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Category: Arts & Culture

School drop out and mom at the centre of colourful universe

Then he observed his mom, busy in her chores like cooking, cleaning, sewing and washing, all routine struggles and ordinary activities which later ignited his memorable drawings, reflecting her travails artistically…writes Quaid Najmi

For this Solapur school dropout and self-trained artist, Shashikant Vaman Dhotre, his mother Ratan remains the centre of his universe — and also the inspiration for his unique colour photographic drawings on dark paper, which have proved to be head turners and hot sellers.

Using imported pencils from the United Kingdom, and special black paper from France, Dhotre spends weeks and even up to two months to come up with his stunning creations, mostly women, their moods and their rich costumes.

“I have been devoted to my mom since childhood. I witnessed her struggles, as many a time my father – a mason – would be inebriated, and she would quietly take up the responsibility of raising her four sons and two daughters without any complaints or regrets… Whatever I am today is owing to her blessings,” Dhotre, 41, told in a free-wheeling chat.

During his teens, Dhotre — the school dropout, but a keen observer — honed his early artistry by helping his father in quarries, chiselling or carving hard stones with gentle lines to etch out different images – animals, birds, fish, flowers etc. – and developed his early passion for drawing.

Then he observed his mom, busy in her chores like cooking, cleaning, sewing and washing, all routine struggles and ordinary activities which later ignited his memorable drawings, reflecting her travails artistically.

In 2003, he bagged a scholarship in the prestigious Sir J.J. School of Arts in Mumbai — with some eminent alumni like Dhundiraj Govind alias Dadasaheb Phalke, M.F. Hussain, S.H. Raza, Bhanu Athaiya, Atul Dodiya, Homai Vyarawalla, Jatin Das, K.K. Hebbar, Tyeb Mehta, Uday Shankar, V.S. Gaitonde, Nana Patekar, Raj Thackeray, Jehangir Sabavala, and also Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

“However, I was forced to leave the institution in just three months due to the critical financial situation at home and as the eldest son, I plunged into earning bread-and-butter for the family,” Dhotre said.

He also decided to grab the reins of the family and his future, and soon discovered that with a simple lead pencil, he could create startling pieces of art — and attract many sponsors.

His very first creation won the Governor’s Award from the Bombay Art Society and drew attention to his unique style, drawing female figures against a black background, watching marine or flying creatures.

With his tremendous control over the pencil and his sharp observational skill, Dhotre started dishing out artworks with a combination of intricacy and simple rusticism, leaving the viewers in awe and appreciation. Time literally appears to freeze in his creations.

Having arrived on the art scene like a colossus, Dhotre picked up awards, honours and conducted exhibitions in several countries around the world, his drawings towering above the crowd of contemporary art productions… and even continued ‘experimentation’ with pencil and other mediums mostly for his own satisfaction.

This year, Dhotre has ventured into another unknown domain — filmmaking — and is currently directing a Marathi feature film, ‘Sajna’, which is due for release in mid-2023.

Dhotre is married to Namrata and the couple has two daughters — Surmai, 11, and Pali, 9.

On his fetish for darkness and whether it’s a sign of depression of his early days of struggle, Dhotre smiles and says: “I actually love black and it does not symbolise depression… Darkness is more beautiful, the entire Universe is black. Note, how multi-hued colours emerge best on a black/dark background.”

Dhotre’s drawings of women are first born as subjects, which he photographs and then uses them as the ‘model’ for his pencil to produce eye-catching masterpieces on black paper of 60×40 inches, at the rate of one or two, or at best around three a month.

In the past decade or so, the dame fortune has smiled approvingly on the Dhotre family and all are now well-settled, starting with the strong artistic foundations laid down by Dhotre and his pencils.

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21 June 2022
AI programme to connect artworks and cultures around world

The platform works by providing users with two options. The first (Curated Journeys) allows the user to view predefined journeys, created primarily by MAP’s educational and research arm, the MAP Academy…reports Asian Lite News

Microsoft and the Museum of Art & Photography (MAP), Bengaluru, launched a new artificial intelligence-powered platform to connect artworks and cultures around the world. The platform, ‘Interwoven’ is rooted in MAPs vast collection of South Asian textiles and was developed as part of Microsofts AI for Cultural Heritage initiative, which leverages technology to empower people and organizations dedicated to the preservation and enrichment of art and culture.

