Indus Valley Times

Showing way to success

Sandip Kumar Bal

Bhubaneswar: “Itni shakti hume dena dataa, mann ka biswas kamjor ho na” (Oh God! Give us ample strength that our self-belief never weakens.)
When we sing this song, we never feel the essence of the meaning of this motivational phrase. But there are people who sing this for their survival, as this provides them the motivational boost to overcome their disabilities. Yes, this has happened to four visually impaired siblings in Bhubaneswar, who have proved that disability cannot be a restraint in achieving success, through keeping their self-belief high and not letting it go down.
When they croon this motivational song in chorus, passers-by halt at their gate, neighbours peep through their windows, leaves start dancing, wind sings with them, flowers cheer them up and when they sing it on stage audience remain mesmerized. Alas!!! They cannot see all these things happening around them. They just go on singing. They are four siblings who are visually impaired since their births. They are deprived of the service of their eyes, but their self-belief (mann ka biswas) is rock solid. With this Himalayan self-belief and self-determination, these brother-sister quadruple not only have successfully struggled to survive but also have created a niche for themselves by forming an orchestra party. The most striking aspect of this all-blind orchestra group is that three of them belong to the fairer sex. They are girls, they are visually handicapped, but they don’t need our sympathy, rather they are singers and they need our good wishes.
For common people like us their family is a cursed one in which out of five children four are visually handicapped, and to add to their woes the father is a bed ridden paralytic patient. An ageing mother and a brother, who is also wearing thick glasses, are not only the walking sticks but also eyes for these four disabled but differently abled members of the family. Though these siblings have changed their bad luck into their strength by focusing through the other senses only on one thing that is –song, music and their orchestra. But they have their own share of agony and ecstasy of being at the receiving end of the wrath of misfortune in today’s cut-throat competitive world.
Saroj, the only able one among the pack expresses his happiness and gratitude to the god for helping his brother and sisters to overcome the traumatic experience of being blind. But frustration and dissatisfaction are clearly visible through his thick lenses when the matter of social security of his growing sisters is concerned. He reiterates his past experience, “When I used to meet the brothers and sisters of my friends and see other boys and girls of my locality playing and making merry, the picture of my disadvantaged family members was making me gloomier. I wished they could be normal like us. But I feel proud seeing what they are today.” On the other hand Swadhin, the younger brother who is unlucky unlike his elder brother expresses a different sentiment. He says, “Yes it hurts, when we hear kids playing or any programme going on in the television, as we cannot visually enjoy these things. At the same time it gives us an inner feeling of happiness as we just try to feel these things. We just focus on the audio and extract ample pleasure from it and it has helped us to evolve into singers and musicians.” To his credit he has mastered the keyboard.
Among the sisters, Nivedita the middle one has expertise on the tabla. Her efficacy, speed and rhythm are worth enjoying. She is the most outspoken among the children. She with an air of self-dignity says, “What we are now that matters more, why should we ponder over what we are not? Now we have formed an all-blind musical orchestra troupe. If we were all well, we would not have stick together and provide people the enjoyment we are providing now.” She even criticized the society saying, “To be blind is not a curse, but the way society deals with people like us, it frustrates us.”
The eldest Nirupama and the youngest Niharika, both girls are singers and possess immense talent. All four have their own choices and own style. When they perform on the stage their unity is seen through their performance. They normally sing bhajans and devotional songs. They have performed in almost all parts of the state. People love their songs and performances very much. They even want to go out of the state and perform everywhere. For them the whole world is their stage. During different festival celebration and special occasions their performances get high demand. Through this orchestra they are earning their living and providing necessary assistance to their family. They say that they try their best not to be burden on our brother and mother, leave apart being burden on the society.
Their mother Nuadei Pradhan who has been trying hard to be the eyes of not one but four of her kids, is worth praised for her strength and fighting spirit. The only thing that mars her is that she is ageing and her children are growing, particularly the girls. She says, “When a mother has to nurse and nurture four blind kids, how can she be normal. I was feeling very sorry for my wards when I used to see other kids enjoying all the beauties and bounties of their childhood and adolescence.” But she changed herself and became a pillar of strength for her unlucky kids. “Now I am more than happy that my wards are at least not holding begging bowls and go begging others’ sympathy, charity and sometimes raised eyebrows. Rather they have created their identities and are living of their own.” While speaking this, a feeling of pride and dignity oozed out from her voice and face. But her grown-up daughters and the matter of their marriage still worries her.
Their father Bisikeshan Pradhan, a retired AG officer, who of late has become paralytic due to immense mental pressure and thought of his kids’ future, is now somehow relieved seeing his children struggling successfully in the race to survive though he himself cannot participate actively in their success. In a rapidly developing Bhubaneswar, he has done a wise thing by setting a permanent nest at Raghunathpur beside Bhubaneswar-Nandankanan Road. The bedridden father says, “I have done my share for them; at least they will not be homeless after my wife and me. Let’s see where fate takes them.”
The fate of these four siblings had been written since their births. They were taken to several hospitals; many doctors were consulted but in vain. No one would find out the solution though it was pointed that there might be any problem in their brains and from those days their fate were left to god. Today they have set examples for not only many others like them but also for each and everyone living in the society. If they are successful today, it is through their action they have spoken loud and clear that they never seek our sympathy. They just want proper atmosphere to express and grow.

