic sea ice will not continue at a constant rate. Instead the simulations show a series of abrupt decreases such as the one that occurred in 2007, when a "perfect storm" of weather conditions coincided and more ice was lost in one year than in the previous 28 years combined. Compared to the 1950s, over half of the Arctic sea ice had disappeared. What concerns polar scientists is that thicker ice which does not melt in the summer is not being formed fast as the ice is melting. On average each year about half of the first year ice, formed between September and March, melts during the following summer. This year, says Jeff Masters, founder of the Weather Underground climate monitoring website, a high pressure system centred north of Alaska has brought clear skies and plenty of ice-melting sunshine to the Arctic. "The combined action of the clockwise flow of air around the high and counter-clockwise flow of air around a low pressure system near the western coast of Siberia is driving warm, southerly winds into the Arctic that is pushing ice away from the coast of Siberia, encouraging further melting." Sea ice has an important effect on the heat balance of the polar oceans, since it insulates the (relatively) warm ocean from the much colder air above, thus reducing heat loss from the oceans. Sea ice also has a high albedo – about 0.6 when bare, and about 0.8 when covered with snow – compared to the sea – about 0.15 – and thus the loss of sea ice increased the absorption of the sun's warmth by the sea. From ysaeed7 at yahoo.com Wed Jul 13 22:47:39 2011 From: ysaeed7 at yahoo.com (Yousuf) Date: Wed, 13 Jul 2011 10:17:39 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] open spreadsheet for help in Mumbai Message-ID: <1310577459.35002.YahooMailClassic@web161202.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Urgent: For those of you in Mumbai, an open spreadsheet is available on this link to collect/provide useful information for those affected by the blast or traffic jams. Please forward this link to others: https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/lv?hl=en_US&key=tE-okpwwYgQavia5opgZSEA&toomany=true From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Thu Jul 14 01:34:31 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2011 01:34:31 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [issuesonline_worldwide] Economics of Oil Prices In-Reply-To: <1310571805.48668.YahooMailNeo@web65602.mail.ac4.yahoo.com> References: <1310571805.48668.YahooMailNeo@web65602.mail.ac4.yahoo.com> Message-ID: I am not saying that. Please read the whole long article at the site before replying :) Even the last para in the quoted portion it is mentioned that "This note attempts to call the bluff of the government by presenting both the factual picture and the vacuous economic logic behind these arguments" Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc On Wed, Jul 13, 2011 at 9:13 PM, S kumar wrote: > > Are you not aware that prices of petroleum product prices in India have no relevvance to international crude prices, but an easy way to fill the exchequer by taxing the common man to the maximum? > > 1. When the crude was ruling around US$ 140 per barrel, petrol was retailed @Rs.45 per litre. When the crude went down to US$-70 per barrel, UPA Govt. raised the petrol prices to Rs.55 and now when the crude is ruling around80-90$, petrol is retailed at Rs.75 and still increases are expected. Why this anomaly? > > 2. The Customs duty was originally based on "per barrel basis". The Congress Govts. earlier changed this to ad valorem and found a fortune coming into exchequer by this change as the crude at international markets were rising from US$-10 to 70 per barrel within a few years, increasing the income through Customs by 7 times or more. > > 3. When Pranab Mukherjee became the FM and the crude prices fell from US$ 140 to 70, he found the receipts oin this account reduced by 50% and raised the Customs duty by 100%. By increasing Govt. levies on inputs like this, Govt. shows that the Oil Co-s are losing and starts increasing the prices of petrol, diesel..etc. > > 4. Is anybody aware that petrol is mixed with 3% to 6% of ethyl alcohol by the Oil Co-s now? Govt. has not informed the public and cost calculations do not take this into account and the burden is placed on the consumer. > > 5. When it is convenient Govt. refers to neighbouring Countries pricing, only in case of LPG, as if our neighbours are charging much higher than we!! Why not apply the same norms to petrol and diesel which are selling at almost 50% of the prices in India? > > 6. Govt. should reduce the customs duty rolling back to the earlier levels (reduce by 50%), athe States should be asked to charge uniform VAT, so that petrol or diesel of CNG are available at the same rates in any part of India. > > MANI YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY WRONG TO SAY THAT PRICES HAVE MOVED IN TANDEM WITH INTERNATIONAL PRICES AS DETAILED ABOVE. UPA HAS FOUND THAT PEOPLE COULD BE FLEECED FOR THE ESSENTIAL ITEMS TO FILL THE EXCHEQUER WITHOUT ANY RHYME OR REASON. > From: A. Mani > To: sarai list ; The Moderates ; issuesonline_worldwide at yahoogroups.com > Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2011 8:09 PM > Subject: [issuesonline_worldwide] Economics of Oil Prices > > > http://www.pragoti.in/node/4452 > > "Even as the entire country, particularly the poor people, are reeling > under heavy pressure of inflation, the UPA government has hiked the > prices of diesel, kerosene and LPG by Rs 3 per litre, Rs 2 per litre > and Rs 50 per cylinder respectively. The reasons given for this move > can be broadly categorised as follows: > > The prices have merely moved in tandem with the international prices. > > The government could not take the burden for it more than what it > already takes in the form of heavy subsidies for various petroleum > products. > > There is a case for deregulation of prices of these three products > on the lines of petrol as it is becoming unsustainable for the > exchequer and the public sector oil companies who are facing > 'under-recoveries' for a long time. This step is a forward movement in > that direction. > > In a period of inflation, such increase in prices would bring the > demand down and, hence, would put a downward pressure on inflation. > > This note attempts to call the bluff of the government by presenting > both the factual picture and the vacuous economic logic behind these > arguments. " > > Best > > A. Mani > > -- > A. Mani > ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS > http://www.logicamani.co.cc From ambarien at yahoo.co.uk Thu Jul 14 06:37:35 2011 From: ambarien at yahoo.co.uk (ambarien qadar) Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2011 02:07:35 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Aadab In A Time Of Allah Hafiz In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <1310605655.29622.YahooMailClassic@web24102.mail.ird.yahoo.com> I don't know what 'any muslim worth his cap means'! I also don't think that it is important to know the difference between 'assalam-walaikum' and 'salaam'. Both to me mean 'may peace be upon you'.Most crucially, why should it be more important to someone born in a muslim home?The article is charting out a very crucial terrain of the transition that has occurred  and we would be fools if we were not to accept it. And perhaps that's why the author chose to use the transition of Aadab to Salaam and left the metaphor open ended for us.And because it was open ended, it let me raise some of my own confusions and doubts.Let us not close the space for dialogue, whatever of it is left, by closing ourselves.thanks, ambarien. --- On Wed, 13/7/11, Javed wrote: From: Javed Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Aadab In A Time Of Allah Hafiz To: "Ujwala Samarth" , ambarien at yahoo.co.uk Cc: "sarai list" , "Samina Mishra" Date: Wednesday, 13 July, 2011, 21:39 While I enjoyed reading parts of this piece, I am intrigued by one very basic knowledge of the author. (And I know everyone on this list is going to chide me for my being too much of a purist.) While I appreciate her use of Adab and Khuda Hafiz as an inclusive salutation, she continues to write the salam as  “assalam waleikum” which any Muslim worth his cap would know is a faulty word. The correct word is assalamu-alaikum, and there is no "wa" before alaikum. I am amazed that the author grew up as a Muslim in a Muslim family knowing an incorrect word which is a very basic understanding in any Muslim home. In reply to the salam you do say wa-alikum salam, but there is no such thing as salam walekum. "We Muslims" usually make fun of non-Muslims who ignorantly use the word salam walekum, and try to correct them. Most people on this list would say, how rude you are by making fun of this. But I simply ask: how would you react if someone ignorantly (and seriously) said manaskar instead of namaskar or manaste instead of namaste. Won't you try to correct the person? thanks Javed On Tue, Jul 12, 2011 at 11:28 AM, Ujwala Samarth wrote: > Language, especially the words and colloquialisms we use in our everyday > interactions, is a sharp but subtle indicator of changing mores, shifts in > socio-political realities and the collective 'pulse' of a community...In > this article written for *Open Space/CCDS,* Pune, Samina Mishra reflects on > the trajectory from “adaab” to “asalam waleikum”, from “khuda hafiz” to > “Allah hafiz”,  and on why people feel the need to group around markers of > identities… > > *http://www.openspaceindia.org/express/articles-a-essays/item/749.html > * > > *Aadab In A Time Of Allah Hafiz* > > > > Some months ago, I was chastised by a woman for saying “adaab”, instead of > “assalam wa leikum”, the latter being the “the proper Islamic greeting” in > her opinion, to be exchanged between Muslims. I grew up as a Muslim and > learnt to say “adaab” when I met someone and “khuda hafiz” when we parted > ways. Originating from a North Indian Islamicate high culture, “adaab” as a > form of greeting was imbued with a certain class hierarchy. It was a > familiar greeting even in many elite non-Muslim households in North India, > households that were closely associated with that cultural space. Among many > other Muslim populations, the Arabic greeting “assalam wa leikum”, meaning > “may peace be upon you” was also used. But, there was no formal dictum about > the usage while I was growing up and there could be overlaps. So, as a child > I often replied with an “adaab” to someone who came in saying “assalam wa > leikum” and it was not considered inappropriate. As for “Allah hafiz” (may > god keep you safe), I did not hear the term until about a decade ago. The > word “khuda” originates from Persian but because it is used in other > languages too, it can be seen as a more embracing word for God than Allah. > The latter is a more specific reference to god in Islam and is confined to > its Arabic origins, at least so far. Thus, although they emerge from a > specific North Indian Muslim culture, “adaab” and “khuda hafiz” have had a > more inclusive history. > > > > Today, these terms are being given up by many Muslims in India, from > different class backgrounds, in favour of the more unambiguously Islamic > “assalam waleikum” and “Allah hafiz”. For those of us who seek to draw > attention to the complicated greys that lie between the uncompromising > blacks and whites, this notion of unambiguity is naturally problematic. But, > in this trajectory of change from “adaab” to “asalam waleikum”, from “khuda > hafiz” to “Allah hafiz”, there are other stories too, stories about why > people group around markers of identities, about what gives people a sense > of security and comfort, about what creates new groupings. So, even as I > feel uncomfortable about puritanical Islamic practices creeping in around > me, I recognise that our lives are composed of many overlapping stories, as > the novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche has so eloquently spoken about, stories > that need to be told to avoid what she calls “the danger of the single > story”. > > > > So, in the context of adaab and khuda hafiz, what are these other stories? > > > > Consider some of these: > > > > In the late 1960s, a young girl joins a college hostel and as the lone > Muslim girl, she is made to eat separately in the dining hall and put her > used dishes apart from the rest. > > > > In the 1980s, one Muslim family loses 56 members to communal rioting, > including the murder of an uncle at the hands of his best friend. > > > > In the 1990s, a woman from a small town in UP with a BA, MA and BEd moves to > Delhi to teach in a school. She moves back within a month – “I wear a burkha > and the whole environment there was not suited for me…” > > > > In the years since 2002, a dynamic young woman, founder of an NGO to help > poor and dalit Muslims, stops telling people her real name while travelling > on trains because of being looked at with suspicion. > > > > In the mid-2000s, a teacher attends a workshop in which participants are > asked to introduce themselves by talking about their biggest fears. One > participant shares that hers is that her son will marry a Muslim - because > they are dirty. > > > > In 2008, a young girl, who likes going to school and does well at studies, > wonders why the school celebrates Holi and Christmas but not Eid. > > > > In 2009, a media person who offers her neighbour the use of her flat during > wedding festivities is told by colleagues that she should not have done so > since the groom was a Muslim man from Azamgarh. The same woman remembers a > Muslim boy who worked for a while in her office – “He was referred to as > jihadi!” > > > > This is a sample of stories that I have encountered in the course of a > two-year research project on Muslim women and their experiences of education > in parts of western UP. It is only a sample and it is only one person’s > encounter. What, I wonder, would a more comprehensive collection reveal? > But, even in this sprinkling of voices, there is a larger narrative of > exclusion. A story of people being grouped together, in both subtle and > direct ways. People are identified by the religion they practise or are born > into. Not in itself a bad thing since human beings choose a variety of > groupings - around class/caste/religion, schools, football teams, movie > stars, work ethics, fashion statements, job aspirations. The list is > endless. But when that identification becomes the sole defining identity, it > presents itself as the natural order of things instead of the construction > that it is. It becomes a wall that seeks to make itself invisible. > > > > And when the cloak of invisibility falls off and the wall shows up – in the > form of a veil, a riot or a separate greeting code – who is the one who > built it? The ones who sought to keep out? Or the ones who chose to stay in? > And what of those who wanted windows instead of walls? Continuing to say > “adaab” and “khuda hafiz” is my way of acknowledging that while there is a > wall, it can have an open window. > > > --*Samina Mishra is a documentary filmmaker and media practitioner based in > New Delhi.* > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > Ujwala Samarth > (Programme Coordinator, Open Space) > > www.openspaceindia.org > www.infochangeindia.org > http://www.facebook.com/pages/Open-Space/116557125037041 > > B-301, Kanchanjunga Building, > Kanchan Lane, Off Law College Rd,, > Pune 411004 > (020-25457371) > _________________________________________ > 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 rohitrellan at aol.in Thu Jul 14 09:46:20 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2011 00:16:20 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] New Voices Fellowship for Screenwriters Message-ID: <8CE0FF3EB39F5A4-1D70-38DD2@webmail-d169.sysops.aol.com> Program offers support for Indian film writers Asia Society India Centre announces the launch of the New Voices Fellowship for Screenwriters (NVFS), a program to identify and support a group of six talented independent screenwriters to develop their feature film scripts by working in a dynamic and innovative environment with guidance from eminent filmmakers and screenwriters. Our premise is that screenwriters are seeking to develop powerful, nuanced and well-crafted scripts while exploring new approaches to the art of writing for the cinema. We invite writers from across the country to submit an original story for consideration between July 11 and August 31 for the 2011 Fellowship. Time Warner is the Founding Sponsor of the New Voices Fellowship for Screenwriters. ABOUT THE NEW VOICES FELLOWSHIP FOR SCREENWRITERS Asia Society recognizes India's exceptional legacy in the field of cinema. The New Voices Fellowship for Screenwriters will host a diverse and talented group of screenwriters who will explore new approaches to storytelling and narrative, provide peer feedback and work with respected professionals in the field. The project will have two phases. Through an open application process, twelve writers will be selected to attend the first workshop to be held in November 2011. At the end of the workshop, six writers will be invited to continue on in an eight-month Fellowship that will provide a focused platform to explore their work and ideas more fully. A second workshop will be held in spring 2012 (dates tbc) and the Fellowship will end in August 2012. The project structure has been created by a group of advisors and mentors who are listed below. Selected Fellows will have a rare opportunity to work with eminent screenwriters to develop their scripts and to attend two workshops. Each participating Fellow will receive: A stipend of Rs.1,00,000. Regular feedback from the mentors who are eminent screenwriters and directors towards the completion of the feature script. Two five-day-long intensive workshops led by industry professionals and with active participation from peers in a learning community. Recommendations on how to take the scripts to the next phase. This includes conceptualizing strategies and approaches to developing contacts — producers, directors, distributors and festivals. HOW TO APPLY http://asiasociety.org/centers/india/new-voices-fellowship-screenwriters#apply ADVISORY COUNCIL & MENTORS http://asiasociety.org/centers/india/new-voices-fellowship-screenwriters#advisory FELLOWS http://asiasociety.org/centers/india/new-voices-fellowship-screenwriters#fellows SCHEDULE http://asiasociety.org/centers/india/new-voices-fellowship-screenwriters#schedule RULES, REGULATIONS & DISCLAIMER http://asiasociety.org/centers/india/new-voices-fellowship-screenwriters#rules FAQs http://asiasociety.org/centers/india/new-voices-fellowship-screenwriters#faqs CONTACT http://asiasociety.org/centers/india/new-voices-fellowship-screenwriters#contact From jeebesh at sarai.net Thu Jul 14 13:35:01 2011 From: jeebesh at sarai.net (Jeebesh) Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2011 13:35:01 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 3-Days Sit-Down Strike at Maruti Suzuki Factory in Manesar/Gurgaon, India Message-ID: <8A8ECD73-0D3E-4339-88AF-72F9A8893982@sarai.net> Preliminary Balance Sheet of the 13-Days Sit-Down Strike at Maruti Suzuki Factory in Manesar/Gurgaon, India full version: www.gurgaonworkersnews.wordpress.com From 4th to 17th of June around 2,000 young workers engaged in a wildcat sit-down strike at Maruti Suzuki factory in Manesar [1]. With the following text we hope to contribute to the necessary debate about this important strike and invite friends and comrades, particularly in Delhi area, to share their experiences and views. It was an important strike in local terms. The two Maruti assembly plants coordinate hundreds of local supplying factories [2], the Manesar plant dominates a new industrial area of major importance. There has been silence at Maruti Suzuki for more than a decade: the workers in Gurgaon plant have been silenced by the lock-out in 2000/01 [3], and they did not join the strike in June. The Manesar plant was opened in 2006/07, but the young and casualised work-force had not found their voice as yet. It was a hard strike. The workers gave no notice to management, they stopped production completely and around 2,000 workers stayed inside the factory for nearly two weeks. The strike 'postponed' the production of 13,200 cars and caused a loss of about 6 billion Rs. (133 million USD / 100 million Euro). Maruti Suzuki's June sales figures dropped by 23 per cent, the sharpest fall in two and a half years. In July management announced to shift one production-line back from Manesar to Gurgaon plant. Workers continued the strike despite the police stationed within the factory premises and despite strike having been officially declared illegal by Haryana government on 10th of June. Management and state did not dare to attack the workers inside the factory - a lot of workers' struggles in the area had been attacked physically once workers left the factory. This is partly due to the management's fear that plant and machinery could be damaged during the course of a police intervention, but mainly due to fear of the state that - in the current local and global social situation - repression could cause unpredictable trigger effects. While state and management did not know how to deal with the situation, the main unions repeatedly emphasised that 'the workers are victimised'; that the workers, and not the company, are in a difficult spot. Despite the young workers' courage and the fact that the company was hit at times of full-capacity the strike ended in a defeat for the mass of workers: they did not enforce any betterment of conditions and wages, which was their main concern. Instead the agreement included a 'punishment wage cut' of two days' wages per day of strike - something rarely seen in industrial relations in India. Another element of the agreement states that the 11 workers (union leaders) sacked during the strike were taken back, though they have to undergo an 'inquiry'. We are not able to say whether workers at large felt demoralised after the strike, but we can imagine it. The strike could have spread. The initial demands and underlying motivations of the Maruti workers matched the atmosphere of the young work-force in the area: more money, less work. In Manesar more than a hundred thousand young workers have similar concerns [4]. The strike stopped production at around 200 local supplying factories, but no active connections were established between Maruti workers and the wider work-force in the territory. This might be one of the main differences to the Honda strike in China last summer and main reason for the fact that the strike was very underrepresented in both mainstream and left-wing global media - despite the 'emerging' position of Maruti Suzuki and 'India' in the global market. The focus on 'formal representation' choked the dynamic of the strike. During the course of the strike, the direct demands of the workers were reduced to the question of which union-flag should be put up at the gate. We could summarise the main reasons for the defeat of the strike as follows: workers raised direct demands, but early on these demands were 'integrated' in the workers' hope that by formal recognition of an independent union their material situation would improve; we then saw an attack both by management and state, cutting of electricity, isolation of workers by army of security guards, declaring the strike formerly illegal and last but not least by sacking the 11 'leaders'; the main unions then offered 'support' and at the same time focussed the struggle on the question of 'taking back the leaders' and 'workers' rights' for representation. Workers did not manage neither to break out of the material encirclement set-up by company management and state nor to escape the 'embrace' by the main unions. The fate of the strike was handed over to the 'negotiating forces'. It is naïve to repeat the phrase of 'betrayal' of the main unions. It evades the question of what gives them the power to betray in the first place. Instead we should focus on the question how workers can struggle in a way, which leads both to an immediate material gain and to 'political' experience of self-organisation and generalisation beyond the company walls - the latter becoming increasingly a precondition for the former. [1] A short video documentary can be found here soon (with English and German subtitles): http://de.labournet.tv/video/6035/streik-bei-maruti-suzuki-gurgaonindien [2] Short articles and reports from the local supply-chain: http://gurgaonworkersnews.wordpress.com/gurgaonworkersnews-no-933/#fn1 http://gurgaonworkersnews.wordpress.com/gurgaonworkersnews-no-935/#fn1 http://gurgaonworkersnews.wordpress.com/gurgaonworkersnews-no-936/#fn1 [3] Material on re-structuring at Maruti Suzuki Gurgaon plant: http://gurgaonworkersnews.wordpress.com/gurgaonworkersnews-no8/#fn5 [4] Paper on Potential for Wage Struggle Offensive in Gurgaon-Manesar: http://gurgaonworkersnews.wordpress.com/gurgaonworkersnews-no-937/ News from India's Special Exploitation Zone - www.gurgaonworkersnews.wordpress.com From ujwala at openspaceindia.org Thu Jul 14 13:54:04 2011 From: ujwala at openspaceindia.org (Ujwala Samarth) Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2011 13:54:04 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Cursive being phased out of U.S. schools In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: No cursive writing, or no handwriting at all? I don't quite get that answer from the article. While I firmly believe that handwriting is a skill (and an important brain/motor coordination exercise) that is important enough to be continued in primary schools, I personally wouldn't mind if cursive writing itself was offered as an art form to those who felt so inclined and not insisted upon as a requirement. Being able to print clearly and regularly is more than enough as a form of handwriting isn't it? Far too many of us have miserable memories of not being able to form those damn cursive loops and what-not easily, and of being castigated as dunces for the same. It didn't really matter WHAT we wrote -- what mattered was the CURSIVE. While things may have changed now to some extent -- and they have -- I suspect that the tyranny of cursive handwriting continues -- the child with the 'beautiful' pages, no matter that she has written a page full of unoriginal drivel, will always receive more praise/validity/recognition than the child with the untidy handwriting and interesting ideas. In a country where good cursive writing (like the parrot-like reciting of tables) is an immediate mark of a 'bright' student, where children are often taught to write cursive before they enter first grade, one has to question this obsession with handwriting. As a teacher with very bad handwriting (and memories of tearful handwriting classes) who has formed my own legible semi-print/cursive writing style, I feel completely liberated by the keyboard. And so do many students who simply don't have the motor skills that others have -- finally, their teachers may actually READ what they have to say. I do feel handwriting is a skill to be learned -- like skipping rope and riding a bicycle -- and I do appreciate a beautiful flowing handwriting the way I appreciate a fine painting or a piece of embroidery. Let's just remember what writing is all about in its essence -- communication. Ujwala On Wed, Jul 13, 2011 at 12:20 PM, geeta seshu wrote: > very interesting chintan...thanks for the post. > > apart from all the implications of right/left brain development, cultural > issues and whatnot, I was trying to recall when - and what - I last wrote > by > hand... > > but to give up on teaching a skill completely? > > On Mon, Jul 11, 2011 at 8:53 PM, Chintan Girish Modi < > chintan.backups at gmail.com> wrote: > > > From > > > > > http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/07/07/cursive-finally-being-phased-out-of-u-s-schools/ > > Cursive being phased out of U.S. schoolsJul 7, 2011 – 8:04 PM ET | > > > > By Laura Baziuk > > > > Forget the looping Ls and curving Gs. > > > > Students in Indiana’s public schools will no longer have to learn cursive > > writing starting this fall. > > > > The state is one among 48 others transitioning to new state-led national > > learning guides, the Common Core State Standard Initiatives, which no > > longer > > require children to learn handwriting. They do, however, have to sharpen > > their typing skills. > > > > An Indiana Department of Education memo last spring said teachers can > still > > choose to teach cursive writing, or can stop altogether. > > > > “State standards themselves, they’re just supposed to be a guide for what > > students must know before moving on to the next grade,” said department > > spokeswoman Stephanie Sample. “And there are lots of little details that > > aren’t in those standards that kids learn.” > > > > Sample said she has not heard any feedback from parents who are concerned > > their children will no longer learn a basic, yet fading, skill. > > > > How often does one write in cursive every day? Much of our daily personal > > and business correspondence is done by a quick e-mail or text message. > > Note-taking and composing essays or statements are done almost entirely > on > > the computer. > > > > Indiana father Mark Shoup said he wouldn’t be concerned if his children, > > though now grown, had not learned cursive. > > > > “There are much more important skills I think they take into this century > > than whether or not they write cursively,” the former teacher said, > listing > > critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork and literacy. > > > > “Maybe it’s something we should not give up on, but keep it in > perspective > > of its relative importance in the scheme of things,” Shoup said. “How > long > > we really have children in school and what are our real goals for them?” > > > > Perry Klein, a professor of literacy education at the University of > Western > > Ontario, said a child’s ability to compose depends on whether she can > form > > letters clearly and accurately. > > > > “If students can form letters fluently, then that frees up their > attention > > to focus on the content and language of what they’re writing,” Klein > said. > > > > Research has yet to be published, he said, on whether forming those > letters > > works best on a page with a pen or on a computer screen. But as long as > > they > > can read what they compose, they will develop the right skills. > > > > “The important thing is that for kids to learn [printing)]and cursive > > accurately and fluently, and if they have that, then they’ll be able to > do > > written composition in a whole variety of situations,” Klein said. > > > > Marie Picard, a penmanship workbook dealer in London, Ont., said cursive > > might be fading away, but still exists in letters, envelopes, signatures > > and > > signs. > > > > “Handwriting shows some sort of style and flair and how you are as a > > person,” she said. “I just think that it’s (becoming) a lost art.” > > > > Sonja Semion, with the Colorado branch of Stand for Children, an > education > > advocacy organization, said with limited resources in classrooms, it’s > time > > to focus not on what has always been taught, but what’s best for children > > for when they become adults. > > > > “I think schools have to toe a line right now where they have to really > > prepare kids for the careers of the future,” she said. “We still need > > writing, some kind of penmanship, but I think the keyboard is really the > > way > > it’s going to go. The technology is the future.” > > > > *Postmedia News* > > _________________________________________ > > 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/> > -- Ujwala Samarth (Programme Coordinator, Open Space) www.openspaceindia.org www.infochangeindia.org http://www.facebook.com/pages/Open-Space/116557125037041 B-301, Kanchanjunga Building, Kanchan Lane, Off Law College Rd,, Pune 411004 (020-25457371) From geetaseshu at gmail.com Thu Jul 14 14:20:34 2011 From: geetaseshu at gmail.com (geeta seshu) Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2011 14:20:34 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Cursive being phased out of U.S. schools In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I do agree...handwriting is a skill we shouldn't jettison...though I've been cursed with bad handwriting and liberated by the typewriter (and later the computer keyboard)... perhaps it was the excessive pressure to get kids in primary school to master cursive that made my handwriting, and so many others, so pathetic. Tridha, a Stiener inspired school (where my kids studied briefly) used to approach handwriting differently and I guess a number of alterntive schools have tried different ways to teach children to write. the moving hand will write... On Thu, Jul 14, 2011 at 1:54 PM, Ujwala Samarth wrote: > No cursive writing, or