ILU reaches new heights

A selection of ladies from the 10,000+ strong group called Indian Ladies in UK, braved the weather and their fears to jump out of a plane at 13,000 feet. All in the name of giving, one of the key pillars that has made ILU so strong and successful in such a short space of time.

And for what? To raise money for Indian farmers and to help empower Indian women to stand on their own two feet.

The National Crime Records Bureau in India reports a total of 5,650 farmers committed suicide in 2014, with the highest proportion being in the state of Maharashtra with 2568. NCRB highlights that major causes for these suicides are bankruptcy and indebtedness, family problems and failure of crops. Public figures like Nana Patekar have made it their aim to ensure the issue is highlighted.

50% of the money raised will to help Indian farmers and the rest will help community projects such as Hindi teaching classes, promoting Indian culture in the UK and helping ILU’s own ladies who have become victims of domestic violence or become destitute.

ILU was invited to be part of the Dowry enquiry at the Parliament headed by the Labour MP Virendra Sharma.

The skydiving challenge has even inspired hundreds of ladies from the group who had a fear of heights to raise money on the ground, by organising charity walks, coffee meetings and potlucks.

Through its fundraising page and with some ladies collecting money through these coffee meets and charity walks, and with a month to go, they have already reached their target and nothing seems to be stopping them.

Speaking to the founder of ILU, Poonam Joshi, she said: ‘It was an immensely fun day for some of our members but the good times masked a very noble cause that of helping our fellow country men and women back home in India and first generation migrant women here in the UK. This was a very small step for our organisation in a very long journey which we hope will make a small change to the world we live in.’

Indian Ladies in UK CIC

Indian Ladies in the UK is an Indian women-only organisation that represents mainly first generation Migrant women from India living in the UK. Indian Ladies in UK is now 10,000 members strong and has connected thousands of members throughout the UK. We have helped hundreds of women that needed assistance or became victims of domestic violence.We are raising funds for Indian farmers & for ILUK’s community projects. ILU was given CIC status earlier this year.

My Hands Day

Today we celebrate ourselves. When ILU looks after their hands. I wanted everyone to spend today to look after themselves; to spend a day not worrying about cooking, cleaning.

Today I encourage manicures, massages and time away from the stove. I hope I see lots of pics, lots of happy and relaxed faces. Lots of colour and laughter.

Cos, girls, you’re worth it! 

decisions decisions!

Perseverance – not for the faint hearted

To blog or not to blog, that was never a question. In fact, I shouldn’t have waited for so long. My topic of the day, perseverance.

I finished an art course that I have been proud to be part of. My drawing skills have developed so much, and I have found my art material of choice; willow charcoal. The softness of the charcoal has allowed me to create depth in my drawings, as well enhance my blending techniques. I have been able to create a dark mood throughout all my drawings and I think I have found my style. There is a mood in these drawings, a dark mood, though I’m much happier in real life, there is a presence of darkness in these drawings that I still want to explore.

I moved on to painting – this is tougher, I completely forgot how tough it was to mix colours and find the right shades. But, again, perseverance is key. If you don’t keep trying, you will never know your own potential, and I want to find my own potential in all parts of art work. We’ve been given a three week self-portrait task in class. Week one has been amazing. I have been able to mix acrylics well. To find the right angle to paint my face, and again, like in the drawing course, the dark mood has continued. It’s niche – and I like it.

I persevered in another aspect in my life as well. To rid myself of something that was lingering for so long. And it became final, and I’M SO HAPPY. I have a new lease of life and I am going to enjoy every part of my future, however easy, enjoyable or tough. And, I am going to ensure that anything that gives me stress beyond my tolerance, I will not continue. This is perseverance. Thank you world, if the experiences I have had hadn’t happened, I would have never have found out what life is all about.

Persevere, keep going, don’t stop.

 

Identity Crisis much?

Long live the blog. Though this temporarily died. I haven’t blogged in a while. It doesn’t matter much, as I have been telling the world I’ve been feeling exhausted when I have been shopping, exhausted when I’ve run on a treadmill, posted the occasional selfie with filters so you cannot see the dark circles around my eyes and a pathetic attempt of self-vanity and pouted. So all is not lost, though through social media if we do all this, we are somehow all losers.

