Birth Anniversary Tribute to Dadasaheb Phalke - Father of Indian Cinema ( 30April 1870-16 Feb 1944) 

On this day in April, one hundred fifty two years ago - 30th April 1870- was born the father of Indian Cinema, Dhundiraj Govind Phalke (popularly called Dadasaheb Phalke), a man whose creativity, vision and passion for making moving images gave birth to the film industry in India, which has grown to become a multi billion dollar industry today. Dadasaheb Phalke, with the release of his first feature film in India ‘Raja Harishchandra’, which he painstakingly produced in 1913, not only became the Father of Indian Cinema, but also sowed the seeds for a deep-rooted connection between cinema and people of India and so also a cinema culture. This connection, including with the Indian expatriates  all across the globe, has only grown stronger with the passage of time. India  now holds  a unique distinction of producing the maximum number of films in the world in a year.

Cinema is one common connect, alongside cricket, which unites every one in India cutting across age, gender, states, region, religion, language and what have you.  Therefore, it is no wonder that the often used phrase, ‘Unity in Diversity’, which is used for portraying the vibrancy of the Indian Democracy, is exemplified in the common connect of Cinema and Cricket with all Indians. As a country, we are obsessed with cinema and treat cine stars and cricket players as demigods and consume most products that are endorsed by these stars. It is therefore apt that we pay our reverence to the father of Indian cinema, Dadasaheb Phalke, whose 152nd birth anniversary we are celebrating today and to the man who made cinema possible. 

It was on 3rd May 1913 that Dadasaheb Phalke released  his and  India’s first feature film, ‘Raja Harishchandra’, a silent movie in Bombay (now Mumbai). This film, based on the story of the righteous king - Harishchandra- who sacrifices everything to honour his promise, was screened at the Coronation cinema in Girgaum, Bombay. It was reported that a huge crowd had gathered to watch a ‘miracle’ become a reality and come alive in front of their eyes. The film was shot with a moving camera and was made with hand-driven machines, without any studio facilities and by inexperienced technicians and others in every department of filmmaking. Raja Harishchandra was a one-man contribution. The complexity in making this film by Dadasaheb Phalke is evidenced from one of the interview that Phalke gave, where he said ‘I had to teach acting, write the scenarios, do the photography and actual projection too. Nobody knew anything in India about the industry in 1912”, the year when he produced this film with lots of trials and tribulations. Phalke therefore is befittingly entitled to the epithet - Father of Indian Cinema. Interestingly he chose some interesting bylines to invite people to see his film. He wrote “Watch people move in the magic photographs! A picture two miles long! Only three annas!” This is how a magician named Dadasaheb Phalke invited people in the street to come and watch his first film. 

Phalke’s tryst with cinema began with his chance viewing of a silent classic French Film ‘The Life and Passion of Christ’, in 1911. This movie, produced by Ferdinand Zecca in 1903 under the French title ‘Vie et Passion du Christ, succinctly depicted the Biblical story of the birth, death and resurrection of lord Jesus. This film made a lasting impression on Phalke who from his childhood days was influenced by Indian epics and mythological stories of gods and goddesses and other mythological characters, which he had read from his childhood days. The story of Christ that the film portrayed motivated him to imagine portraying such stories of Indian epic gods and goddesses and other characters. He writes about this influence in one of his memoirs : “While The Life of Christ was rolling fast before my physical eyes, I was mentally visualizing the gods, Shri Krishna, Shri Ramachandra, their Gokul and Ayodhya…”. It is therefore no wonder that Phalkey was profoundly influenced by Indian epics, Puranas and mythological stories, which can be seen in his films that he produced later. From Raja Harishchandra to Phalke’s last and only talkie, Gangavataran (1937), most of his 95 plus films drew inspirations from the ancient Indian epic stories, the Puranas and from other Sanskrit literature. 

Although it is now well established and widely believed that Raja Harishchandra, produced by Phalke, was the first Indian feature film there is however some debate on this issue. Some people say that Shree Pundalik, was the first full feature film in India, which was produced by Dadasaheb Torne and was released  in 1912. However, it must be noted that Raja Harishchandra was truly the first indigenous film, which was acted, directed and produced’ by an all-Indian team. Where as Shree Pundalik, was a recorded stage play, which was filmed by a British cameraman and processed in London. Dadasaheb Phalke, in sync with the mood of the nation had proudly asserted, “My films are swadeshi in the sense that the capital, ownership, employees and the stories are all swadeshi.” Therefore, Raja Harishchandra must befittingly be considered as the first Indian cinema and Dadasaheb Phalke the founding father of Indian Cinema.

In the global historical context, the genesis for film making, however, traces its beginning to the development of a technology that resulted in the portrayal of the moving images, an idea which occurred to the genius inventor, Thomas Alva Edison. Edison describes the reason what made him to invent this new technology ‘peep show’ in his quote “The idea occurred to me that it would be possible to devise an instrument which should do for the eye what the phonograph does for the ear”. Ever since there have been constant technological developments in the world of cinema the premiership of which goes to the famous Lumiere Brothers, who were among the first film makers in history. Lumiere brothers patented an improved cinematograph, which in contrast to Thomas Edison's "peepshow" kinetoscope, allowed simultaneous viewing by multiple people. This was the beginning of the cinema, which started in 1895 in France. The Lumiere Brothers came to present their historic cinema in Bombay. On 7th of July 1896 they presented six of their films at the then famous Watson Hotel in Bombay.  This incident of the first film show in India has been immortalised through projection mapping exhibit in the National Museum of Indian Cinema, which I had the honour to be involved in its development alongside the team from NCSM. 

