More heart than head: Aditi Moghe on screenwriting
In an industry where writers receive little credit, Aditi Moghe had made a space for herself in the Marathi film industry. That's very clearly seen with her writing in 'Cycle' and 'Hampi'.
For a long time, I was clueless about what I wanted to do. I was conducting research for a period film when I met an assistant director. During a chai session, he mentioned that he was looking for a writer. We thought of developing the story together
The story of 'Cycle' is so authentic, simple, and beautiful. What inspired the story? My father has been obsessed with cycles all his life. 'Cycle' is a story about my sweet and wonderfully weird father. The story is set in Konkan. I am familiar wit...
Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/more-heart-than-head-aditi-moghe-on-screenwriting-929007.html
In an industry where writers receive little credit, Aditi Moghe had made a space for herself in the Marathi film industry. That's very clearly seen with her writing in 'Cycle' and 'Hampi'.
For a long time, I was clueless about what I wanted to do. I was conducting research for a period film when I met an assistant director. During a chai session, he mentioned that he was looking for a writer. We thought of developing the story together
The story of 'Cycle' is so authentic, simple, and beautiful. What inspired the story? My father has been obsessed with cycles all his life. 'Cycle' is a story about my sweet and wonderfully weird father. The story is set in Konkan. I am familiar wit...
Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/more-heart-than-head-aditi-moghe-on-screenwriting-929007.html
An Interview with Dr. Nayanee Basu
Hello, Dr. Nayanee Basu! What brought you to do post-doctoral work in the US?
While completing my doctoral research on the role of dance in the lives of survivors of trafficking, prisoners, special-needs children and adolescents in Kolkata, I came to know that art practice in prisons was first pioneered in California, in the mid-70s. Artist Eloise Smith and historian C. Page Smith, and other like-minded activists persuaded senators to legislate in favor of sharing these opportunities with those incarcerated. As a faculty of Sociology at Sikkim University (CUS), India, attending the Fulbright orientation, re-ignited the desire in me to propose to research this alchemic program in its birthplace.
What is your background – tell us a bit about yourself?
I am a Sociologist by training. The Presidency College, University of Calcutta and J.N.U., New Delhi are my alma maters. Being a student of Patha Bhavan High (a school in Kolkata that is built on the educational ideas of the poet-philosopher Nobel-laureate Rabindranath Tagore), art education left memories of creative-collaborative fun-times with classmates and teachers. These have influenced my world-view, as has a family environment where everyone loved the arts and some practiced music and painting. Teaching my students at the Sikkim University I witnessed how first-generation learners absorb ideas and re-create knowledge. All this has fed into my current research interest in the role of art on those incarcerated and the varied voices that emerge.
What is the status of art in prisons in India?
India is a large, diverse country. The status of arts workshops within correctional facilities vary from state to state, with some being ahead of others in terms of the number of prisons where art programs exist. The nature of art workshops differs too since they usually originate organically from local cultural sensibilities and inspired engagement from artists of the soil or those from neighboring states. Bureaucratic leadership and progressive laws have been critically important in the birth of such programs. Leading functionaries of correctional departments, like Shri B.D. Sharma, in West Bengal, have pushed boundaries, taking the implementation of progressive legislations, like the West Bengal Correctional Services Act 1992, to their highest potential. The last decade, especially the last five years, have been significant for creative arts practice in prisons in India. This is reflected in media and press-releases from most corners of the country. Cooperation from the Chief Ministerial offices of different states to popular enthusiasm reflected on social media, the growing number of public attendances in art exhibitions and creative performances; sale of paintings and handicrafts made by those incarcerated---all point to creative arts being recognized for more than their ‘recreational’ potential within correctional institutions in India. ‘Prisoner Welfare Funds’ are variously affected by these creative practices, there being no standard nationwide rule that govern the flow of contributions.
I notice how you carefully phrase it as ‘those incarcerated’, instead of simply saying prisoners. Is this a conscious choice driven by State language or is there more to this?
During my field research in West Bengal and southern California, many a times, persons incarcerated, those with a history of incarceration as well as artist-activists working with them, expressed their discontent regarding the discriminatory implications of words like ‘prisoner’ or ‘prison inmate’. These words clamp down a person’s identity to a certain phase of their life, and actions, these hardly reflect their entire personality. I try to be mindful regarding terminology and avoid words that fuel a myopic idea of the human potential.
Why is art in prisons important?
Experts across the world have written extensively on the value of arts` education and its power to heal minds, transform personhood, impact lives, and communities. Apart from the philosophical-neurological benefits, I would like to say that historically, we are at a moment when correctional institutions in many countries are opening up to the rehabilitative potential of the creative arts. Creative arts can evoke spiritual-emotional changes in those incarcerated and open their perception to different ways of being. Many times, during my fieldwork in both West Bengal and California, research participants have spoken of ‘prison’ being a ‘compulsory crime-college’ that a person incarcerated has to submit to. Participation in art workshops led by artist-activists familiar with these challenges have gone a long way in countering the ill-effects of such forced crime-education. Art practice aiming at rehabilitation---specifically reduction of re-offence by the same person---can reduce pressures on guarding staff as well. This has been reported by some of the respondents in West Bengal. If we consider the number of people being released back into a given society every year, the significance of utilizing the healing potential of the arts becomes evident.
Are there lessons learned from fostering art in prisons in the US?
My current research is inspired by the genesis and resilience of art programs in the prisons of California. It’s a qualitative interview-based study, so without getting into statistical details, I would say that about 48 states have effective arts programs in prisons in the US. While programs in Florida and New York are well-known, the sheer number of prisons and the state-wise variation in the arts programs can provide a vibrant example to other countries who are looking towards the arts for correctional rehabilitation. In this respect, paying attention to the lived experiences of those involved in these programs is crucial for anyone intending to foster arts practice in prisons. I believe countries where art programs are part of prisons have a lot to learn from each other by exchanging notes; individually and institutionally.
What would be some of the differences between art in prisons in the US and India?
Arts programs in Indian and US prisons have sprouted organically from the respective societies. While in California, it has been initiated by artists and academics who are civil-society activists, in the Indian context, it has mostly instead been initiated by bureaucratic leaders in Correctional administration. The volume of procedural paperwork for accessing prisons is somewhat more in the US than in Indian prisons right now. The system of correctional administration is considerably different in both countries. For instance, private prisons are a reality in US that are non-existent till now, in India. Naturally, such institutional differences result in further variation in arts-based rehabilitation programs in both countries. Comparative studies of such varied cultural locations offer numerous insights into the healing potential of art as well as the lived experiences of those incarcerated.
A shorter version of this interview was published on the South Asian Arts Council blog.
Hello, Dr. Nayanee Basu! What brought you to do post-doctoral work in the US?
While completing my doctoral research on the role of dance in the lives of survivors of trafficking, prisoners, special-needs children and adolescents in Kolkata, I came to know that art practice in prisons was first pioneered in California, in the mid-70s. Artist Eloise Smith and historian C. Page Smith, and other like-minded activists persuaded senators to legislate in favor of sharing these opportunities with those incarcerated. As a faculty of Sociology at Sikkim University (CUS), India, attending the Fulbright orientation, re-ignited the desire in me to propose to research this alchemic program in its birthplace.
What is your background – tell us a bit about yourself?
I am a Sociologist by training. The Presidency College, University of Calcutta and J.N.U., New Delhi are my alma maters. Being a student of Patha Bhavan High (a school in Kolkata that is built on the educational ideas of the poet-philosopher Nobel-laureate Rabindranath Tagore), art education left memories of creative-collaborative fun-times with classmates and teachers. These have influenced my world-view, as has a family environment where everyone loved the arts and some practiced music and painting. Teaching my students at the Sikkim University I witnessed how first-generation learners absorb ideas and re-create knowledge. All this has fed into my current research interest in the role of art on those incarcerated and the varied voices that emerge.
What is the status of art in prisons in India?
India is a large, diverse country. The status of arts workshops within correctional facilities vary from state to state, with some being ahead of others in terms of the number of prisons where art programs exist. The nature of art workshops differs too since they usually originate organically from local cultural sensibilities and inspired engagement from artists of the soil or those from neighboring states. Bureaucratic leadership and progressive laws have been critically important in the birth of such programs. Leading functionaries of correctional departments, like Shri B.D. Sharma, in West Bengal, have pushed boundaries, taking the implementation of progressive legislations, like the West Bengal Correctional Services Act 1992, to their highest potential. The last decade, especially the last five years, have been significant for creative arts practice in prisons in India. This is reflected in media and press-releases from most corners of the country. Cooperation from the Chief Ministerial offices of different states to popular enthusiasm reflected on social media, the growing number of public attendances in art exhibitions and creative performances; sale of paintings and handicrafts made by those incarcerated---all point to creative arts being recognized for more than their ‘recreational’ potential within correctional institutions in India. ‘Prisoner Welfare Funds’ are variously affected by these creative practices, there being no standard nationwide rule that govern the flow of contributions.
I notice how you carefully phrase it as ‘those incarcerated’, instead of simply saying prisoners. Is this a conscious choice driven by State language or is there more to this?
During my field research in West Bengal and southern California, many a times, persons incarcerated, those with a history of incarceration as well as artist-activists working with them, expressed their discontent regarding the discriminatory implications of words like ‘prisoner’ or ‘prison inmate’. These words clamp down a person’s identity to a certain phase of their life, and actions, these hardly reflect their entire personality. I try to be mindful regarding terminology and avoid words that fuel a myopic idea of the human potential.
Why is art in prisons important?
Experts across the world have written extensively on the value of arts` education and its power to heal minds, transform personhood, impact lives, and communities. Apart from the philosophical-neurological benefits, I would like to say that historically, we are at a moment when correctional institutions in many countries are opening up to the rehabilitative potential of the creative arts. Creative arts can evoke spiritual-emotional changes in those incarcerated and open their perception to different ways of being. Many times, during my fieldwork in both West Bengal and California, research participants have spoken of ‘prison’ being a ‘compulsory crime-college’ that a person incarcerated has to submit to. Participation in art workshops led by artist-activists familiar with these challenges have gone a long way in countering the ill-effects of such forced crime-education. Art practice aiming at rehabilitation---specifically reduction of re-offence by the same person---can reduce pressures on guarding staff as well. This has been reported by some of the respondents in West Bengal. If we consider the number of people being released back into a given society every year, the significance of utilizing the healing potential of the arts becomes evident.
