Long distance friendship

When a devastating earthquake struck the Indian district of Latur in September 1993, the Indian community of Southern California was spurred into action. Quickly becoming frustrated by the constraints of officialdom and opportunistic corruption that meant pledged monies weren’t reaching those for whom it was destined, the group decided to take matters into their own hands. In so doing, the Indian Friends Association (IFA) was formed, and direct avenues were forged through which assistance could quickly and effectively make a difference to those in need.

From its Ventura County base, the IFA has since evolved into a dynamic catalyst for a range of activities that promote economic empowerment and self sufficiency amongst India’s underprivileged. The group’s origins might lay in a desire to offer immediate assistance in response to a specific disaster, but the IFA is now involved in more than 20 projects benefiting the poor across India. But, while the country’s economic growth has seen India standing firmer than it ever has, the flow on effect through its populace hasn’t yet reached quite as far as it is so desperately needed.

“The question has definitely been raised about India’s growing prosperity,” says IFA spokesperson Kailash Narayan. “If India is doing so well, why then can’t they take care of their poor? The difficulty that we see — those of us who are actively involved in projects in India — is that 20 percent of the population is doing very well indeed, but the other 80 percent are still in poverty. And the prosperity is not trickling down fast enough. Eighty percent of the people still earn, on average, less than 50 cents per day.”

Grounded in the Gandhian concept of personal involvement being the greatest offering, the group’s annual fundraising event is a cultural celebration called Archana. Its name translating to “offering,” the event encompasses the collective participation of the local Indian community toward a common cause. Now in its 14th year, Archana has seen the IFA steadily grow in both its support base here in the American Indian community and, more importantly, in its effect upon various causes being addressed in India.

For the past six years, more than 100 members of the local Indian community have gathered to stage the annual Archana undertaking. A celebration of India’s rich cultural diversity, each year the event draws almost 1,500 patrons to the Civic Arts Plaza in Thousand Oaks, where they delight in a celebration of Indian culture that embraces all facets of Indian life. And, just like the causes the event serves to support, Archana is very much a hands-on affair. None of the participants are professionals, with the evening’s accumulated talent being drawn from enthusiastic members of the local community.

In opening with a traditional Indian dinner, the night features three different cultural categories and offers a unique insight into Indian dance, drama and music. The dance component includes classical performances from ancient India and folk dances from different regions, along with a modern “Bollywood” dance. The dramatic presentation compares Western culture and Indian culture by contrasting their respective values, while the musical arrangements encompass both classical and contemporary Indian compositions. And while the cultural palate from which the program draws might be broad, the central theme of the event is one of unification.

“The Indian philosophy is one family, the whole of humanity,” says Program Coordinator Surakha Sharma. “Different states have different religions and even different languages, but there are also many things they all share in common. So we have put forward art forms from many of the different states and have tried to balance it. We have some from the southern part of India and some from the eastern, there are old classical styles and some more modern styles. But I think that no matter the origins, what everyone finds is that they are far more similar than they are different.”

One aspect of Indian culture the world is fast become aware of, and something that is being featured in this year’s installment of Archana, is the Bollywood film tradition. Originating in Mumbai and produced in Hindi, the genre is typified by its wanton embrace of both music and melodrama, lending itself perfectly to an Archana interpretation. With more than 800 films being produced each year that are subsequently viewed by some 3.6 billion people, Bollywood is also typified by its indiscriminant appeal and crossing of social borders.

“In India things are so difficult for the poor that movies emerged as somewhere people can run away from their worries for three hours or so,” Narayan says. “It has become a major industry and has, over the years, had quite an effect on the Indian people as a unifier. There is such a diverse population in India. It is made up of Hindus and Muslims and Christians and Sikh, and weaving them all together is Bollywood because in the movies, all the different factions are represented. They are collectively forgetting their individual identities.”

But national identity is something India has never had a problem with — anyone who has ever attended a cricket game featuring the national team can testify to that. But with India occupying an increasingly larger role on the global stage, the rest of the world is starting to take notice. In being the world’s second most populated country, it is now also the third largest in terms of purchasing power. More recently, India has capitalized on its large pool of educated, English-speaking professionals to become an important outsourcing destination for multinational corporations.

“From that standpoint things have changed in the last eight years,” says Narayan. “Up until then, awareness in Indian came through a few spiritual seekers, who were obsessed about Indian cultural and spirituality, and the rest of the emphasis was on snake charmers. But I think since the year 2000, when the computers were supposed to stop and there was a big influx of Indian programmers, the mindset in the U.S. started to change. And with India now also being a destination for outsourcing, the image of the country has changed most significantly.”

While the expatriates behind the IFA now firmly call America home, they continue to maintain strong ties with their homeland. And, accordingly, the IFA plays a major role in providing much needed funding to launch a variety of programs, all of which are aimed at helping the underprivileged help themselves. Past projects have included the funding of a documentary highlighting the unfair wage practices associated with women workers and the rehabilitation of street children, while two current projects involve street vendors and child laborers.

“One of the projects that I am overseeing involves street vendors,” Narayan says. “In a city like Delhi there are an incredible number of entrepreneurs, but they are not seen as service providers by the local administration. These people have no access to water or toilets, and they put their wares out on the street anywhere they find space, and this creates problems with traffic as the pavements are completely cluttered. It is a big problem, as there about 500,000 of these vendors.”

Both squalor and extortion have typically run rife throughout the industry, but a project supported by the IFA, Manushi, has recently set a new standard for the trade. In a poor neighborhood of Delhi, 200 street vendors have been provided with stalls, with the IFA’s financial support laying the foundation for project planning as well as for the construction of the structures. Having now been in operation for four years, this bazaar has become a model solution for street vending throughout the country — even attracting residents and shoppers from the surrounding well-to-do neighborhoods.

Another project the IFA is currently funding and overseeing aims to give child laborers the means to a better lifestyle. Each year when the monsoons arrive, the river Ganges swells and floods and becomes laden with silt with thousands of brick kiln workers converging on the area in search of work. The workers are typically children who are paid a minimal wage to undertake this seasonal work. The Manavi project aims to improve the educational opportunities for these workers by establishing nonformal educational sessions that run for nine months.

The project now has 10 teachers educating some 200 children.

Through the success of last year’s Archana, and with the dedication and commitment of its volunteers, the IFA raised $125,000 to support its various projects. This year’s fundraising target is $250,000, and the 2008 Archana is expected to make a major step toward achieving that goal. And while the money raised directly funds active projects in India, Narayan feels the benefits of such undertaking will ultimately have a global impact.

“Problems such as terrorism are surfacing due to poverty,” Narayan says. “If we can somehow have a proactive poverty alleviation program on a global level; that would go a long way toward peace and prosperity everywhere. Even though some people might question that we are here in the United States working on poverty alleviation in India, I think these undertakings will ultimately benefit everybody as the world becomes an increasingly global place.”   

The India Friends Association’s Archana 2008 takes place April 26 at the Fred Kavli Theater in the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza (2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks, 449-2787).

For more information, visit www.indiafriendsassocation.org.