Apr

Kathputli: Traditions of Fire, Puppets, and Magic

by Meredith Mullins on April 17, 2017

A handmade puppet dances for her puppeteer inside a Kathputli Colony jhuggi.
© Meredith Mullins

Cultural Encounters in the Slums of India

The labyrinthine streets lead from one palette of wild color to another—from carnival reds and yellows to candy pinks and lavenders to soothing blue and green pastels.

The stripes and flowers and polka dots of the freshly washed clothes that hang in every possible open space make the colors of the buildings even more festive.

Colorful buildings and hanging wash in the Kathputli Colony of Delhi, showing cultural encounters in the slums of India. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

The Kathputli Colony in living color
© Meredith Mullins

Smells of curry and turmeric drift in the dusty air. And sounds of daily life and laughter create an uninterrupted soundtrack.

Cultural encounters in the Kathputli Colony in the Shadipur Depot area of west Delhi are filled with “Oh, I see” moments.

Girls of the Kathputli Colony in Delhi, showing cultural encounters in the slums of India. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

A community filled with smiles
© Meredith Mullins

The Slum Truth

I thought I had a hint of what life is like in the slums of India—Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai. After all, I’ve seen films like Slumdog Millionaire and Lion and read books such as Behind the Beautiful Forevers and Midnight’s Children.

But, it was not until I had walked through the cramped alleys of Kathputli; shared tea in a puppeteer family’s one-room, dirt-and-concrete floor home; stepped gingerly over the rivulets of sewage and tangles of electrical wires; and played with the local children that I began to understand.

Colorful alley in the Kathputli Colony in Delhi, showing cultural encounters in the slums of India. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Electrical wires abound, but electricity is sporadic.
© Meredith Mullins

Oh I see. This is home . . . although it is not an easy existence. Electricity is sporadic, water must be carried from a distance, and the streets are littered with more trash than they should be.

Even with this backdrop of poverty, families are relatively happy here. There are plenty of smiles and laughter. There is artistry through almost every open door.

This is life. There is pride of place . . . and a spirit of family and community.

A home in the Kathputli Colony, with mother, son, and dog, showing cultural encounters in the slums of India. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Colorful, open-air homes
© Meredith Mullins

A Community of Street Artists

Two things make the Kathputli Colony unique—the past and the future.

This particular neighborhood has a long tradition as a home for street performers. Started in the 1950s by puppeteers from Rajasthan, the colony now has more than 3,000 families of magicians, fire breathers, snake charmers, musicians, acrobats, singers, dancers, rope walkers, and jugglers.

Men play cards in the street of the Kathputli Colony, showing cultural encounters in the slums of India. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Life in the streets
© Meredith Mullins

Outdoor life is common in India. At Kathputli, the residents work and play in the open courtyards and wider alleys, as well as and in their makeshift homes pieced together with wood, tin, tarp, mud, and brick.

They go out to perform, by day or by night, and return to the camaraderie of their families and friends and their colorful home life.

Fire breather in the Kathputli Colony, showing cultural encounters in the slums of India. (Image © Chester Ng.)

A fire breather at the colony
© Chester Ng 2016 (stylishpix@yahoo.com)

The community is friendly and welcoming. Even the children have a wonderful theatrical quality—in their poses, their colorful American brand-name hand-me-downs, their trendy hair styles, and their connection to visitors.

The time I spent wandering the Kathputli alleys was a traveler’s treasure (and a photographer’s dream).

Three children of the Kathputli Colony in the street, showing cultural encounters in the slums of India. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Setting trends in many ways
© Meredith Mullins

An Uncertain Future

This spirit of community made it even sadder to learn that the Kathputli families are being displaced from this colony.

As “progress” would have it, the land they have lived on for the past 60 years is now becoming prime real estate. At the same time, the government has pledged to eliminate slums.

A group of Kathputli Colony dwellers, showing cultural encounters in the slums of India. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

The evolution of a camp
© Meredith Mullins

The original residents built a community out of a jungle on the edge of the city. They started with a camp and slowly made improvements to produce the village of jhuggis (makeshift dwellings) today.

