volume XXVIII. No. 5 September – October 2014

INDIA INTERNATIONAL CENTRE

diaryPrice Re.1/-

1

EXHIBITION: Pahari Imli-Window to a Lost World

Photographs, books, frontispieces and objects from the

collection of the Hazrat Shah Walilullah Public Library, and

from the private collections of Abdul Sattar and Naseem

Beg Khan Changezi

Photographs by: Neeraj Singh; Saurabh Prasad; and

photographs of Matia Mahal by Ram Rahman

Demonstration by Ammeenur Rahman, calligrapher from

Pahari Imli. Inauguration: Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan

October 9–15

Unravelling Old Delhi

As the name suggests, this window to a lost world derivesits name from a huge tamarind tree on a hillock inShahajahanabad. The exhibition highlights the collectionof the Hazrat Shah Waliullah Public Library andpersonal collections of the Changezi family andAbdul Sattar. Situated in the busy ChooriwalanGalli (street of bangle sellers) of Pahari Imli,Hazrat Shah Waliullah Public Library is atreasure trove of over 15,000 literary marvelssourced from gifts, donations and bazaars.

Upon entering the gallery, an extremelyenthusiastic man greets the viewers and guidesthem through the exhibition. That man isSikandar Changezi, the grandson of Naseem BegChangezi, inheritor of the Changezi collectionand the Secretary of the H.S. Waliullah PublicLibrary, who explains that ‘The exhibition is anoutcome of a newspaper article addressing atermite attack on the library’s collection. Uponreading the same, Dr. Kavita A. Sharma (Director,India International Centre) approached us,facilitated a restoration deal with the IGNCAand enabled the realisation of the exhibition of itscollections for the public.’

With its primary focus on calligraphy, the exhibitionshowcases rare manuscripts, books, maps, photographsand objects with Kufic decorations. Calligraphicengravings of the Sura of the Quran, Ayat-ul-Kursi, AlFalaq, Durood-e-Taj (in praise of Allah), are seen on goatskin, real stone china, bark and parchment respectively.Books of the late 19th and early 20th century like Tuzuk-

i-Jahangiri, Tareekh-e-Farishta and Sri Ram KiratMahabharata by Sri Ram Kayasth Mathur Dehlvishowcase beautiful calligraphy and floral borderdecorations. There are reproductions of pages fromimportant publications. The first two days of theexhibition also acquainted the visitors with the practice ofcalligraphy through demonstrations by the notedcalligrapher Shri Ammeenur Rahman of Pahari Imli.Various panels tellingly explain the historical backgroundof Naseem Beg Changezi and his family, Abdul Sattar, SirSayyid Ahmad Khan and the inception of Delhi College.A number of maps document the city of Old Delhi of themid 19th century; one specifically mapping ‘The Hinduand Mohammedan Monuments’ while the others showthe city of Shahajahanabad before the Siege. It isinteresting to see the structural spaces that havedramatically transformed over the years.

Reproductions of paintings highlight life in 19th centuryDelhi through the depiction of interesting historicalevents like the Visit of the King of Kotah to Delhi, LastMushaira 1845/Dilli ki Aakhri Shamma, festivals likeFestival of Falez (the festival of fruits), Baisakhi Ka Melaand bazaars like Chandni Chowk and Meena Bazaar.

SANIA GALUNDIA

2

diary

language, Pushkale’s impeccably beautiful brownpainting and Bandeep Singh’s unusual photograph.

Emergence, a multi media installation by Pierre Legrandand Anuradha Mazumdar, was on view at the Gandhi-King Plaza featuring a small portion of the original ‘LightMatter’ installation from Auroville, 2000.

Born in Paris, an engineer by profession, Pierre Legrand’sartistic journey began after he came to India in 1968. Itled to the invention of a coded script which structured allhis work: painting, sculpture, installations and,sometimes, even music. His work explores space incollaboration with architecture, poetry and music and hasbeen featured alongside Mark Tobey, in Dimensionsof the Infinite, Paris; and with Richard Serra inSchwarz, Cologne.

Legrand’s installation Emergence appeared to be made ofcutouts of plastic sheets in white webbed together to focuson porosity, lightness, and space, blurring the boundariesbetween the human being and the environment. Thecutouts contain poetry by Anuradha Mazumdar and the background music has been conceptually composed fromthe letters of these poems.Thus the installation appears tobegin with architecture/space construction but by usinglight invites the viewer into a pathway which brings intoplay other media and senses, thus complicating the workand its interpretation.

It looked to me that the artist was putting together allthese elements to show that there is another, yet unknownbut possibly common or universal language of the soulout there, beyond linguistic, material and creativeboundaries. How wonderful it would be for all of us to beable to break the preconceived codes and move with thelight into a new magical mystical understandingacross borders!

An exhibition of paintings by 25 leading artists fromSAARC countries curated by Sanjeev Bhargava was ondisplay at the Art Gallery for the Festival of the Arts. Thisshow was a culmination of an artists’ camp, a collaborationbetween ICCR and SEHER, which was founded by thecurator in1990toadvance events in the arts.

The exhibition included artists from eight SAARCcountries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India,Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka who attended theartists’ camp held in Jaisalmer in 2007.This wide-rangingshow attempts to celebrate the spirit of friendshipbetween the countries and to bring into a shared spacetheir respective histories, stories and diverse experiences. The paintings clearly reflected each artists’ individualityand also brought into focus their bonds and commoncultural traits reiterating the fact that creativity flourishesin an atmosphere of harmony and friendship.

Purely from an aesthetic perspective, as an artpractitioner, for me the exhibition clearly displayed astrength in the handling of artistic media as well as thechosen content. While a lot of the artists took theirinspiration from Jaisalmer, like Anup Vega with hisminimalistic canvas of the vast desert, artists fromAfghanistan painted a painful, desolate landscape of abombed and destroyed homeland in grey rubble. A clear mastery over the human form was evident in paintings byJatin Das and Shamshad Husain. Other works that stoodout were Akhilesh’s green abstract of an imaginary

Poetry, Painting and MusicEXHIBITIONS: ‘Jaisalmer Yellow’ and ‘Emergence’

Inauguration: Satish Mehta

October 9–15

SABA HASAN

iic experience

3

diary

The IIC Experience screened a variety of films. A three-film tribute to actress Suchitra Sen, who passed away inKolkata earlier this year, was timely. Her career was at itszenith in Bengali films, though she did appear in sevenHindi films as well. Two Bengali films, Deep Jele Jai andShaath Pake Bandha revealed her sterling qualities as adramatic actress. In the first film Deep Jele Jai, written bythe well-known Bengali writer Ashutosh Mukhopadhyay,she is a nurse in a mental asylum. There against herprinciples, in order to assist in the psychiatric experimentof a senior doctor she respects, falls in love with a patientto assist in his cure. The man recovers to walk away free,thus leaving her emotionally broken and a patient in thesame asylum. In Shaath Pake Bandha, she plays a womanfrom a well-to-do family headed by a professor father andan ambitious, batty mother. Her marriage to anunworldly but bright academic, whom she loves, isbroken because she cannot stand up to her mother.Suchitra Sen’s performance in the film is memorable.Equally noteworthy is her performance in the Hindi film,Aandhi, purportedly based on the life of Prime MinisterIndira Gandhi, written and directed by Gulzar.

A two-film tribute to the brilliant American serio-comic actor Robin Williams, who committed suicide this year,was apt. His portrayal of a deeply caring, eccentric teacherof English literature in an exclusive school, who holds hisstudents in thrall, and is then forced to leave them whenfalsely accused of a sensitive student’s suicide–actually theboy’s martinet father is responsible–in Dead Poets Society(Director: Peter Weir) is heart-wrenching. Williams isequally memorable as a bereaved but profoundlyreceptive psychiatrist who rescues a juvenile delinquent ofa mathematical genius in GoodWill Hunting.

