Voices of Resistance

 As part of the tenth annual South Asian Progressive Action Collective's (SAPAC) month-long exhibit commemorating the Sept. 11 attacks, it held a performance entitled "Voices of Resistance: Revision" (VOR) on Oct. 15 at Marwen. Dr. Ahalya Satkunaratnam, NEIU professor of the Women's Studies Program and Political Science, was one of the several artists to perform and take part in the VOR exhibition as part of SAPAC; her piece, "Con-Sequential," was a Bharat Natyam inspired dance, which mixed techno with classical Indian music.

   The deliberative and focused choreography drew in the audience, especially when she incorporated a lengthy red ribbon, which signified the cycle of violence perpetuated by post 9/11 panic.

   "It was definitely a metaphor…we think of fronts but we don't think about what we leave behind," said Satkunaratnam.

   Aparna Sharma and Fuad Ahmed's video, "Backlash," was a short but poignant depiction of the Islamaphobic aftermath that occurred after the attacks.  It included names of several individuals who had disappeared and/or were sent to Guantanamo Bay by the U.S. government to appease the nation's panic; it also showed what they had been "convicted" of, which was being Muslim at the wrong place and at the wrong time.

   Kareem Khubchandani's video, "Diamonds," was about how diamonds affected his family—particularly his mother. 

   "My mother is a powerful business woman, and she never needed a power suit," said Khubchandani, in regards to how his mother managed their family with her social capital and used diamonds to help the family as needed.

    He also emphasized in the video that, "I thought we were poor but we had diamonds," as well as the different dynamics of his upbringing.

    Namratha Rajagopal's vocal performance entitled "Me, Myself and Bharathi" was hypnotic to the listener, even despite the language and cultural barriers. Throughout her performance, three large pieces of paper were unfurled and stated a single word: the first had "hope," the second one said "truth" and the last one was "strength."

   Afterward, Anjal Chande performed a dance entitled "She Cannot," which flowed very well with the rhythmic voice repeating "she cannot" to a great blend of Indian and jazz music, with Chande seemingly fighting the negativity throughout the song.

   Lastly, MC Chee Malabar, who came to the United States when he was 12 years old, used hip-hop as his outlet. The first song was "New Yorkistani" which touched on the American and South Asian identities and how they collide with lyrics such as, "Many tried to tame her, claim her / left the same way they came, as perfect strangers." He followed that with "Harsh Truth," "Good Ones," and "After the Dust Settles", which had lyrics like "yesterday's news will become tonight's nightmare" and "I'd rather do something and fail than do nothing and succeed," giving voice to the tragedy and perseverance that exists in the world.

   Malabar then performed "Unbreakable Sweetness," which was a much sadder song about a relationship gone sour. He ended with "Postcards From Paradise," an homage to his country of origin, India, and expressed the simplicity and necessity of how "my people get by on ritual beliefs."

                  "We were trying to engage in a process of presenting progressive visual arts performances," said Satkunaratnam, which was definitely accomplished with this exhibition. "I was really happy with the thoughtful performances."