Are there lessons learned from fostering art in prisons in the US?
My current research is inspired by the genesis and resilience of art programs in the prisons of California. It’s a qualitative interview-based study, so without getting into statistical details, I would say that about 48 states have effective arts programs in prisons in the US. While programs in Florida and New York are well-known, the sheer number of prisons and the state-wise variation in the arts programs can provide a vibrant example to other countries who are looking towards the arts for correctional rehabilitation. In this respect, paying attention to the lived experiences of those involved in these programs is crucial for anyone intending to foster arts practice in prisons. I believe countries where art programs are part of prisons have a lot to learn from each other by exchanging notes; individually and institutionally.
What would be some of the differences between art in prisons in the US and India?
Arts programs in Indian and US prisons have sprouted organically from the respective societies. While in California, it has been initiated by artists and academics who are civil-society activists, in the Indian context, it has mostly instead been initiated by bureaucratic leaders in Correctional administration. The volume of procedural paperwork for accessing prisons is somewhat more in the US than in Indian prisons right now. The system of correctional administration is considerably different in both countries. For instance, private prisons are a reality in US that are non-existent till now, in India. Naturally, such institutional differences result in further variation in arts-based rehabilitation programs in both countries. Comparative studies of such varied cultural locations offer numerous insights into the healing potential of art as well as the lived experiences of those incarcerated.
A shorter version of this interview was published on the South Asian Arts Council blog.
An Interview with Girish Kasarvalli
There are not enough cultural spaces
in the city, says Kasaravalli.
Pic: Sushumna Kannan
Kasaravalli on cities, and cities in his films.
My films have always had a political-social message. In 'Mane' I recorded the experiences and perceptions of those with an agrarian background who come to inhabit a city.
By Sushumna Kannan
01 Feb 2012,
Citizen Matters
Filmmaker Girish Kasaravalli has won hearts and stimulated minds for a few decades now. Ghatashraadhha to Gulabi Talkies, his films have won him great accolades. He offers interpretations of the stories he chooses, something not usually done by directors. Citizen Matters caught up with this resident of BTM Layout for an interview.
I see a shift in your film-making. Recent films, especially those afterGulabi Talkies seem to be explicitly ideological in nature. They ‘tell’ more than ‘show’, I think.
What do you mean when you say ‘ideological’? My films have always had a political-social message, if you like. It has been there from the very beginning. My early films have dealt with issues such as globalisation and liberalisation of the economy. Then there was a different kind of theme dealt with, in Thayi Saheba. Then Gulabi Talkies took up the issue of religious institutions quite directly. People are free to take home from my films what they like.
As a resident of BTM Layout, what do you think of the area?
I came here in 1992 and the layout was calm and quiet then. The roads were clean too. Today it is yet another extension and the traffic is unbearable. The problem with BTM Layout, as with most other areas in Bangalore, is that there are no parallel lanes. Also the BTM Main Road is the only road that connects several areas such as Jayanagar and Silk Board; this makes the traffic heavy.
I think that the city planners need to do more. Kengal Hanumanthiah planned for straight roads that started from Vidhana Soudha and led to other places. This plan has not been followed by later planners at all. Parks, of late, are a welcome relief. But it is not that there are too many parks or large parks.
Of late, apartment buildings crop up on any relatively big site. Two sites are joined and lo, there is an apartment! This is a menace, because such buildings consume enormous resources and hinder the life around them in several ways. How many such apartments should be allowed and where they should be built is a matter that the planners need to be clear about.I personally think that Jayanagar 3rd and 4th block are well-planned. It is puzzling, however, that layouts that emerged only recently, do not even imitate the older ones. The emerging layouts and extensions are only worse, what explains this?
There are also many malls coming up now. And as to how many malls are needed in a residential area is not regulated. In JP Nagar, there are three new malls, one beside the other. What purpose does this serve?
In BTM layout, there is another problem. Roads lead to dead-ends and wide roads suddenly become narrow roads leading nowhere. I think the authorities take the approach of waiting for an area to develop first, before doing much. They then seek to widen roads causing much inconvenience. This probably gives them some kind of kickback!
Are there enough cultural spaces in BTM Layout?
There are not many. A new auditorium is now being built as part of a temple. And then there are a few places for music concerts. But there are few spaces which can generally be seen as promoting cultural pursuits. There were no talkies or cinema theatres even, for people to watch films in BTM Layout, until the recent Gopalan Mall.
Rangashankara in JP Nagar caters to some of these needs. These nearby areas are viewed as our cultural spaces, especially since Jayanagar is close by. But the problem is that wherever there are cultural spaces, there is more than one. Cultural spaces are only getting more and more concentrated; new ones emerge close to an existing one. This is somewhat peculiar since it does not cater to people belonging to different areas.
Which of your films address the problems faced in cities?
Mane is an early film that takes up the problem of industrialisation quite explicitly. It records the experiences and perceptions of those with an agrarian background who come to inhabit a city. The film is not simplistic in its presentation—this is something you will find in all my films. Kraurya is another film that is set in Bangalore in its second half; it deals with urbanisation a bit.
Does Kraurya present the urban as cruel in relation to the rural? I am trying to remember the film, I watched it years ago.
No, this film too can be seen as capturing the experiences of people who come from different spaces and encounter the city. There are no binaries such as the urban and the rural; one is not upheld in an opposition with another. I avoid such binaries in my work.
He signs off talking about his new film Kurmavatara. He says the film is about a man who wants to play the role of Gandhi in a tele-serial - a simple life begins to get complicated.
⊕ Sushumna Kannan
01 Feb 2012
Sushumna is a scholar at the Centre for the Study of Culture and Society (CSCS), Bangalore
My films have always had a political-social message. In 'Mane' I recorded the experiences and perceptions of those with an agrarian background who come to inhabit a city.
By Sushumna Kannan
01 Feb 2012,
Citizen Matters
Filmmaker Girish Kasaravalli has won hearts and stimulated minds for a few decades now. Ghatashraadhha to Gulabi Talkies, his films have won him great accolades. He offers interpretations of the stories he chooses, something not usually done by directors. Citizen Matters caught up with this resident of BTM Layout for an interview.
I see a shift in your film-making. Recent films, especially those afterGulabi Talkies seem to be explicitly ideological in nature. They ‘tell’ more than ‘show’, I think.
What do you mean when you say ‘ideological’? My films have always had a political-social message, if you like. It has been there from the very beginning. My early films have dealt with issues such as globalisation and liberalisation of the economy. Then there was a different kind of theme dealt with, in Thayi Saheba. Then Gulabi Talkies took up the issue of religious institutions quite directly. People are free to take home from my films what they like.
As a resident of BTM Layout, what do you think of the area?
I came here in 1992 and the layout was calm and quiet then. The roads were clean too. Today it is yet another extension and the traffic is unbearable. The problem with BTM Layout, as with most other areas in Bangalore, is that there are no parallel lanes. Also the BTM Main Road is the only road that connects several areas such as Jayanagar and Silk Board; this makes the traffic heavy.
I think that the city planners need to do more. Kengal Hanumanthiah planned for straight roads that started from Vidhana Soudha and led to other places. This plan has not been followed by later planners at all. Parks, of late, are a welcome relief. But it is not that there are too many parks or large parks.
Of late, apartment buildings crop up on any relatively big site. Two sites are joined and lo, there is an apartment! This is a menace, because such buildings consume enormous resources and hinder the life around them in several ways. How many such apartments should be allowed and where they should be built is a matter that the planners need to be clear about.I personally think that Jayanagar 3rd and 4th block are well-planned. It is puzzling, however, that layouts that emerged only recently, do not even imitate the older ones. The emerging layouts and extensions are only worse, what explains this?
There are also many malls coming up now. And as to how many malls are needed in a residential area is not regulated. In JP Nagar, there are three new malls, one beside the other. What purpose does this serve?
In BTM layout, there is another problem. Roads lead to dead-ends and wide roads suddenly become narrow roads leading nowhere. I think the authorities take the approach of waiting for an area to develop first, before doing much. They then seek to widen roads causing much inconvenience. This probably gives them some kind of kickback!
Are there enough cultural spaces in BTM Layout?
There are not many. A new auditorium is now being built as part of a temple. And then there are a few places for music concerts. But there are few spaces which can generally be seen as promoting cultural pursuits. There were no talkies or cinema theatres even, for people to watch films in BTM Layout, until the recent Gopalan Mall.
Rangashankara in JP Nagar caters to some of these needs. These nearby areas are viewed as our cultural spaces, especially since Jayanagar is close by. But the problem is that wherever there are cultural spaces, there is more than one. Cultural spaces are only getting more and more concentrated; new ones emerge close to an existing one. This is somewhat peculiar since it does not cater to people belonging to different areas.
Which of your films address the problems faced in cities?
Mane is an early film that takes up the problem of industrialisation quite explicitly. It records the experiences and perceptions of those with an agrarian background who come to inhabit a city. The film is not simplistic in its presentation—this is something you will find in all my films. Kraurya is another film that is set in Bangalore in its second half; it deals with urbanisation a bit.
Does Kraurya present the urban as cruel in relation to the rural? I am trying to remember the film, I watched it years ago.
No, this film too can be seen as capturing the experiences of people who come from different spaces and encounter the city. There are no binaries such as the urban and the rural; one is not upheld in an opposition with another. I avoid such binaries in my work.
He signs off talking about his new film Kurmavatara. He says the film is about a man who wants to play the role of Gandhi in a tele-serial - a simple life begins to get complicated.
⊕ Sushumna Kannan
01 Feb 2012
Sushumna is a scholar at the Centre for the Study of Culture and Society (CSCS), Bangalore
An Interview with Prof. N. Manu Chakravarthy
Prof N Manu Chakravarthy
By Sushumna Kannan
N Manu Chakravarthy is professor of English at the NMKRV College for Women in Bangalore. Author of two books in Kannada, Bharatiya Streevaada and Bahumukha, his other work is Conversations and Cultural Reflections. He has written over 70 articles and regularly writes for leading Newspapers and Journals. He writes for the Deep Focus, a film quarterly. Some of my first classes in cultural studies (although it wasn’t exactly called that then) were with Prof N Manu Chakravarthy. His dedication as a teacher inspired a whole lot of us at into pursuing studies in English. Sitting at the canteen table, taking in the aroma of masala dosa and coffee, this interview/chat happened. Prof Manu is a distinguished scholar and holds some remarkably interesting and nuanced positions on a variety of issues. Culture, literature, history, music, films- his forays are many, and so this interview had to exploit the opportunity fully. My questions are from all over the place and for those who can make the connection (of socio-political issues on films and vice versa); this interview, I know, will be of great value.
