Alan Gemmell, Director of British Council India, holds up his mobile, and makes a point emphatically and effectively. Against the backdrop of celebrations marking “70 Years of British Council in India”, he is talking about harnessing technology to showcase and promote Indo-British initiatives in arts and culture.
Gemmel’s strategy suggests that the organisation operates with a built-in compass that enables it to align itself with the zeitergeist of any period. Through recent artistic, cultural and educational projects, which include “Aruna and the Raging Sun”, a massive theatre production in which differently-abled artistes take centrestage, and “fiveFilmsforfreedom”, an online LGBT film festival, British Council (BC)has been addressing the questions of inclusion and diversty in a manner that will engage a wide section of the population, especially Millennials.
There are reasons to believe that British Council (BC) has been using this compass well, and making sincere and often successful efforts to tailor what it has to offer — be it education, library resources, arts or culture — to the needs of the times.
Here is an example from those early days of BC in India. The year was 1948 and the British Council was being established in India.
The early months were spent surveying the lay of the land, in terms of its art, culture, literature and education. High up on the totem pole, W.R.L. Wickham led this exercise, touring the country extensively to primarily ascertain the role the organisation should play in energising Indo-British cultural relations.
Over the 70 years of its existence, BC has seized oppotunities to demonstrate how commited it is about playing this role. There have been many collaborating projects that underline this commitment.
The BC building at Kasturba Gandhi Marg in New Delhi is a sterling example. The brainchild of legendary Indian architect Charles Correa, its design suggests being in a space that reverberates with cosmic significance as well as a happy convergence of worldviews; and the design theme was impeccably executed and unwrapped for the public in 1992. Immediately after the structure was completed, one more element had clicked into place, thereby adding a significant aspect of Correa's design philosophy to the work. Moreover, this element is today held up as a symbol of Indo-British cooperation in the sphere culture and arts.
Correa was known for the heart he carried for the poor, especially those in urban spaces who couldn't get a roof over their head. He was a proponent of low-cost housing for the poor.
Now, in the Indian context, the banyan symbolises two things — community and shelter.
In many parts of rural India, people still congregate under banyan trees.
More significantly, the banyan is a haven of the homeless, even in partially urbanised spaces. So, more than anything else, a design element involving the banyan would have been representative of Correa’s philosophy of design. This thought and the now-famous Banyan mural however came from British artist Howard Hodgkin and he planted it in Correa’s mind.
Last year, when Hodgkin passed on, Architectural Digest carried a story using an earlier account by Hodgkin of how the banyan mural came about. Correa wanted a flag-based theme establishing the link between the two nations. Hodgkin was not impressed and settled on a banyan theme. According to Hodgkin, Correa let him have the last word and was “cooperative.” Their friendship survived this disagreement.
Today, there is reason to be grateful to the British artist for taking that firm stand. The mural is now celebrated as a powerful cultural symbol. Gemmell, points out that the banyan in the mural signifies how rooted BC and its work are in India.
At this BC building, there is also a sculpture by a Briton that is imbued with Indian symbolism. A sculpture consisting of a mammoth face ringed by relatively pint-sized faces occupies a prominent space in the building. British sculptor Stephen Cox had made the sculpture in Mahabalipuram, with sculptors from the temple town assisting him. In each face, Cox introduced only one facial feature. Together, they represent five senses as well as the five elements of Nature and suggest the notion of bringing them into alignment with each other.
‘Arts can change lives’
“We are strongly committed to equality, diversity and inclusion,” says Alan Gemmell, Director, British Council India. Gemmell explains that to promote these ideals, BC has launched a raft of initiatives over the last two years, including providing 100 Indian women with funding for a one-year Master’s degree in STEM at 44 British universities; working with the differently-abled; and promoting LGBT rights. Gemmell sees a powerful ally in the performing arts in achieving these objectives and in recent times. He says that he believes in the power of arts to change lives.
The digital mix
British Council is creating a vast body of arts-related work that can fit neatly into the 5by7 screen. The “mix” series has especially garnered considerable attention and accolades for its novelty and high level of interactivity.
Mix The City (mixthecity.com) is an app that enables users to mix audio/video samples of accomplished musicians from their city/region and create customised music. An Indian component of the app offers versions for Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai. Each version features samples of original music produced by 12 Indian musicians and compiled by music producers from the U.K.
Mix The Play (mixtheplay.britishcouncil.org) enables mobile users to direct accomplished theatre artistes, including Adil Hussain, Kalki Koechlin, Kriti Pant and Thushar Pandey, with the balcony scene of the Shakespearean play Romeo and Juliet forming the setting. The digital theatre was created as a collaborative project involving Indian director Roysten Abel. Mix The Body (mixthebody.britishcouncil.org), created with British choreographer Wayne McGregor, lets mobile phone uses put together dance performances with dancers from Studio Wayne McGrogor and Bengaluru-based Attakkalari.
A new superhero
Keeping the inclusion dialogue of our times going, there is “Aruna and the Raging Sun.” Based on an Indian legend, the outdoor performance has a differently-abled superhero, who helps humanity surmount the challenge of global warming. The grand production, which features fireworks, gigantic puppets and aerial performers, has many differently-abled artistes. A collaborative project involving Graeae Theatre Company from the U.K., La Fura dels Baus from Spain, the Arts Council England and Indian performers, it has travelled to cities across the country.
“fiveFilms4freedom” is an online LGBT film festival that features five films every year. One of the films in “fiveFilms4freedom 2018” is ‘Goddess from India.’ Jio has reportedly made this film available on Jio Movies.
Saying it with colours
A wide range of events has been organised and activities set on foot to commemorate “70 Years of British Council in India.” Some of these have been spectacularly colourful. For example, the British Council India Garden set up at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show featured a rare Himalayan poppy that matches the blue worn by the Indian cricket team. Elements of cricket also figured in the Garden (sponsored by a few Indian corporate houses), establishing India’s link with Britain through cricket.
On February 27, 2017, the Buckingham Palace was doused in colourful light, in a nuanced and sophisticated projection of the peacock, marking the UK-India Year of Culture. Designed by London- and Bengaluru-based Studio Carrom, the projection presented images of Indian arts and life within the larger image of a peacock.