‘I feel an energy of war around Charlie Hebdo protests’

http://www.newsroompost.com/150748/felt-energy-war-around-protests/

More than 3.7 million people participated in the demonstration against the recent attack on Charlie Hebdo, the French satirical weekly newspaper. This mega demonstration was led by many world leaders including French President, Francois Hollande, top representatives of Russia and Ukraine, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas. London, Madrid, New York, Cairo, Sydney, Stockholm, Tokyo and other cities in other parts of the world too swelled the streets in protest.

During a conversation with a few artists spread across France and those who participated in the demonstration, interesting perspectives emerged. French actress, Laetitia Eido and Director and Producer, Maxime Potherat discuss the meaning and ramifications of these attacks withnewsroompost.com.

Newsroompost.com – As artists, how do you see these attacks?

Laetitia – The demonstration makes it feel that it is a new problem, that something bizarre has happened. But it is not a problem that has happened now. The fear of being attacked was always there. This need to suppress always existed. But what has happened is that one realizes now that ‘Oh wow! It is real, it is happening right here, right now.’

Maxime – My English is not very good. So, I will pitch in only when I have to say something important. It is difficult to have fun now. What has also happened is that somewhere the freedom to speak and say and express suddenly feels hit. But it is also important that now everyone realizes that it is a world problem. For me, it is not about France alone, it is a world problem.

Newsroompost.com – How do you see the protests?

Laetitia – There is a huge support which should be the case. People are speaking out, that also is good. But what is also scary is the slant these protests are taking. Suddenly, it is somehow about Islam which is not the case. There is massive confusion of issues. What are we protesting for and against what? No one is clear. And those who are clear are manipulating it.

Newsroompost.com – And when you say, someone is manipulating it, who do you mean they are?

Laetitia – There are all sorts of people with hidden agendas. They are confusing issues. I went to the manifestation just to show solidarity. Suddenly I hear multiple voices. For some, there is the question of Jewish infiltration and how jobs are being snatched. For some, there are issues of all kinds of foreigners from different countries taking away our resources. So, you see, Charlie Hebdo protests are no more about freedom of expression. There is a muddle. The government is manipulating it to launch offensive against nations. The various groups and factions are manipulating the movement for their own interests.

Newsroompost.com – So, it is not about freedom of expression you feel?

Laetitia – It might have begun like that- even the offensive. To clamp on those who wanted to say something other than what you wanted to hear. But today, ironically, you can not even ask what the movement is about? You have lost the discretion to express what you believe in.

Newsroompost.com – Could you please elaborate?

Laetitia – Sure. Let me begin by asking, why are so many world leaders here? If it is about solidarity, then there is the Indian Prime Minister as well who expressed solidarity in front of global leaders during the recent meet. It is not innocent, these people being here. But because I have said it, by stretching my statement further, suddenly I will be branded an anti-Semitic or anti-Islam or whatever. Gradually, I will be against so many things for people that I would no longer be able to explain that I am just against extremism, in general. Lot of people over there are not there for the right reasons.

Newsroompost.com – What is the scariest part between all that you said and all that you feel?

Laetitia – I feel an energy of war around Charlie Hebdo protests. People are just ready to do anything to seek justice – without understanding what it is that they are fighting for – collectively.
As long as you have this feeling for terrorists and extremists, it is fine. But can you sustain a long fight with violence and negative energies? There is a saying in English, right, that an eye for eye makes the whole world blind.

Newsroompost.com – What are you planning to do now?

Maxime – We just want to continue. We just want to speak against these attacks and many more of them, time and again. Respect is the most important thing in this world and at no cost we should lose it. It is important that we do not get scared and keep talking about what is going on. To not lose one’s voice.

Laetitia – I am an actress. I am in my profession because I want to understand human soul. I know that for me, it is about finding my center. I want to make peace with myself first. I know that this realization is deeper than demonstrations. And it is also the most frightening thing to do because not many, at the moment, are willing to take charge and move out. This first step is very hard. To work on oneself, is the most difficult thing to do. So I will do that.

Newsroompost.com – When you say that Laetitia, are you not just evading the issue to go back in a shell?