There has been a lot of effort towards reclaiming the popular. Popular mainstream cinema has seen numerous reclamations of late. What is your response to this?
Let me talk in general, not confining to a set of representative films. I believe that there is indeed something valuable in mainstream cinema, and that in order to highlight that aspect, one must critically examine a dominant part of it to sort out the valuable from the worthless. It is necessary to extricate the valuable element from the dominant vulgar element. Such an effort is necessary to expose the manipulations of "professional/ academic film critics" that for reasons of personal advancement glorify crass mainstream cinema from a repulsive apolitical position using a kind of high-breed theoretical jargon that at no level escapes being derivative and imitative in the modes of analysis it works out. Let me explain: Western theoretical models by themselves do not help one to come to terms with the complex, multiple realities of Indian society. While the use of any theoretical model to explain a text is welcome, the tendency to use Derrida, Foucault or Lacan without rooting them in the Indian social experience is not only unproductive philosophically, but also tends to become, paradoxically, politically reactionary and obscure. Far worse than this is that it unleashes an argument that utterly fails to comprehend the economic and determine the politics and aesthetics of mainstream cinema. The difference between mainstream cinema that was made up to the late 70s and early 80s and those made after the 80s are great and cannot be lumped together.
So, what is it that constitutes mainstream cinema, in India?
Mainstream Cinema in India is constituted of only certain stereotypes that the middle class believes in and advocates forcefully. All the themes that the Indian mainstream cinema makes use of - from domestic conflicts to social problems to political tensions – find a comfortable resolution most appealing to the middle class, which believes that easy resolutions settle historical interests. The moral vacuity of the mainstream Indian cinema clearly reflects the inability of the Indian middle class to work out alternatives to profound historical struggles that can never be ended by easy sentimental solutions. The domestic framework for the middle class individual is a very important private space from and out of which the entry into the public realm is made. And there is no meaning to a public self if there are no domestic resources to fall back upon. This is one of the reasons why the Indian middle class is rather paranoid about anything that threatens to dissolve this entity called the family. If tensions emerge within its framework they must be settled without much fuss even if certain fundamental questions, especially in relation to the rights of the woman as a daughter or wife or daughter-in-law, remain unanswered. Only the non-mainstream films and a few mainstream ones have been able to resist the powerful expectations of the middle class.
Your critique of M S Sathyu’s Galige does take up the question of representation of women and the points you make about feminist sentimentalism are extremely interesting to me. You are all praise for Kasarvalli’s balanace of things in Thayi Saheba and Ghatashraddha. Could you tell us more about the kind of balance you insist upon and the dangers you are constantly warning us about?
Let me talk of the representation of women in mainstream cinema first. The films that are characterized as ‘social films’ are essentially concerned with the turmoil individuals and family goes through, whether it is a financial crisis or an emotional crises brought about by an errant son or a drunkard of a husband or a very modern daughter-in-law who creates deep fissures in the family, or a step-mother who ill-treats her step-children. A final succumbing to the middle class notion of domestic integrity is predominant. Recent examples of this are to be seen in our recent glossy enterprises like Hum Aapke Hain Koun and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. The span of decades between a film like Swami and HAHK and DDLJ is but a period of consolidation of the Indian middle class as regards the family and the its virtues in a manner that completely ignores the basic questions raised by the woman in her feminist consciousness. Indian mainstream cinema in its representation of the family has marginalized the emerging consciousness of the woman who seeks her empowerment. It adopts a politics of silence and also creates a constant dialectic between the domestic world, as the microcosm and the society at large, which is the macrocosm. The shubham that unfailingly appears in the very last frame is successful because the audience for all the misery and suffering depicted throughout the film gets a cathartic effect and feels purged.
My critique of Galige has been for its reactionary nationalism, historical reductionism and sentimental feminism. In Galige two individuals are on the run – the girl running away from her middle-class moorings and the boy from his historical antecedents. The boy, a terrorist, a fugitive has lost his conviction and has become neurotic, even paranoid. The girl gets pregnant and does not want to bring into this world a fatherless child. Consequently it is the woman’s ‘force’ on the man that makes him surrender to the police, for she wants the father of her yet unborn child to be very much alive when the little one is about to make an entry into this world. But she herself knows that the police cannot be trusted and the ‘encounters’ are proof of that. In one sense she too is an accomplice of the state. And all this for the glory of her motherhood! This is what I call the sentimental and the myopic feminist vision of the film. The film was seen by many as the triumph of feminism. In fact, it represents the surrender of a woman. Where is the guarantee that these forces, the machinery of the state, will return the man, which is what she is fighting for, or at least seems to be fighting for?
It is not for the simplistic reason that Thayi Saheba deals, centrally with the existential reality of a female character that the film can be characterized as one with a feminist perspective. On the contrary, it is because of the mode of narration and the positioning of the female protagonist that one will have to refer to the film’s feminist perspective. The feminist aesthetics of the film foregrounds the internal world of the woman instead of ‘observing’ her as a passive subject. Instead of locating her as a passive product of history, a mute victim of historical forces and processes, the film restitutes her as an ‘active agent’ who can move forces of history, in her own way without being totally dominated by them. The plot of Thayi Saheba is linear and chronological and does not display complex patterns and heavy details. Girish ensures that the simple but profound thematic concerns do not become dependent on cerebral techniques that quite often tend to draw attention to themselves rather then what they intend to communicate.
An affirmation of nationalism seems to be another feature of mainstream cinema--a part of that package that conjures up easy solutions to historical impasses. How do you see the handling of the vision of ‘national integrity’ in cinema? Recent films have ranged from the four Bhagat Singhs to films like Roja and Bombay.
I think that the films of recent times have displayed a kind of chauvinism that was absent in the films made in the earlier decades with the same theme. Simple nationalism or patriotism cannot be posited as absolute values- they are closely associated with political questions raised by several communities. A consumerist consciousness is certainly behind the idea of a strong nation. The contempt with which the 'others'- all those who either do not contribute to the 'progress and development’ of the state or are not subservient to its 'will' (like tribals, environmentalists, non-technocrats, dalits, to name a few of them) – are dismissed. This only underlines the power of the establishment and those who are part of its politics. The enemy of the nation-state is, in fact, one who challenges the paradigm of the nation-state in its shaping that is done mostly by the west. The film industry in India has become so huge a commercial enterprise that it cannot afford to go against the ruling consciousness of our globalised/globalising society which determines every aspect of our life. The economics of the industry determines the orientation of the films and shapes their ideological positions.
What you say is correct. The ‘social relevance’ of a work of art is talked of time and again, within the context of mainstream cinema, but never with any seriousness.
I don’t think there has been a work of art ever that could be called socially irrelevant. The category of the ‘socially relevant’, if people should use it, is of a dubious kind. My second sentence therefore comes before my first. There is no ‘socially relevant genre’. The term is vague and ambiguous, so I have problems with it. The category perhaps comes from an ideological position that is a narrow, myopic and leftist position. For e.g. Lenin, claimed he learnt much about Russian peasantry through Tolstoy, Gorky and these writers may appear bourgeois. And Lukacs, as a literary critic says that he is, in fact, helped by the conservative ideas/position to formulate his ideas. So social relevance cannot be determined, judged, or understood through strict, narrow ideological positions. A text has complex dimensions that cannot be unraveled through singular, ideological positions that only privilege themselves. Conrad’s text, Heart of Darkness, for that matter was deemed racist by Achebe. But is that all Conrad has to offer? Racist elements, yes. But they are not the only central experience of the text. The problem of Theory and political positions of that kind are that they seem to extend at one level a method of the social sciences (as anthropology or and sociologists). But these are singular. The advantage of post-structuralism and deconstruction are thus important, i.e. no single ideological position is approved and meaning is deferred. It ultimately becomes reductionist and a very unimaginative application of theory to talk of social relevance. Even feminists and Marxists can afford to be reductionist with the text and with themselves. How do you decide relevance? Spirit of the age…is it then a search for ‘universally relevant’ positions?
Theory seems to create a universal category of relevance for as far as what it upholds. It questions universals otherwise, those which are not part, of its own base. This is dichotomous. Experienced realities are ignored and they are very important as far as human consciousness is concerned. Human experience is negated and we know there is ‘experience’. The problem with Theory, even as I acknowledge its work, is that it ignores experiential values that continue to trouble individuals. Human suffering, for example. It poses itself as if the individual is against the social. The individual cannot be against the social; it is a binary that I do not accept...as if individuals are not part of the social, and the pain, suffering, and confusion are all to be ignored! The Lewisian position is what the activist theory should be aware of. At any level, you can dismiss the individuals as bourgeois and talk only of oppression!
Do you think such experienced realities are captured in the work of U R Ananthamurthy? You are his student and have critiqued his works... Some scholars see URA’s work as working towards a revival of the Indian traditions, and others see it performing the exact opposite function-- a rejection of the traditional. What do you think has been the reason for this? (We are doing a course on Samskara at CIEFL this semester).
U R Ananthamurthy’s fiction is different from his ideological positions; I would certainly not read his fiction and his ideological works as extensions of each other. The problem with his fictional works is that he has never taken up the “socially relevant” or the “politically correct” in them. His short stories or novels do not reveal a single ideology. In that sense he is a non- ideological creative writer. Samskara can be read as modernist, anti-brahminical, and as interrogation of tradition and modernity. Same with Bharatipura and Awasthe-the radical, progressive are able to get something, while the conservative, status-qouist, reactionary, traditional and brahminical find something too. And URA is attacked for a kind of dualism; people who expect singular ideological, either on behalf of traditional, mythical or modern-secular positions…will get disturbed. I argue in one of my pieces on URA that URA is interested in contradictions, ironies and paradoxes …there is no endorsement of any social/political position. In fact many argue that his is a very masculine voice, but I would call that argument to be a simplistic application of feminism. Take Suryana Kudure, for example, its ambivalent position is an interrogation of junctures of history and ideological problems, it yields a certain open-endedness. I do not think of it as a postmodern endeavor. In the context of the social, no single position can be validated. URA is interested in looking at individual existence, coming to terms with ironies etc., and each position will start off an antithesis, in most cases, the thesis itself was endangered, e.g. primitivism attacking the notion of enlightenment. Ambivalence leaves space open for creative writers.
