Stories To Tell: The Anthology

Stories to Tell the anthology

Inspired by South Asian Heritage Month’s theme this year - Stories to Tell - this mini anthology seeks to commemorate the stories that make up our diverse and vibrant community. Curating the words and talent of both our authors and colleagues, we invite you to learn a little more about our culture and join us in celebrating its uniqueness.

Uneasy Translations

Self, Experience and Indian Literature

RITA KOTHARI

Uneasy Translations: Self, Experience and Indian Literature interweaves the personal journey of an academic into reflections around self, language and translation with an eye on the intangibly available category of experience. It dwells on quieter modes of being political, of making knowledge democratic and of seeing gendered language in the everyday. In an unusual combination of real-life incidents and textual examples, it provides a palimpsest of what it is to be in a classroom; in the domestic sphere, straddling the ‘manyness’ of language and, of course, in a constant mode of translation that remains incomplete and unconcluded. Through both a poignant voice and rigorous questions, Kothari asks what it is to live and teach in India as a woman, a multilingual researcher and as both a subject and a rebel of the discipline of English.

What does it mean to be a South Asian writer? Rita’s response:

To live in South Asia is to occupy the unevenness of time – a time that is conceived through modernity and a time that is slow, unseen, shifting if at all at the most minimal speed. The South Asian writer has an opportunity to notice both modernity and its limits almost every day. I remain a keen student of this reality, watching its contours, feeling puzzled by it and sometimes exasperated by it. Are lives of women changing – the answer is yes and no. Are lives of Dalits changing – the answer is yes and no. Given this complexity and granularity of South Asian reality, what does it mean to negotiate metropolitan theory and literary texts? In other words what is the dialectic of experience and theoretical tools in a South Asian setting?

I demonstrate this through stories that are both from testimonies and published texts, films and songs – this repertoire fills my intellectual world. My book Uneasy Translations has this story to tell – the experience of life and the expanse of limits of language produce a condition of incommensurability in everyday India. It looks like translation has happened, but not quite. This work-in-progress nature of language trying to reflect life but almost failing or exceeding its mandate is both a philosophical question as well as a South Asian question. In other words, the South Asian context provides for me a minefield of rich philosophical questions that are perhaps considered settled in some parts of the world. This unsettled-ness is the reason I tell the stories I do, and it characterises both my restlessness as well as inspiration.

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The Destiny of Minou Moonshine

GITA RALLEIGH

The beautiful queendom of Moonlally has fallen under a tyrant’s rule. Their queen is dead, worship of their goddess, the Dark Lady, is forbidden, and the precious black diamond that protects the city – a rare fragment of fallen star –has gone missing.

When fierce orphan girl Minou Moonshine’s life is unexpectedly shattered, she joins the ragtag band of rebels, the Green Orchids, who are plotting to overthrow the General.

Armed with a secret and a map, Minou sets off with her friends and a mechanical elephant, through the lush jungles of Indica, in search of the Dark Lady, a diamond and her destiny.

What inspired you to write your book?

Gita’s response:

As a bookish child, I loved adventures that took me out of my suburban home into fantasy worlds. At the time, I never expected to find a small brown girl within those stories. But when I began writing myself, a decade ago, I was astonished – and upset for my own children – that this remained largely unchanged.

Although I was born in Britain, my parents emigrated here from India. Our visits to family back home felt entirely magical: we would see elephants, monkeys and peacocks in the streets, while visits to palaces, temples and their goddesses were part of everyday life. I was determined that my fantasy adventure, The Destiny of Minou Moonshine, would be about a girl like me who discovers both her inheritance and her very own magic. I set my story in Indica, an alternate India, with a dynasty of queens and a goddess, the Dark Lady, who guides Minou towards her destiny. I cannot wait for young readers to meet her.

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Work, Word and the World

Essays on Habitat, Culture and Environment

SUSAN VISVANATHAN

Word, Work and the World begins with the assumption that people are interested in the world around them. This book tries to bring forward the living practices of communities which are interlocked in time and space, where work and their cultures become intermeshed in different ways. As the world becomes increasingly vulnerable to climate change, organic farming, the search for water, the protection of lands and people from floods, are all real indexes of how urgent the task of recording people’s life worlds has become. Narrative production, and its interpretation draws us into the complexities of the ethnographic present, which as a type of documentation provides resource materials to historians. Since the world is now so encompassable, the book explores how human beings remember the past, while creating new niches for the survival of their families and communities.

