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Multidisciplinaryartistand trans woman Naavikaran is challenging gender normsthroughtheirsongs.

BY BAGESHRI SAVYASACHI

fmen arefromMarsandivo1nenare fron1 Venus, thenIam theentiresolar systemandbeyond asseenthrough my mother'seyes.

These are thewordsofnon-binary SouthAsianartistNaavikaran, aproducer, choreographerand chai-makerfron1 Mumbaiand Bangalore basedin Brisbane, Australia.Amultidisciplinaryartist, their latestworkis a songtitled 'IfMyGenders WereTheEntire SolarSystem'.

Themusical compositionis especially uniquebecauseitreimaginesgenderbeyond thebinaryof1nale and female, through the eyesofan Indian imnugrant.

"The titleisa funnystory,actuallyand is entrenched ingenderliberationand immigration," Naavikarantold Indian Link. "Havingmoved toAustralia in2015, I found it quite haTdto conveywho 1 am. Most people I knowandhave methaveavery shallowandbinaryunderstandingofgender, race and intersectionality. 1 therefore wanted tocreate somethingfloral, playful andyet accessiblethatI coulduse when I metpeople andintroduced myself."

'IfMyGendersWereThe Entire Solar Syste111'is a trackthat ispartofa bigger theatre-spectacleand albumcalledBrown Church created by themandcommissioned to be presented asapart ofthe Undercover Arts Festival in Septemberlastyear at QueenslandTheatre.

Naavikaranworkedonthelyricsofthe poem-songforover2 years.

Theirpartnerand musicproducer, Levi Kohler, is behindthe tuneofthe'deeply celestialtrack'. Kohlerwasinspiredbythe synthmelodies ofartistslike Himeraand Oklou.

"Theideawastocreateasoundscape thatreallyawokethesenseofwhattravelling throughthe solarsystemwouldfeellike," Naavikaranrevealed."ThatJedtothecreation ofthetrackthatisinformationalbutyethasa child-likecuriosityandwondertoit."

Forinspiration,theylistentoalotofA.R. Rahman, ShreyaGhoshal and SanjayLeela

Bhansali. Theyalsofollowmusicians like Dua Saleh, Florence and the Machine, Doja Cat, Janelle Monae andwriterslikeOcean Vuong, James Baldwin, MayaAngelou.

Moreover, Naavikaranis notcompletely newtothe ,nusicscene; in December2021, theydropped theirfirstsingle ever-'Where Are You From?'.The trackcaptured the experiencesofpeople ofcolourbeingasked thatquestion, often by White people, not necessarilyoutofgenuine curiosity but morefron1underlyingrootsofracism.

"Iwanted tocreateatrackthat analyses howa veryinnocentquestioncanbe quite destabilisingtomanypeopleofcolour, migrants and evenIndigenouspeople. The worksignifies theway in whichracisttools like nucro-aggressioncancreate violent experiencesforpeople regardless oftheir indigeneity, immigration status, classand gender," theysaid.

NaavikaranandLeviwrote the track together,which exhibits arange ofdifferent sectionsincludingIndian classical and hiphop,thatblend insmoothlytogivelisteners 'a funyetchaoticexperience'.

Makingmusic as an Indian immigrant in Australia

Whenasked aboutbreakingintoAustralia's 1nusicscene, Naavikaranshared theirfirsthand experience.

"I ain still 'breaking' into the music scene. The musicindustryisextren1elyracist andgatekept.

"As anon-traditionalSouthAsian, trans, disabled, darkskinned artiston a visa,whoisusingmainlyspokenword and experimental 1nusicas aforn1 ofexpression, there is neitherastrongaudienceforthe genre norcurated spaces thatcaterto diverse artforn1s. Whatever spaces doexist are culturallyunsafe and under-resourced," c3 they shared.

"Thejourneyis however, entirely c co exciting! I am lucky tohave avery smallyet g, loyal followingand I am lookingforward to 2 u keep workingharderforthen1," they added. o._

Theyalsoen1phasised thatAustralia, especiallyQueensland,haspoorresources, fundingand structures forstorytellingand performance.

"I thinkwehavealongwaytogo to change the narrative so that the distribution ofrecourses, mentoring, opportunities and avenuesto c1·eative forumsare 1nore equitable towomen, queerand disabled folkand other marginalized intersections," Naavikaran said.

