[Reader-list] the Act of leisure - a 'loitering' poem.

[Anand Vivek Taneja]

a poem at least fifty years old, but still telling - 

'...I have passed by the watchman on his beat
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.'

Acquainted with the Night

I have been one acquainted with the night.
I have walked out in rain -- and back in rain.
I have outwalked the furthest city light.

I have looked down the saddest city lane.
I have passed by the watchman on his beat
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.

I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,

But not to call me back or say good-bye;
And further still at an unearthly height,
O luminary clock against the sky

Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.
I have been one acquainted with the night.

	-- Robert Frost

On Tue, 30 Nov 2004 12:35:00 +0100 (CET), taha at sarai.net <taha at sarai.net> wrote:
> Dear Aniruddha, Anand, Zainab and all,
> 
> Thankyou for taking this discussion through various trajectories and
> giving some food for thought to us all. Hopefully!
> 
> Aniruddha, I do understand the need to have an eclectic approach to
> leisure, to complicate it in order to unpack it.
>  I am completely in agreement to the argument that leisure must be
> contextual but I think that that there exist numerous other contexts
> beside the corporate context, which I believe are as much important. So
> how does then one negotiate with this? Does one completely ignore the
> need to have leisure in the context of those who can't 'afford' the
> services of a resort in Rajasthan !. What does then constitute leisure?
> Should leisure always mean images, which we see on the 'Discovery'/
> National Geographic/ NDTV [Night Out] channel? Where leisure is packaged
> as a commodity, which can be bought at a price. Where it becomes an
> object that can be fetishized. Where it induces a sense of anxiety in
> those who can't meet the expense of its rendering. What then becomes of
> leisure and its meaning? What then constitutes leisure?
>   Doesn't it then embodies into a hotch- potch collages of largely two
> dimensional images, of iconography, of depictions, of representations,
> of portrayals, Of exotic locales, of beaches, of luxury cruises across
> the Carabians, of foreign lands, of meeting different/ 'unknown' people,
> of unheard of places, of exquisite dresses, of unique jewellery, of
> dinning out, of trendy discotheques, of partying late, of unwinding [MTV
> style]. Doesn't then leisure become a cloistered sort of an experience
> where ones sees and hears but doesn't smell, taste, or feel? Doesn't
> leisure then transmogrify into a sort of a protestant ethic as argued by
> Weber, where idleness is regarded as sin; so when viewed from the spirit
> of capitalism, loitering/ chatting/ idling/ walking/ sleeping/sitting/
> conversing/ faltugiri etc would then be not but regarded as a
> sin/ violation/corruption/impetuous act/ breach/
> contravention/infringement/ transgression? of law/society/ culture/
> resident associations/ management committeess etc.
> 
> But this exactly is the point I am arguing against, that WHY should my act
> of chatting or idling be regarded as a misdeed? Does there exist NO other
> ethic except the Protestant ethic that drives the spirit of capitalism?
> What nomenclatures must then [if it should be] be devised to address these
> other existing forms of leisure/ non-formal activities? Will seclusion or
> conversely inclusion with the right of entry reserved, be the only
> justification to this dilemma?
> Anand's insightful account of the Humayum Tomb Complex and Isa Khan tomb's
> tell us that yes, it is but is it the only alternative? I don't know. Will
> Nariman point go the Isa Khan way in near/distant future?
> 
> Zainab's argument of the necessity of street cultures to the city is, I
> think,  critical because vibrant streets are an important site to
> deconstruct the notion of leisure as a site of consumption and hence
> control. For it represents a detour to approach the idea of leisure as
> also a non- formal activity without the burden of a corporate context or
> regimes of state regulation, surveillance or control.
> 
> Cheers
> Taha
> 
> 
> 
> > Dear Taha,
> > I read Aniruddh's email. One experience which I very clearly remember had