Why is your book an important story to tell?

Susan’s response:

I wrote the essays in "Work, Word and the World" as individual essays over two decades in the 21st century. Bruce King (Oup 2014) in "Rewriting India: Eight Writers" had described me as a feminist author with a Kerala centered focus. I had begun my fieldwork based ethnographic studies as a young woman of 23 years, in 1981. I continued my vocation, with University support, returning to Kerala several times a year for the next 45 years. Textual analyses and interviews bind time during our apocalyptic age, so that writing as documentation becomes foregrounded. Photographs in the book "Work, Word and the World: Essays on Habitat, Culture and Environment" (2022) enhance the moment of inscription.

Bloomsbury India was quick to understand that history and the comparative method are essential tools for the anthropologist at work.

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Book Recommendations

Home Fire

KAMILA SHAMSIE

ISBN: 9781408886793

Partition Voices

Untold British Voices

KAVITA PURI

ISBN: 9781526638403

Ruby Ali’s Mission Break Up

SUFIYA AHMED, ILLUSTRATED BY PARWINDER SINGH

ISBN: 9781472993175

Women's Writings from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh

EDITED BY RAKHSHANDA JALIL AND DEBJANI SENGUPTA

ISBN: 9789388271530

Styling South Asian Youth Cultures

EDITED BY LIPI BEGUM, ROHIT K. DASGUPTA AND REINA LEWIS

ISBN: 9781784539177

Rambutan

Recipes from Sri Lanka

CYNTHIA SHANMUGALINGAM

ISBN: 9781526646576

Ganesha festival by Lalita Bang

What is Ganesha festival?

Ganesha Chaturthi is a 10 days long Hindu festival celebrated to honour the elephant-headed God Ganesha’s birthday. He is the younger son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati.

When is Ganesha Chaturthi in 2023?

The date of Ganesh Chaturthi falls on the fourth day of the waxing moon period (Shukla Chaturthi) in the Hindu month of Bhadrapada. This is August or September each year. The festival is usually celebrated for 10 days, with the biggest celebration taking place on the last day called Anant Chaturdashi. In 2023, Ganesh Chaturthi is on September 19.

How it is celebrated?

The 10 day long festival is celebrated with people bringing Ganesha clay idol at home, in offices or local area pandals (temporary stage). Also, families decorate around the Ganesha idol and place offerings in front of lord Ganesha. Offerings and prasada from the daily prayers, which are distributed from the pandal to the community, include sweets such as modaka, dry fruits, coconut sweet. The festival ends on the tenth day after start, when the idol is carried in a public procession with music and group chanting, then immersed in a nearby body of water such as a river or sea, called visarjan on the day of Anant Chaturdashi.

Historically, the festival has been celebrated since the time of king Shivaji. It was during India’s freedom struggle that Lokmanya Tilak changed Ganesha Chaturthi from private celebration to a grand public festival where people of the society can come together, pray and be united.

Significance of Ganesh Chaturthi

It is believed that devotees who pray to Ganesha are able to fulfil their wishes and desires. So, the main essence of Ganesha Chaturthi is that devotees who pray to him are set free of sins and it leads them on the path of knowledge and wisdom.

Story of Ganesha Chaturthi

Ganesha is the son of Shiva and Parvati and he is the brother of Karthikeya.

Ganesha Chaturthi symbolises the Ganesha’s rebirth and to represent new beginnings. It is believed that Parvati (Shiva wife) created Ganesha while Shiva was out for meditation. She moulded clay in the shape of boy and gave it a life. Parvati set her new son as guard while she bathed and asked him to not allow anyone in. Unexpectedly, Shiva came and outraged by Ganesha’s claim that he is the son of Parvati, unaware of the fact that Parvati made him while he was away. Ganesha followed her mother's instructions and stopped Lord Shiva from entering the home. In anger, Shiva cut off Ganesha’s head.

