The App-ization of Development Discourse

In the recent aftermath of the Deonar dumping ground fire in Mumbai and the non collection of garbage due to union action in Delhi; the conversation on urban environmental governance has been brought into the limelight again before it disappears in the face of other eminent news such as a celebrity scandal . The Swatchch Bharat programme now has a World Bank expert helming it as lateral entry into the bureaucratic leadership which is rare. India, is distinctly urban nowadays  with a constellation of townships around the metropolitan city creating an urban agglomeration; case in point being the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority auspices and the National Capital Region.

The cities are simply revenue generating centres with the real political capital emanating in the hinterland. Western Maharashtra vis-a-vis Mumbai and Noida versus the districts of western Uttar Pradesh. Indian cities do not posses the ‘real’ political architecture for contemporary governance. The Mayor of Mumbai is still subordinate to regional authorities sitting in Mantralaya. Delhi as a semi-state is better even sans law and order powers based in the federal home authorities. New York and Bloomberg or Blasio is a dream for the well heeled crowd in Bandra or Malabar Hill. But, does the South Bombay boy vote on polling day rather than taking a drive to the cooler realm of Lonavala?

With the anvil of Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor cities of Dholera, GIFT City and Shendra Bhidkin touted as Smart Cities being built as India’s answers to Shenzhen and Pudong Delta, urban solutions have resorted to the technocratic cookie cutter approach rather ground up community centered governance such as ‘Mohalla Sabhas’ or community forums, which the AAP Government in Delhi is pioneering through the Delhi Dialogue Commision. The Shiv Sena is a largely urban party having ruled the Mumbai Corporation for the last 25 years but it has a very different operating system unlike the Aam Admi Party. Delhi certainly voted in last year a very smart ‘App’. Well, that is to be seen in the aftermath of the dengue break and the garbage crisis.

Smart Cities may have the waste management facilities and recreation spaces figured out, but how will the political governance with a small ‘g’ flesh itself out?

The technocratic model of building a smart phone application for all developmental ends seems like a band aid fix. The data needs to be acted upon, and big data needs thick data for the questions to make sense. Geographic Information Systems spatial set and information platforms at a go enables good decision making, but will it tackle the landfill cartel in Mumbai? Or will it simplify land acquisition for the next Metro Project expansion?

Start Up India is well and good with all the sops, but where is the 24×7 power and data grid for such an initiative. The entrepreneurs need to be politically savvy to hack the bureaucracy. Are the App developing start up kids developing a killer app to enable smoother traffic in our cities. Simply more e-commerce unicorns won’t make a better India.

The Development agenda is a political animal. Voters in Mumbai and other metros have voted for the status quo apart from Delhi as the entrenched actors have been re-elected. Urban Development needs a multiplicity of actors  working in sync to execute a level of livability which is aspirational. Sadly, not every problem has a big data fix. South Asia is the hotbed of mega cities, a few solutions need to be drawn from London, Singapore and New York in terms of decentralization of power at the mayoral level.

Thoughts on Guru

Guru (2007) is an inspirational biopic based on Dhirubhai’s life which is fresh every time I watch it; gives me a rejuvenated spirit. I watched it for the first time nine years back with two classmate-friends in Ruwi Cinema. Moni Bhai is how I was addressed in college 😊 AB Junior best film by far. Mani Ratnam could only make him act. License Raj and its follies are depicted in the film well.

Reflection on the past year in Singapore

Reflection on one year of my Singapore 2.0 journey. Last year on the 28th of January I landed up in Singapore to join work CARE NUS which is a research hub on social change communications after a few years in consulting for the big boys. CARE has taught me the language of community led action and how multi stakeholder engagement leads to results on vexed issues. Mentored by a kind and talented boss, I have learnt to think on development the alternative way. The community partners have taught me guts but also the limitations of the ‘agenda’. As I move ahead, I would like to build on these valuable experiences to help frame policies for better communities.

The Cinematic Voice of the Gulf Migrant: Airlift

‪#‎Airlift‬ is a film which I love totally. The gulf based migrant was placed into focus, which is rare. The treatment was nuanced, the geopolitics was right on dot. Akshay Kumar is a shrewd producer, appealing to the newly nationalist middle class. The flag waving made my cry. The streets and deserts of Ras Al Khaimah doubled up as Kuwait City. The topography reminded me of the backlanes of Ruwi and Dasrait in Muscat. The Arabic makes me homesick! This film is special as the gulf migrant takes centre stage, and i am a gulf migrant kid who grew up in Oman.

The cinematic voice of the gulf migrant is usually missing from the narrative as the USA/UK NRI is eulogised in ‘Namaste London’ or ‘Swades’. The fictional take of the film, is representative of the despair of the gulf migrant, a person who is the financial light of his family but hardly has any recourse to legal mechanisms in case of political disruption such as the Iraqi Invasion or the recent Arab Spring protests.

