Volume 6, Issue 1 NAZARIYA 2021 The Newsletter of the Department of History Lady Shri Ram College for Women University of Delhi

IN THIS ISSUE

Skeletons Outside Our Closets : How to Look at Confederate Monuments

The Forgotten Tribes of Andaman Islands

Politically Polarised : The Indian Case

The Sakhi Trope in Bharatnatyam

History through a Fissionable Lens : 35 Years of the Chernobyl Disaster

Memes, Games and Our Department's Event Overview for 2021 Volume 6, Issue 1 NAZARIYA 2021 The Newsletter of the Department of History Lady Shri Ram College for Women University of Delhi

COVID AIN'T GONE YET Limit meetings and non-essential travels Stop hand shakes and use non-contact greeting methods Use video conferencing instead Clean hands at the door and schedule of face-to-face meetings. regular hand washing reminders

Don't stress your eyes and ears in Disinfect surfaces like doorknobs, terms of online screen-time. For tables, and desks regularly urgent conversations, use short calls and voice notes on messenger apps. Avoid touching your face and cover your coughs and sneezes Suspend all non-essential Increase ventilation by opening travels and windows or adjusting air conditioning trips.

Stay home if... Take care of your emotional and You are feeling sick You have a sick mental well-being family member at Outbreaks are a stressful and anxious time home for everyone. We're here to support you! Reach out to [email protected] anytime.

SOURCE : MHA.GOV.IN, CDC.GOV Volume 6, Issue 1 NAZARIYA 2021 6 Years of Nazariya Contents

A Note from the The Forgotten Tribes of 01 Editor-in-Chief Andaman Islands : The 21 Story of the Jarawas An Introduction to the GUNJAN MITRA 02 Editorial Team History through a Fissionable Lens : Skeletons Outside Our 24 35 Years of The Chernobyl Disaster Closets : How to Look at ANUSHKA SAXENA 05 Confederate Monuments RIYA SHANKAR SHARMA 29 Nazariya 2021's Voices Taliban's War 08 Against Women PRIYDARSHINI YADAV Interviews with the Speakers 43 of Maazi-o-Mustaqbil 2021

Hear Me, My Love The Information 11 ANUSHKA SAXENA 76 Conundrum PAVITRA MISHRA The Sakhi Trope in 12 Bharatnatyam SOOKTHI KAV 78 Galore Courtly Love 15 and Queerness The Department's Year : SOUMYA SWAIN 85 An Overview Politically Polarised : 18 The Indian Case 99 Answers and Credits KATYAYNI CHAMPAWAT

Reader's Advisory : The views expressed by Contributing Writers, as well as the statements and answers given by the speakers during their interviews (as transcribed herewith), do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of History, LSR College, its faculty, the Editorial Board of Nazariya, or of the student body, and are solely their intellectual property. 01 Volume 6, Issue 1

A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

You can build a prison of stone and steel, but you merely present the prisoner with a challenge. Any truly determined man will find a way out. But love, love is the perfect prison. Inescapable." -Wilson Fisk, Daredevil, S3E2, 41:33 Love manifests itself differently for different people. Some find it in a partner, and some, in god and faith. Some even find it in a piece of chocolate. But I... I find it in pen and paper. There is something uniquely satisfying about being able to mold quill and ink into words and sentences, and Nazariya, the esteemed Newsletter of LSR's History Department, allows us to do just that. In my three years working for Nazariya, first as a correspondent enjoying the guidance of some brilliant seniors, then as a sub-editor experiencing the best of both worlds, and finally as an evolving Editor-in-Chief, I have learned so much. I do not know how to measure or gauge my level of preparedness when it comes to stepping into a more professional editorial world, but I do know that my team and I have worked diligently to produce work that hopefully meets professional standards. In many ways, Nazariya is the Art, and my team, they're the Artists. If I have to say a few words regarding the current issue of Nazariya, I'd like to talk about its vivid representations. From photo-stories and op-eds to poetry and more, the guiding vision of this edition is to make space for diverse expressions and student empowerment. So I hope that when you read this issue, you are able to see and hear clearly, the bright ideas and strong voices peering through the confines of a global pandemic and an online presence, toiling to reach out to your heart, stimulate your mind and touch your soul. At the least let it present to you, arguments and imagery like never before. With that, I introduce you to Nazariya, Volume 6, Edition 1. Let there be light, let there be freedom, let there be empowerment! Anushka Saxena (3B) 02 Volume 6, Issue 1

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE EDITORIAL TEAM

The 2021 Editorial Team for Nazariya comprises of an Editor-in-Chief, three Sub-Editors, five Correspondents and an Illustrator. SUB-EDITORS

Sookthi Kav is a student of 2B. Her main interests are in South Indian social and cultural history, but she'll read anything you give her as long as it's interesting enough. In her free time, she likes to read, dance, and listen to classical music.

Pavitra Mishra is a student of 2B at the LSR History Department.

Riya S. Sharma is a student of 2B. She likes to write, debate and drink too much coffee. During quarantine, she has been spending her time either listening to angsty alternative music while missing Delhi or trying to fathom postcolonial queer literature. She also enjoys a good trek along Shimla’s chilly, scenic trails and cycling. 03 Volume 6, Issue 1

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE EDITORIAL TEAM

CORRESPONDENTS AND ILLUSTRATOR

Katyayni Champawat, one of our correspondents from 2A, is a dedicated individual who aspires to travel and interact with diverse cultures across the globe. She has a deep interest in international relations and administration, and holds the notion strong in her head, that, "the power to educate , agitate and organize is something to pursue and not to lose faith in." In her free time, you can find her outdoors- exploring a monument or a cafe with her friends.

Priyanka Maurya, one of our correspondents and a student of 2B, comes from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. She loves to interact with new people and learn about distinct cultures. She wants to develop her leadership skills, teamwork abilities, and expand her horizons through exposure to institutional processes and diverse perspectives. The editorial team provides her a platform to work towards her personal growth.

Gunjan Mitra, one of our correspondents and a student of 2B, is a firm believer in conservation of nature, more specifically, marine conservation. She is a Rescue certified Scuba Diver from P.A.D.I. She enjoys travelling and photography, and hopes to be able to explore the history, culture and languages of people from all over the world. 04 Volume 6, Issue 1

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE EDITORIAL TEAM

CORRESPONDENTS AND ILLUSTRATOR

Soumya Swain is a student of 2B, and a correspondent with the editorial board. She is passionate about subaltern and queer histories, and also enjoys film and literary theory.

Priydarshini Yadav, one of our correspondents from 2B, describes her interests as table tennis, tribal cultures, classical dances and exploring different contours of history, especially food heritage.

Archana Singh, our Illustrator, is a student of 2A. Her day starts thinking about colour and ends with cribbing about lack of colour, and this is how her life process goes on! You'll always find a thousand-watt smile plastered on her face, sometimes for no reason. Her friends say that she has the super power of radiating their day with happiness. She's the one who always speaks her mind but is always on mute too! 05 Volume 6, Issue 1 SKELETONS OUTSIDE OUR CLOSET : HOW TO LOOK AT CONFEDERATE MONUMENTS R I Y A S H A N K A R S H A R M A ( 2 B )

The image on the left is a slight glimpse into the protests that engulfed the USA after the death of civilian George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on 25th May, 2020. The death of an unarmed Black man triggered large-scale protests condemning police brutality and also demanding a stern reflection on institutional racism in the US. The tools adopted by citizens to express their disappointment were diverse, including vandalism targeted towards certain memorials placed in public view. In May 2020, the disheartening words “Cops Ran Us Over” and “BLM” (short for Black Lives Matter) could be seen scrawled underneath the imposing monument to Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Virginia. The words “spiritual genocide” in black spray paint, along with red handprints, stained the sides of a Confederate monument on the University of Mississippi campus. The anger thus, was largely targeted towards Confederate memorabilia and controversial historical A protestor tapes himself to the Colorado figures - statues of Christopher Columbus, Robert E. Soldiers Monument in front of the Colorado Lee, Jacksonville Light Infantry were defaced State Capitol. Photo by : Michael Ciaglo. countrywide. However, 2020 is not the first time that Confederate statues have come under fire. The presence of Confederate monuments across America has been challenged for years, and some of the monuments targeted were already under consideration for removal. In 2017, the city of Charlottesville, Virginia voted for the removal of pro-slavery Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s statue from a park. The decision had unprecedented ramifications - white supremacist leaders, members of the Ku Klux Klan, and supporters bearing Nazi flags gathered in Charlottesville under the banner of a “Unite the Right” rally. The forming tensions led to a white supremacist ramming a car into a group of counter-protestors; causing the death of a 32-year-old woman. Contextualizing the Statues As is clear by now, a segment of white America is adamant to retain these monuments to a darker period of history. Former President Donald Trump vocalized his worries about the country’s “history and culture being ripped apart” as more than 30 cities removed or initiated the process to remove Confederate statues from prominent public view in 2020. What is this glorious history and culture that needs preservation? 06 Volume 6, Issue 1 SKELETONS OUTSIDE OUR CLOSET : HOW TO LOOK AT CONFEDERATE MONUMENTS R I Y A S H A N K A R S H A R M A ( 2 B )

Right-wing groups like the Sons of Confederate Veterans defend the monuments, arguing they are an important part of history. However, as many historians point out, much of Confederate memorialization was intended to serve a less agreeable purpose. A comprehensive study of these memorials, undertaken by Southern Poverty Law Center, is telling of the context that these memorials were built in. Much of the construction occurred in the 1900s and then the 1950s-60s; both being times marked with racial tensions and the civil rights movements. In the 1900s, statues were erected as Jim Crow laws were enacted to disenfranchise Black Americans. The second wave of statue-building came about when the Civil Rights movement tried to fight segregation in the 50s.

Jane Dailey, an associate professor of history at the University of Chicago talked at length about the inseparability of Confederacy symbols and white supremacy. Erecting a looming figure of Confederate general Stonewall Jackson in Baltimore in 1948 was to send a message to undermine the contemporaneous Civil Rights movement. Rich Southerners funded imposing monuments of pro-slavery personalities that occupy public spaces and more so, public imagination, till date. These memorials were not just preserving memories, they had clear motives.

April 27, 2015 : United Daughters of the Confederacy member Carrie McGough walks in front of the Alabama Capitol building during a confederate memorial day ceremony. Photo by : Brynn Anderson.

Members of the collective 'United Daughters of the Confederacy', as Carrie above, may be seen as a quaint anachronism by many of us. However, the group has initiated multiple lawsuits to prevent Confederacy symbols from being removed from spaces like town squares, university campuses and even courthouses. 07 Volume 6, Issue 1 SKELETONS OUTSIDE OUR CLOSET : HOW TO LOOK AT CONFEDERATE MONUMENTS R I Y A S H A N K A R S H A R M A ( 2 B )

Back in the 1900s many women of the South’s most prominent families, the Daughters organized themselves to fund monuments that could tell “a truthful history” of the “Lost Cause” of the South. This brings us to question the rationale that drives those who want to aggressively preserve these monuments. Beyond the context of why these monuments were placed; we must consider why people want them to stay. These statues are an obvious affront to African Americans; serving as symbols of legitimation and perseverance of the ideals of white supremacy. Moreover, at a time where more people come to recognize that the Confederacy was on the wrong side of humanity and history, it becomes important to engage with those who disagree.

Prominent writer James Baldwin once wrote a moving letter to his nephew which was published in his provoking The Fire Next Time (1963). Dealing with themes of disillusionment that Black people had to come to terms with as others celebrated a hundred years of the Emancipation Proclamation, Baldwin wrote about racism and how it serves a fulcrum of white identity : “They [white Americans] are, in effect, still trapped in a history which they do not understand; and until they understand it, they cannot be released from it. They have had to believe for many years, and for innumerable reasons, that black men are inferior to white men. Many of them, indeed, know better, but, as you will discover, people find it very difficult to act on what they know. To act is to be committed, and to be committed is to be in danger. In this case, the danger, in the minds of most white Americans, is the loss of their identity.” Baldwin allows us to understand how white supremacy and by extension, its monumentality is central to the identity of a prominent section of white Southerners. Historian Ulrich B. Phillips wrote the widely cited statement that the determination to maintain white supremacy “is the cardinal test of a Southerner and the central theme of Southern history.” While this may no longer hold true in absolute terms, a significant number of white Americans pay their respects to many controversial historical figures on Confederate Memorial Day each year. A threat to the permanent presence of statues that serve as reminders of the bravado of Confederate soldiers, or more blatantly as symbols of efforts to preserve racial segregation and slavery is also a threat to the identity of people who have defined themselves as the successors to a celebrated past. This threat to one’s own identity explains their outrage at the vandalism and removal of these statues today. The debate around these metal and stone giants littered over American downtowns, parks and campuses has shifted. There appears to be a growing consensus among Americans that these statues need to go. While we deliberate on what to do with these specters of a haunting past, we must remember that history often exists in people’s minds and in the narratives that they weave for themselves, as many Confederate apologists do today. To commit these memorials to dumping grounds and the cold storages of museums will not do much in changing tightly held beliefs that are radically different from ours. An education that deals with discomforting parts of history, allows people to confront realities and place icons into context is indispensable for all of us as we try to learn from our collective histories. 08 Volume 6, Issue 1

TALIBAN'S WAR AGAINST WOMEN P R I Y D A R S H I N I Y A D A V ( 2 B )

I first read about the Taliban in the book “A Thousand Splendid Suns” at my school library. The book primarily talks about the hardships women face in the patriarchal society of Afghanistan, and that too, under the Taliban. Afghanistan has been embroiled in a constant state of war and instability, stretching up to today. The major cause of this turmoil is said to be the conflict between the two superpowers, US and USSR, during the Cold War era. The coming of the Soviets in Afghanistan had two-fold effects – while it did open up new spaces and roles for women, on the other hand, it also increased insecurity and instability in an already flummoxed region. At this time, women emerged as leaders of militant groups and organizations. For example, Nahida, who led a militant demonstration in Kabul against the Soviets in 1980-81 was called the ‘new heroine of Afghanistan’. Women like her were exemplified as symbols of Afghani culture, values, family honour and finally, the rejection of Communist dress codes, lifestyles, and ideas. The soviet invasion caused a complete breakdown of the society and political structures, which paved the way for the emergence of alternative centers of power that largely controlled rural areas. Further, competition grew between these localized groups. Amid all of this chaos, the Cold War intensified, and thus, huge amounts of financial resources and modern armed weapons came from the US, Pakistan and the Soviet Union. Washington alone supplied about $10 billion in arms. US initially supplied these resources mostly to a group called ‘Mujahideen’, and gradually also nurtured the Taliban, who were born out of the camps of Afghan refugees in Pakistan. This whole process of militant conservatism affected women’s life deeply in a negative sense. The Mujahideen rejected all the communist reforms and urged for the comeback of the traditional Islamic society wherein women’s role was highly restricted. This, they associated both, with patriotism and religious ideology. However, due to the unorganized structure of the Mujahideen, they weren’t very successful in actually implementing the said restrictions on women at a faster pace. This gendered conflict entered a new phase when the Taliban took control of Afghanistan. Started as a student’s movement, led by Mullah Mohammed Omar who was trained, armed and heavily supported by the Pakistani intelligence agency, ISI, the Taliban had very conservative notions of what constituted ‘appropriate femininity’. On September 28, 1996, Radio Kabul announced, “as per an order issued by the commander of the faithful, Mullah Mohammed Omar, women are not allowed to venture outside their homes’’. This order worked like a seal and stamp on something which was already prevalent. They could only move out with male companions even if it was a 5-year-old boy. Burqa earlier was meant to be part of an individual’s choice but during the Taliban regime, it was forced upon, and that too brutally. If a woman’s body part was visible, it was immediately cut off. The burqa was not just a physical or psychological burden, but also an economic one. For instance, many could not afford to have one. Sometimes, a whole neighbourhood shared the same burqa and women had to wait days for going out. Physically impaired women became completely homebound due to this. Any sort of contact with the other gender called for severe punishments, which included public lashings and even stoning to death. These punishments were more severe for women than men committing the same acts. 09 Volume 6, Issue 1

TALIBAN'S WAR AGAINST WOMEN P R I Y D A R S H I N I Y A D A V ( 2 B )

“The Taliban has clamped down on knowledge and ignorance is ruling instead.” This is a statement by a 22-year-old Kabul girl living under the torturous conditions of the Taliban regime. Her statement highlights how the Taliban put a complete end to women’s education. They initially insisted that this ban was temporary, until street security and other facilities were adapted to prevent cross-gender contact. The female employment ban sent tremors across the education sector. About 7793 female teachers were dismissed, which consequently led to the closure of about 63 schools. This not only destroyed girl’s education, but of boys too. The lack of education, awareness and literacy would only help such extremist fanatics in growing more powerful.

No considerations for women's education in the US-Afghanistan Deal. Photo by : Adek Beryy/ AFP.

The Taliban regime’s oppressive measures were particularly very evident in the deterioration of healthcare facilities for women. They were given the most rudimentary medical care which endangered their health and lives. Before the arrival of the Taliban, 40% of doctors in Kabul were women. From 1994 onwards, they had to leave their job due to Taliban diktats. Strict regulations were put on male doctors examining females too. For instance, a male doctor could only examine a woman if she’s fully clothed, thereby ruling out the possibility of any proper diagnosis. The ‘Physicians for Human Rights’ conducted a survey on about 200 women in Taliban-hit Afghanistan in 1998, and it revealed how the Taliban’s torment has led to cascading effects on women’s physical and mental health. Around 71% of women reported deteriorating health over the past two years and 53% even revealed how even when seriously ill, they were denied access to healthcare services. For instance, a woman after suffering from a tremendous stomach ache died, as her mother didn’t own a burqa. Such were the pitiable conditions of women, which were aggravated by economic hardships. In 2001, Afghanistan had the second-worst maternal death rate in the world, with 16 out of every 100 women dying during birth (The Lancet). It was definitely due to the lack of healthcare facilities that women could have had but didn’t. 10 Volume 6, Issue 1

TALIBAN'S WAR AGAINST WOMEN P R I Y D A R S H I N I Y A D A V ( 2 B )

Public education posters of various international health organizations were destroyed by the Taliban, further hampering the healthcare services in the country. Overall, the Taliban conducted grave human rights violations, particularly against women. The international community spearheaded by the United Nations passed resolutions condemning the Taliban’s atrocities aimed at women, children, the disabled and all other vulnerable sections of the Afghani society. They continually urged the Taliban to "repeal all legislative and other measures that discriminate against women and girls and those which impede the realization of all their human rights." Further, they urged that all sections be respected, their rights fulfilled, reestablishment of their employment, perpetrators of physical attacks on women be brought to justice, and restoration of equal access to healthcare and other facilities, as well as the education of women be undertaken.

Post their dismantling from the seats of power, women again started to enter public life, though, gradually. Today, women in Afghanistan are police, soldiers, doctors, parliamentarians, and much more. In fact, the Afghanistan Parliament has more women legislators than the US Congress. In all of this, when things started to emerge for the better, the US-Taliban deal has led to the surfacing of another crucial question, which revolves around the position of women being sacrificed for the arrival of peace in Afghanistan. This deal signed in February 2020 aims at the withdrawal of USA and NATO troops from Afghanistan on the condition that the Taliban ensures the inoperability of Al Qaeda and other militant groups in areas controlled by the Taliban. This peace process, as feared by Afghani women and international thinkers, virtually passes power into the hands of the Taliban who may misuse it and again impose medieval age restrictions on the women of Afghanistan. Hence, only time will tell what the situation of women will bein the aftermath of this deal.

Afghani women soldiers (above : women serving the Afghani Ministry of Defense), who battle on more fronts than one, were honoured for their services in 2013. Photo by : U.S Army. 11 Volume 6, Issue 1 HEAR ME, MY LOVE A N U S H K A S A X E N A ( 3 B )

In : Poetry

Hear me, my love For the sun is shining bright, It peers through time and space To spread eternal light. Hear me, my love For a great storm is brewing, It shakes the ground and sky The rain, and the change, pursuing. Hear me, my love For the garden blooms with scent, Some lillies, musks and roses Like sweet smell of dissent. Hear me, my love The birds coo with delight, And soar as high as freedom The tales of truth, rewrite. Hear me, my love For the sky is painted hue, Just like my pride, untethered, No longer will it be blue.

A heart I have, to confide in To desire and inspire, a brain, So hear me today, my love For you won’t get to do it again. 12 Volume 6, Issue 1

THE SAKHI TROPE IN BHARATNATYAM S O O K T H I K A V ( 2 B )

In Indian history, the Sakhi is understood as a friend of the naayika, the heroine, and is by her side throughout the various shringara narratives of quarrels, separation, anticipation, and union. The Sakhi is thus an essential aspect of the shringara rasa of erotic love. Kalidasa has his heroines always accompanied by multiple friends who help further the plot, develop the heroine’s character, and provide narrative exposition. In Jayadeva’s Gita Govinda, the Sakhi is crucial to the development of love between Radha and Krishna, with her character often taking roles of the spiritual guru, the confidante, the bhakta, and sometimes, even transforming into the heroine herself. In miniature paintings too, it is customary to have the heroine drawn with a female friend.

Like all classical Indian dance forms, Bharatanatyam also has several traditional shringara pieces in its repertoire, most of which naturally include the Sakhi trope. The Sakhi (or tozhi, in Tamil), in Bharatanatyam shringara compositions such as the various varnams, padams, and javalis, is a very interesting figure. She is always seemingly invisible, with no name or character ascribed, yet her presence on stage is nearly always implied.

A padam in raga Pantuvarali by Subbarama Iyer says :

“netru varen endru nayamigap pesinavan innalum varak-kanene, en tozhi katrulla pode nan tutrik-kollamale totram marainda pin tigaikkindren, en tozhi...” Translation : “O friend, he said he would come yesterday, but he is still nowhere to be seen. When he was here, I did not make use of our time; and now I suffer!” Several padams, much like the one above, are written in the voice of the heroine and addressed to her friend (Sakhi). Her friend here has no markers of identity beyond generic descriptors, and no role to play beyond listening, and the dancer never takes on a Sakhi’s role in solo performance. However, the Sakhi is important in the heroine’s space of self-expression. This space, occupied by the Sakhi, has to be non-judgemental and accepting, because it is only in her company that the naayika talks about her experiences and desires openly. The Danike padavarnam in raga Thodi by Sivanandam of the Tanjore Quartet says : “danike tagu janara dayayunca i velara managhanudaina shri mahadevuni pujincu shrinidhi nivera Shivaji maharajendra ikanu rati samayamu padara ipudu sadanamunaku aramarasaya taguna manavigaikonumu...”

Translation : “My friend is matchless, she has no equals; show her your mercy today. O great ruler, a devotee of Shiva, king Shivaji Maharaja, There is no time more apt for romance than now; go to her house. Is your doubting her fair? Accept her plea!” 13 Volume 6, Issue 1

THE SAKHI TROPE IN BHARATNATYAM S O O K T H I K A V ( 2 B )

In the Danike varnam, the voice is of the Sakhi and the composition is addressed to the nayaka or the hero, with the Sakhi trying to convince the hero of the naayika’s beauty and love for him. Despite the Sakhi being the ‘main’ character on stage, it is the naayika who is still at the forefront : descriptions of her desire and her agony at separating from the hero are surpassed by only perhaps the praises of the nayaka. The Sakhi’s insistence and loyalty to the heroine across compositions that involve her, are certainly admirable. Always by her side, she soothes, encourages, and scolds the naayika. What could this tell us about the representation of female friendships?

Marilyn Yalom, in her book, The Social Sex: A History of Female Friendship, explains women’s friendships as having four primary traditional markers: affection, physical touching, the revelation of feelings, and interdependence. The trope of the Sakhi in traditional Bharatanatyam compositions uses all of these with the exception of interdependence. The performed friendship of the naayika and the Sakhi is usually a one-way relationship, with the Sakhi providing emotional space or delivering messages for the naayika, but with no reciprocity : the Sakhi is rendered invisible, her thoughts never expressed, her roles and titles unnamed, her personality unwritten. Since the focus of naayika-bheda compositions is, as the name suggests, on the naayika, this is certainly reasonable. However, it may be unsuitable to look to these naayika-bheda compositions for an in-depth understanding of female friendships in Indian art, since they do not intend to depict close feminine relationships.

What then is the purpose of the Sakhi? It is plainly evident that the focus of Sakhi-naayika pieces in Bharatanatyam, especially in popular padams and varnams, is not on the friendship between the two. Instead, the emphasis is on the feminine desire of the heroine directed at a male nayaka, usually a male deity or male patron.

The naayika (main lead) gesturing to her Sakhi (friend). Photo by : Deepthi Shree Bhat on Youtube. 14 Volume 6, Issue 1

THE SAKHI TROPE IN BHARATNATYAM S O O K T H I K A V ( 2 B )

For example, in the Danike varnam excerpt above, the Sakhi brings word of her naayika’s love for the King, and it is the King’s masculinity that is elevated as being the object of an ideal naayika’s desire. One understanding here may be that shringara as an erotic rasa is rarely about feminine sexual agency; instead, it serves as a contrast against the ideal masculine in order to emphasize it. Here, the Sakhi’s role is crucial in the process of creating contrast: in her soothing and cajoling, as well as her delivering messages, she creates a space for the shringara rasa to unfold. The Sakhi is never constant. She may appear and disappear within a composition without any explanation beyond convenience: but as a tool, the Sakhi trope is useful. The Sakhi comes to be used as a compositional tool to emphasize and elaborate on other narratives and feelings that are always external to her. In some ways, the Sakhi can be understood also as a performative medium for the audience: giving the audience access to the inner narrative; a point of view to better understand the rasa. In lamenting to the Sakhi about a lost partner, the nayika is in fact lamenting to the audience: her friend here is a placeholder that serves the dual purpose of furthering the shringara aesthetic of pretty women and female friendships, as well as gently breaking the audience into the inner expressive emotions of the composition.

Mugdha Naayika : An ardent blue-skinned lord (nayaka Krishna) listens to the message of a Sakhi (confidante) from his beloved Radha.

India, Mewar, Udaipur, circa 1670-80.

