Connecting, Creating, Curating
Connecting India and Ireland through Creative Industries.
A talk presented at the Embassy of India in Dublin.
By Arthur Duff, 3rd June 2022.
Intro in Hindi, Irish, English and Gujarati
आदरणीय राजदूत मिश्रा, आयरलैंड और भारत में विशिष्ट अतिथि और मित्र. भारत में काम करने और रहने के अपने 40 वर्षों के अनुभव को साझा करने के लिए आज दूतावास में आपके साथ यहां आकर मुझे बहुत खुशी हो रही है
Ambasadóir meas Mishra, aíonna agus cairde oirirce in Éirinn agus san India. Táim an-sásta a bheith anseo leat inniu san ambasáid chun mo thaithí 40 [daichead] bliain ag staidéar a bheith ag obair agus ag maireachtáil san India a roinnt.
Respected Ambassador Mishra, distinguished guests and friends in Ireland and in India, I am very happy to be here with you to day in the embassy to share my 40 years’ experience of studying, working and living in India
આદરણીય રાજદૂત મિશ્રા, આયર્લેન્ડ અને ભારતમાં પ્રતિષ્ઠિત મહેમાનો અને મિત્રો ભારતમાં કામ કરવાનો અને અભ્યાસ કરવાનો મારો 40 વર્ષનો અનુભવ શેર કરવા દૂતાવાસમાં આજે તમારી સાથે રહીને મને ખૂબ આનંદ થાય છે.
May I thank his Excellency Ambassador Mishra for this kind invitation?
The title of to-days talk is “Connecting India and Ireland through Creative Industries”. I have been fortunate enough to have been connecting and creating in both Ireland and India for the last 40 years. I believe that connecting adds value to the separate parts which leads to a creative output, whatever the discipline or industry.
By way of introduction I would like to establish some understanding of each other: of our differences and our similarities and of our shared histories, as a backdrop to introducing the contribution of the Irish in India and, more particularly, to highlight the dynamic role of the Indians in Ireland, currently. Rather a tall order in this short space of time!
Let me begin with the big picture: we could not be more different in terms of scales of population and land mass, the climate, culture and religion. It is not an equal playing field for starters; we are a small island and they are a sub-continent. The entire population of Ireland would fit snugly into Ahmedabad with space for many more if push came to shove or we would be a little cluster at the next Prayag Kumbh Mela where the Yamuna, Ganges and Saraswati Rivers all meet, along with the 50 million or so other pilgrims coming for their Shahi Snan or holy dip – not quite the same as Lough Derg. If we were to travel on the train from Dibrugarh in Assam in the north East to Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, at the southern-most tip of India, it would take about 3 and a half days, stopping at nearly 60 stations on the way.
I spend a lot of time for work in Jaiselmer, in the west of Rajasthan, and a couple of years ago when I was there during the monsoon it was raining heavily. Dadaji remarked that it was one of 7 good rains he had seen in his lifetime. He is now 85. In contrast there are places in the foothills of the Himalayas and other hilly areas where more than 400 inches of rain will fall during the year. And, as for the heat, it is enough to say that the scale of the landmass embraces extremes of all kinds. What might be a hot summers day here could have people there reaching for their woolly jumpers and mufflers. Tempered by the movement of people peacefully or through multiple invasions and conquests over 1,000’s of years, it is these extremes that have generated wonderfully unique and expressive cultural and religious traditions that are the diverse manifestations of the India we know to-day.
While we struggle with Irish and English and maybe a bit of a continental language there are 22 official Indian languages along with countless regional languages and dialects. This is indicative of the huge diversity of cultures that all co-exist with quiet pragmatism. There is a great capacity for people to “adjust” and to accommodate each other however, this has its limits and there can be all hell to pay, which we also know about in our small island. For someone who is not familiar with the range of differences it is hard to imagine just how cosmopolitan the cities are, where multiple diverse communities from all over the country live and work together, each with their own language and food, social and religious customs. Not to mention those people from all over the world who have made India their own. It is something we are quickly coming to terms with here as the social and cultural landscape of Ireland has changed utterly over the last 30 years. We have much to learn from the Indian capacity to accommodate differences.
