Flowers From Korea, With Love!

Ggotggozi (or Ggotgozi) may be difficult to pronounce, but what it stands for is sheer beauty. It is the Korean art of flower arrangement!

The gallery at the Inko Centre in Chennai played host to an exhibition of this art from June 18 to 20. Inko Centre is an entity that is established with an aim to promote inter-cultural dialogue between India and Korea. This flower exhibition was one of their various activities.

As I entered the gallery, several cheerful arrangements greeted me with their colours and a faint, sweetish scent.

They stood elegantly in simple vases lined along the white walls. Leaves, twigs and flowers creating open, flowing designs that not only appeal to your senses, but also calm them.

Each arrangement soothes you, trying to hold your attention for just a wee bit more time, the tall twigs in them literally standing out proudly.

Sure, there are bright colours, but they are not overbearing. There is space, and a delicate lightness about the creations on display.

Talented artists representing different flower associations in Korea had put together this show in Chennai.

Flowers were especially flown in from Korea. Barring a couple of arrangements that had some dyed elements, all were natural.

Not much information is available on Ggotggozi. I wish the organizers had provided some, introducing this art to visitors in Chennai.

It would have been wonderful to meet the artists in person and get to know more about their art directly from them. But that was not possible.

However, their names are Lee Jong Im, Chairman, Im Flower Association--Jang Eun Ki, Chairman, Chang Hyun Flower Association--Kim Jung, Chairman, Ye In Flower Association--Kim Young Ae, Chairman, Bloomy Flower Association--Choi Myung Sook, Chairman, Korea Ggotggozi Association--Choi Jin Ok, Assistant Chairman, Korea Flower Arrangement Association and Chairman Ka Hyang Flower Association--Kivak Eun Joo, Chairman, in Chennai, India Git Bi Flower Association--Kim Joong Ae, Chairman, Git Bi Flower Association and Kina Eun Hee, Chairman, Eun Hyang Flower Association.

Photos by Lata

It was lovely seeing their charming creations! Hoping to see more of their art in times to come!!

At The Regional Rail Museum In Chennai!

I discovered a nice little place in Chennai that many parents might like to take their children to. Why only children, it might be of interest to adults too; especially those who are train enthusiasts. It is the Regional Rail Museum. I did not know of its existence until a few days ago. Situated in the premises of the Integrated Coach Factory, it has exhibits that are both indoor and outdoor, technical and heritage. The ticket office is in an out-of-use train coach. Along with tickets, one can get miniature models of coaches and cards as souvenirs here. There is a small food court outside, actually it is more of a food stall.

I spent some time at the museum recently. It was hot, but the trees and other plants made walking in the outdoor exhibit area bearable. The indoor exhibits are full of information in the form of posters, pictures and models. But the outdoor is more appealing to the eye. The magnificent engines and coaches standing in the lawns are a photographer's delight. And there is a toy train too. Here are some of my pictures, taken both indoor and outdoor.

This beauty is one of the outdoor exhibits.

What is a rail museum without a toy train?

A tiny train, a small platform!

 This lovely fountain close to the toy train station is refreshing on a hot summer day.

 Where there is a train, there is a tunnel too!

 One of the paintings on the outer wall of the tunnel.

The indoor exhibits have several "to scale" models of old and new coaches. This is a model of a III class wooden coach.

 A double decker coach.

 An LHB air-conditioned chair car.

A large area in the hall is occupied by a running scale model in three different levels representing the Metro train, the suburban train and the MRTS. A view of Indira Nagar station.

And a running model train.

This gleaming Fowler Plough Engine (1895) stands elegantly just outside the main building housing the indoor exhibits.

Almost all the outdoor exhibits are equipped with ladders which help one to climb up to the cabins to see the interior. This ladder is attached to a steam engine. In another area, there is a gigantic crane too.

Members of Chennai Weekend Artists, a group of amateur artists have adorned some walls at the museum with their colourful and bright art. A pretty sample!

I am told that the paints are supplied by the museum, while the artists give their precious time and talent. The result is beautiful!

A little hut storing some maintenance or gardening tools has this impressive engine roaring out of its walls!

On Akshaya Tritiya, A look At Child Brides and "Rehaai"!

"Rajasthan gears up to prevent child marriages on Akshaya Tritiya*", screams a headline in one of the papers I was reading the other day. The accompanying report goes on: The Annual Health Survey for 2012-2013 says that over 14 per cent of the girls in the state were married when they were below the legal age of 18. According to Health Minister Rajendra Rathore, Accredited Social Health Activists and Auxiliary Nurse Midwives, paramedical staff, health workers and NGOs have been asked to prevent child marriages in their areas. A massive campaign in the state is making people aware of the fact that not only parents and guests, but all those involved in child marriages like priests, tent-house owners, caterers and band-owners could be booked under the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2006.

