Election-wise and vote ready

It is surely not the first time that as a voter, we have been exposed to media that reeks of political manifestos, propagandas and interest, but surely it is the first time where we fail to identify what is real, what is fake, what is trustworthy and what is not. Quite interestingly, media and politics have wrapped around each other so tight that its quite difficult to now identify where it all starts and where it ends. Television shows are now full of panel discussions abundant with mud-slinging and over-lapping of conversations with a jury styled journalist deciding who is right and who is wrong with little room for freedom of expression. The last time I heard radio was in the bus where there were ads designed to make the people question the policies and regular conversations without exactly telling people the outcome of each policy and hovering in whataboutery. Trolls and memes have taken over the social media and there hardly goes a scan in the social media where we do not see two people arguing over a political party, hell bent on proving their point to the large number of invisible audience who very quietly read the content and enjoy the public banter on a social forum. Even films are mostly biopic that represents a particular leader from a certain perspective designed to make the character look acceptable and lovable. What the real matter now is how media literate are we to consume media that banks heavily on content generated by the political parties? Are the people really matured to understand or segregate truth from fabricated ideas or is the country that is heavily dependent on social media thinking twice before forwarding a fake on half truth to others. These issues of misguided information are now circulating across and nothing remains completely aloof from politics. Last year alone there were close to 300 deaths resulting from fake social media messages and this year alone 100 messages are doing the networks every day that had little or no element of truth. Merely raising awareness on voting will not solve the issues of the largest democracies, but there should be series of workshops that will let people understand how to choose content over misinformation. Should there be not regulations on news presenters present unbiased stories or how headlines do not reflect opinion but objectivity. In a nation of a million voters, difference of choice is but obvious but what is important is how to identify whether the leader that promises to fulfil certain objectives are exactly what the voter is looking for. Large scale campaigns on media literacy in all the forms, print, television, radio, social media and even films is the need of the hour. This off course could be carried out by independent bodies whose primary objective should be to let people exercise their voting rights judiciously and not simply be swayed by appeals or agendas. Voting is a right and responsibility but voting responsibly should be the lookout for all members of the society For feedback mail at anupalahkar@gmail.com

Media and animal rights

“The ferocious leopard was hiding, waiting to pounce on the unsuspecting man when he went to his garage to park his car. After the man saw the leopard, he immediately raised an alarm which led 15 people to march ahead equipped with weapons and rods. They dragged the beast out of the garage and showered him with brick bats. Someone called the forest department and they took the half dead leopard to the veterinary where he was declared dead,” stated the television journalist dramatically while recounting the horror of the leopard attack. As I try to spot the ‘beast’ amidst the crowd, I see a tired animal on its guard trying to find a way out of this hovering crowd. The recent stories of the marauding elephants plundering human habitats, storming into houses or crushing agricultural crops are just one side of the story. Most stories overlook the seriousness of man elephant conflict that has a long standing impact and often dwell on drama and repetitive narrative pertaining to animal ferocity. The encroachment of the animal corridors as well as the absence of protected fringe areas during natural disasters like floods find little mention in the news channel with no follow-ups. It is not always the leopard who is ferocious, hiding and waiting to pounce on the most unsuspecting victims as flashed across the news channels but rather the human habitats that have veered into their territory. The camera that tilts the angle on the animal to incite the ferocity of the lonesome tiger or the leopard is often assisted by dramatic music implying that the wild is waiting to conquer human habitats. The killing of the wild elephants through electrocution of the arrogant trains that slide past the elephant corridors brutally do not really get as much of coverage and what we have is only bewildered journo occasionally confusing a leopard between a tiger, wild cat or members of cat family In an interview noted environmentalist, three time green Oscar winner and a regular activist of animal rights Dr Mike Pandey states that, “The media has very limited knowledge on animals and ecological balance, hence their presentations are often half baked. There should be sensitisation on the different breeds, habitat and lifestyle of the animals so that the way they present does not belittle the safety of the animals.” Sadly the grim reality is quite the contrary. Most of the natural habitats of these wild animals have been encroached upon and these wild animals are pushed and bullied to survive in small swathes of protected areas which are fast losing their entity every decade. These uncomfortable truths are often sugar coated and very rarely spoken off. Quite recently when evicted forest land was cleared off, there were more stories of human interest and less stories of animal interest that were reflected upon. Notwithstanding the interest of the displaced, often the interest of the wildlife and forests are blanketed with political agenda. An animal activist of the state had recently stated, “If only animals could vote they would have been safe.” This statement echo’s the flaws in the existing forest laws and the recent softening While figures of the wild life records are hardly impressive and are close to being pessimistic, the current media can take up issues of wildlife and study the changing climate and environment condition bfore leding a comment to it. Quite interestingly, the recent extinction of the last male white rhino, Sudan has triggered global interest in wildlife conservation and one can only hope that the media will showcase similar sobriety in coverage of the wildlife issues that requires much attention.Here the African adage clearly applies which states “Until the lion tells his side of the story, the tale of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.”