> > taken place with my sister, me and a friend. This was three years ago.
> > After
> > watching a movie in the Excelsior Theater at VT, three of us proceeded
> > towards VT station. We stood by a corner of a shop in the subway and were
> > chatting. The private security guard came up to us and said this is not a
> > place to hang around, get out from here. My friend who was male, was
> > irritated and said that since we were not creating any trouble and were
> > neither in the way of the people or the shop, he had no right to shoo us
> > off. We stood there for some more time and I think the guard kept watching
> > over us. I agree with Aniruddh when he says that certain mindsets have to
> > change. Normally, in Mumbai, I cannot imagine hanging around in a street
> > which has private residences and which is quiet by itself. I imagine this
> > is
> > how NFC is having been there once. Also, NFC by itself is a very plush
> > locality and it is not surprising that you would get shooed off just for
> > hanging around there. If I have to wait for somebody outside Regal Cinema
> > at
> > Colaba, the guard of the cinema will keep a watch over me, wondering what
> > I
> > am doing - am I soliciting clients i.e. am I a prostitute? If I am dressed
> > like a South Mumbai yuppie, then I am okay because it means that I am
> > waiting for my bunch of friends to join me for a movie.
> >
> > When you speak about leisure, a trend which i have noticed in some of
> > interviews with people who live around Marine Drive and Nariman Point,
> > they
> > tell that there is no place in Delhi to hang out for free. At Nariman
> > Point,
> > you can hang around for free because it is a vast public space. Do what
> > you
> > like, though of course there are some civil lines to this. Spaces like
> > these
> > are few in Mumbai, but critical because they provide breathers not just to
> > the middle class and below, but also to the rich and famous who may be
> > getting suffocated inside the confines of their home. This kind of free,
> > levelling and open leisure is somehow coming under the eyes of the
> > corporate
> > entities. Thus, Nariman Point will now be revamped with an art deco
> > precinct, portions of it will be adopted by corporates for maintenance,
> > there will be brass street furniture and what not. The architect, Ratan
> > Batliboy, who has conceived of these grand ideas says in the latest issue
> > of
> > Time Out that what was free will continue to remain free, only that the
> > quality of people who come to Nariman point will now be improved. And this
> > is what concerns me, as Ravi says, 'terms of entry'. 'Terms of entry' into
> > particular spaces are being regulated. You have to dress in a certain kind
> > of way, behave in a certain way, if you are to feel accepted in a space.
> > This is societal norms and conventions and also trends as shaped by the
> > media. It concerns me that in attempting to create a Shanghai or an
> > aesthetic city, we want to do away with people who we think are rowdy,
> > hooligans, etc. We want to clean out the anti-social elements, a recent
> > drive against beggars, CSWs and drug peddalars in South Mumbai which is
> > atrocious in some ways and very brutal too. All of this because we want to
> > create an aesthetic city. What bullshit!
> >
> > Street culture is critical to the very safety of the city. As I read about
> > crimes in the trains and at railway stations, I feel some of it emerges
> > from
> > the erosion of illegal entities who were always a part of the street - of
> > course, this is just speculation and there could be more to this than what
> > I
> > am saying.
> >
> > Property by itself is exlcusionary - this belongs to me, you cannot
> > tresspass. The inside nooks and corners of private residential roads are
> > not
> > meant for 'hanging around' as we have known them to be. If you are hanging
> > around outside these, you are very likely to be seen as a troublemaker. I
> > think this also has to do with the concepts and practices of time in a
> > city
> > - who has time for faaltugiri in a city? Only faltu people! And faltu
> > people
> > in our imagination are trouble makers or mischief mongers!
> >
> > Cheers,
> > Zainab
> >
> >
> >
> > Zainab Bawa
> > Mumbai
> > www.xanga.com/CityBytes