Laetitia – Ok. Let me try and explain. This was a recent case. There was this 15 year old girl in France. She was not very religious in the way we loosely use the term religion. She posted something on her facebook wall which went along the lines of “one day my mistake will be forgiven.” Now some terror outfit brainwashed her into believing that she can do so many things to seek forgiveness. The route they suggested was to join the group in Syria and become a nurse. She goes to Syria, becomes a nurse, marries a man from turkey and somehow, one step after the other, becomes a ‘jehadist’. Later, she realizes her mistake and confesses that she committed a grave fault. I believe this self realization is essential. It is along this line that I said that I want to find my own center. Because you know, just like anywhere else in the world, there are people sleeping in France, right across your very own street and are ready to become a martyr.

http://www.newsroompost.com/150748/felt-energy-war-around-protests/

Peshawar attack darkest spot on human kind: Satyarthi

http://www.newsroompost.com/140589/peshawar-attack-darkest-spot-human-kind-satyarthi/

Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi described the child massacre by Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Peshawar as “the darkest and blackest spot on human kind” and “the most heinous crime that no civilised society and no human society could ever tolerate”.

Talking to newsroompost.com, he condemned the killing of 132 school children in Pakistan. Informing that he has not been able to speak to Malala post the tragedy, he said, “I definitely believe that all children must be safe. All children must be enjoying their childhood. All children are free. All children should go to schools and there should be no compromise on this.”

He further added, “These are fundamental principles already laid down in the UN Conventions and so on.” Elaborating on his future course of action with the government especially with respect to the issue of child rights and child safety, Satyarthi said, “Of course we will be in more concrete talks in future.”

He also said, “Now we are surrounded by the media all the time. If you allow us, in a few days we will begin speaking to the government.”

Speaking about his recent interactions with political and government stakeholders, Satyarthi informed, “I never met Rahul Gandhi. I met Mr. Modi. Of course I also met Soniaji after the announcement of the prize. They are all excited about the prize.”

Talking of the award, Satyarthi said, “This is not a prize for me alone. It is for the entire nation and all the children in the world.”

http://www.newsroompost.com/140589/peshawar-attack-darkest-spot-human-kind-satyarthi/

There is no good or bad Taliban: Lt. Gen(Rtd.) S Prasad

http://www.newsroompost.com/140336/peshwar-attack-no-distinction-good-bad-taliban/

Lt. Gen.(Rtd.) Shankar Prasad, in a conversation with the newsroompost.com explores the reaction within the Indian Army on the gruesome child massacre by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Peshawar on the December 16.

Responding to a question on where he thought Pakistan failed, Prasad quipped, “Simply because they are nurturing terrorism. What they did for 20 years has hit them hard pushing them back by at least 10 years now.”

He said that for Pakistan, “those groups that they unleash on India to perpetrate terror are good and those who attack them are bad even though they are created, funded and trained by them”, adding, “There is no good or bad Taliban.”

Answering a question on how he thought the Pakistani establishment can send a strong message to the world and its own people, Prasad said, “The Government of Pakistan has to decide once and for all if it actually wants to end terrorism. It will have to demonstrate to the world that it is serious about dismantling the terror network.”

“As a first step, the Government of Pakistan should hand over Hafeez Sayeed and Dawood Ibrahim to the Indian government. Not just the TTP but LeT, Al Qaeda and all other terrorist outfits have to be dealt with iron hands by the government of Pakistan,” he said

Reflecting on Pakistan’s army, Prasad remarked, “Pakistan’s Prime Minister advised the army not to launch offensive in the North Wajiristan region. But the Army chief went ahead. Going by this state of the army, it is difficult to say that there is any hope in a region where there is mass destruction by the army.”

Commenting on lifting the ban on death penalty in Pakistan in an announcement made by Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, Prasad said, “The announcement to lift the ban on death penalty is going to do nothing as long as the government and/or the army keeps sheltering the terror outfits.”

Sympathising and empathizing with the people of Pakistan, Prasad said, “The people of Pakistan are disgusted by the kind of government they have. There is so called democracy which is not democratic.”

He further said that the people of Pakistan must revolt.

