DT
Arts & Letters 15
SaturDAY, October 31, 2015
inside
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Pens of resistance
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Harold Varmus and the politics of Science and society
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Dhaka Lit Fest 2015 will take place at the Bangla Academy, Thursday, November 19 to Saturday, November 21 Register now for a free 3-day ticket at dhakalitfest.com
Speaking the art
DT
Arts & Letters
16
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Pens of resistance
These individuals are gracing Bangladesh with their presence, n Ikhtisad Ahmed to inspire the current eorge Orwell is one of the most referenced writers in socio-political and future voices conversations all over the world. of resistance in His particular brand of polemic in fiction has made him a mainstay in the the country and activist lexicon, quoted and paraphrased in the words that are disseminated by those the region. They seeking to speak truth to power. Bengal will also learn from and Bangladesh have used literature to do precisely that since long before Orwell and Bangladesh, the his disciples populated the world. Literature lay at the heart of Bangladesh’s embodiment of the struggle for freedom, a movement that was power of the written rooted in language and expression. Activism that innovatively and openly subverts the word status quo is inherent to the citizens of a
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country whose most iconic literary figure is known by the sobriquet, “Rebel Poet.” Kazi Nazrul Islam is revered as a saint, an institution that is a cultural discipline. He epitomises the defiance of undesirable accepted norms by the people of Bengal through the ages, the defining literary principle that has seen the deltaic region emerge from the ruins of the British Raj as an independent nation. Bengal led the charge against colonialism, armed with songs, poems, plays and stories that criticised and denounced. The winds of protest, thus generated, powered the unfurled sails of the populace. Hope still resides in the written word, be it in Bengali, English or an indigenous language, even at a time when it is under threat from all sides. Rabindranath Tagore, the greatest pillar of Bengali literature, shed the skin of privilege thrust upon him by birth in the
“Even as I took a long, hard look at some of the obvious downsides (Q: ‘What are the three things keeping India down? A: Corruption, corruption and corruption.’), I still felt the upsides (Q: ‘What is so fantastic about the India story? A: People, people and people.’) tilted the scales in our favor.” - Shobhaa De, Superstar India
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wake of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919. “The time has come when badges of honour make our shame glaring in the incongruous context of humiliation” -- those were his words when renouncing the knighthood he was granted four years previously. Returning awards and honours bestowed by regimes to include literary figures as co-conspirators, as one of those with blood on their hands, became a method of cultural activism on that day. Explicit rejection continues to be a strong statement of protest. Nayantara Sahgal, one of the luminaries attending the Dhaka Lit Fest (DLF), is a proponent of this. “In memory of the Indians who have been murdered, in support of all Indians who uphold the right to dissent, and of all dissenters who now live in fear and uncertainty, I am returning my Sahitya Akademi Award,” she said, refusing to be tarnished by what the highest literary honour of an oppressive state represented. That this would not have come as a surprise to those who have followed her career -- the fierce opponent of autocracy maintained her critical independence despite belonging to the Nehru family, which included confrontations with her cousin, Indira Gandhi, and has criticised India’s elite in her fiction – is the highest praise that can be given to this exemplary writer. The rising tide of fervent right-wing Hindu nationalism since the last general election has created an India in which the government zealously bans and punishes, and mobs of zealots lynch. Deeply conservative political principles espousing all-encompassing traditional values have
seen Shobha De targeted for scrutiny. She has responded by refusing to be muzzled. Kunal Basu’s explicit and authentic novel, Kalkatta, is being published in this environment. Indian writers are being vocal about their concerns and criticisms in spite of the dangerous terrain that they are being forced to live in. De’s fiery feminism has counterparts in the West, who will be well represented at DLF. It is subtly explored in Meike Ziervogel’s haunting novels about women whose lives are shaped by their respective torturous social and political times. It is staunchly defended in the direct approach adopted by Laura Bates, founder of the Everyday Sexism Project, which collects anecdotes and reports of male-on-female harassment and abuse on a daily basis, and contributor to the Women Under Siege Project, which documents the use of rape and sexual violence in warfare and genocide in an online database and through social media. These individuals are gracing Bangladesh with their presence, to inspire the current and future voices of resistance in the country and the region. They will also learn from Bangladesh, the embodiment of the power of the written word. Facilitating and celebrating that exchange is the noble purpose of DLF. As in India, the written word is under threat in Bangladesh from enemies who will not be deterred in their pursuit to erase it, to extinguish it, but it will not relent, its potency will not diminish, in a country that was birthed by it. l Ikhtisad Ahmed is a writer and an erstwhile lawyer. He can be contacted on Twitter via @Ikhtisad.