FilmsTwo interesting films were screened based on the works ofthe profound Columbian writer Gabriel GarciaMarquez. No One Writes to the Colonel filmed by theMexican Arturo Ripstein does bring out the sadness andennui in the lives of an old, penurious colonel and his wifemarooned in a small town years after a militaryrevolution, but it has none of Marquez’s irony, humour orknowledge of inexplicable impulses present in life. Thesame can be said of Love and Other Demons made byHilda Hildalgo. This tale of blind superstition givensanction by an all knowing, all powerful Roman CatholicChurch, in which the exquisite teen-aged daughter of anaristocrat bitten by a rabid dog and interned in a fortress-like convent, is thrown together with a young, idealistpriest who nurses her, despite being doomed to die alongwith his charge, as a sacrifice to the vanity and ignoranceof the clergy. Hildalgo’s handsomely mounted filmcannot grasp the writer’s prescience about human beingsunable to grasp intelligence on offer and use it to seekhappiness.

There was a selection of films to mark the declaration ofWorld War I in 1914. The four-year war was supposed tobe one to end all wars: how wrong the observation provedto be! Jean Renoir’s, The Grand Illusion shot in black andwhite in 1937, remains the most perceptive anti-war filmever made. The escape of two French soldiers from aGerman prisoner-of-war camp is a celebration of life overwar (read death). Passchendaele, 2008, a Canadian filmdirected by Paul Cross, is a sumptuously shot film aboutthe futility of war. The gorgeous colours in nature are inironic contrast with the ghastliness of death in war. It is alump-in-the-throat film, made in the tradition of theclassic Hollywood films from the 1930s.

Rainer Simon’s 1985 production, The Woman and theStranger is about the travails of those German soldiersreturning from the Front after defeat in WWI, and thewomen at home waiting for them, usually in despair. It isa powerful, moving, truthful film. In refreshing contrastis the naive, romantic French film, La France (2007) bySerge Bozon. It features a young rural womandeterminedly walking to the Front to locate herconscripted husband. She runs into a group ofsympathetic deserters trying to unsuccessfully cross into Holland. She does finally unite with her husband.

1919, is a warm, intelligent film on The Treaty ofVersailles that tragically became one of the crucial reasonsfor WW II. John Cowan skillfully mixes black and whitearchival footage with re-enactments in colour, featuringactors playing the major political figures of the day.Steven Spielberg’s War Horse, is a visual knockout butshallow in thought and feeling.

PARTHA CHATTERJEE

FILM FESTIVAL: People, Places and a War; Focii on Gabriel

Garcia Marquez, Suchitra Sen and Robin Williams

October 9–15

iic experience

4

iic experience diary

World War I, also known as The Great War, was thesource of poetry written by soldiers from England,

Australia, Canada and Germany. Indian soldiers with theRoyal British Army fighting in Europe and Mesopotamiaalso wrote letters home describing the conditions that warhad plunged them into, often with wit, many a time withcynicism. The censors were tough to get past but the oddletter did—probably because of the intended orunintended wit of the writer.

In the programme entitled The GreatWar : Poetry from theTrenches, veterans Bhaskar Ghose, Keki N. Daruwalla,Sunit Tandon, Rukmini Bhaya Nair and youngsterSoumya Dasgupta read from poems and letters written byunfortunate feeling and thinking men forced to fight awar against their wishes. Bhaskar Ghose, former Secretary

to the Government of India, enthusiastic theatre actorand lover of literature, recited from Wilfred Owen, theEnglish poet who died tragically at 25, leading his men tobattle. Keki N. Daruwalla, former senior IPS officer, nowawell regardedpoet, short-storywriterandnovelist, readfromSiegfried Sassoon, a British poet made by the war. Ghose andDaruwalla were comparatively restrained in their renderingswhileTandonandDasguptaweredramatic.

Rukmini Bhaya Nair, reading from the letters of Indiansoldiers attempted to bring out their droll humour. Theletters from Indian soldiers, Hindu, Muslim and Sikh,were down-to-earth and intentionally or unintentionallyfunny now and then. The possibility or the eventuality ofgetting married to French women was both a source ofmirth as well as confusion arising from being confrontedwith an entirely different culture with its bewildering set of values. Soumya Dasgupta’s recitation of a poem by anunknown poet expressed ‘gallows humour’ coming fromconfronting death every day.

POETRY READING: The Great War – Poetry from

the Trenches

Readers: Bhaskar Ghose, Rukmini Bhaya Nair,

Keki N. Daruwalla, Sunit Tandon and Soumya Dasgupta

October 11

PARTHA CHATTERJEE

5

diary iic experience

Along the Stilwell RoadEXHIBITION: Stilwell Road. Photographs by Findlay Kember

Inauguration: P.C. Sen

October 9–15

Of the eighty wonderful photographs (twenty-eighteminently satisfying enlargements), it was difficult to pickfavourites. After doing four parikramas of the delightfuland interesting photographs, I selected a few.

The most impressive was the delightfully demystifying 24Zig road. These hairpin bends have been photographedmany times. In the 1950s,Burmah Shell used a black andwhite picture of this stretch ofroad to advertise their oil. Notonly is it the best picture ondisplay (he waited for the rightlight to capture the deserted roadthat has now been sidelined by anew road), but he demolished amyth. It was not on the LedoRoad. The poignant pictures ofthe thousand graves cemeteryahead of Jairampur give someidea of the many lives—Indianand Chinese— lost.

Pictures from Ruilli, Myitkina,Kachin State and Kunming wereparticularly eye catching.Especially, drivers and labourersplaying pool in Tanai, KachinState; a woman on a moped inRuilli, her face shining in the softsunset; playing cards in Ruilli; awoman driving a motorcyclewith her son playing with am o b i l e i n M u s e — s u c hphotographs don’t happen, theyare a product of immensepatience. There were also two pictures of Chineseexercising in Kunming; the enigmatic expressions of facesin front of Jinbu La gate, Kunming; and the photographof that colourful Kali statue under a tree near theabandoned Ledo airfield in a fittingly large format thatheightens its simple grandeur.

Findlay’s photographs are a testimony to his devotion tothe Ledo Road, which he prefers to call Stilwell. Theydepict a way of life that has not changed much except forthe addition of modern conveniences, like in that lovelyphotograph of an overloaded tri scooter on the road toTania. Till the 1970s, WW II Chevrolet trucks used tolumber through here.

Acerbic and intolerant, Stilwell was an unpopular general,who thought that his road would win the war. It wascompleted too late for that. The labour, who wereruthlessly handled, was imprisoned at night so that theywould not escape from the horrible working conditions. Opium made their awful living conditions bearable.Thusto name the road after him is inappropriate.

The many maps with detailed texts helped understand thetopography and the enormous effort of building that oneway road (till Warazup) that was not used much.

Findlay’s optimism about the reopening of the Ledo Roadis misplaced. It took about forty days for convoys to get to

Kunming from Ledo. Airplanes ferried more tonnage in amonth. Air transport from Dibrugarh to Kunmingshowed its unquestionable superiority. Never again hasroad transport been used for long hauling military goods.

There is a two laned all weather road along the Lohit Riverthat reaches within a kilometre of the Indo-China bordernear Kibithoo. This is the lowest point (1406) on theentire Indo-China boundary, and its commercialsignificance has been recognised. It leads directly intoRima in Tibet. A month will connect it to the excellentChinese road that leads to Kunming.

ROMESH BHATTACHARJI

6

An Evening with the New FolkCONCERT: Rida and the Musical Folks from Meghalaya

Chief Guest: Soli J. Sorabjee

October 9

A stage built specifically to harness the raw musical stylingof Rida and the Musical Folks was brought to life on thisnice October evening. A collective from Meghalaya, theyare an interesting group that delves into the articulation ofa westernised style of music immersed in the traditions ofKhasi and Jaintia folk music. Rida Gatphoh has beendocumenting and archiving audio and visual materialfrom the hills of Meghalaya for over three years. Thisproject is, in ways, an assimilation of her findings.