Deconstructionist and post-structuralist positions take away the importance placed on centrality; they take away from singular propositions, yes. But that they only open up only single spaces from the texts, and serve your own theoretical positions-this is the paradox of theory-that it privileges itself. Talking of Derrida, you may destroy the deferral itself. This is a Paradox, an amusing contradiction, I would call it.
For all the complexity of URA’s fictional works, his ideological positions are fairly straightforward. In an opposition to modernity, he takes a socialist and Gandhian position and does not (this is my problem) take up radical takes on, say, the nation-state. The problem is, he therefore remains conservative and as a radical, indigenous. The failure and success of the nation-state do not get articulated. The further contradiction is that the State cannot resist the west, but resists the indigenous. It just does not fully confront a right for self-determination. The radical ambivalence in his literary works is not matched by his ideological writing. He chooses a soft option in ideological conservationism and pro-establishment. I wish there was an element of anarchism (in its classical sense as used by Bakhtin and Proudhan) in his ideology.
How do you then see the theory produced today…with its positions as divergent as the Subaltern Studies Group’s work and Ashis Nandy’s writings?
My problems with Nandy are that his is quite a simplistic evaluation of modernity/modern civilization. Perhaps to gain or give an edge to his argument, he reduces the magnitude of modernity mainly because he focuses on modern science, technology and the social sciences- this is not entirely wrong, but for the conceptual categories he uses-tools come from the modern and he is not prepared to alternate them through traditional ones. This is the dilemma that is between tradition and modernity. Secular intellectual critique is rooted in the modern ethos. At places where he is critiquing secularism, Nandy appears to sound like the BJP or VHP. His is a methodological problem. Knowing him for nearly a decade now, I say that it is just not easy to dismiss him; in fact he has inspired several of us. He's at crossroads and that explains the dilemma of third world intellectuals. The problem is lack of inwardness and intimacy with the Indian past. Why, he does not realize that the Indian tradition is not only vaidic or brahmanic, there is a Buddhist, nastika, Jaina etc. Shaped by the bureaucratic and the Eurocentric, categories themselves get brahmanical. The lack of inwardness with the other Indian traditions leads to a reductionist approach.
The Subaltern Studies volumes do not see subalterns beyond the modern. For them it is a subaltern of a certain kind. As Leftist, Marxist, they cannot look at the primitive, who are not visible to the modern eye. Many subalterns who do not come into the modern framework, -who do not become part of the modern social order and are part of the primitive…peasants, artisans are not looked at. They are Eurocentric in this sense, and I see as a certain post-industrial revolution consciousness in their work. For them, many subalterns are not social or historical enough, in other words, the subaltern is not subaltern enough.
How far then is secularism, which is modern concept, useful in talking of our social experience? Should we dismiss it?
The notion that secularism is a western concept is ridiculous, both the declared secularism and those who attack that as pseudo-secularism are wrong and irrelevant to our social experience Having read philosophical texts (in Sanskrit), I can say that the Indian context consists of both deep religiosity and the secular. They go together. In the Brahmasutras of Badarayana , begin by stating the first sutra, Athaato brahmajignyasa, which means, here after or herein begins the inquiry or epistemology of Brahman. The uttaramimasa takes this up. It is stated that dharma is not about being moral or ritualistic but kriya-- ‘work’. Jignyasa means epistemology. These texts does not simply situate or locate God. Religiosity is what the BJP/RSS/VHP induce from the individual to the social level. It is blasphemy to call such epistemologies religiosity. Such epistemologies do not locate God in history but in consciousness. It is today made religious and is interpreted as communal…and religious consciousness itself gets a bad name. In opposition to them if you are relating yourself as secular, your position too becomes pseudo. No religious/ideological proposition is free from problems. For e.g. Islam. Zeuddin Sardar (author of Islamic Futures) who claims himself a believer in Islam/Quran, argues, that the meaning of Islam has not been understood both by practitioners and others. Zeuddin Sardar’s great struggle in that book is to argue and show that the deep Islamic religious experience is religious, secular and modern at the same time. The mischief-makers (the book argues) are western populism, media and Islamic militants. Such an argument can be extended to Hinduism and Christianity too. Other scholars like Moulana Waheeduddin Khan or Muhammed Arkoun are against capitalism and fundamentalism. In these senses I am neither a secularist nor religious.
Published in CIEFL Film Club Newsletter, February 2003.
N Manu Chakravarthy is professor of English at the NMKRV College for Women in Bangalore. Author of two books in Kannada, Bharatiya Streevaada and Bahumukha, his other work is Conversations and Cultural Reflections. He has written over 70 articles and regularly writes for leading Newspapers and Journals. He writes for the Deep Focus, a film quarterly. Some of my first classes in cultural studies (although it wasn’t exactly called that then) were with Prof N Manu Chakravarthy. His dedication as a teacher inspired a whole lot of us at into pursuing studies in English. Sitting at the canteen table, taking in the aroma of masala dosa and coffee, this interview/chat happened. Prof Manu is a distinguished scholar and holds some remarkably interesting and nuanced positions on a variety of issues. Culture, literature, history, music, films- his forays are many, and so this interview had to exploit the opportunity fully. My questions are from all over the place and for those who can make the connection (of socio-political issues on films and vice versa); this interview, I know, will be of great value.
There has been a lot of effort towards reclaiming the popular. Popular mainstream cinema has seen numerous reclamations of late. What is your response to this?
Let me talk in general, not confining to a set of representative films. I believe that there is indeed something valuable in mainstream cinema, and that in order to highlight that aspect, one must critically examine a dominant part of it to sort out the valuable from the worthless. It is necessary to extricate the valuable element from the dominant vulgar element. Such an effort is necessary to expose the manipulations of "professional/ academic film critics" that for reasons of personal advancement glorify crass mainstream cinema from a repulsive apolitical position using a kind of high-breed theoretical jargon that at no level escapes being derivative and imitative in the modes of analysis it works out. Let me explain: Western theoretical models by themselves do not help one to come to terms with the complex, multiple realities of Indian society. While the use of any theoretical model to explain a text is welcome, the tendency to use Derrida, Foucault or Lacan without rooting them in the Indian social experience is not only unproductive philosophically, but also tends to become, paradoxically, politically reactionary and obscure. Far worse than this is that it unleashes an argument that utterly fails to comprehend the economic and determine the politics and aesthetics of mainstream cinema. The difference between mainstream cinema that was made up to the late 70s and early 80s and those made after the 80s are great and cannot be lumped together.
So, what is it that constitutes mainstream cinema, in India?
Mainstream Cinema in India is constituted of only certain stereotypes that the middle class believes in and advocates forcefully. All the themes that the Indian mainstream cinema makes use of - from domestic conflicts to social problems to political tensions – find a comfortable resolution most appealing to the middle class, which believes that easy resolutions settle historical interests. The moral vacuity of the mainstream Indian cinema clearly reflects the inability of the Indian middle class to work out alternatives to profound historical struggles that can never be ended by easy sentimental solutions. The domestic framework for the middle class individual is a very important private space from and out of which the entry into the public realm is made. And there is no meaning to a public self if there are no domestic resources to fall back upon. This is one of the reasons why the Indian middle class is rather paranoid about anything that threatens to dissolve this entity called the family. If tensions emerge within its framework they must be settled without much fuss even if certain fundamental questions, especially in relation to the rights of the woman as a daughter or wife or daughter-in-law, remain unanswered. Only the non-mainstream films and a few mainstream ones have been able to resist the powerful expectations of the middle class.
Your critique of M S Sathyu’s Galige does take up the question of representation of women and the points you make about feminist sentimentalism are extremely interesting to me. You are all praise for Kasarvalli’s balanace of things in Thayi Saheba and Ghatashraddha. Could you tell us more about the kind of balance you insist upon and the dangers you are constantly warning us about?
Let me talk of the representation of women in mainstream cinema first. The films that are characterized as ‘social films’ are essentially concerned with the turmoil individuals and family goes through, whether it is a financial crisis or an emotional crises brought about by an errant son or a drunkard of a husband or a very modern daughter-in-law who creates deep fissures in the family, or a step-mother who ill-treats her step-children. A final succumbing to the middle class notion of domestic integrity is predominant. Recent examples of this are to be seen in our recent glossy enterprises like Hum Aapke Hain Koun and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. The span of decades between a film like Swami and HAHK and DDLJ is but a period of consolidation of the Indian middle class as regards the family and the its virtues in a manner that completely ignores the basic questions raised by the woman in her feminist consciousness. Indian mainstream cinema in its representation of the family has marginalized the emerging consciousness of the woman who seeks her empowerment. It adopts a politics of silence and also creates a constant dialectic between the domestic world, as the microcosm and the society at large, which is the macrocosm. The shubham that unfailingly appears in the very last frame is successful because the audience for all the misery and suffering depicted throughout the film gets a cathartic effect and feels purged.
My critique of Galige has been for its reactionary nationalism, historical reductionism and sentimental feminism. In Galige two individuals are on the run – the girl running away from her middle-class moorings and the boy from his historical antecedents. The boy, a terrorist, a fugitive has lost his conviction and has become neurotic, even paranoid. The girl gets pregnant and does not want to bring into this world a fatherless child. Consequently it is the woman’s ‘force’ on the man that makes him surrender to the police, for she wants the father of her yet unborn child to be very much alive when the little one is about to make an entry into this world. But she herself knows that the police cannot be trusted and the ‘encounters’ are proof of that. In one sense she too is an accomplice of the state. And all this for the glory of her motherhood! This is what I call the sentimental and the myopic feminist vision of the film. The film was seen by many as the triumph of feminism. In fact, it represents the surrender of a woman. Where is the guarantee that these forces, the machinery of the state, will return the man, which is what she is fighting for, or at least seems to be fighting for?