Having referred to differences let me also dwell on what binds us: there are possible links from pre-history and there are very definite connections that have bound us together in the modern era. Regarding those ancient connections I refer to the research by the late Professor Myles Dillon, Celtic and Sanskrit scholar, who proposed that the Aryans and the Celts came from a shared source in Central Asia and as they moved west and east, retained common elements. He developed this thesis on his understanding of shared social structures and linguistic forms. This was written in the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies in Shimla where he was a visiting fellow for 2 years in the late 1960’s. Speaking of connections, the IIAC now occupies what was formerly the vice-regal lodge built in 1880’s by the then viceroy Lord Dufferin, from County Down. Dillon’s research was published posthumously as Celts and Aryans: survivals of Indo-European speech and society (1975)
The more recent connections arise from both of us being subjects of the same master. With the Establishment of the East India Company in 1600, a trading company that gradually took control of most of the sub-continent followed by the direct British rule from 1858 until 1947, India has had an equally intense experience of being a colony as we have had. As this is the domain of historians much better qualified than I, let me move back to the Irish connections that developed in tandem with the colonial system.
Indo-Irish connections
Beyond the telling of personal tales, I hope this narrative will reveal more about the nature of the country as well as something of the great potential for mutual development between us.
I landed up in 1981 at CEPT University in Ahmedabad to join the Faculty of Architecture as an under graduate. How that happened is another story which began the year before when I took part in the first annual field trip to document the historic abandoned city of Vijayanagara in Karnataka as a student draftsman. This was organised by Dr George Michell and local partners. This vivid introduction to India, measuring and drawing these spectacular architectural remains, led me to choose to return as a student at CEPT. Now may I contextualise Ahmedabad for you?
Ahmedabad has always been an important centre of textile manufacturing and trading in Western India. In the late 19th century a Mr James, who was the collector at the time, saw the huge potential of the Sheth lok, the business people, of Ahmedabad and introduced them to the new technology for textile production being developed in England at the time. They took to it instantly and very quickly this ancient walled city was ringed with more than 70 mills, generating huge wealth for them and for the city – becoming the ‘Manchester of India’.
In the mid 1930’s, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel approached a group of influential mill owners with the idea of establishing an educational trust to provide for the education of the young people of Ahmedabad. The principal visionary was Kasturbhai Lalbhai who, when asked how much land would be required for the project replied that he wanted to buy as far as the eye could see. He ended up securing more than 700 acres which now forms the heart of the educational campuses of the city. I mention all this because it is indicative of a spirit that is essentially Ahmedabadi; rooted in place and tradition but also willing to take huge risks and embraces the new. The trust enabled the School of Architecture – now known as CEPT University - to be set up in the early 1960’s by recent Pritzker prize winner, Balkrishna Doshi, as a place where solutions for the building of the new India could be imagined and taught. He had worked with Corbusier on his projects in Chandigarh and in Ahmedabad. The trust continues to be a major benefactor to our campus. A few years ago our new library was built, in honour of Lilavatiben Lalbhai, a pioneer of women’s empowerment and education.
I am sure you are also familiar with the significance of the city in the life of Mahatma Gandhi. It was to here that he returned from South Africa in 1917 and established his Ashram on the banks of the Sabarmati River, devoting the rest of his life to the betterment of the people of India. In his autobiography, “The Story of My Experiments with Truth” he recounts the story of his life and how he developed his concept of active nonviolent resistance, which underpinned the Indian struggle for independence and many other nonviolent movements in the twentieth century. Clearly hugely charismatic and influential then, his presence was still vivid in the 1980’s.