I’m quite excited about this coming week. I’m starting an art course. Reviving those skills I acquired when I was younger. The course is called ‘Developed Drawing’ – which implies I somehow know how to draw a bit already. Though, if I look back at people complimenting my artwork so far, I have this notion that they are just humouring me, making me feel good, or joking about completely. I always seem to have this dread. So what do I do? ‘It’s not that good’ or ‘art thou sure’? (shit joke, shoot me)

Why can I never be happy with a compliment? I started searching back in my life as to when this started. I remember it clearly in high school when I said ‘I would rather put myself down first than run the risk of someone doing it for me’ and that became the habit. I left high school in 2002. You don’t need to be a mathematician to know that it’s been an effing long time for me to keep this habit alive. So fuck it. Yeah, I swore. Gasp all you want but you know it feels exhilarating.

This was my identity, sugar coated in humility. But I’m bad-ass (Ben is this being said with enough conviction?) I’m an awesome artist. I think differently. I get annoyed when people take the piss, though I still treat them well, even though they need their tongues ripped out from their mouths. This is my new ID. But wait, there is more.

I’m a bit lost. I’m unforgiving of who I am. I did a personality test to find out that I’m like Gandhi, Martin Luther King. That it’s okay to be like me. It’s okay to switch accents dependent of whom I’m speaking to. It’s okay to love Bollywood like I do. (Don’t start asking about whether Gandhi or King liked Bollywood) It’s okay to be nice to people even though they treat you terribly. The only non Indian thing I’ve done is start watching House of Cards. Though I would rather then level it up with watching Vikas Bahl’s Queen again. This is all so confusing, do I break this habit? Should I be more ‘Londoner’ or should I be proud to be a ‘citizen of the world’. I’m not sure. I’m happy to be from here, but I have a longing to belong it seems somewhere else. I don’t know. Right now, I’m stay on this fence, until it makes sense. (it rhymed, slow clap).

 

 

Singing Sirens and a Time Machine

I won! I won! I won! I’ve never won anything before! Now, before you start calling me your best friend because you’re thinking I have just won the lottery, I am sorry to disappoint you. I won tickets to a show I had wanted to go to for ages. Kanika Kapoor, Shalmali Kholgade and Harshdeep Kaur. All different voices but one clear thing in common. Women! and how! One, my hero, Kanika for reasons I know! She is as stunning as her eyes and her voice. Her baby doll, desi look, and her lovely ho gay yaar was too good, and it was live! Shalmali was fun. She was doing her first concert in London, hence her interact with the audience was amazing! She was dancing with us, hugging audience members, everything. But, liking traditions, Harshdeep stole the show for me. Her amazing voice was second to none. With the start of Ik Onkar, as I had suspected, goosebumps took over my arms. That chill you get when you are in an electric environment as she finished, I actually felt like I was being welcomed into heaven.

Blessings delivered, we were in for a jam packed soulful evening. The sirens were delivering our favourites. Harshdeep’s renditions of Kabira (Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani) and Samjhawan (Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania) had so much class.

There was a surprise addition to the evening after the interval (and after we changed seats for the third time to get a better view, which I am getting much better at!) The MD of the Palm Beach Casino (a sponsor of the evening) coming on stage with two stunning singers, his guitar and some soul. Turns out he sings! But as they say ‘kebab mein haddi’, the audience were eagerly awaiting baby doll. Some shouting ‘get off the stage’ and ‘bring on Kanika on’ was quite embarrassing. Well done to them for continuing and smiling. Unforgiving as the crowd was, I actually liked it. It reminded me of Bryan Adams. Any other gig and they would have received the appreciation they deserved.

Stunning venue of the Royal Festival Hall, great views of the River Thames, and the singing lift in the Southbank Centre (which has its own Twitter handle!!!) The higher the floor, the higher the pitch. Floor 6 was very, very high. Any more floors and I think only dogs would have been able to hear it! An amazing evening.

I left not believing my luck that I had won the chance to be there! Thank you Poonam Joshi, UK Asian and the FB group of all groups, ILU (by invitation only!)