Rida and her musical folks walked on to a dark stage,assembled their instruments, took their respectivepositions on their respective morhas and then the blue ofthe stage slowly and feebly engulfed them. Every song wasaccompanied by a description for those of us who don’tunderstand Khasi. However, the most innovativemodification that was made to the traditional folk songs was the interspersed narrative in English. PeterMarbaniang spoke in animated calmness and told us ofthe mother who wept for her son; he told us ofCherrapunji, he spoke of home. A persistent nostalgiagnawed at the music but rather interestingly, a desire tomingle and coexist also came through.

The series of folk songs and poetry recitations invoked a very unique tonality. The drum rhythm remained inauthentic legitimacy, homage to the sound of the NorthEast. Celebratory and quaint, the compositions wore anarmour of strong musical direction and an interestingsynergy of sounds. Shawn and Sean marry their rhythmicabilities to provide a percussion base that carries the entirecomposition through a sea of floating melodies. Benedict,the flautist, was another impressive component of thecollective. He crafts his own flute and the notes followmost obediently. His compositions flit playfully andinvoke a rather powerful image of delicacy. AmarnathHazarika complements the project with his guitar playingprowess, throwing in a few jazz riffs into the huge meltingpot. It isn’t just the arrangement of sounds that makesRida and the Musical Folks tick, the refined acousticsensibility and dramatic modulations make them a forceto reckon with.

Rida’s voice, in contrast to the mellowness of thearrangement, was ecstatically fierce. She not only revvedthe complexity of the sound but also made us sit up and engage with the music of her Meghalaya. The researchthat she is conducting in Meghalaya has beendocumenting folk music traditions in the Khasi andJaintia hills. Through the course of her research she wasable to record a number of folk instruments that havenever been heard before. She learnt how to make theseinstruments. She became an important figure in thedevelopment and preservation of folk musicin Meghalaya.

Rida and the Musical Folks are not only a testimony to thepower of the old but also the rise of a new within the old. Itis the birth of a kind of sensitivity that balances theoutside and the inside, a sound that calls you home whenyou’re so far away.

diary

MAANASI BAA

iic experience

7

diary

KAVITA NAGPAL

Violence and the UnderprivilegedPLAY: Draupadi — Adaptation of Mahasweta Devi’s short

story ‘Draupadi’

Presented by Kalakshetra Manipur

Chief Guest: Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan

Director: Heisnam Kanhailal, October 15

Her undressing on stage was a violent act giving meaningto the fact that this Draupadi is not reliant on Krishna tocome and rescue her as in the Mahabharata. She has tofight her battles on her own. This disrobing is a definiterejection of the tradition of the Mahabharata and anexample of a spontaneous feminine reaction as a gesture ofpolitico-sexual exploitation.

The choreography of the forces undergoing training and their normal life was excellent as was the chase by theforce of Dopdi and her husband who is finally caughtin Bengal and most inhumanly treated before he iskilled. The play however belongs to Sabitri for hercommanding performance.

The play Draupadi is adapted from a story by MahaswetaDevi, that speaks about the marginalised who live inremote areas of India, and who are continuously oppressedby the forces in power: in Manipur it is the army postedthere to administer the special status given to the state, ofbeing a state constantly under emergency with totalpowers to the army.

In this play the area is not Manipur but a remote area in the tribal belt in the outskirts of Bengal. Draupadi is aSanthali tribal woman who is known as Dopdi in hercommunity. She fights against the atrocities committedagainst her tribe. She is captured by the special force thatis searching for her in the forests of the area. She isrepeatedly raped by the forces. She disrobes completely.And sits there in her ferocious nudity frightening awaythe men who come to rape her. There is a smooth changeon stage under the cover of a sheet as the older Dopditakes the place of the younger one in jail.

iic experience

8

diaryiic experience

From the Land of the Rising SunPERFORMANCE: Koto Recital

Concert: Noriko Matsuzaka and Tomoya Nakai from Japan

Chief Guest: N.N. Vohra

Collaboration: The Japan Foundation, October 10

The Koto concert, a collaboration between the JapanFoundation, the Embassy of Japan and supported byJapan Airlines, brought to us the quintessential sound of Japan. Koto is a Japanese string instrument, also theirnational instrument. The most well-known of traditionalmusic instruments, the Koto is an essential part of themusic played during New Year celebrations. The six-footlong instrument is made from kiri wood (Paulowaniatomentosa) and usually has 13 strings; but 17, 21, 25 and30 string examples are also sometimes seen. The tightly

stretched strings are balanced on an ivory or plastic bridgealong with the width of the body of the instrument andare plucked using ivory picks (plectra) on three fingers.

Celebrated artists Tomoya Nakai and Noriko Matsuzakawith a repertoire of eight enchanting compositionsrevealed their rare musical insights exuding atranscendent melodiousness and gave us a divine eveningof music, showcasing an exceptional fusion of thetraditional and modern with their creativity and skills.

A distinct theme ran through each compositionsignifying it’s essence. The first composition, Monohanabi,was created as an ode to millions of fireworks, an oldtradition in Japan, very similar to the festival of Diwali inIndia. Rokudan-no-shirabe composed by Yatsu Hashi wasa tribute to blind people who played Koto and other string

instruments in Asian Japan. The third compositionInfinity, the latest by Tomoya Nakai, expressed theinfiniteness of music. He said that though Koto has just13 strings, it can produce an infinite number of melodiesand he attempts to discover the infinite horizon that liesin the human heart, just like, in music. Hana no youni orflowering spirit stressed the fact that only a strong-heartedperformer sure of his craft can liberate the essence of the melody to the audience, otherwise the music is lost.

Perhaps the highlight of the evening was the perfectrendition by the duo from the Bollywood movie Kal HoNa Ho. Tomoya personally found the signature tune ofthe movie peaceful and full of serenity and revealed thatmany like him in Japan were ardent admirers of the dance,music and vigour of Bollywood movies.

Ama no gawa or the milky way was composed in memoryof the loved ones who have passed on and are now a part of

the cosmos. Tomoya and Noriko’s soulful renditionindeed plucked at the heart strings.

The final composition Kinshitsu aiwasu is basically aChinese proverb. Composed of two words, Kin andShitsu, which are two musical instruments of China andare in perfect harmony when played together. Theproverb is also used to refer to a loving couple who sharegreat passion and bonding like true soul mates. Tomoya,through the theme of this composition, accentuated theperfect blending of modern and traditional Japanesemusic. He explained that while preserving your ancientheritage you can create a unique synthesis of modern andtraditional music and yet maintain the primeval spirit ofyour musical culture.

GAURIKA KAPOOR

9

diary iic experience

The Lively and ColourfulCossacksDANCE: Folk Dance and Songs of the Cossacks

Presented by Stanitsa Cossack Dance Ensemble from

Krasnodar, Russia

Director of the Ensemble: Anatoly Krugly

Collaboration: Embassy of the Russian Federation; and

Russia Beyond the Headlines

Chief Guest: Eric Gonsalves, October 12

The Kuban Cossack evening of gravity defying acrobaticsand robust folk singing was enthralling. A Russian ladyspeaking fluent Hindi introduced the troupe leaving the audience pleasantly surprised at her fluency. She drew aparallel between the Cossacks and the Sikhs—both arebrave, ride horses and have a strong tradition of heartysinging and dancing.

The show started with the singing quartet comprising twomen and two women, dressed in splendid ethniccostumes. They sang folk songs in their own languageand, while we wondered what the words meant, regaled uswith their powerful voices and expert playing on the

balalaika and accordion. Later in the one-and-a-half hourshow we were treated to solo performances by two of theskillful musicians. As the singers exited the stage, thedancers made a grand entrance wearing traditional blackand red costumes with the men riding pretend horses andbrandishing swords flamboyantly. Their combination ofstrength, agility and elegance kept the audience riveted.The swords were used to maximum effect as they let outsparks each time two struck each other. After an excitingexhibition of dance accompanied by traditionalbackground music, the four singers returned wearing yetanother set of cultural costumes. They sang a combinationof soulful and lively songs in their emphatic style withseveral in the audience joining in off and on. Therecorded music was perfect for the dances and gave us awonderful sampling of Russian folk music.