The turn key establishment of the National Museum of Indian Cinema (NMIC), an idea that was mooted some time in late 2009 by the Ministry of I&B in Delhi, when Mr Jawhar Sircar, was the Secretary of both Ministry of Culture and I&B and Ms Ambika Soni was the Cabinet Minister, was tasked to NCSM.  The aim was to develop a dedicated Cinema Museum and launch it in Mumbai in the Films Division premises during the centenary of the Indian Cinema (2013). Unfortunately, that did not happen. However, NCSM was able to develop the first phase of the Cinema museum which was housed in the Gulshan Mahal heritage precinct of Films Division. One of the most attractive feature of this exhibition is a diorama which depicts the scene from Raja Harishchandra and we have a sculpture of Dadasaheb Phalke and part of the Raja Harishchandra film, obtained from the National Archives, is presented in this exhibit. The NMIC in its entirety finally came to light with the magnificent inauguration of the Museum, by the Honourable Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi ji, on the 19th January 2019. The Honourable PM spent considerable amount of time visiting all the four exhibition halls in the new building and also the exhibition hall at the Gulshan Mahal. He spent time at the Dadasaheb Phalke exhibit. Yours truly along with couple of my other colleagues from CRTL Kolkata were privileged to witness the historic opening of the Museum in which NCSM has played a pivotal role in the curation and turn key development of the NMIC.

Dadasaheb Phalke was born on 30 April 1870 in Tryambakeshwar, a small town located at the foot of Brahamagiri hill, near Nashik, to an orthodox Marathi Chitpavan Brahmin family. His father, Daji Shastri Phalke was a well known Sankrit scholar. Trimbakeshwar is considered as one of the most sacred places in India and is home to one of the twelve jyotirling. Dadasaheb Phalke’s father was quite well known in the area as an accomplished scholar and therefore Dadasaheb Phalke developed his interest in literature, art and culture from his father. After his initial schooling, Dadasaheb Phalke (Dhundiraj Govind Phalke) moved to Bombay ( now Mumbai) and took his admission at the Sir J. J. School of Arts in 1895 from where he completed a one year course in drawing. He then moved to Kala Bhavan Baroda where he studied sculpture, painting, engineering, photography and drawing. Dadasaheb also had the distinction of working with the painting genius Raja Ravi Verma as an apprentice for some time when the latter was staying in Mumbai. Many students from JJ worked with Raja Ravi Verma during this period that included Dhundiraj Phalke. So influenced was Phalke by Ravi Verma’s paintings, that much like the painter brought to life the images of gods on his canvas, Phalke was determined to bring them alive on screen. Impressed with Dadasaheb Phalke it is said that Ravi Verma had gifted him a costly camera. 

Dadasaheb also tried his hand with the government service and in 1903, he joined the Archeological Survey of India as a draftsman and photographer. However, not satisfied with the job, Phalke resigned in 1906 and set up a printing press at Lonavala under the name of "Phalke Engraving and Printing Works" in partnership with  RG Bhandarkar. Here too luck eluded him and when his partner was changed, Dadasaheb gave up this profession as well. In the meanwhile he had travelled to Germany in connection with his printing press and it is here that he acquainted himself with films. The moment of his tryst with films came when he watched  the film The Life of Christ and the rest what they say is history, which started with Dadasaheb Phalke making his first film Raja Harishchandra in 1912 and it was shown to public at Coronation Cinema in Mumbai on 3 May 1913 for the first time. All the departments for making Raja Harishchandra were handled by Indians and there were no foreigners included. The success of his first movie gave Phalke the confidence of making many more movies. Dadasaheb Phalke made a total of 95 movies and 26 short films during his career spanning 19 years. Some of the other films produced by Phalke include Mohini Bhasmasur (1913), Savitri Satyavan (1914),

Lanka Dahan (1917), Shri Krishna janma (1918), Kaliya Mardan (1919)

Sairandari (1920), and Shakuntala (1920), Bandhan (1932) and Gangavataran (1937). 

He also was instrumental in establishing Hindustan Films, the first film company in India with support from some noted businessmen of Mumbai. The businessmen were taken into partnership so that the finances of the company did not suffer. Phalke created a model studio and also imparted training to various actors as well as technicians. Unfortunately, Hindustan Films studio did not last long. He was a visionary who foresaw the potential of the film medium and also made people realize its cultural and financial worth. Through his relentless commitment and earnest efforts, cinema has become an inevitable part of Indian culture in today’s world.

Dadasaheb Phalke retired and settled in Nashik, where he breathed his last on 16 February 1944. Unfortunately, the man who laid the foundation for film making in India including sowing the seeds for the gigantic film industry of ours spent his last few years in misery and died almost unnoticed far away from the industry in Nasik with hardly a handful of people attending his funeral…

Twenty five years after his death in 1969, the Government of India, befittingly  established ‘Dadasaheb Phalke Award’ to recognize his lifetime contributions to India cinema. This award continues to be recognised as one of the most prestigious awards in Indian cinema. The first Phalke Award was given to the actress Devika Rani.

Interestingly although biopic films are becoming an order of the day with many biopic films that have hit the screen since many years, it took a long time for some one to attempt making a biopic on the legendary Dadasaheb Phalkey. Fortunately Paresh Mokashi, made amends and in the year 2009, he directed a Marathi biopic film on Dadasaheb Phalke under the title ‘Harishchandrachi Factory’.

Long live the legacy of Dadasaheb Phalke.

Happy Birthday (24 April) Sachin Tendulkar - The God of Cricket

In the history of Indian Cricket, no one has had a fan following - more than a billion - larger than Sachin Tendulkar.  Sachin Tendulkar celebrates his 49th birthday today - 24 April 2022 - and on this occasion I am reminded of three Cricket Connects exhibitions ( South Africa, Australia and England), which I had the honour to be associated with as co curator for the South Africa exhibition and as Curator for Australia and England exhibitions. I fondly recollect how we presented Sachin Tendulkar in these three exhibitions, which were developed under the auspices of the cultural exchange program of the Ministry of Culture, between India and these three countries. I also fondly remember an exhibition, ‘Deconstructed Innings - A Tribute to Sachin Tendulkar’, which I had the honour to host at the NGMA Mumbai, when I was the Director of NGMA Mumbai. This exhibition presented an artistically deconstructed innings of Sachin Tendulkar.  Ten eminent artists were chosen by the organisers to interact with Sachin Tendulkar to create art installations in different medium to present a deconstructed innings of the legend, using the language of art and its creativity.

