The flight time between Kolkata and Dhaka is 35 minutes. One January my wife and I visited India - Goa, Cochin, rice boat on the Kerala backwaters and things like that - and had to return to Dhaka via Kolkata. The trip was planned carefully and we anticipated a 2 hour wait at Kolkata before returning home on a Biman flight. 24 hours later we managed to get a plane and arrive back in Dhaka. I notice today that all 5 Biman planes dedicated to international flights have broken down and delays are expected. Clearly nothing has changed since 2006, even after the purging of the inflated number of employees.
One thing all political parties in Bangladesh could point to as a success was the apparent removal of the spectre of famine in the country. Yesterday I read that the World Food Organisation has placed Bangladesh on its list of 31 food deficit nations. One wonders what has gone wrong. Maybe its to do with land management, the increasing spread of arsenic contaminated paddi, the shift from the mofussil areas to the cities by destitute peasants seeking a livelihood and the ever-increasing population. Of all the problems confronting Bangladesh this is possibly the most serious given the volatility of the country and the fact that the fundamentalists have a strategy of 'colonizing' rural areas where the food is produced.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Water
One of today's headlines in The Daily Star Tipaimukh dam: Trust, but verify. I think this is the first time I have ever seen the word trust in a headline in Bangladesh, or indeed the Bangladesh political context.
The article goes on to points out in relation to the Farakka Barrage
'One of the devastating impacts of the FB is the vanishing of a large village, Akheriganj of Bhagabangola, rendering 23,394 people homeless and raising tensions between India and Bangladesh. Besides, the barrage has turned parts of northern Bangladesh into a desert, raising salinity, affecting navigation, and adversely impacting the environment, agriculture and fisheries.'
I think Bangladesh has legitimate concerns re the possible impact of the Tipaimukh Dam.
Also today it was announced that the BDR will become the BGB (Border Guard Bangladesh) with a new chain of command, new uniform and new conditions.
The article goes on to points out in relation to the Farakka Barrage
'One of the devastating impacts of the FB is the vanishing of a large village, Akheriganj of Bhagabangola, rendering 23,394 people homeless and raising tensions between India and Bangladesh. Besides, the barrage has turned parts of northern Bangladesh into a desert, raising salinity, affecting navigation, and adversely impacting the environment, agriculture and fisheries.'
I think Bangladesh has legitimate concerns re the possible impact of the Tipaimukh Dam.
Also today it was announced that the BDR will become the BGB (Border Guard Bangladesh) with a new chain of command, new uniform and new conditions.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Ethnicity and Identity
I have just re-read Gezim Alpion's Encounters with Civilization and written a review. Alpion has some very interesting things to say about ethnicity, identity and location. He is an cosmopolitan Albanian who has single handedly decided to ressurect the reputation of Albanians after their collective trashing in English popular culture and the tabloid press. He hasn't yet look at the USA but should. In Wag the Dog (D: Levinson, 1997) war is manufactured against Albania simply to deflect press attention from the Presidents sexual activity. Why Albania a character in the film asks. Because it is small, obscure, powerless and nobody knows where it is, was the reply. Good sociology always looks at the margins to illuminate the centre and this is precisely what Alpion does. With regard to the Wag the Dog; it certainly resonated in the Clinton era as it prefigured the Lewinsky affair. Who said politics doesn't imitate art?
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
BDR
I was scheduled to return to Dhaka last February when the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) mutiny broke out (the BDR are the paramilitary border security force). I was deluged with emails, phone calls and SMS advising me not to go to Dhaka. I arrived one week after the event and there was still a palpable buzz around the campus, with crowds still gathering around the entrance to the BDR cantonment at the top of Satmasjid Rd, next door to Rifle Square, the premier middle class shopping mall in Dhanmondi.