On being questioned on the role of Pakistan’s media in the wake of this attack, Prasad reflected that the media in Pakistan needs to be aggressive on incidents of terror not just within its territory but also outside it especially on cases of cross border terrorism.

http://www.newsroompost.com/140336/peshwar-attack-no-distinction-good-bad-taliban/

"I have a problem with people using their popularity for political gains"

http://www.newsroompost.com/153313/zee-jlf-good-forum-writers-beyond-language-barriers-ravish-kumar/

Ravish Kumar is the senior executive editor at NDTV India. As a TV anchor, journalist and writer, he has created his own niche on social media, Hindi electronic media and in the hearts of people. This year the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival(ZEE JLF) 2015 will witness the inauguration of his latest book, Ishq Me Shahar Hona. As an invitee to the world’s largest free literature festival, Ravish will participate in two discussions on the 24th of January.

In a conversation with newsroompost.com, Ravish speaks about his latest collection of short stories, or nano stories, his ideas on politics, literature festivals and the readers/audience.

Newsroompost – Your latest book Ishq Me Shahar Hona would be inaugurated at the ZEE JLF 2015. What is this book about?

Ravish – It is a collection of short stories about two lovers in a city who interact with each other and in the process recreate their own cities. When we migrate from one city to the other, we adapt to and adopt the cities. So, inevitably we form a relationship with the city. I migrated from Motihari to Patna to Delhi. Each time I used to go back, I was told ‘not to become the city’ and not to ‘become of the city’. Values, habits, ideas changed over time in Delhi. The injunctions of coming back home before 5pm, not working for night shifts etc broke in the process of adapting to the city. This book deals with these processes of adaptation, adoption and migration. It is about two lovers who explore the city and in the process, their own selves.

Newsroompost – So, how do you look at the city in your book?

Ravish – The image of a city is very private in this book. This book creates a personal space for two lovers within urban space. The lovers talk to each other using city and its various components as metaphor. So, that is city in this book. Very personal. Like, a Bihari boy goes to Lajpat Nagar and is fascinated to discover momos. He eats them. Later, he gives the vendor athekua. Like, a boy from Karawal Nagar falls in love with a girl from South Ex. They talk about their own Delhis. So, it is an interaction of all these recreated personal cities for very different characters in this book.

Newsroompost – Do you think something like this has been done before? How do you see the journey from your first book Dekhte Rahiye to Ishq Me Shahar Hona?

Ravish – I am not a learned man when it comes to literature. This was not a work that I accomplished as a project. I write on blogs, twitter, facebook. In fact, this book is a collection of my writings on facebook. When facebook had a limited space to write about, there were a few lines I used to scribble. This book is a collection of 7-8 lines written on many of those posts. Dekhte Rahiye was a collection of my blog posts.

Newsroompost – Many writers participating in ZEE JLF or otherwise are not very happy with the way literature festivals are organized. As a Hindi writer, how do you find yourself in the space these festivals provide?

Ravish – I have been going to the Jaipur Literature Festival over the years. It is extremely encouraging to see that Hindi and regional literature have been given equal respect at this forum. There was a session of Maithili in the festival sometime back. The first Maithili newspaper was published from Jaipur under the patronage of the royal house. Many maithili brahmins from Bihar migrated there. And all this could be known because of the discussions that ensued there. We have acclaimed poets like Ashok Vajpayi  attending the festival. Even Vinod Kumar Shukla has been duly honoured at the festival. So, I think it’s a good place for writers beyond language barriers. But yes, I agree, that literature festivals are literary melas these days. Meet people, authors, readers, publishers alike like you meet someone at melas. But then what do you do? That’s how it has become everywhere. A writer should get an opportunity to move out of his serious cocoon. What is wrong in a little bit of pompousness?

Newsroompost – Can I navigate a little bit into politics?

Ravish – Yes yes. Ask.

Newsroompost – How do you see the upcoming Delhi elections, especially after Kiran Bedi’s entry into the BJP?

