A Dialogue that threw light on the dark!

We usually relate darkness to fear. A power-cut calls for hunting candles or lanterns and nowadays, mobile torches. We fear of tripping, or finding smoky floating ghosts (or friends playing pranks), shattering stuff, stepping on the pet cat and a lot more disastrous happenings. We fear the unknown. What if an hour of your life makes you embrace darkness closer than light? It happened to me..

When I browsed through the website of “Dialogue in the Dark”, I saw the line, ‘an exhibition to explore the unseen’. As I’ve been noticing this place at Inorbit Mall in Hyderabad for quite some time now, two of my friends and I decided to give it a try. My understanding was that it’s an exhibition of sorts supposedly in the dark.

Once we went there, we waited for more people to arrive and once we were a group of five, we were asked to leave our belongings in a locker, including our mobile phones. Then each of us were given a stick to navigate, and guided into a pitch dark entrance. I had butterflies in my stomach, and one of my friends was really unsure about going in.

Once we stepped in further using the stick to navigate, we heard the voice of our guide. We all introduced ourselves and he took over the tour from there. The further we moved in, we could here sounds of flowing water, chirping birds, feel the change in atmosphere and experience a lot more through our four senses. We climbed on a swaying bridge to cross a river, went on a boat ride, identified spices, picked vegetables in the market, went to a museum, played cricket and hide-and-seek, and even did a real money transaction! 

One of the amazing things is that we did all this confined to the space allotted inside a mall! In that span of one hour, not even once did any of us trip and fall. The darkness was so serene and beautiful. We experienced much more in the dark than we would have doing these same things in light. The funny thing is that, when one of our friends hit the ball hard during the Cricket game, we all automatically cheered for the person without even seeing what happened! It was literally an experience of falling in love with the darkness.

After one hour, when it was time for us to come back to our world, the guide said he’d meet us outside. That’s when most of us realized that our guide was a blind man.

He took us to his world for an hour. Taught us how he perceives this world. And in a way, taught us the virtue of trust as well. Showed us the beauty of his world, and gave me one of the best experiences of life-time.

We indeed explored the unseen that day! Kudos to the team behind this beautiful attempt. Waiting to try “Dinner in the dark” next!

x

An assumption gone wrong - Jawahir Hamza

It’s been almost a month since I’ve landed in Qatar. A change in culture, climate and people around me has been diverting, but yet difficult from all that I miss from back home. Even though miles apart, all my loved ones have tried their best to not make me feel the difference as much as they can. The thing about missing someone is that it gets easier every day, because even though you are one day further from the last time you saw them, you are one day closer to the next time you will.

At the same time, one gets to learn many a new thing in such an experience. Speaking of experiences, the other day on my way back from work I decided to get down on the way to have my dinner as it got late due to overtime work handed over to me. I got down to have a slice of pizza, letting go off the company car on its way so that I could calmly have my dinner and walk to my stay without having to rush about it.

The pizza having found its way down right to my tummy washed down by some Coke, I decided to leave for my place. As the pizza was nowhere close to what we get back in India, disheartened but uncomplaining because I was too hungry and tired to do so, I walked over to a store nearby to get a bottle of Barbican and some milk. Having got what I wanted, I stepped out of the store right into the midst of the weekend crowd. Weekends here are like political protests or dharnas like in India where everybody is right on the streets and yelling their throats out (just their way of having a conversation with their fellows). Not my cup of tea.

I looked for an escape route to my right and I see a route with less people. Not much of a choice after all as it was more like switching from China to India. Wading through the crowd, I spotted a man around 20-30 meters away standing on top of a slightly higher platform holding his mobile out with his left hand as if he was taking a selfie.

An African in a beanie taking a selfie in the midst of everybody in the planet. I was like, Heights of Self Obsession!

As I walked slowly I noticed him shaking his right hands as well while still holding the phone out with his left. A selfie video?? That’s even funnier, because at this point almost everybody behind and around this guy were staring at him. I for a moment had a feeling that this guy was tipsy high and acting weird shaking his right hand looking at his phone. The more closer I got to him I avoided direct eye contact because I felt that would be weird for the both of us. As I reached right next to him, I noticed that this guy wasn’t drunk. He was sober as anyone on the planet could be, and only his hand movement from distance appeared to be like that of a drunkard.

