Masala Canada - Saturday, March 3rd 2012

Conversations with Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Chris Tyler
MASALA CANADA with WOJTEK GWIAZDA


On this edition of MASALA CANADA I talk to documentary filmmaker and journalist Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. She, along with co-director Daniel Junge, won an Oscar for Best Documentary Short at this year’s Academy Awards for the film “Saving Face”. Since this is Pakistan’s first Oscar, there was immediate reaction both in Pakistan and in the diaspora. And discussion about the topic of the documentary acid attacks on Pakistani women, and a British Pakistani plastic surgeon who is helping them. In Canada most people were celebrating the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor won by 82 year old Canadian acting legend Christopher Plummer.

What many people did not realize, until the Canadian media picked up on it, was that Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy has dual citizenship in Canada and Pakistan. Three days after her win, this past Wednesday, I spoke to her about the Oscar, about her reactions, and about this documentary on acid violence which she feels offers hope for the future.




And then I talk to Professor Chris Tyler who teaches computer studies at Toronto’s Seneca Collage. He specializes in open source software – computer software that allows users to adapt it to their own needs, and share it with others. And we talk about the Raspberry Pi, a computer so tiny it fits on top of a credit card, and runs off the power of a cell phone charger, or a small solar cell.

It’s the brainchild of the Raspberry Pi Foundation at the University of Cambridge in the UK. This project was a response to the lack of students graduating with computer science and computer technology degrees. And Professor Tyler, along with students at Toronto’s Seneca College, worked with open source software for this new computer, aimed at giving students, in particular, a chance to understand how computers work.

WEB LINKS:
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy films – www.sharmeenobaidfilms.com
Raghav music and info – www.raghav.com
Rush music and info – www.rush.com
Raspberry Pi Foundation – www.raspberrypi.org
Chris Tyler blog – www.chris.tylers.info

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Masala Canada - Saturday, February 25th 2012

Conversations with Lalita Krishna and Dena Davida
MASALA CANADA with WOJTEK GWIAZDA



On this edition of MASALA CANADA I talk to Toronto documentary filmmaker Lalita Krishna about her latest film “MallaMall”. It focuses on two very different approaches to the retail industry in India: on the small entrepreneurs who make up 95 per cent of the industry, and the challenge coming from superstores and malls, which in some cases has pushed the small store owners into the streets to defend their livelihood.

She talks about filming in Delhi, and facing her own contradictions about what should and should not be the future of the retail industry in India.



Then I talk to Montreal dancer, scholar, and dance curator Dena Davida. She has also taught at the University of Quebec in Montreal, and is the co-artistic and co-executive director of Tagente – a space for contemporary dance, as well as documentation, which she co-founded in 1980.


We talk about a new book she’s edited called “Fields in Motion – Ethnography in the Worlds of Dance” which examines contemporary artistic dance around the world, its roots, and its impact on our conception of ourselves.

WEB LINKS:
MallaMall – InSyncVideo – here
Joni Mitchell music and info – www.jonimitchell.com
Tagente website – www.tangente.qc.ca
Fields in Motion book info – here

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Masala Canada - Saturday, February 18th 2012

Conversations with Ann Cavoukian and Vijaya Chikermane
MASALA CANADA with WOJTEK GWIAZDA



On this edition of MASALA CANADA we’ll talk to Ann Cavoukian, the Information and Privacy Commissioner for Canada’s most populous province, Ontario. She is an independent officer of the provincial legislature and reports directly to the legislature on issues of privacy.

She and a number of other people in Canada were vocal this past week in condemning a proposed federal law tabled this past week by Public Safety Minister Vic Toews. The law would give police access to so called IP addresses, the addresses of each Canadian’s computer, and access to that computer’s activities on the Internet. The law would oblige Internet service providers to store that information, and make it available to the police.


Then I talk to Vijaya Chikermane, the Executive Director of the Alliance for South Asian Aids Prevention (ASAAP). A little more than a week ago the Alliance raised concerns about two cases now before the Supreme Court of Canada. Cases that could further extend the definition of when it is a crime in Canada not to tell a partner about having the HIV virus.

Up until now, the law suggested that only in cases where there is a serious danger to their sexual partner was it a crime. She discusses the concerns of the Alliance, and the challenges of discussing these issues publicly.


WEB LINKS:
Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario – www.ipc.on.ca
Bill C-30 [Lawful Access Bill] – here
En Karma music and info – www.enkarma.ca
Ef-Khan music and info – www.ef-khan.com
Alliance for South Asian Aids Prevention (ASAAP) – www.asaap.ca

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Masala Canada - Saturday, February 11th 2012

Conversations with Robert Fox and Vikas Kohli
MASALA CANADA with WOJTEK GWIAZDA



On this edition of MASALA CANADA we talk about a new report released by the international humanitarian aid organisation Oxfam called “Crises in a New World Order, Challenging the Humanitarian Project”. Robert Fox, Executive Director of Oxfam Canada, explains the focus of the report is making sure enough aid goes to local response groups, local civil society and local governments, whether it’s for disasters that have just occurred or in preparation for future disasters. Among the challenges, the importance of raising funding for disasters that have been averted thanks to local initiatives.




