Shailaza's Blog

Tag: article writing

  • Anarkali Invoked Strong Reactions Even Today

    It was a cozy evening straight out of Nav Gulati’s book. Gentle showers of rain and cool breeze. The only thing that was missing was the Anup Talav of Fatehpur Sikri and a dancing Anarkali. However, one could still feel Anarkali’s presence as Nav Gulati talked about his experiences with his book ‘Anarkali- One Concubine and Two Emperors’ with Rajesh Sharma, editor, Rashtradoot.

    When he was asked what made him write this book on Anarkali, he replied, ‘I have always felt that I have some connection with Anarkali. When I watched the movie Mughal-e-Azam, this connection sort of became stronger. Maybe it has to do with my past lives. One day, I dreamt that I was a Ghulam who was assigned to protect Anarkali and it was I who travelled with her from Istanbul to the court of Akbar. I felt as if I understood her plight, her life and her desires better than anyone else. Perhaps that is why I like to read and talk about her. This book too is like an ongoing conversation with Anarkali.’

    A member of the audience who had read the novel commented that when one reads the book, it seems as if the author has done some painstaking research on the subject which is apparent in his language and description about various customs and aspects of history. He then asked Nav about his modus operandi with regards to the research to which Nav replied, ‘I was always fascinated with the Ottoman Empire and the Mughal Empire. But since I also wanted to earn good money and have a career in life, I focussed on my job too. Though I had already thought about the story; it was like a movie running in my head, I really started seriously writing when I got posted in Dallas in 2010. I was working with a  bank at the time. I used to stay in California. So every Monday, I had to travel to Dallas and every Friday evening I would be back in California. However, after my work got over during the week I didn’t have anything to do. I wasn’t much into television or socializing. So, I decided to do some detailed research about the Mughals and the Ottomans. There was a library close by and every evening I would go to the library and read. So, for six years, till about 2016, this was my schedule and I read every book I could find about these empires. Since I already had my story in my head, I would make notes and add in these little details to my story.’

     As the rain drizzled, people sipped on hot tea and enjoyed the cozy, serene vibes. Another reader wanted to know about how Nav Gulati came up with the idea of two Anarkalis. He replied, ‘the idea of the two Anarkali’s came to me when I was reading about the debate in Emperor’s Suleyman’s Divan in 1535 whether to invade India or Persia. At the time, Baghdad was the seat of learning and prosperity. Humayun’s emissaries got the wind of this and asked Humayun to do something so that the Ottomons don’t invade India since they were a relentless war machine and could bring down the Mughal empire in a flash. Humayun sent the Sultan tributes in the form of gold, silver etc from India, which made the Sultan turn his attention to Persia. This is a fact that is well known. However, I added that he also sent the Sultan two concubines Anarkali I and Jalpari. In my story, Anarkali 1 was the grandmother of Anarkali. Anarkali was the daughter of Selim and Sufiye who was the daughter of Anarkali 1.  It was Anarkali who had to travel back to Hindustan since her foster mother Jalpari wanted to spend the last days of her life in Hindustan since she was born here. It was this Anarkali who met Salim and together they created an eternal love story. So, when I read about Anarkali and I thought about Salim (later on Emperor Jahangir), my only thought was Anarkali went from one Selim to another Salim.

    It was quite an interactive and lively session as the audience clamoured to add their comments and ask questions. Some of them found the book too explicit while the others wondered if sensuality was such an important aspect in the Mughal or Ottomon Empire. Nav replied, ‘ sensuality was an art when it was about Ottoman or the Mughal empire. They took pride in their procedures to turn a woman into a sensual one. There were perfumes, each of which was designed for a specific part of the body and was applied on the woman to ensnare the senses of the man. It was about all the senses, whether it was taste or smell or touch or vision. The lady was taught to dress in a certain way, smell in a certain way, walk and dance in a certain way. They even had musicians who would hide behind the curtains and play serenading music. The sultan would have a slave ready who would hand him the opium pill which would further enhance his experience with his concubine.’

    Amidst the laughter, discussions and even some disagreements, one thing was quite evident. The enigma of Anarkali had captured everyone’s hearts and minds. Many of the audience even said that this kind of book deserves a magnus opus which can bring out the beauty, pain and tragedy of being Anarkali.

    This article by Shailaza Singh appeared in Rashtradoot Newspaper’s Arbit Section on 15 February 2024.

  • The Liberating Drive

    It is said that driving liberates a woman. But does it really? Driving on the winding roads of Rajasthan makes one realize that there is more to driving than what meets the eye. It makes you independent and takes you places- literally.

