Life is heterogeneous Date:18th May,2011
Life as they say...is the most precious gift of the AL mighty. Well, life is a very wide entity which en holds various micro elements together and is incomplete without even a single element. The elements of life together are responsible for the colors of one's life. If we divide one's life into different chapters and analyze each chapter, we realize that the circumstances and one's reactions or ways of handling them are all dependent on what are the basic elements of one's life, namely- family, social circle, economy , surroundings,background etc..
Well, definitely, the ingredients of these elements vary for each individual but one feature of the elements of life is common for one and all...they are variant.That is, all elements of life for a person are not similar.They are heterogeneous in nature which makes our life colorful and variant in different phases..They say..that there is only one thing constant in this world and that is change.
Now, it depends on us that how do we tackle and accept the changes of our life..Life is a journey and so it is neither constant nor at the same frequency. It keeps changing sometimes in a positive way and sometimes negatively as well. Now it is the expertise of being patient and optimistic through the thick and thins of it, that helps one to lead a successful and satisfying life.
Accepting the anonymity,enjoying the variant elements of life to the fullest and accepting the challenges of life in a healthy manner are keys to lead a joyous and worthy life.Always remember:
"life is like a cigarette...once lit..it'll burn away...its up to you ...you enjoy it or not.. "
So, accept and enjoy life...because we live it only once..its a one way...!!
Language is never static Date:20thMay,2011
Hindi words like keema and aloo aren't the only new terminology that'll now be kosher for Scrabble players. Among the 3,000 or so words added to the list of those permissible in the game are some spawned by the internet - grrl and myspace, for instance - and others from languages such as Hawaiian. No doubt the wailing and gnashing of teeth have already started among language purists. They will cite a dilution of the game's essence, a weakening of its ability to inculcate English language skills. Ironically, they will be lamenting the loss of something that never truly existed.
Most languages are hybrid creations to some extent: words lopped off here with the passage of centuries, others added there to encompass something created by new technology. Not to forget half-breed words and phrases born of the mating of one language with another new one entirely. That's how any language - and by extension, society and culture - evolves. To remain static is to become stagnant. And all of this is particularly true of English. As the one truly global language, it has found within it - as it must, to have relevance in the many societies in which it is used - the scope for adopting words from those cultures. From Latin and French roots through the numerous subcontinental words woven into the language over centuries of Empire, to the jargon spawned by the internet today - English has come a long way.
So when Scrabble adds, say, Hindi words, it isn't debasing the English language. It is staying true to its essence, which is its ability to grow. Perhaps these words aren't yet in English dictionaries. What of it? Dictionaries follow popular culture and the evolution of language, not the other way around. So go ahead, place 'gobi' on the board and rack up the points.
Image conscious
A home video footage that showed the grisly assassination of president John F Kennedy at his motorcade in Dealey Plaza, Texas, on November 22, 1963 - 'Frame 313', as it came to be known - had catapulted Abraham Zapruder, a women's clothing manufacturer, to instant fame. The contents - instrumental in investigations of the Kennedy murder - crept into the public domain only on February 13, 1969 when a subpoenaed copy, shown at the Clay Shaw trial, went viral in college campuses. And while Zapruder had sold the footage rights to LIFE magazine for $50,000, he had made it clear that the images - too horrific for public consumption - should be kept under wraps and be solely used for investigative purposes.
Over time the public appetite for shocking visuals - loosely termed 'war porn' for their explicit images and violent content - has only increased.
(Note:Obama’s refusal to release Osama’s pictures has opened up the debate on the ethics of publishing graphic photos.)
A Bengal Tiger on Broadway
Straight plays on Broadway usually don't sell a lot of tickets nor do they run for very long. So imagine a play about the war in Iraq, narrated by a tiger or an ex-tiger who is now a ghost, and an assortment of dubious characters that include Uday Hussein (Saddam's son), a couple of trigger-happy US Marines, a translator, a leper, and yes, a tiger. Not any tiger, but a Bengal Tiger played by the hypermanic comedian Robin Williams.
With Williams as the star attraction, Rajiv Joseph's first play on Broadway, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, is faring unusually well both in terms of box office returns and critical reception. The play itself had already been cited as a Pulitzer Prize finalist. Joseph's earlier works, Gruesome Playground Injuries and Animals Out of Paper had earned him a following among savvy Off Broadway theatergoers.
She's a frequent visitor from across the border. Madeeha Gauhar and her troupe have just one mission - peace through theatre. "That's a reality when you see the way people respond to theatre from each other's countries," says the 55-year-old founder of Ajoka (Contemporary) Theatre in Pakistan. Born to a mother who was a humanrights activist, Gauhar grew up in a household charged with political values. It was after she lost her job as a lecturer in English Literature at the Government College, Lahore, for participating in a protest rally against the government, that the theatre-activist in her emerged. Her plays routinely tackle political issues such as questioning the blasphemy laws. Between sorting out visa problems for her group, Gauhar spoke to TOI-Crest about Dara and Bullha, the two plays that will be staged in Delhi next week.