The entire evening was structured to give the audience a taste of Cossack folk songs intermittently with exuberantdancing. The impact was strong and invigorating for thelarge audience who sat in the open lawn on a cool Octoberevening. The performances showcased a variety of clothesfrom the distinct Cossack culture. The dancers andsingers wore vibrant overcoats called Cherkesska and the

head scarf called bashlyk. As the dancers and singerstook turns to entertain through song and dance,there was an explosion of colour on the stage thatwas created through a combination of differentheadgear, swirling dresses and coats, and scarves orribbons. Though the favoured colours of theevening were different hues of crimson (Krasnodarliterally means ‘Gift of the Reds’) paired with black,the girls also appeared in one vignette in whiteflowing dresses with their heads covered with longscarves that flowed down their backs giving them anethereal look.

All the Cossack artists performed with smiles ontheir faces that clearly showed that they wereenjoying the evening as much as the spectators. Thelive singing by the four, that interspersed thedancing, gave us a wonderful balance of thebaritone of the musician who also played theaccordion with the lilting songs of the girls.

The evening ended to thunderous applause and theHindi-speaking Russian lady concluded theevening by felicitating the Dance Ensemble fromKrasnodar and the diplomats from the Embassy of the Russian Federation, and thanking the audienceprofusely.

RIMA ZAHEER

10

diaryiic experience

It was sheer pleasure to be present at the ‘Evening ofClassical Jazz’. The musicians were the Aditya BalaniGroup from Delhi. The sextet was led, of course, by theeclectic guitarist, composer and songwriter Aditya Balaniwith a fine ensemble of young musicians: Smiti Malik(vocal); Pawan Benjamin (saxophone); JayantManchanda (bass); Kartikeya Srivastava (drums); andRohit Gupta (piano). Casting a quick look over the

biodatas of each of these musicians was an interestingexercise. Their range of musical studies (Aditya himselfgraduated summa cum laude from the Berklee College ofMusic in USA, where he received the BerkleeAchievement Scholarship) and their experience withIndian and international artists is remarkable. At least twoof them—vocalist Smiti and pianist Rohit—have madefluid shifts from Indian classical music to the world ofwide-ranging Western and fusion genres.

On this evening, though, they kept to the promise ofclassical jazz, and offered a repertoire of golden oldies. Ofcourse, the golden oldie route is a double-edged swordbecause it can so easily evoke audio memories of themaestros of the art and lead to unfair comparisons. Butthe Aditya Balani group more than held their own, both individually and as an ensemble. Smiti’s first numberwas the Duke Ellington standard, the plaintive Don’t Get

Classical JazzPERFORMANCE: An Evening of Classical Jazz

Presented by Aditya Balani Group from Delhi

Chief Guest: Soli J. Sorabjee

October 11

Around Much Anymore to which she gave a husky-tonedblues-y touch. Later in the concert, her rendition of ColePorter’s Love for Sale hit all the right notes (pun intended)of pathos and seduction.

The ensemble worked so well together that it would beunfair to single out any one performer. The sensitivesound of Aditya’s guitar is familiar to anyone who watchedCoke Studio or has heard his wonderful album Answers.But mention must be made of Pawan Benjamin’ssaxophone, smooth and hot like molten lava, whoseplaying gave us glimpses of his mentor, avant garde jazzmusician, composer and experimenter Roscoe Mitchell.Rohit Gupta continues to explore his instrument withsome very accomplished piano work. They were very ably

supported by Jayant Manchanda’s nimble bass andKartikeya Srivastava on drums, and we heard someinspired solos from both of them as well.

What was interesting was to hear the way a song’scomplexion can change with a tweak of rhythm. AdityaBalani chose to present Gershwin’s Summertime to afunky beat, adding a bit of bounce to this ratherlanguorous ballad from the superb Porgy and Bess. AndSting’s Fragile was transmuted by the Latin sound ofBossa Nova.

All in all, the concert had unexpected levels ofsophistication much enjoyed by jazz lovers in theaudience. In the end we were left—as all good concertsleave you—wanting much more. Perhaps, then, it wasonly appropriate that Aditya Balani ended the concertwith Fly Me to the Moon, which he sang in harmony withvocalist Smiti Malik.

ASHARANI MATHUR

11

diary iic experience

Shree, the sombre evening raga, was the most appropriatethough challenging choice of Manjusha Kulkarni Patil, avibrant vocalist of Hindustani classical music, to open herevening concert with. It was veritably adventurous in thatthe raga was too heavy for the young vocalist, butManjusha rose to the occasion, depicting its majestic,melodic structure. There was a sincere effort to faithfullyestablish the weight of the major raga without budging aninch from its depth.

The note by note progression or Vistaar during the BadaKhayal of raga Shree Gajarava baajo… set to Vilambit

(slow) TilwadaTala with Aalap, Bol-aalap, Bahelava et al.,spoke volumes for her aesthetic sensibility, desiredrestraint and Riyaazee treatment unfolding the seriousraga. Sargam and Aakar Taans of intricate patterns andhigh speed performed with effortless ease were aggressiveand melodious at the same time. This was followed by thepopular Chhota Khayal set to Teentala, Eri Maito aasangaili paasan gaili… which was also performed withcommendable maturity of expression.

Thus right from the impressive opening, Manjusha gavea convincing account of her assimilation of the stylisedexpressions of her mentors. Born in Sangli with an innatetalent for music, she received her initial training from anearly age under Pt. Chintubua Mhaiskar. A turning pointin her taleem (training) came when the late Pandit D.V.Kanebua of Ichalkaranji noticed her rich potential, took

Mesmerising ConcertHINDUSTANI VOCAL RECITAL: Manjusha Kulkarni Patil

Chief Guest: Dr. Karan Singh, October 14

her under his wing and groomed her in the tradition ofAgra and Gwalior Gharana Gaayaki. Later, she continuedunder Pt. Narendra Kanekar, a senior disciple of Kanebuaand also learnt from Dr. Vikas Kashalkar.

Currently her diligent training under Pandit UlhasKashalkar in the authentic Gaayaki of Gwalior, Agra andJaipur traditions, enables her to draw from all three in hersinging style just like her Guru. This was proved rightfrom the beginning of her concert. She continued withraga Bhupali, which was a lovely contrast after Shree. Thepopular teentala bandish, ab se tum san laagali preetnaveli… she sang in Madhya-laya (medium tempo) ofAddha Theka where the last line of Sthai reached theMukhada with a descending Chhoot Taan like the flash oflightning. The neatly enunciated lyrical content wasmatched with musicianship, intellectual grasp andmelodious treatment of the raga.

A ‘Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar’ awardee of the SangeetNatak Academy and the recipient of PanditRamkrishnabuwa Vaze Puraskar, Manjusha is a versatilesinger. Her mellifluous voice has an extraordinary rangeand a vast repertoire comprising Khyal, Thumri toMarathi Natya-Sangeet, Bhaav-Geet and Bhajans. Shetreated the audience this evening with a variety of desertsafter the sumptuous feast of the main course. There was amesmerising Marathi bhajan of Sant Jnaneshwar basedon Raga Bhimpalasi, a Natya-Geet on popular demandand the concluding Bhairavi Bhajan. The giftedaccompanying artistes, Shriram Hasnabis on harmoniumand Mayank Bedekar on tabla enhanced herimpressive performance.

