To register its strong opposition to the controversial criminal law ordinance of the Vasundhara Raje government that puts restrictions on the media and gives protection to public servants.

Leading Hindi daily Rajasthan Patrika on Thursday (National Press Day) left its editorial blank with a thick black border to register its strong opposition to the controversial criminal law ordinance of the Vasundhara Raje government that puts restrictions on the media and gives protection to public servants.

The National Press Day which is observed as a symbol of a free and responsible press in the country.

The newspaper, headquartered in Jaipur, had announced its boycott of Chief Minister Raje

The Criminal Laws (Rajasthan Amendment) Ordinance, 2017, promulgated on September 6, provides immunity to the serving and retired public servants, judges and magistrates from probe and prosecution on complaints about their alleged offences without prior sanction by the authorities. It also bars the media from reporting on such accusations till the sanction is given.

Protesting against the sweeping powers given to the authorities to gag the media, Rajasthan Patrika Editor-in-Chief Gulab Kothari wrote in the blank editorial's headline that the “black law” had put journalism in danger. “With this [blank editorial], we studiously oppose the law which has murdered democracy,” he stated.

Eye-catching “lock” on front page

Since November 1, when it announced Ms. Raje's boycott in a scathing front page editorial, the daily has been publishing an eye-catching “lock”, titled Jab Tak Kaala, Tab Tak Taala (It is locked till the black law is in force), on the front page everyday. The “lock” says the issue involves democracy, freedom of expression and supremacy of people's voice.

The editorial staff looking after the edit page in the daily said the blank editorial's thick black border was meant to convey the newspaper's resolve to oppose the ordinance and protect the freedom of press. Besides, opinion pieces, readers' letters and articles on the issue are being regularly carried.

While a Bill, introduced in the Assembly on October 23 for replacing the ordinance, has since been referred to a select committee of the House for reconsideration, the ordinance is still in force, making journalists vulnerable to the government's punitive action.

HC Benches issue notices to Centre, State govt.

The Rajasthan High Court's Jodhpur and Jaipur Benches have issues notices to the Centre and the State government on as many as eight writ petitions challenging the ordinance. The State government is yet to file its reply in the court.

Mr. Kothari had pointed out that there were “glaring mistakes” in the way the Bill was tabled in the Assembly and referred to the select panel, while the “totalitarian rule” was trying to gain dominance over democracy.

National Conference on Historicizing Indian Television: People, Programs and Processes Post 1990 (HIT: PPP)

Following from Prof. Vishram Dhole: Savitribai Phule Pune University Department of Media and Communication Studies

                         

National Conference on

Historicizing Indian Television: People, Programs and Processes Post 1990 

February 8 - 10, 2018, PUNE

Premise:

Back in 1990 when a handful of homes in India began to receive live coverage of Gulf war by CNN through their cable operators, little did they realize that they were witnessing a historical moment in the Indian context as well. It was probably the first major example that demonstrated the power and potential of cable and satellite (C&S) mode of distribution of television in India. Although television began in India in 1959, satellite-based television experiment was carried out in 1975 and cable networks began to emerge by mid-1980s, this type of integration of satellite television with cable in 1990 was historic because it paved the way for massive changes in television’s role as the industry and an institution. Incorporated within the larger structural transformation of the Indian economy, polity and culture under the rubric of LPG, these changes were surely as fundamental as the larger process itself.

But compared to the magnitude, penetration and varied effects of these changes experienced over the last 25 years, Indian television post-1990 remains academically understudied area.  Almost every aspect of television- from technology to content, from ownership to audiences and from economics to politics- has changed but not much has been done to historicize these changes from different perspectives. This may be partially due to the fact that for several years, these changes were too overwhelming in terms of their speed and spread to take a dispassionate historical look. But as we are entering into the 28^th year of these changes and as two of the major players of this era- Zee TV and Sun TV- are celebrating their silver jubilee this year, the time has passed long enough to offer a vantage point for a dispassionate historic account of these massive changes. The need to historicize this period is being felt urgently for one more reason. Just as the combination of satellite and cable changed the ‘monochromatic’ world of Door Dashan centric television in India the 1990s, the integration of Internet and mobile along with several other technological and social factors is poised to deeply unsettle the stabilized television scenario in India. It is therefore, important and urgent to historicize the post-1990 Indian television before- as is being feared- it changes again beyond what we understand by ‘television’.