With these measures, hope the figures for child marriages are much lower in the current Annual Health Survey. No doubt, the issue of child marriages is a serious one; but what made me realize its gravity is a Pakistani drama "Rehaai" that I watched recently. Just 15 episodes of intense drama drive home a social message so effectively that no other medium could possibly have. A child bride is not merely a statistic here, but a living breathing adolescent who undergoes the trials and tribulations of this social evil. And we, as viewers are left red-faced looking in the mirror it holds to the after-effects of this custom that thrives in parts of India and Pakistan alike.

Photo: UNFPA/Stephanie Sinclair

The story of "Rehaai" deals primarily with child marriage, but several other issues are woven beautifully into it. Like the desire for male offspring, pregnancy at a young age, polygyny and the insecurity it brings with it for women, confining women to home and hearth under the notion that it is against a man's pride to send his woman out for earning money, and domestic violence. But in spite of all this, it is not a weepy, depressing tale. It is a superb portrayal of grit and resilience shown by a bunch of women who are ill-prepared to handle situations that they find themselves in. If seeing them as targets of atrocities makes your blood boil,  looking at the way they face and fight the difficulties warms the cockles of your heart.

Kudos to the team of this wonderful drama. This is meaningful television at its best. The more I see of Samina Peerzada, the more I like her. She is brilliant as the troubled matriarch of this family, struggling to deal with the ways of her wayward son. Her talent is matched in equal measure by Noman Ijaz, who plays her headstrong son. Another significant feature of this drama is that it is played out in a lower/lower-middle class neighbourhood. The language, the dress sense of the characters and the whole ambience reflects their class with a blunt honesty. No opulent mansions, no flowery language, no fancy cars and definitely no designer clothes or jewellery. There is a certain "rawness" about the way it is presented, lending it its authenticity and credibility. Farhat Ishtiaq's story is accentuated by Mehreen Jabbar's nuanced direction. Watch out for her attention to detail. It brings the location alive on your screen.

Tailpiece: I watched this drama when Deepika Padukone's "My Choice" was doing the rounds on social and news media. The glossy women appearing in that video and the lines they were mouthing sounded inane, and paled in comparison with what the women did and said in "Rehaai" in terms of women empowerment. And no, being in that situation was not their choice!

*Akshaya Tritiya falls on April 21 this year.

यादों के आँगन में

पुराने मकानों को धराशायी कर वहाँ नई इमारतें खड़ी करना आजकल आम बात है. इसीसे जुड़ा एक सुन्दर लघुलेख मैंने पिछले दिनों अंग्रेज़ी में पढ़ा. बहुत ही तरल और हृदयस्पर्शी! न्यू इण्डियन एक्सप्रेस में २८ सितम्बर, २०११ को प्रकाशित रवि शंकर की यह रचना चंद शब्दों में अपनी बात कहती है. यह देखने के लिए कि क्या हिन्दी में भी वह बात बन पाती है, मैंने उसका तर्जुमा हिन्दी में किया है. मूल लेख की लिंक भी साथ है. पढ़ें और बताएँ!

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अतीत की यादें किसी पुराने रिकॉर्ड की तरह होती हैं, जिसे छोटे बच्चों के कपड़ों या पुराने प्रेमपत्रों की तरह घर के कबाड़ख़ाने में सहेज कर रखा जाता है. उस रिकॉर्ड को बजाओ तो पता चलता है कि उसमें कई खरोंचें आ चुकी हैं और आवाज़ बार-बार टूट रही है; वह आवाज़ दिल को कचोटती है. लेकिन मन में गीत की वह धुन अब भी अच्छी तरह से बजती है...एक लम्बा अरसा गुज़र जाने के बावजूद!

अपने बचपन के घर में लौटकर उसे कुछ अजीब-सा लगा, जैसे वह एक परिचित अजनबी हो. वह घर जल्द ही बिकनेवाला था. पीली पड़ चुकी दीवारों पर आँगन के पेड़ की छाया ऐसे दिख रही थी जैसे किसी दैत्य के हाथ हों, बचपन की रातों में हिलते हुए वह हाथ बहुत डरावने लगते थे. फिर वह उन इबारतों को खोजने लगा जो बचपन में उन्होंने गुप्त जगहों पर चोरी-छिपे लिखी थीं. शायद बाद में पुताई करनेवालों की नज़रों से वे बच गई हों, क्योंकि उन जगहों तक वही पहुँच सकते थे जिन्हें उनके बारे में जानकारी हो. वह एक छोटी लड़की की धुँधली हो चुकी तस्वीर उठाने के लिए नीचे झुका. शायद साथ ही पड़ी अस्त-व्यस्त पन्नों वाली अभ्यास-पुस्तिका में से यह तस्वीर नीचे गिर पड़ी थी. एक मुस्कुराते हुए चेहरे के दोनों तरफ लाल फीते के फूलों से सजी दो चोटियाँ, काजल से गहराई आँखें जो धूप की वजह से बंद हो रही थीं; एक पल के लिए हवा का झोंका कहीं से चमेली के फूलों की खुशबू लेकर आया और यादों के खज़ाने में से हँसी की आवाज़ गूँज उठी.

