Young & blogging it!

Raghav Sarma

They're opinionated and know what they're talking about. From writing on golf tournaments to make-up and cars, tweens and teens are out there, registering their presence on the worldwide web.

Teeing off online!
Sanjith Rao (9) tees off with high-profile Internet entrepreneur Sabeer Bhatia and blogs about his day on Little Mairpady. In a post on the South Zone Junior Golf Tournament at Thiruvananthapuram last year, he writes, "For breakfast I had idli and sambhar. At 7.30 am we teed-off. My game was good. I took 52 shots (They are known as strokes)." His posts span the gamut from magic tricks, board games, and climbing trees. He loves computers and figures, "in 2 or 3 years I will know everything about programming and I will be able to write my own programs."

Sanjith, a grade 4 student at Bangalore's Shishu Griha Montessori, started the blog, when he was seven. He says, "Nobody in my school knows yet." Does he know what he wants to be once he's older? "Yes, a software engineer."

On a virtual highway
Raghav Sarma (13), a student of New Delhi's Modern School and perhaps the world's youngest automobile blogger, wanted his father to teach him how to drive a car. He obviously refused, but when Raghav wailed, "I know more about cars than you do," he asked him to chronicle it online and prove it. That's how the blog LTD - Licence To Drive began. One month on, Raghav blogs about the F1, hybrid cars and his favourite SUVs. His blog also attracted advertising banners from international automobile biggies.
He says, "I'm too young to know what I want to be in the future, but I like the idea of automobile journalism or even becoming a footballer." His father's friends also take his a dv i c e on what car to buy!

All made up!
"Make-up, make-up and some more make-up... Just a blog with random thoughts, reviews on products and much more from a young make-up addict," states Fathima Abdul Kader's blog Brittu00Present.

The 16-year-old from Paravur, near Ernakulam in Kerala, dreams of getting a degree in literature or journalism, learning the art of make-up or turning fulltime blogger. The writing bug first bit the 11th grader when she started contributing articles for a lifestyle blog to make some extra bucks and finally, set up her own. Her parents are supportive and her brother offers technical support, but she didn't tell her friends for a long time, worried they would "think I was vain". But now, they come to her for tips.

She says, "I mainly get products from online shops and small mineral make-up companies who want their brand to be known t h r o u g h word of mouth. I have never ever been paid to write on my blog and would never do that as it goes against review-blogger ethics." Her dream for her blog? "I want people to see it as a make-up blog for teenage girls by a teenage girl, where I review cheap and good products for girls like me who can't afford high-end products."

Miss, Mr or Mixter?
It's tough being a gay teen in India, and that's probably what drew "Firebolt" to the virtual space. The teen started a self-exploratory blog The Freezing Flames three years ago, aged 16. Says the student of BTech (computer science), "I 'came out' to my parents and they understand. I identify as nothing, neither male nor female. Only my sister and very close friends are aware of the blog. It was my private space."

There's a second blog now - Space of Nothing. Having given up the idea of gender, the pronoun "he" is fine if pushed. The identity remains secret. A quote from the blog, "I hate being called 'Miss' and am not quite used to 'Mister'. The other day, I came across a gender neutral honorific 'Mx' (pronounced Mix or Mixter)... and I'm considering using that if need be." From tweeting about the Delhi earthquake to Durga Puja with cousins and spending vacations in Bangalore, he also reads a lot of queer blogs and is a fan of the "queer" Khaos Komix. His Twitter profile states: "I refuse to conform. I defy your notions of gender and sexuality. You cannot tell me who or what I am. I am me. I dare you to face me."

They can't be ignored and looks like we'll be reading a lot more from them!

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-11-06/man-woman/30366354_1_blog-hybrid-cars-automobile

Eager to give, but don't know where to begin?

These social entrepreneurs just put their skills where their heart is, from teaching slum children English, to packaging social awareness in mobile games and spreading smiles through theatre, discovers Anuradha Varma

YOU won't find them in kurta-pyjamas but in jeans and t-shirts, doing what they do best - getting things done. These innovative visionaries are high on social consciousness. For Siva Cotipalli, whose website Dhanax connects the 'haves' with 'havenots', Poonam Bir Kasturi, whose dream is to make India green with her do-it-yourself biodegradable Daily Dump pots, Brij Kothari, who gives literacy a leg up with his concept of 'same language subtitling', Karthik Kumar of Evam, a theatre group that gives you happiness for the price of a ticket, Hilmi Quraishi who sells social awareness through a mobile phone and many others like them, the return on investment more often than not comes from their impact on society. A social entrepreneur works for more than just profit...


Jithin C Nedumala, Make a Difference (MAD)

MAD provides a common and convenient platform for youth to make a difference in children's lives, by teaching a batch twice a week. The cost of teaching a child for a month comes to something like Rs 10.41. Says Nedumala, "We take a child when she is in the 5th standard, teach her English in a fun way four hours every week, ensure she has her computer class half an hour daily and meets professionals from various fields." He adds, "Once she finishes 10th she would be well equipped with the language and we would find a sponsor for her higher education. Hence, MAD is probably the most efficient way of spending your 10 rupees." MAD teaches 1,200 children with the help of 350 volunteers in four cities, which will soon expand to five more. They plan to take the concept to Nigeria and Pakistan as well.


Siva Cotipalli, Dhanax

Want to put aside some money to help the needy? Contact Dhanax. It partners with NGOs and self-help groups to identify credible borrowers. They also determine the ability of the borrowing party to honour the repayment of loan. A lender registered on the Dhanax website goes through the borrower information and chooses one or more borrowers to lend to. People lend only once to the borrower. The borrower repays the lender monthly. The beneficiaries are mainly low-income women earning Rs 5,000-Rs 8,000 per month who take loans for starting small businesses, pay kids' school fees, etc. Says Cotipalli, "So far, over 350 loans have been funded through the website. We have transacted over Rs 20 lakh of loan amount and the largest lending has been Rs 60,000."



Brij Kothari, Planet Read

When Kothari was a student of Spanish during his time at Stanford University, he once commented to friends that if Spanish films came subtitled in the same language, it would help their linguistic skills a lot more. Recalls Kothari, "In jest, I added that if they put Hindi subtitles on Hindi film songs, India would become literate." The idea stuck and he spent the next 12 years on research. He explains, "It's karaoke on popular culture. Viewers begin to read along and thus, reading improvement becomes a by-product of entertainment." Over the last 10 years, SLS (Same Language Subtitling) has been implemented on Bollywood film songs on TV in Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Oriya, and Punjabi. It has woven regular reading practice into the lives of 150 million early-literate people. The goal is to persuade all channels in India to show song content on TV with SLS.


Poonam Bir Kasturi, Daily Dump

Can an ordinary person do anything to make the five-km radius around them better? That's the question Bangalore-based NID designer Poonam Bir Kasturi asked herself. The answer was Daily Dump, which enables the ordinary home owner to not throw out her organic waste, but compost it at home in a pot. Kasturi explains, "All organic waste can be composted - vegetable, fruits, cooked food, even bones and fish waste, teabags, newspapers, flowers, sawdust, etc. Plastic, metal, medicines and diseased plants can't be composted." The compost can be sold to a nursery or put in potted plants or used to nourish a tree. Her dream is to make "composters fit every home in India". While Kasturi funds her business from what she earns as a design consultant, she maintains, "Wall Street would discount it, but I think it's worth it."


