A thriller with a history
Dear All,
I recently read a book which I found absolutely fascinating, because not only is it meticulously researched and extremely well written, but it also covers so many different areas of interest: it is a crime thriller as well as a social history, the story of how the Victorian murder mystery evolved as well as an account of how the present system of police investigation developed.

Anger has erupted once again after the cold-blooded murder of three Baloch nationalist leaders, reminding one of the aftermath of the killing of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti and Nawabzada Balach Marri. The protests and violent riots brought the whole province to a standstill with scores of people killed.

Baloch National Movement's (BNM) chief Ghulam Muhammad Baloch, Baloch Republican Party's (BRP) Sher Muhammad Baloch and BNM's Munir Ahmed Baloch were kidnapped by unidentified armed men on April 3, at 12:30 pm from the chamber of their lawyer Kachkol Ali when they were discussing a case. Officials of Turbat police station told TNS that three mutilated bodies of these leaders were later recovered from Pedrak area near the Pak-Iran border.

Of the three leaders, Ghulam Baloch is believed to have played an important role in the safe recovery of UN official John Solecki, who had been kidnapped from Quetta on Feb 2, and later released on April 4.

"I was sitting in my chamber with the three leaders when, all of sudden, over a dozen people barged into my chamber and whisked them away at gun point. They had come in four to five land cruisers," Kachkol Ali recalled, while talking to TNS. "They were carrying guns in their hands, spoke Urdu, tied the leaders' hands on their back.

"Soon after the incident, I went to the Turbat police station to lodge an FIR about the kidnapping incident. I even wrote letters to Chief Justices of Balochistan High Court and Supreme Court of Pakistan about the details of the incident appealing them for immediate intervention. I wrote that some agency personnel had picked them from my chamber. But nothing was done. And then we found their dead bodies on April 10.

"Had the judiciary acted promptly, our important leaders would never have got killed," said the lawyer.

In a routine exercise, the federal and Balochistan governments announced to pay Rs2.5 million reward to anyone providing information about the culprits. Similarly, the federal government constituted a fact-finding investigation team, headed by the Balochistan Inspector General of Police, in addition to the inquiry tribunal to probe the killings.

Senior Vice President, National Party, Senator Mir Hasil Khan Binzenjo held the agencies solely responsible for the killings.

Meanwhile, the parliamentary committee (PCC) constituted by President Asif Ali Zardari for the solution of Balochistan problems is believed to have made some headway and its recommendations being given a final shape. The committee comprises parliamentary leaders of all composite parties in the Nawab Muhammad Aslam Raisani-led coalition government.

Balochistan's senior minister for Planning and Development, Maulana Abdul Wasey said: "the recommendations will soon be presented to President Asif Ali Zardari by the Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani, so as to make it the part of the country's constitution after approval from the parliament."

The recommendations include: provincial autonomy under 1940 resolutions; issuance of NFC award on the basis of area and backwardness, besides population; handing over of Gwadar deep sea port to Balochistan; employments to locals in all development projects and institutions operating in Balochistan; due share of the province in the Reko dik, Saindak and other projects etc.

Nationalists have their reservations about the committee and its recommendations. "As we had boycotted the general elections, so at present no nationalist, or for that matter no progressive secular-minded person, is in the assemblies. Thus whose committee is this and for whom?" asked Habib Jalib Baloch, Secretary General Balochistan National Party-Mengal, while talking to TNS.

Senator Hasil Bizenjo said the Baloch people have lost their trust in such committees and packages. He referred to a parliamentary committee formed in the Musharraf era comprising all political and nationalist parties. "As an outcome of the committee, Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti was martyred while three Baloch leaders were martyred as an outcome of this committee headed by Babar Awan. So, Balochs have lost their trust in such committees. It seems the government is deliberately spoiling the situation."

About the solution of Baloch concerns, Bizenjo said that there's a need to implement the joint document that had been submitted to the government. "It was asked to withdraw the army, recover the missing persons, resolve the NFC issue in the best interest of Balochistan, empower it (Balochistan) and acknowledge the right of the province on its resources. If this is done, only then the wounds of the people of the province would heal."