At the commotion, Parvati ran from her bath and threatened to destroy the whole world. Hence, Shiva asked his disciples to bring the head of first animal they see. They came upon an elephant during the search and brought its head to Shiva who then joined it to his son’s body. All deities blessed Ganesha and thus we celebrate the day as Ganesh Chaturthi.

I will end this article by praying to Lord Ganesha to destroy all our sorrows and shower his blessings on all of us, happy Ganesh Chaturthi to all!

Film Recommendations by Tasneem Hafiz

Bollywood films and TV series were a staple at my home.

I have cherished memories of spending weeknights with my grandmother, watching Indian soap operas such as Diya Aur Baati Hum (translated: We are the Lamp and the Wick) and Meri Bhabhi (translated: My Brother’s Wife), and immersing myself in Bollywood films encompassing an amalgamation of various genres.

I am delighted to share with you a curated list of 6 cinematic gems (all of which I rate 5 stars and made me cry [in a good way]) spanning from the classics to contemporary, showcasing a wonderful range of genres and featuring some amazing music.

I hope this list intrigues you and that you discover a film that piques your interest.

Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham

Translation

Sometimes Happiness, Sometimes Sadness

Release 2001 Available

Netflix, Amazon Prime

Rating 5 / 5 Plot

Yash Raichand disowns Rahul, his adopted son, for marrying a woman of lower social standing. Rahul and Anjali both move to London. 10 years later, Rahul’s brother Rohan goes to reunite his brother and sister-in-law and the rest of their family. This film marked my journey into the Bollywood Era and so, holds a special place in my heart. All the characters have layers of depth and the performances given are fantastic. The actors portray wonderful on-screen chemistry, and the soundtrack is my all-time favourite. Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham explores the complexities of family relationships and societal expectations. I have watched this film a few times and am convinced that I can get through it without crying until the last 40 minutes.

Om Shanti Om

Translation

Peace Be With You

Release 2007

Rating 5 / 5 Plot

Reincarnated 30 years after being killed in a suspicious on-set fire, a small-time actor is determined to punish the person who ignited the blaze. I found this film ambitious and

unique, and at the same time hitting all the emotions. This film was my favourite to watch – the highlight for me was the song Deewangi Deewangi, which featured special cameo appearances from over 30 film actors spanning from the Bollywood repertoire (or I’d like to say, similar to Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame!).

Taare Zameen Par

Translation

Stars on Earth

Release 2007

Rating 5 / 5 Plot

The film tells the story of an 8-year-old boy named Ishaan who struggles with dyslexia and academic failure. His parent’s send him to a boarding school, where he meets Nikumbh, an Art teacher who helps him to discover his hidden talent and overcome his learning difficulties. The themes explored in the film includes the challenges faced by children with learning disabilities and the importance of understanding and supporting them. It also highlights the need for a more inclusive education system that recognises and accommodates the diverse learning needs of children. I found this story to be wonderful, heartwarming and eye-opening – Nikumbh is everything you want in a teacher who provides an unwavering amount of support and empathy to Ishaan.

Drishyam (2015)

Translation Visual

Release 2015

Rating 5 / 5

Available Netflix, Amazon Prime Plot

Drishyam 2015, a remake of the 2013 Malayalam film Drishyam, is a crime thriller based in a small village in Goa. It tells a story of Vijay Salgaonkar – a cable television operator who lives with his wife and two daughters and is a devoted family man. One day, Vijay’s daughter accidently kills the son of a powerful police officer, and the family is thrown into a web of lies and deceit as they try to cover up the crime. Inspector General Tabu (mother of the son who was killed) is determined to find out the truth and equally, Vijay goes to deep lengths to protect his family. I found the film’s exploration of family, loyalty, power dynamics and complex ethical issues compelling and gripping. It had me captivated from beginning to end!

Bajrangi Bhaijaan

Translation

Brother Bajrangi

Release 2015

Rating 5 / 5 Plot

Shahida "Munni”, a young mute girl from Pakistan gets separated from her mother while travelling to India. She is found by a kindhearted man named Pawan, a devoted follower of Lord Hanuman who, alongside Chand Nawab (a news reporter) sets out to reunite her with her family in Pakistan. My all-time favourite film shedding light on many themes including love, compassion, peace, and the challenges refugees face in a foreign land. I also really liked the brotherhood and friendship between Pawan and Chand Nawab which brought some funny scenes on-screen. Overall, the story, score and song Tu Jo Mila left me and my dad reaching for tissues!