Hilmi Quraishi, ZMQ

An educational technologist, Quraishi believes profits make for more commitment. From mobile games creating awareness on HIV/AIDs and climate consciousness, the company plans an SMS-based system offering prenatal and post-natal advice for women in rural areas, which will give her tips on what to eat, vaccines, etc. Also planned are a series on lifestyle diseases, such as hypertension and diabetes. While the games are usually free, a nominal amount is charged. The games are made popular through NGOs, schools and other local organisations. Often, profits are put back into making games. He says, "If an aerated water bottle can be sold in villages for Rs 10, why can't we sell training packages for the same price?"


Karthik Kumar, Evam Entertainment Pvt Ltd

The "happiness factory" was a vision of two people - Sunil Vishnu K and Karthik Kumar, both MICA graduates. Says Kumar, "We ran a successful youth-theatre movement in Ahmedabad and this sparked our own storytelling enterprise." He adds, "Our audiences have been easily enthused by energetic performances, and this has led to workshops, fun merchandise, and stories in other formats." They have been self-funded in their five years of operation, and this shows the soundness of the model itself.


Vishal Talreja, Dream A Dream

The project had modest beginnings, with a group of young people, taking children from local orphanages on special outings on weekends. Soon, the dream got bigger. Founded in 1999, it now teaches life skills to children referred by their partner NGOs in Bangalore. Says Talreja, "They are children whose basic needs such as food, shelter and education are being met but who, without support and opportunities run a risk of falling back into the vicious cycle of life on the street." The skills taught include teamwork, communication, decision making, besides building confidence and self-awareness.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-toi/Eager-to-give-but-dont-know-where-to-begin/articleshow/3996205.cms

Mobile hell…

After weeks of research, I decide to abandon my CDMA connection and buy an android GSM handset. Right after buying it, I walk two shops away to the Reliance store and ask for a GSM connection… should take a couple of hours, I think.

Ha! Guy at counter: Why do you want to shift to GSM? Me: Not enough good CDMA handsets. He: That’s true… but GSM gives problems.  Me: I don’t care.. I just want it fast. He: It’ll take seven days and you have to provide fresh identification.

My pancard and press i-card (with my billing address) won’t do … I need to get a bank passbook, an updated one. I say forget it, I’ll just go elsewhere. I go to Airtel nearby… how long does it take to get my number ported? Seven days, he says, without looking up. Not happy, I walk to Idea next door. Seven days, the guy says, and says the ID I’m carrying will do. He looks helpful. Great… so let’s do it. I go back to Reliance, pay my bill and inform guy at Reliance that Idea is doing it now… Good for me, he says.

In this case, the network really follows me… I call both mobile providers daily for updates (sometimes more than once a day), desperate to use my new android phone. Reliance calls me almost daily too… asking me why I want to shift (old customer)… at first, I enthusiastically complain about the guy at the store and over the next few days, am reduced to asking them to just get it done… finally, I get a confessional call, where I’m informed that nothing has moved and will take another week.. so why not just stick with us? By now, I’m yelling and am used to putting on my rude voice effortlessly.. JUST DO IT, I tell them. Okay? No… the next call tells me that my number portability request is cancelled… Why? “Why don’t you put in a request to find out?” I won’t! Stern voice: “Well, then, if you don’t cooperate, we can’t help you.” I want to talk to a senior… “I’m the senior.”

Idea too has little idea what’s happening. “Today’s the seventh day, your old connection will switch off at midnight and after two hours, the new one will start working. Don’t worry… pucca.” At midnight, my old connection’s still working. Mad and feeling slightly foolish for believing them, I call customer care: “It’s 7 days minus Sunday and Diwali.” And Saturday? “No, only Sunday.”

I count 7 days, minus Diwali, Sundays and also throw in Bhai Dooj, etc. 3 more days to go then… I call after 3 days. Guy at Idea: Didn’t you just call? You didn’t get status then? Me: That was in the morning; now, it’s evening. What’s the status? “You can’t count Saturdays and Sundays.” Saturdays too? “Obviously, Saturday and Sunday.” Obviously.

Maybe I should just chuck the number and get a new one. I go to the Vodafone showroom. They seem happy to see me. I have a landline bill for my residence, but am not home during the day. No problem, they’ll verify at my office. Just give a colleague’s reference. No.. I’m not sharing any colleague’s contact. Just give the name, I'm told, it’s a formality. Okay, I guess. Three days later, I want to know why my connection hasn’t been activated. Customer care is full of assurances as usual and it should take anywhere from 24 hours to 72 hours. After being put on hold for 5 minutes, I head to the showroom. My connection hasn’t been activated since my colleague hasn’t presented his ID. Okay, and what if he shows his I-card, will it do? Hmmm, will it contain the address he stays at? I yell at the guy, “Would you know that about any of your colleagues?” Silence. Fine, meet my landlady… provided she’s not out for kirtan when you come. My landlady sounds wary when I call, “Aunty, they want to see your ID.” Getting a home loan was easier… I give up. Give me a prepaid card instead.. how long will that take? 24 hours! That was three days ago. I can’t recharge it online.. customer care says to visit the showroom.. I don’t have the time. “Then we can’t help you.” Do they have the number? “We can only give you the address.”

I try to prove to a friend that I’m not exaggerating… in front of her, I call up Reliance thrice.. a different status each time. The first one tells me everything is in order, the last tells me he’ll lose his job if he gives me a false commitment… I assure him he won’t; I have been getting such commitments all fortnight. When I call Idea, the male voice asks, “Madam bol rahin hain ya sir? (Is that a Madam or Sir).”

So, now I have to prioritise.. Chase Vodafone, try Airtel now or just chase Reliance? By now, I have written to the nodal officer, TRAI and the Corp Comm of Reliance… I guess I’ll just chase Reliance. I’d still rather retain my number. Meanwhile, use the new handset to play Angry Birds. When I first started playing it, I was so involved I thought a call would almost be intrusive… no such fear now!

PS: At midnight (November 10), the switch finally happened. Couldn't believe it was actually happening! It took almost 21 days. All is well with the world again... for now!

Vintage Bollywood!

Bollywood showcards are making waves at Canada’s Royal Ontario Museum. Deepali Dewan, curator of South Asian Arts and Culture talks about the importance of film art

What’s the significance of the exhibition Bollywood Cinema Showcards: Indian Film Art from the 1950s to the 1980s?

The Bollywood showcards are part of a long tradition of painted photographs. There are no names of recorded artists, but Nathdwara in Rajasthan was popular for the art, which was initially patronised by royalty over a hundred years ago. Later, it became accessible to everyone and the photographs were used during memorials, and even sent to suitors as part of a marriage proposal. As for Bollywood, these showcards are rare, since unlike film posters, there were only sets of four or six available for each film. It’s a miracle any have survived. Showcards were a unique form of film advertising and only found in India. They are different from the typical stills displayed in lobbies of cinema halls; film stills were pasted on to a board and painted over to create an emotional and dramatic impact.