The next morning I woke up to what I can only call a ‘teetotal hangover’. Once my ‘mein kahan hoon, mein kaun hu?’ moment was over, and later that evening I watched one of my favourite British Comedians, Sanjeev Bhaksar of Goodness Gracious Me fame (innit!) take us through the History of Indian Cinema, and what a documentary it was! Every interviewee that came on screen and I was like ‘woah!’ I mean interviewing Sharmila Tagore is not something we see everyday on the BBC. Thank you for showing a series celebrating different parts of India. One of India’s strengths is of course its evergreen film industry. Sanjeev Bhaskar takes us from the famous silent film Raja Harishchandra of 1913, directed by Dadasaheb Phalke, known as India’s first full-length film, right through to game changer films like 3 Idiots and Baahubali.

One constant theme throughout the documentary the use of song in Indian films, and the constant response was ’emotion’. Around the time films were developing through the fifties, through the Raj Kapoor era, as Bhaskar explains, songs had simple lyrics of a nationalist pride in the wake of the republic was a ‘way of capturing the public’s imagination’. Cue the song from ‘Mera Juta Hai Japani’. I sang along, because it made smile. It brought a sense of pride, even though I was born in Harrow. See, emotion!

Bhaskar takes us then to Mother India. A film that really is indescribable. Nargis plays the moral example of the perfect sanskari woman, a wife, a mother. Probably one of the longest films I have ever sat through but will never complain about.

I then see Asha Bhosle. Cue her statistics. She started her career in 1947! The year of India’s Independence. Not only was India free, but Ashaji’s voice was free to rule the industry for the next 60 years. She has the most recorded voice in history. She has recorded over 12,000 songs. STATS or what!

One of the highlights of this documentary was Sanjeev Bhaskar speaking to Aamir Khan. What a guy! An actor whose films have amazing messages to take away. Lagaan is one of the best films ever, not just because of the story and songs, but of course the cricket! He explains why songs are important in Indian films. Music and song helps you sharpen an emotion says Aamir. Cue scene from Lagaan with a cloud signalling hope for the villagers who haven’t seen rain for two years. Aamir argues the sharpening of emotion is because of the song when the whole village starts singing and dancing.

Focus on Aamir’s films shifts to 3 Idiots – one of the cleverest films I have ever seen. Kareena Kapoor said it worked because the story was simple. The rest of the documentary speaks about the increased use of CGI. There are films like Baahubali which will blow your mind with its computer graphics. But for me, the woah factor was there in the final scene of 3 Idiots when ‘Racho’ revealed he was actually Phunsuk Waghru. It was one of the cleverest things ever! Sanjeev Bhaskar said, and I agreed, it didn’t need any excess that Bollywood has.

With song, comes dance, and with India and dance, comes my favourite Shiamak. Shiamak, whose academy I was part of for a little while. Someone who redefined dance and amalgamated Indo-Contemporary steps to create his style, the Shiamak style. It’s a difficult style to learn, but on stage in front of you is the most stunning dance form you could ever see. I have said it, and will continue to say it until it happens, it belongs on the West End stage.

Overall, amazing documentary. It made me feel proud I was a Bollywood fan. A great statistic that made me think ‘wow’ was that the footfall for Indian cinema is 3 billion admissions a year. So that’s literally like half the world’s population.

Bollywood. It’s unique, it’s colourful, it’s emotional, it’s simple, it’s cleaver. It’s everything, and it’s Indian.

Overall, not a bad weekend for appreciating an industry that celebrated its centenary a couple of years ago, I am sure that generations to come will continue to love it’s individuality for many more.

 

 

What is in a dream…a lot really!

Damn! I should have blogged earlier. It’s okay, the play is still vividly in my mind even after a few weeks. It seems my first experience of fringe theatre had a lasting effect.

Why Dreamcather by Kashyap Raja? Well of course it had my dear friend Janki Chotai, sorry, the unrecognisable Janki Chotai, who suddenly throughout the play showed her sinister, evil side. Her character really did show that you aren’t born a bitch, your circumstances make you that way. Janki’s expressions were on point. Her eyes really did show these traits. It scared me, because she’s amazingly sweet really! I felt an instant sense of pride when she appeared on stage.

My first play. Unexpecting as I was, I was surprised by the size of the theatre. Located near Kings Cross I saw that it would really be an intimate affair, I suppose I had a West End Stage size in my mind. The show was sold out on its third and final day. Waiting in line to go in with Janki’s fiancé (my sweet Bhai Amit) I still didn’t know what to expect. I met fellow Gujaratis who produced Gujarati plays in the UK. Rikin Bhai was a fountain of knowledge about acting, stage production and all things theatre. It was amazing to hear stories of their productions, the effort that is needed to keep the audience interested in the story you are trying to portray as an actor on stage. Still, I really hadn’t realised this until sitting through the play I was about to watch.