Previous projects under the initiative have involved improving accessibility through the Open Access collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the digital restoration of ‘Ancient Olympia’, in collaboration with the Government of Greece. The MAP in Bengaluru is the first project under this initiative in India.

Speaking at the launch, Kamini Sawhney, Director, MAP, said: “Covid 19 and the lockdown really forced us to reflect on how people interacted with the online space. Right from week 1, we began looking at how we could engage with our online communities. After the pandemic, a primary aspect of our mission is to use the digital realm to connect with people across the country, and the world. We’re rethinking the idea of museums. They cannot be mere repositories of objects. MAP will not just be a collection of objects, but a space for ideas and conversations that are initiated through our collections. Interwoven fits securely within this vision?”

“Interwoven is a project that is deeply impactful to society, culture, and heritage. The project interweaves technology with art, using AI to find shared histories in artistic traditions from different corners of the globe, particularly pertaining to something as rich and complex as textiles. Our approach to AI centres around meaningful innovation and this project beautifully allows art to be more accessible and inclusive for people around the world. We stay committed to using technology to help celebrate and preserve culture as part of our AI for Cultural Heritage initiative,” adds Rohini Srivathsa, National Technology Officer at Microsoft India.

The platform works by providing users with two options. The first (Curated Journeys) allows the user to view predefined journeys, created primarily by MAP’s educational and research arm, the MAP Academy. These combine relationships between global artefacts suggested by the AI, which are then researched and expanded further by individual curators. It is an explorative model for how AI might be used in museology and art historical research. These cover a range of themes and subjects, from ideas of anti-imperialism to representations of women, to explorations of leisure. One of the journeys, for instance, even traces the forms and functions of handbags across different cultures and time periods, shedding light on their associations with ideas of community, convenience, and haute couture.

The second option (Custom Journeys) invites general users to explore the platform to stumble upon meaningful and sometimes even surprising visual connections. It provides a new way to engage with culture and learn more about the history of textiles and fashion and their relationship to global exchange.

As part of the project, the MAP Academy has also developed a free, introductory online course on South Asian textiles, for a global audience, to further contextualize the enduring impact and relevance of textiles, addressing everything from fashion, to the environment, and global exchange.

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21 June 2022
‘Open Book’ is a reality, she feels age is just a number

The actor who has written a whole chapter on ‘Sacred Games’ on how she got to play the part of ‘Kuku’ and her relationship with Anurag Kashyap as her director feels that digital platforms have metamorphosed the entertainment landscape in the country…writes Sukant Deepak

In reel life, she owned the fugitive nights of ‘Sacred Games’ with the character of ‘Kuku’. In real life, the bullying at school sent a part of her into a dark corner deep within.

Living between endless corridors of the past and uncertainties hidden in the future’s crystal ball, actor Kubbra Sait, talking about her book ‘Open Book: Not Quite a Memoir’ (HarperCollins India) maintains she has learnt to absorb responsibility for her choices.

“Even when I didn’t make one… that was a choice too,” she tells IANS.

Sait, who went on stage at the age of five, was bullied as an eight-year-old, hitting rock bottom as a 10-year-old and at 13 years of age, went on to discover a personality development programme that changed her life forever.

Admitting that it was not really her idea to write the book, but in fact, one she was brewing for a friend, Sait recalls it was when she spoke with Smita Khanna and Jayapriya Vasudevan of Jacaranda Literary Agency, that Smita nudged her towards writing a memoir. But is she not too young to write one (a memoir)?

Now that ‘Open Book’ is a reality, she feels age is just a number. “I have lived long enough to have not one but many stories, experiences, and journeys to encapsulate the idea of who I am, and who I may be becoming. I also feel the experiences that happened were meant to be. I cannot change a thing today. I was able to learn from my shortcomings, and learnt to be accountable for my actions,” she says.