It is not for the simplistic reason that Thayi Saheba deals, centrally with the existential reality of a female character that the film can be characterized as one with a feminist perspective. On the contrary, it is because of the mode of narration and the positioning of the female protagonist that one will have to refer to the film’s feminist perspective. The feminist aesthetics of the film foregrounds the internal world of the woman instead of ‘observing’ her as a passive subject. Instead of locating her as a passive product of history, a mute victim of historical forces and processes, the film restitutes her as an ‘active agent’ who can move forces of history, in her own way without being totally dominated by them. The plot of Thayi Saheba is linear and chronological and does not display complex patterns and heavy details. Girish ensures that the simple but profound thematic concerns do not become dependent on cerebral techniques that quite often tend to draw attention to themselves rather then what they intend to communicate.
An affirmation of nationalism seems to be another feature of mainstream cinema--a part of that package that conjures up easy solutions to historical impasses. How do you see the handling of the vision of ‘national integrity’ in cinema? Recent films have ranged from the four Bhagat Singhs to films like Roja and Bombay.
I think that the films of recent times have displayed a kind of chauvinism that was absent in the films made in the earlier decades with the same theme. Simple nationalism or patriotism cannot be posited as absolute values- they are closely associated with political questions raised by several communities. A consumerist consciousness is certainly behind the idea of a strong nation. The contempt with which the 'others'- all those who either do not contribute to the 'progress and development’ of the state or are not subservient to its 'will' (like tribals, environmentalists, non-technocrats, dalits, to name a few of them) – are dismissed. This only underlines the power of the establishment and those who are part of its politics. The enemy of the nation-state is, in fact, one who challenges the paradigm of the nation-state in its shaping that is done mostly by the west. The film industry in India has become so huge a commercial enterprise that it cannot afford to go against the ruling consciousness of our globalised/globalising society which determines every aspect of our life. The economics of the industry determines the orientation of the films and shapes their ideological positions.
What you say is correct. The ‘social relevance’ of a work of art is talked of time and again, within the context of mainstream cinema, but never with any seriousness.
I don’t think there has been a work of art ever that could be called socially irrelevant. The category of the ‘socially relevant’, if people should use it, is of a dubious kind. My second sentence therefore comes before my first. There is no ‘socially relevant genre’. The term is vague and ambiguous, so I have problems with it. The category perhaps comes from an ideological position that is a narrow, myopic and leftist position. For e.g. Lenin, claimed he learnt much about Russian peasantry through Tolstoy, Gorky and these writers may appear bourgeois. And Lukacs, as a literary critic says that he is, in fact, helped by the conservative ideas/position to formulate his ideas. So social relevance cannot be determined, judged, or understood through strict, narrow ideological positions. A text has complex dimensions that cannot be unraveled through singular, ideological positions that only privilege themselves. Conrad’s text, Heart of Darkness, for that matter was deemed racist by Achebe. But is that all Conrad has to offer? Racist elements, yes. But they are not the only central experience of the text. The problem of Theory and political positions of that kind are that they seem to extend at one level a method of the social sciences (as anthropology or and sociologists). But these are singular. The advantage of post-structuralism and deconstruction are thus important, i.e. no single ideological position is approved and meaning is deferred. It ultimately becomes reductionist and a very unimaginative application of theory to talk of social relevance. Even feminists and Marxists can afford to be reductionist with the text and with themselves. How do you decide relevance? Spirit of the age…is it then a search for ‘universally relevant’ positions?
Theory seems to create a universal category of relevance for as far as what it upholds. It questions universals otherwise, those which are not part, of its own base. This is dichotomous. Experienced realities are ignored and they are very important as far as human consciousness is concerned. Human experience is negated and we know there is ‘experience’. The problem with Theory, even as I acknowledge its work, is that it ignores experiential values that continue to trouble individuals. Human suffering, for example. It poses itself as if the individual is against the social. The individual cannot be against the social; it is a binary that I do not accept...as if individuals are not part of the social, and the pain, suffering, and confusion are all to be ignored! The Lewisian position is what the activist theory should be aware of. At any level, you can dismiss the individuals as bourgeois and talk only of oppression!
Do you think such experienced realities are captured in the work of U R Ananthamurthy? You are his student and have critiqued his works... Some scholars see URA’s work as working towards a revival of the Indian traditions, and others see it performing the exact opposite function-- a rejection of the traditional. What do you think has been the reason for this? (We are doing a course on Samskara at CIEFL this semester).
U R Ananthamurthy’s fiction is different from his ideological positions; I would certainly not read his fiction and his ideological works as extensions of each other. The problem with his fictional works is that he has never taken up the “socially relevant” or the “politically correct” in them. His short stories or novels do not reveal a single ideology. In that sense he is a non- ideological creative writer. Samskara can be read as modernist, anti-brahminical, and as interrogation of tradition and modernity. Same with Bharatipura and Awasthe-the radical, progressive are able to get something, while the conservative, status-qouist, reactionary, traditional and brahminical find something too. And URA is attacked for a kind of dualism; people who expect singular ideological, either on behalf of traditional, mythical or modern-secular positions…will get disturbed. I argue in one of my pieces on URA that URA is interested in contradictions, ironies and paradoxes …there is no endorsement of any social/political position. In fact many argue that his is a very masculine voice, but I would call that argument to be a simplistic application of feminism. Take Suryana Kudure, for example, its ambivalent position is an interrogation of junctures of history and ideological problems, it yields a certain open-endedness. I do not think of it as a postmodern endeavor. In the context of the social, no single position can be validated. URA is interested in looking at individual existence, coming to terms with ironies etc., and each position will start off an antithesis, in most cases, the thesis itself was endangered, e.g. primitivism attacking the notion of enlightenment. Ambivalence leaves space open for creative writers.
Deconstructionist and post-structuralist positions take away the importance placed on centrality; they take away from singular propositions, yes. But that they only open up only single spaces from the texts, and serve your own theoretical positions-this is the paradox of theory-that it privileges itself. Talking of Derrida, you may destroy the deferral itself. This is a Paradox, an amusing contradiction, I would call it.
For all the complexity of URA’s fictional works, his ideological positions are fairly straightforward. In an opposition to modernity, he takes a socialist and Gandhian position and does not (this is my problem) take up radical takes on, say, the nation-state. The problem is, he therefore remains conservative and as a radical, indigenous. The failure and success of the nation-state do not get articulated. The further contradiction is that the State cannot resist the west, but resists the indigenous. It just does not fully confront a right for self-determination. The radical ambivalence in his literary works is not matched by his ideological writing. He chooses a soft option in ideological conservationism and pro-establishment. I wish there was an element of anarchism (in its classical sense as used by Bakhtin and Proudhan) in his ideology.
How do you then see the theory produced today…with its positions as divergent as the Subaltern Studies Group’s work and Ashis Nandy’s writings?
My problems with Nandy are that his is quite a simplistic evaluation of modernity/modern civilization. Perhaps to gain or give an edge to his argument, he reduces the magnitude of modernity mainly because he focuses on modern science, technology and the social sciences- this is not entirely wrong, but for the conceptual categories he uses-tools come from the modern and he is not prepared to alternate them through traditional ones. This is the dilemma that is between tradition and modernity. Secular intellectual critique is rooted in the modern ethos. At places where he is critiquing secularism, Nandy appears to sound like the BJP or VHP. His is a methodological problem. Knowing him for nearly a decade now, I say that it is just not easy to dismiss him; in fact he has inspired several of us. He's at crossroads and that explains the dilemma of third world intellectuals. The problem is lack of inwardness and intimacy with the Indian past. Why, he does not realize that the Indian tradition is not only vaidic or brahmanic, there is a Buddhist, nastika, Jaina etc. Shaped by the bureaucratic and the Eurocentric, categories themselves get brahmanical. The lack of inwardness with the other Indian traditions leads to a reductionist approach.
The Subaltern Studies volumes do not see subalterns beyond the modern. For them it is a subaltern of a certain kind. As Leftist, Marxist, they cannot look at the primitive, who are not visible to the modern eye. Many subalterns who do not come into the modern framework, -who do not become part of the modern social order and are part of the primitive…peasants, artisans are not looked at. They are Eurocentric in this sense, and I see as a certain post-industrial revolution consciousness in their work. For them, many subalterns are not social or historical enough, in other words, the subaltern is not subaltern enough.
How far then is secularism, which is modern concept, useful in talking of our social experience? Should we dismiss it?
The notion that secularism is a western concept is ridiculous, both the declared secularism and those who attack that as pseudo-secularism are wrong and irrelevant to our social experience Having read philosophical texts (in Sanskrit), I can say that the Indian context consists of both deep religiosity and the secular. They go together. In the Brahmasutras of Badarayana , begin by stating the first sutra, Athaato brahmajignyasa, which means, here after or herein begins the inquiry or epistemology of Brahman. The uttaramimasa takes this up. It is stated that dharma is not about being moral or ritualistic but kriya-- ‘work’. Jignyasa means epistemology. These texts does not simply situate or locate God. Religiosity is what the BJP/RSS/VHP induce from the individual to the social level. It is blasphemy to call such epistemologies religiosity. Such epistemologies do not locate God in history but in consciousness. It is today made religious and is interpreted as communal…and religious consciousness itself gets a bad name. In opposition to them if you are relating yourself as secular, your position too becomes pseudo. No religious/ideological proposition is free from problems. For e.g. Islam. Zeuddin Sardar (author of Islamic Futures) who claims himself a believer in Islam/Quran, argues, that the meaning of Islam has not been understood both by practitioners and others. Zeuddin Sardar’s great struggle in that book is to argue and show that the deep Islamic religious experience is religious, secular and modern at the same time. The mischief-makers (the book argues) are western populism, media and Islamic militants. Such an argument can be extended to Hinduism and Christianity too. Other scholars like Moulana Waheeduddin Khan or Muhammed Arkoun are against capitalism and fundamentalism. In these senses I am neither a secularist nor religious.
Published in CIEFL Film Club Newsletter, February 2003.
An Interview with S R Ramakrishna
S R Ramakrishna
By Sushumna Kannan
S R Ramakrishna was with the Deccan Herald for eight years and later was professor at the Asian College of Journalism. He now runs The Music Magazine.com.
He has composed music for plays, tele-films and films. He plays the harmonium and has been accompanying Hindustani vocalists.
Q. What is, according to you, the function of music in films?
A. A good composer makes music a subtext. It is used to highlight and underline a situation in the narrative adding the aural effect to the existing visual. Music can also create multiple narratives by underlining or juxtaposing itself to the visual narrative.