Photo by : V. Lambert on Pinterest. 15 Volume 6, Issue 1 COURTLY LOVE AND QUEERNESS S O U M Y A S W A I N ( 2 B )

French priest Andreas Capellanus’ De Amore is an intriguing text and has been conventionally credited as the theoretical canon of ‘courtly love.’ It was published in the late-12th century in the court of Marie de Champagne, daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine. De Amore deals, in essence, with the meaning and definition of love, the experience of love across different classes of French society, and actual accounts from various real 'courts of love', such as that of Eleanor of Aquitaine. De Amore crystallized emergent ideas of a rich, literary love amongst Provençal troubadours in the south of France beginning from the mid-12th-century, and popularised them upon publication. The title De Amore, quite literally, ‘About Love’ has often been mistranslated to The Art of Courtly Love. The intended purpose and tone of the text have been viewed differently by historians over the centuries. While some have taken the text as didactic, others have focused on the more derisive and sarcastic commentary of Book III. The latter see it as a takedown of the elite’s false ideation of lust as love. Others still believe the entire thing was a joke. As such, the wildly antithetical tones in De Amore may well be the origin of the confusion that has characterized our study of courtly love. De Amore’s position as the scripture of courtly love, as well as our modern understanding of the idea, comes from the work of Gaston Paris in 1883. Paris coined the phrase ‘courtly love’, using the moniker amour courtois to describe the love of Lancelot and Guinivere in Chrétien de Troyes’s Lancelot. Lancelot was one of 5 major poems Chrétien wrote on Arthurian legend in the 12th century. The love of Lancelot and Guinevere is well-known now: Lancelot, the most trusted knight and dearest friend of mythic hero King Arthur, falls tragically in love with Guinevere, his beloved wife and queen. Before Chrétien, the dominant literature on the Arthurian canon was Geoffrey of Monmouth’s and made no mention of Lancelot. By all accounts, Lancelot was Chrétien’s original character, and kind of a Mary Sue who served as the introduction of the ideas of French chivalry and courtly love into Arthurian legend. The Arthurian Canon has seen several revisions. In the Middle Ages, the relatively mystical folkloric story of Arthur was thoroughly Christianised, especially with the introduction of the Holy Grail. With this Christianisation came an outright condemnation of the infidelity of Guinevere and Lancelot; in several versions, it is them who bring about the downfall of Arthur because of their sin and malice. But for Chrétien, Lancelot had always been a moral ideal and an aspirational hero, serving his duty as a knight and as a lover within the bounds of society and away from sin. His story spoke of the great edifying power of love - Lancelot’s love for Guinevere makes him an honourable and dutiful man and a great knight, instead of heralding disaster and punishment. Paris dissects this presentation to summarise four essential components that make love ‘courtly’ - it must be furtive and illicit, the lover must be inferior to a socially elevated beloved, the affections of the beloved must be earned through a number of trials to prove his valour, and finally the love is subject to the rules and restrictions of courtesy and etiquette and so necessarily, it is chaste. 16 Volume 6, Issue 1 COURTLY LOVE AND QUEERNESS S O U M Y A S W A I N ( 2 B )

While Lancelot and Guinevere did not escape judgement, the idea of courtly love established itself firmly in the social fabric of the aristocracy, and as such, is ubiquitous in the European literary tradition of the Middle Ages. Historians have read themes of courtly love in nearly every major work of literature, from Dante to Chaucer to Shakespeare. They have also debated nearly every possible aspect of it - its origins, its popularity, its moral and ethical character - and landed at vastly differing conclusions. For instance, A.J. Denomy insisted that courtly love was heretical in nature, while Herbert Moller argued that the high sex ratio in aristocracy meant the reduced ‘supply’ of women would increase their value. Moshe Lazar placed courtly love on a spectrum from adulterous to conjugal and with an eventual happy ending. In 1967, a symposium was held at the State University of New York in Binghamton where the meaning of courtly love was debated with no eventual conclusions reached.

For all the ink that has been spilled over the semantics of courtly love, its treatment in historiography up until the late-20th century remained almost aggressively heteronormative. Queer theory only began showing up in Medievalist studies in the 1980s, with the works of John Boswell, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, and Judith Butler. Susan Schibanoff locates this insistent erasure in the 13th-century construction of a distinct European identity that was closely tied to the myth of heterosexuality, and held in stark opposition to non-European cultures that had influenced the European art world, and were only just becoming the subject of concerted study. Capellanus very clearly describes the ennobling power of courtly love as residing in the suffering caused by meditation on the beauty of the opposite sex. For Schibanoff this was the “myth of straightness in the making”. In the same breath homosexuality and sodomy became shorthand for defining and condemning the ‘Other’ which in the 13th century was basically the Arab world. Early historiography reflected this ‘othering’ - initially, historians resisted recognizing the influence of Arabic poetry in the creation of Provencal courtly love. Once its role had been accepted, Schibanoff notes the emergence of the trend of heterosexualizing queer Arab verse to separate queerness and courtly love.

Bill Burgwinkle posits that the medieval period, specifically between c. 500-1500 C.E., is a historical time period that is in truth particularly rife with literary material that carries both overt and covert queer narratives. Burgwinkle locates this efflorescence in a universality of rejection - when every act or impulse of a sexual nature that isn’t connected to the act of procreation is branded sodomitic, then the strict modern bipolarity between straightness and queerness dissolves entirely.

Guinevere and Lancelot. Photo by : History and Women. 17 Volume 6, Issue 1 COURTLY LOVE AND QUEERNESS S O U M Y A S W A I N ( 2 B )

Religious and non-religious texts wrote about and condemned homosexual behaviour ad nauseam, while also condemning heterosexual love wholesale, as long as it was outside the context of the Christ-sanctioned marriage bed. Sexual normativity disregarded the lived experiences of sexuality. Consequently, love stories of every orientation were forced into a shared vocabulary of subversiveness and marginality as manifested by courtly love as a genre, which makes the study of literature from this era particularly notable. Tison Pugh, and several other authors on the subject tend to define queerness as a disruption of the predominant status quo, i.e. the normative standard for acceptable social and sexual behaviour. As such, ‘queerness’ as expressed against the Medieval paradigm was not necessarily congruent to the same sexual and gender minorities we identify as queer in the modern-day. This is an obvious corollary to the fact that heteronormativity, as expressed and articulated in the modern Nation-state, is not the same as the sex and gender paradigm of various pre-modern social formations. It is crucial to remember that institutions such as marriage - and associated ideas of what counts as attraction, love, and sex both within or without the institution - have meant different things to different individuals based on complicated intersections of gender, class and community even in the same time period and regions. As Burgwinkle points out, condemnation of sexual acts was very specific to circumstance: for instance, homosexual relationships enjoyed by a king or his heirs, or by monks, may receive censure that similar relationships of men belonging to other classes might not. The tendency to universalize and essentialize labels and retroactively apply present-day standards to Medieval contexts distorts the evidence available for study. But the queering of history must necessarily transcend modern polarities and homogenization, taking into account all documented departures of gender and gender dynamics, love and attachment. Queer readings of literature are crucial in breaking the deliberately constructed heteronormative mold of historical study that teaches marginalised people that they have always and without exception lived on the fringes of society when in truth, people and societies have always resisted such axiomatic categorization. Queer folk have always existed, have always had a place in literature and society, and have always been a part of history. As such, their undeniable place in romance and the canon of courtly love must be acknowledged and celebrated.

Photo by : Town & Country Magazine. 18 Volume 6, Issue 1 POLITICALLY POLARISED : THE INDIAN CASE K A T Y A Y N I C H A M P A W A T ( 2 A )

Historically, party polarisation has been an omnipresent theme in United States’ politics. Considering its two-party system, many deem the nation’s polarised atmosphere inevitable. But today, two-party or not, many other nations are also facing a similar political atmosphere. Thomas Carothers and Andrew O’Donohue, in their book “Democracies Divided”, project how political polarisation has taken the face of a fast-spreading global illness “tearing at the seams of democracy”. In the last decade, this illness seems to have infected India as well. Ahead of the 2019 central government election in India, Niha Masih and Joanna Slater ominously titled their Washington Post article as “U.S.-style polarization has arrived in India. Modi is at the heart of the divide”, and I do not contest this statement. While today, the political polarization in India is visible in ways that are impossible to ignore, the phenomenon has always existed in the debates and discussions around our country’s communally-turbulent foundations. “Should India be a secular country or a Hindu Rashtra?” : the landslide victory of Modi-led BJP in 2014 merely brought an already-prevalent issue to the forefront.

India’s Independence came at the cost of a very bloody partition. A rich and diverse land was torn into three parts on the superficial lines of religion. The Hindu-Muslim dichotomy has clawed at the hearts of so many Indians for a long time and continues to drive the politics today. This is not to underplay other contesting dichotomies based on caste, language, and regional diversities; however, the groups divided across the aforementioned lines have been unable to organize themselves on a greater level, where they can question the very fundamentals of the nation. At the time of independence, leaders such as Gandhi and Nehru defined India as an accepting land that belongs to all who are born on it and discriminates against no faith. In contrast, nationalists such as V.D. Savarkar argued that “Hindu culture defined Indian identity and that minorities needed to assimilate by accepting the strictures of this majority culture”. These ideologies on “what is India?” and “Who belongs to it?” have managed to make their way across time to the 21st century, and have emerged as the major political drivers. The hegemony of the Congress party, for a long time, kept polarisation at bay with some degree of success, but as accepted by Rahul Gandhi, himself, on his two-week tour of the USA in 2017, “somewhere around 2012, a certain arrogance crept into Congress and they stopped having a conversation with people.” Siddharth Singh, a writer for livemint, argued that “The BJP is merely reacting—and late at that—to an already polarized field”. According to him, the Congress chose leftist economic policies which already signifies polarisation, and for BJP, the only way to win the elections was “to go for polarization on the religious axis”. Whether the economic policies of congress signify polarisation or not, is a matter I would not go into; however, I will argue that the congress’ leftist economic policies seemed less threatening than the right-wing Hindutva agenda of the BJP. 19 Volume 6, Issue 1 POLITICALLY POLARISED : THE INDIAN CASE K A T Y A Y N I C H A M P A W A T ( 2 A )

In the 2014 elections, BJP came with the face of Narendra Modi and sold development. But soon, the party’s focus moved a little farther from development and towards the idea of a Hindu Rashtra. Polarisation, as well as narratives around Pakistan and China, became the central guiding themes to policy, and the most effective bandage for hiding the scars of unfulfilled promises and of policies that did not kick-off (Pranav Arora). Under the Modi government, the term anti-national has come to be increasingly associated with any who oppose his policies and strategies, while those who follow his personality cult become part of the BJP's "idea of India". The voters chose, or in some cases, were forced to change their focus from policies and representatives in the parliament to Modi- the man meant to save India.

But is India safe now? From where I stand, India faces a much greater threat than ever before. Its very foundations are weakening. As highlighted by Thomas Carothers and Andrew O’Donohue, “severe polarization damages all institutions essential to democracy. Polarization also reverberates throughout society as a whole, poisoning everyday interactions and relationships. Partisan conflict takes a heavy toll on civil society as well, often leading to the demonization of activists and human rights defenders. More seriously still, divisions can contribute to a spike in hate crimes and political violence”. Indeed, people are losing belief in the democratic institutions of the country. Recent events have caused downfall in public trust towards police and courts, especially including the North-East Delhi religious riots and post- poll violence in West Bengal. Liberal journalists are being defamed, shot and imprisoned. Lynching is becoming a norm, wherein Dalits are being killed over suspicions of carrying beef and Muslims are being killed over suspicions of eating beef. Even dining table conversations are becoming increasingly charged and the informal norms of toleration and open conversations are deteriorating. Finally, a vicious cycle of rising polarisation is emerging.

Social Media only exacerbates the political tussle, leading to further polarisation. Photo by : Sorav Jain. 20 Volume 6, Issue 1 POLITICALLY POLARISED : THE INDIAN CASE K A T Y A Y N I C H A M P A W A T ( 2 A )

Media, especially social media networks, have played a major role in the increasing polarisation. Misinformation and fake news are much easier to circulate today, with no effective checks in place. Another aspect and perhaps a much more dangerous and subtle one is the phenomenon of being trapped in “media bubbles”. As tellingly portrayed in the Netflix documentary “The Social Dilemma”, the social media platforms work on algorithms that supply to you the content that interests you. This would mean that a left-wing supporter in the US may come across a few memes on Trump, which the person will like and share. The algorithm now uses this information and fills the person’s feed with left-wing content. This ensures that the person spends more time on social media and profits the company. But it also reinforces the person’s leftist beliefs and creates a sense that everyone thinks this way. It also virtually blocks any interaction with the opposite ideology and hence, the person is locked in a “media bubble”, making them much more intolerant.

The pandemic has eased this polarisation on the surface by engendering a more unifying political leadership. Modi has been seen promoting a collective fight against the virus. The lockdown measures have also been accepted by virtually all groups. Yet, at the societal level, the crisis has only amplified intolerance, especially in the case of Tablighi jamaat. However, I would like to clarify here that with the status of the second Pandemic wave in India, even the virtually united groups are beginning to separate along lines of criticisms against the BJP government's inability to deal with the crises at hand. Many have even termed it a "social murder”.

The question remains: How must we reverse this trend? One way is to become self-aware. The focus must be placed on policies, issues, and individual constituency candidates rather than on the party as a whole. Moreover, as an extension to the previous point, one must stop looking at a political party and its ideology as manifested in its most decisive leader. Another way is to break the “media bubble”. Choose to fact-check any information you come across. Accept news from formal news agencies only, with an understanding that these news agencies too are subject to biases. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, be open to other perspectives. Make efforts to create a space where your ideas are questioned and challenged. Involve yourself in conversations which make you question your own view. Do not be afraid to accept an opposing view, or individual idea/policy from a party you don't follow, purely on the basis of the merit of that view, idea or policy. Preach and promote tolerance on social media, or within your friend and family circles. Do this because it marks you as Indian- not your faith but your open hearts and minds.

Photo by : AllReligionsServantSociety/ TheStatesman.com. 21 Volume 6, Issue 1 THE FORGOTTEN TRIBES OF ANDAMAN ISLANDS : THE STORY OF THE JARAWAS G U N J A N M I T R A ( 2 B )

The archipelago of the Andaman Islands is home to some of the most ancient human tribes who had been secluded for years, until the late 19th century. The origin of the Andamanese tribes is dated back to approximately two thousand years and they are believed to retain some of the last remaining vestiges of a primitive way of life. Over the years, the aboriginal Andaman Islanders have been a subject of intrigue and fascination for many. However, very little is known of their way of life, subsistence patterns, and social customs. This, in turn, has resulted in the development of a misinformed narrative that portrays the Andamanese people as being brutish and incapable of evolved human sentiment. Unfortunately, this popular portrayal has made the communities of the Andaman Islands highly vulnerable to exploitation at the hands of outsiders. Decades of colonialism, enforced attempts at ‘inclusion’, and the recent drive for developing the Andaman Islands as a tourist destination, have decimated the populations and cultures of the Andamanese tribes, pushing many of them to the brink of extinction. This essay is an attempt to narrate the story of one such tribe, the Jarawa.

The Jarawa Tribe, together with the Great Andamanese, the Onge, and the Sentinelese, account for the four major tribes of the Andaman Islands. Another major tribe, the Jangil, is now extinct. The Andamanese tribes are generally characterized by their short stature and broad skulled, with prominent cheekbones. It has been suggested that the tribes first arrived on the Andaman Islands through Burma during the last ice age. Interestingly, the Jarawas show phonetic similarities with many groups in Africa and are believed to be the first tribe to successfully migrate outside Africa.

The tribes of the Andaman islands remained in isolation until the arrival of the first imperialists in the 1890s. The earliest and most extensive colonial interaction took place with the Great Andamanese. Large-scale violence and enforced assimilation at the hands of the colonials exposed the Greater Andamanese to diseases and the overuse of tobacco, opium, and alcohol, as a consequence of which there has been a sharp decline in their numbers. The situation is similar in the case of the Onges. In recent years, the Onges have lost large tracts of their traditional territory to logging interests and the surviving populations are completely dependent on subsidies from the state administration for their survival. It is only the Sentinelese who have been able to maintain a tenuous state of preservation through their persistent and fierce rejection of outside contact. The Jarawa Tribe is constituted of three main groups that occupy the forested belts in the middle and south Andaman Islands. The early British settlers at Port Blair considered the tribe to be extremely ‘hostile’ and any attempts by them to enter into Jarawa territory was met with fierce resistance. During World War II, the Jarawa became the victims of extreme violence at the time of the Japanese occupation, which served to further alienate them. 22 Volume 6, Issue 1 THE FORGOTTEN TRIBES OF ANDAMAN ISLANDS : THE STORY OF THE JARAWAS G U N J A N M I T R A ( 2 B )

After independence, the Indian government began sending ‘friendly contact’ missions bearing gifts of food and clothes to the western coast of Jarawa land. In 1956, the first Reserve was set up for the protection of the Jarawas. However, no clear boundaries were demarcated for the Reserve. At the same time, the Indian government started to resettle refugees from the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, often in areas encroaching the Jarawa territory. In 1974, the first voluntary contact with outsiders was made by the Jarawas as they went unarmed to accept the gifts brought by a government contact expedition. However, they continued to be skeptical of all outsiders and hostile towards anyone attempting to enter their forests.

The construction of the Grand Andaman Trunk road in the 1970s marked perhaps the darkest chapter in the history of the Jarawas. The highway, running through the heart of Jarawa land, triggered a series of the most despicable atrocities against the tribe. The construction of the highway was initially accompanied by temporary camps of workers that over the course of time evolved into permanent village settlements impinging on the Jarawa reserve. Increasing infringement resulted in the Jarawa tribes being cut off from their traditional means of sustenance and by the late 1990s, it became common to find the Jarawa people begging for coconuts and bananas from travelers on the Grand Trunk road.

The Grand Andaman Trunk Road eventually came to emerge as a well-known tourist destination in the Andaman Islands. Driven by curiosity, busloads of tourists began to ply the road, hoping for a glimpse of the Jarawa tribes. In the early 2000s, local Andaman tour operators, with the backing of the administration, attempted to capitalize on tourist interest and started, what Survival International terms, ‘Human safaris’ on the Grand Trunk road. The express purpose of these sightseeing tours was to allow tourists to see and interact with the “uncivilized tribes.” The practice, which is still in continuation today, has subjected the Jarawas to the vilest humiliations. In 2012, a video emerged that showed a group of Jarawa women being made to dance for food by a group of armed forces personnel on one such tour.

Illustration by : Archana Singh 23 Volume 6, Issue 1 THE FORGOTTEN TRIBES OF ANDAMAN ISLANDS : THE STORY OF THE JARAWAS G U N J A N M I T R A ( 2 B )

In January 2013, an interim order prohibiting the movement of tourists on the Grand Trunk Road was passed by the Supreme Court of India. The order was overturned in March 2013, when an interim petition was filed by the local administration that the Andaman Trunk Road is a very important one and links more than 350 villages. The road was completely re-opened under the terms that vehicles would only be allowed to ply in large convoys four times a day. In recent years, poachers have increasingly become a threat to the Jarawas. Populations of wild hogs, a staple diet of the Jarawas, have been decimated by poachers who sell the wild game illegally in the Indian markets. There have also been reports of the poachers shooting at the Jarawa people. In 2014, it emerged that the Jarawa women are being extensively sexually exploited at the hands of the poachers.

The facts as they stand before us are this : the Great Andamanese now number a mere 52 individuals, the Onge have less than a hundred people and the Jarawa are about 400 in number. Years of occupation and resettlement from mainland India have reduced the Andamanese tribes to a minority in their own land. Outside influences have subjected these tribes to the vilest and despicable actions. We have all been, knowingly or unknowingly, complicit in pushing an entire race of human beings to near extinction. It is imperative that we now direct our attention to the preservation and protection of the Jarawa and other tribes of the Andaman Islands. All tourist movement into tribal areas must be stopped immediately. Strict legislative action with punitive consequences must be taken for all poachers and any other form of encroachment of tribal territory. Efforts have to be made to conserve all-natural food resources and habitations of the tribal Andamanese. Moreover, the government must collaborate with experts such as social historians, anthropologists, and behavioural psychologists, in its attempt to assimilate the tribes of the Andaman Islands. We may not be able to reverse the damage that has already been done to these vulnerable communities, but it is still not too late to ensure that future generations of the Jarawas, the Great Andamanese, the Onge, and the Sentinelese, are given a place worthy of human dignity and freedom.

Photo by : Claire Belivert/ ThisisAfrica.me. 24 Volume 6, Issue 1 HISTORY THROUGH A FISSIONABLE LENS : 35 YEARS OF THE CHERNOBYL DISASTER A N U S H K A S A X E N A ( 3 B )

Trigger Warning : Mention of Illnesses, suicide, deaths, and panic situations.

On April 26, 1986, at 1:23 A.M, the fourth reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, while undergoing safety tests, suffered an explosion and went up in flames. A day prior, a workers- strike at Chernobyl had disrupted the overall flow of work at the reactor field. Safety tests mandated to be run in the day-time were scheduled for the night shift. The purpose of these tests was simple - to test if a nuclear plant can run itself for one minute in the time that its electric power is shut-off, and its generator is switched on. These tests however resulted in a catastrophic accident.

Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev gave a television address on May 14, 1986, in which he stated that Hydrogen was an important cause of the nuclear explosion, but clarified that the sure-shot reason was yet to be discovered. He vouched for the governmental stance taken in the face of the accident, and claimed to have dealt with evacuation and safety procedures accurately and at the right time. While he thanked those who worked at the plant, as well as foreign medical professionals, scientists and IAEA researchers that came to their aid, he expressed disdain for USA’s “Anti-Soviet Campaign”, further stating that Western media was spreading “lies” and “misinformation”. In the end, he even called upon the US to understand the “danger looming over mankind,” and to enter into a pact on banning nuclear testing. According to Soviet data, just 31 people died as an immediate result of Chernobyl. However, the real numbers of immediate deaths, and affected populations cannot be ascertained, in large part due to the covert nature of Soviet operations after the disaster occurred. Approximately 299 people were hospitalized for radioactivity- based illnesses, at the time Gorbachev made his speech. The destruction of Reactor 4’s core released a cloud of radionuclides that contaminated large areas of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, causing many thousand workers to participate in mitigation efforts, and consequently get exposed to substantial radiation doses. Nearly 8 lakh hectares of agricultural land was rendered unusable in these countries, and timber production was halted on nearly 7 lakh hectares of forest.

Illustration by : Archana Singh 25 Volume 6, Issue 1 HISTORY THROUGH A FISSIONABLE LENS : 35 YEARS OF THE CHERNOBYL DISASTER A N U S H K A S A X E N A ( 3 B )

The most infamous “Red Forest” around Chernobyl came to be named so because the trees around the plant began to glow red due to radiation absorption, and had to be manually dug up and buried. The wind-blown radioactive isotopes were first registered and detected by Scandinavian countries, mainly Sweden and Finland. The news of the accident was first made public by the Swedish National Institute of Radiation Protection. In 1987 and 1988, many Soviet reporters claimed to have dropped their reports on Chernobyl under governmental pressure or threat. Even the USSR report of the incident, presented at the Chernobyl conference in Vienna in 1987, was never released to citizens. Mikhail Gorbachev was known to have passed on the blame to the tests and test-conductors at the site, but he never acknowledged the larger flaw in his nuclear industry - the designs of the reactor, and the failures of the safety protocols themselves. Anatoly Dyatlov, the leading scientist responsible for the tests conducted on the Chernobyl reactors in April 1986, was tried and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in 1987, on the charge of knowingly putting a flawed reactor to use, thereby violating safety standards. He was released in 1990 on being granted “amnesty” (a pardon for previously committed offenses). Before his death in 1995 from heart failure due to radiation sickness, Dyatlov published his memoir of Chernobyl in Nuclear Engineering International in November 1991, confessing to having known of design flaws in the reactor, as well as to having threatened workers on that ominous day to conduct trials or be fired.

Another Soviet scientist, Valery Legaslov, the Chief of the Commission that investigated the Chernobyl disaster, and his highly controversial death one day before he was to present the findings of his work, i.e on 27 April 1988, has led to many conclusions being drawn about the extent to which efforts around secrecy over the incident prevailed. Throughout his career, Legaslov was demonstrably concerned about the safety of nuclear reactors and the prevention of further nuclear atrocities against humanity. Being the head of the institute that developed RBMK-1000 reactors, he was well-acquainted with and outspoken about their inadequacies. The major matter of concern in the immediate response, remains to this day, the laxity in evacuation. Not only were thousands of citizens living in Kyiv not informed of the impending threat to life till 8-9 days had passed, there were no solid plans on how the many thousands living in and around the exclusion zone would be moved to safety before it’s too late. The evacuation of the town of Pripyat, where plant workers lived, did not start until 36 hours after the disaster.

Lack of political will to address the issues of evacuation, as well as information dissemination, cost many their health and happiness. Hypertension and coronary heart diseases were reported in the immediate aftermath. Subsequent reports noted that while births in the containment zone are lesser, those in the fallout zone often depict trends of congenital deformities. 26 Volume 6, Issue 1 HISTORY THROUGH A FISSIONABLE LENS : 35 YEARS OF THE CHERNOBYL DISASTER A N U S H K A S A X E N A ( 3 B )

The children that received high loads of radiation became hypoimmunogenic, which made them vulnerable to respiratory diseases. Not just that, both children and adults were also likely to suffer psychological disorders like extreme stress, especially in the initial post-accident days, neurasthenia, somatization and hypochondria. Thyroid pathology revealed that exposure to radioiodine, especially through inhalation, and consumption of contaminated food and milk, led to augmentation in thyroid glands (especially among children), causing a rise in blood thyroxin levels and setting grounds for hyperthyroidism in the form of endemic goiters. These levels took 6-12 months to subside. Both in the exclusion zone, and beyond, different cytogenetic anomalies attributable to radiation continue to be reported from experimental studies performed on plants and animals. Scientists estimate the radio-nuclear half-life to continue to infect the region for up to 24,000 years.

At the international level, robust efforts were made to help prevent such accidents. The Chernobyl Forum was formed in 2003, including the IAEA, the World Health Organisation, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Bank Group, the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Environment Programme, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, and representatives from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Some of its most significant findings and recommendations have become policy guides and documented support systems for nuclear engineers and decision-makers. These include the continuous development of New Safe Confinement Shelters in and around exclusion zones designed for radioactive disasters or nuclear tests.

