LITERATURE
‘This time for Africa’: Fair writing of and from the continent (IANS Column: Bookends)
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t was called the “Dark Continent”, not only due to lack of (European) knowledge of its expansive hinterland, but also for political reasons. Terming Africa backward and unenlightened gave colonial powers license to seize huge swathes of territory for “development” and “progress” of the natives. Unfortunately, the common stereotypes still persist in much of public - and literary - consciousness elsewhere. There are 54 independent countries on the continent, but for most of the outside world, all its (‘black’) people, outside the handful of Arabspeaking countries in the north, are thought as one. Take crime reports, usually relating to drug seizures, in Indian newspapers - “Narcotics worth Rs 1.5 crore seized, two Africans arrested”, “Three African nationals arrested in Dwarka; 1 kg heroin seized” or “Noida: Three African men arrested for cheating people by posing as customs officials”. Have you seen this used for people from other continents? This amorphous lumping is not far apart of the stereotypical cultural descriptions of Africa, as usually as the land of poor, illiterate, sick blacks living in hut villages/ untamed wilderness and at the mercy of repressive/grossly corrupt
governments led by unbalanced, egoistical leaders as political instability rages, since the transition from colonial rule. Big business and superpower rivalry also figures somewhere when it comes to national resources and aid. It is the “Wakanda” type (as from 2018 film “Black Panther” - but not that technologically advanced), a small country nestled somewhere in sub-Saharan Africa with thick jungles or parched savannahs, the residents a mix of white and blacks (the latter speaking pidgin English mostly).Evelyn Waugh’s Azania from “Black Mischief” (1932) and Ishmaelia from media satire “Scoop” (1938) are early examples. Then there is Zangaro in Frederick Forsyth’s “The Dogs of War” (1974), Zanj, Kush, and Sahel in John Updike’s “The Coup” (1978), and Zamzarin in William Boyd’s James Bond novel “Solo” (2013). Earlier, and even worse, there was “Darkest Africa” approach - even if the the setting was sandy wastelands, the grassy plains, the ruins of mysterious, unknown civilisations, or usually, the dense, treacherous jungle.You can see this in Lee Falk’s Phantom, Edgar Rice Burrough’s “Tarzan”, H. Rider Haggard’s “She” and “King Solomon’s Mines”, Michael Crichton’s “Congo”, Jules
Verne’s first-published work, “Five Weeks in a Balloon”, Edgar Wallace’s “Sanders of the River” series - posthumously continued bu Francis Gerard, Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” - using African wilderness to contrast a character’s descent to savagery, and almost everything written by Wilbur Smith. All, or most of these works, were also marked by the presence of the “Mighty White Hunter/Explorer” who made discoveries/restored peace/kept order, and so on, of course, helped, by the wise native advisor/warrior/tracker or other noble savages. As Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina remarked: “Always use the word ‘Africa’ or ‘Darkness’ or ‘Safari’ in your title. Subtitles may include the words ‘Zanzibar’, ‘Masai’, ‘Zulu’, ‘Zambezi’, ‘Congo’, ‘Nile’, ‘Big’, ‘Sky’, ‘Shadow’, ‘Drum’, ‘Sun’ or ‘Bygone’. Also useful are words such as ‘Guerrillas’, ‘Timeless’, ‘Primordial’ and ‘Tribal’.” “Taboo subjects: ordinary domestic scenes, love between Africans (unless a death is involved), references to African writers or intellectuals, mention of school-going children who are not suffering from yaws or Ebola fever or female genital mutilation,” he added in “How to Write About Africa”. However, there are a host of writers - American, British, Australian - who have dealt with Africa, be the colonial period or the present, with better understanding.They include William Boyd with “A Good Man in Africa” (1981), “An Ice-Cream War” (1982), “Brazzaville Beach” (1990), Robert Wilson with his West African noir crime series comprising “Instruments of Darkness” (1995), “The Big Killing” (1996), “Blood Is Dirt” (1997), and “A Darkening Stain”
‘There’s no greater thing than the magic of a shared experience’ From experiencing weekly concerts her grandmother hosted at home in Chennai to her formative education at the Jiddu Krishnamurti School, where her love for art and culture really took off, by the time Jaya Asokan, Director of India Art Fair, scheduled to take from April 28 to May 1 in the Capital, finished school, she went on to study Fine Arts at Stella Marris and Graphic Design at Parsons in New York.