The deafening silence during the lockdown was a time of internal reflection for her.

“Well, I had a better routine than I have ever had. I was able to sleep with my thoughts, peel layers of my hurt and really look within. It was a very easy process to write the book. I wrote a lot and I am not afraid to share chapters from my life thus far. I feel it was the perfect time to spill my heart and know that it’s all behind me. The future is fresh and infused with joy.”

Talking about the years of bullying, she recalls they were terrible. “They hurt. That time could have been so amazing if I did not encounter what I did. But… I lived through it and managed to turn the page in my own life. I changed myself. It was cathartic for me. Even armed men who go to war experience PTSD. I was only a little girl. I turned out just fine with all the experiences of the past.”

As a first-time author, she does not really have any apprehensions about how the book will be received. “I was not scared when I moved to Dubai, or Mumbai or acting the first time. I was nervous, good to be nervous. I am proud of what I have written — I feel free. I think it’s done… and not, it is now for the world to read. It is theirs as much as it’s mine.”

The actor who has written a whole chapter on ‘Sacred Games’ on how she got to play the part of ‘Kuku’ and her relationship with Anurag Kashyap as her director feels that digital platforms have metamorphosed the entertainment landscape in the country.

“It’s far more democratic than it ever was. We are able to appreciate cinema from across our country and from all over the world. Newer stories and characters have become possible,” says the actor, who is currently shooting for a film and two web series.

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21 June 2022
Re-introducing ‘Mai: Silently Mother’ of Geetanjali Shree

The novel will provoke contradicting thoughts about social perception, family, relationships, or hierarchy and give you a perspective you may have never imagined of…reports Asian Lite News

As a celebration of the recognition given to noted Hindi author Geetanjali Shree and Translations by the International Booker Prize 2022, Niyogi Books has re-introduced her debut novel ‘Mai’, translated to English as ‘Mai: Silently Mother’ by Nita Kumar.

The novel offers an insight to the three generations of women and men around them set in a North Indian middle-class family. The events revolve around the protagonist Mai or the mother, giving the readers a glimpse of the dynamics of relationships, patriarchy, societal prejudices, struggle, survival, and much more. Since childhood, Sunaina, the narrator and also the daughter of the household, aspires to be different than her mother or Mai whom she perceives as weak, imprisoned, abused and suppressed by her husband and in-laws.

The story begins with: We always knew mother had a weak spine.

But, Rajjo, the mother, was not inherently a spineless creature as the author seemed to have suggested. Rajjo is what she is because she is part of a certain kind of middle class, patriarchal family. Hers is not the problem of Indian women or of mothers, and certainly not of ‘women’.

Yet, Mai presents us with a mother-heroine, like Sethe in Toni Morrison’s ‘Beloved’ (1987), who can leave us questioning the joys of motherhood and at many places of that of womanhood as well.

Is the always self-sacrificing mother as weak as we perceive her to be? Are women really caged or do they want themselves to be caged? The author poses several relevant questions against the social stereotypes during the course of this simple yet sly novel.

The novel will provoke contradicting thoughts about social perception, family, relationships, or hierarchy and give you a perspective you may have never imagined of.

‘Mai: Silently Mother’ received the Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize in 2002. It was also shortlisted for the Crossword Book Award 2001.

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16 June 2022
June for worthy reading

The book is a magnificent examination of Agyeya’s civilizational enterprise. Ambitious and scholarly, it is also an unputdownable, whirlwind of a read…reports Asian Lite News

From much-awaited translations to new releases here’s what you should stack up on for the coming week.

The Wait by Damodar Mauzo And Other Stories

“Damodar Mauzo’s stories present us with vivid glimpses of the richly diverse, cosmopolitan reality of contemporary Goa. In these perceptive, keenly observed stories Hindus, Catholics and Muslims all find ways to co-exist, in defiance of bigotry,” said Amitav Ghosh. From the 2022 Jnanpith Award winner, Konkani writer Damodar Mauzo’s sometimes bizarre, sometimes tender stories, set largely in Goa, create a world far removed from the sun and sand and the holiday resorts. Here you find villagers facing moral choices, children waking up to the realities of adult lives, men who dwell on remorse, women who live a life of regret and communities whose bonds are growing tenuous in an age of religious polarization. Probing the deepest corners of the human psyche with tongue-in-cheek humour, Mauzo’s stories reveal the many threads that connect us to others and the ease with which they can be broken. Written in simple prose and yet layered in nuances, The Wait is a collection that brings to the anglophone world one of the doyens of Konkani literature.

