Newsletter- August 2002


Contents:
I.  Seed Grant Fellowship Presentations
II. Films @ Sarai: Focus on the Documentary &
             Asian Film Cultures: Japanese Cinema
III. Jobs@ Sarai
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I.  Independent Research Fellowship Presentations
    Independent researchers have continued to present their works at Sarai
   over the past two months. The June newsletter carried brief reports of
   some of their work. Below is a glimpse into a few more.

1. GNU/Linux in India
   Reportage on the Free Software/Open Source Movement in India
   Frederick Noronha
   Frederick Noronha is trying to explore the concept of Free Software
   and its implications, specifically in a South Asian or Third World
   context. He has started to document the contributions that are being
   made by Indians to GNU/Linux, including software innovations based on
   GNU/Linux. Noronha finds that contrary to the earlier pessimism the
   contribution is actually quite interesting...and growing. He has also
   been actively trying to forge communication links between Free
   Software or Open Source proponents, the ICT-for-development
   campaigners in South Asia and the development sector all of which, he
   says, "have strengths that could gain in a major way from one
   another." 

2. Visthapiton Ka Shahar (The City of the Dislocated)
   A study of urban transformations related to the Metro in Delhi
   Naveen Chander
   Naveen Chander has been exploring issues of public space, urbanisation
   and displacement with the process of modernisation in the
   dreamed"beautiful city" - as effected by the Delhi Metro Project. He
   has also enquired into the dynamics of labour behaviour. Through audio
   interviews and photographs of bottom level workers and of people
   displaced due to the project, he has  tried to draw different
   perceptions of the city and development. Naveen also travelled to
   Calcutta to be able to draw a comparative analysis with the Calcutta
   Metro project.

3. Rickshaw wale ki jeevan yatra: shahar tak, shahar mein
    Study of the specific migrant experience of rickshaw pullers in Delhi
   Rajendra Ravi
   Rajendra Ravi's study tries to document the everyday in the lives of
   rickshaw pullers in Delhi. He has looked into a number of issues
   relating to the nature of migrant labour; the process of initiation
   into the trade; restrictive policies with respect to ownership and
   their implications for the lives of rickshaw pullers; police violence;
   spatial issues including the absence of designated parking spaces and
   the need to see the relationship between owners and pullers of the
   rickshaw in complimentary terms rather than in an antagonistic one.  

4. Neighbourhood Research Project
   Mapping the vicinity of the Jamia Millia Islamia Campus
   Students of the Jamia Sociology Department (Biswajit Das)
   In an effort to map the neighbourhood of their institution, the Jamia
   Millia Islamia University, the students focussed on two areas: a study
   of organisations located in the area and a study of the locality
   itself. Four papers were presented. The organisations studied were
   Spectramind, a call centre that employs hundreds of young
   English-speaking people in Delhi and the Software Technology Park
   located in the Okhla Industrial Area. Studies of the area focussed on
   the emergence of cybercafes and the changing physical and cultural
   landscapes.

5. Changing Face of Chiragh Delhi
   A study of the morphology of an urban village
   Ranjana Sengupta
   Ranjana Sengupta has been enquiring into the the process of
   urbanisation in Chiragh Delhi, an urban village situated in the heart
   of Delhi which has now changed over from generations of agricultural
   activities to different professions. She has delved into
   the relationship of the village to the dargah, community relations
   within the village and how the residents of Chiragh Delhi (themselves
   quite heterogenous) interpret and resolve varying aspects of their
   history.

6. Whose City is It Anyway?
   Reportage on Education, Law and Transport in select localities in
   Delhi
   Anjali Mody
   Anjali Mody has concentrated her research in the Jamianagar area of
   Delhi - an area which houses a cross-section of people from different
   communities, classes, professions and also houses a large number of
   students. She looked into local print cultures and the relationship of
   the neighbourhood with the charismatic local MLA now in prison under
   POTA. Part of her presentation also discussed the status of urban
   reporting in newspapers. She plans to publish a series of articles
   based on her research in the near future. 