What are your memories of Bollywood?

Surprisingly, I have few memories of Hindi films. I have a Hindu-Punjabi father and American mother and we lived in Delhi in the early 70s, where we usually watched films on television and rarely ventured into a cinema hall. When we moved to Canada, my dad brought loads of music tapes along. I grew up knowing all the songs, but minus the images to go with them and not knowing which films they were from. I was exposed to the films only in the 90s and my favourite remains Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge. I never thought I would be doing research based on Bollywood! It’s been great to get the reactions from people who have viewed the show; some are impressed to find these in a museum!

How did you source the showcards?

There are several collectors, but we eventually used the personal collection of Canadian Angela Hartwick, whose photographer husband is based in Mumbai. They found these showcards during a visit to Mumbai’s Chor Bazaar, and over five years, collected 200 such examples.

Tell us about your project Bollywood Hero…

It’s a commissioned billboard, 15 feet tall and 36 feet wide, and will be part of the museum’s permanent collection. The lead artist is Mumbai-based Suresh Sandal. It’s a historical exploration of the role of the hero, from the early days to the present — from Dev Anand to Shah Rukh Khan and beyond. It has a huge picture of Amitabh Bachchan from the film Deewar. It’s a handpainted history of Bollywood.

Do you believe that Bollywood is not a local but global phenomenon, and a serious one at that?

It has its fun side as being entertaining and a secret pleasure that no one admits to, although that seems to be changing. It has its roots in art and stage performances and is part of a larger cultural whole. As a researcher, I take that seriously. I also teach at the University of Toronto and ask my students to watch Bollywood films; they write about the links they find to the stories told through miniature Rajput paintings. Hindi cinema, which was renamed Bollywood only much later, was part of the international film industry from the initial years. The characters, costumes were all part of an international dialogue. Hollywood films played in Bombay, and Hindi films were submitted to film festivals abroad. We must appreciate the complexity of the Hindi film phenomenon.

Vegetarian — Or Not?

Raising a child to be vegetarian or dealing with one while one parent enjoys meat can be confusing. You enjoy your fish, while your spouse digs his veggies…or you both enjoy meat, while it makes your child queasy. How do you guide your child’s eating choices, without passing value judgements?

When Vijayluxmi Bose’s son was young, he refused to touch his meat and found fish smelly — a very difficult situation indeed for a Bengali family. He equated meat with animals and the sight of meat on his plate brought images of animals being slaughtered.

Despite pressure from well-meaning relatives and friends, Bose decided to let her son be. However, she says, “He now has eggs and occasionally kebabs. But if there’s a choice between rajma and korma, he’ll choose the former.” He’s also been explained that it may be discourteous to refuse meat as a guest at someone’s house, when veggies may be a more expensive option or when they rarely figure as part of the menu.

Parents’ Dilemma

It’s tough for parents to walk the talk when it comes to raising kids as ‘veggies’, even when the choice is made for them. A young mother, a vegetarian, shares her dilemma, “My husband is a hardcore non-vegetarian and I don’t even eat eggs, so I had my task cut out when my daughter was old enough to understand. However, we are of one opinion that she doesn’t really need to eat meat now and it will be entirely her choice once she is old enough.”

Leaving it to the child to decide may work in some cases, but is easier said than done for others. Sumita Thapar’s parents decided to allow their three children to choose to eat meat if they wished despite being vegetarians themselves. She states, “Today, two of us remain hardcore vegetarian. One of my brothers enjoys his mutton, and my little nephew counts bacon as his favourite food. Fine by all of us.”

Having a set of parents, one vegetarian, and the other ‘non-veg’, can make for a confused child. Priya Cassens rewinds to her childhood, “The child wants to emulate the parents’ eating habits and doesn’t know what to do. While Mom was vegetarian and we are vegetarians by caste, Dad had opportunities to sample meat dishes at the neighbours’, growing up in north India.

My parents never discouraged me from eating meat, but it was never really ever prepared at home and if Dad ever wanted to cook chicken occasionally, Mom asked him to use separate utensils and dishes.”

She adds, “So while I had been introduced to meat at a very early age and even liked the taste of it, I think watching my Mom not eat it, and not even like the smell of it, made me feel uncomfortable about eating meat.” While her brother grew up unreservedly relishing meat-based dishes, she chooses chicken and fish only if there isn’t “a good vegetarian alternative”.

Confusing Rules And Standards

For parents who want to ensure their children stay vegetarian, how do they explain to a child that it’s wrong to kill animals when one parent eats meat? Psychiatrist Anjali Chhabria believes there’s no perfect way to do this. She says, “The child wonders why there are different rules or standards set for him and his parent. In order to deal with this situation, you can start by telling your child that different individuals tend to follow different eating habits for different reasons.

One has learnt from childhood that eating meat is okay, however, the other has learnt that eating meat involves killing animals which is morally incorrect. You can emphasise on the positive aspects of eating vegetarian food. For instance, it’s healthier and easier to digest. Also, it is important that you focus on the eating behaviour and don’t give any labels to the parent, such as: ‘he’s doing wrong, it doesn’t mean you do it, too’.”

And, how do you deal with emotional children, once they make the connection that meat comes from animals they love reading about or see around them? Chhabria adds, “If the child is very attached emotionally to, say, a toy duck that she plays with while having a bath, you need not explain how the animal is killed and made into meat.

Also, you can give the child a scientific and nature-based explanation as to how the ecosystem maintains its balance when people eat farm food as well as animals. It’s important that the parent helps the child understand that there is no sin in eating meat.” It’s wise to allow the child to explore and take her own decision.

Is Vegetarianism Good?

Meanwhile, is a purely veggie diet good for kids? Explains Delhi-based dietician Beena Arora, “The nutritional needs of children change, as they grow. A vegetarian diet can meet a child’s nutritional needs, but only if it is well-planned. A diet rich in fruits and veggies will be high in fibre and low in fat, factors known to improve cardiovascular health by reducing blood cholesterol and maintaining a healthy weight.

If your child insists on pizzas or burgers, make it at home and include as many veggies as you can.”

She cautions, “Some of the nutrients that vegetarians should include in their diet are: vitamin B12 — present in dairy products and vitamin-fortified products like cereals and bread; vitamin D — present in citrus juices;

Calcium — dairy products, green leafy vegetables, tofu and other soy products being the rich source; Iron — whole grains, leafy green vegetables, and iron-fortified cereals, bread and Zinc — wheat germ, nuts, fortified cereal, dried beans, and pumpkin seeds.”

It’s a balancing act, in more ways than one! Ultimately, it’s a matter of choice.

http://www.speakingtree.in/view-article/Vegetarian-Or-Not

'Rama’s Mistakes Bring Him Closer To Us'

Did King Dasaratha’s weakness for his young wife Kaikeyi affect his son Rama’s choices towards his wife Sita, leading to her banishment? Did the revered prince of Ayodhya abandon the kshatriya code when he killed monkey king Vali?

In her book, Lost Loves: Exploring Rama’s Anguish, ARSHIA SATTAR talks of Rama’s conflict between multiple dharmas and the relevance of the epic today. She talks to ANURADHA VARMA about Rama and Sita’s love story gone wrong and more.

