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NEWS .CIRCLE

In this issue: -~

Your editor was fortunate enough to have read Pepita Kauffman's article on Indian music and the dance (it will come in two parts-the dance will be published in December) before she saw the Bhara­tiya Kala Kendra's Ramlila. However, one thing seems certain-there will be more three and four hour music-ballet evenings ahead for you (just read Delhi Datebook) and Pepita's definitive piece should prove of inestimatable value when you find yourselves uneasily eyeing a sarod, sitar and tabla .

There is some sad news for us this month. Ruth Obee, who has done such an heroic amount of phoning, walking and just poking about Delhi to get all the unusual items for Delhi Datebook, is leaving for Calcutta. Her husband didn't think much of the editor's suggestion of leaving her here. We will miss her. Gloria Bailey will be taking over the column in December. You get a pre-taste of her ability to nose out unusual items in this month's shopping column.

Jan Marquis makes her debut as a cover artist this month and under duress, since her three-year old fancies herself an artist too, and kept getting in Jan's new paint set. Didi Toulouse writes movingly about the volunteer work among the Tibetans and of the beauty of their moun­tain refuge. Hildreth Schenk also wcites movingly about her dhersi-or dhersis. If you've noted some neat bits of art work and make-up of late in News Circle, it's probably the work of Marion Tiger, whose arrival in Delhi was greeted with rejoicing by this editor. Marion is clever at ever,y aspect of make-up (she even used to get paid for it) and this month she has a by-line for her illustrations of Hildreth's story. She's also responsible for our sign­off-the familiar rear end of a Delhi bicycle.

·-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.

CONTENTS

Delhi Date Book Indian Music Picnic A Portable Dhersi Bookmarker Shopping Market Fare

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8 IO

12

14 18

24

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Vol: XI

NEWS CIRCLE

No. 3

news circle The official publication of the

American Women's Club of Delhi.

Editor:

Penny Parr

Writers :

Didi Toulouse Pepita Kauffman Leman Fotos Ruth Obee Hildreth Schenk Gloria Bailey

Artists :

Jan Marquis Marion Tiger

Advertising :

Tillie Cooperman Sue Gilhooley

Circulation :

Judy Randall

Officers of the American Women' s Club:

Honorary President :

Mrs. Chester Bowles

President:

Mrs. Albert Perrelli C-83 Defence Colony - 75449

Vice-President :

Mrs. William Decker 8 Kautilya Marg- 35296

Recording Secretary :

Mrs. Edward Gleed 12-A Friends Colony . 72540

Corresponding Secretary :

Mrs. Samuel E. Bunker 4 South End Lane . 6II536

Treasurer:

Mrs. Wayne Sanford A.15 Green Park. 72386

Address all correspondence to

P. 0. Box 3014, New Delhi

2-A, Alipur Road,

Near Swiss Hotel, Delhi-6

Tel : 2 2 6 2 9 8

(Opening a branch in New Delhi

as early as pos:;ible)

NOVE MBER 1965

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Calendar of Activities November 4 9:30 a .m .

Newcomers Coffee at home of Louise Spector 10 Ratendone Road (for information call Hospitality Chairman Amy Harris 618763)

November 9

The monthly meeting of the American Women's Club of De.Jhi will be held November 9th at 9:30 a.m. at Roosevelt House. The prog­ram will be a pa.nel of guest speakers co-ordinated by Miss Ruby Pernell, Social Welfare Attache. The guest speakers are Mrs. Bhaghawatbie Mohinder, General-Secretary G'l the Y.W.C.A. of Delhi, Dr. Sindu Phadke of the Delhi School of Social Work, and Dr. D. D. Chacko. There will be time for questions you might like to ask, after which the Hospitality Com­mittee will serve refreshments.

November 16 10:30 a.m. A Visit to WHO Headquarters

(for information call Special

AT HOME AND ABROAD THROUGH "THE KING OF CARDS"

BHAWNANI & SONS B - F, CONNAUGHT PLACE . NEW DELHI - Phone ' 47031> .

Interests Chairman Eleanor Haney 618558)

2 :30 - 5 p.in.

Liaison Committee's "At Home" 40 Sundar Nagar (for information call Liaison Committe.e Chairman Lucie Jean Bourne, 618870)

November 17 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Holy Family Bridge Party

10 Ratendone Road

(for information call Ruth Hall-47795)

Novembel' 23 9:30 a .m. Welfare Committee Meeting at

home of Welfare Chairman Donna Newberry 48 Sundar Nagar

December 1 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Christmas Bazaar at Roosevelt

House

YWCA Work Parties: call Ginny Cox 44810

Lending Libral'y : Mrs. D . Bennet

•

Tuesday and Friday mornings 9-12 located in the small library of Roosevelt House

Servant's Registry: Mrs . M. Grossman Located at Roosevelt' House

Mon. , W:ed., and Fri. 8:30 -11:30 a .m. 70351 , ext. 345

Household Bank: Mrs. J. Shanku, 74936

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6

Df:.L ti I OAT£ BOOK.. ·

November in Delhi promises cool, invigorating day:,;, stretches of green landscape and a sun-tan regulated sun. · It is clearly the time to emerge from the "air-conditioned bathysphere" and refresh body and soul by participating in a favorite sport. For the golf enthusiast, the Delhi Golf Club offers a beautiful course where the obstacle may be as pic­turesque as some antique Moghul tomb. The begin­ner can arrange for private lessons with a pro. There are several good tennis courts in Delhi at the hotels, clubs and embassies. Various riding clubs such as the Delhi Riding Club, Delhi Polo Club and the Cavalier's Riding Club for children provide horses for people interested in riding or playing polo and also instruction for beginners.

One never ceases discovering in Delhi new and interesting ways to spend a leisurely morning. The Theatre Crafts Museum located at Mandi House near USIS, for example, is probably more often discovered than read about. It is, as its name suggests, a museum where fantastic and elegant costumes, jewelry and tapestry related to the folk arts, are dis­played. Of special interest is the exhibit of Rajas­tani puppets, some of which are very old, and the Rajastani puppeteer himself and his famous dancing puppet. Incidentally, he expressed his interest in performing for children's parties. At the Theatre Crafts Museum there is a shop in which masks depicting the various gods and demons and Rajastani puppets are hand-crafted and sold at reasonable prices.

Having been intrigued by the exhibit of dance costumes, one is at once eager to see the dances themselves performed. There are frequently oppor­tunities to see performances of Bharata Natyam or Manipuri Ras, but the wild and vigorous Bhangra .of the Punjab or more dramatic Kathak are not so often performed. However, the Natya Ballet Centre,

T. Kishanchand

THEATRE MUS IC DANCE EXHIBITS

NEWS CIR CLE

by Ruth Obee

a highly professional group, hopes to resume its colorful program of "Dance of India" in which all of the major folk and classical dances are presented. For particulars watch the local dailies or call 40707 · (from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 5 p.m.).

The / International Doll's Museum,-tentatively scheduled to open November 13th at 4 Mathura Road-is as enchanting as it is uniqµe. Mr. K. 'Shankar Pillai, its founder, has devoted many years to assembling this unusual collection of 4,000 dolls in which nearly all the countries of the world are represented. Children of every age should enjoy seeing this collection of dolls, many of which have such authentic costumes and expressive faces they almost seem alive.

Mr. Shankar Pillai is also developing an inter­national library for children to be located in the :,;ame building.

December 31st is the deadline for entries in Shan­kar's International Children's Art Competition for children aged 3-16. Painting and literature are the two areas of competition in which children from all parts of the world are invited to participate. Awards will be presented by an international panel of judges and an exhibit made up of the award-winning paint­ings will travel abroad. More details are available through USIS.

Because of the political situation at the time the November column was researched, many events were scheduled on a tentative basis; others, which were postponed, may be subsequently re-rescheduled. For up-to-date information, check the local dailies.

Theatre

The Rape of the Belt, a witty play by Benn W. Levy, is about Hercules' Ninth Labor and offers some "highly civilized fun at the expense of war-mongers and romantics." It will be staged by the Little

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NOVEMBER 1965

Theatre Group at the delightful Triveni Garden Theatre on the 19th through 21st of November.