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rom experiencing weekly concerts her grandmother hosted at home in Chennai to her formative education at the Jiddu Krishnamurti School, where her love for art and culture really took off, by the time Jaya Asokan, Director of India Art Fair, scheduled to take from April 28 to May 1 in the Capital, finished school, she went on to study Fine Arts at Stella Marris and Graphic Design at Parsons in New York. Since then, she has worked broadly in diverse creative roles across design, fashion, jewellery as well as at an auction house and gallery. "The learning throughout was the value of continuously making bridges across fields, and to work to bring in new ideas and audiences to any creative endeavour. At the India Art Fair too, our hope and mission is to broaden our base of collaborators, collectors and visitors by continually creating exciting content and programmes," she tells IANS. Asokan, who took over as Fair Director in April 2021 says it has been a year of learning and experimentation, not just for her, but for the whole team, and that they used as an opportunity to trial and test new ideas to adapt to changing conditions. "Through the lockdowns and pandemic, we realised the immense potential of art and culture, as entertainment, therapy and an object, which led us to evolve the fair strategy and transition from a 4-day event into a year-round brand with 365 days of presence, whether through pop-up events, programming or editorial." Thrilled to return to the physical format in 2022 in partnership with BMW India, the director adds they have expanded our digital activities massively with the goal of becoming a year-round platform championing Indian and South Asian art and artists. "Our refreshed website with newly commissioned artist films and stories, IAF Parallel exhibitions and events, a Noticeboard section with opportunities for artists and arts-professionals, virtual walkthroughs and workshops around the year will serve as the go-to source for all things Indian and South Asian
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(1998), while Nicholas Drayson’s “A Guide To The Birds Of East Africa” (2009) and “A Guide To The Beasts Of East Africa” are an engaging look at the Indian diaspora in Kenya. Then, there is Alexander McCall Smith’s “The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency” series.But, let’s look at some five-six works of writers from across the continent, especially from countries usually underrepresented on the global literary map. This will rule out South Africa which has two Nobel Literature laureates already in Nadime Gordimer and J.M. Coetzee, Egypt with Nobel winner Naguib Mahfouz and a vibrant literary scene, and Nigeria, where Wole Soyinka became the first Black African to receive the Nobel (it took 35 years before Abdulrazak Gurnah became the second). Let’s begin with Sudan - the continuum between Arab north Africa and the rest of the continent where the people are mostly culturally Arab but look “African”. (Confusingly, there is also a geographical sub-Saharan area of ‘Sudan’, which doesn’t include the country, as it forms a belt between the Sahara Desert and coastal West Africa). Leila Aboulela is one of the foremost Sudanese authors, even though living in Scotland and writing in English. While her debut novel “The Translator” (1999) is the story of a young Muslim Sudanese widow living in Scotland and her developing relationship with Scottish Middle Eastern scholar, her “Lyrics Alley” (2011) is an absorbing read. Loosely adapted from her own family, it is an evocative account of a prominent business family in Khartoum as the country moves
towards independence from the UK (and Egypt) and how fate trumps its patriarch’s succession plans, and the conflict between his first traditional-living wife and second, modern one wreaks havoc for the latter’s daughter, but, above all, of the resiliency of the spirit. Algeria, the largest country of the continent, has also a vibrant literary scene, right from the colonial period - Albert Camus and Frantz “Black Skin, White Masks” Fanon being some prominent examples. It does fall in the Arab cultural space, though its version of the language is quite different for other Arab speakers, and there is also the Berber influence.Ahlem Mosteghanemi is deemed the top-selling woman Arabic author and her trilogy “Zakirat el Jassad” (1993), “Fawda el Hawas”, and “Aber Sareer” show why. They are available in English as “The Bridges of Constantine” (2013), “Chaos of the Senses” (2015), and “The Dust of Promises” (2016), a lyrical and heart-tugging about loss and remembrance, exile and belonging, and love and longing. The first covers over four decades of Algerian history as it interweaves the characters’ life trajectories and memories from 1945 to 1988 when Khaled, the protagonist-narrator who fought in the liberation war, is writing a memoir of his in the form of the novel we read. Living in exile, his life undergoes tumult when Hayat, the daughter of his old revolutionary commander and now an enticing young woman novelist, unexpectedly reenters his life. The second takes up the story of Hayat who is trapped in a loveless marriage to a senior security official as the Algerian civil war rages and finds solace in a forbidden and
