A lucidly-written, balanced study of constrasts by one of the better-known historians writing on India

MUHAMMAD ALI JINNAH, born as Mahomedali Jinnahbhai, in his vision for a new land for his Muslim brothers wanted six provinces and a sperate state of Pakistan. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi or the Mahatma opposed the partition with all his being. Interestingly, the two states formed during partition—Pakistan and India—even in the later days were to embody the most fundamental differences between the two men; how they were born, how they were raised and not in the least, the religion that the two belonged. In their essence they were human. But the course of history has ennobled them to near prophets (in the strict sociological meaning of the word). In sociology, prophets are charismatic people who are first-class attention winners. Through their discourse they provoke absolute resentment or evoke absolute sympathy. And Jinnah and Gandhi, have the characteristics that can lead them to be christened thus. One can see that prophetic quality by reading all the tomes that have been dedicated to them—they have been vilified or hailed. Does Roderick Matthews successfully break the mould and manage to put forth a realistic idea of what the two were? He does. Matthew for the best part of the book sees the two as they were, distinct personalities whose differences merely served to put them further apart. Matthew points out that the two great men differed on three points—nature of the country they lived in, the procedure in which to end the colonial rule and the methods that should be used to persuade the colonialists to leave. For one Matthew draws our attention to the detail that Gandhi was an individual, personal being (hence his worries about sexual behaviour and diet). Gandhi was also concerned with personal and national reformation which was, in many cases, one and the same for him (how people could be better authorities and government by being better people). Jinnah, on the other hand, worked for self-determination and political rights, ‘isms’ that were far more western in their narratives and thereby more understandable. While one worked from inside-out, the other worked outsidein. Gandhi believed that good people would make a strong nation. Jinnah knew that a strong nation would have strong (good) people. The last time when I picked up a book which dealt with the past was when teachers at school held me at gunpoint. I am sure there are several like me around—those who would not bother reading tomes unless there was a prize or punishment awaiting. This book catches the reader by surprise. Matthew caught my attention from the first chapter—and there was no flashback to the school days for yours truly. He has taken the trouble to understand the culture and times of the country he has looked at. He has obviously done his research. Matthews ‘assessments’ do not carry the colour of “Hark! I was right”. He lets his readers decide similarities or differences and keeps things less scholarly (a good thing for some readers but not for all). Personally, the de-elitisising of history works. The questions raised by the author are common enough; how did Jinnah, who started out as a secular liberal, end up a Muslim nationalist? How did a god-fearing moralist and social reformer like Gandhi become a national political leader? And how did their fundemental divergences lead to the birth of two countries that have shaped the political history of the subcontinent? Matthews decodes these questions on behalf of his readers by analysis which has been attempted before. Where Matthews gets brownie points is his methodology—he demystifies both the leaders and makes them as human as they can be made. He does so in a lucid and unbiased manner; at least he tries his best to. Personally, I felt Jinnah was left hanging a bit, rather there was more to Jinnah’s “vision” than what was attributed to him. What Matthew does say is, “here are your two leaders—they are equally indecisive, they are trying equally hard to make a better time and they are both human”. It is finally upto the reader to decide who is the poster boy. Do not expect a heavy, scholarly tome in Jinnah Vs Gandhi.

