Be Positive!

Students watching the films at the Department of Social Work, University of Lucknow on 25th November, 2008, the first day of the film-festival

Amitabh Awasthi, President, Lucknow Network for People Living with HIV & AIDS, addressing the students at the Department of Social Work, University of Lucknow on 25th November 2008

Amitabh Awasthi answering students' queries

Mukta Sharma, Regional Co-ordinator, Population Foundation of India, addressing the students at the Department of Social Work, University of Lucknow

Students of Eram Girls Degree College watching the films on 26th November, the second day of the film-festival

A student asking a question

Kavita Awasthi, Secretary, Lucknow Network for People Living with HIV and AIDS answering her question

A view of the audience at the Eram Girls Degree College

Kavita Awasthi, Secretary, Lucknow Network for People Living with HIV & AIDS addressing the students

A student of Eram Girls Degree College asking a question

27th November 2008, the last day of the film-festival, at Maharaja Bijli Pasi Government Degree College

Gaurav Pandey, Secretary, Karm Foundation, addressing the students

Amitabh Awasthi, President, Lucknow Network for People Living with HIV & AIDS addressing the students at the Maharaja Bijli Pasi Government Degree College

A student asking a question at the Maharaja Bijli Pasi Government College on the last day of the film-festival, 27th November, 2008

Santosh Sivan's Prarambha

Mira Nair's Migration

Vishal Bharadwaj's Blood Brothers

Farhan Akhtar's Positive

Open Space Film Festival on AIDS/HIV, titled
"Be Positive!"

Tuesday, 25th November: J. K. Hall, Dept. of Social Work, University of Lucknow
Wednesday, 26th November: Eram Girls Degree College, Indira Nagar, Lucknow
Thursday, 27th November: Maharaja Bijli Pasi Degree College, Lucknow

Films on YouTube:

Positive (Part I and Part II)
Blood Brothers (Part I and Part II)
Prarambha (Part I and Part II)

Religious Amity in India

Prof. Sarva-Daman Singh delivering the lecture
Those sitting on the dais (from the left): Prof. Veer Durgadas Misra, Former Head, Dept. of Sociology and former Proctor, University of Lucknow and Prof. Uday Veer Singh, Former Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Kurukshetra University

Prof. Sarva-Daman Singh

Open Space
organised a lecture on
"Religious Amity in India"
by
Prof. Sarva-Daman Singh
Honorary Consul of India for Queensland, Australia
Director of the Institute of Asian Studies, Brisbane
Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland, London
Member, New York Academy of Sciences
on
Saturday, 22nd November, 2008
at
the Uttar Pradesh Press Club, Lucknow

Prof. Singh said:

"We are not Indians if we are intolerant, as none of our religions condones cruelty, hatred or intolerance. Any species of violence is a travesty of true religion, at loggerheads with God's will and purpose. Terrorism in any form is a one way ticket to hell. In the crucible of India, so many races were welded into one people with an affinity that is as ineradicable as it is visible. The need for survival made accommodation, amity and tolerance an ineluctable necessity. No man or woman or group is an isolated island, for life is a shared experience. 'Holy is he who is good to all'.

Hinduism recognises the validity of many ways to the Truth, and feels no urge to compel humanity to a single set of doctrines. External differences cannot negate the basic unity of humanity. 'He alone sees who sees all beings in oneself'. TAT TVAM ASI. The otherness of others is a false perception.

Buddhism also decries the heresy of separateness and commands compassion to constrain cruelty and intolerance. Jainism stresses the many-sidedness of reality and pronounces the primacy of ahimsa or non-violence in human conduct.

True Islam, likewise, shuns compulsion in matters of religious conviction; and Sufism emphasises the unity of all existence. The Sikh religion is a synthesis of the universal values of Hinduism and Islam, with a firm belief in the common brotherhood of man. Indian civilisation owes its glitter and glory to the confluence of all her people and their shared ideals.

Prof. Sarva-Daman Singh won five gold medals during the course of his distinguished educational career at the universities of Lucknow and London. His records of academic excellence still stand unequalled at the University of Lucknow, where he began lecturing in 1954. He has taught at the University of Lucknow, India; National Academy of Administration, Government of India, Mussoorie; the Vikram University, Ujjain, India; the University of Queensland, Australia; and has held professorial chairs in Indian History, Culture and Archaeology. He has travelled widely across the world and lectured at universities, institutions and conferences in India, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, the United States and Fiji.

