Been traveling so I apologize for being off line for so long. I And then, like excercise, it is difficult to get back into a rhythm, part of which is writing the blog. Jet lag, the avalanche of undone things, and then the post holiday panic and guilt. Guilt ? Since when did writing on the blog become part of something I HAVE to do. It is something that I do because in sharing everything with the world, I find a beautiful release.
I was in Venice to celebrate the opening of my short film, Passage. It was a ‘magical’ evening as after the film was shown, a live Venetian orchestra played Rahman’s compositions from the film. Kavita Bagila, who sang the Arias for his song was there to sing live. She sings so effortlessly in an almost Angelic voice. Kavita is of Indian origin, but born and brought up in California. She is currently teaching at Rahman’s new foundation for International Music in Chennai.
Rahman’s compositions for the film include a new Waltz that he wrote and recorded in about 3 days. It is a stunning composition, and people were convinced that it was composed by an earlier Classical Master. But no, it is from our very own ‘Mozart of Madras’ as the Time Magazine called him – incidentally a name I coined in an interview to the same magazine. Then the evening was capped by Rahman holding the audiences completely spell bound when he played on the Piano.
David Adjay, one of the leading architects of the world and one my best friends came too. he is currently designing the new Smithsonian in Washington. He had inspired a lot of the Design work on the film.
But guess who came too. Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev came and swept everyone of their feet. I will write more about my conversations with Sadhguru as we walked down the streets of Venice for hours, and talked about the Nature of Existence, Of Shiva, and the Universe.
I will add some some images that are not quite touristy – but which I found provocative.
Cynicism, the line behind which the elite escape their guilt
Being a judge in India’s Got Talent was a real emotional experience for me not only because I discovered my roots that I had left behind, but the sheer odds that many of the participants overcame with just passion was incredibly moving.
What caught me by surprise often though was the often derogatory reportage and comments by some of the elitist mainstream press, that saw such display of emotion or passion as a source of amusement or cynicism. Many assumed that it must have been scripted. It was not.
I realize that cynicism is the wall that the elite often protect themselves with against the onslaught of guilt they might feel at the completely dis balanced socio economic conditions that exist in India.
How often, for example, does one hear cynical and dismissive remarks about the ability of the working classes, or their own domestic servant class to rise above their own conditions and take responsible and honest charge of their own lives. Remeber how cynical the English language press was of Mayawati before she took UP by storm. Uh oh !
Proffessor Mohammad Yunus of Grameen Bank proved the opposite – lending only to the poorest of poor, he showed that Grameen Bank has the lowest ‘Bad Debt’ ratio in the history in banking. Corporate and rich borrowers were 50 times more likely to default or cheat on Bank repayments than the poorest section of the population.
The Cynicism must go. For it ignores the reality of groundswell movements that are taking place in rural and poorer parts in India. The Cynical elite has often been caught off guard in revolutions across the world. I am not advocating or predicting a revolution in India. But we are ignoring the existence of movements that are fundamentally changing the nature of the ground beneath our feet.
Time to drop Cynicism and look hard at the desires and aspirations of our people. And celebrate them.
another view
new york’s churning
my view of new york at night
from deepak chopra’s apartment
no, I am not on drugs
but new york’s soul
exists in it’s churning
If you want peace, take a pill
And the Sage said to me :
The search for the self is not
a search for peace
for if you want peace
take a pill
listen to great music
meditate or breath deeply
have sex
or make compromises
stillness and peace are not the same thing
peace is the opposite of turmoil
and in search of peace you will forever struggle
between turmoil and peace
running away from one
and not comprehending the false nature of the other
the fear of pain
the welcoming of the storm of chaos
the excruciating numbness of of the heart
when faced with loss of what is most desired
the staring into the mirror,
to watch your body
or that of a loved one
crumple into a helpless edifice of death even before it comes
the mind bending anguish at
the inability to find meaning beyond words
it is this that you must comprehend
from a temple of assumed invincibility of youth
into a crumbling edifice of your individuality
before you heave at the squeaky gates
of My kingdom
to face that immense emptiness
more fearful than anything
your unimaginative ego
could have ever comprehended
beyond that emptiness
i will wait for you
with just one drop
of compassion
to fill
your parched soul
From : my conversations with Death
Indian Government censors Google news on riots over water tanker in Mumbai that leave 5 dead
24th August 2010 The following item appeared on Google news and was immedietly suppressed :
” A water tanker carrying water to a building in the posh Malabar Hill in the centre of Mumbai was gheraoed (surrounded) by a mob of about 200 slum dwellers that demanded that the tanker fill their buckets before it moves on. The Driver refused and his guard threatened the mob with a pistol. The mob refused to give up and the guard fired killing three people instantly. The mob retaliated and severely beat up the driver, who died later in hospital. It is not known whether the guard was carrying a licensed firearm, but it now usual for an armed guard to accompany the water tankers that frequently are attacked by people scouring the city for water.
