Shevlin Sebastian's Blog, page 6

Out of the shadows

 

Filmmaker Saheer Ali’s documentary on Tholpavakoothu (shadow puppetry) portrays the dismal state of the 2000-year-old art form

By Shevlin Sebastian

When documentary filmmaker Saheer Ali was shooting his documentary on the 2000-year-old art form, Tholpavakoothu, called ‘Nizhal Yathrikan’ (Shadow Traveller — A Puppeteer’s Tale), he came across an unforgettable scene.

It was 9 pm. There were another two hours for the Tholpavakoothu performance to begin at a Bhagavathy Devi temple in Palakkad, Kerala

Ramachandran Pulavar, one of the greatest artists of the art form and a Padma Shri Award winner, was sleeping on a mat. This was under a tree in a field. “Mollywood stars rest in air-conditioned caravans,” said Saheer. “This gives you an idea of the sad situation of the art form. I felt despondent when I saw that. These artists don’t get any facilities. Society should cherish them.”

Saheer said that society does not have much interest in art. “Earlier, people would flock to see plays and dramas,” said Saheer, who runs a drama troupe called ‘Keli’. “Now the audience has dwindled.”

The performances begin late at night and continue till 5 a.m. “They are paying homage to Devi,” said Saheer. “There is almost no audience for the entire show. There will be a few people at the beginning. After a while, they will drift away.”

But the Pulavar family is undeterred. They carry on. It is a devotion. They get paid a few hundred rupees for a performance. This is only during the festival season, which starts at the end of December and concludes at the end of May.

“Indeed, there is not much revenue,” said Ramachandra. “But we are lifelong devotees of the art form. So, we must remain dedicated. If we give up, Tholpavakoothu will die. That will be the most painful to watch. So, irrespective of the financial difficulties, we will continue to support it.”

When the season is over, the Pulavars cultivate the land and nurture cows at their farm at Palakkad. But because of climate change, global warming, and fewer workers, it has become difficult to do farming.

The 27-minute documentary begins with a scene where Ramachandra is paying homage at the tomb of his father, K.L. Krishnan Kutty Pulavar. His father was the eighth generation practitioner of the art form. It was he who taught Ramachandra about the art form.

The art form uses theatre, dance, visual arts and music. And they tell stories from Tamil poet Kamba’s version of the Ramayana.

The stage is 42 feet long. Behind the stage is a screen. This is made of white cloth. They place the puppets behind it. For the lighting, the team places 21 lamps behind the puppets. This causes the shadows to appear on the screen.

The puppets were earlier made of deerskin. But nowadays, the family uses goat or buffalo skin.

First, someone removes the hair. Then, they dry the skin. After that, an artist outlines the character. Then, they cut it out and paint it with vegetable colours.

The language spoken is a mix of Tamil, Sanskrit and Malayalam. The instruments used are the traditional drums, cymbals, and gongs.

The movements are manipulated by sticks extending from the figures. The filigreed puppets appear on the screen.

There is a fight between Jatayu and Ravana; another conflict is between Bali and Sugreeva. In between, birds are flying, while an elephant rumbles across, apart from rabbits, squirrels and a deer. There is the sound of a tree falling. Lord Hanuman comes along, apart from Lord Rama and Sita. And on and on, the characters come and go.

Incidentally, Saheer’s daughter, Fabi, has written the script. She has just completed her MA in Malayalam from Maharaja’s College, Kochi. The producer is Ramachandra’s second son, Rahul.

To attract a new audience, Ramachandra has diversified from the Ramayana. So he did a play on Mahatma Gandhi and Jesus Christ. “The artists have also done plays about the dangers of alcohol, women’s safety, and throwing garbage on the streets,” said Saheer.

And the second generation is stepping up. In 2016, Ramachandra’s eldest son Rajeev Pulavar won the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar Award. The Sangeet Natak Akademi gives this for outstanding artists below 40.

His younger son Rahul is doing research on Tholpavakoothu through a fellowship at the University of Connecticut, USA. He is also doing his doctorate in Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies. Ramachandra’s daughter Rajitha has become a performer. His wife Rajalakshmi has won a central government fellowship to research Tholpavakoothu.

They screened a preview in Kochi on July 5. A select crowd was invited. The family is trying to get it released at the International Film Festival of Kerala in Thiruvananthapuram in December 2024. They are also trying to get it screened at other international festivals. They want to go on the festival circuit to spread knowledge of the art form across the world.

During the release function, Padma Shri Mattanoor Sankaran Kutty, a leading percussionist on the chenda (drum), praised the fact that the director was a Muslim. When there is such an intense effort to create polarisation, he said, this will help bring people together.

Sanskrit scholar and former vice chancellor of the Kerala Kalamandalam KG Paulose said that he had seen many performances, but it was only through the documentary he got a deeper understanding of the art form.

How Saheer got involved, he had worked as an associate on Mollywood actor P. Balachandran’s film, ‘Ivan Megharoopan’ (2012). This is a film based on the life of Malayalam poet P. Kunhiraman Nair. In the movie, there was a sequence of Tholpavakoothu.

As a result, Saheer became close to Ramachandra and his family. And when the family wanted to make a documentary, they immediately called on Saheer. They knew Saheer would draw on his experience of being associated with the Malayalam film industry for over 25 years.

A bit of history. In 1996, the International Film Festival of Kerala was being staged in Thiruvananthapuram for the first time. Noted director G. Aravindan told festival director Shaji N Karun about using a still from the Tholpavakoothu play, ‘Lanka Lakshmi’, as the logo for the festival. Saheer said, “It shows Lakshmi looking graceful after a curse on her was lifted by the touch of Hanuman.” The festival continues to use the same logo.