Nireeswaran (Vayalar and Kerala Sahitya Akademi winner)

From the author of Anti-clock, Shortlisted for the JCB Award 2021 comes this “compelling narrative of shifting faiths and displaced gods. As realities and fantasies disentangle there appears in the nether regions an un-god, Nireeswaran, with no halo. A mind-boggling work from a master novelist” said M. Mukundan, recipient of JCB Prize 2021.

Is it possible for society to exist without religion? Nireeswaran, the most celebrated of Malayalam novelist V.J. James’ works, uses incisive humour and satire to question blind faith and give an insight into what true spirituality is.

Three atheists, Antony, Sahir, and Bhaskaran, embark on an elaborate prank to establish that God is nothing but a superstition. They instal a mutilated idol of Nireeswaran, literally anti-god, to show people how hollow their religion is. Their plan starts turning awry when miracles start being attributed to Nireeswaran-a man waking up from coma after twenty-four years, a jobless man ineligible for government employment getting a contract, a prostitute turning into a saint-leading hordes to turn up to worship the fake deity.

The trio is put in a quandary. Will they fight their own creation? Is their intractable minds an indication that atheism is a religion in itself? Belief and disbelief, it is possible, are two sides of the same coin.

Beauty Unbottled

Can one make sunscreen from saffron? Can hemp oil help heal acne? How does madder root help cure hyperpigmentation? Beauty Unbottled is a unique DIY guide on how to use herbs and plants to turn your kitchen into a beauty lab. Learn how to treat hair loss, frizz, dandruff and premature greying with powerful Ayurvedic kitchen herbs. Create your own masks, moisturizers, serums and shampoos with superfoods like neem, tulsi, jasmine and sandalwood-herbs that are revered in Ayurveda. Explore the alchemy of Ayurveda and its long-lost, forgotten beauty secrets with simple step-by-step skin and hair recipes (with vegan options) in this definitive guide and self-help book. This book will also guide you to read and understand labels, have a balanced diet for a healthy body and choose ingredients that are super effective yet gentle on you and mother earth.

Equal, yet different

A book by Anita Bhogle on how women want to be treated and need to be treated at home and in the workplace.

Equal, Yet Different is exactly how women want to be treated and need to be treated at home and in the workplace. This book talks about the catalysts that are required for women to reach peak potential-conditions, people, or even mindsets at home, at work, and in the ecosystem. Anita Bhogle draws from the professional experiences and wisdom of a large number of women leaders and experts.

Talking about the motivation behind this book, author, Anita Bhogle said, “I believe ‘Equal, Yet Different’ is how women would like to be and need to be treated at home and in the workplace. They are equal to men in terms of ability and ambition but different because of how they are conditioned and given the challenges they face. The book draws on the wisdom and experience of several professionals and experts and attempts to identify conditions, people, and mindsets that can prove to be catalysts for women to achieve their full potential. The millennials are lucky to have access to the experience of a fairly large pool of career women today. As a society, it is time we realise that diversity and inclusion will only make the world a better place.”

Writer Rebel Soldier Lover: The Many Lives of Agyeya

Writer, Rebel, Soldier, Lover features a formidable cast of characters: from writers like Premchand, Phanishwarnath Renu, Raja Rao, Mulk Raj Anand and Josephine Miles to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, revolutionary Chandra Shekhar Azad and actor Balraj Sahni. And its landscapes stretch from British jails, an intellectually robust Allahabad and modern-day Delhi to monasteries in Europe, the homes of Agyeya’s friends in the Himalayas and universities in the US. The book is a magnificent examination of Agyeya’s civilizational enterprise. Ambitious and scholarly, it is also an unputdownable, whirlwind of a read.