There is a lot of talk about the involvement of external forces or foreign hands in Balochistan. Bizenjo said: "I will not deny it totally since Balochistan is strategically located."

Despite all the natural resources, its history is stagnant and future bleak. The ratio of unemployment and poverty has escalated while numerous socio-economic problems, including ethnic polarisation, have taken roots. One dangerous aspect is that the locals are feeling alienated.

Successive governments have made tall claims about the development of this largest but most backward province of the country, but the situation has only worsened. A strong opposition of the mega development projects initiated during the Musharraf era still persists.

What is happening in Balochistan? Why has insecurity prevailed in a province where law and order was exemplary? In short, what are the Baloch grievances?

Nationalist leaders make almost unanimous replies that merit repetition. The people of the region have been neglected since independence and deprived of the fruits of rich gas, mineral and natural resources. While Islamabad exploits their resources, it gives little in return. Islamabad has intentionally kept Balochistan backward so as to utilise its resources in Punjab. After partition, Balochistan was given the status of a province as late as 1970 while the Baloch people have experienced five military operations in the past.

The only sane solution of Balochistan problems lies in a negotiated political settlement and long-term policies that can address the longstanding issues of the province and remove the sense of deprivation of its people. The government must bring the estranged Baloch nationalist forces on to the dialogue table to find a way out before it is too late.

The recent turn of events that put a quick end to the Shanakht Festival in Karachi reminds us of the naked fact that we live in an illusory democracy where violence and destruction are the natural face of protest. On the opening day of the Festival, a group of PPP workers stormed the Arts Council claiming that their martyred party leader's memory had been vilified by an objectionable art work and thus they justified the wantonness that ensued with stalls being wrecked and visitors having to escape in fear of their lives.

What the artwork contained may be of issue to the organisers as they will surely look back in hindsight and try to evaluate if the offending picture merited such an outburst and if they had been wise to put it up in the first place. But that is not our concern any more because the matter has clearly been taken off our hands. There is no room any more for discussion or debate because the marauding horde has taken the matter into its own hands and passed judgment already. If a strong protest had been lodged with CAP (The Citizens Archive of Pakistan) a dialogue would have brought forth an introspective analysis by the committee and the resulting apology or justification would have made for a very interesting conversation between varying opinion holders.

It is a point to ponder because the saddest part is that Pakistanis were deprived of many events that would have given us a chance to bask in the light of the glory days. Durriya Kazi, teacher and artist, had just done a panel interview with Hanif Mohammad and Jamshed Marker and their presence had thrilled the audience immensely. On the cards had been a series of interviews with other personalities and even common people with myriads of insightful stories to tell.

The art on display at Shanakht was not a curated show but an invitation to artists from across the country to offer their "Gift to Pakistan" and the submissions were consequently exhibited. The process was thus all-embracing and open, unlike the usual gallery shows that are done by a few for a few. But as elitist as that may seem, it has been proven that public art is a dangerous endeavour and Pakistanis are not ready to partake of art in their lives.

However, on the other hand, there are few occasions that provide a meeting ground for all tiers of society to come together and the onus must eventually lie with the organisers and curators to ensure that they are inordinately sensitive to the content of the show. Preliminary boundaries should therefore have been tough and exacting, which in this case they were not and the picture in question easily slipped through the cracks of self-censorship. Freedom of expression is indeed vital to a country striving towards a democratic state but freedom with responsibility must also become the order of the day.

I think the event has been a learning experience for a lot of artists. I may be disappointed at the abrupt ending to the show but I understand that in public art spaces people's sentiments must be taken into consideration. I believe that we should use this opportunity to initiate dialogue with the authorities so that more such events can be held in the future not fewer ones. An artist's goal is never one of agitation or incitement, it is only to provoke thought. This event can go a long way in drawing more people into the fold of art.

