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Arts & Culture Kerala

Temple Seeks Aid To Tide Over Financial Crisis

A top person in the family spoke on condition of anonymity that things are not that rosy ever since the Covid pandemic struck…reports Asian Lite News.

The famed Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple located in the heart of the capital city might be the world’s richest temple with an asset base worth over Rs one lakh crore, mostly in gold, silver and diamonds, but the fact of the matter is it has sought help of the Kerala Government for a soft loan to tide over its financial difficulties.

Padmanabhaswamy is the tutelary deity of the royal family of Travancore. The titular Maharaja of Travancore, Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma, is the trustee of the temple.

A top person in the family spoke on condition of anonymity that things are not that rosy ever since the Covid pandemic struck.

“There has been a slide in the temple earnings and a sum of Rs 2 crore has been sanctioned by the State government and it is a loan and has to be given back in an year’s time,” said the top source.

The temple has around 200 employees both permanent and temporary and a sizeable number who are paid pension.

“Approximately the temple has a monthly expenses of around Rs one crore and generally till the pandemic struck, the temple was able to break even, but after the pandemic, things have gone hay wire and hence the temple had to approach the state government for a loan,” added the source who did not wish to be identified.

Since 2011, when an apex court committee stumbled upon six vaults in the temple and with just vault B left yet to be opened, the treasure that has been found in the five vaults has been estimated to be worth over Rs one lakh crore and after that this temple has now become the centre of attraction for many.

ALSO READ-159 Hindu pilgrims in Pak to visit Karak temple

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Kashmir must fight real ally of obscurantism

Pakistan’s strategy on Kashmir “has never been static; always dynamic, attempting many times to remain ahead of the loop of response of the Indian establishment…writes Vishnu Makhijani

Pakistan is once again attempting to gain traction in Kashmir after the “severe loss that has come its way” with the abrogation of Article 370 and has resorted to its “flagship measure of attacking the softest target” in the state — the minorities — in the post Afghanistan scenario, says noted security expert Lt. Gen. Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).

This makes it incumbent that “a social movement within the Kashmiri Muslim community must emerge to display courage and empathy with the unfortunate members of their society”, he writes in a chapter titled “Afghanistan’s Inevitable Fallout On J&K” in a scholarly compilation, “Afghanistan – The New Great Game” (Pentagon Press).

“We are now witnessing a return to violent days once again in J&K. Those who predicted that events in Afghanistan would have a marginal effect on J&K and a return to the situation of the Nineties may be disappointed. It is an interesting study to examine how the effect of the successful takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban and the return of Pakistani influence has affected J&K,” writes Hasnain, who served 40 years in the Army, commanded the elite 15 Corps at Srinagar, continues to study the dynamics of J&K and is currently Chancellor of the Central University of Kashmir.

Pakistan’s strategy on Kashmir “has never been static; always dynamic, attempting many times to remain ahead of the loop of response of the Indian establishment. That is why the 5 August 2019 decisions by the Indian Government that amended Article 370 and abrogated Article 35A, besides other administrative decisions, resulted in the Pakistani strategy being stymied to an extent; it actually took Pakistan’s deep state by utter surprise,” Husnain writes.

A worried Pakistan knew that time was against it and “that if allowed to continue in the way J&K was progressing then all the time and energy invested over 30 years would be wasted,” he adds.

The developing situation in Afghanistan from March 2021 made it evident that the US would withdraw completely but it was expected that the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) would hold the fort and that the government of Ashraf Ghani would continue to rule, but from August 15, 2021 onwards, this assumption took a back seat as it became evident that the Taliban in its new avatar would rule Afghanistan, Hasnain writes.

“For Pakistan, it was evident that events could largely progress as per its own agenda in Afghanistan, even though Taliban 2.0 is no monolith and there is no guarantee that it would toe its line. Yet, J&K on the other front was becoming more important. It could not afford to await more brainstorming and preparation to trigger substantial instability there. Oct-Nov 2021 was the period when something could be done, otherwise the plan would have to wait until April-May 2022, and six months is a long time in such situations,” the author maintains.

The full withdrawal of the US from Afghanistan “gave Pakistan the leeway and flexibility to experiment on ways of returning to relevance in J&K after the 5 August 2019 decisions of the Indian Government. In J&K, everything remains seasonal. Delay beyond October 2021 would have meant that the efforts at revival of radical ideology, terror, and separatism, the three core elements of remaining relevant, would have been pushed to the next summer,” Hasnain writes.