no handwriting at all? I don't quite get that answer > from the article. > > While I firmly believe that handwriting is a skill (and an important > brain/motor coordination exercise) that is important enough to be continued > in primary schools, I personally wouldn't mind if cursive writing itself was > offered as an art form to those who felt so inclined and not insisted upon > as a requirement. Being able to print clearly and regularly is more than > enough as a form of handwriting isn't it? > > Far too many of us have miserable memories of not being able to form those > damn cursive loops and what-not easily, and of being castigated as dunces > for the same. It didn't really matter WHAT we wrote -- what mattered was the > CURSIVE. While things may have changed now to some extent -- and they have > -- I suspect that the tyranny of cursive handwriting continues -- the child > with the 'beautiful' pages, no matter that she has written a page full of > unoriginal drivel, will always receive more praise/validity/recognition than > the child with the untidy handwriting and interesting ideas. In a country > where good cursive writing (like the parrot-like reciting of tables) is an > immediate mark of a 'bright' student, where children are often taught to > write cursive before they enter first grade, one has to question this > obsession with handwriting. > > As a teacher with very bad handwriting (and memories of tearful handwriting > classes) who has formed my own legible semi-print/cursive writing style, I > feel completely liberated by the keyboard. And so do many students who > simply don't have the motor skills that others have -- finally, their > teachers may actually READ what they have to say. > > I do feel handwriting is a skill to be learned -- like skipping rope and > riding a bicycle -- and I do appreciate a beautiful flowing handwriting the > way I appreciate a fine painting or a piece of embroidery. Let's just > remember what writing is all about in its essence -- communication. > > Ujwala > > > On Wed, Jul 13, 2011 at 12:20 PM, geeta seshu wrote: > >> very interesting chintan...thanks for the post. >> >> apart from all the implications of right/left brain development, cultural >> issues and whatnot, I was trying to recall when - and what - I last wrote >> by >> hand... >> >> but to give up on teaching a skill completely? >> >> On Mon, Jul 11, 2011 at 8:53 PM, Chintan Girish Modi < >> chintan.backups at gmail.com> wrote: >> >> > From >> > >> > >> http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/07/07/cursive-finally-being-phased-out-of-u-s-schools/ >> > Cursive being phased out of U.S. schoolsJul 7, 2011 – 8:04 PM ET | >> > >> > By Laura Baziuk >> > >> > Forget the looping Ls and curving Gs. >> > >> > Students in Indiana’s public schools will no longer have to learn >> cursive >> > writing starting this fall. >> > >> > The state is one among 48 others transitioning to new state-led national >> > learning guides, the Common Core State Standard Initiatives, which no >> > longer >> > require children to learn handwriting. They do, however, have to sharpen >> > their typing skills. >> > >> > An Indiana Department of Education memo last spring said teachers can >> still >> > choose to teach cursive writing, or can stop altogether. >> > >> > “State standards themselves, they’re just supposed to be a guide for >> what >> > students must know before moving on to the next grade,” said department >> > spokeswoman Stephanie Sample. “And there are lots of little details that >> > aren’t in those standards that kids learn.” >> > >> > Sample said she has not heard any feedback from parents who are >> concerned >> > their children will no longer learn a basic, yet fading, skill. >> > >> > How often does one write in cursive every day? Much of our daily >> personal >> > and business correspondence is done by a quick e-mail or text message. >> > Note-taking and composing essays or statements are done almost entirely >> on >> > the computer. >> > >> > Indiana father Mark Shoup said he wouldn’t be concerned if his children, >> > though now grown, had not learned cursive. >> > >> > “There are much more important skills I think they take into this >> century >> > than whether or not they write cursively,” the former teacher said, >> listing >> > critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork and literacy. >> > >> > “Maybe it’s something we should not give up on, but keep it in >> perspective >> > of its relative importance in the scheme of things,” Shoup said. “How >> long >> > we really have children in school and what are our real goals for them?” >> > >> > Perry Klein, a professor of literacy education at the University of >> Western >> > Ontario, said a child’s ability to compose depends on whether she can >> form >> > letters clearly and accurately. >> > >> > “If students can form letters fluently, then that frees up their >> attention >> > to focus on the content and language of what they’re writing,” Klein >> said. >> > >> > Research has yet to be published, he said, on whether forming those >> letters >> > works best on a page with a pen or on a computer screen. But as long as >> > they >> > can read what they compose, they will develop the right skills. >> > >> > “The important thing is that for kids to learn [printing)]and cursive >> > accurately and fluently, and if they have that, then they’ll be able to >> do >> > written composition in a whole variety of situations,” Klein said. >> > >> > Marie Picard, a penmanship workbook dealer in London, Ont., said cursive >> > might be fading away, but still exists in letters, envelopes, signatures >> > and >> > signs. >> > >> > “Handwriting shows some sort of style and flair and how you are as a >> > person,” she said. “I just think that it’s (becoming) a lost art.” >> > >> > Sonja Semion, with the Colorado branch of Stand for Children, an >> education >> > advocacy organization, said with limited resources in classrooms, it’s >> time >> > to focus not on what has always been taught, but what’s best for >> children >> > for when they become adults. >> > >> > “I think schools have to toe a line right now where they have to really >> > prepare kids for the careers of the future,” she said. “We still need >> > writing, some kind of penmanship, but I think the keyboard is really the >> > way >> > it’s going to go. The technology is the future.” >> > >> > *Postmedia News* >> > _________________________________________ >> > 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/> >> > > > > -- > Ujwala Samarth > (Programme Coordinator, Open Space) > > www.openspaceindia.org > www.infochangeindia.org > http://www.facebook.com/pages/Open-Space/116557125037041 > > B-301, Kanchanjunga Building, > Kanchan Lane, Off Law College Rd,, > Pune 411004 > (020-25457371) > > > > > > > From taraprakash at gmail.com Thu Jul 14 08:07:32 2011 From: taraprakash at gmail.com (Tara Prakash) Date: Wed, 13 Jul 2011 22:37:32 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Aadab In A Time Of Allah Hafiz References: <1310605655.29622.YahooMailClassic@web24102.mail.ird.yahoo.com> Message-ID: That makes sense too. I wouldn't bother about the violated terms because of the quotation marks. I.e. the writer is using those terms in that way as she has been hearing them in her surroundings, not because they are accurate or otherwise. The list has had a vibrant discussion on the use of Allah Hafiz versus Khuda Hafiz, but if I remember it correctly it was in Pakistani context. So here we go again, Fahmida Riyaz, a Pakistani poet, caused a violent uproar, in otherwise peaceful law abiding student community of JNU, when she recited: Tum bilkul ham jaise nikle Ab tak kahan chipe the bhai. Vah moorakhta vo ghamarpan Jismein ham ne sadi ganvaai Aakhir pahunchi dvaar tumhare Are badhai bahut badhai. ... In short "What stupidity we Pakistanis wasted our time in, ultimately reached your door step. Congratulations." The context of course was different. The author here is correct in acknowledging that the narratives cited by her are one individual's encounters. Thomas Friedman, in his The World is Flat, claims that Indian Muslims are never found involved in the terrorist activities. The author talks about stories in order that one single story does not become dominant. Yet, she makes the story of Muslim ostracization as dominant one. Friedman was trying to make the story of India's success as a dominant one. Parastish ki yaan tak ki e but tujhe Nazar mein sabhoon ki khuda kar chale. I don't know why I thought of these lines, I love them, to say the least. they would sound atrocious if we replace the word Khuda with Allah. The same about khudaization (deification) of a bust to an Islamic purist. Now isn't it the newspapers, books, magazines, teachers of language that train us to say what is correct? The author failed to see their story. Probably if the teacher tells her students that correct lines are "allah kar chale" the students may start appreciating the lines with allah in it. There are of course bigger stories with more dominating narrative, that of ministers, politicians, maulanas, who tell muslims that Islam is in danger all around, they have to save it. Then they define it and bring in to existence Their version of Islam. Almost overnight the veil became an identity marker for Muslim women in Bangladesh, not because somebody in Delhi thought that Muslims were dirty. So there are other stories that need to be looked in to, and I am pointing towards them to avoid the danger of a single story. ----- Original Message ----- From: "ambarien qadar" To: "Javed" Cc: "reader list" Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2011 9:07 PM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Aadab In A Time Of Allah Hafiz > > > I don't know what 'any muslim worth his cap means'! I also don't think > that it is important to know the difference between 'assalam-walaikum' and > 'salaam'. Both to me mean 'may peace be upon you'.Most crucially, why > should it be more important to someone born in a muslim home?The article > is charting out a very crucial terrain of the transition that has occurred > and we would be fools if we were not to accept it. And perhaps that's why > the author chose to use the transition of Aadab to Salaam and left the > metaphor open ended for us.And because it was open ended, it let me raise > some of my own confusions and doubts.Let us not close the space for > dialogue, whatever of it is left, by closing ourselves.thanks, ambarien. > --- On Wed, 13/7/11, Javed wrote: > > From: Javed > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Aadab In A Time Of Allah Hafiz > To: "Ujwala Samarth" , ambarien at yahoo.co.uk > Cc: "sarai list" , "Samina Mishra" > > Date: Wednesday, 13 July, 2011, 21:39 > > While I enjoyed reading parts of this piece, I am intrigued by one > very basic knowledge of the author. (And I know everyone on this list > is going to chide me for my being too much of a purist.) While I > appreciate her use of Adab and Khuda Hafiz as an inclusive salutation, > she continues to write the salam as “assalam waleikum” which any > Muslim worth his cap would know is a faulty word. The correct word is > assalamu-alaikum, and there is no "wa" before alaikum. I am amazed > that the author grew up as a Muslim in a Muslim family knowing an > incorrect word which is a very basic understanding in any Muslim home. > In reply to the salam you do say wa-alikum salam, but there is no such > thing as salam walekum. > > "We Muslims" usually make fun of non-Muslims who ignorantly use the > word salam walekum, and try to correct them. Most people on this list > would say, how rude you are by making fun of this. But I simply ask: > how would you react if someone ignorantly (and seriously) said > manaskar instead of namaskar or manaste instead of namaste. Won't you > try to correct the person? > > thanks > > Javed > > On Tue, Jul 12, 2011 at 11:28 AM, Ujwala Samarth > wrote: >> Language, especially the words and colloquialisms we use in our everyday >> interactions, is a sharp but subtle indicator of changing mores, shifts >> in >> socio-political realities and the collective 'pulse' of a community...In >> this article written for *Open Space/CCDS,* Pune, Samina Mishra reflects >> on >> the trajectory from “adaab” to “asalam waleikum”, from “khuda hafiz” to >> “Allah hafiz”, and on why people feel the need to group around markers of >> identities… >> >> *http://www.openspaceindia.org/express/articles-a-essays/item/749.html >> * >> >> *Aadab In A Time Of Allah Hafiz* >> >> >> >> Some months ago, I was chastised by a woman for saying “adaab”, instead >> of >> “assalam wa leikum”, the latter being the “the proper Islamic greeting” >> in >> her opinion, to be exchanged between Muslims. I grew up as a Muslim and >> learnt to say “adaab” when I met someone and “khuda hafiz” when we parted >> ways. Originating from a North Indian Islamicate high culture, “adaab” as >> a >> form of greeting was imbued with a certain class hierarchy. It was a >> familiar greeting even in many elite non-Muslim households in North >> India, >> households that were closely associated with that cultural space. Among >> many >> other Muslim populations, the Arabic greeting “assalam wa leikum”, >> meaning >> “may peace be upon you” was also used. But, there was no formal dictum >> about >> the usage while I was growing up and there could be overlaps. So, as a >> child >> I often replied with an “adaab” to someone who came in saying “assalam wa >> leikum” and it was not considered inappropriate. As for “Allah hafiz” >> (may >> god keep you safe), I did not hear the term until about a decade ago. The >> word “khuda” originates from Persian but because it is used in other >> languages too, it can be seen as a more embracing word for God than >> Allah. >> The latter is a more specific reference to god in Islam and is confined >> to >> its Arabic origins, at least so far. Thus, although they emerge from a >> specific North Indian Muslim culture, “adaab” and “khuda hafiz” have had >> a >> more inclusive history. >> >> >> >> Today, these terms are being given up by many Muslims in India, from >> different class backgrounds, in favour of the more unambiguously Islamic >> “assalam waleikum” and “Allah hafiz”. For those of us who seek to draw >> attention to the complicated greys that lie between the uncompromising >> blacks and whites, this notion of unambiguity is naturally problematic. >> But, >> in this trajectory of change from “adaab” to “asalam waleikum”, from >> “khuda >> hafiz” to “Allah hafiz”, there are other stories too, stories about why >> people group around markers of identities, about what gives people a >> sense >> of security and comfort, about what creates new groupings. So, even as I >> feel uncomfortable about puritanical Islamic practices creeping in around >> me, I recognise that our lives are composed of many overlapping stories, >> as >> the novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche has so eloquently spoken about, >> stories >> that need to be told to avoid what she calls “the danger of the single >> story”. >> >> >> >> So, in the context of adaab and khuda hafiz, what are these other >> stories? >> >> >> >> Consider some of these: >> >> >> >> In the late 1960s, a young girl joins a college hostel and as the lone >> Muslim girl, she is made to eat separately in the dining hall and put her >> used dishes apart from the rest. >> >> >> >> In the 1980s, one Muslim family loses 56 members to communal rioting, >> including the murder of an uncle at the hands of his best friend. >> >> >> >> In the 1990s, a woman from a small town in UP with a BA, MA and BEd moves >> to >> Delhi to teach in a school. She moves back within a month – “I wear a >> burkha >> and the whole environment there was not suited for me…” >> >> >> >> In the years since 2002, a dynamic young woman, founder of an NGO to help >> poor and dalit Muslims, stops telling people her real name while >> travelling >> on trains because of being looked at with suspicion. >> >> >> >> In the mid-2000s, a teacher attends a workshop in which participants are >> asked to introduce themselves by talking about their biggest fears. One >> participant shares that hers is that her son will marry a Muslim - >> because >> they are dirty. >> >> >> >> In 2008, a young girl, who likes going to school and does well at >> studies, >> wonders why the school celebrates Holi and Christmas but not Eid. >> >> >> >> In 2009, a media person who offers her neighbour the use of her flat >> during >> wedding festivities is told by colleagues that she should not have done >> so >> since the groom was a Muslim man from Azamgarh. The same woman remembers >> a >> Muslim boy who worked for a while in her office – “He was referred to as >> jihadi!” >> >> >> >> This is a sample of stories that I have encountered in the course of a >> two-year research project on Muslim women and their experiences of >> education >> in parts of western UP. It is only a sample and it is only one person’s >> encounter. What, I wonder, would a more comprehensive collection reveal? >> But, even in this sprinkling of voices, there is a larger narrative of >> exclusion. A story of people being grouped together, in both subtle and >> direct ways. People are identified by the religion they practise or are >> born >> into. Not in itself a bad thing since human beings choose a variety of >> groupings - around class/caste/religion, schools, football teams, movie >> stars, work ethics, fashion statements, job aspirations. The list is >> endless. But when that identification becomes the sole defining identity, >> it >> presents itself as the natural order of things instead of the >> construction >> that it is. It becomes a wall that seeks to make itself invisible. >> >> >> >> And when the cloak of invisibility falls off and the wall shows up – in >> the >> form of a veil, a riot or a separate greeting code – who is the one who >> built it? The ones who sought to keep out? Or the ones who chose to stay >> in? >> And what of those who wanted windows instead of walls? Continuing to say >> “adaab” and “khuda hafiz” is my way of acknowledging that while there is >> a >> wall, it can have an open window. >> >> >> --*Samina Mishra is a documentary filmmaker and media practitioner based >> in >> New Delhi.* >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> -- >> Ujwala Samarth >> (Programme Coordinator, Open Space) >> >> www.openspaceindia.org >> www.infochangeindia.org >> http://www.facebook.com/pages/Open-Space/116557125037041 >> >> B-301, Kanchanjunga Building, >> Kanchan Lane, Off Law College Rd,, >> Pune 411004 >> (020-25457371) >> _________________________________________ >> 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 javedmasoo at gmail.com Thu Jul 14 16:44:00 2011 From: javedmasoo at gmail.com (Javed) Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2011 16:44:00 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Aadab In A Time Of Allah Hafiz In-Reply-To: <1310605655.29622.YahooMailClassic@web24102.mail.ird.yahoo.com> References: <1310605655.29622.YahooMailClassic@web24102.mail.ird.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Dear Ambarien I appreciate Samina's thoughts - I fully agree with most things. I only pointed out that the culture which taught us aadab and Khuda Hafiz also taught us to use "correct" words and pronunciations etc. If we can be so particular about our English and other professional jargons, why shouldn't we make sure to use the correct words. I only said that there is no such thing as "assalam-walekum" - it would mean: "peace be - and - upon you". How would it sound if you entered an office today and told your boss: "Good and morning"? Javed On 7/14/11, ambarien qadar wrote: > > > I don't know what 'any muslim worth his cap means'! I also don't think that > it is important to know the difference between 'assalam-walaikum' and > 'salaam'. Both to me mean 'may peace be upon you'.Most crucially, why should > it be more important to someone born in a muslim home?The article is > charting out a very crucial terrain of the transition that has occurred and > we would be fools if we were not to accept it. And perhaps that's why the > author chose to use the transition of Aadab to Salaam and left the metaphor > open ended for us.And because it was open ended, it let me raise some of my > own confusions and doubts.Let us not close the space for dialogue, whatever > of it is left, by closing ourselves.thanks, ambarien. > --- On Wed, 13/7/11, Javed wrote: > > From: Javed > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Aadab In A Time Of Allah Hafiz > To: "Ujwala Samarth" , ambarien at yahoo.co.uk > Cc: "sarai list" , "Samina Mishra" > > Date: Wednesday, 13 July, 2011, 21:39 > > While I enjoyed reading parts of this piece, I am intrigued by one > very basic knowledge of the author. (And I know everyone on this list > is going to chide me for my being too much of a purist.) While I > appreciate her use of Adab and Khuda Hafiz as an inclusive salutation, > she continues to write the salam as “assalam waleikum” which any > Muslim worth his cap would know is a faulty word. The correct word is > assalamu-alaikum, and there is no "wa" before alaikum. I am amazed > that the author grew up as a Muslim in a Muslim family knowing an > incorrect word which is a very basic understanding in any Muslim home. > In reply to the salam you do say wa-alikum salam, but there is no such > thing as salam walekum. > > "We Muslims" usually make fun of non-Muslims who ignorantly use the > word salam walekum, and try to correct them. Most people on this list > would say, how rude you are by making fun of this. But I simply ask: > how would you react if someone ignorantly (and seriously) said > manaskar instead of namaskar or manaste instead of namaste. Won't you > try to correct the person? > > thanks > > Javed > > On Tue, Jul 12, 2011 at 11:28 AM, Ujwala Samarth > wrote: >> Language, especially the words and colloquialisms we use in our everyday >> interactions, is a sharp but subtle indicator of changing mores, shifts in >> socio-political realities and the collective 'pulse' of a community...In >> this article written for *Open Space/CCDS,* Pune, Samina Mishra reflects >> on >> the trajectory from “adaab” to “asalam waleikum”, from “khuda hafiz” to >> “Allah hafiz”, and on why people feel the need to group around markers of >> identities… >> >> *http://www.openspaceindia.org/express/articles-a-essays/item/749.html >> * >> >> *Aadab In A Time Of Allah Hafiz* >> >> >> >> Some months ago, I was chastised by a woman for saying “adaab”, instead of >> “assalam wa leikum”, the latter being the “the proper Islamic greeting” in >> her opinion, to be exchanged between Muslims. I grew up as a Muslim and >> learnt to say “adaab” when I met someone and “khuda hafiz” when we parted >> ways. Originating from a North Indian Islamicate high culture, “adaab” as >> a >> form of greeting was imbued with a certain class hierarchy. It was a >> familiar greeting even in many elite non-Muslim households in North India, >> households that were closely associated with that cultural space. Among >> many >> other Muslim populations, the Arabic greeting “assalam wa leikum”, meaning >> “may peace be upon you” was also used. But, there was no formal dictum >> about >> the usage while I was growing up and there could be overlaps. So, as a >> child >> I often replied with an “adaab” to someone who came in saying “assalam wa >> leikum” and it was not considered inappropriate. As for “Allah hafiz” (may >> god keep you safe), I did not hear the term until about a decade ago. The >> word “khuda” originates from Persian but because it is used in other >> languages too, it can be seen as a more embracing word for God than Allah. >> The latter is a more specific reference to god in Islam and is confined to >> its Arabic origins, at least so far. Thus, although they emerge from a >> specific North Indian Muslim culture, “adaab” and “khuda hafiz” have had a >> more inclusive history. >> >> >> >> Today, these terms are being given up by many Muslims in India, from >> different class backgrounds, in favour of the more unambiguously Islamic >> “assalam waleikum” and “Allah hafiz”. For those of us who seek to draw >> attention to the complicated greys that lie between the uncompromising >> blacks and whites, this notion of unambiguity is naturally problematic. >> But, >> in this trajectory of change from “adaab” to “asalam waleikum”, from >> “khuda >> hafiz” to “Allah hafiz”, there are other stories too, stories about why >> people group around markers of identities, about what gives people a sense >> of security and comfort, about what creates new groupings. So, even as I >> feel uncomfortable about puritanical Islamic practices creeping in around >> me, I recognise that our lives are composed of many overlapping stories, >> as >> the novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche has so eloquently spoken about, >> stories >> that need to be told to avoid what she calls “the danger of the single >> story”. >> >> >> >> So, in the context of adaab and khuda hafiz, what are these other stories? >> >> >> >> Consider some of these: >> >> >> >> In the late 1960s, a young girl joins a college hostel and as the lone >> Muslim girl, she is made to eat separately in the dining hall and put her >> used dishes apart from the rest. >> >> >> >> In the 1980s, one Muslim family loses 56 members to communal rioting, >> including the murder of an uncle at the hands of his best friend. >> >> >> >> In the 1990s, a woman from a small town in UP with a BA, MA and BEd moves >> to >> Delhi to teach in a school. She moves back within a month – “I wear a >> burkha >> and the whole environment there was not suited for me…” >> >> >> >> In the years since 2002, a dynamic young woman, founder of an NGO to help >> poor and dalit Muslims, stops telling people her real name while >> travelling >> on trains because of being looked at with suspicion. >> >> >> >> In the mid-2000s, a teacher attends a workshop in which participants are >> asked to introduce themselves by talking about their biggest fears. One >> participant shares that hers is that her son will marry a Muslim - because >> they are dirty. >> >> >> >> In 2008, a young girl, who likes going to school and does well at studies, >> wonders why the school celebrates Holi and Christmas but not Eid. >> >> >> >> In 2009, a media person who offers her neighbour the use of her flat >> during >> wedding festivities is told by colleagues that she should not have done so >> since the groom was a Muslim man from Azamgarh. The same woman remembers a >> Muslim boy who worked for a while in her office – “He was referred to as >> jihadi!” >> >> >> >> This is a sample of stories that I have encountered in the course of a >> two-year research project on Muslim women and their experiences of >> education >> in parts of western UP. It is only a sample and it is only one person’s >> encounter. What, I wonder, would a more comprehensive collection reveal? >> But, even in this sprinkling of voices, there is a larger narrative of >> exclusion. A story of people being grouped together, in both subtle and >> direct ways. People are identified by the religion they practise or are >> born >> into. Not in itself a bad thing since human beings choose a variety of >> groupings - around class/caste/religion, schools, football teams, movie >> stars, work ethics, fashion statements, job aspirations. The list is >> endless. But when that identification becomes the sole defining identity, >> it >> presents itself as the natural order of things instead of the construction >> that it is. It becomes a wall that seeks to make itself invisible. >> >> >> >> And when the cloak of invisibility falls off and the wall shows up – in >> the >> form of a veil, a riot or a separate greeting code – who is the one who >> built it? The ones who sought to keep out? Or the ones who chose to stay >> in? >> And what of those who wanted windows instead of walls? Continuing to say >> “adaab” and “khuda hafiz” is my way of acknowledging that while there is a >> wall, it can have an open window. >> >> >> --*Samina Mishra is a documentary filmmaker and media practitioner based >> in >> New Delhi.