(An edited version was published in The Sunday Magazine, The New Indian Express, South India and Delhi)

The long journey to the top

 

Captions: Book cover; Australian bastman Matthew Hayden; MS DhoniIn ‘I Have the Streets — a Kutti Cricket Story’, Ravichandran Ashwin talks about his journey from childhood to the apex of Indian cricketBy Shevlin Sebastian At 4 p.m. on a summer day in 2010, Ravichandran Ashwin stepped out to play cricket. This was on 1st Street in Ramakrishnapuram in West Mambalam, Chennai. A lamp post was the wicket. As they played, scooters and bikes passed by. When there were pedestrians on the pavement, they stopped playing. For the 24-year-old, it was a fun reminder of his childhood days. Soon, a young man walked past, accompanying an elderly lady. There is a temple and a hospital nearby. The man recognised Ashwin. He made the lady wait near the temple. Ashwin was batting. He hit a ball and set off on a run and made it to the other end, without getting out. The man came near Ashwin and shouted, “If only you had done this drop-and-run at Chepauk, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) would have taken the two points and would not be struggling [now].”Nine days earlier, in a match against Kings XI Punjab, Ashwin needed to get one run off the last two balls. But he failed to do so. The match ended in a tie. Later, CSK lost in the tie-breaker. In the Prologue of his autobiography, ‘I have the streets — a Kutti Cricket Story,’ written along with co-author and screenwriter, Sidharth Monga, Ashwin says, ‘When I lose something in life, when I see no other light, I turn to this cricket on the street with some of my best friends. Everything changes, but not the joy I experience when I play here.’ In the foreword former Indian captain Rahul Dravid states that the book will have wider appeal because anyone who has ever bowled in a dusty lane will relate to it. ‘So will anyone who has ever dreamed of hitting a match-winning six for their national team; anyone who has juggled studies and sport and spent the last few days before exams in a boot camp of sorts with their friends’. The story begins when Ashwin is five years old. He had health issues like tuberculosis and regular bouts of wheezing. Once the family had planned to go on a holiday to Kodaikanal. But on the train Ashwin started vomiting. The parents had no option but to step off and take their son to the doctor. But it seemed Ashwin was destined to be a cricketer. His father, Ravichandran, worked in the accounts section of the Indian Railways. He was also a fast bowler who played lower-division league cricket. Once, during a match, Ashwin saw his father send the bail flying with a ball. Ravichandran took Ashwin to watch a Test match between India and England. Ashwin saw Sachin Tendulkar bat and Anil Kumble work his magic with the ball. India won the match by an innings. Father and son went to the commentary box. They got an autograph from batting legend Sunil Gavaskar. Soon, Ashwin got interested in cricket. His parents enrolled him at the local YMCA to learn cricket. By the time he was 14, his wheezing stopped suddenly. He was practising and doing well in the local circuit. Ashwin was selected to play for Tamil Nadu in the South Zone Under 14 tournament. The good performances continued. When he was selected to play for the India Under 17 team, Ashwin faced what most cricketers from South India face. Since he cannot speak fluent colloquial Hindi, which is the lingua franca among the coaches and the players, they laughed at him. ‘I felt left out, humiliated and intimidated,’ he said. A term which also irked Ashwin was when players from the rest of India said, “Yeh to Madrasi hai.” Ashwin wrote, ‘I am from Madras and I am proud of it even though it is now called Chennai. I will forever be proud of the city on whose streets I’ve spent most of my life. Playing cricket, talking cricket, celebrating festivals and New Year’s, building friendships, travelling these streets to go to cricket practice and the movies….’He described his selection for the Ranji Trophy. Being dropped for matches. Learning to be resilient. And learning from senior off-spinners how to make field changes and bowling variations to get wickets. By constantly playing and practising, Ashwin became adept at the art of spin bowling. Thereafter, Ashwin talked about his experiences as a member of the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League. The one player who amazed him the most was Australian batting great Matthew Hayden. Before their first match against Kings XI Punjab, as the players congregated in the dressing room, Hayden said, “Sreesanth and Brett Lee will come running at me. They will try to shape the ball back into me to try and knock me over. But I am going to just walk straight at them and try to go right over their heads. And I’m going to go really hard. They will come at me, but I will be nasty to them. I will show them who is the boss.” Yes, Hayden did show them he is the boss. There is an absorbing section where Ashwin describes his interactions with former Indian captain MS Dhoni. ‘Each captain is different,’ writes Ashwin. ‘Some can make donkeys run. Some people can buy wounded horses, treat them, train them and make them run. But MS Dhoni will only make a racehorse run. He needs to be convinced before he makes you run. If he doesn’t believe you are a racehorse, he’ll probably give you the time to become one, but he won’t make you run if you aren’t there yet.’ This is a charming book written in a lucid style. It gives you a picture of Ashwin’s life and career, the setbacks and the successes. Nothing comes easy. Grit, resilience, hard work and dollops of luck are required. While the book will appeal to all cricket lovers, it can be a revelation for those who are trying to make their way from junior cricket to the Indian team.(Published in The Sunday Magazine, Hindustan Times, Delhi and other editions) Book DetailsTitle: ‘I have the Streets – A Kutti Cricket story’Authors: R. Ashwin and Sidharth MongaPublisher: Penguin Random House IndiaPages: 173Price: Rs 599

When a satirist gets his point across with a smile

 

