art

Sunday afternoon I played a benefit for Yawp!, an Asian youth writing program in Chicago. I played sitar with two writers, sarwat rumi and imi rashid. The event was awesome, it was to raise money for Yawp's fifth year program, and there was such a great collection of artists there, from kids currently involved in Yawp's program, people who had been through the Yawp program themselves, and other artists in the area. It was such a blessing to be part of such a great group of artists.

Our piece consisted of sarwat and imi reading a collection of pieces they had written before, during, and after a recent trip they took to Bangladesh, that they described as the "bizarre joys and surreal challenges of being muslim, deshi, queer, and deeply engaged in family during muslim holidays, blockades, violent protest, and postponed elections." this is the second time I've collaborated with sarwat, and the first with imi. sarwat is such a great writer, her poetry is deeply affecting, and beautifully written, and imi's writing is powerful, and flows through details and feelings like water. I played sitar along with their readings in Raag Khamaaj and Raag Kirwani.

Photos by Angela Steele

Check out some pics from the Peace Festival we danced at on Sunday. It turned out to be a really cool event. It was a beautiful day out, with a nice, warm crowd of people--some coming and going, others sitting and watching. An ice cream truck passed by a few times. Lol, it was cool. Sheena’s family came out, and a few of her friends came out too, some of which I hadn’t seen since proly last summer. So it was cool catching up. We got a lot of really cool feedback about our piece, a lot of people said that it was really beautiful, and very powerful. One woman, Monique, told me she hoped to see us do our piece more often, cause she felt that it was something more people needed to hear. I met this kid Spirit Child who threw down a few really tight conscious hip hop tracks, and he hooked Sheena and I up with a few of his CDs and stuff, cause he was really excited about our piece. That was awesome. I also met this kid Fahd from DRUM--Desis Rising Up and Moving--a group of Desi progressives out in New York. That was the first time another fellow Desi called me ‘brother.’ That was cool.

I’m still so super pumped about winning that Jeff Award, too. CRAZY. I’ve got a few things brewing right now though. We’re planning the next maahaul house concert in July, we’re redoing The Masrayana for one-night at Chitrahar Night at the end of the July, and I’m reading at a Rapid Fire Reading on Friday. Crazy...

So about a month ago, I found out I got nominated for a Jeff Award for Best Original Incedental Music for the sitar accompaniment I did in Rasaka Theatre’s The Masrayana last fall. Last night was at the ceremony, and holy crap, I WON! I didn’t event know what to say. The whole experience has been crazy. I had such a blast playing for the play, it all just came so naturally, and then to get nominated for an award for it, and to win? Holy crap... It's on.

Crazy, so on May 5th, my girlfriend and I did a dance at the Hot House. Sunday afternoon, we’re doing the same dance at a Peace Festival in New York! Each performer is preparing a statement against the war in Iraq before their piece. Here’s what Sheena and I are going to be saying:

I’m Sheena, the daughter of Malayalee Catholic immigrants from Kerala, India. I’m nikhil, the son of Gujarati Hindu immigrants from India. We stand in solidarity with Ollin Imagination and all those who are speaking out about the negative effects of the current Iraq occupation on our communities. As others have spoken about today, the “war on terror” has been used to justify an escalation of attacks on immigrants’ rights and civil liberties.

The piece we will be performing today is about the prison industry in the us. With more than 2 million people behind bars, the US has the highest prison population in the world, both in percentage of its population and in sheer numbers of people kept behind bars. according to a 2004 Bureau of Justice Statistics report, immigrants are the fastest growing segment of the domestic prison population. Incarceration rates for immigration offenses have risen by 394 percent since 1995 as a result of laws, exective orders, the special registration initiatives and other efforts to criminalize immigrants. In 1995 there were 3,420 people in prison for immigration offenses, in 2003 there were 16,903, and the numbers have increased since then. and the prison industry has aggressively expanded its reach at both the state and federal levels, cashing in on the opportunity to provide more beds for immigration detainees, especially after 9/11. Many people don’t know that when immigrants are detained, they are actually housed in prisons. It is profitable for the prison industry when more immigrants are incarcerated, or when they are detained. prisons also serve as a means of social control, and immigrants and people of color had been scapegoated in the name of national security even before 9/11, and it keeps getting worse.

