http://godaam.pad.madaily2010-09-071.0http://godaam.pad.ma/aboutmonthly1.0http://godaam.pad.ma/faqmonthly1.0http://godaam.pad.ma/termsmonthly1.0http://godaam.pad.ma/licensemonthly1.0http://godaam.pad.ma/Vt8dn5hq/info2009-08-07weekly1.0Pila House - Interview with Abdul Bhai of Delhi Darbar Restauranthttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vt8dn5hq/poster.75.jpgThis event is an interview is of Abdul Bhai, who works in a restaurant within the precinct of Pila House. His interview is one of a series of three interviews we conducted with various people to recollect the history of the area from the point of view of people who have either lived or worked there, i.e. in some way belonged to that space and were currently associated with some sort of trade in that area. Pila House a name derived locally from the term Play House, signifies the area adjoining the cluster of cinemas on lower Grant Road to Do Talkies, Kamatipura to Lohar-chawl. It is at the heart of our country’s financial capital a living exposition of an informal economy and couched between some of Bombay’s iconic bazaars it has for ages been an epitomatic public space. Contrary to my earlier perception of being either a rundown or down-market business establishment, Pila house in its varied forms, is an effervescent markets uniquely tailored for the needs of its various consumers. The physicality of space hides more than it reveals but with a little effort one stumbles upon a vast energetic production sector which is feeds into the city’s growing needs. It shifts between the day light hours of tailors, barbers, dentists, photo-studios, household and hardware sales to the neon lit restaurants, and numerous small eateries, cinema halls, pan shops; displaying elements for the script of both a brooding film noir it supports the bustle of a dynamic chain of demand and supply. I approached Pila House with the intension of unearthing a past, and found a vibrant present. Pila House has had a history of live entertainment, long before Bombay, became synonymous with the entertainment industry. A basic necessity for an ever-present mobile, male dominated bastion of merchants, seamen, labourers, Pila House accommodated entertainment of all varieties and forms. It quite easily accommodates a memory of at least two centuries, and has been the witness to some of the most dramatic changes of our times. At a point when the dancers in Bombay’s local bars were being banned – Pila House seemed like the most appropriate space to reexamine the nexus of the city’s many wares.Yes2008http://godaam.pad.ma/Vu1bg68y/info2009-08-07weekly1.0Koli Livelihood Practice 5 - Interview with Fisherman Darshanhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vu1bg68y/poster.75.jpgThis event, along with others under the other event titled Koli Livelihood Practices on the same site, in an interview of Darshan Kathin, Kathin. Darshan was born into that tradition and spent his entire life in the village and inherited the trade from his father and continues to support his family with fishing which is his only business. Darshan also turned out to be the protagonist / principal narrator of the film, Notes from a Neighborhood, which I made for my diploma from National Institute of Design. This was my first encounter with some of the issues haunting the fishing business, specifically in Versova, where it has been a family based occupation for several centuries. Within the space of a city where lines are constantly being drawn on communal, moral grounds and issues of class, sexuality, faith relentlessly politicized, our engagement with our immediate neighbourhood drops only to mere necessity and differences get the priority in our discussions. It is said that often the study of others throws more light upon us – but often it is the definition of the other that is faulty. This particular interview with Darshan was one of the very first interviews I ever did. It was therefore a vast learning experience and though I did not end up using any of it for various reasons it is significant for various other ones. While I had befriended Darshan a bit and had been welcomed within his circle of friends and family, looking back I was still not very comfortable with him. That is one of the reasons why often our conversation does not flow very smoothly – as I had not resolved in my mind my own position vis-à-vis some of the things we were talking about. The first major learning that came from this was – when we are first stepping into another world, are we in a position to understand what we are being told? What kind of research of awareness does one require to generate to be able to engage comprehensively with the subject? Often we are given information but while a person like Darshan speaks from a context of his entire life, my association with his world had been comparatively short. At a very simply level most of these questions are resolved in time, the amount of time and the intensity of the engagement determines the clarity one forms. For me, reviewing and annotating this interview was a reality check of sorts in how much more I needed to cue myself to the space and focus my efforts on the specific context I wanted to unravel.Yes2625http://godaam.pad.ma/Vdxbw8rm/info2009-08-07weekly1.0Pila House: Interview with Javed Bhai, Caretaker of Dargah in Gulshan Talkieshttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vdxbw8rm/poster.75.jpgThis event is an interview is of Javed Bhai, who takes care of the Darga inside Gulshan Talkies, within the precinct of Pila House. His interview is one of a series of three interviews we conducted with various people to recollect the history of the area from the point of view of people who have either lived or worked there, i.e. in some way belonged to that space and were currently associated with some sort of trade in that area. Pila House has played a significant role within the mainstream film industry of Bombay not just as a space for exhibition but also a space for production. Apart from generating popular tales related to Pila House/Kamatipura, from the legendary Rekha in Muqaddar ka Sikandar to Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay to the more recent Dukaan, Pila House, all have contributed in creating the accepted stereotypes, it has also been the home of people like Rehmaan Bhai and his ancestral practice of painted film hoardings. This trade continues to be an active player in the film publicity arena and the form has an evolved visual language which has greatly inspired adaptations in contemporary technology. But both the space and stories it has produced have generously derived from each other in creating the essence of what it is today. The evolution of Pila House has had consistent association with forms of entertainment from the time the graveyards were decommissioned and filled up into an open field to halls for silent films and then talkies. The theatres were made on the spaces left around graves of certain important personalities, and remained in the background till the Parsis, Bohris and Anglo-Indian owners were being replaced by a primarily Islamic migration from various regions. The re-establishment of the graves as sites of a religio-spiritual gathering subsequently incorporates the common tradition of faith (religion), business and entertainment intersecting in our society. And along with the graves a new cohort or myths have populated this arena. Along with the birth and rapid evolution of religious fundamentalism within mainstream politics, waves of migration into and out of the city Pila House has managed to retain a unique space for itself within popular visual culture through a relationship with a constant sizable audience.Yes1207http://godaam.pad.ma/Vt42sbu9/info2009-08-07weekly1.0Kashmir - A Meeting with the Bhand Troupe of Akingamhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vt42sbu9/poster.75.jpgTwo interviewers in Akingam, interview a troupe of Bhands. The interview takes place in a sylvan orchard. Sounds of the highway, passing trucks can be heard. There is, throughout the interview, a sense of a deep contained bitterness/sadness at the situation, evident in the somewhat withdrawn faces, and the sometimes elliptical answers of the interviewees. At the same time, theirs is a craft of social commentary, and even in this very extreme situation, they do sometimes make a funny joke about the situation that is not always bitter. The difference of life experience renders the interviewer’s questions (inevitably?) simplistic? The well researched interviewer sometimes seek complete statements of socio political facts he already knows, or tries to understand what he has known, in the light of these personal histories. The interviewer tries to pick up from a lead about the emptied houses of the Pandit Bhands, to lead the talk up to particular facets of that situation- the greater prosperity of the Pandits, for instance, the possible ill treatment of the Muslims. The interviewee points instead towards a sense of shared previous histories, and is silent about anything beyond. A certain circumspection exists in the answers as many questions are seen, in this landscape, as being charged questions. It is a landscape of suppression and many kinds of continuing injustices, many kinds of feeling implicated even, which has affected personal lives. The words of the conversation seem to float on clouds of the same. At the same time, there is a very ready hospitality, and warmth even, like there is no feeling of resentment towards the interviewers, there is even the desire to have that difficult conversation. Everyone is sitting out in the open, in a very gently beautiful setting… it is a setting, we are told, that the people are deprived of freely using now. Their routines have become circumscribed a lot within the walls of their home.Yes1901http://godaam.pad.ma/Vsromq8q/info2009-08-07weekly1.0Koli Livelihood Practice 4 - Wedding Ritualshttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vsromq8q/poster.75.jpgThis event, along with others under the other event titled Koli Women: Livelihood Practices on the same site, depicts a few ceremonies around a wedding that took place in the village around the time I was shooting my film, A Day’s Job, produced by PSBT for their Gender Unpack Project. But it was part of an ongoing research, started since I started working on Notes from a Neighborhood, a film made for my diploma from National Institute of Design, on local communities and their customs within the complex mesh of a hyper urban space and their representations. Versova village / Vesave – was barely 15 minutes away from where I lived and I passed the fish market on the beach a couple of times on Sunday afternoons before taking the ferry to Mudh Island. Also Saleem Bhatri, a senior from the National Institute of Design had earlier done an architectural dissertation on the area, which provided a basic framework. The first endeavor was to discern the space and understand how it was changing. At first glance the Koliwadas on the west coast – Colaba, Worli, and Versova seemed to be juggling twin devils – the real estate sharks or urban developers of Bombay and the steady flow of the city’s migrant labour. The identity, the old architecture and design of space rapidly dissolving into the proverbial shantytowns of Megacities – converted into multiple usage spaces with living and working quarters. Structures had come up organically to accommodate either an expanding family or simply as storage spaces/workshops for varied businesses without any consolidated plan. The Koliwadas were an exotic space in close vicinity of the film industry always in the look out for some spicy colour. The fishing community has always had vibrant visible codes in terms of their dress, ornaments, food habits and rituals. The women have traditionally been in the forefront of the interface with the community because of their involvement with the trade and thus occupied a space within public imagination. In the 70’s it was also commonly linked with smuggling of goods through the sea route. Iconic films like Deewar actually mention Versova Beach as an exact location, to more recently Hathyaaar, where Sanjay Dutt a pre-Munna-bhai Robin Hood-ish gangster’s den is set in a non-descript Koli village by the sea, a benign backdrop living up to its shady reputation. Fishing has been a family based occupation for several centuries. The drastic increase in pollutants and sewage which are poured into the sea as well widespread trawling by major fishing lines have made livelihood a lot more competitive. The Kolis who speak of a time when one could casually drop a line in the water outside their homes and draw a huge catch have now had to refashion their boats for the deep seas and spend 3 to 4 days at least for a catch to be worth the trip. Fishing requires a substantial amount of man power and current generations who have had suitable education have increasingly chosen city jobs thus making the business increasingly dependant on hired external labour. The flow of migrant labour over time has not only increased their control over the trade but occupied land within the Koli villages.Yes2357http://godaam.pad.ma/Vguccyi1/info2009-08-05weekly1.0Habib Tanveer and Naya Theatre in WSF 2004http://godaam.pad.ma/Vguccyi1/poster.75.jpgThis performance of Ponga Pandit by Habib Tanvir and the Naya Theatre took place at the World Social Forum in 2004 in Bombay. A collective of artists, calling themselves @Culture had done the organizing of all cultural programs at the WSF, with an aim of getting more involved in a space that seemed to rejuvenate the links between those involved in activist work. The privatizing economy, the relentless development through exploitation of tribal land and communities and the expansion of a global cultural media had taken their toll on the energy of activists combined with the fact that the BJP government at the centre had been involved in rewriting the text books and reinscribing the cultural landscape with a Hindutva focus and a strong penchant for censorship of the alternative arts, including theatre and documentary film. The cultural activities were many but their thrust was similar – that culture is a space where politics is refined and created, not merely illustrated. The effort was to provide space for the many different registers and scales of political art and performance. Hence there were diverse stages – those that involved formal spectacle, those that allowed for small performances, street theatre, music and one amphitheatre, named the Brecht theatre where larger, formal performances were done by professionalized community groups. For instance a group of LGBT performers from the Philippines called Sexy Divas, performed a Broadway show-style work. Habib Tanvir is one of the great crossover artists of a time – his work is well known and well loved by both those involved in alternative politics and culture and those largely familiar with the mainstream. The droll biting fun of these performances which combine a formal muscularity and a strong political heart, Brechtiean ideas and indigenous forms, has made them very popular. It was especially important that he performed Ponga Pandit, a play about caste and religious hypocrisy, as it was a play that the BJP government and RSS identified groups in Chhatishgarh had come down on hard – there had been attacks on performances by Hindutva identified rabble rousing groups threatening performers and audiences alike. The play had once been performed as a point of principle to an empty hall. The film by Sanjay Maharishi and Suhandvan Deshpande – A Day in the Life of Ponga Pandit – follows this experience. This performance however, was not to an empty hall – far from it. There was a stampede at the WSF grounds to get into the theatre. It was an example of how political art is made great by people claiming it for their own, and loving it the way fans of rock musicians do – not just by making the right noises. When the amphitheatre was full, people were angry and demanded to be let in, so the organizers requested Habib Tanvir to do two performances. The only problem was that there was a municipal restriction on loudspeakers after 10 p.m. The second performance then took place without a microphone. Habit Tanvir was already close to 80 at that point. Yet, his voice was the loudest and lustiest in the play, as the footage shows. The woman singing along with him is his daughter Nageen. The performance was shot by student reporters who were producing a twice-daily news bulletin. This material was later used to make an hour length film called Work in Progress: At the WSF 2004 The part of the performance we used in the film was the song – khoon phir khoon hai, katta hai tho beh jaata hai (Blood is blood after all, if you cut, it will flow), a poem by the progressive Urdu poet and film lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi, who had also famously written the poetry of social comment in the film Pyaasa, which told the story of an artist’s struggle to write the kind of poetry he wants. It is an extremely beautiful poem, precise in its phrasing, sharp and reflective and it speaks about the cycle of violence and how violence once done, clings to the sleeve of the king, the trouser cuff of the devout and whoever has been part of that violence. Performed in the dark of the amphitheatre, the song seemed to draw the audience inward, create a hush, emphasize that the rousing quality of political comment must be followed by the silence of poetic reflection. Yes3386http://godaam.pad.ma/Vi3hyxe2/info2009-08-07weekly1.0Pila House: Interview with Sayeed Bhai, Owner of Gulshan Talkies and Its Restauranthttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vi3hyxe2/poster.75.jpgThis event is an interview is of Sayeed Bhai, who continues to run a successful business, both with his theatre as well as the restaurant which runs alongside, within the precinct of Pila House. His interview is one of a series of three interviews we conducted with various people to recollect the history of the area from the point of view of people who have either lived or worked there, i.e. in some way belonged to that space and were currently associated with some sort of trade in that area. Pila House is a living museum of change – while on one hand painted hoarding have given way to digital posters – Pila house is a showcase of some of the film industry’s all time favourite films / actors – with repeat shows. But what becomes significant there is the audience. Who are the ones getting entertained and how? Who the people who keep Pila House alive? A momentous shift from the educated Parsis, Bohris and Anglo-Indians who urged the then British rulers to carve out an entertainment district at the heart of a growing modern city to the daily laborers from UP and Bihar who spend their spend their weekly pittance today. Sayeed bhai’s family had acquired the premises which now include Gulshan Talkies and the adjoining restaurant, he apart from registering the property in a new name had also brought about significant structural changes and today continues to invest and carry on a profitable business. Various histories can be drawn of an area such as Pila House, for instance simply the architecture of the area tales the history of the building of the city. But more than a particular style of building, it how and for what purpose a site is built, and how is subsequently adapts itself to continuing needs, that is interesting. These building then change hands, from a Parsi owner to a Muslim, from an Afghan tenant to a group of young Bihari boys. So in my journeys into the Pila House I have often wondered about the countless cultures that have passed through it. And it is quite literally amidst the bazaars of Bombay, midway between Girgaum Chowpatty and Bombay Central. It is still located within what can be called Mumbai’s prime real estate, and must somewhere possess the commercial viability to survive the wrath of time. Pila house is an intersection both spatially and in time– a crossing, a route you are bound to take at some point, steal a quick glance hoping for a glimpse of those it hides more than it reveals. Pila house is suspended somewhere between a prayer and a secret fantasy – a super-mall of desires.Yes1152http://godaam.pad.ma/Vs66iwxz/info2009-08-05weekly1.0Dharavi - Interview with Vinayak Koli, President of Dharavi Koliwadahttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vs66iwxz/poster.75.jpgKoliwadas in Mumbai are prominent features, both in terms of landscape and culture. These are fishing villages and the oldest settlements in the region. The Portuguese missionaries converted the Koli people into Christians in 16th century. Koli is a distinct community in terms of features, cultures, traditional occupation and dialect. Especially Koli women can be identified easily even in a crowd. As the land grew into a city and then into a metropolis, urban development and migrant influx have been sweeping the city in phases. With every such phase kolis have got more and more isolated and vulnerable. Dharavi Koliwada is particularly vulnerable as the water body in Dharavi, the creek, got completely dried up few decades ago. Though all other fishing villages in the city and in the surrounding region too have got affected to an extent by the onslaught of development, no other water body has dried up as irreparably as the one in Dharavi. The once prosperous fishing hamlet is now facing extinction. The proposed redevelopment is made to gentrify the entire area. Once situated at the North-West border of the city, Dharavi has now become a prime land in the middle of the city. The dense settlement of low rise houses needs to go in order to extract more commercial value out of the precious land. The scheme proposes rehabilitation of all inhabitants in small tenements in the sky scrapers. The scheme suits some of the inhabitants whose livelihood is not necessarily located within Dharavi and not dependant on use of space. But others whose livelihood depends on the unique social structure and spatial arrangement of the settlement are strongly opposing this process of homogenizing the area. Vinayak Narayan Koli is the president of the Dharavi Koliwada community office he represents the community to the outside. Dharavi koliwada is an independent village that has its own panchayat to look into the community matters, for long they also have leaders from their own community standing for the post of corporators in the BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipality Corporation) elections. But all these people and their voices have failed to make an impact on the way the government is treating this sensitive matter which holds one whole community at stake. On the occasions of religious celebrations the hindu right wing party, Shiv Sena donates money to please people, during the times of elections also various steps are taken by these parties like extension of cut-off dates for rehabilitation, increase in the size of the house they will get in return of redevelopment; to expand and maintain their vote bank. But when it comes to actually saving the kolis from extinction the government leaves them to fend for themselves.Yes2359http://godaam.pad.ma/Vhmckgmj/info2009-08-07weekly1.0Mumbai Fire Brigade - Riot Enactmenthttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vhmckgmj/poster.75.jpgThe video is an enactment of a riot situation- as part of the training programme for a new search and rescue team that would be equipped to deal with street violence. One of the firemen plays a news reporter reporting live from the scene. There is a mock interview of a member of the search and rescue team.  The trainee team members administer first aid to the injured in the background. The drama is enacted like a mad game between a team playing rioters, a team playing policemen, the search and rescue team of the fire department, a doctor and the press. As the drama of violence and aggression proceeds, you sense the playacting turning into a competition between teams as the actors in their roles turn unpredictable and total pandemonium takes over.Yes1011http://godaam.pad.ma/Vdxth7a2/info2009-08-05weekly1.0Dharavi Tamil Community: Landlord Chandrasekaran on Redevelopmenthttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vdxth7a2/poster.75.jpgDharavi is popularly termed as the largest slum in Asia. Known to be one of the densest and most layered human settlements in the world, the origin of Dharavi can be traced back to early 20th Century, at the height of the industrialization in the region. Dharavi is an area, which was originally located at the northern periphery of Bombay, but with boundaries of this ever-growing city constantly extending on all sides it has come to occupy prime location today. Today, according to official records, Dharavi is marked as an area spread over 223 hectares, where as many as 18,000 people crowd into a single acre. A 1986 survey by the National Slum Dwellers Federation (NSDF) counted 530,225 people (106,045 households) living in 80,518 structures. But considering the large number of 'unofficial/illegal' migration influx, the real number of people living in Dharavi is likely to be much more. Home to approximately one million people, Dharavi populace includes diverse language groups, religious communities and economic units. Most of Dharavi's old residents are from interior Maharashtra, Kutch and Kathiawad region in Gujarat and from Kanyakumari, Thirunelveli, Thuthukudi and Nellai districts in Tamil Nadu. Currently, Dharavi is in the eye of a storm as the prime land that it occupies needs to be 'redeveloped' to keep in pace with the economic globalization that is sweeping the city. Bombay, the supposed trade capital of India and India, the media acclaimed neo-Asian tiger of the international market, needs to grab more land and the old fashioned settlement of Dharavi must go in order to facilitate that. Currently the whole settlement - the residents' associations, the govt., the international builders' lobby as well as the civil society in Bombay are engaged in intense debate and complex maneuvering to extract the best possible deal out of this. But the problem is what is best for one economic group can be considered damaging by the others. Following a proposal (valued at Rs. 93 billion -around USD 2.3 billion) by architect Mukesh Mehta, the Govt. has divided Dharavi in five sectors and announced call for tenders to develop each sector from international builders' agencies. The scheme is that profits from the sale of the high-end developments will fund the resettlement of eligible slum dwellers (those who can prove their residence prior to January 1, 1995 which now has been extended to the year 2000) in free 225 sq. ft. (which now has been increased to 269 sq. ft.) flats in multi-story buildings. Developers are also charged with providing some amenities and infrastructural improvements. Though the Govt. declared the names of 19 short listed bidders in January 2008, the whole scheme came under cloud for lack of transparency and absence of proper research. The whole process is stalled at the moment while some organizations are commissioned to conduct some field research on the existing socio-economic structure of Dharavi. Another reason for the 'go slow' policy of the Govt. could be due to impending general election. Most probably the Govt. and specially the ruling party do not want to risk public controversy at this stage. The following is an interview with Dharavi slumlord, Mr. Chandrasekaran – owner of Rs. 100 Crores worth of property in Dharavi. He represents one of the first Tamil families to migrate to Dharavi from Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu in late 19th century. Through the four generation the family has made a fortune and now one of the most wealthy families in the area. Though he has earned his wealth mainly by manipulating various loopholes in the land control laws and regulation he is very critical about ill practices of other people. After earning money now he is very keen on acquiring the class. This makes him the staunchest supporter of the Dharavi redevelopment scheme.Yes3443http://godaam.pad.ma/Vtjypx4m/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Dharavi Tamil Community: Interview with Agent Sukumaranhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vtjypx4m/poster.75.jpgDharavi is popularly termed as the largest slum in Asia. Known to be one of the densest and most layered human settlements in the world, the origin of Dharavi can be traced back to early 20th Century, at the height of the industrialization in the region. Dharavi is an area, which was originally located at the northern periphery of Bombay, but with boundaries of this ever-growing city constantly extending on all sides it has come to occupy prime location today. Today, according to official records, Dharavi is marked as an area spread over 223 hectares, where as many as 18,000 people crowd into a single acre. A 1986 survey by the National Slum Dwellers Federation (NSDF) counted 530,225 people (106,045 households) living in 80,518 structures. But considering the large number of ‘unofficial/illegal’ migration influx, the real number of people living in Dharavi is likely to be much more. Home to approximately one million people, Dharavi populace includes diverse language groups, religious communities and economic units. Most of Dharavi’s old residents are from interior Maharashtra, Kutch and Kathiawad region in Gujarat and from Kanyakumari, Thirunelveli, Thuthukudi and Nellai districts in Tamil Nadu. Currently, Dharavi is in the eye of a storm as the prime land that it occupies needs to be ‘re-developed’ to keep in pace with the economic globalization that is sweeping the city. Following a proposal (valued at Rs. 93 billion -around USD 2.3 billion) by architect Mukesh Mehta, the Govt. has divided Dharavi in five sectors and announced call for tenders to develop each sector from international builders’ agencies. The scheme is that profits from the sale of the high-end developments will fund the resettlement of eligible slum dwellers (those who can prove their residence prior to January 1, 1995 which now has been extended to the year 2000) in free 225 sq. ft. (which now has been increased to 269 sq. ft.) flats in multi-story buildings. The whole process is stalled at the moment while some organizations are commissioned to conduct some field research on the existing socio-economic structure of Dharavi. Another reason for the ‘go slow’ policy of the Govt. could be due to impending general election. Most probably the Govt. and specially the ruling party do not want to risk public controversy at this stage. The following is an interview with a Tamil Resident of Dharavi, Mr. Sukumaran, a man of public life, a consultant, and father of three. Sukumaran is born to a migrant family and brought up in Dharavi. He is candid about his earlier brush with the world of crime and his current profession of negotiation with the power lobbies. He was not easily agreeable to the interview andour crew had to hang around for an entire day before before getting an access to him. He runs a Consultancy called Tension – Free Consultancy from a 5 by 5 feet room adjoining his home in Dharavi. Yes1038http://godaam.pad.ma/Vsru3yrm/info2009-07-09weekly1.0Dharavi Koliwada: Indigenous Culture and Village Deity Khambdevhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vsru3yrm/poster.75.jpgKhambdev is the village deity of the dharavi Koliwada. He is not to be found in the long list of generic Hindu god or even in any other indigenous cultures. Every Koli village has their Village deity. Generally this deity is placed at the border of the village. In Dharavi Koliwada the shrine of Khmbdev was in between the village and the creek. It is believed that Khambdev keeps an eye on the entire village from its outskirt and protect it from all evils. The popular practice was to pray at Khambdev before setting out for fishing. It is claimed that till a few decades ago the deity used to get submerged under the creek water during high tide. But currently the shrine has come to be in midland surrounded by buildings and other concrete structure. The city has grown to swallow the empty land around Khambdev and thus has destroyed his aura to a great extent. The frenzied process of urban development has dried the creek. Drying up of the creek has not only indicated the loss of livelihood for the Kolis, but has also posed a severe challenge to their system of belief and culture. The water based community is now forced to function within the mainstream norms of land related property. Traditionally the deity of Khambdev is not supposed to reside under a roof or within four walls. But under the present situation it has become very important for the Koliwada people to assert, both community and individual, rights over the land. So Khambdev gets encircled within boundary walls and rooftop. So now the there is a proper construction around the 18th century deity. The shrine compound also houses a gym (vyamshala) for the local youth. The courtyard of the shrine is maintained to facilitate sports and fests. It has become a community centre in the middle of the settlement. The shrine is administered by the Jamaat, the official association of the Koliwada. Khambdev festival takes place on the full moon day of Chaitra (April-May). On the same day two other important festivals are observed in Dharavi – Hanuman Jayanti and Jyotiba Mahotsav, festival of lower castes Hindus and neo-Buddhists.Yes2541http://godaam.pad.ma/Veugfgon/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Dharavi Koliwada: Public and Political Celebration of Holihttp://godaam.pad.ma/Veugfgon/poster.75.jpgThe Holi festival has become the most important social festival in Dharavi Koliwada. In other Koli settlement the festival of Narial Purnima is the most important occasion. During the heavy rain of July-August the fishermen cannot go to the deep sea to fish. Infact the government has put a ban on fishing in the deep sea on those months to avoid casualties. Hence in August-September (Shravan in local calendar) on the full moon day (Purnima) there is a ritual of worshipping the sea god by offering him coconuts (narial). It marks the end of no-fishing season and prays to the sea god to calm down to help to resume fishing. This ritual is entirely livelihood based and no other community or religious group celebrates this festival. But since Dharavi Koliwada has lost their access to water this festival has lost its significance. Instead Holi festival has come to occupy a prime space in their social calendar. It is believed that the Holi festival has reached this height with direct patronage from Shivsena in order to mobilize the community under its fold, much as the same way Tilak started Ganeshotsav to invoke nationalism.Yes568http://godaam.pad.ma/Vgoxo9sc/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Dharavi Koliwada: Syncretic Culture and Converted Christianityhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vgoxo9sc/poster.75.jpgChristianity existed in India from a really long time, almost as long as it has been in European countries, but the most of the conversions from other religions to Christianity happened due to the traders and rulers that came from the foreign countries. By mid 16th century Portuguese pirates had already taken over some ports around the region – Goa, Daman and Diu. In 1534 they defeated the ruler of Mahim Island and Sultan of Gajarath (Gujarat), they found their first colony in Bombay region. They eventually took over all of the seven islands. But they were mostly interested in keeping control over the sea shores and not in regulating or administrating the inner land settlements. Thus Portuguese converted many people around this area to Christians for the benefit of their trades. Later when Britishers came in 17th century they brought in missionaries who converted many more all over India. There are many myths around how people were converted from their original religion, but the underline basis of conversion was the use of force. It is said that Britishers came with sword in one hand and cross in another. Kolis are the original inhabitants of Bombay and they are one of the first communities to have been converted, though even after taking up Christianity, these people have kept their told rituals intact. Apart from attending church prayer, they also take part in all the community festivals and events and their lifestyle is also very similar to other kolis. The most interesting is the Indianised Christian rituals and prayers that the Christians in India follow. Yes753http://godaam.pad.ma/Vt8dxx1v/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Dharavi Leather Industry: Tannery Processing Sequence with Kalubaihttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vt8dxx1v/poster.75.jpgThe leather industry in Dharavi is a male bastion. Since the work involves acquiring skin hide, tanning the leather, carrying heavy loads, delivering for import consignment etc. conventionally women workers were not part of this industry. In the villages where it was a community activity, woman might have played an important role. But in this urban set up this industry has remained exclusively male. Kalubai is a rare phenomenon of a woman worker in the leather industry. Kalubai is working in this unit for a long time. From her sense of temporality it is difficult to get the exact date. But what we know is that she has been working in this unit since the time when the current owner, Wahaj Khan, was a wage worker here. This should roughly amount to 30 years. Though an immensely experienced worker she still earns only Rs.3000/- . The concept of perks and bonus in this trade is extremely erratic and governed by feudal norms. Kalubai is capable of doing all jobs in the unit – sweeping, using the machine to iron the rough leather, conditioning process, colouring, stock checking and so on. She often gives proxy for any worker who is absent on any job. But still she is designated as sweeper. Though the leather industry is generally hostile to women workers, Kalubai has survived here for around thirty years. But unlike the male co-workers, she neither climbed up in the work place nor has she shifted out for better fortune. This kind of stagnation is very common for women workers in the urban industries. This is a version of glass ceiling. Her relationship with the younger male co-workers is quite intriguing. She appears to be detached from the work place politics and ever eager to share anybody else’s work load. In that sense she seems to be the trusted lieutenant of the master whose only interest is to facilitate the work to guarantee profit. She never works only within her brief. At the same time she shares an extremely comfortable relationship with her co-workers. The combination of feminine charm, elderly command and unembarrassed commitment to the establishment make her a unique feature. Though she is the most useful and striking personality in the workshop her designation remains that of the lowest category.Yes936http://godaam.pad.ma/Vg7whcac/info2009-07-09weekly1.0Dharavi Koliwada: Interview with Koli Women Ihttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vg7whcac/poster.75.jpgYamuna and Mani bai are friends and neighbours in Dharavi Koliwada. Koliwadas or villages of Kolis are the first settlements in the region. Before the land was turned into a city and then into a metropolis by joining the islands and then by filling up the sea and the marsh land, there were mainly the fishing hamlets and salt pans along with little patches of civilization. Koli community is one of the worst victims of urban development through the 20th century. Though they were converted into Christianity as early as 17th century by the Portuguese colonial missionaries, they have failed to take advantage of it either by receiving modern education or by acquiring employment or by expanding their economic activities. Despite the religious affinity with the foreign rulers the community maintained their indigenous life style and traditional occupation of fishing. But as the city grew and more contenders came in to the trade on the sea and marine lives, the Kolis and their traditional occupation of fishing have come to the verge of extinction. In Koli practice the men go to the sea for fishing and the women handle the market. As a result the women have emerged as the public face of the community. The community is identified by the spectacular presence of the Koli women in the public place. In their broad body structure, distinct features, heavy jewelry, 9 yard saree, super confident body language and extrovert personality they make a spectacle in fish markets and in the public transports. Since the men work in the sea, far away from the din of the city, the Koli men do not have much of a public presence. As the fishing trade itself has got severely affected by the chemical pollution of the sea, introduction of trawlers of the multi-national companies, by rampant construction activities and also by the intrusion of fish vendors from outside the community; Kolis are forced to get engaged with the happenings in the mainstream. They are asking for reservation in govt. jobs, concession in educational institutions and also joining political outfits that are strategically maneuvering their anxieties into xenophobia. This interview takes place in a comparatively affluent household in Dharavi Koliwada. The house is a sprawling bungalow with all modern gadgets, marble floorings and wooden furniture’s. Such a house could be the source of envy for anybody in Bombay, in terms of living space available. But these kind of spacious houses are not uncommon in Koliwadas. But access to these houses is always through extremely narrow by lanes. Often a long winding labyrinth ends on a wide courtyard of a house. As the area was never planned to accommodate additional construction and urban infrastructure, the condition of the public spaces are abysmal. The once prosperous fishing hamlet is now facing extinction. The proposed redevelopment is made to gentrify the entire area. Once situated at the North-West border of the city, Dharavi has now become a prime land in the middle of the city. The dense settlement of low rise houses needs to go in order to extract more commercial value out of the precious land. The scheme proposes rehabilitation of all inhabitants in small tenements in the sky scrapers. The scheme suits some of the inhabitants whose livelihood is not necessarily located within Dharavi and not dependant on use of space. But others whose livelihood depends on the unique social structure and spatial arrangement of the settlement are strongly opposing this process of homogenizing the area. As oppose to the shanties in other parts of Dharavi, Koliwada comprises of village like independent structures. Though their already endangered livelihood is not likely to be affected anymore by this scheme, the Kolis stand to loose their ancient rights over the land and traditional culture. Yes930http://godaam.pad.ma/Vtju6if4/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Dharavi Papadwali: Domestic Violence and Survivallhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vtju6if4/poster.75.jpgDharavi is a slum popularly termed as the Asia’s biggest slum. Known to be one of the densest and most layered human settlements in the world, the origin of Dharavi can be traced back to mid 20th century, at the height of the industrialization in the region. Dharavi was originally located at the northern periphery of Bombay, but with boundaries of this ever-growing city constantly extending on all sides it has come to occupy prime location today. Today, according to official records, Dharavi is marked as an area spread over 175 hectares, where as many as 18,000 people crowd into a single acre. But considering the large presence of unofficial/illegal migration influx, the real number of people living in Dharavi is likely to be much more. Home to approximately one million people, Dharavi populace includes diverse language groups, religious communities and economic units. Most of the citizens of Dharavi are urban artisans, functioning out of the outer space of their one-storey shanties. This seamlessness in working and living space, over the decades, has resulted in high number of female wage earners. Currently, Dharavi is in the eye of a storm as the prime land that it occupies needs to be ‘redeveloped’ to keep in pace with the economic globalization that is sweeping the city. This interview is of This interview is of Subhadra Sonawane, who from a very young age has been living in Dharavi. Her painful life is an example of survival of a woman in a male dominated world. Subhadra was abandoned by the husband she worked as domestic help and did other menial labour work to survive. Just when her life seemed to be getting better her 20 year old son died and her house got burned. She is all alone in the world and the thought of the future makes her panic. Hers is just one case among many such stories of survival in Dharavi. This interview is part of our Dharavi documentation project. We hope to evolve a comprehensive documentation and dissemination of the spaces and lives of Dharavi residents. Yes1568http://godaam.pad.ma/Vu0hwdqp/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Dharavi Koliwada: Retail Fish Markethttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vu0hwdqp/poster.75.jpgKoli is the caste name for the traditional fisher folks in Mumbai. When the land was a cluster of islands in the pre-urban phase, the Koli community was the main inhabitants. The villages of Kolis are called Koliwada. The unique characteristic of the community is that the trading is conducted by the women and the inheritance of that ran by the women’s line. The most coveted property for the Kolis is the designated spot in the fish market. The spots are rented by the family from the municipality and go down from the mother-in-law to the daughter-in-law. On the other hand when a Koli girl gets married to a different location she cannot start vending fish in the market of that location. Often a married Koli woman in Borivali would come to Dharavi to sell fish as that is her birth place. Till the time her mother-in-law in the Borivali market leaves the trade and gives her the space in the market she cannot enter the business there. This century old economic independence and access to public space have made the Koli women a distinct race. The Koli women rein over the cityscape of the city – by their aggressive selling in the market, by their noisy bargains in the docks and the wholesale markets and by their assertive presence in the public transports. But in last couple of decades the fortune of the Kolis are dwindling and so is the status of the Koli women. With the invasion of mechanized trawlers of the multi-national food companies in the sea their traditional method of fishing has got a major beating. The pollution of sea water and the construction frenzy have affected the availability of the catch. The real estate menace is threatening the existence of their villages and the markets. The migrant male vendors have started selling fish at the doorsteps which coupled with the availability of the frozen food stocks resulted in diminishing clientele in the bazaars. There has also been a campaign by the influential militant vegetarian lobby to demolish the stinking fish markets from the centre of the city. Today the Kolis stand for a vulnerable community. Their desperate attempts to enter the mainstream through education and jobs in the public sector too seem unrealistic in the face of current market driven economy and frenzied gentrification of the urban landscape. Taking advantage of the situation the right wing political parties in the region are trying to mobilize them into xenophobic identity politics.Yes1278http://godaam.pad.ma/Veej59fr/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Dharavi Leather Industry: Nagnath Leather Processing Workshophttp://godaam.pad.ma/Veej59fr/poster.75.jpgThe leather industry in Dharavi, which is popularly known by the generic name tannery, started around 1950s. Though it was started mainly by the Tamil migrants, later some Maharashtrians and UP migrants too got into the trade. The leather business ceased to be lucrative since the 90s. The reasons behind the decline are many: a) government cracked down on many workshops on account of public health and environmental issues. It was claimed that the tanning activity (making rough leather out of the animal hide) was hazardous to public health. b) Another issue was that the tanning activities was polluting the water in the Dharavi creek and severely affecting the fishing trade of the Koli community. c) It was popularly believed that much under world