weekend notes

‘Tedx Srinagar’ marred in controversy, cancelled

Srinagar: Tedx Srinagar, a supposedly TED event scheduledfor 12 June got cancelled after accusations of it being biased towards womenand lacking authorisation from TED officials surfaced.

   

A poster appeared on social media last week announcingholding of Tedx Srinagar 2019 event on June 12 at Tagore Hall. It was the listof speakers that surprised netizens. Not a single woman speaker was included inlist which included Dr. Sheikh Javid, Sonam Lotus, Syed Mujtaba Rizvi, Riyaz AhBeigh, Javid Parsa, Dr. Shah Faesal, Dr. Arpan Jain, Tariq Ghani, and ParvezImroz.

                Twitteruser Khalid Shah complained TED officials about it. “Dear @imrahulpawa, we havevery articulate and intelligent women (achievers) in Kashmir. Perhaps youshould have peeped out from the boys club?! It is not too late, make amends,”Khalid tweeted.

Rahul Pawa, who had organised 2011 official TEDx Srinagarevent replied, “I am not curating the event mentioned by the lady. As aprevious curator for #TEDxSrinagar@TEDTalks@TEDx. I believe, the eventmentioned by her is not authorized by #TED #TEDTalks. Ty for raising the issue.Unauthorized use of the TED, TEDx brand has legal implications.”

Fearing backlash from social media users and charges ofmisuse of TEDx brand, the event was cancelled without giving any reason.

The speakers were also criticised for agreeing to be part ofthe all male event and many of them also distanced themselves from the event.

With little known about organisers, and host of otherproblems, the event also became a joke on social media. One twitter user@ahadkhoj  tweeted “Kashur gov balai.After crorepati now we have our own #TEDxSrinagar.”

TEDx is a global movement devoted to bringing Ideas WorthSpreading to communities around the globe through independently-organized talksmeant to inspire conversation, prompt innovation and create connections.

KU hosts conversation with bureaucrat turned author Anil Swarup

SRINAGAR: Author of the book ‘Not Just a Civil Servant’,Anil Swarup was in conversation with people from different walks of life hereat Gandhi Bhawan, the University of Kashmir on Thursday. The conversation waspart of the attempts made by Swarup after penning down his experiences in theform of a book to capture some moments of the journey as a civil servant.

On the occasion, people from the State administration,students, professionals and professors from various departments of the KashmirUniversity were present. Farooq Ahmad Shah, former Commissioner SecretaryEducation, PHE Irrigation and Flood Control J&K, Shah Faesal, former IASofficer and Sunil Sharma, Director General IEEMA, were the guests of honour.

Swarup is former Secretary, School Education (2016-2018) andMinistry of Coal (2014-2016), Government of India.

There was a marathon question-answer session regarding thebook and experiences of Swarup as a civil servant.

Swarup talked about his beginnings as an IAS officer and theamusing things he saw travelling the country. He also spoke about theimportance of transparency in governance and public-private partnerships.

The book ‘Not Just a Civil Servant’ which was releasedrecently chronicles the journey through Anil Swarup’s early career in UttarPradesh where he faced several issues at district and state level, and also atthe national level.

As Secretary, Ministry of Human Resource Development (SchoolEducation and Literacy), Swarup played a vital role to help the Centre to drawa roadmap for the Valley schools. He helped the Centre to partner Jammu andKashmir to help reform school education system in the state and prepare ablueprint to overcome deficiencies in programme implementation in the year2017.

The initiative was aimed to make J&K the second stateafter Uttar Pradesh with which the Centre would work closely in a sector whichfalls within the purview of the state government.

Mushaira organised at Sumbal

Bandipora: Cultural organisation Nargis Bazm-e-Adab in collaboration with District Information Centre Bandipora last week organised a day-long  Mushaira. The programme was attended by dozens of poets and students besides several literary figures of the district.

 On the occasion,prominent poets including Ibrahim Sumbli, Saleem Yousuf, Gh Hassan Haqnawaz,Mir Rafiq Hajini, Haqer Shabir Hajni, Dilshad Mustafa, Gh. Hassan Gowhar, SyedAssadullah Safvi,  Mehraj Nargis, GulfamNowgami, Sadiq Bashir, Ahmad Rayees Hajni, Fida Hussain Bhat, Hilal Haigami,Musadiq Hussain Parra and Qaiser Ferooz enthralled the audience by their poemsthat was appreciated by the audience.

While addressing the gathering, the chief guest appreciatedthe efforts of the Information Department for organizing Mushaira. He furtheradded that the interaction of young poets with established poets of thedistrict would go a long way in shaping students’ talent in poetry.

Ramadhan special programmes held in various schools

Srinagar: Jammu Kashmir Saqafti Markaz Budgam organised aseries of programmes under Gulala banner in the schools of Baramulla, Srinagar,Budgam and Anantnag, in which students took part in various activitiesincluding Quran and Naat Khwani.

The programmes were organised in the school premises with anaim to explore the talent of children at grassroots level. A panel of expertsjudged the students and the position holders in Quran and Naat Khwani and essaycompetitions were awarded.

The programmes were conducted in Government Middle SchoolAmberpora, Haigaam Sopore, Darshgah Iqbal Colony Khansahib, Budgam, SyedBahaudin Bukhari (RA) memorial high school, Kanispora Baramulla, Iqra GousiaPublic High School, Ranbirpora Anantnag, Higher secondary School haigam,Sopore, Botakadal Lal Bazar and other schools. The programmes will continue inother schools too.

At some of the places the local literary organisations alsocooperated with JKSMB to make the event successful. A wide variety of renownedpersons from different fields chaired the events.

Veer Munshi displays ‘Beyond the Personal’ work in New Delhi

New Delhi: Renowned artist Veer Munshi displayed hissite-specific installation Beyond the Personal at an exhibition titled Silent Conflictsin India Habitat Centre’s Visual Arts Gallery.

The exhibition brings together 12 contemporary artists withthere 15 videos, sculptures and canvases challenging a gamut of thoughts anddepicting personal and political disturbances. The show is curated by AshnaSingh for whom the biggest war is one from within.

Munshi’s work includes a large skull with almost drippingred colour and decorated with papier mâché art surrounded by mirrors. There arescattered shrapnels too depicting a look of bomb explosion.

The 12×12 ft sculptural installation symbolises despair anddehumanisation, and points to recent bombings in Kashmir and Sri Lanka.”Alienation is a universal condition of the present times in Kashmir,Afghanistan, Palestine, Bosnia, Syria, Iraq and other such strife-riddenplaces,” Munshi told reporters further adding that the conflict in presenttimes is more visible in the form of polarised politics.

Besides others, the show also hosts Pakistani artist KhalilChishtee. Lahore born New York-based artist Chishtee work includes rusted ironsilhouette of a burqa-clad woman, with Urdu calligraphy, as if she lies fencedwithin it in Definition. Chistee wants to drive the point how harsh laws areoften imposed on those who are weak.

Every visual installation points toward the larger concernsabout the future of society and questions where it is headed.

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