वह खाली कमरों में चहलकदमी करने लगा. जहाँ कभी चित्र टँगे होते थे, वहाँ अब ख़ाली चौकोर थे. छत में बड़े-बड़े छेद थे जिनमें से दिखनेवाले आकाश को छत की बल्लियाँ चिढ़ा रही थीं. चटके हुए फर्श पर फैले कूड़े के बीच पड़े चिड़ी के इक्के पर उसकी नज़र पड़ी. वह ऐसे मुस्कुराया जैसे किसीने कई बार सुना हुआ लतीफ़ा दोहराया हो. लतीफ़ा तो अब मजेदार नहीं रहा, महज उसे सुनाए जाने की याद से चेहरे पर मुस्कुराहट छा गई. इसी घर के बरामदे में दोस्तों के साथ ताश खेलते हुए सुना लतीफ़ा. अब तो उन दोस्तों की कोई ख़बर ही नहीं है.

अनवर हुसैन की शृंखला "नॉस्टेलजिया" से साभार  

लकड़ी के जिन खम्भों पर ढलाऊँ छत टिकी हुई है, वह जल्द ही उखड़ जाएँगे. उसने गहरे रंग की उस लकड़ी को छुआ. उसकी उँगलियों ने वहाँ उसके पूर्वजों के स्पर्श को महसूस किया. मगन होकर नाचनेवाले फ़कीर की तरह अपनी बाँहें आकाश में फैलाकर सूरज ढल रहा था. उसने मलाबार का वह सूर्यास्त देखा, जहाँ कई-कई रंग बिखर रहे थे, ठीक उसके गीत के सुरों की तरह. उसे लगा उसने घर के अन्दर से अपनी माँ की पुकार सुनी. माँ के हाथों की बनी कॉफ़ी की विशिष्ट तेज़ सुगंध भी उस तक पहुँची. उसने एक झटके के साथ मुड़ कर पीछे देखा, लेकिन घर में कोई नहीं था.

बगीचे में पौधे बेतरतीब-से बढ़े हुए थे. आँगन में कई दिनों से झाड़ू नहीं लगी थी और यहाँ-वहाँ कूड़ा फैला हुआ था. लेकिन वहीं पर तुलसी वृन्दावन ऐसे खड़ा था जैसे इस बीच इतने वर्षों का अंतराल गुज़रा ही न हो. सफ़ेदी किया हुआ ईंटों का चौकोर चबूतरा, जिसमें दीया रखने के लिए छोटे-छोटे आले बने हुए थे ताकि दीये को हवा न लगे. पौधा हरा-भरा था. उसके पत्तों की भीनी खुशबू उस शाम को महका रही थी. उसने तुलसी के एक पत्ते को अपनी उँगलियों के बीच दबाया. उसके सुगन्धित स्पर्श से उसे सुकून मिला. जब उसने देखा कि पौधे के नीचे की मिट्टी नम है, तो उसे बहुत अचरज हुआ. पिछले कई दिनों से बारिश नहीं हुई थी. उसने नीचे झुककर आले की ओर देखा तो वहाँ रखा मिट्टी का एक दीया उसे दिखा. उस दीये में तेल के धब्बे थे. किसीने यह दीया पिछले दिनों जलाया था.

वह मुस्कुराया. उसकी जेब में रखा फ़ोन बज उठा. घर के खरीदारों की तरफ़ से उनके एजेंट का फ़ोन था. शायद पता करना चाहता था कि वह कितनी जल्दी घर के कागज़ात पर दस्तख़त कर सकते हैं. उसने फ़ोन नहीं उठाया.

मूल अंग्रेज़ी रचना: रवि शंकर , न्यू  इण्डियन एक्सप्रेस, २८ सितम्बर २०११

Playing With Clay!

Kalakshetra Foundation is hosting Earth Matters II, a month-long Indo-Korean Ceramic Residency in its sprawling campus in Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai from 19 January to 23 February 2015. It is being organized by the InKo Centre in association with the Arts Council Korea (ARKO), Lalit Kala Akademi and the Kalakshetra Foundation. This project is the second in the series in India. The first edition took place in January 2012.