    ‘Mummy, please be careful. There is a truck ahead of you!’
    ‘Beta, thanks but please stop backseat driving. I can see the truck!’
    The phone rang. ‘Hello, where have you reached?’
    ‘Papa, we have just crossed a board which says Rajgarh is about 100 km. We will be there in by 9 pm.’
    Beta, shall I send some one to guide you through the route?’
    ‘Don’t worry papa, we will manage.’
    I disconnected the call and took a deep breath. ‘I can do it!’ I whispered silently as I navigated my car in the fast moving traffic of the national highway. This was the first time I was driving on a highway in the night and my dad like all dads was worried. I am not new to the roads of Rajasthan. I have been driving for the last decade and a half. Incidently when my father told her about my trip, my mom was not worried. She simply said, ‘She should learn to do everything on her own. It is about time.’


    However, like most women in India, learning to drive wasn’t a piece of cake. Before my marriage, I used to drive a scooty but my parents were constantly worried that I may hurt my self. Once, after my marriage had been fixed, I had an accident with my scooty and my parents were petrified of explaining the bruises on my hands and face.
    My brother on the other hand has been driving ever since he was legally allowed to drive. He has had accidents, banged up his car at one point or the other but no one actually stopped him from driving. I, on the other hand was a different matter.
    But then time passed and as a single mother I had no choice but to learn driving. Some decades ago, my father (now a retired army officer) was posted at Lucknow and I was living with him, I used to learn driving from a fauji driver. For hours, I would drive an old Maruti 800 (our family’s first car) on the winding roads of Lucknow while he would patiently sit on the co driver’s seat and give me tips on how to deal with different situations while driving.
    My father on the other hand was a different story. Once, after a lot of cajoling he agreed to sit on the codriver’s seat while I drove the car. The moment he would see a vehicle coming he would tense up and ask me to slow down (not that I was driving fast!). The vehicle would pass without any incident and my father would heave a sigh of relief. I have always wondered why despite my careful driving, it has taken my father years to confidently sit on the front seat while I drive while he never had the same fear with my brother.
    But this time it was different. I was determined to drive my car on my own to the village. The idea of driving to the village occurred to me out of the blue. It was a week end and for me it was the perfect way to prove my driving mettle in front of my family. So, in an hour, at about 1 pm, my daughter (who was very excited about the idea) and me packed up our rucksacks and with our two dogs set out for the village.
    I had called up my father and told him of our plan. He said, ‘please don’t do this beta. I will be very worried till you don’t reach! Don’t put me in such a stress.’
    ‘Papa, don’t worry. I will reach safe and sound. Besides if my brother can do it, why can’t I??’
    ‘You have your daughter with you. I wouldn’t have bothered if you were coming alone.’
    ‘No Papa. I will come on my own because this is something I need to do for myself and my daughter. Don’t worry.’
    ‘That’s the issue beta. I will be worried.’
    Normally, such a statement from my father would have stopped me in my tracks. But this time I wanted to prove it to him that I can do anything I set my mind to.
    We set out at about 1 pm. It was a sunny day with no trace of clouds. The plan was simple. We would drive down to my village Leelki, near Sadulpur (Rajgarh) which was about 300 km from Jaipur. On the way, we would only stop at Rashidhpura, a place famous for its hot piping tea and kachoris.
    The stereo belted out John Denver’s famous number ‘Country roads take me home’ as I drove along the long winding roads. For me, it was a life event because at 40 something I was finally driving on my own on a highway.
    To be honest, I was a bit scared because I had heard many stories, read books and watched movies about how miscreants were always on the look out for women travelling alone on the highway. My daughter and I had decided to keep a very low profile. We both had worn simple jeans and shirts with black caps on our heads. We reached Rashidpura at about 4 pm. Fortunately there weren’t many people in the restaurant. We quickly let out the dogs for a much needed stroll while I sipped on the tea (which revved me up for another long stretch of driving), got some kachoris packed and we were soon on our way.
    It is only when you drive that you start appreciating the roads of India. Smooth and undulating, they go on for miles while farms, dunes pass by on the side. I didn’t encounter much traffic at the time, so the drive was smooth as the songs played on the radio and we sang along with them.
    Soon the sun set and it became dark. It was then I realized why my dad was so worried. Unlike the city where you have street lamps on almost every road, the highways in Rajasthan are not lit at all. On a moonless night, there is nothing to show you the way ahead, not even the reflectors that are generally embedded on the sides of the roads. So, if one is not careful, there is a good chance that you can drive off the road. If that happens, you are on your own and God’s good humour.
    Though the lack of light was a deterrent, I was in no mood to drive fast. I drove at a steady speed of 70 km per hour. Though there were trucks ahead of me, I did not attempt to overtake them unless until absolutely required. After all, we can all peacefully coexist and drive to our destinations in our own sweet time.