His numerous publications include

• Ancient Indian Warfare with Special Reference to the Vedic Period, Leiden, 1965
• The Archaeology of the Lucknow Region, Lucknow, 1972
• Polyandry in Ancient India, Delhi, 1978 and 1988
• Ancient Indian Warfare, Delhi, 1989
• Culture through the Ages, Delhi, 1996
• The Art of Pir Tareen: Evocation of Beauty in Life and Nature, Brisbane, 2000
• Indians Abroad, Calcutta, 2003
  

and contributions to

• Patterns of Kingship and Authority in Traditional Asia, London, 1985
• The Queensland Experience: The Life and Work of 14 Remarkable Migrants, Brisbane, 1986
• Multicultural Queensland, Brisbane, 1988
• Political History in a Changing World, Jodhpur, 1992
• International Dictionary of Historic Places, Vol. 5: Asia and Oceania, Chicago and London, 1996

His wide ranging interests include South and Southeast Asian civilizations, Art and Religion; and the Indians in Fiji, whose history has occupied him for many years.

English Poetry Contest on the theme of "Borders"

Photo courtesy: The New York City Independent Media Center

Indo-Pak border at Wagah

Open Space - Harper Collins Poetry Contest 2008
First Prize: Rs. 20,000/-Second Prize: Rs. 10,000/-Third Prize: Rs. 5,000/-
Closing Date: 20th December, 2008

Entries to be sent to Open Space, Pune,
with a Bank Draft of Rs. 100/- in favour of
"Centre for Communication and Development Studies",
with the registration form, which can be dowloaded from
http://openspaceindia.org/announcement_15.html
Judges: Keki Daruwala, V. K. Karthika, Priya Sarukkai Chabria and C. P. Surendran

The 4th Session of Open Space Book Tasting Club: The Tragic Loss of Life Due to Human Misdeeds

Open Space

organised

the fourth session of its

Book Tasting Club

on the theme

"The Tragic Loss of Life due to Human Misdeeds"

at which Dr. Navras Jaat Aafreedi read out his

Hindi/Urdu translation of the young Israeli writer

Etgar Keret's Hebrew short story

"Surprise Egg"

taken from his collection

The Nimrod Flip-Out

on

Thursday, 23rd October,
at
the Academy of Mass Communication,

Lucknow

Third Session of Diversity Dialogue: International Interface on Personal and Political Themes

Flag of Afghanistan

National Emblem of Afghanistan

Map of Afghanistan

Flag of Argentina

National Emblem of Argentina

Map of Argentina

Flag of Bolivia

National Emblem of Bolivia

Map of Bolivia

Flag of Brazil

Emblem of Brazil

Map of Brazil

Flag of Chile

National Emblem of Chile

Map of Chile

Flag of France

National Emblem of France

Map of France

Flag of India

National Emblem of India

Map of India

Flag of South Korea

National Emblem of South Korea

Map of South Korea

Map of Tajikistan

National Emblem of Tajikistan

Map of Tajikistan

Flag of Turkey

National Emblem of Turkey

Map of Turkey

Flag of the United Kingdom

National Emblem of the United Kingdom

Map of the United Kingdom

Flag of the United States of America

National Emblem of the United States of America

Map of the United States of America

Open Space organised the third session of its series Diversity Dialogue, "An International Interface on Personal and Political Themes" with students from thirteen countries and four continents, on Saturday, 18th October, 2008 at the Department of Philosophy. All foreign students belonged to the Heritage Institute of Languages, Lucknow. Some of the interesting responses to the questions asked at the session were as follows:

Is your perception of India after having lived here for some time now, any different from what it was before?

The main idea people have about India in the West or outside is one of a very respectable nation, culture and people. I think that concept has changed a little! People generally are very "selfish" and it's all about "me", getting my way done, others don't matter.
On the other hand, I think my respect has grown a lot in seeing how ready people are to persevere in pursuing what they dream, despite the competition and hardship.

What do you think is responsible for the global financial crisis?

I think the current global financial crisis shows or reveals some defects of the capitalistic system and financial management of the western countries.

What do you think is causing the Muslims to become increasingly aggressive across the world, more than any other religious community?

According to me, the only factor behind the aggression is the neglect the whole Muslim community suffers from just because of a few who indulge in terrorist activities. The whole community has to bear the grudge.

What is the most commonly held misconception about your country?

In my opinion it the perception that we are very traditional or orthodox. I think those who say this don't understand our traditional values fully. Out traditions have a very wide spectrum, and before saying anything about them, one must understand them properly.

Can the status of minorities in a country be considered the index of how successful it is as a democracy?

It definitely ought to be considered the index of its success.