MANJARI SINHA

12

diary

Lalitha and Haripriya, the Hyderabad Sisters, have beenwell-established fixtures on the Carnatic concert circuitfor decades now. Their guru, Sangeeta Vidvan Shri. T. G.Padmanabhan, was a direct disciple of Alathur VenkatesaIyer, and the Alathur bani they inherited is known for itsdisciplined classicism as well as its mastery of thatquintessentially Carnatic phenomenon, kanakku, theexecution of complex arithmetic laya structures. Layacomplexities were not much in evidence on this occasion,probably in view of the eclectic audience, but what wasoffered was a pleasing and traditional performance with asmooth synchronicity that comes from their having sungtogether since early childhood. They began with avarnam, ‘Chalamela jesevayya’ in the raga Nattaikurunji,composed by Mulaiveedu Rangaswamy Nattuvanar andinvoking Ranganatha, the lord of Srirangam.Nattaikurunji is a very accessible, easily pleasing raga witha distinct emotional quality that appeals even to laylisteners, so it was a good choice for the opening.

This was followed by the familiar ‘post-opening-varnam’homage to Ganesha, Vaataapi Ganapatim in Hamsadhvaniby Dikshitar, with some nice sangatis on the line pranavasvarupa vakra tundam being sung alternately by the twosisters. Next came Thyagaraja’s Brova BhaaramaainBahudari, a janya raga of Harikhamboji that is somewhatsimilar to the Hindustani Jog. Mysore Vasudevachar’sKhamaskriti Brochevarevarura, the next piece, is a very

Duet SingingMUSIC: Carnatic Vocal Recital by Lalitha and Haripriya,

The Hyderabad Sisters

Chief Guest: Justice B.N. Srikrishna

October 12

moving one, evoking, among other things, Krishna’sliberation of the elephant Gajendra from the clutches of acrocodile, and it was rendered with the sisters’ customaryattention to bhava. Sadaa madini in the rareGambhiravani followed, a brisk, engaging piece not oftenheard that some attribute to Thyagraja while others(notably renowned musicologist P. Sambamurthy) holdto be a prakshipta kriti, i.e., composed by an imitator. Apleasant piece, regardless of the composer. An aalaapanaiin Pantuvarali (Hindustani Pooriya Dhanashree) ensued,followed by the well known piece Aparama bhakti ento,with a neraval (improvisation) on the line trippatalanutlrci kanti and svara prastharas or note cascades thatillustrated well the structural beauty and manodharmaelement of Carnatic compositions. The next piece,Thyagaraja’s Teliyaleru Rama in Dhenuka, whose lyricsmock those who follow rituals without any realspirituality, would be music to many ears for its melodic aswell as sahitya bhava appeal. While the duo had alreadysung a longish aalapanai and kriti in Pantuvarali, thusqualifying it as the concert’s main piece, it was,surprisingly, with the next kriti, Nagumomu in Abheri(similar to Hindustani Bhimpalasi), that they gave theaudience an extended raagam-taanam-kriti suite with arousing bravura treatment. They closed withBalakrishnadevam Bhajeham in Yamunakalyani, wherethey used madhyamasruti (tuning the tonic note to ‘Ma’),followed by a tillana in the same raga. All in all, it was asatisfying, well-rounded, traditional Carnatic music concertwith the added enjoyment that always comes fromlistening to duet singing. The accompanists, though nothardcore professionals, supported the vocals competentlyand it is also worth noting that the audio balance betweenthe different musical elements was carefully adjusted.

MAHADEVAN RAMASWAMY

iic experience

13

diary iic experience

Of Tradition and LineageDANCE: Natwari Kathak Nritya by Vishal Krishna from Benaras

Chief Guest: Leela Venkataraman

October 13

ARSHIYA SETHI

immensely gifted family that boasts of Sitara Devi, GopiKrishna, Alaknanda Devi and also Pt. Birju Maharaj.

Starting his performance with an onomatopoeic compositionDamakDamakDumDamruBaajey,he unleashed a series ofone-legged stances, Akashi Bharamaris and Utplavans,associated with the Shiva iconography. Alapkari in Laya ishow he described his upaj section, after which he wove in arange of chakkars and Brahmaris in the aamads andUtthans strung in different jatis, revealing his control over

the layakari element of rhythm.

Vishal is a comprehensive artiste, strong onthe musical base of dance, a fact evident fromthe many imageries he created in dance, that drew on musical structures. He alsounderstood the value of interstices in themusic and the spaces within each note. Hefaceted his padhant and the tonal micro-explorations within each bol, conveying theunderlying sense of joy in his dance.

He chose his presentations for the eveningintelligently. He included three types ofghunghat ki gats, that went with his appealingandrogynous looks. He incorporated thesignature pieces that are his legacy—tramkiladis of Pt. Sukhdev Maharaj, sam chhodneke alag alag andaz at the end of tukras, madefamous by Pt. Gopi Krishna; and the ThaliNritya of his grand aunt, Alaknanda Devi, aswell as the Mayur Nrutya of his other grandaunt Sitara Devi, the last of which he woveinto a commanding performance of MeeraBai’s Barsan Lagee Bajariya.

By selecting a composition that celebratednature, he avoided the trap of gender andage. In any case, with a peacock feathercrown on his curly hair, he recalled to mindthe chhavi of Krishna himself. He wassupported by the strong accompaniment ofhis father, Pt. Mohan Krishna (bolpadhant),Kushal Krishna (tabla), Brijesh Mishra (vocaland harmonium) and Sanish Gayawali(flute).

He was like a breath of fresh air, with raretalent, that has mercifully not got‘metropolised’. Despite his young years he issteeped in tradition, is firm footed, andcentred. I use the last word with care andcaution. Most dancers of the BenarasGharana show a restlessness that is disturbing.He was energetic, in fact acrobatic and flexiblelike a gymnast, yet controlled, and absolutelyin command.

The 23- year-old great grandson of Pt. Sukhdev Maharaj,Vishal Krishna, from Benares, has not only got the rightgenes, but also the blessings and the taleem from his

14

diaryiic experience

The Himalaya : A TimelessQuestEXHIBITION, TALKS and FILMS: The Himalaya: A Timeless

Quest

Geographies – Physical and Sacred

Curator: Deb Mukharji, July 12 – 23

After the robust drama of Cossack dances and songs, theRusskaya Kukhnya displayed a variety of piroshkis—Russian pies with different stuffings. Soup, salads andstews formed the main meal with traditional Russianpancake or blinis, and an unusual dish of buckwheat andmushrooms. The desserts were delicious especially theapple pie which had a bread-like texture. Decorated withtraditional craft objects, the table also had a Lomonosovporcelain double-headed eagle of the Romanovs.

Jaunpur, on the banks of the Gomti is famous for thearchitectural marvels of the Sharqi kings and now wediscovered its lavish dastarkhwan with mouth wateringpasandas, badinjanburani, of yoghurt and brinjals, avariety of vegetarian dishes cooked a la do piaza andkorma. Atiya Zaidi prepared the dinner and gave us disheswith amazing flavours ending with muzaafar, friedvermicelli. From Sambal came Ateeq Kababwala to makegalauti seekh.

Maharashtra on a Plate was presented by Chef MachindraKasture of the Ashok Group of Hotels. The dinnerincluded the food of the Konkan coast, Vidharba,Kolhapur, the street food of Mumbai and East Indiancooking. The wonderful flavours of the state were adelight to the taste-buds as each had a distinct yetcomplementary flavour. The Naga Kitchen brought thefestival to a close and was prepared by Karen Yepthomi,Dzükou Restaurant. Vegetables and special herbs and in particular the fresh raja chillies from Nagaland were usedto create a combination of exotic flavours of bambooshoots, Axhone (soyabean boiled, fermented ) and served with the red sticky rice of the state. The array of chutneysadded spice to the meal. A fitting end to the weeklong feasting.

The IIC Experience 2014 comes with the festive seasonand for seven days there was much feasting. The festival’sfirst dinner was a continental one and the SwedishEmbassy served a few dishes from their lavishsmorgasbord of which the marinated salmon proved tobe very popular. However, the dinner offered many moredelectable dishes: Orange Glazed Lamb, Chicken Rollstuffed with basil and sun dried tomatoes, Asparagus withMornay Sauce, Artichoke with Red and YellowCapsicum, Brussels Sprout with Celery Sauce and anarray of delicious desserts.