Many measures have since been taken jointly with the IAEA to further strengthen global nuclear safety. For example, the Fuel Incident Notification and Analysis System (also known as the Incident Reporting System, or FINAS), which is jointly developed and managed by IAEA and the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, is helping participating countries exchange operating experience and lessons learned to improve the safety of nuclear fuel cycle facilities. It also allows governments and nuclear operators to learn from many smaller accidents and incidents that occur. These lessons help to reduce the risk of bigger accidents. Nuclear Safety Standards are internationally accepted safety standards for nuclear reactors, and they have now been updated in light of the Chernobyl accident. A practice has developed under which Member governments invite the IAEA to send an international team of experts in operational safety to examine and review the operational safety in nuclear power stations on their territory. Some 25 such missions (Operational Safety Review Teams) around the world have been sent by IAEA, breaking the isolation of power plant operators, acquainting them with good practices in other countries, and learning from their work as well. 27 Volume 6, Issue 1 HISTORY THROUGH A FISSIONABLE LENS : 35 YEARS OF THE CHERNOBYL DISASTER A N U S H K A S A X E N A ( 3 B )

Looking at public level risk perception, extreme responses were a common occurrence. People were either sure there were no health impacts from the Chernobyl disaster; others were so fearful that they refused to eat or drink anything. While both led to a surge in misinformation, the latter proved to be harmful to people’s health, as cases of food deficiencies rose. People’s perceptions were not just their own, but were influenced by statements of policymakers. Since the dangers of the disaster were never really disseminated by relevant authorities, many of them paid no heed to evacuation protocols and safety compliances. On the other hand, blocs of nuclear opponents emerged, especially among those who became new farmers, or new parents. There existed variations in perceptions regarding health impacts among International Organisations as well, creating major downfalls in effective international action. The cases of Childhood Thyroid Cancer were on the rise, but due to internal differences in the functioning of the WHO Headquarters and the WHO - EURO Branch, the seriousness of the situation never materialized for the former. This also influenced the risk- perception of the IAEA, resulting in both major IOs downplaying the extent of CTCs and other health-related issues.

As we see in the current COVID-19 Pandemic as well, the media's role was immense, especially in hyping and dramatizing the negatives of the situation. Newspapers were often filled with alarming headlines such as “2,000 Dead in Atom Horror,” “Desperate Radio Message reveals full horror of Russia’s Nuclear Disaster,” and “Chernobyl Tragedy : What To Do?”. Many of these narratives emerged among newspapers from the USA and Europe, in the backdrop of the Cold War. Of course, there were also reports explaining the incidents of the disaster with limited information as rationally as possible, but the public eye could not avert its gaze from the photographs of masked officials and the destroyed reactor.

Photo by : USNews.com. 28 Volume 6, Issue 1 HISTORY THROUGH A FISSIONABLE LENS : 35 YEARS OF THE CHERNOBYL DISASTER A N U S H K A S A X E N A ( 3 B )

The dramatic incident of Chernobyl has been adapted into many film and TV projects, the most recent and prominent being the HBO Miniseries “Chernobyl”. The show makes the painstaking effort of reminding us that despite all our scientific progress, unheard or suppressed voices, fumbling governance, and taken-for-granted technological flaws can bring life as we know it, to a grinding halt. The propaganda around Chernobyl, however, remains alive. For example, in 2019, Russian pro-Kremlin/ pro-state media, such as the Argumenty i Fakty and Komsomolskaya Pravda in their comments on the Chernobyl miniseries has stated that American television has misconstrued facts to insult the Federation and its efforts to uphold the legacy of Chernobyl survivors, scientists and saviours, and in response, Russia will be making its own show on Chernobyl. In an opinion piece for the Moscow Times, Ilya Shepelin said that “the fact that an American, not a Russian TV channel told the story about our own heroes [of Chernobyl] is a source of shame for pro-Kremlin media.”

April 26, 2021 marks 35 years of the Chernobyl Disaster. The Chernobyl accident occurred only 7 years after the partial meltdown at the Three-Mile Island (USA). However, nuclear disasters like those that occurred at Three-Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima teach us that, sometimes, man-made technology can dangerously slip out of hand. Nuclear safety has come a long way since then, and so has the representation of facts, figures and opinions from the incident. History is both a burden to bear and an opportunity to learn, and so neither should the burden be lifted, nor should the learning stop.

Gelatin Silver Print image of the on-site destruction post the meltdown at Chernobyl Reactor 4. Photo by : Bruce Silcox. 29 Volume 6, Issue 1 NAZARIYA 2021's VOICES The following section has attempted to consolidate the "VOICES" of various students across the three years at the Department of History, LSR, on life in the Pandemic in specific, and on socio- political issues in general. Let's hear what they have to say :

Q1. : What are your thoughts on the digital divide in the education sector, and how can it be mitigated? Anushka Yadav, 1A : "I think, not everyone had access to devices such as phones and laptops, and even if they did then there are internet issues. In fact, I didn’t have a stable connection either and so, I would like to share my experience. We were enjoying the classes in the beginning because it was after quite some time that we were studying but after a while, the connection issues became a real problem. We would miss a lecture because of it and it would be hard for us to connect the dots in the next lecture. There were a lot of topics that we missed because of the connection issues but we had to attempt questions in the exam from those topics. At this point, I do not have an idea on how to bridge this gap." Mehak Bhati, 2A : "A digital divide has always existed in our country. In fact, I believe that it is a global problem. Since the advent of globalization and the coming of technology, we have always been able to see a difference between those who can actually afford devices and those who can't. And this digital divide takes a bigger form when we talk about education, especially in the current era. When the pandemic began and everything shifted online, the schools were really struggling with helping students to cope up with these modern technologies - some could and a lot could not. A lot of initiatives were taken up by NGOs, the government and others to actually empower the people and provide them with these devices but the problem still remains. I think it is not just a problem of the digital divide; there’s a broader issue of which this is only a small part. So if I talk about how it can be mended, then I think we have to start with empowering every individual, every man, every woman, every child of the country- be it from a small town or any other place. Provide educational aspects which teaches them about technology at most and does not limit them to very basic knowledge and actually spreads awareness. The government has to take initiatives here, they have been working on many plans and they have been building it up but I think deeper work is required. Even if we see in the post-pandemic era, these inequalities will still exist and we do not know when do they take a bigger form. So, to mitigate these problems people have to take the initiative, the system has to be changed or revolutionized in a way in which everyone is included and consolidated as one and not divided on any basis. The education that is provided should be equal to everyone and it should not be separate for someone who does not belong to a well-off family and someone who does. I think this is something which will actually help us fight this divide." Rubaie, 1B : "I think digital divide is the greatest drawback of online education and this divide was always there and has been persisting in our Indian education sector and it’s more apparent during these times when there’s a shift to online education. Here a lot of people who are unable to access resources and quality education are found to be below par as compared to people who can access them, through no fault of their own. So I think it’s highly unfortunate that those people are in this situation with no fault of their own. And it needs to be addressed, as it is a big problem, and a lot of people are unable to keep up with their education. According to me, the best solution for this could be a blend of offline and online education because it is practically impossible in a country like India to extend gadgets to each and every student and tell them how they work, and how classes will happen and how materials can be accessed off the internet. It is difficult to manage these things even for students who do have access... contd. 30 Volume 6, Issue 1

So I think it’s best for those who can manage classes online to be given the option of studying online from home, and those who can’t be allowed to come back to campus with proper social distancing, so they don’t fall back for any reason. According to me, this is the best solution at this point in time, because otherwise, this is going to be a losing situation for students without access. Especially because a) if they get these gadgets it’s likely that there will be an internet problem or they aren't able to get all the resources on their phones, and b) it is highly impractical for the government to distribute gadgets to all students."

Vyomika Dev, 1A : "I think that the digital divide and education sector is especially acute for a country like India where we have students from all parts of the country. Even students who don't have internet access are trying to access online education and resources, which is not that easy for them. I think this has been deepened during the COVID-19 crisis, where you have students who aren't able to go to schools just because the schools shut down and there was a lockdown. But, at the same time, there are children who've been able to access online education. So I think the digital divide is overall really bad for the literacy rate of the country. At the same time, there are a few ways of coping up with this. I think one of them being how our college has been sending out laptops and data backs to children so that they can access the classes and resources. Another one is making printed resources or books more available to the students. For example, we don't have access to the college library right now, and it becomes very difficult for us to find resources and find places to get our readings from, so we end up resorting to just PDFs or notes. This in my opinion, really brings down the quality of education that we're gaining. I think, one of the major things that can be done is to provide library access online in some way and also make sure that the printed resources like the binders and different files and notes reach students in remote locations as soon as possible. We noticed that this is one of the problems that occurred while we were handling binder distribution in our class. There were a lot of students who were not able to receive the binders on time for them to start studying. I think there should be a priority system for students who are in remote locations."

Violina Das, 2B : "Marginalized communities including people of colour, low-income individuals, English-language learners, people with disabilities, and populations experiencing homelessness are among those most likely to lack access to high-speed internet. The impact of the digital divide on these students has been significant and due to the transition to online learning during the coronavirus pandemic, it has continued to worsen. It can only be mitigated when the government focuses on the development of all communities and classes respectively."

Ankita Singh, 2B : "I think the digital divide has increased due to the Pandemic in the education sector. As I belong from a village, I know the ground realities. It's like - the students who used to go to primary or government schools are not studying at all because they have no access to resources, and even the schools aren't opening. As we can also see that not everyone in college or high school is from affluent backgrounds, so they also face challenges in accessing resources available, like data packs, networks, etc. These could be mitigated by providing the resources like data packs and laptops, or something that could help them gain access to a virtual classroom or a virtual library. The initiatives could also be taken by student volunteers who'd want to teach a particular set of kids. My cousins and I took this project up and taught kids in our village. On the other hand, the Pandemic has also given rise to innovation in some ways. During the Pandemic, in the education sector, people have come out with alternative solutions like sharing access to books or finding out ground-level solutions for access to resources, etc."

Aadrika Verma, 1B : "The government keeps saying that they'll give free resources to people, but many people, including those who belong to economically weaker sections, do not even have the literacy on how to use these facilities. The digital divide has both social and economic impacts. Training for online education is very important because the maximum population is not acquainted with the use of resources needed for online education." 31 Volume 6, Issue 1 Rakshita Singh, 3B : "The digital divide in the educational sector starts with inequality of resources and issues with technological skills. We can see the inequality of resources, which directly showcases the differences in class structure, where not everyone can afford the gadgets required. Even at times, few manage to have that, they face the network as a major barrier. All these issues not only impact the education of any student but also impacts them psychologically and this is not limited till the student but the whole family has to go through somewhat of the same feeling. All this creates an environment of stress and pressure which day by day makes things worse. I think it's high time that the institution should start understanding this issue from a basic level and then make the necessary changes in the whole curriculum. I mean starting with basic things they should start providing the basic requirement to the students and before making any rule or implementation of anything they should first take the digital divide issue as the utmost important thing and take into account how these issues impact us. Also, the professors and students also should have a basic understanding among themselves. Other than that assignments or any workload or several lectures should be turned to go with some simple ways which will not anyway affect the learning but it will expand the access and give some relief to students and professors too." Ibadat Singh Bakshi, 2B : "The digital divide is as old a tale as the economic disparity between people, and the pandemic further exacerbated this divide. This divide became all the more evident when we took to the online mode of pedagogy, and we saw that while some students have access to multiple working devices at home, there is a sizable number of students who don't even have one working smartphone. This, in turn, led to understandable chaos and pressure for those sections that did not have access to digital devices and internet networks. The students' suicide from our college is another example of how tough it was for these students to have to attend lectures and just be able to study, day today. Coming to the part about mitigation, in my opinion, ideally, it is the government and the university that should be providing these students with the necessary equipment and devices beforehand. Unfortunately, it took the loss of life for our college authorities to realize that they must provide the students in need with data packs and other equipment. Additionally, I feel that the students should realize that it's their responsibility to put continuous pressure on the authorities. Moreover, I feel the social sector could also step in. Students could come up with a fund of some sort to help the students in need for the time being until the government does provide students with the necessary equipment." Kamakshi Rautela, 2B : "Recently, the corona Pandemic has highlighted the digital divide, glaringly in the education sector, that exists in our country. A lot of students don’t possess equipment (like tablets, phones, etc. ) and internet connectivity, especially in rural areas where the internet penetration rate is quite low. It is unfortunate that such inequality exists in our nation. Immediate government support added up with the help of corporates, business houses, etc. can lead to the betterment of the situation and making our society more inclusive." Anupam, 1B : "The world is going to be completely digitized very soon and the digital divide in the education sector in India is a matter of concern for all of us. I believe, and this can also be looked upon as a method of mitigation, the solution to the digital divide is for us to share. There exists an ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor. We must share with those who have less than us. Educational institutions, both public and private, should also work to mitigate such problems by providing the needy students with technological elements and the training to use them."

Tabassum, 3B : "I don’t think this problem can be tackled because you cannot provide internet connections to everyone, especially in remote areas. It would require a very large plan to bridge this digital divide. What our college can do, it has done already - it has provided laptops, data cards, etc. What teachers can do on their part, they have done that as well. They are very helpful to someone who cannot attend class - they don’t mark them absent. In our class [3B] itself, if someone cannot connect to class, people take them on phone calls, and then they attend classes. We are doing whatever we can, but in the larger part if we want to decrease the digital divide, it needs a larger plan which would require the government to establish connections in remote areas, and give mobiles to school and college students." 32 Volume 6, Issue 1

Q2. : What are your experiences with online education and how has the current or previous semester(s) been for you? Anushka Yadav, 1A : "I love my political science GE and this once my internet was down for two days and I was so frustrated because I could not attend those classes. Again, it had a negative effect at the time of exams as well. On the positive side, this once Ujjaini ma’am gave us a virtual tour of the campus. It was so much fun. The campus is beautiful with all the gardens. Right before exams, we also did a few pranks with our professors." Mehak Bhati, 2A : "Personally, my experience has not been so bad with this shift to the online education system but I know many people who actually had problems in dealing with it, coping with the stress which comes with such sort of study because our society never really did embrace this kind of learning and we were never really prepared for it because traditional ways of learning were always preached here. So, I think the shift has caused a tremendous effect on many people who not only mentally and physically but also emotionally were fatigued by this process and not many people have still been able to cope up, not just in terms of the technology they have or not but even the kind of understanding which comes in an offline structure and one to one interaction. Moreover, the kind of separation that there has been from people, from friends and surroundings has really taken a mental toll. This semester for me particularly has been good but if we compare it from the last ones, it has definitely taken a mental toll on me because coping with it has been stressful. It has not been as easy as one would initially think it to be. It seems like it's a systemic culture in making and it is really stressful to think about the present and also about what the future might hold for us as students. " Rubaie, 1B : "My experience in online education has been quite overwhelming because I found myself in the midst of things that were really new. Entering college was a new chapter in my life, and I couldn’t even get a glimpse of my college, like its physical environment, or the physical bonding we could have with our fellow mates and with the teachers, with the seniors. We all missed the campus environment. And even with lectures, we could easily doze off and still, classes would be going on and then end. So there was nothing like a college touch. That was missing in a big way. I didn’t even realize how short this semester was, and it went by just like that, with a click of the finger. And I didn’t realize that what was supposed to be 6 months at college has ended already, and I’m beginning with the second semester. Of course, we had to also manage our PDFs and get resources online and offline. Thankfully we got binders from college to help us cope but it was really stressful. My eyes would be burning at the end of the day and I wouldn’t be able to study anymore. After sitting for so long from morning till afternoon, with society work in the evening, if I got time I would have to sit again in front of a screen reading all the readings and PDFs. It was really overwhelming, and I wish the campus would reopen." Vyomika Dev, 1A : "When college started in November, I was very excited because there was something to break the monotony of the lockdown and there was something to look forward to every single day, something we could fix our routines for. But over time, I realized that an online class just ends up being a video call between probably two to three students and the professor. A lot of students are not able to speak up or clarify their doubts. Secondly, when you're in college, physically, I believe you have more access to one-on-one conversations with your seniors and professors and you're able to grasp the entirety of college much better as compared to online college. This is mostly because right now a lot of us are shy or intimidated and we don't know how to approach professors and seniors for guidance. This made it especially difficult for us to go through the first semester online because we did not know how to go about reading things, writing answers and assignments, understanding our course and how much attention we pay in classes. It also becomes very difficult for us to sustain our attention spans because we have five or six classes in a day, that's five to six hours of screen time. The screen time was especially bad for my eyes because my eyesight power number went up a lot, and I had to get my spectacles changed. All in all, it's very tough to adapt to online education, and I don't think we've still fully adapted. A lot of us just somehow went through the ordeal of online classes and for us now colleges just become all about sitting in front of a laptop and studying... contd. 33 Volume 6, Issue 1

We are not able to grasp the entire fun and enthusiasm of college which makes the academic burden all the more unbearable. So for now it just seems like online education has made college a burden for us." Violina Das, 2B : "Even though there are many benefits to online teaching, it doesn’t help a lot. It is hard to focus during classes and lack of resources is another problem. Most of the time, the connection is really bad. In addition to that, the DU website’s inability to function properly creates a lot of anxiety among students." Ankita Singh, 2B : "Since I already mentioned I belong to a village, study-wise, I faced many network issues. I had to sit on the roof top to get access to the network. I used to sit there the entire day to be able to access google drive, and the material the professors used to send us. Also, I had to come to Delhi to get access to proper internet at least. I had to miss all my classes and since my laptop required the internet to access documents, I had to do everything on my phone. It affected my health since the phone screen is small, and it's hard to do everything on it. I used to sit on the rooftop, and even then I faced network problems. So I had to move to Delhi just to access the internet and attend my online classes. Since I didn’t attend classes properly and didn’t have notes, for my OBEs, I had to rely completely on the many readings that were given to us and had to comprehend them on my own, as well as had to write the exams from Delhi. Since I faced network issues in the village, I was afraid of not being able to upload answers on the OBE Portal. I could afford a PG in Delhi, but there are other students in the fourth semester as well, who couldn’t do that, and I feel bad for them." Aadrika Verma, 1B : "Online education was moderate. It has both positives and negatives, but for me the negative outweighed, because it was a new semester for me in a new college, and there was no interaction. You are starting online, learning online and exams online too, so it changes everything. It also had impacts on my health. So socially we weren’t able to meet, and mentally it was stressful. But the benefits were that exams went well online and I had some extra time after classes, which I believe wouldn’t have been possible with offline college."

Rakshita Singh, 3B : "Since the 4th semester there’s been a lot of loss since everyone was confused about how to go about things, and there are so many things still that I missed out on because of network issues even though I have WiFi at home. At times when you’re seeing a screen for 4-5 hours just for lectures, you get so tired. It’s affecting our physical health as well as our mental health. The whole online education thing creates a lot of pressure, since it is a very new mode that you need to first adapt to, and then need to respond to as well. Even though it’s been a year it still becomes really difficult to go through it at times. A lot of people don’t have proper resources, and they face even more issues. More than that, there is a psychological impact I have been facing - I had a complete block because I’ve always been an outgoing person. But all of a sudden having to sit at home for a year; it impacts you more. There’s also a lot of assignments, and it becomes really difficult because the workload and rules become really toxic sometimes, when this is a time where things should be made easier for students. There’s also a lack of clarity about how many assignments are needed, and professors also have their hands tied which makes us do a lot of unnecessary work. There should be a body that consults students, and releases these guidelines at the beginning of the semester, so that the workload isn’t so hectic, tiring and stressful. It also impacts our education since all the physical discussions that give us energy in class have had to be limited. Professors also are forced to be very cautious about what they say, particularly with regards to current issues, so it all impacts the organic flow of class discussions. So it has affected the quality of our education, as well as our mental and physical state." 34 Volume 6, Issue 1

Ibadat Singh Bakshi, 2B : "In my opinion, online learning was alright in the beginning. However, no one could have foreseen that the pandemic would last as long as it has. Studying from home has eventually become extremely tiring. My productivity in the online mode of learning has had a sharp decline. I think the third semester in particular was extremely terrible. Firstly, because it was our first semester that completely took place online. Secondly, it was a shorter semester which made the amount of workload brutal. Moreover, a lot of our professors had trouble handling the technical aspects of arranging classes online which further added to the chaos. Besides, no concessions were made for our assignments and we had to submit nearly ten assignments. Altogether I feel that online education has been extremely mentally fatiguing. But, on the bright side, if there is a bright side, a lot of us started using J-Stor, LibGen and other online resources, which we weren't doing in the first year."

Kamakshi Rautela, 2B : "My experiences are good with online education. This gave me an opportunity to learn something new, to explore technology and other related things more." Anupam, 1B : "Online education was quite comfortable for me in the beginning. But over time, studying online has become very overwhelming and difficult for me. I feel like I have missed out on the whole of my first semester. The whole of the first semester seems to have passed in a blur. But having said that, I also understand that I was among the privileged because I was able to attend my classes and stay connected with my studies during the COVID pandemic." Nikita Kushwaha, 2B : "It has been pretty difficult and unproductive for me as online education doesn’t actually give us a forum for discussion and debate in a manner that used to happen earlier. Medically too, it has been very hard for me as the increased screen time is taking a toll on my eyes and overall health."

Tabassum, 3B : "I have been very privileged in these terms, because I do have laptops, smartphones, and data connection in my home. Sometimes, minor issues do happen. But in terms of connectivity and availability, I am very privileged because I live in Delhi but in our college, most students come from remote places and it is very problematic for them. We cannot compare online and offline studies, some say, but for me, online and offline education has been the same. All we miss is the college vibe - sitting with friends in class. But it is surprising that for me, the experiences have not been that different! Other people have been affected a lot, and I do miss college, but in college also, when we attend lectures, we pay attention sometimes, sometimes we don’t. Same goes for online lectures as well. It is what it is." 35 Volume 6, Issue 1

Q3. : Was there someone or something that helped you get through the lockdown, or made the Pandemic experience bearable for you, and how? Anushka Yadav, 1A : "Due to the lockdown, our board examinations were postponed and so I used a lot of that time to revise and study but then I thought that it has been way too long and I should use the time to do something else. So, I started a youtube channel where I used to teach. I also started writing poetry and a few articles. I believe that had it not been for the lockdown, I wouldn’t have discovered these things about myself and my interests. I also did a few online internships and experimented with my creative side as well." Mehak Bhati, 2A : "The one good thing that has happened with me after this lockdown was actually getting the time to bond with my family as I have lived in a boarding school for almost 7 years and I only visited my home for a maximum of 2 months in a year and most of my childhood was spent in school. So, I believe that there was a kind of distant relationship that had existed and this lockdown has really helped me in understanding and in coping with this pressure that I had to be with my family and it has also helped me bond with them which has also resulted in me thinking clearly, making decisions for myself clearly. Earlier it would have been a really excruciating process as there were so many sides that I had to consider but now that I know that these problems exist and I know that my family is supporting me in any and every way because all of us are going through it together; It has definitely made it easier."

Rubaie, 1B : "One good thing that happened during lockdown was that I got to spend more time with my family, and with myself. During boards and 12th grade I was really busy with academics and co-curricular activities. I had literally no time for my family or for myself so this time period allowed me to know myself, take care of my hobbies, my likings and develop into more creative things, as well as have fun times with my family. We bonded really well during the lockdown, and it made us closer. I think that was the best thing that happened. Another thing was that we were more health-conscious. We grew more sensitive to sanitization, sanitary habits, washing hands, etc. Taking care of ourselves and our health. I think that was an important reminder that we need to take care of ourselves because if you’re healthy you can achieve and do anything."

Vyomika Dev, 1A : "I think one of the biggest things I learned during lockdown was how to spend a lot of time with myself and my family, mostly with myself. When I was in school in the 11th and 12th grades, I was a complete workaholic. I would constantly keep piling work and responsibilities on my plate that I was not even sure I could complete and somehow managed to scrape to the deadline. I feel like this one-year sabbatical was very necessary for me to reconnect with who I was. I found a lot of creativity within myself. I found that I enjoy artistic activities. I started painting, I found a love for dancing and singing. Apart from all these I also got back into spirituality and meditation and different practices that have overall made my life quality much better. Secondly, I think the lockdown also helped me in improving my communication skills online. I have always been somebody who cannot make friends online or just make friends in general too easily. But the lockdown forced me to adapt to this mode of online communication because I'm an extrovert and I love talking to people. The only option I had was to go online, text people. talk to them and make new friends. I have made plenty of nice friends online. I have also grown as a person and overall. Even though the lockdown was very stressful and mentally taxing, there was a constant glimmer of hope which helped me sail through it." Violina Das, 2B : "It was during this lockdown that I understood what I really want to do when I graduate from LSR. With our hectic lifestyles, we don’t get to think about what we need and what we want. Hence, we go for a way that is easy and right in front of us. During this lockdown, I researched and figured out a lot of things about myself and what I want to do, which I wouldn’t have otherwise." 36 Volume 6, Issue 1

Ankita Singh, 2B : "I had this hope that colleges will reopen soon, and that kept me going. Also, my friends helped me. When people approach me and ask me how I’m doing, it helps me. These were my school friends as well as my college classmates. In the lockdown, I got to try a lot of new things as well. This helped me to relax a bit as well. I did a lot of quilling art in the lockdown, and I even practiced Henna (Mehendi) designs."

Some of Ankita's Mehendi and Quilling Aadrika Verma, 1B : "For me, my parents helped and supported me throughout the Pandemic. The teachers were also helpful to us, especially since we were new to all this. Personally, there was nothing special, we just survived it. Also had some friends, who supported me, especially my cousin and best friend Tarushi."

Rakshita Singh, 3B : "I think this is a tricky question because so much has happened. But one good thing that has come out of it is that now I think I'm more prepared for the worst thing to happen, and I know if something worse happens then I can deal with it although it will impact me. Now I can say that I have learned more about how to adapt to things, and I am learning and unlearning things at the same time. I have learned to respect the time we had, and small things that we used to take for granted have become a much bigger deal. So I think respecting memories and the time we had. Other than that, I’m also bad at technology so I’ve learned a lot of new things which I’m happy about. That’s about it, I think." Ibadat Singh Bakshi, 2B : "For me in particular, college is very far from my house. The commute to and from college was hectic and used to take quite a while. The pandemic allowed me to avoid long traveling hours. Not having to wake up at excruciating hours is probably the best thing to come out of the pandemic situation." Kamakshi Rautela, 2B : "The one good thing that happened is that people learn new ways to cope up with situations whether minor or major. Like, through the digital system, education continued to spread without much difficulty." Anupam, 1B : "Honestly, I associate the lockdown period with a lot of fear, especially fear of getting infected from the coronavirus. But luckily, we are the survivors of 2020. The one good thing about the lockdown for me was that I got a chance to spend this period in my village. I played a lot with the children of my village which in itself is a big deal because it is very rare for a girl of my age to be seen playing. I am glad to be able to change this practice in my own way." Nikita Kushwaha, 2B : "I think I got a very good opportunity to self-introspect and actually think about my future goals! I have even started learning Korean." Tabassum, 3B : "Watching series helped me a lot! Because we can’t go anywhere, to avoid boredom, watching movies and TV Series helped me a lot. Food also helped me… I tried cooking as well, and ate too!" 37 Volume 6, Issue 1

Q4. : Do you think representation in media/ on-screen matters? Mehak Bhati, 2A : "I think that every sort of activism and every sort of representation is necessary and I also believe that we have come a long way considering that we are talking about the issue here. Representation in media and in front of the society might be marginalised because of the societal upbringing; the thought process of the society has not evolved as much as some people would want it or think of it to be but the representation of the marginalised sections has significantly increased in the past few decades because of the kind of activism and the kind of role that the leaders have taken up. The actual base that they are creating is for the further generations to take it ahead. If we see in the present times' youth leaders are taking a stand in every aspect of fields and every kind of activism is being promoted by these people so even if we believe that they are kind of stereotyped and suppressed, they are actually rising against the systematic suppression which has been a part of the society for hundreds and thousands of years and if we do believe in something then it might take some more time but with the current problems and challenges and how the generation is overcoming them then I believe that the role of marginalised sections is going to be huge as a protagonist in every sort of activism."