* >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> -- >> Ujwala Samarth >> (Programme Coordinator, Open Space) >> >> www.openspaceindia.org >> www.infochangeindia.org >> http://www.facebook.com/pages/Open-Space/116557125037041 >> >> B-301, Kanchanjunga Building, >> Kanchan Lane, Off Law College Rd,, >> Pune 411004 >> (020-25457371) >> _________________________________________ >> 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 lalitambardar at hotmail.com Thu Jul 14 20:34:38 2011 From: lalitambardar at hotmail.com (Lalit Ambardar) Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2011 15:04:38 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Aadab In A Time Of Allah Hafiz In-Reply-To: References: , <1310605655.29622.YahooMailClassic@web24102.mail.ird.yahoo.com>, Message-ID: This is a very interesting conversation . With everybody's permission,wanted to shear a thought .In Kashmir 'adaab' ( aadab arz actually) once the most common amongst the Muslims as well as between Hindu Pandits & Muslims during the good old days gradually got replaced by 'assalam-walaikum' ( which I learn now should be 'assalamu-alaikum' ) with the rise of militant activism/fundamentalism.The change having become nearly complete back home dawned upon me when while shooting for a TV serial for DD Kashir a few years ago,the director on being pointed out, was quite amazed to know that 'adaab' as against "assalamu-alaikum" went better with the kashmiriyat that was being depicted.Clearly the narrative of the script was based on post 1989-90 Kashmir.Rgds allLA-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2011 16:44:00 +0530 > From: javedmasoo at gmail.com > To: ambarien at yahoo.co.uk > CC: reader-list at sarai.net > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Aadab In A Time Of Allah Hafiz > > Dear Ambarien > I appreciate Samina's thoughts - I fully agree with most things. I > only pointed out that the culture which taught us aadab and Khuda > Hafiz also taught us to use "correct" words and pronunciations etc. If > we can be so particular about our English and other professional > jargons, why shouldn't we make sure to use the correct words. I only > said that there is no such thing as "assalam-walekum" - it would mean: > "peace be - and - upon you". How would it sound if you entered an > office today and told your boss: "Good and morning"? > > Javed > > On 7/14/11, ambarien qadar wrote: > > > > > > I don't know what 'any muslim worth his cap means'! I also don't think that > > it is important to know the difference between 'assalam-walaikum' and > > 'salaam'. Both to me mean 'may peace be upon you'.Most crucially, why should > > it be more important to someone born in a muslim home?The article is > > charting out a very crucial terrain of the transition that has occurred and > > we would be fools if we were not to accept it. And perhaps that's why the > > author chose to use the transition of Aadab to Salaam and left the metaphor > > open ended for us.And because it was open ended, it let me raise some of my > > own confusions and doubts.Let us not close the space for dialogue, whatever > > of it is left, by closing ourselves.thanks, ambarien. > > --- On Wed, 13/7/11, Javed wrote: > > > > From: Javed > > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Aadab In A Time Of Allah Hafiz > > To: "Ujwala Samarth" , ambarien at yahoo.co.uk > > Cc: "sarai list" , "Samina Mishra" > > > > Date: Wednesday, 13 July, 2011, 21:39 > > > > While I enjoyed reading parts of this piece, I am intrigued by one > > very basic knowledge of the author. (And I know everyone on this list > > is going to chide me for my being too much of a purist.) While I > > appreciate her use of Adab and Khuda Hafiz as an inclusive salutation, > > she continues to write the salam as “assalam waleikum” which any > > Muslim worth his cap would know is a faulty word. The correct word is > > assalamu-alaikum, and there is no "wa" before alaikum. I am amazed > > that the author grew up as a Muslim in a Muslim family knowing an > > incorrect word which is a very basic understanding in any Muslim home. > > In reply to the salam you do say wa-alikum salam, but there is no such > > thing as salam walekum. > > > > "We Muslims" usually make fun of non-Muslims who ignorantly use the > > word salam walekum, and try to correct them. Most people on this list > > would say, how rude you are by making fun of this. But I simply ask: > > how would you react if someone ignorantly (and seriously) said > > manaskar instead of namaskar or manaste instead of namaste. Won't you > > try to correct the person? > > > > thanks > > > > Javed > > > > On Tue, Jul 12, 2011 at 11:28 AM, Ujwala Samarth > > wrote: > >> Language, especially the words and colloquialisms we use in our everyday > >> interactions, is a sharp but subtle indicator of changing mores, shifts in > >> socio-political realities and the collective 'pulse' of a community...In > >> this article written for *Open Space/CCDS,* Pune, Samina Mishra reflects > >> on > >> the trajectory from “adaab” to “asalam waleikum”, from “khuda hafiz” to > >> “Allah hafiz”, and on why people feel the need to group around markers of > >> identities… > >> > >> *http://www.openspaceindia.org/express/articles-a-essays/item/749.html > >> * > >> > >> *Aadab In A Time Of Allah Hafiz* > >> > >> > >> > >> Some months ago, I was chastised by a woman for saying “adaab”, instead of > >> “assalam wa leikum”, the latter being the “the proper Islamic greeting” in > >> her opinion, to be exchanged between Muslims. I grew up as a Muslim and > >> learnt to say “adaab” when I met someone and “khuda hafiz” when we parted > >> ways. Originating from a North Indian Islamicate high culture, “adaab” as > >> a > >> form of greeting was imbued with a certain class hierarchy. It was a > >> familiar greeting even in many elite non-Muslim households in North India, > >> households that were closely associated with that cultural space. Among > >> many > >> other Muslim populations, the Arabic greeting “assalam wa leikum”, meaning > >> “may peace be upon you” was also used. But, there was no formal dictum > >> about > >> the usage while I was growing up and there could be overlaps. So, as a > >> child > >> I often replied with an “adaab” to someone who came in saying “assalam wa > >> leikum” and it was not considered inappropriate. As for “Allah hafiz” (may > >> god keep you safe), I did not hear the term until about a decade ago. The > >> word “khuda” originates from Persian but because it is used in other > >> languages too, it can be seen as a more embracing word for God than Allah. > >> The latter is a more specific reference to god in Islam and is confined to > >> its Arabic origins, at least so far. Thus, although they emerge from a > >> specific North Indian Muslim culture, “adaab” and “khuda hafiz” have had a > >> more inclusive history. > >> > >> > >> > >> Today, these terms are being given up by many Muslims in India, from > >> different class backgrounds, in favour of the more unambiguously Islamic > >> “assalam waleikum” and “Allah hafiz”. For those of us who seek to draw > >> attention to the complicated greys that lie between the uncompromising > >> blacks and whites, this notion of unambiguity is naturally problematic. > >> But, > >> in this trajectory of change from “adaab” to “asalam waleikum”, from > >> “khuda > >> hafiz” to “Allah hafiz”, there are other stories too, stories about why > >> people group around markers of identities, about what gives people a sense > >> of security and comfort, about what creates new groupings. So, even as I > >> feel uncomfortable about puritanical Islamic practices creeping in around > >> me, I recognise that our lives are composed of many overlapping stories, > >> as > >> the novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche has so eloquently spoken about, > >> stories > >> that need to be told to avoid what she calls “the danger of the single > >> story”. > >> > >> > >> > >> So, in the context of adaab and khuda hafiz, what are these other stories? > >> > >> > >> > >> Consider some of these: > >> > >> > >> > >> In the late 1960s, a young girl joins a college hostel and as the lone > >> Muslim girl, she is made to eat separately in the dining hall and put her > >> used dishes apart from the rest. > >> > >> > >> > >> In the 1980s, one Muslim family loses 56 members to communal rioting, > >> including the murder of an uncle at the hands of his best friend. > >> > >> > >> > >> In the 1990s, a woman from a small town in UP with a BA, MA and BEd moves > >> to > >> Delhi to teach in a school. She moves back within a month – “I wear a > >> burkha > >> and the whole environment there was not suited for me…” > >> > >> > >> > >> In the years since 2002, a dynamic young woman, founder of an NGO to help > >> poor and dalit Muslims, stops telling people her real name while > >> travelling > >> on trains because of being looked at with suspicion. > >> > >> > >> > >> In the mid-2000s, a teacher attends a workshop in which participants are > >> asked to introduce themselves by talking about their biggest fears. One > >> participant shares that hers is that her son will marry a Muslim - because > >> they are dirty. > >> > >> > >> > >> In 2008, a young girl, who likes going to school and does well at studies, > >> wonders why the school celebrates Holi and Christmas but not Eid. > >> > >> > >> > >> In 2009, a media person who offers her neighbour the use of her flat > >> during > >> wedding festivities is told by colleagues that she should not have done so > >> since the groom was a Muslim man from Azamgarh. The same woman remembers a > >> Muslim boy who worked for a while in her office – “He was referred to as > >> jihadi!” > >> > >> > >> > >> This is a sample of stories that I have encountered in the course of a > >> two-year research project on Muslim women and their experiences of > >> education > >> in parts of western UP. It is only a sample and it is only one person’s > >> encounter. What, I wonder, would a more comprehensive collection reveal? > >> But, even in this sprinkling of voices, there is a larger narrative of > >> exclusion. A story of people being grouped together, in both subtle and > >> direct ways. People are identified by the religion they practise or are > >> born > >> into. Not in itself a bad thing since human beings choose a variety of > >> groupings - around class/caste/religion, schools, football teams, movie > >> stars, work ethics, fashion statements, job aspirations. The list is > >> endless. But when that identification becomes the sole defining identity, > >> it > >> presents itself as the natural order of things instead of the construction > >> that it is. It becomes a wall that seeks to make itself invisible. > >> > >> > >> > >> And when the cloak of invisibility falls off and the wall shows up – in > >> the > >> form of a veil, a riot or a separate greeting code – who is the one who > >> built it? The ones who sought to keep out? Or the ones who chose to stay > >> in? > >> And what of those who wanted windows instead of walls? Continuing to say > >> “adaab” and “khuda hafiz” is my way of acknowledging that while there is a > >> wall, it can have an open window. > >> > >> > >> --*Samina Mishra is a documentary filmmaker and media practitioner based > >> in > >> New Delhi.* > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> -- > >> Ujwala Samarth > >> (Programme Coordinator, Open Space) > >> > >> www.openspaceindia.org > >> www.infochangeindia.org > >> http://www.facebook.com/pages/Open-Space/116557125037041 > >> > >> B-301, Kanchanjunga Building, > >> Kanchan Lane, Off Law College Rd,, > >> Pune 411004 > >> (020-25457371) > >> _________________________________________ > >> 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 taraprakash at gmail.com Fri Jul 15 05:16:07 2011 From: taraprakash at gmail.com (Tara Prakash) Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2011 19:46:07 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Cursive being phased out of U.S. schools References: Message-ID: <5FE95010F6A840D698E4CEC1A913BCD0@tara> Motor skills, or lack thereof, is one thing, as a blind person I am one of the living testaments of liberating properties of the keyboard. Hand writing is not accessible to the blind, neither as a reader nor as a writer. If you give a blind person a computer print out, he/she can read it by scanning it and saving on the computer hard drive. But there is no ocr engine that recognizes hand writing till now. Still hand writing cannot be wished away in country like ours where computers are beyond reach of the majority of the population. So we'll have to live with it, and so we will live with it. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ujwala Samarth" To: "geeta seshu" ; "Chintan Girish Modi" Cc: "reader-list" Sent: Thursday, July 14, 2011 4:24 AM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Cursive being phased out of U.S. schools > No cursive writing, or no handwriting at all? I don't quite get that > answer > from the article. > > While I firmly believe that handwriting is a skill (and an important > brain/motor coordination exercise) that is important enough to be > continued > in primary schools, I personally wouldn't mind if cursive writing itself > was > offered as an art form to those who felt so inclined and not insisted upon > as a requirement. Being able to print clearly and regularly is more than > enough as a form of handwriting isn't it? > > Far too many of us have miserable memories of not being able to form those > damn cursive loops and what-not easily, and of being castigated as dunces > for the same. It didn't really matter WHAT we wrote -- what mattered was > the > CURSIVE. While things may have changed now to some extent -- and they have > -- I suspect that the tyranny of cursive handwriting continues -- the > child > with the 'beautiful' pages, no matter that she has written a page full of > unoriginal drivel, will always receive more praise/validity/recognition > than > the child with the untidy handwriting and interesting ideas. In a country > where good cursive writing (like the parrot-like reciting of tables) is an > immediate mark of a 'bright' student, where children are often taught to > write cursive before they enter first grade, one has to question this > obsession with handwriting. > > As a teacher with very bad handwriting (and memories of tearful > handwriting > classes) who has formed my own legible semi-print/cursive writing style, > I > feel completely liberated by the keyboard. And so do many students who > simply don't have the motor skills that others have -- finally, their > teachers may actually READ what they have to say. > > I do feel handwriting is a skill to be learned -- like skipping rope and > riding a bicycle -- and I do appreciate a beautiful flowing handwriting > the > way I appreciate a fine painting or a piece of embroidery. Let's just > remember what writing is all about in its essence -- communication. > > Ujwala > > On Wed, Jul 13, 2011 at 12:20 PM, geeta seshu > wrote: > >> very interesting chintan...thanks for the post. >> >> apart from all the implications of right/left brain development, cultural >> issues and whatnot, I was trying to recall when - and what - I last wrote >> by >> hand... >> >> but to give up on teaching a skill completely? >> >> On Mon, Jul 11, 2011 at 8:53 PM, Chintan Girish Modi < >> chintan.backups at gmail.com> wrote: >> >> > From >> > >> > >> http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/07/07/cursive-finally-being-phased-out-of-u-s-schools/ >> > Cursive being phased out of U.S. schoolsJul 7, 2011 – 8:04 PM ET | >> > >> > By Laura Baziuk >> > >> > Forget the looping Ls and curving Gs. >> > >> > Students in Indiana’s public schools will no longer have to learn >> > cursive >> > writing starting this fall. >> > >> > The state is one among 48 others transitioning to new state-led >> > national >> > learning guides, the Common Core State Standard Initiatives, which no >> > longer >> > require children to learn handwriting. They do, however, have to >> > sharpen >> > their typing skills. >> > >> > An Indiana Department of Education memo last spring said teachers can >> still >> > choose to teach cursive writing, or can stop altogether. >> > >> > “State standards themselves, they’re just supposed to be a guide for >> > what >> > students must know before moving on to the next grade,” said department >> > spokeswoman Stephanie Sample. “And there are lots of little details >> > that >> > aren’t in those standards that kids learn.” >> > >> > Sample said she has not heard any feedback from parents who are >> > concerned >> > their children will no longer learn a basic, yet fading, skill. >> > >> > How often does one write in cursive every day? Much of our daily >> > personal >> > and business correspondence is done by a quick e-mail or text message. >> > Note-taking and composing essays or statements are done almost entirely >> on >> > the computer. >> > >> > Indiana father Mark Shoup said he wouldn’t be concerned if his >> > children, >> > though now grown, had not learned cursive. >> > >> > “There are much more important skills I think they take into this >> > century >> > than whether or not they write cursively,” the former teacher said, >> listing >> > critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork and literacy. >> > >> > “Maybe it’s something we should not give up on, but keep it in >> perspective >> > of its relative importance in the scheme of things,” Shoup said. “How >> long >> > we really have children in school and what are our real goals for >> > them?” >> > >> > Perry Klein, a professor of literacy education at the University of >> Western >> > Ontario, said a child’s ability to compose depends on whether she can >> form >> > letters clearly and accurately. >> > >> > “If students can form letters fluently, then that frees up their >> attention >> > to focus on the content and language of what they’re writing,” Klein >> said. >> > >> > Research has yet to be published, he said, on whether forming those >> letters >> > works best on a page with a pen or on a computer screen. But as long as >> > they >> > can read what they compose, they will develop the right skills. >> > >> > “The important thing is that for kids to learn [printing)]and cursive >> > accurately and fluently, and if they have that, then they’ll be able to >> do >> > written composition in a whole variety of situations,” Klein said. >> > >> > Marie Picard, a penmanship workbook dealer in London, Ont., said >> > cursive >> > might be fading away, but still exists in letters, envelopes, >> > signatures >> > and >> > signs. >> > >> > “Handwriting shows some sort of style and flair and how you are as a >> > person,” she said. “I just think that it’s (becoming) a lost art.” >> > >> > Sonja Semion, with the Colorado branch of Stand for Children, an >> education >> > advocacy organization, said with limited resources in classrooms, it’s >> time >> > to focus not on what has always been taught, but what’s best for >> > children >> > for when they become adults. >> > >> > “I think schools have to toe a line right now where they have to really >> > prepare kids for the careers of the future,” she said. “We still need >> > writing, some kind of penmanship, but I think the keyboard is really >> > the >> > way >> > it’s going to go. The technology is the future.” >> > >> > *Postmedia News* >> > _________________________________________ >> > 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/> >> > > > > -- > Ujwala Samarth > (Programme Coordinator, Open Space) > > www.openspaceindia.org > www.infochangeindia.org > http://www.facebook.com/pages/Open-Space/116557125037041 > > B-301, Kanchanjunga Building, > Kanchan Lane, Off Law College Rd,, > Pune 411004 > (020-25457371) > _________________________________________ > 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 taraprakash at gmail.com Fri Jul 15 05:21:07 2011 From: taraprakash at gmail.com (Tara Prakash) Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2011 19:51:07 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Cursive being phased out of U.S. schools References: Message-ID: <4E7A0BED1F124CA1B684BEE4DBD966BC@tara> As master Shakespeare said in the golden days: if keyboard is the food for liberty, type on. ----- Original Message ----- From: "geeta seshu" To: "Ujwala Samarth" Cc: "reader-list" Sent: Thursday, July 14, 2011 4:50 AM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Cursive being phased out of U.S. schools >I do agree...handwriting is a skill we shouldn't jettison...though I've >been > cursed with bad handwriting and liberated by the typewriter (and later the > computer keyboard)... > > perhaps it was the excessive pressure to get kids in primary school to > master cursive that made my handwriting, and so many others, so pathetic. > Tridha, a Stiener inspired school (where my kids studied briefly) used to > approach handwriting differently and I guess a number of alterntive > schools > have tried different ways to teach children to write. > > the moving hand will write... > > > > On Thu, Jul 14, 2011 at 1:54 PM, Ujwala Samarth > wrote: > >> No cursive writing, or no handwriting at all? I don't quite get that >> answer >> from the article. >> >> While I firmly believe that handwriting is a skill (and an important >> brain/motor coordination exercise) that is important enough to be >> continued >> in primary schools, I personally wouldn't mind if cursive writing itself >> was >> offered as an art form to those who felt so inclined and not insisted >> upon >> as a requirement. Being able to print clearly and regularly is more than >> enough as a form of handwriting isn't it? >> >> Far too many of us have miserable memories of not being able to form >> those >> damn cursive loops and what-not easily, and of being castigated as dunces >> for the same. It didn't really matter WHAT we wrote -- what mattered was >> the >> CURSIVE. While things may have changed now to some extent -- and they >> have >> -- I suspect that the tyranny of cursive handwriting continues -- the >> child >> with the 'beautiful' pages, no matter that she has written a page full of >> unoriginal drivel, will always receive more praise/validity/recognition >> than >> the child with the untidy handwriting and interesting ideas. In a country >> where good cursive writing (like the parrot-like reciting of tables) is >> an >> immediate mark of a 'bright' student, where children are often taught to >> write cursive before they enter first grade, one has to question this >> obsession with handwriting. >> >> As a teacher with very bad handwriting (and memories of tearful >> handwriting >> classes) who has formed my own legible semi-print/cursive writing style, >> I >> feel completely liberated by the keyboard. And so do many students who >> simply don't have the motor skills that others have -- finally, their >> teachers may actually READ what they have to say. >> >> I do feel handwriting is a skill to be learned -- like skipping rope and >> riding a bicycle -- and I do appreciate a beautiful flowing handwriting >> the >> way I appreciate a fine painting or a piece of embroidery. Let's just >> remember what writing is all about in its essence -- communication. >> >> Ujwala >> >> >> On Wed, Jul 13, 2011 at 12:20 PM, geeta seshu >> wrote: >> >>> very interesting chintan...thanks for the post. >>> >>> apart from all the implications of right/left brain development, >>> cultural >>> issues and whatnot, I was trying to recall when - and what - I last >>> wrote >>> by >>> hand... >>> >>> but to give up on teaching a skill completely? >>> >>> On Mon, Jul 11, 2011 at 8:53 PM, Chintan Girish Modi < >>> chintan.backups at gmail.com> wrote: >>> >>> > From >>> > >>> > >>> http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/07/07/cursive-finally-being-phased-out-of-u-s-schools/ >>> > Cursive being phased out of U.S. schoolsJul 7, 2011 – 8:04 PM ET | >>> > >>> > By Laura Baziuk >>> > >>> > Forget the looping Ls and curving Gs. >>> > >>> > Students in Indiana’s public schools will no longer have to learn >>> cursive >>> > writing starting this fall. >>> > >>> > The state is one among 48 others transitioning to new state-led >>> > national >>> > learning guides, the Common Core State Standard Initiatives, which no >>> > longer >>> > require children to learn handwriting. They do, however, have to >>> > sharpen >>> > their typing skills. >>> > >>> > An Indiana Department of Education memo last spring said teachers can >>> still >>> > choose to teach cursive writing, or can stop altogether. >>> > >>> > “State standards themselves, they’re just supposed to be a guide for >>> what >>> > students must know before moving on to the next grade,” said >>> > department >>> > spokeswoman Stephanie Sample. “And there are lots of little details >>> > that >>> > aren’t in those standards that kids learn.” >>> > >>> > Sample said she has not heard any feedback from parents who are >>> concerned >>> > their children will no longer learn a basic, yet fading, skill. >>> > >>> > How often does one write in cursive every day? Much of our daily >>> personal >>> > and business correspondence is done by a quick e-mail or text message. >>> > Note-taking and composing essays or statements are done almost >>> > entirely >>> on >>> > the computer. >>> > >>> > Indiana father Mark Shoup said he wouldn’t be concerned if his >>> > children, >>> > though now grown, had not learned cursive. >>> > >>> > “There are much more important skills I think they take into this >>> century >>> > than whether or not they write cursively,” the former teacher said, >>> listing >>> > critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork and literacy. >>> > >>> > “Maybe it’s something we should not give up on, but keep it in >>> perspective >>> > of its relative importance in the scheme of things,” Shoup said. “How >>> long >>> > we really have children in school and what are our real goals for >>> > them?” >>> > >>> > Perry Klein, a professor of literacy education at the University of >>> Western >>> > Ontario, said a child’s ability to compose depends on whether she can >>> form >>> > letters clearly and accurately. >>> > >>> > “If students can form letters fluently, then that frees up their >>> attention >>> > to focus on the content and language of what they’re writing,” Klein >>> said. >>> > >>> > Research has yet to be published, he said, on whether forming those >>> letters >>> > works best on a page with a pen or on a computer screen. But as long >>> > as >>> > they >>> > can read what they compose, they will develop the right skills. >>> > >>> > “The important thing is that for kids to learn [printing)]and cursive >>> > accurately and fluently, and if they have that, then they’ll be able >>> > to >>> do >>> > written composition in a whole variety of situations,” Klein said. >>> > >>> > Marie Picard, a penmanship workbook dealer in London, Ont., said >>> > cursive >>> > might be fading away, but still exists in letters, envelopes, >>> > signatures >>> > and >>> > signs. >>> > >>> > “Handwriting shows some sort of style and flair and how you are as a >>> > person,” she said. “I just think that it’s (becoming) a lost art.” >>> > >>> > Sonja Semion, with the Colorado branch of Stand for Children, an >>> education >>> > advocacy organization, said with limited resources in classrooms, it’s >>> time >>> > to focus not on what has always been taught, but what’s best for >>> children >>> > for when they become adults. >>> > >>> > “I think schools have to toe a line right now where they have to >>> > really >>> > prepare kids for the careers of the future,” she said. “We still need >>> > writing, some kind of penmanship, but I think the keyboard is really >>> > the >>> > way >>> > it’s going to go. The technology is the future.” >>> > >>> > *Postmedia News* >>> > _________________________________________ >>> > 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/> >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> Ujwala Samarth >> (Programme Coordinator, Open Space) >> >> www.openspaceindia.org >> www.infochangeindia.org >> http://www.facebook.com/pages/Open-Space/116557125037041 >> >> B-301, Kanchanjunga Building, >> Kanchan Lane, Off Law College Rd,, >> Pune 411004 >> (020-25457371) >> >> >> >> >> >> >> > _________________________________________ > 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 rohitrellan at aol.in Fri Jul 15 12:21:59 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Fri, 15 Jul 2011 02:51:59 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Residency Call: Call for Collaborations In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <8CE10D2D4130FFF-DBC-E05D@webmail-d178.sysops.aol.com> Call for Collaborations Keywords: Show your syndrome, space as medium, melancholy, relational, architecture, decadent, mind scape, stasis, mediate, media lab, pedagogy, living, reinterpreting space, eating, slacking, sleeping, changing, local, collaborations, community. A+type, opened in March 2011. The A+type is an experiment in spatial imaginary with an objective to explore a typology of a contemporary cultural space that can create a social engagement which allows for a translocal exchange of knowledge, experiments and aesthetic experiences. Location: A+type is situated near the bank of the river Brahmaputra in the city of Guwahati, which is a 1459.68 km away from New Delhi. Desire Machine Collective has initiated this project who are an artists’ collective committed to activating public spaces. A+Type reinvestigates the notion and use of space, in its common understanding. It is a durational project where an ‘Assam type’ house is opened up for people to interpret in their own ways. We make an open call for the project and accept proposals. Participants are invited to come and live for a particular period of time in an “Assam type”, house and develop their practice in relation it. The British developed what is popularly called “Assam type” architecture as a hybrid form incorporating elements from the local indigenous architecture. These structures have become cultural markers of an era gone by and have a certain melancholy attached to them. Participants receive a cognitive map, historical and personal background of the space and make an intervention. The duration is flexible and so are the envisaged “uses”. Residents are invited to explore and develop their individual or communal relationship to the space in terms its functional, social, architectural, historical and cultural aspects. They can choose to “use” the space as a residency, a studio, a screening space, to host talks, plays etc. Different residents constantly redefine the space and make for new interpretation of this perishing construct. Allowing for a renewed conversation on its place in history and the future. This project initiates the process of reactivating these structures, documenting the design and history of the “Assam type” architecture and its use. The inhabitants themselves document and archive the house in creating a participatory-relational event. The project provides an opportunity to interact, experiment and work with local materials. Guwahati offers diverse inspirations as a cosmopolitan city located in the diverse region commonly referred to as the Northeast of India. The challenges of the project will encourage artists to move beyond the comfort of their studio spaces and work in new circumstances. Since its inception in 2007, Periferry a project of desire machine collective has undertaken a number of projects dealing with hybrid practices. It has hosted many artists from diverse countries in its residency programmes, workshops, seminars and projects. It believes in fostering interactions between artists, curators, scholars, writers and young students in the local and global context. We collaborate, share and have interactions with the local artist community. The A+type offers short duration projects and one month artist residency through out the year. While DMC welcomes any creative proposal, applicants are encouraged to first consider proposing engagement with the “Assam Type” house. We invite a letter of interest and a short proposal from interested people. The A+type is intended for artists, designers, architects, curators, art critics, art historians and other practitioners. Residents can make works in the form of interventions, public performances, experimental audio-visual works and interdisciplinary and hybrid forms. Work produced will be exhibited, performed and shared in Guwahati during the residency period. Founded Periferry – 2007 Eligibility artists, designers, architects, curators, art critics, art historians, writers, researches, filmmakers, scientists, and other practitioners from any country. Expectation from the artist * One public lecture. * Interaction with local art students. * The residency ends with an open studio or exhibition. * Season: Year-round. * Average length of residency: 1 month * Maximum number of artists at one time: 3 * Accessibility: Sorry, no wheelchair access at this time. * Accommodation: Individual bedroom with shared bath, common kitchen facilities. Facilities *Broadband Internet connectivity. *Lots of open space for interaction and communal gathering. *Food: kitchen and cooking facilities. Local restaurants conveniently located close by. *Library and archive of books with a section on the Northeast India. Chargeable costs *Housing and studio: 25$ per day / 550$ per month (payable in Indian Rupees at the time of arrival). *Charges are subject to change, please verify current charges with us. *Other expenses to be borne by the artists. Funding *This is an artist-led space; no stipends or fellowships are available. Selection: *Made by co-ordinators by open calls or on the basis of recommendations by other artists *Art assistants available on moderate fee. Health * Hospital and pharmacy within walking distance. * Gardens / parks /river side for walks and relaxation within easy reach. Note: We recommend that you obtain necessary vaccinations, preventive medical procedures and appropriate medical insurance before departing to India. How to apply? With a letter of interest and a short proposal An application letter with the following sections: 1. Your contact information (name, telephone, address, email, website, etc) 2. Your letter of motivation, explicitly stating why you are interested in working with “A+Type” and what you would like to do. 3. Your project proposal - Your project proposal should answer the following questions: i) What is the title of the proposal? ii) What do you plan to make/do? iii) What methodologies will you use? 4. Your supporting material i) Resumé or CV ii) URL of online portfolio or images and project descriptions in your application. 