As I passed him, I turned my head around to see what he actually was doing. I noticed that on his mobile screen, a person on Skype was communicating back at him in sign language. I felt so embarrassed to have assumed what this person was or what he was doing and for some reason I felt very emotional too.

All that went through my mind was how hard he was trying to make his near ones close even though life was much less easier for him. I was so happy that technology has brought us to such level that even the challenged ones can use it to their needs. Distance or missing someone will always be there. But trying to stay close is what matters. 

It’s not so tough too. You just need to try.

A TRIBUTE TO THE BIG B – ALL THE WAY FROM QATAR! - Jawahir Hamza

This whole write-up has very little to do with the greatest actors I’ve had to witness in my country. This article is about something that brought immense joy to me just by the mention of his name. I’m talking about none other than the great Amitabh Harivansh Bachchan, an actor whom almost every Indian from the galis to the metropolitan, be it a 3 year old or a veteran, adores.

Now let’s leave Bachchanji out of this for a little while and focus the spotlight onto me. C’mon we all love to have some time in the limelight, don’t we? ;)

 I just moved to Qatar a week back, to join a vacancy that was lying in wait for me. My whole part of packing my bags was pretty much easy because I only had two small bags with me. I would say I’m a good packer, a trait that I learned from my dad I guess. The packing part was hilarious to the eyes of both my friends and family because of two factors:  

1.    I only had two small bags (they sort of felt like I was going for a camping trip) &
2.   Mainly because the first things I packed were my pair of football studs, shin guards & the rest of the kit (I believe this is quite enough to convey the fact I am a football crazy guy).

Every onlooker had the same question lurking on their mind; is this guy going to work or going to play football? So, after all the emotional send off from my most loved ones at the airport, I tried clearing my mind of all the gloom of leaving them behind for so long. Damn, I’m going to Qatar!!! 2022 World Cup!!! A football crazy country where the commentator makes it an absolute necessity to scream GOOOAAAAALLLLL!!!!! GOAL! GOAL! GOAL! GOOOAAALLLLL!!!!!!!

Well for those who might be thinking that I might be exaggerating, I honestly am not. YouTube can verify my claims. So I land with all hopes high of finding a green grass laden football field and running across it. Since my place of residence was a little far away from the capital, and with no means of personal transport, finding a place was really difficult. As each day passed my enthusiasm started to decline trying to pacify myself thinking that maybe, it’s not going to happen after all.

Yesterday, I went to have a bite at a burger joint quite close to me. I look across the window, across the road on which Qataris were playing Road Rash in real life, to my amusement I see a football bounce far away in the distant background. “YES!!!”” – I screamed quite loud, to which every customer in the shop had a weird targeted look onto me. Excited, Embarrassed, Ecstatic, I could write down more words but none would describe the intensity of emotions that ran through me. I crossed across the road, ran through the barren sand, reaching a perfectly grass laden ground.

I kept looking at those playing and when I got the eye contact with a guy who looked less intimidating than the rest I asked, Is it fine for me to play? He said, ‘Yes, Yes…”. I ran back and forth to my place, picked up my stuff & reached the ground in 10-15 minutes. With wobbly legs I shove my boots on and played for around 10-15 minutes and the game ended. I came to know that they start early and they asked me to come the next day. Having done nothing much they seemed just okay with me playing.

The next following day, i.e. today when I reach the ground, a lot of people are there to play. Quite doubtful if I can get a place in, I wait for their response. The best of the players here are Africans. A guy comes over to me and in all seriousness asks me, “AVE U PLAAYED FOOTHBALL IN YAR COUNTHRY?*” I nod and then comes the next question comes. “WHEECH COUNTHRY ARR U FRAAM??*” I reply with a humble look on my face, “INDIA”.

“OH MAAI GODH, THEES MAAN FRRAAM “HINDIYA*” (Yes, that’s how they pronounce it). This huge guy whose at least 6’5” tall and has a dominating presence turns all sweet and excited and calls the others and they come together and ask me, “DO YOU KNO’ AMITABH BACHCHAN???”