Rubaie, 1B : "I believe there should be representation in the media for the LGBTQ or queer community in order to create awareness regarding them and their situation, and the social stigma they have to face. Still, in our society, there is no acceptance on the part of the dominant community, and most people of the LGBTQ community have to suffer, struggle and sacrifice to refrain from getting into trouble or confront the society which considers it a taboo or stigma for anyone to belong to the community. I think there should be a sensitive representation that portrays them through their eyes and tries to understand what the LGBTQ community is and what it stands for. I think it matters and should exist as it is the only way to create awareness. It may be the ground reality that there are people whom you know that may belong to the LGBTQ community, but if you see people on screen and people around you accepting that they exist and that they should be accepted, at least that will bring about some change in society. Movies and Indian cinema works like magic in this way, and sensitive representation should exist so that this community is given rights and the due respect they deserve." Vyomika Dev, 1A : "I believe representation in media or on-screen representation of different sections of society is very important. I strongly follow a lot of post-partition writers and socialist writers. What I have learned from reading about them is that there are a lot of people in society who need their voices to be heard by the masses and that is what the media does. Media today has become a way of communicating to the masses and a way of approaching people very easily. This is why it is important for media to have representation in a very positive context instead of negative representation where a downtrodden section is always shown within the labels we insert. The media often tends to encroach the space of the downtrodden sections. What we need to do is develop an understanding of how people who come from underprivileged sections and marginalized communities work and how their society has been. We need to give them the space to narrate their own stories, instead of just using their stories for PRP and marketing. I think media representation is very important because it has the power to influence the thinking of millions of people at once, it has the power to strike, where it's needed. So, I believe that representation is very important in media and on- screen." Violina Das, 2B : "On-screen representation definitely matters. In a world as diverse as ours, most of the time we are not aware of what others have to go through and have already gone through. Along with that, it doesn’t have enough weightage when someone else talks about it. Portrayals of minorities in the media not only affect how others see them, but it affects how they see themselves. It can help fight stereotypes that adversely affect them." 38 Volume 6, Issue 1

Ankita Singh, 2B : "I think representation in Media matters because everyone deserves to have a voice; to have a say in everything that happens. For example, if there is a transgender person in the media, they could voice out the problems and challenges they face, and could be really heard. Also, in terms of Bollywood, as nepotism has prevailed for so long, representation would give a chance for new people to come into the industry and talent could be recognized." Aadrika Verma, 1B : "There are many marginalised communities who are not represented or misrepresented. Seeing from a political perspective, for vote bank, the government would encourage representation. Later, these communities are ignored. We see this trend in Bengal politics, and media somewhere or the other is interrelated and influenced by politics and political events." Rakshita Singh, 3B : "It plays a major role. In general, if I have to say, we can look at that in one click and you get a diversity of perspectives irrespective of the geographical and other divisions in the society. It holds more impact on people starting from kids to adults and old age people and even to different working sectors. Also like it's one of the mediums that is supposed to be freer, but unfortunately, we have more censorship on it now. Especially in the current times, it has increased more because that's a medium we have started using more and we are dependent on that. Also like media or on-screen has been used to promote or showcase different ideologies as well and that led to a massive impact on people no matter what. I mean the shows and all type of on-screen media you go through, at the time you don't even realize the main issues but you have read about it and all you will see how problematic it turns out to be and it also, in a way or the other, is adopted by the society and made for the society. For example, last semester I started with Gender as one of my papers, and earlier I used to find things problematic but now as much as I have started reading more I find more doubts and issues with things. Considering the fascist state we are turning in too, the media has become a major hold for them to propagate their ideology and control the society more with increasing censorship."

Ibadat Singh Bakshi, 2B : "I think it's an established fact that visual media, in particular, has a direct impact on society and also a representation of society itself. So, increasing the representation in media directly promotes the idea of inclusivity and it also leads to relatability. Relatability in the sense that, if more representation is given to the people who belong to sections that are not very well represented then it also leads to a kind of relatability and inclusivity again, comes back to that. But I think that it is important that the representation should be without biases and stereotypes., We have commonly seen that even if there's representation, it's mostly stereotypical which is not all right defeats the purpose to a certain extent." Kamakshi Rautela, 2B : "Yes, it matters as it opens up the gate for those who always get marginalised. This makes them vocal about their grievances and further creates awareness among people." Anupam, 1B : "Yes, absolutely, especially in the contemporary world. We are closely influenced by media throughout our lives. A lot of people gain their understanding of different communities from how they are represented on media platforms which makes the matter of representation in media all the more important."

Nikita Kushwaha, 2B : "Yes. If, for example, I talk about the LGBTQ+ community, it actually matters a lot so that people start looking at them normally and the associated taboos can be curbed." 39 Volume 6, Issue 1

Tabassum, 3B : "It matters a lot. What the media represents is not what it actually is like. If one sees in Bollywood movies, the Muslim community is shown as not what is really is. Muslims are villainized in Bollywood movies. Surely if they show a villain, either they’re Muslim or have a Muslim companion. This is a bad representation. Bollywood is playing a prominent role in stereotyping this community. We have a lot of Muslim people in Bollywood, but it’s the political inclination of directors that matters a lot because they’re writing and directing a movie. Many-a-times they see that if they write a secular script, which is, by contemporary standards, not “nationalized”, they’ll face a lot of criticism. They would face RBI raids in their homes. I think there’s a fear among them, that if they speak out, they’ll face things like this as well. Fear, plus political inclination matter a lot, irrespective of the fact of how many Muslims or Hindus are there in Bollywood. Earlier also, the same ratios have existed, but today something extraordinarily evil is happening. I find foreign shows to be much better made than what Bollywood makes. Of course, Bollywood has a major role to play in influencing mass mindset in India - not just stereotypes about the Muslims, it sometimes, unintentionally also promotes eve-teasing or kidnapping, and it needs to change in its ways. Again, the director’s mindset matters a lot here."

Tabassum's view on Muslim representation in Bollywood makes us wonder : What is it that they're interpreting, and conditioning the society into? Photos by : Newframe.com, Times of India, Dkoding.in. 40 Volume 6, Issue 1

Q5. : What is your take on the new farm laws? Are they really meant for the betterment of small and marginal farmers or are they just another tool for promoting crony capitalism? Anushka Yadav, 1A : "I think it's for the farmer’s betterment. We have chosen this government so we should trust in its decisions. A majority of our population is dependent on agriculture and the government is aware of it and surely would have considered this while making the decision. Moreover, I feel only a limited group from Punjab, Haryana and UP is participating in these protests. If the effects would have been negative then they would have affected everyone around the country and everyone would have been protesting. I am from Bihar and agriculture is also a primary occupation there, yet there are no widespread protests there. Of course there might be some negative effects but farmers should also adjust to those and cooperate." Mehak Bhati, 2A : "I believe that the new farm laws are not the new portrayal of dominance or power by the current government. There have been many such events and many laws which have been repealed just to show the kind of power and the root that the present government has taken in the country which also goes unopposed in many conditions or the opposition can never gain as much strength it needs to actually fight the government. This proposal of the new farm laws has been really critical and I believe they are set to destroy the farmers. It might be alluring to some of the farmers in the current time but the policies aim at a long term method where the big companies are set to prevail, whereas the older laws actually benefited the farmers. They might not reached the full potential and need reforms but the present reforms are surely a means to suppress the farmers which has also been portrayed by the strength of the farmers who have protested against the government resolutely believing in their cause and believing in what they stand for is right and refusing them stating things like “farmers don’t know what's good for them”, has taken a huge toll on the democratic factor, the basis of this country. So, these farm laws have shaken the roots of constitutionality and although they might seem alluring to many people at the moment but they are surely wrong and have harmful long term effects for the farmers. The farmers know it, the educated people know it, but the government is resolute to push this forward because of their own political agendas and their own economic gains. I strongly believe that this act and the subsequent acts which will come even after this because even after the resolute protests against these laws the government did not deter, will be harmful. I can only imagine what other undemocratic things this government will bring to the country now."

Rubaie, 1B : "I believe the new farm laws were created after deliberation by the experts on the committee, and maybe if they implemented them it might bring changes which the government talks about. But an important factor that they missed was the involvement of these farmers, of the small and marginal representatives in the policy formation space. Had they been included they would’ve told the ground reality of what the farmers actually faced had these policy implementations taken place, and what they have to face on a daily basis and what their problems are. So what would happen then is they would have a mediating ground for the transformations that they talked about - to bring up the redundant Indian agricultural system and providing a social security base to the farmers, which in India is in the form of MSP. I believe they could have been more considerate of the target group for whom they are formulating the policies and by just not giving any heed to their opinions or views they are promoting crony capitalism. If we see the policies, and the ground realities of these farmers, the policies will bring a lot of harsh times for them because a) they don’t have proper income to even grow crops without loans or taking money from landlords, etc., and b) without MSP or any social security they would not gain enough to repay those loans. Already farmers are in huge debt, and we need to pull them out of debt instead of making them go deeper and deeper into it. More privatization makes them more vulnerable because there are no proper rules and regulations to restrict those private traders from extracting profits and exploiting farmers. I think the best thing the government could do in this scenario is to cede to the farmers’ request and just find a middle ground where both sides benefit, and both goals are achieved." 41 Volume 6, Issue 1

Vyomika Dev, 1A : "I think that I am adequately equipped to take an opinion on the new farm laws because I'm not a major stakeholder. However, from what I gather, I believe that yes, it is another tool for promoting crony capitalism, because all that will strive to do is bring in more corporate intervention into the farming sector. This has proven to be derogatory for the agricultural sector whenever it's been applied. For example in some parts of Bihar farmers were forced to migrate to Punjab. I don't think that it's the wisest decision to go ahead and bring in these laws that farmers themselves are against. I believe that the media constantly shows this narrative of how the bills are being misunderstood but I think that if the farmers are being impacted by these bills and laws, and they're coming out in such large numbers to protest, it cannot just be political sway and underlying political agendas. They evidently have a very real issue with the way the bills are. I believe that grave injustice has been dealt with the farmers and that the farm laws are nothing but another capitalistic venture by the government." Violina Das, 2B : "All of the 3 farm laws enable the entry of private players into farming. We have seen the deteriorating condition of the farmers in our country and with the entry of the players from the private sector, they will be thrown out of the game. The history of big companies in agriculture across the world shows that small farmers are unable to compete and get uprooted once big players enter the market."

Ankita Singh, 2B : "I agree with farmers on this issue - as I have studied the laws, they have not been assured that MSP (Minimum Support Price) will be provided to them. Even though the private sellers could decrease the price previously, the farmers would still get MSP. But if they don’t even get MSP, how would they survive? I think the government is not ready at all to listen to farmers - it has been four months and no actions have been taken. There were meetings as well, but they were futile, and no middle-ground could be reached. Protests got violent in between, and still, nothing was done with regards to the demands of the farmers. So yes, I believe the farmers are right in this regard but the government is not ready to listen at all. I think the government is working in one direction - not communicating with the stakeholders for whom they’re making the laws. It could be seen in other laws as well, where they are monopolizing their right to make laws without taking feedback, or incorporating it." Aadrika Verma, 1B : "They are definitely another tool for promoting capitalism and are not at all meant for the betterment of farmers at all. I fully oppose the laws from whatever I have gathered about them across debates, but I also have limited knowledge to further elaborate my point of view." Ibadat Singh Bakshi, 2B : "I feel that to a certain extent the new farm laws would benefit the agricultural supply chain, but that should not come with the additional baggage of dismantling the entire structure and giving a complete freehand to capitalist powers at the expense of the farmers. That is essentially what the farm laws are doing and from what I know, there are no redressal mechanisms for the farmers. There is no limit against stockpiling. Additionally, no explanations have been given for how MSP will be upheld if there is no market regulation. All in all, I believe it shameful that laws that directly harm our food providers have been passed by the Indian government." Anupam, 1B : "I believe that the farm laws give a free hand to the farmers to sell their products as and when they choose. Their main objection is on the provisions related to MSP. In this regard, I believe that the Government should take more proactive steps to reassure the farmers that the criteria of MSP will not be interfered with. Therefore, I believe that the farm laws do have some benefits for the farmers, but they come with certain capitalist undertones." 42 Volume 6, Issue 1

Nikita Kushwaha, 2B : "I feel that most of the government’s take policy decisions partly keeping in view the electoral politics. So, these laws are actually giving way to crony capitalism and further, helping politicians fund elections. Though, it cannot be completely ruled out that these laws won’t benefit the small farmers at all." Tabassum, 3B : "Not all of it promotes crony capitalism, some part of it has the government’s good intentions, but a large part of it promotes capitalism. We are seeing privatization of banks, railways, and airlines. Privatization of produce affects the farmers a lot. The little bit of the government’s good intentions are under the garb of the majority that harms the farmers. The main part is the Minimum Support Price, which is not promised to farmers. According to me, if MSP isn’t there, and they sell to private sellers, I feel farmers can get higher prices, and paid better than what the government gave them. But the major issue is that due to competition, they could be paid much less as well. So a lot of problems are there, and everything is very complicated in today’s so-called “democratic” India."

We solicit your answers to these questions as well! Please write to us with your thoughts and comments at [email protected]. 43 Volume 6, Issue 1 Interviews with the Speakers of Maazi-o-Mustaqbil 2021 Anoushka Sur in Conversation with MR. SANJAY RAJOURA Introduction to the Speaker : Mr. Sanjay Rajoura is a popular stand-up artist and actor. After working in the software industry for almost 10 years, he quit his job and decided to experiment with a variety of art forms including stand-up comedy. His comedy is centered around common issues like life in India, politics, religion, caste, and feminism. While most comedians just make jokes, Mr. Rajoura tells jokes with a social message and often writes for premier publications like The Quint, The Indian Express and DailyO. Sir, to begin with, can you tell me a little bit about your journey moving into comedy? You had corporate jobs, but you once said they were the biggest jokes of your life... so what exactly made you realize that comedy was your calling? I never planned to come into comedy. I still don't think it's my calling! That is because I never make long-term plans for anything. It's just something I'm doing right now. When I go for long drives, I feel that is my calling. When I play sports, I think of it as my calling. When I write an article, I feel that's my calling. As far as standup comedy is concerned, I never watch it, and I didn't watch it even before my first special, except for this one open-mic that I went to.

So sir, how do you feel has your journey evolved since your earliest IHC gigs, to having major solo shows and tours under your belt?

Right now the most important thing that I am a part of is Aisi Tasi Democracy, with Varun Grover and Rahul Ram. So I rarely do anything solo because what I do with ATD satisfies all my creative and intellectual muses, and addresses all my anger issues. It makes sense of most of the things in my life, because my partners are wonderful performers and very good friends of mine. Our political ideas are completely aligned, and so are our concerns. As far as performing on stage is concerned, this takes care of everything. After I do a tour with ATD, I don't have anything else to say, and I do not feel the need to go on stage after that. Sir, do you like the lifestyle of doing shows, and interacting with new people?

Of course, it's a fun lifestyle. You get to travel around the country, or sometimes outside the country as well, with two of your best friends, who are always laughing and making fun of each other! They're always discussing things, and the best part is that we don't prepare for shows. It's spontaneous - whatever we're thinking, we say it. I don't know what Varun would say, and he doesn't know what I am going to say. But since a tour usually comprises of 12-13 shows, we know after the first show what stories we are going to present. So the first show is very different from the thirteenth show. Meeting people is great too. I made some good friends through this kind of travel and work. So it's a good thing. I could never think of going to Pakistan when I was doing my corporate job. But because of standup comedy, I have been called there multiple times to perform. Sir, you describe yourself as a "jat female chauvinist". Could you throw some light on how that came to be about? That's actually a nonsensical term a journalist gave to me. The "jat" thing is very problematic actually. If someone says I am a "jat female chauvinist", I don't like that. This term actually came up in a TV interview, where an anchor asked me about chauvinism and I said, "Main toh bhaiyya female chauvinist hun" (I am a female chauvinist). So they picked it up and made something out of it. But I have not asked anyone to refer to me as a "jat female chauvinist". 44 Volume 6, Issue 1

Sir, now that we are on this topic, I watched your documentary called "Going Dutch", with Gul Panag. It's a tale of two very different personalities meeting for a prospective arranged marriage discussion. While the female character in the tale is non-attacking and yet, open in her thoughts, the male character doesn't attack her on it. He is surprised, but isn't rude, to her, so to say. So sir, do you feel men are becoming that way, today? Do you feel men have become more open to the ideas of equality, and to women behaving in ways that are conventionally considered "unsuitable" for them? I do not have very high expectations from men, and I don't believe they're becoming that way. What I think about this character is that he is desperate to marry her, and so he is behaving so politely. Once the marriage is secure, he feels like he can do whatever he wants. That's my theory about the character. I could be wrong also, but it's just my interpretation. He behaves that way, so that he can marry Gul Panag's character by any means. Sir, why do you feel there is a need for activism comedy today? Do you see comedy as a means for activism because more people subscribe to comedy now, or because other more conventional media like news or government have been unable to create the right environment for activism? Or is it both?

The scene of Indian standup comedy is that today, it's doing the same things once Bollywood used to do. Popular culture captured it and then twisted it as non-intellectual. Today's Hindutva is a by-product of early-90s Ekta Kapoor, Aditya Chopra and Karan Johar cinema. That time too, many people subscribed to popular culture, and the same thing is being done by standup comedy now. A Comic's first task is to make people laugh. So if the audience is primarily comprised of upper-caste, woh Dalit joke pe hasenge (they'll laugh at Dalit-related jokes). But why would anyone pay to go and watch it? It's like a really bad film. Why would anyone go and watch Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai? Because of its regressive politics. Now, cinema says that films are made for entertainment. But how are they entertaining? Through casteism, female bashing, a skewed understanding of Indianness, making fun of regressive women celebrating festivals with foreigners, and so on. India laughed looking at this. And now, this is the logic standup comics are using. Activism is being done by no one, and I started talking and writing for this very reason only - I have no interest in entertaining the audience. Paisa kharch karke tum aaye ho, meri zimmedari nahi hai tumhe entertain Karna (you have paid money for the show, it's not my responsibility to entertain you). I want to make them really uncomfortable, by showing them the mirror. For example, if I go on stage and say to the audience, that the Hindutva you're going out and fighting against; shouting slogans against, is sitting at your home. Fight your family members on their Hindutva ideology. There, you'll say "I respect my father". Fight in the family Whatsapp group. There you'd say "Namaste mausa ji," namaste maama ji," (greetings uncle) and so on. But at Jantar Mantar, you'll say "Hum kya chahen? Azaadi" (What do we want? Freedom). That's moral and intellectual hypocrisy. So, I go on stage and I write because I am angry with whatever injustice I see around me. People think I'm funny; people think of me as a comedian. I don't want to be funny. I've always said, "don't call me that". Following up on the fact that you don't consider yourself a comedian, sir, I was looking at the reaction of the people during a performance you gave recently, where you also said that "Hindutva is at your home, fight it". People in the audience were trying to find it funny, but all they had were uncomfortable smiles. So how did you feel about that?

That is exactly the kind of reaction I want. People laugh at my jokes, and then I'll get bored, and walk off the stage. But I - Main unki beizzati karna chahta hun! (I want to make them feel embarrassed!). But there is one thing to consider here - how I say these things and how I connect them to everyday happenings and larger political issues - those start as funny political anecdotes and end up being shockingly dark. So that is something that I like to do. 45 Volume 6, Issue 1

So the discomfort is your validation? Yes, let me give you an example. One time during an ATD show, we were talking about Kashmir. I started with domestic violence in my house; how our parents used to treat us - with violence. I connected it with the fact that we were all brought up like Kashmir. Because later, the mother would come to us and say "Pitaai karte hain toh pyaar bhi karte hain!" (We beat you but we love you too). This is what we do to Kashmir too. This, for me, is the real point of storytelling or of any form of expression. You pick up things that happen every day around you, which we normalize, and the larger political repercussions are because of those really simple things happening around you. So, these things have to be told very clearly to the society which thinks that, "Nai, nai, Hum toh achhe Hindu hain, hum aisa nahi karte" (No, no, we are good Hindus, we don't behave this way). But the conversations they have at home are full of bigotry. Subtle bigotry. The recently released film by Neeraj Ghaywan, Ajeeb Daastaans, talks about "Geela Chumma" (a wet kiss), which Aditi Rao Hydari's character receives. It's on Netflix. See the subtle casteism in this. Someone, wearing a janeu (a thread worn as a symbol of Brahmin faith) goes out and says, "I don't believe in casteism". That is problematic. You're wearing a Brahmanical symbol and you say you don't believe in castes. But some would say that we wear the janeu as part of a tradition. We're not hurting anyone, or saying that one caste is more supreme than another. What would you say then? The fundamental problem with that logic is that it is coming from the oppressor. Any justification of any oppression has to come from the oppressed. If the oppressors themselves start justifying their caste systems and caste symbols, then the oppressed will slap them! Imagine what a Dalit would feel like when he sees another man with a Janeu. It's like a white person saying, "I may be white, but I don't discriminate". Who's asking you? Let a black person validate that. Let a black person tell you what discrimination is because you'll never be discriminated against. And that's why Dalits are angry right now in India, because upper-class intelligentsia is using all its upper-caste privilege to show support to the Dalits. You grab their mic. Aapko unka mic grab nahi karna hai - aapko unko mic deke peechhe khade hona hai (you don't have to grab their mic, you have to stand back and hand the mic to them). So the fundamental problem in the argument is that it is coming from the oppressor, not the oppressed.

So what you're saying is, sir, that it is not about grey areas like personal opinions and personal choices, but that the validation should come from the oppressed?

The argument should come from the oppressed. It is not about personal choices. Personal choices come from conditioning. A lot of "liberal women" keep "Karvachauth vrath" (fast for Karvachauth). They say it's a personal, cultural choice. But actually, it's not - it's conditioning of centuries, which you merely think is a personal choice. This happens in every religion - women may think burqa is their personal choice, or a mangalsutra (a necklace that signifies marriage) is their personal choice. But actually, it's not. Have you ever heard a Dalit say, "Main janeu pehnunga - it's my personal choice"? (I'll wear a janeu - it's my personal choice). Never. Have you ever heard a brahmin say, "Main gutter ka kaam karunga - it's my personal choice"? (I'll work in the sewers - it's my personal choice). Never. Why are their personal choices always symbols of oppression? It's deeply problematic. You talked about the aspect of mic grabbing, on which I'd like to bring back another thing you said in the show of yours that I previously mentioned, which is that we got independence from the Britishers much earlier, but even today, our society hasn't opened up to dialogues. So do you think we need open dialogue in society today?

The thing is, that dialogue opens and exists, but only in upper-caste circles... contd. 46 Volume 6, Issue 1

In all the big publications and digital media, there is not one Dalit editor. In the judiciary, there is not one Dalit judge. Especially in the Higher Courts. Film heroes are "Oberoi" and "Sharma;" even the Indian cricket team has not one Dalit player. So these conversations that are opening, are in upper- caste circles. They are occupying intellectual spaces of conversation, and then dialoguing with each other. Where is the voice of the Dalit? The Oppressed? That's why I say a man can never be a feminist because you are born with a privilege and you cannot get rid of it. You can try to, but cannot. But that is the core of feminism - getting rid of your privilege. What is mansplaining? You, coming from privilege, have no right to tell the other what feminism is. Aap mujhe bataogey ki gaadi kaise chalti hai? (How can you even tell me how a car works?). Following up on the point about media spaces being dominated by upper-castes, how do you feel about or view what the media says, as a viewer and consumer of content? I don't read newspapers, and there's a reason for that - they're full of rubbish, especially since 2014. So I don't read newspapers and I don't watch the news. Sir, following up on the aspects of current times and the current government, I would like to say that I heard some of your very funny views on some particular issues of India through your show, Bharat Ek Mauj, which has also become quite popular. Sir, what is your thought process when you script or ideate on this show? How do you feel about, what you say, the "theatre of absurd", both as a comedian and as a citizen of India?

I don't script any of my stage performances, and I don't script Bharat Ek Mauj. It's my anti- establishment point-of-view, and what I'm thinking about that. Bharat Ek Mauj is basically a rant. An anti-establishment rant.

So you spontaneously decide to discuss a national or global issue that is irritating you?

Yes, yes. Also, if there is some issue that is bothering you, and you're shooting on day 6, then the botheration of 4-5 days will eventually come out of your mouth, especially if there's no scripting and you're spontaneous.

Sir if I talk about your state of Uttar Pradesh, we see that while the Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath, claims to be cracking down on "Gunda Raj", U.P. police’s extra-legal excesses have also surfaced. You also highlighted in one of your videos how he lied about employing a few lakhs young people from UP, some of them as Lekhpals. How does this situation, so close to your home, inspire your work?

Koi Birla ya Bhakt hi hoga jo apne aas-paas ki cheezon ko ignore karde! (It would take someone arrogant, or a "Bhakt" to ignore something happening closely around them). When such nonsense happens around you, and when you're a public speaker who also writes editorials in newspapers, how can you ignore it? Do you think people around you ignore it, especially inhabitants of UP? Why do you think there's such a government in the first place? This is a truly representative government India has ever had. This is what true India is. Do you think you have to speak about this because those who are supposed to, don't?

That is what's happening. The press doesn't do its work. It's why I have stopped reading newspapers. 47 Volume 6, Issue 1 Sir, talking further about your work, what has your experience been like working as part of Aisi Taisi Democracy? I'm sure it must have been quite an experience shooting and performing across various locations. Could you throw some light on some unique locations or perhaps, memorable audience experiences that you may have had with ATD? Aisi Taisi Democracy has a cult audience now. Where we go, only the fans come, and only they buy the tickets because they want to listen. Our opposers won't come. Woh toh baad mein FIR karayenge! (They'll launch an FIR against us later). Everywhere, the audience has been quite enjoyable. Last year, we toured Australia, and the kind of reaction we got over there was not at all what we were expecting - it was brilliant. The adulation. People were sitting on the floors because everything was sold out. We were worried whether we'll be able to sell the tickets or not, but turns out we were heavily sold out. The kind of respect we got, and the kind of fun the audience had, I enjoyed it very much. So sir, do you have in mind any future plans regarding a location where you'd want to travel when the COVID Pandemic subsides, or where you'd want to tour or take your work? Personally, I don't plan the future. But I do like to travel. I travel every year outside India. I've gone many times for work, for lectures, and sometimes for leisure. With Aisi Taisi Democracy, we were supposed to have a US-Canada tour in 2020, but it got canceled because of the Pandemic. But whenever all this is over, we might resume with our US Tour.