One of the reasons my colleagues were still agitated about the mutiny was the fact that much of it was played out just outside the university itself. Faculty and students had to be evacuated from the premises by a convoluted route because they were in danger from the bullets whizzing straight down Satmasjid. A student was killed just outside the building (fortunately not one of ours) and there were bullet holes in nearby buildings. Things had calmed down by my return but the mutiny was a reminder of how volatile Dhaka can be. The Australian High Commission frequently sends out reminders to Australians resident in Bangladesh about the volatility and how demonstrations should be avoided.
By this time I had given up my/our lovely apartment on Road 12A and was staying at the very pleasant guesthouse called Ambrosia. I met Philip Blenkinsop, the well known Australian photojournalist resident in Bangkok, there who has covered most Asian conflicts of the past 20 years. Philip made the point that in his experience whenever bullets began to fly people fled or took cover. This was not the case in Dhanmondi. In a sense the the mutiny became street theatre and attracted a huge crowd, who formed a fan around the entrance to the barracks, leaving sufficient room for the bullets to fly down Satmasjid Rd. The troops called in to suppress the mutiny then had to negotiate their way through the crowds. In Philip's view it was astounding that more people were not killed.
The mutiny was put down and large numbers of BDR sepoys arrested. Subsequently a number of these have 'died' whilst in custody, which is a scandal in the making. The reasons given for the mutiny are confused. There is no doubt that there were flaws in the chain of command and the troops had genuine grievances but beyond that it is murky. One popular interpretation is that external forces (India or Pakistan - take your pick) engineered the event to destabilise the new Awami League government.
This view has been given some credibility with the announcement from the new commander of the BDR saying that 'foreign enemies got benefited' by the event (today's lead story in The Daily Starr). I have friends who are convinced that India is planning to takeover Bangladesh and others that the ISI, Pakistan's notorious intelligence agency routinely sets out to de-stabilise the country as a pay back for 1971. When you point out the unlikelihood of these interpretations you are dismissed. From my perspective the idea that India wishes to add 160 million Muslims to its citizenry verges on the preposterous.
But then the question remains - why did the BDR mutiny? Well there is a tradition of military revolt in Bangladesh. The army has assumed power twice in the past 38 years and there is general acceptance that the army underpinned the Interim Government, 2007 - 2008. May be the explanation is as banal as that - they were acting according to local traditions to solve grievances. But which ever way you look at it Bangladesh has been left with a pretty serious problem to solve - what do you do with a security force you can't trust?
One of the reasons my colleagues were still agitated about the mutiny was the fact that much of it was played out just outside the university itself. Faculty and students had to be evacuated from the premises by a convoluted route because they were in danger from the bullets whizzing straight down Satmasjid. A student was killed just outside the building (fortunately not one of ours) and there were bullet holes in nearby buildings. Things had calmed down by my return but the mutiny was a reminder of how volatile Dhaka can be. The Australian High Commission frequently sends out reminders to Australians resident in Bangladesh about the volatility and how demonstrations should be avoided.
By this time I had given up my/our lovely apartment on Road 12A and was staying at the very pleasant guesthouse called Ambrosia. I met Philip Blenkinsop, the well known Australian photojournalist resident in Bangkok, there who has covered most Asian conflicts of the past 20 years. Philip made the point that in his experience whenever bullets began to fly people fled or took cover. This was not the case in Dhanmondi. In a sense the the mutiny became street theatre and attracted a huge crowd, who formed a fan around the entrance to the barracks, leaving sufficient room for the bullets to fly down Satmasjid Rd. The troops called in to suppress the mutiny then had to negotiate their way through the crowds. In Philip's view it was astounding that more people were not killed.
The mutiny was put down and large numbers of BDR sepoys arrested. Subsequently a number of these have 'died' whilst in custody, which is a scandal in the making. The reasons given for the mutiny are confused. There is no doubt that there were flaws in the chain of command and the troops had genuine grievances but beyond that it is murky. One popular interpretation is that external forces (India or Pakistan - take your pick) engineered the event to destabilise the new Awami League government.
