Issue 237

16 06/07/2017 NEWS ART & CULTURE POLITICS RELIGION LITERATURE FASHION KIDS FILMS www.samajweekly.com
Untouchable' RADA Festival, GBS,
Theatre, London, 3 July 2017
London : I have to admit, I was a
little apprehensive about attending the
play 'Untouchable' by Peter Oswald as
part of the [R]evolution in Theatre at
the RADA Festival in London last
night. My main concern was how the
subject might be treated.
The promotion material describes
the play as "the story of Dr Bhimrao
Ambedkar, born 'Untouchable', who
led his people to liberation" provoking
us to ask "why we, despite the struggle
of great men and women, continue to
oppress one another? What can we do
to change? How do we respond when
we witness oppression?" The play
directed by Katherine Hunter certainly
met all it aspired to do, and more. My
anxiety was completely unfounded.
The play and messages from it are
timely. It helps more people understand
Dr Ambedkar's legacy. This is vital as
we continue our campaign for equality
and justice in the face of Caste-based
discrimination in India and here in the
UK. At the outset, the play homed in
on Dr Ambedkar's (played by Adam
Karim) powerful exchanges with Mr
Gandhi (played by Gavi Singh Chera) -
a die-hard supporter of Caste at any
cost. To me, and no doubt the audience,
Dr Ambedkar was the hero throughout.
He was quite rightly portrayed as a
champion of liberty, equality, brotherhood
- and sisterhood - and India's tobe-hoped-for
future after independence
from Britain.
The depiction of Mr Gandhi's misguided
resistance to a separate electorate
during the second Round Table
Conference was powerful. Mr
Gandhi's subsequent fast to the death in
the name of 'unity' resulted in Dr
Ambedkar signing the Poona Pact in
1932. This annulled the Macdonald
Award giving separate electorates to
Dalits for electing members of state
legislative assemblies in British India.
This was distressing to watch.
Mr Gandhi's salt march has had endless
publicity and also featured in the
play. However, it was good to see the
Mahad Satyagraha led by Dr Ambedkar
on 20 March 1927 feature so prominently
in the performance. This Satyagraha
to allow untouchables to use water in a
public tank in
Mahad in
Maharashtra,
India, is a significant
mile-
Vice Chair Anti Caste
Santosh Dass MBE
stone in the Discrimination Alliance,
President, Federation of
movement for
Ambedkarite and
dignity and Buddhist Organisations
equal rights. UK London
The play also
touched on the impact of Dr Ambedkar's
freedom and equality struggle on his
family, his conversion to Buddhism, and
the present-day idolisation of him.
Oswald's sub-plot based on Ekalavya, a
character from The Mah?bh?rata,
helped illustrate how the so-called
Untouchables who aspired to achieve
their full potential, were so cruelly kept
in their place. See on Page 20
Sculptor Jaswinder Singh
wins Sohan Qadri fellowship
Jaswinder Singh Is Rooted To The Soil, Working In His Studio
At His Native Village Mehandipur Near Khanna
CHANDIGARH : Legendary
painter Sohan Qadri (19322011)
started his journey from
Chachoki Village near Phagwara
and it is befitting that a fellowship
in his name went to another
village boy, who after obtaining
his bachelor’s and master’s
degrees in art from Chandigarh
chose to make his studio in his
village in Punjab.
Jaswinder Singh (47), who
sculpts in wood, is indeed rooted
to the soil working diligently in
his studio at his native village,
Mehandipur near Khanna. He is
the recipient of the first-ever
Sohan Qadri fellowship of Rs 2
lakh for the year 2017. The fellowship
is instituted by the
Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi from
a grant given by Qadri’s daughter
Purvi. It is indeed another
innovative milestone by the
Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi
chairman Diwan Manna.
Jaswinder, who has thus far
been supporting his art by doing
teaching assignments in different
colleges, seems an ideal choice
for he is a mid-career sculptor
with a large body of work and
BIG B TWEETS : MY NEXT IS
A ROUGH AND TOUGH FILM
Actor Amitabh Bachchan (above), who is busy
with his next, says the film is rough and tough.