Apparently the residents of the building in Malabar Hill have not any water for one week now. It is known that both the Oberoi Hotel and The Taj Hotel that became a kind of ‘water Refuge’ for those that could afford it are operating far beyond their capacity, but are one of the few places that are still being supplied water”
A proud Mom on India’s Got Talent: Richard and Sneha’s brilliant Salsa act
Dear Mr. Kapur,
I am Richard’s mother and have followed Ms. Bendre’s, Ms. Kher’s and your comments on every act. I believe every performer worked hard to achieve a dream – a goal .. be it the prize or just being part of a national platform.
I do believe that the Prince group were greatly deserving and had the complete backing of their state. I am happy that they won the prize money – which will go a long way in the support of their families. Richard himself said: “Mum, they were the most deserving of the prize”. Which is why, I am glad to read your comment on Richard’s and Sneha’s performance – as being a flawless and a world-class act. Thank you for this – as it is greatly heartening to the effort and dedication that went into its preparation.
My thanks to Ms. Bendre for her fulsome and vocal appreciation and Ms. Kher for her expressive face and eyes revealing a heartfelt appreciation of their work.
What else can I say? It was a show with great talent, high emotional content, sound judging. am a proud mother – just happy that though Richard and Sneha did not win – they danced with soul, spirit and grace – they danced as winners do! And, you saw that. Not sure whether you will read this – should you do so – know that Richard, Sneha and I thank you.
Diana Tholoor
Founder
Chrysallis Performance Arts Centre for the Challenged, Bangalore
(integrating children with and without challenges nationwide)
Yes Diana, Richard and Sneha danced with soul, spirit and grace in a world class act, thank you for your lovely letter, Shekhar
Prince Dance Group wins India’s Got Talent !
Congratulations to them for their incredible act, commitment, choreography, versatility and sheer will to fight all odds and come out on top. I can now admit without prejudice that they were, from the time that I first saw them on the first phase of shooting in Kolkatta, my favourite act.
Many other acts came over time through the auditions and semi finals etc, that I grew to love. Some performed better in the semi finals and auditions, others outclassed themselves in the finals. But none were so visually stunning, so aesthetic, so zen like and transcendent. So confident in their own art of formations, that did not feel the need for constant energetic movements that most other acts fell in the trap of.
I thought others were great too. I thought that three acts completely stood out in the finals. Sneha and Richard completely surpassed my expectations and did a flawless and a world class Salsa act. Rohan and Group with their Hip Hop dance pulled off an incredibly difficult group choreography with such amazing precision that they could teach the Gansta Groups in the streets of New York a thing or two. And of course the ever green Alsam Langa Group that brought age old Rajasthani folk tradition with more energy and passion to a song made famous by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
But I think the Prince Dance group had won the hearts of the Indian people even before the finals. There was something so emotional and completely Indian about their acts, but on par with the best international traditions of modern group choreography that made us all proud to be Indian. And to know that some of the participants of this group were brick kiln labourers, who normally come to our attention more because we read stories about how this class is completely exploited by the Kiln owners, and earn bare subsistence wages.
Then there were others. Like Rajesh Amrale with his devotion, skill and mastery over the Mall-khamb form of traditional Indian Gymnastics. So beautiful and fluid did he make it seem that it made Olympic Gymnastics feel simplitics.
And I could go on. Little Viren, India’s mini Micheal Jackson, the little Super Star as Sonali kept calling him affectionately, won the hearts of all us judges. But when it came to a tussle between the Rajasthani Aslam Langa group and Viren, I was the only one that voted for Viren, the other two judges ruled more by their heads then their emotions made perhaps the right choice. Both were excellent.
I’m going to miss the show, but on to other exciting adventures now. Lets see what the moment brings.
Message from the Webmaster
Many of you might have faced the problem of logging to the blog in the past two days. It so happened that a malicious code was injected into a few pages of the blog and Google bots marked this site on their watch list. Readers who have been using Firefox or Chrome would have received messages in their browser warning them not to enter the site, the reason being these browsers and Google follow a common list and hence it showed at these places. The site has been quarantined thereafter and precautions taken that this issue does not happen again.
Apologies to all of the readers who faced the problem. You can now visit, read, participate and interact with Shekhar Kapur as you used to. It’s heartening to see so many insightful discussions happening over here. You can write at admin (at) shekharkapur.com if you face any problems or have any queries.
Google removes korean malware alert from popular Blogs in India
Thankfully Google has removed the red alert from some of India’s popular blogsites including our own. I do not totally understand it, but apparently there was an attempt through a Korean website to attack some popular Blogs in India. What they gained from this I am not sure, but if you tried to access shekharkapur.com through Internet Explorer, there was no such warning and our Bog was clear as always. Sorry about the inconvenience and it is back to business as usual. Shekhar