Last photo: Anil Abraham with his family
The Bengaluru-based dermatologist Anil Abraham has made his name as a stand-up comedian. His Instagram reels have gone viralBy Shevlin Sebastian Dermatologist Anil Abraham started doing comic reels on Instagram during the Covid pandemic. But it was the ‘Flight to Jamnagar’ that went viral, with over 10 lakh views. It was Anil’s take on the pre-wedding celebrations of billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s son, Anant, on March 1-3. It pushed Anil into the spotlight. In that reel, Anil has long hair framing his face, a scarf around his neck, and a black coat. In a feminine voice, he says, “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome aboard the Dindigo Airlines flight to Jamnagar. Yes, it is an international airport now for ten days or however long it takes rich people to party. The crew on this flight speak Gujarati and garishness, Punjabi and privileged English and entitlement. “We have only VIPs on this flight. Mark Zuckerberg, ladies and gentlemen. Bill Gates, no Sir, you cannot open any windows. No doors either. That is only allowed for Indian politicians. You Sir, who are you? Oh, you are the rat miner who rescued people from a tunnel. You have been a hero for one day. Go back and sit in economy.” Anil modelled the air hostess on a well-known personality on YouTube called Pushpalata Gaitonde. Anil realised the reach of his reels when a pilot walked into his clinic. When Anil asked which airline he flew with, the man smiled and said, “Dindigo!” The patient confessed that Indigo pilots and cabin crew often played the flight attendant reels. They always had a good laugh. Another reel which went viral was Simple Sudha. Anil pokes gentle fun at writer Sudha Murthy who kept saying she was a simple person. “The city I live in is not Bangalore, but simplicity,” said Anil. “Two simple spoons I carry everywhere. One veg and another is a non-veg spoon... I made my husband what he is today and my daughter, she made her husband the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. I do humble bragging.”Anil also has a character called Coconut Oil Kesavan. He suggests coconut oil solves all problems. But the main character is a middle-aged Kannadiga called Kuppu, whose wife is Kamala, a bossy woman. Kuppu has a platonic affair with his neighbour, Pakkad Mane Parvathy. “My inspiration for Kuppu has come from [legendary cartoonist] RK Laxman’s ‘Common Man’,” said Anil.Asked to describe his reels, Anil said, “It is satire cloaked in humour. If I want to say something unpalatable or politically incorrect, I use humour and give it a domestic reference. Those who enjoy slapstick will enjoy it. They like funny expressions and costumes. Others can read between the lines.” Anil said that he gets inspiration from reading the newspaper every morning. “The front page of a newspaper will provide enough material for at least five reels,” he said. “What I mean is that real life provides enough opportunities for humour.” A few people had asked the comedian, “Why haven’t you been trolled?” Anil believes that so far, they have not understood the underlying meaning of the reels. Hence, they have left him alone. “Thank God for that,” he said. Surprisingly, Anil does not have a script before he speaks. He has an idea of what he is going to talk about. “For me, it doesn’t work if I write it down,” he said. “I prefer to do it spontaneously. And I do it in one take only.” Regarding his make-up and costume changes, Anil smiled and said, “It is an Instagram Filter and takes all of five seconds.” Asked whether his profession is reflected in his wit, Anil said, “I attend a lot of medical conferences. So I will speak about that. Then I talk about my practice, student days, becoming a doctor and violence that is meted out on us.” Anil worked at St. John’s College in Bangalore for 30 years before branching out on his own. Patients also offer him a lot of material. He said that a lot of times the problem is minor but for the patient, it is the most important issue in the world. Once a lady came in and said, “Doctor, you don’t know how much hair I am losing. I lose hair every day. There is hair in my comb, in the bathroom basin and my husband’s butter chicken. Hair everywhere, except on my head.” Anil said that they don’t realise they are being amusing, and he is storing those sentences for future use. Anil, who has thick black hair, is a Malayali who grew up in Bangalore. He is married to Veena, a non-Malayali dermatologist. And they have their clinic in Bangalore. They have two college-going sons, Aaditya, and Anirudh.(An edited version was published in The Sunday Magazine, The New Indian Express, South India and Delhi)

Many questions, few answers

Photos: Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi; the book cover;Prakash Patra; Rasheed Kidwai

‘The Scam That Shook a Nation —The Nagarwala Scandal’ explores how a Delhi branch of the State Bank of Indiain the 1970s was defrauded of Rs 60 lakh.

By Shevlin Sebastian

At 11.45 am on May 24, 1971, VedPrakash Malhotra, the chief cashier of the Parliament Street branch of theState Bank of India, got a call. The caller said, “Shri Haksar, secretary tothe Prime Minister of India, wants to talk to you.”  

“Put him through,” saidMalhotra. 

Haksar said, “The Prime Ministerof India wants Rs 60 lakh (today’s value: Rs 170.62 crore) to be sent forhighly secret work. She will send a person and you can hand over the money tohim.” 

Malhotra was not sure. ThenPrime Minister Indira Gandhi came on the line and confirmed it, stating thismoney had to be sent to Bangladesh on an Air Force plane. This time, Malhotrabecame convinced that the order had come from the highest office in theland.   

With the help of his colleagues,Malhotra collected the money and took it to the Free Church, which was verynear the bank. There he met a tall, fair man wearing an olive hat. Afterexchanging the correct code, they drove for a while in Malhotra’s governmentvehicle towards Palam airport. 

At the taxi stand on PanchsheelMarg, the man got out of the car and enlisted the help of a coolie to load thebox into the trunk of a Fiat taxi. He thanked Malhotra and asked him to go tothe Prime Minister’s office to get the receipt. 

When Malhotra went to the PrimeMinister’s official complex on 1 Akbar Road, he was surprised to discover thatIndira Gandhi had gone to Parliament. It was the first day of the secondsession of the seventh Lok Sabha. He told the security that he wanted to meetHaksar. But they told him Haksar was also in Parliament. 

So, Malhotra drove to Gate No 5of Parliament House and asked to see the PM. He was told both the PM and Haksarwere having lunch. Finally, at 1.30 pm, Malhotra met NK Seshan, the PM’sprivate secretary, and told him about what happened. Seshan informed the PM. Hecalled Haksar, who was in South Block who rushed to Parliament. When Malhotratold Haksar what had happened, the latter exclaimed, “This is an extraordinaryfraud.” Soon, the police launched an investigation. 