    There is a distinct difference in driving in the bright sunlight and driving at the night. In the day, you can see everything around and ahead of you. You can plan for the route ahead and you don’t have to worry about bumping into a bullock cart or a donkey standing on the side of the road (especially things that don’t have lights on them). You can activate the cruise feature on your car that keeps your speed steady if the road is clear and smooth. However, as soon as it becomes dark, the landscape changes and resembles that of an alien planet. Things are not what they seem in the night. A small bullock cart travelling at the speed of about 5 km per hour has the power to completely disarm your excellent and careful driving.
    But then, all said and done, there is something hypnotising too about driving at night. Driving under the stars or the moon (if you are lucky) felt like a dream to me. At times I almost felt as if I would wake up and find myself sleeping in my bed. I glanced at my daughter, she had fallen asleep and so had the dogs.


    All this while we were in touch my father, who was busy tracking our progress through Google’s live location (thank God for technology).
    As we came closer to our destination, I felt more confident and powerful. What is it about driving that makes you feel so empowered? I remembered a conversation that I had with my friend Sheeba Parambil who is the city chief for Sakha Cabs in Jaipur, a cab service which only has women drivers. I was talking to her about how people keep saying that driving liberates a woman. She said, ‘I agree. It actually does. In fact, I would say that driving liberates a women much more than what education does. With education, you get financial liberation but with driving you get liberated emotionally and mentally. In fact, many of our cab drivers are girls who were earlier not allowed to step outside their homes but when their circumstances forced them to earn money, they took up driving . Today, they can go anywhere. Now they have become so adept at driving that their families don’t even bother when they set out for work and stay away from home for days at a stretch.’
    I reached my village at about 10 pm much to my father’s relief. The next day, the word spread that I had driven all the way from Jaipur. For many women and girls, it was an achievement of sorts. They came to meet me and marvel at the feat while I kept wondering why was it such a big deal!

    This article by Shailaza Singh was published in Rashtradoot Newspaper’s Arbit Section on 27 November 2023

  • How I got rid of Oggy and his cockroaches

    A few years ago, like all children, my daughter had fallen in love with cartoons on Cartoon Network. She used to watch all kinds of programs including Tom and Jerry, Shiva, Chota Bheem and the cringe worthy Oggy and the cockroaches. As it is, for me the very word ‘cockroach’ is enough to induce a sleepless night, the three cockroaches made it worse! My daughter sat spell bound as the cockroaches and Oggy kept battling it out in Oggy’s refrigerator and at times literally tore the kitchen apart in pursuit of vengeance! The icing on the cake was that the voice-over artist sometimes mimicked voice of Shahrukh Khan, sometimes Nana Patekar, Sunil Shetty and other such then popular actors. After some months, I was so fed up that I asked my friends to help me. One of my friends downloaded and shared a Japanese Anime ‘Spirited Away’. At that time, there was no Netflix or other OTT, so we had to make ado with the subtitles. I showed the movie to my daughter and she loved it! And that was the reason enough to discontinue the cable service.

    It has been a decade since I and my daughter introduced ourselves to subtitles and movies from different countries and languages. Earlier, we downloaded these from different sites like YouTube and torrents which offer ‘free’ movies. Initially, I was quite scared that some kind of Internet police might come and catch me for going on torrents and other such sites. I had prepared a list of counter arguments and kept it in my bedside cabinet for such emergencies and foreseen circumstances. Some reasons given in the list were:

    1. Downloading movies with subtitles is better than letting the children watch serials produced by Ekta Kapoor or other such people. Though the children are intrigued by the idea of saas-bahu politics (children are born politicians) and repeated plastic surgery (they love the idea that they can hide behind a new face if they do something wrong) and multiple divorces and remarriages (my daughter was simply hooked on to the idea that for each marriage she will get at least three to four new dresses with matching dress and jewellery!)
    2. Watching other movies with subtitles is actually education! One of my friends told me that her son who goes off to sleep in the English class at school actually learnt reading by watching movies with subtitles. He loved Hollywood action movies like Rambo and would actually read the subtitles to understand what actors like Sylvester Stallone were saying (most of them actually mutter under their breath). With time, his English literature teacher was actually impressed with his ability to read in the language!