    

It is against this backdrop that Department of Media and Communication Studies, Savitribai Phule Pune University is organizing a three-day national level conference on the theme- Historicizing Indian Television: People, Programs and Processes Post 1990 (HIT-PPP).  While historical developments of this nature can be located in many spaces, the conference proposes to streamline these varied accounts mainly along three dimensions: People, Programs and Processes. These three dimensions can reasonably take into account most of the issues related to television as an industry as well as social institution and yet remain coherent and grounded in the field of media studies.

History of television could be told through the agency of people where the term people could include all those individuals on or behind the screen who made it big as well as people as groups and communities for whom television meant something big. Simply put, this dimension prioritizes contributions of people as players or agents of history where the people could be ‘senders’ or ‘receivers’ of television. This is perhaps a short-term and close up view of history. The second dimension of historicizing is television content. Here the term ‘content’ includes fiction, nonfiction and anything in between. This section locates history in the symbolic domain and its socio-cultural significance. Here the emphasis is on arguing the historicity of the content in terms of its popularity, uniqueness, aesthetics etc. This dimension seeks to frame the content as a reflection of socio-cultural-political or market forces. This is usually a mid-term and mid-close view of history.  The process dimension of historicizing takes a long-term and long view of history. It emphasizes the complex dynamics of socio-economic, technological and political forces and ideas spread over a significant period of time which results in sets of actions, events and responses. It is an attempt to explain observable history in terms of the various forces underneath. 

Historicizing is thus a process of contextualizing actions and events from the past from a vantage point of time. It is interpreting the events for their significance to the time, field, people and society. It is therefore, more than just the factual description. It is putting meaning to facts and deriving insights from the past. The conference aims to collectively develop such insights about the post-1990 era of Indian television.

To do this, the conference invites papers exploring various topics under these themes from academicians well as television professionals. It welcomes all theoretical as well as methodological approaches and data sources available for the process of historicizing.

Besides approximately 25 paper presentations, the 3-day conference will also include close interactions with people who played a significant role in Indian television industry during this historic era.

Select papers from the conference will be published later in the form of a book.

Suggested Topics:

In light of the above note, following themes could be explored in the context of Indian television in any language during 1990-2016. This list is indicative. Other themes and topics are welcome as long as the focus is on Indian television during the given time period.

Theme- People

Owners, managers, strategists who transformed television scenario in India

Editors, journalists, programmers, producers who established/ changed content making practices

Performers, anchors and historicity their performance

Celebrities created by TV and nature of their ‘celebrity’ness

Politicians as television performers

Common people as participants on TV programs

Sociology of television professionals

People as fans of television programs

Family as television audiences

Children as television audiences

Marginalized people and television

People, television rituals and routines

Indian Diasporas and Indian television

People as television critics, aggrieved audiences and detractor  

Theme- Programs

Indigenous genres/ formats in fiction, non-fiction TV programs

Adaptations of genre/ format

Programming and scheduling strategies

Programs and historicity of their popularity

Programs and re-presentations

Programs as events and events as programs

Program as reality and reality as programs

News values and news biases

News style and presentations

Television discussions, debates and interviews

Breaking news and live television

Sports and programs and programming

Television programs and political, social, cultural controversies

Television program and gender dynamics

Commoditization, consumerism and programs

Sex, crime, violence and programs

Religion, gods, gurus, babas and TV programs

History, legends and TV programs

Films, Stars, Songs, Dance and TV programs

Programs as talent hunt

Transnational television content

Programs as socio-political movements

Television visual aesthetics

Programs, emotions and Rasas

Re-telecasting or rejuvenating old programs

Theme- Processes

Ownership, investments and issues of concentration and diversity

Television market segmentation and channel branding

Advertising and television’s revenue model

Regulatory and licensing regimes

Television and freedom of speech and expression

Legislations and legal provisions

Television and response of other media

Technological changes and production in Indian TV

Changes in TV distribution and reception technologies in India

Cable, MSO and the ‘Local TV’ phenomenon

Television audience measurement systems- challenges and opportunities

Prasar Bharati and Public Sector Broadcasting

‘Indianization’ of multinational television

‘Regionalization’ of programs from other Indian languages

Television and transformation of sports and sporting culture

Television and short term and long term knowledge gain

‘Televisualization’ of politics and political processes 

Film and television relationship

Production houses as the production ecosystem for television

Television production standards and practices

Scholarship related to Indian television

Technological, political, social and economic challenges before television industry

Schedule:

·         Submission of Abstract-  December 7, 2017

·         List of Selected Abstracts – December 16, 2017

·         Submission of Full paper- February 1, 2018.

·         Conference- February 8-10, 2018

                                                            

Abstract Submission:

·         The abstract should be 300 - 350 words.

