Song of Flowers and the Whimsical Figurative Sainchi

diary jashn-e-rekhta volume XXIX. No. 5 September–October 2015 cream and gold, to the simplicity of the red-checked Saloo Song of Flowers and the whimsical figurative Sainchi. I loved the Chope, its EXHIBITION & TALK: by Ms Sunaina Suneja stitches reminiscent of the Kasuti embroidery of Karnataka Phulkari: The Song of Flowers and the Elizabethan Holbein stitch. A small fragment Inauguration by Mrs. Maneka Gandhi reminded us of the links with Pakistani Jisti embroidery Lecture: Phulkari: The Journey of a Craft Revival across the border, though the predominant colours there Organised with the support of The Nabha Foundation are black, red and purple rather than our characteristic 17–23 September orange, yellow and white. The second part of the exhibition consisted of pieces done Whenever I see Phulkari, I recall what that redoubtable by the Nabha Project under Sunaina’s guidance. Exquisite memsahib of the Punjab, Flora Anne Steele, said about work, keeping the integrity of traditional Phulkari, though it: ‘A work of faith, savouring somewhat of sowing in the on a much smaller scale than the magnificent odhnis of red-brown soil.’ There is something very moving about this yore. Sunaina’s talk illustrated the challenges, frustration, traditional embroidery done by women from primarily and ultimate success in motivating women who had never rural communities in the Punjab. These are a gift of love, an done embroidery before to produce work of such good investment in the lives of their daughters, made in the midst quality. These were pieces made for the market, born out of of all their other tasks in the field and home. These are also the women’s desire to earn and be independent. We must an expression of individual creativity, almost a meditation. make sure the market rewards their laboriously learnt skills. Quite different in spirit from the work women now do LAILA TYABJI for the commercial market. (A point raised in Sunaina’s illustrated talk on her work with the Nabha Foundation Phulkari Project.) The Phulkari works on display formed two parts: the first was traditional pieces from Sunaina’s own personal collection—a resplendent assortment of large Baghs, ranging from the stunning Sona-Chandi work all over in Phulkari Exhibition 1 literature diary Ghosts to Pretchhaya is less literal, yet evocative of the sense Ibsen in Translation of haunting that accompanies painful remembrance. The READINGS: The Sins of the Father: Reading Ibsen in translator, Astri Ghosh, read Pretchhaya in the original Translation Danish and in lucid Hindi. Readings in the original Norwegian and Hindi by Astri Legality and legal rhetoric were thematically discernible in Ghosh; Moonmoon Singh; Sukumar Tudul; and Rajesh the performances. Confrontation and defensive statements Tailang abounded. In Gudiya Ghar, Ibsen’s A Doll’s House in Director: Ms Anuradha Kapur translation, directed by Anuradha Kapur, the preoccupation 3 September of having and lacking autonomy is another vein that runs through. This underscored the air of tension conveyed The dramatised reading of Ibsen in translation cements his through the performance. The character of Krogstad relevance to an Indian audience. The mise en scène depicted (Sukumar Tudu) is an extension of this legality. Rajesh a living room consisting of two lampshades placed at either Tailang as Torvald Helmer expresses his lack of autonomy, end of three single-seater sofas on stage. Ambient sounds wilfully blind to his wife’s predicament of being smothered of a fragmented nature punctuated the silence between in her marriage. Ms Singh’s performance as Nora Helmer characters, providing a sense of hesitancy. The implicit charted the anxious negotiation with Krogstad, to her fastidiousness of the set and careful lighting adumbrated the acquiescence to her husband, and finally her resolve to leave strained formality in the negotiations of Ibsen’s characters in the course of her brief performance. This negotiation—of that was to follow. the legal and of selfhood—is translated into the possibility of one person’s complete claim over another and the drastic The translation was a collective effort involving people lengths taken to attain selfhood are woven seamlessly into from various disciplines, including language and drama. Gudiya Ghar. It aimed at presenting core issues in the plays, which resonated with the audience in Hindi. Translating Ibsen’s RAKSHA THAKUR ‘young adult literature’ Percy Jackson and Artemis Fowl Between Commerce and Awards create a space to understand this work. For V. K. Karthika, DISCUSSION: The Extravagance of Kookiness. One the book spoke of an exciting difference in the spectrum Tree, One King and the Open Road. Discussion and of English language fiction—the midlist—between readings from Lavanya Reghunathan Fischer’s new ‘commercial fiction’ and award-winning ‘literary fiction’. book (New Delhi: Harper Collins, 2015) As Dr. Chandra pointed out, the book proved that the Speakers: Ms Lavanya Reghunathan Fischer; Indian writer had grown up, moving away