5. Additional information i) When would you like to come? Deadline to receive applications 30 August 2011 From rohitrellan at aol.in Fri Jul 15 12:37:38 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Fri, 15 Jul 2011 03:07:38 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] 3rd International Film Festival Ahmedabad Announces Its Call for Entries In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <8CE10D503B62806-DBC-E1A5@webmail-d178.sysops.aol.com> The 3rdInternational Film Festival Ahmedabad Announces Its Call for Entries The festivalkick-starts with a live performance by cult band INDIAN OCEAN InternationalFilm Festival Ahmedabad, a much acclaimed platformafter two consistent glorious years has reached another milestone with theannouncement of its 3rdedition to be held from August 25th to 28th thisyear. Films can be submitted for 2competition categories - International Feature Films & Short Films atthe official festival website www.ifilmfest.in. There is noSubmission Fee to the festival and the lastdate for film submission is 25th July. Indian Ocean, the cultcontemporary fusion band will rock the stage with their performance on the OpeningNight as the Official Art and CultureAmbassador. The true, authentic & earthy sound of the band issynonymous with the true spirit of the film festival. The festival willshowcase some of the finest underground IndependentFilms from India & abroad and will also feature retrospectives of twoiconic independent filmmakers of our times along with a retrospective of anInternational Filmmaker. Staying true tothe love for Cinema, the event will have complimentaryaccess for all the film lovers. The festival mantra is to INSPIRE thepatrons by SHOWCASING the IMAGINATION of some of the Avant-gardefilmmakers. The committed &dedicated team behind the film festival aspire to turn this recurring annualevent a force to reckon with on the international platform. The earlier twoeditions of the film festival have witnessed presence of dignitaries like Ketan Mehta, SudhirMishra, Govind Nihalani, Vinod Dua, Vipul Shah, John Lee Junior, DorotheeWenner, Alina Rizvanova, Anjan Dutta, Sekhar Das, Anjum Rajabali, Somnath Sen,A. Sreekar Prasad, Tom Alter, Pawan Malhotra, Manisha Koirala, M. S. Sathyu,Paresh Mokashi, Luke Kenny, Sonam Kapoor, Tanistha Chaterjee, Sona Jain and manyothers. These dignitaries and industry bigwigshave not only added to the grace of the event but also shared their mantras ofsuccess with the enthralling audiences and the participants. To get a feel of the festival, kindly visit the following link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49E6tcUIB8s From patrice at xs4all.nl Fri Jul 15 17:01:27 2011 From: patrice at xs4all.nl (Patrice Riemens) Date: Fri, 15 Jul 2011 13:31:27 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] Total amount of corruption in India Message-ID: LOL! (ahem...?) http://www.flickr.com/photos/goaghantis/5937182360/in/photostream bwo GoaNet From geetaseshu at gmail.com Fri Jul 15 17:49:16 2011 From: geetaseshu at gmail.com (geeta seshu) Date: Fri, 15 Jul 2011 17:49:16 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Cursive being phased out of U.S. schools In-Reply-To: <4E7A0BED1F124CA1B684BEE4DBD966BC@tara> References: <4E7A0BED1F124CA1B684BEE4DBD966BC@tara> Message-ID: thanks Tara Prakash...I feel most humbled by the reminder that the moving hand is not the only one that writes! On Fri, Jul 15, 2011 at 5:21 AM, Tara Prakash wrote: > As master Shakespeare said in the golden days: if keyboard is the food for > liberty, type on. > > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "geeta seshu" > To: "Ujwala Samarth" > > Cc: "reader-list" > Sent: Thursday, July 14, 2011 4:50 AM > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Cursive being phased out of U.S. schools > > > > I do agree...handwriting is a skill we shouldn't jettison...though I've >> been >> cursed with bad handwriting and liberated by the typewriter (and later the >> computer keyboard)... >> >> perhaps it was the excessive pressure to get kids in primary school to >> master cursive that made my handwriting, and so many others, so pathetic. >> Tridha, a Stiener inspired school (where my kids studied briefly) used to >> approach handwriting differently and I guess a number of alterntive >> schools >> have tried different ways to teach children to write. >> >> the moving hand will write... >> >> >> >> On Thu, Jul 14, 2011 at 1:54 PM, Ujwala Samarth >> **wrote: >> >> No cursive writing, or no handwriting at all? I don't quite get that >>> answer >>> from the article. >>> >>> While I firmly believe that handwriting is a skill (and an important >>> brain/motor coordination exercise) that is important enough to be >>> continued >>> in primary schools, I personally wouldn't mind if cursive writing itself >>> was >>> offered as an art form to those who felt so inclined and not insisted >>> upon >>> as a requirement. Being able to print clearly and regularly is more than >>> enough as a form of handwriting isn't it? >>> >>> Far too many of us have miserable memories of not being able to form >>> those >>> damn cursive loops and what-not easily, and of being castigated as dunces >>> for the same. It didn't really matter WHAT we wrote -- what mattered was >>> the >>> CURSIVE. While things may have changed now to some extent -- and they >>> have >>> -- I suspect that the tyranny of cursive handwriting continues -- the >>> child >>> with the 'beautiful' pages, no matter that she has written a page full of >>> unoriginal drivel, will always receive more praise/validity/recognition >>> than >>> the child with the untidy handwriting and interesting ideas. In a country >>> where good cursive writing (like the parrot-like reciting of tables) is >>> an >>> immediate mark of a 'bright' student, where children are often taught to >>> write cursive before they enter first grade, one has to question this >>> obsession with handwriting. >>> >>> As a teacher with very bad handwriting (and memories of tearful >>> handwriting >>> classes) who has formed my own legible semi-print/cursive writing style, >>> I >>> feel completely liberated by the keyboard. And so do many students who >>> simply don't have the motor skills that others have -- finally, their >>> teachers may actually READ what they have to say. >>> >>> I do feel handwriting is a skill to be learned -- like skipping rope and >>> riding a bicycle -- and I do appreciate a beautiful flowing handwriting >>> the >>> way I appreciate a fine painting or a piece of embroidery. Let's just >>> remember what writing is all about in its essence -- communication. >>> >>> Ujwala >>> >>> >>> On Wed, Jul 13, 2011 at 12:20 PM, geeta seshu >> >wrote: >>> >>> very interesting chintan...thanks for the post. >>>> >>>> apart from all the implications of right/left brain development, >>>> cultural >>>> issues and whatnot, I was trying to recall when - and what - I last >>>> wrote >>>> by >>>> hand... >>>> >>>> but to give up on teaching a skill completely? >>>> >>>> On Mon, Jul 11, 2011 at 8:53 PM, Chintan Girish Modi < >>>> chintan.backups at gmail.com> wrote: >>>> >>>> > From >>>> > >>>> > >>>> http://news.nationalpost.com/**2011/07/07/cursive-finally-** >>>> being-phased-out-of-u-s-**schools/ >>>> > Cursive being phased out of U.S. schoolsJul 7, 2011 – 8:04 PM ET | >>>> > >>>> > By Laura Baziuk >>>> > >>>> > Forget the looping Ls and curving Gs. >>>> > >>>> > Students in Indiana’s public schools will no longer have to learn >>>> cursive >>>> > writing starting this fall. >>>> > >>>> > The state is one among 48 others transitioning to new state-led > >>>> national >>>> > learning guides, the Common Core State Standard Initiatives, which no >>>> > longer >>>> > require children to learn handwriting. They do, however, have to > >>>> sharpen >>>> > their typing skills. >>>> > >>>> > An Indiana Department of Education memo last spring said teachers can >>>> still >>>> > choose to teach cursive writing, or can stop altogether. >>>> > >>>> > “State standards themselves, they’re just supposed to be a guide for >>>> what >>>> > students must know before moving on to the next grade,” said > >>>> department >>>> > spokeswoman Stephanie Sample. “And there are lots of little details > >>>> that >>>> > aren’t in those standards that kids learn.” >>>> > >>>> > Sample said she has not heard any feedback from parents who are >>>> concerned >>>> > their children will no longer learn a basic, yet fading, skill. >>>> > >>>> > How often does one write in cursive every day? Much of our daily >>>> personal >>>> > and business correspondence is done by a quick e-mail or text message. >>>> > Note-taking and composing essays or statements are done almost > >>>> entirely >>>> on >>>> > the computer. >>>> > >>>> > Indiana father Mark Shoup said he wouldn’t be concerned if his > >>>> children, >>>> > though now grown, had not learned cursive. >>>> > >>>> > “There are much more important skills I think they take into this >>>> century >>>> > than whether or not they write cursively,” the former teacher said, >>>> listing >>>> > critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork and literacy. >>>> > >>>> > “Maybe it’s something we should not give up on, but keep it in >>>> perspective >>>> > of its relative importance in the scheme of things,” Shoup said. “How >>>> long >>>> > we really have children in school and what are our real goals for > >>>> them?” >>>> > >>>> > Perry Klein, a professor of literacy education at the University of >>>> Western >>>> > Ontario, said a child’s ability to compose depends on whether she can >>>> form >>>> > letters clearly and accurately. >>>> > >>>> > “If students can form letters fluently, then that frees up their >>>> attention >>>> > to focus on the content and language of what they’re writing,” Klein >>>> said. >>>> > >>>> > Research has yet to be published, he said, on whether forming those >>>> letters >>>> > works best on a page with a pen or on a computer screen. But as long > >>>> as >>>> > they >>>> > can read what they compose, they will develop the right skills. >>>> > >>>> > “The important thing is that for kids to learn [printing)]and cursive >>>> > accurately and fluently, and if they have that, then they’ll be able > >>>> to >>>> do >>>> > written composition in a whole variety of situations,” Klein said. >>>> > >>>> > Marie Picard, a penmanship workbook dealer in London, Ont., said > >>>> cursive >>>> > might be fading away, but still exists in letters, envelopes, > >>>> signatures >>>> > and >>>> > signs. >>>> > >>>> > “Handwriting shows some sort of style and flair and how you are as a >>>> > person,” she said. “I just think that it’s (becoming) a lost art.” >>>> > >>>> > Sonja Semion, with the Colorado branch of Stand for Children, an >>>> education >>>> > advocacy organization, said with limited resources in classrooms, it’s >>>> time >>>> > to focus not on what has always been taught, but what’s best for >>>> children >>>> > for when they become adults. >>>> > >>>> > “I think schools have to toe a line right now where they have to > >>>> really >>>> > prepare kids for the careers of the future,” she said. “We still need >>>> > writing, some kind of penmanship, but I think the keyboard is really > >>>> the >>>> > way >>>> > it’s going to go. The technology is the future.” >>>> > >>>> > *Postmedia News* >>>> > ______________________________**___________ >>>> > 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/ >>>> > >>>> >>>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> Ujwala Samarth >>> (Programme Coordinator, Open Space) >>> >>> www.openspaceindia.org >>> www.infochangeindia.org >>> http://www.facebook.com/pages/**Open-Space/116557125037041 >>> >>> B-301, Kanchanjunga Building, >>> Kanchan Lane, Off Law College Rd,, >>> Pune 411004 >>> (020-25457371) >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> ______________________________**___________ >> 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 a.mani.cms at gmail.com Fri Jul 15 19:04:40 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Fri, 15 Jul 2011 19:04:40 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Organised Attack on Land Reforms in Bengal Message-ID: MASSIVE EVICTION OF PEASANTS UNDER NEW REGIME Organised Attack on Land Reforms in Bengal >From our Special Correspondent in Kolkata THE ‘change’ is now showing its true colour in West Bengal. Not only are the Left activists being murdered and attacked in different parts of the state almost daily, the most precious achievement of the rural people in the last three decades is under tremendous attack. Thousands of peasants, who benefited through land reforms programme during the Left Front period, are being forcefully evicted from their land. In most cases, the former landlords have come in the forefront to regain control of their ‘lost’ land. Trinamool Congress gangs have taken charge of evicting and chasing away poor peasants with active connivance of police. Even sharecroppers and agricultural workers have become victims of this repression. The most vicious attack took place in Haroa, in North 24 Parganas district. This area was under seige after assembly elections. In the first week of July, a massive eviction drive has taken place in which 7063 bighas (one bigha is nearly one-third of an acre) of land have been snatched away from the nearly 10,000 peasants. Most of these lands belonged to legal patta holders and peasants who were cultivating with due permission from administration. Trinamool gangs attacked one after another villages and forced the peasants to stop work in fields. They have posted Trinamool flags, destroyed cultivation and burnt makeshift shelters of peasants, locally known as ‘ala’. In Tentulia mouza, 1263 bighas have been forcibly taken over; in Batagachi 800 bighas, in Munshir Gheri 1200 bighas, in Nebutala 2800 bighas were snatched. In Munshir Gheri, 150 tribal families were given homestead lands during the Left Front period. Homes of 10 such families were destroyed. In Tentulia, 508 bighas of vested land were distributed in land reforms among 1205 peasants during the Left Front period. Another 755 bighas were under court cases and therefore no formal land holding pattas were issued to peasants. However, 2000 peasants were cultivating that land and even the Supreme Court ordered maintaining of that status quo. Now, Trinamool gangs attacked the peasants with the help of police and evicted all three thousand peasants from their legally held lands. Haroa was once a stronghold of the feudal landed gentry who were ousted by strong peasant movement and land reforms were implemented thoroughly by the Left Front government. With the new government in place, these forces are back in action. To accomplish the eviction process, so-called ‘arms search’ is taking place in Left activists’ houses. To pre-empt any resistance hundreds of CPI(M) and Kisan Sabha activists have been chased away from villages. In south Haroa, already 640 CPI(M) workers have been forced to flee from villages. The evicted people are small and marginal peasants. In Birbhum, hundreds of peasants have been ousted from their legally held lands in Nanur, Dubrajpur, Ilambazar. At least 1400 peasants in this district have been forced to surrender their right to till under terror. The story is same here. The members of erstwhile zamindar families are leading the assault with help from Trinamool gangs. In Bankura, 9 acres of land were snatched away from peasants in Kotulpur. Almost 50 families, who held legal rights for last 30 years, have been evicted. They were threatened not to go near their land. In Indpur of same districts, peasants were forced to stop work. Almost all the peasants are from scheduled caste families. In East Midnapore, eviction drive is taking place in Kanthi, Nandigram, Khejuri, Bhaganpur, Patashpur, Egra. In 75 mouzas of district, there are specific instances of eviction of legal pattadars. In Hooghly, eviction has taken place in Purshura, Khanakul, Dhaniakhali. In many cases, cultivated produces were looted. The government led by Mamata Banerjee has shown extraordinary speed in enacting new law for Singur. At the same time, a process of undoing the land reforms in the state has gained momentum. The real nature of those who have posed as ‘saviour of peasants’ is now being exposed in rural Bengal. Left Kisan organisations have decided to move jointly against these attacks on peasantry. _______________________________________________________________________________ Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From rohitrellan at aol.in Sat Jul 16 13:35:54 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Sat, 16 Jul 2011 04:05:54 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Screening of Short Films and exhibition of posters on Gender Based Violence, July 16 2011, New Delhi Message-ID: <8CE11A651CA6396-1D74-808C@webmail-d087.sysops.aol.com> TWILIGHT FILM CLUB in collaboration with MUST BOL presents A Screening of Short Films and exhibition of posters on Gender Based Violence(GBV) followed by discussions. All films have been created by Young campaigners from Delhi and represent youth perspectives on GBV.The films raise key Questions around Care versus control,understanding issues of masculinities, gender norms and street sexual harrasment. Must Bol presents … Fine Line Duration: 1min 33sec The film raises a question around the fine line between care and control. Caught Duration:2 min The film shows his eyes being completely unaware of the act were surveying her intricately, and then. Textual Violence Duration:2min 30 sec Textual violence has become a common phenomenon amongst teens, who very suitably justify it as love. The video is an effort to define the thin line between care and control in a relationship. I let be I Duration:3min 48 sec The film traces his journey from a male to a man and his struggle to be accepted by people in his life. Move on Duration: 42 sec The film attempts to challenge some of the gender stereotypes that we create in our minds Must Bol, is a call to young people to speak out against GBV that they experience, witness or participate in. The campaign is being led by a core group of 20 diverse young people coming from Delhi colleges and communities. Twilight is a Film Club started in 2007 by Sri Aurbindo centre of Arts and Communication, SACAC. It organises film screenings, which is open to public, every Saturday at 6:30 pm in its campus auditorium followed by discussions.The films screened are an eclectic mix of classics, contemporary world cinema, and independent short films and documentaries. The campaign is seeking youth expressions in the form of short films and youth engagement through online dialogue using social media and action through engagement in campus and communities. Location: Hall of Life Devine, Sri Aurobindo Centre for Arts & Communication, New Mehrauli Road, Adchini, New Delhi - 110 017 Time:Saturday, July 16 · 6:30pm - 9:00pm From asit1917 at gmail.com Sat Jul 16 17:22:49 2011 From: asit1917 at gmail.com (asit das) Date: Sat, 16 Jul 2011 17:22:49 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Statement for Endorsement about Police Lathicharge on Anti-POSCO Protesters Odisha Message-ID: *(Please Endorse and forward to other Organisations and concerned activists) *** * * *JOINT STATEMENT CONDEMNING ATTACK ON PEACEFUL PROTESTERS OF NUAGAON** * *(Anti-POSCO Struggle Area Odisha)* Today eight platoons of police attacked and lathi charged peaceful protesters in the village of Nuagaon, Jagatsinghpur District, Odisha. The protesters, despite being mainly women, were attacked by an entirely male police force, resulting in injuries to several and serious injuries to one woman, who has now been hospitalised. The protesters were seeking to protect their forests and trees from being cleared by the police as part of the government's land grab for the POSCO project. After the lathi charge the entire village joined the protest, eventually driving the police back and forcing them to retreat. We strongly condemn this brutal attack on a peaceful protest by people seeking to protect their legal and democratic rights. This attack disproves the Odisha government's brazenly false claims that "no force is being used" to take land for POSCO. Nuagaon, one must remember, is also one of the villages where the government claimed that "land takeover is proceeding peacefully" - a result not of consent by the people but of the overwhelming threat of force from the government. Today, when people have actually shown their will, the government has shown its true intent. One must remember that the people of Nuagaon, like all those affected by the POSCO project, have legal rights to their forest and also enjoy the legal power to protect these forests when they wish. This was upheld by three different committees of the Environment Ministry, which went on to, in an act of brazen illegality, clear the takeover of land anyway. Both the Odisha government and the Centre are engaged in a gross violation of law, a resource grab of land and forests that belong to the people for a private multinational company. This attack further comes at a time when the Odisha High Court is hearing, on a daily basis, the petition filed by the villagers against this illegal land grab. We demand: · An immediate halt to all police operations in the proposed project area and the withdrawal of the police from the area; · The cancellation of the illegal forest and environmental clearances granted to the POSCO project; · The implementation of the Forest Rights Act and all other pro people laws in the area; · Prosecution and punishment of the officials and police responsible for the atrocities and violations of law in the area; · A cancellation of the POSCO project and an end to the six year long attack on the people of the area for the purposes of this project. Sincerely Socialist Front Dr. Sunilum (Kishan Sangarsh Samity M.P.), INSAF Shankar Gopal Krishnan Asit Das (POSCO Pratirodh Solidarity Delhi) From rohitrellan at aol.in Sun Jul 17 09:22:33 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Sat, 16 Jul 2011 23:52:33 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] EoF call for entries march 2011/ A Theatrical Tribute to BADAL SIRCAR, New Delhi/ July cine club: focus on the world of theatre, New Delhi Message-ID: <8CE124C17BBE7DE-15D4-121C9@webmail-d132.sysops.aol.com> Created in January 2011, Eye on Films is a unique, global network of film professionals, which guarantees the circulation of a selection of first feature films in festivals partners in Europe and third countries, and the commercial exploitation of these films by distribution partners in Europe and third countries. Regulations and Entry Form for submitting Films are available on www.eyeonfilms.org Anybody can submit a film, as long as it fulfills the Submission requirements detailed in the EoF Regulations. We are looking for recent works (completed after oct 31st, 2010) from first time directors, preferably never screened outside their country of origine. Rights Holders should upload their Film on Cinando’s Online Screening Room (www.cinando.com) and then notify submission at eyeonfilms.org by sending the Entry Form. There are no deadlines for submitting films. The EoF Coordinator will accept entries all year long. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Theatrical Tribute to BADAL SIRCAR,New Delhi LOK [ DELHI CHAPTER] & ATELIER EXPRESSIONS PRESENT : A Theatrical Tribute to Theatre Legend BADAL SIRCAR A set of 2 alternative theatre performances : WALKING ALONG by Soumyajit Majumdar [ a short recess of 5 minutes and then ] NECROPOLIS by Parnab Mukherjee The performances will be followed by a discussion on "Theatre -of - Badal Sarkar" with Mr. Parnab mukherjee which will lead to a talk on " Campus theatre: Challenges and the way ahead" . About the performers An independent media analyst and a performance consultant by profession, Mr. Parnab Mukherjee is one of the leading alternative theatre directors' of the country. He divides his time between Kolkata, north-east of India and the Darjeeling hills. Currently, a consultant with two publication initiative, he has earlier worked for a sports fortnightly, an English daily and a Bengali daily. He is an acclaimed authority on Badal Sircar's theatre, Shakespeare-in-education and specialises in theatre-for-conflict-resol​ution and theatre-of-the-campus. Soumyajt majumdar is a young theatre professional equally adept at all aspects of theatre and has scripted , designed , directed, and acted in over a dozen plays with over 50 performances to his credit .Still an undergraduate student of mass communication and videography in st.xaviers , kolkata soumyajit is the founder- director of LOK which is presently India’s only national creative arts group for the youth , by the youth and with LOK soumyajit has travelled extensively all over the country [ kolkata , delhi,ahmedabad,Bangalore,​Mumbai,pune,tuljapur ,raipur,] performing in proscenium and alternative spaces like campuses, pubs,bookstores,art galleries,shopping malls, cafes, lawns, parks, streets, amphitheatres thus creating a personal idiom of using spaces for live –act exploration . Soumyajit specializes in musicals and installation theatre ,focuses on “arts for change” and has been selected to represent India at the asian youth summit for global changemakers 2011. About the performances Necropolis: rehearsing Koltes in such times A performance collaboration by Best of Kolkata Campus with Five Issues( a performance-publication interface project ) Solo performance, Direction and dramaturgy: Parnab Mukherjee Inspired from In the Solitude of Cottonfields by Bernard Marie Koltes Additional text: Thangjam Iboposhak, Nirmalendu Goon, Manto, Hijam Irabot, Saratchand Thiyam, Rajkumar Bhubonsana, Rabindranath Tagore and Mishing and Kokbork proverbs Collaboration: Gautam Bajoria and Five Issues Necropolis is a part of a three part repertoire called The Trilogy of Unrest, the first two being ensemble productions namely: Hamletmachine: Images of Shakespeare-in-us and an installation performance called This room is not my room. Two men meet on the street. They have to make a deal. Or rather they want to make a deal. One has something to sell and the other needs something to buy. The Dealer is unsure what to peddle or would he want to peddle anything in the first place. The Client knows what he has to buy but does not know exactly what to. A cat and mouse game begins between these nameless, faceless, shapeshifters who have to make a transaction which they are not sure why would make. For the next chunk of minutes they indulge in selling and buying of concepts without transacting anything. But they did make a deal. What are they selling? Or rather who is buying? Are technology, displacement, memories of a genocide the new road-map of the new universe. Are we such stuff that we have lost the power to engage with real issues and provide a balm to the displaced, destitute, fried, barbecued, roasted human-folk.? What images are we looking at? ....What was the process of transforming the "us" into "them".....How are "they" celebrating diversity and "their" culturalness in these times? The performance negotiates these terrains. By the time the performance ends nobody has bought, nobody has sold. Or do we end up being commodities showcased in the glass windows for the global window shopping....and all this happens while we play victims in the garb of being a perpetrator. WALKINGALONG by Soumyajit Majumdar is an experimental alternative solo performance touching the lines of physical theatre, mime acting , folk songs and is inspired by the philosophies , texts and the theatre-of-badal sarkar .It involves a non-theatrical interaction with the audience during the performance itself. This piece seeks to inspire all those individuals who want to walk differently in the journey of life and is dedicated to Badal sarkar and all those who still believe that art can be a voice of dissent ,art reach the spirit of everyone, inspire individuals to work together, create visions & heal . Wheres the road? You go far and wide, you turn around and round and round,and come back to the same road again. Wheres the procession ? the procession that can show us the right road? Shhhh! What? Its coming perhaps. Whats coming? The procession. What procession? The procession to show us a way. I have seen many processions,they never show you the way. Ssshh !!Listen . its coming. Really coming. A real procession. Who are in it? A nameless, faceless, religionless young generation. [ Micchil (Juloos) - Badal sarkar ] All theatre lovers ,theatre practitioners . visionaries are invited to this theatrical evening that pays a tribute to the legend through his medium “alternative theatre “. FREE ENTRY for all. Limited seating. Please confirm your presence in advance to avoid inconvenience. Kuljeet Singh (Creative Director, Atelier) kuljeetsingh at atelierexpres​sions.com Soumyajit Majumdar (Director, LOK ) +91-9836375494 loktheatre at gmail.com Time: Monday, July 25 · 6:30pm - 8:30pm Location: Atelier Studio, 680, Floor 3, Mukherjee Nagar, Delhi 110009 ------------------------------------------------------- July cine club: focus on the world of theatre Alliance Française de Delhi Ciné Club for July goes on Theatre by cinema featuring the two biggest names of international theatre Ariane Mnouchkine and Peter Brook PROGRAM: Friday, 15 July 2011: L'AVENTURE DU THEATRE DU SOLEIL directed by Catherine Vilpoux (2009) 79 min This film weaves the elements of a fascinating biography of Ariane Mnouchkine and Theatre du Soleil. Friday, 22 July 2011: BROOK BY BROOK directed by Simon Brook (2001) 72 min Portrait of the director of the famous theatre of Les Bouches du Nord in private, at home; portrait of a man at work... because he hides nothing from his son. In French language with English subtitle On every Friday 2 sessions: 5.30 pm and 7.30 pm Free admission, open to all. For further information please send an email to: pamina at afdelhi.org From rohitrellan at aol.in Sun Jul 17 10:20:28 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Sun, 17 Jul 2011 00:50:28 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] IGNITE 2011: the 5th National Competition for Students' Ideas and Innovations Message-ID: <8CE12542F227849-15D4-13046@webmail-d132.sysops.aol.com> IGNITE 2011 National Innovation Foundation - India announces the 5th National Competition for Students' Ideas and Innovations in association with Honey Bee Network, SRISTI, CBSE & other partners National Innovation Foundation invites submissions of the creative technological ideas/innovations from the students up to class 12th for the fourth national competition for children's ideas and innovations - IGNITE 2011. What is the IGNITE contest? IGNITE is a national competition to harness the creative and innovative spirit of school children. Students are invited to send their original creative technological ideas and innovations for the same. IGNITE contest was first organised in 2007 by NIF in the four southern states. Building upon this experience, NIF partnered with CBSE in 2008 and 2009 and launched the contest nationally. IGNITE 2010 saw 2139 entries received from 161 districts of the country. The awards were given by Hon'ble Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in a function at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad on November 8, 2010. Why the IGNITE contest? Creativity among children is almost in-born, every child is creative, degrees may vary, but not the basic manifestation. Then what happens during the growth and maturation? Why should children stop asking basic questions? Why do they agree to do repetitive science projects instead of being original? Why do they learn to live with unsolved social and professional problems? We should not allow our children to live with such problems rather urge them to come up with solutions to these. We want to promote originality, creativity and innovative spirit among our children so that when they become leaders of our society, they ensure an imaginative, inclusive and an innovative future for the country. We want our children to be more sensitive to the problems faced by not just them and their families or neighbors but also other socially disadvantaged sections of the society. What is invited for the IGNITE contest? Original creative technological ideas and innovations of the students OR/AND Any technological idea/innovation that solves any daily problem be it household, of porters, labourers, or the like. In addition, during their vacations or otherwise, the students are encouraged to look for other people who come out with innovative machines/devices or solve day to day problems using their creativity. Similarly they are also encouraged to document and learn traditional knowledge practices from their elders in their family and neighbourhood. The purpose is to expose them to the rich traditional heritage we have, facilitating its transfer from generation to generation. The students submitting the maximum number of properly documented entries (Innovations/Traditional Knowledge) to the schools (which would forward them to NIF) or directly to NIF would be given appreciation certificates from NIF. For each innovation/traditional knowledge practice spotted and documented by the student, he/she will be credited as being the 'Scout' for that particular innovation/traditional knowledge in records. What is the competition period? The entries will be received till August 31st, 2011. How can the submissions be sent? The submissions for the contest can be made to us through the following means. 