I’m like… What? (Just what came in my mind, couldn’t express that loud). Hell Yeah!!! I Know Amitabh Bachchan!!! He’s from my country, he’s the best guy, he’s this, he’s that, Sholay to K3G to Bhoothnath-2 all got covered in 20 minutes. They were like still waiting for more to come from me. I ask them where they are from and a couple of them reply, Sudan, another few Ghana and a few notable ones from Nigeria. The guy from Sudan comes over to me and says, “MAI CHEELDREN IN SUDAN JUMP WHEN THEY SEE AMITABH BACHCHAN. THEY LAAV HEEM, YOU MY FREND WILL PLAY IN OUR THEAM.*”

As glad as much as I could be, I felt proud of Bachchan Saab for his everlasting impression on the world of cinema & especially for making these particular people your fans :D.

The game ends in a tie, and on wrapping up, they come by me and take me out for dinner and ask me to come play every day. Waiting for the next day ahead, I wonder if they know of Shahrukh Khan…

*I just love the African accent. I do not intend anything negative in nature to them. So I thought it would be nice to let the readers know exactly how I heard it.

REVIEW: TRANSFORM 2013 - MY LEEDS MY CITY - RONNIE KURIAKOSE

West Yorkshire Playhouse’s Transform Festival was a creative culmination of talents, a celebration of opportunity that reassured us that despite the recent cuts in grants the arts industry will continue to thrive. Since its first installation in 2010, Transform has embraced directors, theatre artists and writers to redefine and reminisce. This year the festival looked closer to home through its huge theatrical lens picking up an exciting mix of artists and companies from around Leeds enabling the audience to experience theatre and the city of Leeds like never before.

 

Leeds Market is that place where one expects to be the least entertained. But that was not the case when Transform kick-started on 16th of April. The Market, a performance based around Kirkgate Market walked us through its long history - of bombs, fires, commitments and changes - and of course, the stories of those who worked there, past and present. Needless to say, The Market was a masterly work paying homage to one of Leeds’ 100 year old treasured landmark.

 

For those adventurous audience members, there was Navigators. University of Leeds students and Invisible Flock, an interactive arts organization based in Leeds, worked together with Transform’s Associate Artist Andrew Whyment to create this masterpiece - a walking experience which explored the untold stories of the city and the paths we travel.

 

There were several other fantastic works of art - Johnny Eck and Dave Toole Show, Burmantofts Stories, The Rage Receptacle, The Cabaret Club - and also a three course meal interlaced with songs and speeches.

 

The festival concluded on 27th April, after long two weeks of surprise and delight. But looking back, one can only wonder if this was an attempt to push at the edges of practice and help re-imagine what theatre can look like and what it can do. If yes, then it could not have happened at a better time. For Maria Miller, the Secretary of State for Culture, needs something to point at to win us some art grants. And Transform 2013 is indeed that something.

THEATRE REVIEW : ARCHITECTS OF THE INVISIBLE - RONNIE KURIAKOSE

 

The cast and crew of Architects of the Invisible took a chance here leading the audience astray and then bringing them back into an explosion of creative irony; it paid off ten-fold.

 

Unlike the others, I watched Architects of the Invisible not expecting a story. And I was not disappointed. Like every other plays produced by the PCI this year, this too lacked a story. Not entirely. There were some small extracts that if dissected from the play and read together would qualify as one. But any attempts at that would defeat the very purpose that this collaborative piece tried to achieve. No. There was no story, but perhaps a journey of chance.

 

The play began like plays do – with an uninvited silence and an honest hope that we would be entertained. We sat there for a while peering at the long line of this seventeen member cast expecting them to perform. Apparently, they had similar expectations of us. It was obvious then that this was comedy and comedy, as a genre, never failed to entertain.

 

It was only after a quick bombardment of stats on some of the unusual ways you can die that the play really took life. A well-rehearsed and well-coordinated series of phases followed that depicted the mediocre routines of a familiar morning, tempting the audience to just lean back on their chair and relax. Tempt it did, before drawing us back again to the edge of our seats with a chaotic intervention of overlapping monologues. This was their strength. This almost fluent transition from methodical to disarrayed performance.

 

And then the play ended. Despite the cast’s repeated attempts at testing the audiences’ intelligence with a mock ending, not one budged. But the play had indeed ended. Until then the play had had a serious tone to it. This changed when the play began anew. The cast and crew of Architects of the Invisible took a chance here leading the audience astray and then bringing them back into an explosion of creative irony; it paid off ten-fold.

 

The set was interestingly elegant yet simple enough to be transformed often to fit the verve of the play. Collectively, the cast and crew deserved a word of praise for their light hearted, entertaining and dynamic performance. Individually, a standing ovation.