    However, my list of reasons kept lying in the cabinet because no one ever came! So, we read the subtitles and we watched movies. An old friend was curious about why did I go through so much trouble for movies with subtitles when most English movies either had Hindi subtitles or were dubbed in Hindi. It was then I told her about my experience with the well-known movie Jurassic Park’s dubbed Hindi version. In that movie, there is a scene where the female protagonist says ‘I want to see the dinosaur’s shit.’ This dialogue was translated into ‘mujhe dinosaur ka gobar dekhne hai.’ I am not arguing whether it was the correct translation or not but from that point onwards, I steered clear of dubbed movies!

     I also bought a lot of CDs and DVDs of good movies that I believed would help her to inculcate some good values. Some came with subtitles while others did not. We kept our CDs very carefully lest they get scratch marks because then the CD would not either play certain segments or would simply get jammed . We also did not jump tracks because that again could lead to scratches and bad unplayable sectors. The CDs could only either be played on our computers or television sets which meant sitting in the living room, switching on the television or the laptop, inserting the CD and then waiting for it to play. When my daughter complained that it was a cumbersome process, I told her stories of the VCR (Video Cassette Recorder) in which we had to insert this huge video cassette, rewind it and then play. She rolled her eyes. She said that idea was unimaginably old fashioned and preposterous!

    New entries

    Then Netflix breezed into our lives. I deleted all my downloads and tore the long list of reasons. The CDs were forgotten in an old cupboard.  Even today, I don’t know what to do with my huge collection. I thought of turning them into plates and decorations but then a friend advised me to wait because according to him one day, these CDs and DVDs would be treasured as antiques and I would be able to make a lot of money by selling them! I am still waiting!

    With Netflix and later Amazon Prime and other such OTT platforms, my phone became my new cinema hall. I could walk into it anytime and watch the movie and the scene of my choice again and again- A far cry from the first time that I was introduced to cinema in Jaipur in my summer holidays!

    Back then, my maternal grandfather hated movies with a vengeance! He believed that movies did nothing except corrupt minds of young people. So, on the pretext of going to the vegetable market, my aunt masterminded the great escape and smuggled my grandmother, mother, my brother and me in a matador car and took us to the Rajmandir Theatre to watch the matinee show Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘Sharabi’. She even paid a friend to shop for vegetables and fruits. When the movie finished, we went to Niros Restaurant, ate food, picked up the vegetables and fruits and went back home! Till date my grandfather is unaware of these little escapades!

    Today, with Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hot Star, and other such platforms, my daughter and me huddle up in any corner of the house and watch these movies and series regardless of their language. Sometimes, we hook it up to the television and even binge watch with a bowl of fresh popcorn. We hardly realize that we are reading the subtitles. The interesting bit is that we keep discovering new things about distant lands. One day, my daughter told me that in Japan, people are not scared of haunted houses because they believe that each house has its own spirit. So, whenever they move in to a new house, they thank the spirit and ask him to take care of them and their family. This fact she got to know from a movie called “My neighbour Totoro”.

    Covid time pass

    The good part about these movies with subtitles is that one has to pay attention to understand what is going on. Hence most of times, in this era of COVID, online movie watching is quite engrossing! Not that we have achieved nirvana but cartoons have been replaced by a lot of meaningful content and thank fully Oggy and the cockroaches have been completely forgotten!

    However, the danger still looms large as I just discovered that Salman Khan has launched another no brainer ‘Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai’ on OTT. While Oggy and the Cockroaches rile me with goofy no brainer conversations, a Salman Khan movie brings up questions like ‘why cannot Salman Khan protect India from COVID?’ or ‘If he is so strong, why cannot Salman Khan help in dealing with the pandemic?’ Wouldn’t it be great if these OTT platforms had questions to these answers in subtitles too?

    This article by Shailaza Singh was published in Rashtradoot Newspaper on 12 May 2021

  • No Pandemic Only Play

    The doors have opened. People refuse to be confined to their homes despite the much feared return of the pandemic and its horrors. Amidst the social distancing and face masks, audience at Ravindra Manch were more than ready to watch the new play ‘Rashmirathi’ and get spellbound by theatre once again!