7. Built Environment and Women
   Study of the gendered logic of housing structures, work and public
   spaces
   Vandana Khare
   Women often encounter difficulties in dealing with urban spaces - both
   within the home and outside. Vandana Khare argues for the need of a
   gendered designing of city spaces. She is studying work spaces, public
   transport and housing facilities in Mumbai to enable viable solutions,
   especially for working class women,

8. Slums in Delhi - Demolitions & Relocation
   Housing policy and land relations in Delhi
   Harini Narayanan
   Harini Narayanan presented her findings from an ongoing research on
   slum policies and demolitions in Delhi. Two aspects were highlighted
   in her presentation.  First, the act of demolition is a process, as
   much as an 'event' so that to live with violence and housing
   uncertainty is the 'normal' way of life for most poor inhabitants of
   the city.   Second, she stressed on the general silence on the issues
   involved in slum housing, with the exception of the depiction of the
   'act' of demolition. She pointed out the marked differences in
   representation, depending on the kind of structures being demolished. 


II.    Films @ Sarai

   All screenings are on Fridays, 4:30 pm, at the Seminar Room, Centre
   for the Study of Developing Societies, 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi -110054.
   The films are listed in the order of screening.


   Focus on the Documentary
   August 2, 2002
   Apoornathakal (The Incomplete), 2001, 23 mins
   Directed by Salil R. Aluvila
   Colour, VHS, English subtitles

   What is friendship? And how do you deal with the loss of a loved one,
   especially when there are indications that the death may not have
   occurred under natural circumstances? Apoornathakal is the story of a
   young man trying to come to terms with the death of his childhood
   friend - a friend with whom he shared intense love. It is the memory
   of moments spent together, of shared conversations and hints of
   intrigue surrounding the death that continue to haunt the living.
   Apoornathakal is based on a true story.


   Asian Film Cultures:
   Japanese Cinema

   We return to Asian Film Cultures Series this month with three films
   from Japan that engage with the post-war Japanese city, a city that is
   invariably connected with crime and a quest for criminals.
   Critics have often remarked on Kurosawa's films as quests, and much of
   Stray Dog is taken up with the desperate attempts by Detective
   Murakami (Kurosawa stalwart Toshiro Mifune) to retrieve his gun, which
   is being used to commit murder. Murakami spends much of his time in
   literal frantic pursuit, chasing his quarry and accomplices through
   the ragged streets of heat-drenched, occupied Tokyo.
   Like many a noir hero, Murakami is a good man drawn into a criminal
   demimonde, here the squalid world of postwar profiteering, corruption
   and murder. And like these heroes he has an unsettling link to that
   world in the form of his gun, which makes it impossible for him to
   return to normal life. Kurosawa uses his quest to explore a series of
   seedy tableaux, from opium dens to western-style grindhouses, and the
   social casualties that populate them. The montage sequence, where
   Murakami takes to the streets to find the pickpocket, is remarkable
   for the neo-realist recording of life on the teeming city streets,
   whilst maintaining the pace of Murakami's desperate search. Kurosawa
   even provides a classic doppelganger for Murakami in the form of the
   thief: much is made of their similar backgrounds and very different,
   but inextricably joined, fates.
   Kurosawa returns to the police procedural thriller again in High and
   Low. Using big-city slums (low/hell) in direct contrast to the
   privileged world of a powerful businessman (high/heaven), High and Low
   is the very human story of a misfired kidnapping and its consequences
   on all concerned. Bit by bit the shattering impact the crime has on
   the victim, his family, the police, and the kidnapper are slowly
   revealed as the police doggedly pursue every scrap of evidence.
   Kurosawa presents his characters' ’struggles as not only a suspenseful
   and clever detective story, but also a moral battleground where "good"
   has to pay a heavy price to win out over "evil" if in fact it is
   possible at all.
   The film is at once a procedural crime story, a social commentary on
   the casualties of industrialization and the redemption of a man's
   soul. The low lying squatter hovels, addict-infested Dope Alley, and
   red light district basement bar provide an incongruous foil to the
   prosperity and seeming order of modern Japan. While not one of
   Kurosawa's master works, the film, with its grim reality and moral
   ambiguity stands as a superb example of film noir at its best.
   Tokyo Drifter has free for all neon jazz characters jiving to the
   boogie woogie backdrop of 1960's industrial Tokyo.  A yakuza film of
   the purist form, Seijun Suzuki presents us characters of extreme
   brightness and colors that match the environments around them. Suzuki
   uses a lot of incongruous jump cuts, like the beautiful shot of Yoyogi
   stadium that comes up, to create a kind of travelogue view of Tokyo
   that is used under the credits.