Kuuraku restaurant and the Japanese Embassy organised a Japanese Bangohan. While globalisation might benefittrade and investment, it dilutes individual cultures and sowhat we got that evening was global Japanese food—eventhe sushi and miso soup, the hallmark of Japanese foodwere faint echoes of the real thing.

This is the second time IIC and the Embassy of Brazilhave presented Brazilian food and it continues to bepopular. Delicious starters such as Cheese Buns oftapioca flour were served along with the traditionalFeijoada, a pork and bean stew, Moqueca de banana madewith green bananas in a tomato and coconut gravy and anarray of delectable desserts. Sunday lunch was A Taste ofSouth India with some outstanding dishes such as MeenPorichatu, a masala fried fish, Vazbulhaga Masala, aspecial curry of aubergines and okra, appam, pumpkinhalwa and the cooling flavours of almond kheer.

Festival CuisineCUISINE: Food from Around the World

October 9–15

PREMOLA GHOSE

15

diary iic experience

more harm than good, and cited other pieces covering thefailure of governance, and culture as well.

Dr. Karan Singh, Chairperson of the Editorial Board, saidthe Quarterly readership was now far beyond the confinesof the IIC Membership and it was read by bibliophilesacross the country. Dr. Singh mentioned the exquisitepictorial essays on Nepal and the North East. Dr. Singhwent on to add that emphasis on the North East wastimely and necessary. The piece on the Maoist movementalso brought out crucial insights. He was sure that thisissue would be appreciated much like the earlier ones.

The launch of the Autumn Issue of the IIC Quarterly hasbecome synonymous with the Festival of Arts held at theCentre every autumn. This is appropriate as the Quarterlysymbolises the spirit of the IIC in every conceivable way and is a confluence of a diversity of ideas and thoughts.

In her introductory remarks, Dr. Kavita A Sharma,Director IIC, remarked that even though the Autumnissue did not focus on any particular topic as some of theother issues in the year, it synergises on issues concerningthe people at large. She said that the article entitled‘Promoting Citizen-centric Police Stations’ was novel.Apart from this, the contribution of Uma Das Gupta on Tagore’s involvement in alternative education was worthyof note.

In her address, the Senior Assistant Editor, Ritu Singh,mentioned the contents of the issue and said that thearticles stressed to a large extent on failures of governanceand social policy. She referred to the article by Dr.Dipankar Gupta where ‘Threshold Markers’ at times do

Repertoire of Themes LAUNCH :

Edited by:

Released by: Dr. Karan Singh

Discussants: Dr. Kavita A. Sharma, Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan

Chair: Dr. Karan Singh, October 14

IIC Quarterly Autumn 2014

Omita Goyal

ARVINDAR SINGH

diaryexhibition/discussion

16

Crafts and HistoryEXHIBITION: Salt – The Great March II by Shelly Jyoti

Inauguration: Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee

September 4–15

circles which are both a chakra and a charkha.... Insidethem the block-prints magically spin and vibrate—thesoul of India.

Another series features silhouettes of traditional Indiangarments—the angarkha, bundi—stitched on tounbleached khadi, highlighted with surface stitching andan occasional button. Decorative though these are, I likedthem less in the context of Salt, as also the three-dimensional garments displayed. This needs anothershow another time! However, the silhouette of the littlegirl's frock, waistband flying, entitled ‘Allow Me to GrowWithout Fear’, was moving—bringing back the horrificincidents of violence to young girls so recently.

Ismail Bhai Khatri, the master craftsperson from Kutch(he was honoured with a Doctorate from MontfortUniversity, UK) and his two sons, Juned and Sufiyan,worked on the Ajrakh pieces with Shelly Jyoti. Theydeserve as much praise. It is a wonderful, stirringexhibition. But why the different spellings ofAjrakh—ajrakh, ajark, azrakh—sometimes all inone caption!?

Shelly Jyoti is artist, fashion designer and poet. All three facets feature in this second of the Salt - The Great Marchexhibitions.

Here, khadi is the metaphor for non-violence, and theAjrakh block-printing of Kutch the medium that ShellyJyoti uses to interpret it.

Ajrakh is an extraordinary textile printing technique.Older than the pyramids (scraps of it were found in theFustat excavations in Egypt) its double-sided version caninvolve 17 different processes, giving the fabric andcolours an intense depth and richness. The traditionaldesigns are a complex mesh of interlocking indigo, red,black, mustard and green hexagons, octagons, andrhomboids—perfectly expressing the unity in diversitythat was Gandhi's vision.

Shelly lets the beauty of Khadi and Ajrakh speak foritself in dramatic, simple shapes—pyramids, squares, LAILA TYABJI

As a yoga practitioner, I was also particularly fascinatedwith his categorical description of the body as ‘a machinethat burns glucose’ and when talking of the haemoglobinmolecule he gave a highly intriguing description of theincredible speedy mechanisms that help sort and organisethe gases—namely oxygen and carbon dioxide—transporting, liquefying, at places even ‘magically’reversing orientation, absorbing and eliminating themeffectively in order to keep one alive and healthy.

The lecture was hugely informative, imaginative anddeeply inspiring: I was struck by the autonomy plus‘chemical awareness’ of the molecule, and therefore thebody! It was most affirming to hear the mudra viewed as an instrument of self-preservation and self-transformation. And finally Pant’s self-coined rasayanasutra was for lack of a better word, very ‘confirming.’Modelling it on a sloka from the Natya Shastra (whichquite literally distills the pritihvi (earth) of the gesture(hasta) through the multiple evolutes of perception(drsti), cognition (manas) and feeling (bhava) to finallyarrive at the ether-ial aesthetic experience of rasa), hetraces ark or illumination to the atom (anu) via thetrajectory of molecule (anunika), form (aakar) andfunction (phalam).

As part of The Science and Technology Public LectureSeries, Nalin Pant gave a vivid and fascinating talk aboutwhat seems like the ‘hyper’ activity of a molecule within the universe of the body in which ‘everything ishappening all the time!’

On the onset, he made a distinction between moleculesthat are adjustable and others who have memory andfollow their own ‘will’ so to speak. He succinctlyexplained the four nodal Cs that characterisemolecules—their composition; their connectivity withother molecules through spring-like bonds; their three-dimensional configuration; and finally and mostimportantly their confirmation. To a layman like me, theconfirmation seemed to be akin to the dharma of amolecule. I also appreciated the clarity with which hedefined chemistry as precisely the ‘reorganising ofsprings,’ or bonds connecting molecules. NAVTEJ JOHAR

Hyper MoleculesTHE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LECTURE: Mudras of

Molecules

Speaker: Professor Nalin Pant

Chair: Dr. Dinakar Salunke

September 5

diary

17

RELEASE AND DISCUSSION: Culture of Indigo in Asia –

Plant, Product and Power (Niyogi Books, New Delhi, 2014)

Discussants: Professor H.Y. Mohan Ram;

Professor Himanshu Prabha Ray, and Dr. Lotika Varadarajan

Chief Guest: Dr. M. Sanjappa

Chair: Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan

Collaboration: IIC Asia Project

September 8

Culture of Indigo

discussion

continued to p.18 top....

diarydiscussion

18

These questions by Saeed Naqvi acted like spark plugswhile he spoke passionately about his many decades ofadvocacy for India’s own global media platform. JohnCherian said that the western media focuses on mattersthat are important to the West and this helps the westerngovernments to impose their political and economicagendas on developing countries. India too does not buckthis trend. We should take a page from China and Russiawhich have now begun individually to counter the mediamonopoly of the West. Vijay Naik said that in the face ofintense competition, Prasar Bharati shall have to get outof the white elephant syndrome before goinginternational and posting correspondents across theworld. Calling it a complete disaster in the making,Anand Sahay argued that the Indian capitalist system hadnot reached the stage of supporting a global mediaplatform. It would be hijacked by government officials tograb plum postings or to ‘exalt’ the prime minister orministers. Former diplomat Shiv Mukherjee had the last word—it could only work if it ‘tells it like it is’ and createsa credible space for itself.