Hichki

Translation Hiccup

Release 2018

Rating 5 / 5 Plot

Rani Mukerji stars in the title role Naina Mathur. Naina has a speech disorder called Tourette syndrome and despite her condition, has aspirations to be a teacher. She eventually receives an offer at the St. Notker's School to teach class 9F and is met with several challenges. Rani is my favourite actress, and I really liked this story and the overall message which was determination, perseverance and the power of education.

by Veidehi Hans

Bulla ki jaana by Rabbi Shergill

Rabbi Shergill’s 2005 iteration of Bulla ki jaana combines elements of sufi, folk and rock. While I loved the song growing up (it was a chart-topper and frequently on the radio), I never fully understood the lyrics (the song is sung in Punjabi and I speak Hindi). Only in adulthood did I look into the lyrics and became aware of the song’s rich history, and the poem from which it is adapted.

One of the most renowned examples of Kafi poetry, ‘Bullah Ki Jaana’ was written by Syed Abdullah Shah Qadri (1680–1757), known popularly as Baba Bulleh Shah (or Bullhe Shah) a Punjabi philosopher, reformer and Sufi poet, universally regarded as "The Father of Punjabi Enlightenment". A revolutionary poet, he spoke against powerful religious, political and social institutions, he wrote of humanism, equality, and tolerance, warning against the dangers of reciting words without comprehending them. His philosophy remains eternally relevant, never more so than in our present moment.

Culture & Music by Natasha Manohar

Growing up, one of my favourite things to do was listen to music with my grandparents. Whether it was a mantra that my Grandad would sing, playing instruments on Diwali, or listening a song from the latest Bollywood film, I felt like music spoke to me in a way that words couldn’t alone. It felt like a real moment of celebration and respect for the vibrancy and diversity that we get to rejoice within in our culture.

I must admit, my debut into the Indian music world was none other than ‘Bole Chudiyan’ from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. I was about four or five years old, when I had first watched the movie, and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one secretly waiting to show off the dance moves that they had rehearsed in their living room …

I remember thinking that everything about music was so fun – and all I wanted was to be a part of it.

That’s exactly what I think I love the most about my experience within the South Asian community. The warmth and celebration that surrounds us in the traditions we like to keep, and the readiness to welcome anybody into it. Whether it’s through outfits at family weddings, or cooking somebody’s favourite meal, I’ve always felt so welcomed with love by my community, and that’s what makes being Indian (at least to me) feel so special.

So, if you want to join in on some of the celebration and fun, have a listen to some of my personal favourite songs:

‘Bole Chudiyan’

from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham

‘Maahi Ve’ - Kal Ho Naa Ho

‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ from Kuch Kuch Hota Ha

A Poem

by Mahira

Mannan

persimmon blues

summer is mostly heat coming from the sun but other things too like people giving into that holiday love simmering boiling over from oranges into marmalade because if life gives you lemons summer hands you tangerines.

and underneath the great persimmon tree there are no more days, weeks, months (for what is time but just one summer?) you and i now only a frozen tempo it’s my true blue and i’m falling while our cerulean synergy slips away quietly. but i think falling sounds nice so for just one more summer let me fall (sink, drown) into you.

And the images it inspires

by Mahira Mannan

Thank you for reading our anthology.

This anthology was created by Mahira Mannan who took the creative lead in content procurement, design and arrangement, and was hugely supported by Tasneem Hafiz & Natasha Manohar who helped with planning, content preparation and communications.

First and foremost we would like to thank all our contributors who made this anthology possible with their wonderful submissions. This includes our marvellous authors who keenly shared their invaluable perspective as South Asian writers, as well as our amazing colleagues who championed the message and mission of this month. We would also like to express our sincere gratitude towards our incredibly talented designer Tom Baxendale who was able to make this project come to life. With his skillset and commitment towards our vision, we were able to present to you this anthology. And lastly, to you, our readers, many of whom were sources of encouragement and support on this journey – we hope you enjoyed reading our stories and celebrating our rich heritage with us.