Forthen1, makingmusic meansbeing more accessible, itwasthe easiestwayto sharetheirworkwith everyone.

"Mostoftheworld has access tothe internet and I am reallyinterested inoffering more andmore'free'waysofpeoplebeing able toHstentomywork,"theysaid.

As a storyteller, Naavikaran isdeeply invested in resourcingspacesforculture, liberation and expression torvarious intersections andcom1nunities,asled by those intersectionsandcom1uunities.

"I believe thatthe practice ofculture and storytellingis the practice ofcaringfor land, elders, children and thereforedirectly leadingto abetterand saferplanet forusall. Makingmusicisone ofthemanyways I am engagedin thatwork," theymused.

Naavikaran is currentlyengaged in theatre-making;alongwith theirteam, they haveproduced two sold outworks, Peopleof Coloursat Brisbane Powerhouseand Brown Church atQueenslandTheatre in2021. Theyare also buildingtwo newworks this year, soon to beannounced on theirsocial mediahandles.

The talented multi-hyphenate also authored a piececalled 'Hazardsofdating as aqueerpersonofcolour' on SBS.

And occasionally, theywill blesstheir lnstagram followers withevocative poetry on the platform. Here'san excerpt fro1n an untitledpoen1: Wearen't!KEA builtmonoliths. Wearebiryaniin111yhouseforRa,nzanand id/isandchickenkudiatyoursforEaster. We arecricketandbadmintonan1idstdhai-handi andSawantuncle'sdaughter's weddinginth.e samekilometersradius.

What advicedoes Naavikaranhave for someone like themwho wants to make it in music?

"Buildyour community. Find mentors. Explore authenticitythat is beyond 'decolonising' and then live byyourvalues. Collaborationiskey," they said.

Youcan listen to their songs 'lfMy GendersWereThe Entire SolarSystem' and 'Where areyou from'onYouTube,Apple Music, and Spotify.

Jan Uary

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Sept Ember

Novem Ber Dec Ember

BY MOHANDHALL

tisvery importantforparentstouse the ti1ne during theholidayswisely.The extended break isan opportunityto provide time, structure and experiences to develop critical thinkingcapabilityin yourchild.Therearea numberofimportant steps toundertake in ordertomaxitnisethe opportunity foryourchild to learn to think, to reason, and to thinkcritically.

Playtime And Some Thinking Time

Itis iinportantfor bothparentsand children tohavebalanceduringtheholidays.This means thatwhileholidays are atime for children to getadecentbreak, itdoes not mean titneawayfrombooksforfiveweeks. There shouJd bedaysand evenweekswhen there is noexpectationthe children doany structured thinking, a balanced life means that holidays canhavethinkingtin1e and aswell as plentyofplaytilne. lncluded inthisistime for social interactions, notwithstandingthatthisis slightlyharderin theseholidaysdue to 01nicron.

Structure

In the firstinstance,ensure there is appropriate structure toeach day. Appropriate structuretakesthe forn1of disciplineearly,productive thinkingwith a clear1nind ii1 the 1norning and free play, social interaction, televisionwatchingand downtime later. Mostchildren feelsafest, best guided and also more personally fulfilled when dayshave predictabilityand balance.

Reading Daily

Asignificant and in1portantskill,arguably one ofthe funda1nental tenetsofcritical thinkingisthe discipline and regularityof readingdaily. Readingexposeschildrento language, ideas, aworld ofiinagination, perspectivesaswellas thecapacity toboost theiroverall understanding. An in1portant aspect ofreadingisthe capacityto read confidentlyout loud.

Reading Out Loud

Allowtune forchiJdren to readout loud. Indeed,parentsthemselvesshould read outloudwith theiJ·children and usethis as abasis fordiscussingwhat they're reading, assessingreadingcon1prehension aswell asusingitas an opportunity to improveexpression, articulation and the understandingoflanguage.

Thinking Training

Parents can invest in books that have structured proble1nsandworked solutions. Theinvestmentinprinted materials helps toprovidea numberofdifferentthingsthat can assistwith thinki11g. Firstly,prepared materialshelp toprovide structure. Secondlyprepared materials can assist parents toknowwhattheageand stage expectationsare.This 1neansparentscan get an understandingofthekindofthinking skillsthatwouldbeindicativeofa child at aparticuJarage orwitha particuJarlevelof ability. ThirdJy,preparedmaterialsprovide anopportunityforchildrentoworkon their own. Itisofteninworkingbythen1selves that childrenlearn besthowtheythink.