Ahmedabad in the 1980’s was very different from Dublin at the time, however any issues arising were quickly contextualised by the demands of the course at the Uni and facilitated by a very generous group of batch mates whose families received me without condition and with many of whom I remain connected to. The hostel I was put up in was called H Block, the Irish significance of which was not understood. Early on I met someone who, on hearing I was Irish, told me that “my” people were to be found in Ellisbridge. In due course I made my way to this area named after the first pukkha bridge built across the River in 1892, connecting the old walled city to the undeveloped western area. A local engineer, Himmatlal Bachech, built it using prefabricated steel trusses sent over from Birmingham. Ellis was the Commissioner of the Northern Zone at the time.
On knocking at the door of a wonderful old bungalow, one of several in a spacious compound, I was greeted by Miss Shannon, a small woman from Belfast wearing a sensible frock with a halo of white hair, pink cheeks and a twinkle in her eye. She was one of the Irish Presbyterian Missionaries, known locally as the IP’s, who first arrived in Gujarat in the mid19th century and built a legacy of schools, hospitals and other institutions that continue to offer service to this day. I had to come to India to meet my first Presbyterian and we became fast friends. She was the last Irish resident of the Zenana, or Ladies Bungalow, in the Mission compound. When she was not giving me cups of tea and shortbread she was up to eyes with the children of the leper colony on the banks of the river. While that is a miraculous story for another day it also marked the beginning of my understanding of how the Irish, across all walks of life, have made great contributions to the growth and development of India over many years. One of the benefits of the recent virus has been the opportunity to sit still and to put together the notes and references I have been gathering on the engagement of the Irish in India over the last 250 years in the form of a Gazetteer. The influence of the Indo-Irish that existed at every level is extra ordinary. You will know of many- Sr. Nivedita, the Cousins, The Raja of Tipperary, Yeats and Tagore - but let me pick out a few examples you might not be so familiar with:
The persistent nature of historic Irish connections is perhaps epitomised by the presence of Erinpura, Irishtown, in Sirohi District which is part of the old Jodhpur State. I came across it on a train journey into Rajasthan from Gujarat many years ago. This was the location of the 43rd Erinpura Cavalry Regiment that was established in mid 19th century by Captain Hall, an Irish Officer in the British India Army. The regiment was disbanded in 1921 and the name of the town was changed following Independence to Jaiwai Bandh commemorating the dam built by the then Maharaja of Jodhpur to provide water to the region. The name still lives on however, as the granite formation existing in that region is known as Erinpura Trap. I wonder if Oldham, an Irishman from Galway who ran the Geological survey of India, had anything to do with it? In any case Ireland is now embedded geologically and it is also the location of one of the national weather stations that still bears the name.
There is a Celtic high cross in Prantij, north of Ahmedabad, commemorating the death of 300 children in a devastating famine that took place in that region in 1900. It was erected by the IP’s.
Earlier I referred to the number of languages that exist in India. The man responsible for establishing the Linguistic Survey of India in 1898 was George Grierson from Glenageary in county Dublin, a graduate of Trinity College who joined the Indian Civil Service in 1873. In the course of 30 years he was responsible for documenting information on 179 languages, and 544 dialects which he placed in five language families, all of which were published in 19 volumes.
Through Miss Shannon I met Howard Cromie, a retired IP, who came back to visit in his 80’s and we toured the stations he had served all his active life in. Clearly, a lion of a man whilst in service and through whom development projects of all kinds to generate skills and employment were initiated around the State of Gujarat. As a result of Cromie Sahib’s network I was given my first architectural commission; the designing of the first secondary school in Chaklya, a remote tribal area of East Gujarat. It meant staying in the village and working with the local elders and the headmaster, Mahendra Kataria, to establish a brief for the building. It was a huge learning experience for all of us, as the limits of my knowledge were stretched in order to meet their great expectations. After seemingly endless toing and froing of discussions by night and drawings by day we arrived late one night at a consensus. I was very surprised to find the entire village out at dawn the following day digging the foundations. Against all the odds, I am happy to say that the project got built.