Auj Khan

Artist

Freedom of expression is the most integral factor of art practice and if as an artist I feel insecure about exhibiting my work for fear of offending people, it will surely cause my creative enterprise to be curtailed which would result in the death of my career. Once censorship is imposed, there will be no limit to boundaries of restriction because of the subjective nature of art. As a teacher I must take a stand for freedom above all else or I would be failing in my responsibility to my students in giving them a healthy environment within which they may foster their art.

Adeela Suleman

Artist/teacher

Over the years, I have participated in many public art projects, initiated by fellow artists and myself and I have heard the sentiments of the people at the grassroots. The diversity of opinion and reaction has opened me to the idea that the boundaries of censorship for public art must be set through a process of negotiation and not arbitrarily.

Durriya Kazi

Artist/teacher

One is always aghast with any form of violence. We have to develop proper channels for every form of public protest, be it attack on a TV channel or a newspaper office. We have to learn to adopt non-violent ways, to negotiate -- and must believe in a political process rather than brute force. But, historically, we have shown great fondness for violence. Any concert, film, painting etc must go through a process of self-censorship. Particularly if exhibiting in Karachi which is an extremely divided city in terms of class and ethnicity. An artist must be acutely sensitive to ensure joint participation.

Salima Hashmi

Artist/teacher/activist

Even if we were to assume that the artwork in question was in bad taste or incendiary for some, the reaction it generated was completely disproportionate and unmerited. It was hooliganism at its worst. Supposedly, there is freedom of expression in our democratic country. If the artwork was offensive to someone, they should have requested the organisers to remove it from the display. Resorting to unruly behaviour and endangering lives of the numerous people attending the event doesn't bode well for all concerned.

Sameera Raja

Gallery owner

In these turbulent times, when ordinary citizens of the West are advised against travelling to Pakistan, it is unusual to expect precious works of a leading contemporary German artist to be transported and exhibited here. Even though human life is far more important, in practice, some works of art are considered even more worthy. A painting by Picasso is priced much higher than the amount calculated for an ordinary human being.

In this backdrop, a series of paintings by Sigmar Polke in Pakistan is an extraordinary experience. His exhibition of gouache on paper, titled "Music from an Unknown Source" is being held from April 2-30, 2009, at V.M. Art Gallery, Karachi. A number of organisations, including Goethe-Institute Pakistan and IFA, along with V.M. Art Gallery supported by Rangoonwala Trust made this event possible. Here a total of 40 works, of uniform size (100x70 cm), from 1996 are on display.

This indeed is a rare occasion -- to view original works by an artist of such stature in this country. Polke, born in 1941 in East Germany, moved to West Germany in 1953. He belongs to a generation of German artists, along with George Baselitz, A.R. Penck, Anselm Kiefer, Jorg Immendorff and Arnulf Rainer, who are recognised for reinstating the position of "painting" in contemporary art. Besides the present show (which is part of a travelling exhibition), by and large his work is connected with the vocabulary of painting.

However, this conventional medium -- gouache on paper -- is dealt with in a manner that opens up various formal and conceptual possibilities. For a number of years now, Polke's art has been perceived as a comment both on the act of image-making and the power of images in society. These two sides exist simultaneously and often inseparable. He has been using a visual that has its link with the conventional practice of image-making. The method of drawing figures and other objects remind of old engravings as well as enlarged views of printed pictures. The lines cut in metal or dots from newspaper photographs are blown up and layered with areas of different colours and textures.

Presumably, Polke is fabricating a world that exists between reality and fantasy. The title of the show, "Music from an Unknown Source," also alludes to what lies beyond our perception or cognition. Seen closely, the world of unknown comprises not only sweeping brush strokes, drips of paint, one colour merging into another, lines of every size and dimension, but the realistic or recognised imagery leads to the domain of unknown. Visuals that resemble family photographs, illustrations from children's story books, pictures printed in the media and from art history, suggest the past with many contradictory, conflicting and unclear elements.

In that sense, Polke's work can be described as the perfect portrayal of mind -- a semblance of thought-process. While thinking, we can not focus on one idea or subject since a number of other, often unrelated, matters spring up and invade our attention. The multilayered imagery and superimposed visuals of Polke depict our thought-process during which a specific concept ceases to remain singular or pure.