What are your earliest memories of the Ramayana? And what later attracted you to its retelling and Rama, in particular?

I first heard the story of Rama when I was a child, from my ayah who came from the hills. It’s also my first memory of fear — I was afraid that Ravana would come and take me away. My parents were always reading me stories and buying me books, especially books of myths and folk tales. So I think I entered a story-telling universe of flying monkeys and dragons and fairy queens rather early. And I stayed with it.

The Ramayana is everywhere in India — it’s like the air we breathe. So it’s not that I was attracted to it again, it was always there, somewhere. As for Rama, that’s been more recent. And I can’t say that I’m ‘attracted’ to him; it’s more like I am confused about him and so have to think about him more than I do about other characters in the story.

How much was Rama human and how much god-like? Which aspect appeals to you more and why?

I think everyone decides for themselves how human Rama was or how god-like. The human Rama is interesting because he seems closer to us. We can think about his actions in terms of our human failings and temptations and fears. We can see that he made mistakes which he deeply regretted. And that brings him close to us.

You’ve written that Dasaratha’s attitude towards Kaikeyi embarrassed Rama and affected his own relationship with Sita. Was this the root cause in his eventual detachment from Sita?

There’s a whole chapter in the book that talks about this. Yes, I think Rama was deeply affected by his father’s actions — actions which changed Rama’s life forever. Had they not been exiled into the forest, perhaps Sita would not have been taken away from him. But then, we would not have had this beautiful story, which is one of how we can lose love and what happens when we have to live without it.

What is the eternal dharma that Rama strives towards? How does this conflict with his kshatriya dharma and personal desires? Where, in all this, does Rama’s real greatness lie?

Rama renounces kshatriya dharma on three separate occasions, so it’s clear that it troubles him on many levels. It’s not simply about warriors and violence, it’s also the demands that kingship makes on a person. Rama is impressed by and attracted to the quietude of the lives of the ascetics in the forest. You could call that eternal dharma if you like.

For me, the more challenging idea is that there are multiple dharmas according to who you are and what stage of life you are in. We could also argue that Dasaratha chose to honour his dharma as a husband because he was at the end of his life as a king. Rama had to reject Sita because he was starting his life as a king. I’m not sure where Rama’s greatness lies.

For some people, he was never great. It’s for the reader or the believer to decide whether Rama is great and if so, what it is that makes him that.

What makes Sita finally leave Rama? Is it because she realises that Rama has forgotten how to love her? Is there a final irrevocable emotional distance between the two?

This is also in the book — it’s this terrible moment that gives the book its name, ‘Lost Loves’. I don’t think he’s forgotten how to love her, he has learnt to love her differently. He loves her now as a king would love his queen. Sita takes the enormous step of leaving him by entering the earth. In that sense, she gives up on the idea of their love — so yes, given that she leaves him forever, to say that there is an ‘irrevocable distance between the two’ would be an understatement!

Is the Ramayana eventually a love story? What lessons do Rama-Sita’s relationship have for us?

The Ramayana is ALSO a love story, even as it is many other things. It’s an epic; it’s a story about how to be a king. For some people, it’s a story about god acting on earth, among humans, showing what to do and what not to do. I find the Ramayana most compelling as a love story, but there’s a Ramayana for each of us. What do we learn from Rama and Sita’s relationship? We learn how hard it is for love to be constant, how hard it is to have expectations from your beloved that are not fulfilled. We also learn how vulnerable we are and how difficult it is to adjust to changes in our lives.

Do we need to challenge the notion of Rama-Sita as the eternal ideal couple?

I can’t see how a relationship that’s largely spent in separation can be ideal. Rama and Sita and their relationship are always going to be on our cultural horizon but how we regard it, whether as ideal and eternal or problematic depends on who we are. If one believes that Rama is god, then of course his relationship with his wife and others are going to be considered ideal. But if not, then we have other ways to think about the relationship, and consider what it says about our ideas of men and women in society.

http://www.speakingtree.in/view-article/Ramas-Mistakes-Bring-Him-Closer-To-Us

'We’ve forgotten Sita'

SAMHITA ARNI has authored the graphic novel, ‘Sita’s Ramayana’. In retelling the epic, she is pleasantly surprised to discover a strong, assertive and powerful Sita. She talks to ANURADHA VARMA 

What prompted your retelling the Ramayana from Sita’s point of view?

As a child abroad, the Ramayana didn’t interest me much because I didn’t find Sita interesting. When I came back to India, I found that every day, the newspaper had some reference or other to the Ramayana. The epic is still very much alive and permeates all aspects of our lives — from politics to reality television. So, of course, I got interested in the epic.

In my grandmother’s generation there were lots and lots of women called Sita; in my generation, I don’t know a single Sita. Women, obviously, don’t want to call their daughters Sita; why name their daughters after a long-suffering, abandoned, self-sacrificing wife? Women don’t want that fate for their daughters.

Yet when I started reading and discovering the other versions of the Ramayana, some had assertive, powerful, strong Sitas. For example, one version has a very interesting explanation for why Janaka required Sita’s suitors to string Shiva’s bow. When Sita was a young child, Janaka found that she had lifted the bow. So Janaka, determined, that if his daughter was so strong, he must find a man who could match her in strength, and thus he devised the swayamvara.

How do you view Sita and her journey?

I think we’ve forgotten who Sita is. Sita’s Ramayana came partly out of feeling the need to have a retelling of the Ramayana that gave Sita a voice. I think a lot of women who are single mothers, in tough situations, who are struggling to make a life for themselves in what is still very much a man’s world, can find inspiration in Sita’s courage.

We shouldn’t forget the ending of the Ramayana as it is narrated in the Valmiki and many other versions — that Sita chooses, instead of returning to Ayodhya and being Rama’s queen, to go back to where she came from — the earth. She makes a choice; she strikes out on her own. It’s a very powerful, proto-feminist choice.

How do you perceive Rama as a god and also as man, husband and father?

In the dilemmas that Rama and Sita face, we can find an echo of our own problems. There are episodes that aren’t always neat, aren’t black and white — I think they should provoke us to think, engage with the text, and ask questions. If we cease to engage with the epic, I think we start to forget what a powerful and influential story it is.

Can this be called a feminist Ramayana? The women’s anguish is portrayed well: from Mandodari’s pain to Tara’s anguish on being asked to return to former husband Sugriva and also Rama’s lashing out at Sita after his victory, when he says, “Sita, you are free. I have freed you. You can do whatever you want. Go wherever you want.”

Unfortunately, we live in a time that when you call something feminist, it immediately makes people think that it’s only for women. So I’m hesitant to call it a feminist Ramayana for that reason — I’d really like little boys to go out and read this. I hope, I’ve written it in a way that appeals to them, too. Moyna (illustrator) and I are both women, and so our own engagement with Sita and the Ramayana will be coloured by that. I think that’s what made me identify with Mandodari, Tara and Sita.