Cricket Fans, not just in India but all across the globe, keep the spirit of Sachin alive long after he has laid his bat to rest. He has connected Indians to cricket and to his own play more than anyone else in the history of this game, which unites all Indians. His performance used to be the reason for whole country's happiness or sadness. Harsha Bhogle, an erudite and highly respected commentator, once said "India sleeps well when Sachin plays well”. The crazy and unsportsmanly attitude of the crowd at the Eden Garden during the semi-final world cup match against Sri Lanka after Sachin was out stands testimony to the dependence of the cricket fans on Sachin.

For the ‘Cricket Connects - India Australia’ exhibition, which was presented at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Australia, I had chosen a common connect that the two countries share in cricket - Hero Worship. Australia idolizes and worships Sir Don Bradman - whose achievements remain unparalleled and near impossible - as their hero. Sachin Tendulkar, who himself is a hero worshipper of the legendary Don, is similarly idolised and hero worshipped by Indians all across the globe. This section was covered under the heading ‘ The God (Sachin Tendulkar) and the Gods God ( Don Bradman)’.  In the 1930's, with the country in deep economic depression and still grieving for the thousands killed in World War I, Bradman's achievements were a cause for Australian National pride. The spirit of the Don is evidenced from a statement by the former Prime Minister of Australia, John

Howard, a cricket lover, who, during his visit to Sir Donald a few days before his death, said ''He had a great impact on Australian life, especially during the desperate years of the Depression. His prowess on the cricket field lifted the hopes and spirits of the people, who at times felt they had little else.''

 

The Nobel Laureate, Nelson Mandela, also the recipient of the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian honour of India, was an avid follower of the Bradman. One of Mandela’s first questions to the former Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser, when Fraser met him in Cape Town’s Polls Moor Prison in 1986, was, “Tell me, Mr Fraser is Donald Bradman still alive?” Such was the charm and following of Bradman all across the globe. Four years later, when Mandela was released from the prison, Fraser handed over Don’s signed bat for Mandela, which read “To Nelson Mandela in recognition of a great unfinished innings – Don Bradman".

Sachin Tendulkar is to India what Bradman has been to Australia. Sachin has carried the hopes and aspirations of one billion plus Indian cricket fans for all of 23 long years that he played the game. Sachin’s unparallel achievements and his simplicity and humility have aided his cricket fans to placing him on a God’s pedestal. This was evidenced in one of the beautiful art installations which was featured in the exhibition at NGMA Mumbai. Sachin’s fan following and his reverential position was mirrored in the painting titled “Arrival of a Cricket God” by Manjunath Kamath. This work formed a part of an exhibition “Deconstructed Innings: A tribute to Sachin Tendulkar” that was exhibited at the premier art institute of the country the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai. The artist essays the birth of Sachin to be an auspicious occasion where little Sachin is blessed by the mythical godly figures. The artist draws his inspiration from Indian Calendar Art, popular culture, and epics to celebrate the legendary stature of Sachin Tendulkar and presents a visual imagery, which includes metaphoric mythical elements that is juxtaposed with the childhood image of Sachin’s arrival at the centre. There is also a book titled “If Cricket is Religion, Sachin is God” written by Vijay Santhanam and S B Subramanyam, which also juxtaposes the position of Cricket and Sachin for Indians.

When was Sachin played for India, more often than not, India’s chances for success rested on his shoulders. Entire stadium erupted at the very sight of seeing the little master walk out to the wicket from the pavilion and the very crowd entered into a deadly silence, and often emptying the stands, when the bowler got the better of Sachin. Sachin was born in Mumbai, on 24April, 1973 in Dadar. Shivaji Park where the last rites of Lata Mangeshkar - one of the who’s who of India who were the fans of Sachin Tendulkar - were performed was also the place where Sachin played cricket. The city of Mumbai and so also Dadar has a very rich cricket history. In another art work titled “The City of Dreams” exhibited at NGMA,  Artist – Remen Chopra, presented a sculptural representation of Sachin’s Cricket career, in a skyline of his city of dreams - Mumbai - that is symbolic of his unprecedented achievements on the field.

Many of Sachin’s fans have come dangerously close to believing that Tendulkar is/was God. Certainly much of Tendulkar’s batting seemed like a gift from above. But the impression short-changes him for no one worked harder to hone his natural talent. Sachin, who is a devout Hindu, does not like the comparison to God. In one of his recent interaction with his adoring fans he said that he "is not a god as he makes mistakes and gods do not", but that had little impact on many of his fans. Every 'God' has his share of non-believers. The great Sachin too had some. Some critics started writing his epithet when he was past 35. He bounced back and proved his critics - who

had coined a new phrase ‘End’ulkar, to signal the end of Tendulkar, wrong. At the age of 37, he had his most fertile year (2010); scoring more than 1500 Test runs in a year and also achieved a feat not witnessed until that point of time in cricketing history, a double century in an ODI.

Among his innumerable fans, one man, Mr Sudhir Chaudhary, from Odisha is conspicuous. He used to be seen with his whole body painted with the colours of the national flag and at the bottom were the three golden words: 'the god of cricket'. Like a true disciple, he has followed Tendulkar wherever he went.  Likewise there are several other diehard fans of Sachin who are equally passionate about their idol, including one Mr.Manu Singh, from Australia, Pavan Kumar from Hyderabad and Hasnain Masood from UAE, who continue to keep the spirit of Sachin alive. The exhibition “Deconstructed Innings” at the NGMA is an outcome of the reverence that Indians have

for their idol.

Sachin’s great deeds were foretold when he was still a boy, the lofty predictions scarcely allowing for sport’s inherent caprice. And incredibly, beginning with the debut series in 1989, the legend has fulfilled all but the wildest of predictions. The pressure to succeed every single time, the claustrophobia that comes with every little action being scrutinised can

scarcely be conceived. And yet Tendulkar wore it with lightness and dignity, making brilliance a commonplace and unremarkable.

Sachin has been bestowed with innumerable recognition honours and awards including the coveted Bharat Ratna, which he received in February 2014. Alongside all his accolades Sachin Tendulkar has preserved his treasured honour, which comprises a set of thirteen coins he earned from his coach – Ramakant Achrekar. These special coins were depicted in a art work titled “Treasure Box” by Trilochan Anand, in the NGMA Mumbai exhibition.