Banaras Talkies

Bhagwandas Hostel at Banaras Hindu University can be mistaken as being like any other college hostel, but that would be a gross error. For, among the corridors of BD Hostel roam never-before-seen characters: Suraj the narrator, whose goal is to woo a girl, any girl; Anurag De, for whom cricket is life, literally, and Jaivardhan, whose melancholia gets him to answer every query with ghanta’.

Follow the adventures of the three friends and others as they navigate undergraduate life in one of India’s most vibrant colleges, plan to steal exam papers, struggle to speak to women, find friends in corridors lined with dirty linen, and forge lifelong bonds amid bad mess food.

First published in Hindi in 2015, Banaras Talkies has remained on the bestseller list since then. A slice-of-life novel, it captures college life with all its twists and turns. Written with the idiomatic flourish that is the hallmark of Banarasi colloquialism by Satya Vyas, this comic novel is one of India’s great coming-of-age novels.

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13 June 2022
Artistic voyage through the life of queen

Elizabeth II was the official photograph taken by the Royal photographer Peter Grugeon (1918-1980), released for the Silver Jubilee celebrations in 1977…reports Asian Lite News

Two Andy Warhol screen prints of Queen Elizabeth II in ‘The Art of Literature: Auction Highlights Exhibition’, are on display in London till June 14 at Christie’s.

Created in 1985, Warhol’s Reigning Queens series brought together four ruling monarchs, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Queen Margarethe II of Denmark, Queen Ntombi Twala of Swaziland and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. The series was issued in two editions, a standard edition of forty, and a Royal Edition of thirty with diamond dust. (Illustrated on page 1 right, blue screen print), Queen Elizabeth II, from: Reigning Queens (Royal Edition), 1985, (estimate 200,000-300,000) and (illustrated on page 1 left, red screen print), Queen Elizabeth II, from: Reigning Queens (Royal Edition), 1985, (estimate 250,000-350,000) both from the ‘diamond dust’ Royal Edition.

The source image for Warhol’s celebrated portrait of H.M. Queen Elizabeth II was the official photograph taken by the Royal photographer Peter Grugeon (1918-1980), released for the Silver Jubilee celebrations in 1977.

The two works are on display in conjunction with Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, which commemorate her coronation in June 1953. After 70 years of service, Her Majesty The Queen will become the first British monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, as well as the world’s third longest reigning monarch and the longest-reigning female monarch in history.

Following the recent record-breaking sale on 9 May 2022 at Christie’s New York, where the Shot Sage Blue Marilyn by Andy Warhol sold for $195 million from The Collection of Thomas and Doris Ammann Evening Sale, establishing it as the most expensive 20th-century artwork to sell at auction, Andy Warhol is very much in the news.

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13 June 2022
‘Our Collectors Choice’ on Modern Indian Art

The entire auction catalogue is available on www.astaguru.com, and the auction will be held on the website on June 23rd and 24th, 2022…reports Asian Lite News

The latest edition of AstaGuru’s Modern Indian Art ‘Collectors Choice’ online auction, will take place on June 23-24, 2022, providing collectors with an exceptional opportunity to acquire masterpieces and rare compositions. While works by members of the Progressive Artists’ Group remain highly valued, the auction has a diversified art collection with significant works by other celebrated names in Modern Indian Art.

The collection presents work from different periods of Modern Indian Art and includes exceptional creations by revered names such as Nicholas Roerich, Rabindranath Tagore, Amrita Sher- Gil, M V Dhurandhar, Nandalal Bose, Jamini Roy, M.F. Husain, S.H. Raza, F.N. Souza, Tyeb Mehta, Akbar Padamsee, Krishen Khanna, Arpita Singh, Sakti Burman, K.K. Hebbar, Bikash Bhattacharjee, Ganesh Pyne, and Rameshwar Broota amongst other eminent artists.