All this has been detailed inthe book, ‘The Scam that Shook a Nation — The Nagarwala Scandal’ by seniorjournalists Prakash Patra and Rasheed Kidwai. 

Thanks to the detailed researchby the authors, we can read the confessional statement by Nagarwala. 

Here is an extract: ‘The driverkept watching the road and saw that I was transferring big bundles of currencynotes into my suitcase and bag. I wanted him to see all this and feel uneasy,which he did. I abandoned the empty trunk and asked him to take me to ConnaughtPlace. Along the way, the driver was getting nervous and started askingquestions about the money. I offered him Rs 500 in cash and told him not tomention it to anybody, only so that in case the police came to him, he couldtell. I was sure at the time that this driver would safely lead the police tothe Parsi Dharamshala. And this is exactly what happened.’ 

The question that arises is: whydid Nagarwala want to get caught? 

KP Khanna, the judicialmagistrate first class in charge of the Chanakyapuri area, tried the case.Within hours, Nagarwala was sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonmentwith a fine of Rs 2000. Nagarwala landed up in Tihar Jail as a ‘C’ classprisoner. 

Expectedly, there was agathering storm as the Opposition felt that Indira Gandhi was involved. One oftheir lawyers filed a revision petition. On June 21, Delhi Sessions Judge RNAggarwal set aside the conviction. 

This book is riveting, to saythe least. There were so many twists and turns. 

On November 20, 1971, six monthsafter discovering the hoax, Devinder Kumar Kashyap, 31, the chief investigator,died in a road accident near Mathura. The belief was that Kashyap, a 1967-batchIPS officer, who had just got married, knew too much and had been gotten ridof. However, the authors’ research has shown that it could have been anaccident. 

Following that tragedy, anothertwist takes place. On March 2, 1972, Nagarwala died of a heart attack at the GBPant Hospital on his 50th birthday. Again, suspicions were raised, although anautopsy revealed that no poison was present in the body.   

Other subjects which are coveredinclude an in-depth profile of Nagarwala and Malhotra, which traces their livesbefore the hoax, the political landscape during that period (1966-71), anddetails of the P Jagmohan Reddy Commission which investigated the hoax. BothIndira Gandhi and Morarji Desai also testified. 

In the Authors’ note, they said,‘The commission set up to probe the scam reached its conclusions, but itsassumptions are debatable.’ They also said that while there was an admission ofguilt, the identities of the real culprits remained hazy. The investigationprocess, they said, was too speedy to allay doubts.

In short, there were manyquestions but few answers.  

Both the writers, Prakash Patraand Rasheed Kidwai, are seasoned journalists with over three decades ofexperience. While Patra, a former President of the Press Club of India, doespolitical reporting, Kidwai covers government, politics, community affairs andHindi cinema. Kidwai has also published seven other books, including abiography of Sonia Gandhi.

(Published in the SundayMagazine, The Hindustan Times, All Editions)

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BookDetails

Title: ‘TheScam That Shook a Nation – The Nagarwala Scandal’

Authors: PrakashPatra and Rasheed Kidwai

Publisher:HarperCollins

Pages: 262

Price: Rs 399

When a roof became an amphitheatre

 

Photos: Drone view of the Nisarga Art Hub; aconcert taking place; the skylight; Vishnudev KS and Lakshmi V; the cantilever studio; Vinu Daniel and his co-designer Oshin Mariam Varughese

Carnatic singer couple Vishnudev KS and Lakshmi V wanted a mud home at their home in Karukutty, Kerala. When noted architect Vinu Daniel and his team built Nisarga Art Hub, it became a centre for the arts thanks to its unique design By Shevlin Sebastian Vishnudev KS and his wife Lakshmi V are Carnatic singers. They were based in Chennai during the pandemic. Because of a newborn baby, they found it difficult to manage. They also wanted to build a home. So they returned to Vishnudev’s ancestral place of Karukutty (46 kms from Kochi).Vishnudev had inherited a large plot of land from his father. Just opposite the plot, there are paddy fields. “In Chennai, we cannot dream of building a large custom-built house,” said Vishnudev. “It was important for us that the house become part of the natural environment. So we wanted to build a mud house.”So they Googled for architects who deal with mud as a material for construction. And that was when they stumbled on the works of architect Vinu Daniel, who was in the 100 Next list of influential leaders of Time Magazine in 2023. And they immediately found it impressive because of its innovative elements.“Vinu has an experimental mindset,” said Vishnudev. “We could not believe there could be so much innovation for a mud house.” So, they called Vinu up. Vinu and his co-designer Oshin Mariam Varughese came and looked at the plot in July 2020. And they liked what they saw. “I sensed a wonderful possibility,” said Vinu. “I knew we should incorporate the rural concept inside the building. That is why we used traditional mud architecture.” Also, because there were no trees around, Vinu wanted to give a camouflaged appearance. While the roof comprised traditional terracotta tiles, beneath it they used poly-jute cloth all across the ceiling. And from one end of the main hall to the other end, there is a wire mesh. This enables people to be in touch with nature outside. On some days, a steady breeze blew in. “If I put glass panes, it would have heated the hall,” said Vinu. The architect said that temperatures were rising in Kerala. Before 2000, there were only about ten days of 40 degrees Celsius. But today, there are over 100 days of these temperatures. “Now, with many new national highways being built, and rapid urbanisation, trees are being cut at an alarming rate,” said Vinu. “So we have less forest cover.” The construction began in 2020. What was most stunning were the walls. These are made of mud and other materials. When you place your palm on it, it feels cool. In 2014, Vinu realised that working with mud only would not make sturdy walls. He had a brainwave. Vinu decided to use the construction material that lies strewn about on vacant plots. He used cement, soil, inorganic waste material and even coconut shells and mixed it with the mud. His invention is called the Shuttered Debris Wall Technique. It strengthened the mud walls. In Nisarga, in the bedrooms, the walls rise to a height of 25-27 feet. “The walls are load-bearing,” said Vinu. “Two walls in the hall have taken the load off a jutting-out cantilever studio.” Helping Vinu were his colleagues Subhrodipta Ghosh, and Rosh V Saji. Vishnudev told Vinu that as musicians, they needed a lot of space to perform and teach. “When somebody comes to the house, they should feel that this is a house built for musicians,” said Vishnudev. Hence, the hall, with an area of 2200 sq. ft. has no furniture. You sit on the floor. There is an open kitchen on one side. And doors leading to bedrooms and a bathroom. When Vishnudev and Lakshmi asked for more space to hold concerts outside their house, Vinu measured the angle of the roof. It turned out to be 35 degrees. This matched the 30-degree angle of an amphitheatre. So, Vinu came up with the idea of using the roof like an amphitheatre. On the gutter of one side of the roof, Vinu had already planned to make an elongated swimming pool. He felt he could cover a part of the pool with wooden slabs and set up a stage. Then, at different levels of the roof, he removed the tiles and made glass seats. There are 34 seats. The top seat is at the height of a two-storey building. The images of the roof went viral on social media. There were over 9 million views on Instagram and YouTube. It helped Nisarga to establish itself as an art hub. Incidentally, Nisarga is a Sanskrit word. It means a natural state. “Whenever somebody comes here, they can be themselves,” said Vishnudev. “An artist can express his truest self.” The couple received a lot of media coverage. Many well-known artists have now performed at the hub. Artists from all over the world have asked Vishnudev whether they could come and perform. As Vinu said, “The initial idea was to make a residence for a musician-couple. Now, thanks to its fame, it is most probably going to be a residency for artists.” Vishnudev agreed. He plans to add a building outside with rooms so that when artists come, they will have a place to stay. The couple began living in the hub in September 2023. At that time, leading artist Niloy Ahsan inaugurated the hub with a Dhrupad recital. (An edited version was published in The Sunday Magazine, The New Indian Express, South India and Delhi)