activities and smuggling was being conducted under the cover of the tanneries. d) Since 1984 many schemes were launched in different phases to develop the land in Dharavi for more gentrified neighbourhood. As a result the land price in Dharavi sky rocketed and many tannery owners found it more profitable to sell the land to the builders. The first three issues made the govt. ban the tanning activities and regulate the trade with more vigilance. The tanning activities then got shifted to Chennai (where a large leather industry has been in existence even before the Dharavi industry started) or small towns in Maharashtra. That obviously has increased the cost of production and has reduced employment opportunity. Even if there is some clandestine tanning activity still taking place in Dharavi, the production of it cannot be voluminous. Still many units survived as the workshops that worked on the later phases of the procedure. After the tanning in the far away places the rough leather would be sent to Dharavi, then it would be treated to make finer leather, coloured iand dried and then exported / sold or stitched into consumers’ goods and exported / sold. So though the situation got worse since the ‘90s a part of the industry was still functioning and even expanding. But in last few years two major issues have developed. The government has launched a scheme to develop the whole of Dharavi simultaneously into high rise colonies. It is proposed that each legal structure in the present Dharavi would be rehabilitated within the skyscrapers. But the economic activities in Dharavi, which are also core livelihood activities, such as pottery, leather works etc. need ground space and open roof tops and cannot be accommodated in the linear multi-storied buildings. Moreover, the area of space that would be allotted to these workshops is much less than the present establishments. In practical terms the scheme means either eviction for these workshops or relocation in far away places. The second development is the collapse of the international economy and sharp decrease in the export order. The situation got aggravated by the introduction of new rule of quality control in consumers’ leather goods. Currently the big market brands, who are the main clients of the industry, are insisting on expensive quality control proof. This has proved to be the proverbial last straw for the people who supply goods to the export market. Under this circumstance we visited the Nagnath leather processing unit in Dharavi.Yes1355http://godaam.pad.ma/Vhrfaceg/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Dharavi Tamil Community: Group Interview with Women in Tamil Chawlhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vhrfaceg/poster.75.jpgThe following footage is of multiple interviews in Tamil, of Tamil residents in Dharavi, mostly mischievous old women, with such playful attitudes and sense of humour that even made our crew nervous. All the families interviewed here have migrated from Thirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu and live here in tiny apartments with their family members across three generations. They are very different from the group of tamils who came to start tanneries in the ‘50s. These people are more like wage workers who come to the city to try their hands on anything. According to Mr. Kanakaraj, a resident of Dharavi, due to the caste atrocities many Tamil working – class and lower- class people migrated to Bombay in the beginning of the 20th century. (For more info see event Dharavi: Redevelopment for a Tamil Working Class Man). Bombay provided these migrants with various opportunities and their own space in Dharavi. But both these issues have been addressed in Tamil Nadu, to an extent, in last couple of decades. But the flow of migration still continues as these families in Tamil chawl have migrated to Bombay in last 20 years.. It could be the hope for plenty in the metropolises or the lack of development initiatives in the villages. Amenities, more than survival, can play an important role in contemporary lives, in terms of choosing the location to reside. For these families, visits to Tamil Nadu are sparse, but they have recreated Tamil Nadu right here in Dharavi. Their children can speak in Hindi, English and Marathi, but also fluent in Tamil. They practice festivals like Pongal, (but inside their homes), watch Tamil television and live on their staple diet of sambhar (a South Indian preparation of vegetable stew). At the same time they love Bombay and consider Dharavi their ‘home’. This can be called an example of multiple citizenship. It is heartening to see how ordinary people can negotiate so many identities simultaneously. This chawl is a Tamil ghetto owned by Laxminaray Sivan, one of the Tamil migrants of the previous generation of Dharavi – his family migrated in the ‘50s. (for more about him please see the file ‘Dharavi Tamil Community: Interview with Slumlord Laxminarayan Sivan). Yes1765http://godaam.pad.ma/Vsnpstff/info2009-06-26weekly1.0Dharavi Tamil Community: Ila on Growing up in a Ghettohttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vsnpstff/poster.75.jpgIla is a 23 year old 2nd generation Tamil living in Dharavi. Ila’s contagious laughter and happy-go-lucky attitude make this a fun encounter. She speaks freely about her inhibitions, aspirations, values, family, and home. When talking about her parents or friends, she imitates them, animatedly, and helps us to understand her life as a Tamilian in Dharavi, and as a Dharavi resident outside the settlement, in the prejudiced city of Bombay. As the real estate price of Bombay is only comparable to that of Tokyo and New York, a person’s worth in the city is primarily measured by the address he or she lives in. Real estate, construction, property price, evaluation of a neighbourhood etc. are social conversation in Bombay. Even children grow up hearing stories related to real estate. The newly migrants’ dream is to afford a tenement on rent. The rented places are available only for 11 months. In order to avoid any tenancy rights that the tenants may assert in the future, landlords make contract only for 11 months. Hence large numbers of people shift homes every 11 months. As the rent also go up periodically they are automatically pushed more and more to the fringe. Then some of them manage to secure bank loan and purchase a flat of their own. Then the anxiety turns into paying the monthly installments to the bank. Simultaneously some other areas get gentrified displacing the old residents. That too creates another exodus from the centre of the city. While a whole lot of people are constantly pushed towards the fringe (fringe itself shifts to more far flung areas) another set desperately make attempts to come to the centre. In the midst of this heavy traffic of internal movements of people, come in shopping malls and business districts. Bombay forever remains under construction and a honeycomb for the builders lobby. This phenomena plays havoc to the psyche of the people and make them vulnerable to all sorts of political maneuvering and economic exploitation. In the eve of much trumpeted Dharavi redevelopment, we talk to Ila as a representative of the younger generation in the settlement and gather her opinion about growing up in a place which is stigmatized by the rest of the city and the country. Ila has seen much of the dark side of Dharavi in her growing up years. But she chooses to evade those issues and concentrate only on her aspiration. The interview is taken in the tiny residence of her family. Contrary to her appearance and talk her home indicates a status much below that of the middle class. Yes2339http://godaam.pad.ma/Vdyp2o41/info2009-07-09weekly1.0Dharavi Koliwada: Interview with Vinayak Ignatious Kolihttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vdyp2o41/poster.75.jpgKoliwadas in Mumbai are prominent features, both in terms of landscape and culture. These are fishing villages and the oldest settlements in the region. The Portuguese missionaries converted the Koli people into Christians in 16th century. Koli is a distinct community in terms of features, cultures, traditional occupation and dialect. Especially Koli women can be identified easily even in a crowd. As the land grew into a city and then into a metropolis, urban development and migrant influx have been sweeping the city in phases. With every such phase kolis have got more and more isolated and vulnerable. Dharavi Koliwada is particularly vulnerable as the water body in Dharavi, the creek, got completely dried up few decades ago. Though all other fishing villages in the city and in the surrounding region too have got affected to an extent by the onslaught of development, no other water body has dried up as irreparably as the one in Dharavi. Vinayak Ignatious Koli is regarded as the local historian by the community. His classical Hindu first name (a nomenclature for Lord Ganesha), sacred Christian name as middle name and community name Koli as surname – is a microcosm of the post colonial, indigenous community. His second name must have been kept after the Jesuit priest St. Ignatious Loyola. In his interview Vinayak Ignatious Koli vividly describes the Christian missionaries as some Englishmen who used to lure them with chocolate to school and also used to beat them up for running away from studying. But in his imagination the colonial soldiers, the Queen of England and the missionaries have become one people. He believes that Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria lived in the city and often took a stroll in the vicinity of Dharavi. This popular imagination regarding the kings and queens resembles the narrative style of Indian folk tales. The foreignness of the Queens of England does not make them any less accessible than the rulers from the region. Infact he takes a great pleasure in claiming that his community was the favoured one with the colonial masters than any other community in the land. The claim of affinity with the colonial masters has become part of the memory of good old days of plenty. It is believed that Queen Elizabeth had once given the Koliwadas some sort of certificate of autonomy. Based on that the community hopes to counter the attack of urbanization and keep their traditional control over the land.Yes2751http://godaam.pad.ma/Vedvbssn/info2009-07-09weekly1.0Dharavi Koliwada: Interview with Koli Women IIhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vedvbssn/poster.75.jpgYamuna and Mani bai are friends and neighbours in Dharavi Koliwada. Koliwadas or villages of Kolis are the first settlements in the region. Before the land was turned into a city and then into a metropolis by joining the islands and then by filling up the sea and the marsh land, there were mainly the fishing hamlets and salt pans along with little patches of civilization. Koli community is one of the worst victims of urban development through the 20th century. Though they were converted into Christianity as early as 17th century by the Portuguese colonial missionaries, they have failed to take advantage of it either by receiving modern education or by acquiring employment or by expanding their economic activities. Despite the religious affinity with the foreign rulers the community maintained their indigenous life style and traditional occupation of fishing. But as the city grew and more contenders came in to the trade on the sea and marine lives, the Kolis and their traditional occupation of fishing have come to the verge of extinction. In Koli practice the men go to the sea for fishing and the women handle the market. As a result the women have emerged as the public face of the community. The community is identified by the spectacular presence of the Koli women in the public place. In their broad body structure, distinct features, heavy jewelry, 9 yard saree, super confident body language and extrovert personality they make a spectacle in fish markets and in the public transports. Since the men work in the sea, far away from the din of the city, the Koli men do not have much of a public presence. As the fishing trade itself has got severely affected by the chemical pollution of the sea, introduction of trawlers of the multi-national companies, by rampant construction activities and also by the intrusion of fish vendors from outside the community; Kolis are forced to get engaged with the happenings in the mainstream. They are asking for reservations in govt. jobs, concession in educational institutions and also joining political outfits that are strategically maneuvering their anxieties into xenophobia. This interview takes place in a comparatively affluent household in Dharavi Koliwada. The house is a sprawling bungalow with all modern gadgets, marble floorings and wooden furniture’s. Such a house could be the source of envy for anybody in Bombay, in terms of living space available. But these kind of spacious houses are not uncommon in Koliwadas. But access to these houses is always through extremely narrow by lanes. Often a long winding labyrinth ends on a wide courtyard of a house. As the area was never planned to accommodate additional construction and urban infrastructure, the condition of the public spaces are abysmal. The once prosperous fishing hamlet is now facing extinction. The proposed redevelopment is made to gentrify the entire area. Once situated at the North-West border of the city, Dharavi has now become a prime land in the middle of the city. The dense settlement of low rise houses needs to go in order to extract more commercial value out of the precious land. The scheme proposes rehabilitation of all inhabitants in small tenements in the sky scrapers. The scheme suits some of the inhabitants whose livelihood is not necessarily located within Dharavi and not dependant on use of space. But others whose livelihood depends on the unique social structure and spatial arrangement of the settlement are strongly opposing this process of homogenizing the area. As oppose to the shanties in other parts of Dharavi, Koliwada comprises of village like independent structures. Though their already endangered livelihood is not likely to be affected anymore by this scheme, the Kolis stand to loose their ancient rights over the land and traditional culture. Yes2171http://godaam.pad.ma/Vsnphism/info2009-07-03weekly1.0Mumbai Fire Brigade: Building Collapses in the Inner Cityhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vsnphism/poster.75.jpgThese are videos of the aftermaths of building collapses and of the rescues of bodies trapped under debris by the fire department. These images of the ruins of buildings confound ideas of permanence, of stability and sheltering that embody homes and buildings; where their elaborate tectonics of shelter are revealed as vulnerable and frightening in their heaviness. The videos contain images of piles of debris, made up of the disintegrated architecture of buildings; the elaborate structures of steel beams, wooden and steel columns and concrete that have collapsed into each other over and around the bodies of their inhabitants. These bodies have to be extricated carefully, sometimes from under heavy masonry and steel or cut out from under the mangled mess of reinforcement and concrete. Each rescue effort is an exercise in the ingenuity of the fire-fighters as crowbars, hydraulic cutters, J.C.B’s, rope have to be deployed in turn to carefully prise the trapped persons out from under the weight of building material. The first video is the aftermath of the collapse of a building in an inner city neighbourhood. The inner city areas of Mumbai developed as the older bazaar and mercantile town outside the fort where the British and Indian elite lived and worked forming a crucial trade link between the hinterlands and the port. The bazaars have transformed through the years, retaining to a large extent the structure of the specialized street bazaars. Reports of building collapses such as this one are frequent as there is a huge proportion of dilapidated building stock within these precincts, a fall-out of the rent control act which resulted in insufficient finances for the structural maintenance of buildings. Structural alterations, lack of maintenance, complex networks of tenancies and ownerships make maintenance of these buildings difficult. However, the frozen rents also make it necessary and possible for all sizes and types of businesses to make place within the nooks and crannies of the building. As a result, although the stability of the physical structure may be suspect; the complex, interlinked networks of tenancies, sub-tenancies under the rent control act keep these crumbling shells alive with diverse economic activities and residential communities. Historically these areas have seen violent cleansing drives by the British, especially post 1803 after the fire when the BIT undertook improvement schemes that led to large-scale demolition and rehabilitation. The heavily critiqued development control regulation act is the latest state initiative to address the dilapidation and rehabilitation of the precincts, which without proper infrastructure augmentation further burdens the dense precincts with more built up area, population, parking water and power requirements. The second video in an unidentified location is of a rescue of a worker caught under the collapsed building, his body covered with dust curled in a gap in the rubble is gently rescued by the huge claw of the monster machine and its attendant firemen.Yes1767http://godaam.pad.ma/Vu5ggx71/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Mumbai Fire Brigade: Training Exerciseshttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vu5ggx71/poster.75.jpgThese are the videos of the training exercises, parades, felicitation ceremonies that are the events and activities that hold the fire department together and keep its machinery well-oiled in the long intervals between actual emergencies. There are training exercises, designed like competitions and games, which form a critical part of the training; there are demonstrations of new equipment and techniques. There is a lot of play-acting that must be taken very seriously as it becomes the template for what must be done in real emergencies. The parades and felicitations that set up the narratives and images of heroic identity, that the red fire trucks and blue uniforms and helmets have acquired in the city’s civic imagery. The first two videos are of felicitation ceremonies and public demonstrations, and the third video is of a parade.Yes627http://godaam.pad.ma/Veuwreng/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Dharavi Leather Industry: Casual Wage Workershttp://godaam.pad.ma/Veuwreng/poster.75.jpgProcessing leather from the animal hide is traditionally a community based occupation. The community who work on the animal slaughtering and extracting the hide is called Chamars. The word is often used as degrading abuse to depict the stigma attached to the job. Mostly the community was not involved in the lucrative part of the leather trade i.e. selling fine leathers or leather goods. But in a metropolis like Bombay such social stigma gets weakened under the pressure of livelihood. It seems the workers who work in the leather industry of Dharavi are not necessarily bound by the traditional community based skill. They are just simple casual labours who are hired and fired seasonally. The work has not only transcended the community binary but has also got non-institutionalised to some extent. Though traditionally a male bastion, slowly women workers are making entry into the trade. As the casual workers are mostly migrants from disperse background and different regions and language groups there is almost no possibility of them emerging as a work force. Hence as far as the situation of the workers is concerned the job condition in the leather industry is similar to the sweatshops. Yes1889http://godaam.pad.ma/Vh5gz1q3/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Mumbai Fire Brigade: Accidents Injured Bodieshttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vh5gz1q3/poster.75.jpgThese are videos of injured bodies. They contain personal accounts of accidents by victims, and images of injured bodies. The first video is of the aftermath of a gas cylinder explosion in a slum, with an interview of the woman whose house was blown apart by the blast in which a little boy and sleeping man were also hurt. The second video is of the complicated and long efforts of doctors, nurses and firemen to extricate the hand of a man caught in a mutton mincer. This video seen among all the videos of fire, bomb blasts, and accidents illustrates the almost unimaginable range of eventualities that the fire department has to deal with. Yes760http://godaam.pad.ma/Vdxbu66m/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Dharavi Leather Industry: Sweat Shop of Belt Knittinghttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vdxbu66m/poster.75.jpgThough initially known for its tannery and leather processing, Dharavi leather industry today is largely a manufacturing unit. Due to the problem of land and environmental issues the flourishing tanneries have closed down since early ‘90s. As the work of leather processing from animal hide got shifted to Chennai, Kanpur and other smaller towns in Maharashtra, the existing workshops in Dharavi are surviving on polishing raw leathers, manufacturing consumers’ goods and exporting to declining export market. A large part of the consumers’ goods manufacturing is accomplished through sweatshops in the neighbourhood. Due to the paucity of space in Dharavi the traders prefer to assign out works in piecemeal than employing people in their own premises. Besides, the piecemeal policy also helps them evading the wage regulation. Interestingly, precisely because of this policy women manage to get some work and earn little money. Otherwise the leather industry is traditionally a male bastion and women have never allowed an entry there. Though in the caste based practice in the villages of animal slaughtering and extracting the hide women must have played a role. But in the urban version of the work in the semi-industrialised structure women were unambiguously kept out. The only way they could enter the scene is to pick up piecemeal assignments and work from homes. The earning is not adequate as a mainstay for livelihood but attractive as a supplement. The women who are doing this work are not from the lowest economic strata in Dharavi. Within the Dharavi structure they are better off. Their social status is not conducive for them to work in the factories and workshops with wage labourers. Hence the sweatshop system, though exploitative in terms of wage return against the investment of labour hours, suits these domestic women better. The decline in the international leather market has affected this sector too. Since they are not location based only way to identify these women is to look for the visual of long leather strips (patta) hanging. It took us a long time to trace this group of women as with the reduced work orders has reduced the visibility of the hanging leather strips. Yes1184http://godaam.pad.ma/Vtku2val/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Mumbai Fire Brigade: Cityscapes & the Edge of the Cityhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vtku2val/poster.75.jpgThe landscapes shot vary from dense slum neighbourhoods, to old industrial areas, dump-yards at the edge of the city. Historically, fires, dilapidation, and danger to heath and life have formed the vocabulary of practices that sought to cleanse and reorganize city quarters, and relocate danger to the outside or elsewhere. Most of these landscapes that the videos record seem to somehow evade or to lie outside these imaginations of the safe and clean city, and are always being pushed to its boundaries. These are mostly spaces of informal enterprise and labour, in the dump yards, older industrial neighbourhoods and slums that the mechanisms of civic services and infrastructure are unable to address in their more technocratic imperatives. The first fire takes place in a single storied building in the mill lands area. The video shot from a neighbouring roof, shows a landscape of roofs and trusses, firemen clambering over them to get to the fire, the surrounding landscape of chawls and chimneys rising up through the smoke and scenes from the insides of the homes burnt down with the remnants of everyday lives among the ashes. These areas had begun to developing the late 1800’s when the American civil war virtually stopped all cotton imports into Britain and the demand for cotton from India grew. Industrialists and entrepreneurs set up cotton mills, and built the most rudimentary accommodation for the migrant workers with single room tenements, common sanitation facilities and corridors. These neighbourhoods, with each mill and the surrounding chawls crammed into every inch of available land, became the centre of Mumbai’s economic growth, and a vibrant working class community and culture grew in the streets. Perceived alternatively as slums and congested areas by the British and the middle class, paralysed and weakened by the strike of 1982 and by newer industrial areas in the peripheries, they are now quickly transforming into elite residential enclaves and leisure zones with a gradual displacement of the mill workers communities and livelihoods. The next two clips are of fires in slums. in the slum fires, the spaces within the slum, between densely packed houses, narrow alleys and gaps from where a clear view or understanding of where the danger is located exactly becomes impossible, people flee to the spaces outside, or onto the roofs with their contiguous and overlapping surfaces, which becomes the landscape of grey corrugated sheets that offers views of the fire and the space from where it can be attacked. The first video is of a fire in a slum where the landscape of a naala (creek), densely packed houses and a fire in the centre of the close knit and entangled homes has to be extinguished from the outside and from neighbouring roofs. People pass their belongings and wade through the creek to escape. The second video of a fire in Dharavi, where the entire road and roof fill up with people getting out of the inner streets, to flee the fire, to watch and to help. The last video is of a fire in a rubber dump yard at the edge of the city to the creek. The issue whether the site is authorized or unauthorized remains unclear, and there is a long discussion at the end of the video whether the activity is legal/illegal, although it has existed and operated for many years. Edges such as these, where the land turns to mangrove and creek, are places lying neglected and claimed by people and activities that have to seek space on the fringes away from watchful eyes, also where the things and dirt that are not seen to belong inside the city and yet are part of it are pushed out. Landfills, dump yards, spaces for leisure, and secret or hidden places for lovers all alternately make claims on the edge between city and outside/nature. The landscape in this video is one of HT lines and garbage of wastes generated by the city and of work that is unacknowledged/ hidden.Yes1829http://godaam.pad.ma/Vhrgvklb/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Dharavi Leather Industry: Interview with a Tannery Ownerhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vhrgvklb/poster.75.jpgThe present day Dharavi settlement actually stands on vast marsh land. The city of Bombay was originally made of 7 islands on the South and a cluster of Islands called Salsette Islands in the North. In late 19th century the islands were joined and more land was acquired by filling up the sea in order to make a large enough city to facilitate the ports, bazaars and emerging industries. Since mid 20th century more land was created by filling up the marsh land and drying up the creeks, in order to cope with the pressure of migrant inflow and infrastructural requirements. The present settlement of Dharavi stands on the marshland at the cusp of the Mahim Island and the Salsette Islands and on a part of the erstwhile Dharavi creek. The creek was the lifeline for the Kolis, the traditional fisher community and the original inhabitant of the island of Salsette. The creek got affected through various city building activities since late 19th century and has made the original settlers of the Koli community economically vulnerable. The early settlers in the land were the Tamil Muslim migrants who brought in the leather making in the city and the Gujarati artisans who make earthen pots. The Marathi speaking Kolis in Koliwada, the Gujarati speaking Kumbhars (potters) in Kumbharwada and the Tamil speaking tannery owners / workers still make the main population of Dharavi. Only the last few decades have seen settling of migrants from the hinterlands of Maharashtra and also from the northern region of UP and Bihar. Other than working in the tannery and in the pottery industry as wage workers these newer migrants have also started new economic activities such as Zardosi (zari embroidery works), Chikki (a popular sweet snack) making and recycling. But the Tamil settlers in the leather industry have earned an unparallel reputation in the urban lore of Mumbai. Much of Dharavi’s dreaded image in popular imagination comes from the legends about these people. The process of leather making or the tannery business itself is associated with dark rituals and deals. It starts from acquiring animal skin. The skin then go to the tannery for processing. Earlier the hides were processed in tanneries in Dharavi itself which were all situated near the creek. But the wastes from the tanneries spoilt the water of the creeks and affected the fishing business. Since late 70s many of the tanneries (the processing of hide to rough leather) were forced to close down on the pretext of environmental hazard. It is suspected by many urban historians that the campaign to ban hide processing also has something to do with the hegemonic Hindu culture of militant vegetarianism. Ironically while the tanneries were evicted, in 1984 the ONGC opened their oil rigging wells in the area and affected the fishing trade much more substantially. However, currently the hide processing works mostly get done in Kanpur, Chennai and smaller towns in Maharashtra. From those tanneries rough leather comes back to Dharavi. The final processing of ironing the leather, smoothening them, colouring them etc. happen in various workshops in Dharavi and then gets exported. This is the mainstay of contemporary leather industry in Dharavi. The industry with its associated dealing with export import, its dark practice of animal slaughtering and gory activities such as boiling hides apparently make it conducive to various underworld mafia activities. Hence the Tamil dons (many of them graduated from tannery business to real estate) of that time became major inspiration for Bollywood films on underworld in the ’60 and ‘70s. As the popular perception of the gore in Dharavi grew some kind of state intervention became essential. So with the wide roads, the unwieldy area was mapped to some extent and tanneries were banned. In 1950s came the wide Dharavi cross road which has become an artery road for the city. Later in 1984 came a surge of development and more wide roads were built inside the settlements in order to facilitate the movement of the people associated to the new Govt. establishments such as ONGC, Indian Oil etc. which were built in the surrounding marsh land. Then again in 1991 came another phase of urbanization and development under the guise of SRA (slum rehabilitation authority). It cannot be a coincidence that many traditional tanneries which by then were doing only the processing from rough leather to fine leather had to go at that time and eventually release land for multi-storied buildings. This has also coincided with the international noise about the hygienic condition of Dharavi leather. In 2004 the government launched another development body called DRP (Dharavi redevelopment project). This project is to work on an over arching development scheme on Dharavi in oppose to earlier piecemeal approach of segment based development. The scheme promises to rehabilitate all the settlers of the single storied hutments into the proposed skyscrapers and convert the balance land into high profile real estate opportunity. In this context the following interview of a tannery owner was conducted. Yes651http://godaam.pad.ma/Vgpjmju0/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Mumbai Fire Brigade: Documentation of Calamitieshttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vgpjmju0/poster.75.jpgThese are videos of the sites in the aftermaths of fires, bomb blasts and building collapses. The images are disturbing as they are visitations at the sites of death, of lives, body parts and place reduced to thing and wound. They are also spectacular as images of a city with its dynamics and flows and lives interrupted, disrupted, emptied. It is difficult to describe these images without resorting to the phrases that repeat in the rhetoric of newspaper headlines of tragedy- ruin, collapse, fire and smoke. Disaster flicks and television reports capture every detail that adds to drama, discarded slippers, everyday lives interrupted, these images shot by the fire department with the aim to document only sometimes slip into the these tropes, most often, steering close to the investigative aspects, the details that on analysis will yield the truth of the causes, become evidence. They go slowly recording the burst cylinder, the mangled taxi torn by the car bomb, the rescue teams and techniques. They are still seductively and horrifically spectacular as images of the city in ruin, reduced to rubble, up in flames and seen through smoke in silhouette, as crows circle overhead. The first video .is a video of the aftermath of a bomb blast, on 25th August 2003 at Zaveri Bazaar. This is a crowded inner city area very close to the Mumbadevi temple. Police, onlookers and firemen swarm the site of a bomb blast. You see a mangled taxi, crumpled facades of buildings and a street littered with debris. A politician and senior officials enter the site and the press and onlookers form a knot around them. The video ends with an eyewitness account of the explosion. The second clip is of the retrieval of a corpse/body out of a ruin of a building that has collapsed into a pile of rubble. The video is eerily beautiful with huge mountain of rubble and crows circling overhead, and the firemen’s ladders silhouetted against the smoke. The third clip is shot over two days, the site of a fire in a building and the next day, the burnt ruins after the fire.Yes1224http://godaam.pad.ma/Vtku5lw4/info2010-03-22weekly1.0Bar Dancers Case: Citizens’ Enquiry on Police Atrocities(Parallel enquiry into bar dancers case)http://godaam.pad.ma/Vtku5lw4/poster.75.jpgAfter the ban on dancing was implemented in the dance bars, many women workers in the bars working as dancers were rendered unemployed. Some of them later joined back as waiters in the bars. Of course, this new work did not pay as well, customers now had close access to them and therefore could harass them. But they still chose to do this work as this was a familiar work setup for them, they knew the bar owners, and also not many employment opportunities are available to them given their education and migrant status. The raids on the bars, even after the implementation of the ban on dancing, suggests that even waiter service work for women is not acceptable by the State. Is it felt by the State that if no women work in these bars at all, these would become not as ‘corrupting’ places? Is it the presence of women in the bars that corrupts men, elicits criminal behaviour? Drinking per se is not prohibited in the licensed bars and pubs of the city and they continue their business as usual. A parallel investigation team comprising of women’s rights and human rights activists and lawyers was put in place to investigate the mass raid that happened on the bars where everyone from women waiters, to other staff including managers and owners along with the customers present were arrested. The investigation team asked the workers about the raid, the police behaviour and the procedures after the raid. Various incidents of police harassment on the women also come up as a major issue in this enquiry. Retd. Hustice H. Suresh, journalist and women’s rights activist Geeta Sheshu, Journalist Dilip d’Souza, women’s rights activist Sujata Ghotaskar and advocate Flavia Agnes were part of citizens’ panel. The depositions before the Committee were made on 27th August, 2005 at Y.W.C.A., Colaba, Bombay and the final report titled, ‘Abuse of Authority’ was released on 11th October, 2005 at the Press Club in Mumbai. The struggle for the human rights of the bar dancers, like many other professions which are related to sexuality, is affected by the issue of visibility. Often the dancers hesitate to openly protest or even press a complaint fearing that they would be exposed to their families and neighbours. The police then take full advantage of their vulnerability. Even in this event a few girls requested anonymity. Respecting their reservations we have taken out their images. Yet we have decided to upload their statements not only to reach their voices to a larger audience, but also to highlight the issue of social invisibility. We are also uploading the images of other dancers. Through this period of collective struggle some girls could successfully rise above the social stigma and its oppression. We thought we would honour that too. We hope all visitors and users of this site will understand the delicate balance and act accordingly.Yes2544http://godaam.pad.ma/Vs66pepj/info2009-07-06weekly1.0Koli: The Organised Sector and Livelihoodhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vs66pepj/poster.75.jpgThis interview is of a Koli woman – Devyani Chanur. She lives in Khar Danda, buys fish at the Crawford market or Bhaucha Dhakka jetty and sells at the Kalina market. That makes her daily routine something like this – get up at 4am and travel 25 km to the wholesale market, buy fish and travel again the same distance to the retail market to sell till 12 noon, go home again by traveling in public transport to attend to household chores and have lunch, then back again at the retail market at 6 in the evening and work till 9.30pm. Her daily routine compliments that of the wholesale sellers. We have documented the daily cycle of the fisher women in wholesale market in the events titled ‘Koli Women: Livelihood Practice 1 & 2’ on the same site. Seen and read together these three events will make a complete picture of the work pattern of the Koli women.Yes2072http://godaam.pad.ma/Vg92c17o/info2010-03-20weekly1.0Kashmir: Flight Over the CFLhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vg92c17o/poster.75.jpgThis two hour video compilation constructs an account of a significant incident in the contemporary of Kashmir. As found footage, this is in the tradition of a 'campaign video', with footage of a march intercut with speeches, and the whole thing papered together with popular 'movement' songs of the period. And like many other similiar videos, verifying it's authorship will remain daunting given the various kinds of material it uses. (And assembled by Arshi Video Centre, Muzaffarabad: their watermark runs across the whole two hours). Here is what we know about the event: On Feb 11-12, 1992, several thousand of people attempted to cross the Cease Fire Line (the CFL of the title), from the part of Kashmir held by Pakistan, to the part held by India. Under the banner of the then undivided Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), and the leadership of Amanullah Khan, the march marked a critical juncture in the history of the armed struggle in Kashmir. By February 1992, only two years after the armed militancy had broken out in Kashmir, fissures had begun to appear in the relationship between the pro-independence armed groups and their supporters in Pakistan. This in turn had led to a sharpening of ideological divisions within the movement itself, with serious consequences for the future of the movement, and for the idea of <i>Azadi</i>, independence. The video is therefore witness to a significant historical moment. In the first half of the video, the speeches of Amanullah Khan and his associates make clear the seriousness of the rupture in the relationship between the JKLF and Pakistan, represented in the names of Nawaz Sharif (then Prime Minister), Durrani (head of the Inter Services Intelligence), and Sardar Qayoom (the 'Prime Minister' of Azad Kashmir). And it's only Sardar Qayoom who we actually see, very briefly, speaking to a BBC TV correspondent. The date of the march inherits an older significance too: on Feb 11, 1984, Maqbool Butt, one of the founders of the Kashmir valley based JKLF, was executed in Tihar Jail, New Delhi. Just short of his 46th birthday, his hanging made him not only the preminent <i>Shaheed-e-Kashmir</i> (martyr of Kashmir) but also <i>Baba-e-Quam</i> (father of the people). At the start of the <b>Flight Over the CFL</b> we see literally hundreds of placards with Maqbool Butt's image in Muzaffarabad town... In the last 25 years, Feb 11 has continued as a day of protests in Kashmir. 2009 was no exception: protests wracked downtown Sringar and several other towns. Through the speeches (made mainly in Muzaffarabad town, and en route) the video suggests that the march was mounted despite stiff opposition from the Pakistani authorities. News reports of the day described Pakistani soldiers setting off landslides, dismantling bridges and erecting barricades to stop the attempt. (In this compilation we don't see much of this, except in what we will call the BBC footage. Only flashes are revealed, and then only if you look very carefully...) But the Pakistani army were clearly not trying too hard to hide their attempts to stop the march: the extensive aerial footage of <b>Flight Over the CFL</b> is, after all, shot from a helicopter provided by them... So while the march was clearly not intended to reach its stated goal (crossing the Cease Fire Line), how both sides were hoping–or planning–for it to end will remain a bit of conjecture. From the few reliable contemporary print sources reporting the event we do know that the Indian Army had said that it would shoot any marcher crossing the cease-fire line. The Pakistani Army said it would use force to stop the march–if necessary. And force was used: before the march was abandoned, quite far from the Line of Control, at least 12 people were shot dead by the Azad Kashmir Police. This was 1992. It's difficult not to then think of the <i>Ekta Yatra</i> (Unity March) organised by the Hindu nationalists of the Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Murli Manohar Joshi, who had tried just over a year earlier to carry an Indian flag to Srinagar, and raise it on the <i>Ghanta ghar</i>, the Clock Tower in Lal Chowk, sentimental heart of Srinagar. When militants announced that they would target such an attempt, security forces airlifted Joshi's <i>yatris</i>–all fifteen of them–to Srinagar for a symbolic 11 minute flag-raising. Despite blanket security, several rockets were fired at the Clock Tower, and Murli Manohar Joshi narrowly escaped with his life. Interestingly, while the speeches and songs in <b>Flight Over the CFL</b> are all in Urdu, the information about the rupture with Pakistan is given to us through English language voice over, on footage borrowed from <i>Newstrack</i>, the Indian video magazine of the period. This use of comment from the mainstream Indian media marks a rare coincidence of interests, since the general tone in these <i>Newstrack</i> extracts, both of the anchor and in the woman's voice-over, seems to celebrate the appearance of anti-Pakistan sentiment, and the growing 'sense of betrayal' amongst Kashmiris. JKLF cadres interviewed seem to endorse such a reading, which the <i>Newstrack</i> voice over is quick to underline. But in the main, it's difficult not to read <b>Flight Over the CFL</b> without remembering the <i>Muzaffarabad Chalo!</i> (On to Muzaffarabad!) march of August 2008 which marked the culmination of the tumultous protests of the summer of 2008 in the Kashmir valley. <i>Khichi huee hai, dil pay mere, khooni surkh lakeer... Tuhi batade, kab tootegi paon ki zanjeer– Ai mere Kashmir!</i> Drawn across my heart, that murderous red line... You tell me when will my feet be unshackled–O! my Kashmir! The tremendous sentiment aroused by imagining the end of that Line of Control, animates much of <b>Flight Over the CFL</b>, as it did <i>Muzaffarabad Chalo!