Ravish – It is a test of the public. Like many others, I am disappointed with the way political discourse has been reduced to hollow political sloganeering. There is, in fact, no debate. It seems personalities are being launched as marketing products – in all the parties; AAP or the BJP or anyone. Kiran Bedi comes with an experience. Kejriwal came with his own set of experience. But what are you trying to sell and present? All of them, each one of them, are selling administration as governance. What do they think? That people have no sense of judgment? Look at the hoardings all over Delhi today. It is shameful. Crores are being spent on buying that kind of space and for what? It is unfortunate because if we see zero political debate in Delhi, where at least we have a decent educated population, what do we hope for the country? Can we even do that – hope? So, I think, this election, more than anything else is a test of the public.

Newsroompost – I know you have said many times before that you don’t like hearing this, but the fact is that you are almost a celebrity. You connect with the masses and raise pertinent issues of concern. Do we see Ravish in politics?

Ravish – In one word, no. I will tell you why. I have a problem with people using their popularity for political gains. Though yes, some have done wonderful work as well but I cannot. I like understanding people, knowing them, meeting them. It is a challenge. I fail sometimes. I do some very bad shows at times. But whatever it is, it is this work that has given me this identity and I respect that. For me, the love and bond with people is more important than anything else. People have loved me a lot. They trust me a great deal. And I respect these emotions people have for me. Politics is a serious business. Karyakartas in a party serve and struggle for ages to get to a place where they are and aim to be. For me, it is wrong to use my currency and snatch their position just because I am popular. And am not popular because of my politics but because people think I did good work in whatever I did.

Nesroompost – Because of all that you said about politics when talking of Delhi elections, do you not think a person like you will do some good in politics?

Ravish – I don’t trust the public. If you say, I might do good work, I would also need people for whom I can do good work. I don’t see those kind of people. Do you see anyone protesting about the kind of ridiculously lousy posters everywhere? Look at the amount of money that is being used in elections by everyone who is contesting. Do I have that kind of money? Where will I get that kind of money from? Also, the person that I am, if I do not like anything in a hypothetical party I join, I will be the person to call a press conference and say that such and such is wrong. I am a creative person. I will do something else after I leave what I am doing. I don’t know yet what I will do. But I will do something. As to your question, no I will not join politics – in the ideal state that we are talking, as of now.

http://www.newsroompost.com/153313/zee-jlf-good-forum-writers-beyond-language-barriers-ravish-kumar/

It takes all kinds of artists to change the world: Ellie Cross

http://www.newsroompost.com/146422/conversation-ellie-cross/

Ellie Cross is an artist from Seattle. After a formal training in art, she got interested in using art as a medium and a tool for curating solutions in order to create a better and just world. Ellie has worked in almost 10 countries and worked with local communities in Malaysia, Thailand, Guatemala, India, El Salvador, Ghana, Nicaragua, Tibet, Cambodia and the U.S.

Ellie, along with the local teams at all these places, created mural paintings on wide array of themes like environmental concerns and sustainable development, gender injustice and a strive towards equality, crippling poverty and art as a medium to learn and express, human trafficking and being salvaged from flesh trade among many others.

In a skype conversation with newsroompost.com, here is what Ellie revealed about her art and her commitments:

Newsroompost: Ellie, thank you so much for joining us. Art, in India is not considered a lucrative vocation and artists abandoning everything and embracing just art for their livelihood is a very brave step. You are from the US and have worked a great deal in various continents and countries. Do you think this kind of marginalisation when it comes to looking at art and giving it its due is a universal phenomenon?

Ellie Cross: Of course, yes. Art is not really a lucrative career option anywhere which is unfortunate given the immense possibilities within art. But i feel, one should follow one’s passion most definitely.

Newsroompost: You have done so much within such a short span of time. How is it that you fund your activities and your work? You were in India for a fair bit of time, for example.

Ellie Cross: I work for a bit, save, travel and work again. This cycle continues to run me and my passions. In India, i was teaching for three years. So, that kind of kept the kitchen running and allowed me to do my work.

Newsroompost: Your concept of marrying social commitment with art is a very beautiful and unique concept especially in times we inhabit where art either exists for ‘art’s sake’, is abstract or is vociferously polemical or political. How and why do you see art as this medium for social change?

Ellie Cross:  Art was always my calling. I knew that come what may, i will invest all my energies in art and work herein. It is so wonderful how art grapples with realities all around. You know, you don’t create anything anew. It is all interrogated by what you see around, what you feel and how you respond. Therefore, for me , it is almost impossible to dissociate art and reality or social commitment as you put it. Therefore, art has to and must invade meanings and help create something for a better world.