Q. Can music also restrict other narratives or meanings from emerging?
A. Yes. It is possible that music restricts multiple narratives from emerging. In fact, that is why parallel cinema is weary of music. They consider it interference.
Q. There is also the view that parallel cinema always uses traditional kind of music…
A. There is a great change happening regarding this. With the economics and the salability of music gaining so much importance, film-makers like Benegal and Nihlani are taking to Rahman, which will be considered unusual.
Q. Tell us in general about how Indian films approach music.
A. Indian film music is very unique, maybe because it came up to be an extension of the theatre...So the dance and music. Whereas Hollywood would consider such films musicals. In India, a film would be a musical if it spoke of music. The Sound of Music is a musical for the Hollywood; it is not familiar with the idea that heroes can break into songs. Strangely when Bond movies are made into Kannada or Hindi, songs are added. This idiom of the song is very popular in India and everybody can relate to it. Everyone knows they are unreal but still it is widely accepted. So it all depends on where you stand.
Q. Do you differentiate classical music from film-music?
A. Film music underlines or downplays emotion. It has a specific purpose, whereas classical music is self-contained and has an indeterminate meaning. The raga, the alaap is all abstract. While classical music might be considered pure, film music is applied. Film music is another kind of challenge.
Q. Tell us about your compositions.
A. I am more with the Hindustani music. I have composed for the plays T. Prasanna, B Jayashree, Iqbal Ahmed and others, and also for Kasarvalli’s films. I have a fascination for textual experiments.
Q. How do you see the current trends in the music industry?
A. The arrival of the sequencer has brought about a great change. The keyboard has displaced musicians. The whole effort of learning veena or violin for long years, the physical playing of it, is all lost. The keyboard merely has to change switches and sounds of violin, veena or guitar can emerge. I still feel there is a lot to the natural sound than the synthesized sound.
Another fascinating aspect of the songs Bollywood makes is that the whole film is financed by the money the songs make. Songs are released much before the film and they actually fetch the money required for the shooting of the film. And then there are other media that travel into cinema.
We previously had studios only in Madras and Bombay but now they are everywhere. This kind of decentralization has made a difference.
Indian film music is today unorthodox, the breaking of the grammar of a raga and the usage of disparate instruments are common. The Middle Eastern goes with the violin, and then there are the counters that go against the melody itself, thereby adding to the texture of the music. Folk, jazz, pop all constitute Indian film music. This way it is highly evolved.
There was earlier a divided composition and multiple authorship. The person who composed tunes was different from the arranger. Today there is a whole lot of importance to the arranger who knows western music and the composer is the one who usually is good at the Indian classical forms.
Q. Who are your favorites?
A. To me, songs make sense, outside the context of the film also. The poetry and the compositions of Shankar-Jaikishen, Illayaraja and S. D. Burman are sound and have things to say apart from the film.
Q. Tell us about The Music Magazine.com.
A. Being very passionate about music and writing about music are different things. Writing about music is even enjoyable. We are a close-knit team. We have been receiving unexpected morale-boosting from many. This has kept us going. The BBC recently did a story and said that The Music Magazine.com was the best among its contemporaries. The Brittanica listed us as one of the best websites on music. Ehsaan and Chitra wrote in, and Shubha Mudgal spoke of us on an M-TV program, taking us all by surprise.
CIEFL Film Club Newsletter, November 2001, Vol II, No. 2.
S R Ramakrishna was with the Deccan Herald for eight years and later was professor at the Asian College of Journalism. He now runs The Music Magazine.com.
He has composed music for plays, tele-films and films. He plays the harmonium and has been accompanying Hindustani vocalists.
Q. What is, according to you, the function of music in films?
A. A good composer makes music a subtext. It is used to highlight and underline a situation in the narrative adding the aural effect to the existing visual. Music can also create multiple narratives by underlining or juxtaposing itself to the visual narrative.
Q. Can music also restrict other narratives or meanings from emerging?
A. Yes. It is possible that music restricts multiple narratives from emerging. In fact, that is why parallel cinema is weary of music. They consider it interference.
Q. There is also the view that parallel cinema always uses traditional kind of music…
A. There is a great change happening regarding this. With the economics and the salability of music gaining so much importance, film-makers like Benegal and Nihlani are taking to Rahman, which will be considered unusual.
Q. Tell us in general about how Indian films approach music.
A. Indian film music is very unique, maybe because it came up to be an extension of the theatre...So the dance and music. Whereas Hollywood would consider such films musicals. In India, a film would be a musical if it spoke of music. The Sound of Music is a musical for the Hollywood; it is not familiar with the idea that heroes can break into songs. Strangely when Bond movies are made into Kannada or Hindi, songs are added. This idiom of the song is very popular in India and everybody can relate to it. Everyone knows they are unreal but still it is widely accepted. So it all depends on where you stand.
Q. Do you differentiate classical music from film-music?
A. Film music underlines or downplays emotion. It has a specific purpose, whereas classical music is self-contained and has an indeterminate meaning. The raga, the alaap is all abstract. While classical music might be considered pure, film music is applied. Film music is another kind of challenge.
Q. Tell us about your compositions.
A. I am more with the Hindustani music. I have composed for the plays T. Prasanna, B Jayashree, Iqbal Ahmed and others, and also for Kasarvalli’s films. I have a fascination for textual experiments.
Q. How do you see the current trends in the music industry?
A. The arrival of the sequencer has brought about a great change. The keyboard has displaced musicians. The whole effort of learning veena or violin for long years, the physical playing of it, is all lost. The keyboard merely has to change switches and sounds of violin, veena or guitar can emerge. I still feel there is a lot to the natural sound than the synthesized sound.
Another fascinating aspect of the songs Bollywood makes is that the whole film is financed by the money the songs make. Songs are released much before the film and they actually fetch the money required for the shooting of the film. And then there are other media that travel into cinema.
We previously had studios only in Madras and Bombay but now they are everywhere. This kind of decentralization has made a difference.
Indian film music is today unorthodox, the breaking of the grammar of a raga and the usage of disparate instruments are common. The Middle Eastern goes with the violin, and then there are the counters that go against the melody itself, thereby adding to the texture of the music. Folk, jazz, pop all constitute Indian film music. This way it is highly evolved.
There was earlier a divided composition and multiple authorship. The person who composed tunes was different from the arranger. Today there is a whole lot of importance to the arranger who knows western music and the composer is the one who usually is good at the Indian classical forms.
Q. Who are your favorites?
A. To me, songs make sense, outside the context of the film also. The poetry and the compositions of Shankar-Jaikishen, Illayaraja and S. D. Burman are sound and have things to say apart from the film.
Q. Tell us about The Music Magazine.com.
A. Being very passionate about music and writing about music are different things. Writing about music is even enjoyable. We are a close-knit team. We have been receiving unexpected morale-boosting from many. This has kept us going. The BBC recently did a story and said that The Music Magazine.com was the best among its contemporaries. The Brittanica listed us as one of the best websites on music. Ehsaan and Chitra wrote in, and Shubha Mudgal spoke of us on an M-TV program, taking us all by surprise.
CIEFL Film Club Newsletter, November 2001, Vol II, No. 2.
"I enjoy problem-solving"...Interview with Dinesh Gundu Rao
Dinesh Gundu Rao
INTERVIEW WITH MLA DINESH GUNDU RAO."I enjoy problem-solving."Meet Dinesh Gundu Rao, the three time MLA from Gandhinagar constituency.
By Sushumna Kannan
16 Jun 2009,
Citizen Matters
Dinesh Gundu Rao (Congress) was first given an MLA ticket in 1999. He won from the Gandhinagar constituency and has won for three times now from the same constituency.
Rao did his schooling from Bishop Cottons in Bangalore. He graduated in Electronics and Communication from BMS College of Engineering in 1992. He ran a computer training centre with a few others for some time after graduation while simultaneously participating in Congress party activities. Scroll down for a complete profile.
I called Rao on his mobile. He asked me to come to his office where I landed the next morning with directions from the passersby in the neighbourhood who were very familiar with his office in Sheshadripuram.
Party workers, staff and citizens were waiting to meet the MLA and I join the queue. I was handed a sleek brochure his office has brought out. It talked of Dinesh Gundu Rao's various initiatives and even mentions the amount spent on each initiative. Here are some excerpts from the interview with Dinesh Gundu Rao.
You have a degree in Engineering, so how and why did you join politics?
I was part of the Congress party and participated in its activities since the time my father was a politician. When my father suddenly passed away, at age 53, due to cancer, party members and others who had seen me work until then, felt that I should join politics. Perhaps to carry forward the legacy my father had left behind. I had actually never intended to join politics. I wanted to go to the US and study further and had even written my GRE. Before joining politics full-time, I had spent six years working for the Congress Party, as a youth congress worker and campaigning for others. I had liked it then and I do like being in politics very much now.
What motivates you?
Meeting a lot of people is very paying. I get to interact with people from different fields and that is itself very satisfying. I cherish being able to help others and enjoy problem-solving. Solving a problem leaves me with a feeling of wanting to do more and inspires me and I get caught in the ‘process'.
Do you think being educated makes a difference in solving people's problems?
Yes. It definitely makes a difference. Look at the exposure you get if you are educated. You get so many different perspectives on just one issue. You can find out how the same problems are handled in the west and a whole world is open to you if you are educated. I think it changes the very way you work, your attitude towards it
What is your work schedule?
I have two offices, one in Chickpet and another in Sheshadripuram. I visit the Chickpet office on Wednesdays. It helps me administer better from the two different offices. I visit my office everyday and occasionally also handle issues from home, but my home is too far for people to access and so I prefer the office. I meet citizens directly to address their problems and also meet party members who help in bringing problems to my notice. I am in office all day, unless on an area visit or am attending meetings. I make sure I go on area visits once to twice in a week and spend about three to four hours in a single day surveying the area. Arranging grievance meetings are also part of how I reach out to the people of my constituency.
What is specific about your constituency?
Gandhinagar constituency consists of what is an old area. It is centrally located as well and Chickpet is a newly added area to my constituency, hence the additional office. Communal harmony I think is an issue that is something very specific to my constituency. We have a large number of Tamil-speaking people and I take care to keep linguistic antagonism down between communities speaking Tamil and Kannada.
What is your mode of functioning?