This view has been given some credibility with the announcement from the new commander of the BDR saying that 'foreign enemies got benefited' by the event (today's lead story in The Daily Starr). I have friends who are convinced that India is planning to takeover Bangladesh and others that the ISI, Pakistan's notorious intelligence agency routinely sets out to de-stabilise the country as a pay back for 1971. When you point out the unlikelihood of these interpretations you are dismissed. From my perspective the idea that India wishes to add 160 million Muslims to its citizenry verges on the preposterous.
But then the question remains - why did the BDR mutiny? Well there is a tradition of military revolt in Bangladesh. The army has assumed power twice in the past 38 years and there is general acceptance that the army underpinned the Interim Government, 2007 - 2008. May be the explanation is as banal as that - they were acting according to local traditions to solve grievances. But which ever way you look at it Bangladesh has been left with a pretty serious problem to solve - what do you do with a security force you can't trust?
Monday, August 17, 2009
Markets
I am working on a web project on the markets of Dhaka with my friend Siraj Shahjahan. We are contributing to the 80+1 initiative that comes out of Austria. Siraj has identified 80 markets in and around Dhaka, which he then videos and passes on to me his notes to be written up. It seems to be working and I've certainly learned a lot about markets.
In a sense you can argue that old Dhaka and markets are one and the same thing. The community revolved around the market, which not only met their material needs but also their spiritual needs as well. If it was a predominantly Muslim market there would be a mosque attached. The Hindu markets, like Shankhari, had temples attached, or rather integrated into the functioning of the market. Even as late as the 1960s markets were being established with mosques integrated into their design and functionality.
As Dhaka expanded there was separation of function; the shopping malls became solely commercial in their orientation with mobile service centres replacing the mosque as a gathering point for the community!
At this point I think the secular/religious binary is one of the more important points to consider when we are discussing the role of the market in the community. Interestingly, markets that contain mosques, such as New Market, remain very popular with consumers!
There's a lot more work to be done here but I'm beginning to sketch out our first paper on the markets of Dhaka and Siraj is scripting a documentary. Ultimately we plan to have a full array of products relating to the topic - film, multimedia presentation and book.
In a sense you can argue that old Dhaka and markets are one and the same thing. The community revolved around the market, which not only met their material needs but also their spiritual needs as well. If it was a predominantly Muslim market there would be a mosque attached. The Hindu markets, like Shankhari, had temples attached, or rather integrated into the functioning of the market. Even as late as the 1960s markets were being established with mosques integrated into their design and functionality.
As Dhaka expanded there was separation of function; the shopping malls became solely commercial in their orientation with mobile service centres replacing the mosque as a gathering point for the community!
At this point I think the secular/religious binary is one of the more important points to consider when we are discussing the role of the market in the community. Interestingly, markets that contain mosques, such as New Market, remain very popular with consumers!
There's a lot more work to be done here but I'm beginning to sketch out our first paper on the markets of Dhaka and Siraj is scripting a documentary. Ultimately we plan to have a full array of products relating to the topic - film, multimedia presentation and book.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
War Criminals
I was beginning to think that I had run out of steam, with nothing more to say, My silence has been induced by illness though. Without going into gory details I suffer from gout. Suffer is the operative word. It's not just the pain but also the general misery that gets you down. The pain can be unbearable - exceeded only by childbirth I am told. But what has this got to do with war criminals?
Even when I'm ill I read. One thing I read with interest over the week was a paper by my friend and colleague Asiuzzaman, currently doing a PhD at Monash. Zaman, who was a journalist is trying to make sense of the landslide win by the Awami League in the 2008 election. His thesis, which I think is very plausible, is that the media and concerned groups ran a well organised 'anti war criminal' campaign in the months leading up to the election that reinserted Bangladeshi nationalism as a political factor in the debate. The Awami League is the party associated with nationalism, despite the name of the BNP, especially by the young, most of who were born after independence in 1971. At the heart of the campaign were the calls to punish the 'war criminals'.
For an outsider there is a problem here; who are the 'war criminals' and why are they still hanging around 38 years after independence? If they are war criminals why haven't they been caught and punished.
