Ayudha Puja in Pondicherry

Ayudha puja at Renaissance Workshop

The people of Pondicherry celebrated Ayudha Puja on 8 October 2008, the 9th day of Navaratri (30 September to 9 October this year).  Durga puja is called Ayudha puja in the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. Ayudha puja is “worship of the weapons” – which in common terms is translated into implements and tools.

Father and daughter washing a scooter

People clean their houses and wash all the implements and tools of their trade, including their vehicles.

Doorway decorated with palm and banana fronds

People decorate their homes, offices and other places of work as well as their vehicles with palm and banana leaves.  The youngest palm fronds are cut and shaped into decorations. Unfortunately, most people now also use “modern” decorations, including colored crepe paper.

Mark and I were invited to two puja celebrations – one at the carpentry and furniture refinishing workshop of a friend (where we had the best food we have had to date in Pondicherry – the carpenters/cooks were from Bihar) and the other at the Shuddham office.

Snigda Marries Bapoorau

Bapoorau and Snigda in full regalia

On the morning of 3 October 2008, Snigda married Bapoorau at the Sivakami Amman temple, off the Sivaganga tank, of the famous Nataraja temple in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu.

Snigda, pre ceremony

Getting changed at the Sivakami Amman temple

During the ceremony; Bapoorau shows off his well-inked arms

Non-traditional mauling of the bride

By the temple tank

Toe-ringed - it's official now!

Bike Valet

Bike Parking at Vancouver Folk Music Festival

As preparations were underway for the Vancouver Folk Music Festival that took place this past weekend in nearby Jericho Beach Park, I wondered at the rows of metal barriers set up at the entrance to the Park on West 4th Avenue.  Were they meant to funnel festival goers through ticket lines?  On the afternoon of the 18th, it all became clear – the barriers were set up for supervised bicycle parking.  How wonderful!  If last year’s travel patterns are indicative of this year’s 10,000 daily festival attendees, 32% will have walked, ridden bikes, or been passengers in automobiles. (Last year, 17% took the bus, and 51% drove.)

Celebration of Light - Canada

Yesterday, I learned of Bike Valet, a secure bicycle parking service being offered free at several festivals and special events in Vancouver this summer by BEST (Better Environmentally Sound Transport).  This year, BEST is providing Bike Valet at a total of six events and festivals in Vancouver, including at two viewing locations for the Celebration of Light, a fireworks competition that takes place in Vancouver every year.

Celebration of Light - Canada

This year’s competitors for the Celebration of Light are Canada, the U.S. and China.  Yesterday, Canada started off with a spectacular display based on the theme:  Attack, with Godzilla featuring prominently in the beginning of the show.

Laksha Deepam at Sendrakillai, Tamil Nadu

8 February 2008

There is a tropical dry evergreen forest (TDEF) in the village of Sendrakillai (in the state of Tamil Nadu), 60 kilometers south of Pondicherry, that serves as a sacred grove for the 2,000 people of the village. There are five temples in the sacred grove, and this grove, unlike the two TDEF in Pondicherry, is protected and used in a sustainable manner by the villagers.

Niranjan

Niranjan Kumar and a fellow student were the first people to study this ecosystem in December 2006 in their final year at the Salim Ali School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences at Pondicherry University. They categorized 54 species of trees and 48 species of liana (woody climbers) in the 12 hectares grove. The forest is the main source of medicinal plants and trees, edible fruits and tubers and firewood for the village. There is a family of nadivaithyam (traditional healers) that treat the villagers using plant extracts from the forest. (There is no hospital in or around the village.)

Entrance to main temple in the sacred grove

There are two horses and guards that lead to the main temple of the sacred grove. The temple portico is flanked by two dogs. The villagers believe that if you whisper your prayers into the ears of the horses or dogs, your prayers will come true within the week. (Before he left the village, Niranjan prayed for a good job in an NGO and he landed up at Shuddham!)

On the last Friday of the month of thai (the harvest month which begins with the Pongal festivities), Tamilians celebrate Laksha Deepam – one lakh (a hundred thousand) lamps. (This is the 62nd year that this village has celebrated Laksha Deepam.) The deepam are filled with a mixture of five different oils: nallennai (sunflower), pinnaennai, vilakuennai (neem), malataennai (groundnut or peanut), and thengaennai (coconut).  (One of the oils prevents the wicks from being blown out by the wind.)  20 years ago, one family sponsored the entire festival. Now, they collect donations from the village and surrounding areas for the celebration.

