Sujata sehgal biography of barack

by Girish Daswani

this is a cross-post with Africa Proactive

Two bodies jogging along a beach in Lagos collide. One is Nigerian, the other is Indian. They stare into one another’s eyes for longer than is comfortable, and then bump into each other several times as they fumble to continue their run. But they cannot continue their day nor their lives without thinking about each other. It is “love at first sight”. This is predictably how you begin a romcom Nollywood-meets-Bollywood movie. In this case, the movie is Netflix’s Namaste Wahala, the first Nigerian film on Netflix to both tackle the theme of Black-Brown (or ‘Blindian’) relationships and chart in the US and UK. There is, truly, a lot to celebrate and be thankful for.

But there is also a lot to process, and question. In this post, I want to look beyond the storyline itself and propose a reflection on the deeper issues and entanglements this Lagos-born fairytale both conceals and, (un)consciously exposes. I will do so by 1. contextualizing Namaste Wahala within the longer history of the South Asian presence in West Africa and 2. shifting the focus away from the fantasy of “happy endings” in order to explore how social class, caste, and even race matter in such relationships. My focus will be more specifically on the case of the Sindhis of Ghana. Why? Well, the Sindhis are a diasporic ‘Hindu’ community which both Daryani Ahuja’s and my family belong to. As for Ghana, this is where a substantial portion of my father’s family has been living for over a century now, and this is also where I have been working for the past 20 years. The story that follows is therefore both historical and personal. But before diving into the heart of the matter, a general introduction to Namaste Wahala is in order.

Namaste Wahala: Bollywood X Nollywood

Namaste Wahala is no typical Bollywood film. It is a film set in Nigeria, which stars Nigerian actors and draws on Nollywood’s equal notoriety for dramatic perfor

Indian political drama television series

Desh Ki Beti Nandini (transl. Country's daughter Nandini) is an Indian politicaldrama show, which aired on Sony Entertainment Television, and was produced by Rashmi Sharma and Pawan Kumar under Rashmi Sharma Telefilms. It replaced the show Chhanchhan.

Plot

It is the story of a simple, young and cheerful next-door-girl called Nandini hailing from a middle-class family in Chandni Chowk, Delhi. Her father Ashok Pandey, is a retired government employee and mother Aanchal Pandey, a loving homemaker. She has a younger brother, Siddharth who is struggling to find a stable job and a younger college going sister, Ritu, who loves the world of fashion. While retired Ashok is still waiting to receive his pension money and Siddhath is looking for a stable job, Nandini is the sole bread earner of the family, who is working as a decorating planner in a decoration company. She is not only a responsible family member but also a responsible citizen, who believes in addressing daily life

“The only regret we have is that Maa (Zohra) had to live like a prisoner in her last few days”, says Kiran with anger quickly surfacing as she talks about how Zohra had become confined to the walls of her room in her duplex. She asked for a ground floor accommodation for her mother but it was denied by the urban development ministry.

She wrote to the Delhi Chief Minister’s office as well as the President’s office but to no avail. Apparently Zohra was too old and too rich to apply for the accommodation request meant only for artists under 60 years.

“A few months after her death we received a letter saying our request in now being processed. I was furious. Is this a joke?” says Kiran, adding how the government ought to have helped the internationally renowned Padma Vibhushan winning actress.

How Would They Want to Remember Her?

Kiran wants it to be a symbol of strength, for all the struggles she has seen her mother live through. Sujata, who has seen the brighter side of her grandmother’s career wants to remember her as the lady whose lap was there for her to lay her head on when the things were rough.