Some thoughts about a painting

By Shevlin Sebastian

When my former colleague and friend Jose NV sent me this painting, it made me think. This is the age-old dichotomy for a human being. What should we listen to? The heart or the brain. And now scientists say there is a second brain. And that is the gut.

So, in a crisis or an emergency, you receive inputs from the brain, heart and gut. What do you listen to? All the inputs come to your mind. To that ethereal concept known as the self.

If it is a split-second decision, like playing a point during a tennis match, it is always best to follow your instinct. That means your heart or gut.

In an interview, batting great Sachin Tendulkar said that when he went to the crease, his primary aim was to move the conscious aside and let the unconscious do the batting. There was too little time after the ball left the bowler’s hand to use reason and logic and then respond.

All of us do something similar when we drive a car and have an animated conversation simultaneously. The unconscious drives the car. If the mind does not intervene with its random thoughts, the unconscious can execute the action perfectly.

If it is a decision that you have time to mull over, then the brain does a lot of pros and cons. Most outstanding personalities decide to follow the heart or the gut. These are far more accurate. You get results from this. But is this correct? In her autobiography, ‘My Life’, the former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir said that sometimes her intuition made mistakes too.

Some may ask, why discount the brain? It has the vast powers of the unconscious.

But most of us cannot use these powers. From the time we are born to the age of seven, we have received millions of impressions. These form our mindset. They influence our actions till the day we die.

If the impressions are positive, then there is no problem. Life moves forward smoothly, the conscious and the unconscious gelling perfectly.

But if the experiences in childhood are bad, then you develop a negative mindset. This results in persistent defeats right through life. This happens, despite your conscious mind wanting to achieve things. Can we heal childhood traumas and turn around our lives? It takes years of therapy and being constantly on an inner journey for healing to happen. It is like climbing Mount Everest. Many dream of it but few achieve it.

Ultimately, a decision is a leap into the dark. You might land on your feet or it could be a crash landing with broken bones and dreams.

I trust the heart more than the brain. Somehow, they lead to correct outcomes. The problem with the brain is that the ego is involved. Does the ego live in the brain? What exactly is an ego? And where is its location? It is amorphous. We cannot touch it, but we can feel its presence all the time.

The best way is to use all three. Let the brain decide. Then you should observe how the heart and gut react. If they are fine and there are no tremors or alarms, most probably your decision is right.

One cannot avoid the fact that at every moment you have to make some decision or the other. So, we have to use the full powers at our disposal to make the right choices.

Jose could not identify the painter. Thanks to the work of artists, their works can set us thinking. And we can hope to change for the better.