The packed round table room marked the 20thanniversary of Jan Prasar which had its first publicmeeting at IIC on 12 September 1994.The unprecedentedabsence of the Prasar Bharati representative led themoderator to begin by flagging the recommendations of the Prasar Bharati Expert Committee for creating a newglobal platform that treats international broadcasters likeBBC, CNN and CCTV as competitors, benchmarkingthem on quality and reach and projects the national viewrather than the narrow official viewpoint. Must theworld's largest democracy be a passive recipient of imagesbeamed by CNN, BBC, Reuters and Associated Press?How long would India take to get out of the colonialinformation grid?

Prasar BharatiDiscussion: Can India have an International

Media Network of its Own?

Speakers: Saeed Naqvi, John Cherian, Vijay Naik,

Anand K. Sahay and, Shiv Shankar Mukherjee

Moderator: Suhas Borker

Collaboration: Jan Prasar and Indian Association of

Foreign Affairs Correspondents

September 12

SUHAS BORKER

PURNIMA RAI

...continued from p. 17

19

diary discussion

resistance: Charvaka and Samkhya. Soon after, Buddhismand Jainism, in the sixth century BCE, expanded theeffort of an intransigent critical check on the Vedicinspiration that slowly impregnated the majority ofcultures across the sub-continent. ‘But what I want to do,is to try to draw the genealogy of Sukha in Indianphilosophy.’ Indeed, the materialist schools progressivelydeveloped an alternative method to reach the suppressionof suffering: not one based on Tapas, sacrifice and self-affliction, but privileging Sukha as an equally valid pathand motor to liberation.

The Yoga school is one of the traditions adopting thissecond approach, but its relation to the dominantphilosophical climate remains ambiguous. The firstchapter of Patanjali’s Yogasutra is clearly Buddhist,insisting on the practice of Dhyana or meditation, as aresponse to suffering, stemming from the very bodily stateof Trsna, craving. But the second chapter is influenced byVedantic thought: the cult of Isvara is presented as theresponse to the fundamental human condition ofAvidya, ignorance.

It is the richness of this double possibility that makes theYoga tradition unique.‘To reconcile this tension, I foundone key word: va, or. Patanjali offers a choice; he preparesa middle path, a bridge between traditions. For the firsttime, a spiritual project posits at its heart a choice thateach practitioner will have to address individually.’

‘There are some questions on Yoga that a practitionersuch as myself needs to air.’ For the sixth event of thePRISM Lecture Series 2014, Navtej Johar delivered a talkthat was enlightened and scholarly, but also orientedtowards very concrete and quotidian concerns. ‘In myteachers, in my students, I can see how much Yoga createsSukha, happiness—it is tangible, evident. This statepermits to maintain the moderation of Sattva, surfacingbetween the creative dynamic of energy and exhaustionthat makes Yoga. But, what happens when we block thedepth of this Sukha? Yoga creates happiness, but we don’tlet it sink. It turns into a dusty carpet we throw in the air— the dust goes off for a little while, until it comes back inanother configuration.’

For Navtej Johar, this blockage in contemporary physicalpractices of India stems from a larger historical tension:the difficulty for the marginalised materialist schools toresist intellectual incorporation onto the dogmatic andtheistic branches of Brahmanical-Hinduism. In the eightcentury BCE, two groups initiated this movement of

SAMUEL BUCHOUL

Culture as ContinuumTALK: Physical Traditions as Continuity

Speaker: Navtej Johar

Chair: Uma Chakravarty

Collaboration: Lila Foundation for Translocal Initiatives

September 18

Abdul Latif Bhitai and the 32 Surs propagated by Bhitaiform the backbone of the Sufi music of Kutch. Bhitai haddrawn these from his travels in Saurashtra and Rajasthanand thus these also form part of the ragas sung by theManganiars and Langas. The Sufi tradition of theManganiar is that of those who have MuslimSindhi patrons.

One can also see the connections among the pastoralistcommunities of this region. The Jut pastoralists and theSurnaiya Langa with their Sindhi Sipahi patrons, sharethe stories of Sassi Punnhu, Umar Marvi, Moomal Ranaamong others. The instruments that they share arethe pawa or double flute, the earthern pot ghara, andthe sarinda, which is the only bowed instrument sharedwith Rajasthan.

The presentation was illustrated by audio and videofield recordings.

The performance of the evening was of the well known MooraLala Marwada who sang Kafis of Bhitai, bhajans of the Kutchisaint poet Mekan Dada and a few others.

The presentation entitled Music of the Desert was meant tobe an introduction to the musical traditions of WesternRajasthan and Kutch—a stretch of desert that spans theThar desert, the Marwar to the Rann of Kutch. This wasbased on the speaker’s fieldwork experiences and recentincursions into Kutch and its music.

Providing a background of the musicians of WesternRajasthan, the focus of the work has been on hereditarymusician communities—among them the well-knownManganiars, Surnaiya Langas and Sarangiya Langas. Theshared boundary with Sindh and the shared history ofpartition is what creates strong similarities betweenWestern Rajasthan and Kutch, with its very robusttradition of Sufi music.The widespread impact of Shah

Music of the DesertMUSIC APPRECIATION PROMOTION: Music of the Desert

Speaker: Shubha Chaudhuri

Collaboration: American Institute of Indian Studies

September 19

SHUBHA CHAUDHURI19

diary

20

discussion

themselves according to gravity if you plant their seedshorizontally or upside down? That they can use chemicalsto call insects from two miles away to eat larvae that feedon their leaves? That they send electrical signals to beesinforming them how much pollen is available? That their‘memory’ tells them when to flower?That some plants cansmell other plants to find out whether they have sugarsthat can be extracted?That plants like or dislike otherplant species? Or that they may even use sounds tocommunicate with each other?

From Darwin through J. C. Bose to the present, we’relearning that plants are more sophisticated than we think,leading us closer to the ancient Buddhist, Hindu andother perspectives on them, and the issue of whether theyhave consciousness or not is perhaps only a semantic one.

An interesting choice for a lecture in the Padmapani Seriesorganised by Tibet House and the IIC, with an aptintroduction by Geshe Dorji Damdul, Director of TibetHouse, and a learned afterword by eminent scholarProfessor Lokesh Chandra.

Professor Sudhir K. Sopory, Vice Chancellor of JNU andan internationally renowned molecular biologist openedwith this teaser: can science confirm or deny whetherplants have consciousness? The evidence he presentedwas fascinating.

Plants have six of the seven criteria that define life, lackingonly locomotion. They’ve adapted to all environmentsand are amazingly diverse in size, appearance andbehaviour. But do they see, smell, feel, hear and talk? Well,we know that touch-me-nots fold their leaves and showtheir spines when touched, but did you know plants have‘light switches’ so sensitive that if you disturb their night’ssleep by just five seconds of light of a certain frequency,they may not flower?That they’re smart enough to realign MAHADEVAN RAMASWAMY

The Flowering of Consciousness26TH PADMAPANI LECTURE: An Insight into Plant Life —

Perception, Feelings and Self Regulation

Speaker: Professor Sudhir K. Sopory

Chairperson: Professor Lokesh Chandra

Collaboration: Tibet House, September 13

Legal HistoriesBOOK DISCUSSION: Aequabilis–Fairness, Equity and

Justice—A Study of Select Judgments of Justice

(Nagpur, Air Law Academy and Research Centre, 2014) by

Jai Anant Dehadrai

Panel Discussion: Lakhan Mehrotra, and Sunita Narain

September 17

amount of compensation which was determined at 250crore by the High Court. Union Carbide offered to payRs. 350 crore, the defendant wanted 500 crore. JusticePathak awarded Rs. 750 crore penalty as compensationand facilitated an out of court settlement between UnionCarbide Corporation and the Government of India bythe dropping of criminal liability charges against Carbidein the case. Three years later, the Supreme Court upheldthe settlement in 1991.