Before we begin our piece, we want to read a brief excerpt from a speech made by Arundhati Roy (Indian writer and activist) in Brazil in 2003 entitled “Confronting Empire:”

“What can we do? We can hone our memory, we can learn from our history. We can continue to build public opinion until it becomes a deafening roar... Our strategy should be not only to confront empire, but to lay siege to it. To deprive it of oxygen. To shame it. To mock it. With our art, our music, our literature, our stubbornness, our joy, our brilliance, our sheer relentlessness -- and our ability to tell our own stories. Stories that are different from the ones we’re being brainwashed to believe. The corporate revolution will collapse if we refuse to buy what they are selling--their ideas, their version of history, their wars, their weapons, their notion of inevitability. Remember this: we be many and they be few. They need us more than we need them. Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing. ”

Check out pictures from my performance on Friday.

The first one is from a dance Sheena and I did. The music was a devotional song to Lord Ganesh put over a break beat, from the film Morning Raga. Sheena was dancing Bharatnatyam, and I was dancing my liquid stuff. The music was preceded and concluded by quotes about women in prison from a CD entitled ‘The We That Sets Us Free’ produced by Justice Now, and also included a quote from an interview I did with a South Asian woman who had recently been incarcerated. It went really, really well, and was really well received, so that was SWEEET!

These are from another piece I did that same night. I was playing sitar and sang a song I wrote about missing a loved one (in HINDI. CRAZY!), while Purvi told stories she wrote about survivors of the South Asian earthquake, the tsunami, and Hurricane Katrina. We also had photos of the people representing the stories she was reciting displaying during our piece. That went off pretty well, too. I had never sang in Hindi in public before, so I was a bit nervous... But once I got into it, I got into the groove. Purvi repeated the lyrics I was singing in English between sections of the piece so peeps could understand what I was saying.

So overall it was a HOT night at the HOT house. Lol, I had to... But I was really excited when both the pieces were over. I think it went really well, and I got a lot of positive feedback about the pieces afterwards from people my age as well as uncles and aunties, ESPECIALLY about the dance piece about prisons. People were really excited about that one!

I went up to Wisconsin for a week with my girlfriend last week. We went to a cottage on Little St. Germain Lake waaaay the heck up in northern Wisconsin. We cooked a bunch, took a row boat and paddle boat on the lake a few times, watched some movies, worked on a dance we performed on Friday night at the Hot House, and just chilled. Our view and the weather was gorgeous, so it made for a nice week.

But here we were waaay up in the northwoods, and we weren’t sure if we’d be able to check e-mail or anything. So I go up to Mark, the dude who owned the little “resort” we were at, and asked him “this might a bit of an off question, but do you know any place around here where we’d be able to access the internet?” And what does he say? “Well, if you’ve got a laptop with wireless, I’ve got my office set up on wireless, so you can probably just connect right off my network.” Are you serious? Sure enough, we were able to get on the net for like an hour and check our e-mail.

What did I find out when i checked my e-mail? Holy crap. I just about crapped my pants when I read it. The e-mail I saw read:

"RASAKA THEATRE COMPANY, Chicago’s first South Asian ensemble, received 3 nominations for Citation Awards for it’s inaugural production of “The Masrayana” by William Kovacsik!

The 3 nominations are for Best New Work (William Kovaksik), Best Choreography (Alka Nayyar) and Best Original Incidental Music (Nikhil Trivedi)

GO TEAM!!
(www.rasakatheatre.org)"

WHAT??! I saw the e-mail, I was like ‘that’s freaking awesome, The Masrayana, the theatre production I played sitar for in the fall, got nominated for THREE Jeff Awards.’

(Side note, the Jeff Awards are like Oscar awards, but for Chicago professional theater. From their website:

“The Jeff Awards are given annually by The Joseph Jefferson Awards Committee to honor excellence in professional theatre produced in the immediate Chicago area. Organized in 1968, the committee is composed of approximately 45 theatre professionals and experienced theatregoers who evaluate approximately 250 productions and hold two awards ceremonies each year.”)

I read on, and found out one of them was DIRECTLY FOR ME. Holy crap. I didn’t even know there was a technical name for the contribution I made to the show, let alone enough of it to call for a full category at an awards ceremony. And hot damn, ME being nominated??? That’s CRAZY!!! I was completely shocked, completely floored, and completely speechless, and still freakin am. I don’t even know what to say. That’s FREAKING AWESOME!!!

So da gigs went well. Sunday was the closing night performance for the Asian American Film Showcase at the Gene Siskel Film Center, and that went really well. Like I was saying, I was playing sitar randomly throughout the show, underneath spoken word artists and whatnot. But the main piece I was in was me on sitar, this kid Jeff on sax (who’s freakin awesome), and this girl Sarwat singing and doing some TIGHT spoken word over a DOPE-ass mellow beat that this kid Chien made.