</i> last year. As a piece of archival video, accidentally and providentially offered to us for a reading, <b>Flight Over the CFL</b> is rich resource. It unearths meanings, illuminates it, complicates it, and allows us to return to video the power of witness.Yes7319http://godaam.pad.ma/Vezp85hj/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Interview with Justice Srikrishna: The Constitution and the Secularhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vezp85hj/poster.75.jpgInterview of Justice Srikrishna, who headed the famous Srikrishna commission that enquired into the anti Muslim communal riots of 1992-93 in Bombay. As part of chronicling the contemporary Bombay this interview was taken fifteen years after the riots took place. Meanwhile the report got published and hailed as a legendary document to uphold the spirit of the Indian democracy. Unfortunately the government is yet to act upon the report and punish the Hindu bigots. When the commissioned was formed by the government in 1993, Justice Srikrishna, the head of the commission became the centre of controversy. The civil society who had lost all faith in the political will of the government to uphold the rights of the minority publicly expressed their distrust about the commission. Justice Srikrihna’s public display of his faith in Hindu religion also made some people suspicious about his credibility to enquire into the large scale violence perpetuated by the Hindu bigots. Ironically, the Hindu right wing forces such as BJP and Shivsena too opposed his candidature on the ground that he was not a ‘son of the soil’. Through various ups and downs the commissioned worked for 5 years and brought out an extensive report underlining the menace of communal violence and state inertia. For more detail see Shrikrishna Commission Report – www.hvk.org/specialrepo/skc/skcch1.html. Interviewer Flavia Agnes and Madhusree Dutta. Shot by Rrivu Laha. Yes2651http://godaam.pad.ma/Vdxzq6tl/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Kashmir: Interview with Pather Artist Ghulam Ali Majboorhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vdxzq6tl/poster.75.jpgKashmir, the conflict torn land at the border between Pakistan and India have been at the centre of various power wars between states, between peoples, between religious fundamentalists and between conflicting representations. The main casualty of this decades old wars is the syncretic culture of Kashmir. For the rest of India, and most probably for the rest of Pakistan too, the people of Kashmir is only to be seen and then imagined through various and contradictory representations. In order to counter this we have tried to create a small reservoir of non-hegemonic images from Kashmir in our digital media archive Godaam. Unedited footage from documentary films, published and unpublished photos from newspaper offices, images from the local photo studios, works of contemporary artists, people's private memoirs and image collections etc are part of the collection. This event is part of that collection. The interview is of an artist of Bhand Pather, the celebrated and one of the oldest folk theatre forms in the subcontinent. "Understanding why the survival of Kashmir's folk theatre is imperative requires an engagement with its history. Performers of the Bhand Pather, who are often also custodians of classical Sufiana music, date the origins of their traditions to the 8th century AD. From this time to the 15th century AD, Kashmir saw a dramatic development of its performing arts traditions. "Each village had a stage of its own where dramatic performances were held". These traditions were consolidated and expanded with the coming of Muslim rule in 1339. In fact, the courts attracted musicians and dancers from as far as Kabul, Lahore, Delhi, Samarkand, Tashkent and Persia. Bhand Pather emerged from the high traditions of these courts, but took a unique course. Each Pather typically had two layers of narrative meaning. The first was expressly secular, using farce and satire to assault the powerful. Typically, the character of the peasant would be pitted against the feudal elite. In the Dard Pather, for example, the peasant characters contrive to seduce the wives of the oppressive ruler, who is drunk on liquor. Each performance would have explicit contemporary significance, with Maskare (clowns) irreverently exposing the pretensions of policemen and patwaris; priests and politicians. One performance of the Haanz Pather contained references to politicians who built roads that led only to each others homes. The Maskare in a rendition of the Dard Pather, might joke about a village mullah who tries to loot pilgrims wishing to go to Mecca by building a fake Kaaba in his backyard. At a larger level, the Pathers dealt with mystical themes: the relationship between individuals and their Pirs, and between human beings and god. Each Pather begins with a prayer for the well being of the community and its crops, and village tradition has it that divine blessings asked for by a Bhand are never refused. "Rich families from as far away as Lahore, Delhi, Rawalpindi and Kabul used to invite us to perform at weddings during the winter", recalls Ghulam Hassan Bhagat, "and in the summer, villagers used to give us a share of the crop for performing at fairs, and on holy days at Sufi Ziarats and Dargahs". Before India,s Independence, Bhand theatres had managed to make a living from cash patronage from the court elite, and support from the rural community. After independence, this network of patronage vanished. "People who received land through Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah's reforms", he says, "began to think of us as beggars". "They were in search of social respectability, and some of the more coarse kinds of humour which had entered Bhand Pather during the period of Dogra rule led many to disassociate themselves from what they thought was a vulgar form". Akingam's small Bhagat community illustrates the crisis in the traditions of Kashmiri folk theatre. Like other communities of Bhands, the Akingam Bhagats are desperately poor. Unlike other social groupings in Kashmir, they did not benefit from post - Independence land reform, and historically depended for their survival on patronage for their art. Low in the caste hierarchy of rural Kashmir, most young people in the community have been forced into no - future jobs like peddling pots and pans to make up for the death of income from performing. "People look down on us", says Ghulam Rasool Bhagat, one of the leading figures in Akingam's famous Bhagat Theatre, and son of one of Bhand Pather's best known exponents, Mohammad Subhan Bhagat (see event titles 'Bhand Pather Artists Subhan Bhagat and Mahjoor Bhagat' in this site). "Younger people are very conscious of the fact that others will not give their daughters to us in marriage because we are performers, and more and more look to government jobs in the cities as a way to escape from their roots". Folk theatre survived these new times, but only just. Minimal state support came in the early 1950s. in the form of a monthly grant of Rs. 50 (1$) per person, which was revised to Rs. 200 (4$) a decade later. The Jammu and Kashmir Cultural Academy continues to give annual grants of Rs. 9,500 (200$) for musical instruments and costumes". Pankaj RishikumarYes2063http://godaam.pad.ma/Vt393ifb/info2009-06-12weekly1.0Bar Dancers Case: Talk Show in Hindihttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vt393ifb/poster.75.jpgThis is a Hindi talk show "Humlog" on NDTV on the controversy of proposed ban on the dance bar in Mumbai. This footage was given to Majlis by a member of the bar owners' association. Obviously it was shot off the TV screen on a handycam. Hence the image and audio quality is not very sharp and at many places the audio is lost. Still we think it is an important document as the programme was in Hindi and included politicians of the ruling Congress party and the right wing opposition party Shivsena. Though in other events in PADMA we have elaborately presentated the voices of the bar dancers and their movement, this event covers the agenda of the ruling party and their associates. Mumbai is one of those cities where dance bars have been thriving and have met no open or big opposition till 2004. To the commoners' eyes, they are invisible, yet they are starkly a part of the Mumbai folklore. Dancing to the beat of popular Hindi numbers and entertaining a male audience of a diverse age group, these girls and women earn their livelihood. Dancing at beer bars started in Maharashtra in the '70s. They were recognizable by the heavy door at the entrance and by the uniformed bouncers. In order to increase the revenue from alcohol sale the govt. kept issuing licenses for the dance bars and over the three decades these bars sprouted all over the state and specially in Bombay. In 2005 the Govt. proposed a bill to ban dancing at the bars on the pretext of public morality. But by then around 75,000 women were employed in the unorganized sector of bar dancing. Most of these women were migrants from the other parts of the state, country and the subcontinent. The bars though have been part of the cityscape for a long time, always maintained a low profile in terms of social visibility. It seems invisibility was a kind of shield for them. So, the silent existence of these bars was thrown into turmoil when a ban was proposed. It got implemented on August 15, 2005, ironically (or maybe not) on India's Independence Day. But this programme was made soon after the Govt. proposed a bill to ban the bars. Hence in this programme the panel is still discussing the legal, moral and constitutional validity of such a proposal. The Govt. proposal sparked a huge public debate on the issues of morality, sexuality and livelihood. The home minister in the state govt. R R Patil took it as a mission and persuaded it till the end. The civil society got vertically divided on the issue. While all the right wing outfits supported the ban, some old school women's organizations too were vocal against bar dancing based on the argument of commodifying women's body. Some feminist groups and other social movements campaigned against the ban foregrounding issues of right to livelihood, validity of sex based works and against moral policing. As the campaign progressed other issues and agenda - such as migration and regional chauvinism; nexus between police, politician and crime world; hypocrisy of public morality; interpretation of women's rights and dignity etc. became part of the debate. In some sense the issue mirrored the contradictions of contemporary urban life. Eventually the ban was passed in the assembly with hundred percent support - the centreist ruling parties Congress and NCP, the chauvinist parties BJP and Shivsena, the left parties CPI and CPM and the socialists parties - all unconditionally supported the ban. The cross section of the political parties who are fundamentally against each other, came together in unison on the issue of sexual morality. The main speakers: Madhukar Sarpotdar, MP and leader of Shivsena (he was proved guilty of rioting and carrying illegal fire arms during '92-'93 riots in Bombay even by the partisan Mumbai police and judiciary); Javed Akhtar, Lyricist and script writer in Bombay film industry; Mr. Kulkarni, Cngress leader; M N Singh, former police commissioner; Vidya Chauhan, a member of NCP party (she has spearheaded many cleansing operation in the city, a former socialist activist she is a morality fanatic); Manjit Singh, President of Bar Owners' Association (later he was persecuted, harassed and jailed many times by the state as the Home Minister R R Patil took it as a vendetta to teach him a lesson for challenging the moral authority of the state), Bar dancers. The Anchor Pankaj Pachori is very impressive with his clarity of thought and skill of persuation.Yes2218http://godaam.pad.ma/Vhrf7jbu/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Neighbourhood Video Project: Freelance Beauticianhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vhrf7jbu/poster.75.jpgThis is part of Majlis' neighbourhood and video literacy project. Under this project a niche group from a neighbourhood is given training in video literacy. After the initial project they are given technical assistance (camera, editing and sound facilities and personnel) to shoot their own surroundings. At the end of the project they become auteur of a film made on their own lives. This project was conducted with the neo-adult girls from the Muslim settlements in Jogeswari. The workshop was conducted under a local initiative titled Darakht-e- Ilm (tree of knowledge). This initiative started by former journalist Firoze Ashraf, is structured on the principle of earner-learner, where older girls are involved with teaching the younger students and in the process are supported and persuaded to complete graduation and encouraged into skill development. The older girls who are mainly graduate students participated in the workshop. Though the video was shot in the location of their neighbourhood the training took place in Majlis office, far away from their homes. The exercise of traveling to a cosmopolitan area for training in something like video making was by itself an emancipating process for them. By the end of the two weeks workshop the girls were divided into two groups to shoot two different narratives on their lives. One group chose the subject of women run beauty parlours in the vicinity as role models for economic independence. The other group covered various livelihood choices available to them in order to emancipate other girls. The project then was named 'Yahan se Wahan tak' (From here to there) as a measure of their consistent yet small progress. At the end of it the two films were screened in the neighbourhood in front of the local people and some invited guests. When the credit with the girls' names as directors rolled the all encompassing ecstasy was overwhelming. Another aim of the video literacy project is to initiate non-hegemonic image productions produced by the protagonists themselves. Towards this end the project is planned as a part of the Godaam digital media archive. Other than this we have also conducted similar projects with the youngsters of the closed textile mills area (Rojgar hakk samiti) and the inhabitants of the fisherfolks village in Versova. Footage initiated by those projects are also available in PAD.MA. Following is an interview with Ruksana Khan, a small time beautician in the area. One of the groups wanted to portray women with independent economic status in their film. After much deliberation they decided on the profession of beautician. Though their conservative society is fundamentally against women working outside the house, over the years the profession of beautician has got accepted as a women's vocation. The wide spread culture of beauty treatment and cosmetic industry must have permeated into the conservative fort. Besides, women's earning has become an absolute necessity for some families. So working exclusively as beautician for women has somewhat become an accepted norm and not considered as a serious threat to the prevailing patriarchy. But still a section of the society considers hair as a symbol of carnal desire and thus hair cutting remains a serious taboo.Yes1023http://godaam.pad.ma/Vhavpudr/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Koli: The Jains, the Bhaiyas and the Livelihoodhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vhavpudr/poster.75.jpgKolis are the fisherfolks of Bombay, the original inhabitants of the islands that constituted the city. The community has largely kept to their original vocation of fishing. The women in Koli community are very distinct and visible even in the contemporary cityscape. Traditional Koli women with their large body structure, draped in traditional 9-yard sarees and antic jewelry are confident, professional women. The work distribution in the Koli community is like this: men are incharge of fishing which include ferrying to the deep sea, making fishing nets and looking after the boats. Women handle the entire marketing network - preserving the fish, selling in wholesale market, purchasing in wholesale market and selling in the retail market, handling issues of licenses and permits etc. The license and permit to sell fish in the market are considered family property and goes down along the women's line - mother-in-law to daughter-in-law to grand daughter-in-law. The Koli community claims that there are 800 fish markets in the city. Though we are not sure of the number, it is undisputable that the fish markets are a symbol of culinary culture of the coastal city. They are most patronized by the Marathi community. The repertoire between the fisher women and the male customers is a major social interaction which goes far beyond simple shopping. But oflate the demography of the city has changed radically, as has the cityscape. With the rise of the service industry and consumers' market, the prime areas in the city are getting invaded by the upper class Gujarati Hindu and Jain communities who are fanatic vegetarian. Elphinston and neighbouring Lower Parel are some such areas. There was once the mighty textile industry situated in this area. But the industry died slowly since '80s. Since late '90s the industrial land is being leased out for luxurious apartments and service industries. As a result the upper class people are moving into their skyscrapers situated next to a lower middle class settlement or a fish market. As the gentrification of the area gets accomplished the old fashioned living quarters and their neighbourhood fish markets become the bone of contention. The vegetarian gentry find the smell of the fish objectionable and exert influence to evict the markets. Elphinston fish market is one such controversial one. Though the political parties such as Shivsena and Maharashtra mahanirvan sena, who pride themselves as a champion of Marathi supremacy in Mumbai, have deliberately kept quiet on this issue. The obvious reason is the muscle and money power of the rich Gujarati community. Instead the chauvinist parties distracted the anger of the Koli community towards the Bhaiyas, the migrant wage workers who got into vending fish door-to-door. Bhaiya is generic term to indicate all Hindi speaking male migrants. Some of them got into a trade of buying fish from the wholesale market and sell them as door-to-door vendors. This practice has, to some extent, affected the retail business as some customers preferred to get delivery at home than visiting the market. Moreover, the fish in the market work out to be little more expensive than what is offered by the vendors. The Koli women pay for their license, permit and infrastructure whereas the Bhaiya vendors sell directly to the customers. This is a classical case of a conflict of interest between the organised sectors and unorganized wagers. But due to political maneuvering the Koli community is up in terms against the Bhaiyas and fail to rise against the mighty vegetarian gentries.Yes633http://godaam.pad.ma/Vfrz16gd/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Interview with Saeed Akhtar Mirza: Crisis of Ideology 2http://godaam.pad.ma/Vfrz16gd/poster.75.jpgThis interview is part of Majlis' attempt to document the some of the voices of the people in Bombay whose visions and works have stood apart due to their integrity and creative thinking. Saeed Akhtar Mirza is known to the world as a distinguished filmmaker. His films Alberto Pinto ko Gussa Kyun Ata Hai (Why Alberto Pinto get angry), Arvind Desai ka Ajeeb Dastan (Strange Saga of Arvind Desai) in the late '70s laid the foundation stone for the new wave cinema in India. Later he made several other films and television programme depicting a completely different reality of the city of Bombay, than shown in the popular culture of Bollywood. Salim Langde pe Mat Ro (Don't cry over Salim, the lame), Mohan Joshi Hazir ho (Mohan Joshi, appear in the court), Naseem are his feature films in the genre of city cinema. In those three films Saeed unveiled the layers of criminality, real estate menace and the functioning of the identity politics in the city of Bombay. Much before Bombay crimes became a media commodity Saeed ventured to make those films. Yet he has always been considered as the 'alternative' filmmaker, a term which is used with a kind of patronizing respect. He had also directed several television programme and documentaries. Whatever he did his Marxist conviction was the mainstay of his form and text. As Bombay cinema entered into the international market in the name of Bollywood, by killing all other conventions of cinema in India and in the neighbouring countries, filmmakers like Saeed Mirza became obsolete. Many of his colleagues and comrades have tried to keep floating by adopting to the hegemonic convention of Bollywood, butSaeed refused to do that. It could be interpreted as an instance of uncompromising conviction or, in the worst term as an inability to cope with time. This interview was conducted mainly around a television programme 'Tryst with the people of India', directed by Saeed. The programme was produced by the Govt. of India as part of the celebration of 50 years of India's independence. For this programme Saeed and his crew traveled the entire length and breadth of the country to know what the 50 years of democracy meant for the ordinary citizens. Saeed has donated the entire footage of the programme to Godaam, the footage archive ran by Majlis. A part of that collection in also available on PADMA site. The title 'Tryst with the people of India' is a take on the famous speech by the first prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, on the eve of independence. The speech is known as 'Tryst with destiny'. As the first generation in the independent India, people like Saeed have witnessed the euphoria of a new nation and the subsequent collapse of the democratic principles. In the era of aggressive global market it has become an urgent task to document the thinking of Saeed Akhtar Mirza. It is interesting that at this stage Saeed proclaims that he has lost faith in cinema as a social interventionist. In his opinion the post colonial literature can be far more dynamic. He has himself got engaged with writing. His first book titled 'Ammi: a letter to a democratic mother' has just been published by Westland Books. This title too has a resonance of 'Discovery of India: Letters to a daughter' written by Nehru from the prison in 1942-46. The recipient of those letters, Indira Gandhi, later became the first fascist ruler of India. As the titles, as well as the texts, of all his works suggest the issues of nation-state engage Saeed very deeply.Yes1393http://godaam.pad.ma/Vt8jf0hf/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Interview with Saeed Akhtar Mirza: Crisis of Ideology 1http://godaam.pad.ma/Vt8jf0hf/poster.75.jpgThis interview is part of Majlis' attempt to document the some of the voices of the people in Bombay whose visions and works have stood apart due to their integrity and creative thinking. Saeed Akhtar Mirza is known to the world as a distinguished filmmaker. His films Alberto Pinto ko Gussa Kyun Ata Hai (Why Alberto Pinto get angry), Arvind Desai ka Ajeeb Dastan (Strange Saga of Arvind Desai) in the late '70s laid the foundation stone for the new wave cinema in India. Later he made several other films and television programme depicting a completely different reality of the city of Bombay, than shown in the popular culture of Bollywood. Salim Langde pe Mat Ro (Don't cry over Salim, the lame), Mohan Joshi Hazir ho (Mohan Joshi, appear in the court), Naseem are his feature films in the genre of city cinema. In those three films Saeed unveiled the layers of criminality, real estate menace and the functioning of the identity politics in the city of Bombay. Much before Bombay crimes became a media commodity Saeed ventured to make those films. Yet he has always been considered as the 'alternative' filmmaker, a term which is used with a kind of patronizing respect. He had also directed several television programme and documentaries. Whatever he did his Marxist conviction was the mainstay of his form and text. As Bombay cinema entered into the international market in the name of Bollywood, by killing all other conventions of cinema in India and in the neighbouring countries, filmmakers like Saeed Mirza became obsolete. Many of his colleagues and comrades have tried to keep floating by adopting to the hegemonic convention of Bollywood, but Saeed refused to do that. It could be interpreted as an instance of uncompromising conviction or, in the worst term as an inability to cope with time. This interview was conducted mainly around a television programme 'Tryst with the people of India', directed by Saeed. The programme was produced by the Govt. of India as part of the celebration of 50 years of India's independence. For this programme Saeed and his crew traveled the entire length and breadth of the country to know what the 50 years of democracy meant for the ordinary citizens. Saeed has donated the entire footage of the programme to Godaam, the footage archive ran by Majlis. A part of that collection in also available on PADMA site. The title 'Tryst with the people of India' is a take on the famous speech by the first prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, on the eve of independence. The speech is known as 'Tryst with destiny'. As the first generation in the independent India, people like Saeed have witnessed the euphoria of a new nation and the subsequent collapse of the democratic principles. In the era of aggressive global market it has become an urgent task to document the thinking of Saeed Akhtar Mirza. It is interesting that at this stage Saeed proclaims that he has lost faith in cinema as a social interventionist. In his opinion the post colonial literature can be far more dynamic. He has himself got engaged with writing. His first book titled 'Ammi: a letter to a democratic mother' has just been published by Westland Books. This title too has a resonance of 'Discovery of India: Letters to a daughter' written by Nehru from the prison in 1942-46. The recipient of those letters, Indira Gandhi, later became the first fascist ruler of India. As the titles, as well as the texts, of all his works suggest the issues of nation-state engage Saeed very deeply. Interviewer of this piece is Tilottama Karlekar. Tilottama is doing her Phd on social and political realities of Indian documentaries at NYU.Yes1803http://godaam.pad.ma/Ve2iazzw/info2009-03-17weekly1.0Arrivals & Departures: Baha'i Sect in Bombayhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Ve2iazzw/poster.75.jpgInterviewer: Madhusree Dutta. Shot by Avijit Mukul; Kishore This interview is part of a series of study on the cemeteries of different communities in Bombay. In order to trace the multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-religious composition of the city the history, anecdotes, locations and class structures of cemeteries were studied. This cemetery is known as the cemetery for the Baha'i faith. Baha'i is a modern and syncretic faith founded by Baha'u'llah, a nobleman in Tehran, in mid 19th century. There are approximately five million Baha'i believers in the world. Among them around two million Baha'i -s live in the Indian sub-continent. An offshoot of reformist the Babi movement which spread throughout Iran and Iraq in the mid-nineteenth century, the Baha'i Faith has slowly moved beyond the Shi`ite Islam and established itself as a new and independent religion. The movement's founder, Mirza Husayn 'Ali of Nur, Baha'u'llah (1817-1892), is considered to be a messenger of God - equal in station to, among others, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha and Krishna. He was exiled from Iran and lived in Baghdad, Istanbul (Constantinople), Edirne (Adrianople), and, finally, the prison city of Acre (Akka or now Akko) located in the bay near Haifa in what was then Ottoman Syria and is now Israel. After Baha'u'llah's death his eldest son, Abbas Effendi, Abdu'l-Baha (1844-1921), visited both Europe and North America to spread the religion. Two members of the Afnan clan who were resident in Bombay, Haji Sayyid Mirza and Sayyid Muhammad, became Baha'is in the 1860s. In 1872, Sulayman Khan Tunukabani (known as Jamal Effendi), who was both a Sufi and a learned scholar of Arabic and Persian, was sent by Baha'u'llah to Bombay. Thus started the organized missionary activity of the Baha'i faith in the subcontinent. The two Baha'i cemeteries that we document in this event are located in Antop hill in Bombay. Antop hill area is dotted by cemeteries of various communities - Chinese, European, Armenian, Prarthana Samaj etc. It is likely that in colonial period of early 19th century, this area, away from the European head quarters in Fort and beyond the native bazaars and living quarters, was leased out by the British administration for burial grounds for various communities. Now the area has come to be in the heart of the busy and populated city. This causes various social conflicts. The local population resents the wide open space reserved for the dead. There has been encroachment, theft of property and vandalism. Many of these cemeteries are also owned by communities who are miniscule and politically unimportant and thus cannot protect their boundaries. The second Baha'i cemetery is located in the same compound with an Armenian cemetery. The presence of Armenians in India is very old. It is believed that some Armenians came to India in 325 BC with the forces of Alexander the Great. Since 7th century Armenian settlements can be traced in the Malabar Coast and other parts of Kerala. Mainly a traders' community they flourished in the port cities of Calcutta, Bombay, Surat, Madras, Karachi and Dhaka. These cities still have landmarks of Armenian churches and Armenian cemeteries. But the population started dwindling since the independence of India as overseas trading became more regulated and corporatised. The cemeteries in question was an Armenian cemetery but in late 20th century the community found it very difficult to maintain it. They offered space to the growing Baha'i community in exchange of the service to maintain the plot and the graves. It is quite a heartening story. The Armenians practice a school of Christianity and come from the trans-continental region between Western Asia and Eastern Europe while the Baha'i-s are an off shoot of Shi'ite Islam in Iran. As the contemporary world politics dub these two religions as warring communities such instance of friendship and cooperation in a far away land stands apart.Yes2242http://godaam.pad.ma/Vdxdomo9/info2009-12-28weekly1.0Koli Women: Livelihood Practice 2http://godaam.pad.ma/Vdxdomo9/poster.75.jpgThis event, along with others under the other event titled Koli Women: Livelihood Practice 1 on the same site, depicts the day cycle in the life of a fisher woman in Versova fishing village. This event starts at 4 at dawn and ends around noon time. The other event starts at 3.30 in the afternoon and ends at around 9 in the evening. This is the schedule of an average Koli woman's work in the public place. The schedule gets further burdened by domestic chores. The trading of fish in Mumbai is traditionally a women's field. The Koli women are a distinct feature of Mumbai. Before the small islands were joined together to make a big city this region was full of salt pans and fishing hamlets. The fisherfolks are called Koli community. In the community tradition Koli men go to the deep sea to catch fish. While the women run the entire marketing section. Marketing involves wholesale market, retailers' market and door to door vending. Some women are connected with fishing boats and some others buy fish in the wholesale market and sell in the retailers' market. In the process Koli women often dominate the public space of the city with their impressive gait, professional confidence, 9 yards sarees and antique jewelry and stinking merchandise. They can be seen in the local trains, taxis and 3-wheeler auto rickshaws and in the pedestrian by-lanes making brisk business. The wholesale fish markets in the city are strewn around the sea shore. Most famous among them are Crawford market, Bhaucha Dhakka jetty, Sasoon dock, Versova market etc. The sea shores are also traditionally lined by fisher folks' villages - in Colaba, Worli, Mahim, Juhu, Versova, Gorai, Manori, Marve etc. There are also supposed to be 800 authorised retailers' fish markets in the city other than a hordes of unauthorized independent vendors. Fish markets in Bombay, much like any other coastal settlement, is the spine of its culinary culture. The fisherman community, the Koli community, too is very distinct in their appearance, culture and social practices. Their dress code, language, cuisine, body structure, rituals - all are distinct and more or less well preserved. They are an integral part of the city and yet the urbanization has not affected their racial characteristics. They survived through the port making, city making, colonization, urbanization and industrialization. But for last one decade their survival has been threatened. The current phase of development under the philosophy of globalization has permeated into their lives too. The entry of multi-national corporation and export house into the sea food business, the constructions around and on the sea, the pressure from the real estate lobby on the fish markets in prime lands, public campaigns by the fanatic vegetarian lobby and influx of cheap labour in the form of migrant workers, making the noose of development tight on their necks. Unfortunately the labour movement has never considered the Kolis as a sector under their aegis. Neither the women's movement regarded this convention of all women fish markets as a women's rights issue. As a result the right wing politicians have come in to mobilize the distraught Koli community within the regressive identity politics. In this context we are documenting a series of events around the Koli community and specially the Koli women.Yes2586http://godaam.pad.ma/Vfwtku3c/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Koli Women: Livelihood Practice 1http://godaam.pad.ma/Vfwtku3c/poster.75.jpgThis event, along with others under the category of Koli in the same site, depicts the day cycle in the life of a fisher woman in Versova fishing village. The event starts at around 11'0 clock in the morning at the Versova beach. The fishermen come back after the whole night trip into the deep sea. The casual workers store the catch in baskets and carry them to the market which is in the close proximity. The women take over from this point and run the trading starting around 3pm. Versova is a wholesale market and mainly people from retailers' markets and big hotels and restaurants make their purchases here. The trading of fish in Mumbai is traditionally a women's field. The Koli women are a distinct feature of Mumbai. Before the small islands were joined together to make a big city this region was full of salt pans and fishing hamlets. The fisherfolks are called Koli community. In the community tradition Koli men go to the deep sea to catch fish. While the women run the entire marketing section. Marketing involves wholesale market, retailers' market and door to door vending. Some women are connected with fishing boats and some others buy fish in the wholesale market and sell in the retailers' market. In the process Koli women often dominate the public space of the city with their impressive gait, professional confidence, 9 yards sarees and antic jewelry and stinking merchandise. They can be seen in the local trains, taxis and 3-wheeler auto rickshaws and in the pedestrian by-lanes making brisk business. Mumbai's fish markets - almost 800 of them - is another special feature. These markets are mostly ran by Koli women. They are the licensees of the Municipal Corporation and the licenses are inherited along the women's line - mother-in-law to daughter-in-law to grand daughter-in-law. But currently the spree of development and gentrification in the city the Koli community and their livelihood have come under serious threat. The fishing is affected seriously as hi-tech trawlers owned by corporations are killing the business for the small and traditional boat owners. Moreover, the construction projects around and over the sea (buildings, bridges and chemical spewing establishments) have driven the marine lives further away from the coast. On the other hand, the fish markets, once considered as an important characteristic of the city are under threat of extinction. In the real estate development policy the single story markets on prime land are considered as colossal waste of property. In the name of public health and development there has been a scheme to demolish some of the markets. The third angle is entry of migrant workers from other parts of the country into the fishing trade. Many migrants from the Uttar Pradesh, popularly called as Bhaiyyas, these days are either working for the fishing boats or vending fish at door steps. The traditional base of Koli community is threatened by the vitality and enterprise of these migrant male workers. The right wing political parties Shivsena and Maharashtra Mahanirvan Sena (MNS) have taken this opportunity to turn the issue into a communal clash. In recent years there have been many violent incidences around the conflict between kolis and migrant workers in fish market. While actually the issue is that of an organized sector (the Kolis) and unorganized labour force (migrant workers). Unfortunately the labour movement or feminist movement never paid much attention to this issue, resulting it to fester into a communal clash. This event is part of a series to document the Koli community in that context.Yes2088http://godaam.pad.ma/Vu0hlr0d/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Roadside Shrines: Christmas Crib in Contemporary Bombayhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vu0hlr0d/poster.75.jpgIndian Christianity owes its genesis to many sources - St. Thomas, the disciple of Christ in 1st century AD and later other preachers from several other denominations from middle East and Central Asia; Portuguese, Dutch, French and British colonials since 15th century; missionaries from Europe and more recently from the US and so on. The spread of the religion has spanned through many regions, classes and sources and also varied motivations, resulting in many versions of religious practices. Thus the local Christian practices in many parts of India are more organic than monolithic. In Bombay, the spread of Christianity started with the Portuguese. One of the main communities to become Christian was the Marathi speaking agriculture and salt pan based inhabitants of the Solset Island and the Vasai sea coast. This community later called East Indians. The East Indians in Bombay observe Christianity with rituals and forms of their earlier practices as well as classical Christian rituals. In grottos and cribs, sometimes even in the Church architecture and decors this mixed culture is visible. Christmas cribs are popularly known as tableaux of nativity (story of birth) of Jesus. In the year 1220 St. Francis of Assissi visited Bethlehem and witnessed the participatory way Christmas was celebrated there through these tableaux which recreated the birth of Jesus. He brought the ritual to Europe and then it spread all over the world. Though the cribs are religious, they are not essentially institutional. Any devotee can create a crib either in their houses or in public places or in the church premise. Setting up the manger figures is a favorite family activity. Christmas cribs have become more part of the festivity than religion. In that sense it has become part of the local popular cultures. As a result, often the cribs demonstrate local flavours and sentiments instead of the linear story of nativity in the Bible. Making cribs in public places have also become a popular social activity for the neighbourhood youngsters. This event is documentation of a few cribs in the Juhu neighbourhood.Yes1505http://godaam.pad.ma/Vfgkn2eq/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Neighbourhood Video Project: Jogeswari Beauty Clinichttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vfgkn2eq/poster.75.jpgThis is part of Majlis' neighbourhood and video literacy project. Under this project a niche group from a neighbourhood is given training in video literacy. After the initial project they are given technical assistance (camera, editing and sound facilities and personnel) to shoot their own surroundings. At the end of the project they become author of a film made on their own lives. This project was conducted with the neo-adult girls from the Muslim settlements in Jogeswari. The workshop was conducted under a local initiative titled Darakht-e- Ilm (tree of knowledge). This initiative started by former journalist Firoze Ashraf, is structured on the principle of earner-learner, where older girls are involved with teaching the younger students and in the process are supported and persuaded to complete graduation and encouraged into skill development. The older girls who are mainly graduate students participated in the workshop. Though the video was shot in the location of their neighbourhood the training took place in Majlis office, far away from their homes. The exercise of traveling to a cosmopolitan area for training in something like video making was by itself an emancipating process for them. By the end of the two weeks workshop the girls were divided into two groups to shoot two different narratives on their lives. One group chose the subject of women run beauty parlours in the vicinity as role models for economic independence. The other group covered various livelihood choices available to them in order to emancipate other girls. The project then was named 'Yahan se Wahan tak' (From here to there) as a measure of their consistent yet small progress. At the end of it the two films were screened in the neighbourhood in front of the local people and some invited guests. When the credit with the girls' names as directors rolled the all encompassing ecstasy was overwhelming. Another aim of the video literacy project is to initiate non-hegemonic image productions produced by the protagonists themselves. Towards this end the project is planned as a part of the Godaam digital media archive. Other than this we have also conducted similar projects with the youngsters of the closed textile mills area (Rojgar hakk samiti) and the inhabitants of the fisherfolks village in Versova. Footage initiated by those projects are also available in PAD.MA. Follwing is an interview with Aziza Hussain. Both the interviewers and the interviewee are new in front of the camera. But they are exposed to and influenced by the 'sound bite' culture on television. Thus the process initially suffered by the lifeless imitation of TV interviews, till the energy of the place and the situation warmed it up.Yes1998http://godaam.pad.ma/Vt8dq0b4/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Kashmir: Sajjad Lone Speaking at World Social Forumhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vt8dq0b4/poster.75.jpgThis is an excerpt from WSF 2004. Panel discussion titled "Kashmir: Culture and Identity Formation" chaired by filmmaker Saeed Mirza. Other panelists include Balraj Puri, S. A. R. Geelani, Bhajan Sopori. Sajjad Lone leads Separatist People's Conference Party. He took over in 2002 after his father Abdul Ghani Lone was assassinated in 2002.Yes719http://godaam.pad.ma/Vh552ukw/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Dharavi Tamil Community: Redevelopment for a Working Class Manhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vh552ukw/poster.75.jpgDharavi is popularly termed as the largest slum in Asia. Known to be one of the densest and most layered human settlements in the world, the origin of Dharavi can be traced back to early 20th Century, at the height of the industrialization in the region. Dharavi is an area, which was originally located at the northern periphery of Bombay, but with boundaries of this ever-growing city constantly extending on all sides it has come to occupy prime location today. Today, according to official records, Dharavi is marked as an area spread over 223 hectares, where as many as 18,000 people crowd into a single acre. A 1986 survey by the National Slum Dwellers Federation (NSDF) counted 530,225 people (106,045 households) living in 80,518 structures. But considering the large number of 'unofficial/illegal' migration influx, the real number of people living in Dharavi is likely to be much more. Home to approximately one million people, Dharavi populace includes diverse language groups, religious communities and economic units. Most of Dharavi's old residents are from interior Maharashtra, Kutch and Kathiawad region in Gujarat and from Kanyakumari, Thirunelveli, Thuthukudi and Nellai districts in Tamil Nadu. Currently, Dharavi is in the eye of a storm as the prime land that it occupies needs to be 're-developed' to keep in pace with the economic globalization that is sweeping the city. Bombay, the supposed trade capital of India and India, the media acclaimed neo-Asian tiger of the international market, needs to grab more land and the old fashioned settlement of Dharavi must go in order to facilitate that. Currently the whole settlement - the residents' associations, the govt., the international builders' lobby as well as the civil society in Bombay are engaged in intense debate and complex maneuvering to extract the best possible deal out of this. But the problem is what is best for one economic group can be considered damaging by the other. Following a proposal (valued at Rs. 93 billion -around USD 2.3 billion) by architect Mukesh Mehta, the Govt. has divided Dharavi in five sectors and announced call for tenders to develop each sector from international builders' agencies. The scheme is that profits from the sale of the high-end developments will fund the resettlement of eligible slum dwellers (those who can prove their residence prior to January 1, 1995 which now has been extended to the year 2000) in free 225 sq. ft. (which now has been increased to 269 sq. ft.) flats in multi-story buildings. Developers are also charged with providing some amenities and infrastructural improvements. Though the Govt. declared the names of 19 short listed bidders in January 2008, the whole scheme came under cloud for lack of transparency and absence of proper research. The whole process is stalled at the moment while some organizations are commissioned to conduct some field research on the existing socio-economic structure of Dharavi. Another reason for the 'go slow' policy of the Govt. could be due to impending general election. Most probably the Govt. and specially the ruling party do not want to risk public controversy at this stage. Following is an interview of a Tamil resident of Dharavi, Mr. Kanakaraj. He belongs to the Adi Dravidar community, the largest Tamil group in Dharavi. He is one of the main organizers of the Tamil migrants under the broad based caste association. Though he lived all his life in Dharavi he is not very sure of the validity of his claim of residence under the current regime of development. Kanakaraj, in some sense, is a typical case study of the urban poor. His parents migrated to this region to escape caste atrocities and acute poverty in their native place and worked as construction workers. The city of Bombay has provided adequate opportunity for them to get settled in the shanty town of Dharavi and provided basic education for the next generation. After 50 years as the son climbs up the social ladder, the neighbourhood of Dharavi gets marked for development and gentrification. Hence with rest of the city beyond their reach the family is once again under the threat of being displaced.Yes2083http://godaam.pad.ma/Vhr51orr/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Dharavi Tamil Community: Redevelopment for a Congress Workerhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vhr51orr/poster.75.jpgDharavi is popularly termed as the largest slum in Asia. Known to be one of the densest and most layered human settlements in the world, the origin of Dharavi can be traced back to early 20th Century, at the height of the industrialization in the region. Dharavi is an area, which was originally located at the northern periphery of Bombay, but with boundaries of this ever-growing city constantly extending on all sides it has come to occupy prime location today. Today, according to official records, Dharavi is marked as an area spread over 223 hectares, where as many as 18,000 people crowd into a single acre. A 1986 survey by the National Slum Dwellers Federation (NSDF) counted 530,225 people (106,045 households) living in 80,518 structures. But considering the large number of 'unofficial/illegal' migration influx, the real number of people living in Dharavi is likely to be much more. Home to approximately one million people, Dharavi populace includes diverse language groups, religious communities and economic units. Most of Dharavi's old residents are from interior Maharashtra, Kutch and Kathiawad region in Gujarat and from Kanyakumari, Thirunelveli, Thuthukudi and Nellai districts in Tamilnadu. Currently, Dharavi is in the eye of a storm as the prime land that it occupies needs to be 're-developed' to keep in pace with the economic globalization that is sweeping the city. Bombay, the supposed trade capital of India and India, the media acclaimed neo-Asian tiger of the international market, needs to grab more land and the old fashioned settlement of Dharavi must go in order to facilitate that. Currently the whole settlement - the residents' associations, the govt., the international builders' lobby as well as the civil society in Bombay are engaged in intense debate and complex maneuvering to extract the best possible deal out of this. But the problem is what is best for one economic group can be considered damaging by the other. Dharavi first came to the light in reference to development and real estate in 1975 during emergency. The Govt. made roads and initiated some development measures in terms of electricity, water supply etc. (roads etc.). Next phase happened in '84-'85 under the aegis of Rajiv Gandhi foundation. In a way that was the first large scale rehabilitation programme. In the next phase in '90s the govt. created an autonomous body as SRA (slum rehabilitation authority) to implement various slum rehabilitation scheme along with independent builders. As the scheme came under severe criticism for charges of corruption, inferior construction quality and its piecemeal development policy, the Govt. formed another body called DRP (Dharavi Redevelopment Project) in 2004. Following a proposal (valued at Rs. 93 billion -around USD 2.3 billion) by architect Mukesh Mehta, the Govt. has divided Dharavi in five sectors and announced call for tenders to develop each sector from international builders' agencies. The scheme is that profits from the sale of the high-end developments will fund the resettlement of eligible slum dwellers (those who can prove their residence prior to January 1, 1995 which now has been extended to the year 2000) in free 225 sq. ft. (which now has been increased to 269 sq. ft.) flats in multi-story buildings. Developers are also charged with providing some amenities and infrastructural improvements. Though the Govt. declared the names of 19 short listed bidders in January 2008, the whole scheme came under cloud for lack of transparency and absence of proper research. The whole process is stalled at the moment while some organizations are commissioned to conduct some field research on the existing socio-economic structure of Dharavi. Another reason for the 'go slow' policy of the Govt. could be due to impending general election. Most probably the Govt. and specially the ruling party do not want to risk public controversy at this stage. Following is an interview of a Tamil resident of Dharavi, Mr. Natarajan. Natarajan is a middle level leader of the ruling Congress party and obediently mouths the party line. His disregard regarding the eventual extinction of traditional trades in Dharavi - such as Pottery in Kumbharwada and leather tannery - on the face of development is telling. He could either be just toeing the party position which is known for championing the cause of the builders' lobby or it could be a well be a class issue. Dharavi is a mixed settlement with wage workers, petty traders, artisans, industrial workshops and unorganized sweat shops. For people with jobs outside Dharavi it is only the living quarter and they consider the redevelopment scheme as a boon. While