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > From: taha at sarai.net
> > To: "Zainab Bawa" <coolzanny at hotmail.com>
> > CC: reader-list at sarai.net
> > Subject: RE: [Reader-list] the Act of leisure
> > Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2004 10:59:13 +0100 (CET)
> >
> > Hi Zainab,
> >
> > I largely agree with your take on the street as a site of surveillance/
> > contestation/control. But what amuses me the most is the way in which the
> > state seeks to manage spaces like public parks/ community centers/ roads
> > inside a residential colony etc. There seems to be a method behind
> > innocuous measures to gently push the outsider out. The discourse of
> > hygine/ crime/ cleanliness/ security is invoked on a routine basis  to
> > secure land/ pavements/ municipal roads/ public parks and of course
> > community centers.  Not that crime is mythical in this case but does
> > securing public land in the name of crime prevention help??? I don't
> > know?? or WHY the fencing of land appears to be the only creative solution
> > to crime prevention ?
> >
> > The public-private partnership of Mumbai  is also mirriored here, but its
> > more subtle. The chief minister's  motherly smile carefully hides the
> > sneer as the Bhagidari between the government and the residents shifts
> > into  higher gear. The Delhi Police accelerates its neighborhood watch
> > campaign encouraging neighbors to spy on each other and report any
> > 'suspicious' activity to the police.  The RWA's tighten the noose around
> > the hawkers/ sales person/ vegetable vendors/ scavengers and pedestrians.
> > The RWA fences the residential colony area and installs gates around them
> > restricting the access and control of 'public' parks/ streets/ roads/ and
> > shops. The DP also installs CCTV cameras around jantar mantar complex to
> > monitor agitations and also ofcouse keeps a watch on every vehicle/
> > pedestrian  that passes by its watchful gaze.
> >
> > The act of contestation in this haze of assumed/imagined  rights [of
> > possession/ ownership of land/ area/ property] then becomes interesting.
> > The missing iron bar on a road divider which is wide enough to let a
> > person pass or a gap in the  wire meshing of a colony fence  becomes a
> > site of relief.
> >
> > But the arbitrariness through which  this kind of  power operates makes it
> >   more dangerous. The  question then becomes  how does one negotiate with
> > a
> > quasi legal approach of power. For example, during  Christmas last year,
> > the Head constable of New Friends Colony thana with eight constables went
> > around the community center evicting idlers, who were generally sitting
> > and chatting around CC. I was one of them, when I questioned him, he
> > waived his Danda angrily at me,saying, ' Agar Aapko Baat Karni Hai To Cafe
> > Coffee Day Ya Barista Ja KE Baitho Par Yahan Aise Khali Nahi Baithna'.
> >
> > When I reiterated my 'right' to sit here and do whatever I so damn well
> > please, he just stared at me and said with a heavy accent 'Suna Nahi Kya'.
> > That was it. I couldn't do anything about it.
> >
> > This brings us again to the question of leisure. Why in a place like CC
> > sitting idly and chatting around the campus invites  the state's wrath but
> > Barista  and Cafe Coffee Day are a safeguard to its harassment. It isn't
> > that CC is always like this, God forbid no,but what drives this manic sort
> > of obsession of the state with the street, common grounds where people
> > converge/meet/walk.
> >
> > cheers
> >
> > Taha
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >  > Hi Iram,
> >  > Thanks for the insightful email. I draw some analyses from your last
> >  > email,
> >  > very quick and brief ones for the time being:
> >  >
> >  > 1). Streets and side-ways are increasingly being seen as loose,
> >  > uncontrolled
> >  > spaces which need to be controlled. So, we have moves from the
> > corporate
> >  > sphere, the government sphere, to demolish, have private and public
> >  > security
> >  > around. At least that is what I see happening in Mumbai. In Delhi in
> > any
> >  > case, streets are largely vacant from whatever bit I have seen. In fact
> > I
> >  > feel unsafe walking on the streets in Delhi, except for Old Delhi.
> >  >