   III.Jobs@Sarai:
  
  1.Applications Invited for PHP Programmer
  
   Applications Invited for PHP Programmer for the Sarai Web Site
   The Sarai Programme:  Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi

   Sarai, an interdisciplinary programme with interests in cinema,
   urban cultures,  digital media and free software, is looking for an
   experienced PHP Programmer with the ability to collaborate on the
   Sarai Web Site, and realize new projects.

   The applicant should be able to work within the LAMP (Linux-Apache-MySQL-PHP)
   environment and should have a high degree of programming expertise backed by
   the ability to conceptualize innovative solutions to the problems of
   rendering media rich content online on a regular basis

   The applicant should be able to devise software solutions for contexts,
   editorial systems, CMS (content management system) and publishing systems.
   Where necessary, solutions will require to be customised to fit Sarai's
   specific requirements. This means that we are looking for a creative
   programmer, someone who does not necessarily rely on existing systems or
   components, but is able to create original solutions.

   Additionally, the programmer should be able to handle
 - template based dynamic front ends for the website
 - MySQL for Database building
 - Multi-type document Handling (Text/Images/pdf's)  and
   user/category-based uploading/publishing mechanisms

   S/he should be able to design a modular and extensible architecture which
   enables the inputting of additional features later (.pdf-output/xml, etc)
   with an object-oriented structure, as well as configuration and
   administration-features.

   Sarai is committed to free software and is an equal opportunity employer. The
   applicant should have prior work experience involving similar
   responsibilities.

   Competitive salaries will be offered.

   For more details about us, visit our website www.sarai.net

   Apply immediately with a CV to application at sarai.net 
   We will only accept email applications.


2. Applications Invited for Assistant System Administrator

   Sarai, an interdisciplinary programme with interests in cinema,
   urban cultures,  digital media and free software, is looking for an
   assistant system adminstrator with analysis, installation and
   administration skills to
   assist in the management of  mission critical Linux and Unix systems.

   Qualifications:
   You should have experience as a Linux/Unix system administrator;
   proficiency in TCP/IP, DNS, Samba, NFS, Apache Web server, mail
   configuration, system backup strategies, system and network
   security, shell scripting, system installation and upgrade, and
   system performance analysis and tuning.

   The Linux Assistant System Administrator will be a key technical
   resource person for other colleagues, providing advice, training and
   technical support for various projects. S/he will be responsible for
   the care and maintenance
   of computers at Sarai and will liase with  external service
   personnel who come to address any hardware problems. S/he will share
   all the responsibilities of the System Administrator, and fill in
   all the administrative functions in the absence of the System
   Administrator.

   You will also be responsible for providing support to the
   administrators/moderators of the various email discussion lists
   running on the Sarai server.

   In addition, you will work closely with the free software team at
   Sarai in evaluating current systems and making decisions on future
   projects and processes.

   Sarai is committed to free software and is an equal opportunity
   employer. The applicant have prior work experience  involving
   similar responsibilities.

   Competitive salaries will be offered.

   For more details about us, visit our website www.sarai.net

   Apply Immediately with a CV to application at sarai.net
   We will only accept email applications.

   Until next month...

   Cheers,
   Ranita
   The Sarai Programme
   Sarai-CSDS
   29 Rajpur Road
   Civil Lines
   Delhi- 110 054
   email: dak@sarai.net
   www.sarai.net