At the World Cups, Sachin was more prolific than anywhere else. His total tally at the World Cups (2278 Runs) is 30.6% greater than his closest and arch rival Ricky Ponting (1743 runs). And if you think he has played more, he has played 1 match less than Ponting in WCs. Sachin has to his credit 6 centuries and 21 half tons in World Cup. Sachin’s achievements can best be summarised in the words of Ponting who wrote in his forward for a book titled Tendulkar in Wisden: An Anthology, “For me, he's the greatest batsman after Don Bradman. While I hold Brian Lara in high regard, because of his match winning ability, I don't think any batsman can achieve more out of the game than Sachin has".

Sachin also has to his credit an unprecedented record of scoring 100 hundreds in international matches. He has played in a record 200 Tests and he continues to be the highest scorer in both Tests and ODI. He also ho,da several other records, which are hard to conquer. Sachin however had to wait for a long time to get to his 100th hundred. He says “When I got to my 100th international century, I was not jumping or celebrating. My first question to God was why did it take so long? What did I do wrong? With a billion plus people waiting for this, it shouldn’t have taken so long”.

Sachin played 664 international matches in 24 years. It means around 27.67 matches per year and still maintained an average of approximately 44 and 54 in ODIs and Tests respectively. Although Sachin’s average is less than Bradman’s, the matches that Sachin Tendulkar played are way higher and so also the pressure and fan expectations under which he played the games. His consistency, keeping in mind his longevity in the game, the varying opponents and conditions, is probably the best at the international stage.

 

Cricket is said to be a game dominated by the batsmen. Although the argument is debatable, it seems more than partially true to the naked eye. Our human mind is programmed to relate and picturise events, ideas, objects and persons. So whenever the word 'batsman' pops up, we either relate to Sachin Tendulkar or Sir Donald Bradman.

 

Cricket to Sachin was not just a game but a 'word of God’. He is the reason cricket has become like a religion in India and every child in the 90s was born with an innate passion for cricket. Today as Sachin celebrates his 49th birthday here is wishing him a very happy birthday. May you continue up to inspire millions and may you co to use to be remembered. 

Earth Day ( 22nd April, 2022) : Invest in our Planet.

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.”

― Rachel Carson, The Sense of Wonder

The Earth Day network, which spearheads the worlds largest environmental movement and leads the commemoration of the ‘World Earth Day’, succinctly defines the importance of this day. It emphasises that ‘this is the moment to change it all — the business climate, the political climate, and how we take action on climate. Now is the time for the unstoppable courage to preserve and protect our health, our families, our livelihoods… together, we must Invest In Our Planet’. 

The significance of the Earth Day (22 April) can be appreciated when we look at the singularity of the position of our planet earth in our universe, which is the only known celestial body which harbours life. This is profoundly evidenced in an excerpt taken from that famous Carl Sagan book - Pale Blue Dot. It highlights Earth’s insignificant, yet profound position in the vast universe, which we are home to. The ‘Pale Blue Dot’ passage and the accompanying narration by Carl Sagan was inspired by an iconic image of the earth that was taken by space Voyager 1 on that historic day - 14 February,1990 - as the Voyager spacecraft was moving out of our planetary neighbourhood. At the ‘behest’ of Carl Sagan, NASA scientists commanded their Voyager 1 to turn around for one last look at the earth to capture the image of our home planet. Voyager 1 was about 6.4 billion kilometers away from our earth, and approximately 32 degrees above the ecliptic plane, when it captured the historic portrait of our planet - Pale Blue Dot, which is seen webbed in the center of a scattered light rays.  Our Earth appears as a tiny point of light - a crescent - only 0.12 pixel in size.

Notwithstanding the ridiculously insignificant size of our earth - a speck of dust in the unending cosmos - in comparison with the vast universe, yet, our ‘Pale Blue Dot’ is the only known source of celestial body in the universe, which harbours life, as we know it today. It is therefore incumbent upon us - its prime inhabitants, the humans - to invest in our Planet and in that sense commemoration of the ‘ Earth Day’ augurs well for the green and prosperous future of our earth. Therefore, the theme for this years World Earth Day -  Invest in our Planet - is apt since it strives to highlight how everyone can invest their time and energy to be a part of the change, which is so very essential for saving our planet. 

Over the past 52 years, the people and countries who have been involved with the World Earth Day has expanded vastly. It is now estimated that over one billion people take part in Earth Day festivities in 192 countries. This day must remind us - particularly the world leaders - that we all have a single common enemy - Climate Change - and therefore we must all unite to focus our collective energy and efforts in accelerating solutions to combat the climate change menace - largely a human construct- and to activate everyone – governments, citizens, and businesses – to commit to this cause under a banner ‘Everyone accounted for, and everyone accountable’. It is time for us to push aside the barriers and/or crevices of any kind between nations and move forward with an objective of marching away from the pollution driven ‘dirty’ fossil fuel economy and other associated old technologies - that are driven by fossil fuel-  in the past centuries and redirect our attention to creating a 21st century with clean and green economy that brings back the health of our planet, protects our species, and provides opportunities for all inhabitants of planet earth befitting maintaining Sustainable Development Goals. 

Speaking of bringing back health of planet to protect our species and to provide opportunities for all, one is reminded of Ms. Rachel Carson, an author - spinster and an alleged lesbian - who fought all odds of personal attacks and gender discrimination to bring to focus environmental impact, which later became a beacon for her followers to take to activism in support of environmental concerns for Earth. Her efforts provided that much needed impetus for the declaration and commemoration of the World Earth Day, which we are now celebrating. The publication of Rachel Carson's book "Silent Spring" (1962) highlighted the dark sides of the environmental effect of chemicals, which were rampantly being abused across the world. She wrote this book to alert the world to the poisonous legacy of excess use and abuse of pesticides (DDT). Her book is often considered as a cornerstone in the conservation movement and environmental activism for creating a worldwide awareness of ecological systems. The book earned her a posthumous presidential medal in US, even as she was made to endear vitriolic attacks from the chemical industry lobby, who were up in arms against her criticism of their thriving industry. The book reminded people that all human commerce has consequences that must be considered carefully; and that watchfulness is democracy's surest defence. 