Recently, the actor tweeted: “Back from work on
'Thugs Of Hindostan'... It is
rough and tough! But when
ever did anyone gain without
it.” Directed by Vijay Krishna
Acharya, the film, which went
on floors last month also stars
actors Aamir Khan, Katrina
Kaif and Dangal (2016) fame
Fatima Sana Sheikh. The film
is an adaptation of the 1839
novel Confessions of a Thug
by British author Philip
Meadows Taylor, and is slated
for a 2018 Diwali release. The project, which promises
to have action on sea and a dose of history,
brings Amitabh and Aamir together for the first time.
several awards to his credit.
Jaswinder said in an interaction
on Friday, “I am feeling good
and I hope to use this support by
doing some experimental work
combining wood and stone. I
have long wanted to work in
black marble and now I have the
facility to do so.” The wood
sculptures displayed by
Jaswinder on the occasion indeed
speak of his talent and dexterity.
In all, 31 artists from Punjab and
Chandigarh, in the stipulated age
group of 30 to 50, had applied for
the fellowship. The jury comprised
renowned artist and curator
of Kochi Muziris Biennale
Sudarshan Shetty. The process
involved one-toone interviews
and a keen look at the original
works of the artist. “One hopes
this fellowship will help in taking
talented artists to the next
step in the times to come and it is
a happy moment for us that the
first recipient is a sculptor who
remained rooted to his soil by
setting up his studio in a Punjab
village and created good art,
working against odds,” says
Manna.
China will have to take military way
if India doesn't listen, warns expert
Beijing : China will have
no choice but resort to "military"
option if India "refuses to
listen", a Chinese expert has
warned over the festering border
row. "China is trying its
best to use historical lessons to
reason with India and show
sincerity in peacefully solving
the problem, but if India refuses
to listen, then China would
have no other choice than to
use a military
way of solving
the problem,"
H u
Zhiyong, a
research fellow
at the
Shanghai Academy of
Social Science, was quoted
as saying by Global Times.
The state-run newspaper,
on Monday, carried a report
quoting "observers" that "there
could be a chance of war if the
recent conflict between China
and India is not handled properly".
"India is provoking
China because it wants to
prove to the US it could contain
China while Prime
Minister Narendra Modi was
in the US," Hu said.
Tensions between India and
China have risen over the border
row in Sikkim sector as
both sides have refused budge
in Doklam region, where the
armies of both sides are
engaged in a stand-off.
Doklam also referred to as
Donglong by China is a
disputed zone between
Beijing and
Thimphu.
Bhutan has opposed
the road construction by the
Chinese army, citing the disputed
status of the region.
China has called the action
just since Donglong "is on
Chinese territory". India seconds
Bhutan as the ownership
of Doklam is yet to be decided.
Moreover, the presence of
Chinese army in Doklam has
security implications for India
as the region is close to
Siliguri corridor, which connects
India's northeast to the
rest of the country.
Two Indians finish 4,900-km cycle race
MUMBAI : Eleven days, 18 hours and
45 minutes after setting out from California,
Srinivas Gokulnath created history by
becoming the first Indian to complete what
is considered to be the toughest cycle race in
the world — the 4,900-km Race Across
America (RAAM) in solo category. In a feat
that marks the Indian arrival on the
endurance cycling scene globally, another
Maharashtrian, Amit Samarth of Nagpur,
followed him at the finish line at Annapolis
on American east coast at 12am IST. Among
the nine men who finished, Gokulnath stood
seventh while Samarth was right on his
heels at number 8. The race was won by
Christoph Strasser. Team Sahyadri Cyclists,
from Gokulnath’s hometown of Nashik,
completed the race in the four-men category
in eight days and 10 hours Monday.
Unlike a stage race like the famed Tour
de France, the clock is constantly ticking at
RAAM, and the riders have to pedal over
400 km a day to finish the race in the stipulated
12 days. They can rest for only few
hours a day at best; extreme fatigue, sleeplessness
and hallucinations are not uncommon.
“I am relieved...that is the feeling I am
going through right now,” said Lt Colonel
Gokulnath at the finish line. Starting from
temperate climes on the Pacific Coast, the
race enters the furnacelike Mojave Desert,
passes through arid Arizona, cold mountain
passes in Colorado, windy plains in central
America, and finally the Appalachian
Mountains test the riders before they reach
the Atlantic coast in the east.