The Chasing iamb

Surabhi Sharma's feature length documentary film Jahaji Music is a record of the evolution of chutney music in the Caribbean.

From the mid-nineteenth century Indian labourers arrived in the Caribbean on boats, bringing a few belongings and their music, the beginnings of a remarkable cultural practice. More than 150 years later musician Remo Fernandes travels to the Islands to explore collaborations and create new work.

Jahaji Music is a record of a difficult, if unusual and complex, musical journey. It is an attempt to make meaning of aspects of contemporary culture in Trinidad and Jamaica, even as we witness the nature and possibilities of artistic collaboration. The film endeavours, through it all, to weave a story of memory, identity and creativity.

Duration: 1 hour 52 minutes.

Date: August 9, 2007

Venue for Screening: India International Centre (IIC) Auditorium, 40 Max Mueller Marg, New Delhi 110 003, Tel: 011 24619431

Time : 6.30 pm

TOTO FUNDS THE ARTS, Delhi Chapter, invites entries for its flash-fiction contest. A panel of three distinguished judges will select winners from a shortlist. The names of the judges and the shortlist will be announced duly. The winner will get a cash prize of Rs. 3000 and two runners-up will be awarded Rs. 1000 each. A public event will be organized for the winners to read their stories along with an established author.

 Submission Guidelines

1. You cannot be older than 30 on June 1, 2007. Include a statement confirming your date of birth and that the story is original and unpublished.
2. The contest is limited to young Indians residing in  Delhi and NCR. No NRIs, please.
3. Only one submission is allowed per person.
4. The entry cannot exceed 500 words.
5. Please pick one of the following themes for the story.

a.       Murder

b.       Bad Mother

c.    A Quick Smoke

6. Entries should be submitted both in soft and hard copies, with a covering note that includes your contact details (tel. no., email address, snailmail address) etc. in a cover letter if sending by post or in the email. PLEASE DO NOT MENTION YOUR NAME ON THE SUBMISSION ITSELF.
7. Entries should reach TFA by  15 April 2007.
8. Submitted material will not be returned. The decision of the TFA jury will be final and not open to contestation in any forum.
9. Entries should be sent in soft e-mail copy to tfadelhi@gmail.com and 3 hard copies should be sent to:

TFA Contest

D/377 2^nd Floor

Defence Colony

New Delhi 110024.

It is important that you send BOTH soft and the three hard copies. 

 

Toto Funds the Arts is a non-profit trust based in Bangalore, set up to encourage and  promote the talent of creative young Indians.

 

Un

Toto Funds the Arts is hosting the Bangalore launch of young poet Meena Kandasamy's first collection of poems Touch. The book will be released by well-known short-story writer and novelist Githa Hariharan at the Crossword Bookstore (ACR Towers, Ground Floor, 32 Residency Road, Bangalore on Thursday, 22 February 2007 at 6.45 pm. Both Meena Kandasamy and Githa Hariharan will read from their works.

Dos

Spoken Word Performance by John Hegley and Anjum Hasan 7 pm on Tuesday, 20th February 2007at the British Council, New Delhi. There is a security thingy so you need to get on the guest-list by 3 this afternoon. So call the British Council.

(Something I got in the mail today)


This is an invitation to submit original short stories and poetry for a
young South Asian writers anthology, to be published by Perera Hussein
Publishing House this year.

*The ground rules:*

- We've chosen to interpret 'young' as being below the age of 30, and South
Asian as of South Asian extraction, regardless of current residence.

- All submissions must be in English

- All stories and poems submitted must be original, and previously
unpublished.

- The word count: keep it under 6,000 words. In addition, every submission
must be a stand-alone narrative.

- This will be an anthology of fictional writing, and within that category
we hope to celebrate a variety of genres, including humour, sci-fi and
drama.

- You may submit as many pieces as you wish, as long as they meet these
requirements.

- Finally, please include a brief introduction, which touches on your age,
location, occupation, previous publications (if any) and interests.

*Extended Deadline: 3* /* 03* / 07

*Submission* :

Complete stories should be sent as word attachments to:
ph.anthology@ gmail.com

*The Small Print:*

Responsibility for the editing, design, production and sale of the book
rests with the Publishers. Copyright for individual pieces will rest with
the respective authors, but rights for the anthology as a whole will rest
with the publishers.

*Payment:*

All writers selected will receive a modest fee for their work.