Ms Rachel Carson is considered as one of the finest nature writer of the 20th century, and is remembered today as the woman who challenged the notion that humans could obtain mastery over nature by chemicals, bombs and space travel. She is also remembered for her studies of ocean life. Her best-selling book, ‘Silent Spring’, attracted cynicism as well as support from different corners including getting noticed by John F Kennedy, President, thus leading to the mobilisation of activism in environmental movement. Her book and her environmental activism helped Government entities  to study environmental issues and come out with regulations to govern environmental problems. She relied on scientific facts in her remorseless presentations to strike home her strong message. Her critics labelled her as hysterical and unscientific, yet she remained undeterred. Today her trials and tribulations for combating pollution and climate change, which she believed were impacting planet earth and its life species have been recognised. 

The genesis of the World Earth Day - 22 April  - goes back to 1969 when US Senator, Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin, started expressing his deep concerns over, what he described as ‘deteriorating environmental conditions’. He noticed adverse impact that a massive oil spill had on the marine life, in Santa Barbara, California and so also the impact of carbon emissions from vehicular exhausts, which were causing air pollution. He realised how important it is to create public awareness on pollution and environmental issues. He therefore chose college students as mother earths brand ambassadors and selected April 22, a relatively free date for college students, for the “teach-in on college campuses to the national media” program. He persuaded Pete McCloskey, a Republican Congressman, to serve as his co-chair. Both of them recruited a young activist Denis Hayes, to organize the campus teach-ins.  This program turned out to be a path breaking event, which led to the national consciousnesses on environmental issues and this movement attracted some 20 million people - 10% of American population - who took part in the first Earth Day celebrations that were held across cities in US on the 22nd April 1970. Ever since, this day is celebrated as the Earth Day.

This environmental awakening movement soon caught the attention of students across US and so also the imagination of key people, which helped in creating national consciousness on the ill effects of air and water pollution on our health and also on the environment. The participants in this campaign took to the streets, thronged the college campuses, parks and this movement spread from city to city. All the participants in this environment activism had just one message to communicate - save our planet Earth from pollution and awaken the people against their environmental ignorance so that they could demand from their leaders and administration better conservation measures for our planet Earth - the only habitable planet in the solar system. This people driven movement helped in spreading the message of protecting natural biodiversity and put forth the concern of people over environmental deterioration. This movement also led to the launch of several landmark environmental programmes and laws in the United States including Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts. It also helped in creating the all important environmental watch dog - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the US.

The people’s movement in US and the success of the Earth Day celebrations caught the imagination of the people from across the world. In the year 1990, a group of environmental leaders approached Denis Hayes to once again organize another major campaign for planet Earth. This time, the celebration of the Earth Day went global, mobilizing 200 million people in 141 countries and leapfrogging environmental issues from the local and state stage onto the world stage. Earth Day 1990 gave a huge boost to recycling efforts worldwide and helped pave the way for the famous 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. The Earth Summit is now attended by most global leaders and serves the purpose for collectively addressing environmental concerns.

The massive success of the Earth Day in 1990 and the subsequent formation of the UN Earth Summit inspired activists to start several such environmental movements across the globe. Most countries eventually adopted laws to safeguard the environment. Over the next two decades, Earth Day Network increased its spread to hundreds of millions of people, who were all involved in this environmental campaign and movement. This created opportunities for civic engagement and volunteerism. The Earth Day now engages more than 1 billion people every year and has become a major stepping stone for the protection of our planet Earth. Incidentally the significance of the day - 22nd April - is borne out by the fact that this very day was chosen by the United Nations for the signing of the Paris Agreement on climate change, in 2016.

The importance of this years World Earth Day can be appreciated from the the  report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which has warned of severe impacts if the global warming level crosses 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. They have warned that this will lead to the melting of glaciers, droughts and increase in the floods and so also the extinction of some of the species. The global warming will lead to the heat waves becoming intense, leading to the change in weather patterns, which unfortunately we have started witnessing. This year, as we celebrate the World Earth Day under the theme ‘ Invest in our Planet ‘, it is time for us individually to commit ourselves to investing our time and energy in saving our planet. 

From simple lifestyle changes to driving local or national climate policy, every one of us has the potential to contribute to mitigating climate change that has impacted our planet. As the world came to a screeching halt during the pandemic period, this Earth Day must remind us that the time is ripe to rethink about the future of planet Earth. I hope that through our experience of the Covid pandemic, we will learn that it is far better to preempt a global problem when we see it on the horizon than start planning for combating it when it engulfs us. This is a lesson that we must apply to the challenge of global climate change, which also threatens hundreds of millions of people, as does the Covid 19. The Covid 19 has also taught us lessons that global challenges require globally coordinated responses. And this coming togetherness of the world leaders will definitely augur well for combating the deadly climate change, which like the Corona virus appears to be invisible yet reveals tell tale signs of its impact for us to take note of and preempt its adverse effects on our pale blue planet.

On this World Earth Day, it is time to remind ourselves of what damage we have done to our Mother Earth and to relook at that historic initiative which was started in 1970 that has now become a global movement and take this movement a notch higher for benefitting our Mother Earth.

Long live India and long live planet Earth.

Images - Courtesy Wiki Commons, Earth Reminders.com and Columbia Climate School.