P. L. Desh Pande, the Emlyn Williams of India, will give dramatic readings from great Indian works of literature at Sapru House November 5-9 at 6:30 p.m.

The National School of Drama will present a festi­val of plays both Western and Indian the first two weeks in November at the Triveni Garden Theatre. Among those represented may be such great drama­tic works as King Lear, The Father and The Miser. In conjunction with the festival , the school will exhibit at the Triveni Gallery masks and proper.ties of the theatre made by the students.

At AIFACS: on November 5th, 6th and 7th, the Mass Theatre from Calcutta will present a Bengali drama. In commemoration of the birthday of the late prime-minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, the Indian National Theatre from "Bombay will present a ballet based on his book The Discovery of India. On the 16th. the Delhi Experimental Theatre will give a variety show. P. C. Sorcar, whose name suggests his supernatural powers, will cut bodies and reas-

Useful Addresses

Sapru House Barakhamba Road 1 Triveni Kala Sangam Tansen Marg 205

(also Triveni Garden Theater)

Lalit Kala Akademi Rabindra Bhavan 1 Natya Ballet Center G-2 Coimaught Place 1 AIF A~S Building Rafi Marg 1 British Council Library AIFACS Bldg., Rafi Marg 1 International Cultural Hailey Road 16

Center USIS Library Max Mueller Bhavan

Curzon Road 24 Curzon Road 3

semble them and perform other feats of magic in a show scheduled for November 26-December 2. Here is a splendid chance to watch a world-famed magi­cian conjure the magic of the East.

Films

In November The Indian Film Club, sponsored by the Inter-National Cultural Center, will have a show­mg ot the film "Anjali" directed by Shri Chetan Anand. "This episode of Bhikshu Anand, the young­est and the closest disciple of Gautama the Buddha. deals with the two girls in love with him."

Music

The Bach Chamber Orchestra, under the auspices of the Delhi Music Society, will perform for the

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7

8 NEWS CIR CLE

INDIAN MUSIC

HEN the music and dance sea­son is in full swing, the of­ferings are so rich and nu­merous that

virtually every foreigner in Delhi sooner or later finds himself seat­ed in an audience, watching some­Indian artist perform. Whatever

by

Pepita Kauffman

the event, the differences between it and its Western counterpart are bound to be extraordinarily striking and perhaps rather unsettling. Indian music is so strange to our ears at first that some people decide to avoid it altogether. But those curious enough to give it a try usually find that with repeated ex­posure they like it more and more. , Some, in fact, get completely "hook-

ed" and attend every performance they can find (sometimes a feat in itself, since advance publicity is usually not very good) .

Here in Delhi, the listener can hear South Indian (Carnatic) classical music as well as North Indian (Hindustani), for there is a sizable South Indian population in the city, and South Indians are

NOVEMBER 1965

quite serious about their music, giving their children lessons as a matter of course, just as we like to have our offspring study piano or violin. They constitute, therefore, a knowledgeable and critical audience.

Only recently in North India, on the other hand, has music begun to be considered a worthwhile part of a privileged child's cultural upbringing, so in this area we find a higher proportion of non-playing listeners. The performing tradition has been kept alive by families, with the father handing down his art to his son or son-in-law. The rigorous train­ing starts in the early years and continues into young manhood (until recently it went on to the exclusion of other types of education) until the result is a musician of superb technical capacity, with a command of rhythm and pitch, according to Yehudi Menuhin, that is superior to any in th P. world.

Now remember, we're talking about classical music. Tf you turn on your radio you are quite likely to hear a baby voiced soprano . nasally shrilling verse after verse of some catchy sounding ditty. This is film music, and- while it may make us tap our feet and may also provide the student of Hindi with a translator's challenge, we need not feel compelled to develop a deep appreciation of it as a musical form. We may be properly awed by the realization· that virtually all the singing of female parts in Indian films is done by one wildly popular playback artist, Lata Mangeshkar; her hold on the field is an impre:-­sive one. But most Indian music lovers feel that film music is trite and represents a definite back­sliding from classical standards.

You will not have much opportunity to hear folk music. Little h_as beeri done to collect and preseni genuine folk songs, and all too often, in music as in dancing, the "folk" label is applied to modern com­positions of highly dubious caliber. ·

Let us, therefore, talk a bit about learning to understand and like Indian classical music. Actually you do not need an explicit understanding in order to learn to like and even love it, for the tonal intervals and sequences seem less strange and mon~

appealing as time goes on, the rhythms are quite remarkable, and the show put on by soloist and accompanists can be positively exciting. Soon yon find yourself wanting more.

You will usually not see one man performing all by himself. When the curtain opens to reveal the stage, you'll see a low platform on which are seated cross-legged a whole crew of men. In the middle will be the soloist. To one side will be a man seated before some sort of drum. Others will be holding various stringed instruments, or one may be mani·­pulating a small, box-like organ. Some may have no instruments at all, but as the music gets underway they waggle their heads from side to side to show

9

their appreciation and to encourage the soloists to still greater efforts. If the leading artist is a really big name, the rest of the stage may be jammed with devotees. They, as well as the audience in the pit, will not hesitate to express their approbation for passages well done.

For the rest of the evening you may see and hear a strangely fascinating performance without in the least understanding what is going on. But you will notice that it does go on, and on and on, with people getting more in the mood with each passing hour. Most of the music is partly or wholly improvised, and perhaps this is why it takes the artist time to get into the mood-he needs at least an hour to hit his stride. So proceedings may seem to begin in a very slow and dragged-out fashion, but eventually the pace moves to liveliness and often to fever pitch. The artist's creation in most cases is limited only by the requirements of the Raag (a rising and des­cending sequence. of notes with . a pattern all its own-no other note may be used), and the Tal (a rhythmic unit consisting of a set number of beats in a fixed time period) . When the artist is ready to

play, the type of piece is announced, the Raag is

(Co11ti1111ed on pagr 20)

0

Dhrfrn111sala

ITH the per­mission · of the Indian Gov­ernment I man­aged to escape t he suffocating heat of Delhi

this summer by going to Dha­ramsala for · nine weeks as a voluntary worker in the Nursery and the Transit School maintained there for the Tibetan Refugee Children. Dharamsala, in the Pun­jab, is located at the six thousand foot level and has a population of a bout twenty thousand people. It is a beautiful area, containing many lazy little villages and sur­rounded by gorgeous pine trees. The snow clad mountains, part of the Himalayan ·foothills, frame the whole region into a picture of peac'e and tranquility.

The Nursery and Transit School has about twelve hundred children and is located far from the dust and bustle of the plains. But life for the regular staff and · for the

volunteer w orkers .i s hectic. Their very long day commences at five in the morning and often continues far into the night. There is seldom an inacti~e moment or an end to working hours . Som eone is always on the run from the upper to lower Nursery, or from there to the dispensary-cum-hospital ; or is i.t the other way around? I ·worked and lived within the dispensary compound helping new arrivals from Nepal who suffered from m al­nutrition and required special care.

The t elephone invitation from the young P rincipal to attend a Satur­day evening picnic at Dal Lake was very happily accepted by the S wiss Doctor, the Swiss Nurse, and myself. The change would do all of us good. We and the other volunteers and workers needed to get away from our exhausting routine.

Dal Lake is located about one thousand feet above Dharamsala. It was once a small, lovely lake, now drained to form a pasture-like

1 EW S CIR CLE

The Picnic by

Didi Toulouse

land t hat is occasionally used for picnics. The climb to t he area is gradual and pleasant. There is an excellent road, flanked by rhodo­dendron trees. In the spring it i · an overwhelming sight. The fl.ovvers are ruby-red and enormous in s.ize. nestling enchantingly into the back­drop of the green heavenly smell­ing, tall pine trees. By the time we arrived at the picni.c grounds it wa getting dark, dark as it can be only in high m ountains, but armed with flashlights we fi nally reached the Lake area.