> >  > 2). Streets and side-ways are also being seen as spaces of illegality,
> >  > again
> >  > a Bombay perspective. Here is precisely one of the sites where the
> >  > everyday
> >  > battles between legality and illegality are being fought. And then
> > again
> >  > the
> >  > issue of controlling loose space.
> >  >
> >  > 3). In this discussion on security, there is a very strong need to
> > think
> >  > in
> >  > terms of the corporate-government perspective. I cannot think of one
> >  > without
> >  > the other in these times in Mumbai. Battles of competition, economy are
> >  > being waged between the corporates and the loose urban spaces. For
> >  > instance
> >  > the four 7 star hotels at Nariman Point pooling money and hiring
> > private
> >  > security to evict hawkers. While the public is not involved in this
> >  > tussle,
> >  > we are talking of some kind of public when we refer to thge hawkers
> > which
> >  > is
> >  > being seen as 'outsiders, encroachers'.
> >  >
> >  > 4). Then again, the media generates tremendous images of the terrorist,
> >  > the
> >  > encroacher, the illegal entity and these condition the public mind very
> >  > strongly.
> >  >
> >  > In debates on security, these three angles are critical.
> >  >
> >  > When we talk of public spaces, one of the things I am wrestling with in
> > my
> >  > research on the seafronts and railway stations here is who is the
> > public?
> >  > And the public seems damn dead when you ask me. They are snoring,
> > caught
> >  > up
> >  > in the humdrum of daily lives. I have often thought of public and
> >  > community
> >  > spaces in Mumbai city to be problematic because people tend to use less
> > of
> >  > these owing to tight notions and practices of time and these then
> > become
> >  > dangerous. For instance the Shivaji Park. Then you have surveillance,
> >  > rules,
> >  > regulations, laws, policing, etc. And the media contributes to this
> > all.
> >  >
> >  > For now, I am saying this. But there are several thoughts. Particularly
> >  > about institutionalizing entertainment and leisure which is what
> > happens
> >  > in
> >  > malls and now with a spate of festivals in Mumbai City which aim to
> >  > commecialize and brand street food. There are terms of entry into
> > public
> >  > spaces like malls and multiplexes and you were damn right when you said
> >  > that
> >  > if your scout around outside an upmarket place, you are seen
> > suspiciously
> >  > by
> >  > the guards. What I am wary of is this increasing fuzziness between
> > private
> >  > and public security and the use of private security in public spaces.
> >  >
> >  > Cheers,
> >  > Zainab
> >  >
> >  >
> >  >
> >  > Zainab Bawa
> >  > Mumbai
> >  > www.xanga.com/CityBytes
> >  >
> >  >
> >  >
> >  >
> >  > From: iram at sarai.net
> >  > To: reader-list at sarai.net
> >  > CC: taha at sarai.net
> >  > Subject: [Reader-list] the Act of leisure
> >  > Date: Sat, 27 Nov 2004 16:44:47 +0100 (CET)
> >  >
> >  >
> >  > Dear Zainab and all,
> >  >
> >  > Thanx for sharing your experiences/ observances of Delhi, Bangalore and
> >  > Bombay.
> >  > I guess as cities go, there are many similarities in all three except
> > that
> >  > Delhi being the national capital can always cite security as a
> > justified/
> >  > valid/ legal reason for many things.
> >  >
> >  > Taha and I should have been more clear on what we mean when we use
> >  > categories such as private/ public and non formal spaces. I will take
> >  > recourse to the space of the New Friends Colony community center to
> > clear
> >  > my understanding of public/private space.
> >  >
> >  > Can one really define public and private as clear-cut categories of
> > space
> >  > and behaviour? How does one categorize private or deemed private
> > behaviour
> >  > in public spaces? For example, kissing ones boyfriend in the parking
> > lot
> >  > at CC or for that matter, public or deemed public behaviour in ones
> >  > private space. For example, a film star giving an interview to a news
> >  > channel while sitting in her drawing room would elicit a more formal
> >  > performance of behaviour.
> >  > I don't think that I am in a position to give conclusive definitions of
> >  > what is private and public.
> >  >