    When I received the invite to Ram Dhari Singh Dinkar’s classic Hindi epic poem Rashmirathi which was being directed by Abhishek Mudgal, I was apprehensive yet excited. Like everyone else, I have been reading about the return of COVID and increasing in the number of cases. However, the chance was too good to miss. After a year of overdose of stay-at-home shows and movies on Netflix and other OTT platforms, I was craving for something different.
    When I reached Ravindra Manch, where the play was being held, I saw no crowds outside. This made me think that perhaps, the people weren’t ready to come out yet. The play had already started when I went in. I looked around expecting to see a nearly empty hall. However, almost all the seats were occupied! Everyone was staring raptly at the stage where the actors were performing. I sat down and looked at the gentleman sitting in the adjacent seat. He was so busy watching the performance that he did not even look up to acknowledge that a new person had sat next to him.
    I turned my attention to the stage where the actors where performing.
    In the current scene, Vasudev Krishna had come to Hastinapur as the ambassador of peace. After a while, the scene shifted to Karna’s conversation with Krishna who tells him that he is actually Kunti’s son and Pandavas’ eldest brother. Karna breaks down and tells Krishna that he cannot deceive his friend Duryodhana. Interestingly, there were no props on the stage. The male actors were bare chested and wore a simple dhoti while the female actors wore short white kurtas and dhotis.
    As Karna broke down and lamented his misfortune, the crowd was so moved that the hall resounded with the applause. Some even wiped the lone tear too! As I watched the play, I couldn’t help but sympathize with Karna, the man who was blessed by Gods but cursed by destiny. Whether it was sitting patiently despite the large insect gorging on his flesh so that his guru Parshuram could get the much-deserved rest or assuring Kunti, the mother who had abandoned him that he will not harm any of her sons except Arjun, Karna was a man who tried to do the right thing. However, the universe always conspired against him.
    The background music and acting ensured that the two hundred and fifty plus audience did not get up from their seats.
    Simple Impact
    Intrigued by the simple yet appealing presentation of the play, I quizzed Abhishek Mudgal. He said ‘This is a very long play which is divided into seven chapters. When I read it, I realized that if we clubbed it with costumes and sets, it would take the attention away from the very essence of the play which are dialogues and verse. So, we decided to keep the props symbolic and suggestive and I told the actors to concentrate on their dialogue delivery.
    Reception
    Abhishek was quite upbeat about the reception in Jaipur. ‘This was the fifth performance and we’ve had 100 plus people in all our other performances. The play will now be performed in places like Bikaner, Jodhpur and Allahabad.’
    Tryst with Rashmirathi
    Rashmirathi was not as popular and hence became the obvious choice. ‘I have done different kinds of plays, including absurd plays, folk plays etc. During the pandemic we experimented on various genres like folk theatre, absurd theatre and realism. I had not attempted classical theatre. Between Dharmavir Bharti’s Andhayug and Rashmirathi, the latter was a better choice because Andhayug has been performed a number of times.’
    Mahabharat’s Nepotism
    ‘The world today is no less different than what it was in the age of Mahabharat. Even today, if a person is talented and good at what he does but does not have the right level or contacts or caste or values, he does not find acceptance and struggles to make a place for himself. It takes time for any new actor despite his talent to actually find acceptance amongst the colleagues or audience. So, these things have been here since the era of Mahabharat. Karna was talented and according to some even better than Arjun. However, had it not been for Duryodhana, nobody would have recognized Karna for his talent. It was Duryodhana who elevated his status, made him a king and gave him a platform to showcase his talent to the world. Arjun could not kill Karna in an equal duel, so he killed him when he was trying to fix his chariot’s wheel. Karna was the reason why Duryodhana was prepared to fight the war because he depended on Karna’s prowess as a great warrior. We have always been told that the great war in Mahabharat was fought on Arjun’s merit. However, Dinkar’s book suggests that Karna was the reason why Duryodhana chose to fight in the first place.’
    Preparation
    ‘The first rehearsals began on 5 September 2020 and the first show was performed on 8 November. So, it took us two months to prepare for the first show. During the initial twenty days, we spent in learning the Hindi words and their meanings because the play is written in pure Hindi. We spent a lot of time learning the meaning of every word. After that we learnt the dialogues and started rehearsing. The first show lasted three hours. We edited it further and in the fifth show we could limit it to two hours. We still have to edit it further to make it crisper.’
    Discovering Hindi
    For Abhishek, reading Rashmirathi was like discovering a new universe of Hindi language. ‘This book made me realize the true depth of our literature and the kind of words that exist in our language. I wished I had read Rashmirathi earlier. While reading this play, I discovered so many new things about Hindi. I believe the younger generations should be exposed to these kinds of books and plays to truly understand the language. These days, we don’t even read many such masterpieces of Hindi literature that have been written by authors of the yore.’
    Language no bar
    Abhishek believes that the language does not matter when it comes to plays. ‘In my years as a play director, I have realized that language does not hinder anyone from watching theatre. When we were performing some of our Rajasthani, Hindi or Urdu plays in the southern states of India, I was surprised to see a large number of audiences turn up for even ticketed plays that were in Hindi or Urdu. It was that which made me realize that that as long as the audience understands the body language, moves, theme of the play, they enjoy the play even if they don’t understand the language. They don’t need any translation. I remember there was a Manipuri play which was performed in Jaipur. I along with more than 800 people had attended the show. We had not understood the language but could understand everything else that was going on in the play.’
    Pandemic plays
    The reception of Rashmirathi has buoyed his spirits. ‘Before the pandemic, most of my plays were being sold out. Now we have a lesser audience but I am glad that despite the pandemic scare people are still turning up to watch these plays. The truth is that we love live art because interacting with others, sharing thoughts and ideas is our very life blood. We as people cannot stay without it! So, yes we are slowly getting back and theater is coming back in a big way.’
    The play was potent and moving. Yet, more moving was the realization that people will now no longer let COVID govern their lives. Yes, there were masks, there was social distancing and amidst all this, the play happened! After a year of drought and remaining indoors, the hungry spectators feasted on it with their eyes with no holds barred.