The indifferent behavior of Indian Diplomats towards the diasporic ‘subaltern’ is depicted in flesh and blood. The Gulf Desk is a neglected posting for the elite Indian Foreign Service officer dreaming of Manhattan and Trafalgar Square.

I am glad that Akshay Kumar and the Malayalee Director (who is aware of the territory of the Keralite migrant life) made the film, bringing an elusive neglected voice to the discourse, albeit in commercial cinema.

 

Wazir : Miscalculated Cinematic Mov(i)e

‪#‎Wazir‬ is such an undewhelming film with Amitji and Farhan in it. The plot is interesting with a J&K political angle, old school Vidhu Vinod Chopra from1999 blockbuster Mission Kashmir. Powerful star cast; partially impressive performances with the lack of a punch. Bejoy Nambiar, the director could have layered the film the execution. The good part was the deft cinematography and the loose end was the excessive music in the flow of the film.

Madras Cafe was way better. It’s not Check mate, Mr. Chopra!

‪#‎Bollywood‬ ‪#‎changethinker‬ ‪#‎micromoviereview‬‪#‎singapore‬

Navigating migration through language

Language is the first barrier for a migrant as soon one lands up and clears passport control in an alien land. For a migrant from the hinterland of South Asia, English is familiar but not a friend; and English becomes a cultural resource, and a tool for survival.

The local variant of English makes the language known to the migrant familiar. ‘Singlish’ is a bridge between the local population and the migrant. I have met migrants who speak fluent ‘Singlish’ as having lived in the island for a long time. The lack of knowledge of the language, becomes a constraint in communicating with their bosses, public sector agencies and the wider community in their everyday life.

When a migrant does not have an understanding of English, he forfeits the ability to convey the symptoms of his sickness to the doctor, or standing up to the unfair behaviour from the superiors.

The things that we take for granted such as writing a letter, is a matter of life and death for the migrant.  Due to this communicative inequity, the worker’s contract is substituted without his knowledge and legal papers are being forced upon his throat, as he does not understand the language of power, the Lingua Franca called English.

I would like to illustrate a case in point, a migrant brother known as Sromik Monir, a poet with the Bengali Language Literary Group ‘Banglar Kantha Cultural Foundation’ communicates with his superiors and fellow workers in Chinese; the language which he had to learn upon landing in Singapore from Bangladesh as most of his fellow workers are from China.

There are Bangla to Chinese Language books available in the community grocery shops in the mini Bangladesh neighbourhood of Desker Road and Rowell Road. They call their  all powerful Chinese bosses as ‘Long Chong’ which has entered the local lexicon of the migrant.

Banglar Kantha, the local Bengali Language newspaper in Singapore publishes a section in the paper on learning the English language. Singaporean Social Enterprise Social Development Initiative conducts English Language Classes for the migrant community. Other Non Profits/Faith Groups also conduct similar language classes for the respective community groups for migrants.

This will be thus truly, empowerment through language.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Subtle Politics of Migration

Imperial conquests by the European countries especially Great Britain left an indelible imprint on the Asian Subcontinent. Bengal was the first territory won by the British in 1757 at the Battle of Plassey, almost a century prior to the mutiny. Millions perished in the 1943 Bengal Famine while food grains were diverted to the front lines in Europe during the war.

Post Colonial histories are different in the sense the theaters of suffering have shifted. Post independence countries of the Asian Subcontinent did not meet the aspirations of their populace, with the noted exception of Singapore which is an economic miracle.
Countries such as Bangladesh which won its independence in 1971 is a major manpower exporter along with Philippines, Indonesia and Nepal in this region. Migration at any cost occurs due to economic despair. The burning hunger to provide for the family drives the migrant to sell precious assets to render the economic cost of migration.
The migrant arrives in his host country with hopes and dreams, often to be shattered due the unfair information asymmetry between him and the recruiting ecosystem. The exploitation begins from his village, often perpetrated by his family friend or distant relative. The migrant is at the bottom rung of the social hierarchy in the host country. He is the ‘Subaltern’ in this context.

He was not born a worker, as his family is capable to pay his migration cost. He took on hard labor oriented work as he wanted to earn his daily bread. He can write, sing, act and draw as he is a talent like any other.  The local activist sees him as resource for the ’cause’. His muted voice is co-opted in global advocacy themes. He does not understand the issue as his language skills are a barrier.

The academic converts his story into a case study and artiste groups are interested in performances which have an exotic element.

But where is the migrant in all these contexts? After all, He is the migrant who ‘can’t speak’ in a Spivakian vain.

A Year (of Writing) in Review

This day marks five years of this platform. I started the year with an audit in Sohar, Oman. Writing is what keeps me alive. In the latter part of January i moved to work at a Health Communications Think Tank in Singapore. This place gives me an opportunity to work on migration and health issues at the community level in Singapore. I love the work as it helps me to carve a dent in the ecosystem; work with non profits, activists, agencies and a superb boss who is an inspiration. I learn loads everyday. It is blessing.