Consequently, the choice fell only on “low risk, high dividend actions against the softest possible targets, which are either minorities or soldiers and policemen on leave and Pakistan lost no time in strategising with two factors in mind,” Hasnain writes.

“First, the need to once again gain traction in Kashmir after the severe loss that has come its way after 5 August 2019, and initiate this before the coming winter. Second is to exploit the inspirational, ideological winds flowing from the events in Afghanistan. The strategy appears to harp on enhancing the strength of terrorists through infiltration from multiple directions in the hope of success somewhere…The strategy progresses with the flagship measure of attacking the softest target in Kashmir, the minorities,” he adds.

Noting that almost 800 Kashmiri Hindu families still reside in Kashmir along with 1.5 lakh Sikhs, Hasnain writes that the “prevailing perception” in Islamabad is that “eviction of minorities from Kashmir helps to link its majority populace to Pakistan through a common religious ideology that harps on an obscurantist form of Islam”.

“The immediate impact of the targeting of minorities in Kashmir is social pressure for many of them to leave their home and hearth. That would be a victory of sorts for the perpetrators. It is at this time that the political and security communities in J&K must rise to give comprehensive assurances and work towards minority security.

“A social movement within the Kashmiri Muslim community must emerge to display courage and empathy with the unfortunate members of their society. They cannot be seen to be resigning themselves to the situation and succumbing to the diktat of terrorists and separatists.

“Political parties must set aside differences and the Army must make use of its outreach network. Kashmir cannot be surrendered to the will of murderers and terrorists,” Hasnain unambiguously asserts.

Lamenting that “too many people sit on the fence” in Kashmir and therefore urging them to move beyond positively is contingent upon how long the support can be sustained he writes: “This influence campaign cannot be done from Delhi. It needs people in Kashmir to lead and ownership must be taken by the Kashmiri Muslim community to defeat the obscurantist elements. Without leadership, it may remain just an expectation.”

“Intelligence must be stepped up and domination operations around pockets of minority settlements must be energized. This is a great opportunity to show resolve through strong and patient messaging. What happens now will set the tone for the future. Anticipating the next steps by the terror elements is also important.” Hasnain concludes.

ALSO READ-BOOK: Forgiveness Is a Choice

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George Onakkoor Bags Sahitya Akademi Award

He was also a former Director of Kerala State Institute of Children’s Literature, the State Institute of Encyclopaedic Publications, and the Kerala State Literacy Council…reports Asian Lite News.

Multifaceted personality George Onakkoor was on Thursday awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award 2021 for his heart-rending autobiography “Hryudyarangangal”.

Retiring as Professor of Malayalam at the prestigious Mar Ivanios College here, Onakkoor, 80, is known for his novels, short stories, film scripts and also a travelogue.

He was also a former Director of Kerala State Institute of Children’s Literature, the State Institute of Encyclopaedic Publications, and the Kerala State Literacy Council.

He also served as the first non-official Chairman of the State Resource Centre.

In his long literary career, he has received numerous awards, including the Kesava Dev Centenary Memorial Award, Thakazhi Sahithya Award, C. Achutha Menon Award, Mother Teresa Award, KCBC Award, and the Kerala Shree Award.

He is a two-time recipient of the Kerala Sahitya Academy Award.

ALSO READ-BOOK: Forgiveness Is a Choice

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BOOK: Forgiveness Is a Choice

“Forgiveness allows me to keep my heart open so that I can continue to love the life I’m now living. This is how I choose to honour the memory of Alan and Naomi…writes Vishnu Makhijani

Understanding true forgiveness is a personal process that takes place within the heart, a process that takes time to assimilate.

“Numb with shock and disbelief”, the words that floated through the thoughts of Kia Scherr, whose husband and 13-year-old daughter were victims of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, as she watched the carnage unfold on her TV screen in Florida, were “Forgive them; they know not what they do” – though it took many years to truly experience “that forgiveness is the light that gets in through the cracks, seeping in through the pieces of my shattered heart”.

Forgiveness “does not mean pardon, nor does it mean condoning a despicable action, or not holding a person accountable for cold blooded murder…you are not forgiving a hateful act, you are forgiving that person for forgetting their own goodness and for being incapable of loving”, Scherr writes in “Forgiveness Is a Choice – Teachings About Peace and Love” (Penguin).

In 2009, she founded the One Life Alliance in 2009 in memory of her husband Alan and daughter Naomi and spent over a thousand days in Mumbai over a six year period, propagating its message of compassion, forgiveness and respect for life among communities, schools, businesses – and an enthusiastic police force.