The stars,' unobstructed by dust or smog seemed to be our guiding lights, making the trees look mys­terious and perhaps even sinister and ver y, very tall. At the en­tr;mce of the Lake area is a Hindu Temple and it gleamed in white­ness and haunting beauty. Dal Lake has a rp.ost interesting past connected with the H1ndu religion . Apart from its scenic beauty, it has a very sacred background, and even today, during the month oi

NOVEMBER 1965

September, devout Hindus come to pay their homage and to take baths in the Lake. A Fair is held during that time which brings thousands of persons from the sur­rounding areas.

Dal Lake was first sanctified by the visit of one of the greatest Hindu Saints, Durvasa Rishi, in the time of the Ramayana-the most ancient epic of India. He selected this place for its beauty and sere­nity. He meditated here for many· years. There is still a temple locat­ed on the very place where he sat for his meditations.

The night had given the Lake a softness all its own. The picnic grounds awaited our arrival, as did our hostess and the other guests. A large, white cloth had been spread on the soft grass, surrounded by long, narrow strips of colorful Tibetan rugs made by the nursing staff from the unusable old wool garments of the nursery children. The guests found their way to the festive board and made themselves comfortable. It was all very infor­mal. Soft drinks were served while the food was being arranged. The food consisted of · brown beans, bread, butter, potatoes, salads, sardines, and some canned meat. The latter two items were greeted with shrieks of delight and ques­tions. "Where did you ever get sardines? Oh, meat, look, it's real!" All of this brought forth much laughter from young people who had taken on great burdens to help a worthy cause. They were now enjoying just being themselves, young and happy. Eating somt-

r'

thing besides the nursery staples of . rice and dal made them even happier.

A battery-operated record player invited the picnickers to dance. A Coleman lantern spread a· ghostly white light, making the large pine trees look even larger, almost foreboding. Tiny, centuries-old stone sanctuaries were silhouetted around the rim of the dry Lake area. It all seemed unreal and strange.

Nancy, the American Quaker girl, with her long, blonde hair loosely flowing in competition with

· her long Tibetan Chuba (dress) danced with Bob, a young Ame­rican, to the music of a Polka. They seemed to fly faster and faster over the grass-covered meadows, their bare feet barely · touching the ground.

Later Lynla, a Tibetan beauty, who might be described as an exo­tic mixture of Nancy Kwan and Francis Nuyen, taught the others to dance the twist. It was quite a sight to see in this isolated place on the top of a mountain in the Himalayan highlands, young peo­ple attempting to learn the latest western style dances while dressed in Tibetan gowns. Even an Ame­rican square dance was tried.

Everybody was having a wonci.er­ful time. It was a strange mixture of people who one would think never could, and yet had met and were here having a wonderful time. The twenty-three year old sister (Principal of the Nursery) of His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, was for

11

a short time forgetting her great responsibilities and just beine; her­self, a nice young girl. There were two American Fullbright scholars who were trying to teach En~lish to some of the Tibetans. They were both very young, working on their Master' s Degrees. They had come to India .to do research and to teach in an Indian University. Now that their obligations were finished, possessing a three months' exten­sion of their visas to see India, they had come to the Nursery for a visit. The Tibetans, happy and carefree, had conquered them, so instead of seeing India they were working here, in love with the children and the indescrib'ably beautiful sur­roundings.

There was Ken, a Canadian, who had studied some architecture and with the help of the older children, was building outhouses. Lovely, sophisticated ·Judy, a teacher from Canada, a girl from Denmark and a girl from Germany made up the international community that is dedicated to helping the Tibetans help themselves. Some of them. like the Doctor, Nurse and Judy had been sent by their Govern­ments to aid the children, while others, like myself, were volunteers.

It was a wonderful, happy picnic on one of the oldest sacred spots of India. I sat dreamily, wondering if the Holy Men of olden times would have interrupted their con­templations and smiled wistfully at these young people, who seemed to perform a strange ritual dance, as if to please the gods. in these hal­lowed surroundings.

•

12

MONG the redeeming features of the orientation I received before proceeding to India was the information that dhersis were available at a low cost · per day­plus tea.

I found upon arriving that the dhersi is a very valuable, sometimes reliable, and exceedingly personal piece of property, and that many dhersis are booked by the same employer for weeks in advance, even months. He's not just the designer and maker of clothes. He is everything from repairer of damage made by the Siamese cats to draper of the living room.

So it was that ages ago, when I came here, .the dhersi often belonged to someone who made appoint­ments tor him if she could and would share his services-one had to be a pretty good friend or some­one badly in need of repair before this valuable man could come to you. '

It might be that an unexpected trip to Allahabad by the employer of Akbar Ahmad Singh would

NEWS CI RCLE

A Portable Dhersi that

Fits any Porch

(and Sometimes Dresses)

' by Hildreth Schenk

Illustrated by Marion Tiger

bring him to Mrs. Newcomer for eight whole hours or until his memsahib returned. What a joy! This was the day when she wondered why she had waited so long to come where such good things were offered. Now at last she had her very own porch dhersi, who could, with a flick of the needle and two toes, make one over. He could ease out to a twelve the size ten dress bought with carefree abandon. (Had she not heard from travelers of the wonder workers in India?) He could adjust the waistline of that dacron (plenty of material inside) and line the rayon skirt that always poked out in the back. To say nothing of making up that French linen bought on the way to post. An'd yes, the new drapes from the not-too­costly, unbelievably beautiful fabrics of India.

But just for one day? Maybe Mrs. Oldtimer, finding it most interesting in Allahabad, would stay longer. The temptation is too much and Akbar Ahmad Singh comes to sit and fit another day.

Meanwhile his employer returns from Allahabad. She expects to wear the dress that evening to an

NOVEMBER 1965

.... . . ... ., .

•

. . . . ... . .

• ••

important function, the same d{ess the dhersi started before she went away.

Why doesn't this fellow show up? There is so much ripping to do. Mrs. Newcomer's telephone must be out of order. No way of finding out about the dhersi-can't leave the house-the man who pro­mised to come on Thursday is coming today to see about the closet space in the bedroom.

Next morning, a successfully urgent call brings the dhersi to Mrs. Oldtimer from Mrs. Newcomer. The latter comes out of her fantasy of for once getting .everything in order. The dhersi leaves. The waist line is still too high, the hem too long, the French linen partly cut out and her illusions shattered.

Now that I have been here long enough to have some know ledge of the ways of dhersis, I can see why an oldtimer is so reluctant to lend her dhersi to a newcomer. For one thing she might never get him back. The dhersis like something new and often prefer a change of porches and a different r:up of tea.

But the newcomer really needs a dhersi. Having one takes the place of going out and buying a new hat when· things go wrong. I find I need two dhersis, and often, too. You might like to try my system. It takes the second one to correct the first one's mis­takes.

"!vir . Singh, you have made my waistline too high on this dress. Remember, I measure from shoulder to waist nineteen inches in back."

"Memsahib, this waistline good! Any memsahib never measure nineteen inches in back!"

"But Mr. Singh, I do!"

"Memsahib, this \.Vaist not too high. 'Tik hai'."

Exit first dhersi.

Enter second dhersi.

13

"Mr. Singh, tell me what is wrong with this dress." "Oh, Memsahib, this waistline too high. Your

waistline very long. Nineteen inches I measure."

"Yes, Mr. Singh, you fix. "

14

by Leman Fotos

The Importance of Being Black

by Dr. Frank Moraes, Macmillan, Nerv York

The sub-title of the book, "An Asian Looks at Africa" gives us the theme: the impact of fast deve­loping Africa on an Asian who feels many affinities to the newly de­colonized nations of Africa. The opening remark sets the pace: "'I grant you that some African top leaders are capable men' remarked a white settler at Lusaka in Nor­thern Rhodesia, 'But what's below them? Nothing but scum and scoundrels.' "

"I was to hear the same comment m different forms in various regions of Africa. It came not only from Europeans but, oddly, from many Asians. Oddly, because much of the same comment on Indian poli­tical leaders had been heard in British circles in pre-independence India."

The conflict between the three elements of population in Africa today, the European settlers, the Asian who also made it h'ome (sometimes generations ago) and

the "real" African who is awaken­ing to .the importance of being black, provides the theme of the book.