Lot 41, a work by artist Tyeb Mehta, leads the stellar lineup. The work was completed around 1962, during a period when he was inspired by the works of British figurative painter Francis Bacon. Tyeb Mehta, who was living in London at the time, was also influenced by philosophical reflections on human frailty. The canvas depicts a lonely, isolated figure painted with a heavy impasto technique and a limited colour palette. It will be priced between INR 3,00,00,000 and 4,00,00,000.

Sunny Chandiramani, Vice President- Client Relations, AstaGuru Auction House, said, “Our Collectors Choice’ edition has emerged to be one of the most anticipated auctions by the collectors. It has consistently garnered tremendous response due to the vastness and diversity of the collection offered. The No Reserve’ format makes it more accessible for a larger collector base to participate in the auction since bidding starts at INR 20,000. These works have been part of noteworthy collections and also stand as significant milestones in the artists’ careers. Several of these rare gems are appearing in an auction for the first time. The auction also features sculptures by respected artists including Prodosh Das Gupta, Sankho Chaudhuri, Himmat Shah, Krishen Khanna, Ram Kumar, K Laxma Goud, P V Janakiram, and S Nandagopal.”

Lot 164 is a work by artist Arpita Singh titled ‘Counting Flowers: My Benares Saree.’ It was completed in 1997 and is an archetypal example of the artist’s visual idiom, colour composition, and recurring motifs seen in her works. It will be priced between INR 80,00,000 and INR 1,000,000.

Lot no. 5 is a magnificent work by one of India’s ‘Navratna’ artists, Nicholas Roerich, which is being auctioned for the first time. Roerich, known as the ‘Master of Mountains,’ was a symbolic painter whose sapphire hues and hidden clouds of white will forever be etched as magnificent representations of the Himalayan range. This work, completed around 1940, will be offered for INR 30,00,000 -40,00,000.

The entire auction catalogue is available on www.astaguru.com, and the auction will be held on the website on June 23rd and 24th, 2022.

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13 June 2022
‘My work and my life are the same’

Sarabhai, who shot to international fame when she played the character of ‘Draupadi’ in Peter Brook’s nine-hour theatre production ‘Mahabharata’, admits that it changed the very course of her life and she was no longer the same person after that…writes Sukant Deepak

“Is it not tragic that it is mostly a series about gory crimes and criminals that gets all the attention on OTT platforms? However, I have complete faith that content revolving around the ‘good’ will have a sizable audience,” Dancer and actor Mallika Sarabhai, Artistic Director of ‘Darpana’, who is currently producing multiple pilots and will soon approach different digital platforms, tells IANS.

To be produced under the banner of Darpana, the content aims to arrest the narrative that only violence and crime get people to binge watch.

“It is such a cliche that audiences do not want to see stories revolving around the positive. We are hoping we crack that and show an alternative — one can always choose compassion. But if you do not give viewers that option, then how are they supposed to choose it? Why do the characters have to be horrible to do something cool,” asks this Padma Bhushan awardee.

Not only an actor and dancer, Sarabhai, known for social activism and raising her voice for democracy and standing by different peoples’ movements, stresses she sees little sense in slotting art and social activism for they intersect for her at all levels.

“My work and my life are the same. There is never a moment when I am doing something and my mind is not raving about what I can create from that moment,” she tells.

Sarabhai, who shot to international fame when she played the character of ‘Draupadi’ in Peter Brook’s nine-hour theatre production ‘Mahabharata’, admits that it changed the very course of her life and she was no longer the same person after that.

“It made me realise I have the power to make a difference. I got the confidence to become my

own modelling clay. It completely altered my trajectory and pushed me into becoming my own defendant. A deep journey to find my limits started. It’s not what Peter did to me. It’s what happened to Mallika,” recalls the artist, who was recently in Chandigarh on the invitation of Nagina Bains for the IWN (Indian Women Network) Chandigarh Tricity Chapter Annual Session supported by Testler.

While for most artists, the pandemic-induced lockdown ensured a lull in activities, but not Sarabhai.