·         It should have concise title and 3 to 5 keywords

·         Abstract should include a brief description of the following points- precise topic placed in space and time context, significance or relevance of the topic, important points/ issues/subtopics to be discussed, theoretical approach if any,  method and data to be used, key aspects of historicity of people/program/ process  involved. 

·         It should include name/s of paper presenter/s, institutional affiliation and contact which includes address for correspondence, e-mail and mobile number.    

·         In case of multiple authors, please indicate the main author. Correspondence will be done with the main author.

·         Please click here to download the template for abstract or mail to hitppp1990@gmail.com to get it as an attachment.

·         Abstract should be sent to-  hitppp1990@gmail.com  on or before December, 07, 2017

·         Abstract will be selected by double blind peer review method. Author/ Main author of selected abstract will be informed by December 16, 2017

Venue & Registration:

·         Venue: Dept of Media and Communication Studies, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Ganeshkhind, Pune- 411007

·         Registration Fees: For Masters, M. Phil and Ph.D students- Rs. 500/-

For Teachers, Free lance researchers and Professionals:  Rs. 1,000/- 

DD of the applicable amount should be drawn in favor of Registrar, Savitribai Phule Pune University and should be sent along with the hard copy of registration form.    

·         Last Date of Registration: January 25, 2018

·         Accommodation: Participant should make arrangement for their stay in Pune on their own. Organizers of the conference will help them if needed.   

Conference Organizing Committee:

Vishram Dhole (Conference Coordinator)                                                                                    

E-mail: vishramdhole@gmail.com                                              

         vishramdhole@unipune.ac.in          

Mobile:  + 91- 9545268245                                                                                   

Akash Dhopeshwarkar, Asst. Professor

Ajit Gagare, Asst. Professor

Amit Sonawane, Asst. Professor

Parool Sharma, Asst. Professor

Sonal Nade, Teaching Associate

Satyen More, Office Assistant

Dr. Madhavi Reddy (Conference Convener)

Professor and Head

Dept. of Media and Communication Studies

Savitribai Phule Pune University

E-mail: emailtomadhavi@gmail.com

              hod_dcs@unipune.ac.in

Mobile: + 91- 9922758708

Follow Us At:

Website: http://dmcs.unipune.ac.in

Facebook: DMCSPUNE

A journalism grant scheme

Following from Joseph Pinto

Reporting Right Livelihood

A journalism grant scheme to promote impartial and high-quality reporting on the work of 'Alternative Nobel' Laureates

About

With shrinking media budgets around the world, many news-worthy stories on real solutions to global challenges are often missing out on being reported.

More than 160 Laureates of the Right Livelihood Award, known as the ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’, provide fertile ground for such stories.

In 2017, the Right Livelihood Award Foundation has launched a small grant scheme, of 4-5 thousand euros, to support impartial and high-quality reporting on the work of ‘Alternative Nobel’ Laureates and, in doing so, put the spotlight on the issues that matter.

Visit:

http://www.rightlivelihoodaward.org/inform/reporting-right-livelihood/

Forum For Dancers’ Health Set Up in Pune

My colleague Prof Priya Joshi at Pune's FLAME University has initiated the following activity:

Pune- A Forum For Dancers’ Health (FFDH) has been set up in Pune to create awareness about the problems the students and performers face. The initiative has been taken up by five experts who are concerned with the issues of health and injuries faced by the dancers and the dance students.

The   FFDH convener, Prof. Priya Joshi, a veteran dance teacher at the FLAME University, said the forum would interact with the stakeholders in the dance community. They included the dance students, their parents, dance teachers, medical practitioners and others interested in the welfare of the dance art.

It has begun its activity with the collection of data on the health issues, particularly of the female students and specifically during the adolescence. She pointed out that the dancers and dance students at times sustain injuries during the training, rehearsals and performances. Besides these, the performers might suffer from psychological problems. The female dancers need pregnancy and post-delivery guidance to resume dance after the delivery.

Prof. Joshi had interacted with the ‘Dance Medicine and Science Community’ in different parts of the world during her performances and national and international conferences. She realized how the dancers were treated and rehabilitated with proper medical and psychological treatment.  The FFDH planned to make a beginning in Pune in creating the awareness and offer guidance to the stakeholders in this area.

She has been practising Bharat Natyam since past thirty years as a dancer, choreographer and teacher. She is the founder of the ‘Kalanilayam Centre for Dance’ which promotes the art of Bharat Natyam in Pune.