For more information on Perera Hussein Publishing House, check out the
website:

http://www.ph- books.com/

Toto Funds the Arts (Delhi chapter) will be soon announcing a flash-fiction contest. Watch this space for more details. If you are wondering what flash-fiction is, don't worry. It is nothing particularly radical. Its very short fiction and has been around for a good long time in most languages. Smoke-long Quarterly, a flash-fiction mag in fact is named after the Chinese name of the form, a story that lasts as long as a quick smoke. While there are no regulations about how long flash-fiction ought to be, anything over 800 words moves into the realm of short stories. One of the most well-known flash fiction mags online Vestal Review does not accept any submissions over 300 words long. Established and well-known writers have tried the form(though they may not have named it flash-fiction) because it is challenging and hard-hitting. Look at Jamaica Kincaid's Girl. Here is a set of decent guidelines for writing flash-fiction. And some nice desi stories. And in case your typing fingers are itching and you can't wait till our contest is announced here is the Kala Ghoda contest.

I have sent off my first attempt at flash-fiction for the Kala Ghoda contest. Before I did I showed it to some kindly friends. They were all deeply puzzled and said "What is this?" in as many languages as they knew. So much for that. In other news have you seen the v cool Kitab festival line-up? It is most exciting and my tickets are (in defiance of income and common sense) booked to go. But how can I resist Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, Eunice D'souza,Suniti Namjoshi and Germaine Greer? How? And it shall be a joyous party since Bent, Snegum and Gaya are coming.

Now i shall go off quietly and write my story for small paapus.

TOTO FUNDS THE ARTS (TFA) announces the third in its series of annual awards for young musicians and bands. The award is worth Rs. 50,000 in cash, intended to support the advancement of your musical career.

 

BUT: If you are older than 30 on January 1, 2007, or do not live in India, read no further!

 

ALSO:  The spirit of the TFA Awards is to identify and encourage young talent. Therefore, do not submit an entry if you are already a well-known and established name in the music world.

 

TFA is looking for entries in contemporary music from all parts of India (bands or individuals). The list of genres extends from rock, jazz, heavy metal, trance, house, instrumental, folk – to the as yet unimagined. Language is also no barrier.

 

The submissions should be 100% original. Copyright issues are the responsibility of the applicant, not TFA.

 

Entries should be sent as three CD copies of the music. The entries should reach TOTO FUNDS THE ARTS (TFA) before October 31, 2006.

 

TOTO FUNDS THE ARTS (TFA)

H 301 Adarsh Gardens

8th Block, 47th Cross

Jayanagar

Bangalore 560 082

Phone: 080-26548139

 

THE FINE PRINT:

 

Entries must be accompanied by a signed statement confirming: (i) the applicant’s date of birth (ii) the names of any released singles/CDs (iii) that the submitted work is original.

 

Submitted material will not be returned.

 

The decision of the TFA jury is final and cannot be contested in any forum.

 

TOTO FUNDS THE ARTS (TFA) is a not-for-profit public charitable trust set up in memory of Angirus ‘Toto’ Vellani who was intensely passionate about music, literature and films.

TOTO FUNDS THE ARTS (TFA) invites entries for its second annual awards for young Indian fiction writers in English. Two cash awards of Rs. 25,000 each will be given in January, 2007.

 

BUT: If you are older than 30 on January 1, 2007, or live outside India, read no further!

 

ALSO:  The spirit of the Toto Awards is to identify promise and encourage young talent. Therefore, do not submit an entry if you are already a well-known, published writer.

 

TFA is looking for entries in a variety of genres -- the novel, short stories, plays, scripts and poetry.

 

The submissions should ideally not be more than 10,000 words. Pieces of short fiction; an extract from a novel, play or script; or between five and ten poems are recommended (but not mandatory) norms. Sensible combinations of the above are acceptable within the word limit.

 

Entries should reach TOTO FUNDS THE ARTS (TFA) before October 31, 2006.

 

TOTO FUNDS THE ARTS (TFA)

H 301 Adarsh Gardens

8^th Block, 47^th Cross

Jayanagar

Bangalore 560 082

Phone: 080-26548139

 

Entries should be sent in soft e-mail copy to totofundsthearts@yahoo.com as well in hard copy form to the above address.

 

THE FINE PRINT:

 

Entries must be accompanied by a signed statement confirming the applicant’s date of birth, whether the applicant’s work has been published in print (give details), and also affirming that the submitted work is original.

 

Submitted material will not be returned.

 

The decision of the TFA jury is final and cannot be contested in any forum.

 

TOTO FUNDS THE ARTS (TFA) is a not-for-profit public trust set up in memory of Angirus ‘Toto’ Vellani, who was intensely passionate about music, literature and films.