people whose livelihood is related to the unique structure of Dharavi, are resentful to the scheme with the fear that the homogenized urban space design will severely affect their livelihood. The interview was taken in the shop of their family business of electronic goods in the 90 feet road. From the attic of the same shop his brother runs a cable network which plays programme in all South Indian languages.Yes2793http://godaam.pad.ma/Vha3sk0z/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Dharavi Kumbharwada: Mud Bhattis and Gas Kilnshttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vha3sk0z/poster.75.jpgDharavi is popularly termed as the largest slum in Asia. Known to be one of the densest and most layered human settlements in the world, the origin of Dharavi can be traced back to early 20th Century, at the height of the industrialization in the region. Dharavi is an area, which was originally located at the northern periphery of Bombay, but with boundaries of this ever-growing city constantly extending on all sides it has come to occupy prime location today. Today, according to official records, Dharavi is marked as an area spread over 223 hectares, where as many as 18,000 people crowd into a single acre. A 1986 survey by the National Slum Dwellers Federation (NSDF) counted 530,225 people (106,045 households) living in 80,518 structures. But considering the large number of 'unofficial/illegal' migration influx, the real number of people living in Dharavi is likely to be much more. Home to approximately one million people, Dharavi populace includes diverse language groups, religious communities and economic units. Most of the citizens of Dharavi are urban artisans, functioning out of the outer space of their one-storey shanties. This seamlessness in working and living space, over the decades, has resulted not only in high number of female wage earners but also facilitated occupations to an entire family, making it some sort of a family business. Currently, Dharavi is in the eye of a storm as the prime land that it occupies needs to be 're-developed' to keep in pace with the economic globalization that is sweeping the city. Bombay, the supposed trade capital of India and India, the media acclaimed neo-Asian tiger of the international market, needs to grab more land and the old fashioned settlement of Dharavi must go in order to facilitate that. Currently the whole settlement - the residents' associations, the govt., the international builders' lobby as well as the civil society in Bombay are engaged in intense debate and complex maneuvering to extract the best possible deal out of this. But the problem is what is best for one economic group can be damaging for the other groups. The govt. has divided Dharavi into 5 administrative sectors in order to facilitate the development process in pieces. Besides, the neighbourhoods are also determined by community occupations and infrastructures - such as Kumbharwada (potters' colony), Koliwada (fisherman's colony) etc. Following is an evening shoot around the kilns in the Kumbharwada (potters colony). Kilns are spines of the Kumbharwada. Every lane in Kumbharwada have multiple number of kilns. Some people own and run the kilns and others bake their products on rental basis. The kilns are so important and primary in the Kumbharwada that any festival (diwali, holi, Navratri) which requires public space is celebrated around the kilns (see event titled Dharavi: Navratri Celebration in Khumbhawada). When the textile industry was running in the city, the potters used to buy the cotton waste from the mills to run the fire in the kilns. But as the textile industry shut down they are forced to use other material, some of which are highly polluting, to run the fire. Thus in last one decade or more the Kumbharwada has come to be the focus of debate as a centre of health hazard. Shot by Tapan Vyas.Yes1274http://godaam.pad.ma/Vss0f3z2/info2009-03-03weekly1.0Bazaar: Sunday Flea Market in Delhihttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vss0f3z2/poster.75.jpgSunday market of Delhi is a flea market. It takes place every Sunday behind Red Fort on Ring Road. It is a retail market for both old and new merchandises. Though there are some kiosks, most of the shopping takes place on the road where the goods are displayed either on a sheet of plastic or cloth or hung from the light poles. The market runs through the whole day into the night. The vendors take full advantage of the light traffic of the Sunday and encroach on the road with their wares. People come even from far away places to make their purchases at Sunday market. Second hand woolens, used shoes, army rejects as well as cheap Chinese made commodities are main attraction. By the time the camera crew reached the market it was late evening of December. A good part of the market was already closed. Though the street vendors were still going strong. Plastic toys, plastic flowers, real flowers, garments and street food were jostling for attention in the back drop of old city architecture and colourful street hoardings. A few stray customers and more onlookers were still hanging around. The presence of the camera raised a slight curiosity among the city dwellers. Quite unexpectedly the crew came across a wedding procession. As per the North Indian custom the groom, along with large number of friends and relatives, had set out for the bride's place on horse back. A local commercial music band played to the occasion. The bazaar was shot as part of a study of Indian visual cultures in bazaar, streets, shrines and homes. Shot by Avijit Mukul Kishore.Yes2487http://godaam.pad.ma/Vt3l4g19/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Bazaar: Kite Market in Ahmedabad, Nighthttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vt3l4g19/poster.75.jpgMakar Sankranti, which usually falls on 14th or 15th January is the last day of the month of poush, by the Hindu calendar. The season is celebrated for post harvest revelry at the end of winter. In some regions it is celebrated by holy bath at Ganga River where it has met the sea. In some other places the day is celebrated by making sweet made of the new rice. Yet in some other regions the day is marked by flying colourful kites. In India the kite festival on Makar Sankarnti is mainly observed in Gujarat and Rajasthan. In Gujarat the art of kite making and kite flying has been taken to a great height and has also become a vibrant craft industry. The artisans who make kites are mostly Muslims whereas the consumers are primarily Hindu. For many years this reciprocal structure of Muslim craft and Hindu festival has been celebrated as an example of communal harmony and social ecology. But the myth of harmony associated with this festival was shattered in March 2002, barely 45 days after this video of the kite festival in Ahmedabad was shot. Gujarat and specially its capital Ahmedabad unleashed a pogrom on the Muslim citizens. The carnage had full patronage from the state and from a large number of people from Hindu and Jain communities. Many of the traders and artisans in the kite markets might have become victims of the carnage and many of the kite players that we had shot with might have been the perpetuators of the violence. "I distinctly remember one striking moment. While working with the kite festival rushes to edit into a film I got tired and switched on the TV. It was the first week of March 2002. Images of Ahmedabad carnage was being reported and one shot came on screen which look like the same neighbourhood where we shot the festival only 6 weeks back. It was the same youngsters on the same terraces and the same sky littered with flying objects - only this time the objects were stones and crude bombs. Since then the colour of the kites in this footage changed for ever, for me" - Madhusree, about shooting these images. Shot by Avijit Mukul KishoreYes2108http://godaam.pad.ma/Vtjset7r/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Bazaar: Kite Market in Ahmedabad, Dayhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vtjset7r/poster.75.jpgMakar Sankranti, which usually falls on 14th or 15th January is the last day of the month of poush, by the Hindu calendar. The season is celebrated for post harvest revelry at the end of winter. In some regions it is celebrated by holy bath at Ganga river where it has met the sea. In some other places the day is celebrated by making sweet made of the new rice. Yet in some other regions the day is marked by flying colourful kites. In India the kite festival on Makar Sankarnti is mainly observed in Gujarat and Rajasthan. In Gujarat the art of kite making and kite flying has been taken to a great height and has also become a vibrant craft industry. The artisans who make kites are mostly Muslims whereas the consumers are primarily Hindu. For many years this reciprocal structure of Muslim craft and Hindu festival has been celebrated as an example of communal harmony and social ecology. But the myth of harmony associated with this festival was shattered in March 2002, barely 45 days after this video of the kite festival in Ahmedabad was shot. Gujarat and specially its capital Ahmedabad unleashed a pogrom on the Muslim citizens. The carnage had full patronage from the state and from a large number of people from Hindu and Jain communities. Many of the traders and artisans in the kite markets might have become victims of the carnage and many of the kite players that we had shot with might have been the perpetuators of the violence. "I distinctly remember one striking moment. While working with the kite festival rushes to edit into a film I got tired and switched on the TV. It was the first week of March 2002. Images of Ahmedabad carnage was being reported and one shot came on screen which look like the same neighbourhood where we shot the festival only 6 weeks back. It was the same youngsters on the same terraces and the same sky littered with flying objects - only this time the objects were stones and crude bombs. Since then the colour of the kites in this footage changed for ever, for me" - Madhusree, about shooting these images. Shot by: Avijit Mukul KishoreYes2014http://godaam.pad.ma/Vgu2cb7z/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Bazaar: Calendar and Posters in Chandni Chowkhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vgu2cb7z/poster.75.jpgChandni Chowk market in old Delhi, built by the Mughal emperor Shahjahan in 1650, is a large and multi-layered bazaar. The bazaar is divided into areas according to the merchandise - Kinari Bazaar, Nai sarak, Chawri bazaar, Tilak bazaar, Flea market etc. The Chawri bazaar is famous for its stationery market. An important part of that wholesale calendar market. Adding more colour to Chandni Chowk's psychedelic landscape is the calendar bazaar. The calendars mainly consist of oleographs - bearing pictures of Gods and Goddesses and pictorial depictions of the Indian Epics. Raja Ravi Varma, an aristocrat from Travancore was a celebrated artist. He was responsible for almost single-handedly creating a revolution in modern Indian aesthetics with the establishment of the Ravi Varma Press. His paintings of Gods and Goddesses, epic heroes and heroines, practically defined the new pan-Indian iconography. The prints became the most influential medium of visual communication in what was then a socially and culturally fragmented Indian society. Using German printers and high-speed steam driven presses, Ravi Varma published millions of copies of these famous paintings as well as other religious icons. This school of art eventually grew into a large industry called calendar art. The pictures in calendars, which are used to advertise goods and services doubled up as icons for political propaganda, where heroes, Gods, and national leaders merged into each other. This kitschy, hybrid form of calendar art is massively popular among the people and it will not be surprising to find every Indian household with one of these prints, in some form or the other, in their possession. In fact, most Indians perceive their Gods and Goddesses to be exactly like the ones seen in these images, so popular are they. And it is not just the Hindu Gods and Goddesses that find a place in these calendars. Islamic scriptures, Christian motifs - like the crucified Christ, or Mother Mary with the infant Jesus are also seen quite often. The ideal, the beautiful and the revered all find a place in the calendars that hang in this dingy wholesale shop. Bollywood stars, enjoy their Demi-God status next to the Lord Krishna and Goddess Laxmi, smiling divinely from the paper calendars, stacked atop each other in the crowded by-lanes of Chandni Chowk. In the month of December the bazaar is at its peak in preparation for the New Year. Shopkeepers, small traders, commercial establishments are seen choosing designs for the complimentary calendars for 2002. Iconography has a special place in the Indian social landscape. There are always popular reproductions of gods, religious motif, film stars, political leaders, sportsmen in various sizes, forms and formats available for popular consumption. It is most visible in the public places in the form of a phenomena popularly called as 'postering'. This event was shot as part of the study of Indian visual culture in the streets, bazaar, homes and shrines. Shot by Avijit Mukul Kishore.Yes1389http://godaam.pad.ma/Vu5o2oe2/info2009-06-12weekly1.0Bar Dancers Case: Meeting of the Bar Owners Association IIhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vu5o2oe2/poster.75.jpgThis is footage of a public meeting organised by the Bar owners association against the proposed ban on dancing in bars in Maharashtra. Dancing in bars of Bombay and other parts of Maharashtra began in 1970s. In 2005, the Maharashtra government proposed to ban dancing in the bars. The proposal sparked wide public debate on sexual morality, women's rights and right to livelihood. The civil society division on the issue was sharp as many women's organisations, left parties and trade unions supported the ban on issues of public morality and degradation of women's body. While many others, including Majlis, Forum against oppression of women, Women's studies research unit of SNDT university and other feminist groups opposed the ban on account of gender assault on right to livelihood, sexuality and performance. The ban got implemented on 15th august, 2005, the Independence Day. The ban was challenged in Bombay High court by the Bar dancers' union, feminists groups and bar owners associations. Majlis represented the bar dancers' union in the High court. On 12th April 2006 the Bombay High Court struck down the ban as unconstitutional. The Govt. appealed to the Supreme Court and thus affectively kept the bar closed inspite of the High court order. Presently the case is subjudiced. This meeting was organized in the interim period of proposing the bill and actually implementing the ban. The bar owners and the bar dancers are traditionally not allies as their relationship is that of employers and employees. Many bars also exploited the dancers is severe manner. The stigma attached with dancing in bars prevented the women to raise voice against the bar owners. But in the present scenario the bar owners and the bar dancers are together against the Govt. decision to ban dance bars. Their survival are intertwined. The bars would suffer huge loss and many would close down in the eventuality of banning dancing. Varsha Kale, President of Bar Dancers Union; Manjit Singh, President of bar owners association and few other bar owners speak about the situation, their perspectives on the situation and how they need to work together to be able to combat the ban and its effects.Yes1240http://godaam.pad.ma/Vtoqvvms/info2009-06-12weekly1.0Bar Dancers Case: Meeting of the Bar Owners Association Ihttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vtoqvvms/poster.75.jpgThis is footage of a public meeting organised by the Bar owners association against the proposed ban on dancing in bars in Maharashtra. Dancing in bars of Bombay and other parts of Maharashtra began in 1970s. In 2005, the Maharashtra government proposed to ban dancing in the bars. The proposal sparked wide public debate on sexual morality, women's rights and right to livelihood. The civil society division on the issue was sharp as many women's organisations, left parties and trade unions supported the ban on issues of public morality and degradation of women's body. While many others, including Majlis, Forum against oppression of women, Women's studies research unit of SNDT university and other feminist groups opposed the ban on account of gender assault on right to livelihood, sexuality and performance. The ban got implemented on 15th august, 2005, the Independence Day. The ban was challenged in Bombay High court by the Bar dancers' union, feminists groups and bar owners associations. Majlis represented the bar dancers' union in the High court. On 12th April 2006 the Bombay High Court struck down the ban as unconstitutional. The Govt. appealed to the Supreme Court and thus affectively kept the bar closed inspite of the High court order. Presently the case is subjudiced. This meeting was organized in the interim period of proposing the bill and actually implementing the ban. The bar owners and the bar dancers are traditionally not allies as their relationship is that of employers and employees. Many bars also exploited the dancers is severe manner. The stigma attached with dancing in bars prevented the women to raise voice against the bar owners. But in the present scenario the bar owners and the bar dancers are together against the Govt. decision to ban dance bars. Their survival are intertwined. The bars would suffer huge loss and many would close down in the eventuality of banning dancing. Here Manjit Singh, President of the Bar Owners Association and Varsha Kale, President of Bar Dancers Union speak to the bar owners about the situation, their perspectives on the situation and how they need to work together to be able to combat the ban and its effects.Yes2015http://godaam.pad.ma/Vtolad8n/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Kashmir: Travelling Through Bakarwal Village Part 1http://godaam.pad.ma/Vtolad8n/poster.75.jpgIn 1997, Saeed Mirza and his film crew traveled the length and breadth of India to make "A tryst with the people of India," a documentary that marked fifty years of Indian independence. What has "independence" and "freedom" really meant for ordinary people across the country? How have they experienced modern India's "tryst with destiny?" Mirza hoped to get the people's perspectives on fifty years of freedom through conversations with a wide range of people across the country. As part of this trip, Mirza and his crew also traveled through Jammu and Kashmir, talking to a range of people from Jammu to the high mountains of Ladakh. In this segment, the crew stops at a nomadic settlement on their way to Srinagar. These people are "bakarwals" or shepherds who travel continually between the plains and the snowy mountain paths of Ladakh, camping temporarily in makeshift tents with their sheep, goats, and other animals. Theirs is a fragile existence: at the mercy of the elements, of course, but also, caught between the militants and the army in the ongoing turbulence in Kashmir. Over a meal of parathas and "namkeen chai," Mirza and the crew have an in-depth conversation with the "bakarwals" and with one in particular: Basharat Ali. Basharat is an articulate and very expressive young man, and the conversation becomes a philosophical discussion on the nomadic way of life at a time of great political and social upheaval. Years later, in his book "Ammi: Letters to a Democratic Mother," Mirza remembers this conversation and calls Basharat "the poet of the high mountains."Yes1453http://godaam.pad.ma/Vu5sm3uf/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Dharavi Kumbharwada: Navaratri Celebrationhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vu5sm3uf/poster.75.jpgDharavi is a settlement popularly termed as the biggest slum in Asia. Known to be one of the densest and most layered human settlements in the world, the origin of Dharavi can be traced back to early 20th Century, at the height of the industrialization in the region. Dharavi is an area, which was originally located at the northern periphery of Bombay, but with boundaries of this ever-growing city constantly extending on all sides it has come to occupy prime location today. Today, according to official records, Dharavi is marked as an area spread over 223 hectares, where as many as 18,000 people crowd into a single acre. A 1986 survey by the National Slum Dwellers Federation (NSDF) counted 530,225 people (106,045 households) living in 80,518 structures. But considering the large presence of unofficial/illegal migrats, the real number of people living in Dharavi is likely to be much more. Home to approximately one million people, Dharavi populace includes diverse language groups, religious communities and economic units. Currently, Dharavi is in the eye of a storm as the prime land that it occupies needs to be ‘re-developed’ to keep in pace with the economic globalization that is sweeping the city. Bombay, the supposed trade capital of India and India, the media acclaimed neo-Asian tiger of the international market, needs to grab more land and the old fashioned settlement of Dharavi must go in order to facilitate that. Following is a night during Navratri (annual 9-days festival to celebrate fertility) in Kumbharwada (potters’ colony), which is spread over about 11 acres in Dharavi. Kumbhars (potters) are one of the most organized and visible communities in Dharavi. Most of them are traditional artisans from Gujarat who migrated to Mumbai in the first half of 20th century. As the potters’ work involve storing and making of clay, running potters’ wheel, baking and drying facilities and storage for the brittle products; space is very important for the Kumbharwada, both in terms of familial and communal use. It is a night of Navratri. Navratri is mainly observed by the Gujaratis and most of the potters in Kumbharwada are Gujarati. Navratri is also a business season for the potters. Navratri, the festival of fertility is observed around an earthen pot symbolizing the womb. Hence the potters make good business in this season. In this event the community celebrates business, culture and religion - in garba, the Gujarati folk dance form. Garba is a community dance form to be performed in large group in a circle. In Kumbharwada they dance around the same kilns in which they bake their pots during the day. The kilns are in the outdoor space and situated in the middle of the clusters of houses. The average size of the kilns are10 ft / 8 ft. In peak season the kilns are loaded every alternate day in the afternoon, set in fire in the evening, the fire runs for around 8 hours, by 3 am it starts colling down and then get unloaded in the morning. The whole process takes around 12 hours. Hence the evening in Kumbharwada is always full of smoke. Anybody who lights a klin in daytime or everyday instead of every alternate day becomes a subject of ridicule. The prosperous ones own kilns. Other people also can the kiln owned by somebody else. Some people only run kilns and do not get engaged with other aspects of pottery. Bhatti is like a studio – the owner may or may not use it for their own works. In the entire Dharavi we could find only one woman who runs a kiln. Though there are women who work as laborers in kilns. There are approximately 400 kilns of various sizes – depending on the status of the owner - in Dharavi. During Navratri they becomes the symbolic wombs for the community, other than solving the problem of paucity of communal space in the settlement. Under the impending threat of ‘redevelopment’ and ‘relocation’ to a modern settlement of multi-storied buildings, this scene of collective celebration acquires a different scale. This event is shot in Wadi 2. Kumbharwada is roughly divided into 4 wadis by the date of inception with Wadi 1 being the oldest. Shot by Tapan Vyas. Yes591http://godaam.pad.ma/Vejpbcwf/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Dharavi Papadwali: Livelihood and Developmenthttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vejpbcwf/poster.75.jpgDharavi is a slum popularly termed as the Asia’s biggest slum. Known to be one of the densest and most layered human settlements in the world, the origin of Dharavi can be traced back to mid 20th century, at the height of the industrialization in the region. Dharavi was originally located at the northern periphery of Bombay, but with boundaries of this ever-growing city constantly extending on all sides it has come to occupy prime location today. Today, according to official records, Dharavi is marked as an area spread over 175 hectares, where as many as 18,000 people crowd into a single acre. But considering the large presence of unofficial/illegal migration influx, the real number of people living in Dharavi is likely to be much more. Home to approximately one million people, Dharavi populace includes diverse language groups, religious communities and economic units. Most of the citizens of Dharavi are urban artisans, functioning out of the outer space of their one-storey shanties. This seamlessness in working and living space, over the decades, has resulted in high number of female wage earners. Currently, Dharavi is in the eye of a storm as the prime land that it occupies needs to be ‘re-developed’ to keep in pace with the economic globalization that is sweeping the city. Papad making is predominantly a female occupation, where women work in groups within families or neighbourhoods and operate from home. The most important part of this trade, drying of each papad, needs large open air space. Traditionally, when papad was made at home, women used the courtyards for this purpose. With urbanization Papad (same like pickles and other snacks) making emerged as a cottage industry. The New Muncipal Chawl in Dharavi which was originally built as military barracks for world war–II, presently functions as courtyards for drying Papad for a large number of women and their families. The Papadwalis are generally part of Lijjat, a large institution with numerous branches manufacturing and marketing Papad all over India and also exporting abroad. The institution is registered as a co-operative society of women and each branch is supposed to work autonomously. It started in 1959 in Girgaum in Mumbai and through the four decades grew to be a formidable brand name. However the institution had its fair share of controversies around the issue of ethics and transparency. Besides, the wage earned by the women does not really justify the working hours put into the job. Shooting is the courtyard of the new municipal chawl in Dharavi, where papads are kept to dry turned out to be a very difficult task. The women were hostile, some even threatened to break the camera. In some earlier occasion some reporters shot the courtyard and reported it in the media as an issue of public health considering the dirty courtyard where the papads were dried. A public outcry followed and some women lost their livelihood. Since then the women are wary of any camera. Following is a story of one such family whose livelihood is making Papads. The work was originally started by the mother of the family. Now the mother is employed in some other work while the next generation continue the Papad making. The present working team comprises of the daughter-in-law and the married daughter with some help from the male members. The married daughter earlier used to live outside Dharavi with her husband who is an auto rickshaw driver. But the contract of Papad making is scarce outside. So she has shifted back to her mother’s place to work in the family business and earn a livelihood. Presently there are 3 families – of the daughter, of the daughter-in-law and of the mother, living in the same house. All of them posses ration cards which are considered as valis proof of residency. After the brother gets married in near future there will be another family under the same roof. The house is in the BMC (Bombay Municipal corporation) chawl which was built as army barrack during 2nd world war. The residents are old tenant of the place. The house has three rooms one after the other much like an office space structure. These are one of the larger houses in the area. Still one wonders how under the redevelopment policy the existing three families (each of them has the proof of validity) and their work space would be accommodated in the one room tenement in the multi-storied building. It is part of our Dharavi documentation project. The project aims at documenting the various communities who have not only found homes for themselves in Dharavi but whose livelihoods are intrinsically tied to this space. We hope to evolve a comprehensive documentation and dissemination of the spaces and lives of Dharavi residents. Shot by Tapan Vyas. Yes1346http://godaam.pad.ma/Vh53r5jh/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Dharavi Kumbharwada: Community Occupation and Urban Developmenthttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vh53r5jh/poster.75.jpgDharavi is popularly termed as the largest slum in Asia. Known to be one of the densest and most layered human settlements in the world, the origin of Dharavi can be traced back to early 20th Century, at the height of the industrialization in the region. Dharavi is an area, which was originally located at the northern periphery of Bombay, but with boundaries of this ever-growing city constantly extending on all sides it has come to occupy prime location today. Today, according to official records, Dharavi is marked as an area spread over 223 hectares, where as many as 18,000 people crowd into a single acre. But considering the large number of ‘unofficial/illegal’ migration influx, the real number of people living in Dharavi is likely to be much more. Home to approximately one million people, Dharavi populace includes diverse language groups, religious communities and economic units. Most of the citizens of Dharavi are urban artisans, functioning out of the outer space of their one-storey shanties. This seamlessness in working and living space, over the decades, has resulted not only in high number of female wage earners but also facilitated occupations to an entire family, making it some sort of a family business. Currently, Dharavi is in the eye of a storm as the prime land that it occupies needs to be ‘re-developed’ to keep in pace with the economic globalization that is sweeping the city. Bombay, the supposed trade capital of India and India, the media acclaimed neo-Asian tiger of the international market, needs to grab more land and the old fashioned settlement of Dharavi must go in order to facilitate that. Following is the story of 12 year Akshay and his mother from the Wadi 3 in Kumbharwada (potters’ colony). The Kumbharwada is broadly divided in 4 wadis by the age of the settlement. The number of the wadis also loosely represent the economic status of the neighbourhood with Wadi 1 being the most prosporous.The traditional occupation Akshay’s family is to make clay pots. But pressure of earning more than what the traditional clay pots can generate Akshay’s father has gone to Qatar to work as a tailor. Yet the home based craft and trade had to be maintained. Specially this is the time for Diwali (the light festival) which is considered as the peak season for potters. So the woman alone handles wage labourers, productions and delivery along with the daily chores at home. Not only the private space, work space and public space collapse into one, even the working hours extend into nights. The family and the entire neighbourhood is geared to a frenzy of making diyas (earthen lamps used in large numbers in every Hindu household during diwali). We could have an easy access to the family due to our friendship with little Akshay. Though still a small boy, in the absence of the father he commands reasonable respect in the house as the next male member. Initially his mother was very happy about his association with the ‘outsiders’ 0 the shooting crew. But as the days passed she started getting worried and suspicious about the association. She communicated to us in no uncertain term that she does not want Akshay to ‘go away’ like his father. Though she aspires Akshay to grow up to be somebody more than a potter, she cannot overcome her apprehension about being deserted by the men in life. These conflicting thinking has had an impact on Akshay too. Though he loves to play with clay and proud of being the only male member among the female wage labourers and family members, he is also sure of showing contempt towards the vocation of pottery. This duality is symptomatic of the social stigma attached to skill based vocation and artisanship and also about living in the slum of Dharavi. An evening at Kumbharwada. Shot by Tapan Vyas. Yes986http://godaam.pad.ma/Vi7yvtw7/info2009-03-03weekly1.0Behrampada & Its Labyrinthshttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vi7yvtw7/poster.75.jpgThis is a collection of shots from the rushes of 'I live in Behrampada', a documentary on a Muslim ghetto in the context of the Bombay riots, an aftermath of the Babari Masjid demolition. I was 8 years old during the Bombay '92-93 riots. My only memory of the time was an unscheduled two-month holiday from school, though the adult talk about stray dead bodies and destruction remains stored in some corner. Later various other incidents of violent identity politics and representations of the Bombay riots in films etc. made a constant a reference point. Going through the rushes after 15 years has also been a process of coming to terms with my own city and its black holes. The shots of the interior of Behrampada are compiled in order to demystify the settlement. There were wide spread allegations of Behrampada being a harbor of terrorists, running bomb making factories, being filthy, being public health hazard… basically being a site of hell. These shots captured the normal life style of the settlement. Ordinary livelihood activities, house hold chores, children playing, bazaars, businesses etc. make the neighbourhood like any others, albeit of a poorer kind. The crew’s focus was not on whether this large settlement was home to any individual criminals or not, as that could be true of any settlement of this size. Yes2610http://godaam.pad.ma/Veej32pl/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Dharavi Livelihood: Female Cobblerhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Veej32pl/poster.75.jpgPopularly termed as Asia’s biggest slum, the origin of Dharavi can be traced back to mid 20th Century, at the height of the industrialization in the region. Today, according to official records, Dharavi is marked as an area spread over 223 hectares, where as many as 18,000 people crowd into a single acre. But, considering the large presence of unofficial/illegal migration influx, the real number of people living in Dharavi is likely to be much more. As a microcosm of contemporary urban phenomena of the developing countries, Dharavi populace includes diverse language groups, religious communities and economic units. Many of the citizens of Dharavi are petty traders, urban artisans or piecemeal workers, functioning out of the outer space of their one-storey shanties. This seamlessness in working and living space, over the decades, has resulted in high number of female wage earners. Currently, Dharavi is in the eye of a storm as the prime land that it occupies needs to be ‘re-developed’ to keep in pace with the economic globalization that is sweeping the city. Bombay, the supposed trade capital of India and India, the media acclaimed neo-Asian tiger of the international market, needs to grab more land and the old fashioned settlement of Dharavi must go in order to facilitate that. Dharavi today is home to approximately one million people, mostly migrants. Therefore, any sort of re-development of the area would imply mass rehabilitation of those living here. The rehabilitation package is likely to be delivered in terms of the exact measurement of the living space, and not considering the value- financial, cultural and social, attached to the living-cum-working space. Our project aims at documenting the various communities who have not only found homes for themselves in Dharavi but whose livelihoods are intrinsically tied to this space. Since the workspace is part of the living space women are key players in their home-based trades. We hope to evolve a comprehensive documentation and dissemination of the spaces and lives of Dharavi residents. The documentation is aimed to provide resources at the negotiating table with Govt. and the builders’ agencies, for urban study curriculum and for social movements against displacement of urban poor in the name of development. This event is portrait of a 80 year old woman, working as a cobbler. Cobbling is traditionally meant to be a male profession. Generally practiced by lower caste men there is a nasty stigma attached to the job. Cobbling as in shoe making could be a lucrative profession. But individual cobblers as local vendors, who repair people’s old shoes, are a far cry from the glitter of the shoe market. Our protagonist, the 80 years old woman, opted for this vocation 60 years back when her husband and son died of alcohol poisoning. She works under a flimsy plastic sheet on the road from 11 am to 7 pm. When she comes back home in the evening her first priority is to go to the toilet as she could not do that for the whole day. The next routine is to drink a glass full of country liquor. We failed to fit in an interview in this tight schedule. All the information that we gather about her is from the other family members. The family has been shifted to their present accommodation a few years back at the beginning of the current construction activities in Dharavi. The accommodation is called Transit camp. But the family members have no idea what they are supposed to be transited to. Yes1112http://godaam.pad.ma/Vhajvzd3/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Kashmir: Bhand Pather Artists Subhan Bhagat and Mahjoor Bhagat IIhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vhajvzd3/poster.75.jpgPather is a folk theatre form of Kashmir. Bhand is the community of performers. This is an interview of Pather artist Mahjoor. He is son of legendary Pather artist and historian Mohd. Subhan Bhagat. For more about Subhan Bhagat please see the event - Kashmir: Folk Theatre of Bhand Pather I in this site. Mahjoor is trying to take forward the unfinished work of his father of documenting the history of Kashmiri folk theatre. Pather like all folk forms is pedestrian, agile and reflexive of its time. However, these forms were looked down upon in the 20th century, under the influence of post-colonial modernity, for their bawdy qualities. Many forms got extinct at that time. Though after independence a few visionaries tried to revive some of these forms by providing state patronage. Mohd. Subhan Bhagat, father of interviewee Mahjoor, was trusted to revitilise the Pather form. In the present volatile situation of Kashmir, where the whole population is edgy under various forms of violence and betrayals, the secular folk theatre of Pather may provide the much needed discourse to peace. It is interesting that Mahjoor talked at length about the role of comedy in the society. Comedy has always been a pedestrian cultural form as against the epic tragedies of classical works. Folk theatre often creates / improvises subversive narrative under the disguise of robust and bawdy comedy. In academic terms they can be called social satire or subversive popular culture. These forms could dodge the wrath of authority at any given time due to its agility, both in terms of content and physicality (these troups were mostly nomadic). The interview is conducted by Pankaj Rishi Kumar and interviewee Mahjoor Bhagat. The interview was conducted at the memorial structure of Shubhan Bhagat.Yes1736http://godaam.pad.ma/Vfsis7od/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Kashmir: Bhand Pather Artists Subhan Bhagat and Mahjoor Bhagat Ihttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vfsis7od/poster.75.jpgPather is a folk theatre form of Kashmir. Bhand is the community of performers. The plays of the Bhands are called pather, a word that seems to have derived from patra, dramatic character. Bhand comes from the bhaana, a satirical and realistic drama, generally a monologue that is mentioned in Bharata's Natya Shastra. The Bhand Pather though is not a monologue but a social drama incorporating mythological legends and contemporary social satire. Born Hindus, the Bhands converted to Islam and remain very secular in their outlook. An extremely simple, witty and practical people. The Bhand Pather unfortunately does not sustain them economically and they have been driven to other professions primarily weaving the basket work of the kangris, wolloen blankets and carpets. Post tenth century onwards has been a time when there were foreign invasions in the valley, the social fibre was disturbed and the Kashmiri became a slave in his own land where he had to face and live with alien cultures, religious and socio- political systems. This cross exchange also come through in the folk tradition of the state. The injustice that the people suffered was expressed in the plays albeit as absurd or humourous be it the king in Darza Pather or the royal soldiers in Shikargah, who speak in Persian to the poor and illiterate Kashmiri and expect him to understand a foreign tongue and whip him for not replying. Or the English couple in Angrez Pather who speak a hilarious version of the language to a resthouse guard while out on a hunt. In the Gosain Pather which is about Shiva and the Saivites of Kashmir, large puppets with masks are used to project the sense of oppression through the characters of the king or the witch. In all the plays, the local character is the protaganist, victorious in the end. The tradition and form is handed down through the generations from father to son. The Bhand has to train himself to be a skillful actor, dancer, acrobat and musician. The leader of the troupe is called the magun, a word taken from maha guni, a man of varied talent. He teaches his people the art and expertise of their inheritance. Today the training is virtually non-existent. A danger signal of the impending doom on this form of entertainment. The finest performers all belong to the older generation. Acting, dance and music are an integral part of the form as a whole. In pure tradition, the performances begin in the evening with a ritualistic dance, also called a chhok but different from the one done at the Shiva Bhagvati temple. With the onset of night the play unfolds gradually and ends in the early hours of the morning with the magun doing a duay kher, a prayer or blessing. The Bhands dance to the tune of a specified mukam and the orcehstra includes the swarnai, dhol, nagara and the thalij. The swarnai is larger in size than the shehnai with a strong and metallic sound that has arresting impact in the open air arena. This instrument attracts audiences from the vicinity. A very special wind instrument, it is made in three parts: the nai or wooden pipe made by special carpenters, the barg, a reed of a particular grass found locally and a copper disc the diameter of the pipe into which the barg is fitted. Before the swarnai player adopts his newly made instrument a ritual offering is made in dargah. The composition played is called a mukam and each Bhand Pather has its own. The music follows a set pattern, the salaam, thurau, dubitch, nau patti and the salgah. There is a highly developed system of music based on the classical mould of the sufiyana kalaam with intricate and codified patterns. M. K. Raina, theatre director. This is an interview of a contemporary Bhand artist Mahjoor Bhagat. His father Mohd. Subhan Bhagat had revitalized the Pather tradition by playing the roles of teacher, performer, historian, archivist and reformer, rolled into one. This interview should be read in the context of the recent upheavals in Kashmir. A popular culture or a folk form always reflects and also hides the unutterables of a time in its body. The works of Pather artists can be a major source of understanding the sentiment of the ordinary people in Kashmir. This interview was conducted by filmmaker Pankaj Rishi Kumar for the film Pather Chaujeri. The interview was conducted near the memorial structure of Mohd. Subhan Bhagat.Yes1216http://godaam.pad.ma/Vev46pag/info2010-03-14weekly1.0Behrampada: Documentshttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vev46pag/poster.75.jpgThis is a collection of shots from the rushes of 'I live in Behrampada', a documentary on a Muslim ghetto in the context of the Bombay riots, an aftermath of the Babari Masjid demolition. I was 8 years old during the Bombay '92-93 riots. My only memory of the time was an unscheduled two-month holiday from school, though the adult talk about stray dead bodies and destruction remains stored in some corner. Later various other incidents of violent identity politics and representations of the Bombay riots in films etc. made a constant a reference point. Going through the rushes after 15 years has also been a process of coming to terms with my own city and its black holes. The documents signal to the popular sentiment and the street culture of that time. What the newspapers were writing, what were the writings on the wall, who were the people killed by the police, what were the foregrounded images of the city…. The images raise many more questions than they answer. Yes1555http://godaam.pad.ma/Vfsn6r98/info2009-03-03weekly1.0Behrampada: Topographyhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vfsn6r98/poster.75.jpgThis is a collection of shots from the rushes of 'I live in Behrampada', a documentary on a Muslim ghetto in the context of the Bombay riots, an aftermath of the Babari Masjid demolition. I was 8 years old during the Bombay '92-93 riots. My only memory of the time was an unscheduled two-month holiday from school, though the adult talk about stray dead bodies and destruction remains stored in some corner. Later various other incidents of violent identity politics and representations of the Bombay riots in films etc. made a constant a reference point. Going through the rushes after 15 years has also been a process of coming to terms with my own city and its black holes. The riots of '92-93 divided the famed cosmopolitan city of Bombay on communal lines and the neighbourhood of Behrampada bore the brunt of this division. The film explored social biases, which under emergency can create mayhem. It is recommended to visit the other interviews under the same category in this site in order to understand the whole picture. In this event we have compiled the shots of the slum from the outskirt. The slum is walled by Bandra station, LIG colony (lower income group colony). MIG (middle income group colony), Railway colony and an artery road called Anant Kanekar Marg which connects the station to the busy Highway. The outer ring of the area are comprised of a few important Govt. establishments – ONGC, MSEB, Indian Oil, Provident fund, Bandra court etc and a large marsh land. It is very important to understand the topography of the ghetto in order to deconstruct the neighbourhood violence in the name of communal intolerance. The surrounding areas of Behrampada are part of the middle class urban development phenomena. The large area of the low rise settlements are mostly viewed from a vantage top angle from the terraces of the high rise buildings or the foot over bridge of Bandra station. The densely situated small shanties appear like crawling creatures – in turns either exotic or repulsive, but nonetheless unknown and de-human. This vague social discomfort and discrepancies between Behrampada and the milieu surrounding them, were used to whip up a violent animosity. Most of the Behrampada residents are Muslim. Infact most of the poor people in India are Muslims. The social reasons for it are many and complex and cannot be discussed here. But this fact about Behrampada were used by the Hindu fundamentalist during the post Babri Masjid demolition to incite the Hindu neighbours in high rise buildings who have never entered the bylanes of the settlement. Yes1148http://godaam.pad.ma/Vgodwnov/info2009-05-25weekly1.0Behrampada: Public Prayershttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vgodwnov/poster.75.jpgThis is a collection of shots from the rushes of 'I live in Behrampada', a documentary on a Muslim ghetto in the context of the Bombay riots, an aftermath