Then Toronto musician, composer, and producer Vikas Kohli talks about his latest project, creating a soundtrack for a new film, Samuel Kiehoon Lee’s “Wild Goose Daddy” with an orchestra of 28 musicians. An experienced composer and producer who’s produced numerous Canadian and international musicians at his Mississauga studio FatLabs, Kohli found himself in a very new situation with the challenge of composing music that would create the appropriate atmosphere for the film, and be played by all these musicians.



WEB LINKS:
Oxfam Canada – www.oxfam.ca
Crises in a New World Order report – here
JSIN music and info – www.jsinisrockmusic.com
Zameer music and info – www.zameermusic.com
Vikas Kohli FatLabs studio – www.fatlabs.com

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Masala Canada - Saturday, February 4th 2012

Conversations with Ravida Din and Rajendhran Rajakumar
MASALA CANADA with WOJTEK GWIAZDA



On this edition of MASALA CANADA we talk about a new feature length documentary film from Canada’s world renowned public film producer and distributor, the National Film Board. The documentary is called “Pink Ribbons, Inc.” and the film’s director is Léa Pool. The film looks at how breast cancer has become the focus of huge and popular marketing campaigns that promote awareness of breast cancer, and at the same time promote the image and revenues of the corporations that support these campaigns. Just this past Friday the film got its theatrical release across Canada. To find out more, I talked to the National Film Board’s Ravida Din who is the Executive Producer and producer of “Pink Ribbons, Inc.”


And then I talk with Montreal researcher and doctoral student, Rajendhran Rajakumar. He’s part of a research team at Montreal’s McGill University, at the Abouheif Lab, headed by Dr Ehab Abouheif, the Canada Research Chair in Evolutionary Development Biology. Rajakumar, Professor Abouheif, and several other researchers last month published an article in Science Magazine in which they describe their explorations of evolution, and how they stimulated the million years old capacity of some ants to become huge, supersoldier ants. We talk about how they did it, and how this will help us understand evolution.

WEB LINKS
Pink Ribbons, Inc. website – here
Sarah McLachlan music and info – www.sarahmclachlan.com
Supersoldier ant research – here

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Masala Canada - Saturday, January 28th 2012

Conversations with Roger Augustine and Supinder Wraich

MASALA CANADA with WOJTEK GWIAZDA

On this edition of MASALA CANADA we’ll examine the state of relations between Canada and its indigenous peoples, and in particular the results of the Crown-First Nations Gathering in Ottawa, this past Monday and Tuesday. The meeting between Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper, along with some of his ministers, and the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Shawn A-in-chut Atleo, and First Nation chiefs from across the country, raised both expectations and cynicism within Canada’s indigenous communities.

We talk to Chief Roger Augustine, Regional Chief for the Atlantic coast provinces of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island at the Assembly of First Nations, about the meeting, and about the expectations, mistrust, and hope among Canada’s indigenous people.

Then a conversation with Toronto actor Supinder Wraich who co-stars in a new interactive web series called “Guidestones”. The story is intriguing: it’s about a real monument in the American State of Georgia – called the Guidestones. And in eight languages, including Sanskrit and Hindi, it gives guidelines for rebuilding civilization after an apocalypse.

Supinder Wraich plays the role of a journalism exchange student from Delhi studying in Toronto, and the deepening mystery she gets involved with in investigating a murder, a global conspiracy and the Guidestones. The series opens on February 2nd on the web.

WEB LINKS:
Assembly of First Nations website – www.afn.ca
Shawn Mativetsky music and info – www.shawnmativetsky.com
Guidestones website – www.guidestones.org
 

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Masala Canada - Saturday, January 21st 2012

Conversations with Ravi Jain and Janak Khendry

MASALA CANADA with WOJTEK GWIAZDA

On this edition of MASALA CANADA we’ll talk to Toronto actor and theatre director Ravi Jain. As the Artistic Director of “Why Not Theatre” he has explored many different approaches to creating a stage experience. In his new play “Brimful of Asha”, he acts and is, the son of his co-star, his real life mother, Asha. The subject of the play is arranged marriages, and that it’s time for Ravi to get married. We also discuss the fact that even though his mother co-stars in the play, she is not an actor, and what that has taught Ravi Jain about acting. The play opens at Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre this Thursday, January 26^th, and closes February 18th .

Then a wonderful exploration of the concept of time with Toronto dancer and choreographer Janak Khendry, the Founder and Artistic Director of the Janak Khendry Dance Company. This year the company celebrates its 33^rd anniversary with a rather remarkable exploration. An exploration of time, of the concept of time, of what has happened, and what will happen – all this through the movements of 14 dancers. This dance exploration is called “Kaal” (Time) and will be presented this coming Thursday to Saturday, January 26^th to 28^th, at the Fleck Dance Theatre at Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre.