For common people like us their family is a cursed one in which out of five children four are visually handicapped, and to add to their woes the father is a bed ridden paralytic patient.

Their father Bisikeshan Pradhan, a retired AG officer, who of late has become paralytic due to immense mental pressure and thought of his kids’ future, is now somehow relieved.

The Challenge of Personality

Sukanta Rout

The gory heart-rending spectacle of the Crucifixion again after almost two thousand years! Jesus of Nazareth being clipped to the cross with piercing nails, blood streaking down from raw gashes, flesh flying about in shreds! The shattered shepherd grits his teeth to endure it all without cursing or complaining; only earnestly wishing wellbeing for ignorant executioners! Is it a live show by Jesus himself in his second coming? No, it is a reel show—Bob Orlando virtually impersonates Jesus in the film, “PASSION” and takes the audience back to that hoary past. The eerie redolence of the poignant history that the film invokes elegantly lay not so much in the gory spectacle as in what the actor exudes through his body language. Really, above anything else, his body language weaves the illusion with deft and dexterity—eyes pressing inward, jaws protruding outward, lips mismatching, chins pulsating and the actor exasperating, groaning, shrieking—everything about him speaking of sad saga of the excruciating pain. He portrays the picture of Jesus on cross life-like on the canvas of his body. One wonders,--is it miracle or made-up? Is he possessed by the spirit of Jesus? Yes, “possessed”--the metaphor best describes the actor we take for granted. The actor acts as a person unfamiliar to him as if under the spell of a spirit. Stanislavsky’s method of acting, accepted universally as authority in this aspect of dramaturgy, infers nothing else when he professes that the actor emotionally identifies with the character.

What really happens to an actor when he impersonates or offers himself to be possessed? This question is very intriguing in the semiotics of acting. Anukaran in Natya Shastra corresponding with mimesis in Poetics attempts to explain acting as imitation. Bharat Muni, vociferous in comparison to reticent Aristotle, imbues the actor with sthayi bhava- dominant emotion in the category of sattavika abhinaya that moulds the personality of the actor in rhythm with the register of performance. He also directs the actor to follow a gamut of gaits, traits, styles under three other kinds of abhinaya, namely, angina, bachika, and aharya so as to tone up the performing personality. But a ritual practice of these clichés without instinctive innovation ends in an archetypal performance. Even, at times, the actor ...acting as king Rama and Richard in two different contexts, looks as alike as twins that makes magic monotonous and melodramatic. Lack of knowledge about and authority over the source of the power that brings out the emotions and feedings charging the parts of body for semiotic movement poses a great danger, even for veteran actors. The own self of the actor enters the arena without his knowledge after forcing the exit of his dramatized self. In that case an eunuch on the screen morphs into a macho as Sadasiv Omrapurkar does in the film Sadak. In the later half of the film he acts unconsciously like an angry young man shedding his womanized self of former half. In the film, “Shool”, Raveena Tandon--forgetful of her screen character, suddenly delivers melodramatically in the argument sequence after the death of her child. Such type of fits spoils the impersonation or imitation rendering the actor helpless in its vagaries, helpless because this area is very much in shadows.

The accidental loss of sthayi bhava or dominant emotion revealing own self of the actor, mostly occurs during the moment when he emotes vyabichari bhava or transient feelings like grief , laughter, envy , anger at their frantic pitch. The vibhava in Natya Shastra describing the actor’s environment is the cause of bhava or emotional arousal, not their source. Emotional arousal is just actor’s reaction to vibhav or his environment.