of the Babari Masjid demolition. I was 8 years old during the Bombay '92-93 riots. My only memory of the time was an unscheduled two-month holiday from school, though the adult talk about stray dead bodies and destruction remains stored in some corner. Later various other incidents of violent identity politics and representations of the Bombay riots in films etc. made a constant a reference point. Going through the rushes after 15 years has also been a process of coming to terms with my own city and its black holes. The riots of '92-93 divided the famed cosmopolitan city of Bombay on communal lines and the neighbourhood of Behrampada bore the brunt of this division. The persecution of the Muslims of Bombay, more specifically of Behrampada, started from 7th December, 1992, the day after the infamous Babri Masjid demolition in Ayodhya by the cadres of Hindu fundamentalist outfits. The Babri Masjid was a 16th century structure, a fine example of Jaunpuri architecture. The Hindu fundamentalist outfits claimed that it was the birthplace of the mythical Hindu god and the prime character of epic Ramayana, Ram. By using the majoritarian forces and the right wing govt. in the state of Uttar Pradesh, they demolished the Masjid and established a Ram temple in its place. The issue of erecting a large fancy temple at the site of the erstwhile Masjid is still one of the main points on which the elections of the country are fought, even in 2008, after 16 years of the demolition. During the height of this controversy we shot a few images of the Namaaz and the Maha Arti in the vicinity of Behrampada. Yes1005http://godaam.pad.ma/Veed5elr/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Neighbourhood Video Project: Keeping Bharatmata Alive – IIhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Veed5elr/poster.75.jpgBharatmata theatre was built on the mill land in Parel during the peak of textile mills in Mumbai in the ‘60s. The cinema was built as a ploy to make the migrant workers addicted to the city. The workers who were mainly migrants from the rural areas of Maharashtra were prone to leave the workplace for long duration and go back to the villages. Hence the mill owners thought of building a theatre as a source of entertainment close to the living quarters of the workers in Parel. Bharatmata continued to screen Marathi cinema for the working class even after fifty years at an affordable price. Without any paraphernalia of large screen, Dolby sound or air conditioning the theatre remains a bastion of mass entertainment. Kapil Bhopatkar, the manager of Bharatmata, has a ancestral relationship with the theatre. His grandfather Sadashiv Bhopatkar was a silent film hero. He was chosen by the mill owners to run Bharatmata (then called Laxmi talkies). Infact it was Sadashiv who adopted a policy decision to “run only Marathi films”. A tradition that remains to this day, save some tough times during the 80’s with the video revolution. A painting of his is hung on the right hand side of the screen, along with Dadasaheb Phalke, the father of Indian cinema, on the left. During the Quit India movement Bharatmata, in response to patriotic nationalism, had its name changed from Laxmi talkies. Hence all three theatres in this vicinity were named accordingly - Hindmata, Jaihind and Bharatmata. But since early 2000, with large scale globalization and land acquisition for the service industry in the area, Bharatmata theatre has come under public scrutiny. In 1980 a historical workers’ strike took place in the textile industry of Mumbai. The mill owners took advantage of the inexperienced leadership and siphoned off the capital out of the state. Most of the 54 mills never started again leaving large number workers unemployed. Since mid ‘90s, with the hidden blessings from the Govt., the mill owners started leasing out the mill lands reserved for the industrial use to the consumers’ market and real estate developers. Thus the area today has become an edgy neighbourhood of consumers’ outlets, offices of the multi-national corporations, residential skyscrapers and low rise workers’ quarters. The prime land that Bharatmata stands on, thus become a centre of controversy. In 2004 Majlis conducted a video training workshop for the members of Rojgar hack samiti. The students were split up into two groups and facilitated to make two short film on their neighbourhood. One group decided to make a short documentary film on haircutting practices in their area and made ‘Kato Magar Pyaar Se’ (Cut but with love). The other group decided to do a portrait of Bharatmata (literally means Mother India), the popular stand alone cinema in the vicinity. The film was titled ‘Runanu Bandh’ (Enduring ties). These are rushes from Runanu Bandh, shot by those offspring of the mill workers and aided by the Majlis team.Yes1205http://godaam.pad.ma/Vfwy1lnh/info2009-03-02weekly1.0Bazaar: Neighbourhood Daily Market in Trivandrumhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vfwy1lnh/poster.75.jpgIt is a document of the daily life in a neighbourhood bazaar in Trivandrum. It is all about the ordinariness of the everyday. The bazaar is not famous or specifically exotic (depends on the interpretation of exotic), it is not even a large enterprise. It is a daily market selling mainly flowers and vegetables. The city is known for its various temples. The early morning flower shops obviously cater to the devotees to these temples. Many vendors, specially the women, offer a meager ware. It is said that the economy of an area can be understood by the quantity of the merchandise sold by any individual in the market. By that logic this market paints a sad picture. But maybe it is too superficial to jump into such conclusion so easily. However, the visuals of women standing for hours with handfuls of petals to sell is a poignant one. Most vendors in this bazaar do not even have a stall but uses small baskets and gunny sacks. It appears to be a normal day at the market with the usual chatter and bustle. The people seem largely unconcerned about the video camera in their midst. It is quite a counter to the usual romantic exotica associated with the great Indian bazaars. Maybe the understated and non-exhibitionist culture of South India (as oppose to the pomp of the North India) too has something to do with this. It is interesting to note that the audio of the bazaar sometimes seems more animated that the visuals. On wonder then that the crew had spent considerable time recording the ambience sound. The bazaar was shot as part of a study of Indian visual cultures in bazaar, streets, shrines and homes. Shot by Avijit Mukul Kishore.Yes1856http://godaam.pad.ma/Vdxzlek7/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Kashmir: Conversation with Wood Craftsmanhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vdxzlek7/poster.75.jpgIn 1997, Saeed Mirza and his film crew traveled the length and breadth of India to make “A tryst with the people of India,” a documentary that marked fifty years of Indian independence. What has “independence” and “freedom” really meant for ordinary people across the country? How have they experienced modern India’s “tryst with destiny?” Mirza hoped to get the people’s perspectives on fifty years of freedom through conversations with a wide range of people across the country. As part of this trip, Mirza and his crew also traveled through Jammu and Kashmir, talking to a range of people from Jammu to the high mountains of Ladakh. In this section, Saeed Mirza stop at a wood-carving workshop ner Srinagar and talk to a mastercraftsman, Rafique. Wood-carving is an important industry in Kashmir, and wood-carving is a craft that has come down through several generations in Kashmir. These pieces of wooden art are important export items. The worst of the conflict that wracked the valley in the 1990s may be over by this time; there may be less fighting and bombing. But the army is everywhere, and many, many Hindus have left. How have these ongoing events affected the craftsmen, their livelihood, their art?In a fairly long conversation, Mirza asks Rafique these questions. Rafique is slow to open up, preferring perhaps to focus on his work rather than talk with a strange crew. By the end of the conversation, though, Rafique is noticeably more relaxed.Yes1697http://godaam.pad.ma/Vf077dg5/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Kashmir: Conversation with Fishermen on Dal Lakehttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vf077dg5/poster.75.jpgIn 1997, Saeed Mirza and his film crew traveled the length and breadth of India to make “A tryst with the people of India,” a documentary that marked fifty years of Indian independence. What has “independence” and “freedom” really meant for ordinary people across the country? How have they experienced modern India’s “tryst with destiny?” Mirza hoped to get the people’s perspectives on fifty years of freedom through conversations with a wide range of people across the country. As part of this trip, Mirza and his crew also traveled through Jammu and Kashmir, talking to a range of people from Jammu to the high mountains of Ladakh. In this part, Mirza and his crew are at the famed Dal Lake in Srinagar. The lake is famous for its idyllic beauty, its flora and fauna, the houseboats and shikaras that float on it. At the time that the crew travel to Dal Lake though, tourism and all other industries have suffered because of the turmoil of the early 1990s. And as the crew find out, the predominant mood here seems to be characterized by fear and despair. They first stop at a small fishing village and try and talk to some of the fisherfolk. While they are friendly enough, though, it is clear that these people are not ready to open up about their lives, definitey not to strangers with cameras. And then, a little further on Dal Lake, Mirza and the crew talk to their boatmen, two young men named Javed and Parvez. They are more willing to talk than the fishermen, certainly, but they talk of a fear, the kind of fear that makes people too afraid to say anything at all. And, of a kind of suffering that’s almost incommunicable. “Its too hard…if you were Kashmiri, you wouldn’t be able to answer these questions either.” Says 19 year old Javed, their tour guide on Dal Lake.Yes1552http://godaam.pad.ma/Vsmpixv1/info2009-06-15weekly1.0World Social Forum: Work in Progress, Bombay, 2004http://godaam.pad.ma/Vsmpixv1/poster.75.jpgThe World Social Forum originated in Porto Alegre, Brazil as a joint platform of various groups working on an anti-globalisation platform including the French group ATTAC. The first WSF was partly supported by the Porto Alegre government led by the Brazilian Worker’s Party. It was attended by 12,000 people from around the world. In the following years the event grew in size and support and in its 4th year, it was held outside Brazil for the first time, in Mumbai, India. It was attended by over 75,000 people. It was notable for having marked participation from indigenous people’s movements and highlighting issues of caste, sexualities and gender, besides a significant incorporation of art and performance as a site of politics as well as protest. As part of the activities we ran a video bulletin where media students who had been in a workshop for three weeks, where they learnt about the political issues as well as the journalistic challenges of covering such an event, worked with professional camera, sound and editing technicians as well as a group of three supervising editors/producers. The bulletin played on TV sets spread across the WSF grounds. Part of the intent was to involve local media students and future media practitioners in a significant political moment. But the impulse and shape of the exercise was also a response to the growing idea of radical documentation in the indy-media mode- unedited and supposedly uncommenting and by extension the assumption that to be amateur/raw/instantaneous/access technology was to automatically be radical. While acknowledging the power of many of these approaches within the moment of something like the Seattle protests, the video bulletin sought to take the discussion ahead and think about documentation from a space of political thought, to communicate political ideas and not documentation as political by default. Among the considerations was how to document an event of such scale and multiplicity with as much diversity as possible, but also with lasting value as a document of response. Hence the mixture of the professional and the amateur, the journalistic and the impressionistic, the guided and the completely personal was evolved. The bulletins were presented in a newsmagazine format and were of varying lengths. The film Work in Progress was put together from the approximately 80 hours of material generated in the process. Editing the film was a challenge precisely because of the wildly varied nature of the material, shot by 6 different camera people directed at various times by either of 18 different student directors in a space where one thing was constantly interrupting another. Eventually the film sought to knit together this diversity without smoothening it into unity, by using a concert style. We kept in mind the central themes that were discussed at the WSF, but also looked for the different eyes and ears that had recorded it and used that to create some pattern in texture and representation, to present a sense of this event and the political ideas that it is composed of. Though PADMA is essentially a site for unedited footage, we have made an exception in this case to put an edited film. The main reason is that the collection of footage runs in 100 hours. Besides, since the material is shot by different groups of people even the edited film represents multiple views of the event.Yes3576http://godaam.pad.ma/Vt4gq085/info2009-06-12weekly1.0Arrivals & Departures: Sewri Cemeteryhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vt4gq085/poster.75.jpgThis is part of a series of study on the cemeteries of different communities in Bombay. In order to trace the multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-religious composition of the city the history, anecdotes, location and class structure of cemeteries were studied. This cemetery is known as Sewri Christian cemetery. Founded in 1865, the cemetery was meant to be the burial ground of the ruling British personnel and other European residents. Below are some excerpts from online queries about the cemetery from all over the world. "My grandmother, Sophie NICHOLAS, d. 1951, and was buried in Sewri Cemetery, Church of England/Scottish Section (Plot #NE2, Row E, Grave No. 6--white border around grave, grassy top with a white stone cross on top), Bombay. My Mum's last visit to the gravesite was in 1997, and she took photos, and it was upkept well. Aloma" "Further to Aloma's query, does anyone know of a source (preferably online) which lists the names/details of those interred in the Sewri Cemetery. Trying to find Ernest FREED who died in Bombay about 1934. TIA. Warmest regards, Terry Waters-Marsh Australia" "Sewri Cemetery Bombay burial record Ellen Blunden (View posts) Posted: 7 Aug 2006 6:15PM I am seeking further information if possible on the record of burial for James Topliss buried 6 April 1924". Once situated in one of the original seven islands that formed Bombay city, the cemetery today is part of the dense population. Shot by Avijit Mukul KishoreYes2292http://godaam.pad.ma/Vsmlf2ih/info2009-06-12weekly1.0Bar Dancer on the Ban: An Interview with Geetahttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vsmlf2ih/poster.75.jpgDancing in bars of Bombay and other parts of Maharashtra began in 1970s. It was a device to attract more customers to the bars and boost up sale of alcohol. The Govt. initially encouraged it in order to increase their revenue. The practice also turned out to be a modernized version of commercial dance. It provided livelihood to large number of women including many migrants from neighbouring states and countries. Many women from traditional courtesan, devdasi and other such commercial dancing communities had opted for dancing in bars. As the feudal patronage dried up dancing at bars, other than in marginal capacity in Bollywood cinemas, became the only option for these women. In 2005, the Maharashtra government proposed to ban dancing in the bars on the pretext of public morality. The proposal sparked wide public debate on issues of sexual morality, women’s rights and right to livelihood. The civil society got vertically divided on the issue. Still the Govt. went ahead and implemented the ban on 15th August, independence day of India, rendering approximately 70,000 women jobless. This is an interview with a bar dancer in the intermediary period when the petitions against the ban was pending in front of the Bombay court. Geeta is an active member of the bar dancers union. A married woman and mother of two children she is already on the wrong side of the age. The insecurity of loosing youth can be severe in this profession. Geeta has reached the stage when she can already feel the pinch. At this stage the sudden ban makes it far worse. She thinks the debate is eating into her precious last few hours in the circulation. She is from Maharashtra. The govt., at one point, announced that it would only consider rehabilitation programme for the dancers who are from the state of Maharashtra. This could be a ploy to break the unity of the dancers. But anyway it goes with the chauvinist politics of the region. To understand the issue and the event better it is recommended to visit other file under the same title in this site. Shot by Avijit Mukul Kishore. Interviewee - Geeta (G), Interviewer- Madhusree (M)Yes693http://godaam.pad.ma/Vg8urs1x/info2009-06-12weekly1.0Bar Dancers Case: Report on NDTVhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vg8urs1x/poster.75.jpgThis is an NDTV “Special Report” on the controversy of banned dance bars in Mumbai. Mumbai is one of those cities where dance bars have been thriving and have met no open or big opposition for years. To the commoners' eye, they are invisible, yet they are starkly a part of the Mumbai folklore. Dancing to the beat of popular Hindi numbers and entertaining a male audience of a diverse age group, these girls and women earn their livelihood. Dancing at beer bars started in Maharashtra in the ‘70s. They were recognizable by the heavy door at the entrance and by the uniformed bouncers. In order to increase the revenue from alcohol sale the govt. kept issuing licenses for the dance bars and over the three decades these bars sprouted all over the state and specially in Bombay. In 2005 the Govt. proposed a bill to ban dancing at the bars on the pretext of public morality. But by then around 75,000 women were employed in the unorganized sector of bar dancing. Most of these women were migrants from the other parts of the state, country and the subcontinent. The bars though have been part of the cityscape for a long time, always maintained a low profile in terms of social visibility. It seems invisibility was a kind of shield for them. So, the silent existence of these bars was thrown into turmoil when a ban was proposed. (It got implemented on August 15, 2005, ironically (or maybe not) India's Independence Day. But this programme was telecasted in the intermediary period of passing the bill to ban the dance bars and implementing it). The Govt. proposal sparked a huge public debate on the issues of morality, sexuality and livelihood. The home minister in the state govt. R R Patil took it as a mission and persuaded it till the end. The civil society got vertically divided on the issue. While all the right wing outfits supported the ban, some old school women’s organizations too were vocal against bar dancing based on the argument of commodifying women’s body. Some feminist groups and other social movements campaigned against the ban foregrounding issues of right to livelihood, validity of sex based works and against moral policing. As the campaign progressed other issues and agenda – such as migration and regional chauvinism; nexus between police, politician and crime world; hypocrisy of public morality; interpretation of women’s rights and dignity etc. became part of the debate. In some sense the issue mirrored the contradictions of contemporary urban life. The speakers: Geeta Shetty, bar dancer and spokesperson of the Bar dancers’ union; Simran: Bar dancer; Preeti Patkar: Social worker, founder of Prerana, a night school initiative for the children of sex workers and faculty of TISS; Sanjana: Bar dancer; S Balakrishnan: Journalist; R R Patil: Leader of ruling NCP party and home minister of Maharashtra who spearheaded the campaign against dance bars with a missionary zeal; A N Roy: Police commissioner of Mumbai; Vilasrao Deshmukh: Leader of ruling Congress party and chief minister of Maharashtra; Uddhav Thackrey: President of the Marathi chauvinist party Shivsena; Manjeet Singh Sethi: Bar owner and president of Bar Owners’ Association; Middle class men; middle class girl; Flavia Agnes: Women’s rights advocate and founder of Majlis, a centre for rights discourse and inter-disciplinary art initiatives, Anonymous bar dancers.Yes1196http://godaam.pad.ma/Vee7b8zt/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Bazaar: Pydhonie the Day Before Idhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vee7b8zt/poster.75.jpgPydhonie is an area between Mazgaon and the island of Mumbai. Some believe that the name is derived from the Marathi word ‘py’ means feet and ‘dhone’ which means to wash – in reference to a small creek that formed during the high tide. This was probably the first land permanently reclaimed from the sea in Bombay. Pydhonie separates the predominantly Muslim population of the eastern part of the inner city from the mainly Hindu part to the west. The main landmark is the Mumbadevi Temple. There are many famous markets close by such as Mohmad Ali road, Crawford market, Null bazaar (hardware market), Chor Bazaar (thieves’ market) etc. This video was shot extensively in the bazaars of Pydhonie during ramzan on the day before the Id. The market was specially busy with transaction in preparation of the id. The market was shot as an exercise to study the visual cultures on the streets and bazaars of India. Yes852http://godaam.pad.ma/Vumjlgdk/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Kashmir: Travelling Through Bakarwal Village Part 2http://godaam.pad.ma/Vumjlgdk/poster.75.jpgIn 1997, Saeed Mirza and his film crew traveled the length and breadth of India to make “A tryst with the people of India,” a documentary that marked fifty years of Indian independence. What has “independence” and “freedom” really meant for ordinary people across the country? How have they experienced modern India’s “tryst with destiny?” Mirza hoped to get the people’s perspectives on fifty years of freedom through conversations with a wide range of people across the country. As part of this trip, Mirza and his crew also traveled through Jammu and Kashmir, talking to a range of people from Jammu to the high mountains of Ladakh. In this part, Mirza and the crew continue their conversation with Basharat Ali and the people of “Bakarwal Village,” a small group of nomadic shepherds who have set up a temporary settlement on the way to Srinagar. Basharat describes the many difficulties they face: lack of access to education and any kind of medical care are two of the major concerns. At the same time, Basharat speaks eloquently of the freedom and independence of their way of life, and of their love for the environment and natural beauty that surrounds them. Finally, they share a meal with the shepherds before continuing on their journey. Basharat is an articulate and very expressive young man, and the conversation becomes a philosophical discussion on the nomadic way of life at a time of great political and social upheaval. Years later, in his book “Ammi: Letters to a Democratic Mother,” Mirza remembers this conversation and calls Basharat “the poet of the high mountains.” Yes1489http://godaam.pad.ma/Vfsn8vkx/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Kashmir: Enforced Disappearances and Civic Action 1http://godaam.pad.ma/Vfsn8vkx/poster.75.jpgEnforced disappearances are a reality in Kashmir. Like most other issues pertaining to the unresolved conflict, the number of disappearances, agencies responsible for these and of course the legal status of those missing are frequently contested. Former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Saeed put the number at 60 while the former Law Minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig told the State Assembly on March 25, 2003 that since December 1992, 3744 are reported missing of whom 135 have been declared dead. Activists such as Parveena Ahangar of the Association of the Parents of Disappeared Persons and Zahir-ud-din, editor of Greater Kashmir estimate the numbers to be in the range of 4000-10, 000. These two 'events' were recorded and given to us by Zahir-ud-din. We have not edited any portions from the tape. Figures and numbers aside, the matters shared by most interviewees bring attention not just to the personal grief resulting from such disappearances but also to the material and social incumbencies brought to bear upon women, especially wives of disappeared persons. In all cases, however, each woman has described numerous arduous journeys they have undertaken to institutions, prisons, courts and detention centres. Parveena Ahangar has been at the forefront, having formed the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons to forge a community and bring attention human rights violations as well as to the grievances of the relatives. Yes972http://godaam.pad.ma/Vsndf1jm/info2009-06-26weekly1.0Behrampada & Its Residents: Quran Chachihttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vsndf1jm/poster.75.jpgThis is an interview from the rushes of the 'I live in Behrampada', a documentary on a Muslim ghetto in the context of the Bombay riots, an aftermath of the Babari Masjid demolition. I was 8 years old during the Bombay '92-93 riots. My only memory of the time was an unscheduled two-month holiday from school, though the adult talk about stray dead bodies and destruction remains stored in some corner. Later various other incidents of violent identity politics and representations of the Bombay riots in films etc. made a constant a reference point. Going through the rushes after 15 years has also been a process of coming to terms with my own city and its black holes. The riots of '92-93 divided the famed cosmopolitan city of Bombay on communal lines and the neighbourhood of Behrampada bore the brunt of this division. The film explored social biases, which under emergency can create mayhem. In this search, the film interviewed people from different classes and religions – namely, Hindu building residences, and Muslim slum dwellers; authorized buildings and unauthorized or under-dispute settlements. However, reading/seeing the whole rushes makes it clear that it was a manifestation of old politics of majoritarianism. It is recommended to visit the other interviews under the same category in this site in order to understand the whole picture. Quran Chachi, whose name is not known to us, was a resident of Behrampada. During the Bombay riots, Chachi helped her neighbours of Behrampada by doing her bit – reciting the Quran and hence calling out to Allah for help. The crew chanced upon her while hanging around in the settlement and recorded her testimony. She provided some graphic detail of taming of the wild land that they reside on now. Yet, making a land does not make anyone a legitimate resident of that place! A class and community identity plays a much more vital role in right to citizenship / residents. "I Live in Behrampada" is a depiction of that. Interviewee: Chachi (C); Interviewer: Madhusree Dutta (M); Shot by: Moloy RoyYes316http://godaam.pad.ma/Vs5wa9bn/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Bazaar: Chandni Chowkhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vs5wa9bn/poster.75.jpgGoing by the name and the location, Chandni Chowk (literary means Silver Square)was built by the Mughal emperor Shahjahan in 1650, just outside the historical Red Fort. Through the 350 years the bazaar has gone through various metamorphosis and has also expanded in size. Today Chndni Chowk is one of largest markets in the country for both wholesale and retail outlets. The market offers wide range of merchandise – textiles, tailored clothes, Jewellery, electorincs, hardware, vessels, religious accessories, papers, stationery and calendars, leather goods, musical instruments, antiques, Chemicals, medical equipments, kites, eateries, spices, sweetmeats, dry fruits and so on. No contemporary shopping mall can compete with Chandni Chowk both in terms of variety and quantity of merchandise. The bazaar is divided into areas according to the merchandise – Kinari Bazaar, Nai sarak, Chawri bazaar, Tilak bazaar, Flea market etc. Chandni Chowk is also populated by shrines of different faiths. Other than the famous Jama Masjid, there are also many Hindu and Jain temples, Sikh Gurudwara and Christian churches. Chnadni Chowk bazaar mirrors the Characteristics of India in its multiplicity in culture and religion, a cusp between tradition and modernity and the overlap between spaces and functions. Chandni Chowk is frequented not only by the traders and shoppers, but also by Indian and foreign tourists. If not for the silver jewellery or electronic goods, then for the prayer at the Jama Masjid or for the delicious Kebabs at Karim’s and the roadside chats at Khari Baoli. The old constructions and extremely narrow bylanes, smell of spices and street food, sound of many languages and many kinds of vehicles, slow moving cycle rickshaws and hand pulling carts, shop displays and event announcements spilling over on the road with the movement of a dense population – Chandni chowk is one seamless flow from old civilization to contemporary metropolis. The bazaar was shot as part of a study of Indian visual cultures in bazaar, streets, shrines and homes. Shot by Avijit Mukul Kishore.Yes2772http://godaam.pad.ma/Vevef9uf/info2009-06-12weekly1.0Arrivals & Departures: Memorial Plaques at Cathedral Churchhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vevef9uf/poster.75.jpgSt. Thomas Cathedral in the fort area is one of the oldest churches in the city. The foundation stone of the church was laid in 1672 and the inauguration happened on Christmas day in 1718. The church was named after St. Thomas, one of the 12 disciples of Christ who came to India and established the first Christian church in Kerala in first century AD. The Church was built to ‘improve the moral standard’ of the growing British settlement. A protestant establishment the church was built next to the European Fort where the white colonials were housed. The entrance of the church was one of three gates to the fort. After that gate the area was named Churchgate – a name which is still in use as the current train terminus. The St. Thomas church of beautiful gothic structure was elevated to a cathedral in 1837. Popularly it is always called Cathedral church. Currently the cathedral stands in the middle of the commercial region in the Fort area. The immaculate grave stones and the memorial plaques silently display the history of 200 years of colonised India. The evolution of English language since mid 18th century can be read through the texts on the plaques. Also can be traced the landmarks in colonial history as many British generals, soldiers and administrators who died in various battles against the revolts and struggles by the ‘natives’ were either buried or paid homage to at the cathedral. The elegant marble tombstones and plaques with intricate calligraphy and skillful sculpting bear the sub-texts of much violence of last two and a half centuries. This cathedral was shot as part of a study of the cemeteries in the city. The study was undertaken as an exercise in reading the history of the city and the movement of various communities in and out of the city at various historical junctures. Shot by Avijit Mukul Kishore. Yes1225http://godaam.pad.ma/Vu0nov6c/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Cityscape and Citizenship: Interview with Bulldozer Driver Sanjayhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vu0nov6c/poster.75.jpgThis interview is shot in a workshop of Tarmat Infrastructural & Engineering Ltd. It is an international company which provides construction vehicles such as cranes, bulldozers, cement mixers etc. This workshop is meant for maintenance of the vehicles. So there would be hundreds of big vehicles, some old and rusted and yet some others freshly painted lie all over the huge campus. The workshop was a temporary one with a very small office in the middle of it. Goregaon east at that time was at the height of construction activities with buildings coming up under SRA (slum rehabilitation authority) scheme, new sky scrapers and shopping mall being under construction and adjacent forest land being released. The frenzy of construction activity required a vehicle repair workshop in the vicinity. We met Sanjay in the Nagri Nivara Hakk Samiti (Citizens' Housing Rights Association) office. He was a migrant worker from UP. He worked in various capacities as casual worker and was unemployed when we met him. His casual work briefs also included demolishing huts of the 'illegal' migrants. So he did – demolished huts of the people who are like him, for his livelihood. Finally one day he had to demolish his own home. With 55% to 60% population in this city living in slums and shanties this might be a regular occurrence when one is hired to destroy one's own life in order to make place for 'development'.Yes1071http://godaam.pad.ma/Vhr32c3t/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Kashmir: Campaign & Exhibition in Support of S. A. R. Geelanihttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vhr32c3t/poster.75.jpgOn December 13th 2001, the Indian Parliament was attacked by 5 gunmen. The NDA Government squarely laid the blame on Pakistan based militant groups, Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad. In the days that followed, the police arrested 3 Kashmiri men and one Sikh woman under Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA). While the world was still reeling from the aftermath of 9/11 and the culture of Islamic demonisation, several nations including India passed anti-terror laws which permitted the use of confessions, extracted by police authorities, as permissible evidence within courts. Not only was this an infringement of International Human Rights law, it led to unconstitutional judgements and judicial demands which led to the accused being given death sentences in what has come to be known as the Indian Parliament Attack case. The apparent logic appeared to be that the attack on the Indian parliament merited an emotionally volatile and constitutionally unhinged retribution. Thus, most notably Afzal Guru and Geelani were given death sentences. One of the accused, Syed Abdul Rehman Geelani, was a lecturer at the Zakir Hussain College in Delhi. Geelani was given a death sentence by Judge S. N. Dhingra in 2002. A group of concerned citizens and activists formed the All India Committee of Defence for S. A. R. Geelani which campaigned for his acquittal. 50,000 postcards had been sent to the Home Ministry during the campaign by citizens demanding a fair trial. The shoddy police investigation, sensationalist media reportage and nationalistic chauvinism by BJP generated a blind hysteria which overlooked the basic tenets of judicial procedures. The growth of global Islamophobia, as well as a long ongoing resistance to Kashmiri disaffection created an atmosphere where these two intersected to produce an even more acute and sinister sentiment. For further reading kindly refer to 13 DEC: A Reader which has reprints of articles and essays by Nandita Haksar, Arundhati Roy, A. G. Noorani and Nirmalangshu Mukherji. The present video is a recording of the poster exhibition titled From Death Penalty to Acquittal: Lies of our Times Yes1433http://godaam.pad.ma/Vi7ce8b6/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Roadside Shrines: Christmas Cribs after WTC Attackhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vi7ce8b6/poster.75.jpgChristianity though claimed to be a monolithic religion, actually survives in many versions all over the world. In turn local practices and rituals, over the years, permeated into the fortress of the centralized religion. The first known sign of Christianity in the region of India was the arrival of St. Thomas, one of the 12 disciples of Christ, in Kerala in first century AD. Christmas cribs are popularly known as tableaux of nativity (story of birth) of Jesus. In the year 1220 St. Francis of Assissi visited Bethlehem and witnessed the participatory way Christmas was celebrated there through these tableaux which recreated the birth of Jesus. He brought the ritual to Europe and then it spread all over the world. Though the cribs are religious, they are not essentially institutional. Any devotee can create a crib either in their houses or in public places or in the church. Setting up the manger figures is a favorite family activity. Children like to arrange the figures of Mary and Joseph in the stable, and the shepherds, animals and other figurines that are moved closer to the stable each day in anticipation of the arrival of baby Jesus. In many families, the figure of the Baby Jesus remains hidden until Christmas morning, when the children "discover" Him in the manger. It is also a custom to have the figures of the wise men begin their approach towards Bethlehem on Christmas Day after the star has appeared, to arrive at the stable. Christmas cribs have become more part of the festivity than religion. In that sense it has become part of the local popular cultures. As a result, often the cribs demonstrate local flavours and sentiments instead of the linear story of nativity in the Bible. Making cribs in public places have also become a popular social activity for the neighbourhood youngsters. This sequence was shot in Bombay during the Christmas of 2001, soon after the attack on WTC in New York and US invasion in Afghanistan. Overwhelming number of cribs referred to this development in their own ways. The cribs portrayed a curious mixture of traditional & kitsch and classical & contemporary. The young crib makers betrayed their own complex identity while interpreting the fall of WTC and the related events. A vague sense of Asian or third world identity made them sympathetic to the people of Afghanistan. At the same time their commitment to the Church made them critical about the alleged Islamic involvement in the violence of WTC attack. The young boys could not really articulate this complexity, but it was clearly evident in their works and words. However much the propaganda machine of George Bush had claimed that it was only ‘a war against terrorism’, these young boys in India understood the issue very well as a war against the Islamic Asia. Yes1282http://godaam.pad.ma/Vfs57ij4/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Behrampada & Its Neighbours: Female Residents of the LIG Colonyhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vfs57ij4/poster.75.jpgThis is one interview from the rushes of the ‘I live in Behrampada’, a documentary on a Muslim ghetto in the context of the Bombay riots, an aftermath of the Babari Masjid demolition. I was 8 years old during the Bombay ’92-93 riots. My only memory of the time was an unscheduled two-month holiday from school, though the adult talk about stray dead bodies and destruction remains stored in some corner. Later various other incidents of violent identity politics and representations of the Bombay riots in films etc. made a constant a reference point. Going through the rushes after 15 years has also been a process of coming to terms with my own city and its black holes. The riots of ’92-93 divided the famed cosmopolitan city of Bombay on communal lines and the neighbourhood of Behrampada bore the brunt of this division. The film explored social biases, which under emergency can create mayhem. In this search, the film interviewed people from different classes and religions – namely, Hindu building residences, and Muslim slum dwellers; authorized buildings and unauthorized or under-dispute settlements. What is apparent in the interviews is the different perspectives on each event, accusation of the ‘other’ community and the feeling of being wronged and rejected. However, reading/seeing the whole rushes, makes it clear that it was a manifestation of old politics of majoritarianism. It is recommended to visit the other interviews under the same category in this site in order to understand the whole picture. This is an interview with the women of the building no. 30 in LIG (lower income group) colony, a building cluster made by the government that flanked the settlement of Behrampada. The building no. 30 is located at the vantage point between the slum and the middle class neighbourhood. In the two months period of the riots this building has often been marked as a source of attacks on the low rise slum. In this interview the women residents vehemently denies the allegation. This interview was conducted primarily in Hindi. Interviewees: LIG residents; Interviewer: Neera Adharkar (N) and Madhusree Dutta (M); Shot by: Moloy Roy.Yes901http://godaam.pad.ma/Vdxvhzez/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Interview with Namdeo Dhasal: The Poet and the Politician -1http://godaam.pad.ma/Vdxvhzez/poster.75.jpgInterview with Namdeo Dhasal (ND). Interviewer Madhusree Dutta (M). Shot by Avijit Mukul Kishore. Namdeo Dhasal is an eminent poet, a Dalit poet (dalit- a generic name for untouchable communities). Famous for his volatile personality he remains an enigma in the history of Maharashtra. Namdeo's political journey spreads from communism to Dalit Panther (Dalit liberation party) to right wing Shiv Sena, the extremist party which brought regional chauvinism in the politics of Maharashtra. In some way the life of Namdeo Dhasal is also a map of Maharashtra, specially of Mumbai - from vibrant trade union movement to assertion of regional identity of the working class in Sanyukta Maharashtra movement to sectarian politics to destructive 'development' under ruthless globalization and resulted identity politics. The poet Namdeo, the Dalit Namdeo, the power broker Namdeo, the survivor Namdeo, the rebel Namdeo, the melancholic Namdeo, the cunning Namdeo, the defeated Namdeo, the avant garde Namdeo, the idealist Namdeo, the compromised Namdeo - he has been everywhere, from the fringes to the centre. Quoting Dilip Chitre, “ Uprooted from the countryside and replanted in the inner city and the rotten core of Mumbai - a city of the most extreme and dehumanizing forms of exploitation - Namdeo's human roots proved not only tenacious, but also triumphant. He grew up out of a cesspool, drawing nourishment from it, metabolizing its toxic waste and thriving on the immunity he acquired, to become the poet of the underworld, a lumpen messiah, a poor man's bodhisattva". (Namdeo Dhasal, Poet of the Underworld) The interview was a feeble attempt to get into the phenomena that is Namdeo Dhasal. He was a reluctant interviewee. The session was interrupted by numerous phone calls - most of which are complicated 'business' affairs which needed to be fixed. Still at some points in the middle of the session he became real, approachable and maybe somewhat vulnerable. At the end though when we asked him to recite his famous poem Mumbai, Mumbai, Mazhya Priya Rande (Mumbai, my beloved whore) to the camera he said it was too long for him to read.Yes2619http://godaam.pad.ma/Vhqlefcx/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Interview with Namdeo Dhasal: The Poet and the Politician -2http://godaam.pad.ma/Vhqlefcx/poster.75.jpgInterview with Namdeo Dhasal (ND). Interviewer Madhusree Dutta (M). Shot by Avijit Mukul Kishore. Namdeo Dhasal is an eminent poet, a Dalit poet (dalit- a generic name for untouchable communities). Famous for his volatile personality he remains an enigma in the history of Maharashtra. Namdeo's political journey spreads from communism to Dalit Panther (Dalit liberation party) to right wing Shiv Sena, the extremist party which brought regional chauvinism in the politics of Maharashtra. In some way the life of Namdeo Dhasal is also a map of Maharashtra, specially of Mumbai - from vibrant trade union movement to assertion of regional identity of the working class in Sanyukta Maharashtra movement to sectarian politics to destructive 'development' under ruthless globalization and resulted identity politics. The poet Namdeo, the Dalit Namdeo, the power broker Namdeo, the survivor Namdeo, the rebel Namdeo, the melancholic Namdeo, the cunning Namdeo, the defeated Namdeo, the avant garde Namdeo, the idealist Namdeo, the compromised Namdeo - he has been everywhere, from the fringes to the centre. Quoting Dilip Chitre, " Uprooted from the countryside and replanted in the inner city and the rotten core of Mumbai - a city of the most extreme and dehumanizing forms of exploitation - Namdeo's human roots proved not only tenacious, but also triumphant. He grew up out of a cesspool, drawing nourishment from it, metabolizing its toxic waste and thriving on the immunity he acquired, to become the poet of the underworld, a lumpen messiah, a poor man's bodhisattva". (Namdeo Dhasal, Poet of the Underworld) The interview was a feeble attempt to get into the phenomena that is Namdeo Dhasal. He was a reluctant interviewee. The session was interrupted by numerous phone calls - most of which are complicated 'business' affairs which needed to be fixed. Still at some points in the middle of the session he became real, approachable and maybe somewhat vulnerable. At the end though when we asked him to recite his famous poem Mumbai, Mumbai, Mazhya Priya Rande (Mumbai, my beloved whore) to the camera he said it was too long for him to read. His lack of engagement with the most celebrated work of his, made him a phenomena in our eyes, yet again.Yes1406http://godaam.pad.ma/Vhmyrvyn/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Migrants, Settlers & Originals: Shama Vazifdarhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vhmyrvyn/poster.75.jpgInterview with Shama Vazifdar. Interviewer: Madhusree Dutta (M). Shot by Avijit Mukul Kishore. Shama is a retired corporate executive. She used to work with ICICI bank before taking voluntary retirement. She is a Bohra Muslim living in Colaba. Colaba popularly known as an affluent part of the south Bombay has a large population of Bohra Muslim. The interview was taken in her family home. This interview was organized as part of tracing the plurality of Bombay’s social structure.Yes1913http://godaam.pad.ma/Vtor4k6n/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Popular Culture: Royal Cinema, Pila Househttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vtor4k6n/poster.75.jpgInterview of the gatemen at the Royal cinema. Royal cinema is situated in Pila house. Pila house is the district which in early 20th century British adminstration marked as entertainment district – Play house. In local tongue the Play house turned into Pila house. The area was surrounded by various Bazaars – Chor Bazaar (flea market), Null (water tap – broadly meant harware) Bazaar, Kanda-Batata (potato-onion) Bazaar, Bhendi (ladies finger) Bazaar etc. The bazaar with its floating population required entertainment centres. Pila house started with a cluster of theatres which mainly housed Parsee (a generic term for theatrical extravaganza with painted backdrop, historical or mythical themes and melodrama) plays in Hindusthani, Urdu, Gujarati and occasionally Marathi. The theatres later got converted into cinema houses. Some of the century old theatres are still functioning in the area. Interestingly the theatres in 'pila house' have names like Royal theatre, Albert cinema, Alexandra, Imperial – a reminiscent of the colonial legacy. Close to the Pila house and the Bazaars is Kamatipura – the famed red light area. With the international attention on AIDS epidemic and rise of sexual morality in public life, Kamatipura girls have started fading out since late 80s. As one sex worker once commented 'the red light area is now under white light (surveillance)'. And on the other side is Congress house, the community houses for traditional musicians and dancers who migrated to the city after the collapse of the tawaif (courtesan) culture patronized by the feudal system. For more information about Congress house please read The music room by Namita Devidayal, 2007, Random