And the bit about Rama’s conversation with Sita after his victory — I’d like to clarify since many have thought that this is a feminist insertion — that’s actually taken from the Valmiki Ramayana. I met Moyna, a Patua artist; she had a really interesting take on the Ramayana that was based on the Patua folk version. The retellings from the oral tradition, which evolve and change over time and with each storyteller, interested me. Moyna’s version — from Sita’s point of view like the 16th century Bengali poetess Chandrabati's version— was interesting.

You wrote a children’s version of the Mahabharata when you were barely 12. And now, at 27, you are writing on the Ramayana. Which epic engages you more today and why?

Both epics engage me in different ways, and for different reasons. I think the Mahabharata is an epic that is always relevant — someone once said that the Mahabharata is about war, and so it is relevant to every experience of conflict. Maggi Lidchi-Grassi, whose three-volume, The Great Golden Sacrifice of the Mahabharata came out recently, draws parallels between the Mahabharata and World War II.

Dharamvir Bharati’s play on the Mahabharata, Andha Yug, is influenced by Partition. When Peter Brook dramatised and filmed the Mahabharata in the ’80s, his choice of an international cast showed that the epic is relevant to all cultures; it speaks to every experience of conflict, including Vietnam and the Cold War.

My favourite character is Karna. He’s a tragic hero, and his story and fate reveal that conflicts are always more complex and tragic, that the ideas of good and evil aren’t absolute and are very complex.The Ramayana
interests me differently. I find the innumerable versions fascinating, from shadow puppet performances to the epic versions in various languages.

The way the epic has travelled outside India and evolved in Indonesia, a Muslim country, and in Buddhist Thailand is something we often neglect. It’s a pan-Asian tradition, and the proliferation of the epic is fascinating. Every re-teller of the story has added a new nuance, and has a different perspective on the story. As for characters, I find Sita fascinating. I’m also very partial to Trijatha. All the female characters, from Kaikeyi to Urmila and Surpanakha, intrigue me.

What is your forthcoming book, ‘Searching for Sita’, about?

It’s a ‘speculative fiction feminist thriller’ which situates the Ramayana in today’s world — there are phones, Internet, 24-hour news channels, etc. The main character is a journalist, who wants to interview Sita but can’t find her, and in the process, meets all kinds of characters like Kaikeyi and travels to Lanka, Mithila, and gets into trouble. Hopefully, it should be out in 2012.

http://www.speakingtree.in/view-article/Weve-forgotten-Sita

A call for change!

Anna and his team may have won the first round against corruption, but there are several battles waiting to be fought in India. Anuradha Varma asks some eminent voices to tell us about the change they want to see.


Anna, broaden your battles!
Gurcharan Das, author & management expert

"Anna Hazare has been successful because he has focused single-mindedly on one issue — corruption. The Lokpal is only a beginning. It will catch crooks after the act. What you need is to prevent the disease. To make a real difference, you need to reform the bureaucracy, the police, the judiciary, and the electoral system. These reforms should be next on Anna Hazare's agenda. He should not get distracted by other problems, such as education, health, drinking water. Obviously, there is corruption in the delivery of these services — one in four teachers is absent in a state primary school; two in five doctors are absent in a primary health centre. But the answer is to make civil servants accountable — government teachers and doctors are civil servants, after all. The overhaul of the bureaucracy, for example, will entail reduction in administrative discretion; swiftness and certainty of punishment in disciplinary proceedings; reduction in rent seeking opportunities; penalisation for delays; elimination of the seniority system. These ideas are not new —every administrative reforms commission has recommended them ,but the bureaucracy has sabotaged them. So, we need Annaji to focus on them."

Let Kashmir be heard

Shobhaa De, writer

“The sudden cancellation of the much looked forward to Harud Literature Festival in the Kashmir Valley once again proves how divisive forces win over those advocating a peaceful dialogue via non-political platforms. Pressure groups are overactive these days, and free speech comes with inbuilt reservations about security issues and safety. This is ridiculous and a real threat to the democratic process which guarantees plurality and liberalism in all walks of life. That a handful of protestors could browbeat organisers to cancel what would have been an important exchange of vibrant ideas and voices, is an indication of growing intolerance, not just in Kashmir, but across the board. I am fundamentally against browbeating of any kind... no matter how ‘noble’ the intentions. There is no room for suppressing the freedom of expression through such bullying tactics. The more one gives in to such elements, the weaker we become as a nation.

What about healthcare & education?

Sohaila Kapur, theatreperson

"The country has focused on corruption, but there are several other issues that need to be addressed and speedily. For instance, health and education. A visit to any of the municipal hospitals confirms that. Pregnant women, wounded men, diseased children await attention and rooms. And why just government hospitals? The problem is not much better in private hospitals. You have to make a down payment before a patient is admitted. My father once experienced a heart attack while I was away from the city and our driver rushed him to the very hospital where he was once a senior and respected pediatrician. The receptionist refused to give him a room, even while the poor man was gasping and in great pain, until Rs 2 lakh was deposited there and then. Someone should move the RTI in hospitals. As far as our education is concerned, things have not changed much from our time when we learnt everything by rote. Instead of droning on and on about matter that is already in text books, teachers need to challenge young minds through relevant questions, quizzes, experiments and yes, even theatrical exercises. One could go on and on about what needs to be done, but it's time it all jumped out of the paperwork and worked itself into active agendas."

Stop sexual violence

Vidya Reddy, child rights activist

“The Bill to Protect Children from Child Sexual Abuse has been put up before the parliamentary standing committee, but it hasn’t even been introduced in the Parliament for passing. I recently recommended that the police in Chennai start a training module on handling such cases. We have decided to call it ‘Investigating Sexual violence’ — it needs to be said outright. We must stop using euphemisms when dealing with sexual abuse and stop clubbing them under crimes against children or women and trafficking. Nobody sees it as a standalone problem. When it comes to sexual violence of children, first of all, very few cases get reported. Nearly 88 per cent of the victims don’t talk about it. We lack an effective response mechanism in society or in the system. Forget sensitivity, at least put protocols in place that can be followed. According to a 1996 study, even judges, MPs and the police are uncomfortable around cases of sexual violence. We need a special prosecutor in court to address such cases. Doctors are also not trained in these issues. Recently, a boy who was sodomised was tossed around an entire day in the hospital from departments of neurology to paediatrics and finally psychiatry. Whether it’s men, women, children or the LGBT groups, everyone has to be protected from sexual violence.” 

Fight for the environment
Raaja Bhasin, author & historian

"Every time there is a problem, a Gandhi, a Jai Prakash Narayan and an Anna Hazare cannot be pulled out of the woodwork. Systems must be strengthened — systems of redress and systems of appraisal. Of all the issues that now face our country, the biggest fight is yet to come. This fight is for our environment that will decide how we will live, and if we will live. The interventions that have taken place have been too severe and too irreversible. This will have to stop, if we do not want to create two nations within the same geographical space (as happened in England during the Industrial Revolution), the rich and the poor."