Mr. Mehrotra articulated that it was not just pleasure, butprivilege to release this unique book by a unique author.Dr. Sunita Narain said that this judgment will be part of the environmental history of India. According to theauthor, thirty years back the scenario was entirelydifferent and it would have been very difficult to prove thecharge of neglect amounting to criminality.

Justice Raghunandan Swarup Pathak, the 18th ChiefJustice of India has given some of the most importanthistorical judgments during his tenure as CJI. This bookhas been a successful endeavour to study hisjudicial reasoning.

India International Centre witnessed a glittering eveningon 17th September 2014. The event was a spectacularrelease, followed by a discussion session of a book by adistinctive criminal lawyer and author, Mr. JaiAnant Dehadrai.

This commentary on former CJI, R.S. Pathak's landmarkcases is aptly named as Aequabilis: Fairness, Equity andJustice, a study that provides an honest insight into thejudicial reason that went into those judgments.

Eminent Chief Justice of India, Pathak was entrustedwith the case against Union Carbide regarding the worstindustrial accident that took place in 1984 in the city ofBhopal. The case kept pending in the district court, highcourt and after four years came to him. The issue was the

DAISY DEKA

21

diary discussion/notices

and is now seeking to regulate disputes and processes ofcitizenship in case of transnational surrogacy, wasdiscussed with reference to specific country laws. Theprimary focus of the debate revolved around the Indianjuridical importance given to the practice of ‘bestinterests of the child’ as opposed to the HagueConvention’s support for identifying citizenship of thechild at the place where it is residing. This means thatinter-country adoption cases for countries like India thatare donor nations become potentially thorny issues,especially since a ruling (Laxmi Kant Pandey vs Union ofIndia) supported domestic adoptions for Indian children.

The matching of international and national laws on childrights and identity giving to children clashes in cases ofdivorce custody disputes and transnational surrogacy,especially since there is an increasing movement ofchildren across borders. This may include trafficking andother forms of forced movement which for many of thepanelists was problematic when seen in relation to thearguments put forth in favour of the ‘best interests of thechild’. Supporters of the latter argument suggested theissues of acclimatization and being habituated in aparticular cultural locale as reasons why the child shouldbe retained in a particular set of relations andcircumstances. Within such opposing arguments, rightsof the mother and father to custody of the child weredebates, as were rights of adoptive parents vis-à-visbiological parents.

The release International Indians and the Law wasfollowed by a panel discussion on ‘Inter country ParentalChild Removal Issues’.

The focus of the talk was on the quagmires ofinternational law that dealt with processes of identitygiving to children caught in international disputes. Casesof inter-country adoption, custody battles betweencouples going through a divorce and residents of differentcountries and recent cases of transnational surrogacywherein newborns have been rendered stateless due to theillegal status of surrogacy in their parents’ country ofresidence were some of the focus areas for the panelists.

The Hague Convention and Treaty on InternationalAdoption that governs inter-country adoption processes ANINDITA MAJUMDAR

International DisputesBOOK RELEASE: International Indians and the Law by

Anil Malhotra and Ranjit Malhotra. Released by Hon’bles

Justice T.S. Thakur; Justice A.K. Sikri; Julian Evans;

Dr. Balram Gupta; Justice Hima Kohli; Dr. Manish Arora; and

Dr.Kavita A. Sharma

Welcome and Introduction by Molshree Sharma

Panel Discussion: Inter–country Parental Child Removal Issues

Dedicated to Late Ambassador J. C. Sharma

Panelists: Hon’ble Justice Hima Kohli; Dr. Balram Gupta;

Rhona Royale; Molshree Sharma

Moderator: Anil Malhotra. Chair: Hon’ble Justice A.K. Sikri

Vote of Thanks by Ranjit Malhotra, October 16

NoticeDr. Kavita A. Sharma, who joined IIC on 7 August 2008, relinquished the office of the Director on 3 November 2014,upon being appointed as President of the South Asian University. A farewell function was organized on3 November 2014, at which the President presented the customary silver salver to Dr. Kavita A. Sharma and wishedher well in her future endeavours.

Till a new Director is appointed, Cmde. Ravinder Datta, Secretary IIC, will officiate as the Director.

ObituaryA–1581 Shri Nitish ChakravartyA – 4013 Ms Dharmvati KumarA–5421 Dr. Wasim ZamanM–1422 Dr. H.K. Pargal

M–1736 Air Marshal (Retd.)T.S. BrarM–1868 Shri A.P. VenkateswaranM–2296 Shri R.P. KhoslaM–4083 Dr. J.S. Sarma

diaryfutures

22

Highlights for November – December 2014

23

diary futures

notices

24

Reg. No. 28936/77

diary

The issue of the Dairy has been assembled and edited by Omita Goyal, Chief Editor, Rachna Joshi, Senior Asstt. Editor and Ritu Singh,Editor. Published by Ravinder Datta, for the India International Centre, 40, Max Mueller Marg, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi - 110 003,Ph. : 24619431. Designed by Sanjay Malhotra at IMAGE PRINT, N-78, Kirti Nagar, New Delhi-110015. Ph. : 41425321, 9810161228

Senior Asstt.

A Note from the Director

This was the eleventh year of the IIC Experience, the IIC’s Festival of the Arts which was celebrated with a range of

concerts, exhibitions, films and cuisine. This year was also the centenary of the First World War, and the IIC Festival

screened feature films about the Great War. There was, additionally, a focus on the Northeast.

The international performances included the Japanese Koto Recital by Noriko Matsuzaka and Tomoya Nakai from

Japan. Koto is a Japanese string instrument, also the Japanese National instrument. The most well-known of

traditional music instruments, the Koto is an essential part of the music played during New Year celebrations.The Folk

Dance and Songs of the Cossacks by Stanitsa Group from Krasnodar, Russia was structured to give the audience a

taste of Cossack folk songs along with exuberant dancing. The performances showcased a variety of clothes from the

distinct Cossack culture.

From India, there was an evening of Classical Jazz presented by the Aditya Balani Group from Delhi.The CarnaticVocal Recital by Lalitha and Haripriya, The Hyderabad Sisters, was a satisfying, well-rounded, traditional Carnaticmusic concert with the added enjoyment that always comes from listening to duet singing. There was Natwari KathakNritya by Vishal Krishna from Benaras; and a Hindustani Vocal Recital by Manjusha Patil of the Gwalior Gharana.

The exhibitions presented a wide range of themes. Pahari Imli—Window to a LostWorld derives its name from a huge

tamarind tree on a hillock in Shahjabanabad. The area was once prominent for its calligraphers, book binders,miniaturists and publishers. The exhibition highlighted the collection of the Hazrat Shah Waliullah Public Libraryand personal collection of the Changezi family and Abdul Sattar. Pierrre Legrand of Auroville’s multi-mediainstallation, Emergence invited the viewer to walk through light, translucent architecture, made of poetry and

experience. Jaisalmer Yellow included paintings by 25 leading artists from 8 SAARC countries—Afghanistan,

Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The Northeast was represented by a photographic exhibition on the Stilwell Road that runs from Assam to the Yunanprovince of China. Findlay Kember, a British journalist travelled recently along the road which came into existence inthe Second World War, and took photographs.The opening event of the festival was a concert by Rida and the MusicalFolks from Meghalaya. They articulated a Westernised style of music also immersed in the traditions of Khasi and

Jaintia folk music. The closing event was Heisnam Kanhailal’s interpretation of Mahasweta Devi’s short story

‘Draupadi’, a play on marginalised peoples in remote areas of India who are continuously oppressed by theforces in powers.

There was a poetry reading: ‘ The Great War: Poetry from the Trenches’. The film festival, People, Places and a War

also included tributes to Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Suchitra Sen and Robin Williams.

The IIC Experience 2014 came with the festival season and for seven days there was much feasting. There was food

from the European continent, Japan, Brazil, South India, Russia, Jaunpur, Maharashtra and Nagaland. It was awonderful experience and a grand success.

KAVITA A. SHARMA