All new territory, I observed the manner in which theatres work. I wanted to get a really good view. I was a rookie. I needed to learn.

Dreamcatcher takes you through the plight of Shambi, who has been in a coma for 15 years and awakens unable to remember anything about a murder he had witnessed. Marqus, the Dreamcatcher, has been assigned the near impossible task of unravelling these dreams to understand what happened all those years ago, but you see even he needed help throughout. Shazad Ali, who played Shabhi was captivating from the first scene. Scaring us half to death by waking up from the coma, taking us through his difficult journey in each of his dreams, he really portrayed the role well. Expert or no expert, if you are moved by a performance you know you’ll want to see more of their work, that they will only get better the more they do.

The other performance that I still remember is that of the Joker. I was told that in such a suspense drama a character like the one we saw is added to lighten the mood of the audience. Thank God, I thought, what we were seeing so far was thought provoking and serious, but it at places was too dark to stomach. The Joker brought some light relief, throwing chocolates at the audience and bringing some sarcasm to the stage, she showed to have a fierce and independent streak with a pinch of craziness – a big pinch! But as I said, just like Janki’s character, it’s the circumstances that make your personality. It turned out that behind the mask, there was no joke. There was sadness. There was betrayal from her father, the Professor, who was helping others sort out their mental state, but had seemed to have disowned his own daughter. This was tough to watch. It really hit me. It reminded me that the ones that make us laugh the most are often the most broken. Isabella who played the Joker was amazing, the audience couldn’t stop watching her.

I left the theatre, one of the oldest in the country, even more confused that I entered. Not a detrimental comment at all to the production. In fact, I got confused about my life, my dreams, and what they mean.

It really was a learning curve for me to attend this, my first play, and definitely not my last. Especially dark, suspense drama like this. I was told it’s not for everybody, but I am that somebody it is for. Entertainment is vast, and can be a song and dance, but sit through something like Dreamcatcher and you really do appreciate acting, stage presence, audience engagement and the story.

I am so happy and proud that my dear Janki was part of this journey. I can’t wait to see more of her on stage, getting better each time.

A couple of weeks later and I manage more drawing, this time it’s still Janki and Amit related. Happy to say the happy couple are engaged, so I see a blank canvass and the ideas just flow. I end up with a unique design with peacocks, Paisleys and flowers that are distinctly ‘me’. A celebration saw another excuse of doing what I love – can’t wait until the next one!

Portraits

An impromptu stop at the National Portrait Gallery today after much deliberation. I entered and floods of memories of my childhood came rushing back. Those school trips to galleries that not only made us think about Art, but tested out our History too. I entered to find the Audrey Hepburn exhibition was full. ‘Never mind’ I thought, I will leave that for another time and off I continued inside. 
I didn’t have much time until the Gallery closed, so it was really a whistle-stop tour. I observed many portraits of those that make the fabric of British history. There were a number of paintings that did capture my attention for certain reasons. Art is all about what emotions or memories are evoked in you. You have to depict what the image in front of you means to you, or you try your hardest to understand the what the artist wants to make you think about.
One such painting was ‘Key to the House of Lords, 1820, the Trail of Queen Caroline’ by Sir George Hayter. Having worked for a Lord, I have seen the Lord’s chamber in the present day. The scene in this painting was very different (bar the Crimson of the seats and the regal feel). An all male House was deciding the fate of Queen Caroline. Caroline, who had been living abroad for several years, returned to England to claim her right to be crowned queen. George IV, who wanted to divorce Caroline, introduced a Pains and Penalties Bill to Parliament in an aim to dissolve his marriage. Caroline had a massive following and the Bill was unpopular and so was withdrawn by the Tory government. 
Another such portrait was of someone who every woman feels proud of. She gave us the right to vote. Emmeline Pankhurst. Suffragette. Political Leader. Woman. It stood next to a sign stating, ‘We are making a New World Britain’. She brought reform and modernised Britain so that millions of women could have a right to say how they should be governed. This was progress. It takes a real fighter to change society and its thoughts but her portrait showed her to be a soft, sweet lady. Her eyes had a reassurance about them. A few people stood in front of it and just smiled. One lady looked at me and smiled as if to say, ‘yes, she made it happen’. I smiled too, I was proud.  
The final collection that really took my notice was a series of photographs by Ketaki Sheth. She captured the Sidi community who originated from Africa and settled in India, mainly in Gujarat and Karnataka. The town Jamnagar instantly captured me as my roots are from near there. The Sidi community arrived in the 17th century and adopted a lot of the Indian culture, including dress, ceremonies and food, but at the same time kept their own identity. The collection is aptly called ‘On Belonging’. 
Overall, too little time to really enjoy – it left me wanting to visit again as soon as possible. This time, to definitely make it to the Audrey Hepburn exhibition and to view all the other collections I couldn’t. Whilst today’s visit took me through the depths of British history, it also made me appreciate the country’s development and reform. I can’t wait to go back! 