“My artistic director, I, seven dogs and a peacock were on the campus throughout. The highway next to us was completely silent. We would fix the lights, had our own studio and spaces. So if you go to the YouTube channel of Darpana, you will see a lot of our new work from 2021. We also went online the day the lockdown started. Our students did not really miss a single day of work/study. We generated a lot of material. Also, realising how awful other dancers must be feeling, we did something called ‘Dance Unlocked’, where we got dancers from all over the country and trained them on how to hold the camera etc. through WhatsApp.”

On the condition of artists during the lockdown, she laments that India has never had a decent budget for the arts in the past 30 years.

“Whatever little is there, goes to the favourites. One wonders what the multiple akademis are doing? The situation is deplorable. Think of what happened to the weavers who used to make the sarees for costumes, the leather cleaners for the tablas. Or the metal worker who makes the

ghungroos. When we talk about what Covid did to art, you are only seeing us. Not the hundreds of people behind us.”

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13 June 2022
Excerpt from The Legacy of Militancy in Punjab: Long Road to ‘Normalcy’

Parties woo the voters with solemn oaths to provide corruption-free and efficient governance; they promise to rescue agriculture and revive the villages; they commit to attracting industry and creating jobs…writes Inderjit Singh Jaijee and Dona Suri

The average man, particularly the average young man, or woman, may have trouble articulating their situation, but they know what they are experiencing: stagnant economy, deep trouble in agriculture, symptomised by an appalling number of rural suicides every year, collapse of industry, no jobs and no hope of jobs, a state government that in fact has no money and falls deeper into debt with every passing year.

[A] report by Common Cause points towards an ingrained distrust of the police and by extension, the government. Some people may be able to identify a year or a period when this distrust took root; for others, it is just a ‘given’ that they grew up with.

Militancy itself was a symptom of a long-standing sense of alienation. The state’s response drove that alienation deeper. Ruthless measures employed to crush it perverted the administrative culture, particularly police culture. The courts were paralysed for 20 years.

Industry was always denied to Punjab on the pretext that the state was vulnerable to attack, and, in recent years, tax-holiday packages granted to neighbouring states have drained away industry and jobs. Traditionally, Punjab has been an agricultural state; but, if any hope remained in agriculture, then farmers and farm labourers would not be committing suicide.

Successive state governments have come in on big talk but, either because of indifference or inability, all the indicators show the state on a downward path. Parties woo the voters with solemn oaths to provide corruption-free and efficient governance; they promise to rescue agriculture and revive the villages; they commit to attracting industry and creating jobs.

If the claims are to be believed, would lakhs of young people and their parents make such a heroic effort to get out of Punjab, get out of India? It must also be pointed out that the politicians of Punjab send their own children abroad, which strongly suggests that they do not believe what they say either.

‘It Can’t be Worse There’

The motivations of those desperate to leave Punjab are largely economic, but not only economic. Another thing that drives them to risk everything to get out of Punjab is the belief that there is absolutely nothing that they can do to change a corrupt administration, a rapacious police force, and a selfish, static, unresponsive political culture.

A story in ‘The Indian Express’ of March 3, 2018, quotes a youngster from a village in Gurdaspur district:

He has studied up to Class 10 and wants to “get out of here”. He says, “I don’t believe Greece can be worse than Punjab. The agent has told me that there is always work for those who are willing to work hard. I am. At least I can go out and see the world.”

Within a decade or two, most of the generation that witnessed events of the 1980s and 1990s will be gone.

Some of that generation were sufficiently alienated from the government to get into a war with it. They were not alienated from home and faith, so fighting still seemed worthwhile. Very few of their children and grandchildren have much awareness of, or interest in, the traumas suffered by the preceding generation. They see so little hope in their homeland that fighting does not seem worthwhile; they simply leave.

If militancy was a symptom of alienation, then the present generation is even more alienated than their elders were. Legacies do not always have to be recognised or articulated to endure.

(Excerpted with permission from SAGE Publications India from the book The Legacy of Militancy in Punjab: Long Road to ‘Normalcy’ by Inderjit Singh Jaijee and Dona Suri)

ALSO READ-Change your moods with some fresh books

9 June 2022
Change your moods with some fresh books

The million-copy bestselling phenomenon, Fredrik Backman’s heart-warming debut is a funny, moving, uplifting tale of love and community that will leave you with a spring in your step…writes N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe

From poetry to humour, there’s plenty to read while lounging at home during these sweltering days. We curate some of the best new titles that match the mood of the season, and make you a little more knowledgeable, one page at a time.