Vivid colours of Kerala captured in the creations of K.G. Babu

A friend of K.G. Babu, who also happens to be a colleague, informs me that Babu is a reticent man. He speaks only when prodded and prefers to pour his words into his canvases instead. That to know him one needs to understand a multitude of concepts; the colour green, its role in the lives of people who stay in Kerala and why some people prefer to stay within the womb of nature. Or why Babu chooses to live and work in the backyard of Thrissur, where he grew up in a modest home; its backyard opening out into a grove. His childhood was spent a short walk away to lush jungles, waterfalls, rivulets and all the other abundance that Kerala has been blessed with. I was also asked to examine why Babu chose to leave the bustle of Dubai (he received an opportunity to collaborate with a famous international artist there) and comforts it provided, to return home to Kerala’s cultural capital. A visit to Kerala is difficult proposition. Instead it is simpler to look at Babu’s creations which were recently exhibited at the NIV Art Gallery in NCR’s quieter Neb Sarai area. If the artist is silent, his vividly arresting canvases—collectively called In Spirit with Nature—speak volumes. So, what goes on in Babu’s head and what prompts him to adopt hyperréalisme? Babu believes that his present style crept into his art slowly; it was a natural, organic growth and progression from being a portrait artist (a craft for which he is famous in his home state). As he began to adopt the style more and more, albeit unconsciously, his friends were left astounded with his level of finesse. After conversations with his colleagues, friends and a former professor at Trisshure Art College, he truly began to indulge in the style. He confesses that his modus operandi as an artist is to capture his subjects on his portable camera. But he does not paint them as is. Babu derives inspiration from the images and takes an artist’s liberty (or licence, call it what you will) to enlarge the eyes (as if the image is being reflected on the surface of a dewdrop) and then juxtaposes them with nature. Nature is the overriding theme with tropical lushness of Kerala as its leitmotif—as is apparent in the abundance of bamboo groves, which become his backdrop on several occasions. The iota of artificial or reminiscence of civilisation (depicted through the clothes that his subjects wear) are ‘naturalised’ and adopted into the backdrop as well. The pocket of a child’s shirt curls up like a leaf or a newly-opened bud, women’s floral nighties and scarves become a part of the foliage, a lime green frock complements a leaf in the background or a deep purple shirt reflects the lights and shadows of moonlit night in the bamboo groves. Babu’s subjects are never alone (except on one or two occasions) even when he paints them as solitary objects. There are grasshoppers, dragon-flies, parakeets, macaws, monkeys and fruit-bats, which sneak into the scene or boldly pose with the human subjects. An avocado dragon-fly rests on a child’s forehead while an ruby-red one rests on a shoulder complimenting the child’s claret frock and bindi. As a young woman stares at a red and yellow bug, one realises that it is difficult to separate the flora and fauna; the thin, white antenna of a dragon-fly droops like a bough and the dragonflies merge with the curled up leaves. That is when it strikes you; the point is not to differentiate of course but to grasp nature in all its entirety. Perhaps which is why Babu finds his best muses among the Tribals of Trisshur. He was introduced to them after his brother (also an artist) married a Tribal woman. When Babu met his new relatives, he saw in them an indomitable spirit which was one with nature. There are no points of separation in a life of a jungle-dweller—the lives of every creature and tree and man are intricately woven together. While the reticent artist’s action starts with an urban process of capturing the light and darkness through his lenses, when he paints, he tries to imbibe what the Tribals feel (the oneness with the whole creation). Thus Babu’s creations reflect the sensitive tolerance and acceptance of the tribal way of life. The faces look peaceful, reflective and contemplative. Part of the peace comes from within the artist himself. The same friend who introduced Babu said that when he gets the time Babu loves to introspect and reach within himself for peace. However, as an artist, his expressions have been, on more occasions, directly impacted by the civil society. Babu was deeply affected by a singular incident in which a child was sexually exploited by a prominent religious leader. The violence meted out by the powerful and the vulnerability of the child and the unfairness of the whole situation is depicted on one of his canvases in which a grasshopper strikes at a unripe fruit while resting on a child’s forehead. The girl looks on mutely. While trying to decide on a “title” for the painting, words failed Babu. Nothing came close to describing the horror of the situation—and he left it as is. One of the reasons why all of his canvases carry just numbers. Sometimes, it is imperative for the viewer to feel more than merely see. As an artist, he implores us (the viewer) to put ourselves in the situation. As he did. His earlier paintings were more lush and green. But as he spent more hours in the company of the people he painted, his canvases became darker, and deeper shades of blue and purple started to seep into them. The indigo in Babu’s later works depicts the silence—that gap—which exists between the world of those who have embraced nature in all its beauty and terrifying colours, and the civilisation that constantly tries to breach nature to tame it. Can we understand the Tribal people at all? For K.G. Babu, the answer is an emphatic no. It is impossible to do so, as long as we are submerged in the trappings of civilisation, comfort and normality. “Urban people cannot really be like the rural or jungle dwellers. I have seen a tribal man derive happiness even from a small payment of `20. While towns seem to thrive on dissatisfaction and materialistic cravings, Tribal, jungle dwellers live in an austerity that is impossible for us to imagine. But they live a life that is so much more fulfilling, rich and content. I will not call them happy as theirs is a harsh life. But they see themselves as contented. It is a matter of discipline and inner peace which we all need to learn,” he explains. This characteristic of making the best out of every situation separates Babu’s concept of us and them and that lacuna was felt by him as well. Despite numerous interactions he could never be really one of them. As a result, he felt that unfathomable silence depicted by the deep shades of blue and indigo. The canvases of K.G. Babu shares a striking similarity with the art of Binoy Verghese, also an artist born in Kerala and now living in New Delhi. Both create canvases that are vast and lush. The canvases thrive in a solidity highlighted through subtle light and shade. As is the case with hyperrealistic images which are 10 or more times the size of a original photographic reference, both retain high-resolution of colour and detail. However, while Verghese prefers the airbrush, Babu admits that he is more at home with the brush. He loves to use acrylic which is easier to manipulate as his first base and then once he is happy with the result, he finishes off with the oil. And the result is simply glorious.