She has witnessed various stages through which a dancer undergoes from his/her childhood. During the last five years, she had occasions to share knowledge and information from her peers and medical practitioners in Pune, U.K and the USA. She is the founder of the ‘Kalanilayam Centre for Dance’ which promotes the art of Bharat Natyam in Pune.

Her article in a newspaper had evoked a good response from the stakeholders who shared their experience about the injuries to the dancers. The Forum has been set up to extend its activity for the benefit of the dancers and others in the field.

She has appealed to all the stakeholders through the media to get in touch with the forum at the email address dancershealth@gmail.com. She can be reached at the postal address: Kalanilayam Centre for Dance Prof. Priya Joshi   13, Kalambe Complex, Manikbaug, Sinhagad Road, near Manikbaug Petrol Pump,   Pune 411051.  

The Forum has urged the people to send their experiences and suggestions that the forum would welcome.

Odissi Danseuse Jayawanti Subroto Roy is no more

Pune- Forty Four Year old Odissi Danseuse of the rare Mahari tradition with multifarious skills and interests, Jayawanti Subroto Roy passed away on November five at a city hospital after a brief illness. She was fighting breast cancer for the last five years.

Jayawanti was deeply interested in and articulate about Marathi literature and was also a journalist and had written for Marathi newspapers and magazines such as daily Lokmat and monthly Maher from the city.

She was a favourite student of Rita Devi Mukherjee, the great grand daughter of Ravindranath Tagore and seniormost disciple of Guru Pankaj Charan Das of this rare tradition of Odissi dancing, earlier known as Oudra Magadhi nritya which was performed inside the sanctum sanctorum of the Jaggannath temple in the absence of any other viewer but the presiding deity.

She is survived by Prof. Dr. Subroto Roy, the Professor of Music, FLAME University.

--

For details: Please contact 9075265041 Dr. Subroto Roy subrotor@gmail.com 

hākārā : a bi-lingual journal of creative expression

Here info on a  a bi-lingual journal of creative expression हाकारा । hākārā edited by my colleague, Dr Ashutosh Potdar, Associate Professor, FLAME University,

हाकारा । hākārā : a bi-lingual journal of creative expression

हाकारा । hākārā

(नाम/noun)

//: (m) हाक, बोलावणे;

a call, a general or a great and continued calling

हाकारा । hākārā, is an online bilingual journal on literary and visual arts. With a thematic focus for each issue, the journal is published in English and Marathi while exploring a wide range of forms including critical writings, art works, fiction and videos.

Contemporary lives and actions have been radically influencing expressions of writing, image-making and publicizing. Conversely, the production, consumption and circulation of expressions have influenced the aesthetics, politics and networking today. In this context, objective of  हाकारा । hākārā, is to explore and practice newer ways of producing and appreciating creative expressions while encouraging dialogue between different fields of expressions. Considering a rich and diverse body of creative work, हाकारा । hākārā focuses on creative and critical writing in Marathi and English across literary and visual forms of expressions.

हाकारा । hākārā is published online in freely accessible and interactive format by focusing on the area that address the diversities and the synergies implicit in literary and visual cultures. Interestingly, positioned within academic and non-academic spheres, हाकारा । hākārā is interested in the sharing of research, speculations, literary and visual work presented in reflective ways that respond to the current debates while being attentive to the nuanced understanding and interconnectedness of content, form and society.

हाकारा । hākārā particularly encourages innovative nature of literary and visual images, critical artistic practices and developments that inform the contemporariness of the medium (and its pasts and futures), as well as the formal qualities of words and images in changing contexts.

Published once in three months, हाकारा । hākārā has been initiated by writer and scholar, Ashutosh Potdar. He co-edits हाकारा । hākārā with Noopur Desai, art-writer and researchers.

हाकारा । hākārā can be seen here: www.hakara.in. For more information, please contact: info@hakara.in

Ashutosh Potdar is a writer and a scholar writing in Marathi and English. He is a faculty of literature and drama at FLAME University, Pune.

Noopur Desai is art writer and researcher writing in Marathi and English. She is a doctoral student of visual arts studies.

हाकारा । hākārā : अभिव्यक्तीसाठी द्वैभाषिक नियतकालिक

हाकारा । hākārā

(नाम/noun)

//: (m) हाक, बोलावणे;

a call, a general or a great and continued calling

हाकारा । hākārā  या मराठी आणि इंग्रजीतून प्रकाशित होणा-या ऑनलाईन नियतकालिकाच्या अवकाश-निर्मितीमागे भवताल, आपणआणि आपली निर्मिती यामधील गुंतागुंतीचं नातं समजून घेण्याची भूमिका आहे.  