World Theatre Day: Remembering the NSDF and Ebrahim Alkaji

 

 

27th March is commemorated as the World Theatre Day, ever since it was first celebrated by the International Theatre Institute (ITI) on 27 March, 1961. Theatre is one of the effective ways of communicating science to the people and that too in an entertaining way. Theatre in India, is one of the oldest art forms, alongside music and dance that continue to thrive in modern days. Theatrical performances of mythological stories like Ramayana and Mahabharata and, the most renowned of all the plays, Shakuntala provide us an insight to the rich historical traditions of theatre in India.  Indian Drama, over the years, beginning from the ancient Vedic Age, has moved on to the classical theatre traditions, influencing the modern theatre. Looking back in time, the historicity of theatre in India is evidenced in the Rig Veda. The epics of Ramayana, Mahabharata and Artha Shastra are instilled with specific techniques of dramas. Sages Valmiki and Vyas and Panini have shed decisive light on theatre and Patanjali has heartily contributed in his Mahabhashya that there existed two dramas, namely - Kamsa Vadha and Vali Vadha. Actors not only served as dancers but also as musicians.  Bharata Muni, is acknowledged to be a legendary author of the Natyashastra, the very first Sanskrit work on dramaturgy. The treatise says that Bharata was the one who popularised the Natyaveda, created by Brahma, on the Earth. He is also said to have collected all the material of earlier acharyas like Tumburu, Narada and Nandi and gave the Nayashastra a complete coherence by making additions, alterations and adaptations according to the requirements of time and space.

 

 British cultural anthropologist, Victor Turner, has said; “for cultures to survive and grow, we need exploratory moments when we can step out of the routines of our busy life into a selective, dramatic re-enactment to express public opinion and sentiments on key issues of our communities. We become so narrowly focused on every day, pragmatic efforts to make our communities and societies ‘work’ that we forget where we are going in life”. This is why we need a cultural space which is midway between the utopian, mythic aspirations of our communities and the daily struggle to survive. Theatre provides this cultural space in which actors symbolically represent the struggle of the community, but in a frame of plot resolution that points to the searching debates to possible idealized goals.

 

Theatre is as old as human community, which has emerged as religious-civic ritual, lyric poetry, and popular entertainment and as political protest in virtually every culture across the world and so has it been for India. No essay on theatre in India will be complete without remembering Ebrahim Alkaji. a doyen of Indian theatre who founded the National School of Drama. I had the honour while serving as the Director of NGMA Mumbai to host an exhibition of Ebrahim Alkazi and I also had paid my tribute to him when he bid adieu to this world. Those who are interested may like to read my tribute on my blog whose link is appended below.

https://khened.blogspot.com/2020/08/eulogy-for-ebrahim-alkazi-doyen-of.html

 This essay of mine, however, is confined to Science Theatre (Drama) and how this medium was effectively used for science communication by Science Museums in India under the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM). Theatre can combine elements of art, music and sport, and develop students’ creativity and so also their fitness and their emotional and aesthetic awareness. As team activities, theatre promotes communication and co-operation among young learners.  Theatre can be used as an effective medium of learning while being entertained. It can convey, with a substantial dose of theatricality, important and socially relevant information generally not available on the stage in to the minds of general public. 

Science theatre is increasingly staged across the globe because it can play an important role in science communication while also effectively addressing social, ethical and moral issues that stem from rapid developments in science and technology in the current era, which is inextricably linked to S&T. Science Centres in India including the Nehru Science Centre, Mumbai, have used this medium effectively in science communication. National Science Drama Festival (NSDF), which is one of most effective programmes of NCSM, is an ongoing annual creative event for the school students. The World Theatre Day is celebrated to create an awareness on the significance of theatre.

 Modern science has dramatically changed the world around us and is affecting all our lives in many ways. We hear buzz words like global warming, gene therapy, stem-cell research, nanotechnology, radiation, etc. every day. Moreover, we begin to realize that beyond dealing with intriguing discoveries and technical problems, scientific progress has social and ethical implications that should be addressed by the society. In contemporary theatre this is reflected by an increasing number of ’science plays'. Theatre can play an important role in effective science communication and also help in removing superstition and blind beliefs. Science Plays or Theatre are now increasingly focusing their attention on societal and ethical issues and creating awareness on socially relevant scientific issues that are so essential for the modern world.  Theatre has been used as one of the effective ways of communication in driving home the message of the efficacy of vaccines in India and perhaps this is one reason why vaccine hesitancy in India is much less than in most of the western countries. The theatre and so also art in its various forms, help in communicating science to the masses.

NCSM started using theatre as a medium to engage school students in researching on scientific and technological subjects and in scripting, directing and enacting plays to express their opinion on diverse scientific and technological issues. Students who perform in these plays as directors and actors are not renowned artists, yet their performance and their approach in addressing scientific issues with ethical and social aspects have been truly praiseworthy. Over the years the National Science Drama Festival (NSDF), organised every year by the NCSM, which, starts at the block level and progresses to the District to the State to the Zonal and finally to the National level, has become one of the most popular science communication medium of the Council. Ten teams, two respective winner teams from the five zones; North, South, East, West and North East, are selected to participate at the National Science Drama Festival. Leading theatre personalities and scientists who have witnessed the dramas at different levels, especially the ones that are selected to participate at the National Level, have showered high praises and commended the thoughtful thinking of the students in presenting their plays in the most professional way.

The students who take part in the NSDF carry out extensive research on their chosen subjects and prepare their script and enact their plays in a most effective manner to try and address the social and ethical issues that come with the cutting edge research on scientific and technological developments while highlighting their benefits. 

Theatrical actions link education and entertainment, consequently becoming a highly effective didactic instrument. Science museums across the world are using this medium as an interpretative technique to communicate science from the point of view of the goals pursued by museums, of epistemology and of theatrical research. Hopefully, theatrical communication of science will become common practice among practitioners of public understanding of science. Science and theatre, two different human activities, each with their own historical background and specific features, began to interact in the past, and today they are “strangely” linked. There is a real interaction, starting from theatre and ending with science or, vice versa, starting in a scientific setting and developing theatrical features. Or, again, new relations are the fruit of meetings between researchers, actors, directors, philosophers and scientific communicators.

The phrase “scientific theatre” has been coined only recently, but it has immediately produced a lot of heated debate and questions. Providing a definition of scientific theatre is no easy task: the relationship between science and theatre is so variegated as to defy any precise expression. The definition would in any case remain ambiguous, as it indicates an extremely wide range of experiences. Theatre, contemporary or not, has often drawn on the world of science and has often expressed its conceptions about it. The union between theatre and science exists also in other domains, pertaining neither to criticism nor to rational reflections: the universe of human passions. Science activity is a particular way of making sense of the world that mankind has created, which is not only a cognitive process but is also characterised by passion, it is a story of passions. So the main goal of scientific theatre is to come into contact with these passions, to understand those who have felt them and to put these passions on stage. In this way theatre offers an original and riveting way to deal with the greatest questions about the sense of the world, life and science, questions which, on the contrary, would risk remaining abstract and vague.