Edge-Of-The-Seat Suspense

Former police chief Meeran Chadha Borwankar talks about her career in the book, ‘Madam Commissioner – The Extraordinary Life of an Indian Police Chief’By Shevlin SebastianIn 2012, Jyoti Krishnan, an employee of a chartered accountancy firm in Pune, was on her way to work. Two men, pretending to be police officers, asked her to take off her gold necklace and ornaments and put it in her handbag as there was a theft in the neighbourhood. Jyoti did so. Then they distracted her by pointing at something in the distance. Later, they left on their bike. When Jyoti checked her bag, the ornaments were missing. It was then she realised she had been duped. Jyoti decided to contact Pune City Commissioner Meeran Borwankar. Jyoti had met Meeran twice earlier because was a client at the chartered accountancy firm where she worked. Meeran asked what the thieves looked like. “They were very fair and looked like Iranis,” said Jyothi. It took one month, but the police caught the thieves in Mumbai. Their modus operandi was to steal in Pune and flee to Mumbai. The goldsmith had melted the jewellery. But he gave jewellery worth its value to Jyothi. This is one example. There may be hundreds of such cases where Meeran might have intervened and restored the stolen items. This stellar officer has written a book called ‘Madam Commissioner- The Extraordinary Life of an Indian Police Chief’ (Pan Macmillan Publishers). The book details Meeran’s experiences as she handled communal riots, faced dacoits, criminals and robbers, came across brutal murders, and investigated the Jalgaon sex scandal, where minors had been gang raped by politicians and criminals. She also oversaw the hanging of 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab and the 1993 Mumbai blasts convict Yakub Memon. Meeran described in detail the extraordinary heist of a Joyalukkas jewellery showroom in Hyderabad on May 16, 2006. Jewellery worth Rs 9 crore had been stolen. Through some deft sleuthing and deductions, within days, the Crime Branch in Mumbai was able to apprehend the main criminal Vinod Singh and his associate Ajay Jawahar Singh who had fled to the coastal city.Meeran writes, ‘In the past such sensational detections and recoveries of gold and diamonds had led to allegations of embezzlement by the police. In light of that, I did not leave the office, nor did I get up to take a bathroom break, until the documentation had been completed, and every piece accounted for.’ Thanks to Meeran and her team, all the jewellery was recovered.There is a theory that no matter how bad a person is, there is something good in him or her. Meeran nods and says, “I have seen the worst criminals being wonderful parents or neighbours. And genuinely so.” Once the Crime Branch in Mumbai had intercepted a call from underworld gangster, Chhota Rajan, who was living abroad. He was speaking to his wife, Sujatha, whose nickname was Nani.Chhota Rajan whether his three daughters were studying well. His wife replied in the affirmative. Then he said, “Nani, our daughters should study hard and sit for the IPS.”This statement came as a surprise for Meeran. “It proves that even a hardened criminal like Chhota Rajan respects the law,” says Meeran. Of course, the elephant in the room is the pressure exerted by politicians to do something unlawful. How did Meeran manage this pressure? “During training, we were told that political interference is a grave issue,” says Meeran. “You have to respect politicians because they are representatives of the public. But you have to do what you feel is correct. And be ready for the consequences.”Like most honest officers, Meeran had paid the price in stifled promotions and other problems. Apart from politicians, the massive corruption in the force is now a major issue. Asked about the way to eradicate corruption, Meeran says, “Around 98 percent of the corruption can be eradicated by a strong watch by the community and the media. The government should expand the counter intelligence and anti-corruption units. Most states have small and ill-equipped units that nobody is scared of.” In a police force, 40 percent are honest, 40 percent are fence sitters, and 20 percent are gone cases, says Meeran. These fence sitters will get afraid if there are very strong anti-corruption units. And a very important tool to reduce corruption is to ensure the police worked for only eight hours, instead of the 14 they do today. “They justify their corruption by saying they work for 14 hours for a poor salary,” says Meeran. “In their own minds, taking money is justified.” As to whether an officer can be damaged by constantly dealing with criminals, murderers, and thieves, Meeran says, “To a certain extent, yes. Before joining the police, I trusted people. But now my antenna is always alert. I don’t believe people easily. I have seen people cheat each other every day for decades. My years in the force has made me aware of the darker side of human nature. So I am always on alert, as compared to an average person.” Career Highlights Meeran Chadha Borwankar has been the recipient of the President of India Police Medal for Distinguished Services and Police Medal for Meritorious Services, and has won the Distinguished Leadership Award from the University of Minnesota.Some of the posts she held include being the Director General of the Bureau of Police Research and Development, and the National Crime Records Bureau, Police Commissioner, Pune City, and Chief of the Crime Branch, Mumbai.Meeran was Maharashtra State’s first female district police chief as well as its first woman commissioner.Meeran is on the board of several academic institutions. ‘Madam Commissioner’ is her third book. The earlier two were called ‘Leaves of Life’ and ‘Inspector Chougule (True Police Stories)’

‘Spisoh’, a South Indian restaurant in Stavanger, Norway came into the limelight when top Indian chess players became patrons

Captions: (From left) Owner Susheel Hadigal, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, Vaishali, Nagalakshmi, and Nitish Kamath; Koneru Humpy (second from right)  

When thefood reminds one of home

By ShevlinSebastian 

In lateMay, there is a top-tier chess championship, which is held in Stavanger,conducted by Norway Chess. This year, ‘Spisoh’, a South Indian restaurant,became a sponsor. 

“Ourthought process was simple,” said Nitish Kamath, a co-owner. “All the Indianplayers who take part are primarily from South India. So we thought we wouldbecome a sponsor and offer our food free for all the players.” 

KoneruHumpy, India’s No 1 and world No 4, was an early customer. “Koneru orderedearlier in the day. When her match concluded at 9 p.m., she came to therestaurant and collected it,” said Nitish. “She has been ordering every day.”Her favourite is Hyderabadi biryani, Kodi Vepudu (Andhra-style chilly chicken)and tomato rasam.  

On May 31,during the rest day, rising star, grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, camefor dinner. He was accompanied by his sister Vaishali, a grandmaster herself,and mother Nagalakshmi. 

Praggnanandhaaasked Nitish, “What do you recommend?” 

Nitishsaid, “Since you are from Tamil Nadu, why don’t you have Kozhi (Chicken) Milagucurry?” 

He said,“Okay, fine.” 

Praggnanandhaaopted to have it with Kerala parotta. 

Vaishaliand Nagalakshmi ordered ghee dosa.  

A smilingNitish told Nagalakshmi, “Praggnanandhaa always looks very serious.”

Nagalakshmireplied, “I always tell him to smile, but he is in a different world during atournament.” 

Theylaughed.  