However, as Delhi expanded, Kathputli became more central and is now even on a major metro line.

The government has given a contract to developers to develop the land, including commercial buildings as well as new homes in apartment blocks for the colony families.

The families will be relocated—first to a transit camp while new homes are constructed in multi-story buildings and ultimately to these new living units.

Two rows of transit camp units for the Kathputli Colony, showing how cultural encounters in the slums of India have led to displacement. (Image © Sanjuko Basu.)

The transit camp does not lend itself to the spirit of the Kathputli Colony.
© Sanjukta Basu

The colony is rightfully skeptical. Some have refused to leave their homes until they are promised the new homes via a court contract and are given some specific timelines for the new development.

Currently, it is unclear how long they must live in the transit camp, which seems more like a military camp than the colorful community of Kathputli.

The developers can’t begin the new construction until all the families have relocated to the transit camp. But those holding out have no faith that they will get a new house, and they want to be sure that the new housing works with their artistic lifestyle—with places to store their materials and performance areas to practice and share their arts.

Two girls hold hands at the Kathputli Colony in Delhi, showing cultural encounters in the slums of India. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

A nostalgia for the ancestral homes
© Meredith Mullins

A Nostalgia for Traditions

While the redevelopment plan may be a good start to solving the issue of slum dwelling, there will be a lingering nostalgia when the colorful alleys and cultural encounters of Kathputli have become a sea of high-rise apartment buildings, and when the puppeteers and fire breathers are no longer gathering spontaneously in the streets to share their proud history of artistry.

Sometimes the path to “progress” leaves much to be desired.

A boy poses amidst the rubble of the Kathputli Colony, showing cultural encounters in the slums of India. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Kathputli style
© Meredith Mullins

For more information about the current Kathputli Colony relocation issues, read this article by independent journalist Sanjukta Basu in The First Post. OIC also thanks Ms. Basu for permission to use her photograph of the transit camp. Please also visit her website.

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Cultural Encounters/India

Feb

Not Just Another Day at the Beach

by Meredith Mullins on February 13, 2017

An ocean view of the fishing village of M'Bour Senegal, offering travel adventures and a photographer's dream of images. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Life and livelihood from the sea in M’Bour, Senegal
© Meredith Mullins

A Photographer’s Dream: Cultural Encounter in Senegal

Travel adventures are triggered in many different ways. Journeys to exotic lands. Serendipitous celebrations. Unexpected challenges. New friendships with strangers. Losing yourself to the rhythms of wherever you are.

Boy and boat in M'Bour offering travel adventures and a photographer's dream with vivid Senegal life. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Falling in step with the local rhythms
© Meredith Mullins

This travel adventure is a cultural encounter centered on a memorable day at a Senegal beach. It all started with the washing of a horse. And, as I always say, “When you begin your day with a ceremonial horse washing, the promise of greatness is in the air.”

Senegal boys washing a horse, offering travel adventures and a photographer's dream in M'Bour, Senegal. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

The washing of the horse: a perfect way to start a day of travel adventures
© Meredith Mullins

An M’Bour Adventure

I was relaxing on a café terrace in M’Bour, looking out toward the edge of the earth and shielding my eyes from the relentless tropical sun, when I spied said horse, knee deep in the Atlantic Ocean.

Like a celebrity equine, he stood proud and poised, with just the right touch of obedience and humility. A team of young Senegalese beach lovers surrounded him and splashed him with sea water. Apparently it was horse washing day.

I waded out and offered my help, with a traveler’s curiosity and a not-so-hidden motive of capturing the jubilant event in photographs.

Four boys washing a horse in M'Bour, Senegal, offering travel adventures and a photographer's dream in images. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Adding the finishing touches to the horse washing process
© Meredith Mullins

A Photography Philosophy Pause

I should pause here to say the Senegalese are a very proud and confident people. They show you exactly who they are—each with a direct and unselfconscious gaze that seems to come from deep within.

