Creative Expressions
The Nehru Imprint for the year 2009 NMML library building
30 November 2009
To mark the closing of the month-long celebrations of the 120th birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru, NMML organized a seminar on ‘Creative Expressions: The Nehru Imprint for the year 2009’. Smt Mrinalini Sarabhai, celebrated classical dancer inaugurated the seminar which had Dr Karan Singh, senior Congress leader and chairman of the executive committee of NMML as the guest of honour.
Prof Mridula Mukherjee, director, NMML in her welcome address informed the audience about the various events of the month-long festival held in the institution over the past month. She also welcomed the orphaned children from Jharkhand who were brought to Delhi to visit the President of India, among other activities, by the Children Resource Centre of the institution. Dr Karan Singh, in his address, commended the director and the staff of NMML for the festival. ‘Nehru loved children and therefore, we have tried to make NMML not only a repository of archival material and an institution for promoting academic studies but also a space for children to enjoy themselves’, he said. Speaking of Nehru, he said, he was the ‘Father of the Indian State’ and had left an indelible imprint on the Indian society. While on his way out to attend the ongoing parliamentary session, he stopped to speak to the children from Jharkhand.
The morning session proceeded with conversations between Shyam Benegal, noted Indian film-maker and Shama Zaidi, eminent Indian screenwriter and documentary filmmaker, the dialogue being moderated by Madan Gopal Singh, acclaimed sufi singer and senior fellow of NMML whom the director, NMML called ‘artist in residence’. Both Shyam Benegal and Shama Zaidi attempted to provide a historical background to the making of Nehru and Bharat Ek Khoj, film and television series on the life of Nehru and his work respectively, their conversation peppered with video clips from both. When Zaidi requested Benegal to narrate his experience while making the 53-episode television series on Jawaharlal Nehru's Discovery of India called Bharat Ek Khoj, he said, ‘It was about Nehru’s vision of India based on its history. Nehru was in prison at the time of writing this remarkable book with no facility for research. For the project we had around 22 historians for consultation. For example, for medieval Indian history, we consulted Prof Irfan Habib and for South Indian history, Prof Champakalakshmi was approached … We were going through the adventure of discovering India along with Nehru’. To a comment by Ram Rahman, noted photojournalist, curator and activist that the reason why Shyam Benegal was considered a Nehruvian film-maker post-1950s was because he has an ethos very different from the others, Benegal said ‘I have to have, in my films, a kind of social engagement. I grew up at the time when Nehru was still alive … when the narcissistic involvement that we see today was not there’. The director, NMML asked Benegal whether in his engagement with Nehru in the entire process of making films on him, there was any aspect that particularly affected him and whether Nehru was unique, in some way, as a political leader. ‘His sensibility which was represented in his dealings with situations of all kinds … He did not think at any time that he could have the last word’, Benegal replied. Shama Zaidi also recounted anecdotes on Nehru told by her father who was also involved with Nehru’s newspaper.
Smt Mrinalini Sarabhai, while recounting her experiences with Jawaharlal Nehru in her address, said she made it a point to invite Nehru to her recitals in Delhi. ‘He always told me not to wait for him in case he was late for my performance. He was a very punctual man and if for some reason he was late, he preferred to slip into his seat quietly rather than making a fuss. In fact, a couple of times the organizers wanted me to wait until Jawaharlalji arrived, but I never did because I knew he would not have liked that.’ Commenting on the now popular trend of fusion music and dance she said, ‘Experimentation is a part of everybody’s creative expression. But one must know the technique well before starting the experimentation’. She also narrated her experiences with Tagore in Shatiniketan and said that perhaps those were the best days of her life.
Also present in the seminar was Shobha Deepak Singh, director of Delhi-based Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra. Her family, the Shrirams of Delhi-one of India’s premier industrial families-is known to have a close association with Jawaharlal Nehru. In fact, her mother and founder of Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra, Sumitra Charat Ram threw a classical music concert on the night of India’s independence at Nehru’s behest. She spoke about Nehru’s love for the arts and said that he encouraged privately-funded cultural institutions like Shri Ram Bharatiya Kala Kendra. She also narrated how tears rolled down Nehru’s eyes when he heard Lata Mangeshkar’s rendition of Ai mere watan ke logo, zara aankh mein bhar lo pani, moved by the line, ‘Jo khoon gira parvat pe, wo khoon tha hindustani’ at Delhi’s National Stadium for the war aid fund.
Ram Rahman, spoke about the architectural career of his father, Habib Rahman, under the aegis of Nehru. Impressed by Habib Rahman’s design of Gandhi Ghat on the river Hooghly, Jawaharlal Nehru decided to shift him to the Central PWD in Delhi. From then onwards, Rahman’s design philosophy was greatly affected by Nehru under his constant nudging. ‘Jawaharlal Nehru wanted the buildings to reflect what they stood for ... He was probably the only “ruler” in Delhi who has had a great impact on the architecture of his times and his city since Shahjahan’, he said.
Vijay Jadhav, director, National Film Archives of India (NFAI) threw light over the establishment, objectives and functions of NFAI. NFAI was established in February 1964 as a media unit of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India. It holds over 6 lakh posters of films, he said. He also read out quotes from Nehru regarding his views on films and censorship.
The evening ended with a talk and recital by Shanno Khurana, renowned vocalist and doyenne of the Rampur Gharana.