   
 
   
 

 

Ahalya – A Haunting Masterpiece

3 actors, one renowned director, and someone who doesn’t understand a word of Bengali (me). That didn’t stop me for following every single scene of Ahalya. Sujoy Ghosh‘s epic thriller is something I wasn’t expecting to appreciate in the way I did. I’m no film expert. But every single minute of this masterpiece was keemti. I could not take my eyes off the 14 minutes of suspense for even a milisecond.

Ghosh’s way of modernising such an old tale of deceit and adultery is fascinating. This modern take makes you shiver and haunts you even after the it’s finished. 

It has everything you need in such a short span of time. It not only makes you appreciate the space the actors have to evoke such feelings but Ghosh’s directorial excellence to ensure that anyone watching, even with a language barrier, can appreciate it as much, if not more than someone who speaks fluent Bengali. 

My second blog on creativity has been dedicated to short films. I have explained how I have felt watching something stunning like Ahalya. Something that is historically Indian through and through but has a modern twist. Thank you Sujoy Ghosh for opening my mind to the beauty of short films. You don’t always need big box office numbers, elaborate special effects or three hours to evoke such feelings. Ahalya left me wanting to see more, though I knew it had everything in such a short space of time. A must watch! 

  

Longing to belong to the world of creativity

I kind of stopped thinking about being ‘creative’ a long time ago. Probably when I officially dropped my love of Art in college, as a subject mind. I don’t think you could ever stop being an ‘artist’. I couldn’t see it as a long term relationship. We had no future. It’s not you, it’s me. Actually, it was kind of you. What was I going to do with an Art degree? Researching rather than using a blank canvas always let me down. I wasting my time? Why am I thinking about this all now? On a blog? All these years later? Yes, I have started blogging. This happened by accident. I didn’t intend on starting a blog, especially about something like this. It all happened by accident. But I am going to use this as a platform to explore creativity to its fullest. A big thank you to you if you’ve not fallen asleep by now, but I think it’s really important for all of use to think about that inner creative soul that I’m sure is in all of us. Whether it’s to be on stage, to pick up an instrument, to use that blank canvas…we shouldn’t hide from it any longer. Unleash it, and make this world beautiful.I look a fashion designers and artists, actors and musicians sometimes with a longing to belong. But I can draw, I can make a blank piece of look colour and beautiful. I have an artistic ‘hunar’. A talent. With practice of henna inspired designs, I can now make them look like stunning prints. People don’t believe me when I say it’s all freehand; that I don’t think about it but I just start and I let my mind become as free as a bird. So, I AM creative. I have creativity in me. I have to just look at myself and be a bird. Fly. 
I had a childhood before technology infused my life. Facebook, Twitter, blogging, Instagram, etc etc – didn’t exist. We used to have an imagination. Pen and paper were important. Now creativity is measured by computers. Digital creativity is the ‘in thing’. But I live in a country that has so much historical and cultural creativity that I wonder why I haven’t appreciated it more. If I had gone and seen a play, spent every Friday in Vue, learnt the violin or graduated in Art, maybe I wouldn’t be so hesitant to belong. But to hell with that. Step by step, blog by blog, I’m going unleash the creative soul in me. (Cue Katy Perry’s Roar, oh oh oh, and Kangana Ranaut’s Queen, where she realises her own talents and strength through selling gol gappa, in Kolkata it’s called Puchka, in Mumbai it’s paani puri….).