People can get in touch with me through the phone numbers made available. My PAs are available easily as well. I have hired two extra staff members for each of my offices and I pay them from my pocket so that I can be efficient. My working style is informal and I am helped by many of the congress party's volunteers.
Grievance meetings are announced (using loudspeakers fitted in) auto-rickshaws and that is also how I attend to my people. Unfortunately it is the same set of people or party members who take interest in issues that need solving. People of not just of the Congress party, but others too meet me with regard to the problems faced.
How do you go about solving a problem?
I work informally and I think it works better that way. I contact the concerned department and do the needful. And then follow it up with the concerned officials until the problem is solved. For bigger problems, I make a representation with higher authorities or ask for funds.
Tell us about some of your initiatives so far.
With no corporate counselors anymore, the public seeks our help with regard to almost everything; from Garbage, Cleaning and Sewage to Water. In the past year, I have focused on: Education, Indoor Stadiums, Water, Roads, Sanitary and Khata Certificates for slum-dwellers.
I constantly interact with teachers in the schools of my constituency to improve the quality of education and motivate them towards a better performance. I review the results and the pass percentage each year and examine students closely on a monthly basis ort through teachers in order to recognize their strengths and weaknesses. For e.g. why a student who is good in all subjects fails in Mathematics, I look into it and do the needful. A 100% pass percentage in all schools is my aim.
The metro has displaced some slum-dwellers in my constituency and I have supervised building houses for them in Svatantra playa and Jakran Kere. I have delivered Khata certificates for the poor who had lived in houses for a long period of time, sometimes for over fifty years, at the meager cost of rupees two thousand.
Have you been innovative with any of the initiatives?
Six months back, I held meetings with the Education Department with regard to Edusat. The aim is to bring at least one TV to every school so that they can benefit from the programmes aired through the Edusat initiative.
And then, I converted a Corporation Building into a school that gave CBSE quality education to poor children with the help of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. The building is under construction and the project will take off soon. Nehru circle underpass and Anand Rao circle flyover along with the Freedom Park are some of the other things achieved.
What are the key problems you face?
Funds were a problem in the first one and half years of my career, but with the SM Krishna-government, much money was released and the entire process smoothened. So, funds right now are not a problem, although they were initially.
I feel that if good equations are developed with officials in the various departments, there is less scope for delay. Sometimes, everything depends on the performance of the concerned officials Some officials are lethargic although I have also known some very efficient officials in many departments.
What is your response to criticism about the Freedom Park?
The Freedom Park should be used for cultural activities and only then its true purpose would be served. About twenty crores have been spent on it with State and Centre initiatives, but we will have to wait to see what use it will be put to, upon completion. I, for one, have always thought it an apt space for concerts, plays and such other cultural activities.
What is your goal for the next one year? And where do you see yourself as a politician?
To administrate water, sewage and garbage problems better and improve the quality of education would be my goal for the next one year. For me as a politician too, much depends on whatever kind of success the Congress party meets with. But I do see myself holding key positions in politics.
Profile of Dinesh Gundu Rao:
Dinesh Gundu Rao did his schooling from Bishop Cottons in Bangalore. He graduated in Electronics and Communication from BMS College of Engineering in 1992. He ran a computer training centre with a few others for some time after graduation while simultaneously participating in Congress party activities. "I wanted to go to the US to study further and even wrote my GRE", says Rao.
He joined politics full-time in 1993, partly to carry on the legacy of his father, the late Gundu Rao who had passed away suddenly. "But I always found helping people satisfying", he says. Rao was active in campaigning and other activities of the Congress party for six years before he joined politics full-time. He was a Youth Congress worker, General Secretary of the Karnataka Pradesh Youth Congress Committee (KPYCC), Vice-President, KPYCC and then President, KPYCC.
Dinesh Gundu Rao was first given an MLA ticket in 1999. He won from the Gandhinagar constituency and has won for three times now from the same constituency. He works from his two offices, one in Chickpet and another in Sheshadripuram and can be contacted through e-mail at mladgr [at] gmail [dot] com
"I am reading Ramachandra Guha's India after Gandhi" says Rao. He says he used to be an avid reader of fiction, but now due to his busy schedule, sticks to history, current affairs and biographies.⊕
16 Jun 2009
Sushumna Kannan is a scholar at the Centre for the Study of Culture and Society (CSCS), Bangalore.
By Sushumna Kannan
16 Jun 2009,
Citizen Matters
Dinesh Gundu Rao (Congress) was first given an MLA ticket in 1999. He won from the Gandhinagar constituency and has won for three times now from the same constituency.
Rao did his schooling from Bishop Cottons in Bangalore. He graduated in Electronics and Communication from BMS College of Engineering in 1992. He ran a computer training centre with a few others for some time after graduation while simultaneously participating in Congress party activities. Scroll down for a complete profile.
I called Rao on his mobile. He asked me to come to his office where I landed the next morning with directions from the passersby in the neighbourhood who were very familiar with his office in Sheshadripuram.
Party workers, staff and citizens were waiting to meet the MLA and I join the queue. I was handed a sleek brochure his office has brought out. It talked of Dinesh Gundu Rao's various initiatives and even mentions the amount spent on each initiative. Here are some excerpts from the interview with Dinesh Gundu Rao.
You have a degree in Engineering, so how and why did you join politics?
I was part of the Congress party and participated in its activities since the time my father was a politician. When my father suddenly passed away, at age 53, due to cancer, party members and others who had seen me work until then, felt that I should join politics. Perhaps to carry forward the legacy my father had left behind. I had actually never intended to join politics. I wanted to go to the US and study further and had even written my GRE. Before joining politics full-time, I had spent six years working for the Congress Party, as a youth congress worker and campaigning for others. I had liked it then and I do like being in politics very much now.
What motivates you?
Meeting a lot of people is very paying. I get to interact with people from different fields and that is itself very satisfying. I cherish being able to help others and enjoy problem-solving. Solving a problem leaves me with a feeling of wanting to do more and inspires me and I get caught in the ‘process'.
Do you think being educated makes a difference in solving people's problems?
Yes. It definitely makes a difference. Look at the exposure you get if you are educated. You get so many different perspectives on just one issue. You can find out how the same problems are handled in the west and a whole world is open to you if you are educated. I think it changes the very way you work, your attitude towards it
What is your work schedule?
I have two offices, one in Chickpet and another in Sheshadripuram. I visit the Chickpet office on Wednesdays. It helps me administer better from the two different offices. I visit my office everyday and occasionally also handle issues from home, but my home is too far for people to access and so I prefer the office. I meet citizens directly to address their problems and also meet party members who help in bringing problems to my notice. I am in office all day, unless on an area visit or am attending meetings. I make sure I go on area visits once to twice in a week and spend about three to four hours in a single day surveying the area. Arranging grievance meetings are also part of how I reach out to the people of my constituency.
What is specific about your constituency?
Gandhinagar constituency consists of what is an old area. It is centrally located as well and Chickpet is a newly added area to my constituency, hence the additional office. Communal harmony I think is an issue that is something very specific to my constituency. We have a large number of Tamil-speaking people and I take care to keep linguistic antagonism down between communities speaking Tamil and Kannada.
What is your mode of functioning?
People can get in touch with me through the phone numbers made available. My PAs are available easily as well. I have hired two extra staff members for each of my offices and I pay them from my pocket so that I can be efficient. My working style is informal and I am helped by many of the congress party's volunteers.
Grievance meetings are announced (using loudspeakers fitted in) auto-rickshaws and that is also how I attend to my people. Unfortunately it is the same set of people or party members who take interest in issues that need solving. People of not just of the Congress party, but others too meet me with regard to the problems faced.
How do you go about solving a problem?
I work informally and I think it works better that way. I contact the concerned department and do the needful. And then follow it up with the concerned officials until the problem is solved. For bigger problems, I make a representation with higher authorities or ask for funds.
Tell us about some of your initiatives so far.
With no corporate counselors anymore, the public seeks our help with regard to almost everything; from Garbage, Cleaning and Sewage to Water. In the past year, I have focused on: Education, Indoor Stadiums, Water, Roads, Sanitary and Khata Certificates for slum-dwellers.
I constantly interact with teachers in the schools of my constituency to improve the quality of education and motivate them towards a better performance. I review the results and the pass percentage each year and examine students closely on a monthly basis ort through teachers in order to recognize their strengths and weaknesses. For e.g. why a student who is good in all subjects fails in Mathematics, I look into it and do the needful. A 100% pass percentage in all schools is my aim.
The metro has displaced some slum-dwellers in my constituency and I have supervised building houses for them in Svatantra playa and Jakran Kere. I have delivered Khata certificates for the poor who had lived in houses for a long period of time, sometimes for over fifty years, at the meager cost of rupees two thousand.
Have you been innovative with any of the initiatives?
Six months back, I held meetings with the Education Department with regard to Edusat. The aim is to bring at least one TV to every school so that they can benefit from the programmes aired through the Edusat initiative.
And then, I converted a Corporation Building into a school that gave CBSE quality education to poor children with the help of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. The building is under construction and the project will take off soon. Nehru circle underpass and Anand Rao circle flyover along with the Freedom Park are some of the other things achieved.
What are the key problems you face?
Funds were a problem in the first one and half years of my career, but with the SM Krishna-government, much money was released and the entire process smoothened. So, funds right now are not a problem, although they were initially.
I feel that if good equations are developed with officials in the various departments, there is less scope for delay. Sometimes, everything depends on the performance of the concerned officials Some officials are lethargic although I have also known some very efficient officials in many departments.
What is your response to criticism about the Freedom Park?
The Freedom Park should be used for cultural activities and only then its true purpose would be served. About twenty crores have been spent on it with State and Centre initiatives, but we will have to wait to see what use it will be put to, upon completion. I, for one, have always thought it an apt space for concerts, plays and such other cultural activities.
What is your goal for the next one year? And where do you see yourself as a politician?
To administrate water, sewage and garbage problems better and improve the quality of education would be my goal for the next one year. For me as a politician too, much depends on whatever kind of success the Congress party meets with. But I do see myself holding key positions in politics.
Profile of Dinesh Gundu Rao:
Dinesh Gundu Rao did his schooling from Bishop Cottons in Bangalore. He graduated in Electronics and Communication from BMS College of Engineering in 1992. He ran a computer training centre with a few others for some time after graduation while simultaneously participating in Congress party activities. "I wanted to go to the US to study further and even wrote my GRE", says Rao.