When the tiny fingers are taught to write

Pre-school wasn't easy for me and I have vague memories of disdain for my pre-school teachers whose only job, as it appeared to me was to ask us to sit in our places, make no noise and echo the sounds of the alphabets in unison that were chanted out by the stern looking teachers. Off course their task was not easy, but for God's sake, how do you expect us the little spirited souls to sit in one place and do nothing. Just days ago we would wander under the sun, free and happy unaware of the societal burdens of expectations, success and comparisons. But that phase got over and so did my tears of resistance and we were chess-boarded into a rat race of marks, results and perceived notion of success. I knew I was an unhappy toddler in school not willing to learn and still not willing to make friends. After all my friends were my fictitious characters in my mind who would talk to me the way I wanted them to.Eventually I was promoted to a new school where I made peace with my inner conflicts and decided to give in to the frames of curriculum and school pressure but I never quite excelled at it and was a misfit all throughout. As adulthood swept over the years of innocence, motherhood followed with restlessness and undying love and concern. When I first held the quivering little one in my hands and felt his determined heartbeat behind the incessant wailing, I decided that my child would live free and nothing should ever tell him that he needs to jump into the race for success. Little did I realise that those tiny fingers that held me with firmness each time I fed him my milk would soon be led to the gates of a school that was more than willing to make him a square peg in a square hole. I could almost feel his heartbeat as we dressed him up in his uniform and equipped him with books. He wasn't sure what he was about to embark on, but the moment I let go of his tiny fingers to get inside the brightly colored yet a small room, his muscles became tensed and I felt the same tug of war inside his heart as I had experienced three decades back. Nothing changed, except for the fact that this time I was the one who was pushing him to get in and the last time I was pushed in to a new world. The little one screamed and clutched on to me like his life depended on it. His doleful eyes look at me questioningly and he wasn't sure what led me take this step. Uprooted him from his happy mirthful days and unquestioning self we were about to dictate his free will to cater to the demands of the society. As he struggles to write his alphabets with each passing day, I try to instill in him the interest to water theplants, find pleasures in the little things of life and question the strict norms that break and mutilate our individuality to fit into the struggles of every man who fails to learn that material acquisition is not the only road to happiness

Of giggling times and sunny days

“Just a few more days and two more subjects to go and then and then you can relax, watch TV , play with the neighbours as much as you want to”, Ma would announce . I and my brother would then start visualizing how the week after these gruelling examinations days would be and how soon we could afford to wake up late, go where we want to and race to the TV to grab a look at our favourite programmes most importantly the Sundays kid’s shows and forget we ever had books to torment us. Then off course, the preeminent part would be making a customary trip to all of our cousin’s place one after one, who would eagerly anticipate our arrival and fetch the latest blockbuster movie cassettes which was to be religiously watched together. Yes, it was precisely a decade and a half ago, when the heat of the summers did not really perturb us as they do now. It never mattered how humid it was as long as we could run around ‘aitas’ soft and damp playground and pick up flowers under the bokul tree and constantly keep our ears on the guard to identify a motor car’s sound which would mean that some of our siblings had just made their entry in the airy house full of places to run around and hide. It never mattered how we dressed and taking ‘hand me downs’ from out cousins were something that we cherished. Celebrating new years together or pulling each other’s leg was all too playful and very often a very regular joke from someone or a silly mistake we would leave us in a fit of laughter where we would be gasping for breathe. Yes , it was summers, the time to relax and let go of our performances in the first halves of the year. While ‘aita’ would be on her toes to see if we were all safe after running round and round the house playing hide and seek, our parents would discuss our messy wardrobes and irritating habits, and we still managed to promise each other plans of hide out together. Idolising and seeking attention from the elder ones and later enacting popular soaps with overdose of drama, hogging over the delectable pickles left out in the sun to dry and then going for a little snack drive, laced with a little exaggerated stories of our elders were the unadulterated pleasures untouched by the names of names of big cities, brands, social networks or expenses. When we enjoyed all the weddings we hardly realised that members of the family were moving out one by one. We were young and we imagined utopia with each other. This summer it suddenly felt like my first summer where the solace the AC’s and the happier moments were the quite sophisticated dinners outside. Agreed summers are getting unbearable but not simple because of the melting glaciers or the rising temperatures but also because of the lost paradise found under the gleaming sun of yesteryears.

