What do you know?

There are only5,000 tigers left in this world and they are dying fast. It reminds us of a multi award-winning public service advertisement. That should read `Only 4,999′ because last Sunday one tiger died in Bombay. Navalkar should tender his resignation for what transpired last Sunday. As a minister for Culture he has spared no opportunity to don the discredited cape of a Goebbels and toot-tooted Mumbai as the culture capital of India (as though culture needs a geographical centre!). One harmonium and a set of tablas were desecrated but the very arm of the minister and the musical heritage of the Indian people was silenced when Ghulam Ali was not allowed to sing. And as any Indian knows, the Goddess Sarasvati will not tolerate her throat to be slit or her tongue to be silenced.

Manto — a life spent in penury

To understand why culture and prohibition are historic bed partners in Indian politics I strongly recommend that readers purchase a copy of Stars From Another Sky (Penguin 1998) by the legendarySaadat Hasan Manto. This celebrated genius of Indian literature died of penury and alcohol in 1955 in Lahore, Pakistan. His lifework include several classic screenplays, articles and of course short stories.

Which student of Indian literature will ever forget the maverick character Toba Teksingh that Manto created or the immortal cry of anguish: "Oh badd di gidd gidd di X di badiyana di…" that Teksingh utters, as he lies dying — half his body in Pakistan and the other half in India. Manto himself left for Pakistan during the Partition and lived the remaining seven years of his life vilified by the Pakistan state for his works that were considered "obscene". His tortured creative soul cried out for better times and he oft wished he could once again be surrounded by his friends in Bombay (Yes! In case you have forgotten it was called Bombay then!). In a series of newspaper articles that he wrote to be able to afford a meagre lifestyle, he reminisced about his days in the film world of the ’40s.Shooting straight from the hip he tells the reader what made culture and arts come alive. From the narcissistic Nargis to the dandy Ashok Kumar, his stories are a heady brew of alcohol, romance, sleaze, philosophy and above all else, unbridled passion.

This book has been expertly translated from the original Urdu text by Khalid Hasan, whose insightful pen and contemporaneous use of English add value to this fascinating tome.

A much-needed breath of fresh air

While I may doubt Navalkar’s ability to make Mumbai the culture capital of this country, I am very pleased to see that it has the distinct potential to become a noted stopover for international bohemians. Cross-cultural interactions between creative minds has always lead to a merrier discourse with a guaranteed fruitful outcome. And setting this agenda in the city are two young and dynamic expats who arrived in Mumbai sometime late last year and have now settled in here with a vengeance.

Sheldon E Austin became the director of the UnitesStates Information Service (USIS) at a critical juncture when the local office was undergoing renovations, while Pierre Jacobs took over the reigns of the Alliance Francaise which is due to celebrate its 65th anniversary this May.

Both men are determined to breathe new life into their respective institutions and have flung the doors of their offices wide open to the local arts community. "I want the performing and fine arts community of Bombay to make the Alliance Francaise their home, their haven. I see this institution as a meeting place of ideas and action. For instance, every fortnight we have started a program called interlude where we have discussions and demonstrations on various kinds of music. I would like such programs to start for other forms of the arts, maise oui?"

Echoes Austin, "The USIS has as its basic function the dissemination of information and communication about the happenings and spirit of the American people. I am putting into action several programs that will enableMumbaikars to appreciate these ideas and to build avenues for further artistic interaction between Indian artists and the US."

Await more announcements from these two and in the meanwhile if you have a project proposal or want to express yourself creatively then give them a call. Genuinely more patient ears and discerning eyeshave not made their presence felt in this city for a while.