The simplistic explanation is that they are members of the Bangladeshi Ismlamicist organisations (such as Jamaat - e-Islami, Jamaatul Mujahudin, Jamaatul Muslemin, or Majlish-e-Tasmuddin) who are well organised and generally affiliated with the BNP. Through their political clout they have managed to avoid prosecution. It is alleged that members of these organisations, and others like them, actively worked for the Pakistanis during the struggle for independence for a complex range of reasons. For these people Islam was the over-riding issue and them did not wish to fracture the umma, nor support a secular state. Some were so out of step that they supported the Pakistani drive to make Urdu the national language over Bengali. The Language Movement, that is the institutionalisation of Bengali as the language of East Pakistan and subsequently Bangladesh, was the ideological lynch pin of independence. Not to support language movement was to fly in the face of reason!
Much of the feeling of the events around the late 1960s and early 1970s is caught in the films of Tareq and Catherine Masud. Their most recent, Noroshundor (The Barber) (2009) deals specifically with this issue. Norosh is a brief film (17 minutes) that tells the story of young man on the run from the Pakistani army. He is denounced as a secularist and miscreant by a religious person. He escapes but his parents are tortured and the doctor who treats the injured father is also arrested by the army. In the meantime the young man hides in a barber's shop. Much is made of cutthroat razors and mirrors to build up tension until the army arrives. When they ask about the 'miscreant' the proprietor of the shop proclaims that all present are good Pakistanis. The army leaves and the young man escapes, temporarily at least.
The irony, obvious to all Bangladeshis watching the film, is that the barbers are Biharis, displaced Urdu-speaking Muslims who came to East Pakistan at the time of Partition. In the popular imagination the Biharis are frequently seen as fifth columnists and not true Bangladeshis and the expectation would be that the barbers would betray the young man. Like other films by the Masuds (The Claybird, Muktir Gaan), the independence era is more complex than the popular myths and I think they make the point quite nicely in the film.
Two observations about the film: at 17 minutes it seems like a fragment, possibly a segment of a portmanteau film and Urdu is used widely, something not common to other films, even if they about the War of Independence.
Today's Daily Star carried a short article on the Biharis. They are the subject of a documentary, Swapnobhumi (The Promised land) (D: Tanvir Mokammel). There are still 160 000 Biharis living in 116 camps all over Bangladesh, although the majority in Dhaka live in Mirpur, As I understand it they do not have Bangladeshi citizenship nor do they have any rights beyond those normally applied to refugees.
As I see it all of these are related to issue of nationalism and national identity in Bangladesh and when you begin digging, even superficially, things become more complex than the popular accounts allow. I still find it hard to identify the war criminals and even more difficult to understand why 38 years down the track the issue can still have such enormous electoral appeal. But then, as my friends and students point out, I'm not a Bangladeshi.
Even when I'm ill I read. One thing I read with interest over the week was a paper by my friend and colleague Asiuzzaman, currently doing a PhD at Monash. Zaman, who was a journalist is trying to make sense of the landslide win by the Awami League in the 2008 election. His thesis, which I think is very plausible, is that the media and concerned groups ran a well organised 'anti war criminal' campaign in the months leading up to the election that reinserted Bangladeshi nationalism as a political factor in the debate. The Awami League is the party associated with nationalism, despite the name of the BNP, especially by the young, most of who were born after independence in 1971. At the heart of the campaign were the calls to punish the 'war criminals'.
For an outsider there is a problem here; who are the 'war criminals' and why are they still hanging around 38 years after independence? If they are war criminals why haven't they been caught and punished.