“Forgiveness is a personal choice to accept what cannot be changed, however hurtful. Forgiveness has nothing to do with the terrorist (in this case Ajmal Kasab, the lone survivor of the Mumbai attack whose visuals Scherr saw on TV). I have no personal relationship with that terrorist, other than we are both human beings. Do I want to hold on to anger, resentment, feelings of revenge and retaliation,” the author asks.

“Forgiveness allows me to keep my heart open so that I can continue to love the life I’m now living. This is how I choose to honour the memory of Alan and Naomi. I have chosen to create a living memorial that brings the possibility of peace, compassion and love to this world. This is what gives me purpose and allows me to keep living, to keep loving, and to open myself to a greater vision for humanity that could create an environment for positive change,” Scherr writes.

This would mean a society where life is valued above all else, she adds.

“This would mean a major transformation of priorities for most of the world. This is another kind of ‘climate change’. We could create a climate of mutual love and respect, which forms the foundation of another way to evaluate our conflicts and resolve our differences. It would mean collaborating in new ways and communicating truthfully with an intention to work things out with integrity” Scherr writes.

Admitting that this “sounds utopian” she firmly believes that “we can move in this direction to honour the sacredness of life we share, to live it, breathe it and celebrate it”.

“We can each be more loving in a thousand different ways. If I can be more loving by forgiving the terrorist who killed mu husband and my daughter. I can start living again. Now I can renew my life, a life that does not include Alan and Naomi. But it does include the love for them that will never die. Why else are we here if not to love? Without love, what’s the point? When Alan and Naomi were killed, love remained. When my mother died of lung cancer, love remained. A part of me died with each of their deaths, but love remained. Love is the core ingredient of this human life. Love is our greatest natural resource. There is no end to love unless we close the door to our hearts,” Scherr firmly maintains.

To this extent, the book outlines 30 practices that the author used to renew her life “after a major loss that turned everything upside down”.

“Forgiveness was the key that kept my heart open to love, but we don’t begin with forgiveness. We want to lead up to forgiveness after we have reached some understanding and acceptance of what has happened. The ultimate outcome is increasing your experience of love, so it’s worth taking this step day by day,” Scherr writes, adding that to gain the full benefit of these simple practices, it is best to focus on one practice at a time, day by day or even longer even though the book can be read at one stretch.

She terms this “30-day peace pledge book” a “tool to remind ourselves to honour the dignity of life in each and every moment. Not only is it helpful for one to read it individually, it is helpful to take the pledge with others in our lives and with our communities. When we start with this pledge, we begin to transform how we see ourselves and others. Used in classrooms, it can be an effective various curricula and disciplines to reduce and eliminate bullying, build student self-esteem and develop their focus in their work and at home”.

In all this, it would seem an irony that Alan and Naomi were winding down a fortnight-long pilgrimage to India with a group of 25 members of the Synchronicity Foundation, a spiritual community in Central Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains that the family had been a part of for 11 years. The father and daughter were dining at the Oberoi when the terrorists struck.

“I knew that Alan and Naomi would not have wanted me to spend the rest of my life feeling sad, but I had to allow the sadness to envelope me before I could say enough is enough. The sadness was my personal winter and India provided the sunshine that brought some joy back into my life,” Scherr writes.

“As you go forth into your life each day, may you remember that love is ready to flow in abundance. We each hold this treasure. When we share our love, it increases and only then we know the highest value of life,” Scherr concludes.

ALSO READ-SPECIAL 2022: Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival 2022

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SPECIAL 2022: Bookshelf- Review by Vikas Datta

It should complement Pepsico’s ex-chief Indra Nooyi’s “My Life in Full: Work, Family, and Our Future”, one of the top reads of 2021.

Covid seems set to cast its ominous shadow over us for the third year running, upending patterns and practices of normal life. But the realm of books, which continued to hold its ground and serve ardent readers both as a source of solace and a repository of insight even amid 2021’s darkest days, promises to sustain us in 2022 too.

Be it fiction or non-fiction, and their staggering array of genres, there seems enough to satisfy even the most demanding aficionado, going by release dates. While it may not be possible to list all the fare set to land on bookshelves in 2022, an assorted representative display can be attempted.

Indian history, particularly the freedom struggle, is the focus of new renderings and re-interpretations. While caveat emptor may apply to quite a few of these efforts, with regards to the yardsticks of academic rigour and purpose, one that seems a must-read is Chandrachur Ghose’s “Bose: The Untold Story of an Inconvenient Nationalist” (February).