Shelter land rights of poor
Usha Ramanathan, legal expert

"The vexed question of land is seeing a churning around the country. It is now at least 25 years since coercive acquisition, forced evictions and mass displacement reached national attention. It is local resistance, in multiple locations around the country, which has forced the state to rethink its strategy of how it will use its power to take over land. There is a draft Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation Bill 2011 currently up for debate. It reveals a remarkable lack of understanding of why there are all these mutinies all around us, and that a new law will have to limit the powers of the state to acquire, not expand it like this Bill will do. In the meantime, the urban poor are having their shelters demolished ruthlessly, and the state is acting as if the poor are responsible for their poverty and must pay the price for being poor! The persistence of 'extraordinary' laws is a scandal. Chhattisgarh, Kashmir, the North-East see them in their rawness, to which the unmarked graves bear testimony. Irom Sharmila has become a symbol of a state that does not care either for its people or for the rule of law. These laws have to be systematically, and urgently, weeded out."

Radhika Vaz — Unladylike!

Born in Mumbai, Radhika Vaz moved to New York and realised she wanted to be a stand-up comedian. Touring India, with her popular show Unladylike, she talks about what gets her going

Do you remember the moment you realised you wanted to do stand-up comedy as a career?

I probably wanted it all my life. What woman doesn’t want a room full of people to sit there and pay close attention to her every word. 

 
How much of the script for Unladylike is written by you? Do you generally write your scripts? 

The first draft of the show was mine, my director Brock Savage stepped in after that with a lot of suggestions. And yes, so far I write all my own stuff. 

Tell us about some popular lines from your shows that have tickled the audience. 

The line about how I hate giving blow jobs gets a laugh; it goes something like this: As far as I am concerned a blow job is like cooking, I have no natural flair for it and on top of that I am operating from a recipe that was handed down to me years ago by another woman who didn’t know what the f*** she was doing either.

How did the Indian audience react to the humour, ‘obscenity’ and four-letter words?

I use “f***” once the entire show, the show isn’t obscene to be honest — politically incorrect is more how I would describe it. Indian audiences, especially the women (who I expect will be the bulk of my audience) are quite sophisticated...I think they can handle it.

How unladylike are you in real life? 

I am just barely a woman.

What do you think of Indian men?

I am married to a Jat. I am too afraid to say anything. 

Anything you experienced here, while in India, that you would like to use as part of your routine later?

Definitely. Conversations with my girl-friends always lead to material.

Have you watched any Indian comedians, such as Vir Das, Papa CJ, or any others? Internationally, which stand-up comics make you laugh the most?

Only on Youtube. I’m a fan of comic actors - Anupam Kher in Khosla Ka Ghosla, Paresh Rawal in Lucky Oye (or whatever that film was), Lillette Dubey in Monsoon Wedding... As far as stand-up goes, my opening act in Bangalore is a funny lady Aditi Mittal. I am a big fan of shows like Little Britain, The Catherine Tate Show, Curb Your Enthusiasm; the writers and performers on those shows are just terrific.

How is it being a woman in a field that's largely associated with men?

It’s what it is. Like any other field, we have to make a little more noise to be heard, but I never had a problem with that.

Often comedy makes a serious point. What’s the point of Unladylike?

Don’t let anyone define your role as a woman.

Tell us what else you enjoy… what are the books you like and movies? What about Bollywood?

I love reading - fave book of all time is The Jam Fruit Tree. I love movies and TV shows — one of my favorite shows is called Six Feet Under. Bollywood is changing fast; there seems to be more smart comedy (like the two films I mentioned) — I like that.

How much do you keep in touch with India? Has it changed much since the last tiem you were here? 

My family and friends live here – it’s home. I would say the biggest change is the flyover they built near my parents’ home in Bangalore; it has changed our lives!

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/people/I-am-barely-a-woman-Radhika-Vaz/articleshow/10038937.cms

Born again!

If you’re looking for spiritual purification and release of personal traumas, try rebirthing.

Are you suffering from anger, fear or sadness? Could it be related to the trauma of birth? Like many others, you can get relief through rebirthing — a therapy which uses breathwork to release negative emotions. Rebirthing is a term coined in the 1970s by American Leonard Orr. He called it “the most powerful form of prana yoga”. This New Age technique has many takers in India.

Spiritual Purification

Sujata Malik, who took this therapy, sums up its benefits: “As part of the spiritual process, it’s important to shed emotional baggage and relieve knots from the past. As we revisit an experience and go through the pain again, it helps in resolving the problem forever.”

Practitioners tell you that rebirthing unravels all human trauma in our present life as well as from past lives, and helps optimise our skills and talent. Rhythmic breathing is the key to releasing negative blocks and filling one with an abundant life force. The process accesses subconscious realms, leading to spiritual purification and a feeling of connectedness with the world around.

Sheeba Loganey was introduced to the art by Orr one fine day, 15 years ago. She remembers, “I took my first rebirthing session the same evening and the experience was profound. I felt my whole body pulsating with energy, the breath having taken over after the first few minutes, and I relived my entire birth process which had been very traumatic because of the umbilical cord wrapped around my neck.

I actually saw the whole birthing process, the layout of the hospital room, along with the people present in the room at the time, the doctors, my father and my aunt. My mother later confirmed the details. I had finally released my birth trauma and my claustrophobia disappeared completely. I felt calm and energised. After this, I was ready for the second session the next day!”

Loganey explains how it happens: “Almost everyone who undergoes this therapy feels a tingling or vibrations all over the body after about 10 minutes and this continues for one to two hours. It then gradually recedes and leaves a person feeling calm and tranquil. Every physical ailment has a psychosomatic reason behind it and when we heal the mental and emotional reasons, we heal the physical problem too.

A client was looking for a life-partner and it was after only the sixth session that she met her would-be husband at the airport while travelling from Delhi to Bangalore.

Another, who wanted to sell his property which was under dispute, resolved all issues with his siblings amicably. One, who had aches and pains all over his body and the doctors found nothing wrong with him, healed completely after 10 sessions.”

Rohini Chopra also witnessed miracles during her rebirthing sessions, she says, “Past-life regressions, which have sorted out issues in this lifetime, profound insights, a deeper connection with the self, a deep sense of well-being, an effortless letting go of blocks without intellectualisation, facing and transcending fears…and so gently and effortlessly. It’s an honour to be a rebirther and witness it hapen, with minimum interference on one’s own part.”

Who Can Undergo Rebirthing

There is no age limit; anyone suffering from fear, anger or emotional problems can take recourse to the therapy, but pregnant women should avoid it. Also people suffering from diagnosed depressive disorders should choose rebirthers with care say practioners.

Can one undergo rebirthing on their own, unsupervised? Says Rohini Chopra, “After doing a few sessions under supervision, you can do regular sessions on your own to keep the energy system clear.”A good rebirther should teach you how to continue at home, she says. According to Loganey, a person needs 10 to 20 sessions with a rebirther before they attempt to do it on their own. Each session is five to seven days apart.

The sessions involve using the elements of earth, air, water and fire. Says cosmetic surgeon Sandeep Bhasin, who came across rebirthing in 1999, “We use this breathing technique in dry sessions or in underwater sessions. The same breathing can be done near fire or by being under earth, and with each element, the release of emotions and issues is different.”

He maintains, “Rebirthing is a highly revolutionary method as it releases memories of childhood and past life at a tremendous speed, which can take psychoanalysts years to explore. It has really changed people’s lives. I, too, used to be very submissive and found it difficult to express myself.