Although the school of architecture in Ahmedabad was small it managed to attract students from all over India, many of whom were as foreign to each other as I was to them. Included in the gang was Vivek Talwar, a Pathan whose people hailed from the North West. He was given great respect by the other students and I learnt that earlier members of his family had been Freedom Fighters in the struggle for Independence. At the same I time I was finding out about relatives of mine who had served in India in different capacities, including a cousin of my father’s from Roscommon who was the Governor of the Punjab in the colonial period. It turned out that Vivek’s great grand Uncle was Bhagat Ram Talwar’s older brother, Hari Kishan Talwar, a martyr to the cause of freedom, having been sentenced and hung in 1931 by the British for his assassination attempt on the Governor of Punjab. As it happens it was not our cousin Bertie Glancy, but an earlier Irish incumbent, Sir Geoffrey de Montmorency, from Kilkenny. What a transformation in 50 years!
After 9 years of studying and working I returned to Ireland and established a design practice along with Greg Tisdall. This gave the opportunity to maintain the Indian connections I had developed in the past. Some 7 years ago I had the privilege of being invited to return as a faculty member to my Alma Mater and establish the new Masters Programme in Furniture Design along with managing the resources of the new library. That contract is over and I now divide my time between here and Studio Praxis, a design practice with a local young architect, Maneesh Kumar. We have a design studio and furniture workshop.
The Indians in Ireland: Hiberno-Indians
We talk of the Indo-Irish with reference to those who went in large numbers to India however I would like to coin a phrase referring to the Indians who have come to Ireland – the Hiberno-Indians. Currently there are about 70,000 people of Indian origin in Ireland, forming one of the largest groups of non-Irish ethnicity – perhaps our next census form should have a Hiberno-Indian box to tick?.
As our nationalist movement developed it was closely observed by similarly motivated Indians many of whom visited in the late 19th and early 20th century. Indulal Yagnik, a Gujarati freedom fighter wrote a history of the Irish freedom movement in Gujarati following his visit here. The historian, Dr Kate O’Malley, has done pioneering research in the field of our shared histories during the 20th century..
This is a year of significant anniversaries for both of us. Our first State visitor after Independence was the great cricketer Ranjit Singh, the Jam Sahib of the former State of Nawanagar, who came to visit Connemara and subsequently acquired Ballinahinch Castle. He brought his nieces over to study in the school at Kylemore Abbey, one of whom was the grandmother of the current head of the Green Party in Gujarat and is now our client.
The Irish constitution was studied in detail by Dr Ambedkar when he was drafting the Indian constitution. He incorporated several clauses from the Irish constitution.
Over the years I have been privileged to meet remarkable Hiberno-Indians, who made wonderful lives for themselves and their families as well as contributing to the development of this country. The Fanibandas, the Chawlas, the Bhagwans, the Shouris, the Kulkarnis, the Thakores, the Negis, the Inamdars, the Choksis to name a few, some of whom are now no more but have left new generations behind them as well as skills, businesses and experiences. What was once a thin network of families scattered around the country is now a veritable blanket reaching every corner.
So far, I have dwelt on the historic Irish connections with India. Whilst I have been busy over there Ireland has been transformed by the growth and development of the Indian community here. In the same way that we landed up over there in the past, primarily as a way of earning a living from the opportunities arising from the needs of administering the empire so also Indians arriving here have found good jobs and living through satisfying the demands of our growing economy. In terms of the purpose of my talk this is a much more important part of the story, India is no longer far away, it is now all around us. The effort of connecting Ireland and India is now so easy. There are many stories to be told about the integration of these people into Irish life and I hope that this task is taken up by the community, perhaps the Embassy could initiate an oral history project to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Independence?
Not so long ago, if you saw someone in Dublin who was not Irish it was a novelty. The reality of the Indians in Ireland to day is a very different picture: there is not one walk of life where they are not embedded, they number about 70,000. The recent pandemic revealed just how connected we are when so many of the medical and front line workers were Indian. Among the many, Lalu Bhagwan and his dedicated team of pharmacists in Ballinteer gave remarkable service. In numerous other areas their influence and contribution is significant, in particular across all the IT and financial sectors not to mention delicious food. In my native place in county Wicklow there are always a few families from south India at mass, they are working in the local hospital. We also have had a series of Indian priests serving in the community. In my experience what characterises the relationship between Indians and Ireland is one of seamless adjustment and great ingenuity. I do not need to remind you that our Tanaiste’s roots are half Indian.