from that Dr. Giti Chandra; and Ms V.K. Karthika Banyan tree that The God of Small Thingshad been. It had 4 September no markers of identity, and could easily have been written by a German or a Vietnamese. Here was a book ultimately ‘about finding oneself and one’s Lavanya Regunathan said her influences were Jerome K. voice’ and ‘to accept and overcome doubt and uncertainty’, Jerome, Sid Fleischman and Mark Twain, and her training but a book curiously ‘fabulous’: both fabulation and fable, in philosophy. Her book was ‘a light hearted packaging of an allegory told with sufficient kookiness, revelling in complicated concepts’, the Indian concepts of fluidity and fantasy tied in closely to words and their interactions, and change: not the truth of ‘I think therefore I am’, but ‘That to things possessed of personality. Punningly, the Radicars thou art’. have through technicality and a grammatical glitch got themselves a Park, which they expect to turn into a parking What could have been the most illuminating part of the lot that involves the Tree of the title, but that can be evening was sadly lost in the absence of the third discussant, gleaned only once the book is read through to the end! the philosopher Vijay Tankha who could have said more about Good governance, democracy and tourism feature, but not the above and the intriguing Pragmatist, the shape-shifting as part of the main narrative. Mind Mender, but also the ‘mind dividing’/spirit travel aspects of the king and the tree who finally retain integrity. For Dr. Giti Chandra The Little Prince, Alice in Wonderland and others, which were books for all ages, and the new PUNAM ZUTSHI 2 diary literature and have been widely read and quoted in different fora. Reading Neruda Neruda is taught in many universities and has attracted the DISCUSSION: Reading Latin America: Pablo Neruda attention of research scholars. Chile has produced many Conceptualised and coordinated by Professor Vibha other great poets like Gabriela Mistral, who was awarded the Maurya Nobel Prize for literature and influenced Neruda’s poetry Speakers: Professor Maneesh Taneja; Mr. Dinesh as well. Shukla; and Dr. Veena Kumar Neruda’s perpetual quest to search for himself was depicted 17 September in his famous collection of love poems which shocked many readers because of its eroticism. Neruda had a varied career. All the speakers were well-versed in Neruda’s presence He was sent to Buenos Aires in Argentina and Madrid in among Indian Hispanists and those who love poetry Spain on diplomatic assignments as a consul. He died of translations. Neruda is the best-known poet of the 20th cancer in 1973. century and also the most translated poet in any language. He was both a poet and a politician. His commitment to The highlight of the evening was the presence of a large communism and socialism was his connection to people’s number of students who were deeply engrossed in the suffering and pain. He led a turbulent life and suffered in experience of listening to the poetry of this towering his own country. He was in exile for three years, during poet. The most salient feature was the film clip showing which he travelled all over the world. He also came to India Neruda reading his own poems in Spanish. He was at his for a brief period. brilliant best. Neruda used poetry to communicate his firm belief in a OM GUPTA changing society. His memoirs are a great piece of literature learning the Hindi language. At that time, Japan looked Japan and Hindi upon Churchill as its adversary. He further added that the TALK: On Propaganda: Leaflets Scattered by the Japanese would not discriminate against Indians on the Japanese Army during World War II and Specialities of grounds of religion or any other. The Japanese army urged Hindi Used in Them the masses to wake up and wage a struggle against the Illustrated presentation in Hindi by Professor Tomio British to come out of the shackles of subjection. Mizokami Chair: Mr. Ashok Vajpeyi Moving further, he touched upon the grammatical 7 September aspects with their etymological expressions figuring in the leaflets which, of course, explicitly or implicitly seemed to be clothed in Bengali, which was obvious when it Professor Mizokami underscored the fact that the IIC came to the usage of gender, sounding ludicrous to the owes the Japanese Emperor a lot as it was he who laid its Hindi-speaking. In illustrations and pictorial presentations, foundation. Subsequently, he highlighted the significance the limits of visual ethics had been blurred which in essence of the propagation of Hindi by Japanese proponents in the may be called voyeurism. leaflets scattered by the Japanese army, particularly during the Second World War. In his concluding remarks, Professor Mizokami made a moving observation that, sadly, the Hindi language was In a bid to exemplify the precedence of Hindi language over used for war, contrary to its inherent nature of joining others, he referred to the third chapter dedicated to Indian hearts and promoting amity among the masses.

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