The residency has brought together 12 ceramic artists--six each from India and Korea. They are Kim Seungtaek, Kim Jaegyu, Jung Hyesook, Kim Younghyun, Yoo Euijeong, Son Jinhee, Zaida Jacob, Phalguni Samanta, Srinia Chowdhury, Nidhi Chopra, Ashish Chowdhury and S Potrarasan. The residency will be followed by an Indo-Korean Ceramic Exhibition at Lalit Kala Akademi in Chennai from 25 February to 5 March 2015.

I was happy to be able to spend some time and see the artists at work at the studio in Kalakshetra. They looked happy to be working there too. There was friendly banter, laughter and sincere work, all happening at the same time in the serene locale on a bright January afternoon. Here's wishing all the artists a great time at the residency!

Since their work holds a visual appeal, I decided not to write about it in words, and let some more pictures from the studio speak instead. Take a look!

"Celebrating Oneness" With Music And Dance At The Beach

"Music, theatre and the arts are meant to be bridges to connect across cultures, civilisations and other artificial boundaries that divide people. But, often they fall prey to the same divisions created by man. As arts get more and more esoteric -- with artists and the audience seeking comfort in homogeneity of class, caste, race or creed -- even it begins losing its ability to communicate and build bridges across the vast and wondrous diversity of people and places. The art and the artists stop growing."

Says noted Carnatic vocalist T. M. Krishna in a note on the thought behind putting together the Urur Olcott Kuppam Margazhi Vizha, a unique festival of dance and music by the beach that took place on January 15 and 16 in a fishing village in Chennai. By taking classical music and dance out of the closed environs of elite auditoriums and bringing it right in the middle of a fishing village, he and his team have taken the first step towards "celebrating oneness" as the tag line in the banner says.

The idea sounds so attractive and inviting that we decide to go. As we turn in a narrow lane just off the road parallel to the happening Elliot's Beach, it feels as if we are transported to a different world. Local women selling flowers guide us to the "kutcheri" that their village is hosting. I am told some social organisations have pitched in to do the cleaning up and to raise funds privately for this fest. What used be a dumping yard for old cars has been transformed into a lovely performance space, with the Bay of Bengal providing a beautiful backdrop.  A Matador and a Qualis have been left behind while the rest of the area has been cleared of all the old cars. Spray-painted and decorated with strings of light bulbs, these vehicles add an authentic local touch to the venue. Later, many kids get onto the top of the Matador to enjoy a better view of the performances. A couple of walls in the area have been painted in festival-related graffiti. The kuppam (fishing village) is now ready for the festival.

People come full of curiosity and anticipation for this novel event, many preferring to sit down in the sand while several take chairs thoughtfully provided by the organizers. The programme is compered confidently by two girls from the kuppam. Local youth perform an energetic paraiaattam with drums, and a group of girls engages the audience with their wit and charm in villupaattu (musical story-telling performed using bow as the primary musical instrument). It is a pity that I cannot enjoy the story-telling because of my inadequacy in Tamil, but judging from the reaction of others, they are having a great time.

The first classical offering of the day is an instrumental ensemble featuring  young and talented musicians on flute, violin, chitra vina, kanjira, mrudangam and morsing, followed by a Bharatanatyam recital by Anita Guha's troupe. The second day opens with the customary paraiaattam and villupaattu. Later, popular playback singer and Carnatic vocalist P. Unnikrishnan takes the stage and regales the audience with well-known compositions amid requests for film songs from the kuppam kids. He obliges in the end crooning a few lines from the super-hit ennavale adi ennavale. The festival draws to an end with "Krishnan Tudhu" by Kattaikuttu Sangam.

All through the festival, the energy and enthusiasm of not only the performers but also that of the organizers and volunteers is overwhelming and infectious. The kuppam residents have been co-operative and supportive of the event. What has this whole exercise achieved? Well, it is too early to say. Certainly a new initiative has been taken. Congratulations to T. M. Krishna for conceptualising this fest and actually making it happen. One of the "Aha" moments for me is when he decides to introduce all the musical instruments in the ensemble to the local kids, pointing at each instrument and saying its name loudly. Getting the kuppam girls to compere the proceedings is a great way to include them too. Most of the villagers have not had any exposure to any classical music, musicians or instruments before this. This effort has brought them slightly closer to all those. Hope more such efforts will follow. T. M. Krishna sums it up nicely when he says, "Let them listen to it all, and even if one of them likes it and wants to learn, my purpose is served."

Here are some more images from the festival that will help to get a feel of the wonderful ambiance.