A member of “Mission Netaji”, which fought for declassification of a huge haul of classified files on Netaji, Ghose seeks to uncover Subhas Chandra Bose’s links to contemporary revolutionary groups across British India, “his efforts to bridge the increasing communal divide”, to “engineer a rebellion among the Indian armed forces”, and above all, the vexed question of where his sympathies actually lay, given his dealings with the Axis powers as World War II raged.

Then, there is “Rebels Against the Raj: Western Fighters for India’s Freedom” (January), where Ramachandra Guha tells of seven people – four Britons, two Americans, and one Irish, and three of them women – who came to join the Indian freedom movement, and also left their mark in journalism, social reform, women’s emancipation, education, and environmental activism.

While her successor Rajnish Kumar’s “The Custodian of Trust: A Banker’s Memoir” has already come out this year, it will be equally interesting to read “Indomitable: A Working Woman’s Notes on Work, Life and Leadership” (January), by Arundhati Bhattacharya, the first woman chief of India’s biggest bank, the SBI.

It should complement Pepsico’s ex-chief Indra Nooyi’s “My Life in Full: Work, Family, and Our Future”, one of the top reads of 2021.

Other non-fiction books to look out in 2002 can include “How the World Really Works: A Scientist’s Guide to Our Past, Present and Future”, where Vaclav Smil seeks to make us understand seven most fundamental realities governing our survival and prosperity; Tim Harper’s “Underground Asia: Global Revolutionaries and the Assault on Empire” (paperback) on how the Asian revolutionaries continued the struggle against colonial masters in Europe; and Barbara F. Walter’s self-explanatory “How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop Them”.

Then there is a northeasternward look by Sudeep Chakravarti, the author of “Red Sun: Travels In Naxalite Country”, in “The Eastern Gate: War and Peace in Nagaland, Manipur and India’s Far East” and for cricket fans, especially of the IPL, Dan Christian’s “The All-Rounder: The Inside Story of Big Time Cricket” should come by spring 2022.

For fiction fans, hopefully, there should also be the sixth and fourth installments, respectively, of the Raj-era crime thrillers of Abir Mukherjee’s Wyndham and Banerjee. and Sujata Massey’s Perveen Mistry series, after 2021’s “The Shadows of Men” and “The Bombay Prince”; the third volume of Vaseem Khan’s post-Independence Malabar House series, starring Inspector Persis Wadia, after “The Dying Day”; and the second of Manreet Sodhi Someshwar’s Partition Trilogy after “Lahore”.

We can also look for the latest outing by Anuja Chandramouli, a skilled exponent of a contemporary rendition of Indian mythology and history.

Then the fifth and final volume of Roshani Chokshi’s Pandava-theme urban fantasy, “Aru Shah and the Nectar of Immortality” (April), will be eagerly sought after the penultimate installment’s cliffhanger ending.

2021 saw Africa take top literary honours with the Nobel Prize for Literature going to Zanzibar-born, UK-based academic-cum-writer Abdulrazak Gurnah, the first since Sir V.S. Naipaul (2001) to deal with the vexed impact of colonialism and the dilemmas of travellers – forced or voluntary – among differing cultural millieus, and the Booker to South African novelist Damon Galgut for “The Promise”, which, in the fate of a white Afrikaner family’s commitment to give their ancestral farm to their Black domestic help, mirrors the history of the country itself.

The pandemic did not spare literateurs, with Indian novelist Ved Mehta, 86, American author Norton “The Phantom Tollbooth” Juster, 91, spy novelist Jason Matthews, British writer John Pearson, 91, known for his “biographies” of James Bond and ace pilot Biggles, best-selling novelist Wilbur Smith, and vampire novelist Anne Rice, 80, among the prominent losses.

And while, any select list of 2021’s top reads can hardly be complete – or very objective, consider the following.

To understand why Covid caught the world, including the biggest superpower, “unawares”, you can pick up Michael Lewis’ “The Premonition: A Pandemic Story” to know of the “mavericks” who attempted to devise preparations for any such pandemic, but were stymied by institutional and political inertia and risk-aversion.

Looking for how to try to negotiate the uncertain times, try psychologist and author Frank Tallis’ “The Act of Living: What the Great Psychologists Can Teach Us About Surviving Discontent in an Age of Anxiety”.

An insightful look into the complex machinations behind the screaming headlines and rancour that permeate India-Pakistan relations can be found in Cathy Scott-Clark and Adrian Levy’s “Spy Stories: Inside the Secret World of the R.A.W. and the I.S.I.”.

Then, new in paperback, is Richard J. Evans’ “The Hitler Conspiracies: The Third Reich and the Paranoid Imagination” is a skillful dissection of received knowledge in the social media-driven “post-truth” age, and Anne Appelbaum’s “Twilight of Democracy: The Failure of Politics and the Parting of Friends” lives up to its sobering title.