    This article was published in Rashtradoot’s Arbit on 28 March 2021.

  • Gulabo Sapera: The Girl Who Survived and Danced

    The mesmerizing dance of the Kalbeliya community has become famous all over the world. But, about 50 years ago, this community of snake charmers could never have thought in their wildest dreams that their daughters would dance and popularize this folk art. This phenomenon can only be attributed to Padamshree Gulabo Sapera- a woman who refused to stop dancing and living!

    The sand dunes of Rajasthan have been a silent witness to the changing times. They have been mute spectators of a time when thousands of new born girls were buried alive in their sands and died without a whimper. But then they have also witnessed the miracle of Gulabo Sapera, a girl who was buried in their folds minutes after she was born and lived to tell the tale.
    Today, the world knows her as Gulabo Sapera, but she was christened Dhanvantari after the Hindu god of medicine and nectar, after she was found alive despite being buried in the sand dunes. She belongs to the tribe of Kalbeliyas who are known for their ability to catch and tame snakes.
    Gulabo reveals, ‘We are gypsy people who live in the jungle, catch snakes and make them dance to earn money. Our people used to go from door to door asking people to feed the snakes milk and collect dakshina. In the old days, most girls were killed as soon as they were born because most of our tribe lived in the forests. There was an unwritten rule that no family could have a lot of girls in their house. If they wanted they could keep a single girl child but not more because abduction of girls was quite common in those days. Then, we were quite poor and most families don’t have enough money to ensure that their daughters along with the sons can be fed, clothed and protected or pay dowry in their marriage. When they had to marry their boys, they used to get girls from the chhabri community (basket weavers) by paying the bride price and marry them. These girls were brought from their families at a very young age. A lot of women in my family have been married like this.’
    The famous model and actor Milind Soman may have married Ankita Konwar, a girl who is 25 years younger to him but this trend is not new to Rajasthan. Gulabo says, ‘My father is 25 years older to my mother. Infact, my father was taking care of my grandmother when she gave birth to my mother. He travelled 10 kilometers, went to the village and got the things required for the delivery for her. So, my grandfather proclaimed that this newborn girl would not be killed and will marry his son once she grows up.’
    Having witnessed female infanticide in such close quarters within his family, Gulabo’s father was quite against it. ‘He wanted that men from our community should marry the girls from their own community instead of getting girls from other communities by paying the bride price. He believed that girls of his own community were far more beautiful and talented. He worshipped Goddess Chamunda and was dead against female infanticide.’
    Gulabo’s three elder sisters were protected by her father when they were born. ‘The people of our community were quite upset about the fact that my father did not allow any one to kill his daughters. I was the seventh, child, born after three sisters and three brothers. I was born on Dhanteras. My father had gone to buy some goods for the festival of Diwali. My mother slept out of exhaustion after the delivery. So, seizing the opportunity, the midwife who had come for my delivery, along with my five year old brother took me and buried me in the sands. When my mother woke up and demanded to see her new born, she was told that the baby had been buried. She insisted on visiting the place where I was buried and dug me up. Some how, I was alive despite being buried in the sands for more than five hours! As a result, I was named Dhanvantari after the gods of medicine and nectar.’
    However, her struggles were far from over. The next morning the village panchayat admonished her parents for saving their daughter after she was buried in the sands. Gulabo reveals, ‘My father received a lot of flak from the village panchayat. In their eyes, it was a sort of rebellion. But my father said that since I was found alive even after five hours of being buried in the sand, I was no longer his daughter but the daughter of the Earth Goddess! He told them to spare me and punish him in case they deemed fit. At that time, my father saved me from being killed. However, people were not happy seeing me alive. My father ensured that I did not stay in the village but travelled with him for his performances.’
    It was this travelling that helped Gulabo learn dance from the snakes. ‘I used to watch those snakes dance and I imitated them. Slowly and steadily, as I grew up, I learnt to dance like the snakes on the music of the been. After a while, I started dancing with the snakes wrapped around me. People started liking my dance and gave money to watch me dance. However, people of my community again objected that how could my parents allow me to dance and earn money? This continued but I did not stop dancing and people continued appreciate it. They started calling me Gulabo. When I was eight years old, I was dancing at the Pushkar Fair on a sand dune when I was discovered by the people from the tourism department of Rajasthan.’
    But her struggles weren’t over yet. ‘There was again a huge hue and cry in my community after I started performing in dance shows. But I paid no heed to them because now I knew that this was what I wanted to do. I was scheduled to travel to America for my first dance show when my father passed away on the eve of my departure. The people of the community said all sorts of things to me, they blamed me for my father’s death. They wouldn’t let me go. However, I begged them to let me go because I knew my father was my biggest supporter and he wouldn’t have stopped me from taking on such a big opportunity.’
    It was only when her name started figuring in newspapers and other journals that people of her own community started realizing her true worth. ‘When I came back from America, people of my village were awed at my popularity. Many of them told me that the people from other communities invited them to their homes and honoured them because they were related to me. They, who were treated with nothing but contempt had never witnessed such a change of heart or received such respect from the villagers.’
    As Gulabo’s fame grew and her art was revered in 153 countries across the world, the people of her community started viewing their own daughters in a different light and realized their potential. The infanticide which was so rampant earlier started declining as the daughters were finally allowed to live and dance. ‘They said that they wanted their daughters to emulate my success and help them to live better in the world. Today, girls are no longer killed in my community. In fact, they learn dance and earn for their families. Some girls manage to educate themselves. My husband supports me. We have five children, two boys and three girls. My girls love to dance. All my children are educated and have studied in English medium school. We will soon open a school for these girls where they will be educated and will also learn dance.’
    However, despite her success Gulabo feels that girls are still not viewed as equals in many segments of the society. ‘Girls still need to be careful lest they give the wrong signals. My parents always advised me to be conscious of my step in the public. They told me to always be alert and understand the body language of the people I talk to. The girls have to remain strong.’
    Gulabo’s journey is as legendary as this dancer herself. She has not only been an inspiration to the people of her community but has also helped people to realize the true value of girls!