Last year,D. Gukesh, another leading Indian grandmaster, came to the restaurant alongwith his father Dr. Rajnikanth, an ENT surgeon. While Gukesh came sporadicallyduring the two-week tournament, his father came daily. He ordered the samedish: lamb masala.  

Because oftheir sponsorship, the co-owners could make the ceremonial first move in mostmatches. After it is done, the player brings the pawn back to the first row andthe play starts. American player Hikaru Nakamura, of Japanese origin, toldco-owner Raghu Bala, “You can make any move. I will continue from there.” 

So Raghuplayed the Sicilian Gambit. Nakamura, as promised, carried on, and ended upwinning the match against Praggnanandhaa. “Raghu got very excited,” saidNitish.  

The storyof Spisoh

The idea ofa restaurant came casually. A few Indians worked in the IT and oil and gasindustry in Stavanger (550 kms from Oslo). They had been living in this city of1.4 lakh people for over 15 years. Rohini Sasidharan, the wife of one Indianimmigrant, Rathish Kunnath, found it difficult to get a job. So, she suggestedthe idea of opening a restaurant with her husband and his friends.  

“We werecautious, as none of us have any experience in the food industry,” said Nitish.They discovered there were eight Indian restaurants in Stavanger. They were runby Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. All of them provided similar fare likebutter chicken, chicken tikka masala, paneer and nan. So, the group thought theyshould stick to their South Indian roots, as most of them were from Kerala. Andhence they decided to start a South Indian restaurant. 

“We wantedto cultivate a new taste in this region,” said Nitish. The name, Spis-oh,is a combination of Spiser (Eating in Norsk) and Khaoh (Eating inHindi) 

In July2021, during Covid, they rented a small kitchen in a remote area in Stavangerand began as a takeaway outlet. “The idea was to test out whether this type offood would have takers,” said Nitish. 

At this time,Raghu met a chef, Aswin Sreekanthan, who had lost his job during Covid. He hadbeen working in an Italian restaurant in Oslo and previously headed a chain ofhotels in Portugal. Aswin told Raghu he was from Chennai and was keen to remainin Norway. So, they hired him. Soon, the takeaway became popular.  

On March 4,2023, they started the 30-seater Spisoh, in Løkkeveien, which is the citycentre. There are five major hotels in the area. 

Asked abouttheir clientele, Nitish said, “From Tuesday to Thursday, Norwegians andEuropeans who are travelling to Stavanger for business meetings come to have abite.” 

FromThursday to Saturday, it is local Norwegians and Indians. The population ofIndians is around 3500. 

The localPakistanis, Sri Lankan, and Bangladeshis are also customers. “Many Pakistanishave only partaken of North Indian food,” said Nitish. “So having South Indianfood is a novelty for them, especially idli and dosa.”  

As fortheir future plans, Nitish said, “There is a social element behind continuing.We saved our chef, Aswin, from returning to India and got him a job contract.Now he has brought his family to Stavanger. Aswin’s son is studying in aNorwegian school, while his wife works in a hotel. Aswin has bought a car.”

A fewmarried women, who have come on a dependent visa, work at Spisoh as kitchenassistants, front-office and cleaning staff. The owners are enabling them toearn an extra income. 

Nitishsaid, “It is a bit of a struggle for immigrants in the initial years to settledown. Spisoh is about food, but it is also about giving opportunities to theIndian diaspora.”

Andproviding food and bonhomie to chess stars, too.

(Publishedin Sunday Magazine, The New Indian Express, South India and Delhi)

 

Helping to become self-reliant

Captions: Dr. Kalpana Sankar; Dr. Kalpana Sankar meeting people; Dr. Percy Barnevik

Dr. Kalpana Sankar is the Co-Founder of Hand in Hand India. She has helped lakhs of people to become entrepreneurs

By Shevlin Sebastian

Whenever Dr. Kalpana Sankar thinks about Meera Soundarajan, a smile breaks out on her face.

Meera belonged to the backward Irula community. She stayed in the village of Chinnakadambathur in Thiruvallur District, Tamil Nadu. The family eked out a living by working in brick kilns, going into the forests to cut wood and graze the cattle. They were always on the move. Because of this, Meera and her three younger siblings had to drop out of school.

Thanks to the intervention of Kalpana, Meera was enrolled in school. In 2018, Meera reached Class 10. After her stellar performance in the final exams, Meera won the ‘Pratibha Award’. This is given to meritorious students by the Government of Andhra Pradesh. The other siblings are also studying in lower classes. “They have a bright future,” said Kalpana.

Kalpana’s life changed when she met Dr. Percy Barnevik on May 2, 2004, in Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu. Percy is a Swedish business executive. On a visit to Tamil Nadu, he saw first-hand the devastating impact of child labour in the silk saree industry. At that time, Kalpana was working with the Tamil Nadu Women’s Development Project.

Percy asked Kalpana whether she would join him in his mission. She accepted the offer. They set up Hand in Hand India.

The organisation has helped women get jobs or become entrepreneurs and free the children to go to school.

“Unless you empower the families, they will not send the children to school,” said Kalpana. The group targeted the mothers by providing looms and sewing machines, at subsidised rates. Later, they began to help the men and the youth.

For the youth, they provided skills training. They learned to become plumbers and electricians and to be eligible for the armed forces. Thereafter, Hand in Hand India began working with farmers.

“We are very keen for people to become entrepreneurs,” said Kalpana. “So we are willing to give loans. We provide options for the trade they could enter into. In that way, they can become independent. We try to inculcate the concept that everybody has potential.”

To provide finance to Hand in Hand India, Kalpana set up the Belstar Microfinance Limited. She is the Managing Director. The Muthoot Group is a major shareholder. The funding is provided by philanthropists, both in India and abroad, corporates and the government.