1. Email the details at ignite11 at nifindia.org 2. Mail them at the following address (directly/through the Principal) IGNITE 2011 National Innovation Foundation, India Bungalow 1, Satellite Complex, Premchand Nagar Road, Satellite Ahmedabad 380 015, Gujarat Is there any limit to the number of entries submitted during the competition period? No. The students are encouraged to submit as many entries as possible. Can there be groups or only individual submissions? Students can submit entries in group provided each member of the group contributes significantly to the development of the idea/innovation/project. Groups where teachers/parents are included will not be considered. Are there any separate awards for individual or groups? No Is there any age limit for students? As the competition is for students upto class 12, the maximum age is expected to be about 17-18 years. Can only students with science background apply for the competition? Students from any background arts, commerce etc can participate in the competition. Is there any particular format for submission of entries? There is no particular format for submission. However, the following should be clearly mentioned - name, age, class, school name & address, home address & contact number, title of the project/idea/innovation, detailed description, diagrams/sketches/photos if any and a simple declaration that the project has been done by the student himself/herself without guidance from teachers/parents. If required later we may request a declaration from school and/or parents that the project of the student has been unsupervised. Is a working model required along with the submission? Not at this stage. If required later we would ourselves let the student know and may even facilitate the development of the prototype/model. Are any photos/videos/sketches of the idea/innovation/project required? Yes, if available. These would help our experts to properly understand and evaluate the submission. When will the awards be announced and given? The name of the winners will be announced on October 15th 2011. The awards will later be given at his convenience by Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. October 15th , the birthday of Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, is celebrated as Children's Creativity and Innovation Day by NIF. How many prizes will be given in the competition? There is no fixed number of awards. It will depend upon the number of quality entries that we receive and which we can recognize in the function. Is there going to be an exhibition? Yes, there will be an exhibition of only the awarded projects/ideas/innovations. Working or illustrative models and/or posters in case of ideas would be required for the same. Will NIF support for travel for the exhibition? NIF will provide to and fro train travel support to the student(s) and one person accompanying the student(s) from the student's home town to Ahmedabad. Local hospitality will be provided by NIF in Ahmedabad. Any other person(s) accompanying the award winner or any other person interested to visit the exhibition would have to bear all their costs (travel/stay/food) themselves. What type of submissions will NOT be considered? Simple essays, write-ups on problems like population, corruption, global warming, unemployment etc will not be accepted as well as common projects/concepts (from text books/other make yourself books) like hydel power project, rain water harvesting, water level indicators, vermi compost/ vermiwash, letter box alarm and other alarms, using turbines to generate energy, using solar energy to do various things, electricity generation through waste batteries/dung/transport/waves or earthquake alarm. Projects guided by teachers/parents. Teachers and parents are specifically requested not to be suggestive to the children and let them come up with some creative idea of their own. In case, the teachers or parents have an interesting idea(s) they can send it to us separately. What kind of support NIF will provide to good ideas/innovations? All practical and useful ideas/innovations may be given financial and mentoring support. In the deserving cases, patents will be filed in their name at no cost to them. It is also possible that some of the ideas might attract entrepreneurs and these may get licensed for monetary consideration. Whom to contact in case of any doubt? Any queries may be addressed to NIF at Email: ignite11 at nifindia.org or Telephone numbers +91-79-26732456 / 2095, Fax: +91-79-26731903 or Toll Free No.: 1800 233 5555 From chiarapassa at gmail.com Tue Jul 19 13:19:02 2011 From: chiarapassa at gmail.com (Chiara Passa) Date: Tue, 19 Jul 2011 09:49:02 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] =?utf-8?q?FILE_S=C3=83O_PAULO_2011-_ELECTRONIC_LANG?= =?utf-8?q?UAGE_INTERNATIONAL_FESTIVAL?= In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: FILE SÃO PAULO 2011 ELECTRONIC LANGUAGE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL http://www.filefestival.org/hotsitesp/Sobre.aspx?language=en-us Media art program: http://www.filefestival.org/hotsitesp/MidiaArte.aspx?language=en-us The 12th edition of FILE – Electronic Language International Festival happens in São Paulo, between July 19 and August 21, 2011, at the FIESP Cultural Center - Ruth Cardoso. In the program: immersive and interactive installations, tablets, animations, games, machinimas, besides works of web art, video, documentary, music clips and sound experiments. In the first week there will be performance presentations (Hypersonica) at the Cultural Center's Theater from 8 pm. The program of FILE 2011 occupies the SESI Art Gallery, the FIESP Foyer and Space. Between July 12 and 21 the FIESP Cultural Center - Ruth Cardoso proposes the workshop AA São Paulo Design, part of the program AABrazil Visiting School, organized by the London Architectural Association School of Architecture, under the guidance of architects Franklin Lee and Anne Save de Beaurecueil. Know more. Accompanying FILE São Paulo 2011's program, FILE PAI – Paulista Avenue Interactive occupies several spaces in Paulista Avenue and its surroundings, with a program that includes different types of works achieved with electronic and digital tools. Know more. FILE 2011 also presents the meetings of FILE SYMPOSIUM on July 19-22, 2011, at the São Paulo Cultural Center. Vacancies to participate of the meetings are limited in order of arrival. It´s recommended arriving 30 minutes before each lecture. The admission to all FILE 2011 activities is free. -- Chiara Passa chiarapassa at gmail.com http://www.chiarapassa.it http://www.ideasonair.net http://twitter.com/jogador http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiara_Passa (Ita) Skype: ideasonair From monica at sarai.net Wed Jul 20 09:18:11 2011 From: monica at sarai.net (Monica Narula) Date: Wed, 20 Jul 2011 09:18:11 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Aaron Swartz charged for downloading too many Journal articles from the Library: Please sign suport petition. Message-ID: Monica Narula Raqs Media Collective Sarai-CSDS www.raqsmediacollective.net www.sarai.net Begin forwarded message: > Resent-From: nettime at kein.org > From: "Fuster, Mayo" > Date: 20 July 2011 3:07:03 AM GMT+05:30 > Resent-To: Nettime > To: "nettime-l at mail.kein.org" > Subject: Aaron Swartz charged for downloading too many Journal articles from the Library: Please sign suport petition. > > > Hi! Aaron Swartz Internet activist (and friend) has been arrested for > downloading too many journal articles from the Library. Please sign > the petition of suport and help to spread the word, Mayo > > NY Times article: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/19/reddit-co-founder-charged-with-data-theft/ > > //// Aaron Swartz charged for downloading too many journal articles > from the Library //// > > Shocking news: Moments ago former Demand Progress Executive Director > Aaron Swartz was indicted by the US government. As best as we can > tell, he is being charged with allegedly downloading too many journal > articles from the Web. The government contends that downloading so > many journal articles constitutes felony computer hacking and should > be punished with time in prison. We disagree. > > Will you click here to sign our petition of support for Aaron? > http://act.demandprogress.org/sign/support_aaron > > The charges are made all the more senseless by the fact that the > alleged victim has settled any claims against Aaron, explained they've > suffered no loss or damage, and asked the government not to prosecute. > > James Jacobs, the Government Documents Librarian at Stanford > University -- where Aaron did undergraduate work -- denounced > the arrest: "Aaron's prosecution undermines academic inquiry and > democratic principles," Jacobs said. "It's incredible that the > government would try to lock someone up for allegedly looking up > articles at a library." > > Will you click here to show your support for Aaron? > http://act.demandprogress.org/sign/support_aaron > > Thanks for your support and concern as we help see Aaron through these > tough times. We'll keep you updated. > > -- The Demand Progress team > > P.S. Please considering forwarding this email to your friends or using the links below to alert them to Aaron's predicament. > > ??????`??.(*??.??(`??.?? ??.????)??.??*).????`???? > ????????*???????? Mayo Fuster Morell ??.??.??*??`???? > ??????`??.(??.????(??.??* *??.??)`??.??).????`???? > > Research Digital Commons Governance: http://www.onlinecreation.info > > Ph.D European University Institute > Postdoctoral Researcher. Institute of Govern and Public Policies. Autonomous University of Barcelona. > Visiting scholar. Internet Interdisciplinary Institute. Open University of Catalonia (UOC). > Visiting researcher (2008). School of information. University of California, Berkeley. > Member Research Committee. Wikimedia Foundation > > http://www.onlinecreation.info > E-mail: mayo.fuster at eui.eu > Skype: mayoneti > Phone Spanish State: 0034-648877748 > > > > > # distributed via : no commercial use without permission > # is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, > # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets > # more info: http://mx.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l > # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime at kein.org From kiccovich at yahoo.com Wed Jul 20 10:59:25 2011 From: kiccovich at yahoo.com (francesca recchia) Date: Tue, 19 Jul 2011 22:29:25 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] pause: in times of conflict In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1311139765.72014.YahooMailRC@web113208.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> This could be of interest to those of you who are in Bangalore. >Cheers >francesca > >PAUSE - IN TIMES OF CONFLICT. >Reading about the Gaza Strip from here is estranging. What is it like there? On >some days, Palestine could be just as far as Assam, and on other days, Palestine >is too far to think about. How much do we know for sure? How much do we only >have an idea of? We encounter war and conflict every day, and it seems to have >merged with the background of our existence. Conflicts seem to begin and end >everyday through brief encounters - glances in the newspaper with your morning >coffee or glimpses of it between switching TV channels or through the 140 >characters of a tweet... We are at a time when we are collectively forgetting, >when histories are resurfacing, when people and places disappear, when power >celebrates victory. >Bertolt Brecht raised a pertinent question inMottowhen he wrote, “In the dark >times, will there also be singing?.”But our reasons for organising pause – in >times of conflicthave to do not so much with his question but his answer. "Yes, >there will be singing. About the dark times." We see creative practice in >conflict zones as a corollary to Brecht's response, as attempts to sing. This >act of “singing” requires a constant engagement with the world even if it might >be going to pieces. But in times that are marked by violence, grief, loss, >silence, and the haunting presence of that which isunspeakable and that which is >left unsaid, how do we see, respond, survive if not by “singing”? And one fine day, you watch Turtles can fly, or see an anonymous photograph of a mother and child sleeping in a charred house in Chattisgarh, and then you remember. These stories always return somehow - from different places, through new ways with new reasons, unknown people from unknown places appear in our lives to remind us that it is not over. And there is something about the turn of events, and how it's all connected. The war has not ended. It continues. >Zbigniew Herbert has written that fire in the poem is one thing, and the house >on flames is another. Of course there are still doubts about the “real” >significance of creative practices in countries of conflict. And while these >doubts are relevant,Eliot Weinbergermight well be right when he writes “it is >the fire in the poem that helps us to see the town in flames, whether it is a >town in history, or our own town tomorrow” As we protest, perform, artistically respond, research, write and discuss,pause – in times of conflictis a forum to bring people of varied interests, located between different disciplines to reflect on conflicts that keep reappearing mysteriously. pause – in times of conflictwill use films, graphic novels, photographs, poetry, music, performance as triggers to discuss, debate and re-narrate from our own experiences, readings and pondering. As we pause at different places, we will attempt to find new ways to arrive, as we pause in time, we will attempt to recall hidden and subjective histories. The idea is take some time off to pause. >For a lot of us stranded in media saturated islands, creative practices are a >way – not the only way, butaway – into the larger political, social and >cultural reality of contemporary history. >STARTING 24th July I Page Turners, Next to Canara Bank, MG Road, Opposite Pillar >No. 198 >Our first pause will be in Palestine. We will watch Arna's Children, the story >of a theatre group that was established by Arna Mer Khamis. Arna comes from a >Zionist family and in the 1950s married a Palestinian Arab, Saliba Khamis. This >theatre group engaged children from Jenin, helping them to express their >everyday frustrations, anger, bitterness and fear. Arna's son Juliano, director >of this film, was also one of the directors of Jenin's theatre. With his camera, >he filmed the children during rehearsal periods from 1989 to 1996. In 2003, he >returns to meet his mother's students with a camera. (Duration: 84 >minutes). This will be followed by a reading of Mahmood Darwish's poems and a >discussion on the Palestine-Israel conflict. >On 4 April 2011, Arna's son, Juliano Mer-Khamis was shot dead by a masked gunman >in the Palestinian city of Jenin, where he had established The Freedom Theatre. >This screening is a tribute to Juliano Mer-Khamis' work and commitment to >theatre, film and activism in Jenin, Palestine. ALL ARE WELCOME. ENTRANCE IS FREE. Spread the word around. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Forthcoming events – dates to be confirmed August 28th: Iraq - Place and Memory, The Museum of War Crimes in Iraqi Kurdistan, a lecture by Francesca Recchia > September 25th: Kashmir - Readings from Mirza Waheed's The Collaborator > > organised by maraa in collaboration with Francesca Recchia >email: info at maraa.in >contact: 9880755875/8105875350 >www.maraa.in > > From asit1917 at gmail.com Wed Jul 20 17:42:17 2011 From: asit1917 at gmail.com (asit das) Date: Wed, 20 Jul 2011 17:42:17 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Joint Statement against Police atrocities on Anti POSCO Protesters, Odisha Message-ID: *JOINT STATEMENT CONDEMNING ATTACK ON PEACEFUL PROTESTERS OF NUAGAON*** * * *(Anti-POSCO Struggle Area Odisha)* On 16th July 2011 Saturday eight platoons of police attacked and lathi charged peaceful protesters in the village of Nuagaon, Jagatsinghpur District, Odisha. The protesters, despite being mainly women, were attacked by an entirely male police force, resulting in injuries to several and serious injuries to one woman, who has now been hospitalised. The protesters were seeking to protect their forests and trees from being cleared by the police as part of the government's land grab for the POSCO project. After the lathi charge the entire village joined the protest, eventually driving the police back and forcing them to retreat. We strongly condemn this brutal attack on a peaceful protest by people seeking to protect their legal and democratic rights. This attack disproves the Odisha government's brazenly false claims that "no force is being used" to take land for POSCO. Nuagaon, one must remember, is also one of the villages where the government claimed that "land takeover is proceeding peacefully" - a result not of consent by the people but of the overwhelming threat of force from the government. Today, when people have actually shown their will, the government has shown its true intent. One must remember that the people of Nuagaon, like all those affected by the POSCO project, have legal rights to their forest and also enjoy the legal power to protect these forests when they wish. This was upheld by three different committees of the Environment Ministry, which went on to, in an act of brazen illegality, clear the takeover of land anyway. Both the Odisha government and the Centre are engaged in a gross violation of law, a resource grab of land and forests that belong to the people for a private multinational company. This attack further comes at a time when the Odisha High Court is hearing, on a daily basis, the petition filed by the villagers against this illegal land grab. We demand: · An immediate halt to all police operations in the proposed project area and the withdrawal of the police from the area; · The cancellation of the illegal forest and environmental clearances granted to the POSCO project; · The implementation of the Forest Rights Act and all other pro people laws in the area; · Prosecution and punishment of the officials and police responsible for the atrocities and violations of law in the area; · A cancellation of the POSCO project and an end to the six year long attack on the people of the area for the purposes of this project. Sincerely 1. PUCL 2. Socialist front 3. Mazdoor Kranti Parishad 4. INSAF 5. Green Peace 6. Justice Rajinder Sachar (Retired of Chief Justice, High Court of Delhi, Delhi) 7. Janak Lal Thakur (President Chhattishgarh, Mukti Morcha) 8. B.D. Sharma (Bharat Jan Andolan) 9. Ramesh Agarwal (Raigarh Shangharsh Morcha, Chhattishgarh) 10. Dr. Bharat Patankar (Sharamik Mukti Dal Maharashtra) 11. Kavita Krishnan (C.C Member CPIML Liberation) 12. Ashish Kothari (Kalpabriksh, Delhi) 13. Prof. Arun Kumar (Prof. Jawaharlal University, New Delhi) 14. Dr. Sunilam (Kisan Sangharsh Samity M.P) 15. Anivar Aravind (Moving Republic Bangalore) 16. Arun Bidani (Delhi Platform, Delhi) 17. Anuradha Mittal (OAK Land Institute, California USA) 18. Prof. Manoranjan Mohanty (Delhi) 19. Kiran Shaheen (Senior Journalist Delhi) 20. Rajendra K Sail (Human Rights Activist, Chhatisgarh) 21. V.T. Padmanabhan (Eminent anti nuclear Activist) 22. Shukla Sen (Ekta Mumbai) 23. Dr. Abhay Shukla (Jan Swasthya Abhiyan Pune) 24. Dr. Anant Phadke (Shramik Mukti Dal, Pune) 25. Seema Kulkarni (Samuhik Khoj, Pune) 26. Ishwar Singh Dost (Lecturer, Goa University, Goa) 27. Naveen chander (New Socialist Initiative, Delhi) 28. Shripad Dharmadhikary (Manthan, Badwani, M.P) 29. Manisha Gupta (Pune) 30. Rajveer Pawar (General Secreatary Kisan Maha Punchayat, Delhi) 31. T. Vihayendra (Cerena Foundation, Hyderabad) 32. Dr. Arvind (Prof. Physics, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Chandigarh) 33. Ashley Telis (Social Activist Delhi) 34. Nayan Jyoti (Social Activist Delhi) 35. Rukmini Rao (social Activist, Secunderabad, A.P) 36. Pradeep Esteves (Context India, Bangalore) 37. Sudha Reddy (Social Activist Bangalore) 38. Harsh Kapoor (South Asia Citizens Web) 39. Jyoti Punwani (Semior Journalist Munbai) 40. Prof. B.R. Bapuji (Prof. University of Hyderabad) 41. Vivek Sundara (Mumbai) 42. Sadanand Patwardhan (Indian First, Mumbai) 43. Dunu Roy (Hazards Centre, Delhi) 44. Ranjana Padhi (Women Against Sexual Violence and state Repression, Pune) 45. S. R. Hiremath (National Committee for Protection of Natural Resources, Dharwad, Karnataka) 46. Rohini Hensman (Social Activist, Mumbai) 47. Sayontoni (Independent Researcher Delhi) 48. Asha Kachru (Andhra Pradesh) 49. Vasundhara Jairath (Research Scholar Delhi University) 50. Preeti Sampat (Social Activist Delhi) 51. Benny Kurvila (Focus on Global South Delhi) 52. Sanat Mohanty (Editor, The South Asian Org) 53. Shankar Gopal Krishnan (Champaign For Survival and dignity Delhi) 54. Pushpa Achanta (Freelance Writer, Bangalore) 55. Prakash Kumar Ray (Research Scholar, Cinema Studies J.N.U) 56. Amit Chakrovarty (Research Scholar, Economics JNU) 57. Subhasini Shryia (Student, Centre for Political Studies JNU) 58. Seela Mahapatra (Social Activist, Delhi) 59. Asit Das (POSCO Pratirodh Solidarity Delhi) 60. Nayan Jyoti (Social Activist Delhi) 61. Mamta Dash (POSCO Pratirodh Soclidarity Delhi) 62. Subrat Kumar Sahoo (POSCO Pratirodh Solidarity, Delhi) 63. Rajnikant Mudgal (Harit Swaraj Abhiyan Delhi) 64. Bhuwan Pathak (Himalaya Swaraj Abhiyan Uttarakhand) 65. Amartya (Law Faculty Delhi University) 66. P.K. Sundaram (Research Scholar JNU) 67. Ritu Priya (CSMCH, JNU) 68. Vijay Pratap (Lok Sangharsh Morcha, Socialist Front) 69. Sadre Alam (Social Activist Delhi) 70. D.V. Natrajan (Chennai) 71. Shiraz Prabhu (Kashtakari Sangathana Thane, Maharashtra) 72. Manshi Asher (Independent Researcher and Activist, Himachal Pradesh) 73. Kamayani Maha Bal (Lawer Activist, Mumbai) 74. Dr. John Dayal (All India Cotholic Union, Delhi) 75. Dr. Mira Shiva (Initiative for Health and Equity in Society, Delhi) 76. Ranganathan Manohar (SICHREM, Bangalore) 77. Gautam Bandopadhyaya (Nadi Ghati Morch, Chhatisgarh) 78. Vinod Raina (B.G.V.S., Delhi) 79. Jai Sen (CACIM, Delhi) 80. Satinath Sarangi (Bhopal Group of Information and Action Bhopal) 81. Rachna Dhingra (Bhopal Group of Information and Action Bhopal) 82. Rashida Bee (Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationary Karmachari Sangh Bhopal) 83. Nawal Khan (Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationary Karmachari Sangh Morcha Bhopal) 84. Safreen Khan (Children Against Dow Chemicals, Bhopal) 85. Gopal Krishna (Research Scholar JNU, Delhi) 86. Abha Mishra (SADED) 87. Sudha Bharadwaj (General Sect. PUCL, Chhattishgarh) 88. P.V. Rajgopal (Ekta Parishad) 89. Heera Singh MArkaan (Gondwana gana Tantra Party) 90. Com Sayra Yadav (CPIML, Chhattishgarh) 91. Harshlata Kanwar (Chhatisgarh Mahila Jagriti Sangathan) 92. Harprasad Agarwal (Chhattishgarh Sarvoday Sangh) 93. Rashmi Dwivedi (Baiga Mahapanchayat, Chhattisgarh) 94. Vijendra (Joinst Secreatary PUCL Chhattisgarh) 95. Gyanesh Dubey (Jagriti Nagaridk Monch, Chhattishgarh) 96. Gauri Chatri (Chhattishgarh Bal Sharamik Sangh) 97. Harshlata Kanwar (Chhatishgarh Mahila Jagriti Sangathan) 98. Agnu Ram (Ekta Parishad Bastar) 99. Shashi Sail (National Alliance of Women) 100. Goldy George (Dalit Mukti Morcha Chhattishgarh) 101. Kumud Nandgave (INSAF, Chhattishgarh) 102. Com C.R. Baxi (Adivasi Mahasabha, Chhatisgarh) 103. Com CL Patel (Chhatisgarh Bachao Andolan) 104. Ranjana Belekar (Domestic Workers Union Chhattishgarh) From ohm at zedat.fu-berlin.de Wed Jul 20 19:52:50 2011 From: ohm at zedat.fu-berlin.de (Britta Ohm) Date: Wed, 20 Jul 2011 16:22:50 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] 'The Televised Community' online Message-ID: <7B69746C-1ED0-416E-9B73-162B8C0F6830@zedat.fu-berlin.de> Dear friends and colleagues, at a time that the transnational media corporation of Rupert Murdoch is, however reluctantly (and quite certainly not in a sustainable fashion), revealed in its criminal energies and its entanglements with national governments I hope you will approve of this little exercise in house advertising (that would not have been possible without the support and input of quite a few of you). My PhD study 'The Televised Community. Culture, Politics, and the Market of Visual Representation in India' (2007) is now in its - only slightly corrected - original version online at http://opus.kobv.de/euv/frontdoor.php?source_opus=46 The link will get you to a comprehensive abstract of the study in both English and German and provides a button for the pdf-download. I'd be most thankful for comments and criticism (sequel is in the making). Moreover, I would very much welcome advise from those who have some experience with publishing under Creative Commons - which form of contract is the preferable one?? All best -- Britta --------------------------------------- Dr. Britta Ohm Institute of Social Anthropology University of Bern Laenggassstr. 49a 3012 Bern Switzerland +41-(0)31-631 8995 (main office) +41-(0)31-631 5373 (direct line) britta.ohm at anthro.unibe.ch Solmsstr. 36 10961 Berlin Germany +49-(0)30-69507155 ohm at zedat.fu-berlin.de From lalitambardar at hotmail.com Wed Jul 20 21:13:47 2011 From: lalitambardar at hotmail.com (Lalit Ambardar) Date: Wed, 20 Jul 2011 15:43:47 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] ISI( of Pakistan) operative in USA Ghulam Nabi Fai caught Message-ID: A thought for the covert & overt supporters as well as the propagandists of 'azadi- bara- e- Islam' in Kashmir- ISI( of Pakistan) front in USA Ghulam Nabi Fai handling propaganda operations of terrorism ridden pan Islamism inspired secession in Kashmir is finally caught: Two Charged with Conspiring to Act as Unregistered Agents of Pakistani Government Now the question is how soon his India & USA based collaborators who have been enjoying his hospitality & largesse are exposed & apprehended.Rgds allLA------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Thu Jul 21 19:23:44 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Thu, 21 Jul 2011 19:23:44 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The Plunder Economy Message-ID: THE PLUNDER ECONOMY - The poor may be vulnerable, but they do not lack intelligence Ashok Mitra One lives to learn — or unlearn. The working head of what passes for this country’s Planning Commission is unambiguous about it. One important measure to fight inflation, he believes, is to raise prices. That is to say, to stop prices from rising, you must first raise prices. The gentleman has heartily endorsed the recent serial increases in the prices of petroleum products since such increases will, in his view, succeed in bringing down prices. Does not this assertion bring back to mind the startling pronouncement, some 50 years ago, by the five-star army general of the United States of America: to save Vietnam, it was, in the first instance, imperatively necessary to destroy that country? The American general did not have the benefit of an Ivy League education and fell back on crude McCarthyism when queried on the rationale of what he had said. The working head of India’s Planning Commission, on the other hand, has a background of both Oxbridge sophistry and World Bank hauteur. He is also a fanatic believer in the archaic Quantity Theory of Money in the manner of the great neo-liberal guru, Milton Friedman. The suspect assumptions underlying that theory do not detain him. Any increase in price, he is cocksure, lowers the overall demand for goods in the market, since buyers have to spend more on the commodity of which the price has been raised and now have less resources at their disposal to spend on other things, the demand for these things will shrink. In a free market, this will have a dampening effect on the prices of these goods: inflation will thereby abate. To make even more explicit what the Yojana Bhavan eminence implies: if, say, the price of kerosene is hiked, the petty clerk or the poor rickshaw puller will have to make a larger outlay for obtaining kerosene, and will hence have less money to buy not just the foodstuff he wants to cook on the kerosene stove, but other essential goods too. As a sequel, the demand for foodgrains as well as all those other commodities will decline, in the process pulling down the general price level. There should in any case be no lingering doubt regarding the meaning of meaning. The government, which includes the Planning Commission, is most anxious to reduce the number of the poverty-stricken in the country. The subconscious is at work: if some of the wretched poor have less money to buy food, they will starve and, hopefully, die without a murmur. That will result in a decline in the percentage of population below the so-called poverty level. In terms of the Yojana Bhavan boss’s implicit logic, to raise prices is a holy act which kills two birds with one stone: it disciplines inflation and at the same time reduces the number of the infernal poor who are a bit of a nuisance to Resurgent India. Spiralling prices, of course, hurt the poor most. In case the phenomenon persists, the huge multitude below the poverty level, denied food security, are bound to starve and face extinction. Why beat around the bush, those currently guiding this nation’s destiny want to get the poor out of their hair. Inflation is a handy instrument to fulfil this objective. The deputy god of the Planning Commission has, however, made a tactical error; he should not have gone overboard and claimed that a price rise helps to suck money out of the system and, in consequence, the rate of inflation falls. He has actually indulged in an inexactitude. When the petty clerk or the humble rickshaw puller pays the extra money for kerosene — and which amount he is, therefore, unable to spend on food and other necessities — that money does not go out of the system, it swells the pocket of the trader and the coffers of the oil company which processes the kerosene. It stays in the market and helps the trader to withhold stocks. Or the extra profit it creates for the oil company exerts pressure on the market, if not in the food sector, maybe in the luxury goods sector or the machinery and equipment producing sector. That apart, the market is hardly free. Even if the poor are compelled to buy less food, grain prices need not fall, traders and hoarders have enough clout, enabling them to wangle easy bank credit, which makes it possible to hold back stocks and avert any drop in grain prices. The rich peasants and the trading community can also pull the necessary strings to ensure larger purchases of foodgrains by State agencies and stem a fall in market prices. India, who does not know, is an enchanting country where, at one end, people die of hunger and, at the other end, surplus stocks of foodgrains rot in government warehouses with the authorities most adamant about not releasing even a minuscule fraction of the stock for the starving people. To do so, the admonition rings out, will have an adverse impact on the ‘incentive’ of traders and surplus-raising farmers. If in a nitpicking mood, one could have also mentioned that the Yojana Bhavan savant totally ignores the cascading effect of a rise in food and fuel prices on the structure of costs across the entire system; inflationary forces, instead of being checked, will rage like wild forest fire unless controlled by stern regulatory measures. But all that is beside the point. What is at issue is the class question. Rising food and fuel prices, if allowed free rein, will in due course decimate the poor and the lower middle class. Rest assured, prices nonetheless will continue to soar as per the wishes of quarters that matter. Fudged economic reasoning is mainly for the consumption of the gullible. Inflation is a class instrument, it transfers resources from the poor and the weak to the rich and the strong. This is the ruling idea at this moment in this country: plunder the poor to augment the wealth of the rich. True, the Indian case is not sui generis. It is the same story wherever neo-liberal imperialism has extended its reach. Greece, a poor relation occupying a puny corner of the European Union, was inveigled into giving up its own currency, the drachma, and cross over to the euro. Its government and central bank thereby lost all control over monetary policy which became the domain of the European Union and the European Central Bank. A bunch of tycoons, in cahoots with fly-by-night investors, had launched a number of industrial and commercial projects which received the backing of unscrupulous speculators and supercilious credit agencies. The relevant stocks were made to zoom. What goes up often comes down. The bubble burst, share prices of the newly floated ventures plunged, quite a number of corporate entities went bankrupt, including some which had Greek government collateral. In the ensuing panic, there was a run against State securities, the exchequer was rapidly drained, the country landed in a grim financial crisis. The authorities could only watch helplessly; they had no control over either interest rates, or capital movements. The EU, meaning its principals, France and Germany, advanced a conditional loan which soon got exhausted. They have now agreed to lend another installment of roughly 40 billion dollars so that the Greek government can emerge out of the crisis, but the conditions this time are far severer. These include a steep increase in taxes heavily loaded against the poor and middle classes, across-the-board cuts in public expenditure targeting social security provisions such as old age pension, unemployment allowance and subsidized education, apart from major slashes in salaries and wages in all sectors. The working and middle classes will have to go through acutely rough days, none knows for how long. Such is the writ of the neo-liberal imperium: the poor have to pay for the sins of the indolent rich whose pastime is to play with stocks and bonds. It is class war. The times, the rich have judged, are propitious for finishing off the filthy poor, no question of showing any mercy. Even the cruellest of the cruel, though, ought to have at least a minimum sense of decency. By all means plan the liquidation of the poor by raising, with extraordinary frequency, prices of foodstuff and fuel, but, please, do not insult their intelligence, do not pretend that, by raising prices, you are in fact smothering inflation and thus ameliorating the lot of the poor. ____________________________________ Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From patrice at xs4all.nl Thu Jul 21 20:22:41 2011 From: patrice at xs4all.nl (Patrice Riemens) Date: Thu, 21 Jul 2011 16:52:41 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] The Plunder Economy In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: > THE PLUNDER ECONOMY > - The poor may be vulnerable, but they do not lack intelligence > > Ashok Mitra cf: “There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.” Zillionaire investor Warren E. Buffet - who didn't think that was fair (2006) http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/26/business/yourmoney/26every.html From ujwala at openspaceindia.org Fri Jul 22 09:49:05 2011 From: ujwala at openspaceindia.org (Ujwala Samarth) Date: Fri, 22 Jul 2011 09:49:05 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Adaab