One can relate with his work, created thirteen years ago, with the current state of our media where visuals, words and ideas are all stuffed in one's mind without any peculiar arrangement. More significantly, it is connected to the act of thinking that often brings in mournful memories and unkind years.

One phase of the painful past -- the Nazi period -- is a subject of Sigmar Polke, along with Anselm Kiefrer in art and Gunter Grass in literature. The watchtowers of concentration camps during Hitler's reign are drawn in the present body of work; the image recurs many times in his other paintings. The Nazi period and its crimes have not been an easy subject, as majority of Germans refrain to refer to this phase of madness in their history. It requires an imaginative and brave individual like Polke to deal with this soar point and redeem it through art.

Coincidently, Polke's show in Pakistan is taking place at a time when our past is also subject to various interpretations and artistic inventions (rather interventions). The incident at the group exhibition at Karachi Arts Council has caused uproar among the art community as well as the general public.

The event requires examining the freedom of expression granted to an artist, which was used to make a work that was in bad taste and offensive. At the same time, it also demands a sense of responsibility from the public. Because the whole incident indicates the level of intolerance in our society: if one image or work is not accepted by some group, it seems the only way to protest is to tear the work or destroy the exhibition. It reaffirms the intolerance of art makers as well as their distance from the people or their viewers as well as that of the public, for whom violence is the only voice available. One needs a Polke in Pakistan!

Haryana was one of the centres of dhrupad in Punjab -- but now no trace is found of the musicians and the musical tradition that it embodied. Actually it is also not very clear as to what Haryana signified: a village or a town? Because, Haryana is now an entire province that stretches from Delhi to the Punjab in India. Punjab as a province has been facing multiple divisions. The creation of Pakistan divided Punjab and then it was further divided into the federal territory of Delhi, Haryana, Himachal besides a small chunk calling itself Punjab on the Indian side of the border.

The legendary Swami Haridas was either from Haryana or he was the founder of the Haryana style of singing. It is said there was only one vocalist who could excel Tansen and it was he. There is also a legend that Tansen had taken Akbar to hear Swami Haridas sing in the jungle because the Swami refused to be patronised by the court or any other institution. Being a free spirit and wanting to stay so, he roamed in the jungle and was closer to the musical tradition that had more to do with the bhagats and the fakirs than the duly appointed court musicians and singers. Probably there is also a mention of a village in district Hoshiarpur from where Sawami Haridas hailed, though, according to another source, he was born in Brindraban on the banks of Jamuna, probably in the last years of the 15th century.

But then what became of that grand tradition is not very clear and could be anyone's guess. The Haryana musicians continued to sing. It is said that the most famous disciple of Swami Haridas was Chajju Ram Bhagatt, who then had another famous disciple Ram Vasudev Ragi (Gujjar Bhagat). It was him that popularised the Haryana gaiki and the dhrupad in Punjab. Gujjar Bhagat's singing had been praised by the likes of Vishnu Digamber Paluskar, Bala Guru and Bhaskar Rao.

Muhammed Hussain was the disciple of Gujjar Bhagat. He was a great virtuoso in laikari, especially the division of the rhythmic cycle and was invited to perform before George V, on the coronation at the Dehli Darbar in 1911. Another known vocalist Hidayat Hussain also used to sing alongside Muhammed Hussain. Later, Khuda Baksh and Muhammed Buksh used to perform in jugalbadi.

According to Muhammed Baksh Haryanvi, the famous singers in the group were Muhammed Hussain Totee-e-Hind, Kaley Khan, Maula Baksh, Manoo Khan, Allahyar Khan, Sultan Khan, Khadim Hussian, Murad Khan, Jewan Khan and Mian Qadir Buksh. Muhammed Baksh Haryanvi sang the dhrupad in the years following the creation of Pakistan and kept the tradition alive. After him the entire line has disappeared without a trace.

Most of the musicians mentioned above could not have lived prior to the middle of the 19th century. Usually with musicians the golden period for music, the reign of Akbar followed by Jahangir and Shah Jehan is some kind of a reference point, and many draw their lineage from some great musicians that lived and performed then. Besides a few names, the ensuing centuries are skipped over, until in a comparative time frame a recent name is mentioned. Past and present coexist in their imagination.