singular love affair. while the third brings destiny of Hayat, Khaled, and the narrator of the second book to a heady conclusion in Paris. Travelling southeast to Zimbabwe of Robert Mugabe, we have Tendai Huchu’s “The Hairdresser Of Harare” (2015). It seems a frothy comedy of manners till its somewhat disturbing denouement but is actually deftly served socio-political commentary with pity observations on classism, racism, and homophobia.It tells of a woman stylist in a Harare hair salon, who seems upstaged by a new male employee. They get close eventually but then she discovers something untoward some readers might see where there is heading to. Kwei Quartey, the son of a Ghanian father and an African-American mother, started writing along his medical career in the US. His Inspector Darko Dawson series “Wife of the Gods” (2009), “Children of the Street” (2011), “Death at the Voyager Hotel” (2014), “Murder at Cape Three Points” (2014), “Gold of Our Fathers” (2016) and “Death by His Grace” (2017) are innovative, intricate, and atmospheric crime stories that well capture the flavour of Ghana.His latest - “The Missing American” (2020), and “Sleep Well, My Lady” (2021) - bring in woman private investigator Emma Djan, with a nod to Raymond Chandler’s style.Finally, we come back to Wainaina, who tragically succumbed to a stroke in 2019, aged 48. If the excerpt from his 2005 satirical essay whetted your appetite, wait for “How to Write About Africa”, a collection of his trenchant writings on politics, cultural heritage and redefining sexuality and more besides, due to be published in September this year.
First-ever international film festival begins in Manipur The first edition of the 'Eikhoigi Imphal International Film Festival' began on Saturday at the Palace Auditorium of Manipur State Film Development Society (MSFDS), manifesting a new feather in the cap of Manipuri Cinema as it completes 50 years.
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art," she says. However, she feels there's no greater thing than the magic of a shared experience, and we really look forward to experiencing art in real-time and real space, instead of on screens. One of the major and most visible highlights will be the fair facade, which will be transformed into a work of art by the young artist and printmaker Anshuka Mahapatra, celebrating ideas of hope, love, life and togetherness through phrases taken from poems in seven Indian languages. The exhibition halls will welcome some of the most prominent galleries while the fair outdoors will be dotted with monumental art commissions, from the colourful 50-feet long mural titled 'The Future is Femme' along the front walkway of the fair created by trans and cis-women artists of Aravani Art Project supported by Saffronart Foundation, and a impressive metal sculpture made of reused silencer pipes evoking optimism in challenging times by the young Kolkata-born and bred Narayan Sinha supported by the Arts Ananda Trust. Asokan says that besides hosting some of the biggest collectors and art-patrons, we are launching a revamped Young Collectors' Programme to empower the next generation of collectors with the know-how and confidence to make
their first purchases, as well as support artists as patrons. Talk to her about the fact that Delhi heat in April end might keep many visitors away, and she asserts: "This is the first time that India Art Fair will take place in May, and we look forward to a memorable summer celebration. As always, the fair will ensure the comfort of visitors and will have fully air-conditioned exhibition space and sufficiently shaded outdoor areas." With a major focus on inclusivity and accessibility, India Art Fair will be working with 'Access for All' so as to create experiences that are welcoming to our diverse audiences. "We are committed to providing similar, if not identical experiences for all visitors participants regardless of their ability and strive for equity, accessibility and inclusion," she adds. The exhibition halls will show works of some major artists like Amrita Sher-Gil, V.S. Gaitonde and Nasreen Mohamedi (Chatterjee & Lal), and also contemporary ones Sujith S.N, Faiza Hasan and Subodh Kerkar who will reflect powerfully on climate change and sustainability. Achia Anzi, Kumar Misal and Baaraan Ijlal for who the personal is political; Tsohil Bhatia, Anupama Alias and Shine Shivan, Suchitra Mattai and Bushra Waqas Khan will make the viewer look at gender and sexuality with new eyes.