Families participate in both the filling and the lighting of the deepam as the sun begins to fade. As the figure of the god is brought along the path from the village into the sacred grove, accompanied by a drummer, firecrackers light the sky and assault the eardrums (some of the firecrackers only produce noise).

Vendors set up their wares in a carnival atmosphere (with mobile rides – mini ferris wheels and merry-go-rounds and games – balloon shooting and ring tosses) and families come from neighboring villages by bus, trucks, and on foot to offer their prayers and to celebrate  into the night.

Kolam Competition

 
Kolam #79 on Beach Road in Pondicherry 13 January 2008 

13 January 2008

There was a kolam competition early this morning on Beach Road in Pondicherry.  Over 500 women (mother-daughter teams, friends, colleagues) participated in this annual event the day before the start of the 4-day Pongal festival.  By the time I got to Beach Road in the late afternoon, most of the kolams had been destroyed by passing traffic, so all the pictures shown here (with permission) were taken by Policarpio (Tony) Soberanis, who was also too late to capture more than 230 of the 500 entries.

       

Most of the kolams were fairly traditional, with flower and geometric themes.  Some competitors added a twist by using chopped flowers, fruits and vegetables, and grains in addition to or instead of the white and colored rice powder.

           

The second most popular theme was the peacock – the national bird of India.

   

These three also caught my eye.  Is that a menorah in the middle of kolam # 206?

American ’60s Pop Culture and the Pondicherry College Student

“Ma’am, the Flintstones.”  Does everyone know about the Flintstones?  “Yes ma’am.” “Tom and Jerry, ma’am.”  “WWF” (World Wrestling Federation, now World Wrestling Entertainment).

I am stunned as other suggestions, such as “Father Christmas”  are proposed by the 20 (Hindu) students of Tagore Arts College. Eventually, the suggestions turn to South Indian film stars (Rajnikant and Ajith), and Indian cricketers (all men). And I begin to feel a little easier.

We had gathered on a Saturday morning to engage the Tagore Arts College student members of the NSS (National Service Scheme) in an awareness campaign to stop littering on Beach Road in Pondicherry. We (the members of Shuddham and two visiting students from the University of Iowa) were hoping to pump up these first 20 NSS students to start a “Beautiful Pondicherry” movement, first at their school, then on Beach Road, then throughout Pondicherry.  They accepted a very tight deadline to start the first “action” on Beach Road the next Saturday evening.

Tony, one of the University of Iowa volunteers, suggested that the students dress up as characters to engage the public in a fun, funny way to stop littering.  Tony and his sister had worked with their mom (Mr. Neat and Clean, a clown) in Belize in a successful campaign against littering.   Kyle, the other University of Iowa volunteer suggested a character called the “Green Guru”. So, while the Americans and members of Shuddham suggested characters such as Mr. Clean, Mr. Toilet, Mr. Water, or “No Paper”, “No Plastic”, “No Bottles”, etc. who would be under the leadership of “No Trash” the NSS students were suggesting cartoon characters created in Hollywood in the 1950s and ’60s. (Everyone here knows the Flintstones?!?)

These students, most of whom are first generation college students, are part of the Indian juggernaut hurtling towards progress a la the U.S. in the ’50s, consuming sanitized U.S. pop culture (no one mentioned Itchy & Scratchy), material goods (the latest cell phones), and mineral resources.

The students left completely jazzed, discussing among themselves how they could get their entire college clean before our next meeting on Wednesday. (During our visit to the principal last week, we observed piles of trash everywhere.)  We settled on them dressing up as the Indian cricket team (uniforms are easy to get anywhere), but with capes emblazoned with “Beautiful Pondicherry”, some in English and some in Tamil. Dress rehearsal is on Friday.  The performance on Saturday.

Live (Free) Webcast of Pop!Tech – 17-20 October 2007

Pop!Tech is the annual thought leadership summit convening next week in Camden Maine from October 17 to 20, 2007.