The source lies deep in the self–the self possessed. Yes, the self possessed cradles the source, a basic instinct called ego. They are inextricably interwoven with each other. So assertion of self or annihilation of self counts on boosting or reducing the temperature of ego in it. An actor is to choose from an array of characters in all colours and variety between egoistic and stoic if he is adept in it. The actor learns to retain the temperature of ego unperturbed all through the performance. Devising a well-defined set of modules for psychic exercise of the actor to control or kill ego will untangle the myth and make learning acting as simple as learning alphabets. In spite of ambiguities ensnaring the issue of acting we have a lot of charismatic actors from Al Pacino to Om Puri. Surprisingly, versatile Om Puri could impersonate differently in the same role, say a cop, in different films, adding verve and vitality to his performance. So many impulsive actors like Om Puri crowd our Hindi film world. Naseerudin, Shekhar Kapur, Kamal Hassan, Shabana Azmi and young brats like Manoj Bajpai, Rampal Yadav, Nandita Das and Taboo have inexhaustible store of tricks up their sleeves. The scenario in Oriya films and theatre is deadly dull and boring due to its monotony. After the death or departure of Dukhiram, Byomokesh and other alumnus of Annapurna theatre there are few talents to count on. Choudhury Bikash Das is a very creative actor gracing the Oriya industry. He has yet to exploit his talent in a potential break.

To impersonate or to wear a personality or to be possessed by the spirit of a personality is a great challenge—only great actors could address efficiently.

Does the Press really need freedom?

GITANJALI MARTHA
Being a journalist, most of us must have realized the need of faithfulness towards readers. If readers don’t believe the Press, can we say the Press is free? “As the husband, so the wife is”, the Japanese proverb seems to be fit in between the Press and readers’ relationship. The readers behave as the Press behaves. For this, while working in this profession they come across many hurdles. As they investigate sensitive issues, unveil disturbing truths and question policies, journalists find themselves in the firing line of those directly or indirectly exposed by their reports. Facing harassment, threats of violence and physical retaliation, journalists across the world continue to dig out troubling facts, challenge the status quo and expose those who commit crimes. Day after day, journalists investigate and file reports on issues they know they could be sued or killed for. Many pay the price also.

To highlight a journalist’s work, deeds and his/her sacrifices, the World Association of Newspapers annually organises World Press Freedom Day on May 3. It draws attention to the role of independent news and information in society, and how it is under attack. On this day, the World Association of Newspapers presents the story of many journalists whose work upsets and can sometimes undo the powerful.

Moussa Kaka, the director of the private radio station Saraouniya Radio talked about his coverage of the Niger Justice Movement that led to a one-year imprisonment. Mohammad Al-Al Abdullah, a 26-year old Syrian blogger, revealed his family hardships that have arisen from the fight for Press freedom. In Yemen, Abdel Karim Al-Khaiwani, talked about spending a year behind bars for his reportage on high-level corruption, nepotism, and human rights abuses. Colombian journalist Claudia Julieta Duque discussed the long battle she has faced for her investigative reporting. Barry Bearak of The New York Times described his arrest, detention and expulsion from Zimbabwe for trying to report from the country during the last elections.

According to US Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, “A free, secure and independent media is one of the foundations of peace and democracy. Attacks on freedom of the press are attacks against international law, against humanity, against freedom itself--against everything the United Nations stands for. I am therefore more alarmed towards the way journalists are being targeted around the world, and dismayed when such crimes are not thoroughly investigated and prosecuted.” In this context, Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh delivered a message, “The celebration of World Press Freedom Day is a reaffirmation of the world’s commitment to the right to freedom of opinion and expression. A free Press makes government accountable, increases awareness of important issues among people and benefits society. It is an essential pillar of any democracy. On World Press Freedom Day, I call upon everyone to respect the freedom of journalists and contribute towards a fearless and free Press in all parts of the country and the world.”

More often, people talk about press freedom, but do they really know what “Press Freedom” is? People with greater education tend to support media freedom more than those with less education. This pattern is evident in response to questions on the importance of media freedom, whether the media should be free to publish without government control, whether people should be able to read publications from other countries even those considered enemies, and whether people should have the right to read whatever is on the Internet. Actually, Freedom of Press simply doesn’t mean to write anything you want. You have to write those things which are meant for public interest, because journalists are representative of the public opinion. When they are biased or influenced, the readers loose faith in them and finally discussions on Press freedom are meaningless.

At last, we can say, “Press is of the people, by the people and for the people”; which means, Press is meaningless without its readers. If, in a democratic country, journalism is honestly seen, impartially worked, it can be one of the potential tools to enlighten the people, to check the wrongs done by the government and to make people aware of their rights.