house India. Many of the Congress House artists opted for dancing at bars, made popular around 1970s. In 2005 the state govt. of Maharashtra banned dancing in bars. (for more information about bar dancers and the ban please see events under title Bar dancers, in this site.) With other entertainment establishments in the area under threat, the Pila house theatres are not in pink of heath. The tickets still cost only Rs.15/-, compared to Rs.150/- to Rs.200/- in the multiplexes. As the sites are leased from the govt. at concessional rate for entertainment purposes, they cannot be used for residential buildings. It is only a matter of time when the vicious real estate politics of the city manipulates this stipulation and grab it for 'development'. Interviewer: Madhusree (M), Mukul (MU), abeer. Interviewee: Gateman 1 (G1) and Gateman 2 (G2). Shot by Avijit Mukul KishoreYes1642http://godaam.pad.ma/Vi2i2gvb/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Neighbourhood Video Project: Saloon Culture in Public Spaces, Girangaon 2http://godaam.pad.ma/Vi2i2gvb/poster.75.jpgGirangaon, which translates as the village of mills, first began to take shape in the 19th century. Girangoan stretches over thousand acres from Byculla to Dadar and from Mahalaxmi to Elphinstone Road. Throughout its history it has been known to have witnessed extensive industrial action and frequent strikes. Most of the workers in these mills were migrants (about 84 % in 1921) who came to the city to work and often returned to their village in old age, in periods of sickness or unemployment and, of course, each year to help with the harvest. There are over 53 mills within Girangoan, most of them shut down. Although Girangoan has traditionally been a working-class district, the prices of real estate have soared over the past decade and the chances of further 'developing' overcrowded and expensive South Bombay – the business district – diminished. Hence, Bombay's most powerful builder lobby turned towards this area. In 2004 Majlis in conjunction with The Girangaon Rozgar Hakk Samiti organized filmmaking workshops with young students from Girangoan. The idea was to facilitate an exploration of the neighbourhood through filmmaking. Two groups were formed and each group chose their area of interest: one made a film on Bharatmata Cinema, the other a film on local men's saloons and hair-dressers titled Kato Magar Pyar se. It is a short and fun film for which they seem to have to interviewed well established saloons as well as street hair-dressers. Among them are citizens from various backgrounds, some playful and spirited others less so. This is an interview with one of them.Yes459http://godaam.pad.ma/Vgtqiblr/info2009-05-05weekly1.0Dharavi Kumbharwada: Ghanshorebhai Tank on Redevelopment Schemehttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vgtqiblr/poster.75.jpgDharavi is popularly termed as the largest slum in Asia. Known to be one of the densest and most layered human settlements in the world, the origin of Dharavi can be traced back to early 20th Century, at the height of the industrialization in the region. Dharavi is an area, which was originally located at the northern periphery of Bombay, but with boundaries of this ever-growing city constantly extending on all sides it has come to occupy prime location today. Today, according to official records, Dharavi is marked as an area spread over 223 hectares, where as many as 18,000 people crowd into a single acre. A 1986 survey by the National Slum Dwellers Federation (NSDF) counted 530,225 people (106,045 households) living in 80,518 structures. But considering the large number of ‘unofficial/illegal’ migration influx, the real number of people living in Dharavi is likely to be much more. Home to approximately one million people, Dharavi populace includes diverse language groups, religious communities and economic units. Most of the citizens of Dharavi are urban artisans, functioning out of the outer space of their one-storey shanties. This seamlessness in working and living space, over the decades, has resulted not only in high number of female wage earners but also facilitated occupations to an entire family, making it some sort of a family business. Currently, Dharavi is in the eye of a storm as the prime land that it occupies needs to be ‘re-developed’ to keep in pace with the economic globalization that is sweeping the city. Bombay, the supposed trade capital of India and India, the media acclaimed neo-Asian tiger of the international market, needs to grab more land and the old fashioned settlement of Dharavi must go in order to facilitate that. Currently the whole settlement – the residents’ associations, the govt., the international builders’ lobby as well as the civil society in Bombay are engaged in intense debate and complex maneuvering to extract the best possible deal out of this. But the problem is what is best for one of these sectors can be considered damaging by the other sector. Dharavi has been divided into 5 administrative sectors to facilitate the development process in smaller chunks. Besides the neighbourhoods are also determined by community occupations and infrastructures – such as Kumbharwada (potters’ colony), Koliwada (fisherman’s colony) etc. Following is an encounter with a resident of Kumbharwada (Potters’ colony), Mr. Ghanshodbhai Tank. Kumbharwada is the most organized and prosperous settlement in Dharavi. This house in Kumbharwada Wadi no 1. Kumbharwada is broadly divided in 4 wadis according to the date of inception. The Wadi 1 is the oldest and still has some old mud houses with innovative architectural features. Hence they enjoy better visibility and media presence than the other communities and occupations in Dharavi. There are 150 kilns (bhattis in local language) in wadi 1. The other wadas (sectors) are less spectacular with smaller houses, less number of kilns, and less facilities in terms of shop outlets. Wada no 4 is a Muslim majority settlement and situated in the interior of Dharavi. Some residents of Kumbharwada, specially from wadi 1 are organized in a outfit named after their caste ‘Prajapati’. Many of them believe that they would be able to use this clout effectively and would achieve a role of participation in the model of ‘redevelopment’ to be followed. Ghanshodbhai Tank is one of the major voices for development, albeit in his own terms. He owns a beautiful large house with two workshop units and two residential buildings spread in multiple floors and two round Kilns (goal bhattis). Round kilns are rare, more efficient and of superior architecture. The floor space of Ghashodbhai’s house will be around 5000 square feet. Shot by Tapan Vyas. Yes1390http://godaam.pad.ma/Vhqxjl2f/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Behrampada & Its Neighbours: Arun Naik & Prakash Bhurtehttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vhqxjl2f/poster.75.jpgThis is an interview from the rushes of the 'I live in Behrampada', a documentary on a Mulim ghetto in the context of the Bombay riots, an aftermath of the Babari Masjid demolition. I was 8 years old during the Bombay '92-93 riots. My only memory of the time was an unscheduled two-month holiday from school, though the adult talk about stray dead bodies and destruction remains stored in some corner. Later various other incidents of violent identity politics and representations of the Bombay riots in films etc. made a constant a reference point. Going through the rushes after 15 years has also been a process of coming to terms with my own city and its black holes. The riots of '92-93 divided the famed cosmopolitan city of Bombay on communal lines and the neighbourhood of Behrampada bore the brunt of this division. The film explored social biases, which under emergency can create mayhem. In this search, the film interviewed people from different classes and religions – namely, Hindu building residences, and Muslim slum dwellers; authorized buildings and unauthorized or under-dispute settlements. What is apparent in the interviews is the different perspectives on each event, accusation of the 'other' community and the feeling of being wronged and rejected. However, reading/seeing the whole rushes makes it clear that it was a manifestation of old politics of majoritarianism. It is recommended to visit the other interviews under the same category in this site in order to understand the whole picture. Omar Qureshi was a kind of village elder in Behrampada. He was also an active Congress member. With the control of some co-operative bank and ration shop in his hand he was not beyond a fair share of controversy and name-calling. Throughout the riots he was very active in various peace initiatives and had been liaison with the civil society outside Behrampada. It was said that his opposite fraction within the Congress had won the previous municipality election in Behrampada and so he was trying to gain some clout by leading the community during this crisis. What was evident at that time was Omar Qureshi's excellent oratorical skill and high respect that he commanded from the residents of Behrampada. Liyaqat Ali was a service man and a lieutenant to Omar Qureshi. At that time he appeared to have political aspiration. But later he shifted more towards community social work. He came across as a reasonable man of logic, evidences and non-rhetorical. In that charged time of sectarian politics and identity rhetoric, Liyaqat's calm demeanor was very reassuring.Yes1229http://godaam.pad.ma/Vgdosujg/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Neighbourhood Video Project: Keeping Bharatmata Alive – Ihttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vgdosujg/poster.75.jpgThe textile industry of Mumbai started in late 19th century. By the mid 20th century the industry grew into a cluster of 85 mills with a workforce of 230,000 workers. The textile industry was also prominent for its organized labour unions under the broad left ideology. But after the formation of the state of Maharashtra with Mumbai as its capital following an intense movement of identity assertion by the Marathi working class in 1960, the trade union movement slowly started loosing its political significance. The independent and also some right wing unions started consolidating its base in the textile industry. Following a call of indefinite strike led by independent union leader Datta Samant in 1982, the industry started drying up. The mill owners siphoned off the capital out of the state and many declared the mills sick. But the area in lower Parel where most of the mill situated still remained a working class area because of the living quarters of the mill workers in the vicinity. Thus in that area grew up a generation of youngsters who had never seen those chimneys working. They started a youth organization Rojgar Hakk Samiti (right to livelihood organization) in 2000. In 2004 Majlis conducted a video training workshop for the members of Rojgar Hakk Samiti. The participants were split up into two groups and facilitated to make two short films on their neighbourhood. One group decided to make a short documentary film on haircutting practices in their area and made 'Kato Magar Pyaar Se' (Cut, but with love). The other group decided to do a portrait of Bharatmata (literally means Mother India) cinema hall, the popular stand alone cinema in the vicinity. The film was titled 'Runanu Bandh' (Enduring ties). With the various drives of gentrification in the city, Bharatmata has been on everyone's radar. The working class cinema with low ticket rates is also termed as the last bastion of Marathi cinema as against the hegemony of the Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood. But the politics of real estate and revenue generating entertainment industry have been trying for a long time to demolish the theatre. So far the public outcry and strategic mobilization with the eminent citizens and renowned artists have saved Bharatmata cinema from the eventual attack of the bulldozer. These are rushes from Runanu Bandh, shot by those offspring of the mill workers and aided by the Majlis team. Interview with projectionist Harishchandra Dalvi and trade unionist Datta Iswalkar.Yes1230http://godaam.pad.ma/Veeiscxt/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Behrampada & Its Residents: Pyari Apahttp://godaam.pad.ma/Veeiscxt/poster.75.jpgs is an interview from the rushes of the 'I live in Behrampada', a documentary on a Mulim ghetto in the context of the Bombay riots, an aftermath of the Babari Masjid demolition. I was 8 years old during the Bombay '92-93 riots. My only memory of the time was an unscheduled two-month holiday from school, though the adult talk about stray dead bodies and destruction remains stored in some corner. Later various other incidents of violent identity politics and representations of the Bombay riots in films etc. made a constant a reference point. Going through the rushes after 15 years has also been a process of coming to terms with my own city and its black holes. The riots of '92-93 divided the famed cosmopolitan city of Bombay on communal lines and the neighbourhood of Behrampada bore the brunt of this division. The film explored social biases, which under emergency can create mayhem. In this search, the film interviewed people from different classes and religions – namely, Hindu building residences, and Muslim slum dwellers; authorized buildings and unauthorized or under-dispute settlements. What is apparent in the interviews is the different perspectives on each event, accusation of the 'other' community and the feeling of being wronged and rejected. However, reading/seeing the whole rushes makes it clear that it was a manifestation of old politics of majoritarianism. It is recommended to visit the other interviews under the same category in this site in order to understand the whole picture. Sabira, fondly known as 'Pyari Apa' is a resident of Behrampada. At the time of the riot she used to run a tiny miscellaneous shop in Behrampada. She was known for her story telling skill. Her fame for her oratorical skills took us to her for an interview. Interviewee: Sabira aka Pyari Apa (PA); Interviewer: Madhusree Dutta (M); Shot by: Moloy Roy.Yes463http://godaam.pad.ma/Vs7dywxe/info2009-05-05weekly1.0Dharavi Kumbharwada: Female Artisans as Casual Workershttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vs7dywxe/poster.75.jpgDharavi is a slum most popularly termed as the Asia’s biggest slum. Known to be one of the densest and most layered human settlements in the world, the origin of Dharavi can be traced back to early 19th Century, at the height of the industrialization in the region. Dharavi is an area, which was originally located at the northern periphery of Bombay, but with boundaries of this ever-growing city constantly extending on all sides it has come to occupy prime location today. Home to approximately one million people, Dharavi populace includes diverse language groups, religious communities and economic units. Most of the citizens of Dharavi are urban artisans, functioning out of the outer space of their living quarters. This seamlessness in working and living space, over the decades, has resulted not only in high number of female wage earners but also facilitated occupations to an entire family, making it some sort of a family business. Following is a story of a business unit hosted at a home in Kumbharwada (potters’ colony) Wadi 1. Kumbharwada is broadly divided in 4 areas termed as wadis. Wadi 1 was the first of the settlements and thus has more spacious units than the other sectors. The space in Kumbharwada houses cannot be measured by floor space. Each structure is multistoried with many mezzanine floors in-between. Thus the floor space is much more than the ground space. In Wadi 1 some mud houses with typical architecture can still be seen. This particular house belongs to Ghanshodbhai Tank, one of the most prosperous potter in the area. (see the event ‘Dharavi redevelopment: Cityscape and Citizenship’ in this site) The house has four structures around a central courtyard and the accumulated floor space would be more than 5000 square feet. One structure is used for low end production of diyas (oil lamps) and small pots. The other structure is used for high end production of big pots. The other two structures are residential units. The roof top of all structures are used for sun drying of the clay pots. Behind the houses are two round kilns popularly called as ‘Goal Bhattis’. Round kilns are superior than the rectangular ones and in the entire Kumbharwada these are the only two functioning round kilns. These bhattis are estimated to be 150 years old. Women from the neighbourhood come together every afternoon to polish the pots and earn their daily wages along with some of the less fortunate relatives of the family. The shooting is happening inside the production workshop which is three storied. In the ground floor women prepare the clay and make clay casts. While the diyas and other smaller wares are made directly on wheels, the large pots are first moulded and then put on wheels. After the casts are ready the UP Bhaiyas put them on the wheel and make pots. Then the pots go to the terrace (on top of the 2nd floor) to get dried. After the sun dry the pots are put on the bhatti for baking. After baking (depending on the clay quality and requirement of finish quality some baked pots are dried again in the sun). After the pots are properly dried the larger ones come for polishing and colouring. Women are involved at the first phase of making cast, at various stages of drying and then the last stage of polishing, colouring and decorating. The wheels are sometimes ran by the migrant wage workers from UP (Bhaiyas). Though the wheel work is traditionally known as superior job and women are prohibited to do that, these days the Kumbhar women in this kind of a set up severely bully the male migrant workers (bhaiyas) on the wheels in order to settle century old grudges. So the gender, class and migration stature get complicatedly entangled here. With the presence of women workers who live in the same neighbourhood, the workshop turns into a community place to share, gossip and laugh together. The footage is a glimpse into the multilayered housing and multi-faceted life in the Kumbharwada. Layers and layers of spaces… like a vertical labyrinth… you never know from where a head would pop up or from where a pair of feet would dangle. Shot by: Tapan VyasYes1377http://godaam.pad.ma/Vu05tuzj/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Behrampada & Its Residents: Liyaqat & Qureshihttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vu05tuzj/poster.75.jpgThis is an interview from the rushes of the ‘I live in Behrampada’, a documentary on a Mulim ghetto in the context of the Bombay riots, an aftermath of the Babari Masjid demolition. I was 8 years old during the Bombay ’92-93 riots. My only memory of the time was an unscheduled two-month holiday from school, though the adult talk about stray dead bodies and destruction remains stored in some corner. Later various other incidents of violent identity politics and representations of the Bombay riots in films etc. made a constant a reference point. Going through the rushes after 15 years has also been a process of coming to terms with my own city and its black holes. The riots of ’92-93 divided the famed cosmopolitan city of Bombay on communal lines and the neighbourhood of Behrampada bore the brunt of this division. The film explored social biases, which under emergency can create mayhem. In this search, the film interviewed people from different classes and religions – namely, Hindu building residences, and Muslim slum dwellers; authorized buildings and unauthorized or under-dispute settlements. What is apparent in the interviews is the different perspectives on each event, accusation of the ‘other’ community and the feeling of being wronged and rejected. However, reading/seeing the whole rushes makes it clear that it was a manifestation of old politics of majoritarianism. It is recommended to visit the other interviews under the same category in this site in order to understand the whole picture. Omar Qureshi was a kind of village elder in Behrampada. He was also an active Congress member. With the control of some co-operative bank and ration shop in his hand he was not beyond a fair share of controversy and name-calling. Throughout the riots he was very active in various peace initiatives and had been liaison with the civil society outside Behrampada. It was said that his opposite fraction within the Congress had won the previous municipality election in Behrampada and so he was trying to gain some clout by leading the community during this crisis. What was evident at that time was Omar Qureshi’s excellent oratorical skill and high respect that he commanded from the residents of Behrampada. Liyaqat Ali was a service man and a lieutenant to Omar Qureshi. At that time he appeared to have political aspiration. But later he shifted more towards community social work. He came across as a reasonable man of logic, evidences and non-rhetorical. In that charged time of sectarian politics and identity rhetoric, Liyaqat’s calm demeanor was very reassuring.Yes1316http://godaam.pad.ma/Vsn7mjf2/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Neighbourhood Video Project: Saloon Culture in Public Spaces, Girangaon 1http://godaam.pad.ma/Vsn7mjf2/poster.75.jpgGirangaon, which translates as the village of mills, first began to take shape in the 19th century. Girangoan stretches over thousand acres from Byculla to Dadar and from Mahalaxmi to Elphinstone Road. Throughout its history it has been known to have witnessed extensive industrial action and frequent strikes. Most of the workers in these mills were migrants (about 84 % in 1921) who came to the city to work and often returned to their village in old age, in periods of sickness or unemployment and, of course, each year to help with the harvest. There are over 53 mills within Girangoan, most of them shut down. Although Girangoan has traditionally been a working-class district, the prices of real estate have soared over the past decade and the chances of further 'developing' overcrowded and expensive South Bombay – the business district – diminished. Hence, Bombay's most powerful builder lobby turned towards this area. In 2004 Majlis in conjunction with The Girangaon Rozgar Hakk Samiti organized filmmaking workshops with young students from Girangoan. The idea was to facilitate an exploration of the neighbourhood through filmmaking. Two groups were formed and each group chose their area of interest: one made a film on Bharatmata Cinema, the other a film on local men's saloons and hair-dressers titled Kato Magar Pyar se. It is a short and fun film for which they seem to have to interviewed well established saloons as well as street hair-dressers. Among them are citizens from various backgrounds, some playful and spirited others less so. This is an interview with one of them.Yes991http://godaam.pad.ma/Vha85py9/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Railway Station as Public Space: Bandra (Local)http://godaam.pad.ma/Vha85py9/poster.75.jpgBandra Railway Station is one of the busiest junctions in Mumbai. From here you can take trains to the Western and the Harbor lines and go to any other station on the vast Mumbai lines and therefore the crowd here consists of people from all over Mumbai, and from all sections of the society. The station also forms the distinguishing point between the Mumbai suburbs and the city. Most of the citizens of this “long” city choose to use public transportation for their everyday travel, and hence these railway tracks form the backbone of this metropolis. Mumbai's suburban rail systems carry estimatedly 2.2 billion passengers every year. Every Mumbaikar has their own unique experience and perspective of these trains and stations. Here you will see the famous “dabba walas” (lunchbox carriers) carrying hundreds of “dabbas” to offices all over or fisherwomen carrying fish in their “tokris” (basket), traveling side by side with the white collar office-goers and the college students. The unique concoction of sounds, smells and people that you will see here, will be found nowhere else. The Mumbai trains carry millions of people to work, college and back home daily and it is here that most of us build our tolerance to and understanding of this city. To me, the Mumbai trains are a lot more than just a means of transportation; they are a means of socializing, slogging, growing up, entertainment, escape and plain observation. An average Bombayite probably spends about an hour every week at a railway station, waiting for their train or trying to get into one; it’s part of the daily grind. In this clip we will see just that, a Bombay railway station right after rush hour, around 11 am because even our cameras would have refused to shoot in the middle of Bandra station rush hour! The Bandra station captures the true essence of this city and represents Bombay in its entirety: a metropolis.Yes1098http://godaam.pad.ma/Vfbnfw4g/info2009-03-02weekly1.0Bazaar: Mohd. Ali Roadhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vfbnfw4g/poster.75.jpgMohd. Ali Road is one of the artery roads of the island city of Bombay. The densely populated area houses many wholesale and retail markets – Bhendi (ladies finger) Bazaar, Null (plumbing) Bazaar, Bora Bazaar, Chor (thieves) Bazaar etc.) throughout its stretch. The population of the area is mainly Muslim and significant part of them are traders. Though always a busy road it gets particularly overwhelming during Ramzaan. The ritual of Ramzaan which ends on Eid-ul-fitr on the day of the new moon, is widely practiced by all Muslims. During the month long Ramazan or Ramadan, the believers in Islam fast throughout the day and eat only after the sunset. The evenings are marked by prayers, family and social get-togethers and communal eating. Eid means happiness or festivity, and ul-fitr literally means breaking of fast. This busy streetscape takes us through the busiest time of the evening of Ramazan along Mohammed Ali road, where some roads are closed off and vendors put up food stalls and tables on the side of the road itself. People, including large number of non-Muslims, come even from fartherest part of the city to Mohd. Ali Road to take part in this social activity. Particularly the food in Bohri Mohalla (neighbourhood of Bohras) and around Minara Masjid is known to be connoisseur ’s delights. Ramzan at Mohd Ali road is an important landmark in Bombay’s social calendar. Garment shops, food stalls, cap stores, sweet marts, street vendors sell their wares; people rally for the evening prayers and the city gather to socialize - on the street. These shots were taken just the day before Eid. Shot by Avijit Mukul Kishore.Yes2071http://godaam.pad.ma/Vi35xauj/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Dharavi Kumbharwada: Matrilineal Artisanryhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vi35xauj/poster.75.jpgDharavi is a slum popularly termed as the Asia’s biggest slum. Known to be one of the densest and most layered human settlements in the world, the origin of Dharavi can be traced back to early 19th Century, at the height of the industrialization in the region. Dharavi was originally located at the northern periphery of Bombay, but with boundaries of this ever-growing city constantly extending on all sides it has come to occupy prime location today. Today, according to official records, Dharavi is marked as an area spread over 175 hectares, where as many as 18,000 people crowd into a single acre. But considering the large presence of unofficial/illegal migration influx, the real number of people living in Dharavi is likely to be much more. Home to approximately one million people, Dharavi populace includes diverse language groups, religious communities and economic units. Most of the citizens of Dharavi are urban artisans, functioning out of the outer space of their one-storey shanties. This seamlessness in working and living space, over the decades, has resulted in high number of female wage earners. Most of these small enterprises run by contributions from all family members of any age. Kumbharwada (Potters’ colony) is one of the most prosperous, organized and well known areas of Dharavi. They supply earthen pots for daily uses, festivities and rituals, decoration and also for film shootings. Following is the documentation of one evening in the life of 19 year old Kirit Rathod and his family including two sisters, one brother, mother and grandmother. All members of the family work in the family occupation of pottery. This event was shot two days before Navratri. Navratri is a 9 –day long festival to celebrate fertility. It is mainly observed among the Gujarati community. The Kumbhars (potters) in Dharavi are also mostly Gujarati. In Navaratri pots are used as symbol of womb/fertility and worshipped. So this is the busiest season for the local potters. The following story is about the frenzy of last minute back log clearance, dispatches to the markets, selling from the domestic outlet etc. What is remarkable in this house and several such houses in Kumbharwada, is its structure. This house is in Wadi 2. There are 4 wadis in Kumbharwada. Wadi 2 is on the main 90 feet road with the shops at the front door of the houses opening on the road. The houses are linear with rooms one behind the other. In the rear of the houses is a common open space where the bhattis (kiln) are situated. Every few families share one Bhatti. The houses in wadi 2 are not as sprawling as Wadi 1 and the construction is somewhat more contemporary. Unlike the Wadi 1 houses these constructions do not facilitate as much roof top drying. They use the ground space behind the bhattis for sun drying. Though with new residents occupying houses and through various stages of repairs and renovations these specific characteristics of each Wadi have edged out to a great extent. From preparing the clay to production of the pots – making, baking, colouring- to storage to display to sell, everything happens under one roof. The small houses are erected with multiple layers with ladders, ventilators, lofts, scaffold and bunks in order to facilitate the work space as well as fulfil the requirements of a living quarter. Such imaginative and economic use of space should be treated as an example in architectural planning, instead of attempting to break them for the sake of ‘development’. Shot be Tapan Vyas. Yes851http://godaam.pad.ma/Vu606dbh/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Dharavi Municipal School: Cityscape & Childhoodhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vu606dbh/poster.75.jpgDharavi is a settlement popularly termed as the Asia’s biggest slum. Known to be one of the densest and most layered human settlements in the world, the origin of Dharavi can be traced back to early 20th Century, at the height of the industrialization in the region. Dharavi is was originally located at the northern periphery of Bombay, but with boundaries of this ever-growing city constantly extending on all sides it has come to occupy prime location today. Today, according to official records, Dharavi is marked as an area spread over 175 hectares, where as many as 18,000 people crowd into a single acre. But considering the large presence of unofficial/illegal migration influx, the real number of people living in Dharavi is likely to be much more. Currently, Dharavi is in the eye of a storm as the prime land that it occupies needs to be ‘re-developed’ to keep in pace with the economic globalization that is sweeping the city. Bombay, the supposed trade capital of India and India, the media acclaimed neo-Asian tiger of the international market, needs to acquire more commercial land and the old fashioned settlement of Dharavi must go in order to facilitate that. As there is influx of people into Dharavi, there is also an exodus of people out of Dharavi. While most of the women in Dharavi work in home based trades, men often venture out, some even migrate to other countries in order to earn enough to eventually shift out of the infamous slum of Dharavi. Some men join shipping cargos which is considered prestigious occupation in Dharavi. Some others go to Arab countries as tailors, waiters etc. So many children grow up without seeing their father much. This event is shot outside the Municipality school in Dharavi, a centre of high aspiration for the poor residents. As the adults worry about ‘re-devolopment’, eviction and future of the children, the students happily court the camera. Shot by Tapan Vyas. Yes525http://godaam.pad.ma/Vuhcwelh/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Cityscape and Food Politics: Kapasia Familyhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vuhcwelh/poster.75.jpgKapasia family is a Jain trader family. The large joint family live in a few falts in the same apartment building in Borivali. Though basically a trader family, the younger generation have also acquired professional degree and work in professional set ups in addition to the business. Though the flat is inadequate for the large family and the building too is old fashioned for the economic status of the Kapasias they prefer to stay put in the area that they are comfortable in. Jains are strictly vegetarian as they believe in non-violence. But in order to maintain the purity of their non-violence practice some Jains resort to all sort of violence in order to push away the people who eat non-vegetarian food. In recent years there have been serious incidences of discrimination against the meat and fish eating communities in Mumbai – such as denying tenancy in housing societies, forcibly shutting down restaurants and evicting old fish markets and fishermen’s settlements. Jains are rich traders and majority of them are supporters of the right wing party BJP (Bhartiya Janta Party). They have been using their political clout and class position to ‘cleanse’ the city. There is a definite attempt to divide the modern Indian cities between vegetarian gentry side and non-vegetarian pedestrian city. Ahmedabad, the capital of Gujarat has been the first test case for this design. Mumbai is second in the list. The pogrom over food politics got nurtured specially during the BJP rule at the centre in 1999-2004. This interview was organized in order to understand the depth of this food politics and related intolerance.Yes2587http://godaam.pad.ma/Vgdhh5ff/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Bazaar: Mapusa Market on Friday Before Christmashttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vgdhh5ff/poster.75.jpgIndian bazaars are a much exposed phenomena. Sometimes it is associated with the oriental exotica, yet another time it is quoted as a symbol of the indomitable spirit of the Indian masses. We explore some well known and some not so well known characteristics of the bazaars to explore the regional and cultural specificities of each. The quest was part of documenting public spaces and public cultures. This bazaar was shot in Goa during Christmas season. Goa was colonized by the Portuguese till 1961. A large part of the population of Goa is Christians and some still speaks in Portuguese. Indian Christianity is as much a post colonial reality as it is an indigenous social and cultural form. Layered with various local and regional cultural forms Christianity exists in India in many forms and hues. Study of this market is only a slice of that plurality. Though Mapusa is a daily market the large weekly bazaar, with open air stalls, takes place on every Friday. The informal part of the market – selling spices, flowers, vegetables, fish, cane baskets and also Christmas articles in small stalls and on the ground are mostly women. In some cases the women represent the entire cycle of the trade such us growing vegetables or weaving baskets to selling them in the market. In other cases they buy from the wholesale market and sell it in retails - such as fish market or Christmas accessories. This video was shot on the Friday before Christmas of 2001. Shot by Avijit Mukul Kishore.Yes3602http://godaam.pad.ma/Vi7yl4d4/info2009-03-03weekly1.0Bazaar: Sawantwadi Wooden Toyshttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vi7yl4d4/poster.75.jpgSawantwadi is a town at the border of Maharashtra and Goa. We chanced upon a small market of wooden toys while traveling on the Bombay-Goa Express Highway. The town is known for its craft industry of small wooden objects. The popular motifs are various fruits, vegetables, birds and vehicles - bullock cart, cycle, train, fire brigade van, truck, police jeep etc. The design of the fruits and vegetables are reflective of the local culture. Since it is a farmers’ belt, the wooden objects are actually a kind of abstraction of the main occupation of the region. Other than children’s games and home decoration, the vegetables and fruits are also used in local weddings as symbol of prosperity and fertility. Though there are a few factories who also produced larger objects such as swings, horses for children to ride on, chairs, food plates, bowls etc., most part of this industry is home based. Generally one entire family is involved with the whole circle of curving out the models in wood, scraping and drying them, colouring them, compiling sets and making the display in the shop, handling local customers and agents for export to other cities. The entire process takes place at the modest homes and handled by the family members. The sleeping area doubles up for indoor works such as storage space, compilation works; the verandah doubles up for the shop, workshop for scraping and colouring and also as children’s study and the social space to meet neighbours; the courtyard behind the house is where the workshop to make the objects would be and the lane in front of the house is used for drying the objects. It is a smooth flow between public and private spaces and personal, social and professional interactions. The toys are colourful, suitably abstract and durable. While the Indian market gets swept by the cheap Chinese plastic toys and expensive US made Barbies, Kens and their trivias, the Indian artisans in various corners of the country still try to survive on their modest and old fashioned wares. Is it really all that difficult to re-invent these crafts? Or is it that we prefer a part of our culture to remain static and thus exotic, only to be found at an obscure junction on the highway? We spent a few hours in a morning with one such family. This family is Kanada speaking, which is the language of the other neighbouring state Karnataka. Though they are well versed with the pre-dominant language of the region, Konkani and Marathi and conducts business in those languages too. The people in the other shops in that lane spoke in Marathi. Obviously in this area, like most parts of India, there is a lot of crisscrossing of different languages. Shot by Avijit Mukul KishoreYes2762http://godaam.pad.ma/Vgpq0ixp/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Behrampada & Its Neighbours: Women of LIG Colonyhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vgpq0ixp/poster.75.jpgThis is one interview from the rushes of the ‘I live in Behrampada’, a documentary on a Mulim ghetto in the context of the Bombay riots, an aftermath of the Babari Masjid demolition. I was 8 years old during the Bombay ’92-93 riots. My only memory of the time was an unscheduled two-month holiday from school, though the adult talk about stray dead bodies and destruction remains stored in some corner. Later various other incidents of violent identity politics and representations of the Bombay riots in films etc. made a constant a reference point. Going through the rushes after 15 years has also been a process of coming to terms with my own city and its black holes. The riots of ’92-93 divided the famed cosmopolitan city of Bombay on communal lines and the neighbourhood of Behrampada bore the brunt of this division. The film explored social biases, which under emergency can create mayhem. In this search, the film interviewed people from different classes and religions – namely, Hindu building residences, and Muslim slum dwellers; authorized buildings and unauthorized or under-dispute settlements. What is apparent in the interviews is the different perspectives on each event, accusation of the ‘other’ community and the feeling of being wronged and rejected. However, reading/seeing the whole rushes makes it clear that it was a manifestation of old politics of majoritarianism. It is recommended to visit the other interviews under the same category in this site in order to understand the whole picture. The following interview was conducted in Marathi with the residents of the LIG colony, a building cluster made by the Government. It is called LIG – Lower income group colony. The undignified policy of the govt. making clusters of homes by the economic status and then making it obvious in the address itself. These are working class or lower-middle class, Marathi speaking women who are narrating the events of 15th of December. A sticker on their wall reads “Garv se kaho hum Hindu hain” (We are Hindu, say it with pride!)Yes516http://godaam.pad.ma/Vhm4y3u3/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Behrampada & Its Residents: Nasima Bihttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vhm4y3u3/poster.75.jpgThis is an interview from the rushes of the ‘I live in Behrampada’, a documentary on a Mulim ghetto in the context of the Bombay riots, an aftermath of the Babari Masjid demolition. I was 8 years old during the Bombay ’92-93 riots. My only memory of the time was an unscheduled two-month holiday from school, though the adult talk about stray dead bodies and destruction remains stored in some corner. Later various other incidents of violent identity politics and representations of the Bombay riots in films etc. made a constant a reference point. Going through the rushes after 15 years has also been a process of coming to terms with my own city and its black holes. The riots of ’92-93 divided the famed cosmopolitan city of Bombay on communal lines and the neighbourhood of Behrampada bore the brunt of this division. The film explored social biases, which under emergency can create mayhem. In this search, the film interviewed people from different classes and religions – namely, Hindu building residences, and Muslim slum dwellers; authorized buildings and unauthorized or under-dispute settlements. What is apparent in the interviews is the different perspectives on each event, accusation of the ‘other’ community and the feeling of being wronged and rejected. However, reading/seeing the whole rushes makes it clear that it was a manifestation of old politics of majoritarianism. It is recommended to visit the other interviews under the same category in this site in order to understand the whole picture. Nasima Bi was a daily wage worker who survives on odd jobs. Due to the riots on the city big business establishments had closed down, some had even been destroyed. Furthermore the Muslim settlements were under surveillance from the police and the right wing Hindu forces. These resulted in complete collapse of economic structure and the person like Nasima, who were at the bottom of the structure were the worst hit. With her excellent articulation and pragmatic logic Nasima exposes the prevalent politics of intolerance. This interview has become iconic and representative of the Indian politics of last one and a half decade. It was quoted often in academic and activist fora. Visual artists such as Nalini Malani and Navjot created art works based on this interview. Interviewee: Nasima bi (NB); Interviewer: Madhusree Dutta (M). Shot by: Moloy Roy Director: Madhusree DuttaYes246http://godaam.pad.ma/Vfwlsoy9/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Behrampada & Its Neighbours: Men of LIG Colonyhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vfwlsoy9/poster.75.jpgThis is one interview from the rushes of the ‘I live in Behrampada’, a documentary on a Mulim ghetto in the context of the Bombay riots, an aftermath of the Babari Masjid demolition. I was 8 years old during the Bombay ’92-93 riots. My only memory of the time was an unscheduled two-month holiday from school, though the adult talk about stray dead bodies and destruction remains stored in some corner. Later various other incidents of violent identity politics and representations of the Bombay riots in films etc. made a constant a reference point. Going through the rushes after 15 years has also been a process of coming to terms with my own city and its black holes. The riots of ’92-93 divided the famed cosmopolitan city of Bombay on communal lines and the neighbourhood of Behrampada bore the brunt of this division. The film explored social biases, which under emergency can create mayhem. In this search, the film interviewed people from different classes and religions – namely, Hindu building residences, and Muslim slum dwellers; authorized buildings and unauthorized or under-dispute settlements. What is apparent in the interviews is the different perspectives on each event, accusation of the ‘other’ community and the feeling of being wronged and rejected. However, reading/seeing the whole rushes makes it clear that it was a manifestation of old politics of majoritarianism. It is recommended to visit the other interviews under the same category in this site in order to understand the whole picture. This is an interview with the residents of a building cluster made by the Government. It is called LIG – Lower income group colony. The undignified policy of the govt. making clusters of homes by the economic status and then making it obvious in the address itself. Shot by: Moloy Roy Director: Madhusree DuttaYes1373http://godaam.pad.ma/Vi80hnxt/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Bazaar: Panjim During Christmashttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vi80hnxt/poster.75.jpgIndian bazaars are a much exposed phenomena. Sometimes it is associated with the oriental exotica, yet another time it is quoted as a symbol of the indomitable spirit of the Indian masses. We explore some well known and some not so well known characteristics of the bazaars to explore the regional and cultural specificities of each bazaar. The quest was part of documenting public spaces and public cultures. This bazaar was shot in Goa during Christmas season. Goa was colonized by the Portuguese till 1961. A large part of the population of Goa is Christians and some still speaks in Portuguese. Indian Christianity is as much a post colonial reality as it is an indigenous social and cultural form. Layered with various local and regional cultural forms Christianity exists in India in many forms and hues. Study of this market is only a slice of that plurality. Shot by Avijit Mukul KishoreYes1243http://godaam.pad.ma/Vsn7szmi/info2010-03-20weekly1.0Kashmir Doordarshan Film: Ethnographic Documentary on Papier Mache Industryhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vsn7szmi/poster.75.jpgA few years ago while visiting the media department at Kashmir University my colleague collected a few films that had been funded by the department and screened on Doordarshan during the early 90s. During conversation it emerged that, apart from stock images of Kashmir, a large portion of these films had actually been shot in Delhi masquerading as Kashmir. Shooting, especially outdoor shooting, was impossible during the early 90s. Muzaffar Ali's film 'Zooni' remained incomplete and Bollywood returned later only to represent high altitude terrorism. Mani Ratnam's 'Roja', which was released in 1993 in Tamil was shot in Himachal Pradesh. The production and memory of such films gesture towards a time when Kashmir was largely inaccessible, yet the 'national' desire to maintain the veneer of control resulted in continued production of state funded ethnographic films which presented the seemingly timeless quality of Kashmir. Between these extremely opposed representations: one, a rather romantic one of the Kashmiri man as timeless, ordinary artisan and the other as the Muslim terrorist, the Kashmiri as a subject continued to elude the mainstream apparatus of representation and understanding. The extreme close-up shots of the artisans' hands, reminiscent of 19th century romantic photography in Kashmir of the carpet weaver or perhaps even a much fetishized Shashi Kapoor as the naive Kashmiri boatman in 'Jab Jab phool Khile' (1965) indicate perhaps that this is an inherited and problematic legacy.Yes1004http://godaam.pad.ma/Vtk4be6j/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Kashmir Public Broadcast: Conflict, News and Broadcast in Early 90shttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vtk4be6j/poster.75.jpgThis