I believe this new reality is of great importance for the future of Ireland. Whereas we came and went to India the H-I’s are here to stay. May I draw your attention to two members of the community who are making a great difference to Irish lives: Praveenbhai who looks after the Cyber Security for one of the big four Accounting firms in Dublin is happily based in the Midlands where his children go to school and his wife is getting back into the workforce. When he is not doing something so top secret that if I knew what it was I would have to be shot he is sharing his South Indian flute playing skills with the local branch of Ceoltas Ceoltori Eireann who, in turn, are busy teaching him the tin whistle.
The possibility of adopting Indian babies for Irish couples has been a godsend however the processes involved are nothing short of a nightmare. For years Shaheen Caulfield has worked tirelessly as a go-between, helping couples negotiate the very complicated systems on both sides. This has been an act of great kindness to so many.
Having established an understanding of how connected we are may I come back to the title of this talk, namely Connecting Ireland and India through Creative Industries.
First of all, “why India”? Some years ago former Indian Ambassador to Ireland, PS Raghavan, noted the importance of seeing the connections rather than differences that exist, as the basis for enterprise of all kinds – common language and similar systems of administration due to our shared colonial heritage - and questioned why on earth we were all rushing to do business with another large country further to the east – whose name I cannot remember.
As you see I took Ambassador Raghavan’s advice to heart and have sought out the connections for myself and encourage you to do the same. It is now so much easier with on-line access as well as by connecting with local Indian resources. I will give 2 examples from personal experience.
More than 15 years ago I met a young accountancy student who was articled to a firm in Dublin while taking his professional qualifications. Dilipbhai was from Baroda in Gujarat which bonded us immediately but he also belonged to the Sindhi community, his people having migrated from Sindh [ in present day Pakistan ] generations ago. As everyone in India belongs to some community or other I did not pay much attention to what it meant to be a Sindhi.
After some time he qualified as an accountant and we gave him the space in our office for him to set up his practice which he did with remarkable enthusiasm and industriousness. Very quickly he was fully connected to a range of clients as well as the relevant people in Revenue. Following the hesitation in the market arising out of the difficulties of 2008 we were able to turn to Dilipbhai to help us deal with the crisis. Very quickly, he took over and with such dexterity managed the complex process of folding up a company, dealing with our staff, the banks, creditors, landlords and us demented principals. By then I understood what the virtue of being a Sindhi was; they eat, sleep and breathe figures and negotiations. At one stage I overheard him on the phone in deep conversation with Mary, his now fast friend in Revenue, with whom he was on first name terms and was sharing our woes with respect to the tax implications of this ghastly process. Would I have even got to first base? When he was not at work he was helping out in the local credit union in West Dublin where he had settled with his young family as well as playing cricket. Basically he saved our lives.
More recently when I was flying to India via London I found myself sitting beside a young Indian on his way home to Mumbai. It was soon revealed that he was Gujarati and was working in Dublin in Customs clearance. As it happens my main concern in returning to our business in Ahmedabad was to arrange for the shipping and processing of a container of goods that had been ordered. How lucky was I to find myself beside Darpanbhai, the source of all the information I needed for the managing of this complicated process.
It is clear that we are surrounded by opportunities and solutions if we have the eyes to see them. By getting to know the H-I’s here it is a way of dealing with the imagined challenges of working over there.