The fall of the Indian Television

The article was published in The Assam Tribune, ‘My Space’, on 31^st July, 2011

Written By Anupa Lahkar

While we were growing up, our elders would always say “Work hard, imbibe talents and do your duties well, if you want to be very famous in life and who knows people may even one day see your pictures in newspapers and television for all the good reasons”. Little did they discern that television would one day become a den of the notorious lot, the who’s who of the crime world and a bunch of struggling actors or wannabes baptized with foul mouth and outrageous dressing sense.

Television has now become simply the podium of many who have taken the entire audio visual experience to a new low. Who can ever forget the time when veteran actor Aalok Nath would fight for strong family ties in ‘Buniyaad’, or Ashok Kumar summarizing the tale of a family and Indian values in ‘Humlog’, or for that matter the beautiful true to life stories of ‘Mitti ke Rang’. I still get a the high whenever I watch reruns episodes of Byomkesh Bakshi, where the detective would come up with dexterous ways of nabbing the criminal and bring out the darker personality of the most placid looking person. It was a golden era and my generation was fortunate to be a part of it.

Quite overwhelmingly television today is all about washing your, your fiance’s , your wife’s or your family’s dirty linen in public. And not just wash, but scream and sell your concocted private life for other’s entertainment.

Programmes, where a very perplexed person conducts loyalty test on his/her would be and then get ready with a pair of chappals to hit it right on the cheating better half’s face, all in the view of the camera is definitely quite tasteless.

Well, if that’s not meaty enough, television plummets its sense of ethics to several notches down, they bring in two extremely struggling, fame crazy, foul mouthed couples and lock them up for people to see their primal instincts come to the fore. Primal or not, the instincts to be on the camera is definitely evident.

What more, they even make families meet each other on well furnished studios and allow them to discuss ‘none of anyone’s business’ love lives of their spoilt wards on the set. If you’re jobless enough you can use the programme as a beeper because the beeping never stops (in an attempt to mute slangs being exchanged by their wards).

It is not ‘reality’ but ‘profanity’ that television channels are busy broadcasting, all in the lust of TRP’s.

Sadly our kids will probably never have the luck to boast about watching ‘Mahabharat’ together with the whole nation, they will never have common tunes of ‘Duck tales’, ‘Mowgli’ or ‘Shaktiman’ to hum and feel nostalgic. They might have their own take on television but can they ever think of life as a beautiful feeling completely blind to those desperate attention grabbers.

Just like movie clubs can we not have television clubs which would also feature stories, of valour, courage, heroism and honesty? Or the new generation will grow up with the feeling that everyone out there is a cheat trying to accentuate the blatant seven deadly sins.