WEB LINKS:

Why Not Theatre website – www.theatrewhynot.org

Jamie Parker / Gryphon Trio info – http://www.gryphontrio.com/bio_jamie.php

LAL music and info – www.lalforest.com

Janak Khendry Dance Company website – www.jkdanceco.org

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Masala Canada - Saturday, January 14th 2012

Conversations with Noa Mendelsohn Aviv and Nayan Sthankiya

MASALA CANADA with WOJTEK GWIAZDA

On this edition of MASALA CANADA we’ll talk about a Canadian government fugitive list put out by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). The list includes some of the people the agency wants to deport from Canada for allegedly being war criminals, or for a number of other alleged offences. We discuss the civil liberty issues that this list raises with Noa Mendelsohn Aviv, the Director of the Equality Program at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA).

Then I have a fascinating and wide ranging conversation with freelance photojournalist Nayan Sthankiya. For the past 11 years he’s been travelling the world, documenting natural disasters, wars, and the beauty of the world for such publications as the New York Times, The Guardian, Canada’s Maclean’s Magazine and Canadian Geographic. We’ll talk about how he approaches photography – whether it’s photographing Canadian writer Yann Martel, or taking photos after an earthquake in Pakistan. We'll also discuss the state of photojournalism, and the advantages and disadvantages of being based in our western Canadian city of Saskatoon, as opposed to key big cities like Toronto, Montreal, or Vancouver.

WEB LINKS:

Canada Border Services Agency – www.cbsa.gc.ca

Canadian Civil Liberties Association – www.ccla.org

Raghav music and info – www.raghav.com

Harry Manx music and info – www.harrymanx.com

Nayan Sthankiya photos and info – www.nayansthankiya.com

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Masala Canada - Saturday, January 7th 2012

Conversations with Dennis Gruending and Gabriel Dharmoo

MASALA CANADA with WOJTEK GWIAZDA

On this edition of MASALA CANADA we’ll talk about politics and religion in Canada with Ottawa-based author Dennis Gruending. He is a former journalist, a former Director of Information for the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. He’s been a Member of Parliament, and is the author of a number of books. His latest, released this past autumn, is titled “Pulpit and Politics: Competing Religious Ideologies in Canadian Public Life”. We discuss the alliances and antagonism among religious groups, the issues that unite many religious activists, and the approach of Canada’s ruling Conservative government towards the different political tendencies among them.

Then I talk to Montreal contemporary classical music composer Gabriel Dharmoo, who this Monday, January 9^th, will perform a solo Carnatic Cello Concert at the Arkay Convention Centre in Chennai. For the past three months he’s been studying the Carnatic music approach of Indian classical music. It’s a music with a strong emphasis on singing, even if it’s interpreted by instruments. What Gabriel Dharmoo is doing is trying to understand the music as a composer, through playing the music, and on a very western instrument, the cello. Monday he’ll share that experience with an audience in Chennai.

(Photo by Paul Neudorf)

WEB LINKS:

Dennis Gruending blog – www.dennisgruending.ca

Beats on Canvas music and info – www.beatsoncanvas.com

Brigitte Boisjoli music and info – www.brigitteboisjoli.ca

Gabriel Dharmoo, Monday 7PM concert info– here

Gabriel Dharmoo music and info – www.gabrieldharmoo.org

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Masala Canada - Saturday, December 31st 2011

Conversations with Scott Taylor, Michael Lewis, and Farzana Doctor

MASALA CANADA with WOJTEK GWIAZDA

On this edition of MASALA CANADA (originally broadcast April 9, 2011) I talk to former Canadian soldier and now journalist Scott Taylor about his television documentary “Afghanistan: Outside the Wire”. Produced for Canada’s privately owned public affairs and parliamentary cable TV network CPAC.  It’s an attempt to bring the point of view of Afghans to a Canadian audience.

Toronto painter Michael Lewis shares with us his vision and his images, what one reviewer described this way: “Michael Lewis’s grimly funny paintings evoke the great economic unravelling”. We talk about his approach, his themes, and the new approach he’s now undertaken. He was one of the featured artists at the Art Gallery of Mississauga’s “Sorting Daemons – Art, Surveillance Regimes, and Social Control” exhibition.

And Toronto author, psychotherapist and activist, Farzana Doctor talks about her new novel, “Six Metres of Pavement”. It’s about a middle aged South Asian man in Toronto, almost destroyed by tragedy, who finds his life changed by a Portuguese-Canadian widow, and a young queer South Asian woman, who’s the age of his dead daughter.

WEB LINKS:

Afghanistan: Outside the Wire documentary – here

Esprit de Corps magazine – www.espritdecorps.ca

SAN music and info – www.myspace.com/sanmusictm

Michael Lewis paintings - www3.sympatico.ca/mlew

Art Gallery of Mississauga – www.artgalleryofmississauga.com

Chin Injeti music and info – www.myspace.com/chininjeti

Farzana Doctor website – www.farzanadoctor.com

Six Metres of Pavement webpage – here

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