Diverting a little, I'd like to ask you, sir - Recently, your op-ed in the Indian Express on the clampdown on comedians being the last nail in India's coffin, stirred quite a sentiment of grief and anger. It was immediately after Mr. Munawar Faruqi's arrest in Indore. As a satirist yourself, what are your thoughts on the limits to freedom of expression? You once talked in vivid detail about how much democracy is too much democracy. You said ki desh koi chai nahi hai and democracy koi cheeni nahi hai jo measure kar saken (India is not tea and democracy is not sugar, that we can measure the latter). So do you feel a similar trend is coming up for freedom of expression and religious tolerance in the country as well?

Yes, there is a trend. Also, "religious tolerance" is an oxymoron. There is no such thing. No religion is tolerant. As far as "freedom of expression" goes, it is a very refined right that we have to constantly negotiate and keep on pushing the envelope for. Every single day. It's because there is no upper limit. But the constant push upwards leads to the collective evolution of society as well. When a society embraces religion, it leads to an entire evolution, especially intellectual evolution. So the society that embraces religion will always face a curb on freedom of expression. So to help it, we must constantly keep pushing the boundaries, which India did very well in the 1960s and the 70s, and to an extent, in the 80s also. But 90s onwards, it all went downhill. We're all aware of today's situation. Of course, it's worsening. People get arrested for a tweet, for a joke they didn't make, or for a joke that they did make, and I have multiple FIRs against me. So where is freedom of speech? And if one sees in the world, in the list of countries where comedians are being arrested, one is Syria, another is Egypt, and a third, is India. This is the category we're in. So sir, do you feel the work being done by comedians and satirists like you, can change, improve and tackle this? We should not think that this should or can change. Every day, we must work on keeping the question alive. If we do not keep it alive and we stop questioning, then they will win. But if we keep the questioning alive then sometime in the future, probably not in our lifetime, things will change. Keeping the question alive is important, and that, I think, is my job. 48 Volume 6, Issue 1

Do you feel if we keep the question alive, we can stop issues from becoming dead completely, if not change them for the better? Absolutely. If there is no questioning - phir toh hum bhi bann gaye Saudi Arabia (then we'll also become like Saudi Arabia). Finally, sir, I'd like to ask you - how has social media treated you? In the case of FIRs, you'd know who has filed it, and what the issue is. But with the anonymity of the screen, anyone can say anything about you. I'm sure it hasn't been an easy journey in your profession, on social media, with people disagreeing with you many a time. So how do you cope with that? Against me, the right-wing has a major hate campaign on social media. Especially Op-India - they do a lot against me and my work. But I removed myself from Twitter. It's for the same reason why I don't want to read the news, see the newspaper, or hear the TV news. I'm just on Facebook to stay connected with some of my friends whom I don't meet frequently, and ekk zabardasti ka Instagram profile mere manager ne banwa rakkha hai (I have an unnecessary Instagram profile that my manager has had me make). He keeps asking me to put something on the profile, and I don't know what to post! I am not very fond of Twitter. Initially, I felt weird reading hate comments because I lived in an India that was fairly liberal. So in the beginning, I felt bad sometimes too, and seldom I even responded. But now I've developed a thick skin and mujhe farak nahi padta (I do not care). FIRs have been filed by those people who haven't even come to my show!

So despite the legal and social media struggles, how do you continue to do what you do?

It's about conviction. Once you're convinced of something, and you do not proceed in that path, how would you sleep in peace? If you're doing a foul play with your own conviction, who will respect me, and how will I expect anyone else to respect me?

So if someone would like to go into your profession, would you like to say something to them, or give them a message?

No. Agar profession mein jaana hai toh MBA-wagera karlo (If you want to pursue a profession, do an MBA). And if you want to do what I do, read a lot, and collect a lot of anger.

So is being angry the key to success here? I think there is no key and no success here. If you want success, go for an MBA, engineering degree, or for a corporate job. I try to read a lot and I try to learn about things, and about my privileges. The more I read, the more I learn about injustices, and then it becomes difficult for me to stop speaking. So I have no advice. So if you're angry, speak. And if not, naukri karo, shaadi karo aur bachhe! (Do a job, marry and have children). My final question, sir, is that you said you grew up in a relatively liberal India, and then you had to face nasty comments and FIRs over time. So has this hate against yours, or others' opposing thoughts and points of view in India, come about suddenly? Or did society change gradually? Why has it happened? It's not gradual, actually. Bigotry has been in India since the beginning. Also, when I say I grew up in a liberal India, it's problematic because that India was liberal for the upper-castes, especially upper-caste men. If you ask the Dalits, or a minority community, it was never a liberal India... contd. 49 Volume 6, Issue 1

So for them; like, for the Dalits, nothing has changed actually. I say "liberal" because I come from an upper-caste Hindu family, and I am a man. So I enjoy privileges. I say India has today become conservative, but that is again a very privileged argument. So please understand this difference clearly. For the marginalised and persecuted communities, it was never a liberal India. This is what I have also said in my "Decoding India" video. In 1947, we gained "azaadi," but ask about it to a lower-caste person, and not an upper-caste one.

So do you agree that it was never a liberal India, but you've realised it now, now that you've started reading, writing and speaking more?

Reading and studying always gives more knowledge. Also, travelling leads to purity of the mind. If you're brought up in a vegetarian family, then the simple act of eating a non-vegetarian food is an act of rebellion, because you're embracing a culture that is alien to you, and making it your own. So all those things are important in life - trying food that is not "yours," trying a culture that is not "yours," and so on. No one is interested in a monotonous society! 50 Volume 6, Issue 1

Anushka Saxena in Conversation with MS. VIDYA RAO Introduction to the Speaker : Ms. Vidya Rao is a well-known singer of thumri-Dadra and ghazal. She trained under the legendary singer, the late Naina Devi, and continued her study under Shanti Hiranand and the late Girija Devi. She has performed at national and international forums to discerning and applauding audiences. She has lectured, conducted workshops, and held demonstrations. She has composed and sung for the theatre, film, and dance. She has also researched and written extensively on music and the performing arts. Her book, "Heart to Heart: Remembering Nainaji", is a memoir of life with her guru Naina Devi ji. Ms. Rao was the recipient of a fellowship from the Ford Foundation, and a senior fellowship from the Ministry of Culture (Government of India). She has been the recipient of several awards and honours. Ma'am, during your lecture at Maazi, you talked about how Hindustani classical singers have to feel emotionally connected to their work to be able to sing or perform with the kind of passion that they do. So ma'am, how did you come to find your emotional connection, with Hindustani music in general, and the Thumri in specific? I don't know... this is something that you love and it comes to you. There are a few things I remember from my childhood. Like when I was young, we didn't get to hear as much thumri. I grew up in Hyderabad and we didn't listen to thumri, ghazal or other such art forms. It was purer khayal or dhrupad that we would listen to. But at the end of the [music] program , there would be a small thumri, and I would always tell my mother that I wanted to learn this kind of music. Everybody would tell me that it's too difficult, not quite appropriate a form but I was really was quite drawn to this form. But if I have to point to a moment - I remember that I was quite small and my mother said, "We're going to see a very famous dancer." I was very excited because I used to like dance also. So we went to the program. In those days we didn't have halls as we do now. Everyone would sit on a cloth on the floor, and the stage was also not very good. The mics were often screechy. Anyway, an elderly man came and sat on the stage. I thought he would be kind of like the preamble, and then the dancer would come. But then nothing happened and I asked, "Where's the dancer?". I always imagined the dancer to be a pretty young lady with pretty earrings and makeup. And here was this elderly man in pajama-kurta. My mother said, "He's the dancer." I thought to myself, "I have been cheated. I was expecting a pretty girl with jewelry and a pretty costume, but here's an elderly gentleman sitting with a white pajama-kurta on stage!". But then he began to sing, and at the same time, do bhaav (expressive dance). Aur main fida ho gayi! (I was mesmerized). I thought it was magic. Now I realize it was Shambhu Maharaj Ji whom I saw, and I have had the blessing to see him. He must have passed away soon after that, but I got to see him, and I was blown away by his art. Now I realize, that although he's now considered to be a dancer, there's a connection between thumri and kathak. They are intricately related. And this expressive art form had so much calmness. Thairav bhi hai, nakhra bhi hai, adaa bhi hai (there's stability in it, there's emotion and there's passionate beauty). In that moment I was so deeply moved, and I told my mother I wanted to be like him. I want to sing and dance like that. Ma'am, to speak about the gender norms that surround the thumri art form, it has been seen that in Indian history, most thumri performers were women performing for an elite male clientele, as you also mentioned during your talk. Ma'am, can you throw some light on the kind of culture these courtly performers shared, how they came to begin part of this business, and most importantly, how did they celebrate life outside this profession of performing? Yes, it is a highly gendered form, and what actually interested me - one, of course, was singing, but there is also the fact that as singers, we're not just singing, or as students of music, we're not just learning music - we're also living in a society. That society is part of us and we are experiencing certain things. And we can see there's a complexity - I am not going to say contradiction because it has a negative resonance - and this complexity gives us an opportunity to explore further. So it enables us to live a certain life of seeking and questioning. As a contemporary, modern woman, I was very much part of the women's movement, but at the same time I was also drawn to learning thumri, and I had to address this seeming ‘contradiction in myself... contd. 51 Volume 6, Issue 1 What is this about? Now there are many ways one can address this, and one of the ways for me was to actually meet the women who had traditionally sung thumri (the tawaifs) and learn about the art from them, about what their lives are like. Are they these evil people that often popular culture made them out to be, or are they these beautiful, extraordinary, brave women? At the end of the day, we are all humans, and we have to deal with things. We experience emotions, but how you articulate them may differ. In the end, however, we're all people. What is also important is refusing this dichotomization of women. The tawaifs I met were respectable and intelligent because originally, the singers of thumri were the only women, really, who were given an education. This education was wide ranging and included music, philosophy, dance, poetry and even archery archery - they learned all kinds of things. Household women in contrast did not have the freedom as these women had - they could not hold property, they could not pass it on to their daughters, and were more often not educated themselves, nor were their girl children valued as much as sons. So if you were a ‘ respectable’ householder woman, you could not be educated, you could not hold property, and you could not, certainly, be a single woman. On the other hand, if you could do these things, then you were not considered respectable. For me, I didn't like this dichotomy, because in such a situation, who am I? I am both these things. I perform thumri, I make my own decisions and at the same time, I imagine I am also "respected"! Who makes this notion of respect? These are questions we have to answer. There was another question that was nascent, which I did not have the words for when I began thinking about these issues, but in the course of working and deep study of thumri with Naina Devi ji, I have written about it as well. What struck me very strongly was this notion of thumri as highly subversive. It seems, on the surface, very sweet and dukh bhari (full of sadness), but there are other layers to it. Certainly, I would try and explore these layers myself. But just because I know the words like "layering" and "subversive " it would be wrong to assume that only I am then able to see this. Singers, women singers, others are constantly doing this, they're creating their own meanings in each act of singing. These questions have always interested me, and continue to do so. So how do people use their situations, how do people live in situations of constraint, and how do they find ways of speaking their truth, beautifully? I don't just mean aesthetically - ki unki gaayki itni sundar hai (that aesthetically, their singing is so pleasing). There is a clarity, and an intelligent understanding of who you are and what your life is about. To me, that is deep beauty. We are doing this all the time, and in all kinds of situations. People's lives are not always easy and yet, they find courage, beauty and truth in their lives.

To elaborate on this gender dichotomy, ma'am, do you feel times have evolved? For example, today, names of male performers like Pandit Jasraj and Pandit Bhimsen Joshi Ji are associated with thumri and khayal. So ma'am, do you feel the space of thumri and Hindustani music has become more inclusive, or is the notion of women being the only performers still around? To add to that, ma'am, are you aware of any instances in history where males would have performed thumri for some sort of audience?

Of course, it was not only women who sang thumri. This is true historically also. But we have to remember that this is a patriarchal society. A patriarchal society gives men a place of privilege. Even among women, issues of caste and class give some women a different status and access to a better life, but it's still more in favour of men. In most cases, there are some spaces that were mostly occupied by men - one of them was as teachers. In the early years, 1920s and 30s, for a woman singer to be able to claim to be a serious musician, and not just an entertainer, it was essential for her to be able to show that she was a ganda bandh shagird (pupil) of a gharane ka ustaad (a music gharana or house's head). There are many examples of this in real life. But let me just mention this one example which is found in the novel called "Umrao Jaan Ada". It is a very small incident where Umrao is telling the story that she was doing her riyaaz (vocal practice) and the Ustaad was sitting there. She was singing Ramkali (a Raga). Then Khanum Jaan, who was the Chaudharain (female head), walked in, stood there listening, and finally said, "Ustaad Ji, isko roktey nahi ho? Dhaivat shudh laga rahi hai... aapki sud kahan hai?" (Ustaad ji, why don't you stop her? She's singing a shudha or dhaivat note... where is your attention?). There was a play on "shudh" and "sud". Ustaad ji was very angry to have been questioned... contd. 52 Volume 6, Issue 1 He got up and went away, not coming back. After that, there are just two lines… Umrao Jaan says, "After that Khanum Jaan taught us, and she taught us well. And then, Ustaad Ji came back and began to teach us again." But when you hear this small incident, which doesn't say anything actually, you can notice many things here. The first is that he (Ustaad) wasn't bothered to correct her. Why? There's a question here. If I move to a later date - Umrao Jaan Ada was written somewhere in the late 19th-century about the mid19th century- Going on to the early years of the 20th-century, there are eye-witness accounts which tell me that there was a particular famous singer who would help his Ustaad to teach his various pupils. This young student would also go and sit and listen to what taalim (teaching) the pupils were getting. It wasn't usually allowed but in this case, it seemed to have been allowed. But there was one particular student this man (Ustaad) would also teach, and this was a woman. While she belonged to the traditional family of professional women singers, she was already known as a classical artist, not just as a "naachne-gaane waali" (a singer-dancer). There is a difference between those. Someone said to this shagird, "Why aren't you listening to what he is teaching this woman?" The shagird’s reply was somewhat contemptuous: “Unhe kya sikhayenge?" The teaching being given to her isn’t of any significance. I'm not saying everyone discriminated between male and female students, but there is that narrative running through both, the stories, as well as what people recount and what you hear. Similarly, I was told this by one elderly tawaif with whom I used to spend a lot of time: "Dekho, humaare paas gharane ki bohot cheezen hain" (we have a lot of things from the gharana) - because she too had learned from a Gharana Ustaad, "Aur gharane ke ladke humaare yahan aate hain seekhne. Lekin humaara naam toh kabhi nahi lete" (the boys of the gharanas come to learn from me, but they never take my name and acknowledge my teaching in public) She said it while both recognizing the injustice, but at the same time, accepting it as "It is what it is''. She said, "Mera farz hai, ki jo mila hai, usse sab batana. Naam toh kabhi nahi lete" (My duty is to teach everything to the students that I get. But they never acknowledge me) So I can ask—was Umrao Jaan's Ustaad not correcting her because he thought that these were entertainers and he didn't have to bother? But it is difficult to say this is exactly what always happened, because equally, you'll find stories that say that "No, they received absolutely the same training!". In the novel, when Umrao Jaan says that Khanum Jaan taught them and after a few days, Ustaad returned, I hear something in what is not said. I hear this, that while Khanum Jaan taught the young girls well, her taalim would not carry legitimacy. You needed a gharaanedar Ustaad to legitimize your gaayiki. Until very recently, women could not do the ceremony of ganda-bandhan (tying of sacred thread around the pupil's wrist). They didn't do it, and were not permitted. Even Naina Devi Ji said, “Hum nahi karte hain” (we don't do it), and that is so recent. Women received teachings that were also imparted to others, but it didn't officially make them carriers of the lineage knowledge. How did men enter the field? Because tawaifs were learning from them. And they too were often very good singers. Many had a sense of pride that they could sing better than the women. Now if you remember, in the theatre world, by the early 20th-century, women had started performing theatre and later films too. Most of this early group of women recruits were tawaifs. However, in theatre for instance, women actors played the part of the Sakhi (woman friend) or the pari (fairy), and other side roles. The main lead would be played by a man, because the understanding at the time was that how could a woman play the main lead? How can she actually create the hao-bhao (behaviors and personality) of the naayika (main female character)? The understanding was that it was simply not possible. So these are interesting ways in which femininity is being constructed through the practices, discourses, and customs around this world of thumri. But I also have to say, some of my most favorite thumri singers are men. I absolutely love Faiyaz Khan Sahab, Mahadev Mishra Ji and Barkat Ali Khan. They are all really wonderful, and they each have a very different style of singing thumri. So it is not that men did not sing. They entered the world in many ways - as teachers, as students, certainly, and of course, as singers. They also entered this world of thumri as accompanists to the performances of the tawaifs. We need to remember that tawaif thumri singers were sole earners (for themselves or their family). They were always performing. They supported everybody - a whole cultural world-- and they had good earnings. These included the Ustaads who taught them, the accompanying musicians, various arts and crafts persons, paan sellers and flower sellers. I also remember one male musician telling me "Sikhaate toh hum hain - hum guru hain, lekin woh log kamaate hain" (we teach, we are the gurus or teachers, but they earn on the basis of this.)... contd. 53 Volume 6, Issue 1

So there was a feeling of ranking. And a sense of displeasure too. We are the Ustaads, we know and have the knowledge. But they're the ones who are recognized, who earn, who take away the spoils - the applause and the money. Ma'am, if I talk about the dichotomy of religion in Hindustani music, and how some people would classify Hindu and Muslim music, you mentioned in your talk about the classic "Mathura Basi Kanhaiya" made by Shad Mohammed and Taj Mohammed. You said it is a confluence of cultures divided by socio-political issues but united by this music, and by an ethereal truth, as you put it. Ma'am, could you tell us what is the role and relevance of such music especially in the current times? How can we learn as artists or appreciators of art to look beyond these dichotomies to actually enjoy the art itself? First of all, I do not believe there is Hindu and Muslim music. It's just Music. Music, language, they don't have a religion. We cannot say that just because a song speaks about Hazrat Ali, that it's Muslim. It's not! It's a way of expressing a very deep truth - whatever that truth is, and we use the words and the idioms which are clear to us from our growing up. If we have a song on Krishna, it's not a "Hindu" song. You just cannot have Indian music without these images of Krishna. Or, in fact Hazrat Ali or Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. It's not just that I don't believe there's Hindu and Muslim music. I don't even believe there's a line between the sacred and the secular. I believe that all of life and every moment of life is both very ordinary and very material, as well as very beautiful and sacred. How can I say, that this koel (in the background), which is literally going on singing is very ordinary or very sacred? Its song is magical, but at the same time, the koel is very ordinary. The food we eat is ordinary, but what a magical thing it is, how it comes to us - somebody makes it, somebody grows it, it needs sun, soil, and water. There is something so magical in something as simple as every nivaala of food. I have difficulties believing in these sharp dichotomies between Hindu and Muslim and even between secular and sacred. You know, there's a paidaish (a song sung at the birth of a child, generally described as a divine child) by Jafar Hussain Badauni, who is a wonderful singer. I could also be called a sohar (music form sung at the birth of a child) actually. This paidaaish is sung during the festivities around the birth of Prophet Muhammad. The women of the house recite these paidaaish songs. In the paidaaish that Jafar Husain sahib sings, all the metaphors; all the descriptions, locate this birth in eastern UP. . I think this is extraordinary and very moving. It's beautiful that within this song, a whole universe of cultures comes together, and there is no sharp line that divides them. They all intermingle and create a wonderful fabric; a wonderful tapestry. We call it a "mili-juli tehzeeb'' (a syncretic tradition). It's called Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb (from the confluence of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers). Equally, one hears qawwali artists singing a Krishna bhajan, but in the style of qawwali - the kind of phrasing and the kind of music that it is. This is a very interesting coming together of a kind of poetry in which certain things are spoken about, with music that we are now beginning to think only belongs to another space. So these are the things we need to look at and to say very clearly that music doesn't make these differences. Lalith Rao Ji, shagird of Ustaad Khadim Husain Khan Saheb, often tells this story: She once asked him, "Khan Sahab you are a Musalman, but all the bandishes you have composed are about Krishna. How is that?”. Ustaad ji’s response is beautiful : He explained to her that in music there is no difference between one religion and another, and that our music cannot exist without this interweaving between apparent differences. He is telling us that music has no religion.

Ma'am, could you tell us about your discipline with respect to riyaaz and composition and performance? Also ma'am, how has the COVID-19 Pandemic impacted your schedule or discipline, if I may ask?

Well, riyaaz is how it has always been. This COVID-19 Pandemic - and I am not at all saying that it is a good thing - But I always try to see how I can find a silver lining in all situations. This very difficult time also makes it possible for me to just stay quiet at home and focus on my work rather than being pulled in a hundred different directions... contd. 54 Volume 6, Issue 1

I am deeply aware of the enormous tragedy - the loss of lives, the loss of livelihoods, the uncertainty for the future, especially for young people. But confronted with all this, I can only say I am fortunate to be safe and healthy, to have enough to eat, and to have beautiful things like music and books in my life. Actually, that time of riyaaz is one of the most fulfilling and nourishing times of the day. Sometimes, it can happen, and it has happened in the past, that one day I couldn't do riyaaz, and then I am just not so centered that day. I have not received the nourishment I need for my soul. So yes, the riyaaz continues, and the thing is that as I grow older anyway, I recognize and enjoy the moment of riyaaz even more than I did when I was younger. When you're very young, it can be a little boring, but at the present, it is the most joyous moment of the day. This time gives me the space for unhurried riyaaz. But I also don't want to say that it's all good. we are all very deeply frightened and affected by the Pandemic. These are very frightening times, in many ways, and COVID is just one of those ways. I am aware of that; I am also anxious. But I realize that if I keep focusing on that anxiety, then my energy will just go. I am fortunate in many ways - I live with these beautiful trees just outside my window. I mean, who has that in big cities like Delhi? As you can also hear, there are a lot of koels just now. I think it has almost become like another riyaaz or ritual for me, that I make sure to spend some time sitting here and watching those trees. I remind myself that the Earth has survived so much, human beings have survived so much and life has survived so much. It is a moment of challenge and opportunity for us as human beings, to say, "What did we do wrong that brought us this, and how can we live better lives?". It also makes us recognize the frailty of the human being, and the enormity of the universe and this web of life. What are we in this? Maybe this is not strictly about music, but I do believe that if I did not spend my time and life with music, I am not sure, for me at least, that I would have this kind of understanding or this way of being able to draw back, sit and just look at things. The way to keep going, I think, is to do what you have to do, to speak when you have to speak, to rest and be silent when you have to do that, and to be there for other people, always, even if it is just to say "don't worry".

Ma'am, just to revisit our earlier discussions on courtly performing, when I see Bollywood's efforts in this direction, I see the appropriation of an art, but not ownership and originality. So ma'am what are your views on that, and have you, personally engaged in a project where you may have been asked for suggestions on how this can be corrected? I have to say that I really don't know that much about Bollywood. I have sung and composed for films, but that has been mostly in documentaries. One or two films in which I did sing were the type of art films that were, at that time, only shown during film festivals, and moreover, I sang a traditional bandish in these. So that's different. So, actually, my knowledge of Bollywood is not that great. My only contribution to Bollywood, in that sense, is my daughter as an actor! However, I would say that I love filmy gaana (Bollywood music). I really enjoy it. I would also say that it's not entirely appropriation because when you look at some of the work of these composers - it's extraordinary. It's so intelligent; the way they are mixing and bringing together traditional gaayikis - whether it's a particular kind of lok sangeet (folk music), or classical bandishes, and so on along with other kinds of music. They are adapting it so incredibly - in a very different presentation, for a very different audience. Remember that thumri was intended for a very small audience in a chhoti si mehfil (a small entertainment space). Yet, even when a film presents a thumri being sung by a tawaif in a mehfil, actually the audience of this scene is in fact a huge, unknown audience all over the country, and nowadays, all over the world. So it's a completely different audience and space. This thumri-numa composition has to reach there - and they are doing it in an incredible fashion. I grew up at a time when famous composers like Madan Mohan and Naushad were the great composers of the time—and they were wonderful. But even now, when you look at the way film music combines different styles and forms, uses instruments in ways that could not earlier have been imagined, it's incredible. I can't speak about it in a detailed and intelligent fashion, but it certainly is brilliant, and it certainly has its own focused study. I won't say that it's just an appropriated version. Very often thumri appears as a version of itself, and earlier, it used to appear in a kotha ( the home of the tawaifs) space. I haven't seen that many new films. So I can't speak to that at all... contd. 55 Volume 6, Issue 1

However, I do think that nowadays, the figure of the tawaif is not as important as it used to be. In an earlier time, both in literature and film, the character of the tawaif was somehow pivotal in the plot. That is not so anymore. There's some very interesting work on this by film and literary scholars - the hinging of a plot on the character of the tawaif. Ma'am, when I hear your wonderful answer, I come to believe that even cinema is revival and resistance. Do you feel so? Very much, very much! The kind of films people are making these days - they are amazing. These young directors are so intelligent, and the young actors are so articulate, so comfortable. It's wonderful. And there is often a strong and very important statement being made even in the most ‘masala’ film. As you know, ma'am, our theme [for Maazi-o-Mustaqbil] was "Art as Resistance". So may I ask you, how have you been able to associate music in your personal and professional life, with resistance and activism, and what message would you like to give to those who are now also finding new means to associate activism and resistance with? Well, like everybody from my generation, I have also, when I was young, gone on dharnas (protest strikes), singing all those wonderful songs, believing we could make the world a better place. That is one thing, but it is an important thing to come together, to share ideals, and to strive for a better world. It's difficult for us to come together now because we can't meet. But to come together with people who have a common understanding of how a society should be reducing injustice is important. And we must and are indeed finding ways to do this, even today. But if you take only that kind of music - like protest songs or poetry - to be the only kind of music of resistance, or to embody resistance, then, I think, we reduce the scope of both resistance and of music. Humne resistance ka daayra tang kar diya hai (we have narrowed the space and scope of resistance). Of both music and resistance. Because there is a kind of resistance that is muscular and direct. It's out there. It takes on the world. And that is important. But there is a resistance that is quieter, perhaps, more internal, and perhaps is coming from the way you live your life. The things which you do when you say "this is not how I want to live my life", "I will not allow it to be a part of me", that too is a kind of resistance. That is something we are practicing all the time. Whether we are singing or not, whether we are singing in a group, whether we are doing riyaaz just by ourselves - there are qualities there, and notions of "refusing" and removing binaries, separations and injustices. There is a very beautiful Buddhist verse that says "A Bird has to have two wings to fly". You can't have only one. You have to have a life in an ordinary plane, and then life, as people call it, in the "spiritual" plane. I am uncomfortable with words like these (spiritual), but what I mean is life on an inner plane. You can't be a one-winged bird. I think that applies to everything - whatever we do. As a student of history, you're doing things - you're out there, studying, interacting, and writing an exam - whatever you're doing, you're active in the world. But there is also a part of you that is reflective, quiet, absorbing, making sense to your own self of what you are reading, seeing, talking about, and so on. It is your own truth and nobody else's. Only you can articulate it, and you will live by that. And that will adorn and beautify the work you do in the world. 56 Volume 6, Issue 1

Romik Sai in Conversation with MS. SUDHA TIWARI Introduction to the Speaker : Ms. Sudha Tiwari is a teaching fellow at Ashoka University, and a Ph.D. student at the Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Her doctoral research focuses upon the social and cultural history of contemporary India through New Hindi Cinema. The research takes up the role of the Indian state in the rise and progress of the New Cinema movement (the 1970s) and how this set of films could be taken as historical artifacts to understand Indian society. During her M.Phil, she worked on the Partition of India as depicted in the works of S.H Manto, Khushwant Singh, and Bhisham Sahni. She has been awarded a Junior Research Fellowship from the Indian Council of Historical Research for her doctoral work.