    This article was published in Rashtradoot Newspaper’s Arbit Section on February 25, 2021.

  • The Man and His Beliefs : Prasoon Joshi

    ‘Jaipur is a melting pot of art and culture. People here not only revere and love to explore their heritage but also are open to new music, ideas and concepts. The entire ecosystem of Jaipur which includes people and infrastructure along with the attitude of the business people here make it an ideal place for such events.’ –Prasoon Joshi

    It is generally said that business and art seldom mix. People often feel that those who are adept in business cannot be accomplished artists and vice-versa. However, Prasoon Joshi who is not just a marketing guru but also an award-winning lyricist, poet and screenwriter loves to defy conventions and enjoy all that comes his way. We caught up with the man who believes that there is nothing more important than life itself at the Jaipur Literature Festival.
    You are not just a marketing guru but also a lyricist, a poet and a screenwriter. How do you juggle so many hats at once?
    I believe that we should try to do justice to the life that has been given to us. I really admire people like Asha ji (Asha Bhosle) who have been able to balance family, raise children and yet have a successful career. I too strive for the same thing. I have my aged parents who live with me and I love taking care of them. I believe we need to first fulfil our responsibilities towards other people and then towards ourselves. So, if you have a dream, a talent or an ambition, go after it by all means but don’t forget your responsibilities and the people who love you or are dependent on you.
    These days a lot of people talk about battling inertia, stagnation? How does one counter that?
    I don’t understand these words. Where is inertia? Where is stagnation in life? The thing is we are looking at very narrow definition of the word engagement. People think engagement is just about work or projects. No, the truth is engagement is about life. You may not be doing well professionally but you can always find engagement in your personal life, with your family members, with the people you love. When I am not working, I love talking to my daughter, travelling with her, helping her to do her homework. Engagement can be anything. To me, engagement is collecting memories. My grandmother was a village woman who did not start her education till the age of 19. Then she studied and retired as the principal of a school. Look around you, life is thriving. There is no dearth of things to do. All you need to do is to broaden your perspective and listen to your heart.
    What about writer’s block? How do you deal with it?
    You just need to shift your focus to something else. Stop getting stuck in a place. Move on and it will pass with time.
    How do you get your ideas or inspiration?
    Ideas have a life of their own. They will come to you, provided you have the right intent and vibrations. If you are in the creative zone, sooner or later you will get great ideas!