(Gitanjali Martha is a student of Journalism and Mass Communication, Indian Institute of Media Studies, Bhubaneswar. She can be contacted at gitanjalimartha@gmail.com)

Art Aesthetics and Vulgarity
By Preeti Jena
Today the land of Kama Sutra is a victim of Victorian prudery which it finds hard to shake off, while the west has its contrast reached in the peak of permissiveness. If this is the state of affairs, how does then on justify nudity?

The only rule to justify nudity is that there is no rule. Today nudity is moving in dozen of directions, all at once. It's a time of change, not only in perception, values but also in the way we think about nudity. It is artistic or vulgar? The answer lies in the eyes of the beholder.

Yesteryear actress and film director Parvati Ghosh says, "Nudity has been accepted by Indians from time immemorial as a part of life. There is nothing new to it." The more the people want to evade the subject in public, the more they want to talk about it in private. That is the reason why the sales of pornographic magazines have shot up compared to the nineties. Blue films have captured the market. Nudity in art is also attracting more customers. Eminent painters like Jatin Das and M. F. Hussain are asking on the lime light for their nudes. D. J. Megha, Saron Parabhakar, Illa Arun and many others are setting the stage of fire by their hot numbers. Today more and more girls are coming forward to establish themselves the bare and dare careers. Ranjita Mohanty, social activist says that the state government should impose a ban on blue films and all pornographic magazines depicting women in bad light. She is quite critical toward the government in the censorship rules and regulations.

Be it literature, art or film the censorship laws should be stringent. On being asked if she would also like the government to restrict the people's entry into Khajuraho and Konark temples, on the walls of which are carved figures locked in amorous postures, she says these statues were built to educate the people about sex. But modern people are trying to exploit them for commercial purposes. Kajol an upcoming model-cum-actress does not subscribe to this view. She is of the opinion that, "In the past the Devdasi system had the sanction of society. But it gradually fizzled out when people felt that it was bad for social morality. It is wrong to say that beauty contest should be banned. Nobody should stop the flowers from blooming, fearing that they will be plucked. If beauty can sell something, why should it not be put to use? People tend to forget Satyam Shivam, Sundaram. Another actress Bidusmita is of the opinion that, the feminist organisations have double standards. On one hand they talk about enlightening the women on the other they restrict the freedom of women. They indulge in double talks, on one hand they seem to be fighting for abolishing the pardah system on the other they want girls to live in traditional mould. Nudity is no longer a social taboo, if it appears beautiful to the eyes why should people object to it.

When asked,"How big or small is the wall between vulgarity and morality?", painter Jatin Das said, there is no precise limit. Therefore what may be vulgar for one person may be erotic to the other and beautifully erotic to the third one. So, I do not think you can have any precise definition of nudity in art literature and culture. Kamasutra books with explicit drawings are available at bookstalls through out the country.

Kautilya in his Arthasastra writes, "Man should enjoy sensual pleasures without contravening his spiritual good and material well beings. He should not deprive himself of pleasures. He should devote himself equality to the three goals of life which are bound up with one another. This classification shows that primary impetus being the creation and enjoyment, the works of art generate pleasurable experience in the sense organ. Even modern Indian painters like Newton Souza and Jatin Das famous for their nude paintings, are votary of this argument. But they are of the opinion that aesthetic enjoyment is not mere sensory gratification, although it originates in the latter. In the creation and appreciation of art works, sensuous experience is extolled for its own sake, not for fulfilling or generating desires. Whenever sensory experience is used to excite and titillate the senses and thus generate desire in the beholders, it has generally led to vulgarity and sensationalism, and not aesthetic enjoyment. A distinctive feature of aesthetic enjoyment is freedom from desire and detachment from any personal involvement with the object appreciated. This detachment from desire has been highlighted in Western aesthetics. The disinterestedness of aesthetic consciousness implies that the aesthetic response is an end in itself, and has no purpose extraneous to it. Indian theorists do not deny the purpose of nudity in art, but prima facie in the act of creation the artists is not concerned directly with the purpose. However, to the extent he is a genuine creator, even though he is not aiming at any extra-aesthetic purpose, his work would have a certain purposive character. The evidence for belief in the harmony between the aesthetic, moral and cognitive pursuits likes in the assertion of a harmonious fulfilment of all the purusarthas.

Amongst the treaties devoted to the four pursuits of human existence, art is classified under Kama Sutra. Kama is defined by Vatsayayana as the disposition to feel pleasure in the experience of the five senses of hearing, touch, vision, taste and smell.