Tag: Art

Resonant Histories Exhibition in Bombay by Barjeel Foundation

The Exhibition Thesis

I had the honor to experience the ‘Resonant Histories’ Exhibition on Indian and Arab Art at the Nicholson Jahangir Art Gallery at the CSVSS Museum, Kala Ghoda, Bombay by Barjeel Art Foundation in Sharjah. Had all the masters in place and the framing was decolonial and enthused by the spirit of Bandung. The art work by a Shantiniketan trained Egyptian artist was special as both my parents are Visvabharti alumni.

I grew up in Oman and call Masqat, Bayt hence the art had a special resonance especially the painting on President Nasser. Art is a register of history of modernity, which in the digital era is often lost. Art is cultural anchoring, and is a space of taste and aesthetics.

The Barjeel Foundation team did a splendid job, with the local curators. Getting a Ganesh Payne to a Gaitonde to a Jamini Roy under one roof, and juxtaposing it with Arab masters especially Emirati artists is no mean feat.

The museum is near to the Gateway of India where the Dhows were anchored in British India, when Bombay, Karachi, Aden, Masqat, Kuwait and Basra were a part of the Western Indian Ocean Grid, a Bombay Islam as the title of the book by Historian Nile Green says.

Excellent references world be Monsoon Voyagers by Professor Fahad Bishara and Sam Dalrymple’s book, on multiple partitions of South Asia, Shattered Lands.

An Artsy Sunday Afternoon

Today was an usual Sunday Afternoon. I woke up late, grabbed lunch at my local kopitiam mamak stall out of sheer hunger having skipped dinner last evening. The lunch plate is modelled on the banana leaf, on which ‘Sapaad’ or the lunch spread is served upon in southern India. The plate however, was a melamine one, and the fish curry and the fried fish was bleeding colourful. The gravy was on the rice, just as I like it. The fried papad was crunchy.

The Anna or elder brother (as i address him) who runs the Indian Muslim Mamak stall at the Block near to where I reside at Sunset Way, was over keen and served an additional portion of chicken which was not needed honestly. I had this meal with my favourite ginger tea and the Sunday Straits Times, eagerly checking whether I missed any story online, which is there in print.

After a late lunch, i took a cab to avoid the heat to Little India to a space which doubles up as the office of the only Bengali Newspaper in Singapore; Banglar Kantha and the Cultural Space for Migrants- Dibashram, which translates roughly translates to as the day shelter for migrants. The Editor in Chief of the Newspaper Mr. AKM Mohsin, is a community pioneer, leading many cultural initiatives for the Bangladeshi Migrant Worker Community in Singapore.

So, i walked up to his office located at a strategic intersection on Rowell Road in Little India area, located above a popular Indian Restaurant where I drink tea whenever I drop by this area.  Mr. Mohsin had not arrived yet, so i wait for him while a couple of migrant workers play the harmonium and sing folk music loudly, all while i read Amit Chaudhuri’s ‘Calcutta’. Quite a combination and a prelude to the latter half of the day.

Mr. Mohsin walks in with Mr. Dewan Mizan, an art teacher and performing artist from Dhaka visiting the region on an exhibition tour. The artiste and a couple of 12004150_10207133714128919_7409693190157143696_nothers huddle up as they put together an exhibition of his sketches. The windows of the space converted in to an impromptu art gallery looked unique in a sultry afternoon

The plan was to perform art while a small skit was being performed by Bangladeshi Poets touching upon pressing issues faced by the Bangladeshi migrant. The Poets, enacted the skit in flesh and blood, with the flair of a professional, hardly revealing that they are battle hardened construction site engineers to boot. The emotional flair of oratory indicates a duality, typical of the migrant, who straddles multiple existences with ease.

It was surreal to experience the power of art, transform the ambience in an instant and bring out everyday issues in a silence shattering way.This initiative by Mr. Mohsin and Banglar Kantha/Bangladesh Centre Singapore/Dibashram is to be applauded as the event indeed was special.

I was on the introductory panel for the exhibition opening, explaining to the non Bengali speaking visitors in English. I believe though art transcends language, and the friends who did not understand Bangla, understood the vibe if not the precise content matter of the conversations.

Globalization has many downsides, but the confluence of migration narratives in an art form, certainly made my Sunday afternoon richer.