By Farish A Noor A nation is as rich as its geography; and geography is enriched when it is over-determined. In this respect, we in Malaysia are — or were — rich indeed. Rich, because of the fact that — being located as we are at the crossroads of Asia — this patch of earth […]
By Matt Armitage Finding out about international acts performing live in Malaysia can be a bit like playing with the lottery: you never know what to expect. There are the popular, well-advertised stadium shows, like the Pussycat Dolls and INXS, of course — but more interesting are the smaller shows, promoted through word of mouth […]
By CH Loh What do the films Lelaki Komunis Terakhir and Gubra have in common? Obvious answer: they were both Malaysian films that stirred local controversy in recent times. Less obvious answer: they both contained music by composer Hardesh Singh. When one talks about film, composers rarely get mentioned. “Film is not a medium for […]
By Sonia Randhawa Inter-ethnic understanding is a high priority for many groups, and National Service doesn’t really seem to be working. The Jumping Jellybeans, however, have begun a project with much younger children, which contains the potential to help cultural sharing between children of different language groups in Kuala Kubu Bharu. And National Service doesn’t […]
By Sharaad Kuttan It is near impossible to write about Lelaki Komunis Terakhir without dealing with the immediate politics of the affair; the circus of the UMNO-directed banning (including the Arts Minister’s intervention) as well as a divided media, caught between anti-communist hysteria and liberal breast-beating. So perhaps the only thing to do in order […]
By Shankar Kandasamy Swami Shanthanand Saraswathi came to Malaysia in 1970, and like all visiting Hindu monks, gave a series of talks and Bhajans (Hindu hymns) at the Vivekananda Ashram here in Brickfields K.L. His charismatic personality, marked by his charming voice, spiritually uplifting dynamic talks, sweet songs and down-to-earth friendly nature drew large crowds. […]
By Lee Jia Ping Until last weekend, classical Indian Dance was boring to my uneducated eyes and the music, too high pitched for my liking. It was a good thing then that I was persuaded to go for Dance a Prayer at the Indian High Commission, on the evening of Sat 10, Sep 2005. It […]
By Selvi Gopal During intermission, as people walk out for a toilet break or a hit of coffee, it is not uncommon to hear them whispering about the first half of whatever show they had just seen. There I was at the performance of Inside Out, squeezed between many ladies in their elaborate saris, and […]