in the time of Allah Hafiz Message-ID: Forwarding the response from Samina: Dear All, Sorry I'm a bit late in responding. Was away with erratic internet access. Thanks Ambarien for your response and (your defence in response to Javed's comment :). I think that it is indeed critical that there is a conversation about these issues, a verbalisation of thoughts that may not always seem perfectly formed. The article was written in that spirit. To recognise that there are multiple stories and multiple layers in every story. As for the burkha, of course, there are stories of how it can become an empowering tool. Women managing to use it to get out of the house, or to do things they would not be able to do otherwise. Stories also of eroticism and romance. But I see this as a negotiation. And while I believe that women should be free to choose what they wear, we have to also recognise the context of that choice. So, yes, just as a pair of jeans does not necessarily embody progressiveness, a burkha may not embody regressiveness. But for me, that does not translate into the burkha being something more. I can accept it as a negotiation but I cannot accept it as an act of liberation. I guess that's where I draw my line. Javed, you're right in making the correction. It is indeed assalam aleikum - "asak" as it is being used on sms and email. But in spoken interactions, syllables often run into each other and are not distinctly uttered. That may, of course, in your opinion, disqualify many others from being Muslims "worth their caps". And, while I stand corrected on the transliteration into Roman, I hope that detail does not preclude you from the larger argument of the piece which is to push for more inclusiveness even as we retain particularities. This may never be an easy balance but it is what I believe we need to work towards. Best, Samina *Oh the thinks you can think up* *If only you try* * - Dr Seuss * Samina Mishra saminamishra at gmail.com 264/1, Gulmohar Avenue, Jamia Nagar New Delhi 110025 -- Ujwala Samarth (Programme Coordinator, Open Space) www.openspaceindia.org www.infochangeindia.org https://www.facebook.com/OpenSpaceIndia.org B-301, Kanchanjunga Building, Kanchan Lane, Off Law College Rd,, Pune 411004 (020-25457371) From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Sat Jul 23 04:00:13 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Sat, 23 Jul 2011 04:00:13 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Financial State of Kerala Message-ID: >From http://dr-tm-thomas-isaac.blogspot.com/2011/07/introduction-and-executive-summary-of.html Introduction and Executive Summary of the Alternative White Paper This is an “Alternative White Paper” to the official “White Paper” tabled in the Kerala Legislative Assembly by Finance Minister K. M. Mani on 19-07-2011. The white paper issued by the government is a colossal fraud on the people of Kerala. It is not published to present an objective analysis of the “current status of the state finance before the people of Kerala”. Instead, it is published for exactly the opposite objective of giving a politically motivated and statistically distorted picture of the state’s finances. The Finance Minister has even resorted to falsifying the data, suppressing relevant information and, of course, misinterpretation of the data. This is why we decided to present our Alternative White Paper; this is a paragraph-by-paragraph, argument-by-argument response to the scurrilous document of the government. The Finance Department of the Government of Kerala should be ashamed of producing such a document. First, there is clear evidence that data has been manipulated, and wrong data have been used by the government. Table T1 is an excellent example. Here, the claim of the government is that “during the UDF rule, we had highest growth of GSDP at 23.34% in 2004-05.” This is totally wrong. What the government has done is to combine two different data series, with two different base years, that are not comparable and pass a judgement. There is one data series with base year 1999-2000. In the government’s white paper (Table T1), this series ends at 2003-04. From 2004-05, the data used in Table T1 belong to another base year, which is 2004-05. Even a Master’s student in Economics or Statistics would know that when data belong to two base years, it is wrong to use them together, Instead, a technique called “splicing” has to be applied to make them comparable. When we applied the correction, the GSDP growth rate comes to only 14% in 2004-05. The corrected numbers are in Alternate Table 1. The government, here, has deliberately used wrong data and manipulated facts. Secondly, the government’s white paper, curiously, does not use data for 2010-11 (RE) at all in many tables. This is deliberately done because that year was one of the best performing financial years under the LDF government; the UDF government was hoping to obscure the sharp contrast between the LDF and UDF Governments by this cheap trick. The government’s white paper also adopts a spurious posture of objectivity by dividing the decade of 2000s into two phases: 2000-01 to 2004-05 and 2005-06 to 2009-10. In fact, 2000-01 is a year of the LDF government. The UDF period begins only by 2001-02. Hence, the periodisation in this alternative white paper shall be 2001-02 to 2005-06 (UDF) and 2006-07 to 2010-11 (LDF). When we do this correction, the complete picture changes, as we shall see. Thirdly, the government has used data blindly, without looking at whether the definitions of some items have changed over the years. The best example is Table T11 on Balance from Current Revenue (BCR). The government argues here that there was “deterioration of Balance from Current Revenue (BCR)” under LDF. BCR is calculated as Current Revenues minus Non-Plan Revenue Expenditure. From 2006-07 onwards, the plan allocation to local self governments (LSGs) have been added to the category of non-Plan Revenue Expenditure, according to the Rabeendran Nair Commission report. This comes to roughly Rs 2000 crore every year. Simple intelligence should have told the Minister that this will raise non-Plan revenue expenditure from 2006-07 onwards, and thus result in a fall in BCR. Corrected data are given in this alternative white paper. Fourthly, numerous tables in the government’s white paper themselves show that the record of the LDF government was far better than that of the previous UDF government. One may look at data on (a) revenue deficit, (b) fiscal deficit, (c) primary deficit, (d) debt/GSDP ratio, (e) share of salaries, pensions and interest in revenue expenditure and revenue receipts, and (f) revenue collection efforts of the government. The government’s white paper is an effort at obfuscation; it is selective in this analysis and does not attempt any objective analysis of state’s finances. Fifthly, we disagree totally with the views of the Minister on cash surpluses. The LDF’s argument was not against cash surpluses waiting to be spent. Our criticism was against cash surpluses that are not spend, but instead kept in the coffers of the RBI. The first budget of the LDF government opened with a sharp attack on the obscenely large treasury balance that has characterized finances of the state governments since the advent of the FRBM Acts. That is different from the surplus of Rs 3881 crore that the LDF has left behind. Our surplus was waiting to be spent. Once the bills of public works launched since 2008-09 start coming in for payment, this surplus will disappear. The surplus of Rs 3881 crores was kept by us precisely to meet this contingency. As a part of our fiscal management strategy, we refused to either (a) spend this surplus on current expenditure despite pressures from the demands of an election year or (b) keep it as savings with the RBI. During the LDF period, there were some voices in the Finance Department itself that argued the case for reducing the borrowing by not utilising the full allocation of loans given by the Centre. Unfortunately, the Centre is not going to compensate in future for the loans not availed from this year’s quota. Instead, it is insisting that states borrow in the first half of the financial year, while the expenditures of state governments mostly take place in the last quarter of the financial year. This also has contributed to occasional surpluses in the treasury during the course of a year. Going back to the treasury surplus at the end of the financial year, it is stated that full quota of the year was borrowed with full knowledge that it would not be spend in 2010-11, but would also be carried forward to 2011-12. This was part of our financial management strategy. The LDF government was not irresponsible as the White Paper makes it out to be. Strangely, the Finance Minister who expects that the paper would “initiate a wider debate on the state of public finance and analysis thereof” is refusing to join the dialogue. He even refused to yield to counter points or even simple points of information on the floor of the Assembly. Instead of answering questions, he teased the opposition to bring out their Alternate White Paper if they have any points. The motives of the official White Paper is not any open deliberation, but simply slander propaganda against the previous government. Truth needs to come out, and we hope that this alternative white paper would serve that purpose. With this intention, we humbly table this document in the public domain. ______________________________________________________________________ Rest of document at http://dr-tm-thomas-isaac.blogspot.com/2011/07/introduction-and-executive-summary-of.html ________________________________________________________________________ Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Sun Jul 24 17:58:20 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Sun, 24 Jul 2011 17:58:20 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Paid Advts Message-ID: excluding paid news ... >From http://www.thehoot.org/web/home/story.php?storyid=5391&mod=1&pg=1§ionId=19&valid=true Nitish Kumar’s goody box Over the last year the state government has given Rs 28.47 crore as advertising to newspapers and television channels. The figure is much higher than in preceding years, but then an election was imminent. >From BIHARTIMES.COM Posted/Updated Tuesday, Jul 12 11:18:35, 2011 A man asked his wife to give some biscuits or chocolates to his young child, who was asking too many questions––some very intelligent ones––on a variety of topics at a time. The purpose was simple: to keep the boy’s mouth chock-full, if not shut. This seems to be the strategy adopted by the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar. In the last six years it has given so much to the media-houses in the name of advertisements that they can not open their mouths to speak anything. It is another thing that someone could ask: is the media in Bihar as immature as a child and can be hoodwinked into silence by a mouthful of candy? Another instance of what is now called media-management by the state government has come to light. BiharTimes has exclusive access to the advertisements given to different newspapers and television channels of Bihar in the last one year. It was procured by an RTI activist, Purander Sawaran, from the office of Information & Public Relation Department of Bihar Govt. The state government has given as much as Rs 28.47 crore in the form of advertisements to newspapers and television channels. The figure is much higher than the earlier years. This huge amount has been disbursed notwithstanding the fact that between September and November 2010 the state government was not in position to give any advertisement because of the election. During that period the advts. by political parties and govt. undertakings are not included in this list. The strange aspect of the whole ad-story is that as much as Rs 10.12 crore (about 35 per cent) has been taken away by one newspaper, Dainik Hindustan while the Urdu daily Quami Tanzeem got advertising worth about Rs one crore–– Rs 98,72,810 to be precise––which is slightly less than the Times of India and Economic Times Rs 1,13,52,332 and much more than Hindustan Times Rs 58,63,454 not to speak of other premier dailies. Dainik Jagaran with Rs 5.33 crore stood second. What is strange is that Panchjanya, the weekly mouthpiece of the RSS––the cultural organization of the BJP––got advertisement worth just Rs 80,000 in the whole financial year 2010-11. Hindi and Urdu dailies got preference so far the distribution of the bounty from the state government is concerned. If Quami Tanzeem with just limited circulation can get such huge amount of advertisement the lesser circulated dailies are not too far behind. Farooqui Tanzeem (Rs 62,35,314), Pindaar (Rs 44,11,220), Inqilab-e-Jadeed (Rs 20,57,062), Pyari Urdu (Rs 16,30,667), Sangam Rs 13,80,890 and Mosalas (Rs 4,21,899) are are other Urdu dailies from Patna, which got big advertisements. Halaat-e-Bihar, which is published from Samastipur got advertisement worth Rs 6,67,867. There were obvious reasons for showing so much generosity towards Urdu dailies. The ruling NDA wanted to win over the Muslims, especially on the eve of the Assembly election. An official formerly associated with the PR Department told Bihar Times that a couple of years back a newspaper like Quami Tanzeem used to get more advertisement than Dainik Hindustan. Senior free lance Urdu journalist, Naiyer Fatmi, who was formerly associated with the Quami Awaz, feels that the latest trend to give so much government advertisements amount to curbing the freedom of Press. The problem with the Urdu and small Hindi newspapers is that they do not belong to the corporate houses. Therefore, they can easily be controlled by the state government for obvious reasons. This is a dangerous trend. So far the amount of advertisement is concerned it may vary as it depends on the rate fixed by the DAVP, he told Bihar Times. It needs to be recalled that a huge amount was spent on advertisement on June 9 last year. The reason put forward was the completion of four and a half years of the first Nitish government. The truth is that the four-and-a-half years was completed on April 24, 2010 and not on June 9. The purpose was obvious to give advertisements worth crores to all the newspapers and channels very close to the announcement of the Assembly election. So a substantial part of Rs 28.4 crore had been spent between April and August 2010, that is, before the announcement of the election. So far other Hindi dailies are concerned Aaj got Rs 1.30 crore, Prabhat Khabar Rs 1.10 crore, Pratyush Nav Bihar Rs 30.29 lakh and Rashtriya Sahara Rs 68.88 lakh. What is strange is that little known Pratah Kamal from Muzaffarpur and Nai Baat from Bhagalpur got Rs 39,63,519 and Rs 22,11,150 respectively. English newspapers, which have no edition from Patna are also the beneficiaries. The Delhi-based Mail Today got Rs 7,07,635 while The Pioneer and Indian Express got Rs 7,12,994 and Rs 5,95,800 respectively. The boss of The Pioneer is none else but the BJP MP in the Rajya Sabha, Chandan Mitra while the brother of a senior PR Department official in Bihar is in a top job at Mail Today. Earlier there used to be no state government advertisement for TV channels. However, the Nitish Kumar government some times back changed the policy. ETV Bihar got Rs 1.04 crore, Mahua Rs 98,77,537, IBN Rs 1,46,689, Sahara TV Rs 30,19,556 Sadhna TV Rs 28,83,347 and little known Saubhagya Mithila Rs 27,795. BrandBihar.com, a news portal got Rs 56,666 while Radio Mirchi Rs 9,41,000. The Week magazine of the South was not left behind. It got Rs 15,20,000. In all 39 advertisements were given to electronic media and 12,930 to print. As per the RTI document of 2008-09 the state government had spent around Rs 25.25 crore on advertisement of both print and electronic media. In 2009-10 till February 28, 2010, around Rs 19.66 crore was spent on advertisements. What is strange is that in 2005-06 (Nitish Kumar came in power on November 24, 2005) the state spending on advertisements was just around Rs 4.49 crore. Earlier government advertisements were just confined to tenders, not to highlight development of the state government. Only on August 15 and January 26 the government used to give advertisements highlighting its achievements. Half page or full page photographs of ministers rarely appeared on govt. advts. In 1990s some central ministries, for example, Railways used to give big advertisements. Ram Vilas Paswan, Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad used to give big advertisements to the newspapers of Bihar. However, the Bihar government advertisement jumped by around Rs 90 lakh in the very first year of the Nitish government. It was Rs 5.4 crore in 2006-07. In 2007-08, it almost got doubled and reached Rs 9.65 crore, an increase of Rs 4.25 crore. It was around this time that electronic media got empanelled by the Public Relations Department. It needs to be recalled that on November 24, 2009, that is on the eve of completion of four years of the Nitish government, in a single day advertisements worth Rs 1.15 crore were given to 24 different national as well as regional dailies. _________________________________________________ Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From chandni_parekh at yahoo.com Tue Jul 26 16:59:07 2011 From: chandni_parekh at yahoo.com (Chandni Parekh) Date: Tue, 26 Jul 2011 04:29:07 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Free Residential Workshop in Bombay on Gender and Media for Media Professionals Message-ID: <1311679747.10625.YahooMailRC@web161422.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Read the details on http://fundacause.posterous.com/free-residential-workshop-in-bombay-on-gender From Population First - We are glad to inform you that Population First, an NGO which works on the issue of the declining sex ratio, is organizing a two-day Workshop on Gender and Mediafor journalists. This would be a residential workshop on 3rd and 4th August 2011 and is open to middle level journalists. The purpose of the workshop is to sensitize young journalists on gender issues and also to motivate them to write about or portray women’s issues in a more sensitive manner. The venue is Yuva training centre at Kharghar in Navi Mumbai. We would be taking care of the accommodation and reimbursing travel expenses. The concept note and a tentative schedule is attached. We look forward to your positive response. From shahzulf at yahoo.com Tue Jul 26 22:54:32 2011 From: shahzulf at yahoo.com (Zulfiqar Shah) Date: Tue, 26 Jul 2011 10:24:32 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Peace Vigil in Hyderabad Message-ID: <1311701072.39998.YahooMailNeo@web38807.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Dear All:   You are invited to attend the Peace Vigil on July 27, 6:30 pm at Hyderabad Press Club organized by Movement for & Tolerance and Pakistan Peace Coalition. The vigils are being held in the various cities of Pakistan and India on the occasion of India-Pakistan foreign ministers meeting.   Kind Regards,   Zulfiqar Shah Mustafa Baloch Jaffer Memon Punhal Sariyo Zulfiqar Halepoto Jabbar Bhatti From peter.ksmtf at gmail.com Wed Jul 27 21:07:53 2011 From: peter.ksmtf at gmail.com (T Peter) Date: Wed, 27 Jul 2011 21:07:53 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] IBN7 coverage Re: Coverage of yesterday's NFF Press meet In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/nff-to-observe-action-day-on-august-9/170740-60-116.html NFF to observe Action Day on August 9 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The National Fishworkers’ Forum (NFF) will observe Quit India Movement remembrance day on August 9 as ‘action day’ to address the various challenges being confronted by the nine coastal states in the country, including Kerala, in view of the implementation of the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification 2011. The decision was taken at the two-day consultation held in Margoa on July 21 and 22. NFF leaders from nine coastal states, along with scientists, researchers and civil society organisations, participated in the various sessions on climate change impact, the National Action Plan on Climate Change, State Action Plans on Climate Change and the role of international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. T Peter, state president of Kerala Swathanthra Matsya Thozhilali Federation (KSMTF), a constituent of NFF, told ‘Express’ that the fishing community would be at the receiving end of adverse climate impacts which include temperature rise in the oceans, increased intensity of disasters such as cyclones and storm surges, sea-level rise, ocean acidification, changing current patterns and depletion of natural resources. All of this will have a profound effect on the 20-million strong fishing community that depends on the coast and the sea for their livelihood, he said. Despite this, the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) does not have any suggestions for the coasts and the fishing community, he said. NFF is of the view that the NAPCC is highly undemocratic, flawed in focus and unresponsive to the urgent challenges raised by climate change, Peter said. The flawed process continues at the state-level as well. While all the 10 coastal states are in the process of finalising their State Action Plans on Climate Change (SAPCC), the fishing community is yet to be consulted, he said. Further, in some states such as Orissa, the SAPCC mentions that the ‘’equally undemocratic’’ Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project (ICZMP), funded by the World Bank and the Orissa Coastal Zone Management Authority, will handle coastal-related issues on climate change, he said. NFF demands a separate coastal mission as part of the Prime Minister’s National Action Plan on Climate Change. The Rs 990-crore ICZMP is on a pilot phase from 2010 to 2015 in the three coastal states of Gujarat, West Bengal and Orissa. The NFF also demands the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests to make necessary amendments to the CRZ incorporating the views of fishermen, he said. http://www.keralafishworkers.in From anivar at movingrepublic.org Thu Jul 28 12:27:02 2011 From: anivar at movingrepublic.org (Anivar Aravind) Date: Thu, 28 Jul 2011 12:27:02 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Biometrics, Turning a 'Citizen' into a 'Subject': Usha Ramanathan In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Interesting Interview Part 1 : http://youtu.be/UWUHkHLiSio Part 2 : http://youtu.be/CyeO2KALDjs Transcripts : Part1: http://newsclick.in/india/biometrics-violation-fundamental-rights-and-tool-hands-government-agencies Part2: http://newsclick.in/india/biometrics-turning-citizen-subject-usha-ramanathan-ii Join Say No to UID campaign in Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/nouid/?ap=1 Anivar From shahzulf at yahoo.com Thu Jul 28 17:36:46 2011 From: shahzulf at yahoo.com (Zulfiqar Shah) Date: Thu, 28 Jul 2011 05:06:46 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Pakistan, India urged to soften visa process Message-ID: <1311854806.69494.YahooMailNeo@web38801.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Pakistan, India urged to soften visa process   Daily Dawn   HYDERABAD, July 27: The volunteers of the Movement for Peace and Tolerance and the Pakistan Peace Coalition have stressed the need for people-to-people contacts between Pakistan and India and called for simplification of visa regime for divided families, students, peace activists and tourists.   Speaking at a news conference at the press club here on Wednesday, Zulfikar Shah, Mustafa Baloch, Zulfikar Halepoto and Punhal Sario said that people on both sides of the border wanted softening of visa regime, which was getting tougher because of tense relations.   Only recently, they said, India had attached more conditions to visa issuance process for Pakistanis.   The condition to report at a police station should be done away with and the two countries should lay more emphasis on trade sector, they said.   They said that the two countries allowed trade of only selected a number of commodities through Wagah and Attari routes although they could increase trade volume under the South Asian Free Trade Agreement and add more commodities to the list of trade-related items.   They called for opening Munabao-Khokhrapar route for trade and said that the volunteers’ lighting earthen lamps simultaneously in Pakistan and India would send a message of friendship and coalition against terrorism in the wake of meeting of foreign ministers of the two countries. The peace activists would light earthen lamps in different cities of the country today.   They praised the meeting of foreign ministries, saying the two countries were confronting terrorism in their areas and such meetings provided both nations an opportunity for establishing lasting peace.   They expressed the hope that the process of dialogue would continue to ensure peace in the region. Unfortunately, they said, in the wake of Nov 26, 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai the dialogue process came to a halt and was restored again in Sharm Al-Sheikh and then in Mohali where prime ministers of the two countries met.   They said that before Mumbai carnage took place, major headway had been made to resolve issues of Sir Creek and Siachen and expressed the hope that the foreign ministers’ meeting would make some progress on these stalled issues.   Link: http://www.dawn.com/2011/07/28/pakistan-india-urged-to-soften-visa-process.html From naresh.rhythm at gmail.com Thu Jul 28 21:10:38 2011 From: naresh.rhythm at gmail.com (Naresh Kumar) Date: Thu, 28 Jul 2011 21:10:38 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Please come for Sambhavana Study Circle and forward the mail to interested ones Message-ID: The disability colloquium of Sambhavana invites you for a talk by Prof. T.B. Singh, Professor H.O.D., Clinical psychology, IHBAS, Delhi. He has chosen to speak on ‘Visual Disability, Rehabilitation, Society And Their Psycho- Social implications’. Prof. Singh is an internationally renowned scholar with more than 50 publications in national and international journals. He is also a member of many professional bodies of psychiatry and clinical psychology. The areas of his research are very wide ranging from visual disability to childhood sexual abuse, severe psychological disorders, marital compatibility, customer care executives of call centers etc. He has been the pioneer in standardizing the psychological tests for visually handicapped, launching crisis intervention programs for late blind and community based rehabilitation for rural blind. We hope that we will be having an engaging discussion. Date: 30/07/11. Time: 10.15 AM. Venue: committee room, Ground floor, Department of history, Social Science Building, North Campus, Delhi University. Contact: 09999308530. Best Naresh, Coordinator, Disability Colloquium, Sambhavana. -- Naresh Kumar Assistant Professor Department of History Kamala Nehru College (University of Delhi) From anivar at movingrepublic.org Fri Jul 29 13:04:09 2011 From: anivar at movingrepublic.org (Anivar Aravind) Date: Fri, 29 Jul 2011 13:04:09 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Convention on Fabrication of False Cases - Bangalore 30th July In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Indian* State** and the Art of Fabricating False Cases** * *Convention on July 30, 2011 in Bangalore.* ** Two spectres are haunting the civil society in India – the spectres of communalism and globalisation. As a part this invasion on people, minorities are attacked as it happened in Gujarat or Kandhamal and many other places in the recent past. Multinationals, the World Bank, ADB, IMF and other international organisations decide on the policies of the Indian Government today. Land, forests, hills, lakes, rivers and seas are sold to the corporates. Prices are rising and the corruption level has reached the peak as never before, due to such policies. While many groups and people’s movements are resisting both these tendencies, the Indian State is using its executive machinery in a brutal way to suppress the dissent. Many innocent people are criminalised, branded and made to suffer for long time. Dr. Binayak Sen is the most well known personality in this category of fabricated cases by the Indian State. Due to active resistance of many groups and concerned individuals all over the country and abroad, he is not only out of jail today, but also absorbed by the Planning Commission. However, there are hundreds of similar such fabricated cases in Chattisgarh itself. Many innocent adivasis are languishing behind the bars in Chattisgarh. While POTA seems to be no more, many innocent muslims are still in jail in Gujarat for no crime. The lesson from Kandhamal is also no different. Moreover, the growing tendency of the Indian state is to frame false cases on those who are organising and leading peopole’s movements in this country. Many false cases are framed on those who are resisting POSCO. Similar false cases are framed on activists who respond on a number of other issues. When evidences are missing for their guilt, efforts are being made to create false evidences. The real issue is that when they are released without evidences, a part of their lives would already be over. The mainstream press, predominantly follow the version of the police, politicians and the bureaucracy in all these cases. When genuine investigative reports are being made by some journalists, attempts are being made to criminalise them also. It is time that the civil society in this country wakes up against this process and say `No’ to the process of fabricating cases by the Indian State. For unless, we say `No’ to this process, the vested interests will silence all dissent in this country, threatening the very pillars of Indian democracy. Therefore, over 20 organisations in Bangalore have come forward to organise a one-day Convention on the `Indian State and the Art of Fabricating False Cases’. We request you to participate, support, mobilise and contribute to this process. *Venue: NGO Hall, Cubbon Park, Bangalore* *Date: July 30, 2011* *Time: 9.30 am to 6.30 pm* *Programme:* **** *9.30 **am – Inauguration * * * *First session:* *False charges on people’s movements:** Globalisation, Development and People’s Movements * *Chairperson:** Leo Saldanha, Environment Support Group* *Speakers: * 1. *Prafulla Samantarai* (Well known activist/intellectual from Orissa) 2. *Prashant Paikray* (Official Spokesperson, Anti-Posco Movement, Orissa) 3. *Swami Vishua Bhadrananda Shakti Bhodi (*Director, Alathoor Siddha Ashramam/Editor, Ethir Disha Magazine) *Second session: * ** *Communalism and Branding* ** *Chairperson: Gauri Lankesh*, Editor, Lankesh Patrike *Speakers:* 1. *K.L. Ashok* (State Secretary, Karnataka, Communal Harmony Forum, A coalition of over 90 organisations 2. *Teesta Setalvad* (Well known anti-communal activist, writer and editor of Communalism Combat) 3. *Fr. Ajay Singh* (The main initiative from Kandhamal for raising the Kandamal communal issue at a national level) 4. *Dr. K. Muhamed Najeeb *(Solidarity Youth Movement) *Lunch Break: *1. 15 pm to 2 pm *T**hird Session:* 2 pm *War on Terror or War on People?* ** *Speakers:* 1. *Sebastian Paul (*Former Member of Parliament) 2. *U.S.** Kumar* (Mangalore Human Rights Forum) 3. *Sherif Kottapurath *(Former CTO of Sun Microsystems) 4. *Bhasurendrababu *(Media Critic/Political Observer) *Fourth Session:* *Approaches of the Indian State, Media and Civil Society Responses:* ** *Speakers:* 1. *S.A.R. Gilani* (Professor, Delhi University) 2. *Kavita Srivastava *(General Secretary, PUCL) 3. *Satya Sagar* (Journalist/Activist) *Organised By: * * * *Environment Support Group, PDF, PUCL, Pedestrian Pictures, SICHREM, Karnataka Vidhyarthi Sangha, Samanatha Mahila Vedike, Janasakti, Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike, Indian Social Institute, Students Christian Movement, New Socialist Alternative, Department of Women’s Studies – UTC, Moving Republic, Stree Jagruti Samiti,Solidarity Youth Movement, Visual Search, Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, Ambedkar Pilosophy Foundation, INSAF, Human Rights Law Network and Open Space.*** From the-network at koeln.de Fri Jul 29 14:44:37 2011 From: the-network at koeln.de (netEX11) Date: Fri, 29 Jul 2011 11:14:37 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] =?iso-8859-1?q?netEX=3A_calls_=26_deadlines_--=3E_A?= =?iso-8859-1?q?ugust_2011?