Amartya Sen’s “Home in the World: A Memoir” is a delightful read, and for an overdue look at reel-life people we love to hate, Balaji Vittal’s “Pure Evil: The Bad Men of Bollywood” has just come out.

In fiction, Kazuo Ishiguro’s “Klara and the Sun” is a rather bleak look at mortality, science and the environment in coming times, and equally dark and unsettling, more so for being set in sunny Goa, is “More Things in Heaven and Earth” by the dextrous Kiran Manral, who, in her two of her three previous works, has shown the horror that the human psyche can conjure up, and the fragile boundaries of sanity.

“Murder at the Mushaira” has Raza Mir expanding the whodunit’s boundaries to Bahadur Shah Zafar’s Delhi as storm clouds loom, Madhulika Liddle, known for her 17th-century Muzaffar Jung series, travels backwards to the largely-neglected territory of the Delhi Sultanate in “The Garden of Heaven”, Owen Matthews serves a pulsating nautical thriller set against the backdrop of the Cuban Missile Crisis in “Red Traitor” and Karachi police officer Omar Shahid Hamid uses contemporary India-Pakistan developments to great effect in the engrossing “Betrayal”.

Then, Andrea Camilleri’s irascible Inspector Salvo Montalbano finally makes his farewell in “Riccardino”.

How many of these figured in your reading list?

ALSO READ-SPECIAL 2022: Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival 2022

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IT’S DONE AFTER 400 SESSIONS IN 35 YRS

Another person, Liyaqat Ali, booked in the case was earlier declared an absconder by court…reports Asian Lite News.

Dharampal Singh, 85, has finally been acquitted for want of evidence by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate.

It took him 35 years of a legal battle and more than 400 hearings to prove his innocence. He was booked in 1986 for allegedly making pesticide illegally in his house.

Dharampal Singh, a farmer from Haran village in Shamli district, said after his acquittal, “It feels like a huge burden has been lifted from my shoulder.”

His brother, Kunwarpal, was a co-accused but he died five years ago.

Another person, Liyaqat Ali, booked in the case was earlier declared an absconder by court.

“I have lost my reputation, money and mental peace during the long legal battle. It took long to get justice, but now I am happy that truth has prevailed. I would like to thank the honourable court for giving me relief. I have lost a lot of money and time making rounds to court for appearing in nearly 400 hearings in the case,” he told reporters.

In November 1986, Thana Bhawan police booked two brothers, Dharampal and Kunwarpal, and one Liyaqat Ali for allegedly making pesticide without licence. Police had also claimed to have recovered 26 bags of pesticide while they were being loaded into a truck.

The three were booked under various sections of IPC, including section 420, and arrested them. After spending 18 days in jail, the three were released on bail.

ALSO READ-Triumphant farmers start returning home

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SPECIAL 2022: Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival 2022

The virtual sessions will be LIVE streamed on Facebook and YouTube so that everyone can watch them LIVE from anywhere in the world…reports Asian Lite News.

The much-awaited thirteenth edition of Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival (AKLF) curated by Oxford Bookstore is scheduled to be held from 21st -23rd January 2022.

Maina Bhagat, Director, Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival, offered a sneak peek into the three-day literary extravaganza at the AKLF Curtain Raiser held at ‘The Park’ New Delhi, followed by the announcement of the Longlist of the seventh edition of Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize.

Twenty-one book covers made it to the longlist and were announced by Jurors — Dr Shashi Tharoor and Dr Alka Pande at the event. The varied interests of eminent jurors Priti Paul, Shobhaa De, Kunal Basu, Dr. Shashi Tharoor and Dr. Alka Pande helped to create a rich and diverse perspective for the selection.

The Festival will host more than fifty national and international delegates from diverse backgrounds ranging from authors, poets, screenplay writers, thinkers, sportspersons, journalists and Bollywood actors through various interactive sessions. Like the past editions, the 13th edition of the festival is a much-awaited event for all the bibliophiles who will join the literary extravaganza at the iconic heritage building Park Mansions on Park Street Kolkata, which will also be LIVE streamed to the audience across the world. The virtual sessions will be LIVE streamed on Facebook and YouTube so that everyone can watch them LIVE from anywhere in the world.

The evening also hosted a book discussion on Dr. Shashi Tharoor’s newly launched book Pride, Prejudice and Punditry, published by Aleph Book Company. Tharoor was in conversation with well-known journalist, columnist, and author, Sagarika Ghose. ‘Pride, Prejudice and Punditry’ talks about modern Indian history, Indian politics, cricket, diplomacy, hinduism and humour.