An eminent Indian journalist and editor · of the "Indian Express", Frank Moraes visited Africa, south of the Sahara, to observe personally this constantly changing continent, where occurred some of the events we all followed with interest, con­cern and curiosity as they appear­ed in the international press: the Congo tragedies, South African Apartheid, the solid gold bed that a socialist Ghanan minister's wife bought in London and, in gaining international notoriety, lost her husband his job.

He discusses first the general changes all over Africa and the underlying causes and effects. He compares and analyses the three different ethnic groups:

"The Europeans are bitter, resent­ful, frustrated," Moraes says, and

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adds, "The Asians, through not as aggressive, are equally frustrated."

"It seemed as if Africa bristled with many angry young men", Moraes says. "Like children, they felt afraid to walk alone in the dark, but at the same time they were resentful and suspicious of anyone who might try to light their way."

"The political freedom that has narrowed the psychological gulf which divided African from Euro­pean has broadened it between Asian and African.", Moraes says.

After years of oppressive bruta­lity, exploitation and subjection, the New African, Moraes says, "has developed an obsession to lord it over the others from the top . . .. Love for and questioning of his own culture; simultaneous rejection and acceptance of Western culture . .. This duality and ambivalence induced partly by environment and partly by history account for much of the African's unpredictability ... From a sense of grievance and of cruel isolation comes the chauvin­ism which characterizes many Africans in their speech and pat­terns ·of behavior . . .. "

Moraes goes on to say, "There is, however, a strong adventurous streak in the African's make-up which, arising from his compara­tively adolescent background and sense of being deliberately retard­ed, elevates the demagogue above the democrat. Asian leaders are more sophisticated in their political approach, their dynamism at times being imbued with a dedicated resolve. African leadership is emotional, obsessive, often explo­sive, and though capable of being volcanic in energy, is not seldom misdirected, erratic and even pur­poseless."

The comparative problems of India and of the new Asian nations stand a good scrutiny: Moraes says: "By and large, Africans have obtained their independence with less violence than Asian countries and largely in agreement with the

NEWS CIRCLE

colonizing powers. Their chief rallying cry today is against neo­colonialism, which belongs to the post-independence phase of liberat­-ed colonies and poses a conflict · between the world of the haves and have-nots. Africa, moreover, is not afflicted by the appalling population problem which weighs on many Asian countries. . . . When techni­cal training and capital become generally available, the per capita income may increase at a faster rate than in India. . . . Africa's main economic problems are too often dependent on a single crop in a single area, which puts thP local economy at the mercy of world raw material price fluctuations. For the most part, Africa is devoid of those apparently insoluble problems that make countries like India an _eco­nomic nightmare."

With the reversal of racial discri­mination, the position of :the Asian has become a problem. Not the Europeans but the Asians will be the first economic casualties of the campaign in the importance of being black. For, says Moraes "big Asian-owned commercial establish·· ments and industries are few and far between, and the Indian serv­ing as a bank assistant, a store salesman or a government clerk signifies to the African a competi­tor who can now be easily dislodged and replaced. The European's eco­nomic presence operates institu­tionally through large corporations such as shipping units, insurance companies and banks."

The Asian, especially the Hindu Indian, has not tried to mix with the "real African" so far, for Moraes says, "particularly with his caste and community consciousness he found it comparatively easy to accept the compartmental way ot life common to the African and not

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be embarrassed by it. He has accepted segregation with less resentment than the African, for within his own caste and commu­nity the Indian lives a fairly full life. True, he resented the Euro­pean's attitude of social superiority but curiously his own attitude to the average African was not very different from that of the Euro­pean. And the African was acutely aware of it."

His analyses of all these groups are full of sympathy and under­standing: "Both Europe and Asia are afflicted by a guilt complex­Europe as the main exploiter and Asia as its abettor-and Africa, uncertain of its own place, tends to draw attention to itself by alter­nately brawling like a neglected infant or, in its adult moments, treading deliberately on other peo­ple's toes, or more aggressively, punching the nearest nose within reach."

In each chapter Moraes first gives the general outlines, describes some of the important characters on the scene with sharp, revealing strokes of the pen and narrates the conversations that further illu· minate the underlying features. ThE: rich bibliography of Indian publi­cations on Africa attests ,to his well­documented statements and refer­ences, but, it is, I think, in thesE: descriptions, impressions and sub

15

tle character analyses that the charm of the book lies: King Toffa VII of Dahomey is described as "c. lively relic of tribal chief . . .. les::. sinister than the old kings ol Abomey, he is, none-the-less, a tyrant in his own small way, and received us in his tin-roofed hut seated on a gaudy wooden throne flanked by two wooden lions, fes­tooned with what looked like charms. Some dilapidated chairs and a few decrepit side tables com­pleted the furniture of the room.

"The king was dressed in a white robe and wore a four-cornered white cap. On his feet were the most incredibly vivid yellow and red slippers. He carried a walking stick and seemed slightly inebriat­ed. He was stocky and amiable with a glinting twinkle in his eyes which reminded me of the eyes of a rogue elephant. He looked a most engaging rascal. Where did I come from, he inquired, and on being told, registered a look of astonish­ment and pleasure, and his eyes almost popping out of his head while at the same time he emitted what sounded to my untutored ear~ like a strangled scream; a cros~

between a squeal and a squeak. It was evident that the king knew little or nothing about India, for later, on being informed where an American colleague came from, he

(Cot1ti1111ed 011 page 16)

"You bet it's guiet ... . I got the zoo's tiger for tl1is birthday party."

16

BOOKMARKER

(Co11tim1ed from page 15)

went through the same panto­mime."

Moraes says, "Tom" (Mboya ot Kenya) "can be didactic in man­ner and, like most African leaders, has the makings of a dictator, but it is interesting to listen to him on occasions when he is inclined to talk seriously. He has a taste for the sybaritic and a liking for the fleshpots of good living. As a talker and thinker, he conveys a curiously mixed impression of flamboyance and brilliance. He seems to be always aware of himself and is susceptible to flattery, but he made some clever points, especially on economic themes."

"Markham . . . was among the white settlers I met. He struck me as a trifle over-assertive and impul­sive, inclined to be swayed easily, perhaps because of an inner un· certainty and conflict."

From time to time, as the beauty and not only the problems of the African scene fills him with creative writing, Mr. Moraes reaches poetic heights, as in this scene from South­ern Rhodesia: · "Driving before dawn from Livingstone to Bula­wayo we saw the moon, a huge glowing orb, dipping like an in­candescent captive balloon behind dark clouds, and shortly after, the sun rose, golden red, behind the hills. The skies were angry with a blaze of vermillion. A double rainbow streaked green , red and yellow, glimmered and glowed beneath white spumes of foam at Danger Point, and the waters of the Zambezi roared as they cascaded down the rocks, irridescent in the sunlight."

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At times his sentences, which run over several lines trailing innumerable clauses joined by little commas make one think the author has too much to say and can­not afford to phase and weigh his statements. But his style is clear, cohesive, rich and. very idiomatic. The whole book is infused with witty and gentle humor that makes the impressions even personal. Sometimes his writing reaches ~re::>t.

heights in its verbal restraint as well as expressiveness, as in: "Not all norms common to Europe and Asia apply to Africa, which pur­poseful in mind, is often wilful and wayward in method."

!Jkom: · ?)"JJ.5

"The Importance of Being Black" abounds with political wisdom that springs not from pedantic theories but common sense. Who can dis­agree with the author on such simple, evident conclusions as the following: "Africa must evolve an economic and political pattern suit­ed to her environment, and enrich­ed by the example and experience of other civilizations. Being the last arrival, she can benefit from the mistakes of others."

"Simple solutions often call for complex measures, but it must be recognized that an African problem is best worked out by Africans in their own independent states, either

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separately or jointly", Moraes says. Today around 35 independent

states exist in Africa, compared with three-Ethiopia, Liberia and Egypt before the War II (Mr. Moraes does not think the Union of South Africa rates as an inde­pendent, African ruled state.). He diagnoses the trouble of Africa succinctly: "Having achieved inde­pendence, Africa' s independent countries find themselves in a fer­ment of revolution generated by frustration and discord."