= Message-ID: <20110729111437.FD13EA73.29E76444@192.168.0.2> netEX: calls & deadlines --> August 2011 ------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- newsletter contents *news *calls & deadlines --> 03 Calls: 2011 deadlines internal 24 Calls: August 2011 deadlines external 14 Calls: ongoing external/internal ------------------------------------------------ News CologneOFF 2011 - videoart in a global context nomadic festival project 1 January - 31 December 2011 countinues its successfull tour once around the globe in August 2011 jumping from one venue to another -> CologneOFF 2011 Beirut @ Sunflower Art Center Beirut/Lebanon http://coff.newmediafest.org/blog/?p=1587 --> CologneOFF 2011 will launch online on 2 August 2011 a solo featuring Larissa Sansour, video artist from Palestine and the curatorial feature Close to my Heart" - videoart from Iran curated by Alysse Stepanian. All details can be found in time on the project site --> CologneOFF 2011 - videoart in a global context http://coff.newmediafest.org/blog/ http://coff.newmediafest.org ------------------------------------------------ Calls & deadlines ---> ------------------------------------------------ Deadlines internal ------------------------------------------------ 3 calls for 2011 Deadline 1 September 2011 CologneOFF2011 - Football - Soccer - Fussball film and video makers are invited to submit experimental films and videoart http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3245 Deadline: 1 September 2011 CologneOFF2011 - Let's Save the World!? film and video makers are invited to submit experimental films and videoart http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3251 Deadline: 1 October 2011 CologneOFF 2012 in collaboration with Circuito Electrovisiones_ México Mexican Visions - art & moving images Mexican film & video makers wanted! http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3525 ------------------------------------------------ August 2011 deadlines: external ------------------------------------------------ 31 August Thessaloniki International Film Festival http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3492 31 August 5th OK Video Festival Jakarta/Indonesia http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3460 31 August Transmediale 2012 - Berlin/Germany http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3414 31 August 4th Intern. Videoart Festival Camaguey/Cuba http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3203 31 August CTM 12 - Spectral - Berlin/Germany http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3449 31 August Vilem Flusser Residency - Transmediale Berlin/Germany http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3481 30 August European Mobile Film Competition http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3451 26 August Roberto Cimetta Fund - travel grants http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3488 20 August Share Prize 2011 - Torino/Italy http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3429 19 August Way of Looking 2011 Festival Bradford/UK http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3504 16 August 9th Luksuz Film Festival Slovenia http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3483 15 August Simultan Festival - Timisoara/Romania http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3514 15 August Sideways 2012 Ghent/Belgium http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3453 15 August Avantgarde Film Screening - near Vienna/Austria http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3518 15 August 17th Film Festival on Wheels Ankara/Turkey http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3485 15 August PIKSEL 2011 - Bergen/Norway http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3433 12 August Call for web based art - Toronto/CA http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3509 10 August Amber 2011 Festival for Technology & Art - Istanbul/Turkey http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3455 6 August Aferro Studio Residency Newark (USA) http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3467 1 August 12th Kerry Film Festival (Ireland) http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3474 1 August Videomedeja Novi Sad/Serbia http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3348 1 August Images Festival 2012 Toronto/Canada http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3457 1 August The West Verginia Filmmaker Festival http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3431 1 August Soundart for - Sounding Doors- - Karlsruhe/D http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3339 ----------------------------------------------- Ongoing calls: external/internal ----------------------------------------------- --> Writers who explore the visual arts - wanted for online magazine --> Radius - Radio as Art (Chicago) --> Artsit Residency in Alaska --> SFC - Shoah Film Collection by VideoChannel & A Virtual Memorial Foundation --> Selfshadows 2.= - net based project by Javier Bedrina --> Videos for Bivouac Projects Sumter/USA --> OUTCASTING - web based screenings --> Films and video screenings Sioux City (USA) --> Laisle screenings Rio de Janeiro/Brazil --> Videos for Helsinki based video gallery - 00130 Gallery --> Web based works for 00130 Gallery Helsinki/Finland --> Project: Repetition as a Model for Progression by Marianne Holm Hansen --> US webjournal Atomic Unicorn seeks netart and video art for coming editions --> TAGallery and more deadlines on http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?page_id=4 ----------------------------------------------- NetEX - networked experience http://netex.nmartproject.net # calls in the external section--> http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?cat=3 # calls in the internal section--> http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?cat=1 ----------------------------------------------- # This newsletter is also released on http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?cat=9 # netEX - networked experiences is a free information service powered by Le Musee di-visioniste -the new museum of networked art - http://www.le-musee-divisioniste.org # info & contact: netex (at) nmartproject.net ------------------------------------------------ From anivar at movingrepublic.org Fri Jul 29 19:36:49 2011 From: anivar at movingrepublic.org (Anivar Aravind) Date: Fri, 29 Jul 2011 19:36:49 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Setback to Election Commission as paper trail pilot poll reports error In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: http://thevotingnews.com/international/asia/india/setback-to-indian-election-commission-as-paper-trail-pilot-poll-reports-errors-menafn-com/ Setback to Election Commission as paper trail pilot poll reports errors Jul 282011 In a set­back to the Elec­tion Com­mis­sion (EC), its pilot poll con­ducted on Sun­day to estab­lish a paper trail for elec­tronic vot­ing machines (EVMs) reported sig­nif­i­cant errors. Pre­lim­i­nary results of the EC pilot poll indi­cated dis­crep­an­cies between votes polled in EVMs and the paper trail, accord­ing to three peo­ple involved and famil­iar with the test­ing process. Two of them are EC offi­cials who con­firmed the mis­match, but did not give any more details. EC will release a com­pre­hen­sive report on the pilot poll in a few days. “Even a dif­fer­ence of one vote is not accept­able,” said one of the EC offi­cials, who, like the other EC offi­cial famil­iar with the mat­ter, asked not to be iden­ti­fied given the con­tro­ver­sial nature of the findings. To be sure, the dis­crep­ancy does not nec­es­sar­ily vin­di­cate the stand of crit­ics who have argued that EVMs can be manip­u­lated, but raises ques­tions on the effi­cacy of the back-up sys­tem that EC was con­sid­er­ing to enhance trans­parency in the­elec­toral process. Accord­ing to an analy­sis by the Cit­i­zens for Ver­i­fi­a­bil­ity, Trans­parency and Account­abil­ity in Elec­tions (VeTA), an activist group cam­paign­ing against EVMs, almost one in 20 votes polled in Delhi, one of the four places where the pilot poll was con­ducted, didn’t have a cor­re­spond­ing paper bal­lot. VeTA’s rep­re­sen­ta­tives were invited to be part of the elec­tion process. “This def­i­nitely is some sort of embar­rass­ment for us. How­ever, these are not issues that can­not be resolved. They are…technical prob­lems which are not dif­fi­cult to sort,” said the sec­ond EC official. Sev­eral polit­i­cal par­ties, includ­ing the main oppo­si­tion Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Com­mu­nist Party of India (Marx­ist), too, claim EVMs are not tamper-proof and have been demand­ing a paper backup. To assuage them, the trial –con­ducted in Leh (Jammu & Kash­mir), Thiru­vanan­tha­pu­ram (Ker­ala), Jaisalmer (Rajasthan) and in Delhi–tested the voter ver­i­fi­able paper audit trail pro­to­types made by Bharat Elec­tron­ics Ltd and Elec­tron­ics Corp. of India Ltd. The pilot took place in Megha­laya on Tuesday. The sys­tem on trial com­prises an inter­face that con­nects an EVM to a printer and has a list of can­di­date details cor­re­spond­ing with the EVM. When a per­son votes for a can­di­date on the EVM, a paper bal­lot with a ser­ial num­ber, name and sym­bol of the can­di­date will be printed. “There were 35,791 votes polled in Delhi, each of which had two paper back­ups. So of what should have been around 70,000 paper trails, around 3,500 were miss­ing. This means there was an error rate of 5%,” said G.V.L. Narasimha Rao, pres­i­dent of VeTA, and a mem­ber of BJP’s elec­toral reforms committee. From subhachops at gmail.com Sat Jul 30 11:20:04 2011 From: subhachops at gmail.com (Subhash) Date: Sat, 30 Jul 2011 11:20:04 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Offended minorities' panel to decide on Swamy's article Message-ID: Offended minorities' panel to decide on Swamy's article http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2306235.ece Subramanian Swamy had advocated disenfranchisement as a punishment for Muslims refusing to acknowledge their Hindu ancestry The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) will take a final view on Tuesday on an article written by Subramanian Swamy where he advocated disenfranchisement as a punishment for Muslims refusing to acknowledge their Hindu ancestry. The NCM had taken suo moto notice of the article at its meeting on July 19. The article appeared in the Daily News and Analysis (DNA) on July 16 – three days after the serial bomb blasts in Mumbai. NCM chairperson Wajahat Habibullah told The Hindu that while the NCM found the article offensive in the extreme, a final decision on the commission's response would be taken when the full bench reconvened on Tuesday. He said the NCW will go by legal advice it had procured from within the government: “There are no two opinions that the article is highly offensive and violative of the law. I'm fairly clear about the course the NCM should follow, but the decision has to come from the full Bench.” Since its publication, Dr. Swamy's article has been hotly debated on Twitter and Facebook, and last week it raised a storm in Harvard, where he taught Economics in the 1960s. In an online petition, students and faculty members demanded that Harvard end its association with him. The petition said: “While free expression and the vigorous contest of ideas are essential in any academic community, so too are respect and tolerance for human difference. By advocating measures that would grossly violate freedom of religion and the unqualified right to vote for different religious groups, and by aggressively vilifying an entire religious community, [Mr.] Swamy breaches the most basic standards of respect and tolerance.” In the article titled, ‘How to wipe out Islamic terror' Dr. Swami, who is also president of the Janata Party said that by 2012, he expected Islam to confront Hindus to “complete unfinished business.” He said: “Fanatic Muslims consider Hindu-dominated India an unfinished chapter of Islamic conquests”. All other countries conquered by Islam 100 per cent converted to Islam within two decades of the Islamic invasion. Undivided India in 1947 was 75 per cent Hindu even after 800 years of brutal Islamic rule. That is jarring for the fanatics.” Dr. Swami prescribed strategies to defeat the political goals of Islamic terrorism. Among them: “Implement the uniform civil code, make learning of Sanskrit and singing of Vande Mataram mandatory, and declare India a Hindu Rashtra in which non-Hindus can vote only if they proudly acknowledge that their ancestors were Hindus. Rename India Hindustan as a nation of Hindus and those whose ancestors were Hindus.” “Enact a national law prohibiting conversion from Hinduism to any other religion. Re-conversion will not be banned. Declare that caste is not based on birth but on code or discipline. Welcome non-Hindus to re-convert to the caste of their choice provided they adhere to the code of discipline. Annex land from Bangladesh in proportion to the illegal migrants from that country staying in India. At present, the northern third from Sylhet to Khulna can be annexed to re-settle illegal migrants.” From shveta at sarai.net Sat Jul 30 12:33:43 2011 From: shveta at sarai.net (shveta at sarai.net) Date: Sat, 30 Jul 2011 12:33:43 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Pad.ma News Update , July 2011: City in Archive Message-ID: Pad.ma's news update explores a series of expansions, collapses, demolitions, leakages and erasures in the archive. We continue our exploration of the city and its micro-universes through footage, and through essays by scholars, researchers and young writers, that are linked to video material. The essay+video format in Pad.ma allows you to link to videos and annotations that play simultaneously in the right side of the frame. Fleeting impressions of contemporary city life find their archive, not only in the planned city of architects and builders or the imagined city of cinema, but in a wide range of sensorial stimuli in the urban. This ranges from the leaking of private conversations, to sounds and images of slum demolitions and protests. The archived city can be glimpsed in the recording of a dance performance on a terrace that reveals in the background, the skyline of Bangalore in 1938 , or the city that is chanced upon in the periphery of an event, as the cutout of a superstar travels through the roads and flyovers of Mumbai . In July's news update, we include an essay on the destruction and regeneration of a city after a bomb explosion by Taha Mehmood, and an essay on the destruction and rebuilding of Mandala in Mumbai after each cycle of demolitions by Simpreet Singh, who is a member of the Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan. Another essay, by Nisha Vasudevan takes us deep into the recorded conversations of the Radia tapes. The essay and accompanying diagram catalogue and map out the nefarious connections between big media, big politics and big money. In this newsletter, we also include a video series that will continually be added to, on "Freedom of Expression", which includes interviews with activists, filmmakers, academics and others on repression of free speech. Of special interest is the interview with scholar Danny Butt on discourses around the internet, and the interview with Bharath Murthy, a filmmaker based in Coimbatore, on the flagitious aura of video pornography. In this spirit, we also include video clips from Sharjah, after the removal of an artwork from its 10th Biennial for purported blasphemy. We also explore the making of playlists in Pad.ma; these playlists are a playful way to combine text searches across the archive with manual selection and "curation". This is the result of an intuitive and in-progress software application written by Sanjay Bhangar (CAMP, Pad.ma). <> Mandala: Simpreet Singh "Take whatever you're getting, or else we'll send you to Mankhurd," Maharashtra state authorities and builders say. Mankhurd, a north-eastern suburb of Mumbai, is where the city's 'dregs' are washed to shore - its garbage and its oft-resettled working-class population. In this essay, activist Simpreet Singh of the Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan (GBGB) narrates the history of Mandala, a slum settlement in Mankhurd. The essay contains a timeline of demolitions carried out by the state in the name of urban development, and within that is embedded Singh's stirring, personal account of the protests staged by residents and activists. This account exposes the violence that marks perennial displacement in the city, and builds a convincing argument for the proposal for community-led redevelopment. http://essays.pad.ma/mandala "The Bomb That Saved the City": Taha Mehmood Taha Mehmood's essay is about spatial politics and policies at work in a city such as Manchester, often set into motion by destructive events. He says - "If on the one hand the bomb explosion at the city centre of Manchester in 1996 wrecked the social, entrepreneurial, symbolic and spatial heart of the city, then on the other it gave an opportunity to planners to create a new narrative of space in Manchester." The regeneration of the city as a safe, orderly space also led to the increasing use of CCTV surveillance. Mehmood draws interesting and relevant correlations between the city of Manchester and Mumbai, indeed any city that has seen terrorist attacks and how that has re-ordered the city. The essay traverses through CCTV footage of the bomb explosion and footage from CCTV control rooms in Manchester. http://essays.pad.ma/bomb-saved-city Powertapes: Nisha Vasudevan and Zinnia Ambapardiwala Nisha Vasudevan, a student of journalism currently interning at Pad.ma, delves into the Radia tapes (all transcribed and available at http://powertapes.pad.ma/) and gives an evocative and detailed account of the recorded conversations between Niira Radia and journalists, politicians, party representatives and other power brokers. "Niira Radia takes calls while in transit, immediately after a workout, panting, in between meetings, sometimes sick, sniffling, when in Mumbai, when in Delhi, giving directions to the driver, not fully awake, just about to make coffee; no-nonsense from dawn to dusk while conversing with over 75 people regularly... . She is reverent when talking to Ratan Tata but ruthless with her employees and rookie journalists. She gossips and flirts but gets the job done. Her caller-tune is 'Pal pal pal pal...' from the Bollywood film Parineeta." http://essays.pad.ma/radia-ga-ga The essay is accompanied by an interactive diagram, which links to sections of the Radia tapes archive, designed by Zinnia Ambapardiwala http://files.pad.ma/Radia/gram/ <> Cityscape: With the Superstar A giant cutout of the superstar Amitabh Bachchan, in his iconic proletarian avatar from the film Deewar travels through the city of Mumbai, on an early Sunday morning. This piece of footage is annotated to describe the city that this icon travels through - mill lands, flyovers, older settlements in Bombay. While the cutout looms over traffic and crowds, people react with surprise, bafflement and indifference. http://pad.ma/Vfbtmuxn/info 'Terrorised by Legislation?' - A talk by Vrinda Grover and Saeed Mirza The aftermath of the November 2009 attacks in Mumbai was marked by an increase in tough legislation, in relation to speech, performance and mobility of ordinary people. Vrinda Grover in her talk on the stance of the government says, that even though the attack by gunmen in hotels was described as different from previous attacks in Bombay or elsewhere in India, the response of the State was an old response and the legal changes proposed were "nothing more than regurgitating the past and spewing it back to us". The next speaker at this event, Saeed Mirza berates the narrowness of vision, in the contemporary, of what a country like India is about, in spite of its rich legacy and past. http://pad.ma/Vsme1x9e/editor "Sharjah Heritage Area" A brief video of a whitewashed court where Mustapha Benfodil's artwork is no more, with some surrounding atmosphere. http://pad.ma/Veiu0n56/info <> Freedom of Expression (Asia) This is an ongoing series of interviews with academics, scholars, researchers, activists, film festival organizers and others, speaking about the precarious state of the right to free speech across Asia. This current series of video looks at the status of free speech in Myanmar, Singapore and India. Martyn See speaks of his experience of censorship of political films in Singapore, Bharath Murthy who is a filmmaker speaks of practices around amateur pornographic videos in India, Ronald Diebert gives an overview of censorship practices regarding internet in Asia and Nishant Shah examines the tropes of good and bad citizenship in public and legal discourse, that allow for the State to continue repression of free speech. http://pad.ma/find?l=L34 Once upon an Intellectual Property Intellectual property has been at the heart of many debates on knowledge and cultural production in the recent decades. These videos comprise a range of voices and concerns about the role of 'intangible property' in the information era. http://pad.ma/find?l=Ln <> or, a stream of (mechanical) consciousness in the age of digital manipulation The digital archive in particular is an interesting space for the exploration of unforeseen, accidental, and machine-made connections across a vast range of material. Are automated mash-ups or keyword-films, which are produced "mechanically", inferior to the subjective authorial productions of artists? Examples of recent films that could have been "made by keyword" include Chrisian Marclay's 24-hour cinema cut-up "The Clock" and Maha Mamoun's film on the pyramids as they appear in diverse scenes in Egyptian film, "Domestic Tourism-II". Here archival objects are being given new form that combine, and make it impossible to distinguish, computed and "thought" relations. The artist or editor does not disappear, but neither does the computer. If one were to exacerbate this situation of the distribution of the role of the author, rather than resist or critique it, we could begin to explore the possibilities posed by something like these playlists, generated by keywords and searches in an archive. The playlists consist of high quality video and might take some time to load (Firefox) Playlist on rickshaw, in its various avatars (10 videos) http://playlists.camputer.org/C Playlist on archive as footage as city (14 videos) (excerpts of talks or interviews with Niranjan Hiranandani, Adonis, Lawrence Liang, Tom D'Aguiar, Ashish Rajadhyaksha, Rick Prelinger, Shahid Amin, Shakeel Bakshi, Friederich Engels) http://playlists.camputer.org/L <> We share the application for creating playlists within Pad.ma, here - http://camputer.org/padmaPlaylist/. It functions within the Firefox browser; the search results for any word or keyword can be stretched, re-ordered or deleted, to manually create a final playlist. This can then be exported as an html link that also plays in the browser. <> Screening of Documentary Films and Footage from Cairo, Egypt 15th July, 2011 1 Shanthi Road, Bangalore http://tinyurl.com/3lwcx2v PAD.MA, and the Possible: presented by Ashok Sukumaran and Shaina Anand 28th July, 2011 7:00 PM New Museum Theater, New York City http://www.newmuseum.org/events/564 _____________ Pad.ma is an interpretative web-based video archive, which works primarily with footage and not finished films. Pad.ma creates access to material which is easily lost in editing processes, in the filmmaking economy, and in changes of scale brought about by digital technology. Unlike Youtube and similar video sites, the focus here is on annotation, cross-linking, downloading and the reuse of video material for research, pedagogy and reference. For more, see http://pad.ma/about. This newsletter is put together by Namita A. Malhotra, Ranjana Dave and Shaina Anand and appears once in two months. _____________ To see current and past newsletters online: http://pad.ma/news To receive the Pad.ma newsletter, send a mail to padma-announce-subscribe at pad.ma To unsubscribe from this list, send a mail to padma-announce-unsubscribe at pad.ma From saminamishra at gmail.com Mon Jul 18 17:56:19 2011 From: saminamishra at gmail.com (Samina Mishra) Date: Mon, 18 Jul 2011 17:56:19 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Aadab In A Time Of Allah Hafiz In-Reply-To: References: <1310605655.29622.YahooMailClassic@web24102.mail.ird.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <5720EAD9-DD57-4AB3-9C03-07A5090089AC@gmail.com> Dear All, Sorry I'm a bit late in responding. Was away with erratic internet access. Thanks Ambarien for your response and (your defence in response to Javed's comment :). I think that it is indeed critical that there is a conversation about these issues, a verbalisation of thoughts that may not always seem perfectly formed. The article was written in that spirit. To recognise that there are multiple stories and multiple layers in every story. As for the burkha, of course, there are stories of how it can become an empowering tool. Women managing to use it to get out of the house, or to do things they would not be able to do otherwise. Stories also of eroticism and romance. But I see this as a negotiation. And while I believe that women should be free to choose what they wear, we have to also recognise the context of that choice. So, yes, just as a pair of jeans does not necessarily embody progressiveness, a burkha may not embody regressiveness. But for me, that does not translate into the burkha being something more. I can accept it as a negotiation but I cannot accept it as an act of liberation. I guess that's where I draw my line. Javed, you're right in making the correction. It is indeed assalam aleikum - "asak" as it is being used on sms and email. But in spoken interactions, syllables often run into each other and are not distinctly uttered. That may, of course, in your opinion, disqualify many others from being Muslims "worth their caps". And, while I stand corrected on the transliteration into Roman, I hope that detail does not preclude you from the larger argument of the piece which is to push for more inclusiveness even as we retain particularities. This may never be an easy balance but it is what I believe we need to work towards. Best, Samina Oh the thinks you can think up If only you try - Dr Seuss Samina Mishra saminamishra at gmail.com 264/1, Gulmohar Avenue, Jamia Nagar New Delhi 110025 On 14-Jul-2011, at 10:39 AM, Ujwala Samarth wrote: > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: ambarien qadar > Date: Thu, Jul 14, 2011 at 6:37 AM > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Aadab In A Time Of Allah Hafiz > To: Javed > Cc: reader list > > > > > I don't know what 'any muslim worth his cap means'! I also don't think that it is important to know the difference between 'assalam-walaikum' and 'salaam'. Both to me mean 'may peace be upon you'.Most crucially, why should it be more important to someone born in a muslim home?The article is charting out a very crucial terrain of the transition that has occurred and we would be fools if we were not to accept it. And perhaps that's why the author chose to use the transition of Aadab to Salaam and left the metaphor open ended for us.And because it was open ended, it let me raise some of my own confusions and doubts.Let us not close the space for dialogue, whatever of it is left, by closing ourselves.thanks, ambarien. > --- On Wed, 13/7/11, Javed wrote: > > From: Javed > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Aadab In A Time Of Allah Hafiz > To: "Ujwala Samarth" , ambarien at yahoo.co.uk > Cc: "sarai list" , "Samina Mishra" > Date: Wednesday, 13 July, 2011, 21:39 > > While I enjoyed reading parts of this piece, I am intrigued by one > very basic knowledge of the author. (And I know everyone on this list > is going to chide me for my being too much of a purist.) While I > appreciate her use of Adab and Khuda Hafiz as an inclusive salutation, > she continues to write the salam as “assalam waleikum” which any > Muslim worth his cap would know is a faulty word. The correct word is > assalamu-alaikum, and there is no "wa" before alaikum. I am amazed > that the author grew up as a Muslim in a Muslim family knowing an > incorrect word which is a very basic understanding in any Muslim home. > In reply to the salam you do say wa-alikum salam, but there is no such > thing as salam walekum. > > "We Muslims" usually make fun of non-Muslims who ignorantly use the > word salam walekum, and try to correct them. Most people on this list > would say, how rude you are by making fun of this. But I simply ask: > how would you react if someone ignorantly (and seriously) said > manaskar instead of namaskar or manaste instead of namaste. Won't you > try to correct the person? > > thanks > > Javed > > On Tue, Jul 12, 2011 at 11:28 AM, Ujwala Samarth > wrote: > > Language, especially the words and colloquialisms we use in our everyday > > interactions, is a sharp but subtle indicator of changing mores, shifts in > > socio-political realities and the collective 'pulse' of a community...In > > this article written for *Open Space/CCDS,* Pune, Samina Mishra reflects on > > the trajectory from “adaab” to “asalam waleikum”, from “khuda hafiz” to > > “Allah hafiz”, and on why people feel the need to group around markers of > > identities… > > > > *http://www.openspaceindia.org/express/articles-a-essays/item/749.html > > * > > > > *Aadab In A Time Of Allah Hafiz* > > > > > > > > Some months ago, I was chastised by a woman for saying “adaab”, instead of > > “assalam wa leikum”, the latter being the “the proper Islamic greeting” in > > her opinion, to be exchanged between Muslims. I grew up as a Muslim and > > learnt to say “adaab” when I met someone and “khuda hafiz” when we parted > > ways. Originating from a North Indian Islamicate high culture, “adaab” as a > > form of greeting was imbued with a certain class hierarchy. It was a > > familiar greeting even in many elite non-Muslim households in North India, > > households that were closely associated with that cultural space. Among many > > other Muslim populations, the Arabic greeting “assalam wa leikum”, meaning > > “may peace be upon you” was also used. But, there was no formal dictum about > > the usage while I was growing up and there could be overlaps. So, as a child > > I often replied with an “adaab” to someone who came in saying “assalam wa > > leikum” and it was not considered inappropriate. As for “Allah hafiz” (may > > god keep you safe), I did not hear the term until about a decade ago. The > > word “khuda” originates from Persian but because it is used in other > > languages too, it can be seen as a more embracing word for God than Allah. > > The latter is a more specific reference to god in Islam and is confined to > > its Arabic origins, at least so far. Thus, although they emerge from a > > specific North Indian Muslim culture, “adaab” and “khuda hafiz” have had a > > more inclusive history. > > > > > > > > Today, these terms are being given up by many Muslims in India, from > > different class backgrounds, in favour of the more unambiguously Islamic > > “assalam waleikum” and “Allah hafiz”. For those of us who seek to draw > > attention to the complicated greys that lie between the uncompromising > > blacks and whites, this notion of unambiguity is naturally problematic. But, > > in this trajectory of change from “adaab” to “asalam waleikum”, from “khuda > > hafiz” to “Allah hafiz”, there are other stories too, stories about why > > people group around markers of identities, about what gives people a sense > > of security and comfort, about what creates new groupings. So, even as I > > feel uncomfortable about puritanical Islamic practices creeping in around > > me, I recognise that our lives are composed of many overlapping stories, as > > the novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche has so eloquently spoken about, stories > > that need to be told to avoid what she calls “the danger of the single > > story”. > > > > > > > > So, in the context of adaab and khuda hafiz, what are these other stories? > > > > > > > > Consider some of these: > > > > > > > > In the late 1960s, a young girl joins a college hostel and as the lone > > Muslim girl, she is made to eat separately in the dining hall and put her > > used dishes apart from the rest. > > > > > > > > In the 1980s, one Muslim family loses 56 members to communal rioting, > > including the murder of an uncle at the hands of his best friend. > > > > > > > > In the 1990s, a woman from a small town in UP with a BA, MA and BEd moves to > > Delhi to teach in a school. She moves back within a month – “I wear a burkha > > and the whole environment there was not suited for me…” > > > > > > > > In the years since 2002, a dynamic young woman, founder of an NGO to help > > poor and dalit Muslims, stops telling people her real name while travelling > > on trains because of being looked at with suspicion. > > > > > > > > In the mid-2000s, a teacher attends a workshop in which participants are > > asked to introduce themselves by talking about their biggest fears. One > > participant shares that hers is that her son will marry a Muslim - because > > they are dirty. > > > > > > > > In 2008, a young girl, who likes going to school and does well at studies, > > wonders why the school celebrates Holi and Christmas but not Eid. > > > > > > > > In 2009, a media person who offers her neighbour the use of her flat during > > wedding festivities is told by colleagues that she should not have done so > > since the groom was a Muslim man from Azamgarh. The same woman remembers a > > Muslim boy who worked for a while in her office – “He was referred to as > > jihadi!” > > > > > > > > This is a sample of stories that I have encountered in the course of a > > two-year research project on Muslim women and their experiences of education > > in parts of western UP. It is only a sample and it is only one person’s > > encounter. What, I wonder, would a more comprehensive collection reveal? > > But, even in this sprinkling of voices, there is a larger narrative of > > exclusion. A story of people being grouped together, in both subtle and > > direct ways. People are identified by the religion they practise or are born > > into. Not in itself a bad thing since human beings choose a variety of > > groupings - around class/caste/religion, schools, football teams, movie > > stars, work ethics, fashion statements, job aspirations. The list is > > endless. But when that identification becomes the sole defining identity, it > > presents itself as the natural order of things instead of the construction > > that it is. It becomes a wall that seeks to make itself invisible. > > > > > > > > And when the cloak of invisibility falls off and the wall shows up – in the > > form of a veil, a riot or a separate greeting code – who is the one who > > built it? The ones who sought to keep out? Or the ones who chose to stay in? > > And what of those who wanted windows instead of walls? Continuing to say > > “adaab” and “khuda hafiz” is my way of acknowledging that while there is a > > wall, it can have an open window. > > > > > > --*Samina Mishra is a documentary filmmaker and media practitioner based in > > New Delhi.* > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > Ujwala Samarth > > (Programme Coordinator, Open Space) > > > > www.openspaceindia.org > > www.infochangeindia.org > > http://www.facebook.com/pages/Open-Space/116557125037041 > > > > B-301, Kanchanjunga Building, > > Kanchan Lane, Off Law College Rd,, > > Pune 411004 > > (020-25457371) > > _________________________________________ > > 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: > > > > -- > Ujwala Samarth > (Programme Coordinator, Open Space) > > www.openspaceindia.org > www.infochangeindia.org > http://www.facebook.com/pages/Open-Space/116557125037041 > > B-301, Kanchanjunga Building, > Kanchan Lane, Off Law College Rd,, > Pune 411004 > (020-25457371) > > > > > > From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Sat Jul 30 17:04:23 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Sat, 30 Jul 2011 17:04:23 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Caste Politics in Bihar Message-ID: http://www.pragoti.in/node/4478 "It would not be an exaggeration to say that Nitish era has, in fact, seen a disenfranchisement of Dalits in Bihar politics and return of the landed class hegemony. The Dalit political space has almost been completely eliminated by Nitish Kumar, both discursively as well as politically. Secondly, what Nitish Kumar intends to accomplish is to achieve forced stabilisation of the existing class balance in the state where traditional elites and emerging petty-bourgeois classes play a dominant role." Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Sat Jul 30 17:35:03 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Sat, 30 Jul 2011 17:35:03 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd:Treasure of Faith Message-ID: _____________Forwarded Message___________________ Treasure of Faith Hoards of Wealth in Padmnabh Temple Ram Puniyani It seems that in this profane world, the ‘Holy’ seem to be most monetarily wealthy. Recently the material goods of the men of God have come to be known more openly than before. Bhagwan Satya Sai of Putthaparthy, not only had over 40000+ crores of wealth; some of this was kept in his personal quarter, in the form of cash and Gold. Not to be left behind the most successful Yoga Guru and the champion of unearthing illicit money stashed abroad, Baba Ramdev, also has hoards of money. It is said he controls over 11000 crores. All this came to prominence once Ramdev began his campaign by undertaking fast at Ramlila maidan. These are just two samples from the Godmen, who are currently ruling the spiritual realm. Other Godmen like Sri Sri Ravishanker, Morari Bapu, Maa Amritanand Mai, Asaram Bapu and other of their tribe are also wealthy to the hilt. Unlike the low caste saints of the genre of Kabir, Tukaram, Narsi Mehta, Dadu or Raidas, most of those in the God market today have made humongous riches. The other centres’ of faith, the temples, also have infinite wealth. It is known that Tirupati Balaji Temple, Sai Baba of Shirdi Shrine, Siddhivinayaka in Mumbai and many such places are troves of treasure. This wealth comes from devotees’ offerings. Lately some BJP ruled States, e.g. Karnataka, Governments are also donating money to holy places. Many claim that this wealth is devoted for public welfare. In is reported that only 0.5% of Bhagwan Satya Sai’s wealth was used for social welfare. How much of these offering are tax paid or comprise of illicit wealth is anybody’s guess. As Godmen are prominently visible currently, more facts about the stinking wealth of these centres of faith are coming to light. Some of these are plain shockers. One such shocker comes in the form of the news (July 2011) that Shree Padmanabhswamy temple of Tiruvananthpuram’s lockers have incalculable wealth. These lockers were opened on the orders of Supreme Court. It seems that the deity of this Holy shrine is the richest ‘God on Earth’. The mind boggling wealth of Lakhs of Crores has been locked up there from last few centuries. The source of this wealth is multiple, part of this came from devotees offerings and the major chunk has came from the wealth of King Marthanda Varma, The source of his wealth was taxation of poor farmers, tax income from slave trade, and by appropriating the wealth of other kings. The source of wealth is known but its controls are in the hands of the temple trust. The surfacing of such a vast treasure has raised the issue, to who does this wealth belong? Marthanda Varma the king who defeated small kings to garner this huge wealth was under the influence of a Brahman priest. In due course King dedicated all his wealth and his sword to Padmnanbha Temple and declared himself as Padmanabhdasa, and acted as the custodian of this wealth. The same regime and temple wealth was partly used for opening up feeding houses for Brahmins, but overall the whole wealth has remained intact in the coffers of the temple. The temple is being managed by a Committee with the heir of Martanda Varma as the controller of the treasure. Does the God, deity, need so much wealth? And can this vast ocean of riches be of any good to the society at large in the material sense. One concedes that the wealth with the deity is `serving various emotive-spiritual’ purposes, and many a Hindu groups and even the Congress politicians have claimed that the wealth should remain as it is where it is and a small part of it can be diverted for social welfare. With Independence and later with abolition of privy purses to the Kings, who were enjoying privileges by claiming to have divine right to rule, the rule passed on to the state, the elected representative of the people. So should mere legality decide the use of this wealth or should the needs of society at large decide the utilization of such wealth. What will make God most happy; the hoarding of this wealth under the control of few or use of this wealth for the larger good of society? As such when we are hearing that a lot of wealth kept by Indians in banks aboard should be declared national asset and used for the welfare of the people, should we also pay our attention to this ‘Temple-Baba’ wealth as well? Those shouting hoarse, and correctly so, about nationalizing illicit money are keeping quiet on the issue of wealth with God, and wealth with Godmen, both. It is a bit of a riddle that those who have been fasting and agitating on the issue of illicit wealth seal their lips when this social wealth under the control of Deity or a small group of trustees is concerned. As such there are interesting historical incidents about Holy places and wealth. Earlier also these places of worship were the places with good amount of wealth and many a Kings, motivated by the lust plundered it. Mahmud Gazni had the clear motive of grabbing Somnath temple wealth, but he claimed that he does not believe in idol worship, so he is destroying the temple. Such historiography became the stuff on which communal divides were drawn and divisive politics sustains itself. Here one forgets that even Hindu Kings have plundered the wealth in temples. Kalhan’s Rajtangini mentions that 11thCentury ruler of Kashmir, Raja Harshdev, had created a new designation of an officer, Decottpatan Nayak, whose job was to uproot the precious idols of Gods in the Holy places. The matters of faith are very delicate and have become more so during last three decades as the temple issues have bypassed the issues of poverty and dignity of weaker section of society. One should also make it clear that similar wealth is locked up in other religious institutions, like in Churches and with Wakf board, though the source of this may be different. All this needs to be brought to the service of the community at large. In current times while there is a need to respect the faith of people, there is also a need to think of social welfare in all possible manners. Such treasures have to be brought under social control and every penny of this must go for programs aimed at alleviation of poverty or empowerment of the weak and poor. -- Issues in Secular Politics II July 2011-07-20 www.pluralindia.com Response only to ram.puniyani at gmail.com ___________________________________________ -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Sun Jul 31 19:02:22 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2011 19:02:22 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [issuesonline_worldwide] Fwd:Treasure of Faith In-Reply-To: <1312042313.31679.YahooMailNeo@web65612.mail.ac4.yahoo.com> References: <1312042313.31679.YahooMailNeo@web65612.mail.ac4.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Most of past Kings were glorified gangsters who used religion to subjugate the masses and make everybody's life miserable through endless wars and loot. The Travancore dynasty was no different. The accumulated wealth clearly shows that the rulers of the dynasty were utterly brainless when it comes to development, planning and management. Apart from a few objects of historical value, the whole of the wealth should be used by the Govt for public good in a transparent manner and without the involvement of any religious bodies. The so-called godmen have a long legacy of fooling common people for the vested interests of ruling classes. All the godmen that you mention are plain frauds who spend paltry amounts on charity in relation to the funds they receive from the ruling classes and temples. Sai baba the serial child molestor was more pro Congress, while anadamayee is a well known sangh parivar stooge. Human beings do not need a religion to discern between the good and bad. The brainwashed among you should try to free yourselves from the same. An interesting excerpt from the large amount of material on the web on the irrationality of religion and 'godmen': "She is a handmaiden of the Sangh Parivar, especially the VHP, with its global fund-flows. The hug is her USP. Her media managers and fund-managers are the real miracle-workers, considering what they have made out of a simple woman with a knack for popular religious enactment and the energy to hug all and sundry...RELIGION MAKES lots of money because of the universal belief that you earn merit by giving. The best of faith-founders have stressed compassion; so has humanism. For the modern individual, directly helping the needy is a messy business because you are forced to get involved. Presenting money or goods to a place of worship or to a godman/woman solves the issue neatly. Hinduism has a special place for the parityagi — he who renounces all. The way things turned out, it is the so-called parityagi who ends up making all the money! What fun!Usual places of worship do not do so well in money-catching because they have no special charisma; or they must build up the god as a miracle-maker through competitive marketing. Big money flows only towards the talented individual who can create popular spiritual appeal and surround him/herself with a group of committed disciples.Disciples are the key. By him/herself the godman/woman is like a nuclear reactor waiting to go critical. It is the disciples who trigger the money-machine and the supporting media blast. They have more at stake than the guru. Almost none of them is guru-material. They control immense wealth and power because of the guru’s talent. And when the guru is dead, a statue with an offerings-box can do pretty well too.Mata Amritanandamayi Devi née Ms Radhamani fits Malayali decadence to a T. She is reckoned to be one of the country’s richest gurus. She is a handmaiden of the Sangh Parivar, especially the VHP, with its global fund-flows. The hug is her USP. Her media managers and fund-managers are the real miracle-workers, considering what they have made out of a simple woman with a knack for popular religious enactment and the energy to hug all and sundry...Amritanandamayi has invested well too. She has an expensive TV channel which is a great conduit. All the millions invested into medical/engineering and other professional institutions go under the head of charity. But the same charity also demands capitation fees of about Rs 30 to 40 lakh for a seat in the professional institutions. Some millions were spent on building homes for the tsunami-hit. That was a God-sent credibility exercise because it looked almost like charity. It was the best mask Amritanandamayi’s millions have yet worn. It increased her money-gathering power a hundred times. As we know, what all godmen/ women don’t like is auditing and accountability. But then, can you audit God?" Nice links: Article and website on SSB by Brian Steel [www.saiguru.net] Kevin Shepherd--problems with Sathya Sai Baba [www.kevinrdshepherd.net] Timothy Conway--concerns about Sathya Sai Baba [www.enlightened-spirituality.org] Robert Priddy--SSB Deceptions Exposed [robertpriddy.wordpress.com] http://www.kevinrdshepherd.net/html/23___sathya_sai_baba__problems.html http://www.saibaba-x.org.uk/8/More_untoward_events_at_Sai_Baba_ashrams.htm On many cults and religion: http://www.rickross.com/ http://forum.rickross.com/ Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC, AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc On Sat, Jul 30, 2011 at 9:41 PM, S kumar wrote: > > > > >>The source of his wealth was taxation of poor farmers, tax income from slave trade, and by appropriating the wealth of other kings.>> > > Ram Puniyani has projected a totally distorted view of the entire topic of wealth collected/ accrued to the temples and God-men, a hot topic of today, to vilify the past Hindu Kings as if they had collected these from the toiling people by taxes..etc. > > Let Puniyani study the history before passing such castigating remarks on Hindu saints and shrines. > > 1. In case of the so called God-men be it Satya Saibaba or Amritanandamayi or Sree Sree Ravishnkar..etc. the people who have faith in them donate their hard earned money to these saints so that these are used for public good. None of them are drunkards or fritter away the wealth in Worldly pleasures or park them in safe havens like the Politicians who control and run the Govt. > > 2. Baba Ramdev is a simple Yoga teacher propagating the use of Ayurveda medicines and compositions for various illnesses and started as an insignificant villager learning Yoga and Ayurveda from his Guru-s. If his followers including several politicians have donated funds to his enterprises and the foreigners were generous enough to donate even an island off Bristish Isles for Yoga developement, he is a pride of our heritage. > > Ramdev has not looted the public funds like the many politicians right from Jagjivan Ram or Kairon downwards to Sonia and Raja bringing disrepute to India having the largest share of black money stashed in safe havens, more than all other Countries put together. > > If Ramdev heads the movement for Swadeshi products and against corruption to bring back the looted funds stashed abroad, it is in Nation's interest eventhough it might damage the reputation and integrity of several high up in the ladder of politicians irrespective of Political affiliations > > 3. Amritanandamayi was born as a fisherwoman in Kollam and was thrown out of her hut, spending hours by seaside praying Krishna. She was not even allowed to sleep within the hut and was half fed with left overs in the house. I have myself seen her temple and prayer halls at Karunagappalli near Kollam in 1980-s, and access to her prayer hall was two coconut-tree trunks over a canal and a four feet wide muddy passage with bamboo thorn fencing on either side!! Two people cannot walk side by side and there was no access by any vehicle, even cycles had to be rolled and not ridden!! > > If she has thousands of Crores now and even the Mayor of NY comes to her prayer meetings and bows before her, it is her music and prayers as she knows only Malayalam and no other language. If Puniyani goes and addresses a meeting, perhaps you would get a few seniles in a drawing room with sadistic and pessimistic outlook in life, criticizing the successful. > > Amritanandamayi is running one of the best multidiscipline hospitals in Kochi with free treatments for the poor even in cardiac surgeries or kidney transplants. She runs several educational institutions without any Govt. grants taking students on merit only evethough she is a fisherwoman and all these institutions are headed by qualified Saffron Swami-s who do not draw any salaries or other expenses for themselves, but for their bare neds and subsistence!! > > Amrita University at Ettimadai was established in Tamilnadu bordering Kerala as Kerala Govt. refused permission or land preferring only Minorities to expand educational activities. When Tsunami affected South India, she constructed over 400 houses in TN coast and donated them free. So was Earthquake at Kutch when she donated over 200 houses and a School and Hospital at Bhuj. > > Kerala Govt. refused her offer of free houses for Tsunami affected on justification that equal opportunity should be given to Christian and Muslim groups to serve the people- projects that never took off even today except tinsheet sheds. > > 4. The same is the story of Satya Sai baba. Has he looted and got the money like Sonia or other leaders? It is volunatry donations that has built up all these philonthropic activities and if some cash and Gold were found in his secret chambers, they were not to be taken by Sai Baba but belongs to the trust run by well known retired Judges and officers of high integrity. > > 5. Travancore Kings were never flamboyant and were riding horse drawn carts when many other Maharaja-s were in their Gold Rolls Royces enjoying the hospitality of foreign rulers. Wearing only an unstitched Dhoti, the Kings visited temple daily and ruled the people on behalf on Mahavishnu SriPadmanabha in Ananthashayana. > > Ram Puniyani, there were no taxes in Travancore except land revenue, insignificant compared to other incomes. The main income of the State was by export of spices, monopoly of Travancore since three millenea, spices weighed against Gold coins in Rome even before Julius Caesar. That is why the Roman Gold coins were found in sackfuls in the temple rooms. They were not looted by Marthanda Varma. Marthanda Varma brought all fragmented States of Travancore together under a single rule like Sardar Patel did after independence. > > The funds of the temples or the so called Godmen belongs to Hindu-s and Hindu-s only. Govt. has already been looting the incomes of temples all these 60 years and spending them for Christian and Muslim purposes besides for paying salaries to Govt. servants. Would the Govt. dare to loot the Churches and Mosques and use their money for general welfare? Even the landed properties of temples have been alienated and now owned by Muslims and Christians documented by design and not right. > > There were no SC/ST differences in Kerala until 1950-s. They were looked after well by the Landlords, who used to work with them in ploughing, weeding, harvesting..etc. and their needs were met well. I have seen my grandfather sitting in the fields and taking food with the workers. Only reservations have alienated them in next generation and they all hoped for Govt. jobs, abandoned acquiring the inherited sjkills of carpentry or pottery or leatherwork and are a loitering lot today taking part in politics of violence and opportunities for making a quick buck as middle-men in Govt. offices. > > Truth never fails humans. But spreading outright lies Puniyani exposes one's ignorance, pettiness and pessimistic attitude to life. better study history and realities before you write such damaging articles betraying your own heritage and Country. > > 6.Upper Caste contemporaries of Kabir, Tukaram, Narsi Mehta, Dadu or Raidas were no different from them and there are no Sc/St saints today as most of them are hankering for Govt. jobs and earn by corrutpion be it Raja or Jagjivan. > > 7. Till now, Karnataka Govts were looting the temple incomes and 75% of the funds so go were spent on Haj Travels, mosques and Churches and 25% left for running temples so insufficient even to pay salaries so that many temples have closed down. If Yeddiyurappa has donated some funds to temples, he should pay back all the funds taken from temples since independence and spent on wining and dancing by the non-Hindu and SC/St officers of the Endowment Boards. > > 8. If the wealth of the temples are to be used for Socisl upliftment programmes, it would be another NREGA or similar projects and most of the funds would go underground and surface at Swiss Banks or Mauritius when managed by the Govt. of Politicians and officials. These funds belongs to Hindu-s and would be used only for uplitment of Hindu-s, revival/ renovation of temples, restoration of the labnded properties of temples and running of schools teaching the noble heritage oof the Country, the ancient astronomy, vedic mathematics and so many fields, ignored by the so called experts in Govt. Do not expoect these funds to be used to fund Haj or Bethlehem pilgrimages. > From: A. Mani > To: sarai list ; issuesonline_worldwide at yahoogroups.com; pragoti at yahoogroups.com > Sent: Saturday, July 30, 2011 5:35 PM > Subject: [issuesonline_worldwide] Fwd:Treasure of Faith > > _____________Forwarded Message___________________ > > Treasure of Faith > > Hoards of Wealth in Padmnabh Temple > > Ram Puniyani > > It seems that in this profane world, the ‘Holy’ seem to be most > monetarily wealthy. Recently the material goods of the men of God have > come to be known more openly than before. Bhagwan Satya Sai of > Putthaparthy, not only had over 40000+ crores of wealth; some of this > was kept in his personal quarter, in the form of cash and Gold. Not to > be left behind the most successful Yoga Guru and the champion of > unearthing illicit money stashed abroad, Baba Ramdev, also has hoards > of money. It is said he controls over 11000 crores. All this came to > prominence once Ramdev began his campaign by undertaking fast at > Ramlila maidan. These are just two samples from the Godmen, who are > currently ruling the spiritual realm. Other Godmen like Sri Sri > Ravishanker, Morari Bapu, Maa Amritanand Mai, Asaram Bapu and other of > their tribe are also wealthy to the hilt. Unlike the low caste saints > of the genre of Kabir, Tukaram, Narsi Mehta, Dadu or Raidas, most of > those in the God market today have made humongous riches. > > The other centres’ of faith, the temples, also have infinite wealth. > It is known that Tirupati Balaji Temple, Sai Baba of Shirdi Shrine, > Siddhivinayaka in Mumbai and many such places are troves of treasure. > This wealth comes from devotees’ offerings. Lately some BJP ruled > States, e.g. Karnataka, Governments are also donating money to holy > places. Many claim that this wealth is devoted for public welfare. In > is reported that only 0.5% of Bhagwan Satya Sai’s wealth was used for > social welfare.  How much of these offering are tax paid or comprise > of illicit wealth is anybody’s guess. As Godmen are prominently > visible currently, more facts about the stinking wealth of these > centres of faith are coming to light. Some of these are plain > shockers. > > One such shocker comes in the form of the news (July 2011) that Shree > Padmanabhswamy temple of Tiruvananthpuram’s lockers have incalculable > wealth. These lockers were opened on the orders of Supreme Court. It > seems that the deity of this Holy shrine is the richest ‘God on > Earth’. The mind boggling wealth of Lakhs of Crores has been locked up > there from last few centuries.  The source of this wealth is multiple, > part of this came from devotees offerings and the major chunk has came > from the wealth of King Marthanda Varma, The source of his wealth was > taxation of poor farmers, tax income from slave trade, and by > appropriating the wealth of other kings. The source of wealth is known > but its controls are in the hands of the temple trust. The surfacing > of such a vast treasure has raised the issue, to who does this wealth > belong? > > Marthanda Varma the king who defeated small kings to garner this huge > wealth was under the influence of a Brahman priest. In due course King > dedicated all his wealth and his sword to Padmnanbha Temple and > declared himself as Padmanabhdasa, and acted as the custodian of this > wealth. The same regime and temple wealth was partly used for opening > up feeding houses for Brahmins, but overall the whole wealth has > remained intact in the coffers of the temple. The temple is being > managed by a Committee with the heir of Martanda Varma as the > controller of the treasure. > > Does the God, deity, need so much wealth? And can this vast ocean of > riches be of any good to the society at large in the material sense. > One concedes that the wealth with the deity is `serving various > emotive-spiritual’ purposes, and many a Hindu groups  and even the > Congress politicians have claimed that the wealth should remain as it > is where it is and a small part of it can be diverted for social > welfare. > > With Independence and later with abolition of privy purses to the > Kings, who were enjoying privileges by claiming to have divine right > to rule, the rule passed on to the state, the elected representative > of the people. So should mere legality decide the use of this wealth > or should the needs of society at large decide the utilization of such > wealth. What will make God most happy; the hoarding of this wealth > under the control of few or use of this wealth for the larger good of > society? > > As such when we are hearing that a lot of wealth kept by Indians in > banks aboard should be declared national asset and used for the > welfare of the people, should we also pay our attention to this > ‘Temple-Baba’ wealth as well? Those shouting hoarse, and correctly so, > about nationalizing illicit money are keeping quiet on the issue of > wealth with God, and wealth with Godmen, both. It is a bit of a riddle > that those who have been fasting and agitating on the issue of illicit > wealth seal their lips when this social wealth under the control of > Deity or a small group of trustees is concerned. > > As such there are interesting historical incidents about Holy places > and wealth. Earlier also these places of worship were the places with > good amount of wealth and many a Kings, motivated by the lust > plundered it. Mahmud Gazni had the clear motive of grabbing Somnath > temple wealth, but he claimed that he does not believe in idol > worship, so he is destroying the temple. Such historiography became > the stuff on which communal divides were drawn and divisive politics > sustains itself. Here one forgets that even Hindu Kings have plundered > the wealth in temples. Kalhan’s Rajtangini mentions that 11thCentury > ruler of Kashmir, Raja Harshdev, had created a new designation of an > officer, Decottpatan Nayak, whose job was to uproot the precious idols > of Gods in the Holy places. The matters of faith are very delicate and > have become more so during last three decades as the temple issues > have bypassed the issues of poverty and dignity of weaker section of > society. > > One should also make it clear that similar wealth is locked up in > other religious institutions, like in Churches and with Wakf board, > though the source of this may be different. All this needs to be > brought to the service of the community at large. > > In current times while there is a need to respect the faith of people, > there is also a need to think of social welfare in all possible > manners. Such treasures have to be brought under social control and > every penny of this must go for programs aimed at alleviation of > poverty or empowerment of the weak and poor. > > -- > > Issues in Secular Politics > > II July 2011-07-20 > > www.pluralindia.com > > Response only to ram.puniyani at gmail.com > > ___________________________________________ > > -- > A. Mani > ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS > http://www.logicamani.co.cc > > ------------------------------------ From chandni_parekh at yahoo.com Sun Jul 31 23:37:43 2011 From: chandni_parekh at yahoo.com (Chandni Parekh) Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2011 11:07:43 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Film Screenings in August Message-ID: <1312135663.87493.YahooMailNeo@web161424.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Film Screenings in August: 'My American Uncle' by Alain Resnais (French), Aug 2, Bombay http://bombay.afindia.org/ node/3874 'The Genius of Design' by Tim Kirby, Aug 3, Delhi http://movies.groups.yahoo. com/group/docuwallahs2/ message/9947 'The Grocer's Son' by Eric Guirado (French), Aug 3, Bombay http://bombay.afindia.org/ node/3876 'Thirteen at the Table' by Enrico Oldoini (Italian), Aug 3 and 6, Delhi http://bit.ly/r39UGw 'The Impressionists: Edgar Degas' and a Film on Anish Kapoor, Aug 4, Delhi http://tinyurl.com/3uze76n Short Films presented by Shamiana, Aug 6, Ahmedabad http://on.fb.me/mQ6WB6 'Family Inc' by Emily Ting and Helen Jen, Aug 6 and 7 on NDTV 24x7 http://on.fb.me/nqV8X3 Cinema of Resistance Film Festival, Aug 6-7, Uttar Pradesh http://movies.groups.yahoo. com/group/docuwallahs2/ message/9795 Short Films presented by Shamiana, Aug 7, Baroda http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=133184090103890 'Objectified' by Gary Hustwit, Aug 10, Delhi http://movies.groups.yahoo. com/group/docuwallahs2/ message/9947 'Flanders' by Bruno Dumont (French), Aug 11, Bombay http://bombay.afindia.org/ node/3882 Vikalp at Alliance Screening of 'Vertical City' by Mukul Kishore and 'Dilli' by Sushmit Ghosh and Rintu Thomas, Aug 12, Bombay http://bombay.afindia.org/ node/3884 'In Search of Gandhi' by Lalit Vachani, Aug 13, Bombay http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=246812488670700 'The Nine Months' by Merajur Rahman Baruah, Aug 13, 14, 20 and 21 on NDTV 24x7 http://on.fb.me/nqV8X3 'The Private Life of a Masterpiece' by Jeremy Bugler, Aug 17, Delhi http://movies.groups.yahoo. com/group/docuwallahs2/ message/9947 'Hiroshima, My Love' by Alain Resnais (French), Aug 17, Bombay http://bombay.afindia.org/ node/3887 '68 Pages' by Sridhar Rangayan, Aug 18, Delhi http://www.habitatfilmclub.com/films/68-pages.php 'The Impressionists: Paul Gaugin' and 'A Painter's Portrait: Gogi Saroj Pal' by Bikram Singh, Aug 18, Delhi http://tinyurl.com/3uze76n Documentary on Placido Domingo, Aug 24, Delhi http://movies.groups.yahoo. com/group/docuwallahs2/ message/9947 'Learning from Light: The Vision of I M Pei' by Bo Landin and Sterling Van Wagenen, Aug 27 and 28 on NDTV 24x7 http://on.fb.me/nqV8X3 Vikalp at Prithvi Screening of 'Sengadal - The Dead Sea' by Leena Manimekalai, Monday, Aug 29, 7 pm, Prithvi House, Juhu, Bombay http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=101447533290311 Short Films presented by Shamiana, Aug 31, Delhi http://www.habitatfilmclub.com/films.php 'Just Married' by Luca Lucini (Italian), Aug 31 and Sep 3, Delhi http://bit.ly/nZk241 ----- To add your friends to the Vikalp at Prithvi group on Facebook, visit http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_46819848804 - Chandni