Speaking about the festival, Maina Bhagat, Director of Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival (AKLF) since its first edition in 2010 said, “The 13th Edition of the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival, sets its sights on our fast evolving world, and the changes that lie in store in the years ahead. Curated meticulously to meet the challenges of the Hybrid/Virtual format, with delegate participation from across 3 time zones, this acceleration to digital connectivity has not stopped us from moving forward with this key initiative. The Festival, packed with thought provoking, entertaining and informative sessions, is a celebration of the written word, in the time of Covid.”

ALSO READ-SPECIAL 2022: Indian Art Fair

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SPECIAL 2022: Indian Art Fair

Helmed by Jaya Asokan for the first time since her appointment in April 2021, this edition of the fair is a testament to the resilience of the Indian and South Asian art market and the art community at large…reports Asian Lite News.

 India Art Fair, taking place from February 3-6, 2022 in partnership with BMW India, will present 75 exhibitors across 14 cities, including an unprecedented 13 non-profit foundations and institutions. Through an open call led in collaboration with The Gujral Foundation and Artdemic, Anshuka Mahapatra has been selected to design the tent facade of the 2022 fair.

Helmed by Jaya Asokan for the first time since her appointment in April 2021, this edition of the fair is a testament to the resilience of the Indian and South Asian art market and the art community at large. The fair spotlights the next generation of artists alongside modern masters through initiatives including Auditorium talks, performances, film screenings, outdoor art projects, artist-led workshops, and an online symposium in the run up to the fair. Continuing the fair’s enduring relationship with the region’s pioneering institutions, the forthcoming edition will see participation from Kochi Biennale Foundation, Chennai Photo Biennale and Serendipity Arts Foundation, among others.

Extending its role beyond that of an annual event, India Art Fair is making greater inroads into the local and international art scene by expanding its digital presence through website editorial and films, a range of online talks, workshops and exhibition walkthroughs, as well as the IAF Parallel programme including events and exhibitions of Indian and South Asian art taking place in cities across India and the world.

Highlighting the growing Indian arts scene, seven Indian galleries will debut at the 2022 fair: APRE Art House (Mumbai), Art Incept (Gurugram / New Delhi), Frangipani Art Gallery (Ahmedabad), Gallery Art Exposure (Kolkata), Modern Art Gallery (New Delhi), Ojas Art (New Delhi), and Vida Heydari Contemporary (Pune).

Jaya Asokan, Fair Director of India Art Fair, commented: “The team and I are thrilled for India Art Fair to return in its physical format, and to celebrate with the artists, galleries and partners who have taken the region’s arts scene from strength to strength. With an unwavering commitment to its home base, the 2022 fair will welcome participants that extend beyond the traditional art hubs of New Delhi and Mumbai, such as Kolkata, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai and Ahmedabad.”

ALSO READ-Telugu NRIs to Invest In Indian Startups

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Meet the Scribe Who Scribbles Yogi Story

“Yogi used the religion ladder to climb and rise big in politics,” Pradhan maintained – and retraced the history of the Gorakhnath mutt, of which he is the head, to buttress his contention…writes Vishnu Makhijani

The “unexpected” appointment of Yogi Adityanath as the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister in 2017 was met with “outrage and disappointment in most quarters, other than the staunch right-wing groups that hailed the move to no end”, writes veteran journalist Sharat Pradhan, a close observer of state politics for over four-and-a-half decades, who terms it a “unique case of a rabble-rouser suddenly being anointed” to the post.

Approached by Penguin to write Adityanath’s biography, Pradhan found it “interesting because Yogi on the UP Chief Minister’s chair was a huge surprise for all and sundry including the larger chunk of BJP leadership here (in Lucknow)… It was a unique case of a rabble-rouser suddenly being anointed as Chief Minister – specially without any RSS background or having ever held any key position in the BJP,” Pradhan told IANS in an interview of “Yogi Adityanath – Religion, Politics and Power, The Untold Story” that has been co-authored with Atul Chandra.

Pradhan, has been associated with several media outlets, including IANS, TOI, Reuters, Sunday, Outlook, BBC, and The Wire and appears on several news channels, YouTube and OTT platforms. Atul Chandra is a former Resident Editor of Times of India, Lucknow.

The book took off barely six months after Yogi donned the mantle in March 2017 but contrary to the original plan, took a little more than three years to complete – partly due to the extensive research and travel involved and partly due to certain extraneous personal reasons. “However, in the bargain, we were able to cover and scan almost the entire span of his term as CM,” Pradhan said. It’s a term that is “flooded with ads” in print and on TV as it winds down, with assembly elections due early next year.