“Each year, this four day summit explores the deep forces shaping our collective future, the social impact of new scientific insights and emerging technologies, and the new approaches humanity is taking to address national and global problems. It draws together world-leading speakers and 550 attendees that include some of the highest ranks of science, technology, business, the arts, culture, law and the press; the participants include Nobel Prize winners, MacArthur ‘genius’ award winners, and uncategorizable thought leaders who come together to look collectively at the future of the world.” Andrew Zolli, Curator of Pop!Tech

This year, the entire Pop!Tech conference will be webcast LIVE AND FOR FREE at http://www.poptech.org/live between 9am and 6.30pm, October 17-20, 2007. You can even submit questions to the stage live by emailing questions@poptech.org. The 2007 Pop!Tech program and speakers are online.

Pop!Tech is a nonprofit with the mission to accelerate the impact of world-changing people and ideas. They’ve invested *heavily* to give their content away to the world for free – please “tune” in and spread the word.

The partial list of confirmed speakers is amazing:

* Ted Ames, the Macarthur-Award-Winning ecologist and Maine lobsterman, will share his work creating sustainable approaches to our management of the oceans.

* Tom Barnett, the geopolitical and military strategist and best-selling author, who will explore America’s strategic challenges in the next 25 years.

* Sam Barondes, the renowned neuropsychiatrist who will discuss the essence of human personality – what it is, where it comes from, and how it makes us who we are.

* Robert Boroffice, head of Nigeria’s space agency, NASRDA, who will speak about how satellite technology can connect Africa.

* Adrian Bowyer, creator of low-cost, open-source fabrication technologies will speak about how this breakthrough technology can be used to empower ordinary citizens around the world.

* Louann Brizendine, neuropsychiatrist and expert on gender differences in the brain, will share her provocative work on how men and women truly do think differently.

* Mustapha Ceric, Grand Mufti of Bosnia and leading Islamic thinker, will speak about global peace.

* Caleb Chung, legendary toy designer and inventor of the Furby, will share his latest “artificially alive,” animatronic creation.

* Krista Dong, MD, a front-lines AIDS worker in South Africa, will speak about an inspiring new initiative to help HIV+ people in the poorest communities.

* Alan Dugatkin, an expert in animal behavior will share his insights into the biological underpinnings of human goodness.

* Nathan Eagle, the mobility expert from the MIT Media Lab, will share his research on the use of mobiles as a tool for social development.

* John Esposito, the preeminent Islamic-studies scholar, will lead a discussion on the history and future of Islam.

* Jeff Fisher, the healthcare psychologist will share his work on a promising new software tool in the fight in the fight against HIV.

* Cary Fowler, the world’s seed banker and director of the Global Seed Diversity Trust, will share his efforts to create a “global seed vault” deep in a mountain in Norway.

* Vanessa German, the urban slam poet will inspire us.

* Dan Gilbert, the psychologist and best-selling author, will discuss human happiness and why we rarely hold on to it.

* Jessica Hagy, superbly comic blogger will share her hilarious illustrations.

* Victoria Hale, founder of the world’s first non-profit drug company, will share her work on fighting malaria and other illnesses.

* Jonathan Harris, the mind-blowing interactive design star, will share his breathtaking work.

* Carl Honoré, celebrated journalist and chronicler of the Slow Food movement, will speak about the new dynamics of human culture.

* Nina Jablonski, the renowned anthropologist, will share her work studying the biology and meaning of human skin.

* Jessica Jackley Flannery, Internet microfinance pioneer, will discuss the future of ‘bottom up’ solutions to poverty.

* Van Jones, inner-city eco-activist, will speak about his work on a new “green collar” revolution in America’s inner cities.

* Chris Jordan, the celebrated photographer, will share his breathtaking photographs which document of the human impact.

* Sarah Joseph, the founder of Emel magazine, Britain’s leading Muslim lifestyle publication, will discuss emerging dialogues within the Islamic community.

* Jay Keasling, one of the founding fathers of synthetic biology, will share his path-breaking work on new health and energy technologies.

* Zoë Keating, the mesmerizing techno-cellist, will perform for us.

* Sheila Kennedy, the architect and product designer, will relate her work on breakthrough new lighting technologies designed for the developing world.