Achal Aggarwal is obsessed with perfectly-cooked food which tastes, and looks, good

For all who survived the good-old 1990s here is a pop quiz—who was that grinning man who ruled your hearts, stomachs and television sets? If you saied Sanjeev Kapoor then you are spot on! Chef Sanjeev Kapoor has inspired a whole generation of chefs, including a young Delhi boy, who grew up watching Kapoor’s Khana Khazana. Like other youngsters, he dreamt that one day he, too, would be like Kapoor—teaching India its spices. But the boy did not just dream—he became a famous chef much like his inspiration. Today, Achal Aggarwal is a known name in the foodie circle. He is one of those rare Indians who can treat Japanese food just right, like it is done in the country. According to the Sous Chef, when he first saw Kapoor he took seconds to decide that he wished to be a chef. He remembers that he was watching Sanjeev Kapoor cook, when something clicked in his brain. Being the meritorious middle-class boy, Aggarwal believed that it was best that he kept his dreams to himself till the time he could make himself heard; apparently no parent wished to see their beloved son become a bawarchi. Instead, Aggarwal took the mommy’s boy route—in the pretext of helping his mother, he began to experiment with dishes he saw being cooked on television. For a while the charade went well. “The family was happy gorging on the dishes that I cooked,” till the day he was banned from the kitchen. The reason: the young man belonging to a strict Hindu family had cooked beef. The ‘lifelong’ ban was lifted after several years. But more of that later. He might have been banned from the kitchen, but he pursued his hotel management course from the Institute of Hotel Management Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition in Meerut. Afterwards, he joined Hotel Metropolitan (Sakura) where, to his surprise, he was put into the Japanese Kitchen. The selection procedure, he tells us, was unique and just a little bit absurd. While chefs are usually asked to prepare a dish or two to get a job, Aggarwal and other candidates were asked to sketch a fruit basket placed before them. That was that. Based on his sketching skills, he got his first job. “They probably judged me by my precision with which I made the sketch. One can not prepare the perfect Japanese plate without precision,” he explains. In the beginning Aggarwal was not all that pleased with his job as the cuisine did not excite him much. “I thought, why Japanese food? What is there to even cook in it? They do not use spices and are happy eating raw fish,” he says. Once he began learning more, he realised that Japanese food was so much more. The Japanese style of cooking left a deep impact on him. So much so that even if he is making a contemporary Indian or a spicy Mexican dish, he makes sure that vegetables are cut in uniform shapes. It irks him if the ingredients are not ‘right’. A Japanese effect indeed! Sakura was a great learning curve, but it was far from what he wanted. Like every other dreamy-eyed young man and woman who enters the kitchen, he, too, wished to work with the Taj Group of Hotels and the Oberoi Group. With his second job, that dream came true. This time, he opted for the Indian Kitchen, at the Rajvilas, Oberoi Group, Jaipur. As fate would have it, he was, by mistake, put in the Continental Kitchen—one of the biggest mistakes of his life. For someone who called himself a chef, he failed to make a decent omelette. “My Chef asked me to make an omelette. I thought that he was asking me to make a Japanese omelette, so I began hunting for a square pan (yes, the Japanese like their omelettes square). The Chef, however, was not amused. He asked me to make a ‘regular round one’,” he remembers with a chuckle. Aggarwal started making the regular round one. In India, when you make an Indian masala omelette we put dollops of fat in it to fry it till golden brown. In the Continental Kitchen that is short of a disaster. Aggarwal’s masala omelette was hurled straight back at him. The Chef kicked him out. But Aggarwal was not ready to give up. He went back and grovelled till he was allowed back to learn the art of the perfect omelette. In the following week, all he made were omelettes—30 of them in six days. It took all of the 30 omelletes to convince the Chef de Cuisine that Aggarwal could cook. His Chef may have finally known but Aggarwal’s parents still remained in the dark about their son’s intentions. One Diwali night found Aggarwal’s relatives asking him to cook dinner—since he was studying hotel management. Till that time Aggarwal had not revealed his plan of becoming a chef to his parents. Nevertheless, he cooked the meal which comprised of paneer makhani, Gujarati kadhi, bhindi masala and rice. Aggarwal says that his father figured out his intentions by simply looking at the meticulously prepared meal. The decision worried him, nonetheless, he gave Aggarwal two years’s time to make a success of it. If he could build a respectable career in these two years he could go on. Today, 12 years later, Chef Aggarwal is the Sous Chef of Megu, The Leela Hotels. He has worked in some of the best kitchens of the country including a Michelin Star restaurant. He has worked with some of the best Chefs of the world, some of who gifted him kitchen knives. He modestly tells us that he loves his knives a lot and carries them around everywhere. He says he is a bit fussy about them (in reality, he absolutely hates it if you touch them). But then, why won’t he? Those finely chopped vegetables and the perfectly shaped fishes we love so much are a by-product of those knives.