Answers Matter And Answers Do Not Matter

Itisverycommonforparentstogetfixated ontheirchildren"beingright." When trainingchildren for thinking, "beingright" is farless important than understanding how to do.That is, the focusshouldbe on processnotproduct.

Learning The Right Strategies

Whendevelopingthinkingskills,children need to betaughta rangeofstrategies. WhiJst therearestructt1redmethodologies foransweringcritical thinking problems, there isalsoacommonpattern inquestions that canmean there areseveral different waysofreachingcorrectconclusions. Parentsneed tobeopen toalternativeways ofproblem solving, not fixated that the way theylearned is the onlywaychildren learn.

Taking Risks When Not Knowing

The real developmentofcritical thinking occurswhenchildren canattemptquestions even iftheydo notknowexactlywhere they'regoingin theirprocessii1g. This is evidence ofchildrenwhoarenotafraid to takeacademicrisks.Takingacademic risksmeanschildrenwillattemptto solve problen1s through tryingvariousmethods even when the outcome at theoutsetis uncertain. It is through experiinentingthat childrenlearn tobuildtheirconfidence. When parents are too fixated onchildren beingright, theylimitorquellthe capacity forchildren to learn todevelop thecapacity totrysomethingnew

Not Every Question Needs An Answer

Someparentsarehighlyvested inanswering everyquestiona childasks. In myopinion thiscanlead tofreneticactivity fromparents andverylittleeffortfromchildren. Parents need todevelop the capacity todiscern betweenthe questions thatare important to answerand those that are sin1ply the passing oftime. lfyouare a parentwho remembers thequestion thatthe child has forgotten and revisits it, it is possible thatyou need to breathe and rememberto taketin1e out. Not everyquestion needs an answer. Itishealthy tolivewith theuncertaintyofso1ne things beingunknown.

:JOINING A CLASS

Duringtheholidays there are always classes available whichprovidestructure and materials tosupport children and their criticalthinking. ltcanbeveryuseful for parentsandalsosupportive to enrol their child in such classes. However, prior to enrollingparentsshould be careful to ask questionsaboutwhowrote the materials, howwelltheymap to anunderstanding ofcritical thinki11gandwhat the intended outcomes ofsuchclasses are. In thisway parentscan make informed decisions about thevalue ofanysuchclasses.

TELLING :JOKES

Finally, Iwilloften con1mence teaching critical thinkingwithajokeorapuzzle. This isentirelyplanned. Thepurposeof thisis threefold. Firstly, learningshould be fun. Secondly when people tell jokesit often requires a typeofthinking that integrates critical and creative abilities.Thirdly humourcarries expectationoffurther humour. Therefore,students are open and tendto lookforwardto whatthey're learning.

Insummary, the holidays are agreat opportw1ityforprovidingyourchild with botha breakfromschoolingand astart to developinghabitsthatbuildintothe capacity tothinkcritically.

BY MOHANDHALL

here is apopulist refrain for those seekingrepresentation and equalityatthehighestlevels: "You can't be whatyoucan't see."

Educators, mentorsandotherswhoseekto empowergirlsandwomen need to becareful about the slogans theyroutinelyrepeat.This oneisparticularlydestructiveandlimiting.

Ifwe"can'tbewhatwecan'tsee,"thenour girlsn1ayneveraspiretoanything. Indeed, anyonewhoisnotequallyrepresented atthe highestlevelswillbeconsignedtoneverrise.

Aspiringtoa successful life requires educators and parents tosaypreciselythe opposite: "YouCAN be whatyoucan'tsee."

To say otherwise istoconsign our youngpeopleto alife oflimitation, low expectations and constrained imagination.

So,let'sunpackwhyit'ssoimportantthat weteachourgirlsandyoungwomenthatthey CANbewhattheycan'tsee. Indeed,they should expectto bewhattheycannotsee.

Clearinequalities and inequities

Itiswellestablishednowthatthereisagender paygapandalackofrepresentationofwomen inpositionsofpowerinpolitics,businessand institutions.Thereareclear inequalitiesand inequitieswithwomennussingout.