Three Senegalese boys (B&W) on the beach in M'Bour, Senegal, offering travel adventures and a photographer's dream in photos. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Showing themselves as they wish to be seen
© Meredith Mullins

They are also quite reticent to be photographed, for a number of very good reasons. They have suffered and have been taken advantage of—in history (slavery) and in contemporary life (tourists who click away with their cameras without respect for privacy or permission and without regard for the human heartbeat inside).

As a photographer of people, I have learned that an enduring and meaningful photograph comes from building a solid relationship with those you are photographing and by conveying a strong sense of place. In Senegal, this connection takes a sincere investment of time.

Meanwhile . . . Back to the Horse

I stayed with the horse washing crowd for a long time, as we played in the water and got to know one another. I learned the intricacies of sea water washing, as we made our horse as white and as bright as possible.

Senegal boy resting in the ocean in M'Bour, offering travel adventures and a photographer's dream in images. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Cooling off in the Atlantic
© Meredith Mullins

The kids became my muses and my friends, as well as an integral part of my photographs. They were simply themselves, and they allowed me to capture that essence.

Small boy on the beach in M'Bour, Senegal, offering travel adventures and a photographer's dream of Senegal portraits. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Meeting the essence of M’Bour on the beach
© Meredith Mullins

A Walk on the Beach

Several of the horse washing team then became my tour guides and accompanied me along the beach to every small community and encampment. I became a focus of attention. Everyone was interested in me . . . just as I was in them.

Crowds gathered. Children came running. Villagers waved in welcome.

And when I treated one village to candy from their shop, suddenly everyone was there. (A huge thank you to my guides for excellent crowd control.)

Villagers in M'Bour, Senegal reach for candy in the local shop. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

A candy frenzy
© Meredith Mullins

As a result of this intense and real connection, I made more memorable photographs in a few hours than I have ever made in any other place.

Boy runs to the ocean in M'Bour, Senegal, offering travel adventures and a photographer's dream of images. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

A run to the sea
© Meredith Mullins

That success was, in part, because of the vivid colors, the symphony of varied faces, and the bustling fishing life and love of the sea. But my “Oh, I see” moment was that it was also, in part, because I was fully present in their life, even for a brief moment in time.

Woman with baby on her back in M'Bour, Senegal, offering travel adventures and a photographer's dream of images. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Welcoming smiles from M’Bour villagers
© Meredith Mullins

They say in photography that if you make one strong photograph during a shooting day, you have been successful. A photographer’s dream.

I made many images that day that I treasure. It was a day rich in sensory experience. But more important than the photos, I still remember feeling a very real part of the Senegal rhythms, as the community of M’Bour washed, swam, fished, played, and turned toward the water for life and livelihood.

These are the kind of cultural encounters that stay with you forever.

Three boys on the beach in M'Bour, Senegal (B&W and close up), offering travel adventures and a photographer's dream in images. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

New friends on the M’Bour beach walk
© Meredith Mullins

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Crossing Cultures/Cultural Encounters/Senegal

May

Connecting Through the Universal Language of Music

by Meredith Mullins on May 4, 2015

Two dancers in white at the rue Mouffetard in Paris, showing that music is the universal language of connection. (Image © Meredith Mullins)

A Reminder of Old Paris: Singing and Dancing on the Rue Mouffetard

I want to make people cry, even when they don’t understand my words. —Edith Piaf

It’s Sunday morning in the Square St Médard in Paris. I am singing in the warm sun . . . belting out the words “Tant que l’amour inondera mes matins” from Edith Piaf’s “L’Hymne à l’Amour” (The Hymn to Love).

With my limited French, I don’t quite understand what the words mean; but the song swells up inside and puts a little lump of emotion in my throat. I feel an unexplainable nostalgia.

There are people all around me singing the same words, with the same nostalgia. There are dancers swirling to the accordion accompaniment. Everyone is involved in the song. We are connected by a powerful force. The universal language of music.