Never A Dull De, 1:00 pm, Main Stage, Thursday, November 19 No One Too Small For History, 3:45 pm, KK Tea Stage, Saturday, November 21 Feminism: The Next F Word, 3:45 pm, Main Stage, Saturday, November 21 Nayantara Sahgal, 11:45 am, Main Stage, Saturday, November 21 Kalkatta, 10:30 am, Medium Stage, Saturday, November 21
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DT
Arts & Letters
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Harold Varmus and the politics of Science and society n Niaz Alam
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paradox of modern life is that, while science and technology become ever more integral to people’s lives, scientists themselves often still lag behind in battles for public attention. In part, this is a by-product of the scientific method’s intrinsic desire for objectivity and evidence. The public, and scientists themselves, naturally expect science to be neutral and above the affray of mere politics. This does not mean of course that the scientific community stays out of major global debates, such as on climate change and global warming. Or that there is not a huge public appetite for appreciating the wonders of science in nature documentaries or as expressed in novels and films. It is also true that the lives and ideas of leading scientists such as Stephen Hawking and the achievements and ambitions of institutions like CERN and NASA stimulate enormous worldwide interest. However, these tend to be exceptions to a norm which often marginalises scientists from public and political debates. An attractive feature of the Dhaka Lit Festival over the past four years has been its consistent inclusion of seminars and talks relating to all aspects of science. This reflects a growing appetite for communication on science which, in recent years, has seen popular non-scientist authors like Bill Bryson pen international best sellers on scientific innovation. One of the many highlights to look forward to at this year’s DLF in November will be a talk by the US scientist and author Harold E Varmus who received the Nobel Prize for studies of the genetic basis of cancer in 1989. In the more than two decades since, Varmus has played a highly active role in civic life, often placing himself at the forefront of controversial political debates about government funding for science. As a graduate of English literature before moving on to medicine, he has also written widely and perceptively on the interactions between art, science and society, most notably in his memoir, The Art and Politics of Science. Varmus’s activism in public affairs and his multiple career path make him stand out from most other distinguished scientists. His reflections on art and science are interesting in the light of the ‘Two Cultures’ divergence articulated by the British scientist and novelist CP Snow in his influential 1959 lecture. Snow’s thesis highlighted the idea that “the intellectual life of the whole of western society” has split into the eponymous two cultures of the humanities and the sciences. He bemoaned this because he foresaw trends
(within Britain specifically) to favour the humanities at the expense of scientific and engineering education, meaning that elites in administration, industry and politics were inexorably becoming ever more divorced from appreciating the importance and value of science. Most memorably, he was scathing about influential persons who were well versed in high literature but had “not a glimmer of the Second Law of Thermodynamics.” Arguably, as science has become more specialised and difficult for laypersons to follow, and elites globally have become more dominated by the short termist considerations of financial capitalism, the Two Cultures split is more acute as ever. It is more important then for scientists to play a bigger role in public debate, especially on funding issues. Much of the prevailing narrative about new technologies, in the communications sphere for instance, focuses on the entrepreneurs and venture capitalists of California’s Silicon Valley. While their free-market enterprise deserves acknowledgment, what is often left unsaid is that the United States’ decades long dominance of IT innovation and advances in computing is built on the bedrock of public funding for its military-industrial complex and moon landings, which helped bring forth the scientific advances of today’s global village. Similarly, the United Kingdom’s strong pharmaceutical sector has only gained from its government funding of public healthcare and university research. While the funding of science undoubtedly matters to everyone, it is often considered a risky choice for business and politicians alike as both groups are keen to be seen controlling expenditure. After all, Big Science and the costly research it requires into new areas of fundamental knowledge is inherently unquantifiable. Yet, it is also often the case that it is precisely the most seemingly ratified research that ultimately leads to new technologies which benefit humanity. The world clearly needs new innovations in energy, industry, agriculture and medicine to deal with the pressing challenges of climate change and healthcare for a growing population in need of better living standards. Getting the right levels of funding for such research, and overcoming the traps of turf wars reducing scientific collaboration or businesses focusing only on research with the maximum short term benefits, is inevitably a matter of politics. It obviously matters if past research on climate issues may have been skewed by funding from fossil fuel companies, or if US politicians hinder support on stem cells by conflating it with opposition to abortion, or if agricultural
“I had learned that science is a rewarding, active process of discovery, not the passive absorption of what others had discovered.” - Harold Varmus
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companies steer development of GMOs to create new monopolies in seeds and inputs. As former President Clinton’s director of the National Institutes of Health from 1993 to 1999, and current co-chair of President Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, Harold Varmus has regularly engaged with such debates, while consistently championing the case for a bipartisan approach to increasing science funding. In his many books and public utterances, he has vigorously defended the role of scientists in society, and called for better ways of connecting science and politics for the common good, including the idea of creating a global “science corps.” As Chair of the Scientific Board of the Gates Foundation work on global health, he is actively looking for new ways to channel funding into global initiatives to combat endemic healthcare challenges and malaria. Harold Varmus’s unique perspective on these and other scientific issues will doubtless provide many insights and food for thought for his audience at DLF. l
Notable books The art and politics of science (2009) Genes and the Biology of Cancer (1993)
Varmus’s activism in public affairs and his multiple career path make him stand out from most other distinguished scientists. His reflections on art and science are interesting in the light of CP Snow’s ‘Two Cultures’ thesis
Niaz Alam has worked on ethical business issues since 1992 and is a former vice-chair of War on Want. He is Chief Editorial Writer at the Dhaka Tribune.