FREE time is a rare occurrence in a working woman’s life. When I managed to grab some recently, I wanted to wile it away by doing—well—absolutely nothing and found myself before the idiot box, after years. While surfing the channels I found that the idiot box had done the unthinkable, gotten sillier. That realisation made me nostalgic of the good-old days of television (1990s), when mega serials meant 53-episode-long epics such as Bharat Ek Khoj. My contemporaries might remember Bharat Ek Khoj and Katha Sagar fondly. They were infortainment for both the young and the old. They exposed us to history and literature and great doses of robust writing and scripts. Such serials were inspirational—after all they were directed by one of the best directors of India, Shyam Benegal. For years now, Benegal’s films have been about visceral representations of Indian reality. He has explored the theme of inequality in all his films through some recurring roles; the oppressive landlord, the corrupt official, the struggling tribal woman and the villager trying to break free. A sensitive director, Benegal has also dealt with the urban milieu passionately—in Bhumika he explored an urban woman’s quest for identity, with Kalyug he revisited the Mahabharata, taking us through a modern interpretation of the epic set within a wealthy business family. He has always engaged in different narrative styles, like in Suraj Ka Satvan Ghora, where the story is told from different perspectives. There are several other examples of this man’s sheer genius; how he always tries to bring the mundane and the margins to the mainstream. His Well Done Abba may not have been a ‘hit’, but it did put the twin issues of employment and government schemes in Andhra Pradesh to the forefront. He has truly viewed India through his democratic lens and made us do the same. It should not be surprising that after the bout of nostalgia, DW team promptly tried to contact the man and talk to him regarding his films, life and inspirations. This month, the magazine (I am glad to say), is about the lives of geniuses. Famed photographer Nemai Ghosh is featured in our Looking Back section. For his admirers, there’s a bit of good news; Ghosh’s collection of 90,000-plus photographs were recently bought by a Delhi-based private art gallery. The gallery plans to showcase most of them in a series of exhibitions in December. A legend in his own right, Ghosh is as talented as he is endearing and humble. I hope you like reading his story as much as we loved writing it.

Singh talks of growth pangs

POLITICS\\ For his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh chose to focus mainly on his Party’s economic policies, eliciting a few yawns from spectators. Singh said that he and his government will do everything in their power to save the country from the effects of the global economic slowdown. Focusing his address completely towards economic growth, he blamed lack of political consensus for slow growth and vowed to do everything to boost the economy through investments. He also linked development processes to national security. He said that national security will be affected if proper attention is not paid to economic growth and investments are not invited within the country. While talking about inflation Singh said that while it must be controlled, bad monsoons in 2012 could ‘pose some difficulties’. While wholesale inflation has come down to 6.87 per cent in July, prices of food items are still rising by over 10 per cent annually. The Prime Minister had to face a lot of criticism from the Opposition regarding his speech which they called inspiring with ‘nothing new to offer’.