Indeed the traffic in both directions is increasing. Artists, writers and architects are all on the move. Dorothy Cross has recently been a visiting fellow at the Alice Boner Foundation in Varanasi, NS Harsha had an exhibition here some years ago in the Project Arts Centre, this month artist Michelle Boyle is having a solo exhibition in the Jehangir Art Gallery in Mumbai, Irish artists have contributed to the Kochi Biennale and Indian artists have been residents in various institutions here, our embassy has supported numerous contributors to the Jaipur Literary Festival and the Ahmedabad Literary Festival, McCullough Mulvin, the award winning architectural firm is currently responsible for the redevelopment of the Thapur University campus in Patiala, a project that is receiving international recognition. Joseph Walshe, the furniture maker from Kinsale, has major projects in India, Ireland has been a popular location for several Bollywood films thanks to Screen Ireland and the embassy. On this side Siraj Zaidi, the founder of the Indian Film Festival of Ireland, has been India’s film ambassador for more than 30 years. Alistair Rumball of the Irish National Sailing School is working with Club Marine Dwarka, on the development of eco tours and water-based activities.
Art historians and historians in Trinity College and UCD and Dublin City University have developed very productive relationships with Jahwarlal Nehru University and other Indian institutions. Jane Ohlmeyer, Naman Ahuja, Kathleen James Chakraborty and Linda Mulvin, to name a few, are all busy sharing their research projects in both directions.
There are very important treasures of Indian origin that are in the safe keeping of The Chester Beatty Library and the National Museum and other institutions around the country. These are held in trust for India and the world. I am wondering what treasures did we leave behind in India?
In terms of design, Ireland and India have a connection going back to the 1970’s through the friendship of Ashoke Chatterjee, the former director of the National Institute of Design [ NID] in Ahmedabad, and Paul Hogan who was CTT’s – now Enterprise Ireland - first design manager. He was one of the founders of the Kilkenny Design Workshops and the Institute of Designers in Ireland. In 1977 the IDI hosted the world ICSID design conference in Dublin at which the award for “Industrial Design for Development” was given to NID. As a result of this recognition the UN took note leading to NID hosting the first UN Design Conference in 1979. It was a validation of what NID was trying to do, not only to establish a new profession of design in India but also as a first demonstration of the new field of design education. This in turn led to further support from the UNDP for the development of NID.
Another part of this connection with Ireland is Kilkenny. Handcraft was recognized as the foundation for India’s contemporary design movement that owed so much to the pioneering efforts of Tagore at Viswa Bharati and to Gandhi’s Swadeshi movement. The KDW was an example of craft transition into industrial production. Pradyuman Vyas, one of the former heads of NID, was trained there. NID and the University of Limerick are currently connected, sharing students and faculty.
Can I also note that in both countries there are our Embassies and many state agencies and professional bodies whose remit it is to support, promote and develop connections of all kinds. They will provide one with all the facts and figures concerning rules and regulations to be aware of. It makes sense to work in tandem, building one’s own contacts as well using the resources and expertise available.
At the heart of everything I have been talking about regarding the building of connections is mutuality; the possibility of creating benefit in both directions. I am very happy that we have David Leech with us to day who demonstrates the importance of such a value. When I got to know him, maybe 30 years ago, he was already embedded in India as one of the principals of Kindle Banking Systems who had developed a modular banking system known as Bankmaster in the 1980’s. They were the first world class Irish High Tech company and it was a global success story. In India the State Bank of India deployed the branch platform, Branchpower , across 2000 branches which allowed them to operate in an off-line mode. The work of Kindle has been superseded by many generations of new software and technology, now mostly emerging from India. David was the generous sponsor for the Dwarka Cricket team’s all Ireland tour which we organised over 20 years ago. He has since retired however he now busy again with India advising Airan from Ahmedabad, the latest generation of financial services companies developing cutting edge softwares and applications for financial services management. And so his involvement comes a full circle.
This journey continues as a way of learning and developing. While it is certainly creative it is fundamentally innovative – the making of something out of nothing. Here is to celebrating our creative and innovative futures in India and Ireland.
It has been a pleasure sharing some of my experience with you to day and I would like to thank Ambassador Mishra again for this opportunity. May I also thank Mr Sahu, the Head of Chancery, and Anna, the Social Secretary at the Embassy who both organised this event.
Arthur Duff, June 2022.