he first edition of the 'Eikhoigi Imphal International Film Festival' began on Saturday at the Palace Auditorium of Manipur State Film Development Society (MSFDS), manifesting a new feather in the cap of Manipuri Cinema as it completes 50 years. The five-day non-competitive festival, supported by the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry, is being organised as part of the year-long golden jubilee celebration of Manipuri Cinema. Speaking as the Chief Guest at the inaugural ceremony of the festival, eminent Manipuri filmmaker, Aribam Syam Sharma emphatically pointed out that special financial assistance from the government is a must for success of the festival in its future editions. Syam Sharma, who has been associated with Manipuri cinema since its inception, lamented that the government had always exuded indifferent attitude towards the growth of Manipuri cinema. Nevertheless, he drew the attention of the government to make the Manipur State Film and Television Institute fully functional at the earliest to facilitate professionalism and production of good films in the northeastern state. MSFDS Secretary, Sunzu Bachaspatimayum, while delivering the keynote address, stated that the festival has been conceived to catalyse the amplification of motion picture storytelling in Manipur. He further expressed joy over realising the dream of an international film festival where one experiences world cinema which slices life and intrinsic cultural and political experiences beyond one's boundaries and transpires invaluable knowledge. Manipur government's Commissioner of Art and Culture Department, M. Joy stated that the Eikhoigi Imphal International Film Festival marks the new beginning for Manipuri cinema. He also exuded confidence that the festival will fill up the void of a voracious cinematic culture in Manipur. Deputy Director of Directorate of Film Festivals under the Union
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Information and Broadcasting Ministry, Tanu Rai, Assamese filmmaker Utpal Borpujari, Khasi (Meghalaya) filmmaker Pradip Kurban among other prominent personalities also attended the inaugural function. Eminent filmmaker, Romi Meitei's award winning film "Eikhoigi Yum" (ours home), in its Imphal Premier screened in the opening day of the festival. Prior to the screening, contemporary dance performance aMeepao', a tribute to the pioneer filmmakers, choreographed by Surjit Nongmeikapam was also showcased. Manipur Film Development Society (MSFDS) Secretary Sunzu Bachaspatimayum said that in the 5-day long international film festival, 11 feature films, 8 non-feature
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films and one short film would be screened. Films including those from Iran, Germany, Korea, Philippines and Norway would be screened.He said that two Manipuri films -- Romi Meitei's "Eikhoigi Yum" and Haobam Pabankumar's "Nine Hills One Valley", acclaimed Khasi (Meghalaya) film, "Iewduh", directed by Pradeep Kurbah and Assamese film, "Ishu", directed by Utpal Borpujari will also be screened in the festival. Bachaspatimayum said that the festival being organised jointly by MSFDS and Manipur State Film and Television Institute (MSFTI), with financial aid from the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF) under the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
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