* Daoud Kuttab, the pioneering Palestinian journalist and new media expert, will share his thoughts on the impact of new media in the Middle East.

* John Legend, the Grammy Award-winning R&B artist, will perform and share his work on global poverty alleviation.

* Joe McCarthy, global mobility researcher, will share his insights into how mobile devices are empowering people around the world.

* Christian Nold, a technology artist, will demonstrate his work on “emotional mapping” technologies that show how people react to places.

* Claire Nouvian, the noted deep-sea conservationist, will share some of her breathtaking work documents the deepest layers of the biosphere.

* Kelly Joe Phelps, the mesmerizing blues guitarist, will perform.

* Dan Pink, the noted journalist will share his thoughts on the rise of the creative economy.

* Steven Pinker, the preeminent cognitive scientist and New York Times-best-selling author will speak on the nature and essence of human thought.

* Paul Polak, founding father of market-based solutions to poverty and development, will speak about his efforts to built ultra-low-cost products for the bottom of the global pyramid.

* Davy Rothbart, the founder of Found magazine, will share some his hilarious findings.

* Enric Sala, the rising star of marine ecology, will share his work documenting the human impact on the oceans.

* Zainab Salbi, the founder of Women for Women International, will share lessons from her efforts helping women in post-conflict regions.

* Bill Shannon, the indescribably talented street dancer will speak and perform.

* John Shearer, technology entrepreneur, will share his potentially breakthrough ways of distributing electricity.

* Paul Shuper, psychologist and HIV behavioral researcher, will share his work on a promising new software tool in the fight in the fight against HIV.

* Elizabeth Streb, the award-winning choreographer will share her visions.

* Charles Swift, the Navy lawyer charged with defending terrorists at Guantanamo, will share lessons on balancing human rights with security in the post 9/11 world.

* Zinhle Thabethe, the front-line AIDS worker from KwaZulu Natal province, South Africa, will return to Pop!Tech to announce a significant new initiative to fight the epidemic in her home country.

* Katrin Verclas, mobile activism researcher, will share her research on the many ways mobiles are being used a tool for social change.

Kiran Ahluwalia Tangents Party – 12 October 2007, San Francisco

 

“A stunning singer and rising international star” Village Voice

“Her voice is as supple and rich an instrument as anything man or nature has yet devised, turning from scorchingly seductive to playful at the drop of a sari. Eye Magazine

“Her crystal clear voice arched superbly above rhythms that coursed through the audience…an evening of fascinating, newly revealed music.” Los Angeles Times

Indo-Canadian ghazal singer Kiran Ahluwalia performs her first San Francisco concert Friday night, October 12 at Saint Gregory’s Church (500 De Haro, Potrero Hill). This is the perfect setting for Kiran’s five piece ensemble which in addition to Kiran’s remarkable voice includes tabla, harmonium, guitar and bass.

Ghazal is a sensual poetic form that Kiran lovingly describes as a “highly literate pick up line”. It originated in Persia 1000 years ago and reached the Indian sub-continent 400 years later. This was a time when princes and kings employed court musicians to put music to poetry. Kiran is a bridge to this colorful past. She takes the ghazal song form into the 21st century soaking in other influences especially Portuguese fado on her new recording: “Wanderlust”.

Date: October 12 (Friday) 8:30p Concert. Two 50 minute sets.

7p doors open with potluck dinner. Q & A with Kiran after the concert.

Location: Saint Gregory’s Church, San Francisco
500 De Haro St. at Mariposa St. in Potrero Hill (ample parking)

Tickets: $25 adv/$27.50 door

Info: www.tangents.com/ 415 584-4367

Hosted by Dore Stein, “Tangents” producer (Sat. 8-mid, 91.7fm, kalw.org)

Kiran media link for artist info:
http://www.rockpaperscissors.biz/index.cfm/fuseaction/current.press_release/project_id/322.cfm

Kiran media link for articles/interviews:
http://www.rockpaperscissors.biz/index.cfm/fuseaction/current.articles/project_id/322.cfm

Never been to a Tangents party? Don’t miss this opportunity – this is only the second time in the history of Tangents that the party has been opened up to the general public. Usually, Tangents parties are intimate affairs in people’s homes (Mark and I have hosted several parties in two of our former homes in San Francisco) where an amazing group of people gather for food, community, and live, “tangential” music. Because of the limited capacity of these gatherings, tickets usually sell out immediately to those on Dore Stein’s Tangents email list. (To get on the list, email tangentsradio at gmail dot com.)

