Let’s start new year with determination to see that sense and sensitivity prevail

The year is ending on a rather confused note! On one hand, the latest election results have brought about relief and the hope of better days overtaking the gloom, but then one cannot expect overnight changes. After all, it is not only human beings who are affected by this but also entire institutions.

Four years back, fence sitters quipped, “What harm can the Right-Wing wallahs do; they have got to work within a constitutional framework” but now we see the manner in which the running of institutions has got affected. And surviving in the midst of a tense and taut atmosphere, one doesn’t have to quote any of the Bollywood’s who’s who on the mounting levels of anxiety and apprehensions.

These are dark days, where goon brigades have been let loose, unleashed in our midst. Mind you, these goons manage to go about scot free even after murdering and looting and raping. Nah, the government’s police machinery cannot arrest them; apparently, they do not have the political sanction to do so.

Today one sees tainted men ruling and overruling the nation, even after being accused in State conducted murders under bogus alibis. Quite obviously these ‘developments’ are unnerving, often nudging one to query and cry out.

But even that isn’t allowed anymore! One could be threatened or hounded. Sit back and imagine the plight of the ordinary, when even the likes of Naseeruddin Shah and Aamir Khan are not spared.

After all, not very long back, India’s best-known artist, MF Hussain, was forced to shift base. From Mumbai he went to Qatar! He was left with little option, as Right-Wing wallahs targeted him and his masterpieces.

Let’s start the new year with that required grit and determination to see that sense and sensitivity prevail. Also, make sure that our basic freedom to cry out in anguish and forewarn is not snatched away from us.

Leaving You With

In the midst of this surcharged atmosphere, two positives held out. On December 17, I was pleasantly surprised to see large numbers turn up at New Delhi’s Vigyan Bhawan. The occasion was an award ceremony of the Delhi Minorities Commission (DMC) for all those who were striving to make a difference in their lives as well as in their outreach.

To quote members of the DMC, “Ever since the current Commission took over in July 2017, it has been expanding its activities to reach out to the minorities across the National Capital Region of Delhi. It embraces almost 25 million people according to the 2018 estimates. Around 20% of this population belongs to the designated religious minorities; Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Jains, Buddhists and Parsis. One of our initiative is to recognise good work done by and for minorities through annual awards to outstanding achievers in various fields. We have been careful to include majority community people also who extended extraordinary services to society, minority communities and communal harmony.”

And that evening, as I spoke to several Sikhs, Muslims, Christians and those from the other minority communities, who had gathered at the Vigyan Bhawan venue, they told me that, perhaps, for the first time they felt honoured, proud and confident to belong to a minority community. Also, they left re-assured that their problems and grievances could be heard at the DMC office manned by Kartar Singh Kochchar, Anastasia Gill, and Dr Zafarul Islam Khan (chairperson of the DMC).

And earlier this month after a longish gap I felt I was actually attending a literary event! It was celebration time for the Punch magazine as it completed two years and its publisher –editor, Shireen Quadri, decided to host the celebration party at the freshly renovated Kwality restaurant in Connaught Place. Writers, publishers, critics, authors were present and thankfully there were no speeches or any of those elaborate lectures. A nice relaxed evening, where one could either talk or just about listen!

In fact, each time I meet Shireen Quadri, I simply marvel her courage to quit a secure career to start off this digital magazine exclusively for the arts, literature and music.

She has her reasons, “In the last couple of years, a number of literature, arts, food, travel, dance, music, theatre and film festivals have mushroomed. From September to March, almost every weekend has some festival or event. But when it comes to the coverage of arts and literature in the mainstream media, there’s hardly anything raring to be different. There's no single platform that chronicles the global profusion in arts and literature, which serves as a one-stop destination for everything exciting about arts around the globe.”

Quite obviously it couldn’t have been easy; not to be overlooked is the fact that Shireen is in her early 30s, has a family to take care of, and the fact that she’s doing something so very refreshingly different! How tough and rough it’s been for her to start and sustain a magazine of this calibre and reach?

“To work tirelessly without any money is not easy, especially when one doesn't belong to the city. I love challenges and I believe in hard work. But what has been really tough is the general attitude that only the mainstream media matters. The literature, arts and culture sectors should ideally nurture such platforms.

I'm often asked: ‘what is your business model? Have you started making money?’ I understand that it's difficult to believe that at this stage of my career when I should essentially be focusing on making money, I am spending my limited savings, time and energy on a project that does not guarantee financial rewards. But it's also true that The Punch Magazine is not a business prospect. I would like people to see it as an altruistic arts and culture project.”

I’m certain her determination will take her further. After all, she has had the grit to move on in life.

To quote her, “I’m from Jharkhand. I did my schooling from Mount Carmel, Dhanbad, and moved to Delhi to pursue my graduation from Miranda House. I then went to Mumbai University for my post-graduation. Briefly, I worked with Greenpeace India. A little later, I moved to Delhi and got into the marketing and publicity of books in trade publishing. My last job was at Simon & Schuster India. All this while I did enjoy my work, but I could see that the space in mainstream media for literature and arts was shrinking and to get space for some of the best books was becoming a challenge. It was the same in arts. There had to be a medium that could bridge this gap. And that’s how I thought along the lines of starting this magazine.”