With a tally of six medals, India puts up its greatest show in the Games

OLYMPICS\\ India put up a strong show in the London Summer Olympics 2012 which proved to be the country’s best performance till date—as players from the country garnered a total of six medals, including two Silvers and four Bronzes. Gagan Narang won the first medal for the country by winning a Bronze in the 10-metre air-rifle shooting event. Vijay Kumar won a Silver in the men’s 25-metre rapid-fire pistol event, and became the third man representing India to win an individual Silver, after Norman Pritchard and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. Saina Nehwal won a Bronze in women’s singles in badminton. She is the first Indian to win a medal in Badminton at the Olympics. She is also the second Indian woman to win an individual medal after Karnam Malleswari’s Bronze in weightlifting in 2000. Mary Kom won India its fourth medal at the Games by winning a Bronze in the women’s flyweight category in boxing. She is the third Indian woman to win a medal at the Olympics. By winning a Bronze in the 60-kg freestyle wrestling event, Yogeshwar Dutt won India the fourth Bronze and the fifth medal. This is the third individual medal in wrestling after Bronze medals by Sushil Kumar in 2008 and K.D. Jadhav in 1952. The sixth medal was bagged by Sushil Kumar who won the Silver in 66-kg freestyle wrestling. Sushil Kumar is the first Indian to win an individual medal, back-to-back, in the Olympic Games. He had won a Bronze in the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the same category. With this India finished 55th on the medal tally, climbing 10 rungs from its count at the Beijing Olympics. The success of Haryana’s wrestlers (the state had sent 18 players in the 81-players contingent), led to its chief minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, fix a target of winning 12 medals for the country in 2016 Olympics. Hooda felicitated the four Olympic medal winners from Haryana at his New Delhi residence and promised to help the state’s players and athletes to the best of his ability. Saina Nehwal who broke the Chinese monopoly over badminton medals missed her chance to play the finals as she lost to World No. 1 seed, Yihan Wang of China. Nehwal lost 21–13, 21–13, and the Beijing Olympics disappointment loomed large over the Hyderabadi girl. Nehwal, however, grabbed the Bronze as she faced World No. 2, Xin Wang (China). A knee injury fouled Wang’s game even though she was leading. Mary Kom, a respected name in the world of women’s boxing and a five-time world champion, won the Bronze by beating Maroua Rahali of Tunisia for 15-6. The mother of two lost the Gold to winner Nicola Adams (11-6) in the semi-finals, but grabbed the historic Bronze. The 2012 Olympics saw around 85 countries win medals. The United States of America went on to take the highest number of medals home.

Country’s leading photographer and a popular figure in the international fashion circuit, Dasgupta died after suffering a severe heart attack in Alibaug (Maharashtra). He was 58. Twitter went abuzz as friends and celebs mourned the death of a creative genius.

Vilasrao Deshmukh dies of multiple organ failure

OBITUARY\\ Union Minister of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Vilasrao Deshmukh, who was suffering from liver and kidney ailments, died at a Chennai hospital in August. Deshmukh died of multiple organ failure. His funeral took place in Babhalgaon village in Latur. Deshmukh is survived by wife Vaishali Deshmukh and three sons—one of them, Reitesh Deshmukh, a successful actor in the Hindi film industry. Deshmukh was admitted to Chennai’s Global Hospital. Doctors were planning for a liver transplant. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Pranab Mukherjee expressed their grief at Deshmukh’s death. UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi said it was a great loss to the party. Bollywood celebrities also mourned Deshmukh’s demise and paid their last respects. The former Maharashtra chief minister was showing signs of improvement and had been on and off the ventilator, while he was being prepared for a transplant. Deshmukh had been shifted to Chennai from Mumbai in an air ambulance in a critical condition. Born on May 26, 1945, at Babhalgaon in Latur district of Maharashtra, he was the strongest Maratha leader in the Congress.

CRICKET\\ In a move that caught the country by surprise, V.V.S. Laxman announced his retirement leaving his fans in a tizzy. Laxman was expected to play the forthcoming New Zealand Series. “It has been 16 years since I made my international debut. I think it is the right time,” said an emotional Laxman after his announcement in Hyderabad. “I think it is time to give the youngsters a chance ahead of a tough season. I have always kept the country’s success ahead of personal aspirations,” he further added. Laxman had communicated his decision to the BCCI the same day of the announcement of his retirement. “I am not going to continue playing cricket and would hang my boots with immediate effect,” he said. Laxman who made his Test debut on November 20, 1996, in a match versus South Africa, played his last match against Australia on January 24, 2012. The stylish batsman from Hyderabad shot to fame for his outstanding innings of 281 against Australia in 2001, during Australia’s tour of India, edging India to victory. Laxman will be remembered as one of the best cricketers of India.

Centre alleges Pakistan’s hand in spreading rumours leading to protests

RIOTS\\ Ethnic clashes which began in July 2012, between indigenous Bodo tribes and Bangladeshi Muslims in Kokrajhar (Assam) left 77 people dead. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi ordered a probe into the violence which left more than four-lakh people displaced from 400 villages. Some 270 relief camps were set up to accommodate people who have lost their homes. The riots, which began in Kokrajhar, later spread to lower Assam, namely Chirang, Baksa and Dhubri. The violence broke out when two Muslim students were shot, which lead to revenge strikes on Bodo groups. The cause of dispute was over the control over land. The Centre has been blamed for delaying military intervention in the matter which has escalated to damage of human lives and property.

The Prime Minister visited the affected areas on July 28, 2012, to take stock of the situation. He asked the CM to take action to curb the violence. Singh promised `200,000 to the next of kin of the deceased and `50,000 to those injured. He announced `100 crore for R&R work in six affected districts, `100 crore as Special Plan Assistance for development programmes and `100 crore under the Indira Awaas Yojana.