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Stand for Something or Fall for Anything?

Mitra:

Greetings from LILA!

The 2019 Indian general elections are just round the corner. Before the next quarter of Inter-Actions reaches you, our 17th Lok Sabha will be constituted. And, the burning question in these summer months echoes the evergreen rapper Tupac Shakur’s lines:

Tell me, who do you believe in?
Who do you believe in?

We have chosen the flavour of this time as our current theme: Belief. The cover shows a photograph of Nathan Coley’s work ‘A Place Beyond Belief’, which was featured at the 4th Kochi Muziris Biennale curated by Anita Dube. In an interview with us for this issue, Anita talks about “that place which is beyond belief, which is culture and art.” She holds that you don’t need belief if your work can give you pleasure, and it can provoke you to think. It is a double-edged statement, pointing, on the one hand, to the fact that belief and its myriad establishments could become redundant if our work is in place, and on the other, to the necessity and possibility of connecting pleasure and thought in our daily enterprise of living.

At this poll time, when we are asked to believe in umpteen promises and manifestoes, perhaps we could ask that one little question: is our work in place—does it make us happy, and does it make us think? Or, are we allowing third parties to relegate us to the wretched peripheries of our nation? Are we letting anyone invade our rightful space to work merrily, and yet reflectively? Eminent social psychologist Ashis Nandy in a candid interview with Inter-Actions in this quarter says: “So, there is this governmentalization of public spaces, and of public consciousness. Underlying the lack of resistance to these is perhaps a belief that some things belong to the state: This is the state’s work to do. This is much beyond us.”

As citizens of the largest democracy in the world, we must be wary of our own reluctance to put our work into place in the direction of moulding our thoughts and living our happiness. At this juncture of reexamination of our responsibility as free-thinking citizens and human beings, it might be rewarding to go back to the world of art and culture which promises to offer us “a place beyond belief” and see how this is possible.

However, the controversies that emerged from the very space of Kochi Muziris Biennale 2018-19 is indicative of the way our cultural spaces squander radical opportunities. While Anita Dube’s sensitive curatorial work has fetched accolades from all parts of the world, the KMB as an organisation has been weighed down by the #MeToo allegations as well as mismanaged administration. The now-apparent divide between the content and carrier of the KMB point to the critical need for deep and holistic reflections in the world of art and culture. The question is if the arts today can genuinely concern themselves with contemporary and humanitarian issues beyond the construction of spectacles and events. If the art world that must offer its fearless voice to the voiceless and the downtrodden itself becomes an exploitative power that does not even acknowledge the workers who put up the show, the work becomes ‘a hollow show of democracy’ and not a true place of happiness.

Where does one find such a place, and what does it take to build such an equitable community? In an effort to figure this out, our LILAIGHT of the Season, explores the dream and realization of Auroville, the universal city and experimental community in Puducherry dedicated to the idea of human unity. And our Basic Conversations critically examine various belief systems that tend to lead us to unprecedented religious polarisation and prevent the world today from claiming its happiness. Our exploration reveals the alarming ways in which unexamined beliefs can engender terror in our world today.

The way out of this conundrum of insecurity, polarization and power politics, perhaps, is to understand and discuss issues in a middle space of love and freedom. During this election season, if we delay our reclamation of this trans-space of conversations and possibilities by standing up in courage, we might just fall for anything. And, loveless worlds are always ruled by fear, as transgender writer A Revathi indicates: “Our society is quite complicated with rigid structures, and it imagines that love should happen only between male and female, and within castes and sub-castes. So naturally people feel insecure within this society.” She posits awareness and education as necessary tools to surmount our dilemma. And, it is significant to see how those very tools have helped Liza Edwards, the soon-to-be Rabbi Emerita of the world’s first LGBTQ+ synagogue, too initiate a radical wave of thinking in her community as her insightful interview here reveals.

As we talk about a conservative establishment accommodating change, it is worth juxtaposing that movement with what is happening in our centres of learning. The way educational institutions in this country function today is indeed beyond belief. Even as the JNU administration continues its undemocratic policies, the Vice Chancellor of Central University of Kerala issues a circular and asks the departments to “discourage research in irrelevant areas” and to make a shelf of PhD projects “in accordance with the national priorities” from which the students might choose their topics. It throws us back in time to a convocation speech delivered by Jawaharlal Nehru on 13 December 1947 at the University of Allahabad, which warned us thus: “If the temple of learning itself becomes a home of narrow bigotry and petty objectives, how then will a nation prosper, or a people grow in stature?”

That question claims remarkable resonances in today’s India, as we prepare to elect our next government to power. And, Leelatoonist Unny sums up our concerns during this quarter through the spectacular visual of a traffic island scene that focusses on the one person whose senses, signals as well as purpose are in place. The one individual who believes in bringing some order to the things around, stands for something, and does not tend to fall for just about anything—can we as a people develop the sense and sensibility of the traffic policeman managing the chaos of an Indian junction?

On the proverbial Fools’ Day, we bring all our readers to that outlandish site, and wish those in India a very happy and thoughtful voting! After all, the Bard’s Fool was the wisest of them all!

Heartily

Rizio

For Team Inter-Actions

Lilaight of the Season

Auroville, a universal city and an experimental community in Puducherry lilaights us with the ideal of human unity.