 I guess every age has its own set of likes and dislikes and it overgrows those feelings always. Well I don’t really think that a set of prudish programmes can be beneficial for now but definitely television must leave us with a better taste rather than the bitter dose of nonstop nonsense.

dancing with the TRP's

Switch on the idiot box at night and what you are most likely to see is either dance maestro Saroj Khan giving a tip or two on the thumkas or the dhak dhak girl Madhuri Dixit performing her heart throbbing numbers. Chances are that you will also spot leggy beauty Malaika Arora Khan throwing a kiss at the dancers or even the once upon a time disco icon Mithun Da repeating his phrase’ kya baat’ at a good performance. Javed Jaffrey, Urmila Matonkar, Remo Fernandez, Gita …. and apparently all the dancing gurus are here to offer their best and many dancing stars are created, cajoled and hyped almost every other day.
Television as we can see is dancing away with the shooting TRP’s at every channel while dance fever seems to have gripped the new generation.
Barely, a few years ago knowledge of a classical dance was considered highly valuable and almost every class in every school had their own set of classical dancers ready to perform at every function. This now seems to be undergoing a massive transition and the craze for classical dance like Bharat Natyam, Odissi, Kathak and Satriya is slowly being overshadowed by the popularity of this dancing variations like hip hop, locking and popping, jive, salsa, cha cha,tango amongst other varieties. What may seem like a fever has its own impact.
Poonam Karamchandani, owner of the dance school Twinkle Toes in the city, who has received training on Bollywood fusion, Hip Hop from choreographer Ganesh Acharya andSalsa and Cha Cha from the very Sandip Soparkarr in the tinsel town Mumbai, claims that the dance fever that has gripped the people of the city is definitely here to stay.
Poonam who trains her students on dance forms like Rock n Roll, Jazz, Cha cha, Salsa , Foxtrot , Hip Hop and Bollywood fusion claims that in the last few years the demand for learning this variations of dance forms has increased drastically, thanks to the television shows.
“The last two to three years post the invasion of dance reality shows in television, many students approach me for training in various dance forms. The student age group varies ranges from 3 years to even 55 years. ,” informed Poonam.
She further informed that even married women approach her for such classes, some for the love of it while some simply want to remain fit. And not surprisingly the demand for learning these dances increases especially during occasions like new year, valentine’s day and during marriage season and many little ones simply want to shake a leg or two in some of the popular Bollywood numbers.
Antita Sharma, a trained Satriya and Odissi dancer who runs her own dance class called Abhinay Dance Academy in New Guwahati claims that the current fascinations for the western forms of dance is a result of media hype.
“Students now want quick fame and early access to the stage. Even western classical variety is not easy. But the Indian Television has given these modern dance forms extra attention ,” says Sharma.
The dancer also says that the Indian Television should air shows on the classical Indian variety of dance which will generate awareness amongst the new generation and would be instrumental for a changed outlook on these pure dance variety.
The classical dancer also believes that unlike the Bollywood numbers knowledge of the classical dance form requires dedication and sincerity leading to a disciplined lifestyle.
Though many say that the craze for Bollywood numbers and the decreasing interest of the young ones in the classical dance form is nothing but just a passing phrase, others say that despite everything this is not a healthy trend. Illora Bora a trained dancer in one of the oldest classical dance form, Bharat Natyam claims that despite the apparent hype over contemporary dance numbers, nothing is possibly without a base in the classical dance form.
“Classical dance is the fundamental dance form. While the status of Hip hop and other contemporary variety of dance in India is quite unstable,” says Illora Bora.
Bora who also imparts training in classical dance in Guwahati says that classical dance like Bharat Natyam which is derived from Natya Shastras has an art of storytelling done with the usage of fine expressions and mudras which have a certain stature of their own.
Ironically the number of young children wanting to learn these dance form has decreased in the recent years. The reasons could be many but one thing is obvious that like instant noodles everyone wants to be trained instantly. Despite criticism lurched at these reality shows for encouraging other style forms and ignoring the classical form, dancing experts state that the path towards these shows is also not a mere cake walk.
Poonam Karmchandani clearly points out, “ To reach the level of these reality shows is not as easy as it may appear. For this one needs to have at least 12 months of rigorous training and many students due to pressure of studies and other problems are unable to do so,” adds Poonam .
Many of Poonam’s students have won accolades in the state for their dancing skills but as far as these shows are concerned only some who have taken part in the preliminary rounds but have not made it to the main stage so far.

