Saturday, June 29, 2013
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.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
The fall of the Indian Television
The article was published in The Assam Tribune, ‘My Space’, on 31st 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.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
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
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
Sunday, May 9, 2010
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)
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)
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Black Panthers: No census, more ferocity, yet non-priority
Anupa Lahkar
Guwahati, February 17: Wildlife experts are worried that with no census ever conducted on black panthers, or for that matter, even leopards in Assam, the population of this “secretive and the smallest of the big cats” – assumed to be dwindling now – might not be known to environmentalists for in-depth research.
“How can we know how many black panthers are there in the state when we do not even have the figures for the overall leopard population?”, questioned wildlife biologist Feroz Ahmed, who has done a study on leopard–human conflict in Assam.
Black panthers belong to the leopard family and are more ferocious than tigers. “It’s a secretive animal which sleeps during the daytime, mostly on treetops, and hunts during the night. Many a time, they carry their kill – rabbits, dogs, calves, rats and the like - to treetops and tend to eat leisurely”, Ahmed, who is associated with the wildlife NGO, Aaranyak, said.
“A survey of leopards in Assam – which will also cover black panthers – is urgently required. However, the state forest department has not done anything in this regard, perhaps because it a non-priority animal for them compared to tigers and rhinos”, the wildlife expert observed. “I believe the forest department does not have the resources to carry out such an exercise, as most of their staff are busy with anti-poaching activities.”
Ahmed attributes the recent incidents of black panthers straying into human settlements due to a lack of prey base and decreasing forest cover.
A female black panther was rescued from the Ethal Tea Estate in Maijan of Dibrugarh district last year and later shifted to the Assam State Zoo Cum Botanical Garden on December 31. She will now have company, with another adult male panther rescued on January 3 this year from Kaheng tea estate getting shifted to the zoo on Tuesday.
“For the first time, we have a black panther pair in the zoo and we are quite excited about it,” said Narayan Mahanta, Divisional Forest Officer in charge of the zoo. He added that in order to increase the population of this rare species, the zoo authorities are planning to go for captive breeding between the two black panthers.
A worried Ahmed, on the other hand, informed that during the last five years, more than 50 leopards were killed because of leopard-human conflict. 13 of these were killed last year in Jorhat district alone.
“These animals generally sneak into small forests and tea gardens, which act as a cover for them, and they prey on the domestic animals of tea labourers,” added Ahmed.
(The story was published in the newspaper eastern chronicle)
Guwahati, February 17: Wildlife experts are worried that with no census ever conducted on black panthers, or for that matter, even leopards in Assam, the population of this “secretive and the smallest of the big cats” – assumed to be dwindling now – might not be known to environmentalists for in-depth research.
“How can we know how many black panthers are there in the state when we do not even have the figures for the overall leopard population?”, questioned wildlife biologist Feroz Ahmed, who has done a study on leopard–human conflict in Assam.
Black panthers belong to the leopard family and are more ferocious than tigers. “It’s a secretive animal which sleeps during the daytime, mostly on treetops, and hunts during the night. Many a time, they carry their kill – rabbits, dogs, calves, rats and the like - to treetops and tend to eat leisurely”, Ahmed, who is associated with the wildlife NGO, Aaranyak, said.
“A survey of leopards in Assam – which will also cover black panthers – is urgently required. However, the state forest department has not done anything in this regard, perhaps because it a non-priority animal for them compared to tigers and rhinos”, the wildlife expert observed. “I believe the forest department does not have the resources to carry out such an exercise, as most of their staff are busy with anti-poaching activities.”
Ahmed attributes the recent incidents of black panthers straying into human settlements due to a lack of prey base and decreasing forest cover.
A female black panther was rescued from the Ethal Tea Estate in Maijan of Dibrugarh district last year and later shifted to the Assam State Zoo Cum Botanical Garden on December 31. She will now have company, with another adult male panther rescued on January 3 this year from Kaheng tea estate getting shifted to the zoo on Tuesday.
“For the first time, we have a black panther pair in the zoo and we are quite excited about it,” said Narayan Mahanta, Divisional Forest Officer in charge of the zoo. He added that in order to increase the population of this rare species, the zoo authorities are planning to go for captive breeding between the two black panthers.
A worried Ahmed, on the other hand, informed that during the last five years, more than 50 leopards were killed because of leopard-human conflict. 13 of these were killed last year in Jorhat district alone.
“These animals generally sneak into small forests and tea gardens, which act as a cover for them, and they prey on the domestic animals of tea labourers,” added Ahmed.
(The story was published in the newspaper eastern chronicle)
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Cartoons For Climate Change
While a lecture on some serious issue can probably influence the minds of some, humourous pictorial illustrations of those in power or mocking the policy of the policy makers can surely grab the interest of innumerable and make them sit up and take a serious note on the situation.
Martin Rowson, renowned cartoonist of The Guardian newspaper, United Kingdom who has to his credit millions of illustrations and cartoons with a satirical take at politics and serious social issues spoke on the power of cartoons and the impact that these caricatures can create on human mind in a two day workshop on ‘Cartoons for Climate’ organized by British Council in collaboration with the Regional Science Centre, Guwahati.