As someone who has done great historical research work on the history of art cinema, could you tell our readers what exactly is the difference between New Indian Cinema, and popular cinema? Could you also talk a little bit about the roots of this new or parallel cinema in India? The first difference is perspective. When I was doing my research, I charted the journey of the New Cinema movement, with capital 'N' and capital 'C' from the 1960s onwards. It was also influenced by global trends, various things that were happening in France, Italy and Latin America. All of it influenced the young filmmakers who were watching international cinema through film festivals in India. These are the general differences between popular cinema, especially the one represented by Bollywood and New Cinema. Bollywood goes more after box office records, it has more star power. It emphasizes more on drama and melodrama method to tell their story. Whereas New Cinema or art cinema focus more on the stories that they want to convey and to convey these stories they don’t require star power or any music or supreme command given to the camera. What matters is the director, his sincerity and commitment to telling the story on the screen. I have already partly mentioned this but the second difference is that popular cinema emphasizes a lot on melodrama whereas New Cinema focuses more on being as realistic as possible. They choose real-life stories happening around us, and they are also more realistic in the sense that they choose actors that look like you and me, like people in our neighbourhood. There is less music and melodrama. How relevant do you think cinema is as resistance in the current socio-political scenario where dissent is often not seen in a good light?

I think cinema has always been relevant and is even more so in our current time. As history students, if we look back in time, we see that art has always somehow gotten patronage from rulers and regimes. If not state patronage, civilians have always patronized all forms of art. A similar thing goes for cinema as well. Since its inception, it has always somehow gotten some sort of patronage from the state, and from common people as well. In that sense, cinema emerged as a very important “historian” if I can use that word and give that agency to the cinema. In World War II times, Britain, France, Germany all these countries were using cinema as a means of propaganda including Hitler. Hitler saw the potential in cinema and how he can use moving images on the screens to propagate his ideas. What I am trying to suggest is that it becomes very important for us to give control of this important medium to sensible, logical and sensitive hands. So I will say that cinema is facing challenges, at least in a country like India where in the past six-seven years there has been a rise in censorship not just on the screen but also on the OTT platforms. In the past years, OTT platforms really did a fantastic job as they did not have censorship. An example of this would be Huma Qureshi’s Leila which was released on the OTT platform. Yes, there are challenges but at the same time, I will also say that cinema is far more relevant in these times as our education institutions are curbed in a lot of ways. Dissent is being controlled in multiple ways. So perhaps, times are challenging but cinema will be very very relevant. Artists and Filmmakers will remain relevant from both perspectives. We also have filmmakers like Anurag Kashyap or Anubhav Singh making films like Article 15... contd. 57 Volume 6, Issue 1 We also have actors like Taapsee Pannu trying to create awareness about issues students and migrants are facing. Especially in the corona times, many of these filmmakers and actors who are sensible have many a time called the regime either on the screen or off the screen. It’s like filmmakers and artists, whether they are glamorous or non-glamourous artists, wield some forms of influence and they can use their image to do a lot of good things as well as bad things. So, in short, cinema will always be relevant. You have mentioned how an institution like the PSBT should be considered the model for movie making and filming. Could you tell us, ma'am, if it is possible for such an organization to work freely and in tandem with India's social reality, at a juncture where every decision-making and creative body has become so government-controlled?

About PSBT, there was a time when they did a fantastic job. Though it initially started off under the Government of India, Ministry of Broadcasting, they gave us some of the best documentaries. I am not very sure of what kinds of works they are producing in the last few years and how the Government of India is interfering in its selection of subject matter. Situations have changed in the last few years, and though PSBT is autonomous, it is still responsible to the Government of India. I have my doubts regarding whether they enjoy their autonomy in theme selection or a particular topic to make a documentary on. I partially came across PSBT when I was doing my research and I can rightfully claim that they have done some fantastic job. At Least 10 years ago, they really supported quite a lot of documentaries that were actually questioning many policies of GOI. So it was quite revolutionary in that sense.

Has lack of flexibility in copyright and distribution been a major disruptive factor for viewer's access to the parallel cinema? If yes, ma'am, then how can we increase viewership without copyright infringement?

To this, I will straightaway say yes. One thing I saw while doing my research was that GOI was ready to give production facilities to many of these filmmakers but when it came to distribution and exhibition of these films, there seemed to be a lack of interest from the government’s side. GOI was of course happy that these movies were going abroad and were getting awards and this was able to showcase India as a democratic country that supported these kinds of films. On the part of the filmmakers, when I interviewed them, I found that filmmakers were hesitant to act as distributors and exhibitors. They saw themselves as filmmakers and artists and they didn't think it was their job to go into the market and sell their films because the market works in a very different way. So I wondered why they did not take the initiative to promote their films unlike what the parallel filmmakers in Latin America did. But I definitely understood why our Indian filmmakers did not do that. For example, you can’t expect Leonardo Da Vinci to paint Monalisa and go to the market to sell it, that is not how many artists work. I think it was largely the failure of GOI. Although GOI provided monetary aid and other support including sending movies abroad for international film festivals, they did not give equal importance to the distribution of these movies and for the same purpose, GOI could have included private sectors as well. Some kinds of concessions should have been given to private theatre owners who could have given some slots for these art cinema films to be also shown to the audience. And in the last ten years, I am glad that NFDC is kind of selling their own films to many of these OTT platforms. For example, if you go to Mubi India, Amazon Prime Video, or even Netflix, these platforms have bought many of these art cinemas. YouTube also has many of these films, some of which are pirated of course. So I will be positive that changes will be brought if OTT platforms function legally and NFDC promotes many of these young and independent films. And it is a good thing that they have come out of their comfort zones. As long as OTT platforms are able to showcase these films and as long as there is a niche audience for it, and as long as these films are able to create a discourse which the OTT platforms are enabling them to do, I am positive that services of OTT platforms can be used by the government, and they should be able to adapt to the current trends. But at the same time, they should also fight for better screen space in the physical theatres. 58 Volume 6, Issue 1

What is the future that you envisage for using cinema as a means of resisting? Seeing as platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime, due to their international nature, have a little more freedom to stream content than other platforms, should we see them as the present and future of new Indian cinema?

I think I will partially say yes. Of course, I belong to this old school that loves to watch movies in theatres. I would love to go to film festivals and watch movies, see everyone else’s reactions around me. That’s a different experience altogether. But after the arrival of DVDs, VCDs and after we started to watch movies on our laptops and hard drives, and now we also have OTT platforms like Mubi, Amazon Prime, etc. I definitely see that platforms like Netflix have achieved their purpose in the sense that many young filmmakers are releasing their films on Netflix. Netflix is buying those films and it has definitely helped young filmmakers and old filmmakers as well. Even the commercial film actors who had signed off like Sushmita Sen who was nowhere for a long time, we see her once again after years in Netflix through the series Aarya. And we rediscovered her acting talent. Similarly, I think many of these filmmakers and actors have rediscovered their careers through Netflix and through OTT platforms. So I will definitely say that this new tradition must continue but at the same time, I would also say that cinema as a medium of resistance has a lot of challenges not just in the future but also in the coming years, especially in a country like India because government control over censorship and other kinds of public populist discourses of particular ideologies, and how they control the way we think and we speak has been pretty disturbing. So I will again repeat that cinema as a method of resistance will never go out of fashion but for people who want to use cinema as a method of resistance, times are challenging and times will be challenging and we need unity amongst the filmmakers. The artists of the world should be united, and there should be global support for the art cinema movement. Artists globally have always fought for various important issues such as universal brotherhood, human rights, women’s rights, rights of the indigenous people, black lives matter, etc. More or less, it is the manifesto of the artists to make this world a better place to live in. So a larger global unity amongst them would be a way forward. 59 Volume 6, Issue 1

Anushka Saxena in Conversation with MS. RANA SAFVI Introduction to the Speaker : Ms. Rana Safvi is a historian with a deep love for verse and a passion for the culture and heritage of the Indian subcontinent. She combines her enthusiasm for both in her writing. She runs a popular blog, ‘Hazrat e Dilli’, which talks about Delhi’s culture, food, heritage, and age-old traditions. She is the founder and moderator of #Shair on Twitter, a forum that has revived popular interest in Urdu poetry in a major way. She is the author of "Where Stones Speak: Historical Trails in Mehrauli", "The First City of Delhi", "The Forgotten Cities of Delhi", and "Tales from the Quran and Hadith". She is also the translator for Syed Ahmad Khan's "Asar-us-Sanadid", and Zahir Dehlvi's "Dastan-e- Ghadar" and "City of my Heart". She is a columnist with The Hindu and Daily O.

Ma'am, your expertise in architectural history is well-known. So I'd like to begin by asking you, ma'am, that what were your feelings or views about the architecture of Delhi before you decided to document its history? What were your initial thought processes when you began researching Delhi monuments and streets? Delhi is a city that has so much diverse architectural heritage because it has been the capital of various kingdoms over the years, starting with being first documented as Tomar's capital in the 8th-century and ending with being Shahjahan's capital, as New Delhi. There is so much varied heritage, a lot of it is preserved, and its spread over the city. The cities kept changing, so if we started with the first city in Lal Kot in Mehrauli, we ended approximately 26 kilometers away in Shahjahanabad. So you have ancient, medieval, and modern cities, all juxtaposing with each other. So that itself is very fascinating.

Ma'am, you said once that when you were writing your Delhi trilogy books, you wanted to give a voice to the city of Delhi, and the buildings that anyone else would consider "khandar" (ruins). So ma'am, what challenges did you encounter in your work, in terms of breaking through the commonly held stereotypes about these buildings, and making your research more objective?

I did a lot of fieldwork, apart from researching the books written by contemporary and primary sources, as well as secondary sources. Some of the primary sources were in Persian so I read authentic translations. I do understand a little bit of Persian now but when I started, I did not. Apart from that there is a lot of material aon monuments available in Urdu some English. So for me, that was not that difficult a task, but physically visiting each and every monument was. I was almost there at each and every monument, and in my three books, I have documented about 500 or 600 monuments. Of these, there's only one I couldn't visit. So for me, that was a challenge - to physically go to every place. I used to climb up the stairs, right to the top, and try to see and experience what each monument was all about. Some of them are very well preserved. Some like the Mosque in Mubarakpur Kotla is a rubbish dump! So I had to negotiate my way through a lot of rubbish, and jump into it. In one place in Zamarudpur, it was like playing a detective game because there are 5 tombs that are mentioned by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan in Zamarudpur. People have written about it, but before I went there, no one had visited each of the 5 tombs for the past 150-200 years. When we went there, two were very easily found, two were difficult to find. As for the fifth one, we kept asking where the tomb is, here and there, and one day someone said, "If you peep through these houses, you will find it there". So we could see that there was something there in the darkness. We had to walk seven flights of steps and on the top, we could find the tomb, which is surrounded from all sides by concrete buildings, because these are unlisted. Facing the ire of the locals is also not easy because in Zamarudpur itself, as I documented in my book, locals were very hostile because these are unlisted places and there is always the fear that they may become listed. These were challenges that we had to overcome by being polite and nice, but firm, and standing our ground. I remember that these people would ask me to go away from there, and I would tell them, "If we want me to go away then show me something that says I cannot photograph them or write about them. If you have some order that says this, I'll respect it. But if you don't have it then it's a public monument and building and there is nothing that can... contd. 60 Volume 6, Issue 1

stop me from seeing it". So these are the challenges I would face in the areas which belong to the 14th and 15th centuries in cities like Mubarakpur Kotla and Khizrabad area. Some or many of the monuments have even disappeared. But it was exhilarating. In Zamarudpur, there were two of them (tombs) which we could not find. One of them we found eventually past a number of toilet blocks, and we saw there was a cow tied there - it has become a cowshed and so when we found it, we were very excited. As I said for the other one, we climbed seven flights of steps to see what there is. So that was very exciting. Also sometimes when you find a monument you are not expecting it in a place. Suddenly you find something. So I was doing a lot of research from two books - one of them was Asar–us–Sanadid, and the other with much more detail is Basheeruddin Ahmed's in Waqeat-e-Darul Hukumat Dehli. That documented almost every monument, and so did Maulvi Zafar Hasan's Monuments of Delhi book. So armed with information from these three books; I would read about the area I was visiting the next day, the places I have to see, and what is it that I have to find. Ma'am, you once talked about the fact that Red Fort today is only some original part of what it used to be. So ma'am, how much can we associate the destruction of monuments today to visitors and inhabitants, and how much of the depreciation can be traced back to activities of the Britishers, or even to restoration efforts?

Delhi faced two kinds of challenges - one was in 1857. The other was in 1947. In 1857, of course, we see a lot of destruction of buildings especially in the area of old Delhi or Shahjahanabad, since the Britishers wanted to broaden the roads and wanted access to each important space easy, so in case there is another "rebellion", they would be easily able to move their troops. So that is why we see that the Jahanara Sarai was demolished and the Hammam was demolished to make a new road now called "Nai Sadak" now. Especially inside the Red Fort, a lot has been destroyed, especially the kaarkhanas (workshops) and houses of the shahzadas and salateens. Barracks replaced them. Later things stabilized and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) was conceived. The ASI protects the monuments that are on the central and state list but the danger is to those that are unlisted. As mentioned above the Zamarudpur monuments are unlisted. Many in the Hazrat Nizamuddin basti area are unlisted. Then in 1947 when there was the partition and the very tragic displacement of people coming from Pakistan to India, at that time, people settled in wherever they could. A lot of refugees who stayed in refugee camps but were initially displaced during rioting in the partition of 1947 even stayed in the Humanyun's tomb and Purana Kila. In Mehrauli some tombs and monuments that though not famous are very beautifully made, were occupied. There is this Diwan Khana of one very important Sufi saint which has now become a storeroom. In this tomb of Salahuddin Darwesh somewhere in South Delhi, where we had gone, there are three tombs, one of which someone lives in, and the other two are storehouses. So again, we could access and talk to the people who lived in it, they allowed us to see but again, they were all scared that you know, "don't talk about it, don't say it...". These are all poor people who have no space to go to if they are removed from there. So you do feel bad for them. The question is, how do you balance the dead and the living? As a historian I have to be dispassionate about recording the changes but on a humanitarian level I do wonder. In heritage havelis the owners face a challenge for once it has been given a heritage tag the owners have to face certain restrictions while repairing. Of course many of the Shahjahanabad havelis have been partitioned are in a ruinous state and have a cluster of houses in them. We need to figure out ways to conserve them. 61 Volume 6, Issue 1 Ma'am, if I talk about your historical research, I'd like to say that when we observe stories around Jama Masjid, we get to know that its name connotes "Mosque that commands the view of the world". So ma'am, what can we learn about the nature of its commissioning emperor, Shah Jahan, from his architectural endeavours and the names he gave to monuments he commissioned? Can a romantical thought process be observed here, and replicated in other monuments commissioned by Shah Jahan as well?

So Shah Jahan's architecture reflected his own worldview and his own sense of imperial power because his monuments have a sense of symmetry, power and magnificence. So in a way, he was projecting his own sovereignty and his own power and magnificence, and wanted to perpetuate his memory for the rest of time. So whether it is the Jama Masjid or the Taj Mahal, it is all larger than life, because that's how he wanted to be remembered. And if you see portraits also, they are all very formal. You wouldn't find informal portraits of Shah Jahan. He's either standing or on a horseback; something which implies power. That is exactly what his buildings were all about. There was a concept behind these buildings and most of these concepts had to do with a lot of Islamic symbols, for example, the Hasht-Bihisht, the Nahr-i- Bihisht, all of which are related to heaven. So he used these symbols to project his power. The European concept of divine right to rule translated as "Zill-e-Ilahi" (God's shadow on Earth). So they had halos around their head in portraits and you'll find that in the Red Fort, the throne, or the Nasheman Zill-e- Ilahi (seat of God's shadow on Earth) in the Diwan-i-Aam is so high. At all points of time, everyone had to look up to the emperor. There was no way anyone could look into their eyes or look down on them. So all these were ways in which he projected his power and tried to show his imperial strength and magnificence.

Ma'am if I continue to talk about Chandni Chowk, I think we all associate it with food heritage, like Biryani or Parantha Gali. What are your thoughts on the importance of the food heritage of this area, especially in comparison with its architectural heritage? Also ma'am, to what point in history can we trace the development of food heritage in Chandni Chowk?

Chandni Chowk was actually a boulevard. It was supposed to be one of the most famous and the prettiest markets of its time. But today, as you said, we see it as a centre for food. This association with food was not something that was there at the time of the Mughal empire. It came up post- 1857. We do know of the food that was being laid on the royal table because we have accounts in Urdu. Books such as Dastan-e Gahdar mention the small halwai shops where poori-sabzi, sweets etc are being sold, but the only famous pre-1857 food outlet, which has now closed, was the Ghantewala Halwai. The rest have all opened up after that, because with the fall of the Mughal empire, we saw the cooks of the royal and noble kitchens without a means of livelihood. Many opened stalls in the Jama Masjid area. Migrants from smaller towns started coming to Delhi to make a life for themselves and food is an easy way to make money because it's something that everybody knows and everybody needs. This was seen around the Delhi Darbars when there was an influx of people, whether as visitors or labourers they all needed food. So this food association has come post-1857 and 1947. You have the refugees in 1947 who make the Chhola- bhatoora and chaat, and in 1857, kebabs and the niharis and the qormas. Nihari was, of course, never a royal meal, but you have the kebabs and the kormas being sold.

Ma'am on the subject of food preparation, I once heard you talk about how women of the Mughal Harem came together to prepare meals and celebrate festivals. So ma'am, how significantly can we associate the concepts of architectural and food heritage with these harems, the women in them, and their shared cultures? Also ma'am, how do we look at the emperor's role in these food preparation and celebration activities?

We have many Urdu accounts describing the activities of the last two emperors, Akbar Shah and Bahadur Shah... contd. 62 Volume 6, Issue 1

We don’t have details of the activities of the harem, apart from how it was organised. Of course, we find accounts of women and the power that they wielded, whether it is Maham Anga, Gulbadan Begum, Hamida Banu Begum, or Jahanara begum. But these were women who were participating in the power of the emperor. After the 1803 treaty was signed with the British, the Mughals were no longer in power as far as the administration was concerned. They were now content to stay in the Red Fort, and it is here that a cultural renaissance was taking place with poets, festivals, etc. being celebrated. Festivals, of course, we know right from the beginning - we have Jahangir's memoirs that talk of all the festivals being celebrated but now you have descriptions of how they are being celebrated also. One very fascinating description is that in the Taj-Poshi (a crowning ceremony) that I have described and translated in "City of my Heart", where the ceremony starts with the frying of vadas - the queen or the chief consort soaks the urad daal (pulses), the women come in and grind it, and the king himself fries the first seven vadas, because seven is considered auspicious. So these are very fascinating things, because you see the vada is a very Indian food. When I first read this, I started asking questions and researching. I found that in Rajasthan, especially in Mewar, women have this custom even today of starting festivities with frying a vada, and we know there were many Rajput queens in the palace. So you know, this is the kind of evolution, amalgamation and adoption of local cultures, making it into a unique custom of the court. Even today you will see that when you go to old Delhi for Eid... everywhere else in North India - I am not so sure about South India, though I have lived there - Eid is associated with sewaiyan (vermicelli), but in Delhi, Eid is associated with kachodis, because you would find sewaiyan and kachodis both, being sold. So there's so much adoption, assimilation and amalgamation of local cultures. These are all very fascinating as far as food is concerned. You have the "Phool waalon ki sair" (procession of the florists) which says that you have to offer a chadar (sheet) at the dargah (mosque), and you also have to offer a pankha (hand-fan) at the Yogmaya mandir (temple). So one can see the syncretic culture, and the way local cultures are being adopted and seamlessly woven into the royal protocol and the processions. Even today, the "Phool waalon ki sair" follows the same route - where you offer a chadar at the dargah and a pankha at the mandir. Ma'am, you are well associated with the Hindustani language, especially Urdu, and you have your experience with Urdu poetry as well. You would also be giving the Maazi talk on "Poetry as Resistance during 1857". So ma'am, could you tell me a little bit about what sparked your interest in taking up Urdu linguistics, and poetry academically?

In the first place Urdu is an Indian language - it's a Hindustani language. It is a word that was earlier known as Hindavi, and Hindavi developed into Urdu. The words "Hindi" and "Urdu" are much later constructs. Hindavi became rekhta in poetry, and Hindavi in the written word. With the advent of the printing press we see the development of two separate languages: Hindi has more Sanskrit words and Urdu has more Persian words. However, whatever we call it, Urdu or Hindavi, it was developed here in Delhi and the Awadh region. As far as select translations are concerned, whichever language it is - Hindi, Urdu, English, or any other language for that matter - I am comfortable with these three so I will talk about them - you have a lot of symbology used in poetry. So for example, I am very fond of P. G. Wodehouse. While reading P. G. Wodehouse I see he is constantly quoting from the hymns and the Bible. So to understand him, we have to have some knowledge of the hymns and the Bible, otherwise, they are just empty, meaningless phrases. In the same way, when you're writing in Urdu or in Hindi, you are using symbols from the scriptures. You have to understand that there are so many Sufi allegories used in Urdu. So they talk of the "Saqi" (Bartender) and the "Jaam" (wine), but it doesn't mean the poet is a drunkard or an alcoholic. They're talking of god and devotion. So people are now far more sensitized to Urdu poetry than they were before, because of the various online platforms, but as P. G. Wodehouse says, "There are a lot of wheels within wheels", poetry also has a lot of wheels within wheels. One has to learn the nuances and many layers of each verse. 63 Volume 6, Issue 1 Ma'am, on a more informal note - what kind of poetry would you enjoy - something that has a lot of symbolism and double meaning, or something that says its truth upfront?

That is very subjective. It's just something - whatever touches me. It's not just the symbology and the double meaning - if I can understand it, it's fine. But if something has a lot of very difficult words or very difficult philosophies which I cannot understand, then it may excite me intellectually, but it won't excite me emotionally. So for me, it is only when I have an emotional connect, that a verse speaks to me. Like, saying something very very simple, as "Ai Mohabbat tere Anjaam pe rona aaya" (I cried at the consequences of falling in love) - is simple, and there's nothing you can't understand in it, you just have to feel it . Ma'am, a very important genre of Urdu poetry that you have also written about, is "Shahar Ashob". These two words have the commonly understood meaning, "City Disturber". So ma'am, how has Shahar Ashob poetry evolved over time, according to you, and what are its historical roots? Also, ma'am, was this phrased or literary tool used in the 1857 poetry? In Delhi, Shahar Ashob was used after Ahmed Shah Abdali's attack in 1769, and at that point of time, a lot of Shahar Ashob was being written. The earlier understanding of it, as related to a city disturber, was related to a Turkish and Persian concept. But by the time it comes to Delhi, it is being taken as a lament for a city. So again, there are some very heart-touching and heart-rending Shahar Ashob written by Sauda (Mirza Rafi Sauda), and by Mir Taqi Mir also, if I'm not wrong. I have, in fact, a full blog on Shahar Ashob - I have written and translated many. But the one that comes to mind, the one, I think, Sauda wrote, is that "Jahanabad tu kab iss sitam ke qabil tha...", which I quoted at the beginning of "City of My Heart" also. So there are many of them, and when he talks about the women who are uprooted from the palaces and the mansions, and are walking on the streets, carrying bundles and stumbling over - all these are very evocative imagery of a ruined city.

To follow up on the point about "women being uprooted", ma'am - do we also see such imagery being evoked through Urdu poetry for the women who faced similar conditions during the 1947 Partition as well?

No, I don't think so, because, by 1947, the poetic scene was being ruled by the Progressive Writers' Movement, and here it was more of the downtrodden being talked about - not women being uprooted from mansions. It was more about the marginalised women who were being talked about. Oppression of the downtrodden is being talked about. So you see a shift from the poetry of the beloved to the poetry of concern - when we say "Gham-e-jaanan se gham-e-dauraan aa jata hai" (separation from the beloved brings a period of sorrow), we talk of the plight of the times. Ma'am, you have also done some work on communal harmony, especially under Akbar's reign, and you once talked about how India needs another Akbar-like ruler, during your discussion on Manimugdha Sharma's book "Allahu Akbar". So ma'am, in the current communally imbalanced times in India, what kind of a mass strategy do we need to let people know that maintaining communal harmony is important, and what lessons can we draw from Mughal history, which is as much a part of our history, like say, the history of the Marathas or Rajputs?