 

Rating: 4/5

Jessie Hillel - Interview by Ronnie Kuriakose

They say one has to be at Nashville to break into the music scene. They also say that one has to have, besides musical lineage, golden locks of hair falling down to the shoulder and a hamster for pet etc. Jessie Hillel was 8188 miles away on a tiny little island and was three years old when, unbeknownst to any, the muses took her. If it wasn’t for the Jim Reeves CD that was playing for the umpteenth time in the car, the world would have lost some of its present charm. But clearly, this magnificent a talent would never have gone unnoticed. Now, nine years later, this small girl is walking the same strides as the giants of the music industry and is well capable of dethroning them from their current spotlight. But being the compassionate and genuinely humble girl that she is, had only but respect and love for her fellow contestants of New Zealand’s Got Talent that saw her coming runner-up to the 15 year old Clara van Wel in 2012. Talent got her so far, but it was her that won the million hearts in New Zealand and around the globe. Standing ovations are deficient in that it fails to provide an accurate gesture of the audience’s emotion towards her.

After a similar standing-ovation at JTPAC after her performance, I sat down with Jessie and her sister – Julie Hillel, a talented pianist in her own right- and started shuffling a deck of cards hoping to make better use of our time than bombard her with questions that we already know the answers for. It was very evident from her NZ GT performance that she was very familiar with the demands on being on stage. At 5, she entered her first public singing competition at North City Plaza Mall in Porirua, NZ – even before she could really comprehend what a competition was. She then has gone on to record songs with The Starbugs and has performed for the International Children’s Concert for CCTV, China. She is also an international performance arts competitor, singing for team NZ at the World Championship of Performing Arts, Los Angeles in 2010. Michael Jackson’s former vocal coach was so impressed with her performance at the WCOPA that he expressed interest in working with her – an opportunity she refused as it would have meant relocating her family to the United States. Today when she left JT PAC, she had an entourage of fans and music-lovers around and she associated with them better than the top divas I know.

Talent, in most cases, is not something you discover by chance or something that you happen to have already. It is often the result of your ardent desire that the universe conspired to help achieve. I asked her whether she has ever dreamt of performing live to an audience. At the Grammy’s, she said smiling.

Apparently, dreams are the way to do it. Not hard work. But then again from the wrong side of the desk, I probably wouldn’t know. The artist, she says, must always be placed between the determinants of their immediate setting – cultural, social etc. Jessie owes a lot of her success to her family; especially her mother, who I believe, is her perfect fan. Julie Hillel had been accompanying her often and knows the right trick to prepare her little sister well for the show. They play a geography game together, listing the names of countries until Azerbaijan evades them both. Speaking of geography, growing up in New Zealand has given her easy access to different genres of music. She took pop lessons when she was three and later, at the age of five, decided to pursue classical music. It was her love for classical music that catapulted her to where she is now and with that voice, it is not very surprising. When not singing, she is helping Make a Wish foundation make realize the wishes of young children.

She is well aware of the very grown-up realities that she may soon have to face while under the limelight. Needless to say her parents have prepared her well. It is very evident from her on-stage charisma and the compassion with which she conducts herself. But for the occasional criticism or bad review that might come her way, she has her own mantra to keep the demons at bay. DON’T EVER GIVE UP! Mistakes can be corrected, she says, and failures can be worthwhile experiences. Sometimes the cheer of a loved one can drown the thunderous boos of thousands. Her love for performance arts cannot be shaken. It is just the energy in the performance, it is all really fun, she says. When you see other people enjoying it too, you really feel the pleasure of it and all the hard work you have done on that song pays off.

A singer, she affirms with an unquestionable self-belief. It is all she wants to be. To be able to sing everyday is her heart’s desire. I have not thought about anything else, she says. Nevertheless, she is eager to explore songwriting as well. On April 26th Sony Music has proudly released Jessie’s highly anticipated debut album “With Love”. The CD will feature the three outstanding songs Jessie performed on ‘New Zealand’s Got Talent’ along with some of her most loved songs including “Castle In A Cloud” from the academy award winning ‘Les Miserables,’ Enya’s “Orinoco Flow” performed with a children’s choir, and “Pi’s Lullaby” from the critically claimed motion picture ‘Life Of Pi’. Sky really is the limit for this little champion and Jessie Hillel knows it well.