So it was like 15 minutes long. I know, but it really didn’t feel that long. We started with a soft drone and Jeff jamming over it for a little bit, then Sarwat came in with ‘Sarwat Rumi. Daughter of [somethin somethin] Rumi. Daughter of [somethin somethin]. Daughter of a mother who's name i do not know. Daughter of a mother who's name i do not know…’ and went in to some TIGHT lyrics with the beat kickin in the middle of her piece. Then the beat faded out and she ended with ’... This, as always, is prayer. This, as always, is prayer.’ Then I started playing for a little bit, then Jeff joined me, then Sarwat joined me as well. And the three of us jammed out for a bit, then Sarwat dropped out, then Jeff dropped out, then me and the beat finished the piece.

Ok, so that’s what the piece sounded like, but let me tell you dudes, it was ON. The music started and Jeff started jammin, and I layed my head down, closed my eyes, and meditated, prayed, and listened. It was on. The whole vibe of the song just felt really good. Then sarwat came it, and she was on. After the beat dropped out and she ended with ‘This, as always, is prayer,’ which was my que to start, i was like HELL YEA. I was so in the mode to play. It just felt great, and from what people tell me it sounded pretty good too. So I just felt great about that whole piece. I can’t wait to SEE it, like on video or whatnot, cause I had my eyes closed through half the thing. Worthless.

Am I TOO anal about my sitar? Could there ever be such a thing as being TOO anal about my sitar? Here’s the deal. I don’t mind other people touching my “stuff”, cause it's all just that, “stuff”. I’m not a very materialistic person, and “stuff” doesn’t really mean anything to me. But lately I’ve been realizing, I’m REALLY ANAL about my sitar. I was at practice the other day for the gig on Sunday (see below), and my sitar was out of its case, off to the side, cause I was playing with it on and off. This girl was clearing space for a few other people to practice, so she picked up my sitar and moved it out of the way. Like I said, generally, I don’t really care when people touch my stuff, I’m not a very stuff-oriented person. But from the second she picked up my sitar to the moment she set it down, my eyes were on her like a laser guided tracter beam.

It's just that the thing is really fragile, and if anyone dings it, scratches it, or dents it, I’d rather it be me than anyone else, even if they are trying to be careful. I should have spoken up, but I didn’t cause I’m shy like that... I gotta get over that. Same thing happened last night, TWICE. Second time I just stepped in and said I’ll move it out of the way. But am I being TOO anal?

I don’t think I am, cause like I said, the thing’s really fragile. And I have a lot vested in it. Even though it's a material thing, it's my instrument, if I were a carpenter, it would be my tools. My sitar, in a way, is an extension of myself. So yea, I’m anal about the thing. Hello.

So anyway, here’s info about my gig on Sunday. I think it's gonna be really cool, there are ton of really talented artists getting together for this thing, and I feel totally humbled just being a part of it. It should be great.

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All this week at the Gene Siskel Film Center they’re having an Asian-American film festival, and Sunday is the last day and I will be part of the closing performance that night along with a slew of other really talented artists. The performance will include video, spoken word, dance, and music. A lot of it will be political, both serious and seriously satirical, and other pieces deal with individual and social issues with being Asian in America. It should be cool, so you all should come check it out! Here’s some quick info, and below I’ve included the brief synopsis on the show, and an article about the Showcase from the Chicago Tribune:

MARS, MARRIAGE, AND MASS DISTRACTION
Sunday, April 11 at 7pm
Gene Siskel Film Center
164 N State
(at Randolph, right above the Lake St CTA Red Line Station)
$9
—————————-
Elevator Speech:

It seems everybodys talking politics these days. Tired of being told what you believe from political pundits and public opinion polls? Whos being polled anyway? Nobody I know. Whether it be witty or angry, utopian or bemused, critical or celebratory, this performance takes all that palpable anxiety and turns it into the carnivalesque hallucination of the past three years. Come experience our take on the current state of affairs through a colorful interweaving of the spoken word, music, video, movement and dance talents of the Asian American community of Chicago. Featuring the collaborative work of:

Nilofer Ahsan
Kay Barret
Jeff Chan
Greg Grucel
Adam S. Kellman
Sharmili Majmudar
Mary Anne Mohanraj
Jon Monteverde
Vince Pham
Sarwat Rumi
Rupal Soni
Nikhil Trivedi
Kelly Tsai
Chien Yuan

Directed by Sheelah Murthy of MRS RAOS GROWL
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From the Chicago Tribune:

Asian films from up-and-comers at Siskel By John Petrakis, Special to the Tribune

The Asian American Showcase is more than a film festival: It’s a full-fledged, 13-day art attack, chock full of events that complement the carefully chosen feature-length films, documentaries and shorts programs. All are by up-and-coming Asian-American filmmakers, many of whom will be in town to screen and discuss their work.