is an interview with Dr. Farooq Nazki, former director of Doordarshan Kashmir and Radio Kashmir. His father Mir Ghulam Rasool Nazki was a renowned poet who wrote in Urdu, Kashmiri and Persian. In this interview Dr. Nazki talks about radio and television broadcast in Kashmir since its inception right up to the 90s when separatist movement was at its zenith. Yes1316http://godaam.pad.ma/Vedpbzir/info2009-03-03weekly1.0Behrampada and Its Residents: Zainab Bihttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vedpbzir/poster.75.jpgThis is an interview from the rushes of the ‘I live in Behrampada’, a documentary on a Mulim ghetto in the context of the Bombay riots, an aftermath of the Babari Masjid demolition. I was 8 years old during the Bombay ’92-93 riots. My only memory of the time was an unscheduled two-month holiday from school, though the adult talk about stray dead bodies and destruction remains stored in some corner. Later various other incidents of violent identity politics and representations of the Bombay riots in films etc. made a constant a reference point. Going through the rushes after 15 years has also been a process of coming to terms with my own city and its black holes. The riots of ’92-93 divided the famed cosmopolitan city of Bombay on communal lines and the neighbourhood of Behrampada bore the brunt of this division. The film explored social biases, which under emergency can create mayhem. In this search, the film interviewed people from different classes and religions – namely, Hindu building residences, and Muslim slum dwellers; authorized buildings and unauthorized or under-dispute settlements. What is apparent in the interviews is the different perspectives on each event, accusation of the ‘other’ community and the feeling of being wronged and rejected. However, reading/seeing the whole rushes makes it clear that it was a manifestation of old politics of majoritarianism. It is recommended to visit the other interviews under the same category in this site in order to understand the whole picture. Zainab Bi, was one of the first residents of Behrampada. She came to Behrampada around partition in 1948 and literally made this land with her own hands by feeding sand into the marshland. She has witnessed the growth of urbanisation from the unpopulated marshland to a vibrant settlement to the call of re-development which had rendered her as illegal and to the carnage of 1992-93. The history of the 46 year old would never consider her story as a valid source. The history of war, border, legislation and governance will never remember the tiny hands that actually created land for the next generation to live and contest over that land. Today’s Mother India is rendered illegal citizen and has been threatened to be displaced, all in the name of development and in the garb of religion. Interviewee: Zainab bi (ZB); Interviewer: Madhusree Dutta (M). Shot by: Moloy Roy Director: Madhusree DuttaYes484http://godaam.pad.ma/Vuhje11l/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Behrampada & Its Neighbours: Harish Bhanothttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vuhje11l/poster.75.jpgThis is one interview from the rushes of the ‘I live in Behrampada’, a documentary on a Mulim ghetto in the context of the Bombay riots, an aftermath of the Babari Masjid demolition. I was 8 years old during the Bombay ’92-93 riots. My only memory of the time was an unscheduled two-month holiday from school, though the adult talk about stray dead bodies and destruction remains stored in some corner. Later various other incidents of violent identity politics and representations of the Bombay riots in films etc. made a constant a reference point. Going through the rushes after 15 years has also been a process of coming to terms with my own city and its black holes. The riots of ’92-93 divided the famed cosmopolitan city of Bombay on communal lines and the neighbourhood of Behrampada bore the brunt of this division. The film explored social biases, which under emergency can create mayhem. In this search, the film interviewed people from different classes and religions – namely, Hindu building residences, and Muslim slum dwellers; authorized buildings and unauthorized or under-dispute settlements. What is apparent in the interviews is the different perspectives on each event, accusation of the ‘other’ community and the feeling of being wronged and rejected. However, reading/seeing the whole rushes makes it clear that it was a manifestation of old politics of majoritarianism. It is recommended to visit the other interviews under the same category in this site in order to understand the whole picture. Harish Bhanot, who was senior editor at Hindustan Times, attempts to provide an objective view of the happenings, yet some inevitable class and community biases seep in. The rhetoric of "My neighbours of Behrampada" cannot seal off all holes. Interviewee: Harish Bhanot (HB) Interviewer: Madhusree Dutta (M) Shot by: Moloy RoyYes1304http://godaam.pad.ma/Vffwv6w7/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Migrants, Settlers & Originals: Cawas Lalkaka 2http://godaam.pad.ma/Vffwv6w7/poster.75.jpgInterview with Mr. Cawas Lalkaka (CLK). Interviewer Madhusree Dutta (M). Shot by avijit Mukul Kishore. Cawas Lalkaka is a corporate person. He retired as the vice president of Tata Sons, a leading corporate house in India. He is member of, Zorastrians community - popularly called as Parsees. Parsee community is one of the smallest yet significant minority communities in India. They migrated from Iran in 13th century to Navsari, Gujarat. They adapted to the local culture quickly and became an integral part of India's social fabric. Many of them are industrialists, entrepreneurs, scientists and artists of great repute. Parsees are also known for various nationalist endeavors during the British rule and soon after the independence. Though generally they have stayed away from the field politics, barring a few exceptions. The population is mainly concentrated in the city of Bombay. Bombay is dotted with various Parsee institutions and public institutions built by Parsees - TIFR (Tata Institute of Fundamental research) TISS (Tata Institute of Social Sciences) NCPA (National Centre of Performing Arts) J B Petit School, Avabai Petit School, J J School of Arts etc. Many of the popular landmarks and signage in the city are actually named after some eminent Parsees - Nariman Point, Khusroo Baug, Wadia hospital, Gazdar Street etc. Various Parsee trusts are still the mainstay of philanthropy and social work activities in the city. The interview was conducted in the context of exploring the history of migration in the region. Representatives of many communities were interviewed in order to understand the demography and current identity politics of the city. The interview was conducted in his family home in a spacious apartment at Marine Drive in South Bombay. Marine Drive, occasionally mentioned as queen's necklace in memory of the British rule, is the most romantic and one the most expensive real estate zones in the world.Yes1185http://godaam.pad.ma/Vs5upvt5/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Migrants, Settlers & Originals: Cawas Lalkaka 1http://godaam.pad.ma/Vs5upvt5/poster.75.jpgInterview with Mr. Cawas Lalkaka (CLK). Interviewer Madhusree Dutta (M). Shot by avijit Mukul Kishore. Cawas Lalkaka is a corporate person. He retired as the vice president of Tata Sons, a leading corporate house in India. He is member of, Zorastrians community - popularly called as Parsees. Parsee community is one of the smallest yet significant minority community in India. They migrated from Iran in 13th century to Navsari, Gujarat. They adopted to the local culture quickly and became an integral part of India's social fabric. Many of them are industrialists, entrepreneurs, scientists and artists of great repute. Parsees are also known for various nationalist endeavors during the British rule and soon after the independence. Though generally they have stayed away from the field politics, except for a few exceptions. The population is mainly concentrated in the city of Bombay. Bombay is dotted with various Parsee institutions and public institutions built by Parsees - TIFR (Tata Institute of Fundamental research) TISS (Tata Institute of Social Sciences) NCPA (National Centre of Performing Arts) J B Petit School, Avabai Petit School, J J School of Arts etc. Many of the popular landmarks and signage in the city are actually named after some eminent parsees - Nariman Point, Khusroo Baug, Wadia hospital, Gazdar Street etc. Various Parsee trusts are still the mainstay of philanthropy and social work activities in the city. The interview was conducted in the context of exploring the history of migration in the region. Representatives of many communities were interviewed in order to understand the demography and current identity politics of the city. The interview was conducted in his family home in a spacious apartment at Marine Drive in South Bombay. Marine Drive, occasionally mentioned as queen's necklace in memory of the British rule, is the most romantic and one the most expensive real estate zones in the world.Yes1245http://godaam.pad.ma/Veuwqt82/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Migrants, Settlers & Originals: East Indian Priesthttp://godaam.pad.ma/Veuwqt82/poster.75.jpgEast Indian people by religion belong to Catholic church and linguistically Marathi. The origin of the term East Indian is not clear, though it is obvious that it has something to do with the British colonial rule and East India Company. Vasai with a port and fort was headquarter of Portuguese rule. Later as the islands of Bombay were merged and the natural port was renovated into a major port, the importance of Vasai city and port decreased. Along with Kolis (fisherfolk's community), Pathare Prabhus (white collar Hindu Marathi community), Bohras (Gujrati speaking Muslim traders' community), Parsees (Gujarati speaking Zorastrians) and a few others, East Indians are the early settlers in the 7 Islands of Bombay. The interviewee is a Catholic priest (father - Fr.) and a history scholar. He lives in Vasai. The interview was conducted as a part of a study of various communities who are early settlers in Bombay. The interview was taken in a vocational training institute ran by the church, in the background of a wide marshland. This region is known for its mangroves and marshlands which are increasingly under threat of destruction due to real estate greed. Interviewer Madhusree Dutta (M)Yes1008http://godaam.pad.ma/Veittpy9/info2009-03-17weekly1.0Arrivals & Departures: Chinese Community in Bombayhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Veittpy9/poster.75.jpgAt Antop Hill, Bombay one will find the burial grounds of Chinese, Iranian, Jews, Hindus and Muslims. Predominantly Chinese, the cemeteries date back to 1890 according to the caretaker of the Chinese cemeteries, Mohammed Rafi, an old Muslim man. The Chinese came to Bombay in the early 1800s with the East India Company for silk trade. Bombay’s 1826 census shows evidence of a total of 37 Chinese families, mostly residing in Girgaum. Today the population of Chinese in Bombay is limited to tourists and the Chinese people that were born and brought up here. This Antop Hill land, which was back then an isolated, uninhabited area, was selected as burial grounds in the 1880s. Buried in these grounds is the history of our own country that is uniquely intertwined with the history of others. Madhusree Dutta (M) conducted an interview here with Mohammed Rafi (MR). Shot by: Avijit Mukul KishoreYes1567http://godaam.pad.ma/Vtjsr3jn/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Migrants, Settlers & Originals: Mustanshir Barma 2http://godaam.pad.ma/Vtjsr3jn/poster.75.jpgInterview with Dr. Mustanshir Barma (Mr. B). Interviewer Madhusree Dutta (M). Shot by Avijit Mukul Kishore. Dr. Mustanshir Barma is an eminent scientist at TIFR (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research) and a member of the Bohra community. The interview was conducted in the context of exploring the history of migration in the region. Representatives of many communities were interviewed in order to understand the demography and current identity politics of the city. The interview was taken in his family home – an apartment in Sunny House, Colaba. It is one of the oldest urban settlement areas in the city, which is also known for its cosmopolitanism. The area has a heady mixture of aristocrat old family homes, backpackers’ dens; affluent clubs, restaurants and hotels; high brow art establishments and low brow govt. institutions, heritage buildings and vendors and vagabonds.Yes1506http://godaam.pad.ma/Vhm0f8e7/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Migrants, Settlers & Originals: Rajan Jaykar 2http://godaam.pad.ma/Vhm0f8e7/poster.75.jpgInterview with Rajan Jaykar (RJ). Interviewer Madhusree Dutta (M). Camera by avijit Mukul Kishore. Rajan Jaykar is a lawyer and artifacts collector. He is an important member of Pathare Prabhu community. Pathare Prabhus are believed to be one of the earliest settlers in the islands of Bombay. Many important citizens and philanthropists of the city are from this community. The interview was conducted in the context of exploring the history of migration in the region. Representatives of many community were interviewed in order to understand the demography and current identity politics of the city. The interview was taken in his family house in Opera house in South Bombay. The area is home for many old and aristocrat families and also hub for new commercial outlets.Yes1078http://godaam.pad.ma/Vgdd39ts/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Interview with Pramod Navalkar: The Charming Fascisthttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vgdd39ts/poster.75.jpgInterview with Pramod Navalkar. Interviewer Yuvaraj Mohite (YM) and Madhusree Dutta (MD). Pramod Navalkar was (he died in 2007) a first rank leader of Shivsena, a party which forefronted the demand of marking Mumbai essentially for the Marathi speaking people. The party, in recent past, has indulged in various violent activities against the ‘outsiders’ from other parts of the country. So far Shivsena have won only one assembly election and shared the power with BJP (a national party with communal lineage) in 1994-99. During that stint Pramod Navalkar was the Minister for cultural affairs and he initiated various schemes for the development of the city. His pet schemes involved making public parks for the citizens and then inserting a wide gap on the benches – in order to discourage couples to get too intimate. Dislocating the hawkers and the sex workers from the sea beach and appointing vigilant squads to stop eve teasing. Initiating programme to aid development of Marathi language and banning performances of artists from Pakisthan. The list is long and as charismatic as the leader! Pramod Navalkar was a member of Pathare Prabhu, the community which is believed to be one of the earliest settlers of Bombay. However while speaking against the ‘outsider’ many Pathare Prabhus tend to forget that they too came from Gujarat in 13th century and originally is not part of Marathi lineage. Pramod was a socialist before joining the right wing politics. He was also a writer, researcher and a cityphile. The interview was conducted in order to understand the pattern of migration and the root of the identity politics in this region.Yes3333http://godaam.pad.ma/Vfg8askl/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Migrants, Settlers & Originals: Mustanshir Barma 1http://godaam.pad.ma/Vfg8askl/poster.75.jpgInterview with Dr. Mustanshir Barma (Mr. B) Interviewer: Madhusree Dutta (M). Shot by Avijit Mukul Kishore. Dr. Barma is an eminent scientist at TIFR (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research) and a member of the Bohra community. The interview was conducted in the context of exploring the history of migration in the region. Representatives of many communities were interviewed in order to understand the demography and current identity politics of the city. The interview was taken in his family home – an apartment in Sunny House, Colaba. It is one of the oldest urban settlement areas in the city, which is also known for its cosmopolitanism. The area has a heady mixture of aristocrat old family homes, backpackers’ dens; affluent clubs, restaurants and hotels; high brow art establishments and low brow govt. institutions, heritage buildings and vendors and vagabonds. Yes2243http://godaam.pad.ma/Vhafnpcb/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Migrants, Settlers & Originals: Cecilia Vazhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vhafnpcb/poster.75.jpgCecilia Vaz is a home maker and lives in Kalina. Kalina consists of Christian village, Muslim settlement and some gentrified housing colonies (Air India, India Airlines). The comparatively cheap location also attracts stray foreign students and young migrant professionals: African students in Bombay University which is situated close by or North Eastern BPO employees and so on. It is an old village which has witnessed hectic urbanisation in last two decades due to its proximity to a newly developed business district in Bandra Kurla complex. East Indian people by religion belong to Catholic church and linguistically Marathi. The origin of the term East Indian is not clear, though it is obvious that it has something to do with the British colonial rule. Along with Kolis (fisherfolk's community), Pathare Prabhus (white collar Hindu Marathi community), Bohras (Gujrati speaking Muslim traders' community), Parsees (Gujarati speaking Zorastrians) and a few others, East Indians are the early settlers in the 7 Islands of Bombay. Cecilia Vaz, who happened to be our neighbour as she lives next door to Majlis office, is known as a volatile person in the neighbourhood. Her articulation combined with a wide range of anecdotal memory made us request her for an interview. The interview was taken in two phases in two years. Though there was not much to interview in the face of her 'stream (deluge!) of consciousness' style of speaking. The first phase of the interview was conducted by Hansa Thapliyal and Nandini Ramnath. The second phase was conducted by Renu Savant and Madhusree Dutta.Yes2083http://godaam.pad.ma/Vui16z6k/info2009-03-17weekly1.0Arrivals & Departures: Jewish Community in Bombayhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vui16z6k/poster.75.jpgInterview with Solomon Sopher (SS) I Interviewer: Madhusree Dutta. Shot by Avijit Mukul; Kishore This interview is part of a series of study on the cemeteries of different communities in Bombay. In order to trace the multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-religious composition of the city the history, anecdotes, location and class structure of cemeteries were studied. This cemetery is known as the cemetery of the Iraqi Jews, also known as Baghdadi Jews. Baghdadi Jews are one of the early settlers in the city. They first came as traders to the port city. They are known to be affluent and philanthropic community. Many public institutions of Bombay were build by them. But the sense of community was restricted to the Jews of central Asia. The local Marathi Jew community, known as Bene Israeli, were not accommodated either in the cemetery or at the synagogue. Even the European Jews who came during/after the IInd world war were resented initially. The universal Jew brotherhood concept was not applicable. Race affinity was worked out more on the line of linguistic and regional identity than on religious one. After the inception of Israel the community suffered a sudden drop in populace as many chose to migrate to the ‘promised land’. Hence the local Jews were accommodated, or even invited, to take part in the religious rituals in mainstream functions. There are tales about a special cemetery for the European Jew sex workers in the first half of 20th century. But Mr. Sopher refused to endorse it.Yes3386http://godaam.pad.ma/Vu5zzbh8/info2009-03-17weekly1.0Arrivals & Departures: Japanese Community in Bombayhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vu5zzbh8/poster.75.jpgThe city of Bombay truly holds a vast array of customs and civilizations, but generally not in the way that you would expect. The Japanese cemetery, Niponnjin Bochi, holds the ashes of various Japanese immigrants right here in our city of Bombay. The Japanese cemetery is much unlike the cemeteries of Indian traditions; all it consists of is a shrine and two stupas. Nonetheless, it tells the story of thousands of Japanese traders and prostitutes who lived right here in Mumbai. This cemetery was founded in 1908 by Nichida Tsu Fujii, the founder of Nipponzan Myohoji, a Buddhist order, in order to give a rightful burial to them. Now, however, the population of Japanese in this so called cosmopolitan city has dwindled down to a mere 200 and therefore the use of the cemetery has been reduced to its minimum. The cemetery is now being run by Bhikshu Morita, a Japanese monk who came to India in 1970. Morita ji speaks better Hindi than an average Bombayite and runs a school for underprivileged children. Madhusree Dutta (M) conducted an interview with Bhikshu Morita (BM) at his cottage. This is a tale of unique connections. Shot by: Avijit Mukul KishoreYes1825http://godaam.pad.ma/Vfbtmuxn/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Cityscape: With the Superstarhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vfbtmuxn/poster.75.jpgThis sequence was shot for a short film on Amitabh Bachchan. KalaGodha (the art district of Mumbai) festival of 2003 had a special theme as Amitabh Bachchan, the superstar. Madhusree was commissioned to make a short film as part of a Amitabh Bachchan film festival. The short thus made was Samvabhami Yuge Yuge (I shall be recycled again and again). This sequence is part of that film. 15 feet cutout of the superstar in his iconic proletariat avatar from the film Deewar traveled the city in an early Sunday morning. People’s reactions were baffling – it was illegal to take a heavy truck on the JJ Flyover, but the police patrol forgot to stop the shooting crew as they were busy watching the superstar. In the Sunday market under the Byculla bridge – people did not even pay more than a cursory glance. Only when Vibha, the young girl in the unit climbed the truck on some pretext that people started paying attention. Some women remarked- ‘ahh! Such a young Bachchan. So cute!’ Well, recycling means all of the above. Cutout painter:Ashrafilal, shot by Avijit Mukul KishoreYes2370http://godaam.pad.ma/Vezev1y9/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Migrants, Settlers & Originals: Rajan Jaykar 1http://godaam.pad.ma/Vezev1y9/poster.75.jpgInterview with Rajan Jaykar (RJ). Interviewer Madhusree Dutta (M). Camera by avijit Mukul Kishore. Rajan Jaykar is a lawyer and artifacts collector. He is an important member of Pathare Prabhu community. Pathare Prabhus are believed to be one of the earliest settlers in the islands of Bombay. Many important citizens and philanthropists of the city are from this community. The interview was conducted in the context of exploring the history of migration in the region. Representatives of many community were interviewed in order to understand the demography and current identity politics of the city. The interview was taken in his family house in Opera house in South Bombay. The area is home for many old and aristocrat families and also hub for new commercial outlets.Yes1229http://godaam.pad.ma/Vfrt8mp0/info2009-06-12weekly1.0Bar Dancer: Post Ban Performance at Ellora Bar (Mujra Imitation)http://godaam.pad.ma/Vfrt8mp0/poster.75.jpgDancing in bars of Bombay and other parts of Maharashtra began in 1970s. It was a device to attract more customers to the bars and boost up sale of alcohol. The Govt. initially encouraged it in order to increase their revenue. The practice also turned out to be a modernized version of commercial dance. It provided livelihood to large number of women including many migrants from neighbouring states and countries. Many women from traditional courtesan, devdasi and other such commercial dancing communities had opted for dancing in bars. As the feudal patronage dried up dancing at bars, other than in marginal capacity in Bollywood cinemas, became the only option for these women. In 2005, the Maharashtra government proposed to ban dancing in the bars on the pretext of public morality. The proposal sparked wide public debate on issues of sexual morality, women’s rights and right to livelihood. The civil society got vertically divided on the issue. Even some conventional women’s organizations actively supported the ban on the issue of ‘degradation of women’s body’. Some feminist organizations along with the Bar Dancers’ union came together to mobilize support against the ban. Still the Govt. went ahead and implemented the ban on 15th August, independence day of India, rendering approximately 70,000 women jobless. Several feminist organizations, bar owners’ associations and others filed cases against the ban in the Bombay high court. Majlis legal centre filed the case on behalf of the Bar dancers’ union. This is a dance performance by a bar dancer during that time. The ban was already implemented and the bars were under strict surveillance. Hence the performance had to take place in the afternoon when the bar was closed. In this event a bar dancer dances to popular Hindi film song in a pale imitation of mujra. Mujra is a song performance form practiced by the courtesans for their feudal patrons. Many exponents of the courtesans have joined the dance bars for survival. Dance bar is an industrial and democratic version of the mujra, where the performances and patronage are much more generic and faceless. Yes132http://godaam.pad.ma/Vfbndt1l/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Kashmir News Rushes Compilation: Refugee Camp Residents and Fake Encountershttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vfbndt1l/poster.75.jpgEarly in 2005, with the exhumation and identification of the body of Abdul Rahman Paddar, an innocent civilian, a network of fake encounters came to light. More exhumations took place. All of Kashmir broke into spontaneous protests, which had massive crowds. All protests seem to have been non violent, but slogans which were common in 1989, demanding independence, once again could be loudly heard, along with a demand for justice. This tape was sent in response to a request for some footage of the protests. It seems to me, that the compilation of footage from Jammu and from Srinagar, was done partly to meet what might have been seen as my interests. Since half the tape had the footage we had asked for, the other half was filled with what could be of interest to us, or that might be seen as also useful to us. It could just be that these were simultaneously shot stories, or that we had previously expressed an interest in finding material on the Pandits. Related Link: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/01/31/india15227.htmYes3547http://godaam.pad.ma/Vsb4rj6n/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Cityscape: One Sunday Afternoon in Bombayhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vsb4rj6n/poster.75.jpgShot by Avijit Mukul Kishore. As part of exploring the plurality in the street cultures of India, we decided to drive down from North Bombay to Nariman Point and shoot the various narratives scattered along the way. It was a Sunday in the month of December. So the sun was bright yet not bleaching out. The Sunday also provided a respite from the maddening crowd on the road which would have made it impossible to follow any thread or cue. We started on the Western Express Highway and stopped at first signal at Andheri. The Andheri flyover was then under construction and the signal was hugely populated by both vehicles and people. Then we passed the airport signal and followed the comparatively light and lazy traffic of the Sunday afternoon, to Kherwadi junction at Bandra east, followed the right hand traffic to Mahim creek and the Cadell road, crossed Haji Ali and took a detour to Bombay central station. After that we took Queens Road and then finally reached Gateway of India. At Gateway of India we hired a horse cart, favoured by the tourists, to Marine Drive. This trip had made us re-visit our own city – as if this was another Bombay, which only vaguely resembles the one we knew of. Yes2206http://godaam.pad.ma/Vhlsubt7/info2009-06-12weekly1.0Bar Dancers Speak: Testimonies at Public Hearing 3http://godaam.pad.ma/Vhlsubt7/poster.75.jpgDancing at beer bars started in Maharashtra in the ‘70s. These bars are popularly called Dance Bars. They were recognisable by the heavy door at the entrance and by the uniformed bouncers. In order to increase the revenue from alcohol sale the govt. kept issuing licenses for the dance bars and over the three decades these bars sprouted all over the state and specially in Bombay. In 2005 the Govt. proposed a bill to ban dancing at the bars on the pretext of public morality. But by then around 75,000 women were employed in the unorganized sector of bar dancing. Most of these women were migrants from the other parts of the state, country and the subcontinent. The proposal sparked a huge public debate on the issues of morality, sexuality and livelihood. The home minister in the state govt. R R Patil took it as a mission and persuaded it till the end. The civil society got vertically divided on the issue. While all the right wing outfits supported the ban, some old school women’s organizations too were vocal against bar dancing based on the argument of commodifying women’s body. Some feminist groups and other social movements campaigned against the ban foregrounding issues of right to livelihood, validity of sex based works and against moral policing. Amidst the frenzy of campaign and counter campaign the govt. implemented the bill on 15th August 2005, on the occasion of independence day of India. The act which rendered 70,000 women jobless was passed unanimously in the assembly, where all members including the communist party and women from various political parties cheered and voted for the bill. In the history of Indian democracy there are a very few bills that was passes with such absolute agreement. There were many theories for the Govt.’s motive to ban dance bars. Some says that it was a ploy to decrease the sale of beer and boost the outreach of wine as the wine industry had just started picking up in Maharashtra and many senior politicians were stake holders in wine industry. Some other claim that it was a populist measure to woo the middle class voters. Another theory ascribed the operation as an exercise to evict smaller eateries and pubs to make space for big franchises and multi-purpose eateries. It could also be a simple act of gentrifying the city. Throughout this period the most active campaign against the ban was from the bar dancers union in collaboration with some feminists groups. Majlis legal centre filed a case challenging the ban in the Bombay high court on behalf of the bar dancers’ union. The Women’s Study dept., SNDT university along with Forum against oppression of women conducted a survey around the bars in the city and published the report in order to inform the general public. Five days after the ban three city organisations Majlis, Pukar (Gender and Space unit), and Point of View organized a public hearing on the issue at KC College suditorium. Ten eminent citizens from various walks of life were invited to serve in the panel of Jury and hear the live testimonies of the retrenched dancers. The auditorium of around 700 capacity was chock-o-block with 500 bar dancers, members of bar owners association, family members of the bar dancers, concerned citizens and a large media presence. In this event some bar dancers gave testimonies. Yes577http://godaam.pad.ma/Vs6e0hew/info2009-06-12weekly1.0Bar Dancers: Post Ban Performance at Ellora Bar (Saloni)http://godaam.pad.ma/Vs6e0hew/poster.75.jpgDancing in bars of Bombay and other parts of Maharashtra began in 1970s. It was a device to attract more customers to the bars and boost up sale of alcohol. The Govt. initially encouraged it in order to increase their revenue. The practice also turned out to be a modernized version of commercial dance. It provided livelihood to large number of women including many migrants from neighbouring states and countries. Many women from traditional courtesan, devdasi and other such commercial dancing communities had opted for dancing in bars. As the feudal patronage dried up dancing at bars, other than in marginal capacity in Bollywood cinemas, became the only option for these women. In 2005, the Maharashtra government proposed to ban dancing in the bars on the pretext of public morality. The proposal sparked wide public debate on issues of sexual morality, women’s rights and right to livelihood. The civil society got vertically divided on the issue. Even some conventional women’s organizations actively supported the ban on the issue of ‘degradation of women’s body’. Some feminist organizations along with the Bar Dancers’ union came together to mobilize support against the ban. Still the Govt. went ahead and implemented the ban on 15th August, independence day of India, rendering approximately 70,000 women jobless. Several feminist organizations, bar owners’ associations and others filed cases against the ban in the Bombay high court. Majlis legal centre filed the case on behalf of the Bar dancers’ union. This is a dance performance by a bar dancer during that time. The ban was already implemented and the bars were under strict surveillance. Hence the performance had to take place in the afternoon when the bar was closed. It was part of our effort to document the performances and testimonies of the bar dancers. But with the enthusiasm that this dancer came and put on their costumes and make up can only be compared to the agony of any artist who had been denied access to work. Yes347http://godaam.pad.ma/Ve2sb959/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Roadside Shrines: Shrine by the Trackshttp://godaam.pad.ma/Ve2sb959/poster.75.jpgA hole in the wall erected by the railways (besides being an access walkway for commuters) which separates the railway line from this locality allows the commuters to view the shrine. Hence besides the locals, the commuter public who are regulars at that station inadvertently have 'access' to the shrine. They can visit the temple, either from the stations, or if they are commuters, do 'darshan' from the train itself. Sometimes, these shrines become religious markers for anyone who wants to associate themselves to the site. This is very site specific as it becomes a ritual and is convenient as it does not deviate from their usual route. A silent acknowledgement by way of nod or folded hands to reaffirm faith. The idea behind Vidya's project was to look at local histories, and communities that organize themselves around roadside shrines. This particular shrine meant a lot to people who lived, in the poverty stricken area around it. The locals believe that the frequency of deaths on the tracks, and suicides, reduced after the benign eye of Sai Baba protected the area once the shrine was constructed. Sai Baba is an interesting 'deity'/saint, he has been variously seen as a saint cutting across religions, and also, appropriated as the saint of one particular faith. The young boys of the locality, all aged between 18-21 mainly though the age group extends to about 35, initiated this shrine and chose Sai Baba with the 'sab ka maalik ek"(We all have one master) slogan. This was adopted to initiate a practice of neutrality between all the sections of the locality and to bring people from different religions together. The boy interviewed-Rupesh Kabre explains how the locality, usually reticent and self preservatory,began working more as a unit, and how the living conditions improved along with a sense of civic duty. The space became clean due to the presence of the shrine, and everyone chipped in, in terms of time and even money, to get things started. Troubles crop up, in terms of land dispute and the odd scuffle, but overall the mood is upbeat as there is purpose. The networks established have been fruitful in helping ailing people, accident victims, and people who need an immediate resource of manpower. The boys were being monitored by the elders, who form a sort of unofficial advisory council. In the course of interviewing his mother Anita Kabre next, we learn how they keep a watchful eye on them. The mother Anita Kabre interviewed is a member of the Shiv Sena (political party) shakha pramukh (local section) Mahila Mandal (women's collective) section. She is one of the 9 women members of the women's organisation. She helps out the boys during their ramnavmi celebrations, with the cleaning and decorating, but mainly her work had been to provide water lines for every tenant and getting tiles put in the locality. She did that independantly with the help of the local Shiv Sena corporator. Produced by Majlis.Yes1428http://godaam.pad.ma/Vt8dvtfn/info2009-06-12weekly1.0Bar Dancers: Post Ban Group Performance at Ellora Barhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vt8dvtfn/poster.75.jpgDancing in bars of Bombay and other parts of Maharashtra began in 1970s. It was a device to attract more customers to the bars and boost up sale of alcohol. The Govt. initially encouraged it in order to increase their revenue. The practice also turned out to be a modernized version of commercial dance. It provided livelihood to large number of women including many migrants from neighbouring states and countries. Many women from traditional courtesan, devdasi and other such commercial dancing communities had opted for dancing in bars. As the feudal patronage dried up dancing at bars, other than in marginal capacity in Bollywood cinemas, became the only option for these women. In 2005, the Maharashtra government proposed to ban dancing in the bars on the pretext of public morality. The proposal sparked wide public debate on issues of sexual morality, women’s rights and right to livelihood. The civil society got vertically divided on the issue. Even some conventional women’s organizations actively supported the ban on the issue of ‘degradation of women’s body’. Some feminist organizations along with the Bar Dancers’ union came together to mobilize support against the ban. Still the Govt. went ahead and implemented the ban on 15th August, independence day of India, rendering approximately 70,000 women jobless. Several feminist organizations, bar owners’ associations and others filed cases against the ban in the Bombay high court. Majlis legal centre filed the case on behalf of the Bar dancers’ union. This is a dance performance by a group of three dancers during that time. The ban was already implemented and the bars were under strict surveillance. Hence the performance had to take place in the afternoon when the bar was closed. It was part of our effort to document the performances and testimonies of the bar dancers. Yes465http://godaam.pad.ma/Vgdtcbj3/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Railway Station- Gateway to the Dream City: Bombay Central (Long Distance)http://godaam.pad.ma/Vgdtcbj3/poster.75.jpgBombay Central station. For some reason nobody calls it Mumbai central station except in official announcement. This is the long distance train section of the terminus. Trains to Gujarat and upper north depart from here. The station has a distinctively north Indian vibes coming from the waiting passengers. Designed by the British architect Claude Batley the station was inaugurated on 18th December 1930. The station was planned in order to rechannelise the long distant trains which were operating from the station at Colaba. This is lazy afternoon time. The trains generally arrive in the morning and depart in the evening. Some waiting passengers of the evening trains are scattered around the premise along with the mandatory vagabonds, hawkers and coolies. A still moment before the overwhelming rush. This station is one of the major gateways on the journey to the dream city. Outside the station is Bombay Central-Grant road area which is known for its mixed languages, religions and cultural ethos. Yes242http://godaam.pad.ma/Vfrbiihr/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Sexuality, Morality and Livelihood: Activist’s Presentation on Dance Barhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vfrbiihr/poster.75.jpgMany women's groups and organisations felt the need for a study on bar dancers, which would present the real picture of the women working in the bars. The study is called Bar dancers- workers, citizens and rights. Here the salient points of the presentation is being shared with the bar dancers and other audience.Yes668http://godaam.pad.ma/Veeup116/info2009-06-12weekly1.0Bar Dancers: Statement of the Jury at the Public Hearinghttp://godaam.pad.ma/Veeup116/poster.75.jpgDancing at beer bars started in Maharashtra in the ‘70s. These bars are popularly called Dance Bars. They were recognizable by the heavy door at the entrance and by the uniformed bouncers. In order to increase the revenue from alcohol sale the govt. kept issuing licenses for the dance bars and over the three decades these bars sprouted all over the state and specially in Bombay. In 2005 the Govt. proposed a bill to ban dancing at the bars on the pretext of public morality. But by then around 75,000 women were employed in the unorganized sector of bar dancing. Most of these women were migrants from the other parts of the state, country and the subcontinent. The proposal sparked a huge public debate on the issues of morality, sexuality and livelihood. The home minister in the state govt. R R Patil took it as a mission and pursued it till the end. The civil society got vertically divided on the issue. While all the right wing outfits supported the ban, some old school women’s organizations too were vocal against bar dancing based on the argument of commodifying women’s body. Some feminist groups and other social movements campaigned against the ban foregrounding issues of right to livelihood, validity of sex based works and against moral policing. Amidst the frenzy of campaign and counter campaign the govt. implemented the bill on 15th August 2005, on the occasion of independence day of India. The act which rendered 70,000 women jobless was passed unanimously in the assembly, where all members including the communist party and women from various political parties cheered and voted for the bill. In the history of Indian democracy there are a very few bills that was passes with such absolute agreement. There were many theories for the Govt.’s motive to ban dance bars. Some says that it was a ploy to decrease the sale of beer and boost the outreach of wine as the wine industry had just started picking up in Maharashtra and many senior politicians were stake holders in wine industry. Some other claim that it was a populist measure to woo the middle class voters. Another theory ascribed the operation as an exercise to evict smaller eateries and pubs to make space for big franchises and multi-purpose eateries. It could also be a simple act of gentrifying the city. Throughout this period the most active campaign against the ban was from the bar dancers union in collaboration with some feminists groups. Majlis legal centre filed a case challenging the ban in the Bombay high court on behalf of the bar dancers’ union. The Women’s Study dept., SNDT university along with Forum against oppression of women conducted a survey around the bars in the city and published the report in order to inform the general public. Five days after the ban three-city organisations Majlis, Pukar (Gender and Space unit), and Point of View organized a public hearing on the issue at KC College auditorium. Ten eminent citizens from various walks of life were invited to serve in the panel of Jury and hear the live testimonies of the retrenched dancers. The auditorium of around 700 capacity was chock-o-block with 500 bar dancers, members of bar owners association, family members of the bar dancers, concerned citizens and a large media presence. In this event some bar dancers gave testimonies. This event is the culmination of the evening where the citizens’ jury submitted their statement. The statement is collected in order to use it in the court and also for the campaign. Yes916http://godaam.pad.ma/Vsn1o84z/info2009-06-12weekly1.0Bar Dancers Speak: Testimonies at Public Hearing 1http://godaam.pad.ma/Vsn1o84z/poster.75.jpgDancing at beer bars started in Maharashtra in the ‘70s. These bars are popularly called Dance Bars. They were recognisable by the heavy door at the entrance and by the uniformed bouncers. In order to increase the revenue from alcohol sale the govt. kept issuing licenses for the dance bars and over the three decades these bars sprouted all over the state and specially in Bombay. In 2005 the Govt. proposed a bill to ban dancing at the bars on the pretext of public morality. But by then around 75,000 women were employed in the unorganized sector of bar dancing. Most of these women were migrants from the other parts of the state, country and the subcontinent. The proposal sparked a huge public debate on the issues of morality, sexuality and livelihood. The home minister in the state govt. R R Patil took it as a mission and persuaded it till the end. The civil society got vertically divided on the issue. While all the right wing outfits supported the ban, some old school women’s organizations too were vocal against bar dancing based on the argument of commodifying women’s body. Some feminist groups and other social movements campaigned against the ban foregrounding issues of right to livelihood, validity of sex based works and against moral policing. Amidst the frenzy of campaign and counter campaign the govt. implemented the bill on the midnight 15th August 2005, the independence day of India. The act which rendered 70,000 women jobless was passed unanimously in the assembly, where all members including the communist party and women from various political parties cheered and voted for the bill. In the history of Indian democracy there are a very few bills that was passes with such absolute agreement. There were many theories for the Govt.’s motive to ban dance bars. Some says that it was a ploy to decrease the sale of beer and boost the outreach of wine as the wine industry had just started picking up in Maharashtra and many senior politicians were stake holders in wine industry. Some other claim that it was a populist measure to woo the middle class voters. Another theory ascribed the operation as an exercise to evict smaller eateries and pubs to make space for big franchises and multi-purpose eateries. It could also be a simple act of gentrifying the city. Throughout this period the most active campaign against the ban was from the bar dancers union in collaboration with some feminists groups. Majlis legal centre filed a case challenging the ban in the Bombay high court on behalf of the bar dancers’ union. There were also other petitions from the Bar owners’ association, women’s groups and others. The Women’s Study dept., SNDT university along with Forum against oppression of women conducted a survey around the bars in the city and published the report in order to inform the general public. The media too covered the issue quite extensively. On 12th April 2006 the Bombay High Court struck down the ban as unconstitutional. The Govt. appealed to the Supreme Court and thus affectively kept the bar closed inspite of the High court order. Presently the case is subjudiced. Still the initial win in the High Court in the face of such heightened morality campaign meant a lot. In the intermediary period of the implementation of the ban and the High Court judgement, three city organisations Majlis, Pukar (Gender and Space unit), and Point of View organized a public hearing on the issue at KC College suditorium. Ten eminent citizens from various walks of life were invited to serve in the panel of Jury and hear the live testimonies of the retrenched dancers. The auditorium of around 700 capacity was chock-o-block with 500 bar dancers, members of bar owners association, family members of the bar dancers, concerned citizens and a large media presence. In this event some bar dancers gave testimonies. Yes960http://godaam.pad.ma/Vi74zwcz/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Kashmir: Conflict and Image Archiveshttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vi74zwcz/poster.75.jpgThe immediate event was a photo exhibition that had been mounted at Batmalloo, Srinagar. We were keen to look at