Terming cartoons as a ‘sugar coated bitter pill’, Rowson stressed on the seriousness of global warming and said that awareness is the most important thing in this moment of crisis.
Involved in the art of cartoon making for the past 27 years, Rowson’s work appeared regularly in The Guardian, The Daily Mirror, The Independent on Sunday, The Times, The Scotsman, The Spectator, The Morning Star and many other papers and magazines.
Chairman of the British Cartoonists' Association he has won several awards, including the prestigious Premio di Satiri di Forte dei Marma's International Satire Award he has authored a number of books and is currently working on a comic book version of Swift's Gulliver's Travels.
Around 25 interested participants inclusive of students, artists and media persons attended the workshop and works of other cartoonist featuring the issue of global warming were displayed inside the Regional Science Centre.
In order to encourage students to inculcate the art of cartoon making for climate change, an all India competition on 'Interpretation of climate change in cartoon' was organised by the British Council and Ken Sprague Fund UK in October 2009 which was also judged by Rowson.
(This story was published in teh newspaper Eastern Chronicle)
Martin Rowson, renowned cartoonist of The Guardian newspaper, United Kingdom who has to his credit millions of illustrations and cartoons with a satirical take at politics and serious social issues spoke on the power of cartoons and the impact that these caricatures can create on human mind in a two day workshop on ‘Cartoons for Climate’ organized by British Council in collaboration with the Regional Science Centre, Guwahati.
Terming cartoons as a ‘sugar coated bitter pill’, Rowson stressed on the seriousness of global warming and said that awareness is the most important thing in this moment of crisis.
Involved in the art of cartoon making for the past 27 years, Rowson’s work appeared regularly in The Guardian, The Daily Mirror, The Independent on Sunday, The Times, The Scotsman, The Spectator, The Morning Star and many other papers and magazines.
Chairman of the British Cartoonists' Association he has won several awards, including the prestigious Premio di Satiri di Forte dei Marma's International Satire Award he has authored a number of books and is currently working on a comic book version of Swift's Gulliver's Travels.
Around 25 interested participants inclusive of students, artists and media persons attended the workshop and works of other cartoonist featuring the issue of global warming were displayed inside the Regional Science Centre.
In order to encourage students to inculcate the art of cartoon making for climate change, an all India competition on 'Interpretation of climate change in cartoon' was organised by the British Council and Ken Sprague Fund UK in October 2009 which was also judged by Rowson.
(This story was published in teh newspaper Eastern Chronicle)
Think Global, Act Local
As the world leaders and national delegations attend the Coppenhagen summit for developing a meaningful framework on climate change, nothing substantial really developed for overcoming the consequences of climate change.
Though the issue of climate change has reached global frontiers many environmentalist in the state believe that the action has to also take place locally.
Dr Surajit Barua, State Coordinator, World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) feels that Assam also needs to wake up to the reality of Global warming and contribute in its own means to ensure sustainable livelihood in the state and understand ways through which it can conserve and protect the environment.
Many environmentalists in the state also feel that Assam should take up serious steps for curbing pollution in the state and must also go for eco friendly Technologies.
“A state like Assam cannot adapt to latest technologies for tackling climate change but can resort to large scale afforestation and plantation programme in order to deal with the increase emission of carbon dioxide from vehicles,” claimed Baruah.
Studies have found out that 25 percent of the greenhouse gases triggering climate change are emitted from vehicles plying in the streets in the world. Sadly Guwahati city has a number of vehicles which are very old, leaving behind a large amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Recently the German Government has committed to finance a sum of Rs 56 million Euros in the departments of Forestry for the Climate Change Adaptation Project for the North East and Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF), Territorial, R P Agarwal feels that as north east is regarded as an eco sensitive zone in the wake of climate change such a programme is extremely essential.
Though plans have been taken up by the state government a large scale awareness campaign is the utmost requirement in a growing city like Guwahati which is also feeling the heat of global warming.
(This was published in Eastern Chronicle newspaper on December 5, 2010)
Though the issue of climate change has reached global frontiers many environmentalist in the state believe that the action has to also take place locally.
Dr Surajit Barua, State Coordinator, World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) feels that Assam also needs to wake up to the reality of Global warming and contribute in its own means to ensure sustainable livelihood in the state and understand ways through which it can conserve and protect the environment.
Many environmentalists in the state also feel that Assam should take up serious steps for curbing pollution in the state and must also go for eco friendly Technologies.
“A state like Assam cannot adapt to latest technologies for tackling climate change but can resort to large scale afforestation and plantation programme in order to deal with the increase emission of carbon dioxide from vehicles,” claimed Baruah.
Studies have found out that 25 percent of the greenhouse gases triggering climate change are emitted from vehicles plying in the streets in the world. Sadly Guwahati city has a number of vehicles which are very old, leaving behind a large amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Recently the German Government has committed to finance a sum of Rs 56 million Euros in the departments of Forestry for the Climate Change Adaptation Project for the North East and Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF), Territorial, R P Agarwal feels that as north east is regarded as an eco sensitive zone in the wake of climate change such a programme is extremely essential.
Though plans have been taken up by the state government a large scale awareness campaign is the utmost requirement in a growing city like Guwahati which is also feeling the heat of global warming.
(This was published in Eastern Chronicle newspaper on December 5, 2010)
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