Moraes' conclusions sound not only very logical but also applicable to other troubled parts of the world - South America ·and the Middle East to a limited extent: He says, "The pressures, political, economic and military seem likely to hasten the African trend to turn away from free democracy and resort increasingly to so-called 'African Solutions'... Reduced to simple economic authoritarianism, mass and individual indiscipline and a general descent into tyranny. The major menace facing Africa, as the chain of coups, successful and un­successful, the insistent pressures from organised groups like the armed forces and the trade unions, and increasingly militant racialism demonstrate, is the comparative ease with which a handful of deter­mined fanatics can overthrow a government or dislocate the social and political order. Such a process, unless the African is prepared to abide by and uphold certain stand­ards of public conduct, can only end in disruption and disaster."

These thirty-five states that "the post-war fever for independence catapulted" into existence have in some cases leaped culturally from the Stone Age into the Twentieth Century in a matter of three gener­ations. Moraes says, "Growing

industrialization in the cities and towns between the two wars and after has led to a migration from the bush to the developing urban centers which has affected not only the economic but the social and political values of the African who, uprooted from his tribal moorings and exposed to a new way of life, thought and civilization, finds him­self embarked on a voyage of re­discovery which concerns not only his individual self but his people and country."

As to the African's relation vis-a­vis the East-West policies, Mr. Moraes explains, "Most Africans are philosophers and fundamental­ists, curious to see problems not as mere solutions but to prope the underlying · principles beneath them."

Unlike the American Negro poet, Claud McKay, who says:

"Something; in me is lost, forever lost,

Some vital thing has gone out of my heart,

And I must walk the way of life a ghost

Among the sons of earth, a thing apart.

For I was born, far from my native clime,

Under the white man's menace, out of time.''

the Black African has found him­self, his voice, not only his rights but also privileges that come from a sense of "togetherness". But it is the African-born non-black in­habitants who-whether they feel it deeply enough to create poetry out of their anguish or not-feel the sense of being born "far from their native climes and out of time."

17 '

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55 Day.s till Christmas

It's that time again. If you are one of the respectably large group that has not managed to send off a shipment by sea in September, you may be interested now in ideas for presents that don't weigh much at all. Cloth is probably the lightest present you can send_:_and how many things come in this category!

Raw silk seems to be the most coveted fabric here. If your special someone likes to sew or has a good little dressmaker, just pick out her favorite color and send off four yards. This will be more than enough for a dress plus jacket and will cost about sixty rupees. Ready­made gifts in raw silk include ties, bathrobes, smoking jac~ets, ladies' slacks, stole and purse · sets and cushion covers. If you have a dhersi, you could have him make up cushion covers, or cummerbund and bow tie sets for men. The latter would be beautiflll in that deep red shade.

by Gloria Bailey

Bleeding ·Madras continues in fashion. Men's shirts sell for as little as twelve rupees at Handloom House. Sabina's carries some womens' slacks sets in Madras for about forty rupees. Most Madras in Delhi comes in yardage. It is very in for children's clothes. Head­kerchiefs and headbands make little gifts for a teen-ager.

Mirrorwork is another interest­ing Indian fabric but a little goes a long way. Cushion covers can be · a wonderful and small dose of this craft. One place to buy these is Punjab Refugee Handicrafts. Skirt and dress pieces are for sale at the Khadi Bhavan. The skirt piece alone is enough to make an attrac­tive shift for about fifteen rupees. Christmas stockings and tablecloth:;; are to be found oeriodicallv at the Go-down.

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attractive sari can be bought for as little as twelve rupees. This economical type is called chihnala­patti and is a washable blend of silk and rayon. If you're going to provide the complete ensemble, you should also include a choli (blouse) and long petticoat. Although you will have to have the blouse made, you can buy the slips ready-made for about five rupees at Hira Lal Bros., in front of Cottage Industry. The saris can be found at Hand­loom House, and they also will give you a pamphlet showing you how to drape them. While on the subject of saris, Barbie dolls can look exotic, too. The ladies of Union Church have made an authentic sari outfit for Barbie for ten rupees. Also for sale are charpois (beds) and lounge chair and table. Con­tact Mrs. Maynard Cook for yours.

Punjabi outfits for children are available at Cottage Industries for about eighteen rupees. For Mem-

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sahib, Khadi Bhavan has a set, too. The pants are already made, and the shirt is ready to be stitched to measure by your dhersi. The ones I saw were shocking pink with black applique work . .

Those beautiful ten yard Rajas­thani skirts could make an interest­ing evening skirt. Ready-made at about thirty rupees. For a little girl, there is a complete outfit for about twenty-five rupees, and it includes a skirt with money purse, blouse and dupata (scarf) . The Rajasthan Emporium will make up a skirt and blouse very reasonably­just pick out the fabrics.

There are a riotous amount of Indian linens for tables or bed­rooms, too. Place mats are in abundance, ranging from hemp or straw in many colors and · for the price of one or two rupees, up to elegant raw silk creations, with a set of four mats and napkins, cost­ing about forty rupees. One popular style has a brightly colored ele­phant on an equally gaudy back­ground. These are available for four rupees and sell for $ 3.98 at home. (1 saw them advertised in Vogue). They would make nice wall hangings for childrens' rooms.

Speaking of wall hangings, in the bedspread department of · Cottage Industries, there are some for eighteen rupees that are absolutely enormous-big, bold Indian prints copied from temple hangings. Colors are black and white or the rich reds and blues of natural dyes. The bedspreads are also very good for dresses, tablecloths and curtains but I don't guess you will be send­ing home curtains for Christmas.

A Batik painting could make a handsome present. These are painted on cloth and then dyed many times to bring out the design. They have

19

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a rich, pr.imitive, truly Indian style and are easily folded into an envelope. Prices will range from twenty-five to one hundred and fifty rupees. Beautiful Batiks are available at Dhoomimal"s and at the Kumar Gallery in Sundar Nagar.

Jewelry is another potential bonanza for gift ideas-with goodies available to cover Memsahib from head to toe. Bangles, baubles, and bright shining beads are easy to find for every lady of the family from two months to eighty years. There are gorgeous silver collars and chokers raqging in price from five to fifteen rupees. They can · be dipped in gold at a jeweler's if you don't care for silver. Beggar's beads are always popular-these are the long necklaces made from real stones.

The smoky topaz is one of India's loveliest stones and quite inexpen­sive. A ring or simply a cut stone

to be set in the States would be a nice gift.

Stocking Gifts

Sandalwood from Mysore comes ~ neat little boxes. Soap, a fan, bookmarkers, incense sticks and tiny carved pieces are all exotic touches for the Christmas box. I saw for one rupee a tiny sandal­wood box, inside of which was a red bean with a dozen minute ivory ele­phants. The essence of India for one rupee.

Another traditional craft, this time from Kashmir, is the papier mache work. Boxes, coasters and finger bowls are all possibilities.

From the door-to-door wallahs come several ideas. Nested boxes, four to a set, sell for approximately ' ten rupees. There is a musical in­strument that looks like a pint sized banjo for about two rupees. I

(Continued on page 23)

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amount of gamesmanship in this-you like to show you know the taag, so you gasp happily when it is announced) and the Tal is given (now here may be your best chance to grasp something of what is going on) .

Let's return for a moment to that platform of musicians. Basically there will be: 1) a leading melodic instrument, 2) a leading percussive instru­ment, and 3) background instruments, consisting of a) drones, and / or b) echoes.

The main solo instruments are the voice, the veena, the sitar, the sarod, the violin, the shehnai , and the flute. Occasionally a solo performance will be given by a percussive instrument.

The voice is used just as any other instrument. _ Sometimes there is no text at all, and in most pieces

there are flights of sa-re-ga (do-re-mi to you). The Indian scale is almost exactly like ours in intervals, and the syllables are called Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Nee Sa; when these syllables are used in musical improvisations, they receive the same name regard­less of whether each is pure (shudh), sharp (teevr) , or flat (Komal). These sequences can be done with extraordinary rapidity; we have nothing quite up to it, not even in Gilbert and Sullivan patter songs. Singing is the most difficult feature of Indian music for the Westerner to appreciate. The technique and production are so different from ours that at first some sounds strike us as positively unpleasant, and .it takes a · great deal of time and listening to find the aspects that are enjoyable. In Western classical singing we expect the artist to get cleanly and squarely onto a note at the first try, no swoops, no quavers. Ah, but to an Indian singer, especially in slow passages, a plain note is like an egg without salt. He prefers to swoop down gracefully upon a note from a microtone above, or perhaps to slide up to it. He may then hold it or vibrate it. And he may get off cleanly or leave with an upward or downward hook. If any of you are singers, you'll tind it quite a challenge to do these. If you are going to be here long enough, you may be surprised to find that after a number of "crushes" on either instruments along the way, you end up by preferring singing.