various collectors of images in the Valley, to see what propelled different image-collections. In this case, it seemed to be an attempt to keep a sort of photographic record, mostly of army atrocities in the Valley. Shakeel Bakshi has been a student leader of the ISA, in the Valley. In this conversation, he shows us sheets from the photo exhibition, talks of the reasons for the collection and his political views. Interviewed by Jayshree and Hansa Produced by Majlis.Yes2681http://godaam.pad.ma/Vfb45j81/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Popular Culture: Small Theatres Lining Bombay Roadshttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vfb45j81/poster.75.jpgThere are, in many areas of Bombay, small shop sized theatres that provide the communal experience of viewing cinema at cheap rates. Men from working class backgrounds frequent these small theatres. The video projection is not just of old films, or B grade films or pornographic content, but also relatively recent super hits. There is a licensing system and a semi- regularization of these theatres. In a way it harks back to the early day of cinemas, when cinema was a form of mass entertainments, and the Nickelodeon charged five cents for a ticket. A rough and ready seating arrangement is made in these theatres, on benches. There are exhaust fans for ventilation. There are multiple shows, often of different films.Yes724http://godaam.pad.ma/Vgtunpnu/info2009-06-12weekly1.0Bar Dancer on the Ban: An Interview with Salonihttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vgtunpnu/poster.75.jpgDancing in bars of Bombay and other parts of Maharashtra began in 1970s. It was a device to attract more customers to the bars and boost up sale of alcohol. The Govt. initially encouraged it in order to increase their revenue. The practice also turned out to be a modernized version of commercial dance. It provided livelihood to large number of women including many migrants from neighbouring states and countries. Many women from traditional courtesan, devdasi and other such commercial dancing communities had opted for dancing in bars. As the feudal patronage dried up dancing at bars, other than in marginal capacity in Bollywood cinemas, became the only option for these women. In 2005, the Maharashtra government proposed to ban dancing in the bars on the pretext of public morality. The proposal sparked wide public debate on issues of sexual morality, women’s rights and right to livelihood. The civil society got vertically divided on the issue. Still the Govt. went ahead and implemented the ban on 15th August, independence day of India, rendering approximately 70,000 women jobless. This is an interview with a bar dancer in the intermediary period when the petitions against the ban was pending in front of the Bombay court. Saloni was a celebrated dancer in Ellora bar. She migrated from a village in Muradabad, near Delhi, with the dream of becoming an accomplished dancer. Unlike many other dancers she neither has much of a personal life in Bombay, nor is she active in any forum such as bar dancers’ union. Bit of a recluse, Saloni just wants to dance. Saloni is in full dancing costume and make up. Determined to not miss the opportunity to once more wear the make up and costume, Saloni was very responsive during the shooting of her dance. But she turned out to be a reluctant interviewee. Shot by Avijit Mukul Kishore. Interviewee (S), Interviewer- Madhusree (M)Yes526http://godaam.pad.ma/Vfryyfwl/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Sanyukta Maharashtra: Talk Show 3http://godaam.pad.ma/Vfryyfwl/poster.75.jpgThe Sanyukta Maharashtra Movement in 1950s was the most important post-independent political movement in Bombay. The movement received active support from parties and groups whose ideological base ranged from radical left to the centerist. Popularly it is referred as a movement for assertion of the rights of majority language group - Marathi, and thus the inclusion of Bombay in the Maharashtra state is considered as the victory of the movement. But actually the historical period at which the movement picked up momentum was a junction between the existing vibrant trade union movement in the city and the beginning of identity politics in the region. We felt it is important to revisit the movement in order to understand the present social scenario. A discussion session was organized between various active members of the movement. After the initial discussion on the evaluation of the movement the discussion moved towards its impact on the state and public affair today. Anchor: Pushpa Bhave (PB), art and literary critic, teacher and social activist. Was a young student during the movement. (Unfortunately the footage with her image have got spoilt. So we only have her audio). Participants: Prof. Sadanand Varde(SV): Samajwadi (socialist) leader, economist, former state minister of education. Was in the forefront of the movement. Pushpa Trilokeka(PT): Journalist. Was part of the daily newspaper Maratha, which was considered as the mouthpiece of the movement. Tara Reddy(TR): Communist, Member of CPI (communist party of India), also active in women's movement. Was active participant of the movement. Himmatbhai(HB): Samajwadi (socialist) leader. Also part of the Gujarati community, which was largely against the movement.Yes1120http://godaam.pad.ma/Vum7kg71/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Bazaar: Juhu Beach on Sunday Eveninghttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vum7kg71/poster.75.jpgSearching for street culture and the associated aesthetics and narratives one Sunday evening we reached Juhu beach. The famous class leveler of Bombay. The beach is lined with multiple 5 star hotels and fancy eateries and designers wares. But at the foreground of the beach it also accommodates the lowest rungs of street entertainment. Open air massage, gigolo service, camel ride on the sea beach, assorted vendors, sumptuous food stalls, rides and sand castles, illegal drinks – Juhu beach has been a delight for all age and all class and immoratlised by various films and books. In 2006 the beach was cleansed and the food stalls have been re-located in neatly designed food mall. The unauthorised vendors and other services were chased out. The beach has become clean, safe, gentrifies but lost its colour. This shooting was commenced at the peak of Juhu beach’s glory.Yes1635http://godaam.pad.ma/Vulo8ea4/info2009-06-13weekly1.0Bar Dancers: Varsha Kale Speaks at Public Hearinghttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vulo8ea4/poster.75.jpgDancing at beer bars started in Maharashtra in the ‘70s. These bars are popularly called Dance Bars. They were recognisable by the heavy door at the entrance and by the uniformed bouncers. In order to increase the revenue from alcohol sale the govt. kept issuing licenses for the dance bars and over the three decades these bars sprouted all over the state and specially in Bombay. In 2005 the Govt. proposed a bill to ban dancing at the bars on the pretext of public morality. But by then around 75,000 women were employed in the unorganized sector of bar dancing. Most of these women were migrants from the other parts of the state, country and the subcontinent. The bars though have been part of the cityscape for a long time, always maintained a low profile in terms of social visibility. It seems invisibility was a kind of shield for them. A year ago some of the bar dancers try to form a trade union and evolve a few norms and practices to secure their future. One of the agenda of the union was to resist and publicise incidents of police assult. That did not go down well with the authority. It could be the temerity of these lowly women to challenge the patriarchal system or a threat of loosing the extra money that came as bribe from the bar owners and bar dancers or a development design to replace this form of entertainment with something more lucrative or anything else. But what was clear that the articulation of the union along with other things brought the bar dancers and dance bars in public visibility. The media jumped to the occasion and suddenly the whole society was debating about dance bars. Amidst the frenzy of campaign and counter campaign the govt. implemented the bill that ban dance bars on the midnight of 15th August 2005, the independence day of India. The act which rendered 70,000 women jobless was passed unanimously in the assembly, where all members including the communist party and women from various political parties cheered and voted for the bill. Throughout this period the most active campaign against the ban was from the bar dancers union in collaboration with some feminists groups. Majlis legal centre filed a case challenging the ban in the Bombay high court on behalf of the bar dancers’ union. The Women’s Study dept., SNDT university along with Forum against oppression of women conducted a survey around the bars in the city and published the report in order to inform the general public. Five days after the ban three city organisations Majlis, Pukar (Gender and Space unit), and Point of View organized a public hearing on the issue at KC College suditorium. Ten eminent citizens from various walks of life were invited to serve in the panel of Jury and hear the live testimonies of the retrenched dancers. The auditorium of around 700 capacity was chock-o-block with 500 bar dancers, members of bar owners association, family members of the bar dancers, concerned citizens and a large media presence. In this event some bar dancers gave testimonies. In this event Varsha Kale, the charismatic leader of the bar dancers and the president of the union speak at the public hearing. Yes1091http://godaam.pad.ma/Vt39bzxx/info2009-06-12weekly1.0Bar Dancer: Post Ban Performance at Ellora Bar (Saloni, Geeta)http://godaam.pad.ma/Vt39bzxx/poster.75.jpgDancing in bars of Bombay and other parts of Maharashtra began in 1970s. In 2005, the Maharashtra government proposed to ban dancing in the bars. The proposal sparked wide public debate on sexual morality, women’s rights and right to livelihood. This is a dance performance of two bar dancers.Yes344http://godaam.pad.ma/Vfrz2rjn/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Popular Cultures: Television and Patriotismhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vfrz2rjn/poster.75.jpg26th January, 2002, 52nd Republic day of India. The citizens of India get to feel the federalism of the republic of India only on few days: the independence day on 15th August, the republic day on 26th January, the days of the parliament elections and ofcourse the days of wars with the neighbouring countries. The nationalist sentiments run high on those days, specially in the hours spent in front of the television or with the newspaper. The orchestrated visuals that get laid out evoke range of sentiments: pride, insecurity, vulnerability, bonhomie, benevolence, power, expanse and so on. The centre of all these is the state arranged republic day parade in New Delhi. There are many other public programme that take place throughout the country on that day, but they are all smaller replicas of the master programme, both in terms of look and theme. The parade is arranged by a series of floats: by the defense ministry, by the ministry of sports, by each state, by youth, by women, by issues, by public institutions and so on.Yes3783http://godaam.pad.ma/Vhavwc6i/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Roadside Shrines : Protection from Communal Mobshttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vhavwc6i/poster.75.jpgOne of the residents; a gritty lady describes some of the events she witnessed during the 1992 riots in one of the worst affected areas of the inner city precincts. There was mayhem during this time period where a lot of people were scared for their lives. Removal of fuses, total blackouts in areas so that people could not target zones based on ethnicities; people jumping into gutters to avoid mobs; vantage points used to hurl bombs; lynching and burning of people and possessions, and all sorts of horror stories were described by this woman. If not experienced, then episodes recounted to her. She talks of her association with the shrine by her house, her faith, which she says saved her life and the lives of her children during that difficult period. She attributes the proximity to the shrine as being one of the reasons for their survival, as people, despite the threats; infact chose not to attack that space, the place of worship. During the 1992- 1993 riots, the roadside shrines had their own history, that have not been explored. In this case, the shrine evokes in the interviewee a memory of being protected by the presence of this shrine. She also evokes a memory of the maha aarti, the aartis organized by the Shiv Senas to rally Hindus together. They would often serve as beginning points for a mob attack. Maha-aartis were a direct response to namaaz that was carried out on the streetsYes1196http://godaam.pad.ma/Vt87l9db/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Sanyukta Maharashtra: Talk Show 2http://godaam.pad.ma/Vt87l9db/poster.75.jpgThe Sanyukta Maharashtra Movement in 1950s, was the most important post-independent political movement in Bombay. The movement received active support from parties and groups whose ideological base ranged from radical left to the centerist. Popularly it is referred as a movement for assertion of the rights of majority language group - Marathi, and thus the inclusion of Bombay in the Maharashtra state is considered as the victory of the movement. But actually the historical period at which the movement picked up momentum was a junction between the existing vibrant trade union movement in the city and the beginning of identity politics in the region. We felt it is important to revisit the movement in order to understand the present social scenario. A discussion session was organized between various active members of the movement. Anchor: Pushpa Bhave (PB), art and literary critic, teacher and social activist. Was a young student during the movement. (Unfortunately the footage with her image have got spoilt. So we only have her audio). Participants: Prof. Sadanand Varde(SV): Samajwadi (socialist) leader, economist, former state minister of education. Was in the forefront of the movement. Pushpa Trilokeka(PT): Journalist. Was part of the daily newspaper Maratha, which was considered as the mouthpiece of the movement. Tara Reddy(TR): Communist, Member of CPI (communist party of India), also active in women’s movement. Was active participant of the movement. Himmatbhai(HB): Samajwadi (socialist) leader. Also part of the Gujarati community, which was largely against the movement.Yes723http://godaam.pad.ma/Vg9e292l/info2009-06-12weekly1.0Bar Dancers Speak: Testimonies at Public Hearinghttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vg9e292l/poster.75.jpgDancing at beer bars started in Maharashtra in the ‘70s. These bars are popularly called Dance Bars. They were recognisable by the heavy door at the entrance and by the uniformed bouncers. In order to increase the revenue from alcohol sale the govt. kept issuing licenses for the dance bars and over the three decades these bars sprouted all over the state and specially in Bombay. In 2005 the Govt. proposed a bill to ban dancing at the bars on the pretext of public morality. But by then around 75,000 women were employed in the unorganized sector of bar dancing. Most of these women were migrants from the other parts of the state, country and the subcontinent. The proposal sparked a huge public debate on the issues of morality, sexuality and livelihood. The home minister in the state govt. R R Patil took it as a mission and persuaded it till the end. The civil society got vertically divided on the issue. While all the right wing outfits supported the ban, some old school women’s organizations too were vocal against bar dancing based on the argument of commodifying women’s body. Some feminist groups and other social movements campaigned against the ban foregrounding issues of right to livelihood, validity of sex based works and against moral policing. Amidst the frenzy of campaign and counter campaign the govt. implemented the bill on the midnight of 15th August 2005, the independence day of India. The act which rendered 70,000 women jobless was passed unanimously in the assembly, where all members including the communist party and women from various political parties cheered and voted for the bill. In the history of Indian democracy there are a very few bills that was passes with such absolute agreement. There were many theories for the Govt.’s motive to ban dance bars. Some says that it was a ploy to decrease the sale of beer and boost the outreach of wine as the wine industry had just started picking up in Maharashtra and many senior politicians were stake holders in wine industry. Some other claim that it was a populist measure to woo the middle class voters. Another theory ascribed the operation as an exercise to evict smaller eateries and pubs to make space for big franchises and multi-purpose eateries. It could also be a simple act of gentrifying the city. Throughout this period the most active campaign against the ban was from the bar dancers union in collaboration with some feminists groups. Majlis legal centre filed a case challenging the ban in the Bombay high court on behalf of the bar dancers’ union. There were also other petitions from the Bar owners’ association, women’s groups and others. The Women’s Study dept., SNDT University along with Forum against oppression of women conducted a survey around the bars in the city and published the report in order to inform the general public. The media too covered the issue quite extensively. On 12th April 2006 the Bombay High Court struck down the ban as unconstitutional. The Govt. appealed to the Supreme Court and thus affectively kept the bar closed inspite of the High court order. Presently the case is subjudiced. Still the initial win in the High Court in the face of such heightened morality campaign meant a lot. In the intermediary period of the implementation of the ban and the High Court judgement, three city organizations Majlis, Pukar (Gender and Space unit), and Point of View organized a public hearing on the issue at KC College suditorium. Ten eminent citizens from various walks of life were invited to serve in the panel of Jury and hear the live testimonies of the retrenched dancers. The auditorium of around 700 capacity was chock-o-block with 500 bar dancers, members of bar owners association, family members of the bar dancers, concerned citizens and a large media presence. After hearing the bar dancers the jury made a statement which was later presented in the court. In this event the jury is being introduced. Yes563http://godaam.pad.ma/Vi35v80d/info2009-06-12weekly1.0Bar Dancer on the Ban: An Interview with Rekhahttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vi35v80d/poster.75.jpgDancing in bars of Bombay and other parts of Maharashtra began in 1970s. It was a device to attract more customers to the bars and boost up sale of alcohol. The Govt. initially encouraged it in order to increase their revenue. The practice also turned out to be a modernized version of commercial dance. It provided livelihood to large number of women including many migrants from neighbouring states and countries. Many women from traditional courtesan, devdasi and other such commercial dancing communities had opted for dancing in bars. As the feudal patronage dried up dancing at bars, other than in marginal capacity in Bollywood cinemas, became the only option for these women. In 2005, the Maharashtra government proposed to ban dancing in the bars on the pretext of public morality. The proposal sparked wide public debate on issues of sexual morality, women’s rights and right to livelihood. The civil society got vertically divided on the issue. Still the Govt. went ahead and implemented the ban on 15th August, independence day of India, rendering approximately 70,000 women jobless. This is an interview with a bar dancer in the intermediary period when the petitions against the ban was pending in front of the Bombay court. Rekha, a migrant from a village in Punjab, is an active member of the Bar dancers’ union. Young, energetic, flamboyant Rekha has all the ordinary girly streaks in her – love for coloured contact lense, flirting with handsome men, desire to get married, preference for jeans etc. Yet she led an extra ordinary life of a stigmatized bar dancer. Dance is only the available means to her and she does not have any special love for dancing. Shot by Avijit Mukul Kishore. Interviewee Rekha (R), Interviewer- Madhusree (M) Yes995http://godaam.pad.ma/Vfsumm01/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Popular Culture: Anupam Single Screen Theatrehttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vfsumm01/poster.75.jpgA projectionist describes his work with an old carbon arc projector, in an old single screen theatre in a Bombay suburb. He talks of how he came into this profession, and how his love for cinema finally led him here. He remembers old films he has seen. He talks in detail about the projectors and the work he does on them and the skill it requires. He talks of how films have changed. In the context of the almost virulent spread of multi screen multiplexes, old single screen theatres are fast losing business. This small suburban theatre barely survives, showing a combination of B grade films, some regional films. But the projectionist is an old worker with a love for the machine he works on, and a keen understanding of it.Yes1211http://godaam.pad.ma/Vfb5javr/info2009-06-12weekly1.0Bar Dancers: Post Ban Performance by a Senior Dancer (Geeta)http://godaam.pad.ma/Vfb5javr/poster.75.jpgDancing in bars of Bombay and other parts of Maharashtra began in 1970s. It was a device to attract more customers to the bars and boost up sale of alcohol. The Govt. initially encouraged it in order to increase their revenue. The practice also turned out to be a modernized version of commercial dance. It provided livelihood to large number of women including many migrants from neighbouring states and countries. Many women from traditional courtesan, devdasi and other such commercial dancing communities had opted for dancing in bars. As the feudal patronage dried up dancing at bars, other than in marginal capacity in Bollywood cinemas, became the only option for these women. In 2005, the Maharashtra government proposed to ban dancing in the bars on the pretext of public morality. The proposal sparked wide public debate on issues of sexual morality, women’s rights and right to livelihood. The civil society got vertically divided on the issue. Even some conventional women’s organizations actively supported the ban on the issue of ‘degradation of women’s body’. Some feminist organizations along with the Bar Dancers’ union came together to mobilize support against the ban. Still the Govt. went ahead and implemented the ban on 15th August, independence day of India, rendering approximately 70,000 women jobless. Several feminist organizations, bar owners’ associations and others filed cases against the ban in the Bombay high court. Majlis legal centre filed the case on behalf of the Bar dancers’ union. This is a dance performance by a bar dancer during that time. The ban was already implemented and the bars were under strict surveillance. Hence the performance had to take place in the afternoon when the bar was closed. It was part of our effort to document the performances and testimonies of the bar dancers. Shot by Avijit Mukul KishoreYes347http://godaam.pad.ma/Vuhj7onn/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Sanyukta Maharashtra: Talk Show 5http://godaam.pad.ma/Vuhj7onn/poster.75.jpgThe Sanyukta Maharashtra Movement in 1950s was the most important post-independent political movement in Bombay. The movement received active support from parties and groups whose ideological base ranged from radical left to the centerist. Popularly it is referred as a movement for assertion of the rights of majority language group - Marathi, and thus the inclusion of Bombay in the Maharashtra state is considered as the victory of the movement. But actually the historical period at which the movement picked up momentum was a junction between the existing vibrant trade union movement in the city and the beginning of identity politics in the region. We felt it is important to revisit the movement in order to understand the present social scenario. A discussion session was organized between various active members of the movement. Though the discussion initially went around the evaluation of the movement, by this time the discussion invariably zeroed down on the present situation of the city. The discussion moved to the mayhem around the real estate, demographic issues and development. The ideologues that were so articulate in assessing the movement of their days - Sanyukta Maharashtra Movement - became sort of rhetorical when it came to the present situation. Anchor: Pushpa Bhave (PB), art and literary critic, teacher and social activist. Was a young student during the movement. (Unfortunately the footage with her image has got spoilt. So we only have her audio). Participants: Prof. Sadanand Varde (SV): Samajwadi (socialist) leader, economist, former state minister of education. Was in the forefront of the movement. Pushpa Trilokekar (PT): Journalist. Was part of the daily newspaper Maratha, which was considered as the mouthpiece of the movement. Tara Reddy (TR): Communist, Member of CPI (communist party of India), also active in women’s movement. Was active participant of the movement. Himmatbhai Zaveri (HB): Samajwadi (socialist) leader. Also part of the Gujarati community, which was largely against the movement.Yes1101http://godaam.pad.ma/Vh59nwi2/info2009-03-03weekly1.0Cityscape: Street Children on Republic Dayhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vh59nwi2/poster.75.jpgIt was 52nd anniversary of Republic of India. The fifty two years of constitutional democracy, electoral politics, language based federalism and assertion of the nation state in public life we come to the iconic rendering of it. The nation warms up to the nation state and the metropolis makes a display of that. The authorized and prioritized citizens belonging to the middle class display their allegiance to the nation state by making the national flag a fashionable accessory. That provides some children of the lesser god an opportunity to make quick bucks. Long live the republic!Yes1571http://godaam.pad.ma/Vfscw0zb/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Sanyukta Maharashtra: Talk Show 1http://godaam.pad.ma/Vfscw0zb/poster.75.jpgThe Sanyukta Maharashtra Movement in 1950s, was the most important post-independent political movement in Bombay. The movement received active support from parties and groups whose ideological base ranged from radical left to the centerist. Popularly it is referred as a movement for assertion of the rights of majority language group - Marathi, and thus the inclusion of Bombay in the Maharashtra state is considered as the victory of the movement. But actually the historical period at which the movement picked up momentum was a junction between the existing vibrant trade union movement in the city and the beginning of identity politics in the region. We felt it is important to revisit the movement in order to understand the present social scenario. A discussion session was organized between various active members of the movement. Anchor: Pushpa Bhave (PB), art and literary critic, teacher and social activist. Was a young student during the movement. (Unfortunately the footage with her image has got spoilt. So we only have her audio). Participants: Prof. Sadanand Varde (SV): Samajwadi (socialist) leader, economist, former state minister of education. Was in the forefront of the movement. Pushpa Trilokeka(PT): Journalist. Was part of the daily newspaper Maratha, which was considered as the mouthpiece of the movement. Tara Reddy(TR): Communist, Member of CPI (communist party of India), also active in women's movement. Was active participant of the movement. Himmatbhai Zaveri(HB): Samajwadi (socialist) leader. Also part of the Gujarati community, which was largely against the movement.Yes866http://godaam.pad.ma/Vfs71v72/info2009-06-12weekly1.0Bar Dancers Speak: Testimonies at Public Hearing 4http://godaam.pad.ma/Vfs71v72/poster.75.jpgDancing at beer bars started in Maharashtra in the ‘70s. These bars are popularly called Dance Bars. They were recognisable by the heavy door at the entrance and by the uniformed bouncers. In order to increase the revenue from alcohol sale the govt. kept issuing licenses for the dance bars and over the three decades these bars sprouted all over the state and specially in Bombay. In 2005 the Govt. proposed a bill to ban dancing at the bars on the pretext of public morality. But by then around 75,000 women were employed in the unorganized sector of bar dancing. Most of these women were migrants from the other parts of the state, country and the subcontinent. The proposal sparked a huge public debate on the issues of morality, sexuality and livelihood. The home minister in the state govt. R R Patil took it as a mission and persuaded it till the end. The civil society got vertically divided on the issue. While all the right wing outfits supported the ban, some old school women’s organizations too were vocal against bar dancing based on the argument of commodifying women’s body. Some feminist groups and other social movements campaigned against the ban foregrounding issues of right to livelihood, validity of sex based works and against moral policing. Amidst the frenzy of campaign and counter campaign the govt. implemented the bill on 15th August 2005, on the occasion of independence day of India. The act which rendered 70,000 women jobless was passed unanimously in the assembly, where all members including the communist party and women from various political parties cheered and voted for the bill. In the history of Indian democracy there are a very few bills that was passes with such absolute agreement. There were many theories for the Govt.’s motive to ban dance bars. Some says that it was a ploy to decrease the sale of beer and boost the outreach of wine as the wine industry had just started picking up in Maharashtra and many senior politicians were stake holders in wine industry. Some other claim that it was a populist measure to woo the middle class voters. Another theory ascribed the operation as an exercise to evict smaller eateries and pubs to make space for big franchises and multi-purpose eateries. It could also be a simple act of gentrifying the city. Throughout this period the most active campaign against the ban was from the bar dancers union in collaboration with some feminists groups. Majlis legal centre filed a case challenging the ban in the Bombay high court on behalf of the bar dancers’ union. The Women’s Study dept., SNDT university along with Forum against oppression of women conducted a survey around the bars in the city and published the report in order to inform the general public. Five days after the ban three city organisations Majlis, Pukar (Gender and Space unit), and Point of View organized a public hearing on the issue at KC College suditorium. Ten eminent citizens from various walks of life were invited to serve in the panel of Jury and hear the live testimonies of the retrenched dancers. The auditorium of around 700 capacity was chock-o-block with 500 bar dancers, members of bar owners association, family members of the bar dancers, concerned citizens and a large media presence. In this event some bar dancers gave testimonies. Yes429http://godaam.pad.ma/Vejbx6uz/info2010-07-08weekly1.0Bar Dancer: Post Ban Performance at Ellora Bar (Live Music)http://godaam.pad.ma/Vejbx6uz/poster.75.jpgDancing in bars of Bombay and other parts of Maharashtra began in 1970s. It was a device to attract more customers to the bars and boost up sale of alcohol. The Govt. initially encouraged it in order to increase their revenue. The practice also turned out to be a modernized version of commercial dance. It provided livelihood to large number of women including many migrants from neighbouring states and countries. Many women from traditional courtesan, devdasi and other such commercial dancing communities had opted for dancing in bars. As the feudal patronage dried up dancing at bars, other than in marginal capacity in Bollywood cinemas, became the only option for these women. In 2005, the Maharashtra government proposed to ban dancing in the bars on the pretext of public morality. The proposal sparked wide public debate on issues of sexual morality, women’s rights and right to livelihood. The civil society got vertically divided on the issue. Even some conventional women’s organizations actively supported the ban on the issue of ‘degradation of women’s body’. Some feminist organizations along with the Bar Dancers’ union came together to mobilize support against the ban. Still the Govt. went ahead and implemented the ban on 15th August, independence day of India, rendering approximately 70,000 women jobless. Several feminist organizations, bar owners’ associations and others filed cases against the ban in the Bombay high court. Majlis legal centre filed the case on behalf of the Bar dancers’ union. This is a dance performance by a bar dancer during that time. The ban was already implemented and the bars were under strict surveillance. Hence the performance had to take place in the afternoon when the bar was closed. It was part of our effort to document the performances and testimonies of the bar dancers. In this event the bar dancer dances to live music played and sang by a group of male musicians, instead of recorded music. The presence of harmonium and table is reminiscent old mujra performances. Yes621http://godaam.pad.ma/Vsru9pbq/info2009-07-10weekly1.0Popular Cultures: Migrant Street Theatrehttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vsru9pbq/poster.75.jpgFor a quarter century now, a large number migrants from Uttar Pradesh have been staging a Ramleela on Film City Road, Goregaon, East, Bombay. This annual event, which is staged over ten days and more, during Dusshera, is very popular among the community living in the area. The performance happens just adjacent to the road. A stage is put up flanking the traffic. There is an enthusiastic participation in performance. As the organizer said, not on camera, he feels that if a young boy can face an audience on stage, he is well equipped to face Bombay. There is a sense of a community negotiating its way through a city. In 2003, the Shiv Sena mounted a series of attacks on North Indians. They claimed the bhaiyyas were flooding the city, and that eight lac of them were appearing for the Railway Recruitment Board Examination, for posts of gangmen and unskilled labour in the Railways. They attacked a Varanasi-Bombay train in Kalyan, beat up North Indians and forced some to take outgoing trains. Subsequently, during election time, the same party tried to woo the North Indians in many Bombay pockets where they are in majority. In this context, too, the tradition of enacting Ramleelas, also becomes an occasion for creating links with political parties, and a way for a community to assert its presence in Bombay, and demand a kind of recognition and patronage from mainstream parties.Yes932http://godaam.pad.ma/Vhm508zb/info2009-06-12weekly1.0Bar Dancers Speak: Testimonies at Public Hearing 2http://godaam.pad.ma/Vhm508zb/poster.75.jpgDancing at beer bars started in Maharashtra in the ‘70s. These bars are popularly called Dance Bars. They were recognisable by the heavy door at the entrance and by the uniformed bouncers. In order to increase the revenue from alcohol sale the govt. kept issuing licenses for the dance bars and over the three decades these bars sprouted all over the state and specially in Bombay. In 2005 the Govt. proposed a bill to ban dancing at the bars on the pretext of public morality. But by then around 75,000 women were employed in the unorganized sector of bar dancing. Most of these women were migrants from the other parts of the state, country and the subcontinent. The proposal sparked a huge public debate on the issues of morality, sexuality and livelihood. The home minister in the state govt. R R Patil took it as a mission and persuaded it till the end. The civil society got vertically divided on the issue. While all the right wing outfits supported the ban, some old school women’s organizations too were vocal against bar dancing based on the argument of commodifying women’s body. Some feminist groups and other social movements campaigned against the ban foregrounding issues of right to livelihood, validity of sex based works and against moral policing. Amidst the frenzy of campaign and counter campaign the govt. implemented the bill on the midnight of 15th August 2005, the independence day of India. The act which rendered 70,000 women jobless was passed unanimously in the assembly, where all members including the communist party and women from various political parties cheered and voted for the bill. In the history of Indian democracy there are a very few bills that was passes with such absolute agreement. There were many theories for the Govt.’s motive to ban dance bars. Some says that it was a ploy to decrease the sale of beer and boost the outreach of wine as the wine industry had just started picking up in Maharashtra and many senior politicians were stake holders in wine industry. Some other claim that it was a populist measure to woo the middle class voters. Another theory ascribed the operation as an exercise to evict smaller eateries and pubs to make space for big franchises and multi-purpose eateries. It could also be a simple act of gentrifying the city. Throughout this period the most active campaign against the ban was from the bar dancers union in collaboration with some feminists groups. Majlis legal centre filed a case challenging the ban in the Bombay high court on behalf of the bar dancers’ union. There were also other petitions from the Bar owners’ association, women’s groups and others. The Women’s Study dept., SNDT university along with Forum against oppression of women conducted a survey around the bars in the city and published the report in order to inform the general public. The media too covered the issue quite extensively. On 12th April 2006 the Bombay High Court struck down the ban as unconstitutional. The Govt. appealed to the Supreme Court and thus affectively kept the bar closed inspite of the High court order. Presently the case is subjudiced. Still the initial win in the High Court in the face of such heightened morality campaign meant a lot. In the intermediary period of the implementation of the ban and the High Court judgement, three city organizations, three city organisations Majlis, Pukar (Gender and Space unit), and Point of View organized a public hearing on the issue at KC College suditorium. Ten eminent citizens from various walks of life were invited to serve in the panel of Jury and hear the live testimonies of the retrenched dancers. The auditorium of around 700 capacity was chock-o-block with 500 bar dancers, members of bar owners association, family members of the bar dancers, concerned citizens and a large media presence. In this event some bar dancers gave testimonies. Yes431http://godaam.pad.ma/Vtky2iee/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Sanyukta Maharashtra: Talk Show 4http://godaam.pad.ma/Vtky2iee/poster.75.jpgThe Sanyukta Maharashtra Movement in 1950s, was the most important post-independent political movement in Bombay. The movement received active support from parties and groups whose ideological base ranged from radical left to the centerist. Popularly it is referred as a movement for assertion of the rights of majority language group - Marathi, and thus the inclusion of Bombay in the Maharashtra state is considered as the victory of the movement. But actually the historical period at which the movement picked up momentum was a junction between the existing vibrant trade union movement in the city and the beginning of identity politics in the region. We felt it is important to revisit the movement in order to understand the present social scenario. A discussion session was organized between various active members of the movement. Though initially the discussion centred around the overwhelming reach of the movement, by this time it moved to the issues of post-colonial patterns in our public life.Yes1057http://godaam.pad.ma/Vtjoavt1/info2009-06-15weekly1.0Roadside Shrines: BMC Demolition Drivehttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vtjoavt1/poster.75.jpgA woman named Jaya Dhure runs her late husband's roadside shrine which was razed recently by the govt. officials despite having the requisite paperwork. The locals & passersby rally around her to let the shrine continue to exist. The location of the shrine at the cusp of the market behind and the road in front offers a streetscape around the broken shrine shows the accessibility of the temple which is inherently convenient for passersby and devotees. despite have the paperwork, officials are finicky and end up using these local pockets of activity sometimes to even do nothing more than make an example of, be it the destruction of the shrine marking it as a supposed illegal structure, or the backing of it to for legitimization and personal gain. Towards late 2003, the BMC, acting under High Court Orders, started a massive drive to clear illegal road side shrines. The court order was passed as a consequence of a Public Interest Litigation filed by a citizen, Mr. Bhagwan Raiyani. There were various allegations and various protests mounted from all sides. There were city planning 'experts' who felt the shrines were a obstruction to public thoroughfare. There were those who felt that some shrines had become a site for the outbreak of violence during the 1992-1993 riots. There were politicians and religious interests who wanted to defend the shrines. There were newspaper stories of policemen feeling unhappy with the demolition. And shrine 'owners' or custodians, and others who frequented the shrines, who protested the demolition.Yes498http://godaam.pad.ma/Vha20aru/info2009-06-12weekly1.0Bar Dancers Speak: Testimonies at Public Hearing 5http://godaam.pad.ma/Vha20aru/poster.75.jpgDancing at beer bars started in Maharashtra in the ‘70s. These bars are popularly called Dance Bars. They were recognisable by the heavy door at the entrance and by the uniformed bouncers. In order to increase the revenue from alcohol sale the govt. kept issuing licenses for the dance bars and over the three decades these bars sprouted all over the state and specially in Bombay. In 2005 the Govt. proposed a bill to ban dancing at the bars on the pretext of public morality. But by then around 75,000 women were employed in the unorganized sector of bar dancing. Most of these women were migrants from the other parts of the state, country and the subcontinent. The proposal sparked a huge public debate on the issues of morality, sexuality and livelihood. The home minister in the state govt. R R Patil took it as a mission and persuaded it till the end. The civil society got vertically divided on the issue. While all the right wing outfits supported the ban, some old school women’s organizations too were vocal against bar dancing based on the argument of commodifying women’s body. Some feminist groups and other social movements campaigned against the ban foregrounding issues of right to livelihood, validity of sex based works and against moral policing. Amidst the frenzy of campaign and counter campaign the govt. implemented the bill on 15th August 2005, on the occasion of independence day of India. The act which rendered 70,000 women jobless was passed unanimously in the assembly, where all members including the communist party and women from various political parties cheered and voted for the bill. In the history of Indian democracy there are a very few bills that was passes with such absolute agreement. There were many theories for the Govt.’s motive to ban dance bars. Some says that it was a ploy to decrease the sale of beer and boost the outreach of wine as the wine industry had just started picking up in Maharashtra and many senior politicians were stake holders in wine industry. Some other claim that it was a populist measure to woo the middle class voters. Another theory ascribed the operation as an exercise to evict smaller eateries and pubs to make space for big franchises and multi-purpose eateries. It could also be a simple act of gentrifying the city. Throughout this period the most active campaign against the ban was from the bar dancers union in collaboration with some feminists groups. Majlis legal centre filed a case challenging the ban in the Bombay high court on behalf of the bar dancers’ union. The Women’s Study dept., SNDT university along with Forum against oppression of women conducted a survey around the bars in the city and published the report in order to inform the general public. Five days after the ban three city organisations Majlis, Pukar (Gender and Space unit), and Point of View organized a public hearing on the issue at KC College suditorium. Ten eminent citizens from various walks of life were invited to serve in the panel of Jury and hear the live testimonies of the retrenched dancers. The auditorium of around 700 capacity was chock-o-block with 500 bar dancers, members of bar owners association, family members of the bar dancers, concerned citizens and a large media presence. In this event some bar dancers gave testimonies. Yes558http://godaam.pad.ma/Vg981rnm/info2009-06-12weekly1.0Bar Dancers Case: Television Interview with Manjit Singhhttp://godaam.pad.ma/Vg981rnm/poster.75.jpgDancing at beer bars started in Maharashtra in the ‘70s. These bars are popularly called Dance Bars. They were recognisable by the heavy door at the entrance and by the uniformed bouncers. In order to increase the revenue from alcohol sale the govt. kept issuing licenses for the dance bars and over the three decades these bars sprouted all over the state and specially in Bombay. In 2005 the Govt. proposed a bill to ban dancing at the bars on the pretext of public morality. But by then around 75,000 women were employed in the unorganized sector of bar dancing. Most of these women were migrants from the other parts of the state, country and the subcontinent. The proposal sparked a huge public debate on the issues of morality, sexuality and livelihood. The home minister in the state govt. R R Patil took it as a mission and persuaded it till the end. The civil society got vertically divided on the issue. While all the right wing outfits supported the ban, some old school women’s organizations too were vocal against bar dancing based on the argument of commodifying women’s body. Some feminist groups and other social movements campaigned against the ban foregrounding issues of right to livelihood, validity of sex based works and against moral policing. The media too got its share by producing substantial amount of programme around the debate. There were many theories for the Govt.’s motive to ban dance bars. Some says that it was a ploy to decrease the sale of beer and boost the outreach of wine as the wine industry had just started picking up in Maharashtra and many senior politicians were stake holders in wine industry. Some other claim that it was a populist measure to woo the middle class voters. Another theory ascribed the operation as an exercise to evict smaller eateries and pubs to make space for big franchises and multi-purpose eateries. It could also be a simple act of gentrifying the city. Amidst the frenzy of campaign and counter campaign the govt. implemented the bill on the midnight of 15th August 2005, the independence day of India. In the campaign against the ban most vocal were two organizations – Bar owners association and Bar dancers union. Both these organizes quickly consolidated their base in order to make the protest campaign substantial. They were public meetings, press conferences, press statement, rallies and television interviews. This event is a television interview of Manjit Singh, the president of the bar owners association at the peak of the campaign. His apparent confidence in this interview proves that initially they were very hopeful to win the battle. But later things detoriated fast as R R Patil, the home minister in the state cabinet took up the issue like a mission. Mr. Manjit Singh was persecuted, harassed and jailed many times by the state. But this interview was taken at the beginning of the season. Yes1300