[Reader-list] the Act of leisure

[iram at sarai.net]

Dear all,

We would like to initiate a discussion on the reader list on issues   
involving the performance of law in our everyday lived experience through
the institutionalisation of the leisure act and the intertwining of
leisure space and surveillance.

 Some of the issues that we would like to probe/ excavate/ explore/
understand also through an experiential study of the New Friends Colony
Community Centre, are:

 - The nuances that govern the State and non state players in their
 behaviour in non formal spaces which do not seem to fall under the purview
 of either public or private space.

 - The control/ censorship of thought and action as a direct fallout of the
 use of quasi legal language by the State and its implications in codes of
 deemed public behaviour.

 - The ambivalent dictates in the name of public security and legality that
 form the basic subtext of restraining ordinary forms of leisure.

 - Does the State want the public to stay within the `private’ space of
 the home- safe and secure and to come out only to engage in some form of
 economic activity or other?  And is leisure activity in public space
possible without spending money?


 AN INCIDENT: On a cold, foggy evening, last winter, Taha and a couple of
other friends, Bikas and Gaurav, all students  from Mass communication
Research Centre, Jamia were sitting at the fountain opposite Bon Bon
pastry shop in New Friends Colony Community Centre. CC, as it is popularly
called by Jamia students, lies in the shadow of Softel Surya hotel. It is
surrounded by a number of posh south Delhi gated colonies, the Jamia
University and its hostels,  and a few other middle class colonies. The
last bus stop for #400, is Okhla Village barely 2 kilometres from CC.

 So far, CC has been able to cater to all its distinctly diverse
communities of patrons.  So, if there is the stylish Ego Thai on one hand,
there is also a more middle class  New Delhi Food Corner, serving the best
butter chicken in all of Delhi.

The khaki uniform is not an unfamiliar sight in CC  because of the
presence of New Friends Colony  thana within the complex of shops and   
restaurants. The  people seemed to be used to a certain amount of police 
presence and  control, especially around diwali, dusshehera, eid, new years
eve, 26th January,  and the 15th August.

 Despite illegal encroachments by shop owners, and a mushrooming community
of street kids from the Okhla railway station flyover complex, the
relationship between the police and public is what can be termed as
normal- normal to our times. The wine and beer shops close at 10 pm but CC
would remain open till 1 am on normal days. That evening, as these friends
were sitting at the fountain and talking about what young people would
normally talk about… studies, career, politics, films,colleagues, etc
that Taha noticed a man in khaki with what suspiciously looked like a 3
CCD camera, video recording what looked like themselves!


 On questioning, the man proudly identified himself as Pandu[name changed],
a constable  with the NFC thana. They told him that they were media
students in MCRC,  Jamia and were working with Zee news, star news and
CNBC! On hearing this, Pandu revealed that he was friends with an ex-
student who worked as a reporter  with Aaj Tak news channel.

 He pointedly asked them to sit in either Barista or Mc Donalds, if they
wanted to be out that late and instead of loitring around.

 According to Pandu a training in digital camera and basic non linear
editing software  had been given to at least one constable  in all police
stations of Delhi. Instructions had been given to record the janta from
7.30 pm till 9:00 pm everyday.

 Pandu proudly showed these guys the footage shot so far. A couple of men
having beer in a car, zoom in to the number plate of the car, some close
up shots of women and mid shots of themselves. In fact, because Taha’s
face was covered by a shawl, he had changed the camera angles to get a
better shot. It was amply clear was that Pandu was a not a very good
camera person!

 Pandu disclosed, with an air of self importance, that because an alleged
terrorist  arrested from some part of Delhi, had apparently had dinner at
Ego Thai, orders were issued to video graph the area,  map people, and
generate profiles of  regulars and new comers.

 In retrospect, the enormity of the situation did strike these people but  
      final projects were on and you don’t take pangas with the police if
you
are a law abiding student from jamia Millia Islamia. Hence, though  the
matter was much discussed/ debated, but just that.

 This summer Taha ran into Pandu again. At CC. He promptly shot Taha for a
a few minutes, smiled, waved a hi and went on his way like a friendly
neighbourhood constable. Possibly his camera work had improved but one can
only guess, for this time he did not show the footage to Taha.

 College was finally over. Taha and his friends have left the hostel. Bikas
wrote a short story about the incident but I guess lost it in shifting
accomodation. He works with CNBC. Gaurav is a free lance photographer
and Taha is a  researcher on information society.

 Community Centre is as welcoming as before. They are now building a mall
cum multiplex cinema hall on top of Mc Donalds. CC just might change.


 We invite readers and writers on the list to share personal experiences/ 
discuss opinions/ raise questions on the institutionlistion of leisure and
the surveillance/ control of leisure/public space in Delhi and elsewhere.
How law determines the way we behave and how does one perform in the face
of this bareness of act?

looking forwards to responses,
cheers,
iram and taha