There is also a theory that since dhrupad was not sung often, and was replaced by kheyal as the dominant vocal form, most of the Haryana vocalists became kheyal singers. It is said they were greatly influenced by the Patiala Gharana and often merged with them -- thus surrendering their identity. But it is difficult to point out as to who the outstanding vocalists among them were. The antecedent of many outstanding Patiala vocalists can be traced back to their own origins, none go back to Haryana.

Despite the fact that the Haryanvi performers were active and singing till the middle of the 20th century, the tragic aspect is that no recordings of any one is available. It is very unlikely that these musicians were not recorded. The recordings, it seems, have not been preserved and is lost to history. People are still alive who have heard them perform on the radio and in concerts. But it seems that these recordings too are not available. Most collectors and connoisseurs feign ignorance about the existence of the recordings of the dhrupad of these Haryana musicians.

Harayana was a historical place and the Aryans during their history of conquest and early settlement wrote the Rig Veda in the territory stretching from the Indus to the Jamuna. It is said that another river flowed between the tributaries of the Indus and the Jamuna, Saraswati, which has now gone dry. The place derives its name from the abode of Har, where the god Har (Vishnu) resides -- or heavenly abode. The famous Kurukshetra is located in this area and so indeed is the territory where the landmark epic Mahabharatta took place that includes the recital of the Bhagawat Gita by Krishan. It also housed the capital Thanesar in the 7th century. Later the three battles of Panipat were also fought in the area along Jamuna.

The towns and villages round Delhi were abodes of some of the most outstanding musicians. Panipat, Sonipat, Jhaggar and Kirana boasted of having produced truly exceptional musicians. It could be that the proximity of the central court and its patronage encouraged musicians and their families to settle in the adjoining areas. Most of these musicians belonged to the higher musical traditions kept alive through dhrupad and kheyal. Many of the instrumentalists were virtuosos of these classical forms as well.

It is a pity that the recordings of these musicians have been either lost or not discovered and that most of them have left music and singing. Their achievements too have not been properly documented, which follows the familiar tale that characterises the preservation of our heritage, particularly the intangible one.

Dear All,

I recently read a book which I found absolutely fascinating, because not only is it meticulously researched and extremely well written, but it also covers so many different areas of interest: it is a crime thriller as well as a social history, the story of how the Victorian murder mystery evolved as well as an account of how the present system of police investigation developed.

The book is Kate Summerscale's The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, an account of a sensational murder that took place in Wiltshire in 1860. One of the Kent family's children was murdered in the house at night as the rest of the family slept. The house was locked, the family members were prime suspects, and a well-known investigator Jonathan Whicher was sent to investigate. The book is about the case, Mr Whicher's investigation and the subsequent unfurling of events.

This is an astonishingly gripping book, because through the family of Samuel Kent one gets a glimpse of the 'dark secrets of the Victorian middle class family', and not only that one also sees how a case like this influenced the development of the Detective story genre in English Literature. Indeed, the literary and social context that the book provides is terrific, and rather surprisingly, it makes for compelling reading.

The case itself was frightfully sensational, but Kate Summerscale manages to write not just about the case but about a whole period of history and to thus present a vivid portrait of late Victorian life -- its social mores, its popular views and its economic constraints. Summerscale has somehow managed to write a book that in a rather quiet, very understated way grabs your attention. Please do not think me peculiar if I tell you that even the footnotes make good reading because they actually do!!

So here you have book that is part thriller, part literary history and part biography, and really more than the sum of its parts. The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or The Murder at Road Hill House is something of a surprise, and really quite an achievement by Summerscale.

If nothing else, reading this book you can convince yourself that society can evolve, can move forward. Something you might not believe possible when you hear most of the rightist, fundo -- and, alas, mainstream -- journalists on Pakistani TV channels hold forth. Their comments are truly terrifying, chillingly jahil.

Allah khair karay.

Best wishesUmber Khairi