The simplistic explanation is that they are members of the Bangladeshi Ismlamicist organisations (such as Jamaat - e-Islami, Jamaatul Mujahudin, Jamaatul Muslemin, or Majlish-e-Tasmuddin) who are well organised and generally affiliated with the BNP. Through their political clout they have managed to avoid prosecution. It is alleged that members of these organisations, and others like them, actively worked for the Pakistanis during the struggle for independence for a complex range of reasons. For these people Islam was the over-riding issue and them did not wish to fracture the umma, nor support a secular state. Some were so out of step that they supported the Pakistani drive to make Urdu the national language over Bengali. The Language Movement, that is the institutionalisation of Bengali as the language of East Pakistan and subsequently Bangladesh, was the ideological lynch pin of independence. Not to support language movement was to fly in the face of reason!
Much of the feeling of the events around the late 1960s and early 1970s is caught in the films of Tareq and Catherine Masud. Their most recent, Noroshundor (The Barber) (2009) deals specifically with this issue. Norosh is a brief film (17 minutes) that tells the story of young man on the run from the Pakistani army. He is denounced as a secularist and miscreant by a religious person. He escapes but his parents are tortured and the doctor who treats the injured father is also arrested by the army. In the meantime the young man hides in a barber's shop. Much is made of cutthroat razors and mirrors to build up tension until the army arrives. When they ask about the 'miscreant' the proprietor of the shop proclaims that all present are good Pakistanis. The army leaves and the young man escapes, temporarily at least.
The irony, obvious to all Bangladeshis watching the film, is that the barbers are Biharis, displaced Urdu-speaking Muslims who came to East Pakistan at the time of Partition. In the popular imagination the Biharis are frequently seen as fifth columnists and not true Bangladeshis and the expectation would be that the barbers would betray the young man. Like other films by the Masuds (The Claybird, Muktir Gaan), the independence era is more complex than the popular myths and I think they make the point quite nicely in the film.
Two observations about the film: at 17 minutes it seems like a fragment, possibly a segment of a portmanteau film and Urdu is used widely, something not common to other films, even if they about the War of Independence.
Today's Daily Star carried a short article on the Biharis. They are the subject of a documentary, Swapnobhumi (The Promised land) (D: Tanvir Mokammel). There are still 160 000 Biharis living in 116 camps all over Bangladesh, although the majority in Dhaka live in Mirpur, As I understand it they do not have Bangladeshi citizenship nor do they have any rights beyond those normally applied to refugees.
As I see it all of these are related to issue of nationalism and national identity in Bangladesh and when you begin digging, even superficially, things become more complex than the popular accounts allow. I still find it hard to identify the war criminals and even more difficult to understand why 38 years down the track the issue can still have such enormous electoral appeal. But then, as my friends and students point out, I'm not a Bangladeshi.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Weekend
Too much sport and too many newspapers to read and not enough time to do anything else.
Australia beat England at cricket.
South Africa beat Australia at Rugby Union - due in part to some dreadful refereeing.
West Coast Eagles beat Western Bulldogs away from home - almost unheard of!!
Last but not least, the Freo Dockers played magnificently to defeat Port Adelaide - lifting the spirits and bringing the weekend to a satisfactory conclusion. I will write something on sport and spectatorship soon.
Australia beat England at cricket.
South Africa beat Australia at Rugby Union - due in part to some dreadful refereeing.
West Coast Eagles beat Western Bulldogs away from home - almost unheard of!!
Last but not least, the Freo Dockers played magnificently to defeat Port Adelaide - lifting the spirits and bringing the weekend to a satisfactory conclusion. I will write something on sport and spectatorship soon.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Rickshaws
Rickshaws and Dhaka were made for each other. Dhaka is the flattest city I've ever encountered. There are simply no hills, although there is a small dip in the road on the way to Mirpur. Dhaka is also one of the fastest growing cities in the world. At present the population is put at 12 million, although that seems an underestimate to me, and the projections are for 30 million people within the next decade. How the city will cope with this increase is difficult to imagine and this is where rickshaws come into play.
They are environmentally friendly, colourful, efficient and employ lots of men. Its a difficult life but when we interviewed a number of rickshaw riders for a brief documentary we made in 2006/2007 we found them fully aware of their plight and entirely rational about why they pulled a rickshaw. After their rent (it is said that the police own many of the rickshaws) and other expenses a rickshaw drive can still earn more per day than if he worked in construction. Moreover, to a certain extent they are their own boss; they can stop for a char and a smoke if they like without a foreman chastising them.