Rebirthing made me assertive.” A client, he claims, went from being meek to gregarious and positive, after recalling and releasing the trauma of being sexually abused in a past life.

The key lies in breathing right and in consciously working out troublesome issues!

http://www.speakingtree.in/public/view-article/Born-Again

Back to school!

“I dreamt about you day and night those days,” mediaperson Monojit Lahiri told his former classmate, who blushed. He was meeting her after a gap of 45 years at a school reunion in Lonavla.

He recalls, “We last met as 10-year-olds and were now in our late 50s. We were children then and most of us had grandchildren now.” His wife, initially hesitant to accompany him was embraced in the all-inclusive warmth. He adds, “In a cynical, sceptical world, a reunion is a journey into the days of innocence. It’s a reaffirmation of the human spirit and makes you believe in all that is warm, true and genuine. You meet at a purely emotional level, with no vested interests. You don’t care how much money the other’s making.”

Monojit’s in regular touch with 40 of his former Rishi Valley classmates now, mostly over email. He’s not the only one. In the age of social networking, it’s easy to bump into old friends in cyberspace. It’s not uncommon to have former classmates go down memory lane in groups on Facebook as they lock dates for a reunion. The batch of 1988 from Bangalore’s Sacred Hearts Girls’ High School goes down memory lane, recalling eating ‘stick-jaw’ in the school canteen, salted green mangoes and eagles swooping down to make away with their lunches. Another remembers the little experiences that made school special, when a teacher handed her the exam paper, having given her five extra marks. After a moral tussle, she decided to tell her teacher. “But surprisingly, Mrs Clement said ‘Honesty pays’ and I was back to my seat with the same marks and a lighter heart. God bless her.”

Actor Amitabh Bachchan blogged about the whirlwind of emotions he experienced when he met up with former classmates at Sherwood in Nainital. He wrote, “This is a lifetime. A lifetime of incredible passage of time. Of incredible moments and events. Events that built you into what you are today.”

He adds, “..We are back to addressing each other by our pet names — Tich and Baj and Zaf and Gingi — nothing’s changed. We are grey-haired, spectacled, bald and wrinkled, generously paunched and heavier, our movements slow and laboured, we have our wives with us and some of us, our sons and sons-in-law and grandsons, but… We are the Class of 1958 and we are back in school!”

Putting up videos of past reunions online or photographs in school t-shirts, revisiting the age of innocence was never easier! Before her primary school reunion after 25 years, Thanga Mani Mudaliar worried about whether she had put on too much weight or was doing well enough professionally, but finally realised it didn’t matter. “I realised that people put on airs at the workplace or when meeting new people but with friends who go back a long way, we remain ourselves. We had a great time!”

Says designer Preeti Ghai, “I passed out in year 1994 and we had a reunion after 16 years. There, we were not designers or professionals, just kids back in school. Now, we’re in touch regularly and a few of us often get together for coffee.”

Shares Sumita Thapar, “It will be 25 years since we left school next year and the batch is planning a grand reunion. For over a decade, we’ve been in touch first through e-groups, then Facebook. Many of us are in touch, and we span the continents.” Adds Shirin Abbas, “The Loreto Convent batch of ’84 organised our 25th year reunion two years ago. It was a blast with friends from India and all over the world coordinating their vacations to be a part of the bash.”

An emotional Ganesh Ranganathan recalls celebrating Teachers’ Day after 40 years in his alma mater, “It was not a mere reunion, but a homage that we paid to our teachers. The gesture of an over 60-year-old man bending down to touch the feet of his former teachers (now in their eighties) was very moving. The programme started with my taking the mike as the MC. And, when I started to speak, I noticed that it was 10 am, when the school would have normally started its working day with the bell. I said to the audience ‘Friends, it’s 10 am and, if you recall, the bell is struck at this hour. ..What would you have done at this moment…?’ One voice from the back said, ‘We would have wished ‘Good morning’.” That’s when nearly 500 voices rose in crescendo to recreate the moment, to wish their former teachers. When it ended after several minutes, the entire audience burst into tears.

Nothing like a trip back in time to connect with what made us who we really are! 

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-08-21/man-woman/29911632_1_school-reunion-classmates-memory-lane

In Search Of The Big 'O'

Sohaila Kapur talks to Anuradha Varma of her new production which explores the journey of two women saints

Conceived by Sohaila Kapur and performed by Gilles Chuyen and Shilpika Bordoloi, the dance-theatre production ‘O’ explores the spiritual journey of two extraordinary saint-poets — Rabia the Sufi from Iraq and Karaikkal Ammaiyar, the Shaivite from Tamil Nadu. Both women chose a life that incorporated struggle, bending rules in the bargain and were finally revered by the very men who subjugated them.

‘O’ as a symbol encapsulates multiple meanings — Shunya or the great Nothingness, the Primordial Egg from which all life emerges. It also represents the Feminine Principle, the circle of emotions, the water element and orgasm. It is also the Primordial Universe and the Divine Absolute. The playwright talks about the two women saints who inspired the production.
What inspired ‘O’? What is the thought behind it? That women have had to struggle against patriarchy even to lead spiritual lives.

What kind of research did you do for the play? What was the experience you all went through? I had to read books on Rabia, as there is no chronological account of her life, only anecdotes and third-person accounts of miracles. Karaikkal Ammaiyar’s biographies were in Tamil and, therefore, inaccessible. We had a scholar help us here.

I have experienced a sense of euphoria and inner strength; my actors have experienced physical and emotional purges during the preparation. One actor found herself drawn to cremation grounds and dargahs and even danced in one of them, which in itself is unprecedented. The other actor has deepened his meditative practice and has had visions that he has made part of the creative process. There are many small incidents, which have added up.

Is there a connection between the feminine and the Divine?
There is a connection between all life and the Divine. Interesting that you asked this question, because Sufis don’t distinguish between a man and a woman in the service of God.

What spiritual lessons does Rabia’s life hold for us?
That all human beings are equal and society creates the distinction. That ultimately, life itself is ephemeral and that it is love that gives us the strength to tide over difficulties.

Karaikkal Ammaiyar was part of the Bhakti movement, which denounced religious rituals. What are the lessons to be learnt from her life? That one can progress spiritually even as a householder. There need not be a distinction between a housewife and a bhakt. And that one’s life is what one makes of it. And that Kailasa is not on top of a mountain, but within this world and in our hearts. Both women saints denounced religious rituals.

How did the struggle shape the spiritual growth of these women?
Struggle burnishes the spirit and strengthens the resolve to succeed in one’s goals. If they had not struggled, they may not have been able to achieve an understanding of the world, and reach beyond it, into the world of the spirit.

Tell us about their poetry…. They are both beautiful and lyrical and share the same theme; that of love for the Divine. While Rabia’s is more in the form of a conversation with God, laced with her philosophy, Karaikkal Ammaiyar’s is more sensual...it is a loving description of Shiva. Here is a sample of verse by Rabia and Karaikkal Ammaiyar:

Rabia: O my Lord/ If I worship you/ From fear of hell, burn me in hell/ If I worship you/ From hope of Paradise/ Bar me from its gates/ But if I worship you/ For yourself alone/ Grant me then the beauty of your face!
Karaikkal Ammaiyar: In all our births we are /His slaves./Only Him do we adore on/ Whose dense matted hair/ Shines the unbroken chip of the moon/ Let Him rule us forever!