The veena, sitar, and sarod are all plucked string instruments. The veena sits on two gourds, resonat­ing chambers, with the strings stretched along a wooden neck that runs between. The string is plucked with the right hand, and the left hand slides

(Co11t il111ed 011 page 21)

NOVEM BER 1965

along the string with a little stone-like affair, pro­ducing all sorts of variations in the . tone-very oriental sounding, like shimmering, far-off fantasy, and very lovely. The sitar has one big gourd at the bottom, from which the strings are stretched up along the neck, the whole instrument being about four feet long. A smaller gourd at the top is optional. There are two layers of strings; the upper layer of seven does most of the work, while the eleven below are resonators. The string is plucked at the junction of neck and gourd by the right hand (a pick is worn over the index finger), while the left hand establishes the pitch sequences by sliding along the string or pulling the string out of line to produce noticeable changes in the note. A sitar player's left fingertips are unmistakably grooved. The sitar is capable of a vast range of nuances at slow speed, and exciting complexity in fast speed. Somewhat similar in technique but heavier and richer in sound is the sarod, which instead of a gourd resonator uses metal faced by white leather. Badly played, both sitar and sarod are reminscent of Banjoes. At their best, they send out pulsing waves of sound that completely engulf the listener.

The violin, widely used in South Indian music, is tuned differently from our way and is held with the chin rest nestling against the torso. The bow bounces and scrapes quite hoarsely, rather frequently.

Flutes are usually wooden and come in various sizes; an artist may bring several to a performance. Perhaps to most of us, the flute most readily spells India, for we . have heard it often as background music to films. Two other wind instruments are the clarionet (we call it the clarinet) and the Nada­swaram , a long, excitingly strident horn; both of these may be heard playing solos in South Indian music.

Some melodic instruments are used mainly for accompaniment. The sarangi is a fairly short, com­plicated, many stringed affair, very difficult to play, and capable of producing a sound remarkably like the human voice, singing soulfully or wailing plain­tively. It occasionally solos, · but is particularly popular as accompaniment. The sarangist echoes the leading musician's phrases and helps keep the pace

:going. When accompanying a percussive or dance soloi,_st, he has the important function of keeping the rhythm constant; he does this by playing over and over in fixed rhythm a melodic phrase consisting of an agreed number of notes; the soloist, if he needs help, recognizes from the note he hears just where he is in the time sequence (see below, when we dis­cuss Tal). The harmonium, a small organ pumped by one hand and played by the other, serves the same function and is very popular because it is so much easier to play and need not be tuned, but some purists feel that it is a cheap modern contrivance that

ii

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has no justifiable place in classical music, and some time ago All India Radio banned its use on their programs. The tanpura looks like an incomplete sitar, having only four strings; these are tuned and then strummed incessantly in steady sequence, pro­viding a drone background. It is quite a sight to see a singer draped arow:id this big gourd instrument.

Incidentally, a singer (and occasionally some instrumentalists, most notably the shehnai) will sometimes have an assistant who stands in for a 'few bars until the soloist wants to come in again. This may seem a little like cheating at first, but it does keep the concert-goer on his toes to find out who is makirur the sound at a given moment.

There are several percussive instruments, the primary accompanists in a performance. Usually you will see the paired set of drums called the tabla (say "tubLAH"). Or you may see instead a pakhawaj, a bi.e;, long drum with a raw chapatti stuck on the left hand end to bring the tone down to a magnificent, deep resonance. The pakhawaj is also called a Mridang, which is a general word for drum, and is related to the South Indian Mridangam, which looks very much like it but has

(Conti1111ed 011 page 22)

22

( Co11ti1111ed from page 2 I)

no chapatti and hence no booming tone. These are all used for classical music, and so are a cut above the Dholak, a simple drum which you will see around at popular music fests. By the way, in South Indian groups you will sometimes see one man thumping on what looks exactly like a round clay pot held tightly against his chest. It is a pot. It's called a Ghatam and provides a very pleasant complement to the mridangam. Wherever you go in India, you' ll find new kinds of • drums-they're a field in themselves.

There are a number of less frequently heard instruments which we will skip over, but it might be fun to mention the jal tarang. That's a collection of water-filled bowls of different pitches-the eastern version of musical glasses. Its tinkling sequences are quite delightful, like Chinese wind chimes. .

Now you know the names of the most common instruments, and you should be able to recogniz~

them, with a little help. This should bolster your confidence at performances.

Let's get back to the music itself. The heart and soul of Indian music is the Raag, but this is the hardest thing in the world to find out about. Its character and dynamic nature have always been illustrated and explained better by practical

NEWS CI RCLE

demonstration than by verbal description. In fact , when the latter is attempted, speech becomes overly picturesque and fanciful, philosophical and meta­physical, and the hapless student finds himself side­tracked in a poetic dither, hopelessly astray. Someday I may regret doing this, but here comes my attempt to give a clue to the situation.

A Raag is first of all a sort of scale, a rising and descending sequence of notes (swaras), usually numbering five to seven. Notes of the descending scale may differ i;omewhat: an extra note, or ·a sharped note, for instance, although the ascent is in strict sequence, the descent may retrace a step or two on the way. This gives a clue to the individual quality, because each raag has an emphasis note, and sometimes an emphasis pairing or pattern of notes, which will be returned to time and again. Two raags may have identical notes but different emphasis notes, different patterns of descending scales. So we see there is a certain melodic inter-relationship, not really a tune, but a sort of family of notes, with leading and subsidiary members functioning in special inter-relationships.

In other words, the basic notes-and according to strict Raag theory no other notes may be used- are like the strokes of a picture, the total picture being

(Co11ti1111ed 011 page 23)

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Visit our Showrooms in :- CALCUTTA-Hall & Anderson, Park Street. AMRITSAR -0 .C.M. Carpet Showroom, Chheh arta. NEW DELHl-0.C.M. Carpet Showroom, A Block Connaught Place. KANPUR -Q.C.M. Mili's Showroom, The Mall. MADRAS-Spencer & Co .. Ltd. COCHIN and ALLEPPEY-William Goodacre. & Sons Ltd. BANGALORE­Carpet Museum, Commercial Street. DELHI - O.C.M. Carpet Showroom, Chandni Chowk or send for a colour catalogue to O.C.M. (India) Pvt. Ltd., P.O. Box No. 26 New Delh i

NOVEMBER 1965

SHOPPING (Continued from page 19)

hesitate to quote prices here as a lot depends on your bargaining powers.

There is also a miscellaneous assortment that I haven't managed to classify. Doodle bracelets for executives, made of beads and wire that can be turned into many shapes, from Christmas tree balls to -anyhow, a lot of different ways.

Sweeper brooms to go by thP fireplace.

Sandals or chappals (House and Garden had some adverti~ed for $ 12.95).

Tika make-up kits ... these consL:;t of a little box filled with metal patterns to make on your forehead. Also included in the price of two rupees are some little packets of colored powder with which to inake the dot. I saw tD.ese outside the Red Fort.

INDIAN MUSIC

(Continued from page 22)

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23

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far more than the sum of these strokes. It is a dynamic entity with a character or spirit of its own, with its own special emotional impact. Thus, there are lively raags and gloomy ones, raags to put you to sleep, to make you gay or peaceful, erotically or spiritually inclined-raags appropriate to one of the nine basic emotions as described in ancient writings. There is also a conventional time theory of Raags, confining the playing of each one to its appropriate time of day, morning or evening (which suggests one reason why artists like to play far into the wee, small hours: they then get to play both kinds). Within this context, then, the artist, to the best of his technical skill and interpretive capacity, creates a composition not only to the notes but, more impor­tant, to the spirit of the Raag, a composition capable of, and conducive to enhancing his own and his listeners' understanding of it.