“Yogi used the religion ladder to climb and rise big in politics,” Pradhan maintained – and retraced the history of the Gorakhnath mutt, of which he is the head, to buttress his contention.

“The founder of the Gorakhnath mutt was perhaps the most secular sage once has seen on this soil in centuries. He set up this institution in the 11th century essentially for the benefit of the downtrodden castes whose members had no access to temples of the Brahmanical order.

“Throwing open the gates of his temple to all and sundry also brought a considerable following of Muslims, who were called ‘jogis’. They used to sing Ram bhajans and also offer ‘namaz’. Some of their descendants happen to continue the old practice but not within the walls of the mutt premises anymore. We (the authors) met two such families miles away from Gorakhpur in a village, where very reluctantly they sang Ram bhajans for us. I have a video also. But they were very worried that this could land them into trouble.

“This is how this highly secular institution has been reduced to a home of rabid Hindutva. This trend began with Mahant Digvijay Nath, who was Yogi’s guru’s guru and held the mutt from the early (19) thirties to the fifties. And Yogi took it to the hilt,” Pradhan pointed out.

Has Adiyanath succeeded where others before him have failed on the development front? Would his achievements be what they are without Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s backing? After all, this backing – personified by hoardings, posters and print advertisements carrying his image with that of Modi – is with an eye on next year’s assembly polls, where it is clear that while the BJP will return to power but with far fewer seats than it has now (308 in a 403-member house). Where will this leave Adityanath?

Frankly speaking it is a misnomer that other leaders failed on the development front. And his ‘development’ has been described by his own machinery in hyperboles. I wonder if you have seen the three-page advertorial in the Time magazine. Indian papers and TV channels have been flooded with ads. The fact remains that his predecessor Akhilesh Yadav actually carried out a number of development tasks but he was weaker in spreading the word as compared to Yogi, who devoted a lot to publicity,” Pradhan said.

Adityanath, the author said, also succeeded in claiming credit for certain projects actually undertaken and completed under the previous Samajwadi Party regime. These included the 300-km Lucknow-Agra Expressway – UP’s first access control expressway built in a record time of 23 months with world class technology. “If you were to drive on that you would agree that it is definitely India’s best expressway,” Pradhan said.

The first eight-km stretch of the Lucknow Metro (UP’s first) was also completed and trial runs carried out successfully in September 2017; the work had begun in 2014. The Metro was initiated for Kanpur as well but the Union government held back its clearance that was given only after the Yogi government was installed.

“To give yet another example, an international cricket stadium was built under a PPP arrangement in Lucknow with a capacity of 50,000. The stadium was also renamed and the credit hogged by Yogi. Other innovative services like Women Helpline -1090 – Dial 100 were also initiated and implemented by Akhilesh Yadav. But Yogi chose to rechristen both. While Women Helpline was renamed as ‘Mission shakti’, Dial 100 was changed to 112 and described as Yogi’s creation. He also loves renaming mohallas and towns,” Pradhan said.

The value that Yogi could bring towards the beginning was “cleaner governance” and “improvement in the law and order situation” the author said, adding these too remained short-lived and as time went by, corruption took over and remained beyond Yogi’s control.

“Once again, a publicity blitzkrieg helped him build a somewhat half-truth perception that law and order was transformed under Yogi – even as heinous crimes like Unnao gangrape, Hathras gangrape and Lakhimpur killings went on, while the government left no stone unturned to defend the culprits. But for the intervention of the High Court and the Supreme Court, they would not have been brought to book,” Pradhan pointed out.

Conceding that Yogi too has undertaken multiple development works across the state, Pradhan said most of these are attributable to the Central government and the interest taken by Prime Minster Modi.

“Doubtlessly, many of these have been inaugurated hastily, essentially with the eye on the 2022 elections. Some of these are incomplete too.

“It is difficult to say whether BJP can repeat the 2017 performance in 2022. And there is a growing perception that if BJP returns with much fewer seats, the Modi-Shah duo could replace him in UP. Under such circumstances, Yogi could be accommodated in Delhi,” Pradhan concluded.

In the midst of this, Pradhan presents a rather startling proposition: Is Adityanath India’s next Prime Minister in the making?

“Was Adityanath appointed with Narendra Modi and Amit Shah’s concurrence or did RSS trump them to have a man of its choice in Uttar Pradesh? Yogi himself has said that the Shah-Modi combine was behind his political appointment,” Pradhan writes in the concluding chapter titled “Future Prime Minister?”