Of course, the substance of the showcase consists of the films and videos themselves. Over the years, the Asian American Showcase has nabbed a number of films that have gone on to successful theatrical runs, including “Charlotte Sometimes” and “Robot Stories.” Promising films this year include “Invisible Light,” about two troubled women involved with the same naive Korean man; “See You Off to the Edge of Town,” a road comedy about a Hong Kong family’s disastrous visit to the Grand Canyon; “Take Out,” which looks at a bicycle delivery man in New York City; “American Aloha,” about the rise, fall and rise again of traditional hula dancing; and “Sumo East and West,” which reveals everything you need to know about Sumo wrestling.

One pre-screened film is Victor Vu’s “First Morning” (***), a melancholy feature about the sacrifices a family must make as they escape South Vietnam after the Vietnam War, with hopes of finding greater opportunities in the United States. The film centers on Linh, the family’s only daughter, whose inability to cope in her new homeland is a source of anguish for the other family members, as well as a constant reminder of the mistakes and compromises they have made for the sake of security and prosperity. The acting is low-key and effective, especially that of the photogenic Kathleen Luong (Linh),whose sad face and sagging spirits mask a family secret that has been buried for too many years.

Here’s a rundown of other festival events:

...And on April 11 at the Film Center stage, the Asian American Artists’ Collective introduces a multimedia performance piece that ponders the current political scene via language, music, dance and video.

The 9th Asian American Showcase runs through April 14 at the Gene Siskel Film Center, ... Tickets are $9. 312-846-2600.

Hey Kids,

So tomorrow’s the big day, it should be pretty cool. It’ll be the first time I perform with spoken word over the top of my music, and I’m excited. Sherita, this cool girl I went to India with, is doing two poems, one about Iraq, and another describing a situation between a man and a woman on the El. They’re both really strong, so I’m pumped. It's on. I was going to try and record it to put it on my website, but the mp3 player we used to have at work isn’t here right now. So if I do wanna record it, I gotta figure something else out. Worthless.

I talked to my boy paras last night. He’s trapped in Ithaca, NY (I’m not hatin, for all you ithaca-residing peeps, I’m just saying...) he might be coming into town for Quatro de Paras, his birthday that is. That’ll be cool, I feel like I haven’t seen that kid in while.

So come out to U of C for my gig, it would be cool to see y’all out there.

| Sexual Violence Prevention Month Kick-off
| April 1, 7:30-11p
| University of Chicago
| Ida Noyes 3rd Floor Theater
| 1212 E 59th St.
|
| Spoken Word: Sherita Evans
| Sitar: Nikhil Trivedi
| Tabla: Maninder Singh
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Hey Dudes,

So things the past few months have been pretty crazy. I’ve been going through some shit, and it sucks. But it's all good. It's hard not to feel like a complete asshole sometimes, but the right thing isn’t always the easiest thing to do.

So I’ve got some gigs coming up. If you haven’t heard about them from me yet, e-mail me and remind me to keep you informed. Check it out:

| Sexual Violence Prevention Month Kick-off
| April 1, 7-11p
| University of Chicago
| Ida Noyes 3rd Floor Theater | 1212 E 59th St.
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I’m doing a piece of Indian tradition music with spoken word over it. I’ll be playing sitar, Maninder will be on tabla, and this girl I went to India with will be doing TIGHT poetry over us. It’ll be cool, and for a good cause. Check it out.

| Mars, Marriage, and Mass DistrAction
| Closing Performance for the
| 9th Annual Chicago Asian American Showcase
| April 11, 7-9p, $9
| Gene Siskel Film Center
| 164 N. State Street
———————————————————————————

This will be the closing show for the Asian-American film festival going on in Chicago starting April 2nd. Check out the movies at http://www.faaim.org/ and then check out the closing night show. I’ll be playing sitar under a few spoken word artist, maybe a dancer, and doing a piece over a TIGHT beat with a saxophone kid, and a girl doing spoken word. It’ll be cool.

It's on.