    What do you say to yourself when you look at the mirror first thing in the morning?
    Actually, I don’t really look at the mirror except when I am stepping out of the house. I like to look at the stars, the sky, the flowers and the grass. Nature is the biggest motivator for me because as all know, I have spent my entire childhood in the lap of nature in Uttarakhand. So, whenever I need energy or inspiration, nature rejuvenates me, inspires me and makes me feel truly alive. My music is inspired from nature. I love pahadi music, the feelings and emotions it imbibes in the listener.


    Do you ever talk to yourself?
    I love talking to myself because I believe that is how I am able to sort myself out. In fact, I have quite a pronounced dialogue with myself. I penned down all the conversations that I have with myself in first book that I wrote Main aur Woh (Me and Myself). I think it is important to talk to yourself because that helps in sorting out your feelings and emotions and even get an inner connect. These days we are so busy talking and chatting on social media, mobiles and phones that we have forgotten to talk to ourselves. We are no longer in touch with our own feelings and emotions which is why the youth of today have such issues with relationships. If you do not have a relationship with yourself, how will you have a relationship with others?
    Music has travelled in time from gramophones to cell phones. What do you think is the next phase of music?
    The term music has become quite broad. What do you define as music? You have songs, then remixes, words without music (rap). Right now, the definition of music encompasses almost everything. Somehow, I feel the next phase of music will be utter chaos. I was telling Gulzar saab the other day that he and his generation of poets and song writers had more meaningful and beautiful words to choose from as compared to today’s world. Today, people are resorting to short forms, shrinking and mutilated words. Sometimes, I simply hate the kind of songs that are written today. Even with music too, we will probably not know what is music and what is not music. However, after this chaos, the audience will start rejecting the bad music and they will start searching for melody and rhythm again. Now that our planet is more or less a global village, the interaction of world cultures will also impact music to a large extent. You will get to hear more fusion music and amalgamations that will be in a class of their own. Moreover, festivals like these will increase since people will also crave for authentic and pure music, books and arts.


    What’s your favourite food?
    Food is a memory device. I love what my grandma used to make. It is called Churkani and it is made from black soyabean dal and rice. The taste and smell remind me of my home in Uttarakhand. However, I am not fussy about food. When I was a child, I was not given a choice about what I could eat or not eat. We ate whatever my mother cooked. She cooked seasonal vegetables and food which she felt would be nutritious for us. We were not allowed to waste food. My parents always told me to be grateful for food because there are many people who do not even get two square meals a day! I am not a foodie but I do like to try the local foods of the places I visit to understand the culture of the place.


    What is your favourite colour?
    I like all kinds of colours like green, blue, white and black. I am not very fussy about clothes. If I like something, like a shirt, I buy five. I don’t like thinking much about clothes and prefer if someone just gives me something to wear. I like many colours but when it comes to wearing clothes, I like black and darker colours because it allows me to look always dressed.
    What is your favourite day of the week?
    I love Mondays since I can go to work. I love working.


    What is your favourite destination?
    I love travelling but mountains will always remain my favourite destination.
    Why do you think Jaipur is becoming a focal point of most art and cultural activities whether it is music or literature?
    Jaipur is a place which provides an unbiased and non-judgemental platform which respects every artist. It is also a melting pot of art and culture. People here not only revere and love to explore their heritage but also are open to new music, books, ideas and concepts. The entire ecosystem of Jaipur which includes people and infrastructure along with the attitude of the business people here make it an ideal place for such events.

    This article was published in Rashtradoot’s Arbit on 21 February 2021.

    Shailaza Singh
    Published Author, Poet and Youtuber

  • An Appeal in Times of Uncertainity

    Uncertainty Looms

    Dear readers,

    Thankyou for being such avid readers of this blog. I have written many posts about COVID and its aftermath . Life has not been easy for most of us. The country has been going through a rough phase where people have list their jobs, source of earnings and are struggling to meet their daily expenses. The icing on the cake is that the people on the top in this country are completely clueless about the plight of the common man. How does one cope with this time? What does one do?

    Perhaps, this is what the test is. To do what you have never done before. There are people who have opened their small businesses. They lost their six figure salaries and are now getting back on track with small businesses.

    As a single mother, I had always thought of becoming a freelance writer and now I am working as one. I need assignments from people who need my services. I can write books, ad copies, articles, blogs and anything else that can be written. I can help you with creating and redesigning your website too. So, if you need my services, please do let me know. A little help goes a long way! Please do let me know of your views or requirements in the comments section.

    Thank you