Newsroompost: So, you feel that art is political? Do you think art should send out messages for world – from the eyes of the artist as poet P.B. Shelley said that ‘poets(artists) are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.’

Ellie Cross: You are right. Art can not be a vocation in vacuum. It is very political. In fact, i personally feel that art should always be coupled with acitivism. That it should and must pave way for what’s happening around to what should happen around. Having said that, i also feel that it takes all kinds of artists to change the world. One common formula does not fit in all. Only activist artists can not be credited with the beautiful changes that we see or will see around. So, to go back to what you said, ‘art for art’s sake’ is also important just at Shelleyian idea of art is.

Newsroompost: Ellie, you have worked in 10 countries and have interacted with so many people, cultures, realities, responses and art forms. What do you think has been the most challenging situation by far? And what do you think are the challenges common to working in a dynamic space like this?

Ellie Cross:  Cultures, as you said, are different.  They created a beautiful dichotomy in my work space. On the one hand, it was amazing to know and absorb so much working with communities in all these different spaces. On the other hand, there was this huge language and cultural barrier that needed to be dealt with – broken and forged – before taking up the work that i envisaged. It took up a large part of my time, to form relationships with people that were conducive enough to come together for work.

Art, the kind which i engage in, is all about community coming together for a common good or goal or reason, or however you put it. For me, creating that condition to be able to create something new was the most challenging. Language, in that respect too, creates a problem.

I remember, in my first project at Mahim, Mumbai, i was so ennerved by the sheer size of population that came up that it was difficult to imagine completing that work(chuckles)…but we did.

Newsroompost: Ellie, you worked in India for a year. How do you see our country and what did you think of its potential, as an artist and acitivist?

Ellie Cross:The one thing which absolutely amazes me about your country is the sheer connectivity within communities. It is a culturally connected community. So, the kind of work i tried to do in India – its potential is huge and unique.

Look at this. The murals in slums and railway stations of Mumbai are now a community asset. It is great to discover that the community took care of its own creation by adding fresh layers of paint to it at regular intervals. That is the reward for community, its power to own and appropriate its space. So, in terms of potential, it huge – this kind of an ownership that incidentally happened through art there.

Newsroompost: Isn’t it similar to your experiences in Tibet?

Ellie Cross:  Yes, it is. In fact, Tibet showed me a microcosm of understanding art and how and what it means. I went to Tibet with a preconceived notion. I was cynical and thought that the western influence is consuming the Tibetan world and that it needs protection and preservation. But i was amazed and humbled to find how beautifully they had appropriated the western world view to their own advantage. Tibetans, being the smart people they are, are not just using art forms to preserve their culture but armed with the western ideals are forging new and creative bonds.

Newsroompost: What are issues that are close to your heart. I know you have worked a great deal on various issues and concerns, but what is that one thing that resonates with your commitment?

Ellie Cross:  I went to an all girls college. So, for sure, feminism is important to me. But i also feel quite strongly about environmental concerns.

Newsroompost: At the risk of asking you a very political and therefore a personal question, Ellie, i hope you do see some problems that are generated by the US and that has made this kind of ‘grappling with art for a better world’ a necessity. As an American, how do you see this politically?

Ellie Cross:  I disagree to what Obama has done in many ways. However, one has to understand that the real problems are structural – Obama or no Obama. Within the US,  immigration reforms, prison reforms are very important and need immediate attention. And you are right, the foreign policy of the government which is, by and large, based on aggression, is deeply problematic.

Newsroompost: What projects are keeping you busy these days?

Ellie Cross:  I am working on a poetry book that makes use of illustrative art and am working in Chile for murals called Window on the wall.

Newsroompost: Ellie, thank you so much for this beautiful conversation

Ellie Cross: The pleasure was all mine.

http://www.newsroompost.com/146422/conversation-ellie-cross/

Author’s Corner: With Shefalika Verma

http://www.womensweb.in/articles/shefalika-verma-author-interview/

Shefalika Verma is the first woman writer of Maithili to have bagged the Sahitya Akademi Award. With fifteen publications – poetry, short stories, novels, travelogues, autobiography – to her credit, Shefalika was the image of perfect poise when she appeared for this interview. Excerpts from an hour-long rendezvous with the writer, lover and critic of literature and life:

Firstly, congratulations! How do you feel about receiving the Sahitya Akademi Award? Were you expecting it?