I (and the indomitable Hester Lox) will be doing “door” duty, so please come and say hello. And don’t forget a delectable savory dish or dessert to share with the “tangential” community. (Prizes – CDs – for the best, home-made delectables in each category.)

If you can’t make it to the party, join the Tangents community by listening to Dore’s show on KALW (91.7 FM) Saturdays from 8pm to midnight. If you are located outside of the SF Bay Area, you can stream it live. (Mark and I have enjoyed many a show from Pondicherry, India!)

SHE Creates

3 September 2007, Bombay

Participants from Uncle’s Free Coaching Classes

Twenty five girls, in rows of five, filled the small auditorium at Digital Academy, for their sixth (out of a total of ten) workshop in film making. They sat according to height, with the smallest girls first. I marveled at the fact that girls as young as eight or nine were participating in this program, but it turned out that the small girls in the front of the auditorium were the same age as the tallest girls in the very back – 15 and 16 years old. (The youngest participants are 10 years old.)

the world will watch as SHE creates

SHE Creates is a month-long initiative of Mam Movies, in association with Laadli, a girl-child campaign of Population First, to give girls a voice through the medium of film.

This workshop was geared to critiquing footage shot by the girls on Sunday – their very first day of shooting – and to introduce the editing software they would be using to complete their films within the next week and a half!

The first footage we saw was taken by the girls from Uncle’s Free Coaching Classes. “Uncle” and his family (in particular, his daughter Rehana), educate Muslim girls in different neighborhoods in Bombay, giving these girls their only opportunity for informal education and vocational training. Uncle’s girls are making a film on bride burning and harassment. When the script was being developed, Meghna (one of the co-founders of Mam Movies) asked: “How are you going to depict the burning of the bride?” The girls thought about it and came up with a solution: film the burning of a piece of paper in a dark room.

The girls from Learn, an organization working with the girls from Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum (the second largest in the world), are making a film on education and vocational training of girls – the focus of the NGO that supports them. Their footage showed amazing shots of the narrow lanes in Dharavi and people climbing up straight ladders to enter their homes through narrow openings in the ceiling/floor (much like attic entrances in “Colonial” style homes on the East coast of the U.S.). (I wonder what they think about their potential displacement as huge swaths of Dharavi will soon be given over to developers by the Slum Rehabilitation Authority.)

The girls from the Rescue Foundation are also making a film about what they know – the flesh trade. Their footage opens with green, open fields (a village), shows members of a “family”, and the kidnap and eventual rescue of one of the girls in the family. These girls have not understood that they need to make a “real” film, with actors (and not one of them playing the “brother”) – this is not a “street play” with which most of them are familiar. Salma, one of the loudest girls on the team, and in fact, of all the twenty five girls, is uncharacteristically shy when she sees herself on film – she covers her face in her hands and hunkers down in her chair, hiding from herself.

The girls from Apne Aap have not had a chance to shoot, but they have a killer (no pun intended) script about female foeticide and have worked out all the details in preparation for their full-day shoot the next day.

Maa, it’s my 1st month in your womb, I can see the world through your eyes…
It’s my 2nd month in your womb, I can feel your love…
Maa, why are you sad today? Why are you at the operation theater? Maa, why am I going far from you?
Maa, please, I want to born. Maa, save me, please…