All rickshaws are licensed by the Dhaka City Corporation and there is a provision for 60 000 for the city. At the moment there are 600 000 or so; that is 540 000 illegal rickshaws. They cause congestion, can be dangerous and are fair game for the increasing number of motorists on Dhaka roads. I have, I admit, kicked out at cars that willfully cutoff my ricksha in order to gain an extra centimetre on the crowded roads. Rickshaws are a problem in this sense but given the future a rational plan for there continuance should be devised, but it's not. Rather the authorities are looking for ways of getting rickshaws off the roads, which seems to me to be a shorted sighted policy. A number of major roads have already been designated 'ricksha free zones' and the number is set to increase. All os which means greater pollution as the number of cars increase, no end to congestion and more accidents. On7 August 29 people died on Bangladesh's roads (The Daily Star).
Rickshaws are a colourful addition to the sometimes bleak Dhaka landscape. There is a vibrant sub culture surrounding rickshaws - their art, the aura of criminality associated with them, plus the urban myths.
If you're interested in rickshaws have a look at Joanna Kirkpatrick's The Ricksha Arts of Bangladesh (http://www.artricksha.com) or Siraj Shajahan's UnnayanNews (http://www.unnayannews.net).
They are environmentally friendly, colourful, efficient and employ lots of men. Its a difficult life but when we interviewed a number of rickshaw riders for a brief documentary we made in 2006/2007 we found them fully aware of their plight and entirely rational about why they pulled a rickshaw. After their rent (it is said that the police own many of the rickshaws) and other expenses a rickshaw drive can still earn more per day than if he worked in construction. Moreover, to a certain extent they are their own boss; they can stop for a char and a smoke if they like without a foreman chastising them.
All rickshaws are licensed by the Dhaka City Corporation and there is a provision for 60 000 for the city. At the moment there are 600 000 or so; that is 540 000 illegal rickshaws. They cause congestion, can be dangerous and are fair game for the increasing number of motorists on Dhaka roads. I have, I admit, kicked out at cars that willfully cutoff my ricksha in order to gain an extra centimetre on the crowded roads. Rickshaws are a problem in this sense but given the future a rational plan for there continuance should be devised, but it's not. Rather the authorities are looking for ways of getting rickshaws off the roads, which seems to me to be a shorted sighted policy. A number of major roads have already been designated 'ricksha free zones' and the number is set to increase. All os which means greater pollution as the number of cars increase, no end to congestion and more accidents. On7 August 29 people died on Bangladesh's roads (The Daily Star).
Rickshaws are a colourful addition to the sometimes bleak Dhaka landscape. There is a vibrant sub culture surrounding rickshaws - their art, the aura of criminality associated with them, plus the urban myths.
If you're interested in rickshaws have a look at Joanna Kirkpatrick's The Ricksha Arts of Bangladesh (http://www.artricksha.com) or Siraj Shajahan's UnnayanNews (http://www.unnayannews.net).
Friday, August 7, 2009
Writing and Research
I'm currently working on three projects dealing with various aspects of Bangladesh.
1] I'm helping Shamsul Islam and Asiuzzaman, both at University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, edit a book on the Bangladeshi media. There is surprisingly little work available on this topic. Much of what exists is firmly fixed in the dev com imperative and ignores the fact that much of the Bangladeshi media work within a commercial framework, even transnational framework, and needs to interpreted accordingly. Academics from ULAB, University of Dhaka, Malaysia and local practitioners are contributing.
Shameem Mahmud (UoD) is writing a chapter with me on the drive by the AL government to create a Digital Bangladesh.
2] Shameem Reza, also of Dhaka and University, and I are working on a book on trust and development in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is a culture which largely appears to be distrustful of most institutions outside of the immediate family. This has had an enormous impact on development, or so it seems to us, and has been little investigated. More on this topic later.