Noble laureate Harold Varmus will be giving a wide ranging talk on the excitement of basic science research, government and science policy at Dhaka Lit Fest. The Purpose, Potential, and Politics of Science, 5:00pm, Main Stage, Thursday, November 19.
DT
Arts & Letters
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Saturday, October 31, 2015
Speaking the art Next month’s Dhaka Lit Fest will be showcasing a wide variety of talks and performances from poets around the world. This is the story of one Dhaka based group of spoken word artists who will also be performing at DLF
n Syeda Samira Sadeque
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t started off with four members awkwardly staring at each other and wondering how long the meeting would last. And it ended up turning into a journey -- that continued for months, to climaxing into the very first show in just six months. That is how Ampersand, a spoken word group in Dhaka, began. In the space we built for four months, we have been brewing poetry, peace and protests through our spoken word art. So far, Ampersand has performed in two different shows: At Longitude Latitude 6, and as part of the 100 Thousand Poets For Change (100tpc), which is part of a global event. What amazed us, in both shows, is the response of the audience. To hold a room full of close to 100 people with their phones on silent for an entire hour seemed impossible to do in Dhaka. But it happened. In both shows, people were quiet, people paid attention, people listened. And that says something about the space Dhaka is craving. That says something about what the people are willing to sit down for: Words that speak a language they speak. The pieces we performed for our shows did not reek of incomprehensible Shakespearean English, or difficult jargon -- they spoke
“Words latched onto me like a parasite, self-deprecating, If only I knew what my life was worth.” - Shehzar Doja Ampersand will present an emerging group of spoken word artists performing a collection of original works at the Dhaka Lit Festival. Ampersand Spoken Word Peformance, Comic Stage, 3:45pm, Saturday, 21 November
of everyday struggles: Of the body, of the mind, of the self, of the community. “Slam poetry offers the ability for a performer to connect with his/her audience in a deeper way, and allows the performer to articulate a set of emotions and thoughts, succinctly using the power of voice and words,” Mehroze Baig writes in The Huffington post. Aptly so. In both our shows, we heard powerful pieces, even during the open-mic sessions that followed. A person came out about their sexual orientation with their piece. Another person shared the story of their sexual abuse. All in front of a room full of strangers. But this expression in front of so many (known and) unknown faces is testament to the need for a safe space in Dhaka -- for the soul, for the expressions. And that is where a space for something like spoken word can be beneficial.
Spoken word: an untraceable beginning
Spoken word has a beginning that is almost untraceable in some ways. It has been common in many parts of the world, especially for the African American community who took to it in order to maintain an “oral history,” given their other modes of expression had been silenced. “Institutions of slavery and racism attempted to silence generations of African Americans,” reads a post on the Smithsonian website. “Thus oral history became a means of maintaining identity, surviving, and resisting oppression and exploitation, as well as a tool for achieving freedom.” Today, spoken word has become part of many cultures, such as in Botswana. “So, people were used to hearing a poet,” she said during last year’s festival in Dhaka. “But not on a stage with other poets; rather at social events such as a wedding. I’ve even heard one or two at funerals ... sometimes people ask poets to come to a funeral and read poetry. It is not surprising or shocking given how often poems deal with death and loss. So the audience were there in that sense.” “[Slam poetry is] also a platform that goes beyond creative expression,” adds Baig in her article. “Just like any art form, slam poetry and spoken word allow the artist to talk about social issues and social change.”
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Since it came about more as a vessel for historic accounts to be taught, rather than a form of literature or language, there is no specific date as to when it began. That is also perhaps why it has the power to hold together an audience of a diverse background -because it speaks the language of all people, not just literature students or those with a knack for poetry.
Spoken word at last year’s festival
In our culture, Kobi Lorai, where two poets take turns to respond to each other through poems in one performance, or Chora/Kobita Abritti (poetry recitation) has been prevalent for generations. These have more to do with dramatic expression and have a theatrical angle to them. Spoken word, on the other hand, is more straightforward, and is closer to a revolutionary speech than a theatrical performance. At last year’s Hay Festival, the audience was blown away by Cambodian poet and tattoo artist Kosal Khiev’s performances. Khiev, who found poetry when he was jailed
in the US for 14 years, definitely had a story that was appealing -- but it is the way he told his story that moved so many. I remember sitting in the Cosmic Tent, and the audience caught in the spell of his words -- or imprisonment, captivity, identity -- and how so many could relate to it, sitting there in the open space of Bangla Academy. And that is how spoken word can hinge itself on the mind of anyone and everyone. It talks of struggles and successes we face daily -- and therein it becomes more than just “poetry recitation.” At this year’s Dhaka Lit Fest, there will be more space for poetry than ever before -- with poetry recitations as well as spoken word pieces, along with discussions on poetry and protests. It will be an interesting setting to view the various kinds of poetry side by side – and to finally be able to compare and contrast them, in our own ways. l Syeda Samira Sadeque is a journalist at Dhaka Tribune. You can follow her on twitter @ Samideque.