Shefalika Verma: Thank you! Well, I chose writing because it was close to my heart. I have been writing for a very long time now. I started off writing for self-consumption but gradually my works started to get published in magazines like Balak, Chandamama, Kadambini, Rashtra Bhasha Sandesh etc. It was then that the idea was nursed in me by my family that I could write and that I should write more regularly. My father, father-in-law and my husband really put me into the realm of writing and that’s how it all began. This award makes me feel happy that I could make these people in my life proud.

I did not expect it; it was a surprise. For a number of days till the news was formally confirmed by the Akademi, I used to wonder if they have sent me the correct information. I never wrote for grabbing an award. I wrote because it gave vent to what I thought and that cannot be awarded and measured, you know.

What serves as an inspiration for your writings? Do you wish to send messages across to people?

Shefalika Verma: I believe each woman is a writer. I say this because there is so much that she goes through, so much that she experiences that each life chronicles a story in its own right. Perhaps, my life as a woman inspired the writer in me. Kist Kist Jeevan is an autobiographical piece and each incident related therein is very personal. I had to write them. I had to bring it out.

I write to tell a story. Some might appear to have a message and but it is never a conscious effort. I think messages are interpreted and made in the minds of those who read them; one never sets out to give them.

You keep saying that your writings are mostly about your personal experiences and that your family literally cajoled you into this field. Would you wish to elaborate a little on that?

Shefalika Verma: I was married very young into a zamindar family of Bihar. There was this typical conservative atmosphere at home. Luckily, I had been introduced to books very early on in life by my father. They kept me company even at my new home.

I was studying at Patna University and had been married when one of my poems got published. It was a poem that talked about the trials of being a woman. My father-in-law read that and wrote a letter to me, in the form of a response poem. Later, he encouraged me to write more though women in our household were not very free to do everything. It was a lucky situation that education was barred from those notions. One could study, read and write as much as one wanted.

Then there was my husband who picked up this bit of interest in me and literally propelled me to write more. After he was gone, I was in depression for long but slowly I realized that by not picking up the pen, I am essentially doing injustice to him and his encouragement.

So, yes, my family has been very supportive of me and my work. In fact today, my children and my daughters-in-law all give unparalleled support to what I do and what I wish to do. That feels great.

Your writings show women in a very real light – donning hats of competence and at the same time playing roles that are very traditional. Do you think that that’s how women are today or are they only in your works?

Shefalika Verma: I believe that every woman has shades to her. She might be a professional and a mother and a wife and a writer at different points in time but her womanhood is her core. And that part of a woman feels and senses and responds to these going-ons. It is with this woman that I connect. Of course, there are disconnects and issues with woman that rip her apart socially and mentally and on many other fronts but she emerges strong. That is where I think I find them real. And that is how I try to portray them in my works.

You switched over to Maithili though you began as a Hindi writer. What explains that shift?

Shefalika Verma: I am very comfortable in both the languages. But choosing Maithili as my major literary voice was a conscious attempt. My husband, late Shri Lalan Kumar Verma, explained to me how Maithili needs to be nurtured and how there are very few writers there. This struck me. If my works can protect, promote and enrich a language, why not use that in my writings? Also, the atmosphere at home and the mode of communication there was Maithili – culturally as well as linguistically. This choice, therefore, was well informed and shaped.

You have been called “Mahadevi of Maithili”, your works compared to that of Jane Austen’s. How do such parallels affect you?

Shefalika Verma: I remember that once I was sitting at a literary function when Mahadevi Verma walked up to me and lifted my chin. She asked me to write more and appreciated my writings. It was an overwhelming moment. I’ve always admired and loved her. So, when someone compares you to a figure like that, it feels fortunate and very happy. But as far as affecting oneself is concerned, I think it encourages you to write better and write more.

http://www.womensweb.in/articles/shefalika-verma-author-interview/