But there has been a dark spot: the Covid epidemic. “It was a major setback,” said Kalpana. “Many entrepreneurs are yet to recover completely from the financial blow.” So far, the organisation, which has branches in 18 states, has helped 40 lakh women.

Recently, Kalpana saw film director Kiran Rao’s well-received ‘Laapataa Ladies’ on Netflix. In the film, a lost bride, at a railway station, cannot tell the name of her new husband’s village to the stationmaster. So, he is unable to help. Kalpana told her staff to show it to the women who come to their centres. She hoped they would understand the importance of education.

Kalpana’s parents also stressed to her the importance of education. She has a doctorate in Nuclear Science and Women’s Studies and Self-Help Groups. And an Executive MBA from the prestigious TRIUM through modules in London, Paris and New York.

Asked whether the middle class lives in a cocoon, Kalpana said, “I don’t blame anybody. For various reasons, there is a rich/poor divide. So people are self-absorbed. What they need is sensitisation. Once they become aware of poverty and issues relating to it, they do reach out to help.”

One way for early sensitisation is for students of schools and colleges to spend time in the villages. “Only then will they understand what is happening. Then they will be able to contribute in a way to bridge the divide,” said Kalpana.

Most people are not sure whether state governments are helping the poor or not. But Kalpana said that everybody is doing something. “But because of our huge population not everybody can get the benefits,” she said. “The good news is that numerous people have moved from the ‘below poverty line’ to the middle class. They have bought TVs, refrigerators and two-wheelers. Many are determined to educate their children.”

But Kalpana has a suggestion. Central and State governments should set up programmes to encourage entrepreneurship. “Then the people will be able to generate incomes and be contributing members of society,” she said.

(Published in the Sunday Magazine, The New Indian Express, South India and Delhi)

An upside-down view

Artist Zakkir Hussain uses inverted logic in his drawingsBy Shevlin Sebastian On most days, artist Zakkir Hussain would stand at the window of his studio at Kadavanthra, Kochi. Mango and drumstick trees are growing in his backyard. Often, he would see a sparrow fly in and peck at a mango. He wondered, in the name of development, if the tree was cut down, would the bird have a memory of the tree? Or if the sparrow died, would the tree have a recollection of it? Zakkir felt that everything on earth was under threat, be it human beings, animals, birds, trees, and nature. Such was the precariousness of life. Over the past three years, he did a series of brush drawings using Indian Ink. Around 54 works are on display at the Berth Art Gallery in Mattancherry. The drawings range in size from 30” x 22” and 28” x 22”. “I like Indian ink because it is risky,” he said. “You cannot make tonal variations. Black or white is the only possibility. This is the best way to convey my present moods and thoughts.” Zakkir titled his work ‘Obliterated Stories’. He wanted to show that the recently implemented crime laws in India are obliterating the concept of personal freedom. “I want to highlight the social tensions,” said Zakkir. “The relationship between human beings should be harmonious. They should be a beacon of light to each other. People should express kindness, love and benevolence.” At first glance, you realise Zakkir has negated the idea of logic in his work. There is a drawing of a young woman in which her breast is exposed. On the left side of the drawing, a male hand is clutching her arm. Behind her eyes, there is a drawing of a mother and child. From there, a line goes downwards and at the end, there are a series of houses hanging upside down.“Through the houses, I wanted to show that women, sometimes, are forced to leave from one place to another,” Zakkir said. A dog is visible near her open mouth. It is as if the woman wants to speak but cannot do so. “The girl is going through an inner trauma. She has no language to express herself because society does not allow her,” said Zakkir. Another drawing is of a young woman with exposed breasts. In her hand, she is holding the branch of a tree which has impaled her palm. A sparrow sits on the branch. From the ear, a Kerala traditional lamp juts out. At its end, there is an image of an upside-down face of a girl. There is another image of a bird whose beaks have been tied with a string. As to his influences, Zakkir said that he has drawn inspiration from artists like Somnath Hore, Benode Behari Mukherjee, Ramkinkar Baij, and KP Krishnakumar. So far, he has had a successful career. Zakkir has exhibited at the Vadehra Art Gallery in Delhi, Gallery Ske in Bangalore, Gallery OED, Kochi, The Guild Art Gallery, Mumbai, Conflictorium, Ahmedabad, Gallery White, Baroda, Zuzeum Art Centre, Riga, Latvia and Gallery Krinzinger, Vienna. He took part in the inaugural edition of the Kochi Muziris Biennale. At present, Zakkir is on a two-month residency at a private museum in Zurich. Beginnings Zakkir got interested in art from an early age. He grew up in the village of Chadiroor in Alleppey district. For his Plus Two, he studied at Maharaja’s College in Kochi. He was a Left sympathiser. One of his friends, Sabu Dinesh, asked Zakkir to do some drawings on some posters. Instead of political slogans, Sabu used poems from some of Latin America’s greatest poets, like Pablo Neruda and Octavia Paz. So Zakkir did drawings, using Indian Ink, to match the words. Zakkir and Dinesh pasted these posters in public spaces like bus stops and shop windows. “I felt excited because I had done a sort of social communication,” said Zakkir. “The positive response from the people also got me interested in art.” Zakkir got admission to do a degree course at the College of Fine Arts in Thiruvananthapuram. During this period, he met and fell in love with Sreeja P, an aspiring artist. They got married in 1999. Both did a course in graphics at the Maharaja Sayajirao University in Baroda. Later, they settled in Kochi. While Zakkir has been a full-time artist since 2004, Sreeja teaches at a nearby school. They have a son who is doing his MSc at the University of Freiburg, Germany. Asked to sum up his work, Zakkir said, “I want to develop a new language, thought processes and metaphors. It is an ongoing process.”(Published in The Sunday Magazine, The New Indian Express, South India and Delhi)