3] Siraj Shahjan, creator of multimedia webzine http://www.unnayannews.net and Unnayan TV, and I are working on a project on Dhaka markets for (http://www.80plus1.org) which we plan to turn into a book chapter for a collection on Islamic markets and later, a book.
1] I'm helping Shamsul Islam and Asiuzzaman, both at University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, edit a book on the Bangladeshi media. There is surprisingly little work available on this topic. Much of what exists is firmly fixed in the dev com imperative and ignores the fact that much of the Bangladeshi media work within a commercial framework, even transnational framework, and needs to interpreted accordingly. Academics from ULAB, University of Dhaka, Malaysia and local practitioners are contributing.
Shameem Mahmud (UoD) is writing a chapter with me on the drive by the AL government to create a Digital Bangladesh.
2] Shameem Reza, also of Dhaka and University, and I are working on a book on trust and development in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is a culture which largely appears to be distrustful of most institutions outside of the immediate family. This has had an enormous impact on development, or so it seems to us, and has been little investigated. More on this topic later.
3] Siraj Shahjan, creator of multimedia webzine http://www.unnayannews.net and Unnayan TV, and I are working on a project on Dhaka markets for (http://www.80plus1.org) which we plan to turn into a book chapter for a collection on Islamic markets and later, a book.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Music
One of my real interests is World Music. I know about the arguments that say this music traduces indigenous forms for the consumption of white middle class poseurs but that doesn't particularly bother me. I like what I like.
The other night I watched The Spirit of the Grain, a French/Tunisian film about a man's attempt to maintain his dignity and self-respect in the face of a disfunctional family and increasing old age. One of the delights of the film was its soundtrack, supplied by a troupe of elderly musicians who were characters in the film.
On the theme of music; I have just come across Mark LeVine's Heavy Metal Islam: Rock, Resistance and the Struggle for the Soul of Islam (2008, Three Rivers Press). LeVine is careful to point out that modern popular music is not homogenised across Islam but that different Islamic societies have their different preferences and that in these different societies the performers and the audiences, while all young, come from different classes. Nevertheless, given the demographics of the Middle East, the music competes with Islam for the attention of the young. But, as he says "[T]he real question is whether they (the musicians) can reach, a large enough audience, and find a big enough stage to play on, before the toxic combination of government oppression, media manipulation, and violence, intolerance and war drown out the rowdy, liberating new soundtrack of the Muslim world in a sea of hatred and blood.
(see his summary in the Chronicle of Higher Education, 2/7/2009: http://chronicle.com)
Today is the 68th anniversary of the death of Rabindranth Tagore. This is widely celebrated in Bangladesh, with official concerts, and much airtime on TV. In fact Tagore, although a secular Hindu, has great status in Bangladeshi elite culture. In fact you could be forgiven for thinking Bengalimusical and poetic culture froze sixty-eight years ago and not much else has happened since. You would be wrong to think this. Like the Islamic cultures studies by LeVine Bangladesh has a strong youth music culture with bands covering all of the western genres. There's also a strong influence from diasporic Bangladeshis who visit 'home' and bring with them the latest in music styles and forms that are quickly picked up by the local young performers. One of the most interesting of these is Ornob, who does fusion music, and yes draws on Tagore, but fuses it with interesting middle eastern and western rhythms and melodies. Highly recommended!
A good syte to keep track of recent Bangladeshi pop is (http://amadergaan.com). The latest post on this syte (7/8/2009) announces that the 'Friendship Week Celebration Concert has been postponed because of permission problems from the Home Ministry'. You can also purchase CDs and download tracks at a very reasonable price on this syte.
The other night I watched The Spirit of the Grain, a French/Tunisian film about a man's attempt to maintain his dignity and self-respect in the face of a disfunctional family and increasing old age. One of the delights of the film was its soundtrack, supplied by a troupe of elderly musicians who were characters in the film.