Tell us a little about the two plays, Dara and Bullha.
With live music - qawwalis and kalaams - both are aesthetically powerful plays, which though historical, have a contemporary resonance. Dara, as we all know, is about Dara Shikoh, who was imprisoned and executed by his brother Aurangzeb. Dara wanted to follow in the footsteps of Emperor Akbar, who had very liberal views about other religions. The play, you could say, is a tussle not just between the two brothers but between Dara the crown prince and Dara the sufi and poet. The decisive roles their sisters played in the brothers' relationship is also dealt with. Bullha is, of course, based on the legendary 18th-century mystic Baba Bulleh Shah. What we know about his life and thought comes to us through his kalaams, historical records and myth. The play, while dealing with the Baba's life, makes a plea for love and peace and speaks out against intolerance, violence and hatred - issues that are as important now as they were then. Bullha has kalaams written by the Baba himself while Dara has the poetry of Amir Khusro, Sarmad and Kabir.
What are your views about the theatre scene in India?
It's so vibrant. It's fantastic, I love the tremendous variety that your theatre offers. In fact, the highlight of all my visits to your country is the NSD Theatre Festival that offers such a range. Having travelled all across your country, I've seen some very exciting work, specially in Mumbai and Kolkata (where I enjoyed the traditional Jatra too). I heard that Badal Sircar had passed away, such a loss to theatre. I first met him in London, where I was pursuing my master's in theatre. He'd come to hold a workshop there. Then, years later, he held a workshop in Pakistan that was attended by many - after all, he was such a stalwart.
You started Ajoka when General Ziaul-Haq was in power. A time when music and acting were treated as un-Islamic. How difficult was it?
Things were very different then with martial law and an absolute crackdown on any kind of free expression. I remember our first production was Badal Sircar's Juloos, which we performed on the lawns of my mother's house in the cantonment area. As word spread, on the last day, the government authorities landed up and banned the play. Our second effort, Panjwa Chiraag (Fifth Light), also faced similar harassment. But we weren't deterred, and because of growing audiences and appreciation, requested the Goethe Institut in Lahore to give us their lawns to stage our next, an adaptation of a Brecht play. We created a nice stage there and had that space for the next 12 years, till the institute shut down.
For a couple of years we were again in a spot and then 9/11 happened. It, ironically, brought inverted benefits for us because of policies that Musharraf started pursuing, like giving space to cultural activities, which was tremendous for us. Scripts were not being censored any more, as against the frustrating times faced when pages after pages were chopped off in the name of censorship. Despite all this, our play Burqavaganza was banned last year for making fun of the veil. So we simply changed the name to something very innocuous like Haseena ki Kahani and continue with its performances. Now, like I said, things have changed but not in the way we'd have liked. Other than Ajoka, there are just one or two other groups and some amateur English theatre that caters to the elite.
Tell us about one of your most famous productions, Aik Thee Naani.
Yes, it was indeed! We started work on it in 1992. Actually Uzra (Butt) appa was one of Ajoka's actors and our chairperson too. A student of Uday Shankar, she also did the choreography for us. When we met her sister Zohra (Sehgal) appa, that's when our playwright Shahid Nadeem thought of writing a play, as a form of a tribute to the two sisters. It's about them, as also about our Pakistani identity - despite having so much in common, how different it is from our Indian identity. The play was immensely successful wherever it was performed and continued till the sisters kept growing older and frailer and couldn't perform any more. (Last year, Uzra appa passed away).
In India, most actors are headed to television or cinema rather than theatre. What about Pakistan?
Yes, we face the same problem. We too have lost some very good actors to TV. They now have no time for rehearsals and find theatre a bit tedious as against TV which is fast paced. In fact, even mediocre actors give preference to TV, so it's an uphill task to keep groups like Ajoka going.
Why 'World No Tobacco Day' is observed
World Environment Day (WED) is observed on June 5 every year to promote awareness on the importance of preserving our biodiversity, the need to identify problems related to the environment and ways to take corrective action. It was on this day in the year 1972 that the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment was formed. First celebrated in 1973, World Environment Day, also popularly known as Environment Day, is a means to tackle environmental challenges that include climate change, global warming, disasters and conflicts, harmful substances, environmental governance, ecosystem management and resource efficiency.
With Williams as the star attraction, Rajiv Joseph's first play on Broadway, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, is faring unusually well both in terms of box office returns and critical reception. The play itself had already been cited as a Pulitzer Prize finalist. Joseph's earlier works, Gruesome Playground Injuries and Animals Out of Paper had earned him a following among savvy Off Broadway theatergoers.