Some forms of music, notably alap, which you will hear invariably in instrumental concerts and usually in vocal, do not use any percussive or other accom­paniment. For this piece of music the artist per­forms alone, freed from the dictates of time. The scope and spirit of the notes are explored, delinea­ted, and exploited. This tends to be rather sleep­inducing to the foreigner and to any casual listener, in fact, and the evening livens up a bit when the percussion begins to help the instrumentalist out.

So 1let us pass on to a discussion of Tal. As we

have said, this is the timing, based on a fixed number of beats. You count up to the proper number, which has been announced, and . then start all over again, giving "one" a special thump, because "one"' is a very important reference point, and has a name all its own: Sum. At the beginning of a piece this counting usually proceeds very slowly (speed: "vilambit"), with lots of space in between sub-beats, but later the pace doubles ("madhya") and even

(Continued 011 page 27)

DHOOMI MAL'S PAINTINGS * BATIKS * ART BOOKS

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24

Somehow for most Americans, November means Thanksgiving, and Thanksgiving means turkey and fixings, and anticipations of these dominate the month, even though their actual appearar.~e is not due until the last week. In the meantime, however, there is a great deal of everyday living that must go on until the great holiday finally arrives.

No time of year is easier tor menu planning. The market generously offers a rich variety of vegetables in good condition. True, the celery may look spindly and limp, and conservatives will prefer not to eat it raw, but all may enjoy it when it has been well scrubbed, steamed' for about five minutes, and chilled for a few hours. You can then cut it up and use it in salads, as you might use canned bamboo shoots or hearts of palm. This month you can also count on cauliftower, car­rots, cabbage, spinach, green peppers, peas, good beans, beets, egg-plant, okra, cucumbers, radish­es, white turnips, tomatoes, tanger­ines, grapefruit, pineapples, lemons, some apples, bananas, pomegra­nates, chicus, and guavas. No need for monotony there!

Yet somehow monotony does nften creep in. To avoid it, be sure

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that you make it a point to try something new once in a while. Buy something different. In the cooler weather, with Hies and spoil­ing less of a problem, you may be a little braver about your shopping ventures. Nirula's shop in Con­naught Place makes a long, deli­cious, ham-garlic sausage that 's a splendid substitute for bologna. The Steakhouse in J or Bagh is re­ported to produce excellent saus­ages and a very tasty liver pate The Oriental Fruit Market has Camembert cheese. Incidentally, Amul Products have developed an excellent mild white processed cheese, packed in foil-wrapped individual portions; this cheese, which needs refrigeration and hence is different from their r egular canned cheese, is as yet hard to get but well worth looking and waiting for. Behind Sapru House, down Tansen Marg beyond Triveni Kala Sangam, lies the Bengali Market. Bengali sweets are as luscious as any concoction you could ever sample, and you will find here more than one store offering a toothsome, freshly made assortment of these.

Would you like to cook something different? How many of you have ever made Head Cheese? It sound~ easy in Dagmar Celeste's recipe.

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NEWS CIRCLE

Head Cheese When you buy your pork roast,

tell the butcher to cut off the skin and fat for you and to give them to you with the bone. In fact, get as much skin as possible. Go home and cook it: boil it with salt, and an unpeeled onion and carrot. The cheese will be much better if you cook a piece of meat with it too, but you can make it with only the skin.

When it is all soft, remove the bone. Then take out the skin and cut it into strips or squares, along with the cut up meat, if you have used any. Return to broth. Cook separately whatever else you want: onions, carrots, chopped beans, etc., and add them to the mixture. Pour it into a mold and chill. The long boiling will have released the gela­tine and the broth will set firmly. Unmold, cut into slices, and serve with onion salad and dark bread.

Well, now that we have tried to dispose of monotony in the family's fare, let's think a moment of your guests. Most people entertain a good deal in this season. It is a p erfectly good plan to have a few standard company dinners, and as long as you are offering an interest­ing, well-prepared menu nobody minds having it every time he visits

MOi:T FARM PRODUCTS

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NOVEMBER 1965

you. But think for a moment: do you do true justice to your vegeta­rian guests? Do you turn this part of the meal over to your cook, who stews up some turmeric-tinted potato pieces and adds fried cheese to curried peas? Watch vegetarians at a buffet dinner: how hopefully they approach the table, how dole­fully and with what scantily laden plates do they leave! See how they have pounced on the puris and chapatties. Can it be that that is all they could eat? Remember what we said in September about serving poor Indian food to Indian guests? Don't do it! Better far to serve good western food, and you will find that you really know a surpris~ng number of good western vegetarian dishes.

Remember that there are all sorts of non-meat eaters. It is true that some will take fish and even poul­try. Bengalis are likely to fall into this category. South Indians are more likely to take no ·fiesh foods at all. There's a large belt of con­servatism in Rajasthan, too. If you suspr.ct that you have invited a vegetarian to dinner (and remem­ber, you can always ask a guest his diet in advance, and win his grati­tude for your thoughtfulness), plan on the basis that he is a complete vegetarian, even a non-eater of eggs. There is a movement afoot to persuade non-eggetarians to eat unfertilized (vegetarian!) eggs, but it has not gained much headway yet. So in your calculations don't risk serving items that may not pass this criterion. One further word of caution: certain people have strong feelings against onions and garlic, as, well as against the strong­smelling vegetables. While our own experience has been that most people who circulate in foreign society are not usually quite this conservative, it is wise to check your total menu for sufficient variety to take care of this r.nn­tingency, too.

Let's make a list of the general types of dishes you can prepare h :>m Jocally available products.

It's by no means an exhaustive one, and will probably lead you to think of many more yourself.

VEGETARIAN DISHES

Stuffed vegetables :

Tomatoes, green peppers (parboil first) white pumpkin (lokee, mar­row, whatever you call it) practi­cally anything you can hollow out.

These may be filled with mixtures of rice, onions, salt, corn, seasoned crumbs, etc., baked and served with or without sauce.

Stuffed pancakes :

See below for recipe.

Baked vegetable casseroles

Cheese dishes:

Cheese cutlets (slices dipped in an eggless batter and fried. Vary with prior dustings of nutmeg or cumin.

Cheese sauce on vegetables. In cheese dishes, do not use too

strong a cheese.

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25

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Phone : 618513

for ,General Stores and Dairy Products

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9, Jorbagh Market Tel. : 6II723

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26

Pasta dishes:

Spaghetti with meatless sauce. Canned mush-rooms are the most obvious meat substitute, but canned chopped ripe olives or the local root vegetable jimmikund, finely diced or sliced, and sauteed with onion, makes a throughly acceptable base.

Macaroni and cheese; Lasagne (see September column) . Unusual vegetables :

Artichokes - may be bought locally or ordered by air in large quantities from :

V.P. Mamilos St. Mary's Fruit Stall 40 Russell Market Bangalore-1.

Here is another recipe from Dagmar Celeste :

STUFFED PANCAKES

Pancakes: Mix water, salt, and flour to make

a thin batter the consistency of crepes suzette batter. Add pepper to taste, and grated cheese if you think your guests like cheese.

Pour batter into a hot pan in which some butter has been melted (cooking oil may be substituted, but the flavor is less good). Let the batter flow over the pan and cook until bubbles appear. Turn and brown. Remove to warmed dish. Make two per person.

Whatever you use, make it of a consistency that will not be too runny. Take chopped vegetables (not too hard or soft), fry onions, garlic, parsley, and a bit of flour, add to vegetables. Spice to taste. Chopped nuts an optional addition.

Spread on pancake. Roll. or fold like. a crepe suzette. Serve with chopped nuts over the top, ·or make your favorite tomato sauce and pour over the stuffed pancakes as

they are arranged in the serving dish.

How's that for a start? you will find that the hors d'oeuvres do not present much of a problem, what with the availability of nuts and goodies to be fried . One smart girl we know breaks a coconut, pours the milk into a serving dish, and places in the milk the cut up bits and pieces of coconut meat. Quick, easy, and a nice charni;e from other nuts.

