[Reader-list] Etihas magazine, 2nd issue (Feb 2016)

[Yousuf]

Etihas.in online video magazine, Issue 2, February, 2016

A very happy Basant (spring) to all of you (we know the spring may not have arrived for some of you, but in South Asia it seems to have).

Welcome to the second crop of Etihas.in, an online video magazine of history and culture of India and South Asia. Each month, Etihas.in carries short videos featuring interviews with experts, mini documentaries, audio podcasts, and recordings of performing arts among many other items that we hope will entertain and inspire you, and arouse your appetite for more about our rich and diverse pasts. We deliberately avoid writing a wordy editorial here as we allow our videos to speak for themselves.

Please access the new issue at http://etihas.in/magazine.html or see the individual links below.
In February 2016 issue, we bring you the following video stories and segments:

1. Indo Persian Culture - Meetings at the Crossroads: A short introduction to the Hind-Farsi or Indo Persian culture that evolved through the confluence of Central Asian and Indian civilizations at many geographical crossroads. (6:30 mins)

2. Ashok Vajpeyi - Challenges to Cultural Plurality in Contemporary India: Hindi poet and cultural activist Ashok Vajpeyi stirs us in this candid talk to abandon the present political system and think of an alternative where India’s cultural plurality can be sustained and appreciated. You can watch short highlights from his talk (7:30 mins) on this link (https://youtube.com/watch?v=TufRR5gcWGQ ) or see the complete talk (43 mins, highly recommended) at this link (https://youtube.com/watch?v=DvZkQQUWnMg )

3. Mela Basant Bahar - Documentary film about Basant festival at Lahore, Pakistan: Although Lahore's Basant has recently been frowned upon by some in Pakistan and its activities majorly curtailed, this film from the late 1990s shows us a exuberant Lahore many (outsiders) may have not seen before. Directed by Samina Aslam of Eveready Pictures. See short excerpts of the film (6:30 mins) at this link (https://youtube.com/watch?v=CZaG-peY5Bc ), while the complete film (23 mins) can be seen here (https://youtube.com/watch?v=AGdqCEAOaDw )

4. Basant: Spring festival celebrated at the shrine of Nizamuddin Aulia at Delhi: Produced in 1997 about the festival of spring celebrated at the Sufi shrine of Nizamuddin Aulia at New Delhi, this short film spends a day in the lives of qawwals and Sufis at the dargah. See here: https://youtube.com/watch?v=O2zlN88unuI

5. Oral history archives on the Internet - a select list: Oral histories, local histories, or people's histories are increasingly being recorded and archived all over the world as genuine sources of history. We feature a select list of some useful archives on the Internet. http://etihas.in/oralhistory.html

We hope that you will enjoy the above videos and resources and will write to us with your feedback. Kindly note that Etihas.in is so far a voluntary effort and needs your support to survive. We have several plans to make the knowledge of our history and heritage available to the public, especially the younger generation. But these plans need support from all of you. Please write to us with ideas on where to find support. Also, you are free to forward this mail to others.

Thanks and happy Basant once again.

The Etihas.in team
http://www.etihas.in