Scientific theatre teaches scientific facts and concepts at the same time as it entertains the public. The elaboration and production of “ideal” scientific theatre performances seem to require, however, a close cooperation between scientists, researchers, scientific philosophers, playwrights, directors, actors, scientific communicators and animators: only in this way can service quality be guaranteed, with regard to the educational content, the communicative effectiveness and the epistemological awareness. When using theatre as a means to communicate science and ideas, epistemological problems immediately arise, since a debate on science cannot be conducted without giving (and having, more or less consciously) an image of it. So what is the image of science emerging from such shows is of paramount importance.

 Some of the recent science dramas which have received international acclaim include the plays “Oxygen” by Carl Djcrassi. This play tries to answer the question, “Who discovered oxygen?” The setting for Oxygen is based on a fictional encounter between Lavoisier, Priestley, Sheele and their wives, at the invitation of King Gustav III.  The place of the discussion is Stockholm, in the year 1777.  The Central question is, “Who discovered oxygen?” The play is also about doing science, politics and ambitions.  There are other plays on science by Michael Frayn which suggest a wide public interest in the history of science as well as in science itself. This play is based on the meeting between Bohr and Heisenberg in 1941 in German-occupied Denmark where they discussed the possibility and consequences of harnessing nuclear power.  The play is also about loyalty, suspicion and friendship.  The setting for Copenhagen is more modest: Heisenberg is in the home of the Bohrs, with Mrs. Bohr as an important participant.  Here the central question is, “Why did Heisenberg come to Copenhagen?”  Both plays have been praised for the excellence of their dramatic design as well as for the correctness of their historical and scientific content.  They received high acclaim from historians of science and scientists alike.  What is important is that both plays have elicited much public and academic discussion.

 Science Museums and Centres across the globe have now started using science dramas as an effective medium of science communication. London Science Museum, for instance, engaged an actor in 1987, and has now an entire theatre company with a repertoire of more than forty performances ranging from real plays on stage to character monologues presented in the halls of the museum. Theatrical performances vary: there may be single actors presenting themselves as renowned scientists of the past, or even groups of actors representing chemical elements like hydrogen atoms or even biological cells.

Science Plays on biographies of scientists have been phenomenally successful. Ramanujan’s life story is so awe inspiring that movies and plays about him have been and are being produced. The first was a superb documentary about Ramanujan in the famous Nova series of the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) on television, which described some of his most appealing mathematical contributions in lay terms and some of the most startling aspects of his life, such as the episode of the taxi cab number 1729. In 2007 a play entitled   A Disappearing Number was conceived and directed by the English playwright Simon McBurney for the Theatre Complicite Company. It first played at the Theater Royal in Plymouth, England, and won three very prestigious awards in England in 2007. This play was also performed at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Hyderabad, India, in August 2010. The latest theatrical production on Ramanujan is a movie that is now being produced in India based on Kanigel’s book The Man Who Knew Infinity.

 Many of the science plays, including some described above are examples of the theatre being inspired by the exciting and often mind-blowing stories of science. But it is intriguing that the traffic has not been one way. Increasingly science is exploiting the vehicle of theatre to communicate its ideas. London Science Museum has created a piece of narrative theatre called the Energy Show to teach kids about energy.  

Ever since NCSM started the National Science Drama Festival there are countless such examples where message of science, ethical and social messages, the concepts on science and biographical portrayal of life and works of scientists have been very effectively portrayed. This year will be no exception. However, what is needed is a close cooperation between scientists, researchers, scientific philosophers, playwrights, directors, actors, scientific communicators and other professionals only in this way can service quality be guaranteed, with regard to the educational content, the communicative effectiveness and the epistemological awareness, which it is hoped will happen sooner than later.  

Wishing you all a very happy World Theatre Day.

Images - Courtesy - Nehru Science Centre, Mumbai and BITM, Kolkata

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International Women’s Day: Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow.

Since historic times, women in India have found a prominent place in society as evidenced in the artistic expressions depicted through paintings, murals, art, culture, iconography and so also in scriptures, which depict women’s power, importance, and reverence that Indian society has bestowed on women.

One of the oldest reference, which advances women’s position in Indian society can be traced back to the iconic dancing girl cast in bronze, which was sculpted at Mohenjo-Daro during the Harappa period. Harappa civilisation has also revealed many more evidence that has represented women in paintings, terracotta figurines, sculptures, gold figurines etc. These material evidence indicate that women had a life beyond the confines of the four walls of their home and they enjoyed a social status. It is also believed that the Mother Goddess - from the findings of Harappa - is an ancient version of Devi Lakshmi from Hindu religious beliefs. This tradition of representation of women and their reverence in society has continued for centuries from the Harappa times, which is evidenced all across India in temple art, architecture and iconography.

A shloka from the Manusmriti, exemplifies the reverence that women enjoyed in Indian society; “Yatra naryastu pujyante ramante tatra Devata, yatraitaastu na pujyante sarvaastatrafalaah - meaning where Women are honoured, divinity blossoms, and where women are dishonoured, all action, no matter how noble, remain unfruitful. Unfortunately, although there is so much of a material evidence to suggest high stature of women in Indian society, yet it is paradoxical that women continue to face discrimination in our modern society. The situation so grim that even in the third decade of the twenty first century (2022) women have to demand for gender equality, which should have been a given by now, but unfortunately it is not. Notwithstanding the legal provisions, preference for a boy child is rampant in India, which also leads to female foeticide and discrimination by family members. It is in this context that commemorating the International Women’s Day makes sense and reinforces the need for introspection.