He joined politics full-time in 1993, partly to carry on the legacy of his father, the late Gundu Rao who had passed away suddenly. "But I always found helping people satisfying", he says. Rao was active in campaigning and other activities of the Congress party for six years before he joined politics full-time. He was a Youth Congress worker, General Secretary of the Karnataka Pradesh Youth Congress Committee (KPYCC), Vice-President, KPYCC and then President, KPYCC.
Dinesh Gundu Rao was first given an MLA ticket in 1999. He won from the Gandhinagar constituency and has won for three times now from the same constituency. He works from his two offices, one in Chickpet and another in Sheshadripuram and can be contacted through e-mail at mladgr [at] gmail [dot] com
"I am reading Ramachandra Guha's India after Gandhi" says Rao. He says he used to be an avid reader of fiction, but now due to his busy schedule, sticks to history, current affairs and biographies.⊕
16 Jun 2009
Sushumna Kannan is a scholar at the Centre for the Study of Culture and Society (CSCS), Bangalore.
"Ask the public, they can tell you about the changes I have brought about."
'I receive every phone call myself. And within two minutes, I do whatever is necessary'. MLA Ramalinga Reddy. (pic: author)
BTM Layout MLA, Ramalinga Reddy, talks about the issues in his constituencies and how he resolves them.
By Sushumna Kannan
21 Jul 2009,
Citizen Matters
Ramalinga Reddy hails from Anekal and did his schooling at the government school at Hombegowdanagar in Bangalore. He completed his B.Sc. from Government Science College in Bangalore after which he began pursuing an L.L.B. at the University Law College. He got into politics before he could finish the Law degree and has been associated with the Congress party in important capacities since that time, in 1973.
Even as a student, Reddy was active in Youth Congress and was a city level office bearer while still at college. He was elected to the city corporation in 1983 and became President of Jayanagar Block Congress in 1985. He was the district Congress President for ten years between till 2008.
In 1985, an MLA ticket was given to him, but he lost. In 1989 he came back and won and remained an MLA at Jayanagar for 20 years, winning for four times continuously—in 1989, 1994, 1999 and 2004. In 2009, he won from the BTM Layout constituency facing a lakh and half new voters. He was an education minister in the previous Congress government.
Reddy’s hobbies included reading and sports until politics took front seat. "There’s hardly any time now for sports or other activities, with politics taking up all my time" he says.
Here are some excerpts from the interview with him:
You are a senior politician with over twenty years of experience, how would you describe your joining politics and your early days in politics?
I entered politics through my participation in the N.S.U.I National Conference. That was in 1973. In 1973 – 74, I was elected as Cultural Secretary of Government Science College and was then elected as Member of Student Council in Bangalore University twice; in 1973 - 74 and 1977 – 78. So somehow the interest in politics was there right from my student days. My father too was a corporator and that may have played a role in my entering politics. In those times, university elections were big events. Parties would support students a lot and even get pamphlets made for them. Young leaders were encouraged and the public too was pro-active. Congress party was strong then and people like Mrs.Indira Gandhi and our Late Chief Minister Sri Devaraj Urs were an inspiration to me. Indira Gandhi’s 20 point programme and other activities to help the poor inspired me immensely.
You were MLA in Jayanagar alone for twenty years, how has it been at BTM Layout this time?
Yes. I have joined BTM Layout just now. Two thirds of it is new. There are about 1,40,000 new voters from Madiwala and Koramangala. And there are about 70,000 old voters from Lakkasandra and other areas. There has been no tar in many parts of BTM Layout for over fifteen to twenty years. Much of the interior road work in Uttarahalli had not been ever worked upon. When I came to BTM Layout, there were still mud roads there. So these are things that are new for me with the BTM Layout constituency.
"What are the issues you have taken up in the BTM constituency?
Lots of issues. We have trouble with drains. Garbage and water work still need much attention. I have improved water problems but they persist and I am aware of these things. Eejipura has mud roads, water and light problems. There were no lights in many areas. About 95 per cent of lighting work has been done now by me. About three thousand to four thousand lights have been installed. I have also seen to it that concrete roads are laid. Healthwise, we face mosquito problems and garbage problems. The garbage problem is aggravated because of the dumping yards. We are dealing with all these problems as efficiently as we can. In Shettypalya I was asked to upgrade a hospital which I will do this year. In Taavrekere, a hospital is being built.
What makes up an ordinary day at office?
My availability at my office depends on my programmes. On days that I have to go out for meetings I would not be available. But otherwise, I am available everyday at 8:30 AM and at 3 PM. I meet people for at least an hour and then extend it if there are more people waiting. The Constituency office was a Corporation building. It was there for about two years. I didn’t like it much there, so I now meet people at home. I have a PA and I function informally. We make notes of grievances and do the needful immediately. I am always in touch with the Residents’ Associations of my constituency. My phone number is online and people can contact me anytime.
What is your approach?
Much of my work is done through phone. I have a website, but it needs updating. I receive every phone call myself. And within two minutes, I do whatever is necessary.
Work needs following-up and I do that without fail. 90 per cent of the work usually gets done, and only a 10 per cent delay may be there. One of ten contract jobs fails and I know these things and so follow-up everything myself. I send out eight hundred to nine hundred messages on an average when there are developmental meetings. Meetings organized with Residents’ Association sometimes take me to their venues or public grievance meetings and people visit me as well.
Does being educated matter in politics?
A certain handling capacity is important in politics. More than education, there should be an initiative and interest. One must know how to handle officers and how to mobilize funds. One must have the knack required to bring funds out of programs as well. Sometimes double graduates are total failures in politics and others who are not educated at all do well. One should be able to give anything certain amounts of time and work on it until the job is done. Education might help, but there are these things as well is what I am telling you.
How many grievance meetings have you organized so far?
I meet citizens, educated voters as well as slum-dwellers. I go on area visits, one or two places in a day. I handle grievances in as quickly as two minutes’ time. Specifically, grievance meetings are both scheduled and unscheduled grievance meets. Many take place through residence associations. We maintain records of grievances and handle them immediately. The public invites me for meetings and that is another way of gathering grievances and complaints. I go on area visits once in three to four days and that too helps. I also go and supervise works-in-progress or send my engineers.
Give us examples of the work done so far?
Under the JNNURM Scheme eight hundred houses have been sanctioned and are being built for the poor at Rs. two lakh per house in Rajendra Nagar, Koramangala, Chandrappa Nagara and S R Nagar. A recent project has been to do with roads. For instance, 95 per cent of the work has been done in Eejipura. Three of the wards were worse off and I have helped with roads, water and other issues. You could just ask the public about this, they can tell you about the changes I have brought about.
I meet citizens, educated voters as well as slum-dwellers.You were an education minister. Tell us about your experience.
I mainly gave the officials my support. More than introducing new schemes, I see myself as someone who preserved existing ones and followed up on others. The scheme with ISCKON, for example, began before I became a minister, I just followed it up and it has been a success.
Is it true that roads in BTM layout have been re-laid although they were not in bad condition?
It is not true that roads have been laid unnecessarily. While it is right that many main roads were in good condition when the constituency came to my hands, they were all main roads and that is not the case in the inner areas. I have supervised work on roads in the interior areas of my constituency where there was a great need for such work. I would actually say that unnecessary road work and the re-laying of existing roads has been done in other constituencies. I would not like to take names though. And then, there were no footpaths in my constituency, I have done all that work as well. Footpath work has been done in BTM and Koramangala. I consider asphalting roads unnecessarily a waste of money. I realize that after every rainy season they might require work again. Excess funds make people re-tar roads that don’t require it, but I haven’t done that at all.
How have you utilized the MLA funds?
When corporation grants are finished, we draw from the MLA fund grants. The MLA’s area development fund is about one and a half crore rupees. It is not enough for anything actually. Government schools have been my top priority. This is because the Corporation doesn’t usually help schools. I have given about 14 lakh to Madiwala School and also to other schools. I spent my MLA fund of the previous time on street lights, so each time we have to prioritize.
We identify the issue that needs funding in the particular constituency and spend accordingly. The details of the expenditure are available in the print-out I am handing to you. But let me give you quick glimpse. As you can see, funds have been utilized under three heads: Civil works, Electricity and Parks. I have given 5 lakhs for Sanitary work at A K Colony and Koramangala, 14 lakhs for ST Bed, library and Samudaya Bhavan, 25 lakhs for street lights for Ejjipura, 15.20 lakhs for sanitary drainage in Marutinagar, 7.50 lakhs for borewells in AK Colony and so on. You will find details of all funds’ utilization in the Budget Book that has been published (by the government).
What are the obstacles facing you performance as an MLA?
A lot of work is being done, everyday through phone calls and through meeting people, I can’t say that there are too many problems actually. However lack of funds is a problem and one must know how to use funds from out of programs to solve immediate and pressing problems. I think that quality work is always wanting and I strive towards it.
What is your goal for the next one year?
Parks in BTM Layout are what I want to focus on. The parks should be like those in Jayanagar, with the latest technology and updated facilities. For this, tenders have been called for and the process complete. We only have to issue code of conduct orders and the work orders. At the parks where work is in progress, work will be finished in five to six months. There is an idea for a ‘beauty spot’ kind of a park in Koramangala.
About two acres of land is available and provision for this has been made in the budget. Traffic needs to be regulated in 16th main in BTM Layout, near Water Tank area, 100 ft Ring Road, on Military Road and near the Forum Mall. For this, flyovers and Passovers are what I will be pursuing over this year. Some come under the budget and others are under the corridor project. In four to five months a lot of things will find clarity.
India is changing so quickly, Bangalore even more so. What are your plans to mediate this change smoothly for us?
Bangalore is indeed changing very quickly. Parks, international airports, metro, flyovers, --we need all these things. There were no flyovers ten years ago, you know! I think all these things became possible because of S M Krishna’s initiatives. The State government gave 200 crores and the central government gave Rs. 16,500 crores. I just hope to do the quality work that is so required and then things should be smooth!
⊕
21 Jul 2009
Sushumna Kannan is a scholar at the Centre for the Study of Culture and Society.
This article was done as part of a project for Daksh, a non-partisan group working on governance issues. The MLA responses have been published as-is and claims have not been independently verified at this point.