On the theme of music; I have just come across Mark LeVine's Heavy Metal Islam: Rock, Resistance and the Struggle for the Soul of Islam (2008, Three Rivers Press). LeVine is careful to point out that modern popular music is not homogenised across Islam but that different Islamic societies have their different preferences and that in these different societies the performers and the audiences, while all young, come from different classes. Nevertheless, given the demographics of the Middle East, the music competes with Islam for the attention of the young. But, as he says "[T]he real question is whether they (the musicians) can reach, a large enough audience, and find a big enough stage to play on, before the toxic combination of government oppression, media manipulation, and violence, intolerance and war drown out the rowdy, liberating new soundtrack of the Muslim world in a sea of hatred and blood.
(see his summary in the Chronicle of Higher Education, 2/7/2009: http://chronicle.com)
Today is the 68th anniversary of the death of Rabindranth Tagore. This is widely celebrated in Bangladesh, with official concerts, and much airtime on TV. In fact Tagore, although a secular Hindu, has great status in Bangladeshi elite culture. In fact you could be forgiven for thinking Bengalimusical and poetic culture froze sixty-eight years ago and not much else has happened since. You would be wrong to think this. Like the Islamic cultures studies by LeVine Bangladesh has a strong youth music culture with bands covering all of the western genres. There's also a strong influence from diasporic Bangladeshis who visit 'home' and bring with them the latest in music styles and forms that are quickly picked up by the local young performers. One of the most interesting of these is Ornob, who does fusion music, and yes draws on Tagore, but fuses it with interesting middle eastern and western rhythms and melodies. Highly recommended!
A good syte to keep track of recent Bangladeshi pop is (http://amadergaan.com). The latest post on this syte (7/8/2009) announces that the 'Friendship Week Celebration Concert has been postponed because of permission problems from the Home Ministry'. You can also purchase CDs and download tracks at a very reasonable price on this syte.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
India
Following on from the last post: India sees the South Asian political architecture thus
India - stable democracy and emerging super power in addition to its regional power status, surrounded by
Pakistan - in crisis;
Sri Lanka - at war with itself;
Bangladesh - unstable return to democracy, with the army waiting in the wings;
Nepal - uncertain of its political future;
Burma - repressive and totalitarian.
Not sure how Bhutan (Grand National Happiness as foundation for development) and Maldives fit in this schema, but India seems to deflecting scrutiny from its own problems.
See Meenakshi Ganguly Indian and Burma: Time to Choose, Open Democracy http://opendemocracy.net
India - stable democracy and emerging super power in addition to its regional power status, surrounded by
Pakistan - in crisis;
Sri Lanka - at war with itself;
Bangladesh - unstable return to democracy, with the army waiting in the wings;
Nepal - uncertain of its political future;
Burma - repressive and totalitarian.
Not sure how Bhutan (Grand National Happiness as foundation for development) and Maldives fit in this schema, but India seems to deflecting scrutiny from its own problems.
See Meenakshi Ganguly Indian and Burma: Time to Choose, Open Democracy http://opendemocracy.net
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Beginnings
This is my second attempt at blogging. The first failed because of a lack of discipline and too many other things to do. In this blog I will record what I read, watch on TV or the web and my responses to them. It is essentially an aide memoir for my writing. There will be some consistent themes explored here, including Bangladesh, dependency and trust, democracy and the media. In addition there will be notes on things that catch my eye that may be useful in the future e.g. today I read that Manmohan Singh, Indian Prime Minister, regards India to be surrounded by failed states but chooses not to interfere in the affairs of its neighbours because it does not wish to be seen as the regional bully. I know that Bangladeshis don't quite see it that way. I am frequently told that India has numerous 'spies', moles, informants (what you will) who actively try to interfere in Bangladeshi politics. This may be paranoia but on the other hand the number of Bangladeshi 'cattle traders' shot on the border by the BSF is scandalous, and very much the action of a regional bully, as is the fence that the Indians have built around the Indo-Bangladeshi border.
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