Transcending Consciousness and Embracing the Divine

Capturing Human Unity: A Photo Gallery

Auroville : Evolution of an Organic Community

Basic Conversations

A much-needed contextualisation of faith emerges from the interaction of three contemporary perspectives

Contextualising the Qur’an: A Translator’s Imperative

Terrorism: The Dark Side To Group Love

Finding Reason in Religion: A Conversation with Swami Agnivesh

Aesthetics of Conflict

Column by Shivani

Shivani Karmarkar

“Why Don’t You Get Married Already?”

The meaning of family, marriage and love has changed.Is that a cause for concern or an opportunity to grow?

Leelatoon by Unny

Cartoon

Renaissance Person

A critical reclamation of the creative individual whose multidynamic praxis is our hope for a New Renaissance


Lisa Edwards
Rabbi, LGBTQ activist, Teacher
Team Interactions

Rabbi Lisa Edwards: Bringing Equality To The LGBTQ Community

As the soon-to-be Rabbi Emerita of the world’s first LGBTQ+ synagoue, Lisa Edwards wears many hats!

Dolonchampa Chakraborty

Leading The First LGBTQ Synagogue

From the Gay Liberation Movement to officiating legal gay marriages, Rabbi Lisa Edwards and synagogue Beth Chayin Chadashim have created a safe space

Lisa Edwards

Everyone Has a Seat At The Table

I’m moved by the appreciation of difference and diversity that blessings from the Jewish tradition offer us, says Rabbi Lisa Edwards

Reflections

Different disciplinary takes on the theme of the quarter towards evolving an inter-linked methodology of thought

NR Visalatchy

From Medieval to Modern: A Short History of Belief

Civil Servant and student of History, NR Visalatchy studies the varied morphology of beliefs as she reflects on its manifestations and effects from the medieval times to now

Vidya Soundarajan

How To Effectively Talk About Climate Change

If we can connect the dots between the global phenomenon of climate change and local impacts, sustainable transformations can happen

Rujuta Diwekar

The Path to Sustainable Health

Rujuta Diwekar reflects on a recent public health project conducted in India to re-discover cultural belief systems that drive good health

Zain Memon

Memes: Humanity’s Greatest Emerging Tool

Memetic transmission has given the human race an edge over genetic evolution, but where are its latest manifestation – internet memes – leading us?

Aloke Thakore

The Fading Foundations of Journalism

How do we gauge the credibility of news media? Journalist Aloke Thakore says the answer may lie in understanding Sama-Drishti and Sama-Vriti

JP Santhanam

Traveling Through Sacred Geographies

Veteran Col JP Santhanam takes us across the country through the different stories, myths and facts that make our land ‘sacred’

Rubaru

In-depth thematic conversations with practitioners from various streams of knowledge and creativity

Anita Dube

Curating ‘A Place Beyond Belief’

“Without reflection, it’s a big circus,” says Curator of the Fourth Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Anita Dube

Eddin Khoo

Faith Must Be Rooted in Doubt

A discussion on subversive cultures with Eddin Khoo, the man responsible for reviving cultural practices in Malaysia

Ashis Nandy

Change Without Knowledge Is Not Progress

Social Psychologist Ashis Nandy takes us through India’s cultural past and connect it with today’s political rhetoric

Achal Kumar

An Art Not Yet Established

Photographer Achal Kumar talks about the undiscovered fine art photography in India, and the artistic exploration it allows

Wordactions

A Revathi

Restrained Blossoms

A Revathi’s poem சூடா மலர்கள், with an English translation

Living Beyond Binaries

A transfeminine writer and activist, A. Revathi is furthering the gender discourse on behalf of all gender and sexual minorities

Transgender Is Not Just One Gender

The nuances of Intersex, Transmen, the uneducated queer labour community and gay and lesbian rights need to be discussed for a proper queer movement in India

Artactions

Kugali

Kugali: The Art of Shaping Beliefs

Kugali talks to Inter-Actions about catalysing the (re)discovery of forgotten African stories by recasting folklore into accessible comics.

Kugali: The African Anthology of Survival and Hope

Kugali’s African Comic Anthology has brought a renewed interest in comics for all ages. Read more to find out

Kugali : A Photo Gallery

Characters, Covers and Pages & Artworks

Perspectives

Critical and creative viewpoints on and responses to topical and philosophical issues

Prateek Sachdeva

Drag It Out: Deconstructing Masculinity In Style

Drag Artist Prateek Sachdeva gives us an intimate look into the drag scene in India, and the reactions it has attracted from both outsiders and people on the inside!

Team Interactions

Faith Healing: The Experience of A Non/Believer

Despite a keen belief, interest and background in medicine, Vartika Gupta had to turn to faith healing when nothing else worked. Here is her experience…

Revisits

Our Earlier 'BELIEF RELATED' Inter-actions

Team LILA

7 November 2014 Between dreams and actual history, it takes more than good intention and

Team LILA

30 January 2015 The festivities, hopes and resolutions of the New Year’s eve were soon

Team LILA

13 March 2015 Ashes to Ashes. Richard the Lionheart meets George Orwell. Thoughts of a

Team LILA

3 April 2015 Eloheem l’kha yeehyéh lo panahy al ahkhéreem – “Thou shalt have no

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