A crown prince and a mystic
DARA KIRI: The play is as much about the battle between Dara and Aurangzeb as between Dara the crown prince and Dara the Sufi poet
She's a frequent visitor from across the border. Madeeha Gauhar and her troupe have just one mission - peace through theatre. "That's a reality when you see the way people respond to theatre from each other's countries," says the 55-year-old founder of Ajoka (Contemporary) Theatre in Pakistan. Born to a mother who was a humanrights activist, Gauhar grew up in a household charged with political values. It was after she lost her job as a lecturer in English Literature at the Government College, Lahore, for participating in a protest rally against the government, that the theatre-activist in her emerged. Her plays routinely tackle political issues such as questioning the blasphemy laws. Between sorting out visa problems for her group, Gauhar spoke to TOI-Crest about Dara and Bullha, the two plays that will be staged in Delhi next week.
Tell us a little about the two plays, Dara and Bullha.
With live music - qawwalis and kalaams - both are aesthetically powerful plays, which though historical, have a contemporary resonance. Dara, as we all know, is about Dara Shikoh, who was imprisoned and executed by his brother Aurangzeb. Dara wanted to follow in the footsteps of Emperor Akbar, who had very liberal views about other religions. The play, you could say, is a tussle not just between the two brothers but between Dara the crown prince and Dara the sufi and poet. The decisive roles their sisters played in the brothers' relationship is also dealt with. Bullha is, of course, based on the legendary 18th-century mystic Baba Bulleh Shah. What we know about his life and thought comes to us through his kalaams, historical records and myth. The play, while dealing with the Baba's life, makes a plea for love and peace and speaks out against intolerance, violence and hatred - issues that are as important now as they were then. Bullha has kalaams written by the Baba himself while Dara has the poetry of Amir Khusro, Sarmad and Kabir.
What are your views about the theatre scene in India?
It's so vibrant. It's fantastic, I love the tremendous variety that your theatre offers. In fact, the highlight of all my visits to your country is the NSD Theatre Festival that offers such a range. Having travelled all across your country, I've seen some very exciting work, specially in Mumbai and Kolkata (where I enjoyed the traditional Jatra too). I heard that Badal Sircar had passed away, such a loss to theatre. I first met him in London, where I was pursuing my master's in theatre. He'd come to hold a workshop there. Then, years later, he held a workshop in Pakistan that was attended by many - after all, he was such a stalwart.
You started Ajoka when General Ziaul-Haq was in power. A time when music and acting were treated as un-Islamic. How difficult was it?
Things were very different then with martial law and an absolute crackdown on any kind of free expression. I remember our first production was Badal Sircar's Juloos, which we performed on the lawns of my mother's house in the cantonment area. As word spread, on the last day, the government authorities landed up and banned the play. Our second effort, Panjwa Chiraag (Fifth Light), also faced similar harassment. But we weren't deterred, and because of growing audiences and appreciation, requested the Goethe Institut in Lahore to give us their lawns to stage our next, an adaptation of a Brecht play. We created a nice stage there and had that space for the next 12 years, till the institute shut down.
For a couple of years we were again in a spot and then 9/11 happened. It, ironically, brought inverted benefits for us because of policies that Musharraf started pursuing, like giving space to cultural activities, which was tremendous for us. Scripts were not being censored any more, as against the frustrating times faced when pages after pages were chopped off in the name of censorship. Despite all this, our play Burqavaganza was banned last year for making fun of the veil. So we simply changed the name to something very innocuous like Haseena ki Kahani and continue with its performances. Now, like I said, things have changed but not in the way we'd have liked. Other than Ajoka, there are just one or two other groups and some amateur English theatre that caters to the elite.
Tell us about one of your most famous productions, Aik Thee Naani.
Yes, it was indeed! We started work on it in 1992. Actually Uzra (Butt) appa was one of Ajoka's actors and our chairperson too. A student of Uday Shankar, she also did the choreography for us. When we met her sister Zohra (Sehgal) appa, that's when our playwright Shahid Nadeem thought of writing a play, as a form of a tribute to the two sisters. It's about them, as also about our Pakistani identity - despite having so much in common, how different it is from our Indian identity. The play was immensely successful wherever it was performed and continued till the sisters kept growing older and frailer and couldn't perform any more. (Last year, Uzra appa passed away).
In India, most actors are headed to television or cinema rather than theatre. What about Pakistan?
Yes, we face the same problem. We too have lost some very good actors to TV. They now have no time for rehearsals and find theatre a bit tedious as against TV which is fast paced. In fact, even mediocre actors give preference to TV, so it's an uphill task to keep groups like Ajoka going.
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