What is common between famed Hollywood actress Lillian Gish and Bharat Singh Manhas, a bureaucrat of Jammu & Kashmir Administrative Service ( JKAS ) ?
Known as the First Lady of American Cinema, Lillian Diana Gish was an actress, director and screenwriter. Her acting career spanned over glorious 75 years. She started acting in the year 1912, at age 19, in the silent era, and hanged her boots in the year 1987, at the ripe old age of 94 !
Bharat Singh is a 2001 batch officer of JKAS cadre, presently posted as the secretary of the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages.
Lillian Gish once famously said, ” I like people to come back and tell me what I did wrong. That is the kindest thing you can do.” A century apart, Bharat Singh is in complete agreement with her !
I fancy thinking that Ms Lillian would have loved reading my Jammu Jottings, if she were a Dogra lady. Well, Bharat Singh is an avid reader of the column. Even when I criticise him, his officers or the overall administration of his Academy, he is not antagonised or ruffled ; instead, he learns from the mistakes I point out. He told me so, in no uncertain terms.
By now, as a regular reader of this column, he knows it well that I call a spade a spade, and also that I do not eschew ‘positive criticism’. In the clouds of my criticism, he cleverly looks for the silver lining. He has observed that, whenever I point out any deficiencies, I try to suggest some feasible remedies too.
Likewise, writing about the cultural affairs of the Dograland, I brought out certain deficiencies in the organisation of cultural programmes by the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages ( Academy ), through my Jottings.
Unlike most of the bureaucrats that we know of, the secretary of the Academy was not offended. To say the least, he was grateful that I brought out the lacunae. “Had you not pointed these out, such deficiencies could have missed our attention. Consequently, this would have resulted in continuation of such lacunae in perpetuity”, he later told me with perceptible sincerity.
Dear readers, you would agree with me that we rarely come across such humility and an honest desire to improve the systems we command. Bharat has displayed an endearing quality by accepting positive criticism.
The overall perception of the populace is that Bharat Singh is bold, dynamic, accessible, and innovative. They say he has brought palpable changes in running the Academy.
The President of Dogri Sanstha, Professor Lalit Magotra says : the present secretary is the best thing that could have happened to the Academy. When he took charge, the Academy was in shambles. It has been mismanaged for long years. Previous incumbents failed to give it a direction it needed. It was, therefore, rudderless.
There is a sea change in the operations of the Academy after Bharat Singh took charge of this premier institution. He diligently introduced the digital payment system. Now, the Academy makes payments directly to the bank accounts of the artistes and the writers. Previously, there were complaints of financial irregularities in payments made to writers and artists.
The cultural activities in the union territory have increased manifold. The entire UT is abuzz with literary and cultural activities : conferences, seminars, concerts, mushairas and the lot; not only in the cities, but also in the far flung areas of Jammu and Kashmir. His latest innovation is to give the Jammu city her first literary festival.
” The city of temples has never hosted a literary festival in strict terms, though the Academy has organised several festivals of short stories and languages ever since my arrival on the scene”, Bharat Singh told me during an informal talk. Unfortunately, for now, the proposal to hold the literary festival has been put on a back burner for reasons hitherto unknown.
When I asked him what is his vision of cultural scenario in the U T of Jammu and Kashmir in the year 2024, he revealed several new programmes to bring forth the various genres of culture through the artistes of the UT.
” Beginning this February, we envisage holding a series of programmes under five categories with immediate effect. The first category is ‘Dharohar’. The first programme under this series is a dialogue between a daughter and mother. We all know that, in our homes, there is a unique understanding between the two. The daughters share their intimate feelings with their mothers, which, for obvious reasons, they can not share with their fathers. The programme will showcase intimate dialogue between a daughter and her mother through folksongs.
” The second series is called ‘Virasat’. In this series, to begin with, we are presenting ten Urdu poets in exclusive solo concerts dedicated to their poetry, over a period of time, which shall be shared to the audience well in time. These concerts will be introduced by scholars of music and literature, giving monographs of the poets and the singer. This way, listeners will get a picture of the poet, his life and works, as also the life and contributions of the singer singing his poems.
” Third, we also intend inviting various singers to sing a single poet in a concert. So, you may listen to Ghalib or Arsh Sehbai being sung by five different singers in a single concert titled ‘Mehfil’.
” Fourth, we shall hold a lecture series called ‘Straight from my heart’ where we shall invite eminent personalities from different fields to speak about their expertise and show how we can enrich our lives from their experiences.
” Fifth, we shall hold regular ‘Meet the author’ series wherein eminent authors shall be introduced to the invited audience in an interactive session.
This is a very challenging bouquet of aspirations, Mr Secretary. We cross our fingers and await its effective implementation and results thereof.
On 4th January, the 5th International Braille Day was celebrated by Kalpana Kala Kendra in collaboration with the Academy. Virender Langoo, the organiser, himself devoid of eyesight, declared from the podium : Manhas saheb is very endearing to us for his positive attitude and easy accessibility. He is singularly responsible for holding about 3000 programmes in the last about 20 months in the UT. We need such individuals to preserve and promote our culture.
With so many cultural activities taking place all around, the Academy needs to ensure that quality of the programmes does not go down the hill. Therefore, we hope, proper vetting is done at all stages.
Such popularity with writers and artists, NGOs and literary bodies is difficult to achieve and almost impossible to maintain as all these species are highly charged, temperamental and easily offended. To say the least, it is like holding a double edged sword ; like walking on the razor’s edge.
” It is my mandate to promote deserving writers and artists of the Union Territory and I will make sure no injustice is ever done by us as an institution “, Bharat Singh tells me.
Recently, he discovered that there is an artiste from Jammu the Academy has not invited to perform for almost 30 years. He called up this internationally acknowledged artiste and expressed regret that the Academy has failed to utilise her talent. ” Not only that we failed to recognise her huge talent, but we also denied the listeners of Jammu and Kashmir the privilege of listening to her inspired performances. Incidentally she is the only Top Graded vocal artist ever produced by Jammu “, laments the secretary, ” I wonder if there is another such deserving case from our union territory “.
For the uninitiated, the Academy follows the gradings given by the Government of India through Akashvani (All India Radio ). There are four categories of gradings, in the ascending order : B, B High, A, and Top Grade.
The writers and the artistes need no formal appointment. They can easily walk into his office for discussions or resolution, if they have an issue. We wish he continues in the same direction with grit and fervour.
As I sign off from the first Jottings of the new year, I recall a couplet by Khaleel Tanveer and offer a prayer for myself :
auron ki buraii ko na dekhoon vo nazar de
haan apni buraii ko parakhne ka hunar de
( Give me the sanity to ignore faults in others/
But, grant me the ability to examine my own faults // )
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