Pooja agarwal who has her own dance class in Guwahati says, “Times are changing and everyday youngs girls and boys come to me to learn latest dance numbers. Though it’s getting quite demanding, I have to teach them salsa, contemporary and even hip hop which are basically the result of the modern reality shows aired on TV.”
The dancer who has been specially trained in these variety in Mumbai claims that many simply want a crash course and want to learn everything in just a few week’s time.Few years ago she had 30 students now she has more than a hundred .
“They see young dancers being trained by choreographers in a few days and coming up with a new dance form every week. They think it is easy, though it is not,” said Pooja.
Most dancers are shot to instant fame after a few episodes and many earn appreciation from the leading stalwarts in Bollywood. Though the longevity of the fame is not quite clear as every day the number of new talents emerge at every show.
As the new generatiosn fixation with instant fame and faster performance increases everyday the mudras are slowly replaced by the hip hop while the ragas are being replaced by regae. Quite surprisingly many classical dance schools have added new wings to their classes and promise to provide their students with workshops on the modern variety.
Despite this some are adamant that all is well and despite the sudden craze in these modern dances, the purity and exceptionally of the classical variety is unbeatable and will continue to have it sown set of interested students who love art and dance in its purest form.

Anupa Lahkar

The article was published on the weekend chronicle

colours to boost Assam's Economy

Natural dye: colours to boost economy
Anupa Lahkar
Guwahati, May 8

While organic colours and natural dyes have become the in-thing for the sartorial lot, in terms of merchandising, a number of entrepreneurs in the State have realised that the North Eastern region is the home to a number of products which emanate from a major source of natural dyes and they could reap maximum benefit through its production and sale in the international market.
Chandan Keshav, an entrepreneur in the Boko area of the Kamrup rural district, who has been actively involved in the production of natural dye for the last one year claims that the many trees and their bi products growing in the North Eastern region can be a major source of natural dye and organic food colour.
Marketing his products to Canada based brand MAIWA and US based brand Big Jenny and a number of other apparel brands in the country, Keshav claims that this is one industry with massive potential for growth in the future.
“Around a hundred organic products in this region can be used to produce natural dye or organic food colour which are healthy and have tremendous demand in the global market,” added Keshab.
Natural dye has demand in overseas market
Currently around 30 youths are involved in this organic colour production which finds a good market in countries like France and Canada, and Keshav claims that this is just the beginning. “The natural dye that we produce is in great demand and every month we produce tonnes of colour which finds a ready market both in the local as well as in the international market.”
Despite low level awareness about the production and usage of natural dyes in Assam and also in India, it is noteworthy that a Canada based company MAIWA has shown keen interest in the natural dye production in the North Eastern region and has also taken initiative to train a number of people in this organic colour production which could lead to a foundation for the dye market.
According to dyeing experts many colours of dye can be derived from some of the basic commodities like jackfruit which gives bright yellow and also green tinge, marigold flower which gives a yellow tinge, sendur tree which is the source of red colour and mora tenga which gives a rich magenta shade.
Natural dye for making antiseptic garments
Noteworthy among other varieties are the special antiseptic garments which are processed with the help of neem or marigold. “These varieties of garments have their antiseptic element for a span of six months and are usually bought by countries abroad where these garments are used for babies or even expecting mothers. Also we export garment sprayed with aloe vera extracts for the young ones,” informed the entrepreneur.
What has also become evident is that the global market has decided to set up workshops in different parts of the region in order to create awareness about the cultivation, production as well as the applicability of natural dye. A workshop is likely to take place in the beginning of next year where Michel Garcia from France will display his expertise in producing natural colour. Garcia is also the founder of Couleur Garance and of the Botanical Garden of Dye Plants set in the Château de Lauris, with a collection of more than 350 natural dye plants.
“Right now we are concentrating on the cultivation of Annato which is a derivative of the achiote trees and used to produce food colouring and also as flavour. Currently the world is experiencing a shortage of 4,000 tonnes of natural dye in the international market. We have planted more than one lakh saplings and in a span of a few years now we plan to go for massive production,” claimed Keshav.
With ambitious plans set for the future with massive production of reetha, annato and organic cotton in the future, the entrepreneur is confident that the industry is definitely here to stay.
(The story was published in the newspaper Eastern Cjhronicle)