Were women saints discriminated against?
Yes, and that is what the play is all about...their struggle against male domination. Rabia was a slave, initially. Owned by a wealthy man, she went through many hardships. Karaikkal Ammaiyar’s husband was self-centred and he was the trigger for her eventual renunciation of the world and her subsequent sainthood.

What lessons do these two women saints hold for us today?
The lesson is that patience and forbearance are important in today’s highly materialistic and increasingly robotic world. So is inner strength, to fight exploitation of body and spirit.

http://www.speakingtree.in/public/view-article/In-Search-Of-The-Big-O

Pulp fiction is back!

It's time to rewind to regional pulp fiction as over-the-top heroes, villains and outlandish plots make for a quickie read. Anuradha Varma reports

Lyricist and scriptwriter Javed Akhtar credits reading Ibne Safi's novels for helping him creating eternal celluloid villains like Gabbar Singh and Mogambo. Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap grew up wanting to be either Amitabh Bachchan or writer Surender Mohan Pathak. Actress Gul Panag even invited her favourite novelist Pathak to the premiere of her film Rann.

Besides Bengali detectives Feluda and Byomkesh Bakshi, Hindi, Urdu and Tamil pulp fiction heroes can keep many readers up at night turning pages of their slim detective novels. "Pocket books" or novellas, these became popular at book stalls at railway stations over 50 years ago.

Publishing houses are now giving the books fresh airing. Westland, along with Blaft, has published four translations of Ibne Safi's Jasusi Duniya series. Ibne Safi, the pen name of Asrar Ahmad, was once described as "the only original writer in the subcontinent" by Agatha Christie and wrote 125 novels in his lifetime.

Back in business
Says Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, who has translated the titles into English from Urdu, "Ibn-e-Safi provided humour, fast action and later invented some of the most bizarre characters in Urdu literature. And his hero (the Oxfordeducated Col Faridi) was all that young people of that time desired - a man of action, intellectual, aristocratic, amateur yet highly professional, apparently all knowledge was his province. And he wasn't interested in sex. So, a truly superhuman type with a great lot of humanity."

Says his son Ahmad Safi, "'Abbu termed Faridi his dream hero. Faridi was a complete personality, over the years this character developed in such a way that he was very careful in writing about him. One small mistake and the fans would go berserk."

Adds Bilal Tanweer, who did The House of Fear (Khaufnaak Imaraat, first published in 1955) based on Safi's spy and crimefighter hero Imran or X-2, for Random House, "Many writers have compelling plots, but Ibn-e Safi wrote prose, which was literary yet accessible."

Pranav Singh of Ponytale Books has published English versions of Sunil Gangopadhyay's Kakababu Adventures and Suchitra Bhattacharya's Adventures of Mitin Mashi, of the Third Eye Detective Agency and who surfs the Internet, makes extensive use of her mobile phone, is adept with Sudoku and always ready to rush to the scene of action. She is assisted by her chess-playing, school-going niece Tupur.

Highly prolific
Says Sudarshan Purohit, "Hindi pulp is not as popular today as it was in the 80s. Even today, people like Anil Mohan write a book every couple of months, so they manage to capture the zeitgeist. I wouldn't be surprised if books on the killing of Osama Bin Laden came out in the market in the next few weeks."

Coimbatore-based Rajesh Kumar publishes five novels a month. Says Blaft's Rakesh Kumar, "Rajesh has written around 1,500 books. Other Tamil authors have written hundreds of novels. In Hindi, it's hard to tell, because several authors use pseudonyms, with five people writing under the same name... but there are surely some very prolific writers. Bengali also has some madly prolific pulp writers."

Where are the books?
Archives are poorly maintained. Readers will be hard put to find a collection of their favourite writer's books. Pathak admits, "You won't even find 50 of my 275 novels."

Sudarshan explains, "There are hundreds (if not thousands) of Hindi pulp books that deserve a larger audience. Writers like Surender Mohan Pathak, Ved Prakash Sharma, Om Prakash Sharma, Parashuram Sharma, Gulshan Nanda, Kushwaha Kant, Colonel Ranjeet and dozens of others have been popular in their times. Anil Mohan writes a series of books about a professional thief and the heists he commits. And Agent Vinod, of course, was a pulp character before he became a movie." Time more publishing houses took up the challenge to give indigenous pulp fiction its place in the sun!


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/people/Pulp-fiction-is-back/articleshow/9564007.cms

Surinder Mohan Pathak: The King of Hindi Pulp

Surinder Mohan Pathak looks every bit the kindly grandfather as he whips out family photographs and declares that anytime now, his grandson will order him to turn on the Power Rangers for him on TV. It’s only the books on the bookshelves behind him at his house in Delhi’s Krishna Nagar that give away his identity as the king of Hindi pulp fiction, with over 275 books to his credit. He rues, “Earlier, housewives spent their afternoons reading ‘jasoosi’ novels. Today, they watch serials. My wife sleeps at 1 am after watching all her television serials.”

Having retired over 13 years ago from government service, Pathak continues to write four months in a year, working nearly nine hours a day, churning out about three novels a year. “It’s the first 100 pages that take time, the rest of the story just flows.. it’s all about the resolution of the crime.” His book The 65 Lakh Heist (or Painsath Lakh ki Dacoity in Hindi, featuring popular detective Vimal) has been mentioned in the Time magazine among the all-time bestsellers and once, notoriously, a bank robber took tips from one of his crime novels.

His readership remains steadfast, but Pathak admits, “There are not too many new readers.” There are issues with publishing houses, who are not honest about returns, he says. Besides reading his favourite Jack Higgins and other detective fiction, he enjoys watching old Hindi movies. As for new ones, he says, “Sometimes, my son drags me to the multiplex. But, in between, I wish I had a torch so I could read a book.” Interestingly, he gives away all the books he has read and only keeps the ones that he hasn’t.

Having published his first book at the age of 23, while still holding a government job, he still enjoys penning the adventures of Sunil, a debonair and upright investigative journalist. “When I write about him, I feel it’s me I’m writing about. And sometimes, when I read my earlier works, I’m amazed at what I have written!”

New age filmmaker Anurag Kashyap grew up wanting to be either Amitabh Bachchan or Surender Mohan Pathak. Actress Gul Panag even invited her favourite novelist to the premiere of her film Rann. Recent English translations of his book, such as The 65 Lakh Heist and Daylight Robbery, have won him fresh fans. However, archiving is poor in the pocket book industry. Pathak admits, “You won’t even find 50 of my 275 novels.”

He’s open to Bollywood, but has never been keen on pursuing the life. He would rather they meet him on his terms, which he says may be happening soon… Let’s wait and watch!

He remarks, “Today’s English publishing houses can’t boast of a single bestseller, except Chetan Bhagat — it’s garden variety fiction but the lingo clicked.”

And, what is pulp fiction ultimately? He chuckles, “If literature is the wife, pulp fiction is the wh***!”

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-06-30/news-interviews/29721355_1_novels-book-fiction