International Women’s Day (IWD), commemorated globally on this day- 8^th March -  is an important occasion for the global community to commit towards attaining the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, in which gender equality is one of the important goals. Therefore, it is no wonder that the theme for this year’s IWD is “Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow”. This year the IWD is celebrated with a beautiful universal campaign ‘Break The Bias’, which reminds me of a similar highly successful all India campaign, which was launched on August 15, 1988. After the then Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, finished his address to the nation from the Red Fort, a soulful melody took the nation by storm. For most Indians who watched the broadcast on Doordarshan, the opening lines of “Mile Sur Mera Tumhara, Sur bane Humhara” sung by the legendary Hindustani classical vocalist Pandit Bhimsen Joshi continue to stand the test of time. Hopefully, this year’s IWD and the theme and its slogan touch the same chord that the Pundit Bhimsen Joshi’s eponymous “Mile Sur Mera Tumhara” touched us all in the years ahead and help in advancing the rights of the women’s issues for a gender-equal world: a world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination.

The genesis for the struggle for equal rights by women began in the early 1900s. The oppression and inequality were pushing women to become more vocal and active in campaigning for change. Looking back in history, it was on this very day – 8^th March - in 1908 that the women labours movement started as a united march in which some 15000 women marched in an organised way through the New York City demanding shorter working hours and better pay and right to vote for women, who until then were treated unequally not just in US, but globally.  Encouraged by the response that the women’s march received, the Socialist Party of America joined hands and demanded for declaring the day as the National Woman's Day. The idea to convert this day into an international women’s day came from Clara Zetkin, leader of the Women’s Office for the Social Democratic Party in Germany, who tabled the idea of an International Women's Day during the International Conference of Working Women held in Copenhagen in 1910. She proposed that every year in every country, there should be a celebration on the same day to press for change. The conference was attended by more than 100 women from 17 countries, representing unions, socialist parties and working women’s clubs and thus was born the International Women's Day was born.

In the very next year, 1911, this day was celebrated as the Women’s day in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. However, it was only in 1975 that the United Nations (UN) acknowledged and started celebrating this day as International Women’s Day. Unfortunately, women have always faced discrimination through centuries and the discrimination has spanned all areas of women’s lives and that includes my own field - science, as well. The women, through the centuries, have been afraid of social stigma in case they complained of discrimination or harassment and therefore they have preferred to remain silent both at home and in workplace. The social fabric of many countries, including India, have been biased against women.  Notwithstanding this inequality there are many exemplary women who have made profound contributions in every field - sports, science and technology, art, defence, medical, engineering, social sciences, political and what not. For increasing the participation of women it is incumbent that on we all join hands to promote education of girls and create that indomitable spirit in them to succeed in the field that they chose to pursue and help them in making themselves a priority of their own lives. We must create an ambience where women will learn to say No to all that is unfavourable to them and boldly face the challenges of life.

Today as we celebrate the International Women’s Day it is time to recall those extraordinary women of substance and indomitable spirit who have made their mark and have distinguished themselves admirably. Take for example Marie Curie, one of the greatest of scientists who has won two Nobel Prizes - one in Physics which she shared with her husband and one in Chemistry. She should be one of the icons whose trials and tribulations, before attaining her extraordinary achievements, even in times of extreme gender insensitivity, must become an inspiration to our youngsters. The COVID 19 pandemic has impacted the world and even in these trying times the medical doctors and health workers have played a stellar role in saving millions of lives. Speaking of health workers one must not forget the Nurses (Sisters) whose selfless service has been exemplary. The year 2020, when the COVID pandemic started, was the 200th birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale, the par excellence nurse. On the occasion of her the bicentennial birth anniversary, the year 2020 was befittingly declared as the ‘International Year of the Nurse and Midwife’ by the World Health Organisation. There are innumerable other women who have made such extraordinary contributions to human society.

In the field of sciences FRS is a coveted fellowship, which has 400 plus years of history and some of the greatest of scientists - Newton, Einstein, Darwin, CV Raman, Srinivas Ramanujan etc are all FRS. A couple of years ago Dr Gagandeep Kang, one of the leading microbiologist of India, was elected to this coveted fellowship. Prof. Kang is a physician scientist, who for many years worked as a Professor of Microbiology and Head of the Division of Gastrointestinal Sciences and the Wellcome Trust Research Laboratory at the Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore. Prof. Kang has made pivotal contributions to understanding the natural history of rotavirus infections as well as other enteric infections, which are important causes of mortality and morbidity in India. She was also involved in the development of vaccines. Similarly, we have many more examples of extraordinary women achiever’s in India in almost all the fields. Women in India have donned almost all the key positions Prime Minister, and President included. Women have excelled in sports, particularly in Olympics where they have won many medals for India. We now have women who are heading Space missions as project directors and are involved in satellite launches and so also in missile launches. Women are now flying the fighter planes and are excelling in every field that men have had their dominance for centuries.

Does this mean that it is an equal world that offers equal opportunities for women, unfortunately not, rather it is far from it. Yet, women have achieved excellence and for this they have had to perform many times more efficiently than men, which is a hard reality in many parts of the world - India included, where women play multiple roles, as home makers, mother, wife and as a successful professional and that too in an unequal society. Women have made profound contributions in social, economic, cultural and political life of the country and today as we celebrate the IWD it is time to salute women who are contributing to the society in equal measures and remember some of distinguished women like Madam Curie, Sarojini Naidu, Indira Gandhi, Margaret Thatcher, Kalpana Chawla and many more including the unsung heroes like Roslyn Franklin, Margret Hutchinson and many more whose extraordinary contributions have gone unheralded.

This is the day to salute womanhood and propagate against gender discrimination, domestic violence and to empower them to excel in all walks of life. It is also the day we must reverentially remember that women have been bestowed with that God gifted power of motherhood, a natural gift of multitasking and consensus building, which have enabled women to become transformational leaders in their own right.  

On this occasion, I would like to appeal to all young girls to persevere to excel and look up to those innumerable women achiever’s as your role model and demand and command respect in an unequal society and hope that the theme for the IWD - Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow will truly be a reality sooner than later. Jai Nari Shakti Jai Hind.

Wishing you all a very happy IWD.