The strategy being used to spread disharmony is also social media, and the strategy used to spread harmony will also have to be social media. That's why I write so much. Even I don't have that kind of a reach of people who will keep writing and spreading what I say over Whatsapp or Signal groups, but the thing is that there is a lot of misrepresentation of facts. As you talked of Manimugdha - he himself has done a lot of fact-busting in his book. We have to talk about whatever happens... contd. 64 Volume 6, Issue 1

as dispassionately and as accurately as possible. As I said, during the "Phool Waalon ki Sair", the Mughal emperor Akbar ShahII stipulated that they must offer a pankha at Yogmaya temple as well as a chador at the dargah of Hazrat Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki, something which continues to date. We must highlight and talk about this. As you said, "Holi Kheloongi Keh kar Bismillah" (I'll play Holi while taking Bismillah's name) was said by Baba Farid in the 16th- century. There is no end to being misquoted. The other day, I read someone misquote me, saying that I said that Holi is a Muslim festival. I have never said anything like that, but I did quote Munshi Zakaullah, (a mid-19th century Delhi intellectual) who in his book Tarikh-e-Hindustani, even questions the fact if Holi is a Hindu festival, considering its popularity! He describes the Holi festivities lasting for days during the Mughal rule. So we have to bring these things out, talk about them, and highlight them. As I said, the only way to counter misinformation is by putting in the correct information as dispassionately and accurately as possible, quoting contemporary sources. Ma'am talking about misinformation or misquotation - it is also sometimes accompanied by ignoring or hiding facts that might give you the whole story. So ma'am, what are your views on the issue of saffroniation of the New UGC Draft syllabus of History, that has created outrage by leaving out parts of history that define our syncretic culture? In what ways do you feel students' bodies, or those in authority can be urged to pursue change?

As far as the Syllabus is concerned, I haven't gone through it and I can't comment on what the present syllabus is. I was teaching history in school for many years, and so I know it was a very balanced approach. The NCERT books were very balanced and they taught everything - ancient India, early ages, Guptas, Mauryas, Harshas, Mughals, Britishers, etc. So it was a very balanced book. Class 6th, I remember, was all about Indus Valley Civilisation and our other early civilizations being introduced to the school. You know, by the time it was class 10th, we were talking about the freedom struggle and the national movements. So it was very balanced. I haven't had time to look at the present syllabus but we should have a very holistic and balanced approach to history because this is our past and our heritage, and we cannot afford to hide parts of it or highlight only certain aspects, if we want well- rounded, grounded citizens. India's education system has always been in stress, so we cannot compromise the Indian education system further. Ma'am, I'd like to finally ask you, how has social media treated you? Mostly good! I have had some very bad experiences also but it's mostly been good for me. It has given me a platform where I can talk about things that are important to me. As I said, if we have to fight misinformation, you can only do it by putting in the accurate information, and that's what I am doing. So now, I take the trolling in my fright now. I block and I ignore it! 65 Volume 6, Issue 1

Anushka Saxena in Conversation with MS. NUSRAT and MS. AINEE Introduction to the Speakers : Ms. Ainee Farooqi is an alumna of and an Assistant Professor at the Department of History, Lady Shri Ram College for Women. Ms. Nusrat Ansari completed her graduation in History from Lady Shri Ram College and went on to pursue her Masters in Development Policy from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Tuljapur. Currently, she is working in the social sector with Educational Initiatives as their Educational Specialist in Urdu.

Nusrat ma'am and Ainee ma'am, could you please explain to our readers what Dastaangoi is? Also, how can a beginner learn to differentiate between it and other forms of storytelling, like Nukkad Natak or even Standup? Nusrat ma'am : The word "Dastaangoi" itself is made up of 2 words - "dastaan", meaning "story", and "Goi", meaning "to tell". This is a very old, ancient art form that dates back to 8th-century Arabia. Gradually, it traveled all the way from Arabia to Persia and other parts of the world. Then it reached India in the 16th-century. Because India does have a very rich culture of oral traditions, it merged perfectly with the Indian tradition and culture and it became even more relevant. Everybody started performing Dastaangoi, listening to it... it had become a primary source of entertainment back then. It was Akbar's rule at that time, and he was a very big propagator. He himself performed Dastaangoi. It was not only done in the court, but also locally, on streets and on chowks (open markets). It was a very popular form of art, and gradually with different modes of entertainment coming into picture, and even colonialism, we went into self-censorship and we started thinking that our culture is bad, dastaangoi is vulgar and the language which is used is not as rich as the western English language. So with all of that in play, around 1928-1930, this art form died and the last person to perform Dastaangoi was Mir Baqar Ali. He also passed away around the same time and then there was nobody to take this art form forward. That's how this art form died. So, there was literally nothing left out of it and then in the 2000s, you know, one of the biggest names in Urdu Literature, was Shamsur Rahman Faruqi. He was working on this for a very long time, and he came up with three volumes on Tilism-e Hoshruba, which is basically talking about the adventures of Amir Hamza, dating really back in Arabia. So it was very interesting to see this whole new concept of Dastaangoi - of how people would narrate the dastaan of Amir Hamza, and how this form was so descriptive and rich in terms of vocabulary and narration. So this really captured his (Shamsur Rahman Faruqi's) senses, and with him Mahmood Farooqui also became interested. Both of them together revived this, and the first performance of Dastaangoi happened in 2005. So that is how Dastaangoi started, ended and was revived again. Basically, it's a very different form of storytelling and I would not compare it to a nukkad natak or a stage theatre because it's way different from that - there are no crops, there are no actions. We are not moving around on the stage. Even the stage setup is very simple. You know, it's a very plain white mattress, with white sheets. We are also wearing white costumes; we only sit and we narrate. So it's all about how about your narrate - your narration style, the strength of the story - how relevant or interesting the story is, and the poetry and words which are used in it. And Urdu as a language also has a rhythm to it. People really like it; they like to listen to it even if they are not understanding much - not every word, they still can make sense out of that language. All of that, when woven together, captures your sense, and the audience is able to see a completely different form of theatre where they themselves are using their imagination to imagine what is being told to them by the Dastaangos. So it's like a connect between the audience and the performer. It's very different because if you go and see other forms of theatre, there are props, there is acting, and there is, of course, narration. Primarily, if I have to compare it with other storytelling forms, then Dastaangoi is different from them primarily because of the language that is used in this form of art, which is Urdu - a language that has seen a massive blow because of colonialism. A language that is constantly being tried to be suppressed even in the current times. So keeping all of that in mind, I think, it's Urdu which makes Dastaangoi stand out. And it's a language that, once upon a time, used to be the common, people's language. Now, it's no longer there. So all of that, I think, makes it stand out as an art form... contd. 66 Volume 6, Issue 1 Ainee Ma'am : I think Nusrat captured everything quite beautifully. I want to highlight here that Dastaan itself is different from a story. A story is just one. Within dastaan, there are many many tellings - there is a story within a story. So in that aspect, it's different from other art forms. Also in the respect of the kind of literature you have. You incorporate multiple types of stories, and you incorporate poetry in it. So, all of those things come together to make a Dastaan. So it's not just a story; it's multiple stories within a dastaan, and we try and incorporate poetry and other aspects as well. When did you get the opportunity to become Dastaangos, and how did your journey begin? Nusrat Ma'am : It started with me when I was in college, and it started with LSR! Both of us were in LSR. I had actually gone to see a performance by Mahmood Farooqui at the India Habitat Cente, and I was so moved by the end of it. It was a Tilism-e Hoshruba performance which has a lot of Persian, and those Urdu terms you don't use on a regular day vocabulary. Despite that, because I was able to understand what he said on stage, and it was so different, I was completely mesmerized. So I came back and later on we discovered that he's conducting a workshop on Dastaangoi. So I attended it and I thought, "Why not be a part of it?". So I spoke to him, and he was very welcoming and encouraging. And the next thing I needed was a partner to do Dastaangoi because it's performed in pairs. So the only person I had in mind whose knowledge of Urdu was slightly better than mine was Ainee. She was my friend in college and I dragged her into it. She had no idea what she was signing up for. So that's how it just happened. We have no theatre background and we have no good sense of what we were supposed to do. In fact, we were not even well-versed in Urdu, to be honest. So it just happened - and we had to learn everything from scratch and we just created that. Our seniors who were there as part of our team, like Anusha Rizvi, really encouraged us and created this thing in us. Then we actually became Dastaangos and started doing it.

Ainee Ma'am : So I joined Dastaangoi because I am not from a theatre background. I'm somebody who always had stage fright. I went for those rehearsals because I had time. I had finished my graduation, I got into Delhi university on the first list. So I had a lot of time and you know, admissions were taking time. So I said, "Okay, chalte hain!" (let's go). Then when we started attending it, it was completely mesmerizing and we had baithaks (sittings) with amazing people. The way they would talk, the stories they would share - all of that was so amazing. It took an entire team - everybody was so supportive of us. Even though we were not from a theatre background at all. With all our other problems, the team was so supportive.

Nusrat ma'am : I guess what both of us are trying to say is that because we had the determination to be there and do that, it just happened. And we apply it everywhere - even in our personal spaces. I think Dastaangoi is a major motivator for both Ainee and me. If we think something is not possible. we think about Dastaangoi because we thought even that wasn't possible for us seven years back - but that also happened. But personally, I find Dastaangoi very motivational at some points of time.

Ainee ma'am : The first performance we did was after one-and-a-half years of rehearsal! We did one dastaan, and our rehearsals lasted for up to one-and-a-half years. And this was a 30-minute performance! So the fact is that we stuck by for that time. Ainee ma'am, as a professor, and Nusrat ma'am, as an Urdu Education Specialist, how have your academic and research-based endeavours influenced your Dastaangoi work? Nusrat ma'am : If I speak for myself, things started falling in place on their own. I love the Urdu language and I have been working in the Education sector for five years now and I have been doing Dastaangoi for seven years. So the only possible way to link all of this together and make sense out of it is this. It was a slightly conscious effort on our part to, you know, make sure that... contd. 67 Volume 6, Issue 1 what we are doing is of relevance, and not just as a part-time extracurricular sidekick activity. We wanted Dastaangoi to be a mainstream thing. I never say I do Dastaangoi professionally because I don't want to attach it as a job in life, but it's more like a passion. So I wanted my work to be driven by my passion, and I think that's how Dastaangoi linked with my work and Education background. Ainee ma'am : For me, the reason I joined Dastaangoi was out of interest and this was initially supposed to be something that I would enjoy doing, and that is still the case. It makes me happy. There are times when you are struggling your professional time or in your academics - you have all those struggles, but you know the one thing that brings joy to you - that is Dastaangoi for me. The other thing is that being a student of history, I've always struggled. We have all these nuanced debates in classrooms. We read very complex ideas like those of Benedict Anderson's, and they are just happening within our classrooms and seminars. The language is also something that is very alientaing to a lot of people - the jargon that we use. So for me Dastaangoi is a medium with which, you know, I am able to communicate with people to some extent. The Dastaans that we write, they incorporate acadmeic debates as well. You have Manto and other oetry in our partition Dastaan, but you also have latest research in it. I have given you a reading on Vazira Zamindar, and the Dastaan incorporates it as well! To me, that happens.

Ma'am, over the period of the last 5 to 7 years, how have historically performed Dastaans influenced the contemporary self-composed work and performances that you do? Nusrat Ma'am : That's a very tough question. To be honest, for us, it was much easier to perform Dastaans than for Ainee to write. So she will be able to tell her better about her struggles. Ainee Ma'am : The thing is that we had very intelligent literature with us - we had the traditional literature and earlier Dastaans. The Dastaans like Tilism-e Hoshruba that we perform, have been written by the Dastaangos of that time, like the 18th and 19th centuries. The literature is so amazing. So there's great confidence that we have in the script. So, we have to perform that literature, which is an honour actually - to be able to work with that literature. Now, we are beginning to write our own Dastaans. I've written Dastaan-e-Jallian and I've written Dastaan-e-Bhagat. It comes with its own challenges - the research, the constant fear, ki sahi hoga ya nahi (will it be okay or not), and the kind of reaction we'll get. I'm still more confident about Dastaan-e-Jallian because we've performed that Dastaan in front of the people. So I know about the reaction that I get. Dastaan-e-Bhagat Singh is an online endeavour so I still don't know if people like it, if it's a good fit or if there's a proper rhythm to it. So I'm so very underconfident about it. It's also about the research - Dastaan-e-Bhagat includes work of Chaman Lal, Irfan Habib, Kama Maclean, Pash and other such peole. But at the same time it also talks to contemporary times. Because today we see Bhagat Singh being appropriated by a wide range of people and politics. So our idea behind writing this Dastaan was to see that, you now, unki khud ki kya politics hain (what are his own politics). What are his ideas? Why are so many people trying to appropriate this man? So that's about it.

You have worked with the Dastaangoi collective for the past 5-7 years and have done some great work individually as well. So what have the linguistic or interpretative challenge been in the revival efforts for Dastaan, considering its 8th-century origins were a long time ago? Nusrat Ma'am : I think one big answer to that is a lot of research. We research like crazy when it comes to not just the new Dastaans that we write but also the ones that were previously written, the traditional ones. Even if we have to perform that, I think all of us put in a lot of effort in preparing it, in terms of understanding what we are performing. It is very important to know each and every work that we're saying - what does it mean, and how it is supposed to be delivered... contd. 68 Volume 6, Issue 1

Because a common man, a person who doesn't know Urdu or Persian to that level, might not be able to relate to it. So we also have to narrate it in a way that the person gets the context of the words, and they are able to understand what we are trying to say, and are with us during the story. So even when Ainee and I were preparing to do a traditional Dastaan it took us so long because we were also trying to understand what we are talking about. A lot of the time we were just trying to find meanings of words, and honestly speaking, these words were not easily available on google. So at times, we would try to google the meanings of the words and if we couldn't find it we had to ask around and refer to dictionaries, and understand basically what it is. So a lot of research went into that. The kind of poetry which is there in the traditional Dastaans is very different from the one that we use in the contemporary Dastaans. We still are aware of the words and poetry used in contemporary Dastaans. In the previous ones we have to think about how we should deliver it, focus more on the performative aspect of it, understand the meaning of it and the context of their Shayari. So a lot of effort went into doing the entire research around the Dastaan along with focusing on the performance of the Dastaan. Ainee Ma'am : Of course the research bit is true and I want to talk about the language barriers that you're referring to. The traditional Dastaans use Urdu which is more difficult and Persianised. So it's not possible for the audience to understand each and every word that we say. We know that and we do not expect the person to even understand that. Hum unhe kehte hain, aap sira pakad ke rakhiyega kahaani ka, aapko samajh mein aa jayega (please keep holding on to the crux of the story and you'll keep understanding). So they have to hold on to the thread of the story. Yes, the language, the story and the sounds are such that people do get involved and they do listen. The fact is that we started writing contemporary Dastaans only when traditional Dastaans proved to be a success. Dastaans have been able to cross these language barriers. At the same time, I also want to tell you a story. Once we were excited and we were performing a traditional dastaan, and somebody just came up to me. She was very happy not because they enjoyed our Performace, but she was happy with herself that she understood it! She was like, "Haan, humein samajh mein aaya!" (Yes, I understood). So the involvement of the audience is constant.

Nusrat Ma'am : Also there are notions created about Urdu that it's very tough and that bohot khatarnaak Urdu mein Dastangoi ki jaati hai (Dastaangoi is done in dangerously difficult Urdu). You use words that we don't understand. So there is this whole perception that is created about the Urdu language that it is tough and that people don't understand it. It's an alien language. The fact is that the people don't know that the words you are using in your daily life to communicate with each other are also Urdu. When you look at something and you say, "Yeh khoobsurat hai", (this is beautiful) - khoobsurat is Urdu. So you know, we have had experiences where we are breaking these stereotypes. We even had a show in Gujarat a few years ago and the lady who was organizing was very skeptical. She said, "please talk in a language that people understand". She also said, "don't talk in Urdu". We said, "okay we won't". Then we sat on the stage and we did what we do, and it was in Urdu. They understood. Then she came up to us and said, "sorry we said things like that". But that is the perception that has been created - that Urdu, people will not understand because it's very difficult. It also depends on you - how much effort you are willing to put into understanding a language. On a more informal note, have you also had experiences with Dastaans where people did not respond to the Urdu language, and then later to perform it for the second or third time you have to change some words or sentences to make it comprehensible? Nusrat Ma'am : No, never for me. In fact, we've performed Dastaans for kids as small as 4 or 5 years old who can't even speak so-called commonly spoken Hindi and they also enjoyed it. Ainee Ma'am : We actually do Dastaans for children as well. We have adapted Alice in Wonderland in a Dastaan form. So we also engage kids, and that has also worked. Also, children are not a very... contd. 69 Volume 6, Issue 1

Polite audience. If they don't like it, they'll let you know right to your face. So they're a difficult audience to work with. If I talk about the art itself, there are, of course, the Dastaangos who are performing. But what is the significance and relevance of other stage elements like the takhat or the mattress that you sit on, the white clothing, the background music, and other such elements? Nusrat Ma'am : Actually everything that we use on the set - the mattress and the white bedsheets, as well as the huge silver bowls that we drink water from - has significance. Even the costume that we wear is not just there for aesthetic purposes, but it also has certain relevance in history. For example, we try to keep the set simple, because we want it to be mobile. We want to perform anywhere with it, literally. So it's just a simple takhat with a white bedsheet on it. The reason why everything is so white is because the Dastaan form completely depends on the audience's imagination. So we don't want them to be with us throughout the story and listen to us and imagine. So it's just to minimize the distraction - everything is being kept all white. For our costumes, we basically wear chikankari Angrakha because it represents the Awadh culture of Lucknow. Because the Dastaangoi was very prevalent in that area, we want to bring that into our art form. So everything has significance. The traditional form of drinking water back then was through a katora (bowl), so that's why we have the silver bowls. My grandfather and all, they all had katoras from which they used to drink water. So all of these try to bring out the scenario which was seen back then, when Dastaangoi was flourishing in Idia. So every single element has a role to play. Ther is also the audience's response because this is an interactive form of theatre. A lot depends on how the audience is responding throughout the performance. So whenever we are performing, we request the audience that if you like something, aap ko beech mein waah-waah karna hai (you have to say waah-waah in the middle). So if we don't get that excitement from them, our energy goes so low, and the Dastaan goes so flat, that I can't even describe it. But when we are constantly getting that encouragement, we know that people are with us and understand and appreciate. So both the performer and the audience make the Dastaan beautiful, it's not just one person's game. So the audience is a very important part of it. Ainee Ma'am : It's the same thing. One, there is an aesthetic reason for it - we want to create that aura. Also, we want to keep our set very very simple for all of the reasons Nusrat mentioned.

Nusrat Ma'am and Ainee ma'am, as an amateur, when you say that you request the audience to say "waah-waah", I immediately link it with another form of interaction, which is Shayari. So in your research have you encountered any parallels or interconnectedness between Dastaangoi and Shayari?

Ainee Ma'am : We have Shayari in our Dastaans. Also, we have Mushaira. Even today, you have open-mics. Even in these performances, you need a kind of a response from the audience. You need the audience to engage with you. This is one way in which the audience engages. Also, I know waah-waah is something that even the audiences enjoy. At the same time, they struggle with it because they're so used to just clapping. It comes so easy. So a lot of times we've seen that the audience wants to clap, and then they're reminded that they have to say waah-waah. Then they feel awkward about it. So the audiences also go through a journey with us. If I go back to the history of Dastaangoi, how significant or important a role did Akbar and the Mughal court play in the propagation of the art when it came to 16th-century India? Also, you talked about the amalgamation of local cultures of India in the art, like Tilism and Aiyaari. So did they also come from Mughals, or some other Indian local grains of India? 70 Volume 6, Issue 1

Ainee Ma'am : Akbar promoted Dastaangoi quite significantly because he commissioned something called Hamza-Nama. He commissioned these paintings that are part of Dastaan-e-Amir Hamza. It's one of the corpuses of the Dastaans that we have today. So he commissioned these huge paintings. These are very huge and detailed paintings. The Dastaango was supposed to stand behind them, and the paintings were supposed to depict what the Dastaangos were saying. SO that in itself reflects the fact that Akbar promoted this Dastaan. When it came to India, it brought in new elements. Initially, Dastaans were about Razm and Bazm - love and war. And love and war are themes in which you can have so many stories. All these epics are centered around love and war. But when it came to India, the idea of "Tilism" or a "magical world", and "Aiyaari" or "trickery", were two elements that were added to these Dastaans. Nusrat Ma'am : So basically Ainee summed it up pretty well. The Mughal empire was a part of conserving the whole tradition with Hamza-Nama, and all. Regionally, I feel that as and where Dastaangoi was traveling, it evolved. Dastaangoi is a very impromptu kind of an endeavour. Back then they didn't have scripts, and it was completely oral in nature. Wherever they were performing, because we had Dastaangoi performers in Award, in the Deccan, and in other regions, the local stories were also somehow bein imbibed and referred to in the Dastaans. So it did have that link with the local and popular mass culture. So that was there.

The theme of Maazi-o-Mustaqbil is Art as Resistance. So ma'am, how can the performance of Dastaangoi revive and contribute to activism and resistance, especially in the current Indian context?

Nusrat Ma'am : This is a very difficult question. We want to say that it's a very important art form in terms of voicing your opinions. But at the same time, I think Ainee and I are being very careful as to what we say. We are putting a lot of self-censorships. We have to be very careful. Even when Ainee was writing Dastaan-e-Jallian, after she had written the script, we did multiple rounds of revision to it. Even when she was writing Dastaan-e-Bhagat there were portions that we had deliberately taken out because we thought this could be 'problematic'. We are trying to use Dastaangoi as a tool to express ourselves and resistance. But at the same time, we are also being very very cautious. Ainee will be able to explain to you better how she's trying to incorporate all this while she's writing the Dastaan. Ainee Ma'am : It is actually a very difficult question, and the difficult terrain to balance. It's terribly sad that we have to think about what to say and perform. Very painful. For even somebody like Bhagat Singh, who embodies nationalism today, we felt compelled to remove certain things and in a way censored Bhagat Singh.But that doesn't mean that we do not voice our opinion or not present it. For instance, today we see that lot of people say that students should not be involved in politics. Then, we just want to remind people what Bhagat Singh had to say on the issue of student politics. He is someone that embodies nationalism. So you better listen to him! So we are thinking of ways in which we can express ourselves.

Nusrat Ma'am : There have been times that just before going on stage if we had thought that this is an audience that might misunderstand our Dastaan, while we are performing - during the performance, without even discussing with each other, we keep improvising and keep removing bits from it that we might believe would be controversial. That, only Ainee and I understand and do well. Constantly, we are very conscious about what we are saying. 71 Volume 6, Issue 1

On this note, what message would you like to give to those who would learn from you in the coming future, or those who might read this interview and wish to join the Dastaangoi culture? What would you like to say to them? Nusrat Ma'am : I'd tell them that please, please come and join the Dastaangoi world and become Dastaangos. Because any tradition would die if there's no one to take care of it later on. So the more we are the better it's going to be because it would have a better reach and go to places where it's never been. So the more people join Dastaangoi, the more people take up these art forms and if not in terms of performance, then in terms of having discussions and talking about it. Sharing it with friends. So all of this would lead to keeping Dastaangoi alive because it is very essential, not just for the art form but also for the Urdu language. I feel it is one of the prime theatre forms that are using this language. So I would tell them to please encourage us or encourage anyone who is doing Dastaangois, and please join, if possible. And I've already said you don't need to know anything to become a Dastaango, you'll learn everything.

Ainee Ma'am : All you need is that determination for one-and-a-half years; that preparation to do one Dastaan, and if you are able to do that, it'll be just great. It'll be fun! 72 Volume 6, Issue 1

Anushka Saxena in Conversation with MR. SUMEET SAMOS Introduction to the Speakers : Mr. Sumeet Samos is an Indian Dalit music artist and Rapper from Odisha, India. He writes and sings in English, Hindi, and Odia. Born in a village in the Koraput district, Odisha, Sumeet Samos completed his schooling from Bhubaneswar. His first hip-hop single "Ladai Seekh Le" (Learn to Resist) was released in 2018. Samos addresses SC/ST students, Savarna oppression, Ambedkar-Phule ideology, manual scavenging, caste discrimination, and atrocities against Dalits in his songs. Sir, why do you feel there is a need for activism music today? Do you see music as a means for activism because more people subscribe to it now, or because other more conventional media like news or government have been unable to create the right environment for activism? Or is it both? I think it has to do with two things. First is, of course, after 2016, there was a digital media boom, which I keep saying again and again. 2016 was also the time when you have the campus uprisings happening - big campus and university protests happening, be it JNU or be it Hyderabad Central University. During that point of time, people started to talk about campus issues, and suddenly the campus issues got translated into larger issues in the country. So students started writing on digital media platforms like Scroll.in, The Quint and other such platforms. But even those platforms like Scroll.in, The Quint, Newslaundry and The News Minute - their news was consumed only by a certain section of Englishspeaking college or university students- it was not beyond that. And that was also the time when one side you have campus politics and on the other side, you have digital media boom. Then if I have to talk about hip-hop, in particular, that was also the time when Gully (street) hip-hop in Bombay was emerging. So all of this together kind of created this space where one could address these issues through hip-hop. So I think that was the reason why few people like Arivu from The Casteless Collective and Madara from Madara Music, started rapping at platforms like public protests. So yes, that was the beginning in 2016. Another reason was also that when you write an article on Scroll.in or Quint, it reaches very few people. But on the other hand, if you could just put up your video on YouTube or somewhere else, thousands of people are watching. So I think that were the major reasons.

On a more informal note, sir, have you also been part of campus protests in your academic days?

Yes yes, I have been part of campus protests from 2015 to 2020. So you must have seen those as a platform to perform Hip-hop as well? Yes yes, definitely. So sir if I talk about the impact of this music on your work, could you tell our readers a little about why you chose to pursue rapping and music as an art form for your dissent? Also, Sir, is there any other musician's work that inspired you to pursue this? Well, for me to pursue rapping came out of protests. I was part of campus protests and I realized that writing articles or writing on social media doesn't, if you're not a big influencer, reach out to a lot of people. So I thought this was a good medium to mobilize people for protests, or maybe this can gain some traction among youth, so that's why I started rapping. But another reason also was that I did not need and require training as such. Like you learn classical or Sufi music, you have to go through some rigorous training or meticulous details as such. But here, you just have to adjust your anger and rhythm and poetry, and some beats that you can create on your own. So I think that's what made it easy. One artist called Joyner Lucas has really inspired my work, especially through his content. Of course, Arivu from The Casteless Collective, Tamil Nadu, who writes on caste issues, has also inspired my work. 73 Volume 6, Issue 1

So sir when you rap, is it your own composition completely, or do you have a team that helps you write and make music as well? No, so when I rap, I usually do everything on my own - starting from the lyrics and music, to even producing. Sir during our fest Maazi o Mustaqbil, you talked about Bollywood's notions of family and dissent. It also reminds me of the movie "Gully Boy" in the context of Gully Hip-Hop, as you mentioned before. So sir, do you think Bollywood is doing a good job today in the field of activism, or are they promoting a negative image in terms of on-screen representation of oppressed communities? It's a very complex question because when one says "oppressed communities", it can mean so many groups of people, starting from Kashmiri people, people from the Northeast, Adivasis, Dalits, and women - so many different groups. There is some sort of intervention by few people who try to speak about different oppressed groups within Bollywood, but it's at a beginner's level. More than Bollywood, I feel it's the regional movie industries like Tamil or Malayali which are doing far greater jobs than Bollywood when it comes to projecting certain marginalized communities.