> >  > However, when I talk of public space with reference to the NFC
> > Community
> >  > Centre, I mean the sidewalks, pavements, verandas, parking lots,
> > streets,
> >  > subways, and squares etc. The inside of the shops, restaurants, bars,
> >  > cinema halls are private spaces because the right of admission is
> > reserved
> >  > by the owner of the property or one is deterred by the presence of a
> >  > security guard. The public space of the verandas are taken over by the
> >  > restaurants and shops, the parking lot is leased out to private
> >  > contractors and all other spaces are meant to be used, to quote Richard
> >  > Sennet as `  areas to move through and not be in.' So, one  will use
> > the
> >  > pavement, sidewalk, veranda, square to move  from the  general store to
> >  > the  chemist to pizza hut to the cinema hall to the parking lot and
> > vise-
> >  > versa.
> >  >
> >  > The idea of sitting in front of Ego Thai [an upmarket restaurant] makes
> > a
> >  > particular kind of individual, a nuisance, a vagabond, a potential
> >  > terrorist or an anti-social being.
> >  > To get back to the question of private and public space, I don't know
> > what
> >  > to call the space of the fountain in a small open area in the shape of
> > a
> >  > square typical to many Community Centres in Delhi. It is owned by DDA.
> > It
> >  > is not a private space owned by any of the surrounding shops and
> >  > restaurants. It is not a public space because a private security guard
> >  > controls movement of people. He will not allow certain kind of
> > individual
> >  > to sit around and that includes anyone who is not a patron/potential
> >  > patron of the shop/ restaurant.  Public spaces, according to my
> >  > understanding were supposed to be spaces, that were open to all across
> >  > class, caste, race, religion and gender, hence the use of the term non-
> >  > formal space.
> >  >
> >  > I agree that a public space such as a restaurant, cinema hall, etc
> > needs
> >  > economic transaction to survive. But, are spaces where one need not
> > have
> >  > coffee and sit or watch a film for free, totally out of `public'
> >  > imagination?  I'm still grappling with this one though. Besides, there
> > is
> >  > Manisha.  She is eight years old and lives under the Okhla railway
> > station
> >  > flyover. The NFC Community Centre is work and play space for her. She
> >  > collects garbage, begs and is a regular sight at CC.
> >  >
> >  > Will Mc Donald's- the family restaurant allow her to enter their
> >  > restaurant space if she wants to buy a seven-rupee ice cream cone? Does
> >  > the security guard, who I see as a non- State player in this game of
> > `cops
> >  > and robbers', not allow her to play in the veranda?
> >  >
> >  > However, this discussion was initiated not because I wanted to solve
> >  > Manisha's problem but because I was not allowed to sit in certain
> >  > `sacrosanct' spaces in CC on many occasions.
> >  >
> >  > Coming back to the idea of leisure and control, the popularity of games
> >  > like football, rugby etc in Europe after the passing of the Bank
> > Holiday
> >  > Act 1871 indicates at the institutionalisation of certain kind of
> > leisure
> >  > acts. `Publics' would go out in large numbers, congregate at a space
> > full
> >  > of `strangers', watch/participate in `fun' activities, eat, drink and
> > head
> >  > home. But through all of this entry/exit would be restricted/monitored
> > and
> >  > so would behaviour and announcements/advertisements would ask people to
> > be
> >  > wary of strangers.
> >  >
> >  > Appu Ghar, trade fairs, zoological gardens, resorts, parks, stadiums,
> >  > cinema halls etc. become such public spaces and the spaces of the
> > streets,
> >  > roads, pavements, subways, and railway stations become carriers of
> > people
> >  > though not all publics to these public spaces.
> >  >
> >  > Some ideas that we are thinking about- Do we take leisure and the idea
> > of
> >  > leisure as given? What are the normal/ accepted forms of leisure and
> > who
> >  > defines them? Is leisure a performance of sorts?
> >  >
> >  > looking forward to more views,
> >  >
> >  > Cheers,
> >  > Iram
> >  >
> >  >
> >  >
> >  > _________________________________________
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