Noting that Modi had smooth sailing in the 2019 general elections, Pradhan writes in the book. “It is unlikely that the same pattern will follow in 2024. Questions could be raised within the party over his continuation in 2024 when Modi will be 74 years of age. On the other hand, Adityanath would be only 51, and with Modi himself having fixed a retirement age of 75 for BJP leaders, the monk could easily be considered among the frontrunners for the top job. Other prime ministerial hopefuls like Rajnath Singh will turn 73.”

“The only person who could upstage Yogi at the goalpost” is Amit Shah, as he is only 53 at present, Pradhan writes, adding that Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan “could form the second rung of aspirants for the PM’s post”.

You have yourself mentioned there are others waiting in the wings – Amit Shah and Nitin Gadkari, to mention just two. If at all Aditynath is to become the PM – and this seems a pretty long shot as of now – it can happen only if he succeeds Modi. How realistic are the chances for this to happen?

It is true that Yogi has no RSS background. In fact on some occasions in the past he has been critical of the RSS. He raised the Hindu Yuva Vahini as some kind of a parallel to RSS… There is a world of a difference between him and Modi. But he is trying to ape him in many ways.

“Perhaps he believes that just as Modi was able to convert all his disadvantages into advantages – that includes the 2002 riots – he too would be able to use his rabid ways to push himself as the biggest Hindutva icon – and the fact that he wears the saffron also makes it easier for him to do so. But where he is unlikely to make much headway is casting himself in the Modi mould as a development man. You see all his advertisements are trying to project him as a ‘development oriented man’ that could enable him to showcase his UP model on the lines of the ‘Gujarat model.’ Besides, his arrogance is also not relished by a large chunk of BJP leaders,” Pradhan said.

So, why raise the question in the first place? “Because this had been suggested when Adityanath was made the Chief Minister, the question needed to be answered,” Pradhan added.

ALSO READ-Book on ‘racial relation between Indians and invaders’

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Book on ‘racial relation between Indians and invaders’

When Indians tried to imitate the sahibs, they turned into caricatures; when they absorbed the best that the British brought with them, the confluence was positive and productive…reports Asian Lite News.

In July 1765, Robert Clive, in a letter to Sir Francis Sykes, compared Gomorrah favourably to Calcutta, then capital of British India. He wrote: “I will pronounce Calcutta to be one of the most wicked places in the Universe.”

Drawing upon the letters, memoirs and journals of traders, travellers, bureaucrats, officials, officers and the occasional bishop, M.J. Akbar’s ‘Doolally Sahib And The Black Zamindar — Racism and Revenge in the British Raj’ (Bloomsbury) is a chronicle of racial relations between Indians and their last foreign invaders, sometimes infuriating but always compelling.

A multitude of vignettes, combined with insight and analysis, reveal the deeply ingrained conviction of ‘white superiority’ that shaped this history. How deep this conviction was is best illustrated by the fact that the British abandoned a large community of their own children because they were born of Indian mothers.

The British took pride in being outsiders, even as their exploitative revenue policy turned periodic drought and famine into horrific catastrophes, killing impoverished Indians in millions.

There were also marvellous and heart-warming exceptions in this extraordinary panorama, people who transcended racial prejudice and served as a reminder of what might have been the British made India a second home and merged with its culture instead of treating it as a fortune-hunter’s turf.

The power was indisputable – the British had lost just one out of 18 wars between 1757 and 1857. Defeated repeatedly on the battlefield, Indians found innovative and amusing ways of giving expression to their resentment in household skirmishes, social mores and economic subversion.

When Indians tried to imitate the sahibs, they turned into caricatures; when they absorbed the best that the British brought with them, the confluence was positive and productive. But for the most part, subject and ruler lived parallel lives.

M.J. Akbar is a distinguished writer and Member of Parliament representing the BJP from Madhya Pradesh. During his long career in journalism, he launched, as editor, India’s first weekly political news magazine, Sunday, in 1976, and two daily newspapers, The Telegraph in 1982 and The Asian Age in 1994. He has also been editorial director of India Today and The Sunday Guardian.

He is also the author of several internationally acclaimed books, including ‘India: The Siege Within’; ‘Nehru: The Making of India’; ‘Kashmir: Behind the Vale’; ‘The Shade of Swords: Jihad and the Conflict between Islam and Christianity’; ‘Tinderbox: The Past and Future of Pakistan’; and ‘Blood Brothers’, a novel. In addition, there have been four collections of his columns, reportage and essays.

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