Red haired dancer with male companion, dancing at le petit bal on rue Mouffetard, showing the universal language of music. (Image: Meredith Mullins)

Oh, I See: The Power of the Musical Bond

Every Sunday morning (except in extreme weather), a community of music lovers comes to the spontaneous musical stage set amidst the bustling market on the rue Mouffetard.

They come to “leave their troubles behind” and lose themselves in the music. They come to step back in time into the unaffected charm of French village life. They come, quite simply, to smile and feel the warmth of a neighborhood.

Singers at le petit bal on the rue Mouffetard , showing the universal language of music. (Image © Meredith Mullins)

Le Petit Bal Musette

The leader, accordionist and singer Christian Bassoul, is dedicated to the revival of the “forgotten tradition” of the bal musette, a gathering of families and neighbors to sing and dance to accordion music in the streets.

Every Sunday for more than 30 years, Christian has organized the music. The rest of the story just falls into place with those who happen to stumble on the festivities.

Christian Bassoul at le petit bal on the rue Mouffetard, showing the universal language of music. (Image © Virginia Kelser Jones)

“Regularity and continuity are important,” he says. “Some people come from outside of Paris or from far-away countries, so we try not to disappoint them.”

One American friend of the bal musette plans her schedule around the Sunday morning event. She flies in on Saturday and leaves on Monday. The perfect neighborhood weekend vacation.

The group meets the challenge of Paris weather, which can (and does) change every few minutes. “Sometimes we must sing between the raindrops (passer entre les gouttes),” Christian says. The show must go on.

Children dancing at le petit bal musette on the rue mouffetard, showing the universal language of music. (Image © Meredith Mullins)

A Group that Welcomes Everyone

The crowd is diverse—locals and strangers, young and old, worn tennis shoes and sparkling high heels, blue jeans and ruffles. The passionate dancers, singers, and musicians take center stage, aided by the supporting cast of the moment.

Michel Cygan, a dancer at le petit bal musette on the rue Mouffetard, showing the universal language of music. (Image © Meredith Mullins)

Many of the dancers are regulars. They have the impeccable style and graceful moves of the best of “Dancing with the Stars” but they’re not searching for fame or fortune. They are here for the sheer joy of dancing.

If you’re shy about dancing but have that “I want to dance” look in your eye or tap in your toe, one of the regulars will waltz you onto the dance floor (albeit asphalt). Or, don’t wait. Join in by yourself or grab hands with the welcoming circle of dancers.

Couple dancing toward the camera at le petit bal musette on the rue Mouffetard, showing the universal language of music. (Image © Meredith Mullins).

If you don’t know the words to the songs—so much a part of French tradition—a helpful regular will bring you a song sheet. Edith Piaf, Charles Trenet, Georges Brassens, Félix LeClerc, Aristide Bruant, Charles Aznavour, Josephine Baker, and Jacques Brel will come alive before your eyes.

Baby with song lyrics at le petit bal on the rue Mouffetard, showing the universal language of music. (Image © Meredith Mullins)

A Chorus of Friendship

The Mouffetard group bonds through the music and has such community spirit that after the dancing in the square, they reconvene up the street for lunch together.

Then they clear the bistro floor and dance and sing some more. Sometimes on sunny summer days, they continue the party on the banks of the Seine.

B&W photo of dancers by the Seine, part of the rue Mouffetard group, showing the universal language of music. (Image© Meredith Mullins)

As a teacher of Christian’s said, “Music is like an immense house. You visit a room and there are two or three doors going to other rooms. You can never see all of it.” The possibilities are endless.

No Regrets

There is power in music that transcends the challenges of daily life. The universal language leaps over words and goes straight for the heart. And, on Sundays on the rue Mouffetard, the rhythms of old Paris bring people together in a communal smile.

When everyone sings Piaf’s “Non, je ne regret rien,” there is truth in the music. There are no regrets.

The dip, dancers at le petit bal musette on the rue Mouffetard, showing the universal language of music. (Image © Meredith Mullins)

More information on Christian Bassoul and Le Petit Bal Musette.

Paris celebrates the 100th anniversary of Edith Piaf’s birth with an exhibit at the Bibliothèque Nationale.

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