Sir, in this context, Bollywood has always played a great role in shaping the minds and culture of the masses. Do you think new platforms are coming up, replacing Bollywood in its role of influencing the people?

Yes, I mean, if you look at Netflix series that are coming up - one particular series called "Paatal Lok", which kind of created debates around caste and Nepali communities - there are platforms that are taking these issues up, but again, they are only limited. I don't think rural India consumes Netflix. Let's say, watching "Sacred Games" and "Paatal Lok" - they won't watch. So at the end of the day, let's say somebody is sitting at home in a small village in Odisha or Maharashtra and watching Salman Khan's "Radhe", then Parallel cinema or new platforms will take a very long time to create a popular culture which is conversive, and to reach out to masses. Even regional cultures in India have tropes that are patriarchal, casteist and classist, and are celebrated by people. Even regionally, it's not the marginalized communities who produce cinema, or art in that sense. It's mostly the dominant groups of people. And I don't think any region in India is devoid of that sense of not being casteist or classist. I think all regions have their own problems and that reflects in the way cinema and music are consumed. Starting from Bhojpuri music - in Bhojpuri music you have so much misogyny and if you go to Tamil, they have been trying to create very nice movies on caste, but at the same time, it also kind of represents some caste pride for certain caste groups. So there are different contradictions that exist. Bengali cinema speaks about working-class, without caste. So there is this contradiction that keeps existing. Sir, some would argue that India has become more inclusive over the years. Some would argue that current social or governmental measures are enough to bridge the caste divide. But sir, when I heard you speak about the realities in your singles like Ladai Seekh Le, the picture is reversed. So Sir, can you share with our readers, some personal or professional anecdotes from your experiences, which may help us understand the actual situation? I don't think that's the case. When you talk about caste and caste issues, one has to regionalize them. I won't look at it through India's lens. In terms of governmental policies and reaching out to the masses, there is always a fluctuation, you know? What are the current government policies - SC/ST Plans and certain funds allocated for SC and ST Communities. At times it increases and at times it decreases. But that really doe snot amount to atual changes. I look at them as bread crumbs in the actual sense... contd. 74 Volume 6, Issue 1 But yes, one thing that has changed over the years is that the resistance of marginalised communities and marginalized castes has gotten some space in mainstream media, in whatever way. This is again because of digital media and so many young, conscious students coming from marginalized castes who are part of the campuses and who express themselves through various media. So in terms of discourse, yes, caste has some space but when it comes to realities, they're still churning. When I say ground- realities, as in, can the marginalised caste groups live alongside dominant caste groups in a village? Can they have access to water? Or is violence against them being decreased? These are parameters I would look at. Or let's say, they didn't have some amount of land in the 2000s and now they do... these are parameters I would look at and I don't think that has changed so much. It again has to do with different regions, I guess.

Sir, do you feel that policies and steps like reservations have not been enough in actually representing people in places that matter? Well, when you talk about reservation, it is something that is limited to central and state universities and you have public institutions of employment. Leave apart employment because at times people from institutions would come to marginalised communities, at times they would contribute their money and financial resources to help the community, but even that's very less. They don't represent them, even if they're a part of the government service, there is always this fear that if they speak, there will be repercussions. So again the students who are part of these institutions see that reservation is not followed properly and there are so many loopholes in that. The media through which discourses are disseminated - one is academia and the other is media - media houses have very little to no representation. I am not just talking about SC/ST or OBC communities, but also about Savarnas who are like-minded - Savarnas who are anti-caste. The only things that get represented, for example, are if there is some violence sometimes, or if there are elections happening in Uttar Pradesh or Bihar and one has to talk about the caste and vote bank politics. So apart from this, I don't think people really talk about issues like access to water, healthcare, land distribution, and the amount of property different caste groups have. So these are things people don't talk about. They don't know. I think even academia is a very enclosed space. One might go and present about caste at a conference at LSR or JNU, but it's just among 30 people. They'll give you space, but how does that lead to making the campus an inclusive space? How does that lead to making the curriculum more inclusive? That depends on the administration. Again, caste is a currency now. For example, many NGOs, groups and brands, when there is pride day, they'll just put up a rainbow flag, or let's say they'll put up one "Black Lives Matter" sticker. So that's how things work, and that's how I see people treating caste as well.

Sir to follow up, you talked about how spaces are too closed up and people are focusing on selected issues. In this context, there also comes the issue of discrimination of the mind, where despite policies and measures, the spaces where people actually go to work and study aren't socially inclusive and open-minded. So sir, how can social media houses, our even we deal with such differences, and what measures can be taken in your opinion?

It's a very difficult thing to say. I mean, when I look at some of the discourses in the United States, you have sensitization in the corporate companies and in different organizations. I don't think that exists in India. I think for people to be conscious they have to start from a basic level - starting from the school curriculum and cinema, starting from different forms of art and the basic unit of life - the family. We have to change how we interact with each other about caste and talk about it, how we treat the maids that come to our houses, how we treat different caste groups around us. It doesn't have an easy answer because if I say sensitization programs would work, I know a lot of people who have studied in the biggest colleges and institutions are still casteists. So education is not a parameter to measure the anti- caste-ness of any group of people. It has to do with a complete overhaul of how our society is built, and of how we understand each other as human beings - interpersonal relationships. I think its a very long process. 75 Volume 6, Issue 1

Sir, you rightly said, that it needs a complete overhaul of our system. But in India's current context, where anyone who speaks up against the government gets criticized and labeled. So sir, what message would you like to give to those who would, perhaps, want to learn from your art form, and pursue a career in rap themselves, especially as a means of resistance?

On a personal note, I would look out and do everything in a very strategic way. The government is in such a mood that if you say anything or don't say anything, when they have a reason, they'll put you behind bars. So I would say to be safe and to make sure that if you have to put your views across through any media platforms, you know, be safe. When I say "safe", I mean that we have a way of writing - the way we say words, the way we articulate out of anger or a certain kind of frustration - which also might get us into trouble. So that's the only thing we can do. But apart from that, I think you write or don't write, the government doesn't really care about it. If they have a reason, they'll put you behind. So I think there's one strategic way. Say if I can help people on the ground than by writing an angry social media post which can lead me to trouble, I can silently do some groundwork, by helping out people, rather than writing on social media and getting ourselves into trouble. I think we have choices to make, whenever such situations come. 76 Volume 6, Issue 1

THE INFORMATION CONUNDRUM P A V I T R A M I S H R A ( 2 B )

The information meant for you shall find you one way or another. Gone are the days when required information, such as vacancy advertisements would hide in the corners of newspapers and magazines which might or might not have been delivered to where you lived, or delivered late by one or more days. It is ironic that people lose out on more and more knowledge in this era of hyper information, where we're fed all sorts of information through all possible communication channels. The answer to why we're losing out on knowledge within our reach lies in our data consumption patterns; which no longer belong to us in the true sense of direction and control. Our data consumption is regulated by algorithms that know what we want to see before we consciously realize it ourselves, by picking up on our digital footprints, which hold more importance than one might know. A casual click on the ‘I agree’ button at the corner of cookie policy banners goes a long way in determining our data consumption patterns. It has been found that Google, the tech giant that has basically invented modern online advertisements, can and does predict information about users such as gender, marital status, income, as well as personal interests, and while some predictions are quite off-base, most are eerily accurate. For Google, your searches are your personality, because what you look for on the internet, points at you.

Algorithms will feed you the information you may want, but will not expose you to what you need. Do you truly need every update on a Hollywood romance or the number of deaths caused by COVID-19? Are you constantly faced with news on Meghan Markle’s newest pair of shoes because you once fell into a Royal Family information rabbit hole during an idle hour on the weekend? That one book in your online shopping cart will appear everywhere on the internet until you buy it or ignore it for a long time. Algorithm-based advertisements and recommendations streamline specific data which the ad-makers deem important for the consumer. While you are reading about precautions against the Coronavirus for the 50th time, you are probably missing out on quarantined Italians singing to each other from their homes in solidarity, or statistics that point out the fact that the government is not conducting enough tests to know the actual transmission rate of the pandemic in the country.

Photo by : WeAreTechWomen. 77 Volume 6, Issue 1

THE INFORMATION CONUNDRUM P A V I T R A M I S H R A ( 2 B )

We have never been so distanced from Socrates’ adage, “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing,” than today. Knowing too much or at least thinking that you know enough or more than enough appeals to human minds today - to convince yourself (and other people) that you specialize in something, you don’t need a degree; all you need is a few deep search engine surfs. According to a study conducted by Pew Research Centre in 2016, 77% of American adults are more comfortable with over-information today than a decade ago. The internet has been called the ‘new oral tradition’ of the world and while it is true that easy access to information has brought down some barriers and contributed to the survival of some dying subjects, we are also constantly missing out on information that would make us more empathetic towards people - people of a different race, religion, country or sexual orientation; missing out on information which would make us pursue the questions which drive change.

Painfully funny. No wait, it's just painful. Photo by : Meme Guy. 78 Volume 6, Issue 1 NAZARIYA 2021 GALORE

IN THIS SECTION

Literary Indulgences : The 2021 Nazariya Crossword

A Social Illustration : Saffronizing the UGC New Draft History Syllabus

Wheel of Words

Gunjan and Katyayni's Photo-Stories

Meme Competition : Winning Entries 79 Volume 6, Issue 1 LITERARY INDULGENCES : THE 2021 NAZARIYA CROSSWORD

Across 8. A demon-angel buddy story adapted into a 2019 TV miniseries 11. Shelley's sonnet on the king of kings 13. George Orwell's dystopian novel revolving around Winston Smith 14. A novel based in Highbury, from the writer of Sense and Sensibility 16. A Nobel prize winner's Pulitzer prize-winning novel from 1987 18. Margaret Mitchell's Civil war period-piece 19. The flower embodying William Wordsworth's poetic feelings on his day close to nature 20. Two letters, One word : horror movie, horror book Down 1. the director of London's Nehru centre, and the author of various mythological-fiction books 2. J.R.R Tolkien's whole fictional universe in two movie words 3. War, Peace and Resurrection. Who does it remind you of? 4. He is accredited with Around the World in 80 days and Journey to the Centre of the Earth 5. Kalidasa's most famous play, revolving around Menaka's daughter 6. Forrest Gump's favourite children's book 7. To Be Or Not To Be? That is the question. 9. If you steal a novel, what would Markus Zusak call you? 10. Amrita Pritam's 1950 Punjabi novel associated with The Skeleton and That Man 12. Miguel de Cervantes' masterpiece and once the second-most translated book in the world

15. The first poem of Dante Alighieri's most famous Divine Comedy 17. A 2007 movie and a 2001 novel of the same name end!) the at (Answers 80 Volume 6, Issue 1 A SOCIAL ILLUSTRATION

SAFFRONIZING THE UGC NEW DRAFT HISTORY SYLLABUS

ARCHANA SINGH (Our Visionary Illustrator)

"The UGC draft of the new History syllabus for undergraduates is completely ignorant of the impressive changes that Indian history has registered across time. The draft has shifted its focus from secular literature to Hindu mythology and Religious Texts. On its way, it has also sidelined the Muslim rule, and the Mughals, some of whom even promoted Hinduism. The distortion and Saffronisation of the Indian history syllabus surely won't be able to manipulate the critical thinking of educated minds and students. If the vision of ‘New India’ symbolizes these hideous changes, then it sounds ominous for the ideals of democracy and freedom itself." - Archana 81 Volume 6, Issue 1 WHEEL OF WORDS RULES : 1.Each letter in the wheel can be used only once in each word. 2.The letter in the center has to be used compulsorily in each word and can be used as many times as needed to make the word. 3.The words must preferably have more than 3 letters. 4.The Scrabble Dictionary words are considered most reliable here. 5.Enjoy as you go! T R B O E Y S

I V (Answers at the end!) the at (Answers 82 Volume 6, Issue 1

GUNJAN AND KATYAYNI'S PHOTO-STORIES

In grade 11, my friends and I went to Gujrat for a service project. Our days were spent working in the sun painting walls or passing bricks or tubs of cement - doing whatever we were assigned to help renovate that school in the village. Our nights were reserved for preparing a skit for the people from that village. The hostel beds were not comfortable, the food was bad and the bus ride to and from the village was long. It was the hardest and yet, the best trip I ever had. It was also the trip that led me and my friends to witness the blissful indifference towards the hardships of a village child's world. The smiles on the faces of all the children crowding around us stood starkly against the rural poverty-stricken landscape. The scene was so mesmerizing that I had to record it. And as I clicked on my camera, a question crept into my mind - life is hard but does it have to be sad? KATYAYNI CHAMPAWAT

A Trip to the Lesser know travel sites across Goa. GUNJAN MITRA

Arvalem Caves Arvalem Caves Cabo De Rama Fort Cabo De Rama Fort

Tambdi Surla Temple Tambdi Surla Temple Rivona Caves Rivona Caves 83 Volume 6, Issue 1

MEME COMPETITION WINNING ENTRIES

The Media Team, Maazi-o-Mustaqbil 2021, in collaboration with the Editorial Board of the History Department, conducted a pre-event competition for our fest, soliciting Meme entries from students across LSR on the themes : "Art As Resistance" and "History in Memes". Following are the winning entries - hope they make you smile!

Sarmistha Ozah's entry on World War II. 84 Volume 6, Issue 1

MEME COMPETITION WINNING ENTRIES

The Media Team, Maazi-o-Mustaqbil 2021, in collaboration with the Editorial Board of the History Department, conducted a pre-event competition for our fest, soliciting Meme entries from students across LSR on the themes : "Art As Resistance" and "History in Memes". Following are the winning entries - hope they make you smile!

Saumya Suresh Iyengar's entry on the Revolt of 1857. 85 Volume 6, Issue 1 THE DEPARTMENT'S YEAR : AN OVERVIEW Detailed below are short descriptions of the events that were conducted by the LSR Department of History in 2021 :

On 4 February, 2021, the History Department of LSR organized its Freshers party for 2021, on the theme "70s Disco, 80s Retro, and 90s Pop"! It was a bedazzling experience for all those who participated. The party featured exciting dance and music performances from the department seniors, a wonderful game, and some friendly conversations!

On 18 February, 2021, the Department of History, conducted an Online Lecture on the topic "Before Krsna : Religious Diversity in Ancient Mathura". The Lecturer for the session was Assistant Professor Dr. Kanika Kishore Saxena, who specializes in ancient Indian history and her research interests include religion, art, and inscriptions. The session focused on understanding the pluralities of Mathura's religious culture before Krsna, including a detailed study of Buddhist, Jaina, Shaiva, and Vasudeva traditions. The lecture was followed by an interactive question-answer round with the audience. 86 Volume 6, Issue 1

On 23 February, 2021, the Department of History, conducted an Online Lecture on the topic "Why Museums Matter : For professionals and visitors". The Lecturer for the session was Ms. Joyoti Roy, who specializes in the same. The talk focused on the various significant aspects of museums, including what is displayed and why, how it impacts viewers, the upkeep, repatriation of stolen art, and more. The lecture was followed by an interactive question-answer round with the audience.

On 25 February 2021, the Department of History presented an online lecture on topic "Becoming an Archaeologist: Research Potential and Professional Scope in South Asia". The speaker of the event was Ms. Baisakhi Sengupta, a Ph.D. student of archaeology at UCLA. Ms. Sengupta introduced students to archaeology as a field of study, and spoke about various avenues of research and the career paths available. The lecture concluded with a question-answer session. 87 Volume 6, Issue 1

On 2 March, 2020, the Books, Films and Heritage Club of the Department of history conducted an interactive literature-discussion session open to students from all departments of the college. The session featured a lively discussion on a variety of pieces of literature that each of the participants considered their favourite, including poems, prose, and novels.

On 10 March, 2021, the Department of History, conducted an Online Talk on the topic "Refugee Women in Post-Partition Bengal : Different Contexts and Varied Images, 1947-71". The Speaker for the session was Dr. Pallavi Chakravarty, who specializes in the same. The talk focused on the various significant aspects of the refugee movement and influx during the Bengal partition of 1947, and after, including stories of violence, martyrdom and survival, and ideas of victimization and rehabilitation. The speaker gave deep insights into the stories and situation of refugee women at the time, while drawing links among their experiences as mothers, daughters, and wives. The lecture was followed by an interactive question-answer round with the audience. 88 Volume 6, Issue 1

On 17 March, 2021, the Department of History conducted an Online Lecture on the topic "Foregrounding Courtesans in Feminist Historiography". The Lecturer for the session was Dr. Lata Singh, who specializes in the same. The talk focused on the various significant aspects of the intersectionality of caste, class and profession in the identity of women. The speaker gave deep insights into the stories and life of courtesans in history, citing comparative examples from the lives of Bollywood actresses today. The speaker also talked about prostitution as an institution, and its representation in media and classical literature. The lecture was followed by an interactive question-answer round with the audience. 89 Volume 6, Issue 1

On 15 April, 2021, the Editorial Board of Ijtihad conducted a lecture on "Culinary Anthropology - an unconventional, essential, uncomfortable discipline". The speaker for the session was Dr. Kurush F. Dalal, who actively works on Memorial Stones and Ass-curse Stones in India and dabbles in Numismatics, Defence Archaeology, and allied disciplines.

Online Academic Writing Workshop series (3-10 April, 2021) : 1. On 3 April, 2021, the department conducted a session with Dr. Vasudha Pande (Retired Associate Professor of History from LSR), on "What is Research, and how should one select a Research topic?". Dr. Pande explained in great detail how a research topic is selected, and its hypothesis is formulated, how should research be approached across various disciplines, and so on. The session was followed by another on "Formulating the Research Question" by Ms. Nayana Dasgupta (Assistant Professor, LSR). Ms. Dasgupta focused on the formulation of a research question or hypothesis in greater detail and discussed how one must try to answer their research question. Both sessions were followed by an interactive QnA with the attendees. 90 Volume 6, Issue 1

2. On 6 April, 2021, the department conducted a session on "Approaching Sources: Reconstructing the ideal kind in early India", with Dr. Smita Sahgal (Teacher-in-Charge, Department of History LSR), and Dr. Shatarupa Bhattacharya (Assistant Professor, LSR). The speakers focused on the types of sources one must explore to carry out significant research, and how these sources must be approached differently or together. The session was followed by an interactive QnA with the attendees.

3. On 10 April, 2021, the department conducted a session titled "Let's Write it Up!" with Dr. Pankaj Jha (Associate Professor, LSR). Dr. Jha focused the discussion on how to write a research paper, including its abstract, body and conclusion, to fruition. The session was followed by an interactive QnA with the attendees. 91 Volume 6, Issue 1 Events of Maazi-o-Mustaqbil

1. As part of the Department Fest "Maazi-o-Mustaqbil", on 23 April, 2021, the Department of History conducted an Online Talk on "The Melody of Resistance : Deconstructing Dissent in Hindustani Music". The Lecturer for the session was Ms. Vidya Rao, who is a well-known singer of thumri-dadra and ghazal. The talk focused on the history and forms of Hindustani classical music, as a source of resistance. Using examples of Rasoolan Bai's "panghatva na jaave" and Farid Ayaz's "Kanhaiya Yaad Hai Kuch Bhi", Ms. Rao discussed the emotional connect of the musical artist with their art (may it be Qawwali or Bandish), and even described the influence of resistance movements like the battle of Karbala on songs of lament written in classical music. The lecture was followed by an interactive question-answer round between the audience and the speaker. 92 Volume 6, Issue 1

2. As part of the Department Fest "Maazi-o-Mustaqbil", on 23 April, 2021, the Department of History conducted an Online Talk on "Popular to Oppositional culture: modern directives of dissent". The Speakers for the session were Ms. Shubham Shree, a poet and Mr. Sumeet Samos, an Indian Dalit music artist. The talk focused on the emerging culture of using poetry and rap as art forms for activism and protest. Ms. Shree talked about the linguistic culture of poetry, giving special references to using Hindi and Urdu in writing poems. She also narrated a verse of her own composition on gender-neutrality and equality. Mr. Samos talked about the power of rap, and its outspoken nature. He also focused on social media trends that augment a rapper's or poet's power to reach out to the masses. The lecture was followed by an interactive question-answer round between the audience and speakers. 93 Volume 6, Issue 1

3. As part of the Department Fest "Maazi-o-Mustaqbil", on 23 April, 2021, the Department of History conducted an Online Talk on "Shades of Celluloid: Tracing resistance in Cinema". The Lecturer for the session was Ms. Sudha Tiwari, a teaching fellow at Ashoka University and a Ph.D. student at the Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. The talk focused on the effectiveness of cinematic productions and films in bringing about activism and resistance off- screen. She spoke in detail about the narratives presented by social cinematographers like Shyam Benegal and Satyajit Ray, as well as quoted examples of Protestant films from French and Brazilian cinema. The lecture was followed by an interactive question-answer round between the audience and the speaker. 94 Volume 6, Issue 1

4. As part of the Department Fest "Maazi-o-Mustaqbil", on 23 April, 2021, the Department of History conducted an Online Talk on "'Gayi Yak ba Yak yeh hawa palat gayi' : Poetry of Resistance in 1857". The Lecturer for the session was Ms. Rana Safvi, a historian with a deep love for verse and a passion for the culture and heritage of the Indian subcontinent. The talk focused on the descriptions of Bahadur Shah Zafar's mystic poetry that described downgrading the situation of the Mughal empire at the time of the 1857 rebellion. She quoted examples of various poetic narratives drawn from the time of resistance against the British raj in 1857 India, wherein poetry on Hindu-Muslim unity, and around the morose themes of betrayals and loss of lives, were prominent. The lecture was followed by an interactive question- answer round between the audience and the speaker. 95 Volume 6, Issue 1

5. As part of the Department Fest "Maazi-o-Mustaqbil", on 23 April, 2021, the Department of History conducted an Online Talk on "The Aesthetics of Discrimination". The Lecturer for the session was Mr. T.M Krishna, a renowned vocalist, musician and writer. The talk focused on the questions revolving around what is aesthetical, and why is something aesthetical to an individual, whereas to the other, it is not. The speaker presented a deeply philosophical and at the same time, socially scientific analysis of the concepts of beauty and discrimination, and how it took great discomfort for one to bend their own preference and privilege to be able to truly understand an artist's art. The lecture was followed by an interactive question-answer round between the audience and the speaker. 96 Volume 6, Issue 1

6. As part of the Department Fest "Maazi-o-Mustaqbil", on 24 April, 2021, the Department of History conducted an Online Talk on "Classical carousel : pirouetting class and gender". The Lecturer for the session was Ms. Manjari Chaturvedi, who is trained in the Lucknow Gharana of Kathak under the guidance of Arjun Mishra. The talk focused on the life, art and culture of the tawaifs, whom we have historically come to marginalize as "obscene". She broke such stereotypes by discussing the relevance of their work in their times and ours, and highlighted the work being done by her with The Courtesan Project, to revive the culture and art. The lecture was followed by an interactive question-answer round between the audience and the speaker. 97 Volume 6, Issue 1

7. As part of the Department Fest "Maazi-o-Mustaqbil", on 24 April, 2021, the team of Ijtihad, the Academic Journal of the Department of History, LSR conducted an Online Research Paper Presentation Competition on the theme "Art and Artist: the dichotomy of resistance". The jury for the competition comprised of Dr. Kanika Kishore, an alumna of and Assistant Professor at the Department of History, LSR, and Dr. Richa Raj, Assistant Professor of History at Jesus and Mary College, University of Delhi. 8 Participants from across the University of Delhi presented their research papers on the given theme : from Brechtian techniques of theatre to Poetry and cinema as art forms for resistance, the papers gave a unique view on themes of art and activism in a short time. The presenters also entertained questions from the audience. 98 Volume 6, Issue 1

8. As part of the Department Fest "Maazi-o-Mustaqbil", on 24 April, 2021, the Department of History conducted its Online Cultural Event on "Dastan-e-Bhagat: The forgotten art of storytelling". The speakers for the session were Ms. Nusrat Ansari, who is working in the social sector with Educational Initiatives as their Educational Specialist in Urdu, and Ms. Ainee Farooqui, who is an alumna of and an Assistant Professor at the Department of History, LSR. The cultural event focused on the art of Dastangoi, or storytelling. The speakers first presented the historical roots of Dastangoi, tracing it back to 8th- century Arabia. Following the introduction to the art form, we witnessed the speakers give a brilliant performance for their composition "Dastan-e-Bhagat" - the Dastan of the life and times of Bhagat Singh. The performance was followed by an interactive question-answer round between the audience and the speakers. 99 Volume 6, Issue 1 ANSWERS

ANSWERS TO PAGE 79 "LITERARY INDULGENCES : THE 2021 NAZARIYA CROSSWORD"

Across Down 8. GOOD OMENS 1. AMISH TRIPATHI 11. OZYMANDIAS 2. THE HOBBIT 13. NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR 3. LEO TOLSTOY 14. EMMA 4. JULES VERNE 16. BELOVED 5. SHAKUNTALA 18. GONE WITH THE WIND 6.CURIOUS GEORGE 19. DAFFODILS 7. HAMLET 20. IT 9. BOOK THIEF 10. PINJAR 12. DON QUIXOTE 15. INFERNO 17. ATONEMENT

ANSWERS TO PAGE 81 "WHEEL OF WORDS" VERBOSITY; SOBRIETY; OBESITY; BREVITY; STOREY; VERITY; OYSTER; VESTRY; IVORY; BYTES; TYRES; RYOTS; STORY; OBEY; TREY; YORE; TROY; BYRE; YETI; STYE/ STY; ORBY; RYES; BOYS; BEVY; ROSY; OYER; TRY; SOY; IVY; TOY; RYE; BYE; YES.

If you got 15 or more answers in the crossword right, or if you could make more words than the ones mentioned above, then congratulations! Please share the brilliant news with us at [email protected]. 100 Volume 6, Issue 1 CREDITS

Text Editing/ Sub-Editors : Sookthi Kav, Riya Sharma, Pavitra Mishra

Illustrations : Archana Singh

Contributing Writers/ Correspondents : Katyayni Champawat, Gunjan Mitra, Soumya Swain, Priydarshini Yadav

Photographers : Katyayni Champawat, Gunjan Mitra, Social Media Team of the History Department, Publicity Team of Maazi-o-Mustaqbil

Interviewers : Romik Sai, Anushka Saxena, Anoushka Sur

Overall Editing and Design : Anushka Saxena

Union, Department of History, LSR (2021) : President : Anoushka Sur General Secretary : Samvidhan Treasurer : Bidisha Chutia

Sincere gratitude to our professors for their constant guidance and support in the making of this Issue.

Nazariya 2021, Volume 6, Issue 1 © Department of History, Lady Shri Ram College for Women