The girls from Bombay Cambridge High School haven’t shot anything (they gave the equivalent of “the dog ate my homework” excuse: “we didn’t have any tape”) and had internal conflicts about the script. These girls are the only girls from privileged backgrounds, and they seemed relatively immature for their age (12 and 13) and their standard (8th grade). (Mam wanted to have a more balanced distribution of groups, with two groups from privileged schools and three from informal, NGO programs, but one of the private schools backed out at the last moment.) You could tell that most of them didn’t take this initiative seriously (three of the girls from Bombay Cambridge were the only ones not wearing the program T-shirts) and were having difficulty coming up with a script with which they could identify. They had a couple of scripts in mind – one on early marriage and one on gender restrictions in middle class families. Madhu (the other co-founder of Mam) spent some time talking them through a script during a break in the workshop, and Akash and Rahul, two Mam volunteers, accompanied the girls back to their school so that they could provide additional guidance. Whatever Akash and Rahul said to them worked. Rahul got a phone call later that evening with a revised script that was excellent: Part 1 – a lower class girl is forced into early marriage. Part 2 – a middle class girl is refused international travel for a sports competition. Part 3 – an upper class girl is not allowed to take a high-paying job on the night shift. End – narrator: No matter what the class, why don’t girls have a say in their own future?

Annual Day at Bharatiya Sangeet and Nartan Shikshapeeth (or Avani Shah’s Kathak Performance)

Avani, on the left, performing with other students of Kathak

My performanc wld b at around 7ish At bhartiya vidya bhavan.But its really ok if u cant mak it.i assure u, ul miss nothin

In the short-hand and random capitalization and spacing ubiquitous to young adults of her generation (and anathema to people of mine), Avani SMSes me her disclaimer. “I want to come.” I text back “Where is it near?” (I include the proper punctuation in all my messages.)

I reach the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Chowpatty around 6:44pm and enter the dark and air conditioned hall. The stage curtains are drawn and a bunch of kids are running out from the stage area. “Oh good”, I think to myself – “I’ve missed the little kids. “

Saraswati, Hindu goddess of Art, Music & Knowledge, graces the stage

There is an announcement in Hindi, and in a few minutes, the curtains open and the stage is set for musical performances, not dance. A sitar player and tabla player are seated on the raised platform. Clearly, the sitar player is the student here. His performance is short. Then a tabla player and harmonium player. The tabla student is pretty bad. Though, again, the performance is mercifully short. Then a vocalist, accompanied by tabla, harmonium, and tanpura.

In the middle of the performance, Avani rushes in to the auditorium – you can recognize her by her backpack with the 2 large carabiners hanging off the handle – at 7:45pm! She sees me and runs over to where I’m sitting. She gives me her camera and asks if I can take video. “You just have to press a button right?” I ask. “Yes.” And she sets the camera to video, shows me how to turn it on and off, how to zoom in and out, and how to press that button. “Do you go on after this?” I ask, expectantly. “No, after this there is a prize distribution, then a break, then the Bharat Natyam dancers, then us.” She gives me a look, then says: “If it gets too late and you have to go, just give the camera to the auntie in the blue and tell her it’s Avani’s camera. But if you’re here, nothing like it!” And she rushes off while I dig further into my chair for the long haul.

After the vocalist, the principal of the Shikshapeeth comes on stage to give a little speech and hand out the awards and prizes. From her, we learn that the Institute was founded in 1946, and that they just celebrated their “Diamond Jubilee Year” (60th anniversary) . The Institute started out teaching sitar, tabla and vocal, but to keep up with the times, they’ve added “hobby” classes of Sugam Sangeet, harmonium, and Hawaiian guitar due to popular demand. (Hawaiian guitar?!? For some reason, this cracks me up.) Bharat Natyam dance was introduced in 1948 and Kathak in 1957. The classical music and dance programs are 5-year diploma programs, after which students can go on with one-on-one study with a guru.

The flowers worn in Avani’s hair

The first award – first place for a first year vocal student – goes to a Japanese woman. First and second places are announced for winners in each year of study for each of the instruments, then the dancers. Surprise! Avani is awarded second place in first year Kathak. Not surprised that Avani won an award – she has medals for every year of every sport she has undertaken – just surprised that she didn’t tell me. I am one of three people that clap for her. (Her mom is in the U.S., her brother left for Dubai yesterday, and her father is at the funeral ceremony of a friend’s wife, so it’s up to me and two other aunties.)

When Avani finally comes on stage, she has the most serious look on her face – one of intense concentration. She starts out in the back, with the other first year. I’m too busy taking still photographs and video to take in much. She rotates to the front with two other girls. Ooops! She makes a mistake – starts a movement too soon. Do I have that on video? No matter. She rotates off the stage shortly thereafter, leaving a stage littered with loose bells flung off ankles and flowers thrown off heads.