I have failed too. Every new journey, tests me to the brink. I fail more and fail fast. I stretch myself, but i learn. But this has been an amazing year as i narrate below.

This year I started writing for Huff Post India, Corporate Citizenship Briefing UK and Banglar Kantha Singapore. I wrote about issues and matters which I am passionate about; migration, the region, sustainability & development and even forayed in unchartered intellectual territory such as International Relations. I have been volunteering and pro bono consulting with non profits this year, and these engagements give me the vantage point into unstructured learning and thinking a new.

I have certainly grown as a writer and researcher over the past year. I got married this year, and i have grown as a person thanks to my beautiful wife. This year has been very generous in terms of learning and growth. I pray for the same in the new year and hope to create a lasting impact in the years to come.

I end this year and half a decade of writing with almost 13000 hits. I thank my friends a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

 

 

A different SG50 Cultural Dialogue: Bicara Titian Budaya in Kuala Lumpur

On the 12th of December, Poets, Actors and Playwrights from Malaysia and Singapore met at a fancy art gallery Blackbox Publika in tony Jalan Dutamas area in Kuala Lumpur to discuss the role of the arts to foster community and social engagement in the SG50 spirit. This Artsy day event was sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, Singapore and organized by My Performing Arts Agency, Malaysia and Culture-Link, Singapore. Bicara Titian Budaya is a part of three month Titian Budaya Festival ending in January 2016 to celebrate Singapore Malaysia Cultural Relations.

The daylong event began by the hotel pick up at Royale Chulian Damansara, an upscale star hotel where the panel speakers were put up at. After the drop in a 16 seater Toyota Van to Jalan Dutamas and being warmly welcomed by the organizers, the panellists were briefed and then the day was ready to kick off. The audience was small and intimate, the seminar room at Blackbox Publika was inhibited by cultural practitioners and activists.

The day started with an engaging single person play ‘Serunding’ enacted by Singaporean Actor Aidli ‘Alin’ Mosbit, written by young Singaporean playwright Ahmad Musta’ain Bin Khamis. It was the story of a Singaporean Malay Mother’s struggles with raising two grown up children in a religious manner. The play interrogated the role of cultural values in modern day Singaporean Malay families. A short but interesting Q&A followed regarding how the casting was done and the creative process behind naming the play Serunding.

A panel discussion on ‘Stories Without Borders’ followed with Singaporean Playwright Celine Wong, Singaporean Poet Gwee Li Sui, Malaysian Actor Jo Kukathas and Malay Language Writer Uthaya Sankar SB as panellists. This eclectic panel delved upon issues of limitations to their artwork.  Malaysian Actor and Playwright Jo Kukathas

Mr. A K M Mohsin speaking about Dibashram’s work
The single person play ‘Serunding’
Panel Discussion

spoke about her inability to receive large arts funding as her Singaporean counterparts, which restricts her ability to focus on a long term agenda.  Malay Writer of Indian decent Uthaya Sankar SB, spoke about how he was writing old and traditional Indian children stories in Bahasa Malaysia, which are reaching a wider audience within Malaysia. Singaporean Writer Gwee Li Sui touch upon something rather basic; the ability to churn out art that is authentic.

The day then moved to a short film ‘Beneath the Spikes’ produced by the RojaKrew Productions on a Father’s devotion to Lord Murugan observing the Hindu Festival of Thaipusam, in order to fulfil his vows when his son was saved. This emotional short film gave a glimpse of faith being practised in pragmatically oriented Singapore.

The second panel for the day was ‘A Socially-Engaged Generation’ with Singaporean Veteran Poet Alvin Tan, Malaysian Documentary Film maker Norhayati Kaprawi, Malaysia Cultural Activist Pauline Fan and Singapore National Arts Council Director Kenneth Kwok. The theme discussed in this session was focused on censorship.

The second and the last short film screening of the day was ‘Kuda Kepang: Reviving the Culture’, a short film on an ancient street drama art form which survives in Singapore amongst a minority in the Singaporean Malay Community.

The last panel discussion for the day was titled ‘Building New Hopes and Homes’ with Malaysian Social Activist Dr Hartini Zainuddin, Malaysian Community Arts Practitioner Liew Kung Yu, Singapore Post-Museum Curator Woon Tien Wei, Banglar Kantha Editor in Chief Mr AKM Mohsin and Banglar Kantha Contributor Manishankar Prasad. The Banglar Kantha Team delivered a short presentation on the culture and migration work in Singapore which AKM Mohsin facilitates.

This last session focused on the role of arts in the community and how art funders and their agenda’s potentially shape art.

The day event was a glimpse in to the cultural landscape in Singapore and Malaysia and how lessons can be shared across the straits. Art is a medium to discuss issues which are socially muted, and this event gave an opportunity to the arts fraternity to discuss issues which confront them.