And now, what about ThanKs­giving? If it will not be Thanks­giving without a turkey,. cheer up! There's a good chance that you can get one, but you inust order in advance, and the supply ~s limited. When the American Embassy Com- . missary started bringing in frozen turkeys a few years ago, the local turkey growing industry suffered a setback. Turkey is definitely a rich man"s food, even for those who grow their own. If you feel in the mood for substitution, you may choose chickens, goose, or even roast suckling pig. Don't despair if you have no _oven. Any of these can be braised in a large covered dekchi ; and what you lose in crisp brown appearance you may very well make up for in overall tender­ness.

Although you will not be able to find chestnuts for the stuffing (some say they may be available, so try the specialty stores, but I haven't had any luck), you will be able to find walnuts, which are really quite delicious in a bread stuffing, Or you might use little pieces of sausage, or chunks of fruit (raisins, prunes, figs, or fresh apple chunks) to punc­tuate the stuffing mixture.

One lovely thing abo-µt Thanks­giving in India-you won't have to wash the dishes!

NEWS CIRCLE

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NOVEMBER 1965 27

(Continued from page 22)

quadruples or octuples ("drut"). Now, if this count­ing from Sum to Sum is all that you ever learned to do, you could have a whopping good time at concerts, because being able to hit Sum when every­one else does shows that you are right in the rhythmic groove! And the reason that this is important is that while you are counting the basic beats of the Tal, someone else is doing something pretty fancy within the same framework. He may use two or more rounds of the Tal, but when he is done with his fancy work he finishes up on Sum, along with the other musicians, and in a burst of self-congratulation they give a special bang to that note. Faithful adherence to the Tal is an absolute essential, no matter what happens, and much does happen to throw the musician off: he may play an extremely long passage and expose himself to the possibility of losing count, or he may be thrown off .

always very gay and noisy about this, because it shows that they can keep up with things, too, and unfortunately some musical performances deteriorate into just a series of rhythmic duels because one or

( Contintted 011 page 30)

by noisy syncopations long pauses on the part of his partner, or by other tricky work.

The most common bit of fancy work is a maneuver called a Tiha.i ("tiHIGH"), a pattern repeated three times, with the final not~ falling on Sum. These triple maneuvers are immensely satisfying and are used to end a passage. A properly executed Tihai is evidence of the musician's superior counting ability and faithfulness to rhythm, and sometimes one musician may err a bit. Often there are little duels between percussion and instrument, but if neither throws the other off then each little sub-duel ends with Tihais and a reconciliation on sum, to everyone's loudly acclaimed satisfaction. The audience is "Dear, would you like so111ethi11g like tliat, 111he11 yo11 go .. .. .. "

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28

News Circle

''At Home''

On November 12 (the day after our December 'issue goes to the printers) from 10:00 a.m. until noon, New s Circle will hold Open House at the home of the editor, P enny P arr, 202 Golf Links (tel. 611935).

Writers - artists - typists - proof readers-we suspect there is m ore talent than we have yet unearthed lurking modestly behind the far ­flung air-conditioners of New Delhi.

Come• by and have a cup of coffee-bring your ideas and manu­scripts-m eet the literary ligh ts of the community! What other maga­zine in the English speaking world gives such an enthusiastic welcome to the unpublished unknown?

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NEWS CI RC LE

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NEWS CIRCLE

For Botpflalily S....~-CMa

N ONEMBER 1965

DELHI DATE BOOK Continued fro111 page 7

third time in Delhi on Monday, November 22nd at Sapru House. A string orchestra made up of 24 German pediatricians, appropriately called "The German Doctors' Chamber Orchestra," will give a recital of Baroque music on Wednesday, November 24th at Sapru House.

November 21st at an "open space near Rabindra Bhavan on Ferozeshah Road", two famous vocalists of Tagore Songs, Hemant Kumar and Kanika Banerjee, will give a benefit performance.

Dance

At Sapru House on November 3rd, there will be a Bharata Natyam recital by Nalini Bhargava, and on November 20-21 an Indian classical dance program sponsored by Nritya Niketan.

Art

To inaugurate the four-year celebration of the 500th birthday anniv~ary of Guru Nanak, the 'Group 69' has planned l'n exhibition of paintings and photographs on his life to be shown at AIF ACS November .. 6-15.

There will be a photographic exhibit on the theme "India Today" by the noted photographer, Sunil janah, November 25- December 5th at Rabindra Bhavan.

An exhibit of works by nine British sculptors will be held -November 3-17 at the Lalit Kala Akademi under the joint auspices of the British Council and the Lalit Kala Akademi.

29

A WC Activities

The purpose of the annual Christmas Bazaar is to give organizations such as the Blind Relief Associa­tion of Delhi and the American Emergency Com­mittee for Tibetan .Relief an opportunity to raise money. An anticipated 35 organizations will spon­sor booths at which will be sold needle work, Christ­mas cards, Tibetan art objects and Sindhi mirror.­work. Christmas shopping couldn't be done under more ideal circumstances with so much variety avai lable for so little foot work, and Christmas music in the background contributing to the holiday spirit.

'- The date is December 1st, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. , at the Roosevelt House Garden.

The a9nual YWCA Chrysanthemum Show is sche­duled to take place at the YWCA grounds on Satur­day, December 4th. In addition to tl;e display of Chrysanthemums, which is the main feature of the Show, there will be stalls selling a variety of goods, such as toys, costume jewelry, cosmetics and Christ­mas gift items. Proceeds from the show will be used for village welfare work and for a hostel for working women, a secretarial school and a nursery school for servants' children. The A WC has one booth at this show, at which Christmas decorations and gift items will be sold. These decorations will be on display at Roosevelt House December 1, at the Christmas Bazaar, and Ginny Cox, (Chairman of this booth) says you can place special orders at that time.

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Phone : 43556

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30

THEY GET THAT WAY

WHEN THEY BANK WITH

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HE'S JUST OPENED BOTH A CHECKING AND A SAVINGS ACCOUNT WITH US AT AMERICAN EXPRESS,-AND HE'S FOUND OUT THAT WE OFFER ALL KINDS OF COMMERCIAL BANKING SERVICES-ADVANCES, DISCOUNTS, COMMERCIAL LETTERS OF CREDIT. WE ALSO OFFER CERTAIN VERY UNIQUE SERVICES-ESPECIALLY FOR PEOPLE IN THE IMPORTING AND EXPORTING BUSINESS.

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NEWS CIRCLE

(Co11tin11ed Jro111 page 27)

both of the leading musicians is pandering overly much to the popular taste. The tabla player is particularly likely to succumb to this temptation, because if he does not put on enough of a show, people may think he's not much good. This may lead him to challenge the soloist to the point where the latter is distracted from his music and either must agree to. the continuation of the contest or put the tabla in its place-a difficult feat, if both players are of equal caliber. Classical music is quite faddish these days, and the audience is not always deeply knowledgeable, so P.arvenus to the game tend to get unduly carried away by this aspect of things. It certainly does make an exciting evening. In a small private performance there is less attempt to outdo the other fellow, and perhaps we receive more artistic enlightenment on such occasions.

When you have heard en gh music, you are sure to want to learn more about the technical and theo­retical aspects. For instance, each Tal has a a name, plus a set of syllables ("bols"), and a special system of clapping. You will get a true feeling of active participation if you learn the basics of these yourself. And as you attend more concerts and start to build up a record library, you will want to have a more systematic understanding of, and detailed experience with, Raags. For your first weeks of listening, how­ever. forget about all this and just settle back open mindedly to listen and to go along with the music wherever it leads you. Don't feel embarrassed if you can't take very much of it at first-your tolerance and your desires will both increase with time. When finally the date of your departure from India does approach, perhaps you will find yourself contemplat­ing with sadness your impending separation from the world of live Indian music. So get as much of it as you can, while you can1

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Edited .and published nine times a year, from September through May, b.., Mrs. Albert Perrelli, US National (C-1 Defence Jll)lr New Delhi) fo r American Women's Club of Delhi and printed ~t T he Statesman Press, Connaltgh t Circlts. New Delhi . ,

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