Poetry Novel: The Penguin Book of Indian Poets by Jeet Thayil

A performance poet and songwriter, Jeet Thayil has compiled this definitive anthology of Indian poetry in English that has been two decades in the making.

It spans seventy-five years of Indian poetry in English, bridging continents and generations, and seeks to expand the definition of “Indianness”. The collection also introduces an astonishing range of contemporary poets who live and work in various parts of the world and in India. Included are lost, uncollected, or out of print poems by major poets.

Mythology Fiction Novel: The Hidden Hindu by Akshat Gupta

Prithvi, 21, is searching for a mysterious middle-aged Aghori (Shiva devotee), Om Shastri, who was traced more than 200 years ago before he was captured and transported to a high-tech facility on an isolated Indian island. When the aghori was drugged and hypnotised for interrogation by a team of specialists, he claimed to have witnessed all four yugas (the epochs in Hinduism) and even participated in both Ramayana and Mahabharata. Om’s revelations of his incredible past that defied the nature of mortality left everyone baffled.

So who is Om Shastri? Why was he captured? Board the boat of Om Shastri’s secrets to Prithvi’s pursuit and adventures of other enigmatic immortals of Hindu mythology in this exciting and revealing journey.

Self-Analysis Novel: Reverberation of a Timepiece by Sudhir Kove

Renowned logo guru, graphologist, and wristwatch analyst Sudhir Kove’s second book, ‘Reverberation of a Timepiece: How Watches Impact our Life’, delves into how a simple time measurement device can impact your subconscious mind. Kove believes that everything from the size, shape and elements of the dial and strap, to the hand you wear it on and even the colour of the watch you pick, can not just reveal hidden aspects of your personality, but in turn affect your thoughts, behaviour, confidence, decision-making and even relationships with those around you.

Romantic Novel: Wish I Could Tell You by Durjoy Dutta

Can you find yourself after you have lost that special someone? A disillusioned and heartbroken Anusha finds herself in the small world of WeDonate.com. Struggling to cope with her feelings and the job of raising money for charity, she reluctantly searches for a worthwhile cause to support. For Ananth, who has been on the opposite side, no life is less worthy, no cause too small to support. Behind them are teams for whom going to extraordinary lengths to save lives is more than a full-time occupation. In front of them is the virtual world of social media-watching, interacting, judging, making choices, and sometimes, saving lives.

Non- Fiction Novel: What Millennials Want by Vivan Marwaha

The important question is: What do Indian millennials want? What are their economic aspirations and their social views? Most importantly, what makes them tick? Marwaha documents the aspirations and anxieties of these young people scattered across more than 30,000 kilometers in 13 Indian states. Combining an expansive dataset along with personal anecdotes, he narrates an intimate biography of India’s millennials, investigating their attitudes towards sex, marriage, employment, religion, and politics.

Thriller Novel: One Arranged Murder by Chetan Bhagat

Saurabh and Prerna will be getting married soon. It is an arranged marriage. However, there is more cheesy romance between them than any love-marriage couple. On Karva Chauth, she fasted for him. She didn’t eat all day. In the evening, she called him and waited on the terrace for the moon and for Saurabh to break her fast. Excited, Saurabh ran up the steps of her three-storey house. But when he reached

One Arranged Murder is a story about love, friendship, family and crime.

Humorous Novel: A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman

The million-copy bestselling phenomenon, Fredrik Backman’s heart-warming debut is a funny, moving, uplifting tale of love and community that will leave you with a spring in your step. At first sight, Ove is almost certainly the grumpiest man you will ever meet. He will persist in making his daily inspection rounds of the local streets. But isn’t it rare, these days, to find such old-fashioned clarity of belief and deed? Such unswerving conviction about what the world should be, and a lifelong dedication to making it just so? In the end, you will see, there is something about Ove that is quite irresistible.

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1 June 2022