जगणं, भाव-भावना, सौंदर्य आणि संस्कृतीविषयक विचार आपल्या कला-दृष्टी आणि निर्मितीवर, लिहिण्यावर आणि वाचण्यावर कसे आणिकोणते प्रभाव पाडत असतात? मानवी बदल कलाविषयक देवाण-घेवाणी आणि सौंदर्य- जाणिवांशी कसे जोडून घेत असतात? सतत बदलत्याआणि प्रवाही असणाऱ्या कला-जाणिवा आपला भवताल कसा घडवत असतात? या आणि इतर मुद्द्यांचं आकलन लिखित आणि दृश्यमाध्यमातून हाकारा । hākārāच्या पारावरुन संवादी रीतीनं मांडण्याचा प्रयत्न आहे.

काळ, संस्कृती आणि कला यांच्यातील देव-घेव नेहमीच बहुपदरी आणि बहुपेडी राहिलेली आहे. अभिव्यक्ती सद्यकालात घडत जात असतेतर उद्याकडे पाहात आताचा काळ गतकाळाशी आपली नाळ जोडून असतो. कलाकृतीमध्ये तीनही काळ एकमेकांत अशा अनोख्या रितीनेगुंतलेले असतात की त्यांच्यातील सीमारेषा धुसर होतात. त्रि-काळाच्या सत्य आणि आभासी खेळातून कला अभिव्यक्ती, सौंदर्यभान आणितिचे बदलते निकष यातून समकालीन अभिव्यक्ती साकारत असते. अभिव्यक्तीने निरनिराळे घाट, शैली आणि रचना अंगिकारणं तसंच अशाअभिव्यक्तीचं सखोल आकलन करुन घेणं ही निरंतर चालणारी प्रक्रिया आहे. अशा तऱ्हेनं आकाराला येणारी नाविन्यपूर्ण निर्मिती आणिचिकित्सक प्रक्रिया हाकारा । hākārā च्या मांडणीचा गाभा असेल.

हाकारा । hākārā च्या पारावरून लिखित आणि दृश्य कला माध्यमात ऐरणीवर असलेल्या मुद्द्यांविषयी सखोल चिंतन आणि समग्र चर्चाघडवून आणणं हा उद्देश आहे. आशय, घाट आणि रचनेचे ‘संहिता’ अंतर्गत आणि ‘संहिता’ बाह्य भवतालाशी असलेल्या आंतरिक संबधांचंविश्लेषण इथं केलं जातं. कला-माध्यमांचं आंतर-संवादी स्वरुप निरखणं जसं महत्वाचं ठरतं तसंच त्यांची इतिहास, तत्त्वज्ञानाबरोबरच विज्ञानआणि तंत्रज्ञानासारख्या ‘इतर’ विद्याशाखांशी घातली जाणारी सांगड हाकारा । hākārā साठी मोलाची आहे.

हाकारा । hākārā चा पार वैविध्यपूर्ण शैलीतले लिखाण आणि मांडणी, समीक्षा, कविता, गाणी, कथात्म-साहित्य, वाद-विवाद, मुलाखती,दृक-श्राव्य आणि दृश्य रूपांची गुंफण अशा विविधांगी आविष्कारांतून आपल्याशी मुक्त आणि थेटपणे संवाद साधेल असा विश्वास हाकारा ।hākārā च्या संपादकांना वाटतो.

तीन महिन्यातुन एकदा प्रकाशित होणा-या हाकारा । hākārā ची सुरुवात आशुतोष पोतदार यांनी केली आहे. नूपुर देसाईंच्या बरोबरीनेआशुतोष पोतदार हाकारा । hākārā चे संपादन करतात.

हाकारा । hākārā वाचण्यासाठी: www.hakara.in. इथे भेट द्या. अधिक माहितीसाठी info@hakara.in या ई-मेलद्वारे संपर्क साधावा.

आशुतोष पोतदार नाटककार, कवी आणि संशोधक आहेत. ते मराठी आणि इंग्रजीमधून लेखन करतात. फ्लेम युनिवर्सिटी, पुणे येथे ते साहित्य आणि नाट्य हेविषय शिकवितात.

नूपुर देसाई कला समीक्षक आणि संशोधक आहेत. त्या समकालिन दृष्य-कला या विषयात पी एचडी करत आहेत.

--

Dr Ashutosh Potdar

Associate Professor,

FLAME University,

Lavale,

Pune-412115 (India)

Tel: +91-20-67906133

Mobile : +917387005358

www.flame.edu.in

My Blog: http://ashupotdar.blogspot.in/